Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning [IC]

[justice]

The trip to get ice cream had increasingly become a bad idea to Scott as the group left the mansion and headed into town. The wind had a nip in the air that made riding a motorcycle all the more exhilarating and while he wasn't as excited as he would if someone had gotten on with him he still enjoyed his time on the bike as he weaved around the jeep full of the other students. When they came to the town the respected drivers parked in front of the shop and made their way inside. Scott wasn't sure if he should make the move and pay for Jean. He hesitated and then remembered that basically everything he was thinking and arguing about in his head was being broadcast to her. So when Jean walked to the register with her cone he made a hand motion that told the cashier that the bill was on him. He moved forward in the line and put down the cash for the cone and his small bowl of mint chocolate chip. Having worn plenty of warm gear he still made the choice to sit inside and enjoy the small company of silence the ice cream was currently engaged in.

A few bites later and Scott felt mother nature calling his name. So standing up and excusing himself from the group he made his way to the back and found the men's room. A quick shake and a washing of the hands had him heading for the bathroom exit when he heard the unmistakable sound of metal crashing into metal. 'What was that!' He thought to himself as he rushed out of the restroom. He made his way down the small hallway and turned to see a very unpleasant sight through his ruby glasses. Outside of the store standing in front of a group of rather large men was Estelle and Olivia. Scott didn't see where the others were as he was far more preoccupied as he watched Olivia walk forward and slap one of the men clean across the face. Scott felt his hand make a fist as he instantly started to get angry at his fellow mutants. Had he been here at the start of whatever it was going on? No of course not he was in the damn bathroom. But he didn't hear any gunshots so why in the heck were these two using their powers!?!

"HEY!" Scott yelled as he stormed outside the ice cream store and put himself between the group of guys and his two classmates. "What in the hell are you two doing?" He hissed. Before either of them could talk he continued. "I don't care what they did or say what in your mind told you this was an acceptable response?" Planning to continue his lecture Scott saw shadows move behind him. He turned in time to see that one of the guys involved had found a handy tire iron in their truck. He was now holding it in a completely different way than when you wanted to change a tire. A quick tip of his glasses and a quick stream of red energy burst from his eyes. Like a well aimed dart the small blast hit the tire iron flinging it far into the parking lot. "Back OFF!" Scott stated to the group of men who were now even more dumbfounded than when the small woman had slapped one of them.

Scott turned back Olivia and Estelle. "We are leaving. Now." His tone was not one of anything short than an order. Did he have the right to give orders? Normally no, but the fact that these two had used their powers to threaten and even attack normal humans made this situation very unique. "Don't think this just ends with a tongue lashing from the Professor either." He added now seeing that Jean and the others were outside the ice cream shop.

[Cressida Hawker]

Angelica looked up at the others as they arrived and waved shyly, saying nothing. She trailed after Jean and the others as they made their way into the Institutes' garage.

In short order, the group was in the car heading out towards Salem. Angelica settled into the backseat, feeling very much like the child of the group. Angelica listened to Jean talking to her about Kenji, but didn’t know how to respond, so she said, “I think he’s fine?” Hopefully her hesitant and questioning tone would get the point across that she wasn’t sure how to judge the Japanese mutant’s mood. In all honesty, she wasn’t sure how she would respond to Jean’s words either. What was Jean trying to imply? She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, not sure what else she could say.

Angelica stared out the window, listening to the radio play. The landscape passed by in a blur of black lumps and dim lights from other cars and the streetlamps standing sentinel next to the road. She didn’t know how to join in the conversation, so she sat quietly in the backseat, listening to the voices of other people as they drove towards New Salem.

Once they got to New Salem, Angelica headed straight towards the ice cream shop. The darkness seemed more unsettling than it had been outside the institute. Maybe it was the cigarette smoke in the air. She relaxed once she’d gotten inside the shop, the warm yellow-white lights seeming to burn away the gloom. She spent a few minutes looking over the various choices before ordering a strawberry sundae.

Once she’d paid, Angelica took her order and went back outside to look for the others. She stuck her plastic spoon in the tub and began to eat small bites of her ice cream, trying to savor the taste. She stood near Jean, trying to work up the courage to start a conversation.

She could hear the catcalls of the locals in the background, yelling at Estella. When Estella used her powers to smash one of the cars in retaliation, Angelica flinched and took a step back. She shivered in fear. Weren’t they supposed to be keeping a low profile in the town? As the man screamed, “MUTANT” she began to dart her eyes around, trying to see who else would come running. Where were the others again? Angelica took another two steps back as Oliva appeared to slap one of the men in the face. It was a relief when Scott appeared.

Angelica gripped her tub of ice cream tightly, not noticing that the ice cream was melting a lot faster than it normally would.

[Ruby]

He turned when he heard the sound of fiberglass and steel smack into other fiberglass and steel. The sound came from the parking lot across the road where he was at, filling his pick up truck made of steel and steel's (not fiberglass and steel) gas tank. At first he thought it was no more than a stupid and soft suburban asshole running into another stupid and soft suburban asshole. That was until the wind that stung at his nose and ears and eyes carried the yell of 'Mutant!' from the parking lot across the road to the gas station where he stood, filling up.

