7906/Missing In China

Missing In China
Date of Scene:	21 September 2021
Location:	Beijing Power Plant
Synopsis:	The Chinese Government will think twice before messing with mutants again. Rogue, Warpath, Blink, Spectra, Wolfsbane, Sabertooth, Toad and Magneto personally saw to the rescue of Mystique and a not to subtle note to never repeat their actions against mutants again.
Cast of Characters:	Raven Darkholme, Mortimer Toynbee, Clarice Ferguson, Victor Creed, Rogue, Lydia Dietrich, Rahne Sinclair, James Proudstar, Erik Lensherr

---

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The gathering. Those who have come to help the mutants of China and get Mystique back gather at one of the many, many, MANY safe houses out there. For the most part the news of the missing cobalt mutant was kept hush, those who found out about it were meant to find out, and informed when and where to meet.

Standard house, nothing exciting about it, even in a good neighbor. Nothing like mingling mutants into a human neighborhood, they love that right?

Mortimer Toynbee has posed:
Mortimer Toynbee arrives in a jumpsuit spattered and stained with a variety of fluids, oil most prominently but a few crimson enough to raise questions some people would probably rather not have answered. His hair is overgrown and pulled into a sloppy topknot and he's letting his tongue dangle from his mouth down to his chest, dripping ichor as he maneuvers in. He drops into a squatting position near Clarice's feet, draping his overlong arms across his bony knees. His eyes bulge accordingly, bloodshot and luridly green as he awaits the arrival of others, "Time to kill kill kill the donuuuuuuuuuuts," he singsongs, followed with a quavering giggle.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice had taken the time to hug both of her brothers, promising them a text when they were safely away and back on the asteroid. With several members of the Brotherhood in tow, she opens a portal into the safehouse - and busies herself with making coffee and tea, of all things, so they can have something to sip at while planning their assault. Got to have everyone at their best, right? She settles into a chair in a living room, the sketches of the Beijing Power Plant grounds and buildings blown up and arrayed on a table in front of them. "Alright, Mister Creed. What's your theory on this mess?" she asks simply.

Victor Creed has posed:
    Sabretooth is dressed for business today. His kind of business, which means camo pants and boots, body armor and camo jacket. Yeah, armor. He can heal, but it still hurts and can waste time, so the full specops package is in play for assaulting a fortified, professionally guarded base. He's poring over the maps and satellite images of the compound, looking for the best insertion locations, fields of fire for the guard towers and entrances to the Warehouse.

    After a couple minutes he looks to Clarice and asks, "So, any idea how close you can drop us? That will kind of be important for deciding what our path to the warehouse is."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is present due to the nature of the situation. She's active in saving mutants in peril, but especially when it's Mystique-- which is a newly returned interest in helping Raven not get dead.

The Belle stands off to the side in her green and gold bodysuit with her hands on her hips, though she raises them up as others start to talk and plan. She picks her aviator sunglasses up off of her head and folds the silver limbed arms closed before she tucks them in to a inner pocket on the left breast side of her jacket. She folds her arms over her stomach then and shifts her weight from one booted foot to the other. "Get us close, Blink. I'll take t'the skies and start wreckin' whatever ya'll want brought down." She says in her naturally husky southern flavored tone.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
This is the second such operation that Lydia has gone on with the Brotherhood. She may lack experience, but she's proven that she's got useful skills in the field, and besides, she absolutely refuses to be just a pretty face clinging to Mystique's side. She's dressed appropriately, no dresses today. She's got her body armor on and secured, and her thick curly hair tied up into a neat bun to keep it out of her face.

She stands in the back, out of the way. She may have insisted on being involved but she knows that her inexperience will only get in the way of the planning, so she just listens for now.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne is coming in small. Luckily, she's basically got all her gear with her all the time, though this time she's got on something a little new. In human form she's five foot two, wearing shorts and a light shirt. But she's also got on a stretchable bandolier with knives in it.

She looks like nothing. James and Rogue would know from experience exactly how 'nothing' that can be. And she has multiple ways to get around.

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar folds his arms over that massive chest focused on thr task at hand. He gives the impression of being even larger than anyone remembers. "Rogue and I can fly in, bust our way through. We'll take Killer with us" Jim nods to Creed. He's wearing a black tee and dark raw denim jeans that are broken in with heavy duty work boots. "The rest of you hit the warehouse, rally the mutants to our cause. Be as much of a distraction as you can."

Erik Lensherr has posed:
    The door opens and Erik walks in, wearing the easily recognized red and black Magneto regalia. Closing the door behind him, he scans over the occupants of the room with a small smile before saying, "Well, I'm glad to see that our change of methods seems to be working. It warms my heart to see the Brotherhood and Charles' X-Men working together instead of fighting. Something I hope to keep going in the future."

    His expression changes as he looks at the maps on the table and goes on, "I see that I have, however, let people forget not to cross mutants. That will change with this assault. Apparently it is time to put the fear of Magneto back into some people who have been abusing mutants." He looks around then simply asks, "Shall we go?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "From what I was told? The closest I can get us to the Warehouse," Clarice taps the building in question, "is about a hundred yards or so. Then once we get closer - in theory, if our intel is good, and we have every reason to believe it will be, I'll be relying on these." She draws a throwing knife from one of many sheathes set into her own body armor. "I won't have any powers in there unless we find the mutant that can block my portals." She'd had some practice with functioning without her portals - not too long ago. But she really wasn't looking forward to reprising it.
    "How do you plan on getting into the Power Plant? The thing locks down tight - and we can't risk letting it go nu- clear..." She trails off as, what is more or less the 'nuclear option' of the mutant community steps into the room.
    "Sir," she says simply, giving him a nod.

