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Jean Grey PP: 2 | XP: 3 Jean frowns, and looks to the drones. . o O (Okay, everybody, meet up at the court exit, this is escalating way too fast, I'm going to be linking folks up. Sarah's right, we need to get out of here.) After all, somebody needed to herd these cats before things got worse. Focusing, she tries to link up minds... not pressing if there's resistance, but they were getting scattered and distracted when they needed to be a team. Doing a Support Action with a 15 and a d10 effect to see about setting up a Mental Link asset. Want to deny it ICly? Just don't use the asset.
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Feb 11, 2018 17:58
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 03:18 |
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The sound of one head colliding with another should never have sounded like that, but it did, and it was the last push needed for the wild, clawed woman to go under at long last. However, the rest of the unknown squad wasn't so subdued. Around half the gun-toting agents had enough left in them to pop some sort of pill, which seemed to be counteracting Jean's psychic attack. She could feel their minds becoming... softer, slipping away from her grasp. Those who got back on their feet still fell back, though, to see to their less-able comrades. Meanwhile the fire-manipulating mutant, Weapon Nineteen, was driving M back into a corner with repeated lashes of his flaming whips. He was making them dance, each one coiling and striking in different ways from unusual angles. In fact, they were looking a lot more serpent-like with each movement. But the sudden arrival of the drones was enough of a distraction for M to get away with only some minor burns, and redirect Weapon Nineteen's attention back to the chaos that was occupying the food court. Cyclops managed to take out the drones, completely destroying two, knocking down another, and sending the last one careening into the fountain in the middle of the food court. "Nineteen! Exit, now!" One of the mystery soldiers yelled out. "Ten is down! The mission is scrubbed!" The fiery snakes reared back, forming a single ball of flame that shrank in size while growing in intensity. Just as it seemed to burn bright enough to light up the room, Weapon Nineteen threw it at the far wall, causing it to explode into rubble. "Recover Ten! No asset left out in the field!" The same soldier yelled again, as the rest began to provide covering fire. Weapon Nineteen strode toward Colossus and Wolverine, summoning more fire from the machines on his wrists. This time the flames began to roar, the edges turning from yellow to blue, like an acetylene torch. Even with all the noise inside, the sound of helicopters overhead managed to filter through the broken skylight. It seemed like the MRD was here in force. M takes 1d8 physical stress. Colossus gets 2pp, and is now under direct threat from both the soldiers and the remaining Weapon. Doom Pool: 2d10
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Feb 12, 2018 03:48
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Colossus PP: 2 | XP: 2 Colossus looked around, seeing the fire wielding mutant approaching him. They looked like arc welders and, honestly, he wasn't really interested in seeing how that felt. Plus, his head was still ringing and he was seeing double a bit. He looked up towards the hole in the ceiling that'd been opened up above and sighed. 'There's no way you guys manage to get past the helicopters out there without leading everyone back home. I'll- take care of them,' he thought. 'Everyone else, go. Rita is in McDonalds over road.' He grabbed the now unconscious, feral woman in front of him. His right hand grabbed her by the ankle, his left hand grabbed her by the wrist, holding her in an arc in front of himself. He grunted and leapt up, through the hole over himself and out onto the roof of the mall with a heavy thud, looking around quickly. 'You guys get one shot at this distraction. Don't fight, just run.' How many helicopters are we talkin' about?
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Feb 12, 2018 05:07
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Wolverine PP: 3->0 | XP: 2 Even as the soldiers opened fire, the puncture wounds up and down Jane's torso closed up as though she hadn't been ravaged by the giant, feral woman. Ten, apparently. Jane shook her head and spat on the fallen mutant as she stepped forward towards the other crazy mutant — Nineteen — with the fire whips. The others weren't wrong. It was time to get out of here. But. Someone needed to help distract the guys down here from their retreat. And, well, she wasn't going to go down that easy. Jane thought hard towards the others. . o O (Alright, you got it, Red. I'm going to give you all some cover from this torch guy. Get out of here while I'm keeping him busy.) Spending a PP to trigger Healing Factor and remove my Physical Stress. Continuing to march forward, even as Pete launched himself through the big hole in the ceiling with Ten, Jane batted down a few bullets that were more on target than the others. Whatever Jean had done with that mental network, it felt like none of the chaos or noise was distracting in the slightest. There was so much to process, but with the additional help... it was easy. Maybe this team poo poo wasn't so bad after all. Her claws cleaved through a few tables that dared to be between her and her prey. As she neared Nineteen, she menaced him with her claws. She