G: Save the Citizen

FAIR (Overcast)

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WISDOM: [CYCLOPS]“Mr. Wisdom, I suggest you put that away. There is no smoking inside the Institute, next time when we have a mission, a patch could be a better choice for your nicotine habit.” Cyclops responded, a little annoyed at the fact the student cared very little about such a bad habit could have ill effects to those around him. “Is that clear?”

“No, since it’s unlit. So unclench, chummy. If I light it up you can stamp your feet and quote the rules at me.” Pete Wisdom said, clearly undisturbed and disinterested. “Until then I’ll leave it there. Helps me think.”

And with that said, he turned his attention back to Psylocke. Her warning had been kind, but unnecessary since he hadn’t lit the damned thing and didn’t feel like listening to another long lecture on smoking. But keeping one in his mouth kept the cravings at bay for a time.

Despite his response, Pete Wisdom did respect Scott Summers’s skills as a team leader, he demonstrated that with skill in the past. Which is why after Cordelia Frost made her quip at the man’s expense, he replied, “Shut it, Cordy. I reckon the gent could say a few choice comments on you but is trying to be polite.”

Message 26 of 107. [#35568]

Summary: WISDOM replied to Cyclops and Whisper

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

OOC: WRANGLE: ELLIS: Its Cordelia Frost, not Summers. I think you just managed to invoke her greatest fear…

Tags: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE

AGNI: WHISPER "Oh my apologies, Captain Killjoy,"… snip…

“My dear Miss Frost, perhaps picking your battle is in order here.” Agni responded smiling politely. He was pretty impressed at the fact that one of his teammates decided to piss off one of the advisors. The fact that Psyche hadn’t showed up yet, Neal thought it was probably best to step in.

“I do believe demerits still apply, and i would hate to see such a lovely creature as yourself busy dealing with reproductions of punishable offenses.” Agni said, doing his best to play with her sophistication side. Whatever the deal was with the girl, it was between her and Mr. Summers. Agni was only getting involved for the good of the group. He was Deputy Leader after all.

WHISPER "Hey, if its "get the stick out of Cyclops's butt…

“A lady such as yourself can certainly apologize to Mr. Summers and move on to the exercise.” Agni responded, leaning close so that only Cordelia could hear. “I don’t believe we want to fail this mission today and make a mockery of what the Paragon stand for… just because of someone’s rigid personality now do we?” He asked, a soft charismatic smile escaping his lips.

Always the diplomat, Agni gave someone any chance no matter who they were. He never paid attention to the status-quo, preferring not to judge someone else unless they gave a reason to be judge. Whatever happened between Whisper and Cyclops was between the two of them… something that Agni cared little about.

Message 27 of 107. [#35570]

Summary: AGNI decides to step in and help calm WHISPER; suggesting to WHISPER that she should maybe apologize and move on to the mission at hand.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

Tags: WHISPER, PSYCHE and CYCLOPS

POWERHOUSE: It came as no surprise to Alex that the mere act of walking into a room meant exposure to an onslaught of drama. This was a high school after all; mix in the angst that came with being a mutant and Xavier’s was the mother lode when it came to this sort of stuff.

Perhaps even sadder was that he heard it start before he’d even gotten to the Ready Room. It didn’t take hyper-sensitive hearing the likes of the ferals to hear the sniping tones as they carried all the way to the locker room, where he was securing an added pad to his still-tender ribs with tape. All this over one cigarette? Then again, Pete brought it upon himself; Alex had tried to impart on him in the past that the locker room or showers therein were the best place for a pre-training or pre-mission smoke if one was needed. Just up and lighting up after arrival on the scene was pretty much asking for it.

Zipping up his leathers, he noted the absence of the wings which Julie had sent him. He’d hoped that he would have been able to incorporate them into this training hop, but sadly the only thing he’d accomplished with his experiment with them that morning was to thrash the wings to the requirement of repair. And so, he entered the main hubbub.

[CYCLOPS] “… next time when we have a mission, a patch could be a better choice for your nicotine habit.”

He’s seventeen you sanctimonious schmuck! You really think Charles is going to sign off on giving the patch to a minor?

Alex swore, watching Summers try to be a badass… hardass… whatever… was comical at best and just made you want to beat your own head against a wall in frustration. It was so absurd it was akin watching a Winter Olympic Games hosted in the middle of the Sahara.

The terms of Cyclops’ separation from Emma had never made it to the public and that was, at least to Alex, no surprise at all. He’d drawn assumptions, quite possibly more educated ones than others had had the observations to piece together, but they were still little more than assumptions based off Alex’s beliefs that Summers was both weak in his resolve and one big walking fake.

And it wasn’t as though Alex and Emma were as tightknit as they had been in the past, much of that had been to do with the fact that he was critical of her choice of Cyclops as a partner – and yes, part of that had been driven by jealousy – though now… well, the last thing Epiphany wanted to hear from him was an ‘I told you so.’ Whatever the final straw was, Alex was supremely confident that Emma had done everything in her sizable power and influence to bury it from the public eye lest it leave a black mark on either of hers.

All the same, he didn’t have to respect Summers as a person or even as a superior to respect what he was capable of… assuming he actually brought his A-game for once. Who knew? Maybe now that he had no girlfriend to treat like some fragile China doll who couldn’t defend herself in the field, perhaps they’d actually get a chance to see these fantastic strategic skills that were always sung of in Blinky’s praise.

Summers aside, the rest of his Vanguard squad was certainly sufficient. Mercifully he’d been spared having to put up with the likes of Cordelia the Wondercunt or his own personal French stalker. Then again, minus Whisper, her own squadron wasn’t a bad compilation either.

“Surely in her bevy of S&M implements, she’s got to have a gag-ball in her possession,” he spoke under his breath as he sidled up to the churlish Brit with whom he’d generally seen eye-to-eye. “Or did she just wake up to a fresh Cleveland Steamer on her chest this morning?”

Message 28 of 107. [#35572]

Summary: Alex questions how much of a headache he's in for when he hears the drama mounting before he's even stepped into the room.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

OOC: C'mon Wolfman! Do you really want to live in a world where PH actually likes Cyclops? Epiphany and Whisper tagged for mention.

Tags: CYCLOPS, WISDOM, EPIPHANY, PSYLOCKE, WHISPER, CHAMBER, WILD CHILD, LASER, MOONSTAR

NORTHSTAR: Jean-Paul was very much aware of the undercurrent of vicious judgment, currently flowing from and between and around his classmates, much of it aimed squarely in his own direction. It was something one simply got used to over the years, when growing up under the sort of intense scrutiny he'd always been subjected to. It became little more than background noise after a while, and he recognized that by responding to it, he'd only give it weight, give it power over him. 'Rise above it' Beaubier had been told again and again as a child, and admittedly, the discovery that he was literally able to fly had certainly helped make rising above petty, trivial high-school bullshit that much easier.