Mortimer Toynbee has posed:
Mortimer Toynbee blinks as Magneto comes in and scurries a bit behind Clarice's legs, "MASTER!" he cries in surprise, dribbling drool in his wake and leaving a few slime imprints from his bare feet as he skitters along the floor.

"Yes, we will make them fear again! Yes! Yes!" he giggles, clapping his hands together and going back and forth from foot to foot.

Victor Creed has posed:
    Looking up from the maps and photos, Sabretooth nods to Magneto with a grin for his words, "I'm betting they'll remember by the time we're finished today. If you can keep the heavy guns off us boss, we can take care of anybody they try and put in our way." He points at the warehouse with one clawed finger and adds, "I can't imagine that once we're in there, they can have anything powerful enough to stop us. I was just a little worried about the heavy weapons in the towers defending the place."

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar frowns at Erik, "We still need a plan. We should also have an alternate exfil strategy in place. Are we planning to bring any of the mutants with us, other that Mystique? if so, how many?"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue lifts her chin up a bit when Magneto appears. She stares at him with her pale green eyes for a moment before she shifts her stare to the others who speak up. After the question of the power plant is asked, Rogue shakes her head side to side. "If I'm gonna smash that place up, I'm not gonna go anywhere near the towers nor the reactor room. Those places ... well... they need to avoid my wrath." She unfolds her arms from her stomach then and places her right hand on her right hip, left hand dangling at her side. "Hundred yards out is perfect for me." She states, glancing toward James and Rahne thenn next.,

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne has never met Erik. Or, as she likes to call him, Lord Voldemort. She may read too many books. Still, she doesn't scent terror in the room, so she takes a deep breath and forces her wolf down, the gold shine of her eyes fading back to green. There was a moment when she nearly reacted though, and one of her knives is a bit more out of the sheath than it should have been for safety. She sees Rogue look, and nods. Deep breaths. Not the bad guy you were taught. Evil is an illusion.

So why is she clutching her crucifix, then?

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"If we want to go fully aerial, I can fly, and take a couple of people with.... me...." Lydia's suggestion dies in her throat as Magneto comes walking in. "Your Majesty," she says, giving him a little bow. This is the first time the glowing green mutant has seen him in person, and wasn't really all that prepared to meet royalty.

Recovering she turns back and offers, "I think finding the mutant that's blocking Clarice would be priority? After all, if we take care of them, she can teleport the mutants that need rescuing out. I just don't want to leave them there if at all possible." Ah, Lydia. Always the voice of compassion.

Erik Lensherr has posed:
Looking up at James, he nods, "Simple enough plan, I think. Blink takes us in as close as she can, Rogue and I will take to the air and give them all something to focus on while the rest of you head for the warehouse."

    He nods to Lydia, "Exactly. Once you are all in, I will keep any further forces from entering the warehouse while you find the power dampening mutant and get him to drop his powers. Once that is done, Blink can get everyone out. As for who everyone is, I want every mutant who is there unwillingly. Blink can portal them to Genosha, I have people standing by there to receive them."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice nods in agreement with Lydia and Magneto. "I have no intention of leaving any unwilling mutants behind. Once my powers are working again, I'll start the evacuation. There is one other target we're looking for - Li Feng. He's about fifty years old, and can utilize telekinesis. And from the data we got - he'll be fighting us. He runs this damned warehouse. Nevertheless, if you run into a man matching that description - try to knock him out, not kill him." She even purposefully packed a few toys for just that possibility.
    She takes a last sip from her coffee then rises to her feet. "If we're ready...?" She waits for an indication from everyone present, before she'll open a portal.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"I'll go," Lydia immediately volunteers. How could she not? This is her girlfriend after all. The way she folds her arms looks like she'll brook no arguments over it.

Mortimer Toynbee has posed:
Mortimer Toynbee shivers, "Whoever is the fastest and has the best chance of getting her out. She should be first priority, she's one of us," he hisses. "I will help, but I cannot teleport or run fast, I can merely cling to those who do and make sure the ones who took her strangle on my spit when I tongue it down their filthy human throats!" he snarls.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne raises her hand. "Ah can go dark an' search. Ah be damn hard tae spot when ah want ta be hidden. Will com when ah catch a scent." Then she looks at Clarice, and nods firmly. I can do this. "We should ha' James do th' same. An' maybe Mr Creed. Split up, cover more ground."

Then she adds, "Um. Keep en mind, some o' the enemies were caught as babes an' brainwashed..."

Victor Creed has posed:
    Sabretooth nods, "I imagine once we shut down the guy screwing up our powers, it'll be pretty simple to be able to track down Mystique. Couple of us have enhanced senses that'll work once that field is gone. We can find her, one way or another." He looks around, "No way to really plan for that part, we don't have maps for that part of the base. We'll have to wing it at that point."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice looks to Creed, Rahne, and James, a faint frown on her features. They should have more than enough strength to get in there... "That leaves me, Spectra, and Toad to handle the Warehouse - and I won't have my powers," she points out. "If Magneto and Rogue are handling the guard towers and large ammunition. I think it'd probably be better if it was Sabretooth //or// Warpath - not both. We need more firepower in the Warehouse," she says simply.
    "And I don't think anyone's powers are going to be affected - except for mine. That was the intel we were given, anyways."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's eyes go between James and Rahne before she shakes her head. "I can smash a place up, but if I don't know where precisely t'look then its just like a needle in a haystack for me." She tips her chin at Rahne. "You know how t'scent out folks, yeah? Go in with James, I say, and smell her out... find her, I mean. I'll stay back and keep the skies clean while--" She motions to the Brotherhood folks. "They do their thing with the other Mutants that got tied up in all'a this."

