Starring:
Date: October 23, 2009
Summary:
The rescue begins with the front of the train.
"Stop This Train - Breaking"
Undisclosed Train in Upstate New York
For most of the homes anywhere remotely near this area of rural countryside — which isn't many — it's peaceful. It's evening, dark, and the farmland is quiet… everywhere but here, the abandoned train station that hasn't been quite so abandoned for the past few weeks. LEWIS RAILYARDS. NEW YORK HISTORICAL SITE.
Army tents and floodlights have been set up on the dusty ground and black vans and hummers swarming the old dirt road, the aging wooden building, and the scrawny trees that have lost their leaves. It's a hub of activity as men (and some women), mostly dressed in black, hurry around giving and following orders. The rumble of engines is prevalent as vehicles come and go, but by far, the dominating noise is the grumble of the black, boxy train. Tonight is transport night. It's time to go, and going it is. "We're ahead of schedule! Set to go!" a shout comes from the site. "MOVE. SOMEONE RADIO THE HELICOPTER."
The train rumbles along the tracks, gaining power and speed; it won't take long to be well on its way to its new destination. Permanent confinement for its passengers.
The high pitched whine of an off-road motorcycle is drowned out by the rumbling roar of the train as it thunders down the track. At the controls is Charity, dressed in all black for the occasion, including the helmet on her head. Her passenger can't see the small satisfied smile on her face as her senses are merged with the bike. There is something exilerating about what she is doing. "Alright, get ready." Her voice comes over the mic, her helmeted head turning slightly as she gages the distance to the train, the latter right beside them. "We only have a few chances at this. Once your on.. I'll be shortly after." Glancing down at the bike, she murmurs an apology to it for what she's about to do. Then she starts positioning where her passenger can get off.
Those same few weeks have been rough on Matt. First Molly was kidnapped, then she was released, then she left with Charlotte just as he was starting to get used to her being around again… and now he's supposed to go rescue some others, hopefully including his mystery son. Rebel's time and place will let him intercept the train, right? Well, yes and no.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he yells to Charity, shouting to make himself heard over the hum of the engine. So far, he looks distinctly unconvinced.
And as the individuals dressed in black prepare and Matt and Charity attempt to board the train, Rebel fulfills a promise. He's the silent helper. The floodlights go out all at once as if someone has literally pulled the plug from them. The darkness of the countryside permeates the historical site. Not a single light on the electrical grid works. Seconds after the lights go out, the guards radios produce static and nothing more.
A motorcycle isn't the only thing aiming to move up alongside the chugging train. There's also the dark blur of superhuman movement as a certain speedster weaves her way past the back cars. She isn't doing all that much to darken her features; there's only the gas mask currently flattening her bright hair. As the lights everywhere in the camp go off and the tracks are left in darkness, Daphne entertains brief thoughts of a particular recent acquaintance, but it's soon back to business.
That business happens to be drawing up to one of the cars now. It actually requires she slow the tiniest bit to properly gauge a vehicle traveling slower than her. But with what is a barely instant hop and skip, she's grabbed the ladder attached to the chosen car.
Rudyard isn't aware of how long he's been on the train. He's possibly not even sure he's on a train, that is, until the lurching movement begins. Per John Essex's instructions, he's received extra dosage of drugs, and his 'Give a Damn' is broken, shall we say. It's rather comfy in a way, to just not fight the haze and fog of the drugs coursing through his system. He still is under the impression that his ability is gone, since that incident with Max. Because of this believe, he's very much resigned to his fate thus far.
The tall blonde woman rests "comfortably" inside the train car, head and body lolling about from side to side as the train click-clacks down the rails. Her orange-jumpsuited body is strapped into the chair with a 5-point harness strap; her hands are gloved, not only on the outside with thick mittens, but also on the inside with hot and sweaty nitrile (latex is so last century!) gloves as well; her legs are shackled together and to the chair; her face is hooded, ear-muffed and blinded, with a hose running from the device on her chest up to her nose under the mask. She's not aware of how she's being moved, but she is aware enough (barely!) that she IS being moved. All she's known for the last weeks are the drugged haze. She's not dead, she's drugged. But even that's not enough to keep a single thought from building in her head throughout the experience.
