Meetings [Brotherhood NYC]

[recluse]

They looked, Gracie reflected, slightly out of place. Well, she looked slightly out of place - Dom was looking fine in his fancy new clothes, and even Lucas and Roy managed to look pretty normal in what they were wearing. Somehow, they'd ended up surrounded by a slightly fancier crowd than she'd been expecting, which was probably why she felt a bit weird standing around in her wifebeater and copious amounts of eye-makeup.

Well, fuck 'em. They could just deal.

They'd already showered and packed and paid - her own bill being rather large, thanks to gorging on room service for breakfast - when Dom had gotten the call, and the four of them had made their way down to the meeting place - some cafe that was filled with tourists and businessmen and basically the type of people that made Gracie feel more than a little uncomfortable. They were all so clean cut...

Why Sparks had chosen here, she'd never know. Well, whatever. As long as he arrived soon.

[mystique]

Leni, Bindy, Johann and their pilot Steve had enjoyed a slow, leisurely breakfast in the rooftop restaurant. It was so nice to relax and behave like normal people for a few hours. Mystique took full advantage of the hotel's luxury, champagne with her eggs and creme brulee to follow up with more than a few cups of coffee- that was something she and Pyro had always had in common.

Getting their things together and having Python take them down to the rented car- Mystique would always feel a little bad for Python, forever sequestered to being the 'help' in these sorts of situations- the German trio made their way to the cafe from the elevator, Leni's heels announcing them across the marble and brass lobby.

"We'll only introduce ourselves and then we must be on our way," she explained to Johann, a briefcase in her hand. "Your things are still in the room." Her eyes slipping nonchalantly over heads, their associates rang out like sirens in the middle of the upper-scale cafe.

"And there they are."

[Gunslinger]

Roy ran a hand through his hair calmly, looking around with an unflappable grin pasted securely on his face. Brushing a bit of gel dust off his blazer shoulder, he glanced around the cafe, settled into his seat among his companions. They were sorely out of place, but that made it all the more fun; the businessmen and women were throwing glances there way, and occasionally Roy would throw a kiss or wiggle his eyebrows as they looked over, leaning back with one arm over the back of his chair, as if to say, "That's right... we can get in here too."

He realized he was making a bit of a scene, but it didn't matter anyway; everyone in the entire cafe had seen them already, and if they tried to pretend like they belonged there, people would be more suspicious than ever. Best to stick out so much that they just assumed you had nothing to hide.

And then there it was, the thing Roy had been keeping his eyes open for since they'd arrived. Someone was looking at them, but it wasn't the same mortified and snobbish side-glance everyone else had given them, it was a calm, measured look that meant one thing: they were here.

[impact]

Lucas hated these kinds of places. It wasn't the crowd so much as the fact that everything was so fucking clean. It just wasn't necessary to have everything looking brand new all the damned time. He liked the lived in, rusted out, experienced, used look of the city streets. It's what he understood. Not a person looking for a bed at 3am in the sad part of Harlem was anything near brand new.

To top it off, he felt as if were he to shift an inch in either direction, he was going to break one of these nice chairs. With shoulders an easy two and a half feet wide, he was simply too big a man to handle furniture meant for asses that ate half a meal a day.

Rubbing a thick hand repeatedly over his knee, he smirked at Roy carried on. He could appreciate the attitude- but not when they were meeting up with one of the FBI's most wanted.

"Hey kid. You wanna knock off the smartass routine for two seconds? We got shit ta do here."

[Gunslinger]

The smile never wavered from Roy's face, even though for a brief moment it didn't quite make it to his eyes. His voice was soft enough to not carry to the other tables. "You want me to sit still, they're going to know something is up because we're not drawing attention to ourselves. This way they're just going to remember an irritating young man that they don't want to look at." His eyes looked at Lucas, and the confident smirk was back. "Best place to hide is right out in the open. And it's Mr. Kid to you.

"By the way, company has arrived." His eyes flickered to the small group at the edge of the cafe. "Everyone feeling sharpish?"

[Aurora]

"Where?" Aurora murmured, barely moving her lips, as her sharp eyes scanned the people at the hotel cafe. She hadn't noticed anyone who looked particularly like they were mutants--she'd come to the conclusion that someone joining the Brotherhood was about 75% likely to have something physically...eh, unique. At least. If not just plain odd. But seeing how she looked perfectly normal ('perfectly' not being too far of a stretch, even in unbiased eyes), it was really an odd assumption for her to have.

