WELCOME TO NEXUS.

[//Mystique]

[CF: Brotherhood, Recreation Area: "Master of the House"]

Raven leaned forward, her right hand on the left shoulder of one of her staff as they stared at the computer screen. "Activity in the area?" A soft snort followed a few more displays popping up on the screen. So, it seemed they'd found a facility after all. Not some layover point, but a full facility. Traffic in and out suggested it was active, though they kept 'deliveries' few and far between. Financial distribution for staff. It'd taken hours to peel away the layers of false trails and shell companies. This information was exactly what she'd been hoping to obtain from raiding that convoy. They'd need to move quickly before anyone suspected anything had been removed from the wreckage.

"Get an asset in there. We need eyes in the area to confirm the situation." Mystique straightened up with a wide smirk on her red lips. "Then we take them out." But was that all? Not if they could help it. Raven had a plan if they could capture one of these facilities without anyone being the wiser the Brotherhood could lay claim to it; they could pose as the staff they replaced. What better way to get intel on an enemy than to infiltrate its communications and supply lines? They'd find more facilities and plan an even larger strike. Hopefully identify key personnel in the government financing and supporting Weapon X and any program like it--and then remove them from office. By force.

"Make sure they don't get too close. And make sure whoever we send in there knows what 'observe and report' means." Not everyone she'd managed to wrangle up for this was as bright as she'd like. Still, putting this all together in the wake of Magneto's melodramatic fall in such short notice didn't give her opportunity to make sure they were all the brightest bulbs the planet had to offer. Not that bright bulbs were a defining trademark of Brotherhood Members by tradition.

This post has been edited by //Mystique on Jul 10 2012, 08:17 PM

[XxMagneto]

CF: Central Park // Making Reservations

“Finding the Raven should not prove too difficult. We found you, after all.”

Erik slid his hand into Wanda's own. A part of him enjoyed being close to his daughter, but the other part withered away. What if this was a trap in the makings? Wanda's abilities could take them anywhere, even the brig Nicholas Fury used for the more potent superhumans. It was a chance he was going to take, however. If the twins were secretly conspiring against him, they had all that they wanted now. He supposed he'd simply have to wait and see what would happen.

------

Erik's surroundings meshed with the inner workings of a room filled with electronics and sounds. No sound came from the Lensherr family's arrival. First there was no one, then in a blink, they were there. Careful eyes tried to take in his surroundings. His suspicions were nearly made reality at thinking he had arrived in a containment facility. But no, Wanda had kept her word, and here they stood, the trio of mutants in the same room as the blue-skinned Mystique.

"So this is the Brotherhood?" Eyes swept across the computers, the holographic bench, the satellite arrays and technology. Eyes centered on Mystique nearby one of her 'acolytes' viewing something on a screen. Erik paid it no heed, suddenly feeling very, very uncomfortable. So much technology had reminded him of Asteroid M. And reminding him of Asteroid M was not a pleasant position to be in. "I see no expenses were forgotten in outfitting your abode. Paid by government funding, is it? How quaint."

And so it began.

Mystique had "captured" Erik to take him into prison at one point, if captured was a relevant way to put it. He had gone in willingly, trying to atone for his crimes, but the idea of Raven working with the government had placed a drop of lemon juice on Erik's tongue now--sour and bitter. Was this the Brotherhood or just another governmental funding project Mystique decided to enjoy?

Raven, the assassin turned leader, working with agents, it appeared. Truly she had to understand how absurd she was. Assassins worked for people, not ordering them. She was doomed to fail from the start as history so dictated. No matter, Erik wasn't here to judge her too harshly. He still had his own role to play.

"I've come to offer my services should this be a true Brotherhood. While I can't speak for my children, use me as the sword in your hand and those who defy you will tremble." Surely Mystique would adore recruiting a man who had nearly wiped out the entire planet as retribution against his abode. But who knew with her cunning mind? And who knew what he was thinking?

