Rebel Yell (Serenity/Open)

[Serenity Nashimura]

Serenity kept her black eyes trained on the blond man. Despite never wanting to fall under Kerry's control, this was one of the rare times that she was thankful for it. Kerry was like a built-in defense mechanism; if anything was threatening her life, Kerry would make sure that that thing became a threat no longer. The only problem was that once the threat was taken care of, Kerry continued on her rampage, taking down and destroying anything else in her way. She couldn't tell friend from foe and just kept fighting until her body shut down on her.

The portal that Serenity had been forming had broken apart at the burst of energy. Now, those shadows came together in Serenity's hands, crawling over her gloves and making the tips of her fingers sharp and pointed. "You have your claws," she hissed darkly. "I have mine." Usually, Serenity knew not to push her powers like this, but Kerry had different plans.

The shadows climbed over her feet and tore her broken heels apart. Her bare feet gripped the floor as the shadows continued working. They surrounded her, ready to become a shield when needed. When the basilisk flew at her, the shields came up and she dodged most of the hits. The ones that did scrape her would have previously slowed her down but Serenity didn't even feel it now, instead moving to run her own claws over the lizard man.

Not even pausing to see if her attack did anything, Serenity maneuvered behind the basilisk. She considered just capturing his shadow and being done with it, but where was the fun in that? The shadows around her moved and grew. They reached into a broken glass case, pulling out two red rubies. The gems became the eyes for the shadow panther that formed. It hissed and growled at the basilisk and launched itself at the man, shadows claws extended.

Serenity found her arms to be shaking even worse but pushed the feeling away. She looked to the ceiling, seeing the chandelier the jewelry store owners probably bought to make the store look fancier. Her grin widened and her hand shot upwards to it. The shadows followed her command and tore the hanging thing from the ceiling. It came crashing down to the basilisk man. She looked around, seeing what else she could use against him, seeing what she could destroy.

[Alistair Price]

The shield was an unexpected turn of events, but he didn't let it detour him. Basilisk was through messing around with this chick--he was going to show her just what happens when you piss off the animal.
The woman's claws missed, but only by a couple inches. Alistair's speed had increased by at least 20% now that he was in his full-on reptile form, making him a very hard mutant to catch. He screeched again in anger as his foe seemingly ran away. His head turned, eyes locked on Kerry, maw open and fangs ready. A hiss came from his mouth as another being formed with ruby eyes.

The animorph bent over a bit as he turned the rest of his body to his new opponent. Alistair Price was gone, the basilisk was all that remained. When the panther came at him he whipped around with all he had, bashing the creature with his powerful tail, and sending it flying into a wall. He proceeded to leap into the air at the downed animal, claws raised. When he descended upon the monster his claws ripped through its body like a cleaver through butter. A low growl rumbled in his throat as he slowly turned his head to Serenity as if to say "you're next".

A chandelier abruptly came crashing down toward the mutant, but instead of being crushed beneath it he simply caught the large object with his left hand and held it above his head like it was nothing. He cocked his arm back, and then threw the chandelier at Kerry with about as much difficulty as one would have when throwing a shoe.

[Serenity Nashimura]

Serenity flinched a bit when her shadow panther was clawed up and destroyed. But she moved on, forgetting about the beast when she saw her own attack flying back to her. She summoned the shadows and crouched down, a shield forming around her. The chandelier crashed against the shield, and the sound of glass breaking filled the room. Serenity growled under her breath. She ran out from under her shield, straight to a case of jewels.

Serenity got behind the case and, once again overusing the shadows, she motioned her hands at it and the case rose and flew at the mutant man. She didn't stay in the same spot though and ran to another case, doing the same thing. The sounds in the room faded and it was only the sound of her heartbeat in her eyes, loud and beating much too fast. But she tried to ignore it and kept running. This time, she ran straight for a wall.

Serenity increased her speed as much as she could before hitting the wall and running straight up. Her bare feet stuck a lot better than her heels would have, though she did leave blood marks from where she had stepped on the glass shards. Up the wall she went, only a few feet. Once she reached the peak of her momentum, using the shadows again, she pushed off the wall as hard as she could.