He grunted, turning his back to the scene as he waited the extra minute it took for his gas tank to finally sate it's appetite. Once finished he carefully squared away the gas pump before turning to his truck, and the scene across the road, and replacing the gas cap on his pickup. His eyes stayed on the growing chaos across the road as his hands acted out of instinct and overpracticed motion; removing cigarette and lighter from his jean pockets, placing cigarette in his lips even as he struck the lighter and brought it in to spark the cigarette and produce the first faint wisps of grey smoke.

He was content to chuckle and watch as he smoked a cigarette before simply getting back in his pickup and rolling on down the road.

Until his eyes caught the blip of light in the black sky above: red and green. The lights blinked on only for a second, before the sky returned to darkness. With his cigarette ignored burning inbetween his lips and his eyes the size of saucers, he waited--hoping those lights would not blink again. That he was wrong. He cursed himself a fool in his mind; he knew the kind of luck he had.

Of course the God damned lights blinked again. He all but growled as he stomped out his cigarette, and tossed his old jacket from his body into the cab of his pickup. He was already pissed off when he began across the road.

---

Everyone was too quiet for her liking. Angelica, Scott, Estella. Well, okay. Almost everyone: Olivia was as quiet as Jean usually liked. And when Estella and Olivia hung back as the rest of them went to the icecream shop? Jean liked that little and less. It was with a slight glare that Jean flipped her hair and looked back over her shoulder to the Jeep before walking inside.

But inside, sense returned to her. So Estella and Olivia were chatting it up? Jean liked that both girls were getting close to someone. Even if, in her opinion, it wasn't the best of ideas that they get so close to each other. Estella and Olivia were 'at risk'--but 'at risk' of what? As Xavier said it, "The precipice of greatness and madness is very real, and genetically hardwired into many mutants."

Some were just less stable than others. Olivia because of her mutant power. Estella because of her past, and because of what that past might mean. Either way, at risk.

With a sigh Jean let the thoughts filter out of her mind, her focus turning to the delicious dairy treat instead. The interior of the shop was aglow with holiday cheer: white lights lined the front windows of the icecream shop, garland and a small fake tree decorating the long and large stainless steel counter that two girls in jeans and shop teeshirts wore, hair tied and netted and a shop baseball cap to keep hair from icecream.

It was hard to know what to pick. Jean looked at the mints and the berries and vanillas and even 'birthday cake'--a typical favorite of her's. Jean even sampled a few, forcing Angelica to try the 'Butterscotch'--and giggling like a mad woman when Angelica got the same sour look on her face that Jean got when she tried it. Jean even tried to get Scott to try it, but he wasn't having it. Party pooper.

Chocolate was where Jean finally settled; 'Triple Fudge' to be exact, with sprinkles and caramel. Jean was just getting started when she heard the accident outside. The two girls behind the counter called the local Sheriff. The very next thing she knew, Scott was reappearing out of the restroom and going straight outside. Jean looked at Angelica, and blinked, before shuffling of the shop with Angelica to get a better look.

That's when Jean saw the accident, and the large number of local males around Estella and Olivia.

And then Jean saw Olivia 'blink' in and out of space/time.

Jean began towards the direction of the maelstrom until she stopped immediately after stepping off the curb and onto the parking lot. The local guys...were running away, one of them yelling, 'Get away!' Jean watched the guy yelling sprint off, and focused on his image for a heartbeat before bursting into the foremost thoughts on his mind.

The thought of his that appeared to her sudden and bright as neon? "It's coming, get away! They're dead now."

It wasn't until Jean stepped away from the local guy's mind that she saw another guy running towards Olivia and Scott and Estella--not away from them like the local guys. He wore plaid and jeans and had dark hair that spiked funny towards the sides. And he was yelling something. Yelling something and pointing at the sky. When Jean looked up...it was just in time to see darts of booster rocket and the noise of high howling come screaming by.

Jean didn't understand. She didn't have time to understand before the missiles struck, and fire exploded everywhere.

[Ruby]

"Where the hell is he?" Jamie whispered, his hushed tone and scrunched face displaying his annoyance with perfect clarity. Even as Jamie's brown eyes bounced this way and that, through every open doorway and down every corridor in the old New York mansion, he was in a constant scowl. There was something about this that didn't feel right for Jamie, not that he had been able to say what any of it was. But how the heck was she supposed to know where Creed went off to? No one was Creed's keeper.

Tabitha was sorry for his unrest, but at the moment it was no more than a hazy distant thought in her personal atmosphere. Her eyes were rumbling through the Mansion, too, but differently than Jamie's. Where Jamie's gaze held annoyance and paranoia, Tabitha's held not but wonder and amazement. She had never seen anything like it before. Except in movies. But it wasn't simply old and stiff and officious. It was lived in. The rushes that held firm over the many of the corridors in the great house were some royal green or blue or red, and all made of threat so fine they seemed to have a slight shine in the light of the overhead milkglass and black iron light fixture hanging close to the ceiling overhead every ten or so feet.

