Alejandra Mendez's Story

xxxxxxxpoppy andrews
xxxxxxxclairvoyancy
xxxxxxx#660000



xxxxxxdominique porter
xxxxxxshapeshifting
xxxxxx#af2525



xxxxxxfaith lloyd
xxxxxxair manipulation
xxxxxx#7fd3c8



xxxxxxfinley grey
xxxxxxintangibility
xxxxxx#585a6d

Poppy had never particularly liked history. She hadn't expected mutant history to be any different, and yet she found herself being drawn in to it. Maybe it was the politics of it, or maybe it was just because it was directly relevant to her. This was directly affecting her life, even today. But for some reason, she was uneasy, unable to concentrate. She'd been resisting the temptation to start firing notes over to Anya, but barely. Neither of them were particularly looking forward to spring break. Poppy refused to go back to her family. And so they just stuck together. She looked down at her notes, which were sparse, as Anya got a question wrong, and Kai took over answering it. She just glanced over at Anya and rolled her eyes with a smirk.

Dominique, however, was truly struggling to stay awake during the class. Down the back of the class, he'd nearly fallen asleep once or twice already, and this was nothing new. The word "monsters", however, caught his attention, making his stomach twist. It took a moment or so for it to sink in that it was Kai saying it and that it was a mere quote, nothing else. His head dropped back onto his desk, his eyes fluttering closed.

Faye was one of few who was actually managing to pay attention. Politics and the history of politics was important. She'd heard the stories, heard the laws, but how it all came together was important and hugely interesting to her. Her mother had seen it all, but as mutants, they had a slightly different perspective. The media had lied and changed the stories to suit them. The mutants themselves had lived through it.

At some point, Finn had mastered the art of looking like he was actually paying attention. In reality, he couldn't take notes at the pace of the lesson, so he was just occasionally jotting down any words that stood out to him. But he kept getting distracted by the spelling of words, and hadn't actually listened to much of the class. So when Parker called out, Finn was barely even aware of it. And then it went black.

All Poppy could hear was screaming as her eyes fluttered open. Pain was shooting across her side. She could feel something wet, and her head was pounding. The temptation to go back to sleep was incredible, but she could hear familiar voices. She attempted to sit up and cried out in pain. She stupidly looked at the hand on her side, and saw it was covered in blood. "Anya?" She whimpered, looking around. "Anya?" She called, panic cracking her voice.

Dom never really lost consciousness. He felt the crack in his left calf, felt the gash on his forehead, and heard the screaming start. He didn't dare move until he heard movement within the room. He managed to drag himself to his feet, but as he put weight on his foot, he could feel his body urging to change, to shift into something that would make the pain feel less. He took a deep breath. And another. The feeling passed. He limped over to Anya and Kai, terrified of being alone. "Are you guys okay?"

Through some miracle, Faye avoided the worst of the explosion. One side was aching like hell, and her wrist was almost numb. She looked around and spotted Alejandra, stumbling over to her just in time to see Park healing Alejandra's stomach. It was ugly and gruesome, but still vaguely fascinating. She could see another small group, but it wasn't anywhere near her entire class. "What the hell was that?" Faye said, a little louder than she meant due to the ringing in her ears.

Finley thankfully blacked out moments before he hit the wall. He struggled to regain consciousness, feeling like the room was spinning every single time he opened his eyes. And eventually, his eyes stayed open. He could feel something running down his neck and an almost overwhelming urge to throw up. But instead, he just groaned, loudly.

anya elizabeth kosof
psionic energy
#8FBC8B

kai senji williams
simian physiology
#4A8B7D

alejandra carlina mendez
chronokinesis
#653F65

Parker james killian
vitakinesis
#CFAC88

"Are you guys okay?" Anya was startled by the sound of Dom's voice, deep down grateful he was alright as well. Kai shifted his weight, pieces of dust and rubble falling off of his clothing. "I- I think so. Oh my god". It was the first time he really took the chance to look at the damage, the massacre before him. It took every ounce of control to stop him from vomiting on the spot.

