Landing[Brotherhood NYC]

[mystique]

Mystique had spent the last two hours of the trip getting John ready to go back out into the world. First, a tooth plate fixed over his own teeth changed the shape of his mouth and smile. She couldn't help but kiss him just after, his mouth being one of her favourite of his features. She was almost sad to see that deadly grin go away for a while.

Contacts made him lose his cool a few times, and she alternated between laughing at his childish discomfort and playfully tough-loving him into accepting the hellish things in his eyes.

It took initiating him into the Mile High Club to get him to relax again.

A wig so well made it even fooled her when she wasn't looking for it went over his now mussed locks of hair. Now he had chestnut brown hair a few shades darker than his own medium brown.

Handing him his sunglasses and warning him he couldn't afford to be seen in public without them, Python let them know over the intercom that they were preparing to land.

She smiled at Aurora as they both took their seats and strapped in, feeling excited for the first time in years. Their youth and inexperience made everything feel new in a way it hadn't in a very long time. Mystique was beginning to like this new Brotherhood.

[Pyro]

He'd been quite excited over the 'disguise', although the contact lenses had made him totally and utterly squeamish. John had never been any good with anything to do with his eyes and the feeling of the lens sliding over his eyeball...

...ick.

In the small bathroom of the plane where only recently Mystique had presented him with his Official Mile High Member Badge, he put the sunglasses on and took them off again a few times, merely for the effect of looking at his new brown eyes in the mirror. The wig astounded him, but the plate in his mouth he didn't like. It was weird to form certain words properly and he sounded suspiciously like he had some sort of crazy speech defect.

He talked to himself in the mirror for a few minutes, practising not getting spittle all over his chin and discovered that he adjusted to it pretty quickly. Then he put his sunglasses back in place and nodded in satisfaction.

Then he too took his seat for landing. Python's usual light-hearted commentary was almost painfully absent this time and he made no comment at all as the cargo jet touched down at La Guardia.

[mystique]

As they landed and waited painstakingly for clearance to a particular gate, Mystique got up and entered the cockpit. She sat in the co-pilot's seat as she had a hundred times before, though strangely not since she returned this last time.

"You're still in disagreement about this trip of his, aren't you." She looked forward, listening along with him for their flight number to be called by air traffic control.

[Brotherhood NPCs]

Python looked sideways at her, shrugged briefly, then checked a few of the dials. "It's near as damn it suicide if you ask me. His face is going to be plastered everywhere. He's taking too much of a risk too soon after Baltimore. And I know that you've done Mystique's Make Over TV on him, but still." He glanced briefly over his shoulder.

"Maybe I'm just too anxious. He's right in a way and that irritates me even more. D'you know what I mean?" The thin mutant grinned at her, showing his fang-like incisors.

[mystique]

Mystique smiled knowingly, nodding. Python and she had worked together for a lot of years. And for Python to even admit these things to her meant he hadn't forgotten about them as much as she thought. Mystique hadn't gotten the support from Python after her return that she'd been expecting; Python had respected Magneto quite a bit, but didn't seem to see her as Magneto's replacement. This was both good and bad. Mystique didn't consider herself his replacement either.

But she did figure the others should think so. But Python had always been a bit more keen than that.

"You and I have gotten through worse together and come out squeaky clean. You know we can get him through this. It's good for him Python. He needs to feel capable and independent; whether it's the truth or not. So we have to give him the impression he's doing it on his own for a while. It keeps him alive, and in time, he'll no longer need us." It wasn't exactly her opinion, she felt Pyro was a lot more capable than Python was giving him credit for. But if Python believed the other adult on the plane felt the same, if they had to play Mama and Papa Allerdyce for a while to make the fanged one fall back into line... she'd say what she had to say.

[Brotherhood NPCs]

"I can't see him as anything other than that green kid you guys brought back from Alkali Lake," said Python, his tone almost fond. "I know he's tougher than I like to think he is, but you didn't see him when he lost it back there. Well, I mean, obviously you did see it. Ah. The - uh - fight and all. I mean the aftermath."

