[center][h1]Semi of Safety[/h1] [img]http://i.imgur.com/YVYBldt.png?1[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/Wg1lU2p.png?1[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/VW0bAVD.png?1[/img] [color cyan]Sander[/color] | [color 8493ca]Christmas[/color] | [color lightcoral]Lily[/color] [img]http://i.imgur.com/61vkwIl.jpg?1[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/8rT4pUQ.jpg?1[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/DSOdMDt.png?1[/img] [color 662d91]Kusari[/color] | [color 33ec06]Marcus[/color] | [color 8A3DFF]Emma[/color] [img]http://i.imgur.com/Qm6ALCQ.png?1[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/oKbtkKq.jpg?1[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/V2PDEDC.jpg?1[/img] [color=9e0039]Angelique[/color] | [color 0095FF]Grant[/color] | [color BD892F]Sophia[/color] [img]https://i.imgur.com/3R5vYYi.png?2[/img][hr][color=silver]𝕊𝕦𝕟: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟘, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕎𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟, 𝔻.ℂ. / / ~𝟙𝟚𝟛𝟘[/color][hr] [sub]Collab with [@RedDusk] [@January] [@Kyrisse] [@Piercing Light] [@Chasers115] [@Diggerton] [@Riffus Maximus] [@Deathmyster] [@VampireOracle][/sub][/center] The Evacuation team had only made it less than a block when a blinding light flashed across the sky, seemingly centered above the Potomac. Another cacophany to the sound that was a monolithic fight, while they scurried through the ruined city streets and abandoned traffic jams like ants. It seemed like any moment, a piece of building would come careening out of nowhere and destroy the whole group, but that tragedy never happened, despite the constant threat of it looming overhead. It would be so easy to destroy all of them, even accidentally. A thought that rang uncomfortably in Marcus's mind as he slowly walked with Sophia at his side. If nobody took care of those things, they'd be crushed underfoot before the team even made it halfway. The fighters needed help - and there was only one person on the team who could feasibly assist. "[color 33ec06]Sander. Hold up a second.[/color]" Marcus said, shuffling up to the bloodsucker. "[color 33ec06]I know you want to get Christmas to safety personally, but we're sitting ducks out here. If nobody takes care of those giants, we're gonna end up as collateral here before too long.[/color]" A short rumble of debris colliding with the ground a few blocks over seemed to punctuate his point as he spoke, a small pleading light in his eyes. "[color cyan]Huh?[/color]" -Sander blinked, noticing Marcus just now as he was distracted by the explosion of sights and sounds. He turned his head to face the scarred Arbiter, trying to wrap his head around the other's words -"[color cyan]Yeah?[/color]" "[color 33ec06]And...well...you're probably the strongest person in this motley little group of ours, if not in the whole class...[/color]" Marcus continued, slightly taken aback by Sander's complete lack of useful response. "[color cyan]I'm not.[/color]" -The denial came quick and easy, even when Sander wasn't even sure what kind of strength they were talking about -"[color cyan]Not really.[/color]" "[color 33ec06]Sander.[/color]" Marcus said, a slight hint of irritation in his voice. "[color 33ec06]Between you and Callan, Factory didn't stand a chance. Right now, we need that kind of raw power again, or we're going to get stomped on. Literally."[/color]" he said, gesturing to the looming figure of the Ice Titan. "[color cyan]I'll get Christmas out of the way first.[/color]" -Sander looked briefly toward the monster -"[color cyan]I'll get you all out of the way too.[/color]" Hearing over the exchange Marcus and Sander were having, the Aberration girl had ushered Grant to help her walk over the two. Marcus was right. Sander would be of better use if he could hold the monsters at bay while they were evacuating. After all, Sander and Callan took down Factory by themselves. [color=9e0039]"Sander, please."[/color] the fallen rockstar pleaded, mustering all the compassion she could find within herself to speak to Sander, despite her mind addled by the anger the voices kept stirring. [color=9e0039]"Marcus is right. We need you to delay the monsters. You're the strongest there is in our class. We can't afford to stand here for too long with a monster rampaging right behind us."[/color] While she was remaining calm in her voice, there was a clear hint of irritation and impatience, byproducts of the darkness clouding her mind from her stigma screaming inside. They had to move quickly. They had no time to lose by stalling like this. [color=9e0039]"We need you to make sure that monster won't come after us even if we reach the evacuation point. Zoe, Allison, Hazel, Callan They need your strength to survive out there. We need your strength to make it out there safely and survive."[/color] Angel paused, her tired eyes reaching over the unconscious blond boy Sander was carrying in his arms. [color=9e0039]"Please. You can trust us, alright? If not for us, do it for Christmas. We'll take care of him, but you have to make sure that monster doesn't follow us to evac point."[/color] "[color cyan]I'm faster. Back soon.