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Post by Artie Cade on Jan 17, 2017 19:55:35 GMT -5
Artie prided himself on calculating outcomes with some amount of delicacy and precision, but...well he hadn't anticipated Mystique to lean down and kiss him. Let alone with such...vigor.
Not that he turned it away. Quite the contrary.
Be kissed her back with all the passions he had built up from the day's events, helped not only a little bit by the fact that he did indeed find her incredibly attractive...even when blue. When the kiss was done and she lit her cigarette, Artie was still standing there in shock, staring up at her.
She had just so...very....she kissed him? That required...but he...and the...
Without a word, Artie climbed up the railing on the side of the deck and situated himself in front of Mystique, bowing his spindly legs out on either side of her waist and grinning into her eyes now that they were level. He took a drag on his own cigarette and blew the smoke over her head, letting it be carried back behind him in the wind.
"Well...my dear..." he purred as he ran a hand through her red, red hair, "I know THAT brand of kiss."
He offered her a wink and turned his head to watch the shore come alongside them. It was on a lower bank, few buildings lined it save for one of his usual chop shops he utilized. There were two men ready to take the vehicles once they were unloaded.
The ship slowed to a halt and dropped anchor. The back hatch was opened and the cars were rolled out. Artie watched as his man who had brought he and Mystique champagne handed over the cash to them and indicated to the truck. Good. He remembered that part of it was to compact the vehicles into those lovely tiny little squares of metal.
Including all contents. Bodies or otherwise.
The chop shop men nodded and got into the vehicles, but not before one looked up and saw Artie, who gave him a wide grin. The man visibly shuddered but nodded with a tip of his cap and went about his business.
Then Artie turned his attentions back to Mystique as the ship closed back up and was moving to the next side, the port near Coney Island.
"Now where were we..." he asked as he held Mystique's face gently, "Oh, that's right..."
He kissed her passionately once again, keeping his knees on either side of her and keeping his balance. It felt right. It felt good.
He wondered in the back of his mind how well Barbara would take all this but...there had been nothing official spoken about it, much less this so...he decided to simply take the passionate throes as they came.
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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 Jan 19, 2017 1:29:36 GMT -5
Just as Mystique was starting to question herself, wondering what came over her and why she kissed him and if she should apologize, she watched as he climbed up onto the railing to be at eye level. That grin on his face might have made anyone else uncomfortable, but there was something she found incredibly charming about it. She leaned her head into his touch, stepping between his legs to close the gap between them. All at once, she stopped questioning herself. This felt surprisingly natural. More surprisingly, she had stopped thinking of him as a human. He was a person she was very, very attracted to. Whether it was the night sky on the water, or the ocean breeze, or the residual adrenaline from the mass of bodies she'd left back at the prison, she craved his touch.
Before she had a chance to try to kiss him again, he'd turned his head to watch the cars unload. The underlings did the needful and indicated to the trucks. The chop shop workers looked at Artie and shuddered. Now that was a quality Mystique found attractive, and she couldn't exactly help that about herself. She took a drag of her cigarette and blew the smoke out into the wind, her free hand sliding around his waist to bring him a little closer. Part of her wanted to stay and watch the cars crushed, but she wasn't going to make the ship stay on her whim.
Finally, he turned back to her and she found herself leaning into his touch again. Before she knew it, his lips were on hers and she was melting into the kiss. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been kissed like this. Well, she could, and she remembered it fondly. It felt so right, she didn't want it to stop.
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Post by Artie Cade on Jan 20, 2017 18:48:25 GMT -5
Artie was all passion at this point. Entirely. Arguably, that was usually his default mode anyway. Only during certain business transactions did he manage to entirely steel himself. But with Barbara, now with Mystique...he couldn't help himself. Both of them, for their own reasons and their own distinct charms, not to mention their acceptance of both what he did and how he looked, woke something up in him. He'd buried so many of his passions so long ago with a woman named Locke but now they'd been dug up again by these two women.
He wasn't entirely sure how Barbara would like that, but he couldn't help how it felt: right. Twice over right, with both of them.
The kiss only deepened as Artie held onto Mystique's hips and then ran them up to her sides before he breathed heavily and broke away from the kiss.
