16349/Penance and Screams are Music to My Ears

Penance and Screams are Music to My Ears
Date of Scene:	20 November 2023
Location:	Pocket Dimension of Marius St. Croix
Synopsis:	A group of heroes battle Emplate in his twisted home dimension to free two young girls imprisoned there. There is a final battle to save Nicole and Claudette and to defeat Emplate.
Cast of Characters:	Monet St. Croix, Tabitha Smith, Cable, Caleb Dykstra, Neena Thurman, Samuel Guthrie, Roberto da Costa

---

Monet St. Croix has posed:
It is a dark and dready day on November 21st in Bushwick. The weather is miserable, and many are staying indoors - preparing for the holidays, among other things. But also there is a sense of unease. Popping from shadow to shadow is a distorted, almost eldritch looking being that would stun an isolated mutant along an alleyway, hold his hand up as he would drain life force from them.. And let them tumble onto the ground in a heap, barely alive.
    There is a scream in the air towards him as Monet St. Croix goes to charge at Emplate at high speed from almost out of nowhere, her innate ability to -tell- her brother is there leading her to charge. "MARIUS! GIVE MY SISTERS BACK TO ME!" The normally calm and in control M in a fury. The normally erudite young mutant woman talking with coherency barely approaching that of the Hulk.
    Her brother, the mutant known as Emplate, wears a dark trenchcoat seemingly molded to his body, spikes along his frame, and with a heavy breathing apparatus upon him which gives him a decidedly Vader'ish appearance. "They're my sisters too, you brute."

Tabitha Smith has posed:
It's this guy again.

Last time Marius tried to get up in his sisters crap, there was a bit of a SNAFU that resulted in Tabitha nearly dying, going astral to save her consciousness till Elixer could fix the damage he actually caused by mistake.

The actual cause of the problem getting chased down by Monet.

This time in her black and yellow biker leather style uniform. The cropped jacket black with yellow padding, leggings the same material as the black with yellow boots, some red tinted Ray Bans on her nose while her hair is kept in a high ponytail.

She'd kept up as best she could with Monet but since M is much faster, the blonde had to keep track of things via her still novice level telepathy. The noise of the streets and the people in them making it more difficult. But actual screams and a sig similar but different to Monet flaring up made it easier to catch up eventually.

And open by directing some potently compressed streams of concussive plasma from a finger, telekinetically aimed for his stupid looking breather mask.

Cable has posed:
It's not that Nathan Summers, better known as Cable, is indifferent to the various life events that people go through. Things like birthdays and anniversaries and all those occasions that people like to celebrate.

Okay, it's mostly that. Upon occasion, things like that simply fall to the wayside for the future soldier. Get overlooked while he pursues other agendas. Important ones to be sure, of course.

And it is one of those that has brought him out to Bushwick tonight, pulled him away from the various distractions that Madripoor has been offering as of late. While Cable might be reluctant to put the full power of his telepathic abilities to use under anything but the most pressing of circumstances, even in passive mode he can pick up a whole lot. Especially when the disturbances are large enough.

And Emplate definitely makes a big disturbance.

It is why he and Domino have been on the hunt for the last several hours, flitting about the New York neighborhood, tracking down this latest disturbace. And when it presents itself there is certainly no mistaking it, is there?

"Well, I wasn't wrong about there being trouble," the white haired soldier comments drily, sliding that oversized plasma cannon from over his shoulder, hefting it up from his rooftop perch looking over the disturbance below. "Hopefully they don't pull the whole neighborhood down in the process."

Of course he's not so hopefully that he doesn't level that big cannon towards the monster below, the business end of the weapon already beginning to glow that virulent green.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
And it seemed like it was going to be a quiet day in Bushwick. Having gone to and from Asteroid M to help out with repair efforts, Caleb's been coming here in his spare time; and better yet, his siter wanted to come, too. So, against his better judgement, she had come along for the last ride to meet some friendly mutants. What could go wrong, after all?

...

As it's been established in the past, that question should never be uttered by Caleb, because odds get stacked against him in something actually happening to him or someone he cares about! Case in point: coming face-to-face with a random Emplate on the street!

He's walking by with a cheerful Sheila by his side, when all of a sudden, awkward combination between Cthulhu and a porcupine shows up out of nowhere and extends one of his mouthed hands in the sibling's direction. But, years of experience have made him quite alert of trouble (which he finds can always be brewing), so, he grabs his sister and pushes her away from the path of that hand. He has but time to duck and roll away from that horror too, possibly because a chasing Monet interrupts his catch.

"SHEILA! STAY CLEAR!", he commands his kid sister. He reaches for the inside of his modified coat, and pulls out a katana...

Neena Thurman has posed:
'It was a dark and stormy night'.

