Marvel, Rebirth:

[Eevee]

IC

 

"I never got a letter." Lynae repeated, still frowning. "I would have remembered if I did. I wouldn't have been so depressed for so many years if I knew you were just on one of your... Escapades!" She fumed, grabbing Simon and walking down the hall.

 

IC: Lilliana

 

The ice mutant studied him and then shook her head. "Don't think so... Bit then again, my memory is still pretty bad..."

Edited September 10, 2014 by Eevee

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Escapades? Hey, I got you a necklace for your birthday! I broke a blood curse for it! Do you know how many rats I had to sacrifice in order to fill the jar full of blood necessary to keep the sun from being blotted out? Four hundred and ninety-nine! Do you know how close I came to losing my whole arm to grab the necklace from its pedestal? Real close!" The further Lynae walked with her penguin, the more Jenna's features twisted in anger. She took a heated step forward, and then another.

 

"And what the ###### is this rumor I've been hearing from all my vampire friends? The little ditty where you had Daddy murdered and stuffed like Bambi's mother?"

 

IC:

 

"Mm. Anyway, yeah. Kitchen, first right, tell them you're a teacher and snack to your heart's delight."

 

-Tyler

Edited September 10, 2014 by Brooklyn Pace-Carlisle

[Eevee]

IC: Lynae

 

"It isn't a rumor, Jenna! Thomas was screwed up! You have no idea what was happening! So yes, I killed him and now his stuffed head is under my bed." The older Rosewood hissed as she turned around, Simon waddling back into her room in fright.

 

"You have no clue what he wanted to do to me, to us!"

 

IC: Lilliana

 

"Thank you.." She said softly, turning to walk away but stopping instead. "I'm Lilliana, by the way."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"I know he came to at least one of my games, every month, when I was a Yankee! I know when I wanted to go to the Wild West, he bought me my first gun! I know that he gave me a bullwhip when I said I wanted to be like Indiana Jones! I know that when I was sick and dying with a brain tumor and nobody else ever answered my prayers, he showed up...and he gave me a place to sleep, and raised me to be an adult, and he gave me a sister!" 

 

Angry tears were brewing in Jenna Rosewood's eyes. Leon had backed off, one hand holding his fez to his head and the other protectively cradling Jenna's jacket.

 

"And now he's...he's...he's what, under your bed in a box? What, are you Kevin Spacey now or something? You sound like the batshit one to me!"

 

-Tyler

[Eevee]

IC

 

Lynae was also tearing up by then and she angrily stormed into her study. She began throwing books everywhere, many thumps being heard from the people in the hallway. Finally she reemerged, Thomas' diary in her hand. She walked up to Jenna, thrusting it into her arms.

 

"Fine. Read this then. But go ahead and mourn your precious father that got your sister raped and killed. The father that bred her family line, killed her family, and planned on eventually getting rid of you too!" The blonde growled before pushing past them and getting into the elevator.

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Leon Kane)

 

"Those can be forged. Just saying." Leon had been reaching, quite slowly, into his suitcase where his handy-dandy AK-47 had been hidden under a small stack of textbooks and an eclectic mix of clothing. He turned to Jenna. "Just checking. I'm not the only one who considers the lady with a head under her bed to be a questionable source. Right? Right?" He desperately hoped the answer was 'yes' but knowing this family-a few seconds had been more then enough for him to get a read on the other vampire, overly dramatic, emotional and of extremely questionable stability-they might be playing basketball with the thing in the next few minutes. Personally speaking, he drew the line at corpse-ball. Playing keep away with his dagger on the flight over was one thing.

 

Corpse-ball another.

 

IC (Lucia)

 

Lucia's left eye began to twitch...just a little. Noticeable enough to have a somewhat disturbing effect, but not make someone reach for the phone and call the police. She'd had plenty of time to get that look just right, during her time in New York. "Y-yes. One must make concessions to the norm in this city to make ends meet..." Lucia would rather not blurt out how badly she wanted to burn the store down and dance on the ashes. Not a great conversation starter, that. More of a conversation ender really. And a police caller. Police calling was bad. It lead to questions about ritual circle in the back room.

