Summary:
March 10, 2014: Domino's luck is about to run out as she's tracked down while on the run. Twice. (Language and Graphic Violence)
Highway through Colorado
Lots of mountains, lots of trees, lots of hazards, and a whole lot of nowhere to run and hide.
Characters
![width="100px"](http://comux.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images//width="100px"/medium.jpg)
NPCs
None
Mood Music:
None
It's been a few days since the albino's been around the Tri-City area. Truth of the matter is that she fled the coast at large as soon as she had completed her task, switching out vehicles and hitting all sorts of different highways until she's wound up outside of Denver, Colorado.
It -had- been going just fine for Domino, up until Nightcrawler and his Amazing Bamfs managed to catch up to her. One fast but messy shootout at the High Road Tavern and a stolen pistol later, she's back on her own. New wheels. One pistol short of a mobile armory.
Fortunately, she can easily pay to replace the lost hardware. As for the bigger mutant she had targeted, Cable, things have been deathly quiet on that front. It's as if the man had simply disappeared after the shot had been taken by her hand.
Today's got her back on the road, currently behind the wheel of a late model Subaru Outback. Perfectly inconspicuous, aside from the woman behind the wheel.
~
Rather annoyed by Dom's failure to show up after the attack on Cable, Logan has however, been distracted with other business. However, upon hearing from Kurt that he'd run into the albino mercenary, the old canuck had gotten his bike, and taken the shortcut of a teleport to the tavern Nightcrawler had seen her at.
With the help of Cerebro it wasn't hard to figure out which direction Domino is going, and so he's currently driving down the same highway as the female mutant. The engine of Logan's motorcycle roars as he speeds along through traffic, glancing aside to each vehicle he passes.
A little over half a mile behind Dom's Outback, there's the sight of a hairy old canuck on a bike switching lanes a few times to pass slower traffic.
~
Dom knew that he would be coming. Kurt had warned her of it. She had figured the only reason why the blue dude managed to catch up to her first was because of that whole teleportation thing, the Logan she knew liked to do things the old fashioned way.
Still, it's a matter of some concern that -two- people seem to be having such little trouble tracking her down from over half of a country away… She's damn good at what she does, though the opportunity for either of those two, or Kurt's collection of cherubic lookalikes, to plant a bug on her along the way had been present on several occasions, already.
Catching sight of a small dot of movement in the mirror prompts a quick glance over her shoulder. There aren't too many people that would ride a bike in this kind of weather, certainly not on a highway… "And so the fun begins," she mutters to herself and oh so gently starts to press down onto the accelerator.
"I don't feel like having another heart to heart, kiddo."
~
Speeding along the highway, Logan cranks the throttle as he changes lanes to get around another truck and zip past it. Going about twenty over the limit already, which is why he's passing everyone, the Canuck maintains close to that speed. He's not even wearing a helmet! Hair blowing in the wind, the old mutant continues to peek at the cars he's passing.
With Dom ahead of him, and myriad cars between them, even with enhanced senses, Logan's unaware of the patch-eyed merc's presence up ahead. He is however, steadily gaining on the Outback, closing in on just a quarter mile worth of car filled highway behind her.
~
(You know this is going to happen sooner rather than later, Dom. There's nowhere to run out here and he's got the advantage on foot.)
No side streets, no turn-offs. Not even a dirt road or a 4x4 path, which would be of questionable use with her current conditions anyway. He's got the advantage on the bike, it's only a matter of time before he catches up.
So, she pulls over.
A quarter mile's going to be covered in no time at all. As luck would have it, she's also prepared for such an encounter. Tucked within the footwell is a cut-down AKS-74U, coming up into her hands long enough to loop the sling around a shoulder then tuck the whole works beneath the leather trench she wears. Subtle it isn't, but she knows what she's up against. Pistol calibers are only going to piss the old guy off.
By the time she opens the door and steps out, with the engine still running, Logan's probably going to be right on top of her.
(Check those corners, girl.)
~
Zoom zoom. A quarter mile does get eaten up pretty quickly by the speeding bike. Even quicker when the target pulls off and stops. The feral's eyes note Domino when he glances towards the stopped vehicle. Snorting to himself, the old man shakes his head, and well, she's stopped. So rather than come to a skidding stop, he passes right by her and the Outback.
