Cheetah
Villains 
This sort of thing doesn't happen to Barbara Minerva. I don't let it.
Posts: 129 
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Post by Cheetah on Nov 29, 2016 20:52:54 GMT -5
Any remaining reservations Barbara had melted away when Artie took her hand. That was the indication that everything was right once more in his little world. “I know it’s Artie. I just… I just thought that you needed to be shown more proper respect,” she told him as she tucked a stray lock of his hair back into place. She wanted to say more, but that would wait until they were in private. Joining him in the elevator, Barbara took one last look at the body, her mind already calling up and making a list of what would need to be done. Artie likely knew someone who could move the body to a funeral home, but she would make the appropriate calls and arrangements. Depending on the circumstances, the compensation would be two years worth of Cripes’ salary as well as a trust fund put in place for the widow and children, if he had any. Artie would be unlikely to object, and even if he did, Barbara would ensure him that it was her money used to establish such things.
After his men scurried away back to his club and the elevator began to move, Barbara spoke again. “Dismissing your men? Does that mean you trust the Mystique woman or do you believe she won’t survive your test?” Once inside his control room, Barbara observed both the panel full of various dials and switches, as well as the room below, the one where their guest would be. Again, she would need to re-evaluate just how much property and city utilities Artie had control of, because running an underground bunker was one thing, but this? The amount of power needed to run such a facility, unless he had his own source, would definitely draw attention to those that maintain the electrical grid. “You are always full of one surprise after another, Artie. When did you find the time to build all of this?” Hiring the contract workers and engineers alone would have been a feat in its own right, especially if he didn’t want Fisk to know about all of this. The room even had a stocked liquor cabinet, though Barbara doubted that Artie brought many guests down here.
“Will Frank be subjected to a similar treatment or do you have something else in mind?” she asked, harkening back to the man who insulted the two of them the first night they met. She hadn't forgotten about him nor the promise of being able to kill him. Amazing that Barbara still wanted to take a life even after what she witnessed a few minutes ago. Of course, Frank's demise wouldn't be as messy or violent. Perhaps a little bloody, but definitely not skull-shattering. “Care for anything to drink before your little bit of fun starts?” It was proper to ask and even if he declined, Barbara certainly felt the need to sip on something, never mind what time of day it was.
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Post by Artie Cade on Nov 29, 2016 21:59:21 GMT -5
With a sly sort of grin, Artie regarded Barbara. He limped over to a large globe marked with red X's over some further outlying islands and opened it. Within it was a set of rarer bottles kept in neat crystal decanters, each marked with a silver tag as whiskey, brandy, port and scotch. The cabinet was for a less...illustrious occasion.
"Always before and during," he said as he poured himself a drink and offered one to Barbara as well, "And as for when I built this, some time ago. But rarely have I had much occasion to use it. Human beings are sooooo delightfully fragile, usually they can hardly make it through one of my rooms down here. Even some of the screens are dirty from lack of use...dear me."
He leaned toward one of the huge monitors at the far end and dusted it off as best he could before it activated, showing several camera angles of their blue prey below, the pair of Ticktockmen still beside her.
"Oh and I nearly forgot..." he said as he sat and toyed with the activation switch and looked into the monitors, "No, I do not expect her to survive."
He raised his glass and with a cackle of delight that stung the ears like venom the switch was thrown and Room Seven roared to life.
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Mystique
Villains
Raven Darkholme is not a woman to be trifled with.
Posts: 107
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Post by Mystique on Nov 29, 2016 22:19:53 GMT -5
When the door closed behind Mystique, she suddenly felt the weight of her decision to step over the threshold. This was not like her. She was hardly one to run headlong into danger, and yet here she was. Volunteering to run through a completely unknown gauntlet when she detested going into anything unprepared. This was possibly her worst nightmare of circumstances.
The Ticktockmen loomed over her, and she could have sworn they were staring, as only robots could. With a deep breath, she ran forward. This didn't seem incredibly difficult, for an obstacle coarse.
Then everything shifted.
She lurched to a stop and nearly lost her balance, realizing the floor was incredibly uneven. While she was trying to get her bearings to the changes, it began to rain. Heavily. So heavily the water droplets hit her like rocks. To combat the painful rain, she shifted her skin to be tougher. Not tough enough to guard against the rain entirely, but it was enough to make it manageable.
