4/10 Issue: Arcade Games

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Esynthia
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4/10 Issue: Arcade Games

Post by Esynthia »

Timeline: Wednesday, May 31st, 2023

Carol: Carol frowned out of the window at the press. She didn't like having them here.... at least they weren't inside though. She turned to pick up her coffee and checked the clock. Late. Of course.

Tony: He wouldn't call himself late. Tony Stark was fashionable. He'd been holed up with Xavier for a while, as they watched the press assemble on the lawn and mill around the jet. That jet was nice, he had to admit. He wanted one for himself.

Lifeguard: Heather was not in Xavier's office because she would break things. She was standing guard in the nice wide hallway that had room for her wings.

Bobby: Outside, Bobby was on duty in his vapor form, keeping an eye on the nosy reporters.

Carol: Beth: Beth was in the rec room... of her brain. Busy spelunking some bored reporters.

Jean: Jean was bored, taking selfies of herself in her uniform... and posing in variously provocative poses with her zipper half down. Pout, and click!

Carol: Carol decided to give Tony a generous five more minutes before she hunted him down but only because she was making more coffee.

Rogue: Rogue sat on the edge of the roof over Xavier's office, trusting Heather with immediate protection of Tony and Charles, but keeping an eye out anyway. This was the first major press junket since she'd been taken off as his personal bodyguard so she was antsy.

Jamie: Why was he always stuck outside in the middle of the throngs of people? Jamie rolled his shoulders in his jacket and looked up toward Jean's window. Jeanniiiiieee....

Xavier: Charles stepped forward and put a hand on Tony's shoulder at the window. "Thank you for helping us grow to this."

Tony: He glanced at the hand. Touching! Okay. "Thank you for coming to me with this idea," he said, putting on his wide grin "Too bad my daughter couldn't pry herself away from the office to attend. Her loss!"

Carol: Carol watched the press poking around her jet. If there was one scratch on her baby, someone was losing an arm.

Jean: Jaaaaaamie... She made her mental voice go breathy without breath and sent him a picture that made her particularly proud.

Xavier: He chuckled and gave a nod, then moved back to his desk to put the finishing touches on the speech. Just in case. "Indeed. She has always had quite the obsessive streak, though."

Tony: "I have no idea where she could have gotten that." He spun to face Xavier with his brightest grin. Outside, he'd spotted Fury heading for the podium with his press secretary, so it was nearly showtime

Jamie: He jumped a little at the vibration in his pocket. Oh good, distraction from Jean's mental distraction that might make him embarrass himself. Jamie pulled out his phone and opened the text. Another Jean-straction. He cleared his throat and quickly looked around before looking at the picture for a longer moment. Um... How long until you have to be on stage? Because I can be fast.

Carol: Beth: Beth was merrily playing poke-a-brain. God these people were dull... and rude!

Arcade: Meanwhile...

Arcade: "Miss Locke!" he yelled, searching frantically through his wardrobe. "Where's my bowtie?!"

Miss Locke: "The one you're wearing?"

Arcade: "Of course not! Do you think I'm stupid?", he continued his search. "This is a special occasion so I have to look my absolute best." He threw a box on the floor, removing the lid and pulling out its contents.

Arcade: "The green one with the... Ah! Here it is!" He pulled out a spangly green bowtie, holding it out. "A little help?"

Arcade: Miss Locke stepped forward helping Arcade remove his current bowtie and tying the new one. "Everything is in order. We're just awaiting the guests of honour."

Arcade: "Good! I've spent years planning this and I can't have anything be less than perfect." He checked his appearance in the mirror, brushing his long, red hair back with his hand. "It's time we sent the final invitations. We can't have the rest of our guests waiting."

Arcade: Arcade and Miss Locke left the room, walking past a bank of monitors, half of which were turned on and showing prone forms, slumped in various nondescript rooms.

Jean: Not too fast. I know you like to take your time... This was fun! For her, anyway. He was probably going to make her pay for it later, which... she was more than good with.

