6164/X-MEN: Rogue is SO Demanding!

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X-MEN: Rogue is SO Demanding!
Date of Scene: 11 January 2019
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Summary needed
Cast of Characters: Rogue, Cyclops, Rage, Iceman, Phoenix, Storm




Rogue has posed:
So the troubled teenaged Rogue had recently chosen to separate herself from both of the teams she was a apart of, it was abrupt, she gave little reason and only a bit of information on where she was going, and why.

Its been 11 days since anyone had heard from her as well. On the 31st, Psylocke and Gambit had both stppped by Rogue's apartment in Greenwich to check in on her. It was then that she told them she was going on a road trip to west New York, to a town where two 'communes' of nature-loving-hippies had been found all congregated together outside, all staring in a catatonic state at an empty field.

The people had been rounded up by medical professionals and law enforcement and after about 12 hours they started to wake up with no recollection of what they'd gone through.

Rogue had caught this story and she'd likened it to the same events that happened to the commune she grew up on in Mississippi. Similar results after her parents had vanished on a night she barely has any memory of. She'd told Psylocke--and an injured Gambit-- that she didn't want their help investigate, that she'd be fine and that 'what could possibly harm her'.

Naturally, 11 days later, she's not been heard from. The town she'd gone to is named 'Caldwell' and it sits on the western border of New York state. Its got about 5,000 population and is little more than a mainstreet and some residential areas. Though its known for the communes that sit around its edge.

As of right now, Caldwell is quiet, the town was recently covered in snow and the streets are barely swept clean. Its cold and gray, with townsfolk moving through the main street here and there on their daily routines.

Cyclops has posed:
    Quiet is sometimes the best way to come in, and thankfully, with the Shi'ar tech, the Blackbird is as stealthy as can possibly be. Especially with snow on the ground and the dreary attitude most people tend to look downwards in that kind of situation. So on the the outskirts of the town, Scott flies the Blackbird with his yellow visor equipped and with a decently warm leather jacket on with two sharp yellow stripes on the left side of the chest moving vertically.

    "X-men, we are entering Rogue's last known location, we know Gambit and Psylocke both talked to her and let her go without assistance or back up. That's not how we're going to do things any more." Scott says as he reaches above his head to flip the toggle for the landing gear and also the switch to activate the jets vertical thrusters to allow the sleek machine to decend and park nearly anywhere.

    The jet hits the ground with a heavy GACHUNK sound of the wheels and struts taking the full weight of the jet. Once on the ground Scott unbuckles his harness and turns around to the team gathered, "Jean, I want you to start scanning the area for her mental signature, and any possible hostiles, Andrea, that goes for you too. Bobby, you give the bird a bit more cover, and make sure we have a way for a quick escape. Everyone on your toes."

Rage has posed:
    Having been taking along on an X-Man mission, Andrea of the New Mutants is actually quite surprised, and eager to do her part. She has been quiet on the trip over, listening and soaking in all the information and strategies that her mentor delivers to the team. As they arrive and instructions is given out, she kneels down on the floor of the ship and starts her painful transformation.

    Bones can be be heard cracking loudly as her body twists and contorts. Black fur sprouts along her body as the form of the lupine takes shape in that of a well muscled wolf with a thatch of white fur along her chest and over her eye. There is also a number of scars along her body, one across her shoulder, another over her chest. She waits for the chance to exit the Blackbird before she will breathe in deep, ears perking, honing her hyper senses to try and find a sense of their teammate.

Iceman has posed:
"You ever think that she may just want to you know.. commune?" Bobby is asking even as he's unstrapping from his seat as he looks out one of the windows towards the snowscape. "Oh sure, cover the jet Bobby." he smirks slightly. "I take it covering it in a snow fort is out of the question?" It actually sounds like a //serious// question.

"Could be worse, he could have told Storm to make more snow." he points out the mutant's clothes and skin starts to transfer from warmth and colorful into the bright blue of his powers flaring into life around him. "Open the door, hereeeee's Bobby!" And out he goes to build up around more snow the Blackbird after everyone is clear up it. "Not even a tip for the valet parking job."

And then there's Andrea heading out. "No marking the fire hydrants!" he calls after her.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean has her right hand held to the side of her head, as she touches her right temple to help her focus, "I'm on it, Scott," she follows his direction to start a telepathic scan of the area.

while she's looking for Rogue, she finds something quite alarming in the immediate vicinity, "she's here alright..." Jean remarks, though the look on her face expresses grave concern. "I'd bet she's not the only one here, there's a very strange anomaly, I'd say it's almost like the Astral Plane on the influence of the Shadow King, something is draining mental energies in this area...it can't be the town itself. So watch out for enemies."