And pulls off onto the shoulder a short bit ahead of her. Turning around with a quick loop that takes the bike briefly off the pavement, the old mutant eases back towards the Subaru and Domino. Stopping about 20 feet away from the front of the truck, Wolverine cranks the throttle once, engine roaring before he releases the grip.
Swinging one leg over, Logan slips off the bike, frowning and calling out as he does, blue eyes locked on the female mutant, "You know, Dom. I don't much like being lied to. Particularly not when I'm tryin' to help your ass."
~
Dom can wait! As the feral tears past on the bike she passes a sarcastic salute his way, coming around to sit on the front fender while she waits. (He'll be back.)
He doesn't disappoint. As the bike rolls nearer she steps away from the Outback, turning to face the other mutant. "And -I- don't appreciate everyone else following me around and getting into my damn business," she counters. "I've already had this conversation with your partner in fuzz, but let me give you the highlight. -I didn't lie.-"
Not about -some- things, anyway. Everything else she had carefully evaded. For all she knows this guy can smell a lie like he can everything else.
"You guys helped, good on you. One less terrorist out on the streets. I hope that lets you both sleep better at night, because my part in this? -Done.-"
(He couldn't have caught my scent on those explosives after they went off, right..?)
~
Once off his bike, the short Canadian is stalking towards Domino, one hand coming up to point a finger at her. The old man does in fact serve as a pretty handy living lie detector, but it's not quite going off just yet. Scowling at the albino woman he growls, "Alright, you didn't lie. You just kept a lot of shit to yourself. Which, you know, is about as fucking bad, Dom. Especially when we're talking the difference between tranq'ing some schlub and putting a bullet in his damn dome."
Continuing closer, Logan moves to jab his pointing finger against Dom's chest unless avoided or stopped while he speaks, "And really? Maybe, I'm mistaken, but I recall you mentionin' a tranq dart. Which just makes it look even shadier. Because of all the fucking people in the world who might understand when you say 'he'll get back up from a rifle round to the head', you're gonna hide that from /me/? So spill the beans, or I'm tranq'ing /you/ and we're gonna drag it out one way or another."
~
Taking this to a chase on foot is not something Domino wants to do today. She's got a -car,- she can't be bothered to run! This means holding her ground, letting the Snikter get up close and personal enough to jab at her front.
"He's a fucking Omega level!" she practically yelps, complete with holding her hands out to the sides in emphasis. "You think he's going to go down as easily as a moose? Maybe I referred to a tranq a time or two, but you of all people should know that a little drug cocktail isn't always going to do the trick! Look, I did it as humanely as possible."
Yeah, sure.
"Anything else and he would have known we were coming for him, he could have countered and taken us -all- out before we'd ever have the chance to get another sh—oh for fuck's sake, this is going to take a while, isn't it."
With a heavy sigh she simply turns around and starts walking to the open door of the Subaru, though she's reaching under the dash rather than climbing into the seat.
~
"Omega level! Omega level! Omega level!" Logan repeats the phrase in dry tone, "Hey. Maybe you aren't as familiar with other mutants as am I. You know, most Omega level mutants I heard of, you manage to put a bullet in their head, they're done. For good. So that's the first bit of explaining you got to do. Telepathy don't fix a bullet to the head."
When Domino draws away, the old man folds his arms across his chest, watching her, "Don't do anything stupid, Dom. I don't think you need any more trouble than you already got yourself into." Logan grunts, "Why don't you just save us some time and come out with it, kiddo. You're good, but you messed up this time, and you got about fuck all chance of disappearing. You want me and the elf to leave you alone? One real easy way to get us out of your hair."
~
"..Well, it's true," Dom dryly replies when her words are thrown back at her. There'll always be some youthful arrogance to her, largely because she's not all that old. Fortunately, she's also not stupid. Inside the car, she pops the rear hatch and turns off the engine. Then, she makes her way around to the back.
