X-Men: Darkest Days

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

OOC: I made a Rhino post already if either Flaredrick or Zyke are waiting on me for one of those

 

 

IC: "It should have been at the end of the corridor, we should have reached it by no-" Leech realised what was happening, "Pym Particles. They're expanding the corridor to keep us at one end of it!"

 

 

IC: "A skill worth cultivated to its fullest extent," Alyss said, nodding sagely

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

For someone who had felt himself die three times, Alaric Carlisle still couldn't get used to it, and even if he lived through this he doubted he ever would.

 

He felt oddly detached, standing on the balcony of his old dorm at the Institute, lazily dressed in a blazer with no shirt underneath, skinny jeans and a pair of Dark Side of the Moon EDT Chuck Taylor's; below his watchful aquamarine gaze, students and teachers alike practiced sports, lessons, played cards. There was Ashlynn and Tara, eating lunch together on the bench. There was Matt, throwing a football to Aleks; the Russian thief carved up the defense like a kid's mom helps him carve up a birthday cake into deliberately huge pieces. There was peace, for once. If this was an afterlife, it wasn't that bad; slowly, his shoulders relaxed; the tight fashion he gripped the railing with slowly settled into a light clinging of the knuckles. Then, from behind him, there was Giles' voice. The librarian sounded somehow more real than the rest of the scene before him. Sadder, more tempered and weary at the way the world worked, but still something you'd swear was being said right behind you as opposed to the Institute grounds, which Alaric viewed as though through the screen at a movie theatre.

 

"Mr. Carlisle," Giles sighed sadly, "where do you think we are right now?"

 

And at those words, below the balcony the entire world disappeared, a long-winded black void that swallowed everything he would ever love and packed it together just outside any place where his pitiful reach would dare extend to.

 

He turned to look back inside, but now the dorm was gone too and the balcony was the only thing standing between Ric and oblivion; Giles was behind him, feet teetering dangerously on the edge of the balcony. The librarian's face was sad, with a determined look clinging the lines in his barely-aging face; not for the first time Alaric wondered at how old the man truly was and whether he still had accumulated a variety of talents and powers over the years that he refused to let on. The old hat took a step forward, suspending any concerns that he may fall in the same way that the balcony was suspended above the void below. Alaric leaned back on the railing, relishing in the comfort of not having to stand at attention, and he realized that his face was a little sad, too.

 

"I'm not sure what to do, Giles."

 

"You tell me, Headmaster," he said, with a respect that Ric felt he didn't really deserve but relished in anyway. "But I can tell just by looking at you that you don't want to die. Not yet."

 

"I don't mind dying. I'm just...not done yet."

 

"Then don't go."

 

"I haven't exactly taken the wrong turn at Albuquerque, Giles," he sighed through gritted teeth, oddly impatient with the teasing manner in the librarian's voice. "I'm dead."

 

"If you were dead, I wouldn't be here."

 

"Maybe you're a schizophrenic hallucination."

 

"If I were a schizophrenic hallucination, Ric," Giles reported with a note of dry humor, "I still wouldn't be here."

 

Alaric sighed and looked down over his shoulder at the void, and then back at Giles. But now he didn't just see Giles; over the librarian's own shoulder he could see the beginning outlines of a sharp, young female face. It was slender and sharp, as heartbreakingly familiar to the young headmaster's heart as it was pretty. Giles turned to look at it too and smiled at the way the face observed Ric, tenderly, with a note of fiery passion that burned hotter than any summer sunrise that Alaric had ever been rudely awoken to.

 

"You're right. You're not done here yet, Ric. Now go prove it."

