The mutants are corralled together, making it easier for the O*N*E Sentinels to 'protect' the mutants. It does make some activities easier though, as the X-Men are used to working together and don't have to worry about too many politicking hot shots getting in the way. Colossus and Nightcrawler work tirelessly under Emma's instructions, uncovering survivors she finds via her telepathy.
As the X-Men carry the latest group of survivors to the Beast's medical tent, one of the survivors - a small child - holds tightly onto Emma's clothing. The little girl has a runny nose, perhaps having (luckily) missed school because of a cold. The child observes the gathered mutants, as they rush around to help the injured and dying, before asking, point blank: "Why did my friends die? Am I going to die too?"
"Honey, nobody deserves to have their right to live - or live the way they want to - taken from them. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, people like your friends. Where is your mommy? She must be so worried for you!"
Logan surveys the landscape that's been left a wasteland from Nitro's explosion. His jaw clenches, "When I find you Nitro, I'm going take you apart!"
Logan then makes his way over the rubble heading for Ground Zero and attempts to duck under the crime scene tape with hopefully no interference from the Government lackeys.
"Bad things happen to good people..." the girl repeats to herself as she thinks over Emma's words. Sniffing loudly, she responds: "That's not very fair. I don't like it."
"Julie!" sounds a terrified voice from the other side of the tent. A crying woman runs over to the little child and snatches her up, away from Emma. "Julie, you can't just run off like that. You need to stay close - OK? What have I told you about strangers? Especially about strangers... like this." The woman glances around at the various mutants, her distrust quite obvious.
Emma echoes a thought in the little girl's head: See how your mom doesn't like us? Bad things happen to good people, even us.
Ducking under the crime scene tape, Wolverine takes in the initial blast zone. The devastation seems massive. "Where did you go from here Nitro?", Wolverine thinks to himself before picking over the area, seemingly guided more by his incredible senses then any investigative skills.
Nitro spent years locked up in the Raft, before escaping during the recent Breakout. The room still holds the scent well, as do the scraps of cloth provided by Wolverine's friend. There are many scents - victims, rescuers, superhumans, mutants. Focus. Concentrate. There! Nitro's scent, still strong enough to follow, marks his escape path.
booms the voice of a O*N*E Sentinel pilot. amplified by the giant machine's speaker systems.
Emma Frost's eyes narrow for a moment, annoyed at the paranoid red-tape. For a moment the Sentinel pilot has an overlay of what the sensors tell him, and what his mind perceives, then he registers Wolverine in the appropriate area.
14 d10
Logan, I think I've thrown him off your trail. Do your thing.
The STARK TECH in the O*N*E Sentinels offers, amongst a broad selection of defenses, protection against psychic attacks. However, Emma isn't an ordinary psychic and the Stark Tech defenses offer little resistance.
the pilot comments as he guides his Sentinel back towards the other mutants and Sentinels.
Free, for the moment (it's only a matter of time before somebody else notices that Wolverine is missing), Wolverine follows Nitro's scent to the edge of the blast zone. Police lines have been set up, preventing curious bystanders and onlookers from interfering with the rescue operations.
Pickup truck. The scents do not lie - Nitro jacked a pickup before driving off. It should be easy enough to follow, but it could take hours or days. Wolverine would need to escape the long-term attentions of the O*N*E somehow.
Logan fixes the scent in his mind before quietly slipping back to where Emma and Hank are.
"It would seem Nitro survived and ran away like the rat he is," Wolverine mutters under his breath, "I've got his scent, he got into a pickup truck, but it may take some time to track him down. Are you interested in joining in?"
"Time to be heroes then," Emma smiles enigmatically.
"Nitro must answer for what he did, and it would be best to bring him in alive if we can, unfortunately I doubt I can leave my responsibilities here without being noticed. Let me just go talk to someone who I think would be better suited for this mission and see what he says..."
Hank goes to find Nightcrawler, the perfect man to sneak out from the watchful eye of the guards and to assist the others in apprehending a walking living explosive.
"Guten Tag, meine Herren ...und Dame" bowing to Ms. Frost. "Hank has brought me up to speed on the past events here, I too want to help put an end to this terrible tragedy, and would like to assist in capturing Nitro. I believe I can get us out of here without being seen. Please allow me to teleport us a short distance outside the perimeter, I can't take us too far, but far enough to get out from under these terrible watching eyes. When you are ready, please hold my hands and we can go."
Kurt should be well known to both Emma and Logan as a long serving member of the X-men so further introductions are unnecessary.
"Let's stop wasting our time here, I'm eager to catch up with Nitro and show him the error of his ways!" Wolverine takes up the offered hand gripping Nightcrawler's forearm, "Nitro hopped into a pickup truck on the eastern edge of the blast zone. Jump us onto McMurphy Road just out of sight of the police and I should be able to pick up his trail and follow him from there."
"Gut, Let's be off then. I trust both of you can handle a little jolt?" and then just to Emma "Don't worry, I will make it extra smooth for you."
the clap of rushing air, a puff of red mist and the smell of sulphur are all that remain where the three just stood.