[/color]" -Sander frowned, protesting -"[color cyan]I'll carry you all back then I'll go kill that.[/color]" Sander was thick-headed, again. This time, Angel could not tell if it was because he was as dense as ever or if it was just him being overconfident in his abilities. [color=9e0039]"The drop-off point is miles away. You may be strong, but you can't carry twenty on your back, and running back and forth is just wasting more time."[/color] she answered Sander's defiance with her own. [color=9e0039]"It's not just us. The soldiers, the civilians. We all need to help them evacuate safely. You can't do all that on your own. You need to freaking stop doing everything by yourself. We're teammates, for god's sake! I'm trusting you to keep everyone alive, so please at least trust us to do something useful. Not only for us, but for what we're trying to build."[/color] "[color 33ec06]Remember when Christmas told you about Ernie? How strong he was then?[/color]" Marcus said, immediately following Angel by leveraging a bit from the one interaction he'd be present for. "[color 33ec06]He needs [i]you[/i] to be just as strong. Strong so that we can make it there safely. So that we can get him back to to the Evac point without getting hurt.[/color]" he continued, his tone light and airy, as if he was talking to a child. Sander looked pensive for a moment, red eyes dropped and his occupied shoulders sagged slightly -"[color cyan]I-I...will be back.[/color]" -He said quickly, before dashing off with the unconscious officer and Christmas. Angelique could not supress a look of angered disbelief rising up to the surface as she watched Sander sprinting away with his load in direction of the evacuation route. Did he just ditched them all under the pressure? Did everyone meant so little to his eyes. [i]It's like that night again. He is not worthy of your trust. You are putting your hopes on someone undeserving...[/i] Through gritted teeth, Angel turned to Marcus. As mad as she was right now, they needed to keep moving. If Sander was going through with his plan, then he'll return. But if he wouldn't then, they won't take the chance of standing here and getting stomped by a rampaging titan. [color=9e0039]"We've got to move... I can't fucking believe that idiot[/color] She hissed the last statement into a barely audible whisper. Marcus gave his own look of disbelief, his mingled with more surprise than Angel's anger. As if to confirm what had happened, he turned to look at the rock-star, catching the quick expletive she muttered under her breath. There was a moment when he stood dumbfounded, staring at his back as he bolted off. There was a slow anger boiling inside him; a bubbling heat that took him back to the APC; another evacuation attempt, hopefully one that this wouldn't mimic. Huffing to himself, trying to calm the irritation that was rising to the surface, he continued on. "[color 33ec06]Angel's right. We can't stop here; we can meet him further along.[/color]" Lily walked behind Marcus, Sophia, Angel and Sander, silent and thoughtful as she trudged along supporting an injured person she didn't really know and listening to her classmates' exchange. It was strange how they needed to convince the blood mage to go help out when it should be automatic. He used to be like that. She agreed with Marcus. Sander was probably the strongest among all of them. The blonde teenager might not have interacted much with him but she knew what he was capable of. She glanced towards the unconscious Christmas in his arms. Then again, she can understand why he didn't want to leave the fainted boy without making sure he got to safety. Christmas must be a really close friend. But even with that understanding and because of her present mood, she felt frustrated at Sander. Here she was offering her help to fight and was turned away while he had all the capabilities to make the monsters bleed and he was hesitating. She shook her head as she watched him speed away. She would have said something but what use would it be? No one would listen to her. No one really does. She continued moving without saying anything. [hr] The evacuation seemed to go smoothly for the retreating USARILN students, despite the commotion happening all around them. Whatever hate the citizens harbored for the Subnaturals now out in the open, it would seem the fear of death was stronger than harassing the majority of Experimental Unit B from fleeing the hotel along with the many escapees. In a matter of thirty minutes, the evacuation group had managed to finally reach Washington’s Supreme Court of United States through their slow pacing. The surge of panic that came with the rumbling of the icy titan’s fall and rampage gave that ominous and foreboding feeling creeping in Angel’s spine. Luckily for her, it was cloudy enough to allow her eyes to adapt even just a bit to the ambient light of a midday of September. With all the panic, she could not help but notice how slowly their progress had been, from being slowed down by carrying all the injured personnel or their own classmates, and being shoved randomly by fleeing citizens. Scanning over the crowded street, Angélique could not help but notice the vast amount of cars left abandoned. Monster traffic had impeded the escape by car. But Regulars had no way to deal with traffic jam. Mages though… An idea sprouted in the Aberration’s mind. It did not take long looking down the street to find what she was looking for. A freight truck, luckily not carrying anything for cargo, obviously left abandoned because of its size and poor maneuverability. Would it be faster to evacuate using this truck? While most of the most powerful members of Unit B were away fighting, there still remained a small amount of respectably strong members among them. [color=9e0039]“Guys, wait!”