3363/Past, Future, Present

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Past, Future, Present
Date of Scene: 13 December 2017
Location: Various
Synopsis: This scene follows Hope and Vincent from the time they met, through some history in the future timeline band their return to the current timeline. It is a glimpse of what happened to mold Hope into the woman she is today.
Cast of Characters: White Phoenix, Vincent Black




White Phoenix has posed:
Three days ago, Salem Center, Westchester

BOOM!

The sound of the explosion ripped through the quiet neighborhood, causing houses to shake on their foundations. Windows rattled in their frames. Car alarms began to shriek, and dogs barked at whatever dared disturb their lazy day. The cause of the commotion was the residence at 412 East Street.

More precisely, the residence that used to be at that location. In the place of the little ranch style house was a twisted pile of rubble and debris. The way the pieces lay or fell, it seems that the building exploded from the interior outward. Pipes are broken, sending a spray of water into the air where there used to be a kitchen and bathroom.

The owners are on the lawn, knocked down by the force of the explosion. Ken and Jodie quickly stood, checking to be sure they were both alright then looking to the family members still sitting in the car in the driveway. The family in the car looked as shocked as they felt, mouths agape and eyes wide as they stared at the ruined building.

From within that building can be heard the sound of a child crying, her voice rising out of the debris. "I want my Daddy!" Then the sobbing continued.

Vincent Black has posed:
    "Copy. Car 371 en route." Responds the cop into the radio before he puts lets go of the reciever, after hooking it onto the side of the black box. Vincent quickly turns his car around and with his left hand flips on the lights and sirens. The red and blue lights on the car flashing, hidden near the sunvisors and the within the grill of the machine. He's got a call and it sounded terrible. For many reasons.

    "Please don't be a mutant, love of god don't let it be a mutant." He whispers to himself as the machine is pushed to get to the destination quickly and before anyone else because in his heart he already knows it is what he's praying it's not.

    Outside the house, the unmarked squadcar pulls against the curb and quickly the driver gets out. He stands looking at the scene for a brief moment before he opens his brown jacket and shows off his badge to the foster parents. "I'm detective Black, are you okay? Is everyone accounted for?" Then he turns his head at the sound of a girl crying out. "No." He whispers and moves towards the house.

    The front door is kicked open, and moving towards the sound of the girl's voice Vincent calls ahead. "Hey, I'm with the police, I'm here to help you! come to my voice if you can."

White Phoenix has posed:
The people outside verify that they are unhurt. At the question of everyone being accounted for, they look toward the house but say nothing. They don't seem to be in any hurry to go inside and help him verify the status of the child within.

Those heartbreaking wails continue to fill the air as somewhere in that mess there is a child with a broken heart. It sounds like it is coming from the room to the left, where a half wall still manages to block the view. There are holes in the drywall and wallpaper tatters cling stubbornly to the bit of wall that remain in place. As Vincent steps into the room, he will be able to look through the doorway--no sign of the door which had been reduced to splinters upon impact--to see a rounded out crater that has managed to destroy the floor and hollow out a bowl shaped impression into the foundation itself. In the middle of that crater is a small body.

The little girl can be no more than four, a shock of red hair atop her head. She is wearing a pair of jeans and a My Little Pony t-shirt. One foot has a sneaker still on it. The other just a sock. She is laying on her side, arms wrapped around herself as she sobs, a little hiccup interrupting for a moment then the crying resumes.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent's heavy boots crackle on the debris scattered across the floors and he puts his hand up on what's left of the door frame as he turns the corner to look into the room. The sight of the small child alone, lost scared and helpless child. The cop swallows at the lump in his throat and knows this girl is going to have a rough life.

    Vincent pulls at his large brown jacket and takes it off, moving slowly towards the girl. "Hey there." He says in his calmest voice, stepping closer with a bit of reckless casualness afforded to him by his healing and long life. He lowers the coat onto her shoulders, the thing almost big enough to cover her from shoulder to shin, but easily when she's curled up like she is.

    "Hey, you okay?" Vincent asks, talking to her as though she was a big girl and is able to talk for herself. Keep it simple, "My name is Vincent, what's yours?"

White Phoenix has posed:
When he covers her, the little girl turns her head in his direction. She takes a deep breath, hiccuping again as she opens bright green eyes glistening with that sheen of tears. Her lashes are wet and spiky as she gazes up at him, trying to understand what is going on. Her breath shudders inward as she tries again. "H--Hope." She sits up slowly, grabbing that jacket and hugging it around herself as she sniffles. Then her eyes widen as she looks around the room. She quickly closes her eyes, scrunching up her face as she takes a few quick breaths, as though the water works might start again. Somehow, she manages to focus her words instead.

"I didn't mean to. I felt something and..." Hiccup. "And then everything blew up! I didn't mean to break the house! Oh they are going to be so mad at me for breaking their house." She pulls her knees up to her chest, hugging them tight against her little body as she keeps her face scrunched up so she won't even get a glimpse of the destruction she has wrought.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent's hand moves to her shoulder and he places it on her with as much comfort as he can, "Hope. That's a pretty name for a pretty girl." He says, smiling to the small child. She's smart, he can't lie to her and he doesn't. "No, they wont be happy, but everyone's okay and that's what's important." Vincent says as a consolation.

    The cop shifts his feet, the ground and grit beneath his boots crunching as he gets lower to be on her level. "I can keep you safe." He says, whispering and knowing how awful and creepy he sounds but then he adds in a very quiet whisper, telling the small girl his secret. "I'm like you, we're both very special and it scares normal people." Vincent says hoping to help form a connection as he forms a plan to help her.

White Phoenix has posed:
Their house. Not her house. Those little hints that he is able to pick up on and start figuring out the situation. The people who live here didn't worry that much about her welfare which also implies she is not theirs. When he checks into her background, he will learn of her status as an orphan. No living relatives. Father deceased, military, details withheld from even a police department in inquiry.

Hope reaches and rubs the back of her hand over her eyes, trying to clear the tears. As he says he is like her, those green eyes pop open and she focuses on the man. Vincent. He said he was a police officer. She heard him but he doesn't have on a uniform. Her brow wrinkles up in furrows as she concentrates. "Like me?" she asks in a voice that is barely above a whisper. She glances to the door, as though there was a danger of someone coming into the disaster area to try and eavesdrop on them. Then her eyes go back to Vincent's face. "You blow stuff up too?"

