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After the article in the Daily Bugle, things have been heating up when word of Jennifer Takeda and her school spread. What the school has been struggling to keep quiet this last year, has exploded into a frenzy of panic and activity. The Friends of Humanity have found a cause! The goodness of it is always up to debate.
Right now, though school is in session, Friends of Humanity members are marching along its property with protest signs that read: "Save the Children", "Get rid of the Freak", "She will murder everyone!" They only get worse. There are guest speakers on a soap box that take turns calling out for expulsion of the mutie freak, and how it is a dangerous to the students, and to the world at large. That it should be locked up for the good of the people! They do not even bother naming Jennifer, to give her an identity as they spew their hatred, hatred they perceive to be well-placed.
Many students did not show up for school this day because of the rectus, and even some of the parents of students that attend the school have joined in the protests, hoping to finally have their voices heard. Police have been called on and are working to keep the peace. It all seemed that it would go well, till Jennifer is forced to walk out in the open to get to class in a building with an outdoor entrance. The crowd is going wild, calling out obscenities, and some even throwing things at Jennifer, which is a danger to the students and everyone else, if something should tear her suit.
Just a little bit before that major outbreak though, Professor Xavier had asked Scott to gather a team, including members from Generation X to go there and monitor the situation. If it got out of hand, to do what needed to be done to settle things. The strong suggestion of: "You and Logan are still going to have to work together. Settle your differences so that you may work again," was far from pleasant, and so Logan was also ordered to attend the trip, though Scott would have rather bit his own tongue off.
The Blackbird was brought in and it now hovers atop a nearby building. Cyclops would have ordered everyone out, and stationed them to different areas of the school. Skin was placed with Beast, Jubilee was placed with Cyclops, and Logan was sent out on his own with the reminder of, "Minimum force and only if absolutely required. We do not want anyone hurt today, not even the Friends of Humanity." The way Cyclops says Friends of Humanity is completely and utterly without respect. Shortly after, with the violence erupting however, there is an order over the comlink system: "Skin, Beast, make sure nothing hits Ms. Takeda, we do not wish her suit damaged. Wolverine, get the students back inside. Jubilee and I are going to support police and attempt to calm down the crowd," an impossible task likely, calming down the crowd.
It is with a great deal of trepidation that Jennifer even approaches the door that will lead her to the next building. She opens it just a crack at first, and peers around to see if anybody was looking this way. Yeah. They're looking. She pulls the door shut again and turns back toward the teacher who's escorting her -- ostensibly to make sure she doesn't get hurt, but Jenny's pretty sure that she's just there to make sure Jenny actually goes to classes. She looks up at the teacher through the faceplate of her rad suit, and she says in no uncertain terms, "Like -hell- I'm going out there."
There is an argument. The teacher is adamant that Jenny must go to class. Jenny demands to know if the teacher -wants- to see her head cracked open with a rock, 'cause she's pretty damn sure that they've got rocks out there. And possibly guns. The teacher finally expresses matters this way: go to class, or be suspended and go home. With that crowd out there. Jenny takes a long moment to consider this -- they'd have to summon the police to get her off campus if she was suspended, but her parents would bitch and she doesn't need a police file on top of everything else. Finally, with a sigh, she pushes the door open and then bolts for the other building.
Less than a quarter of the way there she's hit by the first rotten tomato. This is followed by more moldy fruit and, after a few moments, a rock. Yes, she expected that. She's totally getting her dad to sue the school district.
Jubilee kinda liked having the warning, and extra few minutes to get ready for the fight. It gave her time to fix her hair, find her missing 'Jubilee' earring, eat an extra twinkie, possibly stolen from someone else in the mansion, get her stompy boots on, make sure her 'combat' raincoat had extra shine, and that she had her hair spritzed and makeup on.
Yeah, she looked awesome.
Grinning brightly to herself the entire flight over here, Jubilee snaps the bubble gum she was eating, nose crinkling as she looks across to Beast. "Gum?" she asks Big Blue, offering him a chunk of the stuff. "Calm down the crowd - got it, chief!" Jubilee says, flicking Scott a salute.
Hank finds himself back in his nuclear gear again. The outfit includes his usual blue trunks with yellow combat webbing that have pouches containing all types of equipment, tools, scanners and do-dads. He sighs as he looks at his geiger counter. "I really really need to design a containment suit that more functional if Cyclops keeps making me do things that are going to result in me glowing in the dark." He frowns for a moment and mumbles,"Damn it Cyclops, I'm a biologist not a Nuclear Physicist." He turns from where he perches on the school cafeteria roof that is halfway between Jennifers current Class and her next Class. He calls to Skin, "The bell just rung, do you have sight on her yet?" Then he blows a bubble of pink bubble gum, "Thanks Jubes but I'be got it covered."
