1959/Trouble in Bushwick

From Heroes Assemble MUSH
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Trouble in Bushwick
Date of Scene: 04 June 2020
Location: Bushwick <Mutant Town>
Synopsis: Our heroes delve deep into the tunnels beneath NYC to encounter memories of Morlocks and potential Morlock wanna-be's. A tense situation is ultimately deescalated with promises of amnesty and relocation to Genosha. Maxwell is rescued. Portals deposit mutant and mutant-hater alike where they will do the least harm. At least one villain is yeet'd. Chick-a-plao is skeptical.
Cast of Characters: Maxwell Wave, Kitty Pryde, Henry McCoy, Rogue, Piotr Rasputin, Abby Oster, Lorna Dane, Clarice Ferguson




Maxwell Wave has posed:
It's a clear evening in Bushwick a.k.a Mutant Town. Center point for the outcast and strange of New York, the quantity and variety of physical mutations is so abundant that it is normal.

Maxwell Wave's last known location is a demolished nightclub directly in the line of attack from the previous wild sentinel attack. A vast graffiti-covered brick edifice, half the building has collapsed into rubble. Yellow caution tape and wire fence mark a full perimeter around the ruins of a dance floor and bar.

Ominously, a landslide of rubble disappears into a dark hole in the building's foundation. Those familiar with the landscape beneath New York City will quickly recognize this leads to either an abandoned subway tunnel or one of the bomb shelters erected during the cold war.

Larges groves of displaced rubble and earth lead down into the darkness, evidence of large objects dragged beneath.

There's a sound. Faint at first, almost drowned out by the usual ambiance of Bushwich. It's persistent whatever it is. Is that the sound of R2-D2? Dedodedo. Ruuuur. Dedodedo. Ruuur.

A blue glow illuminates the bottom of a small chunk of metal and concrete near the bottom of the ramp of rubble.  Closer inspection will lead to the discovery of a smartphone. The screen is cracked, so it isn't easy to read. However, it's not a significant leap of logic to assume its a reminder notification.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde had sent out a call for help after getting Max's distress message. Donning her X-man costume, she'd thrown some civilian clothing overtop to be able to blend in better depending on what they found. Gathering up anyone willing to help, the Blackbird was soon winging it's way through the skies. Stealth mode engaged, the black plane set down in the night in one of the areas Bushwick areas the X-men have found are usable as landing zones there.

The trip to the phone isn't a terribly long one. Kitty has her own phone out, the hacker tracking his phone down to lead the team there. She pauses to look around the crumbling building. "It's inside somewhere. And..." Kitty says, moving her phone around to get more readings. "And below us."

The ramp that leads down to Max's phone isn't hard to find, Kitty looking around at the team before starting down it.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Still getting used to his new look, Beast hopping off the gangway of the Blackbird. As Kitty uses her hacking skills, he's relying on something more instinctual. The blue mutant drops to a squat, scenting the area for the missing Maxwell. A low rumble of a growl, his yellow eyes slitted as he focuses on his sense of smell.

"He came on his own? Didn't wait?" He grumbles, looking to the others as they disembark. "I cannot, in faith, expect this to be just a 'Whoops, lost my phone' moment, can I?"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue was already IN the Blackbird when others arrived. She'd been laying on one of the passenger benches in the back of the jet after having helped Forge with maintenance on the plane. She'd been listening to music on her phone and swiping pictures of people on a Hot or Not app, judging them with a little rating system. Harshly, usually. BUT, when others arrived, the Belle setup and heard the rundown of what they were doing and where they were going.

Her gold and green uniform was zipped up to her neck for super serious mode, and she pulled her leather jacket on, then ran a hand through her two toned hair. "This sounds like it'll be a real good time. Which is great, cause I've been bored outta my /mind/ now that school's over."

After they arrive, Rogue just follows the others, with her gloved hands inside her jacket. "Ugh it's hot." She mutters under her breath.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr is in his field uniform, with a jacket over it to better disguise himself in a pinch, as he has stayed in fleshy form so far. He looks out the window and says, "I do not see anything." The Russian had gotten a memo before joining the flight, but admittedly, perception was not his strongest skill. "What do we know about him? I did not have time to see his file before this."

Abby Oster has posed:
Abby is a newcomer to the area-- to New York City in general and to Buskwick in particular, but in the last week she's found herself a little bit of a home, a little bit of a community. But like any community, it has a rich history with which the newly adopted will have to come to terms, and part of that is for her to don her leotard, cover her face and go picking about. She'd heard (almost literally just now) of the Wild Sentinel attack not long before her arrival, and now, here she is, hopping bird-like from hunk of wall to chunk of rubble, trying to come to terms with the recent history of the place.

When others are on the approach, she flicks herself into a dark corner somewhere near the descent into the abyss, then peeks out slightly to take in their conversation.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna had joined when the message went through, after all, she was in the Mansion and heard the call to arms. What else was she going to do? Possibly a million other things that demanded her attention, but procrastination was something she excelled at. She'd armored up quickly, and then threw over a lightweight jean jacket and hat after following Kitty's lead on what they were going into.

