WELCOME TO NEXUS.

[~*Belle*~]

The not-mercenary from the office, Adam Walker apparently, slowed up as he approached his car. Bella Donna was relaxed enough, drawling out that she'd appreciate a warning the next time Adam wanted to have a party. Especially when the invitees wore armor and had nifty little guns like /this one/ in her possession. The assassin always thought that the host was supposed to provide the party favors. Tch, maybe she should have killed the guy, she'd already come mighty close to crippling him. Or maybe he was? She hadn't been concerned about precision when literally stabbing the guy in the back. Just pain.

She tagged his last name there, information he hadn't handed out before, and he paused. Bella tilted her head and she wondered if perhaps that was a secret. Adam was a common enough name, it didn't narrow down any searches. Then again, Walker was a fairly common last name depending on where you were. Still, with a few other factors added in...plus he had no idea who Belle was - she could be a serial killer for all he knew - it could lead to trouble. Well, trouble for Monsieur Walker.

"'Friends' is a hardly the word I would use, though I have to admit it does make me feel pretty good about myself if someone has decided to start sending goons my way." Indeed. That special 'I /am/ somebody' feeling due to others going out of their way to have you killed. Or captured. She got the feeling that it was a capture-if-possible, but no hard feelings if he dies. Of course, now, those guys - if they regrouped - would probably just want to skip to the 'he dies' part. Not that that was her problem.

"I'm not a big fan of surprises, though, so I don't think they'll be too pleased when they come to...assuming all of them can 'come to'."

"Oh..I t'ink some of 'em would be better if if t'ey /didn't/ 'come to' at t'is point cher," she said with a small smirk. Kind of vague, implied that they'd either come to feeling embarrassed or come to in a great deal of pain. Or dieing? Indeed, that man might come around groggy, but his body would likely be all too eager to remind him that he'd been knifed in the back and that some medical assistance would be greatly appreciated. Or maybe he'd bleed out. Die from shock? Eh, again, not her problem unless they were foolish enough to add her to the hit list.

"You do have me at a disadvantage, miss...?" Belle only smiled initially, not saying anything and wondering if she should be spiteful by giving him a false name. She was a great liar and, assuming he didn't have powers that'd immediately bust her, she could make up a fake name for this fake look she was using. She didn't have the time to entertain the idea further, the sound of squealing tires breaking into the air. She didn't look to see what Adam was going to do, only moving to employ her reflexes and telekinesis to get the hell out of the way. A shield was also brought up in case she was just too late and the van was too---

*KERRASH!*

*SKKKKKKKKRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTT!*

--totaled to make it. Belle stared in interest as an office desk, it looked quite familiar, smashed into the van's windshield. She blinked and then watched the driver - or maybe the desk had tagged him too - crashed the van. There was a silence, on Belle's end, as the little Vietnamese woman gracefully floated down to the street....from a huge hole that was clearly a new renovation for the building. That was all a lot of noise there, crap. The building's soundproofing had reasonably muffled things from the outside, but there was no missing that. No doubt some responsible, more like pissed off, citizen would report the crash. The police wouldn't quickly find that no one 'saw or knew anything, but thought that' *insert unrelated, unwanted 'suggestion(s)' to the police force*.

The woman strolled over, no particular mood visible, and got in the car. Were these two not strangers after all? She hadn't gotten the feeling of being played by partners before. It was possible that the woman - or was this a guy after all? - was just feeling super ballsy right now. Taking out a van with an office desk from several stories up could do that for you. "I'm officially interested in whatever is going on. Get in the car. You will explain." Well, that was forward. Also, the still-masculine voice re-affirmed that she didn't really know what or who she was dealing with here. At the ball, she'd felt no reason to question the gender. This change in voice, tone, posture, and such was...hm. Physically, she looked the same entirely.

The raven-haired assassin frowned to herself, eyes sliding to the passenger's side window. Then she looked to Adam, wondering how he felt about the whole thing. At least the other mutant had gotten into the passenger's side rather than the driver's side.

