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The water cooler slammed into a collection of desks with a crash. Computer monitors, already broken, ended up scattered everywhere along with miscellaneous debris. As the last few papers wafted down to the floor, it seemed as if the room was unoccupied, until someone picked herself up off the floor from where she had dived for safety. "Iceberg! What the hell, you idiot?!" She was almost screaming, indignant. It was definitely Mastermind from the holograms the Professor had shown, although different. She was wearing an expensive-looking high-collared coat, with no hood this time. Not the kind of thing most people would think to wear to New Mexico, but the air conditioning was still functioning. She narrowed her eyes, highlighted by striking emerald eyeshadow, as she took in Colossus. "Well, you're new." She herself off and took something out of her pocket. It turned out to be a compact, which she flipped open with ease. Looking into the tiny mirror, she lifted a single finger to her forehead and began to slowly push her hair back into place. She was regaining her composure marvellously, considering the circumstances. "I take it from this," she said, poking the ruined water cooler with her foot, still looking into the compact's mirror with the occasional glance towards Colossus, "that you're not one of us. So tell me, Mister Tall-Steel-And-Handsome, what's your deal?"
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Oct 31, 2017 21:41
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| # ? May 1, 2024 11:55 |
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Colossus "I am mutant," said Colossus stepping through the doorway and ducking under the frame. "I think it is mistake what you do here. " He kept taking those slow, long-legged strides towards her. He didn't want to sound 'simple' or something. "I would have you turn off signal, or have you tell me where to go to turn off signal." He stopped, a full six feet from her and just towering over the smaller redhead. "So far, no one has done anything that can not be explained away. Tell me, or I bring whole building down with my fists." Piotr had never punched a building to death before but, honestly? Sounded kinda tempting.
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Oct 31, 2017 21:56
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"You want it to stop?" Mastermind seemed genuinely surprised. "I mean, I could do without listening to it on repeat for hours, but we can't just stop it. This is our declaration of independence... although judging by your accent, you might not get that. Our revolution, maybe?" She put away her compact and placed her hands on her hips. "Look, big guy, I'll make this simple for you. Small words, short sentences, talking slow. Humanity is weak, unfit. Lacking in direction. They've had their chance, and they blew it. Now they talk about the 'mutant problem' – like we're the ones who need fixing. So really, they started this fight already. We're just stating the obvious." She let out a sigh that hung in the air like fog, followed by a pitying smile. "Why must the cute ones always be so dumb?"
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Oct 31, 2017 22:22
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Colossus Piotr listened and put his hands on his hips, the banded metal on his arms creaking against itself. "I know what is declaration of independence," he said quietly. He looked down at her and shook his head after listening. "They talk about mutant problem because they don't understand what mutation is. They don't understand what it is like, or who we are and this is the first many of them will be seeing of us outside of nightly news by fat-faced old men with lots to lose." He sighed. "This is not a good first impression, talking of genocide. Fifty years ago, it was not good to be a black man in America, and now there is president. Thirty years ago, it was not good to be gay in America, and now there is marriage and news anchor. Ten years ago, all supervillains were men and now, you are here," he said, with a grin. "The world is moving faster than ever, accepting faster than ever... What you argue for ends in Vorkutlag and Kolyma. When you get your way and first camp opens, will you think 'yes, I did a good job sending millions to their deaths'?" He looked down at her and grunted. "Why must the pretty ones always be so wrong?" So, do I roll for Psyche here? She... doesn't seem especially true-believery.
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Oct 31, 2017 22:50
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No roll required, I like the way you're playing it out. "I-I..." she stammered out, her look of smug superiority falling from her face. But before she could marshal her thoughts and say anything else, a ferocious blast of icy air hit Colossus from behind, coating him with ice and snow. "Who's your new friend, Justine? He seems... cool," said a voice that sounded like it deserved to get punched. Mastermind snapped out of her momentary confusion and immediately started shouting again. "Mastermind! You call me Mastermind, you dimwit! I swear to God, if Xorn finds out you're using human names again, he's–" "Oh, why don't you chill?" Iceberg gave a snide laugh at his own comment, and sauntered closer with lazy yet confident steps. "You tell one more stupid ice joke and I will end you. You only have, like, three of them anyway." Mastermind let out a groan of frustration. "And would it have been too much trouble to let me get out of the way first? You could have killed me with that ice blast!" "Uh, no?" Iceberg laughed again, and leaned against the ice-covered form of Colossus. "Xorn said no killing mutants, which includes you, and includes this guy here. It's an ice prison, my dear little beta mutant. He's just going to chill here for a while." He really did only have three puns to fall back on. Mastermind started to back away, making her way to the nearest door. "You really are a moron, Iceberg. He threatened to bring down the whole building with his bare hands." "So? I could do that," said Iceberg, looking up at Colossus. The ice covering him was beginning to crack under the strain of trying to keep one of the strongest mutants on the planet captive. "Oh sh–" That's d4 physical stress for Colossus. Fuego Fish fucked around with this message at 23:15 on Oct 31, 2017 |
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Oct 31, 2017 23:12
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Colossus Piotr could see the look on her face. Huh. It probably wasn't the first time someone had said this to her, but probably was the first time someone had said it to her beyond the safe 'it's all hypothetical and safe here' realm of the internet. He was about to say more, press harder and push further. Then he felt the icy blast on his back. Honestly, he could probably have seen it coming, had he paid more attention to the cool breath hanging in the air in front of Justine. If his sense of touch while he was metal wasn't so deadened to heat and cold, he'd probably have felt it. But he hadn't and now his upper body had been clamped in a few inches of ice. Piotr didn't sweat while he was metal. He didn't put out heat, his osmium skin staying at just about room temperature the whole time. If he was going to break out of this, it'd be his strength that did it. He grunted, squeezed his hands into fists and shifted his arms. There was a sound close to a roar, of metal bending and ice cracking. He just about flexed his way out of the ice before reaching a hand down to grab at Iceberg's skull. "Just saying words about things being cold doesn't make it a pun, cyka!" And with that, he was running towards the wall, ready to take the fight outside, using Iceberg's skull as a battering ram. Calling Invulnerability to break the ice and ignore the damage so that's me down 1 PP. Godlike Strength (d12), Combat Expert (d8), Solo (d6), Quick to Anger (d4+1pp) for the grapple and move. 1d12+1d8+1d6+1d4 = (3)+(5)+(6)+(3) = 17 Picking 5+6 and d12 as the effect die. +1 pp for me.