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent lifts his hand towards her cheek and using his larger thumb to brush at her other tears with a sad kind of smile. "No, I'm different, I heal faster than normal people. Better too." The man says, not telling her his whole mutation, but that's not important now. What's important now is --

    "Everything okay in there officer Black?" Calls back the owners and Vincent's eyes widen. They'll want her dead or worse.

    "Hope. I need you to be a big girl for me. I'm going to take you somewhere safe." Vincent says, thinking Xavier's is the way to go, but he's making this up on the spot. "I'm fine... I'll be right out." Vincent says turning his head to shout over his shoulder towards the rubble. "I need you to be very quiet and you'll be safe soon." He says before wrapping his arms around her and picking Hope up, holding her to his shoulders and starting outside.

White Phoenix has posed:
Hope frowns toward the door when she hears the voice of her foster parents. Her eyes threaten to fill up again with tears but Vincent wisely talks to her, getting her back focused on him and away from the situation. "Safe?" she echoes as she wonders what that means. As his arms come around her, she is suddenly reminded of her Daddy. It makes her sad but at the same time, it makes her feel more comfortable. "I'll be good." she promises as she leans against his shoulder, closing her eyes and just imagining her father is there instead. It gives her great comfort.

As he starts for the door, Hope stirs slightly. She can feel a difference again and she starts to tense but it isn't that hot-has-to-get-out reaction from before. This is something else entirely and she feels her mind open up, allowing her to touch those of the people around. Voices start to fill her head and she slams down mental walls instinctively that shut them out but not before she got a flash from Vincent's mind. "You're good. You'll take care of me." Then she relaxes completely, her trust given to him fully in that moment.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Supporting her weight easily, Vincent walks slowly, moving one hand to turn up the collar on the jacket like a wall around Hope, making sure she's hidden and safe from any dangerous and resentful eyes she might receive.

    Steping over a mound that was the wall Vincent pushes past out of the front door and steps up to towards his car, ignoring any and all complaints on the way to his passenger seat where he sighs softly as he opens the door and lowers the girl into the seat, buckles her in and shuts the door with eyes that plead, <<It's going to be tough for a few more minutes, but then things will be better.>>

    Turning towards the couple, Vincent pulls out his phone as though he was going to take notes of the situation, but is in fact texting someone he knows will help. "Yes, she's a mutant, that much is certain, I have a second car coming on the way along with fire and medical, should be hear any moment, I however am going to be taking her to sentinel services, and I believe due to her dangerous nature, I will be going as soon as possible." Detective Black explains before he returns to his car and climbs into the driver seat. He keeps a stoic face, turning the car on and pulling away as calm and professional as can be until he's out of sight of the house and he releases a great sigh of relief.

White Phoenix has posed:
Sitting in the car, Hope doesn't make a sound as she huddles there in a seat that is far too big for her. The necessities of the situation dictate haste, forcing the officer's hand. There are questions being asked by the couple but they don't mind that he is going to be taking the child away. In fact, they look relieved. As he leaves, they embrace one another that their nightmare is now over.

As the car moves smoothly down the roadway, Hope looks down at her hands. There is a bandaid on her index finger of the left hand. She picks at it absently then pulls it off as she realizes it isn't throbbing like it was earlier in the day. "My boo boo is gone! Look!" She holds up her finger which is completely healed toward his face for his inspection. "And Daddy didn't have to kiss it," she says, a little surprised that it could ever recover without that sort of magic.

Suddenly she lifts her head, looking toward the dashboard. "The man says to stop fifty feet ahead." Her brow furrows again and she touches her forehead. "He's talking in here."

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent's eyebrows furrow as he looks at her finger briefly before looking back at the road ahead and then quickly gets on the brakes. Fifty feet is not a lot of distance. Looking out from behind the glass, the one time long past X-man scans the area and pulls the car over into one of the back alleys of the neighborhood and turns off the car. She's an odd girl he thinks to himself, getting an odd sort of familiarity from her, but she's so different too.

    "Did he say who he is?" Vincent asks Hope, his mind already moving past her quick healing finger, might have helped if he knew how badly the cut was or how long ago she got it, but that's tertiary at best.

White Phoenix has posed:
"He didn't say. I'll ask!" And Hope's brow furrows up as she thinks really hard toward the voice. Her mind opens again and all those voices come screaming into her head. She slaps her hands over her ears as she tries to make it stop and just as quickly, it's gone. The shields are back around her mind. But she had touched that other mind ever so briefly. Now it reaches to her instead, answering her mental question. "He says he's Cable. He sensed me. When the house..." She doesn't finish the sentence. Turning those green eyes to Vincent, she is smiling suddenly, the first time she has done that. "He says he wants to help too! Like you."

She turns to the dash again and tries to lean forward despite the seatbelt, pointing her finger to the windshield which she can't really see out of. "There."

Out of the shadows of a dumpster steps a large man with a silver metallic arm. He meets Vincent's gaze through the windshield and gives a slow nod in greeting.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent seems to relax just a litle bit at the mention of the time traveller's name. "Oh, he is a good guy. Crazy but good." Vincent says, as he pulls the car in next to the dumpster and putting it in park. "I need you to be my protector this time okay. Honk the horn, right here." He says pointing at the wheel. "If anything scary shows up." Vincent says, patting the girl's shoulder through his jacket again as he climbs out of the car and shuts the door with a heavy thunk.

White Phoenix has posed:
Year 2071 - The Mutant Wars
Location: Salem Center

The world is dark, even in the early afternoon. The sky is filled with smog casting the land below into a shadows. There is a heaviness to the air, tension rife even though there are no visible threats.

The urban setting looks like a war zone. Buildings have been damaged from some sort of energy blasts or explosions. Burnt out husks of cars line the streets. One is still smoking, adding to the stench of destruction and burnt ozone hanging in the air.

Inside a shattered storefront, the ten year old Hope crouches behind the display counter as she waits for the all clear. She's learned not to come out until he is sure that the sentinels are gone, giving them a moment of respite in this life they lead. Despite her age, she is older than her appearance belies due to the life expereienes in this world of violence. But not fear. Not anymore for her. When she was younger, she was terrified but her fathers have seen to her safety and she has full trust in them with all things. Cable had gone on ahead for some recon, leaving her with Vincent. She keeps in touch with him mentally, having learned to control the telepathy she would borrow from him long ago. Across her lap is a pulse rifle, gripped tightly so she can jump up and fire at any moment if she needs to.

