12477/The Cure: Wrecking Ball

The Cure: Wrecking Ball
Date of Scene:	22 November 2020
Location:	New York Bank
Synopsis:	Metaforce try to recruit a new member. X-Force step in.
Cast of Characters:	Pixie, SpyderByte, Psylocke, Gambit, Warpath, Archangel
Tinyplot:	Mutant Cure

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Pixie has posed:
So far, three of the four escaped metahuman criminals have been apprehended..And de-powered. Which leaves just one criminal remaining, quite possibly the strongest of the four. And what better place to find the one known as wrecking Ball than at one of Westchester County's main banks? He certainly was known to have a lust for money.

And as the day wound down and bank tellers got ready to handle the last wave of customers and get ready to close up shop, that's when he made his (rather tactless) move.

He crashed in through the front door, he literally came in 'Like a Wrecking Ball", body curled up into a massive bouncing ball. A wall had crumbled in his wake, burying a few customers, injuring others and sending more screaming. He had taken some staff hostage then ordered one of them to lead him to the vault.

Fortunately, X-force had been monitoring his actions and had arrived on the scene shortly after.

SpyderByte has posed:
How did Jeremy get roped into X-Force? Easy. He has a 'particular set of skills'. He can 'find you'. And the rest of the team? They can kill you. Having been monitoring the recent Metaforce activity and gathering inteligence, he caught wind of the bankrobbery in progress.

The team's cell phones gets a message: *ding* << Bank Robbery in progress by one of those super metahumans. This one is named Wrecking Ball. He's not a hamster. I can send you coordinates. >>

And, that is what he does. A location is sent to their devices. If someone is going to use a bluetooth headset, or any type of radio headset, he can at least listen through and communicate that way as well.

<< I will have control of their security systems very soon. Until then, I can direct traffic to get you there the fastest way, unless you plan on teleporting. >>

And where is he? He's in his room, sitting at his computer with the multiple displays, hunched over his glowing keyboard in the dark with the lights off.

Psylocke has posed:
They had been monitoring, looking for an opportunity to take down the villain with the least amount of danger to civilians. This did not match that criteria. Sadly, they didn't have a choice now as he was endangering more people with his actions. "I believe teleporation will be necessary this time."

Thanks to the Crimson Dawn, Betsy had the ability to teleport through the shadow realm. She also had the ability to take others with her. As they weren't far away, she was able to use that. At the alley next to the building, the shadows seemed to deepen. Then rise up, non-descript masses of darkness. A moment later, those masses took on vaguely humanoid forms, the female among them with a glowing red mark over one eye. A second later, those forms turned into the team known as X-Force.

"We need him alive, if possible. To answer questions. If we cannot take him alive, keep him alive long enough for me to try and scan his mind." Her posh British accent made the next words sound a bit colder than they might. Or perhaps that was her tone. That voice is why Britains seemed to make the best villains. "

She glanced to the crew. "I will try to rescue innocents using the shadows while limiting those wanting to film telepathically. You both do what you do and bring down the Wrecking Ball. If we cannot take him alive at all, try to make it look accidental. There are a lot of witnesses. We are the good guys and would like to look like it."

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau smirks slightly, his demonic red on black eyes burning like hellfire, "Not at all sure dat Scott give de okay foh dat particular pep talk chere, but we play it by ear, non?" he says with a slight grin. "Spyderbyte, yah got eyes yet? We move out on yah signal."

Warpath has posed:
     There are certain things one just never gets used to. No matter how many times or how many ways, Warpath doesn't care for teleportation. Though his face tends to scowl anyway, it is clear he is unhappy. He rolls his neck once, flexes his hands, and grumbles something in Apache that doesn't sound flattering.

     The soldier inside comes to life a moment later and he turns his attention to Psylocke and her instuctions. There is a short nod her direction to indicate his understanding of the plan and then he starts to assess the surroundings,"You want a full frontal assault or do you want one of us to find a back way in to pincer?" He may have his ideas, but Psylocke is calling the shots tonight.

Pixie has posed:
Screams can be heard coming from within. Several people run out of the bank, having avoided the brunt of the attack. Uniforms are always helpful in a crisis, and while not everyone is aware of X-for s, they look like superheroes, enough that a couple of people sop, sheer terror in their eyes as they address the heroes.

"Please help! Some madman crashed a hole through the bank! A lot of people got hurt and he took hostages too!"

In the distance the sound of sirens can be heard. The police are on their way, but so is another threat..