The air was warm but not stuffy, and holiday smells were everywhere. She could imagine cookies and cheer around every corner, instead of rival mutants that Magneto had warned might torture them for information should they be caught. Maybe if Jamie was paranoid, that was the reason: he was terrified of what Charles Xavier would do to him if they were caught. But Irene had promised them they would meet light resistance at best, and she was a seer.

Even with Irene's direction, Tabitha couldn't help but feel like the Brotherhood had sent the 'B' team on this mission. At least, given the nature of the mission, Tabitha figured they'd send Mystique with them. But with Magneto a recluse recently, practical leadership had fallen not to one of the macho aggressive alpha males in the group...but the silent and lethal Mystique.

So of course Mystique didn't go. She was the leader, kinda, now.

Tabitha stopped when she felt Jamie's heavy hand suddenly on her shoulder. She blinked at his face, before following his eyes through a nearby doorway and into a common room. She simply nodded, and zipped up the black leather jacket she wore to the top. With the black skinny jeand and black boots, she was the image of dark evil do'er. Except for the shiney square edged and large pink sunglasses she put over her eyes, hiding a good quarter of her face.

The glasses weren't just for style, though every femme villainess had to know how to accessorize. When her balls of light and energy exploded...it could get a little bright sometimes.

Her eyes finally focused on the back of the young man's head. Not Jamie; Jamie had already moved on further into the Mansion. The young man who sat on the sofa and played videogames. "Hey." When the head turned to investigate the sudden 'Hey', Tabitha referenced the face with the briefing Irene had given them. Dots were connected in her mind, and suddenly Tabitha knew she was dealing with the shapeshifting Chris.

Tabitha had always been a pretty blonde with a bright, explosive, smile. She was even close to Chris in age. Really close. A smile she laid on sultry and thick for the young man who blinked at her, until he noticed the basketball size orb of pink and purple lights cascading and rippling into each other--or the heat coming off the thing that human instinct would tell Chris was dangerous. Lethal.

"Just stay seated, and relax. I'd rather not paint this very pretty house with your blood and brain matter. We'll be gone soon."

---

Estella wanted to know why. As she stood there next to her Jeep in abject and utter disblief, the only thought that kept cycling through her mind was the question. Why? Why had Olivia done that? So someone saw Estella look at a car before it hit another car. Could she not have simply seen it coming given the position where she stood? There were a dozen rational explanations at the tip of Estella's tongue in an instant. But in one act that befuddled Estella's very core, Olivia had seen fit to undo any rational objection or denial.

In one act of impulse, Olivia had unleashed 'Mutant!' on them all. That's how Estella had seen it in her initial anger at Olivia's rash act. It wasn't until she noticed the young men run away that Estella began to think that, to be fair, Estella had invited the girl along--knowing what Olivia was. Estella had just wanted to share a bit of laughter and icecream with the girl. Find out what Olivia's favorite flavor was. Maybe tease her about it.

Not this. And this had begun after Scott showed up, backed off another of the young men. Before they all started to turn and run after one of their ranks shouted something. Maybe cops were on the way. Wouldn't that be fun to explain? Wouldn't that be f--

And then the world shook, and Estella's mind silenced. It sat encrusted a few feet deep into the concrete and steel of the parking lot, like a Titan dropping from high above. It was a dark grey, and it's paint held the strangest of shimmers. It looked to Estella like a monster of electronic proportions: it's top looked almost like a var in shape, though it was more a shell. And that shell sat on heavy tank like tracks, small vertical take off turbines whined and smoked as they powered down under the shell, away from the visible to Estella's naked eye.

Estella threw up her hand first, before screaming to Scott and Olivia to get close to her. A second later the monster's shell began to morph as hidden doors slid open, revealing immediately from the right side of the shell a large rail gun. And from two doors atop it's shell, mini-missile racks. There was no sound from the robotic nightmare. Just the hum as the rail gun started up, and the pop and hiss of rockets as they began to fire.

When the lethal fire reached her outer defenses...Estella screamed.

[Ruby]

It all happened so fast. And yet, to Jean, it all moved so slow. The Earth sounded like it cracked when the dull grey 'thing' landed. But the missiles came first. The fire came first...but not at Estella and Scott and Olivia. No. Before it even hit the ground, it fired missiles...at the escaping local guys. Jean felt her eyes glass in tears when she saw so many lives erased to dust. Her hand was over her mouth as she tried to force her mind into forward motion. She had to do more than stand there in horror as she watched the bright flashes of fire and red hot tracers brighten the Salem night sky over the parking lot. Jean even saw a police car with sirens and lights blazing come down the straight towards the parking lot, before seeing the monster machine and driving away from the parking lot as fast as possible.

But she couldn't move. Not until she heard Estella scream.