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Oct 31, 2017 23:40
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Frog Donna, hearing crashing noises, can only guess that the big guy ran into some of the others. Hopping out of the hole and out into the open, she follows Cyclops up the stairs, opting to simply leap the stairwell in a single bound. Given she's hopping up rather than down, there's little extra noise from the landing comparatively. Or at least, that's her rationale. She's actually just eager to get out of this closet and towards higher ground, where her big hops come in handy. Gravity's a harsh mistress, but she comes in real handy when she needs to, quite literally, get the drop on someone. "Don't mind me, I've got this figured out, won't take me but a minute to find a good position." Just as quickly as she blurts it out, she's gone off in search of higher ground, one in a spot no one would expect. In the event I need to roll to set myself up in a vantage point, I'll be rolling Solo d6 + Hop To It! d8 + Leaping d10 + Acrobatics Master d10. Hopping to it!: 2#1d10 9 1 1d8 8 1d6 4 Putting that together, this theoretical Asset uses a 17 total with a d6 Effect Die.
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Nov 1, 2017 00:28
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Iceberg went through two walls before slipping out of Colossus's grasp, tumbling forward into a pile of slush on the sand. The sun was just setting, the heat of the day ebbing away, but this wasn't going to be an issue for the cryokinetic mutant regardless. Nor was the extreme trauma he had just experienced. From out of the slush pile emerged an arm, forming up out of the ice, cold blue and translucent. Another followed, and both were planted palms-down on the ground, allowing Iceberg to lift himself up and reform himself. In stark contrast to his body, which was rapidly getting whiter as it froze completely, his eyes were solid black, except for ice-blue irises. Cold washed out from him, frost spreading along the ground along with creeping mist, as he took stock of what had just happened to him. He did not look happy. It was an ugly, furious expression. "Do you... have any idea... how much... that hurt?" He panted, breath ragged. The scowl turned into a manic grin. "Because it's not gonna hurt half as much as what I'm gonna do to you." When Colossus transformed his body, it was a graceful transition. Iceberg's change was anything but. He was growing in size and weight, but not all at once. Pieces of him exploded outward in thick, jagged portions. One arm dwarfed the other, until it caught up. His smooth ice form became craggy and splintered, until he was even larger than Colossus, resembling his namesake much more than before. "Time to die, tin man!" Iceberg roared out, and launched himself into a running tackle, hitting Colossus full on the chest. That's d8 physical stress for Colossus. Back inside, Frog leaps through the empty corridors and rooms of the control facility, ending up perched on top of some ducting high above the floor. From there she can see light flickering from under a door at the other end of the corridor, the same eerie yellow that was all over the radio dishes outside. Not too long after she's settled into her hidden vantage point, however, but a stranger comes dashing down the hallway from the other end. A different look than in the hologram, but Frog immediately recognises her as one of the three mutants the Professor had told them about – Mastermind. "This is bad, this is bad, this is bad," she said quietly as she ran, almost inaudible over the sounds of the fight outside, and the crackle of energy emanating out from the room she was heading for. Too distracted to look up, too. Frog now has a d6 asset to exploit, in the form of a high vantage point, and possibly a situation to use it in.
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Nov 1, 2017 01:19
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Marvel Girl Jean tries to focus above her as she falls after, not getting distracted by her surroundings and just trying to pick out unfamiliar minds. It was tricky - her own teammates are excited and conflict's bubbling up - but maybe she can pick something out. Two fingertips to her temple, she narrows her eyes, focusing on trying to pick out the lights in the astral haze as she falls behind slightly. Partially because she's concentrating, but also because she knows Frog and Cyclops will be better in the lead anyway. She didn't exactly have the action movie stuff down, and truth be told, she was still afraid. Hopefully they'd be able to keep this under control. She needed to prove she could do this!... but there's that constant uncertainty pecking away at the edges. Rolling Team d10 + Crushing Self-Doubt d4 + Telepathy d10 + Psych Expert d8 to try and track down stray brains! Got a 14 with an effect die of d10, with 1 opportunity, and picking up a PP thanks to the distinction.
