8125/The Problem With China: Resolution

The Problem With China: Resolution
Date of Scene:	05 October 2021
Location:	Tibet
Synopsis:	The mutant children of Tibet have been freed, sent on to Genosha to live free lives.
Cast of Characters:	Raven Darkholme, Tim Drake, Rogue, Strix, Kurt Wagner

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Raven Darkholme has posed:
    With two teams required to strike at the same time in the two different locations, those willing have been divided up to form the two teams. Each team has been assigned one half of the mutant YingYang, so that despite the distance the two teams can remain in contact with one another.

    Team One is comprised of Mystique, Red Robin, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Strix, Miss Mastermind, Ritz and Ying. They are headed to Tibet, where the younger mutant children have been sent to spend their childhoods in a prison like facility designed to educate and create loyal servants to the government. The facilities are identical in how they have been constructed. Inside the walls are two dormitory style buildings, one for boys and the other for girls, on either side of what looks like a massive school building. The grounds for the facilities are massive, and enclosed by stone walls that have guard towers at all four corners, and can be walked along from tower to tower. There are guards on patrol along the walls 24 hours a day, both mutant and human.

    This facility also has a few smaller buildings, the guard and 'teacher' accommodations. There is one more building here than in Xinjiang. It looks like some sort of asylum in how it is constructed and has been placed as far away from the other buildings as possible and remain inside the walls. The entire compound inside the walls is divided by stone based metal fences that are constructed around the dorms, the school, and all the other buildings, with guards present at the gates that permit movement between the areas. The land outside the compound has been clear cut out and around for at least 400 feet in all directions. The road that leads to the large main gates is two lanes, with solid K-rail style barriers on both sides, even into the trees that surround the clearing that has been created.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Coordination is the key to most stealth missions. Managing all of the moving pieces is no easy task, especially when they're split across two locations. This is at least made somewhat easier by Ying being embedded into team one, maintaining a connection with the group on the Chinese mainland.

    Both she and Martinique Wyngarde, daughter of Mastermind, remain aboard the jet which idles in stealth mode several hundred feet above the compound. Red Robin is in the pilot seat, and between the three of them, they've been monitoring the situation for some time.

    It isn't a coincidence that the moment they arrived overhead, dark clouds began to gather. It's now progressed to a full-on thunderstorm, sheets of heavy rain whipped around in the wind, pelting against exposed skin hard enough to hurt. Lightning crackles across the sky, followed by riotous claps of thunder. Visibility on the ground is limited.

    At least, that's what everyone in the compound is seeing, thanks to Miss Mastermind's illusions.

    Red Robin opens up a comm-line to the rest of the team, waiting off-site to be teleported in.

    "Five minutes to insertion," he says. "Ritz, the site coordinates and images should be coming across your HUD now."

    Most members of the team have been supplied with non-descript stealth body armor and helmets to both conceal their identities and keep everyone synced up. Even those who might forgo the equipment are provided with comms units, as well as non-lethal weaponry loaded with a potent mix of sedatives and anaesthetics that will guarantee rapid unconsciousness and a significant period of amnesia. The stated goal is for no one in the compound to even realize they're here.

    After another few moments, Red Robin turns in his seat and nods to Martinique. Her eyes close for a moment, and below them, the compound's personnel see several rapid flashes of light. Soon, the lightning has set flame to a grouping of trees and greenery near one of the buildings, where those that 'instruct' the captive children live. An alarm sounds, and chaos erupts.

    Miss Mastermind nods back to Red Robin, and he turns to look at the screens displaying scans of the area below. "Ritz, countdown for insertion, ten seconds."

    As Red Robin's voice echoes across the comms, Ritz steps forward and squares her shoulders. She looks at the rest of the team, exhales slowly, and--"Go!" A large white portal erupts before the group.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Preparing herself for stealth, Mystique is wearing a full black stealth suit, complete with knee, elbow, shoulder and shin protection. The hood on the suit fits tightly against her head to conceal the flaming red and hair and if that wasn't enough, her usual cobalt skin is presently black as night.

Standing there now like a spot of darkness, even her normally yellow eyes are different, a lovely shade of blue... and they are on Nightcrawler. She had known that some of the X-Men were coming to lend a hand, but the planning had all been on Red Robin and Clarice as to who would serve on which team. To make matters worse for the mutant, Rogue was also here, putting her life on the line for the mutant children. A mother's worst nightmare was occurring right now.

Watching the information on the HUD as it is offered, the usual 'in your face' Mystique is taking a back seat to Red Robin. So when the man says go, she goes, right through the portal.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is here.

