[2] Gene Jubilee

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Thrax, having understood Robin's gesture, had stayed quiet and even concealed himself around a corner. Although, he didn't know why he bothered when she completely blew her cover mere moments later. But, hey, stealth was dumb anyway and he was curious what her plan was... if she had a plan at all. For now, he stayed out of sight.

[Ryan Foley]

The two whirled around at the sound of Robin's voice.

The London accent belonged to a granite-faced (and granite-bodied) hulk of a man, with bright, technicolor hair and an open shirt revealing sculpted (quite literally) abs. Neither Robin nor Thrax had seen him before.

The Irish accent, on the other hand? Thrax ALSO hadn't seen her before, but Robin would recognize Ryan Foley, and a duffel bag full of....something.

[Robin Stanton]

"Ryan?" the trashcan blinks. With big cartoon eyes it grew for that specific purpose.

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Thrax took that as a cue to make himself known. "Oh, so these cheesebags are friends of yours?" he asked, probably making the situation more complicated. He knew a drug deal when he heard one but he could tell Robin at least knew the small one... although the big one could be a problem if they were the violent sort of criminals.

[Ryan Foley]

"I think they were just walking through, weren't ya, Pink?" Ryan said, reaching for the baseball bat she had propped up against the wall.

[Robin Stanton]

"Yeah..." Robin says, springing back up into her humanoid self. "Nah. Can't let you bring drugs into my backyard. That's just not very sway."

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

While always prepared to throw down—and, honestly, more than happy to—Thrax was trained to, at least, attempt to defuse the situation. "While this isn't really my backyard, I'm going to have to back Robin on this one. I mean, I get it, everyone's gotta make ends meet somehow and sometimes there are no better options. I'm not too self-righteous to see that. But it's obvious to me this community has enough to worry about without adding a drug problem, especially sold to them by other mutants. I can't speak for Robin, but I'm content to look the other way if you take your business out of Mutant Town."

[Rouen Coltaire]

"I don't recall asking either of you to let me do anything," Ryan said, twirling the bat around in one hand. She seemed hesitant to actually attack, mind you, but she still choked up on it.

The granite-man seemed to have less of an issue, pounding one hand into the other. "Oh, you some of those university do-gooders, are you?" he said, striding forwards. "Comin' down from your ivory towers, yeah? Well, you can take your business outta my town!" he said, walking menacingly directly towards Thrax.

[Robin Stanton]

"Come on, how's it elitist to not want drugs making life worse for people? You're just being a selfish jerk." Robin glares at Rouen.

"And you... You tricked me. And now you come here to rub it in? I don't think so. I'll take those drugs along with an apology and maybe I won't turn you in to the cops."

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

"Oh, I'm not even with the school. Also, at least I don't feel entitled to help people ruin their own lives for profit. That's way more elitist than wanting to help people," Thrax responded, not the least bit intimidated. Sure, the stone man looked tough, but he was no Kronan.

[Rouen Coltaire]

These were very strong arguments, and the key to a philosophical debate about the nature of drug use in the community. Rouen, of course, had a strong counter-argument of his own, swinging his fist to hit Thrax with all the force of a small truck.

[Ryan Foley]

"And you... You tricked me. And now you come here to rub it in? I don't think so. I'll take those drugs along with an apology and maybe I won't turn you in to the cops."

"Gotta catch me first, Pink," Ryan said, with a smirk, scooping up the duffel bag and running through the wall of the nearby building, trying to make an escape.

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Thrax was a well-trained warrior monk and Rouen shouldn't stand a chance of hitting him. But he was rusty and his training incomplete. The alien used his powers to cushion the blow with a burst of air, stepping back in the direction of the blow as he was taught. However, the powerful blow landed with enough force to cause him to stumble and likely bruised a few ribs in the process.

"Finally, a challenge!" He flashed an excited grin and struck back in a flash, his fist driving a concentrated ball of air towards the stone man's jaw. This was designed to both enhance the power of his strike and protect his precious, precious bones from what happens when you punch a rock.

[Rouen Coltaire]

Rouen staggered backwards, the cushion of super-charged air providing a buffer between Thrax's fist and the gargoyle's face, sort of like a boxing glove protects a boxer. Rouen was a split-second too late getting his fists up to block it, but fixed that fact moments after, getting himself into a defensive position. Thrax couldn't identify exactly what the gargoyle was doing, not being versed in Earthen combat techniques, but fighting is fighting, and Rouen had his fists up, elbows tight, protecting most of his face as he bobbed and weaved, clearly having some idea what he was doing. His left fist flashed out in a quick counter-strike, now more wary of the strength of his opponent.