hissed, "You want the rest of them? You drat well better be ready to die for it." The claws flicked upward. "She could heal up after all that, but I bet you can't. I bet you'll just bleed like a stuck pig. Trust me, bud, I'm the best there is at what I do." A beat. "...And what I do, well, it ain't very nice." Aiming to Inflict Emotional Stress on Weapon 19. Bit of a messy pool, but here's what's getting rolled: d10 Physical stress + d10 Mental Link asset + d10 Menace Master + d10 Adamantium Claws + d8 Team affiliation + d8 I'm the Best There Is At What I Do distinction + d8 Enhanced Strength + d6 from Fearsome. Combining two of the d10s into a d12 via Focus. Inflicting Emotional Stress: 1#1d6 6 3#1d8 1 6 3 1#1d10 8 1#1d12 12 Inflicting Emotional Stress (forgot a d10): 1#1d10 4 Spending 2 PP to keep four dice for my result, ending up with a 24 with a d12+ effect from Fearsome. If W19 doesn't beat 24 on their reaction, they are immediately stressed out. One opportunity. Tricky fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Feb 12, 2018 |
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Feb 12, 2018 05:21
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Two helicopters circled the mall overhead like sharks. Also like sharks, they were sleek and predatory. Not blackhawks, something else. Angular, but not boxy, sort of like a stealth bomber. Along with the drones, they suggested that the MRD's cutting-edge tech was somehow a step or two ahead of even the military. "Put down what you are carrying and proceed to put your arms above your head," a voice came from not one but both of the helicopters, in a slightly distorted stereo. With Colossus's head still a touch dizzy, it was not pleasant to listen to. "This is your last warning." Back inside the mall, Weapon Nineteen had watched Colossus go, and faced off against Wolverine. His eyes were fixated on those claws, and he did not look happy about it. "drat it, you are both as bad as each other," he muttered darkly. He flicked his wrists and the flames went out, then he backed off slowly. "I ain't going to tussle with you, Twenty-Three, not here and now. But you should know, we won't stop coming after the old man." He turned and ran for the exit hole he'd blown in the wall, the civilian-disguised soldiers already filing through it, some being helped along by others. It looked as if they were retreating, which would have meant the fight was won... if it hadn't been for the MRD outside. Doom Pool: 2d10
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Feb 13, 2018 06:01
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Colossus PP: 2 | XP: 2 Colossus looked up at the helicopter. He couldn't make out what they were saying for the most part. A thick accent, a bad speaker, a lot of loud noises and his head was ringing. He hefted the woman in his arms and figured that... yeah, she was a bigger version of Jane. She clocked in at a little over three hundred and fifty pounds with all the metal in her bones. Or over her bones. Whatever it was, Jane had a surprisingly large amount of heft when you looked at the size of her, and this big flea bag clocked in at an extra fifty pounds or so more. Still, the rest of the mutants downstairs weren't gonna get away from here with those helicopters in the air, or with those drones around. He had to do something big, something grand, something stupid. The big Russian shrugged - when his handlers said they wanted him to lay low and not make too much noise, this maybe wasn't what they had in mind. He spun once clockwise and just threw the big woman at the helicopter, a great grunt coming from him as he lobbed her the few hundred feet distance. It was, alarmingly, easier than he'd really expected it to be. Maybe she'd wake up before she impacted. Maybe she'd see that she was following an outstandingly fast, straight line trajectory for the engine and rotor of a helicopter. As far as Pete knew, these guys were working together. If they wanted her, they could fuckin' have her. As soon as Sabertooth was in the air, Pete turned on the ball of his foot, stepped once, twice and then on the third step, leapt into the air. He'd angled himself at the other helicopter and, as he moved closer, he could see something that looked a lot like a very large gun begin to rotate. This? This was gonna suck. The metal man latched onto the side of the helicopter, the entire craft swaying heavily at the impact. The big canon on the side of the chopper opened fire directly into Pete's chest and- yep, just as he figured. It wasn't a huge amount of fun. It felt like getting punched in the chest over and over and over. His huge hand reached up, grabbed at the barrel, just to make it stop firing. With one hand holding it in place and the other holding him in place, there was really only one other option to bring this puppy down. 'Make good use of the distraction, Jeanie. I'll be fine.' He tensed his shoulders and his neck and pulled up, putting his head directly in the path of the rotor. A lot of actions here but I think they count as one area attack. Spending 1PP to get a D8 stunt die and using my Area of Effect attack for 1d6. This brings me to: 1d6+1d6+1d8+1d8+1d12+1d10. It is not a good roll. Okay, so- spending another PP to create a D12 complication for the chopper that I threw Sabertooth at called 'Busted Engine.' Like, that could be activating the limit for an enemy in a scene, I'm not really sure. I am now totally out of PP, so my attack against the other helicopter is d12 effect, with a 13 because oh god.
