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

I figured autocorrect was to blame

[vermis]

"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't think you meant that entirely literally." Wishful thinking, he supposes. Based on his manner of speech, Luvander seems like someone who might, well, not embellish deceitfully, but make things sound more grand with figures of speech. Kariya's been living in America for years now, but it will never be his first language, and colorful speaking tends to throw him off. At the truth, he looks deeply sad. He knows about children fighting, and his father did attempt to bully him into that kind of behavior, but, well, nothing had worked out for either him or his father, but especially not for Kariya. Children in combat, that's just horrible.

"It's not a problem at all," he says earnestly. "I'm always happy to help." He smiles again, because he is always glad to be of some use, in ways big or small. He walks a little faster, taking the lead.

"We should get to know each other better, when this is over." Because it will be over, and everyone will be fine! He's just going to keep telling himself that. "I'm one of the counselors here."

[theveilisin]

It's very true that hyperbole is practically a second language to Luvander - indeed like English is as well. But all the Dragons had been given some basic education in a handful of languages, and while they were not exactly encouraged to pursue this further - more like the opposite - Luvander had found continued studies worthwhile. Even though 'continued studies' is a somewhat grand way of describing pursuing just about any popular media which the censors would let through, such books and movies as they were allowed functioning as their own private windows toward the rest of the world.

He'd found he had an ear for it too. As anyone who knew him found out, he certainly knew how to talk.

Now he smiles a little bit slyly at Kariya, raising one eyebrow pointedly. "That segue right there could use a little bit of work, in my opinion. The implication that I obviously need counseling was just a tad too obvious, and I know for a fact that certain kinds of people - teenagers notably - can take violent offense at such things." But the gentle mockery aside, Luvander doesn't look very offended. He shrugs his angular shoulders instead, an amused little hum following shortly. "Though you're right, of course. I have been informed that it would be good for me to see the school counselors, and I'm not so addled that I can't see why. So really, I'm most grateful for the offer. I'm really just being twee."

[vermis]

Kariya grew up speaking Japanese and Russian in the home, and while he speaks English rather well now, sarcasm, hyperbole, and jokes are often lost on him—they are even lost on him in Japanese and Russian, a great deal of the time. Being straightforward and unadorned in speech, he doesn't always clue in on such things himself.

Luvander is clearly a great talker. That's something Kariya doesn't consider one of his skills, although he can appreciate it. He's more of a listener.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. I think all of us could use someone to talk to, especially at a time like this. I really would like to get to know you better. It doesn't have to be in an official capacity." He says this in all sincerity. "Most people don't mind... There's not as much of a stigma about seeing a counselor as there used to be." That, and Kariya's almost simple sincerity seems to prevent any kinder people from being hard on him.

[theveilisin]

The sincerity of it all actually does take Luvander aback, and it shows on his face, which most of the time is far too occupied with nebulous dramatics to actually display any genuine reactions. Luvander might be fairly insightful for a boy his age, but natural cynicism - and optimism, a curious mix - often makes him miss rather wildly in his assessment of people's characters.

Already having been caught out in honest surprise, covering it up seems pointless, so he merely laughs and shakes his head. "Then I apologize most sincerely. It really is very awkward of me to make such assumptions of someone I just met." Then again, perhaps the assumption reflect back more on himself than he'd like to admit, and exactly how much he thinks he might need a counselor. "And I don't know much about how these things are done in America. At home, it's my professional opinion - that is, as a professional holder of opinions - that sanity was a rare commodity, and they often tried to counsel those who showed signs of such a gift until they got over it - rather permanently, in some cases." Mental health care in Volstov hadn't been a concern of his, but he suspects it wasn't pretty.

But there comes a point where even Luvander must realize that he's rambling, and so he pauses and smiles disarmingly. "The point I'm trying to make, I think, is that it would be my pleasure to get to know you too, regardless of the counseling involved."

[vermis]

"It's all right." Kariya smiles again as they continue to move. He's used to people assuming things about him, so it doesn't bother him a great deal. Most people's assumptions today are far milder than the ones he had to grow up with. He won't say he's glad he had that kind of childhood, but it did accustom him to many of life's hardships.

"I've lived in the States for a few years now. The system here has its problems, but there are good things about it, too. And a lot of people who try to make a difference. It's much better than it is in some other places, I know." There's a lot more he could say about the issue, but it isn't the time. Comparatively, he doesn't know much about the mental health system in his homeland, because he was kept far away from it by his family, in spite of having mental health problems.

"It would be my pleasure, too. It's nice to have someone to talk to."

As he talks, he remains alert. He leads them outside. The earth is churning around them, slowly. The worms he's called here aren't very fast, but there are so many of them that they're hard to miss, literally millions of them having responded to him. He knows they can't do much in a battle, realistically, but they might be able to serve as a distraction or unbalance people. Outside, he's more aware of the surroundings, as his communication with the worms allows him to sense where animals, including humans, are walking. He has a much better sense of the lay of the land out here.