Hellfire Gala: Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome!

[Sasha Sadovsky]

Sasha literally turned his back on Mr. Dragotti. Hopefully there wouldn't be a battle, but if he had to protect Alison, so be it. A battle would be the final resort. For Alison, he wouldn't begin a scene. Perhaps focusing on Alison would help him forget about his ex-employer. ''I wasn't really going to fully remove my mask, Alison. I just tried to scare my ex-employer,'' Sasha said in a sincere tone. Hopefully others believed every word he said. 

[chryseis]

Alexia stayed close to her mother and Ada. She smiled at Dana as Kari introduced them but their encounter left her scratching her head. "Mother what did she mean by you have a thing for Avengers?" She said as she noticed a lot of people looking her over. "Why do I get the feeling I am sticking out like a sore thumb?"

[Craig Dragotti]

Craig frowned at the sight of Sasha lifting his mask. His ex-hitman had some nerve attempting to scare him with a near display of power. He was aware of Sasha's ability to weaken others with just a mere stare. ''Let's go eat something, Jack,'' he said. Sasha would have been foolish to try something like that while he was employed. Was he brave now that he lacked a boss? 

[Phil Coulson]

Phil smiled at the blonde woman that nudged up against him.  He watched her for a moment until she disappeared into the gala crowd, then he turned back to Kari and the others.  "It's nice to meet both of you," he said extending his hand to Alexia and Ada.  He made a mental note to add Alexia to Kari's SHIELD file.  With all these children she had it was getting hard to keep track of them all.  Of course,  Kari's sister did have a point; Kari did seem to have quite a few connections with Avengers men, as well as other power mutants and mystics.  It was both a good and bad thing.

He took a quick glance over at the buffet table and saw Pete talking to Dana, waving his hands around as he talked.  Phil knew he was discussing Juilet with her.  He wasn't looking forward to meeting with his old brit friend, but he had to be done.  It's not like he forced Juliet to join SHIELD, she did that on her own accord.  However,  he did manage to get Jemma Scott-Royce to consider working with SHIELD rather than the X-Men.  

And he was not looking forward to telling Pete that.

Phil looked back at Kari and smiled when she said he could be a plus one of their party.  "Thank you," he said with a polite nod.  "I'm here with my girlfriend, although I believe she's a plus one also.  I'm sure no one will give me two looks anyways."  His phone buzzed and he assumed it was Darcy, but when he looked down it was the home office.

He pulled it up and read the message.  He looked up at the balcony over head and saw Loki standing there talking to the Volturi vampire king.  "Kari, do you know why Loki is here?  I didn't know that he and the HFC were close."

[dazzler]

"I know you weren't, Sasha" Alison said giving him a small smile.  She didn't know a whole lot about Craig, but he didn't seem to like Sasha at all.  She didn't know much the history between the men, so she decided to ask.  "So what's the deal with you guys again?  I know you used to be employed by him, but why all the hate?"

She and Sasha walked towards the buffet table.  She smiled at Pete and Dana, but they seemed to be in a heated discussion (at least Pete was, Dana was standing there patiently listening).  Alison grabbed a few munchies and put them on a plate.  "Do you like crudités, Sasha?"  she asked pointing the the veggie tray.

[Pete Wisdom]

"I don't think she and Jocoba are a thing.  At least I bloody 'elp not.  They're buddies though, and I know she misses 'anging around 'im.  You know, Jules 'as always sort of done 'er own thing.  She thinks she can make something of 'erself in SHIELD.  Which is probably true.  I won't take her long to move on up, if she plays by their rules."  Pete took a bite of some cheesy thing.  "These definitely don't taste microwaveable."

He glanced back over to Phil, who was chatting with Kari and Logan, then he looked back towards Dana.  "I'm sure Coulson sweet talked her into joining though," he sighed.  He perked up a little when Dana mentioned the wedding.  "Hell, luv, I'd marry you today if that's wot you wanted.  And I don't need nothing fancy either.  I'd be fine without a guest list."