 

The face grew brighter in definition than ever before, bright enough that Alaric could see the fiery red curls of her hair and the brilliant topaz-orange color of her eyes; then it burned out like a match when you put your thumb over it, leaving the world devoid of color and meaning once again. Alaric's eyes filled with tears unbiddenly and he looked at Giles, who smiled like he imagined a father would and moved forward to clasp the hyperkinetic's shoulder. There was something about that touch - it was like the sands of time themselves had sculpted an avatar to comfort him in his final hours, and it had worked. Immediately, the dousing of cold water over his soul started undergoing the process to becoming nothing but a cruel memory of a crueller experience, and the warmth he'd seen when the face had looked at him took hold again. But the cold wasn't done gnawing on him yet.

 

"And what if I can't prove it, Bill?" he asked. Giles smiled at the use of his given name and took a step back, shrugging casually as though he'd been asked whether he wanted sprinkles on an ice cream.

 

"Then, my dear boy, it's as they say. It's your funeral."

 

His entire body kicked forward at once, and the balcony tipped over; Giles looked around easily, dusted his shoulders off as he stood stock still, but Alaric went tumbling forward into the unknown below, arms stretched out and face quickly turning from a mix of surprise to one of determined, wicked challenge. At a thought, his wings expanded from the slits in the back of his blazer; the two brilliant white appendages began to soar of their own accord, and with a snicker, a single dreamed up prayer for the best, Alaric Carlisle flew headfirst into the void.

 

His body kicked forward again, and he sat up, gasping and clutching at his chest. The lights of Las Vegas welcomed him back with warm neon and a sudden battering of the senses; the hard concrete below him massaged his back with all the finesse of the T-1000 straightening out Ric's back with his metal fist. The hyperkinetic looked around, tousled his hair lightly, made sure that everything he touched and heard was real. He'd lived. He was alive.

 

Tara.

 

As soon as he'd registered that this wasn't heaven or heII, as soon as the first conscious thought pricked at the euphoria of his brain regaining all its senses at once, Alaric jumped up and ran towards the tug that Tara was giving his very soul. She hadn't made it far: two blocks, maybe three at most. She was easy enough to trace via the trail of telekinetic bread crumbs she'd left, and he found her crumpled up out cold in an alleyway, orange hair tossed about like a disjointed halo across her face. The hyperkinetic bent down to check her vitals, made sure she was still alive, and then lifted her up, helping carry her under his arm towards the parking garage.

 

"Where do you think you're going?" he replied, teeth still gritted in effort. "I just bought you a Lambo."

 

-Tyler

Edited April 29, 2013 by Dallas Winston

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

"Great. Run even faster time?" Christopher questioned, preparing to increase her running speed.

[Krayzikk]

IC:A few blocks away, an old man smiled.

 

The expression was a stark contrast to his overall demeanor. He was leaning against a wall, face red, lungs frantically pulling air in and expelling it at a rapid rate. Alaric had been even closer to the edge than he knew. Tara had poured energy into him long past what his body could take, far past what any mortal form could bear.

 

Energy cannot be created or destroyed. Giles once met the man that said that, and never was it more accurate than now. All the energy being poured into Alaric had to go somewhere, and it was beyond Giles' ability to redirect such a force back to its sender. So he did the only thing he could; he took the brunt of it himself. Anyone without his skill set would be dead, and dead several times over. Shakily, he forced himself to take a step.

 

You're getting too old for things like this, Giles. Far too old. It might be time to take a long, long vacation... The old librarian began walking towards where he could sense Alaric's mind. He was alive, but he wasn't quite out of the clear.

Oh, what I'd give to be young again...

 

IC:

 

Rebekah stared tensely at the street around her. Brooklyn has gotten them there very quickly, and almost instantly, she had hit the streets, searching block by block for the missing Carlisle. It was two hours into the search, and her anxiety was growing by the mome-There."Alaric James Carlisle!"

Edited April 30, 2013 by The Snark Knight

[Vengent Spectre]

IC: Nathanael.

