Callie took a moment and looked over towards Luna when she quipped back towards her and smiled slightly it was hard to find people who could take a joke. "I really like this one." Callie said with a smirk as she started to take off her jacket and moved over towards a chair and got a better look at the graze it was pretty bloody right now as she started to wipe it away with her jacket. Luna started to mention something about Sebastian Shaw, she had heard of him before and none of it was really good. [color="I still have two of our own out there."[/color] Callie said and looked over towards Colossus for a moment. "Any word from Sunspot or Cannonball they should be back by now." Callie said, and looked back towards Luna. "Until we get word from those two cant really go look for Veil right now, but i'd more than be happy to listen to what you know." Callie said.
Callie stopped as she felt her own phone going off and flipped open the screen seeing that it was Veil's number and quickly stood up, making that 'give me a second gesture' as she walked a bit away from the others but still within earshot of everyone. "Thank god you are okay." Callie said as she answered Veil, she then pulled the phone away to inform the others. "It's Veil she just got out of prison and on her way back now." Callie told them before going back to talking to Veil. "Just finished getting some homeless kids away from some mutant friendly shelters, haven't heard from Cannonball or Sunspot yet, and have a short haired chick with some info on Seb Shaw apparently." Callie told her.
Location: Mutant Underground -- Washington D.C. Skills:
Luna sighed and rolled her eyes, frustrated. She could hardly blame them for being cautious. Sure, she could just read their minds, find out information she needed to know but that’s not how one made friends. The fact was, Luna was here to help, billionaire's child or not. She looked at Colossus and then one of the newcomers. An eye for an eye, she supposed. They did allow her into their house after all and Luna didn’t have much to hide. She winked at Spark Plug’s comment of approval and was about to announce who she was when the blonde got a phone call. Luna fell silent as well, waiting for what information they would get on the other side of that line. Veil was alive and well and was headed home. Well, that would make things exceptionally easier. Luna looked back at the new faces and decided to answer Havok’s question first. ”Well it’s not for the fresh air or five star accommodations but a change of pace. Back home things are laid out and structured. My father let me go on very few missions with him but he is seemingly fine with letting me venture off to America alone. It’s a lot more loose here, fun,” she said and looked at them all. Cayden looked even more confused than before. He seemed to know who Shaw was, they would probably know Braddock as well. ”My name is Luna Braddock, my father is Brian Braddock. Like you have a Captain America, my father is known as Captain Britain but he wasn’t some science experiment. Anyways, Shaw is a family friend. I’ve known him my whole life and yes I call him Uncle but there is no relation. As for the information I have in regards to Shaw, I would much rather wait for Veil to show. If she decides it is information you can all know, then I will leave that up to her.”
Cayden Proudstar - Moonwalker
Location: Mutant Underground -- Washington D.C. Skills:
Cayden looked back and forth between all the people talking. It was like watching a live action soap opera. Just as it was about to get good, the phone rang. This was the part in all those soap operas were they would cut to commercial or end the show short and the next day that phone call would reveal it was a long lost relative or someone back from the dead. Cayden wished he had popcorn. Oh wait! He grabbed his bag and hunted for the Doritos he had but then remembered he gave the last of the bag to the kids. Dammit! ”Hey, ask them to get some Doritos,” Cayden said to Callie. If they were on their way back, why not right? He looked back at Luna when she dropped the bomb on who she was. No way. No freaking way! They were on TV like, all the time. Come to think of it. He rarely saw Luna. He knew they had a kid but never knew who. She was rarely on TV or any form of media. ”That’s crazy! Do you have powers like his?” Cayden was like a little kid on Christmas, bouncing from one foot to the other excitedly.
The servant fetched the drink for Requiem, serving it up for him on an actual silver platter and crystal glassware. Another then prepared what Jinx had asked for. There was no expense spared when it came to the items that the Black King kept on his pleasure boat of sorts. Most in the Hellfire Club were aware of the extensive time he spent here with the White Queen, Emma Frost. The sun was starting to beat down on them, at the highest point it would be in the day and it made Shaw's sunglasses an incredibly practical choice.
"Perceptive," the Black King praised Requiem. "I did not rise to this position of power, commanding the Inner Circle, without having a similar quality. Unfortunately, it seems that some need to be reminded of that... A certain asset of mine has gone missing. I believe the culprit to be one of our own. Find them and bring them to me - and you shall have their throne."
He then smirked slightly at Jinx, ready to respond to his questions now. "You will be under my protection as Black King of the Hellfire Club. As for how you accomplish it... I do not truthfully care, as long as you are certain that you have identified the thief or thieves."
The Mutant Underground - Washington D.C. Station:
Colossus shook his head at Spark Plug. There hadn't been any word back yet from Sunspot and Cannonball, but he wasn't worried yet. It was entirely possible that the most anti-climatic thing of all had happened and that they were stuck in traffic. However, his personal opinion was that Sunspot and Cannonball were having a talk about everything that had happened with Veil and Sunspot's fiery response.
"Good," Colossus smiled, hearing that Veil was okay and was on her way back. Havok was still looking at Glimpse a bit suspiciously, waiting for her to explain who the hell she was - and if she didn't, he was going to get his hula hoop of doom on.
"Who put you in charge?" Havok asked with an eye roll at Luna.
Sapphire
Location: Flynn's Car Skills N/A
Veil held up a finger, though she was hoping Sapphire would have Flynn take them to Dairy Queen. She loved the shakes and she also loved that they had "real food." Or at least, what qualified as real food when it came to fast food. Sapphire and her looked like absolute messes with all of their injuries and given that her boyfriend was shirtless thanks to his fire problem, she imagined they'd be using the drive through. If not, she would have to seriously question the intelligence of the standard S.H.I.E.L.D. stormtrooper.
She pinched the bridge of her nose slightly. A lot of mutants with good intentions would bring tips like that to them - but the Mutant Underground barely had the resources to accomplish its primary function. If they started kicking down doors and going after the one percenters pulling the strings, then they'd be abandoning the mutants who needed them. That was the X-Men's job. "Okay, if Cannonball and Sunspot don't check back in within the hour, then I'll take a small team to go find them. Tell the friendly neighborhood lesbian that we appreciate the information and we will pass it along to the X-Men. I'm sure the spandex brigade will be more than happy to move on it."