"There's a uh..." he said with a sly grin, "...cabin up here on the main deck. Only for my use...long personal trips and all....if you'd care to get outta this cold...and maybe outta some other bits."
He nodded down to her clothes and chuckled.
He never fancied himself much of a Don Juan but he sensed that Mystique's slyness rivaled his own. And again it seemed, what might only have been in the addled brains of the people he had chosen to associate with and get close to...right.
Artie's brain snapped for a moment into thinking he was assuming too much...but that was quickly silenced. He was a good read on people, as had been said. And he thought he had a good bead on Mystique. Right in his sights.
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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 Jan 24, 2017 1:29:45 GMT -5
Mystique's lips followed Artie's when he broke the kiss, unable to suppress a small, petulant whine. She wasn't ready for the kiss to be over. She had given no indication that she was ready for it to end, and yet he had stopped kissing her. Idly, she wondered what had come over her, that she was reduced to such thoughts. She hadn't been like this in years. It had been so long since she'd let herself be swept away by passion, she'd nearly forgotten what it was like. Even her brief romp with Barbara hadn't gotten nearly this reaction out of her.
Then he mentioned his cabin. Again, she thanked her lucky stars for the cover of night to hide her dark purple blush and playfully pressed herself flush against Artie. They must have looked like a pair of young lovers. She certainly felt like she was, the way she was grinning and clinging to him, thirsty for more of his touch.
So, he wasn't exactly Casanova, but he had already charmed her enough to convince her.
"Why don't you lead the way?" She pressed a kiss to his nose, her forehead resting against his. "I do think it's about time we head inside to warm up a little." She let her hands slide down his back to rest on his hips, head dipping down to leave a small trail of kisses along his jaw, teeth playfully nipping at his neck.
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Post by Artie Cade on Jan 24, 2017 14:21:14 GMT -5
Tonight was turning out to be so much more than Artie had assumed it might...calculated or even hoped. He scooted himself forward on the railing and allowed himself to slide down against Mystique with a smirk on his face before he gently took her hand, giving a dramatic bow.
"My dear..." he said as he indicated behind him with his free hand, "The room....she awaits."
The cabin wasn't much, but Artie had made sure it was furnished for the reasons he had mentioned. He did occasionally still like to get his hands dirty, so he would accompany his boys to shipment dropoffs and retrievals. Half because he wanted to be sure they didn't muck it up and half because he felt useful doing it. It was important as a leader to avoid just sitting behind a desk all day. He thought of Fisk. He smirked. Besides, who was Wilson Fisk in the city of New York anymore?
As Artie opened the cabin door, inside it actually had proper wallpaper, which he always thought of as a welcome change from all the steel. Much as he liked steel. There was a well furnished bed, an armchair at a small desk, a chest of drawers with a mirror and a small table on the bedside with a lamp. Of course all the furnishings were nailed down, so there was no chance they would shift. As Artie allowed Mystique to proceed him into the room, he slooooowly closed the door behind him by leaning against it, locking it deftly with his hands as he smirked.
"I'm starting to realize..." he said with a chuckle, "That you just...you can't be lit improperly, can you? Moonlight, some measly little desk lamp, the Rabbit Hole....you're any photographer's dream."
He began to slowly remove his bowtie and undo the top buttons of his shirt after he had tossed his coat onto the chair, moving closer to Mystique and looking up at her.
"And if you've never heard even that before, well then..." he purred as he stood on his toes, "I'll have to scout out some better photographers and prove it."
He kissed her neck gently as he loosed his suspenders and continued unbuttoning his shirt before he stepped back and pointed to his bony flesh under the garment.
"And as long as we're showing all of our scars...and it doesn't dampen the evening..." he said casually, revealing six bullet wounds on various parts of his torso and countless scars, some having been stitched and some having healed more naturally, but all of them of different sizes. Slices, puncture wounds, gashes...but he felt comfortable enough with Mystique to not feel self conscious about them. Barbara had brought that out of him too. He felt he was steadily overcoming his dread of showing any of his scars anywhere on him.