[Robin Stanton]

"Gotta catch me first, Pink," Ryan said, with a smirk, scooping up the duffel bag and running through the wall of the nearby building, trying to make an escape.

"Damnit, Ryan!" Robin shouts and takes off running for the nearest door. Locks or one-way doors don't pose much of an obstacle to her but it does slow her down to place her hand on it and making the door unlock and swing open. Hopefully she'll make up for it by being considerably faster as she dodges and weaves through backrooms and storage, occasionally the kitchen of a restaurant, shouting apologies at people as she ducks and flows around them, hopping over counters and sliding underneath doors as a rapidly flattening disk of goo, only to bounce straight into a sprint on the other side. Corners don't slow her down much as she ricochets her way around them and she doesn't need to have muscles that get tired or joints that object to sudden changes in direction.

She abandons pretense of being flesh and blood plenty but she rarely goes all out in what it lets her do. Being deliberate with it it's goofy and slapstick. Running somebody down with inhuman movement tends to make people see some uncanny-valley monster rather than the goofball she prefers to be. In that she shares some of her Dad's anxieties though she's less bothered by sticking to what people consider more human, whatever the fuck that actually means. Right now though she doesn't care. She's mad at Ryan and this is Mutant Town, if people aren't used to seeing weird shit yet that's on them.

Ultimately she still has to make a lot of detours compared to Ryan's direct routes and ability to change directions mid-building, forcing Robin to constantly reassess what direction she's going and making her hope that there's some drawback to the phasing. Sometimes people can't breathe while in a state like that or moving through things requires conscious effort, tiring them out faster. She hasn't noticed Ryan actively avoiding anything so it doesn't seem like electrical lines are an issue, but in Robin's experience there's always something limiting mutant powers and she needs to figure out what that is if she wants to stand a chance of actually holding on to Ryan once she catches her.

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Rouen staggered backwards, the cushion of super-charged air providing a buffer between Thrax's fist and the gargoyle's face, sort of like a boxing glove protects a boxer. Rouen was a split-second too late getting his fists up to block it, but fixed that fact moments after, getting himself into a defensive position. Thrax couldn't identify exactly what the gargoyle was doing, not being versed in Earthen combat techniques, but fighting is fighting, and Rouen had his fists up, elbows tight, protecting most of his face as he bobbed and weaved, clearly having some idea what he was doing. His left fist flashed out in a quick counter-strike, now more wary of the strength of his opponent.

Thrax's fighting style was developed over a millennia by the Stormsinger monks, designed to seamlessly blend with a wide variety of powers. He had been schooled in the branch of the art dedicated to quick, enhanced strikes and light footwork few outside of his race would expect from one his size.

He bounced back from the jab and came back with a combination, knocking the extended arm aside with one strike before a one-two strike to the midsection, his 'air gloves' exploding with each hit.

[Ryan Foley]

"Damnit, Ryan!" Robin shouts and takes off running for the nearest door. Locks or one-way doors don't pose much of an obstacle to her but it does slow her down to place her hand on it and making the door unlock and swing open. Hopefully she'll make up for it by being considerably faster as she dodges and weaves through backrooms and storage, occasionally the kitchen of a restaurant, shouting apologies at people as she ducks and flows around them, hopping over counters and sliding underneath doors as a rapidly flattening disk of goo, only to bounce straight into a sprint on the other side. Corners don't slow her down much as she ricochets her way around them and she doesn't need to have muscles that get tired or joints that object to sudden changes in direction.

She abandons pretense of being flesh and blood plenty but she rarely goes all out in what it lets her do. Being deliberate with it it's goofy and slapstick. Running somebody down with inhuman movement tends to make people see some uncanny-valley monster rather than the goofball she prefers to be. In that she shares some of her Dad's anxieties though she's less bothered by sticking to what people consider more human, whatever the fuck that actually means. Right now though she doesn't care. She's mad at Ryan and this is Mutant Town, if people aren't used to seeing weird shit yet that's on them.

Ultimately she still has to make a lot of detours compared to Ryan's direct routes and ability to change directions mid-building, forcing Robin to constantly reassess what direction she's going and making her hope that there's some drawback to the phasing. Sometimes people can't breathe while in a state like that or moving through things requires conscious effort, tiring them out faster. She hasn't noticed Ryan actively avoiding anything so it doesn't seem like electrical lines are an issue, but in Robin's experience there's always something limiting mutant powers and she needs to figure out what that is if she wants to stand a chance of actually holding on to Ryan once she catches her.

