Beatrice chuckled slightly. She had to admire Gavin's conviction. In most scenarios, people didn't take too kindly to her opinions, especially on a matter as intimate as religion. For a moment, she saw a reflection of herself in him. If she hadn't been exposed to Justice at a young age, perhaps she would have turned out like him - or maybe if she hadn't returned to Justice, then she would have channeled that darkness into some type of law enforcement. It was an odd moment, noticing a version of oneself in someone else. The only other person Beatrice had experienced that with in a long time had been Ash.
She accepted the map from Lola, giving it a brief scan. Lola's estimation appeared to have been correct. The craziness that came out in her personality appeared to be contained when it came to basic skills - such as map reading and tank driving. "Thanks," she said curtly, handing the map back once she had finished examining it. She then paused for a moment, shaking her head slightly at Lola. It wasn't a negative don't do this type of look - more of a I'm amused and glad to have experienced this weirdness.
"If we play baseball with walkers, I'll win," Beatrice wagered. "I always bring the very best violence." It was in her blood.
Nora couldn't help but smile softly at Vera's quip. She understood that sentiment quite well. Even among her mother and sisters, the conversation was fairly typical for that of the Ton. Rather than conversing with Nora about mathematics or even other intellectual pursuits, the topics tended to be drivel and gossip. Had her sisters known that she had met Peter Keystone, the daring captain who was making a splash in the rumor mill, they would have been completely out of sorts. "We share the same sentiment, then," Nora said. She was gradually becoming accustomed to the freedom of discourse she could have with Lady Munn and she cherished the ability to speak her mind. It was something that she had long since resigned herself to never be able to attain with any other person in society.
She turned as well, yet Nora could not understand the language spoken. Fortunately, it appeared that Lady Munn did. She felt conflicted about her form of address. While she disliked being called Lady Kingston, she understood that it would likely help with the acquisition of a permit. And of course, being called a mathematician and a proper research assistant - it was extremely validating. After Peter's reassurance that she was a proper mathematician and Vera's introduction, Nora's self esteem has risen to a level it had not attained since her childhood.
Nine gasped and grunted a bit as the bullet hit her shoulder. She bit down on the inside of her mouth in order to keep a scream from tearing its way out. She was lucky that the bullet hadn't exploded similarly to how it did for the others. If she hadn't been in the middle of a fire fight, maybe she would have. "That's damn right you're outnumbered," Nine hissed. Even with the bullet in her shoulder, she hadn't let go of the gun she had stolen. "Put the weapons on the ground and kick them over," Nine instructed through the pain.
She heard a female voice as smoke began to flood in, filling the hallway to the extent that she couldn't see anyone else. It could have been one of the others - there were thirteen of them - or one of their enemies. The fog made it so that way she wouldn't be able to shoot with confidence that she wouldn't hurt one of her own. She didn't know the other twelve, but she felt responsible for them. It was hard to wake up out of stasis with no memories, a number branded on your own skin, and a military force coming for you without forming some sense of camaraderie.
Yet while she could see the smoke, the air didn't feel any different to her. It could have been the shock from the bullet wound - something that she'd definitely need to take care of quickly. "Answer her question or we'll kill you all. Don't think that a little fog will keep me from securing our future," Nine threatened, glaring forward even though she had no idea if her perceived enemies were in that direction. They could have left for all she knew.
Location: Brotherhood Headquarters - First Sublevel - New York, New York {"They told me I couldn't so I did."}
Guin swallowed thickly, looking up towards the ceiling as if it was incredibly interesting. She tapped her foot slightly, before going to check her watch by reflex - she really needed to get it back from Pietro and make repairs to it. Ever since it was a functioning prototype, she had had it with her. To be without P.H.I.L. made her feel a little bit naked - vulnerable and exposed, even. "I was going to go get shawarma," Guin said in an attempt to deflect. Her cheeks were completely crimson and she bit her lip at Marygold's reproach. She hadn't been flirting. She was having an entirely professional conversation with a fellow member of this operation.
"You are a disgrace to the Stark name, and I wish you were never born." The words hit Guin again, as Allison had brought up her father. She dug her nails into the palm of her hands and she stumbled back slightly, as the world was still spinning. It wasn't real - it had just been a nightmare. Yet even knowing that, Guin couldn't help but feel the emotional pain, as if her father really had said that. She dug her nails a little deeper and her skin broke, with trace amounts of blood flowing. Scarlet Witch had forced her to confront her deepest fear, one that she had spent almost her entire life running from. It was why she ran away in December of 2016. It was why she went by a codename when working with the X-Men until her cover was exposed. It was why she used video games as an escape.