At this point in time, the time's all blended together. Still unsure of exactly why she's in this predicament, Staci's just pretty much how she was left last. Though to be honest, the tube's annoying, and that seems to be a constant, and only thought. The registry of motion's barely getting through the haze of drugs (and the reminder that the tube is annoying).
Sophie is strapped and drugged, a tube in her nose to keep her that way. She's wearing full clothes, including gloves, for some reason.
Elisabetha gave up. She surrendered to these men, because she didn't want to risk hurting them, or anyone else. And then they tased her anyway. She was not especially happy about that, but she still had no reason to try to hurt them. It's just like a certain Italian man explained to a certain politician prior to Elisabetha's capture. She has been taught how to control her ability solely so that she can refuse to use it on anyone. Of course, Elisabetha is completely unaware that her beloved Teacher had a hand in this, or that she was identified specifically as someone that needed to be brought in. She doesn't know much of anything right now.
She has been submerged in a hot fog of confusion and half-sleep in her own head, thanks to the tube up her nose. Though potentially one of the most dangerous ones here, perhaps her willing surrender and concern for one of the men who captured her at the time of said capture have inspired enough sympathy that they chose not to give her 'extra', like they did Rudyard. Or maybe they just don't realize the full extent of what she can do. Or that while her conscious mind is suppressed, her unconscious is a seething maelstrom of dark thoughts and emotions. It's been kept under control for a year now.
But will it remain that way if the drugs are shut off? Only time will tell. For now, the eldest daughter of Sarissa Belmont is in no position to act upon either conscious or unconscious desires. She just sits in her orange jumpsuit, with hood on her head, and remains oblivious.
The train has a procession of vehicles following it, but they're near the other end, and doomed to fall behind. It's the helicopter above that serves as the train's true escort. Though it's still in the distance, having taken off from another strip of farmland, its spotlight can be seen flickering in the dark. It's flying slightly blind, incapable of knowing what's going on the ground without radio contact.
In the front car of the train, adjacent to the car containing the engine, two guards pace mechanically amidst these five prisoners, unaware that the train has tagalongs. The black tactical gear they wear is almost as anonymous as the hoods and jumpsuits of the captives, though not so harsh. They routinely double-check the prisoners' wrist bonds, look to make sure drugs are still pumping into their systems, confirm that the sightless goggles and soundless ear protectors are in place over their black hoods. For this trip, they've spared nothing in making sure the prisoners have no idea where they're going.
"AP One, reporting…" One of the guards pauses by the door and tries to use his radio. Static. "Hello?" …More static.
"Handsome, I have been riding since I was a young teenager." Charity's voice sounds more cheerful then it should. "Besides.. I have an understanding with these things. Now shoosh. I'm concentrating on keeping us upright." She's not exactly looking ahead of her, but she knows what's coming, the bike an extension of her, as the train gets faster so do they. She gets them fairly close, he'll still have to reach some for the ladder "Okay. It's go time. I can feel the engine really heating up on this thing, it's going to give out before long." She swerve close just long enough for him to grab. "Go!"
Taking a deep breath Charity gets ready for when Matt gets off, cause then it's her turn… and unlike him, her attempted will be trickier.
There's no real point to Matt's question at this point, just habit. If he didn't want to be playing Evel Knievel right now, he should have found his own way of getting to the train - but when he ran into Charity back at the rendezvous point, he figured it probably wasn't coincidence.
Fortunately, while he's traded in his uniform for a jacket and tie these days, his job still keeps him in good shape. Steeling himself, he reaches for the nearest rung: the first attempt misses by a hair's breadth, the second lands clean. "Got it!" he calls back, after making sure he has a firm enough hold to swing himself over and start climbing.
The security feed the guards receive is exactly what Rebel wants them to see: the exact same ten seconds over and over again relayed inconspicuously to prevent detection of the heroes once they board the train. Despite this, he still watches, keenly aware of what's at stake.
From her grab of the ladder, Daphne has picked her way up to the top of the car. It's at the highest rung that she hesitates before swinging herself up. She's used to moving — fast — but the rumbling movement of the train is not her own. Keeping low, she watches into the darkness at the bouncing, swerving body of the other sections right to that engine. The front. Her goal. Well, here goes.
