19027/HUNGER: Savage Lands - Where Gods Tread

HUNGER: Savage Lands - Where Gods Tread
Date of Scene:	14 September 2024
Location:	Southern Mountain Range
Synopsis:	The X-Men intervene in a struggle between the Garokk-worshipping Sun People and the Firelord-worshipping Fire People. Firelord seems not to care for worship. All the same, Valeria Richards is able to turns on the Celestial computers, and the avatar of Garokk rises to drive a the power-dampened Herald away. Jean's back on the Celestial naughty list.
Cast of Characters:	Jean Grey, Valeria Richards, Rogue, Emma Frost, Cable, Jimmy Hudson
Tinyplot:	Hunger

---

Jean Grey has posed:
Last Time:

When the Silver Surfer first appeared over New York several weeks ago, three other objects were observed entering the atmosphere at the same time. One was tracked to Antarctica, arriving just as the X-Men were busy in the Savage Land, helping Ka-Zar against a local threat. Like most of the odd factions of the hidden valley, the Neo-Mutates relied heavily on remnants of ancient machinery salvaged from those who built and inhabited the Savage Land in eons past - the Atlanteans, and before them, the Eternals and their Celestial masters.

As the object fell, the thermal power sources for those machines quickly overloaded. This was good for Ka-Zar, and helped the X-Men and SHIELD rout the Neo-Mutates. But it seemed dangerous for the Savage Land as a whole.

To investigate the problem, they traveled to 'Mount Doom,' Sauron's previous lair, since destroyed by a volcanic eruption. Unable to recover the Celestial Computer there, they nonetheless encountered former members of the Sun People, a hostile tribe once devoted to a local diety named Garokk. They had since disclaimed their old faith, however, and were in the midst of sacrifing captives and non-believers to the volcano in the name of their new 'Fire Lord.'

Also the lava had weird energy readings.

Now:

In the company of Yolana, a young woman saved from said sacrifice, the group has journeyed into another part of the volcanic ring that surrounds the Savage Land. Like Mount Doom, it is a place some have visited before, a great mountain with a humanoid face in its surface. The mouth-cave conceals an altar... as well as another of the Celestial computer cores (once used by Doug Ramsey to de-activate the Celestial safeguards on their powers). It is, according to her, the holiest place of the Sun People.

They arrive on an overlook that allows them some preview of a scene already in progress:

Two opposing groups of locals are standing off, their appearance similar enough that one might easily be confused for the other, save for the sun-symbol amulets worn by one contingent. The religious conflict has come to the heart of the tribe, it seems.

The loyalist Sun People stand in a broad arc around the mouth of the cave, some defending it, others in the process of carrying out a ritual, either kneeling in worship or assisting as one of their warriors is carried inside, born on the shoulders of several of his fellows and attended by a woman in more elaborate sunburst gold headdress and feathered cape.

On the outer edge, a larger group surrounds them, trying to fight through the contingent defending the cave mouth.

Above all of them, the great stone visage looks on impassively.

Valeria Richards has posed:
Without so much danger going on or people being thrown into volcanos, Valeria Richards, world smartest Nepo Baby finally managed to lay eyes on the unmelted Celstial Computer terminal. The young blonde woman had her Fantasticar parked not too distantly away, but it had plenty of equipment for analyzing tech, and maybe more than a few other things that might come in handy.

For now, she's powereed down and out of her uniform, dressed relatively neatly in some comfy knee length shorts in a dark blue cotton with a brown leather belt. A blue tee tucked into the waistband with the usual numeral 4 on front inside a white circle. Some comfy looking hiking boots and socks on her feet. A pair of rings on her middle fingers and a code phrase keeping her uniform slash power armor at the ready.

Her wrist computer does it's very complex and technical scanny things thing to try and give Valeria an idea what to poke and prod at when she starts playing with software to try and try and get the environment to not explode underneath anyone while also not undoing some of the work that was done by others in the past attempts to get the place to be less savage.

Rogue has posed:
The rescue of the Fall People at the Neo-mutates headquarters in the dense jungles to the north west, had left Rogue in a bit of a strange mental state. Sauron had attacked. He'd commanded her to obey him with his strange telepathy through eye contact. He'd drained her powers with his touch, when he grabbed hold of her by her throat. Luckily the X-Men and SHIELD had run him off, however, and Jean had helped bring Rogue back to herself. But she still didn't feel quite right, and she still wasn't acting quite right either. She'd been distant, aloof, mostly sticking to herself, or the occasional chatter with a random Fall People villager.

She was obviously here, however, and through she had been wearing her green and gold bodysuit for most of the extended mission, she had swapped it out for Fall People clothing today. Leather straps that held together a hand woven shirt, the leather straps criss crossing up her sides to give hints of skin beneath, and a pair of similar trousers of a sackcloth material, and leather straps that criss crossed up the outside of her legs. her X-Men utility belt still hung around her waistline, and her boots had been cut down, with a dark dye job turning them to an earthen shade. Her two-toned hair was wild around her shoulders, the humidity making it extra poofy, with the whites of her bangs wildly mixed in with the darker tresses.

Quietly, Rogue advanced toward their next site, already able to tell this was going to be something potentially like the last. She had helped save Yolana from the previous sacrificial venue, and she was seemingly content with talking to the young woman, to learn about Savage Lands customs, and what had happened to her.