"Angelica, let's go. Stay close to me, I'll shield you until we get to Estella and Scott and Olivia, then I'll try to join my forcefield with Estella's." It was something Estella and Jean had been working on for months; augmenting each other's forcefields with the other's. Jean's was telekinetic in nature, and Estella was simply kinetic. It was the same fundamental force of nature at work, just being created and manipulated with two different methods. Jean just prayed it would actually work. The redhead's heart was beating out of her chest as fear hung on her body like chains, trying to force her to cover and cower. But she wouldn't. She couldn't--not while her friends were in harm's way. There was so much firepower coming from the machine, Jean couldn't even see the three students next to the Jeep.

When Jean's blue eyes darted to Angelica...she paused. Angelica looked afraid. The girl looked uncertain; both in dealing with the mechanical monster and what she might do to help. But there wasn't time for any of that. Any moment, and people would be dead. Jean's hand cemented on Angelica's shoulder as tightly as Jean's eyes locked onto Angelica's, her words clear, her own tone determined...even if afraid, too. "C'mon. Try to hit that thing as hard as you can. Focus on the missile racks on top. Then the guns on the side. Expect it to have some kind of shielding. Ready?"

---

"We don't know anything about Genosha, except it's a sovereign nation. A very pleasant place in a part of the world that's very unpleasant, from pirates and drug lords to genocides and civil wars." Director Fury shrugged then, and leaned his body forward, resting his elbows on the edge of the diner booth table in which the three of them sat and sipped coffee. Tessa Niles had a piece of cherry pie, and stayed quiet while Fury and Xavier began to dance the dance of who can speak cryptically while still getting more information out of the other guy.

After thirty minutes of that, Fury got annoyed and said it had something to do with Genosha, the only nation in the world not just openly accepting mutants, but inviting them to Genosha to help 'create a nation of unity to lead the world into this new age.' Tess was more than a little scared on the details of what a 'new age' might mean, or what it might look like. And more than that it violated one of Tessa's golden rules: If it looks too good to be true, it is.

"Seems shady to me," Tessa allowed after a bite of pie and sip of cooling coffee. No one was in the diner except for the three of them; Tessa had gone behind the counter to get the coffee for all of them and the pie for her. Fury had cleared the place--naturally. That was Fury's nature. Secretive and private. Except for the big damn flying 'Carrier' that was probably hanging in the air somewhere nearby.

It never seemed to be too far from Fury.

"If it seems shady to Tessa, Nick, it's likely Erik feels the same way. And given their very public pronouncements on mutant kind and a new future, it's exactly the kind of thing Erik would look into. But you didn't need me here to tell you that, Nick," Xavier smiled, a coy little twist of his lips that seemed to give light and depth to his eyes as he stared at Director Fury of SHIELD.

"Has he contacted you? Have you heard anything that might suggest he's mobilizing to act? Have you seen any signs? You both still keep the same circle of old friends. Do--"

Charles Xavier held up his right hand, his eyes and lips haunted with the hint of sadness. "No, Director. I've not heard nor seen anything."

Nick Fury's mouth tightened. "If he attacks a sovereign nation, Charles...the global community will be forced to act. They got real good at hunting terrorists after Bin Laden."

"Point taken," Charles frowned. "But I'm not lying, Nick. If I hear anything, I'll let you know."

Nick Fury nodded as he reached into his long black leather coat and pulled out what appeared to be a smart phone that had begun buzzing. The buzzing died when Fury unlocked the phone and checked the notification he had. Fury's face was a blank slate as he took in whatever information the phone provided him. And then Fury turned the phone so the two mutants on the otherside of the booth could see. It was aerial footage of the nearby town Salem. It didn't appear to Tessa to be a satellite feed. But after letting her eyes take in the images for a few moments, Tessa's mind switched from what kind of feed it was to fear.

"Charles. Those are our kids being fired on by a Sentinel." When Tessa looked at Charles, she saw she wasn't telling him anything. And while she was scared...Charles looked something she hadn't seen on his features in a long time: angry.

"C'mon," the Director of SHIELD said as he was flying out of the booth in a swirl of black leather, "I've got a vehicle outside."

[Ruby]

Going his own way hadn't been all that difficult to do. Victor had been the last to walk into the dark skinned schemer's mechanical contraption that teleported the three of them to New York and X's house. Though Mystique had been sure to correct him that they weren't teleporting, what they were doing was...some long scientific phrase Creed wasn't about to bother memorizing. He genuinely couldn't care what it was or how it was. To him, it was teleportin'. They could call it whatever the hell they wanted, all he cared. There was no difference--not one he gave half a fuck about, least.

It was Creed's job, so the Indian never so much as blinked when Victor explained he wanted to 'pop up' outside the actual Mansion. Creed was well aware of the security measures scattered all over the grounds, but that didn't seem to bother him. He'd spent the better part of his long life finding ways around security. And it was always easier when a security system had been scouted, so there weren't any surprises--like they had done with Xavier's Mansion.

Mags cut to the quick of the mission when speaking with the three of them; this wasn't to be a combat mission. Irene and Raven had ensured them there would be a window where the Mansion wouldn't be heavily populated. Irene even warned the three of them that while the X-kids were mostly kids, they could still be dangerous. And of course, there was Xavier. But Creed wouldn't have gone anywhere near the Mansion if he thought Xavier might have been around. Raven and Mags had too much respect in their voices when it came to Xavier for Creed to dismiss it.

