Meld looked ridiculous. That really was the only description for her present appearance and in her present clothing. She simply wasn't meant to wear long black skirts or formal dress shirts. Nor was she meant to have her hair done up or wear makeup to try and look just like everyone else. Nor was she meant to have long black gloves on up to her elbows. Or rather, one glove up to her elbow and one glove up to the base of her shield. Maybe before, back when she still thought she was human, she could have pulled the look off. Back then she was actually reasonably attractive and she could do formal when need be. But that was a very long time ago, before she had gotten herself a metal arm or taloned metal feet, before she had replaced her eye or gotten herself a bladed metal tail. Now she just looked like some freaky cyborg dressing up for Halloween.

Realizing that nothing at all could be done about it, Meld sighed and began making her way to Madison Square Garden. There was, alas, a good reason for her attempts to look formal, failed though they most certainly were. She and Aura had a mission this day, a self appointed mission. For once they weren't looking for violence, weren't looking to exterminate a cult of anti-mutant bigots or massacre a church that was hosting anti-mutant meetings. No, in fact Meld had been very good about reforming her ways and it had been months since she killed anyone outside the confines of a mission and just as many months since her actions had landed her on the news. No, today was hopefully going to be a day of peace. The two of them were to meet at a pro-mutant rally in the garden and their presence there was simply to ensure that nothing went wrong. If things went well they'd leave without a blade being drawn or a bullet being shot. If things went badly, well, hopefully their presence would prevent things from going too badly.

Meld's journey to the Garden was uneventful, aside from there being more traffic than usual. For once she had extra money left over from a recent mission and used it to get herself a taxi. She didn't want to deal with the subway nor did she want to risk the police pulling her over for her lack of a license. The taxi driver was smart enough to keep his mouth shut about either her mutations or the fact that her face wasn't exactly unknown in the city and known for all of the worse reasons. Whether he was actually blissfully unaware of who she was or just smart enough to take her silent bladed warning to heart, she didn't know nor did she particularly care.

Once arrived Meld paid the driver and went in search of the location she was supposed to meet Aura at. The two of them had worked together many times in the past and worked very well together, although this was the first time they had had a mission of quite this nature. It would be good for Aura, Meld thought, to have a mission that involved keeping the peace rather than just killing their enemies. For that matter, it would be good for her too. Although Meld had made outstanding progress over the course of the past few months in fighting her inner monster, that urge to kill and torture that lived within her, it was still a constant struggle, especially in situations where her protectiveness of mutants was triggered. This would serve to be a good test for the both of them.

As per usual Meld was the first to arrive at the designated meeting point but she knew Aura wouldn't be far behind. She had the nature of a soldier and a soldier couldn't afford to be late. She scanned the area with her tail eye as she waited for her friend and partner, satisfied that nothing seemed amiss. For a mission that wasn't likely to involve anyone dying, she was looking forward to it a great deal. The two of them would be able to support the mutant cause as was only right and just and no one would have to suffer or die in the process. It was rare when those two things came together, at least in Meld's experience.

Aura had been in a bad mood for weeks now, the restriction not to kill, was like a shot through her. Every tuned instinct screamed for her to take the lethal shot against humans who hurt her kind, instead she merely knocked them out. This was harder then killing because she had to restrain herself, so the blow would not kill, but true to her order, she never killed on purpose since it had been issued. An order was an order, no matter what it may be, she reminded herself.

The mission was one of peace and was not her strong suit, she understood the idea of stealth however and compared this to it. At least it was somthing to do. She had run out of bone recently, making replacing her decimated room quite hard and taking a bone and keeping someone alive, was impossible, they just bled to much, and screamed if you forgot to knock them out, like her first try. Still it was to protect their kind and so she decided to give everything she had. And so she had called the one person she knew who might understand what she needed, Mama. She had only gone to one formal event other then this and then Syn and helped them. This was not an official mission and so she could not rely on order resources, however with mama's help she still ended up in a pale blue strapless dress which was quite restrictive to movement, and the matching heels were no better. Then ladys attacked her with strange brushes of color and tamed her normal unruly style, aura's hair which might have been washed once a week had gained a shine it had long ago lost.

