1985/A Sinister Plot: The Left Hand Holds All The Cards - Team 1

A Sinister Plot: The Left Hand Holds All The Cards - Team 1
Date of Scene:	06 June 2020
Location:	Abandoned Hospital
Synopsis:	Cyclops leads a team of X-Men into an all-out brawl with
Cast of Characters:	James Proudstar, Scott Summers, Alex Summers, Clarice Ferguson, Lorna Dane, Gabby Kinney, Tim Drake

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James Proudstar has posed:
The rural, abandoned hospital still seems to be in pretty good shape from the outside, if not with some overgrown vegetation crawling up the side of the building and beginning to break through the concrete in the parking lot. The building is four stories tall, though schematics from before it closed indicates an extensive basement storage and facilities area as well. It's a large hospital as well, and likely that contributed to the costs of maintance being too high for it to stay open. Abandoned places always seem to get snatched up like there is some villain market for evil lairs.

The Blackbird had been landed outside of what Scott and Jean had estimated Sinister's range of scans might be, and the teams had largely moved in on foot before parting ways to reach their objectives. For the team led by Scott Summers, that objective was more nebulous than the others. They weren't here to actually be the ones exfiltrating their people. No, their objective was more important, as it would allow the other teams to actually do the rescuing.

They are the distraction.

The hospital's main entrance doesn't seem to be guarded. But that doesn't mean anything.

Scott Summers has posed:
An hour ago, a rather crowded operations room:

"We are going to split our attacking force," explains Scott, "to either force the Marauders to divide their own group or to make sure one of the teams reach the prisoners. We will keep tabs through telepathy and radio, but use code phrases for the coms."

"Team one will be led by me, and include Havok, Blink, Warpath and Polaris. Our goal is draw Sinister attention and keep him busy. We might have to run away if we meet overwhelming response, so I am taking Blink here. I hope Sinister knows about nothing about her. Obviously, being only five, he won't commit all his forces to defense. I am counting on it."

"Team two will be led by Marvel Girl and include Nightcrawler, Talon, Canonball and Ignyx. They will hit the back of the installation as soon as we are engaged. Since Jean is our only telepath, it is priority to keep her safe. She will have to protect all our minds from Sinister telepathics, and maybe he won't be the only telepath."

"Team three will be led by Colossus and Magik, and include Wolfsbane, Shadowcat and Boom-Boom," he sighs, better codename needed. "Team three will attempt a stealth, quick infiltration to find our people, and also provide a tactical reserve of forces. I do hope Sinister is not expecting three teams. But he is smart, he might keep people with the prisoners."

"Each team has a teleporter," he concludes, "try to keep them safe. It gives us flexibility. This means Vanisher, be the real one or a cloned one, needs to be neutralized quickly. For this operation the usual rules of using minimal force and avoiding casualties are suspended. The Marauders are too dangerous."

And now... team one is approaching the supposedly abandoned building. Stealthy and stuff. That is, until Scott blows up the front door with an optic beam. ZARK. "All right, team. Keep moving, watch your backs. Havok, you are with me. Warpath, find me targets. Polaris, Blink, protect each other and give us defense and options. Onwards!"

Alex Summers has posed:
    Havok nods grimly as he moves to follow Cyclops. He's dressed in his black bodysuit...it provides protection and some extra control over his abilities. Right now, since he's filled to the brim, every little bit helps. His fingers curl into fists as they jog inside, following his brother's lead...he knows this squad tactic stuff way better.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Frontal assault. That's fine with Blink. She is here, having brought along her long coat, a couple of daggers and, of course, her portals. But right now they are not being used because it's go time into the facility. She nods at the instructions being given and begins moving in, hand wrapped about the handle of one of her daggers.

