May 9 - Drinks of DOOM!

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan needed a drink after the earlier excitement. So after the meeting with Sam, he headed to the bar across from the campus (where they didn't discriminate against X-Men) and ordered a beer.

[The Golden Witch]

After a few minutes, a golden butterfly fluttered down from the rafters of the bar and landed on the counter next to Ryan.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan looked over at it and frowned. What's that?

[The Golden Witch]

The butterfly shivered and erupted into a mess of probes that covered the bar momentarily before scurrying away.

In their wake they left a message etched into the bar.

Looking forward to playing with you all again.

Oh! The fun we will have.

- Nina

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Bitch," Ryan muttered.

[The Golden Witch]

A twitchy looking man walks into the bar. Walking over behind Ryan, he presses something sharp and cold against his back.

"They had reflections," the man says in a quivering voice, like he's about to break down crying. Fear touches every note he says, "I was right about that bit. Find her. You have twenty-four hours."

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan froze stiff, not looking back at the man. "What are you talking about," he said in an even voice.

[The Golden Witch]

The man pauses.

"No more hints," he says hesitantly, "You have everything...everything you need."

"Oh god help me," the man says.

Ryan feels the pressure let off his back as the man raises a clawed and twisted hand up in the air, preparing to bring it down in a vicious swipe.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan spun on his stool, leaning back as he did so he ended up leaning away from the man he was spinning to face, at the same time bringing out his foot to kick into the man's stomach. He let out a burst of energy at the same time, hoping to stun the man since, honestly, he wasn't sure if he was the one the guy was trying to hurt.

[The Golden Witch]

The man is thrown to the ground, stunned for a moment. With a sickening crack his back arches and probes start crawling around his body. His body begins twisting and changing into something monstrous.

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Oh sweet god," Ryan muttered. He swallowed, then pushed his powers to a higher spectrum. The aura around his body shifted from white to a pale green as he got ready to fire if he needed to. He had a hunch about his new powers, but he hadn't tried anything yet, so this might be risky. He focused on the man, able to sense life there, like he'd been feeling on and off for the past week, and tried to see if he could pinpoint the part there that was him and the part that was, he supposed, Nina.

[The Golden Witch]

Inside the man, roughly where his heart used to be, there was something insectile fueling his transformation.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Oh god... And that was all he could feel as far as life... or at least the source of it. That unnerved him more than a little. He held out both hands an aimed for where the guy's heart should be, ready to blast but deciding that seeing what she was capable of was probably a good idea.

[The Golden Witch]

Large black claws erupted outward and his body swelled with muscle mass. His limbs pulled outwards into long and multiple jointed things. Extra eyes opened up on his head, blinking furiously as they were exposed to new light.

His teeth lengthened outward and formed new rows as his tongue swelled outwards into something long and prehensile.

Clambering upwards this....thing looked at Ryan with confused eyes, hissing at him.

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Nina, what the hell do you think you're doing," Ryan said, slowly edging away from the bar so that he wasn't backed up with no room to maneuver.

[The Golden Witch]

There was no answer beyond a screech and a swipe from it's terrible claws as it charged Ryan.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan sighed, jumping over the thing to dodge, firing at it as he landed at the same time as he threw a kick at its back to knock it down.

[The Golden Witch]

The thing tumbled over and crashed into the bar as it fell, unsteady on it's new limbs.

As it scrambled to get back up, long and spindly appendages erupted out of it's back.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan scowled, firing at the thing again, not wanting it conscious.

[The Golden Witch]

The thing let out a soft screech and collapsed onto the ground.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan made a hesitant face, pulling out his phone and dialing the X-Team number as he walked over and tentatively prodded the thing with his toe.

[The Golden Witch]

Something in the thing's pocket starts ringing.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Still hesitant, Ryan reached for the phone, wherever it was.

[The Golden Witch]

The phone was in the pocket of the man's jeans, which had been shredded up pretty badly but were still semi-functional.

The display on the phone read that there was one video message.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan knew he probably didn't want to see this, but had to, so he opened the message.

[The Golden Witch]

The video showed a crying woman tied to a chair. It was dark and hard to make out but it looked like she was in some sort of large house or mansion that had fell into disuse.

In front of her there was a large egg that stirred and quivered at random.

After a few long minutes, the video ended.

[Ryan Gabriel]

"God," Ryan sighed, shaking his head. He pocketed the phone, then nodded to the bartender. "I'm going to go get a cleanup crew for this. Sorry for the mess."

And time to see who in charge is there to take care of this.