1411/Genoshan Beach Party

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Genoshan Beach Party
Date of Scene: 11 July 2017
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Summary needed
Cast of Characters: Blink, Scarlet Witch, Molly Millions, Magneto




Blink has posed:
After their odd meeting on and next to Lady Liberty, it hadn't been long before the subject of 'food' had come up. Whilst the city had been right next to them, the young Blink was starting to get a little antsy about being off of Genosha without permission. And so, with a little bit of discussion the girl had opened a gateway for them to just outside where the mutants had made home.

Being the first through, Blink's wearing the same skinny black jeans and dark hoodie as before, the hood pulled back to reveal her messed up magenta hair. Walking backwards, she calls; "Come on folks! It's all safe as stone, after all it /is/ home!" She takes another step back. "At least no one's going to-" And that's the moment the next step back has her bumping into Magneto...

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Already a bit windblown from her adventure in places best not mentioned, Wanda carries the traces on her boots more than anything. The white, fine dust and traces of plaster under her soles soon vanish into the sand underfoot. Wholly unfair that she can melt the remnants away once dropped through Blink's fading portal. A look around finds her cautiously measuring up who might take notice. "Pardon me," she says, "but there's a certain look expected of me when I'm here."

She sketches a jagged fork with her right hand, a dismissive gesture that changes the fitted attire into something less likely to burn her father's eyebrows off. In deference to the tropical heat, she adopts a long skirt and long-sleeved black shirt under her habitual corset. The scrollwork of her headband hardens to metal and a few gems glittering in place, echoing the helmet of yon emperor. She looks over herself, suppressing a sigh. "Probably not nearly bright or sparkly enough for some, but it will do."

Molly Millions has posed:
Molly Millions mostly listened to the conversation, still trying to come to terms with the knowledge that somehow, she was still alive. But when Blink elects to go with opening a portal, she's not going to object. Empirical evidence gathering. There's still hesitation about stepping from the grass of Liberty Island to the sand on the other side of the portal.

That first step testing the texture of the ground before she elects to place the other one, and then looks back, just to affirm to herself that no really, New York is /right there/ and not at the same time. Good thing that most of her brain is organic, because the electronic parts are having a few errors trying to compensate for the change and it's inducing a kind of vertigo in the razorgirl that can't help but make her already pale skin look that much greyer.

And that before Wanda elects to change. Yep, sitting down is now a needful thing.

Magneto has posed:
The picturesque beach where the trio emerges is west of Hammer Bay, still along the leeward, more docile coastline of Genosha, but far more removed from the civilization that's resurgent around Magneto's citadel-- perhaps more far removed than the sustenance seeking Blink had intended.

Any miscalculation in portal alignment can be easily attributed to the rampant surge of energy present upon that beach, which is in turn the conjuration of the ruler of this island's mutant power. Once, this beach held a vast and sprawling villa, filled with countless slaves used in unmentionable and dehumanizing ways. Then, it was a ruin, looted and ransacked in the uprising against those who once wined their nights away in luxury on these very sands. Now, those ruins rend and reshape in rippling waves of blue-white energy that distorts the space around it. Building materials at once terrestrial and not are reforged out of the remnants, a wing of the old manor rising bidden from the sand into a sleek and futuristic new life, three towering stories of chambers and balconies coalescing in moments.

Moments in which Magneto ignores the newcomers, though he's certainly aware of their arrival even before Blink all but steps out of the air into him. His hand lowers, though crackling arcs of bluish power fluctuate along his grasp still, as his steely gaze is passed over one shoulder to the others. Still no words come-- perhaps assessing those present, perhaps simply requiring the series of deep, steadying breaths he takes as a polite inclination of the Imperator's head acknowledges the others. "Welcome back." he finally intones, evenly.

Blink has posed:
Blink's first instinct is to immediately jump back through the portal, one she clamps down hard on. Victor after all, hates cowardice. Instead she falls back to her most flexible of skills, blase. "Oh! Hey there Mister Magneto Sir!" Bright white teeth are displayed in a grin as she skips back a step or two, giving the ruler a bit of space.

"I was just uh, out." Because it's not as if he can /see/ Liberty Island through the portal still open right? Crap, wrong. A flick of her hand closes the displacement rift with a soft hissing noise. "This is Molly..." She offers with a little less vim, gesturing to the Street Samurai that appears to have taken a seat on the sand. Another beat as those softly glowing green eyes go from Wanda to Magneto and back again. "I'm in trouble aren't I? Oh what a tumble..." A deep brown boot scuffs marks in the beach.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Distortions to the general fabric of space and time grow all the more peculiar around Wanda Maximoff, and the pressure sensed against her skull takes a few moments for her to adjust fully to. She pushes back in an act of will, straightening the mildest snag that wavers around her. Incipient instability and probability eagerly fly to her, moths to a flame, but this flame isn't always excited to be surrounded. Her thumb and forefinger touch her brow. A slight shiver runs down the elongated spire of her back, and peppers her breath more heavily to a sigh. Where she has stopped interposes her body between the razor girl and her father, although she is certainly well aware of greater height and perspective doing nothing to hide Molly. It's simply a subconscious statement of solidarity of a kind.

The wind dusts her shadowy hair in a permanently mobile veil, though the metal filigree circlet keeps her face bare. "Greetings," she replies in turn, adopting the same formality evidenced by the man floating mid-construction of his dizzying vision. "Thank you for returning us safely, Blink." It may be a selling point that assistance is rendered by the teleporting mutant.

Molly Millions has posed:
"Electro-magnetic interference." mumbles the woman with the silver lenses in the sand, raising a hand by way of acknowledgment but not particularly looking up immediately in favor of rubbing the back of her neck as she endeavors to get her bearings before half-lurching to her feet.

The half-staggered step is aborted before she might crash into Wanda comes with an apologetic half-smile,"Sorry... disorientating... you... changed clothes? It's... yeh. My system's having trouble right now." she hasn't managed to actually look Magneto's way yet. Maybe mercifully for her.

