Hellfire Gala: Feast Fit for a King

[Iron Man]

"Toasting," Tony Stark said as he walked up to the table where the X-Men's pirate bon vivant Jack Sparrow was sitting. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"Director Stark," Jack said as he looked up at Iron Man and nodded his head. "Let me guess. At this table?"

"No, at the one where Emma Frost is sitting. But how could I pass up saying hello? I'm still trying to fix..."

"No one here needs to hear about that," Jack said as he got very flustered and dropped his fork. "I can't help it the yacht you bought from me was haunted!"

"Relax, Hook, I know that," Tony said with a smirk. "So, everyone having a nice time?"

[Alison Blaire]

Alison just stared at Tony Stark as she set down her glass. "Excuse me. What?" she blurted out as she got to her feet, put her hands on her hips and glared the the Golden Avenger.

"Whoa. Slow down. I take it you didn't get the memo. She of the red hair and the pointy sword and I are in truce mode," Stark replied as Alison crossed her arms and tried to calm down. "Emma still likely wants to slug me, but that's Emma."

"Just be happy Stalik isn't here," Alison replied as Stark shook his head. "Yes, he's still cheesed at you. Trust me on that. Now, we were just about to toast to the future. Would you like to join us?"

"Just a sec," Stark replied as he grabbed a glass of sparkling water from a passing waiter. "Pleased to meet you all," he said to Sasha, Mr. Dragotti and Mrs. Brown. 

"This is Sasha, and you probably know Mrs. Brown if you bought Jack's boat," Ali added as Mrs. Brown looked a tad shocked. "And that's Mr. Dragotti. Now, that toast."

Alison took up her glass of wine and raised it, smiling at everyone as she started to open her mouth to say the toast. As she did, off in the far corner of the room, one of the twirling acrobats slid off her ribbon and into the lap of some bank president or financier in a fancy tux. No one appeared to be hurt, but it was unsettling.

"Oh crap," Ali said under her breath. "Before that happens again, I propose a toast to better days ahead for all of humanity. May we all learn that living in peace is the only way to do things. And may we all be together this time next year to raise another glass." 

[Deleted]

Jean-Paul Beaubier had been drafted, and he hated it.

"Laurel, why did you bring me here?" Northstar asked Druantia, one of the other Alpha Flight members connected to the X-Men, as she pulled him through the crowd to where Uncle Logan and Aunt Kari were standing. Yes, Laurel was a MacFeorais. "I love parties, but this one is lame."

"You know my father was going to be all white on rice on me if I went alone, Jean-Paul," Laurel replied as she adjusted her dress again. "And with Emily still more or less recovering from the latest Weapon X weirdo fest, well, my other alternative was one of my cousins. I love them, but they can't dance."

Jean-Paul smiled broadly as Laurel looked up at him with a big grin. "OK, there's Uncle Logan," he chuckled as the friends made their way to Wolverine and Karenza just as the acrobat fell. Druantia turned and flicked her fingers, trying to cast a spell before the woman hit the ground. Northstar knew that move all too well. "Hello, Uncle Logan."

"Quit it," Logan growled as he watched the woman get off the guest's lap. "Red was just telling me we might have a problem on our hands."

"Of course. X-Men and the Hellfire Club. What could possibly go right tonight, Logan?"



 

[Sasha Sadovsky]

Sasha grinned and raised his glass. Perhaps the future would be better as long as Mr. Dragotti didn't move in with him. Same with possible future Purifier attacks. He tilted his head in curiosity after a haunted yacht was mentioned. ''A haunted yacht?'' Sasha muttered under his breath. He nodded at Tony to acknowledge him.

Sasha turned his head when one of the acrobats fell into a very unfamiliar man's lap. *I hope she is OK* he thought. At least she didn't seem wounded.   

[Craig Dragotti]

Craig nodded at Tony in order to acknowledge him. He glanced at Mrs. Brown and wondered why she looked shocked. One eyebrow raised at the mention of a haunted yacht. Craig was haunted by someone other than spirits. The memory of his deceased wife. His eyebrow raised again as soon as one acrobat fell and landed on a man's lap.

[Druantia]

"Auntie K!" Laurel squealed as she gave Kari a hug. "Uncle Logan!" she added with a high five. She had never felt comfortable hugging Wolverine, and he wasn't really her uncle anyway. She had started calling him that years ago when Kari and her dad, Cormac, first wound up with the X-Men. It was way better than "Yes, sir, Wolverine, sir."

"Damn. That poor girl," Laurel said as she watched the acrobat getting off the guy's lap. "I can feel the magic in this room. What's up with that dropsy business, Auntie K?"

