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Post by havok on Jul 19, 2005 14:34:25 GMT -5
Alex stood up when Terry came out of the bathroom. He was eager to know why he was brought up here but severely disappointed that she really was just getting ready to explore the city. Oh well, Alex thought to himself. He would much rather get to know her a little better and get to hear her laugh and talk for right now. There was always later, if things lead down that path. Not that he wouldn't mind, though. He respected her more this way than if they just had casual sex without any formal date like situation. A dance and a drink hardly counted as a date.
"I was hoping we can walk actually," Alex said as he opened the door to her room and exited her room. This way, it would be much easier to sneak a plasma wave while she wasn't looking. "If you get cold, just stay close," Alex said but he almost stopped himself. He knew the heat that he radiated would help but he didn't want to be so forward or even explain why he radiated heat in the first place.
"I just have to make a quick stop at my room. It's one floor up. I won't take long," Alex said leading Terry to the elevator. Once the elevator opened to reveal that no one occupied it, he stepped into the empty crate and held the doors open for Terry. "Let me ask you something. Why did you bring me up to your room?" Alex was wondering this and finally got the nerve to ask. He was hoping it didn't offend her as he didn't want this night to end just yet. Alex was enjoying himself to much.
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Post by Phoenix on Jul 19, 2005 20:22:31 GMT -5
Immediately Scott turned the car around to head back to the hotel. Finding out what was happening with the Professor was much more vital than casing a facility for their mission.
"Come on," Scott held out his hand to his wife, helping her out of the car. "We'll find out what is going on. If someone's harmed him.." Scott didn’t finish his sentence. Jean took the liberty of doing it for him. “They’ll wish they didn’t.” Eyes narrowing Jean held Scott’s hand, doing a mental sweep of the hotel as they ran inside to the elevator.
What she found surprised her for a moment. She should have known. There were more mutants here than before, and some of them all too familiar. Rushing past the bellhop she made sure the empty elevator was ready and waiting for them to enter and telekinetically pushed the button, willing the elevator to hurry as it took them to the penthouse suite. Giving Scott a worried look, she squeezed his hand.
"I can’t sweep the penthouse, due to the Professor’s modifications." Worried, she urged the elevator to move faster. There could be anyone in there with Charles. For their sakes, she hoped not. Maybe the Professor was ill, and needed an ambulance. Either way, they needed to get into that suite, and fast.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, the doors opened and Jean fled out of the elevator, clutching Scott’s hand as she went. Taking out the keycard Jean already swiped it through the slot with her teke as she and Scott approached. Opening the door, Jean rushed in, calling out for their mentor. "Charles?? Where are you??" Obviously upset Jean hurried to the bedroom in which Charles had headed before she and Scott left.
The partially opened door revealed an empty mobile chair that the Professor had been sitting in. "Charles!!" Jean could feel another presence in the room and thrust the door open the rest of the way to reveal a woman leaning over Charles’ body. Immediately Jean’s eyes narrowed, stopping abruptly. The White Queen, manipulative headmistress of the Massachuesetts Academy and leader of the Hellions, if you could call her that. The X-Men had had their fair share of confrontations with her and the Hellfire Club, and all left a bad taste afterwards, like cheap Chardonnay that was poured into an expensive leftover bottle of Merlot to try to trick the consumers.
Jean’s eyes lit dangerously, her hair waving from the massive amount of anger as her fists clenched. Unable to stop her emotions from pouring over the bond with Scott, Jean headed over to Emma and Charles, bringing over a chair from the side of the room. Pushing Emma with her teke to fall into it she demanded, "What’re you doing?! And don’t say you were just having a friendly little chat and he suddenly keeled over."
'If she’s the one that did this to him, so help me, I’m going to stop the blood flow to her heart Right NOW.' The thought slid through her mind with ease, her emotions on high. Emma had better come up with some suitable answers, and she’d better come up with them now.
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Post by Siryn on Jul 19, 2005 21:22:11 GMT -5
As Alex opened the door to her room, he told her, "I was hoping we can walk actually. If you get cold, just stay close."
Theresa couldn't help thinking what a gentlemanly thing to say even if she did doubt she'd get too cold. She did grow up in Ireland, after all, and the winters there could be quite severe. Still, she was a bit disappointed they would be walking. That meant they wouldn't be able to explore much of the city at all. She mentally shrugged it off and walked with him down the hall to the elevator.
As she stepped inside, Theresa was amazed that it was empty. Considering the amount of people that had been in the hotel lobby, she didn't think any place would be empty. A faint smell caught her attention and Theresa realized it the smell she associated with Tom. A mix of weather and alcohol, it was usually a dead giveaway that he was home whenever he would visit her at the Keep. She wasn't really sneaking out but she still didn't want to run into her cousin. He could still spoil her fun.
