Breaking the Bank (open)

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

BY now, Freya's mind was wandering. Would the police be coming soon? She was sure the tellers had called for assistance by now. Would Tari find out about what was happening and come running, knowing Freya would somehow be involved? And who was this odd Irish man? He seemed normal enough, but he had had absolutely no reaction to the entire events, a little unhuman... like.

Slowly, Freya rolled back to her feet, just in time to accept his offered hand. "I didn't notice, sorry. I hardly notice temperature changes." She smiled sheepishly, shaking his hand firmly before bringing her hand back to herself. "Freya. Freya Elensar." She paused for a moment, smiling softly. "Robbers? No. But where I live, my sister and I have to... deal with threats more often then we'd like."

[Rory Ashe]

Unknown to Rory, the man that he had shot in the legs and hands that was lying in the fetal position across the room was on a radio, quietly calling out for help. "Ugh... Come in... We ran into a problem, urgh... A mutant and some guy, get in here." The man whispered quietly, calling for back up, then shut the radio off and began to slip in and out of consciousness from the pain.

"Very interesting..." He said as he shook her hand, unable to stop looking at her. He wasn't checking her out, more along the lines of examining her. Rory prided himself on being able to find a person's weakness and know exactly how to exploit it, it was one of the reasons why he was so good at his former job. It was rare for him to come across a mutant without any blaring weaknesses, and posed a sort of challenge for him to find one.

He shook himself from the thoughts, that wasn't him anymore, he had to stop doing things like that. "Well Freya, beautiful name by the way, I'm not normally one to avoid the law..." The irony of the statement almost made him laugh, "But we should probably help these people out of here and leave before things get... complicated." He finally looked away from her and walked over to help one of the other people up.

Then suddenly there was a loud crash at the doors to the bank and the back end of a large van was now blocking the way out; shattered glass, bricks, and pieces of the door frame lying all around. The doors to the van burst open and six men poured out, each wearing kevlar vests and carrying large weapons ranging from combat shotguns to automatic rifles. "Look at that, complicated arrived just in time." Rory said sarcastically before noticing six small, white, square packages on each of their vests. "Be careful with your fire Freya, those are C4 packs on their chest cross wired with shrapnel charges... Too much heat or a stray bullet and everyone in here is dead." Rory said quietly, keeping his attention focused on the men. He felt no need to explain why he knew what kind of explosives were on their vests.

"You four, kill everyone, you come with me; we got five minutes til the cops get here, move it!" These men were apparently not as in to subtlety as the other men he and Freya had fought. Four of the men immediately opened fire on everyone in the room, spraying bullets everywhere while a couple of them tossed out grenades. Then the apparent leader and his lackey disappeared towards the safe under the cover fire.

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Freya just smiled, but couldn't help but notice his intense gazing at her. What in the world? It wasn't the normal look men gave women they were interested in. No.... This was.... examining? Almost like he was size her up, as if looking for anything he could use if she ever betrayed him. Great. A guy who obviously had no trouble suspecting her of malice intents. A moment passed, and she sighed, running her fingers through her hair, turning her attention back to the two men she kept hostage in cages of fire.

"You're right. I do not wish to make problems worse here in America." Mutants rights were shaky without Freya's help. "Best to leave before the police show up and make matters worse." Often times, Police forces were all to happy to open fire on a mutant they felt dangerous. And Freya definitely fell under the category of dangerous. She wouldn't let the idiots shoot her, so she'd obviously defend herself! But that would only make matters far worse.

Her attention was torn away, the fires extinguishing at last as Freya focused her entire attention on the van slamming into the building. Oh? Friends of the robbers? Six men came out, totaling in 8 capable robbers, if the two she had just released got a hold of guns. Narrowing her eyes, she glanced to Rory as he explained the C4 packs. "Hmph... I am not some idiot pyromancer, who just throws fire around like a fool." She obviously wouldn't let her heat touch the C4 packs, but that didn't mean she wouldn't do anything about the robbers.

