<@Fabian> Fabian took a long pull of his cigarette, pulling his coat around him tighter as he damned the weather. "It is far too cold. I think I've got to quit just because of the cold. So someone called in with some sort of mutant sighting from the sewer? Is that a thing?" Fabian did not want to go down there if it were because...sewer.
<Sue> "Apparently?" Sue offered, bundled up against the cold herself and quite merry with her matching hat, scarf and mittens.
<Mayday> Mayday frowned as she sat double-checking her Nerf Longshot for any issues: she swore blind the aim was off slightly since she took it apart and painted it with the N7 colour scheme. "Erm...can't say I've heard of anything...myseeeelf...", she gazed down the sight, shooting another dart from the gun at a plant pot. "Why?"
<Darren> "There was a whole colony of mutants living down here, a while back," Darren shone a light along the walls, "they were all murdered, or so we thought."
<Mayday> "A colony?", Mayday looked up at Darren, "How many?"
<Melati> "I'd be surprised if that were the only mutants driven underground," Melati remarked, checking her flashlight. "After all, regular homeless people chose to hide out down there for whatever reason, so I imagine such a location become prime housing material when you're gifted with freakish looks."
<Darren> "Hundred or so, I think. Apparently it was a massacre," Darren sighed, "The X-Men had to go clean up, I was off with SHIELD at the time though ... that's how Jay's big sister died, took a bullet for him."
<@Fabian> "I'm too pretty for the sewers." Fabian frowned, definitely not on board with actually going down for investigation. "We're at least almost to where they were seen, aren't we?"
<Sue> Sue wrinkled her nose, "That's horrible..." It was sad that not all big sisters got forcefields to protect their idiot brothers.
<Mayday> Mayday stood up, frowning, "I-it can't be that bad, right? I mean, sewers might be fun! Kinda...", she tried to remain optimistic, glancing at Sue and agreeing with a little nod.
<@Fabian> "I regularly go into abandoned places that smell like ass and I'm balking at it, it could be that bad."
<Rubin> "Fabian, I think we're in the same boat here. I think we should stay behind and keep watch in case... I don't know. Someone flushes a toilet or something." Rubin said.
<Sue> "Well if you're worried about stepping in something I can just forcefield up... it's no big deal...."
<Melati> "Don't worry, I have little intention to go bust into someone's home just because some guy thought he saw a sewer gator or something," Melati said. "Your home ought to be your castle, right? Even if it happens to be the sewer."
<Mayday> "It'll be fine.", Mayday smiled, "B-by the way, this isn't a toy.", she pointed out, tapping the Nerf gun; "T-the darts are tracers, I just felt a little...fun.", she squirmed a little with her plastic rifle.
<Mayday> "Mmkay, it IS a 'toy', but it's practical. Kind of."
<@Fabian> "You defend it, Mayday." Fabian was nodding to Rubin though. "I think that sounds like a great plan. After all, who wants to climb into a dark hole without someone watching out at the beginning of the hole?"
<Rubin> "Plus who on earth would want to try and shove all this meat down such a tight hole?" Rubin asked, gesturing to himself and the sewers.
<Melati> "We're only here to check if someone might be in need of our help, not do the city services' job for them." Melati shone the flashlight into some darker corner, before turning down its intensity. Her eyes worked better if the cone wasn't too bright. "Good point. If we absolutely have to go down somewhere, I say we grab the Calvin first and have us built a probe."
<Melati> "Alternatively, we can chuck down Kent," she suggested.
<Mayday> Mayday snorted a little at Rubin's comment, "Best excuse I've heard yet, actually.", she looked over at Melati, "He is the leader!"
<Darren> "Huh?" Darren had zoned out, "What fiendish plot are you concocting now, woman?"
<Rubin> "Now that's an idea, shove a probe into a manhole."
<Sue> "Oh for heaven's sake..." Sue rolled her eyes, "Grow some backbones...." she strolled on in there on a field to keep her shoes clean.
<@Fabian> "Backbone isn't the question, it's motivation and desire." Fabian still wasn't going in, either.
<Melati> Melati turned to give Mayday a look. "Unless this turned into a Shield mission all of sudden and no one chose to tell me, no, he's not," she reminded the her and the others. "So I guess that still leaves me in charge."
<Darren> Darren nodded in approval of Sue, "That's the spirit, come on kiddies, and I'm only here to observe Mel and report back to Lorna," he grinned, "try not to shit your pants too much at the idea, mmkay?"
<@Fabian> "That's right, Mel's in charge...we get paid in booze?"
<Melati> She leaned close to Darren and kept her voice down. "Which doesn't mean you can't warn me when I'm about to do something stupid, okay?"
<Mayday> Mayday hopped over to Sue, bringing her rifle up and glancing back at Melati; "My bad, s-sorry.", she dropped a web on the top of the manhole opening and rappelled her way down carefully.
<Darren> Darren looked faintly shocked, "You mean to tell me you might screw up?" He teased.
<Melati> "No need to feel sorry;" she replied, leaning over to look down the hole. "Can't believe I got stuck with the job myself."
<@Fabian> Ugh, God, was he actually going to have to go in there? Well, at least he had dressed appropriately for dreck.
<Mayday> "Aw, jeeez! Verdict: it smells gross!", Mayday frowned, pulling up her scarf to cover her mouth and clicking on her flashlight, strategically duct-tapped to her rifle. "Also, it's dark."
<Darren> "That's what your torches are for, Dredd," Darren called over.
<Melati> Melati gave Darren a look, eyes narrowing. "Don't get your hopes up of ever going to see that," she replied, nudging his side. "Besides, heard you got a mighty ass-kicking yourself not long ago." Looking at him again, she nodded. "Seriously, though, I'll be damned if I let my pride get any of these kids get hurt, so feel free to tell me when I'm being stupid."
<Sue> Sue put an arm around May to keep her on her forcefield path because it was safe and dry there.
<Darren> Darren gave her a salute, smirking a little, "Right you are, mini-Boss."
