If there was one thing Darwin Carlyell could not stand it was a lack of punctuality. Call him old fashioned but it was just a matter of consideration. He tapped his foot lightly with impatience as he waited on the bank manager to show up. Ahead of him in line some elderly lady was opening an account for her grandson. She had a huge jar full of nickles she was attempting to pull out of her over-sized purse. Darwin blew his lips together in derision and glared at his watch. He was third in line at the bank and the other patrons looked equally bored. Just not as frustrated.
Finally! He thought as he saw the bank manager enter. The bank manager was the only one who could handle his withdrawal today. "Well It's about time to get this show on the road." He said with a hint of relief. Pulling a mask on that resembled President Woodrow Wilson he pulled out a machine gun that hung from a strap under neath his suit jacket. With a leap he hoped up on a counter top and fired a few rounds into the ceiling. Checking his watch again he had it timed pretty much right. "Nobody move and no one has to eat a lead salad! You! Bank Manager! Put this on! If I were you. I would hurry." Darwin tossed him a gas mask. His President mask was retro fitted with a gas mask breathing assister inside of it.
The manager did as he was told because Darwin pointed his gun at him. "3....2....1..." He said watching his watch. When he finished counting down the bank was filled with a timed detonation of gas that flooded the lobby and the whole building. Everyone dropped to the floor like a sack of rocks. "I love it when a plan comes together." He sneered with a smile. Hopping off the counter her rushed over to the bank manager hopping over the counter with a parkour move. "Vault now! We got 3 minutes. If I'm not done by then because you slowed me up.... Well lets just hope you kissed wife Miranda goodbye this morning."
Darwin shoved the manager forward ahead of him. There was no way he was getting out of here in under three minutes. The bank manager was crying and sobbing uncontrollably. He was so nervous he was fumbling with his keys for the vault. "Come ooooooon" Darwin almost sang in an impatient melodious tone. "On second thought if you didn't kiss her goodbye, maybe i should stop by and do it for you this afternoon." "No! Please!" The bank manager cried. "Then, HURRY UP!" Darwin's voice was filled with rage and the words came out as a guttural growl. Finally the vault swung open. Darwin stopped and put in some earbuds and pressed play on his ipod. A smile spread slowly across his face. The song was ripe for the moment. It just made it so.... so.... grand!
Darwin watched as the manager moved out of his way. "See.... Now wasn't that easy?" He asked. The manger didn't replay. Darwin pulled out a silenced pistol and shot the bank manager and made a tsk tsk noise with his tongue. He shook his head and stepped over the body as he began to fill up large duffle bags with cash. He checked his watch again. 2:34 seconds. Plenty of time. He began to sing the song in his earbuds as he filled up on stolen cash. "Dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum!"
Somewhere back at the X-Mansion Daydream was sleeping. Tossing and turning in quiet slumber she was carried breatheless on the fabric of dreams. There was a smile across her ruby lips as she laid in her bed. Her body was at rest, but her astral spirit was else where. She had a police scanner radio tucked into the pocket of her green jacket. "All units all units Liberty bank is being robbed. All available units proceed with caution." She smirked. Just what she needed. She wasn't just an X-man who handled crime in New York, she was an astral projector. A dream walker. She could be anywhere, at any time. She was limitless.
"Okay buddy, time to say night night." She jeered. Pausing for a second one corner of her mouth pushed up in an awkard smile frown. That just sounded lame. If she was going to be a super here, she had to work on her super hero quips. "Ah, I'll work on it later." She decided and disappeared into a puff of smoke. The report came from Georgia. The radio was picking up frequencies from everywhere on the east coast. She had been surfing channels for awhile before she found something interesting. She reappeared and disappeared several times. Each time she poofed into a cloud of red and green fire. A whisky smoke that bled into the air, thinned out and disappeared entirely. Daydream wasn't too worried about people seeing her mutant powers. She had her hood up over here head to conceal her identity.
