7943/All Sales Final: Gambit's Return

All Sales Final: Gambit's Return
Date of Scene:	26 September 2021
Location:	Mt. Elbert, Colorado
Synopsis:	The X-Men find Remy and bring him home, but the work's really just begun. (...and Rogue saved his coat.)
Cast of Characters:	Remy LeBeau, Tabitha Smith, Jean Grey, Rogue, Ororo Munroe, Scott Summers, Gabby Kinney, Henry McCoy

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Remy LeBeau has posed:
    Upon arrival, Mt. Elbert really is a beautiful, breathtaking sight to see. Or it would be if the situation wasn't what it is currently. Remy LeBeau is being held down there somewhere in that stunning mountain range, against his will and, if intel is correct, time may be running out to save him.

    Via topographical mapping and other rather 'low tech' means, the team has managed to narrow the possible sights for a hidden lab down to a few. Both are valleys in the range, where the mountains themselves slope a little more gently, both are accessible - if difficulty - by vehicles and both are remote enough that the place wouldn't be stumbled upon by eager climbers and hikers out for an adventure. Summer isn't even officially over yet, but snow covers the ground up here; in places deep and in others only a thin layer that allows rock and grass to peak through.

    One thing has become clear, whichever spot it turns out to be, the facility itself must be built *into* the mountains as there are no signs of buildings or life outside anywhere.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Shockingly, Tabitha has not chosen to wear something bright pink or really any other bright glorious shade on this occasion. Instead she's dressed in dark fabrics, black jeans and a green top to match her dark combat boots. She does, however, have tinted sunglasses on her head and bubble gum in her mouth which pops loudly once just as the team arrives.

As she glances over their surrounds, Tabby double-checks her fanny pack. Yes, a fanny pack. Snack bars, check. Juice box... wait, what is this? Warpath's backpack? So maybe she thought Remy might need a snack when they pulled him out. Having checked to make sure all her supplies are still where she put them before she boarded, she takes out a marble and tosses it back and forth between her hands as she looks toward the team leadery sorts of people. Not everything is best solved by judicious application of bombs after all.

Jean Grey has posed:
Aboard the Blackbird, sitting up in the front (although not in the pilot's seat) in her lightly armored team uniform, Jean is very much in full mission mode. Since retrieving the information on Remy's whereabouts, there've been full team briefings and follow-ups, going through their various means of narrowing down the location. Now that they're here, there's a final option that belongs to her alone, one she has previously hinted at: "No telling how far underground they have him. I'm going to try and narrow down his exact location so we can focus our search for a point of entry. Or, failing that, make our own."

Her demeanor is focused and her tone serious.

But what she does next takes her out of that moment, out of the presence of her teammates and out of the jet itself. Closing her eyes and reaching two fingers to her temple, she reaches out with her mind in search of the familiar. The process is relatively simple, although there are no doubt many obstacles that could get in the away. But she's not in the mood to be denied, and a wellspring of power stirs beneath the surface, ready to apply itself.

<< Where are you, Remy? >>

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is in the pilot's chair as they make the approach to the possible target locations. She has the jet on full stealth mode so that the engine wash is non existent and the heat signature is practically impossible to spot on radar. She looks over her shoulder at the others and nods once toward Jean. "Soon as Jean confirms our target I'm going to find a place to set us down and we'll ... go do what we do." The belle says from the control seat.

She turns back to it, her black gloved hands holding the flight yoke steady while the Jet sends back readings based on the programmed course that they laid in before setting off.

"Everyone can move to the back of the hold now, we should be nearing ready for deployment." She states softly, her brown hair tied back behind her head, leaving her white bangs loose on the sides of her face.

Remy LeBeau has posed:
    Remy isn't difficult for Jean to find. His mental signature is unique to begin with given that odd static from his powers. Add to it that he's *singing* in his head, Sold (Grundy County Auction) by John Michael Montgomery, he won't be hard to find at all. The singing stops.

    << Who dat?" >> He's clearly *afraid*, but desperately hopeful enough to think it's not another of *their* telepaths. Another voice in his head, a woman's, << Why it's just me, I don't know why you don't just make this easy on yourself? >>

    The singing starts again, louder. The static increases, images of playing cards from his favorite brand of deck flicker and fly all over the place, exploding in little purple sparkly fireworks in his efforts to keep *her* out.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo hasn't been sullen all day, so much as worried. Tense. Ready to plant boot in butt as it were. But she's managed to keep things calm and serene on the outside. Or at least, she's managed to keep her concern and sour mood from expressing itself as literal gathering stormclouds. So far they're merely metaphorical. Her attire's simple, black tanktop, black jeans, and heavy-soled boots.

Truthfully, the weather goddess isn't sure if she's more irked at Remy for getting himself into trouble, or whoever may have kidnapped him.