<Mayday> Mayday looked around, trying not to smirk like a geek at how badass she felt with a rifle in her hands, jumping a little at Sue's arm. "H-hey...", she giggled, rubbing her face a little against Sue's
<Rogue> Essex had been sitting in wait in the filth near the tunnel, hovering in the dark until he knew they would be there. He had really hoped for more of his horsemen. Oh well. One acolyte was better than nothing at all. Silently, covered by the shadows and his long black cloak, he swept in behind Fabian, covered his mouth and carried him back to the shadows to make his way back to the lair.
<Melati> "You can wait up here and watch our backs," she told Fabian, before looking down the hole again. "Okay, wait up once you make it down there. I'll get down to take point." She turned to Darren. "Care to give the place a thorough scan?"
<Scott> "After long and in-depth consideration, I am not entirely sure that it was the best idea for the guy whose main mode of defense is growing to join a mission that includes to walk into a sewer..." Scott spoke for the first time, eying the hole suspiciously.
<Mayday> "Hey, can we get a quick head-count?", Mayday asked, sticking close to Sue.
<Cecilia> Cecilia stared at the tunnel. "Christ, the things I do for my kind," she said covering her nose. First mission out and it was in a sewer. Just her luck.
<Melati> "Fabian?" Melati looked up again, tapping her comm. "You copy?"
<Mayday> Mayday looked back up at the entrance, "Feel free to join us: the water's...probably infected...", she snickered at her childishness, tapping on her radio, ["Something wrong with the comm?"]
<Sue> Sue gave May a grin, "Plenty of room up on my field if anyone wants to keep their feet dry."
<Scott> He poked Melati. "Have we already lost one to the sewer alligators?"
<Cecilia> Cecilia stepped down into the tunnel. One of the last ones in. "Fuck," she hissed, stepping in god knew what.
<Darren> Darren did as he was asked, and scanned the tunnel, "Hmmm, no life signs bigger then a rat up ahead, mini-Boss."
<Sue> "Don't call Mel 'mini-boss' it makes me feel like we're in some kind of dungeon and we'll have to defeat her before we get to the main boss...."
<@Fabian> Fabian, not knowing who had him, bit the hand and tried to grapple with the person's arms, tapping into their powers and trying to burn whoever it was out once he realized that was definitely a mutant behind him.
<Mayday> "'K..., I don't see anything either.", Mayday confirmed, double-checking the corners. "Speaking of bosses: w-what does this lizard-monster look like, anyway?", she asked, a little disconcerted that Fabian was quiet.
<Melati> "Unless one crept up to snack on our read-guard, I can't see how," Melati replied, trying to contact Fabian again. "Okay, Sue, May? I'll just call you two team-sewage for short. Don't go any further."
<Cecilia> Cecilia tested her force field a few times, getting a feel for the narrow space. Well, at least nobody was going to get their head cracked this time. Not if she could help it anyways. "Where's Fabian?" She asked. "Why's he not responding?"
<Melati> She looked at the others around her. "We need to check on Fabian first. He probably just broke a nail trying to operate the comm, but we have to be sure."
<Mayday> Mayday slowed down, "So, we are missing someone?", she glanced back, adjusting her rifle. "Erm...are you sure?"
<Rogue> Essex cursed inwardly at the bite and moved his arm to wrap around Fabian's, trying to hold him down. But Rogue's powers were getting an overload and her body was growing weak quickly. Damn him! Essex squeezed him tightly, using the overload for his gain if even for a moment.
<Sue> "Want me to block off in front of us with a field so nothing sneaks up on us?" Sue asked, turning back towards Mel.
<Mayday> Glancing at Sue, Mayday smiled and nodded, mouthing 'Good plan!'.
<Cecilia> Cecilia moved closer to the group. Fuck, they had barely started this mission and already someone was missing. And worse, it was the person with no offensive powers. Goddamnit, Fabian
<Scott> "This is quickly turning into a slasher movie. I thought they only happen in the Southern parts of the US..." Scott gave the dark hole a suspicious look, as if it was about to spew forth rows of Leatherfaces and Michael Myerses.
<Cecilia> "I can also block off the tunnel behind us, so nothing comes behind us if you like," she added. "I'm not quite as versatile as Sue but I'm not completely useless."
<@Fabian> Fabian didn't try to get out of the grasp, instead knocking his head back against the person as hard as he could manage, shoving his weight around to try and back whoever it was in the corner but whoever this was was strong.
<Sue> Sue spread her field ahead of them to block off the tunnel, leaving enough space for the water to flow under the field but no more. "Okay the way ahead is blocked so nothing is sneaking.... I can invisible a few walls and we can shine some lights to find Fabian if you like?"
<Melati> Melati cursed inwardly. "Dammit, which gods did I piss off this week to end up cursed like this," she muttered, hurrying back towards the exit. "There's no other way my first assignment could go south that fast."
<Darren> Darren stayed quiet, though inwardly he was slightly worried about Cortez, but wanting to see how Mel handled this, "Keep calm, Mel, you can sort this," he prompted.
<Melati> "Okay, listen up, everyone," she spoke into her comm. "Everyone regroup to the exit. Keep it orderly, but make it double quick, you hear me?"
<Cecilia> Cecilia's eyes widened. "WHAT? Back to the exit?! We're not leaving!"
<Scott> "I, for one, am staying with Melati. No offense, dear, but somehow, here, in the sewers, I feel safer with the one that has scales and pointy claws."
<Mayday> "Whoa, calm down Cecilia: nobody's getting left behind.", Mayday assured her, glancing to Sue and gesturing back up the corridor, beginning a careful walk back, re-tracing her steps.
<Sue> Sue followed Mel's instruction, dragging her field with her to help chivvy the others along.
<Melati> "That's where Fabian's last known location was," she told Cecilia. "And since that man would never voluntarily head into a sewer by himself, that's our best chance to find him."
<Rogue> Essex moved his head to the side, barely missing getting the full brunt of the headbutt. It hadn't hurt exactly, but it was annoying. He now wished he had made Rogue pick up some form of telepathy. At least that would knock him out quickly and efficiently. He backed into a wall and struggled to pull Fabian down an alleyway that lead to the woods.
<Cecilia> Cecilia kept her mouth shut. "Alright...sorry. I'm just getting a little paranoid..."
