Sewers, Tuesday afternoon
[Continued from here and here.]
It had been hours since Angelus had first captured Claire. The ability to try out his most favorite torture techniques on someone who could heal almost as quickly as he could hurt - well calling it perfect happiness would be a little redundant, but not entirely inappropriate.
Currently Claire was lying on a table. Her hands and feet were bound with rope. Her clothes were torn, and there were bloodstains all around.
Oh - and there was a jagged piece of metal jammed into Claire's skull, and the skin on her chest had been pulled away. She was also currently dead.
Angelus was looking down at her with a deep sense of satisfaction. Shame how being too wrapped up in admiring his handiwork meant that he wasn't really paying attention to anything else. This was what happened when he was busy having interal debates about how much damage he wanted to do before he woke Claire up again.
Anders
Anders had thought he'd be spending more time trying to remember how to breathe, honestly, this being only his second real rescue mission and all. Oddly, though, he was breathing just fine, and he'd fallen easily enough into what he liked to think of as his "pregame" state.
Normally his pregame state would have involved more sneakers and team jerseys and less of a sword and SIG-Sauer, but it was close enough.
"Now that's an invigorating sort of smell."
Peter
Peter was so with him. "If I was immortal I'd like to think I'd stay somewhere a little nicer."
Bridge
"Think of it this way: at least he's not on the moon," Bridge says from where he is up ahead, still tracking Angelus's trail. "Or on a mythical island that only appears every century or so. Or a flying mythical island, which okay was actually not the bad guy's base of operations but I felt it was worth mentioning. Or in an alternate dark dimension. Sewers at least are relatively easy to find and navigate."
Marco
"I hate to be agreeing about preferring sewers...but yeah. Plus, much easier to break into it. No watchdogs, high voltage fences, or security cameras." Marco said trying not to think about what he was walking in, especially since he was only wearing a t-shirt and a pair of tight shorts along with the sneakers that would be getting kicked off.
Xander
"Used to it," was Xander's short and tight-lipped response. He walked beside Bridge, playing a small light over the concrete in front of him in little left-right sweeps, matching the movement of his head. After a moment, he added, "Vamps usually head for the sewers if they're in a town. Stays dark and they run under everyplace the food lives."
Z
"Ugh, it smells like Piggy's dumpster in here," Z complained. Which actually made sense. "So sewers are, like, the vampire version of the moon?" She was just trying to understand this whole thing.
Anders
"I dunno." Anders readjusted his grip on his sword. "They seem less moon and more alternate dark dimension. Mostly 'cause of the dark part."
Peter
"Should we be glad that this means there's a limited number of places they can be?" Peter asked. "Or if I say that am I jinxing things?"
Bridge
"Glad," Bridge says. "With the trail as strong as it is? They're definitely still down here. We're almost there."
Marco
"So now is probably a good time to stop with all the campfire songs," Marco muttered. His jokes before risking his life usually made about this much sense.
Xander
"Considering he has super-hearing? Yeah," Xander said, low and clipped.
Z
Z didn't say anything to that, but rather attempted to convey her meaning through hand gestures that wound up vaguely dirty.
Bridge
It's a good thing everyone's quiet, as Bridge stops abruptly a few feet from a turn in the sewer tunnel and takes out his sword. Angelus and Claire are down that tunnel. With a curt nod to the others, he leads the way around the corner to confront the vampire.
Angelus
The vampire in question was still admiring his handiwork. Which meant he hadn't turned to face them. Yet.
Marco
Marco quickly chucked off his shoes and began to shrink. He was going to be a little busy for the next two minutes or so. Anyone looking over at him would notice a feather pattern on his face and claws where toes usually were.
Xander
If this were a Let's Make Xander Happy field trip, right about now he'd be taking his best aim at the back of the bastard's neck. But they were here to help keep another girl from ending up where Willow was, or worse, and he knew he wasn't good enough to risk that on a lucky swing.
Instead, after stalling as long as he could to let Marco do... that thing there that he was doing, okay then, Xander coughed. "Nice to see you haven't changed your type."
Angelus
Angelus looked up. He took an experimental sniff of the air, then grinned. "Hey there, roomie. Did you miss me?"
Xander
"Really didn't." Xander used the hand that wasn't holding an axe to reflexively push his hair back away from his patch. "Then again I haven't thrown anything at you yet."