When they advance toward this place they had been before, Rogue hooked her thumbs under her X-Men belt, the silver X buckle being gently stroked by the pads of her thumbs, she drew in a breath, and shook her head from side to side. "Why is it always sacrificing." The Belle's husky voice asked anyone. "Why can't it be like an Employee of the Month ceremony?"

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost has come with the team this time, wearing an outfit that can best be deemed 'abridged' consisting of strategically placed stretches of fabric that leave the impression of a team insignia upon her form and little else when it comes to attire. Someone has come to the Savage Land with the expectation that attire will be ruined, the place is hot and humid, so they might as well come in easily.

Emma Frost goes to watch at the melee so far, and takes note of the woman sitting separately in the headdress. She's definitely a leader of some sort. Likely religious or ritualistic, given her positioning and attire. Emma frowns and goes to focus over on the woman, intent on trying to scan her mind in the midst of the melee.

"Our lovely friends are trying to stop the less than lovely Sun people are trying to summon an avatar of thier god. I'm reasonably sure that there is, in fact, something they can awaken to call upon the field." She points at the woman standing separately. "And that is likely their leader."

Cable has posed:
Recent events have mostly kept Cable's attention rather fixed on the small island nation of Madripoor in Southeast Asia. The invasion by Stryfe and the Mutant Liberation Front has done much to devestate the once thriving if extremely corrupt city-state, though admittedly the continued resistance that the future soldier has organized might have more then a little something to do that the continued instability to security, power and other basic utilities as he focuses on making sure that his enemy out of the time stream can't consolidate his position.

His focus has been further narrowed since the destruction of Greymalkin, his orbital satellite platform that gave him such a good vantage point to keep tabs on the world below. And while he might have managed to salvage his bodyslide technology -- in a much reduced capacity -- without the threat assessment provided by 'the Professor' artificial intelligence unit, his ability to seek out other threats is likewise reduced.

Still, he is not without his contacts in the broader community, other ways of gathering important information about what is going on, what threats he should be concerned with.

And that is what has brought him to the Savage Land on this particular day. Leaving the Madripoor resistance in good hands, the grizzled soldier from the future has taken advantage of that salvaged teleportation technology to initiate a series of smaller bodyslide jumps. He might no longer be able to transport himself and others around the entire globe in a blink of an eye, but he can still cover a lot of ground -- though admittedly through a series of shorter, more spread out jumps.

Which is how he arrives this time, suitably grim faced and packing his customary arsenal. While there is undoubtably a whole array of impractically large weapons tucked away in that dimensional-bending pack he carries, potentially it is his other technology, the scanners and other devices he has access too that might prove more valuable as he joins the small contingent of outsiders involving themselves in local affairs.

He otherwise appears content to remain mostly silent, gathering intelligence, watching the standoff as he seeks to bring himself up to date on the situation.

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
Jimmy's first time out with the group since he's back. Dressed in a similar theme to everyone else, he's just in a simple dark blue button up shirt and a pair of black jeans. The jeans may be hot, but they'll provide some safety. He is thinking of any bugs that might be out.

. Breathing out, "Majestic. Serene. That's why this place is dangerous, isn't it? The deception," well one of the many reasons he suspects. Obviously, he hasn't been to the Savage Lands in some time, if ever.

Those blue eyes take in the details of everything. It doesn't take too long before he looks toward the conflict. They flick back to Rogue, "Because traditions die hard. And there's a thought many Gods prefer a sacrifice of blood. When you lack livestock?" his voice trails to let her fill in the blanks to the situation. "The Employee of the month situation, may require sacrifice with these people," he could see that ending horribly, too.

"How should we approach this one?" Jimmy knows delicacy could be a devil lingering in the details.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean is here too, having been along for all the Savage Land adventures and quite invested in whatever's happening with the newly arrived space weirdos. She's in jungle-trekking attire still, crouched at the lip of the ridge looking over. "So, question is," she poses to Emma, sounding none too sure of the answer herself: "Do we try and stop the guys we kind of know are bad... who are fighting people who seem even worse?"

She glances over as Cable just pops out. "Well, hello Nathan, nice of you to join us." She's never had a lot of time to dig into the details of their oddly time-looped relationship, but it doesn't preclude a somehow instinctive shift to what is almost a 'mom' voice.

Yolana also helpfully supplies: "I do not understand 'employee of the month,' but for that warrior, this is a great honor. Maybe the greatest he can receive." So, basically they got the idea. "But..." She's conflicted, obviously. Still a sacrifice.

As all of this is happening, a low rumble is felt beneath them. Just a brief pulse this time, not enough to be of much notice to the ongoing melee.

Glancing at Jimmy, she nods. "We can't just hide up here all day." Then over to the Valeria: "Val, if we get you to the computer, think you can make something of it? Let's make her a path, people. Maybe we can figure out the rest en-route."

Jean's contribution, other than leadership, is to mentally pick up a spare rock and slowly lob it into the center of the ongoing fight. She actively fights gravity here, making it an easy 'dodge' for them, as both sides scatter to clear out of the way.

Valeria Richards has posed:
"They don't always realize it, Rogue. But usually, living sacrifices results in fertilizing soils. Someone or something dies, fluids get released into the ground. Nutrient that crops can make use of. But lacking experience and knowledge they assume some invisible sky or ground person is doing the work." Valeria joins in the exposition.