The rest of the bickering among his classmates likewise went ignored, and as he approached the others, Northstar tried to do his part to guide the conversation back on track. “If we may address the task at hand …?” he challenged the rest of the Paragons icily, before he continued, “I am capable and willing to take responsibility for dispensing with the primary target, so that the rest of you may address the surrounding bystanders.” It was more statement than question, the speedster's tone made it very clear he didn't expect an argument, and that if objections were raised, he had no intent of listening to them. More so than any facet of his mutation, truly, it would be Jean-Paul's ability to work as part of a group that would be tested by today's exercise; it seemed that 'teamwork' had no place within the bilingual teenager's vocabulary.

Message 29 of 107. [#35577]

Summary: Jean-Paul deliberately ignores his classmates jibes, attempting to steer the conversation back in a more productive direction.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

Tags: PSYCHE, AGNI, GAMBIT, HELLION, INKLING, ROCKSLIDE, WHISPER

HELLION: It was strange, watching his classmates mill about in a simulated soup of self-confidence and hostility. There was little secret in the fact that a fair number of the people here flat out didn’t like each other. Sometimes with their words, and sometimes with their actions, people just seemed intent upon ticking each other off, pushing each others’ buttons, and generally increasing the tension that was in the air… Julian just watched, not wanting to get involved in their spats, and simultaneously enjoying the show. There was just something about people bitching each other out that was… therapeutic.

Elbowed by Santo, Julian’s attention was brought to one of their classmates, Jean-Paul by name. He seemed to have one of the more… abrasive personalities on campus… The telekinetic tried not to judge him by what others had said, but so far, had been given no reason not to believe every word. “He just acts like he’s… like he’s above it all…”

The jello-girl’s approach elicited a certain stare at Julian. The sight still didn’t sit well with him- so distinctly human, and so distinctly not. She seemed like a sentient gelatin mold… grape flavored… The way that the light seemed to play off of her body didn’t help the confusion either- her violet form toyed with the light, bending and twisting it, tinting the area immediately around her a definite mauve. She toyfully patted Santo on the chest, and walked away towards the rest of their team. Julian put aside his thoughts about her- it was just one of those things that he’d have to get used to… They were classmates now. On the other hand, it had been all too obvious what the glint in her black eyes had been… The boy nudged his rock-laden buddy.

“Hah- look at you,” he said, winking. “Ladies can’t resist you. Must be your special brand of charm.”

A few steps more, and Julian was grouped together with the other Paragons. Well, most of the other Paragons. Jean, another telekinetic Julian had gathered, as well as the advisor for this squadron, was conspicuously absent… The group seemed less than phased, however- they could handle this easy.

There really was no ignoring Whisper and her gripe with Cyclops. He’d heard something of the drama that seemed to be perforating the grounds- Summers and the elder Frost’s fling, and its eventual dissolution… It didn’t take a genius to figure out the reason for Whisper’s animosity… he’d dated her sister, and they’d ended it… on questionable terms too, he’d heard. The only thing that was clear, was that the others were attempting to pry them apart, like dogs pulling at their leashes to get at one another… Some, though, seemed to be extremely task-oriented, refusing to be distracted by the anger that had come to a rolling boil around them.

“If we may address the task at hand …?”

Jean-Paul. Hardly surprising.

“I am capable and willing to take responsibility for dispensing with the primary target, so that the rest of you may address the surrounding bystanders.”

“Eh, excuse me,” Julian said, stepping forward with a hand raised, “Jean-Paul, was it?” The question was purely rhetorical, asked only for effect. He knew the boy’s name.

“If I recall correctly, this is a team exercise, and that doesn’t mean you run off to fight the baddies while the rest of us play sheep-herders.” Julian changed his stance, adopting something a bit more… contemplative. “Anyway, maybe you should leave the ‘primary targets’ to the heavy-hitters. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble getting the citizens to safety.”

Message 30 of 107. [#35578]

Summary: Julian makes his way to his squad, noting the general hostility in the air. He contests JP's plan with one of his own, not willing to play sidekick to the speedster.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

OOC: No hostility meant Siege- just playin' 'em as I sees 'em ;)

Tags: WHISPER, CYCLOPS, INKLING, ROCKSLIDE, NORTHSTAR, AGNI

PSYLOCKE: Cyclops made it clear that Psylocke was going to be in charge on this training mission. She was quite proud to be offered such an honor - she was also quite aware of those that were nearby that felt slighted for being passed over for such a position. Sometimes, Bee thought that her empathy could be quite annoying…

Moonstar spoke up and stated that she didn't think that mind-linking their squad would be a good idea, as "There's no telling what you'll see in my head," she said.

Psylocke nodded. "Good point… Perhaps it might be advisable to utilize your powers against whatever Big Bad is doing the terrorizing. I am certain that you would be able to somehow distract it… depending on what ever 'it' turns out to be… Don't forget, there is a sizable bonus to whichever team removes the 'threat'," Betsy said, offering up the challenge - if Dani felt up to it. From what Bee knew, Dani's powers were quite terrifying and uncontrollable.

Chamber seconded Moonstar's concerns, +Not always got the best control over wot I’m broadcastin’, like. Or 'ow loud.+

"Not to worry. We have our comms - we can use them, instead. That will free up my focus to otherwise utilize my abilities," Psylocke said with a smile. She was quite looking forward to the challenge.

"I just wish I had a better idea of what we will be facing on the other side of those doors… " Psylocke said, looking to Cyclops, perhaps gently psi-scanning to see if she could pick up any stray thoughts that might give away any hints… That is, if he knew. However, Bee quickly withdraw when she hit the mental walls he'd placed. She could respect that.

Giving up on that, Psylocke turned back to the rest of Vanguard. "Alright. We don't know what we're facing, but whatever it is, it will need to be distracted and ultimately taken out. I would like at least two or three of us to make the Big Bad our ultimate focus. The rest of us will work together to help vacate the civilians. Whichever group is done first will help the other finish off the monster, or finish evacuating people. Cyclops, will you be joining us, or will you just be observing?"

What Bee was thinking was something along these lines, unless anyone else spoke up with a better suggestion, first:

Cyclops: If he is to be a participant, he would prove useful in joining the attack against the Big Bad. Unless he preferred evacuating people, or simply providing the team with some extra cover. However, without Psyche, the other team's leader, Bee doubted that Cyclops would be joining them.

Chamber: If he has a load of energy stored up, his biokinetic blasts could be of great assistance in subduing the Big Bad.

Laser: Able to attack the Big Bad from a distance with his 'laser' powers; or he could also help evacuate people and shield them with his powers… Or, he could provide shielding for himself and Moonstar (see below).

Moonstar: Would provide an excellent source of distraction to the Big Bad, thus making it easier to defeat. Theoretically.

Powerhouse: Would be excellent in assisting evacuate people with his gravity manipulation powers.