Magneto has posed:
"The world beyond these shores may be more dangerous for our kind...." Magneto observes matter of factly, considering Blink's distress. "But our right to exist there is not lessened." The Master of Magnetism is dressed not unlike a native to these parts might be, in flowing garb that's half robe, half tunic, and loose pants, all arrayed in an intricate interweaving of crimson, magenta, and dark silver thread.

"Your power is intended to be tested, explored, child. Temper your curiousity with care and preparation, and you will find a new measure of possibilities." It's a learning curve the Master of Magnetism has some degree of expertise in. A moment's attention is paid to the cyborg, and it seems as though a passing thought rights her condition entirely, circuitry functioning-- if anything-- better than moments before. It's an act subtly relevant to the lesson on offer.

"You are alright?" the query comes as Magnus' attention shifts to his daughter-- despite looking scarcely old enough to have fathered her. There's an element of concern, but a presumed affirmative response. "No trouble this trip, I hope?" At this, a pointed glance is once more spared the Razor.

Blink has posed:
"Oh no, no trouble at all. Made a friend, saw Lady Liberty, but no guards, no trouble." Clarice is quick to assure Magneto after nodding along to his instructions and looking suitably chastised. "I /was/ careful though, total top of the torch and everything, no one would have seen!" Except maybe the tour boats... And she doesn't need to tell /him/ that she'd meant to appear inside the crown like Molly had been. Nope, no need to tell him at all.

She too had looked with worry at Molly's staggering about, but as the woman seems to right herself that look slips away to another grin for her too. "Wanda here was nice enough to come see too, then we popped back here, and bumped into you!" The mutant girl pushes her hair back as it falls in front of her eyes, doing her best to get it under some form of control.

Blink has posed:
A warning buzzer goes off on Blink's wrist where an older digital watch bleeps out an alarm. "Oh! Time for vitimins!" With a grin at the ladies, and a bow to Magneto (if she winks at Wanda whilst she's down there... Well she /is/ only eighteen...), Blink flicks her wrist to open a tear and hops on through. "Back in a jiffy!" Is all that's heard before the portal closes with that same hiss 'blink' noise!

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"All is well." Wanda lightly taps her toe against the sandy dune beneath her, knocking the last of the white dust away. The scouring effect leaves her boots lightly encrusted by tawny grit, an improvement on the whole. When she tips her head in muted inquiry, rubies and garnets cast their own sanguine fire to catch the eye and direct focus away.

"I see your building goes well. What is this new project of yours?" The question halts there because Blink vanishes, and the space she occupied fills in with the faintest hiss. Her head shaken affords the mildest judgment; amusement, more than anything. "Vitamins. I had forgotten how infrequently vitamin A is consumed in proper quantities at the low latitudes." ,

Molly Millions has posed:
There's a noise of relief from Molly,"That was.." she purses her lips briefly but elects to leave it unsaid, giving her hands a flex and finally looking up properly... and up to take in Magneto finally and she gives a low whistle. That sort of wait... I kind of recognize him sort of noise,"That was you, wasn't it?" she asks of him for confirmation, the slight shift of her head suggesting that she just glanced at Wanda briefly.

Magneto has posed:
Magneto shakes his head as Blink vanishes, somehow unconvinced of her care and preparation. His own judgement may not be quite as gentle as Wanda's, but neither is it harsh. "I suppose when a teleporter is leashed their entire life, a bit of impulsive wanderlust is healthy." Even for rote, simple things that others might take for granted. The simplest things become unfathomably luxurious when a being is denied them, or freedom.

Whether Wanda's assertion of smooth sailing is fully believed or not, Magnus moves smoothly on to her question "Now that the settlement and facilities around Hammer Bay are operating more fully, it's time to turn our attention to the future, infusing real prosperity into Genosha. The embargo the fools place around us means we need to look to people of certain means for business. One such avenue.... luxury amidst impossible architecture, on a forbidden island."

It's not unfair to say Erik is soundly amused at the entire proposition. A sly ghost of a smile lingers some moments even as a proper introduction is offered to the curious cyborg, "I am called Magneto. Imperator of Genosha." Master of Magnetism. Revolutionary messiah or war criminal to some notable percentage of the world's population.

Molly Millions has posed:
Molly's listening, for sure, given the way her lenses tilt in the direction of the structure with silent curiousity before shifting back to Magneto,"Yes. I've been reading about you on the matrix..." pause,"internet." she corrects herself.

She doesn't endeavor to offer a hand under the circumstances in favor of a thin kind of smile,"Molly. Millions. And... thank you, for not frying my wetware." she clears her throat,"Clarice was discreet. Just unlucky. And Wanda and I met briefly at least before but honestly I didn't suspect... this." all of it. Any of it. At least she manages to look rueful about it.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"Fascinating. I should be happy to turn my attentions towards shoring up some of the buildings, as it would seem suitable. However, before I do that, I require a proper survey of the place and food for energy. I imagine the leylines are still utterly tangled and hopelessly polluted, but there remains hope yet." Wanda salutes her father with the faintest of smiles, her heavy-lidded eyes sharing the same uncanny shade of his eyes as a proof for their connections. And whom else would give those dazzling cheekbones? It ain't Chuck. Her movements are intended to be smooth and still, and she turns slightly to regard Molly.

"Molly, I would be happy to show you about Genosha and offer you a few more explanations than you received. As you can see, Clarice can travel through space very easily." A gesture sketches the general space of the portal, at least where it was. "Whereas his gift is modification for electromagnetism and mine is measuring probabilities, and altering them to some degree." Or every degree. The irony is not lost there, but then, she's one of the rare few who keeps her identity separate from the Avenger standing as an aegis against outside threats, and the ones between dimensions. "Hence my clothes changing. You're safe here. I extend my personal hospitality and protection as long as you don't break any of the greater laws. You can assume the basics - please don't murder, steal, or sell anyone. Father can tell you the rest, I'm sure. "

Scarlet Witch has posed:
That said, the witch takes her leave, walking deeper into the settlement. Because it's not kosher to float around.

Magneto has posed:
"Of course." Magneto is perhaps as stoic as per the usual in his calmer, diplomatic moments, but it's hard to miss the undercurrent of excitement the offer spurs. Eager indeed is Magneto for his daughter's aid in the reconstruction-- and keenly aware of at least many of the depths of power she so shrewdly understates.

