Operation: One Night In Madripoor
Dec. 15th, 2013 05:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsOnce in Madripoor, the team goes over the mission specs. It seems like a fairly typical job for them.
The room was posh. Way too posh for Cammie’s taste and it made her want to re-enact one of the scenes from The Wall and trash the place. It spoke of a self control she didn’t have before that the only indication of it was her eyes darting from fancy thing to fancy thing. Instead of breaking stuff, she pulled out a flask and took a sip.
Antifreeze always went down nice and smooth.
“So, exactly what the fuck is going on?” Cammie asked. Knowing would give her something else to think about other than chucking the television out the window.
“We all here? Bein.” Remy came through the door with Ororo and North - the last group to covertly clear through Madripoor’s international security. Amanda’s alert had caused them to scramble, but like any agency, even dire emergencies still came with security considerations, and they’d filtered anonymously into Madripoor in small groups through different avenues. The hotel may have been more ostentatious than necessary, but Emma’s extravagance wasn’t solely based on personal pleasure. The more expensive the hotel, the more money it put into anonymity at the request of the guest, even in the face of local police. At least, that’s what Remy told himself Emma’s reasoning was.
“‘manda, dis is you show. Exactly what are we dealing wit’?”
Even a year before, Amanda would have twitched at the idea of something being "her show". After all, she'd not exactly had a string of successes in terms of running things - Nico's parents and the escape of Arcana came to mind. But the young blonde woman was businesslike and professional as she faced her teammates.
"As I mentioned, there's a significant magical artifact turned up here that we need to get hold of. Actually, there's three. Illyana's bloodstones, that went missing after she was tossed out of Limbo in a demonic coup. We have to get hold of them. Problem is, they're in the hands of the Mandarin, and fuck knows what he's planning to do with them."
"I am sure whatever it is, it cannot be good." Marie-Ange said, entirely unnecessarily. "Who would like to demonstrate they did last night's reading and tell us why the Mandarin is a horrible person?" she glanced at Artie, and Wade, and then waved a hand. "In short, he is rich, powerful, a bit power-mad and has literally summoned a dragon. The one you may have heard that Clarice had an unfortunate underpants encounter with. Which adds up to a mess."
"Obviously Zhang is no ordinary gang leader. He also has a more than passing familiarity with acquiring and exploiting magical artifacts - if he has these stones, he surely has plans to use them," Ororo said, remembering the mission reports, which had been fantastical even for the X-Men. "Even if we do not know his purpose, artifacts of that import can not have been moved without notice."
"Our contacts have the bloodstones tracked to three parts of Madripoor," Amanda continued. "So we're going to need to split up and hit all three locations at once - they'll reinforce if we do it one at a time." She nodded to Doug.
Doug unfolded the twin halves of what looked like a double-size tablet computer onto the table where everyone could see it and tapped the screen to power it up. A wireframe topographical map of Madripoor came up with three blinking locations. "Hightown, Lowtown, and the waterfront," he pointed to each in turn. "About as spread out as you can get here."
He tapped the Hightown location, which brought up a street-level map. "This high-rise is a known Triad property - they use it to house high-ranking members and to wine and dine expensive 'clients'. Heavily guarded, state of the art security."
Another tap brought up a twisting mass of paths and alleyways that made up Lowtown. "The Temple of Gathering Shadows," he continued. "Home to a secretive sect of monks that...strongly discourages visitors."
The final tap brought up a map of the docks and buildings of Madripoor's waterfront. "And last but not least, a nice, anonymous warehouse that is undoubtedly crawling with flunkies."
"And somewhere I'm pretty familiar with"
Jubilee had spent a lot of time near the waterfront when she'd first come to Madripoor, and while most of her memories of the place weren't anything she particular wanted to remember, she was glad they'd at least be useful now.
"I can get us close enough to get a good tactical view of the place."
"The streets around the temple kinda suck," Artie offered. "Bad visibility, blind corners, and a lot of places to arrange ... problems and you'll be able to pick the locals because they’re the ones who aren't lost. Do we want to deal with the monks inside the temple or out there?"