Wild Child: Expert tracker. Would be helpful in locating citizens that may be buried underneath rubble, or the like. Citizens that the other team might not find.

Wisdom: His hot knives would be an asset against the Big Bad.

Anyone drawing the attention of the Big Bad would essentially be providing cover to those removing citizens from the fray… And, Psylocke herself would use her telepathy and empathy to 'feel' for citizens. She could even try her hand at using the power of suggestion into keeping them in line… much like a Jedi mind trick… if that would even work.

Message 31 of 107. [#35579]

Summary: PSYLOCKE has ideas for her teammates, but she waits on a few more people to speak up with their opinions before she finalizes team Vanguard's plan.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

Tags: CYCLOPS CHAMBER LASER MOONSTAR POWERHOUSE WILD CHILD WISDOM

CHAMBER: So it was going to be one of those days … though really, should he have expected any different? Jono didn't know whether it was by virtue of being a couple of years older than some of his peers, or from having grown up in a different sort of cultural environment, but he didn't think he would ever fully understand the sheer amount of drama seemingly required by Amercian high schools. As the conversation took a decided turn for the 'bitchy', Chamber could only roll his eyes and take a step back, waiting and hoping that this latest storm would blow over quickly. He wasn't exactly looking forward to the Danger Room session, but he was certainly keen to hurry up and get the damn thing over and done.

Psylocke suggested using the comms instead, and Jono could only give her a pointed look. In his case, the electronic devices were out of the question for one very obvious reason. Hopefully she'd trust him to handle any necessary communiques in his own fashion. He nodded his compliance with her suggested strategy … he certainly felt more at ease dealing with monsters like himself, rather than ordinary civilians, who very well might see him as just as, if not more frightening than whatever they were fleeing from.

A row ensued over Wisdom's unlit cigarette, and Jono couldn't help an envious glance at the offending implement. He still missed smoking … and drinking … and snogging, which had at one point all been some of his favourite vices. He'd tried to move past the idea of ever being 'human' again and put the past behind him, but sometimes the little reminders cut him deeper than he'd ever willingly admit. Personally, he didn't see the harm in allowing the other boy this minor comfort and security blanket, but Chamber's attitude towards the bickering was always to stay the hell out of it.

Nonetheless, he couldn't help a dark chuckle of telepathic laughter in response to Powerhouse's cutting aside. The bloke never bothered to mince words, which had certainly earned him the laconic Brit's respect. If he were absolutely honest with himself, he might've just gone for a bird like Cordelia Frost … if she wasn't already playing for the other team, in addition to being an unrepentant bitch of the highest order. +D'yer think that'd help?+ he questioned the suggestion of a ball-gag. With her powers, it seemed just as likely that the youngest Frost sibling would still find a way to stir up as much contention and ill-will as possible. He said little more, noting that the exercise finally seemed to be getting underway …

Message 32 of 107. [#35581]

Summary: Jono keeps out of the bickering, save for a side comment to Powerhouse, as the team prepares to begin the mission.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

Tags: CYCLOPS, PSYLOCKE, LASER, MOONSTAR, POWERHOUSE, WILD CHILD, WISDOM

CYCLOPS: Cyclops heard the remarks, saw the stares, sensed the animosity towards him… it didn’t take a telepath to see that some people just felt threaten by him being there. He didn’t a shit, in the end he had the golden ticket already, a free pass, gaining a position as the Leader of the X-Men, Xavier’s chosen.

Those who couldn’t deal with that could kiss his ass. He wasn’t going to to let bunch of kids trying their best to take that away from him. He said nothing, but just watched, observed and took notes. This was training, that sort of training that allowed Cyclops to see who was ready for the all star team and those who weren’t.

Lucky for them Scott didn’t hold grudges… it would have been a cold day in hell before those same people got their asses off the bench and joined the X-Men on a mission. Don’t ever bite the hand that feeds you.

Cordila’s response was natural, Em was her big sister after all. But the whole break up had still affected Scott to his core. So much so that he was still a little distant when it came to any sort of social interaction. His new found freedom had allowed him to rekindle a relationship with Jeannie. It was a mutual decision, sparked by the controversy of that lingering kiss with the girl.

PSYLOCKE "I just wish I had a better idea of what we will be facing on the other side of those doors… "

“Now that we are ready to start,” Cyke replied seeing that his team seemed a little on edge. Bee was doing a great job with organizing everything, but it was now up to him to reveal the objectives. Taking the clip board, he made eye contact with all his students.

“The objective is to save as many citizens throughout the urban setting. The more people you save, the more points you’ll get at the end of the exercise.” He said, glancing at the clipboard. “Team work, threat assessment, and the amount of Citizens you save will reveal how each team will be successful for the mission. I can’t disclose what the threat is inside that room, but it will take BOTH teams working together to get the job done.”

Cyke hadn’t see Jeannie make an appearance yet. Looking over at Paragon, its Team Leader Agni seem to have it so far under control. Reaching over, he entered his authorization code, the light above the door went from crimson to green.

“The training starts now. Feel free to enter at any time, but remember there is a time limit before the threat is unleashed into the populace within. I will only be within to provide guidance and offer suggestions. Good luck.”

Scott then went silent, watching attentively the actions of the Vanguard. Team work was the top priority, anything else would be highly scrutinized.

Message 33 of 107. [#35588]

Summary: CYCLOPS stands there the silent sentinel, waiting for Team Vanguard to get organized. Once PSYLOCKE finishes up, CYCLOPS reveals the objectives of the mission, unlocks the DR door and tells VANGUARD the mission has started.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

OOC: STORYTELLER GUIDANCE: The mission has begun, feel free to enter. Remember its an urban setting with hell breaking lose. Fire trucks, ambulances and police cars are scattered about. The DR cover a little over one city block, with a massive 15 floor business building within its center. The tall structure is lit like a beacon, flames scattered outward towards the other buildings. Whatever threat has caused this damage hasn't been spotted yet.

Tags: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE

ROCKSLIDE: When Santo spotted Inkling approach, a smirk curled on his stony mouth, only to enlarge into a grin when she got even… closer. It didn't matter if he was covered in stone-- that purple blob was hot enough to elicit some feeling in Santo's 'skin', even if it was purely mental.

Santo elbowed Julian for the… third time? It was surprising that the telekinetic wasn't permanently black and blue by how often he was punched and nudged by the stone golem.

"Did you see that?" he said just above a whisper to Julian as they joined the rest of the team in the semi-circle. "She totally has the hots for me."

Going by what he saw when he first entered, though, Inkling probably had the hots for everyone. But even if that were the case, Santo was going to rub it in anyone's face (specifically Julian's) that he got all up and close with her. And you couldn't really blame him… how often do you think a stone golem gets to flirt?

[NORTHSTAR]: “If we may address the task at hand …?”

Santo listened to the guy's suggestion, which he didn't like, and Julian's rebuttal, which he did prefer.

