I got bored so @Retired is going to have to deal with another plodding Bounce post.
It's what you get for making me wait. :P
It's what you get for making me wait. :P
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In
Sensation & Wonder: An Absolute Comics Roleplay [DC & Marvel One Universe Style Game]
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3 yrs ago
Forum: Casual Roleplay
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Sensation & Wonder: An Absolute Comics Roleplay [DC & Marvel One Universe Style Game]
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3 yrs ago
Forum: Casual Roleplay
S E A S O N O N E : H O M E C O M I N G Location: Westchester, New York
New Mutants Annual #1
Interaction(s): @Retired
At the far end of the Xavier estate was a particular tree.
At one time, many years before, it had held a bald eagle nest. A massive, marvel of nature’s engineering. Whatever mating pair had settled there, in Westchester, had stopped returning. As nest had fallen into disrepair, it had created a kind of pedestal upon which one could look out over the picturesque grounds with only their thoughts for company.
The winged boy had found it early in arriving at the Institute. When he’d fly around the grounds, it seemed the perfect spot to land for a moment’s rest. So he found himself returning to it, over and over again.
And again today.
He had his knees drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs as he sat in a fetal position with his head resting against his knees. In his mind, the Danger Room kept playing over and over again.
...or was it the Murderama?
Katie wanted him to use his wings to hurt someone. How was that any different from Mojo using his wings to try and get ratings?
Was that all any of this was? Was that all that he was? Just a means for someone to profit off of pain. Or blood. Or death.
It was a lot for a kid to take in. He’d tried to tell Katie and Sammy... well, Katie because Sammy wasn’t going to listen, but he didn’t have the words aside from what he’d said. I don’t want to hurt anyone. He’d thought about talking to Evan, but it seemed that Evan’s squad was off the grounds doing a training of their own.
So... he’d wound up here.
The was a rustle of dried leaves, the crack of the former nest’s twigs, before Cherub realized that there was someone else in the tree with him. Had someone made the climb? No, this was the Xavier Institute. It was probably a teleporter or something.
Which, rude. He came here to get away. And didn’t feel like talking. So the boy kept his head down.
“Great view, isn’t it?”
The boy gave no response, save to turn his head so that he was pointedly looking away from the speaker.
There was a comfortable silence for a brief period. Maybe a minute. Maybe more.
“You know, when I’d come here, it wasn’t about wanting to be alone. It was because I didn’t know how to ask for help.”
There was a metallic whine as the child’s wings sprang from out of the sheath on his back, the razor-like wings folding over the boy as though to form a techno-organic cocoon to shut out the world.
“All right, I still don’t know how to ask for help,” the voice offered as the boy closed himself off. “But we can be honest with ourselves, right?”
Raising his head up just enough to center it back on his knees, Cherub’s voice echoed inside the protective shell as he uttered, “What do you know.”
“I think I know us pretty well.”
The blue-skinned child’s head came up, a strange expression on his face as the fading daylight trickled back in from where the razor-like feathers retracted back enough for the boy to peer up at the owner of the voice.
It was a man with familiar features. The same fair hair. And a pair of white, feathered wings rising from his back. The Angel still wore the suit pants and dress shoes of his earlier attire, but had discarded the coat or dress shirt for the A-style undergarment that dressed his torso.
At the same time that recognition set in, Cherub’s face twisted into a look of skeptical disbelief.
“What?” the man demanded, before pausing show off his profile as he asked, “Didn’t expect to be this handsome?”
“I didn’t expect to be so...” the boy chirped, lapsing into a stunned silence as he struggled for the right word.
“Rugged?” the Angel supplied, before flexing in a display of his physique. “Swole?”
“White,” the blue-skinned X-Baby blurted aloud finally.
The man gave a nod of his head at that. “All right. Fair,” he conceded, before dropped down to sit next to the boy. As he settled on the remains of the nest, the man held out a hand and said, “I’m Warren.”
“...but we were one of the more popular characters, right?”
“Wolvie’s the most popular character,” Cherub answered, the tone of his voice giving away that the news should hardly come as a surprise. “He’s in, like, every show! But... but, there was this, like... this ‘Cyke is right’ campaign thing for a bit and he was stooooopid annoying when the ratings charts were shared.”
“I’ve absolutely never thought that Scott was stupid,” Warren offered, coming to his fellow X-Man’s defense. Then he thought twice about it and admitted, “Today.” All right, thinking more on that, perhaps not entirely accurate. Was it wrong to lie to a child? What about to defend a friend? “Or, the last hour, but... we were in the top five? Yeah?”
“Ehhhh...” the blue-skinned X-Baby uttered, his head bopping from side to side as the child considered how to answer that. “…top ten,” the boy stated finally, his tone slightly dejected as he confessed, “Usually around number ten.”
Number ten? In a popularity contest of X-Men? “Oh,” Warren uttered, his head turned downward as that... actually stung a bit.
Realization set in with the tone in the man’s voice. “I’m sorry,” Cherub uttered quietly, seeming to shrink as he asked, “Do you need your tree?”
At that, the man gave a laugh. A hand reached over, tousling the boy’s hair. There was a pause, then the Angel changed topics as he said, “Dani said you’re having trouble with your wings.”
The look on the child’s face went from concerned to sad to... something else. Something Warren felt he recognized, even without putting a finger on exactly what it was. The boy folded back up into a fetal ball.
“To be honest, I had trouble when I had wings like yours,” Warren admitted, reflecting back on his time as Death and Archangel. Except, he’d been an adult then. It was hard to even try to imagine that phase of his life placed on the back of a young boy. Casting a look over at the downtrodden youth, the man asked, “You want to talk about it?”
The metallic wings sprouted back, folding over the boy in another protective shell.
...that seemed to be the answer.
Then a quiet voice from inside the cocoon said, “It was... scary.”
Scary. Lots of things were scary. The kid would need to be more specific than that. The current stock market and the global supply chain scared Warren, but he doubted the kid even had an investment portfolio yet. So what did scary mean? Something the boy didn’t know how to put in words?
When he was Archangel, what had scared him?
Wait, that was it. “Before you knew it, your wings just... reacted,” Warren said. An answer? A guess? A memory? Something he needed to try to verbalize? Yeah, that was pretty scary to recall. “Like they had a mind of their own.”
The wings folded back. It seemed Warren had made a pretty good guess. “There was so much blood,” Cherub said, his words muffled but distinct as the sob could clearly be heard catching in the boy’s throat. Tears ran down the boy’s face, even as he looked up at Warren and tried to continue, “And... and the audience was cheering...” The sob caught him in the throat again, the child stopping before he could go any further. A loud sniffled, the boy wiped his nose against the back of his hand before he simply said, “I was so scared that I just ran. Or flew. Or whatever.”
The names were different. Cherub had dealt with Mojo, not Apocalypse. The X-Baby had faced the Murderama, not the Horsemen of Apocalypse. But, it seemed their emotions and fears were similar. If not the same. “Mojo plays some...” Warren began, choosing his words carefully before he continued, “...very bad games.” There was the understatement of the year. Resting a hand against the child’s back, the man offered, “Its not your fault.”
At least now Cherub was animated. Arms and legs springing forward, the boy blurted aloud, “But then I go to sleep and I don’t know what I’m going to wake up to. At best, I shred the sheets,” the X-Baby lamented aloud, looking at Warren as he exclaimed, “I’ve cut two bed frames in half having a dream about flying!”
Now, the kid was starting to make Warren recall his own childhood. Not exactly, perhaps, but he could recall those kinds of feelings vividly. “You’re scared of the one thing that makes you... that makes us... who we are.” the man commented. “Our wings are what makes us special – makes us feel special – so flying is special to us.”
The child seemed to huff at that thought. “I wish I never had wings at all.”
It really was like having a conversation with himself. “Well, that I do understand,” Warren offered in a low tone. How many times as Archangel had he had that thought, sitting here, in this very tree?
Craning his head back, the man looked up at the sky as he began, “I... lost my wings.” It was a simple statement. But about as far into the matter as Warren cared to get. “It was the lowest point in my life. Who was I without my wings?” the man asked, turning his head to look over as he posed the rhetorical question to his clone.
Looking away again, Warren continued. “Then a man came along and offered to give me wings again.” There was a certain bitterness that came through in how the man spoke now. Particularly as he explained, “In exchange, I would have to do something terrible for him.”
A wan, ghost of a smile seemed to grace the Angel’s features. Then he turned and asked the child, “Would you take that bargain?”
Cherub seemed fixated on the story. The boy’s eyes darted off to the left, as though he knew the answer that he ought to give. But seemed to hesitate before he finally admitted, “Yes.”
Warren gave a hollow laugh. “I should know better than to ask myself that question,” the man offered cryptically. “I guess I wish I could back and give a different answer. But that’s not who we are.” As though to punctuate that last remark, Warren glanced down and said, “Your wings are the result. I had everything I wanted again... and it gave me nothing but regret.”
All these years, he’d thought he’d at least taken an account of all his sins. Looking at the child-like Archangel before him, he realized he’d missed one. “And it seems that my choice led to you being created as well.”
The child seemed to shrink as he hugged himself tighter. A sheepish, quiet voice asked, “Do... do you regret that?”
