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Who shall judge the quick and the dead?; Tag Pietro, others
Topic Started: Dec 12 2013, 11:35 PM (473 Views)
Ted Kaplan-Altman
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Mutant Skrull Physiology
December 20th

"Hey Altman, they want you over in C Division."

Ted looked up from the report he was working on, startled. "C Division? You sure?" C Division was a classified authorization-only section of the Helicarrier where specialist SHIELD departments like the Defenders worked out of; the last time he'd been called down there had been a year or so ago, when Captain America had wanted him involved on a hush-hush project that had ultimately turned out to involve Mystique and the Crimson Dynamo and a flying battle over Moscow that officially had never happened.

"No, I was guessing," the messenger replied with a scowl before moving on to another agent. Ted didn't entirely understand why SHIELD sometimes used internal messengers for this sort of thing rather than sending texts, but he supposed it had something to do with keeping as few auditable records as possible. Regardless of the reason, he doubted this one would be on the job for very long; his attitude sucked. Then again, Ted could sympathize... he'd done a few shifts in that role himself earlier in his SHIELD career (and the fact that "earlier in his SHIELD career" was even a category said a lot about how far he'd come since leaving school, a fact that was sometimes disorienting), and it was definitely frustrating having to pass messages along to more senior agents who were undoubtedly doing more interesting things with them than you were ever likely to.

Anyway, he didn't have time to worry about the feelings and career prospects of a SHIELD trainee. He saved the report with a click and turned his tablet off, tucked it into his pack and headed at a fast walk (which broke into a run from time to time) towards the central elevator. He wondered who had called for him, wondered if it was Cap again. That would be kind of awesome.

"Junior Agent Altman," he told the woman at the desk, "they're expecting me?" She nodded curtly and buzzed him in, and he tolerated the subsequent identity-check with only minimal impatience. It was a high-security area, after all, and he understood the need for it in a world full of shapeshifters and illusionists. Heck, he was a shapeshifter himself! Though admittedly not a very good one, though he practiced regularly. And he'd been fooled by the Masterminds during their breakout earlier in the year, much to his ongoing chagrin, so he didn't begrudge any protocol that made that sort of thing more difficult, even if it was more... invasive... than he would prefer.

Eventually they let him in, though, and pointed him at a conference room, which he entered enthusiastically, then tried not to show how much his enthusiasm deflated when he saw who it was who'd requested his presence. "Um... Agent Altman, reporting for duty sir."

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Quicksilver
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Superspeed/ Superstrength
This was not a conversation he wished to have, and so, uncharacteristically, for the sake of his nephew and his sister, he had set it aside, since being notified of the situation. Pietro Maximoff was not known for his patience, nor his charity, except when it came to those he loved. This, however, was definitely something that would need to be addressed sooner or later.

The trouble was, he had no idea how to bring up something that was so very alien to him. If he said all that he thought about it, he would probably say something cruel and unfair, purely out of ignorance and his lack of understanding. Pietro, normally cared very little for such things, but Wanda, because she loved her son, had asked him to be nice. She had her own concerns, but they were not the same as Pietro's. Her's were the worries of a mother, which Pietro would never truly understand.

So, in an effort towards that understanding, Pietro, when assigned this mission to investigate a possible sighting of The Shroud on Kaffeklubben Island, a tiny island lying off the northern tip of Greenland, he naturally chose young Mr. Altman to join this team. The boy had experience with this danger already, so that was a definite bonus. Everything else was, as they said, icing on the cake.

Pietro was waiting for his chosen team to arrive, but he had requested Hulkling to join him here, first, so that he could spend some time sizing up this young man who thought it was so easy to join the House of M.

"Agent Altman," he said, "Sit. Tell me all you know about the Shroud and the darkness he wields."

The rest of it would come in time.
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Ted Kaplan-Altman
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Mutant Skrull Physiology
"Yes sir," Ted replied, sitting as he'd been instructed and taking a moment or two to organize his thoughts and remember what he knew about the Shroud. He'd had enough experience with speedsters to know that such a delay was likely to annoy Quicksilver, whose senses of time just didn't work the way everyone else's did, but then again by the same token he expected he was going to annoy the man anyway. Trying to keep up with a speedster was a mug's game; he'd already learned that with Tommy.