And then... One of the men was shouting to kill everyone inside the bank, and that made Freya mad. Stepping over the cowering civilians, she placed herself between the humans and the robbers, fire lashing wildly about her in a dangerous waltz. "Direct you're attempts to me, you cowardly men! These innocents did nothing to earn your wrath." She paused, smirking. "But you most definitely have earned mine."

The fire about her was shooting out, setting off the grenades before they could reach the civilians, then using the heat radiated from the explosions to increase the flames size. Bullets were actually melting in mid flight. One of the men, one who she had taken hostage before, had gotten a hold of a gun now, all thanks to his pathetic friends, when suddenly he keeled over, hollering in pure agony as he clawed at his chest. His screams were mostly incoherent, but it wasn't hard to figure out what was happening. He was literally being roasted from the inside.

"You men... Have no idea who you are dealing with." Her words were dark, threatening even as all shots were directed to her now, the men yelling about taking the mutant down first. The other man with out a C4 was down, the same agony in his own voice as the other. The van itself, the getaway vehicle was literally melting. No longer would they be able to escape...

[Rory Ashe]

"I never said you were an idiot, lass... Just making sure you were aware." In truth, it was more along the lines of every other mutant he had met that could control fire did throw it around with care. Meeting one that was actually careful with where and what she burned was slightly new.

As soon as the first gun fired Rory reacted on instinct, leaping over a nearby desk and disappearing from the robbers field of vision. Though he could still easily see the commotion, with Freya blowing up the grenades before they could hurt anyone and melting the bullets before they could hit anyone. Not to mention doing something to the two men without explosives strapped to them. It was obvious from her expression that she was angry, the flames dancing around her seemed to add to the effect. Rory chuckled slightly from his hiding spot, "Hehe, hell hath no fury..."

He leaned out from behind the desk, there were several other desks, chairs, benches, and tables between him and the robbers. This was a tight spot, Freya couldn't straight up burn them and it was a bit too risky for Rory to get a gun and try to shoot them. As he glanced at the desk he was hiding behind, however, a sharp letter opener caught his eye and a plan began to form.

He grabbed the letter opener and began mocing from cover to cover, just out of everyone's sight. If anyone had taken notice they would have realized that he had just suddenly disappeared from the battle, but they were all far to occupied with Freya to notice. Until suddenly, Rory seemed to appear from thin air at the side of the farthest robber to the left. Once again with an almost unnatural speed, Rory lunged from the shadows behind the men and slashed at the back of the man's vest with his make-shift knife.

The vest slid off the man and Rory quickly kicked him to the ground, focusing on the man nearest to him next. Rory tackled him to the ground, slice up his vest with his knife again, and grabbing the Uzi he had knocked out of his hand when he tackled him. By this time the rest of the robbers saw him. Rory threw the letter opener blindly at the closest one, and though it didn't stick he caused him to flinch slightly. This gave Rory enough time to hide behind a nearby pillar, though he was already being shot at by the time he got there, a bullet grazing his thigh. However, they had the robbers in a crossfire now, with Freya on one side, and Rory managing to get behind them on the other and with two of them having their vests removed, things were likely going to get interesting.

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

The saying of a woman's fury fit Freya's rage perfectly. She spared no thought of caution other then the stupid explosives attached to their chests. She could suppress explosions somewhat, if only by redirecting the heat, but she wasn't stupid enough to attempt the feat in a situation such as this. There were others involved. If this were in France though? She wouldn't have spared a second thought to letting these men blow themselves up.

She didn't even notice Rory was gone until she spotted him suddenly by one of the men she was forced to be cautious with. Good... The vest was off, and she was free to do with the man as she wished. First thought? Roast him. And she did, the man collapsing and twitching on the ground before going still. He didn't give him the pleasure of a slow cooking like the other two, who were dead by this point. No, she didn't have the time for that when Rory was already chopping off another vest. The freshly 'disarmed' man collapsed to the ground, with the same affect as before.

Freya took several steps forward, meeting little resistance. The robbers were after Rory now. They believed that as long as they wore those vests, she wouldn't do anything to them. Stupid move on their part. Fire traced each of her steps, before bursting into a raging wall of red flames, so high it kissed the ceiling. Each step the wall spread, encircling the robbers, herself, and Rory in a swirling wall of raging heat. "You men, have done enough." Still, she took more and more steps closer... closer... Until she stood just in front of one of the men, the leader among them.

