| Glitter Bombs |
| Summary: | The X-Men's mean girls go on a shopping trip, and wind up attacked in the parking lot. |
| Date: | (2016-06-05) |
| Related: | None |
| NPCs: | U-Men |
| Scene Runner: | Psylocke |
| Social/Plot: | Plot |
| Players: |
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"Now this is just beastly! This ovah heah, ladies and gents, is the reason why you need to have a keen eye and be willing to look all ovah the place for the -BEST- things in life!"
Elizabeth Braddock, the young asian-looking Great Britain import of the X-Mansion, has kidnapped/coerced/invited a few of the available youngsters of the Institute to do precisely what one would think the posh London mall rat has wanted to do since the first day she got in America: buy ALL the stuff.
The troupe now finds itself inside one of the many clothing stores of the mall, where Elizabeth holds up a The Killers t-shirt with some glitter on it. Like most of the clothes she wears it looks perfectly mundane at first glance, and unforgivably expensive, but somehow they never quite look cheap on the Braddock heiress.
"This is like a dream come true. The designah for this must be someone famous. It will fit so well… and look at the stitching… this is a ROBBERY, lovelies," she murmurs, entranced by the article of clothing and completely ignoring the small crowd of people outside the store, looking through the glass at the group inside. Although not all are obvious mutants, Elizabeth's violet eyes and her tendency to not hide her powers gave them away as soon as she used telekinesis to bring the last pair of shoes out of range of some grubby pair of hands that would have not made them JUSTICE like Elizabeth will.
This store has entirely too much glitter for Ellie Phimister. The girl otherwise known as Negasonic Teenage Warhead is chewing gum and texting on her phone. She's dressed all in unrelenting black, down to her lipstick, and has a pair of earbuds hanging around her neck from which the distant, tinny sounds of the Cure can almost be heard.
She glances up briefly at the shirt and rolls her eyes. "Glitter? Really? Like you're not noticeable enough already?" she asks, in her usual spirit of mean comment. Her eyes slide over towards the people staring and she gives them a glower. She's used to being stared at. Not for being a mutant, for her Sinead buzzcut, nose ring, and gothiness of course.
Here we see a rare and wild Tabitha in her native habitat. If we're very quiet and don't spook her, we can see her shoplifting her way through the mall, wearing sunglasses indoors and popping large pink bubbles of gum. Look at the telltale signs of 'Princess' in pink font across her butt. That's how you know she's a spoiled brat of the Smith genus, what with the haltar top and the hair in those tiny pigtails and her purse slung up over her elbow like that.
That is one Tabitha Smith, aka Boom-Boom, The Boomer, etc, following along in Betsy's footsteps, like the shopaholic petty criminal she is, with a taste for all the finer things in life, whether she can really afford them or not.
Even now her purse has a few bottles of pilfered Chanel in it, along with Ferrari shades, another purse, and at least six sticks of lipgloss. Maaaaaaybe it would be seven if there were weren't people staring at them like they were animals in the zoo from outside the store.
Casually blowing a bubble of Bubbleicious (they totally still make that), the blonde bombshell idly lifts a hand and produces a very blatant middle finger at all onlookers, her expression simultaneously disdainful and amused behind those moviestar shades.
"It's summer, Bets. You need to show more skin. T-shirts are loungewear, and, not that I /like/ agreeing with the Princess of Darkness here, but glitter is so middle-school gauche."
"Elizabeth, I can think of many more important reasons to have a keen eye. Most of them involve keeping yourself alive," comments one Laura Kinney in a very serious tone. "I am not certain shopping prepares you for observing the vital details in life threatening situations." The slim, dark-haired teen is wearing black and white, knock-off brand Converse, tattered jeans, a black vest, and fishnet sleeves. Fashionista, this girl is not.
For the most part, X has simply followed the other girls around, almost like a shadow, showing almost no interest in anything except for a few of the same things Negasonic shows interest in, and their brief stint in Hot Topic. Go figure. One might even wonder why she accepted the invitation to come, but for whatever reason, she did. She's repeatedly complained about the fact that there are far too many people present in the mall, the crowds seemingly unsettling her.
