Sunfrog

Outcasts Assembled (An AU X-Men roleplay)

While the immediacy of their problems had been dealt with and they found themselves in relative safety, at least compared to the warzone from which they had escaped, they were not out of the woods yet. The city skyline was too dense for a helicopter to pursue them, if another one could be mustered in time after the loss of the first, but it was still not enough to stop them from being followed.

Despite the urgency of the situation and the initial shock, Noa didn’t act recklessly but rather remained highly focused on the task at hand and drove as responsibly as she could in the given circumstances, careful to avoid any accidents or create more damage. As much as she prioritised the group’s self-preservation, she didn’t want to do so at the cost of bystanders. It was a stance that she stood by strictly.

She glanced over at Errol when she felt his hand on her shoulder before quickly looking back at the road, drawn from the hyper-focus that she didn’t realise she had become absorbed in. She gave a curt nod to acknowledge his thanks. “Always.” She replied, but at this point she was wondering whether Clem really needed as much protection as she was being afforded. After all, they had all witnessed what she was capable of doing. Maybe the brothers’ days protecting her would be over before long.

The conversation behind her felt distant and detached as her attention returned almost solely to the road, at least until she needed to inform the group of their follower, at which point she caught the end of Errol’s insult complaint. “Don’t forget ‘dimwitted’. Maybe that’s why you don’t know what it means.” She chimed in for the first time. “Is that the same overzealous asshole behind us?” She asked, followed by another glance in the side mirror to ensure she could maintain a visual on the car to avoid any surprises.

Americans truly did live to work.

They were fighting a losing battle by trying to outrun a smaller, more nimble vehicle. The pursuit would have to end one way or another and she could only hope that no more people were hurt as a result. The damage already caused was beyond what was ideal. It was bad enough that they were de facto criminals without the threat of being branded as terrorists. "If anyone has any bright ideas, now is the time."

Outcasts Assembled: All's Fair in Love & War

Despite her allegiance with The Strays, Noa managed to wrangle herself a few cash-in-hand jobs in the week to at least have some cover for her criminal escapades in the form of a semi-legitimate income, especially if anything happened to the gang. On this occasion, she had managed to convince Errol to accompany her to the laborious job of painting some rooms for an elderly lady after Noa managed to convince her of their non-existent expertise in decorating.

At least these were the kinds of jobs where there was certainty that she wouldn’t feel guilty, even if it was under the pretence of a certain amount of deceit.

After finishing the job and accepting the cash, though not without the end of her sleeve becoming casualty to the paint, she exchanged goodbyes with the lady and headed back out into the street. It was one of the wealthier areas of town, near the university, so the lady was more than generous in her offerings, hence the reason Noa had chosen her particular advertisement.

Putting the cash in her pocket, she patted Errol on the back. “I’ll buy you a hot dog as thanks.” She told him with a sly smile, as though she wasn’t going to split the cash. Of course, she would, but teasing Errol was priceless. She was thankful for his company though, no matter how much he may or may not have been gently pressured. No one else was exactly keen on spending time with her but it suited her well because she enjoyed his company and not just for the sake of having someone around.

The side street joined back up with the main road which was as lively with traffic and blaring car horns as ever. Only, the traffic hadn’t moved for several minutes and soon angry voices began to enter the fray, seemingly that of both drivers and indistinct voices over megaphones in the direction they were headed. People in New York were certifiably insane. Even when she moved to the US seven years ago she lived in a sleepy Minnesotan town, a world away from New York.

Before the voices were discernible to the average person, Noa fell silent as she focused on the sound, barely able to make out the content of the voices but once she did her expression shifted to one of discomfort. “It’s an anti-mutant protest.” She informed Errol. Her jovial attitude disappeared. She had never fully accepted herself as a mutant and it was even harder to do so when other people denied your right to exist, but she couldn't avoid it forever.

Clearly uneasy, she slowed her pace. "Let's go another way." She suggested, though it would require a major detour and the chance of them catching public transport now was non-existent. Still, it seemed better than the alternative of listening to the vitriol of ignorant people.

Outcasts Assembled: All's Fair in Love & War

sike

Outcasts Assembled (An AU X-Men roleplay)

Noa half-stood over the driver’s seat, holding onto the handle on the ceiling while half hanging out of the open door as she urged the others to get in. When Clem chimed in with the reminder that they couldn’t abandon Duncan to his fate, Noa replied sarcastically. “Really? Why not?”

