17871/Through A Mirror Darkly: Rising Tensions

Through A Mirror Darkly: Rising Tensions
Date of Scene:	14 May 2024
Location:	West Bushwick (Mutant Town)
Synopsis:	After NYPD officers shoot a mutant child in Bushwick, the Mutant Liberation Front arrives to escalate matters further.
Cast of Characters:	Cable, Miles Morales, Monet St. Croix, Ruth Aldine, Kurt Wagner, Paige Guthrie, Daniel Ketch, Evan Sabahnur, Tandy Bowen, Tyrone Johnson, Bishop
Tinyplot:	Through a Mirror Darkly

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Cable has posed:
Chaos. Noise. Confusion.

Twilight has fallen over New York City and the last lingering traces of daylight linger in the western sky, a reddish glow that is increasingly being subsumed by the spreading dark overhead. But in this particular neighborhood -- Bushwick -- it is anything but dark. At least visually. The emotional resonance filling the streets is quite another matter.

A dozen or so police cruisers are on the scene, their flashing lights illuminating the older, rundown buildings that dominate these particular blocks with a red and blue glow that joins the streetlights that are slowly springing to life.

A pair of beat cops sit on the curb near one the police cruisers, the rear doors open and waiting. The pair look positively dumbstruck, numb and in disbelief as the linger under the watchful eyes of two of their peers.

Police barricades have been set up, blocking off the street, traffic diverted up and around at both ends of the road.

Around the barricades are dozen of local residents, mostly though not exclusively mutants. Many are obviously so, their mutations marking them out as different from so many of the residents of the city. But in this early evening many of their faces are not so different from the pair of shocked police officers apparently in custody right now. But those who aren't shocked or horrified are angry.

And not without cause.

The reason for the anger hanging like a miasma in the air is not hard to miss. Not all the flashing lights are from police cruisers on the scene. Right near the middle of the block a single ambulance sits alone, a pair of paramedics conversing iwth even more police on the scene. Close by lays a sheet -- pristine and clearly covering a body. A far too small form, almost certainly a child.

Up near the barricades, officers speak with witnesses, some of whom are crying, some who gesture angrily, accusingly towards their questioners. Some are impossible to distiguish from normal humans, some are quite clearly mutant residents of the neighborhood. In one case a bald man with facial markings speaks to a pair of detectives who nod at his words.

And, as is the case with virtually any tragedy, there are several news cans present, the lights from cameras sweeping across the scene as reporters twist and gesture to the street behind them, gesture to the ground as they hold their microphones close, reporting on just what has happened. On the shooting incident that occurred a little less then a half hour ago.

A mutant child, inexplicably gunned down by a pair of beat cops -- one a veteran approaching his twenty year mark and another a fresh-faced youth with only six months on the job.

Oh yes, the reason for the shock and anger is all too understandable, the large police presence a testement to how quickly the scene could turn dangerous.

But they probably didn't bring enough police. In the air above the streets of Bushwick, frequently called Mutant Town, inbetween those rundown, tenement apartment buildings that tend to dominate these particular streets, the air crackles.

Miles Morales has posed:
Some major happenings in Bushwick have drawn the attention of more than just the police and local mutant population. Miles Morales does not live in Bushwick, he lives in Harlem, but how could a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man claim to be that if he didn't show up when a neighborhood is about to go complete atomic warhead?

The eccentrically dressed Spider lands upon the brick wall of a building north of where the gathered faces are staring in horror at the scene of a young mutant. Sneakers, coat over black/red spidey suit, hood, headphones hanging around his neck. Miles peers down at the budding chaos with... a probably not so surprising amount of appreciation for what the mutants are going through where it pretains to the police shooting a child down.

See, this is what we call a conundrum kids: On the one hand, when this goes tits up? That's a lot of firepower against an exclusively human, poorly armed police force. On the other hand? Well... it's fair to say some of them probaby, MAYBE, deserve it.

Miles turns, sits (on the vertical wall), and watches with a frown beneath his mask.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
It has been hard for mutants lately. The large Sentinel attack on the starport, the reengagement of the Friends of Humanity.. And all other things which spring up and riot and take advantage of the crossfire. And on this day when the alarm goes out in Bushwick, the somewhat bruised Monet St. Croix is among thsoe going there to respond. She's swearing while flying en route then and going to send out a telepathic alert to anyone that she can reach.

<<There's a riot about to break out.>> She goes to send mental images of the child under a sheet. <<The officers won't survive if we can't calm thinsg down.>> Monet's not going to want to try and talk down her own kind. But if they lynch the police up then all hell will break loose. She's flying as fast as she can while hoping that one of those that's better over with these sort sof things shows up to aid. Because she's gonig to be stuck on crowd control.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
If she could cry, she would. But Ruth Aldine, Blindfold, can't. Instead, she leans against the corner of a building close to the scene, her head down and in her hands. "No, no, please. It isn't right, this isn't true. Yes, thank you, if there is anything she said. There is nothing, no. Nothing, I'm sorry.."

The blind girl wears muted browns, the strip of fabric tied around where her eyes would be covers a good portion of her face. She, like the others, are stunned, looking for those answers that aren't always obvious. Or ever can be found.

The press of the crowds is remarkable; it makes it just that much easier and that much harder to maneuver in the area, that much harder to find her own thoughts, to track her own thoughts in the midst of the swell. That, and the acrid smell of smokeless powder can still be smelled by her. It could be her imagination, however.

"Nothing. There is nothing, sorry. No help, please, though there is need."

Kurt Wagner has posed:
With the school term creeping towards an end even for the students at Xavier's, Kurt Wagner was taking the opportunity to roam through New York City on a rare weekday off from his teaching responsibilities. Strolling through the city, visiting some of his favorite places he was passing an electronics store with a barrage of televisions displayed in the shop front window when he saw it. The coverage of the developing scene in Bushwick. Solemn faced, those golden eyes take in the news footage -- no audio necessary to register the gravity of the situation. For a moment the fuzzy blue elf just watches before giving a shake of his head and a heavy sigh.

THen, to the surprise of those around him, Nightcrawler *bamfs* leaving behind a quickly disipating cloud of inky black mist even as he reappears in the midst of the same on a rooftop in Bushwick overlooking the street below, well familiar with the neighborhood.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
Of course she heard the news. When there's something major happening, she will hear things from her older brother, but this was particularly distressing news. With a frown, Paige wanders out of one of the local diners, dressed in a purple NYU t-shirt and a pair of snug fitting jeans. Her hands are in her pockets, and she looks around, nosewrinkling at the sight.

Paige seems clearly torn. On one hand, there's the police and the danger they're in. Then on the other, there's the systematic injustice against mutants that seems to be happening more and more every day.

What does she follow? Her conviction, of course, and so as she looks out, she raises a fist in the air, "MUTANT. LIVES. MATTER!" and she continues to repeat the phrase, hoping to garner some sort of support. Watch out, as here's activist Paige!

Daniel Ketch has posed:
The evening started poorly for Danny Ketch. There was an incident where a young man beat up his wife, the Ghost Rider pushed his way out because the whole 'innocent blood'. The young man is now in his way to the hospital with broken legs and arms (but hey, he won't beat his wife ever again).

Then the Ghost Rider went on rampage. Because seriously, lot of issues require avenging in New York. No rest for the restless spirit, at least not yet. And no, the police can't catch him. They still try sometimes, but right now they can't spare the patrol cars. Besides, looks like he is heading for Mutant Town, and that is going to be someone else problem, right? Right!

In theory the cops of the precinct there are used to deal with horrifying people with weird powers. They still get a radio warning.

