13615/Tech Rat vs. Dark Mage

Tech Rat vs. Dark Mage
Date of Scene:	12 July 2021
Location:	The Bronx Subway Station
Synopsis:	A train trip leads to disaster after two mutants try to hijack it..Luckily heroes save the day.
Cast of Characters:	Pixie, Jax Miller, Sinister, Magik, Kit Killovarras, Hardline

---

Pixie has posed:
It's a busy afternoon on the city subway at this time of day. And Megan would much rather just port around, but she had agreed to accompany some new recruits and some younger mutant kids around town for some sight seeing and a trip to the museum among other places.

Thankfully as they pile onto the platform waiting for the next train, they seem to have come in at a break from the steady streams of people as rush hour starts to wind down..Which means not so many gawkers, which should be a good thing..Not that they were expecting any trouble today...Right?

Jax Miller has posed:
    Always one to volunteer for the good of his team (or, in this case, school), Jax is assisting with the student wrangling. Of course, he can't exactly show his real face, so the rest of the world is bereft of his glorious countenance right now, having to make do with the holographic representation of a blonde haired and blue eyed teenager. Everything about him screams 'trust fund', from his clothing to his easygoing smile, and even the almost nonchalant way in which he steers younger students along.

    ".... and really, all they need is your size and we'll add them to the order. Nike, Reebok, Puma, you just let me know which you prefer. Can do all three if you'd like a mix." It's a conversation he's been having with the student next to him for some time now, while still keeping his eyes on the students in front of him.

Sinister has posed:
The subway tunnels of NYC are extensive. There's a few areas within them where, if you know where you're going, you can descend into the city beneath, or alternatively rise up from them if you're done your purpose for the day. Clinging to the top of the train just coming into the station, the black-clad figure of Sinister releases juuuuuuuust shy of the actual platform and makes use of the disgorge of people from within, to rise silently to the platform at the furthest end. A crack of his neck left and right and his features metamorphose, lost in the crowd.

Just a punk with red and blue-streaked hair and steel grey eyes, tattoos on his face and the kind that would be on the southside of the Bronx, most days. Subtle changes in wardrobe later and he's making his way down the platform.

Magik has posed:
    Illyana also came along as a chaperone. Has she really been here so long that now she's helping to run these tours? There have been times when this wouldn't have even been a consideration. Partly because she didn't think she had this much of a future. Partly because this school lasting this long was always a gamble. But here they are. And while she's helping shepherding the students around, she's mostly standing back and letting them get up to whatever they're going to do. This is their day. They may as well enjoy themselves. And so she stays to the back of the pack, keeping any stragglers from straggling too much and making sure they're all going in the right general direction.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Well, though he doesn't have the fancy holographic imaging tech that Jax does, at least Kit is good at hiding what he is, even if it does make it look like poor Jax is talking to a sentient mound of dark and baggy clothing. "I.. I don't like wearing logos.. Is there a company that would be willing to not brand the heck out of them?" He's keeping relatively close to Jax, very much attempting to stay away from random passer-bys in the process, very much giving off the typical 'highschool loner on a field trip' vibe.

Student wrangling is a thing and while he might be looking out for anyone smaller than him, the aardwolf hidden somewhere under that over-sized hoodie, intentionally baggy jeans and various other articles of loose-fit clothing is likely still very much here as a student. He is, after all, learning about various parts of US History and laws right now, so a museum or legal library would probably be right up his ally.

Hardline has posed:
    The search was harder than he thought it'd be. While Theo's powers had granted him enough financial resources to continue appearing as if he wasn't homeless, and even meant he could find some motels, all though they were seedier ones that didn't mind that he didn't have ID, he still hadn't succeeded much in actually finding what he came to New York to find.

    Theo joins the group on the platform, and his eyes shift to Jax, staring a little. The image projector is working, right? Yes it is. He glances at the others in the group, having that look of a kid who is trying to get the courage to ask a girl out. But for the moment, he doesn't say anything.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn had the sensibility of wearing an image inducer to mask her wings this time. She's a bit impatient fir the train to come, almost as impatient as the kids, but when the train finally comes, she giggles, "Here it is! Now remember to line up single file!' she's glad she's not doing this alone. At least Jax and even Illy is here though quiet as usual. Oh well! here we go.." she gives Kit a nod and smile, there are a few older students of course. "Hey Kit, how's it going? We should get an image inducer for you soon too!"

