Tower of Eternity - IC

[fieldbox="Leah McCloyd, #2AE, solid"]
fright
#2AE Date: 3 days after the EMP
Time: evening
Location: Philadelphia, PA—Sarah's apartment
Interactions: Sarah (@Applo)
Mentions: Sean (Greenie), Stanley (Starlighter)
Leah CS

Leah couldn't help a nervous little giggle at Sarah's sarcastic comment, even if the levity wasn't entirely appropriate for the situation. At the other woman's declaration, she nodded, but apprehensively. "Alright, be careful."

The hand not currently gripping the steering wheel tightened reflexively over the holster at her hip as she watched Sarah creep into the building. If she heard a scream, she would be in there in half an instant. She found herself releasing a half-breath of relief when the woman reappeared. She was the first to respond to her invitation, parallel parking Layen's Jeep at the curb with probably a bit less care than she would have normally used and securing the vehicle as best she could before hurrying across the street to the apartment. Casting a momentary glance to the other two to determine their status, she slipped through the gap in the ominously ajar doors, her hand hovering near her hidden firearm. A quick, observant sweep of the foyer only strengthened her unease as the aforementioned doorman proved inexplicably absent and the area seemed dimmer than it should have been. Besides that, the entire interior had a strange aura about it that made her skin crawl.

She turned her attention to Sarah, eyes offering a silent question of what she was planning.[/fieldbox]
 
@the jolly wanderers
Stanley followed after the rest of the group at a slight distance as they exited the apartment and returned to the now eerily quiet streets. The storm had passed, leaving destruction in its wake and a silence that felt like holding your breath. Head down and hands buried in the pockets of his hoodie, he hurried to catch up as they reached Sean’s car. He shot Sean a pitying glance.

“Sorry ‘bout your car, man…” he murmured under his breath. Unsure what else to say and leery of being the one to shatter the fragile stillness surrounding them, he kept quiet while they sorted the GPS and picked up the other vehicle. After brushing aside some broken glass and indistinguishable debris, he settled into the front seat and buckled up.

During the drive he stared out the window at nothing in particular, trying not to let the silence feel awkward. As they pulled up to the building and came to a stop Sean spoke for the first time since they’d gotten in the car. He shrugged in response, expression sour.

“I don’t like it either,” he answered quietly, tracking Sarah as she snuck up to their car. He gave a slight nod as affirmation of her suggestion, and threw a quick glance over his shoulder at the jeep for the sake of reassurance.

While they waited, his foot began to tap nervously. When she poked her head out the door and gestured for them to join her, he exhaled a long sigh of relief. So far, so good. “Well, I guess that’s our cue,” he whispered softly. Glancing around, yet not entirely sure what he was looking for, Stanley stepped out of the car and strode quickly to join Sarah and Leah in the entryway.

Turning to Sarah he leaned in to whisper, “Don’t suppose you have any neighbors who are super into chanting at all hours of the day and night, eh?”
 
000b2ffe39e9cc5bfb5ff554d6f3baed.png

“I definitely didn’t this morning. The residents association is pretty against that kind of thing if the number of snotty notes they’ve pushed under my door is any indication.” Sarah gave Stanley a quick little wink as behind her the elevator bell pinged and with a smooth purr the door slid open.

“Ok here’s my plan… once were in my flat, you lot start piling anything soft or comfortable looking in the center of the living room; basically go for anything that’ll make staying in that rejected prison cell of flat a bit nicer. I’ll grab some Ikea bags for us to dump everything in.” Sarah perched herself on the corner of the handrail that ran round the escalator. “While you’re doing that I’m going to collect some toiletries and other essentials so that we don’t all smell like death by tomorrow night. If we’ve got the space, I guess we might as well grab anything from my cupboards that will travel. I’m not sure the takeaway will arrive anytime soon and I’d rather not hang around to wait for it. That chanting is creeping me the fuck out.”