She goes on while watching a holographic display on her wrist. Then you get all the unscrupulous types willing to use that lack of education to keep themselves in power by maintaining those traditions. It's also easier to sacrifice a human than maybe bleed out a tyrannosaurus rex. And figuring out poop works too usually comes much later."

Most of what's on her screen so far is just technical readouts. When Jean asks her if she can get it working, the blonde haired member of the Fantastic Family nods and beams a bright grin. "There's some odd thermal readings from under all the magma flowing around, could be something down in there. Like passing a stone or something. I'd need to get closer readings. But there's a tinge of Cosmic Radiation in there. As for the computer, as long as it doesn't get slagged like the last one. I should be able to make it do what everyone wants, other wise I'd suggest letting both groups fight among themselves and we just work on making sure collateral is reduced." she really can talk a lot even when she's trying to dial down the technobabble.

Emma Frost has posed:
Crazed lunatics on both sides engaging crazed fanatics. There are merely bodies throwing against one another like a horde. And it's not the best way for either to go about it. But Emma focuses on trying to sort through things. Their ultimate priority is to get inside and stop this, and those fanatics are in the way. Ultimately, they'll fight to the death either way, and the question is whether the X-Men will have to fight through them or not. There's nothing within those minds to save. The stakes ar ehigh, and they're essentially monsters no matter who wins. THe lesser of two abominations is still evil. Both want monstrous ends.

Emma works on helping them with that.

Emma knows what a state of berserker frenzy is like. She's been in the midst of plenty of brawls with participants like it. These fanatics are already caught up in it. All Emma has to do is stoke the fires more. She goes to trigger those feral parts of the brain in both sides.

What is a brawl to the death is now hopefully escalating to the point it's complete carnage, with both sides fighting even when impaled, limbs rended off, and well past the point of tactics. Emma's intent is to incite them to violence beyond any control or direction. Caring little for anything else in the world. Just carnage and killing. They will go on until they can no longer physically.

Emma's intent is that this fight will have no winners. NO intruders. No separation.

Rogue has posed:
While the others totally ganged up on her to explain the validity behind sacrificial ceremonies, Rogue crossed her arms over her stomach, rumpling the light tan hued color of the sack cloth top she was wearing, the little colorful beads attached to it gently shaking as she posed like this. She just humphed, and shook her head from side to side. With Nathan arriving, like a Terminator character, the Belle regarded him, and tilted her head to the side. Jean spoke of him in a fond voice, though Rogue really wasn't sure about him. he had a scowl about him all the time, which seemed a bit off to the Mississippi native. She shot him a smile anyway though, and a upnod of her chin. "How's Hope?" She asked him, having recently stopped by Madripoor too, to help Hope out.

Jimmy got a glance, and a smile, since he was one of the school's teachers that she liked the most. They always got along, and he seemed to be one of the most well adjusted people in the entire X-sphere, which gained bonus points from her. "Don't let this place corrupt ya, Jimmy." She told him. "I need ya just like how ya are, an' not turned inta a grump who is okay with killin' folks to appease gods." She was teasing, and a slight grin showed it.

the sound of Jean doing her brain powers on that giant rock, got her to uncross her arms, and watch its progress. She peered at where it was going, and over to Val. "Come on, I'll help ya get through. If there's an emergency, I'll fly ya out too." She offered to the Fantastic Blonde.

Cable has posed:
With his vantage point from the future, Cable has access to plenty of high end technology. That doesn't necessarily mean that he fully understands all the inner workings as such. The fact that they have a genuine technical expert on this particular occasion probably is to their benefit, someone to try and understand the purpose and potential by the Celestial toys left behind. And to judge just how big a threat that it might poses.

Cable is more then happy to let someone else deal with that, more focused on that tactical perspective at the moment. The cover offered by that tunnel. The layout of both attackers and defenders and just how easy -- or difficult -- the position is likely to be to hold against any sort of approaching threat.

Intent enough on that, he only looks up briefly when Jean addresses him, dipping his head in her direction.

It is always a little awkward, these personal ties that he holds to some of the people in the here and now. Some deal with it better then others. Some would rather not deal with it at all, which he respects. Afterall, it is clear enough that this is truly not *his* time given that his mother and father have never even met. "I thought it might be nice to get away from the city for awhile," he says blandly.

Like he's getting out of town for the weekend. Then again, maybe this does constitute a vacation for him. It is sometimes difficult to tell.

"Hope's good. I left her back in Madripoor overseeing things. It's entirely possible she'll have everything dealt with by the time I get back, I suppose," he replies glibly to Rogue. He has advised a degree to caution to his 'daughter'. But he has taught her to seize advantage of changing circumstances too.

"I assume we would prefer the attackers scattered, rather then a more permanent solution," he adds quietly, sliding the oversized rifle draped over his shoulder off it's perch there, gripping it in both hands as he raises it up, lining up his first shot.

Instead of lashing out at any of the attackers, that bright green ball of virulent plasma energy launches forth, slamming into the ground between the two sides, blowing a small crater into the plateau and sending up a spray of tiny rocks that rain down among the warring sides like a small hailstorm.