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Feb 13, 2018 18:16
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Whatever these new helicopters were, they still didn't operate well with metal in the rotors. With a shriek of warping metal, thankfully not belonging to Colossus, the blades bent and then broke off rapidly, turning the vehicle into so much dead weight. The other helicopter went through a similar, slightly messier process with the semi-conscious Weapon Ten. That skeleton of hers was made of sturdy enough stuff for the effect to not completely bisect her. Both helicopters fell from the sky at near the same time, tumbling into each other into a ball of wreckage that hit the roof of the mall and burst into flames. The entire structure shuddered and groaned, but managed to hold somehow. Marvel Girl's connection to Colossus went quiet, but not with the terrible and familiar feedback that she may have dreaded experiencing again. No, just... unconscious. Very unconscious. For a moment, everything was quiet except for the sound of the sprinkler system and the fires slowly going out. The mysterious Weapon group, whoever or whatever they were, had managed to leave without getting noticed by the MRD. With the exception of Weapon Ten, who wasn't going to be getting up and leaving any time soon. Then a voice, distorted and crackling with static, pierced that quiet. "Attention mutants, this is the Mutant Response Division. This is your final warning." It was coming from one of the drones that Cyclops had taken down, still electronically twitching even though it was severely damaged. It futilely pushed itself around in a little circle. "Put down what you are carrying and proceed to put your arms above your head. Unauthorised usage of mutant abilities for the endangerment of public safety is a crime. Attention mutants, this is the Mutant Response Division. You are surrounded. Proceed to put your arms above your head." They sounded like canned responses, prerecorded messages that the drone was cycling through rapidly as its circuitry became more and more waterlogged. They were the same messages the helicopters had been broadcasting. Colossus is taken out and will be gone for the rest of the episode, and the next one too, while sion takes a well-deserved vacation. Have a nice time, sion! Doom Pool: 2d10
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Feb 17, 2018 23:49
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Wolverine PP: 0 | XP: 2->5 Marking 3 XP for inflicting trauma with an ally asset. Jane pulled her coat tight around herself, claws retracting back into flesh, as she moved back to rejoin the main group. It's a drat good thing that she could at least look normal when she had to. There were a helluva lot of mutants that couldn't claim the same. Maybe the rest were too stunned by Pete's dumb hero poo poo to do much of anything to make it all worth it. That was fine. Let 'em be soft, let 'em grieve. She'd teach them how to be hard when the time was right. With one last searching look at the hole that the mystery soldiers left through, she said, "C'mon, we gotta move. They're gonna be here in force before long."
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Feb 22, 2018 03:59
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Frog PP: 0 | XP: 3->4 | Physical Stress d8 After finally shaking off the aggressive tingling running through her from the equivalent of getting stun gunned, Donna looks over to Jane, the newest person to provide sensory input. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Right. Forgot for a moment that this isn't a simulation..." We're gonna get such a lecture when we ge back. Even worse if the mall cameras caught us doing this. Changing her gait back into one ready to hop, Frog continues. "It's okay, though. We'll be fine, really! I'm sure there's already a plan in place and all we need to do is hear about it. Me and Jane will get the car warmed up. Okay? Okay." Marking off 1 XP for A Real Ray of Sunshine
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Feb 22, 2018 15:33
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Jean Grey PP: 2 | XP: 3 "Pete!", Jean shouts, before then just focusing intently on trying to- shove- tons of broken helicopter aside... and pull Colossus free. She backpedals for a moment, and then puts her hand to her temple as she thinks of just pushing the helicopters aside and then pulling him out. All this was taking a lot out of her, but... she couldn't let them walk away with him. Hopefully he stayed in steel and wasn't just crushed, hopefully, hopefully. "Oh, shut up.", she snaps at one of the drones, before looking to Jane. "I'm not leaving without him- but- don't wait up." Rolling Team d10 + Heart of the team d8 + Telekinetic Mastery (mutant alpha) d12 + Combat Expert d8 to try and yank him out, going to spend a PP to keep an extra die for 14 with a d12 effect.
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Feb 24, 2018 19:13
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The twisted mass of wreckage creaked and groaned as it hesitantly lifted up, pieces dropping here and there. Trying to raise it up and keep it together at the same time was a struggle, but suddenly it became easier as something — no, someone gave a hand, throwing aside the wreckage with only a little effort. A moment later, the mysterious helper dropped down through the broken skylight, the unconscious form of Colossus across his shoulders and apparently giving him no trouble. A tall, older man with salt-and-pepper hair and an aquiline nose. Both Marvel Girl and Wolverine knew him immediately, from Wolverine's own memories. It was the stranger from before. "Best be getting yourselves back to that Institute of yours," he said. Colossus looked worse for wear, but he was still breathing, and Jean could sense the dim spark of his mind flickering beneath a heavy layer of unconsciousness. Luckily for him, he had still been in his metallic form when the helicopters had landed on him, although it hadn't lingered once he'd been knocked out by the impact. He needed medical treatment, and whether the stranger knew this or not, there was no better place for him to get it than the Institute.
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Feb 26, 2018 00:12
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Wolverine PP: 0 | XP: 5 Jane let out a slow, soft whistle as she saw what Pete had managed to do to himself, though her relief at his relative health was quickly dimmed by the presence of the man from earlier. Anyone who knew crazy mindhacks, whether or not they were specific to her, was not her idea of a reliable ally. She said, "Alright, yeah. I can drive. Everyone pile in, let's get out of here." Putting action to words, she began to move towards the driver's seat of the X-Van. The temptation was there to interrogate the old guy, sure, but whether or not the MRD was about to come down on them like a ton of bricks... well, she didn't want to go down fighting. Leave that to the martyrs.
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Feb 26, 2018 19:30
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The stranger held up a hand, hesitating for a moment at Jane turning her back on him, but ended up saying nothing, doing nothing. Instead he swung his attention to Jean, his expression dour once again. "Any of you capable of carrying him? He's not exactly dainty," he added, gesturing with his head at the unconscious form of Colossus across his shoulders.
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Feb 28, 2018 21:09
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M M walked up to the stranger. "I've got him." He knew from training both how heavy Peter was and how difficult moving an unconscious body could be. This was going to be a bit of a bitch. "We need to get Rita, ASAP."
