White Rabbit (Malcom)

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was sick of this place. Sick of the teacher, sick of the security, sick of this power, sick of the lack of control. Most people didn't know why he was so unhappy. He had telekinesis, he should be grateful, that is such a cool power. No. He hated it. It was unruly and explosive. No one seemed able to help him. And honestly he wasn't sure he wanted help. He had always stood on his own two feet. Never relying on anyone, not even his parents. Lani couldn't say he didn't like the advantages. He lay awake and glace at the clock. It was just after eleven. The curfew was past and no one would be crawling around campus save the few security guards. He could avoid those easily. He just needed to make sure he wasn't followed. That was an easy fix. He slid open the window and using his toes and fingers and balanced on the windowsill. He looked around and found no one. He didn't even feel the presence of people.

Sliding the window closed with a thought. He dug his toes into the small handholds the brick gave. He was glad he was only on the second story or he could have been in trouble. He dropped the last few feet to the ground and rolled into a bush and waited until the security guard passed. He wasn't much up for mischief tonight, he just wanted out, he wanted to do something, perhaps get information. It was getting suffocating here. He slipped around the building watching out and he slipped between the watches of the security. He turned a camera here and there keeping his path clear. It was rather smooth sailing. He slipped a hand in his pocket after a while and popped two pain pills in his mouth to sooth the ever present headache. He slipped into the main building through a classroom window and he sat for a while resting before he continued into the hallway.

He used his lock picks even though his power opened them just as well. It was actually rather refreshing to use his hands. With a careful look here and there Lani slid through the halls making no more noise than a cat. He didn't know where his destination was until he found himself at the library's doors. He heard a noise from down the hall and he quickly opened the doors with a thought and slipped inside the dark room. He had never been in here after hours. There had to be something in here that could calm his nerves. Believe it or not, after a crazy English teacher befriended him a few months ago Lani had found a little bit of comfort among these old books. He really missed that old man... he shook his head and continued on. He was glad again for his power. He could almost paint a picture in his head of the area around him.

There was the office and the desk. Then there was another door. He opened his eyes and felt for the handle. He caught the sign in the light from the moon in the window. He smiled seeing the words 'Authorized Personnel Only'. He couldn't help himself. He picked the lock and slipped inside. He took the flash light out and looked around. There were filing cabinets and books covered in dust. He walked among them his curiosity growing. He found a few books on the genetics of metas and a few more on gruesome experiments and one that looked freshly touched. He smiled at the title and picked it up. 'Famous Meta Criminals and Crimes' it was titled and he found himself slipping it into his arms with the intent of learning much from it. He flipped through it and found a whole chapter dedicated to potential dangers of powers. And another chapter full of ways a telekinetic could use their powers. He grinned. Oh he could like this book.

He put the flashlight in his mouth and read a little bit. He jumped when a far away sound came from the main part of the library. He cursed his foolishness. He had neglected to close the door all the way. He snuffed the flashlight and crouched behind a cabinet and felt around for an escape. All he could find was an air duct. There were no windows in this room that would have to do. He felt something slip out of the books pages and he peered at it in the darkness. He held it up to the light coming from the door and his blood ran cold. It was an article on one of Boston's most notorious criminals. Who just so happened to be Lani himself. There was a question mark next to the article and the word 'telekinetic?' written. He found himself panicking a little. They couldn't know it was him could they? But the article was about how they had cornered him and cars had gone flying. How many times had that happened? Did they know all about Lani? Were they just letting him believe they were ignorant. He didn't have much time to think because another noise called his attention to the door.

[Malcom Black]

Oh the night shift. Malcom had a love/hate relationship with the night shift. On the plus side, it was always quiet. He didn’t usually have much to do, he didn’t have to worry about being shot (although being set on fire was a different set of problems), and he could declare it as a reason for being anti-social during the day. On the negative side, he occasionally had to deal with calls and runaway students and being set on fire.

