Tropic of Capricorn: Hitting the Beach

[x-adrienne.livejournal.com]

Kurt, Angel, Jean-Phillipe, Jennie, Logan, and Sam hit the beach of Avalon to draw as many Brotherhood members as possible away from Magneto's base.

They had slipped from the Blackbird earlier, into the ocean around the side of the island, traveling in two black zodiacs to reach the shore. Scott’s plan had called for two teams to head directly for the base, to rescue Garrison and shut down the device that Adrienne had warned them made Magneto unbeatable. To maximize their chances, the largest team of X-Men had been assembled with a different mission: bait. To make as much noise and draw out as many Brotherhood as possible and tie them up long enough to give the others a better chance of getting inside. The team was a mix of speed, power and luck, able to retreat quickly if the full power of the Brotherhood was brought to bear on them, and to stand up against anything less.

They had reached the tree line when the first sounds of alarm had reached Logan’s sense; calls to muster and warning that the island was under attack. Communications had been challenged by the strong magnet field around the island, so they had gone to a backup system of clicks to communicate signals. Now, in the face of the alarm, their comms gave the all-clear to attack.

Kurt snapped into action, issuing quick reminders of the plan they'd worked out earlier. "Firestar, up above the trees and burn bright. Wolverine... you have been doing this longer than me. Everyone else, as much noise and mayhem as is in your power. Go!"

"Up up and away!" Angel took a step back before running forward and shooting into the air. As soon as she broke the tree-line she lit up, a great, flaming beacon, visible for miles, that just screamed, "Look at me, I'm going to light your entire island on fire! Catch me if you can!"

"That's it Firestar!" Sam took to the skies as well, igniting his powers with a loud bang and alternately activating and deactivating them to repeat the same loud noise from which he drew his codename.

"Show offs," Logan muttered to himself but he still had a sly grin on his face. They could have the big, blaze of glory distraction. He was better up close and personal, preferred it that way. As he charged into the trees, he felled several with his claws. That should get them scurrying in multiple directions.

Jean-Phillipe might not have been able to get above the treeline, but mayhem he was certainly capable of, especially with the heightened EM fields covering the island. He sent large bolts of electrical current at random trees along the beach - pour enough power into them, and... Superheated sap split the trees open with a sharp cracking sound.

What Jean-Phillipe did, Jennie added her own unique spin to make it ten times worse. Trees shattered at an impossible rate, cracking in specific angles to cause the most damage. Jennie's favorite had to be the one tree that improbably shot straight into the air, like a rocket. While the results were chaotic, the young woman in control of the power was anything but. Her face betrayed nothing except calm and calculating.

The blackness that blanketed the area was no thicker than the air, even if it seemed to weigh down the light from the trees that had caught aflame. "Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him and he'll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage." The voice that came out of the shadows echoed in ways it should not have. "Man is garbage, and you are race-traitors. Welcome to..."

"Race what?"

"I think it means fag."

"Yeah, come get some, fags!" And thus, Sven and Harlan Kleinstock joined the fray. The brothers had been looking for their brother before pulled in to defend the base, and as they rushed towards the X-Men, they merged. In a nausua inducing ripple of flesh, the two flowed into each other, and in their place was an eight foot tall giant, bearing directly down on Wolverine. A punch like a truck hit the smaller man, and sent him tumbling down the beach.

Logan grunted as the punch impacted and knocked all the air out of him. He was gonna be feelin' that. It already hurt like a bitch. He sunk his claws into the sand to pull himself out of the roll but still slid several more feet. These idiots again? It'd been years but damn they were still just as annoying as they were then. "Now you've made me mad, you oversized mud puddle," he growled. He leapt from his crouch and ran back toward the fused Kleinstocks. He managed to dodge the second punch sent his way and then slammed a fist of his own into the oversize elbow that'd shot past.

The eight foot tall giant howled in pain and rage, swatting at with its other arm. Meanwhile Suvik uncoiled his deadly whiplike energy tendrils, and as Sam shot past, wrapped both around his blasting field. The mutant whooped with feral glee as he was suddenly pulled into the air at high speeds behind the X-Man, and began to crawl up the whips to attack him directly.

Cussing at the intrusion and the affect the additional weight and drag resistance made to his flying, Sam increased the intensity of his powers and tried to shake the unwanted hitchhiker. He shifted to soar straight up into the sky and then quickly veered downward, trying to snap Suvik in a whip-like fashion himself.

Kamal entered the fray with a roar, reaching out and placing both hands on top of a nearby slab of stone, whose properties he then absorbed. With his increased density he commenced to run top speed towards the nearest target, who happened to be Jean-Phillipe, with the intent of running over the mutant.

The absorption of rock was a good choice, as Jean-Phillipe's power could do very little to that particular form. But that was what teamwork was for. "Wolverine!" he yelled, with a short hand gesture to indicate 'switch opponents'. He poured a blast of electricity at Kamal's eyes, making it more difficult for the man to see. Then, when he was close, Jean-Phillipe dove to one side, trusting to the increased density and mass to make it more difficult for the absorber to stop and turn quickly. He did his best to turn the dive into a roll and came up running toward the merged Kleinstocks.

Fag? He was going to enjoy showing them what a fag was capable of.

