4/11 Instance: No News is Good News

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Svartfreja
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4/11 Instance: No News is Good News

Post by Svartfreja »

Timelined after [fic]Rampaging Nord.


<Carol> As her office had been one of the many unfortunate casualties of Danger's exit through the roof, Carol was doing her marking on the sofa in the recroom. This was preferable because she could never find her desk anyway, maybe this would prove to be a blessing in disguise. Her office would be tidy when they fixed it. She sipped her coffee and checked the time, turning the television to the news.

<Shaw> It was the scent of coffee that attracted him during their tour of the destruction of the new school. "And this," he said, sidestepping a pile of debris and steering Jessica with a hand on the small of her back, "is why we live in Boston proper and not the Danvers lunatic asylum." Since he'd spotted the back of a familiar blonde head as they entered the room, he pitched that last bit to carry.

<Carol> "You miss all the fun," Carol called over her shoulder, "There were crazy robots and everything." She added another paper to the top of her pile and watched it fall sideways off the arm of the sofa. She stared at it for a moment before turning to pick up the next assignment.

<Jessica> Jess giggled and stepped into the room properly, glancing around - it seemed to have escaped most of the damage though it was, like most of the place, a little chilly despite the fire in the hearth.

<Shaw> "I have one of those already." Still, it was impressive Danger had done all of this. "I see at least one coffeepot survived the latest crisis."

<Carol> "I would have put another hole in the building if I couldn't get coffee. There's always coffee." She wrinkled her nose, "I think we need a remedial english class..."

<Shaw> "Oh, you need a great many things." He escorted Jess to a chair and glanced at the television. "Tea, love? I'll locate that coffee for myself."

<Jessica> "Yes please," Jess sat down and offered a smile to the Colonel, "And biscuits?"

<Carol> "The kitchen survived but you might have to go outside to get to it, they haven't finished patching the floor..."

<Shaw> "Tea and biscuits it is." He only paused for a moment at this news. "...of course," he deadpanned, smirking at Danvers.

<Carol> "While you're up, more coffee would be awesome," Carol called after him.

<Shaw> Already halfway out of the room, he called back. "Yes, I'll just find a tray. Perhaps a nice apron while I'm at it?"

<Hope> Hope was drawn in to the rec room, following voices. Seeing who it was, she paused, considering staying. "Hey."

<Jessica> Jess recognised the voice instantly, her face lighting up, "Hope!" She half attempted to get up to go over to her but then she remembered how long that would take her to do and gestured her over instead.

<Hope> "Hey Jess." Hope leaned back against the wall, easing into this social situation.

<Carol> Carol laughed to herself, shaking her head, she'd pay good money to see that. She glanced around at Hope and offered her a smile.

<Shaw> He stopped short when he heard Hope's voice and backtacked. "Hello, Little Stark." Head tilted, he carried on. "Would you like coffee too?"

<Hope> "With scotch, thanks." She shot Sebastian just a little bit of a smile.

<Shaw> Dipping his chin in a slight bow, he ventured to the kitchen to start his career as a maid.

<Jessica> Jess patted the sofa beside her, inviting Hope to come and sit with her.

<Hope> Taking a few deep breaths, Hope made the walk to sit by Jess. Why didn't she keep a flask on her?

<Jessica> Jess took her hand and gave it a squeeze, "Haven't seen you in a while... sorry about that."

<Carol> Carol turned the volume up on the news a couple of points.

<Hope> "It's fine. Been busy anyway." Hope assured her.

<Jessica> "Yeah? Everything okay?" She was concerned but tried not to let that into her voice.

<Hope> No. Everything wasn't ok. Hope put her dazzling smile on anyway. "Of course."

<Jessica> "Good..." She knew it was a lie but she let Hope keep that small victory if it made her feel better about things.

<Carol> Carol shushed them and turned up the news some more as they recapped their top story. "Ooooh crap... Damn it, I so don't want to go to Alaska..."

<Hope> "Alaska?" That had Hope's attention. She looked at the TV immediately.

<Carol> The pictures were bad, the scenes of devestation laid out, a town completely flattened. This was bad. She was glad her cellphone was dead and her office phone was in a crater.

<Jessica> Jess stared at the television, one hand over her mouth and the other giving Hope's a squeeze.

<Hope> Hope pulled away from Jess to get closer to the television, trying to make sense of what she saw on the television.

<Shaw> True to her word, there had been no floor in the hall to the kitchen, and though Sebastian had given the narrow ledge remaining a hard stare, he decided to go around. After all, these trousers were new and he had no desire to rip them if the floor finished its collapse.

<Shaw> Making coffee and tea and even locating alcohol and cookies had been the easy part, and sure enough he'd been forced to find a tray to take it back the long way. "....no reliable estimates yet on casualties..." he heard on his way into the room.

<Jessica> "God... this is awful..." Jess didn't want to be watching the news. She avoided it for a reason - a reason being demonstrated quite well right at the moment.

