X-Men: Darkest Days

IC: New York City

"Well, this is messy."

All the blue-haired girl wanted to do was to hitch a ride to the Big Apple and see the sights, maybe mock a few Yankees supporters or two along the way. It was never supposed to be ridiculously strenuous or tiring; she had enough of that in Vegas already. She'd just wanted some relaxation, but sadly, fate just decided to screw up her life and completely devastate the metropolis and prevent her from obtaining any enjoyment. Really, all she needed was another gunshot to the chest and it'd be Vegas all over again.

Not that she wanted to be shot or anything.

"Right," she muttered, climbing up a mountain of rubble. "Survival. Nobody's going to bail me out this time, so hopefully absolutely nothing will go-"

A blast rocked the area around her, sending her crashing to the ground. She winced in pain; she just had to annoy Murphy, didn't she? At least there were no people trying to kill her this time. It was the only thing that made the chaos surrounding her better than Vegas.

There was an audible click, one that she recognised instantly. Craning her neck, she tensed up at the sight of two Hydra soldiers pointing their weapons at her. She really should not have tried tempting fate again. Slowly and painfully rising to her feet, she gave the two soldiers an intense glare.

"You know what?" said Gabriel McKnight, the resident genderbender of the X-Men. "I have had enough of all this ######."

And Wolbachia promptly punched one of them in the face.

IC:

Alaric's smile widened, blossomed into something fuller; there was a wordless nod and then they just settled back into the routine of staring at each other. After a couple minutes the hyperkinetic blinked a couple times like someone who had just been snapped out of a deep nap and then grinned again at Tara. Come on, his eyes dared her as he beckoned with one finger to sit next to him. You've had your fun.

Taralynn blinked back. She didn't move from her perch and Alaric rolled his eyes. Fine. We'll play that game..

A quarter of a second later, he was sitting on the bench next to her, having crossed the steam room before she could register even the intention of movement. His arms were wrapped around her from the side, and whether thanks to the steam or natural warmth his embrace was warm and comfortable.

IC:

Brando, a SPAS-12 in each hand, froze up, his face obscured from view by all but Siegfried by the way he stood near the window. When he spoke again his voice was tight and controlled, with a posture to match.

"What do you mean, you think you saw Stark fall?"

IC:

"Huh. Was that Stark that just fell?"

Daken Akihiro was pensive, sitting propped up against one of the AC units on the skyscraper. He was shirtless and stretched out, watching the battle rage in the highest skies, the lowest grounds, and everywhere in between; his posture was one of ease but his muscles flexed beneath his skin now and again, ready to be put to action. The plan was calling, and it wouldn't get off the line; Daken didn't pick up instantly, for he found the ability to languish now and again soothing, if not absolutely liberating. As for the girl under his arm, well...who knew.

"Dowhaa?"

Noel Rogers yawned and picked her head up off his chest, stretching out as she started to come to. Undressed and still slightly dazed from all the pheromones Daken had pumped into her, she looked around, first up at him, then at her Stark battle suit, lying in pieces on the ground from where she'd shed it, and then to the battle in the sky. From the look on her face, the assassin realized that she'd awoken to his words and was just now realizing Howard Stark's sad, final fate. Her eyes widened and she stood up waveringly, still dazed. Daken mimicked her and cut her off quickly, holding onto her wrists with his hands. Over her shoulder he could see her clothes, badge and weaponry in a pile by the AC unit. She strained and struggled, pushing against him.

"Move!" she groaned through gritted teeth, trying to shove the muscled assassin out of the way; she clearly hadn't realized he wasn't an actual FBI transfer yet, though from the growing look of panic on her face she seemed to be getting the idea into her head right...about...

"Howard!" she screamed. "I have to...help...Howard!"

Now.

"Calm down!" he yelled, emitting a pheromone to make her do so. "Just calm the ###### down. I'll take you to Howard. Just calm down."