"I take slight offense to the Spandex brigade term! I didn't used to always be with the Underground you know! I was with a superhero team too, so thanks for that one Veil," Sapphire said, glancing back at her friend with a bit of an eye roll. She didn't generally talk much about what it was that she had done with the team she had been with, namely because she kind of wanted to put that part of her life behind her. It had been interesting to say the least, and sure, she knew that in this case Veil was referring to the X-Men, but still, didn't mean it didn't annoy her somewhat.
"Right you did mention it at one point didn't you..." Flynn mused, glancing over at her. "Alright, so where are we headed?"
"...Dairy Queen, I need ice cream or a milkshake or something!" she responded, glancing back towards her friend with a smile. To think that just a little bit ago they had been talking about that sort of thing in a jail cell. Well, at least they'd be able to get some "actual" food. Or more of ice cream at the least in this case.
Jack Theriot
Location: Morlock Tunnels Skills: N/A
Sunshine stiffened up as Stretch hugged her. She had just met this man the day before and he was already one of the weirdest people she had ever seen. First, he had turned into Captain America - and now he was...hugging her. No one had hugged Sunshine in years. She braced herself for him to pull out a knife and stab her in the side or something that would make sense. "...Are you trying to smother me?" Sunshine asked him cautiously. There was a bit of a wild look in her eyes, like she was a feral animal brought in from the cold and someone just tried to pet her.
"Sure, you can try again if you'd like, I won't protest," Casper told James with a happy grin, after they had gone through the portal and emerged in the Morlock tunnels.
"I've got the body," Blink said, before she made a portal directly beneath the corpse and it fell through. "There's a nice active volcano I more or less use for these situations," she explained, but it was clear by her body language she wasn't going to speak too much on why she had had to incinerate corpses before.
"As for the weapons... We wouldn't have been able to take them anyways. The entire corpse was a huge biohazard thanks to her," she said, nodding at Sunshine.
"Thank you," Erg told Leighton. "You protected a member of my community and put yourself at risk - the same goes for you, little one," he added, looking towards Sunshine for a moment. "Though Stretch... Why?" he asked, a bit puzzled as to why the elongated man was hugging this kid he had just met.
"Few things, one, she's a kid and you basically had her by herself here to defend the tunnels, so in my mind she deserves a hug. Two she did a good job at it, but I do not like the fact that she ended up having to deal with killing someone to do that! Honestly, a kid shouldn't have to kill anyone ever! Then there is the whole weird thing that occurred before we got here that resulted in me not seeing anyone else around here for what was to me 10 months and for all of you people one minute, so cut me some slack here," Jack said with a bit of an eye roll, before turning to let go of Sunshine. He still was not too thrilled that they had left her alone and had her kill someone to defend the tunnels. Sure, he never hid the fact that he'd probably take a life in a heartbeat to protect the Morlocks, but she was just a kid. No kid should ever have to deal with that sort of thing ever in his mind. Though in his mind no kid should ever have to deal with this sort of life either.
"You alright there Rookie, honestly... You should not have had to do that..." he said, shaking his head slightly. Sure, he had just met these some of these people the day before, but he generally cared about them, especially since so far they hadn't really done anything to prove otherwise. Save for Max ending up drawing attention to them by using his powers in the middle of city or something, that part was a bit ridiculous. Still though, just like anyone else in the Morlock community he'd help them out however he could. Even if some in the group chose not to become a part of the Morlocks, he'd still help them out if he could. That just was the type of person he was, and he wasn't really in the best mood at the moment, but it was definitely getting to be better.
“Then, no time like the present.” James put his fingers on Casper’s wrist again and let out a frustrated huff as the same thing happened. “Damn it! Concussions I can do but apparently a black eye is out of the question?” The man grumbled, staring at the offending swelling. Why was it being such as resistant little shit. Something pricked in the back of his head as he tried to figure out why this was such a problem and he blinked once, twice, and smiled sheepishly at the man.
“Oh shit, I never introduced myself. I’m James, the failure of a fixer upper extraordinaire. You all good outside of the black eye? That guy was a nasty piece of work.” He asked along with his belated introduction. He had a bad case of tunnel vision when he felt like there was something he could do and it wouldn’t be the first time he skipped straight to business without being a decent person. “How’d you get tied up in that mess? I know we went up to help out Jack and, uh... James blinked for a few moments as he realized he actually didn’t remember her name. Lighton? Lighten? Light something. “The pair of them―not that they needed it―but you didn’t go out with them, I think?”
Requiem
Location: The Luxury Skills: N/A
Requiem accepted the drink with a soft thank you as he kept his attention on the Black King. He sipped at it as Jinx spewed ceaseless naivety. Of course they wouldn’t be protected. In the event they were caught solving this little problem, Shaw’s contingency would likely trigger and the failed pawn would be taken without a trace of connection to the Black King. Requiem knew the game; perhaps it was time the boy understood as well. He’d consider it. The boy would benefit from such a lesson after all.
He adjusted his cane, leaning it against his chair as he considered the assignment. At first glance, it presented itself as straight forward. Find the perpetrator and deliver their head on a plate. What concerned him was the phrase asset, intentionally vague, and not demanding its return. An oddity considering the man was ordering a full investigation into the matter. He took another sip as he considered his options.
“The vermouth in this is superb. Even with as little as there is, its flavors compliment the juniper perfectly. I personally find most modern vermouth’s struggle against the gin. Is it from Turin?” Requiem inquired before turning back to business. “What is the asset and how long has it been missing?”
"Huh, a combination of both plans. Very handy and very cool Blink. Also thanks for the heads up, now I know to to touch Sunshines victims in the future. Hopefully that information wont be needed but...its good to have." Max said to Blink as he watched the portal open up then close before his eyes. If it wasn't for the fact that the portal wouldve led him inside a volcano, he wouldnt of minded jumping in, seeing a more tropical sight. He wanted to ask about how she knew this place, and why she'd dumped corpses there before, but her posture told him it was best not to ask.
