Logs:Boom-Boom POW!

Boom-Boom POW!
Dramatis Personae Tabitha, Daiki, Jean, Kitty
In Absentia	2020-09-13 'If I don't see it, it's not my fault.'
Location
This was not was she had intended, not in any sense of the word. A small corner store had just had it's entire left wall blown out, and Tabitha was responsible. She knew she should have been paying attention better, maybe if she wasn't watching the small TV in the corner of the cashier's box she would have noticed how large the bomb was. She thinks, man, where am I going to get tuna rolls now? She's on her feet now, the sound of chaos behind her. Her hands are covering her ears, trying to block out as much sound as possible. Tabitha is wearing a tight crop top black tee with a white graphic of an eye, with military green cargo pants hugging loosely onto her hips -- all covered in dust from the rubble. The loud thump of her combat boots accompany her panicked steps, while she quickly flips her sunglasses up from her eyes to see where she's going better. She turns off the main street, entering a small side-alley. There, she finally catches her breath, but not for long. Tabitha quickly glances behind her, but she doesn't see much from this, her vision blurry and mind unable to concentrate. She settles on running again now, hands cupping tightly in front of her for a few seconds before she opens them, revealing a time bomb about the size of an orange. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Tabitha yells, tossing the time bomb behind her hastily as she continues running, covering her ears again -- this time in preparation for the impending explosion. Kitty tenses, a lock of brown hair falling from her ponytail and brushing the collar of her uniform, the black and yellow bright against the dull walls of the alley. She's frustrated. <<All this dust. Do you see anyone yet?>> Her eyes widen- <<Over there?>> - but too soon there is yelling. Kitty reaches for Daiki and Jean instinctively, to phase them through whatever is coming. A thought - <<Does that sound like Tabitha to you?>> Jean grips onto Kitty the second the thought passes the younger girls mind, the established link between them making nonverbal communication easier. Her green eyes scan the scene through the dust and debris to survey the situation. The thought is returned. <<You may be correct. I'll try reaching for her.>> She closes her eyes and let's Kitty be her physical guide as she focuses on her mental abilities, her mind scanning the crowd of people and emotions for a familiar presence. It was not immediate, there were so many people and this side of her power was still a struggle. Daiki was sticking close to Kitty even before she reached for him, and once she does he grabs hold of her arm, his reflexive wince sensible in his grip. Under stress, the wave of his power is faintly sensible, especially to Jean's abilities, as wash of intensity that passes as he gets it under control. He's got the google-ified version of his glasses on, yellow and black like his X-uniform, his long black hair tied back in a ponytail, daisho neatly tied at his side. "That sounds quite familiar," he says aloud, if very quietly. The time bomb clinks onto the ground of the alleyway, pulsating as the energy within shifts colors. There wouldn't be much time to observe it, though, after a few seconds -- it explodes, the concussive blast flinging trashcans, denting dumpsters against the walls, and displacing whatever trash was in the alleyway at rapid speeds in all directions. Tabitha's mind was a mess. There was not one coherent thought other than <<'RUN'>> which she was still doing as fast as she could. She encounters a fence in the middle of the alleyway, stopping abruptly in her tracks. "Fucking-- seriously?" She pants to herself and cups her hands. The adrenaline caused her hands to tremble as the energy between them grew more and more. << Need a big one, big one to blow this fence to hell. >> Kitty is sure now, thoughts and words aligned as her expression flits from frustration to confusion. "Tabitha," she says, almost more to herself than Daiki, the last syllable disappearing as they all phase through the explosion. Kitty breathes, in through her nose, out through her mouth, as the explosion ripples through them. Her thoughts are focused as their molecules expand: <<stayphasedstayphased>> on repeat. She's concentrating, eyes flicking between her teammates as they push forward. "Can one of you reach her?" Jean does not feel the explosion thanks the work of Kitty, and her mental search goes uninterrupted. Her mind stretches out as she searches all the thoughts and feelings. Fear. Panic. Rage. Confusion. Jean feels all of the emotions as she is swimming through them, trying to focus on the one, it was becoming rapidly more difficult. Then she hears her, finally. But Tabitha is too far for her to do anything more then try to tickle at her mind. "There!" Jean says with a gasp as she opens her eyes and returns to her body, her arm out and fingers pointing in Tabithas direction. The scene around her has changed and she gives Kitty a squeeze of appreciation as the realization of the save sets in. "I think she's going to blow something up again." She has to take another breath as a wave of nausea hit her and she reaches up to wipe the tiny droplet of blood from her nose. << I reached a bit too far... >> The shift of Daiki's weight forward indicates he was about to break into a run until Jean's warning about additional impending explosion. << Hopefully not at us this time. >> He goes nevertheless, lets his power spill outward in a careful, tightly controlled ripple, hoping its familiar gravitational pull will catch his former classmate's attention. "Tabitha!" he calls as he heads in the direction Jean pointed, vigilant and ready to dodge, though he puts his hands up as he exits the cloud of dust. "It's me!" Tabitha's eyes widen, back straightening. << Is that Daiki? >> Which is immediately followed with << ohh SHIT, this is WAY too big. >> The energy hardens, and she knows she has a few seconds. << SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT-- >> She