X-Men: Darkest Days

[ZTG]

IC: Gemini"Well my eldest son, Zac looks a lot like me, and there is also Hannah, Caleb and Abigail," Gemini said

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Mnugh? No," Alaric muttered, curling up into the fetal position in his sleep and talking softly to himself, bangs tossed haphazardly along his face. "Ringo Starr was in no way the most underutilized Beatle. Get outta here with that...with your...go home, John. You're drunk."

 

Annie snorted lightly at the dreamy response she got from her brother but then simply started softly singing her dreamy but coarse voice.

What will we do with the drunken whaler,

What will we do with the drunken whaler,

What will we do with the drunken whaler

Early in the morning?

Slice his throat with a rusty cleaver...

Alaric's eyes opened up; big blue irises gazed through small fault lines in soft black hair, and he reached up with one hand to push the bangs out of his face before turning over. His eyes met Annie's, and he seemed to recall where exactly he was and what had gone down the night before.

"How'd you sleep?"

-Tyler

[EmperorWhenua]

Ic: "I'm well," Annie said as she mirrored Alaric's motion and tucked her hair behind an ear, revealing her platinum streak across her forehead again. "You?"

 

"Perfect."

 

"Good," she said through a little smile before reaching over and ruffling his locks as she got up and started to dress. "Time to get up and at 'em, brother. It's ten AM."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Right," Alaric sighed, sitting up in bed and looking down at the covers. "We're not in Vegas yet."

 

He stretched with a yawn and stood up, moving towards his clothes and going through the motions of getting dressed in about fifteen seconds. It was not just hyperkinetic speed that pushed him, nor was it of adeptness at dressing himself, though it was certainly a mix of both; he was awake in seconds, and as soon as he realized that Vegas was the destination, he remembered the mission: Warren. It had awoken a fire in him that had just started to slide down from its peak, and now that it was rekindled, he felt ready to go.

 

"Want to grab some breakfast and run, or get something on the road?"

 

-Tyler

[EmperorWhenua]

Ic: Annie had the same sort of determined vigor to completely slaughter Warren that she was in no mood to linger any more than needed. "Vegas is still Thirty hours away and the clock keeps ticking. Let's eat on the way," she offered as she slipped her jacket on. She hefted a foot to the desk and started to put a boot on and added, "Unless you would prefer otherwise."

[Blair the Cat]

IC: Fauna"I haven't been here for very long, so I really only know one other student." said Fauna, more than a little embarrassed. "I wonder where he is, speaking of which. Do any of your kids happen to know Jeremy Wagner?"

[ZTG]

IC: Gemini Gemini was about to speak, but his voice was cut off by another, "Dad!" Gemini turned around to see an overjoyed Zac who then ran up to the bi-mutant and gave him a hug. Gemini was bit stunned but proceeded to hug his son back.

[Blair the Cat]

IC: FaunaFauna turned to go, but suddenly felt as if someone had jabbed her in the stomach with a railroad spike. She hurriedly pulled her shirt up a bit to find that her stitches were coming loose. "You would have thought that I could remember these."

Edited April 14, 2013 by The Phoenix

[ZTG]

IC: Zac "You okay?" Zac asked as the two stopped hugging,

[Light]

IC: Alyssa nodded, taking the serum to one of the doctors taking care of Will. "Give this to him. I have something to take care of."

[Blair the Cat]

IC: Fauna"I heal a little faster than most people, so I'll be okay." said Fauna, surprised at his concern. "It hurts like heck though."

[ZTG]

IC: Zac"Ah..." Zac said, "So dad, what are you doing here?""I'm here to stay," Gemini said,"But... Do you have any powers?" Zac asked,"Where do you and Caleb think you get your mutant powers from?" Gemini said as he right hand began to turning flames, though it was small and controlled, and his left turned to ice.

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

Will had been sedated again by the doctors as they removed the stitches. A good thirty minutes later, his eyes wearily opened as he slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes.

 

"Ugh... No more morphine..." He muttered. It took his brain several moments to recognize that he'd said something, but when it finally registered his eyes became large. Any larger and he could set a world record for largest eye opening.

 

"Oh my god. I can speak!" He said, clamping his hands down over the lower part of his face. No stitches. Not marks from skin grafting. Nothing but pure skin.