"The Shroud. Maximilian Coleridge. Also the Black King of Hellfire, at least until recently. His mutant ability allows him to open portals to the Darkforce Dimension, through which he can summon Darkforce, which he can psionically control." Ted's conversations with Billy about the various dimensions, and the difference between the Darkforce Dimension and the Dark Dimension, were coming in handy now, although he still got them confused sometimes. "The Darkforce itself is a kind of energy, but it's not like light or anything... it's more like a massless cloud of black smoke, and in other ways like solid matter, and can switch back and forth on command. So he can form limbs, barriers, platforms, bonds, tentacles, tools, that sort of thing, out of Darkforce. The stuff also absorbs light and other forms of energy. Which is why it's dark, I... guess," he added lamely, then recovered and tried to get back on track. "The Shroud can also travel from one point to another through those portals. His abilities are similar to those of Agent Darkstar, actually, though he seems less able to use the Darkforce as a weapon, and way better at teleportation through the Darkforce Dimension." At least, that was the opinion of the agents who had analyzed Coleridge during his previous SHIELD incarceration. Ted had carefully studied those reports last year along with everything else he could get his hands on about the Skrulls' victims, though he'd forgotten most of the details. "Coleridge also possesses a clairvoyant ability, which appears unrelated, and is in possession of two artifacts of considerable power," he added, mostly for the sake of completeness.

"A few months ago," he continued, "the Earth was surrounded by a Darkforce shell created by several devices on..." he paused, trying to remember the name of the island, but couldn't, "on an island the Illuminati took over. The devices were defended by an illusory army, most likely the product of the Black King's lieutenants, the Wyngardes. All of which points to him as the likely source of that shell. If so, his motives are... unclear. There were some accounts of him being in possession of a fragment of the Phoenix Force, though that may have been misdirection." Piotr probably knew more about that than Ted did; while the junior agent knew that Emma Frost and Namor had broken ranks with Doom and testified to SHIELD, much as Psylocke and Sage had, he wasn't privy to the details of their testimony. All he'd heard was rumors and indirect accounts. "If he was, there's no record of him doing anything with it, and presumably he lost it when the other Illuminati did."

He spread his hands against the conference table, stared at them for a moment before continuing. "He also has access to the resources of the Hellfire Club... or, well, he might. He might not. He hasn't been seen around the former Pleasure Palace; in fact his location is unknown, though SHIELD has been looking for him. There are unconfirmed rumors that he, along with some of his Court, or maybe former Court?... are operating from some sort of mobile base now, perhaps an airbase. It's all pretty speculative, sir."

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Quicksilver
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Superspeed/ Superstrength
Arms folded across his chest, black clad arms bisecting the white lightning bolt that had been emblazoned across his uniform, Quicksilver listened to the young agent recite like a schoolboy asked to speak in class.. He did not entirely like the garishness of the costume, but then he was a gypsy and had worn much more shocking a wardrobe as a child, as Wanda had reminded him when he complained.

Most of this was information anyone could glean from study, from files and reports written on this strange sometimes villain who had more than once been instrumental in the saving of the world, but then even Pietro's father, monster that he was, had worked against the forces of evil when the fate of the world was at hand. When Hulkling got to the portion of his recitation that involved the Shroud's experience with the phoenix force, Quicksilver held up his hand to stop him.

"We have, from reputable sources, learned that apparently the Shroud relinquished his shard of Phoenix force to tip the balance of power on the side of Jean Grey of the X-Men during her battle with Emperor von Doom at the United Nations building," Pietro said, "Shield is still attempting to find out if it was a voluntary move or not, but the Shroud and his brain damaged little bodyguard vanished before they could be questioned. If he turned against the Illuminati as King Namor and Emma Frost did, it could lead to some very valuable information."

Turning away from the young agent, Pietro looked at the white board on the wall, with all its notes and annotations scrawled across it in blue and red to underline all that was known so far. Pietro saw none of it.

"Well done, Agent," he said, his voice like ice. "Now, tell me all you know about the House of M," Now and only now did he turn to look Teddy squarely in the eyes, "You want to be part of my clan, then you will have to prove you are worthy of it."
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Ted Kaplan-Altman
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At the news that Coleridge had contributed to that final battle with Doom, but fighting against him rather than for him, Ted blinked rapidly in surprise, but tried his best not to display it in a distracting fashion. Pietro seemed unlikely to appreciate that sort of outburst. Still, he was surprised.

So, did that make Coleridge one of the good guys, after all?