Evan Sabahnur has posed:
    Evan is leaning against one of the gates leading into the parking lot of Hope House. The other gate is closed already, as he can easily read the crowd and feel the tension in the air, and he doesn't want it spilling into the refuge he's worked on for over a year now. Even if he is just as upset about what has happened, he's thinking about the mutants who are trying to keep safe in the building behind him.

    Of course, he's one of the obvious mutants in the area, his grey skin and black facial markings tending to make him stand out in most crowds. Fortunately, the various film crews are probably more interested in the goings-on in the street right now. He's watching the crowd carefully, ready to slam the other gate shut to protect his charges from any violence that might break out from this.

    'Might' may not be the right word there. This one looks like a 'when', not an 'if'.

Tandy Bowen has posed:
Tandy had been enjoying a milkshake when everything went down, and as the area crackled with an ugly mood that she both understood and was sympathetic to, she slipped out the door. Down a block, into an alleyway, cheap phone out and texting Ty with a brief run-down of the situation that amounted to GET HERE. NOW. She also requested a protein bar and her white hoodie, then stood just inside the alley to observe.

It was not good. If she didn't think she'd likely need Ty's protection here once things boiled over, the cop presence alone would have her doing nothing but asking him to get her out. But that was a kid, and she could hear some assholes starting a chant about killing mutants, and--

NO.

She had lines, dammit, and hurting children - then mocking the pain of their community? Daggers shimmered into her hand without conscious thought, body glowing with righteous anger at the entire situation.

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
Ty got her text and then bothered to change shirts - not that anyone but Tandy would be likely to see it. This called for "Fear of a Black Planet", oh yes it did. And she wanted a couple of things, including her Dagger hoodie. He gathered those, donned his fresh shirt, then he opened the door to the Darkforce and stepped through, honing in on Tandy's location before stepping back out next to her. "Holy shit." he said as he handed Tandy the things she'd asked for. "They really gonna cap mutie kids now?" He stopped for a moment, awash in memories. His best friend, caught dead by Boston PD. Capped his black ass because Ty couldn't get the words out to explain what had really happened.
    Ty wasn't that little kid anymore. And he wasn't gonna let it happen to someone else.

Cable has posed:
Sometimes there are no right answers, just difficult choices. Hard decisions.

The two guilty parties continue to huddle there on the curb, the police barricades keeping anyone in the crowd well back from them as they speak in low but emphatic tones to the pair who watch over them, the uniformed officers listening with interest. But clearly they're not the ones that need to be convinced by whatever the two men are insisting on.

And it might not matter, given the political nightmare of the situation. A mutant child, seemingly gunned down in cold blood, simply for crossing the street? There aren't many ways to spin that and make it remotely palatable.

Across the street, by one of those barricades, the bald mutant with facial markings seems to finish up the discussion with the two detectives, drawing up his hooded sweat shirt to msk his features as he begins to melt back into the crowd. In the growing darkness of the onslaught it would be hard indeed to spot the faint smirk that spreads over his shadowed features.

While Paige's sudden cries might be the first, they are hardly the only ones and the shimmering anger that is awash on the street results in quite a few others joining in, the street suddenly awash in chants, in angry shouts directed towards the authorities on the scene -- most of whom suddenly look a little more tends then they did even moments before. This isn't exactly the standard crowd and while many mutant's abilities are not necessarily something to be too worried aobut, that isn't always the case. And knowing one from the other is always difficult.

For others like Ruth, the rippling tension in the air might only serve as a distraction to the other things she sees. The vision of the pair of beat cops walking along the side walk, brushing past a hooded resident. Then them suddenly turning, almost emotionlessly drawing their sidearms, taking a bead on the pre-teen girl crossing the street. And firing. The splash of blood, the falling body. The shock on the faces of the people going about their business in the early evening. Shock that is also reflected on the faces of the two murderous police officers.

Worse though might be the surge of violence that still hangs in the air, the growing images of chaos on the streets still to come.

If the growing tension wasn't enough, there is a sudden surge of light, the growing glow at one end of the street more like flickering flames -- the source of which becomes increasingly obvious when the Ghost Rider comes into view. ALmost a once the quartet of officers at that end of the closed off street are rushing towards the barricade, sidewarms appearing in their hands as they shout at the flaming headed menace. "Dispatch, dispatch, we need backup on the scene now. We have a sighting of a multiple murder suspect," one barks into a radio even as another shouts at Ghost Rider. "On the ground, now!"

And in amongst all that confusion the sky above the ambulance, a good twenty-feet up suddenly splits open, a bright glowing circular disk of a portal splitting the sky open before a figure all in white, aside from the black circle marking that otherwise featureless mask steps through, followed by others.

Others including a man in gleaming metallic armor who hovers there above the scene. "Rejoice, my mutant brethern. The Mutant Liberation Front has come to you in your hour of need. We shall see that these corrupt, flatscan officers of human law truly receive the justice they deserve," the man idetified as Stryfe proclaims.

And with that other members of the MLF begin to emerge from that portal hovering in midair.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
If there were some classes that she took seriously, it was the social justice and activism classes that she really paid attention to. Of course, being able to teleport to Wellesley for it's Women and Gender Studies offerings were a help in her undergraduate education.

So as the anger in the air rises, Paige continues to chant, somewhat oblivious to potential precognitive visions, bald mutants melding into the crowds and other things. She does, however, find a mutant who can summon objects, and she asks, "A bull horn please."

With a zip and a zorp, one is conjured forth and she takes it to continue her chanting. "ALL LIVES CANNOT MATTER UNTIL MUTANT LIVES MATTER! HUMAN SILENCE = HUMAN CONSENT! What is my life worth? MUTANT LIVES MATTER!" she repeats over and over, trying to get the crowd to join in on the chanting to focus on that instead of any potential violence.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
What the bloody hell? In the literal sense as the Ghost Rider appears. Well, /A/ Ghost Rider. There are a few of them after all. Monet goes to look at the crowd, then over at the chaos moving to escalate, bracing herself to try and go into things to try and slow them down and talk them through.. Or at least convince the idiotic officers to get out of here before..

Then thoughts of chaos are mostly shelved as they have a far, far more pressing situation afoot. The Brotherhood has moved along the awy from a terrorist group to the ruling members of Genosha, and even somewhat respected in this world. WHether or not they will remain the same way. The Mutant Liberatoin Front?

Terrorists through and through. Monet goes to call out a mental alert to the other members of Xavier's present telepathically, going to pass along information on the MLF and their members (that she knows of) as the chorus goes as she accelerates into a battle meld for everyone that she can catch up in. Now they have mutant rioters on one side, mutant terrorists on another,a nd some police officers that have no concept of circumstances.

Oh, and a demon.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
It isn't hard to feel the tension in the air, even from his rooftop perch and Kurt Wagner leans against the ledge of the building, peering out at the crowd below.

But as tense as things are already, they still manage to find an entire new level. As the crowd finds a focus, an outlet for their growing anger. And the surge of tension from the police officers below, both at the crowd's growing hostility and perhaps even more so as the flmae headed figure appears at one end of the street.

And then the portal opens in the skies above the street and the armored figure emerges, issuing what almost can't help but be taken as a threat.

<< I am here M. I fear the situation is spiraling out of control. >> the fuzzy blue elf projects back even as he hops up agilely onto that ledge, crouched there on that perch -- waiting, watching to see where he is needed most.

Bishop has posed:
Bushwick. Mutant Town. District X.

Lucas Bishop is well familiar with the names associated with this volitale part of the town and even more familiar with the rising rage and anger that boils through the citizens who reside herein. He had already been in the city, tending to matters in his own fashion, when the radio he had set to hone in on affairs such as this begun erupting with the roar of noise in a constant torrent of inforation as the situation was first triggered and then began to quickly escalate.

