2014-05-24 - The End of Time: A Red Painted Smile

Lady Stryfe sits across from Mr. Sinister. "This is for a specific purpose Mr. Sinister. You gain your data for your research, but what matters is that there is a tomorrow for you to implement your data."

Mr. Sinister hrms, "You have a point, especially if there is a chance that Apocalypse will be out of the picture. He has his uses, but..."

"That's the point, his usefulness has expired. A new world order is needed, and is it not best to be part of the solution rather than the waste it leaves behind?" Lady Stryfe's tone is firm and uncompromising.

"Is that a threat dear?" Mr. Sinister actually sounds highly amused.

"Is the truth a threat? Just keep your part of the bargain," Lady Stryfe states; she then bodyslides out of the meeting location.

A clone of Sabretooth comes over afterwards and says, "What do you want done master?"

"Watch for now," Mr. Sinister states. "Let us play by her rules for now. If she can let bygones be bygones, then I have no complaints, but do not trust her." The altered human that long left his humanity behind, then turns and walks away.

Bodysliding back into existence outside a place known as Harry's Hideaway, Lady Stryfe takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. She presses something in her gauntlet and the armor fades away with the use of hard-light technology to reveal a woman that looks a little like Hope Summers, but in her 30s, the betraying lines of age disappearing with the use of the technology she has. She then moves to step inside.

Bobby Drake should be here, playing pool, flirting, or generally getting into some sort of trouble or mischief. It is a Friday night after all. And that is who the woman is searching for.

For once, Bobby isn't busy getting in trouble. He's doing his second most frequent activity instead... getting someone else out of trouble instead of in front of the bar, he's behind it, kneeling and poking around under one of the cabinets there. Having finished what he was doing, he stands up and wipes his hands on a bar rag. Turning to the proprietor, he says "All set."

The relieved response is, "Thanks Bobby, you drink on the house tonight. The repair guy should be in tomorrow morning."

Bobby grins and shakes his head, "No problem, man. No way I could let you try and serve warm beer." Bobby walks out from behind the bar and takes a seat in front of it, spinning around on the bar stool before he settles in facing the bar, just as a dark, foamy beer is put in front of him.

The red headed woman with hair down to her upper back walks up to the bar, dodging some of the men about with ease. She is wearing a t-shirt that advertises the local high school football team, and wears a pair of worn looking jeans that hang low on the hips. On her feet? Biker leather boots, and on her wrists, silvery and dark metal bangles that make sounds as she moves. Her make-up isn't very heavy either, but flatter...then again, hard-light technology is a wonder. She sends a red painted smile over at Bobby, "Hello."

Bobby's eyes had settled on the TV behind the bar as he sipped at his beer, but the greeting gets his attention. He turns his head to see who's talking to him and almost chokes on his beer. Hot redheads don't walk up to him every day. Well, not ones he doesn't already know anyway. His eyes dart down, checking her out, but quickly return to her face. He smiles. "Hey there. What can I do for you?" Tone of voice, and a little twist of his smile, make that a flirtatious question. Then he notices the jacket and there's a momentary frown before he says, "I really hope that's an old jacket."

A laugh at that, "No, but I'm a teacher, not a student. I support a lot of the teams there and actually do some assistant coaching for practices, though not games. Goodness forbid, a female be on the field," she teases. "Better than my last school though, I think they considered a female that wasn't in a short booty skirt to be a jinx to the field." She says it with all humor though rather than bitterness, though there is a hint of sarcasm there...alright, a lot of sarcasm.

Bobby gives a little salute, raising his beer to her, "Very cool. I work at a school myself." He gives a little smile and teases, "Though I'm pretty sure that if I showed up in a skirt, they'd just freak. In your case, they'd start playing old Van Halen songs."

"I don't know...could be pretty cute, you seem to have nice legs," the red-haired woman teases Bobby. "Mmmm, Van Halen, old, but good taste." She then tells the bartender that comes over, "Tap, whatever you have that is a dark German beer," she says. After a moment she then offers a hand to Bobby, "Lady," she says in introduction. Her lips are curling up at the corners in humor and playfulness.

Bobby takes the handshake and grins, replying, "Well, yeah, you are, obviously, but what's your name?" He grins then and gives his own name, "Bobby Drake." The bartender fills a glass that matches the one in front of Bobby. Looks like the contents match, too. Bobby smiles as the handshake ends, and nods to the beer. "Also good tastes. Seems like we have a lot in common.

The 'Lady' chuckles, "Lady," she replies back with humor to Bobby. She then mmms, "We do." She lifts her mug for a drink, smiling as she does so with those red painted lips. Her handshake earlier was firm, but not overly dominate, it also lingered longer than usually 'respectable'. "What do you teach Bobby?"

