Owner	Pose
Jonathan Sims	"No, no," Jon Sims is saying to another SHIELD agent, "if the whole place is a crater I'm not certain there's much we can do. Make a sweep of the surrounding buildings to make sure we pick up anyone who's willing to evac and then..." He sighs. "And then I think we'll have to pull patrols back and focus on East Harlem. If I'm reading this report right, this never would've happened if not for the..." He bites off his irritation. 'Bloody vigilantes' is what he wants to say, but he's known so many of them over the years. He knows how they think, knows why they haven't bothered to check in here at Grand Central Station. They all think they know better than anyone else how to handle the problem. Some of them are even part of other organizations that deal with world-threatening dangers on a semi-regular basis.     But of everyone involved in the disaster in Inwood, only /one/ of them has ever bothered to check in with the people on the ground. The rest acted, without knowing what engaging the angels meant, without knowing what engaging an /archangel/ meant, and now there's a four-block crater in northern Manhattan. People's homes and businesses... gone. Civilians dead, maybe, and they'll never know. And not one of those vaunted heroes has bothered to come talk to the resistance and explain the situation.     It's enough to make a budding superhero seriously reconsider the entire business.     With reports done and orders given, he turns away from the agent and goes striding across the cavernous room that is the Main Concourse of Grand Central Station. He's easy to spot from afar, tall as he is, with those gold-rimmed glasses. He looks purposeful, but he could certainly be intercepted.
Clarice Ferguson	"Sims!" comes a voice. It's not hard to spot Clarice either - with her bright magenta skin, and vibrantly green eyes. Lydia's younger sister rather stands out in any crowd, and it was no different here. Rather than jogging across the Main Concourse to reach him, she disappears from where she'd been standing, and reappears near Jon, an anxious expression on her usually relaxed and jovial expression. "I know your busy, but can I steal your attention for a moment? Please. I'm looking for someone who's gone missing," she explains, reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone.     While she works at pulling up a photo of Rahne she adds unhappily, "I'm worried she may have gone and done something... rash. Her religion's important to her."
Jonathan Sims	Jon blinks at... well... Blink, slowing his stride to match hers as she intercepts him. "I can certainly try to help... there are a /lot/ of missing people, unfortunately. Does she live in New York? Or... are you saying..."     He sighs heavily. "How long has she been missing?" he asks quietly. "Because if she... if she came here earlier... a lot of the faithful that were gathering at St. Patrick's have been removed to safety. 'Raptured,' I suppose would be the term, but I have every reason to believe they're..." He hesitates. Safe? Alive?     "...Happy," he finally manages. Surely they must be /happy/. They all seemed happy when he was there, and much of that joy even seemed quite real. Plenty of religions have longed for this kind of thing to happen, after all.
Clarice Ferguson	A knot twists in Clarice's stomach at that thought, and it shows in a momentary wince on her features. "About two days ago. She hasn't been answering my texts, no one at Xavier's has seen her, I just- I need to know what's happened. Where she is." She thrusts her phone at Jon, showing a picture of Clarice, beside a shorter and slighter figure with ahort red hair, both of them smiling broadly at the camera, leaning in together with an arm around each other. They certainly look close.     "Her name's Rahne. She's Scottish - speaks with a thick accents. Who's- is there anyone particular I should talk to? Leave a name, and a report, in case someone sees something? Or- perhaps has already seen something?"
Jonathan Sims	Jon swallows. He doesn't need perfect recall to remember the report of a 'redheaded Scottish woman' at the encounter in Inwood the day before.     "Come with me," he says softly, and turns to walk back the way he'd originally come. "There was an... incident yesterday. Some of our agents were escorting some refugees across a sort of... no man's land, and some of the angels were trailing them. A group of... heroes intervened. There was a battle."
Clarice Ferguson	"...you know something," Clarice says as soon as Jon's expression changes. And it's no good news, if he's sweeping her away, out of the main concourse. She blinks back the few tears that spring immediately to her eyes, and steels herself for whatever she's about to hear as she follows the man. "Of course," she answers, falling silent as he begins to tell part of the story.     "Was Rahne among the heroes who intervened?" she asks.
Jonathan Sims	"No," Jon says, voice still soft. "She was with the refugees. The report is..." He sighs. "The report is that a red-headed Scottish woman tried to intervene. To stand between the angels and the innocents, to lead the angels away from the battle. They weren't touching her... but then they turned on her. Nobody seems to know why."     He glances over at Clarice. "When the field was cleared of the angels... she was gone. No blood, no body, nothing. Which makes me think that perhaps the angels didn't truly 'turn on her' at all, or at least that something kept them from attacking her."     They're almost over to the table where he'd been speaking to the other agent, a tall Latino who looks up in surprise. "Field Commander...?"     Jon gestures to Clarice. "Ferguson's looking for a friend of hers, Agent Torres." He looks at the mutant. "Show him the picture?"
Clarice Ferguson	Clarice nods, keeping her features as cool, and flat as she can. There was a time when she felt no emotions - where she did whatever was asked of her, without much thinking - and begins to fall back into that pattern, rather than fall prey to fear and grief that threatens.     "Her name's Rahne," she explains as she holds the phone out to Agent Torres. "Have you seen her before?" she asks.     Maybe it was someone else. Maybe he'll say no...
Jonathan Sims	Agent Torres looks at the phone and up at Clarice. "Yeah," he says, and though his tone is more gruff than Jon's, there's sympathy there. "Yeah, she... got in the middle of the battle up in Inwood. The angels didn't hit her or anything, but she... disappeared." He's a SHIELD agent, not someone used to delivering bad news, so it's blunt. "We've been looking for her, but there's been no sign." He looks at Jon, then.     Jon sighs. "We're pulling back our patrols after the next sweep," he says to Clarice, his tone gentler. He's more used to dealing with grief and loss. "We don't have the manpower to cover all of Manhattan, and our presence just seems to... encourage skirmishes."