tosses the grapefruit-sized time bomb over the fence, it clinking against the ground as the energy pulsated inside the glass-like exterior. Tabitha books it the opposite direction. Her sunglasses fall onto the bridge of her nose as one hand lurches out, grabbing onto Daiki's shoulder and yanking him in the same direction. "GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE! SHIT'S GONNA BLOW!" The dust settles enough for Kitty to release, letting all of the X-molecules find each other again in Jean and Daiki and herself. She coughs, dust caught in her throat as the first explosion settles. “Oh, shit,” she says. “Another?” Once glance at Jean and suddenly Daiki is ahead and Tabitha is running and yelling and Kitty’s thoughts cease entirely as she dashes for the both of them, lunging forward, arms outstretched, to phase them through the next wave. “Jean! Get it in the air!” Jean does not react as quickly as her teammates in running towards Tabitha. She uses the extra second to take a few deep breaths and steady her head back to normal. Moving to catch up to them she hears Kitty just before she reaches them. Hands outstretched she reacted, pulling at a part of her power that came more naturally, she grabbed the explosive with her mind and pointed upwards, taking it off the ground and away. Daiki reverses direction admirably quick when Tabitha grabs him, skidding on the debris in what might almost be comical fashion under less dire circumstances. When he spots Kitty running for them he hooks an arm around Tabitha, blurting a "Sorry!" as he tackles the young woman forward into Kitty's waiting arms, tensing instinctively despite knowing his teammate's ability. Tabitha falls right into Kitty's arms. She keeps her strong grip on Daiki as she fumbles full-momentum against Kitty. She doesn't really think much right now, her mind dictated by fear and panic of the ensuing explosion that she caused. In the air, the bomb flickers more yellow as the countdown gets closer, then -- _'BOOM!'_ It was loud as it was explosive. In the air, the blast is clearly seen, causing a shockwave of air to come from it. Since in the air, it is less effective towards those on the ground, the shockwave flinging the various debris that had just begun to settle. Tabitha doesn't witness this, instead, she closes her eyes as tight as possible behind the shades. << If I don't see it, it's not my fault. >> The shockwave passes, and Tabitha reluctantly opens an eye, peering around to the carnage. She's quiet at first. "... haven't seen y'all in a hot minute." << I'm so fucked. >> As soon as Tabitha is in her reach Kitty wraps her arms around her and goes immaterial, taking Tabitha and Daiki with her. The momentum is already carrying them through the ground <<fuckfuckFUCK>> and Kitty grimaces as they fall through asphalt. <<floatfloatfuckingFLOAT>>. The shockwave ripples through the solid matter, Kitty feels it even a foot underground. As it fades, Kitty pulls out of the ground with those attached to her, solidifying with a ragged gasp, giving Daiki and Jean a weak thumbs up. She looks at Tabitha, eyes wide. “The hell are you doing?” "Oh sh-" Is all Jean can get out before the shockwave hits her. She did not reach Kitty and the others in time. Grateful she flung it up in the air she pulls her power back and braces herself just in time. She is still swept back and against the wall with more force then she enjoyed. It takes her a moment to catch her breath again after the solid impact. <<So grateful for these suits right now>> She throws Kitty a thumbs up, without looking up, still trying to draw in a breath. <<I'm okay.>> Her ponytail is no longer neat, strands of red falling into her dust covered face. Daiki opens his eyes again just as Kitty phases them into the ground, and he irrationally sucks in a deep breath just before submerging. << This is so much scarier than in training -- keep it together, keep it together -- >> The wavering of his calm is sensible as a ripple of something intense through the others, but it fortunately passes quickly as Kitty brings them back out of the ground. He lets out the breath he had been holding, a spill of wordless gratitude in him not solely directed at Kitty but the world around them. "Everyone in one piece?" he's trying not to sound breathless and probably succeeding to everyone except Jean. "We might want to get out of here, fast." Tabitha pushes herself off Kitty, brushing clothes quickly of dust. Only then she realizes that they phased through the ground. << Damn, I seriously missed that? >> She notices the damage better, her mind now filling with regret and remorse. "W--this was NOT supposed to happen, 'kay?" She is clearly flustered as her hands animate dramatically when she speaks. "Shit just -- god, it just -- you know?" << It just got too big too fast, couldn't control it. I sound like Xavier, eww. >> Her short blonde waves are messy and have dust in them, as well as possible glass shards from beer bottles. "Dude is right, we gotta -- we gotta get the hell outta here." She rubs her nose with her arm. "Like -- now." <<Not our best work.>> The memory of her last X-Mission, the oil spill underneath the blackbird spreading like ink through the water, floats to the front of her mind. <<How was that easier?>> Kitty pulls herself off the ground, a warm feeling passing through her mind from outside. "Yeah," she replies to Daiki, hearing the echo of Jean's assent through their link and adding, "Jean, too." Her eyes narrow when she looks back at Tabitha. "No, I don't know." A hand comes up and across Kitty's face, wiping grime off her cheeks. "But. Later." She glances between Daiki and Jean - there are sirens wailing in the distance. "Um." <<shit>>. "Blackbird? Or. Something?" The sound of the Sirens forces Jean to push herself back together. It was precisely the type of encounter they were here to prevent. She looks between them all and nods at Kitty. "Blackbird. Fast." She manages to get out the two words in big gulps of air and does not wait for a response as she begins moving.