At least this one didn’t seem to have to do with fire. It was a quiet night. He was doing his usual rounds—this time, circling the hallways and then the library. The library wasn’t usually a place that students went to this late at night. No, there were other places to go that were much more popular—he caught a lot of students sneaking out to clubs or something along that sort. That was the more normal experience. This was definitely unusual. But not unlikely, so Malcom sighed, fetched his flashlight and kept his radio in-hand in case he needed a suppressor, and headed into the library, sighting the flashlight over his arm into the room out of old military habit . It was supposed to be so his gun was in his other hand, but and the radio felt like a poor substitute. He didn’t check it much. It was the library. So he shrugged and stepped in, looking around the room. So far everything looked okay. This wasn’t a room he spent much time in, but he looked at it enough to know if something was out of place. He was good at that part of his job. He pressed his lips together as he noticed another door—one that was ajar and said “authorized personnel only.” And then he let out a breath. Right. If the students did come in there, they had to go to the door that said do not enter. He hated his job. He paused by the door, listening for noise, but didn’t hear any, so slipped inside, flashing the flashlight around. There was a book missing, judging by the shelves. He leaned forward, frowned, then shook his head. No obvious exit, he hadn’t heard anything, and curfew wasn’t that far gone. So chances were…

“If you’re in here, you can come out now,” he called pleasantly, “And I can take you back and no one will be the wiser.” He was willing to do that for a first-time offender. And there were really worse things than sneaking into a library.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani waited in the darkness for the impending check over. He held himself still as a statue his bright eyes the only thing scanning the darkness. The only light was the light from the door and even then if was just the moonlight. He heard the footsteps and pulled his legs close to his body and ducked down making sure nothing of him was showing. It he were to come around the corner Lani might be in trouble but from the doorway no one would see him. He rolled his eyes and swallowed a sigh. He really should keep his nose out of where it shouldn't be. Lani's body stiffened as the room darkened as a figure swallowed up the doorway. Security no doubt. Geez he was really getting to know them well. One name and whoever was patrolling would have him written up for sure. Well at least he wasn't sneaking out tonight.

Lani smiled a little when the man spoke. Why did they all think he would fall for that. Nothing was ever that simple. He waited listened to the footsteps to recede and when they didn't he frowned. Well he looked at the book he had rested in his lap and a feral grin spread over his face. What better way to practice than mess with some security guard. They had certainly given him a fair amount of grief since he had gotten here. He closed his eyes and groped around the room with his invisible hands. He felt around in the room close by wondering how he should start a cacophony. Something subtle though, but just enough for him to slip out. He had examined the escape routes briefly before he came in and frowned. His best bet was the window. Now to get the guy away from the door so Lani could get to the window.

He struggled to control the power that wanted to touch everything. Move everything, push everything. He found a bookshelf and he planned to dump a few books off but when he started pushing he realized his power had latched onto the entire frame. He tried to backpedal his power but it was like a dragon out of its cage. He felt the power in the back of his mind and as he pushed he felt the whole frame sway through the shaking of the floor. He winced as pain shot though his brain. He couldn't fight it so finally he pushed it along. He heard the telltale creak of metal and wood then the muffled thumps of books falling from the shelves. He tried to pull it back hoping his power would be satisfied now. Then came the crash that split the night. Lani groaned aloud and got to his feet. He glanced out. He had better make his move now.

The book still in hand he crouched and slid so he could see the door. The security guard would have gone to check out the crash, right? He slipped the book behind him and tucked it into his pants and tucked his shirt in around it securing it. He slipped like a shadow out the door and opened the window with a thought and made a break for it. Not as he had planned but it worked, hopefully.

[Malcom Black]

Well, it had been a shot. It seemed that this wasn’t going to work after all, in spite of all of his goals. C’mon, he wasn’t so unreasonable. Why did no one listen to a word that he had to say? He was willing to bend a few rules. He’d broken a lot of them when he was in Hammel. Why wouldn’t he? They were all so strict, so he could understand where they were coming…oh, damn it. He spun as he heard the bookshelf crash, and his brows climbed. Either he was wrong about where the kid was, or…well, he was pretty good at recognizing where people were these days. And the kid would’ve already snuck out had he or she been in the main library. The fact that the distraction was necessary meant that he needed to move out of the room, and also indicated that he was dealing with another telekinetic. And wouldn’t that be fun. He hadn’t battled another telekinetic since Hammel.

