15046/Forging Alliances

Forging Alliances
Date of Scene:	06 May 2023
Location:	Hellfire Club - Manhattan
Synopsis:	Alice attends a meeting between Magneo and Juggernaut, with Juggernaut agreeing to work with the Brotherhood of Mutants
Cast of Characters:	Magneto, Juggernaut, Red

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Magneto has posed:
The office of Magneto, the White King, exudes an aura of power, elegance, and magnetism. Nestled deep within the club's opulent headquarters, the office reflects Magneto's commanding presence and his unwavering commitment to the mutant cause. The walls are adorned with regal purple and gold accents, symbolizing his authority within the organization. A large, intricately carved desk sits at the centre of the room, crafted from rare metals and polished to a mirror-like sheen, serving as a testament to his mastery over magnetism.

The office exudes an air of calculated confidence, blending traditional opulence with modern technology. The room is bathed in soft, ambient lighting, casting a warm glow over the meticulously arranged bookshelves that house a vast collection of tomes on philosophy, politics, and mutant rights. A large window overlooking the city offers a breathtaking view, serving as a constant reminder of the world that Magneto seeks to shape. The office of Magneto, the White King, within the Hellfire Club, is a testament to his magnetic leadership.

Magneto stands looking through the window, waiting for his guest to arrive.

Juggernaut has posed:
This isn't the sort of place where you'd find someone like Cain Marko. It's a little 'how do you do' and 'woo woo woo' and..dare we say it.. 'Boujee'..for his tastes. It's just not his world. This isn't to say he's wholly unfamlliar. As a mercenary and muscle for hire, even before his time as Juggernaut, you might have found him being the bodyguard for a cartel leader or two for a quick job..but the Hellfire Club? Not his space.

So it's probably a big surprise to those present in the club to see a colossal red haired man making his way through it, escorted towards the office of The White King, with all the physical presence of an entire team of linebackers, sumo wrestlers and bodybuilders being marched through. He's 'human enough' in scale at the moment. A seven footer to be sure so still a walking wrecking ball in immensity but he's sans armor and dressed..ot exactly sharply but for business. Even he can get clothes tailored, especially in this town.

So before long, Cain Marko arrives into the office of the White King, his coming heralded by a gradual trembling of the floor and walls. As the doors shut behind him, the red headed bruiser looks around and slowly meanders forward. "..Nice digs.."

Red has posed:
Wearing a white suit, matching the bartenders, and a small red pin with a white chess queen piece on the chest, indicating for whom she worked, Alice was making ehr way through the inner sanctum, a tablet computer and a slim wooden box accompanying her on her way deeper. Just as Cain Marco had entered, she knocked the door behind him, waiting for just a sound from inside before pushing the door open to get inside.

"Mister Lehnsherr? Someone sent a parcel to miss Frost, containing this box adressed to you. According to the shipping label, it's from china." she notes, doing careful steps towards the large, metal clad desk to put down the small wooden box. Just about the size of a pair of wine bottles. "As I am here, is there anything I can do for you?"

Magneto has posed:
"I haven't used the name Lehnsherr in some time" Magneto replies to Alice as he turns away from the window. "Please make a note of that. However, yes, I would like you to remain present for this between Juggernaut and I. As I have decided to conduct this meeting inside the Hellfire Club I think it would be best to have another witness present."

He then heads over to the box and runs a gloved finger over its surface.

"From China? And it came in a pack to Emma? I suppose it could be a engagement gift that got lost in the mail. Did she mention who sent it?"

Magneto then finally turns his attention to Juggernaut, "I promised you payment, I believe, for your services in the mountains. I plan on settling that debt right here, right now. However, I still would like to ask you to join the Brotherhood. Have you given that anymore thought?"

Juggernaut has posed:
Well this is akward. Alice may recall a gigantic red haired man she met in Mutant Town once upon a time when Power Girl was buying up all the donuts and a certain Wanda Maximoff landed, looking for some eats and treats. A conversation was held then about doign some good in Mutant Town - and then again later elsewhere with others that led to Cain letting it slip that 'Juggernaut's lurking in town so hands off' to the local criminal gangs and underworld happenings. It did some good..even though he's misbehaved there himself in recent memory.

She also might recall Juggernaut, in armor and helmed and twice as big now, having ... 'words' with Hulk near a bank vault where she was at and her life being in not just a small amount of danger due to the..well Clash of the Titans within eye and earshot of her.

Now, here she is again and his name has been uttered and Cain is, if nothing else, somwaht recognizable..even if he doesn't quite place her right away.

In fact she barely gets a glance and Cain settles his gaze on Magneto and rests both hands onto his hips. HIs black shirt stretches against his movements, struggling despte its fit as he takes a heavy breath and frowns.