Angelus
Love the sense of humor," Angelus said. He came forward, which meant he was moving away from Claire. "And by that I mean 'of the guy who gave you the new place to put your keys.' Unless that thing on your face is just a tease."
Xander
Xander's fingers tightened on the axe. "Yeah, you should meet him. Name's Caleb; when you get back to Hell, tell him I sent you."
Angelus
Angelus made a sound like a game show buzzer. "Ooo, I'm sorry. You picked the wrong vampire. The correct answer is Angel. Angel went to hell. And don't think it doesn't make me all warm and tingly to think of soul boy suffering for everything I did. Guess God really likes me after all."
Xander
"Yeah, I can smell the odor of sainthood from here." Xander rolled his eye, then shrugged. "No Angel now; we take you down, you're the one that burns."
Angelus
"Wow, I would be so scared right now... if you were someone else," Angelus replied.
Xander
They didn't need to scare him; they just needed to stop him. Which didn't stop Xander from giving him a flat glare and answering, "You hurt Willow; you had two brain cells to rub together you'd wish I was somebody else."
Angelus
"Harris," Angelus said, patiently, "I always wish you were someone else."
Meanwhile...
Peter
The sight of Claire like that - Peter had to get a grip on his emotions fast before nausea and panic overcame him.
Leaving it to the others to take care of the vampire, he went over to the table. "Okay," he whispered, mostly to help calm himself. "Can't heal the rest while you're dead. Dead means brain, brain means - " he gently, as though he could possibly hurt her right now, felt around her skull until he found the metal that had been buried inside. " - this. Sorry in advance if this hurts."
He pulled the metal out, then watched to see what would happen.
Claire
The head wound started almost as soon as the metal was out, although it wouldn't be quite obvious until a few long seconds afterwards. Then the skull started to fill in and scalp sealed up over it.
Claire inhaled sharply in a tight gasp.
Peter
"Thank God," Peter said. He then went to work at putting Claire back together. He figured get the healing started first, then undo the ropes. "We're going to get you out of here."
Claire
"Peter?"
Claire stared at him, pulling faintly at her bonds, automatically shying away from him as far as she could.
"Untie me?"
There was pleading in her voice. She didn't want him having to put her back together; right now she didn't want anyone poking around in there.
Peter
"Sure," Peter said. He went to look at the bonds. "Just take it easy, okay? Bastard did a number on you."
A quick run through of powers told Peter that he didn't have anything he felt in control of enough to chance using on the precise level required to get through the rope. Nothing he'd want to potentially misfire that close to Claire, self-healing or no.
Fortunately, he had a sharp piece of metal. He used it to start sawing through the rope around Claire's right wrist.
Claire
Claire might not have been helping by pulling at the bonds as he sawed, except in that it made the rope extra tight. As soon as her wrist was free she snapped her hand back towards herself and started to pull herself back together: literally.
"I know," she says. "I was there."
She didn't look up at him.
Peter
Seeing how freaked she was, Peter figured getting the other bonds off faster was a priority. "Trust me to try fire?" he asked.
Claire
It was awkward, trying to hold her chest together with one hand, but Claire was concentrating on that as her skin slid back together like she was zipping up a coat.
She nodded silently.
Peter
Peter concentrated. The last thing he wanted to do was put Claire through more trauma than was necessary. So he brought up his firepower, but thought small and precise. He managed to pull up a small flame that stayed controlled in his hand. He quickly applied that to the ropes around her other wrist and her ankles.
Claire
Once her hands were free, Claire sat up and waited the last few seconds before all her wounds were healed.
She quickly found she didn't know what else to do, and then she noticed everyone else in the room, as occupied as they were.
Peter
"They've got it," Peter assured her. He shrugged out of his coat and offered it to her. "You and I get to disappear."
Claire
Claire snatched his coat quickly and threw it around her shoulders, clutching it tightly at the front.
Then she risked a smile at him.
"Thank you."
Peter
"Anytime," Peter replied. He held out his hand for her to take. "Ready?"
Claire
Claire took his hand, and pulled on it, partly helping herself off the table, partly because her other hand was moving for a quick, tight hug.
"Yeah."
Peter
Peter was more than okay for the hug. He bear-hugged her back, then turned them both invisible.
Claire
When that happened, Claire pulled back, holding his arms tightly still, and looked around.
"What did you just do?"