He’d also lost. Malcom liked showing his powers for parlor tricks and in every-day use, but when it came to strong shows of power, he rarely did so. He could if he wanted to. That was enough for him. Seemed it wasn’t going to be the case for now. He was going to have to win this one if he wanted to keep his job and his dignity. Beaten by his students? Oh, that wouldn’t be good for him at all. He moved to look at the bookcase and winced as it fell, grimacing. This would take a while to fix. It was going to be difficult. And then he spun as he heard the window open.

Oh no he didn’t. He slipped behind a bookshelf and waited, and he watched as a young man rushed for the window. He didn’t need much of a gesture anymore for his powers. He didn’t need to do anything. He just made the window shut and stepped out, shining his flashlight on the boy.

“All right,” he said easily, “telekinetic with telekinetic. This could either be the firefight of the century, or a smart man’s bargain with us agreeing to clean up the books, me taking you back to your room, and you getting detention.”

Because a night fixing a bloody bookshelf hadn’t been on his schedule, and Malcom’s niceness only went so far. Actually, he didn’t expect the boy to agree, so he added in a far less pleasant voice, “If you don’t do that, we’re going to do this the hard way, and I don’t think you’ll like that half so much. So don’t try anything, will you? For both our sakes."

[Lani Hunter]

Lani bolted getting ready to dive at the window and trust that the ground wasn’t as hard as he feared. He skidded across the carpet when the window slid shut in front of him. He wasn’t quick enough he hit the glass with his shoulder, thankfully not his face. The glass shuttered but held and he shook his head to clear it and he looked at the window as if it weren’t a window anymore. Half of Lani’s brain wanted to shout ‘Ghost!’ but the logical part of Lani saw the shadow and knew it was the security guard. He winced and held up a hand against the harsh light attacking his eyes. He blinked and waited a few moments for his eyes to adjust. It didn’t happen as quickly as Lani would have liked and the man’s feature’s remained shadowed.

He rubbed his shoulder sullenly and stepped away from the window. He was really getting sloppy, he reflected. Not good. He needed to practice more. He snuck out several times without detection but now it seemed they were on to him. He had been tracked down more than he would like to admit. Usually he was able to get away and count on the security officers ‘good nature’ to not bother writing up the incident. He wondered absently if Taitum had ever written up their encounter. He frowned deeply at the thought. That had not been a very good night. Caught red handed was becoming more of a norm and that made Lani nervous. At least he could mostly account that to the schools insane amount of security and cops didn’t have people powered. He rather liked when his power gave him an advantage over others but he loathed it when he was overpowered.

He watched the man frozen in the beam of light like a deer in the headlights. Half in a crouch he shifted slightly bouncing on his toes so he could run in one direction or the other. Curiosity was growing in his though, if this really was another telekinetic that would be the first one he had met since he got here. He was kind of intimidated but also excited. He knew he was powerful, too powerful. But all of the raw power he possessed would mean nothing but destruction and pain if he didn’t have control. And control was something that kept eluding him. He crossed his arms and shook his head a little startled at hearing the word.

“You’re a telekinetic?” He asked his brows rising a little bit. He had expected it but to hear it was another thing entirely. Lani cocked his head a little as if contemplating his answer. Lani was an arrogant thief. Not always a good thing but he really didn’t see how he could lose. Also he was not going to detention. He had once or twice but if he could get out of it he would, one way or another. He shrugged a little smile of confidence forming on his lips. “I’m not much of a fan of detention.” He said as his answer.