Max turned and saw Jack hugging Sunshine, Leighton and Sunshine being praised by Erg, and the hobo and James getting along. He took a few steps back, distancing himself from the group. It was clear to him that they didnt really need him, and why would they? After all he most likely caused that mess up above by carelessly using his powers out in public and then darting off. He was a long ways away from being a Hero like the X-men. Max cleared his throat, loud enough to gather their attentions he hoped. "So, the supply mission. How do we want to do this?"
Peter Jackson Bernard
Location: The Luxury Skills:
Jinx took the glass from the server with a Chesire smile, mouthing a thank you as he sat upright. He took out his gum and plopped it on the rim of the cup, turned the cup slightly so that the wad now lay on the other side before he took a sip. It was truly uncanny what people could do with alcohol these days, capable of masking that horrid taste with an array of sugary sweet flavors to tantalize the palette. He let the adults talk for a moment while he sat back and enjoyed his drink, happy he brought sunglasses as the high noon sun beat down upon them with its harsh light.
The conversation, it seemed, began to stray for a moment. Speaking about gin and juniper, vermouth and gods knows what. A lot of big words were being thrown around that Jinx could luckily piece together based on what they sounded like. When the conversation finally went back to this asset Jinx sat forward in his chair, holding the drink with both hands, both annoyed that Requim had asked what he was about to, but also happy to see that he was just as curious as he was about this missing piece. "If you dont mind me tacking onto that. Are you wanting it found and returned?"
Callie walked over to a nearby wall and leaned herself up against it as she held up the phone against her ear, as she looked over towards Colossus and gave him a slight nod. She just hoped that it was all just simple DC traffic, as she ran a hand through her hair while also listening to Luna as she started to introduce herself. She still needed to see Veil, and now that she revealed who she was and personally knew the guy as well. "I wouldn't mind checking you out in spandex." Callie said to Veil on the other end smirking slightly before making it serious again. "Thing is she's pretty persistent on asking for ya personally, and knows Shaw personally and is the daughter of the Captain Britain dude as well to."
It was pretty weird having someone who was related to some pretty high end person as well, so it was worth looking into at least."It's your call though, I can give her my phone so you can talk. Or I can take the message for you as well." Callie said looking over towards cayden for a moment asking for some Doritos as well. "And also the new guy is asking for Doritos if you are grabbing any food. Also tell Elsa I said hi for me?"
Leighton was still a bit miffed that it seemed Jack was doing his best to avoid talking to her. If that was how he was going to treat her, so be it. What she hadn't expected was a thanks from Erg of all people. "Oh um...you're welcome. Just did what I thought was best." In truth, she still felt grossly underprepared for all of this.
And people seemed to forget that. The others had a grasp on their abilities. Meanwhile, she still struggled with the fact she had powers, to begin with. She had been promised training that never came. "Look, group hugs all around for a job well done, but before we jump feet first into whatever else you all have planned I would like to remind you all that I still do not know how to control my powers. I've kept it cool (haha) up until now, but I never got my training due to..." She stared at Max, aware it was most likely his fault they were in this mess, "unforseen circumstances."
The servant nodded at Requiem's inquiry, while Shaw seemed to be too focused on business to really acknowledge the question regarding the origin of the wine. Or perhaps he simply just figured that he had people for answering that sort of question and did not personally pay attention to where his alcohol was sourced from. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you," Shaw said, his face straight before it broke into a smile and he laughed. "But very well. The asset is a prototype sentinel. As I'm sure you can understand, I am eager to keep it from the wrong hands. It's been missing for nine days."
Shaw surprisingly didn't seem repulsed in the slightest by Jinx sticking his wad of gum on the rim of the glass. "As for returning the sentinel... Destroy it, if you are able to. If not, I am more concerned with the name of the traitor in our midst, whoever they are." He then took a sip of his own drink, waiting to see if Requiem and Jinx had any further questions for him. It was understandable if they did - this was a big ask of him and would have tremendous implications on the future of the Hellfire Club.
The Mutant Underground - Washington D.C. Station:
Colossus' eyes then widened a bit, as the full meaning of Luna's identity and words sunk in. While he was understandably concerned about the actions of the one percent, he also remembered what she had said about Shaw messing with the less fortunate. He knew that his sister had to be alive, he was certain of it - what if the information Luna had for them would shed some light on what had happened to her? It was a long shot but he was desperate.
Havok eyed Spark Plug as she walked off, leaving them with the friendly neighborhood lesbian. Her haircut reminded him a little bit of Captain Marvel, come to think of it, though he wasn't sure if Danvers was still sporting that style of hair. "So - we have another rich prick with superpowers, here to warn us about a rich prick with superpowers..." Havok summarized, looking at Luna. "How do we know that you are who you say you are? Anyone could walk in here and claim to be related to a famous hero and demand to speak to Veil. What if you're working for Shaw and want to kill her, hmm? Or were planted here by a purifier? I haven't even seen you use your powers yet."
"That's dumb," Negasonic chimed in, having come over to rejoin the conversation. She then glanced up from her phone. "Cannonball just messaged. He's having a man to man moment with Sunspot, will be back in a few hours once he's gotten the fireball calmed down."
Veil
Location: Flynn's Car - Dairy Queen Skills: N/A
Veil rolled her eyes slightly at Sapphire's interjection, but she wasn't about to change her opinion of the X-Men. They were the spandex brigade - a bunch of well intentioned (usually idiotic) superheroes who went outside and fought in yellow spandex, inspiring mutants across the country. They did a lot of good, Veil wasn't discounting that, but they rarely improved the day to day lives of normal mutants. Their work didn't stop mutants from being discriminated against, it didn't stop them from losing their jobs and being evicted, from their kids being tormented and beaten at school. It didn't make the world a safe place for them to live. Maybe in liberal cities like New York, but elsewhere? It was humanity's world - not theirs - and that was painfully clear.