Her eyes were confused and wide, still angry and betrayed but now displaying a glimmer of hope in their blue depths. Daken smirked and moved his hands up her wrists and over her arms onto her bare shoulders. His gaze was still pensive and casual but now had a gleam to it, a sort of bloodthirsty boredom. Noel didn't catch it; even in her mind Akihiro could see her obsessing endlessly over whether Howard was going to be okay, or whether James was going to be okay, whether she'd lose someone else like she lost Ares and Brando.

"You...you will?"

"Of course," he promised, right before he pulled his hands away from her and gutted her with his right claw. Blood squirted from the wound and down his right arm, giving it the same tattooed look as his left, but his eyes never left the shocked, wounded eyes of his prey. "Bon voyage~!"

His left claw slid forward as he reached back and swung an uppercut towards her jaw. There was one final squirt, one that blossomed across his chest and arms and it was all over for Noel Rogers.

With that done, Daken reached over, balanced on one set of tiptoes, and plucked his tank top from the AC unit. Sliding it over his frame, Daken plucked Noel's badge and gun from the pile next to the unit and then walked back over to the Iron Man suit Howard Stark had designed for his equally-doomed girlfriend.

Someone should really give this thing a new home.

-Tyler

IC: "I think..."The tears were coming faster now."I think I saw his suit get taken out... And he fell..."

IC:

Brando put down the combat shotguns on a crate and ran his hands over his face with a low, growling sigh; he looked tired and worn, his normal good humor and nonchalant attitude having slipped away like the skin of a snake at what he was hearing. When his hands dropped to his sides again, they were shaking. He put them in his pockets and then put his head against the crate, not meeting the eyes of Siegfried or Erin, but the teary, confused gaze of Natalie herself. His heart broke for her, but not just for her. For Howard, too, and for Noel. Good God.

"Do you think he could be...?"

-Tyler

IC KnowerSeveral, if not all of the SHIELD forces would receive a voice resounding in their minds."All SHIELD agents on the ground: you wouldn't mind me giving a head count, would you? We've gotten separated, so I thought it would be a good idea to figure out who's still alive and where everybody is."I was crouched behind a building, taking cover from gunfire. My suit of armor was now peppered with bullet holes; fortunately, I still had a layer of battledress underneath. Still, it was time for a change of plan. Grabbing an assault rifle from a fallen HYDRA soldier, I looked over the barrier and shot at some enemies: miss. They shot back: miss. I ducked behind my cover again. "What was I thinking, not taking any guns?" I thought to myself.

IC: "If he did survive a fall from that high... Hydra would..."Natalie's indigo eye dulled, turning from glowing purple to just plain color. Brando and James were the only people she'd known longer..."How... How could he be gone?"

IC: NPC Hydra Soldier, NPC Military

The Hydra soldier Wolbachia punched in the face stumbled back as a rivulet of red ran down from his nose. "You son of a," he said as he brought his rifle up trying to get a shot in but she was far too close.

As the streams of rockets burst from the air-force they smashed into the Hydra floating base. Explosions tore through the base. Even as it fired back, blowing some of the fighters out of the air but they kept coming. After a few minutes a massive explosion tore through the structure and it began to fall through the air burning towards the ground below.

"Whooooo! And that's how we do it boys!" the squad leader of the fighter said over the comm.

On the ground there were soldiers everywhere running alongside tanks as they battled Hydra's land-craft.

"Grenade!" a soldier yelled as he primed it and tossed it at a group of Hydra soldiers. He went for cover as it exploded taking out the soldiers.

IC: Triblade, Mimic

Matt ran and ducked behind a car as a small group of soldiers ran down the street. He was breathing hard trying to ignore the smell coming from John as he knelt on the cracked street. He suddenly heard a voice inside his head. I'm not an SHIELD agent, one of the X-Men actually. But we're on the same side. There are two other's with me. Well three but one is out of commission.

Christine landed near Matt she ducked behind the car as she wiped some of the Hydra soldier blood off her. "I need your powers just in case." she said as she placed her bare hand on Matt for an instant.

"John doesn't look too good." she said.

"I know, but I think he can heal from this."

