Northern Hammer

[exodus]

This section of the city is called Northern Hammer because of it’s shape. This section claims the best of everything money can buy and attracts the most richest and more powerful mutants in the world. This is also the location of the Palace of the House of Magnus along with SHIELD Headquarters. This area of the island is heavily guarded by SHIELD operatives securing the area closest to the House of M.

[Captain Marvel]

((Enter Captain Marvel with Rogue (with permission) from the Triskellion Training Suites))


Carol laughed out loud, as her hair waved in the air behind her. In her arms she carried her teammate, from the SHIELD Red Guard, Rogue.

What had prompted the flight, Rogue asking just how Carol managed to do it. She found it easier to show the southern bell since she herself did not know.

"See Rogue, I there is no wind except the ones that resist us. Still its fun."

Carol really enjoyed flying she was hoping her friend did as well.

"So where do you want to eat? I don't think anyone will have problem, with us being in the Red Guard and all." Carol said laughing again, "Oo I love Italian. Do you like Italian?"

[Rogue]

She was barely able to say anything before the other woman had literally grabbed her and flown out an open window. Now that she was back on solid ground, however, she had quite a bit to say. "Jesus, woman! You gotta give me some warning before you do that!" Her initial reaction to being grabbed had been to absorb her attacker (even though in this case, Carol wasn't exactly attacking). Luckily, she had stopped herself. She shook her head. Permanently absorbing Carol was a bad idea. She thought life was screwed up to begin with, doing something like that could only make it worse. Glancing around, she finally concentrated on what Carol was saying. "Italian sounds great."

Turning to Carol, she smiled. "Nice outfit, by the way. Think Ah have one or seventeen just like it." She pointed toward the end of the street. "There's a nice little Italian place a few blocks over, if you don't mind walking." And of course, by "Nice little Italian place," She meant "big bar that sometimes served pizza." But the pizza was good. She started walking, untying the uniform jacket that she'd secured around her waist as she did. Shrugging it on, she dug a pair of gloves out of the pocket and pulled them on as well. People inside Triskellion knew better than to hug her or grab her without warning (with, it seemed, the exception of Carol), but the average joe didn't. And she'd accidentally absorbed a few people before while out on the town. Never a good thing, especially when all they wanted to do was shake her hand. Well, quite a few of them had wanted to do a bit more than just shake her hand, but it wasn't until after the absorption that she realized that. It was a classic case of "better safe than sorry." Especially in a crowded area, she needed to be on her toes.

They made their way up the street, pausing once to shake the hand of an older woman who felt the need to thank them for what they did. Once they were out of earshot, Rogue turned to Carol. "Ah never know how to answer when people thank me for this. Ah mean, it's the family business. Only real reason Ah'm here."

[Captain Marvel]

The flight from Triskellion had been enjoyable. With time even Rogue relaxed in Carol's arms. It was true Carol did not think about certain things...like what would happen if Rogue had assimilated her powers. But Carol knew that Rogue had finally gained mastery over her powers, only absorbing people she wanted to absorb. Still it was a dangerous situation but Carol had not blinked twice, she trusted her colleague.

Rogue seemed to like the idea of Italian, "Italian sounds great."

She laughed when she noticed that Carol was wearing the same outfit as her. You can take a girl out of the Red Guard but you can never take the Red Guard out of a girl, Nice outfit, by the way. Think Ah have one or seventeen just like it." She pointed toward the end of the street. "There's a nice little Italian place a few blocks over, if you don't mind walking."

"Fine, party pooper." Carol said in a mock pout. They touched ground with incredible ease. And began walking. Rogue put on her jacket and her gloves on. It must have been hard. Having to be covered up from head to toe.

Suddenly, and old woman insisted in shaking their hands and thanking them for their jobs. Once the old lady shuffled away and was quite a distance away Rogue said, "Ah never know how to answer when people thank me for this. Ah mean, it's the family business. Only real reason Ah'm here."