Jean's speaking up is the first time in what feels like hours that Ororo's cloudy mood breaks into a brief flash of sunshine, offering the redhead a slight smile as she murmurs out, "Trust Remy to wind up kidnapped to a picturesque locale... or somewhere under it at least. Even his troubles have panache."

Because it's important to keep focused on the lighter side of things. At least until they find Remy and whoever's behind this trouble, when she can let loose that tightly held control just a little bit.

When Rogue suggests they get ready to deploy, she undoes her seatbelt (Safety first, kids!) and makes her way to the rear of the plane, all calm and cool. Well, on the outside. Internally, she's just trying not to let her inner turmoil bleed out and bother Jean.

Scott Summers has posed:
Beautiful. Breathtaking.

But the X-Men were not there to sightsee. One of their own had been taken by the enemies of mutantkind. Remy LeBeau may be a dashing rogue and occasional pain in the ass, but he was their pain in the ass and a member of the family. Of course Scott Summers is going to be here. Cyclops was in his full garb as an X-Man, Scott was flying the Blackbird in the other pilots chair, flying through the skies, in stealth so they are not spotted to easily. "There it is...what's Remy's location? Is he alive?"

Cyclops works on putting the Blackbird down in a safe location. "Be ready team, heavy resistance may be ready for us."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
In the hold is where the problem is. Or rather, where the stowaway is. It was hard to hear those in the actual front of the Blackbird with the engines going but it wasn't hard to tell there was some motion beginning among those here. Judging by that, and the fact that they'd been flying for a bit, it's a safe judgement call that they were there. Or nearly there.

Perfect time to get out of storage, then.

Small as she was, it was easy enough to tuck herself away in a crevice meant for holding gear. It was empty when she arrived, and seemed safe enough. Now she kicks out the panel to let her legs hang out before slipping out to her feet.

Then she just stands there checking over her gear before everyone else gets down to the hold acting for all the world as if she were here for reals and didn't just stow away.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Certain stowaways might have been scented, but Henry wasn't saying anything. Gabby was old enough, and tough enough, to get herself into and out of trouble. Also, she was most likely going to be very helpful with her skill set, in rescuing another friend. When she unfolded herself and got out to check her gear, he nodded to her - no words exchanged.

"What exactly do we know of the captors?" He asks, unfastening the safety restraints and stretching out. Too much time cooped up! "And when you mention heavy resistance, are we expecting enhanced individuals, or perhaps mutants who have chosen the wrong side of the equation?"

Remy LeBeau has posed:
    One of their own? Maybe one day Remy'll even come to believe it?

    Once the Blackbird is on the ground, it's eerily quiet. The only sounds come from the rescue team themselves and the wind howling through the mountain range. The sky's are overcast, clouds heavy, it's almost as if they feel Ororo's mood; they look as if they're ready to bust out a storm at any second.

    It's a good thing they haven't yet, any new snowfall up here might have quickly obscured the ever so faint signs of a vehicle passing through. The tracks stretch into the distance in two directions; makes sense, there needs to be an in track and an out track.

    One leads up the gentle slope of the valley on one side and the other direction leads seems to lead directly into the base of tall mountain to the other end.

    Howling wind blowing grounded snow about and the hair raising feeling of being watched, that's what greets the team when they finally step off the jet.

Jean Grey has posed:
<< Your friends, >> and the warmth of her being is present in the communication, unmistakable. << Hold on, Cajun. >>

The fact that there is someone else there in his mind surely does not escape Jean's notice. Indeed, there is a part of her that responds with an almost predatory, territorial instinct toward it, an urge to reach out, find the other presence, and rend it into psychic shreds. But for the moment, she restrains herself, and keeps the nature of her contact with him brief and tightly contained. The purpose of this, at least for now, is to get them there, and get them as far as they can before they start meeting resistance.

"I have him," she announces, beginning to enter some coordinates into the navigation (perhaps this is why she's at the co-pilot position), to guide their final approach. Once she has, there is a brief look sidelong to the other woman, wordless, yet carrying a touch of reassurance in her small smile.

And once Rogue has the coordinates, she unbuckles her harness and steps from the chair herself, starting to back like the others.

"It's your typical," and the fact that she can use that word with accuracy lends a certain bitterness to it, "rogue government / black ops genetic weapons research sort of outfit," she answers Hank. "We got the info through a Senator who was involved in the kidnapping, and there's a good chance he has Hydra ties. Money, tech. We have intel on a woman running the place, and they've got assets for brainwashing, maybe simulated environments? Or it could all be mental, as she may be a telepath as well." He'd also have been brief by Kitty on some sort of virus they were using to perform the genetic manipulations themselves.

