11320/Milk Cartons: Ezekiel 25:17

Milk Cartons: Ezekiel 25:17
Date of Scene:	12 April 2020
Location:	Club Evolution, Mutant Town
Synopsis:	Cloak and Dagger meet the X-Men.
Cast of Characters:	Dagger, Cannonball, Cloak, Prismatic, Psylocke
Tinyplot:	Milk Cartons

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Dagger has posed:
     .... I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them. ....

It seems that the new 'heroes' of New York has been getting press lately, even if it was not intended. After they laid siege to Guido's Bar and Grille which was the Chickenhawk's base of operations, word trickled down to the X-Men that Sabretooth was involved. Warpath at some point tracked Dagger down to try and gain some level of loyalty and set up a meeting.

Club Evolution. The happening bar down near the church. That was a hot spot the rumors said. They could find allies, and perhaps a bit of prey. Time will tell what type of night this will be.

Tandy makes her way through the doors, dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a bright white shirt with a gold cross dangling down midchest, and her hair in a blonde, haphazard mess. She stands out for numerous reasons. Her beauty. Her confidence. The fact she is radiating a glow about her. Tonight, she isn't looking to hide who she is.

As she makes her way through the club towards the bar, she is sure that her companion is nearby in one shape or another.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie is spending a bit more time at the bar the last few nights. He had a brief meeting with Miss Bowen the other night and has been hoping the lady would return soon. He looks over to Alexis, and says "I am wondering a bit about those guys showing back up gibbering, wondering if they are throwing them into Limbo or something for a while.

Cloak has posed:
Like his compatriot, Cloak stands out, but in the exact opposite way. There's nothing different about him from the few times he's been spotted. He's tall, dark, and be'cloaked and sporting a pretty killer version of a resting bitch face. Is he anything but stone cold serious? Only the star-bright woman would know. There at the far end of the bar he just appears like he'd been there all night, his back to the wall and his eyes turned out towards the crowd. He neither orders anything nor even pays the barkeep much mind at all.

Prismatic has posed:
    Alexis is itting at the bar, wearing a proper gray skirt and blzer with a red blouse beneath, looks very professional. She was going over some research, and although the bar wasn't the best place for lesson planning -- it did dissuade some of the students from coming in.

    "I'm surprised they came back, if you ask me they shoulda staye where they were. that whole situation rather put me off going back to the school." she replies to Sam, her dark eyes turning up to Manager Mode Guthrie.

Psylocke has posed:
Betsy was in the bar as well, to the opposite side of Samuel. She was in a little black dress befitting being in a club, her purple hair left loose, about the length to end mid back. Strappy shoes with a five inch stiletto heel. She didn't bother with jewelry. There was a whiskey neat on the bar in front of her.

For the moment, she was facing the crowd and more importantly, the dance floor. Her foot tapped in time to the music although she was here for business purposes. Still, it was a catchy beat. "Since you've already met at least one of them, I'll stay out of it unless you need me. It's always good when you already have at least some rapport."

Dagger has posed:
Obviously Cloak gets to skip the line and never pays a cover charge. Dagger just like to make an entrance. Also, she skipped the line and didn't pay a cover charge either. She's a stunning blonde who glows. That's how social hierarchy works.

As her blue eye track Cloak like radar, her lips give an amused tug upwards. As she spies the tall country boy behind the bar, she makes her way towards them, striding with street-wise confidence. Sliding into the seat next to Alexis, she leans forward some and says. "Hey there, Sam Guthrie. Is there somewhere we can all talk?" She casts a side glance towards Alexis, passing her a warm smile on her face. "And whatever she's drinking."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods, his head a bit to Tandy as the girl comes up. He looks over to Alexis and says "May need to at least make sure more of a presence out, here I will talk to Berto a bit." He looks back to Tandy, and says "We can all head over to the VIP section. He nods to a place that is reserved for the high rollers. It is smaller than most places, but Sam had added it in for mostly those from the school. He looks down the bar "Tall, dark and spooky going to join us?"

Prismatic has posed:
    "Just a coke, I'm afraid -- too young to drink in this country." Alexis comments quietly, steepling her fingers a moment as Dagger sits beside her, and she gives a nod of recognition, and gathers her notes. "Please don't mind the schoolwork. Lesson plans for after Spring Break."

Cloak has posed:
"Who says I haven't been here the whole time?" Says Cloak, cool as can be, from right beside Sam as he appears in a flicker of shadow. He says it with a straight face, though is it just a ruse or he's actually being honest? "But lead the way." He gestures with a sweep of the end of his garment as he looks towards the likely section. He even gives a faint chin-lift towards Alexis in recognition. Betsy? A look of consideration is given, no more nor less.