A chill ran down Lani’s spine when he added that he could do this the hard way as well. He hated it when adults used that kind of talk. It made him feel like a felon, not that he wasn’t, but it usually made Lani more inclined to not obey. If there was anything Lani hated it was being forced to know that he was weaker or less clever than someone. If he could will a contest through pure stubbornness he would. If he could he would distract and run. Lani just shrugged and grinned. He braced himself for an attack and he moved one hand to his pocket and felt the small flash bombs he had for emergencies. He didn’t want to use them they were hard to make. So instead he grabbed a fallen book and sent it flapping at the security officer.

[Malcom Black]

So far, the boy didn’t seem to be inclined to listen to him. He hadn’t responded to any of his statements, hadn’t given any indication as he’d heard, and seemed to be shifting as if he was planning to run. Just in case, he extended his mental “tendrils” of a sort out to the various ways of escaping—the windows, the doors, the vents…anything. He’d close them all if he had to. He wasn’t going to let this one get away from him. Now it was personal. Telekinetic against telekinetic.

Well, training against raw power. That was actually a slightly terrifying thought. Raw power could win given the right opportunities.

“I am,” he said with a nod. “Pretty good at it, too, although you could be a sport and not take my word at that and just come quietly.” It was worth hoping. But obviously hoping wasn’t worth much, because the next statement gave him a clear indication that this kid wasn’t going to listen to him at all. Or…not immediately.

“Work detail or something like that, then,” Malcom said airily. “You can help me with all the paperwork that you’re going to make me do.” He wouldn’t have added the ‘hard way’ talk at all had Lani not exasperated him by making the bookshelf tip over. He’d have so much work to do all because of him. Frustrating as hell, but he wasn’t sure what to do about it. He’d just have to do his best. And as soon as the book headed for his face, he batted it away with his hand and focused, making the doors snap shut and clearing most things away from Lani’s area so he didn’t have anything to throw.

“Are we going to keep at this?” he asked, irritable now. “Or do I get a break?”

((I'm sorry for the shortness.>>))

[Lani Hunter]

At the same time the security guard was extending his power Lani was doing the same. He started a little when he found interference on opening the window. That was Lani's plan, distract and escape. But it seemed like this guy wasn't going to let him escape. But Lani had more tricks up his sleeves. He fingered the flash bomb and a grin grew on his face. He looked up at the guy and for a while he just stood there staring at him waiting for him to do something. He cocked his head as the man spoke again. This was too exciting. Another telekinetic, he was starting to think they didn't exist. "Then this will be fun," Lani replied and withdrew his hand from his pocket. He invited the challenge of facing another telekinetic and decided he would save his escape plan until he had had his fill of the challenge.

Lani chuckled a little and shook his head at the man. He didn't seem to understand that Lani, who didn't even do his own homework, wouldn't help willingly. He blinked as his projectile was batted aside like it was nothing. Well, that could have gone better. He glanced over as the door snapped shut and he drew a slow breath and pushed at it with his own power. He glared at the man and listened carefully as if weighing his options. He pushed the door with all of his might and the doors creaked but held. Alright, as long as this guy was holding them he would have to blast his way through them. He really didn't feel like using up all that power.

A laugh wiggled up his throat and he couldn't hold it in. "Too much for you, old man?" Lani taunted cheerfully. He didn't like the fact that he didn't have any objects in his immediate vicinity but there was a lot to grab in a library. He raised his hands. "But," he said hoping to make a deal, "I do feel bad about the book shelf. So if you can beat me I'll help you with clean up. And paperwork." He added for good measure. But if Lani could get those doors open he would take his escape and to hell with deals! He glanced around at his surroundings and sent out his own tendrils to find something to grab. "I'm sorry, I've just never fought another telekinetic, too good to pass up." He grinned.

He found a chair behind the man and lifted it turning it. His reach was farther than the man could even guess, he could feel almost the whole library. Gesturing he frowned in concentration and pulled the chair up behind the officer intending to knocking him off his feet and make a break for it. He sidled away from the window not wanting to get backed into that corner.

[Malcom Black]

((Sorry for the shortness.>>))

“I didn’t say that,” Malcom said, his eyes narrowing. Although it was probably true. There was a good thing about not being trained, and that was that you didn’t know what you were capable of. The kid here probably had a case of that. He probably thought he could go on forever. While Malcom, on the other hand, knew what he was capable of and knew that he didn’t want to push himself to that limit. “I just want you to stop so neither of us gets into trouble, all right? Isn’t that a fair explanation?”

