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 Puerto Maltese, 1958: "Herr Weber?" The stranger's question was answered with the sound of guns cocking. He paused, his hat halfway from his head, the door still open behind him. He smiled, unafraid. "Ah. I shall take that as a yes." "I'm no fool," one of the others responded, an aging man at the back of the room, a smirk on his lips. "You're not nearly as–" The door slammed shut, interrupting him, and a low rumble started up as every metal object, from the pipes in the walls to the nails in the floorboards, began to vibrate intensely. "No, I beg to differ," replied the stranger, turning to hang up his hat. Triggers refused to be pulled. "Let me tell you a story, Herr Weber, about why you have to die..." Marrakesh, twenty years ago: Dressed in an impeccable white suit, a large man sat at a table in a small coffee house, small dark glasses hiding his eyes. He did not move, he did not drink, but every now and again a finger twitching or a slight movement of his head indicated he was still alive. The chair opposite him was pulled out by a younger man, dressed more like a tourist with dusty khakis and a polo shirt. He placed both hands on the table, fingers steepled together. "Charles Xavier. I do believe you have my watch." Somewhere in Montana, three years ago: "Gone! It's all gone! Gonnnneaaargh!!" The anger ended with a primal scream of frustration and rage, and the sound of heavy machinery being torn apart. Sparks flew across the darkness, illuminating a half-dozen individuals of all shapes and sizes. "Calm yourself, calm yourself. We'll pick up the trail again. After all, isn't that what you do best?" Present day: Welcome, one and all, to the Exceptional X-Men! In this game of Marvel Heroic we'll be playing out a brand-new continuity of mutant superheroes with new characters, new storylines, and new twists on old favourites. This game is using an episodic format, where even though the continuity remains the same, each adventure is self-contained. Here's an index of all the episodes so far: Episode 1: Brothers in Arms Episode 2: The Mutant Problem Episode 3: Blackout Episode 4: Me & My Shadow Episode 5: White Queen's Gambit Episode 6: Sentinel Fuego Fish fucked around with this message at 15:16 on Jun 11, 2019 |
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Oct 3, 2017 00:54
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 The teachers at the Xavier Institute for the Gifted collected scars the way that other teachers, at more normal schools, had terrible sweater vests or bad ties. None of them were among the most powerful of mutantkind, except perhaps Professor Xavier himself, but they had experience with their powers... and the consequences of them. Mr. Valentine taught more classes than the number of original limbs he had remaining, the other two being advanced mechanical prostheses of his own creation. He didn't like to talk about much of his past, but he and Xavier had a connection, and had seen the world. The only thing that Mr. Valentine could talk about more than machines was his experiences seeing the far-flung reaches of the globe. When Ms. Wagner asked what mutant name Sarah Summers had picked out for herself, there was a tense and awkward silence as every student did their best to look everywhere except at Ms. Wagner's eyepatch. Thankfully, Ms. Wagner had seen the funny side of it, as she always did. It took more than a lack of depth perception to get past her boundless enthusiasm. Guerra, Reyes, Bradley, Gwynn... all the teachers had their marks from the world, some more visible than others. Xavier seemed natural enough in his wheelchair, but there were a couple of times when students would notice him lean forward, as if to stand, and catch himself in his absent-minded foolishness when his legs refused to move. Perhaps this whole school was just their way to ensure that none of the students would see their own marks, or at least none so deep and so lasting. Thursday, 6pm. There wasn't anywhere you could go to escape technology at the Institute. The wifi managed to reach all the way to the end of the grounds with absolute perfect reception, although one foot outside school property and it was like it never existed. Which meant that when classes were done for the day, the students of Xavier's relaxed like most kids: television and internet. So everyone saw it. Students clustered around phones in the hallways. Some ran to the dorms with a breathless "Y-You've gotta c-come see this." The five students who were the X-Men had all ended up in the second floor common room, one way or another, along with about twenty other students. Who had been enjoying the opening scenes of the Godzilla double feature, and who'd been dragged in there by a panicking twelve-year-old... did it even matter at this point? They were all watching the same broadcast. It was on every channel, every screen, whether you wanted it or not. Something was overriding the signal, all signals, and forcing the world to watch. Upon a black wall was a symbol in vivid reds and purples. A circle of twisting double-helixes, surrounding a heavy, angular, stylised letter M. In front of that, a figure sitting calmly with his hands on his knees, his head bowed. Despite the helmet on his head, his voice rang out with eerie clarity, as if not being spoken at all. "Mankind looks upon us as the dinosaurs looked upon the meteor, with fear and ignorance at power they can scarcely begin to comprehend. I speak not of our gifts, but of our resolve. Our capacity to do what is necessary to secure the future for the children of the atom. It has become clear that mutants can only rise from the ashes once the old world, the human world, has been burned down." He raised his head, his skull-like mask glinting in the light spilling from the eyes. "I have cast aside the name given to me by Homo sapiens. I have shed the identity foisted upon me by the same ungrateful species who seeks to deny my gifts and treats me as a disease to be cured. I am Xorn, and I implore my fellow mutants to join me in Brotherhood." The light from the mask was glaring now, curling like fire and roiling like water at the same time. Static and distortions began to appear, as if the light was beginning to affect the camera in some way. The symbol's paint began to bubble, then burn away, along with the wall itself. "The future is here, humanity. You have no place in it." The video died with a sharp crackle, then darkness. Darkness that seemed to last an eternity before a scene faded in. The symbol, the kneeling man. "Mankind looks upon us as the dinosaurs looked upon the meteor..." Looked like the Godzilla double feature would have to wait for another day.