Erik Lensherr has posed:
    Nodding slightly, Magneto adds "I always assume the worst. We were told there would be no teleporting due to this mutant, but it's always possible he's got better control than we expect and can shut down more. A mutation that only effects teleporting seems rather specific. He may well be able to shut down more than that, so we have to be ready."
    "I think Rogue and I can easily keep the other forces from reaching the warehouse."
    "I think we have more than enough power, both outside and inside that we should be able to handle any situation. Once you're ready to rescue Mystique, I'll deal with the radiation."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice nods in agreement with Magneto, her gaze searching the room to make sure everyone looks ready. "I think we have a general plan. Mister Creed - where should I drop us?" She looks to her mentor for the answer, a hand dropping briefly on his arm and a nod of acknowledgement the only sign of the bond between the two of them in this moment.
    With Rahne - she's a little more open. She wraps an arm around the shorter girl before murmuring quietly, "Bring her back, yeah?" She gives her a brief kiss before she's abruptly all business again, any traces of tenderness or concern vanishing behind a stoic exterior.
    "If everyone's ready?" She studies everyone in turn before opening the portal.
    Let the games begin.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The land for the Beijing power plant is massive, just like the structure itself. Numerous smaller buildings surround the impressive structure, though at this hour of the night not many of the personnel are out and about. Those who are moving around are the security for the plant, and there are a lot of them on the ground, in the guard towers, along the outside of the plant... it's almost as if they expect trouble. Spot lights move across the night sky and across the grounds, the guards are on constant high alert, watching, waiting.

The Warehouse, as the building holding the mutants is called, is actually a massive two story building that looks more like an apartment building than a warehouse. The top most floor has windows spaced perfectly to complete that image, some even have curtains pulled closed.

The hand drawn map reveals that the top floor is in fact living spaces, small apartments for the loyal mutants who serve and work at the plant itself. The main floor is comprised of the large training rooms, numerous class rooms, and the cafeteria. The underground level is the living quarters for those still training and the cells for those who are waiting their turn in The Deep.

The group appears in one of the very few locations that the Warehouse and the building above the bunker can both be seen, but the search lights are quickly moving toward the very spot... the all seeing eye moving slowly, watching for trouble.

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar moves to the fence and tears it away easily. Moving quickly towards the entrance to the Building above the bunker. Jim keeps to the shadows staying low moving quickly. He moves towards the building focused in the guards. He throws a small knife at one of the human guards taking him down but sprints towards the big sword wielding mutant bowie knives drawn.

Mortimer Toynbee has posed:
Toad lands with a somersault, sprinting forward towards some of the warehouse guards, his superstrong legs propelling him in a massive leap that closes the distance rapidly. One of them raises a finger to unleash a burning laser beam, while the other seems to 'hulk out', growing in size and obvious strength.

"Out of the way, traitor scum!" Toad howls. Are they just brainwashed innocents, to whom he should so mercy? Probably. But Toad's brain doesn't really work like that. You're either with the Brotherhood or against them. The against end up cold in the ground.

Toad leaps up over the lazer, landing on the broad shoulders of the tank as his tongue lashes out, wrapping around the throat of Lazerboy and lifting him into the air, squeezing the breath out of him and crushing his larynx.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    With the light from one of the guard towers approaching, Clarice silently gestures her team towards the shelter of the nearest building - to provide them the cover of shadows. The longer they can stay undetected the better, after all. She starts to creep closer to the warehouse, and tries summoning one of her javelins to her hand - if it works, after all, her powers might still be up and running until the alarm goes off. That would be nice, wouldn't it? For a moment, her hopes are up as the javelin does indeed appear in her hand - but the element of surprise is lost when Toad leaps into the fray. "Great," she murmurs. Is that why when she touches her hand to the wall of the warehouse to try to blink open a door for them, she has no such luck?
    "Gonna need you to open a door for us, Sabretooth," she remarks, sliding out several of her throwing knives. Cries start to fill the night, and she hears booted feet converging on their location. One of her knives is tossed at a man with scaley looking skin coming up on Toad from behind - whatever that scaley skin does, it doesn't seem to stop knives, thankfully.

Rogue has posed:
Working with Eric to protect the skies is a strange prospect for Rogue, but she accepts it in silence and just goes to the portal when its summoned and opened.

Once through it the Belle soars, a curving sloping direction that takes her up toward the sky high above. She swoops back down as the others pour out and ends up sweeping toward the first guard post she can find....

What comes next is the guard structure being torn apart from its foundation until the Belle can get a shoulder up against it and lift it up off the legs it was perched upon. With a grunt and a clench of her teeth she starts to fly upward again, and any guards still whom might be stationed upon it are now greeted with their lovely little lookout spot now flying through the air....

Rogue's intention is not to kill anyone however, instead she just intends to flip the tower over and pin anyone still inside it down beneath it like a cage.

Victor Creed has posed:
Sabretooth steps through the portal and looks around. Noting the flood lights, he takes a couple steps and presses against the side of a building to be out of sight as it sweeps past. Honestly, this is a mostly pointless gesture, as shortly after him, Magneto steps through and takes to the sky.

    As Magneto spreads his arms out, the guard towers (except Rogue's toy) begin to tremble and quake, then rip out of the ground, all the metal and rebar reshaping. Glass and other, more... organic debris rain down as the towers are reshaped into a wall that drops to the ground with a boom, totally cutting the warehouse and bunker entrances off from the outside world.