"Dinner, later." Lensherr half bids, and half implores Wanda. "The catch has been positively exquisite this past week." As she takes her leave, the Master of Magnetism diverts his own attention intently to the cyborg, doing little to bother to hide his pensive analysis.

The more notable gaze is perhaps tangible to some enhanced sensors, or in the subtle ghost of an eye amidst circuitry and cpu, slipping through the twitch of artificial muscle. Even without the traces of tachyon emissions and strange distortions in this one's signature, she's quite the mystery. It buys the stranger some politesse from the mutant emperor.

"My daughter's offer of haven goes a long way here." That purchases more yet. "But forgive me for my frankness. Many of us are foreigners on these shores-- but you have traveled here from somewhat farther afield yet, have you not?" It's far from the aged mastermind's first proverbial rodeo.

Molly Millions has posed:
Those silver lenses might hide Molly's eyes, but with the tilt of her head and the silence with which she listens, she's anything but dismissive of Wanda's words. Even if 'father' merits a raised brow of unspoken disbelief. But then she's leaving, too, and Molly finds herself on the beach with Magneto, with a frission passing through her systems.

"I prefer frank." she's no qualms about stating,"And I'm not going to pretend that I know the proper address for an Imperator." there's that faint smile again, a wry quirk of her lips as she shoves her hands into her jacket, those lenses drifting from Magneto across the water with an acknowledging dip of her head,"As far as I can tell, yes." pause,"Words? Or my lenses?" the guess on how he knew.

Magneto has posed:
"I'm somewhat older than I appear to be." Magneto understates with a touch of wry bemusement, shaking his head at the time traveler's guesses. "The architecture of the circuits and processors within your augmentations is... not extra-terrestrial, but quite alien to this moment, let us say. I have encountered similar technology in those visiting from other timelines."

The way he says it, it's a scientific curiousity, but nothing unique or alarming. Another day in his life. "Additionally, you're so fresh through that there is a background tachyon radiation permeating a plurality of your atoms." She prefers frank, so he makes no further warning thereof. A beat's pause for effect. "What is your purpose traveling here, and now?" The question is one he gives substantial weight-- or perhaps caution.

Molly Millions has posed:
"I'll say." Molly agree's with the 'older' comment,"Work like that where I'm from would cost you. But isn't... impossible." she elects to open her jacket and tugs a bottle of whiskey out of the inner pocket, then pauses and offers it in his direction.

"Other. Timelines." there's a tasting nature to the words uttered before the smile comes again, tired and wry,"I'd be curious to meet any others like me. But... you're right. At least as far as I'm aware. But the answer to that question isn't something I know. I don't even know how, exactly, I got here... or where 'here' is beyond that it's either the past... or... something like it. Eighteen days ago I wake up in a preserve wondering what the hell hit me. The... technology? To do this doesn't exist where I'm from. As far as I know. But then again... there's no Imperators that I'm aware of, either."

Magneto has posed:
"Ah. One of those, are you." Magneto sounds almost disappointed. "I can't claim to understand the complete physics or process of time travel, but you're not the first stranded in a strange land. My impression is that your chances of meeting a native of your own point in time and space is unlikely." If perhaps not as unlikely as ending up where she's ended up in the first place.

"My gifts are inborn, the product of genetic markers, an activation gene, and much practice." This Magnus readily divulges with some pride. "This place is Genosha, the planet Earth, the year 2025, by current reckoning. This place now writes the epilogue to a brutal revolution in which those like me, enslaved metahumans, rose up and threw off the yoke of slavery, seizing this nation as the first haven for our kind."

From the nature of her implants, one might wager explaining the nature of man's capacity for hate and violence is... unecessary in that time and place, as well.

Molly Millions has posed:
"Sorry to disappoint. If there was some great cosmic reason it's been fried. But other augments, even if they're not from my... time and place, might have the technology to retrieve the ghost of it at least." there's a slight shrug of her shoulders. She elects to open the whiskey bottle as she listens to him without interruption.

"So that is the difference, then. There's no Genosha where I am from. It was... twenty-two thirty. The place where I landed... New York City? Doesn't exist. It's part of the Sprawl... the Boston-Atlanta Metropolitan Axis. It's those differences that make me think it's... not the same. Not that I'd put it past the corporations to restructure history like that, but that.. yeh. I'm not sure that my time is necessarily what's coming." there's a tight kind of smile as she shifts on the sand, lenses twisting towards his impossible structure again with a contemplative look,"Who enslaved you?" she asks, without apology.

Magneto has posed:
"Perhaps even the most cosmic of purposes are still simply another being's assessment of our destinies." Magneto posits simply, "It is no great loss." Save the knowledge of what whichever force or entity is responsible for her presence might -want-. "Ah, society managed to implode, did it?" The Master of Magnetism guesses from both bias and context clues. "Perhaps we'll make it past 2030 yet. As to the perpetrators-- who is it always?"

A starkly white brow arches quizzically aside to Molly as Magnus paces up the beach, hands clasping behind him. "The humans enslaved the mutant population here. Did horrific experiments on them. Derived processes to artificially create super-human slaves."

Subconsciously, one hand scratches at the wrist of the other arm. "If the wrong people found you, they would take you apart just as surely. It's lucky that you're here. Come, I'll show you to proper civilization." The bubble that courses to life around them doesn't impact her wiring, this time, though the levitation field would buoy them both into the air with her agreement.

Molly Millions has posed:
"I suppose in your view, yes." Molly opts to go with in regards to society. She's comfortable with having a drink before she elects to slog after him. From the purse of her lips she's debating whether to say something, though she gives an acquiescing noise at the offer. At least on the upside she's worked in microgravity, for all that she grimaces at the shift as her brain plaintively insists that's not supposed to be possible.

"I suppose at least we only decided to screw up ourselves." she offers belatedly,"And yeh. Already been warned about that one. For a world that claims to value individuals and life... it's all very much... as long as we approve."