“The one that will give you a better tactical advantage in terms of stealth. Getting in and out with as little disturbance as possible would be ideal, as always,” North said, the curl to his lips not entirely pleasant. “But the monks are the tricky sort, so a more realistic aim, perhaps, would be to get to the bloodstone undetected and then try to survive the fall out.”
Wade narrowed his eyes at the virtual dioramas. "That high rise in Hightown - its got a private security force, right? If you look the part, that's half the battle of getting in. But it's like with the monks - once cover's blown, it's balls to the wall. They'll bring everything they've got."
Emma leaned forward from where she was curled on the couch. "I can provide credibility for getting us in to Hightown, if that suits," she offered to Remy. "Wear some Harry Winston diamonds and a security team is going to be expected, not out of place."
"Dat might be our best play. Wade and North look like hired muscle in de first place. Take Doug as well. If dere's going to be advanced security, it's not going to be in Lowtown." Remy rubbed his chin, contemplating the situation. "De habourfront is going to be a bitch to approach. Lots of security, lots of guards, and a nightmare to navigate. Spent some time on dose docks. Think dat Remy take dat one. Jubilee, 'ro, you up for it?"
"I left my catsuit at home, but I am sure I can make do without," Ororo replied with an affirmative nod.
"Nightmare navigation and lots of brutal rent-a-cops waiting to tear our lungs out soon as look at us? Dude, where do I sign up?"
Despite the flippancy of her words, Jubilee's body language was all business. Her eyes had been scanning the maps as they came up, her attention focused on each member of their team as they said their piece. She truly would be most useful at the habourfront with Remy and Ororo, and so that is where she would go.
"I don't care what I do but I didn't come halfway across the world to not get the chance to punch someone in the face," Cammie said, nerves were making her fidget. It was what she was good at though, point her in the right direction and let the damage be done.
"You'll be with me, Angie and Artie at the temple," Amanda replied, briskly. "That's the one we know least about in terms of what's waiting for us, so better to come prepared for all eventualities. If need be, Angie can shoot you in the arse again while we scarper."
"I think we can trust Cammie to shoot herself this time." Marie-Ange said. "Besides, I think the boys will need all of their guns." She shrugged casually. “And I am all out of hazmat suits."
The room was posh. Way too posh for Cammie’s taste and it made her want to re-enact one of the scenes from The Wall and trash the place. It spoke of a self control she didn’t have before that the only indication of it was her eyes darting from fancy thing to fancy thing. Instead of breaking stuff, she pulled out a flask and took a sip.
Antifreeze always went down nice and smooth.
“So, exactly what the fuck is going on?” Cammie asked. Knowing would give her something else to think about other than chucking the television out the window.
“We all here? Bein.” Remy came through the door with Ororo and North - the last group to covertly clear through Madripoor’s international security. Amanda’s alert had caused them to scramble, but like any agency, even dire emergencies still came with security considerations, and they’d filtered anonymously into Madripoor in small groups through different avenues. The hotel may have been more ostentatious than necessary, but Emma’s extravagance wasn’t solely based on personal pleasure. The more expensive the hotel, the more money it put into anonymity at the request of the guest, even in the face of local police. At least, that’s what Remy told himself Emma’s reasoning was.
“‘manda, dis is you show. Exactly what are we dealing wit’?”
Even a year before, Amanda would have twitched at the idea of something being "her show". After all, she'd not exactly had a string of successes in terms of running things - Nico's parents and the escape of Arcana came to mind. But the young blonde woman was businesslike and professional as she faced her teammates.
"As I mentioned, there's a significant magical artifact turned up here that we need to get hold of. Actually, there's three. Illyana's bloodstones, that went missing after she was tossed out of Limbo in a demonic coup. We have to get hold of them. Problem is, they're in the hands of the Mandarin, and fuck knows what he's planning to do with them."
"I am sure whatever it is, it cannot be good." Marie-Ange said, entirely unnecessarily. "Who would like to demonstrate they did last night's reading and tell us why the Mandarin is a horrible person?" she glanced at Artie, and Wade, and then waved a hand. "In short, he is rich, powerful, a bit power-mad and has literally summoned a dragon. The one you may have heard that Clarice had an unfortunate underpants encounter with. Which adds up to a mess."
