The Curse: Brokering the deal

[x-staffofone.livejournal.com]

X-Force meets with the Minorus on an empty warehouse and go over the details of their plan.

Backdated to September 27th

Empty warehouses might be cliched meeting places for clandestine dealings, but that was for a reason. They tended to be off the beaten track, largely soundproof and, when they were actually empty, hard to bring an ambush to. Even so, the three members of X-Force made a point of arriving early and going over the place top to bottom; with the Minorus, one could never be too careful.

"They should be here any minute now," Amanda said, looking at the watch Wanda had given her on a long-ago birthday. "I'm still not sure this is a good idea, but they did say it'd be worth our while to listen."

"And if they give us any trouble, I believe we three should be able to respond adequately." As she spoke, she finished up sweeping one last corner of the warehouse and was now gingerly making her way down a metal staircase. Her powers had shown her that the rusted metal was just waiting for a reason to collapse and she had no desire to take herself out before any potential fighting had even started.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she touched solid ground again and went to join Amanda and Ororo. The entire situation just reeked of potential mishap; that was the entire reason she'd agreed to go along. Amanda believed that the Minorus might be telling the truth and Wanda had been unwilling to see her face them without her present. "At the very worst, I drop the roof on them," she remarked. "This place needs just one strong wind to come along before it topples to the ground."

Wanda glanced over at Ororo, amused.

"I'm sure that could be arranged," came the response as Ororo flicked her gaze to Wanda's momentarily before returning it to the nearest entrance point. Like the other two, she shared a sense of misgiving about the entire arrangement, and it wasn't until their little meeting was over and they were clear of the warehouse that she would be able to relax again.

"So you came."

Tina's voice echoed ahead of her before she stepped into the warehouse. She gave the assembled group a simple nod.

"Good. I'm pleasantly surprised." She could definitely tell they were all likely taught at the same place, however, with their shared snark and smugness. It was likely rubbing off on Nico even as they spoke. A pity.

Robert appeared right next to her, a hand on his wife's shoulder. It might have looked affectionate, but the movement carried another meaning; protection. "I hope we can do this without trying to kill each other...as much as that appeals both sides. We have information you would surely find interesting, yet for that we ask you something in return, and that is to help us save ourselves, and our daughter." He paused for a moment, as if letting them understand what he meant. "We mean, of course, to stop Arcana for good."

Amanda crossed her arms over her chest, face impassive. "How?" she asked. "Arcana's the combined power of generations of Minorus. Exactly how are you planning to stop her?"

Robert rolled his eyes in a tiredly, as if he couldn't believe he really needed to explain all to her. "As powerful as Arcana is, she depends on the next Minoru in the line to have a vessel. As long as she remains without one, her power is limited. She can and will keep on haunting us, but her power over the material world is usually very limited. It's only now that the spells keeping her a bay have got weaker that the curse running down in our family is giving her the edge. In order to stop her from doing this, we must lure her out and seal her away the moment she tries to claim my wife's body."

While he remained impassive, it was obvious that the plan wasn't without risk for either party, but the Minorus were desperate enough to go and ask for help. From them, out of all people.

"Well, that sounds like a fun lark but let us cut to the chase, shall we? We obviously have reason to want Arcana shut down as well but -" Wanda gave the two in front of her a careful once over. "Despite us agreeing to meet you here, we still have no reason to trust you. I would be much happier about this little meeting if you laid your cards out on the table for us. What do you have, what are you offering, that will persuade us that this is not some trick."

Tina rubbed her forehead, suppressing a sigh as she stared at her impassively. "Yes. Because allowing you to pick the place to meet and bring a few of your closest friends is just part of our nefarious plan to let you annoy us to death," she said, cocking her head to the side.

"Something's been happening in the magic circles...something bloody. Or at least, as far we know. Someone's been targeting the wand wielding types...People've died or just plain...disappeared," she said, snapping her fingers.

"Some of it seems to be correspond with vanishing mystical artifacts. Isn't saving people right up your alley?" Tina added, smiling.

"And before you ask...do some digging. No, we weren't there when it happened. Some of those artifacts might've proven useful." And then they wouldn't have to be calling up one of their enemies to help out.

Now it was Ororo's turn to glance at Wanda; disappearing people? Stolen artifacts? It all sounded too similiar to be just a coincidence. "And you have concrete information that would help us investigate these disappearances?" she asked, glancing back at the couple.

"We will provide detailled information if you agree to help us out. We will also surrender to you, as Miss Sefton surely told you." It was obvious that the Minorus wouldn't go into detail if they weren't entirely sure they were going to be helped out, so Robert's position was already set. "From your reaction I assume this is something you are already looking into, correct? You should probably be able to use this information then."

Wanda didn't respond to that last bit - their investigations where no one's business but especially none of the Minorus. She turned over their offer in her mind and nodded slightly. "Right, everything seems to even out, then." She especially enjoyed the surrendering bit; though what they were going to do with the couple once they finished this mad cap scheme remained to be seen. "Turning yourselves in, giving us the information and then taking out a big bad. Not bad for a days work, hm?"

"Just one last thing." Amanda eyed the pair. "Nico doesn't know you've popped up again, and until you're safely contained, she isn't going to, either. This ritual, the whole luring out - you do it with me." She ignored Wanda's sharp glance, the movement from Ororo. "I have a channelling spell carved on me - you'll use that to get Arcana to come play."

"As we told you, we don't want to involve Nico with this. At all. Not until it's over. As for using you to call forth Arcana..." Robert's lips twitched into a smile that was wide and a bit creepy. "How else did you think we would want to do it?"