X-Girls - Mission to Genosha - Part 1
WHO: Kitty Pryde, Illyana Rasputin, Serpentina, Rogue, Magneto (Var. NPCS: Storm, Wolfsbane, Warlock, Sentinel, Cyclops, Alex Summers)
WHERE: Genosha Island
WHEN: New Years Eve
WHAT: Kitty leads the X-Chicks on a mission to Genosha Island.
NOTE: Rogue needs a tag please.
Genosha Island
The island is located off the east coast of Africa and boasted a high standard of living, an excellent economy, and freedom from the political and racial turmoil that characterized neighboring nations. However, Genosha's prosperity was built upon the enslavement of its mutant population. Mutants in Genosha were the property of the state and children who were positively identified with the mutant gene were put through a process developed by David Moreau, commonly known as the Genengineer, stripped of free will and made into mutates (a Marvel term for genetically-modified mutants as opposed to those who developed mutant powers naturally). The Genengineer was also capable of modifying certain mutant abilities in order to fulfill specific labor shortages. Citizenship in Genosha is permanent and the government does not recognize any emigration. Citizens who attempt to leave the country are tracked down and forcibly brought back to the island by the special police force known as Magistrates, and mutant problems are handled by a special group known as the Press Gang.
A month and a half ago, Storm, Wolfsbane, and Warlock went MIA on a mission in Genosha, attempting to find hard proof of the slavery of mutants in order to bring about UN sanctions against the little island nation and expose the truth of the so-called Human Paradise.
A month ago, Kitty Pryde and Serpentina were attacked by a Sentinel attempting to capture them, clearly marked as coming from Genosha. The two girl heroes were able to take it down with Illyana's help.
Three weeks ago, Magneto was supposedly attacked by a Sentinel squad and stole the USS Intrepid in retaliation. The ship was recently found abandoned nearly 500 miles off the coast of Genosha - according to IPA reports that checked on it, there were signs of a heavy battle that occurred within and the ship had listed dangerously. Roy Fokker had it on his short sheet of Sheep projects to find the Intrepid. Magneto was nowhere to be found.
Today, Tropical Storm Monika is making it's presence known in the Island and it's captial of Hammer Bay. The skies are dark, the win swirls, and rain falls down in steady sheets and buckets. Most everyone is inside, taking cover from the storm.
Along the shoreline, patrol ships have made dock - in their place, large robotic shapes make their rounds on patrol. Sentinels. Easily each the size of a Gundam or mecha -- anyone got one in their backpocket?
Kitty Pryde does not have a Gundam in her back pocket! But she doesn't need one either. Actually, she'd probably wind up frying it. (Oopth). When she found out Storm and the others had gone, she had naturally been worried, but not terribly, since they could take care of themselves in most situations. However she had made it clear she wanted to help if she could in some way.
When the Sentinel attacked her and Tina, Kitty had been surprised, but not terribly bothered. ANd when the fiasco with Magneto happened - well that's when she really started to get suspicious. So when Kitty and got The Call, she was all too eager to jump in and assist. Partially to find out what the frell was going on, and partially because she had some ANGER issues to work out. Namely the anger issues relating to problems at work, see. It was a surprise to her that Tina had been told to come along, but hey, reserve is reserve.
Kitty's main concern was Rogue. Wrapped around Kitty's shoulders is a grey Siamese cat - Kitty hadn't removed the image inducer yet. As for how they were going in? Probably by air, for a drop where the Sentinels haven't patrolled yet. Whichever is sneakiest.
Kitty's surprise at Tina's orders was only a shadow of the surprise that Tina felt.
Serpentina spent no less than an hour trying to figure out how they managed to typo her name onto the orders. Clearly it was supposed to be 'Nightcrawler' or 'Psylocke' or or or..
Of course, Tina does have her name on the reservist list. She has considered excusing herself from the list however! Well.. she could never bring herself to. Afterall, the X-men hardly ever rely on her for anything beyond her PR management for various charity functions. As such, The bubbly blonde has never saw fit to formally remove herself from the roster. There will always be other X-men around who are much, much better qualified to deal with these violent emergency situations.
Unfortunately, Serpentina has found that isn't the case.
The blonde remains seated behind Kitty with her arms crossed. A look of
mirthlessess clings to her frowning expression as she occasionally bumps in place from the air turbulence. "...Are we there yet?" She asks for the ten thooousandth time since the plane took off.
Genosha. When Tina said she always wanted to go to Africa, she meant in the 'OOh Look Gazelles!' sense. Not the 'EEEE, Get This Xenocidal Freak Off Of Me!' sense. Clearly, the headmaster got those two concepts confused here. PERSONALLY, she thinks this is just going to be a wild goose chase. All those evil rumors about the Genoshans? No way. This is like, MODERN DAY. Not the middle freaking ages. Slavery went out like a bajillion years ago. Stormy and Wolfbie are probably so busy shopping they haven't had time to call home, or something.
"..We ARE totally going shopping after this, right? I mean, I hear Genosha has like these totally killer Malls." Tina muses whimsically as she yawns, patting her lips.
Awww, no giant robots for Kitty!
Storm, Wolfsbane, and Warlock are all good friends of Illyana. She was worried when they didn't check back in, and became even more so as time went on. It took over a week of prodding Cyclops (and inserting the puppy eyes) to get him to spill where they'd gone. Of course, a rescue mission had to be scheduled soon after. Coincidence? ..maybe!
Under most circumstances, Illyana would have teleported on ahead, but she knows that Genosha is too dangerous to go in solo. At least not when she has a better choice. So instead, she's sitting in the copilot seat. So what if she can't fly it? She can watch Kitty, and keep Tina away from the controls at the same time!
"We'll be there soon, Tina. Don't worry." Illyana wants to be there soon too, but the jet can only go so fast! "I don't think they'll like us much at the malls there, though."
Going where ... for what ... whatever. This seemed like a good way to distract Rogue so she didn't have to think too long about things. There's still a bit of shock that hasn't gone away yet, but for the most part she's trying to not mope too much. She isn't so freaked about things so much as she can't help but think that there is something else, or rather -someone else- that is part of this situation that she doesn't know about. So, until reality finally gives her a hard punch in the face, she's going to distance herself and fight acceptance.
This distance being quite literal since she's sitting in the last row of seats in the jet, her arms folded and staring at nothing too interesting at all. From her expression she doesn't look like she cares either way if she's here, there, but there is a change on her face when Tina talks about going to the mall. Rolling her eyes, Rogue looks toward one of the smaller windows near her seat and hopes the Sentinels show up before gets any ideas about going into any sort of detail about going on a shopping spree. Oh, maybe they could blow up the mall ... except for Glam Noir. She likes that store. ... <3
Yay, the reserve X-Men (Girls) get a reserve X-Jet. Is that instead of a Blackbird or Stealth, they get a Cub Piper? Ahem. As the plane flies through the storm, there seems to be heavy turbulence at first. The plane rocks, rattles and shakes, at one moment, the engines power up to force their way skywards, the next, the bottom falls out the the X-Jet drops several hundred feet before recovering.
Hope you have airsick bags, kids.
So far, so good. The Sentinel on station at the entry point that the X-Chicks have chosen seems to notice them, nor does any radar contacts seem to catch up to the children as well.
"I swear if you say 'Are we there yet?' ONE more time.." She doesn't finish that sentence, focusing her attention instead on the radar. Let's see. One already agitated Kitty, sick with worry over her friends, PLUS being pissed off about work. Add in Tina's flippant seeming response, and Kitty's gaze snaps to the eject button briefly. Trivializing the situation is not a good way to lighten the mood or cheer Kitty up, if that's what Tina was trying for! Storm was like a mother to her and Illyana both, in their respective universes.
The situation only gets a bit more tricky when they hit the turbulence, and Kitty focuses on keeping the jet from crashing.
"Tina I am /trying/ to concentrate here." She grates out quietly, "So unless you're -TRYING- to get us to crash, for the love of all things Jewish, -shut- -it-." The heavy turbulence she's used to; she's had simulations in this sort of condition before, but even so, it takes all she has to keep the plane steady and on course. Were her hands not gloved, her knuckles would be white from tension.