Even though she was on the X-team she refused to wear the uniform. Something about tight leather just screamed 'don't take me seriously.' Instead she went with her natural look. A green army jacket that used to belong to a friend, long long ago. The name on the jacket was turn and worn and unreadable. The look was finished off with a plaid skirt and torn leggins; with a pair of heavy duty boots that had the laces untied. Daydream was in the middle of the street when she reappeared again. She looked around hearing people point and mumer about the mutant who could teleport and looked like a ghost. "That's right, keep watching. The show's only going to get better." Dream said. Daydream, who was a restless dreamer had fell into a deep sleep. There was no waking her unless a marching band stormed through her bedroom.
She was feeling cocky, confident and just a little bit badass. The wind pushed her bright gorgeous red hair around under her hood. It flowed around like a crimson feather headress. Dream, as she was called when she was in her mischivous alter ego form was crouching in the middle of the street. She looked up in time to see a car coming at her. The driver wasn't paying attention. He was texting and driving. Dream exploded into her red and green mist. The smoke lingered for only a second before the car was crashing through it. It pushed the smoke around and made it be gone forever on the wind. When Dream reappeared she was inside the man's car. Sitting in the backseat. He was some self rightous important asshole who was talking to one of the guys at his law firm. "Jerry! Jerry listen to me. I won't take that deal, you can shove that deal right up your...." Dream rolled her eyes.
"Might want to watch your language in front of a lady." Dream said resting her arms on the headrests from the backseat. The man swerved and turned around shocked. "How the fuck did you get into my car?!?!?" She shook her head. "What did i just say?" She took his phone from his hand and tossed it out the window. "Don't text and drive jackass." She sneered. Dream teleported out of the car and onto the street. It seemed as if she just exploded and bled through the car and rematerialized when the car had passed through her body. She reformed in time to catch the phone before it hit the ground. Bringing it to her ear she laughed. "Hey Jerry, he's going to have to call you back." She said and hung up and dropped the iphone into the trash.
Dream lowered her hood. She was getting more cocky by the second. She wasn't usually like this. She was kind and sweet and clumsy and a bit of a roob, but her alter ego; the one that came out when she was in a restless dream..... Well, she was more of a smart ass trouble maker. Someone stopped right in front of her holding a corn dog. It was a fat man with a yippy little pug on a leesh. She stopped and blew him a kiss before she started running down the street.
Dream ran right up to the bank that was being robbed. She did a baseball slide under the police tape and slammed her back against the police car. "Hey you can't be here." One cop said looking down at her. She raised her fingers to her forehead and saluted him in a mocking fashion before she teleported away again. This time one the steps of the large bank farther into the crime scene. She cupped her hands and shouted to him. "How bout here?!?!? This good?!?!?" She mocked. Giving the cop the finger she opened the door and stepped inside.
Most of the knockout gas had faded by now. The people in the bank where all knocked out on the floor. Dream looked around and shook her head. "It's like the worst, most boring slumber party in here." She heard movement and started climbing up the wall with her hands and feet. She clung to the wall like a spider stuck on fly paper. Dream pressed her body against the wall and just watched. Her fingers pressed flatly against the wall. The leather of her fingerless gloves touching the wall as well. What she saw below her was a balding man in glasses humming some classical music and walking around with a big bag of money that wasn't his. "Hey!" She yelled. Darwin looked up. "Sweet dreams!" She cried and jumped from her perch soaring down and delievering a 10 foot high right hook right to his jaw. Darwin sprawled out flat. Dream smiled. "Knew i had a one liner in me." She said proudly.
[attr="class","nthlftsybdytxt1"]Being augmented had its benefits, but also its downfalls. Theo’s downfall was the high intake of calories he needed otherwise he couldn’t properly function for the mornings. Normally he’d go work out in his apartments gym, then go for a nice jog around the city, take a shower, and head off to Milly’s cafe to get himself a nice order of endless pancakes and bacon. Today though wasn’t his day to keep to routine.
Once he saw those red and blue lights, his cash was on that table faster than lightning and he was out the door. Sadly he didn’t have anything to help conceal his identity, but he could do with his hoodie. He’d look like a criminal, but then he could still get away without really revealing himself.