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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 Jan 26, 2017 1:03:30 GMT -5
The room she was led to was impressive for a cabin on a ship like this. If she didn't know better, she'd assume she had just walked into a spare office on land, the way it was furnished. She smiled softly as she looked around, eyes finally landing on Artie as he leaned against the closed door. She couldn't help but blush at his words, a chuckle bubbling up from her chest. "Well, I haven't heard it before," she admitted. "No photographers have ever gotten close enough to tell me one way or the other." And, frankly, some of that was by design. She didn't always like having a record of where she was, and certainly not of her mutant form. It was hardly anything worth documenting, as far as she was concerned.
Artie wasn't done surprising her, though. He had stepped back to show her the various scars on his torso. She could sense a little bit of discomfort in his showing her, but she thought nothing of it. She slid her hands down his bare sides, fingers gliding over every scar until her hands rested on his hips. As she took a few steps back and sat on the bed, she pulled him with her and stood him between her slightly spread knees.
Now that she had a better look, she pressed the gentlest kisses to each of his scars. She wasn't the least bit bothered by them. In fact, part of her was a little attracted to them. A man like Artie could easily get away with letting his employees do all the dirty work, but if tonight didn't prove that he liked to get in on the action, the scars certainly did.
Her fingers traced over his scars, and where her fingers went, her lips shortly followed. In a sort of ripple effect, the clothes that she had shifted for herself disappeared, leaving only bare skin. It was the first time in a long time that she had willingly let a human see her scaly body, and she was surprised to find that she didn't mind. She'd already bared herself to him once this evening, after all. This was nothing. Though, in the back of her mind, she had to consider this: If she wasn't careful, she might get too attached. If she didn't know better, she'd say she was already getting too attached.
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Post by Artie Cade on Jan 31, 2017 21:36:42 GMT -5
To say that this was going to plan would be to assume that Artie had planned any of this at all. Much less could have anticipated that Mystique would be...so tender, and even...attracted...?
When she evaporated her clothing, Artie let out a soft, stuttering stammer as he looked her up and down but stayed standing there. She kissed his scars, she ran her fingers over their ridges...and to think a mutant like her could be interested in someone like him. He had very few adjectives for himself, and most of them were variants of 'deranged' at the best of times, but this...
He held her hips...which were a sturdy set...and pressed closer against her as he allowed their lips to meet once again. After all, if she was kissing his scars...he could only follow it up. And it felt so much more than perfect. His hands moved slowly up her sides to her face. He didn't mind the scales that would crop up now and then on her skin...after all, how different were they from his scars and their healed ridges? Or his bullet hole wounds?
The nice thing about all this was that it wasn't moving too fast...it was passion. And passion ran on its own time. It slowed down the world in its constant spinning and could become something carnal or something intimate and quiet...and either way it was right.
Artie deepened the kiss and held her face close, letting his hands move over her sides and down the long legs made up of that particular shade of blue. He pondered the name Mystique...it really did seem to fit her. It may not have been her birth name, he didn't suppose, but it certainly did fit. And he didn't much care what her name was, she was just as...then a thought occurred to him....could she be leading him on? Playing him for a sap? All this time?
No. It didn't feel like a lie. Unless she was very very good.
It felt...good....and warm.
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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 Feb 3, 2017 12:42:36 GMT -5
Before she knew it, Mystique felt her lips meet Artie's once more. She could feel her heart swell in delight at the attentions she was receiving, hands sliding up his back to draw him closer to her own body. Feeling his hands on her was quite something, too. Humans shuddered at the thought of being this close to a mutant, and here he was, reveling at the sight of her scaly body. She didn't often let herself take her natural form. She hated her own face. But Artie? He seemed attracted to her, even like this. It felt good. She'd only ever felt this accepted by one other person, and if she didn't know better, she'd say she was starting to feel the same way about Artie.
Her legs came up to rest at his hips, pulling him with her as she laid back onto the bed. Her fingers curled into his hair, deepening the kiss further as her body arched up towards his. Her body was alight with passion, and her mind was occupied with nothing but thoughts of Artie.
In a fluid motion, she pushed him onto his back and mounted him, a sly smirk on her face. Her yellow eyes were lit with mischief, hands sliding up his chest, gently massaging at his muscles as her lips reconnected with his once more.