She swivels in her seat to take measure of everyone, as if to reassure herself, before announcing, "I'll be a bit limited in this encounter, because I'll need to shield everyone, so we don't succumb to whatever is putting this mental drain on this area." You could tell it's not so trivial because her left hand moves to her left temple. She closes her eyes, and remaining sat for a while longer still, she slowly weaves the telepathic shielding around each member of the team. Only once she's done does she get up, "okay...safe to go outside, just keep your eyes and ears open."

Storm has posed:
Storm made more snow. Her entrance is somewhat more stealthy than a big black jet. Surrounded by a whirl of snow and frozen air, she settles silently on the newfallen snow. Her own costume is a black leather bodysuit adorned with gold accents, and a gold brooch at her breast, emblazoned with a red field and black "X." When she lands, she tosses a look toward the Blackbird, and waits quietly for the others to disembark, as she takes in the serenity of the snowy landscape.

Rogue has posed:
Though the skies look like they could open up with more snow any minute, the efforts from Iceman to cover up the Blackbird are chillfully/skillfully successful.

Andrea's altered form will lend her almost immediate results with that powerful sniffer too. She's spent enough time around Rogue to know the southern belle's scent and its got a signal headed straight for the main street of the town. The X-Men in their fancy suits and with a lupine huntress may unsettle the townsfolk again if they get spotted however! But thats the part of being a well oiled para-military team, right? Maybe not, who knows.

One thing is for sure though, the sun's gonna be down soon and its barely even 4:30pm. Winter sucks.

Rage has posed:
    Swiveling her head towards Bobby, Rage's ears perk forward and there is a curl of the black lips past white, sharp teeth. She lets out a low chuff towards him. Turning about with a flick of her tail, she leaps out and trots forward a few paces, taking in another deep breath of the air about her.

    She gives a low, noisy whine in her throat as she trots over to Scott, rubbing up against his legs with a quick butt of the shoulder, then starts to trot off in a direction. It seems that she caught on to a scent and is instructing the team to follow. << Jean, if you can hear me, I found her scent and it's leading me this way. Towards the main drag. I hope I'm not barking like this. >>

Cyclops has posed:
    Scott nods sharply as he climbs down the ramp between the two rear landing wheels and feels the snow crunch beneath his boots. Looking out from behind his red visor, Scott chimes in, "Nice cover Storm. You and Iceman make this a winter hell for anyone holding Rogue. Jean is right, mental stuff must be at play, Rogue's too strong to not leave whenever she wants." The leader says as he steps away from the plank to allow the rest of the team to get out of the jet. With the sniffer hot on the trail, Scott quickly begins to persue the lead dog on this one. "Do not engage Rage, just observe and we will pick our fight."

Iceman has posed:
"Hey, I didn't mean to make you hot under the collar!" Bobby calls after Andrea takes off. "I forgot that she's a little ruff around the edges." As the others start to move out, probably giving him looks, he gives a shrug of his shoulders. "Sure thing, I guess I'll just make.. more snow." Not that he needs to with Storm here.

That's probably why the humor is exceptionally bad tonight, that whole defense mechanism up in place as he creates an ice slide in front of him to start to tag along after the others.

Phoenix has posed:
<<Rage detected Rogue's scent, we should follow,>> Jean notes to everyone, keeping to the role of team communication central, while maintaining her telepathic shielding. It does hinder what else she might be able to accomplish, but on the plus side, her being able to do so is probably why the X-Men can investigate to begin with. She keeps to the rear of the group as she starts following Rage. <<You're in form, Bobby.>>

Storm has posed:
"Winter is only a hell for those who deem it so," Storm replies to Scott, tossing an offhanded glance and a wink at Bobby. Her stride is steady, deliberate, and confident as she walks with the others, if a bit apart from them. "If Rogue is here, she's liable to make this place a hell for anyone who crosses her. She's so demanding..." But her attention is focused elsewhere, as her as a thin layer of fine snow swirls up and about the perimeter of the group, somewhat obscuring their appearance to others who might look their way.

Rage has posed:
<< I'm going to pee in his shoes later. >> Rage rumbles through the telepathic comms. As she leads them through town, they come upon a diner. Her ears swivel and she lets out a noisy chuff towards the green vehicle. << That is hers. Her scent is strongest there. >> She moves towards it carefully, continuing to sniff to try and decipher any other scents that may linger there.

Rogue has posed:
The main strip of Caldwell is the most well snow shoveled road in town with large banks of snow shoved up into some of the bigger parking lot areas, including the alleyway next to the movie theater thats showing a new popular movie about a fictional comic book character named 'Big Head' who can remove his invincible head and throw it at criminals to defeat them as well as make it grow HUGE or really tiny. Its a rated-R movie, it gets really weird at times... the kids love it.

Since its Friday night there's a whole gaggle of rowdy teenagers in front of the movie theater, throwing snowballs at each other, and fighting with icicles that they've broken off the awnings... doing stupid stuff while they wait to get into the theater to see the flick.