She ignored Spark Plug's comment about wanting to check her out in spandex as well. While Veil did find herself attracted to women, she just didn't have a thing for Spark Plug. They were too similar, with the main difference being that Veil was cool and reserved in comparison to Spark Plug's fire. "Captain Britain... That name sounds familiar," Veil muttered. For the life of her, though, she couldn't think of why exactly she had heard that codename before. "If she's persistent on asking for me, then she can wait until I get back. I'll see about bringing some food back with me," Veil told Spark Plug, before she turned her phone slightly and covered the speaker.
"Get me a deluxe cheeseburger and a brownie dough blizzard, please? Also a few chicken strip baskets, provided SHIELD is paying, for people back home," Veil asked. "Also Spark Plug says hi, Saph," she said. She eyed Flynn for a moment. As much as she hoped he would stick around and sweep Sapphire off of her feet, she also had to wonder if maybe SHIELD would be able to take in this tip, but she brushed off the thought as ridiculous. SHIELD was only one bad call away from being just like OMEN. She had heard through the Mutant Underground leadership network that they had gotten into genetic experiments as well. That wasn't the sort of organization out to help mutants. In her mind, SHIELD was out to help themselves.
Sunshine and Spirit Box
Location: the Sewers - Underneath the National Zoo Skills: N/A
"So first of all, I'm not a kid. I'm seventeen - I think," Sunshine began. She was only about twelve percent uncertain about her age. She hadn't really celebrated her birthday living on the streets, having honestly forgotten what date it was until she ended up in juvi and spotted it on one of her records. At least, she had assumed that was her birthdate - she had the reading level of a six year old child. It was very hit or miss as to whether or not she could get the squiggles on the page to turn into something that made sense. "Second, what do you mean ten months? Did you hit your head or something? It was like, maybe half an hour tops... And third, my name is Sunshine, I don't want a new codename, and I'm fine, Hufflepuff," she told Jack, giving him a slight smile. "But thanks for the concern."
Casper meanwhile just gave James a good natured smile, not too bothered by the black eye. He had dealt with worse before and having a cute boy fuss over him? It wasn't a bad start to his afternoon. "Physically, mentally, or emotionally good?" Casper asked with a bit of a laugh. "Since I think the answer is... maybe or yes to all of them. Depends on who you ask."
"I think the answer is no to all of them," Ben chimed in.
"Rude, Ben!" Casper exclaimed, a bit exasperated with his friend. "Fine, I suppose accounting for childhood trauma then you'd be right, but I think this was one of those are you good? questions where society says we answer yes even if the answer is no," Casper pointed out, looking at the ghost of his friend. Ben was currently "standing" a few feet to the right of James.
"Also, he asked you how you got caught up in everything," Ben reminded Casper, knowing that he had the attentions span of a teaspoon at times.
"Right, right, right. Well, Jackie - Stretch I think is his made up name - is my little brother," he explained. "I got the good hair in the family, as I'm sure you can tell. He was supposed to meet up with me after I got released from rehab, but I wandered to Sephora - got an amazing deal! - and then sorta stumbled upon him anyways," he explained with a shrug.
As Max went on about Sunshine's victims, Blink raised an eyebrow at Max. "You really think the purifier was the victim here?" she asked him, a bit bluntly. In her mind, it had been plain and simple self defense. If anyone was the victim, it was the teenage girl that had to take a life in order to survive.
Erg then nodded, taking in everything for a moment to collect his thoughts. The supply mission was critical - and he wanted to get those who would not join them full time out of the tunnels as soon as possible. Tome, for example, was proving to be a bit of a risk - and he didn't take risks with his people. "Blink, please open a portal to the warehouse. All of those who wish to go on the supply mission, please head on through. Leighton, I will attempt to help you learn basic control over your powers, though this is not a community of teaching. I will make this exception for you as you saved Stretch's life, but do not expect any further lessons from me if you do not become a Morlock."
"At least he didn't bring out the gun," Blink quipped, before making a portal. Through the portal, they'd see what looked to be an abandoned storage warehouse, filled with rows upon rows of boxes. The boxes were labeled for the most part with what they contained and it seemed to be mostly electronics and technology.
As soon as Veil said the word, her ears perked up. "Did you just say Captain Britain? That's a name I haven't really heard in a while... The guy's name is Brian Braddock, I've never met the guy, however I have met and worked with his twin sister Elizabeth, also known as Betsy Braddock, but more commonly known here in the states as the mutant Psylocke, still friends with her actually" Sapphire said, filling in with what information she knew about Captain Britain. She'd heard a few things about him from Psylocke, but not too much in order to form an opinion on him. She then glanced over at Flynn about the food order, and he chuckled slightly.
"Don't worry, I've got it," he said as he pulled up to the drive through window and order the food for them, adding in Sapphire's own order of food.
"It's been forever since we've had decent food..." she said with a slight laugh, before looking back at Veil with a smile. "So she says hi? That's nice, glad to know that I wasn't forgotten about in your conversation with her." Her mind went back to the fact that she mentioned Captain Britain, and now she was more curious than ever as to what exactly was going on back at the base.
Jack Theriot
Location: Morlock Tunnels Skills: N/A
"Yes, you are still a kid, at least in my mind, so deal with it. Secondly the whole other thing I mentioned is a bit on the complicated side and I don't even want to deal with going into too much detail about it if I can't help it, and the last thing I'm calling you Rookie because I just don't think Sunshine is a fitting name for you and you are a bit of a rookie," Jack said to her with a bit of a shrug, before looking over at the others. "Again with that nickname Casper?" Jack said with an eye roll, but he said nothing more to him. Since in his mind he tended to act like the older brother more than Casper did.
"The supply run is pretty straight forward, we go in, get what we need, get out. Not too difficult really. Well, except if we get caught, that'll likely end horribly or we somehow manage to talk our way out of a situation, that would be fun too. It shouldn't be that hard to pull off, so anyone whose going, let's go then, Leighton, I'd help you out with your powers right now, but supply runs are kind of the thing I help out with most around here," he said, before he looked at the portal that Blink had created and stepped through the portal into the warehouse.
