Monday, April 2nd: Exiles - Emerging From the Shadows
The members of Exile had slowly dwindled off to bed, Garnet had even nudged Max awake after noticing he was only still out because he had fallen asleep on the couch in front of the TV. When Max gave a groggy goodnight, he had every intention to get up and go to bed… it just seemed that when he took a moment to bury his face back into one of the cushions for a moment, he had fallen back asleep. There seemed to be no dreams for Max, everything was just an empty darkness from one moment to the next, making it feel as if when something seemed to grab at him and yank him hard off the couch to pin him down on the floor it felt as if only a brief moment before Garnet had been whispering for him to go to bed. When the stone shifted went to protest a hand had clamped about his mouth, it was dark but not dark enough that Chadstone couldn’t make out the outline of the intruder enough to realize it definitely wasn’t one of Max’s team mates.
There was must Max could do against the figure pinning him down, there seemed an uncanny strength, and the sleepy disorientation turned into a panicked confusion swiftly, flesh turned grey and rough, easing the pain the other mans grips caused. Wiggling desperately, Max managed to kick out, accomplishing nothing more then banging his foot into the coffee table that sat in front of the couch. Another shadow moved, though any hope of it being a teammate to lend aid was dashed the silhouette of the intruders helmet stood out in the gloom of the room. The alarm started screaming then, warning called out over the systems of intruders, the siren shattering the silence though the man pinning Max down didn’t seem to flinch, while his companion seemed to give a most frightening of snarl.
Yes, help would come now, or he’d wake up, Max wasn’t sure which was most likely, but right now, he needed one of either to come, the man’s hand still grasped tightly over Max’s mouth, managing to also cover the nostrils and leaving Max also struggling for breath. A stoned arm kept grasping at the individual on top of Max, strong fingers trying to dig their way into the other, only to encounter a body suit of armour that made it difficult to retaliate. All Max could hear now was the siren screaming, his heart throbbing, a weakness started to form, the sound of the doors opening as other team-mates emerged went unheard, the movement of the other figure towards the bedrooms was ignored, fear and panic all that kept the blackness at bay, but even then… Max could feel it all slowly ebbing away.
Re: Monday, April 2nd: Exiles - Emerging From the Shadows
(OOC: Edited to match the fact that there's only two infiltrators... )
There was a lot of work to be done. Piles and piles, endlessly flooding in as it seemed, keeping her up at times when she had much rather preferred to sleep. So nothing new there. Aurora knew that it wasn't true, but to her it sometimes seemed she was the most hard-working member of staff in the whole blasted institute. That was of course ridiculously self-adulatory, but intellectually being aware of that fact didn't really bother her feelings. There obviously was still way too much of the spoiled girl she had used to be inside of her, but with all the paper work there wasn't really time to work on that flaw of personality, was there?
Electronic beats with the occasional minimalist vocals sounded from her earphones, shutting out the non-existent noise of the nightly dorms. If it had been day, that surely would have been a most effective method, but as it was, the only thing it did was keeping her mind ever so slightly distracted, and calling forth vague memories of her clubbing days. She had been out every other day, partying the night away. Boy, that time was so over. Then again, maybe at some point she would be able to at least go out again occasionally. There hadn't been much hope left seeing as there had been this slight issue of social isolation, but the feeble connection Garnet had begun to build up with Riley had renewed her faith. The jury was still out.
The sudden silence had much of a bucketful of cold water being emptied over here. It took a moment before the fire-elemental realised the batteries in her mp3-player had died. She sighed. As was expected of such situations, there were of course no charged ones around, but before she could curse the general unfairness of the world, her gaze fell on the clock. 2:29 am. Maybe that was the universe's way of letting her know it really was about time she went to bed. Rubbing her eyes slightly, she yawned, then stretched her arms a bit realising she had spent way too much time in the same position. Her whole body seemed to protest against the maltreatment, but it wasn't very clear on whether that would be the hours of sitting or the movements.
A strange sound made her turn around as much as her sitting position and aching muscles permitted. It seemed human, but strangely muffled, the quiet sound seeming so much louder in the still team quarters. Slowly, she rose from her chair, frowning. Should she go out and check, risking to walk in on Max entertaining his latest conquest? It seemed to be the most likely source of what she had heard but still there was no telling if it hadn't been something different.
Aurora had already made her way to the door when the alarm went off. A split-second of stupor came and passed before she stormed out of her room. The darkness engulfing her seemed solid like a brick wall, her eyes not accustomed to the lack of light yet. "Freeze!" she shouted, correctly suspecting intruders for detecting those was the main purpose of the institute's security system. A fiery corona erupted around her, dimly illuminating the room with orange-red light. Anything lighter would have meant more heat and as close as she was to the others' rooms, she couldn't risk that. The first thing she saw was something holding Max in its grasp, hostility so obvious it seemed to ooze from what may have been a man. Aurora didn't allow herself any more time of examination after she had verified the threat. Her training took over.
A mere second after darkness had been turned into this hellish scene with dancing shadows and banshee screams, a ball of solid fire sped towards the aggressor that held Max in its grasp while Circe's free hand hit the com badge, activating the emergency sequence. "Alarm, incoming at Exiles dorms!" There wasn't time for a longwinded explanation, and it wouldn't be necessary. Time wasn't working for them though. Although the one keeping Chadstone down had been hit by her blast and slammed into the wall, there was another dark figure catching her attention and it was hard to tell whether or not there were any more. Her brain was working overtime and with a clarity that surprised herself a little, probably owed to the real danger of the moment.
These infiltrators were professionals. It was more than obvious, and made it painfully clear that as a team, Exiles stood no chance, if - as she expected - there would be more than the two she saw to enter the scene soon. Maybe it was a trap to get them to attack only to be circled and taken down. So far, the only one other than herself Garnet expected to be able to hold her own was Anna. And as a double, they simply couldn't work, not in this confined space. "Exiles, out and retreat!" she yelled, praying some of the better trained X-Men were already on the way and able to protect her fleeing team. She also hoped the latter would remember the secret passage up the vent in the laundry room, but couldn't well remind them of that.
Defying gravity, the fiery mutant rushed to Max's side, a wall of fire bursting into life behind her as she entered the common room, blocking the way at least momentarily - until the enemy would realise it was only hot, not burning. A curse left her lips as she realised the stone-shifted was unconscious. Or at least she preferred thinking of him as just out while still alive. Not that there was time to check that. The flaming shield Aurora had set up around herself and Max was not built to last, her focus split between maintaining these two barriers while trying to wake up her ex-boyfriend with slaps in the face he probably didn't even feel. "Wake up damn you!" she shouted, panic finally beginning to cloud her mind. What use was this impressive control over her powers she had if there was no way she could really use them. How ironic would it be if she had to surrender to avoid harming her team mates, thus having to take away the barriers that were now providing at least a little bit of protection?
For everyone comes the time when they have to take over responsibility. It stands to argue whether there is also a time when they can get rid of it again.
Re: Monday, April 2nd: Exiles - Emerging From the Shadows
Tonight was like any other night at the institute and Nick was bored once more. Had he been at home he would probably have been combing the streets of Gotham for any signs of crime by now but not here. The reality of his current situation was driving him slightly insane; he was stuck with a team of incompetents that didn’t trust each other any further then they could throw each other and had egos to match. And to make matters worse he had been more or less confined to his room after he had been caught taking the X-jet for a spin without permission. He sighed, resigned in the knowledge that at least the rest of his team seemed as miserable as he was.
