xavier_institute_logs | Hellfire Club: The Mission [CLOSED]

Hellfire Club: The Mission [CLOSED]

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! ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"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."

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.

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..."

Flandre managed to keep still, for the most part. One of her wingtips twitched, but the rest of her was alert, anxiousness wound up into wires in her chest.

This couldn't be all that was here. They could just grab him and go and be back before the moon dropped.

She looked past Shaw, glanced up at the ceiling, and all around into the dim corners of the room where her eyes could peel away the dark.

Even with the numbers advantage, this wouldn't be easy. And he wouldn't be so relaxed and confident, if he didn't feel like he had anything to worry about. Maybe he was hiding something else, or maybe he just didn't feel threatened by them.

Raven could only speculate, at this point.

Well. All right. While in some ways that might make things easier, if the plan remains unchanged, the lack of a defensive posture made Alric instinctively uneasy, even if he made a point not to show it beyond a touch of surprise. No need to be impolite, though--not yet.

"...as much as your hospitality is appreciated, Mr. Shaw, I'm afraid this isn't exactly a social call. There are serious matters about which we must have answers from you."

For now Marisa was going to stay quiet. Not even a minute into their part of the mission and she didn't like it one bit. She looks relaxed, a smirk still on her lips but this was not her normal talkative self.

For now, She'll let the other do the talking, glancing to them and keeping a careful eye out to anything they might not be expecting.

"Yes, yes... When word came back to me that some of my product was 'left behind' during SHIELD's investigation of Mr. Sublime's little... cult... and was in your hands, I had expected you all would probably show up at some point. I have to say, I applaud the effort you went through to get to this meeting. I know it was hardly made easy for you," Shaw commented, taking a puff from his cigar as he leaned against his desk, setting the cognac down as well.

"Well let's go ahead and get right to it. Yes, Trask designed and I built the U-Men exosuits. Yes, the anti-mutant weapons that 'somehow' made it into the hands of the Friends of Humanity were designed by my company. There was no fabrication there. Trask is still working for me, though you will find he is safely out of the country and out of the reach of our ever-nosy government."

No visible defense systems. Relaxed posture and stance. Confident, even smug, voice. And he was just... telling them all of that. The longer Reimu stood there, the more uncomfortable he felt. Nothing about this felt right.

"But did you actually sell those to them? The suits, the anti-mutant weaponry... Did you purposefully arm people aiming to kill mutants?"

There was nothing to see there. Nothing to see with Shaw, either--not visibly. Reimu would have picked up on that.

Flandre kept her wings folded to her back--and began to walk. Not at Shaw, but around him, at a respectful but attentive distance. She didn't go far away from the group, only a handful of steps.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, young lady," Shaw murmured behind another sip of his drink. "You would all very much benefit from making your next movements and comments very... very calculated."

"As for whether or not I actually sold them? Well who benefits most from what answer to that? Surely detective skills are taught to you at that Institute of yours? Who comes out on top... Where is all of this going, hmm?"

"Apologies, was that not an invitation?" Flandre stopped in place, turning smartly to face Shaw in almost a parade rest.

She pressed her claws very lightly against the floor, feeling for any uneven joins or raised panels that shouldn't be there without looking down.

"Some of the people behind me couldn't see over me, is all." She was rather tall...

Raven moved closer to their leader, her eyes never leaving Shaw. "I don't like this." Though she wasn't a psychic, this whole situation wasn't sitting well with her. "None of this feels right." They had a mission to complete, still, and Raven remained very much on guard, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

It didn't feel right... Reimu thought on the question for some time, eventually coming to an answer... and one he really really didn't like.

"Anyone that stands to financially benefit from a war between the US and Genosha. People like you."

Shaw clapped, apparently enjoying Reimu's answer. He even let out a hearty chuckle, raising his glass as if in toast to the response.

"See, was that so hard? But here's the real kicker. Y'see... this war is necessary. And you, those strongest among mutant kind, benefit from it the most more than any profit I could possibly make. This war was bound to happen. And it will absolutely destroy the world as we know it... But I happen to feel it will be for the better."

Shaw set down his drink, set down the cigar, and began to step forward, shouldering off the smoking jacket and revealing a simple sleeveless, skintight top beneath. And a musculature the envy of any of them. The man obviously didn't screw around when it game to his gym time.

"Genosha and the US are going to wipe themselves out. Clean off the face of this god-forsaken planet. And when it's all said and done... only the strong... the true Homo Superior... will be left standing. Now, we can either do this the hard way... or you can get with the program and realize just where you're going to stand in this world."

"I won't stand in the shadows anymore," Flandre said, cryptically avoiding yes or no.

She started to pace, circling around Shaw like a vulture or a shark, with her gaze fixed on him constantly. There was nothing strange about the floor, only him. Her hands remained clasped behind her back, but her wings began to bristle like so many glowing knives.

"Je relève le défi." (I note the challenge.)

Edited 2015-01-25 01:39 (UTC)

There is only so much of this Marisa can take and stay quiet. This is pushing that line and the whole thing had her on edge. The veiled threat wasn't sitting well with her either, causing Marisa to slip her hands in her pockets. This whole thing stunk and just felt like a set up to her. After a curse in Japanese, a minor warning sign, she spoke up finally.