Magneto has posed:
"Precisely so." Magnus dourly concurs with Molly's assessment of society's much-vaunted tolerance. "For as much as mankind has progressed it is almost in spite of itself, so volatile and tribal do the masses remain, ever certain only of their own self-righteous beliefs, that they could at any moment set science and culture back into a new Dark Age." A bleaker picture, perhaps, than even the cyborg's own dystopian reality.

The flight along the Genoshan coast is remarkably smooth, effortless on Molly's part, and Magneto certainly makes it seem as such. The visualization is that of a crackling sphere, mostly translucent, that surrounds them, providing oppositional magnetic fields which move them swiftly overtop of breaking waves, sandy beaches, and eventually a city that's turning ruins into a futuristic marvel.

Below them, superhumans work in tandem with cybernetic assistants of several designs to rebuild the outskirts... while inward, and on the docks, similar automatons and citizens ply their trades and produce ever-increasing varieties of sundries necessary to sustain the settlement. "It is up to those of us with vision and ability to forge a very different future."

Molly Millions has posed:
It's creepy to Molly, the whole flying through the air in an invisible bubble, for all that the cyborg elects to fold up her legs like she's sitting... it's somehow less disturbing to her that way,"Well... for the record? They don't get any less volatile. Tribal... only really among the corporate types and some groups like the Panther Moderns... most people got their own shit to deal with rather than worry too much about what that other guy might be getting up to."

The ruins and their futuristic counterpoints speak to her on a way that's not mentioned aloud but instead evident in the way she forgets temporarily the oddity of it all just to stare,"And what vision do you see, Imperator?"

Magneto has posed:
Magneto seems to pay little mind to the predictive possibilities of Molly's timeline. A firm adherent to multiverse theory, the Master of Magnetism simply realizes it's only tangentially applicable. Rather, he focuses on the important question she asks. "As I have stated, we stand at a precipice, or less dramatically-- a crossroads. The history of mankind is the history of war. War over tribe, over tint, over creed, over the abominations of the prior wars."

Magnus heaves a heavy sigh, "They have slaughtered and enslaved one another out of avarice, envy, and wrath since the dawn of time. Imagine, then, what they repeatedly try to do to those of us who are -truly- different. The other path is the one I choose, and will make manifest. The future we represent-- evolution for the species, an end to scarcity. The chance to build, in unified purpose, great and enduring things."

Things, perhaps, like the sleek and formidble citadel at the heart of the city that Magnus descends towards, alighting on a magnificent, panoramic terrace near one of the structure's top parapets. It offers both breathtaking view and architecture somewhere between a medieval fortress and an alien craft, slyly defensible and aesthetically inspiring.

Molly Millions has posed:
"From what I've seen... no offense... but mutants are capable of the same thing." Molly points out,"We solved scarcity through synthetics. Mostly. But it doesn't... stop, what people are capable of." at his mercy or not it seems like she's not inclined to simply agree for the sake of agreeing, for all that the shift in her electronics can no doubt be felt as she examines the fortress coming in to sight,"Not to say that you shouldn't. This place is impressive. I'm just cynical."

Magneto has posed:
"A black man in the United States has the same instincts as a white man, but he controls neither the money nor the power structure. He may hate his neighbor with the same venom in his heart, but the police won't look the other way when he acts, the courts will fear him when he appears before them. We do not pose a recurring threat to their entire -species-." He may only be partially right on that point. Magneto walks to the rail and rests a hand as he surveys the surrounds.

"Old artifices fail not when they are torn asunder, but when something better is built. Genosha is only the prototype in a new way of life, a path forward for humanity away from the old rivalries, should they choose it."

A lofty ambition, to be sure-- but he seems relatively confident in its attainability. "I am not saying such a thing is swift or easy. We have bled for even this new beginning. Attitudes can be difficult to shift, but a swelling tide... inexorable."

Blink has posed:
Blink had arrived at the beach just in time to see that floating bubble start to crest over the tops of the outlying buildings. Her face splitting into a wide grin as she calculates. "Practice!" And then she's opening a portal to a spire in the distance.

It had been a game to the young mutant, but one with a very real purpose. Keep hidden she'd been told, stay safe. Prepare and only be seen when you want to be... Surprise is one of the greatest weapons. All of these teachings echo through her mind as she steps out onto the spire top, one hand holding a small satchel, the other onto the spires top.

Just long enough to get bearings and see the direction her quarry were skimming in, and she releases, dropping five feet into another portal, rolling to a stop inside a broken building another five hundred yards ahead. Check, blink, check, blink, the routine isn't the difficult bit, that's in staying hidden when your skin is bright pinky purple and your eyes /glow/.

Running towards a window, a portal appears with a flick of her hand, and she leaps through it to clear the distance between two buildings (only a minor mis-calculation on her part), only to drop another right beneath her feet, falling, rolling and springing up to stand a bare five yards behind the duo. "Got drinks!" She quips, waving the bag at the two of them, oblivious to the weight of the conversation started in her absence.

Molly Millions has posed:
There's a contemplative noise from Molly,"Racial identity largely became moot a long time ago. Fads come and go, but Nighttown speaks as much Nihongo as Chiba. Flesh is mutable. Memorable assymetry the style of the rich." she weighs in with a faint smile, from the way she grips the railing, happier about being recognizably on the ground,"It doesn't mean that you wont get jacked and wind up in a vat. Or sold out for a better deal. But like... if this place is just for mutants... and... metahumans... whatever those count as.. you set yourself up as a target for those who don't want to see things change."

The tap of her false nails on the railing chimes more like metal than plastic as she leans against the railing, aware but unafraid of the distance to the ground,"I'm no PR type. Wasn't born into a corporation... so, not gospel. Just the words of an old joe."

But there's Blink, and the purple teens enthusiasm brings a smile to her face,"Not going to lie, honey, watching you... blit.. my brain keeps trying to tell me you're going to go splat. 's some nice talent there."

Blink has posed:
"Awww, you saw? I was trying to be discreet..." Clarice mutters as she takes a few steps closer, a look's shot at Magneto's back - something akin to awe maybe? There's definitely a respect there that borders on more... But it's just a look, and it's gone as soon as the teen turns her attention back to the future woman.

