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Izurich,
Morden Man
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En route to Batuu
The hum of the hyperdrive filled Huc Vondar's ears as the intercom alert buzzed in his quarters aboard the Corellian Dawn, rousing him from a deep sleep. He smiled as he listened to his baby purr as it hurtled through hyperspace. The drive had never run better. That capacitor Gor-Nada had picked up on Ord Mantell was as good as he said it would be. Fuel consumption on the ship was down almost ten percent, and that meant everything out here near Wild Space.
Huc liked it out this far from the core, at least when it came to the worlds. Sparsely inhabited and far more interesting from an ecological standpoint. Seeing worlds untouched by the industry that had both ravaged Corellia and made it such a successful economy was freeing. The jungles of his home planet had their own kind of beauty, but it was hard to find vast stretches untouched by mining or the shipyards. But out here the crew of the Dawn could have been the first people to see some of these places.
Back during the days of Imperial rule on Corellia, he had always dreamed of exploring the galaxy like this. He had already seen so much, and had barely scratched the surface of the vast worlds that filled known space.
Once again the buzzer of the intercom went off, and he pressed it to respond, "What is it, Duck?"
"We will be coming out of hyperspace shortly," AC-DK, the commercial pilot droid who now acted as the Dawn's copilot, announced from the cockpit, which he rarely ever left. He had been programmed to constantly be flying Starspeeder 3000s for Star Tours, one of the galaxy's main commercial space travel corporations. Huc had won the droid on a miracle bet during a podrace on Tattooine. He'd never forget the look on the Zabrak's face he won Duck from. His horns seemed to turn upside down to match the frown on his face. Huc still chuckled sometimes when he thought about it. But Duck was an invaluable as a co-pilot, especially since he didn't need to sleep. What he lacked in style, he made up for in dependability.
"Will be right up," he responded to his co-pilot groggily. "I'll grab some caf and meet you in the cockpit."
He stretched out and put his feet on the bantha skin rug he had picked up for his modest quarters aboard the YT-2000 Freighter. There was only about a meter and a half of space between the bed and the door. On the walls were small holo frames that displayed images he had taken on his travels. These sprung to life as he got out of bed. He smiled to see the memories of him and the crew. None of them had ever thought a few years ago that they'd ever be this free.
Huc dressed quickly and stepped out into the main hall of the Corellian Dawn. To his left was the Holonet Terminal and the cockpit, and across the hall was Yu'li's room. He hoped the beast she had picked up recently was in there with her. He didn't need another Fuzzball ambush. He turned to the right and walked past Gor-Nada's room, the rumble of the huge Herglic snoring away emanating out to here. which they had to make by knocking down a wall, sealing off a door, and combining two rooms. Still, the big old guy deserved to be comfortable.
The door to the crew lounge opened, and he made his way eagerly towards the caf machine. He had managed to score some Felucian Roast at their last stop, which was a godsend. Before that he had to make do with the stuff the Republic and the Ewoks were growing on Endor. It just didn't have the same kind of kick.
Once his mug was filled with the steaming liquid, he made his way back to the cockpit and took the pilot's chair next to Duck. The gleaming silver that covered most of the droid's body was almost as good of a pick me up. He still bore the trademark blue and orange detailing and the Star Tours logo on his breast. It was something Huc kept meaning to rectify, but there never seemed to be time to get him a paint job. He stood at about four feet, and was built like a brawler. Star Tours had built a good looking droid with the AC series, that much was certain.
"Sleep well?" the droid asked, taking a quick glance over to him.
"I'll sleep better when we unload this cargo. Moving weapons always makes me nervous," Huc responded, taking a sip of his caf, enjoying the smooth, rich nuttiness. "At least Oga is a reliable fence for this kind of stuff."
"Have you found a suitable fence for me? Since I am stolen property after all," Duck responded without looking over.
"You seriously need to stop saying that," Huc sighed and rubbed his temples. The droid had never been properly reprogrammed, as the skilled needed was over his skill level. He had done enough to ensure that the droid would not run and would perform his job admirably, but the commercial pilot programming in him was stubbornly ingrained. "I won you fair and square."
"I was not property to be wagered!" he protested.
"Well, that's on that Zabrak, not me, pal," Huc smiled mischievously as the Dawn's navicomputer alerted him that they were approaching their final destination of Batuu.