Not for the first time, that question threatened to give Ted a migraine. He was having enough trouble making sense of the situation with Miss Frost, a former Hellfire White Queen who, in the time he'd known her, had gone from a trusted teacher at the Institute to an ally of Magneto's Brotherhood to one of Doom's Illuminati to SHIELD informant to, well, whatever she was now. And Namor... well, Namor was still a sore spot with Ted, after the self-styled "sea king" had put Sebastien in the hospital and sent sea monsters rampaging through New York, after he'd watched the pointy-eared terrorist break a man's neck, throw a young girl into the mouth of a killer whale, and threaten a boat full of innocent civilians with a watery death. And sure, maybe he was coming out of the whole thing smelling of roses, but as far as Ted was concerned he stank like three-day-old fish.

But, well, decisions like that were made way above his pay grade. As far as SHIELD's management was concerned, Emma and Namor had provided assistance in defeating Doom, and all was forgiven. So if Coleridge had done the same, did that mean he too would have his reputation scrubbed clean?

Frankly, it didn't seem
fair to Ted, or right, or just. These people had created such an unbelievable amount of destruction and chaos, and they were walking away from it free and clear. But this, too, was above his pay grade. And given Pietro's history with the Brotherhood, he supposed the speedster wouldn't particularly appreciate hearing his thoughts about that.

And then he made a sharp turn that left Ted gasping for air.

"Tell me all you know about the House of M. You want to be part of my clan, then you will have to prove you are worthy of it."

It was a funny thing. Ted had gone toe-to-toe with a Sentinel, with Omega Red, with the guardians of Spiral's Body Shoppe, with Namor. And he'd been terrified, absolutely terrified, every damned time. And here he was, facing the spare angular body of Billy's uncle Pietro, who wasn't going to lay a hand on him, and he'd never been so frightened in his life.

Maybe some things were more important than physical injury.

Prove himself worthy? How was he supposed to do that? If he was going to be honest, he wasn't sure he was worthy. Billy was... amazing.

So, all right. Forget about that part, then. Pietro had approved of his recitation of the Shroud's biography... he could approach this question the same way.

"It -- it starts with Magneto, of course," he started, trying to clear his thoughts. Not the simplest mutant in the world to summarize, especially in light of recent revelations. "One of the most powerful mutants we know of. His current status is... unclear." Now there was an understatement. "He has at least two clones that we know of. Or had, anyway. The youngest, who was rescued from Sanctuary by Spitfire and Mystique, is a child called Joseph currently in secure custody at the Institute -- Xavier's Institute. The other we thought was the original when he took over the Brotherhood, assassinated the President, created Sanctuary, rescued --" he hesitated for a moment, stumbling over the connection to his earlier summary, then recovered. "Rescued the Shroud from the Purifiers and declared war on, well, basically everybody. His current location is unknown; probably dead."

He took a deep, centering breath and continued, with the sense of walking into deep waters in heavy boots. "His children: Lorna Dane, now Lorna Summers, and the twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, aka Polaris, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Polaris initially led the Marauders, under the control of a mentalist cod Wenamed Malice, until freed by Professor Xavier. The Maximoffs were initially part of Magneto's Brotherhood and are now part of the Defenders Division of SHIELD. Polaris shares her father's magnetic abilities. Tthe Scarlet Witch is capable of altering reality and considered the most powerful known mutant by some. Quicksilver..." he paused, unsure how to continue, gulped down a frog in his throat that felt like Namor's Leviathan, and decided to let that sentence go unfinished.

"Their partners," he said instead. "Alex Summers, aka Havok, husband of Polaris. Formerly one of the Brotherhood, briefly a Horseman of Apocalypse, now the leader of X-Factor, though widely believed to be dead. Simon Williams, engaged to marry Wanda Maximoff. SHIELD agent, currently in possession of ionic metahuman abilities." He hesitated again, unsure whether to mention Avery. At first he thought not... they weren't official, after all. On second thought, though, he decided that was completely hypocritical of him. "Avery Doyle, aka Loosestrife. X-Man and longtime companion to Pietro Maximoff," he recited, his clipped professional tone tinged with some genuine fondness. Of that entire generation of Billy's family, she was actually the one he knew best, having been at the Institute with her for years. She was good people. And she wasn't a former mutant terrorist, which was a disturbingly rare trait for Billy's family. Ted knew all that, of course, but he'd never laid it all out like that in one go before.