Of //course// it was. Is. Why shouldn't it be? Particularly on a night where Nate's spidey-senses started tingling?

When Domino is around Nate, it's a pretty fair bet that whatever he picks up, she's going to be ready to put down. Sometimes literally.

So, flitting around the neighborhood, getting properly soaked as the rushes are made from location to location, the disturbance is finally found. And no, there really is no mistaking it.

"You never are," Neena responds dryly, her humor underscoring it. "You're better than an alarm system. Wider coverage, and you're not just good for motion." That last bit is given with a quirked grin, even as she, too, is looking over the edge. The view from above, well..

Pulling a pistol from her thigh holster, Neena glances to her partner and shrugs. "Here goes nothing?" After all, luck doesn't work until she //pushes// it.

With a leap over, Neena catches hold of window frames with one hand, swinging and dropping, all while she's getting a bead..

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie is walking the beat in uniform, and as he hears the scream he starts running that way, seeing who is heading in that direction as he gets close, he will reach into his belt pouch and pulls out an earpiece to stick in his ear. He will then reach to the mic on his shoulder, and squeezes it as he says "Officer Guthrie, covering incident at corner of blah and blah. Special Units is covering it, if Ah need backup will call for it." Then releasing the mic finger back to his ear and says "Ah am on scene." over the X com.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto Da Costa is working, as he usually is. Tonight has him on the streets of Bushwick with a small team in tow looking at buildings in the area to be refurbished and brought up to code. They are huddled against the weather, holding umbrellas looking to S-Pads and calling out information about the structure they are about to enter. Success brings funding and with the success of his recent effort refurbishing the Figeroa Projects that lie at MutantTowns border with more prosperous areas. Well, there's been a sizeable uptick in funding, which Roberto is keen to invest before it evaporates. This is the seventh place and they have five more on the list. Three have met criteria but two of those are over priced for what they need done to them.

    Berto sees the streak of Monet's descent from the low-lying clouds. He is standing on the stoop of the next building. He sighs and looks at his watch, "Okay team, maybe we can pick this up tomorrow. I should probably check that out."

    Roberto is very familiar with Monet's annoyed voice, it comes from years of exposure and experience. He can pick up on the tone but not the words, as he walks down the stoop and towards the area where a fracas is developing. He passes the neighbor hood bodega and slips into Spanish, "No way Emilio, unh-uh. You stay here. I don't care if you're mostly invulnerable. I will send you back you can post to tik-tok." He continues down the block. He's dressed for the weather in his usual dark suit and yellow shirt and black tie. Though this time of year he does have a dark wool driver's coat as a concession to the season and because he looks great in it.

     Berto smiles as he walks up on the officer, "You know we have to stop meeting like this." He offers Sam a pound, "What do you think Monet's gotten herself into? Overdue library book? Bad hair day? Blouse faded in the wash and doesn't match her shoes exactly?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet is too busy charging along towards Emplate to pay much attention to the others in the area moving to back her up, or just picking up her yelling and her charging in. That means that she's hyperfocused on Marius - which is good and bad. There's not other threats in the general area beyond him and he's not displayed significant abilities to wrap the environment.. But it's sloppy and leaves her with minimal situational awareness.

to those like Cable, Emplate's psionic aura reads about as subtly as someone about ten feet away hurling up flares. Even if one was psionically deadened, they might very well pickup a signature. Tabitha's energy blast goes to deflect off the side of some sort of energy shield that Emplate has already readied, even as Monet is just seconds away from slamming into him. Cable's heavy, glowing cannon joining it a moment later, putting a more sizable stagger into it that has Emplate take some forced steps backwards.

Caleb is quick to shout out a warning even as the combination of Porku-thulhu is treated like a pincushion by waves o fenergy and barrages going up after it, ricocheting off it. Along with Domino going to jump through the air even as she goes to push a -few- shots into him that by the luck.. Of the draw go to punch through his shield while he's busy focusing on blocking off Cable and Tabitha. His eyes would flare.

"Enough of this little game. It's time to finish it." Monet is caught in midair, spikes whipping out from his hand like tentacles, going to stop her cold as they would spear into her, the mouth on his hand latching to her face as it would drink greedily of her. He would charge up.. "Like gruel. Disgusting.." As Sam and Roberto go to link up with one another, Emplate goes to take the siphoned energy..

"Now come.." his voice deepens, and then grows manic as he goes to let out a loud, teeth fueled cackle as there's a flash.. And everything freezes as there's a booming CRACK of energy that almost seems like a shockwave going out.

"ITTT'SSS SHOWTIME!" And there's a disorienting flash as the group is suddenly teleported to a.. Massive, empty void. Dark clouds in every direction, a dim, red light of seeming no sourcepoint strobing.