As he arrives , rumbling up to the edge of the streets atop a large bike, he surveys the area with a darkening glower and then slips off his vehichle to land heavy boots upon concrete still broken and cracked from the attack of sentinels mere weeks back.

Constant pain, torment and flagrant disregard of their rights to basic common decency is the burden foisted upon mutant town and without question there is a seed of anger and frustration building in him as well. He has a sudden memory flash of the pain of his 'M' tattoo being branded on his face in a future that doesnt' seem quite as far off as it used to be.

Still, safety , security and getting to the bottom of this terrible event remains tantamount and he begins a heavy approach towards the crowd and the barricades beyond ...

Only to stop in his tracks at the explosion of light and the arrival of--

"It's them... X-Men! The Mutant Liberation Front isn't here for a peaceful conversation! Form on the the officers if you can but stop -them- from opening fire as well!" he barks roughly into his active comm.

Monet's telepathy tugging at his mind causes him to frown darkly and <<IYes, you heard me. The MLF won't hesitate to kill the officers to make a statement and it will start ar iot and hurt far more then the targets of their anger. Who else is present? We need to move quickly.>>

Miles Morales has posed:
There's a lot to unpack, but Miles isn't a precog, telepath, or social media expert... so his understandings of these goings on are remanded to what he can see, right now, playing out below where he's sitting on the wall. Clutching his knees as the tension rises. As someone down there starts shouting 'Mutant Lives Matter'. Part of him wants to be down there with them, showing his support. The part of him that's more like his Uncle than his Father... His Father who is only not on that line because he took a transfer to GCPD.

The other part of him knows that something is going to happen.

And that's not even precognition, that's a fact.

This much tension, you can cut it with a dull knife. It has Spider-Man fidgeting, waiting for that shoe to drop... waiting for the sky to split open and spit out an army of mutants.. Oop, there it is.

Spidey stands up, sticking out from the brick wall like the horizon. Can a person exist in a parallel between two ideologies? He leaps out from the building, flipping in the air, and lands atop the lights of one of the police cruisers. With his knees bowed out, hands down between the angle of his feet in a kneel that casts a long, multicolored, strobe and shadow.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Head in hands, Ruth is hunched over before it comes. The anger is palpable in the air to the point where it's almost painful. Fear. Surprise. And that's not just from the growing crowd as those emotions begin to turn to rage. No, it's also from the policemen, the ones that brandished their weapons and executed the young girl in cold blood.

There is the picture. The event fades from view, leaving behind the single snapshot that Ruth holds on to. Her head rises again, her hands dropping from the fabric that hides her eyes.

<<Please I am here. There is, no, sorry there was something. I am looking, but it yes is something strange. Not right, thank you.>>

With that in particular sent to M, and now Kurt is in the link, followed by Bishop.

<<Yes, you are right, thank you. I think this is all wrong, no, it is not right. Very strange.>>

Her other less notable gifts are coming in handy. Ruth can be unobtrusive; she can move and not really be noticed through crowds. And because there are so many souls, so many minds, she has absolutely no problem navigating the water towards the police officers.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
The roar of the supernatural motorcycle announces the arrival of the Ghost Rider. Among the screams of the crowd, it might go ignored at first, but a flaming skeleton on biker leather riding a black motorcycle with wheels of fire is unusual even for Mutant Town, and most mutants give the rider wide berth as he drives ahead.

The warnings of the cops are mostly ignored, although he halts, the massive motorcycle skidding on the pavement, leaving a trail of fire between the mutants and the cops.

Then he climbs down and takes two steps towards the police, a flaming chain on his gloved hands.

The cops are about to shoot!

But the spirit stops. "YOU..." he looks at the murdering cops, cowering behind their partners. "BLOOD IS IN YOUR HANDS. But not in your souls," and he looks confused for a moment.

The appearance of the Mutant Liberation Front, makes him turn. And again, he turns to the crowd. "I seeeeeee..." and he loungers, but it is towards the crowd of mutants!

Tandy Bowen has posed:
Tandy squeezes Ty's hand. "I don't know, I wasn't in the part of Mootant that I can see outside from. It certainly seems like it." She's quiet as the Mutant Liberation Front appears. "Oh God." Her hand tightens around his, and the dagger in her other hand slides into his body. She knows, somehow, that he will need the extra energy. "We're going to find the ones that need eating, and we're Not. Holding. Back. Unwrap the protein bar for me, please." With that, she pulls the white balaclava out of her pocket and smooths it over her face and hair, then pulls on the white hoodie with a stylized silver dagger running along the hood and down her back. She takes the protein bar from Ty and bites it in half with one gulp. "Kinda wish that monster with the big teeth was here, don't you? Well, aside from food competition."

Evan Sabahnur has posed:
    With the arrival of the MLF, Evan swings the other gate closed and plants himself in front of it. He crosses his arms across his chest and swells upas his skin takes on a metallic sheen,, now standing about eight feet tall. When the explosion comes, it won't come to Hope House.

    At the same time, he's scanning the crowd, watching for the known troublemakers. His search becomes a bit moot as the portal opens and vomits out the MLF group. He closes his eyes and shakes his head, muttering "It never fails." It seems simply keeping the people behind him safe isn't going to be the entire night's activity. With those guys here, the match has just been applied to the fuse, and the explosion would not be far behind.

    With his new height, he can see over the crowd pretty easily. Turning to the gate he padlocks it then heads into the crowd, towards the MLF portal. He may not know how to handle the tragedy that just happened, but he does know that the new arrivals are likely to get the inhabitants of Bushwick, his friends and acquaintances, hurt or killed by provoking a fight many of the locals just aren't ready for.

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
"Shit, yeah." he said as he handed over the remainder of the unwrapped protein bar. "Yeah. We're not gonna hold back here. Gonna be a lot of cops going into the Black." he said, then took a moment to look into Tandy's eyes. "Love you." he said softly, tenderly, then he took that part of himself and locked him in a deep dark place of his heart. "You ready to do this?" he asked her as the darkness started to boil out of his body.

Cable has posed:
Not everyone keeping tabs of the scene is already on hand.

At any one time Nathan Summers, better known as Cable is tracking any number of developing situations around the globe, keeping tabs on potential flashpoints. Fires that he needs to put out -- or on some occasions stoke, and coax into true infernos. All to insure that the future as he knows it does not come about here and now. In this particular timeline.

Of particular interest to him -- as it might be for the others that have already encountered them recently -- and the Mutant Liberation Front. And their leader Styfe.

So when they make their apperance, played out with that declaration on the monitors before him Cable is already standing, hefting a nearby pack over one shoulder. "Greymalkin, Bodysldie by One," he says, already vanishing from view where he stood...

...and reemerging in New York City on his own rooftop perch with the scene playing out below. << I'm on the scene now, >> comes the grizzled future soldier into that telepathic link. << Urban tactics. Do what we can to clear the crowd out from imminent danger and then seek to contain the threat. >>

Cable can be ruthless pragmatic in pursuit of his goals. He doesn't mind a little -- or a whole lot -- of collateral damage. But keeping innocents out of the fray is as much as priority for him as it is for anyone.

Again Ruth might be pulled back to that scene, forced to relive it all again. Those guns, cold steel bared without thought or remorse. The simple joy of the young girl that melts away to blackness, negation, all in the beat of one heart to the next. And cold satisfaction coming from a solitary figure. A figure in a hooded sweatshirt, features obscured by that cloth covering his head, just a flash of facial markings.

As that flaming motorcycle passes between those barricades before coming skidding to a stop a little ways up the street by the police cruiser waiting to carry the two murderous police officers away, more NYPD officers begin to converge -- some in uniform and some not, though others ignore the flame headed vigilante in their midst to focus on the descending mutants above. "On the gorund, on the ground!" some still yell threateningly at Ghost Rider -- even as he weighs and judges the two cops accused of murder -- and apparently finding the charge wanting.

