Heading to the store
Brendan decides to go out to the store, and ends up running into Quinn, who is being pursued by a small group of mutant haters...
Quinn lets out no screams of fright or desperation, only soft pants and gasps for air as her small feet pound and slap relentlessly down on the sidewalk pavement. Her heavy peasant skirt billows around her legs, slowing her even further as she runs for what can only be assumed as her life. Definitely not the athletic sort, the blonde's stride and pace leaves much to be desired, accept, that is, her pursuers.
Brendan happens to be exiting his apartment, planning on heading out to the convenience store to pick up a few groceries and other odds and ends. It's not too cold out at the moment, so Brendan wears his usual jacket, hat upon his head and glasses perched upon his face. He keeps his left hand hidden within his jacket sleeve, obviously hiding something, his other hand stuffed inside his jacket pocket as he walks. Brendan sees Quinn running towards him and he pauses for a moment, eyebrows raising in surprise.
Unfortunately, she sees the young man too late, slamming into him. She might as well have been made of rubber though, as she falls onto her back with a scream. She crawls away from him quickly as if he might be one of her attackers, throwing a glance behind her, her hair whipping around. "Get back here /mutant/!" One of the young men screams. The mutant in question pushes off the ground with a wince, to continue moving.
Brendan doesn't have enough time to jump back, so Quinn ends up running right into him. He happened to be stepping back at the time though, so he doesn't take the full force. "Hey, watch where you're going..." he mutters, seeming annoyed for a few moments. That is, until he turns and sees the pursuing young men, and hears what they are shouting. It doesn't take him too long to put 2 and 2 together and figure out what's going on...and he steps in front of Quinn, standing in between the girl and her pursuers. "...your -mutant- is standing right here," he replies calmly, eyes narrowing behind his glasses, though he keeps his composure for the moment.
Quinn trips once more in her attempt to get back on her feet, her palms only slapping the cement once more to catch herself. "Don't do anything! Stop!" She screams to Brendan as she struggles with her long skirt to get back onto her feet. While her frantic screams might say one thing, she moves to stand behind her self-proclaimed champion either way. "Stop!" She holds up her now cut up hands, taking a few anxious steps back.
Brendan turns, reaching down to try and help Quinn up, seeing as how she seems to be having a bit of trouble. Once she is on her feet again, he turns back to face the small group of pursuers. As he hears Quinn's screams, he simply gives her his usual smirk. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," he replies to her. "I'm not going to do anything unless our friends here decide to try something stupid...now, are you alright? I'm not quite used to having people running and screaming outside my apartment; I guess that's just a New York thing...."
Or maybe it's just a Hell's Kitchen thing… Quinn moves another few steps back as only one really steps foreword to deal with Brendan. Whom even to Quinn, doesn't seem like so much of a threat. The others spread out in a semi-circle. "No!" She squeals, moving foreword to pull on one of Brendan's arm to get him to run with her.
Brendan eyes the guy that steps forward, his smirk returning to his lips. He folds his arms, leaning back on his heels just slightly. "So, what's the deal, man? Why are you bothering this girl?" he asks, his tone still calm. Obviously he's learned to control his temper, at least for now. As Quinn pulls on his arm, Brendan takes a quick glance back over his shoulder at her. "What? I'm taking care of the situation...just hang tight. Be with you in a second." He turns his attention back to the group.
"She has a fuckin' big mouth for a fuckin' mutant - /that's/ why we botherin' her!" He cocks his head back and forth, flashing a dagger. "But I guess that kinda shit comes with the left-over genes you freaks get!" He moves closer, cautiously - and Quinn only continues to pester Brendan not to do anything - her voice no doubt becoming background noise.
Brendan doesn't think the man is particularly smart as he steps forward towards him; Brendan was a mutant and he had that strange, dim glow surrounding him revealing this fact, yet one wasn't exactly sure what it is that his mutation actually does. He chuckles..."Well, she maybe has a big mouth, but I'm sure she used words that actually have some thought put into them. Let me ask you guys...did you actually -drop- out of middle school, or were you kicked out? You seriously need to work on your grammar skills, and stop using those nasty words. You're definitely a discredit to your species." He simply smiles that creepy smile of his, his eyes beginning to softly glow beneath his shades. He remains remarkably calm still, not throwing the first punch or making the first move...this was a new, somewhat improved Brendan.
"Oh my god - Stop it, Brendan!" Quinn hisses in the midst of Brendan's reply, glaring, "Stop!" She stomps her feet on the ground, hopping straight up and down, her skirt swirling this way and that.
Several of the onlookers give a not-so-friendly stare at Brendan, though they find themselves easing back when he starts glowing... They look toward one another as if trying to decide on what they should do. One of the guys stares at the glowy Brendan and smirks. "That's it?... Shit, this kid looks like he belongs at a rave somewhere. So what's your mutie name, huh? Glowbug?" Maybe not the wittiest of remarks, but it's enough to inspire a few chuckles and invoke a little more confidence. The man that Brendan steps towards glares. "Nah. This one belongs in the trash, just like the rest of them! Get the hell out of my way!" And with that he comes at Brendan with a fist tightened and ready to swing, not knowing what he's getting himself in, though given what he's had to say, doesn't seem to really care.