Probably no one wants to sit near Tina by the time the plane starts to drop, "Come on.. Come oN.." Kitty hisses, coaxing the engines to kick in again. "Lockheed, please, I need air." The 'cat' being wrapped so tightly around her throat as to nearly choke her.
"Come on! AH!-" Kitty grins widely as the engines kick in and the plane starts to recover, climbing the unfriendly skies as Kitty guides the plane along. The Blackbird would probably have weathered that hurricane a lot better than their loaned jet - but all it does is make Kitty worry more. Hopefully Storm was all right - for all she knew the windrider was in a pitched battle with someone and that hurricane was /her/ doing. Naturally Kitty fully expects screaming (at least from Tina) but frankly, so focused is she on what she's doing that she completely tuned it out. You guys DID buckle up like she told you, right?
"Illyana, are you picking up any signals on the communicator? Preferably Storm or Wolfsbane's?" For the umpteenth time Kitty is glad Magik was with her, because with Kitty's current mood, she would have lost her temper.
While Serpentina is unamused by this outing, she can sense that Kitty is significantly less happy. For various reasons, of course. Some of which she may have had a hand in, even. Not that she will EVER admit that. As for Storm, well. Tina loves the woman dearly, but was never really that close to her. This isn't to say she wouldn't do everything she can to help her and Wolfbie. Tina's frown creases with a mote of sympathy at her poor friend as she flies the X-GhettoPlane.
The blonde sideglances to her fellow blonde with a small grumble. 'Figured', she breathes underbreath. Then she continues her gaze as she glances over her shoulder to the Rogue sitting a few seats back.
Note the 'the' qualifier. Tina... Isn't sure what to make of her yet. So unlike the proud, bold, confident and friendly Rogue SHE knows. Frankly, the idea of an 'Alternate Universe' just gives the blonde a headache when she focuses her singular mental cog on the notion. She finds its easier to comprehend in terms of being a 'younger sister' of a sort. A younger sister with some.. issues. Still! Tina will try to reach out to the gothy girl at some point but riiiiiight at the moment.. there are bigger fish to fry.
Namely.. HELLO CEILING.
"WOOPH!" Serpentina's upper torso -SMACKS- against the roof of the plane as the wayward vehicle begins to dive.. The rest of her still strapped firmly into the seat. Her waist having extended all the way up from the violent motion as she pancakes the side of her head up against the plastic panelling and the No-Smoking sign. @.x;; "EF FIT FPHOST FO FO FPHIS?!" The blonde mumbles.. Until the plane suddenly evens out and sending the Leaning Tower of Tina to the floor in a CRASH. *FUMP*
But hey.. The buckles work fine! At the question, an arm rises up from the floor. Thumb extended. ___ b
Illyana Rasputin doesn't get motion sickness very easily, but this trip is definitely pushing her constitution! It's all Kitty's fault. She's the one driving! "I think...oof!" Knuckles grow white as she grips desperately to the char. "I think it would have been easier if I just teleported us all there!" Of course, then there would probably be some unfortunate questions to answer from Tina and Rogue, and there's no time for that now.
Unlike Tina, the existance of an alternate Rogue wasn't all -that- strange for Illyana. After all, she had met different versions of many of the X-men while she was in Limbo.
The rubbery smacking makes the mystic wince a bit, and she glances back briefly. "Better hold on as tight as you can, Tina. Seatbeltss assume you're going to stay in the same general location as your butt." When Lockheed seems to get a bit too tense, Illyana reaches over to relieve Kitty's shoulder of the dragoncat. "Come sit in my lap and stop distracting Kitty." Besides, he gets to have Illyana pet him now! "Signal, signal..." She has one hand free, still! "Come on..." She frowns, hand kneading behind Lockheed's head as she pokes at the instruments. "I'm not getting anything. But I don't know if it's the weather, something wrong with the communicators, a jamming field, or even me making a mistake.." She's not above admitting that last one.
Ah yes, turbulence. Luckily, Rogue is used to this sort of thing when flying so was buckled in good and tight. Unluckily, this isn't your Momma's turbulence. This is the turbulence that kicks the asses of the other turbulences. Gripping onto the arm rests of her seat, Rogue manages not to scream when the plane suddenly loses altitude, and she just tries to keep from being flopped around in her seat as much as she can. She is distracted by Tina's body not doing as well staying restrained by the seat belt. It's difficult to say if she's worried or horrified by the sight, and it's not until the turbulence dies down that she does something besides stare, "Hey ... are you okay?" Cause that looked like it hurt. And GASP- was that concern?! --- And the thumbs up seems to be enough to satisfy Rogue's question, and she turns her attention to the front of the ship to listen to the conversation between Kitty and Illyana.
Tossle jostle, toil and burble, look out girls, here comes the trouble.
One signal appears. Storm's. That would be great news, right? There's only one small hitch. It's location and direction say that it's coming from 12 o'clock high. Straight up and over them.
The clouds part, the turbulence stops. It's a miracle! No, it's just Ororo. As she floats down, the first thing that the Mutant Girl's School will notice is that all of that beautiful white hair is gone. As is the usual uniform. Instead, it's a form-fitting black and gold affair with a series of numbers running over the left shoulder.
And she is not alone. The plane suddenly lurches to a sudden and complete halt. The engines whine and scream in protest, but it goes nowhere. Floating down next to Storm is the worst. Teammate. Ever. It's Erik Leshnerr. Magneto. His head has not been shaved yet, but the helmet is off, and he is in a red outfit similar to Storm's, hands glowing a faint purple - apparently that is what is holding the plane up.
Then he waves a hand forward. A black and gold globe suddenly flies out and slams into the front of the cockpit. It grows and expands, encompassing the whole cockpit area, and then slips through.
As it does, the living circuitry expands and twists, forming a spiky head with two large yellow circles for eyes. Then it starts to speak in it's computerized tone, not as all as excited as Warlock would usually be.
'Subject: Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde AKA: Shadowcat, Sprite. Subject: Illyana Rasputin. AKA: Magik. Subject: Tina Potter. AKA: Serpentina. Subject: Name Unknown. AKA: Rogue. Subject: Lockheed.' Warlock drones, numbers appearing on his head as well as he continues into the aircraft.
'You have transgressed the airspace of Subject: Genosha Island, Coordinates: 1855'S 4731'E and as such are now considered an invasion force. You will land your aircraft and submit to the Master Mold immediately or you will find your Life: Terminated.'
"Let's not and say we did." Kitty grins wryly at Illyana of the dimensional portalling. Kitty can cope with that; Rogue only recently came from her own universe, and Tina has a weak constitution. No need to shove them into more things they can't handle. (And yet, here she is taking them on a field mission! ..w ell she figures they can handle this much at least). When Illyana claims Lockheed from her shoulders, Kitty clears her throat, casting a grateful glance at her friend, then spares a glance over her shoulder briefly.
"Sorry about that guys. Rogue, Tina, you okay back there?" Kitty asks, hearing the OOMPHING and thuds from the other blonde. Turning her head enough to catch the thumbs up, and seeing Rogue herself was okay, Kitty nods, and turns back to the controls.
"'Yana, do me a favor and take off Lockheed's colla-" A klaxon sounds from the controls at the same time that Lockheed stands in Illyana's lap with a snarl, glaring forwad.
"Lockheed? What is -" Wait, is that.. "Storm? Ororo!" Kitty's smile does not last very long. Someone shaved Ororo's head! And it's not even in that retarded tacky mohawk! And is that Magneto with them? "Controls aren't responding ..guys! Up and at 'em!" She was right about the Hurricane being Ororo's doing it seems. And Magneto was here too? Why?
What was going on?