Across the street, the man under the hood of that sweatshirt glances back. Whatever expression might be on his face is lost in shadow, but he turns and runs, darting down a nearby alley, dashing out of sight from the main road through the neighborhood.

But left behind are the pair of detectives that he was speaking to, men who's own faces are now blank, devoid of any hint of emotion, any real awareness of the situation around them. They don't look up towards the glowing portal or the mutant terrorists that spill out of it. They don't glance towards the flaming figure in their midst. Instead they draw out their sidearms and begin to open fire towards Paige and the other angry individuals chanting close to her.

Cable has posed:
Up in the skies will be figures that others might have seen before from the news stories about the attack on the music festival in Oklahoma a few weeks back. Stryfe. The enigmatic Zero that holds the portal open before him. Bishop and Monet and Cable will surely regonize the four-armed powerhouse Forearm as he leaps through, plummetting towards the cops below. The dark skinned woman who manipulates time in limited local, streaking out in that gold armor. Then two others who aren't so familiar. A figure with wild white hair and prominent talons along with red eye makeup around his eyes who flashes a deranged grin. And a pale-faced figure carrying a wicked looking scythe that he swings wildly in front of him as he too lands on the pavement. "Do not hesitate. Bring justice to our mutant brethern my children," the armored form of Stryfe commands.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
Did that just happen? It's her first ever real protest and she gets shot at? Surely, she'll have to report this to Sam later, especially since he's a fellow member of the NYPD. Surely, he'd love to know some of his colleagues shot as his sister.

Twang! A bullet grazes her arm. KERTHUNK! A bullet embeds itself in her shoulder and she cries out in pain, wincing as that warm sensation of blood runs over her arms. Oh God. She's never been shot at before. Mutant blasts? Sure. Those are concussive forces, but getting shot at?!? It hurts!

Gritting her teeth, she looks back, "Hold the line! Protect those without defensive powers!" she calls out.

SCHLURP! RIP! Pulling at the skin where she's bleeding, a light metallic glint can start to be seen. She's still bleeding, but her flesh underneath has turned into some sort of organic steel, and she continues to rip and tear at her skin so she can protect others.

"We adopt the means of nonviolence..." SCHLURP. "because our end is a community at peace with itself." RIP "We will try to persuade with our words," SCHLURP!" "but if our words fail, we will try to persuade with our acts." And there you have it. Paigelossus.

It's a good thing she just finished her activism final, isn't it.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
This is bad. This is very bad. Monet goes to quickly try and coordinate the others. <<It's beyond that point, Kurt.>> The X-Men and Xavier's class are caught up fully over in a mindlink. Stryfe.. Stryfe she's never met but she can /feel/ the power radiating off him. He's the leader. So that means that if he's distracted and busy from coordinating the rest of the group, they can be picked apart. His body glows, and his frame has unknown technology built into it.. But since when has she last let something like that get in her way?

She remembers some of the training she's had with the Amazons. For once she doesn't charge right in to face her enemy.. she goe sto try and give her attack pattern over to Kurt, Paige, and Bishop to see if the two can give her some cover. But they have a far more pressing business with the members of the MLF that will more than happy lead everyone on a rampage. Monet doesn't so much as bother or give a taunt at Stryfe..

But instead while he's busy pantoming over and making his grandiose comment.. Monet goes to accelerate to supersonic speed, moving to loop in over behind himw tih intent on trying to slam into his back as hard as she can! His scythe will be in the lower point of the loop, so he can't as easily redirect it to strike at her or dodge and go defensive while all of his weight is forwards.. He hopefully can't twist or be in a position to block or brace it. Even if he has a force field up, hopefully her striking at high power will be more than it can take.

Even in the end of it does nothing, then it's keeping him distracted from commanding the rest of his minions.

Miles Morales has posed:
Line in the sand.

Wiskey tango foxtrot.

This Liberation Mutant business is clearly edging things towards violence and it doesn't take any kind of precognition to see it. They appear and suddenly cops are firing on the least lethal of the group of mutants gathered in protest /against/ violence? Say what you want about cops, bastards or whatever, but in Miles' experience with his father; that isn't their modus. So the clear and present threat isn't a bunch of humans with firearms, which is a troubling scenary to be sure, because they represent, at least nominally, the agreived party.

Spidey moves quickly.

Hand down, planted and he side flips off the flashing lights atop the cruiser to put himself in amongst the firing police officers taking aim at the vocal protesters. Slap-slap-slap, moving quickly, ducking and weaving with his palms clapping the sides of pistols and gun grip wrists. "Listen, I know she's vocal and woke white girling this all the heck up, but that's no reason to shoot her, huh?" A pistol yanks out of a officers hand and Miles catches it with a spinning back kick to send it flying into the former wielders face.

"Let's all breath.." Noting how blank their stares are. "Or blink..." Another gun is webbed up enough that the officer can't pull the trigger, but there's others. "Or .. I don't know, smile or something. You guys are kind of weirding me out."

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Of course Kurt doesn't require that telepathic suggestion to know that the priority is under the circumstances.

But there are of people out on the street, the crowds having continued to gather, drawn by the flashing lights, by the news stories dominating the local stations. Some people curious, inevitably drawn by any scene like this. Others are drawn by the tragedy, the desire to be amongst others of the community. To mourn or rage accordingly.

The obvious targets are every one in the Mutant Liberation Front's path of course. But that quickly changes when he catches sight of those two NYPD detectives drawing their weapons and firing into the crowd.

Kurt doesn't hesitate to leap from his perch, but instead of plummetting down to the waiting ground, he instead *bamfs* after no more then a moment, vanishing from where he was and appearing across the street an insteant latter, emerging from an answering cloud of brimstone and darkness to lay hands on two people standing before that forthcoming hail of gunfire. Laying hands on their shoulder all three of them vanish this time with another telltale *bamf* appearing back on the rooftop across the street.

But Kurt doesn't waste any time, already vanishing once more into that inky cloud, vanishing from view to emerge on the street below, continuing to teleport the crowd out of immediate harm's way.

<< Mein Gott. What are they thinking? >> comes the fuzzy blue elf's thoughts, that sinking, sick feeling coming right along with them.

Fast as he is, he can't teleport everyone out of harm's way.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Visions. Even as Ruth is maneuvering her way through the crowd, she can feel the hatred, the anger, the desire for blood forming not only from that sudden appearance in the sky, but on the ground. The baying mob is positioning itself to become judge, jury and executioner.

"No! Please, it is not right, no. Sorry, this is wrong! So wrong!"

<<Thank you, I am trying to reach the police, yes.>> Is she the lone mutant seeking out the uniformed officers? Probably the only one who isn't looking to do them harm, anyway. Stopping as the barricade is reached, Ruth calls out again, "There is help, please. Yes, not all wish harm, sorry. Let us help. I know it is not right, please." towards the police, those that stand just as the other two had when shots had rung out from their service pistols. It's a tense situation, if one were the master of understatement.

<<I see him, yes. The one that caused this, please. I know what he looks like, please. I can help.>>

Instead, then, of continuing on her path, Ruth wheels around and begins the chase of the man under the hood. The one who caused all this.

Bishop has posed:
Cable is here. Good. Similar mindset to his own. Similar tactics and training. Always good to be on the same page with expectations of efficiency.

This isn't to say that these others aren't. He has the highest respect for the senior X-Men and their fellows and is proud to be among them. A fanboy, actually, if you get tot he heart of it as some have, but there's a certain pragmatism that something like this needs that Cable brings to the table and Bishop nods in satisfaction as his voice roughly enters the link.