IC: Gabriel McKnight

A second punch slammed into the soldier's stomach with great force, and Gabriel smiled, her powers flowing through her arm and into her opponent. It was actually somewhat amusing, watching people react to their transformation. Not that she was going to care for the soldier she had just defeated; she still needed to take out the other one.

"Hi, my name's Gabriel McKnight. And I need to take my frustration out on you."

IC: Taralynn, Las Vegas. Hotel Spa.

The moment Alaric put his arms around her Tara sunk her head onto his chest. The embrace was warm and perfect. Tara mentally shrugged. Her plans for sleep could wait if Alaric was the one in her path. She closed her eyes and breathed in softly. Even if she'd stay like this until he moved, she wouldn't admit that she'd lost.

Ic: Nathanael

Nathanel stood up off the soldier and turned around into a gunbutt straight to the face. He recoiled for a second, then slammed his fist into the man's chest with one hand and grabbed his arm, pulled and brought his knee up to the man's jaw with the other. Nathanael cocked his head to the side and took a step forward as a soldier aimed at him. He took another step forward and the moment he got within range headbutted the man. He then reached forward, lifted the man by the his collar as he started to fall, snapped his neck and threw him hard into one of the other men.

IC:

He smiled and gently leaned back to prevent the swaying his upright posture would inevitably cause. With his shoulder blades propped against the wall of the room and steam floating around them like an amalgamation of spectres floating around them, all seemed to be at peace. Tara's body was warm, and her head felt familiar against the contours of the pillow that had become of his chest. Alaric played gently with her straight orange hair and kept it from clinging to her back and possibly tangling; gentle but firm, his grip straightened out any kinks with seemingly no effort and when he was done he let it slip wistfully from his fingers and fall over his arm while she leaned against him. She looked up at him with a gentle smile, eyes still mostly closed, and even though he knew she couldn't see him he smiled back.

Then he leaned forward into her, and for the second time, their lips met.

-Tyler

IC: Taralynn, Las Vegas. Hotel Spa.

Tara's mind exploded into activity as her lips met his. It took her second to pull away and when she did it was only to process what had just happened. One second she had been laying soundly on his chest, eyes closed, contemplating sleep and the next something warm, delicate and wonderful pressed against her lips. A kiss. It was beautiful, it was perfect. And most of all it was unexpected..Tara sat there for a second, blinked and then pressed her lips back to his, She hadn't expected the kiss but she did want another one.

IC: NPC Hydra Soldier

The soldier was promptly transformed into a woman. She screamed with shock as this happened even as she doubled over do to Gabriel's blow; her rifle falling from her hands.

IC: Gabriel McKnight

Gabriel ignored the scream from the other soldier, sending a kick flying into her new opponent's chest.

She needed to get this over soon before anyone else came.

IC:

Alaric's lips pursed and then split slightly, revealing about a third of his perfect smile as he pulled away from Tara after a second, one soft hand in each of his. His eyes looked into hers, and again there were no words to be spoken even if they cared to attempt them; slowly and gently he pulled her into his lap so that he wasn't kissing her from a rather awkward diagonal position. He reached up with one interlocking, closed hand and brushed stray bangs from her brilliant tangerine eyes, and then his hands moved backwards to her shoulder blades as he embraced her and kissed her again.

Makeout sesh in a steam room. Check that one off the bucket list.

-Tyler

IC:

You know what really, really sucks?

Teleportation. Of all the mutant powers in existence, teleportation is the most irritable. Let me give you a brief little recap for you.

My legal name is Christopher Hailey. I'm from another dimension. I'm the child or Rouge, a lifeforce-absorbing mutant who could also take memories, abilities, and powers with that lifeforce. I also had the ability to shapeshift, at a cost. I had no original form. I was born looking like someone else. And up until god-knows-when, I've spent my life looking like someone else. My home, which I don't really care for, was invaded by aliens, and everyone died. I came to this dimension to find a person who died in the other dimension to kill the aliens. In doing this, I got left behind. So this universe's version of the X-men take me home. We go to Vegas, we loose god-knows how many teammates, and then we get back to find that our headmaster, and leader, Hank McCoy almost had been killed.

