15883/Miss Sinister Scythes

Miss Sinister Scythes
Date of Scene:	25 September 2023
Location:	Underground Laboratory Complex
Synopsis:	The X-Men find a facility run by Sinister. Cable leads a strike force that's put through the ringer. But they burn the place down.
Cast of Characters:	Monet St. Croix, Tabitha Smith, Cable, Franklin Richards, Roberto da Costa
Tinyplot:	Something Sinister This Way Comes

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Monet St. Croix has posed:
Half a kilometer underground. Covered up above by lead, concrete, reinforced titanium, and the rock of the mountain that it was buried underneath. No entrance whatsoever, solid reinforced structure going all the way up. The fusion reactor that powered the place invisible to all but the most advanced sensors.
    ... At least, of this era.
    IT had still likely been a lucky break that had let them track one of Sinister's labs in a state beyond where they had tracked mutatns being experimented on, or him having set to self destruct.
    The only way in teleporting deep, deep through the ground.. Virtually impossible given the very, very potent blockers and buffers against technology..
    Fortunately they weren't reliant on that method of dropping in.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
The benefits of Semi-mystical Magik teleportation. The portals are mutant, the rest of the blonde making them is all Illyana, Mistress of the mystical arts and awesome Ex slash BFF. As Tabby grins when the team arrives deep under ground. This blonde comes though in one of her 'Tennis Dress' uniforms, black, long sleeved with loose but mid thigh length skirts once the otherwise clinging material hits her hips. A yellow stripe down the front to her pelvis where it's broken up by an X-Shape. A red jacket over the top of that with plenty of useful pockets sewn inside and some red tinted Ray Bans on her nose.

Once through, Tabby's already doing that funky telepathic thing and sweeping about for any presence.

She's even making radar sound effects while sweeping an arm as if they'd actually help the job.

Cable has posed:
With his near constant pursuit of John Sublime, the soldier from the future known as Cable has been putting all those resources at his disposal to try and track the man down, even as he lingers in Madripoor. Fortunately, one of the resources at his disposal is a highly advanced and cloaked satellite well above the Earth, constantly scanning and taking in potentially useful information.

Like the hidden underground base that, no doubt has eluded most conventional detection technologies of this time.

But Greymalkin is not of this time.

A close examination of the data easily confirms that this is definitely not Sublime's work. But regardless of just who is responsible it is definitely a threat, and strange energy signatures coming from the area suggests the possibility that it could be mutant related.

That's more then enough for Cable.

Sending out feelers, he looks to put together a team to investigate. Given some of the recent issues with the bodyslide technology, a means of entering and exiting the underground complex was the highest priority.

So Cable steps out of that portal with his customary arsenal draped over his shoulders and back, pouches bulging with any number of potentially useful gadgets. One of those oversized plasma cannons is gripped and already levelled as they appear in a seemingly deserted passage, giving Tabitha a brief nod, indication enough for the blonde to do a telepathic sweep -- once again refusing to engage with his own telepathic powers.

"Everyone keep a close formation until we know just what we're dealing with here," the grizzled soldier says quietly.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin, devoid of any time-travel or intricate maneuvers, had attempted to portal back home from Gotham when he encountered an unusual interference. Oblivious to the issue, he placed unwavering trust in his portals and confidently stepped through. He was currently attired in all-black clothing with his face adorned as a melancholic clown, unmistakably resembling the Chaos Kid, a member of Gotham's notorious Jokerz gang.

This transformation served as a cover, part of his disguise to infiltrate a secretive organization. Emerging from the portal, he assessed his surroundings, only to realize that he was far from his intended destination, his own room. In frustration, he retrieved his phone and queried his location, receiving the maddening response of "location unknown." Franklin couldn't help but release an exasperated sigh as he scanned the unfamiliar terrain.

Wherever he had ended up, it appeared to be buried deep underground, the intense heat suggesting the possibility of being within a mountain. Despite the allure of the enigmatic depths, he shook his head to banish the distraction and focused on identifying potential culprits. Uncertain of who could have possessed the power to hijack his portal, he dismissed certain suspects such as Doom and Mojo, whose actions would have been ostentatious and widely announced. The notion of Straw Man crossed his mind, yet that ancient entity had remained mostly dormant, operating from the shadows.

With a resigned shrug, Franklin abandoned his futile attempts at speculation, fully aware that the identity of his captor would soon become apparent. Unexpectedly, he experienced a telepathic sweep, instantly heightening his alertness. Swiftly attempting to fortify his telepathic defenses, he spun around to face a figure sporting an X symbol.

"Did you bring me here?" Franklin inquired, struggling to recall their past encounters. "I'm certain we've crossed paths before... Don't tell me..." he pondered, taking a moment to contemplate the person's name. "Sara? No... No, you don't resemble a Sara," he muttered, his voice trailing off as he continued to reflect.

