Burning Bridges (Pyro | Spiderman)

[wildcard]

It was all going too smoothly, exactly as intended. That was precisely why someone would go to the Prince of Thieves, to ensure a job gets done correctly. In and out without ever being noticed. Basic business principles say that you get what you pay for; Gambit's talents may be outrageously expensive, but he was the best in the business. Favored son of Jean-Luc LeBeau, Le Diable Blanc's loyalties were sold to the highest bidder and his loyalties were worth having.

Remy had broken into a warehouse with an unusual amount of security. He was to place a flash drive into a computer that was being held there and then destroy it. Easy. With world class agility and acrobatics, the thief worked his way to the back room, avoiding guards and thriving in shadows. Now behind a stack of crates, Remy's flaming red eyes pierced the darkness while waiting for a patrol to pass nearby. As he approached the back room, the patrols got thicker and the guards, stronger. That had to be where the tech was, but with the two armed men blockading the steel door, things would have to get a little bit more exciting.

Remy jumped off of the catwalk, plummeting towards the two armed guards with his bo staff in hand. In a spiraling flourish, Gambit's staff had poked and prodded, sweeping the guards off their feet before they could react. There were dull thuds as the guards tumbled through the air, landing awkwardly on the concrete below. It was silent but it wouldn't take long for the others to notice. Gambit toasted the electronic lock with a kinetic charge that completely fried the circuit. The box crackled with the excess energy, forcing the fragile chips inside to sizzle and pop reducing the locking mechanism to a sparking box and a plume of smoke.

Without wasting a minute, Gambit pushed over a pile of crates to block the door from the inside, he would need to buy himself a some time. It wouldn't be long until the guards came knocking. Sliding the flash drive into the computer, a program began to automatically run itself. Gambit didn't know what it was doing, he wasn't paid to ask questions.
25%....
50%...
75%...
Then the guards came. There were numerous bangs on the steel door as the guards tried to coerce the door into swinging freely, bludgeoning the steel in hopes that it would budge. The crates were teetering, about to collapse which would spill the a sea of guards into the small room. The meter on the computer read 100 just as the crates went sprawling across the floor. Men stormed in with hand held pistols at their side.

"Messieurs, 'bout time you a'rive. But you see, I still have de winning hand. Two Pairs, Aces over Eights." Gambit tossed two cards with each hand, displaying his amazing aim and ambidexterity. The eights sailed towards the narrow doorway where the guards were attempting to funnel themselves through while the aces split up. One contacted the wall while the other smacked the computer. Choreographed together, the cards erupted in an explosion of kinetic energy crafting an escape, knocking back the guards, and destroying the computer in one fell swoop.

"Aces and eights... Da dead man's hand." The thought carved a wicked smile that cut through his angled jaw and stubble of facial hair. Gambit jumped through the hole that was created, satisfied that the computer was completely destroyed by the blast. With the guards close behind, he began to run for the only viable escape route, the Brooklyn Bridge. "Les jeux commencent"

[pyro2]

Enough was enough! If he stayed one more minute at the mansion, he would burn something down. Something big. Seriously! It felt as if he'd been back at Xavier's since an eternity without anything actually happening. Magneto had convinced him to join forces with the X-Men to battle a new threat. But: there was no sight of the threat nor was there much of joining forces. Plus: He felt out of the loop with all decision-making, treated as if he was still the little X-boy student he had been long ago. It was frustrating and boring, and being surrounded by these fucking do-gooders 24/7 started to get to him.

He had too much respect for Magneto to jeopardize any of his plans by behaving badly at the school. But behaving badly was something he urgently needed to do, otherwise he would simply explode. There was too much anger and frustration bottled up, and Pyro had never been good at bottling up things. So he took the next best car he found in the garage and drove off, south, towards New York City. The further he got away from the school, the easier it got to breathe, and at about half way to the city, he opened his window, lit a cigarette and started to throw fire balls at the cars on the opposite site of the highway. Every time he hit one, he happily cheered, it felt a bit like a computer game except more satisfying. Of course it didn't take long for a bunch of police cars to show up, if he hit those, he got double points, and triple if they actually exploded.