She cast her senses out wide, pinging her electromagnetic sight off whatever was below them to try to get a reading on it. Her green eyed gaze swinging this way and that as she tried to spread her senses out.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
With having received the distress message of course that Clarice was ready to help. Doubly so if Lorna was going in due to her duties to royalty. And after having seen the danger room for the first time a while back she now could marvel with the Blackbird. Granted, Blink wasn't the type to 'fly' or really travel anywhere due to her portals. Clearly not a 'it's the journey that matters' kinda gal.

"Depends on what your definition of a good time is. But I am guessing danger is part of that definition, mmm?" This she says to Rogue while creating a few of her javelins that she puts on her quiver dutifully. Better be safe than sorry.

Once they arrive she hops out of the Blackbird along with the others, even if she defaults by staying closer to Lorna, an eye out on the street and then to the crumbled building. She looks down at the ramp and then to the others. "Down here?" she frowns, unnatural green gaze glancing down the ramp and she opening up a portal that leads to the bottom end of the ramp. So thoughtful!

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Kitty will notice a WiFi signal named "Stay Out" with very healthy signal bars as she attempts to find the location of Maxwell's phone. She will find it at the bottom of the ramp of debris.

Hank's honed senses are bombarded by liquor, oil, the dust of rubble, and the pungent smell of sweat. A half-dozen human-like scents are fresh, one of them definitely Maxwell's. The trail leads down the same ramp.

Beyond the ramp of rubble leads into spacious pitch-black darkness. The street-level noises echo into the gaping abyss. Within the darkness, rather illuminated or pierced through by superior senses, granite and concrete accented with old lighting fixtures and pipes form the walls of a chamber.

The chamber is part of a tunnel, the rubble sliding in from the side. Fortunately, building rubble blocks the rightward direction, so any potential abductors would have to travel left.

Lorna will notice via her electromagnetic vision that a few devices are active. A quick inspection will reveal them to be web cameras with battery packs attacked. Someone is watching.

Clarice's question of "Down here?" echoes from within the chamber, the connected tunnel must be long.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde moves down the ramp to the phone, eyeing the area before picking the phone up. She tells Piotr, "Max is an engineer. Studied at Stanford. His mutant power has to with modifying force. Gravity, motion, you name it. Anyway, there was an earthquake that destroyed some stuff. Said it wasn't him, but he got convicted, and then after release was relocated here." After a few moments, "God I hate that law," Kitty says of the Mutant Felon Relocation Act.

She looks over his phone, seeing if she can figure out anything from it, whether it's physical condition, or anything from its contents. "He contacted Hank, looking for opportunities for a mutant wanting to study science further. Really nice guy. We all had lunch and I met up with another time. Think he might be a good candidate for the school," she says.

But then it's all business. "There's a wifi network called "Stay Out". I'll see if I can hack in," she says, and begins working her phone. It's of her own design, far more power than you'll find on any smart phone, and able to run Kitty and Doug's hacking software. "Anything you guys spot in the area?" she asks.

Henry McCoy has posed:
There's a face of distaste made by Henry, the stench of the industrial a bit much. "He's down the ramp." He says, looking to the others. "There are other people too - about a half dozen." A frown, looking to where the green light of the portal is. "Yes, quite the sharp man. We'll need to talk to him about going off alone, though..." He comments, looking to the other.

"Stay together, stay alert. No telling what these other people are about - if they are friendly or hostile." He grumbles, then hops into the portal.

Wait?! When was Henry impulsive?

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna cleared her throat, "We've got cameras up on the hallway going down. I'm sensing all kinds of electrical wiring going on. Not sure in terms of picking up people yet.. but I'll keep a lookout." She murmured, her voice soft. As she kept her magnetic senses alight and on high alert.

"Kitty, do you want me to try to fries those cameras? They're running on batteries.."

She hmmm'ed softly at the information about the the mutant's powers and everything, but didn't comment further as she followed after Hank.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue had grinned over at Clarice. "I define it in many different ways, admittedly." She says softly back to the other before she just trails after those directing them down into the depths of this strange dark place. When Kitty speaks of a wifi network and hacking it, the Belle floats over to her and peers over her shoulder. "Try one two three four five six as the password. That's how hackin' works, isn't it?" She asks with a sly grin before her eyes go over to Hank and then toward where he says others are located. "They'll be makin' a pretty big mistake if they try'n get physical with me around." She murmors then and there, but ultimately the southerner is just floating in the air and letting the others guide the way for now.

When Lorna speaks, Rogue looks over at her and narrows her eyes like she's staring at the green haired mutant with a judgmental gaze, because she is staring at her with a judgmental gaze.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Noooope. A pitch-black dark tunnel? Clarice knows how these kind of movies end when the protagonists don't have a light. So she isn't too prone to go around blindly and groping everywhere. "I will go grab a few flashlights." It's nothing that can't be solved with a quick 'hop' back to the Blackbird to grab a few flashlights and then back. She will distribute them to whoever wants one, keeping one to herself and then clicking it on to at least be able to see something in the dark.

She points the light here and there once she also joins in down the ramp, frowning as Kitty shares the story about Max. "You aren't alone in that hate. I recently met a Mutants Rights lawyer though, maybe he should have her contact. When we find him that is." hopefully in one piece. But no need to jinx it.

But then it's time to move a little further in as the hacker does her magic, tensing just so when Hank mentions there might be half a dozen people down here, her steps instantly going quiet and she sliding close to one of the walls of the tunnel. All that assassin training coming to the fore!

