1749/Catch-Up

Catch-Up
Date of Scene:	19 May 2020
Location:	Algernon's Alehouse - Hellfire Club
Synopsis:	Emma and Lorna drink, eat, and talk about the Genosha situation and where Lorna's political issues lie for now.
Cast of Characters:	Emma Frost, Lorna Dane

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Emma Frost has posed:
Mid-week, after work crowd. Algernon's is probably the most "normal" bar in the building, which means it tends to draw less VIPs and more of the normal crowd of folks hoping to rub elbows with those said VIPs most of the time.

Emma Frost is exhausted. Between buttoning down everything at Frost International since she is leaving this weekend for a tropical vacation, and handling a few projects for the Hellfire Club itself, or at least getting them to a good place to be handed off to someone else later... she hasn't been really getting a lot of rest. In fact, she's currently sitting at a table she has claimed for herself, with a pair of tablet computers, a small stack of papers (the one she's eyeing currently looks like a engineering cutaway of a floor of a building), and she's occasionally flicking through emails and texts on her phone. A half-finished beer sits at her hand, but no food. She had shot Lorna a text to see if she wanted to grab a couple of beers tonight, assuming the Queen of Genosha was back in the States and up to doing anything.

Lorna Dane has posed:
The Professor had told the young Queen that she needed to take time to relax and to get away. Time to just be herself and to not worry about Genosha for five minutes. Not only did he suggest it as a friend and mentor, but also as her stand in therapist. And he wasn't entirely wrong either. But moving around in the States now was harder than ever before, particularly with anti mutant sentiment starting up due to her actions, she had been forced to take a more round about way to get to the Club.

A little later than she'd like to be, Lorna stepped into the bar, looking tired, haggard, and more pale than she should be for having spent time on a tropical island for the past few weeks. She wore a pair of ripped jeans, black heels, and a long sleeved button up shirt that was sheer, with metal rivets decorating the hem.

A tired smile followed as she spotted Emma amongst stacks of papers and the alike. "Looks like what I was doing a few hours ago." She mused as she slumped down into a seat near the blonde.

Emma Frost has posed:
"You mean, work work work?" Emma replies dryly, glancing up and over at Lorna with a half-smile. "How are you feeling? I saw the news." She glances around. Yep, there's security leaning against the walls, as usual. Just in case someone DID recognize Lorna and was dumb enough to start something.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna sighed as she leaned back in the plush seat and grimaced. "Yeah, work." Her lips twitched faintly, and she rolled her shoulders back, as if they still ached from her being bent over a tablet for hours and various papers. Which it did. She glanced toward Emma and followed her gaze toward security.

"I assume by the fact that you invited me that my membership isn't revoked due to my fireworks?" She drawled, and reached up to drag her hands through her hair, no sans extensions. "I feel blindingly hungry for something that isn't an MRE or instant ramen."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma gestured towards one of the wandering servers, who came immediately. "Ms. Frost?"

"Menus, please, if you would," Emma says politely. "And a pint of the raspberry gose for Ms. Dane."

"Certainly. I will be right back." He nods, disappearing for a few minutes.

"God, no," Emma replies to Lorna's question of her membership. "Your father never lost his, for occasional worse actions. And Doom's still a member even if he tries to melt Four Freedoms every other year." She shrugs. "As long as you keep it out of the Club itself, we largely don't care. On a professional level, that is. Personally, I'm curious as to what on earth happened where you felt the need to drown a bunch of people, but I assume they probably had it coming."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna chuckled softly, as the waiter came and Emma ordered her a sour. All of which sounded perfect. Telepaths were good at that. She glanced at the menu, hmm'ing thoughtfully as she seemed to fully relax as Emma spoke of her membership being intact. "So long as no one from Reverend Stryker's brigade tries to attack me here? We're good." She mused, and as the waiter returned with her drink, she murmured an order for the artichoke asparagus gnocchi, all covered in cheese.

A sip of her drink followed and she turned her gaze to Emma. "Well, I suppose I need to actually address the public eventually, but the general gist is this. A warship and several smaller ships, arrived off the coast. They ran up the flag and sent out two Magistrates. The people that helped enforce the whole enslave mutants and mutate bonding processes before my father came to power. They told us, we had twenty minutes to give them Carrion Cove or they'd make us. And then to further make matters worse, they told us that there were mines planted on the supply ship." She pursed her lips together.

"They also brought a ton of anti-mutant tech and it was on a ship capable of blocking my senses. They'd come prepared to deal with me it would seem."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma chuckles. "Stryker... cancelled his membership of his own accord a few years ago. Something about sin and debauchery and focusing on the will of the Lord." She taps her head like the 'thinking smart' meme. "Can't imagine why he'd have done that," she says dryly, lying about that last bit, but obviously lying.

She listens to what happened in Genosha and wrinkles her nose in disgust. "The fact that the UN never set those assholes on fire for literal slavery chaps my ass. And even years later, they still deny knowing or that it even happened in the first place." She shakes her head.

About that time, the waiter returns with Lorna's beer and a pair of menus. "I also brought today's menu from the Strait Lace, Ms. Frost," he says with a nod. "In case you wished something more substantial be brought down from their kitchens."