Pulling up his hood he went around back through the alley. The national bank would have a van dock for the money they’d import and export to other places. There he saw a nice looking car. Forcing the hood up he crossed a few wires before stepping up to the door. He tested the knob before throwing his shoulder into it and knocking it hinges and all.
Sighing he leaned the door against the wall and walked in. There was a faint smell of something in the air, but whatever it was had dissipated. That’s when he heard someone yell out and he quickened his pace. Making his way around the corner he noticed a red head standing behind the counter. Her attire was strange though. ‘Huh… weird.’ He thought and walked up. “Nice one liner.” He smirked and chuckled. “But you might want to make sure that he’s completely knocked out.”
Daydream looked over at the new guy in the room. He was cute. In an Ambicrombe model sort of way. "Who the hell are you?" She blurted. Not exactly what she thought was going to come out of her mouth but she nodded her head and thought about the results. Not bad she admitted in her head. Dream was always inside her own head. There was a constant narration going on in there. It was so hard not to take that personally when people gave her weird looks for mumbling to herself. If she had been facing a mirror she might've even gave hereself a weird look. 'Ya freakin weirdo!" She would say.
There was a smirk dancing on the edge of her lips. It only lived there for a moment before her hand were flying in the air. Her legs had been swept out from under her. She fell back with a startled scream. Even slightly translucent and looking a bit like a spirt she could be tripped. She still occupied this physical world. She fell on the ground and landed with a "umph!" The wind was driven out of her lungs and back in her room in New York her body twitched slightly as she felt the pain in her physical body. There would be a new bruise on her spine tomorrow morning.
Darwin took her legs out from under her. He scurried to his feet. Turning to the new man in the room he sneered and grabbed at his machine gun; hanging from a strap on his back. He fired blindly in the man's direction. He wasn't one for witnesses. Darwin was still wearing a mask to look like President Woodrow Wilson. He blind fired at the threat and took off running in towards the back exit. Darwin wasn't expecting anyone to oppose him. They never did. The police sure, but he was usually long gone before they showed up. Even if they werne't they were easily outsmarted.
Darwin was about to escape the lobby of the bank when Dream rolled over on her side. She pulled a collapsable police baton out of her jacket pocket and tossed it hard. It sailed through the air and with pin point accuracy it tripped him up. His feet got tangled in it and he fell out of the room. "Oh my god!" Dream cried. It seemed way more badass than it was. She was even surprised herself that, that had worked. Darwin stumble into an exit door and landed in a hallway. He ran into the wall heavy with his shoulder. With a grunt and a growl he started running up the stairs to the roof.
Dream stirred to her feet. She looked over at the other guy. The one the criminal had shot at. "Way to let him get away square jaw!" She cried. Rolling her eyes Dream started to run out of the room after the thief. Darwin had gotten away with the bag of money. She blammed this new guy. He distracted her long enough for the bad guy to get the drop on her. She wasn't essentially great at super hero'ing. She was a bit clumsy for her own good. She was however having a blast.
[attr="class","nthlftsybdytxt1"]”Damn it.” He said as the girl disappeared falling to the ground. His body went into action as he charged forward. Seeing the man stand up and point the machine gun towards him he hid behind the marble pillar. Now he really wished he had a fucking bullet proof vest on.
Once the bullets stopped he waited for a moment before pulling out behind the pillar. ‘Square jaw? Really?’ “That the best you can think of pinkie pie?” He asked as he began to run after the man and the girl. He only knew the name from his neighbors little girl that watched my little pony every day.
Running up next to and past the girl he’d make up for his mistake. Not a lot got him going like being the good guy. But then again, he couldn’t really be the good guy if he was dead. He’d have to take the gun away first. “You think you could get the gun away from him? If you can, I can get him down again.” He wanted to try and make a plan, but seeing this girl, he didn’t know if she’d go along with it. He wouldn’t let this guy get away so easily.
Darwin burst out of the door on the roof. He was greeted by the sweet fresh air of freedom and the gusty wind. He stopped to take a deep breath. Meditation and breathing exerciss were not really his thing, but he had watched a video explaing they can clear your mind and focus you. Darwin spent a lot time on youtube videos researching things that could make him a better criminal, a better speciem and overall just better.
