xp_logs | The Dark Phoenix

During the momentary respite, the teams launch a second attack. DP lashes out telekinetically, but a combination of Amanda, Cecilia and Billy slam shields up to allow others to get close.

They had been regrouping, but the sheer power of the Dark Phoenix's assault was battering the mansion. Any chance of a counter attack was being eroded away from the telekinetic storm that washed over them.

"Fuck this for a game of soldiers!" Amanda was exhausted, running on magical fumes and sheer bloody-mindedness by now, but she was buggered if she was going to lose anyone else. Especially to a crazy Jean Grey with a God complex. "Bil- Wiccan! Cece! Get over here, we're needed!" she yelled over the sounds of what was left of the building being torn apart, chunk by chunk. From where she was, she could see the Dark Phoenix, her face almost serene within the flames of the firebird. Time to wipe the smug off her face. "We need to block some of this fucking TK so the rest can take her on!"

"Give me a second." Cecilia shouted back, her shield having already taken shape around her. Everything ached. The other her's failed pseudo-dissection attempt at left her totally spent, and what recovery time she'd managed to squeezed in barely felt like enough. And now she was taking orders from Amanda, who was apparently taking charge. Which was far from reassuring.

Still, she knew the other woman had a point so she moved toward her. "I've got to w—oh Jesus Christ!" A brick flew toward her face, and she ducked to avoid its impact. Her heart was pounding. "This fucking thing," she muttered. "Stupid fucking bird."

Billy looked across the room--or what was left of it, at least. The swirling debris made it difficult to even see Amanda, let alone find a clear path toward her. He began a low chant that caused him to wink out of sight, appearing a moment later at Amanda's side. A square of plasterboard flew their way, but he smacked it aside with his staff, sending a cloud of dust into the wind. "Any ideas?"

"Extra credit work," Amanda replied. She clapped her hands together, her shielding spell appearing to form a small wall in front of the three of them. "Billy, I know you haven't done this before, but I'm going to need you to learn on the job - I need you to create a shield like this."

Billy studied the shield for a brief moment, trying to focus as much as the storm around him allowed. "Ok," he said quietly, extending one arm, palm facing outward. "I want a shield. I want a shield." As he chanted, his hand began to glow before a light streamed from his hand, forming a shimmering blue circle in front of him. A small, forced smile formed on his face, but he didn't turn his eyes away from the disk, focusing all his attention on keeping it alive and steady.

"Good. Now, we're going to have to cover as much area as we can for as long as we can, so we're going to do layers. Me and Cece, and then you overlaying ours to fill in any gaps. You got that? And if you get stuck, I've got a song that'll help with the chanting thing." Amanda gave Billy a quick pat on the shoulder, before turning to Cecilia. "All right, doc, your turn."

Cecilia stared at Amanda like the witch was an idiot. "You have got to be kidding me." It was enough that she hadn't blanched when Billy had started his magical mojo. "I don't channel the Force, Amanda. What you see is kind of what you get." The translucent bubble that had formed around her body expanded in size ever-so-slightly. "I don't have any wizardry scrolls in my back pocket."

Amanda repressed the urge to roll her eyes. "You have a forcefield, Doc. It's about time you learned to use it. No magic, just plain old fashioned visualisation." The witch raised her hand, palms outward, and moved them further apart, arms opening up in almost a welcoming gesture. The flickering energy of the shielding spell moved with her, until the wall was twice the height and width it had been. "You've got it stuck in your head that you can't change the size of that bubble of yours. I'm betting lives on you being able to get out of that mindset."

"Yes, thank you, well aware that I have power beyond my wildest dreams, thanks." If her training with Scott hadn't driven that point in, the lecture from different-Cecilia certainly brought it home. So, while she appreciated Amanda's sense of urgency, Cecilia didn't think her, uh, charming way of speaking, was particularly necessary. Life or death, or not.

The doctor set her jaw, partly in determination and partly to resist the urge to keep firing back. Her eyes closed for a second, and she tried to visualize her shield expanding rapidly, quickly enough that it'd catch Sefton by surprise and knock her over. After a brief moment, her eyes fluttered open, and she noted with some satisfaction that the dome around her had grown. "Well, okay." She glanced over at a still-standing Amanda, trying not to look as smug as she felt. "Eh. Close enough."

Amanda suddenly grinned despite herself. "Whatever works for you, Doc." She indicated the firebird visible through the destroyed walls. "You want to be pissed off, though, how about aiming it at her?"

"RIght. That." Cecilia followed her gesture. "So, have we got a plan beyond human shield, or...?"

A spike of telekinesis hit Billy's small shield, invisible save for the flash of light as energy hit energy, leaving his disk brighter than before. "Priori incantatem" Billy's eyes lit up as he observed the reaction. "Power meets power." He gestured toward Cecilia, and his small shield flew toward her, leaving a transparent blue shimmer in its wake. Their shields connected, bounced, but meshed, and he step away from them, stretching the energy as he moved . It wasn't as bright, probably not as powerful, but he glanced toward Amanda, looking for approval or further direction.

Amanda nodded and turned her attention back to her own shielding spell. "Now it's time for the heavy hitters to do their thing," she said. "We three give them cover, they do what they can to shut her down."