He had to be honest, it was disquieting. Then again, Billy's people had never actually taken over the world, while Ted's had. So perhaps he wasn't really in a position to judge.

"His grandchildren. Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd. AKA Wiccan and Speed." He paused again. There was really no way to make this sound sensible, so he didn't even try. "Future children of Wanda Maximoff and Simon Williams, sent back in time from an alternate dimension, adopted by humans and raised apart. Students at Xavier's. Wiccan works there now; Speed joined SHIELD after being rescued from the-- from the Skrulls." He forced himself not to look away from Pietro's eyes.

There'd never been any question about whether Pietro knew about him, of course. He might well have known before Ted himself did. That didn't make it any easier to talk about, though. But he'd come this far, and there was no way he was going to back down now.

"Their partners," he continued, feeling like every word was being forced out through vacuum. "Ted Altman, AKA Hulkling. Engaged to marry Billy Kaplan. Also a Xavier's student, joined SHIELD after." Jesus this was hard. "After being revealed as a Skrull, one of the few survivors of the extradimensional race that invaded the Earth and. And occupied it."

There, he thought, suddenly less scared and more satisfied than he'd felt since entering this room. Confident that he was done, he was startled to realize that he was still talking: "As for being worthy, sir... a wise woman once told me that we never deserve love until after it finds us. I'm not sure I know what that means, frankly, but I think it's true just the same."


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Quicksilver
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Superspeed/ Superstrength
Pietro listened as the boy recited what was known of the House of M, all of its triumphs and all of its tragedies, his lips quirking as young Mr. Altman skipped listening his own resume. When the recitation was over, Pietro said, "You forgot the youngest member of our clan, Nathaniel, the son of Polaris and that buffoon of a Summers that she married."

He looked at the young agent and he said, "So. You can list us all, but what do you know of us. What do you see that is all too common in our family history? Evil? Perhaps. Manipulation? Yes. Stubbornness, rage, an abundance of pride, and sadly an all too prevalent tendency towards madness. Why do you think that is, Agent Altman? Why do you think that we are so tormented a family?"

Folding his arms over his chest, Pietro said, "Look at the other prominent family in our community, the Summerses, and you will see much of the same traits. They are not so large, but through Alexander they are linked with the House of M, and much the same way, they are the victims of such torments and tragedies. This is the life you seek to enter. This is the burden you are taking upon yourself."

Pietro began to pace the room, circling Teddy, moving that just too fast way that showed that his fairly normal appearance was a lie, " And, then there is the fact that reality warpers, like my nephew, have a tendency to swing towards madness. They are gifted with the ability to see all possibilities always, and there are times when that is a curse. The real world begins to feel like it is a dream and they slip further and further away. Will you still be there for Billy when he is lost to his powers? Will you be willing to protect him from the world? Will you know when you need to protect the world from him?"

Stopping so suddenly in front of Teddy that the air itself might vibrate, Quicksilver said, "I object to this marriage not because you are both men. I do not understand homosexuality, but that is because I have no experience. In the Roma, marriages are rarely for love. They are political, they are beneficial, and they are procreative. I have come to accept that the so called civilized world does not care for such old fashioned notions. If you love my nephew, it is of no concern to me except to warn you of what happens if you break his heart. No, I object to this wedding because I do not believe you truly understand what you are getting yourself into. You cannot understand what life for a member of the House of M is. You are not one of us... you are not even human."
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Ted Kaplan-Altman
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Mutant Skrull Physiology
Dammit, he'd forgotten about Polaris' son!

Ted stayed still, quiet, and attentive to Pietro's words. He moved fast, almost a blur, and following the high-speed stream of thoughts that came out of that blur took all of his attention and more. Trying to interject his own thoughts into that whirlwind, or even to form those thoughts in the first place, was too much of a distraction.

So he didn't try. Instead he listened, he observed, he assembled his observations into a structure just as though he were preparing a field report. Subject brought up Nathaniel. Insulted Alex. Commonalities: evil, manipulation, stubbornness, rage, pride, madness. Why? Compared to the Summers, torments and tragedies. Warpers go mad. Protect Billy? Protect the world from Billy? Not human. It gave him a measure of control over the situation, if only in his own mind. But Quicksilver was standing right in front of him now, and it was clear he expected more than just a recitation this time. Pietro had challenged him in no uncertain terms, and he was going to have to address that challenge one way or another if he ever expected to win the man over... which, while not strictly necessary, would certainly be a benefit for both his professional life and Billy's family life.