Guess who did it? My mother. Not my biological mother, but my adoptive mother, Sarah Hailey. So, she runs away, I go to look for her, and this called John is out to kill her. What do I do? I fight him. As a result, he cuts off my right arm. I switch to a different form to get away, and almost die from loosing blood. I wake up to find that I can no longer shapeshift, and I'm stuck in the body of a girl I've never seen before. Did I mention that I only have a left arm now? Yes, I know I have problems.

So, since I don't have anything to wear on the upper part of my body, I manage to find a 'friend' from my dimension, and get a shirt from him. Since at this point, I had no idea of what I'm supposed to be doing, I go outside to relax, and then I'm kidnapped by the mutants who live underground, and join into a plan to jailbreak some of their friends from the big house. That doesn't go as planned, and it culminates for me in an attempt to knock out a guard. What do I do? I remove and discard all my bandages, and claim to have my arm to have disappeared when I was randomly teleported into the big house while waiting for my boyfriend. That doesn't work, so I manage to throw my shirt at the guard's face, which led to a brawl over who is allowed to hold a gun and possibly kill the other. The guard gets the upper hand, and was probably about to kill me, when all of a sudden... Bamf! I'm standing in the foyer of the ole' institute, wearing nothing on my upper body, and being disoriented as .

And that has been the life of Christopher "Kristen" Hailey. And my god, it sucks.

---

I don't suppose you've ever been teleported? No, I guess not. Well, when you're teleporting yourself, you're usually in a higher state of focus, in which you can coordinate where you are, where you want to go, the movement of your molecules as you tear open a hole in space/time or whatever, and the openings in space/time-whatever that allow you to teleport. It actually is pretty fun, as long as you're in control. However, other people teleporting you is not a fun experience at all. In fact, if I had eaten lunch, I would've thrown it up. That's how disorienting somebody else teleporting you when you're unprepared is. I saw several students rushing back and forth, some in panic, others looking grim. A few glanced at the topless girl that had suddenly appeared, and looked sick to her stomach. I'm not entirely sure who took notice of me, but to this day, I get the feeling that one of them took a picture. Which also sucks.

Now, I know what you're thinking, 'Kristen, why didn't you cover yourself up and proceed to beat the tar out of them?' Or something along those lines. As I said before, teleportation is disorienting. It was like having your blood rush to your head and being unable to see, but ten times worse. Instead of having it wear away in a few seconds, it lasted for minutes. To make matters worse, in my fight with the guard, I had gotten hit in the head, and had probably suffered a concussion or something of the like. After finally being able to pull myself together, I blushed when it finally hit me that I wasn't wearing a shirt. After making sure my arm was positioned so no one else would see any specifics, I went out, staggering through the halls, looking for someone that I recognized.

Afterwards, it passed through my mind that this is what having a hangover must feel like.

IC:

"Jeeeezus, Card, cover up already!"

While Tali got to work cleaning up the nitroid-afflicted adolescent, and Alex stood around to himself moping, the resident darkly dressed Ultimate snark god/prettyboy had taken it upon himself to stand against the corner of the wall and fire verbal shots at anybody he saw doing something he didn't like. There was, however, a special place in his heart for the people who had come with him from his home universe and hadn't gone crazy; this, plus the fact that he could feel the hormones of everyone around him raging as the once-shapeshifter approached him, led him to groan loudly in disgust and wedge his eyes shut as she approached.

"Here, Good God, put this on," he begged, taking off his short sleeved shirt and tossing it at Card. "If you wanna go around looking like that, at least move to France or something."

-Tyler

IC:

Deep breaths. Deep breaths always help. So does counting to ten.

"Thanks," I replied, partly relieved, partly ticked that he had to make a joke about it. Taking the shirt, and quickly putting it on, I decided an apology was in order.

"Sorry for loosing your shirt Dallas," I said, bracing myself for whatever mood he was in, "I didn't get the chance to pick it back up after I used it for a distraction."

