X-Men: Darkest Days

[Snelly]

IC: Howard

The front of Howard's helmet snapped open, revealing his grinning face. "Yeah, it is fantastic isn't it?" Howard said as he walked toward Noel, his armor clanking against the ground with every step. "Of course, it doesn't look nearly as fantastic as you." He said as he leaned over and gave her a kiss.

"And speaking of fantastic things...I have something to show you." He said as he walked past her, beckoning her to follow. Howard led her over to another section of the room, in one of the far corners, there was a large metal box...with a big bow on the top. "I know your birthday is several months away, but I couldn't help myself." He said with a large grin. "Go ahead and open it." He said, gesturing to the red button.

With a smile her finger pressed down on the button. The box began to whirl as it began to unlock and open itself. Inside it was a suit, though not just any suit, this one was bared the colors of red, white, and blue, with stars and stripes. It was also quite feminine in shape, it was very sleek and looked designed specifically to fit her body, though it was still just as heavily armored as any Iron Man suit. Attached to the right arm was Noel's vibranium shield.

[Eevee]

IC: LibertyNoel stood there, eyes wide and mouth in an O, as surprise and wonder completely overtook her. "Howard...this is..." She couldn't even finish her sentence before wrapping her arms around him tightly, a girlish squeal of excitement escaping her. After a few moments of hugging and over the top excitement, she pulled away and approached the suit. She gently touched the suit, a smile still present on her face. "So this is where you put my shield." Noel giggled before facing Howard again. "Can I put it on?"

Edited March 30, 2013 by Rawrmouse_Bieber

[Snelly]

IC: Howard

 

"I never thought you'd ask!" Howard responded with a smirk. "The suit should respond to your voice and touch. Just push against the chest piece and it should open up, the suit will do the rest."

[ZTG]

IC: Hannah/???"So, why were we brought down here?" Hannah asked, walking up towards Alec. IC: Zac and Caleb/X-Mansion KitchenThe two brothers made their way into the kitchen, Zac heading towards the fridge and Caleb standing near a stove top. He pulled out a root beer bottle and a bottle of sparkling water for his brother and tossed it to him. The blonde managed to catch it, if not it almost hitting the floor.OOC:Zac and Caleb open for interaction.IC: GeminiGemini kept on drinking his beer, just keeping to himself. He wondered what exactly Abraham was planning on talking to them about, and what his place was.

[Eevee]

IC: Liberty"Oh. Well here it goes!" Noel gently pushed pushes the chest piece, and just like Howard had said, it opened up. Before she could even get closer the suit began attaching itself to her and in less than a minute she stood next to Howard, her suit fully covering her. "Wow!" She exclaimed, her voice sounding almost auto tuned from the suit. "It fits perfectly..." Noel snapped open the helmet, grinning from ear to ear. "Now what can this baby do?"

[Snelly]

IC: Howard

 

"Oh you know, it has the standard repulsors, shielding, armor, flight capabilities, uplink to Jarvis, all the good stuff." Howard said, unable to keep himself from grinning, he'd outdone himself this time.

 

"Oh, and your shield can be launched from either gauntlet, pretty much like a high speed frisbee. Almost forgot to mention that."

[Eevee]

IC: LibertyNoel grinned before giving him a deep kiss and a tight hug, the armor clanking as they touched. "I can't believe you did this for me... No one has ever done something like this for me.." She said softly before giving him another squeeze before pulling away.She looked down at her shield, her smile fading. "Oh god...I forgot to tell James where I was! I'm a horrible aunt!" She but her hand to her forehead, cursing under her breath before turning to Howard. "Can we go visit?"

[Snelly]

IC: Howard

 

"Yeah, let's go see how you're good old nephew is doing. He's probably just moping around his apartment." Howard said the helmet's face plate closed down on his face, he quickly got the location of James' Avenger Card. "Yeah, that's where he is."

 

The two armored Avengers walked toward the window, the glass panels opened up, allowed them to pass. "After you." He said to Noel, gesturing politely.

[Eevee]

IC: LibertyNoel grinned mischievously, closing her helmet. "Okay then.." She then dove out of the window, whizzing toward the ground in a wild free fall. She fell and fell until she was only a few yards from the ground, turning on her boosters and soaring up into the air.She began to laugh as she saw Howard's pale face as he stood frozen to the spot, his helmet still open. "Oh come on! It was my first time flying with my suit..." Noel said her voice hinting at the apologetic pout on her face.

[Snelly]

IC: Howard

 

Howard's helmet closed and he flew up and after Noel. "Oh right...never taught you how to fly...welp. Let's hope you figure out how to land before we reach James..."

[Eevee]

IC: Liberty"Well thanks hun! Glad your so helpful." She said sarcastically as she followed behind Howard, sometimes overtaking him. She then settled beside him, looking down. "So this is what you see everyday? It looks so beautiful from here..."

[Snelly]

IC: Howard

 

"More or less...you gotta watch out for the occasion seagull though, those ###### ######s."

 

Howard suddenly slowed down, till he was simply hovering in the air. "Here's our stop." Below them was James' apartment. "Shall we drop in?"