"You should not have done that. You are attracting too much attention," the cloned mutant states a few moments after the purple-haired teen puts her powers to use to fetch a pair of shoes. When the small crowd outside the glass panel wall of the shop has already begun to gather. Frowning to herself, Laura finds herself unconsciously looking around the shop for some alternative exits before she seemingly randomly remarks, "This place smells like a hospital. Chemicals. And not ones for cleaning. I do not think that is normal."
Elizabeth cannot help herself, hair-whipping that mane of purple locks briefly at the mention of drawing more attention. The brit is a black hole of attention, she just keeps on absorbing all of it, apparently. "El and Tabby, my luvs, the glittah is not just for show! It compliments the stars of his shirt, see? It is all very well but togethah, and the composition alone is brill! And the glittah… look, not the kind that just falls down after one wash, which Ah think we ALL know is a MUST, since the laundry services at Xavier's are lacklustah at best!"
Spoken like the incarnated concept of Entitlement.
With a hip cocked to the side in her form-fitting leather pants and plain white shirt she somehow makes work and not look like it was the first thing out of her closet, Psylocke adjusts her dark purple scarf with a Rolling Stones pattern to it. "Ah show skin aplenty when situation calls it! It is just not me style to do it all the time! That is ye patented look, Tabby~ Ah am more of a… South London streetah! We all have our styles… and Ah'll be taking two of these, please."
Clothes are bought and bagged while Betsy smiles at Laura some. The girl worries her quite a bit, but there is NOTHING Elizabeth Braddock cannot do, and that includes helping young mutants whose's powers seem to be utterly devoid of emotions. "Laura, buggah, relax! I am not going to hide meself from other people! Ah am not doing anything wrong, and they need to learn how to SHARE this Earth with us now," comments Betsy a bit too loud when they pierce the crowd and walk down the strip and head to the parking lot, where Betsy's purple ride is. Somewhere along the way Laura will feel a bit dizzy, and a bit nauseous.
"Look, lets just relax, drop my bags ovah heah, and then we can hit the movies? If it makes ye feel any safer, Laura, Ah will do something BETTAH than having a keen eye…," and a purple butterfly that might as well be a giant bullseye suddenly shows around Elizabeth's eyes, "And that is having a keen min-OH SHITE!"
Elizabeth raises a barrier consisting solely of lilac energy butterflies to block some projectiles coming at their direction. The moment they hit Psylocke's barrier, Laura will know where they came from thanks to trajectory and vantage points she had already assessed before, making the obvious point the roof. The nausea also intensifies a bit, although Tabitha and Ellie feel nothing.
"C-can't keep this much up for long! What is happening?!"
Coming out from behind a few cars four humanoid things show up, charging the four women: they seem to be wearing what is a slightly updated, darker version of a diver's suit from the 40's, the high-tech paraphernalia on their back making Laura's nausea increase tenfold, the buzzing inside her head almost overwhelming, once they get close enough to try and attackt he women with… needles. They have injections in their hands.
Negasonic doesn't make further comment, as Laura has it covered. She just lapses back into a sullen silence to patiently wait for Betsy to be done with this particular store. She came for Cinnabon, which was the only reason she ventured out with the other three today. Since she's already gotten in, her engagement in the shopping trip has dipped down near nil. That is until Psylocke butterflies out.
"The hell…?" she blurts out, looking up from her phone. She scowls at the attackers and hands Laura her phone. "Hold that," she orders, in case she has to go all Warhead on these jerks, she doesn't want to melt another iPhone. That gets expensive really fast. That also might have something to do with the relative cheapness of her clothing. She waits though, because she doesn't have her X-uniform on and well, being naked in a mall is a recurring nightmare for a teenager. She steps in front of the others and just lets her eyes begin their glowing precursor to her powers.
"Omigooooood." The blonde rolls her eyes so hard it's amazing she hasn't been propelled into orbit, even able to make it known she is doing so from behind mirrored-lens sunglasses as she turns towards Laura. "Can you BE any more of a downer? Take a lesson from Gothulina and Twitter away on your phone if you're that bored. You need the fashion advice, anyway, girl. You do. You really do."
