Players:
Summary: Our heroes discuss Daisuke's recollection of Heather's riddle and contemplate the psychology of Hounds.
Date: June 22, 2020.
Log Title Nature Of The Beast
Rating: R
The Future - The Underground - Living Area
Army barracks would seem like a five star hotel compared to this place, but cots and hammocks seem to fill the area. There are some side rooms where mutants tend to fit four to six to a room and there are even some holes in the wall a mutant or two seems to have made home. Like the rest of the tunnels, its damp and musty in here and not much light save the same electric and gas powered lamps found in the rest of the tunnels. Everything from small children to older mutants sleep in here and it can be seen from the people who cant get out of bed. In this room there is a small corner thats been sectioned off with old sheets and blankets to form a medical area with what stolen medical supplies the mutants have managed to gather.
After the incident from last night, Daisuke's been helping out in anyway that he can. He's been out the better part of the day looking for -any- supplies that he could which brought him all the way up to Maine and back where he was able to raid a hospital. There wasn't much left but he was able to grab some painkillers, bandages and a few other drugs that might help. He's come back to the area and starts to take off the body armour Volk got for him before putting down his glock and the supplies. At least it's something.
There is no time left for mourning. This is a war, and there is no time for regretting the passing of old friends. Robin has been helping out in any way that she can, but at this point there is not much left she is needed for. She has indicated to other searchers locations she had previously scouted for emergency supplies, and this certainly qualifies as an emergency. She has some of Robyn's old papers and notes, feeling almost as though she inherited them to work on her own nonexistant puzzles.
It's frustrating for Pietro in that he can't do a whole lot to help yet. Even though he's not moved to the deeper levels with the non combatants, he's still stuck resting a lot. Mostly due to the fact he damaged his feet running around barefoot during the prison break. The man has at least cleaned up. His hair is cropped close now, his face freshly shaven, and in spite of the M over his eye, the speedster holds his head high. No more hiding and stooping. Now, there is something unusual about him in that he's wearing a costume. There aren't many of those around anymore, much less one that appears fairly new. Dark blue with a lighter blue lightning bolt running from one shoulder to the opposite hip. Since his moment is limited, the man is tending to the meal pot and Mending some body armor. Not exactly exciting work.
As Daisuke and Robin come in, the speedster watches him from a battered stool. The years haven't been kind. "Do either of you know where I can find more kerosene? This lamp is almost out." Pietro's voice is a bit rough still from lack of use.
Looking up at Pietro's voice, Daisuke's also got the mutant 'M' tattooed on his face. It seems he was once a captive to at some point. "There should be some in the stores…we're really weak after that hit we took from good ol' Dingo." He says as he starts putting things in with the limited medical supplies. "Shit…I dunno, this really sucks the whole backstabbed by one of our own but…" He shakes his head taking Deadpool's katana that he's been wearing around, off of his back. "Find anything interesting there Robin?"
"Just… maps, charts, notes… pictures," says Robin, shrugging at Daisuke. "It's very complete. I was working with Robyn on these things, cross-referencing my scouting encounters and his intelligence." She bites her bottom lip and crosses her arms, putting the notes aside. She digs out one of her own maps, and gestures to a point on it for Pietro's benefit, "Here, there should be some kerosene right here that's available." There's a pause, "I just want to figure out a way to turn Dingo to glass right now."
Pietro has the problem of having no idea who these two people are, but he doesn't point that out. He drops his gaze back to his mending, and listens. That's how he plans to learn.. by paying attention to those here. Having heard of Robyn's loss, and Dingo's betrayal, there's nothing he can do about it so he doesn't stress over it. Especially because he has to heal as much as possible so that he's ready for the attack. "Thank you." To Robin about the kerosene. His lamp will last for a while longer.
Daisuke walks over and pats Robin on the shoulder before sitting down. "Yeah, I'm still kinda burnt about Jeri going and kicking the bucket on us." After all he was always close with the Parker-Mayfair family but ya just gotta keep fighting. "I'm waiting to talk to Rashmi, see what she needs me to do now that I'm all healed. And thanks to Connor, I'm not gonna be having someone like Deadass take away my voice again." Also he has to find Chloe, something about when they were kids.
Robin nods at Pietro and says, "No problem." She pauses for a moment, and says to the speedster, "I'm Robin by the way. Robin Keen." Her puppet, Blank, teleports right next to her and stands by her. Robin nods at Daisuke and says, "Yeah… lots of lots life. It's a shame…"
"Jeri?" Pietro asks, trying to place the name. As for introductions, the man nods, "Pietro Maximoff. You'll have to excuse me, I've been here a couple of days and have little idea of who you two are speaking of." Years in the camps have removed a lot of the names and faces he might have known otherwise.