Logan frowns a little as he's been stuck dealing with the kids... He won't deny it was the smart call, but he'd kind of been hoping he'd be allowed to deal with the Friends of Humanity, he wouldn't even have hurt them... In any peremant fashion... Not unless they forced him anyway, but for now he's following the plan. As he breaks from the group and begins rounding the kids up he soon remembers why he loves his reputation back at the school... Kids who think they're going to die if they don't do as they're told are so much better behaved. But Logan slowly begins to herd the student body back into the building even if it is done with intimidation and threats of violence, it at least seems effective, if slow going.
His first major exercise that wasn't a simulation - and to make it worse, it involved the Friends of Humanity. And to make THAT worse, the subject of the whole situation was a mutant that reminded him of a nuclear Promethean from a tabletop game old friends played.
During the flight he kept futzing with his domino mask - with his skin being pliable as it was, the mask didn't want to stay in place unless he gave himself a mild headache.
"Glow in the dark? Prof, I'm more likely to get melanoma than anybody else from this sorta thing." Lifting a hand up to his ear after hearing Beast once more, he shrugged. "Found her- gah!" He was already on his feet, and with enough practice with those big-ass boots of his he managed to run quite quickly, and he threw his hand out - a strip of skin stretched out from his wrist, widening out to knock away another incoming object. "Sustantivo!" he shouted. "Er, stop! Cut out the throwing!" he said to the angry mob. The gray-skinned mutant was really in a precarious position - but the poor girl in the suit had it worse than him - better do her good.
Oh yes, you have sight of her, and her newly stained red hazmat suit. The escort teacher is running up to catch up to Jennifer and yelling at her, "Don't just stand there girl! Get moving!" But it's tough to run when people are throwing things at you, and terrifying too. Especially since the next item might just tear the suit that prevents you from harming others.
The police are trying to push the line of protestors back right now, to break up the growing soon-to-be riot. And the students are giving Logan a hard time. One girl says, "Yuck, yellow!" Another is just so busy staring at the episode that he nearly falls flat on his face when Logan pushes him onward, "Hey, watch it! This is better than video games!" Poor Logan. A few of the nerdy ones run for it when Logan growls at them and threatens them swirlies when they don't move fast enough.
Cyclops is glad he assigned Skin right, and just hopes the school doesn't sue the X-Men later for Wolverine's actions. He is already moving between the police and the outside area where Jennifer and the other students are at. Two other teachers have since stepped outside of classrooms to try and get students inside. "Stop your actions," Cyclops says in a loud and firm voice. "Your actions are hurting others, and potentially placing them in danger." Suddenly a teenage girl accidentally gets hit in the face by a rotten vegetable that missed Jennifer, and screams, starting to cry. Cyclops is working hard to taper down his own anger with whoever brought the throwing objects. "Enough!" He raises a hand to activate a blast at a tomato, so that it splatters back onto the Friends of Humanity crowd and the cop that let it sail past him. "You are disturbing the peace and assaulting children!"
It is those words that get some of the cops more into doing their duty. These are just children, teenagers trying to go to school that the Friends of Humanity are harassing. Though not all of the cops are protecting Jennifer with compassion, they rather not be here at all; the sadness of the world right now.
Oh, Jen never stopped running. She is not stupid. She's pissed as hell, but she's not stupid. Part of her wants to rip off her gloves and give these so-called Friends of Humanity a taste of their own chemotherapy. But she dislikes that part of her, and she forces it down and keeps running. Keeps running until a rock gets past Skin's defenses, strikes her in the ankle, and sends her stumbling to the ground, clutching at her foot and hissing and puffing like the Family Guy falling down on the sidewalk.
And Jubilee was mostly there as backup for Scott. Crossing her arms in what she hoped was an imposing manner for a short asian kid, the Chinese-American glances across towards Hazmat a moment, snapping her gum. Yeah, Beast and Angelo were best at that stuff, but... well, Jubilee turns her eyes back towards the crowd. "You want me to /really/ give 'em a scare, Scooter?" she asks, wiggling her fingers and grinning kinda wickedly.