She's wearing a skin tight black bodysuit that was so skin tight she decided to throw a dark army green hoodie on over it, but she tore it up a bit first, ripping the sleeves off and part of the stomach so it just covered her chest and allowed her to still use the hood. She has the hood up to conceal her hair tied back in a bun. Around her waist is a belt of black metal skulls that hang down on one side of her hips or the other, alternating based on which way she's holding her weight. She sits in the jet and just waits to be deployed with the others, a piece of bubble gum being unwrapped in her black gloved hands that she places between her lips and begins to gently chew upon as she listens to the others and sweeps her gaze from one of them to the next.

When the time comes and a portal is up, Rogue flies up in the air and just floats on through it at a rapid speed.

Strix has posed:
Strix insisted on coming along when she heard that children are being indoctrinated into the Chinese military against their volition. Besides, this is a stealth mission, and she's one of the world's top assassins. This should be a walk in the park for her.

She's dressed in her Talon attire, all black and owl themed. Despite the 'no kill' order, she's brought her blades with her. If things go south she wants to be prepared. Normally she'd be reluctant to use lethal force but these guys? They deserve no mercy. Still. That's only if things don't go the way they planned them to.

The silent assassin is relaxed, and looks like this is just another routine mission for her, and when the word is given, she hops through the portal, tranq gun in hand.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Kurt Wagner has joined the mission, doing so upon learning there were children being subjected to things they should not be. It is one of those things he cannot accept, cannot abide. So he vowed to help.

While some have donned attire meant for stealth, he does not need it. He wears his own costume, and he merely nodded when told of the tactics that would be used to confuse the guards on the other side. 'Bad weather' that only exists for one half? Useful.

Apart from that, he has been mostly quiet, in contemplative thought, sharing a few words with Rogue from time to time but not much else. He is not a killer, so he will not use any weaponry that might risk it. He does have a comm unit, but he has left behind any other means of even subduing anybody, trusting himself to handle any trouble in his own way.

As their target looms ahead of them, golden, glowing eyes squint in the direction of the complex, and while a rift or portal is opened up for others, he chooses his own path ahead. With a *BAMF* he disappears, and immediately reappears at a guard tower. "Guten tag. I am here to relieve you of your post. Or, at the least, encourage you to take a break. It is good for the body und mind, ja?" Before the guard can even react, Nightcrawler applies a hold that cuts his air, leading to him quickly passing out. The man is laid down gently from there, and he moves on to the next tower to repeat the process.

He has not spoken to the disguised Mystique, save for anything dealing with their plans. Nothing about her is suspected yet.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The guards in the towers truly have no chance at all, teleporters have that effect, and luckily for Nichtcrawler those patrolling the walls haven't seemed to notice... yet.

The port lands the team next to one of the dormitory buildings, also thus far unnoticed. The spot lights continue their sweeps over the cleared land while the lights in the compound illuminate the important locations; gates, doors, the path ways between buildings. The guards on the walls continue their patrol, and those by the gates remain standing steadfast.

Mystique might be a little off her game, having just recovered from being irradiated and having both her children here, but the minute the night air hits her face, her mind focuses on the task at hand. She has no intentions of killing anyone unless she has to, this isn't about murder or revenge, this is about the children. Her weapons remain in the holsters on her hips, not that her hands aren't weapons in their own right.

Tim Drake has posed:
    From his overwatch position, Red Robin monitors the arrival of the team on-site. The quick pop in-out of the teleporters is less of a challenge to keep up with than he'd expected, though ultimately it makes sense. It's not like GPS can keep up with Impulse's speed, so functionally it ends up looking like teleporting around when Red Robin monitors his position.

    "Don't forget, it's critically important to dose any of the personnel you encounter with the sedative compound. No one can know we were here," Red Robin reminds, over comms.

    Ritz's portal vanishes as soon as the team is through. Even though everyone has been briefed on the illusion-based cover they will have in the eyes of the guards, it's time to move. The teleporter leads the charge towards the dorms, though she soon falls back, allowing the more combat-focused to take point on entry.

    Her being in place to get the children out is a key part of this, after all.

    Up above, Red Robin turns back around after getting a quick update from Ying about the situation with the other team. "Disrupting their communications, hold tight."

    A launcher rotates down and locks into place from the jet's undercarriage, and begins to circle around as it fires. They hit with a strong *THUD* atop the guard houses, one after the other, though Lady Mastermind's illusionary storm lets lose an ear-deafening rumble of thunder to coincide with the impacts. Once in place, Red Robin taps at one of the screens in the pilot console.

    The projectile shells split open to reveal the EMP devices within, which come online with a low thrum before discharging. Both the internal electronics of the guards' radios and the spotlights they're manning are overloaded and short-circuit. Of course, the comms Red Robin has provided are adequately shielded.