 

IC (Remus)

 

"It's not the time, I find, but rather what you do with it. If you sat on a mountain and spewed wisdom to passersby, I imagine it'd get quite tedious. Revolutions, however, do wonders for the will to live." Remus paused for a moment, considering a few of Kane's statements. "It's not only mutants. They're just the latest in the pack, truly. For the western world, it used to be the Christians. Then the pagans. Then the Muslims. So on and so forth." Somewhat inaccurate, but providing a list of all the people who'd been wronged as the mutants were....would take quite some time. People, she had noticed, only noticed that part of humanity when they were the ones being targeted by it. It was most unfortunate...and certainly did not make her job easy."As for your goal...noble. But unless you have some method of policing the world, quite hard to complete." Grand gestures had their place, but the simple, practical victories one could win added up much faster.

 

IC (Borte Khan)

 

Borte struggled to lower her eyebrow at that statement. It was not one she had expected to hear from a random passerby on the street...though on reflection, someone connected to her friends in the mountains was not likely to be here by coincidence. Not at all. "I see." Saphine, was once again, muttering something about the 'bosses snake lovers frat getting new pledges' honestly, Saphine could stand to be a bit more creative about her muttering today. "And what would the nature of this favor be?"

Edited September 10, 2014 by Basilisk

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Jenna bit her lip angrily and stared at the journal for a long time until Lynae had stepped foot in the elevator. Leon said something about forgeries. Something inconsequential. Something not true. Lynae had lied to hurt Jenna, like she thought Jenna had hurt her. Her face twisted again; she tore the diary in half at the seam and then began furiously hacking pages into shreds with her hands, throwing entire clumps of paper like confetti across Lynae's hallway. Should've known better as soon as I'd heard she joined a secret society. They're always trouble. She'd heard of secret societies comprised entirely of vampires, far outside the coven/non-coven system, but they were just that. Secret. By invite only. She had been happier raiding temples. 

 

"Let's go. No, wait. Give me the necklace." Jenna looked around the room and quickly paced to the coffee table, unscrewing a leg and dropping the pendant in the machine-drilled hole. "Hopefully four hundred and ninety nine rats will infest her apartment and take the thing back."

 

IC:

 

"Aleks. Good to meet you."

 

-Tyler

[Eevee]

IC

 

Lynae was long gone by then, tears blinding her as she drove down the nearly empty road. She figured Jenna hated her... Probably didn't even believe her about Thomas. Why would she? All Lynae had ever done to Jenna was love her and try to be a good sister.

 

She wasn't angry that Jenna was there... Even she was confused about her reaction to seeing her sister. She had just been... God she should have hugged her... Told her she loved her. Why...why did she yell? The tears just came harder as she thought.

 

I... I don't think I should be... Suddenly a deer jumped in front of her car, pausing in fear from the headlights, and, in an attempt to spare the dumb creature's life, Lynae swearved. Right into a tree.

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Leon)

 

Leon had seen Jenna happy, seen her ranting at a sealed entrance for daring to block her off from what, according to the carvings he'd translated, had been a portion of the Inner Earth particular to the Inca religion and the 'thousand and one terrors sealed within that All The Wise must avoid for fear of their lives'. He had not, to date, seen her like this. It was an entirely new and disturbing experience. Not the the typical kind of disturbing experience one got around Jenna either, which involved Jenna leaping out of windows and telling generals to 'flip off it's my sisters birthday you old-' And the rest of what he could remember from that had been angry, shouted Spanish. And guns. Being pointed. At him.  This was....just sad. Normal people sad even. "If it's any consolation. I'm pretty sure the inscription mentioned a curse falling upon the house of whomsoever dared to rob this scared place."

 

Leon shifted his weight from one foot to another. Trying to think of something else to say. Perhaps he could-

 

"Wonk!"

 

Leon eyed a...penguin walking up to them. Okay. That was unexpected. "Soooooooo. Is she gonna eat that bird or something?"

 

"Depends. Are you?"

 

"Yeeeeeeah. Not quite at the point where I can just walk up to an animal, pick it up, and chow down. Hope I never am." One thing to hunt an animal, shoot it, and gather blood from the corpse. Another to pick up what appeared to be a pet and go to town on it.

 

Jenna hadn't known Lynae to ever eat animals, but then again she hadn't ever known Lynae to keep stuffed heads of ancient vampires in her bedroom like a dreamcatcher. She herself had spent the better part of fifty years ordering burgers raw at restaurants or ballparks. Penguin meat? Too hoighty toighty.

 

"It looks tranquilized, poor thing."