<Melati> "Don't worry, that's the best talent to have to make it far in this school," Melati said, trying to encourage the new student. "Stay close to me, and keep those forcefields of yours up when we get out. Don't want anything to catch us by surprise."
<Mayday> Mayday pointed ahead at an opening to the outside; "Aqueduct, that way - could have wandered off?", she got back on the radio, ["Hey, Cecilia, it's cool. Just stay frosty: Fabian'll be alright."], she smiled a little geeky smile - as if she just quoted Soap!
<Scott> "I bet it's sewer rats the size of poodles..."
<Sue> "Well nothing slipped past the group from ahead of us so he must be behind us still, it's logical to go back outside. I'll make sure nothing sneaks back in too." Sue gave Cecilia a smile.
<Scott> His pessimism was starting to get the better of Scott.
<Cecilia> "Right," said Cecilia. "Don't worry. I've been practicing. Anyone that fucks with us will be sorry. Trust me."
<Melati> "Why don't you shrink down and try to ride them then," she suggested, shooting Scott a toothy grin.
<Mayday> Switching off her flashlight as they came into natural light, Mayday slowed down and looked around, "There's a lot of ground to cover here. Erm...c-can we get a scan of the local area?"
<@Fabian> Fabian knew how to dig his heels in when he didn't want to go anywhere, both in the ground and in the person that was attempting to drag him. He wrenched his mouth free, swearing and went for the ribs next, hoping to contact with something that would hurt whoever this was.
<Cecilia> [I'm never cool] said Cecilia to May. [Too much fire in me. But thanks, I appreciate it...]
<Mayday> ["I get it!"], Mayday chimed over the radio, snorting a little.
<Melati> Once outside, Melati quickly scanned their immediate surroundings and switched off her flashlight, letting her reptilian eyes adjust to the new light level. "Fabian, can you hear me," she asked, trying the comms again. "Dammit!"
<Rogue> Essex winced at the elbow to Rogue's breast. That was a new (and not so fun) sensation. He was wearing her down faster still. He had to get Cortez to his lab quickly.
<Scott> "You can't ride rats. They are too smart. Horses are easy. Their eyes are too far apart, so they have natural schizophrenia. So one personality is always too occupied with wondering what the other one is doing to throw you off and stampede you to death."
<Melati> "I'll try to home in on the signal." She toyed with the controls on the sleeve of her uniform, trying to ping Fabian's comm.
<Darren> Darren frowned, "... I think I heard something, back that way," he pointed in the direction, "sounded like a curse."
<Scott> "But rats, they are smart buggers. They don't throw you off. They know that, if they run fast enough, you are stuck to their backs, and they can carry you to their nests for their young to eat."
<Sue> Sue gave May a squeeze for trying to be supportive to Cecilia. She looked off where Darren pointed, "Shall we go check out the mysterious swearing birdy, Mel?"
<Cecilia> Cecilia pulled herself outside. Raising several shields to block any attack on those coming out of the tunnel. "I hate all this waiting around. I just wish whatever is going to happen would just happen already so we can get it over with."
<Mayday> Mayday glanced in the direction Darren has pointed in, throwing her rifle over her shoulder and pulling up her hood. "That's the plan.", she winked at Sue, jogging off into the distance and popping around the corner.
<Melati> "Okay, screw that, we're checking this out," Melati said, nodding at Darren and the others, looking around to make sure everyone else was accounted for. "Kent and I take point. Sue, can you drop a cloak over us? Everyone else, fan out but stay in range. And keep your eyes open."
<@Fabian> "I can hear you!" Fabian called into his headset. "Drag marks, follow them." He was leaving a decent enough trail when he could anyway.
<Darren> "Drag marks, well that's not good," Darren hissed, scanning the ground, "there! I see them!"
<Sue> Sue blocked May from running too far with a field, "Keep talking to each other because none of you will be able to see where you are." She dropped her field over all of them. "Even though I know where you all are."
<Melati> "Drat," she cursed. "Everyone go!" And with that, she took off. "Stay close to Sue and Cecilia until we know who we're dealing with."
<Mayday> Mayday paused, clicking her radio, ["Fabian? Make noise, I'll be as quick as I can!"], she looked around, finding a tree to web herself up into and scanning the area for the markings in the dirt.
<Cecilia> Cecilia rushed forward. Her heart was pounding and she felt like every nerve in her body was electrified. "Shit..."
<Rogue> Essex cursed out loud and pulled off Fabian's communicator, smashing it in his hand. He also managed to pick him up just a bit so his heels wouldn't dig quite as much. The issue here wasn't strength, but height. Why did he have to be stuck in a female body?
<Scott> Scott went closer to Sue. "Yes, staying with the forcefield guys, good plan, fearless leader. Because we all know that the sexy girls are the last ones to die in these kinds of settings, right?"
<Mayday> Trying to stay in Sue's range, Mayday jumped from vantage point to vantage point, spotting a set of tracks and calling out to the other members of the team.
<Cecilia> Cecilia ran towards Mayday's call. "Found anything?"
<Darren> Darren jumped up into the air to follow, as the only flier here he could offer air support as they followed the skid marks.
<Sue> "May!" Argh why couldn't people follow instructions!?
<Mayday> "Tracks! South, over there!", Mayday pointed them out, spotting a struggle; "I think I've found them!"
<Melati> "I guess that fully depends on how chaste they are," Melati reminded Scott over radio. "In any case, you might want to stay clear from me. I'm the kind of girl that usually gets offed the first in these movies."
<@Fabian> Feeling himself being lifted up Fabian realized the person was around his height at least so he swung his leg between hers as they walked, trying to kick one of the woman's legs out from under them both.
<Cecilia> Cecilia switched from a run to a sprint. "Fuck me, I hope we're not too late..." Cecilia switched on her comm [Mind giving me a location?] She said to May.
<Sue> "If you all go much further away I can't cover you all!" Sue enclosed herself in a field and lifted into the air.
<Mayday> Mayday swung her way down towards the tracks, pulling the rifle up and releasing a dart into a tree, ["Ahead from me: follow the tracer! Seventy meters, give or take!"]