Peter
"Turned us invisible," Peter said. He kept his voice low since they couldn't be seen, but they could be heard. "C'mon. I promised I'd get you out of here quick."
Claire
"OK," Claire said, squeezing his hand in one of hers, while she held his coat shut with the other.
Peter
Peter squeezed her hand back, then went to lead the way out.
Son of Meanwhile...
Angelus
"Harris," Angelus said, patiently, "I always wish you were someone else."
Bridge
"I feel I should take this opportunity to point out that I am, in fact, somebody else," Bridge says, stepping forward and emphasising those last two words with a swing of his sword.
Angelus
"Out of curiosity," Angelus said, "when's the time for me to point out that I don't give a crap?"
Bridge
"Technically you just did," Bridge says. "Strangely enough, your constipation issues don't mean that much to me." Yes, he actually does know Angelus wasn't speaking literally.
Anders
"Technically," Anders added, adjusting his sword grip, "he doesn't need to eat anyway."
He took that comment of Bridge's in stride so well. Came from the whole BFF thing.
Marco
Marco cruised above everyone's heads, ready to drop and cause damage the bird way. < And people thought my carrot joke was ill-timed. Can I poke his eyes out now? > He made sure that everyone but Angelus could hear him.
Xander
Xander grimaced, half the gyaaaah reaction to a voice in his head that, Willow or no Willow, he wasn't sure he'd ever get used to, and half... well.
Angelus
At this point Angelus was staring.
"...is that a bird?"
Marco
< No, it's a horse, > Marco said, mentally rolling his eyes and swooping down near Angelus's head before flapping around out of range somewhere.
Angelus
Angelus tried ducking. "Hey! Not the hair!"
Anders
Anders couldn't help snickering. He just couldn't. Because the hair thing . . . yeah.
Z
"Go for the hair!" Z encouraged Marco.
Xander
"And please tell me you had a really big lunch," Xander added.
Marco
< Sorry, > Marco said so that everyone but Angelus could hear him, again, and did a sweep over the vampire, talons outstretched to mess with the hair and scalp under the hair. < This is so awkward, > he whined.
Angelus
If Angelus could've heard Marco, he would've agreed. But he couldn't so instead he went right for swatting at the bird.
Anders
"Oh, dude, that's just sad," Anders snorted. "All of us here, and he goes for the bird."
Angelus
"Maybe he was the only one I saw as a threat," Angelus retorted. "'cause anyone willingly sucking Bel's dick? Not impressing me."
Anders
Because Anders hadn't been enough on edge today.
It was kind of a shame that he was too instantly pissed off by that to come up with a witty retort before making a break toward Angelus with his sword swinging.
This wasn't exactly how he'd planned to put Bel's sword lessons to first use . . .
Angelus
Angelus went to block the move. "Easy there, Andre. I'm sure even Bel would notice if I ground your bones to dust."
Anders
"What the frak did you do to him?" Anders snarled, swinging his free hand toward Angelus's solar plexus.
Angelus
"Nothing." Angelus took the punch so he could get closer to Anders and aim a punch of his own. "Which, if I liked God I'd thank him because I am pretty sure that's a stink that never washes off."
Anders
Anders had forgotten to take vampire strength into account and let out a pained grunt as the punch connected and staggered him back a step or two. "Frakkin' liar," he snapped, and took a wild swing with his sword. "Like you'd pass up the chance to frak with his head?"
Angelus
"Depends," Angelus said, going for another punch. "We talking psychological or drill to the skull? Because I gotta say that the latter is fun in theory, but having bones cracking around your dick really kills the mood."
Anders
Anders took the punch with another audible grunt, but rolled with it this time and tried to punch out with the hilt of his sword in return. "You don't. Frakking. Touch him."
Angelus
Angelus got it in the jaw, which made him let go so he could take a step back and wipe the blood away. "What part of 'not even if he was the last demon on earth and doing him was the only way to prevent me turning into soul boy again' am I just not making clear?"
Anders
"What part of 'I don't believe you' is so hard to get through your head?" Anders snapped, slashing out at Angelus's legs. "Don't have to touch him to get to him -- I know how he feels about Angel."
Angelus
Angelus jumped out of the way. "Oh for - the dead know how he feels about Angel. Blind, deaf, mute people who have been locked inside of boxes deep inside of caves know how he feels about Angel. The dog knows how he feels about Angel. The only jackass who doesn't know how he feels about Angel is Angel."