Maxwell Wave has posed:
As Hank leaps downwards, the tunnel is revealed to lead on further, clearly part of the interconnected system of bomb shelters. Famously, once home to the Morlocks. In fact, the concrete wall of the tunnel is graffitied with 'Remember the Morlocks'.

The scent trail grows stronger, and more new smells accompany the original. Mostly the aroma of people, maybe some slightly more bestial, pungent, the smell of a large mammal.

Kitty's hacking efforts find an established network of zigbee and bluetooth devices connected via a few different smart hubs. The majority of devices on the network seem to be cameras, a few are lights. A few devices of the 'other category' are named 'Trap Trigger 1' and 'Trap Trigger 2'.

One camera is labeled 'Home' and when accessed, reveals a large round chamber, a junction point in the underground tunnel system. Five figures stand amongst a variety of makeshift cages crafted from rebar steel. One of the figure appears to be a very large woman with gray mottled skin. Another is a short man with bone spears for hair and knife-like hands. Yet another is bald, lithe and thin, their face pointing away from the camera. One figure appears to have multiple arms, tapping away on an array of keyboards, surrounded by computer parts. Last, a shadowy figured wrapped in rags sharpens a knife.

In the cages, appear to be considerably more normal looking people. There's no sound, but one shakes her bars. The people in the cages seem mostly unharmed, though one is crumpled on the ground within their scrap prison.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"Scientist?" Piotr notes and looks out a little more, "Also sounds like something Richter would be interested in his work." He nods to Lorna, "Taking out those cameras would be ideal, because if we are watched, that could be a trap."

The large Russian frowns as more information is given, "But let's all be careful, last thing we need is this to only be something that will create /more/ problems." He stretches his neck, "Though if we do fight, let's try to and avoid doing too much damage to property, and to people."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty hrms and tells Lorna, "Let me see if I can find the cameras, maybe set up a loop so we don't show up. If not, we can fry them." She hacks away, grinning at Rogue briefly. "It's something like that. Also the password is often 'password' at least if you're hacking an 80 year old's router."

After a bit longer, "Ok, I'm in. And, love it when things are labelled. Lorna, I think I can handle the cameras. But there's 'Trap Triggers' one and two. Want to see if you can spot those? And I've got a visual. Looks like people being held in cages. And one guy with multiple arms on a keyboard. And shadowy dude with a knife."

She peers at her screen. "This might be Max, looks like he might be unconscious or hurt. He has glowing blue eyes unless he's hidden them behind goggles, is how you'll know it's him," she tells the rest.

Abby Oster has posed:
Abby also has a flashlight. Don't ask where she got it or why it's just a little bit sticky. But she wipes it off on the plumage over her right thigh, and, waiting for the rest of the assembled crew to head down into the tunnel, she hopping the barrier down onto the incline and keeps low, prowling curiously behind. The dark doesn't bother her, much, and when the others have their flashlights distributed it'll be a fair shot she'll be able to see, at least. So the flashlight in her hand is more or less just something for her to fidget with. The way these folx are all working together is... really something to watch.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna didn't really need her eyes to see, not in the city when it was filled with wires, iron rebar, and the echoes of various electronics that constantly thrummed to an electric beat. She could sense them all, and as she focused on what Kitty described she smirked, her hand outstretched as she picked up the strange items that didn't feel like cameras.

A short magnetic burst escaped from her fingers, directed and pointed at what she assumed had to be the 'trap triggers'. "Let me know if you want me to knock out comms or anything.." She offered, "I think I've got 'em." Her voice low.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue accepts a flashlight with a smile and a 'thank ya' to Clarice when she issues them out. She flips it on and stares around the place with it. "I think this place has seen better days." She softly states, keeping the beam mostly low though so as not to shine the others in their faces with it. Also completely unaware of Abby tailing them so far. When Kitty speaks of the others she sees on the camera feed she smirks. "A knife huh? Well we better give up and go home, they've got us beat." She cracks a half grin after saying that, then ducks low under some hanging debris, before swooping back up again on the other side of it, manipulating the gravity around HER to let her float like this.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
"Flying is totally cheating.." Says the teleporter up at the floating Rogue, but other than that her contribution now is keeping herself attentive to the surroundings and what is going on. With her time protecting the majesties she had at least honed her protective instincts, making her attentive to those dangers. So far so good though.

Her flashlight dances back and forth, then behind them momentarily to check if there may be some trap on their back!

Clarice then looks at Piotr, "If these people are holding prisoners we won't have much of a choice." she reaches behind her quiver to take out her first teleporting javelin, waiting for the smart people to do their stuff.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
On camera, the figure wrapped in rags taps the shoulder of the many-armed man. The many-arms waves him off and points at his screen. The ragged figure shakes his head and points at his ear. They appear to be having some unkind exchange of words. Rags get flipped 'four birds' as a result.

Along the wall, two devices that look like motion signals abruptly spark and smolder, little trails of smoke wisping toward the ceiling of the tunnel.

The other cameras bend to Kitty's will, showing reruns of the 'Empty Tunnel' show.

Voices eventually propagate through the tunnel, the words are distorted and hard to make out as they reverberate off the walls; the conversation is heated. Someone cries.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty says quietly, "Looks like they are arguing. One might have good hearing so let's keep chatter to a minimum." She looks at the screen and shows it around to people so they know the room's layout. "Blink, your focus is getting the people out, teleport them somewhere safe, ok? Rest of us can deal with the the five guys that are outside of the cages," she says quietly.