He took a few short breaths and looked around. Captain jarhead and the little redhead would be rolling in after him at any moment. He needed a plan. He hurried over to the edge of the roof and looked over. The police were down there scurrying like ants. He made a face. Imbicils, he thought. Running his hand through what little bit of hair he had he rubbed his chin and thought. He set the duffle bag on the ground. He looked across the way and saw a huge vent shaft. It led down into the building. Darwin tossed the duffle bag of cash inside and jumped in himself after it.
He wasn't sure where the vent was, but at least he had an escape route. He managed to disappear down the shute before either of the two do gooders happened upon him on the roof or even got there. Meanwhile on the stairwell Dream was giving Theo all sorts of problems. Dream didn't play well with others she believed was stealing her thunder. "Hold up. Who are you again?" She asked sarcastically.
"I don't see a badge on you square jaw. In case you haven't noticed, this is kind of an active crime scene." Dream started to push past him up the stairs. There was a shot through the window. A police sniper. "Ah! Motherfucker!" Dream cried. She pushed Theo up against the wall. He was a square jawed idiot but she didn't want to see his head get blown off. Dream dared to peek a little out the window. Another shot almost took her head off! It chipped away at the wall beside the window.
Blasting away a chunk of the brick. "Cops must be blind. WE'RE THE GOOD GUYS DUMBASS!" She shouted at the cop who couldn't hear her. She turned back to Theo. "You've heard of the X-men right? Yeah, I'm kind of a big deal... You're just a civilian, I really can't babysit you and catch Mr.Klepto." She started. In another part of the bank Darwin was kicking out a vent great and landing inside the manager's office with his bag of loot. He was a floor below them now and trying to find another way out past the police. The police who considered them all suspects at this point.
[attr="class","nthlftsybdytxt1"]”Tomahawk.” Theo simply said. “Now, we can either take our dicks out to measure them, or here’s an idea focus on the bad guy!” Theo rolled his eyes. It was pretty damn obvious to anyone who had eyes that this was a crime scene. It didn’t matter now because they were both part of it. “No, I don’t have a badge but that doesn’t really matter now.”
Being pushed back into a wall he pushed back some. His reflexes were lightning as he bent to avoid the bullet. “I don’t think they’re gonna listen.” He snarked back to her. “Yeah, great fucking job for being part of the X-team.” He honestly didn’t believe this girl was part of them. For one she wasn’t in their uniform.
He remembered when the X-team had been made. It had been a dream for him to be on it. However, at the time he had just been a spindly little boy. Joining the army had done wonders for him. That experiment changing his genetic structure, his muscle growth. Hell it helped make him taller too.
“We can either work together and get that money back. Or we can stay here and fight with each other.” He didn’t want to just stay there, he didn’t want to reveal any more of himself, but he took off his hoodie and reached over quickly to the blinds. Pulling their string quickly he shoved the jacket between some of them.
He groaned as a bullet grazed over his chest. “FUCK!” He yelled out as he pulled back. “Let’s get going.” His t-shirt was staining with his blood, but it was already starting to slow.
As her body lay there, in the quiet and absolute safety of her bed Kendra rolled over. Soft adorable snores spilled out of her hung open mouth. Her foot peeked out from underneath the blanket and her toes wiggled slightly inside her heavy combat boots. The sun was still shining brightly. It was blocked out by the immensely convenient black out curtains she had in her room. Her arm was tossed up over her head. Her other hand was stretched out and lying in a puddle. She clumsily knocked over a glass of water. It spilled over her alarm clock and short circuited it. Kendra was not going to wake up any time soon.
Covering her eyes was a pink and black sleep mask. It depicted a bear holding a cup of coffee with a rather sour look on it's bear face that read "Don't wake mama bear." A string of drool hung from the corner of her mouth. It dripped down and stained her pillow causing a nice little puddle. Her arm over her head swatted absentmindedly at a fly that was flying around her bedroom. The wind from the open window across the way blew in giving a cooling breeze. It caused her to shiver and Kendra rolled over causing her blanket to fall off of her. She turned to face the wall. Her snores no longer cute and adorable but now massive and unsettling. Such eruptions should not be possible from such a tiny girl.
