i'm hardly capable of half the damage that i would like to do [open]

[rosswood]

Who: Alex Kralie, some closed starters, and YOU
Where: All around the island of Genosha
When: August 5th - August 9th
Rating: Let's say PG-13 for general violence, colorful language, and trauma
Summary: Alex Kralie is one human attempting to tear down a society built for mutants. This is sure to go well. I'll match any format, brackets or prose!
The Story:

open to mutants; but you know i'm too full of shit to think this through

A man's been following you for a the past thirty minutes to an hour. He's been crossing every street you have, passing every establishment, stayed within a good thirty-yard radius of you this whole while. He keeps his hands in his pockets, his hood up over his features, his head low. Unobtrusive, except for the whole part where he's following you.

Maybe it's nothing. He looks normal. If he's a mutant, he's not an obvious one. He hasn't said anything to draw attention to himself or to you. All in all, he's been pretty harmless. So there's no cause to worry. Right?

Only the next time you look over your shoulder, the next time you wonder where he might be, you'll find he isn't behind you anymore.

Instead, he's walking toward you at a brisk pace, his stride hard and purposeful. There's a glint of something in his hand. A gun, or a knife, or some other weapon. He brings it up rapidly, his intent clear and telegraphed.

You can run, or fight, or let it be. But this man is here to kill you, and he's not leaving until either you're dead or his advantage is lost.

[ooc: Alex is intent on killing any mutants he comes across. He shouldn't die since he's scheduled to kill someone at the end of the event, but feel free to kick his ass if you like! Or he can kill you, either way.]

open to humans; i'm but a boy just like the rest of these thieves

A grimy office set up in some basement isn't the ideal living situation for anyone, but that's inconsequential. There's stacks of files, photographs pinned to his walls, papers with lines upon lines of names. Some of them are crossed out. Most aren't.

The Resistance isn't overly inclined to work with him. Alex clicks his tongue between his teeth, annoyed. That's a laugh. No, actually, it's not. It's bullshit is what it is.

He slips outside, stumping across streets and navigating back alleyways. He's had to lay low lately. Turns out committing acts of terrorism against mutants lands you on some higher-ups' watch lists, who knew? But he's got to stay on his feet somehow, and any humans sympathetic to the Resistance and any like-minded individuals are his best bet. He's not calling for charity here; he's got money, if only a little, and he can pay them back in favors - nothing's too unsavory for him. Whatever someone might require from him as payment, he's probably done worse for far less.

You might've heard of the elusive Alex Kralie, an anti-mutant extremist who can boast such achievements as attempted assassinations and bombings of mutants and mutant establishments. Maybe he comes to you in need of food or weaponry, offering his services in exchange. He's got no moral quandaries; he'll do whatever it is you need him to do, no matter how morally corrupt or inelegant. But if you turn him aside, think his methods too brutal - well, he won't blame you. He's on your side, after all. He's a human, just like you. Maybe you don't see it yet, but he's doing this for your own good. For the good of everyone.

Just help him out this once, and he'll never come to you for a favor again.

Comments

mutant prompt for misunderstandings :V

[normandysbest]

She always tries to keep a low profile when she's out and about- you can't exactly be public with the whole 'Hey, I'm working highly with a big resistance' sort of deal, but she knows she's got enemies on her back, mutants who would much rather see her taken out. Luckily, she's got some good connections, tech to pass for what she's not born with, until she can end this stupid war.

But she can see him trailing her, tries to place him as she moves. He looks familiar- she feels like she's seen his face somewhere before. Resistance, maybe? Trying to catch up and pass on some intel? Or a mutant who knows too much about her, someone's she's tangled with before?

Shepard snaps back when she realizes he's not following her anymore, and then when he approaches, she knows- Kralie. Dangerous. Very dangerous. Doesn't work close enough with the resistance to have seen her enough. Mutant hunter. So flipping on the cloak would be the opposite of help. She's gotta take this into her own hands.

... Quite literally, because she steels herself, sucks in a breath, and grabs forward for his wrists, aiming to disarm him and hopefully get the chance to talk him down the rest of the way.