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Feb 28, 2018 23:57
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Jean Grey PP: 1 | XP: 3 Though Jean's clearly straining, Pete clearly isn't the cause. The stranger's concern is met with an eyeroll, though she's tense with effort. "Rita already got out of here, we can pick her up on the way out.", she asides to M as she passes Peter off towards him with a gesture. With that, she starts towards the car at a quick pace. Hopefully nobody'd followed her, but... with Colossus out, she wasn't particularly safe. . o O (Hey, you okay? We'll be there with you in a moment.), she thinks down the line towards Rita. Still, she looks over her shoulder, ready to cover their exit from the drones if she has to. Unfortunately, she can't read their mind to find out what they're doing next.
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Mar 3, 2018 00:36
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Jean! I mean, Marvel Girl! Rita's thoughts were distant but clear, and perhaps a little over-focused. First time telepathy jitters for sure. This is Nepra! Rita! Are you guys ok? There was an explosions and the helicopters... I guess you were there... oh! Oh, jeez! I should tell you, there's like... basically nobody here? I mean, the helicopters showed up, and this big van thing, it's the size of a trailer... and these drone things launched from the van... and after the helicopters blew up, three guys got out of the big van, and they're looking annoyed and angry but... that's kind of it? At the edge of the mall, close to the door, both Marvel Girl and Wolverine could see out into the parking lot. Most of it was abandoned, people having gotten to their cars and fled, with a few left here and there for those who hadn't been able to drive away. At the edge of the parking lot was a big trailer-like van, sleek black and slightly angular, like the helicopters had been. It was so far away it was hard to make out what was going on, but it did look like there was a small group of people hanging around outside it. With the helicopters and drones brought down, it felt like the MRD presence was just... missing. Fuego Fish fucked around with this message at 15:21 on Mar 3, 2018 |
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Mar 3, 2018 15:17
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Jean Grey PP: 1 | XP: 3 Well, at least the helicopters and drones were unmanned. Fighting robots... well, it has less issues involved, even if she doesn't know their intent. She looks to the people. "I can hold them off while the rest of you get in, maybe even..." She looks thoughtful. "... oh, to hell with it. Hey, assholes!", she says, walking away from the others and towards the trio. She marches forward; fearless would be an exaggeration, but she's pretty bold about the whole thing. "We didn't want a fight; we were attacked. And we're leaving. This isn't an argument." She shoves her hands into her jacket. "I don't want to hand out any more headaches, okay?"
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Mar 8, 2018 22:59
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The three MRD agents immediately, albeit clumsily, drew their sidearms and levelled them at Jean. One of them opened their mouth, as if to say something, but just left it hanging open for a minute instead. It was like they had just forgotten what to do next, but as suddenly as this behaviour had started, it stopped. One agent turned to the MRD trailer and called inside. "Suspect is down! Move in!" The three outside took off at a run towards the mall, with another one following out of the trailer after a moment. They ran past Jean, not even looking at her, and made their way into the mall. "They're on the roof! Go, go, go!" The rest of the X-Men, and the mysterious stranger, were also ignored. No, not quite ignored. It was as if the MRD agents couldn't even perceive them as being there, even though they avoided running right into them. If you could proceed outside, my X-Men, I would be quite grateful. This is not as easy as I may make it look, came the telepathic voice of the Professor. The air around Jean began to whip up slightly, ruffling her jacket, as the Blackbird gently descended down into the parking lot a stone's throw away from the minivan.
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Mar 13, 2018 12:05
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Wolverine PP: 0 | XP: 5 Jane shrugs, then thinks back as she moseys further towards the increasing pile of X-vehicles, "Sure, yeah, that works too. Do you want me to drive the van back or are we leaving it here til things cool down or...?"
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Mar 17, 2018 06:50
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Frog PP: 0 | XP: 4 | Physical Stress d8 "W-well if you're doing that, I should probably go with you," says Donna, trying to step forward and take some charge and forgetting the whole 'mental speech' thing. "I'm not the Blackbird's pilot, and frankly, after this whole helicopter thing, we should absolutely move in pairs." Looking back over at Jane and swallowing loudly at what she may be implying, she crosses her arms in a 'no' gesture for a bit before stammering. "N-not that you couldn't handle yourself, it's just good protocol to have someone watching your six. Plus, well, it might not be the best idea to have both Rita and Petey together right now. So, y'know, me, Jane and Rita drive out and take some time to process all this while Jean, Sarah and M go with Pete on the Blackbird so he can get to the infirmary faster?"
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Mar 17, 2018 16:26
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Jean Grey PP: 1 | XP: 3 Tensing as if preparing to throw the agents back, Jean at least takes pause as she figures out what's going on. She blinks up, shielding her eyes from the light of the thrusters, she moves towards the Blackbird. "Go ahead and get Rita on the way back, I'll explain what happened to the professor.", she says to Jane, and then makes her way towards the jet. Looking to M, she says, "Bring Pete to the jet, we need to see how hurt he is." She bites her lip briefly. It's not exactly comfortable taking the lead, but somebody's got to.