"I don't think your family is evil, sir," he began hesitantly. "Proud, yes. You have a lot to be proud of. And stubborn, absolutely. Angry? Some more than others. You and Tommy, sure," he continued, not sure if that was the cleverest thing he could have said, but there was a limit to how much pussyfooting around he could really do here and maybe it was time to stop trying, "but Billy takes after his mother more than Tommy does. The Scarlet Witch, I mean," he explained unnecessarily, "not Mrs. Kaplan. He doesn't get any angrier than anybody else, really. And as for madness..." he trailed off, not sure what he even wanted to say. Quicksilver was right on that point, of course. He'd seen some of the reports on Wanda, and he'd had dinner with her more than once. She was insightful, kind, inspired and inspiring; she was many many things, most of them good, but in all honesty "sane" was not really on the list. And he knew that was a natural consequence of her powers, and that Billy would likely go the same way sooner or later.

"If you want my opinion, what you all have in common is power, sir. The Summers' clan is the same way. That doesn't make you any more angry or crazy or evil than anyone else... it just means when you get that way a lot more people get hurt. I know a little of what that's like, myself... it's not a coincidence that my codename is what it is, though I hope to prove it's an error." Of course, Ted knew perfectly well that his power-level did not hold a candle to Billy's. "But even with that, you're still absolutely right," he admitted. "I can't understand what the world is like for someone like your nephew, or your sister. Heck, I have enough trouble understanding what the world is like for someone like me. The worlds, I should say, I guess, since you're right about that too: I'm not human. I was born here, but my mom, my heritage... that's all Skrull. And to be honest, I don't know what marriage is like for the Skrulls. Was like, I should say. I don't even know if they had marriages, exactly." He'd talked to his mother about it, a little bit, since they'd begun to reconcile over the last few months, but mostly they'd kept their conversations light and superficial so far, like someone recovering the use of his legs and unwilling to put too much strain on them too soon. "I don't suppose male and female matter very much to a race of shapeshifters," he mused, not for the first time. "Give me a few months to work on it and I can probably be female, if that helps anything."

He was digressing, though. Really, he realized, he had been from the beginning. Ultimately, all of this stuff about the House of M and evil and Skrulls and them both being guys and how marriage works among the Roma and on Skrullos... all of that was a distraction. Even power was a distraction. The important thing was the question Pietro had asked, and which Ted had thus far not begun to answer.

"You asked whether I was willing to protect him from the world, sir. The truth is, I don't know if I'll be able to, none of us know that. This isn't a safe life we've chosen, or that's chosen us. When Exodus captured him, I wasn't there; when Omega Red nearly killed him I was; he went up against Emperor Doom and I wasn't there. And there will be a next time, and a next, and a next, and I don't know where I'll be for any of them. But you didn't ask whether I was able, you asked whether I was willing, and you're damned right I am, sir. If one of us has to take the bullet it's me. Every single time. And not just because I'm bulletproof. Wherever I am, I'm there for him, powers or no powers. And as for protecting the world from his madness," he repeated, more calmly, "well, you're absolutely right. I don't know what I'm getting into. But you're wrong, too, when you say love is of no concern. I do love your nephew, but more important, he loves me." That felt weird to say out loud, kind of presumptuous, but Ted didn't doubt it for a moment, not after everything they'd been through together. He knew couples who'd been dating for a decade or more and still weren't really sure whether they loved each other, but not a single one of them had ever faced death together, or faced it apart. The ones who had... well, that sort of experience had a way of clarifying a guy's priorities. "And, well, I don't know of anything that's more able to anchor someone like Billy... or like his mom, for that matter... to the real world, to keep them from choosing to live in a different dream, than the people they love."

He stood up, tired of having Pietro looming over him, and was on some level unsurprised to realize that it made no difference... the senior agent looked down on him just the same, regardless of their heights. And, well, maybe he'd earned the right. Ted would probably never accomplish a fraction of what the man facing him already had.

