The New Mutants (80's Era Marvel AU; IC)

[Camleen]

Information Thread and Character Sheets!
The OOC!
The Interest Thread

The Posting Order!
Janice – @Ms.Ezra
Laura - @Camleen
Jo – @abalint
Piotr – @Gands
Joseph – @Sir Kaltao
Colt - @StareNation​

 

[Gands]

Piotr

After a few rocky days of change, Piotr felt life had settled somewhat. He ended up giving the grumpy Colt the single bed and slept on the bottom bunk bed. He liked Jay after all and Colt seemed, as usual, to need a more tender touch. He spent what time he could watching little Ghost ( Laura ). There were new drawings of all the new people, and a few more of Laura.

He usually sat in the front seat, given his size, roughly 6 '2 at age 15. He was excited to come to the mall. He had been getting a small allowance from his brother and had saved a pretty reasonable amount of money with which to buy music and art supplies. He trailed just a bit behind Laura and Janice, watching over them silently. Today, jeans, t-shirt and work boots with a nice little driving cap that Dr. McCoy gave him last Christmas.

 

[Sir Kaltao]

Jay jumps out of the van and puts on his Aviator sunglasses. "Finally! A little more civilization!" He says while stretching his arms. Today he has opted not to go around on his skates, and wears what others would call a 'Canadian Tuxedo'(Denim jeans, with a denim jacket) with his white Aerosmith shirt and red sneakers.


"Hope this place has an arcade. Fingers have been out of practice for gaming lately." He says cracking his fingers together. The money and credit card(for 'emergencies') in his wallet are practically burning to be spent, and Jay gives Colt a little nudge on the shoulder. He looks at him with a Cheshire Cat grin "Let's see what we can get up to." He says as he walks behind the towering Piotr to hopefully avoid the prying eyes of their chaperone.

 

[KC]

Colt had decided to give Logan and Jay a go that afternoon and instead of hitchhiking to the nearest town he had shoved his hands into his pockets and sauntered after them to the gym where Logan had engaged them in a fast and ruthless game of dodge ball. It was obvious to see Colt had aggression to get out and with his natural competitive nature it hadn't been long before Colt and Jay had thrown the balls back and forth at each other with some force. The small glimpse of relief had shown in Colt as he had forgotten about all of the if's, but's and other questions, though as he strived to win there were a few instances where he had thrown a fireball rather than the plain dodgeball. It was all fun and games until Jay had let off a burst, naked to the eye which had thrown Colt clear off his feet and stunned the crap out of him. It was clear that it had been an accident though when he had come round Colt had bristled with anger, refusing Logan or Jay to be near him before leaving the gymnasium. Behind his form had been burnt footmarks in the floorboards, small flecks of ash floating from his body as he had exited.

It took a long time for Colt to calm down before he had raised another conversation with anyone, reassessing in his mind of why he was at the school in the first place. The room he was put into with Piotr and Jay was fine enough, taking the single bed where he hung the small backpack off one of legs. But come sundown Colt hadn't remained in bed, instead found sleeping under a tree out in the school grounds and simply grunting and grumbling when asked why. He had been given a timetable though so far he had been a no show in several, mostly walking around and exploring the buildings and grounds. The other kids seemed nice, Jay had made him laugh on a couple of occasions and Piotr seemed to be a gentle giant. The girls all had varying personalities and though none of them were sure of each other by the end of the second day Colt had stopped snapping every time he saw someone look in his direction.

---
Whilst walking the grounds Colt had noticed some of the staff leave, though to do what or why he couldn't have cared less. However when he had been asked to attend a trip with Ryan and the students from the orientation he had gladly paid attention to where they were headed. As they piled into the van Colt had taken a window seat towards the back, making sure to remember the roads they travelled despite all of the chatter around him.

He was itching for a cigarette, three days without being able to pinch a smoke off a fellow street rat had him grumpier than when he had arrived and on edge. With the van's arrival into the parking lot of the mall there was the hope that somewhere along the way he could lose the teacher and steal a packet or two to take back with him. He hadn't a cent to his name but Colt had learnt a long time ago not to let that stop him from getting what he wanted. As they all exited the vehicle Colt had observed the simple looking place, unsure of why the group had been brought out here but smart enough to assume the professor had them there for a reason. The banners were not as noticeable to him, the imagery showing gems but focusing on what it said was simply going to be a headache for him. As he stepped out onto the path Jays long arms stretched past his nose and he couldn't help the smirk as his new acquaintance nudges his shoulder and mentions what they could get up to. He wasn't sure on what Jay meant but he sure as hell wasn't leaving the mall empty handed. Passing the outside tables and chairs, Colt walked casually towards the front doors, wearing the white shirt and jeans from when he had arrived.

 

[Ms.Ezra]

Janice wasn't certain about how others felt, but she enjoyed the first two days at Xavier's School. Being sandwiched between two other girls who seemed un-interested in socializing was awkward, to say the least, but even when Laura was off doing her thing, and Jo likewise, Janice had plenty to occupy herself with. Like playing Zelda on her Nintoaster(which she'd set up in the common room), and reading the Tesla biography until it was time for lights-out.