[/color] Angel’s voice magically reached out to everyone in their evacuation group. [color=9e0039]“We’re going too slow. If we want to evacuate the injured and return in time to our friends fighting their asses off, we should quicken our pace. How about we take one of these trucks there, load everyone inside and make our way through the city while some of us clear us a path ahead?”[/color] Marcus stopped suddenly as Angel's voice called out, almost as if she were standing right beside him. It took a few moments for him to locate her, cocking his eyebrow quizzically in her direction. She was a ventriloqist now too? A regular grab bag of voice-related professions, apparently. But that wasn't important right now; the aforementioned truck was the focus point right now. "[color 33ec06]Hmmm...that's not a bad idea actually.[/color]" Marcus pondered, allowing Sophia to shift her weight into a more comfortable standing position. "[color 33ec06]We'll have to take a detour though; I don't imagine the city-wide evacuation route is going to be any less crowded than this.[/color]" In all honesty, it was probably what they should have been doing in the first place; not only would the evac route be more crowded, but it would probably be more dangerous; DC's monsters were around to kill humans, and that was the largest grouping of them - plus they as subnaturals weren't the most friendly treated people in the city. [color=9e0039]"Sounds fair enough."[/color] Angel answered, looking over the street. An eighteen-wheeler sounded like a good idea. Sure, the thing was big and unwieldy, but that vehicle could carry a lot of stuff. While they needed to quickly leave the area and bring anyone unavailable to fight to a safe place, their self-imposed mission was to help evacuate. If there would happen to come across anyone injured on their way to the evacuation zone, they could pick them up and load them in the freighter. Not that is was only because it was the human thing to do, but that would help the USARILN Mages gain a good reputation. At least that’s what Angel was thinking. Show the world they weren't walking killing machines out to destroy humankind With Grant’s help, Angel reached the semi-truck with its cargo still attached at the rear. Luckily for them, the truck was empty; the previous driver was probably on his way back to a warehouse to load up his next delivery. [color=9e0039]"Perfect. It's empty. Everyone, climb aboard, we're leaving."[/color] Angel called out magically to her classmates. Satisfied with the outcome, Angel slowly walked towards the driver’s door. Throughout the entire trip of evacuating the injured to somewhere safer, Grant had been helping Angel stay on her feet, lending her his shoulders. When she suggested that they all could use a freighter, he sure as hell wasn't going to refuse. It would've been a weight lifted from his shoulders, quite literally. Helping her toward the vehicle in question as she informed everyone of the plan, it was only when they were close enough to it when Grant realized what seat she intended to go for. [color=0095FF]"Wait, hold on. Are you sure you should be driving in your condition?"[/color] He would ask the Aberration girl rhetorically. Even if the truck idea was good, it wouldn't be so good if everyone just ended up crashing. Seeing as she already needs help with walking, there's doubt to be had about her driving. Angel turned to Grant, giving him a an exaggerated innocent look. Of course she wasn't in a condition to drive. She had trouble focusing her vision, and the ambient light sure didn't help with her daze, giving her now a slight headache. [color=9e0039]"I know, but who's going to drive truck? If we're going slowly, I don't think I'll be crashing into anything, right?"[/color] When she had asked that question, Grant took a quick look around at just who was around them at the time. Anybody available, knowledgable would be fine, he would think. He scanned the faces of everyone, to see if anyone at least looked like it. He knew they couldn't be out here for too long, or they'd just be sitting ducks. A choice had to be made. He gulped down the lump in his throat before he looked back to Angel, getting out an answer. [color=0095FF]"I could try."[/color] A faint sense of regret lingered within him, but if it was the better choice, he'd just have to tough it out, or wait until an even better choice comes up. A small sense of relief lightened up Angel as Grant proposed himself to drive the truck. He didn't seem to know how to drive one, considering his bearing, but it was probably safer to let him drive than let herself take the wheel. [color=9e0039]"Hmph, fine. I'm still sitting at the front though. Want to make sure you don't crash us into a building."