[Closed; see note] Trigger Scent Hunting

[shoplifter]

who: Laura Howlett and You
what: Laura has been afflicted with the Trigger Scent - and is ready to kill.
when: Thursday, Early Friday morning, after this unsettling post. 
where: All across Riverview.
warnings: Violence/blood, potential death (mainly NPC).
Note: If you would like to be involved, I may be able to squeeze you in; just hit me up at simpledog! I have a plurk here regarding this plot.

Laura isn't herself.

She doesn't really feel anything — see anything, think anything. It's more just an all-encompassing need to kill, some sort of mentally paralyzing fog where all she can think is that she needs to track and hunt. If you'd asked her, before the trigger scent was used, what this strange liquid was? She wouldn't be able to tell you. It's new information, something the scarce files Gabriela stole away didn't cover.

Too late now. 

She prowls through the city, her steps fast and her nose sniffing at the cooling air. She smells her targets. Some are stronger than others, closer by. Some are moving. Some are stationary. Whatever the case, she stops firstly by a local liquor store where a man is stumbling out with a beer in hand. She doesn't know him, and she won't remember that he's her first victim. Poor guy just got doused with the wrong thing, wrong time, wrong place. With him easily neutralized, she moves on to the next scent—

Likely one of you.

Comments

Laura's Capture

[shoplifter]

[shoplifter]

[Laura is after a street kid who had accidentally splattered with the trigger scent — a boy who is definitely out past his curfew, rebellious prankster that he is. He runs and runs and runs, gasping for breath as his endurance runs low. Behind him, a wartorn Laura is on his trail; she's covered in dry blood, some hers, some others, and her clawed fist is pulled back and ready to kill.

"Please, leave me alone! I don't know what I did! What'd I do?!"

She doesn't care; she's hardly Laura right now. She's X-23-23, made specifically for this job.

It's the only thing that matters.]

[honeybadgerer]

[ when she heard the news, gabby didn't waste any time. she was fully aware of the history of the trigger scent. what kimura had done. how afraid laura was of losing herself. and gabby knows it's the same. no matter how different this laura is, it's the same for all of them.

it didn't take long. gabby's tracking skills are not as fine-tuned as laura's but she was still a trained fighter. falling from above, gabby is in front of the kid, claws drawn. ]

This is not what we do, Laura.

[shoplifter]

[Laura's had a few kills under her belt. It was — not ideal. But at least the boy is spared, as he staggers to keep running as Gabby moves between them. Laura seems more interested in the kid than the clone — to be expected, all things considered — and moves to try and run around the girl.

But she's more than happy to try and sink a foot claw into Gabby's gut if she intervenes.

Yeah, she doesn't hear a word coming out of Gabby's mouth.]

[honeybadgerer]

[ the claw sinks in fine, but gabby doesn't even blink. instead she looks at laura dryly. ]

Oh no you stabbed me. Oh no pain.

[ then she brightens, easily twisting laura's leg to get her off balance and on the ground. ]

[shoplifter]

[Laura hits the ground with a slight oof, and while she'd usually be outright confused and show as much, there's a sort of almost angry robotic mask that is unflinching — she wastes no time from the takedown, opting to slash at Gabby's achilles heel while she's close to it.

Even if this person can heal, maybe it's enough to throw them off and dart off.

She doesn't really care if she kills her or not, after all; she just needs to kill the target.

That's what matters most.]

[honeybadgerer]

[ gabby blocks it with her single bone claw. she's always lacked the more feral instinct of the wolverines. her blood runs cold, not hot, which makes her far more dangerous if she ever lost herself. no, gabby waits and plans and enacts when the moment is right.

plus, she was trained by the older laura. which gives her an advantage. ]

It won't work.

rolling in late with starbucks

[backwaterbelle]

[It unfortunately hadn't taken long for Rogue to connect the dots when the news started to become more public, when the rumors and stories based on terrible truths had run rampant through the city. Unfortunately, this mutant just returned back from a trip out beyond the wall, otherwise she would have stepped into the fray much sooner.