"Shall I wake Yu'li and Gor-Nada?" Duck asked.
"Nah, let them get some more sleep," the pilot shook his head and began running the Dawn through the paces of coming out of hyperspace. "I think the two of us can bring our girl into Black Spire Outpost alone. We've done it enough."
Suddenly, the white blur of hyperspace peeled away from around the cockpit of the Corellian Dawn and the blue-green marble that was Batuu filled their gaze. But that wasn't the only thing that met them. Hovering in orbit above the planet was an Imperial Star Destroyer.
"Uh, Duck?"
"Wake the others?"
"Yea that'd be great."
After a few presses of the comm buttons, Yu'li Tavir and Gor-Nada appeared in the cockpit. Yu'li, Huc's best friend and closest confidant, moved with the grace of a dancer. The Togrutan had always been graceful, even on the battlefield. It didn't hurt that she could shoot the ears of a gundark at fifty meters. Gor-Nada, a hulking Herglic, merely stood in the cockpit, unable to fit comfortably through the door without effort. Gor was the closest thing either Yu'li or Huc had to a parent at this point, with Huc's dead and Yu'li's in parts unknown. Slow to anger and quick to dispense advice, his calm demeanor betrayed his muscular, whale-like appearance.
"Oh crap," was all the Herglic was able to mutter when he saw the enemy craft.
"They can't have known where we were going," Yu shook her head in disbelief, her head tails swaying with a slight delay to match. "We attacked that convoy three systems ago."
She wasn't wrong. If the Empire knew that Batuu was one of the places the Dawn, an officially sanctioned Republic privateer vessel, liked to offload the merch that they took, they'd be in bigger trouble across the galaxy. They had fake transponder codes running for the ship whenever they were outside New Republic space, so they wouldn't be recognized right away. Still, there always was a slight danger.
But Batuu was remote, and little used in these days. At one time it was an important refueling station in the more remote bands of the Outer Rim, but hyperspace lanes had passed it by. It was more likely that whatever the reason was for a Star Destroyer to be here, it was secret.
"I doubt they're here for us," Huc assured them, though not fully sure of that himself. "Probably some two bit Imp captain who ran off with his Destroyer to play war lord. But if there was any wind about us out there, at least we have good fake IDs and a shipping manifest. Still, jump in one of the gun wells, Yu'li. Just in case."
"And what happens if they want to board us?" she asked, cocking an eye at him.
"I'll talk them out of it?"
"How?"
"I can be very persuasive," he wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"We're doomed," she sighed and headed for the guns.
"Gor, just check that our manifest looks legit. And maybe hide."
"Why?"
"Because if we do get boarded a charging Herglic is bound to scare off a few bucket heads," Huc smiled broadly.
Gor-Nada grumbled something as he turned and headed for the cargo hold.
"Duck, take the stick," he nodded to the droid.
"Why is that?" the co-pilot was surprised. Huc rarely if ever gave up control of the Dawn when he was in the cockpit.
"Because you love to fly boring," the captain shrugged. "Will arouse less suspicion."
"Boring!? I will have you know that my programming allows me to fly any craft at peak galactic regulation-specified levels!"
"Yea," Huc nodded and patted him on his metallic shoulder. "That constitutes boring, buddy."
"You're impossible," Duck shook his head, the slight whir of his neck servos buzzing in the cockpit.
Before long, a hail from the planet came to the Dawn. Huc sighed with relief as he saw that it came from no other than the defacto mayor of Black Spire Outpost, the Blutopian Oga Garra. Black Spire was the planet's largest settlement, and Oga had been the proprietor of the cantina there for longer than anyone could remember. That alone gave her sway over the town, not to mention the black market contacts needed to move the Corellian Dawn's merchandise.
"Oga," Huc smiled and accepted the transmission, "it's been too long."
"You're damn right it'sh been too long!" the slurping of the Blutopian's tentacles marred her speech slightly. "I've been waiting on that Trandossshan ale for far too long!"
"Well, give us a docking berth and we'll break into the first cask together!"
"Docking Bay 9," she transmitted the berthing codes. "Will meet you there."
"Oga coming personally to the docking bay means trouble. She almost never does that," Huc shook his head. "I have a bad feeling about this."