Psylocke has posed:
As Tandy approaches, Betsy glances her way with a brief smile by way of greeting. She does rise with the others at mention of the VIP room, figuring once they are in a more private location that introductions can happen. The arrival of Cloak (or was he there all along?) makes her glance his way sharply, a tiny narrowing of her eyes as she takes this all in. She is keeping her mind to herself at least, shields firmly in place and not trying to intrude.

She does pick up her whiskey to take with her though. No need wasting whiskey. Well, good whiskey. And she only ordered the good stuff.

Dagger has posed:
"Coke is perfect." Tandy says as she straightens up once more. When the Asian in the black dress moves to join them, her blue eyes glance over towards her curiously. As they head for the VIP section, she steps into Cloak's folds, allowing the darkness to sweep the pair of them upwards in a swirl of darkness.

Stepping out once more to take a seat, she folds one leg over the other as she glances over towards the crowd of dancers down below. A part of her yearns to be in that crowd, moving her body to the time of music, to feel the sweat come to surface from a night of hard work and passion.

There is a brief shake of her head as she lets out a sigh. That girl is gone now. Dead. Destroyed by the hands of those who stripped her innocence away, along with her best friend's. Now, they only have the mission. Once the others join them, she looks over to Alexis and Betsy. "I am Dagger. This is my partner, Cloak. I met with a man named Warpath the other day. Are you ... also X-Men?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie doesn't jump as clock scared the bejebees out of him good training after all. He leads the group, and holds out a chair first for Alexis, and Betsy, and even one for Tandy if she has not sit down before him. He hmms and says "Yes, we are part of that team. You know me as Sam, so no need for the code names on my part, may I ask, who you are?"

Prismatic has posed:
    Alexis stays quiet at that question as she's seated, with a quiet "Thank you, Sam." as she taps her manuscripts together and binds them back in the folder -- sliding a fresh glass of coke over to Tandy.

Cloak has posed:
Tyrone Johnson doesn't seem to believe in walking, as he brings both himself and Dagger to the VIP section in a swirl of fabric and a momentary lapse of existing. "So there are more groups of men and women with power, yet the streets are still covered in filth." Lowly growls the man from under the edges of his hood, with the rest of the fabric meeting in front of him with the impression that he was crossing arms that were barely visible when the cloak gaped.

Psylocke has posed:
Betsy settles into the seat offered by Sam with a murmured, "Thank you." Then she glances over at the pair again, curious. As introductions are made, sort of, she gives a nod of the head. "I'm Betsy and yes, I am a member of the X-Men as well. Codename Psylocke. I'm fine with Betsy though," she adds. When she speaks, it's with a posh British accent. At the growl from Cloak, she looks toward him again appraisingly then glances over to Tandy once more. Interesting pair.

Dagger has posed:
"As I said, my name is Dagger, and this is Cloak. It's nice to meet the X-Men. I have seen you on the news a few times involving large robots." Tandy brushes some blonde hair away from her face as she settles into the chair that is pulled out for her.

"James saw that I temporarily worked with someone by the name of Sabretooth and it's how he tracked me down looking for him. I could tell from his tone that he is not a friend of yours, though he is not a friend of mine either. He was merely a two minute companion when it came to snuffing out more information from the Chickenhawk gang, who has been hired to kidnap young mutants off the street to be resold to high rollers."

She takes the coke and sips from it, leaning into Cloak's shoulder a bit as if she was drawn to him magnetically.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks to them and at Cloak's words he looks to him, and says "We help as much as we can, we can not be everywhere at once." He turns to Cloak, and adds "With Sabertooth it could have been him actually trying to help, last time I saw him he did not try to start anything, to him upset the gang were poaching hsi prey. He had a rather checkered past." He admits. "So, I read the guys are appearing back with their eggs scrambled a bit and claim to have been to hell. Your friends here's doing with making them disappear to a pocket hellscape?" He asks

Prismatic has posed:
    Alexis is examining the table. There's a lot of guilt on her fce that she's feeling, and her ears are turning colors -- the byproduct of her mutant power, as she's distracted. She seems content enough to let Betsy and Sam do the talking for now.

Cloak has posed:
"Precisely that." Cloak says as he turns to look towards Sam, his mouth pulled into a thinned line. His tone is even, voice a low rumble like an idling truck. "I show them their sins. Their worst fears and memories. For the weak of will and of heart, it breaks them. Or what's left of them, after they've already bartered away their souls. The tattered remains, I consume. Some I let free, to face the judgement they deserve. Others aren't worthy of that mercy."

Dagger has posed:
"I watched him tear the chest out of someone with his bare claws. He didn't come across as X-Man material to me." Tandy says as she clinks the ice about in her glass before she takes another sip from her straw. "Cloak and I are not mutants. We got our powers from those who kidnapped and tortured us. Injected us with drugs. We were the only two survivors that night, amidst a sea of dead bodies."