Brendan is taken off guard for a moment as Quinn says his name; how in the heck did she know that? He'd never seen her before in his life! While he contemplates this, the 'leader' of the group gets in his little comments, which Brendan ignores as he just stares at Quinn. "Hey, how'd you..." At that point, the guy steps toward him and swings his fist, and Brendan is struck in the side of the face. He stumbles, going down to a knee, a hand going up to cover where he had been hit...and as he lifts his arm, his sleeve slides down to reveal the tracking device on his wrist. Hmmm, it'd take a while to explain -that-. "Damn it..." he growls, trying his best to hold down the rage building up inside of him. The glow around him just slightly picks up its intensity, his eyes getting just a bit brighter as well though they are still hidden by glasses. Slowly he rises back up to a standing position, and he reaches up to remove his glasses. "Sir, I know you weren't aware of the fact that I just don't like to be touched in any way, so maybe I'll let that one go this time. There's really no excuse for your ignorance, and I think that by talking to you right now, my IQ level is dropping. So I think my new friend here and I will just go and mind our own business, and you can go off and kill some small animals, or whatever else you angry mobs tend to do..."
Quinn screams, kneeling down by the slightly-fallen Brendan and bringing her finger tips to her mouth as the first punch is thrown. "Are you alright? Stop it! You're just provoking them! Don't be an idiot! Don't be an /ass/! This is no way to solve anything!" Why is he defending her again?
There seems to be somewhat of a split in the mob at the moment, some still not so sure of what to make of his glowing. It could be that some are starting to have second thoughts. The man glares sharply at Brendan as he gets to his feet. "You got a really big fucking mouth, don't you, freak!?" One of the others in the mob starts to speak up. "Look.. Maybe we should all just," The 'leader cuts him off. "Just what? We just gonna let the freaks run us over every time they show up!? They think they're so much fucking better than us! This one.." He reaches out to try and grab Brendan roughly by the collar of his shirt(If he's wearing one of course). "This one's just all talk.."
If this was Brotherhood Brendan, all of the people who had decided to join up with the angry mob would be in the process of being rather painfully crushed from the inside out by the mutant; instead, Brendan simply grins at the guy. He stumbles forward a moment as his collar is jerked on, and he doesn't try to get away...instead, he glances at Quinn. "Go on, get out of here. I don't want to see you get hurt..." He then turns his attention back to the 'leader' of the group. "Go right ahead...punch me again. Kick me in the face, throw me on the ground. Do whatever you want to me; frankly, at this point, I could care less. I just have to ask you though...what will it prove? That you all can gang up on a couple of people who are minding their own business?" By now the side of his face is starting to ache pretty badly, but he attempts to ignore it. "Will kicking my ass really help your 'cause' to rid of world of us freaks? Heh. If you think so, then man...I pity you. I really do. I wasn't aware someone could be so ignorant and stupid..."
"No! I don't want /anyone/ to get hurt!" The girl snaps back to Brendan, standing, "Stop it ! We don't think we're better then you /at all/! This is just a misunderstanding and its /my fault/! Just stop it!" A few tears stream down her face, "This won't /solve/ /anything/! We're all stupid here if we let this happen! Don't do this!" She moves to /actually/ try and grab tight hold of Brendan's arm and more forcefully pull him back, "Stop it, Brendan! This /isn't/ what you want! You're just getting into the same vicious cycle!" She, however, continues to keep Brendan in between herself and anyone else... of course.
The man's jaw twists, only seem to get more heated with every word spoken to him. "SHUT UP!? I don't need pity from some freak!? He goes to hit him again, but pauses as Quinn tries to get in between the two of them. With a grunt, he tries to just push Brendan aside before making moves towards Quinn! "DAMN right it's your fault!" He comes at her a bit too fast for any of the others to stop him, though a couple of others go to try, obviously having had second thoughts on this."
Brendan stumbles as he is shoved to the side, and he falls down to his hands and knees. Oh, they've done it now. He might have possibly let them beat -him- up, but there's no way he would let anyone else be hurt by these morons. Good...let them forget about him and not pay attention to him. That'd make things a hell of a lot easier. Growling softly beneath his breath as he stares down at the ground, Brendan lifts his eyes and watches the guy go after Quinn. Pushing himself back up, Brendan calmly dusts himself off, stepping towards the leader. Reaching out, Brendan drops his hand down to the guy's shoulder. "Hey! Let the girl go, there's no point to this whole thing. Now just turn around and go home...or you're going to regret it. Trust me..." At this point, Brendan's form begins to slowly fade away, his entire body turning translucent...very ghostlike, even. He had told himself he wouldn't ever do this in public again, but...this wasn't just about him at the moment. "Listen to the girl...she knows what she's talking about."
Quinn screams and does her best to hop out of reach. She stays silent and pitiful as Brendan seems to /sort of/ come around to more so her way of thinking. Whimpering and sniffling, she clutches her hands near her heart.
The man growls, ready to turn around and backhand Brendan, only to take note of the transluscent hand on his shoulder. For the moment at least, /this/ seems to get the guy's attention, and the other two stop in their tracks, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. The group begins to mutter as the other starts to step away from Brendan, wide-eyed. The group begins to mutter. "Jesus." "He's like a ghost." "How can he do that?" The man starts to get his nerve back, though from the look in his eyes, he's getting scared. "G.. Go to Hell! You think I'm afraid of you!?"