"Sorry, Daisuke Sakuragi, or just Dai for short." Daisuke says offering the man a hand though they have met in the past. "Wait…Quicksilver, we met years ago at Xavier's. New sneakers to Chloe…." He says as the face of the man is bringing more recognition to him in regards to a certain riddle he almost forgot about. "Sorry, Jericho, also known as Buff. He was the leader down here, of the resistance and he died taking out a Sentinel base. Then last night, Dingo…he was a former Brotherhood member, decided to go rogue, kill a few people, destroy some of our shit and take off. It's…It fucking sucks is what it is."
"I tried to stop him before he got out. It was kind of futile… knocked down the tunnel section on us, and got away…" says Robin. She nods at Pietro and says, "Yeah, Quicksilver. You're hard to forget. I was… Puppeteer when I was with the X-men. Very briefly. Probably not recognizable, because I wore a mask…" She shrugs and trails off. Reminiscing time is not right now. She points her finger and her puppet heads down another tunnel section.
That hand is gripped, and Pietro arches his eyebrows, but nods, "I am surprised people remember. I have been thought dead a very long time now." After that though, he's listening again, smiling faintly in that he's hard to forget. Perhaps he is. "I am sorry for the loss of your leader." Which reminds him of Captain America. Doesn't mention it however. "That was irresponsible of him." Is murmured about Jericho. Now the group is leaderless right before a major attack. Well, at least Rashmi is around. That Volk too. Perhaps it won't be so bad. "I'm sorry, Miss Keen, but I don't remember you. The years have not been kind. ..But instead of that, will you tell me of Dingo? Wasn't he one of my father's lackeys?"
"Dude you were an Avenger, one of my good friends in High School was a superhero -fanboy- I think I know all the YOunger Avengers underwear sizes from him." And that's not a compliment. Daisuke shrugs and then goes on about Dingo. "Dingo, he could turn to sand, Australian or from New Zealand or something. Made his own brew which was popular down here, I don't really know drinking doesn't do anything for me. Hey Pietro…odd question for you. Do you remember that day you gave Chole the shoes 10 years ago and we were discussing some riddle?"
"I like to remember the better days. I admired other superheroes, even though superheroes are a bit antiquated with these times… Now there's just survivors and enemies," says Robin, shrugging, "And Dingo, yeah, he was a Brotherhood member I think. I didn't really come across him much before the new world order." She bites her bottom lip again, between her canines, and says after a moment's hesitation, "A riddle?"
Pietro snorts softly, amused. Doesn't speak again until Daisuke asks of the past. The man thinks about it, putting his mending down. It's not grand work, but he can sit here and get it done for others. Especially at superspeed. "I'm sorry, but no." A short conversation from ten years ago. His memory isn't that good. "I don't remember you at all, Daisuke." There's a shrug there. What can he do? Electric blue eyes settle on Robin as she tells of Dingo. "He was been digging his own grave. We will soon bury him in it." Calm that.
"Yeah…years ago, Heather gave Chloe a riddle…I gotta talk to Chloe about it. Somethihng about muddled faces and going through time and….I wonder if she still has that watch. That whole conversation on time travel make so much sense now…but why was Heather going back in time to warn Chloe about this? Ten years ago….shit! Something must have happened ten years ago to cause this and she's….how do you stop something that happened back then though." Daisuke's half talking to himself half talking to the others as he tries to work things out. "I gotta talk to Chloe and Rashmi."
"Time travel? Ugh. Heather. I never understood half the things she said. With her a Hound now…" Robin shakes her head and says, "Well, hopefully whatever it was, it will be helpful." She shrugs, unconvinced at that. She thought Heather was off her rocker insane.
Feeling lost again, Pietro frowns as Daisuke begins to ramble. This all means absolutely nothing to him. Didn't know Heather before, found out with that line she was a hunter, and doesn't remember the riddle. He's been in the camps this whole time. The poor guy should be commended for being mostly sane, much less remembering his own identity. "I have no recollection of anything you are speaking of." A bit grumpy sounding at that. Which makes him sound rather uncomfortably like his father. Grump! "You don't unless you have the means to go back and do something about it."
"I don't know Pietro but…I get the feeling like it's important now just like it was important then. Chloe and I -could not- solve it then but now….I dunno." Daisuke says as he starts to pace trying to remember stuff. "Muddle faces….muddle paces…alarms…what was it.." He says trying to remember as he knows he sounds vague. "I really don't know Pietro, but if we can do something….argh! I hate riddles! Damn you Heather!"
Robin shrugs and says, "Well, like I said, I never understood most of the stuff she said. She might have just been crazy." To Pietro, she explains, "Heather was a speedster at Xavier's. It turns out that she's actually a time traveller, and Ahab got her, so… I guess she's been screwing around with the timestream or something." Robin shakes her head, "But she was a messed up kid."
"Heather left a riddle?" comes Rashmi's voice, the redhead ducking into the living tunnels with a deep frown on her face. Since Jericho's death, then Robyn's, immediately followed by news of Dingo's betrayal, the redhead's default expression has been one of deep irritation, tension, and temper, held on a short leash. Eyes flick from Pietro, to Daisuke, then to Robin, eyebrow twitching upward. "Heather was always loosely screwed down, but she was *very* intelligent. She liked challenges she could out-think. Tell me the riddle, Daisuke."