“I regret...” Warren began, starting and then stopping as he thought more about his words.
“I regret that my choices led to Mojo hurting you, and I’m guessing there were others before you,” Warren said finally. And probably another since Cherub left Mojoverse, but that line of thought of something for another day. Returning to the point that he wanted to make, the man said, “You and I can’t control what Mojo does or who he hurts. It’s not your fault. You and I just have to try and rise above the people who’ve harmed us.”
Dear god. He was starting to sound like Charles. He was Warren Worthington the Third. He had much more style than that. Though, even as he had that thought, the Angel reflected aloud and offered, “... and maybe the mistakes I’ve made as well.”
A sheepish smile broke through the tears that still rolled down the boy’s face, as he peeked over at the Angel and offered, “Our mistakes?”
“I’ll thank you to make your own,” Warren quipped back in a teasing tone. “I’ve already made my contribution for the both of us.”
The pair seemed to just enjoy the quiet, out on the limb, for several minutes. The sun was starting to dip to the horizon, painting the landscape in a sea of orange and red.
“Warren?”
Wordlessly, the man looked over at the boy.
Turning his head up, Cherub asked, “Who’s Apocalypse?”
As soon as he’d asked, the child realized that he’d made a mistake.
The man’s demeanor seemed almost icy. His jaw tensed in a way that belied a certain anger. The Angel didn’t answer for a moment, though when he did he exchanged one question for another. “Who told you that name?”
The child rocked himself from side to side. Should he apologize? “Evan,” he admitted sheepishly.
“Stay a...”
He’d started to bark at the child, the X-Baby recoiling even as the first word landed like a hammer.
What was Warren doing? About to tell the kid – himself – to stay away from someone? Yeah, that had always worked fabulously when other people had done it to him. Taking a breath, the man tried to start again. “You should be careful around Evan,” the man warned in a flat tone. “He’ll either be the greatest mutant since Xavier, or the greatest threat this planet has ever known.”
All things being equal, Warren wasn’t sure he wanted to give the kid the chance to prove which might be the case.
He cleared his throat. “But, I came here to talk about us,” Warren offered, turning the conversation back to what had brought him – them both really – out onto that limb. “When I was your age, I hated my wings – the feathered ones, like these – because I was scared.”
The child fidgeted, then seemed to relax slightly as he asked, “Scared of what?”
“Being a mutant,” Warren offered candidly. Glancing over at the boy, the man explained, “It took a long time for me to be comfortable with that idea.” Was he comfortable with it now? Or just too publicly out to turn back? Either way, “I think that’s true for many of the kids at this school. Their powers and abilities make them different. In some cases, they even make them dangerous.”
He hoped that the boy was starting to make the connection for himself, but at the risk of sounded like Hank, Warren went ahead with the punchline. “It’s not their fault. It’s not your fault, but your wings are part of who you are. The same as it was for me. And I think your teachers can help you to control your abilities. Maybe even better than I could.”
Well, that was a heavy topic. But at least it was over with.
As the pair lapsed back into the quiet contemplation of the sunset, the man changed the subject again as he offered, “Next, can we talk about the name?”
At one time, many years before, it had held a bald eagle nest. A massive, marvel of nature’s engineering. Whatever mating pair had settled there, in Westchester, had stopped returning. As nest had fallen into disrepair, it had created a kind of pedestal upon which one could look out over the picturesque grounds with only their thoughts for company.
The winged boy had found it early in arriving at the Institute. When he’d fly around the grounds, it seemed the perfect spot to land for a moment’s rest. So he found himself returning to it, over and over again.
And again today.
He had his knees drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs as he sat in a fetal position with his head resting against his knees. In his mind, the Danger Room kept playing over and over again.
...or was it the Murderama?
Katie wanted him to use his wings to hurt someone. How was that any different from Mojo using his wings to try and get ratings?
Was that all any of this was? Was that all that he was? Just a means for someone to profit off of pain. Or blood. Or death.
It was a lot for a kid to take in. He’d tried to tell Katie and Sammy... well, Katie because Sammy wasn’t going to listen, but he didn’t have the words aside from what he’d said. I don’t want to hurt anyone. He’d thought about talking to Evan, but it seemed that Evan’s squad was off the grounds doing a training of their own.
So... he’d wound up here.
The was a rustle of dried leaves, the crack of the former nest’s twigs, before Cherub realized that there was someone else in the tree with him. Had someone made the climb? No, this was the Xavier Institute. It was probably a teleporter or something.
Which, rude. He came here to get away. And didn’t feel like talking. So the boy kept his head down.
“Great view, isn’t it?”
The boy gave no response, save to turn his head so that he was pointedly looking away from the speaker.
There was a comfortable silence for a brief period. Maybe a minute. Maybe more.
“You know, when I’d come here, it wasn’t about wanting to be alone. It was because I didn’t know how to ask for help.”
There was a metallic whine as the child’s wings sprang from out of the sheath on his back, the razor-like wings folding over the boy as though to form a techno-organic cocoon to shut out the world.
“All right, I still don’t know how to ask for help,” the voice offered as the boy closed himself off. “But we can be honest with ourselves, right?”
Raising his head up just enough to center it back on his knees, Cherub’s voice echoed inside the protective shell as he uttered, “What do you know.”
“I think I know us pretty well.”
The blue-skinned child’s head came up, a strange expression on his face as the fading daylight trickled back in from where the razor-like feathers retracted back enough for the boy to peer up at the owner of the voice.
It was a man with familiar features. The same fair hair. And a pair of white, feathered wings rising from his back. The Angel still wore the suit pants and dress shoes of his earlier attire, but had discarded the coat or dress shirt for the A-style undergarment that dressed his torso.
At the same time that recognition set in, Cherub’s face twisted into a look of skeptical disbelief.
“What?” the man demanded, before pausing show off his profile as he asked, “Didn’t expect to be this handsome?”
“I didn’t expect to be so...” the boy chirped, lapsing into a stunned silence as he struggled for the right word.
“Rugged?” the Angel supplied, before flexing in a display of his physique. “Swole?”
“White,” the blue-skinned X-Baby blurted aloud finally.
The man gave a nod of his head at that. “All right. Fair,” he conceded, before dropped down to sit next to the boy. As he settled on the remains of the nest, the man held out a hand and said, “I’m Warren.”
+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - +
“...but we were one of the more popular characters, right?”
“Wolvie’s the most popular character,” Cherub answered, the tone of his voice giving away that the news should hardly come as a surprise. “He’s in, like, every show! But... but, there was this, like... this ‘Cyke is right’ campaign thing for a bit and he was stooooopid annoying when the ratings charts were shared.”
“I’ve absolutely never thought that Scott was stupid,” Warren offered, coming to his fellow X-Man’s defense. Then he thought twice about it and admitted, “Today.” All right, thinking more on that, perhaps not entirely accurate. Was it wrong to lie to a child? What about to defend a friend? “Or, the last hour, but... we were in the top five? Yeah?”
“Ehhhh...” the blue-skinned X-Baby uttered, his head bopping from side to side as the child considered how to answer that. “…top ten,” the boy stated finally, his tone slightly dejected as he confessed, “Usually around number ten.”
Number ten? In a popularity contest of X-Men? “Oh,” Warren uttered, his head turned downward as that... actually stung a bit.
Realization set in with the tone in the man’s voice. “I’m sorry,” Cherub uttered quietly, seeming to shrink as he asked, “Do you need your tree?”
At that, the man gave a laugh. A hand reached over, tousling the boy’s hair. There was a pause, then the Angel changed topics as he said, “Dani said you’re having trouble with your wings.”
The look on the child’s face went from concerned to sad to... something else. Something Warren felt he recognized, even without putting a finger on exactly what it was. The boy folded back up into a fetal ball.
“To be honest, I had trouble when I had wings like yours,” Warren admitted, reflecting back on his time as Death and Archangel. Except, he’d been an adult then. It was hard to even try to imagine that phase of his life placed on the back of a young boy. Casting a look over at the downtrodden youth, the man asked, “You want to talk about it?”
The metallic wings sprouted back, folding over the boy in another protective shell.
...that seemed to be the answer.
Then a quiet voice from inside the cocoon said, “It was... scary.”
Scary. Lots of things were scary. The kid would need to be more specific than that. The current stock market and the global supply chain scared Warren, but he doubted the kid even had an investment portfolio yet. So what did scary mean? Something the boy didn’t know how to put in words?
When he was Archangel, what had scared him?
Wait, that was it. “Before you knew it, your wings just... reacted,” Warren said. An answer? A guess? A memory? Something he needed to try to verbalize? Yeah, that was pretty scary to recall. “Like they had a mind of their own.”
The wings folded back. It seemed Warren had made a pretty good guess. “There was so much blood,” Cherub said, his words muffled but distinct as the sob could clearly be heard catching in the boy’s throat. Tears ran down the boy’s face, even as he looked up at Warren and tried to continue, “And... and the audience was cheering...” The sob caught him in the throat again, the child stopping before he could go any further. A loud sniffled, the boy wiped his nose against the back of his hand before he simply said, “I was so scared that I just ran. Or flew. Or whatever.”
