[OPEN POST] NEW BRO'HOOD

[fireaholic.livejournal.com]

Characters: John, Kevin, Logan, sons a'bitches, anyone feasible.
Setting: Brotherhood HQ, Vermont.
Content: EPIC.
Status: OPEN AND READY.


Feel free to comment to existing threads, make new ones, and generally create awesomeness.

IMPORTANT NOTE: REFER HERE before jumping in.

Comments

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

[Her hand on his chest - he can't decide if it aggravates or soothes him; either way he lets it stay and doesn't move any closer. But he does roll his eyes angrily.]

Fucking Christ, Ali; no shit. You control sound. [He pauses, holds her gaze with his. His voice is infused with irritation and concern, but it's softer now.] You can't tell me you think being here is a good idea. You could get hurt.

[never-too-cold.livejournal.com]

[As Ali and Julian have been talking, more Madroxes have been appearing out of nowhere, from further out in the trees. They head straight for Bobby, Jono and Kitty; a few are trying to re-secure Logan (and getting skewered for their trouble). Bobby grits his teeth, slams an elbow into a dupe's stomach, throws a glance over to where Julian and Ali are standing.]

Hellion, Dazzler, shut up and get over here!

[He throws a glare at Ali that says I'll get to you later, then turns back just in time to catch a Madrox's fist with his jaw.]

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

[It's not Bobby's voice that beckons their attention; they hear the telltale signs of a fight. Julian swings his head around, his eyes immediately burning with a green-blue hue.

But a twig snaps behind Ali. He faces her, faces a Madrox clone with a deer-in-headlights look that might have been comical if the situation wasn't so dire.

Not another second passes. Julian lifts a hand - from it, a telekinetic blast leaves his palm, an expanding wave of power spreading and widening out through the foliage and trees. The dupe goes flying, hits a tree hard anf falls to the ground motionless.

There's no time for making her see sense now, no time for begging and pleading with her to just go. He looks down at Ali, pressing the communicator to let Bobby in on what he's saying, and orders:] Dazzler and I are taking to the air and staying below the tree line. We need to surround them.

Flank right, I'll go left.

[He turns, already off the ground, arm pulled back in a fist to knock out a clone running their way.]

[dazzlerock.livejournal.com]

[Ali scowls, his telekinetic blast just missing her head. Her eyes glow and she looks up to the canopy. She gives herself a boost with a photon pulse emitted from her heel and she's swinging up into the trees to the right, leaving Julian below to deal with clones.

She crouches on a low limb, monitoring the sounds below, weaving and bobbing her way right and righter dropping hot, white photon bombs on the dupes below.]

Fat lot of good this does anyone. [she grumbles, looking around for Julian, waiting for insturction.] This is the worst rescue mission in the history of rescue missions.

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

[After picking up another dupe and smashing him into a tree trunk on the way up into the sky, Julian hovers, his commlink still on, sending down blasts at clones and protecting the perimeter, keeping as many from entering the clearing as possible.]

Quit whining and protect the perimeter, Blaire. [Julian says this, flying past her, throwing a Madrox flying from approaching Kitty from behind]

[dazzlerock.livejournal.com]

Eat me, Hellion! [Ali wonders if Bobby is telling Julian what a dick he is over that commlink, wishes she had one of her own to do so herself. She shrugs it off, vaulting up onto a higher branch as the one she's crouched on lets out a creak, and then a deafening crack. At least it knocked out a dupe or two below her as it went.

But soon, it seems like each branch she jumps to is unstable, rotten, covered in ice. Her usually sure-footed climbing skills are making her feel like a drunk monkey. And she freezes.

To her right, just above her, she can see a flash of gold, hears Kitty squeal below. Cold terror sinks in and Ali knows what's going on. Her eyes come up and lock with Longshots, his right eye glowing and his three fingers waving at her as the limb beneath her gives way.]

Oh. Fuck.

[jono-stars.livejournal.com]

Hang on hang on!

[Jono races over fast as he can, but he just barely misses Ali. He uses a telepathic blast to give her a cushioned landing, and falls into the snow next to her to stops his run. He picks himself up again to race back into the fight, pausing to give Ali a hand to stand up.]

[dazzlerock.livejournal.com]

[Ali's shaking, just a little, but unharmed. She swallows hard, trying to keep her panic down.]

Longshot's up in the canopy, we don't stand a chance against these dupes with him calling the shots.

[She gives Jono a once over, frowning. He's way too big to outrun Longshot in the trees, he is a tree. She sets her will and motions for Chamber to toss her back up.]