When he reached the city, his mood had considerably improved, and somehow he had also managed to get rid of the police. Just in case, he left the car on the side of a street, stole one right next to it and drove on, through Queens and towards Downtown Brooklyn. There were still a few corners there that were pretty seedy, and he definitely needed a drink or two before he continued with his scheme for tonight. And so it was that he was just leaving one of those seedy bars, pleasently buzzed, when a certain Cajun broke in a warehouse nearby. The time the thief needed to do his things, Pyro had used to walk towards the Brookyln Bridge which seemed a promising location to continue with his game. If he'd walk over the bridge on the pedestrian way, he was a bit above the cars and they were easy game. Plus, it wasn't a simple thing to get to him... Sure they could block both sides of the bridge but whatever they'd put there would burn.

Relaxed, he strolled to the access path of the pedestrian way over the bridge, looking at tourists, joggers and bikers who - even at this time - crossed the bridge which provided a magnificent view over to the lights of Manhattan. Soon, there would be even more lights... Pyro grinned and lit another cigarette. As soon as he was actually on the bridge, he continued his game. Using the burning tip of his cigarette to create fire balls, he threw them left and right at cars, trying to hit as many as possible. The fire balls were too small to actually cause much damage by themselves but the effects were dramatic: All other pedestrians ran screaming, and soon the two car lanes on both sides of the bridge were completely blocked by panicked drivers who either had tried to get away really fast and crashed or who had left their cars standing, running off. It was the most fun Pyro had had in quite a while.

[spidey]

Spiderman disliked the fact that crazy mutants were present among innocent civilians. Mutants had more power than anyone would've ever imagined, and that power could be manipulated by the evil. 'With Great Power comes great responsibility.' These were the last words that Uncle Ben had ever spoken to Peter. Pete carried these words with him, everywhere. The young college student had been sleeping soundly upon his notes, and Biophysics book when his police receiver picked up on a man speeding madly through the streets of Hell's Kitchen. It was only until the operator started to yell, when Pete started to wake up. "SUBJECT IS RETURNING FIRE, I REPEAT THE SUBJECT IS RETURNING FIRE!" Pete quickly threw on his tights, and mask, and leaped from his balcony.

As Spiderman slung from building to building with his webs, he needed to reach the Brooklyn Bridge as soon as possible. Making his way across many blocks, he saw the Brooklyn Bridge in the distance. Looking down at the multiple car mash up, he only hoped people weren't hurt. Making his way towards the bridge he leaped on the opposite side of the man who held a cigarette. "Leave now before things heat up" he yelled as he knelt down upon the bridge, like a spider ready to pounce.

[wildcard]

Burning cars, left abandoned, and numerous collisions littered the bridge as citizens panicked. Things were no longer going the Master Thief's way. All the lanes on the bridge were backed up because of some unknown cause. Whatever it was, it was drawing unnecessary attention to the Cajun's operation.

Remy decided to use the new obstacles to his advantage. Those guards who trailed him would have tried to use various vehicles to catch him, vehicles that Remy could only access by stealing. The traffic jam might be useful in allowing him to escape by foot as he was more athletic than most. With the flash drive in his pocket, Remy ran up the catwalk that overlooked the bridge. A small crowd of guards were still pursuing the fleeing thief, trying to squeeze together to fit into the smaller space, slowly falling behind the thief.

Remy had always enjoyed a good chase but these guards seemed unable to provide it. The quick thinking, improvising, and acrobatic skill needed to escape always gave Gambit a thrill. Of course, they never caught him. Le Diable Blanc was too good to be caught by your average goon. Remy continued to run along the path of the catwalk, pushing his way through a scattering crowd of civilians who were running from something. It didn't take long for Remy to confront the reason people were fleeing, impeding his path stood some angry, misguided youth and a clown in red tights.

Remy glanced backwards with those crimson glowing eyes, to see that the platoon who had chased him appeared to be government sanctioned, probably local police. They were closing in behind him, preventing the ability to retreat and find another direction. Gambit only had a few choices left and all of them involved getting around this costumed vigilante. He could only hope that this kid that Spiderman had encountered was more trouble than he appeared, capable of being a distraction long enough for Gambit to escape without harassment.