He stood, patiently, awaiting the decision and listening to whatever words came from around him.

[Pietro Maximoff]

As Pietro placed his hand on his sister's, preparing to be moved with her powers once more, his father's words kept playing inside his mind.

"You're a person, Pietro. Moreso with your abilities. It's natural for those who have suffered great pain to seek vengeance on those that have wronged them. But learn from the mistakes I've made and see if your heart is truly set on all that you want."

Was that a warning? Did his father care enough not to want him to become just like him? Pietro felt the confusion deep within his ever-running mind. They had just attempted to kill one another. There was no forgiveness - Magneto himself had said so. Yet, could he still care enough to warn him in an attempt to prevent his own son from becoming him?

But those thoughts were pushed to the side as Wanda's powers got them away from where they were, and landing right in front of Mystique. Blue eyes swept around the room and glanced briefly at his father's always-stoic, always-imposing face, before he glanced at the blue-skinned woman, as if waiting to see her reaction.

"I've come to offer my services should this be a true Brotherhood. While I can't speak for my children, use me as the sword in your hand and those who defy you will tremble."

It surely was... strange to hear his father offering his help in such way. He knew, however, that there had to be something behind his ideas. And Pietro also knew Erik wasn't going to share his mind that easily. One glance at Wanda, briefly, just to let her know he was still there, and that he was still strong, before he spoke.

"I am with you, father." The words didn't seem to sound as strained as they would normally. Either Pietro had managed to push his turmoil aside to be a little bit of an actor... or perhaps there was some truth to his words after all.

[Wanda Maximoff]

CF: Central Park - Making Reservations

It had been quite some time now since Wanda had been required to shift reality around two other people besides herself. The ability to, in a sense, 'teleport', was without a doubt a handy tool to be abused by the Avengers despite the factors of probability. While she had on occasion, either lost a team member from the flock or failed to warp another to the desired location; this time she was pleased to still be clasping the hand of her father and brother as their location shifted. Gone were the green scents of Central Park mixed with general city pollutants. In fact, there was nothing 'green' at all about her new location. Blinking lights came into view, and her eyes momentarily stung slightly as they adjusted from the outdoor atmosphere to this far dimmer interior room.

"So this is the Brotherhood?" Her ears adjusted to hear her father's voice, and she silently asked the very same question. Hopefully, the answer was yes, otherwise there might be a serious dent in the trust recently gained from the so-called 'Master of Magnetism.' Eager eyes of the bluest family trait searched around, until she pivoted around to focus at last on the Raven itself. Having warped in a triangle formation, the blue-skinned and red-haired chameleon had therefore been positioned behind Wanda.

Leaving Magneto to deal with the delicate negotiations, the Witch meanwhile, moved to step slightly behind Pietro in a reinforcement of her previous words: You are ever wise; my sword, my shield, my soul. Knowing full well that he wanted to protect her always, she in turn, showed no resilience towards that basic desire, but rather played into it as if by natural instinct. Shortly afterwards, Pietro's brief glance in response to their father's words, did not go amiss. The Witch quirked a brow lightly, as if silently agreeing with her brother and at the same time, commenting in her own right.

'Indeed. Could we ever expect any less from him?' Was the general thought behind the nonchalantly impressed gesture. Even with his diplomatic tongue on their side though, Wanda was still cautious of their joint adversary. Even though she was trying not to stare so intensely at the usurper, she still could not help but try to gauge the woman's intentions. Would she be impressed by this show of modesty or, would she see straight through it? Perhaps their 'good luck' was about to run out after all...

"I am with you, father."

“And I.” Without hesitation, the Witch almost echoed her brother. Her voice calm and even-tempered, while her contemplative gaze slipped to focus wholly on the chameleon opportunist.