The drive to the gardens was less then eventful, no thugs, police or hired killers tried to kill her, in a way she was disappointed. Still it meant that so far everything was going according to plan. Getting out of the car the driver asked her for money, aura blinked blankly then handed the man several expensive looking diamonds Aura had brought, The man was quite confused which bought Aura enough time to escape into the crowd, having no idea the gems were worth more then the man made in a week or to. Aura not so quickly made her way to the point where her and Meld were to meet and as expected she was already thare. "what's a girl got to do to get shot at in a place like this?" she joked with Meld.

Aura had realized two things before the mission began, one it could go well and they would have a long boring night or this would up as one giant, terrible brawl on live Tv with what looked like a lot of mutants. Just inb case it went south she had made a plan.

The new Sanctuary resident squeezed her eyes shut and tried to ignore her current predicament. The first image that popped into her mind was that of the golden doors of her temporary home. It was nice to be staying at such a diverse place. Everyone got along, or at least they seemed to on the surface. It reminded Lydia of her own make-shift family back in California, where she was accepted for who she was, where everyone was accepted for their mutations. The Sanctuary was that idea times a thousand.

So, since everyone got along so well, a few residents had decided to share the transportation fees to a place called Madison Square Gardens, where a pro-mutant rally was apparently going to take place. There were posters plastered all over the Sanctuary. That was why Lyd had spent the last thirty-five minutes in a cab crammed full of three overly-energetic mutants and a taxi driver who was slightly freaked out by their various mutation-related anomalies. “Oh, we’re almost there!” The teenage boy riding shotgun exclaimed over the other two’s chatter. The driver merely nodded, avoiding the boy’s (literally) bug-eyed gaze and shaking antennae. “Geez you’d think that the cabbies here would be used to taking mutants around,” muttered the fish woman squished next to Dia. The skin-shifter simply shrugged her shoulders (or at least tried to shrug her shoulders against the pressure of the two bodies crushing her) in response. Note to self: Never pick the middle seat. Ever.

She thought back to how she had been just as excited as her fellow passengers before she saw the yellow cab roll up. Dia hadn’t been told that they were going to ride in a taxi, a car. She barely tolerated bus rides! It was all she could do to contain the shaking in her body to her hands. If she let go, her whole being would probably start quivering in anxiety and nausea. She also hadn’t been told that they would be leaving during the busiest traffic time in the city, prolonging her fear-gripped agony. This rally better be worth the cab ride. Oh God, don’t think about the cab. Stop think about the tires and the—Okay, stop, she commanded herself before she started hyperventilating.

The rally was supposed to be formal dress, and she had worn the only nice dress she had brought with her from home. It was a bit more suited for clubbing, what with the big lace opening in the front and the short length, but she tamed it with her trusty pair of opaque black leggings and mild, knee-high boots. Finally, after what seemed like a terrible eternity, the cab stopped in front of the huge arena. There was a lengthy line of various mutants and humans trailing out of the entrance, and Lydia and her companions quickly filed out of the taxi after paying the relieved driver their combined funds. "We’re here!" The same bug-boy gleefully shouted. “Thank God,” she muttered as the group moved to the back of the line.

Ties were annoying things. That was realization that Andrew had come to when he was putting on his suit, the same one he'd worn for the symphony with Kate and Elizabeth. He'd managed to get the darn thing straight this time but it had taken so long that he would have preferred to rip the darn thing off and strangle the next person he saw with it. He couldn't do that though. So instead he looked out the window of the taxi he'd taken. Andrew could have driven but it would have been insane trying to find a parking spot for just a big event. So he'd just cabbed it with some of the cash he'd earned as Sam's lackey.

