Invasion of Congress (Institute Away Mission)

[Bobby Drake]

(( OOC: Moving the action along... Riley, you're up next! ))

As Kitty prepares to phase the team out of harm's way, Merrick finishes freeing himself from his ice-bonds. They never do learn, do they? he thinks smugly as the girl who took down Template moves towards him, eyes wide open. At least the human deepfreeze over there was clever enough to close his eyes. He meets her gaze and his eyes glow, and he feels the "circuit" close as his mind captures hers. It doesn't feel quite right, though... he can't describe the "off" feeling, but something unusual is going on with her mind.

Well, it doesn't matter, as long as I've got enough of a grip on it to use her. "Take out your partners for me, will you, sweetcheeks? You can start with the annoying ice-covered one, then work your way up."

[Bobby Drake]

(( OOC: And, moving the action further along in both Kitty and Riley’s absence. Hoping to wrap this thread up quickly… Josh, Rogue, care to finish ‘em off and reconvene in the Blackbird?))

Bobby manages to avoid swearing out loud as Rogue gets between Riley and Merrick. Josh has grabbed him and Kitty, Kitty has Riley, they’re ready to pull out at any moment… except for Rogue, who’s taken off on her own. Dammit! What the hell does she think she’s doing?

For a moment he’s paralyzed, not knowing what to do. He can’t leave her behind, but if they don’t pull them out now they’re going to be facing down the U.S. Army and there’s just no way that scenario ends well. And the bastard is giving her orders know, and she’s…

…ignoring them. Bobby blinks, startled… he has absolutely no idea what Marie is doing, but whatever it is seems to be working… she’s not reacting the way Riley did when Merrick grabbed her. She seems a little disoriented, but not dazed, and is still flying towards him.

OK, he thinks grimly, making up his mind and hoping he doesn’t regret it later, We’ll back your play, Marie… I hope you know what you’re doing. "Impulse, forget about lift – target the far wall, blow an exit hole for Rogue in it! Rogue, take your shot but make it fast and meet us outside! Cherub, ‘cat, get the rest of us out of here; I’ll slow down the army!"

Without waiting for confirmation he shuts his eyes tight and concentrates, feeling out the shape of the foyer, then reaching out with his power to drink all the heat out of it. It’s too far away for him to make a serious ice-wall, but with effort he manages to turn it into a subzero zone. The sprinkler systems burst from the pressure of freezing water and spray sleet all over everything, covering the floors and halls with a slick coat of ice; moisture precipitates out of the previously warm air in a sudden, vision-obscuring mist.

The oncoming soldiers slow for a moment to evaluate this new potential threat, but Bobby doesn’t notice… that final effort, coming on the heels of the quick-freeze icewall and the subsequent battle, proves too much for him. He slumps unconscious into Josh’s arm, his ice-armor starting to crumble around him, as Riley, straining, lifts the four of them towards the ceiling and Kitty prepares to phase them back through it.

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

Rogue, what are you doing? Josh watches as she flies over to try to deal with Merrick. He’s almost waiting for her to drop out of the sky - when she copies someone else, it doesn’t tend to last too long.

>"Impulse, forget about lift – target the far wall, blow an exit hole for Rogue in it!

Josh stares at Bobby for a second. He’s never done anything like that before. Could he? I’ve got to! After a second, his face narrows in concentration.

He reaches out with his powers, gauging the strength of the wall. Shit. It’s reinforced, most definitely. Probing it tentatively, he realizes that the only two ways to do this is:

1) Atomize it.
2) Smash it to pieces.

He definitely hasn’t got the skill for the first one, so Josh takes a deep breath and lets loose. After several seconds, the wood paneling and most of the drywall is shredding off. Boards begin to fly outward.

At this point, Bobby promptly slumps in his arms. Distractedly, Josh wraps his arm more securely around Bobby’s chest and continues to stare blankly at the wall. He seems to be getting heavier, though Josh knows that’s simply a factor of his telekinesis sapping his strength. The strain is beginning to affect his precision, as well.

With a huge smash, the outer stone façade of the build shatters, opening the room to the crisp fall air. Wind gusts inside. Josh gasps, exhausted, and relaxes his telekinetic barrage. With a disorienting lurch, the four of them disappear through the ceiling.

They regroup in a small room near the roof. Josh is breathing heavily, obviously wiped out from his previous effort. “Bobby? You okay?”