On the van ride to the mall, just as it was in their room the redhead was between Laura and Jo, chipping away at the pages of her Tesla book. It was only day three and she was already halfway through. Her mind boggled to imagine what he would think of their level of electrical innovation today in 1988, and how her powers would blow his mind. Her heart also went out to the man, who had been eclipsed (at least in school curriculum) by Thomas Edison, whom Janice liked less as she read about their interactions whether the author intended or not.

When they park and everyone starts getting out, Janice leaves her book on the seat and hops out beside Laura. Today she had put on her favorite dress, and actually brought along her small clutch purse that hung by her right shoulder. It had previously only been used to hold the money she earned from working with her father, and only opened occasionally to buy something special. It was at least three hundred dollars, and Janice wasn't sure what to spend it on, just presumed there might be something she could really splurge on here at the mall.

Janice comes to walk beside Laura, but also looks back to be sure Jo wasn't trailing behind.

 

[Camleen]

The group disembarks from the van, and Ryan leans towards the open passenger window to call out to the group. "I'll be back in 2 hours, right in this spot! Have fun, kids!" and with that, he pulls away slowly in the van. He had been giving a little list of things to pick up while they were here, seems like a good chance to get such things done. But why would they leave the children by themselves? Especially with more than one flight risk?

Perhaps to find out exactly what kind of group they had gathered.

The group as a whole moves along towards the front entrance, and the doors are pulled open. Laura slips past the others of the group fluidly, wanting to get ahead of the group a little bit. She takes a few quick steps in front of them… but then goes back to a slow walk. And then she stops. Her feet don't seem to want to go any further. When she moved passed the group (as if acting like she were some kind of recon), she found herself faced with a lot of sensory input. More than she expected, really. As noted she has never been to a place like this, so she wasn't sure what to expect. And she didn't want to ask any of the others anything about it… she didn't want to seem dumb to them. But maybe she should have. What hits her like a wall is all of the scents suddenly around her, all of the new scents. Like Jo, she relies on more than the basic 5 senses. Well that's not totally true… she does rely on them. But hers are cranked up to 11. There are lots of distracting things before her… neon signs (which she can also hear buzzing)… lots of people meandering here and there… groups of children (most the ages of her own group) just loitering around the edges of the mall… food somewhere (lots of yummy smelling food)… dozens and dozens of scents of people she hasn't encountered yet (most of which will be catalogued in the back of her mind for future reference/possible hunting)… sounds and sounds layered over one another… she isn't overwhelmed, but she does find herself a little intimidated by so much all at once. As she stands there just staring out at everything with wide eyes, the rest of the group comes up quickly behind her.

She finds herself taking a few more steps, as if unconsciously wanting to keep a little buffer of space between herself and her classmates. But as she does, her eyes affix onto another group of teens that happen to be crossing their path. It looks like a group of 5 jocks, all of them wearing varsity letterman jackets with what looks like a bobcat on the back of them. As the jocks pass them, all of the said jocks eye the Xavier students. Obviously looking at the girls, and obviously trying to seem 'cool' or rough to the boys. Even though each of those jocks are at least a foot taller, Laura seems suddenly ready to just leap at them. Her hands clench into little fists at her side as she takes a step towards the jocks, narrowing her eyes at them. Of course the boys really did nothing wrong… but Laura (already a little overwhelmed) takes their obvious posturing as some kind of threat.

A threat to her new group. A threat to her new group of friends.

She feels little trickles of blood from her knuckles, barely noticeable. Her claws are about to push through her skin, but she hears Janice's voice behind her. The redhead asks Laura if she's okay… and Laura instantly seems to relax her stance. She looks towards Janice, her eyes still a little wide as she nods. And as she looks towards Janice, Piotr is suddenly there, eyeing the jocks now. And of course as short as Laura is to those jocks, they are as short to Piotr. Their eyes are suddenly diverted with just a look from Piotr, and the sudden attention of much of the rest of the group. Laura discretely looks looks towards the boys as they continue on their way towards the Spencers, instantly memorizing their scents.

She speaks suddenly as she stares daggers (or claws) towards the boys, her gaze moving towards Jay, and then Janice "What's a arcade? They have games? Do they have a Nintoaster?" Her apprehensions seeming to have vanished, as well as her previous nervousness. Or she's just good at hiding them.

 

[alint]

Jo wasn't that uncomfortable in the mall. She's been to a few in her life and they didn't impress her. To be honest, they were really annoying. As the smells and sensations filled her being, Jo took a deep breath and decided to ignore the overwhelming sound. That was the one thing Jo hated about malls...they echoed. While not overly dramatic, malls had a specific sound to them that made Jo angry. Sounds seemed to get swallowed up by the walls and the stores. Being in the open part of the mall that connected the stores and other shops, Jo wondered if the others noticed. She scanned the area and felt Laura go on edge. For a moment, Jo wondered if she was going to attack the two guys that approached. Jo saw Laura's claws move through the bones in her hand. It was rather interesting how that worked. Jo made a mental note to do some research and see what she could discover about the smaller mutant.

At the sound of arcades Jo cringed. She hated them with a burning passion...just like libraries. Jo secretly hoped that the group would split if they decide dto go to an arcade. Jo moved closer to Colt and Piotr anticipating that they'd be against the arcade idea. It's not that Jo disliked games and she certainly didn't mind going if the group decided to go to one, Jo just got bored there. Jo unconsciously moved her hand to her cane and wondered if she should pull it out now or wait a bit. For the moment it seemed that she could do without it, but she felt nervous about not having it out in public.