Marco
Marco was watching all this from his perch, ready to go for Angelus's eyes when needed. < Am I the only one who's going to need a lot of brain bleach afterwards? > This time, Angelus could hear him too.
Angelus
"Please share," Angelus said. Because really.
Xander
"Teaspoon or so should do it for him," Xander said, jerking a thumb towards Angelus and lifting his axe to take a swing.
Angelus
"Careful, Harris," Angelus said. "Wouldn't want to give me a reason to play pin the tail on your remaining eye."
Bridge
There are really very few things someone can do to make Bridge angry. Threatening someone he loves, though? Right at the top of that very short list. Which is why Bridge is now moving towards Angelus, slashing out with his sword.
Angelus
"Still here..." Angelus snapped his fingers, stepping back out of the way of the sword as he did. "Damn. Help me out. Starts with one of those early letters, right?"
Bridge
"Constipation issues and you're apparently going senile," Bridge tsks. "Not a good sign."
Angelus
"Neither's this," Angelus said, and aimed a kick for Bridge's legs.
Bridge
Unfortunately for Bridge, the kick connects, and he's sent sprawling on the ground. There's a slight 'pop' sound as his left ankle twists in a way it's really not supposed to.
Xander
Xander had been readying a blow, threats to his eye notwithstanding, but at that sound, his face whitened. He grimaced and pulled back, dropping to a crouch to check on Bridge.
Z
"That was a mistake," Z said, her eyes flashing gold as she created a replicate.
Angelus
"Ooo, twins," Angelus said. "If one of you is Catholic this might make up for interrupting me with my cheerleader."
Z
"Actually, we're both Catholic, but ew," one Z said, and the other aimed a kick at Angelus' head.
Angelus
"That's more like it!" Angelus dove out of the way of the kick and tried to aim a punch back of his own. "So if I hurt you, does the other feel it?"
Z
That Z went to duck the punch, but it just barely clipped her in the jaw. Ow. "No," the other one said as she circled him, looking for a weak spot. "We don't." It wasn't exactly a lie. She couldn't feel it now, but when she reabsorbed the replicate, hello, bruise.
Angelus
"Guess I'll just have to aim for both of you then," Angelus said, as he went for the Z he hadn't hit yet. This left him a bit open to the first one, since he'd dismissed her as a threat.
Z
The Z he hadn't hit yet smirked and was made intangible, letting the blow fly through her, as her other self aimed a flying kick at the back of Angelus' head.
Angelus
That took him by surprise. His punch flew right through her, causing him to stumble, causing him to be in a good spot to get kicked.
Z
Z reabsorbed her double, wincing at her bruised jaw and at the fact that she was now fresh out of tricks Angelus didn't know about.
Xander
Xander had taken a moment to make sure Bridge was okay, but after that he'd been watching Z fight, looking for a good place to jump in.
This? Was officially a good place.
He swung upward with his axe, trying to catch Angelus in the head with the back end. You know, the side that wasn't designed to permanently part his hair.
Angelus
There was a loud clanging sound almost as though Xander had hit something hollow. Angelus fell back, temporarily dazed enough that he wasn't standing in the way of anyone who wanted to leave.
He also hadn't noticed that his cheerleader had been stolen. Which explained why his temper wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Yet.
Bridge
Hanging back out of the way as the fight continues on after his fall means that Bridge? Does have the time to notice things like missing cheerleaders. Which is why he's now signaling the others to fall back now that they've achieved their objective and there's an opening for an escape.
Xander
Xander stared down at Angelus for a moment, recent conversations -you can't kill him- and older ones -cavalry's a scared guy with a rock, but it's here- echoing in his head. Then he turned away, offering Bridge a shoulder to brace himself on as they moved out.
Marco
< Time to blow this this sewer and head for less disgusting pastures. I will never get clean, > Marco said as he flew out overhead.
Anders
Anders still had an expression on his face that wasn't short of mutinous by much, but much as he'd have loved to take a couple more good whacks at Angelus, they'd done what they needed to do.
He grunted in agreement with Marco and stalked silently after Bridge and Xander. The way he was still gripping his sword, he'd probably need help extracting it from his hand later.
[OOC: Continued here and here. Preplayed with savedfornow, bridge_carson, futurebucs_star, multiplez, needsaparrot, morpherboy, and repeterpetrelli. NFI, OOC makes us perfectly happy. Oops.]