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Nov 1, 2017 01:37
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Colossus Piotr grinned, now standing outside in the rear of the compound. He looked down at the pile of slush, his knees a little bent, legs apart and hands out in front of him in a gripping position. He looked just about ready to draw for some pistol at his hip. He looked at the slush pile as it started to reform and that grin grew even wider. He saw the mist and the forming, cracked shape of a face and all he could do was smile at him. He watched the spikes of ice, the jutting, jarring ice-shelves jerking out from his shoulders, his elbows, and across his face. He felt himself get hit with the running tackle and, if he breathed while in metal form, he'd probably have had the wind knocked out of him. He was lifted and carried for a dozen or so paces before being unceremoniously dumped and mounted, ready for a shower of punches to be brought down onto him. He brought his arms up in front of his face and chest and took the punches before grabbing at an arm and rolling Iceberg off him. He stood up quickly, brought Iceberg's arm around behind his head. He pushed his head down, cranked his arm up and locked him into a messy a half-nelson. He could hear ice starting to crack. Maybe at some point he'd actually get to attend a lesson on combat and he might be able to do more than 'the stuff I learnt while fighting bullies and jerks on a farm in Russia.' "It is so rare I get to kick the rear end of someone who is taller than I am," he said, giving Iceberg a short, sharp jab to the back of the head for good measure. Another jab. "Tap, cyka! Tap!" Going to spend that 1PP to ignore physical damage again. Solo (1D6), Combat Expert (1D8), Godlike Strength (1d12), Russian Farmboy (1d4+1PP) 1d6+1d8+1d12+1d4 = (4)+(4)+(4)+(4) = 16 That's- 8 with D12 effect. I roll bad. Gaining 1 PP.
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Nov 1, 2017 01:55
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The world fell away for Marvel Girl, all physical sensation dropping into shadow, leaving her perception full of a world of quiet echoes. It was easy enough to locate the four lights that were her teammates, she'd been around them often enough during training to know how they felt. Then there were the site personnel outside, their minds clouded over with doubt and fear from the illusions they were trapped in. There was something about the human mind that was ever-so-slightly different to a mutant one, something she had picked up on from her long lessons with Professor Xavier, which made them easier to ignore for now. That left the Brotherhood. One was outside, a mind projecting negativity. Hate and anger at everything, even some directed inward. Frustration. Pain. Getting hit in the face? In the heat and passion of a fight it was not easy to read specifics, but at the same time thoughts erupted out like fireworks. Superiority. Alpha. Unstoppable. If this one was fighting toe-to-toe with Colossus, it must be Iceberg. That left the ones indoors, all clustered together. Running down a hallway, panic, doubt, fear. Not an easy read, like having a little static on a radio channel. Mental protection, mind powers. Mastermind? She was heading to a room, inside of which was – pain. Concentration, pain, pain, focus, pain, control, command, effort... pain. A mind that had an echo to it, a metal voice. Machine-like. Reaching out, talking, controlling. It was telling her, telling everything, to broadcast this message. Can't stop, can't stop. Show the world. Hijack. And then there was light, blinding light, burning fire. Cold, dispassionate flame that consumed and shone and that hurt. That wasn't someone else's pain she was feeling, that was her own. Like staring into the heart of a sun, light, shining, mirror reflection two of the same one mind like two minds and minds so similar and always screaming black void star child destroyer song age old eternal ph– She had to break the connection, the intensity of it all like nothing she'd ever experienced before. But even amid all that, it wasn't hard to count. Iceberg, Mastermind, Hijack, and the burning light. Four. Four minds. There were four members of the Brotherhood here, not three. Jean takes d6 mental stress from psychic feedback. Outside, Colossus was finding that hitting a pile of ice is typically the same at all times, even if this particular pile of ice had a smug face and a bad attitude problem. In this massive form, Iceberg was able to take hits much better. "You don't get it, do you? Davey's here to spread the word, Justine's here to keep things quiet, but me? I'm here in case we need to fight an army," he growled with an insufferable smirk. The ice that was him began to grow and creep, beginning to swallow up Colossus's arm. "You think you can stop me with a few punches? Get real. I'm ice. I'm a world-ender, man, a drat force of nature. What are you? What are you?" His body suddenly snapped in half, leaving a large chunk attached to Colossus, which would have weighed him down if not for his prodigious strength. The other half rolled on the ground and regrew out to full size again. "You're nothing, that's what you are."
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Nov 1, 2017 02:17
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Colossus "What am I?" asked Colossus. "What am I?" He grinned, looking down at his hand, the huge, new, club fist of his. "I'm Colossus. I'm the strongest man in the world," he said, hitting Iceberg in the face with a big haymaker. "I'm covered in osmium, steel and other stuff no one even has a name for yet." He drove another big, right hander into Iceberg's chest. "Я могу сделать это весь проклятый день!" he roared, smashing his fist into Iceberg once more. "Если вы миролюбивый человек, то апокалипсис придется попробовать еще раз!" A big right cross. "But, most of all- I'm not alone. Magma!" Godlike Strength (d12), Combat Expert (d8), Solo (d6), Quick to Anger (d8) 1d6+1d8+1d12+1d8 = (3)+(3)+(8)+(1) = 15 Goddamnit, Dicebot. 3+8 with d8 effect.