Telepaths unnerved him. Well, grown telepaths. Victor dragged his tongue across the lower fangs in his mouth as he considered what he might do if he got his hands on the baby telepath. The thought of spoiling the little thing kept Victor Creed grinning as his body faded in and out of foilage and underbrush, the tall pines and thick oaks that canvased the space around the old house.

The moment flesh caught his nostrils Creed lowered his body and began moving in a way that looked nothing like a man. His body low, his nostrils flaring and depressing as he searched the air for more scents of man. Here in the wild was what Victor Creed liked best; the wet scent of dying leaves, the hearty pine, the semi-sweet sensation that came with overhanging oak leafs. Slowly the mutant known as Sabretooth ghosted from one tree to another, pausing only to raise his head into the air and sniff a few times before pivoting and moving in a new direction; towards the smell.

It was an overbearing kind of scent. Creed didn't know how to explain it. There was no explaining it, part of him wanted to say. Deep down there was a part of him that was too wild, too feral, to even think anyone else could understand. Sure, there were a few freaks like him out there. Logan top among them, the little Canadian shithead had been a constant pain in Creed's ass. Ever since Canada some ten years ago, nothing had been simple and clean. Ever since Silver Fox, nothing seemed to make sense .

Then Magneto came along. Victor Creed didn't care who Magneto was, or who he had been. All Victor Creed cared about was that when he met Magneto...he felt as if he had made an Alpha. A true predator. Not how Magneto was typically described...but the Metallic Jew wasn't fooling Creed. No one fooled Creed. Magneto could claim to be all high minded and deep thinkin' all he wanted. At the end of the day...Magneto wanted blood.

And Victor Creed could get behind THAT kind of mutant future.

Creed stopped when he saw the top edge of the Mansion's roof peek over the canvas of trees. The smell had gotten so close; the salty smell of manflesh. When Creed focused on the scent he found more; traces of perfumes and dyes. The scent of soap. Creed's nose scrunched in irritation as his feral eyes focused, his daggered grin growing as he locked onto the scent of a man, circling the brush and treets that bordered the concrete and curb of where the circular drive with it's fountain at it's center started.

The line between concrete and man and nature and best was very real as Victor Creed watched narrowed in the man behind the scent. Or child, Victor thought to himself, the surge of adrenaline and excitement in his body growing until it peaked and rushed through his veins like wildfire; until Sabretooth could no longer hide in the brush, until the smell of flesh and blood was more than he could stand.

When Sabretooth snapped, it was in blood rage. He began moving at full speed; slipping out of brush and tree and onto concrete. There an Asian boy stayed still, focusing on energies and other things Victor Creed knew to be non-sense. Sabretooth approached from behind, covering nearly ten feet with each bound of his primal body that looked like a fanged mountain of muscle.

When Sabretooth roared, it was less than five feet away from Kenji. When the boy turned to the sound he was met in the chin by Sabretooth's giant mauling claw. One strike was all it took from Sabretooth to put the boy down on the ground. Sabretooth stayed there a moment, standing over the unconcious Asian kid, snorting. Little beads of blood began to show from Kenji's chest, to his cheek. Every inch of skin between would turn black and purple from bruising, the mutant Sabretooth striking Kenji with the force and strength of a full Grizzly.

Victor Creed bent at his waist to reach down and run his razor jagged inded claw across the boy's chest--to retrieve a few drops of blood. Madness darkened Sabretooth as his index finger brought the blood to his own lips. Letting the predator get a taste of his young prey.

"Hey! Crazy!" Sabretooth sneered at the direction of the voice; a first floor window of the Mansion, opened with a familiar face leaning out of it. It was Jamie Madrox. Or, at least, ONE of Jamie Madrox. "C'mon, Tooth. Boomer's got one kid and I've got another held down. Now we need to find what we came for."

Sabretooth chuckled darkly as he crossed the distance between circular drive and front floor window, moving into the house with a simple, quick, hop. Inside the house...Sabretooth's nostrils twitched once more. Sniffing. "Let's go get this Cerebro."

- - - Updated - - -

Angelica’s hand trembled as she watched the chaos unfold in front of her, as sheets of fire flamed into existence and smoke billowed into the air. Her cardboard cup of ice cream, now all melted, fell out of her hand onto the concrete.

She hugged her arms to her chest as she tried not to shiver in complete and utter terror at the new menace that was facing them. This wasn’t some simple school bully, this was... she didn’t know what this was. She flinched at Estella’s scream, knowing that Stella wouldn’t scream for anything trivial. Whatever this was, it was bad beyond anything she could possibly know. She wanted to run far far away from whatever this was, just keep running until her legs gave out and her arms wouldn’t let her crawl, and then some. She knew that being a mutant could have been dangerous, but... not... not like this.

Jean’s hands landed on her shoulder, and Angelica stared back into the other redhead’s determined eyes.

