Log: Preparations

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Our villains meet and plan.



She would have preferred this meeting to have been face to face; in a room where she could see the faces of her allies, read their body language and truly know that her personality and force of will was dominating them to her purpose. But that wasn't safe or practical. No, it was something called 'video conferencing', another of the daily advances that she was stuck living with. She forced away irritation and instead focused on the advantages.

Candra Redivenir had taken one important lesson from her former mistress. Those who fall behind are left behind, and she was determined not to allow her age to hinder her future. Beside her, Belladonna Boudreaux-LeBeau fidgeted slightly, no doubt uncomfortable to be in a room with a woman who most of New Orleans believed was nothing more than a local myth.

On the screen in front of them, an unlikely trio was arrayed. Dr. Peter Alarune, looking shockingly unkempt and frantic, had never truly recovered from his failure at Nova Roma, and saw X-Men in every shadow. Almost a polar opposite, Karl Mordo sat back in his chair, Seville Row suit freshly pressed and emanating the kind of confidence only a man who had navigated the treacherous waters of business to great wealth possessed. Beside him, scowling at the screen, were the heavy features of Heinrich Klar, formerly Selene's personal assistant and the number two of the cult, now scrambling to hold the threads together for his disappeared mistress.

"Please, Doctor Alarune, do go on." Her warm Southern accent didn't have the power over a phone connection that she preferred; another annoyance.

"The ritual is complex, Mistress Candra, but very different from the one we attempted in Brazil. For one thing, we need less energy, merely a focus to serve as a conduit. But we--" Alarune stopped.

"Yes, Doctor Alarune?"

"Just one stone won't work!" His voice went plaintive. "We need the rest of them, and we known that they have them. In that damn mansion. We've been able to use ours to determine the exact locations of the others, but we can't get to them!"

"Patience, Doctor Alarune. That fact is exactly what we are here to discuss. Heinrich, you have first hand knowledge of our foes, yes?"

"The mutants who deposed my mistress Selene, ja," the large man intoned. "They are overconfident in their power because they do not understand what true power is. If they possess these stones, then we shall force them to our will, to bring them into our control and restore my mistress to her glory." The video connection was limited, but it somehow managed to convey the aura of restrained anger and vengeance simmering under the surface of Klar's disciplined facade.

"They rely on the strength in numbers, like ein kolonie der ameisen, the colony of ants, ja?" His smile was less like that of a man and more of a starved wolf that would tear the throat
out of anything that could become its next meal. "Together, strong. Divided, weak."

"And division is what brings us here. Karl?"

"Apart from our obligations to the Mistress and her worship, there is a practical reason to speed her return." Mordo ran his fingers absently over his black beard. "Some of our less dedicated brethren have been straying. Funds, political connections; especially following the loss of our influence in the Black Court. Heinrich has done well to keep our specific cells together, but the network of political and financial allies needed the Mistress' personal attention to maintain. They need something to believe in and without her, we won't hold them all much longer."

"Then we must give them a source of belief." Candra said, steel entering her voice. "Those mutants have interfered too often in our plans. They believe themselves too strong to be struck at. I have engaged the head of the Guilds of New Orleans to our cause. Her contract is a heavy price, but Mere Boudreaux has already devised a plan."

With a slightly twisted smile Belladonna gave a nod, then waited, the silence stretching out as she allowed the anticipation to build. Her own discomfort aside, she knew that a little patience would go a long way towards gathering people's attentions and giving her the upper hand. Finally she spoke.

"As Monsieur Klar so adeptly pointed out, strength in numbers is the X-Men's greatest asset. There are certainly individuals among them who are formidable foes in their own right, but even they cannot hope to triumph when forced to operate under less-than-desirable circumstances. Circumstances which we shall be dictating." Casting an imperious glance over the three men, Belladonna carefully avoided glancing towards the woman at her side; no doubt Candra would be more difficult to manipulate than those three pawns.

"We are going to divide their numbers – pull them in so many directions that they will barely be able to communicate with one another, let alone form a cohesive plan for retaliation. It is no secret that they ally themselves with Xavier's School, and we will use that tie against them." If Belladonna felt any compunction about using children to strike at the X-Men, it didn't show in her voice. "Spread them out, use both distance and numbers to our advantage, and I can guarantee that the X-Men will be no more a threat to your goals than a band of schoolchildren."

There was a murmur from the others, but Candra only nodded. When Belladonna had approached her a year ago about her impending coup, she had noticed the hunger for power in the young woman, combined with a truly delicious ruthlessness. The plan had all of the hallmarks she expected.

Klar nodded, glancing at Mordo to gauge his approval of the idea. "Our people are not ignorant of the students of Xavier's School," he growled. "My mistress Selene has no love for them, and so they are
less than nothing to us. Tell us, Frau Boudreaux, what would you have us do to restore our Lady to power?"

"Patience, Mister Klar. By holding the students and staff, we neutralize their powers. Even they cannot strike every where at once, and I doubt that they will risk such actions after we execute two or three of our hostages. Karl, that will give you free reign to conduct the ritual."

"Faugh, even if they try," Mordo's smile was cold. "I have powerful friends in politics and an army of lawyers. If one of them so much as steps on my property during the ritual, they will find themselves fighting every legal means that I can buy against them. Despite their 'heroics', they are still just lunatics in leather."

Candra turned to Klar. "Mere Boudreaux has a man for you to meet, Heinrich. He will help us in collecting the additional hostages we need. Unlike those we will trade for the stones, your group will be kept as insurance until the ritual is complete and our Dark Lady restored. Afterwards... you may do with them as you wish."

That final caveat brought a smile to Heinrich's face that hinted at what depths of horror "as you wish" could contain. "It has been quite a while since I have properly paid homage to my mistress, though her
gifts still remain, as I am still her favored. These children then, are to be forfeit once their purpose is served? Believe me, Fraulein Candra, I have no compunctions on that score."

How macabre. Personally, Belladonna had no particular desire to torture or maim the children – that craving was reserved for one very particular individual. However, Klar's designs had no impact on her planning, and so she shrugged off his promises as the ravings of a harmless lunatic. "The X-Men's attempts at normalcy along with their acceptance of the bizarre will be two of our greatest allies. Everything has been planned; there is nothing left up to chance. Except, of course, your completion of the ritual," she said, unable to keep from a subtle dig at the three men before her. "That is entirely up to you."

"Kill them all."

"Please, Doctor Alarune. I trust Heinrich will serve in the best interests of those who worship the Dark Lady. Karl, do contact me once you have the ritual sequence prepared. I will provide my own power from my home to assist." Candra's voice rose slightly. "We will restore Selene to her rightful place, and most appropriately, at the cost of those who dared to challenge her. Go, begin your preperations. She deserves our best efforts, and she will have them."

"Once the ritual is complete, we will each have what we deserve."