I9DT: It never changes...

by **Gideon Rede** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:48 pm

The city was burning. Everywhere the sound of battle. In the town square a line of rioters faced a line of police. Rocks flew through the air and war stood watching the whole affair unfold.

"They will kill you all," War whispered to one of the police officers, "They don't take prisoners, prove you are stronger."

The man yelled something into a bull horn, and the motioned at his men. A line of weapons were raised.

"They take your children," War then whispered to the milling crowd, "They cram you into warrens. Rape your women. Watch you starve...Take everything from them."

Molotov cocktails were lit and one the ring leaders pointed towards the line of police. The line of rioters began to advance. Weapons were aimed, machetes were brandished.

"The god of war favors you."

The last was broadcast to them all as hell broke loose.

by **Hannah Murphy** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:57 pm

Murphy growled at the sight of all the chaos.

by **Derek Scott** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:59 pm

"Jesus," Derek muttered, looking around, trauma kit ready as always. "Gotta take care of this mess before we can touch whoever's behind it..."

by **Janice Gilbertson** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 6:07 pm

"Right. I'm going to try and separate them. Kyra, do we have a fix on what's driving them mad?"

by **Stephanie Kaltiera** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 6:22 pm

Stephanie looked around her jaw agape. This looked more like the evil universe than her own. She let out a low growl and rolled her neck, cracking it as she shifted. She sniffed the air tentatively.

by **Madrox Saavedra** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 6:30 pm

Madrox prepped his riot gear as he observed the chaos.

"Just remember, these people are being manipulated."

by **Gideon Rede** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 6:40 pm

The town square was becoming a mire of blood, fire, and death. The whole city stank of it. It didn't look like a riot as one of the townspeople nearly decapitated a policeman in a fountain of gore before being perforated by gunfire.

"War does not hide, champions," something whispered to them, "Walk onto the battlefield and you will find me. Prove your worth, your strength, and in doing so dedicate yourselves to our cause."

by **Stephanie Kaltiera** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 6:49 pm

Stephanies hackles raised and she let out a long, low growl, her wilder half urging her forward, to tear through the crowd and destroy whatever evil THING was causing so much mayhem. It took nearly all of her willpower to fight it, and stand her ground with the rest of her team, and she bared her fangs slightly in frustration.

by **Kyra Raphael** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 7:27 pm

"That answers that," Kyra said. She reached out to touch the frenzy encompassing the area, letting the power of the emotions course through her like Cassiel had shown her, to change them on the way through to begin spreading her own influence to restore some sense of order to the area.

by **Derek Scott** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 7:29 pm

Derek, in the meantime, had gone to work right away, throwing up a crystal barrier to hold back the mob as he started trying to treat someone who'd obviously been savaged by the other locals.

by **Stephanie Kaltiera** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:56 pm

Kyra's efforts seemed to soothe Steph, at least for now.

"...can you find the source?" she said quietly.

by **Kyra Raphael** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:58 pm

Kyra pointed, distractedly, in the direction she sensed the thoughts coming from, as she worked to make her influence spread and get the locals calmed down.

by **Gideon Rede** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 9:09 pm

Kyra was making headway. The crowd's actions seemed to slow down. Exhaustion claimed some as they dropped down to their knees.

"You do not fight to win, champions. Let me teach you."

All eyes turned towards the group and the emotions exploded from the crowd. It was an inferno where before it had been a candle flame. The crowd surged against the crystal barrier, machetes struck, and gunfire erupted. They were climbing over one another in an effort to get at the X-Men.

by **Madrox Saavedra** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 9:21 pm

Madrox fired a few tear gas grenades into the crowd, hoping to debilitate as many rioters as possible.