    "Cleared to breach," Red Robin reports.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue comes out of the portal still floating a couple feet off of the ground. Her hands are out at her sides and her eyes are roaming over the interior of the yard. Stealth is not unusual for her, even if she prefers smashing things.. stealth is still a common place training regiment in the X-Men Danger Room simulations.

Rogue looks to her team mates as they come through as well, hearing the comms over the ear bud she has on beneath her hood. She doesn't say anything though and elects to fly toward a nearby wall for added cover while she presses herself lightly against its side and peers around it.

She just wants to get these kids and get out of here..

Strix has posed:
Strix moves quickly and silently, staying hidden in the shadows. Even her team members might have a difficult time picking her out. She reappears at the door, and quickly picks the lock, slipping inside. There's a guard there, and before an exclamation point can appear over his head and the alert sound is played she's behind him, applying an expertly placed sleeper hold that drops him as quickly as any fast acting tranquilizer.

She pops out of the door, and gives everybody a wave of the hand, letting them know it's safe to come in.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
"You can use your own methods. I will use mine. It is not the first time I have had to think about how to leave no trace of mein presence, und one way or another they will know someone was here. The important thing is that they do not know who," Nightcrawler's voice comes in over the comms, calm but definitive.

He continues dealing with the perimeter guards at the towers and walkways, teleporting one off a few hundred feet before leaving him 'sleeping' amid some cover, taking his means of communication and destroying it.

Soon, the exterior is cleared, systematically, whether all on his own or with the aid of others. "Perimeter clear. I will rejoin you in a few moments."

This is because he has had to pause under cover in one of the guard towers, catching his breath. He has been teleporting a number of times.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Inside the dormitory is a long hall with numerous doors. As Strix discovered, there are guards walking the halls of the girls dorm.

Mystique slips into the hall after Strix and past her, finally drawing her specialized guns. They have a shorter range and are silenced, but are armed with darts to knock people out rather than kill them. Moving along the hall, she pauses for a moment to listen then says into the comms, <"Sounds like there are two more guards on the upper floor. I'll move up and take them out.">

Tim Drake has posed:
    Once the dormitory has been breached and the first guards taken out, Ritz enters. What she's seeing is transmitted up to Red Robin in the stealth jet above, and they have a brief back-and-forth discussion about portal logistics now that they have real intel on the floorplan of the building. "I'll take up position at the hall junction," she says, pointing, and then briefly she is overcome by a white flash of light as she creates a portal and steps through it. "<<If we need to, I can put portals at the doors from this vantage point,>>" she adds, now over comms.

    "<<See if there's any way to unlock the doors--maybe a guard station or console??>>" comes Red Robin's voice after, to those inside the building.

    Outside, to the guards, the storm continues to rage on, as does the fire that has spread throughout the garden and small copse of trees near the teacher's pavilion. "<<That should hopefully be enough chaos to distract them temporarily. I'll keep an eye from up here in case any make a break for the dorms,>>" Red Robin reports to the ground team.

Rogue has posed:
On top of the facility that the group is entering, a guard makes his way across the roof to prepare to peak down over it...

Before he's able though, a naked hand slowly moves over his right shoulder and just before he catches it in his peripheral Rogue's face leans in over his shoulder. "Night night, Sugah." She whispers before pressing her palm and fingers against his cheek and jawline. The guard suddenly stiffens and tries to react but Rogue's other hand has him by his belt behind his back. She just holds him for a few seconds as he struggles and then goes limp in her arms. She sets him down and pulls her hand back as she crouches over his head. "Mmm, I thought as much. Always fallin' asleep before the fun starts." She says disappointedly before standing up again and dragging the man's uncon body toward a dark shadowy corner... <"One more guard doown."> Rogue whispers in to the team comms.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Kurt Wagner reports over the comms, "I see..more guards. Walls, und rooftops," There is a pause between the word 'Walls' and the rest, interrupted by another *BAMF* for a closer look, a better angle. "Gute Nacht," he whispers in the ear of another guard before leaving him napping, then again, then again. He pauses once more. Normally, he would be keeping track of how many times he's teleported, needing to be aware of it so he doesn't leave himself fatigued, but it's getting to be a bit late for that. There is still work to be done.

Nightcrawler adds, "I should be rejoining you shortly. You are inside?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Between the over watch, the EMP and Kurt and Rogue's careful removal of guards, things remain quiet. There are some complaints in Manadrin shouted across the walls and roof tops over the lack of communications and the lights going out, but so far they don't seem to fully suspect intruders. They know something is amiss, but can't seem to put their fingers on it.

