Location: the Blackbird Hangar Skills: Telekinetic Combat
Neil nodded numbly, wincing as Carolina put pressure up against his wound. Her image was going in and out of focus. "I'm fine," he mumbled, trying to reassure her. He didn't have any qualms about lying, especially if it meant that Carolina could focus her energy on keeping herself alive instead of worrying about him.
A monkey then sucker punched him in the wound and Neil inhaled sharply, feeling a level of pain similar to a kick to the groin. Malice and anger filled him as he saw red. All he wanted to do was make sure that the monkey felt a similar level of pain. He lashed out, using his telekinesis to twist the neck of the monkey. The creature fell down to the ground, no longer breathing. Neil didn't feel any regret. They had killed so many things so far that day, it would have been odd to feel bad about killing a monkey. "I'm okay," he told Carolina again, sounding a little more convincing this time.
Runa found Bethany's rejection of her lie to be a bit over exaggerated, but it was enough to work. She could feel the ancient magic stirring in her bones, aligning along the energy centers of her body. She imagined a river of light rushing towards her left hand, spilling out her fingers as she snapped them. The sound was supernaturally loud and air rushed through the wound, as the powerful protection spell took effect. The X-Men could not be harmed here today. She had been careful with the words she chose, limiting it to a time and place. Reality warps were best left controlled and small. Unfortunately, the exact phrase she used meant that she and Klara were not included in the protection, but she didn't mind. They were Asgardians, made of stronger stuff.
"In the name of Frey, I command these vines to retreat," Runa invoked, as she mentally prepared for the next spell she could cast.
Guin Stark
Location: the Blackbird Hangar Skills: Mechanics, Problem Solving, Engineering Design
Guin was a bit irritated with everyone's comments on the music choice. Of course, she hadn't really explained what she had been trying to do with the horrible song earlier. And she wasn't in the mood to say it again for anyone who hadn't caught her slight explanation. A large part of it was since Edus of all people had to weigh in on it. She knew that he didn't like her and the feeling was mutual. Fortunately, Iris was so loud and extra that Guin was distracted before her mood could become pissy. "Yeah, 10 grand might buy you a few plaques there, but probably not more than that. Rich people love putting their name on shit."
"I'm bribing them because money is one of the great motivators of the world! Sometimes, being able to buy some nice shit is just more of a motivator than surviving the latest round in a seemingly endless series of attacks," she reasoned. Adrenaline could only last so long. People were bound to be feeling tired, if not extremely injured at this point. They had been going round after round with hardly any breaks. Case in point, her armor was clearly feeling like it was time to stop, as all of her weapons systems jammed. It must have been all the magical energy people were shooting off, tech and magic never mixed well. She cursed under her breath, quickly making repairs to her system - namely, turning it off and turning it back on again. The systems were all back online and she unleashed her fury on the monkeys, knocking the rest of them out.
Mild Symptoms: Headache, some splotchiness of the skin, fatigue and exhaustion Moderate Symptoms: Difficulty breathing, dizziness, vomiting, blood shot eyes, prominent veins Severe Symptoms: Vomiting blood, trouble walking, bleeding from the ears, extreme skin discoloration, general looniness
So far, only two individuals have "cured" themselves from M-Pox. The first was S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Cassandra Reed. The second was Gabriel Summers A.K.A. Vulcan.
Outside the Mutant Underground HQ -
Everyone will hear the garage door open and close, but no one will have seen a car pull up - this in itself isn't unusual though, given that Veil was with the away team.
"Ben's my friend - and a pain in the ass, he seems to think that I lack basic responsibility and hygiene," Casper explained to Andy, rolling his eyes at the ghost in question. He loved having Ben around, but sometimes he was a complete and total nag. Ben never appreciated the lifestyle Casper led, claiming that he was "wasting" his time on Earth. It was like being the kid of someone who almost won the local beauty pageant and now expected you to win the title for them.
"You do lack basic responsibility and hygiene. If it weren't for Jack, James and me, you'd be dead," Ben pointed out frankly.
"Wait, so why did you not call yourself Sparky Sparky Boom Man, er, Woman?" Casper asked Andy, his eyes wide. "Have you never seen Avatar the Last Airbender? Do you know about our lord and savior, Prince Zuko? Have you never sung Secret Tunnel as loud as you can while high off your ass with mint oreos taped to your nipples?" he asked her seriously. By the way he was reacting, it was like Andy told him she had never heard of Star Wars or something like that.
