Electricity and Magnets

[Hurucan]

Hurucan halted in the street, and breathed deep. There was something about the air here; not just New York specifically, although it was a prime example. He couldn't quite place what might cause it: perhaps it was the taste of pollution in the air, or the tang of the near twenty million souls and their electrical appliances buzzing away around him. Even in this backward suburb the sensation was strong, a constant thrum of late night TV, refrigerators, telephones, computers; all set to the throbbing base pulsing through the cables that draped between the power poles above.

On a whim, Hurucan rose a hand to the street lamp; the bulb burst, protective cover melting away as an arc of icy blue electricity arced direct from the mains supply and into Hurucan's fingertips. He rolled his fingers for a moment as the lightning disappeared, watching them with interest as a familiar tingling sensation danced up his nerves. With a slight smile of contentment he allowed his hand to close into a loose fist, and let it fall to his sde. Casting a casual look at the now darkened street lamp, he nodded to no one on particular, and continued on his way.

This was not his first time in America, nor his first in the Big Apple. The last time however had been strictly business; this current visit would be more pleasurable, if all went according to plan. It would also last somewhat longer. He allowed himself the briefest of smiles. New York was in for an awakening. Time would tell how rude an awakening it would be.

Hurucan's boots slapped against the pavement - sidewalk, he supposed, mentally correcting himself for the American terminology - as he walked. Despite the urge to hunch against the cold air, drive his hands deep into his pockets, and march on as swiftly as he was able, the rigid upbringing that sutured the few remaining strands of his sanity kept his posture straight, and his gait calm and steady. It wouldn't do to seem rushed and hurried; it was better to arrive later and appear like you meant every minute of it than to hurridly arrive on time and advertise your lack of forethought in out-of-breath gasps.

Not that he had anywhere to be, of course. And being late to anything would have been quite an irony, considering the abilities that his mutant genetics had bestowed upon him. His brief smile returning, Hurucan unleashed a deep, hearty chuckle as the thought tumbled around inside his mind.

The laugh faded away into stark silence as he heard, felt, sensed a presence. It wasn't his mutation this time; just years of honed instincts and hard-earned experience. Gradually, he slowed his pace to an easy stop, and forced his hands to relax, arms ever so slightly held away from his body to better show that he was unarmed.

"Hello there," he called calmly over his shoulder.

[Flux]

"Ben!?" Flux was full of mock-astonishment from his perch atop the recently destroyed lamppost. "Are the Tuskens coming back? Will they be in greater numbers?" He was dressed in his gray and red costume, having started his patrol only a few minutes ago.

Mutantcy and magnetism had given the teen a streak of recklessness and confidence that wouldn't let his snark machine turn off. He stood on the pole, leapt to the next one in front of Hurucan, and with his feet firmly magnetized to it, let himself swing upside-down. Cold white lenses met stoic eyes as Flux came within an inch of the foreigner's face.

"Nice power you got there," he said, finally coming to the point.

[Hurucan]

Hurucan regarded the new arrival with mild amusement. He had hears several stories about the escapades of the numerous gifted individuals and their sometimes remarkable costumes; this one seemed to be a prime example. His youth was blatant: something between his wirey frame and the lack of intellectual process associated with anything that spilled out of his mouth gave it away. Still, a mutant was a mutant, and Hurucan had pleanty of time to spare for his breathren, no matter how unorthadox their fashion sense was.

"Indeed it is," he said, a smiling lilt creeping into his words. Casually he held an arm up before him, fiddling idly with his fingers as electricity crackled between them. His focus shifted, subtly indicating the street lamp from which Felix was suspended. "I would wager however that yours has far more practical applications."

[Flux]

"Oh come on, like that doesn't have any practical application. You can blow stuff up with that. Overload things. Wonder if you could power stuff, too..." He demagnetized, flipping over to land on his feet. He looked up at Hurucan, hands posted on hips. " What else have you used it for, besides melting street lamps? Ever electrocute someone with your UNLIMITED POWER!?"

