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Log: Unfinished crosstime thingy, sandboxed.
Be afraid. Credits at the end of the cut to preserve surprise.
01/24/2004
02:22 AM
Logfile from Sandbox.
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Hammertowne. The original port built by the Europeans who settled Genosha without asking the natives, back in the 1600s. It hasn't had the best time of it over the years, getting regularly demolished by successive governments who were far more interested in the future than the past -- but for all that, it was built from more solid stuff than the newer constructions. Thus? Quiet, it's quiet. No matter what else is going on in Hammer Bay, or indeed, over the rest of the island nation, Hammertowne -- little more than a series of what are practically caves with steps in and secrets stored -- is dark and quiet.
It's up Hammertowne's steps that a young woman with glasses and brown hair, dressed in clothes twenty years out of date, climbs into the light of a warm summer day. Out of the quiet dark and into the busiest section of the capital city of Genosha, blinking and shading her eyes with one hand. The slender fingers of the other hand are somewhat reluctant to leave the iron railing beside the stone stairs, but it looks more like the absent distraction the rest of her body speaks. No desperation, no fear or worry - just puzzlement. "I'm not," she says to herself, "in New York City."
No, actually. New York City didn't have a pair of flying mutants putting up a billboard, or.. well, lots of mutants. Lots of -obvious- mutants, walking around doing people-things, without a care in the world. No one's yelling at them. No one's throwing things. People are just... being people. Living their lives.
And check out that mutant with four arms. He's playing two guitars at once!
...Most importantly, is the central square of the city. Because in it, on a single statue, stand two men, backs to one another. Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr. Below them is a plaque.
CHARLES FRANCIS XAVIER AND ERIK LENSHERR
Peace is the answer.
Peace must be struggled for, defended, and preserved.
In their wisdom, lies our Salvation.
"..." is Kitty's first response to what's revealed in, you know, the light of day. She just stands there for a minute, eyeing it all. "Holy crap," she finally says, letting both hands drop to her sides. "Right. This is where I try and look inconspicuous until I can figure out what the heck's going on. Which isn't gonna work if I keep talking to myself." With this, she falls silent and starts off - off on a mission to find a newspaper. Or something. Anything. She just doesn't want to have to stop for directions. Once she's gone about twenty paces, it clicks. She stops and does a doubletake over her shoulder at the square - dear GOD she knows that square. She knows this city, this island. But not like this, she doesn't. Right - a newspaper ain't gonna cut it. "Hey," she finally says, attempting to catch at the sleeve of a passer-by. "This might sound like a stupid question, but assume I just got hit really hard on the head, okay? Who's in charge here...?" ...if Mags is up on a pedastal with the Prof.
The passer-by looks down at Kitty. He looks genuinely confused. "Where've you been living, kid? In a cave?" He points, to where the Citadel rises above Hammer Bay; "You want to know who's in charge here? The Acolytes, and the Lord of Genosha. They keep the peace around here; but you've got no business with them." He pauses. "...Got hit on the head? Maybe you should go to a hospital then."
Kitty waves her hand around impatiently for a second. "I get hit on the head a /lot/. Don't worry about it. The Acolytes and the Lord of Genosha, huh?" There's no mistaking the faintly dubious tone of someone who's altogether too familiar with theocracies and can't quite believe that the golden view here is anything but gilding over rotten wood. "Why don't I have any business with them? Do I have to commit a crime or something to get an appointment?" Her voice isn't confrontational, only amused.
He raises an eyebrow in reply. "Fine, if you want an appointment with a member of the government, go to one of the public-access Com-Terminals. You can contact the Citadel there. I figure that they might be able to put you in touch with... I don't know, the director of the department of roads or something." The man walks away, laughing. "Appointment - With the Lord of Genosha.. who does she think she is, Franklin Richards?"
"Buttmunch," mutters Kitty, glaring at the guy's retreating back. Glancing around for a second before she spots something brilliantly labelled 'Com-Terminal', you know, out in public and all, the girl hooks her thumbs in her jeans pockets and heads over. It takes a strong-assed will to resist the amount of temptation she's got to give the guy what-for, but--
--you can SEE Kitty's brain come to a grinding halt. There's yet another doubletake. 'Franklin Richards?' she mouths, staring in the direction the guy disappeared. And public access com-terminals. There's a very large 'ohhhh, fuck' forming in her head; it solidifies once the rest of it gets put together. Quick sprint over to the terminal, and it really /is/ intuitive for someone like Kitty. "Date, what's the /date/," she's muttering. "And am I even /on/ 616 anymore? Cripes, if I've gone crosstime by /myself/, I--" She cuts herself off when a connection gets made.