Concerned, he tries to lift Bobby psionically into his arms, but the other boy’s body merely gives an odd jump and settles back into place. Too much effort. His head feels like mush at the moment.

So he gathers Bobby up in his arms, half carrying, half dragging him towards the roof access. “Come on, guys. We’ve gotta get to the Blackbird!”

[Rogue]

Cody jolts abruptly as the connection is made, and she can feel an almost-panicky sensation from him as he tries to fight it, but can't.

Take out your partners for me, will you, sweetcheeks? You can start with the annoying ice-covered one, then work your way up."[/color]

She simply smiles darkly as he speaks. Cody's seemingly trying to attack Bobby's psyke, within her mind, but the Iceman's shadow holds him off easily. Meanwhile, Rogue easily hoists the glowing-eyed male into the air with one hand, holding him easily by the shirt, and throws a punch at him with enough force behind it to knock a cow (or other large animal) senseless for a few hours.

Josh - Impulse - has knocked the wall out for her. She wants to tell him he hadn't needed to, that she could have gotten out on her own - but it's too late for that, and wouldn't do much good. Besides, it's a nice gesture from the two guys, one of which, she notes, is unconcious. She leaves Merrick there, and swoops out the now-open wall, landing on the roof a few moments later, and moves to the door that gives access to the roof. They're not here yet...

Reaching out, she tugs at the door to open it for them. The heavy door stays in her hand, ripped from the hinges violently, yet effortlessly. Unintentionally, also. She stares at it a moment, then drops it off to the side, as she sees the others approaching.

"Impulse - I'll take 'im. Y'look like y'gonna pass out y'self, hon."

[Bobby Drake]

(( OOC: Wahoo! And that's the last of them. Officially declaring the combat part of this thread over; feel free to post at whim hereafter, no fixed order or time limits.))

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

Josh is having trouble dragging himself and Bobby across the room.

Suddenly, the door is ripped from its hinges, and light streams into the room. There's figure in the way... shit.

Which resolves itself into Rogue. How did you... Josh's mind is in no condition to figure out puzzles at the moment.

> "Impulse - I'll take 'im. Y'look like y'gonna pass out y'self, hon."

He gratefully transfers Bobby's dead weight into her arms. "I could kiss you. Aaah. Well, you know what i mean." A silly grin crosses his face. The adrenaline is disappearing....

Josh staggers to the edge of the roof and looks to where the Blackbird is parked - seeing nothing. Except it's cloaked, you idiot. He reaches out with his powers to disengage the camoflauge and flick on the autopilot, and the relatively simple effort is enough to make him nauseous. The ship shimmers into existence, and lifts off.

After a moment it's hovering over the roof, landing ramp extended. He begins to cross the distance between his current location and the ramp.

[Bobby Drake]

Bobby regains something vaguely like consciousness at the sound of the ripping door hinges, with the entire matrilineal line of all headaches nesting in his skull, leaving him incoherently wondering whether a flock of vultures might somehow have gotten in there and started feasting on his brains. Which is OK, as he doesn’t seem to be using them for anything at the moment.

> " I could kiss you. Aaah. Well, you know what i mean. "

" Thass sweet, Joshie, but Johnny wouldn’ like it… " he mutters blearily, then wakes up all the way as he’s transferred into Marie’s arms. He can tell the difference immediately, because she’s carrying him like he weighs nothing. "When did you get so strong… you been working out? "

He wants to get back on his feet, but can’t quite manage to put up enough of a struggle to even be noticed. A few minutes later they’re all inside the Blackbird and strapped down, and Josh is piloting the bird back home.

Bobby looks around and does a headcount… then does it again, just to be sure.

"Well, how about that? Didn’t get any of us killed, after all. Cool…"

With a contented little smile, he drifts back into unconsciousness.

[Rogue]

"I could kiss you. Aaah. Well, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know. No probblem."

She smirks slightly, and surprisingly easily takes Bobby from him. He's light as...well, no, she can still tell he weighs more than the porverbal feather, but it's odd, the way it's effortless at the same time.

Bobby's awake, and mumbling something she can't quite understand, as she moves towards the now-visable jet. Then, more comprihensibly - "When did you get so strong… you been working out?"[/color]

She simply laughs slightly, and shakes her head. He's not in any state for the explaination, she reasons. Once inside, she deposits him carefully in his seat, and takes her own seat.