The names were different. Cherub had dealt with Mojo, not Apocalypse. The X-Baby had faced the Murderama, not the Horsemen of Apocalypse. But, it seemed their emotions and fears were similar. If not the same. “Mojo plays some...” Warren began, choosing his words carefully before he continued, “...very bad games.” There was the understatement of the year. Resting a hand against the child’s back, the man offered, “Its not your fault.”
At least now Cherub was animated. Arms and legs springing forward, the boy blurted aloud, “But then I go to sleep and I don’t know what I’m going to wake up to. At best, I shred the sheets,” the X-Baby lamented aloud, looking at Warren as he exclaimed, “I’ve cut two bed frames in half having a dream about flying!”
Now, the kid was starting to make Warren recall his own childhood. Not exactly, perhaps, but he could recall those kinds of feelings vividly. “You’re scared of the one thing that makes you... that makes us... who we are.” the man commented. “Our wings are what makes us special – makes us feel special – so flying is special to us.”
The child seemed to huff at that thought. “I wish I never had wings at all.”
It really was like having a conversation with himself. “Well, that I do understand,” Warren offered in a low tone. How many times as Archangel had he had that thought, sitting here, in this very tree?
Craning his head back, the man looked up at the sky as he began, “I... lost my wings.” It was a simple statement. But about as far into the matter as Warren cared to get. “It was the lowest point in my life. Who was I without my wings?” the man asked, turning his head to look over as he posed the rhetorical question to his clone.
Looking away again, Warren continued. “Then a man came along and offered to give me wings again.” There was a certain bitterness that came through in how the man spoke now. Particularly as he explained, “In exchange, I would have to do something terrible for him.”
A wan, ghost of a smile seemed to grace the Angel’s features. Then he turned and asked the child, “Would you take that bargain?”
Cherub seemed fixated on the story. The boy’s eyes darted off to the left, as though he knew the answer that he ought to give. But seemed to hesitate before he finally admitted, “Yes.”
Warren gave a hollow laugh. “I should know better than to ask myself that question,” the man offered cryptically. “I guess I wish I could back and give a different answer. But that’s not who we are.” As though to punctuate that last remark, Warren glanced down and said, “Your wings are the result. I had everything I wanted again... and it gave me nothing but regret.”
All these years, he’d thought he’d at least taken an account of all his sins. Looking at the child-like Archangel before him, he realized he’d missed one. “And it seems that my choice led to you being created as well.”
The child seemed to shrink as he hugged himself tighter. A sheepish, quiet voice asked, “Do... do you regret that?”
“I regret...” Warren began, starting and then stopping as he thought more about his words.
“I regret that my choices led to Mojo hurting you, and I’m guessing there were others before you,” Warren said finally. And probably another since Cherub left Mojoverse, but that line of thought of something for another day. Returning to the point that he wanted to make, the man said, “You and I can’t control what Mojo does or who he hurts. It’s not your fault. You and I just have to try and rise above the people who’ve harmed us.”
Dear god. He was starting to sound like Charles. He was Warren Worthington the Third. He had much more style than that. Though, even as he had that thought, the Angel reflected aloud and offered, “... and maybe the mistakes I’ve made as well.”
A sheepish smile broke through the tears that still rolled down the boy’s face, as he peeked over at the Angel and offered, “Our mistakes?”
“I’ll thank you to make your own,” Warren quipped back in a teasing tone. “I’ve already made my contribution for the both of us.”
The pair seemed to just enjoy the quiet, out on the limb, for several minutes. The sun was starting to dip to the horizon, painting the landscape in a sea of orange and red.
“Warren?”
Wordlessly, the man looked over at the boy.
Turning his head up, Cherub asked, “Who’s Apocalypse?”
As soon as he’d asked, the child realized that he’d made a mistake.
The man’s demeanor seemed almost icy. His jaw tensed in a way that belied a certain anger. The Angel didn’t answer for a moment, though when he did he exchanged one question for another. “Who told you that name?”
The child rocked himself from side to side. Should he apologize? “Evan,” he admitted sheepishly.
“Stay a...”
He’d started to bark at the child, the X-Baby recoiling even as the first word landed like a hammer.
What was Warren doing? About to tell the kid – himself – to stay away from someone? Yeah, that had always worked fabulously when other people had done it to him. Taking a breath, the man tried to start again. “You should be careful around Evan,” the man warned in a flat tone. “He’ll either be the greatest mutant since Xavier, or the greatest threat this planet has ever known.”
All things being equal, Warren wasn’t sure he wanted to give the kid the chance to prove which might be the case.
He cleared his throat. “But, I came here to talk about us,” Warren offered, turning the conversation back to what had brought him – them both really – out onto that limb. “When I was your age, I hated my wings – the feathered ones, like these – because I was scared.”
The child fidgeted, then seemed to relax slightly as he asked, “Scared of what?”
“Being a mutant,” Warren offered candidly. Glancing over at the boy, the man explained, “It took a long time for me to be comfortable with that idea.” Was he comfortable with it now? Or just too publicly out to turn back? Either way, “I think that’s true for many of the kids at this school. Their powers and abilities make them different. In some cases, they even make them dangerous.”
He hoped that the boy was starting to make the connection for himself, but at the risk of sounded like Hank, Warren went ahead with the punchline. “It’s not their fault. It’s not your fault, but your wings are part of who you are. The same as it was for me. And I think your teachers can help you to control your abilities. Maybe even better than I could.”
Well, that was a heavy topic. But at least it was over with.
As the pair lapsed back into the quiet contemplation of the sunset, the man changed the subject again as he offered, “Next, can we talk about the name?”
In
Sensation & Wonder: An Absolute Comics Roleplay [DC & Marvel One Universe Style Game]
→
3 yrs ago
Forum: Casual Roleplay
Apologies to @Retired, that scene turned into one of those posts that got re-written 8 times and I'm still not really happy with how it turned out, but I'm going with it.
In
Sensation & Wonder: An Absolute Comics Roleplay [DC & Marvel One Universe Style Game]
→
3 yrs ago
Forum: Casual Roleplay
S E A S O N O N E : H O M E C O M I N G Location: Xavier Institute, Westchester, New York
New Mutants #1.09
Interaction(s): @Retired
“CAR!”
A 2012 Honda Accord flipped end over end, arcing through the air toward the orange-skinned aquatic mutant.
Sliding like a baseball player coming into home, Katie shot across the asphalt of New York’s busy streets clad in a yellow costume that had a stylized starburst on the chest. Her hands were engulfed within fiery orbs of pure light. As she put herself between Sammy and the incoming car, the girl pushed to twin orbs into one another as she put her hands together...
CRACK-OOM
The explosion sent a shockwave radiating out from the girl, with sufficient force to knock the boy behind her onto his backside even as the plasma bolt lanced through the air like something from a science fiction serial.
The yellow beam neatly bisected the descending vehicle. The resulting explosion of its fuel tank broke the two halves of the car apart, so that either half slammed down several feet away from Squidboy.
Which was still startling. “OH SHIT!” the boy exclaimed, as several hundred pounds of twisted and melted metal slammed down to his left and right.
Across from the disheveled pair of tweens, the amorphous figure of the Blob gave a laugh, as the behemoth mutant started toward the two. The street cracked under his massive weight, causing the ground to tremble with each step.
The glow in Katie’s eyes started to fade, their natural blue showing as the toll on her body and the amount of energy that she’d used started to take hold. Then, gritting her teeth, the girl seemed to catch a second wind as she set her stance. Steam rose from the street, as the asphalt appeared to liquify and melt under her boots. Eyes flashing like the sun, the girl’s hands crackled with static before the golden orbs appeared once again.
Behind her, Sammy’s yellow eyes moved as his head swung left to right. They were fighting right next to Central Park. Cars were swerving to try and avoid the scene. The sidewalks were packed with panicked people, some running, some watching. There were shops and homes. As the aquatic watched as the Blob approached, he looked back at Katie and realized where this was going. “Are you nuts?” the boy asked, reaching forward to grab the girl by the shoulder.
The moment his hand connected with the glowing girl, it was like he’d contacted pure acid. Sammy swore loudly, yanking his hand back to nurse the burn on his palm. Grimacing through the pain, he shouted at Katie’s back, “You’ll nuke half of New York!”
Digging in, the Energizer continued building up toward inevitable destruction. “You got a plan?” the girl tossed back at him.
“You’re the experienced hero!” Sammy quipped.
The girl’s pig-tailed whipped around as she spun to face the orange-skinned mutant. “You won’t always have me along!” she snapped vehemently, advancing a step and causing Sammy to take one backward. “So stop jerking off back there and what’s the god damn plan?”
Withering under the girl’s gaze, the Squidboy seemed to shrink even as he mulled over the situation. What would Cyclops do? “We need to lead him away from the city,” the boy rationalized aloud, pausing a moment to think. Finally, he looked back at Katie and then looked up to the sky. “Cherub, hit him. If you can get him angry, maybe he’ll follow you.”
“Finally,” Katie uttered, exhaling with relief. Then, tapping the communicator she wore in her ear, turned back toward the Blob even as she announced, “Blue, you’re up!”