Bobby turns to face 'Lady' at the bar, smiling at her. That lingering touch did not go unnoticed. He leans against the bar casually, left hand toying with the moisture on the outside of his glass. "Well, I don't exactly teach regular classes. I'm more of a...." He struggles to find a good description, "Counselor? I do a lot of tutoring. We have a bunch of students who need catch-up work, for various reasons, when the come to us. But I also help the kids get settled in, deal with issues between the kids, that sort of thing. We're kind of a specialized boarding school, so things get pretty interesting at times."

A soft mmmm, as if wheels are turning in her head. North Salem isn't large, but no private schools except for....but still, 'Lady' doesn't seem to smile, she just nods. "That's a difficult position, especially since so many students aren't motivated or rebellious." Considering how much tutoring Hope got, yes...she definitely reminders her countless hours of tutor sessions with Iceman and Cannonball, COUNTLESS, UGH! Still, that isn't what the woman talks about obviously.

"I handle history myself," a bit of warped truth finally shared! "After all, if we cannot learn from our past, how can we control the future? Not that it seems to get through many people's heads, right?" A bit of a smirk at that. "But it's an interesting thought and theory if I do say so myself."

Bobby chuckles, thinking the odd choice of wording about controlling the future to be humor. He smiles, "Yeah, somehow student rebellion is a lot less funny from this side. Doesn't help that I went there myself and some of my antics are still... Well, I'm a tough act to follow."

"Oh? Now that sounds like there are some good stories behind that one," 'Lady' teases as she takes another drink of her beer here and there during the conversation. "Now, that is where we might balance out," she teases. "I've been told I'm waaaay too serious. Perhaps you could get me to lighten up a little bit?"

Bobby eyes "Lady,' and grins, "Really? Well, I'm sure I can think of a way to make you smile." He looks up, scratching his chin and makes a show of thinking about it." He shakes his head frowning, and leans in towards her, "Sorry, I've got nothing. I mean, well, I have a few ideas I'm sure would work, but we just met, after all, and they're not things I could do in public, anyway." He winks tat her, teasing, as he straightens up in his seat and sips his beer.

'Lady' almost spits out her beer, and she actually has to suppress her laughter. "Oh really?" Her green eyes seem to be a'lit with mischief. "Perhaps you could start out with telling me a few of your "old" antics," she teases. She then pulls out some cash and sets it down on the bar, before she then leans back toward you. "I know a good place where we won't be interrupted."

Bobby finishes his beer, what little was left, and sets down the glass. He grins at Lady, "Oh, I had some good ones. Let's see... There was the time my friend found his room turned upside down. I mean, his desk was on the ceiling and everything. Or... I have this one friend who wears these tinted glasses because of a.. condition he has. And I swapped out the ink in his pens so they matched the lenses and he couldn't see what he was writing at all..." He grins at her, "But hey, I'm all for finding a place where nobody will bother us and we can... talk." The smirk, the eyebrow lift, the gleam in his eyes. He's not thinking with the big brain, and if it wasn't for the fact that he rarely shuts up, he probably wouldn't have much talking in mind.

'Lady' smirks, "That would likely have driven anyone nuts. I like the upside down room, though the pen thing is creative. I do like a creative mind." She then moves to link her arm with Bobby's and start to lead him out of the bar. She remembers to curl those red painted lips upward, and when the duo gets outside, she slides her hand down his arm to link her fingers with his. She then whispers, "Bodyslide by two, destination 28."

And the two digitally split apart when out of view of everyone. The sensation is...odd to say the least. But as everything digitally comes back together again, Bobby will find himself in the middle of a desert. It's dry, not a log of moisture to say the least! But depending on how far Bobby extends his senses, he may sense some in some piping far, far below.

Bobby gasps at the sudden lurch and change of location. He yanks his hand back and takes a defensive stance, "What's going on here? Where are we...Lady?" He pauses a moment. "Either you know who I am or just /really/ picked the wrong guy to target tonight either way... time to chill." Not everything he can do requires ambient moisture, and even the deep desert has enough moisture for some things, as long as they're on Earth. He goes still, then freezes. In his case, two very different actions, one involving not moving, the other involving turning into ice.

A snort comes from the woman, and with a tap on her arm, the hard-light technology disappears to reveal the armored woman. There are fine lines at the corners of her mouth that might betray her as older than she first appeared, but her lips are still painted red. "Calm down Bobby, I'm not an enemy. I am Lady Stryfe, and I came to you for help. However, there are many ears and eyes out there." She hesitates a moment, and then reaches up to lift her helmet off. It does reveal the red-headed woman's face, just...it's true, she appears more in her 40s than 30s now. "Not everything I said was a lie. I am very serious," and there is a lopsided smile there.

