16283/Swansong for the Undead

Swansong for the Undead
Date of Scene:	18 May 2024
Location:	Bushwick (Mutant Town), Brooklyn
Synopsis:	The xmen rescue hostages held by a mysterious entity and a woman resembling Polaris
Cast of Characters:	Polaris, Dracula, Rogue, Emma Frost, Wolverine

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Polaris has posed:
There have been growing rumours in Mutant town of late, and what began as soft murmurings here and there, an occasional missing person or a couple found passed out and anemic in the park, is rapidly progressing into some far worse. Suddenly people were going missing by the dozens, and dead bodies were starting to stack up.

Some where along the way, members of the Xmen were called in for help, their trail leading them to an abandonned warehouse. Lorna is the first on the scene, and apparently the one who sent out the distress signal. She's oddly dressed in a costume similar to one she once wore when she was once possessed by an entity known as Malice - skintight black leather, purple gloves and boots with a hood over her green hair, and purple domino mask around her eyes.

Dracula has posed:
From within the building are a lot of voices. Most of them weak sounding. Near the entrance a woman with black hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes makes her attempt to escape. She is only just able to stand and falls against one of the doors, trying to open it only to find it won't open from the inside. She wants to yell, but instead she bites her tongue and staggers back from the door.

Rogue has posed:
It's been a while since the Xmen have been summoned to anything, so when the call is made Rogue is sure to answer. While she's vaguely aware of the smaller stories here and there, other preoccupations have caused her to miss any bigger news. None the less, she arrives via flight, landing feet away from Lorna. Dressed in her usual Xmen uniform, the green and yellow jumpsuit, yellow gloves and brown jacket.

The landing is soft enough and then she closes the distance between herself and Lorna. "What's the word? Ain't heard from anyone in forever and suddenly you're throwin' out a distress call. So who do I get to toss to the moon?" Asking this much as she stares down the building. Her head tilts as she swears inwardly that she just heard one of the doors shuffle.

Emma Frost has posed:
Killing humans, Emma doesn't care.. killing mutants she's not happy and if she spots it or is asked to help she'll come to fight.. kill workers from her business or club.. well now that's a no no

     so here she is in her white queen outfit her mind sweeping the area looking for any clues as to who is stupid enough to mess with her people. She walks over as if she was always thier and looks and points " over their people in trouble."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna Dane smirks, fingering the communicator in her hands as she waits for others to join her. Somethings seems maybe off about her but hard to tell what exactly.She's prone to moodiness Afterall and has been keeping to herself a lot lately. "The White Queen and Rogue, so glad you could make it."

She quickly switches to serious business mode, fixing the communicator on her collar. "We have a situation that got out of hand. Seems someone's been kidnapping and killing people by the dozens. Havok should be around soon, I'm sure..I suspect vampires. Lots of them, with hostages within. But shouldn't be a problem for the Xmen right?"

She peers up at the warehouse as she hears voices. "Well we've got no time to lose, let's get in there!"

Rogue has posed:
"Ain't there someone in Sunnydale who's supposed to be good at killin' vampires?" Rogue asks. She's heard of Buffy at least - in passing and because she's...friendly...with a mutual potention ally of Buffy. Or at least the Buffy gang. Still. "Then again, if these vamps are hittin' mutant town, it's up to us to protect them, yeah?"

She then grins and looks at the closer door to her before Emma joins them and points out a more specific location. "Well. Doors ain't ever been a problem for me. Let me get us in there... just be ready for anything, yeah?" Saying that much more before she rushes the door, aiming to slam into it shoulder-first.

Dracula has posed:
Several people stir in the building when they start hearing unfamilar voices. The one who just tried the door turns back towards it, but doesn't return to it just yet. Someone coming in could be a good person or could be worse than the crazy woman that is holding them.

Emma Frost has posed:
She hears vamps and she's not stupid when they are about to go through the door she diamonds up.. her whole body becoming the hard item.. besides her telepathic powers don't work so good against vampire types anyways .. but a diamond fist does!

Polaris has posed:
Lorna Dane holds back as she waits for Rogue to take point. Once she crashes through the door, she follows after the others. Inside it's dark, an Abandonned warehouse that is mostly empty with a few bits of old dusty furniture here and there. But the sound of metal clanking can be heard as strange metallic objects rise out of the darkness, taking the form of large metallic dogs that growl and snarl, quickly surrounding the group.