She swears something in Russian, thoughtful. Hrrrm. Surrender the Freebird and her companions, oooorrr, RUN LIKE HELL and work out what to do next. Golly. What to do, what to do. "I don't think so -" Kitty retorts. She's never met Warlock in her timeline, so she doesn't really know who he is; beyond that there's some technology in there. Computer based more like. So she removes the belt buckle, getting to her feet as she reaches up, clearly with the intent to phase, but not phased or touching yet.
"Never better.." Tina mumbles in response to Rogue's question. Her torso slithering up her lap and back into place, looping her arms through the shoulder straps once more with a resigned sigh. Casually reaching up to nudge her jaw back into place properly. Takes more than a couple jolts and bumps to put a hurt on this elastic girl!
But as the plane -LURCHES- to a halt, the blonde squeals as she -smashes- against the seat infront of her. Throwing her arms up as she buckles from the impact, "MPH! WHAT in SAN BERNADINO COUNTY is goin ON up th-" Tina's neck extends at length, stretching through the cabin so she can look through the pilot's windshield beside Kitty.
Which brings her Face to Face with Warlock. O___O "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!"
The blonde screams as her rubbery neck snaps right back into place, catching a glimpse of Storm and Magneto both.. together.. floating above them. Clearly holding the plane in place.
The Californian's heart pulses in her chest as no small amount of terror wracks her, her fingers feverishly working to undo her seatbelts.
Caught? In mid air by Magneto? Infiltrated by some kind of babbling robot talking about how they're going to -die-?
"I..Illy! It's time to GO NOW!" Tina timidly squeaks, "Kitty GET BACK HERE!" Nooo, she isn't in command, but she figured this was more or less one of those common sense calls. They've been ambushed by two of the most powerful Mutants on Earth, in mid-air in a flying X-Bucket. Common sense says.. MOVE OVER LIMBO, We're OUTTA HERE.
Illyana Rasputin idly reaches for the catch of Lockheed's collar as she tries to fine-tune the instruments. "Come on, come on... wait, there's Storm!" She pauses, leaning forward to glance out the windshield. "Above us?" There's no way that could possibly be good. And... "Magneto?" Illyana lets out a few choice words... in Russian, of course.
Kitty can handle it! Tina, don't go repeating these. When she sees the yellow sphere, though, Illyana's eyes go wide. "Warlock?" She quickly reaches for her own seatbelt and unbuckles, edging away from the controls. "Warlock, don't you remember when we played Risk? One army doesn't count as an invasion force!" She was totally winning that game, too, until Warlock caught on and took over the world. Hmph.
As Kitty reaches out, Illyana quickly slaps at her hands. "Don't touch him! Nobody touch him!" But especially not Kitty. She doesn't want anybody hurt! "Back, to the back, now!" She wants to be able to get out before Warlock spreads to take over the whole plane. And if Kitty doesn't move fast enough, Illyana will just grab her and charge back. Her other arm reaches to hook Tina as well. "Quick! Grab Rogue and phase us out!" The jet is a lost cause. Illyana knew is as soon as Warlock merged with it.
Whoa ... so much happening in just a few seconds, but Rogue does notice the state of Storm and Magneto ... and felt a tingle of Deja vu. Unlike what happened in her time and universe, this wasn't Apocalypse handy work... but either way, Rogue is a little more concerned with the plane possibly being ripped apart and everyone falling to their deaths. She figures the seat belt isn't going to be much good anymore, so she removes it and begins walking toward the front of the cockpit to join the other girls.
Understanding getting out of the plane is probably the best plan of action, Rogue isn't coming up with any alternatives to the dying outcome, so she just goes along with what the others say. Don't touch him, okay not really a problem. Even though Rogue had considered a moment using her powers, it was quickly dropped when she thought of what could possibly happen if she did... if they'd even work since he looks like some sort of machine. A new model of Sentinel? Unlikely, but she's figuring that Illyana's got a good idea about not touching him!
Lockheed minus the cat image is seen, but seriously, there are worse things to worry about, so besides a double take of the dragon, Rogue doesn't have that much of a reaction to him. However she does have a slightly stronger reaction when she finally reaches the girls and is within grabbing distance of any of them and hears Illyana suggestion to Kitty, "Whoa, wait, -what-?" It's not like she hasn't been phased through stuff before, but she hasn't been in the 'Let's phase out and be in the middle of the air'. As far as she knows, Kitty, and anyone with her, would fall to their death in that situation. . . And she wants to avoid that course of action.
Warlock takes a moment from his assimulation of the X-Ghetto Flier to look at Illyana and the others, and gets a Q_Q face. 'Please join the collective, we have punch (fruit, and carbonated lemon lime soda mixed with equal part flavored sorbet) and pie (chocolate, banana cream, and coconut) to offer for new recurits.' the Phalanx Mutate comments in his droning voice.
The engines of the jet whine in canphony as they continue to strain against Magneto's hold, and then give out and stall, dying with a large whine, then equally large CLANK CLUNK SPUTTER.
Storm, in the meantime, gestures downwards, and a burst of air starts to push the jet towards the ground, with Magneto's powers gliding it - and Warlock continuing his methodically cheerful assimilation!
'Correction, Subject: Illyana Rasputin. An invasion is a military action consisting of armed forces of one geopolitical entity entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of conquering territory or altering the established government. An invasion can be the cause of a war, it can be used as a part of a larger strategy to end a war, or it can constitute an entire war in and of itself. The term usually connotes a strategic endeavor of substantial magnitude; because the goals of an invasion are usually large-scale and long-term, large forces are needed to hold territory and protect the interests of the invading entity.'
There goes the lavatories, 'Smaller and lighter tactical infiltrations are not generally considered invasions, being more often classified as skirmishes, sorties, targeted killings, assassinations or reconnaissance in force. By definition, an invasion is an attack from outside forces. As such, rebellions, civil wars, coups d'etat, and internal acts of democide or other acts of oppression are generally not considered invasions. You are not a sizable force, but you have arrived to upset the balance of Genosha, therefore are not an invasion, however a reconnaissance by force. Thank you for the clarification.'
Tina doesn't even know Russian, so no risk of her repeating them! "I wasn't planning on -TOUCHING- him," Kitty begins, stopping short when Warlock begins droning on and on. "SHUT-UP!" Kitty snarls, about to force a hand through Warlock's head -- at least that was the PLAN. It is completely turned on its ear when Illyana grabs her and drags her away.
Tina's cry is acknowledged, but ultimately ignored as the brunette considers the alternatives. Lockheed, snarling, coils tight around Illyana's shoulders when he gets an inkling of Kitty's plan of action. Retreat and regroup - she doesn't know what Warlock was doing to the jet, but considering the second they touched ground they were as good as toast. She swears under her breath, and when Illyana grabs Tina, Kitty grabs Illyana's left arm, then reaches out and grabs Rogue's right with a quick grin of reassurance.
"Hold on tight Rogue."
And without giving any of them a chance to say much more than, 'Bzuh-?'She phases the group and the quartet pluments through the jet. DO NOT LET GO OF KITTY, WHATEVER YOU DO!
Kitty's gaze is on the ground as it surges up to meet them - but instead of a painful THUDDING stop followed by internal bleeding, broken bones, and 'oh dear god whyyy's, their bodies pass straight through the ground. Kitty rotates direction briefly and rockets them up again at an angle, like the earth itself spat them out. "We need to find cover." Gotta lose Warlock, Storm and Magneto first, and then they can think of what to do. Questions on how Illyana knew Warlock can come later.
You will no longer hear messages on channel .
"Does that THING have an OFF SWITCH?!" Serpentina blurts out as the insane mechanical creature babbles right along with its nonsense. The blonde only half listens as Magik barks out the best order she's heard all day! The enlongated wonder dashes from her seat, immediately throwing herself at Illyana's arm and holds onto her tightly!
Prepare to Teleport in Three Two.. Wuh?
Tina's theory of what was going to happen is completely derailed as Kitty is the one that takes the initiative! "ARE YOU INSAAAAAAAAAAIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
The Californian -screams- as her other arm moves to grab Kitty's own as they sink straight through the floor of the doomed X-Ghetto Plane. Her jade eyes remain wide as she sails through the air, looking back at their probable pursuers. Why is Storm working with Magneto? Where did they get that freaky Android? Dubya Tee Eff Mate! And the only reason Tina can spare the braincells to even consider such issues is because she isn't personally too worried about being in free-fall. She can always expand out into a parachute-like sheet ... which she nearly does until Kitty holds them close!