[Fade to black]
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Post by Artie Cade on Feb 4, 2017 16:58:14 GMT -5
Then there was a knock at the door.
"Uh, Mr. Cade?" came a voice, "We're about to put into port, sir."
The footsteps walked away.
Artie sloooowly sat up, a cigarette dangling from his mouth and his eyes still wide.
"Th-that was..." he stammered as he looked over at Mystique and held her hip, chuckling, "...well clearly not too bad."
He exhaled smoke and put the cigarette out in the ashtray on the bedside table, sitting up and pulling on his trousers.
"And now..." he continued, "To be semi-presentable and get back on dry land. Sea legs are still not entirely what I'd call these things-ACK!"
With a chuckle and a shift of the boat, Artie stumbled into one of the chairs and spread his arms to indicate 'see?'
He knew in the back of his mind that Laura would smell the...well, sex on the two of them. But maybe the smoke in the Wicked Suit would drown that out...it would be an interesting introduction, certainly. He wondered how Laura would react to meeting another proper...what was the term, mutant? Something like that. He never took much to that sort of specificity with people who worked for him. They were people and that was good enough, no sense in logging away extra unnecessary information.
Artie stood and continued getting dressed, reaching for his mask last and putting it on.
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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 Feb 5, 2017 23:58:43 GMT -5
Mystique hadn't bothered to cover herself when she heard the voice, finding a new confidence in her natural form, despite the risk of someone opening the door. She wore nothing but a smile as she looked at Artie, rolling onto her side as he sat up. "You know, I'd have to agree. That was ..... pretty decent." She couldn't understate it with a straight face. She chuckled and covered her face with her hand to hide the faintest blush creeping across her cheeks. She sat up just in time to see Artie topple over, and she couldn't help but laugh. Oh, she wasn't looking forward to standing up either. Laying down, her legs felt like jelly. With the rocking of the sea, she was sure she was going to topple over the moment she stood.
So, for now, she settled for sitting at the edge of the bed, still bare, watching Artie dress himself. Maybe it was just that she was basking in the afterglow, but she really did find him attractive. She couldn't quite put her finger on why, but she did find him quite attractive. As he finished dressing, she stood, shifting herself some clothing as she stepped toward him. Her arms wrapped around him and she planted a kiss to his exposed cheek. She could smell herself on him, and she felt a small amount of pride in that.
"Where shall we head now?" she asked. She hadn't thought this far ahead into the night. If she had, she probably would have been caught by surprise by what they'd just done. "I must say, I'm not sure I'm ready for my evening to end just yet."
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Post by Artie Cade on Feb 11, 2017 22:39:49 GMT -5
Grinning, Artie winked at Mystique and kissed her a bit more passionately in reply to her own.
He found he didn't much care anymore what Barbara would think of this, and Laura would surely be interested to meet another mutant. Artie gave a mock pouting expression when Mystique shifted clothes back onto herself.
"And it was such a stunning blue, too..." he whined before flipping it into a chuckle as he opened the cabin door and limped to the railing.
Outside, the dock near Coney Island was silent as the grave, which felt appropriate. Artie saluted the captain, who was close at hand. The man nodded and headed off to lower the gangplank. Artie returned to the cabin to fetch his coat, offering his hand to Mystique to lead her out onto the deck. He snapped his fingers to signal to the remaining men, who all disembarked with them to a car that was waiting, Artie's long, white limousine. He'd added many a modification to it, it was one of the safest cars one could own, and certainly one of the most expensive. Thankfully now that the war was over it was easier to justify something that ate so much gasoline.
Opening the door for Mystique, he allowed her to enter the limo first before he got in. His men filed into the adjacent vehicles and headed off in their separate directions. Artie tapped on the seat in roof of the car with his cane as he sat down.
"The Wicked Suit, Mr. Chambers." he said to the driver, an elderly man. The driver nodded and the car moved off.
Artie looked back at the ship shrinking into the distance. He saw the gangplank being raised and nodded in satisfaction.
"And now..." he said as he breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew his cigarette case, putting a fresh one into his mouth and lighting it before he set it onto his lap, "...we can finally rest assured that the deed is done."
He offered a wicked chuckle.