A metallic whine cut through the air, as the blue-skinned child swooped into view. The sunlight reflected brilliantly off the silvery, techno-organic wings as they spread out to their full length. Sections seemed to pull apart, as rows of razor-sharp points seemed to separate from the otherwise smooth appearance. Dropping low among the buildings, the young Archangel took a breath as he prepared to...
...do nothing.
Letting go the breath he was holding, the golden-haired clone of Warren Worthington vaulted back into the air, dropping back down as he seemed to make a second pass. Gritting his teeth, he held his breath as he set his sights on the Blob and...
...and nothing.
Letting go of the breath in a sigh, the razor points blended back into the metallic wings, which folded back to their normal appearance as the boy merely circled overhead.
“Computer, pause program!”
Drawing in another breath, Cherub seemed to resign himself to a lecture as he folded his wings against his back and dropped down in front of Katie and Sammy. His eyes were downcast as he crossed his arms in a defensive posture. Not so much defiant as it seemed he was almost hugging himself.
Katie caught the gesture, her first words paused. She said them, but tried to soften her tone. “What was that?”
The boy’s blue eyes seemed to be fixed on the ground. The toe of one foot dug into a spot where Katie’s disintegration field had caused liquification of the black top. Finally, a scant gaze came upward as the X-Baby offered, “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
Hands planted on her hips, the Energizer found herself startled. “Seriously? It’s the Blob!”
Cherub’s face turned downward, as the self-hug tightened.
Inwardly, Katie kicked herself for the slip. The static field around her faded, as she held out her hands and softened her tone as she started again. “I mean... that’s not what I mean,” she began. In her own ears, she was starting to sound like her brother Alex. Did she even know what she was trying to communicate? “Wolverine can’t even cut him.”
The boy’s face stayed downcast as a meek voice asked, “What about after?”
Katie and Sammy each exchanged a glance, before Squidboy finally spoke up and asked, “What... do you mean?”
“Are we gonna pick up all my razor-feathers? Because they’re gonna wind up all over the place,” Cherub remarked, looking up as he asked, “So what happens when someone steps on one? Or a kid picks one up?”
Katie and Sammy exchanged another look, prompting Cherub to add, “They’re poisoned, remember?”
Katie started to say something, then seemed to think twice about it.
With that, the X-Baby turned and walked toward the exit from the Danger Room.
“Wait, what about training?” Sammy asked, calling out after the retreating Cherub.
Turning to glance back, the golden haired Angel repeated, “I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Turning his back to them, the boy continued toward the exit, as he offered only, “I’m sorry.”
Katie gave a slight, inaudible gasp, as memories of her brother Jack flashed briefly to mind. Except, Cherub’s tone and posture didn’t remind her of Jack.
If anything, he was reminding him of herself.
“Well, I guess he can keep Bobby company,” Squidboy offered half-heartedly, in an awkward attempt at filling the silence with... well, anything other than silence.
“We should get ready for class,” Katie offered finally, making her own way toward the exit.
“Seriously, what loser through the five of us would make a good team?” Sammy deadpanned in a biting tone.
Katie’s eyes flashed dangerously as she cut a glare over at the aquatic mutant, which seemed to convince him to be quiet for the time being.
As the two passed underneath the Observation Room, the girl looked up at where she knew Dani Moonstar was watching.
Katie knew building team work was going to be rough, but this hadn’t gone at all like she’d expected.
A 2012 Honda Accord flipped end over end, arcing through the air toward the orange-skinned aquatic mutant.
Sliding like a baseball player coming into home, Katie shot across the asphalt of New York’s busy streets clad in a yellow costume that had a stylized starburst on the chest. Her hands were engulfed within fiery orbs of pure light. As she put herself between Sammy and the incoming car, the girl pushed to twin orbs into one another as she put her hands together...
CRACK-OOM
The explosion sent a shockwave radiating out from the girl, with sufficient force to knock the boy behind her onto his backside even as the plasma bolt lanced through the air like something from a science fiction serial.
The yellow beam neatly bisected the descending vehicle. The resulting explosion of its fuel tank broke the two halves of the car apart, so that either half slammed down several feet away from Squidboy.
Which was still startling. “OH SHIT!” the boy exclaimed, as several hundred pounds of twisted and melted metal slammed down to his left and right.
Across from the disheveled pair of tweens, the amorphous figure of the Blob gave a laugh, as the behemoth mutant started toward the two. The street cracked under his massive weight, causing the ground to tremble with each step.
The glow in Katie’s eyes started to fade, their natural blue showing as the toll on her body and the amount of energy that she’d used started to take hold. Then, gritting her teeth, the girl seemed to catch a second wind as she set her stance. Steam rose from the street, as the asphalt appeared to liquify and melt under her boots. Eyes flashing like the sun, the girl’s hands crackled with static before the golden orbs appeared once again.
Behind her, Sammy’s yellow eyes moved as his head swung left to right. They were fighting right next to Central Park. Cars were swerving to try and avoid the scene. The sidewalks were packed with panicked people, some running, some watching. There were shops and homes. As the aquatic watched as the Blob approached, he looked back at Katie and realized where this was going. “Are you nuts?” the boy asked, reaching forward to grab the girl by the shoulder.
The moment his hand connected with the glowing girl, it was like he’d contacted pure acid. Sammy swore loudly, yanking his hand back to nurse the burn on his palm. Grimacing through the pain, he shouted at Katie’s back, “You’ll nuke half of New York!”
Digging in, the Energizer continued building up toward inevitable destruction. “You got a plan?” the girl tossed back at him.
“You’re the experienced hero!” Sammy quipped.
The girl’s pig-tailed whipped around as she spun to face the orange-skinned mutant. “You won’t always have me along!” she snapped vehemently, advancing a step and causing Sammy to take one backward. “So stop jerking off back there and what’s the god damn plan?”
Withering under the girl’s gaze, the Squidboy seemed to shrink even as he mulled over the situation. What would Cyclops do? “We need to lead him away from the city,” the boy rationalized aloud, pausing a moment to think. Finally, he looked back at Katie and then looked up to the sky. “Cherub, hit him. If you can get him angry, maybe he’ll follow you.”
“Finally,” Katie uttered, exhaling with relief. Then, tapping the communicator she wore in her ear, turned back toward the Blob even as she announced, “Blue, you’re up!”
A metallic whine cut through the air, as the blue-skinned child swooped into view. The sunlight reflected brilliantly off the silvery, techno-organic wings as they spread out to their full length. Sections seemed to pull apart, as rows of razor-sharp points seemed to separate from the otherwise smooth appearance. Dropping low among the buildings, the young Archangel took a breath as he prepared to...
...do nothing.
Letting go the breath he was holding, the golden-haired clone of Warren Worthington vaulted back into the air, dropping back down as he seemed to make a second pass. Gritting his teeth, he held his breath as he set his sights on the Blob and...
...and nothing.
Letting go of the breath in a sigh, the razor points blended back into the metallic wings, which folded back to their normal appearance as the boy merely circled overhead.
“Computer, pause program!”
Drawing in another breath, Cherub seemed to resign himself to a lecture as he folded his wings against his back and dropped down in front of Katie and Sammy. His eyes were downcast as he crossed his arms in a defensive posture. Not so much defiant as it seemed he was almost hugging himself.
Katie caught the gesture, her first words paused. She said them, but tried to soften her tone. “What was that?”
The boy’s blue eyes seemed to be fixed on the ground. The toe of one foot dug into a spot where Katie’s disintegration field had caused liquification of the black top. Finally, a scant gaze came upward as the X-Baby offered, “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
Hands planted on her hips, the Energizer found herself startled. “Seriously? It’s the Blob!”
Cherub’s face turned downward, as the self-hug tightened.
Inwardly, Katie kicked herself for the slip. The static field around her faded, as she held out her hands and softened her tone as she started again. “I mean... that’s not what I mean,” she began. In her own ears, she was starting to sound like her brother Alex. Did she even know what she was trying to communicate? “Wolverine can’t even cut him.”
The boy’s face stayed downcast as a meek voice asked, “What about after?”
Katie and Sammy each exchanged a glance, before Squidboy finally spoke up and asked, “What... do you mean?”
“Are we gonna pick up all my razor-feathers? Because they’re gonna wind up all over the place,” Cherub remarked, looking up as he asked, “So what happens when someone steps on one? Or a kid picks one up?”
Katie and Sammy exchanged another look, prompting Cherub to add, “They’re poisoned, remember?”
Katie started to say something, then seemed to think twice about it.
With that, the X-Baby turned and walked toward the exit from the Danger Room.
“Wait, what about training?” Sammy asked, calling out after the retreating Cherub.
Turning to glance back, the golden haired Angel repeated, “I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Turning his back to them, the boy continued toward the exit, as he offered only, “I’m sorry.”
Katie gave a slight, inaudible gasp, as memories of her brother Jack flashed briefly to mind. Except, Cherub’s tone and posture didn’t remind her of Jack.
If anything, he was reminding him of herself.
“Well, I guess he can keep Bobby company,” Squidboy offered half-heartedly, in an awkward attempt at filling the silence with... well, anything other than silence.
“We should get ready for class,” Katie offered finally, making her own way toward the exit.
