Etoile Gabrielle LeBeau (aceofhearts) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2013-01-14 21:47:00

Entry tags:

Survival
Etoile's world has been thrown into a loop, the days she had suddenly appeared at the front gate of Xavier's. She was sent here, not only to escape from being caught, but to gain more help from Xavier. Also, she wanted to lead a decent semi-normal life as a young mutant. University, building friendships, possibly love? Mainly, she wanted to be a part of the X-Men team. Both her parents were part of them for years, she felt the need to follow along.

However, she knew her main purpose for coming to Xavier's, was to locate her missing family. She needed to establish a connection with Xavier and hopefully her fellow teammates would be able to help her (eventually). Right now, this is her doing her own intel on the information given to her by Xavier.

Etoile informed Xavier about her sudden leave from the mansion for awhile. She couldn't sit back and let her parents disappearance be placed on the back burner any longer. She felt confident enough to go out on her own in search for them. Her first stop? New Orleans.

Etoile didn't realize she would be facing some minor problems upon arriving in New Orleans, her father's past which equaled out to be a heap of danger. Etoile is suddenly faced with being attacked by the Thieves' and Assassins Guild after her...right now Etoile is trying to stay alive and survive her hellish visit to New Orleans. Etoile new about them, but to what extent? Not a lot, her father disliked talking about his past and did his best to keep his children out of it. Might have been the wrong idea currently, what he did was what any father would have done. Right now she is on the run...wounded and trying to escape on foot is not a smart idea. God, she could use some help right about now...

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	aceofhearts 2013-01-21 02:56 am UTC (link)
	This was getting crazy...they were coming out of the wood works! She didn't realize there was so many in the assassins guild. She could feel her muscles ripping at this point, she couldn't stop right now...she had push on and keep fighting. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

vicious_cycle
2013-01-21 03:03 am UTC (link)

They may have numbers, but their coordination dies down a little bit with sudden radio silence. The people coordinating the guild teams suddenly have other things to worry about, not that far away. A few of the people attacking Etoile, and all of the lookouts are distracted, at least briefly, by the only sound coming through their coms being the demonic howl of the bike, and a few screams.

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aceofhearts
2013-01-21 03:26 am UTC (link)

Survival. This was all about surviving and winning in the end. She was glad she met someone like Nick, regardless of his true nature inside of him (Ghost Rider).

She jumped even at the sound..she even heard that demonic howl. While they were distracted, Etoile took this opportunity to strike hard on those fighting with her.

Etoile pushed out as much kinetic energy as possible in both her bo's, slamming them both to the ground, which caused a huge wave of explosion flying towards the group...they all go flying in different directions. Etoile dropped her bo's, falling to the ground on her knees her arms limp. Her muscles were torn to shreds at this point.

"I can't stop now...get up, Etoile...GET UP!" she yells at herself, trying to keep herself awake from over exhaustion and motivated to keep fighting.

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vicious_cycle
2013-01-21 03:33 am UTC (link)

The howl continues, then gets closer once again. The bike appears through the wreckages of the bar, dragging something behind it by a chain. What at first appears to be a body is tossed into the midst of the guild thugs - their former boss for this operation. At first, he appears dead - before slight, panicked breaths and whimpers escape the form, and he curls into a fetal position. Those close enough might see his eyes gone hollow, reflecting the sins in his life over and over, forced to relive being confronted with the evils he's done over and over, for so long as he should live.

The Rider's empty sockets sweep over those still present, as the chain unwinds from around the former guild underboss, and retract back into his sleeve.

The howl dies down only slightly, but somehow, when he speaks, even in a rasp, it carries over the din of the surroundings.

"Run. Or join him." Their sins may not be so deep as to have drawn his notice. May not cause him to care, but that doesn't mean they're beneath his notice either, while convenient.

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aceofhearts
2013-01-21 03:43 am UTC (link)

At this point she couldn't even motivate herself. Etoile glances over her shoulder, only to hear and slightly see the appearance of the Rider.

She blinked as the former boss is tossed towards the group of guild members...damn, she's glad that isn't her right now.

At this point the guild knew they didn't have a chance of survival if they didn't leave now. All of them fled for their lives...she sighed a sigh of relief, it was over with for now. Etoile falls back to the ground tired and thankful to live another day.

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vicious_cycle
2013-01-21 03:48 am UTC (link)

Its possible that raw numbers and skill enough might have done something here. But whether he won or lost, the Rider would have made them pay - and that threat is enough to drive them off.

He watches, with no sign of emotion, as the people scatter - and its enough that Zarathos, content with his vengeance for now, shares the mind somewhat more. The Rider moves up to Etoile, grating, "Get on."

Either way, he leaves the underboss where he lies. The Rider is done with him now, condemned to his personal hell for the rest of his life. And then a much bigger hell afterwards.

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aceofhearts
2013-01-21 03:54 am UTC (link)

She wasn't sure the Rider would even approach her in his state. Being warned by Nick on how the Rider is, she didn't expect 'him' to even talk, let alone approach her.

