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

[shiningscales]

He answers that with a swift nod as he moves.

"Then we'll work together." He isn't surprised that they chose the same course of action. It's only natural that they would, really—and only natural that they should cooperate, with that being the case. They both have their own talents; working as a team gives them both something to fall back on.

Besides, even putting that aside, he feels like he should stick with her. The situation must be stressful for her, even if he doesn't draw attention to her rapidly cycling expression. He doesn't have her empathy, but he still sounds absolutely certain when he says, "I know the fighting will be taken care of."

[blooming_resonance]

She squeezes her eyes shut as he speaks, shaking her head a bit to clear all the noise from it, and try to re-center herself. A deep breath later, and she nods, once more. Her golden brown eyes look far clearer after she does, and her face seems a little more willing to stay still for now. It's taxing, but she's fighting it, and they're far enough away from the majority of the chaos so far that it hasn't become a complete problem yet. It's always harder when she gets caught asleep, though.

"Whoever is invading is very foolish to do as such. There are... many... people with powerful abilities that... can be very deadly in a fight," hers not being one of them, of course, but she's been over enough student and faculty files to know a good many of the mutations are surprisingly powerful or useful for battle, and many others have backgrounds in the military or troubled childhoods where they picked up the skills for combat.

However, there were many still that did not have it, and those were people Sakuya was most concerned about. Those that ran into danger may not have known what they were getting into, but they would probably be beyond reach anyway.

"We need to gather as many of the children... particularly the very young or those... obviously trying to run or hide, and take them to one of the safe exits or rooms. So... to the girls' dorms or... the boys'?"

[shiningscales]

It's not a question they can afford to take their time mulling over. Maybe it doesn't really make a difference one way or the other. In either case, they'll be seeing to some students first and others later. So, when he opens his mouth to reply, his answer is a half-blurted and largely thoughtless, "The girls'."

...There is almost certainly some Casual Well-Intentioned Sexism behind that kneejerk response, but now isn't really the time to examine that, either.

[blooming_resonance]

If Sakuya cares about it, she honestly doesn't react, nodding, her expression becoming more serious, and it's definitely Sakuya there in it. For once.

"Then..." She turns toward the girls' dorm and starts walking, without much of a delay. No time to waste, indeed. "I'll let you go... First. When we get there."

[shiningscales]

"Of course." Reflexively, he tries to smile again. It's meant to be reassuring, or maybe confident, but he still can't shake the worry in his expression enough for it to look wholly genuine. "Whatever you need of me, just say so."

[blooming_resonance]

"I have very little ability to fight. So if there are any of them in there, I think you... would do better," she motions toward the doors as they approach, signifying the girls' dorms, and walks off-center toward it, just in case something unpleasant comes bursting through. "I can make them forget they're here, and I'd rather settle things peacefully... but it... does very little if they shoot first, and then ask questions."

[shiningscales]

He meets that with a serious nod. When it comes to a fight, he's not much good at going on the offensive, but defending someone or something... Well, then he doesn't have much choice but to do well. "Of course. If it comes to that, you can count on me."

As she steps off to the side, he moves forward, opening the doors ahead of her. He doesn't hesitate, but he does do so cautiously, peering ahead as he pushes door aside.

[blooming_resonance]

"I hope... that it doesn't come to that," she nods, her voice going quieter, and then falls into step behind him as they make their way inside, checking in all directions to assess if there are any threats coming. There are definitely students out and about, but the halls are eerily empty; likely, anyone who was going to leave already did as such. Anyone who is left would probably be in their rooms with the door closed.

"I'll take the right... side of the hall." She motions toward the rows of doors. One on one side, one on the other to get the children out.