"Just because ya think a war is gonna happen, don't mean people won't try ta stop it. Besides, just because mutants have extra shit involved with them, it don't mean we are better then everyone else."

Alric listened attentively--polite, if not exactly pleased at the direction this was taking--then sighed and shook his head slowly, scowling at the mention of Homo Superior.

"...so it boils down to that. The same lesson of the 20th century that so many others have persisted in unlearning. Perhaps naively, given your stature, I had hoped you had rather more to offer, Mister Shaw, than to merely add your name to the embarrassingly long list of men, mutant and otherwise, each of whom has fancied himself the übermensch."

His hands clenched into fists, and he stepped to the side, flanking. He spoke coolly and in a level tone, although there was more than a hint of fire in his bright amber eyes, his posture dignified and regal.

"I for one know precisely where I stand in the world. I could debate the matter with you; but unless I'm mistaken, we've reached the stage where you seek to validate your grotesque argument with brute force. If that's the case, let's get the tawdry fiasco over with, if you don't mind."

"Ugh, just shut up already. I don't care about any of that." Reimu groaned, rubbing the back of his head and sauntering forward. "Gods, why do you people always have to monolog. All you had to do was confirm if I was right or not. Damnit this is a pain..."

Reimu didn't have any stance displayed, but Marisa and Flandre would at least recognize that his supposedly casual posture belied his intentions. Especially when he looked dead on at Shaw.

"Just come along quietly and stop causing so much trouble." Reimu moved his hands forward and projected a sudden, massive barrier towards Shaw, hoping to push him back into the desk and knock him off guard for the others to apprehend him.

Shaw raised his hand at nearly the same moment, palm forward, making no motion to dodge as the barrier ripped towards him. And when it struck...

He didn't budge. The desk, the glass and cigar, flew back into the wall. But Shaw didn't move. Not even an inch. The barrier seemed to wrap around him briefly before being literally absorbed into his skin, which glowed with warmth briefly before dissipating.

"I assure you... This is no fancy. The elite of mutant kind will rule this world... So kneel!" And with a snap of his finger, the energy from Reimu's attack projected back outward all around him at each of his attackers, just as fast and furious as it was when it struck him.

Flandre paced to the side when she saw Reimu step forwards, out of the immediate range of the barrier-

-at least, the first one.

She was already raising her claws to follow that up when the barrier bounced, reflecting out of Shaw like a mirror. Panic jumped ahead of considering thoughts, and she threw her hands up, vision doubling until she saw stars reflecting back at her in the barrier.

She crushed the nearest in her palm.

The wave cracked and splintered, a hole blasting into the wall of light so that it passed to either side of her before it lost cohesion, weakening. The gap in the barrier didn't completely fit; it crushed her elbows into her sides, crashed into her ears with concussive force and sound that left everything else muffled. The younger Scarlet dug her claws in, gouging deep lines into the floor as she was pushed back, but she did not fall.

Flandre stepped forwards instead, a growl bubbling in her chest even as the world went grey-edged as if her head was swaddled in cotton, a consequence of using her power. Her wings brightened and hummed, feeding their stored energy back through their circuits instead of dispersing it. She could still think, which was far better than usual. Given enough time, the grey edges would even begin to fade--given time.

She didn't know how the others were holding up, if they had avoided the energy or were bowled over, or if she had even weakened the reflective barrier enough. Her muffled senses didn't extend that far. If they had fallen back, she would buy them time. If they were advancing she...didn't have any more time to think that far.

"No, tyrant," she said, and charged at Shaw with her claws raised.

Of course he wouldn't come quietly. Why would anyone think that he would...

A black dome quickly surrounded Raven, just barely in time for the reflected energy. Even with the added protection, the impact against her dome was intense. That much strength and he was just getting started?

Spotting a bookshelf, Raven took control of it and sent it flying straight to Shaw's side, hoping that the impact would be enough to knock him off balance.

Edited 2015-01-27 03:42 (UTC)

When her teammates move, Marisa did to, going the opposite way of Flandre and her stance tensing very slightly. Hands came out of her pockets, where she hand been keeping her little heater so she could prepare. No need to use stored energy when she could borrow from the device.

Although as prepared from the attack as she was, Marisa still nearly was put on her rear end. The training and sparing that had been done had her skidding back though. Her first instinct is to throw out a few stars but the fact the barrier got sent BACK? Holding off on that and moving behind everyone for the moment.

"The hell....?"

"Flandre, pull pack! Everyone hold back!" Reimu shouted out. He'd been doing this long enough to have some idea of what happened. But he had to wonder if his order was too late...

Fortunately, it had been Alric's intention to observe and respond, rather than leaping forward face-first into the unknown... and simply absorbing that power, though, was definitely not something he'd anticipated. It raised some questions about how effective he'd be, as well, but they'd just have to put that to the test.

Holding back did at least bought him a moment to respond to Reimu's suggestion, and suspecting it was a wise one, shifted toward a defensive posture--bracing himself and raising his arms before his face just in time to weather that shockwave, although it sent him skidding back and nearly staggering with the impact. He kept his feet, at least, a violet arc or two dancing over his hands as he lowered them, glancing quickly toward Reimu, then turning his attention back to their opponent.

"Knh..! I do hope you've got a plan 'B'."

PHASE THREE

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