3143/X-MEN: The Dark Down

X-MEN: The Dark Down
Date of Scene:	29 August 2020
Location:	Abandoned Subway: Mutant Town
Synopsis:	The X-Men venture into an unfinished abandoned subway tunnel, only to discover an underground race is in full swing! THE DARK DOWN CIRCUIT, only there's no banana peels in this race, just giant MAN EATING SPIDERS! And yeeting!
Cast of Characters:	Rogue, Laura Kinney, Roberto da Costa, Kitty Pryde, Piotr Rasputin, Betsy Braddock, Kurt Wagner, Henry McCoy, Maxwell Wave

---

Rogue has posed:
Rogue had sent out a call for an X-Men team to form in the War Room of the X-Men base. There'd she'd gone over what information she had about a potential confrontation between Mutants and anti-Mutant antagonists who were causing trouble in Mutant Town.

Unfortunately, the information she had was limited beyond a large gathering was forming in the tunnels underneath the city. an abandoned subway system, that was supposed to connect to the mainland Manhattan island had apparently been targeted as a likely source for this confrontation to occur at.

The X-Men's goal here was to go to the tunnels, patrol, and discover if any such conflicts were about to break out. And stop them, if so.

----

The Blackbird had set out to Mutant Town, and found a landing berth inside one of the open mouthed tunnels that rose up to just above the water level of the East River. The jet was parked inside the tunnel, not all that dissimilar to how it lands in the X-Men's own base.

The team aboard disembarked, and were now settling in for a nice stroll down a steep inclined tunnel into pure darkness...

Rogue, near the front, hovers off of the ground and holds a LED flashlight on high-beam setting, trying to pierce the darkness ahead. "Hey, if nothing else, at least we're all goin' on an adventure t'gether, yeah? It's like we're the Goonies, except, ya know... older, and a lot more into spandex outfits."

The tunnel looms ahead, where it eventually will branch in many different directions at an underground intersection. Graffiti covers the concrete walls, and trash litters the ground. It's clear that homeless people have been living down here, for a variety of reasons as well.

As Rogue's light shines across the intersection walls, the graffiti upon the walls catches the light in unusual ways. The graffiti actually lights up and glows with a lingering illumination. 'DEAD MAN'S TURN' 'HARD RIGHT UP AHEAD!' 'MAD MAX RIP'.

Laura Kinney has posed:
While not an 'official' member of the X-Men team, Laura had promised to assist when, and where she could. And with Logan not available for whatever reason, she'd offered her senses and abilities to the team for this particular mission.

She does not recognize the references to which Rogue refers, but she can smell the scents to be sure. Various homeless people, refuse, and other things. For the present, she remains silent, keeping an eye both on her surroundings as well as the other X-Men that have joined this particular mission. People she's known, but neve worked with.

It's a first time for everything, including trying to fit in, for one Laura Kinney, X-23, clone of Wolverine.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto can't resist the Goonies reference, "If only The Blob was here to do the Truffle Shuffle," he quips before returning to the story he had been telling anyone who would listen, regardless if they wanted to or not. "So yeah, I ended up playing booster rocket while my new buddy Mike drove the van, and we got the big alien conqueror guy out of the city and basically saved the planet. It was no big deal. But if you guys want to give me a medal or something, I totally understand."

Though as he talks he does take note of the glowing graffiti and his voice lowers so as not to carry through the whole tunnel system.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde joins the others in the underground tunnel. Lockheed is resting on her shoulder while Kitty has a flashlight in hand. Her phone is in her pocket at first as she looks around the area. "Who run Barter Town!?" Kitty says softly. Lockheed, as the resident little being riding on a bigger one, perks up and preens himself, resulting in a soft laugh from Kitty.

She shines the light around and then finally takes out her phone, starting to look for any wifi or other signals down here. "We're totally having a Star Wars style medal ceremony for you, Berto," she tells him. "I might even do up my hair for it, saving the galaxy and all," she tells him with a grin.

Her eyes go over to Laura. "Anything interesting?" she asks, knowing her senses rival Logan's.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr had gotten the memo and was quick to set aside lesson plans for the next day. He had donned his X-Men uniform and listend to the briefing before going into the Blackbird. He looks to Rogue and raises a brow, "What are the Goonies?" The problem of not growing up with the classics.

Piotr goes into the tunnel with the others and quietly chuckles at the medal discussion. The graffiti catches Piotr's attention as he goes by and appreciates it a little. He hasn't gone metal quite yet, trying not to be the least stealthy thing in the universe. "Be careful, keep eyes open." He warns the group.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Psylocke isn't far behind Rogue, her violet eyes occluded by that white glow so many mutants get when their powers are engaged. For the moment, it's her telepathy that's in use, not her telekinesis. She notes the graffitti, sure. But her attention is on the subtle art of detecting the presence of other minds that might be dwelling down here... especially those that may mean harm to either the team or the people who, for better or for worse, call this warren home.

"The main advantage of spandex," she notes, "is that the stench of sewers can be washed out more readily than leather." The unfortunate voice of experience, that. Though, for her part, she's eschewed skimpy spandex for a dark x-jumpsuit fashioned of the latest in protective, unstable molecule fabric. Because, really? You just never know what crap you'll pick up in abandoned subway tunnels or sewers.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
The dark doesn't bother Kurt. While he's a pretty big fan of bright, sunny days too, he seems practically made for the dark. He meanders a little -- as much as one can in the sometimes tight confines of the underground tunnel system -- and when he strays out of the direct beams of light that splash over the walls with it's ample graffiti he all but vanishes from sight, that indigo fur melding perfectly with the shadows. Even those brilliant yellow eyes all but vanish until he is practically untop of someone, soaking up every last bit of ambient light, stray or otherwise, as he moves about very much as if it were the middle of the day.

Those eyes certainly gleam brilliantly at the moment, a grin flashing those gleaming white canines in the dark. "If there is a giant cave with a pirate ship and pirate treasure at the end of this I call dibs on being the captain," he says lightly, periodically *bamfing* in and out, scooting ahead or behind them, playing scout. *Bamf*. "Also, if there is any of that waiting I'm calling best mission ever right now," the ever cheerful elf offers up.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Sewer. Ick. Even worse for those with an abnormally heightened sense of smell. Hank was not pleased with this turn of events. And sewage? In his fur?! So much cleaning after all this, rest assured. He trudges along with the others, also not concerned over darkness. "Yes, yes Betsy. Imagine washing it out of fur." He says, making a face.