The so-called dry desert wind blows, whipping her red hair about her face. "Guess I'm a little old for you, huh?"

Bobby blinks, looking more than a little confused. This being bobby, the first response from the Iceman is a smirk, "Well, you're still hot, just now more Cougar-ish... It's the whole kidnapping me thing that is the bigger problem." He shakes his head, "Now... what's going on here."

And that does it, Lady Stryfe bursts into laughter. "Alright, I just figured out why so many people consider you 'cute'." She her smile softens. She does lift the helmet and replace it. She proved her point about not everything being a lie. "It's to protect you. I need your help, but sometimes some secrets need to be kept, even from yourself." She then moves to a rock formation and presses a metal gauntlet hand against it. An entry way opens to reveal what appears to be an elevator. "Please, follow me, Iceman." There is that red painted smile again as she moves to step inside with a swish of dark red cape, before turning about and moving a finger to hover over a button as she awaits you. "More will be explained down below. But I wish you no harm, especially to someone I care about."

Bobby seems confused by that last bit, but his face is always harder to read when it's made of ice. Still, cautiously, he follows her. Walking into the elevator, he turns to face her, and says, "Just keep in mind that desert or no desert, Most things stop working when you get 'em to -150 or so."

"Including my heart?" There is a dramatic pause then. Lady Stryfe then says, "Save the threats Bobby. I know you are a reasonable man, and I hope you will understand the precautions that need to be taken."

The elevator is sinking deep underground, perhaps a mine shaft? In either case, it takes a good minute before it finally stops and the doors slide open to reveal a lit metal corridor.

Lady Stryfe beings to lead the way onward, her stride confident and commanding. "In either case, I'm your trip home. This place is very dangerous, but sometimes we must do things that are necessary, if we enjoy them or not." A soft sigh at that, "Enjoy...it has been years since I laughed until you." A brief pause, and then a whispered, "Thank you."

Bobby can't help but feel some sympathy, but he's still cautious. "Well, yeah, including hearts, but that's so not my style." He shifts uncomfortably from foot to foot, "So... what exactly did you want my help with, anyway? The AC broken in here or something?"

"No, something much more important. Saving the future from self-destruction. Everything I tried before, it failed. /I/ failed. But I'm here to set things right, no matter what the cost." And Lady Stryfe soon stops at a door at the end of the long hall. She opens the metal door wide and motions for you to enter first. If you do, she will enter behind you. If you don't, she will enter first herself and let you follow.

In either case, it is only when both individuals are inside that a spotlight comes on and Mr. Sinister is revealed to be sitting on a chair and what looks like Sabretooth is off to the side. "Greetings Mr. Drake," the pale faced monster says with a widening grin. A buzzing starts in Drake's head, but it isn't completely deafening yet. "It appears, we have a mutual goal at this time. I look forward to working with you."

And Bobby has never met Mr. Sinister face-to-face before, but he would have heard from him. The kidnapping of Scott and Alex Summers in Alaska that the X-Men saved them from, the kidnapping and brain washing of Hope Summers, where she tried to murder Scott...he is more than a monster, he is a nightmare to the Summers family.

And when he sees that too pale face, Bobby's reaction is instant. "Oh son of a..." His hands fly out, intending to send out a flurry of icicle spikes, anything to keep Sinister off balance.

The so-called Sabretooth bursts into action and charges, smashing everything in his past, and the 'noise' becomes louder in Bobby's head. It's a telepathic scream that steadily grows louder as Mr. Sinister has some fun with it. "Tsk, tsk Iceman. One would think you would at least be curious as to our mutual goal."

Lady Stryfe says, "Don't fight it. You will be free after you assist us in saving the future." She sounds serious, depending on how clearly one can hear her through the 'noise' inside poor Bobby's head.

Seeing Sabretooth gives Bobby a more immediate threat to face than Sinister, and he turns his attacks. The clone is going to have a few punctures and some frostbite to regenerate after this. But that slowly growing scream soon has Bobby's concentration fouled, and he is slammed into the wall by Sabertooth, the ice along one shoulder showing radiating cracks that he can't focus enough to fix. Then, even though he's in the grasp of the feral mutant, that psychic noise becomes to much, and Bobby can only scream out loud as he clutches his head. The unfocused agony has the temperature plummeting in the room though, with the big feral's breath misting in the air.

There is then a cold, "Enough," command from Lady Stryfe, though she may not be heard by Bobby.

The screaming seems to fade, but darkness arrives...blessed darkness and silence. Finally....the pain stops...for now.