His hands slip into into his long coat, heading towards his sides to retrieve his X.S.E. Blasters and then brings a massive arm up in a wide sweeping spin to unleash a series of charged concussive energy blasts towards the plummetting Fore-Arm once he appears, seeking to blast into the bruiser and hopefully send him careening off path and away fromthe offficers.

Out of the corner of his eye he catches the actions of the detectives and he begins to glance that way in the aftermath of his initial assault - but then pauses as Miles blurs into view, crossing across his field of vision in the blink of an eye and attending to the compromised officers.
<<I hear you Ruth... Can you guide me towards where the perp went?>>

Daniel Ketch has posed:
The Ghost Rider shoves out of the way the mutants and humans in the crowd that for some reason didn't get out in time, he catches the hooded mutant's glance, the hollow cavities where his eyes should be flaring with red flames.

The bald man with the facial markings is his quarry and he jumps after him a second too late, as the mutant vanishes into the alley. "SINNER! FACE MY VENGEANCE!"

The hooded man does not comply, so the Ghost Rider charges into the alleyway.

Evan Sabahnur has posed:
    Evan mutters 'Crap." under his breath as gunfire rings out. He accelerates into a run, then leaps over the heads of the crowd, landing between the detectives and the crowd they're firing at. Both of his hands expand and flatten, forming into larger shields that he brings together to form a wall to keep anyone else from being shot.

    At the same time, he shouts "Disperse people, don't stick around to be targets!" He doesn't really think it'll work, but he's got to try. Even one mutant leaving is one mutant out of harm's way.

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
Cloak wasn't going to stand for gunfire. On protestors. Christ, and he thought the Boston cops were bastards. Muttering a prayer, he pulled deep into the Darkforce to put a curtain of blackness between the cops and the protestors. Sure, there was a Spider-Person doin' his thing but Spider-People could handle themselves. Protestors likely couldn't, except for maybe the gross girl pulling her skin off. He didn't have time to be gentle or to wait for the Darkforce to come naturally so he just _ejected_ it, trying to make a wall to take the gunfire. Maybe it'd work. Maybe it wouldn't. But he had to try and at least if they couldn't see their targets it would be more difficult to gun them down in cold blood. "ENOUGH!" he screamed as he pulled at the Darkforce.

Tandy Bowen has posed:
'No--nonono,' is a constant litany in Dagger's mind as the rest of the protein bar is hurriedly shoved into the pocket of her jeans as she races toward the crowd behind Cloak. There are glowing daggers in both hands, and her body is surrounded by a nimbus of light, a beacon in the evening. The daggers are small, and she directs them at the shoulders of the two officers shooting into the crowd, pushing a burst of concussive force behind them. Even if - somehow - this isn't what it looks like, her efforts should combine with the others she sees to at least stop them shooting into the crowd.

And if it is... Ty will eat them. She knows that soul-deep. She watches Spider-Guy No. 7 go after the guns and is impressed and curious. The city is crawling with these Spider-People. Where did they all come from?

Cable has posed:
In a perfect world Cable would just open up his mind here, extend it, reach out and touch everyone one else in the close vicinity and pull the answers that he needs from the onlookers.

And he could do that. For a brief moment. But then the techno-organic virus that seemingly permeates every cell in his body would enact a very high price on him from turning his attention outward, instead of inward. So he relies on others.

<< What did you see Blindfold? >> comes his immediate, sharp mental request. << Show us, >> he urges, reaching back over one shoulder to draw out an almost ludicruously large plasma rifle from his pack even as he extends his free hand, a wall of teleekinetic force slamming down in front of the trio of gorund based mutant threats in Forearm, Wildside and Reaper, blocking them momentarily from the crowd.

While Nightcrawler is able to teleport several individuals in the most danger out of the way, and an instant after that a wall of shimmering darkness appears, blocking the path of the gunfire from the police detectives to the innocent protesters as Cloak leaps to their defense as well, that doesn't prevent the firing cops from shooting Paaige multiple times and injuring a trio of others who cry out and fall, little splatters of blood marking the sidewalk around them as they go down.

Then Spider-Man is there amongst the two firing NYPD detectives, words backed up by actions as he rather casually disarms the pair and gives them a sharp cognative reset -- in this case jerking the weapons out of their hands and kicking them back into their faces..

At it seems to work. The blank expression on the two men's faces slowly melt away and they look around at the growing chaos enveloping the street with clear confusion. "What... what happened?" one of them asks, a dazed note in his words. Right before those Daggers of light slam into their backs, taking them out of the equation for now.

Despite the orders to stand down it is pretty clear that the Ghost Rider has no intention of doing so and while one of the offers panics and lets loose a shot at him as he runs past, the others hesitate, not willing to endanger the crowd. And more, the mutants descending on the sky seem far more interested in extracting their pound of flesh then the flame headed vigilante.

Which leaves him free to dart into the alley after the bald man in the hooded ssweatshirt. Stumbling down the narrow passage, past an overflowing dumpster, the shoots a look back, towards his pursuer. For a moment Ghost Rider might feel those projected, hypnotic commands coming from the mutant Mesmer. But if they have any effect on him, the fleeing man doesn't see it, stumbling on. Up ahead, a tall chain link fence blocks any chance of escape. But still he runs on.

The reason? That becomes clear a moment later when a very familiar glowing portal -- if on a smaller scale -- suddenly appears before the fleeing man, only steps away.

Cable has posed:
But still the fearsome looking members of the Mutant Liberation Front come onward.

The wall of force projected by Cable is an impediment, but not an insurmountable one though as Forearm starts to circle around it he is instead greeting by a flurry of blaster fire from Bishop, the shots ringing out as he raises that quartet of arms defensively in front of him, grimacing at the impact, driven back but not put down by those shots. "You. Again," he says flatly, glowering at the Timecop.

Tempo soars past, waving a hand in Cable's direction and that field of slowness engulfs the future solider, taking him out of the picture at least momentarily. And while she does that Wildside and Reaper advance on the police officers closest to them, that deadly scythe lashing out as the cops move to block their path to where the two acused officers still sit on the curb before recoiling as a brief spray of blood splashes out, diverted by a raised arm.

While Zero continues to simply look on enigmatically -- his concentration no doubt diverted to that secondary portal he has opened up for their fleeing accomplice, Stryfe hovers there, looking down on the scene. As the shots ring out he stifles a brief smile of satisfaction, instead calling out. "See? Do you see? The flatscans have no true sense of justice, no acceptance for us. You!" he says, gesturing towards Paige. "You don't belong amongst them. You belong with us," he crows.

As his gaze continues to sweep the crowd it falls upon Evan and for a moment his eyes widen behind that metal helmet he wears. "It can't be..." he whispers, actually seeming to shrink away before his posture firms. "No. No, it is not him."

But that malevolent gaze lingers, the line of his mouth revealed by that helmet tight and thin.

Cable has posed:
With the distraction that Evan's apperance provides it is almost enough to make Stryfe drop his guard. Almost. And as Monet races towards him with all that telekinetically enhanced speed she is only inches away from laying her hand on him. But that masked gaze suddenly jerks her way and he motions curtly with a gauntleted hand. At once a wave of telekinetic force as strong as M has ever encountered suddenly slams down in her path, diverting her away from the Mutant Liberation Front's mastermind and leader.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
"Do you have a non-violent division?" she calls out. Even the Black Panthers had a section purely devoted to peace and equality and all that after all. It wasn't all guns and booms. There were roses too.

Still, the sudden invitation from the evil DILF causes Paige to blink for a few moments, even as more fluid drips down her arms from the injury. It's then that she looks back towards the gathered X-Men and then to the MLF. Over that telepathic network, she thinks...