I'll try and weed him out, tell everyone else to keep an eye for him. He's a fast little fucker, and luck's against us when he's around.

[jono-stars.livejournal.com]

[Jono gives a fast nod, and then dashes off in the other direction. He follows the sound of ice shards cracking, where he knows Bobby will be.]

[newbrohood.livejournal.com]

[Longshot grins as one of the many tree limbs he's caused to collabse from underneath the Dazzler clips Hellion, sending him into a tailspin. The mutant in the trees receedes further into the shadows, evading detection, and looks down at Mortis, also waiting in the wings.

He speaks, his words falling like light rain, lost in the din of the fight to all ears but hers.]

The telekinetic. There's something with him and the Dazzler.

[Mortis glances up, patient, nodding, she murmurs softly: "I hate telekinetics. Cocky bastards, all of them."]

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

[The only thing that stops Julian from landing headfirst and breaking his neck on the ground is a sudden rush of telekinetic energy. Even so, he lands hard, rolling to the side and nearly breaking his back anyway on the tree that stops his path.

He lets out a pained grunt, gritting his teeth and immediately seeking out Ali and Jono, surveying the immediate area for baddies. His friends are alive; he hears their voices and that's good enough for him. He rolls over, pushing himself up on his hands and knees, lifting a hand to wipe away blood from a cut lip with an annoyed growl. He doesn't spare the moment however; he's using the tree to pull himself to his feet.]

[newbrohood.livejournal.com]

[A smile plays across delicate lips in the dark, thin white arms shoot out from the shadows to grab Julian. The strength of the palm crushing over his mouth is like a tombstone, doing it's best to bury any sounds he might make within him.]

You're the Hellion?

[A soft, sultry laugh brushes past Julian's ear as a second cold hand touches him, fingers curling against his chest, thick black and tightness pressing through his sternum to his heart.]

I don't believe you've been to hell...yet.

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

[Julian does make a sound - a muffled yelp as the chilled arms encircling him, so slim and pale and strangely strong. There's something about her touch that makes his blood run cold, makes his body freeze up, and he shivers at her beautiful, awful laugh, the tenor and melody of her voice, even her inflections - so familiar and intimate to him.

He thinks Ali and knows instinctively who he's dealing with, what he's dealing with. Mortis. He chokes, just a small, awful sound from the back of his throat at the pressure on his chest, the telling tightness of it.

His only thought is getting her off of him at that moment. His eyes glow despite her teasing death and he lets out a blast, throwing Lois far and fast and hard away with him. He gets up and turns to face her, his injuries forgotten in the adrenaline of the moment, his lips twisted as his hands glow with power.]

Oh sweetheart, I could take you there.

[newbrohood.livejournal.com]

Where do you think I've been my whole life?

[She laughs again, glancing up for a split second, the canopy alive with light, dispelling the shadows. Somewhere up there, her sister can hear them. Maybe Ali's even trying to make it in time to save her little friend. Her eyes glow red once again, smoky black energy wafting around her and then she advances.

From above, a woman lets out a panicked, fearful scream. Mortis smiles, her sister's voice distracting her target for the split second she needs. She silently thanks Longshot, wherever he is, for the assist. Lois is upon Julian in a split second, her slight form surprisingly strong, her powers working faster than the last time, but not too fast. She can feel his heartbeat skip and slow.]

I was hoping she'd be here to watch, but I suppose I'll have to be happy that she'll be able to hear, even feel your last breath before I take your pathetic life.

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

[As strong as she is, as panicked and painful as that rush of her thick, seizing power is, she's still smaller, lighter, and Julian is trained enough - although with her proximity and her powers taking effect he is slower - to engage her in hand-to-hand combat. You just don't train with Emma Frost for years and not ingrain in yourself the lightning fast instinct to defend and debilitate.

Even as she spits out her words Julian grabs her arms and throws them off, jabs at her jaw and then her chest with a powerful kinetic surge that throws her violently against a tree trunk.

He backs away, hands up in a defensive stance, his vision blackening for a moment, and realizes he can't be distracted again, not for anything, not even Ali. He can't let her get close.]

Talk much, creepy?

[dazzlerock.livejournal.com]

[Ali's been up in the trees, in case the flickering lights above hasn't given that away already, chasing after Longshot. She's tried to keep him centered above where Julian and Lois have been bantering, Like the idiot he is, Ali thinks as she fires off another stream of photons, trying to direct Longshot into position. Her thought's distracted as she spots a flash of gold and something dart below her. Gotcha!