 

Nathanael walked down a New York City sidewalk looking for a place to eat. He had been in the city for a little over an hour and it'd probably take him another one to find a decent resturant. "Okay, now that I'm in the city, what should I do?" Nathanael asked himself as he walked, slowy wrapping a ray of sunshine around his fingertips for amusement. He stopped, swiped a newspaper from a nearyby stand, and flipped through the pages to see if he could find anything interesting, including places to eat.

 

 

 

 

IC: Taralynn, Unknown. Unknown

 

Tara felt herself standing and opened her eyes, only to find blackness. Not darkness, but blackness, as in nothing. She stood still in confusion, this was different, like, really really different. Normally when she blacked out her mind went blank as well, there was nothing; no dreams, no thoughts she couldn't control, no mysterious astral projection. No anything. Suddenly, she felt something, like a faint tug, coming from some direction but she had no idea where from exactly.

 

Slowly, like a child dipping one toe into the pool to test how cold the water is slow. Tara took one cautious step forward and when nothing happened, no horrifying fall into the black abyss, she more than just took another one. She walked off into the blackness, hoping the direction she was going was the right one.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Alaric was chewing on his lip and looked over at Rebekah, an exhausted smile on his face; most of the energy he'd collected had been expelled in going out to get Taralynn, and now he leaned on his Ferrari for support.

 

"Rebekah..." he said, letting out a low, whistling sigh in pure exhaustion as his arms reached up to hug her lazily, as though made of lead. "Hey."

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:In a dark colored blur, Rebekah went from a point a few yards away to right next to him in the time it took to blink. Her arms wrapped around the now-Headmaster tightly, hugging him with all the strength she could muster. She breathed as deeply as possible, working to get her heart rate back under control. Though she'd never admit it, she'd been pushing her power to the limit in an attempt to locate him."Do not ever do that to me." The former Weapon said, her outraged tone a false vessel for the relief it hid. "Ever. I called off a movie night to come looking for you."

 

Unseen, her eyes watered slightly.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to die on you again."

 

"Wait. Again?"

 

"...It's a long story about a magic ring and a terrible father figure. You mean...you haven't been keeping up with things?"

 

"..."

"Ric, I've been out of the loop for almost a week." The former Weapon bit her lip slightly, as if in an attempt to hold off the next few words. An attempt that failed. "And we haven't exactly talked much since Canada."

Alaric smiled grimly to himself, sitting up on the trunk to disguise the exhaustion he felt in his legs.

"Don't worry about getting ignored anymore," he commented with a spot of dark humor. "Ashlynn's dead. Warren killed her."

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:A pause.

 

Just a beat, no more than a second, but a pause. When it ended she pulled back, slowly letting go, so she could look the hyperkinetic in the eye. For the briefest of seconds, a flicker of hurt appeared in her eyes. A flicker that, almost any other circumstances wouldn't even have made it that far, one that normally would have been crushed and hidden long before it reached the surface. The former Weapon wasn't an expressive individual, her emotions rarely showed. But that spark, a spark that likely went unnoticed, spoke volumes.

 

And then it was gone, replaced by a cloud of confusion and sympathy. "I'm so sorry. I know she meant a lot to you, it must have been devastating. But... Warren? Why?"

 

She opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off by her phone when it quietly rang. Withdrawing it, she answered and said "Brook, I found Alaric. Not far from the hotel we passed. Meet me here, alright?"A single click later, and she was refocused. "Warren? Why would Warren kill Ashlynn? She didn't do anything, she was the daughter of his friend... I mean, it's Warren..."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"She went Phoenix, apparently," he said, still looking down at his feet, not meeting Rebekah's gaze even if he wanted to. "He flew in, took her out, flew out. And...you know what?

 

"The man did what he had to do."

 

-Tyler

Edited April 30, 2013 by Dallas Winston

[Makuta of Time]

OOC: Sorry Adders. Been trying to decide what to do. Correct me if something is wrong.