[Hurucan]

A chuckle escaped, deep and rumbling as his gravelly voice tugged at the sound. As was often the way with young mutants, his power was quickly evaluated for the most impressive, spectacular, and - naturally - destructive applications. While the ability to hurl bolts of lighting towards one's opponents was impressive enough, it lacked the finesse and precision that Hurucan would have preferred. Still, the child would hardly be impressed by the more clandestine applications of his abilities; every day applications like jump-starting cars, charging cell phones, and bringing light bulbs to life in his bare hands were unlikely to be considered as 'cool'.

"My power is far from unlimited," he revealed, cocking his head to one side as he passively assessed the teen's own abilities. "My body has the ability to absorb and discharge electricity yes, but unfortunately I am shackled by the confines of physics." He paused for a moment, deciding to simplify his explanation for the current audience. "Energy cannot be created or destroyed: thus my power is limited by what I have previously stored."

He allowed the teen to process that information, wondering how drastically the boy's perception of him would be altered by the new information. Would he quickly loose interest in the old, balding man before him, or would his Olympian abilities still grasp his imagination?

"My name is Hurucan," he introduced, deciding to take the next step in their encounter. "And yours?"

[Flux]

Flux nodded through the exposition. It made sense to him, and part of him thought it was genuinely cool that he'd figured so much out. It was probably the part of him that liked knowing why some combos worked in 3rd Strike and others didn't.

"Flux," he answered, having finally decided to abandon the name Felix Fletcher. He wondered briefly if he should explain the word, then decided against it. Hurucan was smart enough, he figured. "It's cool that you've got your powers so well worked out. It took me forever to figure out mine."

[Hurucan]

That warranted another laugh from the European, apparently. "I wouldn't undermine your achievements so casually," Hurucan disagreed, clasping his hands behind his back. "I would wager that I have had cosiderably more time to become accustomed to my years." He scrutinised the young man in front of him briefly. "Perhaps a few decades more, in fact."

Hurucan's shoulders rose and dropped slightly as a sigh escaped his lungs. It wasn't one of frustration; more of whistful reminiscance. It didn't linger long though; nor did the matching smile. His brows twitched into the slightest of frowns, and he renewed his casual inspection of Flux with new-found curiosity. "Tell me, my young brother," he asked, hands shifting to across his chest, one supporting the other elbow as his hand rubbed thoughtfully across his clean-shaven chin. "What is it that compells you to roam these streets at night? I'm sure you have -" a smile broke on his face as he searched for the appropriate expression "- more enoyable pursuits to occupy your night."

[Flux]

Brother! Yes!

"Man, I wish. My more enjoyable pursuits got shipped off Westchester. ARGH I hate that so much." There was a pause, then he kept on. "Anyway, yeah, the reason I'm out here is because of her. She made me the costume and made me promise to go out and try and fight crime, or whatever. So far I've been just breaking up mundane stuff. No sense getting in the way of my brothers and sisters." Indeed, Felix had been more than willing to look the other way when he'd found mutants mugging and robbing. He'd stepped in to stop a few from killing (he could never quite ignore that), but in general, he was happy to let them mess up the mundanes.

[Hurucan]

"No sense indeed," Hurucan agreed with a nod, as if the child had spoken some great, prophetic truth. In reality, Hurucan found the revelation somewhat disappointing. A promise to a sweetheart was all that compelled this Flux into action, and while his deference towards his fellow mutants was admirable, Hurucan found his attention to petty crime to be somewhat of a triviality. The battle against the 'normals' would hardly be won with the actions of a few thugs and the contents of the handbags they stole.

Still, action was action none the less; no use in crushing the boy's enthusiasm. Hurucan summoned a warm smile to his face. "A noble pursuit," he decided, pandering to Flux's vanity. "Made nobler b the vow that you are keeping by doing so."

He returned his hands to the small of his back, clasping them together. Something else the boy had said had stuck out in his mind - the mention of Westchester. Hurucan had heard rumours of a sanctuary of some sort in New York, but few of the specifics made it across the Atlantic. Some considered it a haven for the gifted, while others spoke of the heroic actions of the residents against the nefarious Brotherhood. The place was part of why Hurucan had made the journey to America this time: to find out which of those rumours - if any - were true.

