XX【 】Name: Alexander Magnus XX【 】Codename: Wraith XX【 】Team Affiliation: Alpha XX【 】Location: Training Simulation / warehouse XX【 】Actions: Strategized, punched Paladin's knee forward, knocked over a shelf on the other side of the warehouse
From deep in the shadows, and behind some miscellaneous shelves and crates, Wraith watched silently. Without moving, he would make no noise, and he knew that stealth was his forte. This omega was noisy and evidently calling for backup. Just to test him, Wraith chose to make a shadow and put it at the window- and the interaction told him a fair amount. This guy's gun was not in full operation, and he was easily startled. That meant he was on the defensive, his mental balance not quite where it should be. Instead of taking cover or using any sort of skill, he threw the nearest possible item at the shadow. True, he had no way of knowing if that was a silhouette of a person or not, but his reaction was telling. Wraith narrowed his eyes as he watched, trying to glean as much information as he could. The glass shattered behind the shade he created, and he dropped the shadow as the light was already weakening it. Without making it tangible, the wrench flew through it easily. Without that extra effort to make it solid, it had neither heft, nor lift. It stood as thin as air.
A moment later, this omega looked back to his weapon and muttered something almost unintelligible. Wraith may not be fluent in any language other than English, but the manner of speaking was distinct enough to recognize the dialect. Russian, ne? As he battered his gun, it was fair to guess that this one was more into melee than he was ranged combat. As Wraith was more specialized to such as well, that put them on an even keel. His choice to batter the gun also belied a lack of familiarity with the weapon, possibly tech in general. What he did not know was what this individual could do. Other than being physically built, Wraith had no way of knowing any skill set or what this guy's powers were. He was possibly in over his head, so stealth remained his best option. The Omega began a search, and Wraith noted how very careful he was about staying in the light. Oh, as if that will save you. Still- he will find me if I don't move.
Wraith was forced to be a bit more proactive. He needed a distraction and then to get to a more advantageous position. The best place for his abilities would be one of shadows, like this warehouse. The best place to take advantage of that would be where he could see the most- up high. He looked up and saw open rafters. Not a lot of cover, but definitely a great vantage point. How he wished he could teleport!!! Still, he had to be inventive. Earlier, he had considered what it would take to use his shadows for transport. Now was as good a time as any. He had 'carried' some things before by making a tangible shadow, and then moving it along. Time to test that. Well, after making a distraction.
What most don't think about when trying to stay out of the shadows was that they always cast one themselves. Looking past the Omega, he saw several items on the far side of the warehouse. He would have no finesse from this distance, but he needed none for his plan. Looking back to the Omega, he concentrated and began his shadow manipulation. This was his preferred tactic, in an arena that was uniquely suited for his style. Wraith pulled on the patrolling one's shadow and made a small mass the size of his own fist. With a quick movement, he slammed it against the back of Roland's knee just as he saw the weight transfer to that foot. The sudden impact should knock him down but was too weak to do any real damage. The point was to send him to the floor. Following that impact, he dropped the shade, and then made one on the far side of the warehouse against some items. It made a clatter- enough to draw attention away from his position. Wraith wanted to make his next move immediately but needed to be sure he wouldn't be seen. After all, if he was caught moving to his intended spot, he might as well just stay hidden in his little cubby here.
Of course, this also showed another hand from his repertoire. After this, the Omega might well understand that the shadows can be more than just shades . . . but perhaps in anger, Wraith could make this guy tip his own hand a tad. His stare was intense from his hidey-hole to see just how this would turn out.
Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:57 pm
Roland Anton Chevalier Location: Simulation Room Thoughts: Moving around in the dark…
Goddammit he thought to himself as he moved around in the warehouse. He appeared to be dealing with a shadow manipulator, one that was using the large shadows of the building that they were in to his advantage. He was armed, but the weapon he had was well… not working at the moment. He took a moment to try and get it working, mostly through hitting it. He admitted that his technical expertise wasn’t stellar, but he certainly had no idea what the hell he was doing with a laser rifle picked up in a combat zone. Had he gotten a bit more familiarity with it beforehand he might be able to actually figure out what the jam was, but for now he went with the quickest solution he had on hand. Hit it a few times and hope for the best. His first piece of evidence of what he was facing was the appearance of a shadowy figure. His solution was to throw a pipe at it. He didn’t know what it was, how it’d react, or if there was some sort of motion sense to it. For all he knew some sort of trap was laid out as well. Satisfied that there was not a trap he proceeded to try and find the threat. He stuck to the light, trying to limit exposure to the shadows.
Of course in his focus on the shadows around him, he forgot about the shadow that followed him. His armor glistened in the light as it pierced through the windows, which afforded him a bit of protection when he felt something hit him in the knee. He buckled a bit, forcing him to kneel down. Frankly there wasn’t much in the way of pain, his armor afforded him enough protection from blunt force like that. Really he was startled by it, causing him to go down almost entirely. His heart raced back up again, especially when he heard the sound of a few boxes clutter about off to the far wall. His first reaction was to bolt to the noise, thinking that was where his opponent was. His animal brain was thinking “Go, fight, kill” but he took a moment. This is what his opponent wanted, wanted him flustered, unfocused, quick to make mistakes. In other words, exactly what a horror movie villain would want.
But of course, he’d watched way to many of those in his short life. He grinned a bit as he felt the armor covering his body now formed his trademark faceplate.
So instead of moving towards the clatter, he moved away from it. This guy was for all intents and purposes, just going off the situation at hand, an ambusher. Given his ability, it made sense. Slink about in the dark, harass the target into a position of frustration, where they become predictable, prone to error. Then find the right opportunity to strike. Effective, to say the least.
Checking over his weapon once more, he noticed that there was a flashlight built into the weapon. What would otherwise be an attachment that might otherwise simply be attached on was directly in the equipment, not something one might expect, or think of really. Fiddling around, he found the light switch that activated it, a nice LED based light source shot out. Now he had a tool to fight back.
“Come out come out wherever you are you son of a b***h.” he muttered.
Using the light to shine a path, he moved quickly. It was then that he spotted him, hiding away like he suspected. The brute took a moment, giving pause, even moving off of the target. He wanted to give the Alpha the impression that he hadn’t found him yet. Give him a moment of confidence before pulling the rug out from underneath him. Grinning underneath his faceplate, he uttered one simple word “Gotcha.” as he fired several shots in his direction. He didn’t expect them to connect, but at least be close enough in grouping to force him out of his position.
Shouldering the weapon properly, light trained on his target, he pressed forward. His gold eyes bright with excitement.
Cracking his neck he requested of his opponent, “Let’s step out of the shadows shall we?” he simply let his armor say it all. The guy only had an idea that he was big and by the looks of it tough. He didn’t know that he’d be able to rag doll him if he really wanted.