The mention about disregarding on avoiding casualties does make her lift a brow. But she makes no comment. She knew they might need to kill. Doesn't mean she has to like it.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna had been quiet and followed along with the group, hanging back a bit, but keeping her magnetic senses on high alert. If there was gun fire this time, it would be entirely on her to protect the team as best as she could. Her steps were nearly silent as she rushed alongside, magnetically lifting herself to more of a glide as she moved. She wore a simple X-men uniform, black with a purple 'X' across the chest. Magnetized metal plates covering most of her body and framing her head. She wasn't going to risk Scrambler getting the jump on her this time, and she'd more or less created a gorget that looped around her neck in response.

"Roger that." She murmured in response to Scott. Her senses casting out to follow along their path, sensing anything she could along the way.

James Proudstar has posed:
Warpath moves out ahead, albeit not out of sight of covering fire from Cyclops, Havok, and potentially Polaris. He's ducking from cover-to-cover but moving swiftly. As he nears the ruin of the door though, There's a spark of reddish-pink psychic energy from somewhere within the building, and a small spherical object flies out from the darkness that lies further within...

And somewhere in his head Jimmy is likely sighing and lamenting "Again?" but it explodes like a flash-bang, and while Jimmy shields his eyes behind a large chunk of rubble that Cyclops blasted away, unfortunately he can't protect his ears...or his sense of smell, as the little bomb also bathes his general vicinity with the scent-destroying chemical used to cover the tracks in Gabby's kidnap location.

Outside his head, Jimmy just yelps loudly in pain and discomfort, and while he's far from out of the fight, with his ringing ears and a sense of smell that won't return for days, the Marauders have opened the gambit by weakening the X-Men's reconnaissance abilities considerably.

"Ahh! Dammit, I didn't get a read on them!" Warpath calls out...and then his streak of bad luck against Marauders continues...as a ruby-red beam of energy blasts out of the darkness and strikes his cover, blasting it away and still having enough force left over to bowl Warpath over, though it doesn't do any serious damage.

And then ANOTHER blast from a different point of origin, but the same ruby-red signature, lances out, aimed squarely at Clarice....

<<By all means, come into my parlor...>> A deep, mocking voice echoes inside the heads of the attackers.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
From the direction of the second Scott-like laser blast a hint of light glimmers reflecting off the prismatic body of one Prism himself. The tall crystaline figure steps out from the shadows to flash a grin at the grouping. "This ought to be fun. Even so, you get the big guy, Big Guy," he chatters to someone just behind him.

Blockbuster cracks his knuckles as he too steps out to the side with his gaze quite clearly on Jimmy. "Naturally. Going to see which of us is really stronger." Ah, even clones have a shtick it would seem. The overly muscled behemoth was certainly intending to stick to the script in this case./

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott knew there was someone that looked like him working for Sinister. But maybe it was just a shapeshifter, right? No such luck. "Warpath, Blockbuster is mine. Go for Prism," grunts Scott, nodding to Clarice in the case their strong man needs a quick change of position. And of course, he shoots the largest target. It is Blockbuster, so no pulling punches. He does seek some cover, though, in the case some of the enemy shooters are around.

"Alex, avoid Prism, he reflects energy. Mine for sure. Probably yours too." And there are only three of them? Unlikely. "Anything from the magnetic side Polaris?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Clarice shifts her grip from the daggers to the teleporting javelins on her quiver, drawing out a couple. And just in time apparently, because there is a nice ruby-red beam being shot in her direction. Oh joy!

She tosses herself back, attempting to avoid the beam while opening up a portal to escape if she can to another point in the room...

While she is tumbling back one of her javelins is thrown, attempting to hit Jimmy. With some luck, and if it hits, it would teleport the other mutant right up-close-and-personal to Prism. "Heads up, Warpath!" she calls out. Hopefully enough for James to be aware of what she is trying to do.

Alex Summers has posed:
    "Oh. Okay then." Havok says, gritting his teeth bringing up both arms as the heat haze around him bursts out, swirling around him as rings of energy begin radiating out from him.

    And then the hammer of god explodes from Havok in a air-shattering *THOOOOOOOM* as a solid column of plasma energy a good four feet across explodes out of his arms, lancing aross the space straight towards Blockbuster's chest.