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Mar 17, 2018 16:33
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We shall be taking everyone back, as it happens, the Professor said telepathically. The Blackbird lowered its cargo ramp and a pair of mechanical arms unfolded out to firmly grasp the minivan, lifting it up and moving it inside. Forge is scrubbing all surveillance footage that may incriminate us, while I have... persuaded the minds of everyone nearby that we do not, and cannot, exist. Forge's thoughts came through on the same telepathic channel, although sounding remote and tinny, like a bad radio connection. Mall security's already been wiped. Who were you kids tangling with in there? Time is of the essence, Forge, chided the Professor as the last of the team got into the Blackbird. We can figure this all out when we are safely home. The bearded stranger had disappeared at some point after the Blackbird had arrived, but whatever mental whammy the Professor had done on the MRD agents had cloaked him from sight as well. A happy coincidence, most likely. Rita sat next to Piotr for the entire flight home, and then outside the medical centre while Dr. Reyes began treatment. All the time holding his phone like it was a saint's medallion. The rest of the team were back where they had started the day, in the briefing room with the Professor. "So... what happened?" The Professor asked gently, looking towards nobody in particular.
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Mar 20, 2018 11:24
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Frog PP: 0 | XP: 4 | Physical Stress d8 "Well, um..." Donna is currently attempting to unravel the numerous metaphorical knots her tongue is twisting itself into trying to explain what happened, but she ultimately decides to swallow it and bite the bullet. "Well as far as I know, what seemed to happen was there was a recruiting station for that new task force, and then some folks from it seemed to be trying to track us down, so we tried to get out, but then one of them got real upset at Jane in particular, and a fight broke out, and then things escalated, and then they escalated again, and then you came and..." The frog is practically puffing up from hyperventilation trying to recount the events, at least until they catch on that everyone is staring and take a deep breath. "...Anyway, um...I think that's about it, unless I forgot something."
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Mar 27, 2018 03:59
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M On the plane now, safe, hearing the gentle voice of the professor. M is Marius again. He bites back the beginning of the panic attack for now. "Donna didn't miss anything, Professor. We were attacked by an unknown group that definitely had prior knowledge of who Jane is. Some of them appeared to be mutants, and they seem to have been....enhanced artificially. The MRD also responded. We....." He wants to say they were unable to deescalate. He wants to tell the truth. He doesn't know if there was a conflict there. "The situation became very volatile very quickly."
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Mar 27, 2018 07:37
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The Professor stayed silent, his fingers steepled in his usual thinking pose, and looked at Jane apprehensively. "I had thought, due to Jane's memory troubles and her ability to heal, that she may have been subjected to some sort of... illegal experimentation in the past. I assumed it was trauma that was blocking the memories, disassociation from the events due to a lack of physical scarring. Perhaps I assumed wrong... again." He didn't seem angry about any of this, at anyone but himself. It didn't take the world's greatest telepath to realise how he was feeling, the emotions were right there on his face. Regret, anxiety, confusion. "Artificially enhanced mutants... if this is the weaponization of our natural abilities, the process of turning us into agents of violence, into slaves for..." he put his head in his hands and sighed. "I had always dreamed of a future where humanity was one united force, freed from want or strife, and now... I feel as if I am complicit in seeing that dream destroyed. First Xorn, now this..."
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Mar 27, 2018 15:48
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Wolverine PP: 0 | XP: 5 Jane meets the Professor's eyes, "Alright, well, I ain't gonna say that this is all sunshine and roses, but getting depressed isn't gonna solve anyone's problems. I figure we learned a lot more about these guys, whatever their game is, than they wanted. Put up a helluva lot more fight, too." She taps her head. "Just because I can't get to 'em, doesn't mean that there aren't any answers. They did some mind stuff, okay, but you and Jean are the best at mind stuff. Normally I'd be a little leery about you two poking around in there, but there's a guy out there who can turn me off with some sort of code phrase. You fix that sort of thing while you're in there, I'm not too bothered about the rest."
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Mar 27, 2018 18:01
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"Admittedly, now that I know what you may have gone through, it should be easier for me to work with you," replied the Professor, before holding up a hand. "Which is not to say it will be easy, just that I won't be trying to treat the wrong thing. If your mind was forcibly tampered with, putting back the pieces will be a long and arduous process. But I have hope. Is there anything, anything at all, which you discovered today that might be a place to start? Some sort of location, perhaps, or a name? Anything that I can search for, to find the beginning of the thread that has unravelled."
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Mar 27, 2018 19:09
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Wolverine PP: 0 | XP: 5 Flashes of the conversation with the mysterious, bearded man. Flashes of the taunts and comments of the weapons. Jane's lips tighten into a line, then she lets out a small hiss of air. She doesn't know enough by half. These people, whoever they were, took everything she had been... and made her this. She says, "Project... factory... weapon. Weapon Twenty-Three." Tricky fucked around with this message at 20:57 on Mar 27, 2018 |
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Mar 27, 2018 20:47
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The Professor nods along. "That's a start... although I have to say, I don't like the idea of at least twenty-two other mutants having gone through what has happened to you. But this may take time. Days at least, weeks... perhaps even months. Repairing a mind that's been intentionally fractured is not a task to be hurried along. No matter how well your physical body may recover from damage, Jane, your mind does not work the same way."
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Mar 27, 2018 20:56
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M Marius decides that the elephant in the room must be addressed, and if no one else was going to do it he would have to. "Professor......Piotr. His condition?"