The event in question was a pro-mutant rally being held at Madison Square Gardens. It was formal attire, hence the suit. Why was Andrew going? Partly it was because he was curious. Mostly it was because all you heard about most of the time was the hatred of mutants. Just once he wanted to here about the good mutants could do instead of the bad. So when he'd heard about the rally he'd made plans to attend. Traffic was worse than usual thanks to the rally but eventually he got to the Gardens without much more incident than his cabbie being cut off a few times and the elder man swearing up a very colorful storm each time it happened.

Andrew got out of the vehicle and paid the driver. There was quite a crowd of people milling about outside the Gardens. A majority of them were headed inside. Andrew followed the crowds and ended up in a slowly moved line headed for the doors. Apparently the idea of a pro-mutant rally had a lot of mutants turning up in public that normally wouldn't. At least he didn't think a bug-eyed boy with actually antennae or a man who actually had the head of an elephant would normal show up in public. It was a shame really. People had day dreamed for years about strange happenings with their fantasy and science fiction books. Then when some of their daydreams start coming true in the form of mutants a good number of them reject them. Andrew shook off the dour thoughts and waited patiently. It looked as though it might take a while to get inside.

As Meld awaited Aura's arrival she spent her time observing the crowd as they slowly began filtering into the arena. There were a lot of visible mutants, which she supposed was something to be expected. A blue glowing woman caught her eye in particular. She had an uncertain and nervous way of walking and Meld offered her an encouraging smile. the woman smiled back, seeming to take something from the offering. Humans might have been terrified of meld and might even hate her, but mutants, or at least some mutants, understood what it was she was attempting with her actions. Some, at least, seemed to know that she was fighting for them and if she had to kill a few humans in the process, then it was all for the greater good. It gave her a sense of peace to know that there were those out there who appreciated what she did, serving to reinforce her strongly held convictions.

It didn't take long for Aura to arrive and she nodded and smiled at her long time friend and, if she were honest, her only friend. The two of them had been through a lot together and Aura was the one person who seemed to hold to her slavish dedication to the mutant cause. Sure there were things about Aura she didn't understand, but two people were never entirely in synch and she appreciated the one friend she had greatly. "Hopefully we won't have to find out," she answered her friend's quip. Although it seemed dreadfully likely that someone might just end up shot and knowing their luck it would be one of them.

In fact, something about the entire event didn't quite site right with Meld. She wasn't able to put her finger on it and despite repeated scans of the area with her tail eye revealing nothing amiss, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that something wasn't as it seemed. There was something in the air, a tension that was mingled with the sense of expectation. Maybe it was just having so many mutants together with humans in a public event all in one building. Humans hated and feared mutants and Meld didn't believe for a moment that they were going to let this event pass without incident. Some humans were fine, of course, and even accepting of mutants. But not all of them and it wasn't those that were tolerant of mutants that she was worried about. It was the other ones, the ones that spread hatred and mistrust everywhere they went. The ones who wanted mutants segigated, killed and eradicated.

"Be careful," Meld warned Aura, even though she knew the warning wasn't needed. Aura knew how to take care of herself, even if this particular type of mission wasn't one she was used to. With that one warning she returned her attention to the people filing in. It would be a relief when this night was over.

Aura nodded, taking her freinds warning of safety to heart, witha relaxing breath her Aura flared up around her body, enough to outline her body. Aura skipped her usual creativity with it's appearance letting it emerge all at once. "The issue is, if this does turn into a dance, not only will we need to check our targets but we can't assume all of these mutants have full control over their powers, and it may be better to assume that even less will have it, in a panic" she said, recalling her early training days.

Aura's eyes wonderd over the area, the place made her worry. Her eyes were looking to locate possible hiding places for attackers. Breaking her eyes from her scan she smiled at Meld's tail and not for the first time wished she could get one just like it. "You look, as comfortable as i am" she as she looked around as more mutants then she realized were in the area showed up. Aura saw many that looked human to but Aura decided for her sake and for the orders of Lori,

"I had an old friend back in the woods, she could sence incoming attacks a few moments before they happoned, that batterd blade i showed you when you forged mine, was hers" she said looking away from her friend. Aura had never been able to beleive she was not responceable for the deaths of so many of her comrades, not that she ahd tried, no, she was possative it had all been her fault.

