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Post by Rogue on Oct 1, 2005 0:41:33 GMT -5
A place for the troops to kick back and relax. A large television set lines one wall, with a number of couches laid out in front of it. There is a pool table, as well as a ping-pong table, and other groupings of seats are scattered around the room, as well as a large table and a number of bookshelves. A small kitchen area has a refrigerator that is always fully stocked with various beverages, and a pantry full of all kinds of snacks.
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Magik
Junior Member
Posts: 68
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Post by Magik on Oct 6, 2005 19:07:19 GMT -5
There was probably something she could be doing. Some mission that Mystique had for her, but while she waited for the next order, Illyana settled herself into one of the couches in the rec. room. Her body was stiff, small, huddled into one of the corners of the fairly large, soft couch. As usual she was dresses in a plain red, long sleeved shirt and slightly flared black pants with a red cowl hanging down her back, the hood off her head but piled slightly across her neck.
Her fingers twined endlessly with a length of string, wrapping it over and under and over her fingers again, turning it into elaborate patterns before pulling it out straight again. It was an unconscious action. Simply a constant fidgeting that let her know she was still her. Still here. Still waiting.
She wasn't even watching the threading; instead her blue eyes were glazed over, staring into nothingness rather than taking in the scenery around her. A blank slate.
Waiting.
A curtain of blond hair fell in front of her hair, a sheaf of pale gold blocking her off from the world. But her hands didn't stop twisting the thread in order to brush the locks away. They continued their fruitless, relentless weaving.
Her brain hummed away steadily, twisting down its own nightmare tunnels back to something very far away. Something that glittered a little more than the rest of her world. Something like snow. The sun on the snow. Mountains of snow stretching as far as her eyes could see. Without a sound, she leaned her head back onto the cushions, gazing up at the ceiling, her hands still churning.
Closing her eyes, Illyana drifted away from the room into the darkness beyond. Waiting for the next step on a path that surged forward, only forward.
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Post by Mystique on Oct 7, 2005 3:29:12 GMT -5
Solo missions were always a bitch. And a good deal of the time, they were routine and boring. Still, most were important (otherwise why would they even be on the agenda for the red guard?) and as much as she trusted her soldiers, she preferred to do many herself. The one that she had just returned from definitely fell under the "routine" category. Collecting money from people who leased space from the government... not a lot of fun, and in her opinion, quite a waste of their resources. Any rent-a-cop could handle that job, they didn't have to use the red guard. And it wasn't like anyone was about to put up a fuss about it either. But the cash had been safely delivered and she'd driven around the island for quite a few hours making stop after stop. Exhaustion was an appropriate term.
She walked into the rec. room, morphing smoothly from her stiff looking uniform top to a simple black tank-top. Not that it made any difference, she just thought that she looked better in it. Reaching into the refrigerator, she pulled out a beer before shrugging and removing another. As she passed the couch, she laid one of the bottles next to Illyana, who seemed to be off in her own little world. The woman was odd, but there was a lot about her that reminded Raven of herself. Settling into a chair across from Illyana, she cleared her throat.
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Magik
Junior Member
Posts: 68
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Post by Magik on Oct 7, 2005 8:56:15 GMT -5
Illyana's eyes moved before her head did. They flickered open, watching the ceiling, catching the shadow of Mystique's movement out of the corner. Peripheral vision wasn't her strong suit. It had never kept her safe in Limbo, either. In the back of her mind, her Soulsword hummed, a constant question of "Now?" as it seething it owns ethereal energy, waiting to see if this was danger, if this was the moment for action. Willing it to sleep once more, she moved her eyes again, tracing them over the ceiling.
The beer bottle landed solidly beside her as Mystique walked away, and her head began to move, slowly, like something unreal, a metal doll's head that needed oiling. Then she tilted her face towards the sound of her boss's throat clearing, her eyes still somewhat blank.
Eyes never faltering in their gaze into her companion's yellow ones, Illyana reached over and lifted the beer bottle from the couch, popping the top off with a quick, fluid motion and taking a drink. Her eyes never wavered. After a drink, she held the bottle between her hands, its cold not even registering. "Hello, Mystique. How may I be of service?"
Blond hair pooled around her face again, but she sat deathly still. Waiting. Head tilted, hair in her eyes, which didn't seem to roam or blink or even really see what was around them. And the Soulsword continued to hum. Restless in her mind.