He had to find a way around the encounter on the catwalk and Gambit decided on his course of action. Drawing his telescopic bo staff, condensed to its smallest size, Remy LeBeau began to charge Spiderman and Pyro's location at full speed. The bo staff was extending from the kinetic energy of Remy's mutant power. As he neared the other mutant, Remy planted the tip of the bo staff firmly into the ground, vaulting himself high into the air. Remy did a graceful aerial flip, landing the acrobatic stunt in a smooth roll which prepared him to continue running.

((Feel free to control the guards in your post anyway that you would like to))

[pyro2]

What the fuck was that? In the middle of the mayhem around him, he saw some movement from the other side of the bridge, coming towards him. Someone or something moving fast, through the air... or better... swinging in between the metal parts of the bridge. Pyro stared upwards with a frown. Seconds later some guy in a blue-red costume was landing across of him and told him to leave.

The fire mutant was too surprised by the show and the strange outfit to react immediately but there was a wide grin appearing on his face. Dimly he remembered reading about some guy in a costume, helping the police. Called himself Monkey-Man or something... "Man, you can't be serious, I...", he interrupted himself because of some commotion behind him. A quick glance backwards revealed some other guy, running towards him. Which was strange since most of the people had been running away from him. But there he was, and he wasn't alone. There were guys in uniform running behind him. Was this a coordinated attack? He looked quickly between the Monkey-Man and the newcomer but then the newcomer used something to actually jump over him and the costumed guy - which left the police running towards him.

Well, time to do something. From the tip of his still burning cigarette, he created a huge fire wall that quickly blocked the way of the police men so they couldn't come any closer. Then he turned towards Monkey-Man (or whatever he called himself) and the newcomer. "You better get out of my way or things really will heat up...", he threatened, while a few fire balls flew out of the wall that blocked the police and hovered menacingly around Pyro, ready to strike.

[spidey]

Spidey knew things weren't going to turn out so good. He heard the young man's words, but realized he didn't finish. Out of nowhere Pete's spider sense tingled, as he looked over the man's should and spotted another man sprinting from the cops. That meant that the cops were heading right for them. Looking over at the man that had been sprinting, he only hoped he wasn't going to run over them. Watching the wooden staff within his hands, the man leaped high over both Spidey's and the other man's head. "Where do these guys come from" he spoke to himself as he turned around and watched the man continue to run.

Finally getting a good glimpse of the swift man, he wore a brown trench coat, and had side-burns that looked like a mane off a lion. 'Why were the cops chasing him' Pete thought as he tried to find a reason. Suddenly, the one of the officers yelled, "STOP THAT GUY... HE HAS SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT!" yelled the officer. This person had to have been committing a crime, but before he could act, the fire man released large flames that created a wall between him and the officers. Spidey had to take immediate action, as he quickly spun around and released webs upon the man's back. Pete gripped it tightly, as he pulled as hard as he could trying to stop the man from fleeing. "You're not going anywhere, Bub... I'm the new sheriff in town!" he yelled forgetting about the fire man that happened to be right behind him.

[wildcard]

Gambit stood tall after coming out of his roll. Everything the man did was a single fluid motion, flowing seamlessly from action into the next. Gambit bounced to his feet, standing at his full height as he came out of the roll. Those burning crimson eyes glanced over his shoulder, back towards the hoodlum who had blockaded the pursuing guards with a blanket of fire.

The wicked smile still present on his face, Gambit gave a tip of his low brimmed hat towards the arsonist. "Merci, homme. The roguish grin continued as the Cajun turned about. Confident that a bridge aflame and a renegade pyromaniac had to be considered a more immediate threat and suitable distraction, Gambit turned about and continued his run. Two webs whipped out, catching his back and tugging at his trench coat. All of his momentum came to a stop as they ensnared him, pulling him backward several steps and dragging him to the ground.

Now laying on his back, the fugitive thief had to react. He had to release himself from this thick, sticky substance. Gambit rolled over, releasing himself from his long brown trench coat as he did so. With a single hand, Gambit grabbed hold of one of the viscous white strands. It took only a moment to turn the strand into a pylon kinetic energy as he activated the latent potential of the substance. The spider's strand began to glow with Remy's familiar aura of energy, a pale and ghostly violet.