Vincent Black has posed:
Vincent's hair has grown long in their time in the war, but it's recently been cut using his own blades making sure it's not long enough to get caught in anything and kept out of his eyes. The man has his back pressed up against one of the concrete pillars that was used to hold the glass doors and windows, but that's long been blown out and is now underfoot as small shards or just melted away into dust.

    Vincent has his back against the pillar and a small hand blaster clutched loosely in his fist. His eyes aren't focused as he's seemingly doing some mental math with several dates flowing through his head rapidly. The time line is right for the major battles, and skirmishes so far, but something is still off. This is NOT the war he was used to, but it's close enough.

    "CONTACT!" Vincent barks as he leans back in from around the corner and sprints back towards the counter, his arm leveled behimself as he runs back towards Hope, waiting for their foe to round the corner as he's fleeing.

    "Cover fire!" Vincent calls out as he's running back and around the corner appears a large formerly purple machine that's been charred black from battle and adorned with markings either from it's kind or mutants, it's hard to tell as their's almost trophies on the thing from it's many battles. It comes rushing into the building, breaking more class and causing the whole structure to rumble with it's anger and need to erradicate.

White Phoenix has posed:
Hope pops ups from behind the counter, leveling the rifle she holds at the Sentinel and opening up with everything she's got. Blast after blast of energy pelts the thing, hitting it like physical blows with each strike as it is pushed back a step at a time. The amalgam of materials that make up its form begin to dent with each sledgehammer strike of energy over it's battle scarred form. The young girl's face is a study of concentration as she focuses her all on the target. She knows if they can punch through that material, they will be able to reach the inner workings and shut the thing down.

It's easier to use weapons than powers in that the machines were designed to adapt to attacks. While they could adapt to the weapons fire, they did sometimes have a flaw that allowed for the old-fashioned way to be more effective than a mutant ability that they flagged and compenstated for immediately. The programmers simply felt that big guns weren't as much of a threat.

They'd ovbiously not met her Fathers.

Vincent Black has posed:
    As soon as Hope starts firing, Vincent's feet slide out from under him and hits the litered deck with his hip and fires a few extra rounds into the large filthy machine. His momentum is stopped as his feet crumple against the counter and coils up like springs. His right hand tosses the pistol up over the counter in Hope's direction before the blade spins out of his forearm, spilling his blood as the blade rests in his fist and he rushes in towards the Sentinel.

    There's nothing wrong with the oldest of ways. Bones, sticks, rocks, claws, these things don't really ever fall out of favor. Long range weapons are not all that old in the grand scheme of things. Vincent with his sharpened bone blade drawn closes the distance towards the machine, his eyes centered on a small hole in the chest punched moments earlier by Hope's well placed shots. "Keep it coming Hope!"

White Phoenix has posed:
Catching the pistol as it comes her way, she settles in with the rifle held low against her hip. It allows her to support and balance it so she can continue firing even without her second hand. Her shots aren't quite as accurate but considering she is one to rarely miss, it just means she is hitting the target in a one foot span with her blasts as opposed to hitting the same spot over and over. She brings up the pistol in her other hand, lining up the sites and leveling it at that spot where she's been concentrating fire. It has force but it is also a tighter blast, allowing for more focus on the damaged spot.

"Call it!" she yells back, knowing he will go for that spot and she needs to change her firing fccus higher to allow him room to maneuver so he isn't hit by friendly fire. It's a well practiced dance between them, something they've done many times with great succss.

Vincent Black has posed:
    "One on the shoulder joint! I don't want to get hit in the back." Vincent shouts back surprisingly clear giving his rapid movement towards the deadly foe designed to take him and his kind out of this world. The mutant's blade drips with his own blood as his wounds heal rapidly and he jumps up into the thing. Vincent's left hand catches the collar and holds him at the chest level while his right fist cocks back and stabs his whole blade and fist into the hole Hope opened up rather well. His blade doesn't stab through the metal cleanly, but it does find a circuit board and several important wires. "THE HEAD HOPE!" Vincent screams as he starts to twitch, having shorted part of it via closing the circuit with his blade, Vincent begins to twitch, unable to pull his hand and blade out.

White Phoenix has posed:
She hates this part.

Not killing the machine. That she enjoys. More than she probably should. Hope has seen what the things do to her kind first hand too many times and it has honed a level of hatred that is frightening to behold. Especially in someone so young. Of course, she grew up pretty much that day her powers manifested in the explosion. Sure, there have been times where she was able to be a kid but mostly she was already wiser beyond her years due to that.

She hates when her father is getting hurt and there isn't a damn thing she can do. He has to stay there close, so the thing can't start repairing itself. He doesn't always hit an electrical circuit but it happens enough that she always fears his powers won't be able to compensate.

There isn't a moment of hesitation. She focuses fire on the face of the machine, screaming out loudly as she does so to let that rage flow as she cries out in defiance of her fear. Blast after blast hits the thing, pounding it as the machine starts to stagger and tilt, having met it's match in this pair.

Vincent Black has posed:
    The eyes flicker twice before shutting off fully and suddenly, no longer twitching, Vincent pushes off with his feet and not being an acrobat, he lands with a heavy thud on the ground. His back catching his fall perfectly and he groans heavily, though his voice and crash are drowned out by the heavy clattering of metal landing on the pavement of the broken sidewalk and the marbled floors of the department story entry way.

    Vincent's eyes are closed and he's breathing is labored, his bone blade is burnt, the bone and part of his arm are smoking and smelling of that horrid burnt flesh, at least it's not the gross ozone scent from the sentinels victory. The self healer is down, and not moving very much but he is breathing and trying to crawl deeper into the store, back towards the counter on his back, but he's still writhing in pain.

White Phoenix has posed:
As soon as the mutant killing machine goes down, Hope is vaulting over that counter. She rushes to Vincent's side, dropping to her knees beside him and looking at the damage. He'll heal. He has to heal. She mentally is trying to urge the process faster, which does nothing at all. Wishing doesn't make things happen. Only doing something will. She learned that from them, the two men who had put their own lives into jeopardy to help protect a little girl with a frightening ability.

"Daddy?" she says softly as she lays both the guns down, putting a hand on his uninjured arm. "Let me help." She quickly gets behind him, hooking her hands under his arms. She should use the telekinesis that she has copied right now from Cable. But she might need it if another Sentinel shows up. It also would be a flare of power that might draw one patrolling to them. So instead she works with Vincent, tugging as much as she can to help get him under cover. Then she runs back to grab the two weapons she left behind, scurrying back to his side and crouching down out of sight from the road.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent pushes with his feet while Hope pulls at his arms. The way older man grunting and sighing as hes helped behind the cover and rolls onto his left side. He was about to say something to Hope when she scurries off on her own without a word from the cop and he smirks but then frowns just as much. She's becoming better at this, and that's incredibly helpful and incredibly worrying at the same time.