“C’mon. Try to hit that thing as hard as you can. Focus on the missile racks on top. Then the guns on the side. Expect it to have some kind of shielding. Ready?”

Angelica swallowed nervously and nodded, wishing that she was able to have Jean’s resolve. “Don’t let me lose control,” she whispered to Jean. “Please.” Angelica wasn’t sure what kind of radiation she was giving off at the moment, and didn’t want to think about it. What if Jean was already getting microwaved just by touching her shoulders?

She pushed off Jean’s hands, and stepped away. She lifted her hands up and pointed her palms at the top of the machine. She breathed in, trying to remember all the exercises that Professor X had taught her in the Danger Room. Angelica reached inside herself and pushed the energy beams out in a crude line, aiming the swatch of microwaves at the top.

The act of finally unleashing her power against an enemy was simultaneously terrifying and relieving. She didn’t know how it made her feel, so Angelica tried to just concentrate on the job and not feel anything at all.

---

"I've got you, Angelica." Was all Jean said when the girl pushed off her hand, and took on the look of...what must be done. Jean understood. The Boston native could feel Death in the air. With each explosion of rocket fire; the air got hotter and denser, and Jean felt as if somehow it was starting to become harder and harder to breath.

As soon as Angelica began hitting the Death Machine, large caliber chain gun fire began spraying in their direction. Angelica looked to stop and cringe a moment, until Jean pushed her from behind gently, ushering the girl forward. "I've got us shielded," Jean said to the girl's ear, "Just keep hitting it as hard as you can." Jean thought she saw Angelica nod, but she wasn't sure.

Not with her focus being divided with each hit her force field took. When Jean heard Estella scream again, a loud sound shrill with pain, the telepath seemed to put her body and mind in another girl. Her feet came off the ground, and suddenly Angelica came off the ground too. Instead of running across the parking lot, Jean had the bright idea to fly--it was faster, and made them harder to hit. "HOLD ON!" Was all Jean shouted at Angelica, before zipping the both of them into the sky.

The plan was simple; go up, loop down, and reach Scott and Estella and Olivia. Jean went faster than she normally might; gravity and the atmosphere physically pulling at the two girls as Jean lifted them into the sky, turned them upside down, and began heading down back to hard ground. Jean knew the most dangerous part was the landing. A few bullets were fired in their direction skyward, but they missed fairly easily.

When they landed it was Angelica first, right behind Scott and Olivia. Jean landed right beside Estella, and felt tears when she saw her friend. Out of Estella's right nostril a tiny stream of blood seemed to be flowing. Jean knew what it was; it was the immense pressure of trying to keep the Death Machine's attacks at bay. It was one thing to shield yourself or others from something you knew and saw coming. You knew how hard it would hit you, and you could properly prepare yourself. Estella had gotten not even a moment's forewarning before rockets began coming down and rail guns began their work. The ten feet between the group of students and the machine was as bright as a star; the light of rockets and gunfire.

It wasn't until then that Jean heard another scream. It started quietly...and grew. Jean held Estella's upper body in her arms as she focused on reenforcing Stella's field...but out of the corner of her eye Jean spotted a man. Howling like a maniac with his hands out wide, his face holding the look of a demon sent from hell to destroy. Or an angry wolverine.

When the man finally collided with the machine, sparks began to fly everywhere. The machine tried to focus on the man...but he was already gone, and the machine had an issue 'seeing' when Scott was peppering it with optic blasts. Jean could barely keep up with the man that didn't look so big. He was destroying the machine's tracks, then he was on top of the machine destroying the missile racks. Then he was........digging into the machine from atop it? The man screamed again, louder and louder, enraged...until the machine made a high whirling sound, produced a cloud of dark smoke...and exploded.

"...is he dead?" Was all the hushed, pained, voice of Estella Rey said as chaos and hell suddenly became a quiet parking lot in upstate New York again.

The man wore jeans, boots, a white tank top that looked singed and burning; small bits of flaming quickly going out all over the man. All except for the man's strange hair. Jean began to look telepathically...until she saw his head turn, and watched his dark eyes lock right on her. Jean blinked, the better half of disbelief invading her mind at the prospect of the man sensing her nearing his mind.

He was bloody and charred and his right hand looked like a mess of flesh hanging off here and there...

Jean held up her hand, the very sight of the man making her feel threatened. It seemed the man knew enough to stop at the side of her hand up, palm out. "Don't come any closer. Who are you?"

The man was chuckling, sinking down onto the concrete below as his left hand, his only working hand left it seemed, reached under his rear...and pulled something from a back pocket in those jeans. A cigarette, crooked but unbroken. As for a light...the man simply pulled himself closer to the burning mass that had once been mechanical death...and using the flames from that to light his cigarette.

"I ain't here to hurt you, Bub."

[Hillan]

He soon made it into the corridor, where he had located James, using infra-red equipment to pinpoint the position of the boy. James Knight, "Super Mutant" as their employer had called him, apparently, there was something pretty special about the boy. Whatever, Jaime thought. There was no way James could defeat him. Jaime made his way into the wing, where James room was. He stood outside James door, for a few seconds, before he kicked the door in. Much to James's surprise.