Ryan was pretty shifty herself -- not literally, mind you, but she had experience running away from the rozzers, and what was Robin besides a rozzer in a silly putty egg? She'd change direction just after phasing through a wall to break sight-lines, double back on occasion -- it wasn't just 'run in a straight line as fast as you can', because so many mutants could run faster than a normal person, even if that person wasn't slowed down by walls or barricades! Robin was made of freaking elastic; she could slingshot herself way ahead of a moderately athletic girl hampered by a baseball bat and a duffel bag of drugs. The walls were Ryan's friend, and she had to try to increase her lead by bits and bobs by using them.

However, she couldn't run around inside the building forever. To get away, one must actually attempt to get away. Doubling back wasn't really an option either, with Thrax back there duking it out. Running through the fair? A possibility, but a chase scene bursting out into the middle of a crowded street would draw more attention than she wanted right now; that was a last resort. That limited her to just two directions, and she chose the one that was backed up against the river side, racing north as fast as her human legs could take her while trying to keep the duffel and bat phasing with her. That, really, was the difficulty -- it would take a little extra attention to bring those objects with her, slowing her down ever-so-slightly.

[Rouen Coltaire]

Thrax's fighting style was developed over a millennia by the Stormsinger monks, designed to seamlessly blend with a wide variety of powers. He had been schooled in the branch of the art dedicated to quick, enhanced strikes and light footwork few outside of his race would expect from one his size.

He bounced back from the jab and came back with a combination, knocking the extended arm aside with one strike before a one-two strike to the midsection, his 'air gloves' exploding with each hit.

Rouen tucker his arms in, trying to absorb the blows. These were two heavyweights, for sure, but Thrax had the reach advantage, both from sheer height and lankiness and from the extended reach given to him by his 'air-gloves'. Rouen could take some of the sheer force of Thrax's shots because of his granite construction, but Thrax could get those hits in from a safe distance with Rouen unable to do much in the way of counter-attacking.

Thrax's second punch blew away Rouen's guard, leaving him potentially open to a body shot. As a response, Rouen tried to dip and rush in, trying to close the gap between them before Thrax could lash out once more -- all offense, no defense.

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Thrax had just enough time to brace himself to take the hit and use its momentum to pull the gargoyle down with him. He didn't waste the opportunity to deliver an exploding air punch to Rouen's stomach, hoping to knock the thug off of him before the weight came down on him.

[Rouen Coltaire]

Thrax had just enough time to brace himself to take the hit and use its momentum to pull the gargoyle down with him. He didn't waste the opportunity to deliver an exploding air punch to Rouen's stomach, hoping to knock the thug off of him before the weight came down on him.

Thrax couldn't entirely prevent Rouen from landing on top of him, at least originally. But that exploding air punch blasted at Rouen's exposed midsection, sending the Gargoyle a couple inches into the air and causing him to roll off to one side, grunting and grabbing at his abs. A solid blow!

[Robin Stanton]

Ryan was pretty shifty herself -- not literally, mind you, but she had experience running away from the rozzers, and what was Robin besides a rozzer in a silly putty egg? She'd change direction just after phasing through a wall to break sight-lines, double back on occasion -- it wasn't just 'run in a straight line as fast as you can', because so many mutants could run faster than a normal person, even if that person wasn't slowed down by walls or barricades! Robin was made of freaking elastic; she could slingshot herself way ahead of a moderately athletic girl hampered by a baseball bat and a duffel bag of drugs. The walls were Ryan's friend, and she had to try to increase her lead by bits and bobs by using them.

However, she couldn't run around inside the building forever. To get away, one must actually attempt to get away. Doubling back wasn't really an option either, with Thrax back there duking it out. Running through the fair? A possibility, but a chase scene bursting out into the middle of a crowded street would draw more attention than she wanted right now; that was a last resort. That limited her to just two directions, and she chose the one that was backed up against the river side, racing north as fast as her human legs could take her while trying to keep the duffel and bat phasing with her. That, really, was the difficulty -- it would take a little extra attention to bring those objects with her, slowing her down ever-so-slightly.

"You're gonna get tired eventually!" Robin shouts during a brief moment of Ryan dashing across a street as Robin herself comes barreling out of a front door. Not that Robin wouldn't. She might not have to deal with lactic acid build-up and other such non-sense but it's still taxing to run and constantly shift to weave around obstacles. But Ryan doesn't know that and it's worth a shot, especially because Ryan only needs to get lucky once in disappearing in a different direction while she's out of sight.

When that predictably doesn't work Robin skids to a halt in the middle of the street. Stubbornly clinging to something that isn't working doesn't help. It lets your opponent dictate the fight. Or chase in this case. Don't let yourself get stuck in one shape. Even her Mum agreed with that and she's the queen of stubbornness.

