Meeting

[Pyro]

"Then there is nothing inside that might be of use to us? No information on any other storage locations of the cure, or anything of that nature?"

"Tried getting into their systems to no avail," replied John. "My original plan was to get someone inside and access the systems before blowing them out the universe. That was before Mystique came back, though. I haven't yet had the chance to ask her if she can access their systems before we leave - gotta be worth a try. If she can't, then plan A remains."

He shrugged his thin shoulders easily, and returned to his apparently insane revenge trip.

"With regards to the X-Men...I got this sneaking suspicion that when they hear the news of the cure, they're gonna roll themselves up to Baltimore and do the whole hero thing. Chances are, they're gonna be there anyway. More sugar in my coffee as far as I'm concerned."

He looked around the assembled group. "There's two new recruits up in Baltimore waiting for us to collect them. What d'you reckon is the best route for them to take? Meet us there, or go ahead and start some processes rolling?"

The question was thrown open to all in attendance.

[deadman]

Dead Man surveyed the back and forth with ambiguity of emotion, save for the same sense of glee that twinkled in this glass-like eyes.

“I completely agree with you, Pyro.” He said, his hoarse whisper still carrying well. “I, personally, am hoping – nay, praying – the X-Men will be there. All the better to sweeten the pie, in my opinion.”

He turned his head back towards Emma.

“Of course, I agree that there are plenty of opportunities within the laboratory for our vested interests to grow fruit… no doubt there are those among us who are more subtle in their arts of information gathering. My role is essentially the same as Juggernauts. I cause damage… or, rather, I make memories.”

Then back to John, head turning rather than eyes.

“I support whatever decision you, make, however, as the leader of the Brotherhood. Just note my preference is to smell the sweetness of death in Baltimore. Feeling the jellies of the X-men between my toes makes it all the better, as does awakening them to their true potential… as for those two already in Baltimore, I suggest they wait for us to arrive. I’d hate to miss all the fun if they spring the trap before we get there.”



(ooc note: Heading to work for nine hours, so feel free to just send Dead Man along with whatever you guys do)

[mystique]

Mystique turned to Pyro, her face a quiet field shot through with golden eyes. It certainly was a change of pace, from Magneto who gathered all forces and lined them in neat rows, to Pyro who let everyone throw their hand in without so much as counting the cards.

He'd known of her plans. What was his intention here?

Fucking amateurs.

"I can get in. How far in is another question. It's entirely dependent on how long the peace can be kept outside."

"Pyro. I think it's really a good idea to focus our attention on NovaTeX and the sentinels that may or may not show up." The X-Men were not her allies, but neither were they her enemies. Given, things had gone from bad to worse in the last few years, but Pyro should have known better.

Something was wrong.

Mystique looked at Emma, sitting up slowly.

[Juggers]

Python shifted a little uncomfortably in his seat, "calm now," he said with a small smile, "I think we have swerved a little off the beaten track, wasn't our objective NovaTeX and the cure? Wasn't that our statement?" He glanced around the room at the assembled faces as if to confirm his own words.

"Sure, the X-Men may or may not show up but they can't be a target. We're going to have enough to worry about taking down the cure stock-pile with a bunch of mecha-soldiers breathing down our necks without stopping to fight with other mutants."

Python had been at Alcatraz himself and had barely escaped by the skin of his teeth. The catastrophe had not been caused by the Brotherhood or the X-Men, though Python found it hard to reconcile himself with mutants who would support the cure. It still wasn't their fault though.

For Pyro it was personal and he suspected a little of the same was true for the Juggernaut.

For his part Cain just grinned, "what's the big deal? We're gonna go in, wreck the place an get back out again, probbly push some tin soldiers about a bit maybe stomp an X Brat or two!"

He spread his arms in an expansive gesture that almost upset some of the chairs as if to indicate it really was rather simple.

[Pyro]

Pyro glanced sideways at Mystique. He looked around the assembled people.

He looked at the monitor with Emma Frost looking back at him.