She looks around to see if anyone else has input and if not. "Let's get in a quiet as we can until we're on top of them. You knife-proof people up front. Hank, want to lead the way too and sniff things out?"

Kitty nods to Lorna and says, "If you can sense them starting to send out signals, block them. Otherwise you can help open up those cages once we get in there. Maybe disarm knife guy too?"

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr frowns as the work begins, but it is something he can not resolve at hte moment. Instead staying behind the others at the moment, though Rogue's comment about a knife causes him to give a low chuckle, "Oh, no a knife. What will we ever do?" Rare sarcasm.

Clarice gets a frown from Piotr, "That still does not mean wanton destruction. We have our rules to live and fight by." With that, he keeps looking around with his mundane senses, to see if any other threats show themselves.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Keeping low to the ground, Hank moves along that tunnel - quiet as a cat. He keeps his senses on the edge; sight, hearing, scent - all ramped up to pick out whatever information he can glean from them. His face is one of focus, a Beast on the hunt. The other conversations flow around him, save for Kitty's suggestion. He moves forward, on point as it were.

Given his shading and the silence of his footsteps, he all but blends into the shadows present.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
On camera, Rags gets fed up. His form appears to shimmer as light bends around him. His distorted silhouette leaves the camera's view. Four-arms waves four dismissive hands in his general direction and resumes slacking away on his keyboards.

Within the tunnel, flashlights illuminate relics of a time where the US and Russia were close to destroying the world in their efforts to destroy one and other in the form of US propaganda and shelter instruction posters. Other relics remind of the Morlocks' inhabitation, in an era before Mutant Town, where the less savoring looked hid beneath the streets: the remnant of a tent or a cardboard box home.

Hank's bestial senses pick up on the soft footfalls of someone who is sneaky but not sneaky enough. Their scent reeks mildly of mildew. They, however, do not appear to be visible.

Abby Oster has posed:
They have //rules,// //ideals,// they're all... planning shiz? Abby feels like a five-year-old toddling along in the shadows behind them all, half-worried she might //mess things up// for them, somehow, with her utter dearth of training fouling her general well of good-intentions. But she's hypnotized by them, rather, and if she stays back this far, well, how much damage could she possibly do? It's sure as heck not the time to go up and introduce herself. They're in the thick of... well. Something. She thinks she gets the general idea, at least.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue flashes a grin at both Clarice and Piotr, but her stare goes forward again when Kitty comes up with a marching order. She shines her light right at Kitty out of accidnet, then lowers it quickly again. "But..." She gruffs then and turns to float after Hank. Muttering...

"I could just fly right on in there, these rubes wouldn't know what hit'em. I'd snap the knife in half, then /toss/ the fools across the room, then I'd grab what we came for and fly right back on outta here. We'd be free-birdin' our asses back t'base." Is she talking to Hank? Or herself

It's hard to say. But she's definitely not being that quiet, chattering like that whilst floating--silently at least. When she spots some of the old cold war propaganda she spots at a metal sign about how to duck and cover to hide from a bomb, which makes her snicker. "I'm pickin' that up on the way out..."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Good thing that the call for quiet comes so Clarice doesn't say anything back to Piotr. But she also frowns, perhaps showing some of her disagreement, just before she puts her game face on. Which means emotions slip out of her expression, just focused on the goal. A sharp nod is given at Kitty. Rescue team. She can do that.

She begins moving in quiet and low, barely a sound to the purple-haired 'elf', shoulders tense, taking note of what remains in the tunnels, a memento of the Morlocks that used to dwell here.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna nods her head down the hall, arching a brow as she shoot a look at Kitty. She'd fallen silent, but she'd also picked up the approach of a someone coming along the tunnels. She made a gesture with her hand to try to indicate what she was picking up and her powers remained at the ready. Though she didn't attack yet either, keeping instead further back to let those who could take a hit go on ahead.

After all, despite her powers, she wasn't particularly good at taking hits.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde shares in a whisper, "Looks like one of them went invisible. Be careful." She phases and begins following along, letting the others lead the way as she keeps an eye on the feed on her phone. "A bunch of captives in there, so watch out when you engage," she whispers.

She has no idea someone is following them further behind and observing their team dynamics. Scott would probably be proud. Of the team dynamics part, not the oblivious to being watched part. That latter part would probably get the face. You know the one. Yes, that one.

Kitty creeps along quietly forward, listening for any signs of the invisible person.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Hank's whole focus is now solely on that moldy smell - that mildew. He narrows his eyes, a low rumbling growl from the Beast. His muscles tense, the animal in him ready to leap into action.

"Something near. Cannot see them, can smell and hear them." He whipsers, barely audible.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
There's an audible gasp, and then the slapping of feet as someone begins to run. Rags yells, "I told you! There are people here! One of them is even flying!"

There's some commotion as the kidnappers rally into the tunnel.

The very large woman, her head nearly at eight feet, calls out with an equally large and baritone voice. "Look! We don't wan-no trouble. These haters came lookin' to beat on some mutants and got more then they reckoned for."

"Yea!" The man with bone spears for hair snarls from behind her, "Gonna make pinatas and pincushions outta 'em! Example for the other haters."