“Seriously, what loser through the five of us would make a good team?” Sammy deadpanned in a biting tone.
Katie’s eyes flashed dangerously as she cut a glare over at the aquatic mutant, which seemed to convince him to be quiet for the time being.
As the two passed underneath the Observation Room, the girl looked up at where she knew Dani Moonstar was watching.
Katie knew building team work was going to be rough, but this hadn’t gone at all like she’d expected.
In
Sensation & Wonder: An Absolute Comics Roleplay [DC & Marvel One Universe Style Game]
→
3 yrs ago
Forum: Casual Roleplay
I shall attempt to break away from Stellaris this weekend in order to give @Retired an excuse to make new timelines and not post in them.
It's not exactly a high profile job, but I take my responsibilities seriously.
It's not exactly a high profile job, but I take my responsibilities seriously.
In
Sensation & Wonder: An Absolute Comics Roleplay [DC & Marvel One Universe Style Game]
→
3 yrs ago
Forum: Casual Roleplay
S E A S O N O N E : H O M E C O M I N G Location: Newport, Rhode Island
New Mutants #1.07
Interaction(s): @Retired
The remainder of the day had been ordinary.
It made the X-Baby wonder what the point had been. They had failed Dani’s test and then just gone on about their normal school day. They were still her team. There seemed no consequences for how they performed. Or how they hadn’t performed.
“We did fine.”
Well, there was one change.
Cherub was eating dinner with Sammy Pare and Katie Power. Despite being Sammy’s roommate, the two had never spent any time together outside of the dorms or classes. And Katie Power was the most popular kid at the Xavier Institute. And the three weren’t even at the institute. Katie had suggested they go get pizza.
When he’d agreed to come, he’d expected they were going to the Pizza Hut in Westchester. It was where most of the student body ended up when the topic of pizza came up. Instead, they were at a bistro on the New England coast, courtesy of...
...well, to be honest, Cherub couldn’t have explained it even if he’d wanted to. Katie had a friend, who was also an airplane? Except it could also go in space. So it was a spaceplane? Actually, now that he thought about it, Cherub was pretty sure Katie had said that Friday was actually from space, so that would make it more of a spaceship. But that was just science fiction and fantasy, right?
Regardless, now that they were outside of the Xavier Institute, Cherub couldn’t have felt any more out of place. Having arrived from Mojoworld with only the Archangel costume on his back, his clothing was an assortment of hand-me-downs from among the students or the local Goodwill. To go out, he’d just thrown on a worn Gap Kids hoodie and a pair of jeans that he’d borrowed from Sammy.
Despite his orange skin and fish-like appearance, Sammy seemed perfectly at home inside the restaurant, decked out in North Face and Old Navy tags. His mother would send him clothes from home. Though, Cherub actually, had no idea where Sammy was from. The fact that he hadn’t even thought about until now because... well, they just didn’t hang out.
“We demonstrated that we can work as a team to accomplish a goal, and that we don’t let pressure get in the way of that.” Katie remarked, looking like a tween model in Aeropostle chic with her hair down. Picking up a french fry, the girl waved it in the air a moment as she added, “In fact, we should keep working on that,” before popping the fry in her mouth.
Cherub just kept his mouth shut. Everything around them only served as a reminder that this was an alien world. Even without his powder blue skin, he was out of place here. A few people inside the pizzeria cast some glances their way, but apparently this was a place Katie had been before. She said the owners were friendly to what she described as people with powers.
Were there even restaurants on Mojoworld? Until his escape, he’d never even been outside of the Murderama, but it was hard to try and fathom.
“How?” Sammy uttered, as the large pizza they’d ordered to split among the three of them arrived at the table.
“I’m gonna see if I can get us a timeslot in the Danger Room,” the girl stated simply, even as she passed out plates and napkins to the boys. “It’ll probably be a totally obnoxious time if I can get it, so expect it to be, like, lunch hour or something.”
Pulling a slice of pizza free from the pie, Sammy asked, “But what about Kitty and Bobby?”
“I’ll make sure they get an invite, but they have to want to be part of this team,” the girl offered with a shrug, before reaching toward Cherub and saying, “Give me your plate.”
Pulling a slice free, she placed the pizza on the plate and then passed it back to the awkwardly quiet X-Baby before continuing, “Short of that, we just have to keep doing what we’re doing.”
“What are we gonna do in the Danger Room?” Sammy asked, in-between bites.
“They’ll only allow us to run a level one simulation,” Katie remarked, even though Cherub had no idea just what a level one simulation was supposed to mean. After a bite, the girl added, “So, it’ll be pretty low power and full safeties, but I’m hoping to generate an encounter with the Blob.”
“Wait, what?” Sammy blurted aloud, bits of pepperoni flying from his lips. “What are the three of us going to do against the Blob!?”
The girl started to answer, but Sammy just cut her off with an exaggerated wave of his hand. “Wait, wait, wait,” the Squid Boy uttered flatly. “I take it back,” he interjected, pointing between himself and Cherub. “What are the two of us going to do against the Blob? You’re just gonna blow him the fuck away.”
The F-bomb caused Cherub’s head to turn in surprise. X-Babies had a list of words that the censors would never allow on the air. That was one of them.
But, on Earth, people could just say what they wanted?
“He’s pretty immune to getting blown away,” Katie countered evenly, wiping some of the grease from her hands before reaching for a second slice of pizza. As she did, she offered, “And since he’s a physical opponent, there’s no directed energy for me to absorb,”. Taking a bite out of her second piece, the table was quiet as the trio ate before she spoke again and said, “Similarly, neither Cherub’s razors or the toxin on them will have an impact. We’ll have to work together to develop solutions in real time, just like an actual fight.”
Now it was Sammy’s turn to look surprised. “Wait, toxin?” the fish-faced mutant uttered, shooting a glare over at the blue-skinned kid.
“Didn’t you bother to read the profile on Archangel?” Katie asked, the exasperation starting to slip into her voice. Then, taking a breath, she explained, “Cherub’s wings contain projectile razors that are coated in a neurotoxin.”
“Oh great, another way for my roommate to kill me in his sleep!” Sammy exclaimed, slumping down in his chair. He stayed there a moment, then propped his head up as he said, “Anyway, are you high? I’m literally a fish out of water and he’s got aluminum foil for wings!”
Cherub edged over a little further from Sammy.
This... this was why they weren’t friends.
Picking up another french fry, Katie pointed it at the aquatic mutant. “I get it. You don’t shoot laser beams out of your hands. Which, let me tell you, is more trouble than it’s worth. My point is, it’s all situational,” the girl stated in the same even tone, before popping the french fry in her mouth. After she’d swallowed, she added, “And an encounter with the Blob is a situation where none of our individual abilities provide for a singular solution. It’s perfect for practicing team work!”
“It’s perfect for us getting our ass kicked,” Sammy tossed back flatly.
“What do you think its like being an X-Man?”
The question caught the X-Baby by surprise, both for its directness and the realization that he’d never thought about it. Even though, in a way, he’d been an X-Man on television all his life.
“I dunno,” Sammy quipped back, throwing a hand up half-heartedly as he deadpanned, “Totally awesome?”
“I don’t think it is.” It was the first time since they’d left the Institute that he’d spoken. He’d never thought much about it, but reflecting back on all the videos they’d had to watch in order to learn how to play their parts, Katie’s words were casting Warren in an entirely new light for him.
A french fry dipped approvingly in his direction, before disappearing in Katie’s mouth. “Blue gets it,” Katie noted simply, fixing her gaze on the slumping Sammy as she said, “It’s a lot of getting your ass kicked. Then getting back up and trying again anyway.”
“Then why would anyone want to do it?” Sammy tossed back.
“I don’t think a lot of people do,” Katie answered honestly. “And that’s one of the things I think Dani’s trying to teach.”
It made the X-Baby wonder what the point had been. They had failed Dani’s test and then just gone on about their normal school day. They were still her team. There seemed no consequences for how they performed. Or how they hadn’t performed.
“We did fine.”
Well, there was one change.
Cherub was eating dinner with Sammy Pare and Katie Power. Despite being Sammy’s roommate, the two had never spent any time together outside of the dorms or classes. And Katie Power was the most popular kid at the Xavier Institute. And the three weren’t even at the institute. Katie had suggested they go get pizza.
When he’d agreed to come, he’d expected they were going to the Pizza Hut in Westchester. It was where most of the student body ended up when the topic of pizza came up. Instead, they were at a bistro on the New England coast, courtesy of...
...well, to be honest, Cherub couldn’t have explained it even if he’d wanted to. Katie had a friend, who was also an airplane? Except it could also go in space. So it was a spaceplane? Actually, now that he thought about it, Cherub was pretty sure Katie had said that Friday was actually from space, so that would make it more of a spaceship. But that was just science fiction and fantasy, right?
Regardless, now that they were outside of the Xavier Institute, Cherub couldn’t have felt any more out of place. Having arrived from Mojoworld with only the Archangel costume on his back, his clothing was an assortment of hand-me-downs from among the students or the local Goodwill. To go out, he’d just thrown on a worn Gap Kids hoodie and a pair of jeans that he’d borrowed from Sammy.