Carol had never really thought about it much. But it was true, her whole family worked for the Red Guard. Hell, her mother was their leader.

"It must be nice, having your whole family around." Carol explained, "I guess it is different for me. I believe in what we are trying to accomplish...the laws we try to uphold."

Running her hand through her hair she questioned Rogue, "So tell me little Anna, if you were not doing this...what would you be doing?"

[Rogue]

She turned her head as Carol responded, shrugging. "It must be nice, having your whole family around. I guess it is different for me. I believe in what we are trying to accomplish...the laws we try to uphold." She shook her head. "It's not that Ah don't believe in it all, it's just that... well, Ah'm not too sure if the reason that Ah believe it is simply because Ah don't want us all to be separated." She'd spent a good deal of time away from her family when she was trying to get control of her powers, and a large chunk of her life, Kurt had been away. At other times, Raven or Irene would be off doing some kind of mission. She always remembered being the happiest when all of them were together.

"So tell me little Anna, if you were not doing this...what would you be doing?" Raising an eyebrow, she resisted the urge to hit the other woman for calling her 'little.' That would only get her a sore hand. She exhaled, not entirely sure of the answer herself. "Ah dunno. Relaxing on a beach somewheres for one." She nodded. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. "After that? Who knows?" She'd never really had much more than this, her entire life (or as far as she could remember), she had been involved in the military. Sure, at first it was sort of a covert, terrorist military, but look where that had gotten her. They'd rebelled, succeeded. And now she was on the good side of the law. She turned again to Carol as they approached the bar. "How about you?"

[Captain Marvel]

Carol saw Rogue tense up when she called her 'little Anna'. That had been a button she had not wanted to press. It was so hard, she really did not do anything with Anna Marie besides the missions.

"Ah dunno. Relaxing on a beach somewheres for one. After that? Who knows?" Rogue answered her question. Then she turned it all the way back around, "How about you?"

"I don't really know. I have been part of SHIELD for such a long time. I mean I love it so it's weird to see myself in another situation." Carol said, then she started thinking. What would she be doing? "Probably visiting my family. I haven't seen them in awhile." She said opening the door for Rogue.

When they stepped in Carol looked around, with a dumb founded expression she said the her companion, "I don't think they do pasta here."

[Rogue]

She nodded as Carol answered her own question. Visiting family. That sounded good. ACtually, Rogue would probably be doing that too if she wasn't in SHIELD. Unless the four of them started up some kind of mom and pop store. although it would have to be more of a mom and mom store, but that was beside the point. As Carol commented on the likelihood of them serving pasta at the bar, Rogue grinned. "Well, Clyde there at the bar, he'll order it out if you want. They got pizza though. That's Italian."

She led the way toward the bar, greeting Clyde with a smile. "Agent Darkholme! It's been awhile." She grimaced. "Don't call me that, Clyde. That's my mother's name." Turning to Carol again, the smile was firmly planted back on her face. "We have this conversation every time."

Nodding, she pointed to the bar. "You want something to drink?" Leaning back over, she got Clyde's attention again. "Ah'll have the usual, and some menus." He nodded and slid a folder down the bar, then went about getting her her drink. "We got the pick of the whole island here. They got a guy who just heads right out and gets the food. He's fast, like Jean-Paul. But near as Ah can tell, he don't spend nearly as much time admiring himself in a mirror."

[Captain Marvel]

"Well, Clyde there at the bar, he'll order it out if you want. They got pizza though. That's Italian." Rogue said with a grin

Well, well wasn't Anna just plain old sneaky. Not bad sneaky, but sneaky. "I guess you are right pizza is Italian."

Just then as Carol and Rogue headed to the bar, she heard someone yell out, "Agent Darkholme! It's been awhile."
"Don't call me that, Clyde. That's my mother's name." Rogue responded firmly, still when she turned around she had a smile as bright as the sun on her face, "We have this conversation every time."
She then asked Carol if she wanted a drink, nodding at 'Clyde' she asked for her usual and menu's. Carol was intrigued on what would be Rogue's usual.

