3/03 Game: X-Men Don't Kill

[Starfish]

Timeline: Current.


Melati: Scaling the fence was child's play, and she was getting a feeling for telling the most natural spots any security cameras would be found. Jumping down to the ground, Melati rushed to find some cover by the wall and ducked into the shadows.

Melati: "I'm in position," she whispered into her comm-link, looking around as she waited for the guard to make his patrol round again.

Pietro: Pietro frowned. Waiting was boring. He could have been in and out of there by now.

Bobby: "Copy." Bobby watched the guard pass. He was shit for stealth when he had to use an ice platform to get over the fence since barbed wire (barbed wire, really?) was a little hard for him to navigate.

Darren: [You're doing good, Komodo,] Darren affirmed over the com, [just hold position and try not to get too ... keen.]

Melati: The guard made his next round, turning around the corner as predicted. What Melati hasn't expected was the fact he wasn't alone, but accompanied by a mean looking dog - one that started growling the moment she risked a peek. [What if it's too late for that?]

Pietro: "I still think I should be the one taking out the guards..." Pietro muttered into his comm, phasing through the perimeter wall.

Melati: Figuring she was moments away from being spotted anyway, she told herself to hell with it and leaped out of cover, sending the guard on his back by planting her booted foot on his chest. "Sorry, fido," she muttered, a swing from her tail sending the animals against the wall.

Darren: [Then you stay calm, and remember your training on taking down men silently and quickly, okay?] He encouraged.

Bobby: The ice was gone a split second after he was over the fence, but then he heard a growl. "Wai- well, fuck."

Melati: While the dog went out with a yelp, Melati crouched down take the guard into a choke-hold, keeping her grip tight until she felt him pass out. [Not too bad, eh?]

Pietro: Bored bored bored. Pietro sat down behind some cover and took out his notebook to scribble some things down.

Darren: [Well done kiddo, I didn't detect any outgoing siganls from him. Now, remember to stash the bodies, everyone always forgets that. How's everyone else holding up?]

Bobby: "Or, you know, I could have just distracted the dog with some frostiness and he would have forgotten all about you," Bobby chided. He ran a hand through his hair. "We have like two minutes now before the next guard."

Pietro: "Bored." Pietro replied over the comm, "Can I do something yet?"

Melati: [Hey, stashing bodies is always the fun part,] Melati sent back, while dragging the limp guard behind a corner. [Hey, if we take out another one, can we pose them funny and take their pants?]

Darren: Darren sighed, [We need to give the newbs all the experiance they can get, Quicksilver, you know that ... Komodo, don't get distracted now, all of you, get inside the doors. Like Iceman said you have ... one and a half minutes now.]

Melati: "Good, was already wondering what we're waiting for." Making sure to stay in the shadows, she moved from any available cover to the next, avoiding the too visible and brightly lid doors. "Hey, found what looks like a maintenance entrance."

Pietro: "I'll just wait around then, yell if you need me..." he frowned.

Bobby: Bobby decided this time it was best to let the newb go first. He took up a flanking position to the entrance and stood watch. "Lady's first."

Melati: "How gentlemanly of y'all," Melati replied, giving the door handle a careful nudge. Naturally, it was locked. "Let the girl do all the work while bragging how much better you could do it. What's this? The fucking Super Bowl?"

Melati: She crouched down and pulled the lockpicks from the sleeve in her forearm, quickly getting to work on the surprisingly simple lock. "Eh, voila."

Pietro: Pietro made a few more notes then turned his page and started drawing instead.

Bobby: "But that way you get all the glory." Bobby gave her a nod of approval at the quick work. "Go then, morning glory."

Melati: "Hell yeah, it's the only reason I put up with you guys, anyway." Komodo looked over her shoulder and flashed a quick grin, before slipping through the door. There was a faint light from wall-mounted lamps, and a metal staircase leading down. "Why does it always have to be dodgy basements?"

Pietro: "Easier to shield below ground level and you're not obligated to add windows."

Bobby: "Nothing a super villain likes better than a good cliche," Bobby said, following and keeping an eye out for cameras.

Melati: "Shouldn't we be looking for a mountain fortress on a lonely island then?" They met another door at the end of the stairs. "Not that I'm complaining - this wasn't exactly challenging so far." To her surprise, the door even was unlocked. The shrill ring of the alarm when she opened it was even more of a surprise.

