Marvel: 2010-05-30 - The Past Comes Back To Haunt

Queens - New York City

The largest of New York's five boroughs, Queens is located west of Long Island, and is the location of two major airports. JFK International Airport is on the southern corner and LaGuardia on the northern side. For the most part this borough is residential and is known for having a high immigrant population as many different nationalities all living within small communities. It is also the home of the New York Mets baseball team.

Queens does have some industry here, but on the whole isn't known for it. Other points of interest are Flushings Meadows Park, which has had two World Fairs, the New York State Pavilion and the Unisphere which are big attractions here. Parts of the Gateway National Recreation Area reach Queens, bordering on Jamaica Bay. The Citicorp Building towers are located above the residential areas. One can also find Forest Hills here, as well as the hospital bearing the same name. Within the same area is the Midtown High School.

The day is well on it's way to half over, but fortunately there's still a few hours of sunlight despite the hour. Simone is making her way down the side walk towards a clothing shop she discovered recently. Unfortunately she isn't the only one who's so keen on it's location. A group of people have had their eyes on the small business and several others in the area. They've got a myriad of resources and intentions regarding mutants and Simone hasn't been as careful as she could have been when it comes to hiding what she is.

As the young woman stroll along a bumb sitting in an alley way next to a bar and pool hall murmurs something into his sleeve. The message is relayed to others near by. The girl who escaped capture earlier this year is back in their sights! It isn't long before a white van is deployed and is on it's way to the area.

There's a pattern to Logans life, he hussles pool, or fights in the local circuit, makes himself some money and leaves before he has to fight the /whole/ bar... well unless he's in a bad mood. This is ocassionally broken by obviously trained people trying to kidnap him... on the whole it doesn't make for a very relaxed and care free man, it does however make for someone with heightened senses, years of experience in espionage very, very alert. He'd been getting on his bike when he'd spotted the bum, he know that the guy /could/ be a crazy bum, but he suspects it's more than that, and he's not taking chances a quick glance down the street to make sure things haven't already kicked off and he's heading for the guy, intending to grab him check his sleeve and then get some answers... he's not a happy hairy little man.

The white haired woman's smile fades as she stops in front of the shop. A sign reads 'Closed: Back in in an hour'. "Ah man.. " she grumps and looks about. She came out here specifically for this shop. She turns around to see what other shops might be of interest, and as she does so she meanders towards the pool hall. The bum's eyes are on Simone but it's hard not to notice the short but beefy Canadian heading towards the ally. Unfortunately for the under cover fellow his pay grade isn't high enough to know who Logan is. He hasn't seen any news reports either, not like the girl with the hidden wings. Across the street a window slooowwwly opens. It creaks with age. The old dusty drapes are pulled to the side just enough and a modified rifle barrel emerges. It tracks it's target, waiting for the right moment. Meanwhile the van is turning the corner, the road is clear, it accelerates slowly to get into the best position while not making a ruckus.

The man in his hands is pulled to his knees easily enough, Logan speaks to him in extremely threatening tones. "Bub, you're going to tell me who you're working for and what your bosses want with me." He's not expecting much information, but it's going to be more than he's already got, his voice is practically a growl... at least until the creaking window, he hears that and he spots the rifle, he hits the ground on top of his prisoner, considering his three hundred pounds this is likely painful, but Logan wants to question someone alive, of course once he's down he checks the rifle to see /where/ it's aiming, one can never be too careful after all.

The bum tries to scamper away from Logan but is siezed and urks. "Let me go! This has nothing to do with you!" he mutters out. Logan is after all, human looking. The man is promptly KOed as the ultra heavy mutant crushes him to the pavement. *gasp wheeeze!* It might be a weird situation for Logan to discover he isn't the original target. The rifle fires and a dart sails forth to slam into the back of the near by young woman. She was in mid turn, intending to leave after spotting a man mugging a bum? She lets out a yelp as she feels the dart ram into her thick jacket, get caught up in the folded wings under it. The needle manages to pin prick her flesh, sending out enough sedative that will make her a bit woozly but not knock her out. She reaches behind her to pull out the dart. In doing so a few white and gold feathers fall from under the jacket.