 

"Well. According to primetime TV, they normally torture and kill animals before moving onto people." Leon knew next to nothing about penguins. Not how they acted when they wanted to eat or how they acted when they were hurt. The extent of his knowledge was that they threw up to feed their young.

 

Jenna had watched Madagascar once or twice. Made a couple puns about Ben Stiller voicing the lion - a 'Zoolander,' if you will. Not much about penguins beyond that. "We don't have room in the cab for a penguin."

 

"We could...I dunno...pick a floor I guess?"

 

"Any floor. Let's do it."

 

Jenna appeared to be on the same wavelength. Something about that was just frightening. When his logic matched *hers*...well, looked like he'd be booking a table at the cheesecake factory tonight and doing some reflecting. Leon wondered over to the elevator and observed the array of buttons. "They're missing a number. Just a big 'R' where it's supposed to be. Sounds good to me."

 

"What do you think the bourbon bottle leads to?"

 

"Do they have a bar built into the building? What, do they share a space with a wine club or something?"

 

"Who knows. I don't think it's mature to leave a penguin in a bar, though. R it is."
 

"Right. Is he...oh....okay. He's just staring at me. That's...." Leon pressed the button, grabbed his suitcase and stepped out of the elevator in one fluid motion. "Ahem. Yes. Well."

Edited September 11, 2014 by Basilisk

[Eevee]

IC: Lynae

 

The car was totaled and it's driver was unconscious in the driver's seat. Her blonde hair was in her face as her head dropped down limply. If she hadn't been a vampire already, she would have looked more like a corpse than she already did.

 

IC: Lilliana

 

"Nice to meet you as well." She said with a little bob of her head. "And thanks for telling me about the food."

Edited September 10, 2014 by Eevee

[Light]

iC: "Information, mostly. My brother was related to a member of your club and I wanted to get a better picture of the people here than I have."

 

James smirked slightly. "Security clearance would be nice, but I've a feeling I will not be getting that."

 

IC: Mady slammed her hand on the steering wheel as she barely dodged an idiotic deer, the wheels of her vehicle skidding into a ditch as the brakes went to the floor. The creature ran into the woods, past a driver who hadn't been quite as lucky.

 

Wait.

 

She recognized that car.

 

The key turned in her ignition, the wounded engine purring to a stop as she jumped out, running to the wrecked car.

[Snelly]

IC: Abigail

 

Abigail yawned, she'd fallen asleep while watching TV with Lynae and Simon. Hey...where'd they go?? 

 

Feeling slightly abandoned, Abigail slid off the bed and wandered out into the halls, she noticed the torn diary spread across the floor, she picked up a page and her eyes widened a bit as she realised what it was. She had...admittedly read some of it in secret when Lynae wasn't around. That Thomas guy had always given her the creeps, she'd never questioned why Lynae beheaded him either...especially after reading that book. 

 

But why is it in pieces... Then she heard a honk coming from inside the elevator ahead. "Simon!" She rushed to the elevator but it was already heading to the 'R' floor. Abigail decided to take the stairs, using her vampire speed to make sure she beat the elevator there. 

 

"Stop right there you penguin thieves!" 

 

Staff IC: 

 

Jennifer found her gun suddenly jerk upwards and toward the left as the Drone unleashed a magnetic pulse from it's gauntlet, causing her weapon to misfire. A slug slammed into it's right shoulder, causing sparks to fly. It quickly rushed up to Harken and attempted to seize the weapon and crush it under it's incredible grip. 

Edited September 11, 2014 by Skitty

[Eevee]

IC

 

Lynae groaned a bit, opening her eyes a bit before her consciousness faded again.

[Light]

IC: "Oh, god." Mady's features contorted in pain, bones growing, face elongating- before hardly any time had passed a full grown grizzly stood where she had, claws digging into the door and ripping it out of its ruined frame, tossing it away as she shifted back. She shouldn't move her, but...

 

Mady reached forward, checking Lynae's neck for a pulse, a slight spark of static electricity forming as her fingers touched the vampire's neck.

 

Probably just a storm.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

The dark-haired mutant had moved to help her, but at the sight of Brooklyn's movements, she paused, raising an eyebrow as she observed. While she watched, her girlfriend went from a fall to a handstand, and from a handstand back to her feet. Silence reigned for a moment, as Rebekah processed this information, clothes still held over one arm.