And then, when they've landed, she strides boldly out down the ramp and in the direction she knows is the right one. "Storm," and as they've exited the plane, it's full mission protocols with code-names, evidently, "we can handle a little cold, I want to use the weather as cover."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is up out of her seat once the jet is set down on the snowy ground. She gathers her black hooded cloak up off the back of her flight chair and then proceeds toward the aft of the jet with the rest of the group. She gives a glance to Jean because she knows her friend is connected to Remy, she wants to ask all kinds of questions but she stops herself as she wraps her cloak around her shoulders...

Once outside, Rogue lifts the black hood up over her head and lifts up off the ground. She floats along with the others as Jean storms out and makes to lead the way, so it seems. A look is given to the others before Rogue just floats a couple feet off the ground, leaving no tracks in her wake.

"This is a beautiful. place." Rogue concurs with Storm though, glancing her way to show a smirk. "Shame we gotta bust it up."

Scott Summers has posed:
Cyke helps put this bird on the ground before he's unstrapping seatbelts and rising up to his feet as he gets to stopping. Rogue's comment makes him smirk a moment. "Something that seems to recur a great deal with us." Cyclops states with humor as he keeps moving.

Jeans words earn a brief nod. "Ororo, we have need of your gifts." Scott tells her. "Jean, can you telepathically hide us?" Cyclops asks of her as his hand moves upwards towards his visor controls, fully prepared to unleash some optic blasts.

"Gabby, let us know if anything reaches your nose, particularly Remy's scent."

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo sighs and rolls her eyes with a good-natured little grin at Rogue's remark about busting the place up, "Yes, well, we have a duty as X-Men to... do X-Men things, no? If people would just surrender when we showed up to do them, there'd be far less... busting up."

She nods to Jean and takes a deep, steadying breath, lifting a few inches off the ground herself, bright blue eyes shining as she reaches out with her powers to alter wind and weather.

Just enough to provide them a healthy screen of blowing snow and a chill closer to 'brisk' than 'hypothermic'.

She crosses her arms imperiously and tilts her head in mock thoughtfulness, "Is it not _doubly_ outrageous that the government both insists on kidnapping mutants for experimentation, and that our taxes pay for it? And then when we 'Bust it up', our taxes likely increase?"

Gabby earns a lifted eyebrow and pointed stare as Ororo murmurs dryly, "And _you_ shouldn't be stowing away in the Blackbird. I'm sure the cargo bay hasn't got seatbelts."

Performative responsibility lecture delivered, Ororo gives Gabby a sly little wink of appreciation for stowing away anyhow.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha Smith tromps down off the plane behind the others, listening to Jean's description of things. She's about done with people using friends and comrades as genetic experiment fodder at this point. Even if she does barely know Remy it still pisses her off. Pissed off is not Tabby's best mode though as it makes her much more likely to overreact and there's nobody to be diplomatic at this time. Marble makes its way back into her pocket. Another bubble pops as she shoves her hands into her pockets against the cold. "Yeah. You shoulda just come out and taken a seat, Gabs."

Remy LeBeau has posed:
    Jean might get a sense of the woman's abilities, she's no Jean, but she's no slouch either. The fact that Remy's still enough ... well, Remy, to have reached out to the few people he did when he could sneak a chance, it's just proof of what a stubborn, resourceful little shit the Cajun really is. But that name, one so often used with semi-affection? It causes him to flinch mentally now. It's what *they've* been calling him.

    The team meets no resistance along the way, nothing. That is until they're about twenty feet from the base of that mountain, where they can see the tracks from a vehicle disappearing right into it. About ten feet up the side of that sloping rock wall, two giant eyes open.

    A moment later, an eleven foot tall, five foot wide section of the mountain comes alive and pulls away from the rest of the rock. The shape of the 'giant' that steps forward is more primate than human, with long arms that end in fists too big for the rest of it. It doesn't roar, it doesn't really make a sound other than the thudthudthud of its stone feet hitting the ground as it springs forward.

    The same happens in other areas, up higher, the rock comes alive, sending debris falling as stone bats with wingspans of at least five feet actually FLY out. Flying stone, it rather defies logic, doesn't it? This has to be the power of mutant, one with the ability to control? But where's the source? Inside, out somewhere? And does it really matter when there's suddenly a half dozen giant stone bats and a lumbering... stone just *giant* that all seem to have one goal in mind? Smash the intruders.

    To add to the chaos, now alarms are ringing, clanging, echoing but muted, from *inside* the mountain, but where the hell's the *door*?

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney came equipped at least, and tugs down her goggles into place. A nod is given in return to Hank along with a little grin at his silent greeting. They'd worked together enough before, after all. She falls in with the others even as she lets her hands flit over her sides checking her weapons. Not just her claws. Knives, some smoke bombs, an assortment of things in a belt around her waist. She came prepared even if she wasn't intended to come.

