The Harbor

Anju unconciously felt the presense of someone come closer to her, and the noise of something only helps to wake her up. Wade, however, didn't need much to wake him from a light slumber. The nocturnal avian twists around to see the intrudor and the green light on Anju's stomach, or close enough to it. He raises his wings and launches himself forward with a cry of a hunter. Which Anju uses to wake up competely and see a figure pointing something at her. Panic takes hold of her again as she sets up quickly, but all was too late.

There is a loud bang, but not quite as loud as an actual gun, and something then launched into the air. As soon as it was fired, the projectile pops open like an plastic easter egg and sends out a net, first knocking Wade back into Anju's bed, and then quickly wraps around Wade, Anju, and the hammock itself. The force was enough to rattle the hammock about, but it ends up snapping the ends right out of the walls and creating a second net within the net that had been shot out.

Anju cries out in a panic as she is wrapped up and dropped to the floor. Her eyes get wide, her heart pounds against her chest, her breathing gets faster, and all she can think about is that night about 8 years ago. And the other times after that, all the times they have found her! All the times they've tried to take her back! She quickly starts to panic, struggling against the net, screaming as she uses her legs, arms and wings to try to get out of the trap. "Noooooooooo!" She screams out, fighting the binding net, and with every part of her, fighting her capture.

Devon ignored her cry, his attention focused on finding the other mutant. No doubt her friend was awake and would probably figure out what was going on shortly, and Devon's weapon could only fire one net at a time.

When nothing jumped out at him, Devon began to relax, although only slightly. He stood up, holding tight onto his weapon and slowly stepping towards the mutant and her owl. The gears inside his gun spun as the ropes that connected it to the net began to slide back into place automatically, doing what they were designed to do. If she tried to move away from him, they would lock into place. The only way she would be given any slack was if he pulled the trigger again, that was the only way to release the one way locks inside the weapon.

He was silent until he was close enough to speak softly and her still hear.
"Where is your friend?" he asked, trying not to be too harsh. It was obvious she was scared, she had no way of knowing that he meant no harm. Not yet.

Anju could feel herself being pulled towards the intruder, and fought back harder. She didn't want to go back, she couldn't go back! She starts fight harder and harder out of desperation, Wade struggles as well but if it was to get out or to keep from suffering a elbow or a leg it was unknown. She could only stop the pull, but being brought to him was unavoidable. Fear starts to kick in as she looks back into the odd mask around his face, then a split second later, tears run down from her eyes and off her cheeks. Her breathing was heavily, and a sob catches in her throat. She heard him say something, but not the words..

Devon waited patiently for her answer, but when he didn't get one he sighed, lowering his head. He crouched down, getting a little closer to her. The dim light from his helmet lit up her face, and he studied her as he asked his question again.
"WHERE is your friend." he asked, a little harsher this time, putting emphasis on the word 'where.'

Anju only stares up at the man, shaking a little out of fear. As the light washes over her face she closes her eyes to avoid the pain of a bright light in a dark room. Tears roll down both cheeks again before she slowly opens them again. For a long time he was quiet, what he was doing behind the mask was beyond her guess.. When he did speak again, she heard him this time. But confusion slowly appears on her face, just barely getting though the panic and fear. "W-What friend?" She asks, honestly not knowing what he meant.

Devon continued to stare at her for some time, contemplating her words. Partly because of how she spoke and partly because he still hadn't been attacked from behind, he was beginning to believe the other mutant wasn't here. Still, this made things even more complicated, and he needed time to think about it.

"The spidery one." he finally replied, standing up.
He needed a way to transport her now, and he wished he had thought of this sooner. The suit would help him carry her if he really needed to, but it wouldn't be comfortable for her in any way...

Anju looked even more confused as the man behind the mask tried to explain. She didn't understand, and shakes her head in her confusion. Until the spider-man like costume comes back to mind. As she realizes he must be talking about Noctruam, her face changes to reflect it as she gasps inwardly. Then she closes her mouth, clenching her jaw slightly as an inner fight begins with herself. If this man was looking for Noctraum then why shouldn't she tell him to save herself?

But strangely enough, those ideas are argued by flashbacks. Mordicai's words on the subway, his words earlier, and the feelings she couldn't shake about being able to believe him, maybe even trust him.

Anju looks away, with a little shame and guilt about what she had been thinking about. Noctruam offered his friendship and home to her.. If anything he was a good guy. "I don't know.." She says, with complete honesty. She had no idea where he was. Just that he went home. And only Wade knew where that was. And good luck getting an owl to talk.

