9989/Protect Xavier's: Finale

Protect Xavier's: Finale
Date of Scene:	10 November 2019
Location:	Backyard - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	After much build up, a protection spell is cast that makes Xavier's School seem like a normal human prep school to anyone spying/scanning from outside.
Cast of Characters:	Scarlet Witch, Nightingale, Pixie, Moonstar, Samuel Morgan, Hawkeye (Barton), Storm, Thor, Doctor Strange, Sif, Loki

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Scarlet Witch has posed:
The spell to protect Xavier's School had been conceived when Charles Xavier lay in the X-men Medical Bay, recuperating from an assassin's bullet, and he made a request to the Scarlet Witch to help protect the school. The request came at the height of the Sentinel threat.

Aged tomes and scrolls were consulted and magical research conducted until a spell was devised. One that would make any outside scrutiny of Xavier's School by non-friendly elements find just a normal preparatory school as expected. Whether that come via means that were electronic, magical, or even just one's own eyeballs.

Elements with potent magical properties were needed to encompass the number of acres that make up the school grounds. Each was obtained, sometimes at significant peril. Blood from an elder vampire. Necroplasma from a demonic source. Ice from a magic Jotunheim waterfall from which the first Frost Giants were birthed. Cheyarafim crystals, remnants of a war between angels in the Brimstone dimension. Spiritual energy from the monk Rasputin.

Each was gathered, and now Wanda Maximoff, Doctor Strange and others have finished their preparations and gathered everyone at the school. Standing on a back porch, Wanda turns on a projector displaying on the wall a map of the grounds. "Alright, one last time through the plan. The spell requires a magic protection circle completely encompassing the school. Most of it has been laid down already," she says.

"The original plan was to anchor the spell in ley lines that pulse with magic. However, these were plundered by Loki, and while they have been recovering, for our purposes they are still to weak. We will have to anchor the spell other dimensions. Think of it like a wick, drawing on elements of what make those dimensions as they are, in ways that contribute to the spell," Wanda says. "This will not be harmful to those dimensions. But during the casting, it may be noticeable to denizens there, which would not have been the case if the ley lines were in their normal state."

Wanda looks around the area. "In short, as the spell is anchoring itself, there may be an opportunity for beings drawn to the magic to try to make it into our world. Into Midgard," Wanda says, the last with a smile to Thor. "Doctor Strange and I will be performing the main casting. We need others to guard against any such incursions. And at various points in the spell, some of you will have a role, inserting a spike infused with the essence of our components in the appropriate places to completing anchoring the spell to that dimension."

Wanda glances about. "Any questions? If not, Thor, Lorna, do you wish to split the others up into two teams to lead? You might work together, or be needed separate places, but some organization would help if you are both up to the task."

Nightingale has posed:
     A familiar winged teen has joined the rest in the backyard for the task ahead. This was home. This was family. And she was determined to do what must be done to protect both. Though her wings are ragged, perhaps temporarily flightless, there is evidence of new feathers growing in. She's dressed in a cream tunic sweater, dark blue jeans, and knee-length caramel suede boots against the chill of the oncoming season.

     In Shannon's hand was one of the spikes, around which she curls her fingers protectively. She wasn't quite sure which one, but it didn't really matter, as long as the spell was cast successfully. Privately, she hoped it was the one with the necroplasma; a small smile curled the corners of her mouth upwards as she thinks back to the day on which that particular component was acquired. It had been one of her first outings into the field, and one of the first steps on her journey. Now, it was time to see it to completion. "Ready when the rest of you are."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn stands near Shannon somewhere, noting her ragged wings with a frown, wondering what she got herself into this time..But she's got her back and everyone else's maybe, so hopefully there will be less pain handed out if there is a lot of back watching going around. She is also carrying a spike, awaiting orders on where to put the dang thing..All this talk of spells and magic and key lines is pretty fascinating for the young magic user, although she arches a surprised brow at mention of Loki. "Waaaait, he stole..,Ley lines? here too? Is that even possible?" she frowns, not expecting an answer, and continues to hang around pondering, awaiting orders.

Moonstar has posed:
Danielle Moonstar was present, and listens to Wanda's words with rapt attention. Her face was marked with the ancient Cheyenne face paintings of old - charcoal from a fire burning for 13 days, blood from an ancient stag, crushed leaves from a juniper born at the dawn of time, virgin rain from the dawn of the century, the first berry of spring - all of this gave her a mask of warding and protection, deep Earth magiks from before white man strode on the plains of America.

Dani was silent, and humming to herself. This tune was taught to her by her grandmother, and passed down to the Moonstars from the dawn of time. Although an apprentice in magic, she was descended from an ancient mystical lineage of shamans that goes back before recorded history. A soft "neigh" from her companion, Brightwind, was nearby, his Asgardian roots helping to settle the spell that was being cast. It was obvious that Brightwind did not appreciate his mistress being placed in harms way, but he was vital to helping with the magiks being cast. Not moving, he was now silent, waiting for what would happen next.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Neither wings nor magic, neither eye beams nor electric blasts, no fancy armor, no fancy weaponry... what exactly is Bean doing here? He's one of the few people least qualified to be here, it seems, aside from living at the mansion, wanting to help, and having a rather deep capacity for sudden and unremitting violence. Hmm. Perhaps he is qualified after all. No spike in his hands, with those hands clasped behind his back as he waits in the standard parade rest pose. For the sake of the occasion, he had swapped his usual nondescript grey hoodie for a Xavier marked one, also grey, to go with his combat boots and sturdy multi-pocketed pants.

    "Go to place, do magic, stop things from other realms from getting involved. Got it." Bear is not with him tonight, the German Shepherd well out of harm's way and being entertained by the younger kids in the rec room.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint Barton had been scarce from a lot of Avengers type things lately, but true to his word at Halloween, he was making an effort, so when Wanda said she had some big magical thing going down at that preppy Xavier's School in Westchester, Clint shows up, ready for action.

Letting out a low whistle, Hawkeye remarks, "Niiice school, if mine looked like this when I was a kid I wouldn't have..." he smirks at himself, "Who am I kidding, I'd still ditch but I wouldn't mind being dragged back as much."

The quip wasn't aimed in any particular direction, it was just Clint's way of dealing with nerves, which he has plenty of when Wanda explains what they're here for. "Fighting demons, neat, okay, I can do this, but I should have brought an old bow and a young bow or something."

As he makes his way to join the group, he waves to his fellow Avengers, as well as Doctor Strange, who gets a wave and Dani, who gets a grin, "Hey, been awhile," he greets. "And I haven't forgotten I owe you a beer, I'll pay up soon, y'know if I don't get sucked into another dimension... again." He remembered the last time that happened, and yeah, that dimension 0/10, do not recommend.

Storm has posed:
Ororo tends to live by the maxim of 'it is better to do the right thing, than preach the right thing'. A spot in the back of the room is casually selected and yet strategically chosen; near enough the front to be a visible presence, but not so near as to rob any of Wanda's authority. Her mien is one of calm readiness and patient alertness. Unlike some of the others, there are no trappings of religion or custom on her. The only nod to tradition is a thin black tiara that holds back her tumbling white hair (currently straightened and hanging to her shoulders).

A few familiar faces are visiting Xavier's in the forms of friends and allies. All known to her had been welcomed with open arms as they joined the ranks.

With the need for working attire, Ororo had changed into a black bodysuit lined in stark yellow. The white bodice provides a splash of symmetry with her hair and the cape attached to her wrists provides something of a dramatic element.

"I can make the area around the mansion somewhat unhospitable for a while," Ororo offers. "A blustering squall and some hailstones will deter most casual guests. If Lord Thor doesn't mind, of course," she says, with polite deference and a glance at the Thunder God. "Perhaps you can maintian a vigil from above and ensure none are spying on us from on high?" she suggests diffidently.

Thor has posed:
Thor mutters something about his brother, and then gets to work. Anchoring a spell to Jotunheim..."If the frost giants do get through, they should be unable to make too much of it. This technically counts as an invasion of Midgard, and I doubt they'll have permission to do that." It's not really a 'take any opportunity you can get' sort of thing if they try that. Meanwhile, it's time to divvy up the teams. "My brother didn't steal leylines, he abused and drained them restoring our home. They still exist, but they're too drained to use."

As for teams...well, the first one that catches his eye is..."...You have Gugnir. I'd know the energy of my father's spear anywhere." Since there's 6 people to distribute, he must take another...hmmm.

But then, there's Storm who wishes to, well, live up to her name. He nods, "Together, there shall be such a storm as to be worth a song!" Hmmm. To Dr. Strange, "You may wish to make a bubble to keep those participating immune to the weather." And Thor flies up into the sky, and the weather immediately takes a turn for the worse. The Thunder God brings the clouds together, and, obviously, those are thunder clouds. The storm is comming...

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen has relegated himself to 'sidekick' to his former pupil, as this whole thing is her idea and been under her supervision since day one, even when there might bave been a moment or two where Wanda might have faltered or not, he refused to step in, claiming this is her job, her responsibility. She can do it.

    So today, even on the actual day of the ritual, Stephen stays off to the side as Wanda does her whole leadership thing, surprising even Strange as she's done so well. Strange stands off to the side, back against a support beam with the famous cloak between him and the wall. The tunic and slacks he wears are not exactly weather proof so as he gets the challenge from Thor, Stephen lifts his eyebrow and counters, "I thought you were both Storm Gods, are you not able to keep a perimeter of rain around the school and thus call upon a lowly mortal to protect your allies from your wrath?" Stephen asks almost rhetorically as he steps out and holds up both hands to the skies and spins one around the other to bring it back to his chest and then back out in a slow large circle a trio of times before the invisible sphere goes up to protect them all from the gales coming.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda smiles at those who have assembled. "Clint, I was going to say, you would still ditch every chance you got," she teases him back. "Thor, Clint, Shannon in one team? Storm, Danielle, Pixie and Samuel in the other?" she asks. If that seems copacetic with everyone, Wanda moves over to where she and Doctor Strange have prepared an area for the casting.