Across from the street is the town's diner, it sits on a corner and has large front windows sprawling out past either side of its front door. Its here that Rage's nose is leading her, right to the green Bentley that some rich woman gave Rogue a year and a half ago for helping her fight off muggers. Now? That car is being hooked up to a tow truck, a portley middle aged man about to tow it off!

Iceman has posed:
"Solid, liquid or gas?" Bobby asks Jean as he moves along the slide, using it to provide mobility without that whole snow-crunching thing. "It's fine. I know the mission. We go in, we find Rogue and we retirever." he says before glancing aside to the others. And then as he sees the teenagers and their playing around. "Oh //man//, Big Head II is still playing? I've been waiting for Big Head one on Netflix! I heard his head falls off in the big love scene and his girlfriend makes jokes about it getting bigger in her hands."

That's when he sees the teenagers playing with the ice and snow and all, and really... "Can I make a giant snow head and chase them off?"

Cyclops has posed:
    Scott knows he could easily stop that truck, but the down side is he'd give himself away. It's not like a red laser is exactly stealthy. No, he'll have to rely on the team to unleash the initial volley. Scott doesn't hesitate for a moment, the mental comms are practically second nature to them. "Everyone stay back from the vehicle, we don't know what's sedating Rogue, so we wait to approach. Storm, stop that truck. Rage, keep searching for Rogue. Iceman, clear the civilians. Jean, keep us connected and if you can try and find the source of that mental disturbance, that's likely what's keeping Rogue out." Scott says as he presses himself against one of the piles of snow for cover.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean stiffles a giggle, not expecting Bobby to joke even now, but she manages to keep focus as she chides him, <<you know I need to stay focused Bobby, making me laugh isn't a good idea right now...please, control yourself.>> She listens to Scott's request, and while shielding everyone, and making the telepathic link for communication, she's starting to stretch a bit thin. Her general gist is the affect is on a scope encircling the town itself, but she tries to scour for a source for the drain effect. Maybe a general direction could suggest a tip, after all, it could easily be some kind of device or artifact, not necessarily a telepath. <<I'll do my best, Scott.>>

Storm has posed:
"I'll buy us some time. And some privacy. Brace yourselves." And as Storm's eyes veil over in a misty white, lightning strikes in the center of town, in the middle of the street not far from the gentleman readying to tow the Bentley. The snow begins to fall fiercely, and lightning crackles, thunder roaring in the heavens. Another aptly placed strike or two, and Storm hopes that the teens, the tow truck driver, and anyone else milling about in the street may seek shelter. Around the group, a whirl of wind spirits the snow back away, so that they may continue about their business unfettered by the snowstorm.

Iceman has posed:
Okay. Distract. Distract. Bobby can do distractions! He's been distracting Jean and Andrea this whole time! When Storm starts storming, the icy mutant stops - because it seems that Storm has clearing the civilians clearing the streets quite well down pat. Jean could /easily/ feel the momentary rise of hopeful usefulness just /deflate/ within him and he goes back to juggling snowballs while sliding. "Street's clearing!" he chirps helpfully.

Rage has posed:
<< Yes, sir. >> Is Rage's response as she continues to sniff about, circling around the car, then roots her nose along the ground, perking her ears up like two radars. She keeps herself away from the line of sight of the trucker for now, so not to spook him by seeing a large black wolf in her prime trotting about in public.

Rogue has posed:
The hijinx at the theater continue on as the front doors have already opened even, Big Head II: The Revenge of Toe Man will be starting in 25 minutes, but the teenagers seem deadset on staying outside and goofin' around! Or so that'd seem, until the sudden impact of harsh winter makes a few of them stumble over each other to fight to get inside and out of the storm's way!

The Tow-Truck driver has the car sloppily done up, he's liked damaged the front end of it too, but the increase in harsh weather conditions outside now has him picking up his winter jacket's hood and turning to go inside the dinner, slipping on the pavement as he stumbles along.

Rogue's car is now at an awkward angle, the interior of it is filled with her clothing bags and a couple grocery bags as well. One of the doors is even partially open, but it doesn't look like the two truck driver noticed that!

When Storm lets up on the harsh weather a bit, a dog can be heard barking, down an alleyway on the other corner across from the diner opposite of the movie theather.

Cyclops has posed:
    Scott stands up as the crowds disperse and as badly as he wants to rush over to the car to help, he knows better, he waits for the all clear from the two sensitive members. "Iceman, you're on car duty. Rage withdraw but cover Iceman. We're doing this by the books people." Scott says, staying in control and still his eyes are scanning constantly, he's on edge waiting for Rage or Jean to chime in with bad news. "Storm, keep it up a while longer, I want out of this town asap."

Iceman has posed:
"Scott, I appreciate what you're trying to do." Bobby starts to respond. Look in the car? Sure, he can do that. As he moves to approach the car, Iceman clears his throat. "Just so you know miss, you've been parked in front of this hydrant for two weeks, ma'm. I'm going to see your license and registration." he starts to say as he moves towards the open door to start to pull it to find out what's within.

