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| A Dish Best Served Cold; [X-Corps] | |
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| Topic Started: Jun 7 2012, 07:52 AM (800 Views) | |
| (Old) Rao | Jun 7 2012, 07:52 AM Post #1 |
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Multiple Ph.D's/ Shapely Behind
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May 19th Noon This floor, it was... odd to be here. The building was supposed to be closed today. She'd hurried back from her trip to D.C. as soon as she'd gotten the call. A Red-Eye flight got her here that night and she hadn't slept a week. Yesterday, much of the X-Corps world had come crashing down, and she couldn't help but feel responsible in some capacity. Her work had led to this mess. Her foibles and ethical missteps had been the cause of all the troubles that had come to the X-Corporation in the last month. It had been investigation into the person who had leaked her work that had gotten Lindwall in the sights of a killer. She knew that. She felt it in her gut. And it was that reason that kept her here, that gave her the mettle to try and make things better here. She sipped greedily at the coffee cup, Hoping to stave off exhaustion for a few more hours. But it all seemed for naught. Her eyes drooped every now and again, her mind begging for some sleep She leaned over, peering into Lindwall's office, where Dead Girl stood looking out of the window that made up the exterior walls of the corner-office. The desk outside was bare, most of what had been upon it taken in for evidence. The broken window had since been covered with plywood, it would be weeks before it was fixed. They weren't even supposed to be up here. It was a crime scene. She looked to the others gathered. "Do we know why Moonbeam's called us here? It seemed urgent but she's just standing in there." She had tried to call to her a few minutes ago, tried to get her attention, but nothing had worked. It was as if she was waiting for something. But what? Harvey shook his head. "I dunno. I figured it was some kind of eulogy. They were really close, Miss Lindwall and Moonbeam here. In fact I think Hartley was one of a very few people Moonbeam connected with. She probably just wants to say a few things. I suggest we humor her. It'll help bolster a bit of morale, I think." Kavita nodded, drinking again at her coffee while she waited for the others to arrive. |
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| Doctor Nemesis | Jun 7 2012, 11:33 AM Post #2 |
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A few hours ago, he'd had a meeting with Xuva, or Mitch for the duration of their infiltration into the planet, and more intimately, X-Corps. They'd caught up, went over mission parameters; the usual that two soldiers would do when meeting up behind enemy lines. When the meeting was finished, they put their "game faces" back on and went back to business as usual. He thought that was how it would be for the rest of the day while he and his partner scoped out more potential humans to be replaced. So color him surprised when he'd gotten a summons from Moonbeam, and requested to convene with the others at the crime scene that was Hartley's office. A normal person would have been confused; a normal person also would have been scared. Ra's was not a normal person though; as a Skrull he was already much more intelligent than a normal person. To compound his superiority, he now had the intelligence and powers of James Bradley; one of the most intelligent minds on the planet. He didn't know the entire reason why Moonbeam wanted to meet them; but he did know at least a portion of it...a very important version. James, before his capture and replacement of course, had established that Dead Girl's powers truly allowed her to communicate with the dead. He, they didn't know how exactly it worked or how powerful it was, but it was easy enough to guess. Hartley had only been killed yesterday, and that meant the Dead Girl might still be able to "talk" to her or call her forth or whatever she did. Again, he didn't know why, but he could warrant a guess. According to her, the dead retained their memories...Hartley would remember what happened to her. If he was right, Xuva was potentially in grave danger. He was presented with a dilemma though if his guesses were correct, and some quick calculations said they were roughly 84.5% so. They had not yet received the signal from the fleet and the Queen; they had to remain hidden. Yet if Xuva was ousted, he would surely be injured, captured, or killed. To make things worse, warning him of the potential danger ran the risk of exposing himself or causing his comrade to act suspiciously in a situation that might have been nothing. Finally...there was the matter of Ra's himself. Xuva was a friend and fellow soldier, but to expose himself to help one and potentially give the enemy mo that risk? Could he take that chance? He didn't think he could. He had time to think on it though, and there was always the chance he could help Xuva without revealing his true colors so to speak. If the chance came, he'd take it; until then... A man who was for all intents and purposes, James Bradley walked into the room in time to hear Kavita and that insufferable Harvey chattering. So disgusting. "More than a eulogy, Birdman;" he said as he made himself known. "Moonbeam is basically a necromancer who is ironically herself also deceased. And what do Necromancers do?" He raised his whiskey flask up and took a sip. If humans did one thing right, it was beverages. "They commune with the dead." Matters of the law, the winged mutant had in spades, matter of the biological and occult...not so much. He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I believe Moonbeam plans to contact Hartley's deceased soul or spirit or whatever phenomena lets her conscious retain itself after death... a Séance." |