"I wish I could give you all an answer, but I don't have one," Kari replied as she looked up at the ceiling again. "But I'm not going to stop looking for one."

"I'll let Dad know," Laurel said as she turned back toward the doorway. "He just got here. He and Uncle Donal got stalled behind some group of models trying to run off with that rich guy who isn't Tony Stark. Tall, dark and kinda goofy in a tall, dark kinda way. But the Victoria's Secret bra babes are relentless. They would not budge!"  

[Celtica]

Adaryn had been staying to herself and trying like to avoid Tony Stark. Jackson had not met this world's version of his father yet, and Adaryn wanted to keep it that way. "Can I hide back here with all of you?" she asked as she walked up behind Laurel and Jean-Paul. "I'm getting a dreadful headache. I think being so close to that one is making me nervous," she added as she tilted her head toward Stark.

"Go grab a chair and kick your shoes off," Kari said as she looked Adaryn up and down. "Your aura looks weird, Ryn."

"Lovely," Adaryn groused as she looked for an empty chair nearby. "Just what I don't need. If you see Marrac or Jackson, could you please flag them down? I'm afraid Jackson will get himself into trouble yet again. Dear Cousin Padraic pulled him out of a fight earlier. The boys from Buckland got rude with some of our female students. Jackson threatened to vaporize one of them."  

[chryseis]

Alexia smiled at Thom and the others as they started to make their way to the table. "So what else should I know about this world?....I did sort of drop out of the skies...."She said with a laugh.

[Jessie Grey]

Jessie thought back to her encounter with Selene. The times she had tried to release her wild side. {"Yes mother I've become quite familiar with Selene as of late but of course you know that."} She said before continuing {"But I must admit there have been times I have wanted to cut loose.....I know you have been there before a few times."} She said knowing her mothers history as well.

[Nephilim]

Thom didn't flinch when Alexia said she fell from the sky. He and Galen, along with their sisters Aoife and Deirdre, had become well acquainted with the prophecies that swirled around their family and their mother in particular. This was her army coming from across the realms and the time stream. To most the concept was as terrifying as the Phoenix was, and if Thom were honest with himself, he really understood why it was.

But now was not the time to weigh down Alexia or any of his other siblings with that much information. For all he knew, this party would be as close to a holiday celebration as the X-Men would get this year. He was not going to spoil it. 

"Well, I don't know about your world, but in this world your father is one of the Avengers," Thom said as he pulled Alexia's chair out for her. "He and the people of Asgard have been true friends to our family and to the X-Men, as far as I know anyway," he added as he sat down once Alexia was seated. "We recently moved to San Francisco, and we have just finished settling in there. Maybe the better thing for me to do is ask what you would like to know, Alexia? As some of our siblings can attest, I can talk for hours."

[The Red Queen]

Maddie knew all about wanting to let her wild side free. Be she the real Madelyne Pryor or the Red Queen, she understood Jessie's desire to be free. She also knew Scott's desire to keep her spirit bound.

Yes. Scott. It always seemed to turn back toward Maddie and Jean's beloved ex. 

Maddie knew that Scott, and by extension of their relationship Emma, likely wanted to tie Jessie down and keep the Phoenix bound and gagged, so to speak. They hated all that that power stood for even if it had saved them more often than it hurt them. It was a life force that could not be contained.

{{I know it is very hard to keep your heart hidden, Jessie}} Maddie replied as she tried to keep her mind open to everything going on around them. The room was turning into a throbbing mass of thought as more and more people took their seats for the dinner. But there was also magic swirling in the air, and that had to be bothering Jessie as well. {{I do not know what Selene's presence means in all this, but please be careful. I have never known her to be overly concerned for anyone but herself. Perhaps there is a way you can let your power slip the shackles placed on you by everyone else?}}

Maddie then saw Tony Stark nearby and grimaced. {{But it may need to be in a way that will not draw the attention of SHIELD or the Avengers. I know they don't understand the Phoenix very well. They never have}} 

[Alison Blaire]

"A haunted yacht?" Alison said as she sat back down next to Sasha. "We'll have to ask Jack about that later. Not my thing at all, but that must be one crazy story."

Ali looked back toward where the woman had fallen, but everything seemed to be fine at the moment. "I really do hope this coming year will be a better one for all of us. Less violence. More happiness. Peace." As she took another sip of her wine, Ali looked up at Tony Stark. "I take you think my toast was hokey? Or is it that you think peace is impossible?"

"Not impossible. Just hard to find," Stark replied as he looked back toward where Adaryn MacFeorais was sitting. Ali was not thrilled to see that and started to tap her foot. "What?" Stark asked as he rolled his eyes.