Bracing herself, the speedster pushes off from the car top at her usual gait. The running isn't what takes concentration - it's using her speed to launch her any of that distance between cars without the train's momentum throwing off her paces. Now a seemingly flying blur, she sticks the landings one, two, and three… when an obstacle appears! She veers to a stop right at the back edge of the very front car because of this thing that has popped right up onto the spot she wanted. On closer inspection, it's less a thing and more of a man in very dark clothing.
There's no fight coming from Rudyard as his bonds are checked. He used to put up /some/ effort during times like this, but he just can't summon the energy or care. Even the infernal tube up his nose isn't as bothersome as it was in the beginning. Trussed like his fellow prisoners, he cannot hear or see what's going on. The outside world may as well of had an 'off switch' thrown. This must be a bit like what living without a soul feels like. The existing within an endless fog, the willpower to care waning.
There's a little groan when the guards check Emily. Same thing that's happened every other time they've checked her. Enough to convince them that the dose of drug she's got pumping is juuuuuust right. Though she attempted to put up a fight when the captured her, they were well prepared. She wasn't able to resist, since, a boot to the face and a few tranqs were enough to take her down with no fuss. Come to think of it, that spot on her head still kind of hurts…
Staci gets double checked of her not so impressive headgear, the stuff that keeps her locked away from the rest of the waking world. Good thing the drugs are there to make sure she's not overly bothered by it. There's a few tugs with her arms, reflexive as she's jostled, but they quiet quickly noentheless.
Sophie doesn't put up much fuss, given how drugged she is. Weeks of being trussed up makes her pretty weak on its own, and her abilities have nothing to do with her physical stamina in the first place. There's barely a whimper when she's inspected.
Elisabetha has been complacent and compliant throughout. She never put up a fight, and never made any sort of complaint. Even after a year of exercising and building up her stamina, she's a bit more frail than other 'normal' women her age. The normal dose of drugs being given to her is more effective than on the others, specifically because of her weak constitution. There's not really much she can do besides sit there and let her bonds be checked.
Back in the tents that are being left behind as the train charges on, the members of the government team eye the security feeds linked to the train. All okay. A relief? Barely. Something is up and the site is abuzz with activity as they try to get anyone, anywhere, on radio. Half the team is on the phone, trying to get somewhere.
Inside the train car, the guard by the door puts away his dysfunctional radio. "Check the next car," he says to his cohort, who moves to the other end.
Mysteriously, the guards' cellphones continually drop their signals. The calls dial, go through, and once connected are dropped, or, at least, most of them are. Rebel is only one person, after all! And with so many signals going through at once he needs to be careful so as not to cut Matt and Charity's communications. The landline is also inoperable, not even emitting a dial tone.
The motorcycle swerves slightly once the weight leaves it, but Charity is in full control. "Okay baby…" Charity murmurs to the bike. "I'm sorry about that.. but it's got to be done." She can already smell the burn of the engine as it starts to come to the end of it's life, it was never meant for this much abuse. Pushing it a little faster, she watches Matt climb. Once she knows he's high enough she starts to move. It's a sight to see, worthy of Indian Larry. One hand leaves the handle bar, the other keeps her connected to the dirt bike. She puts one foot on the seat and then the other, till she's crouching. Amazingly the bike is still under control as she inches back close to the ladder. "That's right baby.. get me a little closer."
It's about now the bike starts to stutter, getting an, "Oh shit." out of Charity. Now it starts to wobble a bit and gives the first hint of slowing. Now she's in a fix, Charity has to move fast, she's only got one shot. Reaching out her fingers curl around the rungs above her and with her legs she thrusts upwards, tightening her grip and finally letting go of the motorcycle so that she can grab at the rungs with that hand as well.
Hanging there, her heart racing, Charity watches the bike go down with a twist of pain in her chest. It was a good bike. But.. there is work to do, she starts to climb after Matt. Once she's on top, she yanks off her helmet and tosses it off the train. "Okay well… now what?" She asks Matt, brows lifting.