'The date is January 24th, 2024.'
'Welcome to the Genosha Public Communications Network', says a pleasant female voice, 'Please place your hand on the touch-panel, palm-down, for an identification scan. Then state your name and input your Personal Identification Number via the numbered keypad.'
"What if I haven't got a PIN?" asks Kitty somewhat frustratedly of the automated system. There's a moment's pause; hey. If shit goes terribly wrong, she can always run away. Or fight. And then run. She puts her hand gamely on the indicated panel and waits for it to scan her palmprint, then says clearly, "Katherine Pryde." For a number? She gets a little cheesy, types in 8675309.
The database scans. 'No Citizen by that name or that number registered in the database. Scanning Palm-Print.'
There's a long pause. 'Identification Error'.
"So what're you gonna do about that?" Kitty asks the machine, crossing her arms, eyebrows up. "What'm I, fifteen years dead or something?" There's a tiny little pause. "Or did I never exist here." Not like the terminal's gonna answer her. She considers, in the space of a second, the pros and cons of trying to either hack by numbers or hack by physically rewiring the terminal, and apparently decides the cons outweigh the pros -- stalks off, see, in the direction of the citadel.
Which means she's too late to see what the Machine displays in reply. 'Katherine Pryde - Deceased, 2014'.
The Citadel is what it always was. Huge, intimidating. It's actually a pretty -ugly- building, but you know what they say - It doesn't have to be beautiful, it just has to scare people. Lots of defenses, lots of armed mutant guards. Though there is a degree of public access - The entire government is headquartered here after all. People do have a right to speak to the administrators who keep things going smoothly.
There are plus sides to assuming the world's against you and being sneaky in everything you do -- but there are more general benefits, if you're right about it, if you assume that reason works and you don't need to be antagonistic. Kitty's really hoping this is one of those situations where reason works. She goes straight up to the front entrance and attempts to walk straight in as if she had every right, as if she /were/ simply a citizen looking to speak to the administrators.
And of course everything goes smoothly... except... For when one of the door-guards says those terrible words... "Do you have an appointment, Ma'am?" It is, however, quickly amended with, "I'll have to buzz you in."
"Oh, thanks, yeah," says Kitty gratefully, looking a little sheepish. "Got my head in the clouds." She puts her hands back in her pockets and stands there waiting to get buzzed in, looking...well, out of date, but generally cute and harmless. Yep.
The guard raises an eyebrow at Kitty. "...What -department-. And I need a name, please."
Well, at least he seems to be buying the ditz thing. "Oh! Oh right, jeez. Sorry! I-- I can't remember the department, but it's the one deals with when the system won't recognise your palmprint? And you've wiped off the panel and everything and there's no dust in the way, and you're /certain/ you remember your PIN but it won't recognise you anyhow-- and my name's Kitty Pryde. I made the appointment this morning, and they told me to come /right/ in. I can't remember who I spoke with, but she was very nice and extremely helpful -- I think she said her name was Jenny, but it could've been Jessie--" She *can* run off at the mouth. It's a little frightening that she can run off at the mouth while lying through her teeth. But her expression's so bright and cheerful, and her body language so animated and open...
The guard raises both eyebrows. "Hey, hey, okay, okay - Slow down. You said there's a problem with the computer systems? That's not likely, but..." He frowns. "Complaints Department - You don't need to get buzzed into that- Down the hall, take a left, look for the line."
Kitty looks ridiculously pleased. "Hey, thanks!" And she follows the directions until she's out of sight of the guard -- ie, until she's taken the left. Then she tags the last person on the line and asks, wide eyed and somewhat hurriedly, "Can you tell me where the bathroom is?"
"Bathroom? Outside, take a left, then up the hall and take a right."
"How do you know that?"
"I've been here TEN TIMES and they STILL haven't fixed that pothole!"
