The Ashes of the Phoenix [OPEN]

[thethirdspecies]

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. ]]

Comments

if this gets too confusing please tell me, i'll edit it so that it's clearer

[thirdarrow]

{ Is that so? I did not notice - } His voice starts out steady, but suddenly breaks in the middle of his sentence. He stumbles mid-stride, but quickly catches himself - his next words do come in modern Japanese, but they are hurried and faint. "I'm sorry. I... I cannot think clearly except -"

And then there is another break, as his past self regains control and takes over. { My apologies. This is something I will attend to later - but for now, I ask that you not find too much displeasure from it. } It's a little strange to have two people fight over the same body who are in fact the same person - the original self, and his reincarnation. A very complicated issue, but the two manage to back each other up.

After a few minutes Takakage suddenly stops, raising a hand to indicate that Kariya should do the same. { There is someone I do not recognize around the corner. Do we strike, or wait? }

He could sense their water signature, but he doesn't have the focus to figure out exactly who it is. It might be one of them, but on the off chance that it wasn't...

it's fine!

[vermis]

"It's fine. Please don't worry about it. It doesn't bother me at all." He'd just wanted to ground him if possible, to make him aware of what was happening. Something is clearly wrong, but he's functioning well enough, through whatever means he has adopted to cope with the situation. This isn't the time to ask about it. Kariya is afraid himself, but is pulling together by focusing on his concern for the children. Everyone has their ways of dealing with trauma, he knows.

He stops as soon as Takakage raises his hand, gazing anxiously ahead. "We should wait," whispers Kariya, made cautious by the very idea that it could be one of the students. "Until we know who it is."

[thirdarrow]

Takakage nods in affirmation, his water whip knotting itself in a manner similar to a spring. The two men remained silent for a good while, hearing footsteps shuffle from around the corner, and the sound of metal cracking.

And then the individual in question actually rounds the corner - it's a teen not much older than how Takakage appeared to, but by the two blades in his hands he evidently appears to be hostile. The three of them suddenly come face to face with each other - there is a few seconds of silent surprise before the youth recovers, assuming a defensive stance.

[vermis]

While the youth is assessing the situation, Kariya, with a typical lack of forethought, acts on impulse. "Wait!" he says quickly, stepping in front of Takakage. It might be one of the U-Men, but it's not an adult. He's just a boy. "We don't want to hurt you or fight you. We're only trying to leave."

He knows that the U-Men have to be fought, but his goal is to get others to safety, not hurt anyone. He has no weapon, and his power is all but useless here, since the worms outside can't easily come inside, and he's not sensing any significant parasites.

[thirdarrow]

"You're not supposed to leave!" The youth regains his composure by this time. While his expression can be likened to a snarl, his voice is trembling for some reason - as if this isn't something he quite wants to do. "You're supposed to... stay here. My superiors will come for you."

With that, he launches himself forward, and his sword would have gone straight through Kariya's chest if not for the sudden burst of pressurized water that knocked the youth backwards. One sword falls out of his hands, but the second is then held in an even firmer grip. The boy regains his balance, eyeing the two men as if unsure of which to strike.

{ You should leave this place, before it becomes too hostile to you and your comrades. } Takakage's words are directed at the youth, though what draws more attention is his tone of eerie calm.

[vermis]

Kariya steps back, eyes widening, as he's almost stabbed. Well, that's still no reason to harm a child! It's not his fault. He's being made to do this, convinced by people who should know better. Kariya's sure of it. When he thinks of how the same thing could easily have happened to him... It's hard to be truly angry at the boy, when he thinks of it that way.

Not that he isn't grateful for Takakage's intervention.

"That's right," he agrees. "It's dangerous for you here. We don't want any harm to come to you." He's nervous, but he tries to steel himself, keeping his voice as firm as he can. "There's no reason for us to be fighting. This is a school. There are children here."