Dressed in a navy blue sweatshirt and matching pants for the occasion, Matt really is kind of hard to spot in the dark, especially when you're not expecting him. The woman in front of him, with that shock of pale blonde hair? Rather less so. "Wh— never mind, you're with us, right?" he says to Daphne. She doesn't look like the guard type.
He moves to one side so that Charity has room to get to the roof of the train car as well. "What goes up must come down," he offers, careful not to lose his footing as he looks around for anything that looks like an access hatch.
It isn't until the woman joins the man at the top that Daphne tosses her head, and all that, yes, blonde hair. "Peachy." This isn't the first time someone's come to step on the toes of her operation. She distracts herself with a brief glance at the way she came, to the back of the train, perhaps hoping to glimpse some further action there.
Her gaze returns to Matt eventually, spotting him looking about. "It's heavy bolt locks on the side doors, whoever you are. Probably what you're looking for." But she doesn't move to help, only crouches down at the edge where she is and peeks to check what kind of door and lock are on the back of the section instead. If there's something she can reach down to open, she's going to try.
Inside the train car, one of the guards looks up at the ceiling. Did he just hear…? Well, he's about to make their job easier: he decides to investigate. As Daphne reaches down to try to open the door from the outside, it's opened from the inside. Surprise!
His colleague opens the door at the opposite end to try to figure out of this radio situation is widespread. He's away from the train-jumpers, but he gets gets another surprise, however. There's a creaking noise before he opens the door. A rumbling becomes obvious from the back of the train.
A hand presses against the roof of the car and the two with her can see he head turn slightly like she's listening to something. Then Charity's eyes focus on the others. "I can unlock it, but it will be too noisy. When we're ready to get them off the train maybe." She reaches behind her to pull a hand gun out from under the black shirt she's wearing. Giving it a check over, pulls the slide and tucks it back again. A glance at Matt, she starts inching towards the edge where Daphne is. Then her hand presses the surface of the roof, her ability stretching out into intent on unlocking the door, but then the door open making her have to flatten to the roof.
Matt squints at Daphne. She's probably right, there'll be a door down there… but he'll have to climb back down through the rapid airflow along that side of the train car to get to it. He was really hoping it wouldn't come to that. But it looks like there's no choice; nodding to Charity, he climbs down and reaches for a handle, at the same time trying to listen in on the thoughts of those within. Wouldn't do to jump inside and promptly get brained by someone's rifle butt.
Well, fine. That's what she wanted anyway. She's surprised, but not any longer than it would take the soldier to act. Besides, Daphne has a bone to pick with these black men and their menacing methods. With nimble fingers made even more so by a jolt of speed, she goes for the rifle resting at the man's side. The forcefulness that comes with such blind quickness has always made even pulling things from people's grip candy-baby easy. Hopefully, that still holds. In the same motion, she aims to — well, aim. She'll stick that rifle-taser snout right on its owner and pull the trigger point-blank.
"Daphne," is muttered, or something akin to that name by Rudyard. He's utterly unaware that there's another Daphne invading the train, as his mind briefly drifts to the other. As soon as she comes to mind, his thoughts just wander. It's hard to keep them on any singular focus. A memory of his sisters, a classmate, work colleague, a few insects he was studying..
From Emily, there's not a sound to be heard…in the traditional sense. While the guards might think she's out of it, but someone like Matt could tell fairly easily that she's not totally subdued. It'd be hard to make heads or tails of what she's thinking however, as images of childhood mix in with random images of not-so-long ago, particularly the folks busting into her hotel room to capture her. The images are, in a matter of speaking, ringed with a red haze, a sensation of burning, if RED RED RED could be put into thoughts.
One advantage of what Sophie does, the part that doesn't depend on her hands, is that she can access her own memories, and the ones she's stored. She's decided she's not here. Finding a quiet corner of her own memories, warm and sunny, and safe, with the family she cares about.
Elisabetha's own memories and thoughts are pretty well submerged by the drug. But there is something darker, some sinister awareness, writhing in her mind, impotent due to the ability suppressant, but still whispering murderously. A charred black skull with empty eye sockets, except for glowing red lights at the center is how Elisabetha envisions this hateful creature in her head, urging her to erase life from everyone around. It's her subconscious speaking out about her feelings of helplessness, her frustration at being taken without a fight, at her inability to exercise her natural power as she pleases.
