Hellfire Club: The Mission [CLOSED]

[astonishing_xmods]

WHO: Nightcrawler and those selected for the mission.
WHAT: The Hellfire Club infiltration mission
WHERE: Manhattan
WHEN: Late evening
WARNING(S): Could get violent.

Team One was already on the ground, infiltrating the party. The rest waited in silence aboard the Blackbird, hovering in complete stealth mode high above the island. Back at the Institute, Professor X closely monitored the communications of the team, ready to give the signal when ready...

It was go time.

[[ OKAY HERE'S HOW IT'S GOING TO GO.

Top levels will be going up for each mission phase. Each phase will, OOCly, go on simultaneously so no one has to wait for another team to complete their task. Players have freedom to play as they like, but the mod characters in each team (Feliks, Shindou, Reimu) will most likely lead the action in the direction it's intended to go. The mod account will pop in for NPCing every now and again.

Have fun! ]]

Comments

PHASE ONE

[astonishing_xmods]

"A group will need to pose as neophyte socialites and mingle/rub elbows with the rich and famous of the Hellfire Club in an attempt to find out where the Black King conducts his private business. Rich people thrive on gossip, so with a convincing enough act, it should not be too difficult to get at least one of them to spill the beans. Especially after a few hundred dollar cocktails...

The mods will contact a random player to let them know they'll score the info, and players are more than free to NPC their own Hellfire Clubbers. They're all Pawns, anyways, so there's no real need to get too fussy over them."

[niepokonany]

Feliks had had his fun dressing everyone on Team One up, or at least everyone who needed the help -- doing their hair and makeup, suggesting outfits, giving the younger ones teasing reminders not to drink too much. Now, it was time to put his game face on...

Which, in his case, meant taking his game face off. He'd long since determined that one of the best ways he personally could get information out of people involved acting like he was too ditzy to do a thing with it.

Every aspect of his appearance was calculated. Blue contacts and hair extensions long enough to manage a little updo, to keep himself from being too recognizable. Heavy makeup, gaudy and glittery, to draw attention to himself, and away from his natural appearance. A long black dress with a side slit nearly to the hip, classic, attention-grabbing without being too recognizable in a lineup or too nouveau-riche. Small falsies -- big ones wouldn't look natural on him, and would stand out in the high-fashion crowd. Sky-high heels, because fantastic legs couldn't hurt.

In short, he looked every inch the role of someone's gold-digging arm candy.

If you find out what we're looking for, he'd instructed the rest of the team on the Blackbird, come to me and I'll report back to Nightcrawler and coordinate everyone getting out. As for your cover stories for coming to get me... Girls, you need to head to the bathroom for a second, and obviously you can't go without bringing your best girlfriend. Guys, I'm your date, and you just noticed me flirting with whoever and think I'm too drunk and we really need to get home. When we're good to go, I'm gonna mass text all of you about losing my bracelet -- don't all leave at once, just start looking for a natural time to bail and get to the rendezvous point!

He took a moment to get himself a drink as he entered -- something pink, girly, and utterly weak for him -- before making his way in with runway-confidence, on the lookout for a target.

[eternalprincess]

Kaguya's theme in general as well as her cover story was that of a wealthy socialite that's a little lacking in common sense. And of course also playing the role of one of Feliks' gal pals. In any case, she was dressed the part too, her 'uniform' picked out for her, as well as the style of makeup she wore.

A bit too much makeup, in her opinion. Keeping the pre-mission instructions in mind, she mingled with the other party goers...

[the_black_king]

The party took place in a wide, lavish ballroom, all black-and-white marble and gold accents. Wait staff in impeccable suits wandered the floor with trays of drinks and tiny, prettily-designed snacks, while the guests, all dressed to the nines, milled about from the card tables to the dance floor to the flower-bedecked balcony overlooking the city.

As Kaguya made her way into the room, a young man with sandy blond hair walked past her to get to one of the waiters with champagne. Glass victoriously in hand, he turned around to go back where he'd come from -- and only narrowly averted bumping into her, a little bit of bubbly splashing out of his glass as he jerked back to avoid a collision.

"I'm so sorry, miss -- Are you alright?" He frowned, reaching for a pocket handkerchief. "It didn't get on you, did it?"

[the_black_king]

At a table near one towering window, a small handful of people were gathered around a craps table. One handsome man in his mid-30s, with messy hair and a well-tailored tuxedo, was grimacing as he handed a stack of cash over to the attendant. He took a shot of tequila, and sighed.

"One more. If I lose this one, I'm done for tonight!"

[niepokonany]

Feliks wandered over to the table, leaning his hands curiously against the edge of it, his expression carefully, pleasantly vacant.

"So, how does this game work? Daddy never lets me come to the casino with him..."

