[RP] The Condemned

OOC: Diar, I hope you don't mind the minor powerplaying here. It's mainly to push our side story forwards.

IC: Ten minutes later, the group pulled up to a local diner.

"I'm sure this will satisfy that awful appetite, Josie," remarked Remi.

Josie rolled her eyes; it was just another one of her remarks thrown into the mix. They walked into the diner and took their seats. After ordering some drinks and their food, it enabled the trio to settle down and start talking. Josie knew that this required much effort on her part, but would do whatever it took to throw Leon off bugging her to death. She wouldn't have wanted him to worry about her.

She preferred to be alone if she was honest. There was something holding Josie back from really getting to know everyone else. Whether it was her horrific past, her personality that sometimes resembled an antisocial person or the constant struggle to connect with people, it would always haunt her until she knew what IT actually was.

Using her newfound ability, Josie inadvertently started listening in to a couple's conversation for a few short seconds. She came back to reality again moments later.

"Are we heading to base after this?" asked Remi.

"I'll have to check in with HQ. Strangely enough, they haven't been in contact with me since I started chasing down my target," replied Josie, taking a sip of her orange juice.


There was another few hours until the big meeting that had Mack all nervous. But if there was anything that could shake those horrible nerves, that was down to one thing.

Flying freed him. It liberated him of all those negative feelings that took control. Having the clouds to cover him just made that freedom limitless. He flew at high speeds, having successfully done that favour for his friend. This left him sometime to kill. Flying around would probably kill most of that time. However, it wasn't just that in which his time would be spent.

Mack stood at the top of Big Ben once more.

It was his favourite spot, the only spot in which he could see the whole of London. He glanced up at the sky, noticing that it could have started raining at any moment. He sighed sadly. Having the ability to fly wasn't his only ability; controlling the weather was his secondary one. He struggled immensely with this, choosing not to use this power. The last time he had done so, London was hit by a ten-minute tornado.

Not going down that road again, he shook his head. However, he smiled weakly. It was funny, regardless of his feelings.
 
OOC: G mod us back if you want Amizon

"I'll have to check in with HQ. Strangely enough, they haven't been in contact with me since I started chasing down my target,"

Remi did feel a bit worried at that. Ignoring the information error that she got about Isaac, to not even call to ask for a status update on their mission was definitely suspicious. Absentmindedly, Remi chewed on her burger as she sent ideas reeling through her mind. It was entirely possbile that the Black Hand could have successfully detonated a bomb, but all 7 bombs recently was of amateur make and would mess up a room maybe, but it did not pack enough umph to knock down something that secure. That left with a more reasonable take over via forced entry. It was more likely since none of their colleagues had any mutants powers and could probably be swiped aside by someone with enough strength.

Im worried. When we finish off here, i want to head back as soon as we can. I do not like this. It is not like them....
 
Wolf headed down the Parisian streets, so much of modern fashion, as well as philosophical and political thinking came from this very place. Paris was a beautiful place, and had it not been for the fact that he was being pursued, he could've stayed a while. Then again, considering he hadn't run into any trouble since leaving Venice, he could manage to stay a while if nothing else happens. Wolf always loved to travel, and surprisingly he was happy for that, to see new worlds, even if it was for a few hours or a few days.
 
Amelia smiled falsely at Alex as he reappeared in front of her. This weekly experience was a price she was willing to pay. It was just a means to an end. She had to keep telling herself that if she wanted to keep what remained of her sanity.

Amelia was someone who enjoyed pain. In both herself and others. However, this wasn't even pain. It was humiliation. It wasn't his appearance. No, that was a plus if anything. But his ideals made her feel sick to the stomach every time she took off her clothes. It was sickening that someone so pathetic had such an intimate relationship with her. A connection.

Forced or not, it was repulsive.

But the smile stayed in place and her dress fell to the floor as she closed her eyes and prepared for another half hour of sexual humiliation.

Timeskip

Combing her long, silky black hair with a hand as she looked at her reflection in a compact mirror, she reapplied blush and eyeliner as she spoke to Alex. Pleasure was done. Now it was time for business as usual.

