xp_logs | The Dark Phoenix

Clarice and Sooraya begin to fall the younger staff and students back to the Blackbird, only to have another group of echoes fall on them.

While the younger students had already risked everything with the defense of the mansion, it was time to try and get them out of danger. It didn't help that the X-Men supporting them were injured themselves, pushing back through the woods towards the crashed Blackbird.

'Healer, heal theyself,' wasn't possible right now. Water, a power bar, painkillers and a too-short nap was the best she got too long ago and it would have to do. Standing more by force of will then anything else, Clarice staggered towards the blackbird with her rag-tag team and the younger New Mutants, "Hurry up," she urged, even as she didn't think she could move any faster. Teleporting was out, she didn't have enough energy to open a portal for herself, forget anyone else.

Arriving in a cloud of sand from the direction of the mansion, now a cloud of rubble and the sky above it still alight in flames, Sooraya quickly reassumed her form before reporting softly. "It looks like no one else hostile is around so far, but neither are any of the others." She disguised the worry in her voice the best she could.

With a hurried nod of acknowledgement, Meggan moved quickly to the plane. She didn't want to waste any time. She looked behind her with worry, wanting to be certain that nobody else needed help.

Topaz was focusing on the floor - or more specifically, on her feet and making sure one was moving in front of the other without anything getting tangled up.
Fearpanicangerconfusionhelplessnessmakeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop-! She bit her lip as she clamped down on the torrent of emotions threatening to overwhelm her. She needed to stay upright. She needed to not be a burden. Things were bad enough as it is, and she'd already caused enough trouble.

Johnny wanted to give her a reassuring smile, despite the numbness he felt inside, like all his emotions were a thousand miles away. He was limping - somewhere along the way, he'd sprained his ankle, wrenched his knee, but he reached out and slipped a hand under Topaz' elbow, supporting her.

Artie turned again, scanning the surrounding area, looking for movement, anything. His hands shook around the rifle he carried.

"C'mon, we can make it," Pixie encouraged the group, the Soul Dagger at her hip, determined that no one else should die.

"Uhm... I don't mean to worry anyone, but I think I am seeing something ahead in the trees? Or am I totally seeing it wrong?" Hope spoke up hesitantly from the back of the small group.

Meggan turned to look in the direction indicated, and tilted her head. There was something. “No, Hope, you’re not wrong,” she said warily. At least she didn’t think she was. She would be thrilled if she was wrong. “Did it move closer?” She had glanced away for an instant, so whatever was there had to have moved then.

Topaz was only dimly aware of the help Johnny offered her. Aware enough that she tried to give him a weak smile, but it felt like more of a grimace.

With all the emotions pressing down on her mind, it didn't seem possible for a few more to register, but the anomalies felt like a sharp knife in her already tender mind. She didn't even have the energy to groan. "Not something," she mumbled distantly, squeezing her eyes shut. Not again. God please not again. "Some things."

"Then we take them out like everything else," Clarice had absolutely no more fucks to give and she wasn't letting anyone else die. It was that simple. "Fuck a fair fight."

Pixie couldn't see what the empath was feeling, but when the 'things' Hope spotted came into full view, her heart almost stopped. One thing stood out with its pink hair and the way it flew across the terrain. It was the form Pixie had taken when she was in Belasco's realm. She forced down the panic, thinking she would overwhelm Topaz with her raw emotions otherwise. But all her efforts to stay together were quickly failing. "It's her! I mean, me? Watch out - she has my dust, and she can teleport!"

Artie nodded. He blinded the ones he could see, the same simple illusion he'd used over and over lately and began to lay down covering fire. "Run!" he said, aiming that text at the new mutants. They were spent. He'd get them out of here. "Slice them up" he said, directing that to Clarice.

X-Men didn't kill. Well, this was war and she was going to protect the kids. With the powers set and skill levels they had right now, there wasn't much choice. Squaring her shoulders, Clarice brought herself to her full height and raised her hand. Purpley-pink portals began to appear in the distance. A moment later, the bodies began to fall. It was all she could do not to giggle hysterically and chant 'let the bodies hit the floor.' Shouldn't she feel worse for doing this and not better?

Focus. There was a fine tremor running through Topaz's body, but she forced herself to stand tall anyways. She didn't have much left, but she did have one thing - the energy she'd siphoned off Johnny earlier. She put it to use, creating a shield around herself, Hope, and Johnny, and at Artie's order she nodded the other two, hoping to look more sane than she currently felt.

"Let's go."

"Look! There it is." Hope called out as she pointed out the dark metal plane in front of them. Peeking over her shoulder, she could see the others still fighting, though they seemed to slowly make their way to the plane as well. Glancing over at Topaz, she saw the girl shaking on her legs and winced. "Alright, let's get inside?" She urged. The two slowly started making their way up the stairs and Hope found that Topaz had to grip her at least once as her own legs started to get shaky as well...

They were at the Blackbird, they were boarding, Topaz' shield having kept them safe and objectively, logically, Johnny knew why the urgency was so important but he just... didn't care, despite the roaring of his danger sense in the back of his mind. Sitting down on the ground, waiting for it to all be done would be easier and he watched Clarice and Artie fall back to the plane with a vague curiosity.

Catching the sounds of battle, Sooraya hurried back to the small group from her second scouting round. Luckily Artie and Clarice seemed already to have dealt with most of them, but she was just in time to bring one attacker to the floor with a sharp swipe across the Achilles heel.

"Let's hit it!" she ordered as soon as the last person was on the plane and hitting the button to close the hatch. "Everyone in one piece?" she demanded, looking the kids over. Good. They weren't fine, but this was the start.