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| Venus Dee Milo | Jun 7 2012, 08:45 PM Post #3 |
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Yesterday the world of X-Corp was shaken to its core. The woman that had brought them together was no longer in their presence thanks to some rogue mutant. What had been the motivation behind the murder? Dee did not know. The last couple of hours were spent in isolation. She did not want to be bothered by anyone or anything. Being alone was the best way for her to deal with the overwhelming amount of sadness this whole thing brought on. It was not just Hartley that she mourned. Every time there was a tragedy, Dee’s mind instantly went back to the night she lost her entire family. It was a natural reaction, one that she absolutely hated. Doctor Franklin had taught her many techniques to deal with the stress and sorrow, but sometimes she forgot was learned when it all became so heavy. It was funny that someone without a physical body or mind was still capable of so much emotion. A being of pure energy should not feel like this. Then again she was no alien or god. She was just a woman with an unfortunate mutation. A little while ago, Moonbeam had called for them to gather in Hartley’s office. Dee was not sure if she wanted to, but she did anyway. When she teleported into the room she leaned against the wall. She had been in the same spot, motionless and speechless for awhile. What was there to say or do? It felt odd to be in the place where their boss and loved one was murdered. Moonbeam wanted them here for a reason, a reason that was not made apparent yet. Soon, the brains of the team entered with questions. Dee looked from Dr. Kavita to Nemesis who offered insight on why they had gathered. A séance. Dee was no stranger to things of that nature. The woman grew up in Louisiana, voodoo capital of America. While her family never dabbled in that stuff, she knew people that did. This was different though. Moonbeam was a mutant and could talk to dead people as if they were standing right next to her. “If it means finding out who did this,” Dee finally spoke, “then go right on, fille.” That sorrow she had been feeling suddenly turned into anger. There was a possibility that they would find the person responsible and when they did… she was going to do something very bad, very bad and painful. |
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| Mitchell | Jun 8 2012, 03:39 AM Post #4 |
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"A seance? Jesus," Mitch -- or, rather, Xuva, the Skrull warrior who had been impersonating him for about six months -- muttered under his breath as he joined the others and overheard R'as' speculation. "I mean, don't get me wrong, DG's talent is pretty amazing, but... well, I dunno, it just doesn't feel right. Bringing Hart's spirit back like that, from, well, from wherever it's gone on to? I dunno, I figure if anyone's earned a vacation from this place, after everything she's been through, it's her." He sat heavily in a chair as he spoke, the perfect portrait of a soldier whose leader had just died in battle. He shrugged. "Then again, if she can help us figure out the bastard who killed her, that's probably worth it. I mean, it's probably the same scumbag who leaked the news about your little killer research project, Doc," he added to Rao, "but really all we know right now is they're damned strong, have access to X-Guard confidential information, and don't much like X-Corp. That either doesn't narrow the field much, or narrows it all the way to zero; either way, we can use every piece of information we can get." This was all a ruse for the benefit of the humans in the room, of course; in reality Xuva knew perfectly well who was responsible for both of those things, as well as for replacing the new leader of X-Corp, known popularly as Dr. Nemesis, with one of his fellow Skrulls. But it was an extremely convincing ruse, as well suited someone who had been playing the role for months. Privately, Xuva was slightly concerned; it hadn't occurred to him that once dead, Hartley's spirit might be available for interrogation by Dead Girl's unusual powers. Perhaps she was the right one to target, rather than Nemesis. But, no, his reasoning was sound enough; having cut off the organization's head, it was time for the Children of Skrullos to take over its body, and that meant Nemesis. Now, they would just have to deal with the consequences. "So, what is she waiting for, anyway?" |
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| Lodestone | Jun 8 2012, 10:11 PM Post #5 |
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"Probably waiting for all of us to get here, Mitch," Edmund said as he entered the door. He was haggard, a mess really, and things just seemed to become harder and harder to deal with. With Hartley's demise, the electromagnetic had taken it upon himself to deal with the primary workings of X-Corps. The building was effectively closed, outside of priority meetings and senior staff, until the investigation was resolved. Yellow tape still lined the courtyard below, the glass had yet to be repaired from where she was thrown, and evidence was mounting. Stack that with the corporate affliction that was Project Hope and other personal issues, Edmund wasn't sure how many days he had been awake now. He didn't want to sleep much, either. The body beneath the tarp wandered there. With heavy bags under his eyes, he took a seat next to Dr. Rao and Harvey. "I hope we have enough coffee for everyone." Looking down into his hand, he couldn't remember much of the last few hours that didn't have a cup of styrofoam full of coffee. All the paper work in the world was making life difficult to see. With reduced facilities, the work load fell on a few certain people. Twitching his nose to fight off a sneeze, Edmund glanced at the clock. "Everyone's early and Moonbeam still isn't here. Two more minutes and I'm going to plant my head on this table and catch up on sleep." |