Jo turned a bit to get an idea of what kind of stores were in the mall. It appeared there was a lot of clothing stores, but Jo couldn't get a full view. Her 'vision' wasn't wide enough to see all of the stores in the mall...She'd just have to walk around like everyone else.

 

[Gands]

Piotr

The big teenager walked into the mall behind Little Red and Little Ghost, his own mind not completely on his surroundings. He is thinking of the different albums he wanted to try and get. Before going inside, he gets distracted by Colt. His roommate seemed, as usual, out of sorts. Piotr, himself with not a great deal of money, stops to check on Colt.

" Roomate, I know things are not easy for you. I have some money... I give to you a little. So you can maybe get something if you wish... You pay me back sometime. "

Piotr doesn't take no for an answer. He takes out his well worn wallet with the chain attached to his belt loop and pulls out $10.00 American. He finishes his little speech shoving it into Colt's pocket and walking away.

When he catches up to Laura and Janice... Little Ghost is confronting teenage boys. Smallish teenage boys ( at least to Piotr ) who need to feel tough. Piotr gives them a stern look for bothering little ghost and they seem to lose interest and head into a store.

" Little Red, will you keep my Little Ghost company for a bit ? I need to go to the recording store. I have been saving up for such a trip ! "

He turns to Laura...

" And you Little Ghost, ( a hand slowly to her shoulder ) remember, some of these other children are like Russian wolves. They like to puff up chest and pretend they are something. You and Janice, Little Ghost, are something... Pay them no attention ! "

With a big grin, he tussles both of their hair and heads to the kiosk, to find his music store. He feels good now, Janice is ... special... She has good sense and Laura trusts her. Piotr thinks to himself... he trusts Janice too. Laura is a different kind, much like Logan, but without years of experience to keep him from bristling at small slights. When trouble comes, Piotr knows Laura will be there to help him, just as he would do his best to help the two girls.

He watches Jay for a moment, rolling about. This too makes him grin, Jay's light hearted style makes Piotr feel very comfortable. He really barely knows the other young man, but Jay is someone Piotr would try hard to help in any circumstance. Jo, is very quiet.. To Piotr, this means he keeps his efforts to a minimum until she talks to him. She seems nice, but sometimes lost ? Piotr can't put his finger on it. He has rarely seen her looking comfortable.

There... the record store... He promises himself to get something for Laura and Janice, heading that way.

@Camleen @Ms.Ezra @Sir Kaltao @alint @KC

 

[Sir Kaltao]

Jay might have made a display back at the group of guys who in passing had tried to act cool for the girls, had his own attention not been caught by a group of girls leaving a nearby clothing boutique. He had looked over his aviators at them, and made a long wolf-whistle as they walked by. One of them actually heard it, and turned her nose up at him. The smirk that had adorned his lips fell, but then he shrugged. "Not that hot anyway." He brought his attention back to the group just in time to hear Piotr talk to the girls, then make for the record store.

So there he was. Torn between loves. On one side, music. On another, games. But then, if he went to the arcade, he could potentially see what Janice could do in such a place. Yet there was also, Jo. Someone he hasn't seen really interact with others.

"So where you going?" He asked coming up beside Jo. "I'm gonna take a wild guess that video games are like....not fun for you." He said, trying not to sound insensitive. Jay fancied himself many things, but even if he didn't think Jo was attractive he didn't like to be a jerk to the blind. "So how about the record store? Have a listen to some good tunes?"

 

[KC]

Colt was stopped early on by Piotr along the walk towards the entrance. The big guy was trying to be nice though as he offered Colt a ten dollar note he would be met with a furrowed brow.

"Nuh man forget it." Colt had instantly replied with a shake of his head, feeling the instantaneous sensation of threat. It wasn't that Piotr was being rude, it was that the whole idea of someone giving him a pity party and handing him money was utterly embarrassing. Feeling his neck prickle with shame as Piotr persisted in his kindness Colt's expression hardened as he tried to push the guys hand away.

"Listen, I'm not a charity case man." He warned Piotr again, soon finding himself slightly frozen on the spot as Piotr ignored him and stuffed the note into Colt's pocket. Had anyone watched they would have noticed Colt's fluster, opening his mouth to repeat his argument but finding that Piotr had already moved on. Unsure of exactly what to do he had glanced back as Ryan made his announcement from the van window.

It was supremely odd in Colt's opinion that Ryan had simply let the teens go off to the shopping centre alone, after having paid so much attention to the way the teachers had tried to crowd them with 'kindness' and mentorship since their arrival. It didn't sit well and while he was glad to be rid of the wisdom dishing adults, things just didn't sit right. No sooner had they piled out of the van and Ryan had headed off to leave the group to their own devices.