 

"... Nice gymnastics, babe." She finally said, smiling as she turned her attention back to the racks. "Why are we here shopping, again?"

[Flex Lord Splash]

IC:

 

"I hadn't really thought about that," he admitted. Mutants weren't really the first group of humans to recieve such opression, but Kane had witnessed it firsthand. He'd been only a boy when his father had brought him to the compound and tossed him in a grimy cell.

 

"Then perhaps I should do my best to stop all such injustices, but as you said its a big world and I'm just one guy." he smiled lightly as he looked around the camp.

 

"But I figure having a woman with as much... experience as yourself on such matters as council couldn't hurt."

 

IC:

 

Jennifer let loose a string of low curses as her weapon misfired and didn't even pierce the drone's armored shell. "Harken watch out!" she shouted as it came towards him next metal hand out-stretched. She refrained from shooting at it as it got that close to Harken, afraid that it might bounce off and hit him, or her aim might be off.

 

Instead she moved forward and unleashed a powerful kick towards the drone's back, trying to knock it away from Harken.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Flex Likes Groot

[Eevee]

IC

 

While Mady was checking on Lynae, she may have noticed the gasoline that was flowing steadily out from the smashed fuel tank.

[Light]

IC: Sparks + gasoline + Vampire.

 

Mady didn't want to move Lynae, too much injury risked. But she was a vampire... And if the car exploded she'd burn alive. Mady planned quickly, running to her vehicle and opening the passenger's side door. The shifter sighed as she changed shape again, taking the form of a gorilla. A seatbelt ripped out of its ruined hooks later, and she'd (gently) moved Lynae out of the car, supporting the vampire's body along one arm and holding her head carefully with the other, trying to keep a neck that might be broken from shifting. The ape moved as quickly as possible away from the wreck without jostling the unconscious Black Queen, putting the final part of her plan into action. She rested Lynae in the right seat of her car, shifting back and buckling her in the same posture she'd been in, using the ripped out seatbelt to bind her head to the chair rest.

 

Now all she had to do was either find her some blood or hope that the rumors about the healing abilities of vampires were true.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Thanks, uh...thanks, babe. Just a reflex. Like knockin' over a box on the counter."

 

Oh, ######.

 

"We," Brook continued, throwing an arm around Rebekah's shoulder, "are finding you tank tops. And shorts. You need to learn that it's okay to show some skin."

 

-Tyler

Edited September 11, 2014 by Parks and Rekt

[Eevee]

IC

 

The vampire gave a soft groan from the passenger seat.

[Light]

IC: Do it.

Mady shook her head, hand twitching at her side against her will.

Do it. It's the only way to save her.

Not giving her to you. Not another one.

But she doesn't look like she's healing. You have a choice. If her neck's broken, she's done, vampire or not. Do it.

Mady's hand reached toward Lynae's temple, but she snapped it back. No.

DO it. The voice was insistent, commanding. Her arm started to move again, against her will. Her voice was pleading, helpless. Don't, please, I'm begging you. The arm kept moving. No! Don't! Don't!

Suddenly, Mady inhaled deeply, the darkness in the center of the moon tattoo on her shoulder spreading throughout the entire design, eyes flashing wide open and turning pure black. The hand moved forward with no resistance this time, putting a finger on each side of Lynae's forehead, the darkness spreading down the shifter's arm and over the vampire's injured body, the short, gasping breaths she was taking inhaling the fog.

And it struck, Lynae's body dissipating and flowing into Mady's tattoo, the barest glowing imprint of her consciousness sucked into Madysyn Quincy's head.

And the King was sated, the darkness retreating.

[Eevee]

IC

 

Lynae looked around, seeing two women sitting around a campfire. She walked over to them, the red fabric shifting over her body as she moved, finally resting when she did. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was almost hitting the deer.

 

"Hello... Where am I exactly?"

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

Rebekah Fell had been trained in dozens of fields, pertaining to combat, medicine, and basic psychology. Her training had forced her, or perhaps it had been designed, to ensure the creation of an operative capable both of efficiency in combat and awareness of her surroundings. Part of that was the ability to read people; and she could tell, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that something was off.

 

But for the life of her, she couldn't put her finger on what. She continued to be quiet a moment longer, before pulling Brooklyn into a tight embrace, resting her chin on her shoulder. "Well, if you think that's best, we will. You know best."

 

A beat.