Phoenix has posed:
<<Hear that dog barking...follow that to find the source of the telepathic drain...>> Jean shares with the X-Men, while shifting her full attention back to shielding and linking her teammates.

Storm has posed:
Storm only nods to Scott in response, and the lightning forks and thunder cracks menacingly in the sky. The snow is heavy enough that it would be difficult to see the group, even from less than a block away, and the threats continue in the heavens as the lightning sings fierce and thunderous refrains, providing cover for her people in their endeavour. Between the rumbles, the sound of the dog barking continues to guide them, per Jean's observations.

Rage has posed:
Giving a low chuff in response, Rage breaks away from her sniffing and follows after Bobby, keeping to the rear of the car, ears pinned on the truck ahead with the man inside the cab.

Rogue has posed:
When Robert opens the door to Rogue's car, her phone unceremoniously tumbles out of the interior of the cab and lands on the snowy gutter at his feet. A low-battery light on the top corner is blinking, but it otherwise seems to still have a charge. Additionally the door didn't fully close because there's a leather dog leash draped over the driver's seat and the metal latch at the leash's end clearly blocked the door from fully shutting...

There are a few more towns people scurrying along the street sides, reacting to Storm's wintery blast, some of them running for their shops or to their own vehicles to get away, but otherwise the small sleepy town is clearing out nearly completely.

And that dog is still barking, at the end of the alley between a laundry mat and a freight shipping building where several loading docks are for large trucks, the doors to those docks all closed up and no sign of business there right now.

The dog is near one of the exits on the side of that shipping building, its a German Shepherd, he's covered in snow and ice, he looks like he's been outside during all of the harsh winter the past few days, maybe longer. He's snarling and growling at the door, trying to force his way in but its securely closed.

Iceman has posed:
"Got a phone! Judging by the bedazzling, it's Rogue's." Bobby says, as he stoops down to bring up the phone - and then notices the small metal clasp. "Hello." he says, following the clasp and leash to the collar. And when he sees the name he //snorts//. << Dog's name is Aces. Wanna guess at who gave it to her? >>

Cyclops has posed:
    Scott's teeth clench, it's a bad habit of Cyclops' and yet he does it still. He begins to approach the dog's barking sounds with his fists clenched, "Is no one in the back seat or trunk?" Scott asks mentally as he then calls for Storm and Jean to join him on his position, waiting for the other two X-men to get done clearing the car in order to get back and work as a unit. This is the area Jean claims something telepathic is coming from, so Scott's on edge, his thumb palming the dial built into his glove that opens the apperture to allow his optic blasts to stream out and get some work done.

Rage has posed:
Glancing over towards the dog, Rage lets out a loud chuff in return. No, she's not barking, but she is communicating. *Hello! I am looking for our friend Rogue. Goes by Marie. Do you know her?* She gives a sniff over towards the Sheaperd, trotting forward a few paces.

Phoenix has posed:
<<Guys, there are more people in that shipping warehouse...>> Jean alerts, <<not sure they are themselves, either way, there's an operation here...something about loading people into a truck? We may just help more than just Rogue...I'm preoccupied keeping us protected, so you'll have to do the heavy lifting.>>

Iceman has posed:
"Get a feeling that the car's clean, Scott." Bobby's response is curt, and he's starting to feel a familiar if.. angry pull. That youthful impulse from well before they graduated that spoke volumes of wanting SO HARD to prove himself. And he's looking up at the building for the high windows. "I'm going up to see if I can get a peek inside." he comments, without waiting for a second opinion, he's ice sliding towards the roof to be able to look in from the skylights.

Storm has posed:
Storm strides calmly to Scott, her expression serene as she observes the others, and she looks back toward the car, watching Bobby and Andrea until Bobby splits off to look down into the building. "Be careful, Bobby," she says as he passess by them.

Rogue has posed:
The German Shepherd doesn't take his eyes off of the door until Rage's interaction draws his attention for a short spell. She'll gleam enough from the dog's response to know that whatever he wants, is inside the shipping center, that he's desperate to get in there and that he is ready to attack a danger located there-in as well. The dog's eyes then look to Scott, he growls at the team's leader for a second before he turns back to the door and claws at it again, clearly wanting the stupid humans to let him in!

The car is indeed clean, well, clean'ish, Rogue keeps it fairly cleanly in her lifestyle but she drove a long way to get here and she had a furry friend with her the whole way.

Bobby's rush to the roof is a wise move and what he'll see when he looks through the frosty windows up there is a well lit interior, there are tables setup in the center of the warehouse and they're loaded up with 'body bags'. Except the body bags aren't entirely zipped up and the occupants inside the bags are all visible. Female. At least ten of them on the tables, their eyes all shut, they might LOOK dead to Bobby.

There are men inside, six of them at least, they're holding guns and they're patrolling around. A pair of them are talking to each other while another pair is moving to grab one of the women in a body bag and lift her up to take her toward a loading dock.