The psykes are oddly quiet - it's almost nice, really, with them occupied like this, guarding Template. She's the only one yammering - screaming, rather - but it's muffled, as if she's too far away to be heard properly. A few psykes are talking, but still, it's generally not the stressful atmosphere upstairs as it usually is. Teamwork seems to have settled them a little.

Hopefully they'd stay that way, though.

"Well, how about that? Didn’t get any of us killed, after all. Cool…"

She grins, and is about to reply, when, glancing over, she notes that it'd be pointless anyway - he's back out. Ah well. She leans her head back against her seat, and lets her eyes fall closed. Absorbtion always takes a lot out of her, and this time is no different. Now that she's staying still, she can feel the tiredness creeping up on her. She doesn't feel weak, though, just tired.

"If y'need me, wake m'up." She tosses towards the front of the plane to the more aware members of the team. Hopefully she could get a little sleep in the five to ten minute flight.

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

> Thass sweet, Joshie, but Johnny wouldn’ like it…

Josh nearly drops him, suppressing a giggle. As far as he knew, the only person who knew about Bobby and John was himself. Warren, by extension - but that wasn't so much by choice as something he could have picked up from some of their telepathic excursions.

> "Well, how about that? Didn’t get any of us killed, after all. Cool…"

"You did a great job, Mr. Fearless Leader." Josh looks over in Bobby's direction with a small smile - but he's already asleep. I think we all did a pretty good job. They'd pushed themselves to the limit and come out okay.

Though, he's gotta say what he managed to do with the wall surprised the hell out of him. Even a month ago, he wouldn't have been sure he'd been able to do it. Less surprising, though, was how much it had wiped him out. He needed to work on his stamina... granted, it would have been taxing no matter what.

- Shortly thereafter -

Josh swoops the Blackbird over the Institute grounds as the basketball court retracts. He slowly drops the jet into the hangar, closing the roof.

"Uh oh. Look who's waiting for us." Josh bites his lip, inclining his head out the canopy. Ororo was standing by the hangar doors, arms folded across her chest. In her uniform, too. Looks like she just got back from her mission.

He's tempted to try to catch her mental state, but his mind is still far too fatigued to trust any sort of reading. Josh unbuckles his restraint and looks to the others. "Well... here we go."

[Bobby Drake]

The Blackbird landing wakes Bobby up, feeling significantly more human than he did just ten minutes ago. Actually, as he walks out of the Blackbird he’s feeling pretty damned good – they’d taken down the bad guys, saved the Congressmen, and pulled out without having to really hurt anybody and without anybody getting hurt. It was a downright comic-book kind of operation.

He does feel sorta bad about having punched a hole in the Capitol, but it was a small hole and they’ll fix it. Heck, the water damage from his ice-wall melting will probably be more expensive to fix. Screw it. Putting down mutant menaces and saving lives, we take care of… repairing carpeting is someone else’s problem.

The smug, satisfied feeling lasts about as long as it takes him to walk out of the plane and into the hangar, then freezes and shatters like cheap steel at the sight of Storm standing there, arms folded. She’s not actually tapping her foot impatiently on the hangar floor… it just seems like she ought to be.

Bobby takes a deep breath and walks over to Storm rapidly. "Look, before you say anything, you should know we tried to get in touch with you but you were incommunicado and the situation was urgent. And we are X-Men, you know, even if we’re junior members; we’re supposed to deal with situations like this. Well, OK, Josh and Marie aren’t, but they ought to be and you know it as well as I do, but anyway it doesn’t matter because this was my operation and if anyone’s going to get into trouble for it, it ought to be me. So… well, I guess that’s all I wanted to say. Go ahead and yell at me now."

[Ororo Munroe]

Storm strides down the subbasement corridor, heels clicking rhythmically.

She'd just arrived back at the Institute from New York, where she'd been doing a little judicious digging in some goverment files. Unfortunately, the evidence they'd been looking for had been moved. But where? She shakes her head with slight despair.

On to more immediate matters, however. While she had been gone, Bobby Drake had taken a team to D.C. to head off a terrorist attack on the Capitol building. When she'd returned, merely minutes ago, she'd seen footage of the aftermath.

She steps into the hangar, and watches, arms crossed, as the Blackbird sets into a landing cycle. Nicely done, Joshua.

Bobby and Josh step down from the ramp, and cross the floor towards her. She can practically feel their apprehension. Marie follows them after a few moments.