As Franklin gazed at Nathan, he shook his head. "Now you, I don't know, but it feels like I should. Have we met?" he asked, his confusion evident. Deep down, he had a sense of familiarity with Nathan, even though they had never crossed paths. It was a perplexing sensation, not as if they were close friends, but rather that Nathan could be trusted. Nevertheless, Franklin maintained a hint of hesitation, as he still had no real knowledge of the person before him.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto Da Costa is dressed in something a bit less streetwear than his usual heroing attire and something that is definitely not off the shelf X-wear. He wears the sleek metallic looking ensemble easily and smiles shaking his head as he walks in to the super secret base. He looks a little skittosh and shakes his head, "I hate Sinister, hate him with a white passion that rivals the Sun. I also feel placing this study below ground is a personal attack. I mean madelyne is the reason I can't stand red heads. Can you seethe while looking skittish? Berto manages. He takes in the other arrivals and sighs holding up a hand, "Don't just... don't. If I have to listen to another iteration of 'I have come from the future to save you, John Connor' I am going to scream." He shakes his head and massages the bridge of his nose. HIs Cable impersonation isn't bad but it's pretty much Logan without a Canadian acceent, so..."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
They've all had nightmarish encounters with Sinister. Perhpas torture. They've seen the sorts of sadism that he's inflicted on mutants in his pursuit of 'genetic perfection'. The group goes to appear so far underground as there's no immediate light. At least.. No natural light.
    No internal illumination, just that of their powers and weapons. As Tabitha goes to do her telepathic scan, she goes to get nothing up front. Then from far off, a sensation. Something passively movinga long. Just at the edge of her consciousness.. The sort of way someone sneaking, realizing they might have been spotted, then quickly going to move away before they had been pinpointed exactly would do.
    Cable's arrival in a flash of power is met with something immediately more proactive as the soldier arrives and seems to take charge. There's a flash over in the air as a hologram would appear. That of Cable himself.. Fully human. Aged, wary.. But no signs of the cybernetics that had been grafted to him.
    Franklin's been pulled here for reasons of firepower, perhpas? For flexibility? Even as he feels a voice burrowing into his mind - warded off by his substanital defenses, but going to speak to him. <<Why boy..>> The voice is in static, but feminine sounding. <<Welcome to my parlor. I never thought I would get such an exquisite specimen. So much, so much.. All the things I could do.. That I can do.>> Pressure attempts to build up around him, as it's like an attempted telepathic vicegrips put upon him - if it worked like someone being thrown into the sea and then sinking thousands of feet, pressure feeling like it would crush them.
    Roberto is met with a series of suddenly flickering analytics popping up into the air. Holograms and videos of other mutants from Xavier's during various periods of captivity and torture they had suffered.
    Someone is playing mind games.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
There's a frown as Franklin comes through fronting as a clown. "Dude, just wear some shades or something. Cause like, the Juggalo thing is just like eww. I've got makeup remover and wipes in one of these pockets. Does your mom know about this?" she teases the poor man while the others all come through the portal.

The faint pings in her mental sonar get a hmm and a grin. "Somethings about, trying to be low profile. Don't be surprised if they know we're here too." she points out to everyone. "If ya want Bobby, I can always just float a bomb around you. Dunno what you can get from it but hey, fake sunlight." she teases and snaps a finger to light and extinguish a plasma flame. "Sooner we find what we want, sooner I can bury this place too. Just gonna keep an eye out for anything particularly loadbearing." she adds, sounding a little more serious.

Cable has posed:
If Cable is disturbed or impressed by the hologram version of himself -- minus all the cybernetics courtesy of the techno-organic virus that rampages through his body -- he certainly gives no sign of it, gaze lingering on the image for only a moment before it moves on, flickering about the corridor.

While his eye casts a bit of a glow to illuminate the immediate area, it's not exactly a practical light source and while he supposes the y could go looking for a light switch, the future solider instead delves into one of those pouches for just a moment before pulling a handful of disks that he rather casually tosses into the air. Almost at once they begin to hover, to disperse, light coming from them with increasing intensity as they light up the corridor and spread that illumination so those present can take stock.

Does anything startle Cable? Even Franklin's sudden appearance doesn't seem to do it, though as the other man feels like he should know him, a faint smirk slides over Cable's features. "Funny that," he says quietly. "Chances are you're right where you should be," he offers up.

Of course, just because he should be here doesn't mean that he'll want to be here. Especially with the mind games starting.

Roberto draws a brief arched brow, but no other reaction from the immitation and then Cable is starting down the hall, apparently intent on just ignoring the little show being put on -- for each of them he presumes. "This way," he says, apparently reading something on one of the devices he's wearing, since any other coclusion would suggest that he has just chosen at random.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin's expression shifted into a subtle frown. "Interesting," he mused aloud as he sensed the pressure bearing down on him. Most people weren't aware of this particular aspect of him, and he wasn't particularly fond of acknowledging it, but he had inherited a significant degree of intelligence from his father. While he didn't possess the same memory or engineering talents as his sister, he excelled in imagination and adaptation. It might not make him more intelligent in the conventional sense, but in situations like this, he believed it could provide an advantage.

