Hellfire Gala: Before we storm the gates...

[Shadowcat]

"Phil, huh?" Kitty asked Abbey and Darcy as they exited the portal. "Phil from SHIELD? No, sorry. Doesn't ring any bells, Abbey." Kitty was not exactly thrilled that Lockheed had to stay behind, but she also knew a mystic could get him there in a flash if needed. She knew Jubilee and some of the students had planned to watch this event on E! At least the talk about Darcy's boyfriend helped keep her mind off what might happen and why they might need Lockheed.

Abbey knew a lot of SHIELD people from back in the day, but some of the newer agents were unknowns to her. If this guy was as young as Darcy was, then she really had no idea who he was.

"I hope your Phil does get to make the party, Darcy," Kitty replied as she looked between Darcy and Abbey. The whole mess with Rei and Kelsey had made things hard on Abbey. Stalik being away for so long had not helped either. "Maybe he can liven it up if it gets stale. Hellfire Club and exciting entertainment do not go hand in hand."

[Darcy Litwack]

Darcy laughed.  "I'm not sure he will liven it up.  He's not much of a partier." Darcy covered her face, when a photographer started snapping pictures of her.  "Ugh, get out of my face-space!"

Abbey laughed, and took her friends hand, hurrying along behind Kitty.  "I thought you said Phil was a geek?"

"Ugh, yeah.  A total Sheldon Cooper, ... well maybe not that extreme.  How many geeks do you know that liven parties up?"  Darcy said with a laugh.

"True.  Well, I can't wait to meet him,"  Abbey smiled.

"Umm, well, I don't think he really wants anyone know we're together."

"Oh?  Really?  Why is that?  Against SHIELD rules to date?"  Abbey asked.

"Um, no.  It's just ..." Darcy paused.  "He's like ... I don't know ..."

Abbey arched her eyebrow.  "He's like?"

"Like old enough to be my father," Darcy said sheepishly, averting her eyes from Abbey and Kitty.

[Craig Dragotti]

''Is this portal evening?'' Mr. Dragotti muttered with a tiny grin. He tried to recognize Kari and the others. He thought Logan seemed familiar, but he was uncertain. There weren't any potential enemies...yet! Mr. Dragotti decided to guard Jack all evening if he had to. He made sure to remain close to him.  

[dazzler]

Ali and Sasha stepped through the portal.  "Wow, look at all these people.  Glad I got my fancy dress on tonight.  Though some of those women seemed to be dressed for ... god ... I don't know ... hanging out on a corner somewhere.  See if they actually get in," she laughed.  "Unless they're Shaw's hoochies.  Which they very well could be.." Ali shrugged.

"I'm just really glad they didn't ask me to sing.  It seems I'm always the entertainment at parties, maybe tonight I can actually relax and kick back!"  She said to Sasha.

[Deleted]

James strutted up the red carpet stopping every other step to pose for the camera, Flexing, Making dramatic facial expressions and doing a hero stance with his hands in fist on his hips, chest out and his head turned to the side looking slightly up. Another James walked up behind him slapping him in the back of the head. "Stop goofing around, you are supposed to be with the others."

James walked passed his dupes and smacked them both in the back of the head, "You both are.. now get going before I put you both in time out."

The dupes frown a bit then smack each other in the arm as they walk off. "Guezz.. see what you did.. now we both got into trouble."

"Me? ME?! you were the one acting a fool in front of the press.. Ignoromoronis."

"Whats Ignooromor-something-is? Thats not even a word dork."

The two dupes argue back and forth walking away from the gathering. James looks back and facepalms before looking up as if asking the Gods why he was being tortured. He walked up behind Darcy and Abbey to try to mingle in.

[Deleted]

"Jamie! Do you see Rorian anywhere?" Rahne yelled as she came running up behind Madrox. "Abbey, Darcy, you both look beautiful. And Jamie, you look very fancy indeed! Now if I could find Rorian, I'd feel a lot better. I know she knows the city, but this crowd is huge!"

Rahne had heard Alison talking to Sasha about Sebastian Shaw's ladies of ill repute. Hellfire did have a strip club as one of its front groups, and she would not be surprised if some of the ladies were strippers.