 

IC:

I saw blasts coming from another mutant, but one struck me. I couldn't tell what that power was, but it did hurt. I got back up and just fired bolts at the beast in front of me, while moving into position with the others. "You know, it would be nice if more people came to help me."

 

I continued to fire on the hulking ########, as I made sure to land some on his back and head.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

Rebekah stared in silence for a long moment, trying to process what she had learned. Ashlynn had gone Phoenix? Warren had killed her? Warren wasn't anywhere to be found?

 

She was struggling to reconcile these facts with what she knew, and most of them simply wouldn't fit. "Come on, Alaric, don't talk like that. There must have been another way, or another reason for his actions... There must have been something..."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"I...Rebekah, my brains have been running on the fumes of their cells for two weeks. I don't have any idea what he could have done. I don't know what happened. I'll never forgive the son of a ######, but at least I can understand. I mean...and then Tara killed me again, and I'm not even thinking straight because it was too ######in' close this time, Bek...I was too close..."

 

After a pause, the hyperkinetic was pulled forward into a tight hug. His legs couldn't support his weight, but the former Weapon did it for him, keeping him from falling over as she embraced him. "I know, Alaric. I've been there, literally."

"You've had to drag me back once or twice yourself."

Alaric reached up and hugged her back, not as much out of fear of falling as it was fear that this was another afterlife of some sort.

"I, uh...I didn't mean I was ignoring you, that came out wrong...well, I was accidentally ignoring you, but...the point of accidents are that they aren't on purpose...right?"

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:"Don't worry so much about it. I know what you meant. You've been busy, no one can fault you for that. I mean, I probably would have been ignoring me too."

 

"Besides, Brooklyn kept me on my toes. I think she made a tunnel under my bed."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"How is Brooklyn? Is she here?"

 

IC:

 

"Twelve cinnamon buns, please!"

 

Upon receiving her order, Brooklyn began to whistle a tune and headed back to the Hard Rock parking garage, where Rebekah had said she'd found Alaric.

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:"Brook's doing well. She was helping me look around, she should be here soon." Rebekah paused, almost awkwardly, pondering how best to put what she was about to say.

 

".... Hey, Alaric?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"What up? She melted your heart with adorable pop culture references like a true Carlisle yet?"

 

"... Well, see, that might actually be a bit more accurate than you think."

 

"I don't follow."

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:"...""Ric, how annoyed would you be if I was dating your sister?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Alaric squealed.

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"....""Alaric, I literally have no idea what that means. Absolutely none. It wasn't a sound from any language I know, in fact, it sounded more like a pig than a person."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"This is amazing news! I haven't been this happy since the Arrested Development comeback was announced! I...I...yee!"

 

Alaric picked Rebekah up and hugged her immensely, lifting her easily six inches off the ground; out of sheer impulse his wings unfurled from his back and began to fly them up before the hyperkinetic noticed what was going on and set her down again.

 

-Tyler

[sunflower]

IC: Jesika

 

The hyperactive girl squealed happily, hugging Fauna and all her furry softness quite possibly as close to her as physically possible. With that, Jesika half-skipped, half... skipped... back over to the others. At this point, it didn't seem like it would matter to her that the cat she was currently hugging was actually a person.

[Krayzikk]

IC:Almost subconsciously, Rebekah pushed her hair back over her shoulder. It was a little tic of her's, a behavioral quirk. She only did it when she was nervous, or in a situation she was uncertain of. It was doubtful even she was aware of it.

 

"Well, I'm not sure why you're so happy... I mean, your sister's stuck with a total psycho now."

[Blair the Cat]

IC: Fauna

 

I like fish.

 

"No I don't, where did that come from?" " Wondered Fauna

Petmepetmepetme!!!

 

"Oh noes."

 

OOC: Fauna the cat is now in control instead of Fauna the human.

[sunflower]

OOC: Could be either really good or really bad...

