Timelined a couple of days after Full Disclosure
<Pietro> The Hellfire Club was a different animal than it had been a year ago, everyone was on edge. It was sort of amusing when you knew the cause of their unease but they tried to cover it. It was probably less obvious to people without mutant abilities to pick up on the miniscule details but he was not one of those people. He, however, was not uneasy and leaned against the bar with the good scotch, watching the room.
<Shaw> People were probably even more on edge since Sebastian had put in a surprise appearance tonight. After meeting and greeting, he'd retired to his office for a while, but it was nearly time for his meeting. Sebastian got up and checked his reflection in the mirror. It seemed worth the effort to go all out and look his part tonight, so he checked to make sure that ridiculous cravat was still straight.
<Shaw> Satisfied, he strolled down the hall, his drink already in hand, and appeared beside the bar. Smirk in place, he surveyed his domain and waited to be noticed.
<Pietro> Pietro's eyes picked up the movement but he decided to get more scotch before he went to say hello. Swapping the empty glass for the full one, he straightened up and went to see the Black King.
<Shaw> The smirk ramped up when he caught sight of Maximoff, and he moved around the bar and extended his hand. "Good evening, Pietro. I trust you're enjoying our hospitality tonight?"
<Pietro> "I'm enjoying the scotch," he replied with a smirk of his own, shaking Sebastian's hand.
<Shaw> "Excellent. And if you like that, I'll have to introduce you to my private stock." Sebastian smiled, showing too many teeth, and looked around the room. "Let's have a seat, yes?" He extended a hand toward the main room, then lowered his voice slightly. "It will do nicely to keep them all astir."
<Pietro> "In that case, lead the way. It's kind of entertaining to watch them squirm... this makes me a bad person but I don't care."
<Shaw> "Oh, not at all. It makes you perfect for the Inner Circle." He grinned again and signaled the bartender as he made his way to his usual booth. Sebastian nodded to a few choice members on his way.
<Pietro> Pietro laughed, shaking his head, "I should not be in charge of anything, it'll go to my head."
<Shaw> "Nonsense." Sebastian set his tumbler on the polished surface of the table with a click and slid into the booth. He'd already checked who was on what side of them so he could best gauge his audience.
<Pietro> "It's not, there's crazy people genes in my family. Best not to aggravate them." Though, it was arguable he did enough of that on his own with his research.
<Shaw> "I'm aware of your father's predilections," he said with a grin. "But, we aren't entirely defined by our genetics. You know this more than anyone. And, you have a growing family to protect."
<Shaw> Sebastian took a sip of his scotch and savored it. "Speaking of, how are Illyana and the children?"
<Pietro> "Oh they're fine," he glanced around the room, "She's finally getting used to the idea of me teaching at the school. I thought she was going to freak out about the whole Danger exploding through the roof thing but... she took that surprisingly well."
<Shaw> "Well, I suppose she did live there." He shrugged one shoulder. "At the old school, at any rate." Something occurred to him and he leaned forward. "By the way, what do you drive? For the children."
<Pietro> Pietro blinked at him, "Drive? My wife's a teleporter and I hate driving. With a passion. It's unbearably slow, I don't know how people do it every day."
<Shaw> He cocked his head. "I can't imagine running with two toddlers is the most effective means of transportation if she isn't teleporting them."
<Pietro> "Well we don't really have to go anywhere - the house is huge, the gardens are.... more huge and they also have teleportation and super speed between them. I don't want to think of the trouble they'd get themselves in if we took them out anywhere, they do fine in the house."
<Shaw> Sebastian hummed to himself, thinking of Jessica - raised cooped up with her father. "I've just been looking into a new vehicle. Something safe for Jess and the baby, and something I can tinker with if necessary." Sebastian swirled his glass and smirked. "Or if I get bored."
<Pietro> "Well, there's plenty of things out there... I know Emma's looking at things for when she thinks she can handle taking them out, I can get her to send you her finalists, if you like?" He slid his suddenly empty glass back and forth between his hands on the table top.
<Shaw> The speed was fascinating, if not a bit offputting, and he leaned in the booth to summon the bartender. "Thank you. I would appreciate that."
<Pietro> "No problem, Emma lives to be helpful," he gave Sebastian a smile, "You given any thoughts to what you'll do if the baby's powers manifest before he or she is walking?"
<Shaw> "I suppose it depends on the powerset she manifests," he said carefully. If nothing else, at least the news that Broo really was a hybrid of human and alien DNA meant that their daughter wouldn't be a giant roach.
<Pietro> "Got any preference?" He carefully set the glass to one side before he knocked it too fast and blew it up.