There are protection circles and mystical runes drawn about the area, and candles are set out at the locus points of some of the circles. Wanda lights them and moves into the middle of one, while another is reserved for Doctor Strange. Wanda straights from lighting them and gives an approving nod towards Storm and Thor. "That would be most helpful. We don't want any satellites noting unearthly glows from the school right before we cloak her from that very form of detection," she says.

Wanda will move over to take her place in her circle then. "When it is time to place one of the spikes, I will give a jet of magic at the location," she tells them. "If everyone is ready, shall we take our places? One team on the northeast, the other on the southwest side?" No doubt many of the other X-men are busy guarding the school itself, should anything get through.

Once people are in place, Wanda begins drawing energy to her, moving her arms, windmilling slowly and drawing her chaos magic. There are samples of the magic components in the circles about her. They begin to glow with the red aura of Wanda's magic. "Ready when you are Stephen," Wanda says, ready for him to add his magic into those same bits of component.

Meanwhile, the giant protection circle laid down around the school with those same components begins to pulse with those same energies. Wanda says a few mystic words aloud. "Powering up the elder vampire vitae and the demonic necroplasma," she says. And those two components begin to glow brighter and brighter. As does the circle around the school.

And then a pair of spots on that perimeter circle suddenly brighten further. Fissures opening in the dimensional energy trying to anchor itself to some hell dimension from which Spawn, the source of the necroplasma, was connected. A hand reaches up out of a glowing fissure of energy. Clawed and so thin as to be nearly skeletal. A demon crawls up out of the opening, drawn to the energies being unleashed. More follow behind it. Some are your basic low level demon, more interested in ripping things apart than anything else. But on each side of the school, a being emerges that looks more like Spawn himself. With chains with sharp spikes on the end emerging to wave about in the air. It is an obvious struggle for the demons to make it out of the fissure, limiting their number, but it's still a worthy group of foes for the heroes.

Nightingale has posed:
     A small smile curled the corners of Shannon's lips upwards as she moves to join her group with spike in hand, offering a nod and warm smile to Thor, Dani, and Roberto each in turn. Despite the effects of heavy molting highly visible and rendering her flightless for a while, she nevertheless draws herself up with as much dignity as possible. But, there was one in her group she did not know at all. Canting her head slightly, she peers over at Clint, and offers him a smile. She shifts the spike over to her left hand, and offers her right one in greeting. "Hello there. Don't think we've met. Name's Shannon." Even though she had no idea if they would ever meet again, it couldn't hurt to at least be civil, right?

     The casting begins. Fissures in reality open. And she was flightless as demons start making their infernal presence known. As tempting as it was to fight, she had to guard the spike in her hands, and keep it away from those creatures. Let others do the fighting, until there was no other option possible.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen nods towards Wanda and then speaks as he walks towards his post, "I hope you warned them adequately." The wizard says before he pulls his legs up and under himself, sitting in the venerable lotus position, floating roughly three feet in the air with his hands upon his knees, the cloak unfurling in an unfelt mystic wind. The sphere of protection spell he cast moments before holding against the coming winds and waters as the sorcerer feeds his magic expertly into Wanda's ritual, taking pieces of his own power as required and slowly putting in the gestures as Wanda has ordained.

Moonstar has posed:
Dani Moonstar's eyes, closed up until now as she hums her tune, open, and find themselves locked on Clint. If this was any other circumstance, she would run over and hug the man, but for now, she smiles, and waves. "Clint! Oh, I am glad you are here!" Was that an almost-giggle? "I look forward to the beer! I'll try to stay Earthbound this time!" That was just what she needs at this point. A smile and a joke. Clint was /so/ good at that.

Dani puts her hand on Brightwind, and feels his chi, his essence soldify her own. Her eyes flow over to Ororo, and then to Thor, and she feels the bond the three of them have. All of them are Asgardian, or have been touched by Asgardian magic. It was a rarified club, almost unique. "Storm."

Then. "Yes. My Lord." That last to Thor. "It was bequethed to me by Odin as he was...fading due to Ragnarok. I am a Valkyrie and the guardian of the spirit of the AllFather." Now that was a lot. Then, Thor was off, into the sky. A conversation for another time.

Dani takes a quick breath, and smiles at Shannon, catching her eye. As Wanda divvies them up, she salutes Wanda, and gets ready. At this point, she hasn't drawn any weapons, prefering to use her Valkyrior gifts and her innate mutant abilities. With a nod to Pixie and Samuel, Dani moves to stand beside Storm. As the demons begin to crawl out of the fissures, Dani shrugs. "Well. Didn't think this was going to be easy."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Honestly, Sam has no idea what's going on with all the hocus pocus. There could be a most intricate web of eldritch energy being spun, the likes of which would bring tears to the eyes of the most jaded magi, and he'd still think it all a load of bunkum. His senses aren't meant for that kind of perception. In fact, his senses aren't meant for any of this, so he borrows a few more. Drones begin to lift around him, weaving a pattern in the air as they looks around, giving him a full 360 degree view without ever having to turn his head. Better. Much better.

    He gives a nod to those he has been assigned to, knowing them all fairly well. But at the same time, he glances over to Clint, making sure to catch his eye, and then motioning to Shannon. "You take good care of her, you hear? Anything happens to her, and we're going to have words. And when MC Hammer comes back from up above, you tell him the same."

    Because right now it's time to go to work. Demons... what joy. And here he is, unarmed, drawing a deep breath and tilting his head from side to side to loosen up his neck. "Alright then... let's do this... And for the record, this would have been so much easier if someone had let me have a pistol or a knife." He's off, towards a cluster of smaller demons, a group of drones forming a wedge in front of him. The phalanx of flying drones breaks apart just before impact and starts to buzz about like a swarm of particularly heavy and angry bees. They might not be armed, but they're good for a distraction. A jump, a kick, and it's time for unfettered brutality among the unholy. Techno is officially off the leash.

Storm has posed:
"We will do the best we can, Stephen," Ororo tells the Sorcerer with an impish expression. "As I'm sure we all will."

With beckoning fingers, Ororo gathers her temporary charges to her with a smile. Hands are offered to them to squeeze fingers reassuringly. "Come, circle up," she bids them. "Remember, no matter what comes through those gates, we are here for each other." Her rich alto voice flows mellifluously over each syllable. "Be courageous and be bold. We are making the school a safer place."

With one last affirming nod, they break and step away. Once the circle breaks Ororo finds a position opposite Strange and Wanda at the center of the circle. Already her eyes grow milky and her second sight starts to strip away the confusion of the world around her, to see it for what it truly is.

Conceptually, Ororo understands magic. But what she does is not magical. It's a rite ancient as the first shamans, communing with the very spirit of the Earth itself. She calls to Mother Gaea. Gaea calls out in return. In the distance winds howl and rip around Westchester county. It will surely be called a 'shocking Nor'easter' squall, the sort of sudden weather that tends to shut travel down in a hurry. Five hundred yards away the wind rips leaves off trees still preparing for winter and hailstones start to pelt and thud against the ground.

Inside that perimeter, the only change is a bit of momentum to otherwise sluggish winds and a mild drop in temperature.

"They are coming! Ready yourself!" Ororo cries, bare moments before the first of the interdimensional interlopers breaks through the barrier between worlds.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn takes her place, Spike at the ready as she nods and smiles to her teammates. "Ready when you are, just say the word!" she is no stranger to magic, and she feels her hairs standing on end as Wanda begins her chant. The winds shift suddenly as demons start to seep out of the dimensional portal and she grins her teeth, but holds her post. "Should have known there would be demons. Wonder if any of em belong to Illy?" she smirks at the thought, but hers are of a different kind, loyal to her and perhaps less likely to attack the xmen...Hopefully. With her free hand she presses it to her chest, pulling out the glowing red soul dagger from her heart, less impressive than Illy's, but at nearly two feet long, it's still a sight to behold, and bane to any demon. "Come an get me!" she dares them as they approach, dark pink eyes glimmering with an almost eerie air as she holds her ground, awaiting their approach.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint was the master of the well-timed joke, outstripped only by his talent for the ill-timed joke! He does his best to put on a stern face through his grin as he tells Dani "You'd better," before the grin takes over his face again.

Clint waves to Shannon as his other hand pull his bow off his back and snaps it open and ready to use. He has to pass it to his other hand when Shannon offers him her hand, "Hey Shannon, I'm Clint," sure Clint was in his Hawkeye get up, but his identity was a very open secret.

Sam manages to catch Clint's eyes and the archer grins at the man's words, "Don't worry junior, Wings will be safe with me, and Hammer Man," he promises.

Then it was demon time, joy...

Hearing Bean's remark about a knife, one is thrown into the ground at his feet, no threat meant, just no time for handing itf over any other way.

Then it's on, Clint's hand is a blurr as he reaches back for an arrow, fires, and reaches back again, each one exactly the arrow he was thinking of, as if by magic. As it was though he was leaning heavily into the explosive arrows, trying to keep the demons contained at the verges of those fissures in reality, to keep them from flanking.