    Yes. Pulling punches was not on Alex's agenda for today. And since he lacks the fighting experience of his brother...he's going for shock and awe and the complete erradication of anyone stupid enough to get in his way today.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna held her magnetic fields up, a bubble of electromagnetism ready to be expanded upon should she need to block incoming blasts and the alike.. Problem is.. she couldn't exactly hold it up beyond Alex or Scott either and risk their own beams getting caught into the mix. So she kept it close, keeping her senses stretched out beyond the group when Jimmy took the hit and went down.

She cursed, putting her back up against a wall. "Yeah, we've got Prism and Blockbuster." She called, and threw her hand out to begin ripping the iron rebar and metal struts out of the wall about her to give her something to attack with, sending plaster up into the air and crumbling downward.

"At least two signatures further in. One incoming. They're off feeling.." She added the last part more of less to herself as she hurled the metal debris she'd yanked free out.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Darn. Blockbuster was being strong-blocked by the very unswol Cyclops. His fists clench to brace for impact from Havoc's attack, arms coming up in front of him crossed as if he were blocking some kind of punch instead of a large energy explosion. Rather than go down though, something happens. The attack seems to splash off of an invisible barrier as one is erected for him thanks to 37. It takes the brunt of the damage, but what does get through still manages to slam into Blockbuster sending him skidding a few feet back. Otherwise completely unharmed.

"HA! Take more than that to ruin our fun today!" Much like Lorna does he opts to make himself an impromptu weapon by reaching out to grab the edge of the wall. Fingers crunch inward around the drywall to rip out a two-by four. It's brought up in his hands like a baseball bat as he charges for Havoc already swinging it back and forward.

He doesn't stop his forward charge but neither does he wait until he's close enough to hit. The wood and plaster trailing debris is hurled toward Havoc with him close behind it.

Prism meanwhile having heard the call out about who was going to attack him opts to not stay in the same place for long at all. He dashes forward hoping to avoid whatever trickery the XMen were going to send his way while his gaze settles on Lorna.

James Proudstar has posed:
Warpath "blinks" in front of Prism, and lashes out with a punch intended to send the crystalline man flying back several feet, into the remnants of a brick wall.

After a moment another figure /floats/ out of the shadows in a sheathe of telekinetic energy, clad in a black bodysuit, trimmed in red, though the head is left bare.

The face might actually not be immediately recognizable, mostly because no one assembled may have ever seen Scott without those ruby-red glasses or his combat visor. Also, a neatly-trimmed goatee covers his chin and upper-lip. But perhaps the most abnormal aspect of the fellow, that which makes him nearly unrecognizable: He's /smiling/.

"I've been looking forward to this. Doctor Essex is eager to see you and your brother, but he liked my idea of making you work for it." Scott-37 grins and gestures, "You've met my friends. Shame they're going to have to kill yours, but they're flawed or redundant material."

And just in case there were any doubt who he's a clone of, he opens his eyes wide and the entire field of vision in front of him /explodes/ in ruby-red force. Only Jimmy, for the moment, is out of the field of fire.

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott frowns as 'something' partially protects Blockbuster from Alex' blast. Perhaps more, unknown, Marauders. Lorna is said two more. The clone and one more. Still, five to four, he likes the odds.

He shoots Blockbuster this time, moving to angle the shoot so even if he manages to remain standing, he is thrown to a side and away from Alex. The ruby beam of his clone worries him little. If it is the same energy he creates, it will be absorbed by his own power. And such a wide beam should prove no difficulty for Lorna to shield Blink and herself. Here hoping...

"Of course, he can also fly," he comments unhappily. As if the goatee and the lack of visor weren't enough insult.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Havok isn't trained incredibly well. More common sense. So it takes a moment for him to realize the debris, that should just be falling to the ground, has suddenly come flying at him, meaning he's slow to get out of the way. Though the giant Blockbuster coming at him helps a bit for that. He still gets clipped, grunting as he runs to the side, attempting to stay away from Blockbuster as Scott blasts him....and promptly shooting at the guy floating, because he looks dangerous, another bar of plasma energy exploding out of his fists.

