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Post by Aurora on Sept 12, 2006 15:57:08 GMT -5
Aurora stood in front of an angel for the second time in her life, and she wasn't impressed. The bronze statue stared lifelessly at her from atop the Angel of the Water Fountain in the center of Central Park, water spilling down below it's feet. Frankly, she found angels overrated. Anyone who spent their life worshipping the various saints of everything from death to runny noses had whittled their life away. Sparing a spiteful thought for Jeanne-Marie, Aurora smirked.
"Reminds me of that X-Man," she said aloud to Angie, who was nearby. They weren't alone, others were about, gawking at the fountain and taking pictures, but Aurora was not the first to make such a comment.
Turning from the fountain, she searched the grounds around them. "This one better show," she said with a sigh, though the new recruit wasn't late yet.
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Post by Nightingale on Sept 12, 2006 16:05:06 GMT -5
They'd found the place easily enough - Python was standing off a little ways, keeping a lookout for the apparently distinctive Poseidon, and she and Aurora seemed to be doing a fair approximation of bored gods so far.
Aurora pulled it off far better than she did. Angie had managed to look bored, but she didn't have the confidence-bordering-on-arrogance that was so easy for her friend to pull off.
Well, as far as Aurora was concerned she'd only been alive a few months, certainly not long enough to have years worth of issues that needed to be worked through before she could be so confident in herself. Not to mention a mutation that made it difficult to form relationships.
But then, Aurora did have another woman in her head.
"I'm sure he will." Angie shrugged as she looked up at the angel statue. "I only saw him from far away, but he looked like a pretty generic angel. Wonder if he could do anything but fly, I mean... wings look nice but I bet they aren't that handy. Especially not when there's other ways to fly and not stand out." Angie gave Aurora a quick smile - she was talking about the Canadian's powers, of course.
Maybe this bored, arrogant goddess thing wouldn't be so hard to pull off after all.
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Post by Aurora on Sept 13, 2006 18:20:58 GMT -5
"He's just there to impress people," Aurora said carelessly, as though she didn't see much use for him either. She turned, leaning against the fountain right next to Angie, and continued more quietly, almost mumbling.
"I would have easily taken him down if I hadn't stopped for long enough for him to grab me." She was clearly still miffed over this, though she felt like she'd gotten the last word on the matter. Hopefully he'd never forgive himself for letting all those civilians be thrown to their deaths.
"Oh well. I'm sure we'll meet up again sometime."
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Post by Nightingale on Sept 15, 2006 3:04:42 GMT -5
"Mmmm, I've no doubt."
Angie shrugged and took a place next to Aurora, leaning on the fountain. Dipping down into her purse for her lip gloss, Angie put on another layer and looked around.
"I really want to get back to... home." Even though there were no people around, it wasn't a good idea to say the name of their island home out in public. Who knew where there was someone with an electronic listening device, or who could have enhanced hearing? Better not to risk it.
The young Australian's cheeks turned slightly pink as she thought about just why she wanted to get back to Genosha. Though she tried to tell herself it was merely a nervousness about being in public when her face was, in all likelihood, known to the government, Angie knew that she also wanted to get back to where she didn't have to worry about her mutation, and back to... Where Pyro was. Even thinking it was embarrassing.
Apparently, Python had decided that it was almost time, or something, because the lanky mutant had sloped over to join them in leaning against the fountain.
"So what d'you reckon this one will be like? Poseidon - I wonder how Gill'll get along with him." Not that any of them actually knew if Gill's mutation had anything to do with water, of course. But it would still be interesting to see how their half-fish got along with the God of the Sea.
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Post by Aurora on Sept 15, 2006 10:33:11 GMT -5
Aurora herself had been wondering the same thing—she’d come up with a few different pictures in her mind, each equally inhuman. But rather than say this, she spoke her voice of reason. “Well, he must not look too out-of-place, meeting us in a big park like this.”
“So I guess he’s not a merman,” she added, somewhat regretfully. She could only imagine a male mermaid would be the picture of perfection. If they even existed…After all, Gill was a mermaid. He just had the wrong half covered in scales. She’d never thought of Gill in that sense, and she laughed despite not having said anything funny out loud.