Python shifted his attention briefly back to the comms as ATC asked a question of him. He gave his standard reply and he was told to taxi to hanger fourteen.

"All I could see was Charlie," he said, softly. "And how I failed him. And I guess I got a bit carried away."

Mystique, by dint of her superlative research capabilities was one of the few people who Python had told about Charlie, how his son had died in a motorcycle accident at the age of seventeen.

[mystique]

True to form, Mystique knew more than those around her knew in return. She had her own children out in the world, but had not the luxury of their deaths to mourn. She had failed in wholly different ways.

"And so you remember also our time in Alaska. When he changed so much. When the side of him Xavier had repressed began to show. You know his breakdown was just him working through that, Python."

She let him think on that as they made a turn towards the hangar.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't worry. You should. He hasn't proven himself to be completely stable yet... in a number of ways. But I think we're the key to that. If we don't look to him as we once did Magneto, Pyro has no reason to ever rise to that expectation. He will remain as frightened and ill equipped to lead as he ever was."

Mystique sighed. There was more she could say, about the Pyro she knew that wasn't a leader at all, and how that Pyro needed their help too. But it seemed too much.

"You never asked Charlie to hold back from living because he may have died one day." Her words were careful, that even smooth tone she took when she had to say something someone might not like. It made it easier for them to turn it away without exposing themselves. "And I think if you got another chance, you still wouldn't. So you can't do that to Pyro either."

[Brotherhood NPCs]

He shifted a sideways glance at her again as he expertly guided the plane to the hangar. "You're right. Again. How'd'you get to be so goddamn smart anyway?"

He powered down the jet. He'd declared his passengers, which had made him anxious to start with. "I'm worried that you're splitting off from us. I mean, I'm going to go with him to pick these other kids up. Incidentally, is it just me, or has the average age of the Brotherhood decreased somewhat recently?"

Python shook himself back into focus.

"I will do my best to make sure nothing happens to him. Much as he drives me nuts at times, he's not a bad kid, not really. Psychotic and mad as a fish on a bicycle, yes. A tendency to quote from the Idiot's Guide to Stating the Bloody Obvious at times, but on the whole...a good 'un." He grinned again. "You make sure you take care of yourself and Mother Superior in there, OK?"

[mystique]

Mystique chuckled. "I learned the hard way."

Standing, with him, she responded to his comment about their ages. "It's a bit like babysitting, yes. But we were their age when we started out, remember?" She touched his arm as they stepped into the cabin.

"I think we'll travel with you until we meet up with Avalanche and the others. Then Aurora and I will go on our way to Philadelphia. So by the time we leave, you'll have four other mutants with you to handle any problems that might arise."

She fixed him with a look. "I would think with that sort of protection, he'd be able to get out alive under the worst circumstances." What she meant of course was that if he didn't, Python wouldn't be the only one holding himself accountable.

[Brotherhood NPCs]

"I hear you," he nodded. "I'll make sure that the creche understands their responsibilities right off, don't you worry about that."

Having so spoken, Python flicked the intercom.

"Lady and gentleman, although I use the latter in the loosest possible sense of the word, we have now arrived in good ol' New York, the city so good they named it twice. It's also, apparently, the city that never sleeps, so you'll feel RIGHT at home here, Herr Zauber. Please deposit trash on the way out the door and thank you for flying Python Airlines. If you've enjoyed your flight today, why not tell your friends about us? Because you want to keep them? Right."

He snapped off the intercom. "I feel much better now."

[Aurora]

Aurora stood and stretched her arms back, rolling her neck from side to side and cracking it a few times in the process. "Let's get this show on the road," she said in her smooth, low voice as she dropped her arms.

She'd chosen to wear a fitted black jacket and black wide-legged slacks, with a black camisole underneath. And flats - she was tall enough already without extra height, and besides, heels just made walking difficult. It wasn't like she had to impress. Though it had been fun to play the Mutant Gods thing before, when meeting Poseidon.