"Wasn't sure what you wanted, so grabbed a few things." She opens the bag so that Molly can take a look inside at the various can's of drink. There's about eight cans, from Sprite to two types of beer pepsi /and/ coca cola of course, even a can of fizzy orange. They're /all/ soda's of course, but who doesn't like sugar!?

"Took me a bit to snag the beer, what with folks always being here..." She says with a sheepish grin, by way of explanation of how long it took her. "Nice flying by the way, you still okay?" Another look is shot at Magneto before she leans in to whisper; "What are we talking about?"

Molly Millions has posed:
Molly Millions raises a finger to her temple to tap the flesh near her glasses,"Nightvision and limited infrared. But only because I saw the movement in the corner of my lense." she explains, considering the offering before shaking her head,"Haven't tried most of them. Whatever you choose will be fine. And.. yeh. Thank you for asking."

Her lenses go in Magneto's direction, and then back to Blink,"The future." she elects to delineate as,"But I think we've mostly settled that my... time... probably isn't the same future as this place."

Magneto has posed:
"Indeed. As I believe was implicit, it matters little what the differences are, they will be found. Nor can purpose be homogenized by force. The best we can hope for is still an intricate and difficult process." He shies around the exact nature of that process, just now. "And you are right. Best there be those here all nations of the world would prefer to preserve."

Despite the acuity of Blink's approach, the Master of Magnetism remains, unsurprisingly, unsurprised. "Ah, Blink. Welcome back." He echoes his earlier greeting. "Our guest will be staying here at Wanda's behest." This seems like news the teleporter will be glad to hear, from where he's standing. "Your repeating teleports seem to be getting more precise." Even on the run, Magnus observes.

Blink has posed:
Praise. From /Magneto/! The freedom fighter that got her, and many like her released. Clarice's cheeks turn a deeper shade of that pinky purple as she dips her head to hide it behind the idea that she needs to /really/ see into the bag to pick... When she comes up, that blase attitude is firmly back in place; "Thanks Mister Magneto Sir! I've /really/ been practicing trying to get it right..." Her lips thin just a little as she remembers her entrance onto the Liberty torch. "Longer distances are harder, but if I can see it, I'm not much more than a few feet out now!"

Whether that means anything to the big man she's got no idea, but after another look into the bag, she decides on a coke to toss at Molly. "This seems most popular I think?" And then it's Magneto's turn to get a view into the bag. "Would you like one? Or a mixed drink?"

Molly Millions has posed:
"Good luck with that." Molly offers for Magneto,"Personally I don't think homogenization is possible, or desirable. But uniformity in my world comes at the cost of individuality and slavery to the corporation."

There's a pause from her at the mention of staying,"Whoa." the word offered with a raise of her hand,"I've got work. In New York. For the record. Not that this place isn't nice... but.."

She doesn't have to look, there's motion in the corner of her eye and her hand snaps out to catch the coke before she even particularly registers what's been tossed at her, turning her lenses down to the can with vague curiousity.

Magneto has posed:
"One of the beauties of liberation rather than occupation is the freeing of thought and research, rather than the restricting thereof." Magneto observes, once more agreeing in similar measure to his rebuttal. "What you describe is simply a different method of slaving sentience to outside purpose. There is no passion to such measures, and it never lasts."

Magneto holds up a hand to gently stave off the offer of sugar water and beer, even as a serving bot wheels itself out onto the terrace with a built-in serving tray, dispensing fine Scotch into finer crystal, "Can I get either of you a stiffer drink?" he offers with a small smile. Perhaps his point is made before he continues, "I assure you, there are few employers preferable to myself.. and we are not so far removed from New York as you might believe."

Blink has posed:
"Yeah, I could always get you into work, and no traffic!" Blink offers the samurai with another grin. "We could train together, it'd be fantastic!" The bot is eyed with a slightly disgruntled frown as Magnus instead goes for the one type of drink she /can't/ get ahold of. And then he's offering it to her, just like that.

"Oh! Sure! Thanks again." Strutting over to the bot, she asks levelly, /too/ levelly in fact as in trying to seem nonchanlant, the teen tries too hard. "Scotch on the rocks..." A beat. "With coke and a twist of lime." It's just too convoluted an order to be a mainstay, either that, or the teen's been drinking hard liquor a little longer than she has any rights to.

Molly Millions has posed:
"Now you sound like you're schilling for Nighttown." Molly offers with dry amusement, but there's scotch... and apparently that beats testing coke in her book at least given the nod that she gives Magneto,"Not arguing that. Doesn't change that I've got work."

There's a pause, at Blink's offer, lips pursing in consideration before she shakes her head slightly even as she offers,"I've got a girl about your age, though, Clarice. Maybe if I talk to her she'll be willing to meet you... if you'd like?"

Magneto has posed:
Of all the things Magneto might concern himself over with regard to his charges, a young woman Blink's age drinking alcohol is fairly far down the list. In moderation, at any rate. There are far worse things.

"Shilling for no one else, I assure you." Much as such promises ever matter to the cynical. "Blink isn't the only means of teleportation, here. It need not be in lieu of other tasks, should you decide to work with us, or accept my daughter's hospitality." And, let's face it-- his own curiosity in her tech and capabilities. Talented operatives are ever a valuable commodity.

"I'll check in with you both later to see how you're getting along." He finishes his drink but leaves them with the robot, floating gracefully over the edge of the railing, "Please, make yourself at home." He nods to Molly, then to Blink, offering a smile. He doesn't need to instruct the girl to see to their guest.

Blink has posed:
Blink watches Magneto go, until he's out of sight and earshot. Only then does she throw the scotch over the edge of the building. Returning the glass to the bot she offers Molly another sheepish grin. "Can't stand the stuff, besides, I daren't get /drunk/ who knows where I'd end up?" Or who'd end up dead because of it. There's a ghost of something behind the teen's eyes, something from some time ago. It's there and gone as quick as she can push it away, forcing that bright grin back onto her features.

"He's a good guy y'know?" Her softly Barbadian accent makes the words sound that much warmer; "But you can't hold visionaries up to our standards, head's always somewhere in the future, where as we're stuck in the now."