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Oct 3, 2017 00:55
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Colossus Piotr was looking forward to the movies. Sure, they were a little old and someone even brought out that one that was released back in the year 2000 before it got shouted down, but there wasn't a lot of talking and there was even less in the way of plot and story to be concerned about. Less talking was better, even if the staff were impressed by how quickly his English was coming together. Sometimes you just wanted to turn your brain off for a while, you know? They were just getting to the good bit when they were interrupted by a kid Piotr had seen around the school. They were talking too fast for him to track but the implication was pretty obvious once everyone else got up and started for the door. He followed along at the back and stood, watching the screen. This wasn't a news broadcast, or something that had been selected to be watched, but, rather, something that had forced its way onto the airwaves. It was a noxious, polluting signal that anyone could read. The giant Russian shifted his weight a little, moving from foot to foot before he realised that the kid had gravitated towards him. A little startled shift on his part before he reached a strong, meaty hand down to the kids head. That symbol was plenty threatening. The sharp angles on it, the letter, the colors all spoke of a cult of personality. This M and this Xorn was threatening everything all of a sudden and seemed to be able to break into every TV signal going. He felt the kid almost hiding behind him, and he turned on the spot, looking backwards and down. Piotr gave a big, cheesy smile. "This one, on the television. I have seen men like him before and they are all same. They are lions when facing sheep, but sheep when facing lions." He wished he believed that himself. He looked over at the rest of his team as they gathered and sniffed, standing back up to his full height, rolling his thick shoulders and nodded. "What's plan?" quote:Colossus AKA Pyotr "Peter" Nikolayevich Rasputin Sion fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Jul 27, 2018 |
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Oct 3, 2017 03:01
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Magma Adelina didn't remember enjoying Godzilla much the first time around---any of them---but she was a little kid then. Power Rangers and cartoons with robots were more fun back then. But Pacific Rim was good, and she watched a couple of Mystery Science Theaters with her dad that made Gamera bearable. So why not? She deserved some downtime. Still a good idea to take her American Art: History and Culture with her, though. No reason she can't get some reading done while the movies are playing. She was mid-munch in popcorn, and more focused on the signifcance of the Parson Capen House in early New England architecture than the TV, when she noticed everyone get quiet. Looking up, she, too was sucked into Xorn's declaration of war against humanity. Though Piotr's macho posing earned him an exasperated look. "You have not seen anyone like that," she says. "A global broadcast from some wacko would-be mutant messiah? No way. That's new." She didn't address his other remark. What plan? What does he think any of them are able to do about this? They're just students. quote:
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Oct 3, 2017 18:08
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Cyclops Sarah wasn't really a fan of Godzilla. Giant radioactive monsters battling it out in downtown Tokyo? It sounded like something out of a particularly absurd comic book. Still she had been reading every book she could get her hands on about leadership from the Professors library and they talked about how to build team spirit. One of those ways was bonding through shared interests so a chance like this to relax with the team could be invaluable. Even if she would rather have had another shift in the danger room. She understood combat, but people, people were complicated. Then the forgettable movie cut out and the message began. Sarah found herself leaning forward as he began to speak. Suddenly she felt a shiver down her back as she heard the message, this wasn't a protest wasn't a riot. Those had happened before, this was something new entirely, this was an outright declaration of war on the whole human race. Whoever this Xorn was he'd just thrown down the gauntlet and invited every bigot, every "moderate" talking head with a grudge against mutantkind to take a shot at the nearest mutant. the Russian's and Magma's arguing brought her back to reality. "Someone turn that thing off, we've heard everything it had to say." she said nodding at the TV and glanced around the room at the nervous students "Has anyone told the Professor what's going on? He needs to know about this." quote:
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Oct 3, 2017 19:25
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Frog Ooh, Godzilla! Frog was excited for the movie night. While Godzilla in particular wasn't a major focus of hers, she did get her start on horror movies from a family Halloween movie night, watching the 1933 classic King Kong. She'd offered Godzilla Vs. King Kong, but not very loudly, which is probably why it didn't get picked. The idea of giant monsters rampaging that are ultimately stopped either by other giant monsters or human ingenuity is just fascinating though, and now that she's, well, more than human, the idea hits a little closer to home now. Unfortunately, instead of a fun movie night, the events were cut short by someone deciding to hijack the broadcast and talk about how humans vs 'children of the atom' was an inevitability, and seemingly wanting to fan the flames of a full-on...what type of war would this be? A gene war? Something to ponder, along with the significance of the M and the name 'Xorn.' Regardless of their intentions, assuming this broadcasted to more than just their home, things were going to get a great deal more difficult, and that is not okay. The commotion following the broadcast got her thinking. Now's as good a chance as any to try chipping in. "I-I can go find him! I can cover a lot of ground, so it shouldn't take very long at all. Plus someone needs to keep order around here, and you'd probably be better at that than I would," she says, trying to maintain eye contact with Sarah. "I won't be long! He's probably in one of the studies, anyway!" Without really giving much of an opportunity to confirm or deny the plan beyond an "okay" or a "wait!," Donna hunches herself over and gets ready to leap out in search of their headmaster. quote:
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Oct 3, 2017 20:49
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Jean Grey Jean was an advocate for Godzilla vs. Red Ronin, mainly because it seemed like the goofiest. Godzilla, though, that definitely felt like a certain metaphor for a certain condition. Mutancy probably hadn't been caused by radiation - hard to say, but probably not - but it'd always be married to it in pop culture. Granted, Godzilla'd started as a metaphor for a certain national trauma in its home country, but death of the director and all that. It had different implications where she was sitting. So it was probably best not to have too much seriousness filtering into their monster movie marathon. Reluctantly, though, she trails after the hate speech rubberneckers, and the backdrop of panic and confusion is like static in the air. Couldn't they just have a normal night? She stares at the screen with her lip creased at the edge in a thoughtful frown. "Yeah, I'm sure humanity's just going to belly up and kick over just because you stole some airtime.", she mumbles at the TV. Logo and everything? Great, a terrorist with a graphics design department. As Donna takes off, she raises her hand to stop her half-heartedly. "Wait, you don't have to- I can just-" But the froggy girl's already off. She could just contact the headmaster telepathically, but better to let Donna do it in person. No emergency, after all. Instead, she gestures at the TV to just tap the power button telekinetically along with Sarah's cue. She's right - that was enough. It was pointless, though. If that had aired widespread - if it wasn't just beamed to the school - then it was going to boil over to all the news networks and websites and social media soon enough. A Brotherhood? Probably a guy behind that mask, then. pre:
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Oct 4, 2017 01:54
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Marvel Girl Jean Grey [secret]
Affiliations Solo d8 Buddy d6 Team d10
Distinctions Crushing Self-Doubt
Fight Over Flight
Heart of the Team
Power Sets Omega-Level Psychic
Enhanced Durability d8 Invisibility d6
Psychic Blast d10 Psychic Resistance d8
Subsonic Flight d8 Telekinetic Mastery d10
Telepathy d10
SFX Area Attack. Against multiple targets, for each
additional target add a d6 and keep an additional
effect die.
Mutant Alpha. Step up or or double any
Omega-Level Psychic power for one action. If that
action fails, add a die to the doom pool equal to
the normal rating of that power die.
Psychic Powerhouse. Step back the highest die in
your attack action pool to add a d6 and step up
mental stress inflicted.
Telekinetic Shield. When using Enhanced Durability
in your dice pool, redirect physical stress to
mental stress at no cost. Spend 1 PP to step back
redirected stress.
Limits Conscious Activation. While stressed out, asleep,
or unconscious, shutdown Omega-level Psychic.
Recover Omega-Level Psychic when you recover that
stress or wake up. If you take mental trauma,
shutdown Omega-Level Psychic until you recover that
trauma.
Mutant. When affected by mutant-specific
complications or tech, earn 1 PP.
Unstable. Change any Omega-Level Psychic power into
a complication to gain 1 PP. Activate an opportunity
or remove the complication to recover that power.
Specialties Combat Expert d8 Psych Expert d8
Milestones Drama Magnet
1 XP when you keep somebody at arm's length.
3 XP when you talk to somebody about
relationship issues.
10 XP when you decide to enter a committed
relationship, or break away from the team
because of issues with a teammate.
Limitless Potential
1 XP when you choose to hold back or hide your
powers.
3 XP when you unleash your powers in a dangerous
way.
10 XP when you accept your full potential as a
mutant despite the cost, or find a way to
limit your powers for the safety of others.
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No need to rush anywhere, I am very aware of the developing situation, the Professor's disembodied voice echoed in their heads. For most it was just a voice, but Jean's connection went a bit deeper, and she got a glimpse of the worry and concern at the forefront of the Professor's mind. In light of this most distressing turn of events, I must require you all gather in the briefing room as soon as you are able. The briefing room was in the subterranean part of the mansion, away from the hustle and bustle of daily life at the Institute. So far it hadn't seen much use beyond the Professor going over the advanced training routines for the X-Men, and a few lectures about what to do when forced to fight other mutants. Which had been nothing but tentative theory... until now. "I frickin' can't tell if this is trending right now because my stupid phone won't show anything else," griped one of the other students, sprawled across one of the comfier armchairs and evidently oblivious to the psychic communication happening. He dropped his phone on his chest and gave an ugly sigh. "This blows." "Did you see the way everything burned up at the end there? That was... he wasn't even moving and the whole room just melted." There was some shake in this student's voice, hugging her knees and shivering. She looked over at Piotr and the others, her eyes wide. "All I can do is breathe underwater. I don't..." She trailed off, miserable and scared. It seemed that was the prevailing mood among the students, along with feelings of hopelessness and panic.