This post has been edited by Wanda Maximoff on Jul 16 2012, 12:29 PM

[//Mystique]

Don't hesitate. The soul of her boot scraped against the floor as her left leg swung behind her; the momentum carried her upper body with it as her right hand swept out. A polished silver barrel was the Brotherhood's uninvited guest's first doorman to the show. Raven's yellow eyes burned with all the animosity and resolve a woman needed to put a bullet between a man or woman's eyes; and she wouldn't have lost a wink of sleep for her trouble.

One bullet, one kill. Much fun as it was getting a gun off in certain situations, you wielded the gun, the gun did not wield you. A sharp mind and a clear eye kept Raven from pulling the trigger as her targets snapped into view. The familiar faces did not lessen the glare behind the iron sight of the desert eagle pointed at Magneto's forehead, however. It wasn't personal. Strictly business. Mystique did not like unannounced guests; especially ones that were suppose to be dead (or at least indisposed). Complications.

Slowly the barrel of the gun lower, though Raven's visage hadn't softened. Magneto. Obviously not here to kill them all--yet. Enough to warrant not pointing a gun in his face (which the man wouldn't care much about anyway). Not enough to throw her arms open wide and embrace him as an old friend.

The sharp shlapt of gunmetal sliding into a holster at her hip was all Erik got in response to his barbed comment about where her funds might have come from. A bit of the edge left her features so she wasn't glowering at the trio that just popped in, but Raven still wasn't smiling while Magneto took a very short visual inspection.

"At least I can't say you're lying out of your ass," Mystique snorted in response to Magneto's offer. Really, how many people could threaten the entire planet? Not metaphorically, or indirectly, but with a gesture roast half the planet with the sun's solar winds by stripping away the atmosphere. Bit more than a gesture, but really how many people were as strong or skilled as Magneto? Xavier, but in his own way and he was too much of a peace lover to do anything.

Now as for Pietro and Wanda... they could still be lying out of their asses. How nice that Magneto had reassembled his dysfunctional family and brought them here.

Slowly she crossed her arms as her golden eyes slowly slid from one to the next. "This is the Brotherhood. Someone needed to pick up where you left off. Our enemies, quiet as they have been recently, didn't suddenly cease to exist three months ago." But did she really need to say something so blatantly obvious? Were these three suffering amnesia? More likely Magneto just wanted to start a conflict. Like Raven was that easy to bait.

That said, "We would be grateful to have three talented mutants join us." Raven suddenly smiled as she focused more on the children than the Father. Were these two ready to get really dirty? Time would tell. Talk was cheap. "Just happens we found a facility and begun recon in the area prior to seizing control of it and its supply lines. I won't bore you by sending you out there just yet. For now," Raven gestured to a few chairs in the command area, "make yourselves comfortable. There's space downstairs if you feel like exercising, and our backdoor if you, Quicksilver, need a long stretch to pace." Doubt the training area would be long enough to handle Pietro taking two steps let alone trying to jog or run for a workout. The tunnel leading to the van should be adequate given it was long enough she had a cart put down there.

Mystique stepped forward to draw closer to Magneto as she lowered her voice, "Anything I should know about what happened three months ago or events that followed?" She'd be remiss not to ask.

[XxMagneto]

Erik paid little attention to the gun Mystique had pointed at his head. He mentally urged her to fire it, just to show his good graces in not trying to kill her in return, but alas she holstered the weapon, leaving Erik just a tiny bit disappointed.

"At least I can't say you're lying out of your ass," she said.

And there was a reason Raven wasn't suitable to be a leader for this... Brotherhood. He glanced around quickly, swallowing the bitter taste of disgust. The Brotherhood was not meant to be militant, the stupid woman. Her toys, her 'army,' her language, it all correlated to a woman who was attempting to run an operation like the government did. There was no central figure others could relate to. There was no public presence others could look up to. Who in their right mind would look at this Brotherhood and go: 'That absolutely screams mutant utopia!' He bit back any retort and remained silent.

"This is the Brotherhood. Someone needed to pick up where you left off. Our enemies, quiet as they have been recently, didn't suddenly cease to exist three months ago."