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Post by Mystique on Oct 7, 2005 22:21:39 GMT -5
As she took a long drink from her own bottle, she considered the question. Finally, she leaned forward. "You could hand me the TV guide.
Barring some unforseen disaster, they wouldn't be needed until the next morning, when they went on patrol. She glanced up as a few of the enlisted SHIELD soldiers who lacked the ability to make it to the red guard entered the room, saw that she was there, and left again. She smiled as she reached for the remote control. There really wasn't much else to do around there at night. Sure, she could be up in her office planning something or taking care of paperwork... God knows there was a lot of both to be done. But she felt that it was important that her troops have some exposure to her on a more personal level. If she just sat around barking orders all the time, they would not respect her any more than they had to.
Raising an eyebrow, she looked Magik over. "You're looking a bit tense. Is everything okay?" Another advantage to actually being among the guard. If something was wrong, someone was aggrivated about something, having a little fight with another of their team- she would know. And what's more, she would be able to order them to take a vacation or see a therapist, or simply go to the training area and blow off some steam. Sitting back, she took another sip of her beer. Maybe if she kept rationalizing her position, she would forget how low on the food chain she really was.
Probably not, though.
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Magik
Junior Member
Posts: 68
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Post by Magik on Oct 8, 2005 10:14:55 GMT -5
"You could hand me the TV guide."
It was an odd request. Simple and mundane. She let her breath out, realizing for the first time that she had been hoping that Mystique had wandered into the room for a reason, that there was a mission. Something horribly important and deadly that she only trusted Illyana with. A cause to die for.
Illyana blinked, her eyes finally skating away from Mystique to the coffee table in front of her. Some lower ranking SHIELD soldiers wandered in, and Illyana shot them a scathing look that they didn't see; their eyes so focused on Mystique that they quickly left. One person was company, more was a crowd. And she rarely felt like speaking to anyone not involved in the Red Guard or the royal family anyway.
"Oh. Well, sure." Once they had left, she picked up the flimsy book, stood and handed it to her superior. "There you are."
Nodding, she returned to her spot on the couch, her hands fidgeting with the beer bottle as Mystique turned on the television. As a general rule, Illyana didn't really care for it, and her eyes drew together in a look of derision for the squat piece of technology that opened a portal to make believe worlds. She could open portals to real worlds if she chose. With the proper spells.
Before she killed him, Belasco had gloated that he had stumbled upon a spell to break the boundaries between dimensions. As his blood pooled, she'd burned that particular grimoire. It was better that way.
"You're looking a bit tense. Is everything okay?"
Apparently, a conversation was in the works. Making a quick 180 out of the world in her head, Illyana's eyes blinked and then focused, prepared to play the part of attentive soldier. Another in a long row of helpful masks. Her fingers continued to play with the beer bottle, finding it to be a better distraction than beverage. "Just thinking. Nothing important." Shaking her head to brush off all memories of Limbo, she changed the subject. "Did your mission go well? I was wondering when we might be in the field again."
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Post by Mystique on Oct 9, 2005 23:51:20 GMT -5
She leafed through the small booklet, not really paying any attention to what was on the pages. To be honest, she couldn't care less about what was going on with Illyana, except that it might make it harder for her to do her job. And if any of her agents weren't up to par, it reflected poorly on her. In the old days, perhaps it wouldn't have been such a big deal; Erik was out there on his own, he worked right alongside them, saw what she saw. But now, now he was away from them, doing his own little ruling thing, with his pet and his kids. The savior of the mutant race. Turning her head as Illyana answered, she nodded. Thinking. An interesting answer. Hopefully it was the truth.
Setting down the TV guide, she reached for her drink again, rolling her eyes at the mention of her mission. "The usual. Collecting money isn't exactly a hard thing to do." Pausing to take a drink from her bottle, she nodded her head slightly. "I'm waiting on some intelligence regarding a possible threat to the government... depending on what my sources come up with, we should have something big soon. All of this routine nonsense is driving me crazy, too."