Keeping his tone light, Hurucan allowed his features to form into a slight frown. "I wonder, Flux," he asked, letting his head lilt to one side as he considered his words carefully. "I've heard it mentioned before: what can you tell me about this... 'Westchester'?"

[Flux]

Flux felt a little pride at the man's praise, but it was soured by his questions about Westchester.

"It's a hole. Buncha mutants that say they're trying to do better for us, but really, its just a place where they can hide from the world and not have to deal with anything. They don't know what it's like out here, dealing with mundane hate every day. They're cowards. I hate them."

[Hurucan]

Such wonderfully colourful language, the youth of today posessed. He wondered if they ever paused to consider the literal meaning of the words that spewed forth from their mouths; or perhaps the language centers of their brain had entirely separated themselves from the remainder's perception. More telling was the tone the youth had used. Certainly, his words revealed very little about Westchester, and the mutant sanctuary fabled to reside there, but they did tell him a lot about the young man's particular views on many things.

The accuracy of his anger and hate might require some influencing however; a brother was a brother, regardless of how different their political views were. Granted, Hurucan had acted against his fellow mutants before, but only when their actions directly contravened the greater good. While the gifted individuals in this sanctuary might not choose to act directly to change their fate, they were the non-combattants that people like Hurucan were fighting for: the innocent children who were forced into hiding because of the ignorant actions of the 'normals'.

For a moment, Hurucan felt his own irrational fear rising; it was quickly quelled, however. He had priorities, and at the moment he was on a search for mutants; other issues could be dealt with later. In fact, he was looking for one mutant in particular.

"Tell me, Flux," he said, returning to the calm and reassuring tone of earlier in their conversation, "I am in search of an -" He struggled to articulate a convincing-sounding relationship that would not arouse the young mutant's suspicions. Not that he expected this Flux to be resistant to helping of course, even if he did know his true motives, but one could never be too careful. "- old friend," he decided upon. "She works as a librarian somewhere in Westchester, but I'm afraid the area is rather large; I have no idea where to start." He cocked his head to one side, as if considering his options. "Perhaps you would be able to help; a favour, from brother to brother?"

[Flux]

Flux considered the question. He looked like a comic book character, arms folded and head tilted, body language conveying the thought his masked face wasn't showing. He didn't know any librarians at Cullen's, unless he wanted to count that one time with Banner and that outfit. He knew where the Institute was, and could reach it by car if he had a driver, or by magnetism if he had half a day to burn. He wouldn't mind another visit to Cullen's to help this guy, since it would give him a handy excuse to run into Banner and avoid his old, mundane social circle.

"Sure, I'll help."

[Hurucan]

Hurucan smiled. "Excellent," he said warmly, clapping his hands together, and rubbing them enthusiastically.

A thought floated across his mind, and his hands slowed, another frown tugging at his brow. He surveyed the mutant with renewed interest, his gaze appraising different aspects than before. "How much do you weigh?" he asked casually, brows twitching upwards to add a question mark to his words. With the mask covering his features, Hurucan couldn't percieve young Flux's expression, but assumed a certain amount of confusion at that question. "I am capable of -" He waved his hand again, another gesture of vagueness. "- travelling somewhat faster than most modes of conversation. No doubt our arrival at Westchester would be somewhat hastened if I were to -" He laughed, realising how absurd the notion must sound. "If I were to carry you."

[Flux]

Flux waved dismissively. Hurucan was built sturdy, like his genetic brother, Freddy. Considering that the scrawny mutant could jump on his brother's back without so much as staggering the man, he figured it wouldn't be any different here. "I'm not that heavy. You'll do fine." He stepped around Hurucan and jumped, clinging to him easily. As he predicted, the man barely budged. "Let's roll, Freddy," he said, as much out of habit as of snark.