<Shaw> "I don't know that a preference matters, as she will have whatever nature intends, yes?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Jessica's clinging abilities in a young child would be a challenge, but our enhanced senses or much of my ability..." He shrugged.
<Pietro> "Ah, come on, it's fun to hypothesise," he encouraged, "Just, whatever you do, don't mention any of the theories to Jessica. You will regret it."
<Shaw> "I'm sure I would," he chuckled. "A baby that could blast me with an electrical charge during a diaper change would make life interesting."
<Pietro> He laughed, "Yeah, but at least that wouldn't be necessarily life-threatening to you." More scotch had arrived, he took the fresh glass and slid the empty one toward the bar tender.
<Shaw> "To me, no, but Jess isn't immune to her own ability unfortunately." Then there was telepathy, which had made his own teen years a living hell.
<Pietro> "Well that's never fun... it's rare too." He frowned, "Usually mutants are immune to their own powers and most things that are similar."
<Shaw> "It's very unfortunate. Her immunity to poisons would be a good inherited ability, but it also renders her immune to drugs - all of them." He ran his fingertip around the edge of the glass. "So you can imagine she's rather frightened of labor."
<Pietro> "Yeah, I get that. With my metabolism, painkillers don't stay in my system for very long which was just so great when Eddie broke my legs."
<Shaw> Sebastian's lip raised in horrified sympathy. "My condolences. I rather like painkillers myself." He raised his glass in salute and took a sip.
<Pietro> "They are great when they're working. Fortunately, there's that nice invention that wasn't supposed to be nice so we can get people to turn our powers off. I'm sure SHIELD would loan an inhibitor cuff for the duration."
<Shaw> "Yes, she has one." He sipped again. "And I'm considering other options for when the time comes."
<Pietro> "Other options?" He raised an eyebrow.
<Shaw> He licked his lips, considered, then shrugged. "I've been able to block pain for her before." Sebastian looked up at the other man. "Through our telepathic link."
<Pietro> Pietro's eyebrows went up. So Shaw was a telepath? Interesting. "Well that's useful... but I don't know how well it'd hold up against pushing a tiny human out of a tiny hole pain... maybe you should practice first."
<Shaw> "We've talked about it in passing, but yes, the time is approaching." He rubbed a finger across the tabletop. "After a fashion, I have been practicing, and attempting to research the subject. My ability is weak, but it almost seems to be getting stronger."
<Pietro> "Well powers do that over time if you use them enough... they evolve. Mine did... they got way more annoying.... I'm sure that's helpful for you to know."
<Shaw> "Fantastically helpful." He laughed.
<Pietro> Pietro laughed too, taking another sip of his scotch, "It's okay, when mine evolved there was a whole new dynamic I had to deal with but at least you already have the basics down and they won't change for you. You're lucky."
<Shaw> "Yes, at least my shielding is fairly iron-clad," he mused. And, he'd learned to shield Jess as well when necessary. Shaking himself, he straightened. "So, since her time is nearing, I've been hesitant to make the last move necessary to assume complete control, since it will require a trip to England."
<Pietro> Pietro raised an eyebrow, "Unless she's coming with you, I'd suggest you get it out of the way because otherwise it'll never happen. Babies are time consuming."
<Shaw> "I did want her to come, yes, but you may be right." He sighed. "She will have a place with me, and I wanted her to assume it at the same time, but it may be impractical."
<Pietro> "Unless you get a babysitter you can trust... and I know trust is probably a huge thing with you... especially with the crazy of this place trying to kill you or scramble your brains every five minutes."
<Shaw> "Precisely." Sebastian sipped his scotch again. "I want you to have a place as well, if not among the high Lords Cardinal, then at least in the Inner Circle. We are of a like mind, and have families to protect."
<Pietro> "I'm not sure Illyana would like it but I know I'd feel better if I was in a position to know what was going on... it's not like I don't have time for all these little hobbies... and, of course, it's good for the ego."
<Shaw> "Everyone enjoys a good ego stroke," he said with a smirk. "Would you be more comfortable serving here, or in a higher position?"
<Pietro> "I've been surrounded by this crap all my life, it's weirdly like home. I'll go wherever I'm needed as long as you don't mention it to my wife."
<Shaw> "Excellent news." Although, if there ever was a time to change tradition... "What do you think we should do to modernize and improve this... dog and pony show?" Sebastian gestured at the club with his glass in hand.
<Pietro> "Well we'd have to kick all the old farts out... and get rid of those awful theme nights... the rest is okay... mostly... needs to be more girl-friendly though if we really want it to change... unless you want to keep it like a super shady men's club."