She ran a hand through her hair--of which the silver sheen Jeanne-Marie had dyed over for years was finally coming through with countless scrubbings--carelessly as she moved toward the door, eager to get off the plane and onto the ground again. One would have thought she'd have felt more at ease than anyone in plane, but it was the enclosed space and the fact that they were too high up for her to be comfortable flying even should she be able to get outside the plane that had made her dislike the ride. She'd much rather be outside, somewhere where she could take off at any moment if the need should arise to do so.

[Pyro]

"OK," said Pyro, shrugging on the three-quarter length topcoat that formed the last part of 'Herr Zauber'. Beneath that he was dressed in a well-cut suit that made him look entirely different from the usual slouching young man who stomped around in combats and a t-shirt. It changed everything about the way he held himself.

He put on the sunglasses over his newly-acquired brown eyes. "The plan is to get through customs and out into the city. It's..." He checked his watch. "It's late afternoon now, so I reckon the best plan for now is to find a half-decent hotel for tonight, make sure we get our contingency plans in place. I have to make contact with Dom anyway and arrange where we're going to pick him up..." He grinned, an expression made different by the tooth plate. "Plus it'll be good to have a night in a stupidly opulent hotel, don't you think?"

It was actually a surprisingly sensible plan rather than simply splitting up and heading out in their separate directions.

[mystique]

Mystique stepped onto the tarmac dressed in a slate gray business suit tailored perfectly to her lithe frame. A black leather satchel clutched tightly in her hand, she thanked heaven she wouldn't have to deal with security until they returned to leave once more.

Smiling at Pyro's comment, she brushed long bangs of black hair off her forehead. "I think that sounds wonderful," her German accent was thick, fully in the persona she would not drop until she had left New York. A professional to her core, playing a part so well took practice. Practice her lover did not have... she hoped he would know to keep his voice down until they were out of earshot.

"It will give me time to arrange travel to my next destination as well. Would you be up for lunch in Manhattan? I know our friend here wants to make a stop." She smiled at Aurora.

Looking behind her as Python talked with the airport personnel, arranging details for the plane to remain in the hangar while they were in the city, she kept her senses alert. Part of her was just as afraid as he was. The other half was exhilirated by the adventure. Mystique had always loved to tempt fate.

[Aurora]

Aurora returned Mystique’s smile with one of her own, her eyes sparkling at the thought of what she’d planned. “Ja, sis,” she said, dusting off the German she’d taken courses on since the second grade but hadn’t given a thought to for the past month. Jeanne-Marie had been proficient in her languages, as she’d been proficient in everything. But nothing that mattered practically, as was Aurora’s opinion. As they waited for Python, she eyed the airport around her with mild curiousity.

She’d looked through a book of names for the name she would adopt during the trip, highlighting names she liked in the section on German names. Most of them were, unfortunately, ridiculously religious, like ‘oath to God’ or ‘holy child’. Why any parent would want to doom their child from birth was beyond Aurora, and she refused to have any name remotely God-related. There had, however, been a few good choices. Aloisia meant ‘famous warrior’, and Brunhilde meant ‘armored warrior woman’.

But in the end, she’d decided on Bindy. It meant ‘beautiful serpent’, which she found unique in itself, and it wasn’t some old-fashioned, butch name like so many of the ones she’d found had been. And Aurora felt that it fit her; tough behind a beautiful outside. Just because she enjoyed murdering people didn’t mean she didn’t like to be cute every once and a while.

And for her last name, Schulze. After all, she was Mystique’s alias’ sister, and she wouldn’t have had the same last name as the married woman. Bindy Schulze. Aurora was very pleased with her choice. This fake identity business was exciting; Aurora was more and more glad with each step they took that she had come along. “A hotel sounds magnificent,” she said, in the same thick accent (as best as she could manage it, anyway. It didn’t come naturally as it did with Mystique). Assuming they’d be in one nicer than the only one she’d ever stayed in; a run down motel in Montreal from which she’d first called Pyro.