But apparently Lani didn’t seem to think it was fair, because then he made that challenge. Malcom stared at him, frowning. Instinct said that the answer should be no way in hell. It was a library! If something got damaged it would be him who had to pay, possibly with his job if the librarian got his hands on him. Or ever found out that this happened at all. What a terrifying thought.

“Look, I don’t think that’s a good—damn it!” That was said as the chair succeeded in knocking him flat on his face. He quickly rolled to get back up to his feet, then pushed a bookshelf to stop the boy from moving too far. And once he was up on his feet and braced and extending his awareness out for any moving objects that might head rapidly toward him. Then he looked for anything rope like, like a cable or even something for the blinds. He didn’t want to tie the kid up, but if they were going to end up fighting about this, then he’d be willing to take an easy way to get out of this whole situation. And to his mind, that meant cheating. Unfortunately, everything was tied to a bunch of electronics, and he didn’t feel like trying that. So he focused on boxing him in and shifted a bunch of heavy objects in front of the doors to make sure he couldn’t escape. It wasn’t perfect, but it sure as hell was a start.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani nodded absently and a sly smile formed on his lips. He was probably being an idiot again, getting into something that he shouldn’t. He had been doing that a lot lately. Perhaps he was just acting out. He was restless and his power was restless. There hadn’t really been a trainer come through that Lani a) got along with and b) didn’t yell at Lani all the time. He at least had gotten out of the stage where he was constantly shutting down his power in attempt to control it. Lani cocked his head for a moment and a strange realization struck him. Why didn’t he stop? Something had changed in him. He was angry. He was angry all the time, save the precious moments he spent with his sister or Cassie. He wanted to get out of here. The honest answer finally came to him. He was doing this on purpose. Getting into trouble and getting caught. He wanted them to expel him. He didn’t want to be here.

If he was expelled where would they send him, he wondered. He hadn’t thought that far ahead but the reasoning made sense now that he was looking at it in the eye. He wasn’t loosing skill he could get out of this place anytime, and did several times. Lani’s emotions ran so parallel with his power that when he didn’t understand why he was doing something his power ran haywire. If he met this person under normal circumstances he probably would have treated him with respect and asked for help. Not this. This arrogant Lani. He didn’t like him. He didn’t want to be so angry all time. The only solution he had found was to let his power wreak havoc until it exhausted him.

Lani didn’t wait to hear any more arguments. His power was on the offensive. Once the chair had flown Lani knew there was no going back now. The man fell and Lani dashed to the side. The bookcase jumped in his way. He skidded and shielded his head as books fell but none of them hit him. Instead he caught them and sent them at the man. Then using his hands and he shifted the bookshelf over colliding it with another one. Whoever was the librarian was going to kill him. Books went flying everywhere and he grabbed too many. His control was lost and they launched themselves at the walls, ceiling, other books and the man at random. He dropped them knowing he wasn’t going to get anywhere that way.

His headache was starting and he growled pushing it back. He glanced over at the door as objects moved in front of them. He took a step back and felt the wall. He took a deep breath and tried to get control over his power again. He lifted the chair again and instead of just letting it fly he baited the man with it. Sending it surging one way only to back off and return. While his mind did that he pushed himself away from the wall and started sidling toward the window.

[Malcom Black]

The frustrating part of this particular brand of firefight, Malcom realized, was that the kid he was battling had one distinct and very clear advantage: he wasn’t worried about messing anything up. His goal was to cause havoc. Malcom’s goal was to save as much as possible so Eli wouldn’t have a chance to say anything sarcastic to him. Or so Vincent wouldn’t fire him. Both ideas made him shudder. He wasn’t so confident in his abilities that he thought he could lose his job and not suffer the ill effects. And he supposed he could go back to the military—perhaps be those drill sergeants everyone praised—but the thought of going back to the gunfire and drills was worse than the thought of just being fired.