Thor has posed:
Funny thing about Gaea. That's actually Thor's birth mother. Frigga was his true mother as raising him went, but it's still the earth goddess's blood in his veins, along with that of Odin. So Storm's calling is very familiar to the Thunder God. Speaking of shocking nor'easter, the shocking part comes next. Thunder booms loudly in the sky as lightning bolts rain down from the heavens. Thor does have control over where those bolts land, but he also leaves it open for Storm to call down some lightning of her own. Doubtless the thunder shall be needed on both sides of this battle.

Meanwhile, Thor lands in the middle of his side of the battle, in front of the team that he is to lead. And he notes the big demon in front of him. "You're big. I've fought bigger." And since they've just made a historically massive storm up there, there's plenty of lightning to throw around, and his opening salvo against the demon lord in front of him is truly shocking. Or it should've been, and while the demon's hair and fur all stands up perfectly straight, it appears to be less than dead, and charges the Thunder God. "Have at you, then!"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The demons struggle out of the fissure and rush forward. A few of them are felled by lightning, the smaller bestial ones not able to handle such blasts of power. Others are throw about by Hawkeye's explosive arrows. The larger demon takes the lightning hit, staggering and then rushing towards Thor. Metal chains lash out towards him, and also towards Hawkeye whether to ensnare or stab!

On the other side of the grounds, more demons have emerged and begin racing towards the building that seems a likely place to flesh to rend and meat to eat, hopefully accompanied by screams and whimpers. The demons instead of find a Valkyrie armed with a spear that causes some of the demons to hold up an arm as if sensing something anathema to them. However that sensation just drives them to hatred and they rush forward towards Dani and Brightwind.

Others attack Samuel, one getting knocked away by a kick, while another lunges towards him, claws slashing, only to rear back as a drone buzzes his face. The demon darts forward again once it is past.

The larger demon leaps into the air and sends chains stabbing out towards Megan and Storm, moving to the attack as soon as it is free of the fizzure. A dread blackness gazes from its eyes, its hatred of the living seething and tangible.

Wanda continues the casting, focusing on the spell. As she sees the battle beging joined, she spares what little energy she can. A hand cast towards one side and the other result in little darts of scarlet energy. One hits Shannon, infusing the teen with a good luck hex. Another hits the ground beside her, and a staff teleports to the girl's side. A staff is similarly teleported to Samuel's side, lying on the ground next to Clint's dagger. Both staffs are made of yew, and blessed, allowing them an extra oomph if used on a demon.

Nightingale has posed:
     Tucking the stake into the rune-marked bag perpetually at her side, Shannon takes the hint and goes for the staff; the good luck hex is not witnessed by her as it finds its mark, as she is focused more on keeping the stake out of demonic hands. She had yet to fight with weapons of any sort, however; it seemed she was destined for baptism by fire in her lifetime. She takes up what she hopes and prays is a fairly strong stance, keeping both hands on the staff and ready to strike out at any demons that get too close to her.

     You shall not pass!

Moonstar has posed:
Dani Moonstar grimaces. Not the normal, ugh, brain freeze! from a cold drink. No. The feeling of death, warmed over, crawling out of the grave. "Uggghhhnnn." She says, and Brightwind moves closer, giving her a nudge. "Thank you true heart." Dani pats Brightwind, knowing that the winged horse felt her falling into the pit of despair. The blackness that was oozing its way into their existence crawls towards them, and attacks!

Dani's right hand wanders towards the spear held in a holster on her back. The soothing caress of calm, order, patience, serenity...power! All were there. Gugnir allows her to balance what was happening. Then, as though of its own volition, it was drawn. The onrushing storm was coming!

Gugnir was in her hands, and the radiant energy of the Spear of Odin commands her. Brightwind neighs, and steps back, as the cry of agony from Dani's mouth could shake the 7 worlds, all the way back to Asgard!

The flash of her mutant gifts allow her precision and her swing is unstoppable! The gifts of Hela and Odin bestow upon her the finality of death as a Chooser of the Slain! A Valkyrie Princess! Her vengeance upon the demons coming for her was riveting and awful in its majesty! She was Death, Incarnate! The spear bestowed no mercy on the demonic scourge, as the body count rose.

The only issue was what cost was this on her soul?

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Kick, punch, it's all in the mind... Well... not really. Demon one might be kicked away, but demon two seems intent on clawing Bean's face off. Leaning back into the dodge, he spots the knife and staff just... laying there. Asking for him to pick them up. And so he obliges.

    When Techno comes back up, the staff whirls around in his left hand and cracks the first demon across the face with enough force to break its neck. A lunge under the guard of the second demon buries the full length of the knife into its side. Once. Twice. As many as it takes for it to stop coming at him. Drones whirl, and Bean finds himself the center of a circle of demons all out for his blood and probably his soul. The knife spins in his hand, the staff whirls in a defensive pattern, keeping the horde at bay.

    And then it happens. The phone in his pocket starts to play. The tune is picked up by the drones that weave in and out of the circle.

    A grin spreads over Bean's face, and to the tune of 'Ballroom Blitz', he rushes forward again, staff spinning and knife flashing, ready to reap his tally.

Storm has posed:
Ororo and Thor, both at the height of their powers, call down a lightning storm that would devastate the tri-state area were it not so tightly constrained. A mile from Xavier Institute, the weather's chilly and harsh, but hardly as destructive as the near-cyclone of energy.

Electricity is tossed back and forth like a child's plaything between them. Dancing columns of crackling static shock walk around the battlefield, miraculously ignoring the allies on the field and attaching violently to the intruders. Stormcrows surge from some dimension of ink and shadow; Ororo flings her fingertips at them nelgigently and a web of lightning consumes the flock, reducing them to ash and erupted black feathers.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn glances upwards as she hears a clap of thunder, followed by lightning and grins. She always liked storms. This should be refreshing. But enough lollygagging.As demons home in on her she moves swiftly and deftly, aiming a powerful spin kick at one behind her, hurling her dagger at the heart of another demon before summoning it back to spin around and block the claws of another incoming demon, attempting to stab it in the forearm before it can over power her. Eyes gleam dangerously red now, blood trickling down her forearm, slightly staining her blue and yellow x uniform. "Cone on then, who's next?" as the soul dagger's influence takes control, she seems more bloodthirsty, thoroughly seeming to enjoy thus with each additional demon felled by her dagger. The spike is kept safely in her side pocket, still holding position.

Thor has posed:
The next lightning strike on the other side is truly a doozy...as much about eliminating minions as it is stunning the bad guys. With a storm like that up there, the lightning bolt coming down is truly epic, and hearing over that crashing thunder would be difficult. While it's aimed at the lead demon, the stroke of such a broad lightning bolt will surely convince some lesser demons that facing the King of Asgard is a terrible idea.

The lead demon isn't frightened, though, and while shocked again, his terrible claws swing at the Thunder God, who must parry with Mjolnir. "A mighty fiend, aren't you? But there's worse than you in the 9 realms." A swing of the Hammer...that the creature dodges, and lashes out with terrible claws. Terrible claws that actually manage to draw blood. "Aha. A worthy adversary. Then have at you." Thor swings again, and this time doesn't miss, sending the demon lord flying.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint is not a small man at 6'3", 229, but you wouldn't know it by how he moves through the air, he backflips out of the way of the first chain, then handsprings up to fire an arrow at the demon in midair before landing and trying to sommersault out of the way of the second. The second chain tags him, grabs his foot and sends him sprawling into the increasingly muddy ground. Hot steel burning his leg even through his costume.

The archer bites back a scream, as he reaches back to his quivver, the magic of it putting a freeze arrow in his hand which he slams into the chain letting ice creep across it's surface, cooling the hellish heat.

"Yay for science," Clint says before slamming the chain with his bow shattering the rapidly cooling metal and rolling free of the chain, moments before Thor slams the demon with his hammer and sends him flying.

"Good shot," he calls to Thor as he draws a trio of explosive arrows and sends them after the demon.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The demons quickly find out why the Valkyries have the reputation they do as Dani flows amongst them, the holy power within Gugnir ending them rather than just sending them back to hell where they would otherwise reform. The hellspawn that focus on Samuel find the youthful teen to be a dangerous opponent, cracking their heads and limbs with the staff, each blow of the blessed wood delivering a jarring pain and blackening their flesh.

Lightning lances down from the skies as the God of Thunder and an African goddess of weather make the demon minions wish they hadn't sought out that otherworldly energy they sensed. Their bodies go flying from the lightning blasts, most lying still after and their bodies made of the stuff of hello slowly dissolving away without their demonic spirits to hold it together.

The larger demon fighting Thor and Clint has its first assault on Clint dodged by the agile archer, before the second lands, sizzling the Avenger's flesh. Clint's use of the freeze arrow shatters the chain, resulting in a cry of pain from the demon. That cry is cut short as Thor smashes the creature with Mjolnir, sending it flying back towards the fissure.

The fissures begin to draw closed as the magics of Doctor Strange and Wanda are near to locking the spell in place in that hell dimension. The badly wounded large demon sees this and retreats into it, returning from whence it came. The other large demon sees its smaller brethren have all fallen, leaving it by itself. Still its hatred for the living causes it to attack rather than seek safety, focusing in on Megan and Dani with new attacks with its chains.

A plume of red energy lifts into the air on the perimeters of the magic circle. "The spikes. Vampire and Necroplasma, place them now," Wanda calls out. Shannon has the Necroplasma spike, and Wanda's magic marks the spot to place it. Samuel has the spike infused with vampiric vitae, and a spot near to him is similarly marked.

Nightingale has posed:
     "You got it!" The staff is held to the side, Shannon crouching down near the spot marked by a small, glowing red spot of magic. Pulling the stake from her bag, she lines up the point with the spot, and bears down from the top with her full upper body strength. The spike parts the soil, sinking into it as a needle might sink into fabric, helping to stitch the Weave of the spell together.