[/color] she teased her walking partner as she opened the door to the driver's cabin and hopped inside. Once inside the cabin, Angel shuffled with difficulty to reach the passenger seat. But before taking a proper seat and settling in, she rummaged inside the truck's cabin. Searching through the glove box, the sunglare-blocking pads and the dash's paper box, she didn't find anything of use aside business papers, delivery proofs and a pair of working gloves. Damn, the previous driver must've escaped with the shades. With a sigh, the raven-haired Aberration sat comfortably inside the passenger seat and buckled in, waiting for everyone else. In the meantime, she was thinking who could possibly help with clearing the road ahead if the traffic jammed the streets. Though Angel had intended her comment to be in a teasing manner, it would also be the best. Grant hadn't exactly ever driven a semi truck before, but at least there was someone supposedly experienced in the group. [color=0095FF]"Thank you."[/color] He said with a nod. Helping her up into the cabin, he let her move her way to the next seat before he himself stepped up in, sitting down on the seat. He took in his immediate surroundings, moving his feet a bit to touch the pedals. He tried to mask his nervousness, taking a quiet deep breath as he shut the door to the cabin as his current 'partner' took her seat. He tried to get accustomed to... well, everything he was seeing. The steering wheel in front of him, the speedometers, etc. Calm down. Breathe. Another deep breath, and as he waited for all of the evac group to get inside, he spent his time trying to reassure himself and getting comfortable with everything, pulling his seatbelt on. "[color 33ec06]You sure you're good with that?[/color]" Marcus said from the ground, looking up at the boy in the cabin. Grant's apparent discomfort was easy for him to notice, perhaps only because he'd tried to read the boy's face as he climbed in, for this exact reason. They didn't need a runaway semi truck in addition to the numerous monsters rampaging around the city - that would just be another problem for the worryingly large stack of problems they were faced with. "[color 33ec06]If you don't want to drive, we can always have someone else hop in; you could probably help clear the roads in that case.[/color]" he suggested. The unspoken suggestion was that [i]he[/i] take Grant's place, but it remained unspoken because he wasn't sure that he'd be any more comfortable than Grant was. He'd only ever driven a small SUV before, and even then he hadn't driven it that much. But surely it wouldn't be that difficult at low speeds. Maybe the turns - his mind wandered thinking about watching some of the larger vehicles come through Panshaw. They always seemed to take up so much of the road when they came through. He looked up at the cabin, pausing a moment to gaze over the road before them. There were a [i]lot[/i] of cars to clear out of the way. Angel was clearly oblivious to Grant's discomfort as she had been sitting with her eyes closed, as if that would make her think better, or ease her growing headache. It actually did, for the most part, help her concentrate as no light made it through her eyelids and worsened her state. She however kept an ear out, recognizing Marcus' voice and hearing out his proposition with keen interest. It did made a lot of sense. With his current set of powers, Marcus could be of no use but stay at the back of the truck with the others. Grant, however, had the power to move things with his chains. And with her previous fighting experiences with the young man, Angel had no doubt Grant could move cars aside. Hell, even others could help him do so, as she figured out in her moment of clarity. [color=9e0039]"Marc's right. We could use your powers to clear us a path."[/color] Her eyes opened halfway as her head turned to the two boys. [color=9e0039]"You think you can handle driving this thing, Marcus?"[/color] Even with his attempt to mask his nervousness, one of his classmates apparently saw through Grant, causing a lapse of confusion in his expression before he looked over to the boy in question. He looked familiar. His name started with an M, he was sure. Oh, right, he was just asked a question. Plus, he was hoping to pass it off into another, more capable driver. [color=0095FF]"Yes. I suppose sounds better."[/color] He would agree after the scarred boy mentioned a change of job to moving the roadblocking vehicles. Grant had already unbuckled his seatbelt when he relearned of the other boy's name. Marcus. He gave a glance to him, placing the name to the face. After that moment, he opened the door and stepped down from the seat to let Marcus take over. "[color 33ec06]I've driven Go-Karts before, can't be [i]that[/i] different.[/color]" Marcus said nonchalantly, his tone not quite making it clear if he was joking or not. He gave Grant a small nod as he hopped down beside him, something to hopefully spread the comraderie around a little bit; they were all part of the same team after all, no reason to be completely ambivalent about each other. He grabbed the edge of the door and pulled himself up after making sure that Sophia was steady, taking a moment to look around the cabin and find his bearings. The road looked a fiar bit different from the height of the cab, and he gave the pedals a quick tap (making sure the vehicle wasn't in drive first) to make sure he knew where they were. "[color 33ec06]Alright. Ready to move when you guys are.