Worthington Labs Facility, Alcatraz, Monday Night, Earth 10005 (Late Wed Night Fandom Time)
"All right," he said, vastly uninterested in their teenage romantic drama. "Get in there. We got a kid to save."
"Take my hand," Kitty said. "I can get us--"
Still blushing, Karla gave her a grin. "Thanks, but," she said, and passed through the outer wall of the facility, "I got it."
"Is there anything you can't do?" Kitty asked, looking a little skeptical.
Karla just offered her a grin. "You should see my friend Jaenelle," she replied. "The other answer is 'be diplomatic.' Speaking of--" she cocked her head to the side and listened to the noise of Magneto's flunky slamming through walls. He sounded like he was getting closer. "Weren't you supposed to deal with him?" Karla would be nicer but KITTY KILLED HER HORSE! Fake!Bobby belonged to fake!Sookie they were running short on time.
They started running, phasing through the walls at the same time. Dashing down a corridor, Kitty pointed to an open door--the heavy thud thud thud of his footsteps were echoing from directly inside. "You go on!" Kitty hissed. "I've got this!" Taking a running leap, she dove at the gigantic mutant, dragging him almost chest-deep into the ground. She phased back up, and motioned to Karla to hurry.
The mutant in the floor was not best pleased. "Don't you know who I am?" he asked Kitty in disbelief. "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!"
Karla let Kitty lead 'the Juggernaut' on a while goose-chase, her phasing through walls only to have him crash through them a moment later. She has her mission; she'd let Kitty do hers. It would help if she knew the layout of the facility at all. All she had was Warren's brief directions, half-remembered from his own trip to the facility. Unfortunately, the 'south-east corner of the building' was still a lot of building.
The facility smelled of chemicals and artificial materials, no wood or stone to hold the psychic scents well. But the stink of fear and regret still lingered in certain places--and in it, Karla caught the psychic scent of Warren's father. He was with another person, a human female. She didn't know where they were going, but she could track them. The one thing she did know--
He was moving away from the southeast side of the building. Away from Leech.
What to do? She could try to follow the scents before they faded and find Warren's father. Or she could do what she'd come in here to do. Though, the whole point of her being here, in this world, was to find and protect one man. Her beloved's father? Or an innocent boy?
Jono's voice in her ears, so clear she might have almost thought he was standing next to her in the hallway. So, you're the only one in the jet who is immune to both the cure they're throwing around and the source of it. Karla, save that boy.
In the end, the decision was easy. *Warren. Caught scent of your father. Heading towards the east wing of the building with another human female. No time to find him; I'm going after Jimmy.*
And then she was off, leaving the trail that would lead her to Warren Worthington, Jr. behind to fade away.
***
Passing into Jimmy's room was almost a shock. While the walls and floor were the same unrelieved white as the rest of the building, the bed and teevee and bureau provided a slap of vibrant color. It took her a moment to notice the boy cowering behind the bright red nightstand, only the white canvas of his shoes peeking out. She ran over to him, biting her lip as he flinched away from her. "Don't worry, I'm here to help you," she promised, holding out her hand to him. "I'm here to get you away from the bad guys. We've gotta get you out of here."
Kitty phased in at that moment, looking frantic. "He's coming!" she said and raced over to grab Jimmy's hand. "This way!" Kitty turned towards the nearest wall to run through it--and fetched up against it instead. "Oh my god," she said, slamming her hands against the surface. "What's going on?"
"Your powers won't work with me," Jimmy explained, visibly upset.
"He's the source of the cure," Karla added. "Get far enough away from us and you can go through. I'll bring him."
And that was the minute the Juggernaut crashed through the wall of Jimmy's room. "I'm the wrong guy to play hide and seek with," he growled.
"Who's hiding?" Kitty asked. "Dickhead."
"...You are aware your helmet makes you look like a giant cock, right?" Karla checked, shoving Jimmy between her and the wall. "Compensating much?"
With a loud bellow, Juggernaut charged at them. They dodged out of the way, Jimmy practically getting dragged to the ground under the weight of both girls. Juggernaut, still in the throes of his momentum but no longer immune to the effects, slammed into the wall and knocked himself unconscious.
"So like a male," Karla sighed. "All show, no stamina." Kitty was looking at her again. Mother Night, did no one do banter here? "Let's go." She and Lee--Jimmy, he was Jimmy here--stepped back and let Kitty go through the wall, then she pulled him close and passed them both through. A few rooms later and they had reached the outer wall; Kitty flung herself through and into the ground, while Karla made a staircase of air and hurried down it.