Molly Millions has posed:
Molly Millions nods for Magneto's words, content to have her scotch straight, and offer no verbal commitment in favor of simply grunting,"Thank you." for the man that could snuff her with little more than a thought. That Blink goes and tosses her liquor almost immediately after just makes her laugh briefly,"He's an interesting man." she agrees,"But the world needs people who can operate in the now just as much as it needs visionaries, in my experience. Besides, I've seen the future... a future... at least. Hopefully what he's got planned might be better."

She's not in a hurry to finish her drink, instead adding to her earlier words,"My friend... she doesn't talk much. Shy. But I think it would be good for her to meet people her own age." pause,"Unless you're actually like... his mother, or something."

Blink has posed:
Clarice has to laugh, shaking her head. "No no, I'm as young as I look. Don't think the slow aging thing is going to be one of my 'gifts'." The word has a slight edge to it, a deeper meaning that's hinted at by the inflection.

"I'm always happy to meet new people, just be sure she knows I'm purple before you introduce us. Puts quite a few folks off." And the glowing green eyes doesn't help either. "Still, if she's as open minded as you, then we should be golden!"

Oblivious of the height, the acrobatic teen hops up to sit on the rail, feet still in towards safety, and begins to rock lightly back and forth. "So how come you don't want to stay here? Don't want to be beholden to a stranger? I cen get that..." Green orbs continue to watch silver lenses as she awaits a response...

Molly Millions has posed:
"Gifts." Molly repeats as she sips the scotch,"So it's not deliberate genetic modification but... fluke?" she can't help but ask,"Not that you have to answer, but the matrix here seems to have a lot of contradictory information on it. And Lucy... she's different, too. Like me, sort of."

She swirls the scotch about as she looks over the city,"Because I've already committed to a job that isn't finished yet. And friends that get anxious if I'm gone too long right now." there's a sip of the scotch,"And it's up to them where they feel comfortable."

Blink has posed:
Blink leans back a little to look down the drop, thankfully the girl doesn't suffer from vertigo as that's a bloody long way down! Turning back she seems to be thinking about how to word her answer, the bag of drinks lying forgotten by the droid.

"It's complicated... From what I've learnt, mutant powers are gifts not earnt. But there's people that experiment... Try to modify it, and it worked." Each part seems dragged from her, shoulders hunching in as if expecting a blow. Or remembering one.

Molly Millions has posed:
Molly Millions's silver lenses, and the posture of her body is placid, relaxed. The flex of her fingers carefully settled back to holding her glass,"I see." she says, or at least, apparently she thinks she does,"I'm sorry that it... wasn't your choice." she ventures quietly,"It's one thing, when someone chooses to alter themselves, it's another when someone makes that choice for them. Humanity can sometimes suck." she offrs apologetically. When the purple girl leans back she can't quite help but reach out a hand in her direction. For all that she's aware that Blink is safer up there than she would be, it still causes her just that little frission of anxiety that the girl might fall off.

Blink has posed:
Blink... blinks. Her purple lids close over those glowing orbs at the comment before she turns her head and offers another big grin, that blase front falling back into place. "Oh don't appologise Miss, I was born like this. The colouring and hair and the eyes? All one hundred percent Clarice." She falters just a moment, but that grin stays in place.

"They... added something maybe, I know my portals are bigger than they used to be, and I can make these cool javelins... See?" Her hand opens in front of her, a glowing purple crystal javellin appearing from thin air, to vanish again just as easily.

Molly Millions has posed:
There's a quiet noise from Molly before she crosses back over to the robot to get another scotch, because well, if she's going to be left with the good stuff, apparently she's happy to take advantage,"In Nighttown you'd probably start an entirely new trend." she pauses when the javelin appears, giving a low whistle,"That is impressive. But just Molly... please. I'm just a joe. Miss makes me... uncomfortable."

She's slow in her prowl back to the railing, resting both of her elbows on it and staring out at what she can see,"Half of this place is in ruins." she murmurs, as if that facts only sunk in to her,"Absent the dome... it sort of reminds me of home in a way."

Blink has posed:
"You should have seen it before the war..." Blink opines lightly, looking back over her shoulder. Taking one hand away from the railing she begins pointing things out. "Over there, that's where the government used to sit. There's where they made trade goods... It was a pretty rich place." Her voice drops a little. "And just over /there/, that was my slave pen. Where I lived and worked." To prosper, there's always a price after all.

Turning back, that grin is back, the wing picking up magenta hair, pulling it out of her hoodie to leave the metre or more of vivid coloured strands flipping out behind her in the breeze. "But that's all changed now Magneto came. Victor got me out, trained me. I think it pained him to see us like that. They called us 'mutates', not mutants. He says we're the next step in human evolution, Magneto I mean. I'm pretty keen to see what comes next!" Anything but more of what came /before/ - left unsaid, but the words hang in the air all the same. "So how come you ended up back here? In time I mean, accident?"

Molly Millions has posed:
"War?" Molly asks, falling silent as Blink starts to point things out. There's a grimace at slave pen,"Better then. Yes. And yes, he seems very concerned about the welfare of mutants, in general. Slavery is wrong, and I am glad that your people are no longer enslaved." the cyborg offers mutedly before she sips her scotch.

"I don't know. My systems are shielded from most electro-magnetic interference, but just like when we arrived here... something fried my circuits badly enough that it took a few days for the tremors to stop. I need to find a SQUID to recover the information... if there's anything there to recover. But I'm getting the impression that they don't even exist here. So.." she gestures vaguely in the direction of the vista,"this is sort of home now. Not exactly a bunch for me to go back to anyways."

Blink has posed:
"Our people." Blink advises. "It's what I don't get, mutants are the next step in humanity right? Homo-superior or something I think I heard the others say once." Magneto certainly would have said it at /least/ once in her hearing after all. "But doesn't that mean we're still /human/?" It's a genuine question, the purple portaller seeming interested in the answer Molly might give.

"You might be able to get help with that you know, there's quite a few folks around that deal in hyper-tech. I bet that's why Magneto wanted you to stay, so he could find someone to help you." She grins impishly, "And I reckon he dotes on his daughter too, Wanda's pretty nice."