His twisted smile returning, Gambit spoke "Désolé, messieurs. I love to join de party, but I be in a rush." Releasing the rope from his hands turned the strands into a time bomb. Gambit rolled a few paces away to protect himself from the explosion which triggered shortly after his release.

[pyro2]

Mhh, Monkey-Man was more interested to catch the jumper, it seemed. He turned his back to Pyro and his menacing fire balls and threw some sticky stuff at the guy who so elegantly had jumped over them and effortlessly landed on the other side, ready to continue his flight. John actually appreciated the little thanks he gave him before he turned to ran on. It was pretty clear that they were kind of on the same side, both chased by the authorities and this bizarrely costumed 'sheriff'.

Currently, though, the fire mutant wasn't under attack. The cops were blocked and the other two were busy with each other. He used the opportunity to throw a fireball at a news helicopter who had approached the scene from Manhattan. It was a full force hit but sadly he hadn't gotten any vitals. All the chopper did, was getting higher up, mistakenly believing it would be safer there. But before Pyro could throw a second blast, things were happening on the bridge. The jumper had somehow retorted, freed himself from the sticky stuff which had started to glow.

That could not be good... Seconds later there was an explosion that threw John off his feet to the ground and towards his own fire wall which started to waver strongly since the mutant kind of lost control for a few seconds. "Fuck...", he murmured, shook his head and looked up. The jumper had to be another mutant! Quickly John got back up to his feet, resumed control over the fire wall and was ready to defend himself against any attacks while trying to assess the situation.

[spidey]

Pete thankfully caught the man with his webs. He knew this man was a mutant, because of his special abilities and staff. As the webs attached to the back of his trench coat, Pete pulled as hard as he could, but could only pull him a few steps back, and down to a knee. Hearing the french accent of the mutant, the webs he had been holding, turned a light purple and then suddenly began to vibrate violently. Looking down at his webs, the purple then erupted into an explosion, sending Pete across the pavement near the fire.

Pete's eardrums had been busted, and all he could hear was this annoying screeching sound. His hands felt as if they'd been sitting in a fire for 30 seconds. Taking the time to realize what had happened, Peter looked at his hands, and realized the blast had fried away his gloves. His costume looked like it had been thrown in the shredder. Half his mask, still held onto his face, but the right side was revealed. Deciding to keep it on, he aimed his webs at the fire man who had also jumped out of the way. It looked like they were working together, so this fight was going to be tough. "ILL SHOW YOU!" Pete yelled.

Spidey released web balls from his hands which swarmed towards Pyro. He continued to release more, like a machine gun, hoping he could stop him from keeping the fire wall. Turning around, Spidey flung his webs upon the passenger door, and pulled. The door was removed off its hinges. Swinging his arms fast, he threw the car door at Gambit hoping he could stop him from escaping. Even though Spidey only suffered cuts and bruises, he looked like he took a trip to hell and back because of the way his costume looked.

[wildcard]

The rope that had held him erupted, blasting back his attacker. He was not too happy that it had cost him a perfectly good trench coat but sometimes sacrifices had to be made. At least that, too, had been destroyed in the blast making it near impossible to get any evidence from it.

The flash drive was now in his hand, having removed it from his coat before the explosion. It had been a bigger explosion than intended but the substance was unlike anything he had seen before, mimicking that of a spiderweb. It was hard to gauge just how much potential a new item could conceal which is why the playing card had become Gambit's weapon of choice. He had perfect control over cards, being so familiar with them.

Gambit picked himself up off the ground, able to get away mostly unscathed from the unexpectedly powerful blast. The arrogant mutant was quite content with the damage he had caused, assuming that it would be enough to take the wanna-be Sheriff off of his high saddle for a while. Lightly brushing some debris from his shoulder, Gambit observed the movements of the other super powered combatants, still confident he had the situation under control. "I guess dat makes me da gunslinger in de black hat, homme."

As it turns out, this second rate hero had a little bit more in the tank than the Prince of Thieves had originally thought. 'Sheriff' stood up with a quick draw, shooting his thick mucus around in rapid secession. That was one super power that had no class, right up there with a girl who could grow her fingernails and some guy who was just super fat. While he was distracted with the other mutant, the arsonist, Gambit was preparing to turn and continue his escape but an airborne car door had other plans.

