2581/Back into Play

Back into Play
Date of Scene:	23 July 2020
Location:	Warehouses: Salem Center
Synopsis:	Victor and Clarice discuss Magneto's location.
Cast of Characters:	Victor Creed, Clarice Ferguson

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Victor Creed has posed:
After a brief detour for food -- in the form of a bunch of hamburgers and similar items -- Victor led the way to a group of warehouses in Salem Center. He didn't do any big show of needing to break in; he's calmed down a reasonable amount after the battle with Logan, and accepted teleportation as a way inside a specific one.

Victor had a cache hidden there, and after dumping the food on a metal side table, he climbed into the rafters to get it down. It's a change of clothing and some other things, though he's mostly focused on the clothing, pulling off the poor shirt hanging off him in bloody tatters.

"I want t' know," Victor continues finally, "What y'know about where Magneto is."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Clarice was the type to indulge, even having accompanied Victor on that eating by having one (1) hamburger. A cheeseburger in this case. She ate slow, silent, pondering on what happened just a while ago. And yes, her face wasn't the happiest, but she knew better than to try and breach the subject now. The rage had to subside, and she was patient.

She was by that metal table, unnatural eyes watching, a bite taken off the burger. She wouldn't be the one to break the silence..

And then the question comes. Did she expect it? At least partially. She offers Victor a nod. "A few things.." she begins. " ... I was part of the group that went up to Brainiac's ship to take them out." a beat. "Genosha, Mutant Town. They were retrieved by us, the X-men and the Titans.."

Victor Creed has posed:
"They were /stolen/?" Victor questions, critically, as if he was suspicious of her trying to tease him. There's a roughness to Victor that's prominant on most everything he says, but it's just growly, not directly aggressive. The slight difference between his growly 'natural' state and aggression is just very tiny. He changed his shirt out, into a black, snug tank, and prowls over to the food at the table, joining her to eat.

"But they're not back. What's holding that up?" Victor wants to know, settling enough to eat. His claws have retracted, but there's no retraction capable for his teeth.

"Tech geniuses failin' at their job?" The idea amuses and pleases Victor.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
A pause is taken from Clarice chewing on her burger. "Stolen..?" then a brow arches up. "I wouldn't go as far as that. I know they are working on getting the cities back to their normal state but ..." and then she frowns. "I do not know what is delaying it. I don't know if Lorna knows what's going on with the cities either." then a moment to consider. "The titans were there, along with a group of X-men.., Illyana, Jean, also Piotr." a pause. "Domino and Mystique were there too. Illyana teleported some of the cities, but I have not been able to speak to her yet after what happened, nor do I have much of a contact with the Titans. I do not know what is going on there..., yet."

But then she seems to realize something. A squint of her eyes. "Ah, wait.. You weren't up to what was going on." a nod. Understandable. "Brainiac stole Genosha, yes. He wanted to harvest our ..., gene.., in order to create soldiers, or evolve." she gestures vaguely with one hand. "And yea, he has spaceships. One less now."

Victor Creed has posed:
While Victor isn't in a froth of rage and battle, he can be very intelligent - in a sort of moody, distrustful way. Skeptical. He listens now, a clear catlike glint across his amber eyes as he listens and takes in the information: like hearing about weaknesses of potential prey. He eats the last of a burger, and rolls his shortened, mostly-retracted claws against each other with a soft scrape sound. It's thoughtful: for Creed, anyway.

"It should be Magneto's own people helpin' him, not the X-Men," Victor states distainfully. "That's what /I/ think." He opens the bag of food up more, pulling a tray of fries out, and lifts them to put them in front of Clarice idly. One of the small gestures that proves Creed's capable of thinking beyond just himself.

"More motivated t'do somethin' about it. I bet some of the X-Men might think it better Magneto be kept out of things.... Think y' can find out where they're keepin' him?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
In that, at least, Blink appears to agree. At least partially. "I agree, in a way. But also..." and a pause, she jerking her mouth to the side in thought. ".. do we really have the people that can do it? That can reverse engineer what was done?" her hands open to the side in a somewhat helpless manner. "I mean, for all the great things I can do, or you can, we know shit about science."

And fine, she will indulge in ANOTHER burger. What? She is hungry! So she reaches for another, slowly, she knows Creed can be testy with his food. And fries.., why not?! There goes the diet..

"Most likely, yes. I have some theories on where they are, but no certainties." A sigh. "I don't really think they'd try to do anything against Magneto. They are .., good people." or at least most of those she has met!

"What would you do if you were able to get your hands in Genosha, and Magneto?" A fair enough question, and she is curious.