"Don't got the nose, Cyclops," she informs matter-of-fact. It was becoming a problem that everyone thought she did... ah well. "But I'm still a good tank for this none the less."

Ororo gets a grin as well only to shrug. "Luggage straps work too."

Jean Grey has posed:
Under the cover Ororo provides them, Jean follows the tracks, skimming the very top of the snow rather than trudging through it. "I'll keep aware of whatever minds may be nearby, but I would expect electronic security as well, if not moreso," she answers Scott, while indeed continuing to probe the area for other thoughts and minds, just as she did for Remy. "When you're this remote, anything that doesn't require 24 four hour duty shifts with a human behind them is an asset."

That said, while she seems prepared for the premise of human guards or typical technological defenses like cameras (the latter being the sort of thing where she'd expect Ororo's snow cover to obscure), the idea of the mountain disgorging elemental defenders to assault them in person is clearly NOT part of the threat profile she imagined. And this new paradigm seems... a little less subtle. "X-Men, engage at will, it's purely animated material."

Her contribution to the initial charge is distinct and not, as suits the new paradigm, particularly subtle. Charging forward, a motion with one hand summons an equivalent outpouring of telekinetic force. This is not the invisible kind that may be more familiar in recent years: rather, it reveals itself in a semi-transparent expression of yellow-orange energy, shaped into the vague shape of a giant talon.

Notably, though, she aims for a bat. Because they're mobile and she's got the range and accuracy. Also, she is perhaps not marshaling the full force that might be necessary for the big one, holding some in reserve to defend her teammates and perhaps more importantly, continue to scan their surroundings, now switching from the telepathic to the telekinetic, physically combing through the molecular structure of the surrounding stone in search of irregularity.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Tapping his nose, Beast nods to Cyclops. "I'll keep aware - though with all the other scents in the area, and the jet wash, it's going to be tricky." He explains. As the temperature drops, he seems unfazed - the luxury of a blue fur coat! He stretches a bit, his claws extending and retracting as he does - he really is a big cat at this point.

A glance to Gabby and a nod. "We need a codename for you, young lady. Keep near me - we can be the ground forces in the midst of the almost certain melee." He grins. As the klaxons of the alarms go off, he cants his head to try to determine where the door might be judging by the sound.

And then there are... rock monsters. "Stay sharp, all." The big blue man readies to launch himself at the enemies as they get nearer.

Rogue has posed:
The hovering off the snow is kept up by the southern belle, she hovers alongside the others as they proceed down the pathway. Her black cloak flutters behind her in the cold wind over the matching black bodysuit she's wearing. "You'd think they could put all this effort'n money toward somethin' actually good for society, for once, but nah... lets build another freaky laboratory to poke people with needles inside'a." She grouses whilst floating along.

At Storm, Rogue smiles. "Hey, least this isn't New York taxes?" She offers to the other in response as she pulls her hood up more when it gets colder...

When the rock monsters appear, Rogue narrows her eyes and flies off instantly toward the giant one. She sweeps right up to it and tries to get its attention, hoping to get it to swing at her so she can grab its wrist and try and toss-topple it in to the snow covered ground!

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Already angry over the whole situation, Tabby reacts instinctively when massive stone things start coming in the team's direction. Large yellow balls of plasma blossom into her hands and she's tossing them at the nearest targets with the kind of primal scream that gives people extra energy and strength.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney gives a little chuff of a laugh as she falls in near Beast, pulling out a few knives to hold underhanded at the ready. They could be thrown or used otherwise. Mask in place, goggles secure, she dips her head toward the blue furred doctor. "My codename's the same it's been for years. Dropbear or Honey Badger. Been using both." Though Dropbear was older now. It was the first one she'd had after all.

Watching the group that the others are approaching she tips her head a moment. "Actually I think I ought to guard the Blackbird. Someone ought to," she points out. "And I've got the flight practice in enough times, just in case. Give 'em heck for me, yeah?"

Remy LeBeau has posed:
    << Don' 'urt dem, it not dere fault! >> Remy's screaming voice reaches out in a panic to Jean, a response to the alarms more like than not, he knows something's up. The other telepath is out of his head in response to the chaos as well.

    Surely Remy's not talking about the rock monsters?

    The animated rock formations aren't living beings, but they move the intelligence of such. What kind of power does it take to control all of that with such purpose? Those bats fly like the real things, agile and swift.

    The one Jean targets almost manages to dart out of the way, despite it's size and weight, but a clipped wing leaves it crippled and falling from the sky. That leaves another problem to contend with though doesn't it? Falling rocks.

    The giant actually feigns with a left, pulls back and comes in at Rogue with a right. Mike Tyson couldn't have done it better.

    One bat goes down to Tabitha's plasma, more falling rock rains down from the skies. A second swoops down to avoid being hit AND angle its way toward Beast at the same time.