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| Ariel Jensen | Jun 8 2012, 11:23 PM Post #6 |
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Cryokinesis
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Ariel stood right outside of the door to her deceased boss’ old office and crime scene and looked over at the woman whom had called her there; Ariel was honored to have been called to this meeting, but she was also anxious about it as she didn’t really want to be anywhere near the place that Hartley had been killed and she felt how her heart pounded against her cold chest, knowing that if she had been capable of it; she’d have been sweating. She took a deep breath to gather her strength and opened the door, stepping in just in time to hear Lodestone talk about hoping there was enough coffee for all of them. She tried to send them all a friendly smile like always, but it wasn’t like always, nothing would ever be the same again, “I thought about that… I brought two pots of coffee…” she answered and placed the two coffee pots on the table in front of the others. She had been at the office early and had decided to make some of the hot brew as she had expected that they had all been unable to sleep just like she had. “So… We’re all just waiting on… Moonbeam?” She asked before taking place at the table and looking at everybody who was present in the office. Her thoughts trailed off to the guy she had once idolized as her hero whom had been seeing Hartley for the hundredth time since the incident and she felt even sadder than before. Ariel had never been that good with dealing with death, she hadn’t liked it when they had slaughtered an animal back home, and she hadn’t known how to react when a family member had died and now wasn’t any different, though Hartley hadn’t exactly been a part of her family. She didn’t know what to do, say or how to look at anyone, she just wanted to be alone with her grief and work through it by herself, but that was a luxury she couldn’t afford. This was important and so she had to do her best and be professional. |
![]() Profile Thanks to Steve for the awesome Avatar and Signature!!! | |
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| Dead Girl | Jun 9 2012, 08:28 PM Post #7 |
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The corpse called for the meeting. She waited patiently in the office of Hartley Lindwall. She asked the team to meet there. The small afternoon breeze could be heard through the plywood of the broken window. Dead Girl did not move to look at it. She simply stared out the window. One by one, she heard the team entered, and they would wait. As all of the other sounds were heard, the blue tinted girl heard something else; there was a whisper in her head. Not that the living could hear those whispers, but the words being spoken to her was a report. As only the Sergeant could give. Updating her on a request she made, letting her know everything was ready. Her cold dead eyes moved side to side, up and down, looking at each detail that the window overlooked. It was a beautiful view Hartley had a beautiful office. Séances and forcibly raising those who shouldn’t be raised back from the dead, was that what she appeared to be? Of course, she and the dead knew better. She was hardly a voodoo woman would could conjure. The science of her powers came from her mutation, but even in death, Moonbeam had something she believed in. She did as the dead willed her to do. In some cases, they would help her, like they would on that day. All asked what she was waiting for. The Sergeant finished as Ariel stepped in to set the pots of coffee on the table. All were here all were present. It was time. She turned her head slightly to address the team she had called for. “Yes. You all are waiting for me. But not in a sense you think.” She turned her head to look back out to window for another moment longer. “It was urgent and important that you are all spoken to.” She turned around to look her teammates in the eye. They’ll need something stronger than coffee when she’s done. “But first things first…” Her tone grew increasingly darker. She glared out at her team and muttered one word, “Rise…” Just then, the voices of the dead were shown to them. She had to call in a few favors for what she was doing. As quickly as she spoke the words, the Sergeant formed but behind them, slamming the door shut. The entire business had him severely pissed off. Three other spirits appeared, but behind Mitch. They were a particularly party-some poltergeist that she had run into a few other times before. Two of the three held tightly on each side of his arm as the corpse reached behind her back and under her jacket. She did not have a need for a jacket but the Sergeant told her she needed to cover what she was hiding behind her back. Safety tucked into the back of her pants, hidden by her jacket, was a gun. She removed the gun and quickly fired it at Mitchell. The null dart that flew from the gun worked its way into Mitchell’s system; he was depowered, and held down. The gun she held was one used in Nepal. All who went would know where she got it from. Hartley had picked it up during the trip to Nepal; the blue tinted girl turned the gun flat so her team could see the full shape of it. “Wondering how I got this gun?” They would know Hartley picked it up but beyond that, who knew? “Did you think she threw it away? She didn’t.” The corpse looked to the side at the final spirit that stood away from the rest of them. The final soul that stood among them was none other than the former X-Corps leader herself. Hartley Lindwall. Visible for the entire team to see. “I simply asked her.” The Dead Girl looked back to the others and finished, “She’s got something she wants to tell you.” |