Oh, this bodes well. There's a disgruntled sound from the Speedster, but he doesn't say anything for the arrival of Rashmi. Pietro has cleaned up. Close cropped hair, freshly shaven, even washed.. and he's wearing a dark blue costume. That he found unstable molecules down here is an amazing thing, yes? It fits him perfectly too, for all he's being very domestic at the moment while he heals. Mending things. "Apparently." That Heather left a riddle. "I can't remember this riddle." Echoing Rashmi's irritable expression.
"I'm trying to remember it fully…give me a moment." Daisuke says as he mutters to himself trying to figure it out. "Steps of time…undo..faces, paces…time….chimes! Okay got that…So keep track of my many faces…through the bells and chimes." He sounds a bit unsure but it's been ten years and the occasional times he stumbled across it in college. "muddle paces and undo the steps of time…Got it! Keep sight of my many faces, Listen to the bells and chimes, Retrace all my muddled paces, And turn back the tides of time." He rushes to get a piece of paper and write it down so this time he can remember it. "Chloe and I tried to figure this out ten years ago and couldn't!"
Robin blinks a few times as Daisuke recites the riddle, just crossing her arms as he does so, getting a baffled expression on her face. She contemplates it for a few moments, and offers naught but a shrug, not speaking up now that Rashmi is here. She did not know Heather well enough to actually decypher any such things.
"Well at least *now* we can figure out what it *means,*" Rashmi grumbles, dropping to a crouch by the group. "I guess ten years ago she ran across her future self doing Ahab's work, and tried to figure out a way to stop it without needing to be an active part." Drawing in a deep breath, she glances about, an eyebrow rising. "Good work on the supply raids, Daisuke. We should be about back where we were before that f—" Trailing off, the redhead instead lifts a hand, curling it into a fist and dropping it on the tunnel floor. "…Anyway. Thanks. Robin. How's your training?"
Pietro remains quiet again, watching the three as they speak of that riddle. He's trying to remember, but his time in the camps, and the things done to him there, have removed such details. There's a deep furrow of his brows, but he's going going to recall something he heard once ten years ago. It leaves him watching and listening, quietly mending from where he sits near the dinner pot.
"Feel free to call Dingo any names you want, but I got some med supplies some bandages, painkillers and a few drugs. I'm gonna go out tomorrow and hunt for food, I'll probably be gone most the day. Hey…Robin…how far can Blink go from you?" Daisuke asks wondering if Blink is a good person to bring to watch his back. "But yeah, I dunno, I'll have to start from scratch trying to figure out what Heather was talking about. Bells and Chimes, I still think it's an alarm of some sort."
"My training is going well," says Robin in reply to Rashmi, "But with all this chaos happening… I tried to stop Dingo, before he escaped, but… Now, I've just been trying to keep things organized." She shrugs, disappointed in her own failings, even though realistically she would have no chance alone against Dingo under almost any circumstances. Robin shrugs and says to Daisuke, "I've never found a limit to how far Blank can go away from me. As far as I'm aware, the only thing that's dependent on proximity is her regenerative properties."
Rashmi shakes her head. "Stop it, Robin. You can't do everything. *I* wouldn't be able to take care of him if I'd found him, and I don't expect you to suddenly learn how to set Blank on fire to cover for my shortcomings. Doing everything you *can* is more than enough." Settling back against the wall, she nods her thanks to Daisuke. "Get some sleep. I'll keep working on this riddle for you. Glad you remembered."
Not remembering the incident about the riddle, Pietro none the less mulls it. Not truly trying to figure it out however, for he didn't know Heather at all, much less what the girl would have meant by her words. So with years of habit in keeping quiet and listening to what goes on, the man is tempted to continue with that, but he doesn't. "What will be done with Dingo?" People have been shot, and much needed supplies destroyed. Didn't Dingo once claim he'd never turn against his own kind? Ah, how people change.
"Well, I know how to set Blank on fire, it's just incredibly uncomfortable…" says Robin, in a pretty weak attempt at humour. She's not really in the joking mood anyways. She nods, though, and says, "I'll just keep doing everything I can, though, yeah… if you ever need me for anything, though, I'm at your service." She looks over towards Pietro and shrugs, "If I had my way, he'd be turned to a pretty glass sculpture."
Daisuke stands up and nods, giving Rashmi a bit a salute. "Yer the boss, sleep it is." He looks at Robin and shakes his head. "No setting Blank on fire or else I'll yet at you and nobody here wants me yelling at anything….except the enemy." After all he's the one with sonics and that wonderful ability of weakness detection. "I'll be asking for your help with Blank tomorrow, okay? And regeneration shouldn't be a problem just need someone to help with a run." He says before looking at Pietro. "Good to have you on our side Quicksilver." He says before nodding to Rashm and heading to a cot to get some shuteye.