 

"I love you. I know you'll deny it, but something's off. But you are my favorite person in the world, and you have the Herculean task of making me look presentable." Another pause, this time for the former Weapon to smile. "So let's have fun, alright?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Brook's smile unfurled across her tanned face and she squeezed Rebekah's neck tightly with her arms in a return hug. She wasn't nearly enough of a softie to admit it, but Rebekah's little bursts of dorky affection always put her in a sunshine-rainbows-and-snow-cones space for the rest of her...oh, week or so. She wanted to take the time to dump everything on Bekah in return - how she was Brooklyn's favorite person in the world and how much she loved the ex-Weapon. But Bekah would sink into a puddle on the floor if she did it in public, and Brooklyn didn't have enough air in her lungs for all the words that'd require, so she leaned in and kissed Rebekah for a couple seconds. When she pulled away, her grin had sharpened.

 

"Love you, too. You still gotta wear shorts."

 

-Tyler

Edited September 12, 2014 by Parks and Rekt

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Leon)

 

No sooner had Leon stepped out of the elevator and attempted to usher the vampire duo's flightless tag-along/rescue out of the elevator, a youth who looked to be at the cusp of high school burst out of the stairwell and shouted something about penguin thieves and....well, it was a teenage girl, it was safe to assume boys factored into that high-pitched shouting somewhere. Well. He knew the expert on dealing with energetic children...not to mention the sorts who'd actually shout something like 'penguin thieves' as they exited a stairway. "I think this is your department." Leon glanced towards Jenna.

 

Wait.

 

Unstable vampire woman.

 

Head under the bed.

 

Teenager living with said vampire. Leon did not like how that particular math added up. Not at all. "Actually. I think is might be a matter for the police." He directed his attention towards Jenna, hoping she'd hit upon the same disturbing equation. 

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Jenna turned around and tilted her head at the familiar teenager. She hadn't known Lynae was taking squatters, either, but after seeing a quick glimpse at Hellfire's inner mechanics and a penguin traversing around Lynae's modernist flat, she wasn't entirely surprised, either. Doubted it was anything sinister. Her sister always had a...thing about letting people sleep over. But who was this sleeper-over? Amber eyes, bloody hair, excitable...excitable...uhhhh...

 

"Did you used to roll with Thomas' coven?" she asked Abigail, eyes slanted. She'd kept in touch with some of the old guard and gotten info on some new faces, but this girl hadn't been amongst the VIP list. 

 

-Tyler

[Snelly]

IC: Abigail

 

Abigail blinked as she looked at Jenna, tilting her head to match Jenna's. "Yeah...don't I...know you from somewhere?" She had to admit her face looked familiar, though her long term memory had always been rather poor. 

Edited September 12, 2014 by Skitty

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Borte Khan)

 

"For friends of my mountain-dwelling compatriots, nothing is out of the question. Nothing at all." She had been heading back to her central offices...but this rather took precedence.  "I have an office inside. Shall we? I'll be more then happy to discuss matters further with you."

 

Saphine sighed. "Saphine. We're going downtown. Now we're going back inside. Now fetch tha-"

 

"Not the time Ms. Mark. Not the time at all." Borte kept a polite grin plastered on her face throughout the entire exchange. There was no excuse for rudeness. Particularly when her friends in the mountains were involved. Their wishes took rather high priority. They were, after all, the only reason she was still alive. One could not forget a debt like that.

 

IC (Remus)

 

"That is evident. People rarely consider wider history when compiling grievances." Remus turned to regard Kane more fully as he continued to speak. "Dangerous words. When one sets out to stop all injustice in the world, one can become a monster themselves. It is not an easy path to tread. Even if one manages to stay upon it, one risks unleashing another sort of monster." Stalin, for instance. She raised her eyebrow, just slightly, as she considered Kane's last words. "You have aspirations of leadership then?"

 

Interesting, that.

 

IC (Leon)

 

"So the kid's a vampire?" What kind of person would trap a teenager in their body for the rest of their...life? Unlife? Half-life? He was going with life. The mind hadn't developed fully yet, the body wasn't much better and they'd be trapped permanently in a half-adult, half-child existence. Couple that with the other things he'd witnessed today, the picture wasn't very pretty at all. Jenna didn't appear that concerned however. She probably knew more about this then him. He'd keep quiet for now.

 

But he'd be asking some questions later on. 

