<<< Answers in Shadows, Shroud | Angel | Havok | Callisto

Time of Day: Early Afternoon
Place in the time-line: 24th February | One day before Cracks in the Wall.

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When Scott and Jean had gone away on their honeymoon, Warren had the mistaken idea that things would be relatively quiet and the X-Men wouldn’t be needed. However a few days ago, Lorna and Hank had disappeared and since then they’d been doing everything to try and find the two missing mutant. Every possible lead was met with a frustratingly dead end however and Warren was beginning to run out of options, even Cerebro hadn’t turned up any sign of the the blue furred doctor and the green haired younger woman.

This morning Warren had finally been given a break through, by Max of all people and now he was on the way to The King’s Court to meet with the enigmatic mutant. He was not going alone however. After they had discovered the two mutants disappearance, Warren had contacted Pietro and Wanda because of their relationship to Lorna, and that had of course lead to Havok finding out, and X-Factor had been drawn into the search and so now Alex was supposed to be joining in the meeting. Warren pulled his car outside the restaurant and handed his keys to the valet before entering the King’s Court, waiting in the entrance for Alex to arrive.

Alex's ninja cut through the city like a bullet, his face beneath his helmet grim and cold. Since the wedding reception and his... confrontation... with Lorna, he'd been drunk off his ass as often as he could be. Until Pietro and Wanda had revealed to him that Worthington had talked to them looking for her. He tried her cell, and didn't even get the instant transfer to voice mail that suggested she's blocked his calls. He just got the repeated message that her phone was out of order. He'd even called using the Maximoffs' cell phones, figuring even if she was hiding from him she probably wouldn't hide from them. No answer. Finally turning to Jeffries to search for her phone signal, Alex realized that Lorna was absolutely gone. That's when he stopped drinking and started getting scared.

He pulled up outside the restaurant, and the valets looked at him critically, as he pulled off his helmet. His blond hair was helmet moulded, and his casual attire, while clean and presentable, was hardly standard here. Jeans, blue flannel, and leather jacket, over the black containment suit, gloves and boots--- out of place. Alex didn't care. He tossed the keys to the valet and said, as if he belonged, "Don't scratch her," before nodding to Warren. Joining the older mutant, Alex's worry flowed around him like the heat he released in steady though minute amounts. "What the hell is going on, Worthington?"

Warren looked up as he saw Alex enter, nodding his head towards the lift to indicate that they should be walking towards there. “Honestly, your guess it as good as mine.” He confessed, pushing his hands casually into his pant pockets as they began crossing the foyer. “You know of course that Hank and Lorna are missing. I got a call this morning about a possible lead, a man who goes by the name of The Shroud. He usually has some kind of ulterior motive, so I wanted someone else to be here. It’s likely we’re going to need X-Factor to help out with this. He didn’t give me much but it sounded like whatever happened to them isn’t going to be easy to get them out of.”

"Easy or not, we're getting them out," Alex muttered, following the other man, "If I have to level half this city to do it." He looked around the restaurant as they headed to the lift, "Holy shi... this place is nice." he mused, idly. Stepping into the lift with Warren, he said, "The Shroud? Are you kidding me? What's up with these codenames? Ever since I mutated, I've felt like I've been living in a damn cartoon."



“We are.” Warren agreed. “Taking Lorna down isn’t exactly easy. Same with Hank, so we have to keep that in mind.” He pressed the button for the top floor and looked up while the doors slid closed. He was apprehensive about what Max was going to tell him, what Hank and Lorna had got involved in. Alex’s comment about the codename, Warren gave a light snort of laughter. “Yeah, well, join the club. Try going through it when you’re fifteen and pissed off with your parents for dumping you with a lunatic in a wheelchair and nerd who wears red sunglasses all the time.” Warren said with a grin. “Cynical is not the word for my reaction.” The doors opened onto the roof and he stepped out, pausing to wait for the younger man to follow. There was no one up there, but they were a few minutes early and as Max was always on time he doubted they would be waiting for long.

Alex chuckled despite himself at Warren's description of his brother, "Nerd. Really, he could at least get some cooler frames." He joined Warren on the roof and looked around, "So far we are Shroudless."

Warren glanced around as well, and then gave a slight shrug. “Don’t worry. He’ll be here on time. He said there was someone else with a mutual interest coming. God knows what that means. He tends to have ulterior motives, so just watch him. I want Lorna and Hank back, but I’m not going to risk losing anyone else.” Warren said quietly. He generally believed Max to be a man of honour, but he knew there was a few lines the other mutant would willingly cross if it was in his interest.