Magneto ducks in through one of the tunnels and enters the living area. He does a double-take on Pietro and veers in his direction. The others in the room get nods, including Daisuke as they pass each other. "Pietro. You look better." He stops beside his son and crosses his arms, looking him up and down. He nods, then looks at the others. "You're looking very serious. Has something happened?"
"An old puzzle," Rashmi says, glancing up at Magneto and nodding slightly. "One that it would appear HeatherAhab's pet time-traveling mutant, in case you've missed that bitplanted for herself back when she first ran across her future Hound self. I guess we're being given another set of keys to ending this entire war for good." Wrinkling her nose, the redhead shrugs. "Provided we survive to assemble them."
"Good night, Daisuke." For the one who's leaving. "Hopefully you get that chance." To Robin. The white head lifts as that familiar form crosses over to him. Oh yes, Pietro amazingly has found his white hair again. It was somewhere under all that grime. "I wish I could claim I felt as well as I clean up, but this is a start." Sitting near the stew pot because he's still having to heal. Dealing with it moderately well, but that isn't saying much. He's been mending things to pass the time. Enough time to where he's on the last bit of armored vest. Over all it's alright, but needs some reinforcing in spots. Superspeed may have been involved, but he doesn't mention that. Instead he waits for Rashmi to finish and then says, "Keep sight of my many faces, Listen to the bells and chimes, Retrace all my muddled paces, And turn back the tides of time."
"Hopefully," Robin says in response to Pietro, nodding her head slowly. She sighs as the riddle is repeated and shakes her head, "I wish I could understand her. What is the riddle even trying to say?" She offers Magneto a polite nod. She's a little scared of him, so she doesn't say anything directly to him for now.
Magneto tilts his head. "The last line is clear enough… time and history can be undone. Since she is a time traveller, it may be that the point at which her actions start, causally, has yet to occur. If you track her 'faces', in terms of her age, you may be able to determine what that point is. The bells and chimes… a machine?" He looks around. "Or she might be talking about music boxes, a photo album, and a map. Did you get this from her?"
"In roundabout fashion," Rashmi answers with little sign of hesitation. "Heather tells Chloe back when they're still in school; Chloe remembers recently, I suppose tells Daisuke; Daisuke tells us. In the tick of time, so to speak," she says wryly. "And while I suppose I could rant for hours on end about the sheer *maddening* habit of the ideal solution to require jumping through hoops few of us have the energy to cross… There's simply nothing for it. So. A machine, music boxes, photo albums, maps. I suppose the next step would be to trace back our knowledge of the girl herself; sadly, most of what I know readily, only the chess games we played before she was turned."
"I don't know her at all." There's a shake of the head from Pietro about Heather. "However, I do remember Daisuke mentioning a watch." Which could be the source of the faces and chimes. "That he wondered if Chloe still had the watch." Repeating the names he's heard recently in an attempt to give his father more pieces to the puzzle. He falls silent for Rashmi, but decides to add nothing else. With mending in his lap he watches the oil lamp near his elbow. The oil in it is fairly low now.
"You played chess games with her?" says Robin, raising an eyebrow slightly. She didn't know that before, but she shrugs and says, "This is kind of giving me a headache. What does anyone even know about Heather? She wasn't part of the resistance at any point, I don't think. I'm sure I would have known about it if she was."
"A watch. Chimes." Magneto looks at Robin. "You have this watch? Does it have chimes?" He looks aside at Pietro, then back at the others. "If she is a time traveller laying hints for her own self, then she expects you to be able to decode this rhyme. However, you might not have all of the information you need yet—there may be more to come. Just in time, if she's a typical manipulative time type."
Rashmi snorts, clearly dissatisfied with the idea of more clues showing up at the convenience of the past. "I'll ask Chloe about the watch, then, thanks Pietro." Glancing up at Robin, then Magneto, the redhead nods. "Several games, Robin. By message drop. That's how I knew she'd become a Hound, her last message placed all our games into self-checkmate. She'd help when she was able, but, that tended to require paths crossing at just the right moment. …Which, as you say, Magneto, would fit with the sort of personality accustomed to working through time."
Pietro can only shrug to say he doesn't know. "I'm repeating what I heard moments before your arrival." Lifts his gaze to his father, clarifying that he doesn't know anything more than this. There's a nod to Rashmi for the thanks, but he does add, "Unless this game is merely for amusement and serves only to confuse." A disgruntled sound has the man putting his lapfull side. Done enough work for a few people, so he has no issue with stopping. As Pietro rises to his feet he's care of it. In as much as he moves well, there's definitely something wrong. Something hurts. "I am going to lay down." Said as he seeks to grip his father's shoulder. If he rests he may be of some use later. "Good luck with your riddle."
"I think Chloe has it, if it even exists anymore. It's probably broken," says Robin. Heather has worn the watch for the ten years leading up to her capture and then Chloe had it for ten more years after that. She shakes her head and cups her chin, "I'm not really used to that kind of thinking. Frankly, all this time travel stuff gives me a bit of a headache." She offers Pietro a wave, "Have a good rest."