XX【 】Name: Alexander Magnus XX【 】Codename: Wraith XX【 】Team Affiliation: Alpha XX【 】Location: Training Simulation / warehouse XX【 】Actions: Spotted, taunted, shadow-punched with a visual block, bounced up higher, took a set of 5 shots, contemplated unpleasant outcomes
Wraith waited in the shadows, his trap begun. The blow to the back of Paladin’s knee was never meant to do damage. If that were the case, he would have used a blade-like shadow instead of a club. No, this was a training simulation. Anything that would cause significant damage was not to be used unless absolutely required. His trap seemed to work for a moment, but only just. The large and burly individual turned to look at the distraction, but instead took a moment to gather himself. Crap. A smart one. Wraith was grumbling in his mind as he seemed to have picked a fight with somebody built like a mack truck and smart enough to not go Hulk Smash at the slightest provocation. Still, he calmed himself and forced his mind to work through the setback. He wasn’t out of options. Watching carefully, he saw Paladin rise and move through the same methodical path with an added bonus. A flashlight. That put a damper on things. Wraith was dressed in his usual ‘business’ attire. A gray bodysuit with various belts of black crossing his body. In fact, the only thing he did not cover was his face and head. That was only because he had not decided on a mask design yet. At the moment, he wished he had. He was caught between several displeasant options. If he moved, it would attract attention. If he held still, he would be caught.
Despite his mind whirling desperately, time ran out. He heard the mutter, but not the words that the armored being said. It didn’t matter. A flash of light, and he was stock still- The search was smooth and did not falter, and for the briefest of moments, Wraith thought he had dodged a bullet. He was only saved by a single word. When Paladin said ‘gotcha’ it gave him just enough time to duck back behind the debris of the warehouse. Multiple shots rained down on him. These were wild, and only had a moment of aim. This one knew where he was, and was firing from the hip. Evidently his hitting the gun actually got it working. From his vantage point, he saw the briefest of flashes of two golden pinpricks of light. This one was a guy that didn’t appreciate subtlety. Glowing eyes, flashy armor, he was one that oozed intimidation. Without even trying, Wraith knew that a physical confrontation was tantamount to suicide. All he had was misdirection and Theatrics. It was this skill set he fell upon now. When Paladin made an offer to step out of the shadows, he was immediately greeted with a response that was just as confident and snarky. “Oh, but we like it in here!” With that, he used a hail mary.
Wraith dropped a curtain of shadow between him and the armored giant. It had no substance, and was just a visual block. After having ducked back behind the materials, he was no longer in direct line of sight. Using all his concentration, he launched two tangible shadows to his sides. Facing the armored assailant, that meant to both the right and left. The pushes would have been hard to maintain if they were to last, or even had to hold something. Instead, he launched them and used what little parkour ability he had. With a leap, he launched himself against the wall behind him, rebounded, and then bounced up onto a stack of crates. It wasn’t too tall, or even far away, but it got him out of striking distance. Several strides and a dozen feet up in distance, there were also two other ‘rabbits’ that made noise. In essence, he made noise of three locations all designed to mask which way he went. Did he go left? Right? Back to the wall? All the shadows fell just as he settled. None were going to last long. Instead, he chose to be a bit more proactive.
From his vantage point, he knew he wouldn’t be safe long-term. Any form of strike would be ambush. Wraith was a lithe and agile person, and this monolith of intimidation did not look as willing to bounce off walls to climb. He had no way of knowing just how mobile the armored Paladin would be. Instead, he chose to take the opportunity and fired his own five-bolt spread. Taking a moment to aim might make more than one hit, but he had no way of knowing. All he knew was that this one already adapted to his style of attack. His advantages were evaporating quickly. In a one-on-one fight, he needed to remain mobile. A game of footsie to ensure he kept his distance. The shadows would help, but only the weapon could make him officially ‘out.’
Wraith hoped that he could end this encounter before the armored one could land a blow. His constructs could shield him from attacks- but this guy seems strong enough to strain his shields.
Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 7:14 pm
Roland Anton Chevalier Location: Warehouse, Training Sim Thoughts: Let’s let the fists do the talking
Roland was many things to many members of his team. And frankly not many of them were very nice things. Though in retrospect, he didn’t have much of a high opinion for most of his teammates. A motley crew of dysfunctional mutant warriors, made for a fun powder keg situation. Yet somehow, they worked well enough not to get themselves, and others, killed. But there was something that they may not be aware of when it comes to him, and that was he can be quite resourceful. So being able to spot a stealth based Alpha didn’t come with much difficulty for him. A moment of frustration tempered by clearing his head. Pursuing his prey he managed to get the drop on him, throwing off his opponent a bit. The Alpha’s actions, up to and including his escape was met with a good hearty chuckle.
I knew this was going to be fun he thought to himself as he watched the shadow-filled show play out in front of him. The umbrakinetic thought it best to try and throw him off, using sound once more to create at least two other sounds to draw his attention. However his instincts told him to ignore two of them. This guy was an ambusher, if he were in his shoes he’d try and get above the fight. Take a high point, better observation and less likely to be spotted. The crates were perfect for such.
With a good laugh he bellowed out, “Theatricality and deception! A good choice!” he followed it up with a strong laugh.
The sight of several wild shots being fired off in his direction, one hitting him in the shoulder, “But not good enough…” he growled, the gravel in his voice reverberated through out the building. He checked his health bar, seeing that he was at 75%. With a smirk he prepared himself to bound forward. He wasn’t one for any fancy parkour to get him from place to place, so he just went about it straightforward. Using the strength granted by his exoskeleton, he jumped forward, using some crates as stepping stones to get himself atop them.
Repositioning himself he caught sight of his prey. He decided that he needed to have some fun, making an alteration to his armor. Where his faceplate was a simple piece of material, he changed it to become more bestial, more like a smiling maw of jagged sharp teeth. It had no impact on the protection it offered, but the sight of his face shifting might make someone a bit more terrified than they already were. He bounded forward, bearing on his prey with the hunger of a wolf.
As he finally reached the Alpha he spoke aloud once more, “Hello!” as he drove his foot into the man’s abdomen with a gut kick. Normally it’d be like getting hit with a piston, but the program’s safety features blocked the full force. Not to mention that he pulled his kick. It’s a training exercise, not a street fight. The blow wasn’t going to be fatal, but it sure as hell was gonna hurt later.
p***y! he could hear his step-father yell in the back of his mind.
Watching him fall back he pressed the advantage, waiting for him to make the next move. He brought out his rifle once more, trained it on him with intent.
XX【 】Name: Alexander Magnus XX【 】Codename: Wraith XX【 】Team Affiliation: Alpha XX【 】Location: Training Simulation / warehouse XX【 】Actions: Summoned a shield (shattered), hit and rolled with the blow, on the run through the warehouse, banter
Wraith had fired several shots, hoping that more than just one would hit. After all, this was a massive target at minimal range. Still, he was more interested in melee weapons than ranged. Such was a side effect of his power set- he could not create machines. His constructs were not ones with moving parts, only a more organic type of bending and shifting. Thus, his immediate ability to attack or defend depended on solid shapes like blades, clubs, spears, or shields. From his immediate perch, his volley was unmistakable. Rather than be distracted, Paladin looked up and didn’t lose sight of the shadow-wielder. In fact, he quoted a different superhero line with approval. That only drove home the fact that this tactic was too subtle and refined for the walking wrecking ball. Among the shots, only one hit home- and that was disappointing. Far more troubling was what came next. In what was a surprisingly effective tactic, his voice seemed to boom in the largely negative space as he pulled a page from Cain Marko. Perhaps it was more Banner. Either way, the armored giant leapt forward at him, barely touching several minor piles to ensure he got there with ease.