Kristina then came in, asking if there was anything she could do. "Yes, you can explain to her the joys of Avatar the Last Airbender, pronto! This is priority number one!" The other new kid, the one with the green hair, then came in. "Have you seen Avatar?"
Veil
Location: Mutant Underground Garage Skills: Invisible Energy Manipulation
Veil groaned, reading the text that came in from James. She banged her head softly up against the seat in front of her, wishing that she could take an icepick and give herself a lobotomy. She had a working theory in mind as to what all had happened. Emma Frost messed with Jack to distract them, leaving the Mutant Underground vulnerable so Magneto could go in and grab Polaris. She prayed that everyone back there was fine. James' text hadn't indicated any serious injuries, but with Magneto involved... it would have been surprising if everyone came out unscathed. "Magneto attacked while we were out. They were after Polaris. This whole thing was probably a set up by Frost to keep us away from the base," she explained to everyone.
The car then pulled up to the Mutant Underground and Spark Plug would be able to park in the garage with ease. "Everyone with me," she ordered. She wasn't going to let Jack out of her sight until Glimpse verified that he was no longer a threat. She stopped cloaking the car, since there was no way they could have been followed by this point, and the machine (and its passengers) became fully visible again. "They're all outside. We might need to assist with any injured," she then added. She got out of the car, and waited for the others to head on out. If it hadn't been for the Jack issue, she would have just gone on ahead.
Nat 20 - she can keep an eye on Jack without anyone noticing
Sunshine was dangling in the rope trap about a foot or so below the ceiling - she was nine feet off the ground. There wasn't anything within her reach that she could use to cut herself free. She felt her pockets, hoping that she had something useful, but they were entirely empty. She realized that Jack must have taken her things, but she didn't want to give Max the satisfaction of being right. Maybe the Marshmallow had been up to no good. Unfortunately though, Sunshine would rather die in a rope cage than admit to Max of all people she had been wrong.
"Why would I kill you? You're the murderer, not me!" Sunshine snapped at Max. She turned her attention upwards, figuring that maybe she could ruin the knot that was keeping her suspended on the ceiling. She didn't think Max would do anything to get her out of there - well, it was more that she didn't want his help. Every time she looked at him, all of her anger for Erg's death came rushing back to her. She forced herself into a semi-crouched position, pushing her head out through one of the gaps in the rope cage, and she tried to bite the rope keeping her suspended, figuring that she could chew her way out. The rope cage was twisting and turning slightly with each movement she made, with there being a nonzero probability that she would end up killing herself with this stunt.
"Ηλίθιος γαμημένος καθαρός, ηλίθιος γαμημένος Max," she cursed in Greek, spitting slightly. Her mouth tasted like rope.
Runa blinked rapidly, processing the onslaught of information Klara had given her. The cat had been on quests and knew how to... stab people? Maybe her brain was overheating and all of this had been a construction of her dying synapses, randomly firing off as she drowned. It would make a lot more sense than everything that was going on currently. She just sort of nodded numbly as Arnora assured her that she was in good hands - or paws, Runa supposed. She didn't even have mental space to wonder about if Elizabeth was a common name back in the era Klara had been alive. She flinched as there was a gigantic flash of light, followed by the appearance of a present of some sorts.
She was very curious as to what was in the box, but she had a feeling it would only make her more confused about everything. She walked forward with the rest of them, heading down the flight of stairs. She poked her head out of the door slightly, her jaw dropping as she saw gigantic branches, like they were in a giant treehouse of sorts looking out. "So to get to Earth we... we climb this tree," Runa murmured, trying to decide if she felt totally insane or not. "What happens if we fall?" she asked nervously.
1. ALL SUPERHEROES MUST REGISTER WITH SHIELD AND REVEAL THEIR SECRET IDENTITY
2. SUPERHEROES MUST BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD
3. SUPERHEROES MUST PASS SHIELD TRAINING - EXCEPTIONS INCLUDE TRAINING FROM THE X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, AND AVENGERS
4. ALL SUPERHEROES ARE SUBJECTED TO THE SUPERVISION OF SHIELD
VIOLATION OF THESE WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE EXTRACTION TO THE RAFT. MINIMUM SENTENCING IS THREE YEARS HOUSE ARREST. JUVENILE OFFENDERS WILL BE TRIED AS ADULTS. REPEAT OFFENDERS HAVE A RECOMMENDED SENTENCE OF TEN YEARS IMPRISONMENT.