     Take that. This was her home, and if this was all she could do to defend it, then so be it.

     When the top of the stake has been sunk into the ground by some inches, she stands, raising the yew staff in her hand to signal to Wanda that her part was complete, the stake had been placed.

Thor has posed:
With the demons on his side vanquished...he flies through the air once more...and notes Dani once more. He yells down, "My father was fond of throwing it. Give it a try." And with that bit of advice, the storm intensifies around the perimeter, and while the rift on his side is closed, anything outside the perimeter is surely having a very bad day of it.

He did notice the storm naturally wanting to 'spread' a little bit, and puts more effort into keeping it contained over this smaller area.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Free of the chain, Clint has a moment to scan the battlefield, Dani catches his eye at once, her display of power is is terrific, in the literal sense of the word, it inspires terror, and also a great deal of concern. He'd makes a note to have a chat, assuming they survive.

The other one he notices is Samuel, his moves are familiar and catches his eye, almost like Nat's except his moves felt wild, where Nat was cool and controlled. Seems like he had another chat to have after this.

If they survive, and right now it was a big if, when the demon lord charges the other group Clint fires off a flight of acid arrows, aimed for the eyes, trying to distract the hellish thing while the other team drives it back.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
Whirl left, smashing a demon across the jaw and knocking another's arm askew. Reach right to stab the clawed hand coming at him, pull the blade clear, reverse grip and slash at the demon directly in front. Drones swoop into the almost graceful dance of yew, steel and flesh. Slashes had torn Bean's hoodie into ribbons, a sure sign that he didn't get it all his way, and blood is starting to stain the ripped fabric. But the dance continues, there can be no pause, not a single missed step.

    A particularly crafty demon lunges underneath a drone, knocks it away, disturbing Techno's view of the battle, and he has just enough time to throw himself forward as the claws catch the hood and rip the hoodie clean off his back. By now the smaller spawn are fleeing, but this one seems intent on finishing Bean off. The mutant rolls onto his back, and throws the combat knife at the demon's throat, killing it. As he lays there catching his breath, he can see the suddenly lit up spot nearby. Grabbing for the stake, he realises that he kept it in the front pocket of his hoodie for ease of draw, and that it has flown a few meters away.

    He vaults over to the stake and jumps for the ritual spot, like a wide receiver jumping for the end zone in a hail mary play.

    The stake is plunged into the earth, marking the spot and anchoring the spell. "Stake, in position!"

Moonstar has posed:
Dani Moonstar looks at the horde, and trembles, slightly. She feels her bond with Brightwind flow over her...and something else. Thor's words hit her, right where she needs it. Her confidence was growing, and her nerves could feel the electricity that Gugnir provides. It was ecstacy, pure and simple. The power of a God!

TThen, time seems to slow. The voice of an old man, the AllFather, calls to her. "The tide will reveal itself, my daughter. Listen to my son. His wisdom is good. This may cost everything but it will be worth it." Then, as suddenly as the presence appears, it was gone. Dani sobs, wanting the feeling back. A tear finds it's way down her left cheek, as she feels the draw of the power from Gugnir. The power, and the cost.

With a deep breath, Dani stands firm. Hefts the spear, her arm moving back in readiness...her eyes looking at those around her. Thor, of course. Storm, a mentor and friend. Shannon, another friend, her warmth bringing a smile to Dani's face. Megan. Samuel, placing the stake. Clint. "My friend..." She says, as though she was about to end. Another tear.

Next, as the spell solidifies, she looks towards Wanda and Strange, admiring them both. "Here we go."

...and then...she lets Gugnir fly! Towards the Arch Demon, left alone by it's fleeing friend!

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn continues to focus on her spot while keeping close to her team mates, thankful for their cover should she miss her part. But the soul dagger seems especially effective on the demons, dealing lethal damage to all who get too close. As the magic points flare to life, she feels her hairs stand on end once more, a glowing point of energy appearing behind her and she snarls, tearing into more demons to clear herself a path, stroking the spike home right into the red glowing point of magic. "All done here!" she glances around to see the progress of the others, still keeping on alert for anymore approaching demons. "So Umm..Are we almost done here?" she murmurs largely to herself, wondering if and when demons will start to retreat. They can't keep this up forever.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The spear of Odin lances through the air to skewer the demon. It begins to writhe, spinning about. Necroplasma jets out of the wounds, the way it smokes and sizzles and dissolves the grass giving quick warning to stay away from the dying demon. It collapses finally and the body just begins to melt away, leaving behind only scraps of fabric being eaten by the necroplasma, and a few small lengths of its chains.

The spike infused with the elder vampire blood goes home into the ground. The spell is fueled with the wiliness of the ancient undead capable of living amongst men for centuries without being notice.

The spike infused with necroplasma is added to the protection circle. A demon's instinctive awareness of sin and evil intent is added to the protection spell, allowing it to discern the School's friends from its foes. The spell anchors partially in the other dimension, adding to its longevity.

"Three more spikes to go," Wanda says to the others. The magic shifts, focusing on the remaining elements. Magic, primal infused ice from the frigid planet of Jotunheim. The crystals from the war of angels, solidified blood spilled in the battle of Cheyarafim. And finally the energy gathered from the spirit of Rasputin.

As the magic energy courses through those portions of the circle, two new fissures open. These glow blue, and Doctor Strange, Thor, and Dani will recognize the Frost Giants who struggle up out of the fissure. They stand anywhere from eight to a dozen feet tall, and as they climb to their feet, they grow clubs, flails, scythes and swords of ice on their arms. They start forward from two directions, towards Thor's team and Storm's team.

Suddenly another fissure opens. This one isn't blue, and Wanda cries out. Strange will feel something on the other side contributing to the fissure that opens, the fetid smell of brimstone washing over the area as it blows up out of the dimensional portal.

A dozen figures in blue, with tails, and wearing swords, suddenly BAMF!! into being. Remembering the hurts delivered to them by Nightcrawler and his team, they have come for revenge. Drawing their weapons they bound forward.

Wanda calls out, "Stephen, they can't handle the Jotuns, and Kurt's people both. Deal with the teleporters, I can finish the spell!"

Nightingale has posed:
     They may resemble Kurt. They may BAMF like Kurt. But to them, Shannon is likely just another Cherayafim--molted or not. And they are most definitely /not/ the friendly blue elf she's come to know and respect. With one barreling down on her with its sword drawn, she grabs the staff with both hands, sweeping it outwards to crack the being across its head. There is a sickening thud as the yew staff connects with considerable force, enough to knock her assailant away for now. Oh yes. She was definitely going to have to request more combat training, if this sort of thing was to keep up.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    In his torn shirt, scratched, cut and bleeding, Techno stands up from where he put down the spike. Yeah, job done! There's a smile on his face as he retrieves the knife, twisting it in the demon flesh to stop it sticking, and then the staff. He's feeling pretty good about himself, and not just because of the exercise. He's about to make a joke, it's clearly on his lips, when the next fissures open and the ice giants appear. He looks at the beings crawl out of the ground, going up, up... further up than he likes. Much further. So he gives a helpless shrug at the sheer impossibility of the challenge. "... Okay, I guess? I mean... it's that kind of night apparently."

    But of course that's not the last of it. Oh no. From the other side the BAMFS!! burst forth. Honestly, he doesn't know which of these two is the more dangerous opponent. He has vivid memories of that sword duel with Kurt in the Danger Room, where he was taught a valuable lesson about overconfidence. And now there's many. And they're dual wielding. This time, however, Techno has the advantage of being both aware of their capabilities, and a myriad of eyes. The drones arrange themselves in a circle around him, facing outwards, so he literally has eyes in the back of his head. And then he puts the knife away in a pocket, hefts the staff, and motions towards one of the BAMF!!. Whistles at one, even. "Eh, you there. Yeah, you, the ugly one. C'mon then. You and me, let's go..."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen's eyelids snap open as he feels the sudden shift in the fight and the spellworks beneath his position. "I know you can." Stephen says giving Wanda the slightest bit of potent encouragement he can as he's lowering his feet down from his floating seated position. The wizard reaches his hands up and out, giving what appears to be the hook 'em horns salute as he grabs onto the fabrics of reality and create a pair of large orange discs of magic at his fingertips.

    "Of all the mansions, on all the earths in all the dimensions within the multiverse, you unfortunate lot, have forced your way into this one." Stephen shakes his head almost as if he feels sympathy towards the teleporters.

    Strange takes a single step and with wingless flight, the man just floats into the air towards the rip in the dimension and the same blue light that came from the hole in spacetime that the foes walked through, errupts from a suddenly larger and more violent hole as streaks of red lance through the opening at random intervals and yet most try to get near Strange, he even diflects a single beam away and it slices throught the ground behind him, "Ah, the mindless ones would love a new fight." Stephen says before tendrils snake out of his new portal for all the self-teleporters with an unholy purpose.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Ohhhh great," Clint says as the Frost Giants emerge, "Yo, Thor, you got any pointers for dealing with these guys?" he asks sending a spread of explosive arrows their way on spec.

They all burst on impact hammering the giants with explosive power.

When they hit, Clint moves, limping quickly, covering his own movement with more arrows, firining randomly, taser, acid, putty, sonic, and so on, yeah, he was throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Moonstar has posed:
As the battle ensues, and the demon is destroyed by the spear, Dani Moonstar finds herself on one knee. Her vision is clouded, and she appears fatigued. Throwing the spear took a lot out of her, as a human mortal was never meant to wield such power. The only thing that saved her was Odin's blessing, and the powers bestowed upon her as a Valkyrie.