Leaning back, she studied the ceiling. Their headquarters was nice. Much nicer than the places that she'd operated out of before the war. Perhaps she shouldn't have been so unhappy with it all. There really was a lot to be thankful for... But there was just as much to be angry about. Governments were overthrown every day. Sure, as of late the overthrowing had been on behalf of the House of Magnus, but still. It happened. There were threats out there, and they needed to be neutralized. Of course, that could only happen if they made themselves known...
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Magik
Junior Member
Posts: 68
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Post by Magik on Oct 10, 2005 17:48:10 GMT -5
"The usual. Collecting money isn't exactly a hard thing to do."
Oh, good. Mystique didn't really care what was going on. That was a relief because Illyana really wasn't at all interested in talking about it. She sipped from her beer, which was warming slightly from the residual heat of her hands, and listened, trying to hear the meaning behind the words. She had always been good at connecting the dots.
"I'm waiting on some intelligence regarding a possible threat to the government... depending on what my sources come up with, we should have something big soon. All of this routine nonsense is driving me crazy, too."
There it was. A potential mission. Maybe. If everything came through. And if it didn't? What then. More of this waiting around pretending that they had joined the Red Guard for companionship rather than action?
How far was too far, though? Could she test Mystique without getting kicked out on her rear for insubordination? "As much as I hate the thought of a potential overthrow, I must say that I'm somewhat glad to hear that."
Illyana watched Mystique study the ceiling and thought she saw the flicker of a very familiar emotion cross the other woman's face. "Are you unhappy with the current regime, sir?" Her eyes watched her superiors's features carefully.
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Post by Mystique on Oct 10, 2005 18:07:30 GMT -5
The edges of her mouth curled up into a half-smile as she lowered her chin, looking Illyana in the eye. "Now, you know I'm not allowed to discuss things like that. Especially not in here."
She had no doubt that there were set spies within the compound, telepaths whose sole purpose was to detect dissent among the troops. And while she had a feeling that Magneto himself wouldn't mind her having an opinion of her own, Exodus would. And since the government had been started, getting a chance to talk to Erik without Bennet in the room was rare. So much for remaining friends. She had free roam of the palace, yes, but every time she set foot on the grounds, she felt as if Exodus was watching her closely. Paranoia? Probably. But she wasn't about to take the chance that it wasn't.
Shrugging, she added to her statement, "I agree. A threat like this would be nothing more than something to do. No match for us, I'm sure." There really was no way that any terrorist cells could successfully defeat the Red Guard, at least not in her mind. Hell, when she'd started, she was considered part of a terrorist cell. And she knew firsthand what the training was like for something like that. It did not compare at all.
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Magik
Junior Member
Posts: 68
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Post by Magik on Oct 10, 2005 19:34:00 GMT -5
"Now, you know I'm not allowed to discuss things like that. Especially not in here."
Illyana met Mystique's eyes and nodded once. Just a brisk tilt of her head. Of course, the spies. The scanning. Talk of revolution was probably the quickest way to death here. Not that she meant it that way. Just that...Well, she sensed rumblings. The same kind of low-level tremors that had suffused the citizens of Limbo whenever another demon faction had plotted a doomed revolt against Belasco.
Peace could only last for so long. There was always someone else who wanted to take the throne. And even the best leaders could be sloppy on occasion.
She finished her beer in one long swallow.
"I agree. A threat like this would be nothing more than something to do. No match for us, I'm sure."
It was naive to believe you were more powerful than anything your opponent could throw at you. Of course, Illyana was not about to come out and tell Mystique that such arrogance could get them killed. She was smarter than that. Blinking, she set the empty bottle down on the coffee table. "It is your belief that we are primed for any opponent, then?" She tried not to smirk. "But how prepared are we, really. Mystique? When was the last time they gave us a challenge? How long since we've had a proper test?"
Training sessions, in Illyana's mind, didn't count. They lacked a proper sense of spontaneity. Even when they sparred, they knew each other's moves and ideas and powers. It wasn't enough. Not if push came to shove. A house of cards ready to tumble even with all its power.
But, then, everything ended, eventually.
Shaking her head, she got up and pulled two more beers out of the fridge. Handing one to Mystique, she settled herself onto the floor, cross-legged. Waiting.
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Post by Mystique on Oct 11, 2005 10:58:57 GMT -5
She smiled again, bowing her head in thanks as Illyana brought her another bottle. "Any opponent? No. This one? Yes." She paused to open her beer, settling back into the chair. "And you're right. We haven't been properly tested in quite some time. There is only so much that can be learned through simulations and drills. However, it is important to still act like we are ready for any threat. We don't have the liberty of leaving things for the next group to clean up. We are the last line of defense."