"So, I guess what I'm saying is that I have a question for you, sir: do you know of anyone who is more able to make your nephew's real life one he would choose to live, when his powers are taking him out into Never-Never Land? Because if you don't, sir... well, for your nephew's sake, I'm begging you, please don't break the anchors he has until you've found stronger ones to replace them. But if you do, if you're sure of that, then say the word and I'll step aside." That was a frightening thing to say, for the simple reason that he knew it was true. He didn't want Billy to be with anyone else, but if it came down to what would keep the man sane and happy and anchored to reality, there was no question what was more important. He just hoped he would never be faced with that choice.
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Charcoal
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Carbon Form/Manipulation
Charcoal blinked awkwardly. He wasn't used to wearing goggles like the ones which adorned his head now. The Kevlar vest was a little more familiar, but it wasn't comfortable by any stretch of the imagination. The vest was quite heavy, enough to be a noticeable distraction, and it was hot too just to make things worse. He adjusted his grip on the pistol in his hands. He raised the Glock 17 and looked down the sinister black slide, tense with anticipation.

A dark shape moved into view and Chris paused just a fraction of a second. He hesitated just long enough to ensure the person in his line of fire wore blue armbands. Then a series of loud cracks erupted from the young agent's weapon and the red colored handle bucked and fought with recoil in his grip. Three bright red splashes sprayed across the target's back as the rounds from Coal's gun slammed into him. The enemy's cries of pain were short, but curiously once they faded he simply walked away.

Simunition was like the ultimate form of paintball. Real guns, real shells, real everything except the bullet. In simunition rounds the slug itself was a compressed mass of dyed chalk dust. They were very painful but non-lethal and hence perfect for the sort of training that the police or SHIELD conducted on a regular basis. Charcoal ejected his magazine and quickly checked how many shots remained. Three red lumps of chalk stuffed into shell casings remained. He slid the mag into his pocket and pulled another from his ammo belt to load up. Before he could slide it into the gun however a voice came across the PA system telling him that he was being pulled out of the exercise to report to C Division.

A few minutes later he had changed and was on his way through the maze-like corridors of the helicarrier. He had various aches from the simunition hits, but due to his unforming and reforming he was free of any marks or bruises. He was a little excited about this all, assignments from C-Div were serious and that was an indicator that he was getting noticed in the right ways. He met the same woman at the checkpoint as Teddy had recently before and she thoroughly checked his identity before waving him through.

The first thing Chris noticed was that security jumped down a big notch once he got through those doors. It made sense too, high security areas were often more about access than monitoring. Most security guards weren't cleared to see who did what in C Division, so it was much easier to just check every person headed in. It took Charcoal a little time to locate the room they were being briefed in before he strolled on in.
"So what have we g-..."
He trailed off as the tension in the air hit him. There was an awkward pause.
"Am I early or something? Because this seems like a bad time."
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Quicksilver
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Quicksilver... no... no, Pietro Django Maximoff was no one's idea of generous or charitable, but he had once been a boy without the ability to be as the other boys he knew was. As a child his mind had been so locked in powers his body could not understand that he had seemed slow, stupid, strange, and very very very undesirable a mate. Had he not been a mutant, and had stayed with the clan, he would have be married for wealth, as he was a prince of his people, his grandfather the gypsy king, after all. His wife would have been chosen from whichever household his grandfather wanted to elevate, and she would neither have loved him, nor cared for him, and much the same he to her.

But, he had been a mutant, and he had left the caravan to protect his sister first, to protect himself second, and in all of that, the horrors, the manipulations, the insanities, the fear... he had found someone who saw past everything that he knew to be undesirable about himself. Avery looked at him and did not see the oft broken, and frequently mistaken misery that others saw, or that he perceived them seeing. Avery looked at him and saw who he wanted to be, who he could've been if not for the pitfalls of his own lack of self esteem, hidden beneath a prickly coat of feigned arrogance. She was willing to save him, even from himself.

He looked at the young agent, who was now standing, but not in a way that constituted any threat, and as the boy answered his most important question, Pietro said, "That will do. I expect you to speak to my sister and her human, William's parents. You will tell them that my blessing has been secured and if they have no objections to this marriage, none will be given by me. We leave this topic there but for one more warning."

Meeting the boy's eyes with his own silver blue ones, he said, "To break the heart of my nephew is unforgivable, to break the heart of one of the House of M is dangerous, to break the heart of my sister's child could be deadly. Tread softly, speak wisely, and love wholeheartedly." He clapped the boy on the shoulder, "Now, no more bothering me with such things. We have work to do, yes?"