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| Basswave | Jun 11 2012, 07:02 AM Post #8 |
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"They're called Skrulls, I think." She said, those facsimiles of eyes standing nail-straight forward, looking at Mitch, or, really, what was supposed to be Mitch. She stepped out from around Dead Girl and took the chance to look at everyone. It was odd, this existence here. She was dead, she knew that much. Whether she was a ghost like you'd see in the movies or hear about in stories, she wasn't sure, or maybe some sort of psychic film left behind in the world, the trauma of her death mixed with some weird aspect of her own mutant powers. The science of it didn't matter. What mattered was that it was very much real. "I hear Skrull and Skrullos alot from a few other wayward psychic musings," she continued, stopping by Ed, giving him a look. "You need to sleep." She moved on, growing ever closer to Mitch. "What the point of this little horror show is, folks, is that this guy, this guy right here..." she stopped in front of the red-mop-topped man being held down and fast, robbed of his stolen abilities. "...He's one of em." She turned to look at the rest of X-Corp, a sort of uncharacteristic grin spreading across her face, maybe too wide for a person, almost ghoulish in nature. She was no longer bound by physical means of course, and her shape was only an approximation of what she knew in life. "And the big kicker? This is the guy who pancaked me on the sidewalk." She turned back to him, face twisting into a hideous scowl that was nothing close to human. "He was green at the time, nothing like this, but I got a sixth sense about this, I can tell who killed me, and I'll tell you another thing." She looked at them all again, eyes darkening, their new rendition of a purposeful squint. "There's more of em." She nodded. "All around. I dunno how many of them are in this room right now, but I wouldn't doubt that there are some. I suggest you all stay vigilant, and find a way to spot them. I can't help you any more." She turned back to Mitch, that ghostly, harrowing grin returning to her face. It was malicious and gleeful, all at once, as if she'd been waiting for this for a very long time. "I have one thing I really want to do though." The spirits holding Mitch lifted him up, and, emboldened by Moonbeam's powers, her ghostly hand, wrapped around his throat, flinging him across the room into Dead Girl's arms. "You all know me." She said. "I'm not generally an angry person, or rather, I wasn't. And normally I'd say save him and get some info out of him, but, well, he won't talk." She crossed back to Moonbeam, to Mitch, and her face screamed in his, twisting into something horrible as it did so. "Make peace with your creator, Skrull." Her voice mimicked his own. "It's the last chance you'll have." |
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| Mitchell | Jun 12 2012, 04:36 AM Post #9 |
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Xuva was not especially surprised when Dead Girl's minions pinned him -- after all, unlike almost everyone else in the room, he knew exactly who Hartley's spirit would finger. He wasn't too worried, though; he could just ooze out of their grip whenever he wanted. The real Mitch, however, would not have known what was coming and would be taken by surprise, and maintaining the integrity of this role was Xuva's order from the Queen herself. So when the cold, dead hands gripped him from behind, he wasted a few precious seconds and then sputtered in mock surprise. "What the -- DG, what the hell are you doing?!?" He would have transitioned to goo-form then, freed himself from imprisonment, but the Purifier null-dart really did surprise him; he hadn't expected that. It limited his options: as long as he remained in this mutant-primate form, it would affect him just as it would have affected the real Mitch. Unfortunate. But the situation was what it was, and if there was one thing a warrior of Skrullos was trained to do, it was adapt to a changing situation... which included the ghost of his victim appearing to accuse him. "This is crazy," he complained. "Look, you guys know me! There ain't no way in hell I'd've killed the boss and you know it. And, look, if you're really seriously gonna believe that there's some kind of Invasion of the Body Snatchers thing going on, these 'Skrull' or whatever, well, then the killer could be posing as any of us, right?" He looked around for a moment, trying to meet the eyes of his teammates, then glared back at the Dead Girl. "So, OK then, what about you? How do we know you're really DG? I mean, we only have your word for it that what you're showing us really is Hart's spirit, and not some pretend-clone-Body-Snatcher-whatever-the-hell thing pretending to be her!" He wrestled, trying to get free of the walking corpses pinning him down, but they were too strong. "Awfully convenient, ain't it? Whoever killed the boss was superstrong, and suddenly a superstrong member of X-Guard learns someone else is the