7624/Sisterhood

Sisterhood
Date of Scene:	25 May 2019
Location:	Lorna's Room - Xavier's Mansion
Synopsis:	Lorna and Wanda share a sisterly talk that also strays into Sentinels and other worries.
Cast of Characters:	Polaris, Scarlet Witch
Tinyplot:	Sentinels

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Polaris has posed:
Lorna had told the Professor that she would invite her sister over sometime that weekend, and he had whole heartedly approved of the matter after her distress of dealing with Sebastian. Amongst business meetings and other nonsense in her life, having her old half sister over to visit was low on the list of things she'd thought she would plan. Still, the green haired mutant set the time, and figured Wanda would arrive eventually. Pending any Avengers business of course. Lorna sat on one of the plush chairs by the stone cold fireplace, in her grip a book. One the end table beside her, a tablet stacked a top a mountain of other books, notes and assorted file folders. In one of her hands Lorna held a bottle of water, which she idly sipped at as she read away. It was warm out, but a lovely breeze swept through the room's windows that were flung open to let in the early summer's air. The scent of fresh mowed lawns, and flowers from beyond the backyard drifted in, ruffling curtains and papers alike.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff had appeared outside the school gates in a swirl of chaos magic, wearing a simple purple top and a grey jacket, with jeans. After being admitted, she made the walk up to the school and down the halls. Guided be a particularly helpful, chubby boy who introduced himself as Hambone, it didn't take Wanda too long to find Lorna's room.

Wanda wraps softly on the door jamb then, flashing a smile over to Lorna as the open door allows the breeze from the windows to flow through the room more easily. "Good afternoon," she says, flashing a smile over to Lorna. Wanda has in hand a bag from Katz's. "I picked up a few pastries on the way," she says, stepping into the room and opening the bag as she offers it to Lorna so she can take her pick.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna sensed her sister's approach through the halls the little spark of electromagnetic life that all people had in some way or another. Though for the most part she ignored the students--there were too many of them, Wanda was special enough to merit her remembering the feel of Wanda's presence. At the knock, the door swept over with a flick of her wrist, and Lorna put the folded bit of paper she had been using as a book mark away and closed the book as she stood and set it aside. She flashed Wanda a smile, and made her way over to the brunette.

"Wanda! Aww, you shouldn't have. Thanks," She pushed a swipe of green hair from her face, tucking it behind an ear as she came up to her sister to take the offered pastry with a grin. The green haired woman wore a pair of ripped up black jean shorts, and a loose fitting white T-shirt. A graphic print of some band on the front and little close pins laced through parts of collar and sleeve's hems. The flip flops Lorna wore smacked lightly with each step and Lorna waved toward the chairs.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda smiles at the offer and says in her soft Eastern European, "Just some water would be nice, thank you." She looks around the room and says, "Wow, your room is so much nicer than mine. I had them take out all of the walls and just leave me a big open space, except for the bathroom," she says.

Wanda's arms slip about herself in a self-hug. She smiles as she looks up at the chandelier. "I am guessing this is not normal housing for students, or staff?" she says, turning her soft smile back to Lorna. "I really have not spent much time at the school." Wanda gets a rueful look. "Another thing I hope to amend. Though there was a time I would not have been very welcome. I am glad that has changed," she says with a slow nod of her head.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna waved her hand and a mini-fridge popped open from one of the corners. There she kept her own private stash of drinks, away from searching hands. She moved, picking up a water bottle and then turning to hand it off to Wanda as she nibbled away at the pastry in her other hand. The green haired woman shrugged once as she glanced around the room at large. "I guess it was the master suite once or something. I dunno, I didn't ask or demand it. It kinda happened in the shuffle of rooms and people coming or going. I like it enough, it's not Genosha but.." She made a soft laugh, "You know how dad is with ostentation." She offered and made to sit down again in the chair she'd occupied before. Her smile faded a bit as Wanda spoke of her lack of knowledge with the school or its ground and Lorna nodded once, thoughtful.

"Yeah, the Professor wanted me to spend some time with you, to get my mind off things. I've been buried neck deep in mission related things, and if not that then business meetings for Genosha as a representative. Or working with companies that want to start projects there. I thought I'd have less to do here in the States, but it's been the opposite. Go figure."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff retrieves one of the pastries, one that has a bit of raspberry filling in the middle and glaze over the puffed pastry part. She carries it on a napkin to avoid dropping crumbs and then moves over to take a seat near Lorna after smiling gratefully for the water.