“I wonder if he carries a trident. What can he do, anyway? Besides commanding water, which I’m assuming…"
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Post by Nightingale on Sept 15, 2006 14:42:30 GMT -5
Shrugging, Angie gave Aurora a blank look. "Maybe he's just kinda lame, like Aquaman, and calls himself Poseidon to sound cooler." The idea of a Merman meeting them in Central Park was a bit much. "Yeah, I'd think if he had a tail it'd be a bit hard to walk around, you know?" Captain Obvious to the rescue! "But yeah, how many myths do you want to see come true, huh?" Angie grinned, teasing in a friendly way. Aurora knew that she was only mucking around. At least, Angie hoped she did. "Guess we'll know when we see him." As long as this one wasn't a trap. Aurora should be able to get them out of there, though, if push came to shove. Before she could continue the thought, her bag started vibrating and she scrambled about looking for her phone cursing the amount of stuff she'd already accumulated. [Angie cont. in 'phonecall to Nightingale' - will be back! ]
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Post by Aurora on Sept 18, 2006 20:34:03 GMT -5
Aurora wandered over to a bench nearby as Angie took a call and walked off a short ways. She picked a rose from the bush next to the bench and picked the petals off as she waited. Finally, Angie returned, looking a little worse for wear.
"Are you okay?" she asked, concern for her friend breaking through her cool facade as she tipped down her sunglasses to look Angie in the eyes.
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Post by Nightingale on Sept 18, 2006 20:45:36 GMT -5
"Yeah, I..." Frowning, Angie looked to Python, who had spoken to him as well. There was no doubt in her mind that it was the Dead Man - with his horribly creepy greeting, and his assurance that he was in fact dead.
"That was Dead Man. You know, the guy with the zombies?" Angie actually found herself laughing, obviously from nerves. "You know, the guy who was - is - dead? In Baltimore?"
Applying another layer of lip gloss to try to calm her nerves - at this rate she'd have an inch thick layer by the end of the day - she noticed her hands shaking and tried to stop.
"Well, he's coming to pick us up. In a truck. Full of McDonalds and zombies."
Oh god, she thought she was going to be sick. She had a morbid thought about the smell and thought that she might never eat McDonalds again. Not that she ate it often, but she was definitely willing to extend that to a blanket ban on Dead Man's behalf.
"I hope this Poseidon guy gets here soon."
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Post by Aurora on Sept 19, 2006 8:50:43 GMT -5
Aurora stared at Angie. “Should have figured he wouldn’t stay dead,” she said disgustedly, unable to hide a tone of dismay. She considered herself to be pretty tough, but Dead Man would make WWE fighters want to run away. “So he lived?” she mused aloud. “Well…Was he ever really alive though?”
"Well, he's coming to pick us up. In a truck. Full of McDonalds and zombies."
Aurora blanched. “No. I am not going to be crammed into the backseat of a truck between two dead bodies.” An involuntary shudder passed through her.
“No, look, why don’t I just take us back?” She latched onto the idea enthusiastically, but within moments saw the flaws. Still, she tried to work around them. “I could take Poseidon, then come back to get you, it’d only take a few minutes. And…I’m sure I could make it all the way…Probably…”
"I hope this Poseidon guy gets here soon."
Aurora groaned and let her head fall back, her dark hair showering from her shoulders to hang down her back. ’God, please hurry,’ she pleaded in her mind, as if she could get the message to Poseidon.
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Post by Nightingale on Sept 19, 2006 22:18:51 GMT -5
"Yeah, he was alive." Angie looked thoughtful. "And then he was dead. Touched him myself, there was... nothing to connect with, no energy in his body to add to." She had the horrifying thought that here was one person she could touch all she wanted.
Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodpleasenoohgod!
"I asked him to meet us at the plane but he wanted to come get us here. He's... he's not alive, he's still dead, but he must have gotten control of his body back from his power or something. Cause he was definitely talking to me, and he said... Oh, god, what was it? That rumours of his demise had not been exaggerated." She paused for a moment, looking slightly ill.
So fucking creepy.
Not to mention that greeting. She'd never be able to watch Cinderella the same way again. Not that she'd watched it in a few years, but... Oh, god.
