HEAVY IS THE HEAD: Part One, SINISTER LEGACY Fallout

[astonishing_xmods]

WHO: The Students and Faculty of the Xavier Institute
WHAT: Charity work in District X, but things are getting bad again
WHERE: District X
WHEN: Thanksgiving Weekend
WARNING(S): Violence, language, etc

So this was Christmas, and War was Not Over. The soup lines, this time, were alongside official Vaccine Centers, cures to the Legacy Virus being handed out alongside plates of hot food for the needy. Once more, winter was bleak in the world of mutants living in forced squalor. Attitudes were not particularly bright. People were no longer dying in the streets from illness, but were conditions really any better? War with Genosha was imminent. The National Guard was already standing post around the community, enforcing curfews, treating the area now more than ever like an internment community. Xavier's students were allowed to move around freely, but only with special ID badges that marked them as such. It was the same all over the country.

This wasn't Mutant Registration... it somehow felt worse. And it didn't help that the Mutant Liberation Front was still very active in the area, and many of them entirely blamed the X-Men for Renko's apparent 'death'. There were antagonistic forces around them, and desperate faces looking at them for some kind of hope. And if they couldn't get it there...

There were whispers, a lot of them, about fleeing to Genosha. About joining the MLF and working alongside Genosha for 'true' mutant liberation. About kickstarting this war on local soil. And really...

... was there anything the X-Men could do to stop it? Should they stop it?

Comments

SOUP LINE

[astonishing_xmods]

Hungry are the desperate huddled masses. And cold, too. This was a regular thing, for Xavier's students to be handing out blankets, heating units, and hot meals. But this year felt so much worse than the years before then...

[totallystoned]

Reki was there of course, but seemingly going through the motions. She was looking at the grey, overcast sky as she ladled out soup. Yet she didn't have the circles around her eyes indicating she'd pulled a nighter on a project.

Her wings were uncovered, shivering in the cold. The tips of each feather were darker...

[princesstenko]

Uncovered, but not for long. A blanket quickly found its way over them, already warmed, and they were pat gently to try and put some circulation back into them.

"Goodness, what sense is there in working this line if you can't even care for yourself..." the voice was as warm as the blanket, in spite of its chiding.

[soccerwhisperer]

Tenma comes up with a fresh pot of soup, noticing Reki's wings right away. He bites his lip. It was hard not to let his emotional sensory go into autopilot and pry into her emotional state. He sets the pot down at her station.

"Is something bothering you Reki?" He asks quietly in Japanese. It was less likely someone would eavesdrop this way.

[long_live_the_queen]

Kaede took one look at the masses of people, the lines trailing around corners--and turned on her heel, making a straight line for the back of the building where they were unloading the trucks of food and supplies instead.

Headphones or not, she was not dealing with all the voices and colors and presences beating at her mind, not now.

...but she still wanted to help, even if crowds made her feel nauseous. These were mutants. People like her. Not people like them, the human soldiers--the prison guards. Whenever she caught a glimpse of one, she glared angrily at their backs, but didn't say anything.

She hadn't said a single word all day.

[friendofdorothy]

Liir had learned through bitter experience that you couldn't coax Kaede out of a sulk (he was almost as bad a sulker himself, too). You just had to stick nearby. If she really wanted you gone, she'd find a way to let you know.

Two quiet people worked quietly.

[soundandfurry]

So it was up to Kagerou to speak for her.

"I don't get it... why are all of those soldiers here? No one seems to be very happy that the virus is being cured..."

[droppedbucket]

Some people didn't have the skills to do much. Kisume was one of them, being often underfoot due to how she moved and with her still being so small. She kept going back and forth, looking for things to do but for now had settled outside, keeping her attention on the boxes. Just in case something smelled weird..

But at one point she'll approach, a worried whine escaping her.

"...You okay? Quiet...Keep busy?"

[knighterrantofthedragon]

So long as there wasn't trouble, Alric was to all appearances just another student helping with the distribution of what was needed--including food and and blankets, but also a reassuring presence, confident that conditions would improve--but he kept an eye out for problems looming. The question, of course, was at what cost exactly that improvement would come, atop what had been lost already. But burdening the desperate with those worries would do little to help them when the material necessities and the hope to survive and push on were the most pressing issues at hand; those concerns, he kept very much to himself.

SECURITY

[astonishing_xmods]

The MLF was definitely there, and many of them were just itching for an excuse to fight, to start another riot, to rebel against the world that was forcing them into these ghettos simply because they MIGHT defect to Genosha, or aid Genosha in its war efforts. And quite frankly, they didn't seem to care if innocent mutants got hurt in the crossfire...

[friendofdorothy]

It wasn't long after he'd gone public that Liir was forced to use his name to defuse a tense situation by interposing himself between one of the locals and one of his fellow attendees.

"I'm Liir Thropp, the Son Of A Witch. Do you think I'd go to the school of the man who killed Renko?"

[green_eyed]

It didn't seem to do much for their attitudes. Nor did the presence of known Morlocks. In their eyes, they were all traitors...

"Seems they've made up their minds..." though she could easily change them if she wished...

[jolie_aile]

Crumbling walls. Quiet desperation. Anger in the streets once more.

The only difference this time was the chill in the air and the faint promise of snow. It made Flandre's claws twitch uncomfortably, even where they were set against the sidewalk or folded neatly behind her back.