"And how is he doing? I haven't seen him since he'd just arrived back. Made him a poultice to speed his healing," Wanda asks. She tears off a little bite of the pastry to nibble on.

"I don't know if you heard about the Sentinel attack yesterday? I don't think it was Trask. Someone else who got their hands on a pair of Sentinels and lost control of them. But it was bad. People died. Some of them due to an enhanced man who tried to help, unfortunately. I am going to talk to his lawyer and see if there is anything we can do to help with his defense," she says with a sigh.

Wanda asks, "How have things been faring with your speaking to the companies and such? I don't know that I will ever have such a role for Genosha. But I would like to get on better terms with Father," she says. "Pietro and I were both talking about it. He might be a harder sell. But... I think I can convince him," she says, giving a little smile at the thought of haranguing Pietro until he relents.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna snacked on the pastry, quite happily. The chocolate drizzle on top the buttery, flaky crust was dark and creamy. Perfection. She paused in eating to consider Wanda's question, her head tilting to the side. "The Professor seems to be doing better thanks to what you made him, or at least, that's what he //said//. Even as Ororo made him take his other meds too." She pursed her lips and nodded once.

"I saw the reports come in, and I'd watched that little shaky cam-footage people had taken. But it wasn't really clear." She muttered, and sighed, reaching up with her nonpastry hand to rub her temple. "Trask can access Sentinels regardless of who owns them. And anyone else can buy them and use them if they have the money. It's hard to say who or why or what happened from just having heard about it. Though since people died, I'd be shocked if there wasn't a call to make there be permits or something. Though they might just spin it as anti-vigilante or something." She shook her head and paused to finish off the pastry in her grip. She brushed off the crumbs from her shirt and shrugged helplessly. Graceful Princess she was not.

"A lot of companies aren't interested in being publically tied to Genosha. Lots of 'backdoor' types that want to offer investments. Lex Luthor still is the strongest investor over there that is willing to openly employ mutants here as well. People complain about him and his practices a lot, and I'm not saying I agree with him on the whole. But for Genosha? He's been steadfast." She pursed her lips and considered her own words, and tapped her fingernails against the chair's armrest. "Miss Frost has as well, spoke of investments and contracts. I'd like to see what can be done for alliances though. I'd like to talk to T'chaka actually, and get a meeting with Diana too." She ticked off the names of a few other countries that might actually involve themselves in Genosha if asked.. but it was daunting to say the least.
% Regarding their father, however...

"He's already made a set of crown jewels for you both actually."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda continues to eat the pastry, tearing off little bits at a time to nibble while they talk, and washing them down with sips of the bottled water. "T'Challa is a lovely person, I'm sure you'll get along well with him," Wanda says. "And I actually just met Diana Prince myself. I went to pay her a visit this week, for something about the school," Wanda says.

She pauses to nibble a bit more of the pastry before saying, "I'm working on whether we might be able to do a protection spell about the school. Shield those within from detection as mutants. Or from photography, other types of spying. And, I'm still figuring if I can even make it work. But she and T'Challa fought some giant mythological birds with metal feathers in Central Park. The blood from a living specimen might be of help. So I was getting information from her on where they came from. If we do attempt the protection circle, I think she might be willing to take some others down there to retrieve the blood sample. Rather nasty creatures. Poisonous droppings. Feathers like razors that they can launch at people."

Wanda looks surprised at the mention of crown jewels. "Oh, I don't know that we need that. I'm just barely getting Pietro to try on some real clothing instead of track outfits. Though in his defense, he burns through normal clothing pretty fast. But Janet and I got him to come along shopping with us."

Polaris has posed:
A thoughtful look crossed Lorna's expression as Wanda said that she'd get along well with T'Challa and that she had met Diana as well. "But do you think either of them might be in a position to discuss formal alliances at all with Genosha? It's hard, because of lot of people who might otherwise be sympathetic to mutants and a country of mutants... don't necessarily want to be tied to father or his.. uh.. less than stellar track record." She offered, grabbing up the water bottle and taking a long gulp of water.

Regarding the protection spell, Lorna's eyebrows shot upward and furrowed, "Does this thing come from like a spell book or are you like.. winging it? I've always been kind of curious how that all works. I mean, I know, sure.. I could ask any number of people here. But I don't really want to deal with the teasing that might follow." She drawled lightly, and leaned back in the chair, drawing her legs up and folding them on the cushion of the seat.

