xmutanthigh | [OPEN POST] NEW BRO'HOOD

[Kevin holds out his palms a second, showing a bit of "who cares?" from the gesture. But he's careful to notice the nuances in John's expressions, and he thinks... he's relieved with what he sees. At least, John doesn't look like he wants to kill him. Mortis, though, that's another story.]

Yeah, never argued against that either. Maybe I'm just not the greatest at taking orders.

Thank you. [She smiles at John, it is smug, self-satisfied. She likes being right, likes that Pyro has to admit it, likes that she's not the only one stuck dealing with this confused kid. A killer who won't kill.

If anyone asked her, Mortis would say that Wither's a bleeding heart waste of her time. She doesn't feel animosity toward him, not the way she does toward Pyro, but she can see his weakness, despises his reluctance to use his powers the way they were meant to be used. It reminds her of how she used to be, her life spent running with her sister every time she found the release of seeing death in another's eyes, administered by her hand.

Nevertheless, it's her job to gloss over her disdain, make sure he fits in, learns the ropes, follows orders. The only problem? Kevin's terrible at following orders, and Mortis suspects it's in no small part thanks to his having spent so much time with the X-men. Her lips curl into a sneer at the thought, and the thought of who else she knows that hides behind those fancy mansion walls that.]

You're going to have to learn, kiddo. That's all I'm saying.

[Kevin doesn't have a response to that. Now he's even more confused than ever, with the reappearance of John in his life. Having John here might be even more confusing than if it were one of the so-called good guys like Bobby or... his band members. Ex-band, he guesses. With John... it's someone who's experienced this life and made the choice to leave it. Now he's back, and Kevin's trying to figure out why. Does John agree with him, and think re-joining the Brotherhood is the way to go? Or are there different, hidden reasons?

Confused and alone in his thoughts, Kevin just hunches over again and digs his boot into the snow. He matches John's eyes for a second, and then drops his gaze again.]

[The fire crackles, the three of them sitting silence, huddled as close to one another as they can tolerate for warmth, which is not very close at all. Mortis rests her chin on her knees, her voice is softer than either of the boys have ever heard it before, the faintest threads of warmth, humanity creeping into the gentle tone.]

Pyro. [She doesn't look at him, her hands stretching out in front of her to warm by the fire, eyes locked on her fingertips. She doesn't want to ask this question, loathes that any part of her would even think to, but the need is there, inescapable, and so she does.] How's Alison?

[Mortis can be the smug bitch all she wants, continue her little song and dance to manipulate Kevin all she wants, too. John's starting to look forward to what's in store, looking at Mortis. He wouldn't mind if she became a necessary casualty during this rescue adventure.

John's lips twitch, the ghost of a sneering smirk tugging at them; he turns back to the fire, tosses the stick in it, keeping his eyes blank when Kevin meets them for that second. The kid's not the best liar; John sees the fleeting and deep confusion and suspicion in that glance. He's just glad Kevin has the sense to keep his mouth shut about it.

A moment later, he reaches over to snag one of the protein bars someone left in a grate of food (it's there, might as well keep his strength up); that's when Mortis says his name. John freezes, his expression stoic and unchanging as he sits back down and tears the bar open.

He could laugh at the question, so he lets himself chuckle. Not for his sake, but just to piss off Mortis.]

She's fucking swell. Got hitched, has a white picket fence, two kids, a golden fucking retriever. Sucks you weren't invited to the wedding.

Oh, really? [Mortis' face grows hard, her eyes narrowing, her mouth tightening to a hard, thin line. She doesn't bother to look at Pyro as he sneers at her, but she does slip her gloves from her hands, cracking her bare knuckles, her fingers long, white and bony in the dim light. The hover close to the flame, still far enough away from John for him to be compeltely safe, but the gesture is a silent, but overt threat.

She ignores his flippant reply, especially because that white picket fantasy is the farthest thing from anything her sister would wind up with. She swallows her irritation, it's bordering on rage, and when she speaks again, she isn't asking anything anymore. She's the one with all the power right now, she's not the new recruit or the traitor on probation and she's not going to let either Kevin or John forget that.]

Tell me about my sister.

[But John's not sneering anymore; now he's almost smirking, his eyes glinting with cruel amusement and the flickering flame in front of him. He takes a sizable bite out of the protein bar, looks casually and without worry over to Mortis and her obvious rage, her hands that he supposes are bare now to scare him.]

Just did. She's a lot better off without you; I'll tell you that much.