Her head tilted, a smirk on her face, bare of any fear. "You humans do not scare me. Now I will ask you this only once. Drop your weapons, and your bombs, show no resistance, and you shall live to see another day." She pausing. "You failed to realize one thing, you pathetic fool. I am not limited by fire alone. You're little toys, that you have hanging around your neck... In a well concentrated area such as this?" She smirked, not even bothering to finish her words. All their bombs would do is add more fuel to her own fire.

[Rory Ashe]

Rory jumped slightly when flames erupted in front of him, was Freya fighting him now too? When he glanced out from behind the pillar he saw that they were all encircled in flames, looks like this fight was just about over. Rory stepped out from behind the pillar, Uzi in hand and pointed at the heads of the robbers. One of the robbers reached for a button on the middle of his vest and a single shot rang out through the bank. The man collapsed in a heap, a trail of blood coming from a small hole in the middle of his head. "Anybody else feeling frisky?... No?" He asked, but none raised a gun to him, they were all simply glancing nervously between him and Freya.

The leader of the group, however, was standing calmly in front of Freya; a distinct lack of fear in his eyes. Regardless, he turned to the three remaining men behind him and gave a slight nod. They slipped off their vests and dropped their weapons. "I may have underestimated you, girl, but there is one thing you failed to realize..." The man raised his hands to other side of him and almost immediately a massive shock-wave exploded from him. The three that had been standing behind him were blasted backwards, slammed into the wall. Apparently he didn't care for his allies safety.

Rory was also blown backwards, slamming into the pillar he had been hiding behind, the gun knocked from his hand and his senses slightly dazed. As soon as he shook of the daze he saw the man, who was apparently a mutant, raising his hand towards Rory. He was suddenly lifted into the air and launched toward Freya, though he couldn't see her he felt himself hitting something soft and could only assume it was her.

The mutant lifted his hands toward the ceiling and made a gripping motion, a loud crack soon followed. The large cracking sound was followed by many more smaller ones, then a large chunk of the ceiling suddenly gave way. Guided by the mutant it began to fall straight for Freya and Rory. By now the other three robbers had already staggered to their feet, slipped their vests back on and grabbed their guns. Two of them headed around the fight, running for the civilians who were now cowering in the back. The last one ran behind his leader and soon disappeared behind the tellers desk, headed for the vault.

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Freya was a little careful when her flames were near the Irish man, Rory. She didn't want to burn him after all! He might turn his stole guns on her! A shot rang out though, and Freya's attention was instantly drawn back to Rory, half thinking he might be firing at her! No.... It was one of the robbers, doing something stupid.

Wait a minute! So one of the robbers was her own kind?! Curse this man! Did he have any idea what his mistakes could do to mutant rights?! If It hadn't been for Freya using her flames to keep her held in the same spot, using them much like a rocket or some other propelling device, she would have been sent sprawling like everyone else. She grunted though, her body feeling crushed as it was forced against the wave.

Before she had anytime to react though... Someone, probably Rory, was sent slamming into her. They were both sent tumbling, Freya a little harder seeing as she was on the 'bottom' of the dog pile. "Ow.... Get off me, already!" Freya shoved Rory off her, stumbling to her feet and shaking her head. "Ouch..." Why hadn't she seen that coming? Probably because she hadn't been to sure of his power before now. So he was telekinetic? Hmph.... That made things a little more difficult.

Cracking over head drew her attention to the ceiling. Oh.... Shit. Freya exposed her palms to the ceiling that the robber was so intent on breaking, flames blasting from her and scorching the surface, searing the cracks back together, stopping the structure from falling completely. One piece though.. was already falling straight for them... She turned one hand towards the falling slab, redirecting the flames coming from the limb.

Come on... slow it down! Freya finally had to give up, it wasn't going to slow down with the other mutant's guidance. "Rory, MOVE!" Freya leaped towards him, grabbing his hand and literally started to drag him out of the way of the falling slab that threatened to squash them.