As Rahne adjusted her creme colored dress, she looked around again for Rorian. "It's going to be hard for her without her father here," she said as she looked up at Jamie. "Now, are you going to save a dance for me, Jamie?" 


 

[Abbey Pryde]

Abbey formed an 'O' with her mouth, not really knowing what to say to Darcy.  Darcy was in her twenties, so technically she wasn't doing anything wrong.  She just couldn't see her friend with an older guy ... a really older guy.  "Um, so ... he's like-"

"Twice my age," Darcy cut in.  "It's not weird.  Well, it sounds weirder than it is.  He's not like a creep or anything, Abbey.  He's super sweet."

"Okay ..."  Abbey said with a smirk.  She stumbled forward a bit when she felt someone bump up against her.  "Oh hey!  Jamie Madrox, right?  Of course you are!  I see you brought some friends with you." She smirked, looking at the dupes that were walking off into the distance.

"I'm Abbey Pryde and this is my friend Darcy Litwack."  She smiled.

Darcy smiled slightly and waved at him. "Do you have twins ...triplets of you or something?" she asked.

"He's called Multiple Man," Abbey smirked, and then looked over at Rahne when she appeared.  "Thank you.  You look lovely too."

[Sasha Sadovsky]

Sasha made sure to stay with Alison at all times. ''Your dress is very beautiful,'' he said. He tried to recognize those who were present. He gasped in a loud tone the minute he saw Mr. Dragotti. ''What is Mr. Dragotti doing here?!'' he exclaimed. His body trembled with rage due to his past relationship.

[Deleted]

James smiled at Rahne then looked around for Rorian, "Thanks, No.. havent seen her and dont see her.. hold on." He crackled his knuckles as two duplicates stepped out from him. "Alright guys operation Find Rorian is a go" The two duplicates got a serious look on their faces then slipped off through the crowd.

"Dont worry we will find her." He placed a hand on Rahne's shoulder to comfort her a bit.

Turning to Dary and Abbey he laughed embarrassed slightly as he scratched the back of his head, "Yeah.. I am like a photo copier of sorts.. just its stuck on one image."

James nods in agreement with Rahne and everyone, "You all look very Lovely this evening."

[Darcy Litwack]

"That's cool," Darcy said looking at Jamie with a smile.  "See, I wish I had cool powers.  Nope, I'm just a plain old boring person."

Abbey grinned.  "Having powers is pretty nifty but it's also not so cool.  I mean look at all the crap we go through.  The fighting, the hate, all that crap." 

"Well, just know that I'm totally not a judgmental person.  You all can trust me,"  Darcy looked down at her phone when it buzzed again.  She smiled and typed a text.

Abbey rolled her eyes and then smirked at Jamie and Rahne.  "So what is your opinion on a girl dating a guy twice her age?  Like lets say this girl is 22 and guy is in his mid forties?  Is that creepy?  Does it sound like the guy would be creepy?  I just want some input here."

Darcy put her hands up in front of her in exasperation.  "Abbey!!"  She covered her face and laughed nervously.  "He's not a creeper!!"

[Deleted]

James stood there for a moment rubbing his chin, "Well its kinda creepy.. unless he is immortal, then well, who wouldnt be younger than him. or Like Captain America who is old as dirt but due to being frozen and all that is pretty youngish.. or .. ya know something like that."

"He didnt say anything about a 4 year plan i hope.. that would be creepy." A duplicate popped in from behind Darcy, jokingly looking over her shoulder. "is that what he is texting you? his 4 year plan?"

James laughed, "See.. you are lucky.. see what I have to deal with here." He gave Darcy a jokingly wink.

"Age isnt as important as one's happiness I guess. Honestly. Just be sure you know what your getting into." James smiled then turned to a duplicate whispering something to him. He is an investigator and something sparked his interest with this situation. The duplicate slipped out of the crowd waving down two others then all three got into his car to leave.