"Now what?" she asked, yelling over the sound of flaming cars being hurled all around them. "Where are we taking him?"
"Back to Storm!" Kitty replied. "She'll know what to do!"
The three of them ran, dodging and weaving around the chunks of charred metal and the still bodies of the fallen. Kitty assumed care of Jimmy, helping him over the hard terrain. Worthington Labs might have made sure the boy had plenty to keep himself entertained, but regular exercise didn't appear to have ranked high among their priorities. Karla fell back, blasting debris away from them and fighting off the people who obviously didn't know when to quit.
She didn't notice a spinny disc filled with cure syringes until it was almost too late. "Look out!" she yelled, throwing up a hasty shield over the others. Two darts caught her in the shoulder, another three in her side, one in her hip, and--was that one in her ass?!
"Karla!" Kitty shrieked as Karla sank to her knees. That hurt.
"Keep going!" Karla demanded, reaching up to start pulling the darts from her flesh. "These can't hurt me!" Okay, well, they hurt, but she'd get better. "Get out of here!" There were males in uniforms coming over the embankment now, armed with more cure weapons and pointing at them. "Protect Jimmy!"
Kitty's expression was agonized, but she nodded, grabbing the boy's hand and fleeing. Karla dragged herself up and glared at the approaching males, yanking the last bloody cure dart out of her side and throwing it at their feet. "I'm on your side, assholes."
"Sure," one of them said, raising his gun again. "You and everyone else after they get hit with one of these."
Karla concentrated and a wave of Sapphire light poured out of her and knocked them all down, crumpling their plastic weapons like paper.
"How--how are you doing that?" another gasped. "We shot you!"
"That's a 'cure' for mutants," Karla said coldly. "Wrong species, bitch."
And then with another blast of power to keep them out for a few hours, Karla limped off, just as, in the distance, a red-haired woman floated up into the air and began to glow.
[NFI, NFB, OOC IS LOVE. Follows this and happening concurrently with this. Events and dialogue largely stolen from X-3, which I've now had to watch multiple times in a day. THAT IS LOVE, YO. And many apologies to throughaphase for any character assassination. I swear, BLAME THE MOVIE.]
"Take my hand," Kitty said. "I can get us--"
Still blushing, Karla gave her a grin. "Thanks, but," she said, and passed through the outer wall of the facility, "I got it."
"Is there anything you can't do?" Kitty asked, looking a little skeptical.
Karla just offered her a grin. "You should see my friend Jaenelle," she replied. "The other answer is 'be diplomatic.' Speaking of--" she cocked her head to the side and listened to the noise of Magneto's flunky slamming through walls. He sounded like he was getting closer. "Weren't you supposed to deal with him?" Karla would be nicer but KITTY KILLED HER HORSE! Fake!Bobby belonged to fake!Sookie they were running short on time.
They started running, phasing through the walls at the same time. Dashing down a corridor, Kitty pointed to an open door--the heavy thud thud thud of his footsteps were echoing from directly inside. "You go on!" Kitty hissed. "I've got this!" Taking a running leap, she dove at the gigantic mutant, dragging him almost chest-deep into the ground. She phased back up, and motioned to Karla to hurry.
The mutant in the floor was not best pleased. "Don't you know who I am?" he asked Kitty in disbelief. "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!"
Karla let Kitty lead 'the Juggernaut' on a while goose-chase, her phasing through walls only to have him crash through them a moment later. She has her mission; she'd let Kitty do hers. It would help if she knew the layout of the facility at all. All she had was Warren's brief directions, half-remembered from his own trip to the facility. Unfortunately, the 'south-east corner of the building' was still a lot of building.
The facility smelled of chemicals and artificial materials, no wood or stone to hold the psychic scents well. But the stink of fear and regret still lingered in certain places--and in it, Karla caught the psychic scent of Warren's father. He was with another person, a human female. She didn't know where they were going, but she could track them. The one thing she did know--
He was moving away from the southeast side of the building. Away from Leech.
What to do? She could try to follow the scents before they faded and find Warren's father. Or she could do what she'd come in here to do. Though, the whole point of her being here, in this world, was to find and protect one man. Her beloved's father? Or an innocent boy?