"...Oh I hate this par-PH"
The Uber Blonde's comment is swallowed up as the quartet plunges into the solid ground like an Olympic Synchronized Diving Event.
A moment later they're hurtled from the Earth and Tina flips through the air once and -landing- a short distance away in a crouch. "Ki..SHADOWCAT. We need to GO! What ar-" The blonde's protests are cut off as the Illinoian dictates further orders. Cover? As in.. -stay- here?! But, they're right on top of them! Tina looks up as she expects the two powerful mutants to descend upon them at any second, already on the move as she rushes back to her comrades.
Dammit Kitty! This isn't one of those times where she needs to prove something! They can run! Come back with reinforcements! Get the drop on -them- as opposed to sticking around and seeing just how bad this trap can get.. They don't have a chance against Magneto. Let alone Magneto AND Storm! o_o!
Illyana Rasputin mutters softly as Warlock drones on. At least it's keeping part of him busy. "I liked it better when he quoted cartoons at us.. Warlock! Snap out of it! What would Doug say?" Erk. Don't choke her, Lockheed! "And since when did you stop calling me Self-friend?" She's not a subject! Pause. "And I know you like apple pie best!" Even as Kitty gathers the others and phases through the plant, Illyana calls back, "I demand apple!"
...ahem.
Who needs Limbo when they have the Kittycoaster? The only way to freefall! She doesn't panic as they slam into and through the ground, and doesn't release the others until everyone is safely aboveground again. "Shhh. Keep quiet, everyone." White begins to cover the mystic's eyes as she begins to mutter something in Russian. Kitty will recognize it as a spell. Once she's done, she waves her hand upward and takes a breath. "That should keep them from finding us. For a few minutes, at least. We have time to breathe."
For a moment, Rogue thought the same thing Tina said. This is nothing but completely insane talk to her. And even if nobody else does, as they freefall, Rogue does in fact scream. It's more out of instinct she didn't even know she had and it only lasts as long as it takes for her to realize that she's screaming and no one else is. Obviously no one else would fall to their death, so she'll just close her eyes tightly and pretend she's just on scariest rollercoaster ride in the world. Even after everyone is back on solid ground and the others are talking, Rogue really doesn't look that good. She actually -could- get paler and she leans forward putting her hands on her knees after she bends over ... looking a lot like that made her sick. ... At least she didn't pass out. Later on she just might be embarrassed, but for now Rogue's going to just concentrate on not throwing up. ... @_@
And the Fearsome(not so) Foursome get out of the jet just as Warlock starts to assimilate the passenger cabin. 'Self-Friends are now Magistrates.' he drones to Illyana, even as they go through the floor. And they get away from the initial ambush.
Yay, they got out of the Warlock Ghetto Jet! Thank you for flying Shadowcat Airlines, where we aim to crash in mid-air.
And now they are on the ground. Off in the distance, the lights of Hammer Bay are easily seen to the west. Including the Marina, where plenty of ships seem to be.
However, Magneto and Storm are still out there...
...but since when do either of them howl?
That is a howl in the air. And you would hope it would be a wolf or a dog, right? Well, Raine sort of counts as that. Tearing into the opening, a feral girl charges forth and leaps right at Illyana, intent on pinning her on the ground. And Wolfsbane isn't here for friendly pets and scritches either, as is made clear when she claws at the woman and then tears across the ground, looking to go for the others.
In the distance, the thud of a Sentinel's footfalls can be made out, coming ever closer.
You get a glancing blow on Illyana Rasputin with your Scratching Post~ feint.
Parachuting down would have been a bad choice. That would have given Magneto and Storm all the time in the world to reach them. THey needed speed, hence, the dead fall that Kitty enhanced by pushing through the aircurrents as they dropped like a large rock.
Correction Tina! YOU don't have a chance against Magneto and Storm! :D But they are several here! They can do it! Although this has nothing to do with having something to prove, and everything to do with being an X-Man; and Kitty is /not/ going to abandon Storm. Or.. much as she hates to say it, Magneto. Unless he's behind this. Seriously Storm, of all team mates you could have picked, /Magneto/?
Still, it's clear they're going to need some help. "Tina, back off a bit, try and reach the others on the communicator. Rogue--" Whatever Kitty was going to say is cut off when Illyana is attacked, "Rahne..?!" Damnit! What had these bastards done to their friends? Kitty even feels bad for /Magneto/. Not even HE deserved this. Emma on the other hand --
Oh who are we kidding. Kitty wouldn't wish this on her worst enemy. Not to mention a brainwashed Emma would be almost as bad as a brainwashed Jean, which is more on the level of HOLYF*CKRUN!
"Wolfsbane! NO! Get off," BAD DOG! Kitty reaches up, phasing a branch off of a tree. Lockheed, having been knocked off of Illyana when the X-Girl got knocked to the ground, launches to the air to scout and see how far those Sentinels are. Kitty on the other hand, waves a hand to Rogue, "Hide!" as she reaches up to grab a thick branch, phasing it off of the tree, stepping behind. So when Wolfsbane leaps into the area, Kitty grunts, SWINGS the branch at the werewolf mutant. Hope she doesn't duck!
Kitty Pryde misses Magneto with her Batter Up? We hope. BAD DOG! attack.
Tina was juuust about to grab Illy's arm in a bid to get her to convince Kitty that ordering a teleport back home would be an excellent course of action! She likes this plan, she would be glad to be a part of it.
That is, until Wolfbie decides the plan needs to go.
Serpentina YEEKS as the feral werewolf leaps at them, hopping away as she shouts, "ILLY!" Hoping to God on High that claw is as glancing as it seemed.
What should she do?! WHAT SHOULD SHE DO?!
She should help Illy and Kitty fight off their friend or.. or.. or run or or.. Everything is happening so fast! The blonde's eyes dart about fearfully, freaking out if something else could leap at them in the middle of nowhere's ville. She wants to go home, she wants to go home!
But she can't. Not right now.
'Call the others?' Right. Right.. Kitty's hasty order finally manages to worm its way through the chaos of Tina's confused mind as her hands fumble at the uniformed shorts at her hip, plucking the X-Communicator from her fashionable beltbuckle as she ducks low and stays on the move, racing beneath a tree as she tries to hail someone. ANYONE, "Hello?! HELLO?! This is Serpentina! Emergency! Emergency!" She frantically screeches as she watches the mayhem unfold..
Illyana Rasputin knows that howl... "Rahne?" Dangit. What's with all her friends trying to kill her today? She's not going to abandon her spell, though. It's a good thing that her armor keeps her mostly protected from the claws, but it still hurts. "Rrrg... I'll be right back. Don't hurt Wolfsbane!" Hopefully her spell will keep them hidden from the three in the air for a bit longer. With that warning given, Illyana disappears in a flash of pink light.
It's several tense moments later when she reappears, crouched and ready to pounce. All it takes is a moment to determine where the werewolf is, then she can leap for the kill! Only her sword isn't out. Instead, she's got a net in her hands, tiny skull-shaped weights adorning the fringes. ...what? Those stupid demons won't make her anything without skulls! "Rogue! I'll hold her down. Try to get her memories to see what the heck caused all this!" Well, hopefully she'll be able to catch Rahne to hold her down!
Illyana Rasputin stuns Magneto with her Hold still, fuzzy! action.
Hide? Like hell. Rogue doesn't hide while other people are fighting. Run off and sneak around a corner to catch people by surprise - Yes. But she isn't going to hide now. And Rahne ... someone else she should know!
There's no reply and after removing one glove, Rogue walks over to touch a single finger against the fleshy part of one of Wolfsbane's ears for a moment. After that she recoils back, stumbling as she tries to sort out memories and powers that will soon sprout up.