    Snow, animated and falling rock, the howling wind.

    Jean's efforts pay off, the section of rock where the tracks disappeared? Part of it is an illusion, placed there with someone with enough skill to hide it from the likes of Jean so long as Jean wasn't actively seeking. Two doors, one the size of an average loading dock set-up and a second next to it for foot traffic only.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo's a little taken aback when the side of the mountain becomes a charging primate. Luckily, she's amongst friends, some of whom have _very_ good power sets for smashing up rock monsters.

Not that she's not going to help. While she keeps the blowing, swirling snow up to provide some cover for her friends, gusts of wind work to push the flying stone bats around, grouping them together for Tabby to better hit multiples with plasma, or for Scott to hit with eye beams.

She tries not to dwell on further meanings of these monsters, that whoever's behind all this clearly intends to use the powers of their captives for their own purposes, and just how close her dear friend Remy is to that fate. But then, they're here to stop that.

And she's not above rearranging the local geography by taking down a big chunk of mountain if it's necessary.

Jean Grey has posed:
"I have an entrance. Holographic cover, or illusionary in some other way; figures." The briefing did talk about simulated realities.

But it gives their efforts purpose. Who knows, if they stand out fighting in the snow, if it would ever stop. There's a lot of mountain, and whatever is responsible might be able to keep flinging more and more of the creatures after them even as they destroy them. So Jean focuses on the objective. "Fighting the mountain isn't why we're here. It's to get in, and get the captives free. Don't get bogged down. Moving engagement, on me!"

And if there's any doubt as to which direction she means? Well, follow the lady with the flaming bird powers as she claws her way forward toward the side of the mountain.

But 'moving engagement' means fight as they go, not all out run. The creatures are too dangerous to turn their backs on. As Jean pushes forward, her own effort becomes more cover than outright assault, providing defenses so the others can move more freely. Falling rocks? Less threatening, when you can fling them away, or raise telekinetic fields over people's heads. Some just disintegrate, torn to pebbles, and the pebbles to dust.

"Try hitting the big one low, let's disable them and move." IE 'sweep the leg.'

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Hitting low is a sound strategy. It's why low blows aren't considered fair fighting. Angry not equals stupid. Tabby moves to close ranks with Jean as she follows the senior X-man's strategy tips by aiming a pair of plasma bombs at the giant's legs. "We always go such nice places."

Henry McCoy has posed:
The Beast is in full motion now, using a quadrupedal running gait to get momentum and speed. Claws are extended for a bit more traction in the icy, rocky terrain - his eyes forward. He's most certainly aware of the stony monsters swooping and lurching towards the group - they were very difficult to miss after all. The one darting towards him, is of course, the most concerning at the moment.

With enough power to lift a car, the Beast leaps up into the would-be attacker - claws leading the way. Stone, flesh - it doesn't matter to the Beast's talons. He roars, seeing to plow through the airborne stone-bat.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's attack didn't go quite as well planned as she'd hoped. The golem tries to fake jab her and it almost works but she catches the rocky fist in her hands and forearms and holds it off! With gritted teeth, Rogue pushes the hand away from her before she sweeps down and punches with all her might right in to the golem's crotch!

She doesn't stick around to see the results either, she just keeps on flying through its legs to catch up with Jean and her TK shield. She flies right past one of the flying rock monsters and grabs a wing to yank one out of the sky before ripping it apart and tossing the pieces to the side.

"I kinda dig these powers!" Rogue admits as she flies after the others!

Remy LeBeau has posed:
    So far, no more actual 'monsters' come out of the sides of the mountains, but should anyone get too close to the base of it, rock 'arms', more tentacles really as there are no hands, strike out suddenly in an effort to bat a person aside. Just as quickly as they appear they snap right back to being part of the landscape once more.

    << Dey destroyin' everythin' up here. Ah think dey arguin' over takin' us or killin' us an' leavin' th' bodies. >>

    The battle's hard fought, but the door is finally reached. But perhaps only because all of the animation just suddenly *stops*, all of the formations just fall apart as if the life was snuffed from them in a blink, as if whatever was holding them together is gone in an instant.

    ...did they just opt for the second option?

    Inside the battle will be easily won given time. This is a research lab, not a military base. Of course there are guards, but they're few compared to a team of X-Men, numbering less than twenty, and only human. Some of those that fall and aren't dead? Well, they're so indoctrinated into the 'fold' of HYDRA that they end their own lives with just a snap of a jaw and the crushing of an capsule tucked into a molar.

Jean Grey has posed:
<< We're coming. Anything you've been planning, anything you can possibly do, now's the time. >>

And then echoed back to the rest of the team, the tension, urgency filling her words not with tone, but raw emotional force: << We need to get to him, FAST. >> There's even a private nudge that only Rogue feels... and it's permission. To go hard, go fast, and not hold back.