Leaning against the wall of the elevator, she heard Alex say, "Let me ask you something. Why did you bring me up to your room?"
Tilting her head slightly to the side, she thought it was an odd question but that was okay. For a second, Theresa wondered if she had done something wrong by inviting him up but pushed the thought aside. It couldn't have been too bad if he had taken her up on the invite. "It wouldna have been polite ta leave ya down in the lobby ta wait with all those people milling about," she answered honestly.
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Post by Cyclops on Jul 19, 2005 22:41:47 GMT -5
Cyclops followed his worried wife, switching from his sunglasses to his visor as soon as they entered the penthouse. He could feel the anger and hate pouring from Jean as she telepathically opened the door to reveal the empty wheelchair and Emma Frost kneeling over the Professor's prone body. He tried to suppress the emotions, to keep control.
Then Jean's eyes flared with flames and her hair began to weave and coil in the air. She moved a chair over and telekentically shoved the White Queen into it. "What're you doing?! And don't say you were just having a friendly little chat and he suddenly keeled over," she demanded furiously.
Scott was almost sent reeling from the hateful, malicious feeling that where being openly broadcast from his normally gentle wife. As little as he liked Emma Frost, Jean was quite honestly frightening him with her show of force and anger towards the woman. He refused to talk about it to Jean, for fear of hurting her feelings, but her powers, the Phoenix's powers, disturbed him. The total change in her personality made him worry that she would lose herself to the entity. He grabbed her arm gently. < Jean, > he said evenly through their link, trying to center her.
He managed to gain some control over the wild emotions flowing through the psychic link and look at the white Queen himself. As much as he was worried about his wife, she was right. Emma Frost had some questions to answer. "What happened?" he demanded.
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Post by emmafrost on Jul 19, 2005 22:55:57 GMT -5
Emma had been unsuccessful at rousing Charles from whatever had caused him to collapse and there was no way she could lift him on her own to put him on the bed. She heard someone come into the room and was relieved that someone else was finally there to help her with the man. Emma had things she needed to get done and his students would probably want to take him off her hands anyway.
What she received, however, was quite unfriendly. Quite unfriendly, indeed. Not only did Mrs. Summers literally throw her in a chair, she demanded, "What’re you doing?! And don’t say you were just having a friendly little chat and he suddenly keeled over."
Emma simply stared at the other woman for a long moment. Then she looked at Scott and said, "Control your wife, Scott, before she does something she'll regret."
Looking back over at Charles who was still lying on the floor, Emma wondered where he had gone wrong in teaching them manners during the years they had been with him. Her eyes connecting to the flashing one's of Phoenix, Emma replied, "Actually, I was in the middle of a conversation with him only I was in my room at the time. He 'screamed' my name then the mental connection went suddenly dead. Knowing who some of the other occupants of this hotel are, I thought the worst and found a way in. He was lying on the floor like that when I found him. I've been trying to contact him but whatever is going on, I can't break through."
There, she had answered honestly and now they had no reason to keep her there. Whatever they did with Charles was up to them. She had other ways of dealing with the proceedings tomorrow and she would need her rest and all her energy for it.
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Post by Magneto on Jul 20, 2005 9:49:26 GMT -5
Erik could hear Mystique's voice on the other end of the connection. "Yes?"
"Raven, it Erik," he replied. "We've made to Washington, checked in and I've told everyone to lay low until tomorrow when you arrive. Also the penthouse is psychically shielded, and someone has been turning bellhops into psychic puppets. After things quiet down and most of the inhabitants are asleep and otherwise occupied, I plan to investigate it. How is your trip going?"
Honestly, Magneto was more curious about the shielded penthouse and the psychic trail Exodus had found than he was letting on. They both could mean many things and Erik wanted to know exactly who he was sharing the hotel with. Oh yes, he would be investigating the penthouse later.
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Post by Mystique on Jul 20, 2005 10:09:50 GMT -5
((OOC: over the phone))
"Let me know what that's all about as soon as you find out. I don't like not knowing who else is sharing a building with us. We're doing fine. We should be there early tomorrow morning, probably before the sun comes up. Moss is going to lose his lunch soon, I fear, but otherwise, we're making good time and having a blast."
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Post by havok on Jul 20, 2005 10:50:25 GMT -5
Alex felt like an idiot asking such a dumb question. He got an honest answer, one that he didn't think of. If casual sex wasn't on his mind at that moment, he would've been thinking more clearly. Trying to clear his head, Alex led Terry to his room.