Not quite as 'kid gloves' as others might be. But not quite taking his usual, uncompromising, take no prisoners approach either. He can play nice when he's expected to.

For now.

Jimmy Hudson has posed:


"If I can't participate in the blood ritual then what will I do for fun?" Jimmy playfully laments to Rogue. Clearly, he's fine and not about to sacrifice someone to a Sun or Fire Deity. "You never let me have any fun," he jokes because it keeps him going into the How's and Why's about sacrifices. Too many odd stories, and research papers, on the subject. He figures the last thing anyone wants is a lecture, especially right now.

Jean's boulder drop earns a curious glance from Jimmy. Those blue eyes just watching the group potentially part. He doesn't sense that the group may turn into chaotic combat Even Nathan talks about the group departing. "That would be ideal. Imagine if a sacrifice happens during the fight?" that would only escalate things further in Jimmy's mind. So, he's all for any plan that causes the sides to depart.

Jean Grey has posed:
After the rock lands, the priestess leading them turns, finally aware of the X-Men. "Interlopers!"

However, her warriors are on the inside the mess, surrounded by the Fire People, so it's hard for them to act directly. The Priestess begins waving her hands in some kind of arcane display. "You do not know what you do! We must summon the Avatar! Only Lord Garokk can stand against what comes!"

With both Jean and Nathan launching large, disruptive attacks, they're able to create a break in the middle of the melee, dividing the combatants in two. At the same time, Emma leans into the already-extant religious zeal, making the effort of telepathically enraging BOTH sides somewhat trivial, despite the large crowd. This makes them fixate in place, rather than concern themselves with whoever is jogging through that opening. Good plan... although it has its consequences. Certainly, the Fire People already had murderous intent, but now, things turn truly barbaric, on both sides. A Pteron wearing a sun amulet swoops to bowl over a foe and then plunges his beak into their throat, causing a bloody display, only to be tackled by several Fire-worshippers who hold him down, rip his wings, and then savagely beat him upon the ground.

All the same, the rage they feel is not totally contained. Some of the Fire People on the outer edge do turn around, noticing the man with the strange weapon who has defiled their holy ground. A number of them rush back, their hostility turned upon any in their path.

"I do not like the sound of 'Cosmic Radiation' at all," Jean echoes back at Val. They have their hole, so its time to go. "Let's move." Rogue is on point, her strength casually battering aside any 'strays' that spill over from the melee and into their space. Meanwhile, Jean falls into the back of that formatin, ready with telekinetics defense, while Emma covers the other half of the mental equation. It's turned into an escort quest!

The Priestess lashes out with a blast of some kind, and Jean touches her forehead, summoning an opposing force. That holds her at bay, for the moment.

Those approaching reach the cave mouth. Inside, they can see several things: a stone slab in the center of the cave, where the group bearing the sacrifice has now reached their position. Further in, the back wall of the cave is not stone, but an almost mirror-shined chrome surface, shot through with circuit-light patterns pulsing with light. Presumably that would be the computer.

Outside, there's a rumble, and then the top of the mountain gives off a gout of flame. Not a proper eruption, but as the fire burns away...

...is that a man? His skin is bronze, with red flame-like gloves and boots, a yellow tunic, and a golden staff, which, like his hair and eyes, burns with living flame. He surveys the entire scene... dispassionately?

Emma Frost has posed:
They're somewhat at the center of the melee, even if most of the Fire and Sun fanatics have gone to killing one another quite amicably, there are still a few that are aware enough to interlopers interrupting their slaughter to go to focus on those still about. Emma, who had remained outside goes to quickly take note of the man that is coming out of the volcano with the form of living flame, and goes to try and scan him..

And gets that blast of searing pain that is the sensation of the infinite expanse of the cosmos and their sheer insignificance within it, the same way others she has run into has felt.

She goes to brace herself as she quickly sends out a warning to the rest on maximum alert <<It's another Psion of Galactus. Just as powerful as the others>> Not that Emma has a real sense of the scope of the tiers of Heralds. But for those on Earth that were not Odin himself come to wage war?

Such tiers were so unimportant when with a snap of their fingers they could obliterate all life in existence and render the solar system a wasteland with but a click. <<Pray that those systems in this land register him as a threat and kick in>> Becasue if it locked down the X-Men and not the Herald?

THen they were well and truly doomed.

Emma goes to shift to her diamond form protectively before throwing away her attackers, quickly moving to telepathically coordinate once more.

Valeria Richards has posed:
With the offer to be flown over to the computer Val nods her head and takes a stance that looks kinda heroic. Though her fists come together instead of resting at her more slender hips.

"Val rings, such good bling!" she says aloud when the two rings she wears makes contact and in a small moment she goes back into uniform. Climate controlled, strength enhancing forcefield generating uniform power armor goodness in a sleek padded biker styled Fantastic catsuit.

As everyone else starts trying to goad a fight between the two sides of Locals Val just chuckles. "Try and make sure they don't both twig at us interlopers over here." some stealth would likely be ideal.

There's a clap and a reach upwards to Rogue for uppies, making it easier for the Southern Belle to carry Valeria in and out. Over comms, or mind link, of whatever mass communication getting used Val gives some reassurances. <<My forcefields can protect me from the ambient radiation. But there's a limit. A good punch from Rogue could knock the shields down. I don't know what a focused blast will do.>> which gets a serious tone when she spies the guy with seemingly fire powers floating up at the top of the volcano. Those cosmic readings picking up a little more on her scanners. Once close enough she can see the shiny tech, Val gets to work translating what info she got from her computer to actually making use of the computers.

