#xmevent

Upon second inspection he got a gut feeling, knowing it all too well. A few months back, the school had been ambushed on their way to a field trip, and Dom knew these people a hundred or so yards away held malice much like the mutants on that day. “Oooh boy,” he sighed under his breath, trying to work up the courage to fight again. Many had been hospitalized from that trip, and Dom wasn’t excited in the least for his friends to have to fight. We have to though, there’s too many. This is no diplomacy. He saw a straggler as the ‘army’ advanced, and ran to take shelter behind some trees and get a closer look. The man looked almost afraid, uneasy, looking side to side as if it was his first time doing something to this extent. Easy target perhaps, he thought. Dom gained on him and whistled, trying to get his attention. Thankfully only the man, a pale youth of average height, slender build, and tumbling raven hair followed Dom’s trap. The moment it took for Dom to scan the horizon, he saw the remaining perpetrator’s run towards the school. Yep, something bad is going down, he thought in fear.

Dom backed up, trying to take the stranger away from the group so if he screamed reinforcements wouldn’t follow. He recognized a few teachers at the front of the school fighting in what ways were best to them. The overcast and trees helped to shield Dom’s whereabouts. Dom tiptoed backwards, keeping an eye on his pursuer, the last rays of sunlight dancing purpley hues over the night sky. Shit, he thought remembering the setting sun. He looked back at his car, maybe he could run some people over with it? But the second he took to let the cogs in his brain tick, the man he had been pursuing yelled a war-cry and ran at him.

Dom took his right hand and with a motion of whacking it to the left, a patch of cold dirt and grass the size of a kitchen table whammed into the man’s side, knocking him off his feet. He grunted after being taken by surprise, but made his way out of it nimbly, jumping back up. Dom continued stepping backwards, trying to keep the man at a distance. Dom’s powers do not include healing or increased agility or stamina, so he didn’t want this man laying a hand on him. He motioned his arms vertically in front of his torso and forced them down, as if doing a pull-up, and the sod below the stranger broke away, creating a crack as if an earthquake had tore through. Dom’s heart was beating in his ears, and he realized the adrenaline was making him hyperventilate. After a moment, the man lifted out of the hole the size of a blow-up kiddie swimming pool. “Great, levitation,” Dominic moaned in response.

There were so many of them, other mutants, and they were able to barricade the academy with simply their numbers. Many of his allies had already made their way to meet the newcomers, wasting no time to defend themselves and their people. 

Ben was not prepared for this. He had no practice, he had no skill, he pretty much just learned what he was capable of and it wasn’t even something he was proud of. As the curly haired mutant stared out at the makeshift battlefield, he realized he was absolutely terrified. Turning around, Ben tried to back track into the school, but the chaos surrounding him made that very difficult. As he shuffled between the fighters, the boy felt a tight grip on his shoulder. He just had time to feel his heart stop before the stranger threw him onto the ground. He reflexively put up his arm, covering his face before he even got to look his attacker in the eye, and he waited for the next blow.   

Still, there wasn’t a place on the battlefield for a fantastic orator and a so-so combat fighter. Not in his mind. He’d seen the terrible stuff out there and that did not suit him in the slightest. So, he was currently positioned on the South Side of the school behind a wall that kept him shielded from watchful or dangerous eyes. At least, that was it’s purpose until another student came busting around the corner.

“Ciao...” Douglass said awkwardly, preempting a scolding over how he should be putting his combat skills and abilities to use to defend the school. “Before you call me a draft-dodger...and there’s nothing wrong that either. But I mean...personally, I just think it’s sad we can’t all get along.”

But there wasn’t a choice, was there? There’s always a choice. The words from an old professor rang in his head, echoing around as if torturing him. Not this time, he thought.

Technically, he could. He could stay inside with the students that weren’t confident in their powers, that weren’t caught outside.. But he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t just sit and wait. He thought of Brennan, of the first friend he’d ever had, the only friend he’d ever had being slaughtered out there while he sat inside like a coward. No, he had to do this. He had to fight. But god, he didn’t want to.The dark Force side of him, the Devour side of him, was dark and twisted. It was one stop short of evil. And having to wake it up? No, he didn’t want to.

But as Brennan flashed in his head again, he knew, he didn’t have a choice. Because it wasn’t just Brennan. It was ever student he’d ever taught, every teacher who had ever helped him. It was everyone who counted on him. Because he was a teacher now, and he had to act like it. He couldn’t be a scared student anymore.

He stepped way from the window, making his way through the crowd of students and down the steps, throwing his hoodie over his head as he did. His feet pounded down the stairs, echoing as they did. The sound filled his ears because focusing on that kept him from thinking about the damage he himself could do out there.  But he needed Devour. the school needed Devour. He just had to hope he wouldn’t hurt anyone in the process.