Rolling over he looked at the clock, 2:30, why was he still awake? His restlessness had turned into insomnia of sorts, he only needed a few hours sleep a night to help him feel refreshed. Maybe it was because he didn’t do as much as he used to, all his trips to the danger room were strictly monitored and apart from his usual stretching exercises he did not have much of a chance to exert himself. He notched the sound up on his MP3 player once more and let the sound of Nirvana’s “smells like teen spirit” wash over him.
He was so caught up in the music that it took him a second or two to realise that another louder sound was encroaching on his rest time. Pulling the small earphones out of his ears he was met by the very distinctive sound of the schools alarm system issuing a warning. He vaulted out of bed and was headed to his bedroom door at a run pausing only to grab his tool belt and batarangs on the way out. Old habits died hard and he was dressed all in tight fitting black that allowed him to use his skills to their fullest, he drop rolled from his doorway to the wall opposite that would offer him cover while he assessed what they were up against.
He could see Garnet quite clearly from where he stood as she was the only one illuminated in the room. His mind took time to register her arrogance and confidence in her abilities, she looked like a bloody Christmas tree from here… why not wear an aim here sticker as well. Her display did however offer him some light to try and work out were the attackers were coming from. It seemed that one of his team mates had been taken down already and that was where their leader was focussing her attention, which meant that neither she nor the invaders knew of his presence.
Nick decided to wait and keep himself hidden as best he could, though as the rest of his team mates emerged he did signal them to stay as quiet and hidden as possible. It did not take long for Garnet to make her move, she let out a curtain of flames that barred the entrance to the common room preventing the rest of them leaving from that direction. He knew for a fact that Frost was now useless to them, and Racheal’s fear of flames would also count her out. It seemed however that Circe’s was only aiming for them to turn and run… looked like most of them would not have a choice in the matter any more.
He turned to the others and looking at them was surprised to find that both Rachael and Fred were conspicuous in their absence. However he did remember the sound of people leaving earlier... maybe they hadn't returned. Pushing this to the back of his mind he took a breath and tried to take charge of the situation.
“Right our fearless and hot headed leader has not left us a choice in what to do next; we need to get out any way possible and to be honest there is but one for most of us. Out through the passage in the laundry room, if anyone wants to morph of freeze their way out be my guest but we might as well not hang around and let them corner us further."
He looked back to see that Garnet had gotten herself well and truly surrounded, he knew she could probably take the rest of them on but not without taking most of the dorm section of the school with her. And she had to carry Max, who had to be the person she was helping as he was the only one missing, which she might be able to do but she wouldn’t be able to watch her back as well.
“However it appears that our leader is in a spot of bother, so I’ll just go and lend a hand. Could you check and make sure Rachel and Fred are not stuck anywhere on your way out.”
He flashed them all a grin that revealed that he was excited at finally seeing some action again and sped back towards the entrance to the common room. If you couldn’t go through the flames you could go over them. He took a minute to mark the position of the nearest attackers and let his blades fly through the flames. Then he followed them and took a running summersault over the barrier. On landing he caught one of his blades on the way back and rolled so that he was once again in the shadows with his back to the wall. All he could do now was keep himself alive and wait for someone to make the next move.
Re: Monday, April 2nd: Exiles - Emerging From the Shadows
Jess lived for those silent hours in the middle of the night. After the team of misfits had retreated to the relative safety of their own rooms for the evening he pulled out whatever book had been hitching a ride in his back pocket, propped himself up on a couple of pillows, and began to read. There was something soothing and familiar about sinking into a novel. By now he'd read most of them and the characters were like old friends, or at least what he assumed an old friend would be like. Jess didn't make friends easily and he found it even harder to keep them. Add distance to the equation and it left a grand total of maybe one guy from New York.
He wasn't in New York anymore, that much was evident even from the corner of his eye. Instead of a barren grey appartment was this light room with a bed that didn't involve an air matress or sleeping on the loveseat. The pale yellow walls were distractingly cheery. Eyes beginning to blur the words on the page before him, Jess wondered why he still found this place so surreal sometimes. He surely couldn't be missing the apartment and yet this room still felt more like a hotel room than a homebase. Sometimes it felt most like a prison.
In retrospect, maybe A Clockwork Orange hadn't been the best bedtime reading option. The nadsat that he usually understood easily was beginning to become difficult to deceipher and he kept reading the same page. His mind was tiring quickly but his body was less ready to submit to sleep and the images of violence and triumphant classical music wasn't helping matters.
Jess sighed and looked longingly at his mp3 player, perched on the nightable. It had run out of batteries a few days earlier and he hadn't been bothered digging up new ones. Without the device there really was no reason to prolong his conscious state and he closed the book regretfully, placing it on the table with respect. It was while reaching for the light and happening to notice the alarm clock's blocky numbers displaying 2:30 that, as he would later put it, all hell broke loose.
The light never was switched off. The unmistakeable shriek of the school siren cut into his thoughts and jerked his mind back to wakefulness in the same way that the static of his alarm clock radio set between stations did every morning. As the alarm continued to make its horrible music Jess headed for the small closet and took out a black shoulder bag shoved against the back wall behind clothes. Used to essentially caring for himself Jess considered himself a survivor who did what had to be done to make it. He had problems trusting people and he had never entirely felt comfortable at the institute so there had always been an emergency bag packed and ready to go. Just in case, he had always told himself and even believed that he would never actually toss it over one shoulder. The alarm changed all that.
It wasn't a heavy bag and just contained a sweatshirt, a few books, money, a few of those granola bars he had used to pack for himself for lunch and other essentials. It was no trouble to toss it over one shoulder. He had already pulled on a pair of jeans and slipped into the runners at the foot of his bed. Then he headed for the door.
Looking at Garnet illuminated at the rooms center almost made Jess feel guilty for his condemnation of her. Her display served the other purpose of reminding him of his complete and utter lack of a useful active power. Unless one of the intruders, for it was clear that intruders were the problem, asked him a question Jess was powerless. Peering out from the partially openned bedroom door he took note of the attackers and of the fact that Garnet was not the only team member accounted for. What then of the others though? Were they already gone?
Openning the door to better judge the situation the New York mutant caught Nick's signal to stay hidden. Maybe there was hope for him yet he thought sarcastically as he proceeded to do exactly as Nick had said. He didn't exactly have much choice in the matter since Garnet had just caught off the front door exit strategy with a column of flames. Looking for a better option Jess found himself once more face to face with Nick once more. Of the assembled Exiles it didn't escape his notice that the team was lacking some estrogen. The morpher and the dead girl, he determined, deciding their names weren't important at this stage.
“Right our fearless and hot headed leader has not left us a choice in what to do next; we need to get out any way possible and to be honest there is but one for most of us. Out through the passage in the laundry room, if anyone wants to morph of freeze their way out be my guest but we might as well not hang around and let them corner us further."
That made sense to him and while Jess wasn't big on following orders he also tried not to get himself stupidly killed so he went along, for once, without comment. Nick gave names to the faces of his missing team members and although Jess thought the girl who could change forms and the one who was already dead were probably just fine by themselves he nodded briskly all the same. Fine, check, whatever. He should probably be thankful that he hadn't been asked or forced to be the one helping Garnet and Max, who by process of elimination was the attacked teammate.
The grin Nicolas displayed became clear to Jess a moment later. Excitement. Bitterly he thought that it was all very well to want action when you had an active power but his, no matter how helpful it was in everyday life, put him at a disadvantage.