killer, but she's the only one who can judge the evidence! Is that really how we do things now?" He shook his head. "I mean, come on! Think! If I'm that strong, how did these goons hold me down so easily? If I'm really the killer, if I knew what Hart was gonna say, so why'd I just stand there like a dope? Why'd I even walk into this room in the first place? Howcum I'm not the one with a convenient Purifier weapon in my pocket? I'm being framed here." He looked down in thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers in sudden realization and looked back up. "And I can prove it! Look, X-Factor had a telepath working for them, right? I fought alongside her when that Nimrod freak came charging through Mutant Town, did some community patrols with her afterwards. Alix, dunno if that's a real name or a code name, doesn't matter, the point is she can read minds and shit. So OK: call her, bring her in here. Have her read my mind, have her read Dead Girl's mind... hell, read Hartley's so-called ghost's mind, if she's not conveniently immune. Figure out who's telling the truth. Cuz, brother, if you take her word for it that I'm the Body Snatcher here, that just means there's gonna be one fewer guy in the room to stop her when she gets around to pointing the finger at you." |
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| Venus Dee Milo | Jun 18 2012, 12:48 AM Post #10 |
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Dee was in a state of shock from what was just revealed by the ghost of their former boss. She was hurt; she felt betrayed by Mitch and was pissed off greatly. As the other two ghosts held him, Dee felt like reaching into his body and ripping him apart. But no. As Hartley pointed out this was not Mitch. This was not the lovable pink glob that she had grown to know as a friend. This thing before them was nothing but a lying murderer. The betrayal she had originally felt before he was revealed as not the true Mitch turned. She would feel no guilt in taking him out, at least she that was what she believed. Dee did not like hurting people, but this was an exception. Where had the real Mitch been taken to and was he okay? The imposter protested Hartley’s claims and sounded damn convincing. Dee was more inclined to believe her words before his. Once this was all settled, she was sure that the man he had replaced would be found somehow. There was a chance that everyone in the room could be a Skrull and that was a frightening thought. She truly hoped that that was not true because she could not handle even more traitors among them. Dee felt like these people had become her family. When she had nothing and no one they were there to take her in. But what mattered the most at the moment was that this particular one was responsible for the death of Hartley and had to answer for that. Dee stepped forward. “Let me drop this salaud ova a gaud damn volcano. Or should I just rip him apart molecule by molecule?” Purple energy circulated in the palms of her hands as she stepped toward the fake Mitch. |
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| Dead Girl | Jun 18 2012, 01:59 AM Post #11 |
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The blue tinted girl stood as Hartley told the team what had happened. Her anger bubbled in her non-beating heart. When the souls of the dead have their vengeance in their grasp, they tend to get more and more vicious. It brought a little smirk to her face. The Sergeant moved from behind the group to stand near the Dead Girl. The two had been friends, partners, and allies for a long time. The Sergeant knew how Hartley’s death had affected the living corpse. She tucked the null gun back behind her back, as Hartley continued on. The spirits that were holding ‘Mitchell’ down threw him to her. After she quipped her final words, he protested. Moonbeam rolled her eyes. Everything he tried to pull was nothing she hadn’t heard before. Feigning innocence, passing blame, trying to attract the attention to another. Venus stepped forward to the both of them. “Back off, Venus Dee Milo… I can’t know for sure if you are what he is and this is a ploy to free a comrade. I will be dealing with him. I will decide what happens to him. This is my charge. If you thought for one second I called you, any of you, in here to stop me from what’s going to happen next you are all sorely mistaken.” Her echoic voice spoke quick and harsh; she was not going to be Miss Sunshine. “I know you, all of you, want your hands on him… But he’s mine.” Her voice was menacing. She wasn’t playing around. This was no game to her. This was no display of power, or who had the bigger balls. This was Moonbeam, grieving. She had never grieved before. It was a different feeling for her, not one she was used to and she was mad. A deep and proper anger that radiated through her dead body. She was so grateful that Hartley went to her; this was her revenge just as much as it was for the blue hued girl. “As for you…” Her grip on Mitchell tightened. “I trust the voices of the dead. For me they speak louder than any other piece of evidence I could ever conjure. Including minds being read. You slipped by unnoticed. How do I know you haven’t complied more allies?” Her voice was venomous, growing darker with each word. “If you are the true Mitchell… then I will be very sorry. I will pay. But… I don’t deal in uncertainty. I have always listened to the voices of the dead. I am their hand that forces justice.” The Dead Girl moved so Mitchell was in front of her, facing the team and back against the remaining glass window that stood in Hartley Lindwall’s office. “I don’t know who else is like you, ‘Mitchell’. But rest assured, if I