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Oct 4, 2017 02:43
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Frog Whooooops! Guess I jumped the gun! Not even two hops in, Frog is met with confirmation that her task is pointless and just shuffles her way back, before having to shuffle in the opposite direction just as she reaches it, because the new objective is the meeting room. And now the mood really sets in, with several of her fellow students either frustrated or terrified. Who could blame them, though? Considering what just happened, and how they're now being asked to, effectively, take cover underground and discuss a plan of action, not that there was one right now. Okay, let's try to be pragmatic, Donna. You don't know if anything's going to be fine, nor are you really the leader type, but at the same time, these folks need something, anything to get them off of the funk they're in now. Take a deep breath, put a hand on them, try to smile, and say something good without screwing it up! With an exaggerated breath in, Donna puts a hand on one of these students, gives her best attempt at a smile, and speaks. "It's okay. We're all here together, right? In what may as well be the safest house we've likely ever been in. If something wants to get to you, it'd have to get through all of us, simultaneously. Have a little faith in this place, okay?" She tilts her head for emphasis and hopes she can exhale in the next half-minute or so.
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Oct 4, 2017 06:07
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Cyclops Sarah nodded her head in thanks as Jean used her telekinetic abilities to shut off the TV then turned to Donna "Yeah she's right.The mansion has the best security system money can buy, not to mention those of us with more--" don't say useful don't say useful "combat related mutations should be able to protect you. But the main thing is not to be scared., That's what this Xorn wants for mutants and humans to look on each other with fear. If we let ourselves be scared he wins." Sarah shifted uncomfortably, she wasn't good at giving speeches and this was probably the most she'd ever said to any of the students not on the team. She softened slightly in her tone "Besides I'm sure the Professor has a plan to deal with this. Trust him." Sarah turned to the rest of the team. "Speaking of, come on team looks like we have a job to do." and turned to stride out of the room.
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Oct 4, 2017 10:26
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Colossus Piotr gave Adelina a sidelong glance before looking back down at the now more-scared-than-previously kid. He gave a 'pfft' and shrugged, giving the kid a quick thumbs up. "Don't feel worried and stay calm. Xorn? He is just person that can get on television. Any idiot can get on television in this country," he paused. "Kardashian can get on television, and I am more scared of her than of this Xorn-" He felt the Professor rattling around in his head, and then heard Sarah speak up. It was weird, stopping suddenly, hearing something and wanting to reply to it but... finding yourself quite unable to do so. "See? Already a plan on how to deal with Spooky Kardashian Man. Relax. Over before morning..." He followed after Sarah but loitered in the corridor for a moment, waiting to hear if anything other than what'd just been on TV was spoken about.
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Oct 4, 2017 18:46
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Magma Adelina silently berated herself. *Why did you have to be snarky to Piotr in front of the other students? That didn't help anyone! Just put everyone else more on edge.* Her arms unconsciously fold across her chest and she looks down. She stays that way through the Professor's mental communication, then looks up as if to speak. But Sarah decides to take charge, and honestly, Adelina was more than happy to follow right now. She follows after, not waiting for the rest, and asks Sarah, "Do you think the Professor is really going to have us do something about that?" Her thumb jerks back to the TV lounge. ibntumart fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Oct 4, 2017 |
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Oct 4, 2017 19:43
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Jean Grey “Let’s not freak.”, Jean said, hands spread as she looks to the other students. “Whatever this Xorn wants, he’s not going to get it… as long as we stand against him.” She follows after the others, a frown crossing her lips as soon as they get out of sight. Did the Professor have a plan? Sarah seemed confident, but… well. She’d felt the worry in the Professor’s tone. . o O (You should probably get one of the on-duties to look after the other kids. They were pretty scared.), she thinks aloud to Xavier. To be fair, she’d rather be staying behind and doing that. That’s something she knew she could deal with. Handling an unknown, dangerous mutant was another story.
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Oct 4, 2017 23:35
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The majority of the Institute's staff, which sadly only amounted to around half a dozen individuals, were already out and dealing with each personal crisis as best as they could, one student at a time if necessary. Even Ms. Gwynn, who'd been a teaching assistant until early last year, was doing her best to bring her usual level of upbeat optimism to everyone around her, including herself. Waiting in the briefing room were Mr. Valentine and Ms. Wagner, who were both in the middle of an intense conversation. "–to be him, who else could it be?" Mr. Valentine said, anger in his voice, but not aimed at Ms. Wagner. "I know you felt hurt when–" she began to reply, but Mr. Valentine had noticed the team in the room by then, and aggressively cleared his throat. Ms. Wagner hesitated, then turned around. "Ah, kids! Students! No, uh..." "X-Men," said Xavier, entering through another door, from the Cerebro chamber. Quite easy to finish other people's thoughts for them when you could read them like a book. He smiled warmly at everyone, one hand on the controls to his chair as he navigated his way into the room. "I know it will take some getting used to, but I have faith in them, and so should you. Now everyone, do take a seat. I don't want to be the only one sitting down for this. Forge, Nocturne, if you would like to stay for a while?" "I... sure, Charles," sighed Valentine, slumping into a seat with all the grace of a puppet having its strings cut. Ms. Wagner followed suit as Xavier positioned himself at the head of the table. It was a sleek metal thing, inlaid with some particularly advanced technology, including a prototype holographic projector. But right now the most important part of it seemed to be the chairs. They felt much, much bigger now in light of the situation. This was no longer training. This was the real thing.