"Alright. So what's our current status in regards to MERIT?" she asked. Waiting a second, she closed her mirror with a sharp snap and turned to face her superior. "What are we doing next?" Her eyes never left Alex as she continued to straighten her hair with her fingers.
_________________________________
"They probably didn't want to interrupt you when you were on a mission,"[/B] said Leon with a shrug, taking a bite of his burger and not speaking again until it was swallowed. "You know how jumpy the Rogues can get these days."

Caught between a war in everything but formality, Leon couldn't blame the Rogues. If they weren't being pestered by MERIT, they were being forced into the recruitment by the Black Hand. And that was if they weren't killed.

Still he hadn't forgotten Josie's little absent spell earlier, and he gave her a look that let her know with no small amount of conviction that he didn't plan to let this go in a hurry, before taking a sip of his Diet Coke and letting the conversation take its course.
 
Alex relished in the passion he felt once a week. This surely must have been one of thousands of affairs they had both embarked on. His needs had to be satisfied. Spending the rest of eternity young and beautiful had its requirements, of course. He enjoyed every moment of his time with Amelia, knowing that they could probably spend half an hour to an hour at the most.

When it was over, he was surely satisfied.

But thinking about the time he spent with Amelia only dragged Alex back to the one person he really had a connection with. Whilst Amelia was merely a distraction, his lost love was the one he couldn't let go of. She was the secret he kept inside, the one whom he hadn't forgotten about. She had been beautiful. They were to be wed when Germany won the Second World War. And yet fate had a different plan for them.

Amelia's words snapped Alex out of his daydream.

She was getting ready and even though he wanted more time with her, he couldn't keep using her to make him forget. Even just for a second. He buttoned his dark shirt up, pushing the thoughts of his lost love away for a moment, and turned to face her.

"I think we need to up our game here," he said with a raised eyebrow. "Let's show MERIT just how not to piss us off. They've been gathering these rogues for a long time now. Some of them run, others join them. Few decide to come with us. I've yet to find a way to infiltrate their base. There's probably a mutant negating teleporting abilities in and out of there. I'd have tried sooner to get in, but you know me. I like to be well prepared."

He rose to his feet.

"I hear they've got themselves a physical mutant, one whose strength is unmatched ... well, maybe except for me. She's the new field leader. I'd like you to investigate her, perhaps screw her life up without letting her know you're on this side of the playing field. After all, you know how to screw people up."

The last sentence was merely a compliment. If there was anyone he'd send personally to do his bidding, then it would be Amelia.


"Hey, I'm a woman on a mission who can probably handle that AND know that information at the same time," grinned Josie. She liked to show off what women could do. It was in her nature to do exactly that. "Rogues need to stop running. We don't want to hurt them."

She glanced around the room, listening into the conversations going on around them. Her nose picked up several scents. Curiosity once again caught Josie's attention. A sneaky smile emerged on her face.

"We're the only mutants in here," she said in a lowered voice. "My heightened senses are helping. I can smell you two and you smell similar. Maybe mutants and humans have different scents. Interesting ..."

She was fascinated with this discovery. However, it wasn't long until she received that stern look from Leon. He hadn't forgotten what happened before. He wouldn't let this go. But could Leon really handle her troubles? No, Josie was fierce and determined not to trouble anyone with her own worries. She didn't return the stern look. She acted like everything was so damn normal. After all, wasn't this meant to be a friendly lunch with normal friends?
 
"You just seem to attact bad luck for all your 'probability manipulation.' As for ideas, I have several. Probably the least destructive is this. This is steel, pretty strong steel too. I'll cut it into pieces and you can bring them over here and we can tie them up."
"On it. Best make sure to knock them out while I'm at it..."

Orion whistled, mainly for show, and two more mannequins walked in. With the three mannequins and Orion working together, they quickly knocked them all out, hitting a nerve at the base of the back of their neck. They then proceeded to drag them over towards Isaac, the mannequin's carrying two to Orion's one, as they had no real limits for strength. Once all seven had been dragged over, Orion turned to look at Isaac as he displayed his newest project.

"So how do I look?"
"Pretty good. I'm going to guess that's not just a normal piece of clothing, though. Mind telling me what all it will do while you make the handcuffs?"
 