find out anyone else who is like you, including people on this team… I will kill them, most brutally and cold, and with a smile on my face.” A hint of a smirk crept on her face, matched her cold tone. “But this…” She paused, sadness bled through. “This is for my best friend you son of a bitch…” Her voice was calm, smooth, and almost serene. But it was in those words the true and deep-rooted anger finally shined through. In a flash, she moved forward with all her strength and power and barreled into the body that impersonated Mitchell. Crashing through the window like it was simple glass and plunging down to the Earth, the courtyard. Where she died. Poetic justice that he be killed the same way. As they fell, she clutched her hands around the collar of his shirt. His body would take most of the damage, but her arms would still suffer from the fall. His back and body crashed into the concrete, she was on top of him, the bones in her arms splintered to pieces, like wood. She leaned over him, straddling him, her broken bones were not plagued with pain. She leaned over him and watched him as he died. “For the revenge of Hartley Lindwall… I have ensured your eternal damnation in the deepest, hottest part of hell.” |
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| Doctor Nemesis | Jun 18 2012, 07:06 AM Post #12 |
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Ra's maintained a look of calm on his face; betraying nothing to anyone when Moonbeam summoned ethereal spirits that forced Xuva to his knees and even went so far as to shoot him with a nullification beam. The powers belonging to Mitch had now been stolen from him...he was essentially helpless. He did however show a slight bit of shock at the sight of a spirit version of Hartley Lindwall. "Hartley...it's nice to see you again." James wouldn't have said anything more; neither would he. To do so might be to make the smallest mistake upon which his enemies could capitalize. His fears were then realized as Hartley ousted Xuva, or Mitch as the one who'd ended her life...the Skrull who had infiltrated X-Corps and aired all their dirty little secrets. This made things infinitely more complicated, but luckily he had anticipated this and was several moves ahead. He was a super genius after all. Now he just had to play his part and keep his own involvement in this unknown to all; not a difficult task considering the imbecilic peons he was surrounded by. He still feigned disbelief and spoke in a mumbled voice to himself. "Death seems to increase temperament. Hollywood finally got something right." When she brought up that there were probably more Skrulls among them, his hand imperceptibly inched towards his gun; she couldn't know it was him, but just in case anyone got suspicious, he'd be first on the draw. Still, he remained calm as she displayed strength she certainly did not possess in life as she tossed him like a ragdoll into Dead Girls awaiting arms. She distored then; changing into some vile looking creature that usually occupied the nightmare spaces in childrens minds and the fantasies of mad men. He stood motionless as Xuva put on a flawless performance; the performance of his life. If this had been Broadway, he'd have gotten a standing ovation. But it wasn't Broadway; it was X-Corps headquarters, and he was surrounded by people who'd seen Hartley's broken body. There was no way they'd listen to him. Also there was the fact that James had been working with several other bright minds on solving this problem. They'd ask him if he had any information. He didn't want to doom his partner; but the die had been cast already...there was nothing he could do. He had to play his part. "The Skrulls are immune to telepathy from what we know. The one impersonating one of the X-Students remained hidden up until the point he attacked Strange. Reading his mind wouldn't reveal anything. And I was running some DNA through my analyzer. I wanted to be absolutely sure before I pointed any fingers; I didn't want to be wrong and warn the impostor." He took a deep breath before continuing; this was hard. "I found a red hair that forensics missed. I'm sure if I went to check the results, it would belong to him." And just like that; he'd help seal his friend and partner's fate; he had to though...what other choice did he have? I am so sorry, Xuva...He Loves You. He was trying his best to keep his partner alive though; as difficult as it was. He put a hand in front of Venus as she very eagerly turned on his powers. "Ms Milo, wait. Telepathy might not work, but modern science can do amazing things given enough time." Time Xuva was rapidly running out of if he didn't think fast. Dead Girl was next; he rage seeming to boil over into reckless and rash behavior. He stepped up, but stayed out of her range; he could possibly be fast enough to nullify her if she got hostile, but he took no chances. "You need to calm down and think, Moonbeam. He could still be useful to us...alive! We've already got one dead Skrull, we don't need another one. And you can't be held above anyone else in this room. Skrulls can imitate a person entirely; you're no exception to the rule. You could just be trying to throw our trail off of you." She turned Mitch towards the window; Xuva...towards the window. He knew what she intended. "Don't be a fool!! Do whatever you want with him after, but we could potentially oust all of the Skrulls with him alive!!" He itched to draw down on her and pump her with enough corrosives to eat away at her flesh; how dare she threaten his kin!! He didn't though; he had to play his part. She threatened him again; with a finality and had the nerve to bring the rest of them into it. "Fine; it's clear my words won't change your mind, but know this. Everything you said goes the same for me. If I find out anyone here, you especially after this little speech, are guilty of being Skrulls...I'll end you. And know that you've potentially doomed us all...because you couldn't wait a bit for revenge." He watched unblinking as Moonbeam threw Xuva and herself through the window and into the open air; they'd hit in just a few seconds. "If you'll all excuse me; I have to go retrieve the corpse for study. And keep in mind what transpired here today. Be on your guard whether human or skrull. None of us are safe." He turned and walked out; a Skrull warrior showed no weakness of emotion...a Skrull warrior he was. [Exit Nemesis] |