Sprinting the way of the new set of directions as though there were a bit of an emergency, it's not long before Kitty's out of sight of, well, everyone. And as soon as she's out of sight of everyone, it's directly into the wall she goes. Gonna try and tie Shadowcat back in red tape? Not bloody likely -- she's making to airwalk down through the walls as far as she can go. Down to where a Lord of Genosha would be logically safer from attacks, down to where it's easier to reinforce walls. That's the plan, anyhow.
The Citadel is -Huge-, but eventually, you get past the offices and guard-stations, and into the more private areas of the building. Only... -down-, it's nothing but barracks. Guards, and science labs. Nobody lives down here. It must be that the Lord of Genosha isn't one for bunkers.
"Well, crap," mutters Kitty, once she's stepped out of the /last/ goddamn wall she ever feels like stepping out of again ever. "Okay. Maybe they stole the elevators outta the Empire State Building--" Airwalking /down/ took forever. Airwalking /up/ would take forever /and/ completely wind her. And, uh. Well. No one ever claimed Kitty was patient - least of all Kitty herself. She starts looking for an elevator and then just throws her hands up. "Hell with this. ALTERNATE DIMENSION. /Future/. Me, alone. Whatever." The /very next terminal/ set into the wall, she slaps her hand on. "Here, bub. Check this out. Am I supposed to be down here? Heeeeck no. Come /get/ me."
And sure enough, alarms go off all over the Citadel.
'WARNING, WARNING. INTRUDER IN RESEARCH SUB-SECTION D.' The klaxon repeats... and sure enough, in less than two minutes, an entire squadron of armed and armored soldiers come in, aiming their guns and yelling. "Hands up! Don't move!"
Most people, upon hearing big alarmy things and seeing flashing red lights and stuff, they'd /run/. Most people, upon seeing a buncha guys with guns and armor charging at them, they'd panic. Not Kitty, on either point -- she waited there, right there, leaning against the wall, thumbs hooked back in the tops of her pockets. And when the soldiers get there, she dutifully raises her hands in the air to either side of her head, eyebrows up. Look, she's just this *girl*. A girl in /glasses/, no less. "
Most people, upon hearing big alarmy things and seeing flashing red lights and stuff, they'd /run/. Most people, upon seeing a buncha guys with guns and armor charging at them, they'd panic. Not Kitty, on either point -- she waited there, right there, leaning against the wall, thumbs hooked back in the tops of her pockets. And when the soldiers get there, she dutifully raises her hands in the air to either side of her head, eyebrows up. Look, she's just this *girl*. A girl in /glasses/, no less. "Hey hey, you don't have to point those at me. I mean, I'm perfectly willing to go with you -- as long as you take me to the guy in charge. I've /got/ to talk to the Lord of Genosha. I mean, I haven't even got a legal identity or anything, so don't even bother looking." Little pause, thoughtful look. "Well, you /can/. Look, I mean."
The guards look confused, befuddled. This is the intruder? Huh?
Then, a voice speaks out. But it's from -behind- everyone. "...Katherine Pryde," It says.. That voice.. that horrible voice, that distorted, slithering, buzzing, rasping voice. Only one... man, has a voice like that.
Sinister!
The officers look puzzled, and then one of them, apparently the squad commander, speaks out: "You know her, Dr. Essex?"
"...We've Met." Sinister steps into the light now, and smiles down at Kitty. God, his teeth are freaky. "Katherine, you haven't aged a day. I thought for sure the Red Skull had killed you."
Kitty seriously considers replying 'No, no I haven't. And you still haven't been to a decent dentist. You know, I can recommend a couple...' But she'd really rather find out what the hell the setup of this place is. She really would. And she wouldn't find out if Essex had her shot with an inhibitor and soundly thumped. "Don't...call me Katherine, please. Pryde'll do. And I'm alive and well, as you can see. You in charge of this place, then?" That last bit, she can't help keeping a bit of dubious defiance out of. Just a bit. Her hands are still up. "And can I put my hands down?"
"You may, and.. no. I'm merely a scientist, doing my part for the future of Mutantkind. ...The Lord of Genosha has made a point of extending me the opportunity to perform officially -sanctioned- work." In other words, Sinister is still doing nasty things on the side, but at least some of the time now, people are watching him.