Then, all at once, she took notice of the other changes. The floor began to heat up exponentially until she could feel the heat through her shoes. While she shifted her feet to be able to withstand some of the higher temperatures, the room steamed up so much she couldn't see. Well, not for long. She enhanced her senses so she could see shapes through the steam, and so she'd better be able to hear if anything came after her.
And something was coming after her. The two Ticktockmen that had escorted her into the room began to attack her. It was all she could do to jump out of the way at the last second.
This was going to be a lot harder than she thought it would be.
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Cheetah
Villains
This sort of thing doesn't happen to Barbara Minerva. I don't let it.
Posts: 129
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Post by Cheetah on Nov 30, 2016 0:47:00 GMT -5
The globe was surprisingly out of place in the room, but still a familiar site as her father had owned one when she was little, and he kept similar high-end bottles in there as well. She ran her fingers lovingly over the wood, noting the red X’s with curiosity. “X marks the spot? May I ask what they are for?” Accepting the offered drink, Barbara smiled, feeling once more at home. She did wonder why Artie would have built something like this if, by his own admission, he didn’t often have the chance to use it, but it didn’t seem right to ask such questions. They both had secrets and reasons for doing what they did in life. He built complicated torture rooms and she chased after lost civilizations while looking for power. And here they were about to watch a blue-skinned doppelgänger try to survive a deathtrap. It was the little things like this that made life interesting.
As she sat in the chair next to his, Barbara did notice that, while he answered about Mystique, Artie didn’t acknowledge her inquiry about Frank. Perhaps he didn’t hear or was too delighted with the prospects of another death to think about another name on his list. At the very least, Barbara hoped he hadn’t already entertained Frank as a guest already or that he wasn’t one of those screaming voices in the other rooms. In that was the case, she would be rather cross at Artie. Very few people ever lied or broke their promises to Barbara. It just wasn’t done.
Rather than dwell on that thought, she instead sat back to enjoy the show, occasionally glancing at Artie to see how he was reacting to every victory or failure on Mystique’s part, no matter how small. Or at least that's what she intended to do, but instead Barbara soon found her attention fixated solely on Mystique and her actions.
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Post by Artie Cade on Nov 30, 2016 21:19:44 GMT -5
It was a look of pure joy that had overtaken Artie's face, even though it was partially hidden behind the half of his flesh toned mask. Mystique was having less of an easy time than she'd perhaps projected. Good.
Very good indeed.
Artie took a sip from his drink and turned to regard Barbara for a moment, looking her up and down then turning his eyes toward the globe.
"Why, dear doctor..." he purred, "...they're potential spots to set up our little project for Frankie boy."
He raised his glass slightly to her and took another sip before he looked back at the monitors and lit a fresh cigarette.
"Ahh our Mystique should keep her eyes peeled..."
He threw another switch and the blocks along the floor gave way in random intervals, long sharp spikes shooting out before retracting again. One of them plunged through one of his precious Ticktockmen and it short circuited in he water flow and exploded. No matter, they were easily replaced. And more were ready.
Artie licked his lips and his eyes widened at the monitor. Oh it was all so delicious...
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Mystique
Villains
Raven Darkholme is not a woman to be trifled with.
Posts: 107
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Post by Mystique on Nov 30, 2016 21:41:45 GMT -5
When panels of the floor began to give way to spikes, Mystique swore loudly in German. And, of course, the floors were all slanted toward some spike pit or another. Because of all the water, her feet started to slip and she began to slide toward one of the pits. Thinking quickly, she enhanced her reflexes well enough that when she jumped at just the right time, she landed on top of one of the spikes, balancing precariously.
The torrential rain was threatening to throw her into the pit, so she had to think even faster. She redistributed some mass into her legs and leapt out of danger. However, through the steam, she realized she was jumping straight at a Ticktockman. Of course.
With another redistribution of mass, she lightened herself enough that she could more or less float onto the robot's back. She scrambled up to the head and shifted her hand into more of a metal state, punching through the outer casing. She planted her feet into its shoulders and jumped up, shoving the monstrous robot down into the floor.
She landed on another Ticktockman as the one she just decommissioned began to short out from the rain. Using her enhanced vision, she looked around to regain her bearings to make sure she was going the right way. But she could see the door. She wasn't even halfway there yet, but she was getting confident she could get there quickly.