OOC: Have absolutely no idea what is going on, so ill play Remi as the losty staying quiet.

"Rogues need to stop running. We don't want to hurt them."

Or attacking on sight before listening to reasoning. I might be hard to kill, but it still doesnt mean it doesnt hurt.

As much as she gripe, Remi knew it was part of the job. She was just exercising her right to whine a bit. Somewhat unprofessional, but she was on free time right now. What she said and did was up to her. Remi went to take another sip of her coffee when she saw Josie scan the room before commenting on something most girl's don't quite want to hear.

"We're the only mutants in here. My heightened senses are helping. I can smell you two and you smell similar. Maybe mutants and humans have different scents. Interesting ..."

Instinctively, Remi lifted her hand to her nose and sniffed, just to ensure that she really did not smell funky. If she did, shopping was needed right away...as well as a shower. Fortunately, Remi smelt nothing on her, but oddly, she felt a slight tension between Josie and Leon. With absolutely no idea what was going on, Remi brought the cup to her mouth and flitted her glances between the two. She did not want to butt into something she did not know anything about, since it seems like a personal thing.
 
As Isaac began cutting up the strips and binding the intruder's hands, he elucidated on his latest work. "It's made of about three inches of solid iron compressed down to fabric without the weight but all the strength. I could stop bullets with it. The ouside can radiate an intense heat and also can change colors while the inside stays cool. The inside can also insulate."

Moving on to the captor's ankles, he continued. "And you're not getting one, not without the right stuff at least. By the way, you're not the only one who can cheat at cards." As he finished binding them, he reached into the pocket of his other shirt and pulled out the roll of poker chips and tossed them to Orion. "I can't run out of money."
 
Remilia woke up without warning, like she normally did. Not owning an alarm clock, Remilia relied on her natural instincts to wake her up, and they never failed her. Getting out of bed, she grabbed a towel and a change in clothes. Leaving her room, she hopped in to the restroom. Taking off her clothes she examined herself in the mirror. Her almost flawless reflection staring back at her, she was comforted somehow by the term “almost”. Besides the bruise from the night before, she only had one scar, about a six inch gash below her right shoulder. A simple stab wound, and a painful reminder of her first encounter with The Black Hand.

Looking to the side, her long pink hair covered it as she stepped into the shower, and turned the hot water on. She would have to be careful not to use any electricity until she was she that she was dry. Once she was done washing herself, she dried off with the towel, and slipped into her new clothes. She now wore a somewhat large black blouse, with black and grey baggy pants. Over her blouse she wore a button down military styled coat. She didn’t follow fashion that much, but even she had to admit that those coats looked good.

Throwing the towel aside, she walked out into the living room, and into the kitchen. She recalled something about making breakfast. Grabbing the materials to make two French toasts, she fired up the stove as her damp, pink hair grew a mind of its own and started flying everywhere. “Damned static electricity.”
 
Lacrimosa

Lac woke up with a start, hearing movement around her. Years of having had to wake up whenever the Black Hand was close had made her into a light sleeper. Which made it somewhat hard for her to sleep at night, with the occasional noises that came for reasons unknown. Rubbing her eyes, she quickly got up and did a 360 scan of the area.

There were no hostiles, which led her to relax. That is, until she realized she had been sleeping in the guest room. Her pulse raced as she heard even more movement outside. Approaching the door with caution, she opened it slightly and peeped out, only to realize her fears were uncalled for.

Smiling softly to herself, she went on to wash up, before heading out to the kitchen. "Good morning, Remilia," She greeted pleasantly as she stood, watching the latter make breakfast.


Beth

Getting off at the airport, Beth threw several wary glances around. Her fever had just gotten worse on board the train, and despite the medicine taken, she knew accommodation was going to be very much needed. She quickly hurried towards the exit of the airport, looking for a taxi to flag down.

It didn't take long.

"Take me to the closest hotel you can find."

"That'll be all the way into the City, if you don't mind, miss?"

"Move it."

The taxi driver must have thought it to be rude, bearing a scowl as he started driving. It was along the journey that Beth started to wonder what she would do in the meantime before she found her target.