    For the wide-angle blast...he's got nothing, tensing up as it washes over him....and...does nothing? Huh.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna could manage to keep up a magnetic field around her and Clarice while holding onto her cloud of metal debris up. Which is when Prism both turns toward her and is body slammed by Warpath. The green haired woman shifted her hands and her stance as the Scott clone floats down and speaks. She made a face, "Ugh Cyclops, never smile like that. Please." She murmured,"Redundant? Someone's full of himself."

Which is when the clone's eye-blast slammed down the hall and into her electromagnetic barriers.

Polaris squinted against the light, but otherwise was mostly safe behind her electromagnetic fields.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
"And never skip shaving day." Clarice adds to that. Because really, villainous goatee!? No thank you. But she is -quite- thankful at the barrier that holds up and keeps the beam out of sending her to the everafter, nodding at Lorna.

"I am going in." And then she 'blinks' out, a portal opening both near her and up above on the floating 37. She drops out of it, attempting to hit the villainous Scott with a dropkick to the side of the head. From behind. Cheap shot!

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Prism doesn't make it out of Warpath's range before he's teleported. The hit is successful and sends the crystaline mutant slamming into the wall where he promptly... grunts, and gets up again. Another grin is given, as well as a shake of his head toward Warpath. "Dr. Essex has improved upon us all. That won't work I'm afraid." No sooner has he said it than a glow emits from inside his form to lash out with a red blast of his own. Apparently these clones weren't beyond using their powers on one another to arm up and at some point Prism had stored the lovely eyebeam energy of 37 just for such a purpose.

Blockbuster finds himself once again at the mercy of a Summers blast, though he's already on the move. It impacts with him sending him spinning to the side off course from his impending impact with the already distracted Havoc. It doesn't stop him though, not completely. His hand slams into the ground to catch himself before he falls completely. Legs bunch, and he springs toward the dazed Havoc who was still surprised by the clones' blast not harming him. One fist is drawn back to swing for Alex with a laugh of apparent delight in the fight.

James Proudstar has posed:
Warpath, meanwhile, manages to brace his arms across his torso when Prism makes that blast, and keeps on his feet, even as they drive furrows into the tile as he's pushed back several feet.

When the blast relents, he growls, "Yeah? Well, it ain't gonna be enough." The distance closes swiftly, though, surging forward when the blast relents, faster than anyone his size has a right to be, slipping low on the move to grab Prism's ankle in a variation on a classic wrestling takedown, and then pushing out of the crouch to leap high into the air, out of the rubble, and swinging Prism as the weapon he's trying to break over Blockbuster's head as he descends.

Clarice appears above 37 in well, a blink, but in that half-blink between her appearance and her foot connecting with 37's head, she finds herself violently /yanked/ with telekinesis, and hurled into the darkness of the blown-out hospital frontage, landing hard on the floor.

37's eyebeams narrow, focusing more power on Lorna's shield, pouring it on and truly testing his (Scott's?) power against her own.

And while he's doing that, a moderately-sized stone still within Lorna's shield launches off the ground and straight for her head. Telekinetic Scott is bad, mmkay?

"Don't hurt the younger brother too much, Blockbuster." 37 admonishes. "No more than a few broken bones. I'm sure he'll be as happy to be reunited with Miss Frost as we have been to enjoy her company this past couple of weeks."

Meanwhile, within the darkness, a hand clamps down in Clarice's hair and lifts her off the ground, and she finds herself looking into a silvery-white face, with black lips, and red gemstone seemingly set in his forehead.

"Hello My Dear, I don't believe we've been acquainted."

And should Blink try to utilize her powers, she finds a mental block cutting off her access to them as he begins to march forward, into the view of the others.

