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Post by Gris on Mar 12, 2021 4:54:21 GMT -5
"A declaration of war?" Pryde wondered back at Kate. What the hell had that creep put in his head? No, that wasn't it, she had to stop thinking she knew Erik just by their common ground, maybe Azazel did nothing. Maybe. But considering how crooked his smile was... she sighed, knowing better than to fall prey to the theatrics, but as much as she could want to act cold and even with the voice of experience in her head, she was painfully young.
"Couldn't help him, barely got out of there myself" Pryde voiced, mostly towards Erik even if her eyes were on Pietro. "But I want to help, I know I can" she turned towards Erik, a small part of her honestly wanted to, but it was mostly about shaking off that feeling of impotence that lingered on her after the last mishap. Maybe if she was involved she could prevent, diminish or refocus whatever it was Kate feared about Erik.
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Post by UrbanBlue on Mar 12, 2021 12:07:35 GMT -5
"I would do my best to prevent any type of war."
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Post by mcr on Mar 13, 2021 1:56:19 GMT -5
It is a long drive back to the manor house for Elizabeth and Peter, time spent ruminating on their trip to the asylum, the memories and visions shared with Elizabeth by Jamie, and secrets being kept by Emma Frost and her ilk. By the time they arrive, there appears to be some kind of to-do in the foyer, as Emma has been rejoined by Kate Pryde and Henry McCoy, along with Count Dragos accompanying another man. Emma warns her compatriots:
"I believe Erik means to make a declaration of war. Whatever is about to happen, please do not let it come to that?"
Sensing the arrival of Peter and Elizabeth before she sees them, she announces:
"Ah. What timing. Erik Lensherr, the Lady Elizabeth Braddock and Mr. Peter Wisdom. Lady Braddock and Mr. Wisdom were also on the team that rescued your son."
Erik digests this bit of news, pausing in contemplation. His presence is something to take in, and he seems to command the room even in the company of the otherwise indomitable Emma Frost. He addresses the team:
"I appreciate all of your efforts. I have to confess: I only recently learned I had a son. He was raised by others, and I would love to make up for lost time. But there is not much I can do for him, here and now. However, there is another thing that troubles me, something I believe I can act upon. Something I will act upon. Azazel informed me that the American government has been harboring remnants of the Nazi party for over a decade now. The same government I worked with to track some of these monsters down and bring them to justice with the promise that things would be better. That none would be treated as lesser simply by virtue of the circumstances of their birth? And now they are using them, shielding them in the thousands, to continue the same experiments they had been conducting during the war! Plotting with the specific goal of neutralizing those of us with the gift?"
The metal sculpture that the manor servant knocked over begins to tremble, and you can hear the creaking of metal bending around you, Erik's rage intensifying:
"I have friends, like you, like us, urging us to try to find a way to forge a shared path with them. But it is becoming quite obvious that we must look out for ourselves, and I believe Emma agrees - why else would she be gathering you, if not for the coming battle? A war for our very existence? Where do we draw the line? Where do we say 'No more?' I say our stand starts now. We must show the world that we will not be trampled upon, that we are not to be trifled with and treated as something less than human. I say we are greater than them! Greater than they can ever be! And we must show it! So I ask you: Are you with me?"
Emma says nothing for a moment, a look of guilt on her face. It appears she does indeed agree to some extent, but otherwise hesitant to challenge him. She says softly, not wishing to escalate things:
"I won't ask you - any of you - not to act upon your convictions. But I would urge restraint. There is a coming battle, but it is not now. And if we rush to action, we may find that when the time comes, it may be too late to undo this thing. I know Charles would agree."
The elder Kate Pryde shares a thought with her younger self:
"Emma has seen what we have. I don't know if what Erik is asking will inch us closer to apocalypse, but if Emma thinks so, it may be best to remain cautious."