Even through the suit, Devon heard the mutant gasp and he turned back to her, curious. However, her answer didn't surprise him, and inside he felt a bit disappointed.
"I'm taking you to the authorities for what you did in the subway." Devon explained, staring down at her. "It would be an easier trip for both of us if you cooperated, and I'd be able to let the owl go." he added.

Anju was still slowly recovering from another panic attack, but her face manages a form of digust at being accused for what happened in the subway station. "What I did!?" She says defensively and immediately. But before she could argue anymore, Wade was mentioned and she just stops.. Worry comes over her and she looks around for the owl.

Wade was lying trapped within some blankets, breathing at an alarming rate. Anju felt a sudden pain in her chest as she see's the frightened owl. She rolls over in the net and gently brings Wade to her. Tenderly petting him and carefully trying to free him. "Wade.." She whispears quietly wondering what she should do..

Unknown to her, in the middle of what was happening, the dvice around Wade's ankle was activated. Whether he activated it or in the struggle it got accidently activate was unknown to anyone but perhaps the avian.

Anju thought about what was happening, taking a long moment as she tried to calm the animal in her arms down. She did not care to harm Wade, or put him in anymore danger. But then anger boils up inside her again as she thinks about what he's accused her of doing. "The humans started that.." She says coldly while still holding the owl like a precious treasure. Her panic now subsided, even completely gone. 'Maybe... Maybe I can save us both?' She thought, now with a clearer mind.

Devon had expected her reaction and response, it was one he had heard a hundred times by now.
"Regardless of your reasons, you turned your powers against a human being." he said harshly, like he was scolding her. "Assault is already illegal enough to bring you in to the authorities, and with your powers it's doubly so." he explained, pausing for just a second to let his mind clear.
"The difference here is how difficult the journey there is going to be." he added, his voice softening, back to trying to convince her to come with him without a struggle. "It won't be good for the owl." he added, noticing just how attached she seemed to be.

Anju's emotions burn again as he just dismisses her like that. Like the truth of the fight didn't really matter to him. Fire flickers in her eyes again. While she was in full control of her powers, and they did not rely on her emotions, she relied heavily on her emotions. "What do you care!" She snaps at him, coldly again. "You don't give a crap about what happens. You're just like them!!" She yells and a small explosion of fire bursts out at the same time as her anger. Inside the net, the fire consumes the bundle of blankets, and the hammock without much time. But the focus of this power was towards him. And while he's thrown hard enough to land him on his back, it was the unexpected effect on the gun that made the difference.

There was some sounds that came from the gun as and after it fell to the ground, and while the flames tease the ends of her night gown,the gun malfunctions and in turn so does the net. Anju stretched out her wings as far as they would go, attempting to break the net. But it only releases and falls off of her. Without skipping a beat she throws her body into a full run, her winds folding to give her more speed. She then dives, wrapping her metal wings around her as she aims straight through the dirty windows. A loud crash sounds and the ground below her is rained on by glass.

Her body twists around as she moves past the window, and her wings come out as she tries to fly away, but she was too low and twisted, so the only flights she did was a looping dive into the fence that surrounded the property. She falls a short few feet into the cold gravel, scraping her face, shoulders, legs, knees, and her arms which were protectively around something she's forgotten about completely. Yet she still hangs onto it as she rolls over onto her back, the wings pulling free of the chain links with little effort as she takes some heavy breaths.

Anju looks down as her arms fall apart, to see what she held onto so dearly.. Wade rolls over, badly burnt and barely breathing. His eyes look up at her and then close slowly. Something inside her breaks as she watches him. All she could think about was how she couldn't let him die..."Wade!" She says, asking for his attention. Then demanded it. "Wade!" But he doesn't look up again, and she couldn't see his breathing anymore. "W-Wade..." Her voice cracks, and for the first time in her life, she cries for someone other than her. She pulls him to her chest again, and bites her lip as she tries not to sob, tears slowly forming in her eyes.

If Devon's face had been visible, it would have shown complete surprise as he was thrown back. He would also be dead. He could still feel the heat her blast on the inside of his suit, and he couldn't imagine how hot it would have been without it. His trench coat was black on the front now, and he was thankful that it wasn't on fire. Still, he would probably need to replace it again...
He rolled onto his stomach as his eyes followed her out the window, cursing softly to himself. He got up quickly, grabbing his gun putting it away. Something inside it groaned as it slid back to it's smaller form, and he was pretty sure he would need to repair it later.