Turning back from having watched Ryan leave, Colt strolled along whilst Laura had already zipped past. She was an oddball but given the small snippets of information the professor had mentioned, Colt had put her behaviour down to whatever she had experienced and a lot of that information was still unknown to him. Watching Laura come to a stop he figures she isn't great with such spaces. As the remainder of the group caught up to her Colt noted the group of guys heading past, the way Laura's posture seemed to scream out that she wanted to scratch their eyeballs out though Colt didn't quite understand why. To him the guys walking past were just random dickheads ogling the chicks and trying to up one another in how cool they were. Still caught off guard with Piotr's gesture Colt felt like a thousand eyes were upon him and so he decided to stick with whatever was familiar. Turning to see Jo move towards himself and Piotr, Colt began to idle over, figuring he would talk to her more, maybe find out a few more things about the chick he had already seemed a lot warmer towards. About to speak, Colt watched Jay spark up his own conversation with Jo.


Great…just great, he had thought, stopping himself short and turning off. He didn't want to admit it but given the craving he had for a smoke and his awkwardness, Colt had decided to make use of that ten dollars. He glanced over at Laura and Janice to work out if they were headed with the rest of the group before reminding himself that there was nothing wrong with just doing what he wanted to do. After all, Ryan had told them when he would be back and where, nothing had ever been said about the do's and don'ts…like don't go off without the rest of the group. Changing direction and plan, Colt headed instead to search for a news agency, figuring if he could catch someone to buy a packet for him or at least scab a freebee.

 

[Ms.Ezra]

Upon entering the mall, Janice is surprised that it actually looks like they show in the movies, and takes a deep inhale of the many delectable smells coming from the food court. She thinks My first purchase might just be a hotdog! Or better yet, a pretzel! Her mouth waters a little thinking about getting a huge pretzel with some mustard. The girl is taken out of her dreams of pretzel delights when the group of jocks walk by.

In her mind Janice hears her mother explaining "Boys do that kind of thing when they like you." followed by the voice of her father saying "They get too close, get handsy, you give 'em a good zap right between the legs. That'll scare 'em away for sure." The first thing confused her, as she's seen boys do dumb or mean stuff supposedly to impress her because they think she's pretty and all. But for the life of her Janice cannot think of a time she has ever felt the same way about a boy. Even for Piotr, the nicest boy she's met so far. Maybe it was just a boy thing.

Just as she's having this thought is when she feels Piotr's big hand on her head, and jumps a little but still smiles up at him. Little Red might seem condescending to some people, but just the way he says it makes Janice feel welcome. "Will do!" She replied to Piotr and then looks between the record store where Piotr is headed, and the arcade. Then it dawns on her that Laura asked a question, and she mentally rewinds to remember what it was.

"An arcade is where they got these umm...big boxes with TVs and a game inside? Yeah that's the best I can describe it. And no they don't have a Nintoaster. I assume. The boxes are a lot more powerful than my stuff." Janice says, fumbling her words and thoughts slightly. She gently grabds hold of Laura's hand and points at the record store "But how about we go there first? That's where they got a lot of music to listen to! I'll even buy ya something ya like?" She asks, almost begs looking at Laura with her eyes big and an even wider grin.

 

[Camleen]

Laura's fleeting attention draws to Piotr as he now addresses her. Of all of the kids, she has (of course) known Piotr the longest. Since both of them were students (well Piotr is a student, Laura hasn't actually attended any classes yet), she has encountered him many times. He makes pretty pictures. But while they have known one another the longest, Piotr doesn't really know Laura. So his momentary lapse in judgement is somewhat understandable. After all, his mistake isn't one that has been addressed as yet. And plus, he's a young guy and he does mean well. He means well for everyone around him, and that's one of the things that makes Piotr special.


Touching.


So when he touches Laura's shoulder, he is given some leeway. And allowed to have his hand back.

Laura's eyes draw to his hand on her shoulder, then waaaay up to his eyes, and then back to his hand, and then back to his eyes with a quizzical look upon her features as he speaks.


Touching.


She tries to shrink away as he tussles her long hair, letting out a cute little fussy noise. Her dark eyes remain upon Piotr as he moves away from the group and towards the record store. Though Laura can't be sure where he's going precisely. But the rest of the group slowly starts to disperse also, and she wonders why they aren't staying together. Shouldn't they stay together? What if the mall really does have wolves? None of them could protect themselves from wolves. Laura's killed many a wolf in her time, so she knows she can fight them off from the group should the need arise.

When Janice describes the arcade, her thoughts are brought back to the immediate group, as well as her attention. She looks along the mall itself for a place with big boxes and TV's and games, looking along the mall's second level also. From her vantage point (and height) she doesn't see such a place. It sounds wonderfully distracting, though. But the music store is right there and all.

Her form tenses when Janice grasps her hand, her gaze diverting towards their joined hands, then to Jan, then to their joined hands, then to Jan.


Touching.


Again, the leeway rule is in effect for the moment. So she doesn't make a big deal of the grabbing and the holding, she doesn't make any real reaction to it actually. Well okay that's not 100% true. Letting Janice lead the way, Laura's free hand comes around and she absently scratches at her own arm. Her fingernails leave discrete and harsh red marks upon her skin, but her eyes are on the record store. The same one Piotr heads to, the same one Jay is trying to get Jo to go to. She looks up, the big glowing sign above the wide store entrance reading 'Camelot Music', the facade of the store an attempt to look like some kind of castle. It's halfass, really. It's obvious the people that run the store are more into the music and not into gimmicks to make the store more attractive to children. "Logan gave me money." She says softly as she watches now Colt move away from the group proper. She has his scent memorized (as she does everyone of the group), so if he is attacked by wolves she'll be able to get to him quickly to help. "But I don't know what else I like, besides what's in the little box under my bed." she continues in a soft tone as she looks towards Janice, as if afraid the others will hear her. As if afraid they might want to try and steal the little treasure hidden under her bed.