At last Aura smiled, happily and her Aura grew thicker. "Have you ever seen such beauty, Mutants free and mostly unafraid. This is a glimpse at the world those who come after us may well open their eyes to" she said believing they would never see the day their people finally won the war over the humans. "This type of mission may not be forte, but i am glad i got to see this" she said as she smiled at a passing avien mutant with long elagent brown wing's and wonderful sharp beak.

Aura adjusted her hand bag which looked large for the event, but was much to small to contain anything like her sword. "I was in the mansion a littile while back, after a woman hit me with her car. She was curious, she could nullify mutant powers but kept me from the hands of the police, weather that was for my safety or the police's i have no idea" she said with a laugh. It was true that imprisoning her might well lead to for more death then letting her run rampant.

(As noted in the cbox and in Lydia's absence post the skipping of her turn has been ok'd by her in advance)

The line made slow progress and Andrew saw even more people who were obviously mutants out in broad daylight. It was almost enough to shame him that they were brave enough to face the world for something like this and he couldn't even be bothered to take off his glove to expose his sole physical sign of mutation to the world. Yet for all that he couldn't bear to take it off. His hand would stop just as he gripped the top of the glove. Here in a crowd full of strangers he just couldn't do it.

Living at the mansion he'd gotten comfortable enough that he had started going without the glove there. He still couldn't bear going out in public without it. It was his familiar security blanket in a way. It hid the only key to his mutation from sight. So long as he didn't go crazy with the promises he was safe while he wore it. If he was careful he could be safe without wearing it. Most people would just assume it was a tattoo or something. The reasons that it just didn't matter were many. Why he kept wearing it on the other hand had only one reason.

He was still scared. Sure Jorge had been teaching him boxing. Yes he had friends now. Heck he'd even taken a life in protection of someone else. It didn't really matter because he was still afraid of what humans could and would do if they knew. The thought paralyzed him if he considered it too long. So Andrew refused to consider it for too long. He pushed the frightful thought away with a shudder and moved the few feet that had opened up in front of him in the line. This really was going to be a large rally.

Meld knew that Aura was right when she cautioned about some of the mutants not having full control of their powers. It was a sad state that there were so few places that mutants could go to learn that control and sadder still that so many refused that help. For good reason, in their minds, given the general hatred and mistrust of mutants that abounded. the unfortunate truth was that it wasn't easy being a mutant and it was even more difficult to trust while being a mutant. In some ways Meld had been lucky. Although her family was far from accepting of what she was, their hatred having forced her to leave when she found out, at least her power was never in danger of losing control. Her power was one of precision and learning involved learning to be a better metalworker and learning to use her unique gifts as the most effective weapons possible. There was never any real worry about her gifts turning against her and harming others. Many were not nearly so fortunate.

"For those of us who cannot sense incoming attacks, we'll just have to be extra vigilent in using our usual senses," Meld offered her friend a dark smile. Her tail swivelled above her, trying to take in every angle of the building in order to pinpoint exactly what it was that was setting her on edge. Maybe it was just that she wasn't used to being around so many people, mutants and humans alike. The fact was, she had always been a bit of a recluse and it was rare that her tasks brought her into contact with so many people. The skills of a vigilante killer were rarely skills to be embraced in public. Not that it haden't happen before, of course. There was very public news footage to prove exactly what happened when the intimate skills of the skilled killer were used in public. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't something that Lori approved of.

"I am glad to see this also," Meld agreed with Aura, allowing herself a moment to calm down and truly appreciate the sight. And it was, in truth, a beautiful sight to see so many mutants all in one place and in peace. The variety of powers was amazing, profound. No two powers and, indeed, no two mutants were exactly alike. What would the world be like if only more would have the courage to take up the mutant cause and truly help to forge a world where mutants could thrive and live withut fear? One day that would come to pass. One day, with the help of mutants such as herself, Aura and Lori, mutants would ascend to their rightful place at the top of the world and the mutant world would be a wonderful utopia indeed.