Pete looked upward and saw a group gathering up in the balcony.  "Oh f*** me sideways!  Wot the 'ell is Loki doing 'ere?  God, luv, I believe this night isn't going to be smooth as we all 'ad 'oped for."

[Karenza]

"Don't worry about what others think of you, Alexia," Kari said as she hugged her daughter. "It is only likely because you are tall. There are some here who may sense your birthright, but I would not pay them much mind. And what your aunt meant was that I have been blessed to have many marvelous children with many members of the Avengers from different worlds because of what Merlin did to send me off to many parts of the multiverse. It was not meant as a slight. Sit Dana in front of a judge and jury, and she's fine. Put her into a situation like this, and she gets flustered."

Kari looked at Phil and could tell that the whole family connections thing was likely making him a bit bewildered. "If you need a rundown of my extensive family tree, we can meet when your schedule permits." Kari then looked over at Logan as he gave her The Look in return. "I'd rather SHIELD have the information right from me than have to go digging for it. There are a lot of odd things that need to be accounted for."

As she took a glass of champagne from a passing tray, Kari looked up again at the balcony and saw Michael Priest, Loki and Aro looking way too cozy for anyone's good. "Michael Priest likely invited Loki, and it could be for any number of reasons. This party is full of unbalanced mystic powerhouses, rogue arms dealers and other assorted crazies. And don't make a bet that he isn't keenly aware that you're here. He was a SHIELD deputy director back in the day, and I'm sure he's got his fingers in all sorts of pies we are unaware of at the moment."

Kari kept looking up at Priest, and then her attention was turned to a scene playing out nearby on the main floor. "And we have Madelyne Pryor here. The evening just gets better and better. So, Phil, your date is here as a plus one? Interesting. If things start to go off the rails for any reason, I'll help get her out. And yes. I know. I just don't trust our hosts as far as I can throw them."



 

[Darcy Litwack]

Darcy continued to watch Phil from across the way.  "Do you know how like, weird this is?  I don't understand why I can't just go over to him?  It's kinda lame, I think.  I mean, I'm not in SHIELD so there is absolutely no problem with us dating."  Darcy crossed her arms and leaned up against the wall.

Abbey shrugged.  "It's probably the age thing.  He probably doesn't want people to think he's so dirty old guy dating a girl that could technically be his daughter."

"Eww, don't say it like that." Darcy laughed.

"But, if you don't think he'd kill you or dump you, you could go over there."  Abbey smirked.  "I'll go with you, I want to see who those girls are standing by Kari are anyways,"

Darcy bit her lip as she thought about all the scenarios that could happen.  Phil wouldn't kill her, and she doubted that he'd break up with her.  She was more likely to break up with him.  "Okay, let's do it.  Let's go over there!"  Darcy said taking Abbey's hand and walking over to Phil and the others.

As she made her way over, she saw Phil's eyes lock on hers and he arched his eyebrow.  She smiled and waved at him as they walked up to him and the others.  "Hi, babe," she grinned.  "I was wondering when you were going to get here."

[chryseis]

"It's a pleasure to meet you."Alexia said as she shook his hand. She generally stepped back and listened to everyone else but something her mother said got her guard up. "Did you say Loki might be here?" She said as a hint of electricity could be seen in her eyes. "Mother I might have to leave the party a little premature. If I run across him it will take a lot for me not to punch him through the roof."

[Phil Coulson]

Phil swallowed a small lump that was seemed to be stuck in his throat.  He had explicitly told her that he'd meet her somewhere and not to come up to him.  But, here she was, standing here, outting them as a couple in front of Kari and Logan.  "Darcy," he said offering a minuscule smile to the young woman.

Darcy bit her lip, he didn't look overly pleased to see her.  "Hi," she waved her hand to Kari and the others.

Abbey grinned and waved too.  "Hi, Kari!  We saw you guys standing over here and wanted to say hi.  Also I wanted to meet the two girls standing over here."  Crap that sounded weird, like, she was trying to pick them up or something.  That wasn't the case, she just wanted to know who they were because she never saw them before.