Brendan chuckles softly, a rather unpleasant and downright spooky sound. "Hmm. By the look on your face and the way your voice is squeaking, I would have to say....yes?" Brendan's grip begins to tighten on the man's shoulder, sinking into it, his hand eventually disappearing. Soon after, the guy can feel a tremendous pressure within his shoulder, followed by a decent amount of pain. "I'm going to ask you again...your friends here seem like they're leaning towards the right decision, but I need to hear it from you. Are you going to turn around and leave us alone, or am I going to have to tear the bone in your arm right out of your body, then beat you with it? It's your choice..." By now, it's kinda obvious that Brendan had held in his anger for as long as he could, and it's finally starting to break through.
"Stop it!" Quinn squeals, "This isn't solving anything! You're not /changing/ /anyone/ by being this way!" She screams helplessly, panting as she glances over the faces of those around them. "This sort of thing is why you have that thing on your wrist! Don't /lower/ yourself this way!" She growls to Brendan.
The rest of the mob starts to freak out when Brendan's arm sinks into the man's shoulder! They start to back away, putting some distance between themselves and the two mutants! The man's mouth opens, but goes quiet as his other arm comes up, trying to clutch at his shoulder, as it's very obvious that the man is now in quite a bit of pain, made even more obvious as he cries out! He stares through pained eyes as the others start to back off rather than try to help him... He drops down to a knee in front of brendan, still trying to grab at his arm, the pain seeming more intense.. "L.. Let me go you... Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Brendan seems to get a bit of satisfaction as he is able to bring the man down to his knee, and he puts an extra bit of pressure on the area of his shoulder where he is squeezing. "You didn't answer my question. All I want is for us to be left alone, and for this girl to make it safely to wherever it is she was going before you started bothering her. Now, I'm going to ask you again, and this time, you're going to tell me what I want to hear. Are you going to leave us alone, or not?" His expression is grim, a slight smirk able to be made out upon his obscure features. "I'm not lowering myself," he replies to Quinn. "I'm trying to get rid of these bozos so they leave you alone, and so I can go to the store in peace. Is that too much to ask? It's not very complicated."
"No." Quinn glances him down and up, "I suppose you have no where to go but /up/. It's people like /you/ who give people like /me/ a bad name!" She points a finger at her ex-attacker, "And /you/! It's /you/ who give humans a bad name! But that doesn't make /this/ right! I would sooner have let them catch me! At least then they would have gotten their rage out - now they'll just go home hating mutants even more!" She's awful brave once the ass-kickings have already been handed out, isn't she? "Don't say /anything/." She demands of the young man under Brendan's grip. She glares at Brendan, "/Violence/ /won't/ /change/ /anyone/."
The man tenses up even moreso as more pressure is put on his already flared joint, his head dropping down.. He actually tries striking at Brendan's hand, but to no avail, only brought to crying out again, sounding even more pained. The others are obviously scared now, but start to shout at Brendan again. "Jesus, let him go! You made your point already!" The man finally can't take it, now fully aware of what kind of trouble he's got himself in, and now just trying to get out of it! "Alright! AHHHHHH! ALRIGHT, Goddamnit LET GO, PLEASE!!" He doesn't really care what the girl's saying. His head stays low and he clutches at where he's being gripped, starting to sound desparate as fear finally presents itself completely, fear of what could happen.. The same kind of fear and uncertainty that inspires this outcry of hatred...
Brendan blinks after a few moments, as if suddenly realizing just what he is doing. He quickly pulls his hand out from within the guy's shoulder, and his form soon fades back into view, though a dim glow remains around him. He gives the man a push..."Just...just get out of here. I don't want to see you around my apartment building ever again, you got it?" Frowning, Brendan turns, shoving his hands into his pockets as he begins to walk away, obviously troubled by what had just happened. He had let his anger get the better of him again, just when he thought he might be making a bit of progress...and he's as mad at himself as Quinn seems to be. "Damn it," he mutters. Things like this weren't supposed to happen any more...
Quinn glares, "You… You /can't/ do that to people!" She motions dramatically with her hands, "What are you /thinking/?" She takes a slow, deep breath, shaking her head, "You… you tell yourself that you want to change… and… and…" She runs her hands through her hair, gripping her mind, "And… … actions speak louder then words, Brendan. Actions speak louder then words." She smoothes out her peasant skirt, huffing and puffing as she moves to walk away, muttering things about how much bad karma he's going to get and how dirty her aura is now.
Once released, the man stays down, now holding tightly at his shoulder which is still very sore from Brendan's little 'trick', groaning... He slowly looks up as Brendan and Quinn walk off... "Little bastard.. I'll-" Others suddenly take hold of him, stopping him. "Are you nuts? Didn't you see what he did, he could've killed you!" The man gets to his feet, still looking pissed, and huffing lightly.. "That's the fucking point..." He shrugs his arms away from the others and turns to walk off... The others begin to slowly scatter as well, mutterings still lingering, some contemplative, others not so pleasant.
