A Second Lease on Life Ch. 6
The Hellfire Club, New Year's Eve....
So this chick that looks like Jean Grey-Summers with a serious
attitude shift wants to talk to me? She and Shaw escorted me
to a beautifully preserved salon off the ballroom, with FitzRoy
bringing up the rear.
I didn't like the way he felt in to my "Sight" gift. He reeked
of death, and it took a great deal of willpower to keep from
physically retching in his presence, though there was something
about Madelyne that was both similar and different...like she
really wasn't alive. It gave me the creeps.
She gestured for the White Rook to close the door while Shaw
seated me in one of the delicate Louis Quince chairs, eventually
taking one her self, "It has come to my attention that you have
recently been admitted to the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning,
and I am concerned that Dr. Xavier and his associates may not
have your best interests at heart... I was once a student there,
myself, and the results were rather detrimental to my health."
I cocked my head and gave her my "so why don't you get to the
point" expression, "And what do you consider to be "in my best
interest", Ms. Pryor? I am hardly the young, inexperienced
woman ye must have been..."
"Dr. Xavier has not mentioned that you bear a striking resemblance
to a former student of his, whom possesses a rather..how shall I
say? Unsavory? ...past? There are a good deal of people who would
dearly love to take their grudges out on one who is ill prepared
to defend herself against such assailants." the redhead continued,
"The X-Men may proclaim to take care of their own, but I'm living
testament to the hypocrisy they embody, Ms. d'Vir."
I gave her nothing but pokerfaced as we continued to stare each
other down, "I am not sure ye have my best interests at heart,
either, Ms. Pryor. In fact, I think that yer experience was detri-
mental to yer health that you're not even alive...rather like
'young' Mr. FitzRoy over there, in fact..."
She flushed as red as her hair, and I heard Shinobi gasp at my
accusation, his hand resting on my shoulder, and tightening
imperceptibly. I knew I was pushing things, but since when had
that ever stopped me before?
"..Yer about as "viable" as your predecessor, Selene wasn't it?"
I continued, my voice light, yet dripping with sarcasm, "And it
strikes me that ye have inherited more than just her mantle of
Black Queen, m'lady, being that I happen to recollect the rather
mysterious death of a young fellow called Nate Grey--something
about a corpse crumbling to dust when the coroner touched it?"
Madelyne swallowed hard, her veneer of graciousness thinning
quickly as I had a flash of danger crackle up my spine. The
White Rook was coming at Shaw and Madelyne was reaching for
me--I must have gone from curiosity to threat in a nanosecond,
because her intent was hardly benevolent.
I was later grateful that I wore gloves, blocking her ability
to absorb any energies out of me, conversely preventing my
accidentally absorbing anything from her... You see, I HATE
undead anything. And this wasn't the first time I'd run into
them, either. Albuquerque's Goth scene has a few of them, too.
I shoved Shaw out of the way, and grabbed her, acting on pure
instinct, spun her into FitzRoy's path in time for the pair of
them to collide, I grumbled half to myself, "Y'know, lady, I
really, really hate vampires..."
Shaw tackled me, sending the pair of us through the floor as
the conflicting auras of two soulsuckers created some kind of
portal that imploded on the pair of them.
I heard a muffled roar, the splintering of wood as the salon
was rapidly demolished, and heard myself scream...
When we hit the floor below us, Shaw and I were both quite solid
and landed with a dull thud. Fortunately, I broke our fall and
was only a little winded....this bit about being invulnerable
was going to take some getting used to. Shaw groaned, catching
his breath more rapidly than I'd have given a spoiled rich kid
credit for.
"I believe I owe you an apology for my previous rudeness and my
gratitude for saving my life, Ms. D'Vir," he said gravely as he
helped me to my feet, "I don't want to know how you knew what
that redheaded strumpet was up to, but I'm glad you knew, else
I'd have been so much dust to be swept under the carpet. You do
realise, that you are, by rights claimant to the position of Black
Queen..."
I gave him a funny look, shaking my head, trying not to laugh
at the absurd turns my life had just taken, "Look, Shaw, I'm
not rich, I'm not famous. I just a lady who's been in the wrong
places at the right times recently. I'm not some spandex-clad,
angsting vigilante or adventurer here. I barely understand what
the hell has happened to turn my life upside down, inside out
and bass-ackwards in the last two weeks..."
Shaw was surprisingly sympathetic as he guided me to a chair,
leaving me fireside while he went to the sideboard to collect
a pair of glasses and a bottle of sherry, "I know the feeling,
Ms. D'Vir. When my father died, I inherited Shaw Industries,
his position as Black King and a legacy I wasn't particularly
proud of. He'd had a contract with the government to produce
components for those "Sentinel" robots that they want to use
to hunt down mutants so they can inter them in camps, much
like the Nazis did the Jews, among other things. Emma, Erik and
I haven't had enough of a power base to feel safe removing those
two from our ranks. You have done in one night what we have been
plotting for months. No vulgar displays of power, no convoluted
plots, nothing but simple observation and, it seems what Emma
mentioned about you is accurate, an uncanny knack for "knowing
things." She feels that your straightforwardness and practicality
would serve the "greater good" quite well..."
I took another sip of the good sherry, listening to his recruit-
ing speech, sensing a fair bit of ulterior motive as well as a
good dose of truth in his words, "I'll think about what yer say-
ing, Shaw, but I'm not making ye any promises. I'll accept the place
of Black Queen, but if I catch any of ye doing anything really
underhanded, I'll act as I see fit. I think I'm going to stay at
Xavier's for now, finish my degree and learn what I can from the
lot of ye as well. I am a woman to takes life on my own terms, and
I believe we had best rejoin the festivities before we are missed..."