"Yeah," Santo backed up Julian as he mentioned heavy hitters, which was most undoubtedly himself.

He crossed he arms. "This ain't a solo gig."

Hostility! Such fun for Rocky.

He looked over to the other team, and saw they were getting set to enter.

"Yo, we better hurry up," he advised his team.

Message 34 of 107. [#35589]

Summary: Santo enjoys the attention from Inkling, and backs up Julian in the team huddle.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

Tags: HELLION, NORTHSTAR, INKLING, WHISPER, AGNI, GAMBIT

PSYCHE: The doors to the Danger Room slid open with a hiss, and Jean moved into the room with a businesslike expression. She was tightening the fastening on one glove as she moved towards Cyclops.

"Sorry I'm tardy, I was discussing an issue with the Professor."

Jean left the issue in question unexplained. This was not the venue to discuss personal issues, not with Scott in leader mode. She began to look around at the gathered team.

Whisper was in the process of giving her a not-too-subtle look of disdain. Jean supposed she would have to accept some of the slings and arrows of Emma's kid sister for the time being. Who knew the Frosts would be so supportive of one another? Jean thought the Frosts hated each other as a point of honor, but clearly that was not the case.

Jean could feel other emotions spiking in the rest of the squad. Most were just anticipating the training mission with their own particular gifts and foibles. But Scott had raised his mental shields, and on a personal level that bothered her. Was it because Betsy was here? Having two telepaths on the team was a rich advantage that Scott would no doubt exploit. But Jean didn't relish being shut out of Scott's mind.

"Since I have practice with keeping telepathic communications open in a tactical setting, I volunteer for that. That can free Psylocke for more exciting adventures… "

She looked to Betsy and gave her a jaunty salute and a smile.

"That is, if that's all right with you boss!"

Message 35 of 107. [#35590]

Summary: Psyche arrives and offers to be the team communications link

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

OOC: MOD post--just placing Psyche in the scene for later use.

Tags: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE

PSYLOCKE: CYCLOPS: “The training starts now. Feel free to enter at any time, but remember there is a time limit before the threat is unleashed into the populace within. I will only be within to provide guidance and offer suggestions. Good luck.”

Psylocke was a little taken off-guard when Cyclops mentioned that they would need to work with the other team to defeat the Big Bad. She had thought that this was a team competition, what with the team who gets the most points wins, and all of that… Bonus points had even been promised to whichever team took out the Big Bad.

Betsy happened to catch Neal looking at her from the other side of the room, and she returned his smile. ~*~ Afternoon, Neal. Good luck out there… What do you say the Loser take the Winner out for dinner tonight? ~*~ Bee telepathically asked him, referring to only the two of them - both deputy leaders.

That was when Psyche arrived. She had apologized for being late, explaining that she had been with the Professor. Nevertheless, it still looked terrible for the squad leader to be a late arrival.

PSYCHE: "Since I have practice with keeping telepathic communications open in a tactical setting, I volunteer for that. That can free Psylocke for more exciting adventures… " Jean said, giving Betsy a jaunty salute and a smile. "That is, if that's all right with you boss!"

Psylocke raised an eyebrow. Now, not only was the leader of the other team late, but she was also offering to help the other team. Did Psyche not know who was on her squad? Was the red-head that clueless? And, what was with that lame salute? This wasn't the military… and Elisabeth most certainly wasn't Jean's 'boss'.

Taking pains to try to shield her mind from the other telepath, Elisabeth took the 'nice' approach. Just because Jean seemed to not be 'with it', didn't mean that she deserved to be torn to bits with Bee's sarcasm.

"Thank you for the offer, Psyche, but seeing as it's our Vanguard VS your Paragons out there, wouldn't mind-linking both teams remove the competition aspect of the exercise?" Betsy asked the crazy senior X-Man with a polite smile. "No team can win if we're working together from the get-go; that would simply be called a tie… Unless I'm missing anything from the mission brief?"

Psylocke deferred to her teammates and Cyclops, wondering if someone would counter her logic. She may not be 100% correct, and maybe Psyche's mind-link would be a most useful asset.

Or not.

Message 36 of 107. [#35591]

Summary: PSYLOCKE catches AGNI's eye and returns his smile. She telepathically suggests that the losing team's deputy leader take the winning team's deputy leader out for dinner tonight. She then voices that perhaps if everyone is mind-linked by PSYCHE, that it would take away from the 'competition' aspect of the exercise. She defers to CYCLOPS and Vanguard to see if anyone strongly objects to her stance.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

OOC: Have not yet entered the DR.

EDIT: Added in a paragraph for Neal - did not mean to miss him when I first posted! *hugs*

Tags: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

WILD CHILD: Kyle sat patiently listening to what Betsy and Scott had to say, trying to avoid the bickering of a few of the other teammates. He turned his head as the doors opened to reveal Jean coming into the mix. He smiled at her. He did not know why but she always gave off a very calming aura. He listened to her suggest linking the teams telepathically, and then he listened to the explanation of why they should not do so from Betsy. Both made valid points, but the competitor in him was in complete agreement with Betsy. If both teams were linked then there would really be no winner. He stood straight up from his crouched position and began to speak.

“Well I agree with Ms. Braddock…I don’t think that the teams should be linked because it would spoil the sense of competition. I mean it is a good idea out in normal combat situations, but not in a team separated exercise like this.” He looked to Jean with an almost apologetic expression in his eyes, as he continued to speak on how he believed he could best be utilized. “As far as I am concerned, you are free to use me however you wish in the field. I am a good tracker and I can find lost or injured people that the other team could not. I am also quick and agile and I can be used as a distraction for whatever beast there is that is causing all the mayhem. I am fine with either scenario.” He looked at both his team leaders before sitting back down and awaiting entry into the Zone.

Message 37 of 107. [#35593]

Summary: Kyle agrees to not have a mental link, then gives his suggestions on how he should be used in the field.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

Tags: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

KIRBY: Sorry for mucking up PSYCHE's post. I didn't realize who was on what team, and I have only myself to blame for that. I throw myself at the mercy of Monica Bellucci for my most profound error.

Blame not the player for Psyche, as she is still on LOA. I just needed to get the character into the scene so the player could participate when she was back.

Summary: KIRBY apologies, film at 11

[OOC] Message 38 of 107. [#35594]

Summary: KIRBY apologies, film at 11

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

INKLING: ~~INSIDE the Danger Room~~

Chaos was already making its presence known. At either end of a busy metropolitan rush-hour street stood two mechanized monstrosities, blocking anyone’s escape from between them.

The one at the far end was around 20 feet tall, planted its wide footing in the middle of the intersection, and the pilot within the reinforced, armored controls section was happily blowing cars into the air from either side via the Concussion Cannon mounted on its right arm. An attempt by a young woman to slip past resulted in the thing swiveling on its waist joint and ripping apart the standing mailbox the woman attempted to use as cover via firing its left-mounted Vulcan Machine Cannon. The woman crab-crawled backward, scurrying to the shelter of a building niche 10 ft back with 4 other people, and neither she nor anyone else was attempting another escape.