Suddenly, as Jaime looked around the room, he heard the music hit him. It was a song he knew. A song by Sick-Puppies. " Well.. This is kinda fitting." Jaime let out, as four clones popped out from him. James had been laying on the bed, just a couple of seconds ago, but as he saw the clones get out 9mm guns, that was when he knew it was time to move, James rolled to the side of his bed, and just as he was gonna roll down to the floor, he grabbed the frame of the bed, and swung himself under it, using it as protection for the bullets. The bullets were fired into the sheet, and after about 35 seconds, James leapt out, from the other side of the bed, clearly, not pleased.

The clones attacked him, all four of them at him at once. He punched one of them in the face, and the other one got his foot in the face. Two of the others held him, but by biting one of them in the arm, and kicking the other one in the 'vital area' He got loose. He got up from his knee, as he began running towards the real Jaime, he tackled the Multi-Man out of the corridor, hitting the wall behind as James put his forearm under Jaime's throat, pushing him against the wall.

" WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" James shouted, terrified, angry but most of all, he was confused. " We." Jaime said. James flinched for a second, before he let out. " What?" Just as three more clones came out of Jaime's body. " Well.. Shit" James let out, as he took a punch from each of them to the face, making him fall backwards. They got him up from the ground, holding him in the arms, locking him down against the wall, or so it would seem. Mustering up what strength he had, James pushed away from the wall, enough to get some momentum, just a couple of steps, still, the clones were holding him down. He took as much movement speed as he could, as he charged at the wall, sprinting vertically on it for 5 steps, before he lept backwards, and did a backflip, breaking the arms of the clones holding him, and making them fall down into the ground. As he turned around, to face the real Jaime, once again, Jaime nodded to behind him. " Dude, look." The other mutant told him, just as James's eyes dialed up, from the pain of the knife stabbing him in the side.


James coughed blood, as he fell down to his knee. However, this nerd wasn't going down just yet. He let out a shout, as he swiped Jaime's legs, and punched him with all his force in the head, knocking him out and as he was knocked out, his clones vanished. He put his hand onto the knife, still in him. He knew he definately shouldn't pull it out, he would have to get to the medical bay. However, as he rose up, he felt a force hitting him in the head. Behind him stood Victor Creed, holding an iron-pipe. " Fucker's head's as hard as the winged birdscout from the war.." Creed let out, as he drew the knife out of James. " Boss wanted his blood, after all."

He kicked Jaime in the ribs to wake him up, as the two of them exchanged words, before walking off from the mansion grounds, leaving James in the ever-growing pool off his own blood.


Was this how he'd die?

[justice]

Scott wasn't one to back off from a confrontation, but he was also someone who valued the peaceful resolution to an incident. So when he was forced to fire his ability he knew he had thrown away any chance of walking away without making a fist. Thankfully he started to see the group of men moving away. In fact he watched as they ran just long enough to get caught off guard by a sudden shadow leaping across the parking lot. By the time he noticed the strong sound of rocket had already passed him. Giving him just enough time to turn and watch the ice cream store explode.

BOOM!

Like a old toy being tossed out Scott rag dolled nearly fifteen feet in the air from the missiles explosion. As he flew he felt his glasses get flung off his face and out somewhere in the giant debris. When he landed Scott tried to shake the surprise off him, but wasn't able to fully due to the complete number done on his balance and spacial awareness. Both thankfully and painfully his fall had been somewhat broken by a car and he was able to use it to help get him up and steady himself. The problem that then rose was the exceptional amount of pain that he was feeling on his left side. With his hands he started to see what was wrong and when his hand touched something cold he started to worry.

The battle around him raged, and Scott could not tell where the massive monster of mutant hunting technology was he braced himself and in one motion blinked quickly. With his eyes open he watched as the beam of energy shot from his eyes and missed the middle of the mechs body by a few feet. Next rearming himself he opened his eyes complete and watched as his power shot forward and sent the mech to his knees for a moment. At which point the pain in his side became so much he couldn't trust himself to take another shot.

From what he could tell a large chunk of glass from the ice cream stores front window had blown its way into his side. He couldn't tell how deep it was, but he knew he had to leave it in and make sure not to move it. Field medicine was something he wasn't comfortable with, but was familiar enough from readings and Beasts teachings during danger room exercise. Depending more and more on the car to help keep him standing Scott started shouting out to his fellow mutants to make sure they were okay.

"Jean! Angelica! Olivia! Estella! You all okay!" Fighting though the pain he tried desperately to hear any sort of hint that his companions were still around. He had been one of the furthest away from the blast and with the shape he was in he couldn't stop worrying. "I need whoever that is to put that thing down!" He shouted and then looking up again opened his eyes. Without looking below the building line he began to fire shot after shot at the robot and seemed to help tip it off balance again. An arm then moved in his direction forcing Scott to push off from the car just in time to avoid being pancaked like the car by the full force of a robotic hand smash.