<Rogue> Essex felt himself starting to fall backwards and caught himself to fly up just a foot or so. But he sank half of that back to the ground. Why couldn't he have picked a closer spot to lure them to? Damnable energy drainer.
<Scott> "What, the scaly ones that can break a man's spine with their bare hands? Yeah, they sure die off fast." He radioed back. "Just so everybody knows, anything Cthulhu shows up, I grow through the ceiling."
<Cecilia> [I knew there was a reason I liked you!] Said Cecilia. [Thanks May!]
<@Fabian> "Oh of course you can fly." Fabian grumbled, wishing he still had his headset to inform the others of that. Wait...strong flyer that might want to kill him. "...are you Rogue or Essex right now?"
<Darren> Darren kicked up higher and spotted Fabian scuffling with a hooded figure and fired off an energy blast at the, careful to miss, "You, tall, dark and lame! Put the weasel down!"
<Mayday> Running up to the top of a hill, Mayday spotted Fabian fighting a...."...erm, a girl?", she blinked. ["Found them! Converge on me!"], she raised her rifle and shot a dart behind the scuffle, throwing the rifle aside and jumping down to confront them.
<Melati> Melati made sure to keep ahead of the others, trying to maintain an overview in her mind of everyone's relative position. "Everyone head for the signal," she said. "Make use of cover!"
<Mayday> "Yeah! Put down the...man...you're beating...", Mayday looked at Darren, unsure how to go about whatever was happening at the moment.
<Sue> Sue gave up and lifted her field from all of them, they were too scattered anyway.
<Cecilia> Cecilia caught sight of their mysterious attacker. [Any orders?] She asked over comm.
<Rogue> Essex laughed, "She hasn't tried to come out of hiding in quite some time, Cortez." He made sure the hood covered all of her hair and dodged behind a tree.
<Scott> "Yeah, sure, make me visible..." He started, against his nature, to run towards where he was seeing Fabian struggle with a red-clad person. It wasn't that he was easily scared, but he just didn't like slashers.
<Melati> "Don't engage yet," Melati ordered, running full speed towards Mayday's location. "Surround them and make sure they can't get away."
<Darren> "Guess that's where you girls come in," Darren said, shooting higher into the sky so he could see the entire wood from above.
<Scott> "Oh, why didn't you tell me you want surrounding? I can do surrounding, no problem at all. I can surround a guy all on my own, even!" HE started to grow.
<Cecilia> [Sue! Some help with fields would be great] Cecilia said, spreading out a field around the surrounding area.
<Mayday> Mayday slowly stepped around the cloaked figure and Fabian so that she could get a scope of the area. "Alright...erm...love the cloak by the way: personal tailor?",
<Melati> The cloaked figure came into view, as did Fabian, struggling against his attacker. "Yo, whoever you are," she shouted, "put the pansy down and your hands where we can see them!"
<Sue> "Yeah I'm on it." Sue pushed wrapped a field around Fabian and the person dragging him. Then tried to push one between them.
<Mayday> Preparing her bracer for a web string, Mayday got ready to pull Fabian out of there if it looked dangerous. Still, who was this cloaked chick, anyway?
<Melati> "Believe me, you don't want us to get him by force," she said, maintaining an offensive stance. "So let's all be reasonable and talk this over while we still can."
<Cecilia> Cecilia was just dying to be cut loose. Never before in her life had she wanted to fight. Even when she had to but now she was aching to kick some serious ass. But she kept her cool and kept her fields up.
<@Fabian> "Then why exactly are you trying to kidnap m-" Fabian was cut off by the attacks. "Pansy my ass. It's Rogue...Essex...Thing!" He was not taking shit at struggling to take someone with super-strength down but now he knew who it was he was definitely targeting them harder, working to make her lose enough control to pull different psyches loose.
<Rogue> Essex held fast to Fabian, fighting against the space trying to grow between them. Blast! He looked around quickly, trying to find a way to escape the meddling children. "Believe me. You don't want to try to take him by force." He cursed as Fabian let it be known who he was. "Damn you, boy!"
<Darren> Darren spotted them through a gap in the trees and the woman's hood was jolted slightly, reddish-brown hair with a streak of white flashed, and Fabian confirmed it. Darren narrowed his eyes with a hiss, "Rogue."
<Sue> Sue pushed harder with the bubble she was trying to form between them, "Let go of Fabian!"
<Mayday> "What is this...I don't even...", Mayday blinked, unsure as to what she was seeing, ["Rogue? Alright; do we charge her?"]
<Darren> He sent an emergency signal to Bobby, "Iceman, get your sub-zero ass to my location NOW! The bitch is back."
<Melati> "Rogue?" Her eyebrows arched upwards, her mind thrown off track only for a moment, before it started racing to deal with the new situation. "Well, crap."
<Scott> "I can grab her...him...them, Melati!" Scott was now house-sized.
<Cecilia> Rogue? Oh shit. She knew that name. [Please tell me I can charge her. I can put a field up around my body. I might be able to overpower her.]
<Melati> "Everyone, keep your distance," Melati quickly called. "Don't let her touch you." She fixed her gaze at the woman holding their teammate. "Whoever is riding her mind at the moment, there's no reason to believe her powers aren't working."
<@Fabian> Fabian managed to squirm around just enough to aim a good elbow to the nose. He couldn't beat her in strength but he could maybe distract her enough with hits plus his power to get the hell away.
<Sue> "I have a field around BOTH of them right now but I'm trying to separate them."
<Mayday> Mayday glanced around, ["Idea: Melati - if I can be cloaked, I can pull Rogue away from Fabian with webs, then you guys can grab him and we surround her...right?"], she suggested over comms in a whisper.
<Cecilia> [She won't be able to touch me!] Snapped Cecilia. [I'm untouchable and bulletproof. Let me go!]
<Rogue> Essex had to let go of Cortez now. Too many voices in his head. He stumbled back and fell, hands coming into contact with a rock that suddenly started to glow.
<Sue> "Ah!" Sue closed Fabian in a forcefield and pulled.
<Scott> "I could step on her?"
