The Girl To Conquer All

[brooke]

"Hello?" Brooke Tienne called out on the Main Floor of the large mansion. The security had been too easy to slip past for a woman of her talents. She'd done worse on maximum security prisons and psychiatric wards. My, those poor people had thought they'd been rid of her once she'd escaped, how wrong they were. "It's a wonder the main home of those they called the frightning "Acolytes" and "Magneto's Feared Men" is empty, not to mention simple to slip into." She dropped a tattered gym bag to the floor and rested her hands on her hips as she surveyed the place. "I want to speak to someone in charge." Maybe she should have bombed the place first a little like she'd initially wanted to. It would have gotten a more quick response, not to mention more of a notice that she'd wanted.

[pyro2]

Pyro's plan had been to only come back here quickly, fetch a few bags with things Magneto needed at the X-Men mansion, and leave again. But the relaxing emptiness of the building had been so pleasantly different from the noisy, busy mansion he was forced to live in now, that he had just sat down in one of the living rooms to enjoy a quiet smoke. That one smoke turned into a second and a third, and just now he was lighting up number four, when he suddenly heard noises - and a muffled voice. From downstairs.

Surprised, he got up, stepped out into the hallway and walked towards the staircase that led down to the main floor of the Brotherhood villa. Just then he clearly heard the last words, spoken by a very self confident, female voice. "That would be me", Pyro said, with similar self confidence, as he walked down the last steps and finally saw who it was that had walked in. The face didn't ring a bell. But she was clearly a pretty hot number. "And who the fuck are you?" He stopped at the end of the staircase and eyed the girl with her gym bag. She looked as if she was planning to stay...

[brooke]

Her lips pulled up into a smile at what she found. John Alderdice if her memory served correct, and it did. She knew that smoldering face with the data pages she'd read on him. 'Pyro' as he called himself, it had been a definite double take upon scanning the files. And he had the same bold confidence that she had guessed he would have by his looks. But he had lied to her, he wasn't at all the leader, he just wished he was.

Her dark eyes followed him down the stair case carefully as she noted his tendencies by the smallest muscles twitches and tendencies. She logged away the information and neared the last step of the stairs. Leaning on the railing, she smiled looking up at him. "Name's Tortura," she purred darkly. "You must be John." Using his real name instead of his code name was enough to let him know she was a girl that did her homework.

[pyro2]

John's eyes didn't leave her for a second as she started to approach the stairs. He wasn't worried exactly, despite the fact that it clearly was unusual that someone just walked in here. Of course he had done the same just as few days ago but his case had been very different.

Then she introduced herself, and the way she talked to him, indicated that she knew she could usually count on the effects she had on men. Pyro was still busy taking in her name which had a strange ring to it, when she already guessed his. The fire mutant frowned. This girl not only knew what this place was, she also was familiar with the people. Two options: She either was a part of Magneto's circle who hadn't been around for a while and tried to reconnect - that would explain why he didn't know her. Or she was up to no good and had access to government files about them. Pyro was well aware that he was still wanted for terrorism.

Carefully, his hand moved to the cigarette in his mouth and he ashed a bit of the tip on the floor. A gesture that seemed casual, but if she knew who he was, she knew what he could do as long as there was a fire source. "Tortura, huh? That sounds... like a lot of fun." There was a hint of a smile around his lips. "What do you want?"

[brooke]

Brooke kept up her smile, genuine, as she watched the ash with still-burning embers land on the step between them. She could lift a boot and snuff it out, but she didn't care enough to do so. The adorable man was wanted for terrorism by the National Security Foundation, of course he was preparing for a fight at every corner, not only that, but he couldn't pull together why or how she was there really. But, as she leisured inside his mind, she understood why his confusion made he gear toward a fight. He was expecting a member of his Master to start something or that she was Government. The thought made her purr a chuckle to herself. She despised the Government almost as much as she did human men. No, she was just good at getting what she wanted. It had been like stealing candy from a toddler to get the files and an adventure reading up on each new personal profile.

Brooke smiled at his reply, a wicked, gleeful smile as her dark eyes glittered. "Does it now?" He followed up with the common 'what do you want' and Brooke could only choose her words carefully. She didn't have the ability to screw herself by saying something simply because she had a plan, but her plans always change at the last second.

"I want a lot of things, John. But right now, I want to know why you're still following your dark little Lord around like a hobbit. You don't want to work with those sniveling heroes or for their stupid cause. You want a fight and you're not about loyalty, now that Magneto's plans have changed to something you don't believe in...why are you still following like a lost puppy?" Her dark eyes filtered into his as her mind silently played in his.

[pyro2]

The girl kept smiling back. And the way she looked at the glimmering ashes between them on the stairs indicated very clearly that she knew what he was capable of. She didn't seem very impressed, though, Pyro thought. And that impression deepened as she continued to talk.