IC:

"Well, as long as it helped you escape from the war zone you look like you just crawled out of," Dallas replied idly with a wave of his hand. "You good? Need a doctor? I hope not, from the looks of things every one of them is dead around here..."

-Tyler

IC:

Novocain's remains... Or what appeared to be left of them. The doctor comment solidified my assumption. What I did next, if observed anywhere else in the world, would probably have resulted in me being called in about disrespect or something stupid like that.

I spat into the puddle that used to be the mad doctor.

"The only thing that I might need a doctor for, would be for a new arm," I declared, starting to frown.

"Outside of the mad doc finally getting some help in kicking the bucket, what else have I missed?"

IC: Ultimate TaliTali helped Jason to his feet, sending him off.Normally, her powers were temporary, but Nitroids weren't permanent either.She did a double take at Dallas, running her eyes over him quickly before turning away, cheeks tinged with red.That other person... "Chris?"

IC:

"Alright, before we advance forward with this conversation, I'd like it to be known that I'm going to try to go by 'Kristen'. Seeing as how there's already a Chris, and Christopher isn't a very feminine name," I said, placing my hand on my hip, feeling very uneasy with what I just said.

"That, and I can't change how I look... So... Why not try to adapt to it?" I said, trying to justify my statement to... Myself. Honestly, my feelings on my gender at the moment were mixed. You're talking to a shapeshifter who doesn't even know how he, or she, has looked like. I had always been raised as a boy, getting convinced to get hyped for boyish stuff like video games, sports, and pummeling my rivals into the dirt. , I didn't even know what girls do in their spare time. Ever since I woke up after my fight with John, it felt like two parts of me were trying to assert themselves. The part that's all, 'you just got stuck in a form you assumed', and the other part, which slowly was gaining more and more traction in my mind as the truth.

'I was always this way.'

God, I need a psychologist.

"So... Tali, good to see that you're... Alive."

IC: Shutdown"Good to be-"She froze for an instant, then continued."If you need any help adjusting..."

IC:

"This is hella awkward."

-Tyler

IC:

Twitch. Kristen's eyes were wide open as she stared at her reality's version of Tali. Was she talking about her? As in how she currently was. Assuming that she was, a wave of embarrassment, then anger washed over Kristen as she finally decided that Tali had been talking about her.

"I don't need any help," She declared, her face starting to burn, "I'm perfectly fine."

IC: Tali refocused. Her mouth fell open and she put a hand to it."No, no, I'm sorry. I wasn't- No, was saying it was good to be alive, I just...""I'm sorry. If you want me to mind my own business I will."

IC: K

K almost smiled as another soldier dropped from the sky. He then flung himself forward into another soldier. Maybe, just maybe, things would look up. He cursed as another man shot at him, then reached out in panic. Immediately, a flash emanated from his hand then the soldier dropped. He had no idea what he had just done but it worked, so he didn't care.

IC: Nathanael

Nathanael leaped forward, using the element of surprise gained from the earlier thrown body, to grab the next man by the throat and pull him down then slam his head into the pavement. The moment the man's head bounced on the concrete, Nathanael pushed himself off the man's body with one hand and stole his gun and threw it with the other. Nathanael dusted himself off and walked toward the last soldier. The other having been taken out by the gun throw. Nathanael stopped mid step as the last soldier turned his gun on him and opened fire. He stumbled backwards, looked down at the smoke pouring from his chest then launched forward, grabbed the man round the arms and unleashed two beams of sunlight.

IC: NPC Hydra Soldier

The kick connected forcing the Hydra soldier to stumble back. Her head impacted the wall behind her hard. She slumped down it quickly falling unconscious.

IC: Triblade, Mimic

Matt watched the aerial battle. "Its seems like the military is finally stepping in." he said.

"Looks like it." Mimic muttered as she reloaded her pistol with a few extra bullets she'd been conserving.

"Let's get John back to the mansion. I think between the military and that group of Avengers and SHIELD agents New York should be okay."