"That woman may have been an adapted," Meld offered. Her voice was distracted as the crowd settled and the first speaker came out to make introductions. Her feeling of unease increased as the crowd quieted. What was causing this feeling of alarm? Nothing, nothing at all seemed out of place and yet she had learned to trust her instincts since they had kept her alive more than once. She glanced towards Aura, seeing that her friend also appeared tense. Was it merely the crowded building and the unfamiliar environment? Maybe. But that was no excuse to let her guard down.

That's when it happened. There were no obvious sounds of gunfire, nothing of the sort except for a loud clang as a bullet fired from somewhere inside the croud went slightly off course and collided with Meld's titanium shield arm. She looked at Aura in alarm, apparently right about the situation. Something was very very wrong and apparently she, at least, was a target. And if she was a target that meant that it wasn't outside of the realm of possibility that others would be as well. It was up to her to protect them.

"Adapted?" Aura questioned the term sounded famillier but she had no idea where she might have heard it before. She was still considering the question when the first bullets streaked by her face. She heard another hit Meld. Looking around Aura was unsure whare the bullets had some from. As Aura scanned the skyline of the place her thoughts breifly wonderd to what Lori would think of the situation but in her understanding she waqs trying to protect their people, not kill animals.

Aura calmed herself even as panic began to spread to the crowd surrounding them. She brought her aura out quickly in full veiw wanting to be seen. Even as She did, she formed aura blades at her wrists and made to quick slashes to the dress, probably higher then appropriate. She wnated to be target, after all if people shot at her at least she could hold it off awhile, she could say little for anyone else around them.

"I get the feeling this hing might have been safer without us" she said as another bullet struck her Aura but this time she had cought the glimpse of a gun, atop a wooden tower built for speakers. And then Aura heard somthing she liked even less, the sounds of helicopter blades in the distence. Not for the first time she wished she had a ranged option to repond quickly, but simply crushing the tower could mean wounding their own people and she ahd not brought gun with her, not that she wa smuch good with it.

"ANy ideas" SHe asked as she felt somone push by her, her instict was to strike but she saw it was a mutant with a snake like body. Aura had none for once that would not wound doizens of panicked people all around them.

It didn't take much to cause the crowd the dissolve into a chaotic mess. Really, just a couple of gunshots had done it. People were running every which way. Some mutants were knocked the ground, on the verge of being trampled. Still others were looking for the origin of the gun shots. For his part, Andrew had ducked inside the now vacated doorway to take cover and keep an eye out for something, anything he could do. In a situation like this he doubted he could be of use. He wasn't invulnerable to bullets after all and the people doing the firing were not among the crowd it would seem.

Above the noise of the crowd Andrew heard the approach of a helicopter. It could be anyone. He hoped that it was the police, a news copter, or some other friendly. He assumed that it was back up for the shooters. Honestly he hadn't expected this rally to go off without a hitch but a guy could hope right? As it was Andrew didn't know who the target was or whether the shots were simply fired at random. There was also the consideration that he couldn't tell where they had come from either.

Thankfully the crowd was dispersing fairly quickly. Those left would be those who had decided to stick around and stand up to the shooters and any victims that might have been injured. For his part, Andrew stayed where he was until the last stragglers were gone and he could figure out some way to help out.

Meld wasn't entirely sure, at first, whether she was the primary target of the attack or not. After all, she had a great number of enemies of her own due to her actions in support of the human cause. On the other hand, however, this was a convention for mutant rights and it was to be expected that any large gathering of mutants be the targets of violence. It almost didn't matter who was the target, however. She was there at the convention for a reason and that reason was to protect her people from any manner of threat that happened to come upon them. Worse, of course, if that threat was inadvertantly hers, but that didn't change her role in the situation. The mutant cause wasn't all about killing, sometimes it was about protecting as well.

