13150/Into the Badlands: Ode to Those We Left Behind

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Into the Badlands: Ode to Those We Left Behind
Date of Scene: 29 April 2021
Location: Badlands, South Dakota
Synopsis: Altered mutants battle the X-Men over the teenaged mutant. Scott's temples got smacked together, it all ends in a stalemate.
Cast of Characters: Storm, Wolverine, Cyclops, Havok, Beast, Rogue




Storm has posed:
THE ROAD SO FAR:

Key members of the X-Men were called to the Badlands, South Dakota to investigate a murder. This wasn't just any murder, a young teenager went berserk and accidentally murdered his own family. Henry deduced that the teenager was of the nature type; sap was left behind as evidence and on some parts of the body.

Jean and Megan went in disguise to speak to the neighbors, there they caught a glimpse of the mild hate that they have of mutants. The neighbors suspected them of such, or at least some sort of shady dealings. Suits were seen talking to the father and then to the young teenager, Charlie, and offered him a card..

Upon return to the town, the X-Men were met with roadblocks. The Detective, Rachel Moore, was outed as a mutant and kidnapped with the intent to kill. On the other side of town, there was a riot, all due to Colossus stepping out in metal form to aggravate the crowd.

Warren was injured. Rogue was furious. Illyana scared most and Shannon provided assistance with healing.

NOW:

Three days after the incident others were called in for the final row. With some members off investigating, a key group of no nonsense members of the X-Men took to their search. By the grace of the noses of some, the X-Men were lead to a place directly in the desert of the Badlands, a name befitting of the area where young Charlie was holed up.

Literally.

It was a heartbreak on a full moon; the young boy grew himself into the dirt of the ground, decaying the once rust colored landscape which produces a faint smell of sulfur. The branches, vines and trees that web the entrance of the cave prevent others from coming in. The boy sprouts out the top of the cave; and it almost would look like a natural occurrence if the branches, leaves and others did not move. They swayed where they was no wind, all because of the hurt that he suffered through.

And the hurt was clear as day; those same men in suits were there with axes and machetes, hacking away at the vines that repeatedly grow back in it's place. It was clear that the boy was protecting his space, and he wanted no one near him while he roots.

He was a tree; he shall not move.

The light of the three SUV's shone on the block entrance to the cave. And it was no telling how long the boy could hold out...

Wolverine has posed:
    The near feral X-Man had given enough of a heads up, though once they got within sight it likely wasn't a secret to anyone. There the kid was, and there were the men in the light of those vehicles. He holds up near a twisted set of rocks that at least provide some hint of cover as he settles in place then looks to the others.
    In the black and pale yellow of his uniform, Logan isn't too easily seen. Mainly a silhouette in the dim night and when he speaks his voice is rough and gravelly. "Five of 'em. Steel on em, two have guns."
    He turns back and takes the three steps to get to the edge of the cover, one hand holding him secure as he leeeeans to the side and watches with those predator's eyes. His jaw tenses and there's a faint grind as his teeth scrape against each other.
    Then he turns his head just slightly, "How you wanna play this, Cyclops?"

Cyclops has posed:
As they gather, Scott is not in uniform, but he is wearing some type of body armor beneath his shirt and clothes. His eyes are narrowed from behind his visor as he gives a glance around to survey the situation, then gives a glance to Logan. He presses his lips together in thought, then gives a nod of his head as he forms a plan. "Five of them? Good odds. Rogue, Havok, Wolverine, you three engage them as a distraction so that Hank can talk to the boy. I'll provide cover from here. No killing. Mauling is acceptable. Rogue, do a flyby first over head, Top Gun style. Get them to put their attention on you first so these two can hit them from behind."

Cracking his neck to one side, the field leader gives a curl of his fingers in and out a bit as he looks over towards Hank. "I'll be covering you so that you can talk to the boy, see if you can calm him down. If anyone looks your way, I'll take them down. Let's try and make this quick and clean. We don't need this on the news."