"So....need a ride? Alright, hop in. It's no trouble, really." Probably sarcasm, but it was kind of a moot point since the petite superwoman obviously wasn't getting back out. Monsiuer Walker traded guns, but Belle's eyes were drawn to the shoulder holster. Shoulder holster. Gee, what profession(s) tended to use /those/. Great, a cop. /That's/ why he felt familiar. He ain' a merc' - how many /cops/ 'ave I 'met' before! She managed to stop staring as the man came around to her side and opened the door for her. "Madame?" Belle wasn't entirely certain this was the greatest idea. She wasn't worried about the cops, other than Adam apparently; NYPD didn't have a prayer in catching her. Then again, if she'd been added to the hit list, she wanted to know who was behind the hit list. This had the tell-tale signs of a contract, which meant those knuckleheads or some others, would come after them again. Being separated from these two didn't necessarily mean she'd be better off. If anything, they'd still want Adam more than they wanted her, so his presence was at least a constant distraction.

Decision made t'en. "Merci," she said before getting in the car. She wondered just how long this road trip was supposed to last. She had shit to do and a Guild to run after all. "I guess I'll start; as some of you may know..." obviously directed at her, but he only got a 'Who Me?' look in return, "My name is Adam Walker, I'm a Private Investigator hired to get some info on Senator Kelly's dealings. [...]"

Ah, so she'd been off. Not a cop, but a PI - not that him essentially being a 'detective' rather than a 'cop' made her feel any better about the situation. Well she wasn't planning on offering up her 'profession' at all. Damn detectives, they could never take anything at face value and keep it moving. Always asking questions, always had to know more. And she was in a car with one, going God-knows-where. Belle turned to the window and scowled. T'ose girls better be in one piece after all t'ese hoops I'm hoppin' t'rough fo' info. "Bella," she offered. /No one/ was to call her Belle. Ever. "Y' c'n call me Bella. The Senator did somet'in' real stupid, robbed me." Or that's how she was choosing to spin the story. It's how she felt about it anyway. And the Senator would be ever so sorry that he had once she was done with him. "I need t'know where he tends t'put his stolen goods when t'ose goods happen t'be /people/."

[Someone]

The ones outside the car didn't know what to make of Karma. Why should they? It wasn't as though the petite woman who began to carry herself with the body language and voice of a male was familiar to them in the first place. Completely flipping the script on them led to some confusion. Naturally, in a world in which there exists a giant dragon that routinely makes a fuss in Asia and that dragon is actually an alien from another dimension, in a world where separate Nazi scientists turned themselves into an android with a man-faced video screen where the abdomen should be and a living swarm of bees and can still currently be found walking the earth, a female with the mannerisms of a male is just taking it too far. Suspension of disbelief can only go so far... you have to have boundaries.

The guns were put away, somewhat (holstered for the pistol and hopefully the safety was on that sonic rifle if there was a safety to switch). The tall woman from the party and the man with the penchant for making heavily-armed and armored assailants look like chumps (that would never catch on as a nickname... he had to work on parsing that down just a bit) both got into the car and the car started moving. Names were exchanged. The man was Adam Walker. The woman was Bella, and gave no other name. Single-named females tended to be strippers, prostitutes, or other slightly-more-legit entertainers. Bella handled herself in a fight far better than any of those, however... well, maybe she was in UCCW or something. The women there gave Thing a run for his money.

And on to business. Senator Kelly had problems with these people, or the people they worked for, something or other. The main thing to take away from this was that Kelly had enemies that he made both because of the video at the party and before the video at the party. Not too shabby for a politician from New York, where the worst thing that usually happens to them is that they get a tomato thrown at them. And not even death tomatoes, normal everyday ripe tomatoes that can be used for salad afterward. Senator Kelly was busy indeed. However, this was not the Karma from the party. This was Tran Coy Manh, the twin brother of the Vietnamese woman who the two front-seat passengers met earlier.