Seems they are guarding the way upstairs, possibly that is where the hostages are being kept?

Rogue has posed:
"Oh hey! Things I can play origami with!" Cause Rogue loves a little twisting of metal now and again. She has the strength for it. Looking to the others and then back to the dogs, she then tries to spy precisely what they are hiding. "What do you think team? Take out the dogs then see what's left?" It is hard to tell what the dogs are keeping at bay - or protecting.

Dracula has posed:
Though there are a few downstairs, upstairs are several voices calling for help. Hoping someone will save them from a living nightmare of monsters and abduction. The woman that sees the heroes enter dives out of the door and races off into the night with no regard where she finds herself.

Wolverine has posed:
Logan shows up a little late. He's dressed in the new uniform. A modified number of the X-Force suit, just dark brown instead of black and orange instead of silver. They're colors of the Yashida clan. However, that clan's presence is in another country. It makes him feel connected yet disconnected at the same time. Not quite samurai, not quite ronin and that's the way he wants it.

Logan's quiet approaching the place. Sniffing at the air. He recognizes some scents from teammates, but it's the new ones that throw him off. So, he quietly slips inside through the bottom entrance.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna Dane stands back, letting the others take the lead, a small smirk on her face. "Guess we'll have to cut through then to get upstairs." And incase Rogue is hoping to fly up those stairs, several robodogs leap high into the sky, attempting to drag her and Emma down with razor sharp claws and fangs, while others unleash laser beams from their eyes from afar.

When Logan arrives, he catches many robodogs by surprise although 'Lorna' frowns at his arrival, keeping her distance for some reason, and it doesn't seem that the Robodogs are even attacking her oddly enough..

How strange..

Rogue has posed:
Rogue isn't going to fly, but she is going to punch the head of the one robodog that's decided it's going to try and make a snack out of her. "I've eaten sentinels for breakfast! These mutts are just appetizers!" Saying this as she tries to grab the same robodog she's punched in the head to then body slam it into another. At some point she'll likely notice Logan is here - what she's not keen on is the way the dogs are acting around Lorna. That's not noticed. Yet.

Dracula has posed:
From upstairs a laugh rings. Of course it is far from humerous. Something about it unsettling and a voice booms from above,"New playthings..." the voice thickly accented,"...you like to live dangerously child. Bringing dangerous attentions to yourself."

The voice sounds mildly annoyed, but mostly arrogant and suddenly there is a woman's scream from the upper floor. A man shouts shortly after. The sound of someone falling follows each outburst.

Wolverine has posed:
Logan pauses and "Shnkt!" he's got a little rage to get through and Robotdogs would be perfec.t So, Logan will push forward and go -toward- the threat. He wants to attack the first and closest dog. That's Logan's plan just stab, claw, slash and create a path of destruction to somewhat friendly faces. So, the first target has to deal with six very sharp things Logan uses for negotiation.

Polaris has posed:
'Lorna' continues to stand back, watching quietly as the Xmen make quick work of the robodogs. But there are so many of them and not so many heroes. Can they possibly fend all of them off? And as a familiar voice echoes from upstairs, she smirks a bit, but says little else, moving closer to the stairs as the others rapidly clear a path through the dogs. They shouldn't have much trouble climbing the staircase now. Most of the robodogs are taken care of, and when that voice calls out, the rest fall back a little. It seems the real threat lays up ahead..

Rogue has posed:
Rogue takes the opening as a chance to gain some ground and she flies from the bottom level to the next. Looking for the source of the voice from up here. "You gotta let go of the old playthings if you wanna take in new ones. And by that I mean, unchain and release any survivors here. Come take us on face ta face. I always like ta see the fear in someone's eyes 'fore I toss 'em to the moon." Which is like, her favorite threat ever, even if she never actually gets to make good on it. She -can- toss people across town tho. That's happened. More than once.

Wolverine has posed:
Logan goes up the stairs and then there's a pause. Sniff. Sniff. Suddenly there's a "Shnkt!" and he tries to pin Lorna by the two. He caught that scent. "Round two, fake," he says in a growl looking at Lorna. IF looks could kill, Lorna would be dead at the moemnt.

