13439/Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
Date of Scene:	05 June 2021
Location:	Apple Park - Salem Center
Synopsis:	Diamonds aren't always a girl's best friend, especially when designer drugs are involved.
Cast of Characters:	Havok, Pixie, Jax Miller, Phoenix, Nightingale

Havok has posed:
After a bad start to his day that included a lost shoe, Alex decided he really needed some fresh air. He's well aware that there's fresh air outside the mansion, but it's just not the same as the fresh air AWAY from the mansion. He's also well aware of the fact that he's likely not the only one that feels that way sometimes. So, as he was leaving he asked anyone he passed along the way if they wanted to come along. Those that tagged in were treated to a ride to Apple Park in his jeep with the top off.
It is a beautiful spring day. The weather's perfect and it has people out in droves. Families with little ones, couples, college kids, the park is packed.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn doesn't really know Cyclop's brother that well. Except that he apparently has something of a temper and was recently involved in the law somehow. In other words, nothing at all like Scott and Kinda..Scary, maybe?

Anyhoo, the offer of a free ride to the park in a topless Jeep is something she simply cannot pass off, and so moments later, she's sitting in the passenger seat, head tilted back, hair ruffling in the wind and screaming excitedly.

"Wooo! Why am I only trying this now?" she giggles.

Jax Miller has posed:
    There are drawbacks to being instantly recognisable. There are even, hard to imagine as it might be, drawbacks to being a humanoid cat in a world full of regular humans, and human shaped mutants. Second among those is the issue of the tail, which always gets caught, trapped, pinched, stepped on or wedged uncomfortably behind the back when using furniture designed for the normal human shape. Third is the weird shape of the feet, which awesome as they might be, mean that you can't just buy a pair of pants and sneakers off the shelf. But all those pale into insignificance to the first problem.

    The first problem, of course, is that people notice humanoid cats walking around no matter how inconspicuous they try to be. It's the fur. It's the sight of such untrammeled majesty in such a perfect shape. It is the sheer presence of a cat wearing the world like an overcoat. That tends to make things difficult when said cat wants to lay low, or at least not have it too well known where he hangs out or who he hangs out with.

    Because death threats, yo.

    So, to the rescue the image inducer! The teenager sitting in the back seat with the suspiciously perfect hair and lazy grin is enjoying the wind around him, looking almost perfectly human. Perhaps too perfectly so. But that's the problem with trying to overlay human over top of a cat mutant... you just can't hide the awesome.

    "What, you've never tried it? And my Jeep's been sitting in the garage for months, you should have said." Of course he winks at Alex, just to show that he's entirely grateful not to have to drive himself today. "Sweet ride, by the way."

Havok has posed:
This sweet ride has taken Alex from one end of the country to the other, mostly chasing waves. Scary? Alex? Pishposh. Definitely couldn't tell it by his current choice of music. It's somewhere in the middle of Garth Brook's Greatest Hits; cranked loud enough to rattle windows as they drive by. "Sheltered much?!" he hollars over at Megan. But his big, toothy, lopsided, dimpled grin goes a long way towards taking the meanness and the edge out of that comment.
He might be pushing the boundaries of the speed limit just a little bit, if 85 in a 45 is a 'little bit'. But he gets them there in one piece and turns the music down as he looks for a place to park in the crowded parking lot.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn makes a face at the whole 'sheltered' thing. "Yeaaaah, thanks in part to growing up at Xavier's, they won't even let me drink!" of course that's likely more to do with legal reasons than sheltering her. "Of course that time we went to that underground fighting ring...That was fun.." she grins, tapping her fingers to whatever upbeat music is playing on the radio at the moment.

Speed? Oh yeaaah! That's more like it, not like Megs is scared at all of crashing or anything. "How you doing back there, Jax? This is the first time I've seen your inducer. Hope I don't lose you in the crowds!"

Jax Miller has posed:
Speed seems very much to be appreciated there in the back seat, because Jax has to be careful never to go too far beyond the speed limit. Not with his parents paying the insurance and gas. They actually made him promise, and what's a teenager to do after that?

"I never wear it much." he shrugs, taking off his sunglasses. The eagle eyed might notice they're shaped a bit weird around the nose. "Usually only when we go find other mutants, don't want to give them too much of a shock right away, y'know? But I gotta be a bit careful right now. Lunatic that's been threatening my family is still around somewhere, don't want to give too much of a clue that I'm still in New York. I kinda stick in the memory."