Havok has posed:
    There's nothing quite like being barely a day home from a vacation that included a pyramid built from jaggermeister bottles and being immediately called to this...
    But now that he's here? Now that Alex SEES what's happening, it's all he can do to keep still and not just start blasting. He's agitated and itching for a fight. It shows in the way he taps one foot and gnaws at the piece of Wrigley's Doublemint gum he's chewing. "One, two, three, four..." he begins whispering, volume so low that his counting likely isn't audible to anyone but those with superhuman hearing. If the younger Summers manages to make it to ten without an angry meltdown that will definitely result in their immediate cover being blown, then those anger management sessions he's been thinking about starting must already be working.
    Alex's gum chewing slows from that frantic gnawing and he smiles, perhaps with a touch of sadistic glee, when his brother gives the command to engage. Oh hell yeah, this'll be fun.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy nods once to Scott, glancing around the rest of the pack. On his back, he carries a kit bag with some important things inside it and otherwise a camouflage suit with a hood to obscure the blue. It does otherwise stand out. "Give me as much time as you can, I don't know how deep in his trauma the poor lad is," he murmurs to the others, before giving a two fingered salute and sliding off into stealth mode. For a muscley square, he can be quite quiet if he has to. He attempts to approach offsite of the cave and given the fact that there is a great deal of ground cover and choke upon the ground, starts free-climbing a near face, in order to get in from above.

Rogue has posed:
"Yep. On it." Rogue says as Scott gives her direction. She takes off into the air and moves to fly close to and over the men with axes chopping away at the vines covering the cave entrance. She flies by them, just over head, zipping along just fast enough to let them know that something is there, but perhaps not quite what. Then she comes around again, doing one more fly over and then she stops, waves, and grins. "Why don't you guys pick on someone yer own size!" Fly over, taunt, fly away again - do just enough to try and get these guys distracted.

Storm has posed:
Two souls; they were on the other side of the car out of sight. One woman, one man. The woman crouched, fingers picking and playing in the auburn dirt. Drawing up the earth, letting it fall between her figures. The man, larger than life, white skin and tribal markings litter his bare chest, but with arms crossed, it was hard to see. The woman was armed to the teeth. Blades strapped to her thigh, some upon the belt that she wears in sheaths. All meant for easy throwing with loops at their handles. Two katanas rest at her waist, and oddly enough she was barefoot. And if anyone flew overhead, they would see that the two who remained together had something in common; technological attachments to their necks.

But the fly above from Rogue was not missed by the men at all. They were used to this sort of stuff; dealing with errant mutants with all sorts of powers. And they were ready to die by what they stood for, especially if it was the right price.

This company had a comprehensive 401k and a life insurance policy that would set their families up for life for at least an extra generation if it came to it and they invested right! So this job, they gave it their all.

So distracted they were.. stopping, ducking just enough with the axes at the ready to swing if Rogue comes close, giving Charlie enough time to heal his vines to fortify his hiding place.

The man in the car watches, and soon his window rolls down upon the side of the man and woman; the mans attention only gained to look at his 'keeper' expectantly.

Wolverine has posed:
    Logan's answer is an easily given and simple, "A'right." Even as he's stepping back and away. He pauses long enough to tell Havok and Rogue as he murmurs, "I'll come in from the left. We move quick enough won't be a thing." Those dark eyes in the shadows slip from one to the other, then back again.
    He steps around the cover and tells Hank, "You need help you yell." And with those as his parting words he does as he says he would, keeping low and moving deceptively quickly across the ground, moving in a robust flank to the left, using some of the cars to break line of sight as he closes, then slipping away and out of view.
    The next moment later a glance in that direction and one won't be able to see where the Wolverine went let alone a hint of a trail.
    It's not until Rogue darts across the sky, blurring past and raises her voice that he'll try to time it right. To wait until the others split or shift their gaze. It's in that moment of distraction that he'll move, and when he moves it's fast. A quick darting motion, slamming the side of a boot into the back of one man's knee only to /yank/ him hard back with an arm wrapping around his neck.

Havok has posed:

    Alex is dressed in the same clothes he slept in last night, a Grateful Dead t-shirt and a pair of beat up jeans. At least he traded the Birkenstock flops in for some decent runners and he probably remembered to put a vest on under that t-shirt. With Logan going left, he goes right. Opting not to pull out the 'big guns' just yet, he, rather clumsily by comparison but still effective, follows Logan's lead. Only it isn't a kick to the back of the knee and a yank in Alex's case. No, he slips a pair of brass knuckles on from his back pocket along the way and aims simple, quick temple shot. It's at the last second that he remembers to pull the punch and go just for the knockout rather than bone shattering. Oh how he wants to shatter bone. Once he attacks, he dances back a step to wait for the man to drop (or not).