Edited September 12, 2014 by Basilisk

[Silvan Haven]

John Harken- SHIELD Helicarrier

 

IC: Harken's hands dropped from his gun and snapped up to grab the wrist of the incoming arm. A quick application of his power had the kinetic energy in the offending arm redirected and sent through Harken's own hand. The drones metal wrist started groaning from the stress.

 

A standoff like this was likely to end up with the SHIELD agent getting a blast in the chest from the drones weapons. Not willing to let that happen Harken snagged a knife from its holster on his leg and sent it speeding towards the glowing circle on his opponent's chest.

[Constructelf]

IC Tokiomi

As he couldn't do much else, Tokiomi fired quick bursts at the drone with his rifle, being careful to avoid friendly fire.

[Blair the Cat]

IC:

 

"This?" Lunar asked in response to Nicole's question. "Just a car stereo. I already have, like five of them."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Alaric was squeezing his temples so hard with his right hand that he thought they might burst. Ever since Lacey and Kyle had reported to him that Lynae had stormed out of the Hellfire Mansion (had she seen the Hydra broadcast? Was she that upset over the work it took to rebrand the gala? He hadn't thought she'd crack under pressure, but who knew?) he'd been in a foul mood, pouring himself some bourbon (on ice! on ice!) and watching CNN. The mix of whiskey and Anderson Cooper's impeccably youthful (not vampiric, Lynae assured him, just good living and a couple facials) face were easing his raging headache. Or, at least, they had until the live feed became a knock-down, drag-out dogfight between SHIELD operatives and the zombie Avenger's robot army. Add that to the list of things he never thought he'd see.

 

And, on top of everything, Romulus' office had called Alaric twenty minutes ago and asked if the Black King knew anything about a penguin being let loose inside the building. As if he had something to do with it. As if he had the Penguin Lorax on speed dial.

 

His mind flicked back to Lynae. She'd just run off, just like that? Romulus had told him he needed better taste; Kyle Vaughn, his head of security, had told him much the same, albeit in much more Belfastian terms. He had good taste. At least, he'd always thought he had. 

 

*****

 

104 yard drive, he knew at a glance. Right of the fairway. Bunker about 35 yards ahead and to the left, bordering the green. Can probably make par. Decent shot - something to be proud of. Ric Carlisle picked up his tee, dropped his 3 wood back in the golf bag, and sat down in the driver's seat of the golf cart. He'd picked up the sport casually in his junior and senior years, over in California. Ric had been told, by fellow rich friends, that it was the sport of gentlemen, a place for business and recreation, a sport for those who loved to reflect.

 

"This. Is. HeII."

 

He clunked his head against the steering wheel.

 

Tali put a hand on his shoulder. "It's a beautiful day and we're outside."

 

"I wanna kill myself. This might be the only sport I've ever seen that is worse than it looks on TV."

 

She sighed. "Was about to say that other than the other two things I mentioned, I kinda agree."

 

"Rich people things. Someday, I'm going to have to come out onto this course with other rich people and pretend to have fun and enjoy their company. Such is my fate."

 

"Ewwwwwww."

 

"Yeah."

 

"Well, enjoy not having to enjoy it."

 

"Your shoulder, as always, is singularly handy to cry upon."

 

Tali gave him a cheeky smile. "Besides, I've been cheating this entire time."

 

"You can't cheat at golf."

 

"You can if you've got telekinesis."

 

Ric grumbled to himself and banged his head harder on the steering wheel. "I don't even know why I brought you, besides the view of you in golf shorts."

 

She adjusted the ball cap she was wearing, pulling her wavy black hair out of her ponytail and letting it settle. "Maybe because now you can claim I cheated when I beat the tar out of you at this idiotic game?"

 

"You do know that the -lowest- score wins, right?"

 

"Yeah. But I've been staying just a little behind you so I can make my victory seem legitimate."

 

"You know that just means all I have to do is fend you off on these last four holes, right? You just gave away a schedule for your cheat de grace."

 

"Yeah, I guess so. Doesn't mean you can."

 

"Course I can. It's like you don't even know me anymore."

 

The smile on Tali's face became more forced. "Well, maybe you remember me wrong."

 

Ric's head twitched up from the steering wheel, and somewhat uncomfortably he pushed thick coal black hair from his eyes. "I was going to talk to you soon."

 

"A month, Ric. You've been back a month, and you haven't spoken to me."