"Don't go around telling Pietro about them yet. Father didn't want it to get out. He has them secreted away in his study. He's... he's still considering who should be heir apparent to Genosha properly. He hasn't formally stated anything either way."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda gets to the raspberry filling, revealing she has a bit of a sweet tooth, or just likes raspberries, based on her expression as she eats that part. "Mmm," she says, smiling and setting down the pastry on her napkin for a moment as she crosses one denim-clad leg over the other.

"It is difficult to say. I do not know Diana well at all. Just the one meeting. Though I have to say, I heard so much of a build up about her. And she absolutely exceeded even that. A remarkable woman, even apart from her powers," Wanda shares with her sister. She sighs then, before continuing in her slow, gentle way of speaking that is rarely hurried. "I cannot say for sure. Even with T'Challa. But I expect there may be reluctance as you say. Because of father's more hard line stances. Honestly, Lorna, I am reluctant about some of his stances. I do worry that Professor Xavier's vision is so difficult to achieve it may be unrealistic. But I also think the animosity towards any group can be inflamed by some of the actions and views of our father. I was heartened to hear he's working with the school here, though, on the Sentinel issue. Do you think perhaps he might be softening some of his stances? Or is it just a matter of expedience?"

Polaris has posed:
A smile crossed Lorna's lips as Wanda smiled over the pastry and she settled her hands atop her knees as she watched the other woman, "We should go out shopping together or something. Or go on a road trip. I hear Vermont is nice." It wouldn't be that long a road trip either. Maybe they could bring Pietro. She mused, and exhaled a breath as Wanda asked after their father's position.

"I think, right now he's very, very, worried that the Sentinels will lead to a mutant genocide. He's spoken of it several times. He's worried, Wanda. In ways that I hadn't thought he could be. I think he's angry and he wants to protect those he cares about as well as Genosha on a whole. He was so very upset when he heard that the Professor was injured at all." Her eyebrows furrowed as she spoke.

"Before the Professor was hurt, he was talking of speaking to Captain America, and forging a campaign against hate... He was going to go to Auschwitz, Wanda and broadcast it."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The Transian woman gives a few slow nods of her head as she listens. "I believe that would be a good way of moving forward. Working with others on it, and Steve is as good as you can hope for in that regard. All of the Avengers are concerned about the situation. Though I worry they do not all yet see this John Doe as the level of threat that I think he is."

Wanda looks especially troubled, and her arms drift back about herself without really realizing it. She looks off to the side, thoughts seeming to drift away until Lorna might wonder if Wanda has forgotten that she is even there.

And that might be the case, as Wanda finally looks back and seems to need to snap back to the moment. "Forgive me. I have been a bit off lately. It happens sometimes," Wanda says, shaking her head. "And a family trip would be lovely. The protection spell... some of it comes from something like a spell book, yes. Though adapting it to the particular needs will require some work. And, I fear, a number of difficult to get materials. Some of which I am still working out what would be able to serve the need."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna pursed her lips together and exhaled a breath, "You know that Cap is the one that freed, Dad.. right?" She asked, her voice soft as she watched her older sibling from her position on the chair. Lorna had spent a great deal of time with their father, and though shorter than the twins had.. her year in Genosha had brought her to a different level of understanding. She'd had time to get to know their father as a man, rather than just the leader of the Brotherhood.

She cleared her throat and glanced away after a moment, grabbing up her water and taking another gulp of it. The plastic crinkling in her grip. "You haven't interacted with John Doe then have you? He's going by Sebastian now." She pursed her lips and looked vaguely uncomfortable as she shifted in her chair. The leather creaked with her movement and she set the water down again.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda's surprise is writ on her face at that historical fact. "No, actually, I had no idea. I don't know if Pietro did, either," Wanda says. "I guess I will have to give Steve an extra thank you the next time I see him." Neither of them would be there mostly likely, but for that.

"I stayed away from him after I heard of his reactions to the X-men who came to interview him. It seemed like Jessica and Steve were making progress. I figured I would likely only inflame matters," she says. "Though I almost wish I had and had forced the issue early on." Wanda's fingers twitch, and though none of her chaos magic gathers around them, one might gather she's imagining using it on the anti-mutant cyborg. "I heard that you spoke with him. It sounded like you gained a lot of information. What conclusions did you come away with, on how he should be handled?"