"The ship goes off to the islands to pick up a new shipment right on schedule and everything is as it should be. Hell, not even any need to doctor any logs."
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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 Feb 19, 2017 0:00:43 GMT -5
Now that they had been so intimate, Mystique was far less hesitant to drape her arm across Artie's shoulder, and she did just that as the captain greeted them on the deck. There were eyes on her, and for once she didn't completely bristle in defense. Then it sunk in that she was still very blue. She idly wondered if they were simply not acting because of how Artie had defended her, but she shoved the thought from her mind. She didn't care. In fact, there was a small part of her that was almost attracted to the idea of attaching herself to the hip of a powerful gangster like Artie. Though, of course, that wasn't the only thing she was attracted to about him. She smirked and stayed close to him, slipping into the limo as the door opened for her.
Inside the limo, Mystique gave herself the busy task of checking her makeup. It gave her an excuse to examine herself in the mirror. This was the longest she'd gone remaining in her true form without disguising herself in a long time. The interesting part was that there was something so natural about being like this with Artie that it didn't bother her nearly as much as she might have expected it to. That settled it, then. She wasn't going to let herself be bothered by her true form when she didn't have to. She put her mirror away and smiled at Artie, taking a cigarette and lighting one for herself. "I can't remember the last time a plan went this smoothly," she mused, exhaling smoke with her words. She leaned in Artie's direction and kissed his cheek. "It was an absolutely genius plan, Artie. Really. And usually I'm the one with the genius plans." With a grin, she slid her arm around his shoulders and kissed him once more.
It wasn't much longer before they pulled up to the Wicked Suit. Mr. Chambers put the car in park and walked back to open the door for Mystique, who stepped out with all the style and grace that might have been expected of nobility. Her newly found confidence in her form evaporated, unfortunately, when a small gang of miscreants noticed her bright coloring.
"Who do you think the mutant bitch had to kill to get into that car?" one of them said to much laughter from his friends.
There was that bristling sensation at the back of Mystique's neck as she turned to look at the hoods. She tried to walk to the sidewalk and ignore them, but they called out to her again.
"Hey blue! Suck me off and I'll buy you a yacht!" They laughed again, but stopped when the leader indicated he was about to speak again. "On second thought, maybe not. I might catch something." He stepped forward and looked her up and down, appraising her. "You're pretty easy on the eyes for a freak, though."
Mystique stopped and turned on them, her yellow eyes piercing into the main hood. He seemed spooked, and that only made her smile. She started toward the group, causing 4 of the 5 of them to back away. The leader raised his fists and tried to punch her, but she ducked out of the way and grabbed his wrist, twisting as she spun her leg up to hook her heel around his neck to bring him down to the ground. In a second, she had broken his wrist and threatened to break his arm, her stiletto heel firmly placed on his temple. "I have an idea for the lot of you. How about the next time you see a mutant in New York, you treat them with a little respect?" She dug her heel into he hood's temple, drawing just a little bit of blood to show she meant business. "Things are going to be different around here, boys. For one thing, you're going to need a new buddy." Her heel drove into the boy's skull, quickly ending his life, but her eyes never left the other hoods. "The times they are a-changin'. Go spread the word that mutants are protected now. Okay, kids?"
Terrified, the boys ran off and Mystique was left to pull her heel from a head before making her way back to the limo, a little too calmly. "Sorry about that."
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Post by Artie Cade on Mar 2, 2017 23:54:59 GMT -5
Mr. Chambers had been standing dutifully at the door to the limousine. His expression never changed during Mystique's...outburst of intensity. He'd seen that sort of thing all too many times, considering his employer.
Still. Internally, he had every bit of admiration for this young woman's resolve.
It went beyond simply insanity. Or revenge.
It had purpose.
Artie slithered out of the car to meet Mystique, grinning up at her and licking his lips.
"Ohhhhhh..." he purred, "Masterful. Gotta warn me before you make me all hot and bothered like that."
He chuckled and took her hand, bowing dramatically and kissing it.
"Worthy of its own film, my dear. I'd watch it."
He then offered her his arm and gestured toward the Wicket Suit.
"Shall we, then?" he purred.