He let out a low curse under his breath and glanced once more at the strange trio newly formed before turning his focus back to where it counted. 'I'm not happy about this but I'm going this way and you had better not get in my way' his eyes said plain and clear. I'm not jumping over fire for Garnet, he thought and, with a dark glare that said anything words might have and more, he headed towards the laundry room vent.
Re: Monday, April 2nd: Exiles - Emerging From the Shadows
It felt surreal, a hand was slapping him, but instead of it being Garnet it had been his fathers, the glimpse was faint and the image was distant, almost unseen save for the familiarity of the feel that the stinging cheeks brought. Though the words were different, all he could hear was insults thrown at him, distant and faint, part of him wanted to withdraw further and further away from the sounds and stings, wanted to back so far into the darkness that for a moment everything went completely black and silent. It seemed sudden, though a swirl of rage seemed flicker inside of Max as memories of a previous encounter surged briefly yet powerfully, he’d promised Michael he’d like to help after the upset caused the younger boy to freak out over being dismissed from his team. Now his father was there again, shoving and pushing and threatening and this time Max wanted to try and pay back the debt, though when a hand grabbed firmly at Garnet’s wrist as another slap seemed to be coming for him, Max ended up staring more confused as to why Garnet was slapping him. The grip loosened almost instantly, though everything seemed to blur around him, it was warm, she looked freaked, and just as Max was about to ask what she was doing, the soreness in his throat and the memories of the previous attack hit him just as hard as a few more slaps.
"You’re supposed to hit the other guys," It wasn’t a clueless slap at Garnet, but a show that he was ok and a glimmer of his dry humour though it was, as often was the case, difficult to tell if Max was indeed joking or not. His throat felt tight, he knew the sensation, and so did Matt after meeting his father, for now he just tried to get Garnet to help him to his feet. Organic flesh faded, hardening into stone, becoming the living statue that Max was still trying to perfect, though it was not just for the battle taking place, but to guard himself against the flames dancing about them. Still groggy, Max seemed unstable, squinting still sapphire eyes towards the figures moving through the flames, the armour seemed to give them courage while their mind still warred with caution. A raspy cough came from Max, his head still spun from the lack of oxygen before and now the air he gulped in was too warm to help him feel strong and refreshed. Garnet would tell him what to do, he wasn’t going to run around senseless, instead he just waited, allowing himself a moment to steady his body back on his feet and for Garnet to start shouting her orders, he hadn’t yet realized most of the rest of the team had already left the dorm save for Nick.
Re: Monday, April 2nd: Exiles - Emerging From the Shadows
There were still moments when Anna’s mind slowly slipped back to consciousness, moments before waking yet aware, torn between the dream world and the real one, where the young mutant was still confused as to where she was. Back home with mum and dad, with her grandfather… sometimes she knew she was at the school and it was best when that happened. Frostbite’s parents had loved her, a normal happy childhood that a few of the students here lacked, she had toys and clothes and a father that dotted on her with a mother that baked cake and cookies and always liked to say sweet things to Anna in front of friends and family. That was the hardest feeling to shake when the elemental mutant woke, the realization that she wasn’t that little child anymore, that dotted spoiled laughing girl who got to wear all the pretty dresses her mother brought. For all the Drake’s cared, Anna had died the day she hit puberty, a tragic horrific and unspeakable thing stole away their precious daughter, leaving an abomination in her place. The grandfather had been a helping hand, a warmth in the barren wasteland that had become her life, but despite all his love she hurt him, she didn’t mean to, the thought of going out and hugging him good morning as she always had done was washed in fear of leaving yet another freeze burn on his old wrinkled skin.
Then memories returned, swift as if they had never left, the only family Anna had here in the walls of the school was an uncle too busy to share a moments time with her. Sometimes Anna hated him for it, other times she really didn’t care. The only difference with this waking was that while her dreams had troubled her with images of a life that felt so very long ago, as if lived by another, the waking world seemed just as troubled. And for the life of her Anna couldn’t figure if she was still sleeping or if she’d indeed woken up, though Ms Munroe’s voice spoke sharply into her mind as Anna stared blankly at the door while sitting up. Old training commands yelled at her, that at times motherly voice suddenly taking on the tone Storm got when stress was high and danger close by. The white sleep wear she wore was nothing more then a thin strapped tank top and little shorts, first urge had been to just walk out and see what was going on, a sudden thrashing sound distracted her from any forming thoughts of grabbing up the scattered items of clothing beside her bed. Instead she rushed to the door, pulling it open to see two of her male teammates there, crouched and alert, the sudden heat of the hallway nearly drove her back into her room with a stumble.
A hand grabbed at a an item of clothing hanging on a hook on the back of her door, tossing the hanger carelessly aside as sore eyes tried to hold their focus. This was like that day… that day that had been the last night she ever slept in the warmth of her childhood bed, grabbed in the gloom and hurried out in the night as some shamed secret to be ushered off into the darkness. The one piece outfit was white, with a silver zip that run from the belly up, the firm fitting fabric hugging the curves of Anna’s form and zipped up to cover more of her cleavage then usual. The heat gave her a headache, she felt weak as if had a fever, it was bad enough suffering the heat of the kitchen while a meal was being cooked, it was more open plan then her grandfathers had been, but it was still too much at times to hang around. As Frost joined the duo as swiftly as her weakness to the heat allowed, Nick had began talking, and it seemed strangely difficult to focus even on the words he was saying. All Frost knew was that it was warm, and if there was one thing Frost hated more then anything was the heat… and once again Garnet was the source of her weakness, leaving Anna’s gaze more intent on Garnet and her powers then most of what was being said nearby.
"Right our fearless and hot headed leader has not left us a choice in what to do next; we need to get out any way possible and to be honest there is but one for most of us. Out through the passage in the laundry room, if anyone wants to morph of freeze their way out be my guest but we might as well not hang around and let them corner us further." It was a nightmare, this only confirmed it, the sirens split her head and the heat just penetrated all the more for it, soon she’d wake in a sweat and maybe a stifled scream as well. "However it appears that our leader is in a spot of bother, so I’ll just go and lend a hand. Could you check and make sure Rachel and Fred are not stuck anywhere on your way out." Bare feet and naked arms struggled to keep Frost steady, her limbs self weak from it all, maybe she ought to let the flames just take her so she could wake up. Nick had rushed off and was already vanishing into the flames before Frostbite realized what he was doing.
What good was fire here? Frost found herself angry again, though it felt hollow and made her sick, and the room just spun lightly for it. A blast of ice and these guys would be nailed to the spot, and their rooms, their home, it’d all be safe, they’d be safe! Damn that monster of a girl! Didn’t she care about anything? Didn’t she care about anyone else? Frost glared, though how effective the look came out to be would remain unknown to the young mutant as Jess distracted her with a muttered swear that drew her back to their own shared plight.
Nick had gone one way, Jess had started for the other, and Anna realized she was suddenly very alone in this moment, surrounded on all sides by people who didn’t care, some happened to be trying to kill her it seemed and others didn’t care if they did or not, so long as they were spared or got in their heroics. Frost had always told the teachers that people just didn’t care, this was proof of that, all her years of bitterness was finally proven… for once however it was a fact Frost hadn’t really wanted to be proven right. Jess just went off, while Nick went off in the other direction, and it wasn’t like she had a choice, go faint in the heat or go stand a chance of staying on her feet, gee, which to choose.