Cyclops has posed:
As the others move out, Cyclops raises a hand up to his visor, shifting against the cover to have a periphrial vision of the battlefield. He'll keep most of his attention on Beast for the moment, trusting the other three to handle five humans. He is quiet for now, listening for any comms that may come across. Tonight is about patience.

Beast has posed:
For Beast, there is no <<Snikt>> although there is a double hand flex, repeated by the feet as he gets some good traction. One handold after the other, trying to keep in the cover, he makes steady work to the overhang of the cave, at one point essentially hanging by his claws and toe-holds. Muttered and audible in the coms "...Why did I eat that second lunch today? Oh yes, because doing this is as easy as that pie was. My stars..."

And then with a glance upside down at what's going on outside, he scuttles in and quietly drops down inside the cavemouth, onto all fours to assess the situation and get first eyes on the actual factual elusive and traumatized Charlie.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue continues to fly over the group, trying to get some to look one way and others another way, to separate and distract them enough for Logan and Havok. Though on one of her flybys she notices the two sort of crouched behind one of the vehicles, and further, she notices the attachments to their necks. <<Heads up. We got one male, one female crouched behind a vehicle. Girl's got blades or days and the guy looks like he's muscle. But they got thingies on their necks.>> She says this as she flies higher and away before aiming to fly through the group again and further disorient them. <<Also, do we need this many lights? Hank, could that be botherin' our kid?>>

Storm has posed:
Rogue proves to be a very good distraction; Logan times it just right, taking out the man with the axe near raised, one knee planting hard into the ground and the yank jarring him enough to drop the axe that he carried.

His partner was not so lucky, for just as he was about to take a swing at Logan -AND- his partner, his clock was cleaned by his temples being mashed together by Alex. Thank goodness, bone wasn't shattered.

At this point, Scott would have the vantage point to see; see that the window was lowered upon the other side of the SUV not facing him, see only parts of a large white arm and a silhouette of a head. It wasn't until Rogue makes her confirmation that it was clear who was there.

"Go." The man in the vehicle says. And the large man gives a nod, nudging the side of the barefoot woman, who looks up and shrugs.

Henry would be greeted, from a scientific standpoint; to a wonderful sight.

Charlie was still there, but the entirety of his body made up the trunk of the tree. It was frail, not nourished, but strong enough in the stage of fright to remain in the middle and rooted into the decaying ground below. Closer to the body of the tree were little flowers, but the flowers seem to droop sadly, lacking the life they would if the boy were happy, vibrant.

"Go... away..." The boy says, and as he does, the ground beneath him stains with decay even further. He was tired of being attacked. Hunted.

Wolverine has posed:
    There's a brief nod given to Havok as Logan holds that choke and tightens it sharply, then slams the man into the ground roughly with a heavy knee cracking into the man's back. Not kind, and likely might cause a good amount of injury, but also to try and make sure he won't be too combat effective. But he'll live.
    Then he spins around, mentally marking the placement, the targets and the... others that Rogue gave the heads up for. He scowls, breaking into a run and plants a boot on the bumper of one of those cars as he /leaps/ into the air fists tightening in that clean arc as he jumps at those new targets.

Cyclops has posed:
<< On it, Rogue. >>

Scott taps his visor and blasts away at the lights on the SUV's, one after the other with three quick timed optic blasts that sizzle through the air and send the devices shattering. He knows Logan and Hank can see in the dark, and he'll trust Havok to use his powers as a form of nightlight.

<< Lights are down. Those may be Reavers up there, be careful if they start to transform parts of their body. They tend to have hidden weapons. >>

Another optic blast lances out from his visor to strike the front of the vehicle with the new occupants, looking to crush the hood down and flatten a front tire. No escape.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy puts a finger to his ear. "I think he actually needs more of it, not less..." he says softly "...but you could take out a flood or two. Trouble might come if they've got infrared though. I have sights on the lad, going silent for now." And Hank lets his finger go.
    He spends a moment assessing the young mutant, trying to work out how badly off he is. "I would, but there's nowhere to go and if I go, it'll only be a matter of time before those others get in here. I suspect you almost don't care. Charlie, isn't it?" All said in the soft tone of a Doctor with reasonably good bedside manner.
     "My name's Henry McCoy. I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help. I swear." pause "I'm like you. Look." Gently, no swift movements, he takes the hood off of his head, glancing fleetingly at the cave mouth to check the salient out there and back. The sound of crushing metal and shattering lights he winces at, then offers "...those are /my/ friends. They're on your side, as well."