Molly Millions has posed:
"True." Molly agrees with a brief flash of her teeth,"Though I don't know the philosophical aspect of it, Clarice. Mutants don't exist where I'm from. But you're plenty human for me. Genetic chance... surgical modification, if anything... mutants are more human. At first... I just thought that's all it was. New fads. Improved augments. Whatever makes that difference just... never happened. Or maybe we cut it out of ourselves. Not my wheelhouse."

"And I might, come to stay, eventually. But here, home... I'm still a joe. I accepted a contract, and worrying about why it's twenty twenty-five is low on the priority list until I'm sure that she's safe." there's a small laugh,"Yeh, I'm getting that impression. See though... that's the thing that... bothers me? Help comes at a cost. People offering it for free are generally planning on selling you to a vat clinic. Not..." she hastens to add,"That I believe that's what they're planning. Your Imperator's... whatever it is, if he wanted to jack me I've got no illusions that he would have to play nice beforehand. But it's... disturbing. It's like the sky. And the streets. It's all just... wrong."

Blink has posed:
"Wrong?" Blink looks up, then out towards the sea. "They've always been like that... Maybe in the future they just kept dumping and polluting until there's nothing left?" It's a possibility, but not one that Clarice is really going to think on too hard.

"Everyone wants something, it's just finding out if that price is something you're willing to pay." She's got no illusions there either; "At least Magneto tends to be up front about it most of the time. If he wanted you to work for him, he'd likely tell you pretty quick. I know that Victor's training me is so that I can be more useful and safer, but I get fed, and clothed and I'm given Freedom." The capital F can be heard in the word. A prize above all others. And still she rocks back and forth, holding on with one hand her soft brown boots lightly kicking against the glass as she comes back up. "So who's your friend you wanted me to meet?"

Molly Millions has posed:
"Doesn't make it less wrong for me. That's why they started building the domes... but most of them are..." Molly pauses, thought running off without her finishing the sentence and looking at her scotch with a grimace as if it had betrayed her in some way.

"That's exactly the thing." and doesn't it bring a bitter twist to her mouth that someone Blink's age has already worked that out,"He was already clear that he wants me to work for him." that hand reaches out further to tap Blink's leg lightly with a fake nail,"I know if you fall you're going to be safe... but that is also just... wrong." she drawls with some amusement,"Lucy. She's... about your age." there's a pause there as she weighs things up,"People did some bad stuff to her, too." she opts for saying.

Blink has posed:
"Bad stuff... Yeah that's the weave and the waft of it isn't it?" Blink agrees with a sigh, her thigh being tapped and the warning earns Molly a genuine smile. "Thanks... For worrying I mean. You're right of course, I'd just appear back up here. But I can get down if it's making you uncomfortable." Which she does, briefly having thought of just falling back, making her point, but it's rare for someone to show genuine worry for a near stranger, so she just pushes forward, dropping onto the floor inside the glass barrier.

"See? Easy peasy." Still, it takes a moment for her to push her hair out of her face again, leaning back against the glass instead of sitting on it. "I'm sorry you got ripped from your home Molly, but maybe we can help you make a new one? And time travel's not unheard of here, maybe someone can get you back to this Squiddy thing."

Molly Millions has posed:
"Yeh. And those people want her back. So you see, as nice as this place is... I can't let that happen." Molly grunts quietly, electing to finish the second scotch before with a vague sort of smile as Blink hops down again,"Thanks. And there's nothing to be sorry for honey... not much left back there for me but ghosts." she goes to set the glass down,"SQUID. It's short for superconducting quantum interference device. The Navy made them... then. Once they decided they were no longer useful they sold them off. Friends of mine found one in an old amusement park, still in his tank. Lived a good long while, did Jones... but the coke did him in the end."

Blink has posed:
"Well that's /easy/ Molly, we just don't let them." Again one of those short javelins, three feet of glowing purple crystal appears in her hand, getting twisted around her fingers as though the shard had no weight for the young mutant. As it vanishes, she offers; "Your friends are my friends, if you'll let them be. And I promised myself no one else would be a slave if I could help it." She might have been thirteen at the time, but the young tend to stick to their ideals harder than the jaded old.

"Not that I'm trying to force you to stay!" She adds quickly, raising one hand, pinky-purple palm out in the universal sign of surrender. "Just that if there's a way, I'll help."

Molly Millions has posed:
"I'm not going to let them, honey." Molly assures,"But it's not something that you should... get involved in. But Lucy... she needs friends, her own age. This place would be good for her, I think. But that's up to her." she opens her mouth as if she's thought of something and then closes it again, grunting quietly to herself with a shake of her head,"She's safe where she's at right now. I trust the person she's with that if something happens they'll call me. If so, though... how familiar are you with Manhattan?"

Blink has posed:
"Pretty." Clarice admits with a sheepish grin. "More than I'd admit to Victor or any of the other teachers here. There's quite alot of goings on there, so I'm not noticed quite so much." She shifts, pushing off of the glass wall to take a few steps forward, getting clear of the other woman.

"And it's such a simple thing to /see/..." She murmurs, a look of concentration on her youthful face. It seems to take more effort than the shorter distances earlier, both hands required to pull apart the rift in front of them. About a metre across, a circular portal opens in what must be the sky above Manhatten. With a bird's eye view, it's almost like looking at a satellite picture - except that cars move and now and then birds flit across their field of vision. "You point, I blink!" She offers with a grin.

Molly Millions has posed:
Well that isn't alarming or vertigo-inducing at all. Molly swallows as she looks through the portal and endeavors not to let the desire to shudder show outwardly even as she examines it intently from behind those lenses,"Not necessary... right now. But..." there's a pause from her,"That area." she points towards the bridge that heads towards the Bronx,"It's on the other part of Manhattan." not like she's learned all the proper designations in this place, yet,"Near the Stark-Fujikawa facilities." there's that pause again, it makes her uncomfortable, the whole things just a little too much sharing for her even as she adds,"And would definitely be a case of drop me and close it... because it's not going to be pretty."

