Ripping The Doors Off

August 13, 2015:

The SRD continue their incursion in M-Town… an unlikely pair are aided by Wanda …

M-Town - New York

Characters

NPCs: None.

Mentions:

Plot:

Mood Music: None.


Fade In…

The streets are not quiet on the first night of what are now being called the M-Town Riots. Even in the parts of the District not consumed by the fighting resound with the sound of distant gunfire and the occasional echoing boom of improvised explosives or SRD ordinance. The anonymous viral plea for calm from the X-Men and the promise that their protectors would intervene has calmed some of the residents. But not all. The gangs are fighting back and some of the citizens, armed and trained, battle back with frighteningly effective results. It's almost guerilla like.

To be sure the X-Men's presnece is felt but the X-Men aren't the only ones out here. Others have been keeping an eye on M-Town. One of those others is here tonight, walking the rooftops in black tactical gear. He's watching. Watching a dozen feeds and wirelessly uploading footage showing armed citizens and near unthinkable SRD brutality and force. He doesn't have to look far, nearly ever. He hasn't directly intervened yet, but he's monitoring a couple situations that may yet require it. One of them is nearby, judging from the sounds of gunfire.


There's a raven, perched on a rooftop, overlooking a pocket of resistance fighters. Canting it's head two and fro, it seems to be considering something as an explosive blast rocks the group below and it launches into the air, soaring down … and morphs into a woman, with long strawberry blonde hair, jeans and a flowing tunic like top.

By the time the womans feet touch the ground, she's striding towards what remains of the group….


On the other side of the block there's a descent of a different kind. Glowing amber wings. There's more in there, in that group that had just gotten rocked with a breaching charge. One that had been used to blast a hole there were definitely people behind. SRD are sheltering behind an MRAP, weapons ready. "I didn't know lethal force had been authoried in the riot supression."

The SRD looks toward him then toward Astryd. "Metas! Get 'em!"


As Astryd strides, past the group of resistance towards the sheltering SRD, giant grey and black wings unfurl from her back - so large that rise above her head and the ends nearly touch the ground. "Brenna…" the strawberry blonde nearly growls "Is it not enough that torment me, you now have torment these innocents?"

Remove the stranded silver torc from her neck, the piece of jewellery extends to a spear - the SRD now have a Valkyrie bearing down on them… well, one of their number, anyway.


The SRD opens up on Jericho who dives into an alleyway. There are several of them and a lot of guns. The rest… well two of them take aim at Astryd as she approaches. Cameras on several street corners and interesections record the whole thing. This is going up live… slightly blurred. Jericho doesn't want to be just seen though anyone who knows his amber wings…

The gunfire stops as Jericho vanishes. "Mutie! Stay back or we will open fire."


The God-Wolf may not appreciate Astryd's intevention in his hunting ground, but the woman will deal with that later - for now, she's on the hunt. "Give the woman to me and you shall live." Raising her chin, she moves smoothly and briskly to the two with guns aimed at her. "You do your cause not good by siding with her."

Without giving any indication, Astryd speeds up, putting herself closer to those with the guns, sweeping her spear at them… trying to knock the weapons from their hands.


Jericho emerges from the shadows, not from the alley but from the rooftops. His wings flare again as he descends, grabing one of the SRD militamen and chucking him across the street. The rest by the MRAP explode into action as the fire slackens from across the street. The mutants don't want to risk hitting the two they believe are 'their own.' Another SRD officer takes a slap from one of the wings and goes sliding several feet as the melee suddenly breaks out. Brenna and her two supports though are untouched.


Standing over the two supports and Brenna with her spear in hand, Astryd's black and grey wings flare wide behind her, stirring the air.

The weapons the supports held lay on the ground knocked flying by the sweep of the spear.

Fixing the two supports with grey eyes, there's something about Astryd's presence that has them scrambling backwards… Brenna opens her mouth and starts to speak - only to find Astryd's spear at her throat "Do not, Brenna." The Valkyrie presses the point of the spear forward, a trickle of blood appearing on the other womans throat. Brenna's lips snap shut.

"Be gone from this area…" the words for the two supports. "Or I shall escort your souls to your God." If they know anything about their mythology, they'll know what she is, if not who.


It's hard to get any peace and quiet in M-Town these days. Wanda hasn't even bothered to try and get any sleep tonight. She's out and about in her new X-Red marked uniform…if anyone notices…and she's going to try and help out. So when she comes upon the violence she frowns and furrows her brow with concentration. Jerciho she knows. And the blonde seems to be on their side so that makes it easy who she has to fight…in her own way.


Jericho is noteably not using his blade. Not yet. He's still got about half a dozen SRD militamen and he's not broken out his wolf armor yet either. Not that he seems to need it. Someone breaks a sonic stunner out only to have it kicked into his chest in the same motion that slams him into the MRAP they're all fighing around. The hacker gets hit from behind and pushed into the vehicle, but when one has six limbs rather than four and knows how to use all of them in a fight even behind is not a great spot. And then Jericho rips the armored door off the MRAP and turns slaps his attacker away with it. Which causes everyone to just stare for a moment.

Brenna's left without her supporters but the sudden rocking of the MRAP may give her an opening. And she's clever. Wanda, meanwhile is at an interesting angle. One that lets her notice the SRD sniper team training its weapons on the winged pair.