Mystique pauses at the top of the stairs, listening again for positions of the guards on the second floor. They were walking away from the stairs, their backs toward her. With a fluid motion she steps up to the second floor and fires off two darts with the fast acting sedative.

<"Second floor secure," she reports. "We're inside the first dorm now.">

Tim Drake has posed:
    For the time being, Red Robin continues his careful observation from up above, tabbing through views provided to him through those with HUDs in place. He calls out a quick, "<<Copy,>>" once or twice when word from the ground team makes its way up to him. Then, "<<We have some guard activity on the grounds but nothing significant yet, between the storm they're seeing and the lack of communication they seem to be confused still. Let's get the kids out of there while we can.>>"

    And then he twists to nod back at Ying, who unbuckles from her seat and stands. Within a few seconds one of the white, swirling portals from Ritz appears aboard the jet, and Ying steps through to begin assisting in the extraction effort.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue lays another guard down on top of the roof and slides him to the darkness with the first one. She listens closely to the comms and then sweeps over to the edge of the roof wearing one of the guard's hats now incase anyone might spot her head, hey who knows?! There's good cover tonight with the weather anyway...

Rogue's eyes look up to where she knows their extraction point is, then back down. She speaks in to comms <"Comin' down and in t'help with the kids..."> She can be heard over the line as she vanishes from atop the roof...

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Kurt Wagner makes his way closer after feeling satisfied that outside threats have been dealt with. If anyone came along behind him and further sedated anyone he left downed, he wouldn't even know. However, as he descends toward the entrance the others have moved in through, he rests a hand against the wall and steels himself to continue. All that teleporting is adding up. It was effective, but it is draining his energy more rapidly than he anticipated.

"I am inside, moving to meet with the rest of you," he relays into their ears, and at least one of them might pick up a sense of heavier breathing. There must be some water around, something to drink.

Nightcrawler takes an approach toward the second floor of the dorm in question, his eyes remaining alert. "Have we found the children?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
From over watch, even with the fire and the storm, a few guards have begun moving in groups around the compound. The lack of communication has them all on edge and they are starting to spread out and look for indications of what might be happening. It's only a matter of time before they discover guards missing from their posts.

The clock is ticking.

Mystique remains at the stop of the stairs to the second floor, watching the hall where the two guards are not pleasantly asleep, until she hears the heavier breathing from Kurt over the comm. The guards are down, so she heads back down the stairs to go in search of the over extended Nightcrawler.

<"No movement upstairs, time to get the kids out."> is said quietly.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Inside the dorms, Ying is seeing to the children as much as she can, coaxing them out from their rooms. From where Ritz is standing, she can monitor Ying's progress, and each time she exits a door with one of the kids, there's a portal waiting there for them.

    While she waits, the teleporter watches down the hallways for potential hostiles as the others continue to work their way through the guards.

    Up above, Red Robin tracks the movement around the compound. "<<We've got guards incoming. Not sure how much time we have before our efforts here are discovered but I'd wager it's a limited amount,>>" he reports.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue was GOING to go inside, until the guard patrols showed up in stronger numbers down on the ground. She weaves through the air avoiding the spotlights searching through the 'rain' and sees a pair of guards wearing rain slickers headed toward the building. "No no..." Rogue mutters to herself like she's reprimanding a couple children. As they're headed toward the door she sweeps out of the sky and grabs hold of them with her bare hands, then lifts them up to the roof...

They're asleep before she even gets them set back down on the pile of guards she's building here. <"This is gonna get tougher when they're in greater numbers."> The Belle's voice warns over the comms as she crouches there on the roof in her black and green, hiding in a corner as she scans for more optional pairs of Guards to yank like that again. <"They're all clumped up now..."> The Belle grouses over comms.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
"They are accounted for? I have seen a few here," Nightcrawler says, after poking his head into one of the dorms. The sight he must create, assuming any of the children have spotted him.

Trouble is, the children are not the only ones who have noticed something is not as it ought to be, for Kurt becomes keenly aware of the cold feeling of a gun pressing against a temple, and he does exactly what the guard has just told him to in his own language: freeze.

He is compromised, and as his thoughts race in an effort to judge how fast he could be, if he could pull off a teleport of any kind before the finger squeezes the trigger, Mystique will be the first to see the pair ahead of her.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique's reaction is not what anyone might expect. Her attention was on Kurt already, but seeing the gun pointed at his head, she loses it. All reasonable thought shoots right out the window, the calm, reformed Mystique takes a back seat for the murderous, over protective mother to jump right in.

