13682/Start a Revolution

Start a Revolution
Date of Scene:	29 December 2022
Location:	Goodman Building
Synopsis:	Elektra talks to Alexandra Reid of the Hand; double or triple agent? May be Elektra isn't sure herself anymore...
Cast of Characters:	Colleen Wing, Elektra Natchios

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Colleen Wing has posed:
The 7th floor is closed, but that's the destination for Elektra. Waiting on the floor is Alexandra Reid, one of the heads of the Hand. A woman who dresses herself for business, to blend in with the rich and power. But this floor is under renovation with the workers currently away.

There are no rooms, just floors and skeleton frames of wood suggesting where rooms will eventually be. Tools are left on working benches and in corners. There are windows in place though, it's not a new construction merely a gutting and renovation.

Alex is standing at the corner looking out at new york. A white suit and a multicoloured silk scarf. She has her hands tucked behind her back. She has been meeting with Elektra in places like this for a while now.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Elektra's time in Gotham had come and gone. She had recovered from the ordeal that had happened when they killed Black Sky. Or at least apparently she had. And now there were questions she was looking for. Questions she knew one woman could provide.

One of the Fingers. And her own former master. Or one of them at least!

High heels are heard approaching, Elektra nearing the position Alex was in. High heels that hadn't been heard moments ago. Such is the control she has over the sound she makes. The choice of attire is telling though. A business pantsuit, heels. Certainly not coming for a fight.

Or maybe just trusting Alex that this isn't an ambush.

"Good evening." she offers the other woman, stepping next to her to look over New York as well.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Alex smiles as Elektra joins her by her side. She looks her over and states matter of factly, "You look better than I thought you might. Considering..." Considering what? that a black smoke entered her body? or that an army of ninjas attacked her?

"You have questions, but first I want to know if you're okay Elektra. Because we have a lot to discuss and a lot of work to do and I can't do that with you if you're not capable of it."

She takes out her phone and removes the SIM, the battery, and places them on a small table in front of her with a small metal farade cage. She expects Elektra to do the same.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Considering what, indeed. It was a question Elektra was still making. But like all ninjas worth their salt there was a lot of smoke and mirrors going on. Was Elektra really okay? Or was it all a facade. Like most that went on with the woman's life it was a mystery. At least for now.

"Considering what?" She voices the question in her mind.

Hands reach into her jacket, practiced motions as she follows the same procedure as Alex does. Copycat alike in the same way they disassemble the phone. She puts it away inside the cage. It was part of the ritual.

"Was I ever incapable of working?" She then finally answers back to whether she is okay or not. "I will do what must be done." a beat and her dark eyes resting on Alex directly now.

"Yet you have a lot to explain. What were the Fingers thinking on launching such an attack?"

Colleen Wing has posed:
Alex looks side long at Elektra for a moment but doesn't answer that first question. They'll no doubt circle back to it today. "That's good to hear," she says matter of factly. She has come to trust that Elektra is on her side, which is what Stick always wanted after all.

With a sigh at that first question she shuts the cage and looks to Elektra. A mature woman, stately, she holds herself in elegance. "Murakami spent a lot of time and effort staying private, hidden, erased. Your friends found him. He was not happy. He used most of his political capital to request a war. I voted no, because it was a foolish waste of resources."

She looks back out the window and in the building across from them a ninja advances along the building skyline. A small black dot carrying a sniper rifle on his back. "Now that he has squandered our soldiers and our best weapon he has lost a lot of the command he has held for so long."

"I have waited a long time for Murakami to screw up so that I could make my move. Elektra - I intend to take over the Hand. But to do it, I will need your help."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"He was sloppy." Elektra says matter of factly. "The Defenders were all over him at the pier. And on Nobu too." the assassin shaking her head slowly. As Alex then speaks of him having squandered their resources and soldiers there's a brief, pregnant silence before she finally says.

"Perhaps it's time for a change of Finger."

There was no weakness in the Hand. And sometimes a finger had to be cut off. She had learned that. Another pause and she finally asks. "Was it only because of it being a waste of resources?" what is she fishing for?

And then those last words come. The take-over. Yes, she knew Alex was ambitious. She wanted to rule the Hand. It was also why of all of them Elektra had chosen -her- to be the one to serve. Because she could get things done. And do what Elektra had to get done as well.

"What do you need me to do?" She asks.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Alex turns. She's in no rush to finish this conversation. The little dot of a man in black settles on the roof top and sets up his sniper rifle aimed right at them. Alex doesn't seem too concerned and is paying it no heed. "He broke one of our most important rules - not to expose the Hand to outside scrutiny. Instead, we hear on the news of ninja wars happening in the streets of New York and Gotham."