He chose to sit down, calmly crossing his legs, undisturbed by any attempts to apply pressure. Franklin resembled a steadfast stone, floating in a river, with the surrounding pressure sliding off him like water. His eyes closed as he concentrated.

<<You're making your move already?>> he responded thoughtfully. <<Fascinating. I have high expectations for you.>> His initial frown morphed into a chuckle. Franklin remained hovering slightly above the ground, maintaining his seated position, and pointed in the direction of the mental force that was pressing upon him. He focused on propelling a small beam of light back towards the source. He didn't make any sudden movements or advances; instead, he focused on analyzing the waves of pressure exerted on his mind and the path of the light. If the light encountered any obstacles, it wouldn't cause harm; it was merely a path to follow, a response to the external force.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto Da Costa smiles darkly, "Cute trick." His hand goes vanta black as he pulls the light from the images and holograms, sucking it down leaving them no means to display, disrupting the feed. He does raise a hand and produce ambient illumination enough to light their immediate area at least until Cable produces a better alternative, "Obrigado, I've been working on abosrbing plasma but that will just leave you with lower reserves, I mean if we can find this fusion reactor I can warm up to that." Berto closes his eyes feeling for the shielded power source, the energy it's emitting like a breeze in a cave. He sighs as Franklin takes a seat and Cable moves down the hallway, shaking his head, yep, this was going as expected. "Cable, Franklin's doing his weird kid thing again." There's no malice, it's just a habit developed over years at the same school. Beto brings up the rear keeping an eye on FRanklin as he edges down the corridor after Cable and Tabs. He knows that Franklin is the most powerful of them all, but he is also at least peripherally a New Mutant and you never leave a friend behind.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The voice in Franklin's head goes quiet. Even as the taunt is met over with another one. As Tabitha goes to give her warning over to the rest, the sensation goes to bounce about - this time from the opposite direction that Cable's sensors are leading them from. It's still there, just tingling at the edge o fher senses. Maybe someone is messing with the still learning the trade telepath? Or maybe it's focused on tricking Cable some that she's the one getting things.

Franklin's sudden appearance doesn't set Cable on edge. Nothing really could. Then again, from his experience wtih Wade it's probably really hard for anything to. As Cable goes to advance, futuristic scanning device and weapon leading the way, he's met with a very, very tightbeam.. Not telepathic voice. But a.. His mind buzzes with a.. Radio signal.

It goes to speak to him in a short comm. <<I've seen the way you move. Always so holding back.. For a reason. You could do so much yet you can't as everything is focused on that -thing- inside you, all over you.>> The radio buzz continues as it broadcasts just to him. It goes quiet after a few moments - even as there's the static pulses over of it. The steady hum of an old school ham radio giving him the occasional 'ping' along an analogue antenna.

Franklin's maneuvers forwards, going along with the mental presence pushing him goes to lead him in a slightly parallel direction over to Cable. Then the ground suddenly turns biomorphic, and presuming that he's not fast enough he would sink into it over like gel as it would solidify about his feet! Then from there if he didn't stop it it would go to snap up over on him, as if trying to swlalow him over like jelly! And if it did, if he would try to push at it over with his powers.. The first attempt, if he did it, he would find it -very- resistant to them. Even as it would try to envelop him whole..

And while Roberto moves in formation to give a warning, he's suddenly having a series of.. Mirrors? Yes, mirrors going along at him. Radiation based mirrors that are glowing dark. The type designed to leech out energy. Tuned to his solar signature.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
The telepathic presence is hopping all over the place. "Yeah. I think this thing. Bet it's Sinister himself. Is trying to like mess with our heads." she keeps trying to track movements.

Blue eyes half squint as she frowns behind her glasses and tries to get a better bead. "Treat it like maybe fighting a teleporter, just in our heads. If you can't grab it, lead it make sure where it goes is like where you want them to go. Or just like go as wide area as you can if you gonna be all psi attack." she suggests, trying to adapt physical world tactics to something a lot more nuanced.

How well it works is a different matter but she's not the psychic muscle. Or physical muscle.

Cable has posed:
Yeah, things aren't going along the same trajectory as most of Cable's missions.

Maybe it is the gamesmanship from their host or maybe it is a simple matter that he isn't exactly surrounded by those most used to taking orders. Or working together. That can definitely have an effect.

Either way, the fact that they don't all start after him when he begins to lead the way -- possibly the wrong way admittedly given just who they're up against -- does bring Cable's advance to a rather quick halt. The soldier from the future might not exactly be entirely resistant to going solo when he needs to, but he generally tries to avoid abandonning his team.

Past experience suggests that it rarely goes well.