"Anya? Anya?" Anya jerked quite sharply from her position next to Kai and Dom when she heard the weakened voice of her friend from across the room. She just barely saw the tips of fingers behind a piece of the ceiling, painted with that rusty red that Poppy loved. She moved as fast as her injured leg would let her to the spot and sucked in a sharp breath when she saw Poppy's mangled arm. "Pops, oh my god, are you alright?" She bent down to eye level and quickly looked over her friend for anymore serious injuries. "Can you move? Is anything else hurting?".

Alejandra dashed past Parker back to the rubble that used to be their classroom. "Allie- Wait!" Parker called, rather uselessly behind her. While his demeanor on the outside was rather calm, on the inside his mind was practically screaming. He could feel, sense the injuries all around him, like the pungent smell of rubbing alcohol. He had never been so overwhelmed before with his abilities. He refused to let himself weigh him down, but the sinking feeling started to grow in his stomach. There was no way he could save everyone. His body would shut down, die, before he even got to the fourth victim. Not to mention he was still healing from Alejandra's wound, the first signs of blood from the stomach wound staining his cream colored shirt. He healed faster than most, but even he didn't know the true limit of his own ability.

"Mateo! Matty!" Alejandra called reaching the classroom, so frantic that she didn't regard the others. At that moment, all that mattered was her brother, her hermano. She pushed and pulled at the rubble, her stomach turning each time she found a body that wasn't her brother. Her fingers and palms became rough and almost bloody, as she nearly ripped herself apart to find him. She wish she hadn't. The moment she saw the familiar tatted arm jutting out awkwardly from a piece of the wall, her entire world broke. The next thing she knew Parker had wrapped both arms around her, pinning her as she tried to fight him, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Fix him! Bring him back!" She cried desperately, trying to claw her way out of his grasp. "Allie, I - I can't. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry" Parker's worst fear had finally come true, he couldn't save someone. Unlike the others, he couldn't feel anything coming from the body, he was dead. Alejandra finally went limp to the ground, horrible sobs racking her body. Anya was visibly uncomfortable with the scene still next to Poppy, Kai's face fell tremendously.

Kai shifted his gaze to Faye, internally grateful she was standing there, but his face was nothing but a grim expression. "Somebody bombed the school. Somebody wanted us dead. All of us. This wasn't an accident, this was a targeted hit". "But why?! Why the hell would anyone want to do this?" Alejandra spoke through her tears still secured in Parker's arms. "Because we're fucking different that's why" Anya spoke darkly from across the room.

The sound of a groan captured Parker's attention and he turned to see Finley struggling to stay above the water, propped up against a wall. "Shit". He released Alejandra from his arms gently, dashing to Finley. A trail of blood had left his right ear and was beginning to trickle down his neck. He quickly did a diagnosis, closing his eyes for a brief moment. Ruptured ear drum. Internal bleeding, gastrointestinal. It was bad, Parker had to stop the bleeding or Finn was going to die. At this point, he pushed away the idea of how much his body could take and placed his hands on the sides of Finn's neck. Like it always did, his skin began to glimmer with a golden hue as he absorbed the wound from Finley. He gritted his teeth, this part was never pleasant for either party, it felt like Park's insides were being ripped open. He watched Finn's eyes flutter briefly, and let out a shaky sigh of relief. He stumbled backwards slightly as his skin faded back to normal, except much much paler. Between Alejandra and Finley's wounds his body was beginning to shut down.

A slight pop sounded in the distance and Alejandra jumped slightly, "What was that?". Kai's eyes widened slightly and he pushed himself up from the ground to stand, "we have to get out of here, now". Alejandra wiped the tears from her face, which was now stained with mascara and dirt, "What do you mean? We can't just leave, there are still others here. Shouldn't we wait for the teachers? Police!"

"We don't have time". Alejandra turned her head to Park, who was still next to Finley. Blood was coming from both his ears and nose, and he was growing paler by the second. "They're coming to finish us off" with that his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed.