He could have been a statue with how mute he was, standing still, never moving. She continued to speak, inviting them so warmly she could have provided them cookies and milk. Pathetic. The more he stood in her presence, the more she was beginning to disgust him with her "operations."

"Anything I should know about what happened three months ago or events that followed?"

"Indeed. In the last three months you've made the Brotherhood a mockery of its former self." Erik could no longer hide his disgust. Contempt wrote on his face. "This is not the Brotherhood, Mystique. This is a poor imitation of X-Factor." Curse the woman for turning the Brotherhood into an affiliation that worked just like X-Factor! The computers, the surveillance, the "operatives," how dare she even call this the Brotherhood. There was no sense of mutant utopia here--it was a far cry from what it should be.

Raising his head up, eyes peered down at the metamorph. "Perhaps a part of me hoped the Brotherhood would still be thriving in the thralls of a capable leader, but I can see I was wrong. As it stands, my folly will have to be a situation I'll rectify myself." Erik's lips thinned, still peering down at the scum he now saw. Letting his words settle, he lowered his head and turned his back toward the woman, walking out of the room with his arms at his sides. "While I vowed to be a sword in your hand, Mystique, the sword can only be wielded by someone with experience. Unfortunately for you, that's an area of expertise you don't have currently."

His children had their own minds; they could decide what to do at this point on. Erik walked completely out of the room, aiming to find a place that didn't reek of X-Factor. Unfortunately, he may be walking awhile until he did.

tbc: Magneto - Recreation // Quandary

This post has been edited by XxMagneto on Jul 18 2012, 12:40 AM

[Pietro Maximoff]

Pietro's eyes, as stoic and unmoving as they were, hid the fact that every single movement from Mystique was being noticed. The advantage of being Quicksilver, with all that his powers actually comprised, was that he could perceive things faster than any of them could. As her hand went to her gun, his own hand went to Wanda's arm, and he would simply move faster than her bullet could even reach him. Did she forget about the fact he could outrun any bullets she would throw their way?

It was almost amusing to Pietro when he thought of it. Between him, at least taking Wanda out of the way fast enough to prevent her from getting hit, and their father's powers, what could a gun do to them? And if only Wanda happened to get a chance to throw one of her hexes...

Pietro had to suppress a chuckle from escaping his lips. And that took all his effort to prevent the quick reaction of his body from winning against the reason. It was successful, however, and nothing but a twitch of his lips would have been seen.

However, as Mystique started on her speech, his silver brows creased in inner thoughtfulness that hid the nature of his true thoughts. Before he could voice them, however, his father did, and in surprise, he found himself agreeing with Magneto once more.

The gates of hell had to be freezing over. And in his own, inner thoughts, Pietro seemed worried. Mystique or Magneto would perhaps not realize it, but the one person that knew him as well as he knew himself probably would. His hand on hers seemed stiffened now, and his whole body still - as if trying to forcefully control his impulses, both of speaking or lashing out in an angry or snarky remark about Mystique's words. If they were to associate with that woman, he'd have a hard time controlling his temper.

Which was exactly why part of Pietro felt relieved when their father decided to change his mind in a whim. Apparently even the stoic, regal Magneto had temper issues of his own, even though in their father's case, they were much more contained than Pietro's famous anger outbursts. The silver-haired man seemed relieved, yet also worried, because that meant changing their own ideas and thoughts quickly. Choosing sides, in a matter of seconds. And it would mean their fate, and their future, would be determined there. With all the consequences that choice would bring.

But Pietro did. And simply hoped the choice would be the best one. Between Magneto - as much animosity there still happened to exist between the master of Magnetism and his only son, with the power that he knew his father could wield, and Mystique, who seemed to rely more on man-made machines than in her own powers and capabilities, the choice was easy.

Besides, the only way for them to get where they wanted would be to side with their father. They were not Mystique's heirs, in the end. They were Magneto's.