Blending in with the dark, with his deep blue fur, he keeps quiet for now, all his grumbling internal.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue glances over at Roberto and smirks softly at him. "Blob doin' the truffle shuffle is liable t'cause these tunnels t'cave in on top'a our damn heads." She quietly replies as she shines her light about. Kitty gets a glance and a grin, but Psylocke gets an upnod. "And ya just look like a billion damn dollars in it too, Betsy." She states with a slight grin before her eyes go ahead once more, the Belle still floating about a foot off of the ground, not gracing the dirty tunnel floor with her fancy yellow boots. "Kurt, if we find anything like that down here, you're definitely gonna be the one wearin' the feathered Captain's hat. No questions." She tells the BAMF-y one.

As the group reaches that intersection, it becomes more obvious that this was indeed designed to be a subway tunnel, with its arched ceilings and the indentations of where tracks were supposed to be laid.

Rogue shines her light across that graffiti again, then to the west... The tunnel to the west is fenced off and it's covered in street signs that all indicated NORTH with light reflection signs.

Additionally, on the ground, hastily painted arrows all line the dusty concrete floor, also sweeping in from the east and curving around toward the north...

"They never laid the tracks down here." Rogue comments, shining her light up the dark north tunnel. "Ya'll think we should follow the signs?" She asks.

But from the east, something rather ominous appears. Lights. Headlights. They shine brightly in the dark, only there isn't just one set, there's multiple, and they're waving around frantically. The sounds of distant engines accompany the lights... whatever their source, they're headed right for the subterranean exploring X-Men!

Roberto da Costa has posed:
"I like how you think Kit-Kat," Berto says to Kitty with a nod. "We'll polish Colossus up all shiny, and by the way Beast, even if you weren't at the battle in Metropolis, you can get a medal too, it was BS how Chewie got screwed. Though to be fair, Shadowkat, I just saved the world, I'm saving the Universe next weekend." The Amazons, Superman, Green Arrow and others may have helped. A little.

"Definitely got the fencing moves to be captain of the pirate ship, NC," he says to Kurt cheerily. "And can you bamf over here for a sec, the brimstone actually smells better than the rest of this place. I'll worry about the washing part later."

When it comes to signs and lights, Berto blinks at the eastern tunnel. "Guys, we've got something coming our way," he says as he turns his powers on and takes to the air, ready to grab people out of the way.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura's voice is quite - very aware of just how easily voices, and sounds can carry in such tunnels as she answers Kitty. She is too focused on her surroundings to offer any sort of banter, but this? She can answer this. "Yes. There are many smells. People live here. There is exhaust fumes. Gasoline or kerosine. Up ahead, there is something burning." She points in the direction where the scent of the fire is coming from.

"I do not hear any voices yet ahead of us. Or any sounds that would come from people. But our voices will carry," is her quiet, sage advice to those talking a little more freely. Her sharp eyes regard their surroundings as well, looking for other clues.

Unlike some, she does not seem especially concerned about how filthy (or clean) she'll come out of the tunnels.

As the lights flare, and begin to come towards them Laura takes a defensive posture to her, slowly but certainly moving to one side - both watching the force that is behind that light as well as her team. "And it is coming fast," she adds on the heels of Roberto's observation.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Flashes Kurt a grin and says, "Alright, but I want one of the busty pirate lass costumes if so. I haven't been able to go to a decent RenFair in two years," she says. She glances down at her chest and then casts a mock glare around at the others. "What? I could pull it off, now," she preempts defensively, though with a soft grin.

She looks about to weigh in Rogue's comment when the lights shine on them. She raises a hand to try to shade her eyes from their bright beams to try to get an idea of how many vehicles.

"Uh, guys, don't think they are going to slow down," she says. She looks around the group and will reach back to anyone who reaches to her for the protection of phasing as the cars rush towards them down the underground tunnel.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
It is not often that the brimstone scent left in the aftermath of his teleporting sprees are the lesser of evils, but such might be the case this time. Still he casts that gleaming grin Roberto's way -- and given the circumstances does not challenge him to duel to determine just who is the fencing champion of the school. This time. "Done and done," he agrees at once with his Excalibur squadmate before both the light and sound of approaching vehicles temporarily still those more levity-filled impulses. They are here on business afterall. Though no one said that he couldn't enjoy said work.

"I will go check it out. Discretely," he offers up. And he will probably be just that. He rarely wields the heavy hand. And just like that the fuzzy blue elf vanishes with that customary pop and rapidly dissipating cloud of inky blackness, reappearing further down the eastern passage. Not on the ground though, no. Instead Kurt clings to the ceiling, that prehensile tail curled around a pipe, that strangely shaped hand easily clinging to the slightest of hand holds as he all but presses him flat against the tunnel's roof as he looks to get a glimpse at just who or what is about to rush into them and teleport back to his friends.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr is befuddled at this truffle shuffle reference, but knowing the Blob is involved, decides there are some things not worth knowing. He has avoided most of the conversations, thus far, worried mostly about his surroundings, which is not helped by the approaching lights. The Russian looks to the group and before he can say anything, everybody seems to have ideas for the problem, but uses his strength to climb up a support beam to get clear of the cars.

Henry McCoy has posed:
He most certainly hear the commotion, sees the lights. The Beast tenses, crouching a bit lower than normal as he readies himself. "I am getting very tired of stopping automobiles." With a growl and a leap, he vaults up to hang from a rafter, feet and claws keeping him lifted up above the vehicles. Hopefully.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue turns to look at the lights headed their way, and it makes her eyes pop open. "Please don't be a ghost train. I don't need t'deal with that in my head t'night. It ain't even Halloween time yet." When she sees Roberto float up, she glances over at him. "Chewie, grab Laura!" Rogue says, not wanting Logan's scrappy youngster getting smooshed by whatever is on the way.