Lifeguard: Heather stretched her wings and eyed the door to the office behind her.

Bobby: People were finally gathering in front of the podium, with the press secretary droning on and checking her phone, probably for the time or word from her grandstanding boss. By the time she nodded to Nick Fury, Bobby wasn't paying attention.

Rogue: Rogue floated down from her perch to peek in the window. Tony looked so handsome in his suit. She smiled at his back, then turned to face the crowds again.

Xavier: "Not a single idea springs to my mind either, Anthony." He gave the President a smile then went back to editing.

Jamie: Jamie's throat was suddenly dry. So you're saying you want to miss the press conference. Be right up.

Carol: Had it been five minutes? Probably. Carol picked up her coffee and went to track the President of poor timekeeping down.

Tony: Tony clapped his hands together with boyish glee and rubbed them. "Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's get this show on the road!" With a nod at Chuck, he started for the door. Anthony, pfft.

Jean: Did she? Actually, yes... yes she did. A slow grin spread across her face. I'll be waiting, she purred. Don't make me wait too long or I'll start without you.

Lifeguard: Heather raised a hand to wave at Carol as she came down the hallway, "I think I hear movement."

Carol: "It's about damn time." Carol peered around Heather to look at the door.

Tony: "That's right! It's about damn time you show up!" He whipped the door open and grinned at Carol, extending the expression to his personal award-slash-bodyguard.

Carol: Carol narrowed her eyes over her coffee mug as she took another sip, "You're welcome."

Bobby: Fury was, as usual, all fired up with sardonic energy. He told the press all about the expanding world - aliens and mutants and alien mutants, oh my. Bobby hoped this didn't all backfire on them as he stayed near the jet in a cloud of cold mist.

Rogue: Rogue heard shuffling in the room behind her and turned to watch Xavier as he stacked his papers on the desk before following Tony out the door. Now that they were both out of sight, that meant Heather had them in hers. Rogue drifted down to hover behind Fury at the podium, making sure no one got any bright ideas about him, either.

Jamie: Hot dog! He shoved his phone in his pocket and started at a sprint for the front door until he realized that looked suspicious. He cleared his throat and slowed to a regular speed of walking. SHIELD guards frowned at him and he frowned back. They knew him. But they also knew he wasn't an 'X-Man'. Shit. Jeannie... Little help? Apparently I'm not a VIP today.

Jean: She frowned. Damn cockblocking SHIELD agents. Within a moment, she located Jamie, found the mind of the agent giving him stink eye, and Jedi mind tricked the hell out of him. I'm awesome.

Tony: He was gathering his entourage as he went, practically skipping down the stairs as he heard Fury through the PA system outside. Tony had to admit, he was a pretty good opening act.

Jamie: Hell yes you are! He nodded in return to the agent who let him pass, giving a tiny victory 'whoop!' when out of his line of sight. Inside. Up the stairs. Two at a time. Here we go... He barreled through Jean's door without so much as a 'how do you do' and shut it behind him. "Honey, I'm hoooome."

Xavier: Charles followed along with Tony's grouping, completely bemused at the fact that the President was so much like his students at times. They made it outside and he spotted some of the aforementioned students and his smile grew proud.

Carol: Following Tony and Xavier, Carol quietly caught up with Heather. They both attempted not to react when Fury started talking about aliens.

Beth: Was it time to go outside? Beth rolled off the sofa and onto her feet, checking her purple hair was still awesome on the way. Of course it was.

Tony: He paused for effect at the doorway, arms outstretched to the waiting cameras. On the podium, Fury didn't miss a beat and began his introductions of the president, the founder of the X-Men, and his new official team.

Rogue: Rogue turned with a bright smile to face her boyfriend as the press went wild and flashbulbs started going off. She loved watching him do this. He was in his element and it showed. She flew closer to him, but still in reach of Fury, just in case.