 

IC: Jesika

 

"Giaz look what I've got!" Jesika said rather... excitedly once she reached the others in the area. Her electric-blue eyes were unnaturally large as she said this, though it couldn't be that bad right? Really, especially after she started petting the cat/Fauna.

 

"A new friend!"

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

IC: Leech shook his head, "They'll just expand it faster. We split up, with you going up the levels. With the guards down here you should able to find the controls for the shrinking apparatus. Shut them down."

 

 

IC: "Oh, yeah, the first time yous threw lightning bolts at me it didn't work. But keep throwing them. Hundredth times the charm. Jeez, and I'm supposed to be the stupid one."

 

Rhino took one step and closed the distance between him and White Lightning. The confined conditions of the prison were definitely to his advantage here. He took a swing at the mutant, fist swinging round with the size and force of a flying anvil

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

"Got it."

 

Christopher broke off from Leech, and started up the first flight of stairs she saw, not stopping until she reached the door to the control room. Christopher backed herself against the wall, slowly opening the door with her arm and peeking inside for any remaining guards.

[Vengent Spectre]

IC: Nathanael

 

Nathanael sighed in content at the dish in front of him. The newspaper had led him to the one of the most ritzy, expensive places in New York. It was perfect. The food was amazing. The portions were huge. The service was fairly acommodating, and the moment he was finished eating, he was giong to rob the place blind. Nathanael smirked before taking a large bite. "I ink I'm gonna ake out the waiter eeps eiving me funny looks first. Yeh at ounds good!" Nathanael mumbled to himself as he eyed the nearby waiter through the corner of his eye.

[AuRon the champion]

OOC: By the powers of castle bunny...

 

IC:

 

Warren happened to be nearby where Nathanael was eating. What the electrokinetic was doing however...

 

...Was completely nothing important. In fact, he was looking at the food through the windows while his stomach rumbled. He hadn't expected to run out of money so soon...

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Natalie stood up, blearily wiping the sleep from her eyes. "Want me to try to fly us there?"

 

IC:

 

"Go for it," Brando mumbled grumpily. "But we should hurry. If we're last to the meeting again James will cry himself to sleep on his granddad's shield. Again."

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:Several minutes later, James pushed open the door to Stark Tower, moving towards the elevator. The receptionist merely nodded and waved him through, though she did take a moment to glance at the one following him. She was, at this point, very familiar with James' comings and goings. He rather suspected that she was one of the few to guess the connection between the Patriot, and her boss' most common visitor.

 

Opening the elevator, he slipped his Avengers priority card into a small slot. Tony had been busy; the space underneath his penthouse had been quietly converted, the secret armory expanded to fit a team. It was the only floor that the elevator refused to stop on, and in fact, the only one that lacked a button on the control panel. The card solved both issues.

 

"Soon as this stops, we'll have arrived, Miss."

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

IC: "I think I've been here before..." Alyss mumbled, "But it was a lot more...rubbley then. And off-shore. Actualy it might not have been this place. Same aesthetic though. Do you shop at the same place?"

[Light]

IC: Natalie put her arms around Brando, taking off. Her flight was slower than usual, but they still managed to get there quickly."You'll have to open the door. I don't have clearance."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:Almost subconsciously, Rebekah pushed her hair back over her shoulder. It was a little tic of her's, a behavioral quirk. She only did it when she was nervous, or in a situation she was uncertain of. It was doubtful even she was aware of it.

 

"Well, I'm not sure why you're so happy... I mean, your sister's stuck with a total psycho now."

 

IC:

 

"That's not true at all," Alaric pouted. "It's cute. You two are cute. This...aw, man, I couldn't have made a better match anywhere..."

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:"... I don't actually have any idea what to say to that."

 

The former Weapon sighed quietly to herself, but this time it was one of an amused exasperation, rather than the usual resignation. "But, that's happening a lot lately. Maybe I'll figure out what to say to people one day. Screw up a few fewer relationships."