So 'winning the battle with time' is not actually Jean's plan. It becomes one of winning the battle with overwhelming, unapologetic force. The door, when they reach it, is ripped free of its frame and flung inward, that violent breaching itself scattering the guards massed on the other side as the bulk of it is thrown against them like a ram. Jean leads the way in fearlessly, and it's clear why: the initial gunfire that greets her meets her shields in full force, bullets causing little ripples of crackling energy to dance through the air around her as they meet the threshold of that bubble and then disintegrate like the falling rocks.

Around her, she doesn't bother to engage individual guards, doesn't trifle with fighting them one at a time. Instead, the initial force guarding the entrance drops /as one/, in perfect unison, collapsing to the ground. There are reinforcements coming, she can't get all of them, but it's clear she's hardly even paying them any attention. Let them shoot at her all they want.

Kitty, perhaps, got them some intel on the facility from the Senator's server, and that's what she follows now. Metal doors are ripped open, bulkheads sundered as she seeks their objective.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
When the giant rock monsters the time bombs get smaller but more numerous. Tabby sticks with the hitting low approach as that is far less likely to be fatal. She has no problem with crippling under the circumstances though. Pain is well deserved. Crippled people can still be pumped for information if necessary. "Do we know where he is?"

Overwhelming force Tabby can do. Anyone who gets in her way meets the unfortunate end of a time bomb and a very creepy, grim sort of smile from Boom-Boom as she moves into the facility. Seek and destroy... And that one guy who thinks he's caught the angry bomb girl by surprise? That guy gets a demonstration of the fact that she has in fact got combat training when her foot connects with his face before she moves on.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is about to smash another rock bat when it suddenly crumbles in front of her fist. She stutters her punching motion and then just flies on ahead. "Scared'em t'death..." She mutters under her breath as she goes, her black cloak whipping in the wind behind her back.

With the door to the base torn asunder, Rogue leans forward and just flies right over the head of her team mates. She feels that mental nudge from Jean and just zips right over the TK shields, not a-feared of bullets, the Belle skims across the ceiling before she dips down and starts taking out the legs of the guards in front of her, no fear to anything they got to throw at her, she just drops them and keeps flying forward!

<"Where is he?"> Rogue asks over the connection created by Jean.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo follows along into the complex, and... well, she _tries_ not to be cruel to the guards, but they are quite literally put in the unenviable position of discovering what a hurricane in a hallway is actually like.

In the future, Ororo might even consider being proud of her restraint, simply sending guards sprawling. If they choose to bite down on cyanide capsules out of some fanatical devotion to HYDRA, that's on them.

Ororo's focused entirely on getting to their captured friend, and simply literally blowing away the guards seems like the most direct solution... plus, they've got to be guarding the prisoners, so as long as there's more guards in front of them, it must be the right way to go. She keeps pace with Jean, who seems to have the same idea... and also the ability to telekinetically rip those pesky reinforced doors open.

Way easier than picking lock after lock! Definitely the way to go.

Scott Summers has posed:
"And we will discuss you're stowawaying when we return home." Cyclops tells Gabby somewhat sternly, but keeps moving regardless. Gabby's retort of her nose makes him nod softly. "Very well. Stay with the Blackbird." Cyclops nods. "Call is if you have trouble, Phoenix will hear your thoughts."

After that is essentially finished, Hank gets a nod. "Understood. If you can, keep me aware. Remy has a particular smell." It's not a good or bad one, but a scent all the same.

The alarm is going off. "Double time it, X-Men!" Scott fires off an optic blast at the giant.

Sometime later, it's time to fight with the guards. He bounces Optic blasts between guards in precision fashion like he was playing pool. Others he deals with hand to hand, expertly punching and kicking thoughts who come for him.

Remy LeBeau has posed:
    Between Kitty's intel and Jean's tracking that familiar, but currently fading, static filled mind, it all comes to an end in one room. Truth be told, it's not even an overly sinister looking room. It could be maybe an emergency room in a hospital, with different little curtained off bays and a central nexus of computers and equipment - all of the latter have been destroyed.

    The only thing other than the destruction that hints at the evil of the place are the five circular pods arranged along the far wall. They leave barely enough room to sit down in let alone lie down. Currently three of them are filled a hazy cloud of something, gas? It's not impossible to see through with enough effort. In one of those cloud hazed pods is Remy. He's dressed in a simple pair of grey scrub pants and a white t-shirt. He's slumped to one side, eyes closed, the expected collar around his neck, ankles shackled together as are his wrists.

    In the other two filling with that quickly thickening haze are two others, in similar positions, shacked the same, collared the same. One female looks as if she can't be older than Rogue, the male may be late thirties?

Jean Grey has posed:
When Jean reaches the room, there are two options: let Hank figure out the equipment and shut things down/reverse it manually, or... the less subtle one. And for those who have been keeping score?