Tran, who had sporadically in recent months been making occasional incursions into the world through his sister. Previously, Tran had been locked away, merged mind and soul within his twin sister after she absorbed his essence to stop his villainous rampage in a truly heroic moment to save the lives of Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four... something that no one even knew had happened. Somebody once asked why, when New York City was in peril, why there was never a random office worker who put down their briefcase, kicked epic amounts of ass, and went on to work afterwards as though it wasn't any big thing. Truth is, that does happen, those people do exist, but without a catchy codename and a memorable costume, they might as well have not even bothered. Karma was one of those people.

"Call me Karma." Tran revealed when it came time for himto say anything. He didn't need to hide himself but didn't feel the need to reveal himself either. That was't an important detail for now. Only the pseudonym already attached to the body in his possession. So one full name, one partial name, one non-name. In a car with a male, a female, and both-in-one-body, it was the man who was most forthcoming with information, most honest about himself. Tran only wanted to know what his sister had gotten them into that he had to take over her body just to keep them from getting killed. She'd already gotten them killed once before -- it wasn't a fun experience. "Let us say, I am along for the ride. And while we are on that subject, I presume that you lack any sense of direction or destination given that you have just completeld your fourth consecutive left turn."

Oh, right. Were where they even going? Somebody should probably say something.

[~*Belle*~]

Bella Donna's eyes strafed from Karma to Adam and back again. Assassins could be paranoid individuals at times, but Bella wasn't feeling any vibes. Nothing that triggered her 'someone needs to die before you do' senses. She wasn't feeling like this was some elaborate set up or even a not-so-elaborate set up. Those men really hadn't been after her, these people really didn't know who she was, and they really only had her words to go by. Well, unless they were telepaths and Bella didn't get that sense either. For real on that one, she'd checked.

Anyway, Adam seemed fairly straightforward. He said 'detective', her mind immediately said 'cop'. It wasn't, actually, all the same, but the bigger picture was the phrasing 'law enforcement'. Not really someone she should be in a car with right now...or ever. But here she was anyway, trying to figure out how she got herself in these situations. It was baffling. Things like this only happened to her when the X-Men were involved. She was noticing that pattern. She looked from Karma to Adam again. She guessed the X-Men could be blamed for this situation too, technically. She was only here because she was after the twins. She was after the twins because they'd been taken and she had need of them. They'd been taken because the X-Men had been slipping on the job. Slipping..no, they fell flat out on this. Human soldiers breaking in and snatching kids right off their property. Ludicrous. She'd have to take measures to make sure this never happened again.

Faux brown orbs stared outside, wondering where exactly she was allowing this strange man to take her. Was he taking them to his headquarters? Home base? ....his house? Dieu, I hope not. On all counts. It was a bad idea. And if those pesky idiots that weren't even targeting her weren't around, she'd abandon ship right now. Hell, she'd have never boarded to begin with. "Let us say, I am along for the ride. And while we are on that subject, I presume that you lack any sense of direction or destination given that you have just completed your fourth consecutive left turn." Seemed like Karma would feel better with a set destination, or an idea of one, as well. Bella Donna had noted that the scenes outside were all a tad repetitive, but had been willing to give Adam the benefit of the doubt. It could be a confirm-your-car-detail tactic. Driving aimlessly or in a repetitive pattern so as to determine who was following you.

Though the man might really be stalling, not wanting to take these two strange women back to base. You know, since she'd noted that no one was following them right now...

"Y'better not say we lost cher." Not what she wanted to hear right now either. Another glance out the window and at each mirror. "'Course, it'd be even better if we found a stopping point, a safe house, a location t'at /ain'/ open road while we still 'ave the luxury of not bein' immediately tailed." No one was ruining her reputation by loitering on the road long enough to get caught off guard /twice/. In her mind, back ups and their contingencies began to formulate..were they being tracked? Did they need to ditch this car? Dieu, she hadn't signed up for this! Or for anything, for that matter. "I may 'ave a place we c'n use if y' got not'ing in mind."