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Cheetah
Villains
This sort of thing doesn't happen to Barbara Minerva. I don't let it.
Posts: 129
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Post by Cheetah on Dec 1, 2016 7:13:14 GMT -5
Artie had plans more elaborate than simply grabbing the man and killing him? Why wasn’t Barbara surprised in the least? He was very much a showman and, had he not been driven to this line of work, Barbara surmised that he could have been a brilliant inventor or entertainer, perhaps both. But what why would he need to mark islands when he had this already set up? The answer came to her almost as soon as she mentally asked the question, and with it a deliciously wicked smirk. Though she would not ask to confirm it, since Artie clearly was the type to enjoy surprises, Barbara had the distinct feeling he was planning on recreating The Most Dangerous Game. If that was the case, she would need to pull out the proper attire and weaponry. “Such a wicked man,” she purred, sipping on her scotch.
Turning her attention back towards the monitors, Barbara found herself studying Mystique as she fought for survival. But perhaps fought was the wrong word. She evaded everything actually, but how she did it was beyond Barbara’s knowledge. One moment she was jumping high and light and the next she seemed suddenly heavier and harder to move, despite the environment. “I must admit, she is lasting longer than I expected. She’s resourceful. Pity that I did not place a bet.”
Normally, Barbara was not the type to enjoying sporting events such as this. Before her incident, she would have likened this to gladiatorial combat or a blood sport and excused herself from the room, leaving whatever men were there to cheer on death and destruction. Now, she saw it more as survival of the fittest, having seen gazelle brought down by lions on the plains and crocodiles ambushing wildebeests as they crossed rivers during the dry season. This was nature, and was a simple fact of life that things died. Barbara only vaguely noted a desire to join in on this little game, manifesting itself as a low itch running up and down her spine. She shifted in her chair occasionally, hoping that by doing so, it would waylay the odd sensation.
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Mystique
Villains
Raven Darkholme is not a woman to be trifled with.
Posts: 107
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Post by Mystique on Dec 1, 2016 19:38:59 GMT -5
No sooner had Mystique breathed a sigh of relief that the end was literally in sight, than the Ticktockman she was clinging to suddenly swung one of its arms at her. She was hit and was sent crashing to the ground, quickly trying to regain her footing before she was hit again. She got out of the way of the other arm in the nick of time, but the slanted floor and the ankle deep water were her enemy. It was hard enough to slosh through the water when torrential rain crashed down on her, but the heated floor and the steam only compounded how difficult it was to navigate.
She didn't see the TIcktockman rear back to hit her again, and thus was hit full force away from the door. She swore and flipped herself so she'd land on her feet, eyes going up to the towering robot in front of her. With a sneer on her face, she concentrated on her abilities a little more and camouflaged herself to be nearly invisible to the naked eye. As far as she knew, the robot's sensors worked the same as a human's eye.
It seemed to work, because the robot froze where it was and began looking around. Mystique was stuck where she was unless she could walk on water. But, at the very least, she could confuse the thing. She ran around to its back side and leapt up, scrambling to its head and clinging for dear life. It started flailing about to knock her off, but her nails shifted into claws and dug into the metal. Her feet dug into its shoulders and, with another redistribution of mass, she growled and straightened her legs and back until the metal beast's head came clean off.
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Post by Artie Cade on Dec 1, 2016 22:57:07 GMT -5
Artie idly traced his finger tips along Barbara's thigh as she purred, watching Mystique's plight in absolute, grin-inducing delight but froze when she finished off the Ticktockman. Setting his Scotch down near the control panel, Artie pressed two new buttons and threw a dial.
"Well...last leg of the race..." he hissed, "Hope she plays her cards right."
He cackled wildly as his eyes blazed in wicked pleasure, looking to the monitors.
The panels on the floor ceased revealing their spikes and instead, in all directions, would flip up so as to hit or launch an occupant. Double that up with the spikes that appeared along the walls and it could make for a lovely little mangling...if the prey weren't quick enough.
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Mystique
Villains
Raven Darkholme is not a woman to be trifled with.
Posts: 107
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Post by Mystique on Dec 1, 2016 23:17:11 GMT -5
The carcass of the robot began to tip over, and she never thought she'd be so disappointed to see spike pits disappear. She slid down to the robot's back as panels in the floor began to flip in every direction. Swearing again, she braced herself for the impact and bolted.