xxxxxxxpoppy andrews
xxxxxxxclairvoyancy
xxxxxxx#660000



xxxxxxdominique porter
xxxxxxshapeshifting
xxxxxx#af2525



xxxxxxfaith lloyd
xxxxxxair manipulation
xxxxxx#7fd3c8



xxxxxxfinley grey
xxxxxxintangibility
xxxxxx#585a6d

Poppy had never felt quite so glad to see Anya. She took a deep breath as her friend started asking about her injuries. "Broken rib or two," she said. She wiggled her toes. "Can move my toes anyway. Help me sit up?" She asked, already starting to move using her good arm. She gritted her teeth and sucked a breath in as she did so. Her arm and ribs seemed to have taken the worth of it. As she moved her arm, her hand brushed against a stray notebook, one of few that had survived the whole thing. She was thrown into a flashback of the moments before it had happened, and the few seconds after it had. Before that person had passed. A wave of pain through her arm and ribs shocked her back into the present, her heart pounding. Her hand grasped Anya's despite herself. All she wanted to do was sit and cry and be given painkillers and told everything was going to be okay, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. This didn't seem like some freak, tragic accident. She knew nobody was going to tell her that it was all going to be okay, because it sure as hell didn't seem like it was going to be.

Everything was moving so quickly. It felt like everywhere Dom turned, there was somebody needing his help, someone seriously injured, someone needing an extra pair of hands. He looked over at Kai, who at least seemed alert. As soon as he heard the gunshot, he knew what it was. "I'll be look-out," he said, squeezing Kai's shoulder. He obeyed his body's cries to shift, shifting into an eagle. It was far from a painless change, and he knew that changing back was going to be fun. But at least the weight was gone off of his bad leg. He took off into the air, already scanning their surroundings for hostiles. As he did so, he realised that he hadn't quite figured out how to communicate, but they'd make do. Also, as an eagle, he was faster, more agile, and had claws. He could attack if it came to it. It broke his heart to see the destruction done. It didn't look like they were the only ones attacked either.

As Parker let go of Alejandra, Faye went over to her, pulling her into a hug, and rubbing her back with her good hand. She didn't know what to say, and she didn't want to say anything only to make it all worse. So she was just there. But the conversation took a darker turn as they all heard the gunshots. She got to her feet and pulled Alejandra up with her, still clutching her hand. "He's right, babe. We need to go, and now." She didn't think she'd be able to talk these people down diplomatically. They didn't seem like the type for that. She didn't even let herself flinch as Parker hit the floor. "Kai, can you carry him? Anya, look after Poppy. Ally, babe, you help me with Finley, okay?" She said. She swallowed, looking around. "I know we're all sore, and tired, and scared. We just need to get to safety."

Finley was vaguely aware of the feeling of somebody's hands on his neck, but everything still felt like he was under water, like that sensation was so far away. And then everything changed. The pain became sharper, and he was more around of his surroundings. And then it was gone, and his whole body ached. But he felt his eyes fluttering open despite himself. He was conscious, but just about. Somebody wrapped their arm around him and lifted him, their hand around his waist. "What- what's going on?" He mumbled. "You're okay. There was an attack. We need to go."

anya elizabeth kosof
psionic energy
#8FBC8B

kai senji williams
simian physiology
#4A8B7D

alejandra carlina mendez
chronokinesis
#653F65

Parker james killian
vitakinesis
#CFAC88

"Broken rib or two, can move my toes anyway. Help me sit up?" Anya nodded, taking ahold of Poppy's good arm, being careful not to hurt her. She paused for a moment when she felt Poppy's hand squeeze her own, and she could see the terror written all over her friends face. "Poppy, we're going to get through this alright? I just need you to focus on me, and on getting out of here okay? I'm going to use some of my abilities to help you move, but we're going to ease into it. I don't want to hurt you". Still holding onto Poppy's arm, a green energy wrapped itself snuggly around Poppy's torso as Anya used her abilities to help steady Poppy into a standing position. She wrapped Poppy's arm around her shoulder gently, and turned to the others. "The teachers lot is over there, if we can just get a car... we should be able to get out of here" she motioned her head to a lot across the grounds to the right of them. Stealing a car from one of their professors probably wasn't the greatest idea, but at this point it was all they had. Who knew if they were even still alive.

Alejandra let Faye pull her to her feet, drawing some comfort from her friend's words. Her expression turned from scared to flat, she'd never felt more numb in her life. "Kai, can you carry him? Anya, look after Poppy. Ally, babe, you help me with Finley, okay?" Ally and Kai nodded to her orders, he especially admired how brave and collected she was being in this moment. "Of course, I believe he should be alright. His body looks to be in a state of shock from how hard it's working to heal" He walked over to the limp form of Parker and easily slung him over his back. Sometimes Kai forgot how strong he was when he was lost in the moment."I know we're all sore, and tired, and scared. We just need to get to safety." Kai nodded along with her glancing up to the sky, looking for Dom's eagle form above the campus. "I think our best shot of getting out of here is that lot. We will be in the open, but I trust Dom as a lookout, he should have our backs".