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Mar 27, 2018 21:25
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Jean Grey PP: 1 | XP: 3 "He's stable.", Jean says to Marius. "He just needs some rest." She looks over to Professor X, quietly staring. "People make their own choices.", she says softly and dryly. "And as long as that's the case, you can't worry about being responsible for what they've done. Anyway, whoever they were, I don't think they were expecting all of us." There's a pause, and she then adds, "We're just lucky nobody was seriously hurt. But I don't exactly want people to forget, Professor. We didn't do anything to be ashamed of."
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Mar 28, 2018 01:57
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"Piotr is lucky to be alive, but he is alive. If he hadn't been able to maintain his metallic form for as long as he did, things may have gone worse," noted the Professor. "In any case, Jean, it is not about what you did being wrong. You stood up for yourselves and protected those who needed protecting, a very admirable thing to do. But that is not how it would have been reported, and in order to protect those who need protecting, I will keep the existence of this school as a mutant safe haven a secret. Not everyone can hold their ground as well as you can."
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Mar 28, 2018 02:45
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Jean Grey PP: 1 | XP: 3 Jean gets a pensive look as she falls silent. After a moment, though, she asks softly, "Can we really still attend and keep coming back to the school, then? Or do we just have to keep erasing memories every time something happens?"
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Mar 29, 2018 21:12
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"Not so much erasing memories as giving them a little nudge. Everyone will still remember there was an attack, but you were all just faces in the crowd." Regardless of this explanation, the Professor didn't look as if he liked it any more than Jean. "I think that perhaps we should think about developing team uniforms that mask one's identity, at least until this panic over Xorn goes away... along with Xorn himself."
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Mar 30, 2018 12:19
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Wolverine PP: 0 | XP: 5 Jane says, "Makes as much sense as anything. Not going to do much for making us anything other than the faceless mutant boogeymen, though."
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Mar 30, 2018 18:40
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"An ugly truth, but better than putting the lives of everyone at this school in jeopardy. We should–" the Professor began, but was interrupted by nothing. A second later the door to the briefing room opened, Ms. Wagner striding in and turning on the television without saying a word. "–hended after a tense showdown with local MRD forces, resulting in massive property damage but no loss of life," the newscaster was saying, over slightly shaky footage of someone being ushered into an armoured vehicle at gunpoint. It was clearly Weapon Ten, the strange feral woman from the mall, who was having difficulty not smiling as she took a seat in the back of the wagon, hands in heavy restraints. She sneered at the camera, which turned into a cocky grin as she flicked her hair back out of her face, and then the door was closed. The feed returned to the studio, where the anchor was looking stern. "The MRD is saying it could have been much, much worse had people not called it in when they did. We take you now to Senator Kelly, live with us from Washington, DC." "Thank you," said the Senator, his face appearing, his smile just about as cocky as Weapon Ten's. "I believe it was two helicopters reduced to scrap metal? Terrible stuff, very terrible. But it certainly proves my point that mutants... are nothing less than weapons of war." "Turn it off," snapped the Professor, digging his fingernails into the armrests of his chair. "Charles," said Ms. Wagner, turning the television back off again. The Professor shook his head and made his way out of the room. "Not right now, Talia. Not... not now." She watched him go and sighed, tail lashing. Eventually she turned to the X-Men and gave them a reassuring, but worried, smile. "Things will be just fine, Kinder. I'm sure they will." Elsewhere, Rita was sitting at Piotr's bedside, looking through the magazines she'd bought as he lay there, unresponsive. But the steady rhythm of the machines was letting her know that he was still alive, so she was reading to him. "She'll be in New York later this year, there's this big tournament and I'd really like to go there," she said, flicking over a page. "She's totally my favourite chess player ever, she's just got... super style. People don't think it's so nerdy to play chess if she plays it too, y'know?" She held the magazine up, turning it towards him. "You could see her too, if you opened your eyes, Pete." There was no response but the machines. Rita took a deep breath and lowered the magazine again. "It's ok, I can wait, but we're gonna go to the tournament together. That's a promise. So get b-better, ok Pete?" She dabbed at her watery eyes with the edge of her sleeve, losing grip on the magazine for a moment. A few inserts fell out onto the floor, and she dropped off the chair to scoop them back up. One caught her eye, and she looked it over. It wasn't the usual glossy advertisement, it was a simple envelope. With her name on it. She opened it up, and took out what was inside. "Happy birthday Rita," she read out loud. "Sorry I can't be there with you. Wishing you all the best, love... dad." Cautiously she looked around, brow furrowed in puzzlement. "Huh?" 