Storm will see one of the loading dock doors open form her vantage point, a solitary truck parked outside of it and a man hopping out of the back of the truck after opening its storage container up. He's moving toward the front of the truck now, running in the winter winds!

Rage has posed:
Relating the information back to the others, Rage gives a low chuff in her throat once again. *Calm yourself.* She speaks to the dog. *We are friends and we are here to help your friend.* She takes on a dominant authority and tone, her stance shifting with ears forward and tail rose. << The dog is sensing a great danger behind the doors. He is desperate to get inside. >>

Iceman has posed:
Bobby's eyes widen in horror. Jean can feel that feedback through their link. "I'm counting 10. Dead. There's ten dead girls in there. I don't see Rogue, but.. they're loading the bodies! I'm going in!" The anger. Worry. The utter want to do something heroically stupid.

Cyclops has posed:
    "So are we." Scott say as he starts to call for Storm to come pick the lock when a sense of dread rushes from Jean for a brief moment. Knowing the team well enough to know something is bad, Scott gives the order.

    "Wait for my signal then everyone move."

    What is Cyclops' signal? Well, it's pretty easy to realize/spot. He looks at the lock on the door, where you put the key in and lean back a bit, bringing up his foot and kicking near the handle, while blasting the door with a HEAVY eye beam, Scott forces his way into the room. "EVERYBODY DOWN!" Scott demands even though he doesn't know what's on the other side of the door, but as the smoke and dust settles, he moves away from the door frame and presses his back against the wall, waiting to see what happens.

Phoenix has posed:
That feedback from Bobby isn't good for Jean, especially when he describes what he's seeing. Normally Jean would be all for the slow and calculated approach, she's been a founding member of the X-Men after all. She has loads of experience, right on par with Scott. Problem is, ever since their space mission, there were times she wasn't quite herself. Good thing there are no empaths around or it'd be quite easy to tell. <<Scott...these bastards are harming innocent girls. We need to end them.>> That was quite an un-Jean-like judgement of the situation. Still, she sounds quite adamant. Good thing she can feel that telepathic drain, because it urges her to keep shielding her teammates, rather than busting in and unleashing unholy justice. <<We're dealing with the worst kind of people, don't go easy on them.>>

Iceman has posed:
Unlike Scott, Bobby was able to pick targets. As the first optic blast comes through the door, Bobby smashes through the glass above and starts to descend.

Eat your heart out, Batman.

"FREEZE!"

He's always wanted to say that - and as he does so - he's firing ice blasts at whatever targets he can find, trying to pin them down and holding them in place.

Storm has posed:
Storm instinctively looks up toward the skylights, in hopes of seeing Bobby. She isn't privy to his conversation with Jean, but she knows well enough to hope that he hasn't already busted in and been attacked. Luckily, she isn't disappointed, as the Iceman is blasting away at the men inside. A winter wind rushes in the door behind and past Scott, then whirls around the men inside, its temperature plummeting, even from where it was outside. With the wind encircling the group closer to thirty below, she's aiming to stiffen their limbs and slow their response time. She looks around the room at the bags, then back for the dog, expecting that it has rushed inside, in true dog fashion. She tries to keep her winds from freezing it, as she does with the others on her team.

Rage has posed:
Blurring forward across the parking lot towards the warehouse once the doors are blown off, Rage shifts upwards in a blur of loud cracks of bone and fur sprouting along her body. She barrels up into the near eight foot werewolf form, long dark claws curving outwards, eyes of gold gleaming. As she comes into view once the dust clear, she puffs out her chest and /roars/ to the enemy.

~YOU. WILL. DIE. ~

She will lay her attack down on the closest within melee range, barreling into a gunman with the goal of tearing the gun out of his hands, followed by the swipe of claws to rend and tear into the chest and stomach. Frenzy.

Rogue has posed:
Aces whines back at Rage, it seems adamant no matter what the kinship between them may help try to convince him otherwise. He does, however, step to the side enough to let Scott do his thing, knowing full well that this human can open the door to get him some space to get inside...

Scott's actions also draw ALL of the attention of the men inside the loading dock, they all stop what they're doing and look over at him. Two of them raise their guns and aim them AT Cyclops, and open fire!

The German Shepherd rushes past Scott while the gunfire starts, he vanishes around a table just as Iceman's ice blasts rain down from the high ceilings of the warehouse and collide with a pair of the men and Storm's freezing attacks swirl in and around the mercenarys.

They. Had. Not. Expected... this kind of an attack. These men weren't built to fight this!

And as Rage lays into one of them, the shouts of the men start to show the level of fear they have about what exactly is even attacking them. Two more step out of the interior of the truck that the women were being loaded onto and they level their guns at the ice/storm makers, firing automatic weapons in Bobby and Storm's direction!