“So, how does that sound to you?”

 
fright
Layen Carsen
Interactions: Chani (@Greenie), Satele (@SkittlesAndSpike), Max (@Eru)
Layen nodded to Sean as he caught and pocketed the keys. "We'll do our best." He moved again to sit down, settling himself into a semi-comfortable position against the wall as the others headed out. Before they were quite gone, Hazel spoke to them, saying she was leaving for her hotel, and Layen watched her quietly for a moment before speaking.

"I still want answers, Hazel." He let that linger in the air a moment before sighing and nodding to her as she started out the window. "You take care too." He watched her go, noting the casual use of her powers to leave, before sighing and settling back again, looking around at the others who had stayed behind, head resting against the wall.

Chani and Satele...and Max, of course. Chani appeared to be drifting off into a doze, and for a moment, he was tempted to do the same. There were more important things at the moment, however. Namely, making sure his phone worked, and getting a bit more of a handle on these powers of his. Hazel had had a point when she suggested practicing their powers, seeing as they were their main method of defense against whatever Belial had for them.

Phone first. He unzipped his backpack and dug around in it for a moment before pulling the phone out and powering it on. A quick check showed that it did, indeed, have service again, and he added the numbers and names he'd been given to his contacts list before shoving the phone into his pocket.

Next, out came a pen. He set it on the floor, closed his bag, and turned his attention to his shadow. It took a bit of concentration, but it responded to his thoughts, and he watched as it slid out partially from behind his back. He moved his arm down toward the pen, and the shadowy arm moved with it. He stopped his own hand just short of the pen, but his shadow kept on, bumping lightly into the pen and nudging it forward. He slowly pulled his own hand away, letting the shadowy arm nudge the pen again, before focusing on sliding it underneath the--

A knock and an unfamiliar voice disrupted his concentration. He shot to his feet, shadow retreating behind him, one hand coming down to rest on his pack as he took a quick step back and watched the door warily. Normally, he wouldn't have been this tense, but getting shot, suddenly gaining supernatural powers, and hearing similarly supernatural roars from a mysterious tower did wonders on the nerves.

A soft voice spoke on his right, and he glanced over to see Chani on the couch, roused from her nap, asking who it could be. "I don't know," he whispered, taking another slow step away from the door. "Not particularly inclined to open it, though." He glanced at Satele, about to ask for the girl's input, but then Chani called for Max, and he turned to look at Max instead. Chani had the right idea--this was Max's apartment, after all, and not only that, but Max seemed to have a sort of air of experience around him. If anybody knew how to handle this situation, it would be him.
 
Max watched as everyone discussed what to do next, a bit impatiently, he noticed of himself. He grunted and pattered into the kitchen, scrounging around inside the cabinets to take stock of what was left. He could hear the front door open and close as those who had chosen to venture out made their exit. Max sighed, and let his forehead drop onto the wooden frame of the cabinets he was looking through. This amount of responsibility was unprecedented.
"Their blood is not on your hands, Max." The woman slapped him in the face, and he could only stare slack-jawed at the wall. "Stop beating yourself up over it. Get yourself together, and get back on the case." She stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

After a few moments, Max looked at his hands. He saw their blood. He blinked, and the blood was gone. He blinked again. He saw their bodies, lying in the mud at night. Both of them, shot through the head. He was kneeling in the mud, holding Pollock's body - Throckmorton had gone down first, and too quickly to react. There were still voices, sirens, searchlights in the air around. This was a nightmare.
"Their blood ain't on my hands." Shuddering, Max felt a surge of electricity, and he looked up, returning to real life. The wooden cabinet was scorched now, and it smelled of acrid smoke. He slowly lifted his hands from the frame and stared at them for a second, then stuffed them into his pockets quickly.

He stalked into the living room once again, surveying the others who were now sinking down with various levels of exhaustion. Before he could bark at them, the knock came sharply at the door, and he felt himself tensing now. At Chani's question, he instictually raised his hand, palm open toward the door, but didn't look over to her. "I... I don't know," he said gruffly, examining his own hand for a moment, before reaching down to his hip and withdrawing a revolver. Now he looked at the others.