H U C V O N D A R
P R I V A T E E R ~ C O R E L L I A N D A W N ~ N E W R E P U B L I C
Character Alignment: Chaotic Good
Character Background: Huc was born on Corellia in the year 15BBY, years after the formation of the Empire and their stranglehold over the galaxy. His parents were laborers in the Corellia Shipyards, and led a simple, yet safe, life under the eye of the Empire. Neither were fans of the totalitarian state, but held their opinions to themselves in order to protect their young son. Huc's earliest memories were his father sitting with him as they watched the ships come and go from the shipyards. Sal, his father, would explain the capabilities of each ship and Huc would dream of flying away on one. Like all Corellians, he had a wanderlust that the Empire would no longer allow, especially for someone of his class.
As he grew, his parents' treatment at the hands of the Empire as well as being stuck on a planet he was beginning to see as a prison began to form his hatred of the Empire. This was all crystallized when his mother died in a shipyard accident caused by the Empire overworking the shipyard employees. The loss devastated Huc and Sal, sending the latter into a state of full on radicalization. He began meeting with a group that called itself the Corellian Resistance. The group began as nothing more than a secret forum for people to vent their frustrations. Huc was allowed to attend the meetings, setting him down the path that would consume his destiny.
Everything changed after the Battle of Yavin. As news of the Death Star's destruction spread, the Resistance on Corellia became emboldened. Outright sabotage of Imperial efforts in the shipyards became the norm, and some radical members of the group began outright attacking Imperial installations.
Seeing that true insurrection was impossible without support from the upstart Rebel Alliance, Sal devised a drastic plan. He would steal a YT-2000 light freighter from the shipyards and use it as a blockade runner to supply the rebel band. Huc was adamant he join his father, arguing that he was now at an age where he could no longer be protected. So the father and son infiltrated the shipyards and stole the freighter from under the nose of the Empire, and made contact with a Rebel cell.
For the next few years the two of them were the critical supply link between the Rebellion and the Corellian Resistance. They ran blockades, smuggled contraband, and even performed prison breaks using the ship, which Sal named the Corellian Dawn.
Huc began training with the fighters of the Resistance, becoming an able commando in his own right. While not proficient in the skills, he could slice into simpler systems when needed. But his true calling was flying the Dawn, which his father taught him how to do. He was a natural, and could adeptly fill in for his father when needed.
The Resistance was successful in disrupting the shipyards, buying the Rebellion time and infuriating the local governor. This eventually led to a more sizable garrison on the planet, as well as the nefarious replacement of local workers with slave labor to ensure compliance. This made life for the Resistance harder, and the fighting became more desperate across Corellia.
Eventually, they were given word that the Rebellion was going to make a decisive strike on the Empire soon. To coincide with this, the Corellian Resistance planned to cripple the Imperial presence on the planet. Using a major guerrilla-style attack throughout Coronet City, the Resistance systematically wiped out Stormtroopers en mass while the ships they had assaulted the shipyards and freed the slaves held there.
It was during this mission that tragedy once again struck Huc's life. Sal was covering a group of slaves as they boarded the Dawn, and was shot down by a Stormtrooper. Unable to retrieve his father's body, Huc escaped with the liberated workers and was never able to bury his father properly. But the mission was a success, the Empire on Corellia was greatly weakened, and Huc knew that's all Sal would have cared about in the end. Now he and his wife were joined in the Force.
From this tragedy came opportunity. In the group of slaves he rescued were Yu'li Tavir, a Togrutan that was about his age, as well as the Herglic named Gor-Nada, who fancied himself Yu'li's surrogate father. Yu and Huc bonded quickly, as neither had many peers in their same age group inside the Resistance ranks. It turned out Yu'li was a crack shot with nearly any weapon handed to her, and she could man the guns of the Corellian Dawn like a pro. Her mischievous ways partnered with Huc's easygoing attitude led to the pair getting in more trouble than they should have in Resistance headquarters. It was usually Gor that had to reprimand them. He had become a mechanic for the Resistance, and was a whiz when it came to repairing the Dawn. The two became the permanent crew for the ship, and Huc was happy to have a family again.