ALL VIGILANTE ACTIVITY KNOWN TO SHIELD PERSONNEL MUST BE REPORTED TO THEIR SUPERVISOR OR LEAD IMMEDIATELY.
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING!
CAPTAIN AMERICA ON THE RUN?!?! IRON MAN TAKES CHARGE!
5:59 PM Update - Iron Man is holding a press conference at the Stark Foundation Headquarters. He is joined by superheroes Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Mister Fantastic, the Human Torch, She-Hulk, the Invisible Woman, and the Wasp. CLICK HERE to view the livestream!
We here at the Daily Bugle just got a tip from an anonymous source that the Avengers have split up!
Iron Man has claimed leadership of the group - we haven't been able to get a quote from the Playboy Billionaire, but our plucky team is on the case!
We'll be updating this story once more details come in, but please if you know anything about this situation or have spotted Captain America, call us out our toll free hotline here: 1-800-SPIDER.
If you want to read about more Avengers news, check out our piece from last Thursday where we explored the affair between Iron Man and Black Widow!
J.J.J.
TO: jjj@dailybugle.com FROM: jewel@thepulse.com SUBJECT: [Pulse] Iron Man's Press Conference --- ---
Jonah,
This isn't going to be pretty. I can cover this beat for you, but you need to promise no civvies will be out on reporter duty. I'm sure you've seen the conference - Captain America is public enemy number one. The Avengers are going to war.
Also, my usual fee will be doubled for this - let's call it hazard pay.
Keep it sleazy, Jewel
P.S. I mean it. If I see a single civvie pounding pavement for this, I'll break your face in :-)
St. David's Hospital - Cardiff: 1:40 A.M.
Despite Niah's fears, she and Oliver would run into each other - literally. They would collide at an intersection in the hallway, just a few feet away from the source of the screaming. It was so incredibly cold there that they would see their breath in front of them. Oliver would begin to feel sluggish, his natural super speed ebbing away - perhaps speedsters didn't like the cold? Anyways, the lights in the hallway in front of them would start to flicker, turning off completely, before coming back on. Niah and Oliver would both see Dalisy's severed head.
Horrifyingly though, the head was still screaming.
Ellis Island - New York: 7:30 P.M.
Captain America's allies had put out the call. They knew that it was only a matter of time before they would have a full out brawl with the Pro-Registration team, so they decided to pick the time and place more or less. They had mustered in a large open field on Ellis Island. There was hardly any tech there, which would put Stark at a disadvantage. And more importantly, Captain America felt that it was symbolic of everything they were fighting to protect - the freedom of individual citizens against oppressive governments. He wasn't happy to be fighting one of his closest friends, but Cap wouldn't let his principles be ignored in the name of friendship.
He had to do this - he had to protect everyone's liberty.
He was a little disappointed with how few had come in the end. The Scarlet Witch had been a no-show. Same with Doctor Strange. Captain America looked at the small group that they had assembled, briefly registering for a moment that the only woman there was Agent 13. He gave her a slight smile. "Looks like it'll be just us. That's fine. Tony's people will be on their way soon. They're still our friends, so pull your punches - no kill shots. We're going to fight clean and fair. As long as our conviction is stronger, then we will win this fight - and more importantly, when the sun rises tomorrow, it will shine on a stronger America. We will get through this. I'm counting on each and every one of you, so Avengers.... assemble."
Team Captain America
Captain America/Steve Rogers - super soldier
The Winter Soldier/Identity Unknown - super soldier
Location: Stark Tower: Quinjet Skills: Blessing of Athena
Maria Hill had messaged the team, instructing them to report to Stark Tower and take whatever orders Iron Man gave. Bonnie felt slightly out of place amongst all of the heavy hitters - so many people here had fantastic, terrific powers. She knew that something had happened to her back in Cardiff, but she still didn't know what. The only clue she had had so far was when asked for what codename she wanted to use, she felt a compulsion to answer Athena. It hadn't even been a choice. It was like some other force or being had already decided for her. But as terrifying as that had been, she didn't feel violated or dirty. Primarily, she just felt angry and sad.
