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Megan's mom dropped the girls off at the Brickyard Shopping Center and told Megan to call her when they were ready to be picked up.  Practice had been cancelled today and Lisa was with the girl's coach trying to sort out the mess with Fern, so Megan had time on her hands that she hadn't expected.

Megan made her way into the mall with Sarah after her mom had dropped them off.  She was rather disappointed about practice being cancelled, but was still rather worried about Fern.  Trying to push the thoughts from her mind she looked over at the other girl as she said.  “So, where do you want to start looking for shoes?”

"Nowhere yet.  I don't think I can manage this without some form of fortification.  Coffee or a soda... something.  Besides I'm just glad to get a chance to do something normal for a little while.  I can't even concentrate at school.  Every moment I'm half expecting to hear an explosion or a scream.  Shoe shopping is about all I can handle right now.  Or maybe not even that.  I don't know what shoe stores they have here.  My last pair of shoes came from..."  Sarah cringes in expectation of Megan's reaction, "...Target." 

OOC: Starting the commute home & operation: get kids to bed.  Maybe posting but don't hold your breath until 8:30pm EST.

“Okay then, coffee it is.”  Megan replies as she starts to steer them towards the Starbucks in the mall.  She doesn’t have any noticeable reaction to Sarah’s revelation of where her shoes had come from as she replies to the other girl’s comments on the events at school.  “Yeah, it is pretty crazy around there right now.  This requirement to go see a counselor is an interesting twist.  Actually, I am not sure they can force us to see one without our parents consent, not that I plan to cause a fuss about it or anything, but I can image there are some kids at the school that don’t want to see one.”

As the two girls get in the line for the Starbucks, Megan looks over at Sarah as she continues, “as for what store to go to, I guess that depends on what sort of shoes you want.  Looking for something athletic?  More dressy?”

OOC: Good luck with that operation, I know it can be challenging at times, is for me :)  Tonight is my late night class, so that operation should be pretty much done by the time I get home :)

OOC: Mission accomplished!

IC:
"Athletic.  I hardly ever dress up and I probably need something fast.  But I don't know what to tell a counselor.  I mean... I'm sad, it's horrible.  If I think about it for more than a few seconds I'll start crying again but I didn't know Rory very well.  Should I be more upset?"

She takes her coffee with cream and sugar and takes a long sip and looks at the crowds passing down the hallway. 

Megan had her water as she started back into the crowd of the mall.  “Okay, athletic it is then.”  She says as she started towards an athletic shoe store.  As Sarah mentioned the feelings she was having regarding what had happened at school and Rory’s death, Megan felt a bit of sadness as well.  “I didn’t know him at all other than seeing his fight.  It still feels really weird to know that he died because of that.”

"It's weird... to think he had this power bottled up inside him and it killed him... like a birth defect or something.  I haven't ever heard of something like that with these powers before.. but it's not like I know everything about them.  We really do need to find some help I think.  I'm not sure about calling a radio personality.  That's kind of public, but I'll think about it some more."  Drinking more coffee Sarah lets the caffeine and sugar do their magic. 

"You know, you don't really have to buy me shoes.  It's a really nice gesture but I was sort of glad just to hang out with you for a while.  I mean... I know we're different people now and all."  Sarah shrugs shyly.  "I guess I'm kind of feeling nostalgic for simply being a kid and a lot of my time being a kid was with you.  Back before some kids were smart and some kids were jocks and some liked music and some took drugs.  Before everyone changed."   
She hides a sad smile behind another drink of social acceptance (with cream and sugar).   

Megan remembers those times as Sarah mentions them, it was somewhat wonderful to think back when things seemed so much simpler and so many pressures that were around now didn’t exist.  But for Megan there had always been some pressure, with her two older siblings there was always something to have to live up too.  “Those were good times.”  She replied with a faint smile.  “But unfortunately we have to grow up, and our time for that seems to be rushing us forward.”

Megan and Sarah eventually eave the mall, after spending some time catching up.  As they make their way through the doors to wait for Megan's mom Sarah holds the door for the armored car guard as he pushes a cart filled with bags towards his waiting truck.

Megan and Sarah sit down on the bench near the doors to wait as the guards from the armored car begin to load the bags.  Suddenly a car comes around the armored car and screaches to a halt a few yards away, it's trunk facing the back doors of the armored car.  Three ment get out, three armed men.  Two are carrying pistols and the third is carrying something that looks like it came out of some sci-fi movie.  The men with pistols open fire on the guards, who have already drawn their weapons and attempt to return fire.

The man with the space-age gun moves a few paces away from the getaway car and fires a shot at the armored car.  His gun lets loose a defening roar.  Megan and Sarah see a hole erupt on the side of the armored car they're on, which means whatever that gun is it just shot straight through an armored car.