All she knew about the girl was that the Black Hand was interested in her, and that she was in MERIT... Which made it somewhat clear that she had to be joining the MERIT as well, if she is to find Jocelyn.
 
“Good morning, Remilia”, Lacrimosa said as Remilia was finishing up breakfast. “Salvere iubere”, replied Remilia in Latin. “I do trust that you slept well?” Remilia asked as she grabbed a couple of plates and forks from the cabinets and drawers. Placing them on the table, she placed the French toast on the plates, and motioned Lacrimosa over to the table as she went to grab orange juice from the fridge. “That was the very first time the guest room had been used. So I do apologize if the room was somewhat dusty. I am afraid I have never really had reason to clean it before.”

Setting down two glasses, she filled them with orange juice and put it back in the fridge, which she closed by kicking the door shut with her foot. Sitting down, she said, “Seeing as how my charms on the door are still intact, and how I slept soundlessly through the night, I am guessing that The Black Hand did not find us. Which, in all reality, is a very good thing,” she paused for a second, “I hope you enjoy French toast. Dig in.”
 
[OOC: @ Darque: Hm, what could our characters do now? ]

Lacrimosa

"Good morning, Remilia," said Lacrimosa as she sat herself down at the table as Remilia placed the cutlery on the table. Lacrimosa nodded as Remilia spoke, watching her as she finally came to her with two glasses of orange juice. "Really, it's not an issue. The guest room was as comfortable as I can ever ask for. I haven't had such luxury in ages. And I have you to thank, Remilia."

Lac smiled, then took a quick nibble off the toast, and, upon realizing it wasn't too hot for her, larger bites as she ate. She eats voraciously, so quickly it would seem like she was in a rush. This was an old habit of Lac, considering how she, being on the run from the Black Hand, had to not only move fast, but eat fast as well. As she noticed this behavior, she slowed down considerably, taking small bites instead as she looked over to the girl with her at the table.

"Erm, Remilia, I can't help this, but really, thank you so much."

Smiling as she said that, she finished up the toast before wondering aloud,"But is there a job or something that I can take? Although it's nice to stay away from the Black Hand, I suppose I still need some money to get necessities."


Beth

Peering out of the alley, Beth glanced over to the Black Hand member beside her. Or rather, the group of Black Hand members. Having gathered information about Josie from the Black Hand stationed in the area, Beth felt more than ready for the job. All she had to do was pretend to be a weak mutant who was chased by the Black Hand. What happens next will happen.

Nodding, to the group, Beth started to sprint out to the diner. To prepare for this, Beth had even went on to do a bit of jogging so that she looked like she had been running for a while. It helped that she also had a fever, which should make her look more like the damsel in distress that she intended to portray. With the Black Hand hot on her trail, she broke through the doors of the diner.

The staff and patrons inside turned to the girl, startled by this sudden entry, but Beth merely ignored them as she slammed the door shut behind her. She knew it wouldn't work, but she again, this was another thought that she considered. If she did something that was futile, it would look more realistic.

Just as the thought faded away, an explosion outside sent the door flying into the diner along with Beth. Now this took Beth by surprise, but she picked herself up anyway, struggling to get away as the Black Hand came into the diner, unleashing their powers in full view of the patrons, most of which were non-mutants.

The situation quickly got chaotic, as the Black Hand started attacking the non-mutants to get them out of the way. Beth quickly ran about, her eyes scouring the room for her targets. She found them soon enough, but quickly realized that it might be obvious to them that she was looking for them, so she pretended to be looking for an exit. She found the door to the kitchen and bolted off again, with the Black Hand tearing through.
 
"I hate that when it happens," Josie rolled her eyes in response to Remi. "Still hurts me, too, and I'd still rather go for the pizza bomb." She grinned at how many bombs they'd been sent. It seemed as though the Black Hand thought it amusing to keep on doing it.

She was about to say something to Leon when everything changed. She heard something going in the back and caught the scent of a mutant. Cutting off Remi and Leon for a few short moments, Josie could smell something all too familiar.

Fear.

Then the explosion came, something that everyone heard. There was initial panic amongst the people in the diner. Josie rose to her feet, unaffected, and was witness to seeing a young girl flying into the diner. The door was blown off. The scents of other mutants hit Josie. When she saw the mutants walk into the room and start attacking the humans, she instantly knew.