Rogue critically strikes Magneto with her Stealing your soul do dee do ~~ attack.
You take 37 damage.
You are no longer stunned.
WHERE: Genosha Island
WHEN: New Years Eve
WHAT: Kitty leads the X-Chicks on a mission to Genosha Island.
NOTE: Rogue needs a tag please.
Genosha Island
The island is located off the east coast of Africa and boasted a high standard of living, an excellent economy, and freedom from the political and racial turmoil that characterized neighboring nations. However, Genosha's prosperity was built upon the enslavement of its mutant population. Mutants in Genosha were the property of the state and children who were positively identified with the mutant gene were put through a process developed by David Moreau, commonly known as the Genengineer, stripped of free will and made into mutates (a Marvel term for genetically-modified mutants as opposed to those who developed mutant powers naturally). The Genengineer was also capable of modifying certain mutant abilities in order to fulfill specific labor shortages. Citizenship in Genosha is permanent and the government does not recognize any emigration. Citizens who attempt to leave the country are tracked down and forcibly brought back to the island by the special police force known as Magistrates, and mutant problems are handled by a special group known as the Press Gang.
A month and a half ago, Storm, Wolfsbane, and Warlock went MIA on a mission in Genosha, attempting to find hard proof of the slavery of mutants in order to bring about UN sanctions against the little island nation and expose the truth of the so-called Human Paradise.
A month ago, Kitty Pryde and Serpentina were attacked by a Sentinel attempting to capture them, clearly marked as coming from Genosha. The two girl heroes were able to take it down with Illyana's help.
Three weeks ago, Magneto was supposedly attacked by a Sentinel squad and stole the USS Intrepid in retaliation. The ship was recently found abandoned nearly 500 miles off the coast of Genosha - according to IPA reports that checked on it, there were signs of a heavy battle that occurred within and the ship had listed dangerously. Roy Fokker had it on his short sheet of Sheep projects to find the Intrepid. Magneto was nowhere to be found.
Today, Tropical Storm Monika is making it's presence known in the Island and it's captial of Hammer Bay. The skies are dark, the win swirls, and rain falls down in steady sheets and buckets. Most everyone is inside, taking cover from the storm.
Along the shoreline, patrol ships have made dock - in their place, large robotic shapes make their rounds on patrol. Sentinels. Easily each the size of a Gundam or mecha -- anyone got one in their backpocket?
Kitty Pryde does not have a Gundam in her back pocket! But she doesn't need one either. Actually, she'd probably wind up frying it. (Oopth). When she found out Storm and the others had gone, she had naturally been worried, but not terribly, since they could take care of themselves in most situations. However she had made it clear she wanted to help if she could in some way.
When the Sentinel attacked her and Tina, Kitty had been surprised, but not terribly bothered. ANd when the fiasco with Magneto happened - well that's when she really started to get suspicious. So when Kitty and got The Call, she was all too eager to jump in and assist. Partially to find out what the frell was going on, and partially because she had some ANGER issues to work out. Namely the anger issues relating to problems at work, see. It was a surprise to her that Tina had been told to come along, but hey, reserve is reserve.
Kitty's main concern was Rogue. Wrapped around Kitty's shoulders is a grey Siamese cat - Kitty hadn't removed the image inducer yet. As for how they were going in? Probably by air, for a drop where the Sentinels haven't patrolled yet. Whichever is sneakiest.
Kitty's surprise at Tina's orders was only a shadow of the surprise that Tina felt.
Serpentina spent no less than an hour trying to figure out how they managed to typo her name onto the orders. Clearly it was supposed to be 'Nightcrawler' or 'Psylocke' or or or..
Of course, Tina does have her name on the reservist list. She has considered excusing herself from the list however! Well.. she could never bring herself to. Afterall, the X-men hardly ever rely on her for anything beyond her PR management for various charity functions. As such, The bubbly blonde has never saw fit to formally remove herself from the roster. There will always be other X-men around who are much, much better qualified to deal with these violent emergency situations.
Unfortunately, Serpentina has found that isn't the case.
The blonde remains seated behind Kitty with her arms crossed. A look of
mirthlessess clings to her frowning expression as she occasionally bumps in place from the air turbulence. "...Are we there yet?" She asks for the ten thooousandth time since the plane took off.
Genosha. When Tina said she always wanted to go to Africa, she meant in the 'OOh Look Gazelles!' sense. Not the 'EEEE, Get This Xenocidal Freak Off Of Me!' sense. Clearly, the headmaster got those two concepts confused here. PERSONALLY, she thinks this is just going to be a wild goose chase. All those evil rumors about the Genoshans? No way. This is like, MODERN DAY. Not the middle freaking ages. Slavery went out like a bajillion years ago. Stormy and Wolfbie are probably so busy shopping they haven't had time to call home, or something.
"..We ARE totally going shopping after this, right? I mean, I hear Genosha has like these totally killer Malls." Tina muses whimsically as she yawns, patting her lips.
Awww, no giant robots for Kitty!
Storm, Wolfsbane, and Warlock are all good friends of Illyana. She was worried when they didn't check back in, and became even more so as time went on. It took over a week of prodding Cyclops (and inserting the puppy eyes) to get him to spill where they'd gone. Of course, a rescue mission had to be scheduled soon after. Coincidence? ..maybe!
Under most circumstances, Illyana would have teleported on ahead, but she knows that Genosha is too dangerous to go in solo. At least not when she has a better choice. So instead, she's sitting in the copilot seat. So what if she can't fly it? She can watch Kitty, and keep Tina away from the controls at the same time!
"We'll be there soon, Tina. Don't worry." Illyana wants to be there soon too, but the jet can only go so fast! "I don't think they'll like us much at the malls there, though."
Going where ... for what ... whatever. This seemed like a good way to distract Rogue so she didn't have to think too long about things. There's still a bit of shock that hasn't gone away yet, but for the most part she's trying to not mope too much. She isn't so freaked about things so much as she can't help but think that there is something else, or rather -someone else- that is part of this situation that she doesn't know about. So, until reality finally gives her a hard punch in the face, she's going to distance herself and fight acceptance.
This distance being quite literal since she's sitting in the last row of seats in the jet, her arms folded and staring at nothing too interesting at all. From her expression she doesn't look like she cares either way if she's here, there, but there is a change on her face when Tina talks about going to the mall. Rolling her eyes, Rogue looks toward one of the smaller windows near her seat and hopes the Sentinels show up before gets any ideas about going into any sort of detail about going on a shopping spree. Oh, maybe they could blow up the mall ... except for Glam Noir. She likes that store. ... <3
Yay, the reserve X-Men (Girls) get a reserve X-Jet. Is that instead of a Blackbird or Stealth, they get a Cub Piper? Ahem. As the plane flies through the storm, there seems to be heavy turbulence at first. The plane rocks, rattles and shakes, at one moment, the engines power up to force their way skywards, the next, the bottom falls out the the X-Jet drops several hundred feet before recovering.
Hope you have airsick bags, kids.
So far, so good. The Sentinel on station at the entry point that the X-Chicks have chosen seems to notice them, nor does any radar contacts seem to catch up to the children as well.
"I swear if you say 'Are we there yet?' ONE more time.." She doesn't finish that sentence, focusing her attention instead on the radar. Let's see. One already agitated Kitty, sick with worry over her friends, PLUS being pissed off about work. Add in Tina's flippant seeming response, and Kitty's gaze snaps to the eject button briefly. Trivializing the situation is not a good way to lighten the mood or cheer Kitty up, if that's what Tina was trying for! Storm was like a mother to her and Illyana both, in their respective universes.
The situation only gets a bit more tricky when they hit the turbulence, and Kitty focuses on keeping the jet from crashing.
"Tina I am /trying/ to concentrate here." She grates out quietly, "So unless you're -TRYING- to get us to crash, for the love of all things Jewish, -shut- -it-." The heavy turbulence she's used to; she's had simulations in this sort of condition before, but even so, it takes all she has to keep the plane steady and on course. Were her hands not gloved, her knuckles would be white from tension.