Glancing at his twin sister, his blue eyes were as calm as he could achieve to make them. And he spoke in a way that she would understand, yet others would not. Lowering his lips closer to his twin's ear, he spoke. "The ship will sink unless it follows the tide."

It was his own way of saying that they didn't have much of a choice. They had to side with the only option that would give them any chance of pursuing their own goals. And that side was not Mystique's.

A tug on Wanda's hand made it clear that he would be ready to follow their father whenever she was.

(TBC - Brotherhood, Upper Level - Quandary )

This post has been edited by Pietro Maximoff on Jul 18 2012, 12:09 PM

[Wanda Maximoff]

Hexes or not; a gun was still slightly concerning to Wanda, who had felt the sting of stray bullets before and didn't exactly want to experience a repeat performance any time soon. Fortunately, Pietro had already moved to protect her, though that didn't erase the Changeling's threat. As amusingly useless as it was that she saw fit to pull a gun on these three mutants in particular, the Scarlet Witch's expression remained placid. She understood that their sudden arrival had shocked Mystique, so the reaction was warranted. As for the subtle animosity, well; Wanda expected nothing less.

"This is the Brotherhood. Someone needed to pick up where you left off. Our enemies, quiet as they have been recently, didn't suddenly cease to exist three months ago." The Witch narrowed her eyes. Was that a personal jab? But at who, exactly? Wanda looked to her stoically silent father, wondering if he was already changing his mind about wanting to seize the mantle again from under this blatant opportunist's grasp. Hoping, even. It would make matters easier if they just put an end to this farce now. Why not? She had more or less arrogantly admitted her guilt. Plus she spoke of 'enemies', but did she even share the same enemies as the rest of them? To Wanda, it felt like the Raven was using the Brotherhood for her own selfish means rather that what it was truly intended for. Or at least, what she thought it should be, if she had her way.

"We would be grateful to have three talented mutants join us." Wanda's eyes re-focused on the Raven, realising that she was directing this offer at the twins. Who was the 'we' in this equation? And why was the offer jarring with her, just like the offer to join the Avengers East Coast as a worthless 'trainee' had done? Probably just superiority issues; because as Wanda stared at the blue woman, she didn't exactly see a natural born Leader. Then again, she had already formed a negative opinion of her.

"Just happens we found a facility and begun recon in the area prior to seizing control of it and its supply lines. I won't bore you by sending you out there just yet. For now make yourselves comfortable.” It sounded like something the Avengers would say. A facility? What kind of facility? The Witch's interest was teased and yet, at the same time, her concentration slipped. She heard nothing else the changeling said, because her focus shifted to her brother instead. Pietro.... dearest Pietro, she could see that he was already struggling with this arrangement. Indeed, she felt his hand begin to stiffen against hers.

"In the last three months you've made the Brotherhood a mockery of its former self." And Pietro wasn't the only male in the room struggling to play nice. The arena was starting to melt around the Witch, who was by now feeling powerless to stop the pieces from disappearing entirely. Though her main priority was her brother, she was also inwardly panicking as the game once again changed without her consent. "This is not the Brotherhood, Mystique. This is a poor imitation of X-Factor." She was glaring completely at her father now, trying to suss out his new game plan. The high-surveillance rooms full of technological gadgets constantly beeping with lights and sounds, really didn't bother Wanda at all. It was organised, like the Avengers were, and therefore it felt comfortable. But for some reason, it wasn't meshing well with Magneto, apparently. Now she had to watch, slightly astounded, as he took his former words back in a heartbeat. The allegiance shattered before it had even begun. What could she say to that? It wasn't like his words didn't hold truth, but his temperamentality only further clarified the fact that he wasn't their pawn to be used. Mystique however... the Witch still deemed her a playable asset.

A notion that Pietro however, did not quite share. Feeling his glance on her, Wanda returned the look with a far more troubled hue to her cerulean depths. His breath against her ear warm as it carried wise, proverbial words. "The ship will sink unless it follows the tide."