Hank leaps over the side and moves to join Skin. His hand reaching down to help Jen get up, "Morning Ms. Takeda. I am Dr. Hank McCoy, also known as the Beast. You perhaps have heard of me? If you would follow my student and associate Skin here post haste to your next scheduled chronologically predetermined scholastic gathering, It would be most welcomed." He says offering a warm smile. He's still got his Geiger counter in his hand. "I have patches and sealant if anything happens to your suit."
"Madre de Dios, Beast, your ten-dollar words are redundant," Skin said as he stepped backwards to add a greater 'sphere' of influence in defending Jen (and Beast) from incoming thrown... stuff. Lucky for him he's resistant to impact - especially as a rock hits him square in the nose. "Hey! Stop that, you... pende-" he clears his throat to stop himself from cursing any further.
Logan continues his threatening, as a rule he's good at it, and thus it's not long before they're convinced that the crazy guy with claws may well be planning to kill anyone who's outside in five minutes... Or anyone who doesn't return to the building in an orderly fashion... A fact that's likely causing some concern for those at the back of the line.
The teacher is actually too afraid to get near Jennifer right now. Did the suit rip? Will she get hit with things; she ends up almost stumbling as she stops her own running, unsure of what to do. And you can only feel sad about that. Then suddenly, Beast appears. She knows of him, he was a solo hero in New York City, and he is so very sexy. The teacher flushes and waves, but stays back to let the hero take care of things for now.
A few of the kids grumble about the mutie freak that is Wolverine, but start moving out of fear. They just like to talk big. Still, they are busting their rebellious little tushes.
The police are managing to start pushing the crowd back, though they seem really angry. Yet, having such a crowd face the police, the X-Men, and a radioactive girl? The crowd isn't suicidal, not yet anyway.
"Not a scare," Cyclops says more quietly, "But the thrown objects are free game. Have a -BLAST-." Is Scott angry at Jennifer's treatment? Yes. He has been chased by a mob of angry people before when he actually ended up saving their livesthen again, their lives were placed in danger because of one of his blasts, but still. He was just a scared kid. Cyclops looks up when a police officer approaches him, one in charge of the efforts. Cyclops speaks up with authority to the officer, "You need to start arresting those that are throwing objects for assault and battery, disturbing the peace, or whatever you can think up of. If they realize the police are going to take this as a violent act, they will hopefully stop before things get further out of hand."
The cop isn't happy, and grounds his teeth, but finally nods and throws out the order loud enough for his officers to hear, and those in front of the crowd.
Jen grimaces as she peers up at the Beast. "Yeah, see, there's this little problem about having a broken ankle -- makes it really hard to run." Her ankle isn't broken. It's just hurting a lot. Her suit, however, has been torn, and that's at least as big an issue. The hole in the leg is small, but it's there, and while she's outdoors, allowing the area to be suffused frequently with fresh air, and while even full body exposure isn't fatal for some time, there's a leak -- and people won't be happy about that. Still, she climbs slowly to her feet and starts to hobble toward the building, muttering under her breath. People suck.
Accuracy wasn't one of Jubilee's strong points. Still - when the projectiles are flung out from the crowd, Jubilee starts firing at them, bolts of energy crackling and popping like fireworks as she hits most of the projectiles. Mostly. A tomato strikes her on the belly, dirtying her lovely shiny raincoat. "Oh, come on!"
The Beast smiles, "I can examine it when we get you safely inside. Though from the way you seem to be moving. It might be at most a twist." He moves to support the girl. He's seen the small hole too. He will patch the hole when they aren't standing out infront of the world. He just hopes that if he positions himself and from where Skin's standing the tv camera's don't see the hole. He looks to Jen, "I don't know about all people but indeed many do at this gathering do." He calls out to Skin, "Good Work man."
Angelo had to jump to smack away another incoming projectile. He kept slapping away incoming paper, rocks, and other unpleasant things, having sprouted numerous long, then tendrils along his arms. Its actually rather disturbing looking. But Dr. McCoy's leading the girl, and Skin's continuing his job at helping defend.
Cyclops resists smiling, it is too serious right now. Jubilee has a habit of making him want to smile though. "Buy cleaner when we go out shopping?" With the cops taking things serious, and two arrests being made right now, a shockwave of: 'The cops are really going to stop us?!' goes through the crowd. This is the chance Cyclops was waiting for. "This protest is over! Not because you no longer have an opinion, or have concerns, but because the manner in which you have displayed yourselves is a danger to the people here. Go home, and let the students learn in peace, and let the teachers teach in peace! Whatever will happen will happen with the consideration of civil rights, not mob mentality!" He looks expectantly at the police officer in charge
Any television cameras are on the other side of the crowd, rather between between the wannabe mob and the school, so things should be fine. The officer finally steps up, "Due to the violence nature in which this protest is turning into, and with the concern of the students and teachers, we will be breaking up the protest! Go home, unless you are currently under arrest!"