Havok has posed:

    If the treeling kid's situation wasn't enough to boil Alex's blood, the mention of 'thingies around necks' certainly is. "Collars...?" It's half growled statement and half question asked of the next in the line of foes that he sets his sights upon. He sounds almost as feral as Logan when he repeats, "Collars?!"
    Head on a swivel, the younger Summers searches. When his eyes lock onto the two collared individuals and the SUV they're moving away from, they flash with fury.
    It's not the mutants that are the focus of his rage, it's the SUV. "Fuck you," he snarls dangerously, but out of earshot of SUV dude. His brother goes for flattening tires, but Havok brings the pain. It takes everything he has in him to not go full bore blasts on that SUV. Teeth gritting with restraint, he raises one hand and the beam he emits isn't the 'kill you dead' kind, it's the 'this is gonna hurt and hurt bad kind' and it's aimed at the man IN the SUV.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue comes back around, with all the other targets taken out, and Havok wrecking havoc on the SUV, she targets the one IN the SUV. By way of slamming the whole of her body into the side of the driver side door, with her fist going through the window. It was rolled down right? It might not matter to the mostly invulnerable, power punch wielding woman. She may be small, and she may have manners, but all of that goes to hell in a handbasket when you piss off her and/or her friends. Either way. The SUV isn't going anywhere anytime soon - unless Rogue picks it up and shakes it around. Which is surely another thought. SNOW GLOBE!

Storm has posed:
Everything moves at once. From the time the man in the SUV gives the order to 'Go'; Logan is already in the air to launch his attack. The woman catches sight of the movement and wastes no time jumping in front, her fist cocked back to try to catch Logan's middle, at least to power punch him a little bit away from the SUV and the large man that was with her.

The large man finally unfurls his arms, revealing cybernetic claws attached to his arms, his big neck rolling as his jaw stretches open -just- enough to show the length of his teeth, and they were sharp. He doesn't move fast as the woman, but he was walking towards her, as if Logan was the only person that they needed to fight.

With Scott taking out the lights of the SUV's, the main remaining in the truck reaches into his pocket to pull out his phone. A number was pressed, speed-dialed and soon phone pressed to his ear as his gaze remains forward.

"Track my location. Extraction point twenty clicks from my location. Bring the medic."

The phone was soon tossed onto the floor, his soon being fixed as the car rocks harshly due to the tire being flattened. One hand reaches for the door, soon tugging on the handle.. his gaze soon turning towards Alex as he takes aim..

*BAM*

The SUV was hit from all sides; the door slamming shut as soon as Rogue fist-body checks it, the punch of the blast from Alex sending it carrening backwards. It was unclear if Rogue was hit, but the person who -was- inside the car, wasn't anymore.

The young mutant was in bad shape. Where trees were vibrant, he was not. It was clear that sorrow was evident in his bones, for the leaflets that hung, cry.

"I don't.. I don't care.." He whines, clearly crying.. but the tears that gather fall slowly, and smelled of sap. As Henry reveals himself, the boy stiffles, his leaflets shaking as if a wind was blown.. what looked to be his leg seemingly moves to pull root from the diseased ground beneath. Did he mean to step away from Henry? Or did he mean to step close? Either way, the crying stopped.. and the shivering has started. He was -so-, so very tired.

"Why?" He asks Henry. "I killed my mom and dad! And my sisters! Everyone is dead because of me! And I didn't mean it! I was just so angry!"

Wolverine has posed:
    There was that whisper of motion through the air as Logan leapt, then the quick counter of the woman darting forward. They come together in the space between vehicles with her fist snapping back and forward as she intercepts the hurtling X-Man from the side, cracking her fist into the man's rib cage hard enough for the grunt of impact to be heard in that night, landing with a resonant /clunk/ that carries the tinge of metal being struck along with it.
    Enough to cause Logan to /crash/ into the front of one of the already mostly shattered SUVs. There's a quick shake of his head, a growing scowl on those grim features, and then he has to move rapidly to the side as in the next instant a heavy boot crashes hard into the wreckage right next to his head.
    * These two aren't slouches.*
    He has long enough to say that as he tries to crack an elbow against the next limb thrown his way and counter with a wicked punch of his own.