"I'll only be a second," Alex informed her as he closed the door behind them. He loked himself in the bathroom and undressed himself as quickly and quietly as he could. The containment suit was next. He knew that it would get in his way, plus if Terry did get cold, his radiated heat would be stronger now. Placing the containment suit on the rack of towels, Alex replaced his clothes back on his body then exited the bathroom. Opening the closet, he found his jacket and slipped into it.
"Ready?" He asked Terry. He wasn't out of breath in the slightest, being used to working out plenty. Rushing around wasn't normal for him but he was used to working much harder than he did. "I figure we could walk since driving puts us in too much traffic with all the protesters and everything," Alex explained. He would've like to drive but it would be harder. Picking up a listing that was placed on the dresser by the hotel staff, Alex flipped through to find anything that was close and interesting. "Hey, a few blocks from here, they're doing a tree lighting. Want to go up that way?"
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Post by Siryn on Jul 20, 2005 12:44:04 GMT -5
Theresa laid her cloak on his bed when they walked in and watched him disappear into the bathroom. It was a bit confusing since he didn't have to pull his hair back but she just shrugged it off. Walking to the window, she opened the curtains slightly and looked outside. His room faced the main road and she watched as cars came and went like they would never end. She really had never seen so many people in one place before and it was all utterly fascinating.
Turning back from the window when she heard Alex get his coat, she nodded when he asked, "Ready?" Theresa picked her cloak up, not wanting to put it on until they got to the lobby doors and watched as he looked over a piece of paper.
"Hey, a few blocks from here, they're doing a tree lighting. Want to go up that way?" Alex then asked her.
Theresa was slightly confused before remembering the Christmas tree was a tradition here. Giving him a big smile, she replied, "That would be wonderful! I would love ta learn as much as I can about yuir traditions before Tom sends me back ta Ireland." Her blue eyes sparkling with excitement, she grabbed his hand again and said, "Let's be on our way."
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Post by magdaleina on Jul 20, 2005 14:04:22 GMT -5
The last thing Magda expected was for the two guests from before to return. Of course, by then she'd been risking another glance through the window, and though she could not see anything in the bathroom, the bug was still working just fine. She pulled out of sight and pressed her back against the wall again, closing her eyes to focus on the conversation unfolding as the man forced the newer visitor to sit and speak to them.
At present, it did her some good to understand what had made Xavier suddenly ill. If that were not the case, she felt sure she would have been gone by now and off this god-forsaken ledge. It was something Hamphire would have wanted to know; would probably give him an edge later. If not, at least she tried.
It would be just my luck if the man didn't wake up and tell them, she thought, realizing that was the only way she was likely to get an idea of what was happening.
The fact that they all suspected Hamphire would probably be enough, but if Magda was anything, she was thorough, and quite wary about displeasing this new "employer" of hers. She did not want to give him any reason to give her back to Fisk, after all. She could not be sure which of them was more tolerable to failures, but she knew neither of them would be terribly lenient, nor would either way of "correction" be more or less painful than the other.
Ah, the messes she always got herself into these days.
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Post by havok on Jul 20, 2005 14:33:11 GMT -5
Alex didn't know they didn't have Christmas in Ireland but he thought it was great that he was exposing her to it. It was such a great time of the year. The weather might be terrible but the overall feeling from everyone was the best. Everyone was generous on Christmas day. The shopping part was hell but it was all worth it when it comes down to that special morning and everyone gave their thoughtful presents to each other.
Alex still wondered about her cousin though. he doesn't seem like a very nice guy and he sounds like he mistreats Terry. And Terry seemed like such a sweet and innocent girl. Very innocent. No wonder she had no idea what it meant when she asked him to her room. What, was this chick locked in a castle her whole life? Alex wondered to himself. It would definately explain so much.
"That's what I had in mind," Alex said smiling at her. They exited his room, making sure the door was firmly in place. With her hand in his, they walked to the elevator and eventually out to the street.
((Continued in Streets of Washington DC))
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Post by xavier on Jul 20, 2005 16:07:00 GMT -5
Charles stirred as he felt himself suddenly bombarded by psychic impressions. A man considering quitting his job, a woman doubtful about her husbands faithfulness, a child scared to show his mother his new report card, a criminal with nothing to live for...
It was clear to Xavier now that reality was once again all around him. He rubbed his head in an effort to calm the raging storm of mental babble around him. Slowly each of his internal barriers rose into place gradually blocking out all the unwanted traffic. Charles mind finally grew still sensing only the thoughts of those within close proximity.
Opening his eyes, Xavier looked at the highly detailed alabaster colored ceiling noticing its intricate circline stylings. Then he was aware of a presence nearby. Emma was still within the area, apparently she had been here the aura of her psychic impression was still strong. She had been very close, perhaps in this room.