Fuego Fish fucked around with this message at 15:57 on Jul 27, 2018 |
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Apr 4, 2018 03:55
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 It had taken a little over two weeks of sessions, but there was now solid ground inside Wolverine's mindscape. Within the realm of her subconscious, memories had been painstakingly brought together brick by metaphorical brick. But right now these bricks looked, felt, smelled real. It was a tight, cramped corridor that started in darkness and led to a solid, otherwise featureless metal door with seven letters etched into it: LAUNDRY. The Professor stood next to Wolverine, this astral plane the only place where he could still do so, and placed one hand on the wall. The scene... shifted, rippled in some indiscernible way, and a voice was screaming. It was Wolverine's, but it wasn't coming from her own mouth, or at least the mouth of her mental manifestation. It was echoing out of the walls around them, a ghost of a memory struggling to surface, and eventually fading away. "Not your usual laundry room, then," the Professor remarked, taking a look around. "It's hard to tell what's real and what's emotion here... some of this is more how you remember this place, or at least how you used to. There's a lot of raw negativity here. Bad associations. Pain, hate, anguish... it is a focal point of what remains of your past, and from here we can figure out just what happened to you." The door shook violently, and the Professor regarded it coolly. Not his mind, not his memories, but it wasn't always easy to stay detached. It had taken decades of training and practice to keep his mind isolated from everyone else's. "Well then, our next step ought to be– ah. One moment." The corridor faded away and Wolverine was sitting opposite the Professor in the real world, in his study with sunlight filtering in through the shuttered blinds. The Professor still had his eyes closed, still somewhere else mentally. Just not with Wolverine. There was a knock at the door, which opened a second later, with Mr. Valentine looking inside. He let out a grumble and began to leave, but after seeing Wolverine awake and alert he paused. "Uh, hey... are you finishing up? I need to speak with Chuck." Saturday, 2pm Dr. Reyes was a mutant, and a doctor, but the two were mutually exclusive. Her abilities were next to useless for practising medicine. She was more than happy with this, citing it as proof that nobody should let their powers define them in any way. Right now she was glad she could render herself invulnerable, because her patient was Piotr Rasputin, and he was still getting used to being up and around again. "Pete," she said in a flat, level voice, gesturing down at her foot. His own foot was on top of it, and the floor had cracked. Her bones would have cracked too, if not for the skintight forcefield she was projecting. "I said you needed to move your muscles, not go spend an hour in the gym. Take it slower." "I'm sure he's fine, Dr. Reyes," piped up Rita, who immediately regretted saying anything as she was shot A Look. "Physically stable, thanks to our post-modern medicine, yes. But I don't want you over-exerting yourself, understand?" Rita looked over to Jean Gray and Cyclops, who were also stopping by to see how Piotr was doing, and made a silent plea for them to say something in support. Elsewhere, Donna and Marius were breaking up a scuffle between two of the younger students, who had resorted to using their abilities. One was still picking quills out of his shoulder, one was nursing what was quickly becoming a black eye, and both were still mad at each other. Now, of course, they were also slightly angry at Donna and Marius for interceding. A typical day at the Institute, at least so far.
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Apr 5, 2018 02:32
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Colossus PP: 1 | XP: 2 It did seem like a good idea at the time. Really, it had. What better way to get everyone to safety than to two birds with two stones. Well, one massive, hulking feral woman and a more massive, more hulking osmium man? He'd expected that the crash would come at him and knew that he'd be able to handle it. Like, back home, he'd stepped out in front of a truck by accident and only reflexitivly turned metal just in the nick of time. He hadn't banked on the second chopper crashing into him, compounding the amount of crap piled ontop of him. Like, four tonnes of steel, carbon fiber, glass and copper wiring landing on him was fine so long as it landed on the chest. It was the blows to the head that did for him to begin with. The concussive wham-wham-wham-wham-wham of the rotorblades against his forehead. One of the mistakes he'd made was sitting up right after the first chopper landed on him. This gave the second one a higher point of impact. Then the unspent live ammunition in the helicopter went off in the burning wreckage. He'd dreamed of things during his time amoung the world of the unconscious. Dreams of his home; the way his breath hung in the air on a cold morning while out for a run. The way he'd cheered his teammates on, encouraging them to dig deeper, push themselves harder, see if they could get close to his record. His father's cooking. Afternoons of videogames and watching illegal streams of UFC with his big brother. Teasing his younger sister by tightening all the lids on jars in the kitchen. "You are such an arsehole, you know that?" she'd huff. "Yup," he'd grin. The dreams always ended the same way, though. His teammates leaving him, his brother disappearing, his sister being taken away, his mother and father being blamed and told they were poison. His home falling apart, only to be replaced by a circus. He wore a ridiculous strongman outfit, even as the weight he held above him grew and grew and grew until finally his shoulders broke. It crushed him. And then he'd start the dream over again. He'd woken up about a week ago and the first thing he'd felt was the thumping headache. For the first minute or so he just lay there, swearing in a language that Rita (thankfully) didn't understand. Then he realised that he'd reflexitivly turned into his metal form as soon as he woke up. An hour went by, with Doctor Reyes coming in and checking him over as best she could. By the end of that first hour, with Pete glaring at his hands in an attempt to intimidate himself into changing back to flesh and blood, it became obvious that this... seemed perhaps a little more permanent all of a sudden. The pounding in his head faded over the next few days leaving him with a stiffness in his joints. It felt like a sort of static charge had built up in him. He'd clentch his hand into a fist and hear the metal bend and slide against itself as usual but... it also felt like he was popping his knuckles the whole time. It'd been about two-and-a-half weeks, the doctor coming by every other day to check on his progress and, frankly, between the two of them tempers were getting a little bit frayed. With the best will in the world, Pete was not an easy patient. He'd lied about how well he was doing, and he'd