So he comes to an abrupt halt, glancing back towards Roberto and Franklin and lingering there in the passage. Tabitha does get a brief nod of agreement as well. "You've all had some training in psychic defense. Use it," he adds quietly, attempting to do just that.

Strictly speaking this doesn't exactly feel like telepathy, but none the less Cable works on boosting his mental defenses to screen out that naggingly persistent signal that is beamed into his head -- and seemingly his alone -- brow furrowing every so slightly as he can't seem to entirely shunt it aside.

He might have to call on some of his telepathic power afterall.

In the meantime at least he attempts to lend Frankling a little aid, applying his own telekinetic energies as well. A hand sweeps up, directed towards that floor. Under normal circumstances he very much doubts that the man would need any assistance in dealing with shifting reality, but here and now, well, it's can't hurt. So he tries to stabilize the suddenly melting floor.

"We're not off to the best of starts here," he mutters.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin settled down, allowing the floor to embrace him, and turned his gaze towards Cable with a slight smile. "Reality is as much as you perceive it. Don't worry about me; I can see the truth. Remember your goal," he offered, his words filled with calm assurance. With that, he shifted his attention back down, closing his eyes, and remained still as the floor enveloped him completely. He patiently waited, ready to reveal just how out of his depth Sinister truly was.

As the drain began, Franklin sensed the energy being siphoned from him. It wasn't merely his own power; it was the power cosmic itself, cosmic energy that flowed through him. Franklin knew he couldn't afford to hold back, not in this situation. While he was confined within the floor, he chose to unleash the full extent of his cosmic abilities. His form radiated a brilliant blue light, releasing an awe-inspiring display of power.

<<Those who seek to control fire are burned. Understand the cosmos with me; let us both gaze upon its depths,>> he communicated mentally, inviting Sinister to join him in this profound cosmic connection.

Franklin didn't concern himself with whether Sinister would fully grasp the offer or its implications. Instead, a small, confident smile graced his face. He had an array of incredible sights to share, and he hoped that Sinister would eventually realize that he had not even begun to truly fight. For now, Franklin remained patient, believing that waiting calmly was the most effective way to deal with a bully like Sinister.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto Da Costa raises an eyebrow at the mirrors and sighs, scratching a brow, then frowns and reaches out for the first mirror, his vanta black touch, spreading over the gizmo, sucking it dry before he crushes it. He moves quickly dispatching the first few but as Franklin comes under attack he switches to picking off the mirrors with a flurry of plasma bolts.

    "Heads up, they're trying to play into our weaknesses. Power source is this way deeper into the facility." He indicates the direction Cable is headed, "Hundred meters below us."

    Berto drops the light source conserving power until FRanklin lights up the space like Christmas. He blinks and basks in the glow, his body reflexively going to vanta black limned in the same blue color, his voice is quiet as he pulls in all the energy he can stand, blinking, 'whoa... I forget how powerful he really is." Berto shakes his head and stretches his arms, cracking his knuckles, "All this equipment is active or at least in Standy mode, should we be gathering data? Does anyone have those usb keys to give Kitty access?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The siphon goes on as Franklin fights with it. Then he goes to take control of it. And he moves to blast out over with it. The power leech upon him goes to flash over with power, even as Roberto can sense the massive output of the power cosmic going out with a hail of energy and flooding everything as Franklin goes to blast into the goo going up along him as Cable suppresses the floor as it would wobble, holding it in place.

The nanite-mesh that was overloaded goes to fizzle, thrum, and then die as it would be burnt out. Cable's sensors would then also confirm the energy being siphoned away.. Then being blasted deeper within the complex. Franklin gets a mocking voice in his mind.

<<Thank you for the donation to our cause>>

As Cable goes to work on focusing on the floor, then the floor goes still. Then it goes to blast up and over with a massive jolt of electriicty, along over with a massive, shrieking sonic blast aimed at his ears! It's a rather old trick and trap - shock someone to stun, deafen them to disorient. No matter the time and age, the old ways were often the best. The attempt is simply to try and disrupt his focus while he was putting more energy into the floor of his powers.. To try and just for those precious few nano-seconds disorient him!



Tabitha is finaly able to confirm those small psychic 'monitors'. It's a familiar signature from practice. Her own. It's coming from right ahead. Sinister had made yet another copy. From the way this one was trying to dance just ahead telepathically.. It was one that wasn't just meant as a battery.

Roberto leeches off a good jolt of the energy being put out by Franklin - now there's no issues with light and he has a supercharge as the systems in the area fritz! It gives him a major advantage - even as anything that was triggered to specfiically go after him is definitely going to be out of commission. And likely other things along the hallway - at least, htose that hadn't been already triggered.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabby might be catching some of that telepathic conversation and eyerolls. "Uhh, bad analogy. Unless like it doesn't count if the power comes up on it's own. Cause like most Pyroplasmakiteics aren't burned by flames. You're uncle Johnny McMidlife Lothario!" she points out aloud.