\o/

[rosswood]

Logically he knows that even on the offchance that there is someone he should watching out for in the vicinity, it's not as if he can take action in a public space. Not when he's got people out for his blood, and he's out for theirs. Drawing attention to himself would be a bad plan.

Kralie, of course, doesn't care either way. He's already got heat on him for attacking mutants with a semi-regularity, what's a little more? He bullrushes her, knife in hand, ready to catch her evenly between the ribs. Not the most elegant way to go; bleeding out is slow and painful. But it's all he an afford. The crack of a gunshot would be too conspicuous, except -

She seizes his wrists with a practiced jolt, halting the trajectory of the blade, but she's not the first to have pulled that little trick so he hooks one foot behind hers and jerks, attempting to unbalance her - even if it sends them both toppling, it'll be worth it.

[normandysbest]

She lets out an annoyed 'tch' when it's evident he's not gonna drop this, swinging her momentum sideways when her leg starts to crumple under his foot. She probably can't get enough speed to get him on his back, but if they both come hard down on their side, it'll take out at least one arm. How the hell does she explain this? What will honestly get him to listen?

"Goddamnit, kid, what the fuck are you doing?" Alright, not the best choice of words, but it's sure what she's saying. "Somebody pay you for this? Because I'm really not lookin to kick your ass today."

[rosswood]

He tries to shake the sting of concrete against skin as she brings them crashing down onto the asphalt. He struggles against her grip, but he's all wiry muscle and bone, self-taught and untrained. He's excelled through guerilla tactics and the element of surprise alone, striking hard and fast before anyone can counter his efforts.

"You're one of them," he rasps, and that's where he leaves his justification. That's all he needs to say. That should be reason enough to know she deserves nothing more than death, pure and swift.

[normandysbest]

Shepard can't help but hiss out a small 'ugh' when he speaks, because of course, of course this is what she has to deal with today, a dingus who thinks he knows everything, and who might take her life for it. She flexes, trying to keep him in place long enough that she can whisper her truth.

"No, I'm not, you ass. It's tech. It's all goddamn tech. It's a ruse. You're wasting your goddamn time with this whole thing, but especially in attacking me."

[rosswood]

People will say anything to save their lives. He'd know. He's faced down the gibbering, panicking monstrosities before, spouting baseless bullshit in order to keep him off their backs for one more day, just one more day.

At least there's one thing he can do to prove her wrong. If she's anything like any of the other mutant murderers, she'll freeze up the instant he says it.

"Prove it," he says, locking bloodshot eyes with hers.

[normandysbest]

She squints at him like he's stupid. What's she gonna do, submit to a blood test on the spot? Seriously. But she gets a better idea, and in still hushed, harsh words, she speaks again.

"It's Rick's tech. Runs up my spine under my shirt. If you think I'm taking it off for you in public, you're dead wrong, but if you don't know Rick and half the shit he does in your... profession, then you're just stupid. You'd also know who the hell I was if you actually worked with the resistance. I know your face, Kralie." At this point she's just switched to calling his ass out, since not much else has worked so far and they're both scraping their faces on the pavement.

[rosswood]

He struggles a few more times as she explains, but it's perfunctory at best. It's Rick's tech, she says, and that's all she needs to say before he utters a long, angry sigh, eyes rolling, and releases her accordingly. Of course it's Rick's tech. Who else would it be?

"Fuck," he says inelegantly. "You know it'd help if he got all his custies to wear nametags or something. Just so I don't go picking off his goddamn clientele."

Not that he doesn't anyway, but he only does so for the people on the mutant side. He'd do the same for Rick if Rick's entire business weren't so impenetrable and airtight.

[normandysbest]

"Yeah, 'cause that would stop me from getting arrested real easy." She gives him a slight shove on the ground, just enough to start untangling herself from their mess of limbs. "And, yeah, he'd probably fuckin' kill you if you did that. Don't wanna sound like I'm tooting my own horn, but he's told me at least six times that he really likes this piece, so he'd probably be pissed if you broke it."