"New York lots a lot of innocent lives during this battle. A lot of damage too. This will scar the city for a long time." Mimic said as she approached a beat up looking black Ultima. She grimaced as she found a male body peppered with bullet holes laying next to the open door of the car. Gunned down by Hydra soldiers. The whole thing made her sick. It was like WWII all over again.

"I hate to do this but we need his car." Christina said before she picked up the keys off the ground. She fitted them into the ignition before climbing into the driver-seat.

"Let's get out of here." she said as she fired up the engine.

Matt jogged around to the back and placed John's body in the backseat before running around to the passenger side. He climbed in quickly not bothering with a seatbelt. "Let's go."

IC: Gabriel McKnight - New York City

The genderbender shook her head. She'd expected better of trained professionals like HYDRA. Really, to be taken down so easily by a teenage girl with barely any combat skills? When the two awoke from their unconscious state, then they'd be incredibly embarrassed by their defeat.

"Although," muttered Gabriel. "I've been feeling ... different since the hospital."

Following her escape from Vegas, there had been a new strangeness to her body. It was as if her reflexes had sharpened intensely; everything felt so different and awkward, and it took her quite a while to get used to everything. She had no idea how it occurred, but it had definitely not been the hospital. Nobody injected her during her stay.

"Well, better get these two to some safe area. Need to make sure they're alive when this is all over."

IC:

"No, I thought you were referring to... Something else," Kristen said, feeling even more embarrassed now. She rubbed her eyes with her only arm, more than obviously still uncoordinated.

"Uh... Can we start this conversation over again?"

IC: K

K's panic was beginning to subside. Barely. There were only four soldiers left and with them gone things would be rough sailing from here on out. He turned toward the nearest soldier and flung himself forward. After this four were done he'd make sure the guy was safe one more time. Then, he had no idea actually but he'd figure it out. K's thoughts raced as he slammed into the man. 'One down. Three to go.' K thought to himself.

IC: Nathanael

Nathanael let go the smoking man's corpse and dusted his hands off. He walked forward, a large grin on his face as he viewed the carnage and absentmindedly reached down and flicked the bullets from his chest. He hadn't just made them pay, he'd made them pay, he thought to himself as he flexed and walked to a street lamp. There wasn't a single one of them left awake, let alone alive. Aside from the one smoking on the ground all of them were bloody messes. He laughed to himself as he leaned against the pole. That had been fun. Now he just had to figure out what to do next. He could do some more fighting, he could look for the intruder or he could rest and loot. Fighting it was. He stopped mid-step as he went to pass the pawn shop and something glinted in the corner of his eye. "Alright, ratch at. ootin' it is'." Nathanael said to himself as he turned and walked to the pawn shop. He was still going to fight, most definitely he was, but that didn't mean he couldn't do a little looting first. Nathanael grinned as thoughts of gold, sliver and jewels filled his mind. All of it, all of it was wonderful and all of it would be his, the gold,the sliver, the gems. He was glad he stopped to loot. Nathanael, once again stopped mid step, as he looked up and saw the group within the pawn shop. "****, ot' again!" Nathanael thought to himself as he stood there dumbfounded, his smile falling from his face. Once again, his night had been interrupted by intruders.

OOC: Hm. Couldn't handle the whirlwind ride when I joined last time, but I think I may be able to now.Can I wipe the slate clean and start again? I have a few new characters sitting in cold storage, and the old ones are just....meh.

IC:

"Pfff...wow," Alaric sighed, nearly in a whisper, as Taralynn finally, reluctantly, pulled her lips away from his. Slowly his lips pursed outwards and grinned as his head fell back against the wall of the steam room, staring into the place where the steam had started to overlap Tara's eyes. He had no clue or inclination about the passage of time - the only idea he had was how much steam had started to percolate in the room in the time they'd been in each other's arms and that was hardly any sort of tried and true system of time management. His hands wandered over her back lazily and automatically, almost of their own regard, and finally he blinked away some of the steam hovering around his face so he could actually see her again.

"That was amazing," he breathed truthfully.

