6. Rescued?

Posted on Sun May 28th, 2023 @ 10:02pm by Duke Drake & Kai & Kranny Shtorm & Rebecca McMillen & Sakura Tanikawa & Caitlin Thompson PhD & Zaid Corday & Kunikpaa

3,050 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: 1. Year One
Location: Outside City Hall

The Doc parked the van in an alley near Joe's Tailor Shop the crowd wouldn't let him park any closer. From their vantage point they could barely see the city hall as it was several blocks away. He took off his over coat and revealed his super suit before putting on his mask. He handed out radio comms units to the rest of the team.

"I'm going to teleport to the top of the building there on the right and try to establish comms with Rebecca and Shtorm. I really hope they brought their earpieces with them." BAMF the sound was made as the Doc disappeared and reappeared on top of a 4 story building overlooking the riot in front of city hall. He could see Shtorm throwing people back and trying to protect the students crowded behind him.

"Rebecca, Shtorm, Can either one of you read me? Over" he said while watching the unrest below.

Shtorm could not hear this call for it rang out in an earpiece on the ground as it was trampled by the crowds. It must have fallen out when he was hit. All he could hear was the rioters and the calls for help from his students. Shtorm went on trying hard to not seriously hurt anyone but as more came around it got harder, more reflexive than anything else.

Then in a flash Shtorm was back in the Soviet Union, a small town being pushed in by tanks and countless German soldiers. Shtorm saw his brothers in arms, women and children of the town dead and dying in the streets. Almost like something snapped, the beast came out but not the bear, something deeper, something primal, something he didn't even know he had. Next thing he knows is, opening is eyes to fire, destruction, and death.

Then we come back to Shtorm amongst this crowd, as they close in getting more and more hits it, cutting deeper gashes. Suddenly Shtorm roars to the sky, this stuns the rioters around him for a second but that's all he needed. He brings his head down no longer his friendly face but one that has seen more death than all of these rioters have combined, and a face many in the old days would have seen as their last.

Shtorm rushes the crowd with furious slashes and punches. As his fists connects to the face of the rioter you can hear the crunch of the cartilage in their nose. He grips another by the head and slams then into the ground face first. He looks up gritting his teeth at the next rioter with an almost feral grin.

Meanwhile, herding the children to the relative safety of the steps of City Hall, Rebecca put a hand to her ear, and her earpiece. God she felt like the Secret Service right now. "Doc? DOC?! It's Rebecca! I'm at City Hall with the kids!" she paused. "Now, I know you said you wanted a mutant in City Hall but this is NOT WHAT I MEANT WHEN I AGREED!"

"This isn't what I meant either, I'm on the rooftop of the building on your left, I'm going to teleport the kids out and bring you guys some reinforcements, over." Doc explained to Rebecca.

--
Caitlin had been watching from a distance. She had heard about the speech when she had gotten into town and figured that going to it would not hurt too much. Two weeks had passed already, since her parents had gotten the first of the letters from her new job. An hour or two would not matter. After all, she had heard the man was mostly pro mutant and knowing about the local politicians could be beneficial. She had kept her helmet on, after all with her hearing, she had not problem hearing wither way. Pluss in the fake ears, there were hundreds of tiny holes, to help keep her ears cool when she rode.

She had jumped a little when all the bus horns and started going off. And her anger started Rising as the morons chanting slogans were marching towards the others. But it all reached a boil as they started attacking groups of kids. Her eyes had swept the groups and she saw one, with a particularly large man, defending children. Her eyes were good enough to realize that the crest on their shirt was the very same on the letters that she had received.

She was a scientist. She wasn't one for making rash decisions. She would look over ideas and go from there. At least that's what she always thought. But it seemed the big man was fighting a hydra, the more he knocked down the more came running at him. And this was one of those times where she made a snap decision. Her helmet was still on her head. She had not wanted to give away her cat ears to anyone. So instead it had the little cat ears and the fake Cattail at the back end. She swung a leg over her bike, putting a foot on the starter Peg and she thrust down. Her bike was different, instead of a twisting handle hers had a little button. She pushed it a couple times revving the loud motor and then her eyes swept across the sidewalk. One hand drifted to the cd player she had attached for music to drive through. She pressed play and the William Tell overture finale began to play. She cranked it up with a feral smile on her lips.

She put the motorcycle in the first and began moving towards the Plaza. As she got to the 1st corner she shifted her weight, and began to use her magic to force it to spin around the corner when she used her. Magic once more to ride the bike by making forcefields on either side. After adjusting the bike she had to avoid people in the road. To anyone who could not sense magic, it just looked like she was skilled in the use of the machine and rode like a stunt person.