Magneto looks aside at Pietro as his son grips his shoulder. "Sleep well, Pietro." He doesn't move to touch him in return. Keep things simple. He does pay attention when Robin speaks; he also frowns at her. "Are you giving up, Miss Robin? And is this an action that this Heather might expect of you? Or Chloe?" He pauses a moment, eyes narrowed, still staring at her… but he isn't really seeing her. He's seeing a young woman hanging off the edge of the roof of the Xavier mansion. Was that…? If so… "The most like explaination is one that is straightforward … in a sideways manner. Solvable, in other words."
Rashmi nods in agreement, pausing to throw a sideways glance at the elder mutant, wrinkling her nose. "It's solvable, or Heather would never have set it into motion. Just… we'll have to work on it, is all."
Robin shakes her head and says, a bit meekly, to Magneto, "Heather and I, we didn't know each other, but I doubt she would have expected me to give up. And I'm not. This is just kind of frustrating to think about. It's over my head, but I can still play Watson to your Sherlocks, so to speak."
"If it is a code, as opposed to a time-wasting red herring, then it is meant to be broken. My first impulse is that the first three lines tell you what to look for, or do, and the last tells you the goal you are working toward. If, as it seems on first glance, it is a recipe to negate the last ten years? It is worth all of the frustration it causes." Magneto looks from Rashmi to Robin and back again. "Was this Heather trustworthy? Both before and after she became a Hound?"
Rashmi snorts, lips turning up at the corners. "If you asked me back then, I'd call her nice enough, but well over half out of her mind. Back then she thought she was the literal center of the universe, and the rest of us, figments of her imagination. She could be trusted to help, before becoming a Hound. After…" The redhead shrugs. "Volk's the only one who'd managed to get through to her. But then, he jumps around space as well as she does time, so, I'd expect that of them." Glancing up, she tilts her head, arching an eyebrow. "But to get on with answering your question, before you start complaining; yes, I'd trust her to do the right thing if it mattered."
"I didn't know her well except, yeah, she thought everyone else was just a part of some kind of weird imaginary world she thought she was a part of," says Robin, nodding at what Rashmi says. She pauses for a moment and says, "Didn't she become a supervillain for awhile, though? I think I remember that… I imagine she hates the way our world's gone too, though."
"And you don't think that being a Hound doesn't make her a supervillain?" Magneto is amused. Oh, how the definitions change over the years. "But illusions… that only reinforces the idea that the rhyme is a code. It's part of the game."
Rashmi casts Magneto a sideways glance, eyebrow rising sharply. "As I recall, Theo was a supervillain as well, Magneto. Likewise, Scourge, Mystique, and by most technically-correct definitions, yourself as well. Why, I suppose your Brotherhood could in fact be lumped into the definition of a *team* of supervillains. And yet. Here we all are. The definitions don't change; only how much they truly matter at any given point in time. Which, like now, they don't. *Now then.* I suppose the next step will be to corner Chloe and ask her about the watch."
Nodding, Robin says, "I guess that makes sense. The watch might have some other clues…" She shrugs to Magneto and says, "Well, I kind of think that the words superhero and supervillain are a bit outdated now… I wouldn't call Hounds supervillains so much as mindless puppets of oppression. I feel bad for them." But not enough to let them live when encountered.
"Supervillainry is a political term with a subjective meaning, changeable as an election, Miss Eep. It is meaningless in any situation in which the culture giving it out is the target of the person it is applied to." Yes, Magneto remembers doing the talking heads thing with Rashmi. He still likes twitting her about it. Call it an old man's hobby.
And when Robin joins the fun? "If you believe the Hounds are mindless, girl, you will fall to one. If you believe they are all puppets, you will fall to one. If you believe that they are the product of oppression, solely and completely, then you will fall to one. Hounds have as many reasons for doing what they do as anyone else… forget that at your peril." Okay, not talking heads, but hard-headed.
"Actually, Magneto, I believe it's the Hunters you're talking about," Rashmi points out, raising a finger… however some of the pall of directionless anger seems to have slid from her shoulders. The strangest things can cheer a person up… "The Hounds, while I'll grant may have had as many reason as stars in the sky… Once Ahab gets a hold of them, their motivations drop down to two; Please their master, and serve the Hunters. ….Which is probably *why* they're called Hounds."
"I don't underestimate puppets," says Robin, rather plainly, "But that's what they are. They are tools of Ahab, minds replaced with fawning garbage. They might have a range of skills and intellectual abilities, but their motivations are simple. The Hunters… they are a different matter. They are even worse, since they do it under their own volition. In a choice between hating the hammer or the wielder for bashing in skulls, I find it easier to hate the wielder." She adjusts her glasses slightly, pushing them up her nose slightly, her right eye looking out at Magneto while her left remains eclipsed by the black painted lens. She pauses for a moment, and after some hesitation asks, "What happened to Mystique? Did she die in the attacks?"