[Maverick_Hunter]

Adam listened to everyone speak, glad to at least have some names to add to the faces. Of course, that still didn't make any of this easy. He still didn't really know either of these women or their true intentions, though a part of him realized that maybe he didn't want to know. So long as they weren't planning anything that would conflict with his job or be 'evil', per say, then he was willing to let it slide. What he wasn't willing to let slide was the insinuation that he didn't know what he was doing. It was true, he was double checking the environment, making sure they weren't being tailed. Even if they did have a safe place to go, it wouldn't mean much if they lead the 'bad guys' right to the place.

"I'm not lost...just trying to figure out a safe place we can go. I would suggest my apartment, but it's hardly secure, and I'm pretty sure neither of you want to have to dance around clothes and old pizza boxes on the floor. Adam chimed in, making sure to take a different turn at the next intersection. The messiness of his apartment was obviously the least of their concerns, as his comment about 'security' was very true, and not the place to go in a situation like this. If he truly was the initial target, which seemed to be the case, then going to his home was probably not a good idea.

Strangely, it was the woman he had been most cautious about, Belle, that seemed to give up the most information. So, it was safe to assume that Belle's 'people' were two or more of the mutant children that Kelly had been discussing in his vision. That meant they were mutants, as she had to be, and more reason for her to be on Kelly's 'shit list'.

"I'm perfectly willing to talk about what I found out back at Kelly's office, but I agree we need somewhere safe to discuss it. With the average 'goons' I would suggest some place in public where they couldn't make a move, but judging by the show they put on back there, I get the feeling they aren't too worried about exposing themselves if they get clean shots." Adam glanced over at Belle beside him for a moment, something telling him what he was about to say was a bad idea, but he didn't have any better ones. "You mentioned you might have a place...if it's secure then it might be our best bet."

[~*Belle*~]

"I'm not lost...just trying to figure out a safe place we can go. I would suggest my apartment, but it's hardly secure, and I'm pretty sure neither of you want to have to dance around clothes and old pizza boxes on the floor." The man sounded mildly insulted, and she guessed that was fair enough. Every man had his pride right? Especially those cop-types. Alright, so maybe pigeon-holing the guy in a stereotype wasn't fair either, but Bella Donna wasn't always a fair person and she wasn't enough of a goody-goody to care. It wasn't like she said it out loud or anything, so the guy should be subconsciously counting his blessings for her discretion. Or that she couldn't be bothered to verbalize the mental quips. If you wanted to call those thoughts 'quips'. To his credit, he wasn't lost. She'd take that as a good sign of competence.

"I'll pass on t'at if it's all th' same t'you cher." Not that she hadn't holed up in some dingy, questionable places when it came down to it. However, Bella Donna wasn't feeling quite that pressured yet, so she tried to think of other options. It didn't sound like 'Karma' had a place to offer as an option. Bella eyed Karma carefully, wondering just who she was aligned with, what she wanted. Well, obviously she - he? - was on the Senator's case, but that wasn't super helpful. Apparently, his recent move had put him on several different hit lists, so the woman could be anyone from a cop to hired merc to lackey [though, to her credit, the petite woman didn't look like the lackey type]. Bella sincerely doubted the woman was a trained assassin. It wasn't impossible, though, not like Bella knew every assassin under the sun - or shadow rather - but you could /tell/ these things if you knew what to look for.

"I'm perfectly willing to talk about what I found out back at Kelly's office, but I agree we need somewhere safe to discuss it. With the average 'goons' I would suggest some place in public where they couldn't make a move, but judging by the show they put on back there, I get the feeling they aren't too worried about exposing themselves if they get clean shots."

Public would be great for not being in closed quarters with a cop and someone of unknown alliance. It'd also be a great chance to make a break for it, damn whatever information either of them had. Unfortunately, that was not a realistic option at this point and, to be honest, she probably did need to know what Adam had discovered. There was a certain pause there and Bella began to dread what was about to come out of the man's mouth. It was --

"You mentioned you might have a place...if it's secure then it might be our best bet."