Wraith didn’t have time to appreciate the finer points of the faceplate alteration. He was far more concerned with the body of his assailant to worry about dental appliances. With a deceptively joyous greeting, he used his momentum to power a massive kick. Again reminiscent of Marko, he put enough power in that to be extraordinarily worrisome. At any later point, Wraith would want to claim it was a good idea, and that he planned it. In truth, his next action was reflexive. He had enough time to recognize the blow would really hurt. Giving up his aim and possibly several free shots at the lunging behemoth, he crossed his arms in defense. He also used his abilities once again to make a shield of shadows, tangibly creating a Spartan shield of shade between himself and the heavy foot. It would likely never be confirmed if he didn’t have enough time to form something sturdy, if Paladin was just too strong, if the simulation was holding something back, or any combination of these factors. The heavy boot plowed through the shadow shield with an odd reverberating sound, like a warbling gong being struck underwater. The unearthly sound echoed in the place as the impact sent Wraith through the air.
That blow was hard enough to give him flight for a few seconds, and cost him a fair amount of breath. He would be feeling the bruises from that impact and from the landing for a while. The only thing he could do was to roll with the impact. His form slammed on the ground, and he tucked up to let the momentum give him distance. Several piles of material clipped him painfully and then fell to create a path of destruction behind him. As he slowed, Wraith did his best to gain footing and start running through the area, needing to regain his senses. As he moved, he needed a moment to recover his shadowplay. That blow was so heavy, and he had been using the shadows so much he needed a moment. Instead, he bellowed as loud as he could without screaming. The sound would bounce around and should keep Paladin from finding him through sound as he bounced around knocking over as little as possible. “If you are relating me to Batman, does that make you Bane?”
Keeping to the shadows as much as possible, he did all he could to keep moving but also never be in the light for more than a flash. His shadows would be back quite soon as long as he didn’t try anything major with them. In the meantime, he kept a very close awareness on where Paladin was. This was likely the worst possible matchup for somebody light and lithe, and yet in the best possible arena for a shadow user. The two would cancel each other out in the race for the upper hand. Wraith would just have to reconsider his tactics. This was not one he could pick off easily, and he was smart enough to be a real danger. Under his breath, he softly muttered “Where’s the Hulkbuster when you need it?”
Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 4:46 pm
Roland Anton Chevalier Location: Warehouse, Training Simulation Thoughts: Getting ready to break my opponent
He pursued his prey with intent, the thrill of the chase here gave him a bit of excitement. He surprised the Alpha by not tracking him in the dark but also pursuing him after his attempt to throw him off. The southern fighting veteran knocked him back with a proper kick to the abdomen, which Roland couldn’t deny that he held back. The voice of his stepfather yelling obscenities because of his decision to hold back echoed in the back of his mind. The son of a b***h even now still had a hold of him. His memories creeped on him with a vengeance. He hoped that after all this, after all the time he had spent with the X-Men they’d die down.
But the pain still resided in his brain, haunting him with pain that he doubted would ever truly go away.
The Alpha went flying back several feet, with Roland pursuing the target. The Alpha asked him if Roland just referred to him as Bane, to which he chuckled. Weapon trained, ready to fire, he replied with a laugh, “If I’m Bane, and your Batman.”
“Didn’t Bane break his back?” he growled, moving through the warehouse after his target. His rifle was braced against his shoulder, the light shining a path. He moved his way around the warehouse, trying to find this opponent. He was not the type of ignore the reality, he was in the shadows, in the dark, with a guy who could manipulate said darkness. Throwing him off and getting him to keep running gave him an advantage. He’d be thinking about how to keep himself from getting hurt over attacking.
With a smile he finally shined a light on the Alpha, finally deciding to unleash the other half of his powers. Keeping his weapon shouldered with his right hand, he dropped his left arm down and let his manifestation abilities kick in. He continued running, moving forth as he got himself ready to fight once more. He launched out a tendril from his wrist, and attempted to reel him in. He didn’t want to tip his hand by this point, but he needed to end this fast.
The tendril reached out, and he opted to fire his weapon as well. If it didn’t connect, well hopefully the laser fire would catch up to him.
§ Location: Campus -> Simulation Room § Thoughts: Oh this is fun.... § Others: A lot of people in this simulation room
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INDENT"§" Bella had let him rest a while after getting to the school. They did have a busy time out there a while back, so it was nice to just relax and consider her proposition to join them. When he accepted, Zaphiel was assigned to team Alpha. Since then, he has been considering how to best handle being technically an X-man, one of the heroic mutants many younger generation kids looked up too. It was a lot to live up to. Someone had mentioned a training exercise between the two teams, Alpha and Omega. Time to go show why Alpha was better, eh? Zaphiel pulled on his uniform in his dorm, and went down to see it was impossible to open the sim door while there was a simulation running. Zaphiel laughed. "I do hope there isn't magma though. Oh! I can...hehehe..."
INDENT"§" Using the code pad, he was able to reach into the network that isolated the simulation, and got all sorts of statistics and feedback on what was occurring, though he only wanted positions, current environment and settings. That was easy to access, but he also didn't have permission to change settings or override safety protocols, yet. Zaphiel got to work, shifting into a bit of a persona he had for Zahl, his mission self. Snarky wise a**, and a bit of a show off. For now that is how he wanted to present himself to his future teammates. It took about three minutes of dedicated work, to solve what was clearly a non-human code. That was fun to him, and he still didn't have full access, and could barely affect the core programming of the sim. It would have to be enough to show off then. Such a small amount of actual access though, and Zahl really wanted to sit and focus on learning everything about this programming. Now wasn't the time.
INDENT"§"Shortly after getting access, he sent a message to be sent over the announcement system. "Attention all combatants. It is time to relax and have a good time!" This was followed by the simulation running through a ton of different places before settling on a black sand beach in Punaluu. "Please, enjoy your stay!" The sun was at dusk, and there were plenty of trees and umbrellas. To many of the combatants IN the arena, a door would appear in the middle of the beach, and in strode Zahl, as he finally overrode the safety protocol. "Hallo! Bonour! Zdravstvuyte! " the young man had the door close behind him, as he greeted everyone within the entire area in three different languages. "Hallo, alle miteinander! Ich bin Mitglied des Alpha-Teams. Sie können mich anrufen. Nun, ich glaube, es ist Zeit für ein Treffen und grüßen? Vielleicht eine Dinnerparty?" Zahl introduced himself in German, and the announcement system echoed what he said in English for the others to hear. "Hello everyone! I am a member of Alpha team. You may call me Zahl. Now, I believe it is time for a meet and greet? Perhaps, a dinner party?" and then suddenly, the group were no longer on the beach, and instead in a banquet hall, high class food on all the tables. Zahl had a massive smirk on his face, as he bowed and invited everyone to sit. The announcement system then declared, quite clearly to everyone, "Dinner is served!"