"You don't think there are differences amoung Hounds, Miss Eep? Then answer me this: one Hound serves because he fears the punishment, while the other serves because she craves the reward. Which would you rather face on the field of battle… and why?" Magneto looks between Rashmi and Robin. "As for hammers vs. hammerers, I have a healthy respect for self-guided weaponry, especially since there are far more hammers than there are hammerers."
And then Mystique is mentioned. Oh… that one is still alive? Interesting…
"Punishment or reward, neither matters," Rashmi replies, shaking her head. "The programming forces them to obey regardless; one will take you with them because they believe Ahab will give them the greatest reward possible, beyond death. The other will take you with them because they believe it better to die than to fail their master. Either way, if not stopped decisively, the end result is the same. If the *goal* is to keep both yourself alive to fight, and the Hound alive to eventually deprogram, then the *ideal* target is the Hunter who holds their leash. Frighten them, prove too much of a threat for the Hounds to mitigate and the Sentinels to nullify, and the Hunter will pull the chain, allowing you time to retreat and evade the Sentinels." Lifting her shoulder, she marks the look of mild surprise on Magneto's face, and decides to answer Robin's question for him. "Mystique was supposed to be executed on live TV, Robin. Fortunately, a Harbinger was present, and in the confusion, delivered Mystique into our arms… My arms personally, as it would happen, and she was taken to Medical in time to save her life. Now we've all evacuated, I can't say where she is. If she's *smart,* and history has proven she is, she's probably as far away from the fighting as she can get, for the moment, waiting for her chance to slip away to try to build a new life." This, said utterly without rancor or distaste; building a new life is about all any of the Rebellion can hope for, and if Mystique has found a way, all to the good.
Robin raises her eyebrow slightly at Magneto's first question and tilts her head. "Still, I think you might have a point about there being a difference between the Hounds. They still have their own unique personalities. The one called Envy seems broken and robotic, while the one called Caleb seems to be cocky and snide… I wonder if it's worth asking what kind of Hound Heather is?" She shrugs her shoulders slightly, though she does say to Rashmi, "I know, but… Dingo attacked the infirmary, where Mystique still was. I remember when she was brought here quite well." Robin seems to have no love for Mystique, by the tone of her voice, "But I don't know all the details of what happened." She also adds, "I respect both the hammer and the wielder as bringers of death and horror, but I only hate the wielder. Hating the hammer, even though it must be stopped, is pointless."
"You're ignoring the question, Miss Eep. Making fine distinctions on a related but not identical topic wins you no points." Smirk. Getting Rashmi going is fun. There are so few minds in the Rebellion that have any philosophical appreciation whatsoever for things beyond black and white. Magneto misses Charles Xavier for that reason.
A pause, then, "Mystique was in the infirmary when Dingo hit it? And she lived. That… is inconsistent behavior on his part." As much as his attack as the Mole was, for other reasons. Magneto narrows his eyes, thinking. He ought to track the Australian down and get him talking. He suspects the chat would be very illuminating.
"If you're going to find him and ask questions, Magneto, you'd better make a rapid job of it," Rashmi notes, reading quite accurately the look that tends to presage the elder mutant doing something abrupt and personal, her own voice hard. "You heard Scourge; there's a kill on sight order on him, assuming he's idiot enough to show his face down here, and just about every fighter here is looking to make glassware out of him." Shifting one of the machine pistols at her hip for more comfort, she inclines her head. "That I am," she concedes. "But for the moment, I have greater priorities than playing pattycake with you over thought experiments. We'll have to pick it up once the smoke clears, I think. Right now, tactical realities hold greater appeal."
Robin shrugs and says flatly, "Well, I don't know if Mystique is still alive or not, that's why I'm asking… I have a bone to pick with her, and it's very slim pickings if she happens to be dead." She shrugs and adds, "And maybe some of these thought experiments are worthwhile. You mentioned Volk could get through to Heather after she became a Hound?"
Magneto grins. "Of course I'd do it quickly, Miss Franklin. Wouldn't want to waste my time, or his, on meaningless pleasantries." So she can read his expression. He wasn't exactly trying to hide it. "As for the argument… yes. I'll look forward to picking it up again." Or picking it again; same difference, for him.
A look at Robin, then back to Rashmi. It seems clear to him that Heather is the poster child for his concept of the Hound: a person slaved to a task, but with eccentricities of behavior which mean that the task may not be done in the way most immediately expected. He may be splitting hairs.
Then again, in his experience, a certain amount of hair-splitting is not only inevitable, but absolutely necessary. Time will tell with this one.
"As will I," Rashmi says, nodding slowly, glancing at Robin and sighing quietly. "…You're right, Robin, you are… But…" She shrugs, nose wrinkling. "I have a *lot* I have to think about already… and no small amount of things I can't *afford* to think about. I'm not sure I have enough room in my head to spare for psychoanalyzing Hounds. If that's what you want to do, however, then please, do, and *please* let me know if you come up with anything." A hand, raked through her hair, a slight slump against the tunnel wall. "I just don't know if I could add that to everything else and come up with anything useful."