She stopped again, taking a long sip of her beer. Illyana, like a lot of the guard, was far more intelligent than she appeared to be. In Mystique's opinion, that is what set them apart from most military organizations. Every single member of the group had a brain. Sure, they didn't always use them, but they were only human.
Tilting her bottle toward Illyana, she asked, "What would you have me do to change that? I can't go starting a major conflict just to get us some more experience." Well... truth be told, she probably could. But she wouldn't. "Perhaps I can have a word with Er... Lord Magneto."
No matter how many times she'd said that name, it never felt right. At least not the Lord part. She frowned and took a long drink of her beer to keep herself from expressing that opinion in front of one of her agents. Her problems with the government were most definitely not what anyone needed to hear.
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Magik
Junior Member
Posts: 68
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Post by Magik on Oct 11, 2005 19:35:37 GMT -5
"Any opponent? No. This one? Yes."
Illyana drew her brows together about to ask more questions but sensed that Mystique was not quite done. Focusing her concentration back on absorbing any relevant information, her hands found a loose string in the carpet to worry.
"And you're right. We haven't been properly tested in quite some time. There is only so much that can be learned through simulations and drills. However, it is important to still act like we are ready for any threat. We don't have the liberty of leaving things for the next group to clean up. We are the last line of defense."
She nodded to herself. Of course she was right. She knew what she was talking about. But that wasn't important currently.
"I suppose you can't divulge any information about the possible threat, either, can you?" she said coolly, less miffed about the secrecy and more about the fact that now she had to wait. Enduring more hours of filling her own time. There really wasn't much she ever thought to do except train, preform her guard duties and occasionally skim papers for any hint of an underground rebellion. She was good at sensing that kind of thing.
She took a long drink of the beer, pulling in as much liquid as her throat could hold before swallowing. Motions. All of them. Routine. "I'm sure we probably could beat about eighty percent of anything thrown at us. I'm just concerned that a lack of actual worry that something might happen combined with a sense of false security--and overconfidence--could be our downfall."
"What would you have me do to change that? I can't go starting a major conflict just to get us some more experience." Well... truth be told, she probably could. But she wouldn't. "Perhaps I can have a word with Er... Lord Magneto."
Illyana couldn't suppress her own shudder when the words Lord Magneto left Mystique's lips. Nor could she deny the look of distaste that crossed the other woman's face. Which made her wonder what kind of aversion Mystique had to it as she herself associated lord with Belasco; a connection that would never be completely severed.
Covering her slip with a shrug, she said, "Surely, there are mutants training in SHIELD or simply wandering Genosha that we haven't engaged in combat. Just something fresh. Rather than us combating each other, which is somewhat pointless when I can predict your son's moves with my eyes closed and feel Northstar's wind in my face."
She leaned forward, letting her hair cover her eyes. "Not that it's a bad method of training. I'd just prefer a little something different. We're stronger as a team than we are as individuals. So long as every part of the team is trustworthy." Growing quiet, she turned back to beer bottle, wondering whether Mystique's mind drifted along parallel channels or she'd soon find herself confined to her room under disciplinary measures.
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Post by Mystique on Oct 12, 2005 8:31:25 GMT -5
Mystique noticed the change in Magik's demeanor as she mentioned Lord Magneto. It was subtle and well hidden, but not undetectable. She'd never really pried much into the histories of her agents, preferring to let them live their own lives, again unless it interfered with their functioning. Maybe this would be something to look into, though. If there was an issue that Magik had with Magneto, she probably shouldn't be serving in his army. Snapping back to the conversation, she was just in time to hear Illyana say, "Surely, there are mutants training in SHIELD or simply wandering Genosha that we haven't engaged in combat. Just something fresh. Rather than us combating each other, which is somewhat pointless when I can predict your son's moves with my eyes closed and feel Northstar's wind in my face."
She narrowed her eyes. Was her leadership really being questioned right in front of her face, to her face, in the middle of the common area? She wasn't sure if Magik had caught herself, or simply caught the look that Mystique was giving her, but she soon amended her statement. "Not that it's a bad method of training. I'd just prefer a little something different. We're stronger as a team than we are as individuals. So long as every part of the team is trustworthy."
