xavier_institute_logs | The Ashes of the Phoenix [OPEN]

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The Ashes of the Phoenix [OPEN]

WHO: John Sublime, "No Girl", the U-Men, and their unfortunate target... The Insitute
WHAT: Sublime's U-Men attack the school. They're aiming for the sublevels. Stop them at all costs!
WHERE: Throughout campus
WHEN: Past midnight, Wednesday-Thursday
WARNING(S): Gonna get violent.

The time was now. The media attention over his followers actions was too much. And after all, Xavier's little henchmen in London had figured it out. He was sure of it. There was no more time to bide. No more room for hesitation. It was act now, or the revolution would end in a prison cell, festering away in the disgusting care of this unclean world. Sublime couldn't stomach it. Couldn't fathom it. And whatever god help those who stood in the way of him and his dream of Homo Perfectus.

"All units are in place," Sublime whispered, peering out over the immaculate green, covered in moonlight, staring a drilling, piercing hole into the mansion. "Martha... it's your turn now," another whisper, as the floating apparatus before him, holding a strange glowing orb, began to shine even more brightly.

Just like that, the security systems failed. And just like that, Charles Xavier gasped and sent out a short, psychic burst to all X-Men, perhaps to everyone in the school, before he was overwhelmed and silenced, collapsing from his bed to the floor, stunned into sleep by a psychic force even he was not prepared for.

"This is it, Martha... our dream... U-Men! Bring me the Ashes of the Phoenix!" And like that, dozens of the men from the blurred video that Glamour and Spy had managed to obtain swarmed the ground, organic and mechanical, using a plethora of stolen mutant powers, attacked.

[[ This is it! Our first major action post, and in X-Men tradition, it's a direct attack on campus. Feel free to start your own threads. The U-Men will be NPC'd by the mods. Their ultimate goal is the filed away genetic samples of Jean Grey in the sublevels. They must be stopped, before someone uses them to integrate Jean's powers into a U-Man. ]]

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"I can get out, but I don't need one. Not until that one jams up."

And either way, that one and the shotgun were fished off of corpses. He's sure there's a plethora of new weapons he could get from this crowd.

Although, for all the safety Booker provides, he's used to working with a pit crew. Without having Elizabeth there to feed him supplies he's sadly under-equipped, and ends up with not nearly enough ammo for either gun. Or alcohol to keep his shield up. He glances back at Adachi after a few minutes. "That U-Man that disappeared - you did that, right? How many more can you get like that?"

"Might want to get more before it jams up. It's a good time to stock up, right?" asks Adachi. He's fully intending to get as many of the weapons as he can, even if they will most likely be confiscated from him later. For the moment, anyway, life is good.

"Sure, that was me." Adachi's in a good enough mood to comply. That, and he is supposed to be helping in general. Right. Helping. He kind of depends on this place for food and shelter. So he should do his part. "Let's see... ten more now, maybe, along with the rest." They're being dumb and single-minded, but it's a conservative estimate, as long as he keeps them in dead air. When his powers were augmented, he could have gotten rid of a group like this all at once. Shame he went back to his usual level. He's getting a bit overexcited. He was the top of his class in marksmanship, but he's never actually shot anyone before. He laughs. It was easier than he'd thought it would be.

"I can go in and take them out, too." That will take a little more effort, though, and put him in more risk of getting shot, which doesn't sound great.

"Good a time as any." Lucky for Adachi that Booker will happily store weapons for him if they're only going to use them in times like this. Also that... stealing from Booker is not hard.

"They're in some kind of... pocket thing, right?" He has a little experience with this sort of power, at least that people don't just disappear, "Just get the ones that get too close to the building. I can take care of the rest... if you take too many, then worry about killing 'em off."

The nice part of working with Adachi is that he is an adult who has killed before. Booker trusts him more than Elizabeth to use his powers offensively without help. Of course, he's also starting to get worried about how much fun Adachi's having.

Wow. Guns. This is seriously the best. He just wasn't expecting this to be so amazing! He never got to do anything this fun as a cop. He's already plotting how to get and keep his guns.

"Right, it's like, a mini-dimension." No, it isn't. But that's Adachi's official explanation, and so it will stand. It's really just too much trouble to explain. It bores him.

