[UA] Shooting

[Elsa Bellefonte]

{first, lemme ruin the mood by doing something that I promised Robbo: the high sign. Now, this is the thread that happens after all the Rescuing and Protecting threads; it is the end thread for the Rescue/Attack plotline}

Elsa Bellefonte was exhausted. Her brain had surely started melting out of her ears, likely showing to anyone who cared to look closely. Her body didn't feel much better either, despite having only been witness to their infiltration, such as it was. She'd helped with the wounded, done what she could for those that had been hurt while they bumped and sped back to the school they'd known was under attack. The attackers had cleared now, leaving them to tend to their wounds. Elsa had even dealt with the press, releasing official statements while standing alongside William Bellefonte.

Yes, William Bellefonte, the Headmaster, walked alongside his granddaughter. They hadn't said much to one another. Words hung in the air between them, working like caution tape keeping each away from the other for the time being. Elsa had made a call without consulting him. His people now lay about. That's what they were down to now, pulling bodies and checking to see who had died. So many there, so very, very many. So many were beyond William's help. Elsa, her ability still whirling despite her exhaustion, could feel the desire within her grandfather to approach each and every departed soul. They'd counted at least twenty-six so far, twenty-six people that would never see the light of day. Elsa had to confirm the body of Adelaide McLisk, school accountant and dorm monitor, who'd apparently been leading students to safety and decided that saving multiple lives was more important than keeping herself alive. Her last words had been something about how this felt right, decided as it was. Elsa had to identify security staff, confirm that she believed that the school counselor had laid amongst the dead, having apparently literally shielded people with her body. Yet they kept going, meeting with those that had rallied, getting reports, doing what was necessary.

The wounded were moved away; nearly everyone who wasn't had been ordered to come out. Elsa fully expected to deal with several people, answering questions. Nobody seemed to want to say much though; even the reporters had respected her answers, agreed to the tragedy, as if Elsa herself hadn't perpetrated all this, hadn't gotten the press here. She sighed, stopping in front of a healing staff member who told her numbers, reducing people to it. So many wounded, so many dead, so many missing...

[Ellen Banks]

Ellen Banks was trying with all her might regulate and calm down her breathing behind her piece of cover behind a wall. No doubt that the invaders would hear her gasping and hyperventilating and there for her hiding place would be given away and then-Well then they would….Ellen shook her head back and forward trying to clear her head of those thoughts casting a quick look to her side. The courtyard looked less like a school courtyard and more like some kind of horrible warzone. Everywhere she looked bodies were scattered all over the ground as panicked students ran wildly in every possible direction in pure fear trying to find any possible escape from the mayhem. The majority of which never got far, it was almost a matter of time before Ellen saw a sput of gun fire cut them down causing their bodies to twitch and convolutes rapidly before eventually collapses to the ground limp. Not moving. Dead.



Oh god…..they were all dead. Elen had never seen a dead body before, Ellen couldn’t comprehend she was watching all this. That her quiet peaceful little haven has turned into hell on earth. This type of thing she saw on TV but not here. Not in Bellefonte. Not to her. But the evidence was nothing if not compelling. Every direction she looked there was fire and death. The sounds of constant screaming and gunfire pieced the air killing every living thing in sight.



It was like the end times.



The attack seemed to have happen a million years ago but really it couldn’t have been more then 10 minutes ago. Ellen was taking a stroll through the courtyard trying to distract herself from what could be happening with Elsa and her little escape attempt. Ellen would have joined in but she hardly saw the need to, don’t get her wrong. If Ellen was in danger she would have done anything in her power to help her. But Elsa seemed to have as many people as she needed. Ellen would just get in the way and try herself to take control of the whole thing which wouldn’t help anyone in the least. She was sure Elsa had in con-



Suddenly things seemed to happen in slow motion. The sounds of screaming. Several men in black uniform running in as if out of nowhere and then, gunfire. Unyielding harsh gunfire. This was where Ellen’s keen survival instincts took over and before she fully registered the guns flashing she had ducked under cover.