"I noticed that you had attempted to access a Com-Terminal in the city earlier," He says, as he walks away and gestures for Kitty to follow, "The reason it experienced an error was because it DID find data on you from the handprint- In the database of deceased mutants. It wasn't prepared to handle that; I've little doubt that Warlock is fixing the problem already." He seems to find the whole thing... amusing.
"Lovely," mumbles Kitty -- then pauses, and *blinks*. "Warlock? Should be easy for /him/ to fix an issue with the database finding out dead people aren't." Her hands go back in her pockets, and she /does/ follow. Who in /God's/ name is in charge here if they hired SINISTER? "Uh - anyway - where are we going? Am I gonna get to talk to the Lord of Genosha?" Every time she says that, /damn/. It's not quite sarcasm, but it's getting there. Not a fan of the terminology, apparently.
"I was all too willing to work with this particular Lord - After all," He says, "I did create him. I find him... far superior to Magneto. Much more Level-Headed and rational. Qualities I admire in a man. Don't you?" ...Ah, yes. The important question. "Of course. I'm taking you to his quarters," He says, before he gestures to an elevator. "He's actually been away dealing with the United South American Confederacy," Sinister purrs, "His transport back just landed. He'll make a point of making sure everything's in working order, which will take one hour and forty-four minutes. Give or take a minute."
It's all Kitty can do not to completely freak out; she feels like she's getting a coating of genetically engineered smarm just by listening to Sinister. "Uh -- that's great," she says after a second, eyeing him. "So I'll...just wait, then? In his quarters. For an hour and anywhere between forty-three and forty-five minutes." There's a very brief pause, and Kitty blurts, "You don't /actually/ eat babies, right?"
"I don't eat. Apocalypse's idea of the perfect scientist was one who could work in the lab non-stop. No food, no sleep." Sinister smiles down at Kitty. "It's enough to drive a man mad." The lift stops, and opens up into a hallway - There's only one door, really. "Good night, Katherine." Sinister says, as the door closes behind him.
As soon as the door shuts and Sinister's not /right there/ anymore, Kitty covers her eyes. And has the dumbest reaction she's had all day. At least it's delayed. Hands over eyes, she just yells. Not very loud, but very disgustedly. "AAAAUGH." Then there's the handflappy as if to shake the cooties off. Because, aaaaugh. /Then/, then, she doesn't settle down to wait. No. She starts poking around to wait.
Which is where she'll find disturbing things. There are -photos-. Old photos of.. them. When they were kids. There's Kitty and Rahne and Dani and Roberto and Sam and Doug and 'Yana... all of them. Locked away, out of sight - Not that that's any hindrance to her. The entire place is spartan, though. Like it's used for sleeping and maybe occasionally taking a private meal and not much else.
Sinister was wrong - It only took an hour and thirty minutes. He was tired, so he skipped the last department.
The door slides open with a -whoosh-, and a familiar voice says, "Lights on."
What the hell. Yes, disturbing. But she's wondering who the hell -- who, of them -- who? Who would've become ruler of Genosha, calling himself Lord, keeping the Acolytes, creating enough red tape to carpet the Taj Mahal, HIRING SINISTER... who? And then there's a familiar voice; times like this, Kitty wishes she were blind so she identified people by aural instead of visual input - when the rest of the lights come on, there she is, standing in front of a locked cabinet, holding a group shot of all of them with Magneto. It's kind of a deer in headlights look; she doesn't say anything.
Samuel Guthrie winds up standing in the middle of the room, face-to-face with Kitty. His expression is... surprised. Not shocked, not horrified.. but very, very surprised. "...Damn it, Essex has been making clones again hasn't he. I TOLD him NO."
Her eyes widen ever so slightly more, and then the indignance takes over. "Go suck an egg, Sam. I've got NOTHING to do with your creepy Dr Smarm." Pause. Again with the delayed reaction; Kitty /stares/. "*You're* the Lord of Genosha?"
TO BE CONTINUED!
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Players: Cannonball and Shadowcat at The Marvel Universe MUX, AKA 'The Game Formerly Known As MXT'.
Setting: A future what-if of Genosha with Sam as ruler.