Spotting ornamental bits on the edge of a roof that are spaced apart just right she changes plans. Whipping one arm into a lasso she hooks it around one bit, then does the same with her other arm. The anchor points bend down a little bit from Robin using her power as she walks backwards, lasso-arms turning into bungee-cords until she's pulled back as far as she can. And then she rapidly changes her body's density and is flung into the air where bungee-arms turn into pink-feathered wings, soon followed by the rest of her turning into a large owl.

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Thrax couldn't entirely prevent Rouen from landing on top of him, at least originally. But that exploding air punch blasted at Rouen's exposed midsection, sending the Gargoyle a couple inches into the air and causing him to roll off to one side, grunting and grabbing at his abs. A solid blow!

Thrax groaned as he got to his feet. Rouen was one heavy bastard. With a cocky smirk, he asked, "Is that the best you've got, Wings? I'm disappointed."

As he spoke, he gathered electricity around his hands with which to incapacitate his opponent. He moved close, hands reaching for the gargoyle. If there was any fight left in him, that was his chance.

[Rouen Coltaire]

Thrax groaned as he got to his feet. Rouen was one heavy bastard. With a cocky smirk, he asked, "Is that the best you've got, Wings? I'm disappointed."

As he spoke, he gathered electricity around his hands with which to incapacitate his opponent. He moved close, hands reaching for the gargoyle. If there was any fight left in him, that was his chance.

Rouen, down on the ground and at a serious disadvantage, played the last card in his hand. He aimed a kick swiftly at Thrax's crotch. Hey, you never know.

[Ryan Foley]

From her bird's-eye view, Robin could see not only the entire fair, but much of Mutant Town proper. The chaos always looks so controlled when you're at 200 feet.

One perhaps less controlled bit of chaos was Ryan, who had gotten out of the building and was now running along the waterfront, headed down the Queen's Walk and trying to put a little final distance between her and her imagined pursuer before, presumably, going back to blend in with a crowd. Might be difficult to see running behind -- joggers weren't that uncommon. A little easier to spot from above.

[Robin Stanton]

Robin waits for Ryan to decide she's lost her pursuer and slow down before sleeking her shape down into a kestrel and letting herself plummet out of the sky in a semi-controlled dive right towards Ryan. At the last moment she snaps her little wings open to slow herself down and shifts into what can only be called a gelatinous cube legally distinct shape of protoplasmic ooze to land on Ryan and swallow her up. Sometimes people can't phase through living matter, so it's worth a shot.

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Rouen, down on the ground and at a serious disadvantage, played the last card in his hand. He aimed a kick swiftly at Thrax's crotch. Hey, you never know.

Thrax was rusty but he wasn't that rusty. He saw the desperation attack coming a lightyear away. The alien pivoted out of the way at just the right moment and grabbed the offending leg, pouring enough current into it to hopefully shock the gargoyle. This, of course, assumed electricity actually worked on him.

[Rouen Coltaire]

Thrax was rusty but he wasn't that rusty. He saw the desperation attack coming a lightyear away. The alien pivoted out of the way at just the right moment and grabbed the offending leg, pouring enough current into it to hopefully shock the gargoyle. This, of course, assumed electricity actually worked on him.

It did! The arcing bolts of electricity shot up Rouen's leg, fully stunning Thrax's opponent. A fairly rigorous beating!

[Ryan Foley]

Ryan, unable to slow down in time, crashed into the Robin-jello with a wet *splat*, piercing the outer edge of Robin's protoplasm and getting a good mouthful of Stanton. That only lasted for a moment or two, before she recovered from the shock and was able to phase through.

What she wasn't able to bring with her, mind you, was the baseball bat, her outer leather jacket, or the duffel bag full of drugs. The further an object was from her center of mass, the more focus it took to successfully bring it with her while phasing, and choking on pink goo was not conducive to concentration. She staggered, turned around, and hesitated, fight and flight warring with one another as she tried to decide what to do.

[Robin Stanton]

"Hah!" Robin shouts triumphantly as she reshapes herself into a humanoid, shifting through the jacket so she ends up wearing it. Her torso remains translucent goo though, the duffel bag lodged inside.

"Ready to talk now?" she grins.

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

"Sorry, Wings, but you never had a chance," he said with a smirk, happy he still had some fighting skill left after years of neglect. It was difficult to keep up with a training routine while dodging bounty hunters by drifting from one odd job to the next. Maybe he could use his extended stay on Earth to shake off the rust.

Without a way to secure the unconscious mutant, the alien decided to just relax and wait for Robin to return while he kept an eye on him. To that end, he casually leaned against the wall to wait.