    Vincent's hand isn't smoking any more by the time Hopes back behind the counter and Vincent's pushed himself so his back is against the counter and his legs are extended out long before him.

    "Hope, you're my hero." The man says, her having long since learning about his personal distaste for the costumed heroes, but that's something he doesn't want to push onto her. "You're the best girl."

White Phoenix has posed:
In an instant, Hope's just a kid again as she gives him a goofy little smile. "Daaaad," she drags out the word, protesting his compliment of her. She isn't sure if it is because she remembered to retrieve the weapons, that she helped to get him to the spot of safety (relatively speaking) or her shooting the machine. With him, it's probably all three. She lays his blaster down by his side near the good hand. It'll take a little bit before the other one recovers enough to hold it.

The girl sprawls down next to him, assuming the same posture with her legs out in front of her and her back against the counter. She lays her rifle over her lap and rests her hands lightly atop it. "That one had taken out a lot of us. I'm glad it's dead." Not that it was alive. She looks at him sidelong. "You sure you're okay?"

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent pats the gun and with a practiced hand he lifts it, spins it against his palm so that it's oriented the right way and reaching across his lap to holster the gun. Vincent then lifts his right hand with the partially charred blade still exposed he give Hope a shakey thumbs up. "Nothing's broken, just burnt a bit and ... this is gonna get gross." He says before reaching over as she sits and picks the black burnt chunks of skin off his knuckles so the healing can begin. "Okay... c'mon." He says, using his left hand to hook two fingers into the blade and tugs on it to start the motion of spining to rest back in his forearm, a very small ammount of blood spilling again.

    "I'm great, it's going to take more than that stupid robot to take your dad down." Vincent says, using his left hand again to wrap around her shoulder and hold her close to his ribs. Then he takes the opportunity to have another moment of reinforcement. "Okay, Hero-Hope, what's our next move?"

White Phoenix has posed:
Hope leans over comfortably, restig her head against his shoulder as he tucks her in next to his ribs. "I always worry that this time it might be too much, y'know?' she says as she looks to his face above her, confessing her secret. With the start of her life and the death of her genetic father, she has been more aware of mortality. Particularly the mortality of her fathers. She is terrified of losing them and it colors her entire life.

He has her focusing back. "We strip the Sentinel. See if there is anything that didn't self destruct as it was shutting down, to see if we can use it. Someday we'll get lucky," she says with a crooked little smirk. "Move it out of sight. Although we aren't going to be here that long so that might not matter," she realizes as her brow furrows. She looks down at the rifle on her lap and considers. "Move from this location to another and await Papa's signal." The names are interchangeable. Either of them can be Papa, Dad, or Daddy. She just has learned to differentiate that way to for ease of communication.

Vincent Black has posed:
    "Good girl. Give me three... make that five minutes and we'll do a field strip. Then get a move on to somewhere safer and with better cover." The warrior says with a glance down to his hand and he picks off the last piece of black skin from his hand and winces at the pain. His arm has zipped up rapidly and says a silent thank you for not having Hope using her blade. That's always bothered him because he knows the pain of it so well.

    With his hand against her side, he smiles at the growing girl, his scruffy beard then used to brush at her forehead and messes up her hair. "Your hair is getting long again." Vincent says idly getting to know his 'daughter' as they lay in one of the few moments of calm and quiet while the shooting has ceased.

White Phoenix has posed:
Five minutes is an eternity for him to be healing. It was bad this time. Worse than usual. But he is healing. That's what matters. Hope giggles as she feels that beard scruffing at her head, a motion he has done often. She's never admitted it but that's her special kiss on the forehead from this father. At least, that's how she thinks of it. It's something special between them.

She reaches up her hand to muss at her hair which is loose around her face. She catches an end and pulls it forward, realizing it is probably down past her shoulders again. "We need to cut it again. I don't want it getting in the way." Or becoming a handle for a Sentinel to grab in a fight. She is rarely in close with the killing machines but it has happened a few times. It always upsets the men who raised her when that happens. She often wonders if she is more afraid of losing them, or they are more afraid of losing her. "Once we get back to the safehouse, will you cut it for me?"

Vincent Black has posed:
    "Sure. Actually, you're old enough to do it yourself, if you want." The detective says and gives her a soft hug and takes in a couple of deep breathes, preparing himself to move out. "Okay, babyhero, lets move." Vincent says, pulling his arm away from the young girl and helping her up with his left hand before he holds his hand up expecting her to help him up. It's more for show but every pit helps the two century old man.

White Phoenix has posed:
Hope jumps up to her feet, holding the rifle in her right hand. She clasps her right hand into his left, thumb hooked around his own as she tugs with all her might. Not that Hope really does much but it makes her feel like she is as he comes to his feet. "I like it when you do it," she admits. "If that's okay?" The question is asked with a moment of little girl hoping that her father doesn't mind the request. With children in a normal world, that tone would come with a request for a toy or ice cream. For Hope, him cutting her hair is just as much a gift as those sorts of things would have been.

Then the little girl is gone as she hefts her rifle, glancing to the front of the store and focusing back into survival mode.

Vincent Black has posed:
    "Of course, lets get home first." Vincent says with a pat on her shoulder, it starts off as that loving comforting touch, but then he pats again and it was a signal for her to hold her position as he's going to move out towards the sentinel's body and starts working on the chest piece, undoing it with a leatherman he's folded to use as a screwdriver.

    Tossing the metal shield piece behind him, thinking either of them could use it for armor, but they should all be good on that by now. "Anything you think we can use?" Vincent asks as he slowly lowers his hands down towards one of the many motherboards in the machine and examines it. It's got bullet wounds and a large dumb stab wound through the heavy plastics and yet Vincent's still looking, waiting. "I need your tiny hands Hero. The CPU and ram on this board both look decently intact." The detective reports, steping forward and over the robot and keeping his eye out and scanning the streets further for any signs of anything else.

White Phoenix has posed:
As he salvages, Hope's eyes are on the exterior. She never looks at what he is doing, staying vigilant since they never know when they are going to be interrupted. The damned machines -- she thought a bad word! -- loved to sneak up on them. "Maybe some extra wiring. I think the were starting to run a little low." They being the others in the resistance that they work with quite often. As he calls her over, she does look his way and walks that direction as they switch plaes.