Serenity flipped over the basilisk's head, out of reach. As she was over him, she sent out two shadow whips, making them wrap around his wrists. She landed in a crouch behind him, not winching as more glass cut into her feet. With the whips still in hand, she moved them towards her then away, forcing his hands to come forward and hit himself in the face.

"Stupid beast aren't you?" Serenity taunted in her shadowy voice. "Hitting yourself like that!" She laughed, ignoring her fast heart beat, refusing to acknowledge how many times she blinked in an effort to get her eyes to focus.

[Alistair Price]

The mutant flailed his arms about, easily deflecting the flying objects. His strength in this form, though nowhere near the level of a mutant like Colossus, was still something to be feared. He was able to throw 2,000 lbs using both arms, so knocking away little display cases was not a problem.

It seemed that the girl had used her attacks as a mere smokescreen for her true intention, which was to get behind the reptilian mutant. It was somewhat effective, as she was able to use his own arms to make him smack himself once, but that was simply because he had been caught by surprise by her choice of attack. However, placing herself behind Basilisk and somewhat attaching herself to his powerful arms was not the wisest decision.

The animorph growled, and then cocked his arms back before quickly and forcefully crossing them in front of his chest, trying to send Kerry soaring toward him. He speedily turned and lunged at the young woman, and at the last second he did a 360 turn, lashing out at her ribs with his tail.

[Serenity Nashimura]

Serenity realized the flaw in her fighting plan just before the basilisk moved but by then, it was a few seconds too late. She felt her feet leave the ground and immediately let go of the shadows holding onto the man. She crossed her arms in front of her, shadows coming up to make another shield in time for his claws and tail to whip around. The hit from his tail sent her flying back the way she came.

Serenity landed on the ground with a thud and rolled to a stop. The shadows dropped and she took a moment to catch her breath before jumping back to her feet. It took a few moments for her to remember how to swallow and then she found it hard to actually get her throat to move. She took a deep breath, chest hurting and planned her next move.

Capturing his shadow was a no go. Ripped Shadow didn't work on those with obviously high energy and willpower and this guy definitely wasn't going to stand there and let his shadow get split in two. She cursed at herself for not using it earlier. So, instead, she whipped the shadows around, picking up the broken glass and pieces of display cases that were strewn everywhere. She created a sort of shadow tornado and aimed it straight at his face, targeting his unprotected eyes.

[Alistair Price]

Basilisk growled when he saw the woman soar backward, mostly protected by her shield. She was fast one, that was for sure. How she had been able to dodge or even guard against so many of his attacks was quite impressive. Of course, right now he did not see it that way, he only saw an enemy that was annoyingly staying alive. The animorph growled louder, and then started toward his foe again, but just then something strange happened.

Basilisk looked around to see darkness shifting here and there—shadows moving every which way. It was a little unnerving. He wasn’t sure what they were doing, or if they were suddenly going to lash out at him or become another shadow creature. However, they did neither; instead they gathered up glass fragments. The shadows grabbed up shards like a gang gathering their weapons, and Basilisk immediately felt threatened, and when an animal feels threatened it strikes for all it’s worth.

Through squinted eyes the mutant charged at Serenity, hands going up now and then to further guard against the barrage of glass. It was times like these that Alistair was ever so thankful for his think hide, which made it so that he only got a few cuts here and there instead of being shredded.
When he was finally in reach of Kerry he slashed at her with such speed and force that both sets of claws seemed to be in three places at once. The only time they slowed down was when he leaned back on his tail, and then thrust at her with both feet, and the couple of times he lashed out with his tail.

He was going to tear this girl apart if he didn’t snap out of this state of mind soon, but he had to feel like he was on top before that could happen. As long as she kept coming at him, kept making him feel like he was in danger, there was no way he would stop coming at her like a wild beast.

[Serenity Nashimura]

Serenity kept up the barrage of glass shards as Basilisk came closer. He sure was a fast one. She wasn't sure if her heart was beating fast from fear or something was wrong. She just gritted her teeth and told herself to get over it. At this point, her whole body was shaking from the strain of over-using her powers so much. But there was nothing she could do because the lizard man was attacking again.