The young woman put her hands over her mouth, listening to her breathing in an attempt to not start hyperventilating. For a few panicked moments, her breath came short and fast, but she eventually managed to get it under control.
"No." She spoke more calmly now, though her face still hadn't regained all of its colour. "No, he's going to be coming on the plane with us anyway, might as well get used to it. Don't want to look bad in front of the Sea God." Her jaw was set stubbornly, but inside she was still begging for another way.
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Post by Aurora on Sept 20, 2006 10:19:15 GMT -5
Aurora felt a chill go through her as Angie quoted the cryptic words Dead Man had said to her. She saw that her friend seemed to be on the brink of a panic attack, and she wanted to hug her. But she knew that that wouldn’t fit the ‘mutant gods’ act, so she didn’t. She put her hand on Angie’s arm, looking at her closely. “Are you going to be okay with this?”
She tried to suppress the feeling that she wouldn’t be at all okay with traveling in close quarters with the Zombie King, and therefore couldn’t expect Angie to be.
“Does he understand that he’s not normal?” Aurora asked with disdain. “I mean, does he get that normal people don’t want to be around him? Maybe he thinks it’s funny.” He struck Aurora as the kind of sick, twisted man who would find humor in making others uncomfortable. She’d seen him do things far more sick than that, after all.
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Post by Nightingale on Sept 20, 2006 10:37:51 GMT -5
"I'll be fine." Angie shrugged lightly, appearing far more casual than she felt. "We'll deal with it as it comes, anyway."
Though she still had a feeling that she was going to throw up a little in her mouth, Angie found herself shaking her head.
"You know, I think he knows he's not normal, and I think he's happy that way." But then, so were they. It was just that Dead Man was even less normal than them, since at least they had a heartbeat in common with the rest of the Homo family.
"I don't know, I guess it's not like he chose to get fried." She wondered if his skin was still horribly burnt. Cause that would probably make things even worse.
"We should probably go back to Python, though, Gill said that Poseidon was going to be looking for a group of three."
She wondered how things were going to pan out now that Dead Man was in the picture. Though she thought that anyone who called himself a God shouldn't mind a God of the Underworld who was the same as his minions, it was hard to tell.
Hope there's not too many minions.
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Post by mystique on Sept 20, 2006 15:55:57 GMT -5
Mystique's steps were easy, relaxed as they approached the fountain, like any young woman escorting a handsome man through one of the most famous parks in the world. They spoke casually, a smooth sort of smile on her lips.
She looked just as she had the day she'd walked onto Genosha's shore and surprised the living hell out of John, who thought she was gone from their ranks forever. Maybe she had something about this getup for surprises.
Maybe she just didn't care what they thought.
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Post by sy on Sept 20, 2006 16:18:30 GMT -5
Eyeing many of the people as the walked through the gates of the park, Sy was glad that Mystique was his guide, because he would have gotten lost long ago if not for her. And she knew who they were meeting, which was also a plus considering all the three-person groups near the angel fountain.
So he smiled easily at her as they chatted and strode with his characteristic walk that spoke of confidence and godliness. He was less concerned with what they would think of him then with what he would think of them. Perhaps the entire thing wouldn't be worth it to him? That would be a shame.
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Post by Aurora on Sept 20, 2006 18:08:43 GMT -5
Aurora nodded at Angie's suggestion, turning and starting down the path away from the fountain. As she walked, she looked up, and her sharp eyesight caught the face of a woman coming towards her immediately. A second glance affirmed her suspicion--'Mystique.'
Aurora's hand brushed Angie's covered arm, and as she ran a hand through her straight, dark hair, she said under her breath, "I didn't know Mystique was coming." She could only imagine how much trouble this would cause if she returned to Genosha with them--she hadn't been there for her fight with John, and didn't know who was in the right, but she knew that her return would cause extreme tension, if not worse.
If Aurora's show of cool confidence and self-assuredness had faded at all, it returned in full force. She walked gracefully, with her chin level, glancing to and examining the man walking with Mystique before returning her eyes to the dark-haired woman. Her confidence paled in comparison to the confidence of the two walking toward them.