With a surge of willpower, Dani stands. One foot in front of the other. Then, as though hearing a voice from a distance, she reaches out...and Gugnir is on her right hand once more. Her eyes look at the spear, in all its majesty, and widen in surprise and awe. "Amazing..." She says, he voice choking, as though parched with thirst.

Spotting Wanda in trouble, Dani maneuvers herself to be there, as a last bastion of defense, to prevent the Giants from harming her. Standing her ground, she raises the Spear of Odin into the air, and shouts, "Begone Demons of Ice! Return to Joutunheim, wence you came! So commands Odin, King of Asgard!" With that, Dani thrusts the spear into the ground, and calls upon all of its power and her own...the power drain far too much for her to handle...then, collapsing at Wanda's feet!

Thor has posed:
Thor was about to attack the Frost Giants when...something strikes him. Dani's blast of power was formiddable, but...a mortal using Gungnir thus was sure to have consequences. There was no blessing upon it that whosoever wielding it being worthy. Which means the spear would take from the innate power the user had, and...well, could drain a user like it just did. But first, he calls to Clint, "The answer to ice is fire. If you have any arrows made of heat or flame, put them to excellent use!"

And then he lands by Dani, and his father's spear. "...Father." But his father was not here now, and the one who bore his spear rendered herself unconscious. "As King, I shall do what I must." And he picks up Gungnir. And in that moment, one can see the father in the eyes of the son. And when he rises into the air, Mjolnir in one hand and Gungnir in the other...for a moment, at least, he is truly King. He throws both, and while Gungnir is now latched on to his power...Thor has enough fuel for Gungnir to use, as it latches on to the godforce within him. And both Mjolnir and Gungnir are thrown. Both slice through the air with harrowing speeds, and in the son, just a glimpse of what the All Father must've been like can be seen.

The Giants confront Thor, with, "Laufey will hear of this, and there shall be war."

The King but smiles, "You invaded Midgard without his permission and you expect him to defend you? You know not your own king!" The Frost Giants are no match for Gungnir and Mjolnir at once, and between both weapons hurling around the sky, and lightning bolts crashing down besides, it is not a good day to be a Frost Giant on Midgard.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
As the battle is joined, Shannon draws some interest, looking similar to a Cheyarafim as she does. The attacking teleporter could probably make short work of her, what with his ability to appear behind or above her at will. But Doctor Strange's intervention provides Shannon, and everyone else facing Kurt's people, with a welcome reprieve. The portal opened by Doctor Strange has tendrils reaching out, grasping for the teleporters to try to pull them in. The smell of brimstone is everywhere as they teleport around the area, trying to avoid those grasping arms ready to pull them through into a place they definitely do not wish to go!

The Frost Giants are quickly finding themselves outmatched. Dani's use of Gugnir sends a wave of energy across the expansive backyard of Xavier's. The grass, now yellowed with the coming of winter, has black scorches here and there where lightning has already fallen. The wave of power from the Odinforce actually restores some of the dying grass in places even as it knocks the Jotuns off their feet, leaving many groaning and trying to rise and regroup.

Clint's arrows land amongst them, explosings blowing them sideways, while others fall to their knees as electricity courses through their bodies. Some manage to form ice shields to block Clint's arrows, and another whirls around like a discus thrower and lets loose a mass of sharp icy projectiles flying towards the Avenger!

Thor's use of the two Asgardian weapons sends still more Jotuns tumbling. Unlike the demons, the Frost Giants seem to keep coming for the moment, more emerging. "Keep holding them off!" Wanda calls. "Al-... most.... there!" She powers up the protection circle that encompasses entire acres. "Alright! The final three spikes!" she calls out. Three pillars of red chaos energy light the key points on the protection circle that need the final component-infused spikes to complete the spell.

Nightingale has posed:
     This would be a day Shannon remembered all too well, if not entirely for all the best reasons. As the orange tendril wrapped itself around the bamf attacking her, she brings the butt end of the staff up to its chest, lunging forward and thrusting at its heart. It connects, making the tendril's work far easier, and sending the being reeling backwards. Another one joins the attack on the winged girl, and she lashes out in a rough, if potentially strong, sweeping sort of strike. Unpracticed and untrained as it is, it still connects, a surprisingly vicious, snarling cry coming from her.

     "YOU LEAVE MY HOME AND FRIENDS ALONE!!!"

Storm has posed:
The concentration required to hold the weather patterns in place takes almost all of Ororo's conentration. It's no small amount of work; shifting energy to drive galeforce winds in a tight circle, not letting the bubble of safety collapse or expand and keeping the storm itself from triggering hurricanes up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

But it *does* hold, tenuous at first, then stabilizing like a gyroscope finding its balance. Ororo brings her focus down to the battlefield. The trust she places in her allies to protect her is far from misplaced.

And it returns an investment in full as she turns a fraction of her attention back to the battlefield. The squall roars overhead. Thunder explodes directly overhead. And then lightning snakes down swift as thought. It attaches to weapons, to heads and hands. Ororo's will gives the lightning unnatural tenacity and keeps her allies safe while a dizzying thunderstrike fills the air with ozone and puts everyone's hair momentarily on end.

The heaviest concentration of bolts lands around her to buy Ororo some breathing room; she seizes the spike from her belt, kneels, and drives it firmly into the ground to help finally complete the magical nexus forming around Wanda and Strange.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint grins savagely as his arrows do their work though it begins to fade when they make ice shields to protect themselves and vanishes completely when the shards come his way. "Okay," he says through the pain as he leaps into the air again, "This looks bad."

He manages a flip with the shards passing just beneath him to stab into the dirt. He lands hard and stumbles, but keeps his feet.

"Oof, going to regret that in the morning," Clint snarks to himself, before Wanda's call has him turning his head in her direction. That head is almost taken off by one of those shards as a new volley slams around him, Clint only just ducking out of the way. He stands, fires off his last explosive arrow, then springs towards the pillar of pulsing crimson energy guiding him towards where he needs to go.

More shards rain down around him, Clint hits the ground in a roll and gets to his feet, only a little way to go, ten feet, five, three, two, one, he reaches back to his quivver and the spike comes to his hand and as he steps into the magical light he drives it into the ground.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    There comes a time when you realise that the immediate future is about to be somewhat eventful and full of incident, caused by the unwise opening of the mouth. Techno had called out to one of the BAMF for a single challenge, and the creature had obliged. It would be easy, the technopath thought, given that he can now look in every direction at the same time, courtesy of the drones. He did not check up. Up is not a direction swordsmen generally attack from. One drone explodes into fragments as a sword bisects it, and that gives Techno exactly one half of a second warning to bring up the staff in a desperate block. The edge of the sword misses his face by a hair, cleaving through the staff with ease.

    It's not looking good for the mutant, as the BAMF starts to toy with him, slicing left, right, everywhere that can only just be blocked or getting through the guard and adding small slices to the myriad of smaller wounds. Until, it seems, the heavens themselves decide to help.

    Ball lightning attaches itself to the ends of the half-staves being wielded, leaving a vicious one-two combo to shock the BAMF into insensibility, allowing it to be snatched away. Breathing a sigh of relief, Bean sees the other teleporter about to run him through a fraction of a second too late. The by now quarter staff is turned in a desperate block... but before the sword can run him through, this BAMF too is snatched backwards by a tendril and taken away through the portal, screaming like a banshee.

    With a grateful nod, Bean touches two fingers of his right hand to his right eyebrow in a quick salute to Doctor Strange.

    There isn't much fight left in him. Dropping the ruined staff, he draws the knife and grits his teeth, adopting a purely defensive posture. Whatever comes will come...

Sif has posed:
The alarm had gone up in Asgard about interlopers not in that world, but in another beyond, dear to Sif herself for more than just the reasoning of very, very good gyros. In seconds, she'd abandoned her musing over whether or not to subject the poor Einherjar recruit to another hundred laps about the training grounds for late arrival. Left under the stern eye of her second-in-command, the Aesir Princess already in silvery armor and red battle-leathers made excellent time to the transport point of the Bifrost itself.

Poor Jotuns. From above in the sky comes a blistering column of auroral light smack into the middle of a collective of them still trying to regroup. Needless to say, the insane amount of celestial energy leaves not a one standing. When the column dissipates, it leaves behind a runic interwining of scorched earth...and one very, very mad-looking Sif, her sword and buckler already uplifted and at the ready. With a battle-cry more akin to a lioness, Sif is immediately into the remaining Jotun giants. Brumeoalfold shines like a fallen star in its arcing blows.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen is done playing with someone else's food and with a pull of both hands, the spell is forced to complete. The eldritch tentacles wrap around each of the nightmareish teleporters and drags them kicking, screaming, and somehow bamfing through the grounds and into the hole into the dark dimension's underbelly. It's not a pretty sight and Stephen drops to a knee to catch his breath from the spell as he looks up and around to find out what the rest of the x-men and crew are doing.

Loki has posed:
From the streaks of aurora borealis that shimmer in the air from the Aesir princess Sif's arrival, the air bends further, the showers of light fluxing against the wind, as if the impact of the battle itself held its breath for just an instant.

From behind where Sif just was materializes a very different silhouette: the sleek, tall mage in battle regalia. The curved golden horns of his helmet gleam and reflect from the bifrost's power, emerald and gold cloak and scaled breastplate glittering. The mage settles comfortably instead of rushing to engage, though. The mischief god's posture is that of bored arrogance, eyes keenly surveying the battle ahead of them, and conferring quietly to Sif something under his breath that also draws a smirk to his lips.

A swing vote to nearly every battle, Loki's intentions are not on his sleeve: they never are. Still, he rolls one wrist back idly, and plumes of little fire globes erupt, like swirling fire spirits, in orbit around that hand, a sly juggle of firebolts.