Melati: "Uhm... crap?" Melati put on a sheepish smile.

Darren: [Five hostiles incomming.]

Bobby: "Uhm, yeah. Now's when we call backup, especially with Essex." Bobby shifted to ice. "Gotta try to keep moving forward too, since the point is to y'know rescue."

Bobby: "Among other things," he muttered, his mind half on what he was doing.

Pietro: "Should I head over?" Pietro asked conversationally as he filled in the background.

Darren: Darren laughed over the comlink, [Well just let me know if you want the calvery, teach.]

Melati: [And I was getting my hopes up for some excitement.] Melati bolted through the door and looked from side to side, determining from where the steps were coming. "Backup is for pussies. Though, I'm all for going forward." She took off sprinting towards the approaching footsteps.

Bobby: "Might help, Speedy." Bobby closelined the first guard around the corner and reduced his body temperature just enough to knock him out. He sighed. "You're gung ho, but you gotta watch that shit, Mel."

Pietro: Pietro tucked his notebook back inside his uniform then dashed off, making it to their location in less than a second to knock down the guards.

Melati: "Don't worry, I got this!" She pounced the guard in the middle, her claws digging into the thick body armor, while throwing the two on either side of him off balance with a kick and a swipe of her tail. "Bring a dozen more of these guys, then we can talk about starting a party."

Bobby: She was vicious, he'd give her that. His eyes narrowed and he shifted back to flesh. Bobby tapped his control unit, making himself invisible to the DR constructs and allowing him to just observe her. "Cocky, cocky."

Bobby: "You really want a dozen more?"

Darren: Darren laughed and sipped his coffee up in the control room, [Go on dude, you know you wanna!]

Pietro: "Oh please, I'm so bored." Pietro leaned against a wall.

Melati: "Come on, bring it!" Melati made sure the guy would stay down by planting a solid swing against his head, then stood back up with a fangy grin on her lips.

Bobby: "Well, then. Pop quiz, both of you!" Bobby called. "Arch." He summoned up the controls, smirking again at the pre-programmed nerdiness and scrolled through the selection of baddies. "He's dead now, but hey. You never know."

Bobby: A tall, stout, dark figure appeared, armed with what looked like a giant sci-fi gun. Harpoon stepped forward and took a shot, taking out the ceiling above Melati and Pietro.

Pietro: Pietro moved out of the way, dragging Melati with him and disintergrating any debris he couldn't doodge while towwing her.

Darren: Darren laughed evilly and glee-clapped, [Oh, excellent choice!]

Melati: "Wait what!? No one was talking zombies with guns!" Melati jumped aside and prepared for the impact, shielding her face, only to be whisked away mid-air by the speedy blur of her team-mate.

Bobby: "Well, what do you do with a zombie then?" He smirked a bit as Harpoon peppered the room with shots, following closely behind Pietro and then the last directly in their projected path.

Melati: "Ack!" A flash of bright light and Melati found herself hurled the other way by the shockwave of the blast. She landed on her back, skidding across the floor. "I've no idea what the hell that gun is shooting, but I know I want one."

Pietro: Once bits of ceiling had stopped falling on them, Pietro turned to see where their new enemy was, managing to dodge the shots and change direction in time thanks to his quick reflexes. "No zombies, they bite!" he yelled.

Bobby: Pietro, as usual, was way too speedy, so Bobby called

Bobby: Vertigo to the fray as well.

Pietro: Pietro spotted her and groaned, "Oh not her..."

Melati: She quickly jumped back to her feet, then barely dodged another projectile as it zipped past her and pulverized a pillar behind her. Relying on her agility and reflexes, she did her best to keep up with the speedy mutant, while weaving and leaping about to avoid the explosions around her.

Bobby: "You dodge really well and all, Mel, but what happens to you and your rescue-ee when the building collapses? You need to take him out!"

Pietro: "Mel, go and look for our target - I'll distract these guys until you get back..."

Bobby: The green-haired marauder zeroed in on Pietro, staying safely behind Harpoon for cover.

Melati: "Yeah, I'm on it, Professor Freezy-Pants!" She waited until the last moment to dodge another shot, crouching down to put all her strength into a forward leap, riding the shockwave as something exploded behind her. Melati tackled the guy with the gun. "And let you have all the fun? No way!"