Blake Stygian threw open the door and went outside the building, his eyes falling on the battle. He could feel his adrenaline rising, his blood pounding. It was close and he knew it. The moment he started fighting it would be over, he’d lose all control. 

He let out a slow breath before reaching out and closing his fist. A foreign mutant attacking a fellow teacher was gripped by shadows that threw him clear over the mansion.

“What you’re about to see,” he told the person near him, glancing at them sideways, “it isn’t me.”

Mutants surrounding the school, and then.. attacking. He’s stared in shock as his classmates, teachers, people he knew launched into battle with them. And that was when he finally managed to lurch into action. Julian threw himself off the roof, using his telekinesis to land himself safely on the ground. He looked up just in time to see a mutant barreling to him.

Quickly, Julian threw up his hand throwing the mutant away. He turned around in a small circle. as he noticed someone about to attack a mutant he knew, one of theirs. He threw the attacking mutant away quickly, eyes raking over the fellow resident of the mansion.

“Ah, a welcome to mutant high battle,” he said to himself in an amused tone. “Okay then.” His Brazilian accent was thick in his words as he tossed his backpack to the ground,muttering, “I’ll start out with a bang then.”

With a wild whoop, he threw his arms downwards and his body let the mutation kick in. His skin and clothes turned black, as if burning like charcoal. He launched himself into the air, flying over the battle. Being so new, bran new really, it was hard to tell who was friend and who was foe. But he could roughly figure it out.

When he saw someone struggling with a group of what he guessed was intruders, he threw himself to the ground, reaching out and burning several of the attackers. He threw a glance at the person behind him. “You okay?”

He realized something wasn’t right as soon as the ringing in his head started. He tried to rub his hands together quietly next to his ear, then a couple of small snaps with his fingers. He couldn’t hear any of it, just that godawful ringing. His heart rate began to rise as the sole sound started to become painful. He put full focus into increasing his hearing now, shutting his eyes tight as he attempted to ignore his other senses for this moment. He applied mental pressure to his eardrums and cochleas. It was something he had taught himself when he wanted to drown out the sounds on the streets when he was sleeping under bridges and in city streets. But this time, he forced the pressure inwards, his brain running a current into his ears. He could feel sound begin to come back as he simultaneously tried to block out the ringing.

Both attempts were only mildly successful; whoever had let out the inhumane screech was powerful. He could hear now, but only muffled noises, and the ringing was no longer painful, but was still highly disruptive. Still, he could at least function. His nerves morphed with a certain resignation, growing determined to just get this to stop. He wrapped his cold fingers around the corner of the brick wall, peering around the edge just enough to catch a group of hostile mutants yards away on the other side, huddled up slightly, speaking in hushed, urgent whispers.

It was now or never. Not moving from his spot, he lowered his head slightly, focusing every bit of his energy on the men. He felt that familiar, radiating energy rush through him, ripping through every limb, both draining and exhilarating. His control over it still wasn’t great, but he had no other option at this point. He was a cornered animal, one that was always quick to strike. He could feel the energy flow into his skull, not so much a tangible feeling as a metaphysical one, difficult to explain to someone without mental powers. He felt the energy gather in his fingertips and behind his eyes, and that’s when he let it unleash.

His glare was what slammed them backwards, while his hands lifted to guide them. It was messy and quick, but it got the job done. Two of the men were flung into nearby trees (one of them being knocked unconscious), and one was thrown into the brick wall like a rag doll, and Theo would hear a couple crunches of bone. The final one, though, simply stood, eyes now hazy as he began to bleed... first from his nose, then his ears, and finally his eyes. Finally, he dropped to the ground, eyes still open, but unseeing. It was then that he could feel the blood begin to drip from his own nose because of the exertion, and he wiped a bit away with the back of his hand.

Theo felt a small shiver run down his spine, staring at the body until something else grabbed his attention: the sole conscious man - one of the ones who hit the trees - had spotted him. The man lifted himself off the ground, revenge drenching his eyes. Theo ducked behind the wall, realizing there weren’t too many other places to go. He felt the energy drained out of him from that mental assault - his mental stamina wasn’t great yet because of the lack of training. He would be okay in a couple minutes, but he knew he didn’t have that long. He stumbled slightly, catching himself on the wall as he tried in vain to will himself to recover more quickly. The feeling of blood continuing to drip down his philtrum all but ignored.

“Shit... shit.”

Bobby’s jaw dropped as he stared. “Ah, dude that’s just not fair,” he moaned. The man smirked at him before lifting his hand and shooting a spike out of his palm, spiraling right for Bobby’s heart. Bobby felt his body tense completely. That second of hesitation was going to cost him his life and he knew it.

But he felt his body thud to the ground, his bones screaming at the sudden impact. He groaned, pushing himself up just enough to see who had saved him. “Thanks,’ he rasped. “You know, this would be a damn good time to figure out the turning-into-a-giant-ice-man thing.”