"J.A.R.V.I.S. just got a hit for Cap - they're on Ellis Island. Once we get there, we try to convince them to register and surrender. If they don't, we hit them hard. Everyone happy with that? Good, great! Let's roll then. You'll love the new tricks the quinjet has," Tony said, chuckling slightly. His armor's helmet snapped down and he led the way outside onto a hangar of sorts where the jet was waiting. "Widow is going to fly this thing. I recommend not pissing her off," Tony added.
He then took off, flying via the Iron Man suit to Ellis Island. Captain Marvel, the Human Torch, and the Wasp flew after him. The rest of them would have to take the quinjet, since they hadn't been graced with the power to fly. People tended to stick together with those they knew - the two Fantastic Four members huddled together, and the She-Hulk went and sat next to Black Widow at the front. The S.H.I.E.L.D. crew were in the back. Bonnie couldn't help but wonder how the others were doing. Niah and Oliver hadn't gotten in contact with them yet. Neither had Sparky and Maria.
Team Iron Man:
Iron Man/Tony Stark - genius billionaire playboy philanthropist
Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff
Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers - power cosmic
Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards - elongation
Human Torch/Johnny Storm - flame on!
She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters - hulk form
Invisible Woman/Sue Storm-Richards - invisible energy manipulation
Amelia took Astrad's hand and stood back up, giving him a look. That was an incredibly stupid idea to her. If they had learned anything from talking with Doctor Strange, it was that he didn't really seem to care what happened to Maria. How could being stuck in another dimension without back up not be dangerous? Sure, it sounded like loads of fun to Amelia, but there was the matter of choice - Maria hadn't chosen that at all. And it was pissing her off that no one here seemed to actually care about the lives of those around them.
Her irritation faded though when Sparky had a gigantic meltdown. She didn't know if it had been caused by pregnancy hormones or what. She didn't know what she could say to comfort her, since most of Sparky's ramblings honestly hadn't made sense at all. So Amelia did the only thing she knew - she walked up to the crying woman and pulled her in for a hug. Amelia's body was naturally warm and she had been complimented on her hugs before, so she hoped this would help Sparky some. "It'll be okay, mate," she said softly. "Just have yourself a good cry, okay? And then we'll figure out why your shiny ring is glowing..."
She was relieved to see Maria reappear. She wasn't going to touch the cube she was holding out though - that was a bad idea. "She's having a wee breakdown," she explained to Maria.
"I'm not a god caretaker," Leda said with a mouthful of food. She swallowed, before continuing. "A better term would probably be, I dunno, priestess or something. Yeah, I dig that. Call me the Priestess if you need to give a label to what I do," she said. She took another large bite of food, mulling over her recollections from her own dreams the previous night. Dreams honestly were the number one currency when it came to information for the questing demigod. Without them, they'd never show up in the right spot prepared. She winked at her girlfriend after catching her smile. She then put both of her arms up and stretched.
"Okay, crash course in dreams. They're basically godly abilities. They'll show you things as they're happening in real time usually, though I s'pose it's also possible to see things that happened in the past. Not sure the future is possible. But at any rate, your dreams are most likely real, unless you see marshmallows eating Manhattan or something. Some people spill the tea completely on quests, others keep the dreams close to the chest. Key things to look out for are titles and symbolism - like, a lot of times different gods and goddesses will have specific nicknames people like to call them. Or you might see a symbol that matches up. Oh, also look for landmarks - lot of times in our dreams we can find things and then use the information when we're waking, kinda like using MapQuest."
☀️ Nancy Parker ☀️
Location: Diana's Tent - Base of Mount Othrys Skills: N/A
Nancy's entire body was vibrating with nerves as her aunt offered her a spot to sit and then stared her down. She didn't move a muscle at first, only relaxing once Diana confirmed that she believed her. She slowly took a seat, wondering if that was all or if the Goddess of the Hunt had more to talk to her about. The chest placed down in front of her only furthered her confusion. From what myths she recalled, goddesses and special boxes were never really a good sign. But as much as she was worried and tense, she also couldn't help but be in awe. Diana was the original tomboy, the first badass. She didn't need a man to tell her what to do and she was the best hunter in the world. There was a reason that Nancy prayed to her.