[OOC - Hello officially to everyone! Sorry if anyone got missed in my massive quote fest, I only looked for people in the sim in their formats, and did some light skimming, and only went a few pages back. <3 As an FYI, if you were unable of flight and on a building, you likely fell in the water, otherwise, good luck! Enjoy dinner!]
XX【 】Name: Alexander Magnus XX【 】Codename: Wraith XX【 】Team Affiliation: Alpha XX【 】Location: Training Simulation / warehouse XX【 】Actions: Summoned a shield (shattered), hit and rolled with the blow, on the run through the warehouse, banter
In his flight, Wraith was able to break line of sight several times. Unfortunately, in an indoor space, there was only so many places one could move. If he was in a defined direction, at best he widened his location from an known to a likely area. This wasn’t hiding, this was trying to buy time to find another opportunity. In response to his banter, the armored Paladin responded with the one thing Bane was known for, and he was right. While he was known for that violent act, he didn’t think about the other aspects of the character. “Sure- once. And he still didn’t win!” It was a hollow victory to point that out, as he did not yet know how to turn this around. The panning light was an effective motivator. It showed right where the armored one was, and that the search was not fruitless. For now, Paladin was definitively running the encounter. When the light bathed him, Wraith had come to the conclusion to take charge of the situation. His speed wasn’t enough to outrun the armored opponent. He needed to rely on his agility and use that speed not to distance, but to outmaneuver this guy. Both were still holding their weapons, and here it was still too close to call. Wraith slowed significantly, paying more attention to the world around him. Widening his senses, he used his somewhat tactile sense of shadows to be intimately aware of his surroundings. Where the light touched he could see. Where it did not, he was aware of the dimensions. No running blind- he knew where to fly. He glared at Paladin and prepared his move.
Had he not turned to look, he would have been caught. It seems Paladin had constructs of a sort as well! A tendril of some sort, a band of light flew forth and caused him to reconsider in a moment. In an instant his choice to turn and fight made itself physical in the form of his own construct. From his side and back flew a solid black tentacle, not unlike that of a squid. Long, supple, with a broad and flatter section at the end. Light met dark and intertwined. In truth, Wraith had thought to use it like a grapple to shoot upward, but that tendril aimed at him caused him to use the same idea in a different direction. Same effect, though. His tendril grabbed the light and immediately began to lose cohesion. It didn’t have to last long. The firing and recoil were on his mind and enacted here with an upward arc. Paladin’s height allowed him to yank hard and launch himself upward and toward the chasing entity. The rapid change in tactic allowed him to evade several of the shots, though two did manage to catch him in the gut and then in the leg before he gained enough speed. With ease, he sailed over his target, not firing his own gun until he was past the guardian. Prior to that point, he was maintaining the tendril. With it gone, he had no issue firing. The chances of hitting were minuscule again, but he had to try. The landing was going to be rough again. It would have to do.
This was the moment Cipher made his own grand entrance. Wraith was mid-air as the world around him cycled through multiple locations without warning or long enough to understand where they referenced until stopping at a . . . beach. At the last moment, Wraith was forced to use his abilities to redirect his momentum to avoid a broken limb on a few trees and skid to a stop in sand. It was difficult to not fall over, but the sand absorbed the movement well. To say he was confused was an understatement. “What?!” It was also this moment he realized that his weapon was part of the simulation. It evaporated with the warehouse, and now a clenched fist was his only armament. Worse yet, this place was at dusk. The overwhelming shadows would dilute his power. Sure, he could move the shadows, but the ability to make anything tangible to attack or defend with would not require him to use a light source. Such would paint him as a target for Paladin. He was too inured in the combat to pay attention to the voice. He had spun in the air and was likely still being chased. Glaring at his opponent, he recognized German, but didn’t speak it and had little time to tell the difference between the announcer and the voice. He dug his feet into the sand and put his left hand down before him ready to spring forward through the trees-
Just in time to touch carpet. The world changed again into a banquet hall. From the smell of concrete and debris to a salty beach with black sand, and now a fine hall and the simulation of food fit for a king. Through it all, he was focused on Paladin. This final transformation made him curious. Was somebody messing with the program? Did they not get it?! This was important- this was what made weaklings into X-men. This was what made runaways into Brothers of Magneto. Wraith may not have been winning, but this was a challenge he needed to grow and improve. His temper began to get the better of him, and the shadows began to curl up around wraith like smoke. Along his forearms and legs the manifestation of a more bestial look formed with spikes and jagged edges. It was shadow and intangible, but a very distinct look of anger was easily seen at a distance. His eyes were still on Paladin, but his gaze seemed to look beyond the Omega. It was a tangible and palpable annoyance. Paladin was strong and could have beaten him. Leaving the fight unfinished was more annoying that losing. “I wasn’t finished.” That single phrase spoken with eerie calm was more descriptive of his mood than a megalomaniac speech ever could have been.
Christian lacked the smarts to read situations at times, and just assumed Peyton was tearing into the other Omegas that had brought buildings down out of boredom or jest. Either way, he just kept snickering to himself as Peyton unloaded a barrage of venom at them, having gone past the ‘woah, you just said that’ phase and laughing like a younger sibling listening to his older sibling get his a** beat for something he didn’t understand. When Peyton was done, and turned to him with the final piece, a bullet for her troubles courtesy of herself, he brought his fist to his mouth and failed in keeping his laughing to a quiet level. He wasn’t the brightest one, but his glee was genuine, and he had tales to tell Charlie about their fellow Omega.
Once they settled into their spot for the plan against the Alphas that challenged him, he tried to brainstorm a plan of attack, but they were interrupted by a couple of party crashes from the buildings near them. It was amazing that they could salvage their landing, but one look at their blue health bars, and Christian knew that their troubles had only gotten started, something the Omegas could certainly contribute to. The blues firing back at them to put some distance only further encouraged him. Between Christian taking a few shots to the shoulder and Peyton calling them chew-toys, he was all riled up and ready to let loose on some enemies.
Despite an attempt to fight back with an odd ability, Christian could separate the two Alphas with a dumpster toss, and Peyton’s question on who they get to go after was answered by the werewolf following up his splitting push and isolating his prey by throwing her into a nearby building. Alex was stuck with Peyton while Christian had…whoever this new one was. He honestly didn’t remember seeing her before on the Alphas, so she might’ve been a newbie for all he knew. Regardless, she was his, and he planned on letting loose after last mission’s scuffle with the mall MRDs.
He approached her as she tried to get up, holo-citizens around them rushing outside to get away from the menacing werewolf creature that had just flung this girl. In his mind, muted powers meant there wasn’t any real danger of killing anyone, so he could feel free to toss her around a bit and get in her head. Somewhere, in the back of his head, he could hear something urging him on, taunting him that nothing he could do would possibly kill her.
If he’d been paying attention, he would have noticed that it sounded like a challenge…or that the thought excited him just slightly.