[Eevee]

IC: LibertyNoel laughed at his seagull comment and then nodded. "Lets go see my little nephew then." She motioned for Howard to go first. "Show me how it's done then Iron Man."

[Snelly]

IC: Howard

 

Howard suddenly dropped, descending rapidly toward the ground below, his repulsors only reactivating when he was around fifty feet from the ground. He then watched as Noel attempted the same thing, she suddenly dropped like a rock, falling and falling and falling, she managed to activate her repulsors in time to stop her fall at about twenty feet, a bit too close for comfort, Howard had flinched a bit. "Maybe next time we'll just go for a slow descent..." He rubbed the back of his helmet.

 

With that the two entered the apartment, walking past a stunned landlord. "Morning."

 

As they came up to the door, they could hear the sounds of a punch bag getting the daylights beaten out of it. With a shrug Howard knocked on the door. "Hey James, buddy. You in there?"

Edited March 30, 2013 by A billion cats

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

Left jab, right jab, left cross, uppercut. Elbow. Palm strike. Side kick, roundhouse kick. Crescent kick.

 

Knock knock knock.

 

"The door's unlocked." James said, just loud enough to be heard, without pausing in his movements. His heart, already enhanced far beyond the limits of the average human, pumped furiously, his lungs gasping for air, pushed to the edge of endurance.

 

It isn't enough. Not yet.

[Eevee]

IC: LibertySuddenly Noel rushed in, hugging James. "Oooh I missed you!" She said, hugging him a little too tight as her superior strength was now being enhanced by the suit. "Look what Howard made me!" She exclaimed as she let go.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

James stumbled back half a step, unbalanced by the hug, and the sudden release. Or at least, that's what he hoped they thought. In reality, his leg had refused to let him compensate. Several straight days of almost non-stop training was starting to take its toll. D***it, James. You're weak.

 

He blinked once, to get the sweat out of his eyes. Shoulders were moving up and down as he breathed, and his heart beat like a jackhammer. It was a state that he hadn't been in for years, a state that his enhanced physiology made it very difficult to reach. But it still wasn't enough.

 

"Very nice. I suppose that's where you two've been for the past week."

Edited March 30, 2013 by The Snark Knight

[Snelly]

IC: Howard

 

"More or less..." Howard replied as he stepped in, the faceplate of his helmet opening up and revealing his face, he looking around the room observingly. "Looks like you've been working out...a lot."

[Eevee]

IC: LibertyNoel popped open her helmet as well to reveal a frown, seeing how fatigued James seemed. "Why the heck would you do this to yourself?" She asked, her voice serious. "Do I have to babysit you to make sure you don't kill yourself?"

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"I'm doing what I have to do."

 

With a slightly shaking hand, James grabbed his water bottle, taking several long gulps. "I've been a fool, and worse, an incompetent fool. That either has to change, or I need to leave."

Edited March 30, 2013 by The Snark Knight

[Snelly]

IC: Howard

 

"Okay, so how does working yourself to death go with not being an incompetent fool? I mean I know you're a super soldier, but you look beat." Howard remarked, he'd never seen James looking so...winded.

[Eevee]

IC: Liberty"You're being an idiot now." Noel said plainly, a cold look on her face as she leaned against the wall. "You can't be so hard on yourself, if you are then you are a fool." She looked away, a sigh escaping her.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"I failed to stop the RIker's Island breakout." The supersoldier replied, starting to move toward the kitchen, empty water bottle in hand. "I failed to stop Quicksilver at Enforcer Tower. I failed to stop the giant lizard from busting up Time's Square. I failed to stop the Cold Bloods from robbing that facility."

 

"And I failed to keep the president from being killed. I even failed to give a halfway decent speech."

 

"The Cap wouldn't have failed."

[Eevee]

IC: Liberty"At least you were there to do something. That's better than what I did. If anyone is a failure, it's me." She stated.

[Snelly]

IC: Howard

 

"Oh and what? The whole world is on just your shoulders?" Howard said flatly, "If you remember, I was at Riker's Island, Enforcer Tower, and I most certainly should have been there to help protect the president. I failed just as badly as you."

 

"You're also wrong about one more thing, the Cap did fail, all the time. That's right, the Captain was just as fallible and imperfect as the rest of us. But you know something? Every time he failed, he'd get right back up and try again, he'd give it all he had. He and the rest of the Avengers would keep on fighting even when everything looked hopeless. That's what made him great, he never gave up, ever."

 

"He also knew he couldn't do it alone, that's why he was on a team. You know how teams work right? If one of us fail we all fail, if one of us succeeds we all succeed. No 'I' in team."

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"The president was never killed on his watch."

 

"And what team? No one's seen Erin since the Helicarrier incident, Ares hasn't said a word to anyone since that litte incident in your apartment, and Brando..." James sighed quietly to himself. He wasn't allowed to tell them about Brando, courtesy of Fury's orders. "And a team's only as strong as it's weakest link."