Victor Creed has posed:
"I've got somebody in mind," Victor says elusively, sly. From Victor, that could mean several things -- but none of them are particularly great. Said somebody might not know that they are on Sabretooth's short list yet. But that doesn't make it unsure: Victor DOES have someone.

"I'm not gonna do shit for science, no, but I'm really /good/ at motivating." Yes, Motivating.

"Good people, heh." Funny. Victor's amused. He doesn't really argue. "Good people tied up in knots in morals."

Victor watches her with the food but doesn't remark or react to her taking another burger. He just offered her (gave her?) more fries anyway. Were someone else there taking their food, he'd snarl, though. But he is quite literally, in his view, feeding Clarice currently.

"I got assets and shit in Genosha. I want it back. An' Magneto's reward will be very, very worthwhile. Guy always pays 'is debts." Creed's straightforward a lot of the time, and this is straightforward.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Oh yes, Clarice knows well how motivational Victor is. A real pep talker, if one considers claws as a pep talk, learning to dodge so as to not be cut into mince meat and other such imaginative ways of training that she suffered in the past. Yet in truth it had worked for her, having turned Clarice into quite the deadly woman, no matter how unassuming she sometimes could appear to be.

"So what you are saying is that you have a target, a scientist, that you will coerce into bringing Magneto back." She is also good at translating Sabretoothese. A roll of her eyes. "The danger of it..." but then a pause. "I will talk with Lorna, see what she knows, and if she can keep an eye out for what is going on in that front as well. She has to pull for it."

And then she is digging into her food, slow, been a while since they had talked face to face, life taking them in different directions. "And yes, he always rewards loyalty. Have you given thought on what he will do once he is out? After he learns on what happened?"

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor's claws come out an inch, but only to tap in a trio of sounds against the table as he rolls his fingers on the surface of it, relaxing forearm out on the table. It's a catlike lounge position, while still eating with his other hand.

"Polaris, huh. She does not like or trust me; you might not want to mention me," smirks Creed broadly, with a lot of teeth. He's not hurt, it's funny in a way. "Magneto /required/ I stay away from her." That's funny too. "He's not 'round now, though." So Victor can go ahead and do whatever. It's not a threat specifically, but more amusement that he is currently not under any particular 'requirements'.

"All that thinkin' about 'What will Magneto do' is what keeps him captured. I bet it's what's making these X-Men not motivated. I think it's his right to do whatever he wants when he's back. Gonna be good for Genosha, whatever it is. And that's /us/, Clarice."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
"Don't worry." Clarice exhales slowly. She still had to explain that to Polaris, her connection to Victor. "I am sure she will be full of questions when next we meet..." a small shake of her head given, she really didnt know too well how to explain herself, besides the truth. That normally did work. Not that it made it easy...

Yet when Victor mentions, or implies, that Lorna doesn't have Magneto's protection anymore it makes her own protective rib come up to the fore. "You know I am her bodyguard, right? I'd never let any harm fall on her." not a cub anymore indeed. She does keep her tone mostly levelled, not a threat either, but one that implies she'd be in the way if anything was ever attempted against Polaris. Duty, one that she follows quite seriously.

"People are scared, with good reason. We were attacked directly. And we know how he reacts to direct attacks." Impulsively? Excessive force? "And while I know he has our best interests at heart it doesn't mean I always have to agree with the methods." a sigh. "Perhaps too much time with the Xs, but that's how it is. We can't be at war forever, Victor."

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor snickers, teeth showing, but not bared. "I meant I'll talk to Polaris, if she can handle it," Victor says with a low mocking in his voice. He observed the behavior not long before that made it clear she was not going to be immediately friendly to him. She sided with LOGAN. Barf.

Victor watches her hoodedly as she reminds him that she's Lorna's bodyguard, and spirit clearly rises in her. Victor's expression is sharp-edged and grinning, but there's apparent approval there. He extends his other hand out to attempt to ruffle her hair. It's a bit heavy-handed, but that's Victor; it isn't meant to claw her at all.

"Maybe he'll go on a crusade to stop evil alien ships. I think thats his right, to be pissed the hell off about that. Get revenge on alien asshole. Works for me. Seems like /Justice/. I thought Xs liked Justice."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Fine, Clarice may have grown out of a cub, but that doesn't mean there aren't still some things she gets caught in. One of them being that hair ruffle, which leaves that purple long hair in disarray, even making her head shake from side to side at the heavy handedness. She offers a bit of a mutter but doesn't fight it. "Do you know how many hours I spent on my hair..?" probably zero. Not the type to pretty up. But the tease is still there. Still, she eventually smiles faintly.

"It is his right." That much she doesn't dispute. "There's also the point that what attacked Genosha were sentinels. Sentinels that should had been out of commission already if we were to believe the human governments... So, we will have to see."