Cyclops has posed:
    "We got live weapons!" Scott reports as he steps from behind his cover, and with his greatest advantage, it's hard to miss when your literally aiming your eyes. He has pin point accuracy when he fires off quick bursts of bright red concussive energy at the weapons in the men's hands. Scott is aiming to disarm more than harm. He knows his team will secure them one way or another, he's just doing his part to keep everyone alive. When more guys rolls out of one of the trucks and bares their own weapons Cyclops dives for cover. "We have more at the loading bays!" Cyclops reports.

Storm has posed:
Storm's winds increase in intensity, pushing objects around the room and into the way of those men scrambling about. She rises into the air, palms lifted, and her expression one of meditation as a fog moves into the room, hovering high and giving cover to Bobby and herself.

<Jean. Restrain the lycanthrope. I will not have one of my students killing /anyone/, I don't care who they are. I knew she was not ready for a mission like this, and the proof lies before you.>

Iceman has posed:
Maybe if Bobby had more confidence in his powers, he'd freeze the bullets being fired so that they're drop to the ground uselessly. Maybe he'd even know what to do at this point. As the first rounds come flying up at him, Iceman throws up several ice shields that allow the bullets to impact against them. "I thought I told you guys to freeze. Just giving me the cold shoulder? Really?"

Throwing his hands forward, he builds a large wall between the reinforcements and where the team is. "Now just chill there!" he calls down towards them as he prepares to turn around and turn his attention back towards the others. "I got them on ic---"

The rest doesn't come out as suddenly Bobby's ice covered shoulder shatters and the entire arm comes loose, falling to the ground and the appendage shatters against the floor. The mutant looks in wide-eyed horror at his arm and then back at where it was. "I think I've been shot."

Rage has posed:
The gun is yanked out of the man's hands as Rage barrels down upon him, using her weight to force him down to the ground. As her claws tear through the front of his chest to rip away the body armor and to take away his protection. No, she does not tear his guts out, nor does she kill him, but she sure as hell scares the crap out of him.

She roars down into his face, then whips the butt of the rifle around to whap him across the head to knock him down before leaping off and giving a scan with her feral gold eyes across the warehouse. << He's fine. Just going to have a headache. Have some faith in me. >> She says with a rumble in her throat.

Phoenix has posed:
<<Don't worry, Ororo, I will not let her kill anyone,>> Jean reassures her friend, as she turns to empathically calm Rage just a little, enough to ensure the girl's actions are her own, and not primal urge to hunt prey. Though these men are likely some of those who deserve a taste of their own medicine. <<Andrea...you got this under control?>> She asks Rage, before being reassured by Rage's reply, <<good. Keep it that way.>> Good thing Ororo was there, helping Jean to rebalance herself, contending with anger she is not accustomed too. <<Bobby! Are you okay? Get cover!>> Jean herself is doing all the telepathic heavy work from behind a cover of her own, not trying to physically engage herself in this one. <<Scott, how are we doing?>>

While asking Scott the question, she takes a moment to check if the draining affect is still active.

Rogue has posed:
Cyclops has to time his attacks just right to avoid being blasted with gunfire, but his vision-based accuracy does hold a remarkable display of finely disarming those men who were firing at him. What it doesn't do, however, is take the men down. So they turn away from the eye-beam-flinger and start to retreat while their brethren are dealing with the others. "Mutants!" One of them shouts, finally wising up on the whole situation (took long enough).

Rage's actions certainly do terrify the man she tears the armor off of and she'll likely smell it in the form of urine filling up the guy's trousers while tears start to pour of the corner of his eyes. "I don't wanna diiiiieeeee!" He says up to her a second before she knocks him out with that gun.

The X-Men have summarily taken care of the mercenaries... Scott would be proud of their effectiveness, most likel--Oops, the loading truck is rumbling to life, and its got a few bagged up women inside of its half-opened truck container!

Jean's search for the drain/suppressor of mental states will center her upon... well... exactly where Aces is. On the other side of the warehouse, at the closed trunk of a black sedan that he's pawing at, pacing back and forth and barking sharply at!

Iceman has posed:
Bobby's not home right now. Please leave a message at the beep.

Iceman is clearly in shock. He's clearly never allowed himself to be shot before. And the fact that he has been is now lost on him.

And the weirdest part? He knows it's supposed to hurt. It should hurt alot.

And if the movies are to be believed, there should be blood ALL over the place.

There's neither. Just confusion as Bobby lands on the ground, looking at the melting remains of his arm. It should be gross fleshy chunks. But again - not.

Then he hears the truck's engine fire up. And the ice based mutant turns. "Even anti-freeze has a freezing point." he rumbles, before closing his hand and reaches for the truck with his hand and starts to apply ice towards the engine, before twisting his good hand and shoving it upward, driving an ice spike right through the engine block.

Cyclops has posed:
    "We're alive." Scott reports the information he has. "Enemy forces are being immobilized and disarmed, as is Iceman. Iceman, do not revert back to flesh and bone. We'll get you patched up. STORM, RAGE, stop that truck! Move it X-men!"