<Shaw> The awful became apparent when he saw the screen, and read the ticker. Alaska. He frowned and set down the tray on the coffee table, taking the seat Hope had abandoned and Jess' hand.

<Hope> The screams were fixed in Hope's mind, even if they weren't on the tv. She knew how they would sound. She was already back there in her mind. Her fingers fumbled for her phone. She needed to tell Bobby they were flying to his motherland.

<Shaw> One of the anchor's speculations made his eyebrows rise. "Animal attack? Are they mad?"

<Carol> Carol picked up her coffee and scowled at the television as the presenters announced there were grainy images of what they thought might be the culprit. "No animal could do this..."

<Shaw> "Well, there are several human animals quite capable." He glanced at Hope.

<Jessica> "I don't like it..." Jess attempted to hide behind Sebastian from the tv.

<Hope> Hope started texting Bobby, glancing back up at the screen. Animal... maybe a mutant out of control? Somebody they needed to save? Or stop.

<Shaw> It's fine, love. Sebastian was still watching Hope, but slid his arm around Jessica and kissed the top of her head. "How far is that from your birthplace, Little Stark?"

<Hope> Hope jumped at her name. She reprocessed what he just asked her before answering. "Close."

<Viper> Arriving in style, as always, Viper may have broken her promise but she was sure it was a good enough reason. She made sure to activate her personal forcefield for the inevitable reaction - the room was occupied, after all.

<Shaw> "I'm sorry-" His thought was interrupted by the unmistakeable signature of one of Sarkissian's teleportation devices. He tensed and automatically tried to push Jessica further behind him and half stand. Jess...

<Jessica> Jess' eyes widened, her gaze going between Viper and Hope and Carol, she tightened her hold on Sebastian's hand. Help me up.

<Hope> Hope was on her feet at once. Where the hell was Bobby?

<Carol> Carol was also on her feet, the assignments on the floor now coffee stained and wet. "What the hell?!"

<Viper> "Calm down," Viper rolled her eyes, holding her free hand up in a gesture of surrender - in her other she held a file. "I come in peace."

<Shaw> Sebastian turned to help his wife but kept himself between her and Sarkissian. Why is she here? "Peace," he muttered.

<Hope> Icy powers secured, Hope kept her eyes on Viper. "What do you want?"

<Jessica> How the hell should I know? She promised she wouldn't do this... Jess peered out from behind her husband, her expression confused and alarmed.

<Viper> "I am fulfilling a request. I thought you would like the information as soon as I had it and I see it is not a moment too soon," she nodded toward the television. "You are missing a member of your staff. A Christopher Nord, yes? I know where he is." She held out the file, temporarily deactivating her forcefield but being prepared to activate it again at a moment's notice.

<Carol> Carol eyed the woman warily but took the file from her anyway - it wasn't as though she had a lot to fear from her.

<Shaw> "A request," he repeated flatly, hand tightening on Jessica's.

<Hope> Hope immediately grabbed the file from Carol. She had to know about Chris.... after Viper left the room.

<Carol> "Who gave you this request?" That was a mighty large security hole if ever there was one.

<Viper> She briefly raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on her lips. It was so obvious but she decided to let them flail around for Jessica's sake, "It's a secret. Now, I have done my part. Good luck." She inclined her head politely to them before teleporting back out again.

<Shaw> Sebastian had a sneaking suspicion, and his lips thinned. Their link and Sarkissian's reaction confirmed it.

<Hope> Hope tore open the file and began reading through it as soon as Viper was gone.

<Jessica> Jess bit down on her lower lip. She was probably in some trouble now. She decided she'd hide behind the tea and biscuits for now and released Sebastian's hand to get them.

<Carol> Carol's eyes narrowed at the departure before she rounded on Hope, "Anything useful in there?"

<Shaw> He let her go and watched for a moment, then turned his attention to Hope and Carol.

<Hope> Hope passed Carol the file. "Viper came through. I'm going to Alaska." She turned toward the door.

<Shaw> "Not alone you're not," he said, expression sour.

<Hope> "Duh. But you aren't coming."

<Carol> "You're not going right this second. Sit your ass down." Carol fixed Hope with a stern look.

<Hope> "I don't take orders from you." Hope gave Carol a look.

<Jessica> "Are they keeping him in Alaska? Or... is it him that did that?" Jess didn't look at the television but they could probably figure out what she meant.

<Carol> "Yes you do. You're my responsibility while you're here. So sit. Or do I have to call your dad?"

<Shaw> Sebastian hadn't planned on it, but Hope's tone made his eyebrows rise. "You need to stop and think before you rush into an explosive situation - literally." He looked at the television, then back at Hope. "Is that him then?"

<Hope> "Call him." Hope looked at Sebastian. "It's him. I don't know how. I don't know why. But it's him. And I'm going. And neither of you, nor my dad, or anyone else is going to stop me."

<Carol> "You're not going now. Even if you could get all the way there, what are you planning to do when you get there? Fight your way in to a facility full of probably armed guards with what powers? The powers of stubborn and bitchy? Because, while impressive, they don't make you bullet proof."