And there's no gravity. No ground. No sense of up or down. And appearing dozens of kilometers away from everyone is Emplate. "They say you're not supposed to play with your food, but you've caught me in a mood."

Tabitha Smith has posed:
The plasma stream gets bounced off a forcefield and pushes through a wall and takes a bigger chunk away from the brickwork.

That gets a groan from Tabitha. "So that's gonna need some work to get through." she mutters.

At least when familiar presences all start to show up. One of whom being Dom an her lucky shots getting through. <<Nice one Dom!>> she beams to everyone showing up that she knows compared to Sam, Berto, Nate, Dom, and Monet. The sound of a strange voice in one's head might seem weird to Caleb. BUt it's there since he's doing a good Samaritan thing. <<Hi I'm Boom-Boom, this is Cannonball, Sunspot, Domino, Cable, and the other chick going on about siblings is M. The spiky Vader looking dude is a douchbage. Kinda high end.>> she quickly exposits.

Which is also right when theres a poof and everyone seems to be in a floaty other realm all of a sudden and Tabby is spinning in mid air and trying to get some bearings. "The shit is this?" she asks as she turns and twists till she can orient herself. <<I am not high enough for this crap!>> so she keeps the mind link going and sends everyone else at least a dense of distance and direction as best her range allowed.

Cable has posed:
"I like to think that I have my uses," Cable agrees, flashing Domino a brief, tight smile of his own even as he levels that oversized plasma cannon, a burst of power about to streak down, at least judging by that bright green glow that envelops the end of it.

And then before the future soldier can bring that weapon to bear on the situation they abruptly find themselves some place else. No longer atop that building, no longer about to bring the fight to the monster Emplate.

But hanging in a void.

For some that sort of sudden transition might be unsettling, the mind struggling to compensate to such a sudden change, to lose any perspective of up and down, of distance, of all the little markers of reality that a person relies on.

For Cable, that's pretty much just another Tuesday.

A quick glance around lets him confirm just who is nearby -- mostly familiar figures which is a plus. He already knows their capabilities. More, he's worked with most of them before.

"If you need to orient yourself let me know. I can help," he says quietly, casually firing off that bolt of brilliant plasma energy at the distant monster responsioble for this. And then seizing up those who need it, Nathan begins to will them forward at a tremendous rate, the power of his mind reaching out physically and using his telekinetic abilities to rapidly propel those without other means towards the looming threat of Monet's most difficult relation.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
The siblings gasp as the eldritch horror spikes Monet and feasts on her. He runs to his sister, who offers no resistance as she watches mesmerized in horror at the sight of that thing. But Caleb's reaction time is not enough to steer clear from the flash of energy, and everything goes dark.

He opens his eyes, finding himself grabbing his kid sister just like before, but the landscape - or lack thereof - is a brutal assault on the senses.

Sheila shudders, "W-Where... Where are we...?"

"I don't know...", Caleb says. "Don't let go!"

He looks at Cable, "Orient ourselves...?" He deadpans. "Yes, I wouldn't be offended by a couple pointers, sir. Like, starting with a jetpack, or whatever passes for one here..."

Neena Thurman has posed:

Domino can virtually //feel// when her shots hit their target. As the bullets bore into Marius, it doesn't seem to do more than annoy him. Still, with her luck holding out, it's a trick that possibly can be repeated. Distract and attack.

<<Tabby? Wh- okay, we got this..>>

Landing finally on the sidewalk, though bouncing a few times on car hoods before actually having boots on pavement, the *flash* has her disoriented for a heartbeat or two.. and everything changes with a *CRACK* that sounds very much like a lightning strike right next door.

Disorientation is absolutely the word for the position Domino seems to be in. Floating around in zero-g is no something she's overly familiar with, though it's not something that can't be overcome in some way. The plasma blast gains a grin from the albino merc, and tucking into a ball, she too gets a shot off that sends her careening, now in the direction of the time-displaced Summers. She finds she's picking up speed, and her expression is a mix between elation and deep concern. She //knows// what this could mean for the time soldier, and the last thing she wants is to lose him. But, this is also a hell of a way to travel, and finally, when she gains her speed, Domino calls out, "Let me loose, Nate. I'm good. Regroup, and we'll get him."

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie is starting to say something to Berto when they are teleported. He sighs and pulls out a pair of sunglasses, since he does not have his goggles handy in uniform "Looks like we get to deal with the low rent Legion." He tells his buddy as he knows Berto can fly now, he adds "I will lead in your Red two." He says as he starts to head in towards the others.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto Da Costa smiles at Sam and shakes his head hissing, "I hate this guy, under his breath. Follow my lead." He gives the elder New Mutants a wink and then raises his eyebrows animatedly as he calls out, "Beetlejuice, really? Wow, you're a loser. I mean come on, you couldn't find anyone to hang out so you drag us all to your place? Llllllaaaammmmmmeeee!" He shakes his head, dismissively, "Can I get my check and head out? This place is dead anyway."