"Thank you. Go ahead and grab me another of the hefes, and by the time you get back we should be good to order," she says. He nods and scurries off.

"Well, food. Have at," Emma grins. "Better than MREs for sure."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna snickered softly, "No, who would ever have any clue about why he might do that." She drawled, and grinned at the telepath over her menu. A glance was spared for the desserts, and promptly she made the decision to order the most chocolate of any of them. She needed chocolate, and hadn't realized how dearly she missed it while on Genosha.

"But yeah the UN mostly didn't care because well, plenty of countries that sit on the UN have hefty anti-mutant laws as it stands. Even more over, they took in the 'refugees' that fled my father's take over.. and hired them." She pursed her lips together.

"Same shit that happened when Nazi Germany fell and the US hired a ton of them and smoothed their passports over actual victims." She rolled her eyes and took a long sip of her sour.

Emma Frost has posed:
"By plenty, you mean, most of them," Emma points out idly. "And the ones that don't still don't have any laws actively stating mutants deserve equal rights. They just assume it will happen by magic." She holds up a finger. "LIKE the United States right now. I'm very pleased that Lex has decided to make enshrining mutant rights as actual law one of his campaign platforms. The fact it hasn't been done yet is a real injustice, but not remotely surprising." After all, there are //reasons// Emma (and Shaw, among others) hide what they are, even at the Club. "But, let's not talk about this depressing bullshit anymore. I don't doubt you did what you had to, and fuck them for trying to take advantage and failing. What is it I've heard Julian say? 'Get good, scrub'? Well, Get Good, Scrubs."

About that time the waiter comes back with a full beer for Emma, and ready to take their orders. "Mm. I feel like carbs, I'll do a chicken breast and a double portion of that four cheese mac. And shortcake. You, Lorna?"

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna shrugged and nodded, as she hmm'ed under her breath. "Yes, most countries if not the vast majority of them." She sighed softly, and set her glass of beer down with a thoughtful look. "The more I think about it, the more important Genosha's existence is to the world's mutants. We can't not have a homeland." She shook her head and let the subject drop as Emma continue on.

A glance at the menu again earned a soft furrow of her brows as she thought, and changed her mind yet again. "Lets go with the steak and mashed potatoes. Medium. And that double chocolate mousse." She murmured.

Emma Frost has posed:
"Yes Ms. Frost. Ms. Dane. I will make sure to bring it right out." The waiter takes their menus and disappears off behind the bar.

Emma sighs, rubbing her temples. "I'm taking Alex to dinner at my parents place," she admits. "I'm worried I'm throwing him to the wolves, but he insists he can handle it." She takes a swig of her beer and looks rueful. "But it was the trade-off for getting my time off for Aruba."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna arched an eyebrow as she turned her gaze back to Emma and she tapped her fingers against the glass of her beer, leaving little finger prints in the condensation. "Seriously? He actually //wants// to deal with your folks? That's either impressive or the typical Summers pig headedness." She mused, and then grimaced.

"I wish you luck with the headaches that will come from all of that." She murmured, lifting up her glass in Emma's direction and taking a sip.

Emma Frost has posed:
"Wants? I don't think it's wanting to so much as he is stubborn and I think he's determined to nail my father's opinion of him to the wall." Emma takes a hefty swig of her own drink after lifting it to Lorna in response. "Typical Summers pigheadedness, eh? So Shades McGrumpy is also a stubborn ass?" she asks with amusement.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna snorted a laugh, "Scott is notorious for it. He refuses to accept that I had any reason for my actions on Genosha and insists that I did the wrong thing. Even when the Professor and Jean tried to argue that I did the best I could. He walked out. But that's always been Scott. He has his walls up, and he has his opinions and morals. Once he's made up his mind to do something or about something that's it." She mused, and sighed softly.

"I was pretty sure he planned to kick me out off the team and out of the Mansion for it."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma rolls her eyes. "He sounds like he needs to get laid. Desperately," she opines. "And no, I'm //not// offering." She muses. "I don't think Jean would either, despite apparently having 30 future children with him. I wonder how exactly that happens, anyway." She mentally recalls the last time she had seen the older Summers brother-- he was wearing a 'Best Chef Ever' apron and making burgers, guarding the grill as if he believed no other person was even remotely capable of flipping meat patties.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna sighed softly, "Yeah well, even with Jean being able to read his mind I doubt they're going to get anywhere. He's pretty stubborn and he sticks to his guns.. which I mean.. we both do too. He just lacks simple empathy for basic emotions and how they impact people." She mused, and made a face.

"You know when Warren told me he was dating Alison that I should ask Scott out?"

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma wrinkles her nose. "I mean... he's not bad looking?" she says, pulling a face. "And I mean... maybe getting laid WOULD, I don't know, chill him out some." She shrugs. "Though if Warren suggested it, maybe it's not totally a bad idea. As much as I give him grief, Warren is a pretty good judge of character."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna shot Emma a flat look, "Scott hates me right now for what I did, and before that the man tried to tell me that I need to read more books about how to handle politics when I was having a full on panic attack. Not really someone that I can date and trust to have my back on Genosha." She pursed her lips together and took a long sip of her beer.

