8979/Retcon Recon

Retcon Recon
Date of Scene:	27 August 2019
Location:	Backyard - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Polaris and Sunspot bring Cable up to date on some of the past. He sheds a light on some futures.
Cast of Characters:	Polaris, Sunspot, Cable

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Polaris has posed:
It was a fog filled evening in Westchester, the air was cooler than it had been before, and had just finished a Summer's rain shower. The clouds still hung in the air, and the grass was damp under foot. The scent of ozone tickled the nose from the recent, not too distant thunder and lightning. The birds had started to chirp away in the forest that surrounded the manicured lawns of the school, even as the sun dipped lower on the horizon.

One Lorna Dane, Princess of Genosha, and currently first in line to be heir apparent.. was pacing back and forth, her bare feet splattered with grass and debris, as she walked back and forth. She was currently hissing a long string of angry sounding words into the glass thin phone floating inches from her face. "I don't //care// what the Council thinks about our diplomatic relations, we're not going to just stop because of my father's actions." She snarled, a low muttering of a response followed and she continued to pace, an ear piece carefully tucked into her ear visible only when she shoved her long green curls back with a vicious swipe of her hand.

The magnokinetic wore a pair of black slacks that had been rolled up to her mid calf, and a white T-shirt that clearly had been worn as an undershirt for a more formal, professional blouse.. which she'd since shed some time before.

"I told you, we're not going to start implementing defensive actions against the sea. It's stupid. We're an //island// nation. I'm not enclosing us in a big metal bubble."

Sunspot has posed:
A summer storm has send most of the kids back into the school, which is good in Roberto's opinion. Nevermind three years ago he was one of those kids - and they were a smaller school back then. A lot of things can happen in three years.

He is dressed in an expensive suit, as usually lately. Although he lost his tie before flying into the school grounds. The summer heat is not something that bothers him, quite the opposite, as he is a solar battery.

The family business eats most of his time, and even now he could have a video call in any moment. Apparently much like a certain green haired X-woman turned princess. Family business, indeed.

When he hears Lorna, Roberto hesitates, turning back to the mansion, then glancing at the woman again. Then, he decides to wait.

Cable has posed:
Cable walks out of the mansion into the backyard. Very tall, severe looking, wearing non-descript black fatigues, boots and a plan black t-shirt. He walks purposefully toward Lorna and takes a moment to look at the Genoshan woman. The male gaze is completely absent. It is simply assessing. And the same look is given to Roberto.

"Sunspot," Cable greets the younger man. "You look healthy. Are you one of the X-Men here?"

Polaris has posed:
Lorna was //aware// of the people that came and went around the Mansion. It was a background static that she rarely bothered to truly tap into while around the Mansion proper. It was a fairly safe place, one where she didn't have to be on her public face and wasn't expected to play at defense all the tie. Still, she felt Roberto and Cable's physical presence in the magnetic fields, the way that their nervous systems, their very brains gave off faint sparks of electromagnetic bursts.

But her attention was by and large on the conversation she was having with someone in Genosha. She grunted at whatever they said on the other line, rolling her eyes skyward at their words. Her lips pursed into a faint line, her hands settling on her hips as she listened. "I'll be back in a few hours. Yes, I'll want a portal there. No, I don't know if I'll be spending the night. Yes, yes. Fine.." She muttered, and waved her hand, her fingers curling as the phone flew back to her hand and she turned in one smooth motion to incorporate both Roberto and Cable into her field of vision.

"Did you need something?" She looked between the two of them, her eyebrows held a loft as she addressed her question to both of the men standing in the backyard with her.

Sunspot has posed:
Roberto looks healthy. Uh. Okay.

But Cable looks like kind of Mad Max extra, or something. Also, no one Roberto has ever seen around before. "Good... afternoon to you too." He offers to the older mutant. "And I could ask the same. Are you one of the X-Men here? But if you are, you know the answer. If you aren't, you shouldn't know the answer."

He looks at Lorna, to see if she recognizes the old soldier. "Ms. Dane," he nods, "not a need, but I'd like to talk with you when you have a few minutes."

Cable has posed:
"You usually make a good X-Man. You've got a good chance," Cable replies. He looks over to Lorna. "Polaris. Have you met me before?" he asks the green haired woman.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna cast a side long look toward Roberto, her gaze looking dubious as she stepped closer toward Cable with a vague sort of interest. Her arms folded as she tucked her glass thin phone into her back pocket. "No, I can't say I've met you before. But I read about previous reports concerning a man with your look before... Cable, right?" She tilted her head to the side as she considered him.

"It was some time ago, though, and I hope you'll forgive me if I don't remember details beyond your name. I've been a bit preoccupied with running my father's country.." She drawled, and exhaled softly.

Sunspot has posed:
"I... what do you mean with that?" Asks Roberto. The sentence structure of Cable's statement feels vaguely weird. Then again, in a mutant school one can find peculiar people. So Roberto gives an extra minute of consideration to Cable's statements. And Lorna's comment.

"Are you able to look into the future?" Apparently he has not read the reports. Mostly because he is not a full X-Men and doesn't have the clearance.