Cyclops has posed:
<< How's it going, Hank? We good? >>

Scott asks through the comms as he continues to track the targets through his visor. He has one hand up on the side of it, squinting a bit as he waits patiently. He knows that Logan is the best at what he does and that Rogue is a flying tank. His brother? That's the nuclear wildcard after all.

<< Keep up the pressure. >>

From there, he will continue to disable the rest of the SUV's that are not smashed by pulverizing their front ends with his optic blasts, blowing out tires and destroying the axels.

Havok has posed:
    Alex locks gazes with his target as he lets loose that blast and his heart does a little jig in his chest, it pitter patters happily. Once he's certain that asshole is going to FEEL it, he takes a beat of that pitter pattering heart to assess the situation.
    "Logan?" Need help, want me to stand down and let you open that can of whoopass or what? It's all insinuated in the speaking of the Wolverine's name. In that same beat, with the same breath he spoke Logan's name, Alex starts to flip the man in the SUV off, but... there is no man in the SUV anymore. "Well, shit," he mutters. "Well, SHIT!" he repeats with more gusto when Rogue ends up in proximity with his blast.
    He's still pissed, still wants to make SOMEONE hurt, so he turns his attention to Logan and the two foes left standing, he's beating feat in that direction when he says, "Dude in the SUV just got beamed up or some shit, he's just gone man! Rogue, you see him?"

Beast has posed:
"Because of that exactly; you didn't mean to. You didn't do it on purpose at all, Charlie, I know that. I saw. You got back to the house, opened the door, he came out of the living room yelling again, I suspect. All you did was say something snappy and he hit you, everything spiralled out of control and it happened so -fast-. You were bleeding, or you thought you were, the house rocked above your head, you got into the bathroom and stared in the mirror, couldn't believe what you saw. You saw the bedrooms, you didn't even think twice, you fled out of the window, landed on your car and went... here. I could see it all. It didn't take more than half a minute and that town didn't understand you and don't like people like us. This is..." Beast sniffs, picking up the familiar sap scent and the faded memory of others "...your safe place, isn't it? Yours and your siblings?" He reaches a hand out, inching closer to the kid. "You're running on empty. Let me help you... /please/."

The open hand remains there, palm up, non-threatening.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue doesn't get hit by the blast directly, but it does singe her right arm which she had pushed through the window. She realizes she hit nothing, got hit by something, and then she flies up into the air, eyes darting around a moment. <<I don't have eyes. He just...I don't think he's gone. He couldn't have just been beamed up...>> She flies back down towards the SUV now, and even in it's shattered form, she notices the cellphone on the floor board. Reaching in, she grabs it and smashes it down on the ground. Then she jumps on it with all her might. 50tons of smashing ability against a cellphone. Now she's pissed again. Not only did she miss her target, but one of her favorite body suits is damaged. She shoots up into the air again, trying to get eyes on the third of this mutant trio their dealing with now.

Storm has posed:
The fight was on.

The woman's hit connected and the boot of the large man hits the SUV. She turns, shaking out her hand to steel away the pain, the points upon her fingers lighting up with tiny little lights to knit the damage inside. Good. This was going to be fun. Both hands reach into her ears to pluck the implants out, tossing them aside as she digs two feet into the ground. Katanas were soon snapped from her hips and twirled, and soon those motions were directed towards Logan as he lands a elbow and punch against the man that sends him staggering.

The man that was missing was suddenly behind Scott. Crowbar in hand, looking down upon him as he soon looks out from the vantage point that the leader has. It was interesting, how they got the dime upon his subordinates. Punishments will be doled out in the form of electrotorture when they return.

He tosses the crowbar into the air to catch it at the hook, twirling it, then raising it high into the air in attempts to smash Scott right upon the back of his head..

..And from where Rogue was flying, she could see it all..

Logan definitely needs help, between the dual blade wielding woman and the bear-like cybernetic enhanced metamorph, he was going to be in a world of hurt. But Alex's call out took the attention off of Logan for now; for the big beast man soon turns his red-eyed attention towards Alex and begins to lumber.. then break into a run with claws out for the attack.

Meanwhile, Charlie listens to the explanation of what happened. That night admittedly was a blur to Charlie, but he does remember a fight. "My grades.." he murmurs out, green eyes now wild along the cavern, searching for the memory of that night as it slowly comes to him. His father hit him; he lashed out. And that's how it all happened..

The fact that someone had understood Charlie, and that he was in need of at least.. -some- sort of comfort, the other foot that planted into the ground lifts and tears itself free from the root.