She enhanced her senses and reflexes, knowing it was her only chance to survive. She leapt around for a few moments, memorizing patterns in the panels. She was able to identify the direction a panel would flip or if it would simply go up. It wasn't long before she tried to line herself up with the exit door. Now all she needed to do was hit a panel and have it launch her to the door.
Finally, it seemed like it was her chance. A panel was about to flip in that direction. She jumped on it, but she had miscalculated where it would send her. It rocketed her just above the door into a series of spikes. Luckily, her reflexes helped her redistribute her vitals so they weren't hit, but she was motionless from the shock and the pain for a good few minutes.
Without warning, she moved. She grit her teeth and pushed herself away from the wall, working her body off of the spikes until she was free from them altogether, plummeting down to the floor. The floor panel just in front of the door was unresponsive for just long enough she thought she was safe. Then it flipped her directly into the metal door.
Her enhanced reflexes being what they were, she became as hard as metal in the split second before the squish, effectively knocking the door out of the frame.
Mystique lay where she was for what seemed like hours, just trying to recover from exhaustion. She had really pushed her limits in that ordeal, and her healing factor was reacting slowly because of it. Slowly, her gaping wounds closed and her bones knit back together so she could stand again. But she was still bleeding, and she looked like Hell chewed her up and spit her back out.
When she was able to, she began limping her way up the stairs to rejoin Cade. She had a few choice words for him, regarding the room.
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Cheetah
Villains
This sort of thing doesn't happen to Barbara Minerva. I don't let it.
Posts: 129
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Post by Cheetah on Dec 2, 2016 0:22:04 GMT -5
Artie’s touch was unexpected, but with how she felt at the moment, it positively electrified her and Barbara had to fight every temptation to draw his hand up higher. Exhaling shakily, she took his hand in hers and brought it up to her lips, kissing his fingers. “Not now, my pet,” she told him, voice breathy and eyes not leaving the monitors. She was completely infatuated with the action on screen, very much like a cat watching a toy teased in front of her. Barbara had never felt like this, but it was intoxicating. The only time she seemed roused from this odd stupor of hers was when Mystique seemingly disappeared on screen. “How…?” she asked no one, sitting up in her chair.
She studied the image carefully, guessing that she was not invisible. Mystique could change her appearance, but nothing more than that. Her estimation was correct when the environment shifted and launched itself at the automaton. “Amazing. So much potential.” Mystique was a fighter, and the longer Barbara watched her, the more she liked her, and the more alike the two of them seemed to be.
She could even survive death it seemed, since the blue woman freed herself from the spikes she was impaled on and survived the impact with the solid steel exit door. The loud clang was what brought Barbara out of her trance, looking a bit bewildered but feeling rather awake and invigorated. “I believe… I believe she passed the test, Artie,” she told him, leaning over to give him a small, chaste kiss, knowing he likely needed the bit of comfort.
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Post by Artie Cade on Dec 2, 2016 6:23:11 GMT -5
That was...impressive. Almost impossible, even.
"...she....she did, didn't she...?" Artie replied in a small stupefied voice, not reacting much to Barbara's soft kiss, "I'm...a mix of things, actually. Mostly impressed. Huh."
He absent-mindedly pressed his mouth to a microphone without taking his eyes off the screen as Room Seven was in cleanup mode and spoke into it.
"Oh Mystique, dear," he purred, glee resounding in his tone, "Do head to the elevator that should be arriving in the main room there and come on up to us. Drinks are on me."
He ended his message with a chuckle as the echo of his voice in the rooms below dissipated and he leaned back in his oversized chair before the monitors, taking his drink in his hand again and taking a sip from it.
"I wonder if I went too easy..." he mused, "Though I suppose if she can handle all that, our pointy little problem shouldn't be too hard to straighten out."
He burst into a maniacal, wide eyed cackle. With one swift move Artie threw the glass into the far wall emphatically and spun in his chair, hugging himself in absolute joy at the thought of Laura finally being out of his world (and any, really) entirely.
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Mystique
Villains
Raven Darkholme is not a woman to be trifled with.
