1831/A Sinister Plot: The Game is Afoot

A Sinister Plot: The Game is Afoot
Date of Scene:	25 May 2020
Location:	Mission Center
Synopsis:	Plans are made.
Cast of Characters:	Emma Frost, Bishop, Scott Summers, Julio Richter, Rogue, Lorna Dane, Jean Grey

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Emma Frost has posed:
Its now absolutely clear: there are members of the X-Men and Academy X and the school who have been taken by unknown forces. This has set a red alert of sorts, with those who had been away from the school recalled to check in, and also address the issue at hand.

There is at least one team already out in the field collecting data from at least one of the known kidnapping sites. But there are other sites. Other people missing. People who should, in theory, be able to handle themselves.

Bishop has posed:
Bishop has spent most all of his time in the past few weeks in Genosha, until the call to return to the mansion and check in goes out. He'd not admit it outloud, but the broken and war torn island nation, feels more like home to him, than modern day Manhattan an upstate New York. It's far more like the future he left behind.

He's dressed in his old X.S.E. Uniform today. It's been cleaned, pressed and his boots polished almost as if he is about to present himself for parade inspection. What his comportment really is though? Ritual. Preparing for the hunt and to help find those that have gone missing. The automatic door gives a hydraulic sigh as it closes behind him and Bishop moves to where he can see all the displays and takes a small leather notebook and nub of a pencil, ready for a briefing.

Scott Summers has posed:
After sending Alex and Alison to investigate Beast disappearance (maybe with Betsy as shadowy bodyguard) Scott got back to work on the list of suspects. It is a fairly large list, because he is this kind of systematic and he starts with everybody.

But when he got Piotr's report on Roberto's kidnapping, the list got much shorter. In fact suspect number one, William Stryker, got knocked down almost to the bottom of the list. Stryker has never, ever used superhuman agents. It doesn't fit his profile. Also, very unlikely he has access to teleporting technology.

But it is still a pretty heavy list, and he is no detective. Time to call reinforcements. Bishop gets a message, 'you were a policeman, right? I need advice'. Jean gets another message about needing help with this thing. And Lorna, well, not Scott's favorite person right now, but she is invited because he needs to know if anyone has gone missing in Genosha.

Julio Richter has posed:
Although as a student, Julio Richter certainly isn't a regular presence in tactical meetings, after getting caught up in the initial alarm of the missing mutants, he has been reluctant to return to the solitary activity that dominates summer life at the school. On the one hand, there's the direct threat of kidnapping: pretty much the only time he has been willing to spend without some kind of buddy-system supervision was the time it took to change into one of the Danger Room training uniforms. (The black variant, naturally.)

On another level, the threat to his newfound sanctuary has pushed a tribal mindset to the forefront; his people are being threatened by outside enemies. For good or ill, he is determined to fight however he can. For the most part, this meant a patient supervisor helping him let off steam in the aforementioned Danger Room, coaching the combat-applicable aspects of his abilities to a point of, if not polish, at least a dull patina.

When the meeting here called away that coach, Julio followed, sidling into the now-familiar Mission Center to listen in on the progress of the search.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue stands near the back of the room after having entered a few moments ago. She'd been out in Salem Center all morning, since they weren't supposed to be traveling down to New York. The 18 year old X-Men swole patrol enthusiast is wearing her new green and gold suit with her leather bomber jacket rolled back down ove rher shoulders and bunched up around her elbows. Her hair is wild and loose, white bangs framing her face and she's quietly chewing on a piece of strawberry bubble gum. With thumbs hooked under her utility belt, the southern gal is leaned back against the wall with her wedge-heeled yellow long boots crossed at the ankle, and her green eyes are just raoming over everyone's faces ghatered here-in.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna didn't want to be there, in fact she had been trying hard to avoid the Mansion, and Scott. She didn't want to come, and had in fact, tried to wiggle out of it for sometime. Genosha was her priority. Genosha needed her. Sure, people were missing, but that happened in the X-mansion. People came and went all the time. Why did she need to be there?

Still, Jean and Bishop were going and it took some hassle, but she'd finally agreed to come. She wore a simple pair of ripped jeans and a T-shirt, her short hair hanging about her ears in a green bob as she filed in after Bishop.

The young Queen still avoided meeting Scott's eyes however, and kept a wide berth from him.

Bishop has posed:
Bishop scoots just a bit from where he stands so Lorna can stand where she's not in Scott's direct line of vision.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean arrived with Lorna and Bishop, naturally, since she's been down there helping Lorna out with, well, everything lately. So she's there, wearing her green and white X-Men uniform as she casually helps Bishop screen Lorna from Scott's immediate line of sight.