[Rory Ashe]

Rory grunted slightly when Freya pushed him off, when he was pushed off he layed on his back for a moment, letting out a slight groan. "Oi... You aren't exactly a bed of flowers to fall on lass" He said as he pushed himself to his feet. A loud crack made him jerk his head toward the ceiling, this guy was good. Though, before even he could react he felt a jerk as someone grabbed him by the hand.

As Freya pulled him out of the way of the slab Rory followed, quickly pushing her up against a nearby pillar and covering her as the rock slammed into the ground with a deafining thud. Debris from the crash pelted Rory in the back, which was why he was covering Freya; if he died it wasn't really a big deal. After the crash Rory glanced around, the entire room was filled with dust almost as if someone had tossed a smoke grenade. Then he realized he was still covering Freya, "Sorry." He said sheepishly, taking a step back.

The sound of guns cocking on the far side of the room where the other people in the bank were hiding caught his attention. Though he couldn't see them through the dust and debris he knew they were there. On the other side of the room he could make out the shadow of the mutant robber making his way toward the two. After glancing in the two directions for a moment, he looked back at Freya.

"Can ye take out the robbers? I'll distract the mutant while ye do." After hearing gunshots coming from the robbers he knew he wouldn't be able to get there in time, but Freya could attack them before he could. However, if the mutant saw Freya attacking them he would likely do something to prevent her from doing so. Without waiting for an answer, they were short on time after all, Rory ran into the dust toward the mutant. Disappearing behind the cover of the debris and smoke in only seconds.

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Why was he complaining so much about falling on her? She was the one that was being crushed by his weight! It wasn't that he was over weight, but he wasn't exactly a stick man. She could tell he must have quite a lot of muscles on him. No wonder he could take down the robbers so quickly.

Freya almost yelped when he pressed her against a pillar, his body completely obscuring her view, and.. shielding her? Why would he protect her? Didn't most humans hate mutants? She'd obviously been proven wrong just there... She was left rather speechless for a few moments, even after he had stepped away from her, apologizing.

Only the sounds of the guns brought her back to her senses. Her eyes narrowed. "Yeah. I'll get them. And they'll pay for all of this." She almost stalked towards the men preparing to kill the civilians. Oh, did she look menacing. So, she couldn't roast them like the others with the explosives to their chests. But... She had a better idea. How well could they aim, when they couldn't stand still? Heat started to concentrate on their feet, making all of them start yelping and hopping about. Soon, flames were coming off of their shoes, burning through the rubber of their shoes.

[Rory Ashe]

Rory moved through the smoke as quiet as mouse, no, a ghost. Moving from cover to cover as the mutant approached where he and Freya had been standing, oblivious that Rory was hiding behind an over turned desk only inches from him. It was one of the reasons he had earned the name Phantom, he excelled at stealth even in situations that there was little opportunity to use it. Well, that was one of the reasons he had earned that nickname, that and the fact that he always came back from the grave might also have had something to do with it.

Rory sunk back a little as the mutant walked by the desk, unaware that at his feet there was someone crouched and ready to kill him. As soon as he took a step past Rory enough that his back was exposed Rory stood up behind him. Then at the same time he slammaed an open palm on either side of the man's head, causing him to immediately reach up to his ears in pain. Rory quickly took this moment of surprise to his advantage, grabbing the man's head and kicking out his feet, then crushing his head against the desk he had been hiding behind.

Positioning himself over the mutant, he was just about to bring down a fast on his throat when it felt like a train hit him in the chest. He flew threw the air backwards, crashing into a row of chairs. Just as he began to stand up it seemed he would get a helping hand, the mutant raised his hands and Rory raised into the air as if by magic. The mutant threw Rory threw the air against a pillar, and before he could even try to get up he was lift into the air again. This time it felt as if several tons of weight were crushing against his chest, the entire pillar began to creak and groan under the pressure. "You... Ready... To give up..." Rory managed to choke out, to which the mutant laughed and pushed him harder against the pillar with his telekinesis. Any second the entire pillar would likely give out.