By this time the van is nearly in position and the sniper has reloaded and is aiming at Logan. The tranq dart flies!

The dart hits Logan, who doesn't bother to remove it, he doesn't even seem to notice it... he's used to real rounds after all, it's enough to convince him that they're either going soft, or that they're telling the truth. He heads over to the young woman his tone no longer threatening, but his anger is still obvsious "Come on, they'll have the snatch team here in a minute." The fact that the hits not on him means he's got to improvise, his plans have to change... and most importantly he may have to leave his bike for a while.

Simone urks! her eyes wide as she tries to decide if the burly man is really trying to help or if it's part of the trap. A few people in the vacinity look over at the minor disturbance going on. Some one on the porch of the pool hall shouts. A few people change direction or head into other buildings to get out of the way. The sniper hasn't given up and another few rounds fire, one going towards Logan the other at Simone. Around the same time the van has slowed and it opens it's sliding door. Several men in look to be plumer uniforms are in the back, armed with more leathal rounds. They take aim on the known mutant and the man helping her. There are a few flashes of light, pictures are being taken by some one else inside the van.

Logan moves, his intention to place himself between the woman and the van. That'd be the snatch team he'd been looking for, only they're more heavily armed than he'd have expected any bullets that hit would be met with an annoyed grunt. "That'll be our boys." He actually makes after the van, his pace surprisingly good for someone who's likely just been shot.

Simone is still in a state of shock by everything that is going on, that or perhaps it's the first dart's effect. "Oh my God, Watch out... hey! No wait! " she shouts out as the man blocks the in comming darts, is struck and then rushes at the van.

The sniper seeing that the darts aren't working retreats and disappears from the window, to either regroup or possibly find a better place to shoot from. The men in the truck have decided that the short man is likely a mutant. No moral man can do what he's just done. There are four men in the back, two in the front (the driver and the photo taker) The men in the back have automatic weapons. Apparently they are all avid 'deer hunters' or they have really good military contacts. The simple grab n' go mission is swiftly deteriorating and they decide to take a final volly at Logan and Simone. The driver speeds up, intending to out pace the charging mutant. The sound of automatic weapons fire echos, sending people rushing for cover.

By now he's too far from Simone to be able to provide her cover, he can only hope that she's smart enough to have dealt with that herself, the bullets that hit him cause him to stagger back slowing him down drastically, so rather than chase the van, he's heading for the open window that the sniper had used, he's in the room quickly enough, taking a few breaths he's hoping to get a scent and hopefully the van when it swings round to pick up Simone.

Bullets fly and hit the sidewalk, the walls and of course Logan. One of the rounds has grazed the girl's leg and she's picking herself up, her eyes glowing a bright gold. She pulls off her jacket and throws it to the ground. A pair of tiny white wings are now visible, but over them a second pair, much larger, of barely there psionic ones crackle into existance. The van has indeed turned around. The crew has lost sight of Logan and they foolishly assume he's retreated. They take aim at Simone, just as she does the same. She thrashes one wing towards the van and from the white frost tip several gold blades fly. One of the psi feathers hit's the van's hood, the second hits the windshield shattering it.

Inside the room Logan's found the scent of the sniper, it isn't any one he recognizes and no other clues are left behind save the fact the sniper has likely been in this room a considerable amount of time, Possibly even days.

Logan smiles faintly, he's got the snipers scent, which means he can find him; he leaves the room, as the car turns around he's out the window and heading for the hood himself, he sees the 'feathers' and is somewhat surprised, but he's already moving. His claws extended; these guys shot at him which means they get the claws... if one were observant and in position to see, they'd notice that Logan's stained with blood, he's still got the tranq dart in him, but while bullets obviously break the skin, there's no sign that he's actually injured as he works to pull the passenger out of the window... to make himself room.

The Driver has no intention of being pulled out of the van, not without a fight. With shouts of insult and vulgar language, the man pulls a pistol from his hip and attempts to shoot Logan point blank. Meanwhile the photographer is unbuckling himself and jumps out of the van and lands hard, rolling upon the pavement. He narrowly avoids getting mowed over by an oncoming car and then gets to his feet. He runs for an alley way, moving as fast as he's able to. As the van weaves and zigs, one of the other men in the back jumps out. He's more nimble or possibly more skilled and is able to avoid getting a major case of road rash. He levels his weapon at Simone and fires.