Needless to say, Jean's not terribly pleased about recent events, but the fact that people have gone missing in conjunction with Stryker getting feisty and Kelly's presidential run led to two things.

One. Make some donations to Lex2020.

Two. A funny coincidence. And Jean hates those. So yes, she's here, and she looks over at Scott, "Do we have a head count on everyone that's gone missing so far?"

Julio Richter has posed:
Let's not mince words: Julio is fully starstruck when Lorna walks into the room. He backs out of her way, gaping at her as she passes. His teeth literally click together when he regains enough sense to shut his mouth. He sucks in a breath and remembers to release it only when his lungs start burning. However spectacularly clueless he was about pop star Alison Blaire, he is just as agog to be in the presence of the Queen of Genosha. He doesn't even seem to notice at first when Bishop and Jean's careful positioning coincidentally blocks his view of the briefing.

Scott Summers has posed:
"Hello and welcome," says Scott. "I have a list of people missing from the school. I have no proof yet this is all the mutants missing. I am expecting a report from our friends in Mutant Town. And I hoped Polaris could confirm if anyone is missing in Genosha." Beat, "by the way, it is silly how you are blocking my view. I am not going to blast her."

He sighs. "Hank... he is missing. Also, Roberto Dacosta, Danielle Moonstar, Jennifer Stavros, Gabrielle Kinney and Julian Keller. Furthermore, Emma Frost has also been kidnapped. Betsy was unable to find them with Cerebro, but she got some... she said 'echos' confirming they are alive."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna glanced at Bishop and Jean as they not so subtly block not only Scott's view of her but her view of Scott. She misses Julio's reaction to her, her attention mostly focused on the leader of the X-men. "Well that's nice to know Scott." She offered, still behind the two other people. Her arms crossed as she leaned back against the wall and sighed as the list of names was read off. Then she paused, and held up a hand. "Hold up, Emma isn't out as a mutant. Not on any public lists. Nor is she visibly a mutant. Whoever grabbed her has to have figured that out somehow."

Bishop has posed:
"I was just shifting my weight, tweaked my knee chasing one of Unus' runners last week." Bishop says, trying to explain away his choice of positioning. He opens up his notebook and begins scribbling things down, "You said the others are just missing, but we are certain that Ms. Frost has been kidnapped? Does that mean we have a witness or some evidence of her abduction?"

Rogue has posed:
When Rogue hears the full list of names of those who're missing, she uncrosses her legs at the ankles and stands up straighter. Her arms come up to cross over her stomach and she just narrows her eyes a little bit more whilst chewing on the bubble gum. From Scott, to Lorna, she looks and listens. When Bishop speaks of a twisted knee she looks over at him and cracks a grin. "You should do Yoga. It'll help with that."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean hrms, "That's true, and Emma is a formidable telepath, on par with the Professor or myself honestly. If they can kidnap her with her resources, then they know quite a bit about who we are." She glances back at Lorna and Bishop, then hrms.

"And that seems to rule out someone like Stryker. If he knew that Emma was a mutant, he'd publicize the hell out of that fact to try and ruin her reputation." She frowns, "Not that we don't have a lot of enemies still on that list, but... one less to worry about right now, I suppose."

Julio Richter has posed:
As the meeting continues, Julio finally snaps out of his fanboy fugue and quietly maneuvers out from behind Bishop, Jean, and Lorna. He ends up next to Rogue, frowning at even the denial that the meeting might descend into blasting. He hadn't realized that was enough of a possibility to bother denying. After all: They can't fight in here! This is the war room!

He leans toward Rogue and comments on the tension by whispering, "I think I missed something."

When the others point out that Emma's mutancy isn't public, he does finally pipe up: "We thought of that, too. But she has visited the School recently. So has everyone else we know of being taken. We might be under observation."

Scott Summers has posed:
"Not necessarily, Stryker did not out us, after all," points out Scott. "But I don't think it is Stryker. I just got Piotr's team report on DaCosta's abduction. His vehicle was forced off the road, and he was attacked by five assailants, at least once of which was super-human. Finally, they left the area through teleportation. I don't think Stryker would work with any superhuman, and I doubt he has teleportation capabilities."