She plucks the pertinent pieces off the motherboard and tucks them into a pouch at her waist. Reaching into the chest cavity, she tugs out quite a bit of wiring, going for the longer pieces. They are rolled up into a tight coil and also disappear into a pocket. Her hand disappears within as she considers the other bits and pieces. Finally she unplubs the tiny black box that records everything that the machine has done. While it is deperessing to watch, if they can access the informatin they my learn more about the enemy. Between the images of it killing their kind. She's glad others have to review those.

Finally she stands and moves to join him. "I think that's about it."

Vincent Black has posed:
    "Good work. We've got two blocks and a lot of stairs to climb." Vincent says, giving the girl a quick sit rep and with his right hand he draws his pistol and moves out to the street, pressing against the nearest car. Vin then motions towards her to catch up and join him. "We better get a move on, sun's setting soon." The cop whispers and stands up checking on the sight lines and possible routes, making sure they clear and with a quick silent hand motion, Vincent starts to move, expecting Hope to not only keep up, but be his shadow, she has to be close and tight. Their lives depend upon it.

White Phoenix has posed:
Year: 2082
Location: Sentinel Manufacturing Facility

This assault had been planned down to the smallest detail. It coordinated several strike teams from the resistance in a coordinated attack on the Sentinel Manufacturing Facility. They were going to destroy the place that built the machines. Already the combat was in full swing as mutants and humans battled. Sentinels were in the fray but they were limited due to the quick access gained to the building by the mutants. The hallways were filled with bodies fighting for supremacy. A few smaller model sentinels were on the way in, to help sway the tide against the mutants.

They weren't going to let that happen.

Hope's on the team with her father, Vincent. Cable was on the opposite side of the facility. The plan -- Get Hope inside near the Master Sentinel who created the rest. It was not built with all the failsafes and defensive measures the working models were. It simply sat and created more and more of the mutant hunting machines, spitting them out like an assembly line of death. She had been exposed to every mutant in their group, giving her an immense amount of power. She didn't use any of it. Not yet. Instead, she used her gun for as long as she could until things got dirty then it was hand to hand with melee weapons.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Over the din of the atmosphere rushing past the cabin Vincent is having to shout to be heard, even with the built in coms units in their helmets, so Vincent reaches up to tap onto Hope's helmet and he simply nods to her. The woman is roughly as tall as him and he suddenly gets a rise in his chest at how, prepared, ready, capably the woman he's raised is. Vince motions with her finger for her to turn around and doublechecks her Proto Glide Wing suit. After a few moments he slaps her shoulder twice, indicating she's good and he turns around for her to do the same for his.

    Vincent steps to the back of the cargo hold and slams his fist against the door controls and the back door opens with a heavy loud whine, the day light spilling in and the earth so far below them.

    "I hate this part." Vincent says before he steps and his foot finds nothing but atmosphere and he drops like a rock to the sentinel base thousands of feet below.

White Phoenix has posed:
    That earns a bright laugh from the young woman. Nineteen now physically but her green eyes so much older than that with all they have seen in this life. She wouldn't trade it for the world. Her father has given ehr skills and a purpose. She has learned so much from them both. She is a leader in her own right when needed but for this assault, others are taking the brunt of the violence down below. It was agreed that she would be teamed with Vincent, the two so used to working together that they were a well oiled machine.

"Don't be such a baby," is her comment as she watches him step out the back of the plane and disappear. She follows immediately, running the few steps and leaping out into freefall. She sees him below and folds her arms tight against her sides, shooting at high speed as she closes the distance between them. Then she shoots past and he might hear that brief bubble af laughter as she goes by.

They are likely on their way to their deaths and she's laughing at the joy of flight. It shouldn't surprise him. She continues her plummet toward the ground, glancing back to see if heis going to try and keep up. Try.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Falling through the atmosphere is beyond intense, it's noisy. VERY noisy. Vincent's hands are held into tight fists, the thick armored gloves pressed against his thighs as he controls his speed and trajectory via subtle movements with his chest and legs. The helmet rattles against his skull as he wooshes through the air towards the base that's quickly approaching.

    Then with the gusto she's come to show when she's doing something she knows she's great at, Hope catches up to Vincent and overtakes him in their plumet. Vincent speaks into the microphone at his lips "Hope, glider open at 250 meters!" He repeats, knowing she knows the procedure by heart and is more than capable, but, even knocking on the door of her twentieth birthday, she's still his little girl.

    Vincent presses a button combonation with sensors in his glove and at the scheduled height, the cop's hard light glider chute deploys and the glowing blue matrixies catching the air and micro thrusters on the backpack fire and nearly halt the decent just in time for his boots to catch the roof. With a quick swallow of his fear, Vincent draws forth his assault riffle and a flick of his wrist across the weapon, a light display turns on forming the reticle and just as quickly Vincent turns it off. "Okay, hand signs from now on." He again reenforces to his daughter who'd been waiting for his decent.

White Phoenix has posed:
The reminder was unnecessary but even that brought a smile to her face. It was so very much Dad. Every single time.

When he lands, she is already there crouched with her rifle in hand. It should be sufficient but just in case, she has her extendable staff holstered in her boot as well as a few blades and lower powered guns. She was nothing if not prepared. Powers that she had borrowed were not to be touched until absolutely necessary. They were the surprise for the sentinels. It had taken them quite some time to rescue or find mutants who had certain powers which the sentinels had not yet encountered. Then it was even harder keeping them safe from the hunters. Yet they had managed. Tonight, it would culminate if they could just get her to that point inside.

Even this high up there are sounds of fighting down below on ground level. She glances to her father and gives a nod as she removes her helmet and sets it to the side. The comm unit is still in place in her ear canal, the microphone a tiny disk attacked to her throat. It will allow them to hear what is happening with the other teams although the pair of them are ghosts for this operation.

She keeps her body low as she heads for the doorway down into the interior, glancing to be sure he is with her. A small device is attached to the door. A red light comes on. Moments later, it changes to green. She quickly opens the door and swings her rifle toward the interior. All clear with a long staircase leading down.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent stacks up on the other side of the door, his brown-grey eyes looking over Hope's shoulder as she's working on entering the door. Keeping an eye out and making sure the redhead makes it through this fight as it might be the last one in this god forsaken war, and then maybe she can finally be a normal woman. Or that's how Vincent hopes it will go this time. He never reveals to anyone that he already knows how most of the battles will go, but this time, this time is different. They have Hope. Literally.