It had been hours since Angelus had first captured Claire. The ability to try out his most favorite torture techniques on someone who could heal almost as quickly as he could hurt - well calling it perfect happiness would be a little redundant, but not entirely inappropriate.
Currently Claire was lying on a table. Her hands and feet were bound with rope. Her clothes were torn, and there were bloodstains all around.
Oh - and there was a jagged piece of metal jammed into Claire's skull, and the skin on her chest had been pulled away. She was also currently dead.
Angelus was looking down at her with a deep sense of satisfaction. Shame how being too wrapped up in admiring his handiwork meant that he wasn't really paying attention to anything else. This was what happened when he was busy having interal debates about how much damage he wanted to do before he woke Claire up again.
Anders
Anders had thought he'd be spending more time trying to remember how to breathe, honestly, this being only his second real rescue mission and all. Oddly, though, he was breathing just fine, and he'd fallen easily enough into what he liked to think of as his "pregame" state.
Normally his pregame state would have involved more sneakers and team jerseys and less of a sword and SIG-Sauer, but it was close enough.
"Now that's an invigorating sort of smell."
Peter
Peter was so with him. "If I was immortal I'd like to think I'd stay somewhere a little nicer."
Bridge
"Think of it this way: at least he's not on the moon," Bridge says from where he is up ahead, still tracking Angelus's trail. "Or on a mythical island that only appears every century or so. Or a flying mythical island, which okay was actually not the bad guy's base of operations but I felt it was worth mentioning. Or in an alternate dark dimension. Sewers at least are relatively easy to find and navigate."
Marco
"I hate to be agreeing about preferring sewers...but yeah. Plus, much easier to break into it. No watchdogs, high voltage fences, or security cameras." Marco said trying not to think about what he was walking in, especially since he was only wearing a t-shirt and a pair of tight shorts along with the sneakers that would be getting kicked off.
Xander
"Used to it," was Xander's short and tight-lipped response. He walked beside Bridge, playing a small light over the concrete in front of him in little left-right sweeps, matching the movement of his head. After a moment, he added, "Vamps usually head for the sewers if they're in a town. Stays dark and they run under everyplace the food lives."
Z
"Ugh, it smells like Piggy's dumpster in here," Z complained. Which actually made sense. "So sewers are, like, the vampire version of the moon?" She was just trying to understand this whole thing.
Anders
"I dunno." Anders readjusted his grip on his sword. "They seem less moon and more alternate dark dimension. Mostly 'cause of the dark part."
Peter
"Should we be glad that this means there's a limited number of places they can be?" Peter asked. "Or if I say that am I jinxing things?"
Bridge
"Glad," Bridge says. "With the trail as strong as it is? They're definitely still down here. We're almost there."
Marco
"So now is probably a good time to stop with all the campfire songs," Marco muttered. His jokes before risking his life usually made about this much sense.
Xander
"Considering he has super-hearing? Yeah," Xander said, low and clipped.
Z
Z didn't say anything to that, but rather attempted to convey her meaning through hand gestures that wound up vaguely dirty.
Bridge
It's a good thing everyone's quiet, as Bridge stops abruptly a few feet from a turn in the sewer tunnel and takes out his sword. Angelus and Claire are down that tunnel. With a curt nod to the others, he leads the way around the corner to confront the vampire.
Angelus
The vampire in question was still admiring his handiwork. Which meant he hadn't turned to face them. Yet.
Marco
Marco quickly chucked off his shoes and began to shrink. He was going to be a little busy for the next two minutes or so. Anyone looking over at him would notice a feather pattern on his face and claws where toes usually were.
Xander
If this were a Let's Make Xander Happy field trip, right about now he'd be taking his best aim at the back of the bastard's neck. But they were here to help keep another girl from ending up where Willow was, or worse, and he knew he wasn't good enough to risk that on a lucky swing.
Instead, after stalling as long as he could to let Marco do... that thing there that he was doing, okay then, Xander coughed. "Nice to see you haven't changed your type."
Angelus
Angelus looked up. He took an experimental sniff of the air, then grinned. "Hey there, roomie. Did you miss me?"
Xander
"Really didn't." Xander used the hand that wasn't holding an axe to reflexively push his hair back away from his patch. "Then again I haven't thrown anything at you yet."
