Forum Thread

Tundra let out a bitter laugh. "Mother is never happy. Even on the days when she's happy, she isn't. No, she'll be furious if she sees the time. I ought to have been home awhile ago. I saw a crow and some smoke from the bus, though, and was... curious." She winced at the final word, looking embarrassed. Now she'd done it; she'd admitted she'd felt an emotion she wasn't meant to.

---

Tazu had landed near Dooley and Tundra, shifting back into her human form. "It's alright if you get in a little trouble," she chuckled, trying to console Tundra, "After all, what's the point of living if you don't break the rules a bit and go outside the lines?"

---

Dooley grinned. "Nothing wrong with being curious, that how I invent things." She turned around comepletley and halted. "Listen kid, it's okay to think for yourself. You shouldn't have to depend on that prick's judgemnets." She switched to a light jog. "Tazu's right as well, but we'd better get you home."

---

Emersyn heard some Footsteps coming towards where she was hiding she tried going towards the side..hoping that she wouldn't be Noticed. "What if I get Noticed-" She though.."Well..If I approach them maybe..I might be able to Join the Spade gang, Like How I always wanted to..But-" She continued murmuring To herself

---

Dooley continued her slight jog. "Well, it looks like there's a bus coming." She turned to look at Tundra. "Hey, seems like you've ridden a bus, buut," she gestured, "have you ever ridden the tailboard of a bus?" She stood by the edge, tapping her foot. "This'll be quicker, trust me."

---

"That's the point, though," she said, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Living. Breaking the rules makes that quite a bit less likely." Tundra grinned in spite of herself at the woman's suggestion. "Nope, can't say I have." She then added, "But what if I'm seen?" She noticed that she hadn't immediately recoiled from their statements about Governor X; was she this disloyal, even subconsciously?

---

Dooley grinned back, wincing a little as she removed her hand from her arm, revealing the scar underneath. "Kid, that just means you're famous!" She hopped onto the tailboard of a passing bus, sticking out her hand. "I mean, look at me, I've got my face all over the city!"

---

"Sure, you could get yourself killed breaking the rules, but I personally feel more alive doing that than doing whatever the stupid governor tells me. Maybe he should be the one who's constantly being bossed around instead. I mean, if I ever saw him in person, I'd give him a quick taste of The Boot, and then I'd scram so I don't get caught... Sorry, I might've talked too much. Let's just mosey on back."

---

Tundra grabbed the hand the woman offered her after a moment of hesitation. It went against everything she'd ever been taught, even more more so than all of her actions prior. Mother would be so ashamed...
For the first time in her life, she decided that she didn't care. She was 17, for goodness sake; it was her life, not her mother's, maybe not even Governor X's. Though she knew she couldn't leave her mother behind, couldn't desert the life of an ordinary citizen, she vowed to herself that she would remain sympathetic to the Spade Gang. In her mind, it seemed they had it right, although everyone else told her they were the dissenters, the traitors.
After a moment, she turned back to the one apparently called Tazu. "Speaking of boots, did you see that crow with one during the fight?" the girl laughed.

---

Dooley burst out laughing as she gripped the back of the bus. "Uhh, yeah, totally a crow." She didn't want to ruin the surprise, but it was hard not to find this funny.

---

"Yeah, I did see that," Tazu chuckled, jumping on as well, The Boot in her hand, "It was pretty funny, actually. Those guys totally deserved what they got."

---

Tundra's eyes widened, and a little thrill of excitement and admiration sent tingles down her spine. "Don't tell me that was you..." she said, gaping. Though the Diamond League appeared to be made primarily of them, she had never spoken face to face with a person possessing a mutation before, as the woman who looked to be only a couple years older than herself must if she was able to turn into a crow. Though slightly intimidated, she felt primarily euphoric as the wind whipped her copper hair about her face. It seemed as if she surely must be dreaming; she had to admit that, as the women had said, this sudden disregard for rules ushered in the sense of being "alive."

