Beyond Evolution

Rogue had never planned out a dream wedding when she was a kid. She’d been more rough and tumble, interested in playing in the mud and running around in the woods near her house. Her dolls would get married to one another, sure, but it was always very practical in her head rather than being extravagant in her heart. Going through the motions.

And then, of course, her powers had sufficiently ended any thoughts she’d had about a normal life. Much less one that involved living with and loving someone like that. She had to be careful with everyone that she was around, and there wasn’t much romance to be found when she could suck a person’s essence right out of them with a kiss. She’d come to accept it though, had carved out a place for herself in the world, with the school, with the teams. And while she knew some part of her would always be wistful about it, she’d come to terms with weddings and fairy tales being just that.

But then Liam had come into her life. Or, rather, she’d come (literally) crashing into his. It was the first time she’d had a crush quite like that -- one that was exciting, and new, and returned. Liam liked her back, he loved her just like she loved him, and now he wanted to turn all of those somedays into forevers.

And now here she was, on Waikiki’s tourist trap of a beach, with their friends and friends-as-family gathered around, with her brother Kurt officiating and their friends Colin and Bobby serving as best men. Her dress was, of course, styled by Rogue with help from Irina, who had lifted the hem from her knees to just at the line of decency. Her veil was long enough to drop to the ground, though. And her gloves this time were white. She laughed a little as she took the ring meant for Liam and looked at him, feeling her heart swell with happiness.

“Liam. I know we didn’t start off on the best foot.” Another small laugh. “But I promise to spend the rest of my life stoppin’ my mama from makin’ trouble for you. To make sure there’s hazelnut creamer in the fridge in the mornings. To push you to run ten miles when we want to stop at nine, and to make you look away from work when you’ve been at it too long. I’ll defend mint ice cream when people try to tell you it tastes like toothpaste, and I’ll make sure no pineapple goes near your pizza. Only you could make gettin’ up early sound just as good as sleepin’ in late, and I promise to try and share the covers better. And to only put my cold feet on you in the most dire of situations. I love you, and I’ll love you until there’s no more tomorrows. I’ve got your six for life.”

She reached out to get the ring from Bobby, and slid it on Liam’s finger and grinned. “No backin’ out now.”

(Open to Liam, obviously, and also RAPID FIRE threads if yall want!! There’s music and food and blankets set out instead of chairs for the actual event. ENJOY THE DAY!)

Shatterstar had been gone from the Mojoverse for years longer than planned. He'd left with a promise to come back with fighters, mutants, who could aid the Cadre Alliance in their fight against Mojo, but something had gone wrong since then and the Cadre had no way of knowing what. All they'd been able to do was wait, and hope, and make plans for what they would do if the worst happened and he never came back. But those plans never ended in victory. They needed him, what he represented to the people who'd seen him in the arena; they needed the help he'd sworn he'd bring back with him. As the days had stretched into weeks and months, they'd refused to give up faith in him and his mission. They'd known he would return, but it wasn't supposed to be like this. Collared, captive, staring out at them across the airwaves from Mojo's arena. Some of them remembered when he'd first been liberated, remembered who he'd been then, and it hurt to see him in chains again. But they had freed him from the pits once, they could free him again. And though it hadn't been how they'd planned, he had brought them their army. Cadre members had scrutinized every broadcast, much as it hurt some of them to do so, watching the mutants Shatterstar had returned with as they fought. Taking notes on their strengths, their weaknesses, which were fighters and which were just victims. Which would be worth the potential losses of an assault on the pits. As much as they dreamed of putting an end to the fights entirely, they wouldn't be able to liberate everyone in this attack -- they didn't have enough people, they couldn't disable that many collars in the little time they would have before Mojo's guards overwhelmed them and they had to retreat. They had to think about the end goal. ( The assault on Mojo's palace that would finally mean an end to all this, if it succeeded.  ) (Open to Ric/Star, then everyone in the pits!)