Rogue floats up near to where Kurt is and reaches a gloved hand out to touch his back so that he knows she's there, while her eyes scan for Piotr and Hank, seeing them taking cover. Kitty's probably going to be just fine though, because well... it's Kitty! She peers around Kurt's shoulder at the headlights as they get much brighter and larger!

Along with the lights, the sound of thumping music beats can be heard coming from the vehicles, and the sight of brightly colored undercarriage LED lighting can be seen on each and every set of vehicle that is getting ever-closer!

As the first of them reach the X-Men's location, the echoing of car engines off of the subway tunnel walls is near deafening in volume! The vehicles start to pass base, around, and beneath the X-Men members, as they start to dramatically, and dangerously 'drift' to make th eturn from the eastern tunnel to the north turnnel!

One by one, members of this 'race' zip and zoom past the X-Men, tiers squealing and engines roaring as they race at breakneck speeds through the tunnels, leaving gusts of wind billowing out in their wake!

"What the hell is this?!" Rogue shouts over the sound of it all, as the last two cars roar past and start northward!

Laura Kinney has posed:
It's all Laura can do to not cover her ears with the defeaning sounds - worse for her more than any other, save perhaps Hank. She makes sure she is out of the way, watching, observing the race as it happens.

Still, she seems prepared to fight or attack the vehicles should one of them even show an indication of veering towards any of her fellow mutants. When they all start to head northwards, she grimaces, moving out of picked safe location. She admits, "I do not know what that was. But, is it possible they are our quarry?" She seems to think, at the very least, the noise was aggressive - as was the driving.

She looks over to Roberto, then back to Piotr and Hank, for their opinions.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
"Awesome!" Roberto answers Rogue's question. "Seriously it's like Fast and the Furious Subway Drift down here," he says excited as he drops back to the ground saving his juice in this lightless place. He nods to Laura, "Yeah, definitely worth checking out," he agrees excitedly, mostly because those cars looked dope and he totally wants one.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty sees everyone else getting clear on their own, and she moves off to the side as well, phasing to be sure she's not hit, but not wanting to stand in the middle and possibly cause a car wreck should the approaching vehicles not be actually out to get them.

And the latter appears to be the case. As they zoom on past, Kitty looks over to Piotr. "Tell me that wasn't Vin Diesel behind a wheel," she kids. "Feel like we're in Fast and the Furious 11: Bushwick Drift," she adds, almost at the same time as Roberto. Kitty moves back out, watching the cars roar off around the turn.

Kitty shines her light on the various graffiti, street signs and other markings. "So... ah, we seem to be in the middle of a drag strip or race track or something? I'd suggest we hoof it down to the north there judging from the signs. In case they are going to be coming around again for another lap?"

Kitty lifts a hand to Roberto. "Want to give us a ride?" she asks, as one of the mostly earthly grounded mutants. Yes she can air walk, but it's at a walking pace.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"Chaos, chaos everywhere," Piotr says and looks down at the cars as they go by. He nods to Kitty and says, "Da, looked similar. Though hopefully nobody hurts themselves doing this," he snorts in amusement and looks down the tunnel, "Yeah, best to steer clear of what appears to be the track, or we get caught up in lap two. And I doubt anyone brought banana peels." The Russian looks north, "Though at least it may have bought us some cover."

Henry McCoy has posed:
He's growling in anger, agony. Henry hangs by his feet, his hands trying to cover his ears. The glass-packed mufflers are more than loud in the tight confines, they are excruciating. The Beast's eyes are shut, waiting for the vehicles to move further down the line, away from him.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Well now, that's definitely not something you see every day. And it's definitely not something you expect to see when you're exploring dank tunnels under the city.

Kurt is terribly disappointed. Tricked out sports cars racing around abandonned subway tunnels? Don't they know that there are people here on a quest to find pirate treasure? Mixing genres like this is just completely unacceptable and Kurt has no desire to stand for it. Which probably makes it good that he's really just hanging, perhaps clinging at the moment.

"That was loud. And bright. And loud," the fuzzy blue elf comments mildly. "This... does not seem like a first time thing. If there are others gathering down here they might not be aware that some people have decided to take their underground street racing a little too literally. I will start checking out the circuit and make sure no one stumbles into their path," he says with a little nod, glancing back to Rogue briefly as the rest of the team begins to gather up once more.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's eyes are down on the others below as the tunnel clears out of race cars again. She drops down out of the sky and looks to the youngest of their team. "You okay?" she asks of Laura, being that she's not a rostered member of the X-Men, Rogue definitely doesn't want her getting messed up on a mission she cleared her to come along on!

At Kitty's words, Rogue nods and points up the tunnel that the racing cars can be seen vanishing down. "Lets go, before they make it back around!" She says tot he others, and starts to glide through the air again with her left knee jutting out and her right leg extended backward.

As the group starts to make their way down the tunnel, more becomes apparent. Laura will likely hear it, and see it first... festivities lie up ahead. A large gathering on either sides of a subway platform, cheering for the cars as they'd roared past. There's live music playing, barrel fires on the platforms amongst the people, rows of holiday lights dangling from the arched ceilings of the subway tunnels and the platforms.

It's an all out celebration for this strange underground racing circuit!

The sounds of a loud speaker's voice can be heard as the X-Men draw nearer too. "Lap two is in the books, with Teddy NoFucksSpin in first place, coming around Lost Lovers Corner! Mike the Psyche is hot on his tail though, with Jenna Jawstooth rounding out the top three racers heading in to the next lap!"

Laura Kinney has posed:
"People," Laura announces, before the rest of the group can be made aware, "Just up ahead. Quite a lot of them. Fire, too. Music." A few more steps, and the others will start to hear the din, and then the announcements, but Laura does not lower her defenses in the least. This is all strange, foreign to her and her eyes are narrowed with all the strangeness of this. The names announced, too, make no sense to her either. But she knows enough to know they're not 'real names'.

"What is going on?" She growls, low, to anyone near her who might answer.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
"You got it, Kit-Kat," Roberto tells Kitty as he grabs her hand and scoops her up into his arms to carry while he kicks on his powers and flies. "Got to get some practice in flying for two anyhow."