"I only screwed up according to you and Kurt," she argues in her own defense. "The SRD couldn't handle him, so we leveled the playing field. He's alive and in containment somewhere, god knows if that happens to be in the city or not."
From the back of the Subaru: Beer. She flings an unopened bottle over the roof toward the other mutant then grabs one for herself, turning around and dropping down onto the tailgate. She may as well get comfy.
"You and your energetic ceiling crawler pal haven't exactly been forthcoming, yourselves," she counters as one heavy boot comes up to perch along the gate beside her. "Are you seriously going to push the matter of fine job detail? Because you damn well know that's not the sort of thing I run around talking about, and I don't have that sort of patience. Be glad that we took that guy down before anyone else got injured. As for the use of live ammo…" she trails off with a slight smirk, now seeking direct eye contact. "Do you think I would have gone after -you- with a freaking dart? You're fifty cal territory, Stumpy."
~
Hand snapping up, Logan catches the beer bottle and begins to walk around towards the back of the Subaru while opening it and taking a drink. Leaning against the back of the vehicle, he sakes his head, "Oh, we haven't, huh? Lemme guess, you're wondering how we keep bumping into each other." There's a grin offered to the pale woman.
"Me? Nah, but I'm better than Omega level. Wolverine level, Dom. Takes more than bullets, don't care how big you go," Logan's still grinning at the white-skinned woman, "So, you gonna stop jerkin' me around or what? There's somethin here on this job you ain't comin' clean about. It's gonna come out one way or another eventually, you know."
~
Back in SRD confinement cells, there is silence. The monitors in the security office show the same thing; the mutant known as 'Cable' is sitting on the floor of an otherwise empty cell looking forlorn, looking as if there's something that can be done to help his predicament. In the next moment, the monitors show him gaining his feet and pacing.
Hours later.
Inside an otherwise empty cell, there sits a single, small cylinder on the floor and no mutant to be found. To check the monitors? It shows him pacing, then sitting again- all natural acts.
Where Logan and Domino sit and talk, there is a rustling of leaves on an otherwise still day.
~
"As a matter of fact, I -am- wondering about that," Domino sarcastically replies with an 'eat shit and die' expression settling into place as she looks back to Logan. "If one of you kids bugged me you're going to wake up one morning to find the world's only GPS-tracked colon."
'Wolverine level.' Here she smirks, "You really are in a league all of your own, old timer. Don't discount what one of those bad boys can do, however. They're nothing like the rest of—"
"—Us…" Rustling leaves. (Think fast, girl.) "Alright. We can cut to the chase," she offers while getting back to her feet and walking around to the open driver's door once more. (How many seconds was that again..? -Shit,- I don't remember.)
~
…Two…
One…
Bodyslide by one.
Where the leaves rustle, there now appears a rather large mutant with a shock of white hair atop his head, dressed in cargo pants, shirt.. and no drover's coat looking as if he has a single thought in his head. Search out and destroy. The moment he appears at what is apparently his LZ, he's looking, and it's not only with that bionic eye of his. Oh no… there's a touch on the brain, but he doesn't go any deeper than that. Target is acquired, and with more than just a brief intake of breath, he yells, his tones echoing that expression of pure fury.
"Domino! What. Have. You. Done!!"
Trees blow out of the ground that once held them in place, the creaking of wood turning to explosions as shards of timber fly. Dirt clouds obscure the light of the sun, coating everything with at least an inch of soil.
~
(Shrapnel in mirror may be closer than it appears…)
Domino's spent lots of time with Cable. Even then? She's never seen the guy well and truly -livid- before. It's not something she ever cared to see, it's not something she wants to see now.
She -should- have had more time, goddammit! Those SRD idiots really can't do their jobs for shit!
As the Timelord appears there's the sudden throttling of an engine, all four of the Subaru's wheels tearing free of the pavement and shoulder with enough force to knock the shortest mutant of the three right out of the back. And some of the beer.
The bike gets taken out by the front bumper, spun about and out into the highway where an already barely controlled semi obliterates it while trying to avoid the -exploding trees.-
Behind the wheel is one hunkered down albino woman, grim determination etched upon her features as she pushes the poor car for all that it's worth. It's the same problem as before. No side streets, no turn-offs. She can go one way, she can go the other way. Right now even that last option's taken away from her.