"Yeah you're good for your word but look.. Why me and The Brotherhood? You know I'm not a mutant. I'm sure Charles has given you all the details given how 'close' you two are. My powers are magical and my interests don't align with mutant supremacy. I aint go tno problem with mutant rights or mutants, you know that. My beef with Charles is personal, not about what he does and why but... why me? Don't you already have Dukes with you?"

Red has posed:
"Which you prefer then, Sir?" Alice offers, nodding a little as she eyes the wooden box, on which someone used a branding iron to create one of the many names Mageneto had used in the past. On the side, someone had affixed simple paper seals over the spot the box opens on either side, pretty much ensuing that it could not be opened without making it visible.

"The shipping label goes to a company in Shanghai owned by some Mister Wu. That is the most common family in china, so I assume it is a sharade or front. I am not sure what is inside. It just turned up in her mail."

If Alice recalls, she just offers a courtly nod to Juggernaut while she slips backwards, pulling the tablett PC up to look at something while Magneto conducts business. Only when he calls it Mutant supremacy, her eyes dart up, narrowing some, then to Magneto.

Magneto has posed:
"Yes, I am aware that you are not a mutant, I mentioned this in our last meeting," Magneto replies. He reaches down to pull a draw open and retrieve a check book from inside. He then uses his powers to lift a pen from the surface of the desk. "However, for me to fully realise my plans, I need as many people to join the Brotherhood as possible.

You see, I plan on creating three teams within the Brotherhood, each of which will be lead by my children. You may both know of them, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Polaris. Pietro's team will be the rapid response team. It will mostly consist of mutants with speed and agility focused mutant gifts. Wanda will lead a team consisting of mutants that have reality-warping powers. As for Lorna, her team will consist of mutants who have powers like us. I will at times support Lorna, who continue to lead when on the field.

As for Frederick Dukes, he will join Pietro's team. He would support the team with strength and durability. He would be a immoveable and physical barrier taking the blows that the rest of team would not endure.

However, I would have you join Lorna's team. Your raw power and durability would also be an invaluable asset to us. Additionally, if any anti-mutant threat were to make use of mutant gene inhibitors, you would still be able to provide assistance to the team. Your powers would not be affected.

As for the mutant supremacy, I no longer have interest in that. My interests lie in securing the future of Genosha, a safe haven for mutants. All mutants. With you on the island, you would be able to protect my people if my powers should ever fail me."

Juggernaut has posed:
He calls it like he sees it -or thinks he sees it...but as Magneto explains matters further, Cain is forced to incline his head in thought and he frowns mildly.

"...So yer natio building." he realizes at the last and he begins to take a moment to re-evaluate his stance.

"And you're not about mutants ruling the world anymore? Supplanating humanity? What's that, the TMZ angle now or something?" He jests but he does seem mildly flabbergasted on the inside.

"So why're you not working more closely with Charles then? You both just want mutants to be safe it sounds like. So what's the problem then? I always thought you two butted heads just because you wanted to grind humans down or whatever.."

As to his involvement, he makes no statement for or against it just yet but he seems to be critical in eyeing Magneto.. turning over this 'pitch' from all forseeable angles.

Red has posed:
"The building of Genosha was already done, Mr. Cain. By enslaved mutant hands that got their freedom." Alice notes with a little nod on the word Nation building.

Otherwise, she stays silent, making little notes on the tablet computer.

Magneto has posed:
"It's just the simple case that Charles and the members of his X-Men do not yet trust me," Magneto explains. "I can hardly blame then given my past actions. It is also possible that he does not believe that having mutants living in isolation is in the best interests of mutant kind. I did have one person tell me that Genosha sounds like a reserve."

As he leaves Juggernaut to consider his words for a moment longer her turns to Alice. "I go by the name Max Eisenhardt now. Regarding the box, that is quite the interesting development. This is something that I think requires further investigation. It might be tied into the disappearance of Mystique. Although, why it was sent here and not to the palace in Genosha, I'm not sure."

Juggernaut has posed:
"It's Mr. Marko and are you moving into an AirBnB or are you setting up a country for an oppressed minority to move into? That's nation buildin'. You playing semantics with me?"

Cain's face scrunches up a little bit as he gives Alice a perturbed look but Magneto holds his full attention again as he hears him and he thinks long and hard now.

Finally he rumbles, "I didn't want to get wrapped up in to much of this sorta stuff but truth is, I get it." He rubs his large jaw, scratching the rough hair there with a sound like a metal brush scraping over granit. "Listen..if I help you I need carte blanche. I'm not tied down to one place or thing. I got a lot of clients from AIM to.." his voice trails off as if debating on name dropping someone or something else spceific but he..decides against it.

"...Point is that..Maybe I don't mind lending you a hand on a mission or stopping by Genosha to look big and mean but I'd need flexibility your other folk don't have. Dukes is a wall. I'm a WMD..."