Better late than never. She's airborne and searching out the younger mutant by following the screams and panic. When she spots the three of them, she's quick to swoop down and land between the two girls and the poor target, cutting Laura off from her prey.]

What are our chances of talkin' any sort of sense into her?

[honeybadgerer]

Pretty low.

[ gabby doesn't sugar coat as she pushes laura back. she wished she had her guns. ]

If we can cut off brain activity for a while, then maybe we can get rid of any traces of the trigger scent. Or if we had a strong enough telepath.

[shoplifter]

[Who the hell—

She rolls backwards away from Gabby, snarling wildly as she looks between her and the new figure that has come down from the sky. The boy she's got marked is running away, getting away. She ignores the two girls before her to run and leap onto one of the fire escapes gracing the alley, eager to leap around them so she can continue her pursuit.

Really, they're just roadblocks made to frustrate her.

... The sense talking thing seems pretty low though, yeah.]

[backwaterbelle]

Shit.

[Rogue trusts Gabby's evaluation of Laura's mental state even before the other mutant confirms with visual evidence.]

Ah can touch her if we can wrangle her down. Ah've got control.

[The glove's already coming off as she flies. As far as she's aware, they don't have a telepath of that caliber, and more importantly, they aren't there with them. They're going to have to handle this themselves.

But first the have to catch her. Holding her hands out she glances at Gabby.]

Fastball special?

[honeybadgerer]

[ what is a fastball special??? something to do with throwing, no doubt. gabby tenses before nodding. ]

Okay. I can do that.

[backwaterbelle]

Ah throw, you stab--or grapple.

[Even though Rogue knows she can heal and handle it, she doesn't want to see Laura hurt, but innocent people are in danger.

She holds her hand out as though she's going to give her a small boost.]

[honeybadgerer]

[ gabby quickly scrambles to get into position, sheathing her claws for now so that she doesn't accidentally hurt rogue in the process. ]

Ready!

[backwaterbelle]

[And once Gabby takes a step up, Rogue gives her a calculated toss and then follows right behind via flight.]

[honeybadgerer]

[ in mid-air, gabby unsheathes her claws with a sharp snikt sound, ready to drop down on laura, cutting her down swiftly. no killing blows, but nothing they could do to each other would be a killing blow. that's what makes them so terrifying. they could come back from almost any kind of wound. ]

[shoplifter]

[And here she was, about to cut down a small boy.

The frustration of it all. For the second time, Gabby has stopped her in her tracks — only this time she's on her back, shoving her to the floor with her weight as claws puncture her shoulder blades and through her. She growls and flails, throwing elbows.

The kid stares in terrified awe, not quite running off again.

It is a pretty insane sight.]

[backwaterbelle]

[Rogue looks from Gabby's successful land to the kid that's no longer running and is honestly dumbstruck, and in a matter of seconds she has a decision to make.

Take the kid away a safe distance and hope she can return fast enough to help Gabby wrangle Laura, or go for the off switch as soon as possible.]

RUN KID! She ain't gonna stop unless we stop her! [She yells while flying up into the fray, managing not to insult the poor target.

Even though Gabby seems to have a good grip on her, Rogue again cuts off Laura's direct line to the kid, relying on that nifty invulnerability she has to mitigate stab attempts as she tries to get her bare hands on some of Laura's skin. Hands, wrists, face, or neck.
Whatever she can snag, and it's lights out by her control.]

[honeybadgerer]

[ when she sees what rogue is planning, gabby tries to keep laura pinned long enough for rogue to grab hold. she really doesn't want to hurt laura, but she will maim her to keep her down. no hard feelings. ]

[shoplifter]

[She's definitely thoroughly pinned, and now all she can think to do is snap at Rogue's invasive hands near her face as the target flees the scene at last. If she can at least take a finger or two, she's on the right track. Anything to make this pressure in her skull abate — anything to get back to curing the itch and stoking her rage.

Despite her struggles, though, Gabby is doing well in not letting her up.

And it's easy enough to knock her out now and leave her crumpled on the cement.

Finally.]