She doesn't think, a small blessing, just drops off the branch she's on plummeting to the earth with all manner of ruckus. It's worth it, though, because her waiting hands find themselves locking onto limbs as she catches Longshot by the shoulders, taking him down with her and landing in a tangle with him in the snow. She catches his cheek with a left hook, the skin there splitting open just beneath his flashing eye. Still crouching, Ali looks up at Julian, then glances behind her at her sister. She's now physically between the two of them with a struggling Longshot beneath her.]

Both of you are so full of hot air I'm surprised you're still on the ground. [Ali informs them, trying to use all of her weight to keep Longshot pinned. She glows violently when Julian begins to advance, Mortis smirking at him from behind the Dazzler.] Why don't you just back the fuck off my sister, Julian? I got this.

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

Are you fucking kidding me? Both of them? [Julian stops in his tracks, his eyes bursting with telekinetic energy, and lifts his hand. With Mortis doing her smirking routine and the strength quickly returning to him, he has no trouble using his telekinesis to send her flying back through the brush and foliage, quick and hard and without much aim - Julian's sure there's a tree somewhere, eventually, to stop her and quite painfully. However, he spares Ali's sister an annoyed, infuriated glance before he does so, as if their encounter and ensuing fight were merely an irritating distraction from a more worthy opponent.] You need help. [Julian uses his powers to help her pin Longshot down more effectively.] Look, you're welcome already.

FOR KEVIN AND ANYONE REALLY. BOBBY, KITTY? ♥

[fireaholic.livejournal.com]

[John purposely lags behind the others rushing into battle, hands in his pockets as if he's on a stroll in the woods and not heading towards death and destruction. The plan's simple, obviously. The less Brotherhood pawns at his back when he goes turncoat (again), the better. One, less knives in the back for him. Two, a lot more knives for them. However, it won't be knives decimating the rear flank, will it? No.

The thought fills him with grim determination, watching his former comrades rush forward.

He looks to Kevin as they near the edge of the clearing and nods, pulling his hands out of his pockets, finally. With a clean up crew of fire and decay... John can't help but give Kevin a twistedly pleased smile, letting out a breathy chuckle. Who'll be left standing?

John strokes the release at his wrist. Just a simple spark. One small, simple spark and fire erupts in his hand, fed and nurtured by a simple thought from him. One of the Brotherhood passes him by, the last of them as far as John can tell. He doesn't even think twice.

The flame in his hand roars; he throws it out in a vicious, consuming stream and catches the man in the back unawares. His screams are anguished; the man cries out but he's engulfed and runs aimlessly. John merely lets out a satisfied, shaky breath and turns a consuming, terrible wall of fire on the rest of the Brotherhood crowding into the clearing.]

IRIS IS HERE

[witheredecay.livejournal.com]

[Kevin looks to John, astonished. He was given an indication of what might happen earlier - in the tent, and in the small exchange between the two of them after Magneto's announcement. But seeing it with his own eyes - it really was true. John's pretense of rejoining the Brotherhood was... could it really have been all to come get him? This is insane. Too reckless, even for Logan.

Kevin returns John's grim smile, and then with one single fluid movement, takes off a glove and goes down to one knee to touch the ground. Immediately, a trail of decaying, dusty wasteland trickles forward, until it reaches another Brotherhood soldier, compromising the ground he was standing on and causing him to fall. Kevin's continued contact with the ground allows him to extend his power through the large distance until the soldier crumbles into dust.

Kevin's expression remains terse, not giving away that even he is surprised that he can kill from such a distance.]

ME TOO ME TOO

[never-too-cold.livejournal.com]

[Having dealt with one battalion of Madroxes and given Jono an earful for his and Ali's utter stupidity, Bobby turns his attention to the rest of the battlefield, leaping up onto an ice slide to sweep the area and try to track the progress of his teammates. He lends a hand here and there, throws the occasional projectile or blast of ice at advancing Brotherhood as he weaves past, aiming with deadly accuracy born of hours of training.

He's curving around to deal with another group of Madroxes when he feels it: the rush of consuming heat. His slide begins to melt; the ground seems to be crumbling, and his supports give way. He dives out of the way of the decaying earth, ducks and rolls until he's on the other side of the wall of flame. Rolling to his feet again, he holds his hands up at the ready, a horrible sense of deja vu swamping him...