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Nov 1, 2017 02:48
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Frog And there it is! An opportunity! Donna at first considers following them and talking to them since they seem scared, but on the other hand, this is the psychic one. They should probably take them out as soon as possible. Going up ahead of them, and taking advantage of going unnoticed (not that that's too different from normal), she thinks to herself before lining up the shot and firing out her tongue. If she did this correctly, she'd hit Mastermind square in her center of mass and let the non-Newtonian fluids do the rest of the work yanking her up and into an easily-restrained position. This is Solo d6, Stretching d6, the bonus d6 from Tongue, (It's Not Easy) Being Green d8 and Combat Expert d8 to try to snag Mastermind with a Complication. Tongue Lash!: 3#1d6 6 6 2 2#1d8 3 7 Hot drat! I'm going to spend my 1 Plot Point to add an extra die to my total, giving me a 19 total with a d10 Effect Die. Maybe if we're lucky she'll roll a 9 or less and I'll have disabled her outright.
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Nov 1, 2017 04:08
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Frog's tongue hit Mastermind right where she'd been aiming, with a splatter of goop that went from runny to sticky with the force of the impact. The Brotherhood mutant barely had a second to register what had happened before being hauled up off the ground, kicking her high-heeled boots futilely. "Two of you? And you're supposed to be– put me down! Oh my God this is so disgusting– and this is designer, you little brat–" she snapped out, managing to go from one source of indignation to the next in such rapid succession that she could barely finish a sentence. All of a sudden she froze and looked down the hallway at the door, where the energy was still flickering, and then began to half-whisper, half-scream: "Let me go let me go let me go let me go–" Around Frog, the walls immediately came alive, falling to pieces that slithered around, a tangle of hissing snakes and twitching severed limbs. From between the cracks and gaps came swarms of grossly oversized spiders and insects. The lights flickered and sparked, fires erupting everywhere, blood pouring down from the ceiling by the gallon. The floor sank down a thousand miles into a yawning black void, and all the while the door at the end of the hall grew and grew into a looming, gaping mouth of twisted metal teeth. Being told about the possibility of illusions had helped, but it was such a sudden and violent change that it was still incredibly startling. But it was chaotic, unfocused. A hundred different scary things at once that made it seem less real. This wasn't a directed attack. This was Mastermind in a desperate panic... and something told Frog that it wasn't her that Mastermind was panicking over. Frog takes d6 emotional stress, but Mastermind is restrained for now.
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Nov 2, 2017 11:07
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Marvel Girl Wincing, Marvel Girl grips her head, and says aloud after Cyclops, "There's another. There's a fourth." However, right now, Mastermind's panic is left for her to hope up. Frog is bounding up ahead as Jean rushes up the stairs, trying to keep pace. She's fit, but hardly the Danger Room devotee some of the others are, so the Frog has her fly before Marvel Girl arrives. As she catches up with the confrontation and gets slight of the illusionist, she leans against the trailing of the stair. In a moment, she extends her will like a hammer, trying to fire off Mastermind's synapses en masse and overwhelm her brain. "Sorry for the headache, but you sound like a real pain in the rear end!", she says sharply. Firing a Psychic Blast at Mastermind with Psychic Powerhouse. Rolled Team d10, Fight Over Flight d8, Psychic Blast d8 (due to the SFX), Psych Expert d8 for 16 total with a d10 effect (once again, SFX).
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Nov 3, 2017 08:38
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Mastermind arched her back, eyes wide, and let out a piercing scream... then dropped her head abruptly. The world around Frog faded back to normal, like mist clearing away in the light of day. The floor was back, the walls no longer snakes and spiders, no fire or blood. But the light from under the door at the end of the hall, the strange energy, was gone. The door fell off its hinges, hitting the ground with a crack. The frame was burning, and the flames were blue. Out of the room floated a solitary figure, hands clasped behind his back. There was no waver to his movement, it was perfect, like a leaf across a pond. He didn't even seem to be breathing. It was hard to tell because of the mask. That skull-like mask that had been on every screen, the eyes shining. Xorn. Mastermind's body was pulled bodily from Frog's grip, the sticky slime burning away in cold blue flame that left the unconscious mutant untouched. She was dragged down the hallway to stop a few feet in front of Xorn, and suddenly snapped awake with a pained gasp for breath. "Xorn! I c-can–" she began, but the words froze in her throat with an unpleasant croak, and she twitched as if fighting against some invisible force restraining her. Frog might not have been an expert on mutant powers, but she'd seen all the Star Wars movies. This was a Darth Vader move. Jean was perhaps not an expert, but she was a psychic. Telepathic and telekinetic. Professor Xavier had told her that she was one of the most gifted and naturally skilled psychics he'd ever met. Evidently he'd never met Xorn. Through her mind's eye she could see his power, coming off him like heat from a flame. His mind shone like a star, so incandescent that nothing could be seen or sensed, only power. Just touching it had hurt her earlier. "Mastermind," he said, his voice placid like in the video, but there was a coldness to his words. "You had your instructions." "I'm sorry," is all she managed to say, struggling to get the words out. Xorn's metallic mask showed no expression, his body language utterly unreadable. He hadn't even moved his hands and he was holding her so easily, manipulating her body like a doll. "I had faith, Mastermind. Faith in you. Faith in your abilities. Faith in your dedication." The last word trembled, the emotion seeping in for a second, the star flaring in Jean's senses. He took a moment to pause. "Was that faith misplaced, Mastermind? Was I mistaken?" "No, sir," she gasped, still having trouble breathing. Like a puppet with its strings cut, she suddenly fell to the floor in a heap, coughing and dragging in harsh, ragged, desperate breaths. "Good. Your failure aside, this interruption was something I had considered. They are Charles's students, Mastermind, here on a mission. There will be at least four, he would seek advantage in numbers as part of his strategy. Predictable." From behind Xorn, an unconscious body drifted out of the room he'd left, hanging limply in the air, alive but motionless. He had a different haircut, and different clothes, but the face was still the same as the hologram. It was Hijack. Xorn looked directly at Jean and inclined his head slightly, like he was observing something mildly curious and nothing more. A moment passed, and he looked at Mastermind again. "Should you incapacitate more of them than Iceberg does, you will restore your standing in the Brotherhood. Do you understand me? Do I need to repeat myself, Mastermind?" "No sir," said Mastermind again, in a small voice. "You are understood." "Good. You may start with this one." Xorn's head tilted slightly again, this time to direct his gaze toward Frog. "And her pet."