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Post by Gris on Mar 13, 2021 5:12:04 GMT -5
"I'm with you" Pryde quickly stepped close to Erik, not only because his passion was contagious, but also to make sure she had his attention. Even if his calling was good and true, it was clearly that emotions were pushing him in the wrong direction. Pryde could hardly blame the man after all that he had gone through, but if she wanted to steer him towards a more calm angle to the problem she had to be close and agree, they would gain nothing by opposing and antagonizing him while he was riled up. Specially when Pryde believed he was, at least partly, rightfully angry.
"We can't let them hide those murderers, nor can we stay idle while they experiment against us" Pryde agreed. "But our cause is righteous, we can't act out of anger nor can we push them to act out of fear. Please Erik, listen to your words, we can't turn their bigotry against them. I can go through things, but that doesn't make me the better of someone who can't as being a hardworking athlete, smart scientist or creative writer doesn't make them greater" she looked into his eyes, searching for the gentle man she had met outside not long ago. "I'm not even suggesting we should do nothing, you know that, but this is not about the strange gifts we have been bestowed with and how that sets us apart. It's about how we use them" she finished.
Pryde was furious, wanting to strike back as Erik said, but not only Kate and Frost suggested that such a path only lead to a ruin she wanted to avoid, but also she didn't want that man to be twisted into his worst self. She didn't want Erik to be defined by what it had been done to him, not when he could be much more. It was also the second time Charles' name was mentioned in the last few weeks, a name that caused all sorts of feelings in old Kate, feelings hard to pinpoint, but that would have to wait.
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Post by OurLadyWar on Mar 15, 2021 14:03:01 GMT -5
While Elizabeth was keen on sharing information with Peter, she was gun shy when it came to completely divulging Jamie's vision. Peter had helped her and proven he could be trusted, but if he knew too much, that could be fodder for the more telepathic types in the manor. Emma jumped to mind. She shared the powerfully charged persona she had seen towering over her parents, but the previous vision was still too foggy to fully process, let alone exchange. As a lull found them in the conversation, Elizabeth let her eyes fall slowly shut as the countryside passed them by. When her body felt the car stop, she groggily came to, rubbing at her eyes. Between all the research she had been doing the last couple days and visiting Jamie, Elizabeth had been far more exhausted than she knew. She stretched her hands over her head, pressing them to the top of the car as she did so. "Home sweet home," she murmured, tapping her father's picture against her fingertips. As the pair of them headed into the manor, she folded up her father's picture and slipped it inside her back pocket.
Once they were inside, Elizabeth was taken by the new figure standing in the foyer with the others. He had a powerful presence, even before he said anything.
"Ah. What timing. Erik Lensherr, the Lady Elizabeth Braddock and Mr. Peter Wisdom. Lady Braddock and Mr. Wisdom were also on the team that rescued your son."
"Sir," Elizabeth nodded in polite acknowledgment, glancing to Emma as she made her introductions.
While his speech was impassioned and invigorating, enrapt in his cause so deeply he was even affecting the nearby sculpture, Elizabeth had her own path. A battle or rising to meet some sort of battle was not her priority: finding Brian was. However, bringing Nazis to justice certainly did resonate. Especially considering the film of her father she had just seen. Elizabeth was already throwing her hat in with the Inner Circle, she was not sure she could keep stretching her allegiances to strangers any more than she had. For now, she said nothing, only leaned against the wall, arms crossed, listening and observing the others.
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Post by UrbanBlue on Mar 15, 2021 14:33:12 GMT -5
McCoy admired Eric's passion, but he seemed illogical on the face of it. While he could understand, as could any scientist, the way in which various pieces of nature collided with each other, humans were after all a higher form of life. There had to be a better way, hadn't there?
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Post by phencerx on Mar 15, 2021 15:51:10 GMT -5
Peter stayed deep in thought on the drive back to the manor house. Elizabeth hadn't been ready to share what she had seen with Jamie, and he wasn't going to press. Though she proved to be much stronger both physically and emotionally than he had first surmised, he knew better than most that prying into family affairs was a minefield that he wasn't ready to navigate.