The other Mech looked more like a more agile ‘Walker’ type with similar armament except for the left arm having a long single barrel, which the similarly armored pilot leveled at a police vehicle and promptly took off the roof with a single explosive blast. The Mech turned to survey the surround for more targets, guarding from escape from the other intersection… and finding a fresh supply of the Paragons and Vanguard walking into the scene… A risen whine signaled a warm-up cycle then the thing let loose a wide burst from the Concussion Cannon, blasting an SUV into hurtling straight into their midst….

The main target between the two mechs, a City Bus, had been blown onto its side and had skidded to a halt sideways, showing wide dark scrapes in the asphalt behind, and blocking traffic in both lanes. Inside the bus were the following:

A large-framed, male, African-American bus driver named Kenneth…

A pre-teen brother and sister…

A Businessman, still clutching his briefcase for dear life…

2 teen boys, both of who bore skateboards…

A middle-aged Mother protectively curling her body around her infant daughter within the border of the side-turned seats…

And an elderly couple huddled toward the back of the seats…

~~~

Marina cast a look toward the DR door, and peeked in for what was waiting…

"Right… Flames… cars going boom… and oh lovely… a battle-mech… 'Scuse me.. 2 of them… guarding a bus-full of hostages… "

… pause for 4 heartbeats…

BLINK BLINK

".. that is decidedly NOT 'Fluffy'!" she noted of the closer mech. "All right.. who's drawing it's attention so we can get to the nice trapped people!?" Unlike Jean-Paul, Rockslide seemed at least willing to listen to others' requests.

"Hey… Rocky… think you can plow us a path? Or better yet… pitch me to the bus. I'm allergic to large holes blown in my membrane… and I'm betting that thing has trouble tracking something in flight… Just think of me as a curvy water balloon, but I'll be avoiding that annoying *splat* at the end… " the purple lashes batted slightly around the coal-black eyes.

Message 39 of 107. [#35600]

Summary: Inkling surveys the way in and asks Rockslide if he can plow a path… or spare a 'pitch'..

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

OOC: ST Post: These are the ACTUAL threats and targets, just fyi…

Mech1: 20 ft tall (Note: Image is lacking EXISTENT heavy Armor Plating over all limbs; it actually has some pretty hvy-gauge bulkhead layers overlapped like an armadillo). Right Arm Concussion Cannon; Left Arm Vulcan Machine Cannon w/ Armor Piercing Rnds.

http://tinyurl.com/245l7rg

Mech2: 15 ft tall, Image correct re: Armor; Right Arm: Concussion Cannon; Left Arm: Single Barrel AP Cannon. Other goodies too… but we’ll get to that later…

http://tinyurl.com/37rmxov

Rockslide has permission to pick up Inkling to complete the 'pitching' maneuver if he chooses to attempt it. ~MILLER~

Tags: CYCLOPS, PSYLOCKE, CHAMBER, LASER, MOONSTAR, POWERHOUSE, WILD CHILD, WISDOM, PSYCHE, AGNI, GAMBIT, HELLION, NORTHSTAR, ROCKSLIDE, WHISPER

ROCKSLIDE: Hearing his name called by Inkling, Santo waited not for a second longer to respond. "Told ya," he told Julian with a smirk, and gave Jean-Paul a double finger flip off just to rub it in that he got called into action before him.

The golem joined the purple girl by her side, and took a few seconds to survey the scene before him. It looked pretty chaotic: screaming, fire, explosions, angry decepticon/at-at things causing mass destruction and ruin for currently no conceivable reason other than their own enjoyment.

[INKLING]: … pitch me to the bus.

"You bet," he answered, and scooped her up in one of his giant stone hands.

This training session was just getting better and better.

He'd never been one for baseball-- the game took way too long to play, and didn't seem fun at all. Hit a ball and run the bases, then wait for the next pitch. Boring. How about constantly running around, knocking whimps over and punting a ball halfway across the field? That was more Santo's element. Soccer trumped baseball in all ways.

Nevertheless, throwing wasn't much of a skill, especially a general chuck towards a wide target, like Santo was about to do.

blasting an SUV into hurtling straight into their midst…

"Watch out!" Santo yelled, bringing Inkling close to his body and shielding her and the rest of the team from the hurling SUV with his back.

"Shit… " Santo cursed, as the SUV crashed into his body, sending chips of rock flying in every direction.

"Yo, Jules, chuck this shit back at that bastard," he directed his teammate with a growl, as bit of the golem's shoulder fell off where the bumper of the SUV had hit.

"You alright?" he asked Inkling, and after her response, stretched his arm back and launched it forward with a grunt, sending the purple blob flying towards the bus as directed.

Message 40 of 107. [#35605]

Summary: Santo blocks the incoming SUV, and sends Inkling sailing to the bus.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

Tags: MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, INKLING, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

AGNI: Agni was quiet, listening to Cyclops give his Team their objective. Still a little confused about who the mission worked, the Indian always observed waiting to see just how Team Vanguard was going to attack the objectives.

Watching the Team Vanguard’s Advisor turn on the green light for the DR, allowing the teams to begin their exercise. With Paragon’s Advisor still not here yet, Agni needed to step up and take the reins.

He heard Cyclops reveal the safe zones for both teams. There was a bank on the north side of the DR that was the safe zone for the Vanguards. While the bus station on the south side of the map was that of the Paragons. All the injured would be brought to these blue areas to count as points for each team.

PSYLOCKE ~*~ Afternoon, Neal. Good luck out there… What do you say the Loser take the Winner out for dinner tonight? ~*~

Her soft smile excited his heart. Beating faster at the mere sight of the violet haired beauty and Vanguard’s Team Leader. ~*~ Greetings Elizabeth, may Ganesh smile luckily upon your team as well. I believe I’d love to eat something Mexican this evening. ~*~ He returned through her link. The last part was an obvious rebuke to her dinner comment.

When Psyche finally arrived, Agni stood a lot straighter happy to finally see his advisor on scene. “I believe you providing telepathic support is a great idea for Team Paragon.” He said, feeling that Vanguard had a clear advantage with their gorgeous telepathic Deputy Team Leader. A lingering look over to Psylocke made his wonder just how lucky he was to have her in his life.

ROCKSLIDE "Yo, we better hurry up," he advised his team.

“Agreed my Rocky Friend.” Agni replied. “Let’s roll Paragons.” He added stepping through the portal that lead into the DR. The cityscape took him totally by surprise, amazed just how advanced the technology was for a tiny room the size of a gym.

His team moved fast, impressed just how well they worked in a stressful situation. Agni took skyward, watching for his teammates as he stayed close to the pack.

~*~Inkling, Whisper and Rockslide, see if you can get those people out of that bus. Inkling you’re in charge to get those people to safety~*~ Agni responded through Psyche’s link, giving Inkling their muscle to provide any sort of cover. ~*~ The rest of us, lets see if we can knock it down!~*~He replied, maiming at the mech’s torso. The fiery blasts snaked menacingly at the mechanical threat hoping to grab its attention.

Message 41 of 107. [#35608]