"Get to the kitchen. Now," Max stated in a quiet yet forceful tone, as he took two quick steps to stand at the edge of the front door, weapon pointed at it. Without waiting for the others, he called out, "State your business!"
 

The Expeditionary Force
(Sean, Leah, Sarah and Stanley)

As they ascended the elevator, the chanting became more distinct. "Ki-ings, Ki-ings, Ki-ings, Ki-ings, Ki-ings!" They ascended smoothly, before the elevator came to a sudden stop two floors below Sarah's flat. With a sight ding, the doors slid open, to reveal a scene of pure unadulterated chaos.

People lay across the floor, in various states of sobriety and decency - a haphazard scattering of humanity sprawling as an obstacle course for those who still pranced around chanting. In the lobby, a barrel had been brought up, stuffed with broken furniture and ignited, giving the whole area a smoky haze. What doors they could see from her appeared to be broken open, and graffiti daubed the walls, floor, and people equally. One feature unified the group. Without exception - even on those who were totally naked - all wore a party crown of the sort one might find in a cracker at Christmas time.

Pressing their way into the elevator now were four more of them - faces covered by scarves or balaclavas. A couple carried baseball bats at their side, while a third swung a clawhammer side to side and the fourth slowly licked a meat cleaver. The clawhammer wielder seemed to be the leader of the group, pressing the button to close the doors while the rest blocked the doorway, leering at the four inside.

"Well, looks like somebody's having a party. Two lads, two ladies...sounds nice" He smirked at the group. "Why not come join us? Share the party. The Kings'll treat you right, after all." His gaze roved over the two women, lingering long enough to make them all feel uncomfortable. "Oh it'll be a night to remember."




The Home Front
(Max, Chani, Satele and Layen)

The voice sounded nervous - excited even. "Oh good! You must be Max. I was hoping you were in.. There was a period of quiet, during which shuffling could be heard from outside the flat. "I do apologise, but I must insist that we have the chance to discuss some matters face to face. I need you to open this door." A sudden thud resounded against the door as it leapt against its frames. "I would prefer to do this without resorting to force, but time is of the essence after all, and we are prepared to use it if needed."
 
Leah McCloyd
3 days after the EMP | evening | Philadelphia, PA—two floors below Sarah's apartment

hostile leader (@RJS)
Sarah (@Applo), Stanley (@Starlighter), Sean (@Greenie)

A subtle tightening of her jaw was the only indication that Leah's teeth were gritted, thinly concealed indignation at the stranger's indecent attention flashing in her cold blue eyes. Frankly she was appalled by the vulgar scene, but she refused to let her disgust show. Such weakness in the presence of dangerous men could be fatal.

She scoffed at his leering invitation, mouth curling in a thin, mirthless smile. "The kings? Of what, depravity? I think we'll pass. So if you'll let us be on our way, that would be lovely." Her voice matched her eyes in icy hardness, deadly calm as she slightly shifted forward as though to place herself between the strangers and her companions, the hand not resting on her hip ghosting over the hidden holster at her other in a deliberately threatening gesture. Admittedly she had never shot a man before and had no interest in a first time, but he didn't know that and she wasn't about to let him find out.
 
5b80eef8c598294d38fcc2a7323ab85d.png

A collaboration with @Astroblaze @Starlighter @Greenie and @RJS


Sean didn't like elevators, but if there was something he disliked more than a metal box moving him up and down, it was being stuck in it with people he didn't know. Already edgy and tapping his fingers impatiently against the handrail, he was not not at all happy when the elevator stopped at the wrong floor, and even more peeved when he heard what the dude with the claw-hammer had to say.​

His eyes jerked to Leah and he inwardly cussed as she spoke. He could understand the need to show bravery, but they were in an elevator and clearly outnumbered in the way of weapons. How many bullets did she have in her gun anyway, after using them against the creatures earlier in the day?​

"Sorry man," he said, trying to sound friendlier. "We've got someplace else to go, so if you don't mind..."