Kendra slept peacefully in her room. The soundproof room did much to keep out the noise of the children in the halls. She slipped deeper into sleep allowing her mind to become more restful as she rolled over. She was chilly now, but more restful. Her mind relaxed and gradually her personality began to shift. As her brain entered the deeper more secure layers of REM Sleep she became more and more of her wholesome self. She was much less Dream and very much more Daydream. Dream was her repressed rebellious side that slipped out when in light REM... But now the attitudes of Dream were gone. Drifted away on a cloud of pleasant dreams.
Astral Daydream in the bank felt the slight chill. She felt a shiver rush up her spine just at the moment Theo or Tomahawk pushed her back. Her hands gripped at his firm muscles. She shuttered a bit. Her eyes moved over his well defined jaw. His eyes were soft and kind. She could tell he wasn't the bad guy. He didn't have to say that. She could just take one look at him and realize that. Bad guys were much more clever. "Sorry." Daydream admitted. "You're right. We should work together." Her attitude did a complete 180.
She flinched visibly when he swore. As if it offended her delicate sensibilities in some way. "I'm new to the team!" She shot back defiantly. She crinkled her nose, it scrunched up the way a rabbit's might. She cut her eyes at him and made a little huff, but still she glanced back when he took his hoody off. She had to fight herself not to stare. He was kind of dreamy in a wholesome captain of the football team kind of way. She gulped. Back in her room her snoring, sleeping body mumbled what was rampaging through her sub-conscious. "Hubba Hubba" Kendra mumbled in her bed, miles and miles away. Daydream offered him a small smile and began to move.
Before she got more than two steps she heard something crash downstairs a floor below. "He ran upstairs didn't he?" Suddenly she wasn't so sure. She had been distracted by the handsome stranger come to crash her party. She really was bad at this. She was so clumsy and uncoordinated it was a wonder she passed the tests at all to become part of the team. Ever since she joined the X-Men she was determined to prove that she had what it took to be a valued member of the team. That even meant taking stupid risks and going after criminals alone.
Without warning Daydream ran down the stairwell and jumped when she was 4 steps from the bottom. She kicked the door in a flying diving kick and the door exploded off the wall. Matrix style! "HIIIII-YAAAAA!" She screamed as she obliterated the door. She stood there in the hall in a cloud of dust and door powder. She turned to Theo and bowed. "I am Neo. I am the chosen one." She giggled a bit at her nerdy Matrix reference. Up ahead she saw Darwin making off with the cash.
She ran and jumped and flipped over a table. She moved around in an impossible way.. Like gravity and physics forgot about her completely. She was dreaming. She was playing by the rules of dreamland where anything was possible if she could imagine it. Daydream dove for Darwin. He saw her coming and slide under a table. As he slide he grabbed heavy calculator and frisbeed it right into her throat! He knew watching the ultimate frisbee championships would pay off. His muscle memory allowed him to perfectly mimic a champion frisbee thrower and he hit her dead center in her windpipe. Daydream fell out of the air mid air and hit a desk.
Her hip crashed on it's corner with a nasty thud. All you heard was a high pitched yelp and a flash of red hair disappearing behind a desk. Clumsy, not very graceful.... But determined. Daydream peeked up over the edge of the desk with a look of determination on her cute, pouty face. She blew the bangs out of her face and watched as Darwin was kicking open a door of his own. Daydream stood up to follow, but Oh her hip. Ow ow ow her hip hurt. "He's getting away Tomahawk!" She cried looking to Theo for him to do something. Everything was happening so fast.
Light pink text = Daydream asleep white text = Daydream awake
[attr="class","nthlftsybdytxt1"]Theo was a little surprised to see the rebellious flicker in her eyes die out. He hadn’t meant to hit a nerve, but he wasn’t trying to take any glory. He just wanted to make sure people were safe, and the money was back in the vault. “I’m sorry too.” He said and looked down at her hands holding his arm. He wasn’t entirely unpleased with it, but he also knew now wasn’t the time to be ogling over someone. She seemed much more corporeal as he looked at her form.