In his time he had had his eyes open he had seen an unknown had entered the fry. At least he hadn't been able to see him long enough to really identify him. What he did know was that whatever it was it had been able to stand on par with the enemy seemingly by their selves. Standing up slowly he heard the final cries of sparks from the mech and a silence only found after violence had stopped. "Jean, how is..." Getting up and fighting back another surge of pain Scott started to walk slowly and blindly towards his fellow mutants voices. "Is everyone here?" He managed to say.

[Mogtaki]

Kenji's mind was so cluttered, he had done too much reading probably and now all he was feeling was this strange urge to analyse and investigate the surrounding area. It was as if something was telling him to shift his butt and make a sudden dash for cover; of course, it all came too late as he made a sudden turn only to get mauled in the face by a flying Sabretooth and be sent flying into something pretty solid that must had been either a tree, a rock or something that stopped him from grinding himself on something flat. There was seriously no reason to care what stopped him from going flying after a hit like that, especially now that his face had been given a makeover and a whole new colour and liquid assortment. He was out for the count, his skinny chest being torn into as well as if he was part of some bizarre meal suitable for a cannibal; thankfully, the hungry beast of a mutant had left the poor boy alone and continued on with whatever quest he was on and the reason why he was here in the first place.

While it was Kenji who had received the massive hit, it was also Nia who was left to suffer with the consequences of being linked to Kenji. While the cat was not injured in any way, she was also left crippled by the sudden attack. The link between them was very strong, it hadn't harmed Nia in the same fashion that Kenji had been injured by, her weakness had come from Kenji's sudden Ki disruption. His energy was completely shut off, even though he was still alive. The flow of energy between the two would remain cut off until a short time later when Kenji's Ki flow had recovered itself. While it did mean Kenji was going to live now his Ki was back, but who knows whether it would fade again before he found some help. As Nia slowly rose up from the ground, her little paws wobbling as she mewed weakly, turning and trotting away from Kenji.

Nia was needing to find somebody as fast as she could, there had to be somebody around who could pick up Kenji. Whatever had happened at the mansion, Nia had no care for when knowing Kenji was badly injured and looking like a terrible mess. Mewing as she walked along, she searched desperately for somebody so that she may lead them to him.

[Cressida Hawker]

Angelica nodded at Jean, focusing her powers on the machine. The screeching noise tickled goosebumps onto Angelica’s skin as she watched the pandemonium transform the ordinary parking lot into a battle field. She silently prayed that there wasn’t anyone inside the machine, and ignored the tears that began to trickle down her cheek. She hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone when she’d joined the Institute. She had joined the Institute to make sure that she couldn’t hurt anyone again. It seemed as though she couldn’t avoid hurting other people, and she hated herself for using her mutant ability, even if in self-defense. Why couldn’t you leave us alone? she wanted to ask the machine. We weren’t going to hurt anyone. They started it first.

“HOLD ON!”

Angelica sucked in a startled breath as Jean yanked her unexpectedly into the air. Her hands (and her aim) went off target and Angelica tried to reorient her arms to keep facing the machine. The power rippled down her arms and out of her palms, gushing like water from a garden hose. Angelica gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the pandemonium around her. She watched as the Machine began to melt under the microwaves that she was producing, as the air in front of her began to ripple and heat. A tiny voice emerging from beneath her belly button whispered to her, So this is what the power can do. Angelica shivered and pushed the voice back down, trying to concentrate on the job.

The screams pierced her ears but she pushed on. She couldn’t afford to disrupt her concentration to check on the others, who were probably fighting the machine as well. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry! she thought. It was just supposed to be a quiet night, not this... The sounds of rockets and gunfire formed a single constant booming noise that filled her awareness, a solid barrier of sound.

A howling noise made Angelica jerk in surprise. As the angry man ran towards the machine, she curled her hands into fists, cutting off the flow of microwaves. She didn’t want to think about the damage she had already done. The silence bloomed and the parking lot returned to being a parking lot, not a war zone.

Angelica hugged her arms to herself as she let the tears continue to trickle down her cheeks. She tucked her chin, and began to force herself to take deep breaths in an effort to calm down. She wasn’t a baby anymore. She would not throw a bawling fit right then and there. She would remain under control.

“... is he dead?” she heard Estella whisper. Angelica didn’t want to open her eyes. Opening her eyes would mean that this was real, that this had just happened. Angelica felt a jolt of relief when she heard the angry man chuckle and say, “I ain’t here to hurt you, Bub.”

“I’m fine,” she said to Scott. She tried not to instinctively hunch over, forcing herself to straighten her back. “I think I’m going to be fine, anyway.” She shut her eyelids shut, not wanting to look at the destruction around them. She had helped cause more destruction that she had been trying to avoid.

It’s just a parking lot, she told herself. At least this time it’s just a parking lot that got destroyed. Angelica opened her eyes and looked around. She felt sorry for the local business owners, and the guilt gnawed at her. Who’s fault was it, this time? Theirs? Or their attackers? Either way, someone innocent had gotten hurt...

“Can we go back to the Institute now?” Angelica asked, a sob creeping into her voice. She covered her face with her hands as she continued to cry.