Her eyes peered at Racheal’s room, then at Fred’s, her own fingers trailed against the wall as her feet carried her clumsily towards the laundry… she’d have tried to shut off the hall with a thick wall of ice, but then Nick would risk getting caught between a wall of fire and ice and unlike Garnet, Frost wouldn’t risk that. Part of her wanted Racheal there; even though the ice mutant wasn’t exactly friends with Racheal, since discovering the morphers fear of fire there had been a common ground that softened Frostbite’s attitude towards her.
Quietly the ice elemental forced herself forward, it felt like a wall was pressing up against her back, the waves of heat easily ignored by others brushed dizzily against Frost. Maybe it wouldn’t have been as bad if she didn’t have such a splitting headache, or maybe it was the cause of her headache, though Frost was sure the siren was effectively throwing axes at her head, Garnet was making it increasingly worse. Garnet always made it worse. The warm air was breathed into cool lungs, and with every breath it got worse, and yet the further away to the back of the dorm she got, the easier it was to breathe. Inside the laundry Jess was clambering up into the passageway, Frost’s bright eyes peered up.
It was just then, in what felt like a moment of unbridled fury, that Frostbite seemed to really wake up, that the frightened girl in her dreams drifted off as if in whirls of smoke and left the bitter and angry young woman she had grown up into. She wasn’t Anna Drake, she was not some pathetic helpless girl! And how dare these people make her feel that way, she ought to freeze dry the lot of them and see how well Garnet and those invaders dealt with things once they’re frozen solid and unconscious! Anger flared this time when she glared back at the fiery wall behind her. The wave of anger and annoyance didn’t help subside the head splitting pounding inside Frost’s head, but it helped raise her tolerance of it a little more as she hauled herself up to the escape exit. It felt much better inside the duct, the metallic surroundings were cool to the touch and the air wasn’t dusty as she’d have imagined. Again Frost would have blocked the entrance with a wall of ice and yet again her thoughts drifted to the other members, what if they decided to come this way instead of through the main door in the dorms?
They’d know this route is quicker, Frost thought as she eyed the two directions the chute split into once you climbed into the narrow passageway, left or right, the people who might chase them up here should it be discovered might split which way to go. Sooner or later they’d have to find the hidden vents, especially with Garnet screaming for an evacuation and Nick charging off revealing others to be inside the dorm. The attackers would definitely have realized there were more members and that they had vanished while hidden in the back parts of the dorm. While dicing up if she should block the other passage, giving the illusion she was trying to bar the way, the realization it could end up givng away their escape more, since eventually the ice would melt and then it would start to drip down into the laundry. Better leave it, and the mental battle may have felt a while going, but when Frost focused back on Jess, he was only about ten metres ahead of her, crawling towards the next intersection, she caught him glancing back at one point to spy her following.
Storm probably just put me here because she thought I didn’t appreciate working with Madison, some sort of proof that things could get worse, She wasn’t really angry at Storm, it was hard to be angry at the teachers, even when she wanted to, they were the only parental family she had still, even if they weren’t really her family and she never really went to them like she used to go to her parents as a child. As far as the ice mistress thought, they didn’t care about her really, they just pitied her enough to put up with her more then her own family. Uncle Bobby was trying at times, but he was too busy, so if he was too busy to catch up with her, she was too busy to care. Splitting up the team during an attack, like that was wise, who does Nick think he is, maybe if he used half of what peanut sized brain he has he'd have realized leaving Garnet to her own devices would have been smarter, By the time Jess managed to get to one of the intersections that had enough space for three or four average people to stand, Frost had caught up, managing to slip out silently despite her irritation. Now there's Mis Lets-set-The-World-On-Fire with two trained fighters and me stuck with Jess, It was like being stuck with Jess and Fred and then having the rest of the team run off to do their own thing, why was Frost the 'rebellious' one yet she was stuck baby sitting half the time?
"That dim-witted idiot," The words were soft in volume, but crispy clear and whipped out at where they had just ventured from with an icy fury that was kept in check only by remaining as quiet as possible. "Sets half the dorm on fire, and for what, honestly, let’s burn and pillage first and think sensibly once everything’s a charred remain," It was known that Frostbite still lacked perfect control of her abilities, sure she could use them well, but it was stopping herself from using them that was the problems, often accidentally activating her power. The only hint right now was the very sudden drop in temperature whilst she was speaking, "I can’t even block the way without being sure I trap Nick or Max in the fire should they try to escape, it’s so annoying," She didn’t care to wait, there were different routes to go but right now she was so angry the thought of just building a block of ice to block at least their escape was too tempting. "Come on, let’s go make hell freeze over," So angry was the mutant that as she ducked into another tunnel that would lead to one of the hallways on the same floor, she left icy crisp hand and toe prints, a wisp of chill following her as Frost moved off, let him follow if he wanted, or let him remain behind. Logic would say he’d stick with her, his power wasn’t really the best in combat, not unless someone asked if he wanted to die or not, and they didn’t usually ask in these situations. Garnet sure as hell didn’t when it came to setting their common room ablaze.
Re: Monday, April 2nd: Exiles - Emerging From the Shadows
Although there was a reaction of sorts on Max’s features after her slaps, what seemed like an eternity of waiting passed without anything much more than a frown happening. She didn’t want to really hurt him, yet felt her ability to focus wane with every second he remained in this unconscious state. What if the room was already filled with more invaders by now? She couldn’t dare thinning the fiery shield around them to have a better look outside, not with Max lying there helplessly.
At this point, there was no telling what the armoured strangers wanted. As long as there was a risk that they were out to kill though, leaving anyone unable to protect himself exposed to whatever weapons they might possess was out of the question. Aurora couldn’t but worry she had made the wrong decisions. It was only a short moment that doubts attacked her confidence, but it was enough to shake her up a little. *No such thoughts!* Garnet told herself sternly, knowing that questioning oneself was a leader’s worst enemy. It could only lead to mistakes. *More mistakes,* as a malicious voice in her head was quick to add. She did her best to ignore it.
With a sigh, Exiles’ leader readied to hit the other’s face again, when a hand shot up and caught her wrist. The sudden pain made her gasp, and still happiness of Max finally having opened his eyes preponderated. "You’re supposed to hit the other guys." She gave a strained smile at that. ”But they weren’t so kind as to lie still,” was her equally dry reply, but she quickly got serious again. ”I have no idea what we’re up against,” Circe admitted truthfully, ”But whatever it is, we’re right in the middle of it. I say we go by how many are around us. If we can take them down, we’ll go after the other Exiles. Otherwise we should take another exit…" The words were spoken fast and quietly, though the roaring of the flames around them were sure to keep most what was said inside the barriers she had set up. You could never be too careful though. The last thing she wanted was sending enemies chasing her team.
"We can only hope Frost is going to keep the enemy at bay should anyone have gone after them," Circe added lowly, revealing the faith she had in Anna's abilities. From what she had seen during their training sessions, Frostbite's powers were the strongest by nature and certainly the most useful in their current situation. Aurora could only pray she had got the hint and taken over leading the escaping team. And if the more likely possibility that she had taken the fiery wall personally was the case, then maybe she at least was egoistical enough to block the way. Frowning, Circe's thoughts lingered on the bizarre nature of their relationship for a second before focusing on the matters at hand again.
A side-glance revealed Max had turned his skin as much into living armour as he was able to. Good, he was thinking for himself. That would hopefully make things a little easier. "Ok, here we go!" A wave of one hand dismissed the fiery dome, a ball of solid fire was blazing in the other like an infernal globus cruciger. "You want a piece of me?" she yelled, ready for combat, while her eyes darted around to estimate the situation. The sight couldn't have been less intimidating. The one she had hit with her fireball earlier seemed to have hit his head hard enough to fall unconscious, the other didn't look much better. The only one moving, so it seemed, was Robin.
