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Post by Aurora on Jul 31, 2006 14:41:09 GMT -5
8:59
Aurora watched the warehouse burn for a few moments before setting off. It was about time.
She was raring to make some mischief. She had immediately gone into the air, planning to make a few rounds around the building. She wanted to start with a few guards stationed at back doors, to take them out before they could help with the commotion that was running rampant in front of the buildings.
The weather was terrible--Rain and hail had started suddenly, and were still pouring from the sky. Despite the white shawl that fell around her arms, to her elbows in the front and all the way to her knees in the back, Aurora was drenched within moments of flight. Her hair was soaked and she was glad to have kept it back from her face with a hairband. She could feel it stuck sleek to the back of her neck.
An unexpected sight diverted her attention from her rounds, and she paused in mid-air for a moment, which would have caused her to suddenly appear in mid-air over the building. There was a man perched at the edge of the roof. A man with wings; long, white wings.
An X-Man that could fly. Suddenly Aurora had something to do. She could easily have attacked him--With her incredible speed, he never would have seen her coming. But there were much more fun ways to engage someone in battle. After thinking a moment, Aurora flew to a window on the side of the building and close to the man's perch. The windowsill was wide, and she landed on it, kneeling. As soon as she sat, she screamed at the top of her lungs. "HEEELP! HEEEELP!!!"
Looking down at the ground stories below her, a twisted smirk graced her lips. Her eyes gleamed with her underhanded intent. But when she looked up again, she looked like a pitiable young woman, terrified of falling to her death. "HELP ME!!!"
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Post by angel on Aug 1, 2006 9:11:27 GMT -5
Looking back, he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was that had caused all hell to break loose. All of a sudden, he'd gone from joking with Bobby to looking down at the streets in horror, amazed at what was going on. He tried to help out, warning people about what was coming, ready to fly down and actually start contributing, but he never got the chance. Frowning, blond hair and white feathers plastered down from the rain and the hail, Warren was readying himself to jump off the rooftop when he heard a scream. A terrified, pleading scream, from a young woman who he spotted straight away in a window in the building they'd been watching. How did she get in there? She didn't exactly look like medical personnel, or like security staff, and they hadn't been taking in patients yet that he'd seen.
Whatever the reason, though, she needed help, and Warren launched himself off the roof cautiously, looking toward her and trying to see the cause of her distress. Though he was normally trusting, they were fighting the Brotherhood on the streets, and there was no reason to think that only the X-Men had someone in the air. Keeping his distance (not that it would help, though he was not to know that), he flapped his wings and hovered at her level.
"What's wrong?"
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Post by Aurora on Aug 1, 2006 9:22:22 GMT -5
Aurora grinned inwardly as she looked up from her huddled position at the edge of the windowsill to see the man before her. But outwardly, she looked to him with pleading eyes. "I don't know! One second I was down there, the next I was up here--Please help me, you have to get me down..."
Aurora babbled hysterically for a few moments before reaching out to him, leaning over the edge of the windowsill. She shifted her weight and jumped for him, and with all that Angel knew about her, she would fall and die if he didn't catch her.
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Post by angel on Aug 1, 2006 9:36:33 GMT -5
"Oh, sh..." Angel bobbed a little as he caught the unexpected weight, taking them down toward the ground slowly. So, obviously there was someone in the Brotherhood who could fly, or something, if she'd been suddenly moved up there. He wondered why she hadn't been harmed as he brought them down toward the road below, away from the plants and the tigers and the rest of the things that the Brotherhood had conjured up.
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Post by Aurora on Aug 1, 2006 9:49:11 GMT -5
Aurora took a few moments to enjoy the close contact with the good-looking and clearly muscular man. But they neared the ground, she turned to her work. She leaned away from him and brought her arm back, then hauled off and brought her fist in contact with his nose as hard as she could from close distance. It might break it, it might not. Luckily, it wasn't the only trick she had up her sleeve.
She put a hand on each of his shoulders then, and shoved them apart. She fell for a split second before she called on the molecules of the air to hold her. She was easy to see as she stood still in the air, but she didn't remain there for long. In the blink of an eye, she was gone, and Angel would have felt hands on his chest shoving him back at lightning-fast speed against the side of the NovaTex building. Aurora would appear again directly in front of him once they came to a stop due to the brick wall sharply stopping Angel's movement. Her fear was gone, replaced by twisted delight in his pain. A wide grin was on her face, and her eyes sparkled mischievously.