Alejandra followed Faye over to Finn, even though she felt sick and rather broken she refused to be a burden for the others. When Finley started to wake, she grabbed his left arm gently. She glanced across his form to Faye taking on a more determined tone "We can each take an arm and help him up and out" then leaning down to Finn with a softer voice, "Finn we're going to get you up ok, but you've got to help us. We're going to give you a three count and then we're gonna stand. Alright ready? One. Two. Three!". She pulled with all her might along with Faye to get Finley into a standing position, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

The gun shots in the distance began to come closer, and the sounds of resistance could be heard. "We're not the only ones who survived" Anya spoke quietly. "Everyone just stay close to each other, we move as a unit. The most important thing is making sure we all make it to the lot, Dom should be watching us from the sky" Kai moved to the edge of the busted wall of the classroom, looking out into the back grounds of the school. He could see the faint outline of the cars on the other side. Anya helped Poppy along behind him, "I think I can hotwire a car" she had done it before numerous times when her family's car broke down. Kai took a deep breath glancing behind him to make sure everyone was ready, turning back to the open field in front of him. So many thoughts and nerves were wreaking havoc in his mind, but this was the first time he never really had the chance to sit and think about something. "Let's go" He spoke grimly before taking a step out into the open.

xxxxxxx

poppy andrews
clairvoyancy
#660000


faith lloyd
air manipulation
#7fd3c8


dominique porter
shapeshifting
#af2525


finley grey
intangibility
#585a6d

---

It was almost as if Anya had read Poppy's mind. Sure, she couldn't tell her that everything was going to be okay. But they needed to keep moving, as much as it was going to hurt, as hard as it was going to be. Keeping her injured arm close to her chest, she appreciated the extra help getting to her feet. Her good arm wrapped around Anya's shoulders, she could take in the destruction fully for the first time. And it hit her like a kick to her ribs, so hard it took her breath away. This was her home. And it was gone. Usually she would have smirked or remarked on their decision to steal a teacher's car, but she barely even heard their plans. She'd known that there was people who hated mutants, but to bomb a school? To take away their only place of safety, where they were even kept from the public view? She hadn't realised how bad things were. She hadn't realised they were ready to slaughter innocent children while they learned. And she suddenly wished she was a fighter, that she wasn't injured, that her ability let her do something more than just see the deaths of her classmates over and over again. Her anger surged within her and brought her back to the present, to listen to the plans. Faye was giving people instructions, somehow keeping a clear head. And then they were starting to move outside, out into the open.

Dom could hear gunshots and the sounds of his classmates fighting back, something which would have made him smile if that was something he'd been able to do. Instead, he just kept watching. There was somebody approaching the classroom he'd just vacated. He dropped a little lower, closer to be able to hear what they were saying. One was dressed in casual, battered clothes. But he was a little too clean, and his conversation gave away who he really was. "Is Omega team in place? Good. Should be able to pass myself off as one of them." Without even really thinking, Dom soared straight into his face, clawing at it and leaving a few very impressive scars before taking off again. He thought the sound might alert the others that something was wrong, but he also now knew that before long, they were going to start shooting anything that looked vaguely like an eagle.

Faye didn't say anything as Alejandra gave instructions to Finley. He was starting to come around again, but wasn't exactly capable of walking unsupported right now, and they needed to be moving quickly. She lifted him, discovering he was heavier than he looked, and began moving outside as quickly as she could. She pursed her lips as stealing a car was suggested. She knew it was the only way they were going to get out alive, and she knew that in these circumstances it was okay, but there was still that little voice in the back of her head reminding her it was still stealing. Then she sighed, and did a quick scan of their group. "Unless anyone has a mini van, we ain't gonna all fit into the one car. There's eight of us, and some serious injuries. All of us in the one car is gonna raise one hell of a lot of suspicion, and I don't think any of us wants to get pulled over by the cops. Who's fit to drive?" She asked.