[/color]" he shouted out the window, before pulling his head back in and buckling his seatbelt. [color=9e0039]"Way to reassure us, Zippy."[/color] Angel sighed uncomfortably as she heard Marcus' claim. Inexperienced as everyone might be, at least she was sitting close if he to know anything. Not that she was used to driving these huge vehicles, but she had some basics down. Memories of a past figure swiftly brushed her consciousness. A man lifting a raven-haired young girl in his arms and making her sit on his laps, behind the big steering wheel of a truck in a field of corn. A time back when Angel was but a child. A time when she harbored no ill will towards her parental figures. [i][color=f7976a]"It's a shame, really... For such a loving presence to turn into a greedy fuck at the first signs of your success."[/color][/i] With a frown etched on her face, Angel brought herself back to reality as the whispers in her head reminded the young woman about things that were better left forgotten in the past. She needed to focus on the task ahead. Resume to her previous train of thoughts. [color=9e0039]"Grant, tell Emma to help you moving the blockade with her Tulpas. And ask Siena to come see me."[/color] Angel's lips moved, but her words did not came out inside the cabin. Instead, her voice had reached out to Grant's side, her tone straight-to-the-point and on the edge. As Grant surveyed the road jam, his chains appearing behind him, swaying in rhythym, he slightly flinched to the sound of a voice beside him. Angel's voice. Though he looked to the direction it was in, Angel wasn't physically there. No time to worry about it, since she had asked him to talk to some of his teammates here. Both Emma and Siena's names were familiar, though their faces in his mind were hazy. He was sure he had heard and witnessed Siena's power, and scanning the faces of everyone, he believed he spotted the one he was thinking of. He strided over to the arbiter helping with an unconscious guard, telling her simply, [color=0095FF]"Angel wants to see you."[/color] before heading off to the next person he needed to talk to. Again, another scan of faces, and he walked over to the aberration that he believed was Emma. As he arrived to her, without too many words he said, [color=0095FF]"Help me with the roadblock."[/color] Emma had been quiet up until now- something about falling several tens of stories took something out of you. When Grant approached her she merely returned a quick nod, having noted their new plan to use the semi; one that she wasn’t quite sure she agreed with, but would go along with. They probably knew better than her anyways. [color=8A3DFF]”Determination, put Lawrence and the guard in the back of the truck.”[/color] Emma said, gesturing towards the semi’s trailer. The Tulpa was characteristically slow to follow, but he got the job done. Just as Determination deposited Lawrence and the guard in the back of the truck, Lily herself got into the truck. Silently, she made sure that the unconscious Lawrence was in a comfortable position before she slumped next to him. With her mood low and all the adrenalin gone from her system, she felt the exhaustion from both the blood loss and the effort she had exerted to sate her stigma. Her eagerness to help out was gone. Ernie's suggestion was pushed to the back of her head despite the belt being strapped securely around her waist. She leaned back and closed her eyes. The silence in her head was a welcome change. Emma herself started walking towards the mass of cars that blocked the way forward, giving the scarred boy in the front seat of the truck an uncertain smile as she passed. He knew what he was doing, right? After turning to make sure he had finished his task Emma resummoned Determination to her side. [color=8A3DFF]”Alright, start clearing out the cars blocking our way.”[/color] she said, glancing along the stretch of road in front of them… this wouldn’t go very fast, was it really best to slow down with all the sit going on around them? Either way, Determination began to unceremoniously knock cars aside. A quick nod to Grant was all that Siena could afford to give before she made her way to Angel, a sense of disbelief still washing over the brunette. Though every rational thought in her head said--no, [i]screamed[/i] that the events were real, her heart seemed to still itself. A mortifying sense of calm that made her feel almost as though she was walking through a haze. ...but hadn't she already sorted out those inconsistencies? "[color=ff57ff]Grant said you wanted to talk to me?