<Melati> "Alright, go!" Melati charged forward, while casting a look in Sue and Mayday's direction. "Get Fabian out of there."
<Darren> "No one approach her!" Darren snapped, "Follow Mel's orders."
<Mayday> Taking the initiative, Mayday raised both hands, releasing a blast of webbing at Rogue to hold her in place. Once the webs were free, she darted over to Sue and Fabian, helping them up and away.
<Scott> "It's just, I'm wearing shoes, you know? It doesn't involve touching, and all..."
<Melati> "Tempting, but let's try to contain her," she replied. "Pretty sure Lorna would deduct some points from our and most importantly my score if we get her killed."
<Rogue> He flew up, only to lose control and hit a tree, wavering in the air before falling a bit back to the ground. He tried to make his mind race to come up with a quick escape route, but he couldn't think past the voices. "Too many!"
<Darren> "I've called in Bobby, maybe he can talk some sense into her, retreat to a safe distance."
<Cecilia> Cecilia shielded up her body and rushed at Rogue hoping to smash into her and take her out quickly. "You motherfucker..."
<@Fabian> "I think the pinata's about to burst." Fabian announced to Sue and Mayday, glad for the chance to back the hell away from the crazy that he had a feeling was about to come.
<Melati> She saw that Rogue was anything but stable. Now was the time to act. "Okay, anyone with forcefields, try to keep her contained. Mayday, can you web her?"
<Mayday> ["Idea again: Scott, can you grow, use some trees to make a kind of prison for her?"], Mayday suggested via comm, double checking Fabian for wounds, "What, you mean her? Him? W-whatever they are?"
<Sue> "I'll try to contain her as best as I can." Sue decided to land for this so she could devote all her concentration to Rogue.
<Melati> Melati frowned as she saw Cecilia go. "And people say I have anger issues," she muttered.
<Mayday> Mayday paused, ["Y-yeah, one web-barrage coming up."], she left the others, nodding at Sue before jumping back down into the ditch and releasing a few dozen strands of webbing, using the trees around as anchor points.
<Rogue> Essex flailed his arm as it got hit by a web, swinging it towards the girl rushing him. "Impetuous child."
<Darren> "Cee! Mel said do not approach!"
<Cecilia> Cecilia gasped in surprise as she got tangled into one of May's webs. "FUCK!"
<Scott> "I am feeling kind of superfluous. It's not that I want to, but I am kind of a touchy-feely guy with my powers, you know? I mean, I could smack her with a tree?" the ten story tall man mumbled.
<Rogue> Essex laughed maniacally and headed back up towards the air, trying to avoid Kent and the giant more than anyone else.
<Bobby> Whether he was an X-Man or not, Bobby was an agent of SHIELD, so he was more than qualified to back up the X-Men... especially when Darren came over the coms that a mission was going south, because of Rogue. He was there shortly, with a little extra insurance.
<Sue> "No one is smacking her with ANYTHING while I have a field around her! Because that shit fucking hurts!"
<Melati> "Ah hell," Melati growled, deciding to jump in herself. "Don't squirm too much, girl," she told Cecilia, slashing at the webs she had gotten caught in.
<Mayday> Cringing, Mayday cut the web free, "Whoops...", she frowned, hoping that wasn't her fault, ["Be gentle, Scott, but a little help would be good!"], she watched Ressex (?) fly upwards, firing a thread of webbing up and after him/her.
<Cecilia> Cecilia pushed the remaining webs off her with her fields. "Dammit..."
<@Fabian> "Yeah, I mean her. I'm not completely useless, after all." Fabian answered Mayday, smirking despite the situation until he saw Cecilia flung about. "You good, Cee?"
<Bobby> "Well... no problem telling where she is," he muttered, skidding into the fray.
<Cecilia> "My pride's hurt more..." muttered Cecilia.
<Rogue> And now Drake was here. Curses! He narrowed his eyes in frustration and hit a tree with an optic blast that came from nowhere.
<Melati> "Scott, can you try finding anything big to catch her in," Melati asked, making sure to catch the new student. "Anything to trap that annoying fly. Like, an empty water tank or something.!"
<Darren> "'Bout time, Freezer-Balls," Darren smirked as Bobby skidded in, "Mel, Bobby and I are gonna engage-shit!" That was Summers' power, "Great, she's having a power meltdown too."
<@Fabian> "Same here." Fabian confided, trying to pull up more psyches to burn Rogue out. There had to be a limit to how many personalities a person could handle all at once, after all.
<Rogue> Just as Cecilia got lose from the webbing, the glowing rock that Essex had landed on earlier exploded in a giant blast.
<Bobby> "Get her trapped and I can knock her out!" He nodded at Darren and jumped at the Scott power.
<Scott> "What, like a baseball glove? You do realize the team is only called the New York Giants, right? Fielding actual giants would be kind of cheating." Though he still looked around and found...
<Sue> "Can someone possibly help me before she scrambles my brain with crazy?" Sue was glad she'd shifted her field there because that blast probably would have hurt.
<Mayday> "Dafuq!?", Mayday exclaimed as the tree hit with the optic blast came down: she webbed herself into the air and landed on another, catching the falling one in another web strand and linking it to the one she was stuck to.
<Melati> "Everyone, clear the area," Melati shouted, grabbing Cecilia and bolting off at full speed.
<Bobby> "That's great... she's channeling different powers?" Notmine!Notmine!Ohshit!
<Cecilia> "HEY!" Shouted Cecilia as she was roughly picked up and thrown over a shoulder like a damsel in distress.
<Scott> "I got a swimming pool!" He held up a now empty concrete swimming pool he had just unearthed, water dripping from the still wet soil clinging to it.
<Sue> "What do you want me to do?" Sue asked, "Do I just let her go? Or keep her contained? Anyone?"
<Scott> He placed it in his enormous right hand, forming a cup, trying to swish Rogue out of the air.
<@Fabian> Fabian grabbed for a headset again. "She can't control them, the more she uses the more burned out she's going to be and the more personalities that are being pulled up."
<Bobby> "Sue! Can you dunk her in the pool?"
<Rogue> The diving board and drain parted from the pool, the metal pieces flying at random as Essex tried to escape the swinging pool.