Holy shit, he realised, with creeping horror that he didn't dare let show on his face. I have absolutely no recall of what the hell I just spent the last few minutes talking about. At all.

It was like the symptoms he'd described to Mystique earlier. His short term memory seemed to just cut out completely at times. He genuinely couldn't remember anything he'd said after he'd said the phrase “…obvious questions are: what are the enhancements and what are the vulnerabilities and liabilities of the suits?"

Not.

A.

Fucking.

Word.

He turned his eyes back to the monitor, back to the assembled people, then to Mystique. He kept his gaze on her long enough for her to discern the moment of terror in his face, the moment of madness. Silently he pleaded with her to help him.

The headache began a few seconds later, as he’d know it would.

Agitated, he flipped a fireball into his hand, which flared briefly before settling back into his usual ‘executive toy’ sized ball which he passed from hand to hand.

Python was speaking, but none of it permeated.

“I agree, of course,” he hazarded. "You're absolutely right."

[mystique]

Mystique's breath quickened only to those with a heightened sense of hearing. But it only took a second for her to reach over and snap the laptop closed.

Emma's face was gone.

Mystique's thumb worked her cell phone quickly. She looked at Juggernaut for a moment, then to Pyro.

"John...."

Dammit.

(ooc Emma darling, you have a pm)

[Pyro]

"It's good, it's good," he said, his voice cool and calm. "Just got a bit distracted for a second there."

The fireball disappeared. "So much to think about," he said, sounding as calm and in control as he'd done only moments before his moment of madness. He gave a crooked, charming smile and sat down. "Our main goals are..." The briefest of pauses as little bits of memory began filtering back in through the cracks. "To destroy the Cure stockpiles, to take a look-see at these Sentinels and to recover any useful information."

He said nothing about the X-Men.

[mystique]

Mystique kept her hand on her laptop, the tension in her arm slowly leaving. She managed to work the cell phone keys without looking at them, and nodded.

"As I was saying, I can get in there. It will be very important that no one makes a move until I am able to get out of there." She looks at the others, her eyes lingering a bit as if to tell them to carry on as if nothing had happened. "Of course that might not be possible, in which case I want no one to change course out of concern for me. This is not a difficult location, with the exception of the sentinels... which are very likely to show." She sounded annoyed, and looked to Pyro.

[deadman]

Dead Man frowned, a barely noticeable thing; the slight turning down of thin lips and the dulling of the psychotically gleeful glint in the eyes. Here he was, all excited about the prospect of death death death, when suddenly the plan was swept away. He honestly liked the Pyro that was there for those few seconds, that strange intensity in the eyes of the otherwise awkward youth.

Not that it mattered much, the plan was the plan, and Dead Man’s plan may not necessarily be the same. Oh there would be a conflict alright… that was inevitable. He just needed to make sure the conflict was big enough. Beautiful enough.

“Okay, then. So then the plan is: Mystique goes in, gathers her intel. When she’s done, we dance with whoever’s there? We’re still going to blast the stockpiles, so inevitably the Sentinels will show… and then we kill the meat inside the machines."

Of course, with the X-Men there, it would turn into a chaotic rumble. So either way, Dead Man got what he wanted.

[Juggers]

"'Ang on," the Juggernaut ran a hand over his shaved scalp, "Mystique is gonna go in first to scratch around while we sit on our arses outside doing nothin'?" This new plan was nowhere near as much fun as the last. "Why we gotta wait around, the stuff is right there! We go in, mash the place an be done!"

He paused a moment to make a few considerations.

"Plus," he added, "I ain't exactly a packet of fuckin' peanuts am I? Hidin' in a crowd ain't as easy for some if ya know what I mean."

Python turned to the big man with a long suffering sigh, "I think we might want to see what information we can get out of the place Cain, you know, like where the rest of the cure is located, that sort of thing."

"Yeah," the Juggernaut retorted, "but why 'ave we got to WAIT for that? Can't she be doin' that WHILE we take care of business outside? The buildin' ain't goin' anywhere is it!"

[mystique]

Mystique looked coolly at Juggernaut. Did things HAVE to be difficult?