The dart guns are dropped and her daggers are yanked from her belt, and then her movements are controlled and swift. A running start toward the pair and the gun is kicked up and out out the guards hand, even as she lands on the man, burying the daggers in his chest.

"Get away from my son you son of bitch!" She hisses in German, her anger and terror driving her back to her native language. "You will never hurt another mutant again!" Then the daggers are removed to be stabbed again and again and again into the guards chest. Despite that anger the strikes are precise, striking vital organs, ensuring he dies. It is only when he gurgles his last breath that she realizes first, what just happened, and second... what she said.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
In the compound, five or six guards appear from around the back side of the dormitory and spot the open door. Without communication, there is no way to send an alarm and with the thunder, not one thinks shouting will do any good, so they charge for the doors shouting to each other and the guards that remain inside.

On the first floor, emerging from one of the doors furthest down the hall, a guard appears, just as three more appear upstairs. Then two more come out of rooms on the first floor.

Shit hit the fan.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Despite the way guards dart to and fro, desperately trying to shield themselves from the rain that pelts against their skin even through their weather gear, up above their movements are perfectly visible to the sensors in the jet. The groups headed towards the dormitories are automatically tracked by the onboard computer.

    And one group makes a break for the open door.

    "<<You have incoming,>>" Red Robin reports, then he looks over his shoulder to Lady Mastermind. "Can you throw them off the scent?"

    She nods, and lifts a hand up so that she can rub the bridge of her nose as she concentrates. This time around, the illusion she creates will be visible to everyone inside the building, as several figures in stealth armor matching those supplied to the team appear to provide cover and engage the guards that have made entry into the building.

    Though of course the cover is only illusionary! If the guards start shooting, things could go bad very quickly.

    Which is why Ritz puts up a portal between herself and the guards, to redirect any wayward bullets.

    This is precisely when Miss Mastermind decides to deliver some bad news, scrapped from one of the guards' minds.. "<<There are more mutants here! They're being experimented on, in the building near the edge of the compound.>>

Rogue has posed:
<"I'm learnin' way more Manderin t'night than I expected..."> Rogue whispers loudly over comms as she's about to stand up. She gets sense of something happening down inside the facility and is about to fly off again to go get more guards when she's suddenly stopped...

A giant rock hand appears behind the Belle in Black and grabs her entirely in its mitt! It wraps around her and squeezes tightly as it starts to drag her back across the roof! Rogue is unable to talk as the giant rocky hand has her held so tightly she's unable to work her lungs easily!

She pops one arm out from inside the grip and is about to start hammering her way out when the mighty rock hand starts slamming her down on the concrete roof!

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

The roof is starting to rock as the Belle is blasted down in to it, the people inside might think a monster is stomping around on top of it!

The rocky handed owner is a Mutant Chinese guard with both his hands turned to stone and each reached out to Rogue, though he's only using one currently on her! He picks her up and draws her toward him closer and closer while slamming her down on the roof repeatedly!

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Kurt Wagner's eyes flash toward the disguised Mystique as she is the first to lay eyes on the situation. The guard notices it, and a moment of hesitation follows just before she's upon the man, knocking the gun away.

Before she's even begun to stab him, Nightcrawler takes the opportunity to teleport to the other end of the hallway, a hand resting against a knee before he looks up in surprise at the words in German, followed by the promise she makes as she drives the knives in, over and over. "Nein! Halt!" It works for 'stop' just as well in German as it does English, the meaning clear as he reaches out toward the two helplessly, caught without the ability to immediately act further.

Chatter over the comms leads to him saying urgently, "We have a situation in the dorms!" in what can only be taken as a massive understatement. By the time the woman is finished killing the guard, Nightcrawler has moved closer again, striking with a hand to at least loosen the grip she has on one of the blades if he can. "What are you doing? Und what did you just call me?!"

Guards or not, there is A Moment to deal with here, an utter look of disbelief on his face that might only be about to grow more pronounced.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The distraction of illusionary people pulls most of the guards away from the dorms, save for the small group that had already come to realize the door was open. They head inside immediately.

Mystique pulls the daggers from the guards chest and sheaths them, blood or not, before looking up at Kurt. "I am killing the man who dared to point a gun at your head," she answers calmly in German, even though in her chest and head she is screaming in numerous languages at her own stupidity. There is a time and a place for everything, this was not the time nor the place but it was out there, and she had this feeling it would remain the focus until she said something.

"No one threatens my son and lives. We have a job to finish," she finally says after a moment of just looking at him. Switching to English she then says, "Stay close to me, you've over extended yourself and we have company."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Ying continues to usher the children through Ritz's portals, though the sounds of combat and the impact on the roof that shakes the whole building is starting to cause panic. There's not much more Ying can do but keep her voice calm and soothing as she encourages them in Mandarin.