"Hey the last one wasn't a hater. He just.. hated on us hating on the haters who were hating on us!!" Four-arms replies, his many limbs just as tangled in gestures as his words were grammatically.

"Let us go you FREAKS! I just want to go home." A woman cries from her cage.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr stays quiet, mostly as this is the bailiwick of others in the party, though Hank's reaction causes him to tense up, his flesh turning to the metal most commonly seen in the field. He looks to the others and whispers, "Be very careful, it seems they are on edge, but perhaps we can talk them out of doing anything rash. Things are a little tense at the moment." He frowns and looks and sighs.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue whispers softly. "I'll admit it, I kinda wanna touch the one that can go invisible. I mean who wouldn't want that power anyway, right?" But a few moments later and she hears them shouting down the tunnels at them. "Okay, cover blown. I'm goin' in." She's leaning forward now and holding her flashlight outward, beam out ahead of her. Like a bullet out of a gun, Rogue starts flying forward, apparently done with stealth now, her intention is to fly right on ahead and bowl over any of the thugs that are blocking their way at this point!

Abby Oster has posed:
Chick-A-Plao takes a closer look at Lorna as she falls back to the back of the pack and thus closer to where she herself is hanging back and following. She rises up to something closer to her full height, tipping her head meekly with a hunch of her shoulders to her side, in case Lorna spots her, so as to present a non-threatening figure, no longer really trying to hide from her, but, well, not really stepping up to say hi, either. And then the people at the front are really getting into it, and her eyes widen, her arms fall to her sides.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Freaks?! That makes Clarice's gaze shoot over to where the voice came from. Yes, you shall be saved last ...

But regardless of being Brotherhood or not she knows this is not right. Blame it on hanging too much with the Xs too, and having talks with a certain bald professor. Though with the cover blown she also stops any pretenses at stealthing it up. "That's not how you make our voices be listened to." she calls out across the tunnel, shaking her head.

Though her eyes then go to Lorna, perhaps expectant. Yet certainly not as judgy as Rogue's looks. But then Rogue is flying off to battle it off. So she gets the judgy looks instead. There.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
As Rogue fires off like a bullet, she's immediately confronted by someone in the tunnel. Someone who looks.. just like Jubilee? "Whoa whoa! Don't hurt me!"

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna sighed, her powers still stretched out and as Rogue rushed ahead, gave up on any pretense of stealth. She could be stealthy all she wanted.. but so it goes. Her head tilted as she picked up the presence of another living person behind her, but she didn't say anything, not yet. As she trailed along.

As the voices echoed down the hall she picked up the pace, taking off her hat and throwing it off to the side as she moved.

"Woah. Woah. We're not necessarily here to hurt anyone." She sent out her senses and made to pull whatever object she could pick up that was small and not particularly threatening to her rip. "Just a couple of freaks, same as you."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty steps forward a little bit, putting her phone in a pocket. "Guys," she says, directing her words to their adversaries in the tunnel. "This isn't the way. I know how you feel. Really, I get it. I had family on Genosha. And..." she pauses and glances at Henry McCoy with a guilty look. "And after Genosha I roamed Mutant Town, taking down people who were hassling our kind," she says very self-consciously.

"But... look. It's not the way. Violence is just going to bring more violence in the end," she tells them. "I get how you feel. I was hurting and it felt good taking those people down. But, it should have been about stopping them, not about hurting them."

Kitty motions towards the room they came from. "That 'last one' is a friend of mind. A really good, caring guy. There's good humans and bad humans. And there's good among us, and not so good. But... but this isn't the way to deal with what's going on. It'll just bring everyone more pain."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is forced to stop when the 'illusion' of Jubilee just appears in front of her. She stops by reaching up and catching one of the metal pipes hanging above her head that she'd been flying quickly beneath, which lets her feet kick out before she just drops down into a crouch and stares at...

"Jubes?" She asks, now raising up to her full height in those thigh-high yellow boots. "Jubes, what'n the hell are you doin' here?" Rogue then looks back over her shoulders. "I think this just got more complicated!" She says back to her teammates before looking forward again to 'Jubilee'.

Henry McCoy has posed:
The Beast is still on edge, having followed Rogue in. He squats, three inch claws having extended from both his feet and hands. His eyes focus on the Jubilee - he's been around clones too much to believe what his eyes say. "Poor choice of disguise. Show your real form, now." He inches closer, every muscle taut as he does so.

"Doubtful." He growls to Rogue.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
From one of the cages, a man yells, "Let us go, you demons! God will strike you down for harming his faithful!"

There's the stomping of heavy footfalls and then a 'CLANG', as the large gray mottled woman gives the cage a strong kick, sending it rolling along the chamber floor with its inhabitant. The same woman calls back out into the tunnel, "If you are same as us, then you understand what needs to be done! Sure there are good humans, but THESE are not them... Minus mister glowing eyes. He just got in the way."

Jubilee who is not Jubilee just smiles, "It's not complicated! These are bad people. They need justice." Jubilee's expression turns to terror as Beast approaches her. She throws up her hand and wails, falling to her knees. The illusion fades, revealing a lithe humanoid with stringy hair and no face to mention, beyond a lipless mouth. "Whoa whoa! Don't hurt me!"