"Precognitive, I mean." Lorna's statement makes him smile. "I am also quite busy running my father's empire. No time for the full hero career, I'm afraid."

Cable has posed:
"The details don't matter, I'm not important," Cable to Lorna. "Meeting before just saves time."

"I've been to hundreds of your most probable futures and pasts," Cable explains to Roberto.

The aging man looks back to Lorna. "What is your father doing? Are you running Genosha, Latveria, Argentina or Belgium?" he asks the green-haired woman. "Is he stable?"

Polaris has posed:
Lorna glanced to Roberto as he mentioned precogs, futures and powers. She didn't think that was it, she wasn't sure though and waited to hear from Cable himself what was going on in regards to the man's presence. Her eyebrows furrowed as he spoke, her head tilting to the side as her posture changed, her hands falling to her sides. "That's right, time travel. You and Rachel both. She doesn't remember much of anything though.." She murmured, partly for Roberto's sake.

Cable's questions earned a frown from the green haired Princess and her pursed her lips together. "Genosha. No where else..." She blinked, as if the thought that her father might turn conqueror hadn't occurred to her in the least. Perhaps it should have.

"Stable... uhm.." She exhaled a rough breath, shoving her hands into her pockets as she angled her gaze low.

"I thought he was. I thought he was listening to reason and logic. He's King. He represents Genosha on the whole. And in the past month he's launched a flying fortress made of part of Genosha's mountains and buildings. He's flown it off international waters, and has threatened to attack any country using Sentinels against their mutant population. I spoke to him, and he apparently has no intentions of attacking at the moment. He's been parked off the coast for a while now, apparently Captain America talked him into not attacking yet. But.." She shook her head, reaching up to push her hair back from her face.

"He's left me in charge of handling Genosha."

Sunspot has posed:
"Atlanteans are running Argentina," comments Roberto. He is helpful informative that way. Besides, it is strange how no one seems to care much if Argentina is occupied right now. The question about Magneto's stability makes him snort. Yes, he is in a flying mountain a few miles from New York. Not very stable. He is lucky one of the Kryptonians has not grabbed the flying mountain and tossed it into orbit yet.

Then she says 'he's left me in charge of handling Genosha'. And Lorna gets a long and considering glance. "I didn't know that. How much in charge are you now?"

Cable has posed:
Cable listens intently with both hands on his hips while Lorna speaks. Impassive. And interested in the answer to Roberto's question. He looks from Roberto to Lorna for the reply.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna pursed her lips, looking to Roberto at his comment about Atlanteans. She frowned, "We should talk about just how involved in global politics they've been recently sometime.." She muttered, and exhaled another short sigh as she shuffled her weight on her feet, curling her toes into the cool, wet, grass. She seemed unsure how to phrase things, but shrugged once and continued on none the less.

"My father has named me his heir, apparently... It's not public yet. I didn't know until I confronted him on his flying fortress a few days ago. If Genosha is threatened due to his actions.. I'm to enacted certain protocols regarding that. I can only assume whatever he has planned regarding that is what he thinks will protect Genosha the most." Her jaw snapped shut and she seemed to struggle with some kind of a complicated mixture of emotions.

Sunspot has posed:
"If he gives you a window to change the situation, take it," suggests Roberto. "Talk to Xavier. And maybe to the Avengers. Genosha without Magneto is a completely different kind of beast." Now he is thinking quickly. "You will be attacked. Those who fear Magneto too much, will try to destroy Genosha if he is not there. You need the X-Men, or the League, or the Avengers, or it will be a massacre. Which could be what Magneto wants. More fuel to the flames."

But it is also an opportunity to make Genosha part of the international community. And a mutant nation that is not a dictatorship.

Cable has posed:
"You are capable of running Genosha," Cable says to Lorna confidently and looks over to Roberto.

"Always quick," Cable says to the younger man. "What are the Justice League and Avengers? New squads?"

Polaris has posed:
Lorna shifted her weight, green eyes flashing as Roberto went on a quick moving set of ideas that burst forth from him at the suggestion that she might one day be Queen. She crossed her arms slightly, "I would speak to my sister first and foremost. She's part of the Avengers, and currently the only one in my family that anyone diplomatically important is willing to talk to. Wanda should be Queen. Not me. She's got magic and everything.." She muttered, making a vague gesture with her hand.

"I already spoke to my father regarding those fears, he seems to think I'm capable of defending the country on my own. Just as he has." Her expression belied that she doubted that as well. Though Cable seemed to have faith in her ability, she clearly did not.

"And considering that you want nothing to do with Genosha, Roberto. I think it best that perhaps you maintain that. Regardless of who is in control or not."

Sunspot has posed:
"Da Costa International does not deal with dictatorships," points out Roberto. It is not the same as 'wanting nothing to do with Genosha'. Because he expected the X-Men would have to move sooner or later to oust Magneto from his throne. "But if you are in charge, you could implement democratic reforms and push for a constitution with separation of powers. Maybe taking the British one as model."