The Hellfire Club, New Year's Eve....
So this chick that looks like Jean Grey-Summers with a serious
attitude shift wants to talk to me? She and Shaw escorted me
to a beautifully preserved salon off the ballroom, with FitzRoy
bringing up the rear.
I didn't like the way he felt in to my "Sight" gift. He reeked
of death, and it took a great deal of willpower to keep from
physically retching in his presence, though there was something
about Madelyne that was both similar and different...like she
really wasn't alive. It gave me the creeps.
She gestured for the White Rook to close the door while Shaw
seated me in one of the delicate Louis Quince chairs, eventually
taking one her self, "It has come to my attention that you have
recently been admitted to the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning,
and I am concerned that Dr. Xavier and his associates may not
have your best interests at heart... I was once a student there,
myself, and the results were rather detrimental to my health."
I cocked my head and gave her my "so why don't you get to the
point" expression, "And what do you consider to be "in my best
interest", Ms. Pryor? I am hardly the young, inexperienced
woman ye must have been..."
"Dr. Xavier has not mentioned that you bear a striking resemblance
to a former student of his, whom possesses a rather..how shall I
say? Unsavory? ...past? There are a good deal of people who would
dearly love to take their grudges out on one who is ill prepared
to defend herself against such assailants." the redhead continued,
"The X-Men may proclaim to take care of their own, but I'm living
testament to the hypocrisy they embody, Ms. d'Vir."
I gave her nothing but pokerfaced as we continued to stare each
other down, "I am not sure ye have my best interests at heart,
either, Ms. Pryor. In fact, I think that yer experience was detri-
mental to yer health that you're not even alive...rather like
'young' Mr. FitzRoy over there, in fact..."
She flushed as red as her hair, and I heard Shinobi gasp at my
accusation, his hand resting on my shoulder, and tightening
imperceptibly. I knew I was pushing things, but since when had
that ever stopped me before?
"..Yer about as "viable" as your predecessor, Selene wasn't it?"
I continued, my voice light, yet dripping with sarcasm, "And it
strikes me that ye have inherited more than just her mantle of
Black Queen, m'lady, being that I happen to recollect the rather
mysterious death of a young fellow called Nate Grey--something
about a corpse crumbling to dust when the coroner touched it?"
Madelyne swallowed hard, her veneer of graciousness thinning
quickly as I had a flash of danger crackle up my spine. The
White Rook was coming at Shaw and Madelyne was reaching for
me--I must have gone from curiosity to threat in a nanosecond,
because her intent was hardly benevolent.
I was later grateful that I wore gloves, blocking her ability
to absorb any energies out of me, conversely preventing my
accidentally absorbing anything from her... You see, I HATE
undead anything. And this wasn't the first time I'd run into
them, either. Albuquerque's Goth scene has a few of them, too.
I shoved Shaw out of the way, and grabbed her, acting on pure
instinct, spun her into FitzRoy's path in time for the pair of
them to collide, I grumbled half to myself, "Y'know, lady, I
really, really hate vampires..."
Shaw tackled me, sending the pair of us through the floor as
the conflicting auras of two soulsuckers created some kind of
portal that imploded on the pair of them.
I heard a muffled roar, the splintering of wood as the salon
was rapidly demolished, and heard myself scream...
When we hit the floor below us, Shaw and I were both quite solid
and landed with a dull thud. Fortunately, I broke our fall and
was only a little winded....this bit about being invulnerable
was going to take some getting used to. Shaw groaned, catching
his breath more rapidly than I'd have given a spoiled rich kid
credit for.
"I believe I owe you an apology for my previous rudeness and my
gratitude for saving my life, Ms. D'Vir," he said gravely as he
helped me to my feet, "I don't want to know how you knew what
that redheaded strumpet was up to, but I'm glad you knew, else
I'd have been so much dust to be swept under the carpet. You do
realise, that you are, by rights claimant to the position of Black
Queen..."
I gave him a funny look, shaking my head, trying not to laugh
at the absurd turns my life had just taken, "Look, Shaw, I'm
not rich, I'm not famous. I just a lady who's been in the wrong
places at the right times recently. I'm not some spandex-clad,
angsting vigilante or adventurer here. I barely understand what
the hell has happened to turn my life upside down, inside out
and bass-ackwards in the last two weeks..."
Shaw was surprisingly sympathetic as he guided me to a chair,
leaving me fireside while he went to the sideboard to collect
a pair of glasses and a bottle of sherry, "I know the feeling,
Ms. D'Vir. When my father died, I inherited Shaw Industries,
his position as Black King and a legacy I wasn't particularly
proud of. He'd had a contract with the government to produce
components for those "Sentinel" robots that they want to use
to hunt down mutants so they can inter them in camps, much
like the Nazis did the Jews, among other things. Emma, Erik and
I haven't had enough of a power base to feel safe removing those
two from our ranks. You have done in one night what we have been
plotting for months. No vulgar displays of power, no convoluted
plots, nothing but simple observation and, it seems what Emma
mentioned about you is accurate, an uncanny knack for "knowing
things." She feels that your straightforwardness and practicality
would serve the "greater good" quite well..."
I took another sip of the good sherry, listening to his recruit-
ing speech, sensing a fair bit of ulterior motive as well as a
good dose of truth in his words, "I'll think about what yer say-
ing, Shaw, but I'm not making ye any promises. I'll accept the place
of Black Queen, but if I catch any of ye doing anything really
underhanded, I'll act as I see fit. I think I'm going to stay at
Xavier's for now, finish my degree and learn what I can from the
lot of ye as well. I am a woman to takes life on my own terms, and
I believe we had best rejoin the festivities before we are missed..."