"Everyone I've met recently has ulterior motives," Havok grumbled, "You complain about having done this since you were a kid, but at least you're used to this. It's all new for me. Haven't even been a mutant for a year, and I've gotten myself in way over my head." He sighed and looked out over the city. "Jesus, if I hadn't been such a dick, maybe they wouldn't have gotten her..." He murmured.

“I never get used to any of this. I just find ways to cope.” Warren replied, casting a side wards glance at Alex. He was not one to sugar coat things unless he had to, and so he was simply honest with the younger Summer’s brother as he had always been with the elder. He had a feeling he was going to have to be far more patient with Alex than Scott if they were ever to be truly friends. “If whoever took Lorna was specifically targeting her, I doubt you being a dick would have changed things.” he said dryly “Who knows, maybe they were after Hank and Lorna was just a bonus prize. But right now, the what if’s don’t matter. Just hope this lead works out, we get them out in time and if any damage is done, we can reverse it.” Warren replied grimly, his eyes focusing on the skyline as he recalled the state Lorna was in when she first came to the Mansion. He was concerned for them both, but Lorna seemed a little more fragile than Hank as a rule.

Alex nodded, thinking, but not saying, that if he and Lorna hadn't been on the skids, that he would have been with her, and no one would have been able to take her. He didn't look back at Warren, saying only, "If there's damage, I'll be doing some damage of my own. She might hate me, but I..." He sighed, "We're wasting time. Where the hell is this Shroud guy?"

Max Coleridge, billionaire-playboy and decadent drone of high society, took a last sip of scotch before setting the glass on the table with the pleasant rattle of ice cubes.

“Max, you absolutely should’ve been there,” said one of Max’s table companions, an Englishman down on his luck who Max knew was going to try an interest him in a smuggling operation. Phil had oiled his way onto the fringe of the clique more than a week ago and was just waiting for the right time to slide next to Max and make his pitch.

Max laughed and looked vaguely in Phil’s direction, his opaque sunglasses revealing nothing. “I’m sure I should’ve, Markham, but every time I go, I seem to spend all my time at the lodge.” He gave the crowd a theatrical wink behind the dark glasses, “An old football injury keeps me off the slopes.” The crowd gave a nervous tittering laugh and gave each other incredulous looks that they thought he couldn’t see. “However, it wasn’t all bad. As luck would have it, there was a wet tee-shirt contest going on in the hot tub area and they needed a judge.” Through the laughter and chatter of the group, Max noticed two blonde men enter, one of them he knew.

After Warren and Alex Summers were safely in the elevator, Max excused himself from the table pleading that he needed to meet a woman. Using the odd, precise movements of a blind man navigating by memory, Max disappeared into the private section of King’s Court.

Once unseen, he teleported himself up to his apartment, changed, and retrieved the catalogue. Idly, he flipped through it once more, in some ways enjoying that he possessed knowledge they didn’t have and desperately wanted. Although they would hate it, soon they would be in his debt.

The glossy catalogue look completely average, page after page of products for sale, a picture with relevant information printed at the side however, these products… were people, people that meant a lot to the people at Xavier’s mansion. Even if there were other green-haired women in the world, Max looked down at the blue furred man, no one could mistake Hank McCoy.

Watching Alex and Warren’s progress through the walls, he appeared after they left the elevator and listened to the younger Summers blame himself for Lorna Dane’s situation. “If there's damage, I'll be doing some damage of my own. She might hate me, but I..." He sighed, "We're wasting time. Where the hell is this Shroud guy?"

“Were we ever that young, Worthington?” The Shroud’s voice came from behind them, hard and completely devoid of warmth. The upper half of his face shrouded, darkness seemed to pour down his frame and settle around their knees like a low fog on the roof.

“And with our last arrival,” as the Shroud spoke, some of the darkness peeled and drifted into the air forming a shadowy portal, “we can begin.”

Callisto's people had been missing for days. Without a trace, two of her most beloved Morlocks had disappeared. It was just a simple food run, something that should have taken the pair not very much time at all. When they hadn't returned, Callisto had left her perch on the makeshift throne she occupied, her hunting and tracking skills aiding her as she followed their scents, their steps, until there was nothing. It'd been a grim scene she'd found; some of Marrow's bones scattered around the area. Clearly, she had fought tooth and nail for she and Artie's lives. And Callisto wouldn't have expected anything less.

She'd questioned people in the area, hoping a passerby might have seen something. It had only been six in the afternoon, for God's sakes. But there was nothing. Not one word. Still, Callisto refused to believe that Marrow and Artie were dead. It was simply something she would not accept, not until she had their bodies in front of her.