    In the plane above, Red Robin listens in, keeping count of the children being sent away to safety. "<<What kind of situation?>>" he asks, then adds something in Mandarin, before switching back to English to say, "<<Do we need to call in reinforcements?>>"

    The only views he has access to that give him a glimpse of the building's interior are through the camera feeds of Ying and Ritz's HUDs, and they're currently boxed in by portals to keep stray bullets from hitting any of the children. If guards begin to fire, they'll just pass through and hit the ground a few hundred feet outside.

    His attention pulls back to the grounds outside in time to see Rogue fighting a guard with some sort of mutant powers, and his eyes narrow behind his mask as he says something else in Mandarin over the open channel, to Ying.

Rogue has posed:
The rock handed Chinese guard has Rogue right up near him now as he continues to squeeze her and try to crush her... he's not used to anyone being this difficult to do such a thing to. His power has yielded him the ability to crush humans like grapes inside his mitts... but Rogue is different. She's soft and unsquishable at the same time!


He spins her around in his grasp to look at her as she has two of her arms out of his rocky hold now, her hands touching his rock skin, but the shift in material has left her power unable to effect his flesh in this form. She has a pained expression on her face as he looks right at her. She whispers something to him in Chinese but he can't hear her over the 'rain' so he pulls her closer, and closer...

His large rock-finger grabs her hands and pins them down to his knuckles, as he shouts over the rain. 'Who are you?! What are you doing here?!'

She looks right at him, her green eyes painted around with dark eyeliner tonight, and she just makes hard eye contact with him before she leans forward and presses her lips to his! AS she starts to drain his body of life, he starts to entirely turn himself Rock but its too late... with the kiss planted, the man starts to go woozy and he just falls over on the roof.

Rogue drops to the ground and suddenly flashes Rock Skinned before she turns it off again, looking down at her hands as she does this...

A moment later and she takes to the skies again.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Nightcrawler shakes his head vehemently. "Nein. Do nicht do this. You are not meine Mutter. You cannot be meine Mutter. This is nicht the time for cruel jokes. Meine Mutter abandoned me when I was just a child. You speak the language but you are nicht her, und we..ja, we have a mission to complete. I will be fine. I lost track of mein surroundings, that is all."

He says this..not calmly, not fervently, but somewhere in the middle. There is denial, disbelief, also confusion and uncertainty. It doesn't make any sense to him.

Then the thing Clarice started to say before stopping herself pops into his head, along with Rahne trying her precious best to cover for it but failing utterly. Rather than staying close to her, he instead seeks to put distance between themselves. He must, right now. There is likely shock, not just from the gun to his head but especially what happened afterward.

Abruptly he adds over the comms, still sounding shaken, "Situation..under control. We are on the move. We should be fast und get out of here." As he hurries outside, by the time anyone else spots him, he is looking out of sorts, not himself. As he comes upon a guard, he leaps to tackle him to the ground and knock him out with a punch this time around, his eyes wider, wilder. Not a mutant guard, thankfully. He adds, "Rogue..where are you?" Stick with the one he knows best out of this crew.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
There would be time later to deal with the pain, to deal with the situation, to tell him the truth, for now Mystique heads for the dart guns she dropped and grabs them up, and fires off another shot into one of the guards heading into the building. She would love to tell him she didn't abandon him, to tell him the full truth, but it had to wait.

Moving after Kurt, whether he liked it or not, she avoided the mad rush of children heading for portals, to get herself outside to deal with more guards and keep her eye on Kurt.

<"Rogue, if you can get to Kurt, please do so."> She says calmly, then darts another guard before having to reload.

Most of the guards are still chasing the illusion, save for a few at the door to the dorms that are now facing off with Kurt and Mystique.

Tim Drake has posed:
    While the team continues to keep the guards from advancing to the extraction point, Ying and Ritz continue to work quickly to usher the young children through the portals into the waiting arms of those on the other side. At one point, Ying has to physically pick up a girl who seems unable to move, and it's at this moment that a different sort of portal appears on the wall next to the door she's just emerged from.

    Another teleporter, Gates, only gets halfway through before Ying presses the young girl into his arms to take her back to safety.

    "<<This building is clear! We need to move to the next dorm!>>" Ritz announces over the open comm-line.

    They make for the entrance to await the all-clear to continue.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue has been absorbing more people than she is comfortable with doing in such a short amount of time. Her ability to sort the thoughts and minds out inside of her own is doing far better than it used to, but it still has its limits...

The mutant made it much worse.