Soaring in, the door twisting through the air at high speed. The walkway was narrow, allowing little room for an acrobatic escape from the projectile. His staff lay on the ground a few inches out of reach from the earlier tumble he sustained from the mucus strands. His last option was another explosion. Gambit drew a card and sent it sailing at the door, exploding on contact. The door broke up into smaller pieces that came raining down onto the catwalk. He had done enough to negate getting bludgeoned by the heavy metal frame but the chunks of metal came down in a hail storm, scattering across the side of the bridge and forcing the Cajun to protect his face with a sleeve.

[pyro2]

Euhhh! Nasty!! Pyro was shot at with icky sticky stuff that glued itself to his jacket, jeans, anything, really. Monkey-Man started to seriously annoy him now. And he wouldn't stop shooting that stuff! John had a disgusted expression on his face while he used his fire power against this opponent for the first time. Several fire blasts were racing at high speed directly at the guy in the shredded costume while a larger horizontal fire column moved in and surrounded the spider webs, aiming to burn them away or melt them, anything as long as he got rid of it. The fire was burning very close to Pyro, so he could get rid of most of it except what remained fused with his clothes which had to be thrown away obviously.

All this left Pyro little time to observe what else was happening. He managed to maintain the wall between the cops and the three fighters but the news chopper had come much closer again, and when he looked up, he also saw a car door flying at the jumper who barely managed to avoid a direct hit. Monkey-Man obviously was a bit stronger than expected but his costume was in pieces and he would hardly be able to withstand a full blast of Pyro's fire.

[spidey]

As Spidey had sent the car door across the bridge to Gambit, he saw the man throw a card at it. 'What's that gonna do' he thought. Suddenly the card came in contact with the car door, shattering it into millions of pieces. Shocked with what the card had done, Spidey knew this mutant was really tough. Turning his head towards Pyro, he saw the burst of flames that engulfed the webs, frying them completely. The flame, headed towards Peter, but he did a double back-flip in mid-air dodging it. It was two on one, and Spidey knew he would've gotten help from the guards, so he focused his attention on Pyro.

Spidey ran at an empty taxi, and slid straight under. He pressed his hands on the bottom of the car and lifted it slowly. Pete went from his knees to his feet as he held the taxi over his head. "I'M GIVING YOU ONE CHANCE TO LEAVE!" yelled Pete as he received no response or reaction. Spidey threw the car without warning at Pyro hoping he could at least hurt him to where the fire would stop. From the distance, sirens were heard. The fire fighters had finally arrived, and it was only a matter of time before the fire would've been watered down.

Pete turned his attention to Gambit, who held some sort of floppy disk in his hand. He released his webs with his right hand, hoping he could snatch the floppy disk out of his hand. He then released multiple web pellets at Gambit with his left, hoping he wasn't good at multi-tasking.

[wildcard]

One chance to leave? Gambit would gladly take it. He didn't want to be here, as far as he was concerned, the hoodlum and circus act were interrupting what would have been a perfect assignment. Sure, the guards were chasing him, but they wouldn't be able to catch Le Diable Blanc; that was a near impossibility. This circus clown though, he had powers as well. Evident by the sticky goo and much more impressive, his ability to lift a car without faltering.

More webbing shot the Cajun's direction, this time aimed at the stolen computer files. There was an easy way to deal with that, simply remove the stickiness. From his left hand, which still held a deck of cards, Gambit launched several in a rapid spray to act as a barrier for the web. They covered the sticky tip of the whip, preventing it from being able to grab a hold on the stolen item. Instead, a strand, decorated by several cards which served as a blanket or barrier, impacted his hand with nothing more than the force that it traveled with.

The various web pellets came at in his other hand, his left. That was a weak spot on most people, less nimble, less controlled. Gambit was always in control, he never gave his opponents an advantage. In this particular situation, ambidexterity proved to be a useful way to keep his edge. Gambit was capable of doing everything equally as well with both hands, a natural gift that was honed further in his trade and hobbies. Dipping down his left knee and allowing his hand to scrape across the pavement while strafing away from the web pellets was enough to avoid being smothered by goo.