But Matt wouldn't know all that. He'd just know something dark is whispering in a deep, unnatural voice, alongside the other thoughts and recollections of those imprisoned. He might just hear this monstrous thing urging the following: "Break free! Break free of these shackles! Free yourself from these weak bonds, and slaughter them all! Spread death! Spread decay! Do as you were born to do! You have seen the suffering of the world! You know there is only one real way to make sure no one ever suffers again! Kill them… Kill them… Kill them…" And then it just repeats those two words. A bit ironically, not only can Elisabetha not heed them even if she wanted to, but she doesn't even hear them.
So, yes, Matt might be searching for the minds of the guards, but he gets a traincar full of groggy thoughts, happy memories, and death threats on top of the guards. Whoever the first person was that thought telepathy would be great fun to have obviously wasn't a telepath.
The guard Daphne encounters is swiftly and effectively taken down. He creates a ruckus at his end of the train car by convulsing and clanging to the floor — a taste of his own medicine indeed.
The other guard's thoughts are a whirl of confusion. It becomes rapidly clear that it doesn't take a mind-reader to figure out why. Besides his cohort being tased, something is going on at the other end of the train. The rumbling becomes even more pronounced as their end of the train becomes disengaged from the rest. As the barrel on, the other cars start to disappear in the dark. Wind whips inside through the open doors. They're flying solo.
The remaining man turns to the other door as fast as he can, weapon at the ready. He goes for something with real bullets instead. All he sees is a blur, if that, and he fires blindly.
Cringing a bit, her nose wrinkling as the rifle goes off, Charity is expecting the guard to be splattered all over. Imagine her surprise as he crumples with a taser in his back. "Whoa! Hey. Can I get one of those?" She gives Daphne a hopeful look, which doesn't last long as the other cars start to slow and move away from them. Charity watches the, waving goodbye to the guards on those cars drifting into the dark. Then it occurs to her. "Watch my back and hold on tight to something." She calls to Daphne and Matt. "I'm going to do what they just did. Get ready.. you won't have much time to act."
Charity then pushes up to kneel on the top of the train, giving her hands a quick brush on her pant legs. She swings down onto the ladder with Matt and hooks her arms and a foot through the rungs. "I'm gonna disconnect the car from the rest of the train and hit the brakes." Then she presses a hand to the side of the car and opens herself up to the train, moving through it finding all the little locks and mechanisms, searching for the right one. Her ability continues to move. "Be ready to go in."
Then she finds it, the mechanism that's holding the car to the engine itself. With a series of clicks the locks let loose, the car giving a slight shudder and it starts to slow. "Hold on!" Then the breaks hit, the car lurches hard. Charity's shoulder hits the car roughly, making her yelp, but she manages to stay connected. She does it one more time and not even a second later he heavy locks on the doors clang open. "Go!"
Matt keeps one hand on the rail, pressing the other to his temple. Oi, they're really running the gamut of emotions in there, and not just from A to B either. And that one with doom and destruction on the brain… oh, great, they managed to pick up an actual dangerous person along with the relatively harmless ones. Good thing he's not the only one on the rescue team.
Speaking of! Already pressed close to the metal to avoid the buffeting of the wind as best he can, he grabs on with both hands again as Charity calls down. Wait for it, wait for it… There! As the door swings open, he steps inside - wincing as he lets go a moment too late and wrenches his fingers, then stumbling for half a step as he reaches for another handhold a little too early. It's only the rush of adrenaline that carries him through to regaining a firm footing, as he directs a thought at the nearest of the guards: Jump clear! Your life depends on it!
"How do you like that, you big thug?" The guard can hardly answer, all collapsed as he is, but that is not really Daphne's point. Hefting the rifle around one shoulder, she's already gearing to push off of the car top when Charity intervenes with her own plan. The speedster shrugs as to watching anyone's back, and she doesn't exactly need a lot of time to do anything, so sure. Since it seems like a good idea, however, she tucks a foot into a good spot to brace herself without risk of getting stuck or spraining something. Her hands curl around the edge of the car front, even as bullets whizz by below.