But he did have an advantage. He was trained, he was rested, and (for the most part), he wasn’t panicked. So he cleared his head and just focused.

No trainer had ever said Malcom had a knack for his powers. He didn’t. He came to them late and clumsily, more likely to break a vase than to save it. But due to his gratitude for just having an ability, and his need to have one thing he was good at, Malcom had trained almost obsessively. Between that and the military training that had refined what he had, Malcom was good with telekinesis. He just didn’t share it because it was far more fun to goof off, and he’d found it better to be underestimated.

Now, however, the goal was to get this over with. The books that Lani sent flying in his direction were brushed off, and he tried to push the collapsing bookshelves away from each other, but without success. By the time they were falling, gravity had taken hold, and getting them back upright or even slowing the pace was nigh impossible. He clenched his teeth and gave up on that, advancing toward Lani and ignoring the books. A couple hit him in the arm and the leg and the side—which hurt, by the way—but the only ones he fended off this time was the ones that flew toward his face. The kid was losing control, while Malcom…well, he was going to say just getting started, but the fact was that pushing bookshelves around and blocking doors and windows wore you out. He could feel the beginnings of a migrane, but it was nothing to the ringing caused by bombs or the screaming of nine siblings. He ignored it. He lifted a hand to shield himself from the chair, but didn’t try to push it aside or wrestle it out of the kid’s mental grip. Instead, he waited, and when Lani tried to move toward the window, reached out a hand to grip the chair physically and toss it aside, while his telekinesis reached out in an attempt to push Lani himself against the wall.

Okay, so it was cheating. And the kid could push back. But he was hoping that he wouldn’t know how to concentrate his power enough to do that. Really hoping, because he’d need every bit of power the kid had to clean up this mess they’d created.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani’s power relished in the destruction and there was a little bit of pride that he was so powerful. But he was too powerful. He wondered if there was a way to permanently get rid of one’s power. He supposed if they had someone would know by now and Hammel wouldn’t be so populated. He had become so used to his power, though, controlled or not he would still feel like he was missing a limb. He had had his power suppressed once or twice, he had agreed with their decision; someone was going to get hurt due to Lani’s lack of control if they hadn’t. It still made him uneasy though. Perhaps he needed a kick in the pants again. He was going to hurt someone if he kept this up. He just couldn’t bring himself to stop. He looked across the book littered floor at his opponent. Pressed against the wall he felt the book he had hidden at his back. An idea bloomed.

He had the advantage of raw power, but it also hurt. His head was starting to throb and he itched to swallow a pill for relief. This man had the advantage of experience and control. The interesting thing was Lani’s power worked no matter how focused he was. Sure more focused he had more control but he was just as likely to launch a pencil in the air half asleep as he was when he was completely focused. Lani was impressed by the man’s control. His stubbornness kept him from stopping this and asking for help. He wouldn’t admit he needed help. He needed help in more ways than even he knew. He shifted on the balls of his feet preparing for attack and to attack.

He was doing a good job at distraction. He noticed the man trying to stop the bookcases from falling. Lani took advantage and looked around for an escape. The window was out of reach, but there was the door, to the restricted room just a few feet past the fallen bookcase. He glanced up and backed up shocked that he was coming at him physically. This worried him. He wouldn’t take him if it came to a physical struggle, Lani was fast and strong but his size put him at a disadvantage. Who would have thought being an average build would put him at a disadvantage. Lani’s skill was escape and running, not fighting. The books hit him but the man ignored them. Lani hoped the chair did the work. He looked around and while he was distracting him with the chair he reached out and moved the heavy object blocking the door of the room out of the way leaving the door open for him. All he would have inside was the darkness and the vent. It was worth a shot. When he made a break for the window the man took his bait. He struggled mentally with the window when he was shoved against the wall. He let out a little ‘oof’ as he hit the wall.

