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Post by Pyro on Jul 23, 2006 4:58:11 GMT -5
After his triumph in the compound, John left Mystique and headed to his office. He started by actually tidying up (unheard of for him) and getting the desk back into some sort of manageable state.
He was on something of a high after his creation of mere minutes ago. It may have been only one success, and he may have needed to take it easy afterwards, but he'd done it. What he'd visualised, what he'd imagined, what he'd wanted to achieve with the flames had happened.
He was changing.
Then he reached for the phone and punched in Aurora's number. Time to connect with the new recruits.
Somewhere, far away from Genosha, her phone rang.
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Post by Aurora on Jul 23, 2006 12:10:05 GMT -5
In Baltimore, Maryland, two young women sat on a rooftop and watched the world pass by below. Not a block away was a large building, which they knew to be NovaTex's headquarters. Outside the building was an already-forming crowd of protestors.
They had passed the time talking with each other. The conversation came easily, as if they had known each other longer than a few hours they'd had since they'd met. "My problem with zee cure is zat by marketing it so--and especially, calling it a 'cure'--they are telling zee world zat to be a mutant is to have a disease," Aurora stated as she tapped the shingles beside her. She was leaning against a slant on the roof, her bag of clothes under her back as a pillow.
Suddenly, her phone rang. It was an unfamiliar ring--she had gotten it after becoming a teacher, and had rarely used it before. She quickly realized that it was coming from herself, her pocket to be exact, and she quickly drew it out. She gave Angie an excited look as she opened the plain phone and held it to her ear.
"Bonjour?" she answered the call, her first language rolling smoothly off of her tongue.
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Post by Pyro on Jul 23, 2006 12:54:25 GMT -5
He winced slightly. He'd forgotten she was French. Still, everyone had their cross to bear.
"Hello," he said, very deliberately. "Aurora, this is Pyro."
It was the first time he had given her his name. He trusted to his growing infamy that she knew exactly who Pyro was. "I apologise for not getting back to you sooner, but things have been a little crazy here. I will presume that you and Nightingale met up and that you've been faring well."
He sat back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk, his usual telephone pose.
"I'll come straight to the point. We'll be heading to Baltimore in a very short period of time, expecting to get there for the 21st, in fact. What I need from you is a complete rundown of what things are like around NovaTeX. I need you to analyse whatever weaknesses you find there and I want you to report them to me."
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Post by Aurora on Jul 23, 2006 13:39:40 GMT -5
"Aurora, this is Pyro."
It was the familiar voice she had been hoping to hear. An eyebrow quirked at the name he gave. Either it was his real name, and was an exotic one, or it was his...Well, assumed name. She'd learned at the meeting she'd attended in Montreal that it was commonplace for mutants to use second names, usually ones that corresponded to their powers. What exactly 'pyro' meant, Aurora had no idea. She listened on intently.
"I apologise for not getting back to you sooner, but things have been a little crazy here. I will presume that you and Nightingale met up and that you've been faring well."
"I'll come straight to the point. We'll be heading to Baltimore in a very short period of time, expecting to get there for the 21st, in fact. What I need from you is a complete rundown of what things are like around NovaTeX. I need you to analyse whatever weaknesses you find there and I want you to report them to me."
'Nightingale?' she wondered, glancing up at Angie curiously. 'C'est 'rossignol', non?' She wondered why Angie had chosen the quick little bird to represent her. "Yes, Angie and I are 'ere. And at zee NovaTeX headquarters--" She stood and craned her neck to see the building better. "Already there is a line of people camping out, and a crowd of, euh..."
She paused to think of the correct word to use. "Protestors. On zee other side of zee street. There are a few policeman stationed around. We can, of course, move closer and I can call you and report more specific information that may help."
Aurora paused then. He had dropped the monastery act, as well as spoken bluntly enough for anyone listening in to understand his plans to a small degree. And she was curious, naturally.
"Specifically, do you need weaknesses in...infiltration?" She hoped that that was the correct word. "Or in...other means of stating a point?" Such as destruction? It was a nice building, with many windows. Aurora got a slight thrill at the thought of how magnificently they would glitter in the sun once in shards on the pavement.
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Post by Pyro on Jul 23, 2006 14:00:58 GMT -5
John grinned broadly to himself. He wouldn't give her all the details. If anybody did intercept this call - which was unlikely as between them, Gill and Python had rigged up quite the sophisticated signal jammers, they'd get barely enough information to fully understand the Brotherhood's plans.
"Excellent, so there's people there already." Police, protesters, mutants queuing for the Worthington Cure. A collective mass that was sure to prove itself useful. He thought, briefly, of how pleased the Dead Man would be to know that there would be potential fodder for his powers there and gave an involuntary shudder. "Well, take a good look around. We're interested in finding out if there's any ... military moving in and what kind of artillery they're bringing with them. Are they armed with Cure weapons, for example?"
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Post by Aurora on Jul 23, 2006 14:15:58 GMT -5
Aurora nodded, making mental notes of everything to look for. "Zat should be simple enough. Angie can look around on zee ground, she is probably more familiar with what to look for. And I can get a view from zee sky." She knew there was a better word for it, she just had no idea what it was.
"It should only take an 'alf of an 'our at zee most. Should I call you then?"
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Post by Pyro on Jul 23, 2006 14:42:33 GMT -5
"Fantastic idea. Actually - get your companion to call me. We've not spoken yet, it probably wouldn't hurt to introduce ourselves to each other if we're gonna be working together."
John grinned down the phone.
"Good job, Aurora," he said, sincerely. "Good job. Welcome to the Brotherhood."
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Post by Aurora on Jul 23, 2006 14:51:13 GMT -5
Aurora felt something that was best described as pride stir in her chest at his compliment and welcome into The Brotherhood. It was an emotion that she had yet to realize would become more and more strong as time went on, along with many other emotions. A wide smile crept onto her face, and it did hold a touch of that pride.
"Thank you very much, Pyro," she responded, a very faint roll in the 'R' of his name. "I look forward to meeting you and the rest of your group."
When their conversation finished, she ended the call and closed her phone. She then looked to Angie, another of her smiles on her face. "They will be 'ere on zee 21st."
(Aurora to cont. somewhere in North America)
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