"... Me? You want me to join the Hunt?" Nancy repeated, looking stunned. It was as if Stevie Nicks had just asked Nancy to go on tour with her - like if Joan Jett had invited her to join the Runaways. Nothing could ever be as rad as that moment. She so wanted to say yes, to pledge herself to the Hunt and travel the world hunting down cool monsters while learning from the very best. Yet she couldn't do that. She still had a duty to Rome and her friends. She couldn't leave them behind, especially not now, with the horrific prophecies she and Alexandra had produced.
"I... That would be so incredibly rad. The idea of being in the Hunt, it gives me goosebumps, it feels right - it's so incredibly very, I just can't explain it," Nancy admitted, rambling slightly. Her cool persona was slipping away. "I can't now though, Aunt Diana. Rome needs me. But if I survive everything that's coming and fulfill my duty, then, yes." Her hands were shaking slightly as she opened the chest, seeing the amazing bow and the card. She pocketed the card, realizing it was a means to contact Diana. "Is now a good time to admit I've never used a bow before? And does it have a name?" She knew that it must have had a not-so-bright history. Kallisto had been Diana's best friend, up until Jupiter raped her, Kallisto hid the pregnancy, and Diana turned Kallisto into a bear and threatened to hunt her down. Nancy really hoped it wasn't cursed.
Megan rolled her eyes in amusement as her brother poked her with the wrong end of the rapier. At least his joke confirmed to her that he did know what he was doing, at least in terms of the most basic idea - to use the pointy end to attack with. She kept her face neutral though as the guard asked Merlin questions. The security seemed to be rather lax, as they didn't even ask for papers or.... Well, Megan supposed they likely didn't have an ID system in Camelot. And as for the weapons they were carrying, those weren't really out of the ordinary. They looked like everyone else here, even though they were strangers in a strange land.
It was an odd sensation as she walked into Camelot. Logically, she knew that she must have been born here. Her earliest memories were of this place. She expected to have some sort of overwhelming emotion, some physical reaction to being here but... she didn't feel anything. She just felt out of place. She had never been ordinary by the standards of their world, she had never quite fit in and now, she had a similar sense here in Camelot. It didn't feel to her like home - there was no instant sensation of belonging.
She wished that she had the time to contemplate and process these feelings, but they had to keep moving.
1. ALL SUPERHEROES MUST REGISTER WITH SHIELD AND REVEAL THEIR SECRET IDENTITY
2. SUPERHEROES MUST BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD
3. SUPERHEROES MUST PASS SHIELD TRAINING - EXCEPTIONS INCLUDE TRAINING FROM THE X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, AND AVENGERS
4. ALL SUPERHEROES ARE SUBJECTED TO THE SUPERVISION OF SHIELD
VIOLATION OF THESE WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE EXTRACTION TO THE RAFT. MINIMUM SENTENCING IS THREE YEARS HOUSE ARREST. JUVENILE OFFENDERS WILL BE TRIED AS ADULTS. REPEAT OFFENDERS HAVE A RECOMMENDED SENTENCE OF TEN YEARS IMPRISONMENT.
ALL VIGILANTE ACTIVITY KNOWN TO SHIELD PERSONNEL MUST BE REPORTED TO THEIR SUPERVISOR OR LEAD IMMEDIATELY.
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING!
CAPTAIN AMERICA ON THE RUN?!?! IRON MAN TAKES CHARGE!
5:59 PM Update - Iron Man is holding a press conference at the Stark Foundation Headquarters. He is joined by superheroes Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Mister Fantastic, the Human Torch, She-Hulk, the Invisible Woman, and the Wasp. CLICK HERE to view the livestream!
We here at the Daily Bugle just got a tip from an anonymous source that the Avengers have split up!
Iron Man has claimed leadership of the group - we haven't been able to get a quote from the Playboy Billionaire, but our plucky team is on the case!
We'll be updating this story once more details come in, but please if you know anything about this situation or have spotted Captain America, call us out our toll free hotline here: 1-800-SPIDER.
If you want to read about more Avengers news, check out our piece from last Thursday where we explored the affair between Iron Man and Black Widow!
J.J.J.
TO: jjj@dailybugle.com FROM: jewel@thepulse.com SUBJECT: [Pulse] Iron Man's Press Conference --- ---
Jonah,
This isn't going to be pretty. I can cover this beat for you, but you need to promise no civvies will be out on reporter duty. I'm sure you've seen the conference - Captain America is public enemy number one. The Avengers are going to war.
Also, my usual fee will be doubled for this - let's call it hazard pay.
