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

OPEN

[niepokonany]

The really alarming thing about the psychic message is how short it is. Feliks lies awake for a few moments, watching Fai blink his eyes open in the same confusion, half-hoping for some kind of follow-up, like I'm sorry, Daydreamer, I meant to contact someone else, like the old man midnight-texted him right into his brain.

Instead, he can hear people bursting out of their rooms and making a fuss, and somehow, all he can think for a second is God, again? There'd better not be robots this time.

By the time he stands up, he's turned his nightgown (long and off the shoulder, a fancy thing Fai got for him in London) into his X-uniform -- though he's still barefoot, with nothing to turn into boots. He grabs a bag that he keeps near the bed full of his essentials (hair spray that he can turn into mace, bobby pins that can double as lock picks, and so on), grabs his phone, and hurries out of the door, into the staff housing hall, and down into the common areas, looking for trouble.

"God, what's the deal with people always coming in the middle of the night? It's like there's some kind of bylaw in the Assholes Union about not letting us get any sleep! It's totally their fault if I break out to the max tomorrow."

[ladyliberty]

"God, I know, right? Why can't any of these dickwads attack us in the middle of the day like normal people?" Amelia is right behind him down the hall, a baseball bat in one hand and a pillow in the other. She hasn't bothered to take the time to get dressed.

"So what is it this time? Anyone know? The old man didn't say much."

[niepokonany]

Feliks looks somewhere between bored and annoyed about this, in all honesty. He glances up at her, and shakes his head before continuing on towards where students are likely to be.

"No clue. Fai's got no clue, either. We've already done the Brotherhood, government robots, and hired kidnappers, so like, I don't know. Maybe ninjas this time?"

[ladyliberty]

Bet you a whole pizza it's those 'U-Man' guys. Seriously uncreative.

[niepokonany]

"Gross, coming to creep on our powers? They seriously don't know who they're dealing with, if that's it."

He pauses, smirks a little. "Like, what size and what toppings?"

[ladyliberty]

"Extra large, meat lovers."

Let's toss in some minor NPCs for fightin'?

[niepokonany]

"Oh my god, I was maybe gonna just in case you were actually wrong, but do I look like I'm made of money?"

Actually, he's not badly off, considering he lives at school or with his family, can make new clothes on a whim, and still has a lot of money left over from that time they sued Toph's dad for kidnapping them. But really, Amelia, extra large?

Just then, there's a noise from around the corner. Feliks purses his lips a little, glancing to Amelia in a silent did you hear that?

aww ye

[ladyliberty]

Amelia is about to let out a retort about being a growing girl, but she stops when she hears the noises. Returning Feliks' look, she flicks her eyes toward the corner, suggesting they should approach. She's already barefoot, but just in case, she lightens them both, so their footsteps won't alert the intruders to their presence.

[niepokonany]

Give him a second, here, Amelia. He's just going to turn his phone into a tazer real quick... there we go.

Also barefooted, he sneaks up towards the corner, figuring she'll be right with him.

[ladyliberty]

She's right behind him, bat at the ready. Time to see what they're dealing with.

i'm sorry

[wholovesyou]

"I don't know about you, sugar, but it doesn't bother me when they come." The school was under attack and Moxxi was still being as suggestive as ever. Far as Moxxi was concerned, it had been far too long since she last enjoyed a bit of a casual violence.

"Besides, it'll be a good experience for you all." It was definitely a story to take to back home.

Never be

[niepokonany]

"I don't think you actually get how many 'good experiences' like this I've had? I mean, it's no skin off my back!"

He gives her a little grin, bright and confident, tossing a cell phone up in the air and catching it in his hand again. "It's just kinda a hassle! Like, do you know how comfy I was right before this went down?"

Considering he's coming from a staff member's room and is technically still a student (if only barely)...

[wholovesyou]

She can understand where Feliks was coming from, actually. None of you really seem to realize just how much time it takes for Moxxi to really prepare herself. Looking as good as she does doesn't necessarily come easy, you know? Far be it from her to not look her absolute sexiest even when kicking someone's ass or turning her powers on them.

"Doesn't really matter right now, sugar. Knowing some of you, you all probably need the workout."

[niepokonany]

As focused as he is on finding and kicking the butts of whoever's a threat to the students, Feliks appreciates any excuse for a little levity. He grins over at Moxxi, with a toss of his hair.

"Are you, like, saying something? 'Cause I'll have you know my butt is totes perfect the way it is."

[wholovesyou]

"Honey, I don't doubt that for a moment." Leave to Moxxi to have checked beforehand. "But what I'm actually saying that we should kick these bastards to the curb, before they trash the place even more."

[niepokonany]

"Dude, I know, I was kidding."

He tilts his head a little, digging through his handbag for -- oh, nice! An empty bottle! Drunk-him must have been intending to recycle it, probably as something other than a makeshift weapon, but God works in mysterious ways.

"I mean, it is, but I was."

[kamiizumi]

Taking the hallway from his room to the common area is for normal people.

Leo, instead, started by heading out his bedroom window, going on a quick lap around the building, and is now leaping through the window of the common room, landing in a neat tuck-and-roll before springing right back to his feet and pulling the window shut (not that it'll do much but get broken and hopefully stick in some invading jerk's face, but hey).

"There's got to be at least a few dozen that I saw, and I'd be surprised if I saw all of them."

Feliks, he is totally going to want an explanation later of how an invading army in the middle of the night makes you break out.

[niepokonany]

Well, Leonardo, for those of us who are mammals, proper sleep is an important element of a good skincare regimen! It's really very simple.

Since he didn't bother to ask about that, though, Feliks just sighs,and the shape of his phone shifts slightly in his hand.

"You've gotta be joking. I totally have stuff to do tomorrow morning! What's their damage this time? Did you get a good look at them?"

[kamiizumi]

"Some of them looked kind of...uh...mechanical. But not all of them." Leo shakes his head. "Too dark to get much detail out there, honestly."

He's used to picking out details in the dark, but most of that is bigger stuff - location, presence, motion. Who's there and where they're standing or going, not what sports team is on their t-shirt.

[niepokonany]

"Like, Sentinel-mechanical, or like, Robocop-mechanical?"

Oddly, Feliks seems calmed by this prospect. His power doesn't work on sentient beings. He's not as limited, if there's some kind of equipment around.

[kamiizumi]

"Weird suit mechanical, I guess? They're man-sized, either way."

Robots or people only makes a difference to Leo in so much as how hard he hits and whether he aims to disable or destroy...but not having to hold back would certainly make this battle a lot easier.

Not that Leo's ever been worried about taking the easy way through anything.

[niepokonany]

"Guess I'm gonna have to find out. Like, the machinier the better, though!"

He flicks his hair, and gives the younger boy a grin. "So, are we just gonna stand here waiting around for them?"

[kamiizumi]

Feliks is not exactly the picture of What Inspires Confidence In Leo, most of the time. But there's something strangely reassuring about how blase he is about all of this now, and it's enough to get a tight smile from Leo in return.

"Of course not."

[niepokonany]

Feliks transforms his uniform (actually a nightgown) into -- is that a miniskirt and a bulletproof vest?

And is he actually pulling it off pretty well as a look?

"Then come on! Let's totally take the fight to those jerks!"

[kamiizumi]

That's...uh.

That's a look.

Leo isn't much for fashion, but he settles for very smoothly drawing his swords with just enough of a florish to suggest that he knows where to draw the line at stylish without being ridiculous.