Snippet #2741680

Zachary was sipping and enjoying his drink away with Mia. He couldn't be happier that he got to attend a wonderful occasion like this with his best friend, although as much as he would prefer if they do not have to be so tensed up like this. "Say, do you want to go somewhere to stir up some troubles after this? I mean, this whole gala is fun and all, but seriously, we can't enjoy it if we have to watch our backs all the time like this, huh?" Zachary offered.

Mia's gaze was pulled from the dancing figures as he said this, a grin forming at the corner of her lips. "Sounds like a plan." She replies with a wink, pondering on the best place to take him. They weren't exactly allowed out of the tower without permission to go drinking but Mia didn't really care, pissing off Mycroft was the last thing on her mind when she could have Zachary all to herself.

Mia is about to open her mouth and mention a little dive bar she knew not too far from the academy until a strange man, who dressed like an important political figure, approached the two of them with a drink in his hand.

"Well, good evening, I hope I am not interrupting anything." The man smiled and turned to Zachary, "I'm assuming you are Mr. Drake."

"Yes, that is my name." Zachary shook hands with the man as a sign of respect, "Nice to meet you, sir."

"And you, young lady, you are?" As the man now turns to face Mia, she cocks her eyebrow ever so slightly, her grip firm as she takes her turn in shaking hands with him.

"Mia." She retorts, eyeing him up, he was clearly sent over here to see what they were chatting about, not that the daughter of Luke Cage and son of Iceman would particularly be seen as a threat, but nevertheless, the U.N. were nosey. "Cage?" He questions and Mia nods in response. "The vigilante's daughter," She knew her father wouldn't like being called that, "You don't seem quite as tough."

With his hand still in hers, Mia tightens her grip until the man is visibly uncomfortable, a fake smile plastered on her face. "Looks can be deceiving." Is all she says before letting go, watching as the official cradles his hand in his arm.

"And you, sir? May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?" Zachary asked, smiling. He too knows all too well why this official was approaching them. He notices quite a few of them did the same to the other descendants. They weren't kidding with their intentions of checking up on them, after all. But this sort of thing is his job. Zachary can manage this and he is pretty sure Mia will as well.

"Kasper Carrigan." The man spoke of his name, which Zachary took note of. He's heard of this person somewhere before. Another big player, that he can be certain of. "You know, my daughter once said she is a big fan of your father. I too found that his contributions to both human and mutant community are quite admirable."

"I am privileged to hear such praises from you, as his son, Mr. Carrigan." Zachary said, "Though I must admit that I still have a lot to learn here before I can achieve something like him."

"But of course, that is the purpose which this Academy was founded in the first place. For the descendants to step into their predecessors' shoes." Kasper spoke with a slight leering tone. Zachary slightly twitched his eyebrow over how the official is driving this conversation, "But the question is, can you? Are you confident that you won't be overshadowed by those before you?"

Mia didn't like the way he spoke to Zachary, almost as if he was talking down to her friend. Stepping ever so slightly closer to Zachary, in a subconscious protective move, Mia is the one to answer Kasper's question. "Zach is one of the most intelligent men I know," She retorts, her voice curt, "He works incredibly hard and succeeds in all endeavours he puts his mind to." Pushing a strand of hair from her eyes, Mia continues, her gaze firmly planted on Kasper, "I don't suppose someone like you could understand the struggle it is to keep our abilities contained," Tilting her head to the side, a small smirk finds it's way onto her mouth, "And still Zach manages to make it look easy."

While both she and Zachary may have caused trouble together, Zachary was always the one who knew when to stop. Mia had never been so good at working a crowd or getting people onside, too blunt and fiery for most. Zachary was charming and knew how to act in situations such as this, whilst Mia let her emotions take control.

"Oh, my utmost apology if I offended you, Miss Cage. I was just merely voicing my uncertainty." Kasper smiled contentedly, as if Mia's reaction was exactly what he expected, "I'm afraid it is a sad fact that people will not look at how hard you work to judge you, they will only see you as how you are based on the results. I mean, if you are truly as almighty and capable like your predecessors, you would be out there, turning cities upside down like the Avengers to protect the world, instead of confining yourselves here, hmm?"