Then, six automatons step into existence, from the rainbow cascade of the Bifrost; heavy metallic shapes, they pulse with cords of the magic that ties them together: blue runes cover their rock-like metal segments, magic flowing between each metal piece, keeping them together. They are about nine feet in height each, with broad black shields and long spears of runed obsidian metal; they fan out to interlock forward: three on either side as they follow Lady Sif, and guard her sides and flank. Their movement is creating a shiny barricade, but leaving her plenty of space to work.

Spotting some Avengers, Loki tilts his head a little, expression imperious, and.... rather judgmental.

Thor has posed:
And the Frost Giants are still coming? "Those of Jotunheim, return to Laufey's side. Midgard is not yours to rule." Crossing Mjolnir and Gungnir in front of him, he unleashes a godblast of his own. This actually increases his risk of entering an Odinsleep for what he's doing right now, but it's very powerful, as it's backed up by both Mjolnir and the reserves of the Odinson himself.

Using even more of his power, Gungnir and Mjolnir both fly through the sky again! And the incoming Frost Giants now have paired Asgardian weapons flying at them a second time, along with massive blasts of lightning from the massive storm raging overhead. The combined effort of Thor and Storm is truly overkill, as weather goes, and the lightning bolts being called down are massive indeed.

And then more reinforcements come, this time from Asgard. "Brother, Lady Sif, well met!" Wielding Gungnir as he currently is, he resembles his dear old dad notably more than usual. The eyes of the father gleam in the son. Still, he's using a considerable amount of his own power to wield Gungnir. It is no easy feat to use it at full capacity like that.

Moonstar has posed:
Dani Moonstar was sleeping, a not-so-restful unconscious rest, as her body tries to overcome the energy drain of summoning the power of Gugnir. There. There it was. A voice. Was it Odin? Or Brightwind? Funny, they sound the same. Pushing her to wake up. It was so easy to stay deep in slumber, but with a surge of control, Dani opens her eyes to a massive headache. "Ugh." Her right hand pushes up. Her left hand helps, and Dani Moonstar was awake once more to the chaos that surrounds her.

Then, she was standing. Dani wobbles a bit, and finds herself leaning against Brightwind. "I am so lucky to have you my friend." Dani says. Looking at the battlefield, Dani can tell things were chaotic and wild. Her eyes watch as Thor wields Mjolnir and Gungnir. It was certainly a sight. A sight indeed. "To me..." Dani whispers, summoning Gugnir back to her side.

And then it was back. She could feel "HIm" as he was watching over her, another whisper, a "...guard it well, daughter..."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The teleporters are dragged, many of them screaming, into the portal, to face who knows what adversaries. Their dreams of revenge for the taking of the Cheyarafim Crystals ended by the magic of the Sorcerer Supreme.

The Jotuns, just in the act of trying to rally their forces, are suddenly split apart by the Bifrost slamming down into the grass, revealing Sif and Loki's automatons that quickly enter the battle.

Clint sends still more of the Frost Giants flying from the explosions, the heat of which is as anathema to them as are the blasts. As Thor regathers his weapons, the Frost Giants start to fall back. The fissures that glow with the blue icy wastes of Jotunheim start to close as more of the spikes are slammed home to further power the spell. The Frost Giants begin running and diving for the fissure before it can close, some of them propelled on their way by Thor's blast that possibly leaves him woozy at best.

Shannon, Samuel and Megan survive the battle as the last spike is pushed home beneath the thundering skies called forth by Storm and Thor.

The spike infused with the icy magick of Manheim Falls in Jotunheim adds to the protection spell the dulling of senses that comes with great cold.

The spike that possesses the spiritual residue of Rasputin introduces contradictions that machinery and computers built up on logic cannot process, fouling their perceptions.

Finally the spike bearing the remains of the Cheyarafirm Crystals fills the spell with a positive, nurturing energy. A protectiveness that will bind the magic to the students and staff within, looking over them to shield them from outside harm.

The last fissures fade out, and Wanda slumps to her knees. Her hair is frazzled and she tries to get up to walk to where Dani lies unconscious, though her first step is a swaying one, Wanda's legs giving way and dumping her next to Dani on the ground, even as the Valkyrie rises to her feet, and recalls to her that which Odin set her to guard until his return.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
As the spike goes in Clint staggers back, breathless and in pain, but for the moment out of danger, though not entirely out of trouble. He spots Loki and sees that imperious and judgemental look and meets it with a middle finger and a second later an arrow sent in Loki's direction... a putty one and likely no danger to the God of Mischief, but it made Clint feel better to shoot it.

Seeing Wanda crash to the ground by Dani, Loki is forgotten as he rushes to the two women joining them as Dani gets to her feet, "Hey good to see you back on your feet," he says even as he leaves his to kneel next to Wanda. "Hey, Red, better wake up or Pietro is /never/ going to let us hear the end of this."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen pushes himself up off his knee and stands fully, tall, and regal in the glass, the sorcerer supreme isn't happy about the sudden appearance of Loki and it shows as he develops quite the snarl on his face before he walks past and over towards Wanda, rolling the woman onto her back and using his scared hands to usher every one to back up some as he tries to revive her. "Wanda... Wanda...." Stephen whispers.

Thor has posed:
Dani recalled Gungnir just in time, really. Thor was nearly at his limit after dual wielding for so long. He drops to the ground, with his hammer at his side. He's panting quite a bit from all that. He looks like he'd been fighting for days in a row, maybe weeks, due to the amount of his own energy used powering Gungnir. He'll have to spend some time recovering. Might take a feast or two. He was THAT close to an Odinsleep, really.

"...Not quite as ready as I thought for that." Being Gungnir's battery really does take it out of one, even Odin's rightful successor. Still, he was able to sustain it longer than he ever had before, and that was something.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    It all gets to be a bit surreal when the actual gods descend from the sky and drive the ice giants back. I mean, honestly, it's enough to convert someone to the old religions pretty sharpish, given that here there is actual physical proof of their existence, and proof of them doing exactly as they say they would do for those under their protection. Techno processes the sheer momentous weight of that realisation with the spare brain cells he has left that aren't currently engaged in more pressing matters. Situational awareness, for one.

    The field appears to be clear, no enemies remain. But some of the team are down, and Bean is about to utter the age old cry of 'medic' when he sees that others have gotten there first. Good. One less thing to worry about.

    Next he would give the knife back to Clint, but... there's one more thing he needs to do. Because that one, the one in the funny hat, that's Loki. Must be. Thor called him brother. Thor only has one actual brother. Thus, horned helmet is Loki. QED. It's good enough for now, and Bean staggers over, the knife held securely in his hand. The stagger turns into a more determined walk as willpower overcomes fatigue. "Eh, you... Loki, we're not done, you and I..." With a rather peculiar determination, Bean marches up to Loki, noting in passing that he can't feel any of the automatons. Interesting. But closer than is entirely wise, he looks at the tall Asgardian, looks him right in the eye, and says what he had been meaning to say for weeks now.

    "... I owe you an apology. Last time we met, I spoke in haste, and treated you unkindly. You have, in fact, most likely saved my friend's life, and have done a great service to, so I am told, all of Asgard. Please, accept my most sincere apologies for the way I have treated you." And at that, he actually kneels, head bowed in contrition.

Moonstar has posed:
Dani is stunned. Her eyes are blank, the soot and paint from her face was disappearing under the rush of sweat from the battle. Looking down at both of her empty hands, she imagines...what? The Spear of Odin, Gugnir, was back in its sheath on her back. It had become a familiar feeling now, and she had discovered new ways to use it. However, her memories go to the way Thor used it, and she found herself considering using it that way herself.

Looking down at Wanda, and Strange administering to her, she can't help but think how close they had come to losing this fight. It had been close...but with Sif and Loki's arrival, they had won the day. "Doctor..." Dani says to Strange. "...is Wanda alright?"

Looking over at Thor, Dani smiles. "It does tend to take a lot out of you...strange how it always comes back to me...it is like he is still here." Dani's eyes grow wistful, as though staring off into a distance." Watching as Samuel takes a moment to watch as he approaches Loki.

Dani's eyes grow dim. She staggers, and then, Brightwind is there. Her breath comes in jagged whispers of air, as she struggles. The battle, no, Gugnir, had taken more from her than she was ready to accept. "I..." GASP. "...Brightwind..." Trying to hide herself from others, she leans against her true friend. Her companion. Her horse.

Sif has posed:
Jotuns fall left and right to her blade. Sif's a veritable whirlwind of enchanted metal and sheer cussed battle-rage in defense of Midgard itself. The completion of the spell can be felt even in the midst of her defending the immediate area around herself. The automatons move with her and around her to allow no surprise attacks from any angle.

At last, having cleared the lawn to her standards, the Vanir Princess pauses and pants, her shield upheld and sword out to one side along her body, the weapon stained with ichor. Seeing that the worst of things has subsided, the Aesir warrior then strides over with her retinue of automatons in tow to the immediate vicinity of Thor himself.

"It seems Asgard has taken a good stand today," she comments, glancing away from him and to the others, including Dani and her weapon as well as Samuel upon his approach to Loki.

Loki has posed:
Incoming arrow from Clint... Loki doesn't move. It just passes through where he appears to be, and strikes one of the fleeing Jotun. That'll work, too. Which means Samuel has walked up and is offering contrition to an illusion. That doesn't mean Loki doesn't hear, though: the illusory Loki looks down at Samuel tolerantly. "Hm," Loki observes. "I accept your grovel, young human." Yes, the phrasing was terrible, but apology is accepted. Plus, Loki's busy: Samuel has good timing.