She couldn’t stay here that much was for certain. These were trained operatives experts in finding any potential hiding spaces. Once they found Ellen they would grab her by the hair. Force her to the ground, and the last thing Ellen would ever be aware of is the cold barrel of a gun being pressed into the back of her head before she hears a click and-



No. Stop that right now. A voice ripped through her head snapping her out of her daze as she was dimly staring at her hands which would not stop shaking. It doesn’t matter what they might do, or who has died or what the worse case scenario might be. She can save that for later but for now the only thing that mattered was how to secure her survival and the only way to make sure of that is to make sure she didn’t panic. No matter her circumstances. No matter what problems life threw at her, Ellen’s one rule remained the same. Never let fear overtake her, never let panic set in. Panic lead to mistakes and a mistake here was the different between life and death. Ellen’s sharp eyes twitched all around her trying to find anything that might be somewhat helpful. Then her eyes locked on it: She was nearby an open door back into the building, within running distance. IF she could make it back indoors maybe she couldlock herself in her dorm room and hide under her bed and wait for this whole thing to blow over. At least if the invaders hammered on her room thanks to a locked door Ellen would have a precious few seconds to climb out the window and make her escape. Was it ideal? No. But her survival chances were a damn shade better then out here.



Her eyes zeroed onto the door and slowly and careful not to reveal herself from her seated position to a crouched position moving her weight to the soles of the feet. She tried to block out the world around her. She wasn’t here in the courtyard surrounded by corpses. She was on the training track. It was just another running practice. Nothing more and nothing less. Oh your marks. Get set…



GO. Quick as a flash Ellen was on her feet running as fast as she ever ran thanking the good heavens for her years of practice. The world was tuned out totally and Ellen stared straight ahead at the door. She didn’t know if they had noticed her, if they were screaming at her to stop or even if they were firing. All that mattered is that one glorious door that promised freedom and she was close, so very close. She was going to make it. Just a few more feet and-



Suddenly the world was thrown into sharp relief as Ellen heard what must have been two shot fired, causing her to stumble and fall beside a wall. Cursing not wasting a moment Ellen crawled behind it, At the same time cursing her luck for falling and praising it for somehow avoiding the gunshots. They must have been close too. It sounded like they hit right beside her. Breathing deeply Ellen went back into the preparing to run position when she found her way was blocked by a small child “Get out of the way. Now” Ellen hissed at the young boy resisting the urge to just push him out of the way, but yet the boy refused to move all he did was just stare at Ellen with wide eyes and an open mouth gawking at her. What was he staring at? “I said mo-“ Her demand was cut off abruptly as an odd burning smell reached her noses. It was strong too. Curious Ellen slowly looked down to where the smell seemed to coming from.



Two large and rapidly spreading bullet holes in close proximity to each other just below her throat.



Ellen blinked rapidly at the holes as if expecting them to vanish which every blink. She supposed thanks to the adrenaline rushing through her veins her pain was numbed. She felt the absurd need to laugh. No..no this wasn’t right. This wans’t right at all. This couldn’t have happened. It just couldn’t. They wouldn’t dare shoot her, but yet the world was blurring in and out of focus and her entire lower body had shut down and become numb causing Ellen to fall forward causing her face to smack against the hard ground but once again she barely registered that fact. She could barely register anything as it became more of a strain to think she merely just lay there her breathing labour and sitting on her face was something that was bizarre to se on the calm and collective face of the girl whose life work was to be in control of every possible aspect of her life. Pure and unyielding shock mixed in with something else you never saw on Ellen’s face. Fear.



Oh god…She didn’t want to die. She couldn’t die here, There was just so much she wanted to do with her life, so much she wanted to achieve. This…this couldn’t be happening. She wanted someone to be there with her. She wanted someone to hold her hand and tell she’ll be alright, but she was alone. Utterly alone. She wanted Ethan. She wanted Erika.



She wanted her daddy.



She lay there for a few moments more in a pool of her own blood, not even aware her immaculate white blond hair was stained with deep red



Perhaps it was an act of mercy that the darkness came suddenly and with one stuttering gasp the light in Ellen’s Banks perfect brown eyes faded and she grew limp, with her mouth trying to form the letter “E”

[Elsa Bellefonte]

The Headmaster said something to Elsa; she missed it, because her throbbing head practically smothered the words. Something about how despite all this, she'd handled things well and she should be proud. Elsa was tempted to point out that this would be a very good argument for making her the heiress instead of Erika, but she still wasn't sure that she wanted to be the one inheriting it all. She sighed and rubbed at her head again, taking a deep breath and trying to steady her increasingly frazzled nerves.

And her earpiece crackled.

"What now?" she nearly whined, lowering her hand to press it against her ear. The voices crackled, something about another attack. It was brief, short, a last few group of frustrated SPECTRE agents. Supposedly nobody was hur---
                                            ----- no, wait, someone was hurt. Not hurt, killed. Fatal shots to the neck. Elsa tapped her earpiece a few more times, frowning. What the hell? She jerked her head to look at her grandfather, informing him. Within seconds, the old man was flagging down a golf cart. Recently dead, he could fix.