    Sabretooth follows James at a run, launching himself at the another guard. Claws tear and the guard drops to the ground, his torso shredded. An obvious mutant focusses on him, obvious because he moves so fast that it's barely possible to see him move. As he passes, a deep wound opens on Sabretooth's arm thanks to the sword the guard wields. After several more passes, Sabretooth has multiple wounds, but has made out the guard's attack pattern. On the next pass, he jumps to the left, the guard running into him instead of passing. He lets out a grunt as the guard slams into him, the sword impaling him through the stomach and out his back. More importantly, his claws are buried in the guard's stomach. They both fall to the ground a good twenty feet away from the impact point, but only Sabretooth gets up afterward. Pulling the sword out of his body, he gives it back to the badly wounded mutant point first, pinning him to the ground.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia hits the ground running, her ectoplasm snapping to her to form a kind of glowing green chitinous armor. "I got it," she tells Clarice. Using her armor to enhance her speed, she lifts inches off the ground and zips past the two armed guards that Toad has occupied to the door. She flexes her hands and great green talons form from her hands, easily over a foot each. She thrusts forward, digging them into the doors and with a grunt, /yanks/ them off their hinges.

She tosses them aside just in time to be met with a fist in the face as a thin young guard punches her in the face. Fortunately for her, her armor absorbs the damage but it /does/ knock her off her feet. She reaches out a hand and a glowing green tentacle snakes out to wrap itself around the guard, but the guard's outline gets a bit fuzzy and the tentacle goes right through him. "Oh great." she says.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne and James are going stealth. Getting into the building above the bunker to the Deep is a matter of guards and one mutant, a big guy with swords. James has already clearly claimed that one for his own, and Rahne is moving with him. No sound, not a hint of motion, she drops into a better form for this and gets behind them.

Then her arms reach out of the darkness, and people start to vanish. Shortly afterward it's just James, the sword guy, and a lot of very active shadows.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The alarm that sounds is one of those extremely annoying, loud and obnoxious klaxon sounding sounds. It pipes through every speaker on the insanely tall light posts, which all light up at the sound of the alarm. This alarm could wake the dead.

The sound rouses the sleeping, both willing servants of the Chinese government and those unwilling, forced to be there for what they are... mutants. Doors throughout the Warehouse spring open, mutants spilling out into the halls. Windows open, three or four mutants leaping out the windows and taking to the air.

There is a distinct difference in the way the mutants are dressed as well. Those who are loyal, those who serve wear uniforms that match the guards. Well taken care of material and tactical gear, bullet proof vests, the works. They are proud to serve their country, and to die for it if they need to.

Those who are 'still in training'?are dressed in what looks like pajamas, loose fitting elastic waist pants of cotton with a matching long sleeved button front shirt, both in gray. Their shoes are simple flip-flops.

Just as stated, those mutants who refuse to fight wear either yellow headbands or armbands, and whether they are in their rooms, in the cafeteria or standing out in the open hallways... hit the ground, covering their heads with their hands. Some curl up into balls on the floor, trying to make themselves as small as possible.

The large man that James threw his knife at takes it like a trooper, laughs like a madman, and charges. He may not be quite as large as James, but he doesn't seem to care. He's spent his life training for just this moment. Yanking the knife from his body, James can see it heal rather quickly.

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar smirks and the dance begins. He's fast, strong too. Jim takes the charge and slams the big man into the ground. He lashes out and catches Jim on the chin with his blade. They trade blows, shot for shot. He's trained his whole life for this. But Jim spent two weeks being beaten nearly to death by Apache super soldiers. The blows rain down. The ground quakes, blades sink deep and wounds heal. Jim is tougher but the other heals faster. He knows how to take a punch and tothrow them but the swordsman trained against stronger tougher opponents. He hasn't been beaten into the mat by a dozen versions of his older brother. Slowly, the tide shifts. James blows land more frequently. James kicks away the sword and turns putting a vibranium knife through his heart and twisting it, shredding the organ beyond his ability to heal. James lets the man fall. Breathing heavy he picks up the and carries him inside dropping the mutant at the feet of the guards at the door. "Open it."

Mortimer Toynbee has posed:
The brick Toad has mounted reaches up and swipes at him, big hands grasping at empty air as the Toad has already leapt away, leaving a coating of slime that makes the man's own hands stick to the back of his neck, leaving his armpit exposed as he struggles with it.

His tongue continues to choke out Lazerboy, the mutant gurgling and gasping for breath, frothing at the corners of the mouth until the tongue snaps and flings him into the wall back over Toad's shoulder.

"Seems like you're in a sticky situation. And a little defenseless. Unfortunately for you, I'm happy to take advantage o' such, mostly by givin' you a right proper kick in the plums," he says. Which he does, his superhumanly strong legs cracking into the other guard's testicles with enough force to split a Buick in twain.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    It's chaos, but Clarice is used to this sort of madness as she dives through the door Lydia just opened. She hits the floor in a roll, and lands in a low crouch, her knives flying for the throats of two men who barrel out one of the stairwells. One of them has insect-like wings, not too dissimilar to Dyani's, she notes impassively. The other has no visible sign of mutation. They each make the mistake of plucking out the weapons, releasing a gout of blood. Idiots.
    This is, of course, when a fist slams down where Clarice had just been crouched, pulverising a section of concrete. She'd managed to miss the empowered blow by inches. Given her slight figure, others might be intimidated by fighting someone so clearly outside of their own weight class. But Clarice is used to sparring with Creed.
    She rolls towards him, her feet coming up into his stomach as her hand latches onto his arm. She pulls him in the direction that his momentum was already sending him, kicking up with her feet, to flip him over onto his back.

Rogue has posed:
With the guard tower set aside, Rogue flies over one of the fleeing guardsman and just shoves him face first down in to the grass. "Do yourself a favor and stay there!" She shouts as she flies on past and back up in to the air.