Location: Mutant Underground -- Washington D.C. Skills:
”What does my explanation have to do with being put in charge? I arrived in America a short while ago and went to see Xavier first and he merely passed along some information. If you chose to pursue the information I provide, then that is up to you. Perhaps you need to back off until your master arrives and decides if the risk this rich prick has is worth it or not. And if you know anything about Sebastian Shaw, you’ll know this isn’t something to overlook. But if it is decided to be brushed aside, then you can push me out the door. Until then I will wait,” Luna said and sat on the ground. Honestly it was probably cleaner then the softer surfaces. At least Luna could determine the stains on the floor better than the ones on the couches and chairs. She leaned back on her hands, legs crossed and stared at the people standing around her. She didn’t mind the hesitation or the disbelief. It was rather refreshing honestly. Everyone just took her word for things and believed whatever bullshit she spat out because her father was a god to some. Why would anyone related to the famous Brian Braddock lie? Of course, Luna wouldn’t lie. She didn’t have the capacity to or the real need. So here she was, sitting on the ground in a vulnerable state waiting to see if they would give her a chance or if they would continue on with their pointless questions that merely showed their unnecessary need to show their defiance and independence from “the man”. ”As for my power, that won’t prove who I am. You either believe me or don’t. What you should believe is that I am here to help in any capacity that I can. Like I said, I wanted a change of scenery and a different pace. Diplomacy is rather boring but I am fully committed to whatever cause I am a part of. Unfortunately, I didn’t print off my credentials, so you’ll have to take my word for it sunshine.” The sarcasm was think in Luna’s voice as she smiled cooly at Havok. She didn’t much care for the hot head and she would rather enjoying poking fun at his overprotectiveness. It reminded her of a puppy.
Cayden Proudstar - Moonwalker
Location: Mutant Underground -- Washington D.C. Skills:
It seemed the daughter of Brian Braddock didn’t have much of a chill factor. Although she was rather calm and relaxed as she defended herself. She didn’t really seem to fuss over the fact of Havok not believing her. It was strange seeing someone so calm in uncharted territory. Cayden looked over at Spark Plug appreciatively when she relayed his wish to Veil. He mouthed the words ”thank you” to her before he looked over at the little back and forth between Glimpse and Havok. She had now sat down on the floor, almost like a sit in and Cayden smirked looking at Havok. Maybe rather than a stand off there would be a sit off. It didn’t look like Glimpse was going anywhere time soon and the only person that would get her to leave would be Veil herself. How would Veil react to her information? Would she take it seriously or brush it off because she didn’t trust her? No one seemed to trust the higher ups in the mutant world. Granted, most of them were out for themselves or after revenge for a loved one who passed and would put others behind their own fight. Glimpse didn’t seem the type though. She did keep saying that she was here on her own, with just some prompting in direction from Xavier. ”I think it’s worth hearing her out man. I mean, she already knows our location and I didn’t see anyone lurking outside to come attack us.”
Location: Morlock Tunnels -> The Warehouse Skills: N/A
“Actually, I was talking about physically and no, I did want an actual answer. Can’t do much about other issues though; not much of a therapist.” James chuckled at the rambling but glanced at the space next to him as he continued speaking to this Ben. “Oh, Jack’s your brother? Guess that was pretty lucky you crossed paths then huh.” James commented absently as he continued to stare at the empty spot. “Sorry if it’s rude but who is Ben? If this was another telepath that he had to deal with, James was going to peace out as soon as he could.
Then Erg made the call for the warehouse and James jolted. He’d been so focused on… Casper, Jack called him, that he forgot about the supply run. “Whoops, sorry I gotta jump on that. Gotta get their electrical back up to modern day. We should pick this up when the run is over.” James suggested, smiling at Casper. Casper seemed like the kind of guy who could carry a conversation without a ton of input, a quality James liked because frankly five minutes into anything and he tended to run out of words. Plus, who is Ben?
Requiem
Location: The Luxury Skills: N/A
Requiem took another sip of his drink, ignoring the disgusting practices of the boy. Someone should teach him some manners. But someone stole a sentinel prototype from the Back King? He must admit, Requiem admired the confidence of whoever poor unfortunate took decisive action. And it had been missing for nine days? A long time to wait for such a dangerous issue.
“Where was the asset held? Do you have an investigation report from whoever was in charge of protecting it?” Requiem continued, pausing a moment to sip again as he consider. “Considering the time frame, its likely the sentlinal is in pieces or run through analytical processes already. Is the dissemination of information an issue or should we bother attempting to mitigate that issue? And, most importantly, what do you have that makes you suspect it is a traitor?”
Max turned and looked at Blink, her too huh? "Its not what I meant by 'her victims.'" Max flipped the faux fur collar up a bit to mask his face briefly as he turned to have his back face the group. Fixing his jacket a bit before pulling the collar back down. He could feel the portal open up behind him, its light faintly glowing from behind. Max turned to face the group once more, sunglasses still on as his eyes scanned the people before him, his face stoic. It appeared that Leighton, Jack, Erg, and Blink were all upset with him in some fashion or another. While James, the hobo (Casper?), and Sunshine seemed to barely notice his existence at all. One mistake, that's all it was, but one mistake is all it takes for a purifier to put a bullet between their eyes.
Max turned his face to look at Leighton for a moment. "I'd help you with your training, but I don't know how much help I can actually be. If you want to...after the supply run, I have a few ideas for how you can potentially utilize your powers and train them essentially." a smile flashed across his face and he watched as James and Jack entered the portal. Max may have had a lot to apologize for but from what he could see Jack hadnt even thanked Leighton for essentially sacrificing herself to save him. Granted that wouldnt of been needed had he himself not messed up. Leaving him to wonder if he had any room to speak to Jack about this matter. He mouthed a 'thank you're to Leighton before turning back around and stepping through th portal.
Peter Jackson Bernard
Location: The Luxury Skills:
Holy cheeseballs! A sentinel? An actual prototype sentinel was stolen and they waited nine days to speak about this? Well well well, it appears things arent always perfect for the Black King. Ofcourse this wasnt Jinxs handiwork, no, he wouldnt dream of using his bad luck to benefit another...then again, this actually benefitted him? ([i]sigh[/]) If only he could actually take credit for this one, such a brilliant display. Peej quickly downed his drink and placed it on the floor for a servant to come by and take, picking off his gum from the rim and chewing it once more. He was as ready as any to get cracking on the case, that is until Requim spoke up.