Phil looked to Darcy.  "Darcy, this is Kari MacFeorais and Logan.  And Kari's daughter Alexia, and Ada, her friend" he then looked at Kari.  "Kari, this is Darcy Litwack,"

There was a pause as he looked at Darcy and then back to Kari.  "My girlfriend.  She works down at city hall in mayor Sinclair's office."

And she's a twenty-three year old college student but I'm sure you can guess that by looking at her.  He thought to himself.

[Goddess]

"Hey, if we see Mayor Bloomberg here, we could always grab him and do the wedding now," Dana said with a giggle as she kissed Pete. "I'm kidding, I would never want to get married here. Heaven no. This place gives me the creeps anyway, and I really don't want...wait. Loki?"

Dana turned and looked up at the balcony and saw Loki up there. He smiled down at her, and Dana had to keep from flying up there and dumping her drink on him. "Oh that is rich. That is just rich. Priest likely knows him from...oh yes. Now I remember. Priest was doing one of his villain team-up things before our family got grafted onto the X-Men. They have man crushes on each other or something. Tried to steal something out of one of the museums in Dublin."

As she looked between Pete and the balcony, Dana got a slightly sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Oh no. Look who's up there with Priest. Kari is going to howl," Dana added as she pointed toward her nephew Finn who was now on the balcony standing next to his father. "I know she expected it, but it still stinks." 

[Pete Wisdom]

"It's going to go down if he waves his scepter around and commands everyone to kneel," he said, thinking how nice it would be to go smoke a pack of cigarettes right now.  He looked at Finn and shook his head.  "Yeah, I'm sure Kari isn't really happy with that detail."

"God, I could eat a whole bloody plate of these cheesy things.  Hey, the party sucks but at leas they've got decent grub," he said taking another bite.

"so, you're not too upset that you'll be leaving your family to go live with me in England?  I know 'ow important family is to  MacFeorais'.  I just don't want to steal you away from your family," he gave her a genuine smile.  "You don't mind living in my flat over there, do you?  I mean we can get a bigger place if you want, or..or when...we 'ave kids," Pete could barely get the words out.  Dana and him haven't really ever discussed children yet, which was weird because that was kind of an important issue to talk about before getting hitched.

Just as he was about to say something, his phone went off and he dug it out of his pocket to see who was calling.  "Bloody 'ell ..." he muttered when he saw the number.  Dana was giving him a puzzled look.  "Dana, I know you know about Romany, but I never told you about Grant, 'ave I?  Seems my shifty little brother is ringing me after 10 years of not seeing 'im." 

[Karenza]

"Alexia, you are not the only one who will want to send Loki flying out of the building," Kari said softly as she noticed Finn was now on the balcony as well. "If you need to go, for any reason, just feel free to do so. Our family has a long and storied history with the Trickster."

Kari then looked over at Abbey and Darcy as they made their way toward over. "I'm sorry I never introduced Ada to you sooner, Abbey. Ada, Abbey Pryde is one of the brightest of the next generation of X-Men, and Ada is a dear Viking adventurer who has shared many a journey with me in the past. And Abbey, this is my daughter Alexia, another daughter of Asgard. She and Ada got here a few minutes ago. Maybe Alexia can go with you all to that youth party MJ Andrews and Reid Garrett will be hosting?" 

This whole thing with Loki was eating at Kari, but she had to put her personal distaste for the man aside. "I had the pleasure of meeting Darcy briefly back in San Francisco. Mayor Sinclair is very lucky to have you on her staff, Darcy, and Phil, I think you are both lucky to have found each other."

Kari moved closer to Phil and whispered in his ear, "And don't you let the world and its antiquated beliefs rob you of your joy. Dance. Sing. But don't let her go." She then spoke loud enough so Darcy could hear her as well. "The first person who gives you a funny look, you send them to me. Age is nothing but a number. After nearly 1,500 years, I ought to know. And I am blessed that the man in my life doesn't give a damn about them either," she said as she looped her arm through Logan's.