“Yeah,” Sarah chimed in. “As much fun as all this” she waved a hand vaguely at the carnage in the lobby “looks, we’ve got things to do and people to see.”

“Woah woah woah we got a fiesty one here!” the leader crowed, leaning closer to Leah. “Ask a polite question and she goes for a piece! I like that in a gal. Do me a favour though - don’t even think of drawing that one. You might get one of us, but the rest of us will beat the shit outta you before you get anyone else...it would be a shame if anyone were to get hurt.” He turned his gaze to Sarah. “Where do you gotta be? The world’s going to shit - nobody’ll give a fuck if you don’t go to work tomorrow! What do you gotta lose?”

Stanley’s hand curled into a tight fist at his side, but he forced himself not to say anything. Best leave the talking to Sarah and Sean - they seemed to have things well in hand as far as keeping everything calm.​

Leah recoiled at the man’s invasion of her space, resisting the urge to openly snarl at him. "Hardly polite when you're 'inviting' us to an orgy with the implication that you won't accept 'no' for an answer," she growled. "Otherwise you'd be letting us on our merry way right about now. Get the hell out of my face or you won't like what happens next."

Honestly she was a little worried about the others ganging up on her before she could reload, assuming she could even get up the nerve to shoot him in the first place, but she wasn't alone: any fight would be four on four if her companions backed her up. While she was the only armed one of them, they all had powers that the strangers didn't know about. Well, to be fair neither did they, but still.​

“Look mate,” As delicately as she could, Sarah slid herself between the apparent leader of the so called Kings and the diplomat of the year. “We’re just here to pick up a few things for a friend. They got pretty banged up a couple of days back and want to get out of town. Normally I’m always down for a party, but in times like these you gotta support your mates you know. You go back to your thing and we’ll be out of your hair before you can finish a six pack, hell I’m sure my mates got some booze in their place. I’ll drop it off with you on our way out.” It wasn’t a prize winning speech Sarah knew, but hopefully it would lower the temperature a little before someone did something stupid. Hopefully. Still behind her back Sarah’s right hand closed into a fist.​

 
Last edited:
87fb04c17eaa9bc4352a423eaa9959da.png


Featuring @Greenie , @SkittlesAndSpike , @Eru , @Joan & @RJS


Chani didn't waste time in listening to Max's instructions, heading into the kitchen as quickly as she could, though she didn't quite move to the back; she wanted to hear what was going on. Whoever it was sounded peaceful enough- the sudden thud against the door made her unsure.​

"We?" she muttered. "There's more than one?" Unsure whether they were alright people or not, she looked around the kitchen for anything that could be used as a potential weapon.​

Satele obeyed Max and made her way into the kitchen, crouching behind a counter. "They called him by name..." She muttered. For a moment she wondered if they'd gotten mixed up in something a little less crazy than the supernatural business they were in currently, but still crazy nonetheless. Perhaps Max was mixed up in something nuts as well.​

But she tossed that suspicion aside, at least for the moment. They didn't speak as if they directly knew him, maybe just heard of him. The only question was how? Either way, she had to be more focused on the here and now.​

She noticed Chani looking around for something, assuming it to be a weapon, and decided to follow suit. She opened and searched the drawers, eventually finding kitchen knives. "Here." She held a knife out to Chani handle first, her fingers delicately holding the blade.​

Max watched as the others fled further inside, tightening his grip on the weapon. “You’re no voice I never heard before.” He flinched as the door suddenly shook, but it didn’t cave yet. “If you had any head on your shoulders, you’d not be aiming to break your way in.” The safety latch clicked on his weapon. “Who. Are. You.”