 

[alint]

Jo was rather curious about the rest of the group separating. She noticed how some were branching off to the music store while another the arcade. She wasn't sure which she'd go with since neither really peaked her interest. That's when Jay came up and started talking to her. "I'm not sure," Jo replied to the initial question. As she did so, she noticed Colt moving away from the group. She wondered if she could break away and follow him. Of all the people in this group, Colt seemed the most sane to hang around. "I'm not that big into video games. They aren't that much fun for me." Her reply was polite to say the least. She really didn't know what else to tell Jay since he was already taking a guess.

"Record store," Jo replied as she felt the group moving towards their respected stores. "Nah, I'm good. I think I'm just going to wander a bit." Her reply seemed a bit rude in a way, since she was trying to get away from everyone, but she didn't mean it negatively. Jo really just wanted to get away from the rest of the group and wander. Everything about malls was annoying to her especially interacting with the general public, so she wanted to keep that to a minimum.

Jo noticed that Colt was already on his way out and sighed. She wanted to talk to him about his view on this entire situation. With a smile, Jo stated, "Please don't let me stop you from going to a shop you want." She gave a small smile to Jay as if to indicate she was trying to be polite before wandering off in the direction that Colt went.

Jo did her best to avoid the crowds as she wandered through the mall. The large walkways helped when avoiding people, but they were also rather frustrating when trying to cross over to the other side. In the end, Jo found herself sitting on a bench in the mall just watching the world pass by. In the distance, she noticed Colt trying to score a pack of cigarettes.

 

[Gands]

Piotr

As a younger boy, still larger than other boys years older, he was taught by his grandparents that it was the responsibility to take care of those smaller than himself. His brother, was gifted too, but not in the same way. Older brother was very smart, physically athletic and good looking. Piotr was... strong and large. Still it was something. Around the farm he was always the good boy. He helped everyone, did anything that was needed. The family hid him around strangers or government.

Then came Charles Xavier and New York State. He found himself an outcast. Russians were the villains in all the movies and mutant teenagers were a touchy bunch to start with. So, Piotr usually went along his way, doing what he always did..Help. He though little Ghost was very special. He certainly thought she needed him most of all. Not so much physically, but he felt in his heart just how fragile she was.

Little Red, or Janice was in some ways like him. She liked helping he thought. Curious, thoughtful and a book reader. She was far more technical minded than he.. but he liked her. He had though, locked his romantic inclinations deep in his soul. He tried not to watch ~girly ~ movies or anything romantic in the theatre or TV. It didn't always work mind you, but he tried. Who wanted a metal man for a boyfriend anyway, and a Russian on top of that.

For the moment though, he had precious time alone in the music store. He only had eyes for the Vinyl albums and C.D.'s. He had a wide variety of artists in mind and was starting up a spirited conversation with the older African American store manager. Piotr was delighted beyond measure.

 

[KC]

Any sense of awkwardness or shame was completely amiss from Colt when he scanned crowds and politely asked for a cigarette, the behaviour so ingrained that as he stood in the mall just outside of the newsagency he vetted the crowd. As people casually walked past while staring at windows, Colt wove between people that were determined to get somewhere. He could pick out the people who were more likely to part with something from those who often turned their noses up and huffed unapologetically as though he were trash. Then again for Colt to give two shits would mean that he would have to have some self-worth and it was fairly evident once you looked past the façade he threw up that his was almost nothing to begin with.

"Hi sir…sorry to trouble you..." He began with one man who shoved his hand into the air and waved it about in front of Colt's face.

"No worries, have a good day," Colt respectfully ended as he watched the man carry on his shopping. He repeated the process a few times over before finally a younger man had paused in his walking to speak to him.

"Here bro, need a light too?" The younger man had asked as Colt shook his head with a smile.

"Thanks a lot, no I've got my own spark." He replied with amusement which the stranger was oblivious to. Taking the two cigarette that were given to him he kept them in his grasp as he bid the guy a good day he spotted Jo across the centre, wondering why she hadn't gone off with the rest of the group.

Still holding onto the cigarette like a lifeline had been thrown his way, Colt manoeuvred past the shoppers across to where Jo sat on the bench. He wondered if she was still planning on booting it out of the school, having been the only other student to walk out of the professor's office earlier in the week. The bench was long enough to seat a few people and out of respect of both of their personal spaces, Colt took a seat at the opposite end of the bench to her.

"Hey…I thought you'd be off with the others, you know… buying random shit." He murmured as he glanced at her for a moment and then back to the walkway in front of them, his eyes casually looking from person to person as he watched them move through to their destinations.
-

@alint

 

[Ms.Ezra]

"Don't know what you like? Of course you do. You like the music in your box, right?" Janice asks as they walk closer to Camelot Music. "Just think of this as like, a bigger box with a lot more music to match." Jan then walks fast past Piotr and pass through the doors, towing Laura with her. "See?" She gestures around to the racks of music before them. Just about any kind of music one could want was here on either vinyl, tape, or the new medium of Compact Disc. The sound system of the store played Material Girl by Madonna as everyone came in.