[Hurucan]

Hurucan felt his lip begin to curl at being so casually converted into some sort of crude beast of burden, but choked down the sound that would have accompanied it. Now was not the time to allow irrational impulses to best his good sense: not when his plans were so close to fruition. That thought brought a smile to his face.

"I suggest you hold on tightly," Hurucan suggested over his shoulder, and then without another word surged forward with a mighty roar of wind. Racing down the narrow streets the world around him became a blur; fortunately, lightning-fast reflexes kept them safe from collisions with anything dangerous. In truth, Hurucan felt a little slow; heavy burden aside, his powers were not quite what they used to be. An ironic smile quirked at his lips. Perhaps it was his age, finally catching up to him.

Coming suddenly to a stop, Hurucan allowed his vision to sweep left and right across the deserted intersection they'd reached. He felt Flux's weight on his shoulders shifting slightly. "Which way?" he asked, voice blunt.

[Titan]

Continued from: Titan's Curse (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=18940)

Something lingered in the shadows at the intersection: something large, something powerful, and something angry.

Titan was lost; disorientated. He relied upon insticts, and yet the primordial impulses dredged from the remnants of the former Billy O'Neill's mind said nothing about the strange, flat-sided rock formations through which he had been forced to weave through, nor the strange shelled creatures with their glowing eyes that stampeded along the valleys that carved through the stones. He had tried to deal with them as his instincts dictated - roaring, flailing shows of strength - but they had just howled at him in their strange, screeching voices and continued on their course; perhaps a little faster. None told the never-ending herd of what lay ahead, and so the river of beasts kept on coming.

He had found a strange place now: a place where two valleys crossed. Strange trees grew here: tall, spindly trees upon which glowing fruit grew, changing colour as they gradually tumbled downwards inside a strange, armoured shell. Titan had grabbed one; famished from his long run through this strange terrain, he was willing to eat anything it could get its hands on. The insolent fruit had fought back however, stinging him with a strange poison that lanced a tingling sensation up his arm. His retaliation had been swift, tearing the fruit from its branches, and snapping the trunk in two. He'd hurled the remnants of the tree into the valley; that at least had startled the beasts into stopping, although they didn't flee: they simply lingered, disgourging tiny pink-skinned creatures that swarmed around on their two legs. They seemed like him, but different. Titan didn't trust them, so he'd roared. The creatures seemed intimidated, but still they lingered. That only made Titan's disgruntled mood more sour.

Two more of the creatures appeared from nowhere, a short distance up the valley opposite. Their sudden arrival startled Titan; that was not something he would tolerate. He looked around him, eyes falling on the carcass of one of the stampeding creatures - the light had gone from its eyes at least, so he assumed it was dead. With a mighty roar, he hefted the expired creature above his head, and hurled it at the new arrivals with all his strength.

[Flux]

The carnage drew Flux's attention. "Oh, that way," he said, his voice sounding more casual than he felt. "Through the Grape Ape." Then, it threw a car. "Just a sec." He jumped down and stepped out in front, planting his feet and raising his arms. The car slowed and skidded to a stop in front of him, repelled by his magnetism. "And now, let's do this thing where we fight the guy." He dug in harder and the car bounced and rolled back towards Titan.

[Hurucan]

Hurucan watched Flux demonstrate his abilities with a mix of awe and amusement. Though the young man's mouth certainly seemed to spend a lot of its time in motion, he was far from all talk: apparently, talk and action were able to coexist in perfect harmony.

Amusement was somewhat lacking as Hurucan scrutinised the other presence, however. Awe was there - the mighty creature inspired that in swathes. Hurucan was not so arrogant as to assume that he was invulnerable, and while he could no doubt evade the beast, doing so without putting young Flux at risk would be difficult, particularly with said mutant brother wading so enthusiastically into the fray. Ignoring the beast was an option; no doubt the human authorities would respond eventually, though their efforts would likely be fruitless. Meanwhile, some presumably mutant monstrosity would be busy tearing up the city, scaring the populace, and stirring up anti-mutant sentiments.