Serenity brought another shield up along with crossing her arms in front of her. But the shield wasn't fast or thick enough because the claws tore into her arms, ripping her gloves to shreds. The shield still stood until he leaned back on his tail and sprang back at her. Serenity's eyes widened before the hit shattered her shield and sent her flying back. She slammed into the wall behind her hard, breath leaving her. Cracks in wall appeared around her and she slowly slid to the floor.

Serenity lay face down on the ground, eyes now blue, Kerry having been knocked out of control from the kick. There wasn't a spot on her body that didn't hurt. She felt like rolling over and just dying, like it hurt too much just to expand her lungs. But that would be admitting defeat. And if there was one thing Serenity never did, it was give up. So, body shaking, eyes unfocused, blood running down her back and arms, she pushed herself to her feet, not sure how long she would be able to stand on them. She weakly raised two fists, glaring at Basilisk.

"That... all... you got?" she panted.

[Alistair Price]

Basilisk glared at his downed opponent and growled lowly, almost like an alligator. He stood rigid for a little while, waiting to see if his foe was going to try and attack him again. His yellow and black eyes examined her closely, looking for the smallest signs of movement. She wasn’t getting up, which was a good sign to the reptilian mutant, but she was still breathing. Then, the shadowmancer began forcing herself to her feet. Alistair growled again, warning the woman not to get up, but she continued to rise. She was shaking like a leaf, so she probably was no longer a threat to Basilisk, who had only some minor flesh wounds that would probably heal overnight. But then she said four small words that, though his mind had gone almost completely animalistic, were interpreted as a challenge.

An expression of such intense rage colored Price’s face, and a wrathful shriek escaped his mouth. He charged the woman yet again, claws ready to tear into her body, and that’s exactly what they did. The mutant snatched Serenity off her feet, his left hand gripping the side of her torso, and his claws digging into her body as he lifted her several inches off the floor to where he was looking up at her. Another battle cry resounded from Basilisk as if to say “I will show you what I can do.”
His awful maw opened wide, and lunged toward her neck when suddenly he realized something. Somewhere, deep beneath the animal, Alistair noticed her eyes.

~They aren’t black any more.~[/color] Mr. Price thought to himself, and then thought back to her sudden change in attitude when her eyes went black. He didn’t fully understand what it was all about, but he had a feeling it meant this girl was no longer a threat to him. Of course, even if they were still black she wouldn’t be much of a threat now that his claws were inside her. ~No… Oh no.~[/color] Horror filled him as his eyes suddenly turned back to their original gray-blue human form. His gaze locked on the blood from where he had stabbed her, and then he stumbled backward as he quickly released the young woman.

A hiss, some groans, and a brief scream came from Alistair as he morphed back into his human form. He looked at the mess he had made in the shop, and then turned to Serenity. ”No. No, no, no, no.” He said rapidly as he rushed over to her, taking the largest shreds of his shirt and balling them up to press against the wounds. “Hey, you’re gonna be okay. Hold on.” He said at a quick pace, and then whipped his belt off. “You’re gonna be alright.” He whispered. ~You have to be.~

The mutant put the belt around her, tightening it against torn pieces of shirt to hold them in place. “Don’t move.” The blonde said somewhat shakily before racing over to his coat and boots, and speedily putting them on. “I’m gonna get you help. Okay? Just hold on.” The animorph was clearly worried as he scooped the young woman up in his arms and started for the roof again.

~How could I…? He thought to himself. He had lost control, though not for very long, it was still long enough to seriously hurt this girl. True, she was a criminal, but she was merely a thief. Did a thief deserve death? Alistair thought not, and certainly not one as horrifying as being eaten by a giant lizard man.

[Serenity Nashimura]

Serenity tried to move the shadows, tried to block, to do anything, but her powers were just completely failing from intense over-usage. So, the Basilisk was on her before she could even close her eyes. She felt the taste of copper fill her mouth as claws punctured skin. It was all she could do not to black out from pain. If she was going to die, it sure as hell wasn't going to be when she was unconscious. She was going to go out fighting. Weakly, she reached her hands down in an attempt to get him to let her go. His reptilian face loomed near hers and Serenity looked him straight in the eyes.