He pushed back his power swarming at the invisible force. Finding that more of a challenge it went after the man. The man slipped through his power’s fingers. One bane, he couldn’t grab anything alive. He could however grab clothing. He grabbed his shoe and shoved backward forcing him away and hopefully making him stumble. With that Lani pushed out trying desperately to figure out how to break the man’s hold. It was something he hadn’t encountered before. Finally in desperation he reached out a hand and pushed over a bookcase toward the man. With a yelp of realization he caught it before it could actually fall on him. It had already been rid of most of its books and those that were left rained around the man. Either way it would slow him down now if only he could get to that door.

[Malcom Black]

There was an advantage to have been a soldier once, and to have lacked powers for most of his life. Malcom knew how to fight physically. He’d wrestled with his older and younger brothers, most of which had powers while he didn’t. He’d gone through boot camp, kept himself in good shape, and had fought in a war. Malcom relied on his powers, sure, but he was willing and capable of backing it up with physical abilities. In fact, that was always how he’d survived before. His eyes briefly broke away from the boy as he heard the scraping and watched as the heavy object to block the door was moved. It was going to wear him out to put it back. So he thought he’d just wait to deal with it later and focus on just keeping the kid still.

But of course that didn’t quite work on a telekinetic. You could keep the body still but not the mind. Malcom could feel the kid’s power pushing against his own, but he pushed back and kept him there, pinned to the wall. He was so focused on that that he didn’t realize the student could attack him. A stupid mistake. His shoe slipped out from under him, and his focus momentarily lapsed as he fell again, catching himself with his hands and attempting to roll to his feet. It was too late. He had just gotten onto his back in time to stare as a bookshelf was going to fall on him. Malcom had faced car bombs and machine gun fire and missiles, but he’d freely admit that he was point-blank terrified by the way the shelf nearly fell on him. He stared at it, then lifted his hands to cover his eyes to shield himself from the rain of books. That snapped him back. He shoved them off and leapt to his feet. First task was pushing the object back in front of the door, and second was once again clearing things away from the kid with a long swipe. Not very wise as a use of power, but he wished he cared. He was going to be covered in bruises and this was going to be one hell of a cleanup. He wanted his over with. So he also focused on the chair, flipped it up so it was legs facing toward Lani, and pushed it toward him, hoping to trap him with it against the wall again. Probably wouldn’t work, but he had to try something.

[Lani Hunter]

Everything was going as planned, well besides being stuck to the wall. He couldn’t quite wrap his brain around how the man was trapping him. With Lani’s power he couldn’t grab people, or anything living for that matter. It was probably a good thing he couldn’t lift trees or sent people flying. He had been slowly obtaining ways around the limitation but when you ran into people that could make mental walls Lani just realized how far behind he really was. There was no way he could leave here. If it took years to obtain this control and live without hurting someone on accident. Perhaps Lani should be locked up, the thought freaked him out. Being trapped, locked away terrified him more than anything else in the world. The fear fueled his temper and his need to get away. A duel battle was raging, one with the man and one within himself. He needed to do something, get away.

He was struggling to find the metaphysical edges of the force pushing against him. He pushed against it and was pushed back. His reigned in power thirsted to be released and he knew he was in danger of bursting out. A blinding headache arched from the base of his skull to his eyes. He closed his eyes to ward against the pain and when he opened them he focused and blocked it out. He smiled in mini-triumph as the guy fell. He felt the guy’s concentration lapse and the pressure around him faded. He stopped himself from running like a coward and caught the bookshelf. He pushed it back up right where it teetered dangerously but stayed on its feet. He looked over and almost regretted his delay. The object moved back in front of the door and his area was swept clean. His power reached out, he still had a wide range but he balked from reached for it when the pain lanced through his brain. He opened his eyes and caught the chair as it tried to trap him. He stayed rigid and bouncing on the balls of his feet waiting and biding his time like a matador. He ducked and pushed the chair to the side with his power and it hit the wall next to him.

He bolted finding refuge between the scattered bookshelves. He ducked and leaned against one and took the lapse in fighting to rub his temples. He pulled his pills out of his pocket and dry swallowed four. He held his throbbing head in his hand and waited while his world came back into focus. He glanced around and after a split second decision he started to scale the bookcase. It swayed and rocked but it was still one of the easiest climbs he had ever done.

