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| Downhill Fast; Inferno | |
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| Topic Started: Mar 3 2010, 11:12 PM (208 Views) | |
| Spitfire | Mar 3 2010, 11:12 PM Post #1 |
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Date: 23rd February Time: 3.34 pm Jackie hated leaving the Presidential palace these days. She would always get a crawling feeling within her, that she was abandoning her duties and slacking, even if it was necessary for her to leave, even if she went to see Ash, she would still feel…guilt. It was not guilt that kept her by Magnus’s side, not by any length, but she hated to stay away for too long, preferring to be on hand when he needed her, steadfast and loyal despite her young age. The weight of responsibility that she felt from her dedication was sometimes overwhelming, but she pushed on regardless, her loyalty to the President unflinching, despite…Stopping for a brief moment on a corner near the building that was now pretty much her home, Spitfire turned and stared up at the windows, a shiver running down her spine as the panes of glass watched her below. Crossing her arms over her chest and hugging herself, Jackie started to walk, rather than run, down the pavement, keeping her head down, heading away from the sprawl of buildings that were the hub of the capital. Her speed could have seen her task completed in minutes, but despite the feelings of guilt nagging at her, Jackie felt that she should travel at normal speeds, so that she might see the city properly, inspecting everything as it moved around her slowly. The grey sky above failed to improve her mood, but the fresh air was a welcome reprieve from being inside constantly. It was hard on the speedster, being cooped up constantly, but not as hard as seeing her President these days. He rarely ate or slept, constantly pouring over books and charts, always shut away, not letting anyone but her in and even when he did, he always kept away from her. It hurt her. All she wanted to do was help and while she felt as if he was not pushing her away out of malice, she still wanted him to allow her to help. Her steps slowed as she bit on her lip, afraid of what she might find when she returned to Magnus, as if her absence would herald the start of something even more concerning in the President’s behaviour. It was so hard, but she had to trust him and the choices he made, what he had her pass on. She had to trust him and keep on doing what she was doing and working hard, not giving up. She took a shaky breath, just wishing for that moment that it just wasn’t so much pressure and so…scary, in a way. Stopping, she looked around before crossing over the street, heading back to her old apartment to collect some things she still had there. |
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| Havok | Mar 4 2010, 07:25 AM Post #2 |
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There was a time, right after the war, that Inferno didn't need an appointment to see Magnus. He'd been so young when this all went down, barely out of high school. God, it was so hard, his life changing in an instant. He'd been developing this pro-mutant stance for some time, his brother down right being a bigot, and he waved his genetic flag high, proud of who he was, what he was, proud to stand for his people. It was the Summers in him though that gave him that extra strength, he thought, like his dad, his real dad, his real mom, gave him the ability to take what life threw at him and make the right choices. He wondered how Scott had become Ruby, why he'd become everything that they would have hated. Maybe he needed some sort of help, but not now, because it was too late for him. Scott was gone, and there was only Ruby. That meant Inferno had to be twice as good, work twice as hard, and he did. He did everything he was supposed to, had been decorated during the war, saved countless mutants then and now in his role as ambassador. He was fucking golden. So, why was he being denied access to Magnus? Why was his department suffering serious cutbacks and red tape roadblocks? Why were his actions being stymied by bureaucratic bullshit? Something was wrong here, something was going on that happened to affect his position, his people and god damn it, he was going to have answers. And, if he couldn't get them from Magnus, he'd get him from the speedster that was his little handmaiden. "Calm down, Summers," he muttered, "You got about five seconds before the kid bolts. Don't waste it throwing a temper tantrum." Catching up with the girl while she waited at a light, Alex said, "Hey, Miss, I don't know if we've properly met. I'm Ambassador Summers, Inferno for the New Name crowd. I'm sure there's been clerical errors somewhere down the line, but is there a reason I'm being denied access to the President? Magnus never refused my meetings before, so I'm trying to figure what's changed. There are a lot of mutants left in the Non-X countries. If I am going to be able to do my job, I need access to them." |
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| Spitfire | Mar 4 2010, 10:18 PM Post #3 |
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About to step into the road, Jackie backpedalled as the blond man approached her, introducing himself before even she could get a word in. She knew who he was, she made it her business to keep up with faces and positions as she made sure that Magnus’s word was carried out. Flicking her hair out of her eyes, she exhaled as the surprise of him appearing beside her subsided. “Ambassador, well for one thing I don’t normally conduct meetings in the street,” she looked around edgily, but the street was largely deserted and it reassured her. “If you need the President to address things then I suggest you make an appointment to see me and I will make sure your concerns are addressed,” the speedster nodded and held out her hand. “Jacqueline Falsworth. Spitfire. The President is…tired, right now. I speak on his behalf.” Holding her head high, she looked up at him, keeping her demeanour as cool as she could, despite the worry setting in; the worry that she might not be doing the right thing when it came to the President and the worry that she might forget herself for a second and let slip something dangerous. “I’m sorry that your department is suffering, but things aren’t easy for any of us right now,” Jackie said quietly, then bit down on her lip fast when she realised she was probably breeching some sort of protocol. Wrapping an arm around herself, she gripped her elbow protectively and started to take a few small steps away from him. “Look, I don’t mean to be rude or anything Mister Summers, but I really have things to attend to as I’ll be needed back at the Presidential Palace soon…I only popped out for a few minutes,” she explained, nerves starting to show in her voice. She could blaze around him in seconds and away from his awkward line of questions. Jackie didn’t like it, she agreed with him, but she could not seen to be disagreeing with her President, not with the position she held. |