[/color]" Disgustingly calm...it felt wrong. It felt so [i]wrong[/i]. Her fingers traced the phone. No service, but she'd taken advantage of the wi-fi in the prior days to arm herself with an arsenal of names to take and faces to wear. Needless to say, she could see where things were going, but...it was best not to strike up a dissonant chord in the midst of the situation at hand. Best to continue playing the obedient follower until the need to be more than that rose. When Angel saw Siena approaching from the mirror, the black-haired Aberration had opened the passenger's cabin door to allow the girls to speak to each other without hindrance. Scanning her friend up and down, Angel deduced the Arbiter had suffered a bit through the fall, just as everyone else, bit seemed rather well, contrary to a few guards and a dazed Sophia and Angélique. [color=9e0039]"Yeah... I've been remembering about that time. You were impressive, ripping supporting beams of steel away from that building. Think you can take up something like that again to help moving the cars away? No need for anything drastic or too tiring, simply just push those out of the way. Emma and Grant should be helping doing that too."[/color] Another nod. Still morbidly calm about the entire situation, Siena noted to herself, but at least she could be useful. While she was certain that a powerful ability like then would have been useful, she was more than aware of the fact that taking on a name that filled her with a white rage was far from the wisest course of action. ([i]But wouldn't it feel [b]good[/b]?[/i]) She slipped her phone from her pocket, only giving it a glance as she deftly maneuvered through her arsenal. A few roundabout saved locations, but otherwise business as usual. A hollow laugh echoed within her somewhere. This was far from [i]business as usual.[/i] "[color=ff57ff]I have an idea already. It should make it easier for others to help move things too.[/color]" Grey eyes dropped from their usual habit of staring at something that wasn't [i]quite[/i] the eyes of the people she spoke to down to the phone screen, words seeping into her vision as the circle of light formed as she beckoned for her mark. Business as usual. She chose people more mild-mannered than her usual fare. People that Siena knew were inherently good--well, at least as far as she could tell--and not yet broken in to the workings of a harsh reality. Kennedy first, then Dekka. The weakest versions of them that she could remember. Just enough of Dekka to negate--no, that would be too difficult with both names. At best she could reduce--the weight of the cars, and the newly awakened Kennedy to help push vehicles out of the way. Both felt more than she did. As the light faded and the grey eyes dimmed to a deep, muddy brown, she gave a weak smile and moved to provide her support as best she could. Business as usual. Upon seeing Emma starting to clear the way with her hulking Tulpa, shortly followed by Grant and Siena each using their powers to move the cars out of the way, Angélique was pleased by how things began to look. But it was only the beginning of their evacuation plan. Now, all that remained was the actual evacuation part as they had to make their way into the city via a different evacuation route. Focusing her magic once more, the Voice Mage this time projected her words to everyone in the back of the truck, including Marcus at the front as well. [color=9e0039]“To all the others who are capable to standing and helping, Mages and soldiers alike, look out for civilians to help. The elderly, the children, the severely injured; help everyone who can’t make it to the evacuation point into the truck. We’re going to evacuate as much people as possible while we’re on the road.”[/color] Shortly after, Marcus began driving the truck forward down the path Grant, Emma and Siena created. Worried over if Marcus wasn't joking about his driving skills, Angélique gave the scarred young man a few driving lessons as they were slowly moving. The way to shift speed using the clutch and the manual gear (although at the speed they were going they rarely moved past second speed), distance tips, rearviewing and some other basics. Eventually, when Time Scar would start to getting the hang of things, Angel focused on the path ahead. Now that the driving and clearing the blockade questions were out of the way, it was time for her to focus on the evacuation. She hated sitting in this cabin, doing nothing but watching most of her classmates making themselves useful in one way or another. She wanted to be out there and help too, but her dazed state of mind and Grant's concern over her situation shackled the young woman down on her seat. If she was to be sitting there, then she'd make herself useful one way or the other. She had the power to do so without moving an inch, now that she thought about it. It was simply a matter of focusing hard enough about her queries and make the best of what she had available, a skill her first beloved manager had drilled into her. [color=9e0039]"Attention all citizens! This is USARILN Special Evacuation Relief Unit coming through. We ask everyone to make their way to the evacuation zone in a calm and orderly manner. If you come across someone unable to make it to the safe zone by themselves, give us a shout and help us bring those people into our emergency vehicle."