Rogue has posed:
One second, Rogue was smiling at Cable's words, the next second she had her mouth hanging open in silent shock at him just firing his BFG weapon at the distant battle grounds. She reflexively leaned back when the shot blew up on the holy earth, and raised a hand up to shield her eyes from the light. 'Well, good God damn to that." The Belle said, before things really started going south down there.

A glance was sent to Jimmy, and the others. "Keep them off me, I'm gonna get Val there fast as possible, Means my hands will be taken out of the fight."

She stopped talking, and did a double-take at Val changing uniforms in to that sleek attire, then slowly nodded her head. "You got it, Ace." She stated, her own form lifting up off the ground, and taking hold of Val by her armpits. "Lets do this then, Sugah." She said in Val's left ear, before she started off, moving at a rapid flight speed, but not one that would leave the others behind too far. On their way in, she observed that Pteranodon spearing someone's neck, which made her wince, at the sheer amount of blood. When someone rushed her, he got a foot to the front of his face, a wedge heeled boot knocking him on his ass.

The flame god guy up high, got a glance too, but she just shook her head at it. "This place is crazier than a feral cat that got inta the boogah sugah."

Once they were close to the interior of the cavern locale, Rogue would set Val down again, and sweep herself around. She found a tall stone statue, and instantly began to push it down the slope she'd come up from, causing it to roll with a thundering thudding of earth shaking delight. "I'll stick with ya to the computer, but we better get there quick as rabbits." Rogue called out.

Cable has posed:
As a general rule, Cosmic Radiation doesn't end up very well for most people, and while Cable's scanning device might pick up the spike in ambient energy levels as well, he has a few other concerns to occupy himself with right at the moment as well.

If the intention was to get the two warring side' attention, it would seem that it was mission accomplished. The politics of these Savage Lands tribes is not generally something that he has overly concerned himself with -- far too many other hot spots around the world -- and now that he has lost 'the Professor' to Stryfe, he is a little regretful that he didn't take more opportunity to investigate a little further.

He will rectify that. But maybe some other time.

While he might not be fighting at his absolutely most lethal on this particular occasion, that doesn't mean that he is about to fight fair either. Whenever he goes to war -- and life is almost a constant series of squirmishes in the future soldier's eyes -- he fights to win. So as the attention of some of the forces below turns towards him and his elevated vantage point, he stops most of the assault short by the simply expediant of throwing up a telekinetic shield in front of him, slowly pushing any assault backwards as he keeps an eye peeled for other chances to disrupt events below with another well placed blast or two.

While he doesn't have the luxury of reaching out with his mind -- not unless he wants to watch that techno-organic virus start creeping over his flesh at least -- that low level field that he utilizes nonetheless spikes as that fiery figure seems to come to life, glancing over briefly even as he keeps that hand extended in front of himself to keep that invisible field of force intact in front of him. "I think we might have a problem here," he warns quietly.

He might also be understating the matter.

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
Seeing everything turn chaotic, Jimmy sighs. Everyone's getting lost to violence between the sides. Talk of cosmic radiation then the words about a Herald of Galactus. Jimmy hates what he's about to do. "SHNKT!" Still not used to the sing as metal protrudes through flesh, Jimmy's own metallic claws out there for the world to see. Speaking softly to himself, "Don't make me get violent."

He's on the ground, seeing Valerie ask for uppies. And seeing that dispassionate look from the man of fire, Jimmy forms a plan. However, Rogue's request derails trying to pick a fight against a fire entity.

He gives Rogue a nod and gets to work. Anyone that comes close to her, well, he goes in for a cut. He's aiming for places that aren't vital.

He will do everything possible to keep Rogue and Val safe.

If the circumstances were different, he would make a joke. Maybe that could be after the mission.

Right now, he's trying very hard to not look like someone else very familiar to the X-Men. Obviously, that's very difficult when there are three claws coming out of each hand.

Jean Grey has posed:
Inside the cave:

Jean comes face to face with the Priestess. There is a bit of a staredown, there, but she lifts her hands, as if to suggest peaceful intention. "We're not here to fight you. We're here, I think, to stop the same thing, if you mean-" Jean can't see the man above them, hovering atop the mountain, my she registers him mentally, the same power Emma feels screaming out to telepathic senses, and her eyes flick up. "-that guy up there. But do you have to-"

She gestures to the altar, where the sacrifice is now prepared, ready. Only the final act is required.

"Do not mourn him. He is to be a vessel. Not unlike yourself," the priestess suggests, in return, smile curling.

"Anyway... our friend here, well." Valeria is already helping herself to the computer. It seems, despite its place in the chamber, of less interest to the Sun People, who perhaps lack any ability to interact with it. To them, it is just a feature of this holy chamber.

But as Valeria comes in contact, it comes to life, blue light strobing along those circuit-pathways. "I'm gonna help link you with Rogue, she should remember a little of the stuff she pulled out of me- sorry I can't do it directly. Long story." A little telepathic bridge gives Valeria access to the shadows of words etched in Rogue's mind, themselves stolen not from Jean, really, but from the thing inside her.