Hurucan snapped his arms out towards the nearest streetlights, great arcs of lightning streaming towards his limbs as he drew power directly from the power grid. The street fixtures twisted and melted under the intense energy; the electricity coursed into Hurucan's body, forming icy-blue halos around his hands that slowly crackled with energy.

He took a few steps forward, remaining behind Flux's protection lest the beast hurl another vehicle towards them. "Let us do this indeed," Hurucan said aloud, twisting his mouth a little uncomfortably around the youth's odd choice of phrasing. Snapping out an arm, the halo around his hand intensified, and lanced out an Olympian bolt towards the rampaging Titan.

[Titan]

With a great roar of rage - how dare they throw things at him? - Titan lashed out towards the incoming carcass, one of his mighty fists crumpling the top of the dead beast's skull and sending the remains tumbling off to one side. Stamping one of his feet forwards, he struck his most threatening posture, jaw quivvering as he unleashed a mighty bellow.

Then the lightning hit. Titan felt the impact like a physical blow, slamming squarely into his chest. Tendrils crept out from the electric fist that had struck him, creeping across his skin, tugging at his pain receptors. He staggered backwards, overcome for a moment. But if his audience believed him to be subdued, they were sorely mistaken.

Setting his sights on the source of the blow - the Olympian Zeus to his Titan - he snarled, slammed his knuckles together, and charged.

[Flux]

Titan took huge, bounding steps, moving like a linebacker towards Flux and his new Brother. He reached for the streetlamp, bending it down towards him with his magnetism. "Yeah. Well, unless you wanna do that running away thing," he quipped as the lamp finally uprooted itself. "Just lemme know." He repelled the crackling lamp at the giant's feet, hoping to trip it. "Oh dear God make him fall over," he whispered.

[Hurucan]

God will have very little to do with this, I'll wager, Hurucan thought, but kept it to himself. The center of such an encounter was hardly the time to contemplate such metaphysical issues, even if you did posess a mind that worked as fast as lightning.

Instead he let his mind drink in the details of his surroundings, and let his superspeed perceptions slow the world around him. He watched the street lamp float through the air, tumbling slowly as it flew. The lamp end snagged the pavement, kicking itself upwards and off balance. He watched the creature react, preparing to bat the bar aside...

He ran, and in an instant was behind the beast. Energy coursed from his toes and through his body, unleashed as a great beam of electricity that blasted forth and smashed into Titan's back, sending him toppling forward.

[Titan]

Titan roared as he flew, head over heels as the metal tree crashed into his shins. The strange rock that seemed to cover everything around here slammed into his face, the impact causing a wince of pain. He remained still for a moment, confused at what had occured. He had seen the tree, and planned to leap over it and continue his charge towards the small, spindly one with grey skin. However, something had hit him from behind; knocked him off balance; thrown him forward.

With a snarl, he pushed himself upwards, scanning the surroundings with wild, angry eyes. The grey one hadn't moved, but the black one with the lightning had; he was behind him now. Anger boiled inside him. Pesky creatures; why wouldn't they leave him alone? He was confused by this strange and incomprehensible place. He would find somewhere safer once these insolent creatures had been punished. It wouldn't do to have them follow him.

Muscles rippling in his forearms as he seized control of the tree, thoughts that showed the faintest glimmer of intelligence began to process in his mind. The grey one had stopped the carcass that he had hurled and, inexplicable as it was, this tree felt to be made of the same substance. Whatever strange force of nature had allowed the grey one to do so would likely allow him to do the same with this tree; somehow, Titan new that.

He growled. Fine, then. Throw it at the lightning man instead.

With a mighty roar that echoed ominously down the streets of New York, Titan turned, and launched the tree like a javalin, spinning through the air on a collision course with Hurucan.

[Flux]

Flux knew enough about sports to be impressed by the spiral Titan laid on the street lamp, but it scared him to know that it would probably punch through whatever it hit. He magnetized it again to the metal he wore on his own body, watching it slow, but not quite enough to take the damaging speed off of it. Under his mask, his eyes went wide and his breath caught in his throat. Was he about to watch a mutant brother die?