Janice let go of Laura's hands, and she made a beeline for the section of cassette tapes, as she wasn't about to presume to use Laura's CD player yet. She starts alphabetically, her eyes wide and mouth in a gleeful grin while she looks through the wide selection. So many choices, it seemed impossible for her to even start with one to buy. Her hands linger on AC/DC at first, then move on to David Bowie.

While Janice and the others browse, the two workers at the counter start to have an argument as the current song is about to reach its end.

"My turn man, and I got something good." The girl says as she comes up to the stereo behind the cashier desk. She stands at it, ready to swap out the current cassette with the one in her hand.

"What is it?" The guy of similar college age asks. The girl shows it to him, and he scoffs "That? Boss said we play the Top Ten, only. Nobody knows Giorgio."

The girl looks offended as she retorts "Excuse you? Maybe they don't know his name, but most everyone's watched Scarface so they've heard his music." The song ends, and before her coworker can protest the girl swaps out the tapes and hits play.

"Whatever." The male coworker says dismissively before turning to help a customer who comes up to the desk just then.

As the new song comes over the store speakers, Janice is looking at the track listing on the back of the soundtrack for Return of the Jedi but looks up as the music gets faster. There is something to the music that is more than just pleasing to her ears. It touches her soul, really. Which is odd, as she normally is touched by music and lyrics. But this was very different as this was all music, and it was beautiful. She puts the soundtrack down, and walks closer to the cashier desk with a look of awe on her face. The female worker takes notice immediately, and leans forward on the counter.

"Hey kid, you like that?" She asks.

Janice doesn't answer immediately. The redhead takes a couple more seconds to absorb the music before nodding and looking at her to say "No. I love it! What song is this?"

"Chase, by Giorgio Moroder." The coworker looks aside at her coworker, who shakes his head in disbelief.

"Do you have it on tape?" Janice asks, coming up to the desk fully now with a hopeful look. "And more by this um...George Moroder?"

"Giorgio has a few, actually, let me see what we got though." The worker comes around the desk and leads Janice by the shoulder back into the racks, looking over them to stick her tongue out at her coworker. In short order, Janice holds in her hands the three cassette albums for Giorgio Moroder and is practically beaming same as the worker. "Think that's got ya set kid. How about you?" She asks Laura on the other side of Janice.

​

 

[Camleen]

Her dark eyes look at the facade of Camelot Music as they pass through the wide entrance. She does look towards Piotr as they pass him, almost as if silently asking him to help her out here. But she looks towards Janice then as she slows to a halt, and then lets go of her hand. Immediately she draws her hand back, her eyes still looking along the racks and racks and racks of music in various forms. Wow… they must have every music in the world here. Like… every single song ever made must be in this place!

Laura continues to follow Janice, her gaze still moving along the various wares offered in this place. It's kind of loud in here, to Laura at least. But she likes the music that's playing, a woman singing a so pop song. She doesn't know who the woman is, maybe she'll ask Janice. When Janice isn't focusing so hard on the music choices. She now stands right next to Janice, following the path of Janice's hand as she browses. But it doesn't take long for Laura to figure out that all the music is in alphabetical order. Ah… organized things… how comforting. Now she finds herself smiling a little more as she casually walks past Janice, her fingertips tracing along the cassette cases as she does so. She looks at all of the cassette names, and nothing really jumps out at her. Not at first. But soon some do start to stand out to her. There's to many for her to go over all at once… but there are a few she makes note of.

Viva Hate. Tender Prey. Follow the Leader. By All Means Necessary. …And Justice For All. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Land of Rape and Honey. Critical Beatdown. Strictly Business. The New Order.

Starting to see a pattern in her head?

Laura stops abruptly and turns, snagging one of the cassettes from its place on the wall. …And Justice For All by Metallica. The cover of the cassette looks like Lady Justice, but bound. Her brows furrow as she studies the stark picture, pacing back in the direction of Janice. She passes Piotr, and without saying anything she holds the cassette up for him to see. As if telling him 'hey I found something!' a small smile on her lips. But her attention diverts to Janice as she hears her speaking to someone. Her path changes, and she now moves towards that front counter, her steps at a slightly faster pace. And as the clerk is leading Janice towards the music racks, Laura just stares up at her silently. Staring. Staring at her.

And she almost jumps when the clerk then addresses her, as she wasn't expecting that at all. For about 5 seconds Laura seems to not know what to say. But after that 5-ish seconds expires, Laura holds up the cassette she had found. She of course has yet to realize her CD player won't play the cassette, but that will be an unpleasant surprise for her when she gets home. She looks to Janice, and holds the cassette towards her also, wanting her to see it.

Laura has no clue who Metallica is, or just how utterly amazing that particular album is. All she knows is that the title of the album clicked with her, appealed to her on a level she isn't even aware of. As did all of the cassettes she noticed had. Justice for all… sounds nice.

She looks as if she is about to say something to Janice and the clerk… but her eyes widen as her body goes stiff. She looks towards her feet, and then around the store slowly. She steps away from Janice and the clerk (and Piotr since he is in the vicinity), looking up towards the ceiling. As if in a trance she meanders towards the front of the store slowly. The cassette slips out of her hand and clanks to the carpeted floor, as if she had forgotten she was even holding it.