Before she reacted, Zachary held Mia's hand and smiled to her, winking to her with the implication, 'Let me take care of this.' He casually put both of his hands into his jacket's bags and stood confidently in front of the U.N. official, as his smile never fades. "You did have a point, Mr. Carrigan, is that no matter how hard you tried, the results in the end are still what matter the most. I myself admit that I only work hard is because what I aim for is the best outcomes possibly. But it is the experiences we earn during our way are what made us unique."

Zachary pauses a bit, before continuing, "You forgot one important point, is that those before us weren't just 'almighty' from the start. They also need time to stand where they are now. The same applies to you, I presume, or else you wouldn't be standing here. And that's why we are here, and why this Academy exists. We cannot tell how will we be in the future, so we cannot be certain our feats would be as glorious as our parents. But I can be sure of one thing, is that no matter what, none of us will be overshadowed by them, or even thinking of stepping into their shoes. I will not just be a copy of Robert Drake, nor Mia here will be a replica of Luke Cage."

He does admit that he has a tendency to give long rantings and arguments whenever someone tried to challenge him with words, but being a lecturer is his job. What else would you expect? Zachary is not going to lose to this official, no matter how long and tedious this conversation is going to take. After all, if he isn't going to literally freeze someone with his ice, he would be freezing them with his words.

Luckily, Kasper seems to admit that trying to talk down on and challenge the two of them into a debate isn't going to get him anywhere. "Well, it was interesting to have this conversation with promising talents like you two. I hope you will keep up that spirit." With that said, the official took his retreat.

Zachary raised his hand to do a high-five with Mia; she laughs at his goofiness as they did."Another victory for us then." He smiled, before the music changed and people are beginning to take their partners for a dance. Of course, Zachary isn't going to let this slip. He bowed to Mia in a gentleman's manner before extending his hand for her hand, "Well, Miss Cage. Do I have the privilege?"

Beaming, Mia takes his hand, following him into the dance floor. "I thought you'd never ask." She teases. Zachary grins as he holds her and places his arm around her waist for the waltz. Mia had never been particularly graceful nor elegant, so dancing was certainly not her forte, however Zachary definitely seemed to know what he was doing and so Mia was forced to let him take the lead, this time.

As they dance, Mia can't help but think about what a wonderful night it had turned into. Sure, she had been dreading coming here before, wanting to crawl into bed and sleep for a week, but drinking and dancing had quickly become the highlight of her day. The same for Zachary. Having to attend an event right after he had just disembarked from his long trip is the last thing he wanted to do. But in the end, this gala doesn't seem at all bad.

BOOM!

The sudden explosion from nearby put an abrupt end to their contentment, just as Mia opens her mouth to comment on Zachary's excellent dancing abilities and he is about to praise her for how lady-like she is tonight. They both find themselves being thrown backwards.

Mia's back hits the wall with a crack, the area she collided with crumbling slightly due to the sheer force she had hit it with. Falling down onto the floor, the pain in her back forces Mia to groan. However, she was more worried about Zachary, since Mia could take a hit like that a lot better than he. Looking around for him, Mia's view is quickly obstructed by a haze seeping into the gala. Was that gas?

Zachary's back was exposed right in front of the explosion, and so the debris from the wall rained down on him. And that was on top of him being sent flying as his abdomen landed right on the edge of the bar counter nearby. Excruciating pain was sent from his spines to all over his body. He coughs and winches as he struggles just to crawl. The impacts from earlier probably had broken at least a few of his ribs. Normally they would have caused no problems to him at all, because if he could enter his ice form, he could fix them up in less than a second.

But the gas emitted from the explosion is messing with his senses. His vision is getting blurred by the seconds and the numbness from both the gas and his injuries make him feel like staying conscious is hard enough, let alone creating a small cube of ice.

Glancing to the explosion sight, Mia plugs her ears as the deafening sound of a helicraft finding the new opening grows louder. Fuck. Covering her mouth and nose with the sleeve of her jacket, she crawls onto her knees before standing, her back still aching. Realising one of her heels had broken off, Mia removes the other, gripping the broken heel in her hand as a makeshift weapon.