Tags: !plot: mojoworld, blink, exo, freakshow, havok, horizon, iceman, magnetrix, mimic, optimus, rictor, rogue, shatterstar, silver

The X-Men had managed to break through Selene’s outer barriers and in to where Proteus himself was hiding. It was then that he was taken out, swiftly, and his control over the various minds here and elsewhere ended. The compound was simple enough, and not too many turns later they found Selene herself, still involved in her ritual.

“But how can you focus on me when your home needs so much help?” An image in all of their minds suddenly, of the school and the chaos and slaughter that was happening there. The teams started to disperse immediately, the stopping of Selene and her crystals left to a trusted few.

The others teleported out, landing back on the grounds in the midst of the fight. They weren’t the only ones arriving, though. In the front hallway of the school, the time-travelers that had been taken a year ago were dropping back in place as though no time had passed for them at all. And outside something strange(r) was happening -- black, whirling portals were beginning to appear, and out of each fell a stranger. Portals were opened up near some of the current residents as well, sucking them in.

(Everyone’s here! Wait for thread titles and then go wild)

It wasn't until they had teleported (or flown) back up to the jet that they got the messages about the school. It was always a risk, the X-Men leaving and having to turn off, shut down, or delay comm communication with the mansion until their mission was completed, but it was necessary. If something was bad enough that they were being called in, it needed their full attention. And there were things in place to keep the school safe, with or without them there. The other teams, the medlabs, the security system, the Danger Room. Something happening was regrettable, but possibly, and certainly something that could be handled until they got back.

Except, maybe, in the event of a highly potent drug being unleashed on unsuspecting mutants in New York and a telepathic directive to attack the school at full force, apparently with caveat warnings about things like the Danger Room, the teleporters, the healers, and so on to make for maximum devastation.

The Bird was already in motion, flying fast without waiting for everyone to find their seats or get comfortable. It wasn't fast enough, though. "We have to get back there." Mimic had turned in his seat, looking to the soldiers who didn't have the luxury of a handheld that would let them know what was going on. "They sent a counterattack to our school. There's children there." Switches were being flipped as the X-Men moved from where they were, including Cal and Rahne from the cockpit. "We have to get back. The Blackbird will bring you back to the school. We can protect you there, and help these others. You're welcome to stay there, or go where you think is best. But we have to get there now. You can come with us, or you can stay in the jet. If you're worried about them," their charges who didn't seem much like they would be of any help to anyone in a fight, even themselves, "we have teleporters that can take them to safe spaces until we're done. No one will be able to reach them but us until they're safe." Granted, one spot was galaxies away and the other was in a hell dimension, but. Details. "Or you can stay on the Bird with them. It'll protect itself though; try anything with it and you'll end up flying." Come help the X-Men, have the Kick-addled mutants placed into their teleporters protection, or stay onboard the jet until it landed and decided to let them go. The choice was theirs, but they needed to make it fast. The X-Men were already disappearing one by one, taken back to Xavier's.

(Open to all! Continuation of fighting, set a few hours after the previous threads -- let's say deep night because that's when the best kind of fighting happens! Skills people, you have the option of staying on the jet/Limbo/Dyson Sphere. Soldiers, you can stay with them in whichever place, or help with the fighting at the school. Sorry they don't have time to get you handhelds yet! Things are definitely going from bad to worse on the ground; the Kick seems to be amping up rather than going away, and mutants are blocking various ways into the Danger Room (and starting to target the helpers like teleporters and healers). Keep making life hell, good luck!)

[And now for something completely different! As talked about here, and then... not really mentioned since then WHOOPS, Karolina and Xavin have been off in space trying to negotiate a Skrull-Majesdanian peace treaty.]

The Majesdanian sun was hot in the sky, closer than Earth’s, and brighter, too. Its rays coated Karolina’s skin like gold. She had felt the heat of it at first, a lifetime on Earth had left her unprepared for her home planet, but her shifting, radiant skin had soaked it up immediately. It fueled her, letting her skin shimmer long into the night; after a few days, she had been able to forget about conserving her energy, and let herself shine constantly. Even off-world, meeting with delegates from the Skrull and Kree, locked away inside board rooms and offices as she made her case for peace, she still had enough solar radiance stored away to look like the Majesdanian daughter she was. After a while, it had stopped surprising her to catch sight of her reflection and see shifting colors and light instead of tanned skin and blonde hair. The sun, when she stepped off her shuttle and back onto Majesdanian soil, had started to feel like home.