Suddenly, his eyes changed to their original color of blueish gray and she felt herself falling. She hit the ground and rolled over to her right side, the one that wasn't tore into and bleeding. She simply laid there, energy spent, watching the blond man run this way and that. He was saying something, but her heart was beating too loudly in her ears to make most of it out. She only picked up pieces, something about help and to hold on. The man raced over and somewhat bandaged her side. If she could have, Serenity would have asked just what the hell he was doing? Who bandaged up their enemy after a fight?

Her question was answered when Serenity felt herself rising. His fingers touched her skin as he picked her up and she gasped as the memories rush in. 'Alistair,'[/i] she thought, 'the black belt super lizard. Great choice of who to fight, Serenity. Fantastic.' She kept her eyes open as the memories played before her eyes. Her mind began sorting through them, though not as fast as usual. Her body wasn't the only thing completely exhausted.

They reached the roof and Serenity's sight found the moon and she felt the wind. She would never tell anyone this, but she had been really scared while fighting Alistair that she would never see the moon or the sky or anything ever again. 'All over some jewels,'[/i] she thought. Jewels that were still in her pocket. She wondered if Alistair was going to search her and take them. Probably. She really hoped not. That would be extremely disappointing; to fight to the almost death and not even get her earnings.

Serenity looked up at Alistair with his panicky blond face and almost wanted to laugh. Since she was so unused to losing, especially after having given control over to Kerry, she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to hate the guy for beating her or respect him for it. But the way he was stressing out was a tad cute and she didn't really have the energy to be mad, so she softly laughed instead. "Way to release the beast," she thought out loud.[/color]

[Alistair Price]

Alistair burst through the door to the roof, and didn't even pause, he just kept running. As he ran and jumped from one building to another he heard what he believed to be a laugh. He glanced down at the girl in his arms, and saw that the noise had come from her. Then she actually made something of a joke. ~Are you kidding me? This bird is bleeding to death and she's still joking?~[/color] He thought to himself, obviously a little taken aback by her behavior. She was either fearless, or the loss of blood was making her a bit loopy. Either way, he needed to get her some medical attention as soon as possible.

The shirtless vigilante redirected his gaze to what lie before him as he jumped down to the roof of a bakery. Smoke was coming out of the stacks, and it smelled quite nice, but he had no time to sit and enjoy it. As he continued onward he briefly thought that the owner must have been an early riser, and probably opened shop right around the crack of dawn.

A moment and many rooftops later he came to the E.R. entrance of the nearest hospital. "I need some help over 'ere!" He shouted as he entered the room, his accent coming through slightly thicker than usual.
A couple nurses came over to see what the trouble was, and then one rushed to get a doctor while the other brought a stretched over. "What happened?" The nurse bringing the gurney asked.
"Uhm..." What could he say? I lost control, turned into a big basilisk, and stabbed her with my claws? Yeah, that would be a fine way to get thrown into prison. "I don't know. But I think she's been stabbed."
"Are you her husband?" The doctor asked just as Alistair placed her on the stretcher.
"What?" The question caught him off guard. He should have been expecting an inquiry of that nature, but for some reason it was just shocking. After all, he didn't even know the girl's name.
"What is your relation to this woman?"
"We, uh... Frequent the same pub is all. I just found her like that." His stomach twisted slightly. He hated having to lie like this, but he didn't have much of a choice.
"Alright. What's your name?" The doc asked as the nurses started removing the makeshift bandage and cleaning the wound a little.
"Alistair. Uh, Alistair Price." He was trying to get his composure once more, but it was proving to be more difficult than usual.

"Stay awake, Miss. C'mon, can you hear me? What's your name?" One of the nurses asked as she tended to Serenity.
"Doctor, we need to get her into the O.R." The other nurse stated urgently.
"Right." He replied, and then turned to Price again. "Someone will come by in a moment to get your information." And with that he rushed off to an operating room with Serenity and the 2 nurses.

[Serenity Nashimura]

Serenity somehow made herself stay conscious. Her eyes were closed and the only thing she was really aware of was the movement of Alistair running and jumping over rooftops. She was focusing on the memories she had gotten from him, giving her something to think about other than the pain in her side, chest and just about every where on her body.

