There was another shot, and more yelling. Pippa's head was reeling from pain, blood loss, and not being able to orient herself without her vision. She held on to the back of the chair as she sat up.

"Sabine? AJ?..."

...

>>"I'm here. Hold this, please. Where are you hurt?"

Something heavy and metallic was pushed into her hands.

"AJ we can't s... oh."

Vision came back with blinding light; Pippa screwed her eyes shut then blinked rapidly.She could see? She could see. There was a gun in her hands. "AJ what the f***"

He found the wound by himself by now. It was her left shoulder blade. The bulled had gone in, but at an angle that made it also come out almost immediately, leaving an entry and an exit wound on the two sides of her shoulder blade. Of course Pippa couldn't tell; all she could feel was the pain. There was a lot of it.

With that said, there was a gun in her lap and a lot of dangerous people around, apparently. Pippa only knew the bare basics bout guns. Don't point them at anyone you like. Check the safety. Done.

>>"Did someone try to get to you? And where did you get a gun?"

"I think... a lot of people were trying to get to us" Pippa noted, sucking air through her teeth.

>>"You're an Adapted, yes? Can you tell me what I missed and how you got here?"

"Sabine, AJ. First responder. He crashed through my roof. AJ, Sabine. She's my boss. And yes... AJ, how are you here?..."

AJ poked and prodded and eventually came to the conclusion that it was entirely safe to move Pippa. Of course, people had been talking to him the whole time he'd been sticking his fingers in the holes of her shirt. He gave the ninja girl a cursory glance as she spoke and squinted at her lips.

Hippa? No, there was no HIPPA to worry about on the field and any information volunteered by the patient was... no she was talking and expanding on her earlier question and it was not about HIPPA. He realized as she finished talking that he was an abysmal lip-reader. He couldn't parse a single phrase.

"I came with the fire crew. I'm EMS. Slight pressure, Pippa." He jerked his chin toward the now-blind crew that was still funneling people out with the hose method as he placed his hands on either side of Pippa's shoulder. He pressed in which would hurt initially and then taper off. His hands weren't the cleanest, but if they could get out and clean up, there'd be no worries. His main concern at the moment was to stem the flow of blood and get them mobile. "The darkness tapers off somewhere in the parking lot. It's totally confined to this building at the moment."

Of course now his hands were fully occupied.

"She can move. We should move." He reported to Ms. Ninja. There had been head nods and further introductions from Pippa which he felt through his hands more than he actually heard. But he understood the nod and the body language to mean that Ms. Ninja had some authority in this situation. "She'll need an x-ray to rule out intrascapular fragmentation and a hell of a lot of antiseptic. They repelled down from there." He tried to indicate up with his head, and felt really dumb since the head is not a great pointer, but he was going to keep his hands steady in location and pressure. At least the ropes were still dangling as evidence. The strings were moving, but he wasn't sure if that meant there were more people up there or if there was just some kind of airflow.

"If you want to continue seeing on the way out, keep an arm on my shoulder or something. My-" He floundered, still unsure of what to call it— "My luck does not go too far."

Sabine's question might have sounded obvious, but she needed to know if Pippa was a target. If this was a smokescreen to take Sabine during the darkness and the panic, she could handle that. She knew hostage protocols and no one questioned her ability to take care of herself. If these terrorists were trying to get Pippa as well, a lot of options were off the table in Sabine's opinion.

The friend, AJ, was a first responder. Their meeting sounded like some slapstick premise, but all Sabine cared about was knowing AJ could handle himself in a crisis. She had all the respect in the world for first responders, especially when someone she wanted to keep safe and healthy was shot with a bullet.

Coming from the outside, AJ could confirm Sabine's suspicions; this was a contained incident. It was hard to make out everything he said over the noise when he broke into medical speak, a language even Sabine was not well-versed in, but she got the gist of their goal.

Before offering a hand to help Pippa get up and ready for a hasty escape, Sabine reached to take the gun from her PR rep. She assumed, given the everything about her, that Pippa might not be interested in holding a semi-automatic weapon. It sounded like AJ, who she was certain was an Adapted, spoke of his powers in an... unfamiliar way. Something to tuck away for later. Either way, it sounded like his aura was not wide-reaching. "I'll keep to your back and cover you. You and Pippa lead the way, and I'll watch our six."