He spreads his arms to the side as he speaks and then indicates his massive frame. "Can you work with that?"

Red has posed:
"This is a public address and unlike Genosha, the US are part of the Universal Postage Union and thus USPO does deliver from China Post." Alice answers back to Magneto, taking a quick note about Eisenhardt, but just nods to Juggernaut.

Magneto has posed:
Magneto decides to ignore Alice for the moment as the mention of the name AIM has drawn his attention.

"That is certainly feasible. However, I must ask you this. If the people you work for outside of the Brotherhood put you in conflict with us or other mutants, what would you do? What if you were to be hired be a group that decided to put a stop to my plans? What if one of the world's governments demanded you to unleash havoc upon Genosha?"

Juggernaut has posed:
"If you're all about playing nice then that shouldn't be a problem." Cain smiles, his expression as smarmy as it gets...until it relaxes and it relents with him becoming more serious.

"You know..as a freelancer, busines is business. You might get asked to rob from Paul to pay Peter, sure.. But I set boundaries and limits. If I say something is off limits then its off limits. You want an all clear from me that I won't raise a hand against Genosha, you can have that. You keep me happy I stay your ally, you got me in your corner. That includes me not knocking buildings over just cause someone wants to cut me a check.."

Cain grins slowly, the expression almost shark like but at least it's an attempt at being more affable. "I've got some morales and scruples. I don't betray the people I side with over something I can just take when I want anyway.. Bit beneath me, yeah? So don't worry. In fact i'd be -more- worried about me attracting attention to Genosha you don't want. Some of the folk I trade punches with for giggles are WMDs themselves. Avengers, Kryptonians. Hulk." He shrugs lightly, unconcerned about the risk to himself it seems.

"I gotta rap sheet but I gues you'd know about stuff like that.."

Red has posed:
"A Rap Sheet including a recent bank robbery versus the very Hulk. I am not sure who won though." Alice notes, otherwise silent in the discussion.

Magneto has posed:
Magneto pulls a face that is hard to decipher, "You forget that humans tend to hate those who are different from them, even if they 'play nice'. There are those who will seek to kill us just to get rid of us from this planet. Some even justify their actions through false religions and pseudoscience. Then whilst the governments have granted me sovereignty over Genosha, they were not happy with the situation. They are those who will wish to see us fail, and those who wish to ensure that Genosha fails by any means.

As for the Avengers, I doubt that they would seek a direct conflict with you on Genoshan grounds. To do so would be an act of war against the state of Genosha. That would be something that the Avengers would not want, and not an action that even the US government would likely take.

Hulk is a little more unpredictable, but I think I can reason with him. He too has faced prejudice from the humans. It is possible, however unlikely, to form as alliance there.

I am not too familiar with the Kryptonians, but perhaps I can me use of resources available to me to make sure that they too will think twice about seeking conflict on Genoshan soil."

Juggernaut has posed:
She gets a side glance but its dismissive. It made the news probably so its likely she's aware that way at the very least. The question on 'who won' gets a little bit of a pause as if trying to decipher it was a dig or not. He opted to step out of a slugfest with the giant aqn dig his way to a rendevous point so as to not miss his extraction.

"Sometimes, 'darlin', you gotta step away from a fight to make a timeline matter. My bank account won."

Sort of. He was in search of an object he didn't even have a chance to get to because of Hulk but no sense in getting into that here.

"You don't have to do all that on my account. My point was that I come with trouble..but you already knew that. Again...if you're worried about if I'd raise a hand against Genosha...if I'm your ally I won't. Besides, that doesn't look good on me anyway. What good is a guy you can't trust to see jobs through? The guys willing to turn coat over dollar signs are less likely to get hired or build a reasonable rep. That's not an issue here.."

Red has posed:
"I guess that counts as a Win-Win then?" Alice muses, the finger on the tablet leaving little marks as she tips and taps here and there, possibly working on mail or something.

Magneto has posed:
"Well, it wouldn't just be for your benefit," Magneto replies. "However, I think the matter is settled then. How much do I owe you?"

He then fills in the cheque before turning to Alice.

"Did you manage to pass on the message to Emma that I am looking for her?"

Juggernaut has posed:
Cain eyes Alice again but wrapping up business seems more pressing then wanting to verbally check her and he focuses his attention back to Magneto and rattles off a figure that was probably discussed prior anyway. A fair amount.

He accepts the transaction and muses, "Looks good to me." He pockets it carefully and adds, "I think like you said, you've got more to worry about from folk coming after you over you then coming after me if I'm there so yeah. Makes sense. Works for me."

Red has posed:
"I left her a message, but I can not say or deny that she read it. It might take a while, I am sorry, Mr. Eisenhardt." Alice answered with a little curtsie.