01/24/2004
02:22 AM
Logfile from Sandbox.
------------------
Hammertowne. The original port built by the Europeans who settled Genosha without asking the natives, back in the 1600s. It hasn't had the best time of it over the years, getting regularly demolished by successive governments who were far more interested in the future than the past -- but for all that, it was built from more solid stuff than the newer constructions. Thus? Quiet, it's quiet. No matter what else is going on in Hammer Bay, or indeed, over the rest of the island nation, Hammertowne -- little more than a series of what are practically caves with steps in and secrets stored -- is dark and quiet.
It's up Hammertowne's steps that a young woman with glasses and brown hair, dressed in clothes twenty years out of date, climbs into the light of a warm summer day. Out of the quiet dark and into the busiest section of the capital city of Genosha, blinking and shading her eyes with one hand. The slender fingers of the other hand are somewhat reluctant to leave the iron railing beside the stone stairs, but it looks more like the absent distraction the rest of her body speaks. No desperation, no fear or worry - just puzzlement. "I'm not," she says to herself, "in New York City."
No, actually. New York City didn't have a pair of flying mutants putting up a billboard, or.. well, lots of mutants. Lots of -obvious- mutants, walking around doing people-things, without a care in the world. No one's yelling at them. No one's throwing things. People are just... being people. Living their lives.
And check out that mutant with four arms. He's playing two guitars at once!
...Most importantly, is the central square of the city. Because in it, on a single statue, stand two men, backs to one another. Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr. Below them is a plaque.
CHARLES FRANCIS XAVIER AND ERIK LENSHERR
Peace is the answer.
Peace must be struggled for, defended, and preserved.
In their wisdom, lies our Salvation.
"..." is Kitty's first response to what's revealed in, you know, the light of day. She just stands there for a minute, eyeing it all. "Holy crap," she finally says, letting both hands drop to her sides. "Right. This is where I try and look inconspicuous until I can figure out what the heck's going on. Which isn't gonna work if I keep talking to myself." With this, she falls silent and starts off - off on a mission to find a newspaper. Or something. Anything. She just doesn't want to have to stop for directions. Once she's gone about twenty paces, it clicks. She stops and does a doubletake over her shoulder at the square - dear GOD she knows that square. She knows this city, this island. But not like this, she doesn't. Right - a newspaper ain't gonna cut it. "Hey," she finally says, attempting to catch at the sleeve of a passer-by. "This might sound like a stupid question, but assume I just got hit really hard on the head, okay? Who's in charge here...?" ...if Mags is up on a pedastal with the Prof.
The passer-by looks down at Kitty. He looks genuinely confused. "Where've you been living, kid? In a cave?" He points, to where the Citadel rises above Hammer Bay; "You want to know who's in charge here? The Acolytes, and the Lord of Genosha. They keep the peace around here; but you've got no business with them." He pauses. "...Got hit on the head? Maybe you should go to a hospital then."
Kitty waves her hand around impatiently for a second. "I get hit on the head a /lot/. Don't worry about it. The Acolytes and the Lord of Genosha, huh?" There's no mistaking the faintly dubious tone of someone who's altogether too familiar with theocracies and can't quite believe that the golden view here is anything but gilding over rotten wood. "Why don't I have any business with them? Do I have to commit a crime or something to get an appointment?" Her voice isn't confrontational, only amused.
He raises an eyebrow in reply. "Fine, if you want an appointment with a member of the government, go to one of the public-access Com-Terminals. You can contact the Citadel there. I figure that they might be able to put you in touch with... I don't know, the director of the department of roads or something." The man walks away, laughing. "Appointment - With the Lord of Genosha.. who does she think she is, Franklin Richards?"
"Buttmunch," mutters Kitty, glaring at the guy's retreating back. Glancing around for a second before she spots something brilliantly labelled 'Com-Terminal', you know, out in public and all, the girl hooks her thumbs in her jeans pockets and heads over. It takes a strong-assed will to resist the amount of temptation she's got to give the guy what-for, but--
--you can SEE Kitty's brain come to a grinding halt. There's yet another doubletake. 'Franklin Richards?' she mouths, staring in the direction the guy disappeared. And public access com-terminals. There's a very large 'ohhhh, fuck' forming in her head; it solidifies once the rest of it gets put together. Quick sprint over to the terminal, and it really /is/ intuitive for someone like Kitty. "Date, what's the /date/," she's muttering. "And am I even /on/ 616 anymore? Cripes, if I've gone crosstime by /myself/, I--" She cuts herself off when a connection gets made.