"Mind relaying that psi talk we're obviously getting?"

by **Stephanie Kaltiera** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 9:37 pm

Steph stepped up towards the barrier, hoping that if she looked frightening enough, she might give at least some of the crowd pause. She bared her fangs and let out a primal howl.

by **Kyra Raphael** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 10:04 pm

"He's just trash talking." Kyra replied "Trying to goad us into doing something dumb."

by **Derek Scott** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 10:10 pm

"Guys, if we're going to do something, we'd better do it quick..." Derek grunted, reinforcing the wall as he tried to keep the flow of people controlled and unable to climb over it.

by **Gideon Rede** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 10:46 pm

One of the men howled right back at Stephanie before he swung a sledgehammer at the barricade. Then a Molotov cocktail flew over the crystal barricade. Figures in body armor had gathered on the rooftops surrounding the town square.

"So much for the vaunted X-Men. Will you be undone by a mob? Perhaps it is good to see such weakness purified."

Something pushed against the minds of the two feral shifters in the group. It tried to push the beast forward by making the smells of blood and fear stronger.

"Will you be undone by your prey?"

by **Derek Scott** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 10:49 pm

"Damn it!" Derek shouted, unable to help the injured man. He stood up and started using his power more directly to encase the onrushers partially in crystal to bind them from moving and/or attacking any of them.

by **Gideon Rede** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 10:50 pm

Madrox Saavedra wrote:Madrox fired a few tear gas grenades into the crowd, hoping to debilitate as many rioters as possible.

"Mind relaying that psi talk we're obviously getting?"

The tear gas didn't stop the crowd. Some of the crowd collapsed coughing, but others pushed forwards to take their place. The supply of combatants wasn't endless but the tear gas didn't seem to dissuade as many as Madrox likely hoped it would.

by **Stephanie Kaltiera** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 11:02 pm

"Get....it...out...of....my head," Stephanie growled.

They're all prey....all of them...hunt...HUNT!

by **Kyra Raphael** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 12:19 am

Kyra, not letting up on calming the crowds, worked on expanding her shields to envelop her team.

by **Stephanie Kaltiera** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 12:26 am

Steph fell to one knee, clutching her head, growling in pain and frustration. And there was more than just a glimmer of hunger and rage in her eyes.

by **Gideon Rede** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 12:36 am

Stephanie Kaltiera wrote:Steph fell to one knee, clutching her head, growling in pain and frustration. And there was more than just a glimmer of hunger and rage in her eyes.

"They've made you a cage. To keep you from greatness. Why will you not fly?"

Derek Scott wrote:"Damn it!" Derek shouted, unable to help the injured man. He stood up and started using his power more directly to encase the onrushers partially in crystal to bind them from moving and/or attacking any of them.

Encasing them even partially in crystal appeared rather effective. Some of the mob were now succeeding in scrambling over the barricade. Fortunately just those with machetes and improvised weapons.

Kyra Raphael wrote:Kyra, not letting up on calming the crowds, worked on expanding her shields to envelop her team.

Some parts of the crowd seemed to lose their single minded focus on the X-Men. Instead of fighting together they once again turned on each other. Their emotions were keeping the mob cohesive and violent.

by **Stephanie Kaltiera** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 12:42 am

Stephanie rose slowly, her hackles raised, and a low, predatory growl rumbling from deep within. Her eyes wild, a glob of drool lengthening from her muzzle as she started imagining the taste of victory.

...and her teammates.

by **Madrox Saavedra** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 1:49 pm

"Keep it together Steph. We can't afford to have you lose it now," Madrox said as he fought to keep the throng at bay.

by **Hannah Murphy** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 3:00 pm

Murphy tackled Steph, jaws going towards her friends throat in a show of dominance.

by **Stephanie Kaltiera** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 3:40 pm

Stephanie rolled with the tackle, snarling at Murphy, and narrowly avoiding a pin.

NO. NO. NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING THESE ARE YOUR TEAMMATES?! her rational half was screaming. At the moment though she was just hungry for a fight. She growled again and lunged at Murphy to put that bitch in her place.

by **Hannah Murphy** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 4:09 pm

Steph's teeth nipped Murphy's shoulder, cutting into it. Murphy growled back, a deep and warning rumble.

"Not. Our. Prey," Murphy says, head pounding with feral instinct, "He is."