She had not slept in days, her search consuming her completely. She couldn't give up on them, because they needed her. She was their leader, and she had failed them by allowing them to be taken. Callisto refused to fail them again.

Just when the dark-haired woman had fully exhausted her options, Callisto had received word from an unlikely source. The Shroud, who's real name she still did not know, had contacted her with word of possible information.

And now, there she was, stepping into the portal he'd arranged for her. The world of the underground tunnels shifted, and she was suddenly someplace infinitely nicer. Gone was the dank smell of the tunnels, her sharp nose picking up the scents of extremely good smelling food almost instantly. It made her stomach grumble hungrily, for she hadn't eaten properly in days. And she wouldn't until she found the two young Morlocks that had been taken from her.

Clad in grungy leathers, Callisto turned her eye on the three men gathered. Out of all of them, she was easily the most out of place. "Havok," she said, slightly surprised at seeing the blonde man here, of all places. Her eyebrows knit together, and she turned a discriminating eye on the handsome dark blonde beside him. She allowed herself an obvious once over, before turning her attention to the Shroud. There were more pressing matters at hand at the moment than the fact that she was surrounded by three seriously good-looking men.

"What are we doing here?" she demanded, her hands moving to rest on her hips. She might have been the only woman present, but she could more than handle herself if need be.

Warren had been expecting Max to arrive in his usual way, with an air of drama and the theatrical, but he was still taken by surprise when the other man spoke behind himself and Summers. Turning, Warren took in the shadow draped form of The Shroud, and gave a pleasant 'for for socialites' smile. "Good to see you again." He said wryly, brushing over the previous comment and indicating towards the mutant next to him. "This is Alex Summers, leader of X-Factor, Alex, this is The Shroud." The introductions were brief, and perhaps unnecessary but he gave them anyway.

“And with our last arrival, we can begin.”

Warren watched the portal form, waiting for the fourth member to arrive, all the while wondering what game Max was playing. He knew for sure that part of it was about having power over others, being the one with all the answers and having others in his debt. As for the rest of it, Warren couldn't quite figure it out yet, he needed a little more time. He would rather not owe Max anything, but if it meant getting their missing friends back, he would suck it up and deal.

His thoughts on motives were put on the back burner briefly when a dark haired grungy looking woman stepped out of the portal, a scar half hidden under an eyepatch marred her face, the skin of which was almost disturbingly pale. Warren wasn't sure who he was expecting but it certainly wasn't who stood in front of them now. She greeted Havok and then turned to look at him, and Warren raised a quizzical eyebrow at the obvious look she gave him. It was a look he was used to, but not usually under circumstances like these. Shaking his head slightly, Warren turned his attention to Max, more interested in getting the information they were all here for than introductions. "What's this all about?" he asked bluntly.

Alex turned to see the man behind him, and he took a step backwards at the black smoke like darkness that washed from him to pool around their feet. Warren seemed unperturbed though, unconcerned about what this darkness was, so Alex allowed it to lap up his calves, and he only felt a slight coolness even through his normal warmth.

Warren introduced himself, and it was the first time anyone outside of his team addressed Alex as the "leader" of X-Factor. The fact that it had come from Worthington who was not a great fan of ole Alex's was kind of... nice. Alex felt himself straighten his shoulders, standing a little steadier. He didn't offer his hand, as the Shroud didn't either, and instead gave a head bob greeting. "Pleased," he said, dryly, "Now, can we--"

But apparently there was one more to arrive, and as the portal opened and Callisto stepped out, Alex's face grew stern. What the hell was going on here? X-Man, X-Factor, Morlock, the leaders of the three factions he was aware of brought together for what? Was this about Lorna and Hank? If Callisto was here did that mean that some of her people had turned up missing too?

"Callisto," he greeted, "What's happening here? Why've we been all called together like this? Do you know something about Lorna and Hank's disappearance or what?"

JP between The Shroud, Havok, Angel, and Callisto

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The Shroud stared at the young blonde man, looking for a trace of the excellence he’d seen and grudgingly admired in Cyclops, but saw none of it in his brother.

As if talking to a slightly retarded child, he said, “Out in the open is not the place to conduct business. I have information about your missing X-Men and the Morlocks.”

Warren took a deep breath, looking down at the ground in vague exasperation as Alex jumped in with a load of questions. He shot the younger man a warning look and then looked over at Max as he spoke, spelling it out. "Let's get this over with. I'd rather not waste anymore time. Take us somewhere private." Warren looked levelly at the shadowed space where Max's eyes would be, waiting for the man to make his move.