Upon reaching the manor and making his way inside, the first person he saw was Frost. "That saves me the trouble of tracking her down," he thinks to himself. Then he sees Eric. While he had never worked with him directly on any of his MI-6/CIA team ups, he knew the man well. The smooth talking survivor of the concentration camps with an axe to grind, and the power to bring everyone here to their knees if he so saw fit. This wasn't good. He had just learned of one potential world ending event, and now he sat here listening to a man intent on starting another war. One that would expose his special brothers and sisters to a world that wasn't ready for them yet. Upon noticing the statue starting to shake, Peter moves to the other side of the room and leans against the wall so he can survey everyone and everything.
Peter took a moment to think over what Eric had just said. Sure, to some it might make sense, but starting a war with America so soon after the end of the previous war would be seen by the world as the start of a new monster just waiting to replace the one previously defeated. Just as he was about to speak up, Pryde chimes in speaking his point, though in a much gentler way.
Quickly, Peter snaps out of his thoughts on this new predicament, and remembers the reason he came back to this snake pit. His next move was going to be a bold one, but if he could get Eric to put his plans aside for the time being, he could be a valuable asset to the clear and present dangers approaching them now. He steps forward and slowly makes his way to Eric and Emma, slow clapping the whole way. "Eric Magnus Lensheer. Rousing speech lad. And while I do agree with you on some parts of it, I'm afraid we have some more pressing matters in the immediate." He turns and looks to Emma, "In playing with things you don't understand, you and your daft friends not only nearly lost several people on the other side of that portal, but you might also have very well doomed this world to the fiends from the other side. Le Fey is free from her prison and looks to watch the world burn under her rule." Wisdom looks around to everyone in the room. "Present company included."
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Post by Black Sam on Mar 23, 2021 10:42:27 GMT -5
Azazel hovered close behind Eric's right shoulder, fingers knit in an ambiguous gesture against his chest, head tilted slightly down with the barest of smiles glimpsed behind his new ally. His positioning was deliberate, a stance that identified him as Eric's – a vizier to a king, a knight to a commander. His body language also suggested that he had more influence over Eric than he did, unintentionally reinforcing Pryde's impression of him as an ill-intentioned devil on Eric's shoulder. All of the posturing was second nature to Azazel, part of his training in the KGB – if he wasn't concealing his presence in a room he was commanding it, showing strength, intimidating rivals, even though what he was really after were allies; purpose.
He listened silently to Pryde's impassioned plea. He noted her dissaproving glances at him. His training told him that she was conflicted. Weak but still full of potential. The good doctor, he was worse. A sympathizer, certainly, someone who would harbor hope of friendship with his enemies even as they locked the shackles around his neck and wrists. Future enemies, present – it didn't matter to Azazel, Eric's vision of how things would unfold for mutantkind was clear and certain. Emma knew it, but she was soft, accustomed to her luxury and privilege. The other two were harder to read. Wisdom was likely an operative of some sort for his government. That was a position the man would have to realize as a conflict of interests eventually. He'd bear watching. Lady Braddock on the other hand – she was harder to read. There was talk of her family, but there was more going on than he understood. It made her motivation unclear; the path to winning her over a mystery.
With a glance he looked deeper; searching for a glimpse of what lurked behind her guarded eyes...
********************
HEALTH: 4/4 ENERGY: 18/18
ACTION ONE: 4 stones into telepathy to read Psylocke's mind, shifting 1 stone for subtlety ACTION TWO: none
ATTACK: none DEFENSE: 3 (RD) PRESCIENT DEFENSE: none
MODIFIERS: Enhanced Vision (see in darkness); Healing Factor (heal 1w stone/hour); Limited Prescience (shift stones allocated to other actions into Teleportation after other stones are revealed); Metal Defense 4; Reflexive Dodge 3
HEALTH: 4/4 ENERGY: 14/18 REGENERATION: 7
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Post by OurLadyWar on Mar 23, 2021 15:31:43 GMT -5
A few moments later and Elizabeth flinches. Her hand goes to her head, like a brain freeze. "Ah--!" She exclaimed before she could stop herself. Violet eyes darted around the group, as if looking for someone, that is until they landed on Azazel. Her pale face suddenly flashed red and her lips tightened. Play it off.