"How nice of you to bring me a new specimen, Scott. You truly are more considerate than your friends think, aren't you?" Sinister's smile is a slow, mocking thing that spreads across his face. "Having a bad night?"

Scott Summers has posed:
When Blockbuster stands up, Scott frown deepens. They are improved models, indeed. Prism should have been shattered, and Blackbuster should be at least a little injured, if not unconscious. Next blast is pencil-thin, but still carrying a good deal of power, and aimed to the big bruiser knee.

Whatever else he had in mind, gets forgotten when Sinister finally makes his appearance. "Made you leave the lab, didn't we? Night is perfect. Except for the copy there," he points to 37. "He can't hit the broad side of a barn with his blasts, what is wrong with him?"

Alex Summers has posed:
    Blockbuster hits Havok like a freight train, the superpowered punch sending him flying as he goes end over end before slamming into the cracked parking lot and skidding across the asphalt, then wheezing as he tries to get up. That's several ribs shattered. His concentration is just a bit broken by that as he tries to pushe himself up with a pained grunt.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Ahah! Right on the noggin--- And ufff, there goes a Blink flying through the hair to hit the ground hard. Good thing she brought her long coat so her skin just doesn't get all grazed out while she skids across the ground. She does get a few good bruises for her troubles though. Yet if there's anything that being a Genosha survivor has taught her is that they fall so they can stand up again..

She is just in the process of doing just that when she gets some 'help' doing it. And then she is face to face to the white-faced one. Sure they have never met, but she has an idea on who it might be.

The reaction is an instictive one though, her expression turning into a snarl and she attempting to teleport out immediately. She blinks (literally!) when it doesn't work, then attempts to jab him with the javelin she was still holding on to. Again no work, and while she isn't exactly a pushover where it comes to fighting, without the use of her portals she certainly is no match to Sinister's strength. Not that it stops her from trying to kick him a few times. "I am noone's specimen." she says defiantly, continuing her struggle. Never again after the Magistrates!

Lorna Dane has posed:
Clone Scott's eyebeam continued to smash into her barrier, her hands out stretched as she pushed forward with it toward him. Her lips twisting into a sneer. She'd been fighting and training with Scott for years in the Danger Room. Constant beam or not. She could manage.

Moreover, Lorna //learned// from her last few experiences, and she'd learned that her father's helmet wasn't just a stylish accessory, but was in fact rather useless when it came to keeping one awake and aware. So when the rock came whizzing up through the air toward her face, it smacked into the metal debris she'd held floating within her electromagnetic sphere.

"Nice try!" She snarled, which is when she sensed more than saw Clarice's interaction with Sinister. "Clarice!" Which is when Lorna threw caution to the wind, flinging her barrier up and hopefully deflecting the beam away from her.. and she tried to run for her friend and longtime bodyguard. Decidedly not the smartest tactical move.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
There's a particular shattering *crack* that resounds through the area when Prism is picked up and lobbed away like some bizarre boomerang that wouldn't be coming back. In more ways than one.

Thrown as he was at Blockbuster he impacts with the larger fellow, rebounds off his fleshy muscle, and then CRACKS into the ground shattering like his predecessors had. Shiny lumps of crystaline bits that were him just all over the place. His head rolls a time or two before coming to a stop with dead, lifeless eyes seemingly staring at the already felled Havok.

Blockbuster felt that impact as well. His head jerks forward with a grunt of displeasure, but no real issue. At least not until that more focused eyeblast takes out his knee. There's a momentary spurt of blood, sinew and muscle appearing to explode away from his leg before leaving a gaping hole where his kneecap should have been. The large man howls with enraged pain. It works to stop him though. He slams into the ground catching himself with his hands, and lifts his head to glare daggers toward the eldest Summers. "Gonna pay for that," he lets out with a spray of spittle. There's little he can do to get closer though so begins to search around for something to throw.

James Proudstar has posed:
Seemingly in response to the taunt, Scott suddenly finds his visor yanked straight off of his face!

