[fieldbox=X-23, red, solid] For once, Peter didn't seem suspicious or pushy about her answer, for which she was grateful, but then she wondered why he didn't ask or even tease. Hazel eyes searched blue ones for any sort of clue causing his silence. He didn't look like he was remembering...More like he had slipped into a sort of trance. Or maybe he was dazed and daydreaming? Peter wasn't the type. Had he hit his head too hard in one of his fights today? Laura finished off her ice cream cone right before leaning forward across the table to try and regain his attention. What's going on?
Instead she lost his eye contact as his gaze returned to the TV, where a bunch of SHIELD agents or whoever were meeting up at OSCORP. They seemed like a ragtag bunch, as if they'd just met each other and decided on a random whim that they would work together. It was strange to watch, but it was all she could assume from the image onscreen alone. That is, before Peter started to stand to depart. She stood as well but he smiled weakly and dismissed himself. That was rather abrupt. She really hoped this 'voice in his head' had not been of his own making.Who knew what the pressure was like for a hero? "Wait!" She yelled after him, maybe to say goodbye, but Spider-Man was already gone. Laura sighed, for he seemed to forget that she doesn't have a phone and that she isn't staying. She can't. It's better this way.
Laura had not promised to stay, so she didn't. The Hudson River is the end of the world for New Yorkers, but for her, it was to be another starting line. New place, new life, new start. She would walk the whole way there. It gave her time to think. Maybe too much time to think. She held her backpack tight and on her way there, by the time she got to an old block slated for demolition, she could see the sun was going to set soon. Her feet had her wandering through the block, nose catching a few high squatters here and there. She wondered if she should stay for the night. It's not like she could swim the Hudson. She can't swim at all. She'd have to use her latest salary on a ferry across tomorrow morning. It wouldn't leave her with much, but the transportation would be worth it. Now it's only a matter of which warehouse to camp in for the night. She could have found other ways out of the city. Taxi perhaps. But she was a bit too riled up and confused about her emotional state to really go anywhere. Then again, it might just be a small hope that she'd see Peter again before she left that kept her here.
By the time she thought she'd found a nice little dwelling without anyone nearby, somewhere near the edge of the block, she heard strange noises. Squeaking and cranking. Whirring and buzzing. Like something was being built where things were going to be destroyed. Laura cocked her head and listened closely, damning her curiosity as she walked closer. By the time she got close enough to see where she was, she already knew what she was walking into. She could hear them, smell them. The Synthetic Seven were here and egging on their hostage to build something. She probably shouldn't have stuck her nose where it didn't belong. Whatever it was they wanted their hostage to make, it couldn't be good and when she turned the corner to see the warehouse, it turned out to be one abandoned by OSCORP. Hm. Wonder what kind of toys they left behind for the Doctor to use?
Laura frowned and wished she had some weapons. She probably should have taken the useful parts of the Spider Slayers with her now that she thought about it. Could've used those kinds of guns on her side. Too late now. In an environment where the city can't really take her hits without too much damage, letting off steam has been a bit of an issue. Let's just say her wild side has been itching for a fight. It's not like these guys don't deserve it. She wasn't afraid of them and if she was lucky enough to defeat some or all of them, that would be less chance for Spider-Man to get hurt trying. So, her choice was made based on the question of Why Not? and she approached the old warehouse with caution, deciding to try to get the hostage out for Peter's sake.
X-23 is an expert on being inconspicuous. It was fairly easy for her to get around the building without being noticed. Where there was a fence, she jumped over it instead of climbing (to avoid the jingle of the chain link). Where there was a window, she crawled under or otherwise avoided it. It wasn't a long trip and she paid attention to the voices inside that did not indicate they heard her at all. Just as she expected, there was a back door kept shut only by a thick chain and padlock. Child's play. With a soft snikt, the pair of claws in her right hand erupted from pale skin with a bit of blood that stuck to the inside of fingerless leather gloves. X-23 easily cut through one of the links in the chain and removed the chain from the door as quietly as possible. The door was rusty, but she got it open without too much fuss before crouching behind a crate and sliding the door shut where she had only created the smallest crack to slip in through. Time to assess the situation. From what she could see with a single hazel eye watching through the space between two crates, there was a swarm of bees in the form of a man by the front of the warehouse, a man that was sort of bluish with electricity kneeling by who she guessed was Dr. Octa-whatever, a man made of water who was keeping away from the technology, a guy made of sand who was doing likewise on the other side of the room conversing quietly with a guy who was shirtless with no obvious mutations and a mysteriously spotted guy who looked like a dalmatian sort of shifting about. Okay so that's six...who's the seventh? Was he somewhere she couldn't see? X-23 stiffened when she felt something skitter over her leg, and then her thigh, then on her arms and she could see quite well in the dark so when she looked, all she saw were spiders. They surrounded her and she gasped until one jumped onto her neck and she shut her mouth tight trying to slap them all off as they all started advancing on her. A few started biting and although she would be immune to the venom and the bites would heal quickly, they were still painful. She scrambled about, trying get them off without making too much noise, but there was so many and she kept trying to step on them but they were too quick! She breathed shallow breaths through her nose, kicking and flailing and slapping, but to no avail until they converged behind her into the form of a hissing woman who launched her over the crates she'd been hiding behind into the plain view of the Synthetic Seven plus their hostage. She landed in a sloppy crouch with a grunt in front of the electric guy she though was maybe called Electro (so creative) and Dr.?.
"Look what I found..." The spider lady screeched disconcertingly behind her.