[Cyclops]

As soon as he and Emma lead the charge of the X-Men through the portal to the Hellfire gala, the mutant power couple quickly became bombarded by the press. Camera flashes were only second to the roars of the crowd and bombardment of questions that came from people with microphones, tape recorders, and old fashioned pen and paper. Considering what they'd been through--the attack and destruction of their home, the move to San Francisco, and the Purifier attacks that occurred shortly after they arrived--all of this was to be expected.

That didn't mean that he had to like it all that much.

On the bright side, his ruby quartz glasses sure helped when it came to the countless camera flashes going off inches from his face.

"Knowing Shaw," Scott started in his reply to Emma, "He has an angle. By the end of the night, he probably expects all of this to benefit him. Increased membership and funding maybe?" His eyes then shifted over to Brian Williams, the first multi-billionaire he'd seen so far; though he knew full well that the man wouldn't be the last. Scott knew very little of the man other than the fact that his and Emma's family had been in the same social circle.

That wasn't all that surprising, really. Rich people tended to spend time with other rich people. Cyclops didn't bother to keep up with the man much. To him, he was just another Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or Tony Stark. Though from what he understood, less of a jackass than Stark. Scott noticed Craig Dragotti off in the mass of the crowd. "Don't be afraid to enjoy yourself here," Scott said to one of the X-Men's newest. "Go off and mingle. Just try to avoid the press, they're vultures."

After addressing Craig, Scott then fixated his gaze on Cain Marko. Thanks not only to his (former) criminal exploits, but thanks to his father and brother, it wasn't too hard to imagine that the Juggernaut could manage to worm his way into one of these events, but this type of crowd was never really his scene. He was more of the corner bar type of guy. Why was he here,? And more importantly, who was the woman with him? With these thoughtso on his mind, Scott followed Emma to where Brian Williams was, very well expecting a front page photo to occur within the next three minutes.

"Emma, is that you?" Brian exclaimed as he diverted his attention from the press and to his childhood (crush) friend and gave her a quick hug. "It's nice to see you. It's been years." The casual demeanor and grin on the billionaires face disguised the fact that the truth of the matter was that it had only been a manner of months that the two had last seen each other.

"I've become a lot more...social since you've seen me last. I'm not as adverse to these types of parties as I used to. Granted, I'm not as much of a partier as Stark. To be honest, I'm only here because the rest of the board dragged me along. But enough about me, how have you been? I have to assume that the man behind you is..."

"Scott Summers," the leader of the X-Men said as he extended his hand out toward Brian, "It's a pleasure." Without hesitation, Brian took Scott's hand and shook it, despite the fact that the last time the two men saw each other, they were busy exchanging blows with one another*. Either way, it was time to put on a show.

[Tytanic]

As soon as John stepped through the portal, something he wasn't entirely fond of doing, but did anyway as to not cause too much of a distraction by flying across the country--as if arriving through a portal wasn't a distraction--and to arrive in unison with the other X-Men, he felt out of place. Waayyy out of place. He'd only really been a superhero for a fraction of the time the others have been, and was really a C-lister at best. These types of events were never something he'd have ever been invited to had he not been an X-Men, and he had a brief membership with the Avengers!

"Man, I'm as out of place as a blizzard in the middle of the summer," John thought to himself as he broke away from his faction and went his own separate ways, stopping to pose for the camera-people that thought he was important enough to capture on film, a number that was greater than he initially expected. "Maybe I can end up on some eligible bachelor's list! Pfft, they'd have to know who I was first, haha."

[Pete Wisdom]

"Oh, 'ell ..." Pete muttered as soon as he and Dana stepped out of the portal.  The place was already crawling with reporters and paparazzi.  He shook his head and took a cigarette out of his coat pocket.  "We're 'ere five seconds and I already feel like I need to start chain smoking," he said as he discretely used a hot knife to light the end of his cigarette.

He took a long drag and looked around.  "Don't know about you, luv, but I feel like a circus animal."  He took her hand and they started to walk over to where Kari and Logan were.  " 'ow much you wanna bet that I deck somebody by the end of the night?" he smirked.

[Abbey Pryde]

Abbey grinned and nodded in agreement with James.  "He does have a point."