She's not dumb enough to consider herself enough of Rick's friend that he'd take a vendetta for her death. But he'd probably be pretty pissed if anybody broke his tech, and Rick needs all the customers he can get. "Also, targeting people on the street and then coming at them with a knife is a great way to get yourself the fuck killed."

[rosswood]

"Arrested is the least of our problems," he snaps, grunting in annoyance when she uses his weight to lever herself to her feet. He soon follows suit, not eager to end up a disgruntled smear on the ground if a mutant happens upon the pair of them.

He dusts off his jeans, his shirt, notes the scrapes on his arms and cheek with relative indifference. Not a problem. He's had worse. She's had worse. They've all had worse.

"What else would you suggest?" says Kralie, with the skeptical supination of an open palm. "Not like the Resistance will work with me, no matter what terms I agree to."

[normandysbest]

"For you? Iunno, short of time travel to stop from pissing off the Resistance. Maybe try jumping less people on the street to build up trust?" She's getting a little snappier than she'd normally be, but damn, did he catch her on a shitty day, and also, well, attack her with a knife.

"I'm just saying. We're not all, hah, monsters, you know. We'd work with you if you weren't so damn trigger happy." Not like they have enough bright-eyed recruits willing to throw themselves in the line of fire for a greater good or anything.

[rosswood]

"I'd work with you if you didn't consistently undermine your own progress by trying to play nice," he hisses, which is admittedly not his finest work comeback-wise, but he doesn't have it in him to care. The important thing is that he's not the one with issues working with the Resistance. He'd be happy and fine with working with the Resistance. But they don't "agree" with his "methods." So, you know. Sucks for everyone.

He retrieves his knife, dropped in the scuffle, and checks the blade for chips and scuffs and dulled edges. It looks fine.

"I didn't realize trust was mandatory to make mutants stay out of our shit, but fine."

[normandysbest]

"Trust is mandatory when we actually work with mutants, and it makes it a little hard for them to trust you if you're eyeing them with your pocket knife all the time." Even though mutants in the resistance are few and far between, and many of them prefer to send their intelligence remotely, she knows they're not all bad and it's an important distinction to make.

"Trust me. There are plenty of times I wanna run in guns blazing too. I know respectability politics are bullshit, but killing everyone on sight is equally unhelpful. If we wanna live somewhere after this, there's gotta be a peace at the end. Not just a war."

[rosswood]

"That's cute," he snorts, rolling his shoulder bracingly, flexing the tired and strained muscles as he tries to discern whether or not he's going to be feeling this tomorrow. Oh yeah. He's definitely gonna be feeling it.

"Thinking there's any hope for peace while one or the other still exists." He pockets the knife again. "When're you guys gonna learn that it's gonna be us or them? If you don't take care of all of 'em in one go, twenty, thirty years down the line? They're gonna come after us again."

[normandysbest]

She rolls her eyes, trying to make it as obvious as possible. "You can't just kill everyone. Mass genocide isn't feasible or sustainable. Besides, plenty of mutants get born to human parents. What're you gonna do, put kids against a firing squad?" She's really hopeful he is not in fact thinking that, but she suspects he hasn't actually thought that far in advance.

"Whatever. Not approving of your methods isn't gonna stop you, and also I have a lot more shit to deal with. But it might be smart not to, you know, mob strangers on the street. Friendly advice." Totally friendly. All her 'friendly advices' are mildly threatening. Obviously.

[rosswood]

He rolls his eyes, but yeah, whatever. He doesn't have it in him for philosophical debate at the moment, and that's not what he came here for anyway. He came here to get results. Work towards his utopic goal. That's what he does.

"Yes ma'am," says Kralie, drawing out the word with a derisive tonal twist to the moniker as he turns away. "So glad I've got your say-so."

[normandysbest]

"So glad you got your point in, too." If he's gonna make sassy jokes, so is she. But she throws her hands up a bit, trying to forget this entire encounter and get back to her life.

"Good luck not getting yourself killed, kid." She calls back as she starts walking off.