At the sound of the space-age gun firing the guards moved, towards the front of the armored car, to use it for cover.  The other two robbers moved up to the armored  and the driver backs the car up.  They begin to load the money into the trunk of the getawaycar.

You can hear the guards calling on their radio for assistance, and then Megan sees a woman step through the mall doors to her right, a second later she screams.  One of the robbers spins and raises his gun, firing...

OOC: EDIT: only problem with a fast game is a post that changes everything before your post shows up!

[As they leave the mall]
Sarah nods.  "So whats cheerleading like?  A little different from gymnastics?  I wish we had a team here.  I miss it sometimes and Sylvia mentioned at lunch that she used to do them at her last school.  But that would require money and I'm sure with everything going on they are probably going to throw more money at security cameras and safety measures than  worry about what they'd probably refer to as a glorified gym class.  On the otherhand, gymnastics doesn't give you opportunities to hang out with freshman star quarterbacks..." 

[Outside the Mall]
Sarah kicks her feet on the bench and looks down the lot for her mom's car to arrive. 

When the attack begins Sarah stiffles a cry and moves with Megan out of the way, looking for some sort of cover.  She ducks into a shadowy fold of the building near a bush and hopes that they don't see her.  Then she sees Megan heading back in the opposite direction... fast!  She doesn't call out because the last thing she wants for either of them is the gunmen to notice them.  But what was Megan thinking?  God No!   Megan... don't...   Sarah watches helplessly for whatever is about to happen to her old friend.

While they waited, Megan considered Sarah’s question.  “Well, it is similar in some aspects, but there are differences too.  It’s a lot like mixing dance and gymnastics, the gymnastics really helping for tosses.  But there are some things that take getting used to.  When we are working on partner stunts and pyramids, you often have to give up full control of your movement and such, which is completely different than gymnastics, where you have to constantly be in control of what you are doing.  Wish we had some boys on the team though, then we could do some really cool stunts.”  She said the last bit somewhat wistfully, but then perked right back up as she went on, “but your right, there are some great perks.  Isn’t Cal just the greatest?  That cute accent and everything.”

Just as she said that however, the sudden scene erupted in front of them, shocking Megan with the suddenness of it.  She tried to move her and Sarah aside, doing her best to be as inconspicuous as possible to not attract the robbers’ attention.  She started as the gunshots started to ring out and when the woman screamed, she suddenly knew she couldn’t let the robber shoot her. 

Reminding herself she likely isn’t bullet proof the entire time, Megan dashed towards the woman as the robber raised his pistol, trying to tackle her to try to keep her from being shot.

Megan crossed the distance to the woman in a blur and swept her out of harms way, back through the doors and aroun a corner into the opening of a store.  The woman was clutching her out of shock and the bullets from the robbers gun struck the glass doors to the mall a heartbeat later.  When the gunshaots hit the glass eveeryone in the store hit the floor, it was then that Megan realized she was in Everything Halloween, crouched down right next to a display of those little party masks.

Sarah realized Megan was not with her, and then it hit her, the sense that she was in mortal danger.  The world slowed down, her gaze shifted to the left and she saw the armored car guard level his gun to fire at the man that had shot towards the mall.  the robber had moved forward as he fired, and now there was a straight line between Sarah, the robber, and the guard.  The guards gun fired, Sarah saw the flash of the muzzle, and she knew his aim was off, just enough to hit her.  She'd hidden so well he couldn't see her, had no idea his stray bullets would be headed striahgt for her.

It was part terror and part something else, but she pivoted and held up her left hand, as if to stop the bullets.  A cascade of possibilities raced through her mind, and her subconscious setteled on one of them.  The eruption of white light from her hand didn't startle her as much as the fact that she then seeme to move it in the path of the bullets.  The simple staff of light was maybe five feet long, and she twirled and twisted it into all three of the bullets that had missed the robber and would have struck her.  Then she was overcome with a sense of motion as she danced and twirled the staff, setteling into what she could only assume was some kind of martial arts stance.  "I'm right here with you, don't worry."  The voice was faint with an otherworldy tone, and she thought it came from inside her own head.

What???  Figure it out later numbskull.  It's with great power etc time!

Sarah moves off to the side of the gunman to get out of the security officers line of fire and out of eye line with the other robbers.  (If possible?)   "Hey!  This is a no loading zone!"   What am I saying?  Stupid!  "Now stop shooting up the mall and drop your gun before somebody gets hurt."  ...Like me?  Shut up brain.

"He wasn't expecting that.  He's not sure what to make of you."  The voice is comforting and disturbing at the same time.  "He can't make a move without his chest.  You only have a couple of seconds before his brain gets in gear, but you're not what he's going to be worried about.  The rent-a-cop is about to fire again."

