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xp_logs2022-01-21 02:14 pm
xp_dominion) wrote in xp_logs2022-01-21 02:14 pm
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X-Men Mission: Exorcism Robotica - Part 10
Betsy and Toad have a rematch.
They'd spotted him moving quickly across the top of the facility, and Blink's portal was spot on and she dropped Betsy within twenty feet of Toad. He didn't see her immediately, focused on trying to flank some of the Sentinels.
Betsy quickly found a spot out of his line of sight and concentrated on charting out her surroundings and finding features she could use to her advantage. A gentle tendril of telepathy also went out to discourage him from directing his attention around the area she was hiding. She might not have the upper hand at the moment but she was keen to not underestimate him this time.
Toad's role was as a utility man in this fight. He didn't have the physical skills to hurt the robots much and they'd destroyed the odd demonic servants that they'd encountered. For now, he concentrated on keeping other Brotherhood out of harm's way with his agility and using his adhesive spit to slow them down.
Even though she knew X-Men had a plan on how to take down the Sentinels, and there was no love lost between her and Toad, attacking him from behind while he was actively fighting the robots felt dishonest. Not that she was looking forward to being spat on again. She started gathering up energy for a psychic projectile like the ones she had practiced forming with Quentin.
While the Sentinel had attracted most of his attention, Toad's erratic movements made him hard to track and as he shifted, she was suddenly in his eyeline and he froze for a split second.
Betsy tilted her head to one side and gave him a smile and a small wave before lobbing the shuriken she had formed in his direction. The small projectile, not being bound by actual physics, traveled at a dizzying speed towards the other mutant - while it may not have given her the access to the inner workings of his mind in the same way as her psychic dagger could, it was sure to deliver enough of a telepathic shock to knock him out when it connected.
The tiny psionic strike ripped through Toad, but even as he staggered, the mutant didn't go down as expected. Obviously the Brotherhood were continuing to refine their mental shields. He swayed drunkenly for a moment, seeking out the threat and finally locked eyes on her.
"I remember you." The words came out slurred as he reeled from her telepathic strike. "...remember you.”
Well, this was the first time she actually tried these things out so maybe hoping for a one-hit-wonder was a bit overly optimistic. “I remember you too, darling, and I recall that you were not very nice to me when we last met.” She followed up her words with a more conventional psychic attack, focused on conveying the panic she had felt when waking up cemented to a piece of rubble in the run-down facility some weeks ago.
He writhed under the assault, the walls of his mental defense unable to keep up with her attack. But his instincts kicked in and even as he contorted, a glob of spit flew just past head, splashing into a pillar and wrenching her to one side. Only a few filaments had hit her, but it was enough that she needed a moment to break free, and Toad was scrambling at her at top speed, determined to make use of the momentary reprieve to bring her down.
Betsy tamped down her disgust at being spat at and used her leather-clad arm to clear away the sticky strands before they had a chance to solidify. She turned just in time to see her opponent bearing down at her and used that split-second to summon up her telepathic blade. It might have looked less solid than it would’ve if she had more time, but that did not make it any less effective as she swung it in the path of Toad’s attack.
Toad twisted in the air, lashing out and catching her around the head with his tongue. But he wasn't able to avoid the blade entirely, and even as he locked his deadly grip around her head, his mind was laid open by the psi-blade.
As the blade’s effect took place Betsy worked herself free from the now floppy tongue. Then she kneeled down next to its owner lying crumpled on the ground. “Now, Mr Toynbee, your problem is a lack of manners.” She accentuated her words by seeding an image of a much younger Toad sitting in an empty classroom into his mind. "Most people, you see, do not appreciate being licked or spat on, literally or figuratively.” The room started taking shape based on what she’d found in his memories - first the dreary grey walls and desks and chairs on their wobbly metal legs, then the uncaring teacher looking down at him from the front of the room and finally, the other pupils. They all turned to stare at young Mortimer in the middle of the room as Betsy’s voice floated in from above: "I suppose that lesson did not quite sink in the first time, so you may have to repeat it until it does.”