Robin nods at Rashmi and says apologetically, "I don't mean to overwhelm you, I only want to help. I haven't really left the tunnels much these past years, so I don't know first hand any of this stuff, I was just asking questions to… help." She pauses for a few moments and shrugs, "But I can ask Volk and look into it more, along with my other notes and maps and charts. I might not be in league with some of you intellectual heavy hitters, but I'm sure I can contribute somehow." While Robin was a straight A student and is very intelligent in her own rights, she generally feels outclassed by others in the Rebellion whether or not that is an illusion.
"Notes and maps and charts?" Magneto nods to Robin, then tells Rashmi, "No wonder you're effective." Which is as close to a 'Buck up, kid' comment that Robin is likely to get from him.
He looks around the room; it has quieted as the night has progressed, until now, when the three of them are about the only ones moving. "Miss Franklin. Do you have any idea as yet when to expect things to… move?" A mild smirk. "I need to organize people, and having a timeline helps."
"And she's an even better scout, now that she doesn't treat her Blank as expendable," Rashmi says in a nod to Magneto, no small amoung of pride coloring her voice. "Frankly, Robin, I'm *incredibly* glad you do everything you can here, so knock that tone out of your voice. Seriously, though. If you can come up with anything, *please do* try to figure out the Hound mind. It *could* prove invaluable."
Looking a bit better for the day, Volk walks into the main chamber living quarters. Walks. Dressed in a clean set of clothes for once… a long leather coat over a dark green hooded top and a pair of grey slacks. The military boots are still present, and he looks like a russian dockworker on furlough. Hands in his pockets, he looks around for a moment, and just tilts his head to one side.
"I'll look into it. It might prove to be important," says Robin, nodding her head once at Rashmi. She takes her puppet control position for a moment and then reverts to normal. Likely she is just having Blank note something down. She adjusts her glasses slightly as she sees Volk coming, head tilting slightly at him, "Speaking of… Hello, Volk. You're looking sharp." Of course, the meaning of sharp has apparently devolved into meaning 'not filthy at the moment'.
Magneto looks up and narrows his eyes. When last seen, Volk was yelling at him… as much as Volk yells at anyone. But, since he doesn't appear to be in that same noisy mood today, the younger man gets a nod of greeting. "Volk."
"You look like you've had a good time," Rashmi says, evidently agreeing with Robin, "Where's your secret?" For herself, the redhead seems simply relieved to see Volk not held together with duct tape and pure brass-jacketed anger.
Looking back and forth for several moments the young man turns and walks in front of Magneto, looking him up and down for several moments, before growling out, "I… shouldn't be giving you… attitude. This… is the war… you warned us about… for a long time. The war… you knew would come. Being right doesn't… justify the means… you took towards it. But… it also… doesn't mean… I should expect… the same kind of smug… superiority… that made you more infamous than… Al-Qaeda. It was below me… to say such things. I hope… it won't… cause any… teamwork we'll need… to suffer for it…" Coughing at the end, and then digging a canteen from a pocket to take a swig.
Robin blinks a few times as Volk says al of these words. So many words coming out of him. She doesn't say anything, though, allowing him to interact with Magneto without any interruption.
Magneto eyes Volk as he speaks, letting him get the words out. "Why shouldn't you give me 'attitude', Volk? 'Attitude' is the word used for 'independent thought', and I'd rather you were able to think for yourself — and disagree with me, if that's your preference — than any form of 'polite deference'. Even if I do enjoy the deference more." A wave of the hand toward Rashmi. "Ask Miss Franklin."
Rashmi's lips twitch upward. "Besides," she adds, "it's not like that would have been the first time you yelled at him. Or me. Or, really, anyone else, if we're going to be honest." A brilliant, if mostly for-show, grin turned the elder mutant's way. "And besides, if you can tolerate me handing you 'assignments' without slapping me in the face with my own gun, I'm *pretty* sure we've a way yet before we hit the depths of this wellspring of patience you've stumbled on."
After another coughing fit, Volk can't help but smirk, "Magnus… I could break your damn… jaw… and you'd still find a way to get in… the last word. But… at least… you're OUR… bucket of stubborn." Hmphing, he turns and approaches Robyn, giving her a hug before saying in a whisper, "Like the coat? Got it at cost in Moscow… Took a day off to handle some stuff… when we're done… can keep if you want."
Hugging Volk in return, Robin tilts her head slightly for a moment and then nods at him once. "You really should keep it. It looks good on you." She seems to be a bit puzzled for a moment, but she smiles and gives another nod.
"I would never slap you in the face with your gun, Miss Franklin. I would make you eat it." A courtly bow. Magneto does have his priorities. Such as Volk getting a mild flick of an eyebrow. Curmudgeons start young these days… he recognizes the signs.
Rashmi inclines her head to Magneto, shoulders twitching with mirth. "Then I know who to snark at, if I start getting anemic. Thanks, Magneto. I needed the cheering up."