Ororo listens to Bobby's speech impassively. Oh, I can't do this to him anymore.

A huge smile breaks out and she throws her arms around Bobby. "Bobby, I am so proud of you. You did exactly the right thing, and saved countless lives today. I don't believe I could have done any better than you did. We will make a field leader out of you, yet." She releases him, enjoying his reaction.

"I can't wait to hear all about it, but I agree with you that both Josh and Marie deserve to be members of the X-Men - that is, if they want to be." She turns her gaze from Bobby to Josh, and Marie, in turn.

[Rogue]

As they arrive, Rogue just hangs back a bit. Now that she'd been sitting still, now that the adrenaline had worn off. She hadn't realized she'd even been functioning on it until it had started to falter.

She's standing to the rear of the small group, arms crossed in an almost-protecticve way across her chest, head tilted down a little, gazing at the metallic floor of the hangar as Bobby starts his speech.

She's sure Ororo's going to be agitated, at the least. But they'd done good - no one was in that bad of condition, and they'd managed to help, and they'd even managed to spare army/police casualties, even aside from the hostages.

Her worry is washed out quickly as Ororo smiles, and hugs Bobby. At mention of being added to the team, she gives a simple nod and smile. It'll be nice to be an official part of it all, even aside from the implicated dangers that come along with it. For now, she just feels...numb. Numb, and tired, but somehow happy, content. She'll be less....zombielike, for lack of a better term, once she gets a shower and a nap, she reasons.

[Bobby Drake]

It takes Bobby a few moments to work out that he’s not getting yelled at.

It takes him a few moments more to get over feeling vaguely disappointed by the fact, having already worked himself up into a fine frenzy of anticipatory martyrdom.

When he finally works through all that, his mouth gaping open and closed like a fish's, he looks up to meet Storm’s gaze, and she can see the old Bobby with shaggier hair and a bit of chin-fuzz, near-bursting with pride at having Done the Right Thing.

It only lasts a moment, and then he looks away, grinning sardonically at Josh and Marie. "See? It may take us forever to get around to acknowledging the obvious, but we do eventually get it right. You guys still interested? " To Josh he adds, smirking: "Or has Warren made you a better offer? "

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

Josh stands with Bobby, slightly worried. Storm doesn't look angry... it's just her body language. Dammit, and I really wanted to graduate too... He knows it's not going to be as bad as all that, but an angry Ororo is something he's had few chances to experience, thankfully.

So he's slightly shocked when a smile spreads across her face and she hugs Bobby. We... we did the right thing? He exhales, not realizing his breath had been held. He claps Bobby on the back. "You really were great back there, Bobby." Josh grins, but suddenly he's slightly distracted by Storm speaking up.

> "I can't wait to hear all about it, but I agree with you that both Josh and Marie deserve to be members of the X-Men - that is, if they want to be."

He's not sure he heard his ears right, but there it is. They'd come back worried they were in trouble, and he and Marie end up being promoted? Y'know, we could all use surprises like this a little more. At the same time, becoming a member of the team was a big responsibility, as well...

A warm smile spreads across his face. "Thank you, Ororo. I would, very much."

> "Or has Warren made you a better offer? "

Josh stares back at Bobby with an arched eyebrow. "Maybe he has, but I'm not one to kiss and tell." He pauses, and then continues. "I need to take a shower... and maybe a nap."

As he walks out of the hangar he shoots back, "Besides, if can save the world from terrorists and still make it back for our date tonight, I can do anything!"

[Rogue]

"See? It may take us forever to get around to acknowledging the obvious, but we do eventually get it right. You guys still interested?"

"Yeah, 'M in." she agrees verbally this time with a grin, glancing from Bobby to Ororo, "An' thanks f'the offer, Storm."

She's definetly glad things are going so well. Better than expected for sure. Heck, aside from being tired, she doesn't even feel that crappy - nowhere near as bad as she'd expected to. In fact, her mood's improved considerably since theis morning.

Speaking of which, what time is it, anyway? They couldn't have been gone more than an hour, right? It felt late, but logically, it couldn't have been. She glances around a moment, but there's no clock in sight, so she gives up the search and decides to find out once she goes inside.

"I need to take a shower... and maybe a nap."

"Y'read m'mind, sugah." she responds automatically, then deadpans. "'Kay, yeah, bad pun..."


_{Yeah, I just had to.}