    It's her op, she's the one that wanted to take point, at her dad's reluctance, she convinced him that she's earned it and needs to run something to get a hold of being a leader. Plus it's him she's leading, the guy who can't really ever get hurt. Or for very long.

    The door opens and Vincent waits a tick for her to move in first and moving backwards with his rifle aimed on the doorway they came in, making sure their asses are covered.

White Phoenix has posed:
If the troops below are doing their job, this should be bad but not horrific. That's the way to look for that silver lining in a situation like this. They have to make it down the staircase to the access tunnel five levels down. That tunnel will probably be guarded which is where their fighting will commence. Down that tunnel to door 312. Through that door is a control room and that control room leads to the main floor where the Master Sentinel is kept.

Then Hope is to unleash hell.

The stairwell remains clear until they reach one floor above the one they need. A doorway opens as a handful of human troops come charging through, intent on heading upstairs to find out about the security breach they were alerted on. They come out on the landing just above Hope and Vincent, between them and their exit route. They have a split second before they will be spoted. Hope brings her rifle around and opens fire.

Vincent Black has posed:
    She's a warrior, while not a born killer, she is a killer raised. This is one of those times where she opens fire and Vincent lets out a sigh of worry. Worry at the girl who never had a childhood, fear that she's better at this than he can be, worried that she is a more broken person than he ever was. But the sound of gunfire drowns it out, and he spins around, bringing his rifle up between Hope and the wall and starts to squeeze off round after round, keeping his weapon in semi-automatic fire to make sure every bullet is used to it's maximun efficiency. They only have so many magazines and equipment with them, and he'd rather not run out in front stabbing everyone. Not if he doesn't have to.

White Phoenix has posed:
The humans never have a chance. They have body armor but it does no good when the shots hit the head. All of them are down before they can turn around fully and return fire.

Hope quickly moves back up the stairs, stripping the bodies of weapons and ammo. She tosses a couple of the guns to Vincent on the fly then she is heading downstairs. All business, her expression grim, a warrior raised by two fathers who are masters at battle. She has learned her lessons well. There isn't even a momentary thought for the bodies left behind. Those thoughts come later, after a mission is completed. Her father worries she has lost her humanity in her mutancy and, at times, she has wondered herself. Yet, she know she hasn't or she wouldn't have the nightmares about the people she has killed. There is no rsmorse for machines at least.

As they reach their level, she flattens herself against the wall and adjusts a setting on her rifle. Now it is in energy mode, that sledehammer effect that comes in handy when dealing with sentinels. If they are going to encounter them, it will be in this corrider.

She's sure their luck won't hold out that the machines are too busy elsewhere. The space is limited so it will be the smaller models that can work indoors instead of the giants that patrol the exterior.

She looks to Vincent and counts down on her fingers. Three...two...one...

Vincent Black has posed:
    Breach.

    Vincent steps to Hope's side, his rifle primed and converted over to the energy systems built into it, ready for combat with the deadly robots they might come across. Turning on his heel mid stride, Vincent keeps his gun raised and aimed behind them, just to make sure no surprises shoot them in the back.

    The clicking, clomping sound of steel pins and metal alloy compounds of machince approaching when several pairs of red lights shine on in front of Hope. YOU WILL BE CATALOGUED AND THEN ELIMINATED crackles out of several speakers and artificial voice boxes.

White Phoenix has posed:
They are barely in the hallway when those voices fill the area, echoing off the walls. The red lights are bright in the low illumination of the corrider, most of the lights spaced far apart and hanging high above due to the shape of the space.

As soon as she hears the voices, Hope opens fire. This particular BFG has been given a recent ungrade. As she fires off the energy bolts while backing away toward that door they just entered, she hitss a button and a grenade disk is fired. It attaches to the front of one sentinel then explodes moments later, ripping open the outer armor and leaving a jagged opening to the interior workings.

They need to get back into the stairwell or they are sitting ducks so she keeps working that way as she focuses her shots on that broken armor. A moment later, she hits something vital as sparks explode from the chestplate and the red eyes go out before the machine topples face first to the floor.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent had turned towards the sentinels, but Hope's got it under control, and they have to back up to some form of cover, so Vincent turns back around and starts moving towards the door in a hurry so that he can flush his back against the door frame. Once he's set, Vincent levels his rifle down the hall and aims inches below the middle of a pair of eyes just as the explosion rocks the hall.

    "Covering fire!" Vincent shouts for Hope's benefit and with a flick of his thumb, the gun is set to full auto and a with a squeeze of his finger, the gun begins to bark back at the monsters in the hall. The blue flashes of light from the muzzle flash down the hall like a ominous strobe light, this place is the end for several humans, and mutants and machines alike, but Vincent will be damned if it's his or especially Hope's.

    Once the redhead is behind the door frame Vincent asks, "Plan B?" curious what her choice in the situation and heat of the moment will be.

White Phoenix has posed:
"Plan B." Hope agrees as she reaches cover, putting her back to the wall beside the door. A few blasts come from the Sentinels but the walls are strong enough to withstand them. A few bolts come through the door but the pair of mutants are safely out of that line of fire. She swings her rifle around and crosses over to the same side Vincent is on, flatting back bsside him. "I had hoped we wouldn't have to do this but..."

She reaches out with a touch of telekinesis. The screws holding the cover over the air conditioning shaft fall to the floor of the landing they are on. The metal grate drops noisily to the floor as well, leaving the hole in the wall gaping wide open.

Her power swells as she taps into one of the powers that has not yet been revealed to the Sentinels. She clasps her father's hand in hers and wills them to disappear. A moment later and they are invisible as well as intangible. "Cease fire," she tells him in a whisper of voice. They both now have to wait, being silent and letting things play out.

The shots from the enemy continue until they realize that there are no shots coming back their way. Then there the sound of machines and humans approaching. The sentinels come through first then stop so the humans can join them. Everyone looks to that open shaft. "They're in the air shafts!" And suddenly they are running, going to make sure that the air ducts to vital areas are protected. Two humans go into the shaft to follow the pair.

In about three minutes, they are alone again.

Vincent Black has posed:
    With his advanced healing, Vincent even holds his breath during the whole exchange of ideas and weapons as the sentinels and humans go each their own away and he's started to blink rapidly, making sure he maintains his cover thanks to the awesome powers of his daughter. He taps her shoulder once, or where he thinks her shoulder is. Even though they're both intangible, the gesture is likely not even felt it's a waste of movement, so he speaks with a very hungry voice as quietly as he can. "Impressive plan B. What's the next part?"