Once back up there, the Belle holds her left leg up bent at the knee and her right extended down. Her fists are balled up and held up near shoulder level as she watches Magneto do his thing. "Good lord." The southern girl mutters, having not seen Eric in full action, well, ever. And is this even 'full action'? Probably not.

<"Hows things goin' in there?"> Rogue asks over team coms next before leaning forward and flying back toward the base once more, now headed for the power plant...

Victor Creed has posed:
    Sabretooth runs over to the door Lydia opened, looking around for other opponents. Under the cuts in his clothing, no wounds can be seen any longer. Since Clarice seems to have the guard here dealt with, he kicks open the door leading further into the warehouse and charges in. Gunfire and screaming can be heard immediately after he is out of sight, then a splash of blood hits the small window in the door, obscuring vision through it. Whoever comes in next will have to step over the headless body right inside the door, then follow the sounds of screaming to find out where Creed has headed. Or follow the trail of body parts, that would also work.

    Magneto glances down and notices several of the team headed for the bunker, so radiation will have to be dealt with sooner than he thought. Turning to face the power plant, he stretches out one arm. Suddenly loud warning klaxons sound and a voice in Chinese warns of containment failure. Seconds later there is a sound of crumbling concrete and twisting metal and what anyone who's ever studied reactors will identify as the uranium fuel rods rip up out of the cooling towers. Spotting a flying mutant headed his way, one of the rods shoots out of the bundle and spears through the enemy, then returns to the pack. Another moment of concentration and the fuel rods change to a coppery hue and begin to circle him, one occasionally shooting out to take out any guard that tries to attack him.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia gets up off her feet just in time to block a kick to the face. This time she's prepared for it so she manages to stay on her feet. She tries again to trap the man with a tentacle, but once again, he blurs and she passes right through him. "Darn it!" He hits her with a couple of precise strikes, but he just can't seem to get past her armor, which is skin tight. Likewise, she can't hit him so they stare at each other for a moment in a stalemate.

This gives Lydia a moment to consider her options. Finally she decides to change tactics, and starts muttering something in Hebrew, and starting to draw arcane symbols into the air. Her opponent realizes that she's about to do something, and starts going full out on her. It takes everything that she's got to keep concentrating on the spell, but finally she's got it drawn on.

With a final shout, she hits the glowing arcane symbols with the palm of her hand, and they shoot out to the guard. He tries phasing again, but the magic doesn't care. It hits him and he suddenly faceplants, out cold. "Yes!" Lydia cheers, with a fistpump. "I didn't know if that would work!"

She quickly hastens to go inside and steps past Clarice to follow Victor but stops short when she sees the detached head. "Oh. Oh god." She gulps, trying to keep the rising bile in her throat down, but ultimately fails. She finds a corner and hurls up the contents of her breakfast.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
James and Rahne have worked together many times. They're done at about the same moment, and Rahne is in her less human hybrid form, the one she uses to frighten the enemy. Of the two, she actually might look the more scary. She is not, but looks can be deceiving.

That being said, she's into the bunker fast.

Once in the building, the bunker there are mostly scientists, and the entrance to the bunker requires a key card from one of them.

Rahne corrals, then tosses James a keycard. She doesn't trust him to not slaughter them all, and for good reason. Girl's a softie.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The scientists inside the building above the bunker, one actually urinating himself, are gathered up by Rahne, but one says in English, "Code needed." He was assured nothing would get past that man, and there he was, dead... little Xs over his eyes, the scientist could see the Xs!

Moving slowly to hold up the card, showing it to James while holding up the other hand in the standard 'Oh dear gods in the heavens don't kill me' gestures. Moving toward the trap door the scientist keeps one hand showing the card, the other up and in plain sight.

By the trap door is a three foot tall panel with a keypad on one side and plexiglas cover over a switch on the other. The scientist makes a show of pointing out the card slot at the side as he moves the card toward it, then inserts the card into the card slot.

The keypad lights up, allowing him to enter the code that unlocks the plexiglas, and reveals the switch. Once that is done he backs away quickly, leaving the card in the slot, praying to all the gods he'll be allowed to live for cooperating.

The other scientist in the room just stands there, perfectly still, hands in plain sight, while all this is happening. His eyes dart from James to Rahne, to the other scientist, his mind racing over what he could do to stop these two from getting into the bunker. Sure, the guards are mean to stop people from even getting this far, but a loyal member of the Peoples Republic of China does not just sit idly by and watch terrorists get their way!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Inside the Warehouse lights up like the forth of July, every possible corner illuminated as the alarm sounds. Orders begin being shouted in Mandarin, 'Get up and fight! Stop being cowards! This is what you trained for!' but those who dropped remain on the ground, crawling away from danger headed their way.

With the chaos beginning, Ying is on the move. Her entire shirt is yellow, no better way to announce herself, but Lydia and Clarice will recognize her as a long haired Yang.

"Basement!," she screams down the hall toward Clarice. "Bald, uniform, wears a blindfold! Take him out to get your powers!" And then she is dodging one of the mutants who noticed her, realized she was not helping the right side of this battle. She's not a fighter persay, they never figured out what her powers were, but she can dip, dodge and run, and that's what she does... she runs, right toward Clarice and the others.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Over the loud speaker, echoing through the night air, a woman speaks calmly, giving orders to guards from some hidden location and then it stops... there is a momentary pause before the voice returns, sounding shaken, afraid.

What she says cannot be understood, save for one word spoken in and amongst the Mandrin: Magento.

All hell breaks loose inside, outside, under ground... if there was something larger than chaos, it just hit.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The city around the power plant goes dark, several lights at the power plant go dark. Generators keep some lights on, but the chaos and panic is real. In the city alarms begin to blare. Seems attention has been gained.

