Getting out of Dodge

[prototypezeus]

Alex is nervous. He's been avoiding this day for a while, but he can't put it off any longer. His food supply is running short, and there's only one thing to do before it goes dry completely... he has to leave Manhattan.

He stands on the edge of the rooftop in the Red Zone, looking over the city that's grown far more quiet than the last time April was here, nearly a year ago. The sounds of gunfire and animal-like screams continue in the distance, but there are few normal city sounds left.

Comments

[prototypezeus]

"It's kind of backwards but I think not having armed guards outside my door will make me feel way safer than if I did," Dana says with a humorless grin.

"April's vouched for you," Alex says to Lorne. "She'd better be right." It's mostly just posturing, paranoia for his sister's safety. He doesn't trust people, not without very good reason to.

[slayers_desire]

"I can show you to a suite right now." Lorne offers her, extending a hand.

April looks down at her PINpoint, trying not to react to Alex's lack of trust. "We better get back."

[prototypezeus]

Dana takes the offer of help, going with Lorne. "You keep your ass safe," she says over her shoulder at her brother. "I better see you again."

Alex isn't very good with people, so he doesn't notice April is bothered. "Yeah. Bring us back out near my door. We don't want to show up in the hospital."

[slayers_desire]

"Definitely not. They would already be in full alert there." April brings them back to the door which they had initially started this adventure.

[prototypezeus]

Alex stands on the edge of the building, and a strange feeling comes over him as he looks at the familiar city. This will be the last time he looks on his hunting grounds, the place where he was created and has spent his entire life. After today, everything will be new and unfamiliar. His targets won't be so easy to choose, and he won't know his way around whatever new city he finds himself in.

Assuming they make it past the blockade, that is.

[slayers_desire]

"This is your path Alex... lead the way... I will help when and where I can." April tells him, before taking her shadow-form again.

[prototypezeus]

"I don't have a good plan. They're guarding the bridges with thermobaric tanks and helicopters. Wouldn't surprise me if they call for nukes if they see I'm getting away. Same goes for the tunnels." His goodbye look to the city is replaced by one of assessment, trying to decide the way he wants to leave.

[slayers_desire]

Any of those would actually harm you?

[prototypezeus]

He nods. "Thermobaric tank shells hurt like hell. And the last time I was up close and personal with a nuke, I'm not sure how long it took for me to gather enough biomass to wake up."

[slayers_desire]

I am not sure how my psychic shields would work against either. So let's try to avoid both, if we can April projects her voices, to see if there is a path of least resistance.

[prototypezeus]

"I can't swim across. It isn't far, but water hurts me, and I sink like a stone. We can steal a helicopter, but one leaving the island will be noticed." Her voices will back him up on that. There are really only three viable paths off the island - a bridge, a tunnel, or a helicopter. And all of them are dangerous. Unless she helps to shield him from being damaged.

[slayers_desire]

The paths I see are a bridge, a tunnel or a helicopter. All of them are dangerous. But I sense that my shields should prove useful.

[prototypezeus]

Alex can already hear the increased sound of helicopters as Blackwatch reacts to the absence of Dana at the hospital. "They already know something is going on. Maybe it's better to do a frontal assault. The tunnels are easier to block, but they're more protected from air support. A helicopter would be easy to shoot down, and if we land in the water, I could be in trouble. Attacking one of the bridges might be the best option." But he's also pretty sure that they're rigged with explosives, to blow out the bridges if it looks like he's going to get away.

[slayers_desire]

Then lets go for one of the bridges. April is feeling a little nervous about this.

[prototypezeus]

He can hear the nervousness in her 'voice.' "What?"

[slayers_desire]

I have never fought on this scale. And I don't kill. I will protect you to the best of my ability. And I will try my best to help you find freedom

[prototypezeus]

"I might have to consume a few on the way out if I need to heal. Will that be a problem?"

[slayers_desire]

No. If you require nourishment, you must do what you must

[prototypezeus]

"And those that just get in my way?"

[slayers_desire]

You are a predator Alex. Do not hold back... otherwise you won't get out. I just felt it was important to tell you my limits

[prototypezeus]

"Fair enough. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't going to be a problem." He makes a decision, and nods firmly. "Then we'll cross at the George Washington Bridge." He turns north and leaps from the building, gliding just far enough to reach the next rooftop, sprinting towards the bridge.

When he runs, he feels so alive, the rhythm of his stride singing to something in the part of him that feels like an Infected. But now everything seems super sharp, hyper alert, invigorating and holding the promise of lethality.

[slayers_desire]

She can feel that predatory sense of being alive from him. The whole world becomes his hunting grounds now...

She herself tunes her senses to the world around them.

[prototypezeus]

There are fewer and fewer Infected on the streets, but Alex doesn't move to avoid them. He heads straight for a water tower on top of a building, his fists becoming large and heavy like hammers, slamming into the metal canister. There's a roar from inside, and a clawed paw swipes at Alex.

Alex's arms morph into blades, and he rips into its spines, breaking them before his feeding tendrils grab it, absorbing its mass and life energy into him, giving him energy and power for what lies ahead. Its feral memories mesh with his own, making his hunter's senses even sharper.

And before them lies the waiting bridge, two helicopters hovering overhead, tanks and soldiers on the ground.

[slayers_desire]

April is not sure what kind of creature that Alex just absorbed, but she can sense the energy and power that it provided him.

There are two helicopters overhead. Tanks and soliders on the ground

[prototypezeus]

Part of Alex is sorry that that'll probably be the last Hunter he gets to consume, maybe ever. They're good eating, though tough to take down if they hatch from the water towers first.

"We take out the choppers first." One of his arms morphs into a spiked whip, and as he leaps onto the last rooftop, he lashes out at the closest chopper, striking it just below the rotor. The blades shear off, and the chopper plummets from the sky. The other helicopter pilot reacts immediately, whirling around to search for the source of the attack, ready to blast Alex with missiles.