"I'm sure you're an ace marksman now, aren't you "Slim?" Careful not to take out your own." 37 goads, "You really ought to thank me. Just think of how happy you'll be once you don't have to worry about any of that responsibility, anymore. Given enough time, you might even be able to control your power like me. Just like you've always wished for."

Lorna's charge is indeed ill-advised, as she finds herself caught up in a crushing telekinetic grip...but NOT from 37. This comes from Sinister himself, and is accompanied by another mental block slamming into place in her mind, cutting off her powers.

"Ah Miss Dane. My condolences on the loss of your father. But perhaps it will comfort you to know I have a...friend...who will be /delighted/ to meet you." Blink is all but completely ignored, but for the grip refusing to release her hair.

Warpath, meanwhile, has landed right next to Blockbuster, and while the big man fumbles around for something to throw, Warpath reaches down and wraps his head in a very particular grip.

Blockbuster has about a second to look surprised, just barely edging into angry realization before there's a violent jerk and an audible *SNAP* and the big Marauder falls lifelessly to the ground.

Warpath has just enough time to spit on him before an eye-blast from 37 catches his side and once again sends him flying a dozen meters or so, landing in a pained heap thanks to a few broken ribs.

But in that moment, 37 seems at least momentarily distracted.

Scott Summers has posed:
"Oh no, my visor is gone, what would I do?" Declaims Scott, pulling out ruby quartz glasses from a pocket and putting them in place. He winces then James breaks Blockbuster's neck. That might have been excessive. But things are not going well for the team, so perhaps not.

Maybe he should break 37's neck himself now the clone is looking in the wrong direction. But that is a step Scott is not willing to take just yet. Instead he jumps at his doppelganger, and aims an elbow strike to his head. A concussion is better than a broken neck.

Meanwhile he opens the com channels. "Jean, shield Polaris and Blink's minds. Now!"

Alex Summers has posed:
    Havok tenses as Blockbuster charges to finish him then the giant is kneecapped...then, well....dead. There's a faint *whuff* as he exhales in relief and no little pain as he gets himself up into a crouch, then...things seem to be going wrong.. But as luck would have it...he's at just the right angle to be slightly behind Sinister as he grips Claire and focuses on Lorna. Not enough to get off a full power blast with Claire in the way, as he brings his right fist up.

    But a snipe? He can do that.

    There's a *THOOOM* as a bolt of plasma streaks towards Sinister's back, trying to break his grip on the teleporter.

James Proudstar has posed:
"AAAGH!" Sinister actually cries out, releasing his grip on Clarice and TK field on Lorna before staggering several steps forward, a smoking, smoldering indentation squarely in the middle of his back. And in that moment, he loses the blocks on Lorna and Clarice before he can lock them in place, and with Jean's shielding, he finds he cannot replace them, at least not without devoting more concentration and power than he can afford right now to contest Jean's strength.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Good thing that Havok shot him then.. Clarice was just about ready to use a knife to cut off her hair to escape. As the man staggers and the hold on her is lost she nimbly hits the ground with hands and feet and jumps over to one side... And the kiddy gloves do come off too..

She attempts to take advantage of the man being down, tossing the teleporting javelin she had been holding on. She aims it towards one of Sinister's arms. Not to teleport the man whole, nope. But in this case to teleport -just- his arm. It is not something she does often, or really at all. But desperate measures.. And Lorna is close enough to be in danger now.

"Don't mind me. Protect yourself." This she says to Lorna. Selfless and all that.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna hated nothing more than having someone uninvited in her head. It was a weakness, one that she was only vaguely aware of, and the way Sinister managed to do so in such a smooth, unhurried way sent a slice of fear down her spine. She struggled, gritting her teeth, but with her powers cut and the metal debris she'd wielded dropping to the ground in clatters and clangs along with the faint rumblings from the ground... she was useless. Though that didn't stop her from glaring daggers at Sinister none the less.

The combination of Havok's blast and Jean's shield caused her to drop, catching herself on the floor as she rolled toward the side of the hall toward the wall to stand once more.