Which soon becomes apparent as four familiar villainous figures - Metaforce - float in the sky towards the bank. Another flash of light and they teleport in as well. This..Could get complicated.

SpyderByte has posed:
<< Yes. I have eyes. I have the security camera feeds and all access to the electronic doors. Right now, I am locking all the main exits. You guys have some vistors. Looks like Metaforce just showed up also. >>

As Jeremy stares at his computer, he lets Betsy see through his eyes as he pulls up multiple windows of camera feeds.

<<Wrecking Ball is in the vault with five employees held hostage. Metaforce just teleported into the lobby. Police are en-route five mintues with a SWAT team. They will try to negotiate first, which will fail. >>

He seems to know a lot about this.

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau grins slightly at Warpath, "Yah wanna be de direct or de Steat'y one?" He asks the 7'2" Native American with a tone that, from anyone else would almost be guileless." Then he asks into the Bluetooth, "We got any alternate entrance or exits? Air ducts, windows dat aren' supposed ta open, anyt'ing like dat perfectly acceptable."

Psylocke has posed:
"It seems things may have changed. We have quite a few more to deal with now. We have a few minutes with the police attempting to negotiate, allowing to get into position."

She flicks a violet gaze at Remy, a hint of a smirk on her lips. "We still only need one of them." She looks at the images Jeremy is sharing. "Five hostages inside the vault. We go with Warpath's plan. I will try to rescue the hostages using the shadows. Lights being out would be helpful, Spyderbyte." She looks to Gambit and Warpath. "One to the front, the other a more stealthy arrival at the correct moment. I'm quite sure you both know which to do." A brief smile then she turns into a shadow person once more and sinks away into the darkness of the shadows in the alley.

Warpath has posed:
"I'll take the front door this time." Warpath replies to Gambit,"I can do my share of the sneaking, but I'm in a mood." He offers an almost smirk that is probably more unsettling than anything. He starts towards the front of the building and eases to the door, mindful of the surroundings and then...well subtlty is over rated tonight. He rips the doors open and goes in.

Pixie has posed:
As Warpath rips open the front door, he is confronted by Dragonlord, the Leader of the group, who smirks at him, arms folded over his dragon scale armour. "Fools! It would have been to your advantage for you o join us, but instead you choose to side with our enemies? So be it!" with a roar, he unleashes a massive wave of fire towards Warpath.

Meanwhile, Fluttergast moves towards Remy, an equally wicked smirk on her green lips. She says nothing, but with a wave of her hand, she summons a flock of psionic green crows to swarm him, attempting bite and claw at him.

Meanwhile, Coronis teleports himself and Chrysalis outside, unleashing a lethal combination of diamond lances and energy bombs at the police, who quickly retaliate with gunfire. Things are getting g messy..

Meanwhile, people within struggle to free themselves of the collapsed wall, while the five hostages are tied up and gagged, hidden somewhere within..And that's when the lights go out, amid surprised and confused screams and gasps.

Psylocke has posed:
Psylocke moves though the Shadow Realm. It is like looking through mirrors, seeing what is outside the shadows on the other side. She slips partially through one, head and shoulders lost in the darkness within. And that is when she draws on her other gifts. Mental walls dropped and that allows her to ping all minds in the area. Pinpointing everyone within a one block radius. Good guys, bad guys. Cops and victims. It's overwhelming and she quickly slams her shields back into place to keep from hearing all of the thoughts so she can concentrate.

Now she knows where hostages are. One by one, the shadows are opened, allowing for those trapped and held to fall into the darkness with her. The ones trapped under rubble and debris are also plucked out to safety. Then a moment later, they all appear in a building a block over. A telepathic wave allows for them to forget the exprience outside of being in the dark in the bank then suddenly being in the clothing store back room, much to the shock of a worker who was just going back to pick up some stock.

Psylocke will return to the bank in a few moments, rushing through the Shadow Realm to get there.

Gambit has posed:
Stealth apparently forgotten, drops his bo staff into his hand, the metal pole extending from six inches to six feet in the blink of an eye. He uses the staff to fend off the psionic birds as best as he is able, back flipping away from the (Flock? Swarm? Murder?) and unleashing a torrent of cards in Fluttergast's direction. "Pick a card!" he yells as the explosive weapons literally sizzle through the air, screaming as the molecules that make up the simple pressed paper are excited to critical mass with kinetic energy."

Warpath has posed:
Well then. The fun part of being the distraction and the front runner...well there isn't anything really. When the fire comes at him, Warpath takes a deep breath and braces for impact of the flames. Shaking his head liek this is just another in a long day of nuisances.