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Oct 5, 2017 03:56
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Colossus Piotr entered the meeting room. He was still getting used to not counting the number of X's that were dotted around the place. All the doors opened in an X shape, the recessed lights in the ceiling cast a gentle, ambient light onto the ground in an X shape and even the professors wheelchair had X shaped spokes. This seemed to be the only school in the country that had serious production design happening. He looked around and pulled a seat in front of him backwards and then dragged out another one for him to sit in. The chair creaked a little as the huge Russian sat. He leant forwards onto the table and looked around the table. "So? What is plan?"
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Oct 6, 2017 01:52
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"Yes, Charles, wie ist der Plan?" Ms. Wagner's accent hardly ever came out, except when she was stressed. She managed to keep it under control even when supervising superpowered teenagers with swords. To hear her lapsing all the way back into her native tongue was a sure sign she was having a hard time keeping it together. "Thank you for asking," replied the Professor. He pressed some buttons on a console at the head of the table, the hologram projector flickering into life with a display of the whole planet, the globe slowly turning. It wouldn't have passed muster as a special effect in a movie, but it was fairly impressive to see it in real life. "I was using Cerebro just a moment ago, to locate the source of the signal that has been overriding all electronics across the globe." "It's him, isn't it?" Mr. Valentine said. Professor Xavier hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "I'm afraid so. X-Men, before you came to this school, we had a larger staff. There was an incident that caused some of them to leave. One of them was a young man whose mutant name was Hijack." Xavier hesitated again, and Jean could feel the emotion radiating off him. Sadness, shame, worry, concern. "His technopathic abilities let him control technology, but for him to pull off something on this scale... he would not be working alone."
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Oct 6, 2017 04:02
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Magma Adelina surveyed the chairs, wanting to make sure she doesn't sit directly across from the Professor at the head and not right next to either Ms. Wagner or Mr. Valentine. She decided to sit across from Piotr, leaving a buffer seat on either side for someone else to take. She listened carefully. Ms. Wagner made her nervous. She was never anything other than completely composed, so even this slight slip was telling. The Professor's explanation bumped up her anxiety level. Not entirely sure she should be speaking up, she did so anyway: "Um, so this Xorn used to be Hijack? And he drove off the other staff?" Drove off or maybe something worse?
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Oct 6, 2017 09:47
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Colossus "It's him?" asked Piotr, leaning forwards. "You sound like you expected something like this." He paused, listened to Adelina and folded his huge arms over his chest and leant back in his seat. It protested with another creak. "I am not much interested in who this person was, so much as I want to know what we do with him. He is breaking into television, he is scaring the children and he is talking about, what, dinosaur and humans? All I want to know if he can hijack a fist moving towards his face as well as he can hijack cellphone, where he is and when we are moving out." Behold, Quick to Anger and Russian Farmboy in action.
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Oct 6, 2017 11:36
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"Wrong height, wrong build, wrong voice," said Mr. Valentine abruptly. "David is not Xorn, I can tell you that much... but the damned fool is working with him. For him." "Hijack's powers got him into trouble on numerous occasions. Hackers and computer vandals are not often treated kindly by the law, less so when their mutant gift allows them to bypass security. He was one of several who felt that I was making too many concessions, and left because of it." "Adam, Charles, I know you both beat yourself up about this," said Ms. Wagner, accent gone and composure regained, "but you are not to blame. David, Robert, the others... there was anger there, and that's not something you can control." Xavier steepled his fingers, listening to but obviously not agreeing with Ms. Wagner's words, his focus on the table in front of him – or a thousand miles in front of it. After a moment, he raised his head and looked at the X-Men in turn. "You all know that my dream for a world of peaceful coexistence allows for justified defence. You are that defence, my X-Men. I cannot be idle when there are those who would seek to harm us just for being mutants," he said. Mr. Valentine and Ms. Wagner – Forge and Nocturne – shifted in their seats slightly, Forge running his flesh and blood fingers along his metal arm absent-mindedly. "But we should not hope for war. We are outnumbered and, despite what some may think, outgunned. For every mutant who possesses great power, there are many who do not." He pressed another few buttons, and the holographic display lit up a point on the globe. "Using Cerebro, I have tracked Hijack to this location. It is a radio telescope facility, which I believe he is making use of in order to boost his reach somehow, akin to how Cerebro enhances the scope of my own powers. We cannot put this genie back in the bottle, but if we end the broadcast then we may mitigate the damage. However, he is not alone. There are two other mutants with him, presumably to safeguard him while he uses his powers so intensely."
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Oct 6, 2017 13:45
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Frog Donna fidgets in her seat, trying to piece together every scrap of information from the conversation so far. A former student joins up with some guy with a mutant superiority complex, uses their abilities to broadcast said guy's message to every screen ever, is likely at this one place that would super amplify the reach of their powers. Easy enough. The next question being, what to do about them? "Professor, if I may...what do you want us to do about them, besides stop the broadcast? I mean, about this 'Hijack' and anyone with them? I mean obviously they probably won't let us cut the feed without some kind of fight, but, um..." She pushes her index fingers together, trying to not look away as she continues. "I'm just wondering what we do with them if push comes to shove and we come out on top. Hand them off to the police?" On the one hand, they did almost assuredly commit a crime just now, a big one. On the other hand, should they really start getting other 'gifted' people locked up when there's a lot more going on? Donna curls up into her seat to think on this while awaiting a response.