'The date is January 24th, 2024.'
'Welcome to the Genosha Public Communications Network', says a pleasant female voice, 'Please place your hand on the touch-panel, palm-down, for an identification scan. Then state your name and input your Personal Identification Number via the numbered keypad.'
"What if I haven't got a PIN?" asks Kitty somewhat frustratedly of the automated system. There's a moment's pause; hey. If shit goes terribly wrong, she can always run away. Or fight. And then run. She puts her hand gamely on the indicated panel and waits for it to scan her palmprint, then says clearly, "Katherine Pryde." For a number? She gets a little cheesy, types in 8675309.
The database scans. 'No Citizen by that name or that number registered in the database. Scanning Palm-Print.'
There's a long pause. 'Identification Error'.
"So what're you gonna do about that?" Kitty asks the machine, crossing her arms, eyebrows up. "What'm I, fifteen years dead or something?" There's a tiny little pause. "Or did I never exist here." Not like the terminal's gonna answer her. She considers, in the space of a second, the pros and cons of trying to either hack by numbers or hack by physically rewiring the terminal, and apparently decides the cons outweigh the pros -- stalks off, see, in the direction of the citadel.
Which means she's too late to see what the Machine displays in reply. 'Katherine Pryde - Deceased, 2014'.
The Citadel is what it always was. Huge, intimidating. It's actually a pretty -ugly- building, but you know what they say - It doesn't have to be beautiful, it just has to scare people. Lots of defenses, lots of armed mutant guards. Though there is a degree of public access - The entire government is headquartered here after all. People do have a right to speak to the administrators who keep things going smoothly.
There are plus sides to assuming the world's against you and being sneaky in everything you do -- but there are more general benefits, if you're right about it, if you assume that reason works and you don't need to be antagonistic. Kitty's really hoping this is one of those situations where reason works. She goes straight up to the front entrance and attempts to walk straight in as if she had every right, as if she /were/ simply a citizen looking to speak to the administrators.
And of course everything goes smoothly... except... For when one of the door-guards says those terrible words... "Do you have an appointment, Ma'am?" It is, however, quickly amended with, "I'll have to buzz you in."
"Oh, thanks, yeah," says Kitty gratefully, looking a little sheepish. "Got my head in the clouds." She puts her hands back in her pockets and stands there waiting to get buzzed in, looking...well, out of date, but generally cute and harmless. Yep.
The guard raises an eyebrow at Kitty. "...What -department-. And I need a name, please."
Well, at least he seems to be buying the ditz thing. "Oh! Oh right, jeez. Sorry! I-- I can't remember the department, but it's the one deals with when the system won't recognise your palmprint? And you've wiped off the panel and everything and there's no dust in the way, and you're /certain/ you remember your PIN but it won't recognise you anyhow-- and my name's Kitty Pryde. I made the appointment this morning, and they told me to come /right/ in. I can't remember who I spoke with, but she was very nice and extremely helpful -- I think she said her name was Jenny, but it could've been Jessie--" She *can* run off at the mouth. It's a little frightening that she can run off at the mouth while lying through her teeth. But her expression's so bright and cheerful, and her body language so animated and open...
The guard raises both eyebrows. "Hey, hey, okay, okay - Slow down. You said there's a problem with the computer systems? That's not likely, but..." He frowns. "Complaints Department - You don't need to get buzzed into that- Down the hall, take a left, look for the line."
Kitty looks ridiculously pleased. "Hey, thanks!" And she follows the directions until she's out of sight of the guard -- ie, until she's taken the left. Then she tags the last person on the line and asks, wide eyed and somewhat hurriedly, "Can you tell me where the bathroom is?"
"Bathroom? Outside, take a left, then up the hall and take a right."
"How do you know that?"
"I've been here TEN TIMES and they STILL haven't fixed that pothole!"