Brendan hears Quinn's words, and he frowns, eyes narrowing. He stops, turning towards her. "What was I thinking?" he repeats..."If I hadn't stopped them, that group would have either killed you, or done something a hell of a lot worse. Look, lady, I -know- I shouldn't have hurt him, but you have no -idea- of what I've been through, alright? I don't need you judging me for something that I had no control over. It's like they say, may the person who is without sin cast the first stone..." Brendan turns back around again, his head lowering and gaze dropping to the ground. "That's definitely the oddest 'thank you' I've ever got from someone," he mutters...
Quinn turns around, glaring, "No. Brendan. /I/. /I/ have a vague idea of what you've been through. It's /them/ and /you/ who are clueless. You don't know. You don't know if... If. A mutant killed someone in their family... if a mutant /ruined/ /their/ /lives/. And they don't know if a human ruined yours. I would have rather die and be in the right, then live and be in the wrong." She turns back around and walks away a few more steps before stopping and turning around again. Her hands go to her hips, "You know..." She pauses, turning to walk away again before turning back around again, unable to make up her mind, "You have /no/ I idea how much you just pissed me off... like you seriously..." She turns, rolling her eyes and walking away, "Like /no/ freaking clue."
Brendan doesn't believe what he is hearing. Once again he turns around, taking a few steps toward the direction Quinn is going. "Hey. Hey! Wait just a minute..." Brendan attempts to catch up to her..."What made -you- the moral judge of the entire human and mutant race all of a sudden? As far as I'm concerned, I don't give a damn about what happened to that asshole's family and whether it involves mutants or not. Just like I'm sure he doesn't give a crap about what's happened to me. All he was thinking about was trying to hurt you. I did nothing but defend myself after he threw the first punch, alright? I wasn't going to touch him if he wouldn't have gone after you. Y'know...just...just freakin' forget it, alright? I don't need anyone preaching to me right now, I've got enough on my mind..."
"Well you /should/ give a damn. You didn't have to react the way you did and you /know/ it. Using your powers to hurt someone who doesn't have powers is tactless and immoral. Violence only fuels more violence. Hatred only fuels more hatred. /Duh/." Quinn frowns.
Brendan's arms fold against his chest stubbornly, "So what the hell do you want me to do, track the guy down and -apologize-?" He shakes his head. "Here's a question. What if he had a gun? Would it have mattered then? You're basing this on the fact of whether he had decided to bring a weapon with him or not. It's got nothing to do with the fact that he wanted to kill us, right?" Brendan gives his familiar smirk. "Y'know, if I was still at the point I was last year, that guy and all of his friends would have ended up dead. You should be happy that I showed as much restraint as I did. And in case you haven't noticed..." he waves a hand around the area..."...the climate around here nowadays isn't exactly what one might call 'mutant friendly'. There are a lot of people out there who wouldn't just stand there and listen to you telling them what the right and wrong things to do are...you would be dead in a few moments. Everyone isn't as dumb as that idiot..." he motions with his head towards the direction the mob had left in.
"If he had a gun that would have been on /him/. They wanted to kill /me/. /You/ were waiting for a fight." She roll her eyes, "No. I didn't notice." She spits out sarcastically, "We are all moments away from death /every/ moment, Brendan. That's the reality of the world. It's how we live the moments we have that makes the difference. If you want to place the blame on /everyone else/ then go for it. But in the end it's wasn't the Black Panthers or the K.K.K. that had the largest impact... It was... It was people like Gandhi... and Martin Luther King... and ... and... Jesus." She blinks at having just used /Jesus/ as an example. But whatever. Uhoh.
Brendan peers at Quinn incredulously. "-I- was waiting for a fight? I was doing everything I could to try and -not- fight the guy, and he freakin' PUNCHED me and grabbed me by the shirt!" He does have a nice little cut near his left eye that is trickling blood, the eye swelling slightly. "I would have been just as happy if he would have turned around and walked away, alright? You're making me out to be some sort of evil monster who does nothing but walk around and pick fights with humans. Well, I may have been that way once, but that isn't me any more. All I want is to be left alone, alright? I can deal with things by myself...I don't need all this moral stuff shoved in my face right now. I -know- everything that you're saying...I'm not an idiot, despite how I may act sometimes. I just call myself a realist." Brendan sighs, shaking his head slowly. "And as far as all those people you mentioned...what happened to them all?" He smirks. "They were killed, right? Exactly."
"Their lives had meaning. And they helped make the world a better place for /tons/ of people. /Real/ people." Quinn pauses, glaring at him. "And... supposedly..." She rolls her eyes and sighs, "Jesus like... came back..." She hmfs, "And before you start talking to me like I /don't/ have a clue about you - I didn't learn your name from tv, asshole. You provoked them in that fight. And you were wrong. You need to get the hell over yourself before someone else does it for you... or worse... someone doesn't." She cranes her neck around, arching an eyebrow at him before turning once again to walk away - this time more confidently.
Brendan doesn't say much to Quinn's words...he knows that everything he says is going to be met with an argument, so he makes the smartest decision of the night and just doesn't say anything. He turns and begins to walk in the other direction, a frown upon his face as he heads out in the direction of the convenience store. Brendan would have a lot to think about tonight, the whole situation weighing on his mind.