     Even as his lips are moving his mind is projecting, <<Cable, he can absorb powers, so you may want to keep your distance. If we're where I think we are this is a rescue mission, Tabs, can you sense the twins? Sam, not sure how your field will interact with his so... be you. M, are you a part of this or you too mad to help? I'll try to close, absorbing my powers doesn't get him anything and he can feed on me for a while, even here but he'll probably try and keep me at a distance, Domino if you can lend a hand I'd appreciate it.>>

    And with that Berto rushes at Emplate accelerating directly toward him aggressively kind of the opposite of their last encounter, "You have been weighed... "

Monet St. Croix has posed:
It's all disorienting for those that haven't done things in zero g. Even for those who have, not having something to propel themselves off of is even rougher. Emplate is rapidly on the move as Tabitha sets up a mind link for the group to go defensive. Fortunately most of the crew has plenty of experience in zero-g. most of them can even move to some degree in it. Just don't try and look down..

Monet is just left floating over in midair and still, frosted over like an ice cube, in stasis. As Roberto tries to reach her, there's simply just nothing present to be able to respond.

As Cable stabilizes them and goes to unleash a heavy blast from his cannon, it goes to strike wehre Emplate is.. And then goes right through him, passing through like he wasn't even there. Not an illusion.. He'd just pulled a phase.

Then he goes to blast through the air, rocketing around as Domino is going to coordinate wit the rest of the group, rallying with them as Cable gives them positioning.. And Emplate goes to flicker - teleporting. Arriving next to Neena in space. Tentacles on his hands snapping out, going to make a grab at her! Going to snap at her for just a few seconds as he would take just a bit off the top.. Before going to rapidly teleport off in a distance as counter-blastery fire would screech out at him! Roberto and Sam are both heading at him as he goes to rapidly withdraw via quick firing teleports!

Tabitha Smith has posed:
The bad guy is a fair distance away it seems, but the orientation is more a problem till she focuses on a couple things. The positioning of everyone she can sense. Cable's telekinetic nudging moving her fast. <<Dude. yeah. Oh god I think I know what I'm doing now!>> If you could feel an evil grin. Tabby's might just be tactile over the mind links she shares with the group.

"This was old hat when we were overthrowing the Shi'ar. Not even that good at reality warping compared to the Beyonder!" she taunts and then when she finds a good angle. Watching Sunspot and cannonball take flight, that grin gets even bigger.

It's one trick she can't manage normally because it just uses too much of her energy normally.

With no gravity however...

It's not just hands that start glowing with plasma energy. It's her feet too "Tick... Tick... Tick..."

BOOM!

And we have lift off. It's Tabitha directing plasma from her feet and hands to simulate flight. Shorter bursts use less energy so she can actually do more than just rocket jump.

"YAAAAHOOOOOO!" the yell is loud as she moves to keep up with her new Mutant Bros and get in on the strafing they plan.

Cable has posed:
It is a delicate balancing act, no matter how it might seem on the surface.

Fortunately with Tabitha present it takes one task off his plate and Cable doesn't hesitate to let her focus on establishing and maintaining that telepathic link so that they can all remain in touch no matter how far they get from one another, especially with Sam and Roberto able to speed ahead.

But even still, dividing his attention between that burst of telekinetic energy and fighting to hold the techno-organic virus that runs through him at bay is no small thing. And it's not likely to get any easier to all appearances as Emplate so casually ignores those physical assaults on him.

<< I'll get us where we need to go. When we close in I can provide a solid surface so you can act under your own power, >> he projects quietly to those who can't operate in three dimensions with quite so much ease.

<< Dom, he's throwing off incredible amounts psionic energy, shaping things so they are as he wishes them to be. We might as well be in a dreamscape that he controls, >> he projects, a grim not to his words. << I'll do what I can to disrupt his control, but it's going to take all my attention. I'll focus on... stabilizing him so he can't quite so easily shift and change. To leave a solid, physical target to go after, >> he explains.

Then he quirks a smile and slings that weapon back over his shoulder. This time, at least, the only weapon he needs -- the only one of use -- is his mind. "If you can keep him from tearing into me, I'd appreciate it. I'll be sure to make it up to you," he promises wryly.

Then their explosive forward process slows as they near Emplate, his eyes falling shut. And the burst of psionic energy that radiates from Cable is practically a physical, palpable thing, slamming out at the monster and his control over the psychic realm they find themselves trapped in.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
No place to lean on, simply adrift. The siblings clinch together.