 

"Does anyone have a mirror somewhere?" He asked, slowly starting to get off the bed he'd been on for the last several days.

 

Across the country, Warren halted, about a mile away from the train station. He stepped off the rail, starting to walk towards the station.

 

Couldn't let anyone notice he was a mutant. That wouldn't end well for him. Sure, it was California, but it was just as intolerant as the rest of the country in his eyes.

 

OOC: Warren, Open for interact for anyone in cali.

[Blair the Cat]

IC: Fauna"I wish that my powers were that cool." said Fauna wistfully. "Mine always nearly get me killed."

[ZTG]

IC: Zac and Gemini"Well what are your powers?" Zac askedGemini stopped using his powers and his hands turned back to normal.

[Blair the Cat]

IC: Fauna"I transform into animals." said Fauna. "I'm not all that good for combat, as you can probably imagine."

[ZTG]

IC: Zac and Gemini"You could turn into a Rhino or a lion," Gemini said

[Blair the Cat]

IC: Fauna

 

"Well yeah, but I'm not much good against people who can beat up a normal animal, am I?" Fauna shrugged. "Anyways, you just saw the most recent result of me trying to be helpful. Stitches. Not to mention that I flew through a helicopter's glass windshield right as it exploded the time before that."

Edited April 15, 2013 by The Phoenix

[ZTG]

IC: Zac and Gemini"Yeah..." Zac said, "The world is just being chaotic, the pro-mutant president dead, Beast dead...,""...Hank is dead?" Gemini asked,"Yeah... Wait how do you know about Mr. hank?" Zac asked,

[Blair the Cat]

IC: Fauna"So... who's going to run this place now?"

[ZTG]

IC: Gemini and Zac"I meet him before when I wa said, then I met your mother and left the institute," Gemini lied,"Ah," Zac said, "Well... I don't know, I think John might be able to, or maybe even one of the teachers,"At that single moment, a half built, mechanical dog came running past te three. Zac recognized it, it was his project. He then turned around to see his little sister giving a sheepish smile.

[Blair the Cat]

IC: Fauna

 

When she saw the dog, Fauna instinctively turned into a wolf and bared her teeth in defense.

[ZTG]

IC: Zac and Gemini"Hey calm down! That's R.U.S.H!" Zac said as he ran off to get the prototype,"R.U.S.H.?" Gemini asked,

[Blair the Cat]

IC: FaunaFauna quickly reverted to her natural state. "Sorry..."

[ZTG]

IC: Zac and Gemini"Don't worry about it!" Zac yelled back as he chased after the mechanical pooch."I knew my children were intelligent, but Zac just astounded me..." Gemini said in awe.

[Blair the Cat]

IC: Fauna

 

"So how old are your kids?" Fauna asked, looking up at Gemini.

[ZTG]

IC: Gemini"Hannah is 17, Zac should be turning 16, Caleb is turning 15 this year as well and Abigail is around 14," Gemini said,After a good bit of chasing, Zac came back with a limp, robotic, unfinished dog in his hands.

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

IC: With his arm stuck in the tree, Alec was fairly defenceless. For now the Morlocks had been keeping the streets clear as a valuable distraction but there was about to be a threat closer to home. With Leech miniaturised, so was his suppression field. It didn't even reach past the bark of the prison tree let alone cover, say, the mutant sitting in the wheelchair. Caliban had had a lot of bad things happen to him in his life. More even than some X-Men. It had left certain scars on his psyche. And had given him a few...more physical perks.

He started writhing in the chair, muscles bulging to Leifeldian proportions, cheek bones flaring into broad spikes, eyes glowing with hellish red light. Before Kirsty could shout a warning he'd lashed out at Alec, swiping him away from the tree with a fearsome growl.

 

 

Down in Maximum Security, the Morlocks had been prying as many of their kin free as they could. Hammer and Tongs could tear most doors of their hinges if given enough time. They had already found the Callasantos twins and Marrow, but Leech was determined to find at least Callisto as well. And White Lightning was still wandering around somewhere. They'd just have to be careful not to run into Rhino...

Then red lights started flashing and sirens started howling. With Alec away from the tree no-one was overriding the security, and all the alarms had activated at once. The whole corridor started rumbling and began to be filled with a hazy salmon-pink mist.