. o O ()]Should I take their offer? We could have someone on the inside?")

As she tries to stall time for an answer, she scoops up some mutants with non defensive powers to get them out of the way of any potential stampedes. "And it's not just the humans. Its the criminal justice system in general. The hegemony continues to oppress marginalized groups." See all that? She learned itfrom college.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Ruth is running through the crowd with ease that a sighted person would envy. She can dodge the minds, feeling her way through the open passages. It's a sight, really, if anyone were really paying attention.

The telepathic clairvoyant has no defensive skill, yet she's running fully headlong into harm's way because it's //right//. Throwing up one of the garbage cans that is now aflame with the intent to start burning everything in sight, Ruth's telekinesis comes in handy as a marker of her path. As she runs, there is also the vision, a single snapshot of the man in a hooded sweatshirt.. holding that smirk in her mind, which is now conveyed to Cable.

<<Him, yes. Here, yes. Please. Follow the flames, thank you.>> is sent back, moreso for Bishop and Cable, but anyone who might have heard her calls, and more importantly, understood her?

Slowing at the entrance of the alley, the flames float about 15 feet above her, shedding a glowing light to the immediate area. It's her best rendition of a flare.

<<Sorry, I must please, I am going in, yes.>>

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet is slammed HARD and away from Stryfe as she would charge at him. It feels brutal. Like she's being smashed by Supergirl through a wall. The pain is agonizing, and there's a sense of something breaking in her. She howls over in agony before she goes to try and pick herself up, cutting back her scream from going along the telepathic connection.

<<He's a very powerful telekinetic with increased reflexes.>> He reacted to her attacking from behind at Mach 3 from a couple hundred feet away. That puts him at a very, very nasty level.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
The hypnotic command stops the Ghost Rider for a second, but his mind is not human, and he is not easy to control or distract. Unfortunately that second allows the hooded mutant to evade his grasp and come to a single step of the glowing portal.

But before he can take that step, the Rider strikes with his chain, which grows longer as he whips it, and ensnares the man's ankles a second before he escapes.

Then he pulls hard, dragging the hooded mutant back towards him and the newly arrived Ruth. To which he snaps a glare, then declares hollowly, "stand back, girl. This man will pay for his dark deeds."

Evan Sabahnur has posed:
    As the cops are taken out of the fight, Evan shifts his left arm back to normal. The right arm does shift as well, but rather than normal, it forms into a fairly large gun of some sort. Energy, to judge by the glow intensifying at the end of the barrel. Tactics say take out the leader first, so he aims at the figure floating above the crowd and egging them on. A beam of cerulean blue light lashes out at the terrorist leader. Fast he may be, but hopefully not faster than an energy bolt.

    He's conflicted, because he does see the day to day disdain and hatred his mutant neighbors deal with. But he's also smart enough to realize that these riots only provide excuses for those who already hate and fear mutants. "This isn't the way to do anything but bring down worse treatment! We need to work inside the system!" he shouts, trying to defuse a situation that realistically is already well past defusing.

Miles Morales has posed:
Miles sees the cognition snap back in the detective's eyes and he relents his onslaught when they ask what happened, "You went all-" waving a hand infront of his masked bug eyes, "-Blood for the blood god, on us... You good?" He peers between them, reaching down to grip their pistols, one in each hand, and holds it out in their direction so they can take them. "This is getting really out of hand really quick. So I need your help keeping all these people safe. Serve and protect, big homies."

Tenative alliance of convenience and all that.

Off goes the spider to help people not die or something.

We'll figure it out in post production.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Back on the roof amongst the half dozen or so confused souls that he has pulled out of harm's way, Nightcrawler peers back down at the crowd below. While some of the crowd is fleeing and some of it is removed, that does not seem to have significantly reduced that chaos gripping the street. But for whatever their real reason for being here today might be, the MLF legitimately seems uninterested in harming the crowd and now that the rogue police officers have seem to be taken care of, dealing with the mutant terrorists seems increasingly important.

So as some of the Mutant Liberation Front members advance towards the police officers, Nightcrawler teleports again, this time emerging with a *bamf* right on one of their backs. "Nuh up, none of that mein freund," he says to wildside, arms wrapped around him. And when the feral mutant reaches for him with those claws, the fuzzy blue elf teleports. *Bamf*.

And then teleports again. And again. And again. *Bamf* *Bamf* *Bamf* All in rapid succession, bouncing around the street until they reemerge right where they started. Though now Wildside keels over and starts to vomit all over the pavement.

"I did warn you," Kurt points out regretfully.

Bishop has posed:
"Glad I made an impression." offers Bishop in response with a deadpan tone indicating that he really could give a damn either way.

'Can't say the same for you." he does add after a moment. Looks like hanging out at Xaviers is rubbing off on him and a quip or two can't be helped.

<<II see it. 'm on the way. Don't egage until I get there, I'm right behind you. .>> he offers telepathically across the mindlink after firing off another few shots from his blasters to try and keep the MLF seeing red as look his way at bay.

She's not likely to listen but hey, he can try.

A grimace crosses his features as he sees the condition of the cops who were attacked but with the ones he's familiar with present and the help being offered by the ones he's less familiar with such as Miles, Tandy and Tyrone - he opts for the tact of pursuing the culprit.

A hearbeat later and he's charging for the marked alley and as he draws near easily espies the glowing fires within from both Ruth's marker and Ghost Rider's flame.

"Stand down!" he yells upon drawing near. "We need this bastard in order to settle this all down!"

Paige Guthrie has posed:
"THE SYSTEM DOESN"T WORK!" Paigelossus cries out in response to Evan's protestations. "MUTANT. LIVES. MATTER!" She cries out with her fist in the air. "ALL LIVES CANNOT MATTER, UNTIL MUTANT LIVES MATTER!" she yells once more, before going towards Forearm. He seems hunky enough.

It seems she's made her mind as she puts one of the defensively-challenged mutants out of harm's way, she looks at Cable with a bucket over his head.

"I'm in. It looks like you need an image upgrade. Thankfully I majored in Public Relations." she says with a flash of her pearly metallic whites before she turns back to look at the X-Men with a bit of disappointment on her features. "Why are you telling them to stand down?! The cops started this whole mess because they KILLED A LITTLE GIRL!" That's a rather macabre reminder of what caused all this.

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
Cloak held the wall of darkness against the now-sporadic gunfire, but he wasn't satisfied. The cops on the other side of it had tried to _murder protesters_. Had killed a kid for the crime of being a mutant. He pulled again at the Darkforce, sending tendrils into the cop formation. Latching on to anything they could grab and pull them towards himself. In preparation he opened the door as wide as he dared, intensifying the darkness boiling out from it. Some cops were gonna pay, and Cloak was going to stamp the account _paid_.

Tandy Bowen has posed:
Dagger freezes in something like horror as the tendrils curl around more than just the cops that had been shooting in the crowd, now stopped and detained. She understands. Not perfectly, and she doesn't want to either, but she knows. She does. And if any of these cops are truly here to cause that harm, she'll stand back and let Cloak eat them. She isn't sure what she and Ty are considered anymore, but she understands becoming something you can't change, might not be able to hide.

She runs directly into the Darkforce, praying to a God she sometimes isn't sure still cares to hear her, an almost holy glow around her reaching out to the cops being pulled in.

They will judge. Learn. Justice will be applied, whether it be as Cloak's dinner or with the knowledge of their darkest fears and the beautiful possibilities of life haunting their steps.

But she will not - cannot - allow her other half to kill indiscriminately. They have a Code, and they will follow it.

Cable has posed:
While Cable has to devote a great deal of his power to simply controlling the techno-organic virus that would otherwise rampage through his body, he is still no slouch in the power department. But being caught in Tempo's field of slowness does a number on him, rather effectively taking him out of the equation.