Abby Oster has posed:
Abby follows along, a little more boldly, or, at least, less cautiously, as she walks closer behind (and to one side, not a creepy stalker sort) Lorna and Lorna either doesn't notice or doesn't mind. And the situation unfolding, becoming more clear. Well, it speaks to her, for sure. Does she get a bad case of rage-stomach when some ass-hat calls her names? Yeah. Has she left her clawmarks on one or two of them? .... yeah. Kitty's speech speaks to something in her deep brain, in the nerves around her spinal column, that make her hit that uncomfortable point between wanting to argue and wanting to believe. Instead of either, she just hugs her stomach, listening to RG rumbling in her ears.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
As the group continues to approach, now faster, Clarice attempts to look about for the cages where people are entrapped. Because once she sees a place..., teleporting becomes fair game. But she bids her time for the moment, waiting for a signal from the others if they are to advance to hostility or not.

"We are not here to hurt you, but we won't be letting you harm other people. You damage our cause with this." a frown. "When will enough be enough? That simply sparks more hatred."

A glance then over her shoulder at Lorna. She seems to be letting the decision on what she should do to the other woman.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr frowns as the calls from the cage come out, "We do not kill," Piotr remarks. He straightens his posture, "It does nothing but hurt our cause. Revenge is a poor substitute for judgement." He sighs, "Trust me, do not let your revenge consume you, there is a better way." The large Russian is imposing, "But I strongly advise you to let them go."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna shrugs, glancing at the not Jubilee briefly and Rogue as she made to continue deeper along with Kitty if possible. She paused, listening to her friend speak of her pain and what had happened in Genosha. Silently, Lorna reached out toward Kitty. She offered her a soft, pained look of sympathy. They'd both lost fathers.

They really should sit down and talk sometime about it.

Preferably not when they were in the middle of a mission. Clarice's look earned a heavy sigh and she rolled her eyes upwards. "Right, I've been called a demon and worse for a couple of years now." She drawled, and glanced at the mutants about. "Look at me, if you aren't going to be convinced because of what she says--" Her head jerked toward Kitty.

"Then listen to me. Polaris. Queen of Genosha. You kill these humans and they'll become martyrs in their cause and it'll get a whole lot worse for mutants around here. Trust me on that. If you wanna get away from their type? I can promise you a place on Genosha. Not that it's a stellar utopia right now. But you'll be working on something that helps our kind."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's eyes narrow at the 'Jubilee' who phases out of their illusion and in to someone else. This actually upsets the southern girl, because they were pretending to be one of her cloesst friends to try to manipulate her. So when the mutant then crouches and starts to whimper, Rogue just steps forward and glances to the others as they pass them both by. "Not gonna hurt." Rogue says to the Illusionist. "This shouldn't hurt at all in fact." She says as she pulls off her right glove and airs-out her now-naked fingers.

Unless stopped, Rogue's intentions are clear, she's stepping forward to put her hand on the mutant's face that just tried to trick her. She wants answers about all of this, and has a clear intention on how to get them, by absorbing them.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
The mutant with bone-spears for hair saunters over toward the woman crying in her cage and brandishes one of his pointy dreadlocks. He snarls, "If you don't want these people hurt, you should just back away. Get closer, and Shiska-Bigot!"

In the cage nearby, there's an audible grunt. The crumpled figure shifts to face Spearhead. Spearhead's knuckles begin to wobble, his spear-like dreadlocks warp and bend toward the ground. He's forced to take a knee.

Maxwell rasps in a murmur, "Don't... hurt... her."

Lorna's offer draws pause from the large woman. She folds her impressive arms across her chest and puts on quite the gun-show. "And... how exactly can you promise that? We are all stuck here by the law. You gonna cross the government to get us out of here? Huh?"

Rags appears next to the woman. "Maybe we should hear her out, Pachyderm. I hate this place."

The faceless humanoid meeps through its lipless mouth up at Rogue.

Henry McCoy has posed:
As the illusion falls, the Beast retracts those claws. Smart move on the tricksy faceless man. He's not about to judge someone on looks - not even a little. Then Rogue steps up - looking quite pissed off. And taking off her glove. And reaching. "No!" He growls out.
5rThe big Beast leaps into Rogue, tackling her harder than he looks like he could. The two bowl over, the agile mutant trying to keep her away from the illusion thrower.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna glanced briefly back toward Rogue and Piotr, but didn't move to interfere. After all, she was having a conversation. Her gaze swung around and settled on the larger woman, she smirked and spread her hands out. "Well, several ways. I happen to have a good friend that can open up a portal there right now and get you on a nice tropical island. Filled only with mutants. You can be free. Or we can hop on a jet and get you there. I don't really care about following international laws that restrict our people's movements. So... what do you say? Full citizenship, the works. Acceptance for who and what you are."

She glanced toward the others and back.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde looks over to Lorna at the gentle touch, giving her a soft smile, one that speaks of the shared pain the two young women hold. As Lorna's words seem to start to sink through a little bit, Kitty turns back towards the mutants in the tunnel. She gives a little nod of her head at what Lorna offers them. "A place where you can be yourself. Openly. And others accept you. Not just a place to live. A /home/," Kitty tells them quietly.