The guard's gun fired and the robber turns at the sound, but it's caught him and he spins, tossed to the ground.  His hands go to his leg and he yells out in pain, his gun falling away.

"Carmine."  the other robber loading the car screams.  His gazes comes up to Sarah, then back to the man on the ground.  "We gotta go, now."  He yells and the other man heads towards the car.  A second later they are in the car and it's tearing away, tires screaching.  That's when Sarah's eyes come to rest on Matt.  He's walking across the parking lot, his head buried in a comic book.  The car headed right for him.

Too distraught by Rory's death, Matt couldnt bare to go to school the day after, and had packed his bag full of comic books rather than school books and spent the day walking around, trying to get lost in his own little worlds now that the real one had gotten too painful to bear. Now he'd run out of stuff to read, and was on the way to the comic book shop at the mall, hoping they'd have some more stuff in that'd help him keep his mind off the sudden death of one of the only friends he's ever had...

"Matt!!! MOVE!!!!!!!!!!"  Sarah screams at the top of her lungs.   Get Megan!   "Megan!!! Help!"  Sarah starts running after the car, knowing that whatever happens she'll be far to late to help.  She'll keep yelling his name if he doesn't notice right away.

Matt looks up as the car comes flying towards him, and there is no time to move.  He's paralyzed by a sense that something isn't right, like his heart is about to burst.

Sarah watches the flash of light from Matt's eyes.  The flash is brilliant, like a bolt of lightning.  Then a rain of red falls on him, coating him like tar.  The next second the red shell explodes into a million shards and Matt is no longer there, instead a tall man in a red and white costume with a cape is there, as though he just flexed his massive muscles to shatter the shell.  He reacts with unhuman speed driving his right fist down onto the hood of the car as he drops to one knee, flipping it into the air over his head.  The vehicle crashes onto the parking lot upside down, and slides to a stop a few feet away.

"Holy moley! Where did that come from?" The costumed man say, amazed. Then he quickly moves to check on the robbers, getting them out of the car and making sure they're all right, though making sure to keep their weapons away from them. "You okay there folks?" he asks them, looking genuinely concerned for a moment that he has injured anyone accidentally.

The man who used to be the small nerdy dark-clothed Mattew Mannox a few moments ago is at least six feet tall, and got long red hair and skin which seems to have a slight golden quality to it, while his eyes are red. He's wearing a red mask covering his face, but leaving his smile visible, which is brilliant and perfect. In fact every part of him seems perfect, and there's not even a ruffle in his cape or a single irregularity in his red and white costume, and he's built like Mr Olympic, at least and moves with a natural grace. In short, he's absolutely nothing like Matt at all...

Sarah watches as Matt?  removes the bad guys from the car.  He plucked the doors off the overturned car like someone might pop the top of a soda can.  The men and their weapons are seperated and they're dazed but not badly hurt.

The sounds of sirens draw attention as patrol cruisers begin to come into the parking lot.  The guards from the armored can have begun to run towards the scene of the overturned car.  They begin to handcuff the robbers as the police cars finally arrive.

((OOC: Matt and Sarah hang around to give statements or make themselves scarce?))

Mega Man glances around, making sure that there's no one else in the area that would need his help, then if he spots no one gives Sarah a wink then looks upward, jumping up off the street towards the sky with his hands raised upward, flying away from the scene.

Sarah gapes at Matt... transformed.  When she hears the sirens she looks at the glowing staff in her hand.  What do I do with you? 

She opens her hand and the staff disappears as if it never was.  She looks around to see if anyone is staring at her and takes off, looking for somewhere to hide.  If she can, she'll circle back around into the mall and find Megan. 

Megan manages to find Sarah as all the confusion starts with the arrival of the police and such.  The blond teen was slightly freaked out by the fact that she had just pushed someone out of the path of being shot, but she was also worried about the fact she had been forced again to use her powers publicly.  She really needed to do something about getting a costume or something to conceal her identity if she was going to really do anything with her powers regularly.

Sarah runs and hugs Megan "You're okay!  Oh my gosh!  That was terrible.  The shooting.. I almost got killed!  I mean one second you're pushing me to the bush and when I turn around you're hiding somewhere else and then the guard is shooting at the gunman right in front of me!  I'm glad you didn't get hurt!  And then Matt.. uh.. almost got ran over by them and then this.. flying super just swept out of nowhere and clobbered the car!  It was amazing.. and terrible.  Are you sure you're okay?  I'm glad I was wearing my new running shoes and not those crummy old flats!"  She hugs Megan again. 

"Mom!  Oh my gosh!  The police are out there and Mom's probably looking for us!  Come on!  Hurry up!"  She tugs on Megan's arm.  "Come on slowpoke!"