"Oh, I'm not worried about killing them." Just about getting hurt himself. "But sure, no problem!" He laughs again. "I've got your back." He says it more because it's a cop movie kind of line than because he feels that having Booker's back is an important responsibility.

Mini-dimensions. Sure, he's used to pairing up with that sort of power. Of course, his actual experience is much closer to a stronger version of Adachi's, but the experience he's aware of is pretty different. Elizabeth didn't send things to mini-dimensions, she brought those dimensions to herself.

"Don't suppose you can bring anything from there to here." Not that it matters, they'll manage one way or another. At the very least, they haven't died yet.

And Booker, unaware that Adachi is saying that just to say it, has a boost of pride and works that much harder to make sure he stays safe even when he starts having to intermittently rest his shield.

"Not really! I just make em. I can expand them, but that's not the same thing." And he can't expand them that far. Sure, he could encompass a much larger area than the mini pockets he's making now, but that's a lot of work and not entirely necessary.

At least, even though Adachi has trouble expressing a genuine sentiment of camaraderie, he does fully intend to protect the guy who's got the guns and is protecting him. He knows which side his bread is buttered on. Offering Adachi guns or good food are the most surefire ways of increasing the likelihood of him behaving himself.

He traps another attacking U-Man in a pocket of dead air, again making him seem to disappear. He's starting to get a headache, though. They don't always come on when he ups his power usage, but sometimes. He puts a hand to his head, still laughing. "Hey, we make a good team!"

"I guess we do." Adachi is a good mix of the people Booker has fought back-to-back with before, so he finds it easy to step into the rhythm. They really should do this more often.

He glances back in time to see the U-Man disappear - but now that he knows what it is, he can process it without a headache. But he sees Adachi holding his head, and pauses to boost his shield's energy with a sip of whiskey. "You alright?"

He'd offer a drink, but unfortunately no one else has the advantage of running on booze. It's a damn shame.

"It's no big deal, just a pain." He's used to them. They hurt, but he can deal, and it takes a bit for the full migraine to kick in. After another moment, he raises his head, lowering his hand to focus on the scene before them.

Trying a new tactic, Adachi suddenly straightens and undoes one of his pockets. The U-Man who was within it is completely disoriented and stands there, helpless, having dropped his weapon. So Adachi shoots him in the head, delighted by the spray of blood and brains. Oh god, this is really too much. "Shit—" Killing people directly is a lot different! He'd always hesitated, but now he has a reason and an excuse. Nonetheless, he takes a step back, taking a deep breath, as a brief wave of nausea washes over him. Is it the headache or the murders? No one will ever know for sure. "I guess this is old news for you, but it's not my usual M.O, you know?"

Booker is a bit surprised by this... but he supposes you never really know a man until you give him a gun. It's a... more helpful reaction than how Elizabeth had dealt with her first murder, running off and refusing to speak to him for half an hour.

"You get used to it." he mumbles. At the very least, he'll live with it. But Booker gets the sense Adachi isn't going to hate living with it as much as he does. "Just don't lose your head - I'm not gonna last long if you go crazy."

Which is a lie.... he hopes.

"Don't worry, I already went crazy!" says Adachi, as if this is supposed to be comforting. "So there's probably nowhere else to go from here." He'd more or less lost his mind when his powers had been amplified. It might have been a bit too much for him, having that much power over that many people—and then having it all suddenly taken away. But he's better now. "I go through all that counseling bullshit." So he's fine! Clearly!

"I killed people before, just not with a gun." He's not concerned that he's going to feel bad, when this is all over and done. He probably won't. "I already said I got your back. I'm not going to choke now."

Edited 2014-10-18 00:24 (UTC)

...Well, it is a bit comforting, in a backwards sort of way. He supposes if Adachi's already crazy he's already as unpredictable as he can get. And every moment he reminds him a little more of Slade.

"Counseling's better than just being crazy, I guess." He sighs and nods, "But it's real different using a gun than just letting people die. Don't let all that power go to your head."

He gets the sense Adachi is the sort of man to worry about going power-crazy.

It's true. He did torment people, but even though he wanted them to die, what he really wanted was to—well, wipe out the shitty, miserable world, he guesses. Make it better. Make things easier on people. That's not a bad goal. It's also not a goal he can accomplish here. Shooting guys in the head is fun, but it's just some temporary amusement.