And now, it was an issue of trust? It was all Mystique could do not to order Illyana to leave the room or assign her to some menial task that was sure to drive her insane. "Are you suggesting that there are members of this team who are not?"
The fact that she could possibly be questioning Mystique's judgement to the point where even the other recruits were under scrutiny... well, it was infuriating. She had to remind herself more than a few times that she was supposed to be in command of the situation. Anything to keep her from going off the deep end. She hadn't come into the rec. room for an interrogation or for insolence.
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Magik
Junior Member
Posts: 68
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Post by Magik on Oct 12, 2005 10:32:37 GMT -5
Judging by the expression on Mystique's face the ice here was thin. Perilously so. Illyana usually didn't give five seconds consideration to what people thought of her and her opinions. This being her boss, though, it was better to try and attempt to stay on the good side of her mood.
"Are you suggesting that there are members of this team who are not?"
"I honestly don't have any idea." She didn't. No inklings, no suspicions, none, nada, zilch. But her survival instinct had been pricking lately, a constant alert heralded by the tickle of the Soulsword in her mind along with just a general air of unease. Something was happening.
Taking another sip of beer, she glanced at the ceiling, thinking again, wondering if Mystique would wave off these feelings of hers as mere restlessness, which was always an option. Of course, perhaps the Soulsword was trying to alert her to some kind of problem in Limbo. If that was the case, tough. She didn't set foot in that dimension unless she had to.
"I don't have any evidence or even any kind of suspicions regarding anyone's loyalty, Mystique. And I'm not lying to you. There's no point to that. And it's not me because I've been prepared to die for the House of M since the moment they saved my life," she stopped to drink more and refocus her eyes on Mystique. "But do you ever get that feeling that something in the air isn't right?"
She was being candid. After this little moment of actually sharing, she might be confined to her quarters or assigned to some duty worse than free time. So it was important to get it all out before the axe dropped.
Then she tapped her fingernails against the bottle. "And you did ask how I'd like you to change the current training conditions. So I apologize if anything was taken to be insolence. I thought I was merely offering you suggestions." The only smile she could form on her lips was somewhat cold and hollow so she opted for a flash of her teeth in something as close to friendly as she got before returning to her task of picking the carpet bare.
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Post by Mystique on Oct 13, 2005 2:58:02 GMT -5
She frowned, accepting Illyana's answer somewhat grudgingly. On the one hand, she wanted to know if there was any chance that one of her agents would turn on them, but on the other hand, she was not happy with the fact that someone would think that she wasn't aware of everything that was going on in her facility. Maybe she wasn't a big fancy telepath like Exodus, but she was still able to keep an eye on things. Hell, one wall of her office was lined with camera feeds. She could view every public area, every corner of every hallway and room. And there were lackeys, non-red guard soldiers who (most of the time) thought that by pulling extra duties as security monitors they would be promoted. Fat chance. But they were vigilant. They served their purpose and if anything out of the ordinary happened, she'd know right away.
"But do you ever get that feeling that something in the air isn't right?" She looked back at the girl, her expression relaxing a bit. The air had never felt more right than it did now. Now that she wasn't being branded a freak or a menace. But Illyana was right, there was still an underlying twinge of something that she couldn't place. "Sometimes."
A simple answer, but honest. There were times when she was completely lost, wondering how exactly things had ended up the way they did. How the man who had been one of her closest friends was now in charge of the whole damn world. She called him Lord. Lord, for crying out loud. Before, he was lucky if she didn't refer to him as "Buckethead." Now, even joking about that would get her thrown in prison. She'd escape, of course, but where would that leave her? No, there definitely was something wrong.
And you did ask how I'd like you to change the current training conditions. So I apologize if anything was taken to be insolence. I thought I was merely offering you suggestions." Maybe they'd have a special training session later. One about rhetorical questions. Not answering or accepting the apology, she watched Illyana dig at the carpet with her nails. Standing up, she pointed with her free hand. "If you ruin that, you're buying a new one."
She picked up the empties and headed toward the small kitchen, throwing them in the bin and grabbing an apple. "I have work to do. Is there anything else you feel we need to discuss, or should I leave you to your... sitting aimlessly on the floor?"
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