Taking a few moments of the heat, mostly impervious after all, he draws his arms out and claps them very hard. It doesn't put out the flame, but the air splits the fire and the now barely clothed Apache goes in for something simple. His massive fist connects with the other man's nose and he doesn't hold back...much.

SpyderByte has posed:
As he continues to munch on his zebra cake, Jeremy watches the screens intently. With the lights off, he flicks on the night vision through the cameras so he can continue to operate.

<< Let me know if you need me for anything else. >>

Pixie has posed:
Dragonlord snarls as the fist connects with his nose..Fortunately, he gets his dragon scale armour up at the last minute to cover his face, but it still hurts and sends him crashing back several meters into the nearby wall. "Damn you,fool! How dare you defy me?!" he snarls as he charges at Warpath, all razor sharp teeth and claws and swipes at his face, putting in some pretty powerful strength wuth each swipe..But wuth the lights suddenly turning off, he's likely left stunned, co fused for a few minutes at least..

Meanwhile, Fluttergast does her best to cancel out most of Remy's kinetic cards with her psionic crows, each exploding on impact. "Ooh, impressive!" she winks at him, flipping her green hair as she summons a psionic green glowing staff, offering some light in the darkness, and twirls it expertly as she advances towards him, arching it out to try and sweep him off his feet, "Wanna dance, pretty boy? Let's see if you can keep up!"

Meanwhile, Wrecking ball is momentarily confused and stunned by the sudden darkness, which is enough of a distraction for Psylocke to port out the hostages and the injured...Which just leaves the one bank teller who has already led Wrecking hall to the stash..And unlocked the safe. His eyes glaze over greedily as he starts to fill his bags with gold and money and other valuables..

Meanwhile, the battle continues to rage on outside, Coronis using his powers to teleport several police officers away from the scene, thinning out their crowds for Chrysalis to unleash another wave of destruction with another shower of deadly diamond needles.

Archangel has posed:
Late to the party. That seems to be what Angel...or was that Archangel, feels like was a common occurrence in these troubling times. Maneuvering outside, he hovers in place for several seconds, looking, looking.

Archangel was wearing black. All in black. His wings were dark silver, his costume was enshrouded in darkness, and his eyes were red. Everything about him from head to his toes, was the colour of death.

A Horseman of the Apocalypse, perhaps.

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau grins slightly as he twirls his staff in a slow arc and engages the other staff fighter. There is an almost manic grin on his lips as the metal staff collides with her energy one for several quick blows and then they both retreat. He circles with her and they move in again the sound of energy crackling agienst metal breaking the air. When they break apart again he wets his lip and smirks. "Not bad chere.." He mutters, and moves in a third time. This time they arev locked in an extended bind and he comments wryly, "Ah jus' wan' yah to know... Ah weighed de odds of dis working versus de idea Ah was doing somet'ing incredibly stupid. Den, Ah did it anyway." his eyes then dart down for a fraction of a second as five, pink glowing playing cards fall out of his sleeve."

Psylocke has posed:
Relaying to the others telepathically, Psylocke eyes the carnage going on outside. "Without the teleporter, they cannot escape. I'm after him. Everyone pick a dance partner. Trade off if or team up as needed."

She moved forward, reaching out with her telepathy once more. A wave of urges to the police to hold fire for a few seconds. An urge toward Coronis and Chrysalis not to take their focus off the police they are confronting. Nothing extreme. Nothing pressing hard into their minds. Just a monetary pulse.

Which gives her time hopefully. She charges, tapping into the training from the body she now possessed, the mind that was melded with her own. Running fast and silent, aiming for the teleporter. Her right hand blazed purple, her psiblade appearing around it, a dagger that was the sum totality ofher psionic power.

At the last moment she leapt, aiming to tackle the teleporter and apply the psionic weapon to his head to knock him out.

Warpath has posed:
There is a time for pure force and a time for something a little smarter. Warpath doesn't stay with any tactic that will not carry him far. His stance loosens a little and when the slashes come in he is a little late on the first, getting something to remember the dragon man by. His face wasn't perfect anyway and he turns his head with the strike. The slashes look worse than they are on his cheek and he closes his guard a little more.

The lights go out and that actually turns in the big man's favor as his senses are through the roof. Instead of bashing the dragon man head on, his hands flash forward and his thumbs dig into the flame breather's eyes deep. A second later his hands clap over the dragon's ears annihilating his equilibrium.