Rogue then went on to explain the genius behind this place, "We got the pick of the whole island here. They got a guy who just heads right out and gets the food. He's fast, like Jean-Paul. But near as Ah can tell, he don't spend nearly as much time admiring himself in a mirror."

Carol had laugh, "I guess that is a positive, since by the time Northstar finished primping, our food would be cold."

Turning over to Clyde, Carol yelled that she wanted an Armaretto Stone Sour. She gave Rogue a wink, "Not really strong, but they are so yummy."

Looking over the menu, Carol decided to scrap the whole Italian idea. "I think I want the chicken fingers instead." she told Rogue, "What about you?"

[Rogue]

She smiled, nodding at Carol's assesment of the speedster. Even as fast as he was, he could probably fill up an entire day just looking at himself smiling. Clyde returned with her drink, setting the bottle down on a coaster. "Let me know when you're ready, ladies."

She thanked him and took a drink of her beer. Pointing at the label, she explained, "It's local. They make it on the other side of the island. Pretty damn good, too." She smiled as Carol ordered her drink. "Never tried it." Nor did she really want to. It sounded... strange.

Moving back to the menus, she scanned the various possibilities, leaning more and more toward just getting pizza. It was easier and she didn't have to worry about anything other than whether or not to get pepperoni. "I think I want the chicken fingers instead. What about you?" Reaching for another menu, she flipped it over and slid it toward Carol. "Here, this place has a kid's menu..." Grinning, she shrugged. "Pizza. Ah'm not feeling too creative right now."

Waving to get Clyde's attention again, she ordered. "Ah'm gonna have just a plain pizza, and the Captain here will have the chicken happy meal."

[Captain Marvel]

Here, this place has a kid's menu..." Rogue said while she flipped the menu, "Ah'm gonna have just a plain pizza, and the Captain here will have the chicken happy meal."

Carol laughed and yelled at Clyde, "Make it the grown ups chicken meal!"

"You know Anna, one of these days I will take you to another country and let YOU order from the kids menu." Carol said, joking around.

"So is this one of the spots you come to a lot?" she asked. Carol could not help it she was curious about what Rogue did outside of her work. She wanted to get to know her better.

[Rogue]

She laughed. "You try and Ah'll drop you so fast..." She raised her drink to her lips, taking another sip. "An' believe me, it's not a fun experience." She'd never absorbed Carol before, and wasn't even entirely sure that it was possible. Then again, she'd absorbed humans. Just not super-powered humans. Maybe she'd test that out some day. Probably not.

"So is this one of the spots you come to a lot?" She looked up again at the question, nodding. "Ah come here enough. Folks pretty much mind their own business, it ain't like some of the other places on the island." And of course, at that moment, someone across the room decided to shout their codenames, exclaiming that he knew he knew them. Rolling her eyes, she re-iterated. "Pretty much." She turned, not recognizing him, and replied, "What, were the uniforms a clue?"

Some of the regulars laughed and the man in question looked slightly embarassed, before smiling himself. She turned back to Carol and continued, "It's nice to have somewhere to escape to, you know?"

[Captain Marvel]

"Ah come here enough. Folks pretty much mind their own business, it ain't like some of the other places on the island." said Anna responding to the question that Carol had asked.

In almost like a stage cue someone across the bar yelled out their code-names. Almost like if it was his first time seeing them on the outside. Carol disliked the way some people looked at the SHIELD operatives like they were animals in the zoo.

Still Anna seemed to handle it well,"What, were the uniforms a clue?"'

This caused a ripple of laughter around them.

"It's nice to have somewhere to escape to, you know?" Rogue said continuing their conversation.

"Yea, I guess I do. I do not really go out a lot. Mostly flying. It is something that I really like to do." Carol said,"In order to release some stress."