"Ellen Ban--" came through the earpiece. Elsa didn't waste time; she contacted her sister. Erika would want to know; she wouldn't care that she was exhausted and being tended to. She wouldn't even care if there were drugs flowing in her system that were supposed to put her down. Despite everything, Ellen meant too much to the Bellefontes. Elsa knew that; Erika knew it. Their grandfather might have saved anyone, but Elsa would've actually saved Ellen.

Thankfully, contacting Erika proved easy; they were carrying her and the others into the infirmary, the same location they were taking Ellen. Elsa found Erika, yelled what was going on and gestured for the cart, all while their grandfather sat stoically beside her, looking as serene as ever. The golf-cart was long enough for Erika to literally lie down in the back seat if need be; Bellefontes traveled in style, after all.

"she got shot in the throat,' said Elsa, jerking the wheel as she tore through the halls, having entered that section of the building now. "And she's down, dead or dying," Elsa flicked her eyes at their grandfather, not needing to elaborate. he'd been in the cart the moment he'd heard there was someone he could actually save.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

When they had gotten rescued, Erika had truly hoped it would all be over. She had hoped with all she got; She had actually believed that this was it. They could arrive home safely, and things would slowly go back to normal. But that was so far from the truth that it was almost laughable. When they had arrived to the school, and found it in the state that it was... Well, needless to say, Erika had said very little after that. She had wanted to help, to react, to do anything, but what could she possibly do in the state she had been in? She would only end up worrying people further, and that was the last thing anyone needed, so instead, the telekinetic had willingly let herself be guided towards the infirmary.

At least until she had gotten the news. Ellen Banks - the girl that had been her best friend for the last fourteen years had been shot, and was possibly dead. Even though their friendship had been rocky the past couple of months, Erika would be lying had she said she didn't care about the blonde anymore. She didn't think she'd ever stop caring, even as much as the hypnotiser annoyed her or angered her; Ellen Banks was, had always been and would always be Erika's best friend. Her childhood friend. The girl she had known since she was four years old.

There was no time to lose, and without much complaint, or even a word, Erika had followed her sister and their grandfather. She wanted to speak - she wanted to say something, anything, but no matter how hard she tried, the words didn't seem to wanting to leave her lips. She felt the rapidly growing lump emerge from the pit of her stomach and spread up her throat. She felt as if she was choking; Her head was nothing but a chaotic mess of thoughts, memories, words and flashing lights. She couldn't catch a single coherent thought; She sat there, on the golf cart with a deadpan expression, her fist clenched and her lips pressed into a thin, straight line.

There was no way in hell Ellen Banks was dead. It couldn't be. She wouldn't allow it. She didn't want to believe it. She refused to. No, no and no.

It was a good thing the telekinetic was as exhausted as she was, or else she would have lost control of her ability again. She was in no condition - nor was she strong enough. At least she could thank SPECTRE for that. The thought was bitter to swallow; What a hilariously cruel thought to carry. She had to thank them for her ability being too drained to tear someone's face off. And yet, had it not been for them, nothing of this... None of these people would have died. Ellen Banks would still be her obnoxiously arrogant self, and not lying somewhere, either dead already or dying from being shot in the chest. She would never forgive them for this, and even if it was the last thing she did, she would make damn sure they paid for it all.

Hopefully, there was still time for her to be saved. There had to be, right? Ellen couldn't die. Not here, not now. Not like this.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa wished she had more to tell Erika. She wished she could say that she knew what had happened to Ellen or that she could fully promise that everything was going to be just fine. She even wished she could offer some inane comment about how glad she was to see Erika, or that she'd open up to her sister. That conversation would be soon coming: they both no doubt knew it. Elsa wasn't about to engage in such a discussion at the moment, however. They had something far more important to deal with at the current time.

The golf cart barely slowed as they broke into the school. They darted around, Elsa finally finding her voice and telling people to get out of her way, waving her arm with as much command as she could muster. They did; though they kept staring. Let them stare. Elsa didn't care. She felt a hand on her shoulder though, and she hazarded a glance, seeing her grandfather there. He gave her a look that could only be described as grandfatherly, and it felt... heavy. Like he was already telling her that something important, something life changing was about to happen.

Elsa just wanted to tell him to save it. Give Erika the reassuring looks, just like they were going to hand over the school to her. Elsa pulled the cart to a stop around a gathered group of people. Someone came up then, said that Ellen had been hurt. William was already getting out of the cart. Elsa though, Elsa remained sitting, looking at the blood spreading on the floor. Blood that belonged to Ellen. Too much blood. Ellen... dead; she'd realized it when they'd said something, that's why her grandfather but... realizing and seeing were just...

it all just became so very, very real.