Second by second, John realized that she obviously had much more than just access to government files. All this had happened far too recently to be known by anyone outside their small circle. Even more worrisome was that she seemed to have access to his thoughts... "Oh great", he sighed, "another fucking telepath. You know, if the humans ever start a campaign that exclusively wipes out telepathic mutants, I might consider to help them." He gave her his most charming smile while saying that.

The fire mutant kept his eyes on her, alert and suspicious. In essence, she was right, of course: Pyro really didn't want to work with 'those sniveling heroes'. But he did respect Magneto and his leadership. "Okay, fine, you made your point. And since you have access to my mind, you know all the answers already." Pyro tried to remain cool. He hated it when people were scanning his head. Damn, those eyes... "So, what do you really want?"

[brooke]

She smiled at the mirror image of her eyes in his mind, that specific part of her seemed to be a rather grabbing distraction. Brooke was flattered yet it made little difference. It took too much to make her feel impressed. "That's always the big question when it comes to a woman, isn't it?" She trailed her gentle fingertips along the edge of his knuckles. She liked the way they were worn from how rough he was. Taking another step up, allowing the ash to stand as it was, alive still and ready if he so chose to use it. It left him feeling free, open to do as he pleased, and she understood that he liked it better that way. A flame, alive and beautiful, did not like to be snuffed out or closed in.

She smiled as her dark eyes danced with excitement at him. "I want to help you."

[pyro2]

Oh yes, she was used to men falling under her spell, and that was exactly what she tried to pull off with him now. Pyro let her come closer, felt her touch on his hand, smelled her scent. And he knew she was in him already, probing him, learning all she wanted to know about him. Doing what he always suspected the professor did too, despite of all his high ethical standards. Fucking telepaths!

But if she was inside his mind, she also read that he was still very much in control of his own senses. Yes, she was extremely attractive. All in all, though, he thought of her like of one of those beautiful flowers that lured insects inside to trap and devour them. So all she got was a thin smile. "Really. Out of the selfless kindness of your heart, I presume?"

He hadn't moved while she came closer and closer, and the glimmering ashes on the floor and at the tip of his cigarette reassured him that he still was able to react if she suddenly started to get less friendly. "What kind of help were you thinking about?" he then asked, casually, wondering if she would continue with her seduction.

[brooke]

Brooke smiled and slid her foot to the side, snuffing out the ashes as her hand reached between them and slipped the cigarette out between his fingers. She used her ability, snuffing out his sense of touch. He would only see the cigarette sliding away, not feel it. "Trust me, Johnny, I get what I want, don't ever question it too much. You'll find yourself at a loss as usual." Her powers sprang to action, robbing him of his sense of sight and then his hearing, then his taste. He was a numb zombie by now. Brooke extinguished the cigarette completely, leaving no flame behind for him. But she wasn't so foolish to believe he didn't also have his nifty gears beneath his shirt. The problem was, he couldn't feel to use them. He was completely immobolized.

After destroying his cigarette and all that remained of it, she reopened his hearing. "I can make you help me if you like, it's more fun that way anyway and since you think I'm nothing more than an enticing flower to lure you in and eat you, my instant urge to use you as a puppet has grown stronger." The last words held bite to them, warning.

[pyro2]

What the fuck?! It had happened so fast. He saw her move closer and snuffing out the ashes on the floor - a move he correctly interpreted as an attack. But just when he wanted to use his power to create a flame out of his cigarette, he realized it wasn't in his hand anymore - and not only that, it was out too. Then his sight was abruptly gone, as well as his hearing.

Pyro wasn't usually one to panic easily but it seemed he had vastly underestimated the powers of this one, and a feeling of acute helplessness was washing over him now. To make matters worse, he instinctively moved backwards from her but because he had no sense of touch, he could neither feel where he was moving to nor that he actually had been falling down the last few steps of the stairs because of his move - and was now lying on the floor of the main hall, helpless like a newborn child.

Then his hearing was suddenly back and he heard her talk. It was a bit of a relief, actually, despite her words. "I... come on...", he tried to keep the panic out of his words, "...I'll do whatever you want. Just... get me back to normal... okay?" He swallowed nervously. "Please?" God, how he hated begging. But what choice did he have?

[brooke]

Brooke smiled, watching the crumpled body on the floor. Her favorite part of watching them get immobolized was watching them try to use their bodies but finding nothing to work. The muscles would heed to a command not heard.

She smiled and knelt over him, knees on either side of his torso as she sat her thin, light frame on his chest, leaning down close so that her lips brushed his as she spoke, her eyes boring into his. "I'm keeping your lungs moving for you, otherwise, they would go lax and refuse to let you breathe." She tilted her head at him like he were an interesting specimen. Her hand rose to stroke back his hair from his forehead lightly. Her hand fisted suddenly rough in his hair and she jerked his head back as she sneered down at him. "I know your mind, John Alderdice, I know you're a traitor at heart because you don't know what you want half the time." She leaned in and licked the side of his face as her other hand stroked his cheek. "I'll let you go, but the second you turn on me..." her already dark eyes quivered with sudden depth, like a black hole that only gave way to terror. "I will let you die only after I keep your little body breathing but bloody and broken after months. I don't play nice, John, and I don't like being crossed. I'm the one person you shouldn't think of doing so to."