Regardless of the prejudiced feelings she held against Duncan, she wasn't cruel enough to abandon him. After all, he was somewhat of an ally and at the very least he was the brother of her best friend. Besides, there were plenty of people she didn't like but she wouldn't wish death on any of them.

The arrival of the police further complicated matters and heightened the urgency of their situation, especially as they seemed a little too trigger happy. Catching Clem with her free arm when she stumbled her way, she cursed under her breath. “Shit.” She knew how important protecting Clem was to Errol and Duncan. She didn't really care what Duncan wanted but in this instance it forced them to become a cohesive unit.

Hearing the anger and concern in Errol’s tone, Noa, as level-headed as ever, calmly reassured him. “I’ve got her.” She hooked her arm under Clem’s and dragged her into the truck whether Clem was able to physically assist or not.

With a quick glance over her shoulder to confirm the other two occupants were inside, she revved the engine into life but not without another reminder from Errol. “Yes, I know!” She replied, shouting back in response. "I'm not just going to throw him to the uhhh... ducks." She attempted to use an idiom she heard before, though not as successfully as she thought.

With only the side mirror for reference, she slammed on the breaks, fighting to keep control of the wheel as the truck skidded into a turn. As soon as she had visual confirmation of Duncan grabbing Errol’s hand, she immediately pushed the pedal to the floor, taking evasive manoeuvres to avoid traffic and whomever might be pursuing them.

“Oh shit, put some seatbelts on.” She told the group before frantically turning the wheel and roughly swerving into a hard left upon seeing a police car in the traffic ahead, slamming into the door as she did after neglecting her own seatbelt.

Outcasts Assembled (An AU X-Men roleplay)

General
Name: Martin Loxley
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Height: 5’11
Weight: 170lbs
Nationality: French-American
POB: Toulouse, France
Mutant: No
Relatives: Jesse Loxley (Father), Nicolette Loxley-Veilleux † (Mother), Noa Loxley (Sister)

Physical Description
Martin is a slim man of average height with a tan complexion, blue eyes and short dark brown hair which curls at the ends and is relatively untidy. Typically, he wears unassuming clothes designed for practicality over comfort and he walks with a limp in his right leg.

Backstory
Martin is the second child of former American soldier Jesse Loxley and his French wife who met while the former was serving overseas. While initially seemingly set to have a normal upbringing, he lived a relatively sheltered life until his mother’s illness forced a drastic change onto the family.

Without their mother’s business acumen, the family’s restaurant suffered and their father accumulated debts until its closure, forcing the remaining family’s immigration to the United States to live with the other half of their family in Minnesota while they sought to rebuild their lives.

Only months after their arrival was the family again upturned by the disappearance of Martin’s older sister, pushing their already heartbroken father into a breakdown. Now living alone with his father, a shell of his former self, Martin’s goals centred on escaping their small town as his father began to slide into addiction.

Aided partly by a scholarship due to his father’s military service, Martin secured a place at New York University and enrolled the following year. Removed from the safe bubble of the small towns he had always lived in yet already embittered by his circumstances, Martin was easily drawn to ways to direct his anger.

After becoming an accidental victim in a botched robbery conducted by two mutants in his sophomore year, Martin was left with a permanent limp and an unwavering hatred towards mutants. His fervour led to the creation of a group of like-minded students and a wave of political rallies that grew in popularity until they spread beyond the borders of the university campus.

Personality
Although Martin prides himself in being loyal and protective, anyone who might benefit from such characteristics are few and far between as he is equally narrow-minded and prejudiced, though this is exclusively directed towards mutants.

His experiences in life have left him bitter and hardened though he is not devoid of empathy. On the contrary, he is an advocate for protecting people who cannot otherwise protect themselves, particularly against mutants, which stems from his own injury at the hands of mutants and the feelings of anger and powerlessness that followed.

His extraversion and charismatic nature allows him a certain degree of influence and persuasion over others but it does not cross over the line of arrogance, rather he portrays himself as confident to hide his true inferiority complex.

Outcasts Assembled (An AU X-Men roleplay)

Instinctively, Noa reached to grab Clementine’s hand as soon as she was within reach but immediately withdrew it upon the realisation that she might accidentally harm Clem in doing so, aware that her own abilities were harder to control with heightened emotions. Though she tended to be level-headed, nothing could prepare her for an impromptu warzone in the middle of the street.

Without hesitation, she swung the rifle around from her back and aimed it towards Clem’s attacker. Though she had little experience in the way of marksmanship, there was a certain advantage to be gained from heightened senses and reflexes. Unfortunately, none of that would matter now as the attacker had prepared for such an eventuality by using Clem to ensure her own safety. "Buzz off, Bitch." She said sharply.