<Melati> "Kick ass!" Melati looked up and flashed a grin. "Before you've earned your giant cookie, though, try to get her in!"
<Sue> "Uh... probably? Maybe... depends if she fights back..." She reinforced the field around Rogue and pushed her towards the pool."
<Bobby> "......oh, that's great Cortez!" Bobby formed an ice slide, trying to get close.
<Melati> "Sorry for the rough handling," she told Cecilia, setting her down in a save spot. "Hope you don't mind."
<Mayday> Mayday strained to keep the falling tree out of everyone's way, yanking it so it fell away from the team and sighing. She found sight of Scott and his new.... "...whoa.", she got on the radio, ["I give her a three for the dive so far!"]
<Scott> He let the pool come down hard on the quickly approaching girl.
<Rogue> Dollface. King's horses. Essex let out a scream of frustration as the pool was coated in a thick layer of ice.
<Bobby> ".....I didn't do it!" Great... his power.
<Mayday> ["Ooooh! And a seven for the landing..."], Mayday paused, watching the ice spread suddenly, ["...erm...bad times."]
<Sue> "I'll just keep her in the field then...."
<Darren> "Oh shit," Darren fired off another energy blast, smashing the ice.
<Melati> "Every bit helps, Sue," Melati told her via comm, cautiously approaching Scott and the frozen pool. "Try to keep it up until we're sure she's truly trapped."
<Scott> "MotherfOW!" He let go before he could get cold burn.
<Cecilia> "Well, I guess it's better than being killed...Thanks..." said Cecilia
<Scott> Instead he put a booted right foot on it.
<Sue> "Any other fantastic plans?" Sue wrapped another layer around Rogue.
<Cecilia> Cecilia advanced and added on some fields around Sue's. Never could be too careful.
<Bobby> Bobby hoped Sue's field wouldn't be bothered by his powers, but before Rogue shifted to ice he needed to knock her out! The pool smashed his slide and he crashed back to the ground.
<@Fabian> "Is that sarcasm I hear, Drake?" Fabian retorted. "She can't have much fight in her left." At least the field was holding so she couldn't use all the attacks she had in her.
<Melati> "Wait until she's passed out? She can't have much air left in there."
<Mayday> Mayday jumped down, swinging to Bobby's side once the rubble had stopped and kneeling beside him, "M-Mr Drake?", she nudged him, "Bobby, are you good?"
<Rogue> Essex floated in the air, flying starting to tire him now, only Sue's forcefield keeping him up. Too... Many... Voices...
<Sue> "Huh... I could do that... Want me to shut the air out?"
<@Fabian> "Drake, I can always boost you for a hell of a punch?" After all, he couldn't burn the guy out and he kept control.
<Scott> "Why did we get the freezy guy anyway? We need a goddamn telepath! Someone get an ice cream van a lure Farouk here!"
<Cecilia> I'm completely redundant. Sue's powers are far better than mine. I can't follow simple instructions and I talk back...No wonder it's my brother in the army and not me. Why am I even here?
<Darren> "I like the sound of suffocating her."
<Bobby> Bobby scraped himself up and reformed, shaking it off and giving Mayday a smile. "Sure, go for it, Cortez." He gave Darren a look and started lowering the temperature in the pool.
<Melati> "Might be worth a shot," Melati replied. "That shouldn't cause any lasting damage, should it? Probably better than beating the crap out of her."
<Sue> "I can do that. Just until she passes out...." She closed off the field to any and all filtration for air.
<@Fabian> At the word Fabian left Rogue along, feeding into Bobby instead. Well, if there was ever a time for Drake to not want to kill him it was now.
<Bobby> "Telepaths don't work on her, Big Ben," he called. "Between the cold and the lack of air... unless she ices up or takes Cess's power... we got her."
<Mayday> Spotting Cecilia, Mayday chimed over the comm again, ["Cecilia! Don't phase out!"], she patted Bobby's arm, "Hit 'em with the good stuff!", she webbed herself out of the way.
<Scott> A thought crossed his mind. "...erm...could she, theoretically speaking, have mine?"
<Cecilia> Cecilia kept her fields up. [Unfortunately, this is the best I can do. I'm not as strong as Sue. My power's are still at beginners stage.]
<Bobby> "Has she ever touched you?" He moved closer to the pool, using his thermal vision to see inside. It was cold all right.
<Cecilia> [It's not inattention...just lack of ability] She admitted, feeling stupid.
<Melati> Melati's eyes widened as the thought crossed her mind. "Don't you jinx it now, Scott."
<@Fabian> "...now giant Rogue doesn't sound like a good time." Fabian cringed, not wanting to see the attack of the fifty foot woman.
<Sue> "Yeah please don't give her ideas...."
<Scott> "I don't know. There were a lot of Danger Room sessions..."
<Bobby> "Oh, you'd know." There was too much concrete and ice now... he couldn't tell if she was unconscious or even alive in there.
<Mayday> ["Just be ready to defend the others, alright, Cecilia? You'll be fine, just stay alert."], Mayday assured the girl over the radio, watching from the side of the broken tree from earlier.
<Rogue> Tired. He was so tired. This body is a weakling! He could barely get a good breath in as he shivered, teeth starting to chatter. "No," he ground out, "I will not give up."
<Cecilia> Defend the others? What a crock. She couldn't even save herself. [I'll try. That's all I can promise.]
<Mayday> Mayday paused, looking at the shell Sue had provided and just spotting Rogue inside it, ["Jesus, if we carry this on, it'll kill her! We should stop!"]
<Bobby> "I don't want to kill her... either of us could if we don't know if she's out...." he glanced at Sue. "Move the pool?"
<Rogue> His eyes fought to stay open and his breathing was wheezing gasps now.
<Sue> "She's not out, I'd feel her collapse on the field.... I can make the area invisible though if you want to be sure."
<Melati> "Does anyone have a brilliant idea how to restrain her after we've taken her out," Melati asked, making sure to keep away from the ice as she climbed the pool to get close to the trapped Rogue.
<Darren> "I think Bobby's got that covered."