Then a mandible erupted from the wall. And a gruesome chittering boomed throughout the prison. Another advantage of building in a tree: in-built security. When you're the size of a finger nail, suddenly ants were a lot more terrifying

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

"..." Christopher stared at the mandible, clenching her hand into a fist.

 

"Alright Leech, run or fight?"

[Makuta of Time]

OOC: Time to go first person

 

IC:

I made my up to the levelwhere Maximum security is and saw a massive jaw coming out of the wall. I decided to stay in cover and fired my rifle at the large beast attacking. That's when I realized where I was again. I was inside of a freakin' tree, and this beast could only be an ant.

 

Just firing just made it madder, as it came through the entire wall. I fired at it's head, but the exo-skeleton was too strong. So I finally started firing bolts at the ant, trying to drive it away.

[Snelly]

IC: Krystal

 

Krystal didn't need to ask whether or not to fight or flee, she was already in the thick of it. She headed straight toward the mandible. grasping at the one of the pincers with her claws, she attempted to tear it right off the insect.

Edited April 18, 2013 by A billion cats

[Blair the Cat]

IC: Fauna

 

"That means they're about my age." said Fauna. "It seems like people are always assuming that I'm like thirteen."

 

IC: Winter

 

Once she had practiced a bit, Winter decided to try out her powers in a very fun way. Smiling in a malicious way, she covered the entire block's roads with a thin sheet of ice.

Edited April 18, 2013 by The Phoenix

[Krayzikk]

GM IC:

It had been two weeks since President Binder’s assassination. Two weeks since the world’s greatest pro-mutant advocate was murdered on national television, two weeks since his killer was shot, two weeks since the Headmaster of Xavier’s was shot and killed. The president’s last words were a speech on the subject of mutant equality, and if he had lived, it would have been the first step toward a brighter future.

But in the end, it lead to the polar opposite. After the Enforcers’ long running defeats at the hands of super-powered individuals, they were folded into the standard chain of command as a new agency, MACE. Under the authority of the president, they set into action plans to bring the mutant populace of America in line. It was subtle at first. Arrested mutants were forcibly registered, and outfitted with power suppression devices before being sent to prison. Those with minor offenses were released back onto the streets, now unable to access their powers. But then they began to take drastic measures. Every single registered mutant was taken in, outfitted with a power dampener and released. A few managed to avoid them, but those few were either taken in by force, or taken down. And so it was that gradually, little by little, the mutant population was subjugated. Stripped of everything that made them different, everything that made them stand out. Mutant advocates could do little but stand helplessly by as the government moved in and forced thousands of people to conform to their new standards.

Only a handful of mutants remain uninhibited. The Brotherhood, still in hiding, and Xavier’s Institute are two notable examples. But the latter has come under fire, and there are movements within the capitol to strip them of their political protection, and make them subject to the same laws as the others.

Crime has dropped drastically. Without their powers, fewer and fewer mutants can cause harm, though they are subjected to violent abuse on a daily basis. Unable to defend themselves from their tormentors, hospitals all over the country began to suffer an influx of patients for everything from broken bones to extensive injuries. Everything from knife wounds, to broken noses. But few people know that, and even fewer care, in light of their newfound safety. All is as the anti-mutant lobbyists hoped. America is once again safe.

But things are not as they seem.

*************************

-Unknown location, off the coast of the United States

“Sir.”

The voice rang out in the dim room, addressing the figure seated in the chair at the opposite end. The room was sparsely decorated, designed for function, rather than form. “I have reports from the field.”

“Proceed.” The voice, in stark contrast to the messenger’s faint Southern drawl, was tinged with a hint of a Germanic accent. Faint, however, as if the language normally spoken by it had not been spoken in years.

“Yes sir.” Clearing his throat, the man tapped the tablet under his arm, bringing up the stream of data compiled over the past few weeks. “The United States has removed the mutant population from the equation. With the exception of the Institute, ninety eight percent of the population have been stripped of their abilities. The X-Men have been crippled by the loss of Dr. McCoy, and their resources depleted after the events in Las Vegas. Their members are scattered, weakened, or otherwise indisposed. Leadership is unclear. They are dead in the water.”