 

"Soon was coming...soon."

 

"When, Ric? What made soon finally come?"

 

"As soon as I was sure I wasn't leaving." Ric took a deep breath and sat back in the seat, almost pouting. "Your brother came to see me while you were teaching power control the other day. I liked your yoga pants, by the way."

 

"Dante was here? What'd he say?" Tali blushed. "Probably need to stop wearing those. They distract students."

 

Then it came to her again. "You mean... You were going to leave without talking to me?"

 

"He told me it would crush you if I lead you on. If things didn't work out here...with me, and the Institute, and Hank and all...I wasn't sure." Ric cursed under his breath; his eyes rolled up in frustration and he stepped out of the cart again to take a deep breath and collect his words. "I would've talked to you. I just didn't want to have...you know...a serious talk. In case."

 

She nodded and leaned her head against the rail of the golf cart. "I guess I get it. But nothing... Nothing for a month?"

 

"I'm sorry. I didn't think you were still waiting."

 

"We went out for over a year and tried to make a long distance thing work for longer. I'd have given up a long time ago if I was going to now."

 

"It was two years," Ric corrected, almost to himself, and then looked over at Tali. The hyperkinetic was trying to fight back a little smile. "Your tan looks good, too."

 

"Thanks." She nearly smiled again. "There isn't much grading to do in power control. I spend most of my time outside."

 

Her eyes flicked down. "I missed you."

 

Ric put his index finger and thumb on Tali's jaw and tilted her head up, thumb running down her chin comfortingly. "I missed you, too."

 

A crooked little smile carved up his face.

 

"Your brother would kill me if he thought I was leading you on."

 

She swallowed, looking into Ric's eyes, jaw still resting on his finger, smiling a little in response. "Oh, he would."

 

*****

 

Ric cursed, took a sniff of his bourbon, and knocked back the rest of the glass. The ice cubes fell back with the whiskey and hit his mouth, cold against his lips. His headache wasn't going anywhere.

 

-Tyler

Edited September 12, 2014 by Parks and Rekt

[Light]

IC: Tali blinked, jumping up, trying to summon rocks lying around to use as projectiles in case of hostility... Then realized that her powers still didn't work here. "Who-who are you? This is th-that monster's mind, b-but... How'd you get in here?"

[Hanako Herupa]

IC:

 

"Mmm. Not really, no. I like you." Daken smiled and closed his eyes. "You're getting too good at predicting me."

 

-Tyler

 

IC: (Sakuya)

 

Sakuya had grabbed her burger and fries, she walked up to Dallas, he seemed to be distant, the way he looked, the way he carried himself. Something was up, she couldn't leave it be.

 

"Hey Dallas, something up?" She had intended to get some lemonade, but her concern for the guy outweighed her thirst. She didn't feel so pumped, so ready to fire off a joke or an insult. The way Dallas and Alex were, they could be in a crowded room, and still be so alone.

 

IC: (Asa)

 

"Well then I won't bother with that makeup then," Asa chuckled. "Really, I chalked you up as unpredictable, but in a good way, it makes you fun, exciting. It makes you, you. Maybe I do a little, but only a little." She smiled.

Edited September 12, 2014 by Hanako Herupa

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Daken's eyes flitted over Asa lazily and caught a peek at her smile. He stared up at the ceiling when he was done roving over her (she seemed to expect something; people usually did) but Akihiro entertained himself by letting his gaze dance over the ceiling and walls. Only when Asa smacked his tricep playfully and tried to roll over on top of him did he act - the Dark Avenger pinned her to the bed, legs around her waist, and a crooked grin grew across one side of his mouth. Asa giggled while Daken's hand strayed to the shoulder of her robe--

 

BRRRRRRRRT

 

"What was that?" she asked.

 

BRRRRRRRRT

 

"Business," he said, with an apologetic one shoulder shrug.

 

Daken picked up the phone and held it against his shoulder. One hand rolled around the sash on Asa's robe.

 

"Hello, Caller Number 7," he deadpanned, and Asa giggled; he leaned closer until the phone's length could bridge the distance between them. "You're on the line with the Dark Wolverine and the red, white, and blue Black Widow. Any requests?"

 

The crackling sound of an in-flight comms unit barked from Daken's phone.

 

"Uh-huh."

 

His hand pulled away from Asa's robe and scrunched up her bottom lip between two knuckles.