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Nov 3, 2017 15:20
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Cyclops So much for being sneaky, Cyclops thought as first Frog and then Marvel Girl charged past her. Abandoning stealth she broke into a jog up the stairs to find the two of them confronting Xorn and Mastermind. It seemed they'd done more damage than they'd taken but then with Xorn's intervention things looked a little more even. Stepping out of the stairwell Cyclops didn't even bother trying to get Xorn to surrender. He'd made it quite clear what he expected to happen to her friends and she for one wasn't going to waste time in trying to talk him down whatever the professor may have wanted. She raised a hand to her visor and snapped off two quick blasts at the enemy mutants hoping they'd be sufficiently distracted by Frog and Marvel Girl to be caught by surprise. @Ferrosol: 1d10+1d10+1d8+1d8+1d6 = (4)+(7)+(7)+(8)+(3) = 29 Team d10+force blast D10 +D8 combat expert +d8 for I don't have time for this. plus d6 from SFX. So i'll take the 2D8s which gives me 15 and use the 2d10s as my effect die.
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Nov 4, 2017 01:56
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Magma Adelina waited for everyone else to leave the tunnel before following. Part of it was anxiety that the tunnel would collapse, making noise or causing part of the building to collapse. But she also really was not looking forward to what was about to happen. Still, she was up the stairs a moment later. She couldn't keep up with Frog, of course, but she figured as long as she stuck by Cyclops, things would be fine. And then they were facing Xorn in all his over-the-top supervillainish glory. Adelina should have found it ridiculous, but her stomach dropped and she just felt fear. OOC: So I'm ready to make a roll for my action, but wanted to wait for both the resolution of Cyclops's attack and also to see who's tagged to go next.
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Nov 4, 2017 14:03
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Cyclops's first beam struck Mastermind directly, sending her slamming against the wall. The second was on target for Xorn, but the masked mutant dropped to the floor, stretched out on hand, and the beam curved unnaturally to hit the opposite wall instead. For the first time, Xorn was moving, visibly breathing. As impressive as being able to deflect that blast had been, it had clearly involved effort. "The best and brightest," said Xorn, clenching his fist. "Oh, Charles, you have been busy." A slim black device emerged from some hidden pocket on his outfit. But it was nothing more sinister than a simple phone. It rose up, moved telekinetically, to hang just beneath his chin. "Vanisher. We are done here." Mastermind's body was dragged forcefully into the air, and somehow brought back to consciousness immediately, as if by the press of a button. Xorn didn't even look at her now. "You have been a disappointment to me, Mastermind. I can only hope your brother has greater dedication." A figure seemingly made of shimmering light appeared next to Xorn in a flash, and as quick as they had arrived, disappeared again. This time taking Xorn, Mastermind, and Hijack along. Outside, the fight between Iceberg and Colossus had grown to a stalemate, neither side able to bring the other down completely. For some reason, Iceberg was getting exceptionally more angry about this fact. When the shimmering figure appeared next to him, he screamed at them. Half pleading, half furious. "You can't do this to me! I've got this! I've g–" His impotent rage was cut off and faded away on the wind. Here one moment, gone the next. That's 2xp to everyone for an abrupt end to the scene.
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Nov 5, 2017 09:35
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Colossus It was probably for the best. He'd called for back up at the last second and found the results wanting. He was waiting for Iceberg to check over his shoulder for long enough to distract him so Piotr could straight up just wrench his head off his shoulders. It'd grow back, he figured. Pete and Iceberg scrapped for a while more, fists flying and earth shattering with each hit. Seeing the two of them go at it was really an exceptional lesson in two-legged demolition. Huge chunks of stone, wall and even, at one point, a car were used as weapons. Pete seemed to be enjoying himself as Iceberg started to get the feeling he'd bitten off more than he could chew. He saw the shimmering figure appear next to his target as the two of them squared off against each other a final time and he lunged, trying to snare both of them in his huge arms but they blinked out of existence before he could get close to them. He stopped, standing there in the middle of the field around him and grunted, searching. He brought his finger up to his ear and touched his communicator. "What the hell happened? Where are they? Are they still broadcasting?" He looked around him again, and started to run for the rest of his team.