Quinn lets out no screams of fright or desperation, only soft pants and gasps for air as her small feet pound and slap relentlessly down on the sidewalk pavement. Her heavy peasant skirt billows around her legs, slowing her even further as she runs for what can only be assumed as her life. Definitely not the athletic sort, the blonde's stride and pace leaves much to be desired, accept, that is, her pursuers.
Brendan happens to be exiting his apartment, planning on heading out to the convenience store to pick up a few groceries and other odds and ends. It's not too cold out at the moment, so Brendan wears his usual jacket, hat upon his head and glasses perched upon his face. He keeps his left hand hidden within his jacket sleeve, obviously hiding something, his other hand stuffed inside his jacket pocket as he walks. Brendan sees Quinn running towards him and he pauses for a moment, eyebrows raising in surprise.
Unfortunately, she sees the young man too late, slamming into him. She might as well have been made of rubber though, as she falls onto her back with a scream. She crawls away from him quickly as if he might be one of her attackers, throwing a glance behind her, her hair whipping around. "Get back here /mutant/!" One of the young men screams. The mutant in question pushes off the ground with a wince, to continue moving.
Brendan doesn't have enough time to jump back, so Quinn ends up running right into him. He happened to be stepping back at the time though, so he doesn't take the full force. "Hey, watch where you're going..." he mutters, seeming annoyed for a few moments. That is, until he turns and sees the pursuing young men, and hears what they are shouting. It doesn't take him too long to put 2 and 2 together and figure out what's going on...and he steps in front of Quinn, standing in between the girl and her pursuers. "...your -mutant- is standing right here," he replies calmly, eyes narrowing behind his glasses, though he keeps his composure for the moment.
Quinn trips once more in her attempt to get back on her feet, her palms only slapping the cement once more to catch herself. "Don't do anything! Stop!" She screams to Brendan as she struggles with her long skirt to get back onto her feet. While her frantic screams might say one thing, she moves to stand behind her self-proclaimed champion either way. "Stop!" She holds up her now cut up hands, taking a few anxious steps back.
Brendan turns, reaching down to try and help Quinn up, seeing as how she seems to be having a bit of trouble. Once she is on her feet again, he turns back to face the small group of pursuers. As he hears Quinn's screams, he simply gives her his usual smirk. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," he replies to her. "I'm not going to do anything unless our friends here decide to try something stupid...now, are you alright? I'm not quite used to having people running and screaming outside my apartment; I guess that's just a New York thing...."
Or maybe it's just a Hell's Kitchen thing… Quinn moves another few steps back as only one really steps foreword to deal with Brendan. Whom even to Quinn, doesn't seem like so much of a threat. The others spread out in a semi-circle. "No!" She squeals, moving foreword to pull on one of Brendan's arm to get him to run with her.
Brendan eyes the guy that steps forward, his smirk returning to his lips. He folds his arms, leaning back on his heels just slightly. "So, what's the deal, man? Why are you bothering this girl?" he asks, his tone still calm. Obviously he's learned to control his temper, at least for now. As Quinn pulls on his arm, Brendan takes a quick glance back over his shoulder at her. "What? I'm taking care of the situation...just hang tight. Be with you in a second." He turns his attention back to the group.
"She has a fuckin' big mouth for a fuckin' mutant - /that's/ why we botherin' her!" He cocks his head back and forth, flashing a dagger. "But I guess that kinda shit comes with the left-over genes you freaks get!" He moves closer, cautiously - and Quinn only continues to pester Brendan not to do anything - her voice no doubt becoming background noise.
Brendan doesn't think the man is particularly smart as he steps forward towards him; Brendan was a mutant and he had that strange, dim glow surrounding him revealing this fact, yet one wasn't exactly sure what it is that his mutation actually does. He chuckles..."Well, she maybe has a big mouth, but I'm sure she used words that actually have some thought put into them. Let me ask you guys...did you actually -drop- out of middle school, or were you kicked out? You seriously need to work on your grammar skills, and stop using those nasty words. You're definitely a discredit to your species." He simply smiles that creepy smile of his, his eyes beginning to softly glow beneath his shades. He remains remarkably calm still, not throwing the first punch or making the first move...this was a new, somewhat improved Brendan.
"Oh my god - Stop it, Brendan!" Quinn hisses in the midst of Brendan's reply, glaring, "Stop!" She stomps her feet on the ground, hopping straight up and down, her skirt swirling this way and that.
Several of the onlookers give a not-so-friendly stare at Brendan, though they find themselves easing back when he starts glowing... They look toward one another as if trying to decide on what they should do. One of the guys stares at the glowy Brendan and smirks. "That's it?... Shit, this kid looks like he belongs at a rave somewhere. So what's your mutie name, huh? Glowbug?" Maybe not the wittiest of remarks, but it's enough to inspire a few chuckles and invoke a little more confidence. The man that Brendan steps towards glares. "Nah. This one belongs in the trash, just like the rest of them! Get the hell out of my way!" And with that he comes at Brendan with a fist tightened and ready to swing, not knowing what he's getting himself in, though given what he's had to say, doesn't seem to really care.