Outside:

On the arrival of the burning figure above, the battling Fire People become elated, cheering the arrival of THEIR patron, of THEIR burning god to the battlefield. Victory is theirs! It is the end of the unbelievers! They rally, they fight harder, overwhelming the Sun People who pray aloud for Garokk's intervention.

From his place on high, the man Emma identifies as another Herald surveys the scene with overwhelming disinterest. The brawling mass of religious violence? Ants. The heroes scurrying around in the midst of it? Perhaps ants with _stings_. All the same, he addresses them all with a singular solution. He lifts one hand.

And everything, the mountainside, the grass, the air? Everything BURNS.

The flash of heat is tremendous, and in the first second, the clothing of many of the battling religious tribespeople catches alight. In the next, it is their skin, their flesh. In only moments, they are ash. Neither side is spared, the worship of the Fire People amounting to nothing.

The heroes have that same time-frame to defend themselves.

After the first blast, he rotates slightly, looking downward, and then points his staff the same way. A lancing beam shoots downward, into the dormant volcanic crater.

Which rapidly becomes less dormant, the mountain shaking.

Back inside:

The Priestess, unchallenged by Jean, turns to the man on the altar. She moves to him, drawing a wand of strange metal, and reaching with it for his chest. There she traces out a copy of the sun-burst symbol seen on all of their amulets, his flesh burning as she cuts, then bubbling, like another volcanic source. His flesh burns, melts, and the man screams, but what is left behind is not ash...

...but stone.

Emma Frost has posed:
They're too late here. What is less a monster than simply a force of nature by mere virtue of existence has awoken. And cares not for what is going on beneath him. And dismisses them with but a wave of his hand. That's probbly enough to shake the Antarctic continent off the planet and into orbit if he were to give some effort. Dammit, why -won't- those defenses of this wretched place lock him down the way they did them whenever it was convenient!

Emma doesn't verbalize a warning; they all know what's coming. She immediately shifts to diamond, even as the wave of fire washes over her. Her body is cooked, carbon scored, but alive. She goes to force herself upright, even as everything around is reduced to vaporware.

<<Ideas?>>

Valeria Richards has posed:
Once everything starts lighting up, Valeria smirks rather flirtatiously at the shiny new to her at least technology. "Hello my dear." she greets it and starts working. Fingers start strumming against the interface. Between what she had in writing, and the telepathic upload she just gets from Rogue via Jean, Val seems to know just what she wants.

Whether the system that controls more than just the weather is something that will take some looking at. Though they might not have as much time as Valeria wishes.

"This system has a power dampening field. Lets see if I can make this block powers from specific sources." she says aloud though with everyone linked, they can hear her talk as she tests a few things out.

About the most is maybe a second or so of telepathy fizzling out before Val grins and seems to start adjusting and working to see if her idea is going to work. <<That guy's power is playing havoc with the local celestial systems. If I can use the same security defenses that messed with everyone's powers last time. Maybe it might help. It won't cancel him out. But it might dampen him enough to let you all be dissuading towards him. I expect if he stays too long, he'll burn the whole network out. And then probably global catastrophe when the volcanic system erupts in the worst place to possibly blow.>> It might take a moment but she's working as fast as she can.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue was wary about leaving Jean on her own, but she had to move to the computer to help Valaria, or so she assumed. When the mental bridge was formed, to that very specific part of her mind, and absolutely NOTHING else, she was just nodding her head gently while she watched the Fantastic Blonde work on the system. "No, you gotta... there." She pointed over Val's shoulder. "yeah, but, over there... that's it." She drew in a breath, tried to keep her hands to herself, and not rudely point around the woman she barely knew, before she found herself doing it again. "That is not quite right, you need ta..." She cut herself off as the world began to rumble. "Ya know what, you're better at this than I ever was. Keep at it. I'm gonna go check on..."

Rogue moved off before she even finished that thought. She found Jimmy, claws out, and near to the destruction outside. "Jim!" She called out for him. "go give Jean some backup, make sure nobody sneaks up on her" She called out over the ambient noises around them, as she made her way toward the cavern mouth once more, in time to see some of the aftermath of the chaos outside. "Good, freakin' god." Rogue said in a exhaling voice of disbelief at the apocalyptic nature of what just happened out there.

She didn't have eyes on Cable, but she assumed he was still doing that Terminator stuff. She could hear Val talking of resetting the power dampeners. "Cable, can you just freakin' blast that guy up on the mountain? Make him a crater like before."

So much for the X-Men not killing, right? Thing about that rule is it is largely based around sacrificing your own right to life, by putting everyone else's life in immediately, and impending danger. Right? Who the hell really knew, Rogue just tried to uphold Charles' belief, but did he even really believe in it anymore?

Cable has posed:
This might get a little rough.

Cable isn't going to try to punch through whatever psychic shields that the newest Herald undoubtedly has. Maybe he could do it, if he was willing to let the techno-organic virus that ravages through him have free reign for the seconds, minutes it might take. But he's not.

And besides, the grizzled warrior from tomorrow doesn't really have to read the being's mind to have a good idea of exactly what is about to come their way. It would seem that he doesn't have to worry about taking care of the warring forces down below. Because he's pretty sure that fiery figure is about to take care of that.