Despite his orange skin and fish-like appearance, Sammy seemed perfectly at home inside the restaurant, decked out in North Face and Old Navy tags. His mother would send him clothes from home. Though, Cherub actually, had no idea where Sammy was from. The fact that he hadn’t even thought about until now because... well, they just didn’t hang out.
“We demonstrated that we can work as a team to accomplish a goal, and that we don’t let pressure get in the way of that.” Katie remarked, looking like a tween model in Aeropostle chic with her hair down. Picking up a french fry, the girl waved it in the air a moment as she added, “In fact, we should keep working on that,” before popping the fry in her mouth.
Cherub just kept his mouth shut. Everything around them only served as a reminder that this was an alien world. Even without his powder blue skin, he was out of place here. A few people inside the pizzeria cast some glances their way, but apparently this was a place Katie had been before. She said the owners were friendly to what she described as people with powers.
Were there even restaurants on Mojoworld? Until his escape, he’d never even been outside of the Murderama, but it was hard to try and fathom.
“How?” Sammy uttered, as the large pizza they’d ordered to split among the three of them arrived at the table.
“I’m gonna see if I can get us a timeslot in the Danger Room,” the girl stated simply, even as she passed out plates and napkins to the boys. “It’ll probably be a totally obnoxious time if I can get it, so expect it to be, like, lunch hour or something.”
Pulling a slice of pizza free from the pie, Sammy asked, “But what about Kitty and Bobby?”
“I’ll make sure they get an invite, but they have to want to be part of this team,” the girl offered with a shrug, before reaching toward Cherub and saying, “Give me your plate.”
Pulling a slice free, she placed the pizza on the plate and then passed it back to the awkwardly quiet X-Baby before continuing, “Short of that, we just have to keep doing what we’re doing.”
“What are we gonna do in the Danger Room?” Sammy asked, in-between bites.
“They’ll only allow us to run a level one simulation,” Katie remarked, even though Cherub had no idea just what a level one simulation was supposed to mean. After a bite, the girl added, “So, it’ll be pretty low power and full safeties, but I’m hoping to generate an encounter with the Blob.”
“Wait, what?” Sammy blurted aloud, bits of pepperoni flying from his lips. “What are the three of us going to do against the Blob!?”
The girl started to answer, but Sammy just cut her off with an exaggerated wave of his hand. “Wait, wait, wait,” the Squid Boy uttered flatly. “I take it back,” he interjected, pointing between himself and Cherub. “What are the two of us going to do against the Blob? You’re just gonna blow him the fuck away.”
The F-bomb caused Cherub’s head to turn in surprise. X-Babies had a list of words that the censors would never allow on the air. That was one of them.
But, on Earth, people could just say what they wanted?
“He’s pretty immune to getting blown away,” Katie countered evenly, wiping some of the grease from her hands before reaching for a second slice of pizza. As she did, she offered, “And since he’s a physical opponent, there’s no directed energy for me to absorb,”. Taking a bite out of her second piece, the table was quiet as the trio ate before she spoke again and said, “Similarly, neither Cherub’s razors or the toxin on them will have an impact. We’ll have to work together to develop solutions in real time, just like an actual fight.”
Now it was Sammy’s turn to look surprised. “Wait, toxin?” the fish-faced mutant uttered, shooting a glare over at the blue-skinned kid.
“Didn’t you bother to read the profile on Archangel?” Katie asked, the exasperation starting to slip into her voice. Then, taking a breath, she explained, “Cherub’s wings contain projectile razors that are coated in a neurotoxin.”
“Oh great, another way for my roommate to kill me in his sleep!” Sammy exclaimed, slumping down in his chair. He stayed there a moment, then propped his head up as he said, “Anyway, are you high? I’m literally a fish out of water and he’s got aluminum foil for wings!”
Cherub edged over a little further from Sammy.
This... this was why they weren’t friends.
Picking up another french fry, Katie pointed it at the aquatic mutant. “I get it. You don’t shoot laser beams out of your hands. Which, let me tell you, is more trouble than it’s worth. My point is, it’s all situational,” the girl stated in the same even tone, before popping the french fry in her mouth. After she’d swallowed, she added, “And an encounter with the Blob is a situation where none of our individual abilities provide for a singular solution. It’s perfect for practicing team work!”
“It’s perfect for us getting our ass kicked,” Sammy tossed back flatly.
“What do you think its like being an X-Man?”
The question caught the X-Baby by surprise, both for its directness and the realization that he’d never thought about it. Even though, in a way, he’d been an X-Man on television all his life.
“I dunno,” Sammy quipped back, throwing a hand up half-heartedly as he deadpanned, “Totally awesome?”
“I don’t think it is.” It was the first time since they’d left the Institute that he’d spoken. He’d never thought much about it, but reflecting back on all the videos they’d had to watch in order to learn how to play their parts, Katie’s words were casting Warren in an entirely new light for him.
A french fry dipped approvingly in his direction, before disappearing in Katie’s mouth. “Blue gets it,” Katie noted simply, fixing her gaze on the slumping Sammy as she said, “It’s a lot of getting your ass kicked. Then getting back up and trying again anyway.”
“Then why would anyone want to do it?” Sammy tossed back.
“I don’t think a lot of people do,” Katie answered honestly. “And that’s one of the things I think Dani’s trying to teach.”
In
Sensation & Wonder: An Absolute Comics Roleplay [DC & Marvel One Universe Style Game]
→
3 yrs ago
Forum: Casual Roleplay
In
Sensation & Wonder: An Absolute Comics Roleplay [DC & Marvel One Universe Style Game]
→
3 yrs ago
Forum: Casual Roleplay
S E A S O N O N E : H O M E C O M I N G Location: The Xavier Institute - Westchester, New York
New Mutants #1.05
Interaction(s): @Retired
It was a locker room, not a dressing room. They called it training, not rehearsal. Yet, some part of him still felt as though the Xavier Institute operated a lot like the Murderama.
Not that he was complaining. The familiar elements helped make the rest seem somewhat less alien.
The morning classes had followed the assembly as though it had been any other day. People had whispered excitedly over the team assignments, which seemed to have created new cliques that were cause for either anguish or celebration. As for himself, Cherub couldn’t have said how he felt. Aside from that he would have preferred to have been on a team with Evan.
...who he’d only met today, and then only because Evan seemed the only one willing to talk to him.
It seemed like whoever Evan was a clone of, they both had some connection to Warren Worthington. The fact that Cherub had no idea what that connection was had made him aware of how very little he knew about the man he portrayed on the X-Babies. After all, what was there to know? Cherub was supposed to just be the X-Man Angel. It was really just about flying and looking the part.
He didn’t actually know anything about who he was supposed to be.
The blue-skinned child had changed into the black and gold ensemble that formed the uniform for when the students trained their powers under the supervision of the school. The meeting place for the team was out on the lawn, so the boy had stretched out his wings and taken to the air.
The campus fell away beneath his feet. The boy’s blond hair free and wild in the breeze as his metallic wings seemed to resonate with a peculiar hum as they flared back. As the youth was lifted up, the rapidly shrinking mansion seemed to dip. The horizon rolled in a dizzying blur, as the ground was replaced with an endless blue sky.
It was so different from the polluted smog of Mojoworld.
The horizon rolled in another dizzying blur, as the boy rotated back toward the ground. He shot down from above like a speeding bullet, sailing down and then arcing across the roof of the mansion. The peculiar hum seemed to resonate again, as the techno-organic wings flared outward as the boy arrested his momentum. The child’s body seemed to bounce upward briefly, before his wings folded in against his back and he dropped back to solid ground.
He knew three of the four – Katie, Bobby, and Sammy – mostly just because they were either in his same classes or, in the case of Bobby, because he was popular with the underclassmen. The fourth, a girl who seemed Bobby’s age, had an impatient look on her face as the blue-skinned youth walked up to the group.
The fifth was one of the teachers, though Cherub wasn’t sure he knew what she taught.
“My name is Dani Moonstar,” the woman announced. “While I am in charge of your training, you will address me by my codename; Mirage.”
At the mention of codenames, a few eyes were cast his way. To be honest, he was still confused over this idea of codenames. He hadn’t even realized Angel wasn’t Warren Worthington’s actual name. “X-Babies only have one name,” the boy offered with a shrug.
Seriously, why did these people need, like, two or three names or whatever?
“I've got several tests for you today so I can determine where you're all at individually and as a group.”
Just like the Murderama back home. She called it a test. He called it a scene.
Directing their attention to the hedge maze, the woman offered, “This maze will be the first. Earlier this morning I took it upon myself to see how fast I could make it to the center. It took me almost seven minutes.” Pausing there, she got their attention again before adding, “I'm giving you all five to make it there.”
The boy’s head just went back. Five minutes? He could fly there in under five second...
“And no powers. We're doing this the old-fashioned way.”
Oh, the boy thought. Though, now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure Katie couldn’t fly. He knew Sammy couldn’t fly. So, he supposed that wouldn’t work for everyone anyway.
At the start, it seemed two people were going in different directions. The impatient girl was off like a shot, even as Katie called after her.
Bobby was the other, who uttered something under his breath and gave a dismissive gesture as he was just walked away from the maze.