She wasn't always like this - afraid that her father hated her - afraid that she was the pitiful end of an intellectual dynasty - afraid that she was less than - afraid that she couldn't live up to expectations. She used to be comfortable in her own skin - but now at times, she felt like a stranger. She took a deep breath. I am Guinevere Victoria Stark. I am an engineer interested in how the world works. I can engineer chemical structures and analyze how they may interact with the human body. I have a gift for computers and electronics - I have a brain that won't give up. I am more than just Tony Stark's daughter and Howard Stark's granddaughter. I am more than an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. I am more than Pietro Maximoff's girlfriend.
I am not a photo opportunity for my mother. I am not my father and I am not my grandfather. I am an engineer. I am a scientist. I am a mechanic. I am a fighter. I am a millennial. I am a genius. I am kind. I am smart. I am important. I deserve to be seen for who I am - not as Starkette or Agent Stark or Iron Man II - but as Guin.
I'm Guinevere Stark.
She smiled a bit in the elevator with the others, having recovered her confidence. Scarlet Witch's nightmare could only hold power over her if she let it. "Y'know in Star Wars, someone says I've got a bad feeling about this in every movie - but I actually have a good feeling. I think we can do this."
Only Nallore has posted so far. It's currently day 2 - however, @FantasyChic hasn't posted since two updates ago, and @mnkee, I know you have a tendency to drive your counter up to day 6 or 7. I'm not trying to be harsh here - I am sincerely worried that this RP will die if we do not have everyone post before day 5. If this doesn't happen, I'll have to selectively reset counters because otherwise they'll all get driven up again next week.
You are all on day 2 currently. Please note that if you do drive your counters up to day 5 or higher, I will be forced to selectively reset counters for only some of you. I don't want to see this RP die just because the forum was down. We're picking up steam in our final chapter and I worry it will instead stagnate.
Location: Ville au Camp: Main House (Sitting Room ) Skills: None
Andromeda paid attention studiously. She had been a history major at university, only to become obsessed with the peculiar and the world's oddities after graduation. To say that this orientation was filled with practically everything that Andromeda found fascinating was an understatement. Her mind flickered through the various creatures she knew of when Lady Luck mentioned the dead walking. Perhaps she was referencing the Rakshasha, shapeshifters that fed on human flesh? Or perhaps vampires or the Quareen? Ghosts, the Buruburu, and demons also came to mind - yet Andromeda knew she had only began to scratch the surface of the necromantics that had existed in her world. Was that what the purpose of the Paradoxes was - to fight against the necromantics?
She paid close attention, yet her mind raced once more as Lady Lucas introduced herself as the Dice, the Grim Reaper, a member of the Fates. Her world had nearly been destroyed by a deity - she didn't find it odd that Evelina was, in Andromeda's mind, a deity as well. There were several cultures that had female death deities - Lady Luck may as well have been one of them. The explanation of their deaths did not shock Andromeda as well. Her mind flickered back to the damage that had been done to reality at Cirque Anomaly - with individuals from the past, present, and future all coming into one place, she felt that definitely qualified as a ripple. And from what she understood, that ripple had killed her.
She must have had more time left, then - from what Lady Luck had said, she wasn't meant to die in Coventry. Her thoughts flickered to her father - had the dice been rolled for him as well? Or was he meant to have been murdered by Mephistopheles? Had it been fate? Her eyebrows furrowed slightly at the mention of Dido - she recognized the name. Marlowe had written a play about Dido - the Queen of Carthage. Funnily enough, another Marlowe play had been hinted at before she died - Dr. Faustus. The demon that murdered her father shared the name with the demon Dr. Faustus sold his soul to in the play.
And yet, just as Eve mentioned that she would never tell them why they had been brought, Andromeda was filled with curiosity. She had been too busy with her thoughts on the others she had left behind that she had not questioned why she, over anyone else in the world, had been chosen for this. Was it her appreciation for the strange and unusual? Was it a second chance to achieve something with her life? Or had it been, just like the roll of the dice, randomly decided?
Andromeda nodded at Lady Lucas' warning that they could never return. She had seen the damage that could happen when time was distorted first hand. As ironic as it would have been, she did not want to be the reason to cause another to share her fate. All she could do was hope that wherever they were, her friends and allies were still alive - that they had managed to not just avenge her father, but survive as well.
She perked up slightly at the mention of abilities, finding herself in familiar territory. While she herself never had any deviances, she had read about them. In her world, sometimes people were born with strange gifts abilities - often small, yet sometimes powerful. Were these deviances that they were going to manifest? Or was it something more? She looked keenly over towards the Hat as Lady Luck prompted him to give a demonstration.