"Must have had a bit too much last night." The trashed model look usually bought her welcomed dismissal. Just another irresponsible rich kid. "Excuse me." She dropped her hand from her head and went for the front door for some air. The fresh breeze was a sweeping, cool relief as she tried to re-collect her wits.
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Post by Black Sam on Mar 23, 2021 16:42:26 GMT -5
Azazel's eyes glassed over for a few moments as the others talked.
A twin. An elder brother. Parents. Bread crumbs. A house on a pyre. Death. Her brothers? A wrecked motorcycle. An amulet. A sword. S.T.R.I.K.E. A concentration camp – her father, a hero. Fame. And – an avatar? Is she projecting an avatar? That shouldn't be possible, unless...?
YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!
Her inner voice was soft, but the emotion behind it rang in his mind like a tolling bell, signaling the end of his intrusion. He blinked. She'd expelled him.
Azazel wasn't the strongest telepath out there; certainly his ability paled compared to Emma Frost's, for example. The gift was rare but valuable, and his training throughout his adolescense had sharpened his skill with it into a fine blade. But he had no doubt there were others out there whose skill and raw power dwarfed his own, and maybe Frost's as well. The KGB knew well the potential of such abilities and took measures to train agents in resisting mental intrusion as best as their limited capacity allowed. That's why the device being developed by Klaus Schmidt was of such interest to them. While he wouldn't have been surprised to discover that Braddock had some training in mental defense techniques, possibly enabling his detection, there was no way an ungifted mind could create an avatar and force him out, no matter how much training it had.
That meant that whether she knew it or not, Lady Braddock had other gifts that were less obvious than her impressive violet sword.
Fascinating.
The exchange was brief, but it caught him off-guard and unable to respond when her eyes locked on his in furious accusation.
"Must have had a bit too much last night," she said, excusing herself from the group. He watched her leave, his scowl deeping. Then he remembered the others. They were resisting Eric's proposal. That would not do.
"We all have personal interests," Azazel interjected into their conversation. "Obligations. But that is what Hellfire Club is for, no? Our objectives do not conflict, we help each other out. But this –"
Azazel stepped up beside Eric and pointed at him.
"This is about survival. You remember what the seer-woman said? We do not start a war, they do. We stop one before it starts. Decisively. Together. If we go apart, we will not stop them. The fae witch, the Nazis, the Americans – it does not matter who they are if we do not confront them together, no? This man – you should listen."
He shrugged; a calculated deference back to the mutant beside him.
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Post by mcr on Mar 26, 2021 20:14:50 GMT -5
Emma Frost steps in, sensing an opportunity to contain heated emotions:
"If - if - the American government were researching and developing Mutant countermeasures, I would know about it. Azazel is not the only one with well-placed sources of information. The Hellfire Club plays the long game."
She speaks cryptically, perhaps an indication that she has not shared Destiny's precognitions with Erik, or that she continues to withhold information from all of you. But either way, she appears confident:
"What worries me more is how Azazel's sources came to learn of this supposed threat. While I can't refute its truth ... knowledge of secret American military projects suggests agents or informants embedded in the highest levels of government. Not to mention knowledge of us - of our specific capabilities? How did they come to learn these things? It should not surprise you that we have means of uncovering information humanity can only dream of - just take a look around this room..."
She gestures over the room to indicate the other Mutants present:
"And yet, not only do they apparently know more than we do, they've managed to keep that hidden from us, too. I'm sorry, but I have no reason to suspect that my government poses an existential threat to Mutantkind at this time. It is far more likely that there are rogue actors at play, people who mean to divide us. And if we turn this into a bloodbath, we will give humanity every reason to fear us, we will create in ourselves an adversary they will unite against, give them cause to develop the weapons we fear."
She pauses, trying to gauge your reactions:
"Mr. Shaw is Stateside. He has connections in the U.S. Department of Defense. I can ask that he accompany you, help you make inroads to get to the truth. All I'm asking is that you be smart about this. We can achieve our objective here without an open declaration of war."