Those ocean blue eyes watching her intently behind the lenses in his mask.

Rogue may see there's two targets now. It's just a question of Lorna or Logan.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna(?)'s eyes go wide as he pins her to the wall, looking scared. "Logan? What are you doing? It's me! Laura!" but there's something different about her. Her hair is similar, her build..Her voice is a bit deeper, and her she has a somewhat crooked smile, a crueller look in her eyes that are not quite as green as Lorna's.

"Mm what's wrong Logan? Missed me? I'm sure Alex did, I'm far superior than that stupid little green haired brat of his." she laughs, "But can you really afford to waste time on me when my master is behind one of those doors,a bout to feast on a room ful of innocents that I captured for him?"

She laughs, and as if one cue, the sounds of screams and cries for help can be heard down the long corridor that greets them. But there are many rooms. Where are the innocents?

Rogue has posed:
Rogue turns as she hears the distinct sound of Logan's claws and then views that he has Lorna pinned against the wall. "Logan! What the fu--" She'd just about finished her exclamation when Lorna decides to do the mistake that all villians do.

Explain their end goal.

Master? The hell... She remembers the day that she met Lorna and Havok in the park...and has to now wonder if that was the real Lorna...or this one...

She turns back as she hears the screams, and with Emma delayed downstairs - it's hard to tell just where the sounds are coming from. Logan has Lorna pinned, so Rogue will have to play eenie meenie with the doors...perhaps try to discern just where the screams are coming from - and hope that she picks the right one just in time...

Wolverine has posed:
Logan's eyes narrows as Lorna has a point. So, Logan's claws ease up. But in a quick motion he tries cutting her face. Hopefully it would scar and he would have some identifier for future run ins. Something beyond smell.

Now, eh's working his way double time toward the scream. Helping someone is better than debilitating a Lorna cloe, or whatever she is. It's a matter of priorities, even if he has a personal vestment in stabbing this "Lorna."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna Dane shrieks as Logan cuts her face, reaching up to feel blood trickling between her finger. "What the hell, you cut my face?! How Dare you!," she snarls angrily, and there is an almost manic, dangerous edge to her voice. Even as Logan and Rogue head for the nearest door, she already reaches out with her powers towards dozens of scrapped robodogs, using her telekinesis to hurl the scrap metal with violent force towards the two of them. "Don't you dare turn your back on me!M"

Rogue has posed:
"Logan! Find the room they're in!" Rogue shouts as she turns back around to find the scrapped robodogs being hurled in their direction. She has flight and speed on her side, so jumping into the air and catching them all, even perhaps throwing some towards 'Lorna' will be Rogue's plan. "Who are you?! Cause you sure as hell ain't the Lorna Dane we know..." Saying this even as she continues to try and catching all the hurled metal - making it seem like nothing but a decent game of dodgeball.

Wolverine has posed:
Logan sniffs and he will just try to straff. Run and moves back going into her. He tries looking for her. His gaze looing around. Tehn sniff sniff. He's trying to find the source. Growling a little bit. as he can hear the clanging as Rogue catches some of hte debris, but other places will

Dracula has posed:
Upstairs there is a hall with three doors on each side. From behind the doors there is the sound of voices lamenting and begginf for help. Logan's sense of smell would tag something less than human at the end of the hall and the lights are low. However, even in the low light there is a figure standing. The appearnace is that he is making out with a woman, but given the limpness of her stance and the fact he seems ot be hodling her up, there is definately more to it than that.

Finally the form stands again, dropping a dead body. Glowing red eyes look out from the darkness,"Welcome..." a voice booms through the air. There is no question for Logan, the man is not alive and hasn't been for some time.

Polaris has posed:
There's no point in playing this little game anymore and the green haired woman laughs, summoning a forcefield to deflect most of the metal that comes flying at her.

"My name is Laura Hanes, and I am a powerful telekinetic. But you may call me Magnetrix.." she sighs, "Polaris was a useless xman and doesn't do her boyfriend any Justice. I would make a much better xman don't you think?"

As Logan gets nearer to the mastermind behind all of this she calls out to him. "Master, I have delivered some special tributes for you..And if they reject me I am happy to sacrifice them personally for you!"