A second Loki (maybe the real one?) has appeared next to Dani and her mount. He moves a hand down Brightwind's flank, coming around to Dani smoothly. "Rather insulting to your gods to lose track of Asgardian weaponry," Loki points out dryly to Dani. He reaches out a hand to Brightwind's nose, with a soft, calming magic extended to draw the equine to him. He then aims his other palm at Dani's body.

Wrapping energy, black and dark purple, oozes out of Brightwind's jaw and neck, coiling in a sinister way around Loki's fingers and palms, spanning across, and then is liberally sent, like a heave of energy, to Dani's chest and face. The life-share spell appears quite effective: life drawn from the willing steed into the falling Valkyrie. The lifesteal spell was done with a lot of obvious practice and skill; which is clearly a good thing.

"Now, don't disappoint," Loki instructs Dani with a slippery smile, fading out.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff didn't go unconscious, just staggered and fell. She was able to finish the spell once Doctor Strange was needed to repel the invaders from the Brimstone Dimension, but it was a near thing.

"I'm ok Stephen. I think I've neared a bit of rest after this though," she says, and not trying to get up just yet. She looks around. "Everyone is ok? Clint, your leg, are you ok?" she asks.

The Scarlet Witch's eyes fall on Loki, and she shares Doctor Strange's frown. The last time she saw him was disappearing through a portal from the Tesseract, hot on the heels of the magic stolen from Earth. She doesn't say anything though, just watches him warily for a moment before turning to Dani. "Danielle, are you alright?" she asks, seeing the younger woman back on her feet already.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Well... at least it was done. Bean can't be accused of being the most sensitive of people, or even the most sociable. Or the friendliest... or... well, he'll never be a charming personality. But he understands honor. And when you wrong someone, you offer contrition. The reception was nearly what he was expecting, but with less lightning and fire, so that's a plus.

    He gets up off his knees and starts to limp towards Shannon and Clint. True to his promise, the archer has kept a close eye on her, and seems to have kept her in one piece. "Has anyone told you that you're pretty good with that bow? I feel like someone should, at some point, 'cause you're pretty okay with that thing." And so he offers the knife back "Thanks for that. And everything."

Moonstar has posed:
Dani Moonstar was sinking. Fast. She would never reveal that to anyone though. Strange. The one person to notice was Loki. As he approaches her companion, and approaches herself, Dani can't help but wonder... "Losing...track..." Dani says, as Loki smoothly moves ever closer. "I..." Suddenly, she feels something. Brightwind and Loki move closer to her. It was a wierd feeling, as though the three were inexorably linked. For split second.

Of course Brightwind would let Loki take from him. Dani was life. She was everything. She saved him, and now he would do anthing to return the favour. "How did Loki know?" That what she did was probably her end. Gugnir took so much...she would do it all again for her friends.

"No!" Dani says, her eyes glaring at Loki as he performs his magik. She was too weak to stop it. She felt herself alive once again, not a fading shade, drifting into death. "Dammit!" Dani moves to grab Loki, to have him reverse the spell, but he was gone. "Oh no...Brightwind..." She hugs her companion, feeling his life force ebb, just a bit, to help her to live. "I'm sorry." Another tear. "Damn him...damn him..."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn continues to fight demons, and now frost giants as they come, the soul dagger continuing to exert a strange bloodlust in her mind, and the daggers eggs her on, anathema not just to demons, but to magical creatures alike, spinning and twirling as she slices through the creatures, eventually fluttering above those nearest, spattering them in sprinkles of pink faerie dust, setting many upon each other, others screaming in fear. But she sure is exhausted by now, Wings wilting, winking to the ground as the spell is finally complete, and hopefully demons and giants are starting to retreat. "...Are we done now?" she sighs tiredly, pink eyes, slowly returning to normal...ish.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen tries to help Wanda back to her feet and he looks up and out at the grounds, and then nods to the avengers and the New Mutants present. "Good work. If you need any help, Wanda here likely has the best means to contact me." Stephen says with a sharp nod before he takes a step in the direction of the lake and yet his foot never hits the grass as he simply disolves into nothingness in an instant.

    As soon as Strange is gone, the sphere of weather warding is removed with his presence and so the rains and storms brought on by Ororo and Odinson all come crashing down suddenly.

Thor has posed:
Thor looks up at Dani, and the way his brother chose to...well, heal her. He never liked that spell, but Loki deserves some slack, so long as he didn't notably injure the steed. He opts to leave it alone, and instead also heads over to the Valkyrie carrying his father's spirit. "When we have rested, if it is possible, I would like to speak with my Father's spirit." He phrases this as a request. He also understands there's a chance it might not even be possible. "There are questions I would ask."

"Gungnir is different from Mjolnir. The blessing on Mjolnir grants the strength necessary to wield it, but only if you are worthy. Gungnir, however, takes the power at the core of you and uses it to fuel its own power. It is difficult to sustain it at capacity for long...without the official title of Skyfather. I may be king, but I am not a Skyfather, not yet. It is likely, if you use it at capacity, it will continue to drain you as it did, unless my father's spirit bears most of the burden of using it." He has no other advice on that. "Indeed, if you had not recalled it when you did, I would've likely entered the Odinsleep, as my father often did when he was forced to use all of his power at once."

And then the storm comes crashing down. "I'll need time to calm that down, and I've little energy to use. Best to get inside until I recover."

Storm has posed:
Ororo turns her face skywards and stares into infinity. She can *feel* Wanda's potent spell working. In her teeth. On her skin. The altered flow of magic is as palpable to the weather goddess as the crackling storms overhead are to the X-men.

The rise and fall of her shoulders conveys intense self-control and discipline as Ororo carefully breaks the storm apart as Strange's trinket disappears, and she shoulders the whole burden of keeping the stormclouds at bay. It's slow and painstaking work to unravel it in such a way that a major storm front won't be triggered. Winds gust up and out, blowing chilled air into the upper atmosphere. The lightning dissipates and the hail becomes a sturdy rain. In the space of a few minutes the stormclouds are merely angry, weeping mountebanks in the night sky.

The work done, Ororo allows herself a deep gasp of exhaustion and sags forward. Hands rest on her thighs for support. With a sigh she flops to the ground right on her rump in a boneless collapse of weary relief, ankles splayed out to the side. Her face skywards to finish her communition with the spirit of the earth itself and try to soothe out the weather. From the expression her face, she's as bone-weary as Thor is.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon frowns as she glances between Bean and Clint. It seems, out of all on the battlefield thus far tonight, they were the ones who took the worst of the physical injuries. She assesses each with a critical eye, mentally running through all the other times she's called upon her gift, comparing it to what she has been able to handle before. Bean would know that look on her face all too well. He's also the worse-off of the two, and she turns to look at him, curling her fingers slightly and raising her hands up, palm outwards. "May I...?"

Loki has posed:
"Yes, you're not in Odinsleep; we're all //very// thrilled," Loki's disembodied voice teases Thor dryly from near Thor and Dani, but then he's relocated.

Loki reappears near Sif, as the other illusion(s) -- there were several -- also fade out. He's brushing Brightwind hair off his sleeve, bleh. That's what he gets for helping. Pet fur on him. "Lady," Loki says smoothly to Sif, as the remaining automotons group up near her in the various remains of the battlefield. "I think we've saved them. /Heroically./"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Bean /has/ seen that face before. And he knew what she was going to ask before she was asking. Looking down, he notices many of the wounds for the first time, sees the blood dilute as the rain suddenly comes pelting down, making him very much aware that he's down to his shredded shirt and anyone looking his way could see quite a few of the old scars. A look is shared with the winged healer, and he holds up a hand. "Yes. But indoors, with Triage nearby, okay?"

    And then he drags his mind back up from the pit of weariness in which it threatens to sink, raising his voice to the assembled heroes. "Alright. If you can walk, grab someone who can't and help them inside! Let's get out of this weather."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Heh," Clint says as the arrow passes through Loki. "We keep falling for that."

Then the Trickster God is there, 'healing' Dani, if that's what was happening, Clint doesn't say anything, magic was out of his depth and Strange was right there, if he didn't object then Clint wasn't.

Then both Strange and Loki vanish in their own way, leaving Clint on the others on the wet grass, "Huh?" he says to Samuel before he smiles, "Thanks you're not too bad with that staff either, where'd you learn to fight?" Clint's bet was on Russia.

Wanda's question about his leg has him glance down at it, "Hurts like hell," he jokes, you know? Demon, hell, haha... "But I'll live."

When Shannon arrives, he nods to her before agreeing with Bean's advice, time to head inside. He gets to his feet and offers a hand to Wanda, "Help you inside?" he offers. "And all this?" he gestures around them. "Did it work? Did we do the thing?"

Sif has posed:
"I agree we have assisted in matters," the Princess replies to Loki more sotto-voce, though with no lack of a small and amused smile at the word choice. Her eyes rise to the sky, however, which appears to have opened up with a vengeance. The rain doesn't seem to bother her overmuch; it's cleaning off her sword and armor as is from the spattering of Jotun blood.