Pietro: "If you'd prefer, I can go and look for Rachel and you can get all dizzy and nauseas."

Bobby: Enthusiastic, but she didn't follow orders well... Bobby tilted his head.

Melati: "Come on, let's see how you fight without your toy," Mel snarled, planting a foot on the man's chest as she tried to wrestle the gun from him. The fact it started to glow gave her pause. "The hell..." The weapon exploded in a bright flash of light, sending her flying on her back again.

Pietro: "Just remember, I gave you the option!" he called as he headed off to search the building.

Melati: "Don't worry about me, Whitey," Melati called back, getting back to her feet and peering through the cloud of dust. "You're the speedy one here, so get your ass moving and finish the mission. I'll do what I do best instead."

Bobby: Bobby watched Pietro blur off... it was probably for the best he didn't see this. "Oh, come on, you gonna let a little explosion stop you?" Harpoon was regaining his feet, Vertigo knocked backward into a wall.

Melati: "Let's look for some trouble." She leaped out of the covering dust cloud, using the large guy as a stepping stone to propel herself towards the woman. Mel knew she had to take her out first, or spend the rest of the fight puking like after virgin after prom night.

Pietro: He skidded to a stop when he found the room he was looking for, "Oh haha..." he rolled his eyes, picking up doll-Rachel. "Got her."

Bobby: Bobby approved of her tactics. He crossed his arms.

Melati: "Then get her the hell out of here," Melati replied over radio. She grabbed the strange woman and pulled her up, already starting to feel nauseous when she came to her senses again. "Just taking care of unfinished business and clearing the way."

Pietro: Pietro headed back out to the perimeter wall with his passenger. "I'll be right back. Sit tight and stare creepily into space." he patted the doll on the head then dashed back to help Melati.

Melati: Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the large guy moving behind her, getting up to raise... what looked like a lowing javelin. Melati spun around, holding out the other woman as a makeshift shield - just in time to catch the makeshift projectile.

Bobby: Bobby's eyebrows lifted and he involuntarily winced as Vertigo was impaled, quite realistically, a moment before she blew apart.

Pietro: Pietro stopped in the doorway to take that in. Messy.

Melati: While Melati was shielded from the resulting explosion, Vertigo didn't fare nearly as well, but there was no time to feel concern about the messy details right now. Just as Harpoon charged up another javelin, she leaped forward, ducked down, and send him to the ground by swiping his legs with her tail.

Bobby: Bobby noticed Pietro out of the corner of his eye and winced slightly. He may have to do this a bit differently. He opened his mouth to pause the program.

Pietro: Before he had a chance to recover, the harpoon guy was hit with the force of several trucks and slammed into the reinforced concrete wall hard enough to shatter it. Pietro stopped at the gaping hole and watched the guy hit the floor. He didn't get back up again.

Pietro: He glanced over his shoulder, "You alright, Mel?"

Melati: "Much better than these guys, anyway," Melati replied, arching an eyebrow at what was left of their opposition. "While I'm tempted to stick around to see if there are more of these guys who wanna dance, I'd say we should quit while being ahead."

Pietro: "I got our dummy Rachel outside already so I think that means mission completed." He looked over to Bobby, "Right?"

Bobby: Bobby's eyebrows were lodged somewhere around his hairline. "...Right." He called for the program to end, with one last look at the shattered corpses.

Pietro: Pietro pulled out his notebook again to finish his picture.

Melati: "So, does that mean we passed?" Melati stretched, making sure all bones and joints were in their proper places. "That was hella fun, actually. Wish all classes here would involve kicking that much ass."

Pietro: "I still would rather not have to sit on my ass for quite so long before I can do something useful...."

Bobby: Bobby glanced toward the control room. He trusted Darren. Mostly. "Well, technically, you both failed."

Pietro: "In my defence, that guy was technically already dead."

Bobby: "I'll be sure to point that out in the report." He put on a stern expression. "However, our number one rule is that X-Men don't kill. You both know that."

Melati: "Hey, excuse me if some people here aren't gifted with godlike powers and actually have to put some proper effort into being useful," Melati replied, giving Pietro a look. "Next time I'll just watch the jet instead of holding y'all up."

Melati: She smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Hey, I didn't do anything. Friendly fire happens, right? Can hardly be blamed for that..."