Then she headbutted Steph.

by **Gideon Rede** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 4:18 pm

Madrox Saavedra wrote:"Keep it together Steph. We can't afford to have you lose it now," Madrox said as he fought to keep the throng at bay.

Madrox's efforts were successful at first as it was only stragglers making it over the barricade. Until three pushed over the barricade together swinging machetes as they came.

by **Stephanie Kaltiera** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 4:24 pm

The taste and smell of Murphy's blood combined with her voice--and the headbutt certainly helped--seemed to give Steph pause. She took deep breaths and shifted back to her human form for now, and wiped the blood from her mouth and onto the back of her hand. Her eyes still clenched shut, she tried to regain some composure.

"I'm sorry..." she said quietly. "I don't...deal well when people get inside my head..."

She didn't have long to regroup, however, as she heard company arriving over the barricade. She bared her teeth and shifted into her more Amazonian transitional form and moved towards the combatants, aiming to disarm and knock out as many as she could.

by **Madrox Saavedra** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 4:43 pm

Madrox swiftly avoided the machetes and, as aid came, countered the nearest rioter with a disarming technique followed by a quick knockout blow.

by **Hannah Murphy** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 4:46 pm

Murphy didn't comment, she just turned from Steph and started running through the crowd in her wolf form. Heading as straight for War as she could manage.

As soon as she had a clear shot, she opened her jaws and sent a lance of red concussive energy straight at him.

by **Gideon Rede** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 5:03 pm

One of War's body armor wearing minions stepped between War and the concussive blast. Body armor wasn't really intended for red bolts of concussive energy and the goon flew across the roof of the building past a side stepping horseman.

"Come little wolf."

Meanwhile down below the X-Men were gaining ground. Madrox was rewarded with a cracking sound followed by the clattering of a machete hitting the ground. Then the much more satisfying sound of the rioter hitting the pavement. The other two tried again to take down the android one going high the other going low.

Stephanie was rewarded with a few unconscious or otherwise incapacitated opponents. Though now a trio of policemen had made it over the barrier. Policemen with riot shields who were drawing hand guns.

by **Madrox Saavedra** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 5:51 pm

Madrox agilely moved between the strikes, kicking the blade out of one's hand and continuing his spin to drop down to sweep-kick the other off his feet.

by **Derek Scott** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 8:17 pm

Derek held a handful of crystal shards, weighing them and getting them growing, then hurled them into the crowd so they could burst into their limited, but rapid, growth, binding to anything they struck. It wasn't the most foolproof way of immobilizing the crowd, but it was the best he could come up with that didn't involve a lot of high-output use of his power which would likely run him dry quickly.

by **Stephanie Kaltiera** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:10 pm

"Derek, Kyra, see if you can't get those guns away from the cops before they go off on us or the crowd," Steph said before she shifted into a wolf form to match Murphy's, and slipped through the crowd to back her friend up.once she got close enough, she'd get back to her werewolf form.

by **Derek Scott** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:16 pm

Is this where I'm supposed to say I'm a medic, not a... something? Derek thought as he scowled, not sure how he was supposed to wrestle guns away from the cops, but about to go trying it anyway.

by **Kyra Raphael** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 10:51 pm

Kyra reached out telepathically and found as many guns as she could, then used her mind to float the guns upward, and land them in a pile in front of her. "Can you encase them in crystal?" she asked Derek, smirking just a little. Because, well, it was pretty cool.

by **Gideon Rede** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 11:13 pm

War looked down as the tide turned almost completely in favor of the X-Men down below. He watched as Madrox took out his other two opponents easily. Kyra got herself quite a pile of guns and some very confused looking rioters. Derek was also doing quite well as rioters fell or stumbled with arms, legs, and upper bodies covered in movement hampering crystal. Stephanie would find that her path was becoming rather clear as would Hannah.

"Worthless," War said.

Machine gun's were raised and pointed down at the crowd. There was no hesitation as the goons opened fire.

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