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar watches the man put in the card. Watched him enter the code. He sees the man back away.
    Jim bows to the man and flicks the switch, which hopefully opens the hatch. James nods for Rahne to go through. Once she's on her way Jim brings his hands together with all his force creating a shockwave which rocks the room. The force of the blast like small explosion knocking the scientists around, rendering them unconscious.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    It seems Mister Creed's faith in Clarice's abilities (or is it simply faith in the training he gave her) is well founded, because as soon as she has the man onto his back, a knife is in her hand and jammed into his eye. She twists it as she pulls it out, and the man stills with a brief spasm, and Clarice turns, hurling the weapon at a man coming up behind Lydia while summoning flames around him. It only grazes him as he twists out of the way, turning to face Clarice. But as he sees Ying moving towards the magenta-hued woman, he decides he'd rather take out a traitor, than a terrorist. Fire leaps towards Ying, and Clarice moves quickly to interpose herself - her left arm shielding her face as her right arm throws a trio of her knives. They strike home, and the flames die out as the man falls with a gurgling sound.
    "Stay close," she orders Ying, covering the woman as she adds harshly towards Lydia, "Move it, Spectra. We're too exposed here." Yup. She tries to herd Lydia //towards// the carnage.
    She knew what Mister Creed was capable of - and part of her thought it was time Lydia really saw it.
    "Did you catch that, Sabretooth? Bald, blindfold, uniform. Tell me if you take him out."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue spies Magneto in the sky just as he begins to take the power plant apart. The sheer sight of that has the Belle slowing down her approach as she comes up on his left to watch what he does with the uranium rods. She looks over at Magneto on her right then and just gawks at him before she looks back to watch the spectacle of it all.

His power is ... well ... beyond hers, and as she floats there in the sky beside the man she sweeps her eyes around to watch the chaos.

"We can't leave this place a nuclear disaster." She says outloud then as she puts her eyes back on Magneto. "Even if they're hurting mutants and have Mystique. We can't leave this place in ... utter ruin. It'll kill millions." She says to the powerful angry leader of Genosha. He knows this stuff, assuredly, but she has to say it for her own conscience.

Victor Creed has posed:
    Sabretooth continues to fight his way to the stairs, leaving any of the non-uniformed mutants untouched. Any who attack him or who are attacking the cowering prisoners however, are prime targets for evisceration. He pokes his head into any room he passes, looking for the described mutant. He hasn't found him by the time he finds the stairs down, so down he goes, searching for the guy he needs to get Clarice back her powers. He's a little battered by the time he finds the guy, but cuts and bruises heal almost as fast as they are made. Claws flash and Clarice can suddenly feel her powers flood back into her. <<Got him. Let's start getting people out of here.>>

    Magneto glances over at Rogue and shakes his head a little. "Fear not, despite what they were doing with these mutants, I won't punish millions of people for their government." The rods start to orbit him quickly, moving into a blur around him that intercepts any attack. He concentrates for several minutes, and suddenly the radiation warning alert stops. Anyone near any monitoring stations will see no indication of radiation escaping at all. The temperature in the area raises by several degrees, but nothing else seems to happen. He lets the ex-fuel rods fall to the ground now that he is not concentrating on a task and looks around to see if there is anything else that calls for his attention.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Once she's done emptying the contents of her stomach, Lydia stands upright, wiping her mouth with the back of her sleeve. Very carefully avoiding looking at the carnage she looks relieved at the presence of Ying. "Hold on!" she calls out to her and extends a hand, yoinking her away from the flames with green tendrils. She, then encases the mutant in a glowing green bubble. "That should keep you safe!"

She hustles after Clarice and bubbles her, too, just to make sure that no other surprises will hit her. Right now she's concentrating on keeping everybody protected, which is good, because it helps keep her mind off the sheer carnage of the situation. Sure she's been warned about Sabretooth, but knowing about it intellectually and actually /witnessing/ it are two very different things.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne is down the stairs like a squirrel. She doesn't stop to check on what James does, the two of them barely even have to speak anymore. They were New Mutants together, and that means a lot. Trust.

It also means that she knows he had to do the bit with the knife, and that she'll have to do it when her turn comes. There's no blame here. Not anymore.

She frowns as she catches scents though. Not all of them remotely good. "Gah, less nose, less nose.." Mildew and bleach and decay, yay. "James, come on." She spots signs, some of them the universal signs of radioactivity, and calls it in. "Got some of those, radiation signs on the walls in here, folks."

And...hrm. "James, you scenting that too?"

Mystique.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Ying does not need to be told twice. She sticks to Clarice, almost like glue, but she does leave the woman room to do what she needs to do. Just as she was starting to get into the hyperactive awareness of panicking at the combat near her, she is wrapped in a bubble of glowing... something. No idea why that makes her feel safe, other than Lydia saying it, but she suddenly feels safe and comfortable for the first time in nearly three months.

The basement of the Warehouse serves two purposes. Those who are still learning they have no choice but to serve are housed here, and the cells. Under ground it is far easier to build up defenses and that's exactly what the control room is... a small underground panic room like structure of solid steel and cement. The only indication that it even exists comes from the one door that doesn't look like the others and has no door knob.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The bunker beneath the building is three times larger than the building itself. Down the stairs it opens into a humongous room divided by what looks like glass walls, with security doors requiring key cards going off to the numerous labs. At the very back of the room is a large set of double doors marked in every way possible to indicate the radiation risk beyond it. Over thirty scientists can be seen through the variouss glass-like walls, some in hazmat suits, others just in lab coats, but who ever or whatever they are working on on the numerous lab tables is no longer moving.