--completed justified apparently. The assassin pinched the bridge of her nose. This was...so not how she'd thought her day would go today. This was...such a bad idea. But what other option did she have? Adam was no good to her dead or perpetually on the run. She briefly entertained the idea of just poking around his head, taking what she wanted, and then demanding he let her out. But that was risky without knowing his power or the woman's powers and whether or not Karma would back Adam if Bella Donna pulled that stunt. Too many damn variables and not enough certainty. Risk analysis: unfavorable circumstances resulting in an unfavorable 'solution'. Not that Bella Donna would dare to call what she was about to do anything of the sort. 'Solution'. Hah!

"....alright, fine" she said begrudgingly after a while. The disguised woman obviously hadn't been expecting to be called on for what was amounting to a safehouse. This would be easier if they were in New Orleans. She was /not/ taking them to a Guild safehouse. Anyone could be there, unpleasantly surprised by their boss and some clearly-not-assassins popping in. And this story..the blonde Cajun would share this with /no one/ damn it. So that meant she'd have to take them to one of her private shelters that she'd set up on her own and just for her. You could never be too careful. It wasn't just lonely at the top, it was dangerous as hell. Beyond any disgruntled souls in her Guild; there were other Guilds to content with - members and leaders. Her international bid hadn't been a pill swallowed easily by the general populace. She'd taken over several Guilds in a relatively short span of time. That wasn't just something you watched happen or ignored. It made others sit up and pay attention to the young U.S. Guild leader, hailed Queen of Assassins, making big moves. 'Who's next?' and all.

Then you take it beyond the Guilds - assassins weren't super popular you know - and, well, it's dangerous at the top. "I have a place where we c'n lay low. ...stop the car," she said flatly. If he looked at her funny, she'd maintain a perfectly serious face and have the nerve to raise an eyebrow as if he was the odd one here. "Quoi? Don' look at me like t'at. Y'not gonna find t'is by verbal directions; it won' make any sense. So pull over an' trade places wit' me." Especially once they left the 'beaten paths'. She'd have blindfolded them if she could have managed it. Now she'd have to destroy the place afterwards. Ugh, so inconvenient.

[Maverick_Hunter]

Things didn't always go as planned, of course this was something Adam had learned very early on. Adapt or die; it was an old phrase, but it still rang true to this day, in his opinion. That's exactly what he thought as he found himself pulling over to the side of the road, letting the young Asian woman/man/whatever out when requested. He wasn't sure of why the sudden change of heart, maybe they knew something that Adam and the assassin Belle didn't. Maybe they didn't like the company they were keeping, whatever the reason, it was now just him and the assassin, and though he may seem calm, this is exactly where he didn't want to be.

Granted, she had told him about a place they could stay, a 'hideout' of her's that she assumed would be safe from whoever was after them, or more specifically, after him. She had never said she was an assassin, but it was easy to guess, judging by the way she carried herself, her preference for knives, and having a 'hideout', which could just as easily be called a safe house. Honestly, so long as she didn't try to stab him in the back, he was glad to have any help that could be offered. Trusting her was probably crazy enough, letting her drive his car was probably just plain stupid, but he didn't have many options.

The ride there was awkwardly quiet; Adam wasn't really comfortable saying anything else until they arrived wherever they needed to be. He was still sorting through the vision he had back at the office, picking out the little details that could be useful while trying to ignore the junk. Even after all these years, the visions never came easy. They hit Adam like a freight train, made him experience these moments as if he had been there, and then dropped him just as quickly as it grabbed him.

Even though it was his power, he still doubted the human mind was meant to take that much information in the blink of an eye. He rubbed his forehead, still tingling from the rush, something that never seemed to lessen with each vision. Normally he'd pop an Ibuprofen and find the quietest place he could until it passed, but that was a luxury he couldn't afford that night. He still had a job to do, and though he wanted the help, he knew he had to keep an eye on the woman currently driving his car.