Bobby: Bobby figured it was time to put in an appearance himself, reforming on the far side of the jet - off camera, thanks.

Jean: "I mean, this isn't home anymore, thank God, but you are definitely here!" Jean had been holding her pose as she sensed him coming down the hall and as soon as he'd closed the door she started unzipping.

Jamie: "Fucking hell, Jeannie..." He growled low in his throat and slowly stalked towards her, eyes tracking the zipper as it moved ever so slowly downward. "How long before they realize you're missing?"

Arcade: "Well this is awkward..." Arcade commented, clearly having interrupted something.

Jamie: Jamie halted in his tracks at the sudden appearance of a tiny ginger man in the room. "Um..."

Jean: She'd opened her mouth to respond to Jamie when... voice! Voice with ... why couldn't she sense a brain? "Fuck!!" Jean spun toward the voice, practically teleporting over to Jamie. "Who the fuck are you?!"

Arcade: "... but I'm not going to pass up two for the price of one." He snapped his fingers and the two mutants disappeared from in front of him.

Arcade: "Y'know Miss Locke, this is much more efficient than picking them up one-by-one." he put his hand on his chin, pondering. "I doubt I'd gather them all up in the same way as those two, but when in doubt..." He snapped his fingers again, dozens of robots appearing around him "... MAYHEM."
The robots marched out the door, fanning out into the building in pursuit of wanton destruction.

Xavier: Charles glanced around at the mutants who were gathering and reached out with his mind to let the rest of them know things were getting underway. He frowned when he could not sense Miss Grey, however. Odd.

Beth: Beth missed a step and got a face full of golden feathers for her trouble when Jean's mind vanished from her radar. "Something's off..."

Tony: "Hello, hello!" He stepped up to the podium, shaking hands with Fury before the man stalked off. Had he shaken his head at him? Rude. Tony shook it off quickly enough and turned his grin to the masses. "Isn't it a beautiful day?" he began.

Carol: Carol really wanted to check her jet over but she had to be good and not act crazy in front of the people with cameras.

Xavier: He continually scanned the minds of those around him as they moved to the podium, but he still could not locate Jean. She had been there not a moment before. Elizabeth, can you sense Miss Grey?

Bobby: Bobby finally joined the others on the stage, staying in his ice form and giving Anna a tight smile before he scanned the crowd.

Beth: No... that's why I know what Heather tastes like... She frowned, scanning for clues, I can't find Jamie either.

Rogue: Rogue's chest went tight as she saw Bobby and tried to give him a smile back. This was going to be harder than she thought. Her eyes reluctantly shifted from him back to Tony. They had a job to do, after all.

Tony: "....and on this beautiful day, we celebrate a beautiful new era in mutant/human relations." He grinned at Rogue, gesturing over the jet and the restored building.

Xavier: They did not decide to leave, did they? Certainly we would have noticed their departure sooner.

Rogue: Tony's smile made her melt a bit and she couldn't help but beam back at him.

Beth: They for sure weren't thinking about leaving any time soon...

Xavier: Charles reached out to his team, sending an alert about the two missing mutants but making sure they knew to keep things calm for now. Especially since the press was there. He also slipped a mental message to Tony asking him to continue talking to the press and stall while they figured things out.

Lifeguard: The telepaths weren't the only ones feeling like something was up, Heather's danger sense was kicking up. She moved a little closer to Tony.

Tony: He shot a fast, questioning look at Xavier, but kept talking. It was what he did, after all! "As you can see, we have provided all the resources this team needs to take their place alongside our most elite protectors."

Rogue: Rogue frowned and gave a worrisome look to Tony, then looked at Heather, willing herself to be a telepath for just a brief moment.

Arcade: "That seems like an appropriate time for me to show up." Arcade announced, walking out of the building followed by Miss Locke, a horde of robots and the smell of smoke. "I might have broken your new building a little bit."

Carol: Carol was in the air in an instant to face whatever the hell this was.... Why did he look familiar?