Bobby: "No, your enthusiasm is good... you do need to work on following orders though. Sometimes they are given for a reason, y'know." He nodded slightly. "That it does."

Pietro: "Also," Pietro continued, "If I didn't have to sit around so much we could have done that a lot faster... I can't help it if I get restless and go too fast..."

Melati: "Yeah, I know that dealing with authority figures isn't exactly my strong point," Melati admitted, running a hand over her head. "I'll... try to work on it. Helps a lot that you're actually pretty tolerable for a guy giving orders."

[Starfish]

Bobby: "Well... thanks." He disabled the recording systems in the DR with a few taps of his fingers. Later he could make it look like it was a momentary system glitch.

Bobby: "Let me ask you guys a question?" Bobby ran his hand through his hair. "How do you feel about what just happened. About what you had to do?"

Pietro: Pietro raised an eyebrow, "Is that a trick question?"

Bobby: "Nope. Not at all."

Melati: "Yeah... do we get sent to the psych lady for giving the wrong kind of answer?" Melati frowned and thought about the question for a moment. "I dunno, should I feel... anything special? I mean, that was just a hologram, right?"

Pietro: Pietro frowned, it sure felt like a trap.

Bobby: "Wow, do I really exude that much of the official Xavier vibe these days?" Bobby rolled his eyes. He remembered when nobody took him seriously, and now... "I'm not your teacher right now. We're just three mutants talking. Okay? I can pinkie swear."

Pietro: "Why are you asking if you're not asking as a teacher?"

Melati: Crossing her arms, Melati cocked her head and gave Bobby a curious look. "Good enough for me," she said. "So, you're wondering whether we feel particular awful for just having seen some glorified pixels getting blown to bits, yeah?"

Bobby: "Because, dude. I'm curious. I'm not just all about towing the company line." He licked his lips and looked to Melati. Maybe he'd judged Pietro wrongly after all... "What if they weren't pixels? What if this was real, and it was them or you?"

Pietro: "I always treat these simulations as if they were real." Pietro replied, that should be enough of an answer.

Melati: "Well, what can I say?" Melati shrugged. "My dad's in the military, so I saw plenty of army bases while growing up, and one of my brother is all about holding up the family tradition. So, I'm not completely unfamiliar with the necessary choices such a career entails."

Bobby: He nodded. "You've heard the stories about Essex before, right? You've been to the briefings. Him and his goons just keep coming for us. Over and over."

Pietro: "People like Essex shouldn't be allowed to get away with it and he's too connected to stay in prison even if we caught him and put him there. Which is unlikely given past encounters where he was allowed to escape." Pietro folded his arms.

Melati: "From what I heard, we got exploding kitchens, missing students, and attacks on the mansion pretty much on a weekly basis here," Melati replied. "Wonder why they even bother with a fence. I'd go with a mine-field instead, but I guess that wouldn't look too well in the ad brochures."

Bobby: Bobby didn't bother to suppress his smirk. This might be easier than either he or Rogue could have guessed. "So, with all that in mind, what do you think of Xavier's policy? Does it make sense, or do you think there should be... exceptions?"

Pietro: "I've never thought it made sense... it's admirable, sure, but some people just won't stop... until someone makes them."

Melati: "Hey, I'm a straightforward kind of girl," Melati said, giving another shrug. "If someone goes out of their way to blow my lights out, it's only fair I'd return the favour. You don't take a knife to a fistfight and then complain when the gloves are taken off, right?"

Bobby: "Peeto, I couldn't have said that better myself." He shifted and moved a little closer to them. "Now you know why I'm not talking as a teacher. You know why we're not having this conversation at all. That sound good to you guys?"

Pietro: "You're not the first person that's spoken to me about this."

Melati: "I might get the idea, yeah..." Melati bit her lip, eyes narrowing slightly. "You're really not hunting for customers to take a seat on Kincaid's cuddle-couch, are you?"

Bobby: "Really?" He narrowed his eyes at Pietro a bit. Rogue hadn't mentioned talking to him... He gave Melati a small smile. "No, I'm not. I love Cess, but... I think some folks have had a little too much of the company Kool-aid, so to speak. Some of us... well, let's just we've had enough first-hand experience with Doc Feelgood."

Pietro: "I didn't like what my father did and I put a stop to that. I'm hardly likely to let someone else get away with doing the same."