Thoom

Laura's head flicks upwards, and she hears it again. It's barely there… maybe Jo would have noticed it also. Thuds. Like tiny and subtle aftershocks of an earthquake you didn't even know was there.

Thoom

She now jumps a little, her eyes snapping towards the front entrance of the mall itself. The front entrance they had just came through. Her brows furrow as she takes another few steps forward, stepping out of the store.

Thoom

Her knees bend as the sound gets louder, more apparent. The others perhaps would hear (or feel) it that time. Tiny tremors. Not enough to knock anyone or anything over, but enough for you to know something is up.

Thoom

Laura's head tilts up and she breathes in deeply the air, and the soured expression on her face shows that she distinctly does not like what it is she smells. Subtle traces of gasoline, of something burning outside in the distance.

Thoom

The sound of those thuds now is accompanied to Laura's ears with the sound of people yelling outside. That's something the others might not notice… but now the mall has grown considerably more quiet. It seems most everyone now realizes something is wrong.

Thoom

Her hands clench into fists, and she starts to walk towards the entrance of the mall, her head bowing down. But she doesn't get 3 steps in before the front entrance of the mall suddenly just explodes forward. Laura
ducks down a little once more… and the source of those disturbances is seen just walking through the doors. Like… through the doors. Not opening them and stepping through. Just walking through the actual doors. An immense being, topping out at just over 9 feet. Most of his form covered in a dark brown armor, his body seeming to be made up of nothing but muscles. He stops inside of the mall entrance, rubble falling all around him. Some of the stones and metal actually hit him, but just bounce off without him seeming to notice. His eyes move along the interior of the mall from under that distinct helmet. He was once just an angry and jealous man… until fate lead him into contact with a small gem. And since the moment he touched that gem, he has been known as Juggernaut.

A couple of mall security men run past Laura towards Juggernaut, their guns drawn and aimed up at him. With an annoyed expression, he looks towards the guards. His large hand the casually comes up, and a single finger presses down on the information kiosk directly in front of him. The metal and plastic frame of the kiosk simply collapses with a wrenching sound. His voice comes forth from under his helmet. "You dicks don't get paid 'nough ta mess with me." The security guards seem to agree, and they quickly move back deeper into the mall, heading to their offices to see who they can call. And Juggernaut just grins as he starts to move forward once more, each footfall accompanied by a low and resonating 'thoom' sound. But he stops after just a few steps, looking into the window of a pet shop. He finds himself smiling under his helmet… maybe after he's done wrecking things he'll come back and get a kitten. All of the offered pets in the window of the pet store seem to be cringing, clearly frightened by all of the noise and commotion. "Aw.." Juggernaut says softly to himself. Yeah, he's going to have to come back and get a kitten.

And that's enough for Laura.

With a low snarl her fists draw down to her sides.
SLAKT
SLAKT
With a soft, muffled sound of metal scraping on bone, 2 blades extend from the back of her hands between her knuckles. Her own blood trickles down the blades as she glares at Juggernaut, her breathing coming a little heavier now. The bleeding from where the blades sliced through her skin stops very quickly, her skin healing around the protruding blades. She doesn't realize it, or even thinks about it, but this is the first time any of her new group would have seen her claws. Well save for Jo, of course. Not showing any hesitation, she strides towards Juggernaut…

 

[alint]

Jo nodded to Colt as he moved towards her. Once he joined her on the bench, she replied, "Why buy something I don't need?" Her voice was even and showed little emotion as she looked at him...More like through him. Her eyes didn't focus on him, but they looked at his head. Jo couldn't make out facial features so she did her best to look at the person's face. "What about you? I saw the giant give you some money, yet you're still begging." Jo tried to sound light hearted, but she wasn't good at jokes. At least, innocent ones.

Just as she finished her sentence, she felt something disrupt the magnetic fields. "What the hell," Jo stated softly to herself. She wasn't sure if this disturbance was something to worry about until she heard people start screaming and running. Jo stands abruptly as hoards of people rush by and through the doors. As she stood, people around her rushed by. She side stepped a few of them as they rushed out of the building. Her senses were telling her that there were mutants fighting, but she couldn't be sure. The chaos was throwing her off a bit. Jo turned to Colt and asked, "Well. Should we see what's happening?"

 

[Gands]

Piotr Rasputin aka Colossus

Piotr was enjoying listening to music samples at the record store and had already made purchases with his puny little credit card. Then out of the corner of his eye, the reflected light from Laura's now extended claws. Piotr frowned and only then heard and felt the thooming booming footfalls. He started to make a quick walk to his little ghost, worried, looking over at Janice to see her reaction when something like an explosion happened.

His first reaction, as Captain America would say, suit up. He willed his armor quickly into place.

" Little Red... Janice... something bad is happening. I will try and keep Little Ghost out of trouble. We need to get people in mall out of way. "

With that little speech done, he ran after Laura. She was so small, all of the other students could get hurt so easily, with so very little training. He said a little prayer in Russian for his friends.