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Post by angel on Aug 1, 2006 10:09:52 GMT -5
There was no time to think about what was happening, no time to react. Apparently she was the Brotherhood's, and not only could she fly, she was fast. Too fast.
He felt pain in his nose, though it didn't seem broken, and then he was flying back against the wall, hitting it with a thud. She was standing in front of him, on the air, not flying like he had to. Still, he hadn't been training in the Danger Room for nothing. He might not be as fast as her, but he caught himself as he started to fall, bracing his hands against the wall and kicking out. He managed to land a blow on her chest, probably thanks to the element of surprise, and her used her to push off, flapping his wings and heading up toward the clouds. She was fast, but she would probably be shocked to have felt his hit, and he wondered if she could go as high as he. He doubted that he'd get a chance to see, but he still beat his wings as fast as he could, pushing up with each powerful thrust, up and out through the clouds that were full of Storm's power and into the sunlight.
[glow=red,2,300]"There's someone up here, keep an eye on the sky. She's fast, though. Really fast."[/glow] He didn't say any more, concentrating instead on going up.
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Post by Aurora on Aug 1, 2006 10:30:08 GMT -5
Aurora reeled back from the hit to her chest, quickly disappearing as she swept back and moved back and forth in order to keep out of sight. She knew that her only leg-up on him was the surprise she had by not being seen. She soared around him as he flew upward, avoiding his long wings, and frowned frustratedly as he spoke into a communication device much like the one she had on.
So she moved up above him, and away from him a ways. She then turned and aimed straight for his head as she came back toward him, all at top speed. When she reached him, she brought her foot back and kicked him in the side of the head, herself doing a backflip in mid-air from the movement. Angel would have been able to see her turning head over heels before she 'disappeared' again, and as she circled Angel like a shark, her taunting laughter could be heard moving around him much like surround sound in a movie theatre.
Suddenly, she spoke, and her voice was right at Warren's ear. She had paused behind him, her head over his shoulder. "Are you a God-fearing man?" She asked the question with amusement and mockery in her tone. Surely another second would bring another well-placed hit.
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Post by angel on Aug 1, 2006 10:45:51 GMT -5
The metallic tang of blood filled his mouth as she kicked him in the head, turning head over heels with the movement. He reached out his hand to catch her foot, but too late, and as her voice rang out around him, he pushed up higher still. He could go as high as any bird, as high as the holder of the record for the highest altitude - African Geese, his mind recalled, as though trivia could help him. He couldn't last there long, though, and he wondered if she could.
"Are you a God-fearing man?" There was amusement, mockery in her tone. Warren rolled his eyes and spat an answer back, remembering all of the self loathing he'd ever felt and throwing it at her.
"You're not a god. You're just a freak like me. A twisted off-branch of the human tree. You think that they'll lie down and die if you blow this place up? All they'll do is cage us all. Caged, never to fly again." He was trying to get to her, trying to find something that would make her break. She was a beautiful woman, and if she had anything in common with him, she'd love to fly. There was no sweeter freedom. Did she really think that she was doing the right thing? He couldn't believe the attitude of the Brotherhood. All they were achieving was more hatred, more fear, toward mutants.
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Post by Aurora on Aug 1, 2006 11:05:20 GMT -5
Aurora grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back. This she knew she wouldn't be able to hold once he started struggling--He was much stronger than she was. But he had misunderstood her, and she wanted to make herself clear.
"I am no God, correct. There is one God, and I asked because you may soon find yourself face to face with Him, and I hope that you are at peace with your actions in this life."
Aurora let go of his arm, and the next second, she was in front of him. "And if you let yourself be caged, that is the natural consequence of your weakness," she continued in response to him. She would never let herself be caged. Nothing could caged her, anyway. She would never be caught.
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Post by angel on Aug 1, 2006 11:29:32 GMT -5
She'd twisted his hand behind his back, and that was the opening he needed. She'd forgotten her advantage, had moved in to gloat, and it meant that not only did he know where she was, but they were already touching. Twisting his arm out of her hand quickly, Warren's wrist flicked to bring his hand around to grasp her wrist. He twisted, flapping his wings to keep them aloft now that she wasn't pressed up against them anymore, and his other hand reached for her throat, gripping it with a powerful strength. His body had very little body fat, and he was naturally strong because of his wings, he needed to be, but Warren had always worked out, had always kept himself in peak physical shape. People assumed it was because he was vain, because he cared about his looks, but that wasn't the whole of it. And he'd stepped up his fitness when he'd come to the institute, knowing that the next time the X-Men fought, he'd very likely be with them. He didn't know whether to be happy or sad that he was doing just that.