Leading Mystique back into the Suit left few surprised faces. The clientele knew their business, and it wasn't Artie Cade's. They all gave nods of greeting, some shook his hand, others offered a toast from the back of the room. Artie took all of this in stride. He didn't know any of them, really. Or if he did, he'd forgotten because who really cared at the end of the day?
Artie limped over to the bar and knocked on it, figuring Laura was bent down below it fetching a drink.
"Laura?" he called over the din and the live music, "Laura, I've got someone I'd like to introduce you to. And if you're down there, if ya wouldn't mind snatching some Scotch for me....!"
He grinned wide back up at Mystique, adjusting his mask ever so slightly to make sure it was on straight. He winked at the blue woman, finding the red leather furniture and dim lighting to play off of her skin and her eyes and hair particularly well...how could people find her unattractive?
Wasn't he the crazy one?
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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 Mar 15, 2017 19:42:24 GMT -5
Having been caught up in the heat of the moment, Mystique had all but forgotten that Artie was right behind her. She jolted slightly upon hearing his voice and turned, grinning at the look on his face. It wasn't hard to tell what he was thinking, and it got her thinking the same way. "Darling, if seeing me kill a stupid punk and scare off his hood friends is going to get you hot and bothered, we're going to get along great." She grinned and leaned down to kiss his cheek as the door opened to the Wicked Suit.
She glanced around at the faces that all averted their eyes. Artie's reputation was clear, but she had the feeling some of it was because she was a mutant. For the first time in many years, she decided she didn't care. Instead of shifting out of her blue form, she stayed standing tall and proud, yellow eyes piercing through any foul look she happened to catch. And, really, at the end of the day, she was on the arm of a man that had already stood up for her once, and that was all he needed to do to make her fall for him.
Artie spoke to a young woman named Laura, and it stopped Mystique in her tracks. She didn't have any powers to detect mutants, but she could tell one when she saw one. This young lady reminded her so much of someone she knew a long time ago, too. It was haunting, the similarities she saw in just the briefest glimpse at the girl's face.
"Pleasure to meet you, Laura," she said, unable to hide the shock in her voice. "My name is Mystique." From the corner of her eye, she saw the way Artie was looking at her. She blushed a dark purple, trying to hide the grin threatening to crack her face in half.
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X-23
Heroes 
There are two types of people. you are weak, or you are me.
Posts: 120
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Post by X-23 on Mar 19, 2017 20:22:41 GMT -5
There was the sound of rummaging and clinking of glass against glass before Laura appeared from behind the bar, having found a bottle of her Fathers favourite whisky as soon as she smelled him approaching. Everything had been going smoothly today, which wasn't the same as slow or uneventful. People had come and gone, and the two people she had needed to threaten earlier had taken the hint as soon as she'd raised her gun.
As a result she found it easy to smile at Artie as he approached, a smile that slipped a little when she saw the woman on his arm. Even without the smell of each other lingering around them that only came from sex, there was the way they were talking and winking to each other. Obviously this was either romantic or purely sexual. Either way Laura resented Artie hurting Barbara like this, he had no right and-
No. Laura took a deep breath and refused to start anything in the bar. It would make him look weak in front of everyone, and this woman had done nothing to deserve her anger since she probably didn't even know Barbara existed. She wasn't the one developing feelings for Barbara and so she would be left out of it.
The irony was lost on Laura completely.
"Hello Father, I am assuming your day has gone well?" Laura asked, looking at his date with fascination. Blue skin and yellow eyes were not things she had ever seen before, or even imagined existed. It was striking really, and the only real explanation she could think of made her give the woman a surprisingly warm smile even as annoyed at her Father as she was. "Hello Mystique.... it is nice to finally meet another Mutant." She greeted. The name was by far the least odd thing about all this so Laura accepted it without question. Once she had placed the bottle and a glasses on the bar, she leaned against it, watching them both interact. "What drink would you like?" Was the next question, slipping into her job easily enough.
It was... odd. watching her Father clearly happy and smiling like that and feeling unhappy about it. Maybe their relationship had ended and no one had bothered telling Laura? maybe it had been far less serious then Laura had hoped it was after getting to like Barbara? regardless, this seemed like something that could easily be good for her Father, if only she could be happy about it.
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