The thrown objects are slowing, and then stopping after the police officer's announcement. About time too. Poor Skin.
Wolverine has managed to get all but about three students inside, and is currently chasing them inside with a growl and a grumble. He is sure to have complaints later.
"Whatever," grumbles Jen, her irritation palpable. Of course, the irritation is really fear -- but she can't let people see that, can she? It'd ruin her rep. She limps into the building, peers at Wolverine as he's chasing her classmates into the same building (and, of course, as one and all of them shy away from her, clinging to the walls as far from her as they can manage), then turns back to her classmates and utters, in her best impression of Wolverine and with her arms raised over her head like a monster from a Scooby Doo cartoon, "GRAAARRR!"
When they shrink away she smirks. "You idiots. Ow." She sinks to the floor against the wall near the door.
Jubilee, for her part, kinda tucks her hands into the pockets of her coat as the crowd slows, and the projectiles stop, mostly - she decides to kinda carry on. "I'm going to check on that Jen girl, alright? Seems like these guys are totally handled," she says, whistling a merry tune as she starts towards the building that she saw her disappear into. Sure, she knew Angelo and Beast could take care of her, but... she kinda wanted to meet this Hazmat person.
Little did Jubes know.
Inside the School building. Hank pulls out two kits from his belt as he drops to his knees and picks up Jen's injured leg carefully. "Alright, I'm going to examine your ankle and determine if there is anything wrong other than a twist." His fingers feeling her ankle, "Alright, It's a simple sprain. It could use being iced down. But for now if we splint it and keep it immovable. Then keep your weight off it for the rest of the day. We'll be fine." He then reaches down for the first kit which contains patches for the hazmat suit. The furry doctor going to work in patching that.
"Wait a sec..." Angelo says, looking down at the hazmat-clad girl and the furry doctor currently at work. And then his eyes widen. He doesn't panic - no, there's kids and he needs to set an example. He swallows his fear, and just stands stoic, doing what he can to help protect, just in case.
- SMACK!* Another red spot is on the back of Jube's trench coat now, and Cyclops actually cracks a smile; though the one that threw it isn't smiling himself, because he is currently getting arrested by the nearest police officer. "I think I'll go too," Cyclops informs Jubilee as he trails after her, careful to keep alert of what is going on behind him as the crowd breaks apart and the TV crewed in the background break down shop.
Wolverine though has better plans. Like heading back to the plane and catching up on some z's. Socializing with a bunch of teenagers that he just spent a lot of energy to intimidate into nearby buildings is not the least bit interesting to him.
Jen sucks in a breath as her ankle is manipulated. Beast can be as careful as he likes. He's still dealing with a sprained ankle. Her mouth works behind the faceplate, and she seems to be looking anywhere but at her rescuers as she finally, begrudgingly, mutters, "Thanks." Not that she isn't grateful. Just... well, this is Jen.
"Oh, what the...?!" murmurs Jubilee, glancing over her shoulder and seeing a splash of red. Rolling her eyes, she looks up to the heavens in supplication, and moves inside the school proper, the majority of the tomato sliding down her back to plop against the ground before she enters. "Hey guys! What's up?" she asks, approaching Beast, Angelo, and Jen with a smile. Although her first glance goes to Angelo with a wink, the majority of her attention then slides to Jen. "Hey, I'm Jubilee. You can call me Jubes, though." she offers.
Hank is now working to construct an ankle splint for Jennifer. "Skin, I could use somebody to go get a set of crutches for Jen. She will need them for the rest of the day. If you could ask one of the teachers to have a school nurse bring her a pair or have Cyclops bring a set from the blackbird, It would be advantageous."
"Look at me, Jubilee! I'm covered in... stuff!" And indeed, Skin has tomatoes, other fruit, and even a rock stuck in his skin - nothing pierced, just stuck against a bunch of skin. The mutant teenager sighs. "Ah well. At least I still look good," he says with a grin. "Though so do you, chica." Though this is no time to flirt. At hearing Beast's command, he gives a salute, a bit of skin flopping about in the process. "Si, Beast!" And then he's off, trailing bits of vegetable and fruit matter before politely harassing a teacher:
"'Scuse me, Teach, but could ya direct me to the nurse's office to get some crutches for one o'the students here? Toute suite? Andale? Really fast? Ah, bueno! Lessgo!"