Angelus
Love the sense of humor," Angelus said. He came forward, which meant he was moving away from Claire. "And by that I mean 'of the guy who gave you the new place to put your keys.' Unless that thing on your face is just a tease."
Xander
Xander's fingers tightened on the axe. "Yeah, you should meet him. Name's Caleb; when you get back to Hell, tell him I sent you."
Angelus
Angelus made a sound like a game show buzzer. "Ooo, I'm sorry. You picked the wrong vampire. The correct answer is Angel. Angel went to hell. And don't think it doesn't make me all warm and tingly to think of soul boy suffering for everything I did. Guess God really likes me after all."
Xander
"Yeah, I can smell the odor of sainthood from here." Xander rolled his eye, then shrugged. "No Angel now; we take you down, you're the one that burns."
Angelus
"Wow, I would be so scared right now... if you were someone else," Angelus replied.
Xander
They didn't need to scare him; they just needed to stop him. Which didn't stop Xander from giving him a flat glare and answering, "You hurt Willow; you had two brain cells to rub together you'd wish I was somebody else."
Angelus
"Harris," Angelus said, patiently, "I always wish you were someone else."
Meanwhile...
Peter
The sight of Claire like that - Peter had to get a grip on his emotions fast before nausea and panic overcame him.
Leaving it to the others to take care of the vampire, he went over to the table. "Okay," he whispered, mostly to help calm himself. "Can't heal the rest while you're dead. Dead means brain, brain means - " he gently, as though he could possibly hurt her right now, felt around her skull until he found the metal that had been buried inside. " - this. Sorry in advance if this hurts."
He pulled the metal out, then watched to see what would happen.
Claire
The head wound started almost as soon as the metal was out, although it wouldn't be quite obvious until a few long seconds afterwards. Then the skull started to fill in and scalp sealed up over it.
Claire inhaled sharply in a tight gasp.
Peter
"Thank God," Peter said. He then went to work at putting Claire back together. He figured get the healing started first, then undo the ropes. "We're going to get you out of here."
Claire
"Peter?"
Claire stared at him, pulling faintly at her bonds, automatically shying away from him as far as she could.
"Untie me?"
There was pleading in her voice. She didn't want him having to put her back together; right now she didn't want anyone poking around in there.
Peter
"Sure," Peter said. He went to look at the bonds. "Just take it easy, okay? Bastard did a number on you."
A quick run through of powers told Peter that he didn't have anything he felt in control of enough to chance using on the precise level required to get through the rope. Nothing he'd want to potentially misfire that close to Claire, self-healing or no.
Fortunately, he had a sharp piece of metal. He used it to start sawing through the rope around Claire's right wrist.
Claire
Claire might not have been helping by pulling at the bonds as he sawed, except in that it made the rope extra tight. As soon as her wrist was free she snapped her hand back towards herself and started to pull herself back together: literally.
"I know," she says. "I was there."
She didn't look up at him.
Peter
Seeing how freaked she was, Peter figured getting the other bonds off faster was a priority. "Trust me to try fire?" he asked.
Claire
It was awkward, trying to hold her chest together with one hand, but Claire was concentrating on that as her skin slid back together like she was zipping up a coat.
She nodded silently.
Peter
Peter concentrated. The last thing he wanted to do was put Claire through more trauma than was necessary. So he brought up his firepower, but thought small and precise. He managed to pull up a small flame that stayed controlled in his hand. He quickly applied that to the ropes around her other wrist and her ankles.
Claire
Once her hands were free, Claire sat up and waited the last few seconds before all her wounds were healed.
She quickly found she didn't know what else to do, and then she noticed everyone else in the room, as occupied as they were.
Peter
"They've got it," Peter assured her. He shrugged out of his coat and offered it to her. "You and I get to disappear."
Claire
Claire snatched his coat quickly and threw it around her shoulders, clutching it tightly at the front.
Then she risked a smile at him.
"Thank you."
Peter
"Anytime," Peter replied. He held out his hand for her to take. "Ready?"
Claire
Claire took his hand, and pulled on it, partly helping herself off the table, partly because her other hand was moving for a quick, tight hug.
"Yeah."
Peter
Peter was more than okay for the hug. He bear-hugged her back, then turned them both invisible.
Claire
When that happened, Claire pulled back, holding his arms tightly still, and looked around.
"What did you just do?"
Peter
"Turned us invisible," Peter said. He kept his voice low since they couldn't be seen, but they could be heard. "C'mon. I promised I'd get you out of here quick."