 

"Uh-huh."

 

He smiled.

 

"Good. Alright. And the flight plan was followed to the--good. He sank and everything? Good. Take until noon. I'll let him know. Alright. Alrighty. Out."

 

Akihiro hung up the line and then sat back down on the bed, staring at the black screen for several seconds before he jerked his head at Asa. "Go to your room."

 

"What?"

 

"Go to your room," he said. "I'll do breakfast in the morning. You and me alone. But nothing else tonight." 

 

Ripple stared at him for a second and made to get out of bed - Daken grabbed her by the wrist and put a hand around the back of her head to kiss her for several seconds. Slowly, he felt her settle into his grip again.

 

"Breakfast. First thing in the morning, before the others want to start making plans," he reminded her. "Don't worry about dressing up or paying up. Just tell me what colors we need to coordinate. Okay? Okay. Night, Asa." They kissed again, and she walked out of his room with a bit more confidence in herself than she'd had a second ago. He loved it when Ripple let her confidence out. It gave her walk such a nice...pep.

 

He looked down at his phone and pressed a button.

 

"Call Nate. Tell him to get his perky ###### and his overnight bag ready."

 

Akihiro closed his eyes and took a breath.

 

-Tyler

Edited September 13, 2014 by Parks and Rekt

[Eevee]

IC

 

"Monster?" Lynae said curiously before noticing how scared the girl was. "I'm Lynae Rosewood." The blonde said as she extended her hand for a shake.

 

"What monster?"

[Light]

IC: Tali shook her hand gingerly, looking like she was ready to run.

 

The other woman spoke up. "She means the monster that probably pulled you in here, unless you're one of its illusions."

[Eevee]

IC

 

"... Last thing I remember was..." Lynae held her head, feeling a bit dizzy as she pushed herself to think. "I think... I think I was in a car crash... Yes! I crashed into a tree and then Mady... Mady pulled me out..." Her bright blue eyes quickly darkened at the realization her realization.

 

"... Mady did this."

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

Over by the drink machine, Alexander Smith was silent as the grave. Then again, that wasn't so much something notable as it was the new norm. Even before Dallas had checked his phone, the technopath's grin had withered on his face. He wasn't surprised; not really, he had expected it. When John had shown up at the Institute in his state, he'd known something was wrong. Cybernetic eyes, thin and skeletal, there had been an eerie resemblance to the Phalanx, an unsettling reminder of people halfway between life and death. Humanity and something... Else. 

 

Maybe he'd known the X-Man wasn't coming back alive. 

 

Idly, almost without thought, he tucked his bag of food under one arm to free up his hands. Almost without thought, he picked a drink and set about filling his cup. Without really looking, he knew that Dallas and the Harada girl had moved a little further away. He'd catch up shortly. Almost without thought, his mind reached to the phone in his pocket, to look at a list he'd made himself. A list last updated after the Sleepers hit, and before that, in Las Vegas. 

 

Two years ago, he had joined that team. An invitation had been extended, and he had, with a little thought, accepted. A chance to do a little good? To fit in? A chance to be seen, not as something to be cast away, but as a hero? He'd accepted in a heartbeat. Didn't think about it. Didn't remember what happened to the last team, chose not to think about the ramifications. Chances were, they didn't either. The Philadelphia team. Seven people, not a one over thirty; a teacher, a nurse, the stereotypical dark teammate, his best friends, and the person he cared for most in the world. It grew, after that; the X-Men were back, and they were here to stay. But they weren't.

 

With a thought, the status of another became "deceased". 

 

"Then there were four." He commented to himself, snapping a cover onto his drink.

 

IC:

 

"Drat." The dark-haired woman said with exaggerated disappointment, finally letting go of her girlfriend. "Alright, you win. We'll pick up a few pairs of shorts. But I reserve the right, when the temperature drops below seventy five degrees, to go right back to my jeans."

 

 

OOC: SHIELD post, and a post for other characters, to follow later today.

Edited September 13, 2014 by Ninth Krayzikk

[Flex Lord Splash]

IC:

 

"Oh, you collect broken junk then?" Nicole blinked as she tugged on her duffle bag.

 

IC:

 

Kane shook his head, "Nah I have no experience leading anything, I just mean if I can help keep in humane **** like weapon-x from springing up again I'm going to do my best, and talking to someone like you will probably help keep me from getting killed."