As if on cue, Tabitha's phone beeps, prompting her to tweet her own special messages out to her adoring fan of followers (re: other vapid people). She holds he phone up and selfies with ducklips and a peace sign and the upset crowd behind her through the window.
#hatersgonnahate
"No, Bets. Don't confuse 'shimmering' with 'glittery'. That looks like a third-grader's art project." Yet while the mauve-haired psychic ninja buys clothes, Boom-Boom quietly palms a cute pair of two hundred dollar gloves into her purse while the salespeople are busy. Plus Negasonic and X-23 are, like, THE best shoplifting covers. They both look like the poster children for delinquent children, while the blonde looks like she's got Daddy's credit cards to burn!
They make it to the parking lot somehow without setting off any security alarms, yet another day Tabitha Smith has escaped being banned from the local shopping arena. Things are going swimmingly until Laura starts looking ill and Elizabeth's powers seem to go haywire for a moment. Shields go up, things plink off of them. Baddies are running towards them.
Boom-Boom reacts how her Danger Room training has taught her, smirking in obvious cockiness and summing up a basketball-sized ball of orange psionic plasma in her hands, casually lobbing it over Negasonic Teenage Warhead and towards the charging anti-mutant movement groupies.
Wherever it lands, it goes boom. Very boom.
"Are those needles!? Yuck!"
"I do not use social media. Posting pictures on the internet would make it easier for people to find me," X-23 informs Tabitha when the blonde starts in on her before Betsy finishes her shopping. "You should not do that," Laura states, again, when they move to depart the current clothing store and Psylocke makes a blatant point of going on about people needing to learn to share the Earth with 'them' as they move by the crowd outside the store. The dark-haired teen glances over her shoulder briefly to watch the group warily while the Xavier's group wanders away from them.
"Something is not right," she claims somewhere between the store and parking lot, as that wave of dizziness and nausea hits her. Anybody else, and sure, they could probably just ignore it and blame their lunch or something of the sort. X doesn't really get ill because she ate a bad piece of chicken, though. Once outside of the mall, the Weapon X clone seems to relax a bit, away from the crush of people inside. But that feeling of dizziness doesn't go away yet.
"I do not want to go to the movies. I would like to return to the school now," requests the withdrawn killing machine with some of her unease entering her voice as they near Betsy's vehicle and the Britninja suggests a trip to the theatre. Which is when the blast of things hitting Elizabeth's psychic barrier sounds out. There's a very brief 'deer in the headlights' moment for X-23, something amazingly abnormal for her, and something that would probably make anyone who realized that, worry a bit about the gravity of what is currently happening.
In that little moment of freezing up, Laura takes the phone thrust at her. How did she not see this coming, and how did they know to mess with her senses. The Facility? That much gunfire, she should've smelled gunpowder a while ago….Wait. Not bullets. Tranquilizers? Strong ones, it seems like, since just the smell is making her nauseous. Or is that something else…Buzzing in the feral teen's head is making hard to think, to focus. "We need to run. They're prepared, we aren't," Laura gets out through gritted teeth as she hunches over slightly, trying not to throw up on the spot as things like explosions probably start going off. "Do not let them inject you with anything," she adds while screwing her eyes closed to try and wrestle the nausea and buzzing to a manageable level, as if the other teens really needed to be warned about that.
Boom-Boom's basketball-sized… Boomball (tm) flies over Ellie's head and towards the men charging the group as if a balloon, looking completely harmless other than the intense orange glow. Three of the attackers separate, expecting the worse, but the one behind the group seems to be set on being the hero of the day. They can hear their chatter through what feels like very primitive radio talk, something about their smell now affecting the other three women as well.
- Bzzzt! Tsshhhhhh… BROTHER PHILLIP GET DA FUCK OUTTA THERE! Bzzzt! -
- Bzzzzzztsssssssssh… I'VE GOT THIS, BROTHER BRIAN! I'LL KICK IT LIKE BACK IN HIGH SC- -
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Cars move out of the way and a huge explosion sets off all alarms on the parking lot. For a moment there it is hard to see, and the explosion alone is enough to almost make the group deaf for a bit. Good news: Laura is not as dizzy anymore. Bad news: The three men who separated from the four are standing up, dizzy themselves, as pieces of armor rain down the sky, presumably with people bits inside of them.