The platform is not completely empty aside from the students of course. As the next train pulls up, a skinny teen with big glasses and messy blonde hair stands up and heads towards the train, looking to be in a bad mood, a soft frown on his face as he opens the door, hurrying to slip in before the crowd of kids. There's another guy, wearing a black hoodie with gold trim and some bizarre rock band logo in gold on the back. He says nothing, quietly waiting fir the kids to get on first..

Jax Miller has posed:
    "C'mon, you heard her. In and sit down, ya little monkeys." Yeah, you can tell Jax is enjoying himself, even going so far as to pat Kit on the shoulder as he steers the other teenager who happens to be much taller than him into the train. "Why would you want to take the logo of? What's the point of having custom shoes if you can't show 'em off?"

    Team play, check. Good eyes and ears, check. Common sense... eh, passing mark. A notion of laying low and being incognito, not a hope. Jax can't conceive of any reason why anyone would want to be non descript.

    His attention is so much on the students that he's missing the glances that Theo is giving him, and ignoring practically everything that could be a warning sign.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister gives the dead-eye stare to a couple of rough-looking types at the far end of the platform, a silent 'back the hell off me' regard that earns him a small bubble of personal space in NYC rush hour. He slips onto the back of the train when the doors open and starts walking down the middle of the carriages from back to front -- at some point, he's bound to end up somewhere roughly equivalent to where the Xavier crowd board. He ferries a cigarette to his mouth and lets it just dangle, earning glares from other subway users which he utterly ignores, finding a partition by seats and door to lean against, arms folded.

He might not seem like he's paying much attention, but looks can be very deceiving indeed, can they not, image-induced student crowd? Half an ear, corner of eyes and a lot of mind listening patiently.

Magik has posed:
    Illyana isn't in any hurry to get on the train. And she's not nearly as agressive as any of the others in corraling the students (or trying to intimidate other people on the platform). They're not going to miss the train and she's not worried that something extraordinary is going to happen (even if it happens to them a lot more than most). She's the last one from on, quietly head-nod guiding a pair of stragglers through the door before she follows them in. Of course, she doesn't look for a place to sit. There are enough people on the train that she's not expecting anywhere to sit to be available. Instead, she moves to the wall, off to the side, satisfied with how the trip is going and just waits for the train to start.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Kit looks to Megan and tilts his head a little, "Aside from the fact that I'm remarkably uncomfortable? I'd say it's going great." Then she mentions an image inducer and he just pauses for a moment, then chuckles quietly. "I'm ok looking like an emo loner for the moment, but yeah. Maybe."

While the other students are getting onto the train, Kit will opt to be one of the last people on, even if he technically is a student. While he waits, he'll give Jax a glance and - while it might only register to someone with VERY good hearing - there's a little half-whine before he explains, "I.. don't show off.. Ever.. I choose what I wear.. based on how little it stands out."

Theo gets a bit of a glance from under the hood, but then there's just a quiet sniffle before his attention goes back to Jax and the other students.

Hardline has posed:
    Theo makes a face as the skinny guy makes sure to cut ahead of everyone, and he follows the crowd onto the train, perhaps looking like he's one of the class. He'd be the right age. He suddenly recognizes the same signature from Megan that there was from Jax, and shifts a critical glance toward her. He narrows his eyes, trying to focus on the devices to determine what they do, but given that he's never encountered something like this before, he's left with only strange guesses. He opens his mouth, trying to figure out what to say. How do you just ask something like that? He closes it again, standing near the group. He catches the glance from Kit, and looks away, clearly feeling a little awkward.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister leans further into the jam of door and partition, pulling a cellphone from his pocket. It doesn't look like much, except that it seems to be receiving data, in the NYC subway. Mind, some of this area goes above street level, but signal's still spotty at best. Checking data, the 'punk' flicks an eye to Ilyana, to Megan, the gaggle of kids with distaste, then gets a scowl on his face as if smelling something foul. He looks down at the subway floor and lifts one shoe up, staring at the sole.

The cussing is all silent, but it looks like it should turn the air blue.

Hardline has posed:
    Theo snaps his head to the side, watching Sinister as his phone receives the data even though he's underground. That's...not normal. There's all sorts of things not normal about here. He closes his eyes a moment, seeing if he can discern in the noise of electronics what it is that is being sent.