His morally questionable musings were halted when she signed to him, recognizing and understanding the ASL that appeared before him. Unlike his sloppy and amateur signing, hers came out like a full sentence, with proper speed and conditioned ease. His approach stopped as he looked over her, menacing mug crooked slightly at the prospect of finding another who he can talk to like this without resorting to charades (even though ASL was slightly like charades anyways). He snarled sharply in response to her complaint, before issuing his own threat in ASL that made his speech look caveman when following hers. Regardless, he crept closer as he walked with renewed intensity, devious snarl still cut across his face as this fellow singer tried to taunt him some more with some downright elementary trash talk, with whatever goop she happened to be secreting from her hand. The fact that she bothered with her music player still showed that she either was getting into the atmosphere and putting on appropriate tunes, or she was further taunting him by being so attentive of it and not him.
It was rather good, all things considered.
He snarled again and hunched over to prepare to pounce, when a wayward scent caught his nostrils and stiffened his posture, unfamiliar, hostile, and yet, laced with a lingering hint of something familiar. His ears shot around to try and get a better understand, before he shot a look to his right as the form of a hulking tiger meandered into the lobby, casting a roar in his direction as it stood pretty much in between him and the musical Alpha. That was a roar that meant to intimidate, one that carried strength that was supposed to make opponents back off, one that made enemies reconsider their plan of action. However, Christian was about as dumb as he was fearless in this form. He hadn’t met a living thing that could stand up to him in this form. He had no reason to believe that this would be different, and simply bared his teeth. She issued the challenge, and that was about the only thing he would take from her.
There were gunshots outside the building they were in, though it wasn’t news: Peyton was going to take on the other Alpha, and perhaps another if Kat was here. Nevertheless, he used the sudden sound as a signal to suddenly lunge forward, his claws extended and dug into the shoulders of the tiger, and attempting to wrestle her to the ground. He could feel razor sharp teeth cutting into his shoulder, and he tried to lift her up into the air. If he could get the advantage, the kill was as simple as a bite to the face or belly. But there was just so much muscle behind her tiger form, that between all the thrashing, snarling, blood beginning to fly, and violent movements, Christian had to make sure he didn’t lose balance himself. He could feel a large paw rake up his back, knowing that he had to put more power into his grapple or he’d be done in as well, not to mention the other Alpha that was probably lining up her own shot. He cast a mad eye up towards his own health bar and noted that, despite its impressive size, he was still taking lots of damage from the assault: it was just now slowly reaching the halfway point.
In the back of his mind, there was a savage instinct in him that instructed him to latch his own fangs to the rust fur on the tiger’s neck.
It was a fleeting moment, and the thought was almost enough to have his canine eyes leer towards the exposed flesh of her neck, and contemplate the strike. However, the fleeting image of Katarina, human as she can be, flashing in his mind’s eye, was enough to startle the werewolf and give him a jolt of strength to lift the tiger slightly off the ground throw her across the room to build as much distance as he can between them. He could feel his shoulder and back absolutely ravaged from her wounds, and nothing in his mind reminded him that these were muted powers. He took a few steps back as he sized up the tiger’s form slowly standing back up, ready for another round. He cast an eye towards the girl on the floor near him, likely still trying to figure out what the hell was going on, before he focused his gaze back onto the tiger. He could have continued the attack, perhaps have even gotten the upper hand because of his reach. Why did he stop, why did he hesitate?
He couldn’t make more sense of the situation before a message was broadcasted to them all, quickly announcing them that it was time to…relax. His form tensed as his surroundings quickly shifted into other various locales before settling onto a black sand beach. He looked around unsure, trying to figure out if this was part of the exercise before his eyes landed on a door in the middle of the now-grouped teams. Out of the door walked a new guy, speaking some foreign language and the message system apparently translating for him as he introduced himself as Zahl of the Alpha team, before transitioning them to another new setting: a banquet hall.
He looked around, noting that everyone else looked just as unsure as he felt. However, there weren’t any punches being thrown…but he also noticed that his health bar was gone. No need for combat anymore it seemed. He looked back at the tiger, his form loosening up as his breathing was still ragged and forcing himself to calm down. With a wary eye cast to the tiger, he staggered towards the fresh Alpha he had through the window and stopped just short of her. He let out a huff, then brought up a hand to sign, quickly, “GG” before extending his monstrous clawed hand out and offered it to her to help her stand up.
Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:22 pm
Roland Anton Chevalier Location: Danger Room, whatever the hell its form is now Thoughts: Well, that was anticlimactic…
Roland pressed forth, his pursuit of Alpha was a nice bit of entertainment in his life right now. He had the rage that had been pent up over the years and frankly it was nice it loose very once in a while. Sadly this guy was going to be the target of that release. He let the rage engulf in him, the endorphins and adrenaline flooded his body. Normally his body would be shaking had he not been moving, but he was in full monster mode. He moved with a predator’s gait, eyes bright and flickering wildly like a blazing fire.
He tried to reach his prey with a tendril, a basic form of his powers, but was met with his own ingenuity. Through some shadow-based acrobatics he got himself out of the jam that Roland had placed him with. Only for their confrontation to be ended by the intercedence of yet another Alpha. This one had a penchant for dramatic entrances. The scene shifted from the cityscape to a tropical island to a grand ball room with a feast laid out before them. The animal in him realized that the fight was over, and he fought the beast down with ease.
With a deep sigh he looked at his opponent as he stated that he was not done, to which he answered in reply “Apparently the fight was finished for us.”
With a smirk he spoke to him, “In light of events, let’s call this a draw shall we? We can have a proper rematch, no third party interference.”
Offering a hand, “Roland Chevalier, by the way.” introducing himself, “You’ve got some moves.” he took note of the angry features, refusing to be intimidated by the sight. The fight was cancelled, no sense in letting battlefield rage carry over. It was what made the situation in here unbearable, all the pent up emotion within an underground facility.
He offered his hand still, hoping to keep one of the many tinders in this box from setting aflame.
OOC: Let me know what needs to be fixed!
I-The-Fallen
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I-The-Risen
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Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2017 9:11 pm
Gabriel Byrne Location: Danger Room Simulation Thoughts: Talk about a change of pace….
Gabriel managed to sprint down from his vantage point and got to cover with Aurie. He offered up an idea on how to proceed, hoping to hear any of her thoughts. He saw that it surprised her, the fact that he was considering her input. It didn’t seem to be something that he considered to be shocked about. Though, he didn’t pursue it. Not exactly the best situation to question that. Maybe later.
Maybe.
He moved his way to the edge of the area of cover he shared. Kat had moved forward, engaging Feral in a feline/canine clash. Aurie got the idea across that they needed to help extract their teammates that were caught up in the crossfire. He braced himself as the howl of a heavy wind went their way.
Nodding at Aurie as she called into the others, he prepared himself to rain down some heavy fire. However when he went to fight, things went a bit haywire with the simulation. And by haywire, the entire battlefield turned into a tropical island. He then heard a large announcement in both English and German, which lead to the scene to shift yet again. This time into a banquet hall with a massive feast.
“Well, did not see this coming.” he said, slinging his weapon to his shoulder, “Guess at this point we should just roll with the punches right?” he said to Aurie, offering her a hand.
“Of course figuring out just what the hell is going on would be nice.”
Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 12:58 am
Simulation Room
Katerina shot Aurelie a questioning look when she commented about Felix never following through with his innuendos. Sometimes, Aurelie confused her. There was something about the speedster that made her want to keep him physically at arm’s length. Or further, give or take. It probably had something to do with his extreme level of obnoxious. “Isn’t him not following up a good thing? I mean…”, she trailed off lightly, nudging her best friend as they walked, tone a deliberately coy. “Unless you want him to.”
Their light hearted conversation died as Aurelie began testing her shields against her blaster fire. She patted Aurelie on the shoulder when the lovely blonde began pouting. It was disappointing to find out that her TK wouldn’t work quite as well as they’d hoped. Either way – A shield was still a shield from plenty of other things that could hurt them. “I kind of like that idea better. Though, honestly, just send them flying as high in the air as you can.”
“Let them figure out how to get down without making a person shaped mess on the pavement. They won’t be worried about us if they’re busy trying not to die.”
Katerina was very matter of fact as she reassured her Amish-born friend. She was very aware that this was a simulation and figured it had some sort of safety protocols in place. It wouldn’t be helpful if it had the possibility of killing the X-Men during training. Besides, they were too soft for that. It’s not like this was a facility akin to the Leviathan. Madam Hydra would have never used realistic holograms in this fashion. She was a cruel woman. Heartless.
If a soldier loyal to HYDRA died in training—it was for the benefit of all. They were weak. Eliminating weakness was the only way to victory. That and the ability to comply. She blinked a few times as she pulled herself out of a dark reverie. It wasn’t often that she lost focus. When she did, it was almost always related to HYDRA.
Aurelie paged the other Alpha’s with concern for their well-being and Katerina sighed lazily. Stone was over there. <********> her. Her sweet vanilla sister would never understand her lack of compassion for those around them. “Let them figure out their own problems. I’m assuming the building going down won’t kill them…But if it breaks every bone in their body…They might wish it had.”
That was when they heard the wolfish howl that was Christian. Katerina was a little surprised that he was willing to transform in this environment. Did he really need to become his beast to finish off two little Alpha girls? Definitely not. He was probably set on upping the stakes and scaring them to death. Aurelie shadowed her movements and Katerina instantly felt guilty when she brought up their last field mission. “I’m sorry, mia cara ragazza.” *{My darling girl.}
“If we stay together it’s likely that we will sacrifice one of them. If it’s what you want…”
Aurelie apparently had her mind made up and directed her to handle Christian. It was the smart choice. She knew him; knew how he fought. Katerina had dealt with much scarier things than a were without a pack or a hint of the world he belonged to. She parted ways with Aurelie with a certain amount of reluctance. If Gabriel failed to hold up his end of the bargain and let her get hurt…There was a very real chance that the tiger she became would eat him.
The way to Christian was simple. All she had to do was follow her nose to the wet dog scent. She let the tiger mind take over as she stalked forward with confidence that was typical to a male feline. It didn’t care who, or what, had infringed on its territory. If it didn’t submit or leave—the intruder would find its a** clawed sideways. She became a wall of white fur, savage teeth, and razor sharp claws that stood steadfast between the wolf and the sweet smelling Alpha. Her stance was protective. However, that shouldn’t be confused with docility.
When the wolf showed his teeth she knew in her gut that he would attack first. The gunfire was immediately followed by the werewolf charging. Katerina held her ground and let the tiger mind react to the assault. Collin was still behind her. If she moved, Christian could accidentally attack the wrong enemy. A squishy fleshy pink-skinned human girl would be ribbons in his claws. Mitigated damage or not. He got her to the ground and she clamped down on his shoulder—growling through her bite in clear warning. The tiger bit hard, but not as hard as it could have, considering who she was fighting. Katerina had told Christian countless times before that she didn’t want to break or hurt him. It was still true. He just wasn't giving her much choice.
When he lifted her up she had to let him go or her neck would break from the force and the angle. That or he’d keep tearing his own muscle from bone using her teeth. A tiger had to let go. They could not be pried off with bare hands. They fought and scrapped until it seemed that he had a final advantage. For a moment Katerina was sure that he would rip her throat out. It wasn’t something she could see. It was more of a feeling that caused her to twist violently in his hands. It made her hard to hold on to and every time her claws caught him she drew fresh blood.
The werewolf suddenly threw her across the room and her tiger roared when she hit a column before landing on the ground. It wasn’t true that cats always landed on their feet. She stood up despite the burning pain in her side and roared when she caught the wolf looking at Collin again. He would stay away from her. She would not allow—
Katerina’s plan of attack was cut off when the scene changed in the simulation. There was someone she had never heard before speaking overhead. She didn’t know what was happening. Was it safe?
She remained on high alert and her ears twitched as Christian made his way toward Collin. She didn’t read sign language and probably wouldn’t have known what the acronym ‘GG’ meant regardless. It was only his relaxed posture that kept her from pouncing and digging her claws into his back. He seemed to be offering to help her stand… It was then that she noticed their health bars were gone. They were in the very back end of a banquet hall? Che diavolo?** {What the hell?}
Sensing no danger from Christian now, either by his actions or her own instinct, she slowly began to shift back to her human form. Unlike some shifters…Changing forms did not heal her injuries. It did lessen the presence of scarring overtime but the young woman that appeared on her knees was a bloody mess. Some of the redness was hers and some wasn’t. There were bleeding claw marks and scratches over a good portion of her body. Arms, upper chest, cheek. She held her arm over her ribs as she wheezed a little. Being thrown had probably cracked a few. “Collin…Are you good?”, she questioned the Alpha, completely forgoing her codename. The concern she had felt…Strange. There weren’t many people she worried about. Aurelie was basically the beginning and the end of that list. Gunmetal blue eyes flickered over Christian. More and more she was finding out that his well-being also lingered in her mind. Taking in his werewolf form was different with her own eyes. He seemed bigger. Meaner. She neared him slowly, a little unsure about how much of him was man, and how much was wolf. “You fought well.” “But in the end…You still would have lost. We should do it again.”, she spoke to him with her typical mischievous and quite possibly infuriating smirk. Even while bleeding and clearly a little hurt she seemed above it all. Mysterious, in a way, because she didn’t seem to feel it. She didn’t apologize for his shoulder and back. She could smell the pungent coppery scent of his wolf-blood from across the room…Just as she was sure that he could do the same. They’d both gotten in a few good licks. A little harm, a little foul, no big deal. “I think this exercise is over…Can you come back?”
By asking Christian to come back she was requesting that he shed his wolf. She didn’t know how his change actually worked. Some were instant. Some were messy. Some were neither. She had too many feline instincts left in her. His size and obvious strength outclassed her human form. She hated feeling weak. The lingering tiger mind hated it more.
“Besides…You should let Aurelie see you hurt first. Add a little limp. Maybe she won’t send you flying for hurting me.”