Melati: "Hey, if that guy got his ass kicked once, but still comes back for more, it's not your fault he didn't learn his lesson, right?" Melati let her tongue flick over her lips, smirking slightly. "I may not be your typical straight A student, but even I can tell you're probably not telling us this just to make small talk. If this is just a friendly chat, the beer's missing..."

Bobby: "Oh, we can get some beer too. We might need it. But no, I'm not just shooting the shit here. I think it's time to permanently deal with Essex. He's nearly killed me, my wife, my best friends... and now he has one of my best friends again." He sighed. "By now, I don't know what will be left of Rachel, but if she's too far gone to save... I want her to be his last victim."

Bobby: "And I can't do it alone."

Pietro: "I'll help you," Pietro told him, "Rachel's one of the first and only people that treated me normally after all the stuff with my dad. I'm not letting someone else get away with doing the same things he did to people."

Bobby: Bobby gave Pietro a sober smile and a nod. "Good deal, man."

Melati: Tapping her fingers against her upper arm, Melati cocked an eyebrow and looked at her professor for several seconds. "Mind you, can't say I have history either with Mr. Mad-Scientist or this Rachel girl, but what you say makes it sounds like he's really some nasty piece of work."

Melati: "I certainly didn't take on too many lessons my dad tried to teach me, but some of them stuck," she said. "One is that you always stick up for your team, and if anyone messes with one of your friends, he's messing with all of them."

Bobby: Bobby turned the smile to Melati. "This, obviously, sort of makes us a team within a team, I guess." He huffed and ran his hand through his hair again. "This is kind of foreign territory for me, too. Obviously, the first rule of fight club is gonna be not to talk about fight club."

Bobby: "We, uh, it's not just the three of us, but until we can all get together to talk I don't feel comfortable saying who else is in."

Pietro: "Then I guess we need to decide when or where we should attempt to do that."

Bobby: "Yeah, and we'll have to make sure we can get in close, get in first... so we can get a shot." He licked his lips and looked at Pietro. "I, uh, you noticed I was kinda twitchy when we got ambushed. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do it alone. If Essex was there... I'm not strong enough anymore. Figured he might get me before I got him."

Bobby: He shrugged, uncomfortable. "But now, we'll have a better shot."

Melati: "So, if I got this right we just formed a super-secret shifty club of murder-time, don't we need something like... say, a clubhouse?" Melati looked from one to the other. "I suggest a place that serves drinks."

Pietro: "Hey, if you need to get somewhere first you're asking the right guy to help you." He glanced at Melati, "I can probably find us somewhere if you need me to."

Bobby: Bobby laughed. "Drinks are good." This was definitely good. Things might actually work. "Sounds good, Pietro. And I'll relay the message to the others."

Bobby: He paused. "I guess it goes without saying we can't get caught."

Pietro: "I'll let you know when I have a building so you can pass the location on to everyone with a time you think is appropriate. It shouldn't take me more than a couple of days."

Melati: "Well, he should be pretty good at running when shit goes south," Melati said, thumbing in Pietro's direction. "And I could just lounge on a rock and hope no one notices the difference, I guess."

Bobby: "No, I'm serious. I think the most important thing is the job gets done... but we also need to be able to cover. X-Men don't kill, but we have, accidentally or in self defense.... so, you get the idea."

Bobby: "We do what has to be done, we go on with life."

Pietro: Pietro nodded. "He needs to be stopped."

Melati: "So, basically, we find where Essex parks his car and cut his breaks," Melati asked. "Alternatively, we drop a piano on him. Anything inconspicuous and looking like an accident."

Pietro: "If we get really stuck... I'll just have an accident with my powers."

Bobby: "Sounds like we're all on the same page."

Melati: "I'd still suggest we should look at least into one more sensible plan, just in case," Melati remarked and chuckled.

Pietro: "Well when we're all together we can do that. I'll find us somewhere soon, don't worry about that."

Bobby: "We'll have to have backup plans upon backup plans, just for opsec, as good ol' Sergeant Rankin taught me..."

Pietro: "Not going to be a problem."

Melati: "Eh, of course there had to be catch to it." Melati sighed and rolled her eyes. "Not even a deadly conspiracy gets you out of boring class assignments here, does it? We're not going to get quizzed on the plans, are we?"

Bobby: "Yeah, but in this conspiracy when you pass a quiz I can buy you that beer."