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Nov 5, 2017 18:37
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Frog PP: 0, XP: 2, d6 Emotional Stress It was all a lot to take in. First she succeeded at her job while no one was watching, then all that freaky stuff happened at once. That obviously fake freaky stuff but it didn't make it any less scary. And after that, her friends arrive just in time to see Mastermind get ripped out of her grip and sent back after the team, and before she can even respond, Sarah had put down the errant psychic and caused a retreat. So as far as anyone else saw, or at least, what Donna thinks everyone saw, she ran off ahead and then failed to hang onto a VIP target. The oily sweat begins trickling down and slicking up her hair and outfit as she realizes how this reflects on her. Why? Things were going so well! And now it all looks terrible! B-but I have to take responsibility. Just hop down, and... Frog hops downwards and tries to keep from panicking in front of the others, lest she find out if her frog mutations include puffing up as a fear response. "I-I can explain! I had Mastermind, I really did! Snatched her right on up, and then...W-well, anyway, it wasn't my fault! I swear!" Unknown Quantity fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Nov 6, 2017 |
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Nov 5, 2017 21:47
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Marvel Girl PP: 2 | XP: 2 | Mental Stress: 1d6 "Wait, why are-", Marvel Girl tries to ask, but they're gone, and all she's left with is a nasty headache. She looks over to Frog, holding up a hand. "It's okay, it's not your fault." She looks around the room, trying to puzzle out what went on here. She wasn't exactly a detective, but it didn't seem like had much time to hide much. Maybe a clue had been left behind. She looked to Sarah, "Six of them, sounds like. And Xorn knew about the Professor." Biting her lip, she looked around, seeking out the broadcasting equipment. Maybe they could send a message of their own. Probably not without Hijack, but it was worth a look.
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Nov 6, 2017 00:47
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Colossus PP: 1 | XP: 2 Piotr moved, storming through the compound, a finger in his ear and setting off the push to talk on his ear piece. "No one's blaming anyone, Frog, calm down," he said. He paused, standing in the hole in the wall he and Iceberg had made before sighing, and moving back through the control room, through the lobby and back out the front door, into the space that all the staff were in. He looked around, taking in the sights, getting ready to help anyone up that needed it. There was the sound of bending metal again, as he reverted to his normal, human-looking form. People didn't need to have that giant metal man panic button pushed...
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Nov 6, 2017 02:34
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"X-Men, it is good to hear you," the Professor's voice was in all their heads again, but this time only through the radio. There was still a little static on the line at first, but it quickly turned clear. "I am happy to report that the broadcast has ceased, and the interference that was preventing radio contact has gone with it. I am proud of each of you for putting a stop to this, although I do fear that things may never be the same again." There was a short pause, but the Professor seemed too eager to talk to stop for long. Having been out of contact for over an hour, it was easy to see why. "While monitoring through Cerebro, I was only able to read the presence of the mutants there, not what was going on in great detail. I take it there was a fourth member of this Brotherhood – a teleporter of some kind, judging by their rapid appearance and disappearance – who extracted the others from the facility? I got only a second's glimpse of them, not enough to ascertain anything about them. Nor their intended destination, sadly." The room from which Xorn and Hijack had emerged was a mess, various electronics fried or smashed, some outright melted. As a makeshift power-booster for Hijack's powers, it hadn't been able to last. Neither had Hijack for that matter, judging by his unconscious state. It seemed that Xorn had no qualms about pushing members of the Brotherhood far beyond their limits. Outside, one of the staff members who were meandering around aimlessly bumped into Colossus, taking a moment to realise what had just happened, his eyes unfocused and darting this way and that. "Where are they? Where are they?" He asked, desperately, looking behind Colossus. "There were– I saw– they're still here, I know it. They couldn't just have... gone?" Judging by the khaki slacks and ill-fitting shirt, he was some sort of engineer or scientist. Not much of a threat for the Brotherhood, true, but even the security guards had been placed under Mastermind's illusions. There were no bodies anywhere, in fact. Not even the slightest sign of violence. Had that been the Brotherhood's intent from the start?
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Nov 6, 2017 12:50
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Colossus PP: 1 | XP: 2 Piotr nodded his head a couple of times, putting his hands on the mans shoulders. He held him still and steady for a moment, trying to calm him down. He let him talk, quite unable to keep up with the mumbled words and the thick accent. He shook his head a couple of times and smiled as best he could. "Be calm," he said. Once upon a time he heard that saying 'don't panic' was a good way of making people panic. "Be calm, it's over. It's over. They're gone, and we're here," he said. "Do you have- manager? Is there someone here that is in charge?" he said. If you give someone a problem to solve they'll focus in on that.
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Nov 6, 2017 14:53
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The man blinked slowly, scrunching his eyes shut tight and then opening them again several times. He opened his mouth, looked around, then closed his mouth again. He lifted his hand, one finger extended as if to bring up a point or ask a question, then lowered it again. "Let's just go with it," he mumbled with a shrug, and started to massage his temple with one hand. "That's Peterson and she's... ah... somewhere. I think that's– yeah, that's her right over there, all... curled up." Curiosity got the better of him and he cleared his throat politely. "This isn't some sort of... psy-op or something, right? No MKULTRA acid in the water supply? I mean... who are you?"
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Nov 6, 2017 15:05
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Colossus PP: 1 | XP: 2 Pete smiled at that. Just go with it. That seemed like good advice. He took a step back from the guy that he was talking to a moment ago and listened to his head. He, in his thick Russian accent, looked the guy square in the eyes and said with a total monotone deadpan, "I have no idea what MKULTRA is or what that means." The loving KGB were in on it too?! Oh, man, this changes everthin- "Move around people here, try and get them back on their feet. I'll get some relief supplies soon," he said quietly before walking over to Peterson. He crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder. "Excuse me? You are Peterson, yes?"