The branches begin to move, shrinking into the cave just to snap and fall away to the ground, creating a nice little pile of what the boy -used- to be. He's skin was still made of wood, his limbs stiff, arms slowly creaking and reaching out towards Henry to -finally- seek contact with another person. "I'm sooo tired.."

Wolverine has posed:
    *M'good.*
    Is all that comes across the comms, while Havok right there will see the grim X-Man's scowl slip toward a snarl as he seems to hold himself back for a time, accepting the blurring strikes of the female mutant that keeps trying to take him while the other seeks to angle in.
    He grimaces as his heavy forearms come together when those katanas slash downwards. There's a splatter of blood as the blades slice in then stop with a /clang!/ He reels back and seems to drop to one knee...
    Only to use that added purchase that when she presses with a flourish he /launches/ past her, silver blades slicing through the knuckles of his gloves with a resonant /SHINGK!/ as he tries to slash past the guard of the blade-wielder, and across her leg...
    In an effort to cripple. Not kill.

Havok has posed:
    If given the choice, blasting things really ISN'T Alex's first. Sure, it's nice when he's pissed off, or when he just needs to release built energy, but generally he'd rather fight it than fry it. That is unless there's a lumbering Andre the Giant sized clawed mofo running at him. Havok can hold his own in a fight, sure, but against THAT? "Oh, oh... hell to the no," he mumbles as he stops his own forward momentum and back pedals. As he's doing so, he throws his hands up again and lets loose blasts down both extended arms. He knows that him going hand to hand with THAT would be the equivalent of him bringing a knife to a gun fight. "Gotch'er back there, Logan!" he assures over the comms... while, maybe, kind of reassuring himself as well.

Cyclops has posed:
<< Try and get eyes on that last guy. He may have teleported out. I have the SUV's disabled. Just keep the pressu-RK! >>

When the speedster appears behind him and whips the crowbar around, he doesn't even see it coming. So focused on the battle and giving direction, he takes the hit clear as day across his skull. There is a sickening crack as his neck whips to one side, sending an optic blast upwards into the sky at a jagged manner before he hits the ground with a wet thud.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy takes Charlie's hand and with the slow care of letting it go at the kid's pace and only a /little/ at his (because, hey, dangerous territory outside!) he leads the kid to the lea of the cavewall and applies comfort in the form of an arm -and- a thermal blanket from his bag o' goodies. He also produces a flask of what looks like water at first glance, handing it to Charlie. "Here, it's just water with a few electrolytes, you've been out here for a long while..." oh and sugar. Because plant. Sugar water with minerals and electrolytes, he sticks his finger to his ear.

"What the hell was that?? Who has eyes on Scott?" but he's occupied "...I have Charlie, he's ok." If you know, by okay you mean a total wreck. Subtley, Beast braces, putting himself oh-so-slightly infront of the teen, keeping his attention suitably divided for safety.

Rogue has posed:
<<Scott!>> Rogue had been watching Logan and Havok to make sure she didnt' have to intervene at some point, and then she heard Cyclops over the comms. Her attention goes to him just in time to see that man with the crowbar finish clubbing their leader on the head. <<Fuck. I got eyes. Dude from the SUV just knocked him out...Hank be careful...>> Then she flies down, intent on barreling into the dude - even though at this point she's worked out what his power is. She's not even sure if destroying the phone was a good or bad thing. What she did know, is that she's pissed for so many reasons and she's hoping to take it out on the crowbar wielder.

Storm has posed:
The speed at which she cuts was magnificent. If Logan was able to be shred to ribbons and die a painful death, she would go home happy. But the man remains standing and she continues to mindlessly hack until he finds his opening to cripple her with a slash across her leg. She staggers and falls, both blades slammed into the ground to keep her from going over, her eyes wild now to stare towards Logan as they form into slits.

She. Was. Pissed.

The lumbering beasts speeds towards Alex; one blast hits him in the shoulder, the other the side which causes him to stagger and clutch himself hurt. Enraged as well, he rises and continues to advance. This time, he was determined to get his hands upon Alex!

With Cyclops down, the suit wearing man drops the crowbar, fixing his suit about himself even checking his cufflinks. The man was -so- narcissitic that he couldn't even see the danger that was head right towards him!

