The Downward Spiral

[rogue-starsr.livejournal.com]

This place is horrible. Even without the insanity taking place with the others, Sarah has passed dozens of horrorshows. Monsters made from people she knew, or heard stories of. Mockeries of everything she was brought up to revere.
The further she goes, the more grateful she is that she ended the life of the Panther. And the fact she can be grateful for killing something sentient, even if it was a twisted monster, sickens her to her core, getting worse the further she goes. With every foot she flies into this place, the more sure she is its going to consume her utterly.

And the more determined she is that it will end.

And then maybe someday she'll stop hearing the screams, the pleas for death or life or freedom and the insane ramblings. Maybe someday she'll stop hearing babies crying somewhere in the distance within this terrible place. And maybe she'll stop hearing the sound of bones breaking, and a living form going still under her fists.

For now, it has to end. That thought drives her through the torment, and through walls, through doors, through every soulless thing that gets in her way. Emplate should be glad he can teleport... Sarah is. One more life she doesn't have to be the one to take. The Storm Queen... that may be something else, because in as straight a line as the teenage juggernaut can manage, the throne room is her destination.

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[discodazzles.livejournal.com]

Alison follows along with Sarah and the others. If they are supposed to light the Storm Queen's darkness, the only way to do that now will be to find the Storm Queen and hope they can pull their fat out of the fire. Barring that, at least her nest will be finished and maybe they can settle down with the freedom-fighters for some relaxation until the next group of vampires moves in. It's a daunting thought so she tries not to think about it.

She is continuing to power up, having done so earlier in the catacombs and making sure to do so as they move through the castle. It's going to be needed in the coming fight, she has no doubt.

[rogue-starsr.livejournal.com]

Powering up shouldn't be too hard. Sarah is bashing through anything in her way, making enough noise to wake the dead, as it were.
Sure, she /can/ be stealthy. Her mother and father were no slouches there, but right now, she's in no mood, and is quite sure they'll know she's coming anyway. Besides, it buys the others more time.

[discodazzles.livejournal.com]

Alison glances over to be sure Sunspot is still well. As well as can be expected in the circumstances. This will be his chance to get even for the loss of his wife. That isn't lost on her and she sends a few additional pulses of light his way, adding to the charge he likely already has built. Otherwise, she's silent as she focuses on the task at hand.

[ororo-munroe.livejournal.com]

Dead -comes the surprisingly blank thought.

The Panther is dead, apparently defeated by vermin. The Queen watches the leathery mutant prostrating at her feet, gray body shaking with mute fear. Emplate appeared minutes ago, telling her all that's happened between himself and their new guests. But it's not the loss of Wakanda's allegiance that concerns her. No, it's Strange's new-found freedom within her fortress. This news is what has her own body quaking with suppressed rage.

Rage... and a kernal of fear.

The barons assembled before her are temporarily fallen silent. They know a hunt is just around the corner. They do not yet know that is they who are prey.

No voice comes from Storm. The howling of wind circling around the vampire stronghold suffices as her roar of challenge to all who care to meet it now.

[rogue-starsr.livejournal.com]

Sarah walks in a straight line towards the throne room. She could fly, but that'd get too far ahead of the others. Besides, not only is kicking in walls and knocking down doors somewhat cathartic, but she's not in a hurry to have to kill anyone else. She talked tough with Emplate, and she was angry, but even if they're vampires, having become a killer is still hitting her hard.
And not far ahead lies the mother of her best friend. The Panther was one thing. Hard enough. She's not sure she can kill Storm, if it comes to it, much as she knows hesitation could cost lives. Right now, hitting something like fortress walls that she doesn't have to feel bad about helps.

At her current pace, the throne room will come all too soon.

[marvel-citizens.livejournal.com]

The light.

Oh, God, the light.

It flows into him, filling, expanding, pushing him for a release.

Not yet. Not yet. Not yet.

[discodazzles.livejournal.com]

Alison manages to get her hostage free, sending the woman toward the exit and hoping she doesn't get eaten by something on the way there. Right now, she doesn't have time to focus on it. The pulses of light shift slightly, giving off a little heat but it really isn't enough. The cold is already starting to get to her and she snarls, sending a blast of laser light in the direction of the Queen. Storm'll either avoid it or Sarah will have her distracted enough she might get in a lucky shot.

[proteus-maximus.livejournal.com]

Morph's got the other hostage sliding out the door, and re-forms himself for combat.