"I think it's you who should be making their peace." His grip tightened, cutting off her air supply, and he left them drift back down toward the ground. "Now who's weak?" He hadn't let them cage him, had broken free when his father had wanted to cure him. But there was no reason to tell this woman that - she belonged in the hands of the police. Swooping down over the building, Warren saw the colour draining from her beautiful face and realised what he was doing. His intention had never been to kill - though he had no doubt that she would have killed him, once she'd tired of him. Thrusting her away from him, though unable to say if it was because of his disgust at her or himself, Angel saw the woman hit the ground face first and be still. His communicator went off, startling him, and he flew back up and over the building, to see what was happening with the fire at the back. His plan was to help evacuate the civilians, but even the best laid plans went awry, and his could hardly be called one of the best.
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Post by Aurora on Aug 1, 2006 12:47:12 GMT -5
Aurora struggled against his grasp, her hands clawing at his as he tightened his grip on her neck. Her nails dug into his skin, but she couldn't pry his hands off of her. Everything in front of her eyes was fading to white, or black...She didn't know, but she knew it was fading away from her. So this was death.
From some far distant memory, she heard in her mind, of her own thoughts, a familiar saying. Familiar, though she did not remember ever having heard it.
'Holy Mary, Mother of God...'
She struggled to remember it as it drifted just beyond her memory. Suddenly it was urgent, it was important above all else that she say this prayer. By some grace of God, she remembered. Her lips moved, and the last of the air in her lungs formed the words, which were broken and inaudible at times--Warren may have caught a few words, but whether he would realize what she was saying was separate.
"...Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death..."
All the time, her hands continued to grasp at Warren's wrists, though she was now too weak to do anything but hold them loosely. Tears spilled onto her colorless cheeks as she struggled for one last breath. It was impossible to achieve, and with no air, her final word was mouthed.
"Amen."
Just before he let go of her, all went black, and her eyes fell closed. She fell five or so feet, her body hitting the pavement, her nose breaking and blood spilling in a small pool underneath her face. She felt nothing, she saw nothing.
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Post by Aurora on Aug 1, 2006 17:17:14 GMT -5
But at some point in the midst of the chaos in front of NovaTex, Aurora's body disappeared. All that was left was the pool of blood from her nose. There was no sign of her anywhere, but no one was looking--No one but Angel knew that she was there.
Once she got her bearings, Aurora was fuming. How dare he toss her aside, and leave her for dead! She would not be thrown aside like so much refuse, and she intended to make sure that he never make that mistake again.
She caught sight of him quickly, but she did not plan to fight him again. As she took weak, rattling breaths through her damaged throat, she found the nearest live security guard, who was hanging back and shooting at the attackers from afar.
All at once, the man felt his gun knocked from his hand. The next instant, he felt arms around him, lifting him into the air. When he looked down, he glimpsed a woman's arms, clad in long white sleeves, around him.
He began to fight back, and Aurora moved slowly off of the ground as she concentrated on sending him a feeling of calm. Once he stopped struggling, she lifted him within moments to be level with the rooftop, her eyes on the back of the man who had strangled her nearly to death.
As she didn't know his name, she merely waited, poised in mid-air and holding the unknowing security guard. Waited for the winged man to turn and see her.
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Post by angel on Aug 1, 2006 22:27:13 GMT -5
The sight of the falling Sentinels and the sound of their booming warning drew Warren's attention back toward the X-Men, back toward the street as he shouted a warning into his communicator. Too late - they'd already engaged, and he swooped down to help before catching sight of something out of the corner of his eye that made his mouth drop open in horror.
The woman again, the one from the Brotherhood. Holding a policeman several stories above the street, a height that almost no-one - and certainly no-one human - would be able to walk away from. A height that most would emerge from in a body bag.
"No." With a broad smile, as though she was enjoying every moment of it, the woman dropped him. "No!" The Angel swooped down to catch the police officer, but then there was another person dropping, and another, and he couldn't catch them all. Dropping the officer when his feet were only a few feet from the ground, Angel flew as quickly as he could, trying to protect the others, trying to catch them all. But he couldn't - she was too fast, they were too many, and people started to rain down on the battle below, landing with a sickening thud and taking out cars, plants, people... One man hit a sentinel and rolled off without even making a dent. Still another was caught and deposited down by Warren, but he just couldn't help everyone.
Oh, god, why? How could a woman who prayed as she thought she was dying do such things? Did she think that god would forgive her for such atrocities? He caught a little girl, but another woman fell to her death. Why?