<@Fabian> "Now that's a good question." Fabian spoke up at Mel's comment. "Any inhibitors?"
<Sue> "I would imagine the same way we got her back the first time around."
<Rogue> Essex sucked in one last rasping breath as his eyes closed and he slumped into the forcefield.
<Sue> "Oooh... I felt something... I think she's out...."
<Mayday> Mayday hopped down, ["We all hit her with stoppers: webbing, shields, drains, soon as we see her mo-..."], she looked up, ["Alright, Sue, get her out before she dies off!"]
<Bobby> "I've got an.... move the pool, get her out!"
<Scott> He took his foot off and lifted the pool. "I say we transport her in a trash bag."
<Darren> "But stand by in case she's playing dead, could be a trap," Darren warned.
<Bobby> Bobby took the inhibitor collar from inside the jacket of his SHIELD uniform, moving over to Rogue and looking at her closely.
<Sue> "Okay... when you're ready I'll lift the field...."
<Bobby> "I think she's really out. Do it."
<Melati> Melati took off her glove. "Get her out and keep the inhibitor ready," she called. "I'll make sure she won't die on us. Just stand ready to blast us both with everything you've got in case she's playing tricks."
<Rogue> Rogue's body lie completely still, not even breathing.
<Cecilia> Cecilia dropped her fields and shielded herself. Bracing for a surprise fight...huh, looked like everything was alright.
<Sue> Sue cautiously lowered the field around Rogue and promptly sat down.
<Bobby> Bobby moved in and clicked the collar around her throat, then checking her pulse. Fuck me."
<Cecilia> "What's wrong?" Said Cecilia.
<Bobby> "She's not breathing," he said, shifting back to flesh and checking her over.
<Mayday> Mayday webbed her discarded rifle into her hands and threw it over her shoulder, jogging over to the group, "What? D-did we leave the shell on too long?"
<Sue> Sue's bowed head snapped up, "What?!" No! Nonononono! She didn't kill someone! Nooo!
<Melati> "Then take off the collar," Melati ordered, dropping to her knee next to Rogue. She pressed her bare hand to the girl's cheek.
<Cecilia> Fuck. "Anyone a medic?" She called. She knew some field medicine from class but she didn't know if it would be useful in this situation.
<Bobby> "We can't chance that!" He shook his head at Mel. "We can try the old fashioned way first instead of giving her MORE power."
<Scott> Scott shrunk down again, avoiding to step on the dying person seemed like a good idea.
<Mayday> "I er...I know CPR, kinda.", Mayday stepped forward, "L-let me try?"
<Cecilia> Cecilia eyed May. "Kinda or you know?"
<Darren> "Shit," Darren dropped to the ground next to then, "Move out of the way Mel, we can't risk her without the collar on," Darren knelt down to the side of Rogue, "God I hate you, bitch," and pinching her nose he leant over her and breathed into her mouth.
<Sue> Sue curled up, hugging her knees and turned invisible. Nonononononono!
<Bobby> "Do it." Bobby brushed her hair back, then moved for Darren.
<Cecilia> Cecilia happened to look over at Sue. "Christ are you okay Sue?"
<Mayday> Mayday glanced at Cecilia, "Er...I guess it doesn't matter.", she looked over at Sue, frowning, but staying put for now on the off chance things kicked off.
<Melati> "Simply put the collar back on before she come to her senses," Melati tossed in. "I doubt my healing powers would make much of a difference now."
<Bobby> Bobby checked her pulse and assisted Darren, compressing her chest and muttering to her.
<Sue> Sue shook her head, even though she was invisible and no one would see that. She got to her feet and walked away into the trees, the only sign of where she'd gone was the movement of a branch that she brushed past.
<Cecilia> "Wait! Don't run off!" Called Cecilia. "Remember how well that worked for me?!"
<Scott> "Iiiiiii,,,think we have lost Sue, folks..."
<Darren> Darren let Bobby do the compressions, then breathed for her again, "Bitch! You are not dying on me! Susie deserves better then that ... get her shirt open, I'm gonna try and shock her heart."
<Mayday> Mayday felt dejected that Sue had gone, but she needed to be here for the team; she hoped to God Sue would forgive her for it.
<Bobby> Bobby shot Darren a look and formed a claw of ice, ripping her shirt to her navel. "Wake up, Anna," he muttered, moving over to take over the mouth to mouth if necessary.
<Cecilia> Cecilia looked at May. "Shouldn't you go? She's your girlfriend, right?"
<Melati> "Is anyone here even listening to me!?" Melati held out her hands, standing behind the two guys and the unconscious girls.
<Darren> "Stand clear," Darren ordered, rubbing his hands together to generate a charge, before placing his palms over her naked torso and sending a jolt of electricity into her heart.
<Darren> "Bobby, breath," he removed his hands and built up another charge.
<Mayday> "I-I can't just leave everyone right now, right?", Mayday sighed, looking at Rogue ans stepping back a little, "Cecilia, I j-....I have to be here."
<Bobby> He did as he was told.
<Scott> "It is my honest belief that we are tremendously shite at resuscitating people." He just sat down on the ground and watched the others run around like headless chicken.
<@Fabian> Fabian just gave Mel a salute, boosting Rogue up just a little bit to help along. "Sue's a part of your team, too, Mayday. You can make sure she's all right."
<Cecilia> "No, you don't. I can cover at least some of Sue's job. Go get your girlfriend."
<@Fabian> "...this might backfire later on but I can try my healing? She should be fine as long as we get her to a doctor before she crashes from it again."
<Darren> "Clear!" Darren sent a second jolt into her.
<Rogue> Rogue sucked in a deep, gasping breath, eyes flying open and automatically flailing, trying to get away from anyone near her. "No," she cried in a raspy voice. "Stop! Don't hurt 'em!"
<Mayday> As if waiting for the excuse, Mayday nodded and darted off into the forest. "Sue! Sue!"
<Cecilia> "Believe me, I know how much it means that someone is looking out for you."
<Darren> Darren wiped his mouth and sat back, pulling a face. "Dredd! Let Susie know she's okay!" He called to the retreating girl.
<Bobby> The Rogue flail was a relief, and he moved back a little, taking a deep breath of his own. "Well hoooly shit."