She hears the comms though and just as Kurt might think he's alone, a pair of rocky hands come under his armpits and hoists him up in the air.

"Not gonna forget ya, dear brother." Rogue whispers in his ear as she lifts them both high up in to the sky. <"I got the Crawler."> She says over comms as they both fly up to get enough distance in the sky to be less of a clear target. "We gotta clear out another, I think." She says to him as they head for that facility. Stealth, Rogue, Stealth, she reminds herself along the way.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
"Eh?" Nightcrawler sounds surprised at the hands of stone that help get him off the ground and up above the buildings. He hears something about 'boys dorm' but also hears 'dear brother' from Rogue. "What..?" he can only ask, somewhat feebly. He looks toward her uncomprehendingly, like another layer of some great mystery is being peeled back right before his very eyes.

It's a lot to take in right now. "Just..just get me down there," he says, as he points toward their target. That's it. Stay focused on the mission. Get it back together. Rescue the kids, then get out.

Not trusting his endurance to hold up right now from all the teleporting, he's going to shift gears and get a little more physical. Only teleport when necessary. Use speed and agility instead. And, don't think about the things he's just heard.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The girls dorm still has the guards inside it that patrol the halls, but there are no other guards around or near it, they are busy chasing down illusions and trying to figure out why they can't hurt them.

Mystique shoots the last guard by the girl's dorm, then darts around building and makes a b-line for the boy's dorm. It requires going over a fence, but to her that's nothing and with the sound of the storm still deafening the guards, the rattling of the fence goes unheard. Checking the door, she finds it has already had the locked picked. Strix must have been by here at some point, but this allows her to crack the door ever so slightly, and peek inside.

<"Three guards in the hall on the first floor, one right by the door. I can take him out, and secure the first floor to the teleporters and Ying."> And then she does just that. She whips open the door and takes three shots with the darts, missing one she is forced to throw herself forward to get in range and fires a fourth shot. <"Entry secured.">

Tim Drake has posed:
    As soon as word comes through the open channel that Mystique has successfully secured the entry into the next dorm, a portal opens on the wall next to her. Ying and Ritz come through first, and then the source of the portal, Gates, arrives as backup.

    Over comms, Red Robin and Ying have another brief conversation in Mandarin. "<<The other team is wrapping up,>>" he says after. "<<They're going to handle extraction for the building on the outer edge of the compound. Just focus on getting the dorms clear. Ritz, Strix will need a portal when she's done with clean-up duty.>>"

    What clean-up duty entails? Who knows. But Strix is certainly living up to her reputation for stealthiness right now.

    This time around, they don't want for the building to be secured before heading in. Gates handles teleporting duty as Ying begins encouraging the children through, and Ritz boxes them in with portals as shields.

    "<<The guards aren't going to be fooled for much longer,>>" Miss Mastermind reports.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue just smiles at Kurt before she takes him to the dorm and deposits him on the ground. She joins him there-in and they storm inside. The southern belle in black is suddenly fully in rock form beneath her bodysuit and ripped up hoodie. Her skin all a dark grey rock now as she starts to walk toward some of the guards ahead...

They rush at her only to be shoved to the ground. You don't need punching and kicking when it comes to super strength and durability... Just let gravity and a bit of a shove do the work for you.

Moving past them then, Rogue starts to search for the kids and a way to round them up to get them... out of all of this.

She begins to speak to the children she finds, in their native tongue now helping to encourage them and let them know that they're here to help...

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Kurt Wagner shares a glance with Rogue, but he grows silent and determined to, as much as he can, complete this mission as swiftly and safely as possible. It is a good thing he has trained regularly without the use of his teleporting, for even though he is a step or two below his peak, that leaves him enough to handle the guards quickly and decisively.

His goal: to get to the boys being kept here, and help ferry them to safety. Nightcrawler reports, "I have four in one room. Ready the portal."

As one is set up, and as the children are ushered through...Nightcrawler looks back toward the others, and only once he is certain it won't hinder completing their task, he turns to the opening and whispers under his breath, "Forgive me, but I cannot stay here right now, und I cannot handle flying back."

He steps through, ending up in Genosha where he soon makes himself scarce within whatever facility everyone has based this operation from.

Tim Drake has posed:
    There's something to be said about practice making perfect, because Ritz and Ying have begun to work as a well-oiled machine. Gates joining up only requires a few seconds of discussion before he's integrated into their little team, and Ritz focuses primarily on defense while they evac the children. They clear one room, and the portals relocate with them as they move on to the next.