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar drops down the ladder and lands with a thud. He speaks on the comms. <<We're in the bunker. Might lose you as we go deeper. Found Mystique's scent. Five by Five>> Jim closes the channel and nods to Rahne, "Yeah, smells like an abattoir. But she's here, lead on Puppers." James frowns, he's been around enough to recognize an autopsy suite. Jim punches the glass and it spiders. He laughs and hits it harder, turning to Rahne, "Bulletproof." As the glass shatters. Jim starts to rip through the glass walls. He also triggers an alarm, fire? radiation? Who knows but he pulls it and tue evacuation klaxons wail. "EVERYBODY OUT!" He bellows Fezzik-like.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "You're the best," Clarice says brightly into the comms, while stepping over a weakly gurgling form. One hand turns upwards - and a tiny flicker of purple energy flares above her hands. Excellent. "You first," she murmurs to Ying - and with a tap, the woman disappears, leaving the form of the ectoplasm which had encased her body a moment before. She reappears above Genosha, in the medical bay, so she can be cleared and reunited with... herself?
    She starts evacuating any of the cowering forms she encounters to the prepared site on Genosha, but runs into very little resistance. When Sabretooth clears a room - well. It wasn't a pretty sight for Lydia, but Clarice seems unaffected. She pauses briefly at one man who had practically been torn in two, yet somehow clung to consciousness. "Sorry," she murmurs at him quietly, before one of her portals cleanly slices through the man's skull. No need to leave him suffering.
    When she catches up with Sabretooth finally, she approaches the door - putting one hand on the edge of it, where the locking mechanism should be. A brief flash of purple energy flares up the entire length of the door, neatly severing any potential locks.
    "If we find Li Feng, we try to take him alive," she says as a reminder.
    Of course, there's every chance he's one of the corpses Creed already left in his wake.
    Into the comms she adds, <<Bring her home safe.>>

Rogue has posed:
Rogue just stares at eric as he gives that response... She lingers her gaze for a few moments before he summons that shield surround himself with. Its then that Rogue notices the helicopters off in the distance with their running lights and thumping propellers giving them away. She shakes her head and suddenly vanishes!

Moments later and the Belle is flying up on the pilot's side of the southern most chopper. She raps her gloved fist on the window of the pilot's door. The pilot inside does a double take and Rogue smiles at him before she motions her thumb back over her shoulder....

He ignores her of course, so the Belle ditches her smile and jams her fist through the door before she rips it off its hinges and tosses it away.

"Go back the way you came!" She shouts at the pilot now as she reaches out and pats him twice upon his cheek.

Her fists go outward and she flies forward in front of the chopper as she swings around it and passes in front of the second to place her gloved fingers to her lips and then blow a kiss toward the second pilot as she flies in front of his whirly bird, looking over her shoulder at him now.

She warned them to stay away! Its their choice to fly off or not now!

Victor Creed has posed:
    Sabretooth followed Clarice to the control room door, sinking his claws into it and forcing it open as soon as she severs the locks holding it shut. As soon as it starts to open a computerized voice can be heard speaking Mandarin in a rhythmic manner. Creed curses and on comms says <<We've got a countdown going here, that can't be good.>> He steps into the room, looking around and spotting four people in uniforms, one who fits the description of Li Feng. He growls at them and says, "You might wanna stop that now that you're not locked in your safe little room here." Amusingly enough, Li Feng was already doing that the second the door opened. Several button pushes later, the voice stops. Sabretooth grins, showing his fangs and says "Very good. Looks like you want to stay in one piece. So you guys wanna give up, or do I need to paint the room with your blood?"

    Magneto watches Rogue zip off the intimidate the attack helicopters, then turns his attention back to the immediate area... no more flying mutants at the moment, nobody on the ground trying to get past the wall he dropped, both the Warehouse and Deeps being taken care of. He pauses a moment, then reaches out with his powers and picks up the copper rods from where he dropped them. As they move through the air they bend and join, and then implanted into one of the cooling towers in copper letters is the message "Don't do this again."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia drops the shield that was once covering Ying, looking relieved that Clarice's powers started working again. Now they can focus on rescue rather than slaughter. She maintains her shield as they move across the facility.

She breathes a sigh of relief when she hears that they've found Mystique. Thank God. "I hope she's okay," she says, more to herself than to anyone else.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne and James face a set of doors, with James holding a keycard to them. They are ready, and they both know that the levels of radiation are likely to be lethal inside. So does it stop them?

The doors open a second later. One way or the other, they open.

<<Need evac, found the Deep,>> Rahne says over comms. <<Many people.>>

Then she looks at James, and nods. And they're in.

Doors, in a hallway. White, yellow, green, blue, purple, dead black. The levels of radiation are clearly stated. The further down they go, the closer they are to dead.

"Get th' doors please," Rahne asks. Then she's down the hallway, heading for black.

There's a scent. And those far doors are about to open to claws in the darkness.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Li Feng is not a small man. He stands nearly six feet tall, and although he is older, he has aged well.

"There is no need for more blood shed," he bites out to Victor, staring at the monster of a mutant before him. "You have what you came for I assume? Then go."

The other three in the room don't seem quite as brave as Feng, moving to put themselves around him, but still mostly behind him. Supporting him without protecting him, a cunning move of self preservation.

"Unless of course you merely wish to finish us all off and assume that will be the end of all this."