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Post by Aurora on Aug 1, 2006 22:33:15 GMT -5
After tossing about ten people, Aurora stopped. She had become winded more quickly than usual, with her throat in pain the way it was. She appeared hovering over NovaTex's roof, then seemed to disappear again. She landed on the roof and stood poised gracefully atop a generator. She walked the length of it, her eyes watching the sky for any sign of the angel-like man as she gave herself time to catch her breath. Her nose had gone numb, which made things easier for her, without the stinging sensation that caused her eyes to water.
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Post by angel on Aug 1, 2006 22:57:39 GMT -5
As suddenly as it had started, the rain of people stopped. Angel had only been able to catch three of them, bad odds for the people below, and he wondered why they hadn't all run already, left and gone home to somewhere - anywhere - safer than the street outside NovaTex. He saw the action going on below but was unable to help, instead darting about trying to find the woman. She needed to be stopped, and he cursed himself for not taking her down when he had the chance. You're not a killer, Warren. But he could have just as easily thrown her down to the police.
Looking back at the NovaTex building, he saw her standing there, looking not quite so gorgeous now that her broken nose had bled all over her face, and her arms were scratched from the panicked people she'd picked up and dropped. He didn't move any closer to her, though it didn't seem to matter how far away he stayed. "You think God is going to forgive you for all those people? Seven people you killed, and it would have been more if not for me." Not for the first time, he thought how much easier things would have been if he was born in the middle ages. Back then, people would have thought him one of God's messengers. Not now, though.
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Post by Aurora on Aug 1, 2006 23:08:36 GMT -5
Aurora looked at him, pulling her drenched hair from where it stuck to her face. The rain had quickly mixed with the blood, and faded red drops spilled onto her red shawl. She smirked humorlessly, placing her hands on her hips.
"Don't preach to me about God," she called across the roof. "There is persecution and hatred going on here that caused their deaths. I don't need you to call me to repentance."
She looked down, blood pounding in her head and seeming to collect at her nose as she took leisurely steps around the edge of the generator. "The cure needs to be destroyed completely--So no one will ever be forced into being cured." She looked back at him with a fierce gaze, daring him silently to claim that no one could be forced into it. She worried every minute that that little Catholic 'holier-than-thou' bitch would taken over her body again and race for the nearest cure depot.
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Post by angel on Aug 1, 2006 23:16:49 GMT -5
"Do you even know who you were dropping? Not all of those people were policeman, and even they are being forced to do their jobs, not necessarily there by choice." He ignored her comment about people being forced to be cured.
"So you think that destroying one building is going to destroy the cure? They made more than can fit in one warehouse, and this will only make them more determined to stop you so that those who want the cure can come and get it." He hovered there in front of her, an expression more akin to pity than anything else on his face.
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Post by Aurora on Aug 1, 2006 23:25:51 GMT -5
Aurora snapped. She was sick of hearing him talk down to her like he had all the answers. He had no idea what she'd been through. A million thoughts ran through her head as she made a face of anger that caused her nose to sear with pain. She disappeared from the generator, and before Angel could react, he was flying backwards through the air at a higher speed than he had ever flown before, and the flight was out of his control.
As they moved, he could hear Aurora's voice directly in front of him. "How can you be so high and mighty, and betray your own race to persecution? You X-Men are the Judas of the Homo Superior race."
He could feel hands on his shoulders, pushing him back, and after a few moments--When they were over the buildings across the street--The hands left him, and Aurora stopped, appearing in midair. She turned and disappeared again, leaving him to recover if he could, or if not, to fall onto the roof ten feet below.
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Post by angel on Aug 1, 2006 23:39:44 GMT -5
For someone who was obviously religious, she didn't seem to have the concept of 'Do unto others...' downpat. He twisted as he fell, shocked again at her speed, and recovered his poise before he hit the roof, flapping his wings and swooping down and over the roof and to the street. Bobby appeared over NovaTex on ... a slide of ice, from the looks of it, and he grinned. Tapping his communicator twice and saying 'Iceman,' Angel spoke.
[glow=red,2,300]("Way to go Iceboy. Not so useless after all, hey sweetheart?")[/glow]
As he hovered ten feet or so above the ground, Angel looked at everything that was going on, trying to keep an eye out for the woman but at the same time wanting to help with the real fight that was going on below. He couldn't even think where to start.
[glow=red,2,300]"Talk to me guys, what can I do to help?"[/glow]
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