Clarice Ferguson	"...I see," Clarice answers, letting her hand drop, her fingers tightening around the phone.     She knew it would be bad. If Rahne wasn't answering her phone-     "So. She could be dead... She could be 'raptured.' Are there other possibilities?" she asks, her voice remaining carefully flat and even.     "Do you think anyone would know at that church? Or would I be attacked for even approaching?"
Jonathan Sims	Jon sighs. "Thank you, Torres," he says, and then steers Clarice away. To give her privacy, maybe, and to give the poor agent, who clearly didn't like being the bearer of bad news, a chance to collect himself. Jon will talk to him later.     Once they're out of earshot, he says to Clarice, "I truly don't know. She could just... be in St. Patrick's, but I doubt that if she's a non-combatant. Would they attack you for approaching? Perhaps. Or perhaps they would sense that you come with love in your heart, worried for a friend."     A pause, as he regards her, thinking about that photo. "...More than a friend?" The sympathy in his voice is profound.
Clarice Ferguson	"Thank you," Clarice adds after Jon - tacking on a firm, "Really."     It was better to know. It hurt - but it was better to know.     She allows Jon to guide her away, listening to his words - though there doesn't seem to be anything concrete he can offer her. "I'll see what I can find at Inwood myself, then," she decided. "Maybe there'll be something there. And then I'll see if I can approach the church. If they become hostile to me - I should be able to get myself clear without any trouble." Jon's seen what she's capable of in a fight, after all.     "She's my girlfriend," she adds in a quiet voice. "For a few months now. Umm... since the Shi'ar attacked. That's about when... Well. Yeah. That's about when we became involved with one another."
Jonathan Sims	Jon frowns at her for a moment, thinking about what he'd do for Martin--and what he'd do for Cael, even though he's known her for less time. He sighs. "I... cannot condone you going to Inwood on your own, nor going to St. Patrick's. I can't... provide help, or escort. As Field Commander, I share your worry for those taken, and advise that you not enter a dangerous situation when she may be unreachable."     Then he reaches out to clasp her shoulder, brow furrowing in sympathy. "But... as Jonathan Sims... I understand. I wish you luck. And I'm so, so sorry that..." He hesitates. His hand shakes a little. "This shouldn't have happened. We should have protected her better. I'm sorry."
Clarice Ferguson	"It's not your fault," Clarice answers simply, and immediately. "It's not the fault of your men - and I hope you tell them that. She believes so firmly in the goodness of God and his angels that- I don't see how you could possibly have protected her. You can't save people from themselves."     She takes a deep breath in, and then lets it out slowly before she adds, "Just like you can't protect me. I need to find answers. I need to //know// if she's gone. I'll be as careful as I can, though. Thank you for your help, Sims."
Jonathan Sims	It's clear, in Jon's expression, that he's absolutely the type to think he /should/ have been able to save Rahne from herself--and he wasn't even /there/. That he'd run around fixing the problems of the whole world if someone didn't stop him. At the very least, he hurts because Clarice hurts, even if he barely knows her.     "Take Lydia," he says abruptly. "She... she has her magic back, you know? Maybe she could... help." Lydia's /busy/, though, trying to work on the Seal, which surely Clarice knows. But they're friends, right? Sisters?     He sighs, and drops his arm. "...Whatever you do, just... be safe, yeah? I know... I know how hard it is, to lose someone you love. Don't... don't forget that you have friends, and family, who need you."
Clarice Ferguson	"Take a vampire - to the center of the angels' power?" Clarice asks. "Risk Lydia - and take her away from her work?" She shakes her head at that idea. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."     She takes a deep breath in, and she exhales, meeting Jon's gaze. "I have a brother," she answers him. "He's seventeen, and I'm his guardian. And I've adopted his best friend as my brother, too. I fight these angels for them, and I come home afterwards for them. I have no intention of dying, Agent Sims. But they'll want answers almost as much as I do."
Jonathan Sims	Jon sighs. "I know, I know, I just..." He rubs at the back of his neck. "I hate sending anyone in alone," he mutters.     Then he smiles, sadly. "But... I'm not sending you in. You've probably been doing this longer than I have. You can take care of yourself. Just... please make sure I don't have to have this conversation with Lydia, and your brothers."     After a moment he adds, "And good luck. I mean it. May Gaea's blessing go with you." Which... might actually mean something, coming from Her Champion.
Clarice Ferguson	"I'll talk to them before I go," Clarice promises. "They don't like it when I hide things from them. And they need to know what I've learned."     She holds her hand out towards Jon as she adds, "Thank you Agent Sims, for your help. Once I have as clear an answer as I can... I'll return again to help you here. Until we win this fight."
Jonathan Sims	Jon nods and reaches out to take her hand, and shake it. For a moment, he considers casting a spell to protect her from harm--but will that just make her more of a target? If there's a chance she can walk in as a relatively neutral party, looking for her girlfriend... shouldn't he let her have that?     He sighs. He has to /trust/ people. And if she thought she needed the help, she likely would've asked. So he just says, "We'll look forward to having you back. You've been immensely helpful, Ms. Ferguson."
Clarice Ferguson	"I'm glad to hear it," Clarice answers - without even a hint of a smile on her usually cheerful features. After another nod she adds simply, "Goodluck with the fight."     Then she blinks away - disappearing from Grand Central Station, and in theory returning to her home on the Asteroid, on the other side of the planet.