'The tide,' she repeated to herself, eyes lowering. The strongest 'tide' had abruptly turned his back and left, already leaving their ship to sink on these undeniably weaker waves. The Witch said nothing. She needed time and space to think this through properly, but everything had happened like the sudden click of a finger, or the spark of a match. Thoughts raced through her as she felt hot under the collar with the pressure of this sudden decision making. Change was not always good. Why deviate from the original plan?Magneto had hardly proved himself to be a successful leader, and who could tell where he would take them next? Then there was Mystique, desperately trying to salvage a Brotherhood that was already lost. The choice should have been easy and yet, Wanda was more inclined to reject both options.

The sudden tug at her hand tore her away from her troubles, and she found herself staring once more into the eyes of her twin. 'Dearest brother,' her gaze softened, and she mentally sighed. She wanted to talk to him in private – get to the bottom of what was going through his head right now. All that she knew, was that he had formed some sort of strange and inexplicable bond with their father back in the Park. Who was she to now tear that away from him? The Witch was simply worried that it would only end in further disappointment. In the end, she wouldn't be the one to say 'I told you so.' She would simply be there to catch him when he fell.

“Yes,” she finally spoke, softly. Almost a whisper intended only for Pietro's ears. “I understand.” Then, turning to Mystique, the Witch wore a polite mask over her rueful features, as she spoke up. The plan wasn't completely ruined; they could still maintain certain appearances of neutralised grandeur.

“I'm afraid we shall have to put a rain check on that tour. Pity. I was looking forward to investigating this... fine establishment.” Disapproving and almost pompous eyes flickered over the furnishings and décor, and if she had time, she would no doubt be running her fingertips across surfaces checking for dust and grime. Instead, she wound her fingers between Pietro's, and turned her back on the Brotherhood. Or at least, this one.


TBC: Unknown

This post has been edited by Wanda Maximoff on Jul 17 2012, 08:39 PM

[//Mystique]

Mystique narrowed her eyes as she held her gaze with Magneto as he verbally backhanded her for not sitting on her ass and waiting for the Savior of Mutantkind to magically return from the dead like the Arthurian legend foretold. No, of course, Magneto was right; they should build a new base in space, hang out a banner that said "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," and then get betrayed when you get sloppy and don't pay enough attention to those huddled masses with a dagger in their hand. There was just one, small problem with that plan--aside from being careless--and that was Mystique couldn't magically build a space station in less than three months.

Raven didn't hide her glare at the man as he strode away supremely confident in his own infallibility despite having just failed in every conceivable way possible. Yes, why not do the same thing over and over again hoping that this time it will be "different." Why pay attention to your enemies amassing resources and influence when you could spend all your time looking for a secluded little place to bury your head in the sand? If there was one thing Darkholme did not need it was Magneto's vault "experience" in failure.

While Magneto was happy to wage a verbal war on Mystique, the metamorph in turn did not respond in kind. He wanted a response. He wanted her chasing after him because he felt castrated by not being the leader; by not developing all of this on his own. Assuming he would, after all if you heard him tell the story it was all Mutants, Mutants, Mutants. Because asteroid space stations were held together by Mutant love or some shit.

"We aren't going anywhere," Mystique said dismissively as she turned back to the monitor she'd been studying when the three of them had come to her. They wanted to play Kings and Queens of the Mutant Race they could build themselves a throne somewhere else. She had real work to do; actions to coordinate outside of this single base that would reshape the world. Or, to put it another way, Raven was building a real castle and Magneto wanted to play in the sand.

"Pull up the dossiers on those two," Mystique gestured at the screen. "They could prove useful." Unlike the trio that came and went like evil spirits needing attention.

[Worldwide, North America: "Operation: Selective Redux"]

This post has been edited by //Mystique on Jul 21 2012, 10:25 PM