White Phoenix has posed:
They fade back into existence as Hope lets the power turn back off. "We head down the corridor as planned. They'll be more worried about the ventilation shafts now." She didn't want to use the power. As they get closer, every little bit she has may be needed and she had hoped to reserve it. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. The power is still there, it's just there is a bit less than there had been. The well isn't infinite, after all.

She peeks out the door to find the hallway completely empty. Quickly she is running in the direction of the control room they need to access next. From there, one more door and they'll be in the room with the Master Sentinel. Her rifle is held ready in her hands, in case they get an unwelcome surprise as they go. Hopefully, they can make it to that next doorway without another incident.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent is hot on Hope's heals, or he would be if he wasn't being as absolutely smart about this, covering their back, making sure no one sneaks up on them. Because he can at least be in the way of several bullets and kind of clog the way in, protecting Hope. She is the lynchpin of all this. Not him.

    He knows exactly what her using that power meant, and he doesn't say a thing about it, that's why she had it was to keep herself alive, and she's doing a wonderful job of it. So they march on towards the next door, though Vince will be backing up just in time for her to be getting the thing open. Or so he hopes, having the timing of her device run through his head so many times he could probably time it in his sleep.

White Phoenix has posed:
As they reach that door, Hope looks over at Vincent then counts down with her fingers again. Three...two...one....

She yanks open the door and flings her hand toward the interior before slamming the door shut again. There is the sound of mayhem inside for all of three seconds as the people within call for support even as they are starting to fire at the door. Hope ducks further away from the door, knowing that Vincent will do the same. At the three second point, the grenade disks she threw into the room detonate. The door explodes outward, landing in the corridor.

There are no shouts from within. No weapon fire. Some sparks from destroyed equipment and broken electrical lines. A few pieces of something falling with a thud. Hope peeks around the corner into the room and finds that no one is standing there. Cautiously, Hope enters the room. There are bodies on the floor, some buried partway in debris, some in the open. The room was a series of control panels in three rows, before the detonation. There is a large reinforced glass wall on the opposite side, allowing a view of the huge manufacturing area down below. At the far end is the Master Sentinel, smaller versions of itself being ejected from its chestplate to go down a conveyor and be placed in rows. They are currently inactive. It is business as usual below for the moment.

Hope moves through the room, eyes on the Master Sentinel as she heads for the door leading into that area.

She doesn't see the human laying on the floor, raising a bloody hand still wrapped around it's gun and preparing to shoot her in the back.

Vincent Black has posed:
    The hand doesn't lift any further before a heavy brown boot crushes the woman's wrist. The grey eyes of Vincent look down from Hope's back towards the figure that was holding the gun, and with a snarl of his lips, Vincent's boot twists against the woman's skin, muscles, sinew and bone. Words are not something this creature diserves. Bullets would be too swift, a knife would be too clean.

    That's his daughter she was going to hurt. Vincent lowers his rifle, still held in his right hand, the muzzle dangerously close to the woman, but Vincent's free hand draws out a knife from beneath his dark tan scarf/poncho. He turns and drops down to shove the blade into her temple before pulling it out and wiping the blood off with her sleeve and he resheathes it before stepping up to Hope, refusing to speak any words.

White Phoenix has posed:
The sound of bones breaking under his foot has Hope whirling around, eyes wide as she sees that gun drop the floor from the woman's hand. A mistake. So close. If not for Vincent, their mission would've failed right there. If the woman hit something vital, Hope would need time for the regenerative powers she copied from her Father to repair her body enough to go on. By them, reinforcements would've made it to this room. She watches as he finishes the woman off, waiting for him to join her.

There are no words said. They aren't needed. She gives him a grateful smile then quickly steps up to hug him, squeezing him tight. It's only for an instant but considering they are about to enter a room filled with Sentinels as well as the Master machine itself, she needs to communicate her love for him and that's the only way she can really let him know.

Then she is stepping back, steeling her expression and giving him a nod. Hope reaches deep into herself and starts tapping into those powers. There is a rumble through the building as though the foundation itself has shifted. A few cracke run up some walls and that is the signal to the other mutants. Get out while they can.

She grasps the door handle and opens it, allowing them to walk out onto the metallic staircase that leads to the floor below. The eyes of the fifty machines lined up in rows suddenly flare red, the machines coming online and turning to face the woman who just entered the room.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent wraps one arm around Hope and takes in a deep breath through his nose, steeling himself while making sure Hope knows she's the only thing important in his life. Everything else before was just practice she's his only concern. He pulls his arm away after that instant and fills the hand again with the brunt of his rifle with a single sharp nod. It's go time.

    Vincent pulls out a handful of grenade disks and they are tossed out immediately with a special treat he had been saving from Hope even. Though her telepathy might easily tell her that he's snuck something extra into this fight. As the grenade disks sail down through the air, scattering like the most dangerous set of dinnerware ever, Vincent pulls a canister from under his poncho and smirks as he lowers his rifle, letting the weapon dangle by the strap so he can twist both ends of the canister. "An experimental EMP." He warns to hope, meaning the energy modes of their weapons wont work but neither will most of the sentinel's functions.

    Vincent hefts the bomb and tosses it out towards the middle of the room with a great grunt!

White Phoenix has posed:
Just as the Sentinels start to turn and move toward them, those disks go off with a series of explosion. Several machines take the brunt, putting them out of commission as they fall to the floor. Others stagger or fall from the force of the explosions but are still functioning. Others are still standing, raising hands and firing beams at the two mutants on the walkway.

The bolts pelt off of the air about five feet from Hope and Vincent, her telekinetic shield flaring to life for the moment. It won't last long as the machines adapt their blasts but it doesn't have to. As Vincent throws the canister, she follows it's passage, turning her head to watch as it falls into the middle of the room.

It isn't so much a explosion as a ripple in the air, like the heat haze that rises off the desert sands. It begins a that caniser, going out in a wave in all directions. As it hits the sentinels, they simply stop moving. Outward to more of the until all the machines are still. The wave washes over the pair of mutants but there is nothing felt although they know their weapons are now usless unless on bullet mode. Bullets are useless against the armor of the sentinels and they know it.