They'd spotted him moving quickly across the top of the facility, and Blink's portal was spot on and she dropped Betsy within twenty feet of Toad. He didn't see her immediately, focused on trying to flank some of the Sentinels.
Betsy quickly found a spot out of his line of sight and concentrated on charting out her surroundings and finding features she could use to her advantage. A gentle tendril of telepathy also went out to discourage him from directing his attention around the area she was hiding. She might not have the upper hand at the moment but she was keen to not underestimate him this time.
Toad's role was as a utility man in this fight. He didn't have the physical skills to hurt the robots much and they'd destroyed the odd demonic servants that they'd encountered. For now, he concentrated on keeping other Brotherhood out of harm's way with his agility and using his adhesive spit to slow them down.
Even though she knew X-Men had a plan on how to take down the Sentinels, and there was no love lost between her and Toad, attacking him from behind while he was actively fighting the robots felt dishonest. Not that she was looking forward to being spat on again. She started gathering up energy for a psychic projectile like the ones she had practiced forming with Quentin.
While the Sentinel had attracted most of his attention, Toad's erratic movements made him hard to track and as he shifted, she was suddenly in his eyeline and he froze for a split second.
Betsy tilted her head to one side and gave him a smile and a small wave before lobbing the shuriken she had formed in his direction. The small projectile, not being bound by actual physics, traveled at a dizzying speed towards the other mutant - while it may not have given her the access to the inner workings of his mind in the same way as her psychic dagger could, it was sure to deliver enough of a telepathic shock to knock him out when it connected.
The tiny psionic strike ripped through Toad, but even as he staggered, the mutant didn't go down as expected. Obviously the Brotherhood were continuing to refine their mental shields. He swayed drunkenly for a moment, seeking out the threat and finally locked eyes on her.
"I remember you." The words came out slurred as he reeled from her telepathic strike. "...remember you.”
Well, this was the first time she actually tried these things out so maybe hoping for a one-hit-wonder was a bit overly optimistic. “I remember you too, darling, and I recall that you were not very nice to me when we last met.” She followed up her words with a more conventional psychic attack, focused on conveying the panic she had felt when waking up cemented to a piece of rubble in the run-down facility some weeks ago.
He writhed under the assault, the walls of his mental defense unable to keep up with her attack. But his instincts kicked in and even as he contorted, a glob of spit flew just past head, splashing into a pillar and wrenching her to one side. Only a few filaments had hit her, but it was enough that she needed a moment to break free, and Toad was scrambling at her at top speed, determined to make use of the momentary reprieve to bring her down.
Betsy tamped down her disgust at being spat at and used her leather-clad arm to clear away the sticky strands before they had a chance to solidify. She turned just in time to see her opponent bearing down at her and used that split-second to summon up her telepathic blade. It might have looked less solid than it would’ve if she had more time, but that did not make it any less effective as she swung it in the path of Toad’s attack.
Toad twisted in the air, lashing out and catching her around the head with his tongue. But he wasn't able to avoid the blade entirely, and even as he locked his deadly grip around her head, his mind was laid open by the psi-blade.
As the blade’s effect took place Betsy worked herself free from the now floppy tongue. Then she kneeled down next to its owner lying crumpled on the ground. “Now, Mr Toynbee, your problem is a lack of manners.” She accentuated her words by seeding an image of a much younger Toad sitting in an empty classroom into his mind. "Most people, you see, do not appreciate being licked or spat on, literally or figuratively.” The room started taking shape based on what she’d found in his memories - first the dreary grey walls and desks and chairs on their wobbly metal legs, then the uncaring teacher looking down at him from the front of the room and finally, the other pupils. They all turned to stare at young Mortimer in the middle of the room as Betsy’s voice floated in from above: "I suppose that lesson did not quite sink in the first time, so you may have to repeat it until it does.”