[ororo-munroe.livejournal.com]

Storm expects all of them to falter, so it's with angry surprise and and a clumsy yanking teleport by Marius that saves her from getting her head pulverized with Crusader's shield by seconds. Narrow eyes recognize it from the tales T'Challa had relayed long ago, vibranium perfectly balanced. She moves to strike but Dazzler's laser clips into her shoulder, burning painfully enough to make her falter. This is too close.

Too enclosed.

The barons, including Marius, move to intercept Morph and Dazzler's hostages before turning their focus on the heroes themselves. Storm regroups, then viciously pushes back at Sarah with her own high pressure shield, determined to induce a fatal bit of hypoxia. A manic sneer is warped with rage, her foul hiss choked with the emotion. "Are you a history student, child? Would you recognize your extinction as it happens?"

[rogue-starsr.livejournal.com]

This is where it helps being as durable as she is. And, of course, this was Sarah's plan - let the others deal with Marius, rescuing hostages, and the barons so they can isolate Storm.
Sarah may not be able to get to her through the shield, at least not easily, but she knows Storm's powers, she knows Tempest's, and she knows her own limits. Somehow, she just keeps coming, not talking to conserve her air supply. While fighting through the shield, trying to land a blow with the edge of the shield, she focuses, trying to test the hammer more, and see if she can intensify the effects of the weather powers. She may not know how to summon a storm or control it properly, but she's getting a better sense of the hammer, and figues if Storm starts something, she can make it worse - after all, she's quite well suited to being buffeted by high winds and fighting hurricane force, and it might keep Storm's attention on her a while longer.

[ororo-munroe.livejournal.com]

This confrontation has quickly descended into chaos and it's wearing on the Queen's concentration. Concentration which is certainly becoming more fractured thanks to a relentless opponent who's determination makes up for whatever lack in skill.

Finally, she drops the pressure shield in order to fling the strongest gale-force winds mingled with a spiral of hail, directly at Crusader. She lets the winds take her too, seeking the advantage of distance in the air.

"I will not be stopped! Not by heretics like you!"

[rogue-starsr.livejournal.com]

Sarah hits the wind, at first trying to just keep coming, mitigating some of the force of it with her compatitively miniscule control of the weather - she's a well trained fighter, but has a long, long way to go with mastering Mjolnir.
The driving hail doesn't hurt, but it blocks her vision, and the wind gives Storm an advantage in the air. Really, Sarah could keep at this for quite some time... but so could Storm, especially since being a vampire queen is bound to have given her great toughness and strength to go with her native powers.

Pulling up, Sarah flings the hammer, maybe not perfectly on target, thanks to the hail, but maybe she'll clip her?

"Bring it on! Wind, thunder, lightning... I can take it. No matter what you throw at me, this is your last night on Earth!"

She never dreamed she'd be saying that to Storm.

[ororo-munroe.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it's luck or maybe its the enchantment, but the mystical weapon finds a mark as it collides in a true strike to her side and the sickening crunch of ribs breaking. She staggers in mid-air, barely cushioning her fall as she hits the floor on her knees. The tempest of wind, pressure, hail -it all stops as she sits there, blue eyes dawning with disbelief and pain from the reversed position now giving Sarah and Robert the advantage.

She coughs and it's black blood running down her chin, bringing up two fingers to examine it slowly, as if curious. It smears down her chest as they fall away and she thinks about a stories her teacher told her long ago. About a chosen people and brutal siege. Inquisition. Masada. What happens to heretics?

Her eyes glare balefully once more and she whispers through the gurgle of blood.

"Burn."

Lightning -the strongest nature endows her- strikes through the ceiling of the throne room in a flare of blinding light. It channels directly through Storm as debris teeters and rubble collapses, worsened by the violent sonic boom chasing the black thunderous skies.

[rogue-starsr.livejournal.com]

There... a moment before the lightning, Sarah feels, through her bond with the hammer, as it flies to her hand, where it will hit.

She closes her eyes tight, bracing for impact, shielding her teammates from the blast, and praying she stays conscious through this.

It burns... even with the shield upraised, it burns. The shield is still metal, adamantium conducts, and tousands of volts fly through her, crisping skin, firing nerves. And still, even as she falls, she perseveres. Somehow, she finds Alison in the chaos, and a mere quarter second after the lightning strike, the thunder shakes the hall - thanks to the power of Mjolnir, and Sarah's last bit of will into it, the thunder centers /directly on Dazzler/.

If that doesn't boost her to the heavens, nothing will.

[discodazzles.livejournal.com]

The thundering boom is heard--then suddenly dies halfway. She takes all of it. Every decibel is drawn inwards, leaving an odd silence that shouldn't happen.