She looks kindly to Elektra and says, "But that's not what you want to know about. You want to know about the assassin that was sent to kill you and your friends. The Black Sky." She notes the hungry look in Elektra's eyes - the magic words were spoken - this is what Elektra seeks. "Do you believe in magic Elektra?"

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Elektra's gaze turn to look at the man setting up on the rooftop. It's visible to the two of them, she raising a brow but as Alex doesn't say anything on it she does the same. She has her reasons. Gaze goes back to Alex, studying her features. "It will take years to return things to how they were."

Ironically, the Hand was as close to destruction now as it had ever been. Stick would be glad.

"The Black Sky." She echoes those words, lips turning to a thin line. "It's a name I have been hearing for a long time." and that she had been pursuing info about as well for a couple of years as well. "The mystical weapon of the Hand that would turn the war in their favor." she shakes her head, "As far as such is to be believed. Prophecy has a tendency to go wrong. But yes, I have seen enough magic to believe it."

How could she not with all she has seen, and felt, before?

Colleen Wing has posed:
"Stick taught you well. But he's a man of singular purpose and singular vision. He can see the forest through the trees but not the world in which it grows. You're smart enough to have realised by now he told you anything he had to to get you to fight for him. Living in my world, working for me, you've seen enough to know by now the Hand are not what Stick claims."

How long has Alex known Elektra worked for Stick. Yet, she embraced her and kept giving her jobs that were important, that meant something to her. Alex turns back to look out the window again. Right down the barrel of a snipers rifle so far away. She knows the man would not miss, he is too well trained.

"Stick sends you to fight his war, thinking that 'the' war is the one he wages against us. That couldn't be farther from the truth," Alex says as she demonstrates the true art of war. Not having to throw the punch yourself. A white figure steps away from the white wall of the building the ninja is perched on. He cuts, and a splash of red decorates the white roofing. The ninja in white bows in Alex's direction, then leaves.

"The black sky is an ancient weapon brought by the Hand to Earth. It is a dragon soul. And now that soul lives within you, as you killed its previous bearer. You earned it but if you aren't trained it will consume you from the inside out."

Alex states these things as if they are absolute truth, unfolding a story long kept from Elektra but now, finally, she is allowed to hear. "So you have two choices. You let it destroy you and everyone you love, or I train you and together we take control of the Hand."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
No, it's worse.

But Elektra doesn't voice her particular opinion on what the Hand is. And what they represent. She is one of them after all. She also makes no gesture of surprise at Alex knowing about Stick. Expected? No. But perhaps suspected. There was always a bigger fish, someone that knew more than her. Yes, Elektra had chosen well on who to work with.

Instead her attention goes back to the other rooftop, watching the sniper take aim. And then get promptly cut down. Yes, she understands what's happening. "You are saying that man was sent by Stick?" a brow arches and eyes narrow. Hard to believe it, but she would seek her answers.

That last proposal has her look back to Alex. Two choices. She smiles faintly. There's always another choice, "You already know which one I wil choose." or does she?

"When do we begin?"

Colleen Wing has posed:
Alex shakes her head, "No. The Yakuza. They have perceived this ridiculous war with the Defenders as weakness. Which in a way it is. They are trying to move in on our territory but they're nothing but a band of thugs with no vision. Amateurs."

Alex looks at Elektra suspiciously. It's a rare look from her because she is usually fairly direct with Elektra. She took all of that in with too much ease. "Elektra I just told you a black sky dragon soul is living within you and you didn't even bat an eyelash."

She turns and reaches out to place a hand to her cheek in an almost motherly way. "It's okay to not be okay. Part of this training will require you to know yourself and that means being vulnerable. I know that won't be easy for you but you're going to have to face a lot of demons you've no doubt buried. You should get your affairs in order. There's no guarantees that the dragon won't win."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"The sniper seemed like the closer threat." Elektra retorts back to Alex. Or maybe she doesn't fully believe it being some dragon soul. Danny Rand had one though, didn't he? Still, Alex is right that she didn't bat an eyelash. Too used to not showing emotion, to not showing weakness. A quality but also a weakness for who could she truly call as someone close to her? That she let in? Barely anyone.

"How do you know what the Black sky is?" Elektra then finally asks, "And how to train it?" she doesn't flinch away from the touch on her cheek but she doesn't lean towards it either. She just stands there. A motherly touch is as alien to her as ...., well, alien.

"And what exactly is this .., soul? How did we come to have this kind of power? Was this Kun'lun's gifts?"

Colleen Wing has posed:
Alex seems satisfied for the moment and withdraws her hand. She walks a little away from the window, heels clicking on the ground and echoing in the otherwise empty floor. "Those are all really the same question. But I'm inviting you in to a world you know very little about and may find a lot of it hard to accept."