But if there's something Caleb is good at, is a quick wit. Emplate brought them to his home, an otherworldly dimension, where he can play with their food on his own terms... So, it may be worth a shot, to actually see if the terms can be changed to Caleb's own advantage - as in, gravity for everyone, yay! What's he got to lose, after all?

"HEYA, PORCU-THULHU!!", he taunts, "FOR ALL THAT IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY, YOU'RE SUCH A FUCKING COWARD THAT YOU JUST LET YOUR FOOD HANG LIKE NOTHING BUT CRUMBS ON THE FLOOR FOR YOU TO PICK ON??" Beat. "OR DO YOU FEEL UP TO A REAL CHALLENGE?? COME ON... I'M SURE FOOD TASTES BETTER WHEN IT FIGHTS BACK, HUH?"

Yeah, I guess there's nothing left to lose... So, nothing like a good old taunt and see if he bites it...

Neena Thurman has posed:
"Was planning on it, 'Berto. Hit him once, pretty sure I'll do it again." Domino may sound cocky, but she's got the right to. Reputation aside, she gets those hits in where others may not. It just requires her to be neck-deep into the fray. So, call her foolhardy as well as cocky, and there ya go.

The speed she's maintaining (thank you lack of friction), has her path heading towards the dark and tentacle-y. Tucking into a ball and making a correction in space by the sharp retort of another pistol crack, she's aiming once more, looking to work in tandem with the rest of the team.

<<You be careful. You'd better make it up to me.>>

Marius must have done something of a threat assessment and for some reason, found that Domino is the one that is worth going after specifically at that moment; whether he was able to tap into Cable's messaging, or gained from the painful knowledge of Bushwick, only moments earlier. As the be-tentacled one teleports in front of her and one of those appendages takes a swipe at her, it makes contact, and the albino screams in pain, the feeling of some of her //luck// being pulled from her an excruciating one.

To her credit, however, Domino reaches out a hand to grab the withdrawing appendage, at the same time bringing her pistol back up and aiming it directly at his face. As she pulls the trigger in that point blank range, there is an announcement, <<Target. Just don't miss.>>

With Cable's help, perhaps Marius won't be able to be quite so maneuverable, that is teleport-y!

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie will continue to port in and as he sees Marius teleporting, he tries to judge where the man is going. He does something that might seem odd, but will probably make Cable proud. He pulls his service revolver out and takes aim where he thinks the man will be porting in taking the shot, and while Sam is fast the bullet is faster "The either could use a bit more color, maybe some blues and greens." He says keeping more things going to distract him. He does raise a brow at seeing boomboom boooming along.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto Da Costa isn't a telepath and Tabs isn't Cable, so Berto knew Marius was on the line and when he blinks out Berto is already spinning and lining up the shot at Domino. He doesn't over power it but fires a burst of plasma at Emplate as Sam does likewise. "Yeah, who did you absorb the ability to clash from?" He smiles and nods to Tabs encouragingly.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Emplate is tactical. Emplate can somehow have an 'idea' of what powers individuals have. And Domino is the weak link with the most useful power of all the ironies. A little luck..
    Goes a long way.
    Neena's reflexes defy belief, even as she goes to fire her bullets into Emplate at point blank range! Even with whatever form of invulnerability he has, unloading her pistols into his face messes him up. Her shots are accurate, blasting off chunks of his breathing apparatus even as he teleports away and goes evasive! He's cornered as Tabitha goes to blast along at him, keeping up even as he's going to fall back rapidly! Flight by Kamehama is apparently the way to air travel.
    But as Cable gives his warning, the place around the gropu starts to warp. As Emplate decides that the fight is challenging enough he has to expend more energy on it. Going to flicker around Caleb then at his taunt are three versions of his little sister Sheila! The trio are of her in a dessicated state. All incredibly old, wrinkled, and after rigor mortis has set in. One has insects and worms crawling in and out of an eye socket. All three go to sob at various tempos. "Please.. Please don't make me end up this way! Stop, stop!" They're definitely not real. They don't sound the same way Caleb's sister does, they don't move like she does, their bodies aren't the same.. It's very much the Uncanny Valley, making a heavily distorted appearance. Perhaps even more terrifying.
    As Sam goes to charge along after Emplate, keeping up with him and ready to flank, Emplate is clearly going to attempt to phase.. Right as Cable holds him in place! The bullets dig directly into him, hitting over the damaged chunks of his respirator as he would howl in pain Then two portals appear! The energy from the attack from Sunspot is split into each of them, admittedly weakened! And the blast of energy from the charging Sunspot is redirected..
    Right towards Cable as a psionic portal blitzes into existence! And the other one towards Neena! Someone is intent on snuffing out the $#*#!'d Spot!