---

"Yep, that was me," Tazu grinned, being sure to whisper, "But let's keep this a secret, or else those Diamonds might try and interrogate every single black bird that comes into view just because they think they're a certain Spade Gang member just going about her day."

---

Dooley laughed. "Yeah," she whispered, "though it would be a laugh to see that." She noticed the bus was pulling to a stop. "Welp, looks like this is our stop. If I'm not mistaken, that frantic, red faced woman is your mother." She hopped off. "Now Tazu, if we don't want to spend a lovley evening being chased by Helper Bots, I suggest that we hurry off. I don't want Derek eating poor Rover just because I didn't get him breakfast." She turned to Tundra. "But don't forget what we said. That," she waved her hands, trying to find a good word to describe Governer X, "Tyrant isn't the one who decides what you think." She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "But you're still living with your mom, so I suggest you get going." She hopped off the bus's tailboard, and hurried off.

---

Tazu hopped off as well. "Well... Where are we getting food?"

---

Dooley thought about this for a minute. "Hmm...It has to be somewhere where they can't afford Helper Bots, and new enough that they haven't put up wanted posters yet." As she jogged, she chewed on the gum, blowing a bubble. As it popped, she had an idea. "I got it! There's a new place that opened up on the other side of town from the base, it's far enough and it's new so we should be safe." She pulled a cell phone out of her pocket. "Im gonna call Derek and tell him where to find me, and if ya want, you can head over now, kay? I also gotta tell Marshall in case he needs me. Oh, and Rover since he's running prelimnary scans on the sample I pulled from the weapons." Her fingers flying on the screen, she began typing furiously.

---

"Aight, guess I'll head there now," And then she shifted into raven form and took off.

---

The excitement and enthusiasm of the moment quickly wore off. Quickly running through plans in her mind, Tundra settled on making it appear as if she had simply gotten off of the bus. From the angle her mother was standing at, the girl knew she couldn't see that her daughter was hanging off of the back. The door was facing away from their house. Well, there was that, at least. Slipping around to the side with the door, she began to walk away from the bus and towards her house, doing her best to seem as unsuspicious as possible. Her shoulders slumped, and a pit of dread in her stomach made her want to go curl up under a rock and never leave. "Where. Have. You. Been?" the blonde haired 36 year old woman hissed as Tundra got close enough for her to not attract the attention of the neighbors. "I was to expect you home an hour ago with lunch! What possessed you to disregard your assignments?!" Her mind spinning, the girl settled on lying, though she absolutely abhorred the action. "I- took the wrong bus... got lost..." she muttered, staring down at the ground. Internally, she was seething. Her mother was indifferent and uncaring until Tundra made a mistake that directly influenced her credibility or satisfaction. Her anger seemed unjustified and irrational.

---

Outside a building that functioned as the hub of one of the various sectors of the city in the southwest quadrant, Cryo found a medium sized box carrying multiple broken tablets and phones. He knelt down to pick it up, then began to head back to the bus stop. His gait was considerably slower with the added weight, but he knew he would likely still make it before the next transport arrived. Glancing to the right, there appeared to be what looked like a plume of smoke rising far in the distance. Though intrigued, he knew it wasn't any of his business, and therefore continued on his way.

---

Dooley blew a bubble with her gum, popping it loudly and scaring an alley cat off of a trash can. She switched to a light jog, going back to the base. Marshall was already gone, but she looked around for Derek. Sighing, she planted her feet and shouted, "OI, DEREK, YOU WANT YOUR BREAKFAST OR NOT? I GOT THINIGS TO DO!" She glanced at Tazu. "Best way to find anyone is definetly yelling. They usually throw things, but it's quicker than acutally looking."

---

Emersyn Came out from behind the Bins, "That Must have been a Spade Gang attack, Better get along my way..Don't want to be in trouble" Muttering this to herself she went Heading towards the Park. "You know what the Spade Gang is much better than the Diamond League.." she though, having Mixed emotions while heading towards the park

---