“SHIELD is all but defenseless. One of our South African allies has uploaded a virus to the Helicarrier, and it has been rendered little more than a hunk of useless metal. Their databases are offline, and they have no way of communicating with their sources. Director Fury is completely in the dark. The Avengers have been scattered, and one of their number has been eliminated. I saw to it personally. The Pantheon Initiative has been padded out with lackluster candidates, children, really. They should be of little consequence.”

A brief pause, as he scrolled down. “MACE has been rendered toothless, in their attempts to make themselves more efficient. All units that could have been a threat to us have been mothballed. Delta Squad has been taken off of active duty, and the Enforcers’ mech suits have been put in storage. They have completely specialized for dealing with mutant threats.”

“And what of the rest of the world?”

“The European Union has shunned the United States for its totalitarian actions, and as usual, the East is too far away to be relevant. Canada is still at odds with the new president both for the new direction the administration has taken, but also for the actions undertaken by the X-Men on their soil. They will not act until it is too late.”

“The only remaining variables are the United States’ military branches. But we have dealt with them before, and we will deal with them again. Without the Captain and his crew, they are powerless. Mere humans.”

The room descended into silence for several long minutes, the only sound the tapping of the seated man’s fingertips against the arm of his chair. Eyes were fixed on the carving engraved into the wall; a multi-headed beast, a creature of legend. A hydra. When one cut off one head, two more grew in its place. It was a beast that could never truly be killed.

“We will never have a better chance.” The seated man said finally, a note of anticipation in his voice. “Notify our agents within America, and tell them to prepare for our arrival. Send word to the Western bases. They must prepare for our assault, and they must follow my orders exactly. We will bring our full force to bear.”

“Yes sir.” The messenger tucked the tablet under his arm, bringing his other hand up in a crisp salute. “Hail Hydra.”

******************************

The grounds of the Institute were remarkably empty; few students roamed about. No one dared leave. Word of MACE’s visit had traveled quickly, and the students were all apprehensive, fearful of what was to come. No Headmaster, an assassin on the loose, and the government at their doorstep. Which is why, across the mansion, almost as one, dozens of teenagers jumped in fright at the sound of thunder splitting the sky.

It was clearly audible, as if it has sounded right outside the school itself. Which, in fact, it had. The air was rent apart within the mansion’s lobby, causing a handful of students to duck down, to get away from the sudden anomaly. A single boom rang out, as air was shoved aside by a sudden arrival.

Standing there, when the air cleared, was a tall woman with dark hair. But the most noticeable feature was her eyes; one violet, one red.

“I demand to speak to who is in charge here.”

[ZTG]

IC: Todd Family and ParanoidSadly, Zac was one of those victims. He was in the hospital currently, broken left arm, twisted foot, and blood loss. He was trying to defend Caleb and Abigail from being abused, but no good deed goes unpunished.Dawn, Hannah, Abi and Caleb awaited outside of the room he was in. All of them had their powers surpressed, and Zac was the one who was so far safe. Their father was now imprisoned from trying to stop them from surpressing the children's powers, and so, the Todd Family was without parents again.

Edited April 20, 2013 by Zacax: The Gunsmith

[Light]

IC: EthanI used to be the only one. Even with the data I had, people thought i was a crackpot, and for good reason.Not anymore. Now, I had sympathizers, people I could hide from MACE with. I still have my powers, and I intend to stay that way. At least until I can get these blueprints out.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Yeah. So do we."

 

The voice was playful and coy, with hints of many different possible accents here and there; its user matched that same description personally, from his Southern swagger and to his European edge, to his face from heaven and his expression from heII. There was Russian in there, too, lots of cold, hardened Russian. HIs forehead, once pale and unfettered, had a long, diagonal red slash that might well scar. It was still jagged and sharp, as though freshly cut, and looked as though it would bleed at any moment. Large bruises dotted his visible face and skin; with the arm that wasn't held stiffly by his side, he reached up and felt at the greenish-purple mashup that had spread across his right cheek.

 

Even though she was an Ultimate, she recognized him, and she spoke with the unbidden tenderness of someone who couldn't help but put a face to a name, despite her callous demeanor towards the person that she believed was not the true owner of both.

 

"Aleksandr?"

 

"You're not from Kansas, are you."

 

-Tyler

Edited April 20, 2013 by Dallas Winston

[Krayzikk]

IC:For a split second, a glimmer of life appeared in the newest arrival's eyes, a slight hint of emotion long since buried.