Cyclops enters not far behind Jubilee in time to see Skin flopping about. He chuckles quietly at the energetic Generation X member. He moves closer however and speaks quietly toward Beast, "How are things going?" Rather than a command being in his tone, it is much more comfortable, as if the two are old friends. He does nod politely toward Jen.
Jen looks up at Jubilee. Jubes. A person who calls herself 'Jubes'. That's just... too easy. "Jennifer," she says. "Also known as 'Ach, Hans, run! It's the mutie!'" She glares across the room at her classmates, raises one hand, flips the lot of them the bird.
At first, Jubilee gives Angelo a grin. "That is a lot of... stuff, you're alright though, right?" she asks, nodding to whatever response he gives before saluting Angelo in farewell, before her attention returns to Jennifer, "Hey, Jennifer, nice to meet you then," although she laughs at the joke, before shrugging one shoulder. "We're all muties here - if you can't tell by Big Blue, or Angelo," she says, pointing back towards him. "So it's totally cool with us, we're not gonna run or anything."
Hank looks up at Cyclops, "Situation is a ok, Ol'Fearless leader. Ms. Takeda, sprang her ankle. I'm isolating and restricting her ankle's movement. Skin is getting a pair of crutches for her. So I think we're doing alright." He wipes his brow.
It took a few minutes, but soon enough Skin's running back, a pair of crutches in the crook of his arm. "Sure, set the hermano up with the delivery job, I get it," he jokes, but hands the pair of crutches over to the Beast. "I'm Skin - I know some people say its dirty, but I tell ya I shower every day. Nice meeting you, senorita," he says with some natural suave to Jen.
Cyclops and Beast are both common figures and known publicly to be X-Men, the other two not so much. "A pleasure to meet you Jen, I am Cyclops. I merely wish it was under more pleasent circumstances." So very polite and controlled introduction! "Good job Skin. And sure we shouldn't change your codename to Bubblegum?" That is directed toward Jubes and said with surprising seriousiness, though Beast can likely tell Cyclop's lips are twitching slightly to hide his mirth. "Once everything is completed here, it's back to classes, for everyone," including Skin and Jubilee.
"Yeah, yeah," grumbles Jen. "Everybody's so happy to meet the poison girl. Are you guys for real?" She takes the crutches from Skin and slowly pulls herself to her feet. "I mean, no offense or anything? But much as I appreciate the help, none of this is gonna help my popularity -- and that was pretty much in the damn toilet anyway." She slowly shakes her head. "They're all over there wishing the rock'd hit my head instead."
Jubilee pauses a moment, casting a glance towards Beast, then back again. Well, Jubilee would probably be grouchy if she got clipped with a rock, too. Well, uh... what did the professor say? "People fear what they cannot understand, or something - we just got to show them that we are people too, and... yeah!" she says, smiling brilliantly.
Hank laughs, "Actually being seen with me will raise your cool points by a factor of 10 if your outed as a mutant in certain cirlces. Others not so much, I apologize for your coolness factor. But presently we're more concerned with your and your fellow students general well being." He says stepping back.
"No offense, chica, but I don't care if you leak radiation - Godzilla might love you, but I bet you're muy caliente under that suit. Either way, we're stuck in our situations, and we gotta make the best of it. Besides, you seem pretty goth-ish or whatever, so what do you care about your popularity? Just ace your tests and soon you can be grumpy *out* of high school, si?" Skin gives a broad, too-wide grin with the help of his mutation.
"The powers you have doesn't make me want to know you or don't want to know you Ms. Takeda. It is merely the fact you are surviving in a difficult situation, and still moving forward that deserves respect. How you take that, is entirely up to you," Cyclops states calmly. He then smiles a touch, "Yes bubblegum, we are people as well, and deserve the same rights and protection as others." Cyclops then pauses, "Goth?" he is seriously clueless. "Does that mean Wolverine is a Goth?" He really doesn't know. But he then shrugs, "Let's move out then, and let the students and teachers return to school."
Jen snorts softly. "They don't care if we're people," she tells Jubilee. "All they see is that we're more awesome." One brow is raised at Angelo. "Esse, I'd rock your world," she says mildly. "But I'm about as goth as a banana daiquiri -- which I seriously need right about now. Thanks again for the save, all you mutant people. Appreciate it. Now I gotta get back to Hell. Also known as history with Ms. Radner, who has taught a suspicious number of classes on how mutants are evil." She hobbles off slowly, heading down the hall.
Article: DG: 2011-04-16 - Friends of Humanity Protest Almost Turns Riot