Players:
Summary: Magneto reveals a disturbing discovery of anti-mutant activity, and seeks Vincent and Theo's help to stop it.
Date: September 15, 2010. 9:57pm.
Log Title: The Game
Rating: PG-13
Xavier's Mansion - Recreational Room
What was once the Parlor has been turned into a Recreation Room for the students. A nice plush carpet meets the light blue walls giving it a homey feel. A pool table at one end, a foos ball table at the other, and entertainment center with video game systems, movies, and of course, cable TV. Big comfy chairs and couches surround a coffee table for comfortable loafing. Long glass windows with a pair of French doors line one side of the room bringing in plenty of light during the day. The main rule in here is to clean up after yourself.
Magneto has been busy; he's made some calls, done some research, and received some answers. There's more work to do, but it's a good start, and more then enough to start the next phase. So, when Vincent presents himself at the Embassy, Magneto is there. "Good evening, young Vincent. Come with me." And they're off, flying north.
It won't be hard to figure out the destination: Vincent has been there, after all. So when Mags lands in the courtyard and his costume morphs into a business suit as he walks into the mansion, the setting is at least familiar. When they reach the Recreation Room, "Theo. You received my message. Thank you for making yourself available."
Theo has found himself a book, and is sitting in the Rec Room, shoes on the couch, and his ancient civilization book in his hand. "Hey," he says casually, letting the book drop face up onto his lap. "So… What'd you need?" he asks, his eyes drift to Vincent briefly.
Vincent follows in behind Erik, his mind still reeling from the information still presenting itself to him. Once in the rec room Vincent walks in as if he's not sure what to do with himself, despite the fact he lived here for most of his life. His eyes dart around the room as if seeing it again for the first time and then they fall on Theo whom Vince gives a nod and replies "Hello." Kind of awkward but not too much to expect when you're on the coat tails of Magneto.
"Young Vincent. This is Theodore Fegenbush, a young man of varied and useful talents. Mr. Fegenbush, this is Vincent Lorimar. You have certain … encounters … in common." Magneto crosses his arms and looks between the two. "Both of you have encountered persons intent on killing you because your genetic heritage marks you as the next step."
Theo nods. "Hey," he returns. "So, join the club. Had it happen again a couple weeks ago." Though Magneto may have heard. He pulls his hand up and lets the book close, and then tosses it onto a side table. He doesn't get up though. "It's getting to be a regular hobby."
Vincent looks over at Magneto and then at Theo with a understanding look. "Mine was a few days ago. I got the shooter, " Then he looks back at Erik, "but now I'm hunting down the man behind the gun." Vince says before he moves over to sit down on a stool after dragging it closer to the others. "Guess it's something I'm built for." Vincent says looking down at his hands.
"Yes." Magneto looks between the two again. "Theo. The man who attacked Vincent was a person named David Schiff." The smile he gives Vincent is both pleased and cold. "Fortunately, young Vincent has made sure that Mr. Schiff will never inconvenience another mutant. I would see this achievement built on."
He pulls out a flash drive from seeming nowhere and holds it between two fingers. "I have given Mr. Schiff a basic background check, and I believe he can be of use to us… with Mr. Lorimar here taking his place." Another glance between the two. "Do you want to hear more?"
Theo arches his brow, but still remains seated. He understands the implications, clearly. "I'm still here," he says simply. He seems to be reserving judgment on the situation until after he hears more.
Vincent listens closely to Magneto's words and looks at the flash drive quizzically. He raises his eyebrows as Erik's words sink in. "I'm interested." Vincent replies, leaning forward, resting his weight on his elbows and opening his ears.
Magneto offers the flash drive to Theo. "Schiff's records need to be tracked down and modified so that Mr. Lorimar appears in all ways to be him. I have the resources to deal with physical appearances. Schiff appears to have been on his way to join a team of persons whom he met in an internet forum for the Contest. Mr. Lorimar, for your information, the Contest is a game that the humans are playing. They get points for killing us."
Theo takes the flash drive between two fingers, and then places his thumb over the end of it as he gets up and walks over to his laptop, left on the ping pong table. He opens it, and plugs the flash drive in. "That…is pretty twisted. Maybe I'm glad I'm grounded. How long does this game run?" He pulls up the files, notably not using his power to do so, he seems to be accessing it normally.
"What…?" Vincent asks, not sure what to think of this. "I'll definitely do what I can, now I'm gonna ask how far do you want me to take it? Because if I can take out those humans when I meet them. I wont hesitate."
"Not immediately, Mr. Lorimar. The organizers of the Contest are, according to information that I have been given, intend to make an attack upon the block party that will surround the official opening of the Genoshan Embassy. That will be soon, so I do think that the teams will be concentrating their attentions on making a showing at that time. What you will need to do is play a part — the part of the late Mr. Schiff — up until the block party. At that time…" Magneto shrugs. "I do not want ANY participant in the Contest to escape, and since I know that not all participants have online profiles…."