Where she made to throw a concussive blast of pure electromagnetism at Sinister.

James Proudstar has posed:
37 is indeed caught off-guard by Scott's attack, falling to the ground with a grunt, but it's not enough to take him out of the fight, and it's clear the man's had some training, as he reaches out to grab Scott and pull him back with him, bringing a leg up to try to flip-toss Scott away from him. Wherever it is Scott ends up, 37 seeks to shift and blast the ground beneath him to keep him off-balance.

Sinister's arm disappears, and the electromagnetic force-blast hits him square, causing his body to warp in strange ways that make him appear to be made of something more akin to clay or putty than flesh and blood. Sadly that warping quickly shifts back to a normal form, complete with a new arm "flowing" out and growing to its' full size in but a couple of moments, none the worse for wear.

"AWAY!" Sinister barks, blasting outward with a wave of Telekinetic force, seeking to hurl Lorna and Clarice away from him.

"I don't ordinarily deign to engage in such petty contests, but I'll admit this is more interesting than I might have imagined." Sinister dusts off his shoulders, his mocking smile firmly back in place. "I do sometimes discount the lesser brother. Perhaps I will have to revise that assessment after I finish with his paramour." He seems utterly unconcerned about 37's plight.

Warpath, in the meantime, is slowly getting himself back to his feet, clearly injured from that last blast, but looking to get back into the fight mostly on sheer grit.

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott is a bit disappointed 37 is still conscious when his blow connects. Mentally he assigns himself four extra hours a week for hand to hand training at the Danger Room. Oh, and he knows judo, damnit!

Scott also knows judo, so he lands on his feet. Only to have the floor shattered under said feet. Down he goes, but he rolls away, and lift his glasses a second to blow up the ceiling over 37. "Here, catch," he offers the clone.

Tim Drake has posed:
Sinister's 'voice' is heard in the heads of all those on the grounds. <<I do apologize for the inconvience, I'm afraid... but I cannot possibly allow my work to fall into the hands of those who cannot grasp it.>>

Alex Summers has posed:
    The mention of Emma sparks utter rage in Alex's eyes as he pushes himself fully to his feet, his arms reaching out for Sinister as if he'd like to crush the life out of the renegade scientist....but instead, thos efingers curl into fists as power builds, then another shockwave of plasma blasts out straight at Sinister. "Discount /this/, motherfucker!" This time, it isn't a single bolt...but a sustained torrent of energy that he pours into Sinsiter starting to advance towards him on shaky legs.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna ended up on the ground. Again. This time pushed further back than before. She grunted from the impact, her frame smacking into the wall with a metallic clunk as her armored figure hit. She blinked, and groaned, pulling herself up with a wince. Just in time to see Alex fire off a blast, and the continued flashes of Scott's and Scott's clone's eye beams lit up the area.

Sinister's echoing words in her head caused her to freeze up briefly, shuddering briefly. She slammed her senses out, stretching them all over the place in a frantic search for whatever and where ever the self distruct tech might be.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
The telekinetic blast is a good way to have Clarice stop being a nuisance, at least in the immediate moment. She is tossed back, arms crossing over her front to protect her body as she flies back, rolling on the floor a few times but eventually ending up down on one knee. Bruised, but not yet beaten.

She wipes some blood off the side of her lip, a momentary glance to check if Lorna is alright but then her eyes are back on their foe. Clearly someone they will need all their might to defeat. If they were here to defeat him that is. And that damn cheater does regenerate like a true badass! So what to do ....

She begins to prepare portals instead for their escape, making them pop up around the room near each of the group.

James Proudstar has posed:
A pale reddish-pink light starts to coalesce around 37 as the rubble begins to fall, but Prime Sinister's interruption seems to bewilder him enough for the field to flicker out, and that pile of rubble from above to come crashing down on him. His state of consciousness or continued breathing is questionable, but at least for the moment, there's no sign of anyone or anything coming out through that pile of rubble.