 

"I couldn't bear to see her upset, you know? That's probably the only reason I didn't retreat into isolation again, rather than deal with the world. Hiding would have hurt her more than anything else I could possibly have done, and I couldn't do it. So instead of hiding, I... Well. Was honest about myself, for once."

 

".. Sorry, you're probably bored to tears listening to the recitation of my life story."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"You handled hearing mine just fine," Alaric replied, roping Rebekah into another hug. "C'mon now, Bek Fell. Be happy for yourself for once. Brooklyn's happy for you. I'm happy for you, God knows. That's what matters, right? Family?"

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:"You're asking the wrong person that question. I'm still trying to work out the concept of a family." Rebekah commented drily, hugging him back. "Plus, my experience with one goes back maybe two months, so I don't exactly have much experience to base a reply on."

[Vengent Spectre]

IC: Nathanael

 

Nathanael laid back in his seat and cracked his back, as he looked at the large the empty bowl in front of him. It was making him rethink robbing the place. Maybe he could just take it over instead, then he'd have a base of operations and he'd still be able to eat here without having to burn the place to the ground. Nope, they probably weren't going to just give in and let him take control of the restaurant, but hey it never hurt to ask. "Ay! Ay you." Nathanael pointed at the nearby waiter. The waiter looked around for a second before pointing at himself. "Yeah you, ome ere." Nathanael said as he waved the man over. Slowly the waiter walked to Nathanael's booth. " I ot a questin fa ya. Ould you like, illingly ive is place to me?" Nathanael asked honestly.

 

"I mean's out the opposision? I mean's I on't mind doing it the ard way it's just..."

 

He paused and looked down at the wonderful smelling emptyness, before continuing. "...I really really like the food. And I'd rather not waste it." The waiter stood dumbfounded as he realized what Nathanael meant. "Ay, ay you listening? Answer me! You gonna take the eal or not?" Nathanael asked, agitation at how long this was taking starting to get to him. Acting quickly the waiter nodded and walked away. "Ood, bring me somethin on the ay back." Nathanael shouted after the waiter, as he smiled and put his feet up in the seat across from him.

 

 

 

IC: Alison

 

Alison Bree Kelly swirled through the streets of Vancouver, one destination in mind. For awhile now she had been trying to avoid life; first she tried an abandoned apartment complex, then the sewers which flowed her out into the ocean. Eventually she tried the wilderness but in the end nothing worked. 'Why? Why, are you trying to go back?' She thought to herself, her body slowly wrapping around a car, before she changed directions and started going upwards next to the side of a nearby building. 'Because.' Alison replied, picking up speed as she curved around the corner of the building and shot through the air. 'Because What? What excuse could you possibly have?' The other voice asked, buildings speeding by as she passed through the air.

 

'Because. I've. Been...Selfish.' She thought in reply. "Becuase you've been selfish!......You're being selfish right now!.....What was wrong with the forest?....It was safe....You couldn't hurt anybody.' The voice asked incredulously, as she left the city the only sign she was ever there being the faint shimmer of ice crystals. 'The forest. Wasn't safe...... People...came. All...the time.' Alison thought in reply. 'This is because of that girl.....Isn't it?' She thought to herself, even though she already knew the answer. 'Yes...' She replied simply. The conversation ending as the road shot by, the city far behind her, her destination on the horizon.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Yeah...speaking of which, want to do me a favor?" Alaric asked, tossing Rebekah the keys to his Ferrari. "Drive that to a hotel once Brooklyn shows up. I'll follow in the Lambo with Tara. I want to get her off the streets."

 

-Tyler

Edited May 2, 2013 by Dallas Winston

[Krayzikk]

IC:For the briefest of moments, Rebekah's eyes flicked to Tara, unconscious on the ground. The violet orbs moved back to Alaric, and seemed to narrow, almost imperceptibly. "Yeah, I can do that.

 

She caught the keys with ease, taking a seat on the hood of the car to wait for Brooklyn.