[Ryan Foley]

"Hah!" Robin shouts triumphantly as she reshapes herself into a humanoid, shifting through the jacket so she ends up wearing it. Her torso remains translucent goo though, the duffel bag lodged inside.

"Ready to talk now?" she grins.

Ryan coughed a bit and spat out a little extraneous pink protoplasm. "Good to see you too, Pink. Didn't think I'd run into you so soon...or so literally.

Why don't ya just hand the bag over, and we can go from there, right?"

[Will Stanton]

"Sorry, Wings, but you never had a chance," he said with a smirk, happy he still had some fighting skill left after years of neglect. It was difficult to keep up with a training routine while dodging bounty hunters by drifting from one odd job to the next. Maybe he could use his extended stay on Earth to shake off the rust.

Without a way to secure the unconscious mutant, the alien decided to just relax and wait for Robin to return while he kept an eye on him. To that end, he casually leaned against the wall to wait.

"Hey, not bad at all," the manhole cover nearby pointed out.

[Robin Stanton]

Ryan coughed a bit and spat out a little extraneous pink protoplasm. "Good to see you too, Pink. Didn't think I'd run into you so soon...or so literally.

Why don't ya just hand the bag over, and we can go from there, right?"

"Come on, you know I can't do that. And I'm not exactly inclined to let you bamboozle me into any favors again either." she huffs. "Hope you enjoyed the justice-flavored jell-o."

And with that said she calms down a little from the adrenaline of the chase and the reminder of Ryan pulling one over on her. "You don't gotta peddle this stuff anyway. There's so many better things you could be doing."

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

To his credit, Thrax didn't completely jump out of his fuzzy skin at the sudden and unexpected voice. "Gah!"

"Okay, that's much less funny on the receiving end. You're lucky I can take a joke."

"So, uh, why are you a... what is that, a sewage hatch?"

[Ryan Foley]

"Come on, you know I can't do that. And I'm not exactly inclined to let you bamboozle me into any favors again either." she huffs. "Hope you enjoyed the justice-flavored jell-o."

And with that said she calms down a little from the adrenaline of the chase and the reminder of Ryan pulling one over on her. "You don't gotta peddle this stuff anyway. There's so many better things you could be doing."

"What, like attend calculus class? Learn to use my power to help patrol your little mutant paradise here? That's a hard pass from me, bambino. But, you know, I'm sure if you just hand the bag back over, I can smooth this one out. Maybe even get you a little taste of your own, right?"

[Will Stanton]

To his credit, Thrax didn't completely jump out of his fuzzy skin at the sudden and unexpected voice. "Gah!"

"Okay, that's much less funny on the receiving end. You're lucky I can take a joke."

"So, uh, why are you a... what is that, a sewage hatch?"

"It's hide and seek, man, you've gotta hide somewhere," Will said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

[Robin Stanton]

"What, like attend calculus class? Learn to use my power to help patrol your little mutant paradise here? That's a hard pass from me, bambino. But, you know, I'm sure if you just hand the bag back over, I can smooth this one out. Maybe even get you a little taste of your own, right?"

"Why would I want... whatever the hell this even is? And come on, it's not all holding hands in a drum circle. You're a mutant, don't you want things to be better? So you don't have to do this kinda crap?"

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

"It's hide and seek, man, you've gotta hide somewhere," Will said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

That didn't even... well, maybe he had a point. But who was he playing it wi—Oh! Oh!

Thrax laughed. "Is an alley a 'road that doesn't bend'? It is, isn't it!"

[Will Stanton]

That didn't even... well, maybe he had a point. But who was he playing it wi—Oh! Oh!

Thrax laughed. "Is an alley a 'road that doesn't bend'? It is, isn't it!"

"It totally is! I knew people could figure it out," the manhole cover agreed.

[Ryan Foley]

"Why would I want... whatever the hell this even is? And come on, it's not all holding hands in a drum circle. You're a mutant, don't you want things to be better? So you don't have to do this kinda crap?"

"I mean, it's gonna make quite a bit of money. Make you friends in high places and things. I ain't out to hurt people, Pink, you know me better than that. Just trying to get my own little piece of the action, you know? Just being a go-getter and entrepreneur. I'm sure we could find a place for you, cut you in on things..." Ryan tried to reason with Robin, putting her hands up to continue to try to 'deescalate' the situation, all while her eyes kept darting around, as if she was waiting for something -- stalling for time, perhaps?

Now that her jacket was off and on Robin, Ryan was down to her white tee. And as she raised her arms, the sleeves dipped just enough for Robin to see something on Ryan's upper bicep -- a tattoo, shaped like an arrow.