    They pause, briefly, and Ying is silent for a moment before she looks over at Ritz. "The other team needs access," is all that she has to say before the teleporter nods. A second of concentration, and one of her portals, shining bright white, has opened between Team 2's location in Xinjing and the inside of the building where the mutants on-site here are being experimented upon.

    "<<Incoming,>>" Gates says when Nightcrawler calls out for a portal, and one appears in the room with him.

    So too do ones near Rogue as she coaxes the remaining children out of their rooms; Red Robin can be heard over comms, notifying the teleporters on the team where their attention is needed.

    It becomes obvious soon enough that there are far fewer living in this dorm than in the other, and from above, Miss Mastermind squints her eyes shut. "<<I'm scanning for anyone left...>>" The guards will likely notice that the illusion of the storm and the fire both lose intensity, as if the sky is about to break through the clouds, and the inferno is slowly dying down.

    Is the gig up? "<<The last child in the dorms is hiding under his bed in the room to your left,>>" Martinique announces.

    Ying drags him up out of there, kicking and screaming, but she murmurs something to him and he looks up at her with confusion. Whatever it is silences him for just long enough to shove him into Gates's arms with a quick "Go!"

    Immediately, Gates is gone. Ritz says, "<<Sending out portals to evac!>>" into her comm unit, and then shares a moment of satisfaction with Ying as they stand there, boxed in by portal-shields. One goes out for each of the team members remaining on the ground, leading them straight up to the jet overhead.

    Red Robin turns around to see Mystique the first one emerging, and he nods at her before swivelling back around to continue monitoring.

Rogue has posed:
The more Rogue talks in Manderin the more she starts to lose herself in the minds she's talking through. Its hard... She shouts to the others on the team in Manderin too now as she helps more kids get to the portals. Once she's done and the tear in reality is open for her she bounds through it and is now back up where Red Robin is inside the jet.

Rogue is pacing back and forth then, her tall heeled combat boots thudding on the deck as she walks back and forth shouting at herself in the native language, like she's multiple people having a heated conversation with each other, all while her arms are crossed over her stomach...

It's a whole thing, best to keep your distance for the time being...

Strix has posed:
Cleanup duty includes running around, picking up spent shells and the EMP pods that were dropped to interrupt all the electronics at the base. It's an easy job, but a necessary one, and once that's done, she slings her back carrying these objects over her should and heads back down towards the base.

There's one last mission to do. She quickly makes her way over into one of the guard building, looking for the control room that oversees the place. She finds it quickly enough, and after disabling the guard she pulls out a USB stick, and searches around for a place to insert it.

Once that's found, she taps out a code on the comms letting H & D know that it's plugged in, and that's when they take over. In the five minutes while the twins work, Strix picks up the unconscious guard and sets him back in his chair, neatly folding his arms and placing his feet up on the desk, making it look like he just decided to take a nap.

H & D make short work of the central computers, and Strix removes the USB drive and pockets it. Returning outside she signals that she's ready to be picked up and a portal quickly appears for her to go through.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique moves to Rogue once she appears, not touching her but watching her closely. She wishes there was something she could do, and she's not even sure her presence would be welcome, but she can't see her daughter like this and not at least try.

"Rogue," she offers calmly, softly. "Try to relax, breath... would being sedated help?" She knows what's happening, she's seen it before, she caused it before and the longer she watches Rogue, the more she hates herself.

Rogue has posed:
The pacing continues from Rogue on the jet as Mystique steps forward to intervene. The minds that she absorbed still have control of her for the most part, but Mystique's words do break through in a way that even she might not have seen before. It's part of the work that has gone on at Xavier's. Rogue can push through more than she used to be able to, but piling on that many minds has... its power still too.

Rogue is just 'there' for a moment looking at Mystique and having tears well up. But as moments go, it comes and passes in a heart beat, and a new face crosses the Belle's and starts shouting at Mystique in Manderin....

It is looking like she better be sedated, but as Raven would know, Rogue has to be sedated with a gas or inhalent...

Tim Drake has posed:
    The portals close, one by one, after the rest of Team 1 have made it up onto the jet. Only Ritz and Ying are left behind, and they share another look with one another.

    "Ready for round two?" Ritz asks.

    Ying nods, and smiles, her face set with determination. A portal opens, and they step through to help the other team finish up.

    Up in the sky, the jet begins to accelerate slowly, stealth mode still engaged. Red Robin glances over towards Mystique and Rogue, but it's very much None of His Business, so instead his attention shifts to Strix and her cargo. "Good work," he tells her, and then motions for her to take a seat in one of the unoccupied chairs.

    Where, secretly, Tim has placed a bag with a couple of Alfred's delicious browned butter brownies for Strix to enjoy on the flight home.