Summary: AGNI tells PSYLOCKE the bet is on. Entering the DR, AGNI gives INKLING, WHISPER and ROCKSLIDE orders to get those victims out of the bus and to safety while NORTHSTAR, GAMBIT, HELLION and AGNI tryin to keep the Robot occupied…

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

OOC: SAFE ZONES: VANGUARD NORTH = BANK

SAFE ZONES: PARAGON SOUTH = BUS STATION

Tags: NORTHSTAR, ROCKSLIDE, INKLING, HELLION, GAMBIT, WHISPER, and PSYLOCKE

LASER: Laser stood silent, listening to the several side conversatins going on. At the row over Wisdom and his (unlit) cigarette, he smiled. He only knew Wisdom from a few times crossing in the halls, or being in the same place but for different reasons. But he liked his attitude.

Next problem up, keeping in touch. Resolved much more quickly, with the decision to use comms over telepathy. Didn't matter to him either way.

And finally, talk about the mission. When offered his options, Laser shrugged. "My shields aren't all that large, and take a lot of concentration to hold. I can't push them too far away from me yet either. But, if Moonstar and I can find a vantage point, I can take shots at the Big Bad (is that the official name?) and Moonstar can scare the hell out of it at a distance. Then I can be close enough to keep her under shield." He shrugged again, "Let me know. We can aways adapt on the fly."

They stepped out into the scenario. First thing Laser saw was the big robot. "OK, do we help out against that or look for someone else to save?" As he asked, his hands began to glow gold.

Message 42 of 107. [#35610]

Summary: Laser agrees to confront the Big Bad

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

Tags: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

GAMBIT: Gambit waited for the rest of the team to assemble. He remained silent, in the background, while they arrived and talked amongst themselves. He had nothing to add to the conversation.

Finally Psyche arrived and chose to keep herself mostly out of the training, except to act as a telepathic switch board and support. Agni would be in charge.

Gambit heard about how Agni had taken on one of the Marauders head to head. The guy knew how to dish it out, but could he plan it out as well?

They entered and Agni issued his first directives. Gambit was part of the combat contingent, sent to deal with the robot. "A giant robot? Really? Can we be a bit original here?"

His staff was already extended, so Gambit took off toward the robot at a run. Planting the staff, he used it to pole vault up and over. As he reached the apogee of his vault, Gambit slipped his cards from the deck in his duster and into his fingers.

Lavender fire rained down on teh robot from above as Gambit kinetically charged the cards and flipped them down on the robot's head. Finishing his vault, Gambit landed in a three point stance, pulling another staff from a pocket and telescoping it out.

Message 43 of 107. [#35611]

Summary: Gambit follows orders and takes his shots on the robot

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

Tags: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

INKLING: Marina had heard Agni’s directives, and given an affirmative nod, heading out before the sudden appearance of the SUV. Fortunately, Rockslide was as tough on his exterior as his codename implied… doubly fortunate, he’d actually blocked the aerially-cast vehicle’s path… and triply so, he’d scooped the Lavender Lass up and shielded her as well as the rest…

“Guess those physics points about an immovable object need a footnote… and a picture of you” she shakily replied, grinning like a madwoman. “Yeah I’m okay… Get Whisper through, okay? You’re a more of walking wall than I am.”

With that… the Violet Vixen was launched…

You know those moments, when something really, truly seems like just the greatest idea in the world… right up until the point of engagement of it? Kind of like going bungy-jumping, when you finally work up the nerve to step off the damn edge… and then it hits you… that niggling pang of doubt… the one worming it’s way steadily forward until it becomes a blaring point of reckoning… and your mind clicks it all in…

A bungy cord is essentially just a really big rubber band… and what do rubber bands do when stretched? They snap back… and the bottom of the platform you just so eagerly stepped from is probably rather hard to bounce back into… on the way back up…

An unreasonable fear, true… but seeming exceedingly real at the time… oh right.. back to the fact that the Amethyst Amazon was now sailing, cutting through the air like a large, purple shotput inside her uniform…

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……FRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKK! her plaintive voice could be heard, already heading off into the distance… over 3 cars… reaching the apex of her trajectory… and descending…

1st BOUNCE… “…ow!..” and she was skipping off the top of a minivan…

2nd BOUNCE… “…uh-oh… ” and she was veered into a sharp ricochet upward off the side of a UPS van…

3rd BOUNCE… “…WHOOOOOOOOA!..” and she went skipping off a newsstand roof, toward the upfacing side of the bus….

A pair of lavender tendrils formed from her hands whipped outward to catch at the rear wheel-well edge… and her arms stretched… Marina spun out of sight as her body was sling-shotted past and over the edge.

A moment later, her mauve tresses slung up into view, shortly followed by the rest of her onto the up-sided left half of the bus. Retracting her ‘hands’ back into regular form, she gave a ‘thumb’s up’ sign to those in the Paragons from a prone position… and breathlessly started searching for loose windows… in particular… a break in the window’s seals. The 2 regular exits were facing asphalt, so would be of little use to any trying to get out…

“We’re gonna need another door….” she muttered…

~Elsewhere~

The volley of charged cards did well to get the ‘Walker’ Mech’s attention… the wave of detonations blew against the armored chassis, causing it to re-stabilize its footing… and hence clearing the next few moments for the rest to make their respective moves…

Message 44 of 107. [#35614]

Summary: Inkling notes Whisper to Rockslide after he blocks the SUV's path and then gets launched herself… skipping a few times.. but makes it.. eventually.. and begins searching for a viable way to help the people inside exit. Gambit's initial shots give ample distraction for others to progress for a few moments.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

OOC: Partial ST post for Gambit's effect… both squads have a few clear moments to maneuver.

Tags: CYCLOPS, PSYLOCKE, CHAMBER, LASER, MOONSTAR, POWERHOUSE, WILD CHILD, WISDOM, PSYCHE, AGNI, GAMBIT, HELLION, NORTHSTAR, ROCKSLIDE, WHISPER

HELLION: The doors slid open, and the squads poured in, though Hellion stood just inside the Ready Room, staring wide-eyed at what they were going into. Beyond was… outside. It was a city- probably downtown somewhere. There was a fire, blaring sirens, and a fair amount of screaming. There was the faint whirr of machinery as something big and mechanical worked on a bit further away. Nobody seemed phased by this as much as Hellion, who was simply standing there, trying to find something in the area to assure himself that it was, in fact, a room. There was no such consolation.

A car flying towards them snapped the telekinetic out of his daze- room or not, the Danger part seemed to be living up to expectations. Rockslide did what he did best and deflected the flung vehicle with relative ease, sending the purple, gelatinous girl flying through the air towards one of the team’s… objectives. The boy took a moment to remind himself that there was stuff to be done…