Her eyes wander to the grouping around Brightwind and linger. "I do hope their healer can assist them properly," she adds quietly beneath the patter of rain. "This was a momumental effort even before we arrived. Midgardians have such strength. Would that the other worlds recognize this."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods slowly, turning to Clint next, to offer explanation. "Part of my gift is the ability to heal. If you'll permit it, I'm willing to help you as well. Though," she cautions. "I have to let you know that if you do accept and come inside with us, please do not pull or move away till it's done." She'll let Bean fill in the rest as he needs to, turning with Bean to head back for the mansion, and the wellness office. A smile is offered to Clint to let him know he's welcome as well.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn shivers, wrapping her arms around her stomach, kneeling on one foot. Now that the rush is over, she is exhausted, bleeding from a wound in her side, but with more serious injuries to worry about, she tries not to make a fuss as she peers around at new faces, some unfamiliar, others not so unfamiliar. She pauses a moment to regard Dr. Strange thoughtfully, before he vanished. If anyone can assess the hole in her soul, it would be him...If she can find a way to contact him.Glancing around, she raises her voice, a bit shakily. "Anyone need a quick teleport to Wellness office? I think I have just enough energy for that at least.."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff replies to the question, "Yes, the spell is in place now. Should a Sentinel fly overhead, it would not detect any mutants with its scans, nor see anything that does not seem to be a normal preparatory school," she says. Wanda makes it back to her feet with Stephen's help before he departs. As she feels him fade away, she says, "The weather, we had better-"

But before she can finish the sentence, that storm that Stephen's magic was holding outside the school suddenly unleashes on them. "... get inside," Wanda finishes, already drenched by the downpour which is washing out the preparations she'd made for the casting. All's well enough, they are no longer needed now.

Wanda moves slowly over to Brightwind and Dani. She rests her hand on the Valkyrie's back if allowed, and then reaches a hand towards the horse. The red chaos magic that wreathes her hand is visible, if muted in the rain. After a few moments of sensing, Wanda tells Dani, "It is difficult for me to be certain, but I would say Brightwind needs a lot of rest, but I don't know that any permanent harm was done to her." She gently pats Dani's shoulder before letting go.

"Clint, thank you for coming. Let's tell Pietro it was all smooth and no problems, hrm?" she jokes. Wanda looks to Sif. "You are Lady Sif, are you not? We appreciate your help," Wanda says.

Moonstar has posed:
Dani Moonstar snuggles her companion for a few seconds, as the horse nuzzles her. It is a link that can only be broken by death. Something was wrong though. Dani could sense it in their link. As Wanda's hand rests on her back, Dani looks over her shoulder at Wanda, and watches her perform her spell. "Thank you Wanda. I'll see he is well taken care of. That means a lot." Looking over at Clint and Siff as well as the others, she allows herself a smile.

As Thor approaches, Dani clears her throat, and wipes away her tears. Thankfully, Shannon had been making sure Brightwind was well fed with juicy apples, or Brightwind might have been too weak for Loki's spell.

Turning suddenly, Dani tries to ignore her obvious rough state, wipes away the moisture from her eyes, and stands ready. "My Lord." Dani says to Thor, "Thank you. I will...be more careful. It seems that your Father entrusted me with this..." A long pause as she gently taps the Spear on her back

"...gift. I don't know why." Dani looks directly into Thor's eyes, and with a deep breath, continues, "I hear him. It was strange...how he...went away. It is like he is still with me..." Dani sighs. "We will talk further, Odinson. I think he would like that. I can tell you about the end..."

Dani starts, as she hears Loki voice. Her face sours, and she says, in a whisper for only Thor, and the evesdropping Loki, "We are not done, you and I, Loki. I would thank you, but not at the expense of Brightwind."

Storm has posed:
Ororo gives herself just a half-minute of rest. Connected to earth and sky as she is, it's little effort to draw upon the Earth Mother's strength to reinforce her flagging muscles. Like a plant reaching for the sun Ororo rocks to her feet and stretches skywards to shake out the tension in her back and arms.

"Everyone? Everyone!" she calls, raising her voice to be heard. "Come, whatever we are about, it's better attended to indoors. Let's get inside so the medical staff can look our injuries over, and then I think it's time for hot food and warm drinks before anyone catches a cold." Aside from her soaking hair, Ororo looks completely unbothered by the calamitous weather. She strides over to Wanda and nods regally at Loki and Sif. A hand rests reassuringly on the witch's shoulder and she gives a comforting squeeze.

Of a height with the Asgardians, its little effort to meet their gaze. "Lady Sif, is it not? And you must be Lord Loki. I am Ororo Munroe, one of the professors here. You're quite welcome to join us as guests and partake of food and drink," she says. A peculiar stress is put on "guest" and she looks rather pointedly at Loki. Seems the weather-bending mutant understands a little of the culture from which the Asgardians hail.

Thor has posed:
"Thank you, Dani. That is a story I should hear. It is, perhaps, a story all of Asgard may wish to hear, if you would like to come up for a feast. Such a thing is easily arranged. The All-Father was a stern king, but he was nonetheless beloved by most." Including his son, who has found himself missing his dad more than once while stuck with the responsibilities of being king. And those responsibilities were changing him too, as more and more of the decisions his father used to make tend to make more sense now that it's all his call.

"My father no doubt had his reasons, and he had drunk from the well of Mimir and I have not yet done so. I will probably have to to fully understand all that my father did and why he did it. Drinking from the well requires a great sacrifice. It is a sacrifice I will probably have to make at some point." He doesn't seem in any great hurry to do what is necessary to take that drink.

"Thank you, Storm. I will accept your hospitality." He probably could just take the Bifrost, but he's not truly in the mood to do that.

Loki has posed:
Loki promptly splays his hands apart, creating a shield to keep the pouring rain off, the 'bubble' of protection extends about ten yards across, centered on the mage. It's a spell he has used quite often, what with a brother so prone to dropping storms on his head. He magically dries himself, as well as Sif: apparently assuming she'd prefer to be dry, in the mildly glowing magical area.

Yes, the wounded people are still getting rained on. Loki's vicinity isn't; whether others shelter towards him or run inside is on them.

"I'm going back. This group, I've found, isn't very appreciative when I help them. Staying?" Loki asks of Sif quietly, rolling his eyes. But then Ororo came right over and immediately proved Loki wrong. Well.

Loki lifts an eyebrow at Ororo. "Wouldn't want to offend by not partaking of said hospitality," Loki says smoothly, lofty, but his tone isn't directly insulting. He's being polite. Enough. Ororo's manner did not earn her any nastiness: not yet. The bubble of shelter and dry follows Loki when he moves, like a giant arrogant umbrella.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    True to his nature, stoic to the last, stubborn mule that he is, Bean ushers people inside, pointing out the direction for those who haven't been to the school before, but doesn't actually go inside himself. No, he's going to wait until the last one has gone, and be the last one to leave the field. It's a thing... He's certain some people here would understand the sentiment.

    "We'll talk about where I learned, if you want." He mentions to Clint as he passes by. That's going to be a long chat... Possibly quite an unpleasant one.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks slowly as she watches some interactions. She has heard of Loki but never me him, but that anti rain spell is pretty cool and she flutters towards him curiously, perhaps trying to stay out with f the rain. "Wow..Could you teach me that spell some time? I'll bet it'd come in handy.." like uh, now? Looks like no one needs or wants an immediate port indoors apparently, so Megan relaxes, focusing on her own wounds, at least it's nothing tooo major.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon sighs and shakes her head, marching right up to Bean and going toe to toe with him. "Come on. Head inside, please. I'll be right behind you, promise." Her brows furrow, her eyes filled with concern as she looks him over. "Stubborn mule." Oh yes, she knew how stubborn this one could be, in spades. She'd been on the receiving end of that stubbornness more than once.

Sif has posed:
It is a delight to sudden be warm and dry, so much so that Sif looks transparently surprised even as she glances over at Loki. Oh, he is the source of it, of course. Secretly, the Vanir Princess wishes she had such a spell when entrenched in the mire of battle else-worlds. Quietly, she replies to his ears alone, "I am uncertain as to what more aid I can offer them."

However, she turns her attention but a moment later to both Wanda and Ororo, having been accurately addressed by both.

"Yes, I am Lady Sif, well met," she replies, nodding to both women one at a time with respect. "I am honored to have come to your aid. Your skill and prowess in a time of great duress is to be lauded, all of you." She includes everyone present in earshot with this statement.

"Indeed, Lord Loki and Thor both speak truly. Hospitality granted is to be taken, and we all thank you for it." Within the rainshadow of the spell around Loki, Sif walks, comfortable by expression with her nearness to the mage.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Good," Clint declares of the spell working. "Glad that wasn't for nothing," he says before grinning. "What? That's how I remembered this happening. No problems, went as smooth as can be."

Turning, Clint nods to Samuel, "We should do that, I'll look you up," he promises the young man, before he heads inside the school to get out of the rain.

Storm has posed:
More or less by force of personality, Ororo starts ushering everyone inside in an entirely polite and therefore completely unimpeachable self-confidence. Sam's holding the door; she will be the second to last to enter the building, apparently, and nods regally at the X-man holding the door for her.

Once inside Ororo removes her cape, leaving her in the black bodysuit. She's already swiftly drying off, faster than the others, and looks wholly unbothered by the freezing damp afflicting the others. The big fireplace has more than enough room for the party to congragate around it; Ororo joins several students in passing out hot cocoa and coffee to anyone who wants it. Even if it's just for cupping hands around for the warmth.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Once everyone is inside, once he has held the door open for Miss Munroe, giving her a polite nod for her understanding, Bean slips inside. He smiles over towards Shannon and starts to make his way straight to the Wellness Office. In the hallway, he gives a loud whistle, and through the opened Rec Room door Bear bounds out like a furry missile, running two circles around his human before the Shepherd smells what's wrong. For the first time that anyone in the mansion knows, the German Shepherd barks, loudly, and runs towards the door to the wellness office, which is the place where his human can be made better again. He knows, because that's where they keep his squeaky ball toy, and the squeaky ball toy lives at the place where his human has to go when he gets hurt. Bear clears a path, running back and forth to keep that path clear, and then bounds into the office to warn whoever is on duty that Bean is on his way.