Yes, Cable could try to extend his telekinetic shield to include them too. But spread that far out? Even if he could get it around everyone it would at best probably hold up for seconds under the sheer assault of that power. So he grits his teeth and pours all the power he can spare into reinforcing it around himself, to throw up what he can over the mouth of the tunnel to prevent the blast from being channeled straight down it like some sort of chimney.

Then he waits for that fire to wash over them.

He doesn't have to wait long at that, heat and flame blotting out everything else for a moment, seemingly leaving the air on fire around him. It's possible that if he wasn't surrounded in his little bubble of force there would even be air to breath, but he at least has what's trapped in with him and when the fire passes, he turns hard, cold eyes up towards the Firelord as he moves to hover over the peak of the volcano.

While the virulet green plasma that his rifle shoots aren't exactly flame per se, they are close enough that firing them towards the floating, flaming man seems like a poor idea at best, so instead Cable thumbs a switch on his weapon. The glowing green rings that run down the barrel of his weapon dim, then switch to a cooler, bluer shade. And when he levels that weapon towards the Herald and the energy he channels into the mouth of the volcano? It isn't fire that springs forth, but sheer, raw force.

The weapon recoils hard in Cable's hand, almost surely at least partially mitigated by his own telekinetics as a blast of pure concussive force rocks forth, not towards the Herald himself, but instead towards that staff that he holds.

"Already on it," he replies to Rogue's request for fire support. Really, no one ever needs to ask him to blast somebody.

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
Suddenly the Firelord descends down. Everything burns. The people. The air. The ground. All of it getting consumed by fire at various rates. What no one warns anyone about a healing factor, it hurts. It hurts a lot to have a healing factor.

His shirt starts to light up. He tears it away. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" Jimmy cries out to the firelord. Oh, he knows the longer one lingers, the more fire will consume.

Pushing through the pain, he tries to implore to the Firelord, "THEY WORSHIPPED YOU! WHY!?" and he knows parts of his jeans will become alit shortly. And he swears parts of his face burn in new ways. Those eyebrows are probably gone.

People can link Jimmy in, but does anyone really want to link in the mutant that's currently getting severely burned?

And that's when Rogue chimes in, which Jimmy will work his way inside. By the time he makes it back, he's patting out the now makeshift shorts. The man probably smells a little like burned hair. However, inside the cave the healing factor gets a moment to stretch out. Any missing bits of hair regrow as he starts to give jean some cover. Breathing hard, trying to not focus on the pain, "At least I didn't wear my coat. That thing's expensive," he laments.

Jean Grey has posed:
Inside:

"Lord Garokk, you have come!" No sooner than he rises from the altar, greeted by his High Priestess, the newly-made man of stone merely glances toward her, and then abruptly merges downward into the cave floor, vanishing into the stone.

The woman looks slightly miffed she's not greeted with more praise or thanks, but ultimately, she's done what she intended.

At the back of the cave, amed with knowledge as old as the Celestials and her much more modern technological genius, Valeria goes to work (Aided, somewhat humorously, by an uncharacteristically technological Rogue. Her powers are fun sometimes!). The systems are both bizarrely complex and in ways effortlessly simple, with the balance between the two shifting toward the latter as one spends more time with the system. There is an elegance there. A fundamental beauty to the machines.

Eventually, she finds the system she's looking for. Like every part, it is incredibly complex, not merely a shield to switch on or off, but a whole suite of AI-controlled algorithms, meant to identify threats to the local environment, anything that could upset the careful balance. And then neutralize them. Like many such algorithms, it can be tweaked to higher or lower tolerances.

Valeria goes for what is effectively the LEAST sensitive option. Where only something of frighteningly great power could trigger it.

A smoking Jimmy stumbles back into the cave to find Jean and the others. He reaches Jean-

The computer, overloaded from that torrent of energy outside, starts to spark and overload. The mountain rumbles, even more frighteningly.

Outside:

Cable raises his weapon to shoot. The Firelord's reaction is lightning quick (try it in this universe, Spider-Man!), and he seems so confident in his power that his choice is not to evade, but to block, laying a second hand upon the staff, defiant of such an insignificant foe.

Inside:

A sudden matrix of energy surrounds Jean, and before Jimmy's eyes, she vanishes from sight.

Outside:

In the split-second before the shot connects, Firelord feels it too. The blast hits, and rather than effortlessly absorbing or standing against it, it flings him bodily backward through the air, and the staff away from his grip.

The mountain continues to rumble, threatening eruption.

And then the stone face upon the mountainside itself stirs, it's expression first angered, eyes blazing with their own flames, and then, in term determined, resolved. Almost as quickly, the facial features quiet, losing their animation and resuming a more stony permanance, as a small figure rises atop the peak, the man of stone from earlier. As Firelord tumbles through the air, disarmed, it leaps to follow, engaging the Herald in some violent brawl.

And the volcanic rumblings... cease.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma goes to brace herself as /whatever/ it is that has come out of the stone seems capable of engaging ith the Herald on equal terms. Or at least not being crushed in it. They're either dealing with a being so powerful risen up from the earth that it might as well be a Kryptonian forged golem, or a guardian program from the Celestial network pressing upon him. Whatever it is.. Emma's eyes flash.

There's no longer that all powerful barrier stopping scrying. <<Jean, a litlte help here. He's vulnerable. I can't attack him.. But together..>> Jean and Charles are in a completely higher tier than Emma is telepathically. Together teh two of them might be able to do something.