What proof does he have Emma was taken? Mostly Alex statement. And the confirmation from all sources she has vanished. "Bishop. I don't have the details yet. It is possible one of those missing is actually in Las Vegas being a fool and has the cellphone out of juice. Keller or Stavros come to mind. But for now, I am going to assume all those missing have been kidnapped. At least until I heard of the groups in the field currently investigating."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna huffed her breath, and pursed her lips together. "How the hell could anyone realistically observe this place and not get found out? We have how many telepaths on the grounds? How many security protocols in place? That's not an easy feat for anyone to figure out, much less put together that Emma's a mutant and get the jump on her just because she's come over a few times." She shook her head, her eyebrows pinched together.

"And the rest of those on your list are not untrained children. Whoever did this has some serious power."

Bishop has posed:
Bishop nods to Rogue, "Every morning at 04:30 I do Yoga. Well the instructor is this person from Puramis that calls it 'Broga' but really it's a an excellent, self contained, and intensive exercise." Bishop clears his throat and focuses, jotting down more notes from Scotts report, "All the other's missing live here at the Mansion correct? Do we have survellieance footage of the last time they are seen on the grounds? If we don't have record of them leaving there's a very good chance the young man is right." he cocks a thumb at Julio, "We are under observation or infiltrated. If we can find out the last time any of these individuals were at the Mansion that might give us place to start." He looks to Scott then and says, "I think that those that haven't checked in have been taken is a fair assumption at this point."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue looks over to Julio and he moves up beside her and whispers something to her. She grins over at him then and shakes her head. A whispred response is sent to him, though it's a loud whisper. "Let'em figure out what all t'do. Just wait for the punchin' part t'start. Thats my tactic." She tells him before a strawberry bubble pops out between her lips and grows large enough to nearly brush her nose before it bursts and is instantly back inside her mouth again. The Belle looks back to the strategists and smiles at Lorna's words in particular.

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott nods grimly. "Every precaution, psychic and tecnological, we have been able to imagine has been taken so we can't be surveilled without noticing. And we have here people with notable imaginations," confirms Scott. "Still, we can't discard one of our enemies is smarter than we are. Stryker did outmaneuver us once, after all." It was a humbling lesson.

"Lorna is right. Hank is a veteran Avenger. Danielle is quite careful," and to get Scott to say that it means Danielle is -extremely- careful. "Roberto is arrogant, but very competent for his age. Frost... yes, she is powerful, but I suspect she lacks self-defense training. But in particular I find alarming neither Hank or Danielle were able to send a call for help."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean nods, "And the fact that Emma wasn't able to send a call for help to someone, is disconcerting." She hrms, "So whoever it is, definitely has the means to disable telepaths, and hide themselves accordingly. And Cerebro too, I'm guessing, considering our lack of luck in finding them so far."

Scott Summers has posed:
"We have the list of likely places where they were taken," he adds for Bishop. "And yes, I can easily find the last time they were in the grounds. But I don't think there is a patter there. Gabrielle and Danielle were close to the grounds, but outside the inner security perimeter. Both have been in the school earlier in the morning."

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio flashes a tight smile at Rogue's suggestion, then nods. He's certainly no master strategist, although he seems to find Bishop's agreement encouraging enough to make another contribution, in the form of a question: "If the other group is out there checking all of the last known locations, what can we do here?" he asks, obviously antsy to have a goal to work on. "Look for spies? Set a trap? There has to be something."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna pursed her lips together, "There's no pattern in their behavior, or powers either. It's not like someone just grabbed a bunch of visible mutants." She muttered, shaking her head. "No one has gone missing in Genosha that I'm aware of. And I just.. this doesn't make much sense." She pursed her lips together, tapping her foot as she turned over what little they had to go on. She went down her mental list of people that had teleportation and found that list to be messy and convoluted at best.

"I'm mostly concerned that whoever can block Cerebro either must know about it, or know to expect telepathic scans on that level..."

Bishop has posed:
Bishop looks around the room and says, "Can I ask about this William Stryker? I know a bit about him from my time line, but so much has been different I don't want to assume." He looks to Scott, "I know you don't think he's invovled, but there still might be value in kicking down a door or two and finding out what he and his people do know. At least something to keep in mind after we've thoroughly checked all last known locations."

The big man draws a deep breath and asks, "Do we have any other 'usual suspects' that are worth following up. Any of them, even if not responsible, might generate a lead on who *could* hide from Cerebro."

Scott Summers has posed:
"I'll get you a file, Bishop. Essentially Stryker is a terrorist that targets mutants, he uses religion as excuse, has access to advanced technology and he is very intelligent. Still, no longer my main suspect."