More time than she was expecting goes by before the anything happens. During it, the speedster glances over her shoulder and smiles distantly at the cars disappearing into the dark — and their reason for doing so. Then their own car shakes and she clenches tighter; appropriately, as the whole thing breaks rather violently right after.
"Way to shout the plan…" she grumbles when it's all clear and she's back in the saddle of pushing off from a sprinter's start. Running the tiny distance, she uses her hands on the edge to flip right into the conveniently open door. Something seems to be going on with the other guard, so Daphne just gives her downed one a vengeful kick to the shoulder before arriving nice and fast at the side of the closest prisoner.
While he can't hear or see, he can still feel. Rudyard senses the shift in movement as the cars break away. The disruption is jarring enough to bring his mind back to the present and wondering just what is going on and where the hell are they going. "Nnnghflarfle," is what he has to say on the subject. Just what that means is anyone's guess.
The sudden application of the brakes is enough to bring the practically comatose woman more to her senses. As the car slows, which she can feel it is, she strains against her cuffs and shackles, groaning out uselessly. She can't hear or see the rescuers breaking in, doing their thing, but something strange is up, unless they're already at their destination.
The guard Daphne took care of isn't going to be much of a problem. The other fell down onto his knees when the car lurched, but once he gets up, he's immediately pointing his gun at Matt. He—
…isn't going to be much of a problem either. He stands stationary for a moment before turning tail, bracing, and jumping outside into a roll like his life depends on it.
They rescuers are alone with the prisoners.
"Owww…." Though with the hood and everything else, it's probably muffled. Staci's getting shaken more than a martini with all the shifting, and it's getting through her drug addled head. Ther'es a more conscious, though barely, effort to begin tugging on her bonds. It's still more reflex, kind of like the movements one has just as they're waking from a dream. Oh, and ignore the sudden sneezing. Or attempts to sneeze. Tube itches.
Elisabetha continues to sit there, bound to her seat, unaware. She is drugged. And Thanatos seems to suddenly go quiet, perhaps realizing something is happening in the outside world, or perhaps just getting tired of finding no response to its entreaties towards violence.
Sophie has no idea what's going on outside her. She's still pretty dopey, until she us undrugged, and her mind has found its 'happy place'. She just lays there, quiet, probably until someone releases her or at least pulls the tube out of her nose.
Head falling forward, Charity's forehead clangs softly against a rung of the ladder. "Thank god that work." The car isn't completely stopped it continues to coast slowly down the track. Finally her head lifts and she looks at the door. Shifting closer she reaches for the door. "Come on.. come on." It takes some work, but she reaches it and half hops, half falls into the car as the guard leaps out. Once she recovers she glances out after the guard, brows lifted high on her head. "What did you do?" Charity asks, glancing at Matt. "Scare them with your dashing good looks?" She eyes him before moving to one of the prisoners and yanks the bag off of Rudyard's head. "What the hell they do to these poor people?" She yanks the tubing out of his nose. "Come on, buddy. We're breaking you out of this joint."
Matt smiles faintly at Charity. "Something like that." Now that the immediate danger is past, he looks annoyed - there is a distinct lack of anyone here who could be his son - hopefully the people working on the other cars can find him and get him out, then. Meanwhile, there's still work to be done here; he starts pulling tubes out of noses, starting with Sophie's, as she seems the least likely to turn violent upon waking. That 'kill them all' voice may have gone away for now, but it could come back just as quickly.
Daphne is distracted into looking up when it's obvious the guard isn't just going down but taking himself outside. Her wide-eyed watching turns into narrow-eyed squinting at Matt. "What did you do to him?" The question is equal parts curious and wary as it reinforces Charity asking the same thing almost simultaneously. She just rolls her eyes a bit when the other woman makes the 'suggestion', though, and has none of her own. His answer is similarly bland. So, instead, she just turns to the tall prisoner she's standing next to and yanks the bag off her head unceremoniously. There's a millisecond of staring. Then she zooms right along the line of unattended others, also removing their hoods, and needing to dodge around Charity and Matt as she does so. She doesn't seem to bother with the tubes yet, only getting increasingly more disappointed looks at their faces.