Magik has posed:
    Illyana can feel the look from Sinister and even looks up when he looks her way, but unless things get to some level of out-of-hand (more than normal), she'll just enjoy the ride. Otherwise, she's keeping her eye on the students while looking like she's not doing anything at all. Giving them leeway while still keeping things under control. She's not exactly the most responsible of the adults that could've come on this trip and she doesn't usually do the chaperone thing. But she volunteered for this one. Because it hit on a lot of things that she remembers from when she was a student at the school and while she'd never say it to anyone out loud, she's convinced she can do this task better than most. And so she's just sitting back and letting the trip unfold as it does.

Pixie has posed:
Once everyone is on the train it starts to go again, the two kids disappearing through the crowd of kids, staying away from the noisy group. They had their phones on and wee madly typing away at something..

Megan sighs, glancing around, getting at least some of them some seats as she grabs the railing. "Okay, looks like our stop is some 25 minutes away so sit tight everyone!" as she speaks there is a sudden flicker of lights and the train jerks stop a phew times before starting again, knocking a few kids off balance..

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Kit would have remained standing, or rather, crouching when he's on the train, allowing others to take what seats are available. Seeing one of the smaller kids about to fall thanks to the jerky train, Kit suddenly drops down, giving them a shoulder to stabilize themselves on and will even reach out to them if it's absolutely necessary. He doesn't want anyone to fall but damn it! He doesn't want anyone to see his paws in a public setting either. Last thing he needs is to be the cause of sudden panic in a sardine can.

The jerk of the train hasn't gone unnoticed, nor has the malfunction with the electricity and if it weren't for his baggy clothing, his raised fur would be an interesting indication of how much more uneasy he's gotten. Thankfully, clothing can help mask his natural warning signs pretty well.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister grimaces and puts his foot down in a clean patch, mere moments before the train jolts and people start to be jostled. He braces a leg, the entire of him looking like the kind of individual that doesn't bode well for being bumped into, yet as a young woman with armfulls of shopping bags staggers, collided with by a businessman that was having to hang from one of the roof loops, he reaches an arm out and forms a solid barrier. She mutters apologies, which he ignores, his gaze looking up at the roof slowly and along the ceiling, then down as if looking through the floor of the train.

A moment later, he turns toward the door, looking at the sliding partition and up. Juuuuust in case.

Jax Miller has posed:
    The subway being jerky and jolting? Breaking news, water is wet and the sky is blue. The sound of the train is keeping Jax from saying much to Kit, or to anyone at that, but he's standing roughly in the middle of the carriage by the doors, hands in his pockets. And standing perfectly still as the train jolts about without grabbing a stanchion for support. He's just along for the ride, and all he has to do is check to make sure none of the students get off at the wrong stop... low effort, low risk... just his kind of job.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn isn't used to being the eldest here, or having to take charge but seems she has no choice. Oh well, it's just a field trip, what could possibly go wrong? she lets the younger kids take the seats grabbing a rail and hanging on as the train jerks to life. "How's everyone doing? At least the AC's working?" Its not super crowded, but as they stop at the next stop, a few more people get on, so that there are only very few free seats remaining...

...And that's when the trouble starts.

The train starts picking up speed, faster, faster, so fast that it actually passes right by the next stop, and continues to increase in speed..People are starting to grip onto their seats a bit worried now, and a few kids whimper anxiously, "Is it supposed to go that fast...?" a few wonder aloud.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
"No, it's not..." Kit mutters to himself, helping whoever is leaned on him or using him as a support to something more stable before he stands up, still keeping himself at his typical 'short' stance as he starts up towards the front of the train. He gives a small, "Shout if you need me back here.." to Jax, it's quiet, but it should be loud enough for him to be heard.

Even with his tail tucked away and the majority of his body covered, he's not graceful by any means when it comes to getting past people, though he offers a few simple, "Woops, sorry." or "Pardon me." to anyone he might inadvertently bump into.

Meanwhile, he's kicking his senses into overdrive, his breathing altered slightly to allow him to continuously take small breaths in, checking for scents that would seem off. His ears are perked up as much as they can be under that hood, though even with them covered, he can still likely hear better than your average person.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister places his hand against the sliding doors, again looking upward, then toward the front of the train, where the engine compartment can be found. He grimaces, looking the other way along the train at the extra bodies and mutters softly under his breath, beginning to stalk toward the front. He isn't so much about the 'excuse me' 'whoops' or 'sorry! and more about the not so subtle shoves aside; nominally with an elbow or a hand, but with a bit of extra assistance to get the unwashed masses away from his bee-line. When close to the next compartment, he deftly undoes the door and slips between the carriages.