"Sit. Who wants to know more about his haunted yacht?" Ali asked as she hoped this would keep Stark from going to bug Adaryn. She was not buddy-buddy with the big Irish family that made the Summers look like they could meet in a phone booth, but she knew some alternate world kid of Stark and Adaryn's was wandering around the halls of late. The poor kid did not need this Tony sticking his nose into things just yet.

[Sasha Sadovsky]

Sasha frowned at the idea of asking Jack about the haunted yacht. The thought of inquiring near the pirate with Craig present caused him to feel uncomfortable. Perhaps it would be better to ask Jack without Mr. Dragotti. Squirming, Sasha took another bite of chicken. ''Isn't it human nature to be violent? Animals aren't always happy with one another. Then again, they don't have a higher level of thinking such as humans,'' he said. He began to look very sheepish.

''I worked as a hit-man, remember? I killed Mr. Dragotti's enemies for him. If I wasn't so desperate for money, I could have picked a more peaceful career.'' Sasha seemed interested for a moment. ''I would like to hear more about the haunted yacht.'' As long as Mr. Dragotti didn't speak.   

[Craig Dragotti]

''There will never be peace as long as others are intolerant. I'm not exactly a kind man. At least not during my mob days. Hopefully our future will be better,'' Craig said to Alison. He turned to Jack and raised his eyebrow. ''I'm curious about this haunted yacht, my friend.''  

[Jessie Grey]

Jessie listened to her mother and nodded. {"Yes mother I do think it's getting somewhat easier.....Ewan has helped me get more in touch with who and what I am. As far as dad and the rest of my family is concerned I know they have their concerns but they at least I hope are slowly understanding....My coming into being wasn't exactly normal."}

[Jack Sparrow]

Jack wanted to hide under the table now that the accursed yacht was the topic of conversation. "You really don't want to hear about that, now do you?" Jack blubbered as he almost spit out his wine. "I mean seriously. Mr. Stark said it was all water under the bridge, right, Tony old mate?"

"It wouldn't have been so bad if your ghostly friend hadn't tried to scare Oksana. You would sell me a yacht with a jealous female ghost," Stark replied as he shook his head. "That was the most horrible trip of my life. The only reason I forgive you is because the ghost said you'd pulled a fast one on her as well."

"I did not! I bought the damned yacht off my old frenemy Barbosa," Jack protested. "He was the one who got the better of the lady. I explained all that when you asked for your money back." Jack looked at Mrs. Brown and Craig and shook his head. "Mrs. Brown can vouch for that! Barbosa was always trying to best me."

"That he was," Mrs. Brown replied. "Mr. Dragotti, you haven't met that man, and I pray you never do. A conniving soul that Barbosa is!"

"And in the end you and Oksana got a better yacht anyway," Jack said to Stark as he shook his hair a bit and gave Iron Man a withering glance. "It was nearly twice the size!"

"And it lacked a female ghost doing a strip tease on the deck!" Tony replied as he glanced back at Jack. "A win-win all around, I guess."

[The Red Queen]

{{Not a single one of us at this party, and that includes the baseline humans, is exactly normal, Jessie}} Maddie said telepathically as she glanced around the room. The Red Queen chose her words carefully at this point because anything she said against Scott or Emma might cause more harm than good. It could also push Jessie into Selene's arms, and that was the one thing Maddie wanted to avoid.

{{I'm glad Ewan has been of help to you. Perhaps his friend Elijah will be as well?}} Maddie added as she smiled at Jessie. {{And perhaps we should turn the conversation back to our dinner companions, or at least shift it out of the telepathic realm?}}

"Jessie, how has the move to San Francisco gone for you? I can only imagine it is a much happier place to call home. And I hope, for all your sakes, a much safer one." 

[Alison Blaire]

Alison thought about what Sasha said regarding his career choice. She tugged on his arm as Jack started to launch into the story about the yacht. "You know, the X-Men are all about second chances. If there is anything you really wanted to do but felt you couldn't, then this might be the time to try it."

As they listened to Jack and Tony talk about the yacht, Alison started to giggle at the thought of Iron Man having to fend off a randy lady ghost. "Sorry, but the visual image is just too much to think about."

[Craig Dragotti]

Mr. Dragotti covered his mouth after a loud laugh. The thought of a sexual feminine spirit seemed humorous to him. He uncovered his mouth. ''You may have mentioned Barbosa before, Jack. Barbosa can't be as bad as my button men.'' Craig rolled his eyes for a moment.  

[Sasha Sadovsky]

Sasha faced Alison after his arm was tugged. ''The other X-Men accepted me, Alison. Why can't Mr. Dragotti forgive me?'' he muttered. He scowled as soon as Mr. Dragotti said how bad he was. ''I am right here!'' Sasha snapped. He had no idea if Mr. Dragotti heard him.  