Risa didn't bother answering the question in French, she just looked over to Iris and smiled. "The circus," she said before glancing towards Jaina and winking. As Jaina introduced her she nodded and stood up fully taking a few moments to make a grand and deep bow, very reminiscent of the Russian Circus. "That is right, and we must find out what happened to your friend. We could use an artist to paint us some beautiful banners so people know the circus is coming to town. Red ones, stunning ones," Risa said as she spun around and bent at the hips, letting her hair cascade to the ground. "Think you can help me find her? Perhaps we could Bahzooli a person or two on the way?" she asked of Jaina as she smiled warmly at the girl.
Iris nodded. She supposed that it made sense - from what she recalled from Jaina's file, a lot of her insanity stemmed from an accident at the circus. If Risa had brought up the circus and Jaina switched languages, it likely served as some sort of trigger. She filed that information away mentally, noting that it could be potentially useful later on.
"You know what would be amazing?!" Jaina squealed, her eyes wide. "Bazhooli could help! And he'd play knives with me~!" Jaina gushed. She knew all about those called the Great Bazhooli and their prowess in knives was legendary. She wiggled her toes, about to launch into another round of the giggles when Iris gently cut her off.
"Can you help us, Jaina? Jaina?"
Jaina tilted her head for a moment, her expression briefly souring at the doctor. She disliked Iris but she wasn't about to let the doctor spoil her fun! The last day had been positively amazing and it was only becoming more so. Soon enough, Jaina was certain, she'd get to go on an adventure with Risa, the Shadow of the Night, and find her BFF again! Cynthia would love the circus, that she was certain of. Maybe they could do a doubles act together?
"I can show you~!" Jaina giggled. "Cynthia and I were sooooo close~ Cross my heart, hope to die, stab a needle in my eye...But that doesn't make sense, right? You'd always get the needle stabbed in...But hey, more painting materials~!"
"Yes, many more painting materials. But what you need now isn't your eyes. It's your voice. Like the great ring master. I did make you a promise," Risa said as she pulled the phone from her pocket and held it out to Jaina. "You wanted to make a call?" she asked and smiled at Jaina. "1И не волнуйтесь, у меня острые вещи. Металл - не единственный материал, который можно изготовить из."
Jaina nodded, taking the phone with glee. She pressed in the number 202-456-1111 with glee, squirming a bit with each successive number. There weren't very many phone numbers that she could have dialed in. Cynthia didn't have one as far as Jaina was aware - which was a shame! That snapchat thing sounded like fun! And why would she rain on her own parade by calling her brother? She held the phone to her ear, holding up a finger to signal for Risa and Iris to be quiet as it rang.
"Hiiiiiiiii~!" Jaina squealed. "I'd like to make a tiiiiiiiny suggestion - we should replace the eagle with the pink panther! It'd be so cute~! And I'm sure everyone would be a lot happier. I would know - I live in an asylum. Everyone loves pink panthers!"
"Oh, and I hope you're really good at screaming!" Jaina giggled. "Toodles~!"
Iris had to resist the urge to hit her forehead with her palm. "Jaina, sweetheart, who...who did you just call?" Iris asked. It clearly wasn't Cynthia or any number that, in Iris' opinion, would have been helpful. She glanced towards Risa, really hoping that the translator knew what she was doing.
"The Greenhouse~!" Jaina replied ecstatically. "Or is it white....? Or blue! I think it should be pink with sparkles. Needs more pizzazzzzzzzz...."
Risa found herself letting out a snort of laughter as Jaina answered the question. "Probably the sanest person they've spoken to in years," Risa said as she looked over at Iris. Slowly her eyes went back over to Jaina. "Want to go see Cynthia? Could take you there if you know where she is."
Iris felt both amused and frustrated with Jaina's choice of call. She didn't understand why Jaina had elected to call the White House - she doubted the president would want to listen to anything Jaina had to say. But then again, Iris wasn't a fan of the current administration either. "2C'est possible," Iris replied, smiling wearily. "We could bring some easels and canvas with us as well, if you'd like to paint with her." Positive reinforcement - right? It had become Iris' mantra when it came to dealing with Jaina rather quickly. She seemed to be receptive to it.
"3Tam bol'shiye nozhi, malen'kiye nozhi, mednyye nozhi, stal'nyye nozhi, zheleznyye nozhi, plastikovyye nozhi, shveytsarskiye armeyskiye nozhi..." With each type of knife Jaina listed off, she flipped up a finger in order to keep track. For a moment, it seemed like she had run out of knives she could name. "4Kinzhaly, okhotnich'i nozhi, kukhonnyye nozhi, myasnyye nozhi, karmannyye nozhi, metatel'nyye nozhi~!"