Logan had been busy eludin' the outsized reach of the Kleinstocks and gettin' in some good hits of his own. At Jean-Phillipe's yell, he looked up and moved to intercept Kamal who was even more enraged after the energy blasts. There were attempts to change direction but not before Logan was close enough to land several adamantium backed punches into the mutant. The contact reverberated back down through his own bones and he was gonna be feelin' that for a while. "What the fuck did you eat, asshole? Concrete?"

Unuscione dove headfirst into the fray, almost too gleeful at this opportunity. She was already wrapped tightly and safely in her exoskeleton, and just itching for an opportunity to fight. A bludgeon formed in her right hand, and she took a heavy swing at the first person her eyes landed on - Jenny.

Well they certainly had the Brotherhood's attention. Angel, from her vantage point high above the fight, looked around hurriedly, trying to see where she could best help. When in doubt, do what she did best - make herself a nuisance. "Head's up, dudes!" She called as she dove down at a frightening speed, glowing brightly.

Jennie dodged the punch, moving fluidly due to her years of dance training. Also, due to her years of not-dance training, Jennie had more than a passing familiarity with the strong, invulnerable types, as they tended to go after the soft and squishy first. Jennie had sported more than her fair share of bruises in the early days due to being the softest and squishiest thing around. Enough that Jennie had taken to training specifically for that type of opponent.

Another fluid dodge, the young woman moving almost like water, face betraying nothing but calm and intense purpose. Then a duck, and a leg sweep--- actually a feint, rolling out of the way as another punch came down. What Jennie lacked for in strength she made up for in quickness and grace. And then, a bright red disk flashed in her hand while her target was distracted.

Before, Jennie refused to use her disks on living people. Their clothing and surroundings no problem, but actual living beings had too much complexity for it to be used reliably without accidentally causing a great deal of damage, even death. But Jennie had not spent the last three years being idle with her powers, and the disk aimed squarely between Unuscione's eyes attested to that. The dark-haired girl allowed herself a small smirk as the disk hit--

And the uncontrollable hay fever set in.

Suvik and Sam struggled, and the Brotherhood wrapped a cable around his neck. He was protected by his blast shield, but when Suvik abruptly yanked hard, the drive veered sideways suddenly, and they crashed into Angel mid-air. Suvik dropped from his perch and wove another cable around all three, sending them crashing to the beach.

"Fuckin' runt-" The Kleinstocks growled at Logan, grabbing him and trying without luck to break his arms. As the blades sank deeper, the giant howled in pain, twisted and flung Logan hard. The Canadian smashed directly into Jean-Phillipe, nearly knocking him senseless. As the Kleinstocks fell back momentarily, clutching at a gash in its arm, a blue figure suddenly joined the fray. The Brotherhood counter attack had been powerful but clumsy; headless. Now, Mystique stepped into the battle, and they were leadless no longer.

"Stop nursing that scratch and get in there," she all but snarled at the Kleinstocks, directing the giant back towards Jean-Phillipe with a stab of her finger in his direction. "Unuscione, crush her now!." A glance down the beach showed that Suvik's intervention was at least producing some results, and so the shapeshifter gave a malicious grin and lunged towards Logan, her fingers lengthening into cobalt-blue talons that, as she neared, were aimed straight for his eyes.

Sometimes fightin' the Brotherhood was like fightin' a bunch of idiots. Skeleton laced with adamantium, not much more unbreakable than that. Logan grinned viciously as his claws sank deep into vulnerable flesh. "Not much smarts in ya is there." The way his claws caught briefly as he was thrown indicated the idiot wasn't unscathed and he was plannin' on doing' plenty more damage. He was also gettin' really fuckin' tired of being thrown around. Instinct had him retractin' his claws.

He slammed into something with a grunt then they both gouged a furrow into the sand as not all the momentum had been bled off from the impact. He ended up sprawled against Jean-Phillipe and he was gonna be feelin' that more than he was. Thank fuck he hadn't ended up impalin' him. That'd go over so well. He untangled himself with a snarl and his nostrils flared as a particular non-scent hit his nose. He stalked toward her itchin' to do someone some damage. "Finally decided to join the party?" He slashed out bracing claws against talons and kicked at her legs before throwing her back a couple feet.

The only warning Mystique got of someone waiting to catch her was a soft rustle before a strong blue arm locked across her throat, another pinning her arms with the help of a tail, and a familiar voice in her ear. "Hello, Mother. I told you we would meet again."

"Kurt," she hissed, struggling against him, one hand wrapped around his forearm. "I don't wish to hurt you. Unhand me, this is your only chance."

"No", he said with uncharacteristic coldness. "Call off your people, or we will find out who of you and I is stronger."

He felt her test him for a moment, muscles flexing, tensing, but then she spoke, her voice spreading across the field of battle through a subtly-modified throat. "Disengage! Return to the base!"

The Brotherhood took a moment to react, before starting a fighting withdrawal. Kamel and Suvik appeared specifically unwilling to retreat, but equally unwilling to cross Mystique, as they finally disengaged. The other mutants on the beach watched from their tents in horror as their Brotherhood leaders fell back until they were all standing near the dark haired one called Abyss. He held up his arms, and in an inky flash, they were gone. Only the X-Men - men and women described as facist race-traitors, who corroberated with governments to enslave mutants - stood before them on the beach. The panic went up at the same time as the screams, and they began to flee on mass, towards boats and skiffs, desperate to escape.