Havok has posed:
    "Why don't we just take care of the lunatic then?" Alex asks as he pulls into a spot and kills the engine and therefore, the music. The spot he found is pretty far back, the park IS really crowded today. The people gathered to enjoy the weather are really not too visible given the distance and the other parked cars between them.
    ....but when that loud country music stops, the screams from the grassy area way over there can certainly be heard.
    "What the fuck..." Language Alex! "Stay here!" he orders the other two, but if they'll listen or not, he doesn't wait to see. He's just bookin' it through the parking lot as fast as his legs'll get him there and that's pretty fast for a 'non-speedster' sort.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks slowly at Jax, "Threatening your family? How come? Some kinda mutant hater?" she peers at Alex and smirks, "Hey, sounds like fun, count me in!" the. there's the park. And screaming. She blinks, "Hey, wait up!" right, like she's gonna sit around here. Spreading her wings, Megs flies after him, but cautiously scanning the area ahead.

Jax Miller has posed:
    It's slightly uncanny. At the moment of the scream, Jax's head turns in the direction of the sound. Undoubtedly, beneath the high tech camouflage, a pair of ears have swiveled as well. "Yeah, that sounds..."

    But there goes Alex, completely against the assertion of Die Toten Hosen. And then Jax blinks towards Megan. "Stay here? Stay?!" There is a moment when an internal debate rages. Don't stand out. Don't be a hero. You don't need to be a hero, just because you go to a school run by heroes. The hero is optional. Why be a hero? Why run the risk of looking stupid in spandex and a cape when you can have a nice future wearing body armor on the football field?

    But there is that one thing. That one, overriding, niggling thing that's putting its thumb on the scale of reason.

    With a click, Jax reaches down to his wristwatch and deactivates the image inducer.

    "Stay?! Do I look like a dog?!"

    And so the reluctant possibly-hero-to-be is drawn in, by pride more than reason, after a close inner debate...

    Ah, who is he kidding? He's a cat, pride won that one hands down.

    And off he goes, running /towards/ the screams, trying to ignore the tiny voice in the back of his mind telling him to get back in the car.

Havok has posed:
 Alex is an X-Man, that means he can multi-task right? Especially when he might not need a phone to take care of the task other than running? <<JEAN! Please tell me you have this thing tuned in! There's something going on at the park, I got kids with me!>>
 He doesn't mention what the something is, because he doesn't know yet. That is until he gets closer and comes skidding to a halt. "What the fuck?!" Language!
 It's like someone has turned at least some of the park into... what? Ice? No, it's too warm for ice to not be melting. It looks more like some sort of diamond like substance. It's not just *covering* trees and playground equipment and... a few park goers, they've been *transformed* into the substance.
 At the center of the area of the most damage is a pretty little college age girl, hair so blonde it's almost white, pale perfect skin and bright blue eyes. She's laughing loudly and spinning in a circle, arms out to her sides. She seems to have NO idea what's happening around her.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks and slows down, peering around. "Woah wait, who called in the Frozen live production?!" she is wary of even landing, not wanting to be turned to diamond herself. Wait, does that girl even know what she's doing?! Megan switches her comm on, darting behind a tree. No need to startle the girl, right?

<<Jax, careful, looks like she's turned everything to diamond?! Havok, should we approach her? Try talking to her?>> he's obviously the highest ranking here so she'll defer to him before making any sudden moves.

Jax Miller has posed:
    There is a moment where Jax regrets not staying in the car. One day, when thinking back on how things turned out the way they did, he's pretty sure he'll be able to trace back most of it to getting out of the Jeep. But alea iacta est, he has gone down on the legs of the trousers of time, and that means he has to deal with what's in front of him. Which is, pretty much, exactly as Megan describes it.

    "I'd say we let this one go, but... too soon?" He looks at the people that have been turned into diamond and nods to himself. "Yeah, too soon, much too soon."

    So he shrugs at Alex. "Best I can do is throw something at her. It's your pitch, call the play."

Havok has posed:
<> Alex hasn't moved from the spot where he skidded to a halt. Intense blue eyes scan the area, looking at everything down to the smallest detail. <> okay so don't go back to the jeep? <<Stay out of her sight and get as many people as you can as far away from here as possible. DO NOT engage her.>>
Even as he's keeping the others away from the Diamond Girl, he's making his way slowly in her direction, from behind... SLOWLY, hands raised. He'll give her a blast if he has to, but not a lethal one. He would PREFER Jean get her happy ass here and put this chick down mentally.