When the fledgling New Republic decided to fully liberate Corellia, Huc, the Corellian Dawn, and her new crew took part in the Battle of Corellia, helping the New Republic fleet to drive the Empire out of the important ship yard. After the battle, they were offered official commission to join the Fleet, but Huc had other ideas. He had waited too long to explore the galaxy, and thought that being tied to orders from the New Republic Navy would hinder those opportunities. Instead, he proposed that the Dawn and her crew would be privateers in the service of the New Republic. They would raid Remnant shipping lines and merchant vessels, taking some of the profits while delivering the rest to the nearest Republic base. The proposal was accepted, and the Dawn set out across the galaxy to do just that.
Along their travels, Huc "acquired" an AC series pilot droid to act as his co-pilot aboard the Dawn, and Yu purchased a domesticated Loth-cat known as Fuzzball as a pet.
The crew is currently in the Outer Rim, on the planet Batuu, hunting rumors of Imperial expeditions into the Unknown regions...
Character Personality: Huc is driven by his desire to see the Empire wiped out for their crimes against the galaxy. He believes fully in the promise of the New Republic, and has hope the new Jedi Order can keep the peace in the galaxy. He is dedicated to helping those that need it, some times to the point of folly or endangering his mission. This can lead to friction with his crewmates, who are more focused on profit and moving onto the next job, but his easygoing and fun-loving attitude often leads to quick forgiveness. He is a smooth talked, and even though he bares scars from his freedom fighter days, he uses his handsomeness to his advantage. His swashbuckling demeanor is used to paint over the deep seeded pain he still carries from losing his family, however, something only Yu'li truly knows about him.
He's never happier than when he is behind the helm of his ship, the Corellian Dawn. Flying is the thing he truly is best at, and he never passes up an opportunity to show off. His co-pilot, the reprogrammed Star Tour pilot droid AC-DK known as "Duck", often reprimands his flying style.
During missions, Huc never kills those that don't deserve it. Only military targets such as Stormtroopers, TIE pilots, or Imperial Remnant Officers are liable to be killed. This can sometimes lead to trouble, as raided merchants often send the authorities after the Dawn, and sometimes Huc's crew believe he enjoys being chased.
Huc loathes the leftover racism that still lingers after the Empire's rule, and is fiercely protective of Yu'li and Gor, even though they don't need him to be.
Character's Physical description: Seen above. About 5'10", and 200lbs
Character Class: Force-Sensitive Scoundrel (Privateer)
Items:
Supporting Characters:
H U C V O N D A R
P R I V A T E E R ~ C O R E L L I A N D A W N ~ N E W R E P U B L I C
Character Alignment: Chaotic Good
Character Background: Huc was born on Corellia in the year 15BBY, years after the formation of the Empire and their stranglehold over the galaxy. His parents were laborers in the Corellia Shipyards, and led a simple, yet safe, life under the eye of the Empire. Neither were fans of the totalitarian state, but held their opinions to themselves in order to protect their young son. Huc's earliest memories were his father sitting with him as they watched the ships come and go from the shipyards. Sal, his father, would explain the capabilities of each ship and Huc would dream of flying away on one. Like all Corellians, he had a wanderlust that the Empire would no longer allow, especially for someone of his class.
As he grew, his parents' treatment at the hands of the Empire as well as being stuck on a planet he was beginning to see as a prison began to form his hatred of the Empire. This was all crystallized when his mother died in a shipyard accident caused by the Empire overworking the shipyard employees. The loss devastated Huc and Sal, sending the latter into a state of full on radicalization. He began meeting with a group that called itself the Corellian Resistance. The group began as nothing more than a secret forum for people to vent their frustrations. Huc was allowed to attend the meetings, setting him down the path that would consume his destiny.
Everything changed after the Battle of Yavin. As news of the Death Star's destruction spread, the Resistance on Corellia became emboldened. Outright sabotage of Imperial efforts in the shipyards became the norm, and some radical members of the group began outright attacking Imperial installations.
Seeing that true insurrection was impossible without support from the upstart Rebel Alliance, Sal devised a drastic plan. He would steal a YT-2000 light freighter from the shipyards and use it as a blockade runner to supply the rebel band. Huc was adamant he join his father, arguing that he was now at an age where he could no longer be protected. So the father and son infiltrated the shipyards and stole the freighter from under the nose of the Empire, and made contact with a Rebel cell.