Brendan is taken off guard for a moment as Quinn says his name; how in the heck did she know that? He'd never seen her before in his life! While he contemplates this, the 'leader' of the group gets in his little comments, which Brendan ignores as he just stares at Quinn. "Hey, how'd you..." At that point, the guy steps toward him and swings his fist, and Brendan is struck in the side of the face. He stumbles, going down to a knee, a hand going up to cover where he had been hit...and as he lifts his arm, his sleeve slides down to reveal the tracking device on his wrist. Hmmm, it'd take a while to explain -that-. "Damn it..." he growls, trying his best to hold down the rage building up inside of him. The glow around him just slightly picks up its intensity, his eyes getting just a bit brighter as well though they are still hidden by glasses. Slowly he rises back up to a standing position, and he reaches up to remove his glasses. "Sir, I know you weren't aware of the fact that I just don't like to be touched in any way, so maybe I'll let that one go this time. There's really no excuse for your ignorance, and I think that by talking to you right now, my IQ level is dropping. So I think my new friend here and I will just go and mind our own business, and you can go off and kill some small animals, or whatever else you angry mobs tend to do..."
Quinn screams, kneeling down by the slightly-fallen Brendan and bringing her finger tips to her mouth as the first punch is thrown. "Are you alright? Stop it! You're just provoking them! Don't be an idiot! Don't be an /ass/! This is no way to solve anything!" Why is he defending her again?
There seems to be somewhat of a split in the mob at the moment, some still not so sure of what to make of his glowing. It could be that some are starting to have second thoughts. The man glares sharply at Brendan as he gets to his feet. "You got a really big fucking mouth, don't you, freak!?" One of the others in the mob starts to speak up. "Look.. Maybe we should all just," The 'leader cuts him off. "Just what? We just gonna let the freaks run us over every time they show up!? They think they're so much fucking better than us! This one.." He reaches out to try and grab Brendan roughly by the collar of his shirt(If he's wearing one of course). "This one's just all talk.."
If this was Brotherhood Brendan, all of the people who had decided to join up with the angry mob would be in the process of being rather painfully crushed from the inside out by the mutant; instead, Brendan simply grins at the guy. He stumbles forward a moment as his collar is jerked on, and he doesn't try to get away...instead, he glances at Quinn. "Go on, get out of here. I don't want to see you get hurt..." He then turns his attention back to the 'leader' of the group. "Go right ahead...punch me again. Kick me in the face, throw me on the ground. Do whatever you want to me; frankly, at this point, I could care less. I just have to ask you though...what will it prove? That you all can gang up on a couple of people who are minding their own business?" By now the side of his face is starting to ache pretty badly, but he attempts to ignore it. "Will kicking my ass really help your 'cause' to rid of world of us freaks? Heh. If you think so, then man...I pity you. I really do. I wasn't aware someone could be so ignorant and stupid..."
"No! I don't want /anyone/ to get hurt!" The girl snaps back to Brendan, standing, "Stop it ! We don't think we're better then you /at all/! This is just a misunderstanding and its /my fault/! Just stop it!" A few tears stream down her face, "This won't /solve/ /anything/! We're all stupid here if we let this happen! Don't do this!" She moves to /actually/ try and grab tight hold of Brendan's arm and more forcefully pull him back, "Stop it, Brendan! This /isn't/ what you want! You're just getting into the same vicious cycle!" She, however, continues to keep Brendan in between herself and anyone else... of course.
The man's jaw twists, only seem to get more heated with every word spoken to him. "SHUT UP!? I don't need pity from some freak!? He goes to hit him again, but pauses as Quinn tries to get in between the two of them. With a grunt, he tries to just push Brendan aside before making moves towards Quinn! "DAMN right it's your fault!" He comes at her a bit too fast for any of the others to stop him, though a couple of others go to try, obviously having had second thoughts on this."
Brendan stumbles as he is shoved to the side, and he falls down to his hands and knees. Oh, they've done it now. He might have possibly let them beat -him- up, but there's no way he would let anyone else be hurt by these morons. Good...let them forget about him and not pay attention to him. That'd make things a hell of a lot easier. Growling softly beneath his breath as he stares down at the ground, Brendan lifts his eyes and watches the guy go after Quinn. Pushing himself back up, Brendan calmly dusts himself off, stepping towards the leader. Reaching out, Brendan drops his hand down to the guy's shoulder. "Hey! Let the girl go, there's no point to this whole thing. Now just turn around and go home...or you're going to regret it. Trust me..." At this point, Brendan's form begins to slowly fade away, his entire body turning translucent...very ghostlike, even. He had told himself he wouldn't ever do this in public again, but...this wasn't just about him at the moment. "Listen to the girl...she knows what she's talking about."
Quinn screams and does her best to hop out of reach. She stays silent and pitiful as Brendan seems to /sort of/ come around to more so her way of thinking. Whimpering and sniffling, she clutches her hands near her heart.
The man growls, ready to turn around and backhand Brendan, only to take note of the transluscent hand on his shoulder. For the moment at least, /this/ seems to get the guy's attention, and the other two stop in their tracks, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. The group begins to mutter as the other starts to step away from Brendan, wide-eyed. The group begins to mutter. "Jesus." "He's like a ghost." "How can he do that?" The man starts to get his nerve back, though from the look in his eyes, he's getting scared. "G.. Go to Hell! You think I'm afraid of you!?"