Another impression entered Xaviers mind then quickly darted away. He dismissed it as perhaps a maid doing her rounds or guests entering the range of his perception.
Attempting to right himself, was not an easy task. Sometimes Charles wished that whatever being desired this mutation upon him, would have also allowed him to keep his legs. Perhaps it was a penance for the arrogance he once allowed to rule his life, that night his life almost came to an end, all of that was changed. With the loss of his legs came a new view of life, and those with mutations like his.
Yes, it was time to focus once again on the mission. There was too much at stake to allow a simple handicap to stop the X-mens mission...
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Post by magdaleina on Jul 20, 2005 17:08:56 GMT -5
Magda's brow twitched when she felt a familiar pulse, telling her that her com was going off. She fished it out of one of her pockets and held it up to examine the message. "Ce dracu vrei?"* she whispered to herself.
M. We got a problem, contact operations ASAP, CH
Wonderful.
Time for her to get down, then. She looked around and immediately regretted it. How in blazes had she gotten up here again? It didn't matter; scaling the wall backwards was a lot harder than climbing up. So what were her other options?
Right. The tree.
There were sturdy branches stretching a good six feet away from her. If she were nearer to the ground, the jump would have been more than simple. However, right now she was several stories off the ground and getting dizzier by the minute.
No time to worry about it, she realized, and biting her lip, she branced herself to push off from the wall. A simple boost with her legs sent her into the branches, and she caught a good, thick one with her arm with hardly a snap or crackle of twigs. Balancing her hand and footholds, she shot a quick look down to the ground to make sure no one was in sight before climbing down. She dropped onto the ground with a gentle thud, and brushed some bark and dead leaves from her uniform before picking up her com again.
She dialed the right sequence, and the signal coming from the bug shorted out to tune into another. Thankfully, using the com looked just about like anyone talking on a cell phone would, and she could wander nonchalantly out into an unoccupied area of the parking lot beyond.
"M here," she said when she knew the connection had been made. Her accent was thick; it was a wonder she was understandable at all. "What is it?"
((*Ce dracu vrei roughly translates as "What the Hell do you want now?"))
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Post by npc on Jul 20, 2005 19:22:58 GMT -5
"M here," she said when she knew the connection had been made. Her accent was thick; it was a wonder she was understandable at all. "What is it?"
Location: Hampshire's Office
Steven, had not expected M to react so soon. Not allowing his voice to alter he responded.
"Present situation is now null, I repeat null. New post in route, standby for feed." Though his communication with her sounded cryptic it was clear that the party at the other end had been informed of an assignment change.
Activating a serious of encrypting algorithms, the coded engineer nodded to the Colonel. "We are clear Sir, you may begin transmission." Working at an incredible speed the high security officer that Steven had requested, was now being put to good use. Looking again to the Colonel the engineer nodded "Message encoded on Delta-Echo-Gamma 2.0.0.1"
"Good, you idiots are perhaps useful for something other then collecting a paycheck..."
The coordinates were sent to the agent at the incredible speed of 300 Terabytes per second via highly sophisticated transponders located in digital satellites, encoded with 1GB encryption, the best that the government had to offer. It read simply 021.312.41, the coordinates of the FBoMC.
((Just a little FYI, 1GB encryption, is at current, only in science fiction, but seemed to fit well with an organization ran by Mr Hamphire. Our best super computers are not currently up to the task.))
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Post by Phoenix on Jul 20, 2005 23:23:45 GMT -5
< Jean. > Angrily Jean had stalked forward, but her husband’s touch on her arm and call to her through their rapport stalled her for a moment. Reminding her to gain control over her emotions, Jean locked a heavy gaze on the blonde now sitting in the chair she had put her in. If it weren’t for him, she might not have calmed down so easily. Luckily for Emma, her first goading statement didn’t register with Jean while she gained control.
"What happened?" Scott demanded.
Emma glanced at the Professor’s still form as she spoke, turning back to look at Jean. "Actually, I was in the middle of a conversation with him only I was in my room at the time. He 'screamed' my name then the mental connection went suddenly dead. Knowing who some of the other occupants of this hotel are, I thought the worst and found a way in. He was lying on the floor like that when I found him. I've been trying to contact him but whatever is going on, I can't break through."
Jean held her gaze for a few more moments before speaking. “What were you discussing before he passed out?” It was possible that something in their conversation might have triggered his reaction. The anger now subsided and her eyes glinted a dark emerald green, her temper successfully subdued. More concerned with Charles and his welfare, Jean was just about to check his vital signs when he began to move.
"Professor!" Rushing to his side, Jean helped him to sit up. "Are you all right?" Just seeing him start to regain some semblance of his whereabouts was a huge sense of relief.
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