She nods her head, "K'un-lun," she repeats emphasising it slightly differently. "It is a magical kingdom and a place where dragons live. I think it only fair you understand me the way I understand you - I want to go to K'un-lun very badly."

"When the Hand left K'un-lun, it was not willingly so. But they took with them the black sky dragon. It lived on Earth with them until it grew too old. They used a ritual to transfer its soul from its body in to a champion."

"The champions purpose is to protect the hand. If the champion fails at this purpose they are of no use to the hand and are disposed of. I only tell you this as a warning, so that you understand what it is the other fingers will think of you now that you possess the black sky."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"And the way to become this champion is to kill the former one?" Elektra questions as Alex reveals more of what the Black Sky is and what it all entails. Brows furrow. It's clearly new information for Elektra even if she had been looking for lore about it for a while now.

She remains by the window a little while longer, watching the blood pooling on the other building from the fallen yakuza killer. "I thought all dragons were dead." she then finally says about k'un-lun. "That the last one was with the Iron Fist." she turns to join Alex, approaching her. "What do you intend to do in K'un-lun?" a beat, "Harness it's power?"

It's followed by a scoff at the other fingers and she shakes her head, "They have little to scare us with at the moment considering how low our resources are. I could point a few that failed to protect the Hand."

Colleen Wing has posed:
"It depends on the manner of the kill. You must kill the champion with intent," Alex looks over to Elektra knowing full well what it means. Elektra wanted that man dead and she was glad for it. The dragon soul confirms she is a killer.

"I don't know of any on Earth but K'un-lun has many. It is their secret, a sanctuary. Only the emperor and their family could control them though. That's how they rose to power. The Iron Fist.. is an abomination." She frowns a moment and looks pointedly at Elektra, "Ask him for yourself how he got that glowing fist. They kill a dragon to steal its soul. K'un-lun's fabled defender is a nothing more than a soul thief."

She lifts her chin a little at the question of what she'd do if she made it to K'un-lun. "It depends. I suppose. But I'd put an end to murdering dragons for one. However enlightened they must think themselves to be they are no better than a bully who beats a trusting pet dog."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Killing with intent. There it was. The third choice. Elektra offers a sharp nod back at Alex. Yes, she was a killer. There was no doubt about it, she had been honed as a killer all her life. What was different now?

Though would a killer really care what would happen to her loved ones if she couldn't control this power? Flashes of the past come to her mind. Of seeing all the people she once cared for dead at her feet. She stops to rest one hand on the wall, briefly staggering and gritting her teeth.

there's silence for a few and then she finally speaks up again. "Maybe I will." ask Iron Fist about it. She does have an in with the Defenders!

"Altruistic reasons?" Elektra eyes Alex in a suspicious manner. "So unlike you. I know you like control." a faint smile. She did too.

"What's this about a family that could control them though..? Lost to time I am guessing?"

Colleen Wing has posed:
Alex watches Elektra seemingly lose control for a moment. "The dragon stirs within you. It's restless - you can expect more of that. Worse. As it settles it will take from you until you have nothing left to give. You are mighty Elektra, but not mightier than a dragon."

She smiles, "Not entirely altruistic. I'm going to tell you something that very few people know. I'm from K'un-lun. I want to go home. What wouldn't a person do to return to the place where they belong? if I have to take an army with me to make it happen then that is what I'll do."

She shrugs her shoulders a little and says, "There are theories about them but I honestly have no time for fables about a defunct empire. There's more than one way to control a dragon. I don't need a inherited gift to do it and I will teach you how to control the dragon inside of you too."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
A dragon inside her. That would had gotten a laugh out of JJ. But at least now Elektra can understand the appeal of a good whiskey bottle to drown sorrows. Maybe there would be one waiting for her in the future. She takes a moment to compose herself, adjusting her jacket.

"You are from that place?" Her brows arch now. Now -that- is something she wasn't expecting. Sure, she knew there had been something magical happening when she killed Black Sky. But this was different. As for what a person would do to return to place where they belong? "I wouldn't know." did Elektra even know where she belonged?

"What theories?" She asks about that empire, some curiosity there.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Alex looks a touch amused, "You didn't come to talk to me about here say and rumours Elektra." She clearly doesn't want to humour Bakuto's claims - but those claims have stayed safely within the meeting room of the heads of the Hand. "So - assume you're dead until your training is complete. Get your affairs in order. Don't let people know what is inside of you or they may try and kill you - or try to take it from you." Same same really.

She walks back over to the farade cage and opens it back up. From it, she takes out her phone and reassembles it. "We'll meet again soon and your training will begin proper," she states matter of factly. "I won't be going easy on you like Stick did." Stick went easy? sheesh.