9138/High Tea at the Hellfire Club

High Tea at the Hellfire Club
Date of Scene:	09 September 2019
Location:	Hellfire Club - Manhattan
Synopsis:	Lorna is invited to tea with Emma Frost.
Cast of Characters:	Polaris, Emma Frost

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Polaris has posed:
The invitation to go out and meet up with Emma Frost was something carefully considered. Lorna didn't especially count the other woman as a friend per say, but more of a cautious ally. Emma was fierce, intimidating, and knew what she was talking about. Be it fashion or business. Part of Lorna wished she could come across as self assured and measured as the Frost woman, and part of her feared becoming a bit //too// much of a cynic in her world views if she did.

Regardless, she'd accepted the invitation, and though she didn't wear what she'd picked out with Emma last time. (Much of what Emma had picked out was overly formal she felt, things for Ballrooms, or matters of State in Genosha.) Lorna still wore a simple pair of black slacks and a silken purple blouse, the sleeves rolled up and silvery bracelets matched the earrings that hung from her ears. It was simple, but it would do.

Given that the club was in the US and not in Genosha, Lorna had to rely on Emma's choice in transportation to find and arrive at the club on time.

Emma Frost has posed:
When Lorna arrives the doors are held open for her. She is met by a statuesque woman as elegant as the surroundings.

"This way, your highness," the woman says courteously. She leads Lorna through a set of double doors and down a wide hall. She opens a door and Lorna is brought into a smaller foyer. Some of Emma's people are there, distint in their stylish trademark monochrome black in contrast to their patron. The three rise when Lorna comes in.

Through an open door Emma can be seen sitting at a table in the next room. She is wearing an immaculate low cut short white dress, high white boots and a white cape. When Lorna comes in Emma stands and smiles.

"Lorna," Emma says and kisses Lorna's cheeks then sits down. "Your bracelets are lovely. A gift?"

Polaris has posed:
Lorna was suffice to say, deeply curious regarding the building that Emma invited her to. Her magnetic senses spreading outward and upward and downward in every single direction to try to understand the full scope of the structure and just how continuous it was. She smiled politely, as she exited the vehicle and was ushered through double doors into the more formal hall and foyer. She wasn't entirely sure what to expect, and self consciously picked at her own silk sleeves in a faint show of anxiety. Princess she might be, but it had only been in the last few years. Not like the wealth and status that many of the patron there at the club had been born with.

Stil, as she was escorted further and further in, she managed to maintain her expression of polite interest, the expression warming faintly by the time she saw Emma herself and greeted the blonde. "Hello Emma," A glance was spared for her bracelets. "No, I made them actually. It's only a silver plate. The rest of it is my own special alloy. All of my jewelry is like that, actually." It made a good improvised weapon as needed as well. The magnokinetic had picked up //some// of her father's more paranoid habits it had seemed.

"But all of this looks lovely, thank you for inviting me."

Emma Frost has posed:
"Hidden talents," Emma observes. She crosses one leg over the other and waits for Lorna to sit.

"I am glad you could come. Private moments must be so rare for you. Here," Emma gestures vaguely. "Discretion is absolute. Respite from everything. Something you can appreciate. How are you?"

Polaris has posed:
Lorna settled down at the table as Emma waited for her to sit, her legs folded as she leaned back experimentally in the chair, and glanced around once and back. She arched a brow upward, "I'd say you have no idea, but you likely do. If not for the telepath part, but the cut throat business woman aspect." She smiled weakly, and glanced down, her eyebrows furrowing faintly in concentration.

"I've been having a lot of business failures actually. Genosha is still under the trade embargo, and few companies are willing to be seen trading or doing any business with the country due to my father's behavior." The whole floating fortress and threatening most of the countries on the planet was not good for business.

"I've had to deal with everything from Aquaman threatening to usurp the Genoshan throne, to Roberto Da Costa saying he doesn't do business with dictators. Granted at least after the Professor had words with him, Roberto is willing to try to work something out." She muttered, her lips pursing together into a thin line.

Never mind the fact that her father had more or less told her that she was now the heir to the throne.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma manages to convey a scathing contempt with a single raised eyebrow. "Refuse to deal with Genosha? Our best and only hope in a hostile world. They aren't all rallying to you?"

A server appears out of nowhere. There is no menu, he simply asks what Lorna would like. He leaves without asking Emma. A woman appears with wine for them and pours, then disappears.

"Some friends have a way of disappointing when it matters most, don't they."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna smiled weakly at Emma's outrage, too used to the problems she'd faced in the past year since she'd returned to the States. She'd been stood up by business contacts, given the run around, told that the meeting had been cancelled... or worse yet. Left to sit in a waiting room for over an hour by someone who had no real interest in working with her. Each had eaten away at the confidence she'd had in herself and what she was doing for Genosha. Each time, each failure, had pushed her a little closer to her father's isolationism.