Probably no one wants to sit near Tina by the time the plane starts to drop, "Come on.. Come oN.." Kitty hisses, coaxing the engines to kick in again. "Lockheed, please, I need air." The 'cat' being wrapped so tightly around her throat as to nearly choke her.
"Come on! AH!-" Kitty grins widely as the engines kick in and the plane starts to recover, climbing the unfriendly skies as Kitty guides the plane along. The Blackbird would probably have weathered that hurricane a lot better than their loaned jet - but all it does is make Kitty worry more. Hopefully Storm was all right - for all she knew the windrider was in a pitched battle with someone and that hurricane was /her/ doing. Naturally Kitty fully expects screaming (at least from Tina) but frankly, so focused is she on what she's doing that she completely tuned it out. You guys DID buckle up like she told you, right?
"Illyana, are you picking up any signals on the communicator? Preferably Storm or Wolfsbane's?" For the umpteenth time Kitty is glad Magik was with her, because with Kitty's current mood, she would have lost her temper.
While Serpentina is unamused by this outing, she can sense that Kitty is significantly less happy. For various reasons, of course. Some of which she may have had a hand in, even. Not that she will EVER admit that. As for Storm, well. Tina loves the woman dearly, but was never really that close to her. This isn't to say she wouldn't do everything she can to help her and Wolfbie. Tina's frown creases with a mote of sympathy at her poor friend as she flies the X-GhettoPlane.
The blonde sideglances to her fellow blonde with a small grumble. 'Figured', she breathes underbreath. Then she continues her gaze as she glances over her shoulder to the Rogue sitting a few seats back.
Note the 'the' qualifier. Tina... Isn't sure what to make of her yet. So unlike the proud, bold, confident and friendly Rogue SHE knows. Frankly, the idea of an 'Alternate Universe' just gives the blonde a headache when she focuses her singular mental cog on the notion. She finds its easier to comprehend in terms of being a 'younger sister' of a sort. A younger sister with some.. issues. Still! Tina will try to reach out to the gothy girl at some point but riiiiiight at the moment.. there are bigger fish to fry.
Namely.. HELLO CEILING.
"WOOPH!" Serpentina's upper torso -SMACKS- against the roof of the plane as the wayward vehicle begins to dive.. The rest of her still strapped firmly into the seat. Her waist having extended all the way up from the violent motion as she pancakes the side of her head up against the plastic panelling and the No-Smoking sign. @.x;; "EF FIT FPHOST FO FO FPHIS?!" The blonde mumbles.. Until the plane suddenly evens out and sending the Leaning Tower of Tina to the floor in a CRASH. *FUMP*
But hey.. The buckles work fine! At the question, an arm rises up from the floor. Thumb extended. ___ b
Illyana Rasputin doesn't get motion sickness very easily, but this trip is definitely pushing her constitution! It's all Kitty's fault. She's the one driving! "I think...oof!" Knuckles grow white as she grips desperately to the char. "I think it would have been easier if I just teleported us all there!" Of course, then there would probably be some unfortunate questions to answer from Tina and Rogue, and there's no time for that now.
Unlike Tina, the existance of an alternate Rogue wasn't all -that- strange for Illyana. After all, she had met different versions of many of the X-men while she was in Limbo.
The rubbery smacking makes the mystic wince a bit, and she glances back briefly. "Better hold on as tight as you can, Tina. Seatbeltss assume you're going to stay in the same general location as your butt." When Lockheed seems to get a bit too tense, Illyana reaches over to relieve Kitty's shoulder of the dragoncat. "Come sit in my lap and stop distracting Kitty." Besides, he gets to have Illyana pet him now! "Signal, signal..." She has one hand free, still! "Come on..." She frowns, hand kneading behind Lockheed's head as she pokes at the instruments. "I'm not getting anything. But I don't know if it's the weather, something wrong with the communicators, a jamming field, or even me making a mistake.." She's not above admitting that last one.
Ah yes, turbulence. Luckily, Rogue is used to this sort of thing when flying so was buckled in good and tight. Unluckily, this isn't your Momma's turbulence. This is the turbulence that kicks the asses of the other turbulences. Gripping onto the arm rests of her seat, Rogue manages not to scream when the plane suddenly loses altitude, and she just tries to keep from being flopped around in her seat as much as she can. She is distracted by Tina's body not doing as well staying restrained by the seat belt. It's difficult to say if she's worried or horrified by the sight, and it's not until the turbulence dies down that she does something besides stare, "Hey ... are you okay?" Cause that looked like it hurt. And GASP- was that concern?! --- And the thumbs up seems to be enough to satisfy Rogue's question, and she turns her attention to the front of the ship to listen to the conversation between Kitty and Illyana.
Tossle jostle, toil and burble, look out girls, here comes the trouble.
One signal appears. Storm's. That would be great news, right? There's only one small hitch. It's location and direction say that it's coming from 12 o'clock high. Straight up and over them.
The clouds part, the turbulence stops. It's a miracle! No, it's just Ororo. As she floats down, the first thing that the Mutant Girl's School will notice is that all of that beautiful white hair is gone. As is the usual uniform. Instead, it's a form-fitting black and gold affair with a series of numbers running over the left shoulder.
And she is not alone. The plane suddenly lurches to a sudden and complete halt. The engines whine and scream in protest, but it goes nowhere. Floating down next to Storm is the worst. Teammate. Ever. It's Erik Leshnerr. Magneto. His head has not been shaved yet, but the helmet is off, and he is in a red outfit similar to Storm's, hands glowing a faint purple - apparently that is what is holding the plane up.
Then he waves a hand forward. A black and gold globe suddenly flies out and slams into the front of the cockpit. It grows and expands, encompassing the whole cockpit area, and then slips through.
As it does, the living circuitry expands and twists, forming a spiky head with two large yellow circles for eyes. Then it starts to speak in it's computerized tone, not as all as excited as Warlock would usually be.
'Subject: Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde AKA: Shadowcat, Sprite. Subject: Illyana Rasputin. AKA: Magik. Subject: Tina Potter. AKA: Serpentina. Subject: Name Unknown. AKA: Rogue. Subject: Lockheed.' Warlock drones, numbers appearing on his head as well as he continues into the aircraft.
'You have transgressed the airspace of Subject: Genosha Island, Coordinates: 1855'S 4731'E and as such are now considered an invasion force. You will land your aircraft and submit to the Master Mold immediately or you will find your Life: Terminated.'
"Let's not and say we did." Kitty grins wryly at Illyana of the dimensional portalling. Kitty can cope with that; Rogue only recently came from her own universe, and Tina has a weak constitution. No need to shove them into more things they can't handle. (And yet, here she is taking them on a field mission! ..w ell she figures they can handle this much at least). When Illyana claims Lockheed from her shoulders, Kitty clears her throat, casting a grateful glance at her friend, then spares a glance over her shoulder briefly.
"Sorry about that guys. Rogue, Tina, you okay back there?" Kitty asks, hearing the OOMPHING and thuds from the other blonde. Turning her head enough to catch the thumbs up, and seeing Rogue herself was okay, Kitty nods, and turns back to the controls.
"'Yana, do me a favor and take off Lockheed's colla-" A klaxon sounds from the controls at the same time that Lockheed stands in Illyana's lap with a snarl, glaring forwad.
"Lockheed? What is -" Wait, is that.. "Storm? Ororo!" Kitty's smile does not last very long. Someone shaved Ororo's head! And it's not even in that retarded tacky mohawk! And is that Magneto with them? "Controls aren't responding ..guys! Up and at 'em!" She was right about the Hurricane being Ororo's doing it seems. And Magneto was here too? Why?
What was going on?
She swears something in Russian, thoughtful. Hrrrm. Surrender the Freebird and her companions, oooorrr, RUN LIKE HELL and work out what to do next. Golly. What to do, what to do. "I don't think so -" Kitty retorts. She's never met Warlock in her timeline, so she doesn't really know who he is; beyond that there's some technology in there. Computer based more like. So she removes the belt buckle, getting to her feet as she reaches up, clearly with the intent to phase, but not phased or touching yet.