"...huh?" She responded all confused. Etoile moves her head to the side, looking over to his bike all flamed up."Um, I don't think I could get on without being burnt." she pointed out.

Slowly she stands up to her feet as best she could, without the use of her arms. Etoile looked over to the Rider..."I could walk..."

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	vicious_cycle 2013-01-21 04:04 am UTC (link)
	"Your choice. But they'll be watching you." he responds. The flames about all but the wheels do die down though, if she wants to reconsider a ride. Either way, he's revving the bike and looking like he intends to be out of there shortly, with or without her. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	aceofhearts 2013-01-21 04:12 am UTC (link)
	She sighed, she knew he was right. The chances of her making it out alive of New Orleans is pretty slim. At this point her being badly wounded wouldn't help her. Etoile sighed heavily, moving towards the bike and gingerly climbing on to the bake. She grits her teeth tightly to force her arms up and hold onto him. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

vicious_cycle
2013-01-21 04:16 am UTC (link)

Nick's bike, with a little of the Rider's power, was fast. This is something else entirely. The howl builds back up, and the wheels leave a thin trail of flame behind them for long seconds after the bike passes in a blur.

He continues to drive until they're out of New Orleans. Then out of Louisiana and into Texas. As he gets further away from the hunt, the bike slows to merely 'very fast' again, and Nick's form begins to fill out again.

Last thing he'll ever do is tell her to stop looking for her family. But she's not going to get her answers with the guilds on high alert and wounded - and now that his hunt is over, for the moment, he can't help her. Aside from getting her away to heal and rethink her plans, but with more information to go on now.

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aceofhearts
2013-01-21 04:27 am UTC (link)

Etoile really couldn't think clearly at this point. She didn't much attention to how fast this bike was going. All she knew was, it felt like time flew by.

I'm sorry, Papa..Mom..Etienne. I'm not strong enough. She repeated the same words over again in her head. At times like these she really wished, she could hear her fathers lame jokes and her mothers encouraging words.

Etoile rests against the Rider, before completely passing out from being over tired and in pain.

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	vicious_cycle 2013-01-21 04:40 am UTC (link)
	She'll wake up in one of the smaller, grubbier little motel rooms she's probably ever seen. Her wounds are patched up. Not well, but the bleeding is stopped and everything is cleaned. She's got the bed, Nick is sleeping, sitting up in the one chair in the room, feet propped up on the end of the bed. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

aceofhearts
2013-01-21 04:52 am UTC (link)

Etoile's eyes suddenly snap open and she sits up quickly. She groans in pain, and looks around the room. She noticed Nick over on the chair...she sighs.

So it wasn't a bad nightmare, it all happened. He saved her twice and took care of her wounds twice, she owed him a lot at this point. Etoile watched him as he slept peacefully.

She didn't have the heart to wake him up. Slowly laying back down in bed, she has a lot to rethink on what happened today and think of a different plan.

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	vicious_cycle 2013-01-21 05:36 am UTC (link)
	He doesn't open his eyes - but apparently he's a light sleeper. "You want something for the pain?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

aceofhearts
2013-01-21 12:13 pm UTC (link)

"Hm?" she pops up her head from the comfy pillow.

"Yeah, that would be lovely...I feel like someone ripped my arms off and sowed them back on.." she explained, not the best way to describe her pain, it did justice.

"Thanks again...Nick. You saved me twice, even if the Rider had no intentions of doing so. Hell, I didn't even think the Rider would talk to me, let alone give me a ride."

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vicious_cycle
2013-01-21 05:37 pm UTC (link)

He sits up, shuffling around and finding his whiskey bottle. He takes one slug himself, then offers it over. "I know you're not a drinker, but it'll help. Just drink quick, you'll barely taste it."

He shrugs. "Rider did his job. Til that happened, the demon wouldn't have cared. But me... well, I couldn't let a pretty girl who offered me a kiss if she survived die, right?"

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aceofhearts
2013-01-21 05:50 pm UTC (link)

Etoile makes a funny face when he hands over the bottle of whiskey. Slowly sitting back up, she takes hold of the bottle and quickly downs a nice amount. Etoile couldn't help but make different faces at the taste of the alcohol.

Etoile rubs her lips, trying to get rid of the acoholic taste. She listens to him explain the reasoning between the Rider and himself."I guess...so."

Etoile felt her cheeks flush up when she realized what she had promised to Nick. A kiss? Really Etoile? Mental slap is occurring right now."A promise is a promise right?...
Besides, you saved me twice and took care of me twice. Most strangers wouldn't even do that." she said with a smile.

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vicious_cycle
2013-01-21 06:01 pm UTC (link)

"You get used to the taste, and it does wonders to take the edge off the pain." Or the nightmares in his case, which is why he always keeps it close. He doesn't bring that bit up.

"Don't go thinking me some knight in tarnished armor. First time, you had information I needed. Second time, well, obvious self-interest." he replies, deflecting most of the credit whether he deserves it or not. "If you want to get the taste of whiskey out, your cheeseburger and fries are over there. Grab mine while you're at it though if so. I could use something for the hangover. We'll work out the rest after breakfast."