For the next few years the two of them were the critical supply link between the Rebellion and the Corellian Resistance. They ran blockades, smuggled contraband, and even performed prison breaks using the ship, which Sal named the Corellian Dawn.
Huc began training with the fighters of the Resistance, becoming an able commando in his own right. While not proficient in the skills, he could slice into simpler systems when needed. But his true calling was flying the Dawn, which his father taught him how to do. He was a natural, and could adeptly fill in for his father when needed.
The Resistance was successful in disrupting the shipyards, buying the Rebellion time and infuriating the local governor. This eventually led to a more sizable garrison on the planet, as well as the nefarious replacement of local workers with slave labor to ensure compliance. This made life for the Resistance harder, and the fighting became more desperate across Corellia.
Eventually, they were given word that the Rebellion was going to make a decisive strike on the Empire soon. To coincide with this, the Corellian Resistance planned to cripple the Imperial presence on the planet. Using a major guerrilla-style attack throughout Coronet City, the Resistance systematically wiped out Stormtroopers en mass while the ships they had assaulted the shipyards and freed the slaves held there.
It was during this mission that tragedy once again struck Huc's life. Sal was covering a group of slaves as they boarded the Dawn, and was shot down by a Stormtrooper. Unable to retrieve his father's body, Huc escaped with the liberated workers and was never able to bury his father properly. But the mission was a success, the Empire on Corellia was greatly weakened, and Huc knew that's all Sal would have cared about in the end. Now he and his wife were joined in the Force.
From this tragedy came opportunity. In the group of slaves he rescued were Yu'li Tavir, a Togrutan that was about his age, as well as the Herglic named Gor-Nada, who fancied himself Yu'li's surrogate father. Yu and Huc bonded quickly, as neither had many peers in their same age group inside the Resistance ranks. It turned out Yu'li was a crack shot with nearly any weapon handed to her, and she could man the guns of the Corellian Dawn like a pro. Her mischievous ways partnered with Huc's easygoing attitude led to the pair getting in more trouble than they should have in Resistance headquarters. It was usually Gor that had to reprimand them. He had become a mechanic for the Resistance, and was a whiz when it came to repairing the Dawn. The two became the permanent crew for the ship, and Huc was happy to have a family again.
When the fledgling New Republic decided to fully liberate Corellia, Huc, the Corellian Dawn, and her new crew took part in the Battle of Corellia, helping the New Republic fleet to drive the Empire out of the important ship yard. After the battle, they were offered official commission to join the Fleet, but Huc had other ideas. He had waited too long to explore the galaxy, and thought that being tied to orders from the New Republic Navy would hinder those opportunities. Instead, he proposed that the Dawn and her crew would be privateers in the service of the New Republic. They would raid Remnant shipping lines and merchant vessels, taking some of the profits while delivering the rest to the nearest Republic base. The proposal was accepted, and the Dawn set out across the galaxy to do just that.
Along their travels, Huc "acquired" an AC series pilot droid to act as his co-pilot aboard the Dawn, and Yu purchased a domesticated Loth-cat known as Fuzzball as a pet.
The crew is currently in the Outer Rim, on the planet Batuu, hunting rumors of Imperial expeditions into the Unknown regions...
Character Personality: Huc is driven by his desire to see the Empire wiped out for their crimes against the galaxy. He believes fully in the promise of the New Republic, and has hope the new Jedi Order can keep the peace in the galaxy. He is dedicated to helping those that need it, some times to the point of folly or endangering his mission. This can lead to friction with his crewmates, who are more focused on profit and moving onto the next job, but his easygoing and fun-loving attitude often leads to quick forgiveness. He is a smooth talked, and even though he bares scars from his freedom fighter days, he uses his handsomeness to his advantage. His swashbuckling demeanor is used to paint over the deep seeded pain he still carries from losing his family, however, something only Yu'li truly knows about him.
He's never happier than when he is behind the helm of his ship, the Corellian Dawn. Flying is the thing he truly is best at, and he never passes up an opportunity to show off. His co-pilot, the reprogrammed Star Tour pilot droid AC-DK known as "Duck", often reprimands his flying style.