Keep it sleazy, Jewel
P.S. I mean it. If I see a single civvie pounding pavement for this, I'll break your face in :-)
St. David's Hospital - Cardiff: 1:30 A.M.
The imposter stared at Niah with shock, as she had just shot him in the chest. "I remember you being a lot more pathetic," he sneered. The bullet was pushed out of his wound and hit the floor lamely. It seemed whoever this was, they had a healing factor as well - or perhaps that was just an artifact of his superspeed?
"And you, I remember I was a lot smarter than this," he told Oliver, shaking his head with disappointment. "You sent me, Oli. I'm you. Just better. Smarter, older, freer. This is just the beginning for us. This is when we stop playing the hero and realize that the only way to get what you want, is to take it."
A loud scream came from the floor below - somehow, Niah would recognize who the scream belonged to almost instinctively. It had to be Dalisy.
"Oh good. It looks like my girlfriend's joined the party. I'm sure you remember Luminous, Niah," he taunted.
Kingdom of Avalon - Otherworld: ???
Most Arthurian Legend can trace its way to Otherworld. A mystical realm, Otherworld serves as the nexus of all realities. Comprised of various kingdoms, Maria had the great (mis)fortune to fall in the kingdom beholden to Queen Morgan Le Fay. Not only that, but Maria had appeared inside of a long throne room lit with green flames. Statues of what appeared to be frightened commoners served as artwork. Knights in gleaming, ebony armor stood at every entrance and exit, with the Queen sitting upon an ornate throne.
The Queen sniffed the air, tilting her head in curiosity. "You look like a witchbreed, but you smell like... something else," she mused. "Now, tell me child, who sent you? Why are you here?"
From the fire escape, Bonnie could clearly see what was going on. Cass was across the way on top of the other building, where the rogue Avengers were. Hawkeye was down for the count. Captain America was limping, one of his legs frozen up. As long as they prevented the Avengers from fleeing the scene, then they would be able to win this. Cass had swung with the rope on across, so it was no longer an option for Bonnie to make her way on over. The gap was far too big for her to leap across.
Their luck turned for the worse though. A quinjet flew over to the top of the building and Bonnie watched as Agent 13 threw a ladder down. One by one, the rogue Avengers made it up the ladder, the Falcon and the Winter Soldier sending out cover fire so Cass couldn't stop them. As soon as they were all onboard, the quinjet sped off quickly and cloaked itself, no longer visible by the naked eye.
"Merde..." Bonnie cursed, feeling a bit deflated. She couldn't help but believe that things were only going to get much, much worse.
Sitwell answered the phone, although it seemed he was a bit busy. Astrad would be able to hear the sound of heavy gunfire in the background, as well as explosions and some heavy breathing. "Damn it, Lungren, can this wait?" Sitwell asked gruffly. "We're having a situation here at the Cube."
Amelia stared at Sparky for a moment, before glancing off in the direction Astrad had gone. No one seemed to really care that Maria was missing and Doctor Strange hadn't lifted a finger to help bring her back. Amelia's face scrunched up in frustration. Did no one care about anyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. these days? First there had been Maria's horrible trust falls, now this. She had assumed that Maria and Sparky were friends, but at the very least, shouldn't professional courtesy have dictated at least a little bit of concern? "Are you all out of your damn mind?!"
She marched up to the door and started banging on it. "Doctor Strange, you get out here right now! Our friend is missing because of one of your artifacts and you'll bloody well get her back from whatever dimension she's in!" Amelia demanded. The door didn't open so she started trying to blow it down with a large gust of wind, only for it to remain firmly shut. She backed on up, not noticing that the ring Sparky had on her was starting to glow, before running at the door and throwing her entire weight into it.
Nothing. Amelia was flung onto the ground, the door just as shut as it had been before.
Location: the Blackbird Hangar Skills: Telekinetic Combat
Runa raised a slight eyebrow at the X-Men's attempts to activate her power. It was a simple concept, but one that mortals still appeared to struggle with from time to time. The Mage combined their shields into one large bubble and offered her his hand. "This may hurt a bit," she warned him, taking his hand. With her other hand, she took Klara's. She had put her arm through the open circle of her staff, so that way she could hold it while taking the hand over her fellow magic users. "I banish that which does not serve me," she cast. A dark wind rushed through the room, blowing up against the monkeys. The knives vanished, as did the majority of the creatures, leaving by her count less than forty.