"No one wants to work with me because of my father. Or rather because of his policies.. his temper.. his past actions or his current ones. I have people breathing down my neck trying to convince me to disband the monarchy and make Genosha democratic." She bit her lower lip.

She paused as the server came up, and she blinked, partly startled out of her tale. She considered, and ordered a simple light fare of a soup and a cheese plate. She was used to not having a menu thanks to the Palace in Genosha. She typically just said what she wanted, or even sat down with the head chef to plan the meals for an event or special dinner.

As Emma continued and wine appeared, Lorna reached for a glass and took a sip.

"Roberto doesn't want me anywhere near his X-Corp, publicly. I'm too well known..."

Emma Frost has posed:
"Roberto is very young in some ways," Emma returns. She swirls her wine slowly in its glass. "Thankfully you have endured, and can see the truth of how alone we really are. Your father's belligerence is not the problem. The United States and every nation with any power at all is belligerent from time to time. The world sees him as a problem because he is belligerent /for mutants/. They were quite happy to have a weak Genosha, weren't they."

Emma takes a sip of her wine. "So, much of the world have made their moves and revealed their true colors. What will you do? What do you need?" Emma asks. She is so still when not moving that she might as well be carved in ice.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna shrugged, "Roberto at least was encouraged to work with me, perhaps under the table, by the Professor. So there's that." She murmured, reaching for her wine to sip at it. She twisted her grip on the glass, letting the contents swirl this way and that in a circular motion. She paused and considered Emma's words, setting the wine down thoughtfully.

"You're not wrong," She paused, considering. "The US has more blood on their hands than they ever care to consider. And my father helped to establish a free mutant nation which shook off the shackles of slavery." She pursed her lips together, and tilted her head to the side, as if not entirely sure how to phrase her thoughts.

"He didn't play by their rules when he took control, and I imagine they're not pleased by that. Though Genosha allows them to get rid of their 'mutant problem', which is why I'd imagine they're not willing to completely attack us openly." She tapped her finger tips against the glass of wine thoughtfully.

"But Genosha needs more than to just be a convenient place for the world's mutants. We need allies, and we need a position to bargain with that will allow us to survive beyond the strength of arms my father has."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma waves a hand. "Lorna, dear, you do not need allies. You cannot depend on allies. Never depend on the goodwill of others. Their self-interest is far more durable and reliable."

Emma folds her legs the other way. The movement highlights how otherwise still she is.

"Israel did not depend on its allies to push the Arab armies back or to build the bomb. They built their own strength and did it. They knew allies would not save them, but would be drawn by strength."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna angled her gaze lower at Emma's words, "I don't necessarily think it wise to depend on allies, but I think it would help our standing immensely to be able to have them. We're alone in the world and have far more enemies than allies. No human government will willingly deal with us. Are we self sustainable? Yes, of course we are. We've had to be. But I want a better standing beyond mutant abilities in terms of strength. Worse case scenario is that Trask figures out how Sebastian works, or Sebastian himself invades Genosha and turns off mutant abilities with a thought at range. We'd be slaughtered." She pursed her lips.

"I want trade deals for arms and armaments beyond what humans are capable of. I want there to be consequences if someone moves against us politically, we're not part of that global old boys club, we never will be.. But we need something Emma." Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked up at the blonde mutant across from her.

"And right now we don't have that something. Not beyond the threat of retribution that my father represents. But he won't always be there, and someday I'll be on my own, forced to handle it all."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma's expression thaws a touch. She leans forward.

"I know what it is to carry a huge weight with little help," Emma admits. "You are doing for mutants what other great nation builders have done. I respect your courage, Lorna. I do."

Emma straightens again. "If you wish, I can work with you. Shipping, Russian and Chinese arms imports, medical supplies and bulk goods. It can be arranged. Domestic infrastructure, manufacturing and research development."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna smiled, but it was a brittle thing at Emma's empathetic words. Mostly because Emma had struck very quickly to the heart of things. Lorna was so much more invested in Genosha than she'd ever planned to be, and her father had just named her heir apparent. It was beyond her expectations and her thrown her into the necessity of planning for the future.

"I appreciate the offer, and I'd be happy to accept it. I am leery of working with anything Russian or Chinese though. I don't want to support human countries that would as sure as see us dead as sell us anything to get back at the UN embargo sanctioned against us.." She pursed her lips, tapping her fingers against the wine glass and glanced up to see if the food she'd ordered would arrive soon or not.