The Black Hand.

The girl was searching for an escape. Josie's instincts kicked in and she charged at one of the mutants and knocked him out with one single punch. He flew into the other mutants, all of whom went crashing into the wall. She swiftly dispatched another one, who was terrifying a family in the corner. Once that was done, Josie ran towards the girl.

"Hey, you all right?" she asked, grasping her by the shoulders. Aware that there were humans around, she lowered her voice. "It's ok, there's no need to be afraid. My name's Josie. Me and my friends, we're mutants as well. We're going to get you someplace safe."
 
Pana watched as the sun began to set. It would be some time before the night lights would light up, and then the real fun would begin. Pana liked to be a showoff sometimes, frighten the people, show her dominance over the weak human people. She was ordered to capture or kill the boy, but what's to say if say a dozen...or maybe a hundred people get caught in the crossfire.

Pana jumped off the building, her body starting to surround itself with electrical charges. By the time she landed on the power lines, she began sliding across them like a skier, to the shock and awe of the Parisian people.
 
Beth

It all went according to plan. Josie immediately rushed for Beth's pursuers, took them out, then came for Beth with concern that could only come to someone without knowledge of Beth's plans. Innately pleased with the grand success of this act, Beth faked an expression of fear as she watched some of the downed Black Hand members before looking to Josie.

"I-I-I'm Beth," Beth stuttered, not intending to let down her act to the end. "We should hurry! There may be more to come."

She grips Josie's hands tightly, her eyes darting from the Black Hand to Josie and her friends, and back. Although the reason was valid, Beth was more concerned that the Black Hand here, who did not operate in the same region as she did, may decide to turn against her at the last minute. This would render her efforts useless.

"Co-come on!"
 
Amelia smiled. "Leave it to me. I'm sure I can up with something that will meet your fine expectations." She touched Alex's face. Softly. Seductively. Her eyes glimmered with false adoration.

A high ranking member of MERIT was someone she wanted to see for herself. She could always gain more power, and if what she had planned worked... well, this mutant could be a valuable asset to her goals.
____________________________
The explosion immediately had Leon on high alert, reaching for dark energy before she knew what she was doing, but it at least seemed to be a false alarm. Such idiocy on the part of the Black Hand seemed... unusual. They were usually so meticulous and careful. Would they really risk such a high velocity explosion?

And now there was a girl with Josie. What the hell was she doing there? Keeping quiet, he looked at the girl with nothing short of outright suspicion, then calmly continued to sip his coke, even as the sounds of the explosion continued.
 
"Don't panic, Beth, those bastards aren't going to be getting up for a while," replied Josie, as she glanced down at the minions of the Black Hand she had knocked out.

She felt Beth gripping her hands tightly. It didn't really hurt whatsoever. People in the diner were still underneath their tables and the staff had all, but retreated to the back of the place. What could they do now? This had been a public incident. Oh well, the American unit of MERIT would have to cover this up. This wasn't their problem, anyway ...

Josie turned to Remi and Leon, who was funnily still sat down drinking his Coke. It was amusing to see he wasn't directly affected by what was going on. She sprang into action immediately, having thought through what had happened.

"Remi, Leon! We need to get out of here!" she barked at them. She glanced at Beth. "They're my friends over there. See? Just let go of me for a minute."

Josie let go of Beth for a moment, realising that there was probably CCTV footage of this. She made a short leap to the corner of the wall, hanging onto the ledge of the camera. A few seconds later, the ledge snapped and the camera came crashing down. She quickly ran around the room to break the cameras with her strength. There couldn't be any evidence of what happened here and despite the overwhelming number of witnesses, there had to be a cover story. She supposed a gang feud would suffice.

"Remi, I hope you've got your keys because we're getting out here!" she muttered irritably when she returned to the group. Josie grabbed Beth's hands again and gave her a comforting smile. "We're going to get you someplace safe. They won't come after you. Let's get outta here!"

With that, she led Beth out of the diner and towards Remi's car.