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| Basswave | Jun 18 2012, 08:12 AM Post #13 |
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Unregistered
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It all happened pretty quick from there, A few protested, a few snapped. A few saw the reason in keeping him alive. As much as she wanted to agree, well, she was dead. What did she care? Dead Girl issued her words of warning, issued her final ministrations, excepted all responsibility. Hartley, or rather the bit of psychic dust that was left of her, stood back and smiled wide as her face returned to some semblance of normal. When Dead Girl threw him through that glass, though, she let out a laugh. It was grim and gallows. She looked to the others. "Well that was unfortunate huh?" She looked back to them all, watched as Nemesis high tailed it out, shrugging at his demands and his impudence and his anger. "You all mean a lot to me... meant alot to me." She looked at everyone there. "Even you who haven't been here forever." She looked to Ariel, to Venus. "Even the ones who screwed us over." She looked then to Rao. "There isn't a single person here that I never trusted. Not a single person here that isn't here for a reason. I dunno what sort of cosmic bumfuck took place to give me the chance to set things right, to come back, even though I know this bit of extra time is almost over." And almost over it was. She could feel it somewhere inside of her, eating at her. It was all she could feel any more. "But you're all gonna move on. Might take a bit but pretty soon you'll forget just why I was so important. It'll be sad but it'll be important that you do. This place is changing, it's evolving just like mutants did from humans. You're not just here to help people in the short term any more. You're here to be a bigger force in the world. And to be honest, more honest than I've ever been, it's going to be hard." She turned to her office, to the broken window whipping in the wind. "People look at you as weak. At this place as weak. They see us as some upstart that wants to be bigger than they should be. It's up to all of you to show them just how much bullshit that really is." She moved to the window, looked down momentarily before the shade of a face looked back to all of them. "Don't let me down." In that instant, she was gone. Standing next to Dead Girl as she sat perched atop the impostor, she knelt down. Things felt different now. She knew somewhere in the back of her head that this was probably it. As Mitch's shape faded from human to that green twisted frame, mangled on the sidewalk, she looked to Dead Girl. "Thanks." And then she looked to the man beside her, done up in his military fatigues, grim faced and haggard. "Oh, so you must be the Sargeant." She smirked. And then, once again. she was gone. [Exit Hartley Lindwall] |
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| Ariel Jensen | Jun 18 2012, 10:05 AM Post #14 |
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Cryokinesis
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It all happened so fast and Ariel sat still observing everything that was going on around her. She listened to Moonbeam’s speech and felt how the Goosebumps on her arms raised – a rare thing to the icy mutant, as she never got cold or slightly chilled in any manner. This was simply because she was a bit creeped out, especially when the ghosts showed themselves. She didn’t flinch though, she simply sat still in her chair as the ghosts grabbed a hold of her fellow redhead and furrowed her eyebrows as Deadgirl pulled out a gun that had been picked up by Hartley and shot it at Mitch. This however did get the girl to stand up from her chair “Now hold on just a minute. Why would you null our comra-“ she didn’t say more though, as the woman Ariel had come to respect, care about and now miss, formed before their eyes. “Holy ghost…” she mumbled beneath her breath. It all just transpired quickly from there. Hartley revealed Mitch to be her killer, a betrayer and what Ariel understood as a mole for some alienated race and she felt how the anger started to bubble inside of her and how the temperature around her started to drop slightly. Normally she wasn’t one for vengeance that led to blood, but as Venus stood up to kill him and Moonbeam spoke that it was her who would end the imposter, Ariel simply crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. She was angry and hurt and for some reason, she now understood Paige Guthrie’s words much better now. She sat back down in her chair letting go of all her normal morals and though she’d usually think they should let the guy have a trial, she wasn’t about to be the one standing up in his defense. That’d have to be another ones place to do so as she trusted Deadgirl’s powers and she trusted Hartley’s words even more. It was Dr. Nemesis that came to the murderer’s aid and his words did make sense to her, but she didn’t