They were smaller than the thing that had called itself Samedar, but what they lacked in mass they made up for in numbers. The creatures poured from the vents in a glut of spidery arms and translucent wings, swarming and scrabbling over each other in a blind rush towards the intruders like bees responding to a wasp in their hive.
They were not immune from the increase in gravity. Their wings whirred, but their flight was erratic. One launched itself unsteadily at Bobbi, keening "Queen-killers! Queen-killers!"
A crimson beam struck the alien point-blank. The body struck the wall with a sound like a bug hitting a windshield, and with similar physical effect.
Namor, however, did not fire. He moved.
His rifle was reversed as he drove forward, smoothly settling into a ready position. Then, with a flick of disdain, he drove the butt of it into the nearest creature’s thorax. Chitin cracked. The body folded. He spun, then, and more bugs were routed.
"Redundancy," he said flatly, pivoting. Another thing struck – he parried it with the side of the rifle like a trident haft, then brought it down again, harder, until it stopped moving. "And poor listeners. Intolerable."
His eyes swept for chaos for more targets.
"I loathe repeating myself: see to the door. Stop wasting fire on mere insects."
"Well, at least he's found use for the rifle," Marius remarked as he turned to regard the door. There were no visible hinges, but this was not a problem. Finesse was for people who weren't being swarmed by extraterrestrial parasites.
One thing could be said about the Nevada desert: if one were borrowing solar-charged optic blasts, few places were better. The blast peeled the door inward like warped aluminum, creating an opening just wide enough for a person to slip through. An entrance, but narrow enough their attackers would be forced into a chokepoint.
"Ladies first–" Marius began to offer Bobbi when a chunk of ichor and exoskeleton slapped against the wall directly next to them. Namor appeared to be enjoying himself.
"Gross," she said after the splat sound morphed into a squelch as the alien viscera slid down the wall. Bobbi made her way inside and stopped by a conveniently placed control panel, which had an even more conveniently placed sign with instructions in English hanging beside it. "Here, this can't be . . . no, it couldn't be that easy, could it?" she questioned aloud, looking around at the dozen or so pods filling the room.
"Gonna try the defrost sequence, cover me, please?" she asked as her fingers went into action, following the sequence on the sheet as carefully but as quickly as possible.
A shadow passed over the room as the Atlantean stepped between the last skittering insect and the corridor's narrow breach. His rifle hung in one hand now, dripping and dented. His other hand swept back his hair, streaking it through with something unidentifiable and faintly glowing.
"You are both adequately covered. Offensively, defensively, and sartorially." A flash of teeth caught in the hallway light. "Try not to spoil it with gratitude."
2015: Gabriel posts saying he'll be enjoying free drinks at a bar.
2016: Clint makes a post asking about everyone’s Halloween plans. Maya and Quentin have another less than friendly encounter despite her efforts to try to get him to understand her. Staff of Five: Matt and Clint receive a mysterious package via a USPS delivery man. Matt, Clint, Topaz, Ev and Kyle get a bit more than they bargained for after opening the mysterious package in the library. Topaz announces that the library is closed for maintenance and puts a ban on magic and magical-related items. Kyle makes a post explaining the chaos in the library. Rogue checks in on Topaz to make sure she’s alright; Topaz drops by Amanda’s suite while she’s examining the staff and Amanda expresses her grumpiness at Clint. Reed expresses his disappointment that the library’s been shut down.
2017: Lorna and Alex share a moment while delayed at the airport on their way to Ireland for their honeymoon.
2018: Reed posts an article about swimming with sharks. Angelo and John catch up.
2023: Angelo texts Match to check in on him and the roommate situation. Darcy texts Clarice about Quentin and his message, especially about the medical team “failing” part. Everybody's working on the weekend; Garrison and Felicia bump into each other at Kirby's, she dispenses a little bit of wisdom.
2004: Scott shows Jubilee his Doomsday files to prove a point. Moira and Cain talk about saving the world. Devil In My Mind: Remy returns to the school and makes a deal with Charles Xavier to help keep the school safe; Charles asks Cain to let Remy live with him in the boathouse.
2005: Jean and Tommy discuss physiotherapy and literature; Terry and Tommy argue about his FOH beliefs. Jean checks on Haroun's recovering mental health with a walk through his mindscape. High Cost Of Living: Amanda makes a decision and clears her room of personal ties. With Malice Aforethought: Scott gets an email from Pietro about Lorna and Forge's location.
2006: Yvette's mother is located and plans made for her to return home. Angelo and several other students throw a belated birthday party for Yvette. Nathan and Cain discuss the security tapes of the Logan-Crystal incident and Nathan is furious. Amanda emails Kurt asking to see him. Alex posts about the earthquakes in Hawaii and reassures people he's safe. Haller tells Jennie he is going to Kosovo with Yvette to settle her in.