The way her nose crinkled was adorable. He shrugged and gave a smirk before the commotion downstairs. “Yeah, he did… but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a shaft or something up there.” Old buildings usually did for ventilation, and banks were no exception. When Daydream darted off he followed right behind her.
He watched as she flew through the air and kicked open the door, practically destroying it. He felt his smirk grow a little more at the reference. Maybe she wasn’t so bad after all. “Well, I like this Neo version more than the movie.” He didn’t know why he said it like that. He wasn’t meaning to flirt, but his blood was pumping with adrenaline and he was feeling reckless.
Running in after her he stared in amazement at her movements. ‘Guess some tough love can get people to be better.’ But he snapped out of it when she was gasping and landed harshly on the desk. His body moved quickly, his enhanced stamina and speed working well to catch up with Darwin and punch him in the side to cripple him. His military training kicked in as he pulled his hands up and kicked before throwing another punch. He wouldn’t give this guy any time to react. The moment he hesitates is the moment he loses… and he’s never lost yet.
Darwin was happily making his escape when suddenly he was cast into another fight. Honestly he had seen the girl. She left a bruise along his jaw from where she had sucker punched him. Now he had to deal with this guy? "Who the hell are you?" Darwin growl. He seized up at the first punch in his side. Scrambling he tossed the heavy bag of money aside and used what he knew of mixed martial arts to make this a more fair contest.
Darwin's brain kicked into overdrive as everything he had ever seen on the subject of fighting came flooding into his brain like a lightening bolt. Strategy, tatcis, stances, form, anticipating your opponent and reading their body language to guage their attack. Every UFC fight, back alley brawl and professional wreslting match wiring into his brain all in one instantanious moment. Suddenly he went form some dorky looking bank robber to the welterweight world champion. Darwin struck back with punches and kicks of his own. He caught and trapped Theo's limbs trying to pull him into a triangle choke submission hold. He trapped Theo's arm and pulled it down in between his legs. He scissored Theo's head between his thighs and pulled down on the back of his head.
He was cutting off the oxygen to his wind pipe. Darwin could take down a normal man this way. And his technique was flawless. Even an enhanced soldier like Theo would probably begin to black out. What Darwin didn't realize was that Theo was a mutant like himself. "Sweet dreams asshole!" Darwin shouted. He was all too happy to reciprocate the one liner to someone else. He was baring his teeth and pulling as hard as he could. He was trying to make Theo black out, pass out and back out of this fight.
Darwin had managed to get him to one knee. Yes, it was working. He's fading. Darwin thought. That's when he felt himself being lifted. With impossible strength. The guy was stronger than he realized. Darwin released the choke hold and scrambled too his feet. He was about to turn and make a run for it when a cloud of red and green mist teleported in front of him. She punched Darwin as hard as she could and Darwin went down like a brick. "Ow! Jeepers! That really hurt!" Daydream cried. She shook her hand like that was really going to do something to help. She wasn't paying attention. Momentarily sidetracked and that's all it took.
A moment for Darwin to pull out a pistol and shoot Daydream in the shoulder. He used it as a distraction to scrambled away and disappear around a corner. Daydream dropped to the floor bleeding and coughing. She was astral and looked like a ghost, but the bullet still found her. Back in her room, there was a bullet now lodged in her shoulder and she was slowly bleeding into her mattress. Daydream's eyes went wide as she reached out for Theo. She grabbed his pants leg and teleported him back to New York with the last of her strength. Suddenly they were in New York, just inside the gates of the X-mansion.
She was stretched out on the floor still, only now she was lying in the soft grass in front of the sign that read "Xaiver school for gifted youngersters." Dadyream looked up at Theo with her big brown eyes. Her voice was weak. She was in a lot of pain. "Help me. I'm In room 206." She managed to groan before her astral form lost consiousness... She was loosing alot of blood and if it continued she would die and never wake up.