The telekinetic wall he was projecting to try and break up the fighting sides by sheer force of will vanishes and any reply that he might make to Ruth, to Paige is stifled. Even drawning that plasma rifle visibly slows to a crawl, limbs moving an inch at a time for anyone that can see his perch. Now he knows how Tabitha felt. Certainly the thin line of his mouth suggests that he is not impressed.

In other circumstances there is a very good chance that the hooded mutant would have been able to slip away with none the wiser, nothing to suggest that this is anything then what it appears;; blood-thirsty cops opening up and murdering innocent mutants. But with both Ghost Rider's ability to sense the guilty and Blindfold's unique sight, the green-skinned mutant Vincent, better known by Mesmer in the community, cannot so easily slip away.

As chaotic as the street beyond is, that alley is getting pretty busy too. Between the figure in the hooded sweatshirt, then Ghost Rider, now Blindfold and Bishop the narrow passage is filling up fast.

One step from freedom, Mesmer's eyes widen as that chain lashes out, coils around him and draws him up short. And then begins to real him back from that glowing portal and safety. "No no no no, it wasn't supposed to go down like this," he mumbles, that suddenly fearful gaze directed back towards his captor though hope briefly blooms as Bishop makes his declaration.

Even as Nightcrawler intercepts Wildside and subjects him to a flurry of teleportation, it still leaves Reaper free to continue his advance towards the police, swinging that scythe defensively in front of him, driving back anyone that approaches. Then he brings it crashing down on the patrol car in front of him, the weapon sparking is it shears right through the vehicle, cutting it completely in half, sending both pieces jerking away, sliding across the pavement leaving the grinning, pale-skinned mutant with a clear path towards the two accused beat cops. "Time to die," he hisses quietly, bringing that weapon, preparing to swing.

Before he can delivery that final blow however a pair of tendrils of pure darkness suddenly snake their way through the remains for that patrol car, snatching up the pair of seated beat cops -- rookie and grizzled veteran alike -- jerking them away. Though not, apparently to safety -- as the pair let out screams of panic, caught up by Cloak's looming if misplaced sense of justice.

Though it would seem that the light to Cloak's darkness has something to say about that too, as Dagger dispperas into that drowing shroud of midnight black.

Cable has posed:
While Bishop might have more important matters to deal with, he has not been entirely forgotten by the four armed beast, the towering mutant following him into the alleyway, lunging after him with those powerful arms extended. "We're not done here," he growls.

With Monet deflected away with that casual gesture, Stryfe turns his attention towards Evan as his arm shifts and morphs into an energy cannon, sending out a blast his way. Again the armored figure's hand cuts down in a sharp gesture, that sheer telekinetic force catching that blast and sending it careening aside to slam into yet another of the parked police cruisers, sending it flipping end over end straight up into the air. "No, you are definitely not him. I don't know who you are pretender but I would advise you don't get in my way," he threatens, holding out a hand and sending a sheer wall of force slaming across the street towards Evan and the gate he defends.

Then he glances towards Zero, the line of his mouth tightening in apparent irritation at whatever he reads on those expressionless, masked features. Sinking towards the gorund, he holds out an armored gauntlet towards Paige. "Then come, my child. Come and fight for a better tomorrow for Mutantkind," he urges.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
She knows about the system. There's too much inertia to make it change. Looking at the violence, she scrunches her nose and shakes her head, resolving to something. Who knows what it is at this moment. Clearly, she's torn, as she looks out to Ruth. Paige knows Ruth can't see her, but she can 'see' her. Mouthing 'I'm sorry.' she turns back and looks towards Stryfe daddy and reaches for the armored gauntlet.

"If they don't respond to words, they'll respond to acts." she says sounding somewhat resigned. There's a look at the body of the child before she steps forward to take the hand and head towards the portal in front of her.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet is dazed, even as Stryfe goes to focus on Even. She has to back him up, even with her head pounding and some broken bones. She forces herself upright as the blastwave goes towards the blue skinned mutant. Monet goes to take a breath and braces herself. Thsi si going to hurt. This is going to hurt a great deal. Stryfe has high end telekinetic powers and the knowledge of how to use them. So he can multi-task easily. Charging in at him again will amount to..

Wait. Monet sees a manhole cover. She goes over to it, and winces and picks it up quickly. Fingers go to clench at the end of it as she spins it around to a loud screech that's probably all but forgotten over in the chaos and doesn't stand out. She's then crushed and sharpened it to a razor sharp point..

THen she goes to hurl it at Stryfe from behind, making sure it's at an angle where it doesn't risk deflecting into anyone. It's nto exactly Captain America..

But having a razor sharp one meter wide metal throwing disk hurled towards your back with the full force of MOnet's roughly ten tons of strength hurling it like an Olympic discus should hopefully have it be /very/ painful.

Telekinetic force fields tend to focus on efficiency to maximize coverage. So he'll spread out his shields to deal with strikes from punches, body blows, or weapons fire. Hopefully something curved and /sharp/ thrown ridiculously fast will get through.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Given that Wildside is unlikely to hurt anyone else in the immediate future, Kurt looks for other places that he might be able to help.

And decides his best option is the streaking woman that flies overhead. While he might not be entirely sure of just what she has done to Cable, the fuzzy blue elf is fairly certain that she is responsible so as she soars overhead once more he times it and then abruptly *bamfs* once more, this time appearing straight up.

Starting to plunge back down to the street, he has indeed timed it well as he instead lands on Tempo as she streaks past, grinning as he perches there on her back.

"What the --" the woman exclaims angrily beneath him, something that only grows when he wraps that tail around her face, covering up her eyes/ Leaving her no time to focus, to do anything but shake him loose, he leaps from her back a moment before she almost plows into the rooftop, careening away at the last moment.

But chances are she's not maintaining that field of slow time on Cable any longer.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
There is that flame that still floats above Ruth's head, marking her place in the world as it were. <<Yes, no. I must go, sorry,>> is given again in response to Bishop's admonition. She shakes her head quickly as if to underscore it, and as she steps in, a scream is pulled from her, a high pitched cry of "No!! Please. No.. it is not right! Darkness, black, death.. yes please, stop it! Thank you, don't go. Yes, don't.."

And she can't cry.

Bishop's arrival, while it would fill her with hope, the telepath is holding on by that thread. She has the flames above her, and just beyond her own version of 'hero' in the form of the OTHER out of time soldier, she //heaves// that barrel of fire in the four-armed mutant's direction. At the same time, there is a lot in that alley, and all of it is light enough for her to be able to lift and //heave// at it, igniting into something of a poor-man's firestorm. "Leave, please. Go!"

Daniel Ketch has posed:
'We need this bastard in order to settle this all down' says Bishop.

A very reasonable request. Unfortunately a Spirit of Vengeance is not a reasonable... thing.

"NO," replies the Rider without looking at Bishop. "Vengeance will be settled," which means he grabs the hooded mutant by the neck and pulls him up, so his eyes are within a few inches of his hollow eye sockets. And he gives him a full dose of the Penance Stare. There is a lot of screaming involved, as Mesmero is guilty of many misdeeds, and right just caused the death of a child.

He will probably recover. Maybe in a few minutes, if he is strongwilled. Otherwise... who knows? On the positive side the chances of him confessing his crimes when he is coherent again are very high.

The Ghost Rider releases the hooded mutant without even breaking any of his bones, because Forearm just interrupted him. "You were his... accomplice," he declares in disapproval. Then he breathes his own stream of (Hell)fire towards the four-armed giant.

Bishop has posed:
The future cop knows little of Ghost Rider. His experience with the supernatural is limited and his understanding of it even less. The Rider's efforts in restraining Mesmer are seen and appreciated but the thought of him potentially rendering Mesmer...well...unalive..is a looming concern.