All the while she gets a ping moving about till she works through the yo-yoing presence. "I think we got something." she states and starts just heading right towards it. "Imma go beat myself up. And not in a sad depression wearing flannel way." she states and looks back over her shoulders to grin at the men. "If things get freaky, Illyana is probably still scrying all this and can port out buts out. I just gotta make sure the correct butt gets ported later." she adds as she makes her way to. "Hey, Evil Me! Come and show me how good I look before and after I beat your ass!"

Cable has posed:
Under most circumstances it is pretty hard to take Cable by surprise, regardless of the tactics used.

A lot of that comes from the fact that he has been a soldier with more experience then most of those he works with have total years under their belt. That tends to be a pretty decisive advantage. Add to that the fact that he has worked for decades to develop the discipline that it takes to keep from allowing the techno-organic virus within him from completely overwhelming his body's defenses. One more tool in his arsenal.

But he is splitting his attention alot, from trying to reinforce those psychic shields to keep the aggrevating signal out of his head, to telekinetically reinforcing the structure of the floor, to maintaining contact with Tabitha as she serves as their scout -- the only one not dealing with a situation that more or less keeps them bound to this particular stretch of hallway.

Something has to give, right?

The barrage of sonics, or electricity is indeed distracting and Cable adds one more item to his list -- temporarily shielding the floor though he knows that Roberto will jump in quick enough to begin devoring the energy discharge.

Still, Cable grimaces for just a moment, those psychic defenses weaking ever so slightly before he is there to shore them up once more.

"See what you can find Tabby. We'll keep our host occupied here as much as possible," he agrees.

Of course, it's possible that she's the one keeping them occupied.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin grinned as he removed the mesh, allowing the goo to fall around him before returning to the group. He stretched his limbs and took a look around the blown area. In a mental message, he playfully commented, <<You didn't realize what you took, did you?>> He shrugged nonchalantly, <<Or what I hid inside of it.>> He whistled a bit and then turned his gaze toward Roberto. "Hey, we make a good team," he said aloud before leaning in to whisper, "Careful, though, there's a trap in that power," and winked at him.

Sinister's keen mind might of picked up on Franklin's words. Paranoia was one of the drawbacks of being a mastermind, and given enough time, Sinister might decipher Franklin's true intentions. For now, Franklin seemed content to engage in some psychological games.

Turning to Tabitha, Franklin smiled and replied, "Fair enough. Though if you can hold off on the self-harm, perhaps the floor would be a better target? It seems like it's not nearly as reinforced as the outside." He nodded to acknowledge her and stepped back.

As he glanced down at the area where the power had been, Franklin turned his attention back to the others and offered a thought-provoking suggestion. "Everything has a reason. Consider this: How could he have something specifically tailored for each of us?" He fell silent, allowing the others to ponder his words. It was up to the group to decide how to proceed, and Franklin was content to wait. He knew the time for their retribution against Sinister would come, but patience was key, and he could afford to wait a bit longer.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto Da Costa steps into the path of the assault as ready to take the blow for Cable as he was with Franklin, he takes the energy, This time not as well, as he pulls in the flow of electrons, there is feedback and the sonic hit takes the wind from his lungs, of course powered he doesn't need to breath and with the high he is on from Franklin's he manages to shake it off.

    He winces in pain and smiles at Franklin, "True dat!" He offers the Richards kid a dap. He laughs, "I'm not looking for the secrets of the universe, Frank. I barely understand Raven." As he turns to face Nathan, "She really wants you down, that can't happen. He hears Tabs and frowns and tilts his head, "I'm pretty sure he was speaking meta- you know what, never mind. He's trying to manipulate us, it's kind what he does. Tabs be careful."

    Berto considers Franklin's words, "Well, he capture me before and tortured me for weeks, Cable I feel like everyone knows, Tabs I think has encountered him... how does he have info on you?" He considers the most obvious sources, "You think the mansion has been hacked? That would explain the videos and those read outs."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
That's the point. Keep them occupied. If not divide and conquer, then stall. Cable's tactics adapt. Even as he refocuses, and prevenst what for someone less experienced would have resulted in a short term overload. But it also means his team has to work together o fa group that may not necessarily have done so. They have to trust him and to do what he says. And they have to do it quickly. Cable holds the line. Do the rest do it for him?

The psychic pressure on the old soldier's mind picks up. Now someone is finally going in with an attack. It reeks of raw power and not necessarily as much skill. But great, great amounts of power being fed at him. Someone is treating psionic combat over as simply bludgeoning. Smashing into his shields like ana rtillery strike. An extremely potent telepath - not on his power level or likely any of those at Xavier's. But still very, very high end. They're attacking him in a full court press. He can pick up shadows of a presence. Dark. Morbid. Manical. Analytical. Observational. At the other end of the psionic connection there is the countenance of a woman. Pale. With Sinister's trademark dark eyes.. And that glowing diadem in the center of her forehead.