Alex narrowed his eyes at Max's tone and at Warren's look, "Listen, I don't care what the proper procedure for this is. I don't give a damn if I'm speaking out of turn or if I'd offended your delicate rich boy sensibilities. If you know what's happened to Lorna and the others, tell us. The longer we stand around and play 'mine's bigger than yours,' the more likely something bad is going to happen to her." He closed his hands into fists and said, "And, if something bad happens to Lorna, something bad happens to everybody."

Callisto shifted, her arms crossing over her chest, one blue eye intent on the three men surrounded. The Shroud obviously knew what had happened to her missing people, and from what she was gathering Alex and Warren were missing people too. She was not the sort to waste time with pleasantries, and she gave a prompt nod at Alex’s words. “I don’t think I have to tell you that I won’t tolerate something else happening to my Morlocks.” Looking to the Shroud, she said, “Take us where you will, and stop wasting time.”

The Shroud gave Alex a humorless grin, disturbingly out of place on the preternaturally grim man. Everything came with a price and Alex and Callisto’s debts were getting steeper with every word they uttered. Without sparing another word, the group was enveloped in an absolute blackness that defied light. Traveling through the shadow portal gave the sensation of being alone in a sensory deprivation tank – just alone in the dark with only your own thoughts.

The Hellfire Club’s central hub rivaled that of the X-Men but what his guests were interested, he brought with him. The Shroud tossed the catalogue onto the table, “I’m sure you give find it interesting.”

Warren restrained the urge to tell Alex and Callisto to keep quiet, knowing how Max operated but he doubted it would do any good in all honesty. The teleportation, courtesy of Max's powers was disturbing to say the least, and it took Warren a moment to orientate himself as they came out the other side, his gaze move quickly around the room before going back to Max. The catalogue hit the table and Warren moved forwards, picking it up and opening it without saying anything. A growing surge of anger and disgust gathered inside him as he read through the page. Wordlessly he passed it to Alex and then moved his attention to Max. "Do you know where this is happening?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.
He did not like the teleportation, as brief as it was. Being alone with his thoughts was never a good thing for Alex Summers. When the blackness faded, they were somewhere else and Alex had just enough time to gather his wits when Warren was passing him what appeared to be a catalog... Lorna's picture was clearly marked. She stared from the page with defiance and anger and the temperature in the room suddenly rose, dangerously. Alex ripped the page out of the book and asked, simply, "Where?" He couldn't say anything more. What might come of his mouth would not do anyone any good.

Callisto had been through Max’s portals before, but still it was a bit unnerving. However, it was a swift means of transportation, and she was glad for it. The longer they wasted, the more danger Marrow and Artie were in. Alex’s heat filled the room, Callisto’s sensitive skin feeling it more amplified than the rest. Without a word, she took the catalogue and flipped through it. Seeing Artie’s face, his white wide eyes no doubt filled with fear, caused a flare of anger to spring up in her chest. It was sickening, to say the least and she gave an audible growl. “This is why we live underground…” she muttered darkly, tossing it back on the table. Turning her gaze on the Shroud, she waited expectantly for more information.

The catalogue provoked anger and disgust, all the usual emotional responses. The Shroud was cold and emotionless by preference, therefore responded better to Warren’s restrained but calm voice. He shook his head, “For obvious security reasons the location of the auction will not be disclosed until that day. Money seems to be their chief motivation and their escape would be a loss of profits.” Since they could not see his eyes, the Shroud turned his face to stare at the three leaders who had lost people, “When I received this, I tried to discover the location. I’ve found nothing so far; that means this has obviously been well-planned. Even with this sketchy information and short notice, I have no doubt they can be rescued.” He paused to let that sink in before continuing, “Hours before the start, I will be given the auctions location.” He looked at the others, “My assistance will come with a price.”

Warren ran a hand over his mouth as he thought how to deal with this. "We've already had one of our telepaths searching for them with no avail. I'm going to assume that means they've got the technology to block telepathic signals which indicates that one, they're probably experienced at this, and two, they probably have other means of controlling powers and three, we need to find another way of finding out where they are or we're going to have to sit on our hands until before the auction."

"Sit on our hands!" Alex snapped, one fist shining with white hot rage, "Oh, I'll make certain they do." He looked at Callisto, "You with this? This standing around like chumps while your little kid is in a cage somewhere? I don't think that's going to fly. There's got to be some way to get this moving. Hell, someone track down that psycho Longshot and make him read this catalog with his psychometry, something, anything."