@Camleen @Ms.Ezra @Sir Kaltao @alint

 

[Sir Kaltao]

And a second swing and miss Jay thinks as he watches Jo walk away. Couldn't be a coincidence that it was the same direction as Colt, though he was at a loss as to how she would know that. He shrugs and walks behind the others into Camelot Music. While the girls looked at the tapes, and Tin Man at the vinyl, Jay thumbs through the CD sections. He grabs one each of AC/DC, Guns 'N' Roses, and Def Leppard, but he doesn't really give it all much thought. He tries to think about how he's going to learn these songs by ear later, over the course of at least the next month. His thoughts keep drifting to how the others are so eager to engage with each other, but not him. Despite the friendly and open demeanor, the only one to really respond well was Tin Man. He thinks maybe, it'll just take more time. He hopes at least.

Just as the young man is headed to the counter to buy, he actually listens to the Giorgio song and, liking it very much, plans to ask where he could find it at the counter.

That is until he feels the first THOOM. He feels it a little differently than most given his powers. He feels it on a deeper level, and this stops him in his tracks as he gets a sense of what is causing this. He almost drops the CDs as more follow, and watches Tin Man take the lead after Laura popped her claws. It takes a second after his roommate's left, but Jay sets the CDs down runs after him.

It's hero time. This is it! He thinks as he catches up with Piotr rather quickly. "I'm with ya, big guy. Let's see...whoah!" He stops as they come in sight of Juggernaut. His jaws drops, and he says "Wow Tin Man...I thought you were big."

Looking around, people were of course screaming with fear as they ran. Jay feels his instincts want to follow them, but he fights it. He breathes out, trying to exhale the fear with the breath, and yells at Juggernaut.

'Hey Roid Rage! You're making a lot noise!" Jay brings his hands up and forms a rough circle in front of his face. "So can I!" He reaches out with his power and 'grabs' the soundswaves coming from all the screaming people, amplifying them before redirecting them at Juggernaut's head. The guy would have the equivalent of a rock concert coming into his ears, probably even made worse by the helmet that may or may not act like a bell.

 

[KC]

He had been focused on people watching until Jo's joke had come across as cold as she had delivered it, his eyes training back on her as he frowned. The grey of her eyes seemed to take him back and had he not had the fortune of her not being able to see the look on his face, he would have kicked himself.

"Yeah…well… you know save where you can and all that…" He muttered in reply, caught off guard at the joke. He had found himself suddenly needing to defend his actions, adding, "It's not like half those people couldn't spare to lose one cigarette anyway."

Suddenly seeing Jo's facial expression change, Colt mentally prepared himself for some kind of scolding talk in criticism of his actions. It wasn't unusual but coming from a girl he was trying to be friends with was a little crushing and Colt had changed from being nonchalant on the issue to somewhat unnerved. He hadn't picked up on the first steps of the oncoming threat, only able to hear and feel the subsequent thuds as the source progressed towards the entrance of the shopping centre. There was no time for questions as the sound took over his direction of attention and he turned his head in response of a cluster of people running through the mall past where the two of them were seated. The screams and reactions were all familiar, after all there had been many a time he had seen the same reaction from something that he had done.

"Jesus what is that?" Colt mumbled as both he and Jo had stood up, finding the fleeing people having no regard for them as they sought refuge from the looming threat. Prompted by Jo's question on further investigating Colt stepped off, navigating his way through the people chaotically running past them. Had he not been so concerned with finding out what the hell was shaking the foundations of the shopping mall and sending debris everywhere he might have considered Jo and whether she needed help to navigate amongst the chaos but truthfully he was inexperienced and in the moment.

Bouncing off a stranger who had shoved past in the chaos, Colt rounded the corner in time to have spotted Laura and her claws followed by a metallic looking Piotr. His brows raised as he smiled, "now that is cool." Though this is all greatly diminished and fast as this impossibly supersized being heads towards the teens, Colt looking a long way up to the helmet clad figure.
"shit…" He mumbled as Jay could be heard insulting the giant, making Colt wonder how long until they had before their collective asses were going to be handed to them and suddenly something became a little more clearer. The professor.

This is why they were brought here, a bunch of teens unsuspectingly spending a day of promised delights only to have been placed where coincidently, this gigantic beast would just so happen to turn up. He was pissed, but not quite as much as the giant. With Jay hitting the giant with an impressive display of skill, Colt spotted a group of people in a telephone shop who were cowering behind the display settings. Figuring the giant would be preoccupied by the three he sprang into a run cross the mall, dodging a chunk of flying cement and baseball sliding into the shop where the group were huddled.

"Hey..you gotta get the hell out of here," Colt told the three, a girl and two guys who seemed to be in their twenties. A cluster of responding refusals followed before Colt frowned,


"I'll cover you just get up and run for the exit on the other side of the mall." He told them firmly, not taking no for an answer as he grabbed the girls hand and pulled her to her feet. The trio were scared and he couldn't blame them, if Colt had time to think about it perhaps he would be the same but oddly enough he felt more calculated in the situation purely since he had assumed this was some kind of test the professor was behind.

Managing to get the trio to the door, Colt stepped out first, yelling for the three to run before stepping further in the direction of the giant. The guy was huge and there was obviously no way kicking him in the shin would do anything other than make him laugh. Instead Colt produced a ball of flame in his palms, cupping the manifestation of the element and pushing his energy into increasing it's heat. He was off to the side of the giant, figuring if they were hitting him from different areas it would be more efficient. Once the ball was large enough Colt used the propulsion of energy to send the ball at the giant, hoping that the fire might do something.