Tabitha goes along to come face to face with herself. Admittedly this other her is in a state where she looks like an albino. In the darkness, her eyes are wide - adapted for night vision. Her body posture is different than Tabitha's. Her frame is thinner. Ther'es one difference over in her that goes beyond just physical looks.

She has no mouth. Sos he cannot scream. The other Tabitha's fists go to glow with the innate energy that Tabby had. Any sort of telepathic veil is over with even as she goes to charge at her primary genetic donor!

Franklin is ignored for the moment - Sinister seems content with whatever he, she, or it has taken. The power cosmic taken, even in small amounts is fed deeper into the complex, into a dizzying array of subsystems and circuits, technology twisted and advanced, almost like a nervous system.. And then vanishing. Smothered as if never there. Or something far, far worse. But not now.. Not now. The floor is stabilizing as the burnout is done. Now there's just the sense of the massive psychic attack on Cable..

Then suddenly three 'things' go to jump out over at Franklin. Small micro-force fields kept in a humanoid configuration of nanites. Kept out of sync with reality. Like a technologically boosted phaser. The things would go to try and jump - through- him. Intent not on smashing into him but through him. Not to any sort of damage.. But something passing right through his central nervous system to give him if it did work a massive shock and disorientation!

Roberto glows with the power of an internal sun. Enough juice is in him to power the entire facility. Or level it. And even then more systems are coming online as they go to try and blast him with more and more energy of various types - Franklin would be able to tell the entire spectrograph. Radioactive, solar, electro-graviitc. More and more energy is attempted to be fed into Roberto of a huge variety of wavelengths. For Roberto - presuming it works, the intent is clear. It's trying to overload him. Very, very blatantly. All that power has to go somewhere..

Tabitha Smith has posed:
"You're banging Rogue's mom, and telling ME to be careful!" Tabby teases back before she gets too far away from the group. There's even a twirl and a backstep as she keeps talking. "Dude's had beef for ages. Hell, probably just cooked up the whole thing with the cure and Senator Chisolm so that when the gubmint like wiped us out he had all the remaining working mutant DNA to play with."

An ass pull of a guess.

Switching to the mind link she has up for the team comms Tabby turns again to head for her target. <<He made like a whole bunch of clone mees just to test out power generation. I had to take control and set them to explode the base. I felt myself dive like a bunch of times all at once. In pain and fear that might as well have been my own.>>

Eventually she finally finds herself. Not so much in a manner of emotional maturity. This is Tabitha Smith after all. But her clone.

"Oh god you have no mouth and you must snark!" she actually does feel a lot of sympathy for what Sinister did this time. <<I don't suppose you really wanna do this. Or is this gonna be a suicide thing?>> she asks the clone, but with her plasma sparking in hands OG Tabitha lights up her own and maybe throws her bombs up and over Boomzarro's head.

Detonating to try and knock down the duplicate and then bury her with roof.

Cable has posed:
That this is all a holding pattern, designed to make them respond, to test their abilities seems clear. By now they should probably all recognize that fact.

Of course, sometimes tests go two ways and in trying to push them to their limits, their host is revealling something of their own as well.

So Cable takes that mental assault, meets it with his psychic defenses. Ironically, despite the sheer power thrown at him it is a little easier to defend against that sheer telepathic assault then it was the strange signal being beamed at him. This is familiar. This is what he knows, what he has trained for. It's not getting through his defenses, not even with everything that's going on.

The fact that their host is ignoring Franklin for the moment might be a tactical decision, but it might not be the wisest of ones, given that in sheer power he is easily the most powerful of them here. But it does mean that Cable is comfortable redirecting that telekinetic support away from him, no longer needing to focus on keeping the hallway stable.

Instead he powers that power towards shielding Roberto. Under normal circumstances diverting incoming power from their power absorber is the last thing he would want to do. But again, the tactic of trying to overwhelm him with sheer power is not difficult to read. The Brazilian was there to siphon off the excess energy sent his way. Cable can return that favor with shields of sheer willpower designed to divert a great deal of that energy away.

"Enough of this," Cable growls, shooting a glance towards the other two with them before starting to stalk down the hallway. "Come out, come out wherever you are. Or I'll do a lot more then just huff and puff. But you can pretty much count on me blowing your house down," the future soldier snarls, casually firing a plasma blast ahead of him, letting that green energy streak down the hallway to explode violently at the far end.

No more Mr. Nice guy. Time to wreck some havoc.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto Da Costa isn't dumb, he understands how his powers work as well as anyone else, maybe better than most. He isn't Shaw who's energy consumption fuels his body or Bishop who unloads the overload into devastation, nor Selene who is overcome by the pleasure of feeding, not even Vulcan whose limits seem unfathomable.

    The danger here isn't explosion, it isn't the radiation of a star, it isn't the wild expanse and rush of fire and plasma.