"I am going inside whether any of you are involved or not. For that matter I CAN do it hours before any of you arrive, but it WILL set off their security system at some point, which will negate your reason for being there."

"It's a matter of minutes Cain. I'm certain we can find something to do with you in the quarter hour it will take me to get the information we need."

[Pyro]

"Mystique is going in first."

John's voice was quiet, but held a surprising amount of authority in it. "That's my final say-so on the matter. You got a problem with that, Cain, then we can discuss it later. Right now, I say that she's absolutely right. She needs to get in. She's got the skills and the know-how to get information out that none of us could hope to do in a lifetime."

He absently rubbed at his temples. He felt the need to get out of here It was getting claustrophobic, despite the size of the meeting room.

"Mystique goes in first. She'll give us the signal to launch our attack when we're ready. Juggernaut, you and Python will lead the main assault. Our new members will act as back up - Dead Man, if you could fall in with them. Me, I'm gonna head out to that warehouse through the underground passage and burn up whatever stocks they got left."

He nodded to himself.

A short inner dialogue took place.

You CAN come up with the occasional plan then, Johnny-boy.

Screw you.

[Juggers]

"I'm certain we can find something to do with you in the quarter hour it will take me to get the information we need."

"Yeah? Like what?" He glared pugnaciously at Mystique, "sell ice-cream to the bloody tourists?"

"Mystique is going in first."

"Fine," he said, a little sulkily.

The Juggernaut subsided into quiet grumbling, arms folded across his broad chest. The day had seemed so promising an hour ago, filled with the promise of attack and destruction with a side order of demolition. Now he was being told to wait while some human woman flounced about collecting information.

To Cain, this was not the work of hard-line mutant terrorists.

"Ya know what?" Cain whispered back to Gill, "we get there an one of them protesters looks at me funny they can kiss my arse."

Gill puffed on his cigarette and nodded sagely.

[mystique]

Mystique quietly lifted the lid on the laptop, bringing Emma's face back into view. Her thumb entered one last text message.

She sat back, and looked at Pyro.

"Chances are higher that you won't need a signal from me, but I'll be in touch if things stall."

She looked to Cain. "Why not tell us what you think should be done at that point?" She looked him over with one of those smooth smiles. "You seem to be a demolitions expert, after a fashion."

[Juggers]

Cain grinned, "we gonna knock the place down!" Pyro would be taking care of the cure stockpile himself so that just left the facility itself and for Cain, nothing quite made a statement like a lot full of rubble.

"Any of them Sentinels show up I reckon we give 'em a good kickin', it's only a bloke in armour after all. Any X-Men show up and try to stop us we give them a kickin' too an then we get home in time for footie and a pint."

To Cain it sounded like an ideal plan. Particularly the footie and the pint.

"'Ain't complicated or anythin' an it gets the job done. Course, I still don't see why we ain't gonna do that to start with ... "

Python gave him another one of the warning glances and Cain waved him away, "yeah, yeah, I get it. You wanna go an get information."

[Pyro]

John's head was throbbing now and he wanted nothing more than to go take some painkillers and head out to the compound to blast a few things. Literally burning off energy always seemed to help.

Well, are you leader of this outfit or not, Allerdyce?

Point.

"I propose we attack two days before the launch date. Trask and his lackies will be expecting us to cause maximum disruption - so actually pandering to that would be a damn fool thing to do." The young pyromaniac looked around the assembled group, his eyes not resting for more than the briefest of moments on the video screen.

"We have our plan, we have our timescale - Python, get the plane ready. I have a lot of work to be getting on with. I'll get Aurora and Nightingale to feed us information on the lay of the land given that they're already there for us. For now, I'm heading outside for some training. All of you get your heads together and think of ways that your skills can work for us - Jane, I'd ask for an opportunity to talk to you privately later, if that's good with you?"

He glanced up at the green girl and gave her one of his rare smiles.

"Everyone happy with that?"

He looked around again.

"Good. Get on with it."

With those words, he left the meeting hall.