-Tyler

IC: Taralynn, Las Vegas. Hotel Spa.

Tara grinned as Alaric blinked. Even with the steam clouding the air between them and their lips no longer together, Tara felt a tingling sensation on her lips. Tara looked at him, one hand slowly reaching to touch the black tendrils that formed his mane. " I think that was worth more than just a "wow"." She chuckled lightly, her orange eyes twinkling with mischief. " I think I'll have to rectify that, you?" She said slowly as she moved her head back towards his.

OOC: Sure Writer new characters are fine; so is getting rid of your old ones. Just place the profiles in the discussion chat.

IC: Songbird

Left alone in the dark room within the Hellfire mansion Ashlynn had begun to grow incredibly restless. She wanted to go find her fellow Ultimate X-Men. They had come through to this universe as well. The Jace who had accidently turned her seemed nice enough but still he was a stranger.

Ash didn't have much knowledge yet on her new life as a vampire. She had to go off what she knew from myth. She knew it was foolish to go out while the sun was still shining. So she waited.

After a few hours the sun had set over New York and Ash careful maneuvered herself over to the window. She pulled it up; revealing the night air beyond. Ash then pulled herself out of the window and hung onto the wall outside. Using her new natural enhanced reflexes she began to climb up the wall of the Hellfire mansion.

There was one place she knew her comrades might be. The Xavier Institute.

IC: Triblade, Mimic

The stolen Ultima pulled up outside the institute. Night had fallen and the moon cast an interesting glow over the grounds as Matt Summers climbed out of the driver's seat and moved back to the backseat with Christine.

"God... I hope he's not dead." Christine said.

"Me too." Matt said as they opened the door and grabbed John out of the backseat. Together they began to carry him up the steps of the school. Matt pushed open the front doors of the institute before they brought John inside.

"I don't think taking him down to the medical ward is going to do anything. Let's just get him to his room." Christine said as they began to walk towards the grand staircase.

IC:

"My. . God. Why the did you bring him back here!?"

Standing in the trio's way was a very angry Kristen, who had her hand balled into a fist, and a certain look in her eyes like she wasn't particularly keen on the idea of allowing John back into the school.

IC: Triblade, Mimic (Xavier Istitute)

"Hey there. Its Kristen now right?" Matt said as he gave her a charming smile. "If you could just wiggle a bit to the left... we're trying to get up these stairs."

Christine could see that Christo-Kristen wasn't happy seeing John back. Even in his state.

"He's very sorry about what he did to you. He still hasen't forgiven himself and from the state he's in I think its apparent he's been through all HeII. I know you're upset but he's our friend. If he was coherent right now he'd tell you the same thing himself."

IC:

"I'm not letting him past," Kirsten declared, staring Christine in the eye, "He has a whole bunch of to answer for, and I'm not letting you pass until he comes around for himself, apologizes, and then compensates for what he did."

IC: Christine, Triblade

"Yes, he cut off your arm honey," Christine said. "But he's done a lot more for this school and sacrificed a lot more then you so step aside."

"He'll apologize in time... but he's really messed up he's not going to be awake any time soon. You're not making this any better."

IC:

"He blamed my mother for trying to kill Beast, attacked me, cut my arm off, and stuck me in this form," Kristen corrected, "I used to be able to live life, now I am a practically helpless teenage girl with no fitting clothes and no idea way to do anything by myself again.

"What did he lose again? Nothing that can't be regained anyway."

IC:

"Actually, uh, peanut gallery on the line here...what has young Johnathan sacrificed in this dimension over the past couple years besides...eww...all of his flesh and muscle mass?" Dallas asked, shooting a peek over Card's shoulder to what remained of John. "Jesus Christ, that's gross, he looks like a Third World Halloween decoration...anyway. If your John's anything like my John, all he likes to do is kill other non-Johns. A lot. And then mope about it a little before doing it again, probably with a cheap beer in his hand."

Dallas walked up beside Card, putting an arm around her slightly protectively, but also to make sure she didn't jump at Christine.

-Tyler