Walking through the haze, Mia finally spots Zachary and rushes over to him, her eyes full of concern. "Zach," She gasps, crouching down next to him, "You need to cover your face." Mia easily rips a chunk of his suit trouser leg off, before shoving it over his mouth and nose. Neither of them would be able to stay awake through this gas, but at least this way they had more of a chance.

"I... knew it. There's... no way nothing would happen..." Zachary mumble,d but it was hard for him just to do so, "This gas will... knock us out... soon, we need to get out... of here..."

But before they could even gather themselves, they see them - the Hydra soldiers. They were coming for the descendants. Watching as her peers engage in combat with the sudden influx of bad guys, Mia jumps to her feet, her mind immediately switching into offensive mode.

There was no way Mia was about to let them take her friends without a fight. Turning back to Zachary, Mia knows that he is perfectly capable of holding his own, but cannot help wanting to protect him. Thinking on her feet, she wants to get him to shelter, but the Hydra soldiers are quickly closing in.

Two soldiers had spotted them and were heading directly for the pair. Cracking her knuckles, Mia grits her teeth. If they wanted a fight they were gonna get a goddamn fight.

"You," One yells, "On the floor."

Standing her ground Mia ignores them, stepping in front of Zachary as they continued to get closer, the rag still held firmly to her mouth. Zachary, too, is also ready to back her up. Although entering his ice form is unthinkable right now, he can still at least give an icy reception even if his consciousness is going to last for a few more minutes at most.

"On. The. Floor." They shout again, but still Mia does not move from her spot.

Visibly mad, one of the soldiers points his gun at Mia's chest, "Fine, it's your funeral."

He shoots three times, and Mia falls backwards. That was enough to have killed anyone and so he safely assumed that Mia would be dead. Stepping over her body, they move onto Zachary, cocky in their approach. But little did they take notice of the ice that is secretly forming near them.

"Your tur-" Before Zachary could act, the soldier is cut off as Mia throws an arm around his throat, choking him. Having dropped the piece of fabric from her face to free her other hand, she had played dead and then hit him from behind.

Bewildered for a moment, the other soldier does not know what to do, and begins shooting at her again. The bullets only ricocheting off of her impenetrable skin. "Ouch." She replies sarcastically, feeling the soldier in her arms slump down, unconscious.

Zachary almost chuckled at Mia's statement, before noticing more of them coming towards them. He struggled to sit up, but eventually succeeded as he leaned his back against a table near him for support. The gas is still causing haziness over his sight, but he managed to conjure large boulders of ice and launched them towards the approaching soldiers, taking them out. He can at least cover Mia for now and with any luck, they may make it out of here in one piece. As much as Zachary wanted to give these Hydra goons a hard beating, he accepted that he stand no chance in this state.

"Y'know," Mia continues, rounding on the other guy, a wicked grin on her face as the gas hits her head and she begins to feel almost delirious, "You're lucky my daddy taught me good morals," Mia narrows her eyes, "Or you'd be dead right now."

Turning around, the remaining soldier attempts to flee but Mia lunges after him, sloppier than usual but still able to grab hold of him. "Zach." She calls, realising she wasn't strong enough to take him out without her friend, just about able to force herself to stay conscious.

Able to free himself from her grip as Mia's mind drifts, the soldier spins around, head butting Mia and pushing her backwards. "You bitch." He growls, kicking her in the ribs. The last thing she remembers before completely losing consciousness in Zachary's face, then, nothing.

On Zachary's side, he too is about to reach his limit. But the Hydra soldiers have stopped coming towards his way and starting to retreat, after having beaten up his fellow descendants badly and abducted a number of them. Apparently they have accomplished what they came here for, and none of them were able to even put up a fight to them.

When Zachary heard Mia calling out his name, he turned his face towards to her direction, only to see that she was knocked out cold from inhaling the gas. This is absolutely the worst... was the last thing he thought before he too is succumbed to the same fate.