"Don't worry, I'm just killing them. I don't think it makes me a big man or anything." Because he's well aware that he's still no match for these weird mutants, and he's currently depending on Jack to protect him, now that he stepped into the spotlight, or the proximity of a guy who's shooting a lot of bullets, which tends to draw attention.

"Yeah, I'm a model patient! Lots of progress. I joined the general population and everything. Follow all the rules." Mostly, anyway.

Speaking of that fact that he's shooting a lot of bullets, Booker is starting to run out. His shotgun already loads very slowly, but it'll go a lot more slowly now that he's down to two shots. He huffs and interrupts their pleasant conversation as he slips the gun back into its holster.

"I'm gonna need to get us some new guns. Take these-" he hands over one last round of pistol bullets, "-and clear out your mini-dimensions while the shield's down. And try not to get shot." And he not-so-patiently waits for Adachi to load his gun before the shield slips off.

"Sure, got it!" Wow, how many people is he going to kill here tonight? He's just raised his body count by a lot. That's good, right? Despite Adachi's careless words, he's pale and drained, his glowing eyes agitated above his smile. So maybe he's not the most stable man on earth, but he doesn't seem to be cracking up.

"Guns come first." He does value them more highly than people, for the most part. Adachi practices endlessly on his model guns, and within his illusions, where he can have any weapon he wants. There are few people who can reload faster than he can.

"Not getting shot is high on my to-do list," says Adachi.

Booker makes a note to check Adachi's mental and physical health more thoroughly when they're out of danger, but what matters right now is the "out of danger" part.

As soon as Adachi has loaded his gun, Booker's shield drops and he ducks to the ground to rifle through pockets and scour the ground for the best weapons. He comes up with two nice-looking modern pistols, and a fair amount of pilfered ammo. As soon as Adachi returns to his side he pulls the shield over them again, and holds up one of the pistols, "Trade for the Mauser."

This isn't going to be fun for Booker. He likes his old guns. But what matters is getting the job done, whether he likes it or not.

Booker has earned the coveted designation of "all right guy" in Adachi's book. Well, maybe it's not so coveted, but it's hard to get, and Booker is the first person to have gained that distinction at the school.

As the source of guns, he must clearly be paid some respect, so Adachi does exactly as promised. It's simple. He doesn't even have to unmake the pockets first. He steps in, and they assholes can't even see him inside the little worlds in which he reigns, since he controls what they can perceive. So, he shoots them. Then he unmakes the dead air, and there's only a corpse left behind.

While he's not inside the dead air, he keeps an eye out for Booker, but the guy can clearly take care of himself, and Adachi doesn't have to do much else before he rejoins him. He grins when he takes the new gun. "It's a deal!" Not that he doesn't like old guns, but he'd rather have a newer one. "We should do this more often!"

"I'd really rather not." He replies as he stows the Mauser away in its holster and loads his new pistol. 21st century pistols are something to get used to, but he supposes it doesn't matter if it's that or being out of bullets in the middle of battle.

It's not that he wouldn't want to hang out with Adachi more, but... not at the cost of lives. And with the level of excitement and efficiency he's showing for killing, that's surely what he'd enjoy doing most. Though it does sort of give Booker an idea.

"Maybe we can, uh... get Xavier's permission for a hunting trip. Go kill a deer or two, save the school the trouble of getting another attack." Some fresh air wouldn't kill them, either.

"Ah, I didn't mean every day. But something fun..."

When Booker actually suggests doing something together, Adachi blinks. He was just shooting off his mouth and messing around, as usual. He wasn't expecting Booker to take him up on it. He doesn't expect anyone to actually want to spend time with him. He's honestly startled, but he plays it off.

"I guess it would beat hanging around here!" He's mostly pleased by the prospect of shooting guns. The fact that he's actually killing people with them hasn't entirely sunk in yet, since this all seems a lot like one of his elaborate dream world fantasies. His pulse is elevated, his breathing fast, and he's still obviously agitated, in spite of the fact that he continues to speak cheerfully. His therapist will probably have many fun days ahead, dealing with the aftermath of this incident.

He's still following the rules, though! Not that he gets much out of it. "I don't know if the old man'd let me go off campus with guns..."

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The Ashes of the Phoenix [OPEN]

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