Carol drank down the rest of ther drink. Then without hesistating she asked for another. "So tell me Rogue, what did you used to do before joining SHIELD?"

[Rogue]

She shrugged, still working her way through her own drink. She liked drinking, but she didn't like the fact that sometimes when she did, she lost control again. That was definitely not fun, and was a guaranteed method for cutting down on possible post-drinking activities. And that definitely sucked. But back to the question. "Before this?"

She thought. What had she done before SHIELD? "Well, right before, Ah was in school. Sort of. Not an Academy like the new ones here, but mostly just a trainin' kind of thing. They had all sorts of stuff, like the holo-room we got, but bigger and shinier. Real nice. Great groupa people too, but then the war broke out, and I went back to work with Momma."

She frowned, realizing that she was doing most of the talking. She had a tendencey to jabber on when given the opportunity, and she didn't like it. Not one bit. But old habits die hard. "How about you?"

[Captain Marvel]

"Before this?" Rogue seemed startled, "Well, right before, Ah was in school. Sort of. Not an Academy like the new ones here, but mostly just a trainin' kind of thing. They had all sorts of stuff, like the holo-room we got, but bigger and shinier. Real nice. Great groupa people too, but then the war broke out, and I went back to work with Momma."

Carol smiled at her, "See that is why I like you, once trouble started you came back to your family. You are loyal, which is a good quality to have in a friend."

"How about you?" Anna asked her.

"Well," Carol began, "I have been working with SHIELD, for a while now. I was actually part of it before the Mutant/ Human War. Back then it was run by this tough guy named Nick Fury." she said almost nostalgic.

"He was really forceful and a great strategist. Actually, him and Magneto are similar, except Nick only lived for work. While Lord Magnus seems to be much more family and people orientated. Still once it the war started, people were afraid of the different. I was different, so not wanting to live in a world like that I switched sides." Carol said as she remembered, how much it hurt to feel the hate from people she had once considered friends.

Still Carol continued on, "Before that, though, I used to work for the United States government. The FBI, I specialized in Espionage and Infiltration."

"So the people you used to teach with, are you still close?" she asked looking back up at Rogue's face as she took a drink.

[Rogue]

Rogue simply smiled as Carol complimented her choice. Really, what else could she have done? Stick around at the Institute? There was no telling what would have happened to her then. She turned, ready to listen to Carol's response and get her mind off of her own. Nick Fury... the name sounded vaguely familiar. The slight change in Carol's face did not go unrecognized as she talked about switching sides. Rogue herself had always worked with people who were "different," so she hadn't really felt the full impact of the war in that manner. It was just another part of her life. Sure, it had a huge impact, but it's just something that she had done. One of many things.

"Before that, though, I used to work for the United States government. The FBI, I specialized in Espionage and Infiltration." Rogue nodded. "That's impressive. Ah've got a couple of Feds in my head, but nothin' as exciting as that. Pretty much just glorified rent-a-cops." She took a long drink and shrugged as Carol asked about the people from the Institute.

"Haven't talked to them since Ah left..." She trailed off a little bit, remembering the information that she'd been given shortly after the war started. "It's possible that they're all dead. Right after the start of the war...The guy who was in charge, Charlie Xavier... he died. Was a friend of Magneto's, too. Man's got a memorial for him in the palace gardens and everything. Real nice fellow." Sighing, she spun the bottle a little bit on it's base as she continued. "Got eyewitness reports, they say that the others got shot, too. Hurt real bad. No word on what happened after that, though." That was a lie. There had been word, the school was operational again... but she wasn't exactly keen on visiting only to find that her friends were no longer around, that they'd been killed. Magneto endorsed the school, which meant that it was probably run by someone else now. Even if they still were alive, the chances of them being there were slim. There had been chances, standard checks from the government that she could have volunteered to participate on , but the possibility of finding things so different from when she'd left was far overpowering the urge to see her friends again. Or at least it had been. Now that she thought about it, wasn't it far better to know the truth than mourn possibly still living friends?