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Nov 6, 2017 15:14
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Bad-shirt man blew out his cheeks, eyes wide, and gave another shrug. This one more aggressive towards the world in general. "Sure. Great. This is probably one of those mutant things, isn't it? Someone's gone and done something to the water and now we're all going to be mutants. Great, just great." He stalked off in a huff, but did seem to be looking for people to help, so it was a partial victory. "I'm ok, I'm ok," mumbled Peterson in response, eyes closed, rocking back and forth gently. "I just don't want to open my eyes, and that's ok."
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Nov 6, 2017 16:48
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Colossus PP: 1 | XP: 2 "You're okay, you're okay," said Piotr. He kept his hand on her shoulder and seemed to chew his bottom lip. He stayed there for a few moments before taking another breath. "It's over. You can open your eyes now. My name's Piot- Pete," he said, quietly. "I'm here to help."
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Nov 6, 2017 17:35
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e: Booped. ee: Unbooping. Frog Frog taps her communicator, realizing it was on 'voice activity' rather than 'push to talk' the whole time with a slight blush. "Well, good to hear that the broadcast is over, at least. You can say that last part again though, Professor. The place is trashed. That being said, I think we might have evidence that this Xorn guy is scaring your former students into working with him. When I snagged Mastermind, she was flipping out not because of me, but seemingly because of her boss being right next door." She opts to leave out the part about getting her victory robbed by Xorn for now. Pacing and looking around the room to await a reply, she turns her mic off and turns towards her teammates. "Anyway, I'm still a little spooked from having the walls turned into fire and the floor into snakes, but I guess we're not done, huh?" She gives an awkward chuckle. "What do we do next?" Unknown Quantity fucked around with this message at 00:22 on Nov 7, 2017 |
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Nov 6, 2017 17:46
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Marvel Girl PP: 2 | XP: 2 | Mental Stress: 1d6 Looking at the ruined equipment, Jean rubs her fingers through her hair with a sigh. "Figures." She looks over her shoulder to Frog. "Well, we make sure the people are okay. And we go, I guess. It doesn't look like 'Brotherhood' left much." She rubs her neck. "Prrrobably best not to be here when the authorities kick down the door. I could try and make sure they don't notice us if that happens, but I don't know if I can un-notice the Blackbird." She starts towards the steps as she touches the communicator. "Is everybody alright?"
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Nov 7, 2017 00:51
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"I apologise, Frog, but perhaps you could repeat that for me in more detail?" The Professor's voice was slow, his tone one of puzzlement. "I'm not quite sure I understood you. Did Mastermind merely believe that Xorn was present? Or did you actually perceive him to be there as well? Because it is... that is to say, I feel as if... no, I suppose the most honest statement would be that I am incredibly concerned that Xorn may be undetectable by telepathy." Outside, Peterson opened her eyes. "Pete and Peterson, huh? Jeez, you're a big guy. And, uh... what exactly are you wearing? Am I still seeing things?"
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Nov 7, 2017 01:16
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Frog "Well, I mean..." Frog tugs at her neck a bit, feeling a bit uneasy. I mean, she thinks the guy was there. Sarah shot at him, and it was shoved away and stuff! If the scorch mark for the beam is still there, then it definitely wasn't an illusion. "A few seconds after I nabbed Mastermind, her boss stepped out, and...well, basically told her off, giving her a knockout quota if she wanted to not be a failure." She sits down and curls up a bit. Seeing someone do what they did with Sarah's beam, even if it took effort, was scary to think about considering her own abilities are nowhere near that kind of firepower. Plus she could kind of sympathize with Mastermind given the situation and how she looked. "Ordinarily I might think it was still an illusion, but I'm pretty sure telepaths can't fling themselves with telekinesis, and illusions don't deflect laser beams. Anyway, he mentioned you by first name and someone named...uh, what was it...Banisher? Vanisher? Something -isher, and then like that they were gone. Sarah thinks we should take care of the civilians and then get lost before someone finds the Blackbird. Will that, er...anything else you think we should do, Professor?" she finishes, unsure how better to phrase it, considering Professor Xavier is a teacher and a mentor, but it's been long since established that at the Xavier Institute there are no leaders and no hierarchies, everyone equal even between students and staff.
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Nov 7, 2017 01:44
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Colossus PP: 1 | XP: 2 Piotr took a long moment to think about what could be said here. There was a lot riding on this one conversation and, well, his English was better than it'd been this time two weeks ago but it was still not exactly great. He smiled, as friendly as he could, before nodding slowly. "You should be seeing only what's real at the moment," he said, quietly. First thing's first, establish a shared reality. "This facility was attacked by a group of mutant radicals. I'm from another group, and we have fought the attackers and have removed them from this area." He took a deep breath and it had to happen. "I'm a mutant, and I work for a group that believes that humanity and mutants can co-exist peacefully, and that each side can bring out the best in the other... I-" a moment. "We have supplies in our vehicle which I'd like to hand out. Blankets, bottles of water and first aid if it's needed." And now to see how she'd react.