He zips on after Rogue making sure not to fly past their fearless leader, until he begins to hear the sounds of a party up ahead. Then he zooms forward, into view of the celebration, still holding Kitty. "Best. Mission, Ever." he grins looking at the place from just inside the tunnel.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty's eyes widen as she sees the party up ahead. "Let's see if the natives are friendly?" she suggests, glancing around to everyone. If Roberto is amenable soon she and the Brazilian mutant are landing at the edge of the crowd. Lockheed flies down to land on her shoulder again. Protectively.

Kitty looks over at some of the people. "Hey, nothing like seeing the race up close," she says with a grin and a shrug, joking her way past having been on the track. "How many laps do they run?" she asks a woman.

She spots a vendor with drinks for sale and moves over to order two, passing a beer over to Roberto if he wants it. She glances towards Laura, expression checking whether she thinks it's ok or she senses anything worrisome. "This is so much more than we heard about it," she comments to one of the crowd, trying to get more info out of them. "How long's it been going?"

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"Let's go," Piotr concurs and joins in the approach towards the gathering of others. "Good news, we avoided second lap," he saysy dryly. The Russian thinks as they approach and says, "Those are definitely clever stagenames." He nods and says to Laura, "Illegal races, uncertain how long, though. But it is secluded and built well enough to be done in relative peace." A beat passes before looking to the others, "Just be careful and stick together, it will be easy to get split up, keeping his eyes open as he looks around for signs of threats.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Of course there is certainly no time to complete a circuit of the race track in anywhere close to the time those cars appear to be whipping around but teleporting around certainly does a great deal to even the score, popping in and out with those quiet *bamfs* every few seconds, just long enough to peer about make sure that the track is clear of anyone who might be in danger of being mowed down by the racing cars. Covering things off in one or two hundred foot increments might take a little while, but far less time then walking the course -- or for that matter driving -- and in short order the fuzzy blue elf is back to where they began, moving to follow after the rest of the team...

...and finds them amidst the gathered crowd, blinking as he looks over the scene from his perch along the roof of the underground tunnel. Apparently they were the only ones in danger of being mowed down. Apparently everyone else is already very aware of just what's going on down here. Interesting.

While the others mingle, Kurt lingers up above for the moment, getting... well, not a bird's eye view really. Maybe a spider's view. Or some unpleasant insect. Either way, he keeps watch on those below for the moment, lingering in the deepest shadows of the tunnel. Curiouser and curiouser.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is not far from Kitty when they arrive in the party ambiance of the Station Platform. She puts her hands in her leather jacket pockets to close her leather jacket up over her X-men uniform a bit, though it's not like her lower half doesn't stand out a bit in a crowd of youthful people all dressed in urban street, or punk styles.

The X-Men are welcomed up on to the platform, though their arrival does draw quite a few looks from people, since some of them were seen FLYING, not to mention ... Piotr...

One of the people Kitty strikes a conversation up with though, just nods at her after paying Laura a glance as well. He's a young man with tanned skin, a hoodie on with the hood up, and piercings all over his face. "Yo, this is the Dark Down Circuit. It's the last race of the summer. There's ten mil on the line here, ten laps, if anyone can survive'em!"

The guy looks at the visible X-Men and then at some of his people with him. "You all with the mutants we ran outta here?" He just lays it out on the table. "Don't seem like it, ya'll look lie damn super models, even Tin Man there, you been hittin' the Protein, there Steel Man?" He asks the Russian with a smirk.

Rogue steps over toward the platform edge, between a few other people and she leans over it to glance down the way they'd come. "I think the cars are comin' back, ya'll." She shouts back to the others.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
A figure dressed in a motorcycle suit and helmet observes the race track. Head tilting the side, he scans the crowd curiously. The visor of the helmet has an ebbing glow as if a pair of LED lights were situated behind. As the head swivels, the visor illuminates brighter for a moment, the owner's gaze situated on the X-men.

A gloved hand raises up and flips the visor open, a pair of glowing eyes revealed within. A few of the party should recognize Maxwell. He's been on a couple of missions and actively lived at the mansion during the time that Mutant Town got itself bottled. He offers a wave and scoots over, getting particularly close to Kitty whom he seems to know the best.

"Guess I wasn't the only one who got curious about this place. I kept seeing odd vibrations in the ground. Took me awhile to clue into it being street races." He looks at the others, "I'm guessing there's more going on then I realized."

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Setting down Kitty, Roberto glances around his surroundings, "Why have I never heard of this place?" he exclaims eyes wide. When Hoodie McPiercings tells them about the race, his attention snaps in his direction, "Lap two of ten right? Betting still open?" he asks, with a grin.

Though thoughts of wagers are put on hold for a moment by Rogue's shout, as he joins her leaning over to see the cars coming down the tunnel they'd just left behind.

Laura Kinney has posed:
It will be become clear to those who have spent some time with Laura she's not about to attack anyone. She's merely - hyper-focused, aware, and cautious. Ready to attack -if- an attack comes upon them, not trusting the near-violent enjoyment of the crowd, music, and racing to not overspill into something lethal.

She nods to Piotr, only then relaxing just a little bit, but still remaining cautious. "I see."

She looks at Roberto, "And you think this is - fun?" She appears to be aware she's missing something.

But as Rogue shouts, she moves towards the platforms edge as well, into the realm of safety, this time she does cover her ears when the cars pass through.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr, as usual, is the most subtle of ninjas in the X-Men. He raises a brow at being called Tin Man, but it is not the first time. He then approaches the others as Rogue mentions the race coming back around and the Russian says, "Da, I can probably stop one from hurting me, but last time I do that I break tractor."

"Protein is essential part of diet," Piotr says to the man who addresses him. "Last race of summer? How often were races held?" He has some curiosity about this. Though it seems others have asked similar questions.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
With all the noise and vendors, the cries from the crowd and the periodically brightly flashing lights there are all sorts of distractions and plenty of shadows for Kurt to linger in up near the roof. Even when some of those strobing light effects might illuminate him for a moment, that indigo fur all but melts away into the darkness. So he listens and watches over the team, listening in on some of the conversations. Most seem very much fixated on these races, or the mundane. But that little nugget that apparently other mutants had resided in these tunnels until chased off by the racers doesn't escape his attention, a small frown briefly creasing the normally grinning features of the fuzzy blue elf.