“Un-believable!” Katie snapped, at the realization that the teenagers had just split off on their own. Then, motioning for the two boys to follow said, “Stick together. Hopefully we catch up with Last Action Hero.”
As the trio of kids jogged into the maze, Katie asked, “Sam, Blue, either of you got any ideas?”
“Uh, one of us could see over the hedge walls if we lifted them up?” Sammy ventured aloud.
“Recon,” Katie mused with a nod, slowing to a halt as the group arrived at their first choice of which way to go. “I like it,” the girl remarked, reaching into a bush to snap off a twig.
Stooping down, the girl made an circle with an arrow pointing left. Then, straightening back up, looked at the three and said, “We mark our turns in case we get backtracked.”
“What’s the point?” Sammy asked, as the three broke into another jog through the maze. Katie marked another turn, as the boy explained, “If Dan... er, Mirage, couldn’t do it in five minutes, what chance do we have?”
“That’s not the point,” Katie offered flatly, marking a third turn and then jogging on.
“What do you mean, that’s not the point?” Sammy tossed back at the girl, throwing his arms out as he said, “That’s, like, the whole point!”
The girl shot the fish-faced mutant a brief glance as she replied, “It’s a test, right?”
The two boys exchanged a look, then both gave a nod back to the pig-tailed girl.
“What is it that you think she’s evaluating?”
“But, she said...” Sammy began.
“Oh!” Cherub murmured, the proverbial lightbulb going on over his head as realization of what Katie meant sank in. “Not, like, navigating the maze. But how, like, we navigate the maze.”
“Close enough,” Katie remarked, coming up to a stop. Turning back to the boys, she said, “Lift me up.”
The simple request turned into a brief demonstration of cheerleader stack techniques, after which the pig-tailed girl’s head peeked just over the top of the hedge. “We’re turned sideways right now. We need to try going right again,” Katie noted, as she hoped back down.
The kids were probably already going over four minutes, and were not going to finish anytime in the next sixty seconds.
Not that he was complaining. The familiar elements helped make the rest seem somewhat less alien.
The morning classes had followed the assembly as though it had been any other day. People had whispered excitedly over the team assignments, which seemed to have created new cliques that were cause for either anguish or celebration. As for himself, Cherub couldn’t have said how he felt. Aside from that he would have preferred to have been on a team with Evan.
...who he’d only met today, and then only because Evan seemed the only one willing to talk to him.
It seemed like whoever Evan was a clone of, they both had some connection to Warren Worthington. The fact that Cherub had no idea what that connection was had made him aware of how very little he knew about the man he portrayed on the X-Babies. After all, what was there to know? Cherub was supposed to just be the X-Man Angel. It was really just about flying and looking the part.
He didn’t actually know anything about who he was supposed to be.
The blue-skinned child had changed into the black and gold ensemble that formed the uniform for when the students trained their powers under the supervision of the school. The meeting place for the team was out on the lawn, so the boy had stretched out his wings and taken to the air.
The campus fell away beneath his feet. The boy’s blond hair free and wild in the breeze as his metallic wings seemed to resonate with a peculiar hum as they flared back. As the youth was lifted up, the rapidly shrinking mansion seemed to dip. The horizon rolled in a dizzying blur, as the ground was replaced with an endless blue sky.
It was so different from the polluted smog of Mojoworld.
The horizon rolled in another dizzying blur, as the boy rotated back toward the ground. He shot down from above like a speeding bullet, sailing down and then arcing across the roof of the mansion. The peculiar hum seemed to resonate again, as the techno-organic wings flared outward as the boy arrested his momentum. The child’s body seemed to bounce upward briefly, before his wings folded in against his back and he dropped back to solid ground.
He knew three of the four – Katie, Bobby, and Sammy – mostly just because they were either in his same classes or, in the case of Bobby, because he was popular with the underclassmen. The fourth, a girl who seemed Bobby’s age, had an impatient look on her face as the blue-skinned youth walked up to the group.
The fifth was one of the teachers, though Cherub wasn’t sure he knew what she taught.
“My name is Dani Moonstar,” the woman announced. “While I am in charge of your training, you will address me by my codename; Mirage.”
At the mention of codenames, a few eyes were cast his way. To be honest, he was still confused over this idea of codenames. He hadn’t even realized Angel wasn’t Warren Worthington’s actual name. “X-Babies only have one name,” the boy offered with a shrug.
Seriously, why did these people need, like, two or three names or whatever?
“I've got several tests for you today so I can determine where you're all at individually and as a group.”
Just like the Murderama back home. She called it a test. He called it a scene.
Directing their attention to the hedge maze, the woman offered, “This maze will be the first. Earlier this morning I took it upon myself to see how fast I could make it to the center. It took me almost seven minutes.” Pausing there, she got their attention again before adding, “I'm giving you all five to make it there.”
The boy’s head just went back. Five minutes? He could fly there in under five second...
“And no powers. We're doing this the old-fashioned way.”
Oh, the boy thought. Though, now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure Katie couldn’t fly. He knew Sammy couldn’t fly. So, he supposed that wouldn’t work for everyone anyway.
At the start, it seemed two people were going in different directions. The impatient girl was off like a shot, even as Katie called after her.
Bobby was the other, who uttered something under his breath and gave a dismissive gesture as he was just walked away from the maze.
“Un-believable!” Katie snapped, at the realization that the teenagers had just split off on their own. Then, motioning for the two boys to follow said, “Stick together. Hopefully we catch up with Last Action Hero.”
As the trio of kids jogged into the maze, Katie asked, “Sam, Blue, either of you got any ideas?”
“Uh, one of us could see over the hedge walls if we lifted them up?” Sammy ventured aloud.
“Recon,” Katie mused with a nod, slowing to a halt as the group arrived at their first choice of which way to go. “I like it,” the girl remarked, reaching into a bush to snap off a twig.
Stooping down, the girl made an circle with an arrow pointing left. Then, straightening back up, looked at the three and said, “We mark our turns in case we get backtracked.”
“What’s the point?” Sammy asked, as the three broke into another jog through the maze. Katie marked another turn, as the boy explained, “If Dan... er, Mirage, couldn’t do it in five minutes, what chance do we have?”
“That’s not the point,” Katie offered flatly, marking a third turn and then jogging on.
“What do you mean, that’s not the point?” Sammy tossed back at the girl, throwing his arms out as he said, “That’s, like, the whole point!”
The girl shot the fish-faced mutant a brief glance as she replied, “It’s a test, right?”
The two boys exchanged a look, then both gave a nod back to the pig-tailed girl.
“What is it that you think she’s evaluating?”
“But, she said...” Sammy began.
“Oh!” Cherub murmured, the proverbial lightbulb going on over his head as realization of what Katie meant sank in. “Not, like, navigating the maze. But how, like, we navigate the maze.”
“Close enough,” Katie remarked, coming up to a stop. Turning back to the boys, she said, “Lift me up.”
The simple request turned into a brief demonstration of cheerleader stack techniques, after which the pig-tailed girl’s head peeked just over the top of the hedge. “We’re turned sideways right now. We need to try going right again,” Katie noted, as she hoped back down.
The kids were probably already going over four minutes, and were not going to finish anytime in the next sixty seconds.
In
Rogue Continuum: The Singularity Crisis (A DC and Marvel RP)
→
3 yrs ago
Forum: Advanced Roleplay
“We're surrounded by enemies, don't know what they are, don't know where they're coming from, and we don't know how many there are.”
The cowboy had a firm grasp on the situation. Six couldn’t help but share the strategic analysis as the man named Hex spo...
“We got them right where we want them.”
The boy’s head spun around as if on a swivel. A look of confusion twisted the child’s features that were visible beneath the hooded cowl and domino mask. Was the cowboy making a joke?
The Nomad spoke up, asking the boy, “I'm assuming by predator you don't just mean a lion or, I don't know, a big crocodile.”
The boy’s black and red cape fluttered around the youth’s ambiguous form, as he began floating in the air along the path they had chosen. “Both would be apt comparisons,” the child remarked cryptically, as the group arrived at a dead end.
There were shadows. Six could always...
“Allow me,” M’Gann’s voice announced, as the woman pulled the hovering child back a pace, before she ghosted through the barrier.
Picking back up on the question that Steve had asked, the boy explained, “What I feel is a killer, but... there’s no malice. No envy. None of the usual sins that I’d associate with murder.”
Barry decided to take a jog as they talked, though no sooner had the Flash departed than the door came off the hinges as M’Gann tossed it aside. “Apologies for the delay. It appears I did not have the proper credentials.”
The boy murmured his approval, still hovering in the air as he floated inside of Harper’s office. The Martian had handled that quite efficiently. In fact, it sparked a thought. Her ability, as well as his own, meant that they could potentially split up to cover more area...
It seemed M’Gann was already of that same thought. “I am going to scout ahead. It will be quicker for me to move alone.”
With that, the Martian was off, leaving the boy to contemplate doing likewise. Barry would have a good catalogue of the hallways and pathways, but M’Gann and Six could venture between floors or...
“Computer.”
Steve’s voice broke the silence, commanding respect as he... thought he was using some kind of voice recognition operating system? “Access camera feeds.”