<Shaw> "I'm open to change," he said with a shrug. "Especially with a daughter on the way, I'm less inclined to cling to the past." There was always the Jackalope for that, frankly. He should talk to Jack.
<Pietro> "Then you should get the decorators in and fix it up. I know a guy."
<Shaw> "Monet would love an excuse to redecorate. If we're going to change, we may as well start here."
<Pietro> "And start as we mean to go on. Let's make it welcoming... or as welcoming as a building like this can look without looking like it's trying too hard."
<Shaw> "I'm not sure how to do that, since before Jess came along my apartment was fairly... barren."
<Pietro> "I told you, I know a guy. You should see my place. The before and after pictures are alarming."
<Shaw> "Well, perhaps interior design isn't the place to begin, as we still have the matter of actually assuming control so that any changes we institute will be lasting ones."
<Pietro> He waved a hand dismissively, "Pfft, that's as good as done."
<Shaw> "Once I go to England." He smirked and finished off his scotch. "It's a circular problem, at the moment."
<Pietro> "I could be in England in like... half an hour... maybe less now, been a while since I timed myself."
<Shaw> "Yes, well, unless I borrowed Viper's teleportation tech, I still require a trans-Atlantic flight, and even on my private jet that is too much for my wife." The bartender brought them both fresh scotch and he quieted until the man had gone.
<Pietro> "So borrow her tech? Ooooor, I dunno, invent your own? You are some kind of nerdy science guy, right?"
<Shaw> Sebastian fixed Pietro with a withering stare. "I'm an engineer, yes, but my bent has always been robotics and defense." Though he did have people working on teleportation now, not that Maximoff needed to know this.
<Pietro> "Teleportation's kind of defense." Pietro countered, "And I'm not saying being a nerdy science guy is a bad thing, I'm also a nerdy science guy. It's fun."
<Shaw> "Traditional defense... particularly since Shaw Industries holds most of the larger U.S. defense contracts while Tony is in office and Stark Industries would pose a conflict of interest."
<Pietro> "... Get him to build you a teleporter. You could have a race." He was fond of this idea.
<Shaw> Sebastian swirled his scotch, took a sniff, then a slow sip. He smiled at Pietro over the rim of the glass. "Tony is occupied with his own special project."
<Pietro> "Well so am I but I still think building a teleporter would be fun except I don't know where to start... oh! What about that bug kid? He could totally build one without even trying... of course, it might blow up or teleport you to the moon if you hold it wrong..."
<Shaw> "Yes," he laughed. "Precisely. Broo's inventions are... well I've heard he opened some sort of dimensional portal in the school basement already." He looked into his glass. "And that they can't seem to get it closed."
<Pietro> "Yeah... there's signs up all over the basement to not go in there... and nothing would induce me to go back down there, the blue naked things that come out of that portal smell really bad."
<Shaw> The naked blue things still disturbed him and he wasn't convinced it wasn't some sort of mass hallucination, so he just nodded. "At any rate, I suppose I could simply arrange to make it a fast trip if everything was prearranged."
<Pietro> "Arranging stuff can't be that hard, not with your crazy connections." He sipped his scotch, "I can help, if you like?"
<Shaw> "I would appreciate the assistance, especially since I'm sure you're accustomed to acting swiftly." He gave the younger man a toothy grin.
<Pietro> "I love acting swiftly, making me wait is how you kill me."
<Shaw> "As there are several members of Inner Circles around the world whom I have personally installed, they are loyal to me - and often mutants themselves, or with close family members who are. There are several I have hand picked to take seats among the Lords Cardinal."
<Pietro> "You should probably warn them or something, especially if they're as old as a lot of other people high up in the club. The shock of finding out they're suddenly in charge might finish them off."
<Shaw> "No, that's part of the point, isn't it? New blood." And less likely to be leftover cannibals as well, he hoped. "You would probably know some of them, those who are former students of Xavier."
<Pietro> "Former students, huh? Hopefully not the crazy ones... we need less crazy."
<Shaw> "Monet, of course, and now you. Hope. There are other notable and old names in the mix, like Worthington and Braddock and von Strucker... some newer members, like Salvatore and LeBeau and Creed. You will get to know them all." He smirked and waved a hand dismissively.
<Pietro> "Oh so not all the crazy ones just most of them," he gave Shaw a grin, "But, sure, give me a list or whatever, I'll go and visit."
<Shaw> He nodded. "Thank you. Most have been contacted, but they need to know the details. I will write up something." Sebastian leaned forward. "Do you have any other ideas, beyond interior decorating?"
<Pietro> "Plenty." He eyed the bar, "Let's get more scotch and I'll tell you all about it."