The light ekes out of her from the strength of the sounds. She controls it, turning toward Roberto. He may not be ready but they may not get another opportunity. As though she is a magnifying glass, the light erupts from the entire front of her body, feeding Roberto all the energy he needs for the ultimate light show.

[marvel-citizens.livejournal.com]

"GOGGLES!"

He can't contain it any longer. The light. The energy. The power. He can let it out voluntarily, or he can wait until it consumes him.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

They have the goggles on now or they're blind.

He throws his head back. Brilliant yellow sunlight flows from his mouth, from his eyes. It bleeds out his nostrils, pouring upwards. Then it comes from his ears.

He screams, loud and long. The light pushes out of him. More and more and more until it's literally emerging from his very pores.

Roberto is the sun.

He's just gone supernova.

[ororo-munroe.livejournal.com]

On her knees, she watches silver lightning spit and arc across into Sarah with vicious triumph seeping into her gaze. I cannot be stopped- is her roar across the screams of rubble and terror in the Throne Room. But the loudest scream, deeply raw and vengeful causes her to look away from her own pitiful glory... and up to the black-shadowed foe surrounded by a luminous corona of unearthly fire. And then only light, white to yellow to gold burning away, warming and burning over her and it's been so long.

A whisper escapes her... a curse or maybe a prayer to the One the Queen had forsaken long ago. The same one reclaiming her now -recognized by the woman she'd once been as the only mother she's ever known.

"...seyyi'... Angaa Seyyide*.."

She whispers and she burns as the sun eclipses her last glimpse upon this earth.

[rogue-starsr.livejournal.com]

Sarah didn't have much chance to cover her eyes, given that her hands were a little full controlling the thunder, and deflecting what of the lightning she could. Thankfully she managed to absorb a portion of the blast, but she'll be seeing spots for some time to come.
She hits the floor hard, trying to catch her breath, and trying to focus her willpower. Just like last time she asked the hammer to do something, she managed it, but it drained her, badly. Eventually its bound to get easier, but right now, harnessing the power of a god is taxing at the least.
Really, that's far worse than the burns, and the cramped up muscles from intentionally flying into the path of a lightning bolt. Even worse than the mental exhaustion is the realization - she helped kill these people - people who were heroes in a thousand other lives, probably. Her best friend's mother among them.

She just lies there, moving enough to indicate to the others that she's not dead, but otherwise pretending its the physical injuries, minor as they'll ultimately turn out to be, keeping her down. Easier that than trying to explain to these people why there's tears rolling down her cheeks.

[discodazzles.livejournal.com]

Gentle hands touch Sarah's shoulders, helping her into a sitting position.

Alison hadn't been blinded. One of the benefits of her powers is that bright light doesn't bother her. Even that bright. Since she didn't really have time to get the shades on either. When she saw the prone figure of the slight girl, she hurried over to check on her. Which is when she saw why she was laying there and it was nothing to do with her wounds.

Once Sarah is sitting, Alison wraps her arms around the girl's shoulders to offer comfort. "It'll be okay. I know it doesn't seem like it now but it will."

[rogue-starsr.livejournal.com]

Sarah nods quietly, keeping her face down, hidden from the others as she wraps an arm around Allison.

[proteus-maximus.livejournal.com]

Morph's shifted into a miniature one-man band, and strikes up a tune. "Ding, Dong, the witch is dead - which old witch? The wicked witch!"

[discodazzles.livejournal.com]

Alison grimaces. Morph doesn't know so she can't be angry with him. And obviously Sarah doesn't want it known. "Take as long as you need, alright?" She gives Sarah another squeeze around the shoulders then moves to stand, unless Sarah were to stop her but she is guessing the younger woman might want to be alone to compose herself. "I'll go keep everyone busy as long as you need."

She heads toward Morph, smiling as she puts back on her usual face. "Think it was enough?" she asks, referring to a way out of this world.

[proteus-maximus.livejournal.com]

He resumes his normal appearance. "I sure hope so, but S-Man is the one wearing the ruby slippers around his wrist. You gals okay?"

[discodazzles.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, Sarah just got the breath knocked out of her mostly so she'll be with us once she feels a little steadier," Alison replies, careful not to give away too much. Sarah will join when she is ready. "Should we go look for them or sit here and soak in the creepy ambiance?"

[proteus-maximus.livejournal.com]

"Well, I could do my physics-defying Elvira (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvira) impersonation, if you like." Maybe that peek at his rendition of Storm didn't go unnoticed.

"Or we could track down the Spider-Mint twins.."