"And it was not the thing to say to a girl right after admitting he was dating someone else. I mean, Warren brought me flowers on Genosha and everything. It was just.. ugh.. terrible. And not the right thing to say in the least." She wrinkled her nose.

"I'm mostly decided that I'll just have to do the Medieval monarch thing at this point to even get a date, and do it for an alliance."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma shrugs. "Well, it was a thought." She takes a drink. "Really, books on politics? Does he think he could do a better job?" She pauses. "Wait, don't answer that, he probably does. Ugh. As for Warren... he's a good judge of character, but, pardon the phrase, flighty." She muses. "So, Doom?" she jokes.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna snorted a laugh, "Yes! That's exactly it! Scott thinks he could have done a far better job on everything! All the time. He wouldn't mess up. Yadda yadda." She rolled her eyes and she shrugged once as she took another sip of her beer. A nod of her head followed the comment on Warren.

The joke about Doom earned outright laughter. "He's so old, isn't he?" She snickered into her glass. "Though he //did// show up on Genosha and offer help, right after T'Challa did. So I mean, Latveria isn't against Genosha at least." She mused, and snickered again.

"Okay. So. For laughs. Lets come up with a list of alliances that I could hypothetically date."

Emma Frost has posed:
Food arrives about that time, and is placed before them both. "Anything else, Ms. Frost? Ms. Dane?"

Emma holds up a finger. "Another round for us both, I think, and waters. And we should be good." The waiter nods and dips off to grab the beers and waters.

"Mm. T'Challa isn't married, and he's fairly good looking," Emma muses. "I'm assuming you want to stay away from Americans as a general rule." She taps her fingers on the table for a moment, then starts digging into the mac and cheese. "Maybe there's some handsome jungle king in the Savage Lands you can keep around because he looks pretty in a loin cloth."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna laughed outright at that, smothering some of her laughter as the food was delivered and the waiter stepped away. She turned her gaze back to Emma and could barely fight off the grin on expression. "He's not a mutant. Can you imagine the uproar some of the more extreme people on Genosha or the Brotherhood would take my dating a human?" She mused, and shook her head as she dug into the food.

"Though you are right, he's not bad looking." She sighed heavily, "A massive jungle king from the Savage Lands? Too far away to be a benefit to Genosha. Would definitely be fun though." She mused.

Emma Frost has posed:
"Well, I can't think of any mutant kings," Emma points out. "So maybe not a political alliance, but just finding a ridiculously powerful mutant hubby who you can wind up and throw at people who piss you off." The idea of Lorna even remotely playing second fiddle to some dude wasn't even on the table anyway. "Do you have any of those in Genosha? Handsome is a bonus, since you'll probably have to sleep with him on occasion. Guys tend to prefer that."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna made a face, "My father was the first and only mutant King out there. At least that I know of, I doubt if there was one in history that it ever got recorded." She mused and she glanced at Emma. The consideration about just finding a powerful mutant hubby was amusing though, and she snickered as she grabbed her glass and sipped at it.

"Right, someone more powerful than me to throw at people." She mused, and glanced down at her hands. A thought occurred to her and she quashed it rather quickly. "No. I can't think of anyone I'd be interested in that way in Genosha. Nor in the refugee camps in Wakanda. I wouldn't try to date anyone that was a subject either. That would get messy in terms of loyalty and what their standing would be anyways. Plus half of them either hate me or are making a religion around my family and it's gross and awkward."

Emma Frost has posed:
"...religio-- you know what? I don't think I want to know." Emma drains her beer. She picks at her food. "Well, I can't think of anyone I'd..." she pauses. "Uh. Well, Maybe I might know someone powerful and that would be decent for the job. But I don't think he'd want it. Not because of you," she says quickly. "But because it would put him in a pretty bad spot."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna leaned back in her chair, picking at her food and shaking her head at Emma. "Acolytes, they believe that my father would die for all of mutant kind and that I'm his second coming. I'm to be some kind of mutant savior." She rolled her eyes, "They've followed me since it came out that I was his daughter publically. I've been dealing with it for years." She wrinkled her nose.

"Some are more fanatical than others." She mused, and sighed. "Either way they were hyper loyal, in a way, to my father." She shook her head and she sipped at her beer.

As far as someone Emma considered, Lorna grimaced and nodded. "Yeah, so goes the story of my life and why I've never actually dated someone." She muttered, propping her head up with her hand.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma sighs. "They sound like charmers," she says dryly. "As for... who I'm thinking of... he's like me in the sense that no one knows he's... what we are." She takes a bite of her food. "But who knows? There are so many powerful mutants, and if I can think of one who would suit you, I will be sure to send him in your direction for your overview. Who knows? Maybe you'll even find someone you like after awhile." She holds up a finger, lifting a brow. "Ooooorrrr I could 'adjust' Scott's thinking and make him a nicer, less grouchy person. I'm sure it will only take a couple of tweaks." She's joking. Totally... joking. Mostly.

But they are able to relax and get some good food into Lorna's system for the first time in awhile. So... overall? Fairly productive.