[/color] The raven-haired Sonic Aberration's voice echoed throughout the area all around them, result of a focused effort to project her voice everywhere all at once. Every few blocks they would drive through, Angélique would broadcast her message all over again, trying to make the most out of her power to help evacuating those who couldn't escape. Angel tried to hide the shaking in her voice, from how stressed and tired she currently was. She tried to sound as professional as possible, turn her group into a legit evacuation force sent by USARILN. The last thing her classmates needed was to deal with a panicked and angry mob of citizens. If she could manage to gain the citizens' trust and ligthen their hatred towards Subnaturals in favor of surviving, then she would be happy with her provided efforts. [color=a187be]"We're going to need a healer down here by the slime in a few minutes if everything goes well. If Zoe's plan doesn't work, presume both of us dead and stay clear. Over."[/color] Anxiety gripped the fallen idol's heart as she heard Allison's voice through her cuff. What was going on with the monsters? Damn, why the fuck was she crippled now of all times. Now that the shadow of death loomed over both Zoe and Allison, Angel yearned all the more about being over there with them and help fighting these giant freaks. She was at a loss now. Christmas was taken away by Sander to the evacuation point, and Lilianna had already lost too much blood from healing soldiers and classmates alike, she was in no condition to quickly make her way back to the scene where all the chaos was happening. And yet, she did not want any of those two to die. She couldn't bear losing another one, not one that had grown so close to her. Speechless, Angel's face froze, her gaze slowly turning to Marcus, as if she desperately wanted to find an answer from the driving young man, or any of her teammates, for that matter. Her ears, however, were actively listening to whatever argument was going on through the cuff's speakers. Seemed like Zoe and Brent were arguing about a plan of sorts. Hopefully things would settle well on their end. God, did Angel was mentally cursing herself for being in this condition. [hr] The lights, the heavy steps of the ice creature as it continued its destruction, the noise that all the panicking and evacuating citizens made, it was all too noisy and hectic and scary and... just all too much. While leaning on Marcus Sophia tried to keep track of where all the noises and disruptions were coming from, but they came from every side. Her eyes darted from place to place as she observed all she could, but everything she took in seemed to come in through a haze. It wasn't really because of the blood loss, at least not entirely. It was just her reactions to these kinds of events. This was the... second time that she had been in the midst of such chaos, and she far from accustomed to it. Her heart seemed to be beating so loudly that she wouldn't have been surprised if Marcus was able to hear it, even through the background noise. Her legs felt weak as ever and the feeling wasn't improving speedily as she had hoped would happen. And the worst part of her reactions was this horrible feeling that she didn't know anything, and it was true. She couldn't even keep a proper track of where the monsters were and what they were doing, because she just couldn't focus and she couldn't see everything at once. She was tempted to turn on her power simply for the sake of being able to see [i]more[/i], not because she wanted to find people. Because she hated [i]not knowing[/i] and [i]not having control[/i]. Sophia hadn't even paid full attention to the "plan" that had been formed while they were still in the hotel, because her head had been ringing too badly and it still did somewhat. All she understood that the people that stood around her had the same purpose: to get out. What would happen afterwards she didn't know. Afterwards. Because they would make it out, right? They-- [i]most[/i] of them had made it through the last time, so if that... [i]luck[/i] was still with this group, perhaps things would be okay. Angélique's call using voice projection to tell them all to get in the truck didn't startle Sophia as much as it yesterday evening, but perhaps that was because the Aberration's voice couldn't compare to everything else around them. The idea of sitting in a truck instead of having to walk appealed to her, but when she finally left Marcus to get inside, it reminded her too much of her time inside the APC. A different vehicle, yes, but still. She was enclosed by walls that made it harder to move around if anything happened to require them to get out quickly. Like the appearance of a gargoyle, perhaps. Still, she settled herself in a seat and tried to listen to what she hear of the conversations going on around her. Relaxing wasn't possible at this point. She listened as Angélique made another announcement, about looking for civilians to help, but though her thoughts had been on her power before, it didn't occur to her now to use it to look out for people. Once she had determined that it didn't concern her, she was quick to dismiss the words. Likewise, the back and forth conversations happening through the cuffs were listened to, but perhaps not dismissed as quickly. She didn't understand what was going on, couldn't get what exactly was being referred to. Needing a healer soon, wanting to meet someplace... and all those other words. She tried to piece the lines of conversation together as they came in, but all she could get was that [i]something[/i] was being planned and argued about.