She is NOT driving TOWARD Nate.
~
The fact that another mutant is even present escapes Nate's immediate attention, now that he's got one in particular in his sights. The squeal of tires, the pushing of a little car to do something it was never created to do is all he sees.
And the driver.
A step is taken in the direction, and Cable doesn't even flinch with the dirt kicked up by the tires. Nor does he care about the ruined bike, or even the semi that is coming in the opposite direction. There is the huge and sudden urge to simply push that truck off the road with no little force, but a second thought hits. Even doing speed, the door of the truck is pulled off by an unseen force, and the driver removed. It's then when he stops the truck, the dirt flying once again, and the entire haul begins to shudder.
Now… now his attention turns towards that desperate little Subaru in its flight, and with a flick of his hand, sends the car end over end.. the back end flips up like a horse trying to remove its rider, only to begin a -roll-. It's not something natural for a car, not like a side roll, oh no.
Over and over it rolls, and when it stops, and it will, it will only stop because it has managed to smash into the side of a parked semi that is hauling a load of grocery items.
~
The sight of the truck driver and his door getting plucked from the semi reminds Dom that Cable's got pretty good range on that telekinetic power of his. Maybe she doesn't see what's coming next, she just knows that it's coming.
"Oh, -shi—"
It's almost like a Matchbox car being launched from a three person slingshot. The woman's reality becomes a blur of split-second flashes of imagery. Sky. Road. Sky. Road. She's not able to keep up with the number of impacts, sudden explosions of deafening racket followed by moments of near complete silence as the trashed vehicle cartwheels through the air.
Parts go flying every which-way. Chunks of pavement get torn up with each point of contact with the wildly out of control Subaru.
And then it's over, lying at a forty-five degree angle amidst a truckload of cabbage with one very, very badly battered driver left hanging upside down.
That she's even in the seat anymore is a miracle all of its own.
Fresh blood is already oozing away from numerous lacerations across her face. Her armor's taken a fair amount of the abuse away from her, though it's done very little to prevent one of her legs from becoming fractured once it had gotten lodged up into the footwell, the broken limb now the only thing attempting to keep her against the seat and not falling out from the overturned roof.
The hissing of steam and the splashing of a ruptured fuel line are the sounds which bring her out of her concussed daze, her eyes refusing to focus as she looks 'down' at her caught leg. Luck managed to keep her alive. Willpower is all which keeps her moving.
"Hrrg… HrrrRAAAGH!"
A solid two kicks from her 'good' leg frees her bad one, spilling the woman out through the remains of the windshield and out onto the debris-littered pavement, barely moving.
~
Cable doesn't rush to the scene of the 'on purpose' (no accident here!), but instead strides, keeping eyes on the smashed vehicle before him. The driver of the semi is stumbling, and in a wide-eyed panic is torn between checking on the accident and calling 911.. or doing anything when he catches a look at the livid mutant stalking towards what should be a fatal crash.
"What did you do!?" is yelled again, though Cable stays his hand. He wants answers, and he wants them out loud. He can go in and pull them from her, painfully if need be, but this is a method that he'd rather wait on.
"Do you understand what you've done?!" Cable's voice booms, covering the distance that he hasn't yet physically crossed. It won't take long, however, with the length of his strides in her direction. "Tell me who put you up to this!"
With each step, trees fly through the air, dirt flies… those chunks of pavement are dislodged and tossed with ease away from him. Birds are pushed unnaturally far and unnaturally fast; everything looks as if it was hit with a giant bomb, or rather buzzed by an aircraft at sonic speed, everything lying eerily in the same direction as its pushed out from the center.
~
"I think..the term..is 'crash and burn," Domino mutters under her breath with a pained groan. (Bruised ribs, thank you steering wheel.)
Crumbs of safety glass pepper the battered merc's figure, her leather trench fairly well ripped apart. The slung AKS, formerly hidden beneath an arm, is now plenty visible. It's also what she blindly reaches for, the tip of the muzzle brake scraping across the road as she drags its familiar weight closer toward her core.