There's a wince as the bag is pulled off his head. Rudyard couldn't tell you how long that thing was on there. When the tube follows next, he gives a sort of gagging, gasp of relief. Judging from the growth on his face, some of this lot's been taken for at least a month. His expression is dazed, confused and he tries to wrap his mind around this unexpected turn of events. "Children, a baby, get them out," he rasps at Charity. Oh god, how'd he remember that? Amazing.
Sophie shifts a little as the hood is removed, then takes her first deep breath once the tube is removed. Her eyes slowly flutter open, taking a moment to shake off both grogginess, and her immersion in a memory. Her eyes narrow as she tries to figure out who it is. "Are we there? Yes.." her head turns toward Rudyard, "Children.. help them, please." in a raspy whisper.
When her hood is yanked off, Emily blinks, gives the look of someone just waking up from an extended sleep. She blinks groggily, scrunching her nose up as best she can to try and get the tube out of it. "Arrrgh…." she groans, shaking out her hair which lacks it's usual shine. Good thing she showered immediately before being captured, huh? She looks around the car, trying to get her bearings, looking at the rag-tag group of rescuers, and the crew of prisoners.
The hood's removed, yay! Staci blinks for a moment, those usually wide eyes looking groggy. And the person bolts off without a care in the world, or having all the cares in the world, she can't figure out. She closes her eyes once then opens them up, trying to focus. And since the lady just bolts that way, Staci's foremost thought is that damn tube. The tube that's vexed her for… however long. Curse you Nose-tube! Don't mind her as she futively wiggles here trying to figure out how to get the tube out of her nose.
When Elisabetha's hood is removed by Daphne, her eyes open partway, jostled somewhat out of her stupor. Her eyes — the irises at least — are wine-red. Not something you see every day, but then everyone probably has more important things to worry about right now. Now that Elisabetha is somewhat awake, Thanatos begins muttering again, an undercurrent of violence in her mind. Matt probably wouldn't have expected the frail blonde woman was the one with the 'kill them all' voice in her head. The voice is distinctly not female after all.
Elisabetha's eyes then open all the way, as she inhales sharply. The tube in her nose blackens and falls out, as the machine on the outside of her jumpsuit sputters, beeps, and dies. Restraints start to strain, weaken, and then go SNAP one by one. Chains rust, fabric dissolves, and soon, Elisabetha is pulling herself free, in a jumpsuit that now looks like it was attacked by giant moths. Her clothing underneath is somewhat tattered but otherwise intact.
She looks around wildly, coughing a bit. She stumbles and puts one hand on the nearest wall, and… A wave of black spreads out from her hand, as she tries to catch her breath, and soon the entire train car starts to groan and shudder, even if it's stopped on the tracks. The blonde woman realizes what she's doing, however, and focuses on containing her 'gift'. Shortly the rust and decay on the wall stops without any further worsening of the car, and the shuddering stops as well. Then she just looks confusedly around at everyone and everything.
Outside, there's the sound of a helicopter. As the train slows, even with the creeping of death trying to rust it out, the blades can be heard, cutting through the air and creeping closer. A light shines from one side to another, sweeping the area.
"Don't worry, we're not the only ones." Charity glances around at who all is there. "No baby here from what I can see, maybe one of the other cars. "But we have to get out of here, now. Won't be log before the bad guys get here." She gives his shoulder a rough pat and moves on to the next person. With the hoods off she only has to yank tubes out. She repeats the words as she goes along "Come on.. Doors open, gotta go." The groan of the car grabs her attention, Charity looks up and around with confusion. Then there is the sound of the helicopter and the rusting car is suddenly unimportant. "Move it!"
"What did you do to—" Matt echoes, looking in the direction of the guard that Daphne knocked out earlier. And then he has time to register just how fast she seemed to be moving earlier. "Right." He walks around and de-tubes anyone that hasn't already been taken care of, then tilts his head and concentrates on sending a thought to all of them at once - Time to escape - in hopes of rousing the groggier of the erstwhile captives. Charity and Daphne might pick up an echo of the message as well.