Having a flaming skull head doesn't do much for giving off a sense of mercy.

"I need you to release him to my custody...if you kill him..!" he attempts to explain, rapidly,

Nope. Penance stare. Bishop has no idea, no grasp of what just happened. From his perspective Ghost Rider might have literally just completely wiped Mesmer's mind and without him the abiltiy to quell this situation and prevent the police from attempting a crackdown on District X seems a fleeting hope.

"No! I said---" he begins, stepping forward to challenge The Rider only to pause instinct causing him to turn just in the nick of time as Forearm comes lunging in, filling the alley up with his physical form and larger then life presence. "Look ou---!"

A half step saves him from getting caught in the mutants grasp all together and likely saves his life. He's tough, but he's not gained any excessive energy to truly enhance his physique enough to risk any sort of direct confrontation with a mutant like that and even if he did it's still not wise or warranted.

But it's not enough to get him completely away from the lunging attack though Ruth's assistance aids somewhat in buffering the impact. He's brushed by two of the gigantic arms and is sent tumbling away, slamming hard enough to one of hte side walls of the alley to crack the brick and stone upon impact. Ghost Rider's flames go billowing past him towards Forearm he goes crumpling to the ground stunned. Quick kinetic absorption and toughening saved him from worse but he's stunned and not pulling back to his feet quickly.

Tandy Bowen has posed:
Tandy is a little panicked as she appears in the Darkforce with two very terrified cops. "Cloak. Cloak, babe, you've got to listen to me, okay? I need you to listen, please. We gotta find out how guilty they are." Her voice comes out in a rush.

Everything is darkness, but her hands grip onto The Cloak like she's holding his hands. "Please. If they're as guilty as we think, you know I'll let you take them. I will. But we have rules, remember? Only the ones that can't be redeemed." Her thumbs rub the outside edges where she's gripping the cloth. "You don't want to do this without checking, I know you. Just check, c'mon."

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
Cloak almost did it. He almost shoved the cops into the Darkforce, drank deep of their life-force to sustain him. Invigorate him. But that small trunk under the bed in his heart cracked open, and then it all came flooding back. "Fine." he said curtly. "Examine them." he said, then looked at them with eyes that did not see the physical. "Give them your Light, Dagger, so we may all know their souls." he pronounced, like a prophet from the Bible. "Murderers. Child-killers. They opened fire on innocent protesters. Give them to me, so they may know suffering in the eternal Dark."

Cable has posed:
The Penance Stare.

vincent, better known as Mesmer is not exactly a strong man. His gift is formidable, but he himself is far from the most formidable sort of man. So the fact that he crumples almost immediately is no surprise.

What does he see? Maybe Ghost Rider knows. Surely that inner Spirit of Vengeance does. And there can be no doubt that the green-skinned hypnotist does as he gibbers, letting out a long, loud 'NooooooooOOOOOoooooooo!" A wailing sound, completely without hope. Before he crumples to the pavement

How long will it take for him to recover, to regain some sense of himself? Who's to say. But it doesn't seem that it's very likely to be soon.

It's still probably less then he deserved. But it is a little convenient under the circumstances.

Still, Ruth and Bishop have at least kept the mutant from beind killed. That's something. Of ocurse their reward for that effort os to have the massive four-armed Forearm appear behind them, just narrowly missing from positively crushing the future cop side.

Still coming at him, Ruth's efforts manage to knock him of stride once more, again keeping him from just caving in Bishop's head. And then the Ghost Rider breaths that stream of Hellfire his way, making Forearm recoil, to duck back around the mouth of the alley at the very last second.

Nightcrawler's efforts are indeed enought to free Cable from Tempo's field of slowness and while that rifle comes up, drawing a bead on Stryfe. with a grimace though, the grizzled soldier of the future lets that plasma weapon slide away, moving onward to instead aim at that black void of Darkforce that radiated from Cloak and the pair of police officers that have disappears within.

<< Let them go, >> a voice sounds in Tyrone's head. <<However this looks there's a lot of questions that need answering. And I won't let you hurt them until we know for sure. There's a mutant. One that can control people. Hypnotize them. He looks to be responsible for the shootings, >> he offers up before flodding the images he received from Ruth into the other man's.

While Cable might not be in a position to deal with Stryfe, it would seem Monet hasn't given up on it yet. And while the direct assault route might have failed, that doesn't mean a slightly different tact might have more luck. The armored leader of the Mutant Liberation Front takes Paige by the hand, starting to rise back into the air, to ascend back to where Zero waits with that open portal. He doesn't seem to notice that tossed manhole cover that slices through the air on it's unerring directory. Again, it slices oh so close, seemingly destined to hit that armored pack.

And then it suddenly slows right down, reduced to creeping through the air as Tempo soars past, clearly recovered from her near crash. Smirking, she blows a kiss to M.

"Enough of this. Zero. Take us home."

And with that Stryfe, Tempo and Paige slip through the glowing disk in the sky, disappearing from view. New, smaller portals open up, engulfing Forearm, the prone Wildside and the enraged Reaper who is denied his kill.

And then the Mutant Liberation Front is gone, as quick as they appeared. Leaving chaos, confusion and anger in their wake. Leaving the mutants of Bushwick a little less trustful of the human authorities then they were hours before.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
Zip! Zorp! SWOOOSH! PAige disappears and steps through the portal but not before looking back towards the chaos with a bit of frown on her features. Taking a resigned sigh, she steps through and ends up.... who knows where?

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
"What in the actual _fuck_?" Ty screamed as he started hearing voices. In his head. That weren't his. He threw the cops out of the Darkforce entirely, before Tandy could even really start in on them. He wrapped some Darkforce around her and pulled them both into that eternal ageless Dark, to flee the scene entirely. Only the remnants of his scream lingered in the air behind them.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
And Monet is hitting the ground, even as she's going to run at her best possible speed towards Paige and Bishop - to check on anyone that was injured. <<Status report, everyone. Nightcrawler, onhand to evacuate the injured?>> Bishop was hit by Hellfire. That's something that she can't even imagine is like.
    And then Tandy and Tyrone are gone. And the screams have sent shivers up her spine. She has no idea what has happened here.
    Only nightmares.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Ruth isn't going to chase Forearm, no. The dust is settling and she's finding her way to the stricken Bishop. "Please, you are okay, no. Sorry. I need you. Please." The sound of her voice takes a pleading tone, her hand reaching out to touch his shoulder, to perhaps shake him awake if it were possible. "Sorry, you must wake, please." To underscore it, there is a vision of Paige, a single still-life of her disappearance, with the telepath's own fear and sadness attached.

"Please, sorry. I have to, yes, find her."

And there's more, though really, Ruth is in no shape to do much of anything. So, she sits down to keep watch, keep guard, no more requests, no more exhortations. Just silence.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
The Rider chases after Forearm, but this time Zero is too fast and the vengeful spirit can't reach the mutant before he vanishes. Enraged, he summons his motorcycle and rides after the vanished mutants. Can he still sense them and their crimes? Probably. Yet it is very unlikely he catches up with them before another, more immediate event catches his attention.

Vengeance, you see, it is best served hellish hot.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
At Monet's psychic request, Kurt's expression turns grave once and with another of those telltale *bamfs* the fuzzy blue elf appears next to Blindfold and Bishop, shooting the ominous form of Ghost Rider a brief look of concern. But then he is scooping up their colleague up. "I've got him Ruth," he assures her gently. "We'll get him back to the mansion," he assures the others on scene.

Then he vanishes with the fallen X-Man, only that rapidly dissolving cloud of inky black mist left to mark their passage.