Cable has posed:
Cable crosses his arms. "Polaris, your half-sister is a walking black hole in the timestream. Do you think it would be wise to put the stress you are under on her? Nobody wants what happens when she breaks. Or if she gets as focused on something as your father."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna shot Roberto a look, her eyebrows lofting upward. "So any monarchies, right? You stay out of Wakanda, ...Atlantis, dealings with all of those, right? They're still ruled under a sole monarch. What's the difference, Roberto, between those two? Whether or not part of the population believes the ruler to be divinely ordained? I'm not going to be able to revolutionize Genosha on my own overnight. My position there hinges on the fact that people there honestly worship my father and by extension myself." She started to pace, but kept both Cable and Roberto in her line of sight.

"I've thought long and hard about a constitutional monarchy, trust me, I have researched it in the short time I've had to play with the idea. And I want you to honestly tell me what's going to happen when there's a Prime minister, or a President down the line with powers strong enough to overthrow whoever is on the throne. Or they make a power grab through the Council. What's to stop someone from physically doing any of that? It's entirely different when you have mutant powers and a population mixed with a million different powers, and mutations. To balance all of those laws, and get a population of mixed nationalities to agree.." She exhaled a breath, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Even if I did become Queen, entirely, by right. Or whatever.. I'm still bound by what the people expect and want. Otherwise I'll have a revolution on my hands." She muttered, her gaze swinging back to Cable as he told of her sister being a 'black hole' in the timestream. She gaped, her irritation with the politics of everything floundering at the news.

"Wanda is more stable than I am. I have the entire Earth's magnetic poles in my head constantly. The same instability that my father has is in me. There's no telling what will happen in a handful of decades with my powers what will happen. People like Wanda. She's an Avenger. She's a hero. I'm just Magneto 2.0 in most people's eyes. The lesser of two evils that they need to be ready to put down when I come of age and start acting like him."

Sunspot has posed:
"There is no difference," not that the Atlantes make commercial deals with surface business. At least not that Roberto knows. And Lorna objections make him shake his head. "Laws have to be stronger than guns. Because to be honest, mutant powers are just guns when used to seize power. Hell, if that is how Genoshan's think, maybe you should invite Superman over to rule the country. He has the biggest stick."

Did Cable ask about the Avengers or the League. Oh, right. Time travel. "The Justice League and the Avengers are supposedly the most powerful groups of super-humans on Earth right now. Didn't you know?"

Cable has posed:
"They don't exist in any timelines I've seen," Cable mutters to Roberto. There is something special about this one."

"Sunspot is exactly right," Cable says to Lorna. What you said? Said every dictator throughout history. They never trust their people or anyone else to rule," Cable says dryly and puts his hands back on his hips. "You don't even make sense. The threat of revolution would keep a monarch in line but not a prime minister or monarch?"

Cable crosses his arms. "Stop whining, stop trying to get out of it," Cable full on scolds her. "You are as stable as you decide to be. Are you seeing a psychologist? Psychiatrist? Wearing a nullifier collar? Telepathic adjustment? Neuro-chemical regulator? Don't make excuses, solve problems."

Cable scowls at the younger woman. "Step up, Polaris. I'm tired of going to the future and finding pathetic shells of a woman who should have been one of our best. We need you, and your father, level, ready and leading the way."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna's lips twisted as she glared at Roberto, "Then better pack up your bags too and get out of the US too. Good ol' capitalism buying and selling Congressmen and women, buying campaigns.. I really don't see how the illusion of democracy here is any better when it's built on the backs of the people that suffer and work and die. At least in Genosha I am working to implement changes. To support //everyone// safely. And where money, doesn't buy your way into writing laws either. But what do I know, I wasn't born into a rich, wealthy lifestyle, I fell into it last year and have been trying my best." She scowled, turning her green eyed gaze to Cable.

"I trust my people. I don't trust the factions that my father left behind on the Council." She snapped, clearly losing whatever patience she had. She looked halfway ready to snap something else, when the last part of Cable's words caught up with her. She blanched, her eyes rounding as her lips parted in a stunned, disbelieving way.

"What do you mean by that..."

Sunspot has posed:
"Seriously? US democracy might not be perfect, but it is better than most," Roberto shrugs. "There are checks and balances. I assure you I can't buy congressmen and senators at whim. Not even in Brazil, where democracy is certainly even less perfect. It is not an illusion. It is a goal to strive for."

Capitalism? He is not even going to defend capitalism. But for him it is clear there is no alternative to capitalism. Socialism was a catastrophic failure. To say capitalism is evil is like saying gravity is evil. Might be true, and one just has to live with it anyway.

"A good monarch does not make monarchy the best kind of government. And a crooked politician does not make democracy wrong," he points out. "This pretty basic political science, Polaris."

Cable has posed:
Cable studies Roberto carefully while the young man speaks. He grunts just a bit.

Then comes Lorna's reaction. Cable looks her in the face with his bright red eye. "If you don't get your coils aligned you will crack. You will kill millions. Nothing good about you will survive. You will be used to enslave this planet or get put down," Cable says impassively.
"If you get yourself sorted you will be remembered forever for what you will do."

Cable nods slightly to Roberto, turns and walks a few steps. He stops to look over his shoulder. "I respect who you can become, Polaris. Walk that road. I don't like fighting one of our heroes."