The technopath stands at the ping pong table, listening. He cycles through the information, and then pulls his phone from his pocket, along with a USB cable. He opens the iPhone, which is not the school issued phone, and sets up a tether to the internet. Surely he could connect to the internet through the wireless, but he chooses to opt for a slower connection. He starts to access the URLs one after another. "Damn, this isn't just some backyard bigot contest," he says. "This is the real thing."
"So the idea is that I'm going to infiltrate this group as a fellow player in this mutant hunt, only to betray and literally back stab these assholes in the back at the opening of the Embassy?" Vincent asks, putting one leg on the ground and looking up to Magneto for confirmation.
"The contest has a ten million dollar main prize. Yes… not your backyard hooligan group." Magneto flexes his fingers, then makes fists. "They record kills and have scoreboards, online, with daily, weekly, and monthly high scores. They will be stopped." He turns his back on both young men and paces to the nearest window to look out into the night. "Top to bottom, they will be stopped. That is what you must concentrate on, Mr. Lorimar. You will need to gather as much information as you can about everyone you come in contact with, because if even one of these… people," he spits the word, "escapes, then it could start again."
"So I guess you want me to hack their sites and databases," Theo completes his role, since he doesn't know what else it might be good for. "Most of these sites seem to be basic, they shouldn't take long to hack. These three seem to be made really professionally, they are going to be the one's worth cracking into."
Vincent looks over at Theo with a raised eyebrow, hacking was always beyond his scope of understanding. He then looks over to Magneto, "Ok, so I'm doing recon against this anti mutant 'game' and eventually will go from recon to termination." Vince seems a little too accepting of this task set before him. "I guess you should start calling me David from now on."
Magneto smiles. "You seem disappointed, Mr. Fegenbush. Would you be as disappointed if I tell you that I suspect the people of this game to have targeted your family, either as a practice run, or as an actual move in the game? I have not forgotten my promise to you… and I want you to have a hand in the actions we take. You are uniquely suited to winkling out these people's net-based secrets. We cannot effectively oppose them without you."
He looks to Vincent then. "You have it, Mr. Schiff. If you have things that you will need to wrap up before going undercover, I suggest you do so tonight. We need to get you in place as soon as possible."
The dark-haired teen grows quiet for a long moment, and then places his hand on the laptop's keyboard, though not in a manner to press keys. He closes his eyes. One of the three windows comes to the front. And images start to disappear, soon, all of the formatting of the page is gone, and the text remains, disconnected and out of place. Then the text disappears, being replaced by a string of code. The code moves, and begins to shift. Soon the page begins to reform, looking just as it did previously, except for a button on the bottom right of the page, very small. The mouse moves to it quickly, and a save box comes up. "Give me a picture of Vincent, and I can begin to edit this site's information about him." The file is saved as 'List'. He pulls the drive back out of the computer and carelessly tosses it toward Magneto. "There's the list of names. There will be more to get, but it should keep you busy for a while. If the Cleansers are a part of this, I get to take them out. But if you're just telling me this to get me to help you, I'll make you sorely regret it." The technopath's tone has gone from casual to frightfully serious. This just moved out of the realm of academic. Now it's personal.
Vincent nods to Magneto as he gets up off of the stool and straightens the sleeves of his jacket out, a smirk on his face at the perfectness of how everything in his life is falling into place, except for one thing. Eris. "I can start as soon as you want me to." Vincent says to Magneto, but he pauses and looks over at Theo, only able to imagine the pain his fellow mutant is feeling.
Magneto turns his smile on Theo. "Mr. Fegenbush. Thank you. You will receive photos by morning, several styles, several views, different ages. Use as appropriate."
He turns away toward Vincent. "And young Theo? If my information is wrong, it is only wrong. But don't you think a group that calls itself 'Cleansers' would find something like the Contest irresistible?" The threat he ignores. "Mr. Schiff. I believe you have an appointment with a photographer tonight. Let us get you there."
Theo doesn't look happy with Magneto's response, mistrustful. "I dunno. They seemed bent on getting other people to do their dirty work for them when they came to my town. I'd expect them to organize people to take part more than do it themselves. But I want to be more active in this if they are involved." He closes his computer.
Vincent nods and starts to move towards the door. "Alright then, lets get started." David says, trying to get used to his new identity.
Magneto pauses in the doorway. "Then they are associated with this Contest, and are still on the plate to be taken out with it." He nods his head. "Good evening, Mr. Fegenbush. It has been good to see you. Mr. Schiff? We go." And he leaves, striding as if his beautifully tailored suit is a cloak and armor. By the time he gets back out to the courtyard, it is.