Tabitha Smith has posed:
They still need to find the youngest of the St Croix siblings. Tabby's mental scans reaching as far as she can to try and find them while she has slightly less back ground noise. <<So this is like kinda astral plane right Cable?>> he's the one with more psychic experience and the best one to ask as far as the blonde knows.

But she does herself have a little experience. And some ideas.

Catching up with the other fliers. <<Can't seem to be able to sense the kids. Like there's a dead zone. Which means it's probably there.>> she sends a sense of where that dead zone is relative to everyone else. <<Like in Attack of the Clones. Hidden on the maps but the effects are there.>>

Whether or not that's the twins hiding or Marius cloaking them from detection. Tabby pauses her flight a moment and grins as she raises a hand at where Emplate currently is. <<Let's see if we can't shake something out of the family tree.>>

Which is followed by Tabitha making an attempt at a direct psychic attack. Using that energy she normally uses on making her explosive plasma on making Marius feel like one of her building busters is going off right in his skull.

Cable has posed:
It is a big task. One that is undoubtedly made more difficult by the effort to divide his attention, to try and exert his own psychic willpower over this reality, to block Emplates attempts to freely manipulate it. While also fighting that constant battle in his own body as well.

There are clues there, about the struggle, at least for those that recognize it. The metal that makes up Cable's arm, his upper chest ripples, for a moment appearing more alive then the gleaming cybernetics they more normally resemble. And those ripples grow more pronounced as each second passes, little ripples running up and down that metal arm.

But it would seem that the soldier from the future is up to the challenge. At the very least he is able to exert his own influence, his own control, and if he can't -- or won't -- simply rip them all from Emplate's little pocket reality, he at least limits their unwelcome host, blunting his influence and, for the moment at least, locking him into place. Making him more 'real'. More solid.

That cybernetic eye gleams more brightly, a manifestation of the psionic energy he is spending and when that monster tries to deal with them with those portals, Cable is there, exerting his own mental might, pitting himself against the creature on this new front, mingling telepathy and telekinetics to try and deflect those attacks away.

<< Hit him hard. Don't hold back, >> he manages, projecting those thoughts out. His own fight taking place on an entirely different plane.

Neena Thurman has posed:
He's hit! Which means he can be hit again. The howls of pain is like music to Domino's ears. Even better when there is no more; it's a matter of survival. Them vs him. And she'll pick her own every time.

Domino's attention is split, though not so much as to be a liability or a danger to the team. She knows and completely understands what it is that Cable is doing for them, what it is costing him, and it means that this fight has to be ended, and quickly.

Once Marius is out of her hands, and floating back, body made physical if only for a couple more moments, Domino digs into a pouch and brings out a grenade, lobbing it towards Marius before she takes a bead on it with a newly loaded pistol. <<Fire in the hole!>> One shot, two.. and hopefully it explodes with a concussive force, sending that shrapnel.

It's that portal, however, that is coming towards her that she has to do something about; who knows where it leads, and if it was created by Marius, it couldn't lead to anywhere good.

"Nate, incoming portal!" But what has she got to do about it? EMP? No.. best bet to take out the guy making them.

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie will come in with a clothesline. He is aiming towards the villain and trying to send the man head over heels. Sam will try to head towards the "dead" zone. The young man will be turning to come back, but trying to see if he sees anything besides Emplate and the person who were brought here from the ally.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
There's a moment of horror on Caleb's face as he's plagued by the visions of his taunting dead or dying sister. And in that, he tells himself after her pleas for help... He's not going to allow her to end up that way. Emplate may've played the wrong card here, because it's an inner strength in Caleb that awakened in him, that makes him go the extra mile for his sister.

"...I won't!"

Caleb's look just grows darker, and he grabs a gun, which he hands to the very living Sheila he still holds tightly to. "Kiddo, shoot in that direction!"

As she does so, firing repeatedly in Emplate's opposite direction, this provides the Dykstra siblings the momentum to get closer. Caleb pulls another gun, and he starts shooting projectiles... That stick. He aims at his face, his ears, his mask... The open mouths on his hands, anything that could be seen as a soft spot!

The trajectory, however, is really a near-miss, where he uses his feet against the villain's torso to project himself away.

All those sticky projectiles start glowing and beeping, "CLEAR THE PATH! FIRE IN THE HOLE!!"

To Emplate, "Boom, motherfucker..."

Beep!

Beep!

Beeeeeeeep!

...