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Oct 6, 2017 19:16
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Xavier held up a hand. "I will not entrust any mutant, especially former members of this school, to the justice system of this, or any other country. Should you be able to subdue them and bring them back here, we can deal with them ourselves. However, that may not be possible. We are dealing with some of the most powerful mutants I am personally aware of." The holographic globe disappeared and was replaced with a full-body image of someone, presumably one of the mutants that Xavier had detected through Cerebro. It was hard to tell from the slightly-fuzzy image floating above the table, but he seemed tall, broad-shouldered, and actually quite handsome, dressed in torn jeans and a black sleeveless shirt. The image switched, and now it was a woman, in a long coat with large buttons and a deep hood. Again, and it was another man, perhaps below average height, slim, with a head of curly hair. With each new image, Xavier gave their name and abilities. "Iceberg, Robert Drake. Can transform into living ice, and generate freezing temperatures at will. Mastermind, Justine Wyngarde. Control over mental perception and limited telepathy. Ah..." Xavier faltered, uncharacteristically. "Hijack," said Forge, standing up and leaving the room. "David Valentine."
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Oct 6, 2017 19:52
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Cyclops Cyclops took her seat at the far end of the table and sat listening thoughtfully. So there's at least one former student mixed up in this crazy declaration of war. That could be bad. Having Xaviers' vision Xaviers' cause tarnished and mixed up with these what to call them, Terrorists? could seriously damage everything they'd worked for. As the professor lists the former students involved it soon became clear to her what the tension in the room had been about. Yeah, this must be difficult for Mr Valentine, seeing his own son turn against him. Still we can't let sentiment deflect from what needed to be done. "So our mission is to go in, subdue these three mutants." Cyclops gestured to the hologram "and then bring them back for questioning." she pauses for a moment knowing that she has to ask a difficult question and not sure how to phrase it delicately enough. "What if we can't just subdue them? Are we authorised to use lethal force? I mean I don't want to kill anyone if we can help it but will they show us the same courtesy?" Cyclops asked bluntly.
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Oct 6, 2017 20:17
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Colossus Piotr looked at Forge when he stood and then looked back to the floating light in the middle of the table. He sniffed, leant forwards and planted his elbows on the table. "What about control staff of station? There must have been people there. Are they-" he paused, and grunted. "What is word? Prisoner?" He paused and looked at the holograms again. "What is to make telepath girl not play tricks on us? Jean, can you... block?"
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Oct 6, 2017 20:28
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Jean Grey "Nobody's dying.", Jean says bluntly, looking over Sarah with a slight squint. "We don't even know if anybody's been hurt yet." It might be too much to hope for, but it's possible they haven't gone that far yet with the powers at their disposal. "I can... try.", she says in turn to Colossus' question. Much of her training has been in controlling her powers, after all, not unleashing them. She's never actually fought another telepath overtly, and that leaves a lot of room for doubt. Can she take her down? And can she do it without damaging her mind? Her eyes flick to Professor X. She can't argue that they wouldn't get a fair shake from the law as it stands, but... what does he plan to do with them? And there's something else unmentioned. "There's probably a fourth, isn't there?", she says, remembering the video's finish. It didn't exactly mesh with the three as described. And Xorn as well... it could just be smoke and mirrors, but which one was the leader? Or was somebody else guiding them?
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Oct 6, 2017 21:12
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"Lethal force should hopefully not be necessary. We are dealing with fellow mutants here, and as misguided as their actions might be, they were once our friends... and family." Xavier sounded quite firm on this, and you couldn't blame him. "Now, while I have only detected three mutants presently at the facility, we can only presume there is at least one other member. This Xorn, whatever powers he may possess, and maybe others beside him. Stay on your guard, and while the mission is in progress I will be here, using Cerebro to watch for any further signals."
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Oct 6, 2017 21:49
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Colossus "So- what is plan?" he asked. "We fly out there, land a mile away, hope no one hears us?" he asked, sounding sarcastic. "It is jungle there, yes? Maybe we jump out of plane." He looked at the Professor and spoke in that non-cohesive thoughts way. He didn't want to say it out loud and wanted to at least run it by the Professor. 'When I was young, my family had a dog, Dasha. She was far more intelligent than you'd give a dog credit for. She could count, could bark out happy birthday and could fetch everything from a pair of shoes to a screwdriver. She was there for us in good times and in bad times, and was as much a member of the family as anyone else in the house. Then, one day, she bit my sister. And then she bit my mother. And then she bit my father. I have no idea what caused her to become aggressive and mean, to start lashing out. Maybe she could smell the mutant gene, who knows. She became antagonistic and angry and, even though she was a friend and was family, we needed to put her down. We could not let sentimental considerations come into play, no matter how much it pained us. Some are beyond saving, and promising genocide to an entire species of people is a good, solid indicator to me that someone is beyond redemption. Please, when we ask about the use of force beyond that which would restrain alone, think to yourself. They are family... but-' he paused his train of thought. 'Not every family member is welcome at the table.'