Meanwhile, Emma takes advantage to pull every single bit of information out of Firelord's mind while he's distracted and under actualt hreat. And her eyes widen at what she finds.

<<There are things here which can slow him>> Not hurt him. Not stop him. But slow him.

<<He's sent three Heralds to Earth to eliminate resistance. Terrax completed his objetive in South America. Something alled Air-Walker is slowly going through Asia.>> And Firelord here.

Valeria Richards has posed:
There's a lot going on. It doesn't help that these systems are old, like pre-humanity old. So there might need to be some further calibration as she works to try and dampen the Firelord's power.

So on the upside, it looks like it can do what she wants. But there might be a side effect that Valeria was not expecting.

Jean Grey seems to have gone and been discorporated. "What, no. Give her back. Dampening, not disintegrating." The blonde woman does sound kind of frantic. There are people that might be upset if she can't get everyone's favorite redheaded mutant back.

The interface and the logs are looked back and forth, checking to make sure Val is translating things correct. It's a worrisome look but Val seems sort of kind of confident. "I... I think that was a beam out. Teleport. Someone try think at her?" she asks towards the team. Her own wrist computer is running it's own scans for the energy that was used to make Jean not be where they want her to be.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue came rushing back inside, finding Jimmy, and rushing over to him. she had to take a second to stare at his state of dress, and the general situation that the man had lived through, but when she looks back toward where the Priestess had been, with the rocky subject that she had sacrificed to the mountain gods? Rogue widens her eyes, and sweeps them around. "Where's Jean?" She asks, confused at first, before she starts to walk forward to get different angles of view around random lines of sight obstacles. "Jimmy, where's Jean?" She asks again, turning back to him, when she saw nothing of the redhead.

She could overhear Val, and it started to click in her mind. "Jimmy, you had ONE job!" She says in a louder voice, as she seems to be growing angrier by the second. She had no idea what happened though, but when Val calls out a teleport, she narrows her eyes, and begins to stomp toward the doorway back through the cavern tunnel, and back toward the outsdie world.

"Cable, any sign of Jean out there?" She asked, before she found the Diamond Encrusted Lady Frost, and gave her a 'look' to suggest if she had any mental connection to where the team leader was.

"Did we stop them from doing this crazy shit, or what?" She asks, absolutely confused, and out of her element, as she stands at the mouth of the cavern, trying to keep herself as calm as possible.

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
Jimmy looks at Rogue and the concern. He breathes out, knowing everything about himself heals. A second later, Jean is gone.

"I don't know! I don't know. She literally vanished!" and then Rogue's off. Jimmy just follows her. "You said protect her, not keep her from teleporting like an Asgardian. I didn't even know she could do that!? Can she do that?!" he says just as confused as Rogue.

Breathing out, he looks at Rogue. "What if another telepath reaches out? Scans the whole area? Something?" he spitballs some ideas to see if Maybe Jean is somehow sent on the island or something. He's thinking maybe the island moved her somehow.

Jean Grey has posed:
As Emma tries to get Jean to help, she'll quickly make the same discoveries Valeria has, that Jean is... not here.

As for Rogue's more rhetorical question about the outcome of the battle?

As the X-Men merge from the cave, they'll see signs of it play out in the distance. Beneath the mountain there's a swathe of jungle, and they can both the rising clouds of debris from the initial impact of the two. There's a pulse of fire outward through the trees, making the nearest burst alight and more distant ones sway over in the shockwave, which reaches the X-Men seconds later in the form of a boom and a wash of hot air.

As the jungle burns away, it reveals Firelord's form, before he takes skyward again. It seems not even he Celestial system can totally depower him...

...but the Savage Land has its own defender. While he was birthed as a mere man of stone, they will see that humanoid figure rise from the ground, not figuratively, but literally, seemingly drawing on the power of the land beneath him to become giant-like in stature. Perhaps it may be a reminder of his master, as Firelord has to dart around in the air avoiding the great stone titan.

He fires blasts from one angle and another, only for his luck to finally run out as a swing connects, sending him sailing off into the horizon. The giant begins pursuit, the earth shaking as he stalks forward, leaving great depressions as footprints.

It's at this point that Emma's efforts, as Jimmy suggests, might finally make contact, and she finds Jean's mind, far on the Western edge of the volcanic basin. Back in Ka-Zar's territory. << I uh... oof. Ow, yeah, sorry. I think I just got my invite revoked. You guys OK there? I can't really get a read. >>

Maybe once you're on the Naughty List, none of your powers work? It's hard to pin down all of this nonsense.

This is enough info, at least, to reassure Rogue and all the others that she's not a permanent loss. << Uh... are you guys seeing that? I can see that dude from HERE! I think we better rendezvous back at the village. >>

The Priestess emerges from the cave as well, greeted by the sight of the scorched and blasted remnants of her people. Her expression hardens. "Go now, and leave me to honor their loss. Lord Garokk will not trouble your passage... but know that what he defends, is his to rule."

Both the Blackbird and Valeria's own ride remain nearby, providing transport back. It seems that they've won the day, but now one must wonder if they've traded one enemy for another. At least this one seems invested in the Savage Land, rather than preparing it for his master's feast.