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Post by deadman on Sept 20, 2006 21:48:53 GMT -5
The McDonald's Semi was parked across the street from Central Park, near the exit they'd have to take. It was in a parking spot designed for such a vehicle, so as to attract little notice. The knowlege of the driver was once more an assett in that fashion - Dead Man loved it when that happened.
Dead Man waited in perfect stillness, the driver next to him also statuesque.
The other animates were wrapped neatly in thick tarp, and were shoved in the over-load department beneath the massive Trailor.
DM knew damn well they were a discomfort to those around them, and that many Brotherhood would be joining this forray. He'd left the back of the truck completely untainted with the smell of his minions for that reason - none of them having gone back there.
Now he waited.
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Post by Nightingale on Sept 20, 2006 23:39:29 GMT -5
"Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. What the..." Angie didn't even finish the thought before she had her phone next to her ear, listening to the repetitive ringing for a good thirty seconds before she hung up and dialled another.
"Damnit, pick up!" Thankfully, this time someone did.
"Er... Brian. I just wanted to double check on who exactly we're picking up. Because I've been contacted by... the undertaker, and there's a lady in blue walking up the path right now."
Anyone that was looking at her would have seen that Angie looked more than a little stressed. Her agitation showed in the fact that she'd hesitated before deciding what to call Gill. That Aurora had just said Mystique's name made her feel kind of panicky, as if they were going to be arrested right there and then. Even Python was looking surprised.
Mystique.
So she was why Pyro had wanted to come to New York.
Should have known, really. Just because he was being nice to her didn't mean that she had any chance in hell of him ever being interested.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Gill was explaining that everything was correct, that they were expecting three plus whoever Dead Man brought with him.
"Well why the fuck didn't anyone tell me this before now? Ah, never mind, I'm sorry, I'll see you later."
Well, this was going to be interesting.
Hanging up, Angie put the phone back in her purse and stood. Her composure was in tatters, but she tried to push all of her self-doubt to the back of her mind and be as confident as Aurora. More confident, as confident as Mystique.
She didn't actually fail too miserably, either, though the colour still hadn't returned to her face.
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Post by Aurora on Sept 21, 2006 8:13:09 GMT -5
Aurora listened to Angie's panicked phone call, her agitation at the fact that the two of them had been left out of the loop overriding her temptation to tell Angie to pull it together. Apparently this guy was a Narcissist, and needed to be thoroughly impressed, and though Aurora could stand to not have an ego-maniac living down the hall from her, she wasn't about to screw up an assignment.
"Why the hell don't they tell us these things?" Aurora asked in a sing-song tone, through a smile that would seem true enough. She wondered if they planned to act like they were supposed to be meeting there. She waited to acknowledge them, in case the cunning, more experienced mutant had other plans.
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Post by mystique on Sept 21, 2006 8:27:02 GMT -5
Mystique looked at Sy for a moment, her smile growing a bit. Oh, it was good to be back. She was pleased to see the girls- more pleased than she'd thought she would be.
"Hello ladies," she said, nodding to each of them respectfully. Touching Sy's arm- at least the bit that was covered- she nodded to him.
"This is my friend Poseidon. Poseidon, this is Aurora," she gestured to her, "And Nightingale." and followed up with another gesture to Angie.
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Post by Nightingale on Sept 21, 2006 8:44:32 GMT -5
"I'm intending on asking that when we get back." Angie turned her sweet smile from Aurora to Mystique, who had finally reached them and was making introductions.
For some reason she actually found herself smiling genuinely when Mystique nodded to each of them. Though the familiar feeling of being an unworthy child was back as if it had never left, she pushed it to the back of her mind and smiled at Poseidon.
"Lovely to meet you. You'll have to excuse me for not shaking hands." She had forgotten to bring her gloves with her, and it was a bit too warm to look normal wearing them. As it was, her long sleeves were probably going to garner more attention than she probably wanted to.
Turning her attention to Mystique, Angie spoke quietly. Not sure if the shapeshifter knew about Dead Man's apparent recovery from his previously 'dead' status - or, well, recovery probably wasn't the word, but nonetheless - Angie did her best to speak reasonably secretively.
"You'll be happy to know we're being joined by an old friend. The man we left in Baltimore."
She kinda felt like a retard trying to speak in code when they'd been slipping in and out of code all afternoon, but it was better than nothing. Wasn't it?
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