Suddenly, Alistair was yelling for help and then there were other people's voices. She felt her back rest on a gurney and someone asking her questions. She cracked her eyes open a bit, the lights way too bright for her tastes. She really didn't want to be in a hospital. She hated doctors and nurses and the smell of medicine and how trapped she felt. Her breath hitched and her body, groaning and protesting, started to move. She tried to sit up, move her legs, something, anything to get away from the people looking down on her with their shadowed faces.

"Leave me alone," Serenity muttered. "Get away." But the nurse pushed her back down, saying something that got muffled in Serenity's hearing. The gurney started moving and she tried to push the nurse away, failing because of her current lack of strength. Serenity felt her eyes close as she struggle to keep conscious. No way in hell she was blacking out in a hospital.

[Alistair Price]

Alistair watched helplessly as they took Serenity away to another room. His eyes stayed fixed on the double doors they had gone through for probably ten minutes or more before somebody came up to him and started asking for his information. He gave them his name, phone number, and relation to the woman. Afterward he took a seat in the waiting area, and just stared up at the TV, not really paying attention to what was on it. He was still focused on the young woman he had brought to this place.

~How could I be so reckless? How could I let myself go like that?~[/color] The mutant asked himself mentally. He couldn't believe what he had done. He felt as low as dirt for allowing the animal to take over that way. ~How long has it been...? How long has it been since I let it loose like that?~[/color] Price drifted back in his mind to his youth, recalling a fight between himself and an alligator-like animorph. "David..." The name twisted his features, making it clear that just the thought of that man got him a little worked up. ~Haven't lost it like that since I had it out with him.~[/color]


Alistair eventually relaxed a little, and after a few hours of waiting with no sign of anybody telling him anything he decided to get out for a bit. He strolled down the street, going back the way he had come with Serenity, his hands in his pockets. He still felt like crap, and he knew he should, but he wasn't much for just wallowing; he preferred trying to set things right...or least make them somewhat better.

The sun was coming up, and the bakery from before was opening shop. Alistair grinned at the smell of fresh baked goods. Next thing he knew he was walking in and ordering a half dozen donuts. He walked out with a bag of donuts in one hand, and a blueberry muffin in the other. He ate the muffin on his way back to the hospital, and just as he walked in the door he saw one of the nurses from before. She appeared to be looking for somebody. ~Is she looking for me?~[/color] He wondered silently.

(OOC: I'll hand over control of the nurse and doc to you from here, and you can decide what has happened with Serenity.)

[Serenity Nashimura]

Serenity continued rolling down the hall, unable to move from lack of energy, unable to tell the nurses and doctor to get away from her, unable to do much of anything except breathe. And even that was a struggle. Everything around her was a blur and she thought the doctor was saying something but it sounded like the words were moving through water. She wondered if she were somehow under water. That would explain the weird patterns the lights were throwing around and how it seemed like every time she breathed in, it got harder to actually breathe and how she could have sworn she was floating. Or maybe the blood loss was making her a bit crazy. But there was a sharp tasting liquid in her mouth, clogging her throat. She couldn't tell if it was the salt-water of the ocean or blood.

Suddenly, Serenity was being lifted into another bed. People were still rushing around, calling orders out to one another. Something caught her attention and Serenity focused on the shining needle coming towards her. Her eyes widened and she tried to scream past the blockage in her throat but then there was some kind of mask coming over her face. She tried to move away from it, closed her mouth and tried to stop breathing but it wasn't long before she succumbed to the gas and fell into unconsciousness.

Some time later after surgery, one of the nurses went back to the waiting room. The girl hadn't answered their question on what her name was and the man, Mr. Price, hadn't mentioned it either. They needed a name, so as to find and call any family members who could be looking for her. The nurse shivered a bit, remembering the wounds the girl had. Mr. Price had said something about the girl being stabbed... But it had looked as if something worse than a knife had done the job. The nurse was certain that if not for the girl's obvious will to live, she would have been dead. As of now though, she was stitched up and resting in a room, estimated to not wake up for a few hours at the least.

The nurse looked around the waiting room. She hadn't been expecting Mr. Price to stay, seeing how, according to him, the girl and he were simple acquaintances through a pub. But when she looked near the door, there he stood, a bag of what she assumed to be food in his hands. She walked towards him, smiling in a friendly way.