Brendan chuckles softly, a rather unpleasant and downright spooky sound. "Hmm. By the look on your face and the way your voice is squeaking, I would have to say....yes?" Brendan's grip begins to tighten on the man's shoulder, sinking into it, his hand eventually disappearing. Soon after, the guy can feel a tremendous pressure within his shoulder, followed by a decent amount of pain. "I'm going to ask you again...your friends here seem like they're leaning towards the right decision, but I need to hear it from you. Are you going to turn around and leave us alone, or am I going to have to tear the bone in your arm right out of your body, then beat you with it? It's your choice..." By now, it's kinda obvious that Brendan had held in his anger for as long as he could, and it's finally starting to break through.
"Stop it!" Quinn squeals, "This isn't solving anything! You're not /changing/ /anyone/ by being this way!" She screams helplessly, panting as she glances over the faces of those around them. "This sort of thing is why you have that thing on your wrist! Don't /lower/ yourself this way!" She growls to Brendan.
The rest of the mob starts to freak out when Brendan's arm sinks into the man's shoulder! They start to back away, putting some distance between themselves and the two mutants! The man's mouth opens, but goes quiet as his other arm comes up, trying to clutch at his shoulder, as it's very obvious that the man is now in quite a bit of pain, made even more obvious as he cries out! He stares through pained eyes as the others start to back off rather than try to help him... He drops down to a knee in front of brendan, still trying to grab at his arm, the pain seeming more intense.. "L.. Let me go you... Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Brendan seems to get a bit of satisfaction as he is able to bring the man down to his knee, and he puts an extra bit of pressure on the area of his shoulder where he is squeezing. "You didn't answer my question. All I want is for us to be left alone, and for this girl to make it safely to wherever it is she was going before you started bothering her. Now, I'm going to ask you again, and this time, you're going to tell me what I want to hear. Are you going to leave us alone, or not?" His expression is grim, a slight smirk able to be made out upon his obscure features. "I'm not lowering myself," he replies to Quinn. "I'm trying to get rid of these bozos so they leave you alone, and so I can go to the store in peace. Is that too much to ask? It's not very complicated."
"No." Quinn glances him down and up, "I suppose you have no where to go but /up/. It's people like /you/ who give people like /me/ a bad name!" She points a finger at her ex-attacker, "And /you/! It's /you/ who give humans a bad name! But that doesn't make /this/ right! I would sooner have let them catch me! At least then they would have gotten their rage out - now they'll just go home hating mutants even more!" She's awful brave once the ass-kickings have already been handed out, isn't she? "Don't say /anything/." She demands of the young man under Brendan's grip. She glares at Brendan, "/Violence/ /won't/ /change/ /anyone/."
The man tenses up even moreso as more pressure is put on his already flared joint, his head dropping down.. He actually tries striking at Brendan's hand, but to no avail, only brought to crying out again, sounding even more pained. The others are obviously scared now, but start to shout at Brendan again. "Jesus, let him go! You made your point already!" The man finally can't take it, now fully aware of what kind of trouble he's got himself in, and now just trying to get out of it! "Alright! AHHHHHH! ALRIGHT, Goddamnit LET GO, PLEASE!!" He doesn't really care what the girl's saying. His head stays low and he clutches at where he's being gripped, starting to sound desparate as fear finally presents itself completely, fear of what could happen.. The same kind of fear and uncertainty that inspires this outcry of hatred...
Brendan blinks after a few moments, as if suddenly realizing just what he is doing. He quickly pulls his hand out from within the guy's shoulder, and his form soon fades back into view, though a dim glow remains around him. He gives the man a push..."Just...just get out of here. I don't want to see you around my apartment building ever again, you got it?" Frowning, Brendan turns, shoving his hands into his pockets as he begins to walk away, obviously troubled by what had just happened. He had let his anger get the better of him again, just when he thought he might be making a bit of progress...and he's as mad at himself as Quinn seems to be. "Damn it," he mutters. Things like this weren't supposed to happen any more...
Quinn glares, "You… You /can't/ do that to people!" She motions dramatically with her hands, "What are you /thinking/?" She takes a slow, deep breath, shaking her head, "You… you tell yourself that you want to change… and… and…" She runs her hands through her hair, gripping her mind, "And… … actions speak louder then words, Brendan. Actions speak louder then words." She smoothes out her peasant skirt, huffing and puffing as she moves to walk away, muttering things about how much bad karma he's going to get and how dirty her aura is now.
Once released, the man stays down, now holding tightly at his shoulder which is still very sore from Brendan's little 'trick', groaning... He slowly looks up as Brendan and Quinn walk off... "Little bastard.. I'll-" Others suddenly take hold of him, stopping him. "Are you nuts? Didn't you see what he did, he could've killed you!" The man gets to his feet, still looking pissed, and huffing lightly.. "That's the fucking point..." He shrugs his arms away from the others and turns to walk off... The others begin to slowly scatter as well, mutterings still lingering, some contemplative, others not so pleasant.