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto Da Costa smirks, "Stealing from Blink? You are getting desperate." He nods to Sam and follows him in, Berto goes low and grabs Marius, slamming a fist into him with force that would demolish a small building, "Where <slam> are <slam> the <slam> twins?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
It's strangely easy to find the Twins. In a psychically controlled realm where there's chaos made manifest, they're in a dead zone. A literal sense of nothingness that makes it easy to track them. And Tabitha is able to find a small girl with ruby red skin and bright, puppiless irises where every body is an edge wearing a black straightjacket over her form. She's hovering and completely non responsive. To touch, to energy, to psychic probing.. She might as just well be a rock. But it is them. Locked together in a body with no way to interact with the world or see.. Or feel anything. Sam is able to be guided towards them quickly - they're in a small psionic pocket where they've been left wrapped over in mindscape. As if locked away in a closet, imprisoned and snuffed out, taken ou tof storage when a snack was needed. He can easily pick up their combined form - the material holding them has no real strength to it. The prison of Penance is very much of a body and the locked away minds within.

Where Cable's pressure goes to hold Emplate over in place,w here he can't put his energy into using his own psychic citadel against the rest of them. All the energy that he has to put into Cable is in turn energy he can't use from the rest of the fight. And as Cable would understand, Emplate's energy reserves, while immense.. Were not limitless. So at some point his batteries would run out of juice if he couldn't find another mutant to siphon. Cablel ocks down Emplate into place and holds him there.

As the blast from Boom-Boom detonates in his head - it might not do much to him (ordinarily it wouldn't, at least) but it's one more blsat that's tearing more of his power away from him - more of his focus.

Domino is able to rapidly use the portals against him as he doesn't have the immediate attention to shut them down. Past of least resistance and all - a portal made is one that's left open until closed. So the bullets go right through and hit Emplate, adding over to the disharmony andagony!

Caleb can quickly tell that the corpses in repose are not real, and not his sister. They give the illusion away with how twisted they are. Something meant to horrify instead strengthens the soul and teh spirit to resist. Caleb and Sheila team up in term, Sheila handling the zooming and Caleb the booming (sorry to steal your thunder Tabby) Even as he's busy being barraged by energy, psychic attacks, and other forms of disruption going his way the sticky shots go to blast over his body! His upper torso is covered over in goo and glue, immobilizing him! He's not going to be getting out of it until he can phase again.. And he's not going to be seeing anything either.

Roberto goes to slam into Emplate, even while he was immobilized and anchored! He's punched and burned even as Emplate's hands would snap out, moving to instinctively try to grab at Roberto to try and leech him dry of all that energy..

Which went so well the last time.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Two, well three things are happening with Tabby at the moment. All mostly with her telepathy. The first is the mind link so people get up to date info, and can hears the others even as they talk aloud. Takes those pesky ears out of the equation.

The second is making sure that once she gets that psychic bomb going off in Emplate's head she keeps it burning. The feel of his very being scorched and incinerated. Real plasma could miss but if it's all in his head it's pain that he'll always know. Just thinking of abusing his sisters will hopefully bring the feeling back.

The third is making sure Sam and Roberto have a clear path to rescue the amalgamation of the two girls. <<So we get the girls, we bail? We ready for that ma X-Peeps.>> She'll plasma rocket away with everyone else when it is exit time.

Cable has posed:
There is no denying just how formidable the energy reserves of Emplate actually are. He can throw a huge amount of psychic energy around. Enough to be daunting to even as powerful a telepath as Cable truth be told.

But there are a few advantages in not being able to call upon the full breadth of his own abilities very often. The restrictions placed upon him by focusing his mind and most of that telepathic energy into controlling the techno-organic virus that threatens to ravage his body. It means that Cable has learned just about every trick there is to do more with less. To push his abilities to the fullest effect with the minimal outlay of sheer mental force.

It is all about redirecting energy, in clever assaults rather then relying on sheer mental might. So each time Marius hurls the weight of that psychic power at him, the white-haired soldier from the future is there to turn it aside, rather then trying to take it head on. Slippery psi-screens project his mind, extend outward to protect the others where there is a need while his telekinetic powers wrap up the spiked beast, holds him vulnerable to the attacks of the others.

"I'll keep them off of you for as long as I can," Cable assures Domino, eyes narrowed, focused in concentration. And each time those portals try to find one of their number, again they are diverted. He doesn't bother to try and shut them down, to go for the brute force approach. All the more so when Domino shows that they can be a two-sided weapon to be wielded verse their foe.

<< He's using up a tremendous amount of power. He should be vulnerable, >> Cable asserts through that mindlink.

<< Let's finish this. >>

Neena Thurman has posed:
'Let's finish this'. More beautiful words have never been spoken, at least as far as Domino is concerned. Tactically speaking, they've got Marius on his heels and he's desperate; he needs help, needs energy, but that is being denied him over and over and over again. The merc grins, blue eyes cast back to the time soldier before she looks to the others. Tabby's been doing great; holding her own. Sam, same, Caleb, not too bad, and Roberto? Those interrogation tactics!