2007: Laurie makes observations on nature and male birds. Mark mocks Doug's hangover on his journal, and everyone joins in. Haller asks Cain to not remove a fallen tree on the grounds so he can get Kevin to practice his powers; Kevin's session goes better than he thought. Cain talks to Crystal about her new status as staff and she asks permission to move into the mansion properly. Wanda has a shopping crisis. Forge asks Clarice for a teleporting favour. Carmen Animi Vermium: Jan encounters an obviously not-well Monet and is confused; Charles pinpoints the problem and Monet asks Marius to come with her to Sydney to confront their elder brother. Laurie and Terry discuss becoming an X-Man and never have enough hours in the day.
2008: Laurie is random, which results in basketball with Jay. Mark is depressed about Madonna's divorce.
2009: Logan posts to his journal noting that there's a tape of Kyle and his sparring match for review. Sam and Yvette talk about trainee names and how not everyone gets along on the team. Topic is changed when she asks about how he's doing now that he's back on and Sam agrees to make a program in the Danger Room fit for Yvette now that Nathan and Scott are gone. Manuel reveals to Angelo he was not jealous of Angelo's or Amanda being together, but that they could be so normal together. The two make amends and go for fish. Jay returns a letter to Kevin before heading off to work to sub into the band at Silver as backup. Manuel and Laurie get into an emotional argument when Laurie offers his sister a cupcake without asking him first. Laurie cuts herself and Valentia leaves, causing the two to stop and reassess that they need a mediator to help them with their power struggles. Manuel emails Haller, asking him to mediate.
2010: Jared mentions his bar-tending course is taking a lot of his time lately. Kyle is confused about the football results and complains his feet itch after having to wear shoes all day. Wanda finds herself dateless and asks for Friday night company.
2011: Jean and Warren have an exhausted conversation at two in the morning. Jean-Paul leaves a voicemail for Adrienne in French asking what's going on with Vanessa. Adrienne texts Angelo to ask him to check up on Warren. Angelo e-mails Warren to check up on him and see how he's doing. Warren e-mails Adrienne to tell her off following his e-mail exchanges with Angelo. Kyle makes an entry about his beloved Tigers losing their series against the Texas Rangers. Jean-Paul calls Jean to check on Vanessa's status more directly, then begins the long trek back to the mansion from Denmark. Wade sends Warren a text to find out where he is. Layla makes a banner based on a weird conversation with Kyle. Adrienne meets Jean-Paul when he arrives at the mansion and she better updates him in person. Sam and Kurt get a chance to catch up a little in their suite about everything that's been going on in their respective lives, good and bad, before Sam volunteers to make them a snack. After being out drinking at Harry's with Angelo and cutting out early thanks to the baseball crowd, a rather inebriated Warren ends up in Wade's suite for more scotch and a discussion about violence. Kyle and Dori attend ESU's alternative homecoming and Dori squees when Kyle refers to her as his girlfriend. Korvus takes Meggan to Homecoming at ESU. Things are awkward at first, before they decide to dance and talk about various things, including powers and Halloween costumes.
2012: Clint texts Maddie about the caramel onions being a success. Molly asks whether the mansionites are doing anything for Halloween. Sooraya emails Angel wanting to vent about Africa. Sooraya meets Angel to talk about Africa. Angel talks to Angelo about Sooraya being worried about him.
2014: Tandy posts jubilantly about the arrival of the Halloween costumes. Wade posts about an interesting fortune cookie he got.
XProject Announcements and News:
Opening message from Dex, instigator of the XP Wiki Project:
I'd like to announce the official opening of the X-Project wiki. What is this strange thing, you say? Well, over the last seven months, the players of X-Project have been labouring to produce a wikipedia responsitory of our game. Unlike other games, which have a life span around the same length as a mayfly, XP has been going since May 2003.
Proving that none of us have any lives what so ever.
Almost four years of content can be daunting, but no more! On this wiki, you will find full character bios, timelines, month by month game summaries, lists of important NPCs, locations and events. In short, a vast plethora of information and details on the game. Included are tidbits about how plots were made, details you never knew about your favourite characters (like Gambit, right? Everyone here is a big Gambit fan. No? No one? To hell with you all!).
Take a look and tell us what you think. Lots more content to come, and if you have suggestions (or this encourages you to play), we're easy to find.
Dex.
Thanks to all those who have volunteered to help, and whose hard work made this project possible.
Please contact Dex, Rossi, Nute or Frito if you have questions, suggestions or want to volunteer to help.