It was getting too serious. This carnival clown, no matter how ridiculous or disgusting, had some powers. He could actually be considered a threat. While the hoodlum helped to keep those guards at bay, those flames had brought the attention of the vigilante in tights and the media. Gambit couldn't decide which was worse. That news helicopter still hovered overhead, recording footage that would be displayed everywhere. He could only hope that it wasn't being aired live. If they were going to edit it at the studio first, he could always break in and destroy it.

Thankful that the low brimmed hat would act to conceal his face from the helicopter so long as it stayed directly above them, Gambit was ready to make his exit. Everything was going down hill here and the purpose of his mission was to keep the theft as secret as possible. He needed to get out of the fray before there were too many loose ends to tie. Following through with the sidestep, Gambit used the momentum to turn towards the rail which overlooked the lanes of traffic below. The Cajun charged at it, stepped onto the rail, and used the leverage to leap downward into the maze of traffic, leaving behind a charged card which he hoped, combined with the flames, would serve as a suitable distraction.

[pyro2]

Pyro cursed under his breath when Monkey-Man managed to avoid his fire balls and fled under a cab. Still, it wouldn't help him much because he could get him there too. The fire balls that had been flying over him, turned around in a wide circle and raced towards the cab. At the same time, John saw how the guy lifted the cab up, just like that. "Fucking hell...", he murmured. He shot goo and had super-strength? What kind of a bizarre mutant was that?

Then Monkey-Man shouted something which was hard to hear in the noise all around him, there were also some sirens now. John decided to ignore it, instead he aimed for the fuel tank of the cab, a mieschievous grin starting on his face. Til he saw Goo-Guy throw the car at him. Pyro ran. The fireballs came straight at Peter where the cab once had been , the fire wall that had kept the cops away, collapsed instantly. John focused everything on being faster than the cab, and he made it. Barely. Thanks to a last jump, that led him over the pedestrian way on a small stretch of metal above the car tracks. He quickly lost his footing there, slipped, held on to some railing and saw from there how Gambit moved down to the traffic lanes. Except he looked as if it was what he had planned anyway.

Quickly John tried to assess the situation and came to agree with the other guy. It was time to leave. And down there, with all the chaos of cars, blocking the tracks, no one could follow them except on foot. Carefully he lowered himself, jumped over to another metal railway and then on a car roof. From there he sent a fire blast up to the pedestrian walkway where the cops und Spidey had recovered. Then he ran towards Gambit's position, occasionaly throwing some fire around.

He had nearly reached the Cajun when suddenly the chopper appeared from the side, on the same height as the bridge, camera ready for some close-ups.

[spidey]

After Spidey had launched the cab at fire-man, his muscles felt weakened and tired. " Whoo, I don't know if I'm going to hold out much longer" he spoke to himself as he watched the man dodge the cab by almost three inches. Gritting his teeth at this sight, he watched as Mr. fireman leaped from the pedestrian walkway to down below, where the compiled traffic had been jammed. The fire wall was then lifted, making the guards look down at the two villains. Pyro was following the red-eyed Gambit, and this was sure evidence that they were working together. From out of nowhere, Pete's Spidey sense jolted when three fire-balls directed towards his way. The fire hose had already been running, so Pete released his webs upon the fire-truck hose and pulled it his way. Pete extinguished the fire balls, but one got through which completely lacerated his arm. Yelping at the pain, Pete held his arm and felt the warm ooze of blood began to drip.

There was no time to deal with his injuries, so Spidey leaped from the bridge and began to follow Pyro and Gambit. As he traveled with his webs, a fire flame flew so close to head, that he could feel the hotness. "That was close..." Pete pointed out. Spotting the helicopter, Spidey released his webs and pulled himself towards it latching on. He continued to watch Pyro, while being attached. Both doors were slid open in the chopper, making Spidey leap through one side and out the other. Side swiping the camera on his way out, he flew in mid-air spotting Gambit. Quickly aiming his web at Gambit, the web latched onto the back of his trench coat again. As Spidey continued to dive in mid-air, he tried tackling Pyro to the ground, that way he could kill two-birds with one stone. Spidey knew if he were to tackle, Pyro that he could at least pin him to the ground and still have Gambit within his web.