Polaris has posed:
Lorna half shrugged, half nodded, "It's strange isn't it? To think of how entangled history is with our lives sometimes? It's still bizarre to me. I grew up in the States here.. never knew I was a mutant, or who I was related to. None of it. I just was raised by someone I thought of as my aunt, and I learned all about him in my elementary classes, and it's still surprises me to think of how much my life has changed since then.." She mused, her voice soft and thoughtful. Her gaze returned to Wanda, and she smiled faintly.

"I worry what might happen to his unfailing faith in the Avengers should he find our that you and Pietro are there. He finds mutants repugnant, to say the least. Particularly in his scans or whatever." She pursed her lips.

"I pity him. He was human once, Wanda. And he hates what he is now. He is unfailingly polite and just.. so //reasonable// in conversation it was... frightening to hear him say that I felt //wrong// to him." Her lips pursed and her eyebrows furrowed.

"It's one thing to hear Friends of Humanity, or hate groups spewing that, about being a mutant, or hell being Jewish. But it was another level. He could sit there, talk to me.. and still be civil. While believing whole heartedly.. that something was //wrong// with me." She shook her head once.

"He's powerful, and we need the intel he has on Trask and his facilities.. But I'm very worried what might happen should he fully remember anything more.."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"I was worried when Tony said that he was upgrading the Sentinel's programming. But I was not aware he was upgrading any hardware. He had a piece of them with you it looked like from the video, that he was fiddling with? I need to make sure those parts are not allowed to be put back on the Sentinels he has. Though I am afraid it may cause a confrontation. I am going to bring it up to Tony and Steve. Steve seems to have had the best luck, perhaps apart from yourself, in dealing with him. Jessica too, actually," Wanda says.

She frowns, picking up her pastry but picking at it rather than eating it. "As human as he might seem, I do not know that his programming can be overcome if he feels it like that. I doubt he would let us into him to try to remove it. Barring that... there do not seem to be many options open to us."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna inclined her head, "He said he wasn't doing upgrades on the hardware then and there.. Rather a repair. He has six Sentinels right now and the parts to build another. which I believe to be his intent." She pursed her lips, "He's able to shut down his mutant detection systems if he wants, and he claimed that made me 'more bearable'." She held up her fingers and used air quotes as she spoke, and rolled her eyes.

Finally, the green haired woman got up, going to her mini-fridge again and grabbing out a beer of some kind. She waved her hand over the cap, it popped off and she heaved a sigh as she took a swig.

"Who knows Wanda? Maybe if Cap and Tony suggest trying to make him human again he'd be down. But Trask apparently wants to dismantle him--not that I can blame Trask on //that// point." She muttered, as if displeased to be agreeing with Trask in anything at all.

"But he seems to have spoken to Trask himself somehow. He didn't clarify how or when or anything. Just that they disagreed."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"I got the impression it happened when he took over those six Sentinels. Perhaps it was before, but there was mention he sent Trask a warning during that exchange. So it might have been they talked during that moment," Wanda says, though doesn't seem certain either. "I don't know that I want him building a Sentinel either. Taking them from Trask... doesn't make me feel particularly better since he upgrades their programming. But one that he controls the parts?" Wanda says.

She shakes her head. "I think that is far too dangerous. It is one more chance for his future technology to get into someone else's hands." She finishes off the pastry and wipes her fingers on the napkin before finding a trash can to dispose of it in. "We need to meet more on the Sentinels. But, that trip to Vermont sounds an excellent idea as well. Do you wish to book somewhere for us? Three rooms, I'll make sure Pietro is there," she suggests.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna nodded along with Wanda's words regarding Sebastian. It was all the same thoughts she'd considered and rolled over time and again in her mind. "Perhaps, but perhaps not. He was honest, and willing to share whatever he knew. That was something else that bothered me a great deal. Who's to say that he's been entirely open about what he knows? While he volunteered information when I blundered into things, it was more to correct me than anything else." She muttered, and grimaced.

"At least that was my feeling. Anyways, I'll see what's out that way. I know there's Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Not much else... Lots of hiking. Camping. Swimming. Pretty mountains..?" She offered, arching a brow.

"Dunno, I'll see what I can find. It would be good to just get out for a while and relax."