Yeah, this one is kind of obvious.

The glass on the occupied pods shatters, simultaneously and with unnatural purpose, the explosions all flinging the shards outward from the pods without the slightest risk to those insides for all the sudden force involved. Actually, it's not just the shards: The gas comes too. It's a strange sight, when all is said and done, three vaguely spherical orbs of debris and condensed gas held aloft, just floating there suspended, contained.

And only then: "Beast, check their vitals and triage." Actually, she has a sense of them herself, although it's somewhat unconscious, stemming from a portion of her re-emerged abilities she doesn't even understand.

The fact that Remy still has vitals is probably the only reason those guards all just went to sleep instead of disintegrating in the same way as their bullets.

Rogue has posed:
The very first thing that Rogue found inside the room was something everyone would recognize. She lifts up the brown leather duster that smells like like a cardhouse backroom and she holds it softly between her gloved hands. Floating a couple feet off the ground, Rogue looks over to Jean who is focused on the pods.. She hadn't even looked at those yet.

"What the hell kinda place is this even." Rogue says moments before Jean busts the things open with her brain magic.

HOlding the jacket, Rogue flies over to the pods, searching each one before she spots him in the last one. She moves to extradite the Cajun from the pod's remains and touches the side of his face with her gloved hand. "Remy?" She asks him, giving him soft pats with her gloved fingers. Her eyes rise up to Beast then to get his assessment of their situation. She tries to hold back her emotions, but its not easy!

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha Smith holds back now that the enemies are down. She barely knows Remy after all and now's not the time to be getting in the way. "It's may just be humans not alien cloners but these are the same sorta folk who took Jimmy. We should get them out and blow this place to hell just like we did there."

Remy LeBeau has posed:
    Before he was even told, Beast was on his way. The girl first, she looks worse off. He shakes his head, sadly, she's gone. Less body mass than the two men, whatever that gas was took her quicker.


    Remy's heartbeat's barely there, his breaths shallow but too rapid. As long as he's not knocked into next week by Rogue before doing so, he just scoops the unconscious Cajun up and *goes*. It's the equivalent of a paramedic 'load and go'. That likely doesn't mean anything good?

    The man left, likely outweighs Remy by a good hundred pounds by the looks of him, he's already stirring. Whoever gets the pleasure of helping him along will likely discern, by the rock hardness of his skin and the fact that he really outweighs Remy by a goodly amount over a hundred pounds, the this fella was the source of the rock's attacking. He feels like *stone* despite appearing human from a distance.

    In the wake of it all, the silence is nearly deafening. That is until it's broken by the sound of a stifled sneeze coming from somewhere across the room. A missed mind in the chaos, a missed scent amid many... a living person hiding in a closet marked 'Supplies'.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo is torn between wanting to rush in and check on Remy, and keeping an eye out for any last minute surprises, face a careful, stoic mask as she nods to Tabitha and frowns thoughtfully, "That's a very good point. It likely won't stop whoever's behind this, but it can at least help us slow them down until we can get to the bottom of things."

At the sound of the sneeze in the supply closet, Ororo stalks over to open the door with surprising restraint... but what are the chances one of the bad guys would be hiding in the closet? No, they would've come out to fight by now, or ran away. Best to grab up whoever's hiding so they can be rescued alongside the more obvious prisoners.

Scott Summers has posed:
"Check them."

Scott moves near the unconscious Remy, his eyes moving to the collar. Though he hears something. Shaky breaths, perhaps some shivering and rattling as Scott turns and approaches the supply closet, his hand reaching to open it, ready to blast what's inside of its a threat.

"What is his condition? Is he alive?" Scott asks of Hank and Jean. Though his full attention falls on the survivor, eyes narrowed.

Jean Grey has posed:
There is a little pulse of rekindled anger at the revelation of the woman, already dead, felt not only by Jean, but all of them - one of those costs they pay for the convenience of an on-demand psychic link. But with a little focused self-restraint, she pushes it back down, and the feeling fades.

"He'll be alright," she says of their friend, admitting to the knowledge that she has, albeit without giving it a source. Hank will probably want to take all kinds of tests and precautions, guarantee their long-term care, but in the moment, Jean seems relieved, reassured. It allows enough calm to make sense of the situation. "We'll have to make sure we clear the place fully," she reminds Tabitha. "We'll turn the staff over to SHIELD. But... perhaps this place will have collapsed by then."

The government to deal with its own traitors, but not to be trusted with their work, perhaps.

Then all her attention swings toward the closet, a weight behind her gaze, some of that anger still simmering.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue only steps back when Beast takes over to help Remy, she knows the Cajun's safest bet is with him. She pulls the jacket on over her shoulders and tosses her cloak off to the ground, discarding it entirely. Her eyes go to the deceased woman in the pod and she looks to Scott and Storm by the supply closet. "Can one'a you get her body?" She asks them while she moves to the pod with the big Rock Man inside it.