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Oct 7, 2017 00:40
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I understand your concern, but with all due respect, responded the Professor silently, we aren't dealing with dogs here. They are people, who were once students here, and I hope they can be again. My fear is that it was my failings as a teacher that caused their anger, and now that anger has been redirected into hatred by this... Xorn. That last word came with a slight jolt of negativity that was eerie to experience, not something that happened in regular conversations. Out loud, the Professor responded to his spoken question. "The facility is in New Mexico, which is rather devoid of jungle. Hijack will be immobile from using his powers on this scale, and as for a loud entrance... I believe the Blackbird is more than capable of being quiet when the need arises. I believe Forge calls it whisper-flight." Fuego Fish fucked around with this message at 04:32 on Oct 7, 2017 |
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Oct 7, 2017 02:53
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Cyclops "We'll just have to hope they show the same level of restraint to us then." Cyclops muttered hopefully too faintly for anyone else to hear. "As for the blackbird, I haven't had a chance to fly it outside of a simulation as of yet. But it should be capable of getting us there and getting us in undetected." Speaking of where had the professor got his hands on that kind of plane? This kind of stuff was beyond state of the art and way in advance of what the military was using. He must have some seriously powerful friends in high places she pondered. Speaking up she summarised. "So we make a discreet landing against a target on which we only have partial intelligence on without back up and we need to get in and out quick before the police or army arrive and take down our traitors non-lethally." she pauses for a moment. "Well I guess if it was easy you wouldn't need us. We won't let you down Professor. When do we leave?"
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Oct 7, 2017 11:33
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Colossus Piotr stopped. "Do we have any way of restraining them? Suppressing powers maybe? I am- concerned about bringing them back to school if they are as strong as we think they are," he said. "I mean, I can keep punching them in the head when they wake up, but- maybe concussion sickness is not best look..." He'd, apparently, ruled out a peaceful solution to this. Might be time for another refresher on mutant civics.
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Oct 8, 2017 17:30
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Frog Donna raises up a finger. "Well, I mean, I could probably keep one restrained with my tongue, but we might be getting ahead of ourselves. If they're just misguided we can probably talk to them, and if they're zealots to this Xorn guy they'd probably sooner run back to their cult leader than fight to the bitter end. I mean, if I was in some kind of doom cult and was getting my butt kicked I'd probably run back to the temple for help. Not that I'm in a doom cult. please don't think I'm weird for saying that..." Frog goes back to fidgeting and trying to avoid making any more weird comments while in the presence of both her team and the school's staff.
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Oct 8, 2017 19:41
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Jean Grey She doesn't overhear the mental communication between Piotr and Charles, but it's not necessary to feel the tension. "I can knock people out if I have to, or find some way to wrap them up. We've all been practicing on control for a reason, right?" Glancing to Xavier, she looks back to the others. If only she felt as confident as her words implied, but she remembered what it was like to experience death second-hand. Having that happen again wasn't something she was on board for. Looking to Donna, she adds, "Well, there's no harm in trying to speak to them. We don't know what their situation is like, but..." She holds up a hand as she looks to Sarah. "I know stopping them comes first."
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Oct 8, 2017 20:52
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"We've known this may happen for some time, so we have power-constricting restraints." Xavier made a pained expression. "I dislike the idea of using them, they are inelegant to say the least, but it may very well be that we have no other choice. We have six sets, and only six sets, so do be careful with them. If you can bring them back here, we might be able to reason with them, talk some sense into them... I hope." "I've seen you in the Danger Room, I know you can handle this," said Nocturne, although Jean could hear her surface thoughts at the same time. Please, God, don't make Adam bury his only son. "Nocturne is right, X-Men. I chose you not because of your powers, but because of your potential. You may not yet realise it, but you have extraordinary strengths beyond what your mutant gene has provided." Xavier smiled warmly, and reversed away from the table. "Nocturne, do show them to the hangar as soon as possible. I fear I need to talk with Forge before I can resume my duties with Cerebro. He might be... building again."
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Oct 8, 2017 22:49
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Magma Adelina quietly sighed in relief at the mention of the restraints. She had grown to be more comfortable being... that other person she was, but her more precise magma blasts were not exactly suited for bringing someone in safe and unharmed. She would like to stick to using it against robots and illusory constructs. And then the Professor was sharing his confidence in them before dismissing them. She wasn't sure if her piping up n this first official X-Man meeting was a good thing. Was her question dumb? Should she have shut up and just listened? Was she really about to go hunt and bring down other mutants? I hope I don't get anyone hurt. Especially on my side. ibntumart fucked around with this message at 05:37 on Oct 10, 2017 |
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Oct 9, 2017 22:55
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Please remember to tag your posts with your character's name. Nocturne massaged her temples with a guttural sigh. "You know, I had hoped that this whole X-Men thing would not happen for months, yet here we are... a madman on the airwaves and our own friends turning against us." She got to her feet and brushed off her shoulder, still in her fencing outfit. The broadcast had taken everyone by surprise, it seemed. "Still, we live in strange times, and things will only get stranger with time. Did you know I was a whole eight years old when I learned that being blue wasn't as normal as everyone told me it was? That's homeschooling for you."