Pixie has posed:
From his vantage point, Archangel may get a good view of chaos erupting outside. The crowds of police are quickly thinning out with the teleporting away of many of their allies. And why are they suddenly feeling compelled to hold back..? Right at the same time that Chrysalis and Coronis give pause..? It's enough of a distraction for Psylocke to slip in and tackle the teleporter to the ground. But he won't go down without a fight. Before she can stun him with a psi blade however, he yells and attempts to throw an energy ball at her face, hopefully enough of a distraction for him to roll away and avoid the psi-blade..At least for now.

Meanwhile, Chrysalis narrows her eyes upon Archangel and unleashes a shower of crystal blades towards him.

Within, Gambit has a brief advantage as the lights are still out fir a few moments more. But the light of Fluttergast's staff is enough to illuminate the darkness, at least until her eyes adjust, matching Gambit's strikes, move for move, but not really gaining an edge. "Not bad pretty boy." she smiles sweetly, "Why not join us instead of fighting us? We'd make a great team, you and I.." too bad she's too distracted by pretty boy to see him pull out those charged cards..

And while that's going on, Dragonlord snarls as Warpath goes for the eyes, shrieking in pain as he staggers back. Fortunately, his armour protects his eyes well, and while Warpath scratches his face, his eyes are well protected. He snarls as Warpath clubs his ears and counters by attempting to grab his face in turn, hands flaring with more flame, "Burn, Apache, burn!" he yells.

Archangel has posed:
"Hello Psylocke," Warren says, within his mind as he feels her coordinating. "I am out front." At the edge of the darkness in his mind was light, thinking about Betsy.

Archangel's eyes follow the combat, zeroing in on the villains that appear to be atacking the local Police force. With a grim frown, Archangel concentrates, that signal passing to his wings, causing them to beat with a quiet suspense.

With silent precision, Archangel's eyes narrow, using his years of experience to ready himself...aiming careful...

...and with unerring precision, launching his feathers towards these villains, Coronis and Chrysalis, flechettes that are coated in a neurotoxin.

This all happens in a flash, the unleashing of the flechettes, and then, suddenly, the wings settling around Archangel's body, protecing himself from the crystal blades that Chrysalis had launched towards him like a Knight's shield.

Psylocke has posed:
There is a cry from Betsy as she drops back and to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast directly to her face. She does what is required though, rolling the same direction as Coronis. "Spyderbyte, let the paramedics and police know where the hostages were relocated to, so they can treat the injured."

Her psiblade still glows around her hand but that isn't the only weapon at her disposal. In fact the weapon she employs happens to have twice the range of her arm. She fires a kick toward where Coronis should be coming back to his feet after his roll away to the side, trying to get a firm slam of her foot into his face.

Warpath has posed:
There are good ideas and bad ideas in life. Maybe grabbing someone with Warpath's mental state isn't the best of choices. He could grab the arms to try and pull them apart. Instead, he grabs the fingers on his face and pulls...just two of the fingers on each hand and bends them back, away from him and towards the back of Dragonlord's hands. Whether he breaks them off or merely snaps them from the joint, he rips the hands away from his face and shatters the means to grip him.

Sense of humor is at an all time low as he been cut in the face and now he's burned in the face as well as half naked from having his clothes mostly burned off as well. He drives his forehead into the middle of Dragonlord's face, crushing the area of his nose with a head like rock in its way. Finally, like the cheap underhanded person he is, there is the decidedly full force knee strike to the dragon man's nether regions. It seems the Apache has had enough.

SpyderByte has posed:
<< I'm shutting down their comms. >>

Jeremy's fingers rapidly fly along his keyboard as he synergizes his powers to the network that he has created.

<< Annnnd... they're now deaf. >>

Gambit has posed:
~One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. T'ree Mississippi...~ The Cajun mentally counts off the time it will take those charged cards to fall to the ground, then breaks the lock by simultaneously letting go of his staff and jumping backwards towards cover. At about "Four Miss" the first of the five cards hits the ground setting off an explosion about the force of a hand grenade, and setting the other four off in it's wake.

Pixie has posed:
Chrysalis laughs at Archangel, and only sends out another shower of diamond hard blades towards him.lSurely she will find some sort of weakness or whittle him down. But when he retaliates, she is perhaps overconfident as he unleashes a flurry of flechettes at her in turn. She dodges most of them, proving to be quite hardy, although her diamond hard skin does a good job of protecting her against most of them..Unfortunately, one of them slips in a crack, and the poison takes effect. She shrieks and shudders, shrinking back and away from him, fumbling with her communicator but ti no avail. And amid the chaos, she makes a run for it. Things are getting far too chaotic now.

