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. ]]

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[soccerwhisperer]

Right on the count of three, Tenma opened his eyes, powers activated, as he poured all of his focus on the gun. He focused on pulling the handle away as quickly and forcefully as he could with his telekinesis so the U-Man wouldn't have time to react. All the while, he focused a small hold on the barrel. If he could not successfully pull the gun away, he was going to make sure it wasn't going to point at anyone.

[thethirdspecies]

"What the-- damn it!"

Unprepared for the sudden force pulling the gun away from him, the U-man let it slip from his hands. It fell for a moment, before he reacted to weaken the gravity around it, then drifted gently to the floor and skidded towards the boys, nearly gliding.

A moment later, the force pulling down on them became stronger. "You little assholes! What do you think you're doing?"

[presto_turn]

"You did it!"

Shindou only had a moment to exult as the gun slipped loose from their attacker's grip. Then, the weapon was sliding across the foyer floor towards them, leaving him to lunge against the increased weight of his limbs to grasp onto it. One hand slapped down onto its stock; the other grasped the handle near the trigger, jerking it up to wield it in both arms.

Before he could actually aim it anywhere, however, the added force of the re-doubled gravity collapsed down upon them. Shindou grimaced, muscles struggling to keep himself upright. If he hadn't been off his feet already, he was certain he would be by now. Yet, world bearing down on them or not, they had to take advantage of the edge they'd gotten...

So, focusing on that mental link he'd set up with Tenma, he let loose the bolt of energy that he'd been holding back on. Tenma would be able to feel it rippling through him like a wave, re-doubling muscles' strength and muting any hint of strain and fatigue. Meanwhile, on his own end, it was just enough for Shindou to struggle against the pressure shackling him, lifting the submachine gun to point in the U-Man's direction. One finger hovered (albeit extra carefully) over the trigger, as he fought to keep it in position.

"Let us go!" Speaking at all like this nearly hurt, but somehow Shindou wrenched out a barking yell. "Right now! Let all of us go, and get out of here, or I'll -- I'll use this...!"

[soccerwhisperer]

The strengthened gravity caused Tenma to momentarily bend over. His hands shot out in front of him to keep his face from smashing against the floor until Shindou unleashed a burst of energy onto him. He struggled to get back onto his feet, even with Shindou's boost, but he urged all of the muscles in his body to resist the pressure. He stood defiantly, staring at the U-Man.

He didn't believe Shindou had it in him to use that gun. Sure, Tenma knew Shindou would deck a guy in the face if he was angry enough, but to use a potentially lethal weapon? No, he was too gentle for that. Still, they were in a desperate situation. He needed to come up of a way to keep his senpai from doing something he knew he'd regret.

So he tried to implant an illusion in the mind of the U-Man. Vibrantly banded snakes slithered from his blind spots, creeping into the U-Man's line of sight and circling between his legs. It was a mere distraction, but if Tenma could get his concentration to drop enough to release the gravity hold... He wasn't sure, but he couldn't afford to wait any longer.

[thethirdspecies]

"You wouldn't," the U-man laughed, stepping forward towards the pair of them, the pull of gravity becoming more oppressive still. "You don't have the guts, you little br--"

Then Tenma's illusion registered in his mind, and he shuddered, visible even through his suit. The gravity hold on them didn't weaken, but as it became apparent that the "snakes" weren't affected by his power, the man started retreating, hardly seeming to pay attention at all to the two boys.

"It's not working. Why isn't it working?!"

[presto_turn]

"I'm telling you, I'll - "

The scene that followed would have been incomprehensible had Shindou not been keyed into what Tenma was able to see. Snakes slithering out of nowhere, wrapping around the U-Man and threatening to find their way inside his cover...while, through his own eyes, there was only a disarmed, masked figure flailing around, then turning tail to run.

Shindou let loose a heavy sigh of relief, as he found that he could wrench himself back to his feet, then. Shifting the weapon he'd taken hold of into his off-hand and pointing it towards the ground, he held his other hand out towards Tenma.

"You did it." Relief had his voice shuddering, threatening to cloud up from the way his throat tightened. "Thank goodness."

[soccerwhisperer]

Clasping Shindou's hand, Tenma pulled the older boy into a brief hug.

"What were you thinking?" he choked in Japanese. That had been too close for comfort. Not just the U-Man bearing down on them with his stolen gravity powers, but Shindou's finger near the trigger. "I couldn't let him call your bluff!"

He released Shindou from the hug but kept his hands on his shoulders. He was breathing more evenly now, calmed from feelings of relief around him. "Let's... find someone now."

[presto_turn]

"I was hoping that would be enough to stop him."

The threat, that was, not the need to fire if pressed. Shindou didn't want to think further than necessary about the latter, right now. Could he have brought himself to fire? And what did that say about him, either way?

"He could have hurt you. Or one of the others," he breathed, clasping Tenma close for just a second longer. "I thought..."

That, if nothing else, he ought to have been able to protect his friend.

"Never mind. You're right, let's get everyone moving."

He hefted the submachine gun in both arms now, moving out towards the foyer's exit.

[thethirdspecies]

Still caught up in his panic, the U-man wasn't paying attention to them anymore. Why did it have to be snakes? The gravity around them fluctuated, but they'd be able to escape.