Grey eyes flick to the supports that are already scuttling away before focusing aga… and then the MRAP rocks and Astryd glances that way. Brenna is indeed smart, she's managed to not have Astryd finish her all this time, and she ducks off, following her supports.

Astryd sighs before turning to survey what's left… wings flexing in annoyance, like they have a life of their own.


Sniper teams? This is not good. Why does everyone have to be so angry!! Wanda's fingers twitch and spasm as her power builds quickly until she unleashes towards the skulking SRD. Reality twists and changes and the machinery of their weapons corrupts and decays. No one will be firing that rifle at anyone. If it blows up in their face…well that's not her fault. Wanda can't control everything.


Everyone really is angry here. There's rage and hatred all around Wanda. Mutants mad at the SRD, the SRD's blind hatred for anyone not human. It's more than likely that some of them are purifiers or at least sympathetic though there have been no direct purifier actions reported, just the SRD… being very heavy handed. The rifles click, not that anyone will hear, and their firing pins shatter, much to the consternation of the teams. Another door swipe puts paid to three more SRD troopers before Jericho tosses it away in favor of just punching the last one who ends at Astryd's feet. That's when he notices Wanda and the remnants of the red energy around her hands. "Nice work." He calls out to the mutant before peering around to the other winged woman. Interesting. Not Angelus, she'd bee attacking him already.

The threats seem ended. Any SRD still mobile is getting out and Jericho's letting them go. The mutants in the opposite building aren't coming out just yet… so it's just the three of them.


The SRD trooper that lands at the Valkyries feet looks up to met by the steely grey eyes and wings… it doesn't take long for them to scramble away.

The twisting of reality, the taste of magic, has Astryd turning to Wanda and looking at her curiously for a long moment "Very nice work. The two of you."

The wings remain, along with the spear until she's sure the danger has gone. Finally the spear shrinks back down to the stranded silver torc that she fits back around her throat. The wings though, flex slightly before finally settling.


"It is not work I wish to do but as long as no one was killed" Wanda shrugs to the compliments before eyeing off the winged blonde. People were definitely hurt though. "Are you a mutant?" It occurs to her that at least two of the people here protecting the mutants may not even be mutants. She's still not sure about herself.

"I am Wanda Maximoff" she greets the other woman, "I am in X-Red." Hopefully she is allowed to say that these days. A fingerwave to Jericho before she looks over to where the SRD had disappeared and then over to where the mutants are hiding. Ideas are sparking to life in her mind…but she will need to work on her spells/skills.


Jericho glances over to where the mutants were hiding and/or fighting from and then back to Wanda. "If you can help them go for it. I'm trying to make sure word gets out." He glances curiously after Astryd. Definitely not Angelus. "Aspect. Nice to meet you, sorry to cut it short but I do have elsewhere to be. Wanda…" He nods with a slight smile at 'X-Red'. "Keep up the good work. I'll catch you later." He kicks away a rifle from a stunned militiaman as he moves out into an alley and is gone.


"Astryd" Finally, the wings furl and disappear, leaving a tall lean woman dressed in jeans and flowing tunic, a stranded silver torc with raven heads at the ends and a bracer on her left wrist.

Watching Aspect depart, the grey eyes turn back to Wanda "It is nice to meet you, Wanda Maximoff." Moving over to where the mutants are hiding, she calls out "It is clear to depart, they will not harm you again this night." Or for a few hours at any rate. What happens once the two women depart….


Wanda waves after Jericho before she concentrates on the strangely dressed blonde. "Astryd is a nice name" she smiles. The shy witch is not one for public oration so she is quite happy to let the strange woman do the speaking. Nodding along in agreement while also checking the neighbourhood around them in case they are already coming back. "I will try something" she mutters to herself before she starts speaking her ancient words once more. Turning away from the building, her scarlet energy conjures forth like a fog to lay over and across the street where the SRD disappeared. About five feet wide and ten feet high before it slowy dissipates…which seems to be on purpose. Breathing heavy she turns back to the building. "No one can come down that street until morning" she promises. Well…they can…but the reality distortion will do who knows what to those who try. And it won't be pretty.


"Avoid the fog" The grey eyed woman advises the departing mutants. Noone approaches her, in fact most give her a wide berth as if detered by her very presence. Turning back to Wanda, Astryd offers a small smile "Very good idea. If only it would deter them more permanently."

Now the trapped mutants are moving out of the area, Astryd looks over to where Brenna disappeared… "I will leave the mortals to your care. I must continue my hunt for Brenna."… she'll wait just a moment for Wanda's acknowledgement.


"Brenna? Who is Brenna?" But it's none of Wanda's business so she simply smiles and nods. "Good luck." A glance over at the fog that is now gone but still holds power over the street. "I am not strong enough to do more" she explains…at least that is what she thinks. "Nice to meet you."


"Perhaps another time, Wanda Maximoff." Astryd is already morphing, changing shape "And it's not always about strength … it's about how cleverly you use what you have…' As she finishes speaking, an overly large raven remains in the grey eyed womans place - much larger than usual.

With a soft 'caw', the bird takes wing into the night… Perhaps Wanda will meet Astryd again….

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