Meanwhile, Coronis is already preparing another energy bomb to hurl at Psylocke, but gets the breath knocked hit if him as she aims a well placed kick at his face, sending him flying back. He shrieks in pain and stumbles away from her, realizing this is getting out of control. "Coronis calling in..Let's retreat...?" but seems he too, is cut off from his allies. With a snarl, he grabs Chrysalis and the two teleport to safety.

Dragonlord seems able to stand up to Warpath, gritting his teeth as he continues to pulse balls of sweltering flame at Warpath's face..Unfortunately Warpath proves the stronger, and he gasps, letting go before his hand is broken. With a snarl, he hurls anither earth shattering fireball at James' feet then retreats, fleeing out the blasted hole to join his allies.

Fluttergast laughs cockily at Gambit, about to rush another flurry of stabs with her staff at him..But she wasn't prepared for the hidden blast at her feet. She shrieks as it prowls her into the air, slamming into the ground, uncomscious.

Unfortunately, during the chaos, Wreckingball managed to make away with the loot and he flees out the back door, using the last hostage as a human shield against the waiting police..

Archangel has posed:
Strangely enough, Archangel was feeling...exhiliration! It has been sometime since he was in a combat situation, and he could feel the bloodlust growing within him. It was a tingle at first...building into a crescendo of anger, and need, passion and lust. As his feathers moved towards their targets, he felt it. The thrill of battle. Apocalypse's curse...and blessing.

As the crystal blades from Chrysalis strike his wings, Archangel feels their sting. It was like fingers touching a hot stove. A burning sensation...and then it was gone. Strangely enough, the pain made him feel more alive, as his will flung his wings wide, letting him see what his flechettes had wrought upon his enemies.

As the battle reaches its crescendo, Archangel prepares to unleash another torrent of feathers...but then sees Crescendo and Crysalis disappear. Taking that as a signal that the villains were in retreat, Archangel lands near Psylocke, and frowns. "That was...interesting."

Psylocke has posed:
"Trackers." It's a single word, thrown out to the others. She fired a tiny disk in the direction of the fleeing Coronis. And that is the moment when she reaches out with her telepathy again. Things are not going to be a total loss. They came to capture someone. They have one unconscious body of Fluttergast. They can try to get trackers on others. But the one that started all this? The one using a human hostage to try to steal their hard earned money from that vault?

He's still within her range.

The psionic butterfly appears around her eyes, violet as she snaps her head in the direction of the fleeing Wrecking Ball. This time it isn't a hint or a nudge. This time she focuses all her power his direction, all her telepathic might in a single strike to his brain. The intention? Simple. She is going to tell his mind that he doesn't know how to work his muscles anymore. In other words, he won't be able to move them. Except his hand, which she will try to force to /open/ to allow the hostage to go free.

Hopefully, he isn't resistant to telepathy.

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau brushes some dust that the explosion left on his duster off of his shoulders and walks over to the fallen woman. He pulls out a large black zip tie and lashes her hands behind her back. Then with much smaller ties he individually lashes each finger to it's opposite number on her hands (Thumb to thumb, pinkie to pinkie, ect.) That done he telepathically calls to Betsy ~Ah managed ta capture de kinda 'ot chick. Yah c'n insert any jokes about such t'ings 'ere. What yah want me ta do wit' 'er?"

Pixie has posed:
It would have been easy for Wreckingball to make the last few yards with hostage in tow. And he could be forgiven for being a bit over confident, given he's a tough, big burly man. But then again, he wasn't expecting to come across the likes of a powerful Psychic. He is totally caught off-guard as she invades his mind to the tenth degree, overpowering his senses in a way he can't even begin to comprehend. Eyes widen in shock and pain, letting go of the screaming hostage, then stumbling to the ground, little more than a helpless baby, his muscles no longer working.

The remaining policemen are about to approach and arrest him..When they are interrupted by a blast of wind and approaching chopper, hovering above. A ladder is lowered and two men in white coats and sunglasses step down. "We'lol take it from here." they flash some authoritative badge at the cops that gets them to stand down and then they collect the comatose man, injecting some needle in his arm that has him shuddering in brief pain before falling limp. And then they take him away, soon vanishing from sight.

Fluttergast doesn't protest, still unconscious as Gambit ties her arms. Looks like they now have a hostage, and a potential lead with the tracker.