Next! And more of the same. He does not close the doors between, as if he almost expects to be followed -- the Punk that is Sinister has a thousand yard stare.

Jax Miller has posed:
    It's not until the train zips past the station that Jax starts to cotton on that something isn't entirely right. "Sure. Keep an eye out." he mentions to Kit in passing and starts to sidle his way to Megan. The image inducer only hides his tail from sight, so quite a few people will feel something brushing past them that isn't actually there.

    As he leans in towards Megan, he half-whispers in her ear. "I think something's wrong. Want me to pull the passenger alarm?"

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn frowns as she peers around, but tries to stay relaxed around the kids, not wanting to spook them, "It's okay, Kits gonna just go check on the driver. Just sit tight and don't panic.." she not gonna leave the kids of course so she stays out, checking her x-communicator just in case. To Jax, she lowers her voice and nods slowly. "Might be a good idea, try and communicate with an external person if possible too. I'm gonna stay out here for now."

Of course Jax and Kit are both students so she has her phone on hand too, so she can communicate with them as necessary. As Sinister and Kit head for the front, most people part without fuss, letting them through. Black hoodie and geeky guy set up at them, both on separate trains, and Sinister and Kit pass them both by..

Once they reach the front, and the driver's cabin they will find it locked. The driver is awake and frantically trying to get the train under control..

Kit Killovarras has posed:
When Kit arrives at the operators area, he leans a bit, pulling a paw out of his pocket just long enough to knock on the door before sliding it back into his pocket. It's a momentary flash of fur, but it's enough that someone might have seen it, though the hope is, that isn't the case. He'll wait for now, trying to get the operators attention, but he's still taking in every scent, analyzing everything around him, even trying to tune out the typical sounds he remembers from riding these trains a few times before, trying to isolate any strange noises.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister's grey eyes shift to Kit at the knock, look down and up, then through the glass with his lips pressed thin and beligerant. There was a knock though, which he has to stare at once again, before just placing a hand on the mechanism and giving a little *shove* on the inside, turning a tumbler or three, yanking the door open and quite possibly startling the hell out of the driver. He just jerks his thumb back through the train with a questioning raise of eyebrow and a jut of his head, before shouldering in to take a look at the controls. This might also end up with protest, but he doesn't seem to care.

Putting a hand on the console, he doesn't seem to do much else of anything for the time being though, other than letting his eyes travel over the readings, the buttons and sliders and suchlike. The driver might be an entirely different case.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Alright." And with the usual casual smile, Jax sidles his way along the carriage until he gets to an emergency alarm and pulls it. He's not quite sure what's supposed to happen, but he's fairly certain isn't not supposed to be nothing, even if the 'driver aware' light seems to be flashing. Right. That's him all out of ideas.

    Typical of his generation, the next thing he does is take out his phone and lean as far as he can to the window, to see if he can get a signal to dial 911.

    Okay, the scenery is going by pretty fast now. "Might be there in less than 25 minutes." That's it, think positive...

Pixie has posed:
The train driver is already frantically pressing buttons, but glances distractedly towards the door as two people grab his attention. The first knocks and while passengers are usually prohibited from stepping into the cabin, this is an emergency situation. Perhaps they can help? He is about to open the door, when Sinister wrenches it open and he jumps back in surprise. "Woah! What did you do?"

But right now he has other things on his mind..Like trying to stop the train..There are numerous dials, the speedometer is spinning out of control, climbing ever higher in speed. There is a semi auto pilot option that seems to be locked into place, and no matter what he does, he cannot change it. There are pedals and breaks but no matter what he does, it seems something has overridden the highly advanced train, making it impossible to simply stop it.

"Do any of you have any electronic knowledge? It seems the manual override has malfunctioned!" as Jax hits the emergency button he mostly ignores it, He's too preoccupied at the moment to deal with scared riders.

He does pick up the intercom though, clearing his throat as he gets ready to make an announcement..But there is ab unexpected screech on the radio, and then an unfamiliar voice takes over the intercom..

"This is Dark Mage speaking. Everyone be good little boys and girls and your deaths might not be so painful. Better yet, hand over your money and we might get out of this Alive. Oh that's right, if you try to arrest or apprehend me, I do have a secret assistant who will instantly crash this train if you try to stop me. You know, he's a pretty unstable, suicidal kid and only I can calm him down if I choose. Plus, only a fool would try and stop him without knowing which if you passengers is the defect. Annnd without further a due, here I come!" he gives an insane cackle and times out.