Phoenix has posed:
The reply is prompt. As swift as a thought. Literally. <<This thing is always tuned on. What's up? Tell me what you need.>> Back at Xavier's, Jean sits up straight from a report she'd been looking over. The report is abandoned for the moment as she rises to her feet. Of course, Jean has already figured out what he wants, or needs, from the surface thoughts she can see without delving any deeper. <<Apple Park is not far. I'm coming. And..>> There's a brief pause as her mind reaches out to catch the closest healer. Shannon. <<Shannon. Apple Park. A healer may be needed.>>

Jean's mind returns to Alex. <<Bringing Shannon.>> Thought finished. She steps out of her office and into flight. Her aim? Apple Park. She keeps a mental 'eye' on those at the park, reading the situation from their surface thoughts. <<She's turning everyone into diamond? And everything?>> It's not far, but it's still going to take her, and Shannon, a few minutes to arrive.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn frowns and folds her arms, clearing her throat. <<Ahem, fellow Xman here! I'm not gonna just run and hide..Although I'll be happy to get innocents to safety..>> well for now, anyway. No way she's gonna just abandon her team mate, Grr..

Turning to Jax, she nods, "You heard him, I'll port as many as I can to safety. Can you look for outliers and keep an eye on diamond girl while I do?" having said that, Megan starts to flutter lowly over the area, scooping up any who get too close to the girl, teleporting a large swath of fleeing innocents a block away. Quicker that way.

She continues to scan the park, focusing on porting large groups of people to safety.

Nightingale has posed:
 It's a quiet, warm, almost summery night, and Shannon's just putting away the books she needs to study for her EMT exam the following month. She was reaching for her laptop to browse through some videos, maybe even take in a historical documentary or two before bedtime. All in all, it looked as if it might shape up to be a nice, quiet, relaxing evening.

 Perhaps it should be a rule of thumb, to never even -think- the 'Q' word.

 The moment Miss Grey's mind reached for her own, she sat bolt upright, closing her eyes to better focus on what was being relayed. There was a light, internal groan, and she nods, slipping on her sneakers and making a beeline for the Wellness Office. If it was bad enough that she was being called out to go with Miss Grey in the first place, the small amount of supplies in her little brown leather bag wasn't going to cut it. When she emerges from the Wellness Office, it's with a full medkit in tow.

 <<Let's roll.>>

Jax Miller has posed:
Kiddie cat? Hah! An ear tilts, an eyebrow lifts, and then his head tilts as well. "It's your playbook." Jax might not like it, but he knows he's the inexperienced one here, and his team needs him to do a specific thing. He's already loping off towards the nearest source of what seems like unaware conversation when Megan adds her more detailed instructions, and he nods with a grin. "Gotcha, I'm herding cats!"

How hard is that? I mean, how hard is that for another cat? The nearest tree gives him a good vantage point, and he jumps lithely into nearly the middle of a nice family picnic, and telling them not to worry, but they might want to leave, turning on the charm.

Havok has posed:
 It's a good thing that Jean didn't dip below the surface. Someone's had a bad day! ...again. Alex's below the surface is all muddled and conflicted and angry. ...and dangerous.
 Which is likely why he's doing exactly what he told the others *not* to do. "Heya," he calls quietly from behind the girl. "Nice day huh?" She turns to face him and she's smiling and her hands are all dancing and waving in front of her. Look at that pretty glittery stream of barely there light flowing from them... and right at Alex. He doesn't move. "You gotta try to turn it off now... you're hurting people." At least that stuff's slow; just drifting along like some sort of weird pollen from a flower. <<Jean...>> HURRY.
 There are people hiding under cars, under tables, under just about anything they can get under. A least half a dozen are living diamond, unable to move, but living if the way their eyes move about wildly is any indication. Most of them are more than willing to be helped to safety by Jax and Megan.
 <<Pixie, your job right now is to keep people safe, including that student, hear me?>> over the comms rather than brainwaves.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey refrains from comment, for now, on who should be doing what. At least until she has a proper assessment of the situation. As she's joined by Shannon, Jean nods approval. <<Good thinking.>> Jean never dips below the surface without consent unless there are extenuating circumstances. It isn't polite. She flies into sight just about the time that faint light is floating toward Alex. She concentrates as she flies in, and blocks that floating seed pollen light away from him.