As the racing cars near this staging area again, the rumble that echoes down the dark passages begins to grow louder and louder -- as do the cheers from the fans as well and it becomes hard for Kurt to pick out very much at all of the conversation below. He instead lets his gaze roam over the crowd with interest.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty grins as the person mentions they look like supermodels. And the actual supermodel isn't even with them. She winks over to Kurt. "Told you. Busty pirate lass," she says with a grin to her old Excalibur teammate.

She looks back to Roberto and Laura. "Yeah, this would be his kind of thing," Kitty confirms. "Especially the betting." She couldn't even get that out before Roberto is already looking for where he can place one.

The glow of blue eyes gets Kitty's attention and she focuses on Maxwell. "Hey you," she says, avoiding using names given they are in costume. "Yeah, we came to take a look but didn't expect all of this," she tells him. She moves over with the others to check the track as the cars are returning. "If they have a Metal Masher, I'm putting $5 down on him," she says, resting a hand on Piotr's back and grinning at him. Kitty looks back to Max. "What all do you know about it?" She glances around at her teammates after the mention of mutants being run off.

Rogue has posed:
Another young person, standing near Robert with purple frosted tipped hair and a series of lip rings flashes him a smile. "This is the first time this race has happened in the States. It usually sticks over in Europe." She says over the sounds of the crowd, and live music on the opposite platform from the one the X-Men are on.

She glances then to Piotr and looks him up and down. "Fuckin' far out..." She states as the Russian's general appearance. "I thought I had a lotta metal in me." The young girl says before glancing at the track again. "Been a US tour all summer. Hittin' up all the major cities. From L.A. to Chi-town, Motor City and even down to Creepsville, Florida. Big finish is right here, under the Big Apple itself." she points across the platform to one of the banners that lists all the previous races and their winners.

Teddy NoFucksSpin is the dominant racer, clearly. "Teddy's gonna win it, he always does. Watch'im when he comes in, he always puts on a show for the crowd..."

Rogue, glances up at Kurt, since she knew he was up there on the ceiling, then looks back down to the race track as the others are nearby her. "Here they come--" She stops "Oh shit! Back up!"

The Belle shouts that just as one of the side cars trying to pull ahead into first place suddenly clips a pillar in the tunnel and starts to spin out of control!

The other vehicles sway to the far side to avoid the driver, and they all race in to the Station Platform!

Only, the real reason why the driver clipped the pillar suddenly becomes evident. Kurt wasn't that far off, crawling around like a spider, because on all of the hoods of the vehicles, giant black spiders are attached to the cars, frantically slapping at their windows with all of their eight-creepy-giant legs!

The line of racers all start to spin out of control inside the Station Platform, the spiders subsequently leap from the top of the cars toward the crowds, toward the X-Men!

The whole place becomes a cacophony of screams, and loud music, and cars smashing into each other!

Maxwell Wave has posed:
"I'm pretty in the dark. I have heard some rumbling of complaints that aren't very coherent, and I can tell you that the people who race here are completely out of their minds. One bad turn... and splat. There's a reason professional circuits try to surround courses with some kind of cushion. There's no give in these walls." Maxwell explains to Kitty and others nearby as he offers a big shrug.

He frowns and mumbles, "And its all a shame really. The people who built all this, didn't intend it to be used for gambling and getting people killed." That was the civil engineer speaking in disapproval...."

Maxwell gawks as he notices the giant black spiders, "Oh god..."

Raising his hands, he projects a field around himself and the group of X-men that is only visible when one of the spiders performs an abrupt one-hundred and eighty-degree turn, flinging back toward the cars. "Cyclops taught me to play D, so I'll play D!"

Laura Kinney has posed:
See? Laura knew it. She knew something was going to happen, with all the loud noises, and crazy people. Okay, maybe not. She had suspected danger, yes, but from the people and crowd - not, mutated giant spiders. But that doesn't mean her tactics can't change in an instant. She'd been trained most her life to adapt, adjust, combat. And now she does just that.

There is not even a heistation as she lunges forward once she sees the problem and the cars - and the spiders on them. As the nearest spider jumps towards the crowd Laura's claws are already out of each hand, raking through a spider's body with clean precision and then she's moving onto her next target.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
"Man, you guys got a schedule for next year? I definitely want to check this out, on either side of the pond." Heck, he'd be game to drive, but one thing at a time! Or maybe two things, as he glances back at Piotr at the girl's exclamation. "Yeah, don't mind the big guy here, too much iron in his diet."

"So, this Teddy guy? He alway-"

That's when he catches a flash of movement in the corner of his eye. Whirling his mind registers eight-legs, eight eyes, and pointy fang-thingies and that's all he needs to see as his powers kick on and he lets loose with a 5 ton concussive blast aimed right at the spider's centre mass.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"Wrecking cars is easy, they do not even leave dent," Piotr says with a nod to Kitty and then looks to the stranger explaining the races, "I see, sound risky." Definitely not too keen on the concept. This conversation is cut short, though when the spiders arrive.

Piotr is not pleased. These /definitely/ should not be here. He joins Laura in moving towards the spiders, Colossus is not going to abide whatever these spiders are. As soon as he can get near one, Piotr will try and pick one up and yeet it at another one, which does not only count as one.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty winces as the one car has the collision. She says to Max, "I think the lack of protection is part of the draw for these people." She glances over, and surely there's more rubbernecking going on about the wreck than about the cars still zooming on.

That's when she becomes aware of the spiders. "Oof, had to be spiders didn't it?" she says, cringing at the sight of them. Max's shield stops one from pouncing at them, but another is heading for members of the crowd outside the barrier!