Claire
"OK," Claire said, squeezing his hand in one of hers, while she held his coat shut with the other.
Peter
Peter squeezed her hand back, then went to lead the way out.
Son of Meanwhile...
Angelus
"Harris," Angelus said, patiently, "I always wish you were someone else."
Bridge
"I feel I should take this opportunity to point out that I am, in fact, somebody else," Bridge says, stepping forward and emphasising those last two words with a swing of his sword.
Angelus
"Out of curiosity," Angelus said, "when's the time for me to point out that I don't give a crap?"
Bridge
"Technically you just did," Bridge says. "Strangely enough, your constipation issues don't mean that much to me." Yes, he actually does know Angelus wasn't speaking literally.
Anders
"Technically," Anders added, adjusting his sword grip, "he doesn't need to eat anyway."
He took that comment of Bridge's in stride so well. Came from the whole BFF thing.
Marco
Marco cruised above everyone's heads, ready to drop and cause damage the bird way. < And people thought my carrot joke was ill-timed. Can I poke his eyes out now? > He made sure that everyone but Angelus could hear him.
Xander
Xander grimaced, half the gyaaaah reaction to a voice in his head that, Willow or no Willow, he wasn't sure he'd ever get used to, and half... well.
Angelus
At this point Angelus was staring.
"...is that a bird?"
Marco
< No, it's a horse, > Marco said, mentally rolling his eyes and swooping down near Angelus's head before flapping around out of range somewhere.
Angelus
Angelus tried ducking. "Hey! Not the hair!"
Anders
Anders couldn't help snickering. He just couldn't. Because the hair thing . . . yeah.
Z
"Go for the hair!" Z encouraged Marco.
Xander
"And please tell me you had a really big lunch," Xander added.
Marco
< Sorry, > Marco said so that everyone but Angelus could hear him, again, and did a sweep over the vampire, talons outstretched to mess with the hair and scalp under the hair. < This is so awkward, > he whined.
Angelus
If Angelus could've heard Marco, he would've agreed. But he couldn't so instead he went right for swatting at the bird.
Anders
"Oh, dude, that's just sad," Anders snorted. "All of us here, and he goes for the bird."
Angelus
"Maybe he was the only one I saw as a threat," Angelus retorted. "'cause anyone willingly sucking Bel's dick? Not impressing me."
Anders
Because Anders hadn't been enough on edge today.
It was kind of a shame that he was too instantly pissed off by that to come up with a witty retort before making a break toward Angelus with his sword swinging.
This wasn't exactly how he'd planned to put Bel's sword lessons to first use . . .
Angelus
Angelus went to block the move. "Easy there, Andre. I'm sure even Bel would notice if I ground your bones to dust."
Anders
"What the frak did you do to him?" Anders snarled, swinging his free hand toward Angelus's solar plexus.
Angelus
"Nothing." Angelus took the punch so he could get closer to Anders and aim a punch of his own. "Which, if I liked God I'd thank him because I am pretty sure that's a stink that never washes off."
Anders
Anders had forgotten to take vampire strength into account and let out a pained grunt as the punch connected and staggered him back a step or two. "Frakkin' liar," he snapped, and took a wild swing with his sword. "Like you'd pass up the chance to frak with his head?"
Angelus
"Depends," Angelus said, going for another punch. "We talking psychological or drill to the skull? Because I gotta say that the latter is fun in theory, but having bones cracking around your dick really kills the mood."
Anders
Anders took the punch with another audible grunt, but rolled with it this time and tried to punch out with the hilt of his sword in return. "You don't. Frakking. Touch him."
Angelus
Angelus got it in the jaw, which made him let go so he could take a step back and wipe the blood away. "What part of 'not even if he was the last demon on earth and doing him was the only way to prevent me turning into soul boy again' am I just not making clear?"
Anders
"What part of 'I don't believe you' is so hard to get through your head?" Anders snapped, slashing out at Angelus's legs. "Don't have to touch him to get to him -- I know how he feels about Angel."
Angelus
Angelus jumped out of the way. "Oh for - the dead know how he feels about Angel. Blind, deaf, mute people who have been locked inside of boxes deep inside of caves know how he feels about Angel. The dog knows how he feels about Angel. The only jackass who doesn't know how he feels about Angel is Angel."