She looks towards the room as she hears Maxwell, taking a small step, but stopping herself so she doesn't mess up the talk that is underway. Though wary should anyone make a move to hurt the prisoners, or Max.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is wiped out by the sudden tackle since Beast had been right beside her, even her Seventh Sense couldn't protect her from that kind of powerful leap! She's knocked down on to the ground and on to her left side. With a heavy grunt she falls over on to her back and looks up at Beast, then just pulls up a smile onto her lips. "Well heya, Sugah." She says to him softly in her husky sultry southern voice. "Can barely even contain herself, huh?" She's in that flirty teasing reaction now, knowing full well why he actually tackled her, but she's just playing - as ever. "I don't think nows the time for hanky panky though, we got serious business t'attend to."

Rogue's eyes glance up then to the others, and to see if any danger is rushing their way!

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Spearhead groans and manages turn his head toward Maxwell, hissing as he seems to strain under his own bodyweight. "Stop it! She deserves to die!"

The woman threatened by Spearhead wails in terror. Maxwell doesn't look in the greatest shape. Blood mats the side of his scalp, a trickle red over one of his eyes. Someone looks like they got hit by a brick.

Pachyderm turns toward Spearhead. "Whoa, didn't you hear her? We've got a ticket out of this place. If we've got to let some haters walk, that so bad a trade-off?"

Four-arms and Rags seem to agree with the large woman, nodding along with her. Faceless just watches in awe as Beast and Rogue tumble.

Spearhead hisses again, "You.. are all sell-outs!"

He roars and plucks out one of his spear-like locks and tries to chuck it at the woman in the cage, but the projectile is too heavy. It thuds into the floor.

Maxwell groans and goes still. Spearhead is soon released from whatever held him, plucking another spear and glaring menacingly at the captive.

"Dude stop it!" His compatriots yell, but he seems intent on murder.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Rolling off of Rogue, there's a growl. "No time for play." He says, eyes darting towards the clanging of the spear onto the floor. "People to save. One of them is unreasonable." He says, loud enough for all to hear. There's a stalking prowl towards the Spearheaded mutant. "Stop. Stop now."

It's a primal growl, one that means business.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna sighed, she had tried. But she knew the kind of anger that drove a person to revenge, and knew that even the promise of a life with freedom was hard to give it up for. "Guess we'll have to stop her. My offer stands for everyone that wants it, and I guess for this one too whether she likes it or not." She muttered, her hands reaching out as the cages' metal warped under her direction. The metal flattening out to a defensive wall as she dragged in extra metal scraps from the room at large to strengthen it.

It wasn't to free the mutant haters, not with mutants still out and about, but it was at least something to protect them until other X'ers handled the situation.

"Someone wanna handle that?"

Abby Oster has posed:
Abby is not entirely sure why the people who had come into this situation as a team are now, say, tackling one another, but she is content enough to let the befuddlement go in favor of listening to the offer from Kitty, which, while tempting on the surface, she finds subtly more problematic the further she lets it percolate. She hugs her arms further around her. "Why should they have to leave home to find a place they can live peacefully? Why not send the mutant-bashers to an island instead?" she wonders... whether it's a real suggestion or just a way to flip the narrative and see how it would look from the opposite end, who can say, really. But at least she said it out loud.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr has stayed quiet since he last spoke, but he is concerned as thing escalate. "Never assume rational actors," he sighs and then nods to Lorna, "I got this." Clearly attempts at peace have failed this far and would require further effort to convince them all that violence is not the answer to their problems.

The large Russian moves forward towards Spearhead, gaining speed and going for a form tackle, putting his full force into it as he leaps forward.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Pachyderm, Rags, Four-arms, and Faceless seem to all aboard to become citizens of Genosha, especially after the wall of metal makes an excellent demonstration of overwhelming force. Rags drops his knife. Faceless scurries over to Pachyderm.

Spearhead is too irrational to be aware of the inbound Piotr. He's only concerned about trying to get around the metal wall. Piotr's tackle takes him full force on the flank.

Now, Spearhead, would normally be a poor choice to tackle. He's full of all kinds of sharp pointy bits, but Piotr has a natural solution for those sorts of problems.

Spearhead will not go quietly. There will be flailing, profanity, and spitting. The rage is undeniable. However, he lacks the might to cast off someone like Piotr.

The situation is effectively defused.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde moves forward. "Don't hurt anyone," she says in a growl towards the one with the spear-like protrusions. Kitty moves forward, moving to Max's side to protect him, a hand reached down to rest on him, ready to phase the both of them if attacked.

Piotr already has matters in hand though, taking down Spearhead and Kitty breathes a sigh of relief. "Max, are you ok?" she asks as she begins checking his injuries. "It's ok, we're here, you got backup," she tells him gently.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna flashed Piotr a smile, her hands still outspread as she kept the magnetic bolster behind the metal wall. Just incase Spearhead ended up wiggling free. "Right, so, we'll get Clarice to open up a portal and we'll get you all settled over in tropical Genosha. Grab whatever you want to bring with you." She murmured, and glanced to Kitty.

"I can pop the cages once we get all of the mutants out of here. Last thing we want is a bunch of mutant haters mixing with people wanting to get out of here." She murmured, plus Spearhead. Better not to mix that.

Henry McCoy has posed:
As Piotr has the angry spear mutant under wraps, the Beast does relax a bit - slowly standing upright. "It is as she says, there is a lot of work to be done - but it will be a home that will support and care for you." He says, shaking off the feral want to tear into something. There's a war in his head, one he's not sure he's winning at the moment.