Walking backward downstairs was a recipe for disaster, but Sabine had grace and having a tall, strong back to lean against should keep her stable. Good thing, too; if she had to fire her weapon, she refused to fire a single errant bullet in a place like this.

Pippa winced and yelped as AJ pressed on her wound; it felt like her skin was on fire. But he probably knew what he was doing, even if it was not extremely pleasant. It was good to know the darkness did not extend beyond the stadium. So they just needed to make it out there.

>>"She can move. We should move. She'll need an x-ray to rule out intrascapular fragmentation and a hell of a lot of antiseptic. They repelled down from there."

Pippa blinked a little slowly as AJ gave a report on her to Sabine. Damn, that woman had a commanding presence. Or something. Things were fuzzy around the edges.

Sabine took the gun and helped her up, AJ still holding on to the back of her shoulder. They were going to make quite a spectacle inching their way out like this. But at least she could see.

"I could check the gun" she noted as she started walking, trying to not look wobbly. "To see how many people... but he'd have to let go for that."

AJ saw the ninja take the gun and nod toward himself and Pippa as well as taking up a sort of guard stance. She was probably saying to go ahead and move. Best guess. Pippa also said something, with his hands on her trunk, he could make out a bit more just by watching her lips and feeling the cadence of the words from her body.

"Not letting go, sorry-not-sorry." She seemed real woozy which likely meant shock since, despite all the drama and blood of the wound, it didn't appear that serious. Then again, he hadn't given the rest of her more than a cursory look. Maybe she was bleeding out from her leg and couldn't feel it yet. AJ tamped down on the unlikely scenarios buzzing around in his head.

They would do more a thorough examination once they were in a safe place. That was his marching mantra.

And yeah, it was awkward walking through the stadium seating. It was awkward scooting through as just as one person, but as a three-headed-one-gunned-two-armed monster with 6 legs it was slow going. He kept checking behind him, since he couldn't hear, to be sure that the ninja was there. She was either hella stealthy or AJ really had ruined his hearing for the day.

"Doing great. Just a little further to the main stairway and this one looks clear of people." He kept up a steady stream of talking, trying not to shout it all and keep his voice low. Little encouragements to keep Pippa focused and to ground the ninja behind them. Hell, they were just as encouraging to him as well. "Not a lot of people this way. No one is repelling. Just gotta keep moving one foot after the other."

When it came to first impressions, people who met default Sabine considered her intimidating. That was why she tried so hard to reflect when she engaged with people; it was less off-putting. The real Sabine shined in situations like this. Guns were going off and they were improvising to stay alive; no one found her intimidating when it came to life and death.

They had to walk and plan, and Pippa offered to use her powers. It was a good strategy, but it was a moot point while she was using an Adapted as a crutch. Using her powers was also a draining experience and she was still recovering from a bullet wound. ”Table the idea for now; maybe when we get somewhere out of sight.” Pippa could give them something valuable, and she had gone through enough for Sabine not to treat her like a fragile damsel, but they had to be smart.

AJ kept them moving, keeping control of the situation and his patient. Sabine was there to cover the rear and prevent surprises, and she was committed to it. She heard the broad strokes of his suggestions. A stairway, a less hectic path. He was right that no one was repelling yet; maybe they could see she was keeping the firearm aimed in the general direction of the chopper, waiting for someone to try. The alternate answer was that everyone who had to be on the ground was there already.

It was fortunate Sabine settled on a pair of comfortable tennis shoes over heels, because walking backwards down the stairs while leveling a gun needed enough focus. ”They’re targeting us, so hopefully by clearing out, the mob only has to worry about itself.” Being trampled was bad, but being trampled and shot was definitively worse.

Errant gunshots still rang through the air, but they were close to where they were now. Clearly their pursuers were not hanging around in the stands. She spoke loudly to call over the crowd and the ringing lingering from the gunfire. ”You have somewhere defensible for us, AJ? I’m guessing we don’t have our own escape chopper.” That would make life more convenient, so she was guessing no.

>>"Not letting go, sorry-not-sorry."

>>”Table the idea for now; maybe when we get somewhere out of sight.”

"Got it" Pippa muttered. She wished she could be more useful, but once again, the only thing she could contribute to the adventure was her ability, which she could not use while AJ was touching her. Also, there was no guarantee she would not pass out if he let go.

>>"Doing great. Just a little further to the main stairway and this one looks clear of people. Not a lot of people this way. No one is repelling. Just gotta keep moving one foot after the other."