She felt incredibly drained by that, having needed to rely upon Klara and Edus' magical strength in order to complete the spell. She let go of their hands, her head pounding slightly. She gripped her staff properly, using it to steady herself. "The X-Men cannot be harmed here today," she lied. She hoped that one of the mortals would contradict her - if not, she had faith that her cousin would.
Neil was swaying slightly, unsteady on his feet. His wound wasn't losing bloody rapidly anymore, but nothing the Asgardian had done had managed to give him blood back. The precious red liquid was all over the ground around him and his shirt was so stained even Wolverine would've been impressed. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision and concentrate on what was going on. Banner had turned into his Hulk form and Neil couldn't help but feel anxious, worried that Banner would go after all of them once he finished with the monkeys. The knives were gone and the monkeys were down to a pretty low number, their obnoxious screeching was making him a bit tempted to turn off his hearing aids.
It was a bit hard to get a telekinetic grip, the monkeys were still pretty active and Neil's head wasn't quite feeling right. He kept on trying to rip out their throats, figuring it would be the easiest way to kill these things. He really hoped none of the Asgardians present would turn out to be the Goddess of Monkeys, as that would be awkward to say the least. Despite his challenges in focusing and using his powers though, he managed to knock down six of the monkeys in the hoard - and while it wasn't a lot, it was definitely at least a noticeable amount now.
Guin Stark
Location: the Blackbird Hangar Skills: Telepathy
Guin sighed, seeing that her strategy hadn't worked. The monkeys apparently were vibing with Justin Bieber's music, rather than running away in terror like she had hoped. That did not go at all like how I'd imagined it, she grumbled to Pietro. "F.R.I.D.A.Y, switch it up, will you? My ears are bleeding and it isn't making the chimps run away," she asked her A.I. A moment later, a better song filled the room - Mr. Blue Sky. Guin grinned, nodding her head in time to the music. The tide was finally turning in their favor after the goth chick, apparently the future Mrs. Banner, caused a majority of the monkeys to vanish and got rid of all the knives. She could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Guin shot up into the air, charging up her uni-beam. She went large blasts towards clumps of monkeys, managing to hit and knock out about six of them - the rest of the monkeys were more agile than she had expected, so they jumped out of the way of her blasts. A lot of people were seriously injured and they needed to finish off this latest round of humiliation that Loki had arranged for them. She'd never be able to properly enjoy watching Dwayne the Rock Johnson in the latest Jumanji movies again - and more annoyingly, she'd never be able to sigh contentedly at Karen Gillain's midriff. "Come on, we've almost finished off these assholes! Whoever gets rid of the most monkeys I'll give $10,000 to!"
When lacking in inspiration, bribery was always a good idea.
Location: Hotel Valhalla - Floor 21 -> Lobby Skills: N/A
"I'm fine," Runa mumbled to Nadia when they were alone. She was used to telling people that - that she was fine, there was no need to worry, the marks on her arms were from an accident out in the garden, everything was alright. She felt like the Ten of Swords card illustration in reality though - ten blades piercing into her flesh as she just struggled to keep on moving. Everything felt surreal and bleak. The day before, she hadn't even thought remotely about the end of all life - she had been alive, living a (miserable and unhappy) life in Norway. And now, now she wasn't even sure what or who she was.
Runa stared at Klara in shock when she returned. The cat on her shoulders was surprising - she didn't think this was the sort of trip to bring pets on. She also didn't realize you could have pets in the afterlife. Had the cat died a warrior's death and been brought to Valhalla? Had Klara purchased the pet down at the same shop where Runa had received her staff that day? Did the cat just... sneak in or wander in somehow? She had so many questions and those questions only compounded once she saw what the cat had clutched in its teeth - a knife. "Is the cat..." Runa's question died off. She wasn't even really sure what to ask as she got into the elevator with the others. It wasn't long until they were in the lobby where the others were waiting. Runa's courage was rapidly dying.
Mild Symptoms: Headache, some splotchiness of the skin, fatigue and exhaustion Moderate Symptoms: Difficulty breathing, dizziness, vomiting, blood shot eyes, prominent veins Severe Symptoms: Vomiting blood, trouble walking, bleeding from the ears, extreme skin discoloration, general looniness
So far, only two individuals have "cured" themselves from M-Pox. The first was S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Cassandra Reed. The second was Gabriel Summers A.K.A. Vulcan.