Layen abandoned his pack and followed the girls into the kitchen, glancing back briefly over his shoulder to see Max moving toward the door. Once in the kitchen, he immediately went to helping them search for knives, rolling pins, or anything that could be used as a weapon. He looked relieved when Satele found the knife drawer and pulled one out for himself, handling it carefully.​

“Sounds like more than one, yeah,” He said quietly as he tested the weight of the knife in his hand. “They don’t exactly sound friendly, either. I doubt they’d be threatening to break down the door otherwise, no matter how nice their tone is.” He glanced around before ducking behind the end of the counter, out of immediate view of the kitchen door. “Leah’s gun would come in handy right about now,” he muttered, watching the kitchen door and straining his ears to hear what was happening in the room outside.​

“Please, please. Violence is not our intention - ideally we’d like to resolve this peacefully. But we are serious, and hopefully this little demonstration has proved that. Now, are you willing to open the door and allow us in so we can discuss this peacefully? Or should we continue to do this in an uncivilised manner?”

Chani, knife now in her grip, seemed a little more confident. She looked to the others in the kitchen before speaking up softly. “There’s four of us… if they try something, we could be able to stop them. Like this… they might get violent for no reason.”

“Hnh...” Satele was on edge and she realized that was why she was apprehensive to consider Chani’s proposition. She wasn’t sure they’d say anything that anyone here would like to hear, but on the off chance they wouldn’t... “Maybe you’re right...”

“Why the hell don’t folk introduce themselves no more?” Growling as Layen dove behind the opposite wall at last, Max couldn’t quite make out the whispers in the kitchen, but hoped they had gotten themselves ready. Sparks shot to life, uncalled-for, in his free hand. “Step away from the door, outside!” He stood up quickly and reached for the doorknob, trying to quell the sparks. “Opening on the count of three!”

“One.”

Layen looked hesitant at Chani’s suggestion, but then he heard Max preparing to open the door. He sighed faintly and nodded. “Let’s just stay back here unless Max says otherwise, yeah? If things do get violent, we may want the element of surprise.” Of course, they would hopefully already have some element of surprise with their powers, but they had no clue who these people were or what they wanted. Better not to assume anything at this point.​

 


The Expeditionary Force

(Sean, Leah, Sarah and Stanley)

"Well, believe me, I would just love to let you go on your way...but that friend of yours has been incredibly rude about us. It wouldn't be fitting for her to leave without giving us a proper apology. So how about we go with you, and we pick up a few things that we fancy from your place as recompense, huh?" The doors swung open with a faint ding, and with a quick hand motion the other three blocked the exit. "I'm just tryna be as reasonable as I can." He leaned in, putting his face mere inches from Sarah's. On his breath was the reek of alcohol and other, more illicit substances, while he played with the clawhammer in his hand.








The Home Front

(Max, Chani, Satele and Layen)

As the door swung open, the four within were struck with a storm of noise and motion as two heavy-set individuals wearing what appeared to be riot gear rushed in. The two of them carried a fine wire mesh net that they flung over Max, grabbing the ends and seeking to bundle him up, while behind two more scanned the room, tasers in hand. A fifth, thinner individual dressed in a long overcoat and wearing a hat stood behind the quartet. Long grey hair hung lankly to either side of his face as he slowly raised his head to regard Max bound in the net. "Excellent. Subject is neutralised and obtained. Let's not hang around this place any more than needed." He turned to leave, and the four began to make their way back as well, two dragging the net between them.

 
000b2ffe39e9cc5bfb5ff554d6f3baed.png


She had tried Sarah thought. She had really tried fostering peace with these dickheads, and this was the thanks she got. The thought of any of these arseholes going through her stuff was even more sickening than the smell of stale booze that poured from the leaders mouth. Gods the universe sucked. To make matter worse, she could feel another one of ‘those’ headache coming on. Sarah had no idea what had started that particular train of joy. Ever since she’d somehow woken up in her bed a few days ago, she’d been suffering headaches that felt like nothing else she’d ever experienced. Slowly and deliberately Sarah closed her eyes and started to breathe deeply while thinking of the reasons not to knock this prick's teeth out.

One… I have insurance... Two… There’s not much that’s worth taking that can’t be replaced… Three... They’ll probably just grab the booze… Four… This isn’t the time to be getting into fights… Five… They have weap…

As she inhaled, the smell of the leaders breath traveled right up Sarah’s nose and touched a nerve. Opening her eye’s she saw once more the man’s grotesques leering eyes far too close to her own. Suddenly all the reasons she could think of for traveling the path of peace seemed like bullshit. There was no way these wasters were getting her stuff without a fight.