 

"Ares is a magician, following in his dad's footsteps. And by all counts, he's pretty good at what he does, whatever I might think of him personally. Brando is a crack shot, and he doesn't even need any powers to do it. Erin is, for all intents and purposes, a controlled version of the Hulk. Howard has access to lots of resources, plenty of tech, and has his dad's penchant for building suits. And Noel is an accomplished soldier, a loved and recognized figure around the world."

 

"I'm a football jock with a set of watered-down abilities, and a famous grandfather. In other words, I'm a C-lister. And a C-lister that is quite surplus to requirements. I need to either find a way to gain a semblance of competence, and pull my own weight instead of hiding behind my buddies who can actually find their way out of a paper bag, or I need to go back to my old job."

[otter]

IC:

 

"What do you mean I haven't been seen?" the three in James's apartment heard, coming from the door. Within two seconds that voice had jumped off to land on James's couch, his tablet out and sifting through the internet.

 

"I sent you all a message, told you I decided to go looking for U-54."

[Snelly]

IC: Howard

 

Howard had been prepared a response in his mind, but it was all thrown away when Erin showed up, on James' couch of all things.

 

"You went looking for an old submarine..." Howard raised an eyebrow, "Did you find anything?"

Edited March 30, 2013 by A billion cats

[otter]

IC-Erin:

 

"Actually, yes," Erin said. "It turns out there had been a woman snuck her way onboard, somehow. I found 'em where their sub was just floating, because it hadn't gotten any leaks, and they had all become a bunch of web-footed monstrosities through the inbreeding, eating fish raw, and yet they still had some human intelligence. They revered the submarine as the last remnant of their God, which they called Furor, obviously descended from Führer." He shrugged.

 

"I'm assuming that their great-grandfathers fell to insanity and started crying out "Führer, Führer, why will you not save us," and then their children heard that, assumed that this "Führer" was a God, and they passed the information on to their children, who do not have sufficient vocal organs now to accurately replicate the sound of the original word, or of human speech as a whole, I feel. They've actually gone through four generations since the end of WWII, though they don't know it ended, nor do they know what it was. They're early bloomers."

Edited March 30, 2013 by Ilyusha Blokfase

[Snelly]

IC: Howard

 

"What?" That was pretty much all Howard could bring himself to say.

Edited March 30, 2013 by A billion cats

[otter]

IC-Erin:

 

"Mutated Nazi spawn worshipping Hitler and U-54."

 

"But they don't really know about Naziism, or Hitler, so basically they're just Darwin's idea of mutants and evolution and stuff. And inbreeding. I think they're kind of cute, when they aren't trying to kill me with rocks."

Edited March 30, 2013 by Ilyusha Blokfase

[Eevee]

IC: Liberty"You're joking! That's..." Noel trailed off as she searched for the right word. "Unbelievable."

[otter]

IC-Erin:

 

"Such science often is."

[Eevee]

IC: Liberty"Truly." Noel said with a nod. "But anyway," she began, "what shall we do about these creatures? I don't think we should just let them be but... Erin, you saw them. What do you recommend?"

[otter]

IC-Erin:

 

"Let them be," Erin replied. "It would do no good use to influence their development, for normal humanity as a whole would only seek to use such a race as slaves, feeling them to be less than human, rather than a slightly mutated race of humanity. Besides, they won't last much longer. There's no point."

Edited March 30, 2013 by Ilyusha Blokfase

[Madara: Mangekyou Master]

OOC: Hey IB! Do you think Sergeant Bryce Luty might be interested in joining MACE?

IC - Tengu - Washington: Tengu strolled down the steps of the Memorial, brushing past the flowery memorial with a hint of disdain in his body language. There was no time for wilted flowers and flickering candles in his books. The man's trenchcoat billowed slightly as he jumped down the last few steps. He surveyed the monument with a slight grin. "You gatta admit. Quicksilver picked a heII of a way to communicate his Brotherhood's message to the world. If he'd pulled this off back when the Mutant Registration Act first came around..." The former Enforcer gave a low whistle. "Those rats would have flocked to him."

[Eevee]

IC: LibertyNoel nodded. "I trust your opinion. It wouldn't be humane to let those things be enslaved. Plus I suppose they are still human in a way."She then stood back next to Howard, gently putting her armored hand in his. "It's good to see you though Erin...with everyone else gone.." She dropped her head a little as she thought of Brando and Ares. One dead and the other missing.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

What's the point?

 

They're going to hunt you down, Abraham. They know what you look like, the Avengers know exactly what you look like, and they all know who's responsible for the attack. They will hunt the Brotherhood relentlessly, dogging us wherever we go. And I don't blame them.

 

We've done a lot of things. We've hijacked news station, committed massive assaults. We kidnapped the child of the leader of the free world. and then Quicksilver killed him later.

 

They'll never stop chasing us.

 

So what's the point in running?

[otter]

OOC: Basilisk can already tell you the answer's yes, Madara...and please, just call me Ilyusha.

 

IC-Erin:

 

"I'm still wondering why I haven't been haunted by the Ghost of Brando Past, myself."

[Eevee]

IC: Liberty"That's just what we need." She said with a little sarcasm. "A ghost Brando...yay showers will be so much more fun now."