"Nick? Report please," Exiles' leader demanded, still cautious of her surroundings. They couldn't afford anyone slipping up. Whatever this whole attack was about, it was serious enough to trigger the Institute's top level alarm. Actually, if it was worth even warning the children who were unaware of the X-Teams, "serious" didn't even begin to describe the gravity of this situation. If only they had hat some answers. Storm's voice that shortly sounded over the intercom only confirmed her fears, without explaining much at all.
For everyone comes the time when they have to take over responsibility. It stands to argue whether there is also a time when they can get rid of it again.
Re: Monday, April 2nd: Exiles - Emerging From the Shadows
As it turned out the next move ended up being Garnet’s. It seemed that while the rest of her courageous band of misfits organised themselves she had managed to revive their fallen companion. Nick however would have been quite happy if Max had remained incapacitated, he did not like the young mutant and he knew the feeling to be mutual. It seemed that the not so useful stone mutant had a problem when it came to accepting that Nick could be a more constructive part of any team despite being merely human.
Suddenly the wall of flame disappeared and instead a figure holding a ball of flames stood in the centre of the room. Garnet’s voice rang out, calling a challenge to anyone stupid enough to take it. Rocking back of his heels on his chosen spot Nick took this opportunity to take in the scene. Bad guys… unmoving. Good guys… blatantly over reacting. Were two enemies really what all this fuss was about? Nick sighed, he might as well have stayed in bed, if Max was stupid enough to let them take him by surprise then he deserved to die. All Robin asked was that he do it quietly.
Straightening up he stepped out from the shadows that had helped conceal him. At once Garnet assumed her role as a leader and asked him to give her a report on what she had missed. Not much was going to be Nick’s first reply but he knew that she would just roll her eyes at him, so he might as well do it properly first time round.
“Jess and Frost went through the vent. Rachael and Fred were no where to be seen but I had the others check their rooms.”
Nick sighed again, he really had been looking forward to a decent fight. What a waste… The alarm was still going off as well, which was doing his head in. Seeing as everything was under control here he might as well go and find out how to shut the damned thing off.
“Right well it seems like we handled everything here. So I plan to go and find a way to make this ear splitting racket stop. I’ll be seeing you then.”
With that he tucked his blades into their scabbard and headed towards the door to the hallway.
Re: Monday, April 2nd: Exiles - Emerging From the Shadows
(( OOC: Um... is this thread closed with everybody continuing elsewhere?))
((Angie: Er.. Cheslea was saying she might throw in a reply before I postie off with Frostbite..... I might throw up a reply this weekend for her coz i actually forgot about it))
For everyone comes the time when they have to take over responsibility. It stands to argue whether there is also a time when they can get rid of it again.
Re: Monday, April 2nd: Exiles - Emerging From the Shadows(OOC: arrives late with postness for continuing)
Anna Drake was hard to ignore. For starters she was attractive and Jess, as a straight male teenager, had certainly noticed. However, that wasn't the only thing that made her noticeable; the ice-powered mutant and their fearless leader were like fire and ice. Literally. Continuous clashing had made for a thin veneer of peace that barely hid mutual dislike and disapproving of Garnet, while the common denominator among the Exiles, had thrust Frostbite occasionally into the spotlight.
Since challenging Barbie was a tick in the positive category on Jess' list he pretty much liked Anna about as much as he liked anyone around here and more than some. Not exactly high praise but Jess wasn't known for stroking egos. He wasn't about to begin braiding her a friendship bracelet if they got out of this alive but there was a degree of respect absent from his relationship with say Max.
None of this kept Jess from cursing under his breath and from glaring his intentions at the remaining members of the team, who were largely involved in their own issues and thus oblivious to him. Despite his cursing he was aware enough to notice that he wasn't the only one glaring. Anna's look was about as dark as he imagined his own to be but that didn't stop Jess from moving towards the vent and away from the frost mutant. He was painfully aware of his lack of active powers and of his particular brand of helplessness in the face of actual danger. The awareness shocked and terrified him and he left Anna to the rooms, sure that Rachael at least, had escaped. With her abilities how could she not? he thought with bitterness that surprised even him.
As he reached the laundry room Jess' bitterness was lessened by the thought that for once his short stature would help, rather than hinder, him. Clambering into the passageway was initially difficult but once inside he adjusted quickly to the lack of light and space, falling into a crawl that anyone watching would have found oddly graceful.
Although he didn't share Anna's biological difficulties with heat there was something refreshing about the cool metal of the passage. Jess knew without looking that he had been sweating, the fire and the fear having mingled to create the perspiration. The chute came to a fork forcing Jess to make a quick decision. He had no special intuition, no idea at all really where they were crawling except away. Jess picked left and kept on crawling.
For all his survival instincts that human part of Jess, that small voice that had been beginning to buy into all this teamwork crap, caused him to glance behind. Spying Anna there was reassuring in more ways than one. Knowing she was accounted for was all well and good but on a purely selfish level he knew that away from Garnet's influence Frost's abilities were powerful, powerful enough to ensure their survival perhaps.
He thought it was another minute or so that went by but in some ways this all still felt surreal and time could have been passing more quickly or slowly than he imagined. Either way it wasn't long before he came to an intersection that enabled him to stand. The chill in the air told him without looking that Frost had caught up but Jess glanced in her direction anyway as she began to speak.
The ice mutant's spite towards Garnet was clear despite the hushed volume of her voice. "That dim-witted idiot. Sets half the dorm on fire, and for what, honestly, let’s burn and pillage first and think sensibly once everything’s a charred remain." Jess was inclined to agree and thought the action thoughtless but he was also beginning to understand base instincts. Perhaps those with active powers instinctually needed to use them, to feel like they were doing something. Jess' instinct was to run, his first rule of self-preservation being don't die, but he wondered briefly what he would have done if his power had been something more. If he could shoot electricity or ice instead of just a persuasive no that was more useful in escaping errands than any real danger.
The combination of Anna's next words and a noticeable drop in temperature yanked the dark-haired teen back to reality. "I can’t even block the way without being sure I trap Nick or Max in the fire should they try to escape, it’s so annoying," she said. Jess bit his tongue to keep from retorting try not having a useful power.
Instead it was Frost who spoke again, saying, "Come on, let’s go make hell freeze over." Jess took this as an invitation to follow and for once in his life he fell in line behind the more powerful mutant muttering darkly, "just let me know if any of the attackers want to play twenty questions." Great, now not only was he useless, he was a sidekick reducing to comic banter in times of danger and giving optimistic pep talks to the heroine of the hour. If he were lucky he'd avoid getting knocked unconscious or kidnapped as sidekicks always were.
Frostbite left hand and toe prints on the passage floor and Jess, previously sweating from the heat, found himself beginning to feel quite chilled. There really wasn't time to yank on the hoodie from his shoulder bag though and instead he just followed the angry mutant, walking quicker to keep pace as she hurried onwards.
Re: Monday, April 2nd: Exiles - Emerging From the Shadows"But they weren’t so kind as to lie still, " It would have been more amusing, and likely he’d have come up with some quip in reply, yet the current situation didn’t offer them much luxury for all that. "I have no idea what we’re up against, " Stone hands brushed against the rough of his now solid neck, at least the soreness faded as the mutation spread over his body, "But whatever it is, we’re right in the middle of it. I say we go by how many are around us. If we can take them down, we’ll go after the other Exiles. Otherwise we should take another exit…" Garnet began, leaving Max to realize, perhaps for the first time despite all they’ve been through, that Garnet was infact in charge, and right now it wasn’t a joke, or something to ignore.... it hadn’t seemed as serious as now, even back on the island, even after all that, this still seemed so much worse. Maybe because they came into his dorm, he was supposed to be save in his dorm, how could something so bad get so close?