She had noticed a group that looked somewhat out of place. One man had a grin plastered on his face. He was very handsome. There was a girl with them, who struck Aurora as either a punk-rock kind of girl, or someone who was trying very hard to look like one. She was probably cool, and it'd be nice to have another girl around. Even though they weren't quite so outnumbered as they had been before.

As Mystique led, they seemed to be making a beeline for the group. Aurora wondered if that was the group; in fact, it made sense. They looked like the kind of people who would be disgruntled enough with the human race to want to join their cause.

Then, either by some move he made, or by some other urge, Aurora's eyes were drawn to another man of the group. "Good God..." she said in a hushed tone, just loud enough that Mystique could probably catch it.

She'd been walking with a business-like stride, making sure to look professional, but not paying much attention to the sway of her hips. This changed within a matter of seconds. It was like a switch was flipped, and Aurora allowed a bit of sway to her hips and a bit of...definite interest to her gaze as she looked him over. Not enough to be unprofessional, but enough to possibly plant an idea.

[recluse]

Someone thinks plenty of herself, doesn't she? It was impossible to miss the way the girl had looked at Lucas, the way her hips had started to swing as the group walked toward them.

Easy, tiger. Her smile grew amused, but she looked beyond the girl to see the only male in the group.

Not Sparks. What a disappointment. She'd been looking forward to seeing him again - it had been far too long since she'd seen the little skinny kid from the streets. To be quite honest, Gracie hadn't thought she'd ever see him again.

Wait... Her eyes moved down to his hand, which was dipping into his pocket to draw out a familiar metallic object.

Zippo. She didn't need the flick that opened it to recognise him now - the way he held it was as familiar to her as her own reflection, even though it had been years since she'd seen it.

"No fuckin' way." Gracie was aware of where they were - aware that they didn't need to be causing a scene. Though the words were only a whisper, her next motion probably undid that small good.

Pushing out of her seat, she walked as nonchalantly as she possibly could over to him before throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him tight.

"Look at you! Little Sparks. Jesus christ, what've they done to you?" At least she managed to keep that to a whisper as well. Drawing back to grin at him, Gracie shook her head and peered at him. Well, she'd been stupid to think he'd show up looking like himself - he was the FBI's most wanted.

"Damn, it's good to see you."

[avalanche]

The others may not have fit in here, but Dom had certainly blended a bit. Maybe not well, but close enough for government work. His new duds verged on wealthy, but played the line, looking just plain good instead. He looked like what you’d expect a Hollywood version of himself would look like. A kid from the streets who only wore designer clothing, even if it was very casual.

He’d been concentrating on his coffee the entire time, listening and watching the others without really doing so. His mind was elsewhere… inside. Then Roy noticed the trio come in, and pointed them out discreetly. Germans? Russians.

His first thoughts were very similar to Gracie’s, looking for Pyro. He’d spotted the guy about the same time as she had, though he hadn’t wanted to make a scene out of it.

Gracie never had much a problem with that.

The problem with three well dressed Europeans meeting up with four hooligans is that it smelled very badly of some sort of drug deal. Suddenly Dominic Petros was getting a touch on the paranoid side, and did his best not to over react to the situation.

Instead he stood, tossed a handful of bills on the table, and walked over to the group.

“Hey guys, choice place in meeting.” He said, low enough for only them to hear. “I think we’d have done better at IHOP.”

He grinned, and nodded at Pryo with a twinkle in his eye.

[impact]

Impact watched the others, his eyes meeting Aurora’s as she looked him over. His expression was rather intense, one of concern that Roy and Gracie seemed to have no idea how to be subtle, and slight irritation at a woman looking at him as if he were steak. It’s not like it was new, but it always told him right where he stood.

He looked back at her without wavering as the trio approached, eyes not moving as Gracie put her arms around the long haired man in the nice coat.

”I think we'd have done better at IHOP.”

Yeah no doubt.

[mystique]

The rugged quartet stuck out in a way that might have concerned her, if she thought anyone here would think it was anything other than odd. A drug deal wouldn’t have occurred in the lobby; at luxury hotels the buyer met inside or with one runner. The young woman with the interesting taste in clothing actually did them a favor by hugging Pyro- it was a natural and warm enough greeting to throw off speculators.

She called him Sparks, and Mystique’s eyes did nothing more than shift from one face to another. A large man. Physical type mutant, no doubt. Attitude problem, staring down Aurora. Nothing to worry about. Another handsome young man, nicely dressed. That would be Dominic, as the third man hardly seemed to recognize Pyro and looked at them all with a frenetic sort of energy in his eyes. This one Mystique focused on, watching Roy through Raven Darkholme’s pale blue eyes.