"So what have we g-..." At that moment, the next member of their party entered and looked at the two of them, perhaps feeling the tension in the room, "Am I early or something? Because this seems like a bad time."

Quicksilver raised one perfectly shaped white eyebrow and said, "It is always a bad time when evils are around, do you not agree? We should get to work, I think."
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Speed
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Changing from general uniform into his mission uniform took barely a blink of an eye for the speedster as black shield uniform was replaced with the green and silver high durability uniform intended for operating at high speeds. The last single addition to the uniform was the pair of orange goggles that snapped against the skin of Tommy's face as he let go of the elastic.

Uniform: Check.

Now it was time to get to the briefing; weaving in and out of the corridors, Tommy swiped his card through various doors giving each electronically locked door barely enough time to open before he was through and working his way to the next part of the carrier. The speedster knew little of the mission that they were going to be sent on, except that it involved a sighting of the former Illuminati member : Max Coleridge. The speedster had something of an odd view when it came to the Hellfire club; the group were in his opinion, evil by all rights. They never did anything good, aside from that one time when he had been trapped on an alien world and they did help. They helped to bring him home; which made working against them slightly more difficult. It didn't mean Tommy sympathised for their plight; he was an agent of SHIELD now and he respected the law (well all aside from speed laws) and so he would help bring him down if they were given the chance to.

Slowing down to a stop in a blink of an eye, Tommy's eyes wandered over those gathered. "Uncle. I'm working with you?" Tommy hadn't known he was going to be working with family; which suddenly made this mission all the better. "Chris," Tommy nodded to Coal before his eyes fell on Teddy. He wasn't sure what he thought of the implications of his twin's and his boyfriends announcement in the past few weeks. But he loved Billy, perhaps more than anything in the world; and thus he would be behaving for the most part. "Teddy." Even managing to put on a smile as he spoke to the shape shifter before looking back at the others. "So what do we have?"
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Ted Kaplan-Altman
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Mutant Skrull Physiology
Pietro didn't answer his question, at least not explicitly, but then Ted hadn't really expected him to and quite frankly would have been completely at a loss for how to respond had the speedster casually suggested a name. He didn't, though, and he did give his blessing, and that was really all the answer Ted needed.

It was weird, he thought, how much the older mutant's approval... or at least, the absence of criticism... actually mattered to him. He had barely talked to his own family about his plans, or really about his relationship with Billy at all; his mom knew they'd moved in together because he'd given her their phone number, but that was about it. They weren't not-talking anymore, but they weren't exactly talking. It was awkward, and truthfully he hated it; his mom had been an important part of his life up until that revelation, and he missed her. So maybe he was looking to Billy's family to fill that void?

If so, that was ridiculous; what he ought to do is reconcile with his own.

Easier said than done.

He, in turn, didn't bother responding to the older mutant's warning... anything he could say would either be unnecessary or unhelpful. Tread softly wasn't really in his job description, not with his size-twenty-three feet, and speak wisely didn't seem to be his forte either, but love wholeheartedly? Yeah, that he could do.

Now, no more bothering me with such things. We have work to do, yes?"

It was a recurring disappointment to Ted, though no longer actually a surprise, that knowing what to expect didn't make more of a difference than it actually did. For example, that knowing that Quicksilver made a habit of high-speed topic changes without signalling a turn did not, generally speaking, make it any easier to deal with them. Consequently he was privately delighted to realize that this time was an exception: he'd expected a sudden switch back to Mission Briefing mode, and here it was, and he took it in relative stride.

"Yes sir. We have a lead on the Shroud, then?"

Now that he wasn't being distracted by the family grilling, his attention returned to the intel Quicksilver had shared with him earlier, that Coleridge had fought against Doom in the final battle. That was a point in his favor as far as Ted was concerned, especially since Billy had been on the front lines of that battle. But ultimately it made little difference... Coleridge was near the top of SHIELD's most-wanted list, and if Ted had the chance he'd take the teleporting mutant down before he knew what hit him.

He looked up as Chris came in, with Tommy right on his heels. Speaking of family approval. Not that Tommy approved, really... but then, to be fair, Ted didn't entirely approve of Tommy either. And not entirely because he looked altogether too much like what Billy would look like if possessed by a jerk.

Not that any of that mattered. He nodded a greeting to the two new arrivals and turned back to Pietro, waiting for an answer to his nephew's question.
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