Rogue connects with a powerful slam that he was seconds too late to get away from; the man sailing backwards at a bounce that has limps flailing and wacked. Thankfully, the blow to Scott's head wasn't a killing one; some excedrin and scotch and he'd be right as rain!

The kid was in helping arms; wearing nothing but a pair of pants so the blanket was welcome. He looked frail, pale even, as the flakes of bark fall from his skin. He leans against Henry, taking the water to drink. And it was the best damn drink that he has ever had..

It was almost as if they could sense that their leader was taken out. The large man stops in his tracks, his foot lifting to pound upon the ground twice..

The woman lifts her head in the direction of the vibrations, her lips curling to make a chuffing sound, all the while using the katanas to push herself up. To -them-, the fight was over. Especially since the branches of the tree that heraled the top of the cave had fallen into dust.

Wolverine has posed:
    Straightening up the blades slither back into Logan's forearms with a short /SHNAKT!/, disappearing in their housing as he takes a step back. One hand lifts to point at the woman that was pushing herself up with those wicked blades and he says simply, in that low growl. "Stay down, lady."
    But then on the comms his voice is heard, *How's Cyclops?*
    He breaks into a run to move back toward his teammates, consolidate their position and make sure there's no further chance of reprisal as he heads in Hank's direction.
    *We happy, Beast?*

Havok has posed:
    "Scott! SCOTT!?" Is that panic in Alex's voice, maybe! Likely so considering that there's a little high pitched girly squeal at the end of the second 'Scott?'. FLAIL! For a second, he's forgotten about Andre the Giant barrelling down on him and hasn't even noticed that those beams didn't take the dude out. So it's a Good Thing, a really really Good Thing that Gigantor stops in his tracks.
    Alex doesn't know WHY the guy stopped, but he'll take it and take advantage of it. "That's right asshole," he quips once he's remembered the guy was still here, "...you don't want any more of this," he adds, hands raised. But in reality, all he cares about is hearing his brother's voice over the comms like... now, or soon, or maybe yesterday. Before his panic reaches beserker levels.

Beast has posed:
"Yes, we're happy Logan. Get to Scott. I think he got a lovetap on his breadbasket, from the rather marvellous skybeam... Everyone, rendezvous at the van and if anyone can... recover some tech. Yank GPS or a cellphone or something, from one of them. I want Jeremy to have a look at them... these guys are bothersome." And that said, Beast exhales a huff, gently helping Charlie out of the cave and back to what passes for a semblance of civilization.

"We're just going to get out of here for now, okay Charlie? You're with the X-men now. Sometimes, our celebrities even give autographs. And we'll talk about your grades... see what we can do to help there." -- banter, inane and surreal given the circumstances, shadows Beast on the way back to the van with their target, because normality in this craziness is the only sanity the kid has left right now.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue scowls, and then looks back to Scott, shifting to kneel next to their leader, checking his pulse at least. <<He's unconscious. Still breathing. Still has a pulse. I'm going to carry him back to base.>> She looks around. <<This likely isn't over. But we need to get the kid safe and that's not here.>> She offers this before shifting to pick up Scott so she can then heft him up and flies over towards the van. At least getting to the rendevouz point before going any further.

Cyclops has posed:
Slumped on the ground is Scott, blood pooling around his mouth from the broken jaw that he has from the crowbar that cracked him around the head. He is still breathing, but it's like a low gurgle in his throat. He's been hit harder in the past, but a crowbar to the skull without his uniform on did nothing to protect himself. One of the downsides of trying to 'fit in' and survey an area without trying to stand out.

Storm has posed:
Stay down.

The woman wasn't looking towards Logan; she couldn't hear him nor read his lips. There was no intention of going back for another round, both blades soon wiped against her leg with a flourish, twirled and slammed back into their sheaths as she makes that chuffing noise again. The large man walks towards the woman, turning to look at those who collect their injured.. his own snort rumbling deep within his throat as he begins to walk towards the rendezvous point.

A clawed finger is soon pointed at Logan from the woman, a grin laid upon her face as she utters her words in an even.. yet off tone.

"I'm going to kill you."

She doesn't wait for a reply, turning upon her barefeet to connect her aids into her ears again. Live to fight another day. And be tortured for their failures later..

Their trek back to their own rendezvous point wouldn't be met with opposition. There would be some of the remaining towns people who stand by to watch if they were able to be seen, not an ill word spoken but silent apprehension. And once young Charlie is aboard the Blackbird, safe and sound?

He sleeps.