Washington D.C.: September 9th, 2020 - 7:00 PM
Thunderclouds lined the sky, struggling in vain to drown out the soft yellow haze of the city lights below. From the balcony of the Hellfire Club's Headquarters, it was easy for members of the Inner Circle to feel that they were on top of the world - that they were weaving the threads of destiny, deciding who would live and who would die. The view was intoxicating and the Black Queen, Reeva Payge, took in a deep breath. She had clawed her way to the top of the Hellfire Club in order to make the world a better place for mutants - to accomplish her goal of creating a mutant homeland.
"I thought you had reservations at the Lafayette, Emma," Reeva said, still staring out into the city. There was a flash of lightning, followed by the monstrous boom of thunder a moment later.
"Sebastian had to cancel," Emma Frost, the White Queen, replied coldly. She walked up next to Reeva, holding a flash drive in her perfectly manicured hand. There was no identifying labels on it of any kind - nothing that made it apparently or obviously special.
There was a pause, as there was a whispered telepathic exchange between the two, facilitated by Emma's abilities. Reeva let out a slight sigh, her hands clenching as she accepted the flash drive from her.
"Are you certain he knows?" Reeva asked, tearing her eyes away from the view in order to face her companion.
Emma nodded.
"He has his suspicions - nothing definite yet." "And the boys?" Reeva asked.
"He promised them our seats," Emma confided.
"If we aren't careful, Reeva, this could be the end... Everything we have worked so hard for could be jeopardized." "... Then we adapt to the circumstances."
Anastasia had been recalled from her mission to infiltrate the Mutant Underground and was given a new assignment. The little task force of Requiem and Jinx had been expanded to include her, making them an even odder group - the baby, the princess, and the executioner (now as to who is who, well, that's up to the trio to determine). All of the leadership of the Inner Circle was present at Hellfire Headquarters this evening - with the exception of Magneto, but that is hardly surprising.
Sage, the Three-In-One, and Fade were all out on official business. No one informed the others as to what those five's mission was, yet that was fairly typical for the Hellfire Club. The less people who knew everything, the better. Compartmentalization of information was what allowed them to stay in power for so long, having influence over the major governments and corporations in the world.
The trio hadn't come any closer to discovering who stole the sentinel from Frost International and why, sadly. Perhaps though, now that they have some downtime, they could discuss all of the information they gathered and think this puzzle through. Of course, is it wise to discuss these things with the leadership of the Hellfire Club around? The thief could be anyone in the room, after all. Well, Emma and Reeva were out on the balcony, with Shaw down in the cellar getting himself some scotch before he heads out for the evening, so they might have a spare moment to chat.
Sunshine, Casper, and Jack ended up going to the zoo about an hour or so after James had left. They spent about five hours there and by the time they got back to the tunnels, Sunshine was so tired that Erg decided they could hold off on the branding ceremony until the next day. Casper, not wanting to join the Morlocks (branding seemed like way too big of a commitment to him), had spent the night at his brother's office on the pull out couch.
Since Jack didn't trust his big brother to be alone in the office, however, Casper ended up back down in the Morlock tunnels the next evening anyways.
"Jackie, I'm boooooored," Casper complained. He had his phone on him and he was checking it every few minutes, just to see if a message from a certain someone would come in.
"How long have you been sober for now?" Ben asked him, a bit amused.
"One long and painful week, Bennie..." Casper pouted. He had been waiting for his brother to get distracted with something last night, but there never had been a long enough opening for him to slip off and score some pills. He rubbed his temples slightly, having been able to keep the ghosts at bay for now but how much longer would that last? Any minute now, they could all start to appear and he felt clammy just thinking about it. His eyes darted over towards the tunnel exits. Maybe he'd get a chance soon...
Over by Erg and Blink, Sunshine was fidgeting, swinging her hands back and forth. She kept on reminding herself that she wasn't afraid of a little bit of fire. The brand would heal and then she'd have a place to belong to - she could be safe and not have to worry about Purifiers or cops or any of it ever again. Taking in a deep breath, she pulled her Yo-Yo out of her pocket and started moving it up and down, just anything to keep her hands busy.
"Are you ready, little one?" Erg asked her. He had the poker with the M shaped piece of metal in the fire at the moment, heating it up for once it was time. Sunshine was the only one getting the brand that evening, as Casper wasn't joining the Morlocks - and Erg had made it clear to Jack that while Casper could come down into the tunnels, he couldn't stay there for more than one night at a time.
Blink offered Sunshine a piece of leather.
"Here, bite down on this, it'll make it easier," she told her.
Sunshine took the leather strap, a bit green in the face as she put it into her mouth and bit down. The taste of the old leather would have made most people gag - it was like cardboard dipped in sewage and then smoked for flavor. But for the newest Morlock, she was more focused on looking over at the poker that Erg was picking up, seeing the red hot glow of the metal and she shrunk back slightly in anticipation of the pain.
"Relax," Erg told her.
After Moonwalker made the calls, it turned out that there
was room for the kids up at Xavier's school. They just needed to get the kids farther along in the Underground Network - ideally, the Harrisburg Cell. Sunspot and Cannonball had loaded up the kids into a van that they had in the garage and had left early that morning to take them up to Pennsylvania. Most likely, those two would spend the night there before making the return trip to Washington D.C.
Colossus (and technically Negasonic, but she spent most of the time texting) had started training Leighton at the crack of dawn -
literally. For every success or failure she had, Colossus had some old Russian proverb of advice to give to her, while Negasonic just commented about the latest Twitter feuds. At one point, Negasonic had stepped out of the room to go get lunch with her girlfriend and Colossus had given Leighton a granola bar, claiming that it was important for strength. Needless to say, by the time he told her they would be taking a few hours break around four in the afternoon, Leighton was doubtlessly exhausted.
Dinner had been served at six o'clock - macaroni and cheese, with purple Kool-Aid to drink. It wasn't much, especially compared to yesterday's Dairy Queen feast, but it was something. Veil had reached out to a few members of the Underground, putting together a team to go and scout the information Glimpse had given them on Shaw and his Hound project. The team she ended up with was Glimpse, Sapphire, Tome, Havok, and herself - not bad, but Tome was an unknown element which unsettled her slightly.
"Havok, Tome, Sapphire, Glimpse - it's show time, let's hit the road," Veil called out. Her injuries looked worse than they had the day before, but they were healing as to be expected. She didn't complain about the pain or anything. She was the leader. She had to be stronger than some painfully and carefully placed bruises. Pulling her massive mane of hair back into a ponytail, the band snapped and Veil sighed slightly, before deciding not to even bother trying.
"We're all going in one car - Sapphire, can you drive?" Veil asked. That was one skill she hadn't acquired yet in her lifetime - how to drive a car. She didn't want Glimpse driving as Glimpse was new, same logic applied to Tome, and Veil had
seen Havok's driving before. It was either too slow or way too fast, no in between with him.
Meanwhile, Colossus was rounding up those who were left - James, Leighton, Callie, and Cayden.
"Come, we need group spar - good for Ice Queen," he told them. Negasonic flashed a smirk from her corner of the room. She had managed to persuade Colossus that her involvement wouldn't be fair, since then they would have an odd number and that would inherently advantage one side.
"Good luck, losers!" she called out.
"Negasonic," Colossus warned.
"Whatever, sorry...."