They hadn’t been in the city long enough for anyone to be watching for them. She wasn’t too concerned about their safety so long as Pyro knew to move from the location within the hour. But this one… it was a shame introductions could not be properly made.

[Pyro]

"Look at you! Little Sparks. Jesus christ, what've they done to you?"

Pyro's initial reaction to the young woman flinging her arms around his neck was to temporarily stiffen - until he recognised Gracie's dulcet tones. He returned the hug, just as warmly and held her close for a moment.

"Recluse," he said, his voice warm and tinged with the very slightest hint of emotion. "I gotta say...it's pretty good to see you as well. You're looking...wow. You look...incredible." He held her back at arm's length and studied her briefly. "Incredible," he reiterated.

He just about managed to do all the talking in the broken German accent, in a serious tone, but his cheeks had two heightened spots of colour that gave away his excitement. He put his arm lightly around Gracie's shoulder - rather strange for her, because the last time she'd seen him, almost five years back, he'd been shorter than her. Now he was about her might, maybe a little taller. He gently pulled her towards Mystique and Aurora.

"Gracie, this is my wife, Leni Zauber and her sister Bindy. Leni, Bindy, this is Gracie. I...went to college with her when I was here on the transfer programme. She was a good friend to me." He squeezed Gracie's shoulder with obvious affection.

He looked briefly past Gracie to where the others were standing and assessed them. Dom hadn't changed. Not one bit, and John shot him a huge grin. He'd catch up properly with the old bastard later. He waited for his 'wife' and her sister to make their introductions and for the three guys to come over as well.

[Gunslinger]

Watching as a lighter slipped from the man's pocket, Roy leaned back easily in his chair. Sparks, eh? His eyes followed Recluse as she rose and threw her arms around him.

Well, the hug was returned, and that clinched it. He rose from his chair, still grinning, adjusted his collared shirt beneath his blazer, and walked towards the group.

Walking up to the shorter man, he stuck out his thin hand, gloves pulled on to hide the tattoos. Yes, he wanted people to remember he had been there, but he didn't want them to be able to identify him, and giving them clear-cut instructions to say, "This is what he looked like," was just not something he wanted to happen. "Hey there. The name's Roy."

[Aurora]

When Aurora's eyes ended their upwards journey, she found that the man had caught her; in more ways than one. He'd caught her staring, but right then he seemed to catch her eyes in an intense gaze that she couldn't have pulled away from if she'd wanted to. It wasn't a momentary thing, either; and Aurora decided that as long as he looked, she'd look back. She didn't mean to smirk when she did it, it was an unexpected reflex. But it bore no resemblance to coy flirting - it was much more of an unspoken comment that whatever happened, that their time together was likely to be very interesting one way or another.

But then Pyro introduced 'Leni' and 'Bindy' to his old friend Gracie, and Aurora looked away from the smoldering gaze of the man who was probably the most real embodiment of the 'dark' in 'tall, dark, and handsome' that Aurora had ever seen. Business came ahead of anything else at this point, Aurora knew that. Especially first-glance flirting. She looked to Pyro and his friend, a polite smile sliding onto her lips.

Her eyes travelled across each of the four as she spoke. "It is very good to meet you," she said graciously. "Johann has very much been looking forward to seeing you."

[recluse]

"Leni, Bindy." Figured that the one staring at Lucas wasn't his 'wife' - although whether or not 'Leni' was actually with Pyro or not was entirely up for question itself.

"And we've been very much looking forward to seeing Johann." Well, at least someone had supplied the name he was using here - even Sparks had felt dangerous to her, which was why she'd kept her voice down.

Of course, every fucker was going to be calling her Gracie now, and she slid an arm around John to squeeze him probably a little harder than necessary. Well, she could understand why he'd done it - Recluse wasn't exactly covert - but hopefully she'd be able to fix up that introduction once they were somewhere a little less public.

[mystique]

Mystique looked at them all, nodding but not offering her hand. "Guten tag," she said in a precisely, light German. Her accent on the other hand was flawless; which may have been a bragging point if it weren't for her history in the country. It would be a lot like Gracie bragging about her East Coast accent.

"My sister and I will be leaving you, unfortunately," she said, putting a hand under Bindy's elbow. Lucas was good looking, yes, but they had to focus. "But I did wish to see Johann to his friends. I've heard much about you." She looked at Gracie. "We will be able to speak more when we return, I am certain."