"Never better.." Tina mumbles in response to Rogue's question. Her torso slithering up her lap and back into place, looping her arms through the shoulder straps once more with a resigned sigh. Casually reaching up to nudge her jaw back into place properly. Takes more than a couple jolts and bumps to put a hurt on this elastic girl!
But as the plane -LURCHES- to a halt, the blonde squeals as she -smashes- against the seat infront of her. Throwing her arms up as she buckles from the impact, "MPH! WHAT in SAN BERNADINO COUNTY is goin ON up th-" Tina's neck extends at length, stretching through the cabin so she can look through the pilot's windshield beside Kitty.
Which brings her Face to Face with Warlock. O___O "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!"
The blonde screams as her rubbery neck snaps right back into place, catching a glimpse of Storm and Magneto both.. together.. floating above them. Clearly holding the plane in place.
The Californian's heart pulses in her chest as no small amount of terror wracks her, her fingers feverishly working to undo her seatbelts.
Caught? In mid air by Magneto? Infiltrated by some kind of babbling robot talking about how they're going to -die-?
"I..Illy! It's time to GO NOW!" Tina timidly squeaks, "Kitty GET BACK HERE!" Nooo, she isn't in command, but she figured this was more or less one of those common sense calls. They've been ambushed by two of the most powerful Mutants on Earth, in mid-air in a flying X-Bucket. Common sense says.. MOVE OVER LIMBO, We're OUTTA HERE.
Illyana Rasputin idly reaches for the catch of Lockheed's collar as she tries to fine-tune the instruments. "Come on, come on... wait, there's Storm!" She pauses, leaning forward to glance out the windshield. "Above us?" There's no way that could possibly be good. And... "Magneto?" Illyana lets out a few choice words... in Russian, of course.
Kitty can handle it! Tina, don't go repeating these. When she sees the yellow sphere, though, Illyana's eyes go wide. "Warlock?" She quickly reaches for her own seatbelt and unbuckles, edging away from the controls. "Warlock, don't you remember when we played Risk? One army doesn't count as an invasion force!" She was totally winning that game, too, until Warlock caught on and took over the world. Hmph.
As Kitty reaches out, Illyana quickly slaps at her hands. "Don't touch him! Nobody touch him!" But especially not Kitty. She doesn't want anybody hurt! "Back, to the back, now!" She wants to be able to get out before Warlock spreads to take over the whole plane. And if Kitty doesn't move fast enough, Illyana will just grab her and charge back. Her other arm reaches to hook Tina as well. "Quick! Grab Rogue and phase us out!" The jet is a lost cause. Illyana knew is as soon as Warlock merged with it.
Whoa ... so much happening in just a few seconds, but Rogue does notice the state of Storm and Magneto ... and felt a tingle of Deja vu. Unlike what happened in her time and universe, this wasn't Apocalypse handy work... but either way, Rogue is a little more concerned with the plane possibly being ripped apart and everyone falling to their deaths. She figures the seat belt isn't going to be much good anymore, so she removes it and begins walking toward the front of the cockpit to join the other girls.
Understanding getting out of the plane is probably the best plan of action, Rogue isn't coming up with any alternatives to the dying outcome, so she just goes along with what the others say. Don't touch him, okay not really a problem. Even though Rogue had considered a moment using her powers, it was quickly dropped when she thought of what could possibly happen if she did... if they'd even work since he looks like some sort of machine. A new model of Sentinel? Unlikely, but she's figuring that Illyana's got a good idea about not touching him!
Lockheed minus the cat image is seen, but seriously, there are worse things to worry about, so besides a double take of the dragon, Rogue doesn't have that much of a reaction to him. However she does have a slightly stronger reaction when she finally reaches the girls and is within grabbing distance of any of them and hears Illyana suggestion to Kitty, "Whoa, wait, -what-?" It's not like she hasn't been phased through stuff before, but she hasn't been in the 'Let's phase out and be in the middle of the air'. As far as she knows, Kitty, and anyone with her, would fall to their death in that situation. . . And she wants to avoid that course of action.
Warlock takes a moment from his assimulation of the X-Ghetto Flier to look at Illyana and the others, and gets a Q_Q face. 'Please join the collective, we have punch (fruit, and carbonated lemon lime soda mixed with equal part flavored sorbet) and pie (chocolate, banana cream, and coconut) to offer for new recurits.' the Phalanx Mutate comments in his droning voice.
The engines of the jet whine in canphony as they continue to strain against Magneto's hold, and then give out and stall, dying with a large whine, then equally large CLANK CLUNK SPUTTER.
Storm, in the meantime, gestures downwards, and a burst of air starts to push the jet towards the ground, with Magneto's powers gliding it - and Warlock continuing his methodically cheerful assimilation!
'Correction, Subject: Illyana Rasputin. An invasion is a military action consisting of armed forces of one geopolitical entity entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of conquering territory or altering the established government. An invasion can be the cause of a war, it can be used as a part of a larger strategy to end a war, or it can constitute an entire war in and of itself. The term usually connotes a strategic endeavor of substantial magnitude; because the goals of an invasion are usually large-scale and long-term, large forces are needed to hold territory and protect the interests of the invading entity.'
There goes the lavatories, 'Smaller and lighter tactical infiltrations are not generally considered invasions, being more often classified as skirmishes, sorties, targeted killings, assassinations or reconnaissance in force. By definition, an invasion is an attack from outside forces. As such, rebellions, civil wars, coups d'etat, and internal acts of democide or other acts of oppression are generally not considered invasions. You are not a sizable force, but you have arrived to upset the balance of Genosha, therefore are not an invasion, however a reconnaissance by force. Thank you for the clarification.'
Tina doesn't even know Russian, so no risk of her repeating them! "I wasn't planning on -TOUCHING- him," Kitty begins, stopping short when Warlock begins droning on and on. "SHUT-UP!" Kitty snarls, about to force a hand through Warlock's head -- at least that was the PLAN. It is completely turned on its ear when Illyana grabs her and drags her away.
Tina's cry is acknowledged, but ultimately ignored as the brunette considers the alternatives. Lockheed, snarling, coils tight around Illyana's shoulders when he gets an inkling of Kitty's plan of action. Retreat and regroup - she doesn't know what Warlock was doing to the jet, but considering the second they touched ground they were as good as toast. She swears under her breath, and when Illyana grabs Tina, Kitty grabs Illyana's left arm, then reaches out and grabs Rogue's right with a quick grin of reassurance.
"Hold on tight Rogue."
And without giving any of them a chance to say much more than, 'Bzuh-?'She phases the group and the quartet pluments through the jet. DO NOT LET GO OF KITTY, WHATEVER YOU DO!
Kitty's gaze is on the ground as it surges up to meet them - but instead of a painful THUDDING stop followed by internal bleeding, broken bones, and 'oh dear god whyyy's, their bodies pass straight through the ground. Kitty rotates direction briefly and rockets them up again at an angle, like the earth itself spat them out. "We need to find cover." Gotta lose Warlock, Storm and Magneto first, and then they can think of what to do. Questions on how Illyana knew Warlock can come later.
You will no longer hear messages on channel .
"Does that THING have an OFF SWITCH?!" Serpentina blurts out as the insane mechanical creature babbles right along with its nonsense. The blonde only half listens as Magik barks out the best order she's heard all day! The enlongated wonder dashes from her seat, immediately throwing herself at Illyana's arm and holds onto her tightly!
Prepare to Teleport in Three Two.. Wuh?
Tina's theory of what was going to happen is completely derailed as Kitty is the one that takes the initiative! "ARE YOU INSAAAAAAAAAAIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
The Californian -screams- as her other arm moves to grab Kitty's own as they sink straight through the floor of the doomed X-Ghetto Plane. Her jade eyes remain wide as she sails through the air, looking back at their probable pursuers. Why is Storm working with Magneto? Where did they get that freaky Android? Dubya Tee Eff Mate! And the only reason Tina can spare the braincells to even consider such issues is because she isn't personally too worried about being in free-fall. She can always expand out into a parachute-like sheet ... which she nearly does until Kitty holds them close!