Kitty sprints over as the spider lands on a man, catching him beneath a leg and pinning him. Thick mandibles descend towards his head to make a tasty snack of it. Kitty slides right through man and spider like a baseball player going into second base. As she passes out of him, she grabs hold of his arm and phases him, pulling him along with her. The spider's mouth clicks closed on nothing but air.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Ah ha! If there were not so many people in danger this would definitely be more like it. Fast cars are well and good. Fun in their own way. But dark, creepy tunnels and giant monsters? Now that sounds like an excellent sort of adventure. It makes Kurt wish that he had straped on his rapier when he came along on this particular outting. Really, you'd think he would have realized by now that even when it isn't actually necessary, it still makes one hell of a fashion statement.

While his dark little corner is nice and out of the way, that's not really where Kurt lives. At least not most of the time. So as the first of the car is attacked by the giant nasties and clips the pillar Kurt springs into action. Or at leasts *bamfs* into it. Quite literally. As the car begins to spin out of control the fuzzy blue elf is suddenly inside of it, grabbing hold of the driver and vanishing again, leaving the windshield of the car filled with inky black mist. Kurt and the driver? They appear well away on the platform. An instant later the teleporting elf has done the same thing for another of the drivers endangered by the sudden arachnid assault and he rejoins the group.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I've always wanted to slay a dragon. Not you of course Lockheed," he assures Kitty's best friend. He doesn't need him angry with him. "But giant spiders will do almost as well."

Rogue has posed:
The live music is being played by a band on the far platform, and they're safely hidden behind a metal gate that is lined with lights, wild punk rock art, and flowing plumes of smoke that music in with the flashing lights all aruond them.

As the chaos breaks out, they don't even skip a beat, they just keep playing their loud punk music, and in-fact... they might even be playing it even louder, faster and with more angry emotion!

When the cars start to spin out of control, and pile up between the platforms, the spiders are sent into the crowd, and right at the X-Men! Maxwell's shield does good at protecting the Xavier's Group, but it sends the spiders around the shield to land on bulks of fleeing, screaming, party goers!

Laura ravages that first spider, with a deadly precision, as two more rush past her on either sides, while a third tries to lunge at her!

Roberto's concussive blast does its trick, maybe a bit too well, as the beastly arachnid is impacted by it, and summarily blows up into a shower of furry spider parts, and wet spider fluids!

The driver that Kurt rescues is literally screaming the entire time, and still screaming when he comes to find himself suddenly on the Platform and not smashed to pieces inside of his car. He suddenly stops screaming and ocvers his nose. "Ah, gah-damn, what's that smell?!" He exclaims, before stumbling backward as spiders rush toward he and Kurt!

Piotr's yeeting is successful! But he'll see soon after that the punk girl he'd been talking to before the madness broke out, is being pushed up against a Platform pillar and spun in a circle as a spider is trying to wrap her up in a sticky cocoon!

Rogue? Well, she's dropped off the platform, under Max's barrier, and is rushing over to the other cars to pull their doors open and check on their drivers!

Maxwell Wave has posed:
After his initial reaction, Maxwell changes his tactics just a little bit. His gaze follows Kitty as she goes for the save. He launches behind her, and once she has the man pulled to safety, his eyes flare blue. The spider's legs abruptly buckle as the effect of gravity on its mass is drastically amplified.

The arachnid's cephalothorax warps as the exoskeleton struggles to contain the surmounting pressure of its brain weighing tenfold more than usual. Ultimately, the creature dies with a wet pop. Maxwell visibly winces at the outcome.

His head abruptly turns as a car that lagged behind the pack arrives, flips, and begins to tumble. Ducking and projecting his will outward, he does the opposite of what he did to the spider. The car abruptly falls upwards and sails over the crowd. Impacting the ceiling with a shower of sparks, it resumes its tumble only to fall back to the ground a few dozen yards farther down the tunnel.

Maxwell should have been less distracted, though, because while he marvels at the crash. An arachnid approaches on his six seeking vengeance for its leggy brethren.

Laura Kinney has posed:
As the third spider lunges at her, Laura completes a roundhouse, foot claw comes up to stab the attacking spider in the head, and then slice it open.

"They're fakes." The dead-pan declaration is spoken loudly, and with a clenched jaw as she turns, now - all but ignoring the rest of the spiders, however 'real' a threat they are to the people in the illegal racing circuit or X-Men.

She sniffs the air, once, twice, three times, and then her eyes shift, narrow, and focus intently upon the dark tunnel that the brightly colored and decked out cars has just rushed out of.

Her mind races. She knows a spider this large could outrun her, she scans her surroundings and the chaos. And, her mind, trained to adapt and take advantage of her surroundings in almost any scneario finds a solution. It might not seem a -sane- solution, all things considered.

"Colossus," Laura states, moving over to him. "Throw me." She points with her finger, towards that tunnel, hand claws still extended. "There. Now. Before it runs away."

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Making a face, Berto says, "Okay, too much power there," he takes to the air turning and surveying the the battle. "Wait! Fakes? What the hell they seem pretty real to me." Just to prove the point he aims a blast at the one sneaking up on Maxwell the force dialed down to well under a ton. "Heads up new guy."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr snorts as the spiders are dealt with, at least the two he aimed for, and he is about to go deal with the one wrapping their host up in a web, but first he hears a voice with a familiar request, and clearly it must be a genetic thing. The Russian says, "Be careful and pay attention to your surroundings." With that, he picks Laura up and delivers a Fastball Special (tm) to hopefully deal with the runner.

Once he launches Laura, knowing she can handle herself, Piotr goes after the spider webbing up the host. Dealing with silk is a pain, but an even bigger pain is Piotr's fist coming up in an uppercut towards the spider, hoping to keep it busy. Or kill it. Either is acceptable.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
As Roberto lines up on the spider approaching Max from behind, Lockheed dives down, trying to grab Max by the shoulders and tug him forward, both away from the spider and keeping him out of Roberto's line of fire.

Kitty gives Max a salute as she sees he's taken care of the spider that was after her and the man from the crowd. She runs towards the edge of the platform in her yellow and black X-man costume. She slides again - really what's with all the baseball moves, Kitty? - this time going off the platform and down onto the makeshift race track below. One of the cars has been pummeled by a spider that is trying to get inside, the doors smashed to the point of not opening. Kitty runs into the car and emerges from the other side, dragging the freaked out driver behind her as one moment he was cowering from the spider trying to get through the roof, and the next he's passing through the car's body and hustled back towards the platform.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
"Everyone's a critic," Kurt mutters, though even that is not enough to wipe the grin from his face. Sure, you'd expect that a guy would be grateful to be pulled from a careening car just before it splattered. But he has kinda got used to the idea that reaction might be the exception, rather than the rule. That's okay. Gratitude? Adulation? A hero craves not these things!