Posts: 107
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Post by Mystique on Dec 3, 2016 0:10:35 GMT -5
The mutant was limping toward the elevator, trying to buy herself some time to heal before she came face to face with Cade. When she reached the elevator door, she stopped and leaned against the wall, hand instinctively covering the still sizable hole in her abdomen. She knew a mutant that could heal things like this almost instantly, and she envied him right now. This was agony to walk on, but she had more pride than to just stay here and heal completely.
The elevator doors opened and she held her head up high, dropping her blood soaked hand and stepping inside to begin the ascent to ... wherever the hell that imp went. She couldn't help but lean against the wall on the way up, but two of the three major holes had healed enough that she could rearrange her organs to where they ought to be. The one at the base of her ribs, however, still showed exposed bone. She could shift her shape to hide the damage, but she wanted him to see what she could survive.
When the doors opened again, she stepped into the control room, a snarl on her face. As far as she was concerned, changing the conditions in the last seconds was unnecessary and bordering on unacceptable. She walked with an even stride, despite the pain, and even walked with some grace. Head held high, she walked straight to the giggling red head and reared back, crashing an open palm into the side of his face with the mask.
Her eyes flashed angrily as she yelled some colorful insults in German, mixed in with some unfavorable descriptors and expletives. She was angry, and she wanted him to know.
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Post by Artie Cade on Dec 3, 2016 1:17:27 GMT -5
The cackling from Cade continued to fill the room.
He paused only for a moment when Mystique struck him and the spectacles and mask went flying across the room, shattering into pieces against a monitor along the wall.
But quickly it resumed again, this time his grin accentuated with that horrible, exposed muscle and lipless half of his face.
His laughter roared over Mystique's shouting as he stood slowly to meet her gaze and plunged his hand into her bleeding abdomen in order to emphasize his own displeasure. He gave his fist a good turn in there.
"COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, BLUE!" he shouted, his eyes blazing as he withdrew his hand, covered in Mystique's blood and began to lick at it almost hungrily, "I may be even less generous next time."
He wiped the blood off idly on his white suit and looked over at his shattered mask.
"...well. How annoying." was all he calmly managed to say as he lit a cigarette and limped over to it, picking up the pieces.
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Cheetah
Villains
This sort of thing doesn't happen to Barbara Minerva. I don't let it.
Posts: 129
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Post by Cheetah on Dec 3, 2016 11:52:10 GMT -5
Artie’s reaction to Mystique’s victory was unexpected and, to be honest, it worried Barbara just a bit. The laughter was one thing, but throwing the glass? This all read as a mixture of things and she wasn’t sure if the man was happy for his test subject’s little victory or upset over not seeing someone die. “I doubt you went too easy on her, Artie. There were many times that any normal person would have died from what they were subjected to. She survived.” Barbara was tempted to make a comment about how she wouldn’t have done nearly as well, but she didn’t want to give Artie any ideas should he ever be cross with her again.
The moment the elevator to their room dinged, Barbara was out of her chair, ready to offer it to Mystique should she need it. As far as she was concerned the woman passed the test and there would be no more animosity towards her from Barbara. Nor did she feel any more of that odd sensation she experienced while watching Mystique fight for her life. Which was probably why she backed up away from the woman as soon as she saw the rage on her face. Her eyes briefly glanced downward at her injuries but only briefly, not wanting to linger on them. The carnage was there and a small part of Barbara wondered if she was doing this as a show of force and power? Either way, she was making sure to stay out of the line of fire, practically anticipating the slap and insults that flew at astonishing speeds from her lips. Barbara hid a smirk more than a few of them.
Then things seemed to reach an entirely new level of insanity when Artie did, in her own opinion, the unthinkable. Laughing at all of this was one thing, but inserting his hand into Mystique’s wound? Barbara stepped forward, as if about to intervene, though at the last moment she stopped herself from physically doing anything. “That’s enough, Cade!” she yelled at him. “That is entirely uncalled for! She passed your bloody test and your damn gauntlet, so stop it!” Then it was as if a switch was flipped and he was back to his calm and somewhat proper self. Leaving him to pick up the pieces, Barbara looked over at Mystique. “Are you all right? Do I need to take you to a doctor?” The offer was sincere, but there was the niggling little fact that Barbara wasn’t sure if she could find a doctor willing to treat someone like her. Money bought a lot of things, but it could only do so much.
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