The young woman's wings curl up in front of her, sending the bullets ricochetting back towards the sky and the shooter. She advances towards him, an angry expression painted on her features. He begins to back up, still firing. In the far, far, far distance Logan can hear the wail of police sirens.

Logan gets shot in the face, the effect is impressive to say the least, if it weren't for the claws in the car Logan would be laying on the road ready to be run over, instead he's still managing to cling on. A chunk of Logans' cheek's missing as he gives up on dragging out the driver, instead content to slash at him with the claws of his free hand the bone of his jaw can be seen the metal coating obvious, it's also obvious that the flesh is already knitting itself back together. The pair that have left will get tracked down later along with the sniper... at least that's Logans plan for now, the photographer is the main priority now. He lets his claws retract and rolls off the hood of the car. He looks at the girl, aware that she's been drugged and shot he's torn between getting her away and getting those photos, he tries to swear, but he's still not able to speak, so instead he runs for the girl, finally managing to get out a somewhat mangled, but still understandable sentence. "Come on, we've got to get out of here."

From afar, Hawkeye peers over your shoulder

Shocked? Dismayed? No none is a good enough word to describe the level of surprise the Driver has when the shot to the face doesn't kill the mutant. The emotion however is fleeting as is the man's life as he gets clawed. The van careens into a line of parked cars as Logan and the other two men in the back dive out. The men decide that it's best to escape while they still can. They weren't prepared for the other mutant, whoever, whatever he is. They race into various alleys and streets, likely to regroup some where else.

As horns honk, and people shout, the man who was shooting at Simone finally runs out of bullets. His face goes pale as the woman lifts one of the barely there wings and 'back hands' him. He goes flying down the road and then slows, laying still. Which is around when Logan speaks up. Simone staggers when she looks back at him, and yelps at the greusome sight. "Oh --" she covers her mouth, both terrified and concerned. How is the man still standing?! Her wings flicker, like a tv screen loosing power and then abruptly disapear.

The scream of sirens becomes more apparent, even to human ears.

The wound of course is agony, it's a sign of what Logans' life's like that he hardly seems to notice it, he looks at Simone ready to catch her as her wings flicker. "Come on kid, keep it together until we're outta here, the cops aren't going to be on /our/ side about this." Yet another reason to get those pictures back.

Simone is still staring. It's worse than some of those horror movies ! Ew! Gross! She takes in a deep breath and sets her jaw, trying to resummon the larger wings. They reform, even more faint than the first time. ".. ahh.. right, right.. oh, god, we.. we have to get you to a hospital.. or or something.." she says, biting at her lip as she looks around. "I've got a car, it's about four blocks from here.."

There's a look towards his bike, he seems far more concerned about that than his wounds. "No hospitals." The wound is already almost healed. "I'll be fine, you go I'll follow." It's been decided he's not leaving his bike... not where the cops can pick it up.

Simone blinks as the wound pretty much heals as she watches. No way! Impossible! She shakes her head, and stares again. "Ah.. right.. okay..I I know some place we can go.." and she takes wing, zipping up into the air. Sure it's going to cause a bit of commotion but she'd rather take that chance than try to just run. She'll come back for her car later.

Logan nods, his expression thoughtful, he's not ready to be following anywhere back to their safe houses... certainly not some teen who he hardly knows. "Yeah, we'll get some distance and /then discuss it." With that he's leaving, his bike hitting sixty in less than five seconds, and he's not letting up on the throttle, he'll try and keep track of Simone through the air however.

Simone is in no state to be zipping and zagging, besides she doesn't want to loose the strange mutant who came to her aid. Besides she's not about to take him any place important. It's just an old warehouse that she used to visit now and again when it was raining. It doesn't take much more than 15 minutes to get there. During their exodus they manage to avoid much notice and the police, the girl flew high enough to avoid most eyes. Fortunately for them, few people look up unless they have reason. She back wings and lands unsteadily. She's tired. Very tired. The wings crackle and then fade out as she waits for the man on the bike to catch up.