It felt almost stifling for a moment, as if hands once again were creeping about his neck, something about being attacked in his room sent chills down his spine that he didn’t even associate with the fear of getting shot. Brutes entering in the night, setting upon him and the time from the shadows, it was like a nightmare, it was as if someone had discovered the things he hated most and played upon them. The light of Garnet’s fire chased away the shadows, and Max prayed with all his wishful thinking that those flames weren’t going to go out any time soon.
"We can only hope Frost is going to keep the enemy at bay should anyone have gone after them, " It was odd to hear either Garnet or Frost to speak well of the other, yet even that comment didn’t help Max focus on anything beyond the binding knots inside his stomach, all the training he ever did was just for showing off, he never actually imagined he’d need to put it to use. "Ok, here we go!" The bright shield was dismissed; the security Max had within it faded just as quietly, causing arms of stone to raise defensively. "You want a piece of me?" Garnet was handling it though, as long as she was around they had light and, light and protection. "Nick? Report please," Max was managing to pull off a very calmed form of panic, bad things happened in the dark, and this was just another example to confirm his fears. Where was Matt? Was he blazing light into people’s eyes and making his way out? What if Matt didn’t get out... while in so many ways it could be considering a good thing for the Chadstone family, Max found himself unsure he wanted to lose someone who knew so much, how often was there a person in Max’s life that knew more than the core basics?
Nick was speaking, and as often was the case, his words fell upon deaf ears as Max seemed not to hear anything the other youth had said, and instead the sapphire eyes of the Chadstone youth examined the open palms of his hands. If they all stayed together it would be ok, they’d not just let someone attack him again, Garnet saved him once from then, and she’d do it again... if he stayed with her. Maybe if they found Matt... then again, he’d likely be with his team, and any other time aside this one had to actually be working together and be safer in their group.
Could his week get any worse?
There was a loud crash against the window, three dark figures on the outside seemed to be dangling by wires, their body’s thudding against the windows and then their weapons used to smash against it, creaking Xavier’s glass and revealing that things were far from over. While it concerned Max, overwhelmed him, a blast from Garnet and they'd go flying... but... how many were there? And how long could Garnet keep it up?
Re: Monday, April 2nd: Exiles - Emerging From the Shadows
(OMG... 3 1/2 months have passed again. I'm sorry! The only "comfort" is that I'm not the only slow poster. XD Can't wait for the holidays... maybe then I'll finally be able to post regularly again!)
Well, it had been a report alright. It left her none the wiser but truth be told it really was already more than she had expected. Even if Nick was maybe not used to chaos to a point where it had become daily routine, he certainly put up a good show at pretending he were just that. He also was quick at disappearing. Before Garnet had much of a chance to think about their next step, he had headed out of the dorm towards the hallways, leaving the fire elemental nonplussed.
Eyes flicking back and forth between where Nicolas had just exited and the corridor leading to the secret passage some of the others had taken, Aurora found herself facing Morton's Fork. If she went after Nick, there was the risk of the intruders discovering the secret passage and catching those of her team that were crawling through it at this point -not to mention that chances were the hallways weren't exactly the safest place to be at now. If, however, she and Max followed Frost and Jess, Nick would be on his own, or rather with dozens of others who were entirely inexperienced when it came to fighting a real battle.
The crash made her head jolt towards the window. There were more! Strangely enough, it helped her make up her mind. A glance confirmed that the two she had blasted through the room before were still out cold while whispering to Max: "We'll wait until they've seen us... then we'll run out, after Nick." Aurora had no idea whether that was actually the smarter choice, but at this point it sure seemed that way and, really, they couldn't afford standing around and pondering their options while three more strangers were trying to smash their window in.
CLIRR! Sparkling rain of shattered glass proved that the attempts had been fruitful. Petrified, or so it seemed, Aurora remained rooted to the floor for a few moments, before letting out an impressively girlish scream. "Run, run!" she yelled at Max, practically pushing him towards the door leading out of the dorm. "Follow the others!" Hoping Max wouldn't be so dense as to stop to ask why she was referring to Nick in the plural, she sent a rather random fireball in the general direction of the intruders - mostly to show them there were a potential threat worth chasing - and more or less accidentally knocked one of them back out of the window. *Reduces chances they'll split up,* Garnet thought with only the very faintest trace of bad conscience.
And then they ran. She thought to hear their footsteps behind her after a few moments of hesitation on their part but she couldn't be sure. Looking back was rarely a smart thing to do and with the risk of running into someone coming running from the opposite direction all the less. But where to flee to? Should they maybe stop at some point and take them on? Maybe that would be the smartest move lest they come across more of them and find themselves surrounded. Or even worse: if they led them straight to other students that were trying to get out.
"Max," she called, slightly out of breath, "Ready for a fight?" She did her best to keep her voice from carrying too far. It really wouldn't do if they attracted too much attention. "Need to get rid of them." The corridor they were in was deserted, at least at the moment, which made it the perfect spot. "Better morph the best you can. May get a little hot." Good thing it wasn't she and Anna on the run together. It would have made fighting a little tricky to say the least. "Let's see if you're just a pretty face..." The tease was out of place and so untypical for Garnet in a serious situation that those who knew her a bit better would know she was under immense pressure. As should be expected. Anything less would just have been unprofessional.
For everyone comes the time when they have to take over responsibility. It stands to argue whether there is also a time when they can get rid of it again.
Re: Monday, April 2nd: Exiles - Emerging From the Shadows
What was going on, the words seemed to repeated in waves of paniced dazed confusion as Max was jolted from one loud sound to another. Bravado and fear blended together in a heated battle of their own as one side demanded he stand his ground and the other begged for Max to run as far and as quick as he could. "We'll wait until they've seen us... then we'll run out, after Nick." Why didn't they run now? There had to be a reason and for a moment Max found himself almost glade he wasn't the one who had to make all the choices, Exile had been a burden and a chore but right now it just might be a lifesaver to have someone who was training to handle this very situation. With a flinch the young Chadstone found his gaze snapped towards the shattering sound of glass as it splintered and scattered upon the ground.
"Run, run!" If the sudden scream itself hadn't startled Max enough, the following shove certaintly did, and he found himself stumbling for a few feet while he tried to gather himself and follow her demand. "Follow the others!" It was an order easily followed, and Max found the run was fueled by both fear and adrenalin and he was sure if he wanted to he could overtake them all and be free of the grounds before any harm befell him. Somehow, though, he didn't see himself getting very far without Garnet and co to help should anyone get in his way.
"Max," At his name, Chadstone's mind focused on the fire mutant but only offered her a brief glance to keep his attention on the path ahead, "Ready for a fight?" The soft words may as well have been another slap across his face, they were doing fine keeping the pace they had, why did she want to turn and fight now?. "Need to get rid of them." Confused, but at the same time figuring there was a point to the call, Max slowed to a stop, his heart pounding and his lungs gulping in anxiety instead of exhaustion. "Better morph the best you can. May get a little hot." There was something in the manner of which she both said it and acted that Max had to admit gave a tnge of arousal, she was a very sensual person at times, even if she didn't mean to be, the beauty had a way of getting Max's attention, even if he too didn't like admitting it still. "Let's see if you're just a pretty face..." As he turned, the flesh of Max's body began to lose his hue, turning a bland grey as soft flesh gave way to rough stone. While a part of the youth still demanded he turn and run as if sanity demanded it, the adrenalin and odd sense of comradship seemed to ignite a battleready sensation within. All Max had to do, was make sure he could keep up with someone as powerful as Garnet, and not get burned in the process.