 

Then it was extinguished a split second later, along with the emotion that had appeared in her voice, however briefly. None of these people were the ones she knew, none of them were the people she had lost. This was not her world. "Where is Dr. McCoy?"

[Advent Child]

IC: Nero was still bringing his heart rate down after the boom signifying the woman's arrival scared him half to death. When she began asking questions, he was only half listening, but he did catch the question about Dr. McCoy.

 

"Who wants to know?" Nero asked somewhat defensively.

[ZTG]

IC: Todd Family and Paranoid"Sir please stay in bed!" said a nurse in Zac's room.The door opened to revealed Zac attempting to escape, holding onto the IV pole. Hannah and Caleb rushed over to him to pick him up when he was about to fall,"Zac get back in bed!" Hannah said,"Its only a broken arm and a twisted ankle, I heal fast," Zac said,"You don't have regeneration powers!" Caleb said, "Please get back in bed!"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Pretty sure you can find him out back. I think Tali planted an oak tree over his body. Should be easy to spot."

 

"Understood." The word slipped out, cold, empty of anything resembling emotion. It was a response that could almost be called robotic, more suited to that form of frigid logic than anything else. "Current Headmaster?"

 

"Ric Carlisle. He's...well. Here, there. Anywhere and everywhere. He's been sending us orders via text for the past two weeks."

 

"Is there anyone present with some semblance of responsibility or authority?"

 

Aleksandr shrugged painfully with both shoulders; his teeth gritted and he winced in pain, straightening out his muscles again. As he did so, his head rolled back, and the light caught a long, thin line that ran jaggedly, sloppily, across his neck. Shadow's eyes narrowed at the line but she did not speak yet, preferring to let Aleks take the minute or two to put the pain back in its storage unit. Finally, she could take it no longer. This was not the Russian she knew; her Aleks would have never let this happen, and she knew from experience that this model wasn't much different.

 

"What happened?"

 

It was only about 12:30 AM, so Aleksandr hadn't been asleep like they thought he would be. They'd figured he'd be docile, out like a light, and so they were in for quite a surprise when the commandos leaped down from a roof tile he'd sawed away to fit like a trapdoor, from windows and from the door they'd expected to be unlocked; they hadn't expected that a routine mission to eliminate an X-Men affiliate who wasn't exactly a U.S. citizen could go wrong at all. Aleks had been awake, about to start disassembling his Magnum to check the scope, and so he'd turned at once and shot a hole through the doorway commando's forehead with a boom that echoed down the dorms and hallways. Three more booms - not from a Magnum this time - that cut a huge triangle, one in Aleks' back and two through his lungs, popping both of them. A slice, as a ballistic knife was drawn from a thigh holster and cut across the Russian's throat, aiming to slice open his veins and rub his vocal chords into the metal of the blade.

The United States government was tired of hearing Aleks Belikov talk.

There were footsteps now. Footsteps and yells, as Alex and Adrian made their way to the thief's dorm room and were met with a flashbang, like the kind they use to subdue terrorists. The sound dissipated, the light cleared, and there lay Aleks Belikov, blood bubbling from his nose, mouth, and throat every time he tried to take a breath. Alex Smith was on the ground next to him in a heartbeat, trying to well off the blood, trying to find a way to keep the Russian from breathing before his lungs totally filled with his own blood and drowned him. Adrian ran out of the room, booking it towards the direction of the nearest person with medical training. The light was fading even faster for Aleks than it was for everyone else in the hallway.

There was a crowd coming to watch Aleks Belikov die. Not just in the hallway, but from above. From outside. And then from below.

"Aleks...Aleks. What happened, tiger? What...?"

He had to stop breathing blood, or he would surely be dead, he would surely fade away right now. The chorus from in front of him, above him, from outside, it all faded into a slow, quiet cacophony. Only the chorus from below remained; its song, gnarled and raw and gritty and hot, grew louder by the heartbeat. Later on, after three resuscitations after five emergency surgeries with risky equipment and barely-professional medics in the Institute basement, after three days of rest, Alex would tell him what he had said, nanoseconds before he'd started to fade away. The thief would never forget the look on the technopath's face as he said it.

 

"The feds happened."

 

-Tyler

Edited April 20, 2013 by Dallas Winston