She turned the second corner sharp and hopped up onto the sidewalk. She looked for the fastest way to the school kids. Her tail was straining at the harness that kept it against her back. but she was sure she would have to release the tail soon
--

Sakura pushed her way through the crowds, trying to find any indication of where the kids had gone. She tried to blend in, with a long coat over her costume, but her hair had the side effect of making anyone notice her. Still, she hoped it might be a recognizable beacon for the students.

She heard it first. Music getting louder. A motorcycle…being held up by energy? Hopefully someone else to help and not hinder, she thought.

Riding across the plaza was hard, with avoiding protesters and innocent people. The bike kept fishtailing as Caitlin avoided people. She could see the big man getting closer and closer. With a touch of her thumb, the music got louder.

She swung the back end out, while leaping off of the motorcycle. The shiny vehicle hit the ground and slid a few feet. As she dropped down, some of the haters turned towards her. Her left hand darted into the pouch she wore it her waist. She pulled out a few small objects and flung them at a larger portion of the group, and then screamed out "command activate." At each of the little round things, no bigger than a marble landed near the rioters and each was hit with a small amount of force, knocking them backwards.

This seems like an appropriate time, Sakura thought. She dropped her coat, revealing herself in her hibiscus pink and silver uniformed glory. She was no longer Sakura Tanikawa. In this moment, she was Tekku. She came up sideways to the newcomer. She decided to take a risk, seeing that she seemed to be fighting rioters. “We have students here,” she yelled over the noise. “Kids. I’m trying to get them out.”

"I'll help. What's your plan?" Caitlin replied

Sakura smiled. She saw something that would help. One of the speakers from the Mayor’s speech. It had been knocked down and disconnected from power. It might’ve even been broken. But that didn’t mean it was useless. Not to Tekku. “Help me lift this!” she called to the newcomer.

Caitlin reached down. She was stronger than most humans. And she had the smarts to do it with little effort.

Once it was upright, Sakura touched the side of the speaker. It took just a moment, but a bit of light psychic tweaking and the device was fully useable. But what to use it for? Perhaps a signal that the students would recognize. Maybe even if just one student knew the signal for what it was, and who it was from…

Her eyes began to glow a faint pinky-purple as the speakers began to broadcast “Step by Step” by New Kids On The Block.

Kai was crouched with the students near the marble staircase leading into City Hall. Shtorm was holding his own against the rioters so far but he wondered how long he could be a one man wall holding back the hordes. Kai continued to try to trip up people to slow them down as they came at his teacher. He hoped for help to arrive soon, before he finished the thought for the hundredth time the sounds of a New Kids on the Block song blasted above the roar of the crowd. "Help is here" he said to the group around him. He risked revealing their presence but decided a signal was needed. He reached upward, and formed a steady upright stream of water, that appeared like a large fountain. He hoped Miss T, would see it and be able to find them.

“There!” Sakura said. “That’s them!” She started working through the crowd, hoping their new ally would follow.

But right away it was obvious this would be impossible. The crowd was too thick, and too rough. Knowing where they were wasn’t helpful if they couldn’t reach them. She touched her hand to her ear piece. “Doc, this is Tekku. The waterspout, that’s them, but I can’t get there.”

Caitlin hear the call. She looked and saw the waterspout. She could get there, but she was unsure if the Asian lady to her side could holed her own in a fight.

Doc opened the comm channel to the whole team before speaking, "I have eyes on our group they're pinned down by the steps of city hall. I'm going to begin teleporting the kids out, and I can teleport some of you guys in to help Shtorm. Once the kids are out of the immediate danger we will attempt to get the hell out of Dodge. Now then who is heading in to help out Shtorm?" The doctor asked seriously.

The cat eared lady pressed a button on a spiked armlet. There was a moment inside Caitlin's helmet. A crackling at first, then her programed earpiece did what she had made it for. She was unsure if their coms would have been secure. Afterall this looked like a formal team. A moment later she could hear the Asian lady in her ear and from in front of her.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Sakura answered, “if you can get me in there.”

Doc teleported to Tekku, and laid his hand on her shoulder, he saw the woman in the motorcycle helmet with the cat ears and said "yall need a lift?" Before setting his hand on Caitlin's shoulder also. With the sound of a soft Bamf, their nearby surroundings disappeared and the three of them were instantly behind Shtorm.

Caitlin's first thought was that she felt sick, then it was followed with the thought that they had just abandoned her motorcycle. Her very expensive and customized motorcycle. A vehicle with many things she would not want to see in the wrong hands.