She clapped, before nodding sagely at Risa. "We need to go..." she paused, twirling her finger around in the air, "left! Left is the direction we shall go~! We're off to see Cynthia, the wonderful Cynthia of Oz..."
"Yes, we need to hurry. Time to click our heels," Risa said playing along with the Wizard of Oz thing going on. Lowering her head slightly she took on a more serious look as her eyes locked with Jainas. "только ты и я прав?"
Jaina giggled, looking at Risa with a bit of confusion. The madness was dancing in her eyes and although she looked back at Risa, it was clear that she wasn't entirely there. Had Risa had skills to allow her to peer into Jaina's soul, she likely would have seen it torn and fractured, held together clumsily with an insistence on constant happiness and joy. Yet there was also misunderstanding - mainly, the nature of what Risa meant when she said it would just be the two of them. "And now to crush the Wicked Witch~! The Wicked Witch~! The Wicked Witch!" Jaina gushed, before springing upwards towards Iris, aiming to kick the doctor backwards into the wall.
"DING DONG THE WITCH IS...THE WITCH IS WITCH! THE WICKED WITCH!" Jaina cheered.
Iris, to her credit, had been watching Jaina like a hawk. She managed to just barely get out of the way of Jaina's kick, more convinced than with the last attack that perhaps sedating Jaina would be for the best - but the best for who? It certainly wouldn't be for Cynthia. The best clue as to where Cynthia was, after the photo album she had seen earlier, was the hurting and broken woman in front of her. While she would have preferred months or even years to work with Jaina, they had to cram all of that work into just a day - into just an hour.
"Jaina, that's wrong. You shouldn't hurt people. If you try that again, I'll have an orderly sedate you," Iris said sternly. She was betting that Jaina would hate orderlies more than she hated psychiatrists.
Risa slipped around as Jaina launched. She had seen it coming, so many years training in F.A.C.S. had made is simple. Granted it didn't seem that Jaina was trying to hide her intentions. The girl was obviously broken. Not that Risa could see into her soul or anything but the way she acted, how she reacted to things, it was obvious to anyone. "Yeah, you won't be doing that doc," Risa said as she came up behind Iris and there as a feel of something sharp poking into the womans ribs. Risa had managed to get a knife passed security. It wasn't steel, it was ceramic. "Now, hand your keys over to my friend there and I won't get rough with you."
Had someone been ready with a camera, they would have seen pure and unfiltered shock on Iris' face. She didn't suspect that the translator from the United Nations would be someone she needed to worry about - yet she supposed there had been some warning signs. Risa did seem to have a lot of familiarity when it came to dealing with mental patients. But she dreaded the outcome of this situation - that there would be another kidnapping of a patient in less than twenty four hours. She still had the FBI agent's phone number - she'd contact him, as soon as she could.
"6Quel dommage," Iris said, her voice tinged with a bit of sadness. "7C'est une malade mental. Elle a besoin d'une psychiatre - pas d'un couteau." She then looked towards Jaina, unable to see Risa behind her. For the wellbeing of her patient, what was the best choice for her to make? Yet as she glanced down at her wrist and saw the friendship bracelet from her brother, she knew that she couldn't make this into a fight. It'd end with one of them injured at best - dead at worst. "8Ce sont mes clés. J'espère que tu peux l'aider - elle a besoin de ça. Elle ne comprend pas la morte - retiens ça." Iris then reached into her pocket and pulled out her keys, sliding them across the floor to Jaina.
"Braaaaaaavo~!" Jaina applauded, taking the keys. "Hey Doc~! I got a riddle for you and Risa, I bet, knows the answer~! What's about to be black and blue and red all over~?!" Jaina giggled. She held the keys in her fist, with the key sticking out between her knuckles, as if she intended to use them as weapons first.
1 - And don't worry I have sharp things. Metal isn't the only material knives can be made from 2 - It's possible 3 - There's big knives, little knives, copper knives, steel knives, iron knives, plastic knives, swiss army knives... 4 - Daggers, hunting knives, kitchen knives, butcher knives, pocket knives, throwing knives 5 - Just you and me right? 6 = What a pity note: not nearly as sarcastic as the translation makes it seem to be 7 = She's mentally ill. She needs a psychiatrist - not a knife. 8 = These are my keys. I hope that you can help her - she needs that. She doesn't understand death - remember that.
The forum seems to be working again, so we'll resume posting over here. If the forum acts up again, be checking discord. We'll keep our temporary in character there. You have 7 days to respond to this post and then counters will reset for everyone.
RPM
Achronum
kittyluna45
Scrawl Banditta
Not a Sayan
KazAlkemi
Neziul
Kirah