Domino doesn't want to do a killing shot, not before the answer to 'Berto's question is given anyway. It could go either way, really; information because he's going to die anyway, or no information because he's going to die anyway. Regardless, the ending is the same.

Domino has her gun out, and drawing another bead, she calls out, "Tabs, you got this? 'Berto?" It does seem they have it well in hand, and all she needs to do is to be sure... and offer the killing blow as backup.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb looks towards where all the blasts and booms are going, and narrows his eyes. "I don't believe it... He's still kicking!??"

Caleb then has an idea... He grabs the collection of all those sticky bomb cartridges, ties them together with some wire and sets up a flare for propulsion (yeah, he's got a flare for the dramatic!). He sets up those cartridges to all go off, lights up the flare, and let's it go in his direction!

That's about as much as he got! "Well, if this doesn't finish him, I dunno what will..."

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto Da Costa grins and as Emplate grabs him he laughs, he actually laughs, <<Nate, keep him here if you can.>>

    Emplate drinks deep as he pulls Bertos energy into himself. And Berto lets him. Berto's body darkens and Tabs and Sam would certainly know what comes next as the pychic vampire is flooded with life forces from Sunspot.

    Emplate grabs Berto's powers well to counter strength with strength but he finds the well empty, no Sun to be had. Berto hits him again.

    The one who burns with the Sun's own fire shoves that energy down into Marius, "You have been measured." He hits Marius again and the bombs go off, belching heat and fire and Roberto reaches out and pulls it into himself, after letting it take chunks from Emplate. he pulls in the fire and the heat and boosts his own energy with it, shoving it all down Emplate's throat. The pleasure of the feed turns to pain, turns to terror as Roberto fills him to overflowing, "And you have been found... wanting." Berto beats him mercilessly, he gives vent to all the rage Monet has felt, he let's his own rage go and it rolls off of him. He gives into it. The corona of energy flares about him wrapping around them both.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Sam flies along and goes to grab the comatose figure of Penance, wrapping her tightly in his arms as he alsog oes along to collect Monet, her slumped and unresponsive in his arms as well. Caleb goes to hurl all of his bombs over at Emplate, even as they would cover him over,a nchoring him in place as Sunspot goes for a point blank eruption.

Cable puts Emplate through the psychic equivalent of cracking a walnut. With a sledgehammer. As psychic energy desperately bleeds out of Emplate as he tries to maintain his form, his control over his personal pocket realm, hold off Cable, and hold off all the physical and energy attacks going over him. Spoiler alert; he fails.

Roberto goes to slam over into Emplate at close range, moving to blas thim at full power at point blank range, unleashing a supernova that couldo bliterate almost anything, even as Tabitha adds her own attack to what is essentially a partial psychic lobotomy to the monster. Domino's luck is on thier side - everything's going BOOM-zactly as they hoped.

The place is melting around them and collapsing as Emplate has run out of energy and his realm is fading! Collapsing. There's a flash and existence unmakes itself.

And the party is left over in a highly blitzed over, mostly leveled area of Bushwick. The merged, still fully unresponsive form of Penance held by Sam. And the unconscious M as well. For Marius St. Croix..

There is no sign.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto Da Costa dusts himself off and nods to Sam, he taken Monet from him and looks over to Cable and Domino, "She'd say thank you if she could, actually she probably wouldn't but I would on her behalf." He chuckles, and lifts off, looking at Sam, "You mind if we take a detour, I need a quick charge."

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie looks to Berto, and says "Long as we get the girls somewhere safe. You lead the way." He tells him, and then reached to his mic and thumbs it "Officer Guthrie situation is handled and done, no culprit to bring in. Ah'll be in a bit to put in a report, ask Hernadez to cover my beat for the next hour or so for me, tell him Ah will take his weekend beat so he can go to the game." And with that he is following Berto.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Finding himself back in this plane of existence, Caleb takes a deep breath, gets up, sets a reluctant Sheila down, all unusually calm. And then, after dusting himself off...

"Could someone please tell me what that Lovecraftian shit we just faced?" He looks around, clearly upset. "Anyone??"

Sheila hasn't even detached herself from Caleb yet.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
While Tabby couldn't give two craps about Marius. The sisters however will need some time in the medbay and maybe some time with counselling and eventually themselves cause reunions gotta happen.

"Luckily I came by van. We can put the girls in the back and let them sleep it off. Nice easy drive taking about an hour to Westchester.

It's easy enough and she might not even hit Monet up for gas money and tolls.