 




 

[Jack Sparrow]

"Food. Right," Jack said as he started to follow Craig through the crowd to one of the buffet tables. Pete and Dana were at one end of the table snacking on something that looked sort of cheese-filled, and Jack watched as Dana tried to keep the cheese from dripping on her dress. "Perhaps not those cheesy bites," he said to Craig as he finally saw some sort of phyllo pastry wrapped creations on a platter. "Ah! They do have bruschetta as well!" Jack said as he pointed toward another tray. "And I smell roast beef! I bet that's for the main dinner later."

Jack looked back to see if Elizabeth had followed them, but the crowd was as rolling as the sea herself, and he had lost sight of the purple-tressed ninja. "I'd be very happy if they rang the dinner bell now so we could all sit down. Then again, I bet Sebastian Shaw will drone on in some speech akin to Fidel Castro in length!"

[aleera]

Another figure made her way through the crowd almost like parting the sea Aleera had once again made her presence felt. The Vampire queen commanded respect everywhere she went and not surprisingly it was the same at the Hellfire clubs little party. As she walked past the people she saw a group of people she couldn't help but say hello to. "Well it would seem like this party brought out all the famous faces." She said as she looked at Scott and Emma before looking at Maddie and then finishing on Jessie and Ewan.

"Ewan it's always a pleasure to see you. I am glad to see you and Jessie are making it just fine. And it's always a interesting encounter being around you Phoenix born" She said taking a sip from her glass. She was happy to see the two were in as much love with each other now then they were the last time she saw them. "It's a pleasure to see you again Aleera." Jessie said with a slight grin clutching her boyfriends hand. "You've never had a chance to meet my family so now is better than later. This is my mother Emma Frost & Scott Summers and this is my mother Maddie Pryor." She said as Aleera listened with much interest.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you all. Emma, Scott, I've heard your name many a time and Maddie it goes without saying. I must say Jessie I've heard a little about you but you get more and more interesting the more I learn about you."

[Craig Dragotti]

Perhaps food would help Craig forget about Sasha. His expression was one of disgust when he saw the cheese bites. He dreaded the thought of cheese getting on his nice suit. Although the cheese probably wouldn't have been difficult to get out, he still didn't wish to tempt fate. Craig smiled at the scent of roast beef. He had no idea when he and Jack would consume anything that wasn't some sort of appetizer.

Craig tilted his head in confusion when Jack said Sebastian Shaw might mention Fidel Castro. ''Why would this Shaw fellow mention Castro?'' he asked. He scanned the area for Elizabeth, but he was unable to see her. His eyes settled on some crackers until he took two of them. After tasting a cracker, he smiled in a very approving way. ''Good food,'' he muttered under his breath.

[Sasha Sadovsky]

''Thank you for being so understanding, Alison.'' Her questions about his ex-employer caused him to scowl. He would try not to remember all details of painful past memories. ''I was a mobster for Mr. Dragotti, Alison. Reynard happened to be Mr. Dragotti's other hit-man and always found something to battle with me about. Mr. Dragotti always punished me with him even when I did not begin the fights.''

Sasha shook his head in disbelief. ''Reynard was the one who threw our ex-employer's underwear out the window when he refused to let us eat with him at a local Italian restaurant! Yet Mr. Dragotti punished me as well! There was this one time when he had Reynard strike me with long sticks and vice versa so that we performed a human Punch and Judy act. I don't remember the reason why.'' He paused for a few moments.

''I loathe Mr. Dragotti due to every punishment and he wasn't fond of me due to my battles with Reynard. Oh, and how could I forget about Mr. Dragotti forcing me to sit through a sixteen-hour opera? Then again, Reynard and I did reveal our employer's humiliating secrets at a crowded restaurant prior to being forced to sit through a long opera!'' Sasha lifted his mask so that only his teeth were exposed. ''I have no idea what crudités are, Alison.'' That was when his eyes settled on the veggie tray.    