Brooke stood and the second she was out of reach, his body was released, all feeling and senses came back like it had been a dream. She slowly turned to stare at him, smiling. "So, do we have business to talk of?"

[pyro2]

Most of what she did to him, he didn't even feel or realize. Her voice came closer, much, much closer, that he could discern. But most of the touching went right past him because she had taken that sense away from him. Her words were clear enough, though. She didn't trust him one bit and she'd be very alert should he try anything.

A sense of enormous relief flushed through his body when she gave him free and all his senses returned. Funny how one always took them for granted, having them back was like a little miracle now. There were some disadvantages as well: He felt the pain where his body had collided with the floor, when he had fallen. With a pained grown, he sat half up, feeling his lower back and his skull. "Jesus...", he murmured, then, still sitting on the ground, he looked up to her.

She looked very pleased with herself, and rightly so. Pyro hated it when he got beaten but he was smart enough to realize that for now, he had nothing he could use against her. He was at her mercy and he'd better do what she asked. He cleared his throat, then rubbed his face and felt a slight moisture on one side. What was that? Had she... licked him? "Umm, yeah, sure...", he got up with another pained grown, then met her eyes, clearly less defiant and confident than before. "I still don't know what you want, though..." But it might possibly include sex, if this really was her saliva that he had just wiped away from his face...

[brooke]

Brooke watched him, biting back the gleeful noises that tried to escape her. Her mind and her body were feeding off of the little glimpses of pain and soreness he was feeling. But not only that, right as those began to flood her, images and feelings swept her mind in a whirling frenzy. Her thin, dark brow lifted and her lips pulled up into an interested smile. Sex with the flame-thrower would be interesting and it wasn't like she hadn't thought of it already, seeing his profile had made her nearly need to take a few minutes to herself in a closet somewhere.

She laughed, "I prefer mystery and mystique." her eyes took in his form slowly. "I hear there's an apocalypse coming and all the villains are banding with the caped heroes to save the world." The last part sounded full of sarcasm. "How Hallmark of them all. But I also found out what the big blue Egyptian wants out of his apocalypse." She leaned close with a smile. "He wants all the pathetic humans to be like us, mutants." Brooke stood. "Speeding up the process of human evolution doesn't sound like the most brilliant idea, but it would shut up the whiners for a bit. I'm planning the after party." She smiled warmly at him this time, enjoying that which she'd worked so hard on. "The main event is pretty and all, but after is what no one else is thinking about."

She grinned, her eyes filled to the brim with ill will. "History repeats itself, John, and it does so with great integrity. When every one of those filthy humans is forced to be that which they loathe, they will raise the suicide rate, destroy one another in an act of what they believe as salvation from a worse fate. Whole families will kill one another just because they can't live with themselves or the knowledge that their family is the same. Civil War."

[pyro2]

It was obvious how much she enjoyed her triumph over him. Pyro wondered briefly with how many mutants she'd already played this game. Dozens? Hundreds? Considering how much she enjoyed herself, she'd probably done this a lot. And it never got old, at least that's what he assumed from her glee. He also didn't miss her facial expressions after the thought of sex had crossed his mind. All this because she wanted him to fuck her? Really?

Because if there was more, she sure wasn't telling. The fire mutant listened to her speech about Apocalypse, his plans, her visions how the humans would react to it. But there wasn't a single hint of what he had to do with all of this. Except, of course, that he was currently in league with Magneto and the X-Men to prevent all this from happening - obviously something she couldn't be very happy about. It also was the first time that he heard more details about what the big threat was Magneto had been talking about. Considering that the old man himself had tried to bring forth such a mutation just a few years ago, it seemed a bit strange to Pyro why he was so adamant now to prevent someone else from doing it.

But anyways... "So, you don't want me to help the heroes preventing all that." He shrugged. "No problem. Anything else?"

[brooke]

She smiled slowly, watching the lines of his mind change as he began to read her in return, trying to understand her. It was cute and he wasn't getting it all wrong, most couldn't get past the idea that she laughed for torture and the human mind couldn't process that at all. "Simple, I like to cause trouble, John, and I like to do it with style and great interest. I have the information on all the players, I want to play. Xavier is powerful and so is your Magnet Man, but they're not God, despite what Lensherr would like to believe." She lifted a brow at that and went on. "I want you to play catch up in the Mansion, find out where we could strike at their heart, help me understand where the once-broken bones are and help me rebreak them. We need to take down at practical giant, John, we can't do that alone and we certainly can't do it by force. They have to be destroyed from the heart."