Where the others can't see it, Volk rolls his eyes, and with a bit of a sidelong grin he mumbles into Robin's ear, "In four years… has anyone… ever had the heart… to tell them they come off… as an old… married couple?" Patting her shoulders and then looking Robin over for a moment before nodding once in approval and walking towards the beds. This time said a bit more loudly, "Did I… interrrrrrupt something? A-pologies."
Robin snorts a bit to suppress a laugh at Volk's comment, though she doesn't manage to quite suppress the grin. She shrugs at Volk after he speaks the second time and says, "I don't really think there's much to interrupt. Just talking about Hounds and… I guess Heather left a riddle? We were talking about that too. Any input on these kinds of conversations are good inputs." She scratches her head lightly and shrugs.
Magneto looks at the two young people whispering together, shrugs a shoulder, and addresses Rashmi. "You never did answer my question earlier, Miss Franklin. Do you have any idea when everything is going up in the air?"
"I don't," Rashmi says in reply. "Only that it's going to be very soon. So… make sure whoever you decide to bring with yourself, Jono and Volk, are kept on high alert, and ready to pop out at a moment's notice."
As Volk sits on his bed, he removes the coat and curls it up like a pillow for his head, "If you… want to solve a riddle… like that. Heather… can't think like Heather… to beat Heather. But Heather would already know this. So… the question is… not how to solve the riddle. But… who was the riddle made for. Find the riddler… and find… your answer." Another drink taken before a coughing fit hits him again, and then a sigh, "As for… The Hounds? What… did you want… to know? I've fought… almost all of them… face to face. Learned a few… things."
Robin glances towards Rashmi and Magneto and then back towards Volk, "I think she gave it to Chloe in the past? I'm not clear on it. How does it go?" She bites her bottom lip and shrugs, "I'll remember it in a moment, anyways… I just wanted to know if the Hounds are different and how. Like… do they act differently from each other? What are their personalities like? I've seen a couple, and I know they aren't all the same. I'm wondering if there's any character weaknesses there to exploit."
This is about where he came in, as far as Heather's riddle is concerned, but the conversation about the Hounds keeps him in the room. "There appear to be different schools of thought about Hounds," he says. "Some say they are mindless puppets of their master, and others say they are more than that, and that some of these differences may be exploited by an observant foe. You claim experience with them; share this."
Laying back on the jacket, and actually taking a moment to inhale the scent of the leather, Volk closes his eyes, and then seems to focus on speaking, "Hounds… seem to be… dark reflections… abherrant… personality traits of… the converted. The overriding… factor… is their loyalty… to Ahab. Which is… not quite… familial… but also… not quite… slavish. I think… in doing so… he can.. enhance their… effectiveness… in some means… at the sacrifice… of others. This is why… Heather is different. Greater… degree of free will. Personality… than the others. However… this may also… be due… to her only recent… conversion. All the others… Hounds for years. More time for Ahab to… refine their personality traits… he desires. More time to sculpt them… to his image."
Looking back up at the others for a moment, there's a bit of a flat look, "Hounds… are the best weapons… because of the shock value… of a beloved friend… now a mortal enemy. Not caring… about how long they've known you. That… is the weakness to exploit… the power of the Hound. Even if… their combat effectiveness is limited… because of their strange behavior… ultimately, the psychological edge… is more paramount. You're less… willing… to kill a former friend who is a slave… than you are… a willing Hunter."
Rashmi nods slowly, as Volk gives his lecture on the psychological edge given to the Hounds by their very identity. "Good," she says, lips twitching upward, "now I know I have a problem in the hands of the experts. Don't worry about talking too loud," she says as she shrugs off her jacket, wadding it up to stuff behind her head. "I'm tired enough I'll sleep right through it. Sorry to pontificate and run, Magneto… but I should *really* get sleep before someone decides to knock me out themselves…"
Magneto gives Rashmi a jaundiced look. "I disbelieve you about being sorry for pontificating." Yes, he's twisting her words. Your point? "I believe I should be going, myself, fascinating as this conversation is. Hounds…" He shakes his head. "If they rely on that psychological edge you mentioned, Volk, that could be one of their weaknesses, too. Not everyone in the Rebellion is sentimental about old friends." He stretches and heads for an exit. "Good night to you all."
As he turns over to slip off for his own nap, the man says in his usual growling tone, "You're… missing the point. You don't fight a Hound by fighting the creature… that Ahab has made. You fight them… by fighting that… which they were created from. The flaw… in the Hound… is not the Hound… but the person they were… before they were taken. Good night."
Robin nods at Rashmi and says, "Have a good night, Rashmi. I'll try to figure something out." She also offers a wave to Magneto. To Volk she nods and then, after a moment's hesitation, asks, "Do you think there's any way to exploit Heather's differentness? Her personality? I'm just curious about the personalities of the Hounds, because it could give some insight into either how to beat them in future encounters…"
Volk rumbles back as the others depart, "Half the war… is already fought… by Heather herself… she's… always right. She never loses… so how… could Ahab… suddenly be more important… than her. Ponder it… I need sleep as well, Robin. So… do you."