[Phil Coulson]

Phil pursed his lips together tightly as Kari whispered in his ear.  Perhaps he was being a bit backward about the whole situation with Darcy and him being out in the open.  They had been together for almost two months now, which had been the longest relationship that he had been in a long time.  Kari was right, age was nothing but a number.

Darcy didn't really know what to say to Kari, so she just smiled at the woman instead.  Kari was definitely knowledgeable and pretty cool.  She walked over to Phil and kissed his cheek, and he clasped both his hands around hers.  "So, how did you get here so quickly?  I came by a ... portal, I think it was called.  Man, that was kinda trippy," she giggled.

"Bodyslide," Phil smirked, knowing that Darcy would have absolutely no idea what that was.

"Ooh, that sounds kinky," Darcy grinned.

Phil chuckled, he knew she was going to say something like that.  "I'll show you some time,"

"Hmmm can't wait," Darcy winked.  "I'm starving.  I might go check out the buffet table, want me to get you anything?"

"Sure.  Whatever, you think looks good," he said as she kissed his cheek again and then walked off.  Phil smiled and then looked up at the balcony again.  The group up there was watching everyone intently.  Loki and Aro had their scheming faces on, which didn't leave a good feeling in his stomach.

"Has anyone seen Stark yet?"  Phil asked.

[Karenza]

"Scott and Emma saw him earlier," Kari said to Phil as she stayed close to Logan. "He's with Pepper Potts, so I'm guessing someone grabbed his ear on the way in. There was a sea of reporters outside, so I'm sure Vanity Fair or Forbes are snagging him for an interview. I wish Oksana were going to be here, but I think she's away at the moment."

Kari had not been able to get too far in this hunt for the doctored mutant killer bullets, and she hoped Oksana might have had better luck. Kari had tried to get in touch with Brian O'Toole, the founder of one of the up-and-coming biotech concerns in the country, but he was in Africa until very recently. He and Kari had a sort of hate and less-hate relationship most of the time, but his wife had been killed by some anti-mutant hatemongers, so she was sure he'd be in for this one.

"If you speak to Oksana soon, Phil, please let her know I'm working on that project and will get back to her as fast as I can," Kari added before turning to see Aleera walk into the room. She muttered something in Gaelic as she squeezed Logan's hand. "For those not in the know, that is Aleera, vampire queen. With Aro upstairs and her down here, things just got a tad more complicated. What the hell is Priest up to?" 

[The Whisperer]

Ewan bowed after Aleera made her presence known. "It is an honor to have you at this event," he said he looked from Aleera to Emma and Scott and then Maddie. The part of Ewan that knew better started to wonder why Michael Priest had populated this party with were-creatures, vampires and other preternatural beings. It seemed very strange that the Gray King of London would pull such an odd stunt. The fact Sebastian Shaw had not welcomed everyone was even more suspicious. He was Lord Imperial, and this was his home. 

"Our daughter travels in powerful circles," Maddie said as she smiled at Scott. Ewan could see there was no smile made toward Emma. "Aleera," Maddie continued, "it seems that Hellfire is truly out to impress this year. Your arrival has confirmed that."

"But if Aleera and Aro are here," Ewan started to say as he looked toward Scott, trying very carefully to tip him off without the use of telepathy or overt gestures, "then other courts of the vampire world are likely to be here as well. Aleera is our queen, and Aro up on the balcony is a Volturi lord. And if we are all here, then the Shadowhunters are not likely far from these walls. And my good friend Gabriel Van Helsing," he said as he motioned back toward Kendra and her father. "Perhaps I'm jaded, but this is setting off bells inside my head."

Ewan smiled as he put his arm round Jessie again. "I'm likely projecting. I hope I'm projecting. But outside the meetings of the Mystic Council, this sort of thing is unheard of."

[Abbey Pryde]

"it's very nice to meet you, both," Abbey said to Ada and Alexia.  "And you are welcome to hang around me and Darcy at the young adult party if you'd like." She stopped for a moment and wondered if Darcy would be hanging out with her tonight at all now that her man was here.  In fact Abbey wasn't really looking forward to going to the YA party much either.  If MJ and Reid were going to be the ringleaders it probably wasn't going to be much fun.