Noa’s focus turned from the scope of the weapon to the ebb of light emanating below it, shortly followed by a growing warmth which forced her to step back, lowering her weapon as she did, only to see the harrowing sight of Clem’s abilities in full force from the charred flesh to the gut-wrenching scream of pain. Nothing could have prepared her for what she had just witnessed.

It was probably just as well that she hadn’t accidentally grabbed Clem earlier, for her own sake.

Though still shocked by the situation she had just witnessed, she was not perturbed enough to forget their priorities, or at least not enough to show it. Noa had seen enough people act towards her with apprehension and she didn’t want to pass the same judgement she had experienced onto Clementine, even if she was feeling unsettled in the moment. Besides, she had no idea how Clem was feeling right now. It was just as likely that she was scared too.

Calmly, but loud enough to try and breach the sound of crackling around them to reach Clem, she approached as close as was comfortable before the prickling heat became too much to bear. “Come on, Clem. This isn’t your fight.” She spoke gently, trying to offer some comfort in their unprecedented situation.

Despite her calm demeanour, her expression when she locked eyes with Errol told another story, one of concern. There wasn’t time to discuss though as two of the brutes came barreling towards them.

“Get in the truck.” She told the pair solemnly without taking her eyes off of the incoming adversaries before quickly snapping and running to the open door of the armoured vehicle that she had cleared out minutes before. Even if Duncan managed to intercept the mutants heading their way, it was no good for anyone to be standing out in the open. Turning the key that had been left in the ignition, the engine roared to life.

Outcasts Assembled (An AU X-Men roleplay)

"Oh good, so we just have you to blame.” She retorted. Unfortunately for Duncan, she would’ve been much more tolerant of the situation they found themselves in if Errol had in fact been to blame. Now he would only put an even larger target on his back for her to direct her spitefulness towards, which stemmed from a biased recounting of events from Errol rather than any real interaction with Duncan.

Upon witnessing the confrontation Errol found himself in, she made use of the limited resources at her disposal and opened the driver’s side door of the burning van as the flames threatened to consume the vehicle. She wedged the rifle between the accelerator and seat to keep the pedal on the floor and leaned across to shift the gear into drive before quickly retreating from the burning vehicle as it sped towards Errol’s attacker.

An inkling of apprehension crept into her mind as she became aware of the low rumbling frequency of another heavy vehicle, or possibly several, heading their direction - knowledge that she was privy to long before it was audible to the average person.

With little to no cover left, she crouched down next to the man who was still suffering from the effects of whatever she had done to him and raided his belt for something of use. With a newly acquired flashbang in her possession she climbed up the fire escape of the neighbouring building in anticipation of what was to come.

When the armoured vehicle expectedly rolled up, an armed man appeared in the roof-hatch of it. Taking the moment of opportunity, Noa dropped down onto the roof of the vehicle and kicked the assailant back into the armoured sarcophagus before dropping the flashbang into the van and closing the hatch to protect herself from its effects.

Once it was over, she dropped herself into the hatch and after a few moments of scuffle she was the only one who emerged from the back doors.

Her attention now focussed on her friend and begrudging allies, she called out to them. “Duncan! Send Clem this way!” She urged, knowing of both the brothers' desire to protect her. As much as she didn't like Duncan, if it was important to Errol then it was important to her.

Outcasts Assembled (An AU X-Men roleplay)

Rather unceremoniously, she unfastened her seatbelt and dropped onto the underside of the roof with a grunt before dragging herself through the shattered window to escape the wreckage - though the sight she was greeted with wasn’t much nicer.

Pushing through the bruises and soreness, she got to her feet and froze in shock upon the realisation that the group was being confronted with numerous automatic rifles among their unknown adversaries. Only upon Duncan’s transformation did she snap out of the trance to face the gravity of the situation.

Ducking back down behind the car, she tried to ascertain everyone’s whereabouts by peering over the hood, though it would be hopeless trying to keep track of Errol who was as erratic as he was electric.

“Errol, what did you do?!” She called out to him among the chaos, naturally assuming that he was the culprit.

Still crouched against the car, she looked up upon hearing the whirr of helicopter blades and in the opportune moment she sprinted towards the nearby burning black van with a couple of its downed men outside. She pulled the rifle from one of them and crouched with her back to the van for cover, taking her gloves off as she did.