put up that frustratingly masculine front of his about not needing help. He was in the infirmary still; It was likely that until he managed to turn back into his 'regular' self, he'd be staying there. Reyes wanted to do a full battery of tests on him and until she could draw bloods, there was no way that was happening. Being cooped up was driving him mad. If he turned his head too fast the pounding came back. He'd filled a sketchbook; comic panels of action poses from training. He'd started to give increasing artistic licence to himself when drawing the various powers on display. Plus, making Jean look dynamic and show that she was doing something was a real challenge. At least with Sarah there was obvious blasts of something flying out of her face. With Jean, he'd had to create a spikey red halo around her head that flared up to show that she was about to ruin someone's weekend plans just with her mind. Drawings of the team in uniforms, studies of the various objects in the room. A dozen or so drawings of each person on the team. Different colors, different outfit designs. Sometimes they looked like they'd stepped off the bridge of the Enterprise from the 90s with straight lines, dark outfits and bold X's on the chest; othertimes they looked like they'd stepped off the bridge of the Enterprise from the 60s, with two pieces, bright primary colors and skirts that were perhaps a little too short. Studies of objects in the room. The lamp over and over, the chair over and over, the chess board that Rita had brought for him on the first day only to realise that he actually kind of sucks at chess. Even the bottle of Turtle Wax that Wolverine bought him as a get well soon present, and the attached note of 'I know a good body shop, I can get you a deal on getting your forehead chromed.' "Sorry about your foot," lied Pete. "I feel fine. Honestly," he continued. "And an hour in the gym is me stretching my muscles." He leant back on the bed his towel still over his shoulders, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a Xavier Institute hoodie. "An hour's barely a warmup..." he growled, quietly, more to himself than anyone else. He hated this. He'd just been unlucky was all, and now for some reason he couldn't explain, he couldn't shift back to his regular self.
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Apr 6, 2018 00:07
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Frog PP: 1(?) | XP: 4 Never stop seeing the good in everything, Donna. Someone has to, and you're actually good at it. This was what repeated through the amphibious student's head as the hours of dread turned into days and into two weeks. The uncertainty of what was to come, the increased stress levels by everyone at the school, the hostilities that people both politically and physically had broken out into over this whole debate. It definitely wasn't a pretty sight, but at least people were still willing to talk. At least there were still a few people who would argue against this military state on TV and radio, even if they weren't exactly well-liked. Plus she still is pretty lucky in terms of genetics; tongue aside, she just looks like a normal girl with oily hair. There were certainly folks who had it worse. That being said, Donna could sense that trying to point out the few good parts among the sea of Bad Vibes going on ever since the MRD event was being met with, at best, a lukewarm reception, and at worst, reactions that amounted to "you're annoying." With a sigh, her daily routine added more activities where she could keep her chin up and not annoy anyone. Climbing the gym's rock wall, swimming while chatting with whatever friendly amphibians she could coax out of hiding, getting a portable game system and booting up that one RPG everyone keeps saying is really good but she never got to play as a kid, trying to make non-metaphorical spaghetti (and succeeding once she finally asked for the family recipe!). That's not to say she was antisocial; she just recognized more and more that people needed some space and time to work things out to the point where input from others would both help and be appreciated. This was not one of those times. When she first happened upon the scene, she'd only been paying half attention, the other half devoted to trying to get this new party member up to speed with the rest of the group. Oh, another sparring session. Well, at least they're venting in a controlled environment. It takes a few seconds for it to register that she isn't in the gym, and that there isn't a single member of the teaching staff here to supervise this. Shoving the console into her pockets, Donna is now trying to, as quickly as she can, pick up the cues of the situation. Not in uniform, using their powers on each other, seemingly no regard for strategy...Yup, she'd seen this before. You don't grow up in a family with three brothers without seeing the kind of fights that break out over the dumbest of things. Things like "you ate the last of the peanut butter" or "give me back my comic book" that could have easily been solved with words or parental intervention but inevitably were solved with punches, headlocks, and the occasional bite. At least until someone else stepped in to break them apart. Thankfully, she wasn't alone on this one. With a nod to Marius, who also seemed to have caught onto the situation, she leapt behind the less-spiky one and used a technique she learned to be quite good at: the armbar. Curl the hand, get that twist, behind the back, leg in front of theirs, but most importantly, rest of body behind them so that she can put their body in between her and their other fist. Great for breaking up fights and winning games of "say uncle!" "Now now, whatever it is you're fighting about, I want you to take a deep breath and tell me what happened, step by step. Please don't make me twist it further. This hold can actually break things if you or I make the wrong motion..."
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Apr 6, 2018 12:38
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Wolverine PP: 0 | XP: 5 If there's one thing that Jane can safely say after two weeks of psychic reconstructive therapy, it's that who or whatever did a number on her — this mysterious Laundry — wasn't loving around. If the Professor can't snap his fingers and put things back together, she's pretty well sure that nobody else could come close. But with this door, with this latest step, it felt like they were finally about to find a lead. Figure out the what, if not the why. And, right when the anticipation seemed like it couldn't get any more intense, the Professor got a psychic phone call. Jane sighs and thinks back, "Sure thing, I'll just be here." Opening her eyes to the real world, she has just a quick moment to collect herself before the knock broke her free from introspective reverie. Fighting down the urge to pop claws and prepare to defend her territory, she instead looks at Mr. Valentine as he enters and shrugs, "Your guess is as good as mine. The Prof got another call."
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Apr 8, 2018 07:33
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