Sarah spat in the leader’s eye because fighting fair was for when there was a referee. She followed it up by ramming her knee into the man’s crotch before he could react and then, while the momentum was still on her side driving an uppercut into the fucker's jaw.

“Screw you fuckface!!”

 
Last edited:
Leah
Leah McCloyd
3 days after the EMP | evening | Philadelphia, PA—hallway, floor of Sarah's apartment

other three baddies (@RJS)
Sarah (@Applo), leader baddie (@RJS)

So they weren't just lawless and ungodly, they were also entitled and self-absorbed. Leah wasn't generally a hateful person, preferring forgiveness over a grudge, but she had a unique hatred for that kind of people. They could formulate an excuse for just about anything they wanted, which in this case was bald-faced theft, and had the gall to expect everyone involved to comply without question. Leah, however, was done negotiating with such unspeakably vile individuals, as if she hadn't been seeing red when they first showed up. Enough was enough.

Sarah evidently agreed as she lashed out at the apparent leader with a retort as brutal as her blows. In a burst of motion, Leah tackled the nearest crony with an open-palm jab to the jaw and a knee to the gut aiming to put him on the floor before he could retaliate against Sarah, then stepped back into a strong stance, her right hand slipping under the hem of her shirt to close around the grip as in one practiced motion she clicked off the safety and pulled it from her holster to train it on the other two grunts, finger ready on the trigger and eyes like chips of ice warning both that she would grant no mercy.
 
Well that's that, Sean thought to himself, rather wearily as well. He had hoped that perhaps things could have been resolved peacefully, but it was probably too much asking for Sarah to let these douchebags have their way with her flat. An uppercut and a gun to another certainly meant business. The whole situation was rather tedious and irritating now, and was more than getting on his nerves. All he'd wanted was his bloody car- he should have just gone out by himself and brought it to Max's apartment. But noooo, he had opened his stupid mouth, subsequently showed off his Canadian hospitality and agreed for the others to come, and now they were stuck in an elevator with three morons and two seemingly trigger happy women.​
"Effing hell," he snarled. "Eff all this!" Hands clenched tightly into fists, he slammed it into the elevator wall. To his surprise, the was an actual dent in the metal. Nothing substantial, but enough that it was noticeable.​
"See that?!" Sean's eyes jerked away from the wall to glared at the group's assailants. "You pieces of crap are gonna get your heads done in if you don't piss off right now."
Meanwhile at Max's
Chani doubted anyone, including Max, had expected a bunch of men to come in and snatch the owner of this apartment like a stray, angry cat. Even a single peek told her that she, Layen and Satele were more than outmatched here, and if they tried to do anything, they would end up caught as well, or worse, dead.​
She looked to her companions, the worry and fear obvious on her face. "What do we do?" she mouthed, scared to even whisper. Sure they didn't know him or each other well, but they were all part of a group now! Max had given them shelter and food. It didn't bode well with her to simply let him be dragged out like that.​
 

Well that went from zero to a hundred like a bat out of hell.

Any chance of resolving the situation peacefully had just bailed straight out the window, and Stanley felt a small part of his sanity fall away with it. He gritted his teeth, shooting Leah a warning look. For the sake of all their skins, he hoped she didn’t fire that gun. If she made them accomplices to shooting someone, he would murder her himself. For heaven’s sake I hope she realizes pistol whipping people is a thing.

Hoping to hell that the gun would be enough to encourage the party boys to hurry up and fuck off already, he slowly crossed his arms and trained a serene, icy stare on the group of goons as a whole. Outwardly, he hoped that his contrasting passive reaction would make them think all hell was about to break loose if they came at him.

But in reality, his heart was racing and his palms were sweating buckets. If the other three didn’t make this a slam dunk in the first round, he was royally screwed. A bum leg didn’t make for the greatest advantage in a fistfight, and throwing punches had never been his strong suit anyway.