<Cecilia> Cecilia jumped a bit at Rogue's sudden awakening. "Jesus!"
<Mayday> ["Sue, come back! She's alright!"], Mayday called over the comm, slowing down from running and falling onto her knees, ["Sue, come back!"]
<Scott> "Huh, not that shite after all." He got up again.
<Melati> "I'm calling in the jet," Melati remarked, hitting her comm. "Then we'll round up the team and regroup back to the van."
<Rogue> Rogue was taking in sucking, gasping breaths, lungs trying to refill themselves. She looked around frantically and automatically flung herself at Bobby as soon as she realized that she was looking around. Not him.
<Sue> Sue had found a quiet place to sit and sniffle, fading in and out of invisibility. X-men don't kill...
<Darren> Darren stood up, his face twisting in disgust at Rogue's limpet act, "Bobby can take her back and contain her till we figure out what to do with her," he suggested.
<Mayday> ["I'm staying out here until I find Sue."], Mayday announced, ["I'll regroup when I do, I promise. S-sorry."], the line went dead.
<Rogue> Rogue looked up at the voice and flung herself towards Darren, too. She could control her own body! And she was surrounded by non-hurt people she knew!
<Cecilia> Cecilia stared down at her feet. This mission had been a huge clusterfuck. First her friend got caught, she got her ass kicked, she yelled at her superiors, disobeyed orders...She just wanted to curl up and die.
<@Fabian> "Nobody's leaving witho-...okay, at least when my line went dead I had a pretty good excu-Jesus!" Fabian lept back from the flinging Rogue, glad she wasn't aiming at him.
<Rogue> Wait... Contain her? She fell back a few steps toward Bobby then felt the collar on her neck. Oh. He wasn't gone.
<Darren> Darren caught the girl and tossed her back to Bobby, "Just 'cos I saved your hide don't mean we're buddies again, you traitorous whore," he snapped.
<Melati> "Fine, since everyone is doing what they feel like, anyway, why don't you accompany him to make sure he makes it safely back to the mansion," Melati replied, pointed at Darren. "I'll try to find the rest of my team and get them all back."
<Cecilia> Cecilia leapt back again as Rogue lunged forward. "Goddamnit!" Then relaxed as she saw there was no immediate danger.
<Rogue> Traitorous whore?! What? "Ah didn't suck 'im ta death on purpose, Darren..." She went quiet and looked at Bobby for a brief second.
<Melati> She put a hand on Cecilia's shoulder. "You okay there, rookie," Melati asked. "You did amazing, by the way."
<Darren> .... Was this bitch for real? "Come on, Bobby, we need to head back," his teeth were grit and his energy practically ached to hurt the girl, but he had to hold it in for now. Bobby nodded at him and picked Rogue up in his arms and ice-slide away, Darren following them closely in the sky.
<Cecilia> "No I didn't!" She said, stung. "Don't patronize me!"
<@Fabian> "Well...how was your first time out in command, Mel?" Fabian trailed off his question at Cecilia's snap. "Cee, she's not. Hell, it's not like you can do worse than I did."
<Scott> "This feels like the Jeremy Kyle show on tour, seriously..." He threw his arms up.
<Melati> "Patronize?" Melati frowned. "Girl, I'm probably the last person in the world to say nice things just to avoid hurting their feeling." She nodded at the others. "You can ask anyone around here."
<Melati> "This was your first mission with the X-Men, and you basically just now joined the school," she continued, crossing her arms. "Considering we threw you into the cold water, you did a great job. Doesn't matter if you chose to believe me or not."
<Cecilia> Cecilia reddened. She felt humiliated. "I'm completely redundant," she said. "Sue's better in every way. I don't know why I'm even here. I can't protect myself let alone anyone I care about. That's the way it's always been..."
<Melati> She looked up at Fabian and ran a hand over her head. "Dunno, I think it ran pretty decent until it ended in a huge clusterfuck."
<Cecilia> Cecilia shook her head. "Thanks for the boost in confidence at any rate."
<Scott> "I think that very much describes all kinds of catastrophes in the history of ever. You know, the Titanic was having a smooth ride right up to the moment it hit several hundred tons of ice."
<Melati> "Ah, come on, don't say that," Melati told the new girl, cracking a lopsided smile. "What am I supposed to say then? You didn't see me shoot any fancy rays outta my ass or wiggle my fingers to show off some magic tricks. My main power is not to die on the team and hope to distract any serious threat by being a punching bag."
<@Fabian> "Hey, nobody's dead and we've recovered a dangerous mad scientist/cantankerous southern. I wouldn't call it a complete catastrophe." He shrugged his shoulders. "We should probably start looking for Mayday and Sue?"
<Melati> "No one's redundant here, and Sue simply got a lot more experience than you do." She patted her shoulder again. "You'll get there. Just keep it up."
<Melati> "Good idea," Melati replied, nodding at Fabian. "I vote we use Scott as a mobile watchtower."
<Cecilia> Cecilia nodded. "I'll try to find May and Sue. I can do that at least."
<@Fabian> Fabian glanced to Cecilia, knowing her feelings about heights and figuring Scott counted as a height. "Mind if I stay on the ground, Boss-Scales? Bit queasy at the moment for climbing gigantar here."
<Cecilia> She started off towards the woods. "I'll find them, Davy Crockett this shit up..." She muttered, in a foul mood.
<Melati> She gave a casual salute at the two of them, before turning to Scott. "So, looks like it's just you and your trusty shoulder-lizard, eh?"
<@Fabian> Fabian returned the salute, making sure his replacement headset was still with him as he took off after Cecilia.
<Cecilia> Cecilia picked up a stick, whacking at the bushes with gusto. "MAAAAAAYYYY! SUUUUEE! Coast is clear!!!"
<@Fabian> "You're liable to whack some after-battle sexcapades that way now, Cee." Fabian warned her once he caught up, cracking a grin.
<Cecilia> Cecilia tried not to snort but failed. "Stop making me laugh, I'm mad!"
<Melati> "You mean like a lesbian pinata," Melati asked over her comm, grinning to herself.