The suited man of many questions. Jinx would be annoyed if not for the fact that everything he asked was actually important and perti-perta-peppermint? Whatever word those smart guys use to say very crucial. His left leg began to shake a bit, the back heel lifting and falling repeatedly as his excitement began to brew. "I'm with Requim on this, nine days is an awful lot of time to fiddle around with such a dangerous toy. Now you've got me interested in who it would be too. I presume some tech genius, but we do need to have more information. As much as it annoys me to say it Requim is right on the money with what he asks everytime."
Leighton was facing a dilemma in that she would receive training from Erg, who she assumed was capable enough, but the fact she still risked her life to help him and he STILL made it about the Morlocks. Was it truly so bad to help someone in need even if they were not part of your team? She was a mutant, like them, and she had no ties to anyone. She got their untrusting nature, but there were limits. "With as much respect as I can muster, I appreciate and accept, but I am unsure at this time if I can dedicate myself to the Morlock cause. Because again, and I cannot stress this enough, until 2 days ago, this was all unknown to me. I have only just come into these powers. I do not know the first thing about your fight or your cause. For all I know, you are training to launch a war against humanity. So maybe some education is in order too."
She pointedly ignored Jack. It seemed he did not care much about her, despite offering her help before. If he wanted to go against his original word then so be it. And Max, while he seemed repentant about his mistake before, she knew little about him. "If you want to help then that's cool with me, but that's up to Erg then. I don't know where to go from here and this is all happening quickly. Good luck on the supply run or whatever though."
Callie of course was joking when she said she wouldn't mind checking Veil out in some spandex, she knew quiet a bit about Captain Britain when she was bored and just decided to do some research. "He's basically the Brit's version of our Captain America, if you want to compare but wasn't experimented on like Captain America was." Callie said with a slight shrug as she looked over towards Cayden and gave the rookie a smile and nod. Whether Veil actually got him Doritos or not was up to her though, he so far had earned it anyway after meeting up on their mission. Then Nagasonic spoke up and nodded towards her, as far as she could tell Sunspot did need to cool down a little bit as well since she didn't want him to come back pissed off.
"Update them then that Veil is fine and on her way back." Callie said before turning back to the conversation with Veil. "I'll let her know then that you will hear her out when you get back. Is there anything, that I need to know during your stay in prison?" Callie then asked as she watched Glimpse sitting down on the ground and smirked slightly she then pulled the phone away from her ear. "Just cool your tits Havok, and besides if Purifiers sent her, why would they send a mutant they usually kill us outright than work with us you know. I think she's worth hearing out anyway, I know he has a kid floating around as well to reading the news and stuff."
"I am afraid I do not - I'm sad to say, but their body turned up this morning. Time of death seems to indicate they were killed the day the asset was stolen," he said with a slight grimace. It was hard to find good help these days. "It was being held for me at Frost International's HQ downtown. Dissemination of information is not a concern. As for being a traitor, well, it's simple. Only members of the Inner Circle had access to that floor of Frost International. Power dampeners were used for security as well, preventing the possibility of some speedster just phasing through the door to snatch it."
He then motioned for one of his servants and they came over, bringing two Frost International badges. There were also two bracelets, each of them wired with various electronics. "These will allow you complete access to the building and the bracelets will prevent the power dampeners from working on you two."
The Morlock Tunnels - Washington D.C. Sewers:
As Erg led Leighton to a branch of the tunnels that he used for helping some of the younger Morlocks practice their powers in, he considered how best to approach her concerns. The Morlocks were not there to help young mutants discover who they were and then send them on their way. They were a separatist community and the aid he had given already was more than he had done for people in ages. His thoughts drifted back towards what felt like a lifetime ago, back when he founded the Mutant Underground with Evangeline Whedon and Charles Xavier. He had been naive then.
"The Morlocks are not a cause. We do not have a fight," Erg began. "While others believe that mutants and humans can co-exist, we have chosen to more or less... opt out. We have a separate existence, living apart from the surface world and humanity, and it has allowed us to survive. Most on the surface think that the Morlocks are a myth, a legend," he explained to Leighton. "If you wish to fight for coexistence between mutants and humans, then join an organization like the X-Men. We are not a super powered team, Leighton. We're a community."
He then chuckled slightly. "You got me monologuing," he realized. But as much as he was concerned for the Morlocks, he did know one way that he might help Leighton. "There is a woman in the area with powers similar to yours - control over ice. She's a member of the Mutant Underground, a group I once was part of... They would be willing to teach you control over your powers and protect you until you are ready to continue on your path, wherever it may lead you."
"If that interests you, I can bring you there."
Veil
Location: Flynn's Car - Dairy Queen -> The Mutant Underground - Washington D.C. Station Skills: N/A
Veil glanced at Sapphire, a bit surprised and she shook her head. "I swear, everyone in the spandex brigade knows each other like we're living in some sort of goddamn cinematic universe..." she muttered. However, it was nice to know that whoever the friendly neighborhood lesbian was, Sapphire could make a quick call in order to verify her identity. Covering the speaker, she looked at Sapphire as their food came up and was passed through the window to Flynn. "Could you give Psylocke a call, ask her about her niece? Just so we can get an idea if the girl is telling the truth about who she is, too." The aroma of the car was making her somehow even hungrier, enough to make her forget all of the pain she was in for a moment.
"Nah, I'll see you soon and can give you the rundown," Veil said, before ending the call. Negasonic had done as Spark Plug asked and she sent the text out to Cannonball/Sunspot.
Once they arrived at the Mutant Underground, Veil raised an eyebrow as she saw a girl with a classic ~I need to speak to the manager~ haircut sitting on the ground, with Havok glaring at her suspiciously and looking like he was going to smack her. Had it been someone else glaring at the kid, Veil would've been concerned, but just as Havok was annoying, he was also easily annoyed.
"Veil - it is good to see you well," Colossus said, giving her a slight smile.
"You look like a piece of shit," Negasonic instead commented, going for a more blunt and honest greeting.