With that nasty looking giant spider bearing down on him, the fuzzy blue elf would ideally just grab the ungrateful driver and *bamf* to the other side of the room. But doing so would almost definitely guarantee that the man would be throwing up all over the platform a moment later after teleporting too often in so short a time frame. And it wouldn't help the other onlookers who stand nearby. So Kurt does pretty much the only thing he can. And *bamfs* away...

...right onto the back of beastly spider, grasping hands seeking a purchase and legs gripping his most unwelcoming mount tightly as he tries to draw it away from the crowd. "Does any one have a vial of glowy elf water or a magical dagger?"

Rogue has posed:
Needless to say, without the X-Men being here, this probably would've gone a lot worse than it has. But that's not to say that it's going that great either, really. The X-Men's efforts are allowing the people on the platform to funnel faster toward the stairs than they would've been able to without the team here though, without question. But those stairs are also turning into a bit of a meat grinder as people do as they do, and trample each other, even if some of the better ones in the crowd are trying to help others too. It's all happening right behind Roberto too, as the stairs are on his right side.

Piotr's uppercut sends the spider going straight up into the air, and impacting against the roof, smashing it into some of the old light fixtures that weren't functional as they were never finished in the construction phase to begin with. The limp floppy spider body spins off out of control to land down on the ground.

It lands right down beside Kitty, only to be stepped on by Rogue, who uses it as a stepping stone to get up and over it to where Kitty is. "Here." She offers to take the driver from Kitty.

With the driver in her arms now, Rogue flies up on to the platform to a safe place to hand him off to a couple of bystanders who actually know the kid, and are eager to help get him out of here. "Go, go fast." Rogue tells them before spinning back around to see where the others were, Kurt on a spider's back like it's a rodeo, Maxwell putting on an impressive show with his abilities and... Where's Laura?

Laura lands on the spider in the tunnel, the one that her super smeller picked up on as being the only one of the horde that actually has a scent! It releases a bone chilling scream, insect-like, with all it's legs tensing up as it tries to shake the mini-verine off of it's body!

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Max takes the cue from Lockheed and takes a step forward just as the spider gets wasted. He offers a thumbs-up toward Roberto and murmurs a 'thanks' to Lockheed.

His head tilting to the side at Kurt's request, he reaches into a side pouch and proceeds to toss a long... philips head screwdriver? Well... What do you expect? Maxwell tends to fix things for a living. He's not a rogue or an assassin. However, the kid can definitely throw! Sans gravity, the magnificent tool spins tip over handle in a perfectly straight line toward the blue elf. "Incoming +1 Screwdriver! I wish you well on your quest!"

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Seeing the horde of people flooding the exit, Berto shouts "HEY!" and fires a blast upwards just strong enough to make a noise. "We've got this under control, everyone slow your roll and exit in an orderly fashion, or the big guy," he nods to Piotr. "Will yeet every last one of yu into the stratosphere, you get me?" he says leaning in letting his ebon features firey eyes and mouth make an impression as he lands by the door to the stairs. "One at a time, move quickly but don't run, and you will all get out of here alive and un-yeeted."

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura is tossed, expertly, by Colossus and she keeps herself still until the last possible moment until her target is right -there-. She will, later, commend Piotr for his perfect throw - but for now, there is other things to do.

As Laura lands, she sinks one set of hand-claws directly into the spiders body and to stabilize herself while a footclaw is extended out in a makeshift leg sweep across those terrible legs that are attempting to shake her off.

The blood-curdling scream is painful, though, and her other hand raises to her ear to block at least some of that sound that threatens, she thinks, to bust her eardrums. Sure, they'd heal, but it doesn't mean it's pleasant.

Her other foot claw pops out, and now both foot-claws move to puncture the great spiders side, like she were on a horse and spurring it, except - well, giant spider, and trying to murderize it.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty lets the driver become tangible again so Rogue can scoop him off and carry him away. Meanwhile, Shadowcat looks across the other cars, checking for signs of anyone else that's in danger.

Not seeing anyone else, she heads back for the platform, jumping up and grabbing hold and pulling herself back up to it. She jogs over to the rest of the group, looking around and doing a mental count.

"Where's X-23?" she asks, having missed aforementioned yeets and flying claws of death. Lockheed swings back over to land on her shoulder, keeping an out for signs of danger.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
It is not Piotr's first time throwing a team member. He knows what he is about. The Russian though looks up at the spider that did it's little arc. "Russian judge gives that a three, did not stick landing." Piotr notes to Kitty, "Threw her after spider, spider is probably dead, now." He catches Berto's comment and looks over to the crowd, "He is correct, best to leave." The large Russian lets his frame do the rest of the talking. Though he certainly would not kill or do anything to the spectators that would be harmful, it is still in their best interests to get out.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Wow, ask and ye shall receive. There's a reason why Kurt keeps the faith, despite everything. And sure, a screwdriver -- even a +1 screwdriver -- isn't exactly an elegant weapon for a more civilized age, but beggers can't be choosers either. He doesn't have a whole lot of options and the spider is rather on the... large side for him to be teleporting. If the people trapped against the wall are going to be given a chance to rush for the stairs, well, one less giant spider probably helps a lot.

"Many thanks my friend!" the fuzzy blue elf calls out to Maxwell as he extends his hand, reaching... reaching... and snagging the makeshift weapon at the last second, just as the spider bucks and rears beneath him, trying to hurl him loose. "When we find the pirate ship at the end of this you can have any position on my crew that you want. Except busty pirate lass. We filled that one," he calls back, clinging to the spider with one hand while trying to get a good grip on the screwdriver in the other.

"Entschuldigen sie," he murmurs, taking no particular satisfaction in the necessity as he brings the pointy end of the screwdriver down hard, right into the head of the giant spider beneath him. The least he can do is make it one quick thrust at the very least.