Somewhere near Jax, black hoodie teen steps up from one of the seats and holds out a big sack, waiting for people to fill it with money.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
"Well, that works too." Kit mutters as he watches Sinister operate, studying the man for a moment before he asks a simple, "Any chance you know how to stop this thing?" Then the intercom cracks on and... Black Mage? Really?

Kit pauses for a moment, tilting his head as he looks back down the train isle behind him, "This isn't magic at least..." he mutters to himself, giving a little frown, "Can't rule out another mutant though." He's focusing all of his senses on studying the people around him, identity be damned at this point. He's not about to fully reveal what he is, but he's let his head tip a little further up than he should, his ears perking a little further than they should as well as he tries to take in as much information as he can.

Sinister has posed:
"Know? Of course I know. I doubt anyone will like it..." Sinister mutters, looking up at the intercom as it's hijacked and turning back to the console. "At least I'm going to give these two lummoxes a bit of credit for originality, this /is/ a less than conventional way to do a train robbery," that said, he glances at the driver, which bodily moves the man aside and gestures at a panel. A flick of the wrist has it flying off and sliding several feet down the aisle of the train. He's then crouching down and staring at wires and circuits. He begins to work rather swiftly, yanking wires, reinserting them elsewhere, taking a capacitor and flipping it to a different parallel, rerouting wires on a CPU. Quick he is, but not supernaturally so, he nevertheless seems to know precisely what he's doing.

The train's electronic components -are- going to go haywire in a bit and it could end up for a bit, going pellmell.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Aw man..." Just his luck that the first person trying to revive train robberies happens to be sitting almost right next to Jax. And that he's holding his expensive phone at the same time, in clear view, so he can't really pretend he doesn't have any money. Not that anyone would believe that for an instant, just looking at the way the kid is dressed, but still... would have been nice to at least have the option of lying about it.

    "This sucks, man. Why'd you have to be on my train?" he grouses and drops the phone in the sack with bad grace, then pats his pockets and adds a few more crumpled bills to the sack which might as well be labeled 'loot'.

    A deep sigh as he waits for the teen to turn...

    And then Jax moves like lightning, going from a standing start into a full on football tackle to bring the teen down.

    He might not know much about being a hero, but he does know how to tackle.

Pixie has posed:
As Dark Mage makes his way down the aisles, collecting money, most people fearfully obey, dropping money, wallets, watches, all sorts of valuables into the bag. They don't want to be killed in a train crash Afterall! But of course as Jax tackles him to the ground, he yells in surprise, dropping the bag as he struggles to shake Jax off..

At the same time, Sinister disconnects the autopilot which means he can now manually override the controls..

There is a brief moment when one individual, the nervous geek guy sits up straight and perhaps Kit can spot him acting differently from the others, typing furiously in his phone, but suddenly hesitant fir a moment or two, shutting upright and blinking as if some connection has been severed.

"Techrat..These people want to hurt you..Do t le5 them win..You must punish them all!" yells Dark Mage and Techrat blinks and nods, typing furiously into his phone..Odd, even with autopilot severed, he is glowing now, using so,s strange power to...Step in the accelerator pedal of the train, urging it on faster..

Megan stats in the back with the kids all the time, trying to keep them calm..

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Kit almost immediately notices this, Techrat, and his eyes lock on the poor individual. "Do what you have to, just try not to get anyone killed." Kit says to Sinister as his hands come out of his pockets.

a purple energy suddenly starting to crackle around Kit's paws as he swipes one hand to the side, sending out a blade of energy to try and cut the mans phone in half! "Tech Rat, huh?" he says, walking towards the man, his clawed paws revealed. "Your little 'mage' buddy is using you." If the blade somehow doesn't hit the phone, this is where there would be a sudden hundred pounds of force exerted on the device in an attempt to wrench it away from the individual, no visible energy touching it, no hand there to grab it, just an unseen force trying to snatch it away without warning.

Hardline has posed:
    Theo became quiet as things all started to become hectic. He knew exactly how fast the train should go, and the moment it exceeded the safety standards, he was aware. His entire life he has been obsessed with all forms of trains. He also knows that this is a R188 Subway train, and that there is an override that is built in which can be accessed remotely by the station control. A remote dead man's switch.

    But he doesn't say anything. The station should have overridden the controls, but apparently there is a mutant...not unlike him. He watches and waits. When is the right moment? When he sees Kit move forward, unaware of Sinister's plans, he acts.