[Goddess]

"Yes, a pint and darts. I don't think I want to see what this lot is serving us tonight," Dana said to Pete as she saw the waiters rushing about with trays of silver-domed dishes. "Make that multiple pints. I don't mind dressing up sometimes. I don't like feeling like I'm on display. I am liking that small wedding at the Registry in London more and more."

Dana looked at Tony Stark standing at one of the tables with crazy pirate Sparrow and the group he was running with now. "Let's find a table way, way in the back so we can melt into the wall in a bit and exit this disasterous party, Pete? I bet Jules will want a full rundown, but I'm not sure I could do it justice. This is totally off the chain, and not in the best of ways. And judging from my sister's face, something bad is going on," Dana added as she motioned to Kari. "I'm not so sure I want to know. Do you want to know? It might trap us here longer."

[Pete Wisdom]

Pete rubbed his temples and shook his head. He expected this party to blow up in their faces at some point tonight but he was getting that funny feeling in the pit of his stomach that it was going to be a whole lot worse than they imagined. He turned his head to look at Kari for a moment and then nodded slightly. "Yeah, wot ever is goin' on doesn't look good." He sighed and stuffed the last of the salmon patê cracker into his mouth. "We better go over there and find out wot the bloody 'ell is up," he said through a mouth full of cracker.

He took Dana's hand and wandered over to where Kari, Logan, and the others were. "So, we just thought we'd check in. I see the look of worry across everyones face."

[Ezri]

Ezri glanced around the room as she walked slowly down the stairs. So many faces. They were all so familiar yet, not. She closed her eyes a moment and took a deep breath. She was getting her first taste of what a Trill host was going to feel like. So many memories filled her head but none of them seemed real. It was like a crowd of people shared her mind. Which was true to some degree.

"My stars..." she muttered as she saw Branan sitting there at one of the tables. Her first instinct was to run to him. To kiss him all over his face and tell him how much she missed him. She ... well Praxus had known him for a very long time. Jadzia, was romantically tied to him. Yet, she felt intense feelings for him too even though she personally had never met him.

She swallowed the lump in her throat as she wondered if she should go over and say something to him. Perhaps it was too soon though? Would seeing Praxus in it's new Host be too much for him? He was still staring at her though, and she knew that she needed to say something. Slowly she walked over to him with a slight smile on her face.

"Hello, Branan. It's me ... Ezri ... Ezri Praxus ..." She could barely get her words out.

[Brightstar]

Rorian picked at a plate of hors d'oeuvres that sat in front of her. She did her best to smile at the X-Men who came up to her and welcomed her back. It felt weird though, being here with out her father ... or mother. Both of them taken from her far too soon. She was an orphan now ... at least that's how she felt. She had no family except for Rahne, who was like a sister to her.

Being at the HFC gave her chills, she couldn't hear any of their thoughts but knew that they were up to no good. You didn't need to be a telepath to figure that out. She turned back to Rahne to get her mind off things. "So how is everything in San Francisco going? Do you like it better than New York?"

[Phil Coulson]

Phil and Darcy walked into the banquet area, his arm looped with hers. He tried to shake the woman he had just met from his mind but he couldn't. There was something certainly off with her. "Where do you want to sit?" he asked Darcy, as he looked around for an open table.

Darcy glanced around until her eyes fell on a rather lively table. "OH MY GOD! Is that the real Tony f***in' Stark?! WOW ... I mean WOW. He's hotter in person than he was on that last cover of Popular Mechanics!"

Phil rolled his eyes. "I'm impressed"

Darcy looked up at him. "That I know who Tony Stark is?"

"No. That you know what Popular Mechanics is," he smirked. "Do you want sit there? There are a few open seats." Honestly, sitting with Tony Stark was the last thing that he wanted to do but Pepper Potts was there and he got along with her quite well.

"Um, hell to the yes!" Darcy exclaimed as they walked over towards them. "Is that his girlfriend?" She asked with a slight point of her finger to a red haired woman.

"No, that's Pepper Potts. She's-"

"No I mean the one giving him the stare. The other red head over there," she said with a point to Adaryn. "She keeps glancing at him. Maybe she just wants to punch him," Darcy laughed.

"I'm not sure who that is, but yes I'm sure it's more likely she wants to punch him. Most people here do," Phil smirked. "His girlfriend is Oksana Petrov and she's not with him tonight. She's doing business with the Avengers. Coincidently she's a red head too," he mused.

"Nice." Darcy beamed as they walked over to the table.

Phil took a swallow breath and prayed that Stark wasn't going to tease him about his choice in woman. And he prayed that Darcy would be on her best behavior. "Are these seats taken?" he asked before they sat down.