"Just a job, Nate, just a job," she starts in a low whisper which quickly builds momentum until she can yell it out from around bloodied teeth, "It's -just a fucking job!-"
Using the truncated assault rifle as a crutch she struggles to pull herself up and away from the road, promptly grunting after some of the weight shifts onto her busted leg. It's futile at this point, she knows as much. However, giving up isn't something that she's known for doing.
Barely supported with one bent leg beneath her, she casts that bloodied, blood-shot smirk toward Cable with matted black hair stuck to the sides of her face and the automatic's sights leveled in his direction.
"Hiya, Nate."
A crooked index finger pulls the trigger. -Holds- the trigger.
~
"The whole damned world will suffer for it, Domino! Do you not -get- that? When did selling out the whole world mean a paycheck?"
Cable is livid, but he's doing his best to keep from killing her. Or anything other than vegetation and the occasional squirrel that doesn't have the sense to get the hell out of Dodge. It's not easy, though, and the chances are good that it's true, Domino hasn't seen him quite this mad before. Not 'senseless rage' mad. Cable SMASH mad.
"Just a job? Hiding behind those words again?"
At the word 'again', those bullets come at him with deadly intent, but they both know that they'll never reach him. Never had a chance to. That shot before, that was a lucky shot to the back of his head. He never saw it, never expected them, and for that, he's been gravely injured more than once. But these? Telegraphed before that finger ever touched the trigger.
He's close now, his strides bringing him to that 'larger than life' look that he has, and in the next second, reaches out- but doesn't touch.. oh no.
By that same, unseen but no less impressive, unyielding force, Domino is grabbed by those cracked(?) ribs and thrown against the side of the crumpled but still mostly upright tractor-trailer. "Did you want this virus? I can give it to you and you won't have to steal it from me."
~
The rattle of automatic fire further helps to disperse any bystanders/drivers, though it ends as abruptly as they pained "Nyyyah—!" starts from the smaller woman's lungs as she's neatly swept up away from the road. The resulting impact against the side of the trailer is met with another strained yelp and a *whunnnng* from the somewhat hollowed-out container.
Thin sidewalls on those metal trailers. This one's now got a Domino-sized dent in the side of it, complete with a splash of color.
It's like having someone pin her to the ground by a boot to her sternum, except that she's vertical and hanging several feet away from the ground. And her ribs are already plenty messed up. Kinda makes breathing a touch challenging, let alone attempting to argue with the enraged mutant.
And she thought Logan could have a temper…
"Already got..all that I needed… Thanks anyway, kiddo." (Christ, he wouldn't really infect me with that shit…)
"Big..fucking deal, Cable..! I cash in, we go and frag his ass, burn the sample, life goes on! Like this sort of thing has never come up before!"
~
Cable really doesn't appear to care how much company, how many bystanders may be surrounding— or even if there are emergency vehicles en route to the scene. "Except the part that you didn't bother telling me that there's someone LOOKING for the stuff. AND the whole part about getting tossed into SRD custody. That.. that was pretty much the telling part of it all."
Letting the hold drop as suddenly as it was taken, Cable turns around to face the onlookers now, a challenge fixed upon his face as if daring anyone to step forward to get involved. Who would if faced by a 6'9" tall obvious mutant? "We're going home now," he calls over his shoulder, "And you're going to fix this." Because if they don't leave and soon, the chances are good that the SRD will be on its way. No one likes an 'escaped mutant'. Particularly one now labeled an 'Omega'.
~
"Figured you could piece that part together for yourself," Domino replies in a strained voice. Still, she does have the energy to grin that bloodied little grin. "Figured those Sardines could stand to get schooled a bit, too."
Which it sounds like Nate may have done during his brief stay there.
Then she's released, sliding down the side of the trailer with a hollowed 'Wrrrrp!' before returning to the pavement with a howled yelp, rolling over her broken leg as it fails to support any of her weight.
On one hand, getting out of here sounds great. It's what she had -tried- to do before the car got launched end over end around her! On the other hand, she knows what 'home' is in this instance.
It's somewhere that she happens to have zero control.
"Oh don't you fucking dare, Nate—"
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