Devon hurried downstairs after the mutant, quickly glancing around at his options. She had left too fast for him to be able to use the entrance he had before, he needed a faster way out. Luckily, he found a door not far from the window she had burst through. He didn't bother trying it, instead he turned to the ancient machinery that littered the floor he was on. Without any real thought to what he was doing, he reached out and lifted one off the floor, swinging it to face the door. The gravity defying science in his gauntlet moved the object without any problems, and would throw it even harder. He knew it would take out the door, he just hoped it didn't take out too much of the wall with it.

There was an explosion of brick and wood as the doorway to the warehouse/factory burst outward, the metal machine crushed on one side as it rolled to a stop on the other side of the door. Devon rushed out the opening, looking around desperately as soon as he got out. He had been expecting her in the sky, so when he found her on the ground he couldn't help but be surprised... He started towards her, raising one arm in a 'I just want to talk' way.
"I don't want to hurt you." he said, but even to him it didn't sound convincing.

Anju held onto the bird dearly, and until she hears the loud crash as the door to her place of living, and probably the whole frame which was boarded up to prevent kids from getting in, is smashed through. Her head snaps up and she looks around quickly, remembering what was going on. She couldn't help Wade just sitting there and crying, and she sure as hell couldn't help him if she got captured.

She slowly got to her feet, dragging her back against the fence to support her cause her hands were occupided. The metal of her wings brushed against the metal of the chain, it rattled the chain link which vibrated a few feet away from the source. On her feet she still leaned against the fence, a cold wind comes in from the harbor and brushes past her, throwing her hair up in her face and her gown flaps a little before it stops. Her cold steel colored eyes glare at the man as he comes in view, and closer.

Anju watches as he lifted his arm, as if telling her to hold her fire, and then tries to give her some crap about how he didn't want to hurt her. "Bull!" She spits back. Her irish accent appears in this word, either she didn't care enough to hide it or she hasn't practiced the word enough. Maybe he really didn't want to hurt her, physically. But if locking her up for something she didn't do wasn't bad enough, it would surely doom her in other ways. Her face would be put on record, and then they would come for her. It was only a matter of time.

Devon sighed, putting his arm down. He looked at the ground for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts. Finally, he turned back to her, "What makes you think you're so above the law that you just get to walk away from what happened? A little girl almost died, did you know that?" He said, struggling to keep his voice as calm as possible.
'They never understand, never care for how their actions affect others.' The thoughts burned in his mind, the old hatred that had boiled him in the past was rising again. 'They just assume that since they have powers they shouldn't be responsible for the consequences of their actions. That anyone who would try to make them they could just blow away.'
"How do you think her mother would have felt if her daughter had been killed?" Devon tried once more, feeling a need deep in his gut to make her understand.

Anju did know about the little girl, but only because she watched Noctruam save her. Regardless, that wasn't her fualt. "I didn't push her in front of the train, her own kind did." She snaps back, furious that he was blaming all of this on her. "None of that was my fualt!" She finally couldn't resist, even if she sounded like a child, she knew she was right. "I was content with just minding my own buisness. I just wanted to ride the train! He assulted me!" She arugues, finally having enough with this guilt trip. "But you don't care, you don't CARE! You'll side with those people no matter what I say, so why am I wasting my time?" She pushes off the fence weakly, spreads her wings out, and then pushes herself up into the air. She had to get Wade help..

Devon had expected her to come off the fence and attack him, so when she took off into the air he was momentarily surprised. He turned around quickly, going for the metal thing he had thrown through the wall but changing his mind when he saw the rubble around it. As quick as he could, he lifted the chunks of concrete off the ground and flung them at his targets, aiming for her wings and trying to bring her back to the ground.

Anju had all but forgotten about the strange man in the mask and trench coat as she lept up into the air, so she was extreamly surprised when she let her wings out to stop her rise, that a large chunk of cement flies just over her right side, making her gasp. She twists around and her wings keep her hovering in the air, as she shoots a mad look his way. She stays there for a long minute, glaring at him. The air around her shimmers some from extream heat waves as she thought about going after him. But the soft brush of feathers against her chest kept her mind focused, she didn't have time to play games with him. She narrows her eyes once again then her wings push her up again, her body bends, and she flips back so that she can dive. Picking up speed she twists around and heads over the building, past the fence around the property, and then quickly heads into the city.

Devon watched as she flew off into the sky, and for a moment he considered her gone. But he wasn't willing to give up so quickly, and he hurried to his vehicle before she could get too far away. His helmet clanked back into his suit as he took off, an attempt to make himself less conspicuous as he weaved in and out of traffic following a flying mutant while everything he was wearing was badly burnt on the front and completely unharmed on the rest of him.
The ridiculousness of it all made him smile.