~*~Inkling, Whisper and Rockslide, see if you can get those people out of that bus. Inkling you’re in charge to get those people to safety~*~

The sudden appearance of a voice in Julian’s head only added to the surreal feel of this whole situation. He’d just been in a chrome room, ready for a huge number of things, none of which had been a very real seeming city in very real seeming danger. It was a lot to swallow, and he didn’t have much time to do it in. Focusing on the fact that the voice was familiar had a calming effect- he hadn’t encountered the strange mind-speak thing that telepaths did more than once, and that had been enough… It was like an invasion… but one that he’d have to allow…

One of the other students made the first move. With moves that made him seem like the love-child of a gymnast and a parkour fanatic, Gambit ran forward and threw a handful of… things. Tracing their paths, Julian finally caught sight of what they were up against.

“Robots,” he said, staring at them as a barrage of explosions went off at the smaller one’s feet. They were practicing by fighting robots.

~*~ The rest of us, lets see if we can knock it down!~*~

He took a breath to soothe the uneasy feeling that came with having something projected into his head, Julian took that last step from the Ready Room into the Danger Room. He’d wanted ‘practice’… and they’d give him that, and more.

Hell, no turning back now… he thought to himself as he closed his eyes. Tapping into the well sitting at his core, Julian unleashed the flood of energy into his body. Spreading out his arms to his sides, crackling wisps of green energy started to come off of him. His jacket was whipping about as if there were wind beneath him, and his hair acted likewise. When he opened his eyes, they seemed to be glowing bright with the same energy that was crackling off him like electricity… Hellion was ready.

“Alright…” he said, shaking his hands and rolling his shoulders, “Lets rock it.”

He took two steps as if he were running, and leaped forward into the air. There was a moment that it seemed he would continue like anyone else and land face-first in the asphalt, but instead, he lifted off up, up, and up. Arms spread, he flew over the wreckage, catching a glimpse of Marina as she struggled with the bus… The others would help soon enough… he had a job to do…

Aiming for a section of ground between the bus and the pair of mechs, Julian made a quick descent. He dived, pulled out, and dropped himself a few feet up, landing as smoothly as he’d ever managed. He looked up at the nearest mech, which also seemed to be the largest. It had a fair amount of plating and its arms were… definitely un-safe.

“Come on!” he called out, bringing his hands together like he were holding a beach-ball, “Gimme your best shot!” Between his hands, a ball of green, telekinetic energy burst to life. He threw it at the mechanical monster and watched it fly swiftly through the air.

Message 45 of 107. [#35616]

Summary: Julian's thrown off by the lack of apparent 'Room' in the Danger Room, as well as the telepathic contact. Collecting himself, he flies over to the mechs, and launches an attack on the larger of the two.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

Tags: ROCKSLIDE, INKLING, AGNI, GAMBIT, WHISPER, PSYCHE, NORTHSTAR

NORTHSTAR: The new boy, whose name he had not yet bothered to learn, dared to challenge the speedster, suggesting that Jean-Paul leave their as of yet unknown opponent to the so-called 'heavy-hitters'. He could have pointed out, perhaps, that one did not have to be able to hit one's enemies particularly hard, when it was possible to deal over a dozen, cumulative blows within the space of a second. “Of course … if we wish to be here all afternoon,” he countered testily. “I was merely suggesting the most expedient method of addressing the problem.”

When the enemy was, in fact, revealed to be giant robots, Northstar was given a moment's pause. He recalled the mission, not too very long ago, when he had been one of those called upon to oppose Donald Pierce and his 'Sentries.' Jean-Paul had been rather painfully wounded – a split-second too slow, and shot in the shoulder. The following week, during which his arm had remained unusable and kept in a sling, had been a particularly humiliating and inconvenient experience. “Je méprise ces fichues monstruosités,” the Canadian muttered darkly to himself, before taking to the air and streaking towards the second, more agile looking machine.

“Hé! Sur ici!” he called out, trying to attract the mechanical enemy's attention; while it wasted its time trying to target the speedster, the others could worry about the human obstacles getting underfoot on the ground below. It also gave Northstar a few moments to get a closer look at what he was dealing with, and begin determining the best places to strike, if he wished to inflict the maximum amount of damage …

Message 46 of 107. [#35617]

Summary: Typically, Northstar refuses to follow anyone's plans except his own.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

OOC: Mini-wrangle: Sentinels don't exist yet in Yr.2. Sentries very much do… no-harm, no-foul, and I only altered term-phrasing; no other changes. ~MILLER~

Tags: PSYCHE, AGNI, GAMBIT, HELLION, INKLING, ROCKSLIDE, WHISPER

ROCKSLIDE: Santo winced as he saw Inkling (rather less gracefully than he'd predicted) fly through the air from his rather crude throw, and bounce a few times before reaching the buss. Oops.

"Sorry!" he called out to her. At least she made it, though. That was what really mattered.

Santo saw Hellion fly out from behind him, bathed in his green light, looking not to far from being possessed. Not to mention completely ignoring Santo's request to get payback at that Mech-a-Tech by chucking the SUV back at it.

"Alright, ass, never mind then," he said, mostly to his self, because Hellion (he'd probably should start calling him that in here) looked pretty preoccupied at the moment.

As Northstar wizzed past, Santo just rolled his eyes. Whatever. Let him get vaporized, or crushed under a falling building, or something. Santo wasn't saving him from any rubble.

Remembering Inkling's request before she was shot into the fray, Santo turned around to spot Whisper.

"You," he said, nodding his head towards her. "You ready?"

Santo didn't exactly know what she was going to do, or how she could supply any help whatsoever, because anyone who'd watched Spongebob knew that robots had no feelings.

But hey-- orders were orders.

Santo turned back to the upturned SUV that had so unceremoniously chipped his back, and a thought struck him. With two swings of his fists, he punched two holes in the bottom on the truck, grabbed a hold, and lifted it up. It was heavy, but he could hold it forward in front of him at least.

He grinned like a four year old, and turned his head around to those behind him.

"I made a shield," he said proudly.

Message 47 of 107. [#35619]

Summary: Santo makes a shield out of the SUV, and gets ready to go in.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

OOC: Whisper, you can power-play Rockslide to lead them toward the bus if you want.

ST NOTE: The Mechs might not have feelings… but the PILOTS do… lol.. just fyi.. you may now return to your regularly scheduled chaos… ~MILLER~

Tags: HELLION, NORTHSTAR, INKLING, WHISPER, AGNI, GAMBIT