During missions, Huc never kills those that don't deserve it. Only military targets such as Stormtroopers, TIE pilots, or Imperial Remnant Officers are liable to be killed. This can sometimes lead to trouble, as raided merchants often send the authorities after the Dawn, and sometimes Huc's crew believe he enjoys being chased.
Huc loathes the leftover racism that still lingers after the Empire's rule, and is fiercely protective of Yu'li and Gor, even though they don't need him to be.
Character's Physical description: Seen above. About 5'10", and 200lbs
Character Class: Force-Sensitive Scoundrel (Privateer)
Items:
Supporting Characters:
Not gonna apply, but will be reading along, Wraith
We still accepting here, Shape? Might have to join up....
<Snipped quote by Inkarnate>
Do you take non-Marvel/DC stuff? Ie Top Cow Productions or Image Comics, The Darkness, Witchblade, The Boys etc
Welcome! Yea, we allow those kinds of characters. I’d prefer a new player I don’t know to start with a more mainstream character, but considering how slow the game is right now (for obvious reasons), I’m totally cool with you throwing up a sheet for someone like that.
"O'Neil!" the gruff bark came from the room next to her, nearly causing April to slip off her chair and drop the folder of pictures and notes she had. Jameson had been on the phone about Spider-Man when she walked in. He really did seem to hate the hero more than most things, which was saying something considering all Triple J seemed to like was money and things that made him money.
She crossed over into his office, which could only be described as immaculate chaos. One desk along the wall had multiple monitors displaying tomorrow's online version of the Bugle. On the other desk were pages and pages of possible layouts for the print editions. If the Bugle wasn't such a rag, she would have found the process that Jameson was going through amazing and herculean. In reality, his insistence on controlling every little part of the paper was one of its biggest problems.
"Ah, good, you're here, what took you so long?" he asked, not looking up from the layouts.
"I was waiting out-"
"Sure, sure, sure," he waved her off. "If you have pictures, leave them on my secratery's desk when you leave. I'm sure they're great. Listen, I need you to cover an event at the Museum of Natural History on Friday?"
"I...what? An Assignment?" she was surprised. In the few weeks she had worked here, all he ever seemed to care about was her getting coffee and some pictures of the turtles. Sending her out on an assignment was a huge new step.
"Don't get too big for your britches," he cautioned. "My lifestyle guy got the flu, and is insisting I give him some 'paid time off', whatever the hell that means. So I need you to cover it."
"Oh, okay, cool," she didn't care what the reason was. A byline was a byline, right? And she liked going to the museum, so it was a win-win. "What's the event?"
"I dunno, they're unveiling some Japanese artifacts they found recently," he motioned to a folder on his desk. "It's black tie. If you need, we can expense a rental for you and a date. But the lowest priced option. We're not made of money."
"Uh...okay, Mr. Jameson. I won't let you down!"
"What do you think April wants?" Mikey pondered as the four brothers traversed the New York skyscrapers. They moved like a cohesive unit, flowing from one roof to the next like the wind.
Leonardo had come to love these moments above the surface with his brothers, the four of them not needing to speak to one another and instead just moving like a cohesive unit. The four of them were starting to really understand what Splinter's teachings were about, and how they could really be used. All those years in the dojo were now coming to fruition, and Leo couldn't feel better about that.
"She said she had some important news on the Foot," Raph responded to his younger brother. "Maybe she finally got an interview with Shredder."
"Nah, she probably just misses me," Mikey dismissed Raphael's obviously correct answer. "Who wouldn't miss my magnetic personality?"
"Mikey, more like reverse polarity personality," Donnie laughed. He was the only one, and Leo could tell that he was confused as to how, "Get it? Because people want to go away from him? Like...when you try to put the same sides of a magnet together?"
"Donnie, really?" Leo shook his head.
"Ugh, no one gets me," Donatello sighed.
"No, no we do not," Raph agreed as the brothers came to a stop on the rooftop of April's apartment.
They climbed down gingerly, making sure not to make too much noise on the fire escape. The last thing they needed was one of the other people in April's apartment complex coming to the window and spotting them. Splinter already wasn't happy they were here so soon after meeting April. He wanted the brothers to watch her, make sure that she could be trusted.
Leonardo wasn't going to have any of that, though. She and Casey had made it clear they were in for the long haul when it came to helping out the Turtles. Leo had been far too trusting when it came to Karai. he knew that. But these two were different. There was no ulterior motive to be had or reason for them to betray his family. They needed these allies, and he was going to make sure he kept them.