She comes to a gentle landing right next to Alex. <<Shannon. Help Megan and Jax get people to safety. Treat anyone you think needs it.>>

At this point, Jean's mental communication cuts off from everyone as she turns almost her full attention to the girl controlling the nearly invisible glowy diamond pollen fluff. She keeps a fraction of her attention on keeping that diamond glitter off of herself and Alex.

It's sudden, but only a few seconds, seconds that seem to take an eternity, pass, when the girl's eyes roll back in her head and she crumples. Jean's ready, though, and the girl is caught by something unseen, and lowered gently to the ground.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn is pretty busy porting people to safety, although she frowns a bit at Havok's latest order. <<Right, I'm on it...>> she glances around, keeping an eye on Jax, trying to stay close by in case he needs a quick assist. Although her attention is also divided, trying to port as many people as she can to a safe distance away.

She does come across a few diamond-ed people too, whom she ports away to the designated safety point about a block away from ground zero. As Shannon comes in, she peers around. <<Hey Shan, got some innocents turned to diamond, about one block south of ground zero. Think you can help them?>>

Nightingale has posed:
 Thankfully, the rush to evacuate onlookers is brief, as Jax and Megan have already done a very good job of it prior to Miss Grey's and Shannon's arrival. There were some bumps and scrapes, and those were easily taken care of--with minimal use of a medkit. With each one in turn that Shannon rests her hands on after dressing the cuts, she forces herself to take a moment and take a deep breath, tamping down the urge to heal as quickly as possible on instinct. Instead of her own flesh becoming a maze of gashes and scrapes, each injury seemed to be accelerated in its healing process--without transferring to her.

 Practice did indeed make perfect.

 There were, thankfully, remarkably few of those cases, with the timely intervention of Jax and Megan. There were, however, several encased in diamond. Shannon nodded, hearing Megan, and went to each of these in turn, making sure each could at least breathe. <>

Jax Miller has posed:
    It's strange. For the most part, Jax has no idea what's going on, only that he has to get people out of the park. And sure enough, that's what he does. Well. Kind of. Sorta.

    Alright, by the time everyone is clear, he's got a kid sitting on his shoulders that's wearing his sunglasses, and he's talking happily with two dozen people, lounging by the edge of the park.

    Maybe this hero business isn't that bad after all?

Havok has posed:
His eyes were closed, Alex was bracing for it. Then Jean's there and 'it' doesn't happen, the girl's down and the threat is contained. "Pretty sure I know what this is," he tells Jean, dropping the mental communication since he can actually reach out and touch her now. "...it's time to put a stop to it," he adds, voice a low growl that would give Logan a run for his growly money. "You'll make sure Jax and Megan get home okay, yeah?" There's nothing more for him to do here, his powers definitely aren't a gentle enough touch for what needs done. ... but there's also not anything he should be doing about it on his own. "I'm going to Bushwick." He *does* have an apartment there and everyone knows it! So maybe he's just going there to spend the night? Or maybe he's being a stubborn, bullheaded, angry asshat and forgetting that there's an entire TEAM of people that care about him, love him and would want to help. There's always that possibility too. He just hasn't been 'Alex' since his attempted kidnapping and his headbutting with his brother.

Phoenix has posed:
People turned to diamond. That's a new one on Jean. Something she hasn't ever seen before. If Jean is aware of Shannon's new control over her healing abilities, she doesn't comment on it right now. There might be a conversation in the future about that, though. Perhaps. She takes a breath once the girl is down and out. Shannon's request is not immediately answered. Then there's a nod. <>

She has a moment where she checks up mentally on Jax, and nods to herself. Kid's doing good. She looks aside at Alex, her brow just a touch furrowed. "Her mind was.. like she was drugged." And then Alex says what he does, and what isn't said, and what her mind instantly leaps to. She reaches out a hand and touches his upper arm closer to her. And she speaks privately to him. <> For the others, it just seems like she stares at him for a moment, and then smiles once, pats his shoulder, and steps into the air, moving with some speed toward Shannon and the diamond encased people.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn sweeps the landscape constantly as she moves, noting at some point that the diamond girl collapsed, and that things are starting to return to normal..Maybe. Although as it seems Havok is about to storm off, apparently mad about something and not sharing with the group, Megan blinks,flitting closer.

<<Hey hey, what's going on? Is the girl okay?>> she doesn't bother trying to stop Havok but glances over at him with a slight frown, "Wait, maybe we can help too!" although doesn't look like he's willing to accept any help at the moment.