INKLING: Northstar’s momentarily blurry form flicked into focus of the closer Mech. The ‘pilot’, after reasserting the balance, squinted slightly inside… flicked an internal ‘lock-on’ switch… and released a pair of homing missiles up from a pair of vertically-oriented column-launchers inset into the Mech’s back. The twin missiles were thrown up into the air with a double FOOP sound, angled sharply toward Northstar, and kicked in their propulsion, speeding toward his current position away from either the Vanguard or Paragons…

A blast of plasma from Agni flared up and around the Walker’s side, causing a further flash to likely confuse the pilot inside and forcing the Mech to further brace itself, planting a wide ‘Y’-shaped foot down and back for more support to maintain its up-right stance. The additional blast of green concussive force from Hellion followed it up in rapid succession, forcing the pilot to turn the central chassis up and away to compensate for the sheer cumulative force.

~Meanwhile, at the bus~

Marina had found the driver’s window, and nimbly fit inside by adusting her body’s width. However, the fact she’d had to alter her form to fit through also registered that using the same route to get others out was not going to work.

It distinctly occurred to her that normal humans, like those inside the bus, generally had a problem going all squishy and malleable… pesky thing that, their having to retain an intact skeleton… go figure…

ANYWAY… How to get them out?.. she pondered…

Several of them looked quite frankly like they’d just been put into a giant can with their bodies doing a remarkable imitation of ping-pong balls, and the whole thing stuck into some massive paint-shaker.. i.e. several were sporting fresh injuries. The lady with her baby was holding one hand against her temple with the other clutching the infant to her chest, and both were crying… the businessman was wrestling the bent chair assembly for control of his briefcase and bleeding profusely from his nose… The bus driver wasn’t out cold but wasn’t looking like he could walk far, clutching his ribs like that…

Marina clicked in her comm-badge to her Squad.

“Okayokayokay… right… Paragons… Whisper, and Rockslide…I’m inside the bus, but more or less everyone in here is a mess. I’ve got no clear way out, the regular doors are facing the ground. Best guess, only half of the people in here could climb up if I get the emergency latches on the bus side-windows open… in other words… I need a new door, a.s.a.p. I’m going to start working on smacking free the front window so they can crawl through, but I got no idea how long that’s going to take… I could use some help, please, THANK YOU… Inkling out.”

“Scuse me… I need to borrow that.” she noted to the very surprised looking construction worker, and promptly grabbed his hardhat. Marina’s hand went wide inside the hardhat, bypassing the hat’s inner lining and splaying out to form-fit, holding the shell to protect her membrane.

“Right then…” she grimaced in preparation, moving to the front of the bus, to the large fron windows, drawing her arm back and muttering like a mantra….

“…a door is just…”

Her make-shift armored hand struck the glass with a hard CRRRACK!

“…a window without the glass…”

Marina pulled the arm back again to continue… at least until the other Paragons showed up, or another option from someone else presented itself…

Message 48 of 107. [#35643]

Summary: The closest Mech takes a few hits, remains standing but still distracted, and launches a couple of small presents intending to keep Northstar busy. Inkling works the problem of those to be rescued.. from the inside of the bus… and calls out for assistance.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

OOC: ST Post/results so far to all re: the closest Mech, and general awareness re: targets to be saved and bus conditions.

Tags: CYCLOPS, PSYLOCKE, CHAMBER, LASER, MOONSTAR, POWERHOUSE, WILD CHILD, WISDOM, PSYCHE, AGNI, GAMBIT, HELLION, NORTHSTAR, ROCKSLIDE, WHISPER

WHISPER: Well wasn't this a clusterfuck? And here was Cordelia, completely missing her ability to really give a damn. Yay! Go in and play super hero. Neato. Fun. Totally rad. To the max. Yeah, Cordelia's element was not the battlefield. Giver her an enemy that could be bought off or reasoned with, like Wilson Fisk, she was golden. Give her giant flippin' robots that looked like something out of Mechmarrior, not…

Oooooh wait. Maybe there was something. She could feel emotions coming from the robots. So, they had pilots, eh? Awesome. Maybe she could be useful after all.

"Nice one, Rock Muncher," she said to the big guy. "Maybe there's something between your ears other than pubbles, hm?" She looked at the fray before her and sighed. "Alright, I'm going to try and keep the probably panicked as all hell civilians from freaking out," she said. Really, it was about all she could do. "You provide Inkling with her new door."

She looked to the bus, concentrating. Transmitting her own, and attempting to overpower the emotional states of those on the bus. Their fear and panic, if all went as planned, waning and replaced by a waxing sense of calm indifference. they would go with whatever the nice purple lady said. After all, the sooner they did as she said, the sooner they could get the hell out of here.

Message 49 of 107. [#35649]

Summary: WHISPER attempts to keep the bus victims calm.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

Tags: ROCKSLIDE, INKLING

POWERHOUSE: Well, so much for being the superiorly talented team. The Paragons were off and already racking up damage and Vanguard was still standing around with their collective thumbs up their asses.

Alex surveyed the scene… it was as though whoever programmed this thing had picked his brain for two of the three missions he’d actually been taken out on: Donald Pierce’s Mechanized Island Paradise and Hulk & Juggy Go to the Zoo (and cause mass damage in the process…). He looked around with sneaking suspicion to make sure there were no rowboats lurking somewhere in the shadows.

“They’re exo-skeletons,” he said, recognizing not so much the specific build of the two mechs, but possessing enough common sense to deduce that where there are men visible inside, they’re generally not there as passengers. “See! There are pilots inside. Take out the driver and the rest goes out of commission with him.”

And then something profound struck Alex… no, not another phantom rowboat, this was more along the lines of a realization.

“I realize this goes against the whole my squad’s better than your squad pissing match,” he commented back to those of Vanguard still not engaging the targets, and more specifically Deputy Bea and Sheriff Scotty. “But the lesson this exercise appears to be aimed towards is teamwork for the common goal of preserving life, am I wrong? So screw the points. Wouldn’t it behoove us for both squads to work together as a larger team for the shared objective?”

Alex knew, of course, there were those… specifically on the other squad… more specifically with a penchant for cursing in French and NOT throwing playing cards, that would likely want nothing of any idea that would take the competitive aspect – or rather their ability to measure themselves against the rest of the group – out of this, but others might be more easily swayed.

All mutants working together for the betterment of all mankind – that was the underlying precept of the Professor’s dream wasn’t it?

Message 50 of 107. [#35650]

Summary: Alex makes a profound yet very atypical Alex-type suggestion for course of action.

With: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

Where: XI: Danger Room;

When: Afternoon, Jul 24, 2010;

Tags: INKLING, MOONSTAR, WHISPER, HELLION, CYCLOPS, WILD CHILD, LASER, GAMBIT, WISDOM, PSYLOCKE, NORTHSTAR, CHAMBER, AGNI, ROCKSLIDE, POWERHOUSE, PSYCHE

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