Softly, almost casually, he addressed the rowdy four. “Alright then. If you guys still wanna party, why don’t we start with the fist to the face dance, hm?”
 
For the life of her, Satele couldn't think of anything that they should do. With Max taken they were outnumbered and even if he wasn't, they were out-armed. She couldn't think of a working plan to save Max, not without getting all of them killed.

"...Nothing." That was the only answer she could come up with. It was the only one that might not result in all of them ending up on the floor or possibly even dead. She didn't want to let them take Max, for all she knew they were going to kill him...or maybe not. They referred to him as 'subject' after all, so perhaps they had other plans for him.

"I don't think we should do anything." She repeated, looking to Chani and then Layen, wondering what he would say or do. If he agreed, then that was that. But if not, then whatever action he took, they'd be forced to go along with it.​
 
Having been staggered to the ground by the sudden onrush of the invaders, Max was stunned as the net wrapped over him. It took him a moment to recover his bearings, and he tried to struggle against the pair in riot gear. "Get your mitts off me!" Roaring, Max's electricity sparked to life, leaping immediately from his fingers to, unfortunately, the very wire net that bound him in place.

"Rrrraaaarrgghhh!!"
He screamed in pain, but didn't let up on the electricity coursing forth, even as it singed his clothing and seared his skin. Maybe, just maybe, he could melt the infernal thing off him - if only he could hang on long enough. These miscreants didn't want anything to do with the others inside, but what did they want of him?
 
Layen Carsen
Interactions: Chani (@Greenie), Satele (@SkittlesAndSpike), Hazel (@The_J)

As people burst into the apartment, Layen froze for a few precious moments, eyes wide with shock as he took in the scene in front of them. Men in riot gear, holding tasers and a wire net. Somebody in command, addressing Max as subject. They were turning to leave, dragging Max with them, and there was nothing he could do, no way to stop them.

The others spoke, snapping him out of his shock. Still, he stared out at the men, desperately wishing he had something more powerful than a knife and a bit of shadow. Satele's suggestion that they do nothing caused him to tense up, grip on the knife tightening. Do nothing? When this man had sheltered them, helped them, and was one of the most level-headed and well-trained people here yet?

"No," he whispered, still staring. "No, we can't just do nothing, we can't..." Yet, what could they do, against men in riot gear holding tasers, when all they had were a few kitchen knives and their massively underdeveloped powers? He didn't even know what the other two could do, but if they had something that could help, they would have said by now, he was sure of it.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit!" They were going to get away, they were going to take him who-knew-where, and he and the two girls would have sat back and done absolutely nothing, nothing at all...

He shifted his weight to stand, almost unconsciously, but he stopped himself. What was he going to do? Throw himself at the men in riot gear and get himself captured as well? He wanted to risk it, just to give the others a chance, but he knew that the odds were he'd just get caught as well, and that would leave their group with two people out of commission. He would achieve nothing, except weakening their group further. The risk was too high.

The shifting of his weight brought something else to his attention, however. His phone, resting in his pocket, digging into his side uncomfortably now. He pulled it out using his free hand, and after a brief moment of frantically scanning the contact list, he selected Hazel's name and hit call. He had no idea if she would pick up, or even if she'd come, but she was probably their best shot by far. She was likely the most powerful of the group, considering how long she had lived, and if anybody would know what to do, it was probably her.

As he held the phone to his ear, waiting for her to pick up, he could see electricity springing forth from Max, moving over the net. Max cried out, but for some reason, he didn't stop. Why isn't he stopping? Has he got an idea...? His eyes went to the men holding the net, and something clicked. Metal generally conducts electricity. Maybe he can get them to drop it.

"Maybe that can be our opening," he murmured aloud, looking at the other two. "If he can shock them into dropping him, that's two less, for a moment, at least. Maybe we can use that."

It was a lot of 'maybe', but it was the best chance they had. Hopefully the girls would take that chance. He planned to.