    Scott turns towards the sound of the dog after issuing his commands and takes the risk. He approaches the sedan and reaches for the handle slowly, his gloved hand grasping the latch and pulling hard. There's a brightness to his visor as he's waiting to unleash an attack should the need arrises.

Rage has posed:
Feeling Jean start to soothe her down, Rage feels the wolf inside start to temper. << I'm good. Thanks, Miss Grey. >> She assures as she snaps the rifle in her paws in half, lobbing the two parts away and to the side. She jerks her chin upwards at the sound of Scott's voice, then turns, barreling after the truck in a blur as she races on all fours, leaping and loping as her claws find purchase in the ground below, helping to propel her forward.

Phoenix has posed:
<<Everyone, stop that truck, I think I have a date to attend to...>> Jean relies to the X-Men, before stepping out of her hiding spot to walk directly towards the sedan. She's not hiding herself, not masking herself, if anything, she seems to be challenging. With every step she makes towards the black sedan, an aura starts to build around her. A fiery one, as she suddenly extends her hand towards the car and pops the trunk open with telekinesis.

Storm has posed:
Storm grimaces slightly and looks to Bobby quickly as he's injured. Then, she looks back down to the truck below as he sends a spike up through the engine. Inside the cab, the humidity has skyrocketed, and the air turns to frozen fog in the arctic temperatures, frosting over the windows thickly on the inside. <Be careful, Jean.> Concern for Jean and Bobby has creased her usually placid face, and she watches over her teammates protectively.

Rogue has posed:
When Cyclops approaches the trunk the German Shepherd once more takes a side stance beside the X-Men Leader and he all but places his nose up against the edge of the trunk while the man beside him works the latch open. When the trunk rises up... Scott finds a solitary black body bag inside it, fully zipped closed. On the bag is a note that is taped to its side reading 'DO NOT TOUCH THIS ONE YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!!!' in big bold, angry black marker scribbling!

What Jean comes to find (after not just helping Scott open the trunk, but ripping the trunk's hatch off of the sedan itself!) is the source of the mind dampening... its, a glass sphere and its resting ontop of the body bag with the note on it. It looks completely harmless, little more than a soft-ball sized sphere of glass. Though at a close inspection, small swirling violet lights can be seen like bubbles in a can of settling soda...

Meanwhile, the semi-truck's wheels are pealing out in the snow and ice, its giant lumbering frame is trying to roar forward on all the might that the beastly truck possesses! But the combined elemental powers of a one armed Bobby, and the Goddess Storm make the truck spin out of control and slam right into a telephone pole before it garnered much speed...

And the driver? Well he can see Rage in the rear view mirror and now he's just screaming and leaping out of the truck to run for it!

Iceman has posed:
"I think I'm just going to take a break at the moment. I'm shot." See what Bobby did there? He hears the screams and calls, but for now, he's moving to where the other body bags are, reaching to check the pulse of one of the 'body bagged' women.

Phoenix has posed:
<<Scott...that globe, optic blast it, that's the source of the telepathic drain in the area...>> Jean sounds quite adamant, and if that threat is removed and she no longer has to shield the team, she'll have all that free focus to reign her own version of chaos on this battlefield. Not that it's needed, it seems at this point things are falling more or less under X-Men control.

Cyclops has posed:
    Scott recoils when the trunk he just opened is flung away with wrenching screaching metal. "Some heads up would be nice." He says with that look that he wears so well aimed at Jean. Picking up the snowglobe, Scott tosses it away from everyone and then ZAPS it out of the sky. Then the leader reaches his hands down to grasp at the zipper of the bag and unzips it, fearing the worst.

Rage has posed:
As she slams into the back of the truck, Rage grabs the back of the door and yanks yard, looking to peel them open with her strength. She /roars/ deep in her throat, angry, livid, her heart screaming for those poor girls in those bags. ~OPEN UP YOU TIN CAN!~ She howls out as she hears the metal creak. She plants a foot on the bumper, then gives another yank.

Storm has posed:
Seeing the truck crash and the lycanthrope bearing down on the driver, Storm considers him under control. She turns back to Scott and Jean and approached them and the sedan. The blast that shatters the orb does not faze her, as she watches the two, shaking her head. What will be, will be. She turns then to their one casualty, and approaches Bobby to check the women left in bags, and to check on him as well. "Are you...all right, Bobby?" she asks, her brow creased with concern.

Iceman has posed:
"Yeah, I'm fine.." Bobby says to Storm. "I'd hi-five you buttttttttt." he offers, before looking around. "We're not done yet, are we? I mean, is it cool if I just pass out now?"

Rogue has posed:
Jean is right on the money when it comes to the path for the orb and as Scott lifts it up and tosses it into the air, it sparkles a little brighter in the light and then SHINES... just before its blasted and blown into a haze of glittering dust that disperses and disappears in the draft warehouse now.