The group teleports about 2 kilometres in the direction Logan pointed out, close to the road, but at a point known better to Kurt. Kurt stumbles to the ground, but quickly regains his composure, fatigued after such a bold jump. The others two might feel quite disorientated. (unlikely for Logan)
Nightcrawler manages to get the three X-Men to the designated spot. Beast should be able to construct a believable cover story, which should buy some time.
The air quality, just outside the blast zone, isn't much better than the air at ground zero, but it allows Nightcrawler to catch his breath and, after a few minutes, he is back to normal. Wolverine, on the other hand, picks up Nitro's scent again and... the unique scents of the pickup truck and... its driver. It's a good lead, but Nitro has a significant head start.
Wolverine sniffs the air following the scent forward along the road, "He went this way but he's gained some distance on us. I doubt devil-boy will be able to keep jumping at the pace we require to catch up, who's up for borrowing a car?"
Logan starts casing the street for a likely looking empty vehicle to continue the pursuit.
"This would be easier if we could figure out where he's going."
Wolverine easily locates a serviceable single-cab Nissan pickup. It doesn't take Wolverine long to open and then start the vehicle. The odometer reads a little high, but it'll do.
After a while Emma frowns, "He's not being very deliberate on the mind horizon. Probably laying low and resting after that blast. I can't pick him up yet."
Three days, and thousands of miles later, Wolverine stops the Nissan outside a small country bar, somewhere in California. Several vehicles are parked outside, including a beat-up orange pickup - the X-Men have found Nitro's getaway vehicle.
Several stops, along the way, at convenience stores, filling stations, small outlets, and by-the-hour motels, gave the X-Men time to pick up essentials and freshen up on occassion. So, despite Wolverine's demanding pace, the X-Men arrive fit and ready for almost anything. While traveling, the Nissan's radio picked up several news stories. The SHRA was rushed through the Senate after the Stamford disaster. It is scheduled to go live just after midnight, tonight. That leaves a precious few hours to find Nitro before the Act comes into play.
Glancing through the bar's windows, the X-Men can clearly see that the inside is crammed full of unsavoury individuals. Nitro's getaway driver is an obese brute of a man, with a thick brown beard. He smells of stale beer and Cheetos. Wolverine can easily pick him out. Unfortunately, there's no sign of Nitro.
While hearing about the SHRA Kurt lets slip some rude german then continues "This is only bad news, we'll be hunted soon enough."
Kurt, happy to get out of that uncomfortable truck, is eager to get going."So what is our plan? Someone in there knows where Nitro is. Also, this place looks remote enough that if Nitro is here we can risk a confrontation."
"Do we have any stats on how soon after a big bang Nitro can go again? Generally I love guys with a short refractory period, especially if it is followed by a good bang. But this is a bit of a special situation."
"We don't need another explosion, lets scout around quickly, make sure Nitro really isn't in the area, but before that," Wolverine stalks over to the pickup truck Nitro arrived in, slashing all four tires with his claws, "Just a little bit of property damage to ensure our prey doesn't leave the party early."
Nitro's scent still clings to the pickup, but its at least a day old. There's no evidence to suggest that Nitro's anywhere near the bar at the moment.
The X-Men can hear the bar's televisions over the loud conversation. A news channel, discussing the upcoming SHRA go-live, is currently playing.
Emma scans the minds of the revelers in the bar to see if the owner of the pickup is around.
It takes Emma some time to scan through the minds located in the bar. Without much identifying information (with the exception of the driver's scent, according to Logan), it's difficult to pin point the correct thinker. Eventually, however, one mind thinks back on a purple-wearing hitchhiker - Nitro. With some light scanning, Emma learns that the driver dropped Nitro off in Big Sur, California. It's enough information to work with - and it didn't even require a bar brawl.
"Hey Logan, you're familiar with Big Sur? The driver dropped Nitro there."
"Damn, we must have missed him jumping out the truck. Emma any ideas where in Big Sur Nitro was dropped off?", Logan asks before unsheathing his claws, "Or I could just ask the driver 'politely', either way we don't have much time before that bill is passed."
Logan considers how lucky it is that Big Sur is so sparsely populated. It will reduce the collateral damage for capturing Nitro. Is it possible Nitro is hiding there for just that reason?
Picking through the drunk driver's mind isn't easy (or particularly pleasant). Emma manages to get out some vague location information, which might be enough for Logan to find Nitro's scent trail again.
Emma re-confirms any details in a mind scan, before telling Wolverine:
"Time for you to let out the wolfhound."
"Let's continue the hunt then!", Wolverine says hopping back into the truck they "borrowed" and starting it up.
Once everyone gets back into the truck, Wolverine sends it flying down the road to the drop off point Emma identified. Stepping out the truck Wolverine sniffs the air trying to catch any trace of Nitro's scent, looking closely at the ground off the road for any footprints possibly left by Nitro, hopefully not too obscured by weather and time.
"We're coming to make you pay for your sins Nitro, and it ain't gonna be pretty.", Wolverine mutters before turning back to the group, "We don't have any time left, lets find this scum!"
"That's my boy," Emma mutters quietly to herself as she sees Wolverine has picked up some hint in the air.