Rogue has posed:
Roberto, and Colossus', efforts on the stairwell chaos pay off as the display from Roberto catches the attention of a lot of the people. They're mostly all kids, really, so they're fairly easily frightened by such displays of authoritative aggressiveness, not to mention Colossus' everything!

It's not a perfect solution, but it's having a positive impact all the same. Some of the others are helping to get the fallen people up off of the stairs too now more easily.

Rogue jaunts back over to stand near to where Kitty is calling out for X-23, she points a gloved hand at the Lil Stabby. "She's there, goin' nuts on that one."

And indeed Laura's efforts of stabbing, spiking, kicking, and otherwise spearing the only spider that had a 'scent' suddenly pay off.

The spider Laura is on, just shrivels and shrinks away until Laura is left on the ground, hovering above the face of a scared young man, filthy and horrified as he just stares up at Laura. He coughs, and a trail of blood edges its way out of the corner of the kid's mouth...

All of the spiders in the Subway Platform suddenly vanish, including the one Kurt is on, which causes the blue elfy-man-pirate-captain to land on the ground, with his +1 screwdriver just sticking into the old filthy concrete...

The band keeps playing, though their song goes to a quieter tune now, the Platforms have mostly emptied out at this point.

And from the tunnel that it all came out of, including the X-Men a group of young people dressed in rags emerge from the darkness and stare at Laura, and the impaled boy beneath her. Eight of them in total, soem of them having visible physical mutations. They look shocked and afraid.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
A slash of fire crosses Roberto's ebon features as he grins, the people were getting out in a semi orderly fashion now. Glancing to Piotr he says, "Colossus, you want to go look for the Sniktlett, go ahead. I've got things here." Then turning back to one of the kids who shoves another, he lifts him up easily. "Big guy's not the only one who can yeet? Compreendo?" then he lets him down and sends him on his way.

Laura Kinney has posed:
As soon as the 'spider' she was on reverts to that of human form, Laura stops attacking. There is a solemn, serious look on her features, jaw set. But, she does not seek any further harm to the terrified boy. Instead, she stares back at him.

In fact, Laura says nothing to the boy, or to the frightened crowd nor does she move to attack, initimidate them, or justify her actions.

The only thing she -does- do? Is slightly turn, her eyes still fixated back on the boy, and calls to the X-Men, "He will need medical attention."

Briefly, her gaze flits over to the crowd. Her claws retract back into her body and she looks back to the small crowd. "Your tactics to attempt to remove the racers was not well thought out." Probably not the best way to endear herself to them after everything. But, she's trying! She really is.

She looks back to the boy, "The threat is over. I have no further reason to attack. Rest. Until my friends can help you."

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Maxwell does a fist-pump as Kurt catches the screwdriver and then gawks as spiders abruptly vanish. He blinks, each closing of his eyelids briefly concealing the glowing orbs which fill his eye sockets. His brow knits in confusion, he reaches up and removes his helmet entirely, running a hand through his messy brown hair.

"What the heck just happened." He scans his surroundings and then looks in the direction that X-23 was thrown. He squints as he tries to make sense of the scene. He starts approaching and hisses with empathy pain as he starts putting two and two together. "Ouch, I'm guessing its time for medevac."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde spots X-23 after being pointed her direction. As she sees what happens to the 'spider', Kitty's eyes widen. She looks around for any signs of a med kit. It's an international race circuit where people crash, for $10 million. Even with the atmosphere, there's hopefully one.

Either way she's soon jogging over towards X-23 and the emerging group. She moves to the wounded person though, and will start administering first aid, medkit or not, if allowed. "We're not here to fight. We heard about some things going down, people getting hurt, and came to check on it," she says gently, watching the approaching mutants to make sure she's ready to phase if one of them attacks.

"Let's get your friend some medical care and then we can maybe see about helping you guys out, ok?" she says. "We thought they were actual spiders trying to hurt people, not..." Kitty says, trailing off as she looks at the group.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr nods to Berto, "Da," though when he turns around he hears Laura's remarks, "Found her." Deadpan delivery, as usual. Though he makes his way over that way, he sees the others, both X-Men and the ones who came out of the tunnel. "What is going on?" Then he sees the body and nearly calls out but then he sees Kitty applying aid, "Is he going to be all right?" Piotr inquires.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Well that was unexpected. Though perhaps it shouldn't be all things considered. He did overhear that the local mutants had been driven away so that these others could play. All the light and music, excitement and fun. But at a cost for those that lived here, their home stolen.

When the spider vanishes beneath him Kurt is quick to motion to the others who cower in the corner, gesturing towards the increasingly cleared stairs thanks to Roberto and Piotr's efforts. "Quick now," he urges, making sure that they are out of the way before turning towards the scene at the other end of the platform and the tunnel beyond.

What an unfortunate misunderstanding. Concern lights in Kurt's eyes as he trots over, wincing as he sees the injured young man on the tunnel floor. At least the injuries do not appear to be immediately life threatening and the fuzzy blue elf hops down off the platform to join the others. "I'll take him for help if he needs it and will make sure that he returns safely," he promises the frightened-looking mutants as he crouches close by, looking concerned. Emergency medevac, right here.

Rogue has posed:
The kids in the tunnel walk forward toward the X-Men who gather near to where Laura is. They seem nervous and reluctant, but the older girl in the group speaks up. "You're the X-Men." She says, nodding toward Rogue's jacket, with the X's on the sleeves, let alone the other X's the other team members are wearing.

Rogue nods softly at them. "We are, and we're gonna get your friend t'safety. You all too, if you wanna join us." The Belle looks over to the others. "We gotta high tail it back t'the Bird, ya'll." She nods once to Kurt then. "Quick as we can go, lets get to it."

She floats up in to the air and starts to zip down the tunnel back the way they'd come, hoping the others are following, including the pack of wayward mutants they'd just found in the tunnels.

---

As the X-Men department, on the platform they'd defended in the chaos, a man in a very nice suit lights a cigarette up and watches the X-Men, and their little mutants, flee in to the darkness. He puffs on the cigarette and smirks around its end.