As Cloak speaks, she glances up at him, then turns to the others. "He is the dark, and I am the light. I let people see their hopes. Give them a taste of what their lives could be like if they lived one of purity and honor. My light rips through them to the core of their soul." Her fingers give a bit of a wiggle, pulling a blade of light out of thin air to rest across her palm.

"Warpath wants the X-Men to work with us, which we are agreeable with. But there are conditions to our partnership. We work to rid the streets of the cancer and poison that harms those who can't help themselves. Children. Addicts. Our methods are not gentle and we do not care for those who profit off death and pain. All we ask is that you help us out on the streets from time to time. To give back to your community. Help us make an example out of those who think they are wolves amongst a flock of sheep."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie 's brow raises a bit and seems to think about something a moment, studying the two. He ponders for a long moment, as he seeks to find the right words "We protect the streets, the skys, or anyplace we find that needs help. If you find info on this group we would gladly work with you to take them down. We do not care for those who wish to harm innocents or those who can not protect themselves. We have been working on ways to uplift the neighborhood, but it maybe in need of some other options as well. Know this though you speak or methods not being gentle, there are lines not to cross, or one becomes what you fight."

Cloak has posed:
"I don't care for rules." Says Cloak, the very fabric he wears rippling slightly like fur hackling on a sour tempered dog. "We have a job to do, one that hasn't been done before because too many people were concerned with rules and hesitations. Is that person above my social class, or too far below? If I step in, do I get shot? Do the cops call me a murderer, because I drop a man before he does something worse to a woman? Is it my business to stop them from selling drugs? It's that dude's choice to take 'em, I'm not the one committing the crime."

The enrobed man scowls, and the expression seems to draw the shadows of his hood in closer around his face. "The world ain't gentle. The world ain't gonna be fixed by being gentle. There is a war going on out there, and bake sales and scrubbing off graffiti isn't going to solve a thing. So if your X-Men want to help, fine. If they don't, fine, but I'm not going to stop what I need to do because someone else refuses to act."

Cloak looks then to Dagger, continuing, "Talk to them, see if they have the stomach for it. I'm going to keep scouting. I'll meet you later." And then, without waiting for response or rebuttal, Cloak hikes up his shoulders and is gone in a fading mass of shadow and a chill, ghastly air.

Psylocke has posed:
The silence continues from Betsy as she lets Samuel handle negotiations here but she does frown at the response from Cloak. Then he is gone before she can open her mouth. She shakes her head a little, looking over at Dagger.

"The X-Men do have certain standards. Information. Helping bring people in to the law to deal with appropriately, they do. They do not kill." Although she is speaking for the group, her eyes have gone hard. Hiding any expression. Keeping the truth of her feelings, which may differ from those rules Xavier teaches them to live by. After all, she's been merged with an assassin. Her beliefs are more--fluid.

"There are some who might help you with your pursuits but that would likely be more an individual basis, as opposed to the team as a whole."

Dagger has posed:
There is a soft sigh from Dagger as Cloak makes his exit and disappears in a puff of shadow. "He is right though. We are not super heroes, nor are we anyone's role model. We are the cure for a sickness that has long plagued this city. I am not suggesting you have to use the same methods. Truth be told, melodrama aside, we do not go out of our way to murder someone. We do believe in justice. But we have also seen the corruption that has buried itself deep in those who wear a badge. Some of these monsters have friends. There has been times, where we've taken the law into our own hands."

"And when it comes to children, whether they are mutants or not, we do not tend to be gentle with those who harm them. We have tracked the Chickenhawk gang to a shell company called Fisherman LLC. A warehouse off of Pier 17. That is where they take the children, put them on a boat and then they are ferried off to International waters."

She flips the blade of light about in her hands a few times, twirling it about. "The system failed Cloak and I when we were teenagers. No one cared about two runaways on the streets. No one came to our rescue. But these kids? We won't fail them."

Prismatic has posed:
    "That's someting we can agree on. The system isn't built to protect children -- especially mutant children." Alexis does spek up after a brief intermission, and she crosses her arms, and looks to Sam. Her lips purse a moment, and she curls her fingers lightly around herself. "If there's a way to recover them...."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie hmms and pulls out pen and paper writing the name down so not to forger it. "And are you planning on heading out and hitting it, or finding out who they work for to cut them off from those they are supplying to?

Dagger has posed:
"We have watched the warehouse for a few days. They are meticulous with their coming and goings. They also have a power dampener of sorts which prevents Cloak from teleporting us inside. So, whoever they are, they have the resources. All we know is that there is someone they call Madame, who appears to be in charge. That's all we have." Dagger finishes her coke, then nudges the glass forward as if waiting for it to be magically refilled. "I'll admit, having extra help would be nice. Cloak isn't much of a team player, so ... he's trying his best to give this a chance."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks to them and says "Might be best to follow their next shipment, save the kids at the trade off point, find out where the higher up is, and then come back to the holding area.