    The train is an easy thing for him to manipulate, it's something he knows very well. The deadman switch is thrown, and the train begins to decellerate. It doesn't come to a screeching of the breaks, it just loses power. With the deadman switch thrown, the only way for the train to be activated again is through a manual override in the control room and a command issued from the station control, somewhere far from here. Tech Rat may be a more seasoned mutant, but Theo? He knows trains. He knows their systems very well, and he knows what makes them work and what makes them not.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister's eyes roll the once at the request made of him. "Wouldn't want -that- would we?" muttered, he pulls several more panels off with negligent flicks of his wrist, to expose the actual mechanical parts of the train. There's a glance to the secondary seat in the driver's cabin and he thumps it hard with one fist, in a 'bonk' motion, tearing the metal from its rivets and allowing him to rip that free too, so he can lie down and lean into the hole into the workings.

It's there, half dangled through the driver's cabin, staring at the moving parts of a train, that he starts applying selective pressures on moving parts, including the motor pistons. The machine might be powerful, but the parts are the composite of the whole and can stand less strain than an entire train, after all. With the dead man switch thrown, that job is considerably easier.

Jax Miller has posed:
    Right. So, first step, worked like a charm. Now he's got someone calling themselves 'Dark Mage' pinned under him, and... yeah, Jax didn't think of what to do next. But one thing is for certain, shaking him off is not going to be an easy task. This kid with the easy smile is surprisingly strong, ridiculously so for his body type.

    Ever tried to shake an angry cat off you once the claws have sunk in? Yeah. It's like that.

    "Call him off! Call him off or I swear I'll make you regret it!" Jax yells at the teenager in the hoodie and starts to slam 'Dark Mage' down on the floor of the carriage again and again, the smile slowly fading. "Why did you have to be on my train?!"

Pixie has posed:
A few things start to happen. Technorat is startled as Kit slashes his phone in half, which causes the train to jerk violently in response to his interrupted powers. But it also means that he's at least temporarily lost control. And maybe there's a disruption there too as he blinks in surprise and confusion. "Huh? What's going on..?"

Meanwhile Sinister and Theo work together to slow the trains down to safer levels, which is a good thing because they were about to go into 'uncontrollable territory.'. Dark Mage snarls, about to order his minion onwards, but his own life is in danger, and while Jax may be bluffing, he can't risk it. "Fine..Fine! But get off me first!" he growls.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Kit can hear everything that Dark Mage is saying and when he demands to be let up? The aardwolf just chuckles. Jax has the idiot, so the creatures attention will remain entirely on the rat. The blink and sudden 'whats going on?' gets Kit to quirk a brow, walking up until he's just a foot or two from Techrat before he says, "Who are you?" staring down at them.

By now he's close enough that the man could see under his hood if he's shorter than Kit is and the aardwolf has given up on trying to lower himself. He's nearly standing at his full height, looming over them, his normally mismatched eyed glowing in the shadows of his hood.

The sudden confusion from Techrat has him using a gentler touch than he normally might, but that doesn't mean that he's not still ready to strike at a moments notice if he needs to. His claws are still glowing and that purple, almost electric energy is still jumping across the fur of his paws, jumping between each strand of fur, waiting to be unleashed.

Hardline has posed:
    Theo takes the opening of the fight to make a move from his stationary position, over to Sinister's side. "Be careful!" he shouts, grabbing the nearest railing. He has no idea who Mr. Sinister is, nor how incredibly intelligent he is, but he doesn't want to watch anyone be electrocuted if they manage to make contact with the train's current flowing from the third rail. Not to mention he is a know-it-all. "625 volts doesn't sound like a lot until it's backed up by 1600 amps. If you offset the sensors it'll trick the trains emergency systems to throw the brakes because it will think the train is derailing!" There should be ways that he could send the signal himself with his powers, but his knowledge of trains is much more mechanical than it is software, and in the moment, he knows it would take him much longer than it would likely take Sinister who is near them right now. Even in the midst, though, he looks back at the scene with the other mutants, his mental wheels turning regarding their possible identity.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister leans up slightly out of the hole he made, one grey eye catching enough light to review Theo where he's giving urgent suggestions. "Uh-huh," he replies... which actually could be taken a multitude of ways, depending on the mind behind the ears that hear it. He leans back down. "I've got this kid. Do me a favour and handle the jackass that's jacked in. He might need a solid reboot."