     Quite the opposite, the clue has always been the vanta black color that sweeps over his body when he engages his power, and now with all this energy passing into him, overwhelming him. He pulls it all in, even the psionic energy powers him as the reaction builds, looking for a place to go. It leads to collapse as he overflows and in overflowing triggers even more power until gravity itself wraps around him.

    Berto isn't going nova, he is about to collapse into a black hole. His powers always going to a place from which light itself could not escape and now it seems that might be true for the rest of them as well. Berto fights the collapse he fights the roller coaster ride of his powers out of control but he is losing. The equipment, the floor, the very structure shifts. Berto struggles under the onslaught and utters the one world he has been loathe to use in his life, the hardest lesson he's learned, "... help ..." His eyes connect with Cable as the older mutant acts peeling away the energy. Cable helps Berto to center, letting he energy flow, still dangerous close to overload as the energy seethes and burns through him.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin may not have explicitly mentioned it, but the power cosmic still coursed through him. He felt it, saw it, and harnessed it as the building's systems lit up, providing him with a small amount of information as circuits connected throughout the structure. His focus briefly shifted towards Roberto, offering an intriguing perspective as the bots approached. Though he couldn't maintain this view for long, he contemplated Sinister's next move.

As the miniature robots advanced towards him, Franklin smiled inwardly, communicating mentally, <<I have allowed you to attack, and I have done nothing.>> He nodded at Nathan in acknowledgment. When the bots attempted to pass through him, Franklin didn't move out of their way. Instead, he reached out to touch Roberto.

Franklin employed his powers to subtly alter Roberto's energy absorption, shifting it from absorbing to distributing. While he maintained contact, he began reclaiming the energy as it flowed through him. Although it still proved taxing to be the conduit, he sent a comforting message to Roberto's mind, <<Be calm; I am here with you.>>

In the suspended silence where everything froze, Franklin waved a hand to dismiss the immobilized bots that hung in the air around him. They disintegrated into dust, falling to the ground. In every reality, one common force bound them all: gravity. Using this universal constant, Franklin ground the bots into dust as the power surge from the returned energy exhilarated him.

Turning to Roberto with a smile, Franklin conveyed, <<Those lines are time.>> He reached out and touched one, momentarily transporting them back to when the ground was disrupted and then returned to the present. <<Follow your line; do what you came here to do.>> However, before they could glimpse into any future, the energy was drained sufficiently to return them to the normal flow of time alongside everyone else.

Franklin returned to his normal state and smiled at Roberto. "You should have plenty left," he explained, glancing down the hallway. "Do what you do best: break stuff." He chuckled before stepping back to inspect the lines once more, which only he could see now that their shared moment had concluded.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
As Cable predicted, they're being stalled. Siphoned. Their power isn't being collected, and tehy may not be pushed to their limits. They're being hit in ways to try and take advantage of theirw eaknesses. Being blasted at, prodded at.. This is just a big laboratory and they're mice running through the maze. This is the point where Sinister would ordinarily go hammy and move on about how much they're giving him.

Cable would be overwhelmed under psionic pressure and have to cut loose, whihc would have the techno-organic mesh overcome him. All it would take is a few moments, lapses of concentration. Roberto would be fed so much energy that he couldn't take it and would overload. Franklin? Franklin's the one there's no real counter for. So the system merely acts as if he's not there. As it really doesn't have anything that could handle him, perhaps. Or it just is content to gather data on the way his powers work.

Tabitha's mirror match ends with Tabzarro (Boomzarro?) charging at her in what would ordinarily be a duel of two girls that couldn't really effectively use thier powers against one another. Sort of like the Summers' Brothers. But instead the OG Tabby goes to blast up and over into the ceiling. Where explosions don't do the job, gravity and several hundred kilograms of rock, metal,a nd debris does. The other Tabby's suffering and inability to snark is mercifully over with. And she can perhaps only mourn the her that never had the chance to party on Wayne, party on Garth.

Up ahead is where Roberto originally noted the fusion generator was at. There are no Tabbies over in it. Just a huge, thrumming generator that looks more like smoething out of a 1960's Star Trek show than anything sleek and Richards style.

Cable braces defensively while giving warnings over to the rest of the team and goes to share information. An dhe goes more offensively at figuring out what they're doing here. He moves to make a circuit with Roberto. He goes to channel the excess energy away from Roberto, as Franklin moves to redirect it. And then Cable goes to counter at the woman attacking his head. She doesn't have his power.. She definitely doesn't have his skill. The other psychic edge collapses like someone having a seizure. And there's just a moment wher he can see the woman hitting the ground and the crystal on her head -cracking- along with her neck.

Roberto looks like a neutron star about to collapse over into a quantum singularity as he takes in so much energy, and Cable goe sto disperse the excess. And now Cable's making a go of wanting to blow up the place.. Well, that might veryw ell much be the perfect place to put all of that excess, perhpas?

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Flippant and frivolous as Tabitha may seem. She does actually wait till she knows there's no more psychic presence from her misshapen dopplegagnger. "Sorry clone me, but you were going up to just be too harsh. If you weren't evil, they'd a like totally loved you back home." A Tabby that can't talk would have been welcomed.