Brendan hears Quinn's words, and he frowns, eyes narrowing. He stops, turning towards her. "What was I thinking?" he repeats..."If I hadn't stopped them, that group would have either killed you, or done something a hell of a lot worse. Look, lady, I -know- I shouldn't have hurt him, but you have no -idea- of what I've been through, alright? I don't need you judging me for something that I had no control over. It's like they say, may the person who is without sin cast the first stone..." Brendan turns back around again, his head lowering and gaze dropping to the ground. "That's definitely the oddest 'thank you' I've ever got from someone," he mutters...
Quinn turns around, glaring, "No. Brendan. /I/. /I/ have a vague idea of what you've been through. It's /them/ and /you/ who are clueless. You don't know. You don't know if... If. A mutant killed someone in their family... if a mutant /ruined/ /their/ /lives/. And they don't know if a human ruined yours. I would have rather die and be in the right, then live and be in the wrong." She turns back around and walks away a few more steps before stopping and turning around again. Her hands go to her hips, "You know..." She pauses, turning to walk away again before turning back around again, unable to make up her mind, "You have /no/ I idea how much you just pissed me off... like you seriously..." She turns, rolling her eyes and walking away, "Like /no/ freaking clue."
Brendan doesn't believe what he is hearing. Once again he turns around, taking a few steps toward the direction Quinn is going. "Hey. Hey! Wait just a minute..." Brendan attempts to catch up to her..."What made -you- the moral judge of the entire human and mutant race all of a sudden? As far as I'm concerned, I don't give a damn about what happened to that asshole's family and whether it involves mutants or not. Just like I'm sure he doesn't give a crap about what's happened to me. All he was thinking about was trying to hurt you. I did nothing but defend myself after he threw the first punch, alright? I wasn't going to touch him if he wouldn't have gone after you. Y'know...just...just freakin' forget it, alright? I don't need anyone preaching to me right now, I've got enough on my mind..."
"Well you /should/ give a damn. You didn't have to react the way you did and you /know/ it. Using your powers to hurt someone who doesn't have powers is tactless and immoral. Violence only fuels more violence. Hatred only fuels more hatred. /Duh/." Quinn frowns.
Brendan's arms fold against his chest stubbornly, "So what the hell do you want me to do, track the guy down and -apologize-?" He shakes his head. "Here's a question. What if he had a gun? Would it have mattered then? You're basing this on the fact of whether he had decided to bring a weapon with him or not. It's got nothing to do with the fact that he wanted to kill us, right?" Brendan gives his familiar smirk. "Y'know, if I was still at the point I was last year, that guy and all of his friends would have ended up dead. You should be happy that I showed as much restraint as I did. And in case you haven't noticed..." he waves a hand around the area..."...the climate around here nowadays isn't exactly what one might call 'mutant friendly'. There are a lot of people out there who wouldn't just stand there and listen to you telling them what the right and wrong things to do are...you would be dead in a few moments. Everyone isn't as dumb as that idiot..." he motions with his head towards the direction the mob had left in.
"If he had a gun that would have been on /him/. They wanted to kill /me/. /You/ were waiting for a fight." She roll her eyes, "No. I didn't notice." She spits out sarcastically, "We are all moments away from death /every/ moment, Brendan. That's the reality of the world. It's how we live the moments we have that makes the difference. If you want to place the blame on /everyone else/ then go for it. But in the end it's wasn't the Black Panthers or the K.K.K. that had the largest impact... It was... It was people like Gandhi... and Martin Luther King... and ... and... Jesus." She blinks at having just used /Jesus/ as an example. But whatever. Uhoh.
Brendan peers at Quinn incredulously. "-I- was waiting for a fight? I was doing everything I could to try and -not- fight the guy, and he freakin' PUNCHED me and grabbed me by the shirt!" He does have a nice little cut near his left eye that is trickling blood, the eye swelling slightly. "I would have been just as happy if he would have turned around and walked away, alright? You're making me out to be some sort of evil monster who does nothing but walk around and pick fights with humans. Well, I may have been that way once, but that isn't me any more. All I want is to be left alone, alright? I can deal with things by myself...I don't need all this moral stuff shoved in my face right now. I -know- everything that you're saying...I'm not an idiot, despite how I may act sometimes. I just call myself a realist." Brendan sighs, shaking his head slowly. "And as far as all those people you mentioned...what happened to them all?" He smirks. "They were killed, right? Exactly."
"Their lives had meaning. And they helped make the world a better place for /tons/ of people. /Real/ people." Quinn pauses, glaring at him. "And... supposedly..." She rolls her eyes and sighs, "Jesus like... came back..." She hmfs, "And before you start talking to me like I /don't/ have a clue about you - I didn't learn your name from tv, asshole. You provoked them in that fight. And you were wrong. You need to get the hell over yourself before someone else does it for you... or worse... someone doesn't." She cranes her neck around, arching an eyebrow at him before turning once again to walk away - this time more confidently.
Brendan doesn't say much to Quinn's words...he knows that everything he says is going to be met with an argument, so he makes the smartest decision of the night and just doesn't say anything. He turns and begins to walk in the other direction, a frown upon his face as he heads out in the direction of the convenience store. Brendan would have a lot to think about tonight, the whole situation weighing on his mind.