Beneath, strain on the break sensors is lightly applied, working in conjuction with the pressure on the pistons, to get the train to /actively/ slow, rather than just decelerate through lack of power. He accelerates that even further with a glance to the tracks themselves, eyes glowing ruby red, all unseen for everyone but /perhaps/ Theo, as he applies a solid shield between train, track and the immediate future, to cushion the whole thing.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "You want up? Fine, up you go."

    Very well, so Jax would be the first to admit that he too often sees the good in people, and usually leaves himself wide open to be stabbed in the back. But this joker? Anyone who's willing to send a train full of people to their deaths as part of a robbery is not someone he's going to give the benefit of the doubt. The kid braces his legs seemingly quite awkwardly and then /hoists/ 'Dark Mage' up as he rises, slamming the teen back into the bulkhead with as much force as he can muster and keeping him there.

    And probably only 'Dark Mage' can hear the low growling that seems to come from the faintly smiling kid that's pinning him to the side of the train.

Pixie has posed:
Techrat seems...Odly confused as to what is going on. "...Huh? What happened? Oh nooo...I messed up again, didn't I? I'm such an idiot.." he groans, covering his head in shame and sadness, "Last I remember, we were in this chat room..Dark Mage said I'd feel better if I realized my potential by helping him...With this train robbery. Ugggh what have I dooone?" he sighs, wringing his hands.

Dark mage glowers at Jax, even as he hoists him up off his feet. "Foool, you'd risk the lives of all these people? Fine, End this, Techrat!" his eyes glow eerily white and Techrat's demeanour suddenly changes as if no longer in control of himself.lEven without his phone he climbs to his feet,, fingers wriggling in the air as various electronic components of the train jerk and crackle with electricity , bending to his will in a last ditch effort to override everything and push the train last it's limits..It's starting to pick up in speed again and the kids scream in fear, in spite of Megan's best efforts to calm them.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
For a moment, Kit's muscles loosen up as Techrat begins to lose it, but then he stands up and starts using his powers to try and throw the train again and kit tenses up. While he might not look it, his body has been pushed to it's limits for most of his life and while his strength is nowhere near super-human, it's also nothing to be scoffed at.

Kit grabs Techrat in what looks half like a hug and half like a hold, his arms interlocking behind the man as he whispers, "It's not your fault." to the man. Then, his eyes surge with light and his ears perk up just enough to push his hood back and off his head, allowing him to glance over at Dark Mage, who has well and fully earned his ire.

A hundred pounds of force, it doesn't sound like much, but when it's suddenly trying to slam your head into any and every blunt surface near you, it can be devastating, especially if extra force is applied by a more athletic sort. Jax might even feel the sudden tug when the Aardwolf literally grabs the captive man by the face and tries to suddenly and violently remove him from his consciousness with a bit of percussive maintenance.

Yes, the monster is revealed, yes, people might start to panic, but at this point Kit doesn't care... He'll likely have a panic attack of his own about it later, but that's for later.

Hardline has posed:
    Theo can sense all of the electical systems becoming overloaded. "What the hell?" he growls, and looks at Techrat. "Man, you have no clue what you're doing." Theo can't control so many things at once. But he knows the limitations of power rating on a computer. He rushes to the non-descript metal cowling. It'd take too long to take it off. He plants his hand against it, looking back at Techrat. "You wanna play this game? I'll play it with you, stupid jerk."

    He focuses on the system on the other side of the cowling, and does what he'd normally do to power things. Only...this thing is already powered. 120 volts of /extra/ power shoot through the system, causing a flash of sparkes from the sides, and a popping sound can be heard behind the metal. The lights, the electric, the controls, the cameras, everything except the air pressured brakes are set out of power as the computer's ability to function completely stops.
    It goes dark for a moment, and a half second after that the independent emergency lighting comes on, basking spots of light throughout the subway car. Theo looks back toward Tech Rat. He doesn't say anything, but a smug grin crosses his face. Then it drops as he sees the violent display. It's a bit unnerving, really. Are these really 'his people?'

Sinister has posed:
And so in the dark, Sinister rises from the hole he made in the train floor. And about everyone in the entire front cabin of the train can feel the anger that's washing off of the man. That feeling of something imminently about to go to a very bad place; that too might induce panic.

He stands tall, the metamorphosis he'd laid upon himself melting away -- the glowing red eyes, the red diamond, that alabaster pale skin and techno-organic armour, along with that semi-living cloak of his all manifest as he stalks from the cabin of the train toward the 'action'. Oddly enough, he aims a pat to Theo's shouler in passing. "Good kid," as he passes. People are pushed psychically out of the way as he stalks forward, eyes glowing brilliantly red as he stares at the Dark mage and the techno-rat both, then lastly, for an instant, at Kit.