Julian had been able to fight off a few of the mutant-hunting minions that had been surrounding the mutant known as Finn. More importantly, however, he’d gotten their attention. It was enough to open up a gap in which he could keep them off of his team member, while also letting him get the man out of there. He teleported away from the soldiers’ sight and to Finn’s position, offering his hand. Bella thanked him for coming to Finn’s rescue, but warned him to leave that alleyway as soon as possible. Aside from the obvious soldiers, it became clear why, considering nearby buildings were starting to fall. Was it the Omegas doing this? Were they really so daft that they would do such a thing? Blowing up a building in the middle of crowded New York City was a bad idea no matter how one looked at it, even if this was merely a simulation. What kind of X-Men would so freely destroy homes without a second thought? He had to imagine whoever did it was foolish enough to do it in real life as well. Even if they were somehow unpopulated, these were homes and businesses that people had to return to. Destroying parts of the community to get to the enemy was the work of a villain or a terrorist, not people who called themselves heroes worthy of the X-Men title.
Julian shook his head as he grabbed Finn by the hand. The two disappeared in a puff of smoke. A few moments later found them several blocks away from the destruction, well clear of any debris or dust that overtook the area. They were on the roof of a small apartment building. He walked to the ledge, where he could see the destruction caused by the Omegas, shaking his head some more. On a certain level, he could see the usefulness of destroying whole buildings to root out any enemies in hiding, if not outright killing them. He was raised to be a cold-hearted assassin, so he understood the intent. It was all about drawing his team out, ending the threat, and even removing the potential advantage of hiding or the high ground. It was possible they even considered that the more soft-hearted Alphas might go out of their way to get any civilians out of the way, and the Omegas could use that opportunity to attack them while they were distracted. It was not altogether a tactical mistake to use such methods to clear the field. It was crude, but effective, even if julian hated it. Even if he had not taken the human toll into account, he hated it purely on the basis that it was so loud. For someone like him, a thief who liked to skulk in the shadows, such shock and awe methods were not to his personal taste.
He spent the next few minutes on his own, trusting that Finn could see to his own affairs. He teleported around the battlefield, popping in and out of existence every few seconds. Sometimes he would stop to fire at holographic soldiers, and occasionally stray Omegas. He also did something that he did not think anyone else had really thought of; he tried to protect civilians. Wherever civilians were caught in the crossfire, he made it an effort to grab them and get them out of the way so that they would not get blasted to pieces by stray power use and laser beams. He disappeared and reappeared over and over again in a puff of smoke, getting bystanders away from the battlefield. Considering they were potential losses of points for his teammates, he felt it was best to get them out of the way so they would not accidentally earn themselves a loss out of carelessness. He also thought perhaps this might earn him some points, considering it was the X-Men’s job to protect civilians first and foremost.
After a while, there appeared to be some changes in the environment. The environment finally settled on some beach. Before he could fall in the water, the masked man once again disappeared in a puff of smoke. He reappeared on the nearby shore.He looked around, brow raised in confusion beneath his Venetian mask. Was this a glitch? Was this part of the actual simulation and only meant to sow confusion among the teams? An announcement came in several different languages, with someone introducing themselves and telling them that they needed to have a meet and greet. A man stepped through a suddenly appearing door, and then the danger room simulation shifted into becoming a large banquet hall. Again this caused the man too look around in confusion. His eyes were then drawn to the man stepping through the doorway, suspiciously sizing the man.
Julian wondered if the man was actually a teammate, or if he was just another part of the simulation. Perhaps this was all just another curve ball thrown into the equation. It was entirely possibly the simulation had some kind of metanarrative randomly thrown in simply to confuse the players. He wondered if he was supposed to attack the man to end this or what. For now, though, he was intrigued. ”Fine,” the masked Englishman muttered under his breath. ”I’ll play your game.” He stepped toward the banquet table and took a seat.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Oh, if we run this lightxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Take a little lifexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx No one will care at all.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Oh, we canBurn it and leavexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx For we are the beautiful thieves. No one suspects at all. No one suspects.xxx
Isabella deliberately led Eden, Raine, and Lachlan away from Blake and Alice. Pale jade eyes were unreadable. She was frustrated. She could hear them. They were already at half heath or lower. The Alphas had numbers, strength, and full health bars on their side. Why hadn’t they simply descended on them like a murder of crows to pick them apart?
Aside from the obvious, that it wasn’t the Alpha way, Isabella couldn’t come up with a single satisfying reason. She felt like hitting something. Unfortunately, all of the structures in the area were probably unstable enough from Blake and Alice rolling through. The last thing she wanted to do was bring a building down on her friends because she couldn’t keep her temper in check. They crept around looking for other Omega’s to harass but aside from some holos they seemed pretty spread out. Isabella would have suggested that they backtrack toward the starting point but that was when things started changing. A familiar voice caused her to place one hand over her eyes in recognition. Oh no…
Everything blurred—As if someone was fast forwarding a video tape from one point to the next. The scenery eventually went from dingy New York City alleyways to a beach with shining black sand. She looked up at the sky when she realized she could feel fading rays of sunlight, however artificial, on her face. It was pretty jarring considering they’d been hunting each other in the dead of night surrounded by skyscrapers. She could suddenly see other Alpha’s and Omega’s where they’d previously been obscured by buildings.
From there she nearly lost her footing as the simulation skipped again and became a luxurious dining hall. They were located all over the room, depending in the location they’d been in, when the program changed. There were waiters walking around offering random Alpha’s and Omega’s champagne, a change of clothes, first aid, or anything that would make them look more presentable. There was a string quartet playing not far off. It wasn’t real. It would feel real. Perhaps, the food would even taste real, but it was all carefully crafted deception.
“Oh Zahl…”, she trailed off softly, letting her voice carry to his ears above the noise. It was tinged with amusement and a little bit of awe. She didn’t know many mutants that could influence shi’ar tech like that. With all of the fanfare and obvious technological manipulations—Isabella had immediately put two and two together. As far as she could tell the technopath had completely dissolved the combat tracking in the sim. Their health bars were gone. Mysteriously, they would find that if they fired their laser guns, they did little more than shoot a beam of harmless light. “…Summers is going to kill me.”
If Frost didn’t nail her first. No one would blame Narcissa for ending a training simulation that had long since gotten out of hand. The Red Queen was more than willing to fight. If things turned into chaos—her hand had usually pushed it along somewhere. Isabella was the one that held to the rules. That was a constant advocate for peace and talking things over before resorting to violence. Her ears were ringing already. Raising her comm she punched in the code power down the system but found it non-responsive. Emerald eyes fell to Zahl and she shook her head. He’d really done a number on it.
Just when she was about to page the observation deck for assistance a familiar voice echoed through her comm unit loud and clear. She sighed and looked at the ceiling as it began to fade away. Eventually, the exit appeared to let them out of the room.
There really was never a dull moment.
“Siren, Solaris – My office. Now.”, Summers ordered both captains, scratching the back of his head as he tried to figure out exactly what one of their newest recruits had done. Forge, Beast, and the Professor only barely understood functionality of these systems. It was coded to be user friendly for everyone else…But this was something beyond him. Eventually, he managed to get it to power down. “Everyone else hit the showers. Visit the med bay if needed…The results of the simulation will be announced later. I wouldn’t get too comfortable. Don’t wear anything you don’t want ruined.”