Clone-Sinister doesn't particularly look surprised as Havok's blast appears again, and neither does he look terribly concerned. This despite the fact that as the sustained blast continues battering away at him, it really does look like bits of him are charring and sparking off...like he's being whittled away by the high-intensity energy plasma the younger Summers brother is hurling at him.

And despite the rush of displaced air as the heat pushes it out of the way, the sound of that deep, mocking laughter can be heard.

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott was counting with 37 to catch the debris telekinetically. His plan was punching him while the clone did it.

But it seems it is unnecessarily. So, Sinister? Ah, Alex it burning him to crisp. And although Scott is not happy at the idea Alex killing someone, he can only join him. Soon ruby red mixed with white-blue in an attempt to reduce that particular version of Sinister to scattered atoms. "Get ready to evacuate if we have our people," he mutters in the comm. "Save also whoever we can save from the Marauders, if possible. It is not important if this place is destroyed or not if we have everyone out."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
With the flurry of images invading her mind of the place the captives are being held there is a change of plans. The portals flicker out of existence and she creates new ones, now already breathing heavily at the exertion of so many portals at the same time, but in this case they will lead to the cells so they can both get out of the battle with Clone-Sinister and also to go help their friends if they so wish.

Sinister can play with himself!

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex is....less disciplined than Scott.

    "DIE YOU FUCKER!" he roars, pouring on the energy as he keeps pushing, letting the energy in him flow out in a constant crashing wave of plasma against Sinister. He doesn't know he's a clone...but he doesn't much care at this point either. This is the person who locked away his memories, his powers, who took his girlfriend and tortured her...he has no pity in him for Sinister.

James Proudstar has posed:
Clone-Sinister continues that acid laughter, right up until the moment that Scott blasts him as well, and it seems it's the combination of the two-brothers blasts that does the trick, because after but a moment of both of their combined power, the faux-mastermind blasts away in ash and dust, though all assembled could almost swear they still hear echoes of that laughter, whether physically or simply an afterimage in their minds.

And that leaves Blink's portals and the remaining X-Men....and a ticking timer.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna had no intentions on stopping Alex as he went off on the Sinister Clone, nor as Clarice teleported out in a cascade of purple to where she was needed. Scott seemed to have a handle on things as well. So all she had left to do was continue her frantic magnetic search for whatever self-destruct mechanisms she could find, and ... maybe disable. Though she had doubts about that.

Finally she found something.. she wasn't sure what it was or what her inference might do. "I've got something I'm picking up, it's far from Team one's position. I don't know what to make of it. 50-50 chance if I try anything it all goes boom anyways."

Scott Summers has posed:
And when Sininster-ish is finally vaporized, Scott smiles and congratulates everyone for a job well done. He also invites them all for beers at Harry's.

Except no, not really.

Actually, he goes pale, falls to his knees and starts puking. "James," he manages weakly. "Check for the clone... he might be alive." Lorna question can wait. Or maybe someone else can respond her.

James Proudstar has posed:
Warpath moves over towards the pile of rubble favoring his right side. He starts to dig away and then scowls...

"I think we've still got a live one...but he isn't here." There is, however, a hole in the floor to the basement below, large enough for someone of Scott's build to have slipped through.

"But he isn't unscathed, either." Jimmy notes, spotting a considerable amount of blood under the rubble.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Havok lowers his arms as Sinister vaporizes, letting out a breath, sweat running down his face from the strain...but he barely has a time for him , as he turns and promptly follows Blink through the portal without much of a pause. He wasn't coming here to kill Sinister....not primarily, after all.

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott stands up and looks at the bloody trail, sighing softly. "Yes, of course he will escape," because a Summer's luck is like that. "But today... lets go meet the others," he pauses. "I hate him, gives me nightmares too. It took everything to keep my head cool today. That is what he does to people. And I fear the survivors are going to feel the same."

Nevertheless, he limps towards the portal and crosses over.

James Proudstar has posed:
Warpath nods to Scott, and follows him through the portal.