A flare, like a halo of reddish glow, is aimed at the Dark mage, aiming to inflict immense psychic pain, enough most likely to make the man black out, if the pummelling wasn't enough -- then he looks at the Techrat. "Forget," just one word.

And then he stares at the X-men, one by one. Well, X-men and students. And then to every human being in this train: "All of you... this was a hijacking. Transportation police saved the day. A group of kids helped keep everything calm. You saw no mutants. They were never here."

Jax Miller has posed:
    Wait, what?! This guy isn't going to ... that's not how this is supposed to go! The hero got the bad guy, the bad guy is supposed to give up. That's how heroism works, right? Right?!

    To Jax's horror, Dark Mage's eyes start to glow, and the train picks up speed again as he regains control over his minion. For half a second, he doesn't know what to do. Does he let go? Will that make the teenager stop trying to kill everyone?

    And then he hears it. The sound of kids screaming in fear. The kids he'd promised to look after. The kids he was protecting. They're screaming. They're terrified.

    Click.

    Hero switch engage.

    With a growl that's audible now to practically everyone in the train, Jax unsheathes his claws to get a better grip on Dark Mage, just as he feels the man starting to be manipulated by an outside force. Lifting and jumping at the same time, Jax rams the teen's head against the ceiling of the train, leaving a dent in the ceiling panels. Then he whirls him around like a ragdoll and rams him face first into the door, then the bulkhead, and then the ceiling again. As the lights go out, there is a continued series of thuds, which continue until the emergency lights come back on.

    Then, only then, as the situation starts to come back under control, and like a man coming up from a very deep dive, Jax stops re-shaping bulkheads with Dark Mage's head, to check if he's conscious or not. Oh crap. Oh crap oh crap oh crap...

    What the hell just happened?

    Who is that dude with the glowing eyes?!

Pixie has posed:
Mass panic erupts as the lights flicker off briefly and at the same time, both Tech rat and Dark mage are put out of commission, which is probably a good thing as it means no more distractions, allowing Theo to slowdown the train once more to safe levels, even as the flickering lights cause some mass panic to erupt. People start screaming, some are calling loved ones, others banging in the doors, begging to be let out..

And then the back up lights-flick on and people start to calm down again..Thankfully the next station is in sight as the train slows down, now under control of Theo..There are police lights flashing, waiting to deal with the hijackers. And as Siinister works his magic, people start to calm down, rationalizing this as a simple train jacking..,Well it's better than the alternative at least?

The kids blinks in confusion and Megan smiles, "See? Told ya it'd work out.."

Hardline has posed:
    Theo looks up at Sinister and the decidedly unnatural red eyes of his. He isn't afraid as he's patted on the back, but there's a critical look back, as if Essex is something to be studied more than someone to be interacted with, the nature of a critical mind at work. There's something definitely significant about that individual.

    He glances back at the other mutants, and swallows. This is what he's been looking for. Right here. When he gets of this train, he needs to decide who to follow.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister gives Jax a long, lingering look. "Irreversable brain damage is a very bad thing to have on your conscious, young man. Either finish the job, or learn to do it quicker." He indicates the very dented walls and ceiling of the train an flexes his fist, pulling it downwards, popping all the panels back into shape. He then glances at the two culprits, twirls a hand and harvests about a pint of blood from both, letting it float in the air as it follows him.

Oddly, a bow of the head is given to Megan. "Miss Gwynn. Children." To the younger classmen, then he steps off the train, metamorphosing as he does to just another face in the crowd, the floating blood blobs whisking under the tails of his long duster.

Jax Miller has posed:
    As calm descends, Jax finds it a lot easier to think again. This teenager, this kid who looks so very much human, kneels by the 'Dark Mage' and holds the hoodied teenager's hands behind his unconscious back. So far, so normal, just like any human would do who had just been told this was a hijacking, and there are no mutants here...

    But then he looks over to Sinister, and mouths 'thank you' at the man whose appearance seemed so much like a deus ex machina. Not a human then, if his mind wasn't affected.

    And he'll continue to hold Dark Mage down until the police can get to them to cart the 'hijacker' off and then quickly make himself scarce by slipping back into the group of students, a chaperone as if nothing whatsoever had just happened.