[seduceme]

Christelle is dressed like a proper little minx, having altered her appearance just enough to be someone else, from the realistic blonde wig that cascades in artful waves down her back to the light tan she's turned her usually lily white skin to, accentuating the deep blue of her eyes lined in black so people are practically hypnotised by her gaze. The dress clings in all the right places, practically inviting people to try slipping an arm around her trim waist as she mingles with the crowd. She gets on easily with the guests, approaching them as though they'd met countless times before with a delighted "Oh darling, it's been ages~!" without a trace of her usually thick French accent in her exuberant greeting.

She's just the right mix of looks to pass for someone that they could have met, at some other large party where friends of friends were brought in without asking the hosts, and no one likes to look forgetful. The woman is warm and friendly and just a bit airy enough for people to feel comfortable around. Chris delights in this game and takes her time to cozy up to some guests in particular, knowing she's got a time-limit to get the information and keen on getting as much as possible without simply rushing for it.

[the_black_king]

There was no shortage of guests to cozy up to -- glamorous women with glittering jewels, young Wall Street types, old men reeking of older money... And most if not all of them seemed willing to play along with her act. Didn't want to lose face by forgetting an acquaintance, did they?

Several of the men seemed keenly interested in "catching up" with her, and most of the women responded with equal enthusiasm -- it had been forever, hadn't it, and wherever did she get that necklace?

No, there was no shortage of choices -- so it depended a lot on who she'd choose to zero in on.

[seduceme]

Eventually, Spy singles out of the older men who seems to have enough hushed conversations to be of interest, playing up her charm and becoming the kind of young woman he'd want to impress, or at least pretend at being 'gentlemanly' and helpful towards.

"I'm just so very out of the loop it seems. Just tonight I've been hearing so much about this 'Black King' character, and I must say it's very exciting," she 'gushes', leaning in and 'accidentally' brushing her side to the man as she lowers her voice intimately, as though eager to share a secret with him.

[knowitallgoddess]

Palutena's outfit was simple. Being from Greece, she couldn't help but modernize the ancient Grecian nobility outfit, making her more than a little exotic. And basically giving her her canon outfit.

But when it came to socializing, Palutena never held back. She didn't even mind leaning off the nearest person, male or female, and asking for an escort for a part of the party.

"I hope I'm not interrupting...."

[the_black_king]

A tall woman in a three-piece, pinstriped suit, with long, dark, neatly-curled hair and a dramatic shade of lipstick, smiled down at her with a chivalrously-offered arm.

"Not at all, sugar. What's the trouble?"

[voracist]

Though she didn't know anyone here and likely - hopefully, as far as the mission was concerned - no one knew here either, there was something familiar and comforting about it all. It was the game of high society, the names and quirks without being people but players, niceties and jabs and feeling about, who was here to use and be used, who was just partying and who was doing business. It didn't take long to figure out who might know something but not know enough to not talk about it.

"Did you really? You'll have to tell me more," she said with a self-assured smile as she inserted herself into a conversation, tagging onto someone's boast or secretive story.

[the_black_king]

"Well," said the woman, her brown eyes glimmering with self-satisfaction and pleasure at the attention, "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to tell too much more, but rest assured, it really was something!"

She gave the stranger a cheeky little wink, raising her martini glass for a moment before she took another sip.

[nyancrophile]

You wouldn't know it by looking at her, but Orin's not exactly comfortable in all this swanky clothing. Most notable is her extravagant hat, which is already earning her a few murmured compliments. It's pinned in place to keep it from falling off her head and giving away her obviously inhuman ears; her trademark braids have been undone and strewn about her shoulders stylish waves. To hide her catlike eyes she's employing the use of circle lenses, layers of petticoats carefully obscure her tails, and the drink in her hand is largely for show. It's impossible to tell that she's a mutant at all - Feliks did an incredible job.

Her carefree speech is a little more exaggerated, slipping into the practiced drawl of a Southern Belle, fitting the mood set by her petticoats and hat. She's playing the part of a debutante at her first party, and it seems she's doing well, for all the native New Yorkers complimenting her surprisingly high-fashion sensibilities.

[the_black_king]

One of those native New Yorkers, a thin woman old enough to make a secret of her age, dressed in an eye-catching one-shoulder gown that swept the floor just slightly in spite of her heels, approached her when she seemed to have a free moment.

"My dear, I just have to ask. Wherever did you get your hat?"

[divine_spirits_universe]

Miko had decided it was pointless to try and be "someone else" especially since it was worth so much more to be who she was. Her personal life was unknown so it wasn't a particular risk. She already had accomplishments and was already of note, why waste it when it was of extremely good use?