Veil rolled her eyes slightly, only to wince in pain a bit. She did, however, enjoy a little bit more of her blizzard. "Yeah, going to have to rate the prison down on Yelp - we ended up having to go out for fast food on the way back here. Terrible accommodations, but we got enough food for everyone," she explained, setting down some of the bags of chickens and fries on a table. She then turned her attention to the woman sitting on the floor, wondering how to approach this.
"I'm Veil. I'm told you have something for me," she said plainly. Havok looked like he was looking into the camera on the Office, having been convinced that Veil was going to kick this woman out the instant she got back. Veil then offered a hand to Glimpse to help her up.
"Are you fucking kidding me..." Havok muttered under his breath. He then went over to the table and grabbed some food, angrily and happily at the same time biting into a piece of chicken. His stomach growled approvingly.
Sunshine and Spirit Box
Location: the Warehouse (K2 and I2) Skills: Enhanced Accuracy and Mediumship
Make sure to put in your header each time where you are on the map.
"Oh, Ben's my friend," he explained with a bit of a grin. The ghost rolled his eyes at Casper, sadly not too surprised that he left out the entire ~I see ghosts~ explanation. Most people tended to think that Casper was just a crazy drug addict, ironically helping him out from time to time when Purifiers were in the area. His mutant powers never visibly manifested themselves to anyone but him. Well, telepaths could also talk to the ghosts through him, if they latched onto his mind - Casper's father had proven that. "And I look forward to it!" he told James, a bit excited. He hadn't had a date or anything in a long time, but also he liked making new friends. No matter what came from this, he'd be pleased.
Once Sunshine went through the portal, she took her Yo-Yo out from her pocket and kept a hold of the string, as she threw the Yo-Yo itself at the back of Stretch's head in revenge for his comment about not liking her name. She started to laugh as it hit him dead on (of course), but the laughter stopped as the Yo-Yo bounced back and hit Sunshine in the nose, hard. "Γαμώτο!" she cursed in Greek, rubbing her nose and shooting glares at Stretch. It was completely his fault, of course. It wasn't the fact that the Yo-Yo was on a string and that she had thrown it at someone less than two feet away from her, with the string length being far longer than that. Nope, not at all!
Once Casper had gone through, Blink jumped through and closed the portal. She had more or less ended her brief conversation with Tome, doubting that he would be able to do anything but dig a deeper grave for himself. "Everyone stay on this level - if you see anything weird, give me a shout and I can portal us out of here. Security usually comes through every half hour, so we should have some time..." she explained softly.
"So what exactly are you guys stealing?" Casper asked.
"The dude said electronics," Ben reminded him.
"Yes but electronics can mean a lot of things... Like are we stealing a Nintendo Switch or are we going after batteries or what?" Casper said, seemingly asking everyone but he was staring at a space a few feet to his right that was entirely empty. The shelves of this place were lined with boxes, with each row of things being about three shelves high. Some of the boxes had labels - some of them didn't - and some of the spots were occupied by just messes of random cables. There was dust on most of them as well, so clearly no one was actively using this warehouse for anything but storage.
Sunshine wasn't about to tell them that she didn't really know how to read, so she hoped that they'd be able to give her a general description of what they were looking for. She spotted a computer at the other end. Maybe it'd have inventory or something on it? She hoped someone else would think of that and go over to use it, since she didn't want to see the pity on their faces when they realized she only ever graduated preschool and hadn't really gone beyond that in the education system. "What's the stuff look like?" Sunshine inquired. Her stomach grumbled, somehow, as if she hadn't stuffed her face that morning.
“Your… friend. Well, hopefully your friend can help us find my parts. Sooner we do, sooner we can bounce.” James pinched the bridge of his nose, mentally reviewing his previous examination. “I need a bag of wire nuts, they look like pen caps with ridges and plane wings sometimes, and a bag of crimp wire connectors, little blue, red, and yellow tubes about this long,” He held his fingers about three inches apart as he continued, “I need some heat shrink tubing to patch up the waterproof insulation, big box with lots of colors. They’re a bit longer than the crimp connectors. I need wire strippers, like thick pliers with lots of ridges in the tip, and a few rolls of electrical tape.”
“And for the really fun part, two new generators.” James grimaced at the thought. “Or at the very least, two alternators, two volt regulators, and sixteen field polls preferably with coils already. I can do without them but the corrosion inside is probably going to kill anything I fix so these will get you a few more months to hunt something down at best.” He looked around, noting the condition of the place. He was going to have to clean everything before he tried to install it. He sighed. The worst.
He made his way over to the computer, booting it up so he can find the warehouse’s manifest.
Requiem
Location: The Luxury Skills: N/A
How convenient. Dumping the body somewhere it wouldn’t come up and then using the individual’s personal media would have made an excellent goose chase but either their quarry didn’t particularly care about a prospective investigation or was an optimistic idiot. He would love the latter―optimistics were idiots and easily dealt with―but a sneaking suspicion told him he’d have to prepare against the Black King by the end of this. He finished his drink with an easy smile. Requiem always loved a good game. He stood, exchanging the empty glass for the bracelet.
“Then I believe our time together must end.” Requiem said with a half bow. “We will report back once we’ve determined the identity of our quarry. Thank you for your hospitality. Come along Jinx.” Requiem picked up his cane and made his way steadily off the boat, Ms. Frost’s headquarters his next destination.
Location: Flynn's Car -> The Mutant Underground - Washington D.C. Station Skills N/A
"Yeah, I'll call her, see if she can confirm the woman's identity. Make our life a little easier that way," Sapphire said, nodding her head at Veil as once more they returned back to the Underground. When Flynn stopped the car, he gave Sapphire a bit of a smile.
"Well, see you around Sapphire."
"See you later Freddie," she said, before she gave him a kiss on the cheek and got out of the car, helping to get the food in for the group. Setting it down, she pulled out her cell phone and walked off to stand in a corner away from the group. She wasn't too surprised that Havok didn't seem to like the new girl, probably trust issues. Even if Psylocke answered and said she was okay Sapphire didn't think she'd trust her until she proved herself. "Hey there Psylocke, I have a question for you... Do you have a niece by any chance?" she asked her when she heard Betsy Braddock answer the phone. After a few minutes of conversing with her, she nodded her head slightly, "Alright, thanks..."