Wearing Remy's jacket, a bit big for her, Rogue opens the pod up and pulls the Rock Man out... he may weigh 100 pounds more than Remy, but that's still not even styrofoam to Rogue's weight limits. She pulls him by his hand and arm to roll him over her back like a military carry, and then lifts up off the ground to fly back the way they'd come... headed for the Jet again and trailing after Beast who has Remy...

Remy LeBeau has posed:
    Remy'd be mortified to know he's being carted about 'bride over the threshold style by *Hank*. But that's what's happening.

    The man inside the closet is a pasty, weasel-y, balding, bespectacled man of around forty-ish in a white coat. Likely got cut off from the others when they fled and tried to wait it out. Allergies are a bitch and sometimes fate's one too. His voice is all nasal when he speaks, "Please... please, they made me, they made me... I didn't want to..." It's all a lie, every word of it, the man was here, causing all this, putting mutants through hell...

    Putting *Remy* through hell. ... willingly.

    He deserves a slow and painful death. But that's not what the X-Men are about, is it? Bit of a moral conundrum, isn't it?

    Once they decide the fate of the survivor, their exit will be uneventful and the next task will be merely to get Remy *home*. Home where he can get more than the triage care that can be offered on the Blackbird.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha Smith rolls her eyes just a little, "Details. Details. So let's get them all out." The lies prove to be a little much for her temper. She tosses a time bomb at his feet, just a little one that won't hurt him.... much. She's not much good at evacuating people since she's scrawny compared to the rest of them but she's pretty serious about blowing the joint.

Let the others clear out the unconscious but still living so they can be turned over while she stands by waiting, but once they're all out she places her largest bomb, just like the one that took out the last facility. Okay well maybe not quite that big but contained inside a mountain it will probably cause more destruction anyway. Once she puts it down she says to whoever might be listening, "Tick, tock." Then she's heading out of the shadow lab at a moderate jog and headed back to the Blackbird as the time bomb's countdown slowly ticks in the back of her mind toward detonation.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo's conflicted. On one hand, this guy's clearly not another captive, he's 100% a scientist... so he's not innocent, but she doesn't really want to help him. She's struggling with the moral quandry when Tabitha gives him a minor case of the 'splosions, and then sets up an impending much _bigger_ explosion.

Well! That certainly simplifies things. The scientist gets a dismissive glare, and a level, "You can either come with us or stay with that." She gestures to the explosive charge and spins on her heel to follow the others out with their cajun friend. She figures the scienist is going to scurry along like the weasel he is, or he would have already killed himself or tried to kill them. And someone else can interrogate him. That's what telepaths are good at, and they might not be quite so tempted to beat him with a phone book.

But if they're also tempted to beat him with a phone book, Ororo's not going to judge them. She'll even help find one, phone books being something of a rarity nowadays and all.

Scott Summers has posed:
The weaseling of what may be the worst liar in history makes Scott's neutral face turns into a deep scowl as a growl escapes him. With his hand, he reaches to pickup the weasel by the scruff. "We have questions. You're going to answer them...and so help me God, you will reverse what you did." Cyclops, every fiber of his being?

Wants to put this man through every factor of hell he can fathom. He holds the man tight on his hands as he practically lifts him into the air.

Destruction protocols placed, Cyclops drags the man with him as he gives a look to Jean. Its silent, it's message solemn and self-depreciating. But he keeps his eyes on her, before his head turns to the exit. He falls into a silence.

Likely refrain from saying something he shouldn't.

Jean Grey has posed:
There is a moment, where Jean can see the full of the man's culpability, his knowledge of the place, his involvement. For a moment, she imagines floating over one of those gas bubbles, and holding it over his head.

It passes.

With her rage subsided, Jean is not only back following the X-men's usual moral compass, but holding the center of it. The events of the day have pushed her close to that edge, no doubt, an edge she feels sometimes is closing ever nearer... but today will not be the day, and Scott gets a faint smile.

That does not mean it is, by any means, a day for kindness. Nor is she leaving the man any choices like Ororo, although practically speaking, there's not much of a choice to be had. Blow up, or come with them. The team leaders don't seem keen to leave it up to chance: "Let's go."

As Scott ushers the man along with them, at the same time, she keeps enough of a grip of his mind to make sure he doesn't take any Hydra 'escape plans.' Like that, she sweeps out after the rest of the team, aiding in the dragging of any guards and other necessary bits with them. They will make arrangements for SHIELD pickup, but in this case, not before she has had time to dredge the man's psyche of everything he knows, every detail of the operation.

And then once on the Blackbird again, she goes to check on Remy and Rogue.