Once they made it to April's apartment, the knocked on the window, and were greeted by April's smiling face, "About time you guys got here! It's almost one in the morning."
"Yea, well, we're night owls," Raph shrugged and entered.
"Party all night long, guuuuuuurl," Mikey blurted out.
"Oh my god," Donnie sighed under his breath.
"Good to see you, April," Leo stifled a laugh. "Sorry about my brothers."
She shook her head, causing her fire orange hair to wave in a circle, "Trust me, they're no worse than basically every guy at school."
Mikey put his hand on her shoulder, "Someone giving you trouble? Want me to take care of him? I can drag him into the sewer. Make sure he's never seen again. Ninja...vanish."
Humoring him, she looked at him disapprovingly, "Now why would I want you to ruin your adorable reputation?"
Mike spun around to face his brothers, "She thinks I'm adorable!"
"Okay, calm down, weirdo," Raphael rolled his eyes.
"Your email said you had big news?" Donatello brought the line of questioning back to business.
"Oh, right," she headed back to her desk and pulled out a folder, handing it to Don. "I got an assignment from my boss. Didn't seem all that interesting until I started going through the program for the museum unveiling it's for. Take a look, I thin you guys are going to be pleasantly surprised."
Don flipped through the pamphlet for a few seconds before his head snapped up, his eyes wide and staring back at April, "There's no way."
"I know, right? Almost too good to be true," she nodded with a wide smile on her face.
"What is it, Don?" Leo asked.
"An exhibit on newly found ninja artifacts. Including, and I quote, 'the legendary Book of the Foot Clan, supposedly containing the prophecies that informed the mysterious ninja clan'."
"Holy shit," Raph blurted out.
"Yea, that's what I thought you'd say," April beamed.
"We need to get our hands on that book," Leo looked at her, and he instantly knew she had a plan.
.....sooooo, has anything been done with the X-Men yet?
Clearly I'm doing a shit job of GMing.
I've touched them a little bit, and Rogue is an integral part of my Steve Rogers story, but otherwise no, not really.
I've hit a bit of a funk on this and don't know whether I'll be able to push through it. I thought I'd just put that out there in the interest of being transparent rather than ghosting.
No problem. I'm being pretty lenient on the posting deadlines considering everything going on in the world, so feel free to pop back if you get past it.
Rogue should have taken Steve's advice about the blue furry mutant man seriously. He was like Donkey Kong mixed with Cookie Monster. It was the craziest thing she had ever seen, and she had seen a rat man just a few days ago. But he also talked as if he was the smartest man in the world. He was currently giving her a rundown on what it meant to be a mutant, biologically. He was using words like gene and chromosome and RNA, all of which promptly flew over Rogue's head at the speed of light.
"Doc," she interrupted him in her southern drawl, "I don't mean to be rude, but could ya get to the point? All this science mumbo jumbo makes about as much sense as latin."
"Oh, I can speak fluent Latin," the furry professor smiled broadly, but quickly moved on when it was clear that she wasn't going to be impressed no matter what he said. "Fine, fine. All this is just to tell you that I've discovered just how your powers work. The genes, as I was saying, have been supercharged. The way they rebuild themselves are unlike anything I've ever seen before. When you come in contact with another's genes, yours start to shape themselves to match, siphoning off any abilities the other person mid have."
"As well as their life," she muttered to herself. She didn't really care how her powers worked exactly. All she knew was that they hurt other people, that she would never be able to get close to anyone, and that she'd always hurt those she loved eventually. The science behind it didn't matter in the slightest.
"Yes," he put his head down and fiddled with his pawed hands. "That...I do not have an answer for. I know it's hard. Things are never easy for us. It is our blessing, and our curse, these abilities."
"Come on," she chuckled. "I can't touch people. At least you're fuzzy and cute."
He smiled warmly, "I understand. But there was once a time I felt as you do. That my abilities, my...differences were keeping me from living a normal life. That I would never be happy as long as I was different from everyone around me."
Hank McCoy rolled his chair over to his desk and deftly snatched up a picture frame sitting on it. He slid back towards her and handed it to Rogue, "Take a look."