Sprinting the way of the new set of directions as though there were a bit of an emergency, it's not long before Kitty's out of sight of, well, everyone. And as soon as she's out of sight of everyone, it's directly into the wall she goes. Gonna try and tie Shadowcat back in red tape? Not bloody likely -- she's making to airwalk down through the walls as far as she can go. Down to where a Lord of Genosha would be logically safer from attacks, down to where it's easier to reinforce walls. That's the plan, anyhow.
The Citadel is -Huge-, but eventually, you get past the offices and guard-stations, and into the more private areas of the building. Only... -down-, it's nothing but barracks. Guards, and science labs. Nobody lives down here. It must be that the Lord of Genosha isn't one for bunkers.
"Well, crap," mutters Kitty, once she's stepped out of the /last/ goddamn wall she ever feels like stepping out of again ever. "Okay. Maybe they stole the elevators outta the Empire State Building--" Airwalking /down/ took forever. Airwalking /up/ would take forever /and/ completely wind her. And, uh. Well. No one ever claimed Kitty was patient - least of all Kitty herself. She starts looking for an elevator and then just throws her hands up. "Hell with this. ALTERNATE DIMENSION. /Future/. Me, alone. Whatever." The /very next terminal/ set into the wall, she slaps her hand on. "Here, bub. Check this out. Am I supposed to be down here? Heeeeck no. Come /get/ me."
And sure enough, alarms go off all over the Citadel.
'WARNING, WARNING. INTRUDER IN RESEARCH SUB-SECTION D.' The klaxon repeats... and sure enough, in less than two minutes, an entire squadron of armed and armored soldiers come in, aiming their guns and yelling. "Hands up! Don't move!"
Most people, upon hearing big alarmy things and seeing flashing red lights and stuff, they'd /run/. Most people, upon seeing a buncha guys with guns and armor charging at them, they'd panic. Not Kitty, on either point -- she waited there, right there, leaning against the wall, thumbs hooked back in the tops of her pockets. And when the soldiers get there, she dutifully raises her hands in the air to either side of her head, eyebrows up. Look, she's just this *girl*. A girl in /glasses/, no less. "
Most people, upon hearing big alarmy things and seeing flashing red lights and stuff, they'd /run/. Most people, upon seeing a buncha guys with guns and armor charging at them, they'd panic. Not Kitty, on either point -- she waited there, right there, leaning against the wall, thumbs hooked back in the tops of her pockets. And when the soldiers get there, she dutifully raises her hands in the air to either side of her head, eyebrows up. Look, she's just this *girl*. A girl in /glasses/, no less. "Hey hey, you don't have to point those at me. I mean, I'm perfectly willing to go with you -- as long as you take me to the guy in charge. I've /got/ to talk to the Lord of Genosha. I mean, I haven't even got a legal identity or anything, so don't even bother looking." Little pause, thoughtful look. "Well, you /can/. Look, I mean."
The guards look confused, befuddled. This is the intruder? Huh?
Then, a voice speaks out. But it's from -behind- everyone. "...Katherine Pryde," It says.. That voice.. that horrible voice, that distorted, slithering, buzzing, rasping voice. Only one... man, has a voice like that.
Sinister!
The officers look puzzled, and then one of them, apparently the squad commander, speaks out: "You know her, Dr. Essex?"
"...We've Met." Sinister steps into the light now, and smiles down at Kitty. God, his teeth are freaky. "Katherine, you haven't aged a day. I thought for sure the Red Skull had killed you."
Kitty seriously considers replying 'No, no I haven't. And you still haven't been to a decent dentist. You know, I can recommend a couple...' But she'd really rather find out what the hell the setup of this place is. She really would. And she wouldn't find out if Essex had her shot with an inhibitor and soundly thumped. "Don't...call me Katherine, please. Pryde'll do. And I'm alive and well, as you can see. You in charge of this place, then?" That last bit, she can't help keeping a bit of dubious defiance out of. Just a bit. Her hands are still up. "And can I put my hands down?"
"You may, and.. no. I'm merely a scientist, doing my part for the future of Mutantkind. ...The Lord of Genosha has made a point of extending me the opportunity to perform officially -sanctioned- work." In other words, Sinister is still doing nasty things on the side, but at least some of the time now, people are watching him.