Re: Encounter in the Hallways
Whether Max’s wordlessness was a good or a bad sign, Aurora didn’t know. Either way it was helpful in the sense that he didn’t complicate things even further by arguing. They couldn’t afford discussions. They couldn’t afford this entire situation. Nobody seemed to know how many of them had entered, who they were or what they could do. Allowing their pursuers to get into the non-team areas now probably crowded with scared and confused students was not an option. It would mean compromising their safety, and even though Storm had said they shouldn’t pull any heroic acts, evacuating them did have top priority and a group of intruders getting through would certainly make that a bit difficult to say the least. They had to be stopped.
A corona of flames burst into life, engulfing the fire mutant. At this point, it was mostly for show, emitting only little heat. If they could unsettle their attackers, it might make things a little bit easier. Hopefully. Circe’s enemy encounters – real, not simulated – still weren’t all that many, and as she had had to realise before, there were worlds between controlled, Cerebro-generated scenarios and the real thing. The main problem, getting knocked out as had happened two times too many already aside, was to always keep her allies in mind. Her own near-invulnerability to fire made it hard to know when she was making it difficult or downright dangerous for them, but hopefully Max’s stoneform would help. Things were already complicated enough as it was.
“Access code Lambda Phi eighty-three, voice identification Circe, Exiles team leader.” A soft, short beep sounded from somewhere unlocatable, confirming Aurora’s connection to Cerebro and its readiness to receive commands. “Adjust sprinkler system to personal profile.” Another beep. Now she was ready. Getting soaked mid-fight was the last thing she wanted for them, no matter how well protected they were by fire and stone. This battle would be fought on her terms, or at least she would do what she could to stay in control of the situation. It was a bit like controlling her powers really. If you let yourself be overwhelmed by the situation, then you would end up a victim. A strong, confident mind could take you a long way.
The sound of booted feet pounding the ground at a fast pace announced their follower’s catching up to them. “Here we go,” she told Max under her breath, cupping her hands and opening them again to release a fiery bird that shot at the two masked men, a wave of scorching heat in its wake. Its beak was opened wide, a silent battle screech. The attack caught them by surprise, the bird’s wing touching one of them on the chest. To Aurora shocked surprise, however, nothing happened. The solid flame she had moulded into the shape of a phoenix had a core temperature that should at the very least have set the fabric afire. Instead, there weren’t even scorch marks. “What the…,” she muttered, and this short moment of confusion almost ended the fight prematurely as several little darts short at them.
Aurora hadn’t noticed the small guns before that were now pointed at them, but there was no time to wonder about that. More reflex than anything else, a heat blast shot like a wall from her form, half melting, half blocking the darts. It was nothing she could just keep up though, its movement part of what made it work. Another salve came at them while one of the two ran towards Max, seizing his chance while she was busy keeping the tranquilisers or whatever they were away from them. Having to get the timing, intensity and duration right, she couldn’t help him much. Chadstone was pretty much on his own.
For everyone comes the time when they have to take over responsibility. It stands to argue whether there is also a time when they can get rid of it again.
Re: Encounter in the HallwaysWhat the hell are we doing..? Standing tall and tough here was one thing, but what if they were mowed down in the process, if they were trying to protect someone, whow as going to protect them should all this screw up? We'll just have to slap them around good enough for them to decide to just piss off them, won't we. So easily said, yet not so easily done, but it was ok, with Garnet here, she'd probably knock them all down before they came within grasping distance of Max. All Max had to do was smack down any who managed to get through the barrage of attacks from Garnet, and surely they would be more then just a little singed by then.
The light show began, Max's breathing steadied a little but his heart still pounded like mad and nothing but the school in his review mirror would help ease this sense of dread now washing over him. Some sort of comfort was found in Garnets overpowering presence.
"Access code Lambda Phi eighty-three, voice identification Circe, Exiles team leader." Code words and battle scenes were not really Max's forte, he wasn't a soldier or a secret agent or anything that seemed to coincide with all this wishwash.. "Adjust sprinkler system to personal profile." None of the this seemed to make sense, all he felt able to do was just tand there almost dumbly and wait, listening to the interaction between Garnet and the often neglected Cerebro. To a few students she didn't exist, or it, most that knew of Cerebro seemed to refer to the gender of the computer as a 'she'. To be honest, he didn't really grow attach or fond of the impressive computer, it never really seemed to be of use to him... in fact to be honest he never really took much notice of it.
"Here we go," For all Max cared at that presice moment Garnet could have just said 'We are doomed' and Max would hae reacted in the same way, that sense of dread growing more powerful and soaking him down to the very core of his petrified flesh. Fists raised slightly, the battle stance seeming to stiffen his form as the enemies approach. A sudden burst of heat came, felt more in Max's eyes and partially open mouth, which promptly closed as a hand raised to help shield his face. "What the…," The words though soft were enough to draw Max's attention and lower his hand enough to look to see what it was she was exclaiming about.
Guns were aimed at him, and a sudden pang of mentally placed pain found itself embedded within Max's shoulder, memories of a gunshot wound he had suffered back on the training island, the shoulder stiffened at the sight of the weapons now aimed at them. If there was fear over the elder Chadstones discovering Max was involved in a single gunfight, how could he evaluate the sudden fear that shot through him at the sight of many guns, and the many injuries that could be caused by each one. The darts, the fire wall that stopped them, it all happened at once and Max found himself frozen, the urge to turn and run now so great and yet... his feet felt so heavy, as if glued to the ground. Movement, a blur to Max's mind as he tried hard to recover from the shock, someone was moving towards him, targeted on him despite the flames that slapped against him, leaving not a mark and only fuelling the enemies lust for a fight. All Max could do for the charge was brace himself, try and hold ground firm enough that he could knock the wind from the assailent, hands, shoulders, legs, everything tensed and readied for the impact to come.
The collison was breathtaking, and there was no poetic meaning being that, air seemed crushed from the still fleshed lungs inside Max's chest and stone skin grinded against the body armour, the force shoved Max backwards but his body was locked firmly enough that his feet may have skidded a few steps but he managed to hold his balance and for a moment, just a moment, Max thought honestly that he stood a chance. Fists struck out, hands grabbed and pulled and pushed, tugged one way and another, everything both Wolverine and Betsy taught flashing before his eyes as one move came after another that needed to be countered, blocked or avoided all together.
It wasn't until arms wrapped about Max's hips that things started to really go wrong, where the attacker seemed able to lift the youth, already weighed down by the stone form he was in, up over their shoulder as if Max were nothing more then a child. There had been enough scuffles in Max's life to know most people couldn't do that without a struggle, not when he was in his mutant phase, not unless the person had the additional strength to help them. That was only the first hint, while dodges and parries and strikes were shared between them once Max managed to wiggle free from the hold and fall, only to rise again to the challenge with a burst of panicked energy. Again the body was thrown at Max and he was shoved so hard at that point that he hit the wall with a hefty thud, followed swiftly by a fist slammed against his right cheek which knocked the teen off balance and to the floor with splatter of blood dribbled from where the inner side of his still partially flesh cheek had cut against his teeth. Gasps of breath came quick, though he curled slightly as a flurry of fists seem to beat down onto his back, which did not phase the mutant so much due to his stoned exterior but he could feel the power of the hits could have easily left bruises otherwise.