Her clothes were the best of the best Tokyos finest designers had to offer, a brilliant pant suit that lent itself to androgyny well. It seemed to be a popular look as well since she was already attracting a small crowd, though Miko could tell most of them were a waste of her time, but still she would never reject attention.

[the_black_king]

"Hey," said a young woman in a glittering dress, a touch more lively and excitable than the rest of the crowd, "I've met you before somewhere, haven't I?

"Or at least, I think I have. I have, right?"

FASHIONABLY REALLY DAMN LATE

[comparative_insanity]

For evenings like this, when he had to keep up a glamour for hours on end in a room full of people, Fai mostly went with tweaking his looks just enough to not jog anyone's memory. Red hair instead of blonde, brown eyes instead of blue, some subtle changes in the structure of his face. He'd taken some inspiration from googling up a young model, just obscure enough that no one would find it strange, but famous enough that he might trigger a moment's vague recognition. And 'model' was a good way of explaining why he was at a party like this, clawing himself some more exposure. He played up his attractiveness with anyone who was receptive, and pushed 'charming' and 'easy to talk to' into the heads of every person he talked to, turned up until the gauge broke.

Wearing a mask inside of other people's heads was great - it allowed him to break character at times, just for a second or two, and most people wouldn't even notice if a faint grimace crossed his face.

[the_black_king]

His choice of cover would have him underestimated and brushed off by some of the more serious-minded guests -- but underestimated wasn't really such a bad thing, necessarily, and his looks and charm (and his conscious enhancement of both) certainly garnered him no small measure of attention from those who were interested in such things, men and women alike.

One in particular, a man in perhaps his late 30s or early 40s with strikingly blue eyes and the sort of clean-cut good looks that wouldn't look out of place in the business casual section of a menswear catalog, approached him as a couple of starstuck young women moved away.

"Now, I've seen you someplace, haven't I?"

PHASE TWO

[astonishing_xmods]

"Cue the Mission Impossible theme. We know where Shaw's Inner Court hides, but getting to them isn't going to be easy. Security is extremely tight. Traps abound. Possibly killer robots. It's almost as if Shaw expects powered heroes to try and invade his privacy...

Once again, players will be free to control the action here. The main goal is obviously to navigate the facility, avoid making too much ruckus, and make a clear path for the confrontation team that Nightcrawler will teleport in."

[littlewhitelies]

M'gann is READY for this; she's rocking her own costume with a red-X shape on the stealth suit chest and everything. Granted, she already had this uniform in the past, but it's a minor detail! It's still appropriately themed. She has her hands on her hips and striking a heroic, confidence boosting pose while waiting for the go signal.

After it's time to head out in a blaze of BAMF she turns to the others... breaking out of that pose as she does so and glancing between them and the surroundings.

"Okay, okay; we've got this! It's... tough bruiser-types taking point, right? I can get behind that... um, kind of literally in this case. Are people ready for a link-up?"

She taps the side of her head as she speaks, and there's a psychic hum already building up in her brain.

[nobodysweapon]

"Quiet." X-23 wanted to hear what she could before they began, she was also taking the 'tough brusier type position at the front. She didn't smell any Sentinels. Which was by far the best news for them. She hadn't drawn her gun, which was one of the two main differences between her costume and the others.

The other being she didn't like sleeves.

"If I tell you to stay back, Listen. Clear?" Laura didn't spell out that it was likely a trap that would kill any of them, but she did not want to scare any of the people she didn't know very well.

PHASE THREE

[astonishing_xmods]

"Shaw will not go down easily. There will be a fight. This will be a small team, so as not to crowd the log, versus Shaw and the Inner Court. Afterwards, he will need to be interrogated to finally get down to the bottom of what's going on (assuming he is defeated).

This will involve heavier Mod NPCing. More on Shaw than on Nightcrawler, who is mostly there just to get the team in and out."

[the_black_king]

BAMF

Once the visual was had, Nightcrawler quickly got Reimu and his team into the room. What they found was indeed Shaw, but... no robot guardians. No illicit business partners. Not even Trask himself was there. It was just the man, the myth, in a stately smoking jacket, holding a cigar as well as a glass of cognac that likely cost more than the combined networth of all the team (even Alric). He turned to the intruders wearing a smile, exuding the charm expected of a host of his caliber, stepping away from his desk.

"Hello, X-Men... may I offer you a drink?" he spoke with a chuckle.

[musou_tensei]

Okay, this... was not what Reimu had prepared himself for. From all appearances, it was obvious that Shaw had known they were coming. Either Team 2 hadn't accounted for something in their infiltration or... He ended the idea there, refusing to believe that Shaw had expected them from the very beginning. Then again, Xavier couldn't say who had sent them the original party invites...

He stepped forward, making it clear he was the leader of the team, and to be accountable for their presence there. "I doubt you have any good sake. Doesn't seem to your taste..."