Sure, there is a list. Scott types on the keyboard, and the 'table' display a holographic list in all its Shi'ar tech glory. There are several names. Shadow King. Count Nefaria. Lucifer. Sinister. Even Magneto, although he has the 'presumed dead' label.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean wrinkles her nose at Sinister's appearance, "If I had to guess... he definitely struck me as the sort that would do this, if he thought he could get away with it." She does comment on Magneto's appearance on the list, shaking her head slightly, "Even if Magneto is alive somehow, this type of behavior wouldn't be his style. He'd make it more personal." Passing a glance over towards Lorna, she then hmmms, "Wish Mystique was still around to ask a few more questions about... she seemed to know a fair amount about Sinister already."

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio can't quash a look of eagerness when Bishop suggests knocking down doors: especially doors belonging to Stryker's people. The 19-year-old might currently have trouble getting /just/ the door and not the frame, the wall it's set into, the entire building, and the foundation it sits upon -- but the door will come down! And at least he won't have to just wait, sitting on his hands and feeling helpless.

His expression collapses into confusion when Scott's list pops up, though. "Magneto? Are you kidding me?" he mutters in disbelief. He keeps his voice fairly quiet, but he does glance over at Lorna and then Jean as she also objects.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna's eyebrows shot upward as Scott pulls up the list. "If it was Stryker he'd have hit the public mutants first and foremost. There's no reason for him to not do that." She eyed the list and as her father's name scrolled up with 'presumed dead' she clicked her teeth together.

"My father had teleportation at his disposal, sure, but he never went around kidnapping X-men and carting them off to wherever either." She kept her voice was even as she could, even if she didn't feel particularly calm. She fought the urge to pace, if only just. A glance was spared for Jean and Julio briefly, but she edged closer to the list and peered at the other names.

"I can contact Mystique and ask what she's been aware of up to this point.. but I dunno if she'll respond."

Scott Summers has posed:
Yes, Magneto is in the list. Because Magneto makes it to most lists. He not only had teleport capabilities, he has also plans, and plans, and more plans, some of which, in the past, have required specific people or items he has taken without much of a 'please' or 'thank you' before or after.

Scott has to admit it might it is a very unlikely horse in this race, though. Okay, lets delete the name of the list (ping - Dr. Doom appears in Magneto's place). The visible list. He will keep Mags in his mental list, though.

"I am willing to follow any lead, and listen to any idea you have," comments Scott. "I am waiting from more reports from the field teams, but we have some pieces of the picture already."

Bishop has posed:
Bishop nods to Julio, as if sensing the young man's enthusiasm, "If we get to 'door kicking' phase I am going to need back up, but first..." He looks to the other suspects, jots down names and forrows his brows. None of them does he know much about. "Does Laura know her sister is missing yet? Her tracking a ability might be one of our best trump cards. I can start checking last known locations to see what I turn up. You said the first team has investigated Mr. de Costa's disappearance, What about Dr. McCoy's or young Ms. Kinney's? If not I would say we start there. We are in the worst part of a missing person case. The hurry up and wait part where we have to eliminate as many variables as we can as quickly, but as thoroughly as we can."

Scott Summers has posed:
"Warpath and Wolfsbane are doing the enhanced senses tracking," offers Scott. "Laura stormed off after declaring her intentions to kill the persons responsible. Something we can't condone or support." Scott shrugs. "I hope Logan can make her see reason," assuming the older man cares at all.

"The field teams are currently investigating Moonstar and McCoy places," adds the man with the red glasses. "Actually... Piotr is late with the Moonstar report. Perhaps it means they have a good lead."

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio returns Bishop's nod, volunteering without needing to put it into words. As he turns back to the display, it's clear from his expression that the majority of the list is, for him as much as the time traveler, a series of codenames without context. Well, OK, 'Lucifer' has a definite referent, but surely not the right one.

He puzzles over the situation to the extent that he can, and eventually, Lorna's comment about contacting Mystique (whoever that is) and Bishop's about door-kicking dovetail: "Do any of these guys have people who work for them? A lot of times the muscle are easier to get in touch with than the boss."

It's the sort of thing Julio's dad might have said, albeit about marketing to his customers, and some part of Julio finds a half-second to resent going to that particular well of questionable wisdom. "You said the attackers came in groups, no? He has to have, ah" -- he searches for the word -- "accomplices."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna raised a brow at the news that Piotr was late, "Have you been in continued contact with Piotr? I want to make sure we're not going to lose a team to whoever snagged our people..." She muttered, and exhaled a breath. She was rocking her weight back on her heels and forward; a sure sign that she wanted to act.. but wasn't sure how. She was here after all, and hadn't been called in for investigations.. So what was she here for exact other than the quick update that people were missing?

