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: Garrison meets Maya and gives her some life advice. Jubilee posts to make plans once she returns from the mansion. The Zodiac: Leo: Kevin contacts Dom about a data tap at a bank.
2021: Terry text’s Darcy about Kyle waking up, and discusses her emotional state. Alani helps Sooraya to recover from her time stuck as a pile of sand. Arise, X-Man: Laurie posts about heading off to a meditation retreat in Nepal; Mentions are made of Darcy and Laurie’s trip to Nepal. Darcy travels with Laurie to help settle her into the monastery and learns more about Laurie's arrival at the mansion.
2004: Amanda tells Angelo why Remy's return bothers her so much. Nathan sounds out Remy. Jubilee doesn't sleep for four days after reading Scott's scenarios and has to be drugged. Shinobi goes to Japan.
2005: The security restrictions are lifted. Jamie and Rahne discuss stress relief and what's making them stressed. Scott tells Ororo and Alison about his double agent in the Brotherhood, Pietro. Scott and Jean go for an impromptu vacation for their stress relief. With Malice Aforethought: Alex comforts Lorna in the wake of everything. Stoker and Stalkers: Kitty's stalker continues to follow her. Marius and Haroun meet during Haroun's PT session, and decide to mutually train together. Haroun and Rahne discuss her plans for the future.
2006: Ororo visits Kurt and they talk a little about Mystique. The Gates: Nathan and Medusa meet Istvan Barath at a UN meeting and he informs them no-one is getting out of the Smichov ghetto any more. Kyle offers to help Shiro get back into shape. Ororo and Scott have bad movie night. Scott and Angelo discuss his prospective teaching position and confirm it won't be too much for his schedule.
2008:First Do No Harm: Kyle and Laurie go to the museum in New York and attract the attention of a jewel thief/mutant; Karl Lykos attacks the pair and feeds off Laurie, resulting in his transformation into a dinosaur man; Kyle's emergency beacon goes off and a team is scrambled; during the fight, Laurie uses her powers on Kyle, convinced he is trying to kill Lykos; the cavalry arrives and Lykos escapes; back at the mansion, Laurie and Kyle have an enormous fight on the journals and she accuses him of not having control of his feral nature, going so far as to email Scott; Doug gets Clarice to teleport him to the mansion and drags Laurie out to the dojo to cool down; Monet is bored by the whole thing; Laurie goes home to avoid the fallout of the fight, and Gail sends her back with some pointed words about her behaviour and attitude; Kyle is dragged off the computer by Julio and lectured by Farouk. After his talk with Farouk, Kyle gets a very different kind of stress aid from Jan. Here Comes Tomorrow: The girls have to cooperate to build a bridge and Garrison reflects on the conversation with Charles that resulted in the formation of the group. Julio mentions a new powers application and Haller arranges for Betsy to help him with it.
2009: Catseye goes to mass with Callie and makes observations in her journal about the experience. Dori makes a request in her journal for an adult to drive and accompany her to the rated R movie, Zombieland.
2010: Jean-Phillipe announces he is a trainee on x_team; Kyle emails Laurie about tormenting her new trainee roomie with early morning runs.
2011: Terry and Adrienne chat about their respective returns to the mansion.
2012: Adrienne asks to borrow Scott’s car on the weekend. Kyle posts about the Tigers ALCS victory over the Yankees. Clint texts Maddie about meeting on the roof with snacks. Tandy posts about not being able to sleep.
2014: Cecilia posts to x_medical offering help with Laurie and Hope. Wade texts Cecilia and Namor about pie. Namor posts not understanding the attraction of pumpkin.
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