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Freya was handling the men quite well, with little issues coming up. The theory? Put them through enough pain, and they'll finally pass out with out having to worry about the bombs going off. The plan was rather solid, and worked out near perfectly, even if they had tried to take a few shots at her before she'd turned the heat up even more.

Finally the men were out like lights, with little chance of waking up anytime soon, and Freya could return her attention to Rory and the mutant robber.

Just in time to see Rory being squashed up against a pillar. Quite literally.

Freya was back in a heart beat. Fire flashing about herself and firing at the man. She wouldn't hit him though. There were those bombs to worry about. But she could distract him, get him to let Rory down. And that was all that mattered now. She wouldn't let there be a single death other then those of the robbers today. Especially not Rory, who had been helping her the entire time.

[Rory Ashe]

Rory began gasping slightly as the weight increased on him, making it nearly impossible to breath. At least dying from suffocation wasn't too bad, it got hard to breath then eventually you passed out and didn't wake up. Well, for the average person that is. If he did suffocate Rory then he would be back for more eventually, and he generally came back from suffocation fairly quick.

Before it could go the far, though, through the closing darkness Rory could make out flames that were dancing around the man. The man didn't let go of Rory, instead, with his free hand he fired what looked like a telekinetic blast at him. That blast hit and shattered the pillar, causing Rory to fall to the ground and peices of the roof and pillar coming down on top of him.

Now with Rory apparently out of commission, the mutant turned toward Freya. A large ball of telekinetic energy began to build up in his hands, and he quickly threw it at her with his left hand. Meanwhile his right hand made a motion and several of the desks to his side rose up and flew toward the woman.

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

"Rory!" Freya didn't even realize she was yelling and running towards his fallen side until a blast of telekinetic energy slammed into her back, sending her flying.

"Ow....." She stumbled to her feet. This jerk.... throwing them around like rag dolls. It was getting really annoying! To bad Tari wasn't here though, Tari would have ended the fight right at the beginning, freezing the men in solid ice. Ugh, her whole body hurt from the invisible beating she was getting. And because of that stupid bomb strapped to his chest, she dare not roast him. Not to mention if she tried any of her other tricks on him like the others, he'd just send her flying. Quite a standstill they were at.

Then, desks were flying at her. Such a stupid way of trying to get her. Wood, easy to burn. Hmph. Stupid. Flames shot out, engulfing the flying woodware, and burning them to a fine ash before they even reached her.

[Rory Ashe]

For the mutant robber, the desks were a good distraction. Immediately after he tossed them he turned and picked up the large slabs of rock that had fallen from the ceiling. He was sure he was going to crush her now. As the desks burst into flames the mutant lifted the rock higher into the air, and launched them at the girl. For her, as soon as the desks burnt up she would likely see a wall of large rocks headed for her.

Though he couldn't see if the rocks hit her or not because of the smoke from the fires, and the immediate dust that was launched into the air when the rocks hit the wall. The man assumed they had though, but then sometimes assumptions could prove fatal.

Behind the mutant, the pile of rubble that had been laying on Rory began to move. Slowly the Irishman stood up, a holding a large piece of the pillar with both hands. He lifted it above his head, a fairly impressive feat of strength, then tossed it at the mutant. Just as the mutant turned to see what the noise behind him was, the pillar slab slammed into his chest and he was sent flying back. Rory didn't check to see if he killed him or not, instead he ran for where he knew Freya had been fighting him. "Freya!" He called out through the dust and smoke as he moved to where he thought she was.

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

The desks were gone now, but what she saw... Well... She hadn't expected. A wall of rock crashing down on her....

Freya didn't know what exactly happened after that. She felt like she was being crushed to death, buried under who knew how much stone. Ugh.... It hurt. By some miracle though, she hadn't been killed. Thank God.

If it weren't for the civilians in here.... Freya would have ended this fight long ago. She wouldn't have to hold back so much...

She struggled under the rock, trying to free herself, but only caused the rubble to shift down on top of her again...

((I know.. very short post... But it'll give TOm the entrance he needs ^.^))