"...Oh I hate this par-PH"
The Uber Blonde's comment is swallowed up as the quartet plunges into the solid ground like an Olympic Synchronized Diving Event.
A moment later they're hurtled from the Earth and Tina flips through the air once and -landing- a short distance away in a crouch. "Ki..SHADOWCAT. We need to GO! What ar-" The blonde's protests are cut off as the Illinoian dictates further orders. Cover? As in.. -stay- here?! But, they're right on top of them! Tina looks up as she expects the two powerful mutants to descend upon them at any second, already on the move as she rushes back to her comrades.
Dammit Kitty! This isn't one of those times where she needs to prove something! They can run! Come back with reinforcements! Get the drop on -them- as opposed to sticking around and seeing just how bad this trap can get.. They don't have a chance against Magneto. Let alone Magneto AND Storm! o_o!
Illyana Rasputin mutters softly as Warlock drones on. At least it's keeping part of him busy. "I liked it better when he quoted cartoons at us.. Warlock! Snap out of it! What would Doug say?" Erk. Don't choke her, Lockheed! "And since when did you stop calling me Self-friend?" She's not a subject! Pause. "And I know you like apple pie best!" Even as Kitty gathers the others and phases through the plant, Illyana calls back, "I demand apple!"
...ahem.
Who needs Limbo when they have the Kittycoaster? The only way to freefall! She doesn't panic as they slam into and through the ground, and doesn't release the others until everyone is safely aboveground again. "Shhh. Keep quiet, everyone." White begins to cover the mystic's eyes as she begins to mutter something in Russian. Kitty will recognize it as a spell. Once she's done, she waves her hand upward and takes a breath. "That should keep them from finding us. For a few minutes, at least. We have time to breathe."
For a moment, Rogue thought the same thing Tina said. This is nothing but completely insane talk to her. And even if nobody else does, as they freefall, Rogue does in fact scream. It's more out of instinct she didn't even know she had and it only lasts as long as it takes for her to realize that she's screaming and no one else is. Obviously no one else would fall to their death, so she'll just close her eyes tightly and pretend she's just on scariest rollercoaster ride in the world. Even after everyone is back on solid ground and the others are talking, Rogue really doesn't look that good. She actually -could- get paler and she leans forward putting her hands on her knees after she bends over ... looking a lot like that made her sick. ... At least she didn't pass out. Later on she just might be embarrassed, but for now Rogue's going to just concentrate on not throwing up. ... @_@
And the Fearsome(not so) Foursome get out of the jet just as Warlock starts to assimilate the passenger cabin. 'Self-Friends are now Magistrates.' he drones to Illyana, even as they go through the floor. And they get away from the initial ambush.
Yay, they got out of the Warlock Ghetto Jet! Thank you for flying Shadowcat Airlines, where we aim to crash in mid-air.
And now they are on the ground. Off in the distance, the lights of Hammer Bay are easily seen to the west. Including the Marina, where plenty of ships seem to be.
However, Magneto and Storm are still out there...
...but since when do either of them howl?
That is a howl in the air. And you would hope it would be a wolf or a dog, right? Well, Raine sort of counts as that. Tearing into the opening, a feral girl charges forth and leaps right at Illyana, intent on pinning her on the ground. And Wolfsbane isn't here for friendly pets and scritches either, as is made clear when she claws at the woman and then tears across the ground, looking to go for the others.
In the distance, the thud of a Sentinel's footfalls can be made out, coming ever closer.
You get a glancing blow on Illyana Rasputin with your Scratching Post~ feint.
Parachuting down would have been a bad choice. That would have given Magneto and Storm all the time in the world to reach them. THey needed speed, hence, the dead fall that Kitty enhanced by pushing through the aircurrents as they dropped like a large rock.
Correction Tina! YOU don't have a chance against Magneto and Storm! :D But they are several here! They can do it! Although this has nothing to do with having something to prove, and everything to do with being an X-Man; and Kitty is /not/ going to abandon Storm. Or.. much as she hates to say it, Magneto. Unless he's behind this. Seriously Storm, of all team mates you could have picked, /Magneto/?
Still, it's clear they're going to need some help. "Tina, back off a bit, try and reach the others on the communicator. Rogue--" Whatever Kitty was going to say is cut off when Illyana is attacked, "Rahne..?!" Damnit! What had these bastards done to their friends? Kitty even feels bad for /Magneto/. Not even HE deserved this. Emma on the other hand --
Oh who are we kidding. Kitty wouldn't wish this on her worst enemy. Not to mention a brainwashed Emma would be almost as bad as a brainwashed Jean, which is more on the level of HOLYF*CKRUN!
"Wolfsbane! NO! Get off," BAD DOG! Kitty reaches up, phasing a branch off of a tree. Lockheed, having been knocked off of Illyana when the X-Girl got knocked to the ground, launches to the air to scout and see how far those Sentinels are. Kitty on the other hand, waves a hand to Rogue, "Hide!" as she reaches up to grab a thick branch, phasing it off of the tree, stepping behind. So when Wolfsbane leaps into the area, Kitty grunts, SWINGS the branch at the werewolf mutant. Hope she doesn't duck!
Kitty Pryde misses Magneto with her Batter Up? We hope. BAD DOG! attack.
Tina was juuust about to grab Illy's arm in a bid to get her to convince Kitty that ordering a teleport back home would be an excellent course of action! She likes this plan, she would be glad to be a part of it.
That is, until Wolfbie decides the plan needs to go.
Serpentina YEEKS as the feral werewolf leaps at them, hopping away as she shouts, "ILLY!" Hoping to God on High that claw is as glancing as it seemed.
What should she do?! WHAT SHOULD SHE DO?!
She should help Illy and Kitty fight off their friend or.. or.. or run or or.. Everything is happening so fast! The blonde's eyes dart about fearfully, freaking out if something else could leap at them in the middle of nowhere's ville. She wants to go home, she wants to go home!
But she can't. Not right now.
'Call the others?' Right. Right.. Kitty's hasty order finally manages to worm its way through the chaos of Tina's confused mind as her hands fumble at the uniformed shorts at her hip, plucking the X-Communicator from her fashionable beltbuckle as she ducks low and stays on the move, racing beneath a tree as she tries to hail someone. ANYONE, "Hello?! HELLO?! This is Serpentina! Emergency! Emergency!" She frantically screeches as she watches the mayhem unfold..
Illyana Rasputin knows that howl... "Rahne?" Dangit. What's with all her friends trying to kill her today? She's not going to abandon her spell, though. It's a good thing that her armor keeps her mostly protected from the claws, but it still hurts. "Rrrg... I'll be right back. Don't hurt Wolfsbane!" Hopefully her spell will keep them hidden from the three in the air for a bit longer. With that warning given, Illyana disappears in a flash of pink light.
It's several tense moments later when she reappears, crouched and ready to pounce. All it takes is a moment to determine where the werewolf is, then she can leap for the kill! Only her sword isn't out. Instead, she's got a net in her hands, tiny skull-shaped weights adorning the fringes. ...what? Those stupid demons won't make her anything without skulls! "Rogue! I'll hold her down. Try to get her memories to see what the heck caused all this!" Well, hopefully she'll be able to catch Rahne to hold her down!
Illyana Rasputin stuns Magneto with her Hold still, fuzzy! action.
Hide? Like hell. Rogue doesn't hide while other people are fighting. Run off and sneak around a corner to catch people by surprise - Yes. But she isn't going to hide now. And Rahne ... someone else she should know!
There's no reply and after removing one glove, Rogue walks over to touch a single finger against the fleshy part of one of Wolfsbane's ears for a moment. After that she recoils back, stumbling as she tries to sort out memories and powers that will soon sprout up.
Rogue critically strikes Magneto with her Stealing your soul do dee do ~~ attack.
You take 37 damage.
You are no longer stunned.