Logan's not far behind, his bike's fast and he rides it as such, not slowing until he feels comfortable that the police aren't following he arrives at the warehouse covered in blood yet looking as though he'd not taken a scratch his claws gone without so much as a sign they'd ever been there. "You know why those guys were after you? Or why they'd wanna take pictures of it?"

Simone watches as he pulls up. She pushes her bangs out of her eyes. "I have no idea who they are.. as for the why? " she shrugs. "Cause I'm a mutant.. I.guess .. I think I've run into them before.. but I don't know what they wanted with me or my friends.. if it's the same people." she murmurs out, a bit out of breath.

Logan nods, he's already evaluating the location for tactical purposes, his eyes taking in all the details, his nose trying to pick up scents of anyone else who may be about, he's pretty sure that they're not /his/ usual problem, but that doesn't mean he's not planning to deal with them. "We'll need to find somewhere we can keep a low profile, and we'll need to check out your wound." Says the guy who's just been shot in the face. "You got somewhere more.... reliable to stay?"

Simone frowns and rubs at her forhead a bit. She needs to call Kurt but she doesn't dare, not now. Not yet. She's upset, scared and angry. But it doesn't take a super sensitive nose to tell that. It's clear in her body language, her expressions. As for the old warehouse? It's a weath of smells and odors. Rust. Old grease and oil, decaying boxes. Old booze from bums and a bunch of garbage left over from tweakers and other homeless. The place is condemed, and needs to be demolished. Like the majority of the buildings in this area, it's old and for sale, and has been for years.

Simone has since sat down on an old oil drum. She's looking at the gash on her outter thigh. "Dammit." she mutters to herself and moves to pull off her boot so she can use her sock to wrap about her leg to stop it from bleeding. Good thing she was wearing tall socks today. "I'll find some place. " she says, her voice tense. Guarded. "So who are you anyway?"

Logan nods, his expression blank, he's angry, but that's far from new, he heads closer bending with every intention of examining the wound, checking to make sure there's no cloth in it, and that it's not bleeding too fast. "You'll need to get this looked at by a doctor... you'll also need to leave this place... if anyone was watching they'd have spotted your approach... stay on the ground." He frowns. "You feel like you'll stay conscious?"

Simone frowns as the question is ignored. Fair enough, she can't really blame him. She doesn't seem thrilled when he tries to make check the wound, but she doesn't overly protest. It will need a few stiches but she'll be okay. It meerly scrapped the side, leaving a small gouge instead of actually sinking through. "I have no intention of saying here long, no worries on that." she says. Then she sighs. "I'm sorry you got caught up in this."

Logan shrugs. "Don't be, I'd have got myself in just as much trouble on my own... probably not as public, but that's not to be helped." He motions to his bike. "I can give you a lift if you're not going to pass out..." He seems to be getting ready to leave himself.

Simone nods a bit. ".. Sure... I guess.. " she says. "My wings caught the majority of that dart.. " she says, looking rather disgruntled by the fact. "Let's just get out of Queens..at the very least." she says as she looks him over. She's still amazed he doesn't need a hospital. He's a rough looking individual. Is this a wise action? Probably not but hey passing up on a riceburner ride?! not going to happen. She reaches behind and pulls out another loose primary feather and grumbling puts it into a pocket.

Logan nods with a frown, people always seems so amazed by his powers... yet here he is with a girl with magic wings. Of course he just nods. "I'll get you out of the search area.... then you can call whoever it is that's going to help you work out where you're staying." Yeah, he doesn't believe that she's not got somewhere planned out in advance, but honestly he doesn't care where she goes... not as long as he thinks she's out of immediate danger, and if asked he'd claim not to care at all, he's all warm and cuddly like that. Climbing on the bike Logan looks at Simone. "You coming?"

Simone nods and stiffly moves after him. "Yea. " she hops onto the bike and holds on to it rather than him if possible, she's got pretty good balance. "..thank you.." she says lowly. Now she's just got to figure out what she's going to do about these people. If it's the same people they killed two of her friends, and it seems they are willing to go to any lengths to get what they want.

FTB.