Blink has posed:
"Oh yes, defintely close it after we're through." Blink smiles, pulling the tear closed again with decidedly less effort than opening it. "I'll remember, over that side, by that thing. And the Stark building." It's like repeating it will get it better placed in her head. And then? Then she mimes locking her lips and throwing away the key. "Secrets are safe with me, promise.

Snagging the bag, she pulls out the earlier ignored Sprite, snapping the ringpull and taking a swig as she goes back to leaning on the side. "You don't do well, with what I do, do you? Every time I open one you kinda stiffen up. What do you see with those polished lenses you have there?"

Molly Millions has posed:
Molly Millions gives a quiet grunt of acknowledgment and appreciation,"You never appreciate just how much who you know matters... until there isn't anyone left." she says quietly, then laughs awkwardly at the question,"The lenses are a filter. They provide a surface for the chronometer and HUD but they are mostly to make transitions easier. Of course, they solved the issue with the early eyes about a decade after my last surgery so I didn't have them upgraded." there's a wry smile,"But my systems draw telemetry and access information based upon the location. It's just as much that it's... jarring. To be standing in one place and looking down at an entirely different city at the same time without any kind of interface."

Blink has posed:
"Oh! So it's 'computer says no'." That seems much more palatable to the mutant, perhaps echos of judging looks and comments are still a little fresh in the teen's mind - making her a little sensitive. But she rebounds quickly, taking another swig with a nod.

"It's not what you know, but who. And people need...well /people/. You know? In the pens, we're bunched up like hens, but we knew each other. Course, I tried to make the guards laugh, then they hit you less."

Molly Millions has posed:
"Yes. Computer says no." Molly agree's,"Lucy patched me in to the local systems, which is... less disorientating, than being entirely disconnected, but they do not quite work in the right way." there's a slight shrug of her shoulders before she elects to squat and dig through Blink's bag for the Coke she'd abandoned earlier,"People can't be trusted." pause,"Scratch that. They can be trusted to do what's in their best interests. Somewhere like... that? Those pens? I bet you learnt real fast who you could trust... and who would sell you out so that the guards beat them a little less. It's... not all that different, really. I'm trying to work out who I can trust. And I don't... like... it. It's like... balancing on that railing and hoping I don't fall."

Blink has posed:
"If you did, I'd catch you." Blink says with the absolute certainty of the young. And then straight after, she's reaching out to gently pat Molly's arm. "It's no different, wherever you are. People are people, the good /and/ the bad. I do my best to just try and see the good..." An arm comes up, hugging herself unconciously. "Otherwise, what's the point you know? I mean... Well. Yeah. What's the point?" She trails off as her mind wanders back to less happier times. "Sometimes even those wanting to do right by you make mistakes..."

Molly Millions has posed:
Molly Millions chuckles quietly as she cracks open the can,"Clarice... you're..." she thinks better of finishing that sentence before it leaves her mouth, shaking her head slightly,"Really. I was about the same age as you and Lucy when I started. I guess it's just... different. Now." she straightens again without particular haste,"That shit will get you killed." is her blunt response,"Here... well, I guess your Imperator's trying to build something. And it can work. Don't get me wrong... but the world is still full of people who'll sell you out simply because you're not like them. Or because doing so will make them more like someone else." she reaches up to run a hand through her hair with a grimace,"Sorry. Too much scotch. And too much whiskey before that. You seem like you've got something good here, and I don't mean to sound like I'm... knocking that. It's why I'm hoping that maybe Lucy will agree to come here, too. But people aren't good. They're just... not. You find your friends and you do right by them... but trying to save the world or thinking that it's full of good people...? 's gonna get you killed. That's my experience." she blows out a breath,"Let's... talk about something else. Yeh?"

Blink has posed:
Blink seems about to say something herself as Molly seems to be calling her naieve. But then the older woman is appologising and she puts that blase grin back in place instead. "Oh Molly, it must be so hard where you're from." She waves a hand quickly; "You're right, of course. But I'd rather be dead than so jaded I won't trust people." It's a choice and her next choice? Moving right along, just as the samurai asked.

"You like liquors then? Ever had absinthe? I hear that's pretty good..." See? She's all grown up and everything, knows stupidly high percent drinks. "Or Everclear? We can get that over here... I can just pop to the shop over in the UK, I'm old enough there!"

Molly Millions has posed:
Perhaps it's a good thing that those lenses cover Molly's eyes, considering the way her head turns towards Blink, before she turns her head and spits inelegantly over the railing,"Don't think this world is that much different, Clarice. I can still find work fighting for blood money here as easily as there. It's like a corporate sarariman... all white teeth and perfect suit, guts as black as a Nighttown vat." she opines, electing to stick with the Coke for now, for all the face she makes at its sweet bubblyness,"No honey, you want to drink you go right on ahead. Though you should probably drop me off at home, first."

Blink has posed:
"Me? Drink? Nooo... If I did that, I'd have drunk the scotch earlier... Remember?" Blink's return look is open and honest, though she doesn't miss the hint. "Was just trying to change the subject, like you said..." That grin again, firmly in place. Though it doesn't reach the mutant's eyes. "Though I can drop you off if you're needing to go? I don't want to impose on you or anything."

Molly Millions has posed:
"Of.. course." Molly does remember, that smile rueful again,"And this would be why I don't drink. Normally. Let's talk about... you. Obviously... you practice with your..." the wave of her hand is probably meant to indicate portals,"but, what else do you do here? Do you have friends? Do they have... schooling? Shops? What about wind-gliding? Music?" she elects to enquire instead, parking her back up against the railing in an effort to ignore the city below,"What do people your age like to do?"

Blink has posed:
Blink grins as the topic moves away from harsher subjects. "Oh yes! I do acrobatics mostly, I love doing flips and things, nothing clears the head quite like an hour or two on the cross bars..." She sips her sprite considering.

"Music's difficult, I feel like I've missed so much, not because of..." She waves a hand behind her. "Just how young I am you know? So many bands, I try and get in some culture there, the classical stuff... And then jam it up with more modern, rock, jazz, sassafrass..." She giggles, watching to see if Molly reacts. The teen testing the cyborg's attention.