"Obviously Zhang is no ordinary gang leader. He also has a more than passing familiarity with acquiring and exploiting magical artifacts - if he has these stones, he surely has plans to use them," Ororo said, remembering the mission reports, which had been fantastical even for the X-Men. "Even if we do not know his purpose, artifacts of that import can not have been moved without notice."
"Our contacts have the bloodstones tracked to three parts of Madripoor," Amanda continued. "So we're going to need to split up and hit all three locations at once - they'll reinforce if we do it one at a time." She nodded to Doug.
Doug unfolded the twin halves of what looked like a double-size tablet computer onto the table where everyone could see it and tapped the screen to power it up. A wireframe topographical map of Madripoor came up with three blinking locations. "Hightown, Lowtown, and the waterfront," he pointed to each in turn. "About as spread out as you can get here."
He tapped the Hightown location, which brought up a street-level map. "This high-rise is a known Triad property - they use it to house high-ranking members and to wine and dine expensive 'clients'. Heavily guarded, state of the art security."
Another tap brought up a twisting mass of paths and alleyways that made up Lowtown. "The Temple of Gathering Shadows," he continued. "Home to a secretive sect of monks that...strongly discourages visitors."
The final tap brought up a map of the docks and buildings of Madripoor's waterfront. "And last but not least, a nice, anonymous warehouse that is undoubtedly crawling with flunkies."
"And somewhere I'm pretty familiar with"
Jubilee had spent a lot of time near the waterfront when she'd first come to Madripoor, and while most of her memories of the place weren't anything she particular wanted to remember, she was glad they'd at least be useful now.
"I can get us close enough to get a good tactical view of the place."
"The streets around the temple kinda suck," Artie offered. "Bad visibility, blind corners, and a lot of places to arrange ... problems and you'll be able to pick the locals because they’re the ones who aren't lost. Do we want to deal with the monks inside the temple or out there?"
“The one that will give you a better tactical advantage in terms of stealth. Getting in and out with as little disturbance as possible would be ideal, as always,” North said, the curl to his lips not entirely pleasant. “But the monks are the tricky sort, so a more realistic aim, perhaps, would be to get to the bloodstone undetected and then try to survive the fall out.”
Wade narrowed his eyes at the virtual dioramas. "That high rise in Hightown - its got a private security force, right? If you look the part, that's half the battle of getting in. But it's like with the monks - once cover's blown, it's balls to the wall. They'll bring everything they've got."
Emma leaned forward from where she was curled on the couch. "I can provide credibility for getting us in to Hightown, if that suits," she offered to Remy. "Wear some Harry Winston diamonds and a security team is going to be expected, not out of place."
"Dat might be our best play. Wade and North look like hired muscle in de first place. Take Doug as well. If dere's going to be advanced security, it's not going to be in Lowtown." Remy rubbed his chin, contemplating the situation. "De habourfront is going to be a bitch to approach. Lots of security, lots of guards, and a nightmare to navigate. Spent some time on dose docks. Think dat Remy take dat one. Jubilee, 'ro, you up for it?"
"I left my catsuit at home, but I am sure I can make do without," Ororo replied with an affirmative nod.
"Nightmare navigation and lots of brutal rent-a-cops waiting to tear our lungs out soon as look at us? Dude, where do I sign up?"
Despite the flippancy of her words, Jubilee's body language was all business. Her eyes had been scanning the maps as they came up, her attention focused on each member of their team as they said their piece. She truly would be most useful at the habourfront with Remy and Ororo, and so that is where she would go.
"I don't care what I do but I didn't come halfway across the world to not get the chance to punch someone in the face," Cammie said, nerves were making her fidget. It was what she was good at though, point her in the right direction and let the damage be done.
"You'll be with me, Angie and Artie at the temple," Amanda replied, briskly. "That's the one we know least about in terms of what's waiting for us, so better to come prepared for all eventualities. If need be, Angie can shoot you in the arse again while we scarper."
"I think we can trust Cammie to shoot herself this time." Marie-Ange said. "Besides, I think the boys will need all of their guns." She shrugged casually. “And I am all out of hazmat suits."