Callisto listened intently as Warren spoke, her face stoic as she thought over the many methods he must have at his disposal. She had nothing like that, but she had spirit and she had the skills of a hunter. Max mentioned his help coming with a price, but he already knew that she had no money to speak of. “A price?” she said, a dark look crossing her face. She would do whatever was necessary, however, to get her people back. Alex fumed beside her and she looked towards him, a scowl on her lips, “No, we can’t just sit here. But obviously you and I can’t do this on our own.” Turning her eye on the Shroud and Warren, she said, “I can track them. Tell me more of what you know. I’ll find their location.”

Max had far longer to study the catalogue and wasn’t shackled by emotions as he looked at the images. While Warren flipped pages, Shroud withdrew from the group and opened an internet address listed at the beginning on the catalogue. The page showed supposedly a live camera feed of the captives, only picture. “This connection has been untraceable, so far.” At Alex’s outburst the Shroud turned his head slightly toward Warren. “Is he going to be a problem?”

Shroud’s veiled gaze fell on Callisto when she questioned about the price. His blank expression didn’t flicker as he replied. “I’ll think of something,” beside him, the forlorn faces of the captured mutants peered out of their cages.

Warren watched Max opening the internet page and moved up beside the other mutant to watch the screen. His gaze was fixed on the screen as he watched the caged mutants, his attention remaining for the longest on Hank and Lorna, anger burning in his stomach, before he looked to the other captives.

"They've got Balam." He murmured in surprise before looking towards Alex as Max questioned him. "No, he'll be fine. He just needs to be directed." His voice was low but he was aware Alex still might hear. He moved out of the way to let the others have a look at the screen, his mind working to try and figure out how to deal with this.

"Damn right I am going to be a problem," Alex grumbled as he looked at the camera feed. "Those bastards are going to know just what kind of problem I can be, too." He looked at the images of Lorna and Hank, recognizing Artie sitting on the floor of his cage. He had to step away before he blasted the screen, his fists clenched into white hot balls at his sides.

"They can keep Jara, I don't give a damn, but the rest of them... they're coming home if I have to send Pietro from house to house to search."

Callisto’s face was nothing but a stoic mask, her blue eye glaring at the website beside the Shroud. At once, she spotted the faces of her people, the large white eyes of Artie, the pinkish locks of Marrow, collars around their throats… Seeing her Morlocks caged like animals brought a disgusted sneer to her lips, a low growl sounding in her throat, her hands clenching at her sides. Her display was not as outward as Alex’s, but she was certainly angry in her own way.

The woman had no idea who the others were, nor did she really care. Her main worry was to get her people back, no matter what. Crossing her arms, she looked towards the Shroud, “Untraceable? Who gave you the catalogue in the first place?” She may have lived a much less posh life than the ones surrounding her, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t intelligent.

“Just make sure you aren’t a problem for us,” the Shroud warned, his tone chilly and not inclined to cut anyone slack. With the invitation coming being delivered into his hands in less than twenty-four hours, locating them beforehand hadn’t been a high priority but now, things had changed.

He looked at Callisto when she asked her question. “It wasn’t given to the Shroud. It was sent in a plain package to… my daytime identity. Dropped off at the front door step, you might say, which is feat because I’m not a very accessible person. I have surveillance video of him, but he’s not someone I recognize.” With a few keystrokes, a video feed of Max’s penthouse door appeared and a man coming from out of camera range, dropping the package and departing. “I doubt they know me… just my reputation.”

“They are most likely in the city, concerning their power requirements for the cages and security. Considering the clientele they are soliciting, it’s somewhere up-scale and with their mobile nature, they’ll lease it.”

The Shroud peered at the screen, “Look at the collars. Why have your captives wear them… inside a cage?” He paused and crossed his arms over his chest, “Probably location devices, but if I were these people, it would also be a means of killing them quickly, in case of escape.”

"Okay, so we can search the electrical grid for recent power spikes in the City, and cross reference that with leases in certain areas." Warren said, mostly thinking out loud, setting things straight in his mind. "We can set up a team in the area, ready to go in once everything is confirmed." He took a breath, looking back at the computer screen. "If those collars are a device for killing the captives, that adds extra issues. We're going to have to time everything very carefully, possibly while the auction is actually on, before we make our move."

"They have to be nullifying their powers," Alex said, "Unless those collars are plastic, Lorna could rip those things apart otherwise. We'll need luck on our side though, that's for sure." He folded his arms, and forced his powers back so that his fists stopped glowing and the temperature around him went back down. "I'm on the team, and I'm sure Pietro and Wanda are in as well. She's their sister..." He frowned, glancing back at the screen, "And, the morlocks. X-Factor made a deal with you, Callisto. We said we'd help your people out. We aren't going to reneg on that." He glanced between Max and Warren. "Let's get moving. Once I tell Piet what's going on, things are going to move very quickly."