Turning around to let the body stay buried she starts heading back to the others, seeing Roberto get overcharged. "So umm. That's not good!" she explains and looks at the others. The generator putting out all that poower gets a hmm. "So, last time I checked. Don't you get stronger with a bigger charge Bobby? So just fly up!" she points to the ceiling with a finger.

"Sinister likes cloning way too much so likely if he's here it's just a clone. So just fry him Frank. Sunspot brings makes a big ass hole. I can blow the generator and sink everything into Roberto's hole. Heh heh, the rest of us port out on the Magik Express to Westchester." she suggests.

A bomb sparking and already beginning to grow in her hands. Ready to boom the generator and help bring down the whole place.

Cable has posed:
While telepathy and telekinesis can very easily be tools of incredible finesse and certainly Cable has the experience and training to use both in such a way. Sometimes it is just more satisifying to use a really big gun.

For the most part, Cable calls those days everyday. Sure, from time to time walking softly and just carrying the big stick is effective. Most of the time though the future soldier finds that really going to town with a weapon in one's hands is most effective and impossible to ignore.

There might not be any way to keep Sinister from taking something away from this whole incident, but they can at least make sure that he loses a facility in the process.

So Nathan doesn't exactly waste anytime wandering the halls, simply carving a path towards that reactor with plasma blast after plasma blast, carving his own route through solid stone, the passage shaking a little around him.

<< Prepare to evacuate. This place is going up in flames. Funnel all that excess energy my way. The generator is going boom, >> Cable says, for a change reaching out with his own telepathic abilities to link their minds. Then he cheats, reinforcing that plasma cannon with his telekinetic abilities, setting up a channel to funnel the excess energy through, the future-tech likely able to handle funnelling that much energy in a controlled burst. Especially with his telekinesis adding to it's structural integrity.

<< Lets do this, >> he says, bracing himself, funnelling that energy when it comes his way, already set to step through Magik's portal or bodyslide out of here when the explosion starts.

Maybe they'll get lucky and catch Sinister with the proverbial pants down. It's a nice thought. It certainly warms Cable's heart after this particular ordeal.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto Da Costa is caught in the maelstrom. He stands with Franklin like two caught in the eye of a hurricane, Berto looks around taking in what he can, "How are you doing this?" His powers have reset between Cable's guidance and Franklin's intervention he's back to what he was before the attack. He looks at Franklin and there is fear in his gaze mixed with wonder, "Is this how you always see the world?" He opens his mouth and then closes it and nods. He takes a gulp and tries to hold on to what he can.

    Then he is pointed back to his path and pushed down it. He blinks looking startled as time kicks into full gear again and he is back on his feet. He nods to Cable and lets lose with every erg of power cosmic. including his own reserves funneling all of the energy into Cable and through the telekinetic shunt into his patented BFG. He back Cable up ready to evacuate, keeping just enough energy for a last ditch aerial evac if he needs to pull anyone through the portal.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin nodded to Roberto, a smile playing on his lips. As they prepared to unleash their attack, he addressed Tabitha, sharing his thoughts. "Everything is connected, or to put it properly, entangled. It took time, but are you ready for the best magic trick?" With the bomb primed and the shot ready, Franklin snapped his fingers, signaling the moment for their grand maneuver.

He executed a move he hoped no one would anticipate. Franklin attempted to manipulate Sinister's location by switching him with the clone. It was a simple yet effective trick, leveraging his connection with the clone and the building itself to make Sinister appear in a different spot.

The switch wouldn't kill Sinister, but the sheer volume of rock descending upon him would undoubtedly slow down the sinister mastermind, if not take him by surprise. The process of excavating himself from beneath that much debris would be time-consuming.

With a flash of blue light just before the shot was fired, Franklin used his powers to exchange the two entities. The clone would end up in some remote, concealed base, while the real Sinister would have to contend with the impending cataclysm as they vanished through the portal. It wasn't a flashy move, but he hoped it was a strategically clever one.

As they initiated their escape, Franklin conveyed just one word through their mental connection: <<Checkmate.>> He followed the others through the portal, trusting in Magik's precision. Although he had portaled into this confrontation, the significant power expenditure required for his last maneuver had left him uncertain about their destination. However, Franklin had no doubt that Sinister would survive this ordeal, and their next encounter might prove even more challenging, as this encounter had likely placed him squarely on Sinister's radar.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The base is going up in flames. The group is teleporting away. Whatever fragment ther was of Sinister here has been destroyed. But had they truly put a stop to his project? Whatever morbdity that had been afoot? Was this merely something that was intended as a delaying action? Or data acquisition? Was this a setback to the monster or merely something that gave him more things to work with?

The group is headling out now. The place is leveled as they're making thier extraction. But it's a victory. A hard fought one.. But it's still a win.