"You run, I'll distract them. The back door is open. Go!" She hissed to the hostage as Electro roughly pulled her to her feet and the others took an interest and came closer.
"Now who do we have here? A kid who wandered into the wrong hiding place?" He laughed and a few of the others joined in. X-23 wasn't in the mood for talking. So while, Dr. Oc ran for the door, she let all her claws slide out swiftly. The quick sliding of sand across the cement floor was heard and she turned to watch A large man stand in the hostage's way, having been made of sand. "You're not going anywhere!" He proclaimed and backhanded the smaller man into a bunch of crates by the wall. He immediately wen unconscious but he boxes had not collapsed on him. So much for that desperate plan.
"Ha. You want a fight? What is she, a lost X-man wannabee?" The water guy smirked and she narrowed her eyes, (who are the x-men anyway?) glancing at Electro and the water creature for a moment. What would happen if she got those two together?
Time for action.
X-23 landed a swift kick on Electro who stumbled, about to head into water guy, but the dalmatian got in the middle and had him fall onto the ground, where he glared at X-23. She just growled. He should be glad he got hit the the sole of her foot rather than the front, where the blade lies.
"HAha...you wanna fight little girl? You've got a fight." said the man who was shirtless. His hand became a thick chain rope where his hand touched the coil of it by the door. He whipped it toward her quickly and she flipped backwards out of its reach, but landed into a swarm of bees flying around her and stinging and she swiped at them and acrobatically avoided them, snarling in her frustration as dalmatian guy intercepted her path and shoved her back, where the bugs laughed and buzzed around her. She didn't falter though. They underestimate her. She regained her footing instantly and ignored the bees as she slammed her leg into both of his. Spotty landed on the ground hard and she wasted no time in sending her claws through his hole of a face. Except she didn't understand how this worked so her hand went flying out of his chest only to embed her pair of claws into her own stomach. Talk about a taste of your own medicine. X-23 gasped and pulled her bloody claws out of her abdomen just as a huge sandy fist sent her into a group of crates hard enough to break the wood behind her. "Ah!" The brunette cried out, landing in a bloody puddle on the ground as her stab wounds healed.
"Had enough yet, kid?"
"I'll teach you to leave well enough alone!"
The chain came at her again and she rolled out of the way, but not quick enough to avoid it wrapping around her ankle so it could lift her upside down. She breathed hard and growled furiously, remembering all the times she'd been trapped against her will or beat up by older men or betrayed, lied to, told she was a child. "Not today!" She shouted, and snapped the chain in two with her claws, white shirt bloody from her healing stomach. It was still painful, but in the heat of battle, she wasn't paying attention to the tiny wounds now. Bursts of electricity and sand were flown at her, but she dodged, leaping and ducking until intercepted by the spider woman again. X-23 was having none of that screeching so she slashed her blades through her chest in successive punches quick enough to have her back up into an unprepared water guy. The screeching grew louder as many of her spiders flailed in the water and drowned swiftly. X-23 covered her ears, but got picked up by water guy, only to melt into his fist where she sunk too swiftly due to her dense claws and landed on the ground again. She was suddenly engulfed in sand, stuck in the chest of a laughing sandman while her hair dripped and Electro punched her across the face, letting a burst of electricity course through her all at once. X-23 screamed and spit on him, struggling to free herself from the sandy villain who ended up sprinting with her to the front door where he expelled her onto the asphalt covered in water, sand, fading bug bites and a bloody shirt, with simple scars underneath that would be gone in a minute. Electro came sauntering out as she lunged for him, claws outstretched. The chains got her this time, restraining her arms so her wrists were pinned to her hips and her legs kicked at the knees. She wriggled and panted as Electro got in her face. She nearly bit her nose, but he only laughed.
"Oh stop struggling girl, I only want to talk. Now--"
"I'm Not here to talk!" Ugh how had this turned into such a distaster? She had taken on way more guys than this before and remained unscathed. She just wished these mutants were human. So much easier to kill. Still, she must be out of practice. X-23 struggled viciously in the chains. One layer cracked.
"Oh she's a squirmer." Commented her captor just as her leg kicked just far enough to impale Electro's thigh with her claw.
The man cried out and backed up, but he was still outside the building when he grew so bright and electric that he hovered, wanting immediate revenge for the wound. "You know enough anyway. You don't wanna talk? Then you won't. Ever."
And with that, the villain reached up and wrapped his hand around her neck, avoiding her teeth which attempting to bite his glowing fingers off. It was obvious that didn't work out. Especially when he electrocuted her. Enough to kill anyone else, X-23 screamed as her tissues were burned and her whole body convulsed furiously. The chains cracked and snapped in places, but did not fall from around her until her heart stopped and Electro was sure she was dead.
She was dropped on the pavement, unconscious until her heart started beating again and the villains began to head back in to grab their hostage and machine to head somewhere new. X-23 groaned, burned at the neck and healing slowly as they began to walk away. She could only see their feet with the tiny slit she saw through as her eyes flickered just slightly. Her whole body ached and she didn't want to move. That was a bust. Sure it released some anger, but there was plenty more she wanted to expel now that she lost. She hadn't been able to help Spider-Man at all and now it would just be that much more annoying to leave tomorrow. So now, in the fading light of sunset, Laura sighed, lying limp on the pavement with ripped jeans, a bloody stabbed shirt and fading burn marks on her neck. Her claws were still out, glinting in the golden light of the setting sun. She didn't have the strength just yet to move a muscle as her prey walked out of sight.
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