Eventually the car came to a stop, and Adam realized they must have arrived at her 'place'. Adam stepped out of the car, glancing around to see if anyone was in the area. It seemed clear, though obviously Bella would know better if anything was out of the ordinary. He followed her towards the safe house, trying to ignore his brain's loud proclamations of how stupid this was. He already knew this very well, he really didn't need to be reminded.

"Alright, well so far so good. No men in heavy battle armor, no girls possessed by creepy men...looks good." Adam commented, keeping his gun holstered, but ready to pull it at the slightest hint that something was off, whether it be from Bella or otherwise.

[~*Belle*~]

Bella Donna was as curious as the next over what 'Karma' planned to do next. If the goal was to remain drenched in mystery, this was a job well done. Bella couldn't even pinpoint the gender situation as that freaky voice business. Karma was a /woman/..right? There was that change in tone, in posture, in /sound'. That hadn't been the sound of a woman mimicking a guy. That was truly a man's voice coming out with the body language and gender-specific tendencies that came with being male.

Bella Donna supposed that was alright though. A little gender bending wasn't too out of the question. So as the petite mutant got out and grew smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror, the blonde Cajun only hoped that the woman wasn't just waiting to tell where they were off to right now. For that, she had the comfort of knowing that no one knew where to go except for her. So even if Karma told, they'd have a head start and probably wouldn't be found without dumb luck and/or a powerful telepath. Or empath? Or clairvoyant or something else she hadn't even thought of yet.

You know, Karma never did mention what she was capable of - not that she had either - and Bella Donna hadn't been able to guess. Maybe the gender bender was a power? Gave her that nifty ability to launch desks at high speeds into truck windshields. Oh well, guess they'd never know now. Still, it was an interesting outfit to go hiking around in. Bella had at least been able to time out and change clothes. The woman appeared to have gone straight from the masquerade ball to there. Hm.

Adam was understandably hesitant and she wasn't thrilled either, but he pulled over anyway. They were both, ironically, thinking the same thing - this was a really horrid situation. Cop and assassin. Both were kind of waiting on the other to pull something crazy, just to claim that they weren't at all surprised about it. Fortunately, nothing had happened yet. He wasn't trying to read her her rights - not that he had jack on her - and she wasn't trying to kill - at this point. She was reasonable you know. You had to earn that, provoke it.

Or have a contract out on you with her signature on it. There was dead silence in the car the whole way. It was tense and awkward, but Bella was still half-grateful as she wasn't confident as to how well she'd take to small talk. Or worse, 20 questions. Yeah, pull that and he'd definitely have something to worry about as far as her snapping. Bella had almost convinced herself that the safehouse had moved or was so well tucked away that she'd even lost it herself. Eventually though, they did get there. Bella got out and did an immediate visual survey of the exterior. She'd started eyeing some discrete locations on the way up, checking for proof of 'disturbances'. That is, disturbances of the traps waiting for anyone bumbling around the area. You had to know exactly where you were going to dodge them all.

Or there was always that dumb luck/clairvoyance again.

The assassin didn't see anything that concerned her, not now or along the way. The blonde was thinking of the weapon she'd placed in the truck and what exactly she was supposed to do with him now when Adam spoke up. "Alright, well so far so good. No men in heavy battle armor, no girls possessed by creepy men...looks good."

"Y'look tense cher," she said cheekily, knowing damn well what he was tense about. "Y'worried 'bout somet'in?" He'd be comforted to know that she was bracing herself just as much, TK and knives at the ready if he tried to pull something cute. Belle walked towards the safehouse. After a moment and some complicated looking movement, the door opened. "Y' comin' o' not? Though I'd be just as 'appy t'leave y' out here t' yo'r own devices." She neglected to mention just what was waiting around here if you didn't know where you were going. Not that she wished anything unfortunate upon the man. He'd actually been very pleasant thus far. Adam wasn't so bad...for a cop or whatever.