[deadman]

Dead Man visually scowled. His stomach seethed with hot anger, but he said nothing, instead choosing to chew on his thoughts with the relative safety of his own mind.

Leave early? Get there possibly before the X-Men, and before hundreds of innocent bystanders? Possibly shrug off one of the best parties of all time for what?

Dead Man’s day wasn’t ruined per ce, but it definitely felt like someone pissed on his parade. There was so potential carnage washing down the drain as everyone stood to leave. So much possible beauty.

[mystique]

Mystique looked to Emma.

"I apologize the transmission was cut short. I will call you in a few minutes to arrange the rest. Thank you for joining us." She pressed a button, ending the video conference.

Looking to the others for the briefest of moments, she wrapped a wire around the laptop and slid it under her arm. Standing, Mystique slipped out of the room, heels falling silently on the steel flooring before she disappeared into her room.

Either she thought her talents were well enough known, or she wasn't interested in sharing.

[Exit to thread 'Release']

[Jane]

Jane, unfortunately, was not as smooth as the vast majority of females in the room, and reacted to the initial data dump by allowing her eyes to glaze over at least partially, though she woke up enough to sit up and take notice if ever anything truly important was said, though she could probably ask what had happened later. She just couldn't keep up with everyone talking at once. Maybe it was a skill that came with practice. For now, it just made her brain hurt.

One thing she wasn't sure about, though, was why exactly they had to destroy the X-Men. John seemed to want to do it just because he could. While Jane had few moral reserves about eliminating actual threats, she couldn't help but wonder what the X-Men had done to garner such ire on his behalf.

But he'd know, wouldn't he, since he'd actually been one of Xavier's.

Then Dead Man started talking again, and she did her best to isolate herself in her happy place, especially because he started going on about jellies and toes and ew.

She didn't reemerge until several minutes later, when suddenly apparently Mystique (for that was, indeed, Ms. Random's name) wanted to go into the building first to scout for intel and Cain wanted to get straight to the Hulk Smash. Thankfully, John put a cap on the situation before the Juggernaut started extra-early.

"Mystique goes in first. She'll give us the signal to launch our attack when we're ready. Juggernaut, you and Python will lead the main assault. Our new members will act as back up - Dead Man, if you could fall in with them. Me, I'm gonna head out to that warehouse through the underground passage and burn up whatever stocks they got left."

Sounded fine to her. At least he'd planned someone to cover the boys' main attack this time, though of course he had more people to throw around now.


"I propose we attack two days before the launch date. Trask and his lackies will be expecting us to cause maximum disruption - so actually pandering to that would be a damn fool thing to do. We have our plan, we have our timescale - Python, get the plane ready. I have a lot of work to be getting on with. I'll get Aurora and Nightingale to feed us information on the lay of the land given that they're already there for us. For now, I'm heading outside for some training. All of you get your heads together and think of ways that your skills can work for us - Jane, I'd ask for an opportunity to talk to you privately later, if that's good with you?"

Jane nodded, smiling back, but slightly uncertainly. Though she'd never been to school to experience it herself, even she knew that getting held back by the teacher was never a good thing.

Everyone nodded and put the Group Approval stamp on the plan and Jane took the opportunity to slide back out of the hall, heading back to her room. Whatever Pyro wanted her to do, he could find her for himself when he decided to clue her in.

[Juggers]

Meeting adjourned, Python thought before striding away in the direction of the hangar. Pyro wanted the plane made ready, so the plane would be made ready. It only needed a dash of fuel and a couple more tweaks here and there and it could leave at a moments notice. They'd still have to stop off somewhere on the way to refuel however and he had no idea how many more times he was going to be able to talk his way past air-traffic control. That was a problem for another time.

Shortly behind Python Gill slapped his way out of the room and headed back to the security centre. He wasn't going to Baltimore, in fact it was highly unlikely he'd go anywhere other than the kitchen or the bathroom for the foreseeable future.

Last came the Juggernaut, grumbling quietly about the need for stealth and gathering information. He stomped down to the kitchen in search of something to eat, or failing that something to drink.