"I noticed that you had attempted to access a Com-Terminal in the city earlier," He says, as he walks away and gestures for Kitty to follow, "The reason it experienced an error was because it DID find data on you from the handprint- In the database of deceased mutants. It wasn't prepared to handle that; I've little doubt that Warlock is fixing the problem already." He seems to find the whole thing... amusing.
"Lovely," mumbles Kitty -- then pauses, and *blinks*. "Warlock? Should be easy for /him/ to fix an issue with the database finding out dead people aren't." Her hands go back in her pockets, and she /does/ follow. Who in /God's/ name is in charge here if they hired SINISTER? "Uh - anyway - where are we going? Am I gonna get to talk to the Lord of Genosha?" Every time she says that, /damn/. It's not quite sarcasm, but it's getting there. Not a fan of the terminology, apparently.
"I was all too willing to work with this particular Lord - After all," He says, "I did create him. I find him... far superior to Magneto. Much more Level-Headed and rational. Qualities I admire in a man. Don't you?" ...Ah, yes. The important question. "Of course. I'm taking you to his quarters," He says, before he gestures to an elevator. "He's actually been away dealing with the United South American Confederacy," Sinister purrs, "His transport back just landed. He'll make a point of making sure everything's in working order, which will take one hour and forty-four minutes. Give or take a minute."
It's all Kitty can do not to completely freak out; she feels like she's getting a coating of genetically engineered smarm just by listening to Sinister. "Uh -- that's great," she says after a second, eyeing him. "So I'll...just wait, then? In his quarters. For an hour and anywhere between forty-three and forty-five minutes." There's a very brief pause, and Kitty blurts, "You don't /actually/ eat babies, right?"
"I don't eat. Apocalypse's idea of the perfect scientist was one who could work in the lab non-stop. No food, no sleep." Sinister smiles down at Kitty. "It's enough to drive a man mad." The lift stops, and opens up into a hallway - There's only one door, really. "Good night, Katherine." Sinister says, as the door closes behind him.
As soon as the door shuts and Sinister's not /right there/ anymore, Kitty covers her eyes. And has the dumbest reaction she's had all day. At least it's delayed. Hands over eyes, she just yells. Not very loud, but very disgustedly. "AAAAUGH." Then there's the handflappy as if to shake the cooties off. Because, aaaaugh. /Then/, then, she doesn't settle down to wait. No. She starts poking around to wait.
Which is where she'll find disturbing things. There are -photos-. Old photos of.. them. When they were kids. There's Kitty and Rahne and Dani and Roberto and Sam and Doug and 'Yana... all of them. Locked away, out of sight - Not that that's any hindrance to her. The entire place is spartan, though. Like it's used for sleeping and maybe occasionally taking a private meal and not much else.
Sinister was wrong - It only took an hour and thirty minutes. He was tired, so he skipped the last department.
The door slides open with a -whoosh-, and a familiar voice says, "Lights on."
What the hell. Yes, disturbing. But she's wondering who the hell -- who, of them -- who? Who would've become ruler of Genosha, calling himself Lord, keeping the Acolytes, creating enough red tape to carpet the Taj Mahal, HIRING SINISTER... who? And then there's a familiar voice; times like this, Kitty wishes she were blind so she identified people by aural instead of visual input - when the rest of the lights come on, there she is, standing in front of a locked cabinet, holding a group shot of all of them with Magneto. It's kind of a deer in headlights look; she doesn't say anything.
Samuel Guthrie winds up standing in the middle of the room, face-to-face with Kitty. His expression is... surprised. Not shocked, not horrified.. but very, very surprised. "...Damn it, Essex has been making clones again hasn't he. I TOLD him NO."
Her eyes widen ever so slightly more, and then the indignance takes over. "Go suck an egg, Sam. I've got NOTHING to do with your creepy Dr Smarm." Pause. Again with the delayed reaction; Kitty /stares/. "*You're* the Lord of Genosha?"
TO BE CONTINUED!
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Players: Cannonball and Shadowcat at The Marvel Universe MUX, AKA 'The Game Formerly Known As MXT'.
Setting: A future what-if of Genosha with Sam as ruler.
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::eyes fall out of her head::
That was neat. I don't suppose you'll be posting future logs? ::wink wink, nudge nudge::
Re: ::eyes fall out of her head::