[Malcom Black]

The kid was suffering from migraines. That was fine. So was Malcom—a potent one building up right behind the eyeballs. His telekinesis had never given him much trouble, for better or for worse. He’d had some fairly spectacular episodes when he’d first been starting out, and again in the hospital while on medical leave (he and the other vets called it Limbo, especially when you were in a hospital in a foreign nation, because you couldn’t do anything and you wondered if you were going to heaven [home] or hell [the front]). But he knew how to deal with pain, knew how to keep his focus and, for the most part, his calm.

Mind, his calm was what was rapidly eroding at this moment. Didn’t this kid know how to stay still or just give in already? He wasn’t sure he could take this anymore. Time to go all out.

It didn’t matter that that was what Malcom had thought he HAD been doing. He was going to try it again anyways. Yup.

So instead of trying telekinesis, he rolled to his feet and ran after where the boy had headed, only to skid to a halt as he saw him scaling a bookshelf. It occurred to him that he should have asked for backup. He had the radio on him. But by now it was a matter of pride and he’d be damned if he wouldn’t see this through to the end. Still, what sane man was supposed to deal with a telekinetic kid who had the climbing skills of a monkey? Some things just weren’t fair. Malcom took a look around the area. He noticed that only, say, three bookshelves were standing, calculated the value of one more falling, and decided it was worth the risk. So he stood a fairy distance away and pushed, hard, on the bookshelf, sending it falling onto the opposite side of the one the kid was climbing on. The bookshelves nearby were pushed aside as well, giving Malcom a clear shot at him.

If he had anything to shoot with. This just meant that Malcom could, if he wanted, physically tackle the boy who he’d gone through so much effort for. Which, as soon as the bookshelf had fallen to the floor, he leapt forward to do. Unable to push living objects? Well, that was fine with him.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani chewed on his lip nearly drawing blood in a vain effort to draw pain away from his skull. How did this keep happening? These headaches were debilitating and his power was so tied to his emotions that when his annoyance and frustration with the headache started up his power started to act up as well. The only thing logical for him to do at this moment was run. His flight instinct had always been more active than his fight one. He fought but if things got hard or he felt he would lose he usually took the easier way out and just fled. It had helped him a myriad of times running from the law. He wasn’t sure how this was going to go since he was effectively trapped.

His hands and feet clambered over the books the tips of his shoes knocking books over and his hands sometimes sent them off to get a better hold. The swaying structure wasn’t very challenging, certainly not the hardest thing he had ever done. He could scale bricks but bricks didn’t move and try to buck him off either. He heard the footsteps and glanced down at the man. He frowned and climbed faster. It was a vain effort. He felt the impact of the other bookcase and yelped clinging to his perch as the structure swayed and tried to hold. It failed. Lani knew he had only one option. Jump or be crushed under the bookshelf. He was running out of time.

Lani looked back and with a grunt launched himself away clearing himself of the falling debris. He hit the ground on his feet and scrambled back shielding himself with his arms as the bookshelf crashed nearby. It was then Lani was able to get a clear look at the carnage around them. Bookshelves lay like fallen pillars piled over each other. Books were scattered in piles and more discerningly sometimes propped open against chairs like someone had just put them down. The shock faded and he was able to realize the magnitude of his mistake. “Shit.” He said aloud and turned to search for his opponent and get out of here.

His eyes widened and he held his arms out and bent into himself to defend his vitals. His parasitic power reacted before he did grabbing at the man but doing little besides offering resistance to keep him from completely mowing over its host. The impact still sent Lani backward knocking him off of his feet. His power was forgotten and in his panic it just picked up books here and there and launched them aimlessly around the library. He squirmed, his only thoughts on escape. He glared up at the man. “Get off me!” He was doing anything to prevent having to admit the inevitable. He had lost, not for lack of power but for lack of control and lack of common sense not to challenge his superior to a duel.