Darcy just rolled her eyes.  "I hate you all," she said with a slight smirk.  "And your dupes and ridiculous, Madrox.  You're right, I'm so glad I don't have to put up with that.  Okay, so now that everyone weighed in on my love life can we just drop it?"

Abbey nodded.  "Alright, no more talk of Darcy's forty-something SHIELD agent sugar daddy."  She looked at Darcy with a huge teasing grin and Darcy glared at her.  Abbey looked back at Rahne.  "So I heard that Rorian is going to be transferring to SFSU.  Seems a bit strange dropping out of her Ivy League college to come here.  I'm glad she's coming back though, she's such a sweet person."

[Brightstar]

"Thanks," a girl's voice said from behind Abbey.  "You're a sweet person too, Abbey Pryde.  Sorry, I'm a bite late.  My driver had a hard time getting through the traffic.  I'm Rorian Xavier-MacTaggart for those who don't know me."

Abbey smiled.  "Glad you made it.  This is my friend Darcy Litwack and James Madrox ... I don't know if you know him or not."

Rorian nodded.  "I don't think we ever officially met but I've heard all about you, James." When she said it she smiled and looked at Rahne.  "Rahne, I missed you so much sister!"  She gave Rahne and big hug, they weren't actually blood sisters but had always felt close to each other.

"You look absolutely beautiful, Rahne!  All of you!  And you look very handsome, James.  Guys don't like to be called beautiful, do they?" she said with a slightly giggle.

She looked around at the reporters and photographers, and wrinkled her nose up a bit.  "So, are we allowed inside yet or does Shaw and Priest want us all shoved into this small space like cattle?"

[Sasha Sadovsky]

Sasha ceased trembling when he faced Alison again. *I'll just disregard my ex-employer for the remainder of the evening. He doesn't seem to know I'm present. All I have to do is stay out of his sight* he thought. After taking a deep breath, Sasha stayed close to Alison. He adjusted his mask and hoped Mr. Dragotti never saw him.

[Craig Dragotti]

Mr. Dragotti was quick to face Cyclops and smiled after he was addressed. ''Thank you, Cyclops. I'll try my best to enjoy the party. Hopefully Jack won't get in any trouble,'' he said. Mr. Dragotti rolled his eyes as he imagined Jack consuming a whole lot of alcohol, flirting with any woman, etc. It seemed as though he really had to guard the pirate carefully! He wouldn't let Jack out of his sight for a minute!

[Emma Frost]

Emma was very pleased to see Brian and not his billionaire bookend Tony Stark. Stark could rot on a slow boat to some vile destination as far as Emma was concerned. "Business could be a bit better, and my life a bit less hectic, but overall, Brian, I can't complain. Not too much anyway. I'm glad your board got you to attend Sebastian's little soiree. I..."

"Emma Frost! Emma! Who are you wearing tonight?" one reporter yelled from the sidelines as a cameraman trained his lens on the White Queen.

"An Andrews original, of course!" Emma replied as she did a slow twirl for the cameras that were flashing all around them. "Oh, dear Lord, I forgot about that woman working for Vogue. I'm supposed to sit down with her later for a one-on-one. Scott, I'll make sure not to stay with her too long. I'm not up for an in-depth interview. And I promised MJ's mother I'd get some photos taken with her. It's the least I an do."

Emma turned her attention back to Brian just as more flashes went off. "So, did any lady merit being escorted by you this evening? Or were they all horribly stupid and passed up the opportunity?"

[Dorcha]

Mira walked along with her nephew and his date for the evening as the cameras flashed she smiled at them as they carried on. "This is a bit unusual for me Sean I must say. I've been to these events before but it always feels like I'm doing this for the first time."

The tall vampire just smiled. "Really? You could fool me aunt Mira." Sean said with a laugh as he kept close to Miri. The reporters were asking if they were together but Sean chose not to answer...He was never a fan of the media but he was on his best behavior for Miri and his family.

"You gotta watch this one Miri he is a joker....Btw if there is anything I can do tonight to help you with your charity let me know?"