[Lois smiles at this, sickly sweet though still directed at the fire. She pulls one hand back to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, moving slowly and deliberately. Once finished, her fingers shoot out to the side, John close enough for her to grab his arm without moving any other part of her body. Her hold on his limb is steely and unrelenting.

She unleashes just a tendril of her power, the disruptive energy field she controls creeping into his chest, causing an arrhytmic beat to tap out in his chest. She can feel her desire to kill swell, but she is calm and controlled. Soon enough, one way or another, his life will be forefit to her.]

Don't test me, you spineless flatscan lover. You may have meant something to Magneto once, but you are nothing here now. Nothing.

[Mortis took him by slight surprise; he'll give her that much. John's smirk drops off his face, he tries to lurch back at first, but she's strong and angry. If he didn't know any better, he'd think that change in his heartbeat was panic or fear, but he does know better.

His eyes flash - with alarm and hatred. She's barely finished with her spitting threat and not entirely wrong insult (John did mean something to Magneto once, but his mentor is truly gone, there is nothing, no one here for him) when John moves back just enough - the fire to the side of them roars suddenly, bursts high into the air with life. Its relentless, burning heat leans towards Mortis, the force and anger of it giving John enough time and space to move onto his feet and away from the bitch's touch.

The fire knocked her over, or perhaps she dived; either way John lifts a hand to his mouth, laughs at the pathetic sight.]

Funny. You'd think if I meant nothing, I'd be dead by now.

[Riled by the action, Kevin stomps forward, his heavy boots crunching into the snow in front of John. He doesn't speak, but his eyes are blazing at Mortis. It's a defiant look. Anybody could tell what it means: watch it. Kevin isn't afraid of Mortis's powers, and he shows that now, stepping between her and John.]

All in good time, my pretty. All in good time.

[Lois is seething now, her dark orbs catching the light of the flame and sparking with promises of slow and painful death for John. Her teasing, cultural references another unconscious parody of her sister, bizarre and warped and yet uncanny. Mortis gets to her feet, dusting off the snow sticking to her daintily, such a contradition: her demeanor so poised, so feminine in all of her actions, and yet behind all of her elegance there is such a harrowing, raw darkness. It's the kind of pitch that devours and consumes her and everyone around her.

She drops into a defensive stance, facing off against Kevin and Pyro. She doesn't fear either of them, confident that her skill as a dealer of death far outweighs the ravenous hunger of Kevin's powers. Still, she is outnumbered, and she looks around for her comrades, for Porter or Art. Any kind of backup.]

[She's not alone - they're not alone. Mutants are watching now; things are quiet. In all actuality they had been paying attention before - it's not everyday a traitor comes back and is given a seat by the fire.

John's amusement wanes and slowly fades, but his smug, cruel simper lingers. He had lifted an arm to grab Kevin's shoulder when the other mutant moved to get between him and Mortis, and now he drops it and walks forward, sure to stick by the fire.

He's not stupid, contrary to popular belief. He doubts if anyone comes to help, they'll be helping him.]

You wanna know how your sister is, Mortis? Huh? [His smile turns twisted and ugly.] Try this on for size: stop giving a fuck. She's the enemy.

Edited 2011-02-21 00:58 (UTC)

[Someone comes, but not to help. Havok's silhouette emerges from the darkness letting the two boys know about the summons to join Magneto for Wolverine's interrogation, the tension between the three of them relaxing but not disappearing.

Mortis catches John's elbow, much gentler than their last contact, leaning in close to murmur in his hear, words only for him.]

Just making sure she's still alive. [Her lips curl into a genuine, delighted smile and if John can't see it, he'd surely hear it.] I'd hate to find out someone else had the pleasure of turning out the Dazzler's lights.

[She releases him again, turning to watch Pyro and Wither fade into the darkness behind Havok, her fingers lifting to flutter a farewell if either of them turn to glance back at her.]

[Kevin stiffens as he walks, and is almost bothered by how much this gets to him. He doesn't like anyone talking about Ali this way. He bites back a nasty comment to Mortis and decides to keep quiet. No use defending Ali's honor here. Maybe he'll ask Pyro about her later.]

[John doesn't bother to turn his head to face Mortis at her subdued touch; he merely feels his jaw tighten with disgust and he makes a halfhearted attempt to shrug it off. She reeks of death and deception; he feels it in her warm, intimate breath near his ear.

It shocks him, sends something ugly curling in his gut. John merely shoots her a look of tempered disdain at her words - a malevolent smirk teasing the edges of his mouth - and continues on after Kevin.]

[OPEN POST] NEW BRO'HOOD

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