Rogue has posed:
"Absolutely not..." Rogue says this as she sees the forcefield raised and most the metal she tossed back in the woman's direction is deflected away. "So what the hell did you do to Lorna then?" Asking this much more just before she hears that voice boom behind her, causing her to look back in that direction.

"Master? Sacrifice? Now I know you don't really wanna join us because you wouldn't be offerin' to sacrifice us the next minute..." She fully turns then and moves so she can get closer to Logan.

Wolverine has posed:
"I don't know if this is a robot, a clone or some ripped away psyche with their own body," Logan says about "Lorna." He just knows something aobut her is not right whtsoever. And because of that he tries to just make sure that Rogue knwos who the enemy is. His gaze looks at Laura for a moment. "So, she's just a lousy loosey of a Lorna. Got it."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost : It is in diamond form, so her personality is very, very cold, but she turns and watches that woman deflect the metal away. She also looks towards the voice and lifts a sparkly eyebrow.

     She makes a choice with two people in the mix, and the fact that she has 2 of the heavy frontline hitters from the team with her.. she starts to shift back to normal Emma.. but that also means her powers are back

     her telepathy kicks in <Rouge grab a table she might be Lorna under mind control, Logan keep doing what your best at >.

Dracula has posed:
A scowl darkens the man's face at the sound of Laura and her boasts. A soft sigh and he will concentrate on that later. He opens another door and a young man runs out and past the glowing eyed man. He will run into anyone that is in his way escaping the hallway and towards the stairs. Any trigger happy hero might injure the fleeing man by accident.

From the shadows, the ruler of Wallachia appears, Price of Darkness and King of Vampires. Dracula. His fangs stained with blood as he stalks down the hall behind the fleeing mutant.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna Dane snarls at Logan. "Tch! Please, I'm no clone or incomplete creature. I am Laura Hanes, a powerful mutant who should rightfully take my place amongst the Xmen in Polaris' place!"

She advances towards the Xmen from behind, getting ready to herd them further down the hall towards Dracula, who is apparently terrorizing other victims at the moment.

Which is just fine by her. But she's also surprised he doesn't address her directly. She draws more discarded Robodogs around her, ready to use them as armour or weapons as she anticipates another assault from the Xmen.

"Xmen you'd better surrender or all those poor pathetic hostages are dead!"

Rogue has posed:
"You ain't taking ANY place among us because you have no right to be there! You have no thought of mercy to these mutants who have been captured and the Xmen are sworn protectors of. Get yer mind right ya useless excuse for a mutant." Rogue offers this back to 'Laura' before her attention turns back to Dracula as the Vampire Master exposes himself.

"He don't look very healthy. And we're stuck between a bitch and a bastard. What's the plan, Logan? Cause I got a pretty clear idea they ain't here to exchange pleasentries..." She shifts to stand sideways so she can look between both Dracula and Laura.

Wolverine has posed:
"Yeah. You're a bargain bin version. A loosey. Means a loose cigarette. Means ya ain't worth as much as the real thing. Valujble, but only a small fraction," Logan says honestly as he looks at her for a moment.

"Find a flare gun, shoot the guy wit' the fangs in the face. Find a priest. Kinda outta options. Free the hostages and tujrn fang face to dust if we gotta," hje says honestly to Rogue.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost Frowns after a moment " thier both vampires I can't shut thier minds down " She states simply as she also moves closer to the two " My best guess is use wooden stake.. not sure what else will work " Even she's at a loss thier vampires.. that much is clear or something thier minds are too diffrent . she can read them but affecting them is much harder than normal minds!

Polaris has posed:
Lorna Dane groans, "Bori g! What a bunch of boy scouts you all are! And here I thought you Xmen were better than this! Master, allow me to destroy these fools and then you may feed to your heart's content without a struggle!" she advances towards the Xmen, bringing the metal from the robodogs above her head, spinning round and round in a dizzying whirlwind that picks up speed then hurls the spinning cyclone of scrap metal down the hall towards the Xmen. "Die!"

Dracula has posed:
His stride doesn't slow as Dracula passes the doors and heads towards the X-Men. Claws extend from his fingers and his deep scowl creases his face,"These are the famous X-Men. I should possibly be flattered that I have gained the attention of such..."