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aceofhearts
2013-01-21 07:14 pm UTC (link)

"I'm not so sure about that." she responds back in disagreement."It burns too much going down the throat."

Etoile tilts her head somewhat. Never could understand why some people are hard on themselves, especially when they displayed a lot of courage. She's one to talk, she barely has half in anything she does or says.

She sighed inwardly...he extracted information out of her. Some weak spy she's become. Normally she wouldn't give up anything, you'd have to beat it out of her, even then she still wouldn't open her mouth."Right..self-interested. Gotcha." his personality is seriously giving her whiplash.

"I don't think you should be anymore involved then you already are. You did what you had to...right? Got information you needed, did your vengeance thing, and yeah." she moves off the bed slowly, moving over to the were her food was. Grabbing her take-out box and grabbing his own, she moves back to the bed...she made sure to give him his food before sitting back down on the bed.

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vicious_cycle
2013-01-21 07:35 pm UTC (link)

He digs into the food right away. The hangover was absolutely real, he's just used enough to it to kind of talk through the normal ones.

"I didn't figure on being any more involved, don't worry. UnlYour family is alive - or they were the last time that guy knew. If the people I saw in his eyes that look like you are them. I have some leads on where they are - not addresses, but some things around them. But you'd need a small army to get in there. Still... I can help you get started with that, so you're not back to square one totally."

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aceofhearts
2013-01-21 07:47 pm UTC (link)

Etoile digs into her own food. Right now she couldn't care, if her food is cold or not. All she knew is it tasted really good.

"What...really?" she exclaimed. His power as the Rider was able to look into someone's mind or whatever, and recall last images/memories? This is fantastic! Even if there is fringe of hope, she'll cling to it and keep on searching.

"I can reproduce a small army." she replies."My main power is cybernetic puppetry. I can control all computer like devices, etc...my well like puppets. That may help us out." She really didn't want to rely on him, but if he's going to continue offering to help, she won't turn it down.

"I guess we can check off the Assassins' Guild off my list...the next one would be Thieves' Guild. That one is going to be just as tough. My father's connection with them is different." she explained.

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vicious_cycle
2013-01-21 07:54 pm UTC (link)

He nods. "When the Rider delivers the penance stare, they get to live with their own sins for the rest of their lives... but I see everything they've done to get them on the Rider's list too. So I got to see what he did to your family... but one thing he didn't do was kill them.

You may want to bring some friends along though. Its a good ability - handy one, but having some experience with rescues can't hurt. Talk to Xavier, they may be able to do something for you. Can't help with the Thieves either. At least not til one of them gets the Rider's attention."

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aceofhearts
2013-01-21 08:12 pm UTC (link)

"I'm relieved to hear that...regardless of how scary the Rider is, I love him for being able to do that! You even more so for being able to see what he see's. This gives me more hope to keep on." she finishes off her burger.

"I did talk to him...he's the one who gave me this first set of leads and information." she explained. She didn't want to involve her teammates. To be honest, she wasn't sure if they'd help her or not. A lot of other issues were happening, this one wasn't matters of saving or protecting the world. For her? They were her parents, this is something important for her to do.

He had a good point. She would need to get in touch with them, explain the situation and see if they would help her out. Even if three or four helped, it would be great."I don't expect you to, Nick. As I said, you did enough for me...providing me with this information...and those other times." she replied with a warm smile.

She gathered he isn't the touchy feely type. She gets it, it's probably how's he's been all his life."Again, thank you. I'd be kidnapped or worse--dead! Shining armor or not, you were a hero in my eyes." she slowly moved off the bed, taking a few steps to where he's sitting. Etoile leans down to give him a kiss on the forehead, soon a kiss on the lips. She lingered a moment and eases back."As promised. Thanks Nick..I won't say 'thanks Rider' don't think he'd really care." she laughed a little. She lightly rests her hand on his head, giving it a tiny ruffle.

She eases back on the bed to finish up her fries."Oh..you don't need to stay. If you got places to go or do...don't feel obligated to remain here with me. But the company is nice." she said with a smile.

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vicious_cycle
2013-01-21 09:54 pm UTC (link)

Oh no, that won't do at all. She has her chance to break the kiss for a second, but chooses to linger. Either her mistake, or her reward. Since she's already leaning over off-balance, he works on tugging her closer to make sure she ends up properly in her lap, and demonstrates what a proper kiss is about. He has some experience with this sort of thing, after all. And if he's going to pretend he rescued her just for the free kiss, he's going to get his money's worth!

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aceofhearts
2013-01-22 06:52 pm UTC (link)

As to why she lingered? No clue, maybe she wanted to feel a bit more of his warm lips, who knows really. What happens next is what shocks her the most. She honestly didn't expect him to kiss her back, after all she did promise him a kiss.

But tugging her down on his lap? She blinked in shock, looking directly into his eyes for a moment, but she couldn't keep them open. She felt her cheeks turn a bright red.

He's certainly getting his money's worth.