[Pyro]

"Ja, it is a decent hotel I have in mind," said Pyro with a flash of a smile. Mystique had finished off his fake passport for him once he had been 'done up' as Herr Zauber and he was almost itching to get to passport control and use it. "Python will meet us there later - we're meant to be paying passengers, not his friends."

The skinny mutant nodded his agreement. "You guys need to get going," he said. "There's an airport official waiting to escort you to Customs and Immigration - you came in on a cargo plane and they sort of fasttrack you through. I'll call you and arrange to meet later."

He fixed Pyro with a long, steady glance.

"Do me a favour, kid. Don't die. And don't get shot again, either. I'm sick of saving your bony ass."

"Right you are," replied Pyro, the grin sliding off his face. "I'll stay in one piece. I promise."

"Are you ready, Bindy? Are you ready, Frau Zauber?" he said, offering out his arm to the latter, a big grin on his face.

[mystique]

Mystique laughed. "Oh I always hated that," she said. "Makes me sound like an old woman!"

The three of them managed to get through without much trouble at all. Even those who were supposed to be ever alert for the one in a million chance they might catch a wanted criminal began to sag after either to ten hours on shift. All their passports cleared and soon they were outside waiting for a cab.

"We'll just be the one day then, and in the morning we'll be off to Philadelphia?" She nodded to Aurora, though the question as rhetorical.

[Aurora]

"The sooner, the better," Aurora replied with a nod as a cab pulled up and stopped alongside the curb. She helped pile her luggage in the trunk (she'd packed light; being a businesswoman was far less fun than being a rich girl). She then went around and slid into the backseat of the cab.

It smelled like cigarette smoke, and tacky ornaments hung from the mirror. The cab driver was a gentleman probably in his fifties, with a very New York City look about him. "Where can I take yah?" he asked, sounding less rude than Aurora had expected from what she'd seen of big city American cab drivers on TV. She figured she'd let Pyro or Mystique answer, and she settled back against her seat, smoothing her slacks on her thighs.

[Pyro]

In response to the cab driver's question, Pyro leaned forward and handed him a printed internet receipt, with a sly wink. It was evident that he wanted to keep their ultimate destination secret.

During the journey, he was like a small child, bouncing almost excitedly in his seat as he pointed out familiar sights in his affected German accent. The cab went at the same speed as the rest of the New York traffic - which was to say, not very fast at all. It took a full thirty minutes to reach their destination.

"Ladies," said Pyro, with a cheeky grin. "Welcome to our home for tonight."

The cab came to stop outside the Waldorf Astoria.

It was one of those rare moments where if Mystique ever wondered if he listened to the things she said to him during sleepy pillow-talk moments, then the question was answered.

[mystique]

Their rooms were exquisite, and Mystique was in heaven. Now and then she'd indulge herself with a similar stay if she was on assignment or if she happened to have fallen in with the right friends at the time. But to be here with Pyro, during the rise of the new Brotherhood... it made her feel like things were really going to be okay.

If there was any question about Mystique and Pyro's relationship it was answered by the Johann's request for two adjoining rooms- one for himself and Mrs. Zauber, another for her sister. They played up to their ages(Mystique playing the part in spite of hers) when they got into their rooms, exploring the mini bars and taking an obligatory leap onto the bed.

Having relaxed and changed clothes, Mystique soon rose and knocked on the door between her room and Aurora's.

"Schwester, meine liebe, are you almost ready to go? We have to be meeting the jeweler soon."

[Aurora]

The door opened, and Aurora stepped back from the doorway to open it farther. "I've been waiting for you; you know I cannot wait to find the perfect necklace for my birthday," she said, lying easily. She held the bowl of complimentary peanuts in her hand; it was nearly empty already.

"This was a wonderful choice of hotels," she added as she ambled into the room Mystique and Pyro were sharing, playing the part of a sister in making no distinction between personal space.