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar frowns and heads to the purple door on the right, he glances at the monitors, "Puppers, rad levels are zero. Mags took care of it." He can smells death from the black end of the hall. He tries the card on the right hand purple door and if it doesn't work he rips it out of the wall. James kneels down next to the cobalt blue mutant and checks her vitals <<Passing Lazarus.>> He pulls out smelling salts and pops them under her nose. "Let's go sleeping beauty." Jim lifts Mystique to her feet and over his shoulder if she seems like she's not ready to walk. He hands Rahne the card, if it worked, if not he just rips the rest of the doors out of the concrete.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    <<I'll be there shortly,>> Clarice murmurs quietly into her comms, as she and Creed end up staring down at the man, and his Lieutenants. "Li Feng?" she asks. "We won't allow mutants to be enslaved against their will. Your victims are coming with us - and we have someone who very much would like to see you again. Li Hu misses his son," she offers - mustering as much kindness as she can in this moment. It takes effort, and her expression is more neutral than it is warm. "Unforunately, I must tell you that your mother, Li Zhiang, has died. You're all he has left."
    Looking to the men behind him she adds, "If you surrender, you can leave here with us. You can start free lives, away from China, amongst other mutants. Otherwise, you can face the wrath of your government for your failure today."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique is completely unconscious and completely human looking. She is limp at as rag doll and the smelling salts seem to do nothing at all. She is completely naked, no sense wasting clothing on the dead, and wearing a X-gene suppression collar. If she were awake, she's be ranting and screaming about so many things, but instead she is out cold and possibly not breathing that well either. Although the radiation of the area is gone, and this she is no longer radioactive, the effects of the time in the darkest part of The Deep on her body still remains.

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar snaps the collar on mystique's neck. Her takes any other too sick to walk on his shoulders and herds the rest towards the exit. Making his way to the surface with the puppets.

Victor Creed has posed:
Since Clarice made her offer to the people in the control room, Sabretooth doesn't have to say anything to them, so just crosses his arms and leans against a wall picking something out from between his teeth with one claw. When he finally gets it he peers at it for a moment, then discards it, muttering something about 'stupid kevlar'. He may look relaxed, but he can spring into action on a moment's notice if any of the four decide to do something stupid.

    Once Magneto implants his message into the cooling tower, he looks around the area. With the helicopters turning around and running for home, no real threats remain. He floats down to the ground and asks over the comm <<Everything going according to plan?>>

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"They found her." Lydia breathes. "I... I have to go." She drops her bubble around Clarice since it looks like she and Creed have everything well under hand. Emerald wings spread out behind her and she rockets out the building, leaving all the carnage behind. Once outside she wheels around and dives into the bunker housing the Deep, and makes her way down, through the corridors, past the abattoir and bursts in where James and Rahne is.

"How is she?" She asks, letting her wings dissipate into the air, when she sees her unconscious. "Oh God. Raven." She goes to her and lovingly places a hand on her cheek. "Don't you worry," she tells her, even though she's unconscious, "We've got you."

She looks around, trying to avoid panicking at the state that her lover is in. "We have to get her to Clarice! She's barely breathing!"

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne continues checking doors, doing the dirty by going for the black ones first. She happily lets James take Mystique out to Lydia. No issue. It gets him to safety that much faster, and her. Nobody better to make sure that she's safe.

But...she's going to check the people in the bad doors. She has to. Just in case.

And, if she has a second, she has a crucifix, and the words.

"All go to th' same place. All come from the dust, and to dust all shall return. From ashes, to ashes. We will see ye all again, on th' other side."

These were family, who never quit in their insistence on freedom, even unto death. They will be treated right. They believed, and now someone must believe for them. And we are here.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Li Feng stares at Clarice, hatred, disgust on his face.

"I know Li Zhiang is dead, I saw to her execution myself," he stats firmly, and in that same moment the three people standing around him grab at their throats, unable to breath, eyes going wide. "I will face the punishment for my failures." The sound of bone cracking and the three drop like stones. "As they have. Make your choice, kill me now, or let my Government do it for you."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Spectra, don't-" Yeah. There's not stopping Lydia. <<Cover Spectra please,>> she says into the comms - for Rogue, Magneto, and Toad's benefit.
    And then three corpses hit the ground in front of her, and her expression goes cold. She glances at Creed, then turns to walk away. What happens to this man now is up to him. "I'm going to evac Mystique," she tells him simply.
    With a blink, she disappears from the Warehouse, and appears just outside the bunker. Intercepting James and Lydia - she teleports Raven (and Lydia too) into the medical bay on the Asteroid, before running down the stairs towards the other radiation victims. She'll get out anyone who still has a pulse.

Victor Creed has posed:
    Sabretooth walks out of the warehouse looking a bit disgruntled. "He's got some kind of shielding power, couldn't touch him. You know how annoying that is?" Looking around, he moves over to stand by Magneto and adds, "Guess we leave him here for now. Let's grab who we need to and get outta here."

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar raises his eyebrows snd smiles, remembering how scared Yana and Tabs were the first time he was seriously injured in combat. He has another person across his shoulders and a few trailing in his wake,. "Her heartbeat is strong, her breathing is steady but shallow."
     He nods to Clarice, "Rahne is clearing out the last few cells. I don't think we'll have any more survivors." Jimmakes sure the others go through the portal first, then place Mystique on a gurney and prepares to head back through. He won't leave Rahne behind, they all come home. That's the rule.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    After checking the last of the cells with Rahne, Clarice stands quietly behind her while letting the diminuative woman offer her prayers. She wraps Rahne in a brief hug, murmuring, "Thank you for finding her."
    She pays little attention to the fleeing scientists. There's a part of her that wants to tear into them for what they did - but a look from Rahne seems to help her control that urge. <<I think we're done here. Let's go home. You said everything you wanted to say, sir?>>
    After Magneto's confirmation, the rest of them return through her portal to Asteroid M.
    So Clarice can send out some important texts.