Lifeguard: Heather turned to face the threat, spreading her wings as a physicsl barrier to protect Tony.

Bobby: Bobby moved between this new guy and Tony, the move automatic after years of guarding Hope. "Who the fuck are you?"

Rogue: Rogue instinctively moved to place herself in a spot in between Carol and Bobby, putting Tony and Heather behind her, hovering just above the ground. She frowned at the kid coming from the building. "Alright, kid. Where th' hell'd y' come from?"

Bobby: On the lawn, the cameras swung to the doorway just as a window above the entryway shattered outward.

Beth: Although her teke skills were generally not so good, Beth decided to go ahead and shield the press.

Xavier: Charles flinched at the window exploding and tried to urge the press to leave without forcing them to do so. But, of course, they all loved a story.

Rogue: Rogue lifted higher, trying to block as many of the shards of glass as she could with her body.

Arcade: "Who am I? Arcade, of course. And I'm here, along with my lovely assistant...", he gestured at Miss Locke "... to invite a select few of you to a party. Dress code, casual. Attendance? Mandatory." With that, he motioned his robots forward.

Tony: Not that he didn't trust his guards, but Tony wanted to be part of the action too, flicking his wrists to slide his repulsors into place. "Arcade? I'm afraid your little soirée isn't on my calendar."

Rogue: Rogue brushed herself off and dove at a robot, fists first, knocking it backward into another. "Ah'm afraid this here party y' crashed is invite only, sugah."

Carol: Robots. They also looked familiar.... Oh. Shit.

Bobby: Bobby froze one robot in its tracks, taking a second look at it. It wasn't anything he'd seen before, which was saying something at this point.

Carol: Carol decided to apply some energy blasts to those robots for good measure.

Bobby: After tossing the frozen robot into one of its comrades, he noticed some of them were taking an interest in the media. "You morons might wanna run!"

Beth: Beth decided to prompt the media with a telekinetic shove and a telepathic 'suggestion'.

Arcade: "Time to get this show on the road. We're on a very strict schedule here, things to do, places to go, people to meet." He snapped his fingers, a select few disappearing with the motion.

Rogue: Rogue turned her attention to the kid directing the robots. "Like Ah said," she flew over and grabbed him by the lapel, "Invite. Only."

Tony: He jumped when his press secretary vanished from her spot beside him. Fury was, well, furiously, yelling into his phone, directing his agents to clear the area since the press was persistent.

Arcade: "Funny. That's what I was going to say." He snapped his fingers again, causing Rogue's hands to lose their grip on his lapel.

Arcade: "I'd love to stay and have a playdate, but maybe you should pick on someone your own size." He snapped his fingers a final time, vanishing from view along with Miss Locke.

Bobby: "Look who's talking, shrimp!" Bobby tossed the insult at Alfred E. Neuman over his shoulder, then did a double take when the guy was gone.

Bobby: Turning his attention back to the robot at hand, he realized the thing had gotten... taller.

Rogue: Rogue squeaked and landed on her bottom. Her eyes got huge and she started sobbing. He was such a meanie!

Carol: Boom! Boom! Robot go boom! Wheeeeeee! Carol giggled. Pew! Pew!

Tony: "Everyone, stay calm!" His own voice sounded anything but. "We'll get this under control shortly... really, really shortly!" Like his girlfriend, who was sitting on her ass crying... and shrinking. Oh, shit.

Beth: Beth blinkblinked as everything got really big. People with cameras! Picture time! Picture time!

Lifeguard: Her powers counteracted... something and Heather turned to check on Tony.

Tony: He looked up at Heather, then around. Xavier was... sleeping. Chubby thumb in his mouth. Still bald. He blinked and looked up at Heather again, then around to see the rest of his new team reduced to Kindercare. "Well, Goldie... I guess it's just you and me?"

Tony: And the press.

Lifeguard: "I'm not changing any dirty diapers."
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