Alex was pleased. He liked his inferiors to do his dirty work. Perhaps Amelia couldn't still be seen as an inferior, but she had yet to make any progress with MERIT over the years. There had been measures put into MERIT's secret base in England to stop him from getting in there himself. For someone as powerful as he was, it was ironic to think that anything could stop him.

He knew that his affair with Amelia was a mere distraction from reality. He knew it distracted him from his lost love. He thought of her once more, if only briefly. But the soft touch of Amelia strangely reminded him of her. She had touched his face. Softly. Seductively. Lovingly. Their relationship had been unlike most.

"I'll leave you to it," he said somewhat coldly, tearing away from her.

Alex swore in his mind that he had to stop thinking about his lost love. She had been dead for many years. But there was somewhere he could go just to feel closer to her.

"Investigate the mutant and cripple her. Do whatever it is that you do, Amelia. I'll be back soon."

With that, he teleported away from the base.

When he opened his eyes, he was in a snowy graveyard. He bent down in the cold weather, feeling the soft touch of the snow, and wiped the snow from the grave he was visiting. His hands traced the writing and a tear slipped down his cheek.

"Sie wurden schöne," he whispered mournfully. "Ich könnte nie vergessen sie ihr lächeln, ihre heftige unabhängigen Persönlichkeit, ihre warme inneneinrichtung."

He closed his eyes once more.

"I still love you, Evaline. Don't forget that."
 
As Remilia finished up her toast alongside Lacrimosa, she thought about the question concerning a job. “While I cannot help but be somewhat shocked at the fact you would want a job, I suppose we can go out and see if we can find you something that is not too physically demanding,” she pondered. “It is no offense, of course. However, I do not believe that you could lift a quarter of your body weight, let alone half.”

Picking up the now empty dishes, she placed them in the dishwasher and turned it on. “Though, I would suspect with your abilities, you could ride to the top of a major corporation in little to no time at all.” Remilia rather liked that idea. “In fact, now that I think about it, I am positive you could have any job you wanted as long as you simply touched the hand of the hiring manager,” she laughed. “To be honest, I have to respect your decision; I have stolen all of the money I have acquired.”

Turning away from the dishwasher, she looked at Lacrimosa, still sitting at the table. “Well, I suppose you should get changed,” she said. “Feel free to raid my closet for extra clothes if yours are too dirty”. Remilia, already changed and ready to go, was rather worried about an attack. However, it being daylight outside, The Black Hand would have to be mental to attack. Still, she would have to be extra cautious.
 
[OOC: For some reason, Darque, the idea that your character suggested my character do sounds like Compulsion from the Vampire Academy series. Hehe :D]

Lacrimosa

Lac smiled at Remilia's suggestion. "You're mistaken, Remilia," She replied, chuckling as she did. "Or maybe you're not, but I suppose that will take quite some complex manipulation. One really fit for a genius mind - which I'm sure I do not quite possess, ha ha."

Then, she remembered Remilia's permission to use her own clothing. Lacrimosa bit back another internal reprimand, instead, breaking out into a sincere smile.

"Thank you."

As soon as she said that, she shuffled awkwardly to Remilia's room. It always felt weird, even after expressing gratitude, to do something that had to come with permission. Not forgetting to mention it was awkward.

She didn't waste too much time, picking out a simple black dress that was almost identical to what she originally wore.

Emerging from the room in fresh new clothing, at least, for the day, she went up next to Remilia. She had no idea how the day would play out, but she certainly knew it would not be by herself, for a change.

Beth

Wordlessly, Beth allowed herself to be dragged out of the diner. She didn't even bother to throw a glance back on her fellow Black Hand members. They would survive, and that was all she decided would happen, as she went along with Josie.

At this juncture, it seems to her that no suspicion had yet been aroused - and she certainly hoped that was the case.
 
Amelia smiled softly. "You can count on it," she said with false enthusiasm. Such a useless request from a useless man in a useless world. It didn't come down to spying or reporting or sides. It came down to the fact that this planet had become drunk, destructive. All too ready to suffocate in decadence.

After all, that experiment had been decadent. The very meaning of the word. And when they had finished, they had been thrown out. Executed or abandoned altogether to careless chance. And that was all there was to it.
 
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