After she hung up the phone, she wandered back over to the group and looked right at Luna. "Alright, you're in the clear Luna Braddock, just talked to your aunt, and she says you are who you say you are, so there you go," she said with a shrug, but she was far from going to trust her right away. Why on earth would she trust someone that she had just met?
Jack Theriot
Location: The Warehouse (K2 -> I9) Skills: Elasticity
Jack knew that he should probably talk to Leighton at some point, since he probably wasn't exactly being too nice to her, but there wasn't much he could do about it now. Especially considering there were about a hundred different things that were constantly running through his head, as if to go through every different potential scenario as to how this could potentially go. He also couldn't shake the fact that he had been gone for 10 full months, but to everyone else it had seemed like maybe a minute, so he probably wasn't in the best state mentally at the moment, though there was some thing that he was questioning the instant the portal closed. "...Casper, why did you tag along and why is the kid here? Also Rookie, thought you would have realized that throwing things at me would end badly for you... And language!" he said, adding the last part as an after thought to Sunshine.
He didn't exactly wait for a response however, figuring they were better off to get straight to work and moving along as quickly as possible. Sure, James' idea of checking the computer for where things might be stored was a good one, but he wasn't positive if they even had enough time to do that. Jack instantly went straight to looking at the boxes closest to them, seeing if they would have anything that James had listed off. Figured it couldn't hurt to look while the guy was messing with the computers. Making his way over to the last row, he glanced up at the top row that was about 15 feet high.
Shrugging slightly, he stretched upwards, leaving his feet firmly planted on the ground, he managed to easily reach the top shelf and opened the box in front of him. Inside, he found a bag of wire nuts, and grabbed it, before going back down to the ground and glancing over at James. "Found one of the things you needed."
As Max stepped through the portal, he took his time looking around. Listening to Sunshine and James about what they saw as well as what was needed. The height of the shelves alone were easily more than twice his height. Boxes upon boxes of stuff not in use and ripe for the taking for those that need it. Sure Wrgs ideology was a bit skewed and wrong, but he was a man spurned by his own country twice over and it made sense to not want to join the fight and hide. Max watched as Jack casually stretched up towards the top shelf, immediately finding some of the pieces needed for these repairs. Suppose he was as good of a detective as he made himself out to be.
Max walked around the table. Running his gloved fingers down the edge and atop the surface. His eyes scanning it for any potential parts they may of left laying around. Nothing really seemed to grab his attention however. All this stuff looked about the same to him and although he knew what some of the pieces were and looked like, he wasnt quite sure how to find them in this massive warehouse. As Max neared the end of the table, he set his sights on a new target. There was a box right in front of him on one of the lower shelves. Figuring that climbing these things was more hazard than it was worth, he opted to go fro eye level and lower, however his prize was nothing more than a gag. Boxes within boxes within boxes of boxes. Nevertheless he took one and held it up stating "I may not have his keen eye but I found an empty box we can use to transport the smaller stuff easier."
Peter Jackson Bernard
Location: The Luxury Skills: Carni-Gymnastics
Now this was getting sweeter and sweeter. Not only are they gaining access to Frost Internationals headquarters, but they also get special bracelets to help them bypass all the anti mutant devices ser in place. Jinx took his bracelet and admired it for a moment, noting its design before finally placing it on his wrist and then pulling down his long sleeve to attempt to hide it. Sure it was horrible that they were being betrayed by one of their own kind but, how bad can it be when he gets to gain so many new allies and toys along the way. Jinx waved down another server, raising his hand up like a kid in school. "Heyo boy, hows about you get me a nice flask and fill it with that drink you made me earlier. I'd like one for the road."
It appeared Requim was out of questions and the mission could finally begin. Good. Jinx stood up, bending backwards to try and crack his back, chairs were great and all but he preferred a pillow top bed or soft sofa that he could sink into. "Finally we can take this show on the road. Not that I don't love your company Mr.Shaw but I much prefer the action over words." Finishing his stretching, Jinx propped his hands upwards and began to cartwheel away from Shaw. "Toodles! Dont fall behind Requim! We got work to do! Whoo hoo!"
Callie nodded. "Alright see ya when you get here boss lady." Callie said, as she hung up her phone and slipped it back into her pocket as she started to make her way over to the others. Seeing Glimpse now on the floor like a sit in protester, which made Havok glare at the new girl which made her smirk. "Seems like you don't like every single woman now." She said sarcastically as she went to sit down at the chair she ran a hand through her hair and sighed a little bit. She looked over towards Cayden and gave the guy a friendly smile and nodded towards him. "You did great by the way." Callie said towards him.
A few minutes of sitting later Veil and Sapphire both came in as she quickly stood up and smiled, she was finally not the leader for now which she didn't envy her position now. "Glad that you aren't jail bait." Callie said as she looked over towards Sapphire as she made a phone call to someone which confirmed that Glimpse was who she said she was. "And you do look like shit as well. Also the new guy is Cayden, or Moonwalker." Callie said as she dug into her pocket and gave the container of pain meds that she was given yesterday. "Also happy to see you are alive and well to Elsa." Callie said to Sapphire.
It didn't make much sense to Leighton that the Morlocks would "opt out" as Erg suggested, but still, provide a home for mutants if they so chose and send others on missions. Even a simple supply run meant that either humans or mutants, or both, were losing something. "I don't see how you can just...choose not to participate. It's happening whether or not you are involved and when you do something like send people out on supply runs or having one of your own attempt to get their brother out of trouble, that's inviting it into your lives. I can appreciate the system you have down here, I just don't think you can run away from it for long. Eventually, a side must be chosen."
She threw her hands up in defense. "That's coming from someone who, until recently, didn't even know they had powers of any sort, let along ice powers, so take it with a grain of salt. If this person can help me, I'll accept their aid. As for what I what after. I don't know really. That's like asking a high school student to pick a career and a college. We do it, but they are not prepared for that big a decision."