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Oct 10, 2017 02:41
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Colossus Piotr let out a surprisingly big, grunted laugh at that line about being blue. He stood from the table and looked around. "So- I am guessing that we are not doing this in sweatpants and t-shirt? If man can make cold, then maybe some big coat?" He seemed antsy, like he wanted to get this show on the road.
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Oct 10, 2017 21:30
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Frog Donna catches on to what Peter's putting down, and clears her throat again. Albeit all that mostly does is get frog spit lodged in there for a second before she swallows and continues. "Maybe this'd best be continued once we're up in the skies? The jet has comms, after all, right? No sense letting things keep going undeterred and all that." She gets out of her seat, eager to get going, both for her partners' sake, and because the conversations currently going on are making her feel awkward now that they're getting morbid.
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Oct 10, 2017 22:11
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"Your uniforms should provide– ah, I forgot to mention, you all have uniforms," said Nocture, tapping her forehead in a gesture of forgetfulness. Meanwhile, Jean managed to mentally overhear Diese verdammte Situation! Xorn ist so ein Scheißk– before Nocturne's surface thoughts became a very loud and insistent rendition of 99 Luftballons. Starting to hum it under her breath, Nocturne leaned over to the table and tapped a few buttons, pulling up another holographic presentation, this time of rather plain renders of male and female forms in dark blue outfits with yellow highlights, doing various poses and actions. "These are the prototypes only, but they are fully functional all the same. They are, ah... morpho... ugh, and Adam is not here..." she made a pained expression and waved her hand irritably, lapsing a little back into her accent as she spoke. "They adapt, and are very durable. Will not burn, will not break. Your temperature will be regulated and your vitals protected from knife and bullets. They also have tracking device and... other technical stuff. I am not Forge, I don't know of this."
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Oct 10, 2017 22:37
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Jean Grey Jean opens her mouth as if to say something to Ms. Wagner, but stops herself short. Instead, she just pushes herself up from the table, looking to the others. "Well, let's get ready.", she says. "Donna's right, we need to get going before they decide to air a sequel." And, well, being away from the near-literal cloud of worry hanging over their instructors seems like a good plan, with her powers. She had enough worries on her own without the stray thoughts of adults adding to her tension.
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Oct 11, 2017 00:16
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"You have personal changing rooms down the hall there," said Nocturne, gesturing to one of the doors. "Follow the black line for the hanger, you can't miss them. One for each of you, the Professor insisted." There were long stripes of various colours running down the walls, labelled at every junction so you always knew where you were heading. Black, blue, yellow, red, green... the underground complex was larger than the mansion above, sprawling out in all directions, including downwards. Apparently it had started out as an atomic bomb shelter back in the early days of the Cold War, but ever since the foundation of the school it had become so much more. Much like how mutantkind had grown in secret over the years, in fact.
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Oct 11, 2017 21:00
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 03:10 |
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Colossus Piotr nodded his head and turned from the table. He ducked under the doorframe heading out of the hallway and followed the black line. He didn't wait to be excused or told to move on, just be told where to go and what to do when he got there. Piotr was a painter, a poet and a writer. He had a good mind, a good head on his shoulders and he was a follower of Socrates. No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. But, Colossus? Colossus was a locomotive. You put him on a rail, you point him in a direction, and you hope nothing gets in his loving way. He rounded a corner into a locker room and, thankfully, found everything labeled in Russian. The huge teenager pulled the door of his locker open and reached inside and produced an entirely underwhelming sleeveless t-shirt looking item of clothing and a pair of stiff looking midnight blue pants. His face scrunched up at the sight. At least the boots looked okay, even if they were a little bit short. This whole get-up seemed extremely placeholder. He pulled his hooded sweatshirt off over his head, grabbed the almost off-the-rack compression shirt and pulled it on. There was an X on the right side of his chest, the gold cross standing out sharply against the black-blue of the shirt. "Рубашка уже двух размеров слишком мала. Кто выбрал это? Второй я превращусь в сталь, я уничтожу ее..." He grumbled and pulled the black-and-blue pants on, did up the black belt with the gold X belt buckle and glanced sidelong in the mirror. Another sigh and he decided to give it a try. A change in his stance to put his feet a little wider, his hands in front of himself, balled into fists and ready to strike. A deep breath. The room was filled by the sound of bending, creaking metal, of steel and osmium sheeting rubbing together. The metal that was part of him grew out over his shoulders, along his arms, up his neck and creeped up over his face until even his eyes were utterly opaque, shining silver spheres. The metal had strange channels running through it in horizontal lines, all across it, like a kind of banding. Joining the incredible change in his skintone was an increase in his size. Six foot nine became eight foot six. Two hundred and fifty pounds became god-only-knows. The first real roadtest of the morphic uniform was a success, at least, and the uniform was still in tact. He slipped his phone into his back pocket, pulled his earbuds out of his other pants, stuffed them into his ears and pressed play, the heavy clunking of his footfalls echoing through the corridor as he moved to wait at the entrance to the hanger, head nodding along to his music. He stood, leaning against the wall, arms folded, looking stern. Then again... considering how the shape of his face changed when covered in metal, stern was kind of his default expression at the moment.
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Oct 11, 2017 22:47
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