>>”They’re targeting us, so hopefully by clearing out, the mob only has to worry about itself.”

Pippa moved one foot after the other. She peered over her shoulder and winced. AJ followed, and behind him was Sabine, properly armed and having their back. That made her feel a little better. She was not sure who the target was, once again - this was becoming a thing lately - but AJ's powers at least made sure they were not blind.

Gunshots rang out, closer than she would have liked.

>>”You have somewhere defensible for us, AJ? I’m guessing we don’t have our own escape chopper.”

"Put that on the budget" Pippa muttered, looking around "Are we... fighting?" If they were, Sabine was going to have to do the brunt of the work. Unless she wanted Pippa to pummel someone with a shoe.

He let the ladies talk logistics, happy to focus wholly on his patient. Until, that is, he heard his name. He'd been wrapped up in thinking it was a good sign that Pippa was talking.

"Uh. I came in on a fire truck. There's space to squeeze in there if you wanted, but they won't be getting out of here for hours." There was too much to do here for them still. For him, technically. Shit. He'd basically just ran off on his first major call.

"Unless..." There were bound to be a lot of people out there, but AJ had likely already forfeit his job... "Unless you want to just... take it." The people would get out of the way, right? They mostly did when they trucked in...

AJ’s appearance was convenient. Sabine’s instincts wanted her to believe it was too convenient; a friend of Pippa’s who nullified mutations and reported to their crisis as a paramedic. It was a lot of layers of “fate.” Pippa wanted to trust AJ, but Sabine was skeptical, as was her tradition when things sounded to good to be true. The Agent kept rationalizing that, if he was part of the team trying to capture them, he was putting in a lot of work he did not need to do. Sure, he was leading them somewhere, but without him, Sabine would have been fighting armed enemies blind.

For now, for Pippa’s sake, she was putting her faith in AJ. Pippa was concerned a fight was imminent, which sounded likely. ”If there’s a fight, I’m handling it and AJ is getting you out of here,” she warned. Sabine would not patronize Pippa, but she was a civilian Sabine wanted safe. She had to trust AJ wanted that, too.

Escape amidst the chaos sounded unlikely until AJ offered a unique solution. ”We could… take a firetruck,” she repeated flatly. Then she considered it, repeating it with more amenability. ”We could take a firetruck. We’re being targeted and I should have the authority to commandeer it, which is slightly more ethical than stealing.” It required more paperwork, but she could worry about that when she was not dead.

”Yeah,” she decided. Either they got away under the cover of an emergency vehicle, or a helicopter chased them in a defensible moving fortress. ”I like it. That’s the plan. Lead on, AJ. I hope one of you feels comfortable driving a fifty foot vehicle.”

>>”If there’s a fight, I’m handling it and AJ is getting you out of here,”

"That is not reassuring at all" Pippa noted with a frown. She did not want to leave Sabine behind to heroically (and blindly) fight off a bunch of goons. She was good at fighting, but she was not... well, a superhero.

AJ had other ideas. Pippa thought he was joking, until Sabine seemed to consider the option seriously.

>>”We could… take a firetruck... We could take a firetruck. We’re being targeted and I should have the authority to commandeer it, which is slightly more ethical than stealing.”

"Wait, you should?" even amidst danger, Pippa was already thinking of the fallout of a SUPER agent driving away in a firetruck from a crisis site. Yikes. Granted, the three of them seemed to be the sole targets of the crisis.

>>”Yeah. I like it. That’s the plan. Lead on, AJ. I hope one of you feels comfortable driving a fifty foot vehicle.”

"We are stealing a fire truck" Pippa repeated to make sure she was on the same page. In a few moments, the truck was already looking in front of them. Oh, lord. "AJ can you drive it?" Because I don't think my feet would reach the pedals...

AJ watched the idea trickle down the unknown woman's face and then Pippa's.

Yep. It was happening.

"Excellent. I've always wanted to try driving a rig this big."

AJ would have rubbed his hands together if he weren't applying pressure. He was more than fine with asking for forgiveness on this one, also this job was already 90% lost. He'd have to find another one regardless of if he took the truck or not.

Once they'd made it through the exit stiles, the truck awaited with virtually no one on deck to stop them. The remainder of the response team had their hands full guiding and sorting the people who'd made it out, and they'd led the blind until they were no longer in the darkness. Something pinged off the concrete tunnel behind them and AJ cringed as a wave of panic echoed behind them. They weren't out of the woods just yet.