"Your friend is doing okay, Mr. Price," she informed him. "It was a close call, seeing all the blood she lost. Her wounds were very serious; you don't remember seeing anything where you found her? If there is someone attacking people like that, we want to make sure police know. Anyway, she's all patched up and sleeping. Should be awake in a few hours if you mean to see her. But, we didn't happen to catch what her name is. We want to contact family and let them know. Do you know her name and perhaps phone number? Something we can use to find out who she is? Anything about her that could help?"

[Alistair Price]

Alistair was relieved to hear that she was okay, but at the same time he felt like utter crap. The nurse said it was a close call, which meant she probably would have died if he hadn't gotten a grip when he did. ~Nice bloody job, you bum. You nearly killed the poor girl.~[/color] He thought to himself as the woman before him continued speaking. "Uh, no, I don't remember anything." He replied somewhat nervously, and then the nurse went on talking about the thief. ~Her name?~[/color] Alistair was panicking in his mind, but managed to play it cool on the outside. ~That's right, I'm supposed to know this girl! Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger!~

"Oh, yeah..."[/color] Still playing it cool the mutant tried to think of something to say. A workplace? A fake number? Her name? He had nothing. No name. No legal occupation. No phone number--he couldn't even think up a phony one. But then, on the television in the waiting room, which was playing some awful soap opera, a man addressed a woman and next thing Alistair knew that name was falling out of his mouth. "Serenity...is what the boys call her...down at the pub." A short pause ensued as an idea came to him. "Where she works. Legally." He was trying too hard to sound convincing and he knew it, and was wishing he could just go back in time and stop himself from speaking. What was going to happen once this girl woke up and everybody found out her name wasn't Serenity, and she didn't work in a bar? Well, they would probably suspect the idiot who couldn't keep his big hole shut of being the monster that stabbed her...and they would be right.

~Oh bugger... What now?~ He asked himself. "Anyways, do you think I could go and sit with her? Oh, and when will it be alright for her to eat again? I brought donuts." The blonde raised the bag on his last word, hoping that somehow the fact that he was bringing her food would convince the nurse he was a nice guy and not a crazy lizard-man that tried to eat the thief.

[Serenity Nashimura]

OOC: Btw, the last time I was in a hospital, I was, like, seven so I have no idea what protocol for anything is. xD

The nurse didn't bat an eyelash at Alistair's ramble. She'd seen enough people in shock before and based off the girl's injuries, she figured anyone would be a little drained and nervous-sounding. She smiled at him in a reassuring way, happy that the girl had a name to put with her face. "Well, Ms. Serenity hasn't had a very serene night," she said. Though it might have seemed like an inappropriate time to making jokes, she knew that laughter was a good way to relieve some stress and Mr. Price definitely needed to bring his stress down. At his offer to sit with her, the nurse's smile grew a bit more. In a hospital that played almost nothing but soap operas all day, it was bound to affect someone after awhile and she was no exception. "Yes, of course you can stay with her, until we can locate some family or someone. And if she feels up to eating when she wakes up, then I don't see why not." There was a gleam in the nurse's eye as she turned away from Mr. Price and started walking. "Right this way, her room is a floor up and down the hallway."

The nurse led Mr. Price to Serenity's room, opened the door and allowed him in. Serenity was asleep in the bed, heart monitor proudly beeping. For someone who had almost died a few hours before, the nurse noted that Serenity had a strong heart beat. "There's a chair there," she said, pointing to one near the bed. She walked over to where the clipboard with Serenity's information was. She picked it up and quickly scratched out the name 'Jane Doe' that was written. The nurse scribbled in 'Serenity' as the name, wishing there was a last name, as that would make finding family members and information so much easier. "I'll come check back in later," she said, placing the clipboard back at the foot of the bed and exiting the room. Once she was out of sight of the door, the nurse quickly went to tell her friend about all that had happened.

In another part of the building, the security manager was speaking to police, telling them about the numerous jewels found in the pocket of a recently brought-in girl. The police, having just been at the scene of destruction of a jewelry store, ordered the man to tell them what room she was in. With the information, they quickly started making their way up to the room where the girl was.