"I get the feeling this hing might have been safer without us"

Meld nodded her agreement, a sinking feeling at the pit of her stomach. She should have expected that something like this would happen, that her and Aura's enemies would try something again and this time in a very public venue. Out of the corner of her eye she caught view of another flying bullet and tackled a nearby mutant to the ground, this one with gossomar butterfly wings. As a result, the bullet barely missed going right through the poor mutant's stomach. "Everyone get down to the ground!" Meld yelled, hoping desperately that she was audible despite the rising panic in the room.

By this time there was noise everywhere, not only the sound of bullets which had become more numerous, but also the sounds of terror and pain. Screams could be heard coming from every direction and the crowd was quickly turning into a mob. While individuals could often be made to act intelligably in a dangerous situation, that was rarely the case with a large group of people, mutant or human. People began to panic, individuals desperately pushing into other individuals in a horrible effort to escape the reign of bullets Worse yet, those mutants with powers to use in order to help their escape were using their powers. Here and there exceptionally strong mutants could be seen throwing their weaker counterparts out of their way as they made their way to the exits of the building and those mutants that could fly took to the air. Far more horrible, however, were those mutants with more damaging powers. To the side a fire mutant could be seen with tendrils of fire coming out of his hands and everywhere the fire touched would bust into flame and pain-filled screams would follow. Near the center of the room a mutant with black energy ribbons streaming off of their hands and arms could be seen engaging in a grotest dance of death, swirling and weaving and every time a ribbon touched a living being healthy living flesh would turn necrotic and yet more screams would follow. The mutants, some barely controlled and a few not controlled at all, caused more damage than the bullets themselves.

Another bullet clanged into Meld's metal arm and she ran to the wall, the most cover she was able to achieve. Once in relative safety, she rose her tail above the level of the mob, scanning to try and find the gunmen. One she found on the bleechers, too far away for her to reach and the others remained a mystery. Once the helecopter was heard, she wasn't even able to pay enough attention to it to ascertian who or what was in the helecoptor. For once in her life, the arrival of the police would not be a bad thing. How were two people, even two people as accomplished as herself and Aura, supposed to contain this and mitigate damage?

Something, however, must have been smiling on them, however, as despite the chaos and damage caused, a good majority of the crowd managed to flee the building. Some ended up on the ground, injured or dead impossible to tell at that range and some remained in the building on their feet, either unwilling or unable to leave presently. "We need to get the rest of them out," Meld yelled to Aura. That was their perogative, their own well being came second to the well being of their fellow mutants. The helicopter, for the first time, made its present felt in the form of another heil of gunfire. Meld protectively lifted her shield in front of her face and felt another couple of bullets clang off of it. She hoped, desperately, that nothing had struck anything vital on herbody.

Aura watched as the Mutants scattered and tried to flee and others simply panicked. This was no army and these were not orderly troops, this was chaos at it's finest. Aura watched as Mutants threw weaker mutants aside to escape and even watched helplessly as a young Mutant was trampled under foot of a mutant with rock like skin. Aura wanted to act but the young mutant was quickly enshrouded by the feet of a mob. As Mutants rose into the Air, aura's eyes went wide, she said nothing in hope she was wrong, but she saw as a winged mutant rose high into the air, only to have a bullet rip through his wing, dropping him onto the tent like roof of a food stand.

Aura was pretty sure Lori would hang her for this and since this had become such a blatant public display, she had already resigned herself to accept any punishment that might result. Meld was right however they had to save who they could from this disgusting attack. Aura nodded to meld but was knocked onto her back by a spray of gunfire. She got up as the Helicopter passed over head. "Your right, their will be time to put the humans down like the animals they are later" she said simply the blunt attack had hurt her but their own lifes did not matter.

Aura Suddenly moved and deflected a bullet targeting a mutant who seemed to be a living cloud. Aura tried to talk to a number of mutants but most seemed to panicked to even stop a few even pushed her aside or just ran into her as she tried. She had no idea what she was doing and not for the first time she wished she had brought a bomb or to. Aura sniffed the air and her eyes confirmed what her nose told her, smoke was riseing nearby which meant fire. "It occurs to me i have no idea how to lead a panicked group anyware" she called back not even sure meld was even whare she had been standing anymore.