- BZZZZTsshshhhhh… ARGH! THE BITCH KILLED PHILLIP! THE BITCH KILLED PHILLIP! WHAT THE FUCK! HE'S GONE! HE'S GONE! HE EXPLODED LIKE A FUCKING PINATA! -
- Tshhhhhhhh- Bzzzzzzzzt- Bitch fried the dampeners. We are in the dark. Mourn Brother Phillip later, and rejoice he has risen above the Fallen World! Now get them! -
- Tshhhhhhh… REJOICE! -
- Tshhhhhhh… REJOICE! -
- Tshhhhhhh… Phillip… -
The three remaining men charge the women ready to strike. They are going for Ellie and Laura first, as they not only look more dangerous, but are at the forefront.
Betsy shakes her head, trying to gather her bearings, memories of someone else jumping to the forefront as she produces a sword of crackling purple energy in her hand, looking around for threats. As the same person on the roof that shot them earlier seems to try it again, she blocks the needles, this time more inneffectively, given the stress and dizziness of explosions and smells.
"W-We are not running away! We are PINNED! DO SOMETHING! KEEP EXPLODING THINGS," says a frantic Britninja as she blocks the heavy, helmeted head of Brother Phillip with her butterfly shield as it rains down on them at last.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! YE EXPLODED HIM LIKE A MICROWAVED FROG! NO EXPLODIN'! DO -NOT- KEEP EXPLODIN' THINGS! CANCEL THAT!"
Very amateurish.
If Boom checks her twitter feed when she posts her selfie, she might notice that Ellie's last tweet (@SullenSilence) was "I am in hell. #mall #glitter #killmenow" Negasonic charges up as she runs over to a large truck, using it momentarily for cover, then detonates her warhead power directionally to blast the heavy vehicle towards their attackers in a sideswipe. There is a wash of heat and force, and her clothes turn to ash around her.
"I'm going to have to wear a goddamned glitter t-shirt," she mutters as she dodges behind another vehicle for modesty's sake.
The explosion reflects in Boom-Boom's sunglasses, her face breaking out in a grin. "Aaaaaand Boom goes the dynamite." She'd probably gangsta sign right now if she weren't holding her purse with her other hand. She hadn't really been trying to kill any of the men, but then again… she hadn't been NOT trying to, either.
There's really no pause for moral quandries here, this was sheer self-defense and defense of her friends.
Not that she'd ever admit Ellie or Laura are friends.
Negasonic goes Warhead on a truck, which is cool, cuz she's already damaged two Hyundais and an Audi, which she actually feels a bit more bad about than Phillip's head crashing down onto Betsy's shield. "These people are gonna need lower insurance deductibles."
Boom-Boom is already moving for cover as the psychic-ninja's shields start to waver, planting a hand on the hood of a convertible and sliding across the hood, crouching down under it. "All I heard…" She says in a low, half-manical semi-shout. "Was 'explode things'!"
Dozens of tiny micro-balls form in her hands, and she rolls the bigger-than-a-marble-but-not-by much pieces under the car and out the other side, the tiny bombs going off in unison like quarter-sticks, providing a dazzling array of lights of smoke and pellets of concrete chips while she tries to pinpoint the shooter on the roof.
Sucks being the only one with range, man! Having to go sniper-hunting.
The death of Phillip is barely paid any attention by Laura, even as the man's bloody head and other parts start to rain down around the parking lot and against Psylocke's shield. The surprising part is Tabitha being willing to kill somebody so quickly. Something to note. Laura straightens as that accursed buzzing and nausea begins to fade. But it's replaced by her ears ringing from the Boom and the screech of the surrounding car alarms. Thankfully, that's manageable. And that brief bit of panic gone. Whoever or whatever these guys are, she's pretty certain they are not related to the Facility.