Bobby's pulse check reveals that the girl he's touching with his one still functioning/present arm is indeed alive, and a second after he touches her with his icey cold fingertips she opens her eyes, looks over at him just before Storm can speak... and she SCREAMS! "Get the f*** away from me!" The girl starts to try to sit up in the bag but can't, she thrashes and rolls off of the table's edge!

Rage's assault on the truck is quite successful the cab ripped open and another man is in the passenger seat, he's got his hands held up and his eyes are HUGE. He's surrounding clearly.

Cyclops unzips the body bag and, well, low and behold, there's the southern belle, peacefully slumbering on her back in the bag. Looking oddly peaceful in fact. But with the orb destroyed and Aces frantically getting up onto the trunk to lean in and nose at the side of her face, licking her cheek, she opens her eyes, big green eyes looking around all confused now.

All the women start to wake up now, in fact, all the body bags moving and the sounds of confusion starting to fill up the area.

"Scott?" Rogue says. "Jean?" She tries to sit up too, and just rips through the bag because her strength can't be restrained when she's actually conscious. Not easily anyway!

Cyclops has posed:
    "Rogue... I said be back by six." Scott says, giving her a knowing look, and a wink hidden by the visor he wears. Scott looks up to Jean and gives the redhead a nod, "I must tend to Iceman." Cyclops says, ever cautious about using their code names in the field.

    Scott leaves the Belle and the Phoenix alone as he turns to focus on the injured. "Can you make it outside? I'm sure there's plenty of ice out there to get your arm back to full, or do we need to knock you out before we get back on the bird and get you all to the medlab back home?"

Iceman has posed:
When he gets yelled at by the girl, Bobby is stumbling backwards in confusion. "Hey hey, we're the good guys! See, I have a disarming charm!" he even offers, before blinking at Scott in utter confusion. "Use the ice outside?" It's the first time that Bobby's actually considered rebuilding himself in such a way. "I mean, is that snow outside 100 percent organic?"

Phoenix has posed:
<<Scott, I'm going to tear off that trunk...>> Jean gives the heads up Scott wanted, well after the fact, <<something like that? I'll make a note for next time.>> With the telepathic drain removed, Jean can free up some mental power by removing her passive shielding of the team. She offers a soft smile at Rogue, "you'll do just fine on your own...? Is that what you told Betsy and Remy?" She doesn't wait for a reply, however, turning to scour the rest of the room, a lot of girls coming to might be freaking out and Jean replaces her shielding with a sweeping calming empathic wave on the area. Not wanting anyone to injure themselves because of sudden (even if justified) hysteria. "Everybody calm down, you are safe now," Jean specifically chooses to speak out with her audible voice, figuring telepathic talk isn't going to make anyone relax. "We will help you get back to your homes, to your families, and if you have no other options, we will see what we can do to help..."

Rage has posed:
Staring at the man in the passenger seat, Rage lunges forward and grabs the man, yanking him out of the cab. She throws him to the ground, snarling down at him, then reaches in and takes the keys out of the ignition. ~Run, or I'll tear your leg off and hit you with it.~ She spits down at the man, then points with her long claw. Go. Shoo. << Truck is secure. >>

Storm has posed:
Storm perks when she hears the altercation outside. "One moment, Bobby." Storm says softly. "The wolf just let the bad guy run away." She lifts a hand and summons a gale-force gust of wind to knock him down. "SIT," she commands Andrea. "On him. Sit on him."

She places a hand on Bobby's shoulder, reassuringly. "Now, let's get you fixed up."

Rogue has posed:
The man in the truck is quick to do as the lycan orders him, he pops the door opena nd is chasing after his comrade who is already about half a mile down the road toward the old saw mill off in the distance... shouting at him to wait up.

Rogue is pulling herself out of that bag's remains when she smirks faintly at Scott and Jean. "Well... this is embarrassin'." She says in a faint voice while her hands go to the furry head of her faithful friend. "You look like Hell, Acey." She says to him and he happily BARKS at her a deep and happy woof with his tail going a mile a minute. Rogue looks up to see Bobby whom she hasn't seen in months. "Woah, Bobby. Your arm!"

She moves to stand up, her eyes look over to Jean and she winces at her. "I'm sorry. About this. I didn't know they had like... a whole human traffickin' thing goin' on here. I'll explain everythin'... once we get this all settled here."

The other women in the shipping center are calmed by Jean's mind tricks, they're either peacefully lounging in their bags or some of them have managed to sit up and unzip them to look around with great confusion.

And just down the street? Big Head II is playing the theater and a bunch of STUPID teenagers are having a great time, laughing it up.

Rage has posed:
With a swivel of her head, Rage's ears slick back for a moment. Obediently, she gives chase after the pair of bad guys, hunting them down swiftly in a blur of speed. They both get tackled, whapped on the head and then carried back towards the semi truck. She drops them down for the others to wrangle them up.