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Post by Gris on Mar 29, 2021 4:03:49 GMT -5
Pryde had said her piece, but Erik didn't even flinch. Had she made a misstep? With Frost acting secretively once more, and given how the last task had gone and how misdirected had they been, Pryde wasn't in the mood to side with her. Maybe she was right, maybe there was nothing more than a few rotten apples so to speak, and Pryde herself didn't want Erik to go into a dark path.
But they had to do something, didn't they?
Of course, part of the doubts about the approach was Azazel's involvement, as sometimes it seemed that he wanted to look suspicious on purpose. Pryde harbored no sympathies for him, but yet she wanted to support Erik, so it was time to wait and see how the man reacted.
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Post by UrbanBlue on Mar 29, 2021 10:30:07 GMT -5
"I'm a scientist, not a soldier. I'll support methods beyond warfare as I may. I do not foresee nothing but naked aggression solving our problem."
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Post by OurLadyWar on Mar 29, 2021 10:54:02 GMT -5
Elizabeth stood in the doorframe facing the front courtyard. The dizzy spell from her severed connection with Azazel was fading. Her hand dipped into her pocket to retrieve the picture of her father, standing among the dead, the camp looming behind him. He had fought the good fight, gone head-to-head with these monsters. If not to continue Lord Braddock's own path, Betsy wondered if there were more answers she could find about her father from some of these escaped villains.
Azazel's words landed a little differently with Betsy -- "We all have personal interests." The same scowl he pressed on her back was now returned in kind as he made his pitch. Her blood was boiling beneath skin that suddenly felt a size too small. The bottle of lightning that had opened in her stomach wanted somewhere to go, preferably through the devil's chest, but she clenched her fist instead, causing the photo to crinkle a complaint. Her angry grip slacked as she poured over the picture in her hands once more, and sighed. She folded it back up and slipped it into her pocket. Betsy remained tight lipped. She usually learned more and was dolled more information the more quiet she was. Let the rest spill their own hearts. Her presence was not a "yes", but it certainly was not a "no" either, or she would have abandoned the group completely.
A glance was given to Wisdom as she rejoined the group, that is when she was not tossing a final glare in Azazel's direction. "Peter?"
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Post by phencerx on Apr 5, 2021 15:59:35 GMT -5
"Bloody hell you're a stubborn lot....." Peter looks around the room to take stock of the situation. The Devil and the Pixie looked to be firmly in the camp of Magnus at this point, while the Yank seems to just go along with whatever will appease his desire for knowledge. He noticed the daggers that Elizabeth was staring at Azazel. As useful as he may be, it might be wise to keep those two apart for the time being.
He knew that Le Fay was the immediate threat, but no one here seemed to care all that much. That's the problem with most people. Unless they can see a threat, most tend to just ignore it. And with the mystic arts, you never see it until it's to late. Thinking back to the list of names that O had given him, he remembered one such man who might be of some assistance and he happened to live in New York. Perhaps it would be best to play along with Eric and his machinations for the moment, just so Peter could further his own investigation. Hell if this Strange man knew half the things he's rumored to, he might even be able to give a glimpse into Elizabeth's current family predicament.
Peter lights up a cigarette and takes a long drag. "Fine. Looks like we're going stateside. Though the Queen of Skimpy Lingerie over there does make a good point. Best not to go in guns blazing." Looking to Frost. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go make some calls of my own into finding out more about the seedy underbelly of your government. Be a doll would you, and get your mystics looking into Le Fay while you're at it if you could."
As he passes Elizabeth, he quietly whispers into her ear, "There's a bloke in New York I think you should meet." Reaching the exit, Wisdom turns one last time and addresses Eric. "Oh and Eric. Much as I know about you, I'm sure you know about me. You may have found yourself a new pet, but fall out of bounds on this and it won't just be humanity's blood that's spilled."
And with that, Peter wonders off to find a room to call O and get whatever information he can provide.
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