X-Men Mission: Repent Harlequin, Said The Tick-Tock Man - log 3

[x-dominion.livejournal.com]

The X-Men continue to push their way up past the heat further towards the top floor.



The transition up the exit to the next floor was like moving from a sauna to an oven. In addition to the already dank, humid air, hot beams cut through like heat lamps, pinning them under a blinding, searing light. The brightness was punctuated by flashes of metal, shattering the environment in a kaleidoscopic expanse of reflecting flashes.

"Dominion, when you arrest this whoever created this, I think you'd better call in an army of shrinks. Because there are definitely a few screws loose." Sooraya commented after taking in the room. "This looks like something I used to picture the bad side of the afterlife." She took a hasty step back after a blinding light crossed pretty closely. "And I think we don't want to find out what those lamps can do to human flesh."

"So this is what it's like to be a fast food hamburger." He shook his head. "How did they transform these floors so quickly? I mean, this is not just setting a couple of trip lines and rigging a smoke grenade.

"Sizzle, sizzle," Kitty commented, blinking hard at the light. "My guess is that they've got mutants on their side. That, or a whole lot of theater experience." Turning her head, she felt her hand go physical again as a light hit her in the eyes. Focus, Pryde, focus. Shuddering, Kitty phased again, fighting the urge to turn tail and try to walk through the wall. She had the feeling it wouldn't end well.

"Doesn't really matter," Julian said, trying to use his telekinesis to mop the sweat starting to appear on his brow and finding it impossible. The flashes and heat were starting to get to him, "Whoever it is, however they did it, they're going down."

"What is the source of those beams?" Sooraya studied the ceiling, squeezing her eyes again from the blinding flashes. "If it's some kind of lamp, we can shatter them. Can't see anything like this though." With a growl she dissolved into her sand form, heading for the ceiling while dodging the lights.

A few moments later she came down and resumed her own form. "Definitely some kind of lamp idea. Scion, doc, you want to give shattering them a try?"

Jean nodded. "Worth a shot," she said. The worst it could do was kill them horribly. No pressure.

Stretching her arms above her head, Jean paused. "Dust, could you change forms again? Scion and I could link with you and be able to sense where the lamps are to be able to smash them rather than having to guess."

"Let's give it a shot." Dust dissolved into her sand form once more and headed back to the ceiling where she had found the first grouping of the lamps. 'Here we go.' She sent mentally, hoping that Jean had become familiar enough with her mental signature even when dispersed that she could feel her.

Julian felt Jean enter his mind, and felt Dust there too, "Just let me know when and where to smash, Doc." They slowly advanced as a group, Julian and Jean following close behind Dust. Suddenly, the sense of intense heat slammed against Dust; the two telekinetics reacted quickly, sending a spike of force toward the source of the heat, smashing it and cooling the area almost immediately.

They tackled two more lamps that way and the group slowly progressed further. 'Is it me or is this too easy?' Sooraya focused her thought on Jean.

Jean eyed the lamps. "Absolutely," she said with complete, calm agreement. "I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop."

As if almost on cue, the lights all cut out, leaving the group in almost complete darkness. The heat, which had lessened, was now increasing again. In the distance, an unearthly glow started to slowly ooze closer. It wasn't a random pattern either -- almost as if the magma had a mind of its own.

"Yeah, that is not good." Kane took a couple of steps back as the vacuous liquid oozed towards them. "Anyone have any ideas, because 'burning to death really horribly' is all I've got right now."

"Um...on it!" Julian stepped forward and threw a barrier up against the advancing magma. When it began to flow over the top of the barrier he dropped it and attempted another that reached all the way to the ceiling. The heat was nearly unbearable, "I could use a bit of help, Doc."

Sooraya had resumed her human form and now moved a little closer to the barrier, trying to ignore the heat as much as possible as she studied the writhing mass intently. "Wait! There is something in there! See those darker spots, about the size of a phone." She wove her hand in front of one and was immediately rewarded with a push of the magma against the barriers. "It's like they can sense us."

Jean furrowed her brow. "Artificial intelligence, fun," she said dryly, then nodded toward the spots.

"Let's see if we can round them up and crush them like a trash compactor," she said. Perhaps that'd make things more manageable.

Julian nodded and wiped a bit of sweat away from his brow with the arm of his armored uniform...it wasn't very effective and managed to get some of it into his eyes. "Damnit," he swore under his breath, opening and closing his eyes to try to get the salty sting out. Finally, he gave Jean a nod, "I'll come from the left," he didn't wait for her to respond. Plunging telekinetic force into the liquid and trying very hard to ignore the burning sensation.

"I guess that makes me bait." Sooraya spread her arms and once more moved closer to the barrier. Several dark spots 'noticed' her presence and a wave of magma rose once more. "Now, while you have the chance!" She called to Jean and Julian.

Jean took charge of the right side portion of the devices, grouping them all together like marbles in a big. Her forehead was already drenched in sweat to begin with, but now it was worse. It soaked her hair, creating wet tendrils that pressed against her temples. Gritting her teeth, she brought the side toward Julian's.

"Now crush it," she said, pressing in around the sides herself telekinetically. The devices began to crunch, and pop, little flares of electricity causing bits of lava to spray outward almost like a sunflare.

"Incoming!"

Kitty felt the heat coming toward her as the lava spattered past her face. She slid past the heat, running up into the air and going solid just before she crashed down on another one of the devices that had skittered away from Jean and Julian.

"Hey, this is kinda fun," she said, blowing a strand of hair away from her forehead. "How's it going over there?"

Julian had his hand on his knees and seemed to be trying to catch his breath. He held up a wrist, paused, then looked up at it, and rolled his eyes. "Fun for the girl who can go ghosty when she needs to. Ya know...since you're enjoying this so very much, I think you owe me an ice water or something equally cool after this, Shadow Cat." With a quick wink and slight chuckle he stretched his back, and re-seated the shoulders of his uniform (wincing slightly after catching a brief whiff of the scent now contained within).

"Ice water? Sounds kinda tame," Kitty commented as she kicked a device and sent it spinning across the floor. She glanced over at Jean, a little more worried than she was trying to let on.

Jean managed a faint smirk, though she looked pretty damn tired. "I've had about just as much excitement as I can in this room," she said, surveying the remainder of the devices. Most were all but dispatched.

"Maybe the next one will be filled with puppies and kittens," she said, then muttered in deadpan.

"Of course that's too much to ask for."

"Might be an Arctic room if this keeps up. We might get blasted with ice spikes next or something like that." Sooraya wiped her forehead. "Better get a move on though... I don't want to stay here much longer..."

"Sandy is right. I mean, not that lava isn't fun. It is. But I'm allergic to melting down to my genitals in a river of hot death." Kane said, gesturing with his head. "Let's move."