There was an image suddenly, of another time he'd been curled up to shield himself from abuse, another time not so long ago that someone had walked these halls and slapped him around, and all the aftermath that came with it was almost unbareable. The sudden indignation of being placed in the same situation by someone who had no right caused a fury of anger, Max's hand grabbing that of the incoming fist and clutching it as tightly as all his rage would allow. The other hand quickly taking it's chance to repay the other with an impressive slam of the stoned fist against the lower side of the others jaw, aimed where the helmet was exposed and the face vulnerable, even if it was still covered in the covert manner these people seemed to fashion. "They ain't normal Garny," Max warned her breathlessly as he gave his opponent a strong kick as they went for their side arm, causing panic again in Max as the struggle now turned to securing the weapon off the intruder before they started putting holes into either Max or Garnet. "No matter how much you hit this prick he won't stay down, gah!"
Re: Encounter in the Hallways
The situation was - as a whole - bizarre. This was Xavier's Institute, refuge for those differing from what was considered normal by most, a sanctuary, home. And here they were, fighting masked strangers who dared attack that one place which had stood as one of - sometimes even the only - symbol of hope for all mutants during the past decades. It wasn't like they were secretly plotting the demise of Homo sapiens or hiding nuclear bombs in their basement. There even hadn't been a whole lot of public appearances during the past years Aurora could remember. All of that left only one thing in the fire elemental's mind, coexisting with considerations of what little tactical choices they had.
"What do you want?!" she shouted over the noise of another volley of darts and her countering fire blast. There was no reply. Of course there wasn't. But it was better to try the simplest solution and get nowhere than to not do it and be doomed to always wonder about what ifs. Although her first assumption had been that the intruders were affiliated with the government in one way or another (simply because of the militaristic nature of the attack), she now wasn't all too sure of that anymore. But then, who were they? Without any tags, logos or any other means of identification on them, they could just as well have been aliens deciding to start their invasion of the planet Earth at that harmless, albeit ritzy, mansion the X-Men called their home.
Out of the corner of her eye, Garnet tried to keep up with how Max's fight was going, but since timing was everything in her task of keeping these darts from hitting them, she couldn't risk checking properly. The only thing she figured was that as long as there was struggling movement, things weren't looking all that bad. Then Aurora heard his voice, however, and it confirmed what she had secretly been fearing ever since the phoenix-shaped flame had been without effect.
"They ain't normal, Garny. No matter how much you hit this prick, he won't stay down." The question was how long they, Max and Garnet, would be able to keep this up. Sooner or later, either the darts would hit or the shooting intruder would get bored of firing and follow his comrades example to pick up a fist fight. Her powers being as well-developed as they were, Aurora had never really got the hang of martial arts. Not for lack of trying, mind you, but if you can solve issues in a much easier way, even the best intentions won't make up for the missing incentive that is necessity. The solid fire she could create would possibly be able to protect her against assaults, but then both might turn on Max and she simply could not risk that. On the other hand, if she were able to let loose of the constraints she had put on her abilities in order to not harm her team mate, Circe pondered, there might be a chance of breaking through whatever unknown material had protected them against her flames so far.
At this point, Aurora realised, she had to make a decision. Continue the fight as it was now and see who got tired or messed up first... or change tactics entirely, which ultimately meant sending Max away and possibly jeopardising his safety if these strangers had reached more central parts of the Institute already. In the case of the latter, however, what they were doing, their attempt of keeping the enemy from reaching the teamless students who were unaware of the X-Teams, would have been pointless anyway. It was this thought that tipped the scales.
"Max, retreat!" Circe yelled, and anticipating his protests, she added "I won't have to hold back if I don't have to worry about you. Find the others, try to help them." It seemed he had just managed to punch down his opponent, who looked a little dazed for a moment. There was no doubt it wouldn't last long. There was the expected hesitance on Max's part, and in a way, she was proud to see it. *So Exiles are not hopeless. Not at all,* she thought with a hint of pride as Max finally left, running.
"Oh no, you won't!" The one who Max had been fighting had obviously shaken off his dizziness and made to chase after him, but Aurora was quicker. With an almost lazy flick of her hand, a solid wall of fire shot up before the masked stranger that he ran into, but for the time being could not get through. Another one appeared at the other end of the corridor and both of them grew, crawling over ceiling and ground to join each other like snakes or lovers. Soon, they had encapsulated the three, the whole process taking nothing more than a second. Before either of the intruders could react, Circe had started what she called her overdrive. The guns they were aiming at her with ever more obvious nervousness failed to fire and even began to melt as the fiery mutant sent the electrons inside the makeshift reaction chamber shooting at a speed that created the heat of lava and still kept increasing. In a desperate attempt, they charged at Aurora, but their hesitance had ruined whatever chances they might have had.
"Bye-bye," she whispered, eyes narrowed in concentration.
There was the sound of heavy armour cracking.
And then, there was silence.
For everyone comes the time when they have to take over responsibility. It stands to argue whether there is also a time when they can get rid of it again.
Re: Encounter in the Hallways
"Max, retreat!" That’s exactly what he wanted to hear, but something about Garnet’s posture indicated that if he did it would be on his own, and if it was pride or something else, Max found himself frowning up at her, "I won't have to hold back if I don't have to worry about you. Find the others, try to help them." As if fuelled by the anger, Max managed to subdue his opponent, at least, he hoped so… it wasn’t like the guy was out cold, though as Max returned his gaze back to Garnet and realized maybe she had a point. After all, if anyone was to know what Garnet was able to do, then it was Max, who had witness her set a room on fire, and anyone left inside was either crispy fried or ashed, depending on their proximity. Maybe that’s what Garnet wanted to do and there was no telling if Max could hold up to that, he still couldn’t get all his body to turn to stone, what if his insides cooked from the heat? The image grow a deeper frown but he got up and with one final level look at Garnet, he turned and moved as fast down the hallway and out of her way as he could go.
"Oh no, you won't!" Garnet’s call carried down the hall, Max couldn’t help but look back, still moving yet half turning his body and slowed slightly, a flaming wall barred the armoured man who had struggled with Max, and there it was again, that fiery power, the frightful engulf of flames that ate anything in it’s path… Max gave a shakey gasp as he put his effort back into fleeing the scene, turning a corner and… with only the briefest of pauses to look back, vanished off to what he hoped was the way to freedom or aid.
But where would he go? The secret passageways? One hall seemed blocked off by soldiers at the far end, the other hall could be heard shouting and distant struggles… was this it? Like some massive pay back for all the things Max ever screwed up, some destined grounding from his father, a punishment to top all others.
It was then, right at that thought, that Max turned one more corner, what exactly happened then Max wasn’t entirely sure, there was a blur of something, it could have been the butt of a gun, or it couldn’t have been anything, but whatever it was, it struck Max’s forehead with such a force that not only did his neck jerk backwards, but the rest of his body seemed to fall with it. The darkness that came was both a relief and a horror, yet there were no thoughts at first, nothing but emptiness, even emotions were gone in the void that swallowed Max’s mind at first.
Somewhere amongst the shadows that danced on the edges of his thoughts, Max was sure that he could see Garnet, he was so sure that she was talking to him still, that for a moment in that darkness, everything felt ok, because somehow he got the impression it was all just a dream.
Topic Commands
Click to receive email notification of replies
Click to stop receiving email notification of replies