A deep growl and he bursts into a flight of bats, flying into the face of Logan, then Rogue, and a few skirting past Emma before he reappeards as himself at the side of Laura,"...I seem to recall saying not to draw attention to this operation. Definately not to me." he growls as he looms over her, but watches them.

Rogue has posed:
At the sight of mangled robodogs being hurled towards them again, Rogue punches a path through the ones flying her her direction and then begins to stalk towards the woman. "Looks like the puppet's master is about to cut the strings. What happens then? All these mutants who have gone missing...died...was it worth it in the end? This is what happens when you let yerself get used, darlin'." She leans down and grabs a random loose chain - likely left over from one of the victims. Or escapees. Whichever.

"Your time runs out. Sooner or later, you realize you're just a pawn in their game. Pawns are expendable. Worthless. Much like you are. In your overzealous want to please your 'Master'...you forgot one tiny little thing..." She's still walking towards Laura as she speaks, the chain in one hand dragging along the ground as she walks, only she suddenly uses it in a whip-like fashion to lash out towards Laura and - if successful - at least wrap the woman up in them and tug her forward. Hard.

Wolverine has posed:
Logan sees the bits of dog go flying back and then dracula doing a bat swarm. All of it very cinematic. Going by the movie theme and that's when Logan gets an idea. He just leave the group running. he goes toward one of the other rooms. "SHNKT!" the sounds of doors falling followed by, "crnch!" And metal coming across wood. Logan's building something. It's like a hybrid between an arrow and a bolt, but the shapes are cruder. Either way, a stake is a stake. So, he'll come back with a lot of stakes that he'll toss to Rogue and emma. It takes a bit to do this so no one will get these right away. Plus, someone could catc the wood either way, Logan's leaning heav y to the movie lore. So, it's clearly where he wants to shove these wood pieces.

Emma Frost has posed:
With Rogue attacking like that.. emmma will point at a stray board of some kind.. Yank it into the air and twist it into a spike and also launch them towards the womans chest! mostly to see if that will work or not.. this woman murdered and well emma isn't like others she's like logan not afraid to kill! But thankfully logan is making more ammo!

Polaris has posed:
Laura beams at Dracula, "Master, I brought them as requested, shall I be rewarded now?" although she is surprised at his disappointment. "M-master..?" however she is caught off guard as Rogue rushes at her with a chain, but Laura moves with lightning quick reflexes, catching the chain, attempting to use it to tug Rogue towards her and hurl her against the wall with superhuman strength.

When Emma girls that chunk of wood towards her, she twists to the side, the wood barely missing its mark. She snarls, glaring at Emma, "Have you forgotten, lightning reflexes and super strength? I am now better than you pathetic Xmen!" she laughs, arrogantly.

Dracula has posed:
It is tempting. Let the X-Men take care of his light work. When she tosses Rogue away he does seem to approve. For a moment. It passes and clawed hand strikes at Laura's neck and slashes her head from her body. He shakes blood off of his hand and turns his attention to the gathered heroes.

"This can go two ways X-Men. Either way I am leaving this building and the city. This one marked the city for vampires for years." He sighs and looks at Emma a moment, then at the working Logan, and then finally at Rogue recovering from the throw, staring at her eyes for a moment or two,"So what will it be. The easy way or...?"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue has been slammed into a wall, which will likely hurt like hell for a few moments. She eyes her X-men team and then looks to Dracula. "You best make your escape while you can. Those people intend to dust you like it says to do in the movies..." It's all she says before she rolls onto her back to try and recover. Super strength vs super strength do not mix well.

Wolverine has posed:
Logan sees Rogue and dracula working against each other. She's pinned in a battle Dracula. What Logan is trying to do, is get behidn Drcula. His gaze focuses on the unded amn. That's what Logan hopes to do. He wants to stake the undead vampire. His ocean blue eyes looking at him.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost thinks for a moment she would normally just let him go right now she dosn't know what he can do if anything .. but he did show her ripping off the head works so using the amma logan made.. She lifts several bits and launches them , she's not that great at tk but more than enough to do this! also help logan get close!

Dracula has posed:
"So be it..." he growls softly,"...even if you could kill this body. Another would be taken and I would return to find you all." With that he bursts into a cloud of mist, laughing manically and floating up and away into the night. The heroes are left to puzzle over that comment and once he is out of a window, he bursts into the bats again and flies away screeching into the night.