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Nov 7, 2017 15:45
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"I see. Thank you, Frog. However, from what you have told me, I fear that means Xorn is telepathy-immune in some manner. Even with Cerebro boosting my abilities significantly, I could not detect any trace of him. I cannot say I like the idea of a psychic existing who not only rivals my abilities, but counters my philosophy as well." The Professor let out a sigh that was audible over the radio. "I suppose some silver lining of this is that perhaps Mastermind, Hijack, and the others are being controlled rather than willingly going along with such madness." There was another pause, this one silent and lasting longer. The Professor was losing himself in his thoughts, but eventually spoke up again. "Cyclops is correct, of course. See to the innocents in all this, there should be plenty of supplies within the Blackbird. Do be aware, however, that this is a government-handled facility. It would be best to remove yourself from the premises before the military gets involved." Outside, Peterson was listening to the big Russian farmboy make his way through his little speech, nodding on occasion. "So... let me just... we got hit by something like a– a terror attack, and you're the– the mutants who handle other mutants doing this kind of stuff?" She rubbed her forehead. "Y'know, I'm not even going to ask why anyone would attack a bunch of science geeks out in the desert, but... I'm alive, everyone else is alive, and I'm going to give you a big hug now." It took her a minute to get to her feet properly, but she was as good as her word, even if she could barely reach all the way around. "Thanks, Pete. I really mean it."
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Nov 7, 2017 16:14
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Colossus PP: 1 | XP: 2 Pete couldn't think of a better word for it than terror attack. "Something like that," he said quietly, glancing down at the ground. He helped her up to his feet nodded before seeming a bit startled at the hug. "They- wanted to use the radio here as a broadcast tower. They got their way for a while and- you'll probably be seeing it on the news tonight." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled back, before walking back to the Blackbird. He put his hand on the scanner at the rear and there was a beep-beep-beep-bing before the hatch at the back of the craft opened. It'd been less than ten minutes since they'd arrived and would, probably, be less than that before they could leave. Now, where had Valentine put the supply crate. Piotr looked around, crouched down, and grabbed the huge, heavy box. He hoisted it, and brought it out the rear of the aeroplane, the ramp hissing and closing as he left. "Remember there are more mutants that are good and want to live good lives than there are rear end-holes. Especially when you are interviewed on TV tonight," he grinned, marching back over to Peterson. "Some of my friends are still in there. They should be clearing out soon though, so try not to be alarmed if more people dressed like me show up in a few minutes." He dropped the crate near the front door and popped the seal on it.
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Nov 7, 2017 17:25
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Cyclops PP:1 XP: 2 Sarah was still slightly shocked. I mean yeah if armour had blocked her laser blast that would be one thing but just telekineticially deflecting it somehow well that was a whole other story. I mean she'd hit him with her best shot, still if there was some comfort to be had from the whole thing at least it had taken him a visible effort to deflect her. Perhaps if the team launched a coordinated assault all four of them at once they might overwhelm his defences and get a good shot in. It wouldn't be easy but next they might manage it. It was then she realised with a start how long she'd be considering her options while the rest of the team had been milling about. No not milling about, they'd been getting the job done while she'd been daydreaming. "We'd better haul off our prisoners to the blackbird then" she added. "We certainly don't want to leave them for the army or the CIA or whatever. I don't know what they'd do to them but it probably wouldn't be pretty." Or for that matter what they'd do to her and her team after all they were unsanctioned vigilantes as far as the law was concerned. "We probably have a little time to do basic first aid. But we shouldn't stay too long. No doubt the professor will want to get to the bottom of this. Oh and everyone good work today, a lot of innocent people will go home safe today because of what you did."
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Nov 8, 2017 01:11
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Marvel Girl PP: 2 | XP: 2 | Mental Stress: 1d6 "I'm pretty sure they all bailed, Cyke.", Marvel Girl says simply, fumbling with her hands for a moment as if slightly uncomfortable in the new costume. She felt like she should have pockets or something, but settles with folding her hands behind herself, and starts off towards the Blackbird. "Let's check on the others and then get." As she comes down the stairs and towards the front, she sees Colossus with the box. "Hey, you look alright. I was a little worried, but you know, better to be worried about nothing than something!" She looks over towards the people present- "All of your feeling okay? If you're kind of feeling some psychic trauma I might..." She trails off, biting the edge of her lip as she realizes what she's implying, but follows through. "... be able to help?" She looks back over to Colossus, as if just looking for backup in a nervous moment, and then looks back, feeling suddenly guilty she didn't start by helping people, but is just ending there.
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Nov 8, 2017 02:51
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Colossus PP: 1 | XP: 2 Piotr held out a hand when he saw Marvel girl come out of the front door. He was already handling out bottles of water. "Peterson, this is Marvel Girl. Not real name but, if she want to share then she can," he said. "She is able to calm people down, help them recover from trauma. She is our top negotiator," he said. Take it slow, explain it simply, don't go too deep into details. He stood there, thinking as loud as he could 'I think that there will be some people that are upset about what happened here. It might be good to not push too hard in any direction.'
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Nov 8, 2017 03:03
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| # ? May 1, 2024 11:55 |
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"Jeez, you're just kids..." said Peterson, looking over Marvel Girl and then back to Colossus. "A-Anyway, call me Lisa, it feels weird with you calling me Peterson like you're about to ask me about the budget or if there's a problem with the coffee machine. Plus I think saving my butt grants you first name privileges, y'know?" She glanced over at the other site personnel and lowered her voice until only the two X-Men could hear her. "I'm thinking that between the code name thing and the weird uniforms, you kids aren't here officially. I'm... I'm honestly fine with that, but I can't say that everyone here is gonna feel the same way. Especially if you're mutants. So if you need to duck out before things get awkward, I'll cover for you."
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Nov 8, 2017 11:55
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