[Miranda Rydenborne]

"I would welcome any and all help for my mother's charity, Mira," Miri said as she waved at the crowd. "Everything the foundation does is in her name. I'm trying to get my cousin Sandrine involved, but it's been a bit slow. Poor Sean has heard me lamenting it for weeks now. She's a good girl, and she was recently birthed as an immortal. She's been a little bit scared."

Miri thought about how Sandrine had been hanging around with the folks who had come from the Arda and some of the mystic students as well, but she had not hit her stride yet.

"Sandrine was supposed to meet us here, but I bet she got mobbed by some groupies or something. She's supposed to be in the running to be one of the models for Andrews Originals, I think. Sean would know all about that groupie business," Miri said with a small smiled. "You handle the press beautifully, honey." 

[Infinity]

"I told you we can go around the back and just waltz inside," Ryder said as she dragged poor Sandrine along with her toward the back of the Hellfire Mansion. "But you want to do the red carpet thing, right? Sorry. I just want to freak out my uncle a bit."

"It's OK. I know how families can get," Sandrine replied as she guided Ryder back to the sidewalk. "Those shoes are way too high for you. Wait. Lobster claws? What happened to the lobster claws?"

"My dad convinced me that wearing those would be beyond stupid with this dress. I want to dance, not end up in Lenox Hill Hospital with a broken leg."

"But you can heal yourself or have someone do it," Sandrine added as she waved at some photographers she knew. "They followed me around all last summer. Nice guys."

[Deleted]

"I'm beginning to think they are doing this only to get into the papers and on the 10 o'clock news," Rahne said as she hugged Rorian back. "Or maybe on some silly blog. Who knows! I'm just glad your driver got you here safely, Rorian. I know Manhattan traffic can be a nightmare."

Rahne turned to see all the photographers running around and shook her head. "Maybe not all the Hellfire bigwigs are there yet? I heard someone say Michael Priest was out here earlier, but no one said Sebastian Shaw was around. And Roberto? Now that he's the Black King, where's he? He should be welcoming us since he is an X-Man."

"Maybe Berto is not as happy with Hellfire as we all think?" Kitty said as she stood near Abbey and Darcy. "And Darcy, age is really only a number. As long as you are not being taken advantage of, and you aren't hurting Phil, go for it."

"Are you so sure you want to take love advice from the lot of us?" Rahne said only half jokingly to Darcy. "I'd trust my own heart first before I went seeking advice from strangers."

"Well, Abbey was the one who asked, so, there you go," Kitty replied someone started yelling and pointing to the front gate. "Finally!"

"I guess we're all clear to head in then?" Rahne smiled at Rorian and then at Jamie. "I hope they don't get chintzy with the food. I'm starving!" 

[Wolverine]

"You? Come on, Pete," Logan growled as he looked past Wisdom to see the doors of the Hellfire Mansion finally opening to the party guests. He puffed away on a cigar he had lit just after arriving through the portal. "You're a prince compared to me. Place has too many bad memories for my liking. I'll deck someone long before you do."

Logan remembered all too well the last time he had graced the halls of this place. Getting dumped on his ass by Harry Leland and all the drama surrounding Jean that night were more than he wanted to worry about tonight. He'd be more than happy to ditch the monkey suit go play some pool or shoot darts, but that wasn't happening any time soon.

"You're the official rep for MI-13, so you can't really go all chop busting, can you?" Logan asked Pete as Dana gave him a funny look. "Sorry. Touchy subject?"

"No," Dana replied. "Just realizing you're right. As daft as that sounds. We really can't bust loose in ways we normally would."

"Yeah, someone might not be happy with that," Logan added as he looked toward Emma and Scott.



 

[Sasha Sadovsky]

Sasha wondered if it was such a good idea for mutants to be near so many photographers. He wondered if publicity would add fuel to the fire of mutant ill will. He was happy he wore his mask since he couldn't imagine seeing his face in a newspaper or online! The Russian thought he recognized Wolfsbane and stood on his tiptoes to see if she remembered him. After glancing at Alison, he hoped the evening went well for her. Hopefully there weren't going to be any battles!