There's a glance over to Abby as she speaks up. "We can take care of our people. They aren't being exiled, nor are they being imprisioned. It is a chance to make a better life than they have."

Maxwell Wave has posed:
The motley crew scrambles together an assortment of belongings. Four-arms in particular gatherings his electronics. Pachyderm slings a keg'a'rator over her shoulder. Faceless collects a tiny faceless doll from a corner. Rags pick back up his knife and tucks it away.

One of the captive men seems to be on repeat for one of Stryker's sermons, calling down fire and brimstone upon the heads of all mutants. The woman who almost got stabbed just silently weeps. Whatever hate she has inside of her, it's been replaced by traumatic fear.

Maxwell isn't very responsive. He groans as he feels Kitty's hand. His eyes flicker open. He offers a weak smile toward Kitty, "Ah... thanks for coming."

His gaze shifts over toward Faceless, he rasps, "Bastard..." He swallows, "Looked just like... my little sister."

He slumps as he slips unconscious again.

Faceless hunches over in an obvious expression of remorse, clutching the doll between its hands while murmuring, "Sorry..."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna flashed the mutants a smile as they jumped to pick up their necessities, she really should be down in Mutant Town more and offer options to people. Genosha might have fallen, but a fallen country of their own...It was likely worth any risk or labor for many. "Hey, you'll make it up to him later if you want to. Okay?" She nodded to her friend Clarice as the portal opened and she looked at the other X'ers and the tag-a-long briefly as she ushered the ones that wanted to leave along.

"Piotr, want to chuck Spearhead in after them? Harder to cause trouble if they're on the other side of the planet." She paused and glanced to Faceless. "I'll be right over, and we'll get you settled, I promise."

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Faceless nods and seems to be the most remorseful of the crew despite their expression being difficult to read. Remorseful and the first to step through the portal. Pachyderm offers the hatespeech ranting bigot a big gray finger before stepping through. Four-arms clutches arms full of electronics and whispers, "I really hope they have the internet" before following. Rags saunters in behind, "Guess everyone got lucky in the end, we get out of here. They walk away with their skin intact."

Abby Oster has posed:
Abby finds Henry's assurances that this is not an exile or imprisonment-- perhaps technically true but functionally false, and her lips -- the only feature of her face left visible by the black cowl that covers her from the nose upward -- slant, unconvinced, but possibly not about to argue the point further. Further unconvinced as Lorna seems eager to throw this other fellow in and send him off against his will.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde gives Max a soft smile. "Didn't think I was going to let you have all the fun, did you?" she tells him. "Just hang in there, we're going to get you to some medical help," she tells him.

As Max passes out, Kitty looks for help from one of the strong individuals with picking him up. "Blink," she asks. "Can we go open a portal to medical aid," she asks. Kitty glances at the anti-mutant captives, and at Chick-A-Plao who Kitty isn't familiar with. "Somewhere off away from the rest," Kitty says, not wanting them to see the X-men's medical bay through the portal.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"Can do," Piotr says as he grapples Spearhead. He looks to his prisoner and says, "See, this works much better, does it not?" The Russian then meanders over to the portal and then, if possible, deposits his opponent into the portal with his trademark yeet.

Once this is dealt with, Piotr looks to the others, "Is there anything else I can do?" The metallic giant scans the room, "Though I do not think I am able to help Max at the moment, but it does appear to be safe at the moment, I think."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna seemed to take a liking to Faceless, "Yeah we have some internet up and running. Got that with the lights. Kind of important these days." She offered at the question in passing. Her green eyes flickered back to the cages and as the others still there as Piotr yeeted Spearhead and the portal closed to Genosha. She'd be follow soon enough.

Her hands stretched out and the metal wall fell away completely as it were foil. She probably should restrain the guy ranting about demons but she didn't particularly feel threatened either. Her gaze swung to the stranger that had trailed after them.

"Throwing all the humans that hate us to an island wouldn't work long term. Not when governments around the world support them." She crossed her arms and she pursed her lips together. "There are more of them than there are of us. And my only goal is to see our people given a place to live and be free. Not a single one of them will face any charges in Genosha, and they will never have to hide again." She nodded to Kitty and then to Clarice. "If that's all, I'll be making sure they're taken care of."

Maxwell Wave has posed:
"Son of a..." Spearhead snarls before disappearing through the portal. There's a moment when they almost re-emerge but a large gray hand tugs him back through. Pachyderm heard growling through her teeth, "Cool it!"

Maxwell breathes steadily in an unwelcome slumber from his head wound. He has moments of regaining consciousness, his eyelids opening to reveal blue glowing slits only to be quenched as another wave of unconsciousness afflicts him.

Portals are opened to deposit the 'Mutant Haters' into parts of town that are not Bushwick before they provoke anyone else.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Finally, a portal is opened to the aforementioned X-Men medical bay. For those returning by Blackbird, the journey will be uneventful, just more relics of the past and memories of Morlocks.

Abby Oster has posed:
Chick-A-Plao's jaw sets a little when these people throw a mutant across the planet against his will. Not exile, huh? She hugs her person, and, hackles rather raised, she'll regard Lorna for a moment, then flick her flashlight on for the first time, finding the light guttering until she whacks the back of the tube with the palm of her hand. She'll turn off and head back up to the ramp, with a lot to mull over.