War On Crime

Mimiru: "Now--"

Mimiru stops, interupted by Azuma's coughing fit.

Mimiru: "Now what? Go home and see what's on the news tomorrow?"

Azuma: "Hospital."

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Jin is left standing in the parking lot holding Cameron who could be dying at this point unaware of the knowledge that his parents are coming for him and the lot of them are in for the grounding of a life time.

V"Thiera's in trouble, we don't know what to do, should we call the cops, but what if they arrest her?!"

A"Now she's missing!"

V"Missing?!"

A"Missing! I turned away for a few seconds, & now they're gone, & there's a bunch of helicopters, & I have no idea what's going on!"
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T"You would need to take off your costume, perhaps loan it to someone else, in case you get searched. And how are you going to explain to them that there's a tree inside of your arm?"

*The Tantuses sit silently waiting for June to get off the phone*
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*The Sorensons continue to drive to the hospital*

Jin relented and took Cameron inside and to the ER. Rather than leaving him there and splitting, she stayed with him and focussed very hard on looking stoic.

After the prolonged silence, Jin's father finally responded, "Yes. Thank you for calling."
The dead line indicates that her parents are now also on the way.

Azuma: "Not hard to say I got mugged. Believable too. As for the tree in my arm, that's more of a you problem than a me problem. I can't exactly go about my life when my arm starts sprouting leaves."

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Taiyo: "Did you try calling her?"

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There's a lot of people scrambling about to find rooms and equipment for the mess of wounded people. No one seems to notice her.

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Eve's parents or whoever get the joy of coming to a detour around the block that the building they were in burns to the ground.

A"Oh! That's a good idea, I'll go do that now!"

*She can be heard scampering off & dialing the phone.*

V"It all happened so fast--literally, there was a guy there who was moving faster than the camera could pick up. We think it was Raptor. But unless Thiera beat him before the cops showed up, she could be arrested...or...."

A"She's not picking up!"
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T"It was not made to survive inside of your bloodstream, & should dissolve within a few days. But I suppose it's your choice between trying to explain how you came into contact with a mutant vigilante versus having me pull it out of you."

*After a blast of static, Thiera pulls out her phone.*

T"Excuse me, but I must answer this."

L"Why is your ringtone just static?"

T"Because what we perceive as static is actually the cosmic background radiation that has permeated the universe since the initial expansion of the Big Bang. This sound serves as a reminder that, whenever we answer a phone call, we are quite literally the universe talking to itself."

*Thiera holds her finger up as she explains, while static continues to blare.*

*The SORENSONS try to find a way around it*
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*June comes down the stairs, arms crossed. She sits next to Walllace and glares at her daughter*

Jin finds the closest doctor or nurse-looking person and grabs them, "This guy needs help now!"

Azuma: "It's Manderlay. I can say I got mugged and it'd be believable."

After that annoying-ass ringtone and pretentious elaboration.

Azuma: "Mine's the Scooby-Doo theme, because I like Scooby-Doo."

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Taiyo: "Maybe she's busy? Doesn't her phone have a GPS?"

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It's a detour, which means whoever has to turn a corner instead of going straight and passing the building Cameron was shot in.

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The nurse looks quite exhausted and calls for a stretcher, saying they got another gunshot wound. After some badgering about Cameron being a mutant, he gets hauled off on a stretcher while the doctors check his vitals.

"Mugged and covered with soil from the junk yard. You may also wish to remove my plants from your costumes. They will die soon anyway--their impact protection takes a great deal of energy & they can only live off of dead skin for so long.."

*She clicks the screeen.*

"Hello, Aromaaaaatic Grass. Yes, terribly sorry, I took a moment to explain my ringtone. Did I have you worried? ...That is correct. I told you that I would be fine, though he WAS more versatile than I had anticipated. But also very much less intelligent."
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V"Oh, right!"

A"It's okay, she finally answered! Yes, we were worried about you! What happened? No, don't tell me, you defeated Raptor & teleported away when the police appeared."

*Which they do*
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*Awkward silence*

Since Jin probably had some not urgent wounds to be attended to eventually, she went and sat somewhere to wait until she could be seen.

Azuma: "Just get the tree out of my arm and I'll deal with the rest."

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The hospital comes into view and it looks busy as all Hell.

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That would be the case if Jin weren't stopped by the nurse as she has to give a statement to the police.

The nurse calls two police officers over, one being Detective Raferty and her partner who introduces himself as Crispus Alec from the Major Crimes Unit.

The nurse directs them to a room where they can talk privately. Someone's office.

Raferty: "Let's start with your name and the name of the person you brought in."

T"That is correct."

*Thiera snaps her fingers.*

T"It's gone. No, I was talking to someone else."

L"...I can't tell whether or not that was sarcastic."

T"I don't know. It's getting late, but I should continue my investigation. Certainly, I have to stop by the bay to dispel my seaweed. Well, I didn't say that exactly...."
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A"What's gone? Oh...will you be home soon? She says she's not coming home tonight!"

*They try and find a parking spot*

"Jin Zhou and Cameron Sorenson," Jin crossed her legs and arms tightly.

Azuma: "If that's all, I guess I got a lie to make up and hospital to get to."

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On the next block, there's parking.

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Raferty writes the names down in a notepad.

Crispus: "We've been informed of a fire in an abandoned apartment building on Lincoln Avenue, multiple bodies and suspected lab for the manufacturing of crystal meth. Were either you or Cameron involved in that?"

T"I'll have to call you back, Aromatic Grass. I will, & thank you. Goodbye."

*She hangs up & turns to Azuma.*

T"I'd offer my help, but I'm afraid there is little I can do, & I have time-sensitive tasks to attend to."

L"Let me go with you. I want to make sure Raptor is finished."
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A"O--okay, then. Be careful, Thiera. Good luck. Goodbye. She says she'll call back."

*The wistful sadness in Aroma's voice is most likely awkward.*

V"Well, I guess we bothered Taiyo over nothing. You probably want us to get off of the line now, huh?"

*They get out and run to the hospital*

"Pf, no," Jin shook her head.

Azuma: "I guess good luck with that."

Azuma teleports himself and Mimiru out.

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Taiyo: "It's not like tha-"

She yawns.

Taiyo: "You weren't a bother. Neither of you."

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Crispus: "So he was shot and you appear to have shallow puncture wounds your back because....?"

Raferty writes something else down.

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The front lobby and waiting room are packed with people, mostly police and medical staff.

"City has a lot of muggers, don'tcha know?"

T"That won't be conspicuous at all."

*Thiera begins expanding her wings & some of the vines on her outfit become wooden rings to hold on to, making her basically a human hang glider.*

T"Alright, let's go."

*So Luna reluctantly grabs on & Thiera uses her springy feet to launch them into the air, where she flies them back towards the docks.*
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V"Are you sure?"

*Still awkwardly waiting for Jin's parents*
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*They go wait in line to talk to the receptionist*

They get a lovely view of a burning building not far from their location, sirens somewhat visible behind the smoke and other obstructions.

There's probably police already at the docks too.

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Jillian is still writing things down. Probably a psych profile.

Crispus: "Yeah, and I'm also aware of a rise in Mutant vigilantism. A problem that's making our jobs a lot more difficult."