What seemed like only a minute ago, Lydia had been breathing a sigh of relief after she finally entered the warm arena, being granted a reprieve from the bitter New York cold. Despite her previous taxi-related grievances, she was still excited for the rally. Anything pro-mutant excited her. She tripped over other mutants’ feet as she rushed to find a seat before the speakers started. Dia and her Sanctuary group had entered later than many of the other attendees, so most of the seating was already filled up. “Excuse me. Sorry. Um, can you please move your tentacles? Thanks. Oof, ‘scuse. Hey! Watch the hand—oh!—fins! Move it!”

Then, the sudden sound of a single gunshot silenced the entire mutant audience. Hairs started bristling, standing on end, and eyes started widening in terribe realization. There was a gun. This understanding was promptly reaffirmed by the cacophony of more flying bullets, and the sounds of their impacts or ricochets. The room started to scream.

Ohmygod, ohmygod. What the hell—what the hell is going on? Ohmygod, the skin-shifter thought from her position at the back of the arena. Her eyes darted wildly across the room, looking for some sort of cover. Would ducking under a seat work? Judging by the stampede of uncontrolled and uncontrollable mutants rapidly approaching her, crouching close to the floor seemed like a bad idea. She watched, horrified, as she saw others try out her plan and end up trampled by the frightened crowd. Lydia found herself getting pushed around and jostled, the mob pressing her against the wall. Her brain started to shut down rational thought, and speed up thoughts of terror and self-preservation instead. Run. Run. RUN! It shrieked at her. But she could only manage a few shaky steps to a doorway behind her, fear beginning to paralyze her. Her legs locked and she took the temporary pause from her body to reobserve her surroundings, regaining some form of rationality with the small sense of security she felt in her current location.

Most of the mutants had escaped, it seemed. There was some standing. There were some who were lying on the floor, writhing in pain or not moving at all. There was blood on the ground. Check yourself, her brain told her, and Lyd obeyed. No injuries, no blood, she noted as she patted herself down and let out a silent sigh. She looked behind her and noticed the other person occupying the doorway. “What…the hell…” Was all she could manage to get out, albeit unsteadily, as she leaned against the wall. She could still hear the blood pounding in her ears, but she could hear the sound of a helicopter resonating underneath it. Wait…was that the sound of more gunfire along with it? Um, if there’s a God out there, I really don’t want to die tonight…

There was too much going on for Andrew to be able to tell whether or not the chaos was actually subsiding or not. One moment it would seem almost quiet and then a fresh round of bullets would rip through the air. On a side note, he was really starting to hate guns. Never mind that he had used one previously to deadly results. That did nothing to increase his liking of a weapon that made it so easy to kill a person. Eventually someone else joined him in the doorway. It was a girl and it was easy to tell that she was scared out of her wits. She seemed to check herself over, probably for wounds, before she noticed him.

Her words almost perfectly echoed his own thoughts about the situation that they'd gotten caught in.

"I have no idea. Maybe some kind of militant anti-mutant group."

That was his best guess for now. What they needed to do was find the gunmen and stop them somehow. There was nothing he could do about the helicopter. He wasn't some action hero in a movie. But shots had been fired before the helicopter had gotten there so there had to be someone nearby he could try to take out. And he would have to be the one to do it. Just because the was someone else in the doorway with him now didn't mean he could include her in his plans. It wouldn't be right.

TV shows and movies made it clear that snipers needed high places with a good vantage of the place they were shooting. With luck they weren't lying. Andrew scanned the top of the arena, thinking that maybe someone had hid out up there. The upper areas were pretty much deserted by now. Therefore the single person he saw up there stood out like a sore thumb. He'd have to get closer before he could tell whether they were just an injured person or one of the shooters.

"I'm gonna go see if I can't do something about those shooters."

And with that Andrew headed for the closest set of stairs to get to the top of the stands and check out that one person he'd seen.