Looking to Pyro, she wished now she'd taken a few minutes to say goodbye as herself rather than Leni. But she'd been so focused on what she had coming for her on the other end of her drive to Philadelphia that she had hardly thought of it.

Not a thought betrayed her on the surface of her eyes as she looked back to the others. Hopefully he would have them out of the cafe soon.

[impact]

Well she didn't have to hang on him like some kind of fucking groupie.

Bindy. Now there's an interesting name. It's no Gracie, but... damn. What a nice pair of legs.

Just before Aurora broke eye contact, Lucas let his glare slide into a predatory half grin. The longer Gracie stood only inches from whoever that short krauty fuck was- jesus, was THAT little John Allerdyce?- the more Lucas had to fight to hold back a remark.

Say, uh... Leni. Your sister like to stroke Johanns too?

Cracking his knuckles as he sat up straighter and looked around, Lucas seemed almost to fidget. He didn't like not being in control of the situation. He liked even less being third or fourth in line of control. It all made him a bit edgy.

Edgy iced with irritation over how fucking close Gracie was STILL standing to that stumpy little "Sparks" prick.

[avalanche]

Dom did his best not to snicker. Pryo looked and sounded like he was one of the bad guys from Die Hard, and with his height, it really was something to find funny... Damn, it was good to see him though. Even if he looked nothing like Dom remembered.

Damn good makeup job. Wonder which of the women is the disguise artist. Probably the one talking... is that other one making eyes at Lucas?

He smiled at talkative one, and nodded. “We have missed Johann, that's for sure. It's good to see him again, and a pleasure to meet his wife and sister in law, of course.”

Interesting company you keep, John. Recruiting from Victoria's Secret now, are you?

He half hoped one of them was a telepath. That way the humor wouldn't be lost.

“So Johann, should we catch some of the old spots? Plenty of stuff to see in the big apple ya know.”

[Pyro]

“We have missed Johann, that's for sure. It's good to see him again, and a pleasure to meet his wife and sister in law, of course.”

"I have missed you, too, Dominic," said John, deeply resisting the urge to rugby tackle his old friend to the ground. "It will be a pleasure to catch up and talk of old times with you. However, the times ahead will be equally interesting."

He glanced from Dom to Lucas and Roy. "Roy, Lucas," he said, courteously. "I am sure that we will have all the time in the world to get to know each other."

When 'Leni' made her announcement that they would be leaving shortly, his heart skipped a beat. He took his arm from Gracie's shoulder and crossed easily to her.

Taking her hands in his own he looked directly into her eyes.

"Stay safe, engel," he said, softly. "I promise you I will do the same."

Then, heedless of the others watching, he leaned forward and kissed her. When he broke the kiss, he held her to him briefly. "Call me," he said. "Let me know if you will travel back with us, if we should wait - or what you want."

He stepped back and smiled at Aurora. "Bindy," he said, easily. "Look after your sister for me. We will see you both very soon."

[Aurora]

Okay. Aurora had cringed at the sappy expressions of love she'd seen on TV since going to Genosha, but Pyro's show (Aurora had a feeling at least a small part of it was probably for show in front of his buddies) made Aurora kind of...wish she had someone to say those words to her. She'd never heard anything remotely romantic directed to her. Hell, she'd spent most of her life (well, not her life, really) thinking of sex in terms of 'the man and the woman shall cleave unto one another, and become one flesh'. How...dry could you possibly get?

"I'll do my best," she said with a smile, stepping forward and giving Pyro a friendly hug. She then turned to the four newcomers. "I look forward to seeing more of you when we return," she said as she stepped back to Mystique's side. Her gaze didn't linger on Lucas anymore than it had on the other three, but a shadow of the smirk she'd given him before returned. She wouldn't mind seeing a lot more of him.

[recluse]

Aww. It's so cute you could puke.

At least Lucas wasn't like that with her. Gracie didn't think so, anyway. The look she shot back in his direction certainly couldn't be called cutesy, or even affectionate probably - she hadn't missed that look he'd been sending over in their direction, and hadn't missed the fact that it wasn't directed at her.

Damn him and his hot broodiness, with his glare and that look...

Ugh.

Folding her arms over her chest and turning back to 'Bindy', Gracie nodded.

"Yes, we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other, I'm sure." Her sweet smile hid not-so-sweet fanglets that she was sorely tempted to sink into someone. At that point, Gracie didn't really give a shit who.