If he could even announce a winner. The idea was to finish the simulation—Not to hijack it. For once, it was the Omega’s that had mostly followed the rules. With the exception of wiping out a few hundred civilians for personal gain. Scott shook his head as he left the observation deck and headed toward his office to meet Narcissa and Isabella. He wasn’t sure which girl he wanted to deal with less. At least when it came to Narcissa—He knew what to expect. When I came to Isabella…Well…His jaw was still bruised from the last time they’d spoken for any length of time.
- Headmasters Office -
Isabella waited for the lecture to begin. Her eyes lingered on the sunny scene that played outside the ‘window’ behind her advisers desk. Frost was thankfully not present. As the excitement from the sim started wearing down and adrenaline wore off…Isabella could feel herself slipping. There was a cold edge to her that didn’t quite belong. A silence in her eyes that made them seem far too hollow for a girl so young. “It was my fault.”, she spoke plainly. “My team member…My problem.”
“How do you plan to deal with it? We both know that it has very little to do with the training module. There are boundaries that need to be observed.”, Scott returned as he crossed his arms. The ruby-quartz of his glasses tinted everything he saw in a shade of red. He couldn’t get a bead on either of the students that stood in the room with him. “There are rules for a reason.”
“I’m aware, Professor. He’s new and his ability makes it simple to interface with just about everything in this facility. He just needs a little guidance and time to adjust.”, the dark haired sound user responded distantly. Overall, she was a little miffed. It was as easy as breathing for Zahl to reach out to the data in the air. It would feel like second nature to try and take control of something like the training sim. Not to mention, it was a pretty genius idea. Can’t beat the system? Hack it.“Control comes with time and patience.”
Scott was silent for a moment before nodding his head. He seemed to accept her answer. After all, he’d accidentally blasted many a hole in many walls when he’d first arrived. He also remembered a time when Isabella was prone to giving everyone at the Academy a low grade migraine by unintentionally emitting a particular sound. Or, when Narcissa still wore thick golden bracers to keep her ability in check. “So…We chalk this incident up to growing pains.” “Now for you…”, Scott turned his gaze to Narcissa. “When has it ever been part of the program to sacrifice civilians? Part of training is learning restraint. That behavior is questionable. Did you encourage it?”
Isabella didn’t look at the fiery blond. Mostly, she wanted Scott to get to the point and divvy out their punishment. The longer she spent breathing the same air that her adviser did the more she realized she was still furious. She could hardly look at him.
"...Everyone's pretty and hiding an ugly truth. Deception is all around. Watch out - Use caution now...."
OOC: Bad post is bad...Everyone can start moseying out of the danger room at their leisure.
Angel Reaver
Greedy Capitalist
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A Primrose Path
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Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 12:15 pm
Alice yanked him down, but as soon as Bella’s hands went up, he dissolved into a cloud of molecules. “Move.” He instructed, though it was already too late. Bella screamed, and it was almost too much for him to not hear the seismic girl cussing in response. “And watch that mouth.” He teased. Alice cartwheeled away, diving through a window to one of the buildings they hadn’t torn down yet.
Bella told him to turn his remark inward, and he shook his head, a bitter smile pulling at his features. “Nothing left to reflect on there, Siren.” He had lost his composure and had finally let her know how he felt. That she didn’t feel the same way wasn’t easy, but he’d take the blame for destroying their friendship by blurting out something she hadn’t been able to handle. “I know where my faults are.” He couldn’t quite hide all of the dejection and bitterness in his voice then; there simply wasn’t time while he still needed to run.
By the time he got to it, she had already skated out. He asked for her coordinates, and she started berating him about the lack of warning. “Again with the language, doll.” He said, wincing a little when she called Bella a b***h. “But she’s a sound manipulator. Those usually include sonic screams.”
He didn’t hear her request not to continue the demolition derby until after he’d already shifted through the foundation of another building. “Well, I hope you’re not in that one.” He responded, returning to his full form.
But the yowls and stomping told him otherwise, and he watched in a little bit of awe and horror as she flew down the fire escape. “You’re too old.” He reiterated, disbelievingly. “Says the one who had to have a fake ID when she went to Nashville with me.”
They didn’t have to run for long however, as some voice came over the announcement system, telling them to have a good time. Blake blinked… but the beachy scene they found themselves in had truly taken over the city. “Any chance there are some rumrunners in here?” Frowning, he sighed. "No?"
**
The lounge was relatively free of people for a change. Placing the fender on the neck of his guitar, Blake started tightening some of the strings to tune it. With his pick wedged between his lips, he tested a few chords and grimaced when something sounded off.
"I should do maintenance on this a little more often..." Maybe then, it wouldn't sound so bad when he wanted to try his hand at composing. Not that he was any Conway Twitty or anything... but every once in a while, he felt some inspiration come on that urged him to try writing Luke Bryan's next country song.
Goddammit he thought to himself as he moved around in the warehouse. He appeared to be dealing with a shadow manipulator, one that was using the large shadows of the building that they were in to his advantage. He was armed, but the weapon he had was well… not working at the moment. He took a moment to try and get it working, mostly through hitting it. He admitted that his technical expertise wasn’t stellar, but he certainly had no idea what the hell he was doing with a laser rifle picked up in a combat zone. Had he gotten a bit more familiarity with it beforehand he might be able to actually figure out what the jam was, but for now he went with the quickest solution he had on hand. Hit it a few times and hope for the best. His first piece of evidence of what he was facing was the appearance of a shadowy figure. His solution was to throw a pipe at it. He didn’t know what it was, how it’d react, or if there was some sort of motion sense to it. For all he knew some sort of trap was laid out as well. Satisfied that there was not a trap he proceeded to try and find the threat. He stuck to the light, trying to limit exposure to the shadows. 
Roland was many things to many members of his team. And frankly not many of them were very nice things. Though in retrospect, he didn’t have much of a high opinion for most of his teammates. A motley crew of dysfunctional mutant warriors, made for a fun powder keg situation. Yet somehow, they worked well enough not to get themselves, and others, killed. But there was something that they may not be aware of when it comes to him, and that was he can be quite resourceful. So being able to spot a stealth based Alpha didn’t come with much difficulty for him. A moment of frustration tempered by clearing his head. Pursuing his prey he managed to get the drop on him, throwing off his opponent a bit. The Alpha’s actions, up to and including his escape was met with a good hearty chuckle.
He pursued his prey with intent, the thrill of the chase here gave him a bit of excitement. He surprised the Alpha by not tracking him in the dark but also pursuing him after his attempt to throw him off. The southern fighting veteran knocked him back with a proper kick to the abdomen, which Roland couldn’t deny that he held back. The voice of his stepfather yelling obscenities because of his decision to hold back echoed in the back of his mind. The son of a b***h even now still had a hold of him. His memories creeped on him with a vengeance. He hoped that after all this, after all the time he had spent with the X-Men they’d die down.
Gabriel managed to sprint down from his vantage point and got to cover with Aurie. He offered up an idea on how to proceed, hoping to hear any of her thoughts. He saw that it surprised her, the fact that he was considering her input. It didn’t seem to be something that he considered to be shocked about. Though, he didn’t pursue it. Not exactly the best situation to question that. Maybe later.