Her green eyed gaze swung back to Scott. "So what do you have for us to do?"

Bishop has posed:
Bishop smiles to Julio, "You'd make a bloody fine X.S.E. officer young man." When he brings up finding the muscle and finding out what they know. He looks then to Scoot and says, "Where was Gabby's last known location. If no one objects I'll start there and if I am lucky catch up to Laura before she gets in over her head."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean nods, "If we haven't checked on Emma's place yet, I could see about getting in there and finding some possible hints in that direction." She hmms, "I don't know if anyone else other than myself or Alex could easily get in there." Alex, because, well, obviously. Jean, well, she /is/ a telepath.

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio doesn't have to know what the X.S.E. is to flash a grin at the unaccustomed compliment. He turns to Scott with an expectant look. "I can help check out the kidnapping spots that are left," he offers. Then, to explain the value he can offer, and also in response to Lorna's comment about losing teams, he elaborates: "I mean, if I'm with a group that gets into trouble, you WILL feel it." He widens his eyes, holding up a hand and waggling it in a mock-tremor. "No more waiting around." That last applies to himself as much as anyone else.

Scott Summers has posed:
"Lets check with Piotr's group first," offers Scott. "Here are the last known directions of the missing," he adds, putting them in the holo display. Notoriously Jennifer Stavros gets nothing recently. Apparently, the blonde girl vanished before the others, or at least she hid from Cerebro somehow.

Then Scott types some commands, opening a link to Piotr's communicator so they can all talk with him. "Colossus, do you read me?"

Bishop has posed:
As Scott patches the coms to transmit to the entire room, Bishop opens up his notebook and gets ready to start scribbling with his nub of a pencil before speaking into his com...

Scott Summers has posed:
"Polaris can do it," replies Scott calmly. "I need Jean on Cerebro to see if he can pinpoint the taken better than Betsy, she has more experience with the system. Bishop, Ritcher, you can check Gabrielle's last known position. It is not far." He gives them a tablet with the data. "Get Rogue too, if you can."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna sighed dramatically, her eyes narrowing faintly as she stared at Scott. She wanted out, she wanted to act.. she wanted to move and ... now she was being stuck on comms duty. She groaned, and looked about ready to argue when Piotr spoke over the comms. She blinked, her lips parting in surprise. "Well yeah, I was in Genosha. Hard to be in a club too." She muttered, and made a face.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean nods over at Scott, "Alright, I can do that." She hmms, "I'll make a point of going to Emma's place sometime later, too. Might be some clues over there." With that, she nods, passing Lorna a sympathetic look as she gets stuck on comms duty.

Emma Frost has posed:
<Xavier's School> Teacher, Piotr Rasputin says, "Loud and clear"
<Xavier's School> Bishop says, "Colossus, this is Bishop, I am getting ready to go and search Ms. Kinney's last known whereabouts. Do you have any leads or intel from your end. Over."
<Xavier's School> Teacher, Piotr Rasputin says, "Nothing definitive, yet"
<Xavier's School> Bishop says, "Understood. I will keep this channel clear and share any updates as I find them. Cyclops, do we have anyone that can monitor this channel and make warn us if it becomes compromised? Over."
<Xavier's School> Teacher, Piotr Rasputin says, "Someone left the club with Julian, green hair, not Lorna"
<Xavier's School> Bishop says, "Understood. Do we have a height? weight? Apparantly gender?"
<Xavier's School> Teacher, Scott Summers says, "I am sending Bishop to investigate Gabrielle's last known location. Green hair? That narrows it doiwn quite a bit..."

Bishop has posed:
Bishop looks to Lorna, as if he feels like he should say something encouraging, but ultimately can't think of what would be. He looks to Rogue and Julio then and says to both, "I could really use any help I can get."

Emma Frost has posed:
<Xavier's School> Teacher, Piotr Rasputin says, "Female, bouncer noted she was attractive"
<Xavier's School> Teacher, Piotr Rasputin says, "Said she was well endowed"
<Xavier's School> Bishop says, "Understood. I will call in when I get anything, or if I spot anyone matching that discription. Bishop out."
<Xavier's School> Resident, Illyana Rasputina says, "Piotr!"

Julio Richter has posed:
Grateful to have a mission to focus on, Julio nods sharply to Scott, then extends a hand toward Bishop. "Julio Richter," he introduces himself. "Friends back home used to call Ric, sometimes." He goes a bit pensive as he heads toward the exit, continuing, "I hope we find something. Gabby was one of the first people I met when I got here."