And then he sees a dupe wailing in terror and pain as the fire consumes him. He sees another Madrox wither away into dust. And he sees John and Kevin, side by side, watching their former comrades as they're destroyed.

It's relief that fills him now - relief that Kevin hasn't been lost, relief that John really has turned on the Brotherhood (and Bobby hadn't realised he'd doubted it until now). But there's no time to dwell on it; they're in the middle of battle and Mystique is nowhere to be seen, which means she's probably masquerading as someone else...

But there's time enough for him to offer this to them, even as he knocks a Brotherhood soldier out with a frozen fist:]

Good to see you guys.

[He means it, for both of them.]

ME THREE ME THREE

[fireaholic.livejournal.com]

[John spares Bobby a careless glance; the truth is when he'd seen he was melting his former friend's neat little ice slide he hadn't really minded much, simply moving the cover of fire along the way he'd planned, giving cover for Kevin to do his thing. Now he extinguishes it, advancing forward and ducking some random mutant's furious punch, kneeing the idiot in the face and kicking him to the ground.

Crazed and angry and clearly a new, fanatic recruit, the man scrambles up; John merely lets out a stream of fire. The mutant flails and John lets out an amused breath, sidestepping out of the way as the poor bastard lunges and falls to the forest floor in agony.]

Wish I could ever say the the same to you, Bobby.

aaaand me again.

[witheredecay.livejournal.com]

[Kevin spares a moment in the fight to glance at Bobby, who really does look sincere. He doesn't know quite what to say, but it doesn't matter, because soon they're surrounded by Madrox dupes. Kevin only has another quick second to notice the other fight brewing at a bit a distance -- Longshot and Mortis are facing off with Hellion, Chamber, and Dazzler.

Kevin changes tactics and engages the nearest Jamies in fast hand-to-hand combat. But since his gloves are off, every once in awhile some of them crumble into the ground as dust.]

MYSTIQUE/KITTY - THIS IS MYSTIQUE DISGUSED AS KITTY OKAY?? SNEAKY BITCHES

[newbrohood.livejournal.com]

[Mystique has seen the blatant betrayal of her Brotherhood, vengeance boiling in her blood. Her blue eyes of Magneto flash their yellow for a split second before softening to Kitty Pryde's gentle brown. The youthful, feminine voice cries out as she comes running up to them.]

Guys! There's still about a hundred more Madroxes over there!

[She points, back towards a clearing in the woods. If she can lure even one of these weak traitors away with her...she smiles at the weight and security of the neutralizing weapon of Forge's John brought as a bargaining chip.]

I need back up. John, Kevin. You two know these guys better than any of us.

[She glances over her shoulder, urgentcy in her voice.]

Please. I need help! I can't handle them all on my own.

iris

[witheredecay.livejournal.com]

Okay. Calm down.

[With all that's happened to him the past few days, Kevin's learning to keep himself level, and gestures to John to follow him. They follow Kitty -- or so they think -- towards the others.

Kevin keeps an ongoing tally in his mind. The Madrox dupes are still active, so Jamie Prime is still alive somewhere. He saw Longshot and Mortis earlier with Hellion. Magneto was still at the headquarters, right? He thinks so.]

[never-too-cold.livejournal.com]

[There's still one Madrox left as John and Kevin head off. Bobby ducks a punch, dodges a kick; his luck is improving which means Longshot's distracted somewhere else. The dupe catches his fists as he goes to throw a couple of punches, so the Iceman lunges forward, his organic ice forehead smashing into Jamie's.

The unconscious body drops away, and Bobby glances over to where Kevin, John and Kitty are making their way towards the other clearing. He leaps up on a slide and speeds along to catch up, curving high up so as to keep a lookout for any other approaching enemies.

Something is strange about the way Kitty is moving - she seems intent on getting to the clearing, and doesn't seem to be paying much attention to the terrain. Bobby catches her stumbling slightly over an unconscious Madrox dupe. At first, Bobby dismisses it - the fight has been wearying, she must just be tired.

But then she stumbles again. And again. And Bobby remembers that whenever they ran sims in the Danger Room together, Kitty remained in a phased state when moving across the battlefield. She said it was her best method of defence. And Bobby's earlier concerns about missing Mystique suddenly crystallise.

That's not Kitty.

But he needs to be certain, needs to be sure...

Only one way to find out.

He picks up speed and curves around the trio, landing a little way in front of the girl who probably isn't Kitty.]

Hey Kitty! Heads up!

[And with deadly speed and accuracy, he throws a short, icy spear straight into her shoulder.]