The sound of footsteps approaching from around the back of the van caught her attention. Silently, she approached her would-be assailant and thrust the end of the rifle upwards, stunning him with a follow-up punch for good measure.

The man was immediately incapacitated, reacting in a way that appeared akin to anaphylaxis but Noa stepped over him, unconcerned and with the knowledge that he would likely be fine.

Her attention returned to Errol and she got the first glimpse of one of the new assailants, one of whose appearance was particularly disturbing. “Fils de pute.” She muttered under her breath.

Outcasts Assembled (An AU X-Men roleplay)

Noa turned her head to try and hide an amused smile at Duncan’s retort. Of course, it didn’t make her like him any more but it was humorous in the moment and it reminded her of the bickering between herself and her brother, though that had been more playful than the poisonous display between Errol and his brother.

It was times like these that she missed her brother but then again it was also times like these that made her thankful she didn’t have such a toxic relationship with him.

“No worries.” She replied with a dismissive hand gesture which turned into a sharp nudge of her elbow into Errol’s side. “Shut up.” She smiled at the teasing which characterised their friendship. “Hang on, she might want one too.” She stopped on the way to the car and called back to Clem. “Clem, do you want a hot dog?” She asked, not offering Duncan the same privilege.

Once they were all in the car, she leaned down to find the shades she had left in the car somewhere, hitting the back of her head on the dashboard as she returned to a sitting position. “Fucking ow.” She muttered, briefly touching the back of her head before moving onto whatever task she was fiddling with next.

Plugging the aux cord into her phone, she browsed music for merely a moment before settling on Mr Blue Sky without offering input from anyone else, joining in once the lyrics kicked in, unperturbed by Errol’s annoyance at the traffic. “Sun is shinin’ in the sky, there ain’t a cloud in sight…”

However, the mood soon changed when it became apparent that there was more to be concerned by than rush hour. Quickly fading into silence, she shared a look with Errol but there was no time for words to be exchanged.

Once they had been hit and their fate sealed, there was nothing they could do in that moment other than pray they made it out on the other side. In one moment, everything stood still and there was a momentary silence until she took a breath that she hadn’t realised she had been holding in and with the breath the silence and stillness disappeared.

Reality hit.

“Errol.” She looked across at her friend and then back towards their other two occupants. “What is happening?” She asked, making no attempt to conceal the panic in her tone.

Outcasts Assembled (An AU X-Men roleplay)

Noa nodded in agreement at Errol’s reasoning behind trying to protect his sister from following the same path as them. It was understandable. Having a younger brother herself, she knew the demand of carrying the world on your shoulders all too well. Older siblings made mistakes so that younger ones didn’t have to but clearly Errol’s older brother wasn’t doing too well at fulfilling his responsibilities judging by the state of the family.

“Even worse, it’s the same word in French.” She admitted with an amused smile. “I just never had one until a couple of years ago.” It was double the culture shock of moving from a small town to the city while also moving to another country but she found solace in Errol and his quirks. He had shown her more kindness and understanding than most, quickly earning her trust and in turn - friendship.

People who knew what she was capable of often treated her with a degree of caution, even though she had gained much greater control over her abilities or rather… condition in the last few years, but it was different with Errol. She could let her guard down around him and she learned to be more relaxed and enjoy whatever little semblance of a normal life she had left.

“Relax. It won’t take long.” She told Errol quietly as they caught the first sight of Duncan. Whether that would be true or not was another matter but at least maybe if he thought it was true then he would follow through. It was everyone’s prerogative for the evening to avoid becoming heated.

Noa leaned against the wall with her arms folded while the brothers sorted out their affairs, smirking at Errol’s comment towards Duncan’s appearance. Her eyes briefly glossed over the comings and goings of the station idly while listening into the conversation beside her. After catching Errol’s pointed remark towards Duncan, she spoke up without looking at the pair. “I hope everyone’s playing nice.” She addressed neither in particular. While Errol would’ve had her undying support if he were to put Duncan in his place, now was neither the time nor place.

Then again, maybe the two of them sharing a jail cell for the night could be the family therapy they needed.

She stifled a snicker as Errol whispered to her before clearing her throat to try and focus the attention on the situation at hand, though she was still smiling, and thankfully Clem arrived before long and Noa offered a brief single wave as a greeting when they caught each other’s gaze for a moment. They may not have known each other well but Clementine’s reputation clearly preceded her and as Errol’s sister then she was practically like extended family, though she couldn’t say she’d give the same consideration to Duncan.

Though she had a few choice words she wanted to say at that moment, she held her tongue.