The dark-haired teen quickly assesses the situation as the remaining three charge them, and the shooter still on the roof continues to, well, shoot. Nothing she can do about the latter right now, really. "Take this," X-23 states while tossing Negasonic's phone at Elizabeth, before there's the distinct 'snikt' of adamantium claws sliding free. Ellie does her thing and throws a truck at the three remaining on the ground, which leaves Psylocke and Laura on clean-up duty, "You are right. We are not running away. I apologize. I thought this was a bigger threat, upon initial appearance."
Whether the suited men who survive or avoid the truck continue to charge or decide to turn tail and run, the cloned mutant lunges forward. Nimbly avoiding any attempts to stick that needle in her, the feral girl's claws seek out throat or chest, going straight for the heart. As she's doing her thing, the teen calls out, "One of you get the shooter. It'd take me too long to climb to the roof."
The car propelled by Ellie hits two of the remaining men, while just one remains charging towards the women. The vehicle bounces on the ground and upwards, 'parking' above other two cars and leaving the armored men on the floor, stunned for the time being.
Tabitha's trick, however, ends up creating enough smoke to keep the mutants safe from the shooter on the roof. Without a clear shot, and listening to the gurgled deathtroes of the men on the ground as Laura unleashes upon them, the shooter bails, leaving Betsy to manifest her telekinesis to hold the raven-haired killing machine mid air and yank her back, saving the last man.
"What the HELL are ye thinking?! Ye all are to- Shite! We need to run! Look at this place," says Betsy as the girls seem like they have been transported to a fashion mall parking lot… in Iraq. Cars are overturned, there are holes on the ground and all kinds of destruction.
"Hop in. He is going nowhere. We are leaving, now," says the Brit, opening the door of her car yelling at Boom Boom and Negasonic, "HEY! Come ovah heah! Ah got clothes fer ye, luv! Come on!" Although she seems frantic, Psylocke still has her eyes open for anything else in the area.
"Picked up a security man… Ah'll suggest he… erases any video of us. Now lets go. We can skip the movies fer a night…," she says, exhaling as she awaits for people to hop into her ride before parting.
Negasonic streaks towards the car, in the 1970s sense, trying to cover her bits as best she can before she dives into the back seat and starts tearing through shopping bags for something to put on. She growls as she tugs one of the glittery Killers shirts on over her head and lays the other one over her lap. "Worst. Day. Ever."
Boom-Boom is over the car in a flash, neatly doing a regulation toe-touch like an honest-to-god fighting cheerleader as she scrambles into a roll on the other side, dislodging those cute gloves from her purse, taking two steps, muttering a curse, turning back around, grabbing her gloves, then sprinting back for the car.
"SHOTGUN!"
Because right now, being the person up front and in control of the radio is the most important tof things.
The blonde quickly settles into the front seat, lifting up the sunglasses from her head, turning to the others as they enter the vehicle, mouth hanging open for a second and eyes closing before she begins to speak, as if what she was about to say were so profound it required an obligatory physical pause right before it can be said.
"I think… we should find a new mall. This one doesn't have a decent food court and their parking service is terrible."
Satisfied with her quip, she settles back in the seat, purse slid down to the floorboard, and reaches for the radio dial.
Poor Negasonic will have to endure nudity, Glitterati clothes, and contemporary pop music all in one day.
"These men are a threat," Laura calmly explains to Psylocke when she suddenly finds herself suspended in the air, mid-leap, by the purple-haired ninja's telekinesis, "Leaving them alive is not in our best interests." The dark-haired teen frowns briefly as she's 'pulled back', away from the escaping figure. The girl's claws disappear as she moves to climb into the backseat of the Brit's vehicle, alongside the naked Ellie, who she pays no mind to, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"I think we should bring an adult with us, next time we go out. Things like this appear to happen far less when one of the teacher's are around," she suggests in response to Boom Boom's mention of a new mall. "Who is going to inform them about this? I would not be surprised if they're already aware of what has happened and are waiting for us when we get back. Given the instruments they had, it is clear their goal was to capture one of, or all of us. It is important that everyone at the school is made aware so they can take precautions."