Without a moment's hesitation Doc laid his hands on the two closest students and teleported them to the roof where he had sized up the scene. "Stay here kids," he said as he glanced down at Shtorm before teleporting again.

From the roof tops it is easy to see Shtorm's frenzy unfold. The man who always wore a friendly smile now had a slit manic expression, almost as if he was not fully there.

He continued to swing with ferocity at anything near by. From behind a rioter hit him over the head with a tire iron leaving another cut that bleed over Shtorm's skin slowly turning his white shirt red. He turned his head over to the one who just hit him with a smile and a small almost creepy laugh. "A brave one" as he turns to the man the rioter fell to the floor trying to scoot back on his butt. "What..what are you!!" the man said filled with fear. "Shtorm grabbed the man by his shirt and hoisted him up to face level. "монстр" As Shtorm brought his fist Straight down on to the mans face breaking his nose. He then punches him in the stomach, the rioter vomits up a bit and coughs for air.

Shtorm looks as he was about to hit him again when another man tries to throw a rope around his throat. Shtorm drops the now unconscious rioter and grabs the rope pulling it and dragging the guy to him. Shtorm grabs the rioter's arm with both his hands.

I am not equipped to handle this, Sakura thought as the Doc teleported her close by. But she’d do her best. She quickly surveyed the area. More speakers. Big lights. All for the speech. A touch to a wire on the ground, and suddenly the stage lights began to glow exponentially brighter. A few of the people closest to Shtorm covered their faces and staggered backward.

“You’re not alone, Senshi,” she called out to Shtorm. She picked up a discarded baseball bat and held it in front of her. Time to see if those kendo lessons were worth it.

With the people covering their eyes, Caitlin put her hand in the pouch and she flung out another handful of of marble looking things. The orbs hit the ground and she called out again. "Command, Activate!" This time the orbs let out bits of force, stronger than before. People were tossed to the ground.

Doc kept bouncing back and forth between the teachers and the rooftop and the group of students as he continued to move people around almost like pieces on a chess board.

Rebecca was terrified out of her mind BUT, she had to be there to defend the kids. To be brave for the kids. As the doc poofed in and bamfed out, each time she had the next kid ready to be evac'ed. She reassured the others as she readied each for transport, warning them that it'll be a little weird but in the end it'll be alright. Each time the Doc showed up, the next kid was ready, but the one that never left was Rebecca. Even when the last child was safely moved out. Even when the Doc knew his limit was up.

"It's a crowd, doc. I can work with a crowd." she remarked, and to the casual onlooker, she just all but vanished into the crowd once line of sight was broken.

Caitlin was unsure how long the girl with the bat could last. The big man was raging. Her pawlike hand reached to her waist and with the twist of her fingers, her tail sprang free. She began moving into the crowd of rioters, trading kicks and punches. She was sure someone, somewhere was filming this, so she didn't want to use too much magic.

Three more came at the big man from behind. She dropped her head and rushed into them, smashing her helmet into a man's gut. She hit with enough force to knock the wind out of him.

After the last of the students were transported safely to the nearby rooftop he stopped to catch his breath with Shtorm and the other teachers in front of city hall. "I've got the kids to the rooftop, I don't know how many more teleports I've got left in me," he said tiredly. "I need to definitely do it more often. We need to figure out our next move."

She looked around. the pirated coms were in her ears. She wanted to get her motorcycle and run for it, but she didn't want to run away and leave others in danger.

Shtorm doesn't notice Caitlin or Sakura arriving, for he was in his own world as his eyes seemed to blaze with fury. He cracks the mans arms with a hard snap as he yells in pain. Shtorm unfeeling to it lifts the man up by that arm and throws him across the field into other rioters. He simply rushes into the next target to remove them from the playing field.

With trained precision and unsympathetic focus, he tore through each rioter Infront of him leaving a wake of injuries and fear. It seemed the more they threatened him and waved objects violently at Shtorm the more ferocious his attacks became like a primal feral response to a threat.


"The students are safe on the roof, I can start teleporting you guys out of here so we can get out of Dodge. Rebecca, let's get you up there first to keep an eye on the kids," Doc said into the comms unit as he caught his breath behind the gathered team.

"I'm on one of the campaign signs. If you show up next to the big lion statues by the stairs I can.... oh no. Oh no Doc, Doc the mayor's getting dragged away into the crowd. I ... I don't think I can do anything to help him. You gotta do something!" the diminutive art teacher all but squeaked into her comm.

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