"And Justice.., yes. We just got to make sure that we don't make it blind, don't we? That we don't react in a manner that it will make them fear us even more."

Her arms wrap about her waist, eyes trailing down to the food that's left. "Sorry, had some talks with Xavier a small while back. But some things of what he said made sense. As for Polaris..." a pause there.. "... you will find she is stronger than you may think. I am sure she will talk with you."

Victor Creed has posed:
"You know I don't care about bein' feared or not. I'm the Brotherhood's boogeyman," Victor states, tone cold, icy. He loves it and hates it equally in measure. It's a torn relationship, messy and ripped, like a lot of things with Victor. He embraces his beast, that boogeyman side, but is aware he lost a fight to it in a way: that there isn't a future for him as anything other than that. He can both love his strength and power, and hate it and hate everything all at the same time. The only piece of Victor, perhaps, that is actually complex.

"I'll do the shit nobody else has the guts for," Victor lifts a shoulder a little, in a shrug. He picks through the fries, grin present. "Magneto's Genosha's leader. He gets to pick for Genosha. Not some team of X-twits dragging their feet. Not UP to them. Entitled assholes."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
"It's what you have been doing all your life." Clarice replies. She knows it. And she states it with that resignation that is very much aware that Victor is needed. There can't be light without darkness and all that. One hand picks up on another fry, absently popping it into her mouth. She eventually shakes her head though. "It doesn't mean that's all you have to be, and you know it as well as I do." an old talk between them? Most likely.

"And no, it won't be up to the Xs what happens. Not where Genosha is related. Doesn't mean they won't help." a pause. "Some have recently discovered that a ..., firmer hand may be needed."

"They have been talking of a new group, one that instead of reacting goes to neutralize threats before they grow too powerful."

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor just gives a low growling sound when she reminds him he can be more than a ripper of flesh. Yeah, in what world...? The conversation moves, and that's for the best, from Victor's view.

"Seems to me like they /hindering/, though, not bringin' Magneto and all those poor innocent people back." Victor's a little sarcastic about the people, but it still stands as a statement. SOME of those people Victor did like!

"Yeh, heard about that team. I talk to Domino," Victor says, in an innocent tone that conveys absolutely ZERO innocence on it, while eating a fry and licking the edge of the long talon on his thumb. "If she's trainin' them.... that'll be fun to see. X-Men and lethal force... fun to see them come on over into Brotherhood view. Niceeeee. Maybe less war coming than y'think."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
A growl. It's better than what the reaction could had been. So yay for the little victories. Clarice keeps her eyes fully on Victor though. Because yea, she fully believes he can be more. Yet with the conversation moving on she doesn't press the issue.

"X-Force." She says of the mix about the X-men and lethal force. And it fits! "I have joined it as well." better get it all out now before it turns into a surprise. "But we both know I won't be needing much where it comes to lethality training, do we?" first with the magistrates, then with Victor. It was a wonder in how Clarice could still be entirely sane.

"Yet the war I was talking about was with the humans, not exactly with the X-men." she dislodges herself from the table. "One day you will have to tell me what's with you and Logan.."

Victor Creed has posed:
Creed snorts a little, turning colder at the mention of Logan. But that always happens. It's someone he outright hates, and it always messes with his mood. He just doesn't have self control of his emotions when it comes to some things: and Logan's one of those buttons that pisses Victor off.

"I told Domino X-Force would have to play really bloody well if they wanted me," Victor laughs, darkly. He's motivated by money, often. Simple. And the whole thing is funny to him. X-Men working WITH him? How silly! "I'd do it just to see them freak out."

Because Victor's never met nicely. Too much baggage.

Victor starts to stand up. "I gotta go. But here." From the care package he got down from the roof, he tosses her a burner phone. "I'll call. See what you can find out 'bout where Magneto is, a'ight? Tell Polaris about this if you want: I don't care if you do. But I got a way, an' I don't stall around wonderin' about if Magneto's gonna be upset or not. He's the leader, not a child."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Clarice catches the phone with that agility of hers, pocketing it away inside her jeans and offering a nod. It was a ritual they had done in the past. "I will see what I can do." is her response. Which right now was all she was willing to offer. But better than nothing. Though in a way she had quite the same interests as Victor did where it came to recovering Magneto.

"Try to keep yourself away from trouble, yea?" Yea, right! But then she tosses him a smile. An honest one, and maybe not many people that say what she says next. "It was good to see you again."

She is also quite wise, not talking about the 'part' of him that she actually ripped off with her portals. No need to bring that up again.

Instead she makes her way over to one side of the room, a gesture made and a portal opening mid-air. Stepping through it then winks close behind her leaving the warehouse otherwise empty of her presence.