On second thought, maybe leaving the office to the cowboy and Nomad wasn’t the most efficient use of teamwork. Floating down to the ground, the cape seemed to dissolve into the child’s small frame as it became visible, a black suit with white lines reminiscent of the chains that seemed to bind him. It might have been remarkable to realize just how small he was.
Coming around the desk, the boy examined the computer there. A screensaver was active, but the desktop immediately appeared when Six moved the mouse. No password protection thus far. “If there was a voice assistant, it’d probably answer to ‘Siri’ or ‘Alexa, play Despacito,’” the boy commented, reaching forward to explore the keyboard and clicking around on the desktop.
“The clock is set for the U.S. Eastern Time Zone,” Six commented aloud, before adding, “Current year is Twenty Twenty-Two.”
On the desktop was a folder labeled FIELD REPORTS. The contents contained monotonous notations on daily activities. “This facility is known as Cadmus Labs,” Six noted aloud as he browsed through the available data. “This report was authored nine days ago and it makes reference to a sentient weapons observation and response department...”
There were a lot of sub-folders within the directory. Sorting by recency, EVENT T-212-73 and EVENT S-89-17 were the newest entries. Both were password protected, but the file properties were visible. The two folders were created one week apart, six and five weeks before the current date.
And there was another folder in the main directory that caught his attention. THE DNA PROJECT. That was created six years ago, and wasn’t password protected. There were no loose files, only more sub-folders – with password protection on them. KR SUBJECT 01, KR SUBJECT 02, GENOMORPH, G-GOBLIN...
“Good God...”
Steve’s voice pulled the boy away from the computer. Floating up over Nomad’s shoulder, the boy stoically peered at the images of the bloodbath on the screen.
So what’s what he’d sensed.
Honestly, the vibes in that cafeteria would probably have been a good place to recharge. There was sure to be some restless souls or spirits of vengeance he could tap for some necroplasm.
However, now wasn’t the time to think about that. Instead, it had exposed an oversight and a vulnerability. They’d divided the team, but hadn’t established a means of communication. “-tt-” the boy uttered, disgusted with himself. “I should have thought to have the Martian link us telepathically before she ghosted out.”
It was a rookie mistake.
Closing his eyes for a moment, the boy applied his own, twisted form of empathy. The same miasma of killer instinct met him, except this time he pushed beyond the first impression. M’Gann and Barry were both out there. Whether they’d stumbled across the same information or whether someone had stumbled across them, someone had to feel some negative emotions.
Right?
“I’ve found Barry,” the Hellspawn announced. As he opened his eyes, green hellfire flickered from out of the eye holes on the domino mask. His voice was deeper, almost demonic as his cape seemed to furl outward, as though melding with the dark corners of the room. As the boy stretched out his hands, green flames seemed to flow along his hands and arms.
The Flash was uncertain. Afraid.
“I can teleport us to him,” Six uttered flatly, in the same altered tones.
Grudgingly, the Nomad and the cowboy seemed to exchange a glance. And then it was done. The lights flickered overhead. As the shadows consumed them, the three were swallowed by the cape that flowed from out of the boy’s body. And then they had vanished.
From across the facility, Barry might have noticed the shadows along the wall seeming to swell. The lights flickered, as the shadows detached themselves and took human form.
Then the inky darkness receded, revealing the black and red cape as the child appeared in eldritch hellfire. The smell of sulfur and brimstone seemed to linger in the air, as the hellspawn reappeared in front of the Flash.
. The cowboy had a firm grasp on the situation. Six couldn’t help but share the strategic analysis as the man named Hex spo...
“We got them right where we want them.”
The boy’s head spun around as if on a swivel. A look of confusion twisted the child’s features that were visible beneath the hooded cowl and domino mask. Was the cowboy making a joke?
The Nomad spoke up, asking the boy, “I'm assuming by predator you don't just mean a lion or, I don't know, a big crocodile.”
The boy’s black and red cape fluttered around the youth’s ambiguous form, as he began floating in the air along the path they had chosen. “Both would be apt comparisons,” the child remarked cryptically, as the group arrived at a dead end.
There were shadows. Six could always...
“Allow me,” M’Gann’s voice announced, as the woman pulled the hovering child back a pace, before she ghosted through the barrier.
Picking back up on the question that Steve had asked, the boy explained, “What I feel is a killer, but... there’s no malice. No envy. None of the usual sins that I’d associate with murder.”
Barry decided to take a jog as they talked, though no sooner had the Flash departed than the door came off the hinges as M’Gann tossed it aside. “Apologies for the delay. It appears I did not have the proper credentials.”
The boy murmured his approval, still hovering in the air as he floated inside of Harper’s office. The Martian had handled that quite efficiently. In fact, it sparked a thought. Her ability, as well as his own, meant that they could potentially split up to cover more area...
It seemed M’Gann was already of that same thought. “I am going to scout ahead. It will be quicker for me to move alone.”
With that, the Martian was off, leaving the boy to contemplate doing likewise. Barry would have a good catalogue of the hallways and pathways, but M’Gann and Six could venture between floors or...
“Computer.”
Steve’s voice broke the silence, commanding respect as he... thought he was using some kind of voice recognition operating system? “Access camera feeds.”
On second thought, maybe leaving the office to the cowboy and Nomad wasn’t the most efficient use of teamwork. Floating down to the ground, the cape seemed to dissolve into the child’s small frame as it became visible, a black suit with white lines reminiscent of the chains that seemed to bind him. It might have been remarkable to realize just how small he was.
Coming around the desk, the boy examined the computer there. A screensaver was active, but the desktop immediately appeared when Six moved the mouse. No password protection thus far. “If there was a voice assistant, it’d probably answer to ‘Siri’ or ‘Alexa, play Despacito,’” the boy commented, reaching forward to explore the keyboard and clicking around on the desktop.
“The clock is set for the U.S. Eastern Time Zone,” Six commented aloud, before adding, “Current year is Twenty Twenty-Two.”
On the desktop was a folder labeled FIELD REPORTS. The contents contained monotonous notations on daily activities. “This facility is known as Cadmus Labs,” Six noted aloud as he browsed through the available data. “This report was authored nine days ago and it makes reference to a sentient weapons observation and response department...”
There were a lot of sub-folders within the directory. Sorting by recency, EVENT T-212-73 and EVENT S-89-17 were the newest entries. Both were password protected, but the file properties were visible. The two folders were created one week apart, six and five weeks before the current date.
And there was another folder in the main directory that caught his attention. THE DNA PROJECT. That was created six years ago, and wasn’t password protected. There were no loose files, only more sub-folders – with password protection on them. KR SUBJECT 01, KR SUBJECT 02, GENOMORPH, G-GOBLIN...
“Good God...”
Steve’s voice pulled the boy away from the computer. Floating up over Nomad’s shoulder, the boy stoically peered at the images of the bloodbath on the screen.
So what’s what he’d sensed.
Honestly, the vibes in that cafeteria would probably have been a good place to recharge. There was sure to be some restless souls or spirits of vengeance he could tap for some necroplasm.
However, now wasn’t the time to think about that. Instead, it had exposed an oversight and a vulnerability. They’d divided the team, but hadn’t established a means of communication. “-tt-” the boy uttered, disgusted with himself. “I should have thought to have the Martian link us telepathically before she ghosted out.”
It was a rookie mistake.
Closing his eyes for a moment, the boy applied his own, twisted form of empathy. The same miasma of killer instinct met him, except this time he pushed beyond the first impression. M’Gann and Barry were both out there. Whether they’d stumbled across the same information or whether someone had stumbled across them, someone had to feel some negative emotions.
Right?
“I’ve found Barry,” the Hellspawn announced. As he opened his eyes, green hellfire flickered from out of the eye holes on the domino mask. His voice was deeper, almost demonic as his cape seemed to furl outward, as though melding with the dark corners of the room. As the boy stretched out his hands, green flames seemed to flow along his hands and arms.
The Flash was uncertain. Afraid.
“I can teleport us to him,” Six uttered flatly, in the same altered tones.
Grudgingly, the Nomad and the cowboy seemed to exchange a glance. And then it was done. The lights flickered overhead. As the shadows consumed them, the three were swallowed by the cape that flowed from out of the boy’s body. And then they had vanished.
From across the facility, Barry might have noticed the shadows along the wall seeming to swell. The lights flickered, as the shadows detached themselves and took human form.
Then the inky darkness receded, revealing the black and red cape as the child appeared in eldritch hellfire. The smell of sulfur and brimstone seemed to linger in the air, as the hellspawn reappeared in front of the Flash.
In
Sensation & Wonder: An Absolute Comics Roleplay [DC & Marvel One Universe Style Game]
→
3 yrs ago
Forum: Casual Roleplay
<Snipped quote by DocTachyon>
1) Incredible Hulk is under rated and under appreciated within the MCU and is one of the best films within the MCU and I still stand that for a solo film it has one of the best, if no the best, final fight.
2) Endgame was overrated. I know a lot of people are like boo you just didn't like how Hulk was portrayed and that's right. More importantly I felt like it suffered from some real pacing issues, I understand why everything is in it and I wouldn't know what to cut, I just feel like it doesn't work.
I try not to agree with Sep, but I think he got it right here.
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