The same wingtip kept twitching, over and over again; the only bit of nervousness she'd allow herself to show. There were people that needed help, who needed directions, who needed protection--no good to have her voice waver.

Mostly she stood at parade rest, near enough to the lines for the soup kitchen and vaccination centers that her presence felt protective, but not overbearing. At least, she hoped.

"Please keep the line moving; there's enough food and medicine for everyone."

[stardustreverie]

"It's warmer in there then it is out here. No need ta hang around."

Marisa's bundled up, if only because of how she was with colder weather. It also slightly allowed her to slip in and out of areas as is. But for now going to stand beside her teammate and friend, hands in her pockets.

"Had any trouble so far?"

[knighterrantofthedragon]

Alric was of course there to assist with security, as well, ready to defuse whatever tension might arise, if possible, and to protect those who just needed shelter and a meal, if someone insisted on giving them more problems.

WHO IS THIIIIIS?!

[thenewbrotherhood]

In spite of the tension, the X-Men managed to ease the uneasy, keeping riots from breaking out among the MLF affiliated crowds and tending the the needy with care. Several hopeful smiles started to form, and it felt like things were finally beginning to turn around. Maybe things would be getting better. Maybe way could be avoided. Maybe... the future was pretty bright.

That was, of course, until gunfire started to shatter through the winter sky. The National Guardsmen had opened fire on someone, something... but were soon crying retreat themselves as a truck was flung into their line. A loud, bellowing voice cried out from the chaos, audible for blocks down the way.

"FOR GENOSHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

It was a battlecry, and the source would become clear soon enough. Five men, dressed for battle, one of which would be distinctly familiar to the X-men, what with his famous facial tattoos and sharp knives...

It was The Brotherhood. And if that battlecry was any indication, they were here on official business.

[green_eyed]

-There was an initial burst of shock at the sudden violence, the sound of gunfire and screams, as well as that deafening battle cry, but as soon as those green eyes caught sight of those ugly, stupid facial tattoos, they started glowing bright emerald in what could only be described as rage. Parsee charged forward, not even stopping to wait for orders.-

Vanisher! -If there was anyone out there in the world she'd get a measure of joy out of killing, it was definitely him.-

[thenewbrotherhood]

Well well...

[One of his old targets was still around, it seemed. And still very much not dead. Sloppy work for any assassin. It was a mistake he planned on correcting. He'd let the others handle the fray. This one.. this one was all his. He pulled out his knives and immediately disappeared from sight.]

Catch me if you can, ugly!

Helping civilians

[legendarybub]

Spread out! These guys are serious business! [And apparently acting on Genosha's behalf... well that certainly didn't smell right. He recognized all of them from one confrontation or another... These weren't Magneto's boys. They had always, time and again, worked for someone else.]

Get the civilians to safety! The Guardsmen will help, just do it!

[totallystoned]

Well, that was a moment interrupted. Reki didn't much like working with the National Guard, but she wasn't about to let people get flattened in the crossfire.

Wherever the civilians were trying to get away, there she would be, a sketch of a wall coming to life and sheltering them.

[endurancepoint]

[Alex felt his mouth go bone dry at the sound of gunfire. Not again. How long did they have before the whole neighborhood was consumed with violence? Minutes probably. As the civilians began to panic, Alex grabbed people by the arm and pointed them toward buildings, herding them as best he could.]

Get inside, now!

[long_live_the_queen]

[The truck stopped dead in midair two meters above the ground, grabbed and held there as if by giant, invisible hands.

Or many smaller ones, too numerous to count.

A single harsh voice cut through the smoke and dust, answering the shout.]

Sit the fuck back down.

[knowledgeandshadow]

Patchouli muttered a complaint to anyone that might overhear. For one thing, anything else getting thrown at the Guardsmen will meet a violet wall of psionic energy, and covering fire in the form of psi-bolts.

"I don't believe any of you were invited," Patchy said, letting these attackers know they're most certainly not welcome.

now in the right place

[jolie_aile]

[Whatever hopes Flandre had for an uneventful (if tense) day dropped out of her chest the moment she heard the voices.

And if the Guard were shooting, this wasn’t another MLF riot attempt.

She didn’t need to glance at Marisa to double check to see if she heard it too; the crowds around them were already reacting, recoiling out of neat lines. It didn’t stop the taller mutant from doing so anyway before she left her position, trying to put as much space between innocent people and herself before she needed to use her powers.

They were not conducive to reducing collateral damage.]

[knighterrantofthedragon]

Those sounds were far too distinctive to mistake for merely another tense moment among many. As soon as it began, it was clearly something different, and almost certainly something worse. Alric's attention turned that way from the beginning, and by the time the sounds of retreat were audible, it was clear trouble would be headed in their direction. The first priority was to get as many civilians as possible out of harms way

"...everyone, take shelter! It's not going to be safe here for long!"

What little time there was to spare, he spent ushering people away from the sounds of combat, making himself as stern but reassuring a presence as he could in the naturally chaotic situation.

But at the sound of that battlecry, he pulled himself away from the throngs, finding a clear space, and with a violet flare of plasma, launched himself from the street, seeking a rooftop from which to gain a better view of the situation. They were prepared for rabble-rousers and troublemakers, but this was obviously going to be something else entirely from what they'd anticipated...