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| Havok | Mar 4 2010, 10:55 PM Post #4 |
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This wasn't good. Alex was an excellent judge of character, absolutely perfect. This girl was scared. She was too young to be in charge of so much and she was way in over her head. Plus... the bite of the lip suggested that she was worried a little more than a casual employee might be. She felt for Magnus, and even if it wasn't anything more intimate than hero worship, there was enough there that she really and truly cared what happened to him. And, she didn't like what was going on. As she took a step back, trying to place distance between them, trying to maintain some sort of professional decorum, her body language told him everything he needed to know. "Spitfire," he said, quietly, using her New Name because it seemed that she was of the younger generation who saw it as a 'casting off the slave name' or whatever the reasoning was. He had called himself Inferno in the war because it was like a call sign, but nowadays, he usually went by the name his human parents gave him because, well, being a mutant didn't mean you had to give up being human. "Something's happening, I can see it in your face. I'm not going to ask, not here, not now, but you know it as well as I do. This is not how Magnus does things? Tired? Really? He single handedly united our people and brought us to a place where we can have a life. The man doesn't get tired. I've worked with him, closely, when I wasn't much older than you are now. I was in the war with him so, you can try to hide whatever, but I know better." He flipped her his business card and said, "I want an appointment with you then, Miss Falsworth. My office, so far, is secure. I'll call the palace and set up a time and place and we'll go over my expenses and my permissions. If you have anything you want to bring up at that time, I can guarantee you I only want what is best for Jus Soli, and the mutant people." |
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| Spitfire | Mar 5 2010, 04:17 PM Post #5 |
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A chill ran through her as she suddenly wondered if she might’ve just gone and said too much, giving away what she thought about what was happening. She’d never even really met this man, so how did she know he could be trusted? Was she trusting him by betraying her feelings on her face, in her posture? The thought that she might be giving her game away to a veritable stranger was disconcerting and Jackie looked around, double checking that the street they were in was clear of anyone possibly watching them…But…no one saw Mangus these days but her, so the danger would not likely come from him but…Suddenly she felt afraid and vulnerable, wanting to hurry off and go to her apartment, then speed back to the palace and stay there. “…Jackie,” she said, very quietly, her New Name suddenly losing some of the appeal it held for her to be someone else. “People call me Jackie. Something is happening but I don’t know what. I’m trying…” she reached out tentatively and took his hard, slipping it into an inner pocket of her dark red jacket. “I just want what’s best for the President but I don’t want to defy him…” Her stomach turned as she admitted this, glad to have the weight off of her young shoulders, but at the same time there were doubts within her, doubts that she was doing the right thing. What if this man wanted to stage a coup, or someone using him did, could she be sure he too had the best interests of the nation at heart? The sudden conflict tore at her and she strived to make her mind up about this…Either way, going to his office might be the best option, as regardless of what his intentions were, she would ultimately only find out of she allowed herself to fall into the fire. Nodding, slowly, she looked over her shoulder once more. “Alright. I rarely leave the palace these days, I can’t you see. I’m only going to get some things from my apartment then having it shut up…” Jackie explained her situation to him so that he might understand how it would look if she went to see him. “The President needs me on hand at all times these days, so…I can, but not for long, Ambassador Summers.” About to dart off, Spitfire paused and looked up at him, her brows knitted together. “I only want what’s best for our people too.” |
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| Havok | Mar 5 2010, 08:10 PM Post #6 |
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"Jackie," he smiled, "Call me Alex," It was a genuine smile, a warm one and when she took the card from his hand, she might feel the equally warm aura of his powers especially when very briefly he extended his gloved fingers to touch hers, just for that one moment to make that contact person to person. It helped, sometimes, helped to know that the person you were speaking with... was real. They were so damaged, this whole country, all of them, the whole race. There was a chance here, a chance for hope and freedom and peace. He couldn't allow whatever what was happening destroy that fragile trust that his people were developing. She explained that she couldn't leave and she couldn't leave for long. She explained in more than words that she was afraid to defy the President. She explained how much she believed in Jus Soli with every flicker of an eye, every hesitation in her voice. God, what was happening here, what cracks had appeared in their infrastructure, and how long before they turned this country back into rubble. Her last words to him held a secret, and a bit of a plea, and Alex nodded. He leaned very close, for all the world looking like he was giving her cheek a friendly kiss good bye. In her ear, he whispered, "My brother is a criminal in New York. Only I know the location of his headquarters and though it is in violation of every law between our countries, I keep that secret out of loyalty and love. I owe as much to Magnus as I do to Ruby, I love the man as if he was my own father. For his good welfare and for the hope of our nation, I can keep any secret you tell me. I have no interest in overthrowing a government I believe in with all my heart, I just want to make sure that that same government has not become something else." He pulled back from her and gave a half bow, half salute, clicking back into official mode and he said, "Jackie, I look forward to our next talk. You have my number, feel free to call me anytime." And then, on his spit polished black boots, in his perfectly pressed black and silver uniform, the former soldier and far too over burdened Ambassador strode away with casual purpose and none of his sudden dread showed on his open and pleasant face. But it rested like a rock in his stomach. Something was going wrong, something was going very very very wrong. |
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1:01 AM Jul 11