She was momentarily distracted as an unusually large eagle with familiar grey eyes, carrying a shirt and jeans in its talons, landed near them. It shifted back into a human with a cry, and Dom had returned. "Okay, first things first, if a guy who looks like he's just been clawed by an eagle shows up, claiming to be one of us, he definitely isn't, and somebody needs to like, shoot him. Secondly, if the ladies of the party could turn around so I can get changed real quick, that would be awesome." Faye rolled her eyes as she averted her gaze. "So, what's the plan? I missed most of it," He added as he pulled on the shirt.

---

"Unless anyone has a mini van, we ain't gonna all fit into the one car. There's eight of us, and some serious injuries. All of us in the one car is gonna raise one hell of a lot of suspicion, and I don't think any of us wants to get pulled over by the cops. Who's fit to drive?" Faye spoke up, the voice of reason always. "I can drive, for sure. You can, Kai, Alejandra. I can take the first car, with Poppy, Alejandra, and Dom. Then you can drive Kai, Park, and Finn?" Anya ended her statement with her voice raised in a question, she wasn't truly sure about anything at this point.

Nobody could really respond to her question as Dom landed, shifting from a large into back into human form, most importantly, he was practically naked. "Okay, first things first, if a guy who looks like he's just been clawed by an eagle shows up, claiming to be one of us, he definitely isn't, and somebody needs to like, shoot him. Secondly, if the ladies of the party could turn around so I can get changed real quick, that would be awesome." Anya closed her eyes, Alejandra and Kai both averted their gaze to the ground. "So, what's the plan? I missed most of it," The gunfire was getting inevitably closer. "Trying to get the hell out of here. We're going to take a car from the teacher's lot. What did you see up there? Were there a lot of men? Guns?" Anya spoke her voice laced with worry. "I think we need to consider the fact that we have no idea where we are going to go". Alejandra jerked her head up, a knowing expression on her face, "I do. My father has a house down in Larchmont by the bay. It's about a twenty minute drive, but it's secluded. At least we will be out of sight until this whole thing gets cleared up". Kai nodded, "It seems like our best option at the moment, and I think we better decide pretty fast we are running out of time". At that second a soldier clad from head to toe in black body armor bust down what was left of the door, and began to fire.

poppy andrews
clairvoyancy
#660000


faith lloyd
air manipulation
#7fd3c8


dominique porter
shapeshifting
#af2525


finley grey
intangibility
#585a6d

---

---

As soon as everyone glanced away, Dom quickly pulled on his clothes and scrambled to his feet. "Oh, okay. Yep, lots of men, lots of guns, let's get going now!" He declared. Anya's concern was a legitimate one, and it made them all stop and think. Alejandra's suggestion was a relief- somewhere safe and unknown. But before Faye could even do as much as take a step towards the car, gunfire broke out- aimed at them. Instinctively, she raised her hands, striking up the strongest wind she could around the soldier. She'd half been hoping it would knock the gun out of their hands. She knew that, in the heavy body armour, they were going to be hard to knock over, but throwing off their aim might be enough. "GO!" She screamed at the others. Poppy didn't require much more instruction, starting to drag Anya over towards the nearest car. "Can you pick the lock? I can break the window but... not ideal," she asked.

Almost as soon as the chaos broke out, Finley managed to stumble behind a car, wishing he was able to help, but knowing his ability was useless against a gunman in that much armour, it wasn't worth using his limited energy to try. Dom appeared a moment later. "Was gonna try and claw his face off. But he's wearing a helmet so that one's out," he said. "Do you know how to pick a lock?" He added, looking over at Finley. "What's the point? I don't feel well enough to drive, and you're limping. And you're seriously going to leave everyone behind?" Dom dared to poke his head up to look into the car. "Automatic. I could manage. But fair point, where are they?" Finley looked at him

Finley stick his own head up, scanning the area. But before he could even spot where anyone was, the shooter spotted him, and Finley sunk back down. "Think Anya and Poppy are over there. Faye might still be holding her own, I don't know. Dom, man, we might need to go.They wouldn't want us getting hurt." Dom took a deep breath, looking up above the hood of the car. Then in a burst of speed, he sprinted to the next car, ducking behind it, and continuing to scout around for the rest. And when he still couldn't spot anyone, he darted to the next one, still watching all the while.