But it seems there's not much she can do here anymore herself. Jean is given an inquisitive glance and Megan just hovers nearby to see if any further help is needed.

Nightingale has posed:
About all Shannon can do for the moment is to ensure that the ABC's are followed, for those entrapped by their casing of diamond. Airway, and Breathing at least, she could make sure remained clear. Too, they looked close to panic, so she began to hum softly as she moved between each person, trying to offer a calming, reassuring presence. "It's going to be okay. We'll get you out of there. Just stay as calm as you can and focus on breathing for me, okay? Blink if you can hear me?"

And that was that. Sometimes, healing meant just being there for those who needed it the most.

Havok has posed:
These days it seems Alex is always angry and not sharing with the group. It hasn't always been that way. "Yeah," is all he says in response to whatever Jean's saying in his head. But it won't be hard for her to pick up on the all sorts of 'I don't belong here anymore' thoughts and feelings he's having.
He shakes his head at Megan's offer, "They'd spot you comin' a mile away." Then he's trotting on back to his Jeep. Chances are he'll at least go get Lorna and take her along, hopefully.

Phoenix has posed:
<<The girl is fine, Megan. I put her to sleep.>> Jean lands lightly next to Shannon and the diamond encased people. She glances Megan's way, then back toward where Havok and the diamond emitting girl had been. <<Megan, when you're done sweeping, please take the girl back to the mansion and to the infirmary. I would like Hank to have a look at her.>> The words have overtones of a request, rather than a command. She's keeping a mental eye on the girl and her surroundings, both to make sure she remains asleep, and to make sure nobody goes to her with bad intentions.

As she lands, she turns most of her concentration to the people encased in the diamond. And takes a moment to exert the empathic portion of her powers to try to at least somewhat calm them so they don't go into panic. She makes no effort to stop Alex from going to do whatever it is he's going to do. She likely has some idea, but she's not sharing with the rest of the class!

<<And also please keep an eye on the girl. I'm going to see if I can ...>> And then all of Jean's focus is on the closest diamond 'statued' person. All of her concentration. And she opens herself just a little to the powers of the phoenix that is so much a part of her.

The diamond doesn't do anything for several minutes. It's hard stuff, diamond. One of the hardest natural substances on the planet. Then it seems to quiver. Shudder. And then it seems to turn almost to sand, and tiny particles of clear glittering diamond sand spill down from the person she'd been helping. Jean lifts her right hand to rub her forehead for a moment.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn is busy inspecting some of those diamond encased people herself, reaching g out to touch the casing before murmuring a spell under her breath, attempting to port them out of their prison. If one works she will go to the next and the next..Before Jean calls out to her and she nods, stepping towards the girl. "Right! I'll take her to the infirmary, let me know if you need further help in reeling the others?" and with that, she kneels next to the diamond girl, teleporting them both to the infirmary.

Nightingale has posed:
     As Miss Grey releases each diamond-encased person from their glittering prison, Shannon is right there to catch them before they can slump or fall. "Easy there, I've got you. You're going to be okay." Each one, she helps down to the ground, where they can just lay still and catch their breath. Each has their legs slightly elevated, as is proper for shock, and covered with jackets, blankets, or whatever people happened to have that was nearby.

     One, however, seemed in the midst of a panic attack, and having considerable difficulty breathing. "What is it?" she asks the woman. "One word."

     "Asthma," the raven-haired woman gasped out, her chest heaving as she fought for each breath.

     Shannon nodded once. "If you have an inhaler, point me to where it is, I'll get it for you." This done, she is able to retrieve the woman's inhaler from her purse where it fell, helping her to sit up long enough to use it properly. "There you go, nice and steady. You'll be okay."

     Glancing over to Miss Grey, she purses her lips slightly. "I might be close to my certification, but I'd sure feel better if emergency services had a proper look at these folks, just to be on the safe side."

Phoenix has posed:
Releasing them all takes time. Jean is strong, powerful, but it still takes time and effort and control. Once she's done, Jean takes a step back. She nods to Shannon. "They are already on the way and should be here... very shortly." Sirens can be heard, just barely audible to start, then getting louder the closer they get. She nods to Shannon when they start to get close enough and looks in the direction of the school. "Time to go," she says.

Jean waits only a few seconds before stepping into the air and flying back toward the school, hopefully with Shannon in tow. EMS will help the people there now. They've done what they can. And almost always best to avoid law enforement and EMS where possible.

13439/Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

Navigation menu

Search