much care. She was caught in a rage that wanted to see him dead, just as much as the others, so she simply sat still with an observing eye, not noticing how the temperature around her dropped even more. She wasn’t going to interrupt, for once. She looked as Moonbeam crashed Mitch – or what looked like Mitch and herself out of the window and Ariel couldn’t help but to let out a light gasp. It was hard to see two people that she had come to care about jump out to certain death, even if she knew that one of them hadn’t been the person she cared about and another could take it. She looked up at Dr. Nemesis as he spoke and almost threatened them all with his warning. He was right, they had to be careful, but if they were all careful and kept to themselves, then it’d quickly become a survival of the fittest game at X-corp and they wouldn’t stand together as a team. Hartley spoke a few last words to them and Ariel smiled sadly at the spirit as she looked directly at her, “Thank you… for everything.” She said her voice very low. Hartley had given her this chance to become a part of something that was slowly growing into something big. She had found use in Ariel and given the icy girl something to do with her life, which had been the whole reason for Ariel to come to the USA. After Hartley disappeared and Dr. Nemesis had rushed out Ariel stood up and looked at the ones who had stayed in the office along with her. “Well… This was interesting and disturbing… So what are we gonna do now?” she asked and looked over at Lodestone, “Are we gonna keep to ourselves and be on the hold for another one of those Skrulls or are we gonna continue on like a team and trust in each other?” She asked quite bluntly. |
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| Mitchell | Jun 18 2012, 08:06 PM Post #15 |
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Unregistered
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As he looked around the room, it was increasingly clear to Xuva that his argument, compelling though it seemed to him, was not getting much traction with the rest of X-Corp. Privately, he suspected this was just typical primate sentimentalism leading them to value the testimony of their recently deceased leader over anything else. Which meant that if he could get them thinking with their limited brains rather than simply emoting he might still stand a chance. That it has come to this, he thought wryly. My life now depends on the ability of primates to think clearly. The energy-being known as Dee was the first one to put those fuzzy-headed thoughts into words, but Xuva suspected she was not alone. Amusingly, it was the walking corpse who called her off. "I will be dealing with him. I will decide what happens to him." "Well, that sure didn't take long. The boss is barely cold and here you are taking over... but of course that's just a coincidence, right, DG? Or whoever you really are? It's not like you killed her, nah, of course not, you're just taking advantage of her death to run the show! And of course you don't need evidence... your word is law now, huh? Judge, jury, and executioner... and you're tough enough to make it stick. Gotta admit, it's pretty slick... whoever these skulls or skrulls or whatever are, they picked the right person to replace. You've got everyone suckered. Or at least you've got them too scared to say anything to your face." It was clear he would never convince her, of course; she knew she wasn't a Skrull. The best he could hope for was to stall long enough for the effects of the null-dart she'd shot him with to fade; then he could use Mitch's abilities get away from this would-be firing squad without giving away his impersonation, leaving them suspicious of one another. What he didn't count on was how far the Dead Girl was willing to go for her vengeance. He'd hoped that she would take the time to explain herself to her colleagues, try to prove that he and not she was the doppleganger. Instead, she was as good as her word; by the time Xuva realized that she was genuinely throwing him through the window rather than merely posturing, she'd already done it and gravity had claimed him. I'm sorry, he said privately to the spirit of Skrullos, I have failed you. His cover was blown, now, and his failure complete; the only way for him to escape his fate was to shift back to his natural form and phase out of her grip, thus revealing his status. And he could not avoid that revelation by simply letting himself die; upon his death his body would revert to its natural form anyway. "You have won nothing on this day, you noisome abberation," he whispered into the Dead Girl's ear as his body shifted, sloughing off the pasty mammalian shell and resuming its proper color and texture. Then he triggered the phase-shift that would take him to safety. And nothing happened. Xuva wasn't sure why not. Perhaps it was an interaction with the null-dart that had permeated his primate cells. Perhaps it was an interaction with the necromantic energies that animated the Dead Girl whose hands were wrapped around his throat. Perhaps both at once, or perhaps something else. He didn't have time to think about it for long before the ground smashed him to fragments. He didn't die right away, although he knew it was only a matter of seconds. He wanted to take the undead creature with him, but nothing in his body responded to his will. Very well, then, he accepted with the stoicism of a true Skrull, ignoring her melodramatic threats. "When we arrive..." he promised laboriously, "we will... end you... as though... you had never... been. HAH HAH HAH HAH -- urk." [exit Xuva] |
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7:31 PM Jul 11