She had been uncertain at first, a stranger in a world and a war she’d known nothing about until so recently. Her parents had been instrumental in starting the war, and Karolina felt driven to repair the damage they’d done, but she knew nobody had any real reason to listen to her. An outsider, more comfortable in her human disguise than her natural Majesdanian skin, arguing with people who’d lived this culture and this war all their lives. But as the months had passed by and the sun had poured down on her she had felt more and more like she belonged, and that comfort had started to show in her voice and her body. She had started to sound like somebody worth listening to. With Xavin by her side, the children of the very people who’d put all this conflict and bloodshed in motion, she had started to win people over.

( It had been easier on Majesdane, where the war had been forced on them. )

[NARRATIVE]

[ OPEN TO THOSE IN SPACE: TAKE THAT MOTHERSHIP DOWN! ]

The ships cast shadows over city blocks, looming huge and implacable. There was no question now that this was an attack -- the smoke still hung in the air from the destroyed military planes of thirty countries, the explosions replayed again and again on every channel, filling every tv screen and social media feed. People had been confused at first, but now they were panicking. Now they were afraid for their lives.

And they were right to be, Xavin thought to herself. They didn't know what was coming for them, not just yet, but they knew how dangerous it was.

Panicked human voices and endless television replays came together in an anxious buzz, just loud enough to be the only thing she could hear as she made her way through the crowd. Xavin couldn't make out any one voice, but it didn't matter -- whatever they were saying, she'd heard it before. The language might change, but there was only one way to react to a Skrull invasion. Fear. The familiarity of it was revolting. It filled the air around her, pressed against her skin like something solid and alive, and she felt her jaw clenching at the thought of how much the others must be enjoying it. They would be shedding their disguises now, showing their true selves at long last. Beginning their attack. She hoped the kids of Xavier's would fight back like nobody they'd come up against before.

Up ahead, she caught a flash of blonde hair through the crush of people, and glanced down at her phone for confirmation. Human technology was incredible. She wasn't sure why they needed an app that would alert them if someone else using the app was in the area -- something to do with finding romantic partners, she assumed -- but Karolina Dean was signed into it, and so was Xavin, and that was what mattered. All her skills in combat and strategy, and it was a dating app that had finally found the person she was looking for. She could see Karolina clearly now, standing still in the chaos of the crowd, tense with worry and frustration but not caught up in the panic that seemed to be sweeping through everyone else.

( Good. She would need to be calm, to accept any part of the conversation they were about to have. )

(narrative)

The carnage, the panic, the fear. All of the negative emotions flooding throughout the school only fueled the ghosts further, making the apparitions more clear and their attempts at gaining corporeal form stronger. They moved throughout the grounds, watching as the undead and the possessed did their work, and themselves took to appearing in sudden and terrifying ways to those trying to run, or those that were already safe in the Danger Room. The few times that a skeletal hand did become real and make contact, tearing at hair or skin, the Danger Room itself became suddenly active, sims appearing to fight the ghosts away from the students and others seeking shelter.

The one that had started it changed his form, shifting down to the ghostly visage of a five year old girl, her throat slashed, still holding onto a teddy bear. This was how he appeared in the Danger Room, moving to a girl with a phone in her hands. Help me. It was spoken out loud and in Priya's head. You have to stop the bad man that did this. If you give Mr. Cody to us then we can finally rest.

He didn't stick around for questions, disappearing and moving back through the mansion, enjoying the fighting going on in the different areas, the destruction they were raining down on themselves. As soon as these people gave up Drake, he could drag him into hell himself. And his cousin, for good measure. And everyone that the man had ever spoken to. And then enjoy the finale that these reanimated creatures were building to.

He'd enjoyed evil in life well enough, but evil in death, as it turned out, was even more fun.

(Open! Please tag below the appropriate header <3!)