Outside the Mutant Underground HQ -
James and Sapphire would receive a text from Veil - Jack is sus. Emma Frost may be manipulating him. Have Glimpse ready for psychic rescue. ETA 10 min.
Casper shook his finger seriously. "Nope, I never talk to myself. I give horrible advice, so it's really best if I just tune myself out," he told her with a slight grin. It was hard to tell whether or not Casper was being serious. Even now that he was sober, he still smelled crazy - he was like a bunch of deranged cats were trying to imagine how human beings were supposed to act. But given his parents, it wasn't that surprising - both of them had mental issues of one flavor or another.
"That's shockingly self aware of you," Ben mused.
"Aww, thanks Ben!" Casper squealed, beaming. "And maybe they're called smurfs? I guess it'd make sense if the elf called them that, since they were blue and smelly and kept on popping up all over the place. You couldn't take a piss without one of them showing up and looking. Not that I'm shy or anything, but it's spelled c-o-n-s-e-n-t you know? Not just anyone gets to see my magic wand."
Ben sighed. "Casper, she's, like, twelve... Can you not talk about your dick? This feels like an HR violation."
"Fiiiiiine," Casper whined. "But as for the fighting thing, I don't really do that. My official job here is to be cute, get cuddles from James, and provide insightful commentary on the fashion choices of the villain of the week. My mutation lets me make a whiny ass appear named Ben, so I can't help out much."
"HEY!"
"Ben, can you not right now? I'm talking to the youth of tomorrow or the elderly of today or whatever the expression is! The middle aged of yesteryear?"
Veil
Location: The Car Skills: Invisible Energy Manipulation
"Glad to hear it," Veil told Feedback with a slight smile. Her pain from having her hair yanked on had faded away pretty quickly - she was a mutant in the United States after all, she had to be made of stronger stuff than most. She took a breath and concentrated. Once they went down into a tunnel she used her powers, causing the car to seemingly vanish and disappear. She figured that likely someone might notice the car wasn't there anymore, but hopefully the change in light as they went through the tunnel would be enough to persuade them from screaming muties!!!
"I'll shave my head if you shave yours," Veil bargained with Spark Plug. She had no intention of shaving her hair. As messy and wild as it was, she loved it. She had surrendered so much of her identity in order to lead the Mutant Underground. Her hair was the last bit of her former self left around - the last part of a girl who didn't have the weight of the world on her shoulders. If she ever got tired of going by Veil, Atlas wouldn't have been a bad fit.
The mutants that they saved, even the others in the Mutant Underground, their lives moved forward. The real challenge of being the leader was that Veil had to remain still. She had to stay in an endless cycle, losing more and more pieces of herself with the more she was needed by the hopeless and helpless. One day, she'd mean everything to everyone - and be nothing to herself. She would just be her job. It was a chilling realization, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. Heroes sacrificed themselves all the time, just in different ways.
She didn't hear Jack muttering under his breath, otherwise she might have said something. "I'm going to see if Max and Sunshine are back," she lied, pulling out her phone and texting the two people she had left in charge - James and Sapphire.
Sunshine turned sharply and stared at Max. She couldn't believe the words she was hearing. The anger set her heart on fire. There were so many things about him that she despised, she couldn't even think of them all at once. "You abandoned Erg and then you joined the people who killed him!" Sunshine screamed at Max. "You don't get to ask me to be united with you, idiot! You're the one who can never pick a side! You'll get tired of the Mutant Underground soon and join the X-Men, probably. Or maybe the Avengers. Or the Fantastic Four. Anything so that way you can feel powerful and once you get bored, you'll move on because you don't care about people - you just care about nice clothes and soap!"
She was so enraged that she went further into the room and grabbed the first thing she found - a baseball - and threw it at Max as hard as she could. The baseball hit him in the groin. She didn't show it off very often, but Sunshine also had the mutant power of perfect accuracy - she could never miss a shot. "And whatever, no one's been here for years! This place is abandoned!" She then took a step backwards, her foot brushing up on a nearly invisible wire. Ropes came from out of nowhere and they encased Sunshine as they yanked her up high towards the ceiling. The lights in the room flashed.
"Max, this isn't funny!!!" Sunshine blamed Max for this. Everything was always his fault.
Achronum
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