Jono's voice in her ears, so clear she might have almost thought he was standing next to her in the hallway. So, you're the only one in the jet who is immune to both the cure they're throwing around and the source of it. Karla, save that boy.
In the end, the decision was easy. *Warren. Caught scent of your father. Heading towards the east wing of the building with another human female. No time to find him; I'm going after Jimmy.*
And then she was off, leaving the trail that would lead her to Warren Worthington, Jr. behind to fade away.
***
Passing into Jimmy's room was almost a shock. While the walls and floor were the same unrelieved white as the rest of the building, the bed and teevee and bureau provided a slap of vibrant color. It took her a moment to notice the boy cowering behind the bright red nightstand, only the white canvas of his shoes peeking out. She ran over to him, biting her lip as he flinched away from her. "Don't worry, I'm here to help you," she promised, holding out her hand to him. "I'm here to get you away from the bad guys. We've gotta get you out of here."
Kitty phased in at that moment, looking frantic. "He's coming!" she said and raced over to grab Jimmy's hand. "This way!" Kitty turned towards the nearest wall to run through it--and fetched up against it instead. "Oh my god," she said, slamming her hands against the surface. "What's going on?"
"Your powers won't work with me," Jimmy explained, visibly upset.
"He's the source of the cure," Karla added. "Get far enough away from us and you can go through. I'll bring him."
And that was the minute the Juggernaut crashed through the wall of Jimmy's room. "I'm the wrong guy to play hide and seek with," he growled.
"Who's hiding?" Kitty asked. "Dickhead."
"...You are aware your helmet makes you look like a giant cock, right?" Karla checked, shoving Jimmy between her and the wall. "Compensating much?"
With a loud bellow, Juggernaut charged at them. They dodged out of the way, Jimmy practically getting dragged to the ground under the weight of both girls. Juggernaut, still in the throes of his momentum but no longer immune to the effects, slammed into the wall and knocked himself unconscious.
"So like a male," Karla sighed. "All show, no stamina." Kitty was looking at her again. Mother Night, did no one do banter here? "Let's go." She and Lee--Jimmy, he was Jimmy here--stepped back and let Kitty go through the wall, then she pulled him close and passed them both through. A few rooms later and they had reached the outer wall; Kitty flung herself through and into the ground, while Karla made a staircase of air and hurried down it.
"Now what?" she asked, yelling over the sound of flaming cars being hurled all around them. "Where are we taking him?"
"Back to Storm!" Kitty replied. "She'll know what to do!"
The three of them ran, dodging and weaving around the chunks of charred metal and the still bodies of the fallen. Kitty assumed care of Jimmy, helping him over the hard terrain. Worthington Labs might have made sure the boy had plenty to keep himself entertained, but regular exercise didn't appear to have ranked high among their priorities. Karla fell back, blasting debris away from them and fighting off the people who obviously didn't know when to quit.
She didn't notice a spinny disc filled with cure syringes until it was almost too late. "Look out!" she yelled, throwing up a hasty shield over the others. Two darts caught her in the shoulder, another three in her side, one in her hip, and--was that one in her ass?!
"Karla!" Kitty shrieked as Karla sank to her knees. That hurt.
"Keep going!" Karla demanded, reaching up to start pulling the darts from her flesh. "These can't hurt me!" Okay, well, they hurt, but she'd get better. "Get out of here!" There were males in uniforms coming over the embankment now, armed with more cure weapons and pointing at them. "Protect Jimmy!"
Kitty's expression was agonized, but she nodded, grabbing the boy's hand and fleeing. Karla dragged herself up and glared at the approaching males, yanking the last bloody cure dart out of her side and throwing it at their feet. "I'm on your side, assholes."
"Sure," one of them said, raising his gun again. "You and everyone else after they get hit with one of these."
Karla concentrated and a wave of Sapphire light poured out of her and knocked them all down, crumpling their plastic weapons like paper.
"How--how are you doing that?" another gasped. "We shot you!"
"That's a 'cure' for mutants," Karla said coldly. "Wrong species, bitch."
And then with another blast of power to keep them out for a few hours, Karla limped off, just as, in the distance, a red-haired woman floated up into the air and began to glow.
[NFI, NFB, OOC IS LOVE. Follows this and happening concurrently with this. Events and dialogue largely stolen from X-3, which I've now had to watch multiple times in a day. THAT IS LOVE, YO. And many apologies to throughaphase for any character assassination. I swear, BLAME THE MOVIE.]