She looked at it, before glancing up at the doctor. The similarities were hard to find, but they were there. The eyes, mostly. The same intelligent sparkle was in the picture and the mutant in front of her. The way his glasses hung off his nose, and the wry smile were also similar. But it couldn't be.
"Ah, but it is me," he smile broadly, realizing what she was thinking without her having to say it. "I was so ashamed by my large hands and feet that I thought I could develop an anti-mutagen. A cure, if you will. All I wanted was to be normal. Instead I made myself even more abnormal. It took finding my way to Charles for him to show me a new purpose. A new way to help the next generation of mutants. So, I understand how you feel. But know that you too can be an inspiration. It just depends on what you do with your abilities."
She nodded, taking everything she said into herself.
"Thanks, doc. Hopefully I'll see you soon."
"So do I, dear," Hank McCoy smiled. "So do I."
Steve sat in front of Xavier's desk, and Summers took a seat next to him. The young mutant was embarrassed he allowed Rogue to slip away from him so easily. Steve had attempted to ensure him it was no big deal, that kids would be kids, but there was a burning desire for leadership in that one. He was too focused on rigidity though. If Steve had the time he's walk him through the story of when Dugan and Bucky disobeyed a direct order and ended up capturing two Hydra tanks on their own.
Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen.
"We've done some digging while you were away and resting," Xavier started, sliding a file over to him. "The orphanage where Rogue was being held hadn't been used in two decades. The building was standing, but unoccupied and unowned. That is until a few months ago when a private equity firm bought the building and the land. We've been trying to untangle the web of funding, but so far we've only been able to find one company name in all of this."
Steve had to have a chuckle, "This is some real spy stuff, Charles."
"We have our ways, Captain," he smiled back. "In the folder you'll find information on Stagg Industries, a biotech and pharmaceutical company based in Hub City."
"Let me guess, they're working on mutations," Steve mused as he began to flip through the report.
"Not that we know of," Scott shook his head. "But considering they're the only lead we have, they're probably worth checking out."
"Guess I'm headed for Hub City," Steve shook his head. "I know it was a tough place before the war...and it doesn't sound like it's gotten much better."
"There's more," Charles winced as he flipped on the television. There scenes of the aftermath of his fight with the rat boy played out. Talking heads on the television were going on and on about how Steve Rogers, the former Captain America, had gone on a warpath for reasons unknown. There were discussions of sending SHIELD after him in a manhunt.
Steve couldn't say he was surprised. He knew that whoever had blown up the building had hoped for this exact reaction. But that was beside the point. They weren't going to frighten him out of action.
"That's certainly going to make things more difficult," Rogers rubbed his chin, the beard he was sporting starting to really fill in. "Especially travel."
"Well, we have an idea about that too," Xavier smiled.
The small aircraft was rolled out of a back part of the hanger, Steve and Rogue both whistling at it as it did. It was smaller than the Blackbird, but still big enough for a mobile base. It was sleek, almost like a hawk in flight. Two jet engines on the back were paired with wing-based rotorblades that would allow it to hover silently. Inside were some beds, a small galley, and everything they needed to survive on the run.
"I call it the Quinjet," Hank McCoy showed off the craft, smiling like a proud parent. "Fast, maneuverable, and sure to get you out of any trouble you ever find yourself in."
"Sounds like you shouldn't be giving this away on a whim," Steve's eyebrow raised.
Scott, Hank, and Charles all gathered around him. Hank put his hand on the hero's shoulder, "Steve, someone is threatening mutants. And not only that, they're trying to take you down as well. I helped design this craft to help protect my people. In your hands, it's doing just that. I can't think of a better use of its time."
Rogers smiled, and blushed slightly. He would never be used to people treating him like a living saint. All he wanted to do was help, not be worshiped. But he couldn't deny that he appreciated the help. He and Rogue were going to need all that they could get.
"Thank you," he looked at the three mutant men. "All of you. I promise, I'm going to figure out what's going on here. And I won't forget all the help you gave me. I hope I can make you proud."
"Ugh," Rogue rolled her eyes. "Don't make me vom. Come on, old man. We got some bad guys to take down. Thanks for all the help, Chuck."
"Kids," Steve shook his head and followed the teenage mutant up the ramp onto the Quinjet.
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