"Hop into a 5-point harness if you can with that shoulder. I'll unhook the hoses so we don't start a second catastrophe." The woman with the gun... AJ didn't both trying to tell her what to do. She seemed to be the ranking decision maker.

AJ had to scoot through a scuffle of people who could see as he passed and then devolved back into panic once he was out of the way again before he hefted himself up to the release latches. They'd been using the hoses to lead the blind out. If AJ drove off without unhooking them, they'd maybe start dragging some poor people who really just wanted out of the situation.

Another, closer rapport had AJ dropping down to the far side of the truck and yanking a bystander out of the way of the driver-side door so he could slide into place.

"Everyone in? 'Cause here we go." He strapped his own seatbelt and released the air brakes with a sudden hiss.

The crowd nearest to them all jumped and scrambled back from the sound as much as the feeling of the hiss of air as the rig started to roll forward.

It wasn't enough, though. The crowds were thick and half blind. Those that could see were shouting: at him, at others, at what was coming for them from inside the tunnels.

AJ reached for the horn strap.

HONK, HOOOOONK

Everyone jumped and turned to look, regardless of if they could see or not. He had experience driving emergency vehicles, but of a smaller variety. The firefighters left nearby shouted and started to book it back toward the truck, but they'd parked in the shroud where they couldn't see.

I hope there's no jail time for this. Was AJ's last thought before the passenger-side window erupted inward. AJ ducked and eased forward inch by inch so he would be sure no one was going to get mowed down.

This was not the heroic whisking away he'd imagined when he suggested it.

Thinking out of the box was important. Being in a box, metaphorically or literally, was an easy place to get shot. AJ understood the assignment, preparing to steal a fire truck; as far as resourcefulness went, it was a better plan than Sabine had at the moment.

Pippa clearly had her doubts. Justifiable doubts. This was definitely a felony if she was not… well, her. And the optics were bad—though they were slightly better in a paranormal darkness no one else saw through.

Even with her concerns, Pippa talked herself into being on board because the alternative was waiting to be shot. Sabine smirked to herself, imagining this was going to be Pippa’s first time doing something this illegal. After the sinking ship, she was getting good at rolling with the punches. Assuming this attack was Sabine’s fault, she did feel guilty for her part in Pippa’s new normal.

Their new partner in crime had not been pulled into this, but he was surprisingly good at jumping into things with both feet. Sabine focused on his enthusiasm and not his use of the word “try” when he talked about driving the truck. They were in the vehicle, with Sabine flashing her badge as she cleared the steps up into the interior. With a hiss, they were through the gates in seconds, so she was trusting him to handle things on his end of the catastrophe.

The poor firefighters had no clue what to do beyond run after them, and Sabine shouting, ”SUPER Business, sorry!” was not going to bring them comfort.

Sabine saw the blades of a helicopter rising over the stadium. They knew the target was leaving, so they likely got personnel back on the chopper to pursue. Sabine’s neck snapped to the sudden smashing of the passenger-side window, but before she could do anything about it, the other windows followed suit, shattering inward. Sabine raised her arm, doing her best not to take shards of window to the face. ”We need to move. And ideally get underground—a tunnel or something. And people need to f**king move.” Sabine was not feeling particularly patient when she found the control for the siren and slammed it on. They were clearly not being inconspicuous, so hopefully they could convince people to get out of the way.

Yep, they were stealing a fire truck.

>>"Hop into a 5-point harness if you can with that shoulder. I'll unhook the hoses so we don't start a second catastrophe."

"What's a five point..."

There was not much time to figure anything out. They were still shooting at them. Pippa scrambled in a door and somehow got herself wedged into a small space, hoping she was out of the way. Now that AJ was not putting pressure on her shoulder anymore she felt woozy again.

>>"Everyone in? 'Cause here we go."

The windows shattered in. Pippa yelped and curled up, but at least they were moving now; people who did not give way to a stolen fire truck sure did give way to a stolen fire truck that was being shot at.

>>”We need to move. And ideally get underground—a tunnel or something. And people need to f**king move.”

"Is that a helicopter?" Pippa sat up, trying to see, and winced as she moved her shoulder. "Are you hurt?" That was a question for both of them. She was not sure which way to turn first.