Marco
Marco was watching all this from his perch, ready to go for Angelus's eyes when needed. < Am I the only one who's going to need a lot of brain bleach afterwards? > This time, Angelus could hear him too.
Angelus
"Please share," Angelus said. Because really.
Xander
"Teaspoon or so should do it for him," Xander said, jerking a thumb towards Angelus and lifting his axe to take a swing.
Angelus
"Careful, Harris," Angelus said. "Wouldn't want to give me a reason to play pin the tail on your remaining eye."
Bridge
There are really very few things someone can do to make Bridge angry. Threatening someone he loves, though? Right at the top of that very short list. Which is why Bridge is now moving towards Angelus, slashing out with his sword.
Angelus
"Still here..." Angelus snapped his fingers, stepping back out of the way of the sword as he did. "Damn. Help me out. Starts with one of those early letters, right?"
Bridge
"Constipation issues and you're apparently going senile," Bridge tsks. "Not a good sign."
Angelus
"Neither's this," Angelus said, and aimed a kick for Bridge's legs.
Bridge
Unfortunately for Bridge, the kick connects, and he's sent sprawling on the ground. There's a slight 'pop' sound as his left ankle twists in a way it's really not supposed to.
Xander
Xander had been readying a blow, threats to his eye notwithstanding, but at that sound, his face whitened. He grimaced and pulled back, dropping to a crouch to check on Bridge.
Z
"That was a mistake," Z said, her eyes flashing gold as she created a replicate.
Angelus
"Ooo, twins," Angelus said. "If one of you is Catholic this might make up for interrupting me with my cheerleader."
Z
"Actually, we're both Catholic, but ew," one Z said, and the other aimed a kick at Angelus' head.
Angelus
"That's more like it!" Angelus dove out of the way of the kick and tried to aim a punch back of his own. "So if I hurt you, does the other feel it?"
Z
That Z went to duck the punch, but it just barely clipped her in the jaw. Ow. "No," the other one said as she circled him, looking for a weak spot. "We don't." It wasn't exactly a lie. She couldn't feel it now, but when she reabsorbed the replicate, hello, bruise.
Angelus
"Guess I'll just have to aim for both of you then," Angelus said, as he went for the Z he hadn't hit yet. This left him a bit open to the first one, since he'd dismissed her as a threat.
Z
The Z he hadn't hit yet smirked and was made intangible, letting the blow fly through her, as her other self aimed a flying kick at the back of Angelus' head.
Angelus
That took him by surprise. His punch flew right through her, causing him to stumble, causing him to be in a good spot to get kicked.
Z
Z reabsorbed her double, wincing at her bruised jaw and at the fact that she was now fresh out of tricks Angelus didn't know about.
Xander
Xander had taken a moment to make sure Bridge was okay, but after that he'd been watching Z fight, looking for a good place to jump in.
This? Was officially a good place.
He swung upward with his axe, trying to catch Angelus in the head with the back end. You know, the side that wasn't designed to permanently part his hair.
Angelus
There was a loud clanging sound almost as though Xander had hit something hollow. Angelus fell back, temporarily dazed enough that he wasn't standing in the way of anyone who wanted to leave.
He also hadn't noticed that his cheerleader had been stolen. Which explained why his temper wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Yet.
Bridge
Hanging back out of the way as the fight continues on after his fall means that Bridge? Does have the time to notice things like missing cheerleaders. Which is why he's now signaling the others to fall back now that they've achieved their objective and there's an opening for an escape.
Xander
Xander stared down at Angelus for a moment, recent conversations -you can't kill him- and older ones -cavalry's a scared guy with a rock, but it's here- echoing in his head. Then he turned away, offering Bridge a shoulder to brace himself on as they moved out.
Marco
< Time to blow this this sewer and head for less disgusting pastures. I will never get clean, > Marco said as he flew out overhead.
Anders
Anders still had an expression on his face that wasn't short of mutinous by much, but much as he'd have loved to take a couple more good whacks at Angelus, they'd done what they needed to do.
He grunted in agreement with Marco and stalked silently after Bridge and Xander. The way he was still gripping his sword, he'd probably need help extracting it from his hand later.
[OOC: Continued here and here. Preplayed with savedfornow, bridge_carson, futurebucs_star, multiplez, needsaparrot, morpherboy, and repeterpetrelli. NFI, OOC makes us perfectly happy. Oops.]