Abbey looked over at her mother and smirked.  "So are we being forced to go to the young adult party?  Or do we have the option of staying here?  I promise I won't get into trouble," she giggled.  It seemed like ever since the whole thing with Kelsey and Rei, Abbey really did some growing up, she was no longer the crazy party girl (she still liked to have fun, but she felt more mature).  She wanted to start focusing more on her studies in college and start making a better effort with the X-men.

She smiled when Darcy walked back over to Phil with a plate of munchies and a glass of champagne.  Phil slipped his arm around Darcy's waist and she snuggled up into him.  Hopefully, someday Abbey would be able to find the true love of her life.  Even with all her friends and family, sometimes she just wished she had that closeness with someone.

[The Sleuth]

"Oh my word," Rhys muttered as he walked with Alice into the grand hallway of the Hellfire Mansion. "This has to be the gaudiest gathering I have seen in ages! Who scatters the floor with gold dust? Darling, they would do well to have someone with your finesse and style working on events like this. But then again, they could not afford to hire someone with your exquisite taste."

Rhys meant every word he said to Alice. If this had been another time and place, she would have been the stylist for queens and princesses. She had a grasp of the fashionable that few others had, but she was able to make others feel at home with it and not seem out of their league.

"As soon as I see Kari or one of my other cousins, I'll put them on alert about our plans. Alice, if you feel the slightest twinge, tell me, and we'll head home."



 

[Magnifique]

"Oh, Rhys, don't be such a worrier.  Everything will be fine," Alice said with a wave of her hand.  A server walked by with a tray of pastries and Alice's mouth began to water.  "Oh, those look delicious!"

The server stopped and Alice took a few of the tray.  "Some champagne, Miss?"

Watson raised his eyebrow.  "Do you not see that she's pregnant?"  He asked as the sever looked down at Alice's huge bump.

"My pardons, Miss.  How about some cranberry juice?"  Alice nodded and the sever walked away.

"I can't wait until I can drink again," Alice laughed and placed her hand on her belly.  "And, yes, darling, the gold dust on the floor is a bit tacky.  I would have though the HFC would be a little classier than this."

[Shadowcat]

Kitty had heard about this youth party, and she was not all that thrilled with it in the first place. She knew Abbey and her friends would not get in trouble, but she also knew Reid Garrett tended to be a bit of a wild child when it came to parties. "No one is forcing you to go to that party, Abbey. If you want to stay here, that's fine with me, and if it gets to be a snoozefest, we can all go get pizza or something. I'll just have to remember to bring some back for Lockheed. He'd get mad if I didn't! He loves his New York slice."

As she looked around the room, Kitty saw Rhys and Alice arrive, and Kelsey and Artie were right behind them. "I still don't know what Kelsey sees in that guy. Then again, most people don't understand how I wound up with your father. Honey, I know things have not been too close between you and Kelsey since that mess at her birthday party. I'm sorry it got so far off the rails. I am glad you have new friends like Darcy in your life, though. She's a very sweet girl."




 

[The Sleuth]

"And just when things could not seem more insane, look up there," Rhys said as he tapped Watson on the shoulder. "Why in the name of the Goddess is Kari up there next to Priest and that lot?"

"Because that isn't her," Rhiannon replied as she looked at her brother. "Kari is over there with Logan and someone I don't recognize. You just assumed that was Kari because the woman is standing near Finn."

"One would think a mother might be with her son, so it is a natural assumption, sister dear," Rhys replied as he looked around the room again. "Oh cheers. Riordan is here. He told me he was bringing his sister, but that certainly is not her," he said as he motioned toward the tall African-looking woman in the yellow gown near his half-brother. "And yes, beloved, it seems because one has wealth that it does not mean one also has taste. Gold leaf in the marble is one thing. Gold dust spilled all over the place is a waste. I can track down that waiter for your cranberry juice, Alice, and see if he will bring over another place of hors d'oeuvres."