Atomic Angel

PHASE 1

Atomic Angel
Dates run:	August 10- September 17, 2009
Run By:	Ben
Read the logs:	Atomic Angel

"And I need to fix it! Why do you close your mind and refuse to understand what I am doing? This is the only way."

Driven into psychosis by the Hand and his own meditations, Shiro returns to Japan with a 'holy mission' that could destroy an entire city.

Part 3 of the Kemono Arc.

Cast

Shiro Yoshida, Jay Guthrie, Nicholas Gleason, Jean-Paul Beaubier

Cyclops, Rogue, Emplate, Rufus, Pants On Fire

Charles Xavier, Leyu Yoshida

The Hand, Silver Samurai

Timing

August 10- September 17, 2009

Plot Summary

Shiro has been having a very troubling summer. Clause 16 was barely even the start. Jean-Paul's abduction and psychic torment left Shiro wishing to wreak bloody vengeance on Taygetos, and even that doesn't appease him. Leyu's manifestation of powers identical to his own increase the worry that she will fall for the same traps he did. While his relationship with Jay seems to work out at the beginning, the failure of that relationship and the revelation of his infidelity to Kali will leave him depressed and angry with no one to blame but himself. And during a routine checkup, Shiro discovers that his powers have left him infertile, a blow to his already diminished self sense of masculinity. Meditation becomes his only solace, as it allows him to discard all mundane concerns and lose himself in the impersonal emptiness of samsara.

In early August Shiro will start having visions while meditating of Tokyo burning after a nuclear attack. These visions are infrequent at first, and Shiro chalks them up to bad dreams. They soon become very repetitive, though, invading his sleeping and waking hours. He convinces himself that they are valid prophecies of the future and ignores the naysayers. Tired of not being taken seriously, he goes to Tokyo alone to investigate. He inexplicably finds himself drawn to Kanda Shrine, where Tsurayaba and henchmen are waiting. Shiro accompanies them without argument.

He wakes up some time later chained to a wall in pitch blackness. Tsurayaba explains Harada's plot to get him riled up, but try though he might, he can't escape. He spends the next couple of days in the darkness, mentally retreating into himself. When Tsurayaba finally returns to pack Shiro to China (having figured him so deprived of power than he'll be easy to manipulate and detonate), Shiro snaps and takes advantage of a momentary distraction to escape. He nearly destroys the shrine when he reenters sunlight.

When he comes to, he is by the tracks at Tokyo Station. He's disoriented, having barely any idea where he is, how he got there, or even who he is. All he knows is that he's being followed by people who want to hurt him, and that he is somehow connected to the imminent destruction of Tokyo. He enjoys a brief moment of lucidity when he crawls out of the station, and manages to get in contact with the mansion long enough to beg for help before he's attacked by Hand ninja and flees.

The X-Men assemble to find him following a desperate phone call answered by Nick, in which Shiro pleads for Jean-Paul's help. Since even they can tell he's losing control, they bring with them his uniform which was outfitted to help him easily discharge his energy buildup (similar to Alex's containment shirts) and bring Jean-Paul along to calm him down. They find him at the site of his childhood home (which he blew up when his uncle shot his father, now replaced by high-rises), still disoriented and hallucinating, and they're come upon by Yakuza thugs led by Harada's lieutenants Baymax and Honey Lemon, who were sent to retrieve Shiro for Harada. He slips away during the ensuing fight. Back in New York, Marie-Ange has a sudden vision of a Japanese city up in flames, almost identical to Shiro's vision of Tokyo. Now assured that he may not have been making it up, she informs the X-Men and her description of a shrine holding a sword leads them to Atsuta Shrine, the home of Kusanagi-no-tsurugi.

They find him there, his control over his powers slipping but at least lucid enough to recognize his teammates. When he wielded Kusanagi in Omikami no Isan, he felt its magics strengthening him and it gave him an edge over Tsurayaba. Now, convinced that he doesn't have much time left, he wants to take out Tsurayaba and Harada and is assured he can do it with the help of Kusanagi. When they are attacked once more by both Yakuza and Hand soldiers, the team goes to battle that threat while Jean-Paul talks Shiro down. He gets calmed enough to don his uniform which relieves a lot of the physical stress and allows him to help the team beat them back.

When they return to New York, Shiro realizes that he needs help that Xavier and the school can't provide. His ordeal has resulted in a loss of control over his powers, compounded by meditation-induced psychosis and other associated psychoses that will require intensive therapy. He leaves for Muir, where he'll stay until he manages to reclaim his control and his sanity.

Related Links

Blaze of Glory

Kick It Up

Omikami no Isan

Clause 16

External Links

Atomic Angel

xp_communication posts

x_snowvalley posts

Trivia and Meta

Trivia

Following his breakdown and rescue, when Shiro was sent to Muir Island to recover, Jean-Paul and Jeanne-Marie Beaubier went with him.

Leyu remains at the school to train with her new powers.

Marie-Ange's vision also included elements which X-Force would investigate for Operation: Man of Stone.

Meta

Plotrunner: Ben