Hope gives Vincent a huge smile as she rushes down the stairs, to get closer to the Master Sentinel. It too has stopped working. They only have momemts before the machines reboot and overcome but that is all they need.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent follows Hope down to the bottom of the stairs, though his face is less smiling and more set in stone as they have work that needs to be done still. At the bottom of the stairs however, at the base level of the facility, the two split up and Vincent gives a strong nod towards Hope, meaning he's off to take care of his half of this phase, he's done all he can for her. Her years of training, her countless hours of honing her skills, learning her body and how to use it as a weapon and her powers. It's all been leading up to this.

    Vincent however is planning something a bit more final as he enters a hallway, tight, small and fairly out of the way of the rest of the building, it's also built differently, with different materials and different methods.

    With his rifle hefted up against his shoulder, Vincent has to rely on the iron sights in the dark hall, but his left hand slowly slides out it's blade until it's perpendicular with the gun and locked into his fist. Just in case.

    He inches up onto his destination and with a quick sweep of the room, finds it's clear and he can focus on tapping away at the ancient keyboard even with his blade drawn on one hand. After a few seconds the floor begins to glow yellow, lighting the ceiling and illuminating the room and a bit of light pollution spills out into the hallway. A hallway Vincent's eyes are glued to. Come on Hope. Any second now...

White Phoenix has posed:
Hope moves to the base of the giant Master Sentinel, the great machine non functioning for the moment thatnks to the EMP pulse. It sits, chest cavity open, another sentinel halfway out of thatt opening. There is no noise in the room, nothing but her breathing. The power swells within her, begging to be released. She holds it at bay but her eyes shift, going completely red as her body begins to rise into the air. Flames ignite around her form, flaring orange and red then suddenly burning hotter as they go to a pale blue. She continues to rise up, arms extended out to her sides, feet together as she floats up to a post at head level with the Master Sentinel.

There is the faintest sound at the far end of the room. The sentinels thatt were closest to the EMP pulse begin to whir and come back to life. It's too late for them now.

The building begins to rumble again as the earth beneath thatt room she is in begins to heave and buck, fighting to be free of the foundation thatt lay upon it. Then the floor cracks, beginning to fall away as the ground beneath opens into a gaping pit. It begins to widen, threatening to devour the machine above. Some fall into before they can reboot. Others scramble backwards or take to the air.

Bolts of energy fly at Hope but they seem to be absorbed by thatt blue flame, drawn into her instead of repulsed. She takes that thatt energy, makes it her own. The earth heaves again and heat begins to fill the room. The abyss begins to fill, hot magma rising up and beginning to fill the room. The floor melts everywhere it touches, more machines beginning to be reclaimed by lifeblood of the planet.

The Master Sentinel stirs, eyes flaring back to red as it recovers for the EMP attack.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent spins his left wrist to look at the clock and then quickly rolls it back. "Hope... hurry." He says before he starts to move away from the panel to the floor light, but he can't. He knows the moment he does, the moment he goes against the plan everything will go awry.

White Phoenix has posed:
The world in that room has turned into heat and fire. Everything is now ablaze. Where the magma touches, material melts and slags into nothing. The heat rises in waves. The sentinels that are still functioning try to move closer to Hope, their blasts ineffective so they go for a physical strike. Dozens converge even as the Master Sentinel reaches up a massive hand that is far larger than any of the other sentinels, trying to strike the woman from the air.

The blue flames flare out, taking on the image of a raptor in flight as Hope taps into that final power. A spot of black appears between her and the Master Sentinel. As it's hand comes into that space, it disappears. The machine freezes, unable to move. The black spot grows and suddently the sentinels are being drawn toward it, thrusters firing as they try to resist the pull yet there is no resisting that drag.

The Black Hole opens further.

Machines and debris fly into that opening as Hope lets it continue to grow, moving it toward the Master Sentinel. It's arm disappers. Then part of the shoulder. Inexorably, it is being dragged into that nothingness.

The power is too much and Hope screams. Pain. Defiance. Agony. Anger. Everything in one moment as she lets out that power she has been absorbing from the machines. There is an explosion of blue light and the few sentinels that have not already been pulled to the black hole are suddenly gone. Destroyed in a burst of heat and light so powerful, they disintegrate.

The Master Sentinel tries to rise to it's feet but the black hole draws it up, inward...and then it's gone. The smaller machines collapse, power cutting off as the controller is destroyed. They fall into the magma below and are devoured in heat and fire.

Hope hangs there for a moment then she floats to the wall. She reaches for that intangibility and goes through it, quickly passing down the corridor. She appears a moment later beside her father on that platform.

The woman collapes, her body and mind spent after the outpouring of power.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent's hand falls off the panel as Hope shows up and he dives towards her, his arms moving to catch her as she falls, right onto the platform. "HOPE!" Vincent cries, his legs giving out as he catches her his baby girl and he drops to the yellow glowing floor.

    "Hope." The mutant says as he lifts his hand to brush a strand of hair out of her face, he looks sad at her, but his chest swells with pride, knowing that she did her duty, but he is inexorably worried about her as they are swallowed up by the floor and sent somewhere else before the room collapses and melts in the rising magma.

White Phoenix has posed:
The plan had been simple. The destruction had to be utter and complete. The other mutants had been given that warning earthquake so they knew to clear the building. Yet, there would be no escape for Hope and Vincent if not for that platform.

With it, Vincent had been able to send them back into the timestream before the building was completely razed by the magma, the black hole shutting as soon as Hope was gone from that world.

They reappeared moments later. There is a light dusting of snow on the ground and the air is cool. The sun is below the horizon haze of pink and orange is still visible at the horizon as the light fights to remain for as long as possible. They are in an alleyway. It should be familiar. It is the same one they were in when they met Cable, when he approached them with his insane idea. The child was needed in that timeline. He knew somehow and thus, they had taken her.

Now, they are returned. The car is cold so it has been some amount of time. When the figure it out, they will learn three days have passed from the moment Vincent and Hope met in the destroyed house. Three days here. Fifteen years there.

Hope stirs, eyes fluttering open as she focuses on Vincent, not having a clue where or when they are yet.

"We...we did it, Daddy." she says in a soft voice.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent's now laying on the cold ground, holding his exhausted daughter close to him and he's prepared to lose his life in this fight, but not hers. That's not something he'll abide. But the cold on his backside draws his attention and he looks over his shoulder and blinks. "What... We made it." The healer says.

    "Hope... we made it. We're okay." The man says as he takes one hand from his daughter's shoulder and puts it on the cold ground and pushes himself up, careful to pull her up as well. "Honey, we're back." Vincent explains as he ushers her towards his car. The car he picked her up with only a few short hours ago. When she could fit her entire body in his jacket. So long ago.