Now that all the prisoners have been revealed, Daphne stands still a moment, thinking for the short span before one of them snaps their bonds and takes it out on the train car. The pitter patter of little helicopter blades is close after and the sound spurs everyone on, speedster included. Sprinting to Matt's side suddenly, she follows as he removes the last few tubes that she ignored. "Hey, you got this, right?" There seems little room for him to argue, and only the echoing feeling of needing to leave fits into the space before she continues, "Great. I'll… I'll be back." With the sort of bewildered way she says it, it's unclear if she even meant to - or means it now. Only some form of time will tell, however, because right on the tail of her words she's gone - a blur into the night and towards where the other cars were left far behind.
Clarity is coming to Rudyard and he turns to look at Elisabetha, staring at what she's doing. The idea that others can do wonderful and terrible things is new to him, since he stayed in his own little bubble for so long. However, after the few conversations he had with the others, this scene isn't quiet as strange to him as it would have been a year ago. So it's a stare mixed of confusion and curiousity that he gives Elisabetha's way. A look that's still there as the helicopter is heard overhead. "Damn, that can't be good," he mutters in his British accent, rubbing at his wrists. "There were.. at least three children, and an infant." He's slow to get up, even with the urgency. Moving on his own steam is so weird after a.. how long was he captured?
Once Rudyard's on his feet, he gets a revelation, one that has a faintly hysterical laugh coming out of his mouth. "They.. didn't take it away.." He's not quite on the way to Crazy Town, but almost. His gaze shifts upwards to the helicopter overhead, beyond the ceiling of the car. A rather nasty and slightly maniacal grin forms, "This is for the lives needlesly ruined, you bastards." With that, he does something he hasn't been able to fully do in awhile. Use his ability. It's not immediately apparent that he's done anything, but very soon, the helicopter and pilot will find itself under a winged attack of a different sort.
After the call to arms, Rudyard turns to join the others in a run to what is hopefully, safety.
"Urgh…what is this?" Emily says, standing up, stretching herself out, and taking a look at her threads. "Who are you? Who did this?" she asks, looking at the other people around the car. She doesn't have the ability to make the train car rust away, or to call bugs to her aid, but she clearly can do something or else she wouldn't be here. When Matt's voice enters her mind, she turns to look at him, staring daggers but putting together than if he's busting them out, he's not responsible. She's shimmying toward the door…or one of the various holes in the train car, thanks to Elisabetha. 'Handy' she notes to herself, coming back to her senses at least enough to put a face to a power.
The bonds are free, the tube is out (ACHOO! Oh that felt nice), and Staci's staggering, trying to get her footing. Sometimes it sucks being so tall and lanky. "Who'd snatch /babies/?!" That's about all she can get from Rudyard. The voice in her head just causes her to stand there, looking like the proverbial deer in the headlights for a moment. "Right." Crazy laughing man gets her attention though, distracting the young woman from escape. "Hey, um. Can we James Bond Villain it later, after we get off of this whatever?"
Elisabetha has that voice in her head. She's used to ignoring voices in her head. But this one isn't the one she normally hears. It's different. Compelling, somehow. So she does as she is told and gets out of the train car, a bit unsteadily. She looks behind her when she's outside, feeling the cool air on her skin after so long in a sweaty hood and nasty jumpsuit. For a moment, she forgets she was kidnapped, almost like it was just a bad dream. But as more and more of her senses come back to her, she realizes it was not a dream, and that they have to get out of here. Quick like.
She looks around as Daphne dashes out of there, not really seeing her, just feeling a sudden blast of wind. Then she looks in the direction of Matt and Charity, who are the only ones present without the jumpsuits, and nods to them. "Thank you!" she calls out.
While the jumpsuits flee, the sweeping lights from the helicopter shift irratically. There's a change in the movement of the dark thing, and it seems to turn around, lose altitude, and begin spiraling toward the earth. No one can hear the cries for mayday, except maybe Rebel. No one can hear the pilot trying to swat wasps and bees off of his clothes, while the helicopter stalls out. Rudyard may hear the hundreds of creatures die, caught in engine, the rotors, and by arms flailing about.
It isn't too long, before they hear something that most people only hear in movies. A helicopter crash and a small explosion over the horizon, mostly blocked by the trees.