<Shaw> "Right, of course, so you can fall directly into a trap, or face down your own lover." He took a step closer to Hope.

<Jessica> "Um... Hope... maybe you should think of a plan first... get a group together... you know... just in case..." Jess offered the biscuits to her instead.

<Hope> Hope threw the biscuit at the wall. "If you want to sit on your ass like the X-men usually do, be my guest. I'm done."

<Carol> "Sit on our asses? Excuse me?" Carol reminded herself she should not get mad at the President's daughter but it was so hard not to. "Do you have any idea what we've been up to while you've been moping in that trailer?"

<Shaw> Sebastian rolled his eyes and took out his phone.

<Jessica> "Hope... be reasonable... he's not going anywhere... there's time to plan this properly..."

<Hope> "You're kidding right? he just wiped out an entire town. And you want to wait? for what?"

<Jessica> "For a plan! He wiped out a town! That's a thing that says you need a plan!" Jess winced as the baby kicked in what she assumed was agreement.

<Jessica> Or maybe it was a reminder about blood pressure. One of the two.

<Hope> "The fuck kind of plan do you want?! They go to hell the moment there are boots on the ground!"

<Shaw> The link was sometimes distracting at moments like this and he gave Jessica a worried stare, then resumed texting.

<Jessica> "I want the plan where you don't end up dead because you've gone there on your own and he flattens you like the town on the telly..." She wasn't going to cry. Wasn't.

<Carol> Carol facepalmed. She decided to go and block the doorway.

<Shaw> "Yes, they do, but it still pays to begin with a plan." Now that Tony was duly warned and he'd contacted his own people, he fought the urge to comfort Jessica -- or perhaps cry? -- and moved closer to Hope to stare her down.

<Hope> That just made her roll her eyes at him. "Call me when you have a plan then. I won't hold my breath."

<Shaw> He bared teeth at her. "Sit down, Little Stark."

<Hope> "I will. Back in the trailer. When you are finished with the talking stick and deciding what the best possible option will be, come get me."

<Shaw> "You're absolutely infuriating." He snatched the file from her hand.

<Carol> "I'm going to get more coffee. If I come back and you're not here, I'm going to be pissed." Carol informed Hope, "Stay in this state."

<Jessica> Jess sat back down on the sofa and stuffed a biscuit in her mouth.

<Hope> Hope smirked at Sebastian and pushed her way past him. "Oh sir, yes sir."

<Shaw> He caught her arm and spun her back into the room.

<Hope> "Let. Me. Go." She hissed at him.

<Shaw> "Not until you stop reacting and think."

<Hope> "I said. Let. Me. Go." She could feel herself growing colder quickly. He couldn't hold onto her forever.

<Jessica> She wished she hadn't sat down, she didn't want the tv on anymore but the remote was miles away... and she couldn't stop the images replaying in her mind, anyway, and replacing the casualties with people she knew. She sniffled.

<Shaw> The cold was growing painful and he slammed the link with Jessica closed before she could pick it up. "Hope, you need to stop."

<Hope> "And you need to let me the fuck go. Now." She pushed him with her icy cold free hand.

<Carol> Coffee jugs were a thing of beauty, especially ones that were still half full. She was also glad she didn't have to go the long way around because she could fly. "So... do I have to cuff her and put her in a timeout?" Carol spoke over Hope and directly to Sebastian.

<Shaw> He didn't let go, and Carol's reappearance distracted him and gave Hope the chance to touch bare skin.

<Hope> Hope took the distraction of Sebastian to pull on her arm and push at Sabastian again. "Leave me the fuck alone! All of you!"

<Shaw> "You aren't thinking clearly, and that you can't see that is proof enough." The push barely moved him, but the cold was getting hard to ignore and he nodded at Carol.

<Jessica> "Let her go..." Jess voice was wobbly at best, "She's not going anywhere except the trailer... Right, Hope?"

<Carol> Carol reached for the pocket with the cuffs, just in case.

<Shaw> He barked a laugh before he could stifle it and tried to shift his old on Hope.

<Hope> Desperate, frustrated, and pissed beyond belief, Hope inhaled, then slowly exhaled as she transformed herself into a fine mist. It was risky, but it would get her out of his grip and somewhere she could be more productive... supposing she could reconstitute herself.

<Carol> "... I hate elemental mutants." And she was probably going to take it out on Bobby later because he was an easier target than Hope. Sad but true.

<Shaw> Sebastian found himself startled and holding Hope's empty clothing. "For fuck's sake." He threw the shirt to the sofa.

<Jessica> Had that laugh been directed at her? She didn't like that. She shrank back into the sofa and threw a biscuit at the tv in the hopes of hitting the power button by some miracle.
:quicksilver Pietro Maximoff [Quicksilver]

Quicksilver: Howisshe?Isshealright?Imusetspeakwithmysisteratonce.
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IronMan: That is the noise Pietro makes right before he's tossed out of the airlock. ~ Avengers: The Children's Crusade #6
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