"We have the basic infrastructure, and manufacturing. As there //are// mutants that have powers they use in their jobs, it's done a lot for our technology development and the alike. I just.." She sighed, her lips twisting. "I wish we could manage trade deals with the more... interesting countries. Atlantis, Wakanda, Asgardian tech, the Amazons... worlds from space. It would put us on another playing field. Establish our standing beyond the planet and give us a leg up."

Emma Frost has posed:
"One thing at a time," Emma cautions with a ghost of a smile. "I have watched so many projects die out because their leaders overreached. Failed to think in years and decades."

There is a soft chime. Emma stops speaking and a small army of serving staff appears. Lunch is laid out, wine poured, napkins are placed in laps and then they disappear.

"Let me help you become secure and prosperous enough to take those other steps," Emma says. She unfolds her legs and surveys her pan seared scallops before starting on them. "What you are doing is exciting. I am very eager to see Genosha succeed. My help must be carefully kept secret. None of the companies providing you help will bear my name. Not yet."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna heaved a sigh, "If we don't face some kind of a natural disaster in the near future, Genosha has a chance to develop into something great. And more over, due to my father's exceptionally long life.. I have reason to believe I might too, life exceptionally long, in terms of natural longevity. I'm thinking beyond years. I've set my sights on what would Genosha look like in a hundred years? Would it hold up in two? What systems of laws and cautious building do I need to consider?" She pursed her lips.

"I know its far flung, but that's where my mind goes." She exhaled a breath as the food entered with the serving staff and was carefully laid out in a splendid fashion before either one of them. Lorna mimicked Emma, picking up the fabric napkin with a careful movement and setting it on her lap.

"I understand why you cannot have your name tied openly. I suggested as much to Roberto. That he needs not involve himself openly if that's his concern.." She shrugged, dipping her spoon into the lobster bisque in front of her.

Emma Frost has posed:
"Great leaders have vision and an understanding of risk," Emma replies coyly to Lorna's comment about Roberto. "You have both."

Emma slowly savors another small bite of her meal and then her wine. She looks slightly conspiratorial. "Would you believe that having you take a break was not the only the reason I invited you here?" Emma asks with a slight smile.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna arched a brow as she sipped at her soup, taking her time and stirring it slightly back and forth to fish out the tiny bits of lobster that floated about in it. She considered Emma's words with a hook of her eyebrow. "It's dangerous times for mutants, I'll take anything and everything at this point to protect our people.." She all she said in regards to the compliment Emma paid her. She fell silent for a beat, content with her meal as Emma continued after another sip of her wine.

"I don't get invited out for breaks without ulterior motives behind them, so to say I'm surprised wouldn't be completely honest of me, would it?" She mused.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma's laugh is a sparkling thing. "This is why we get along," she says. "I want to see more of you Lorna. I invited you to convince you to join the Hellfire Club. I enjoy shopping with you, but this is much more relaxing. I will force you into the spa here if I need to. The masseurs are very, very good."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna blinked at Emma's laughter, though she wasn't entirely shocked by it. The tone of the amusement and as Emma continued.. that shocked her. Lorna had no real concept of the Hellfire club beyond the fact that it was some shadowy organization that ran about the world and was filled with rich people. That her father had ties to it was the limit of her knowledge beyond that. Sure, she had access to files in the X-men's computer, but she'd never had to read into it either.

"You want me to join?" She arched a green eyebrow upward and took her glass of wine to slowly sip at it.

"Are you sure about that? I'm wasn't exactly born into all of this-" She nodded to the room at large, as if to expansively incorporate it all with a nod of her head. "I'm beyond my depth here, Emma."

Emma Frost has posed:
"I would not offer if I was not serious," Emma promises with a smile. "I want to sponsor you to join. Seeing you more would be lovely."

"This is also where you belong now," Emma adds simply. She enjoys another bite of her meal. Then her pale blue eyes meet Lorna's green ones. "You are /the/ Princess of Genosha. You are a world leader. Here you have access to all the halls of power. A friend or a whisper made here could change the course of politics for Genosha."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna considered Emma's words, a reflexive smile pulling at the corners of her lips. A small part of her wanted to run to her phone and call her father, Wanda, someone, and get their thoughts on the offer. To double check and recheck. To research everything that Emma said and see just how much influence the club actually had.. But it was a small part. A very small part. One that had been slowly fading each day her father spent on his Fortress rather than on Genosha ruling the country.

She was effectively doing the job of a ruler anyways these days.. and wouldn't it just make //sense// to join with Emma's offer?

Not that she particularly trusted Emma beyond others, but Emma was a mutant. And Emma wanted to see their people safe, protected, and prospering.

And that was enough for Lorna.

Lorna picked up her wine glass, and took a sip. "Well then I guess I had better take you up on this offer, then, hmm? For Genosha." She murmured.