2013.10.06 - That Girl is Trouble

The Institute's library is impressive, yes. It is well stocked and lovingly curated. It is the curating that Monet is interested in. The contents of an intelligently assembled thing can illuminate the motivations, conscious and unconscious, of the builder.

So, Monet sits in on one of the couches, favoring a side so she can lean on an armrest. Spread before her, both in her hands and hovering nearby, are printed logs of the library's inventory. No one disturbs her because it is early, but also her charcoal slacks and white blouse make her look like she's here on business.

"... and usually she shows up when you least expect her. So -naturally-, now that I want to find her, she's not in the usual places. So how about you just wait in the library while I go looking for the Professor or Monet..." The door to the library opens, as Doug leads Nate in. "There's plenty of... oh. It figures."

It has not been yet a month since Nate saw Monet for the first time in Genosha. There were many interesting mutants in Hammer Bay, so he wasn't paying enough attention. If he had been a little more persuasive back then... "Yes, I have noticed she shows up at odd times and weird places," agrees Nate. That was said loud enough for the brunette to hear. But look, seems they don't have to go bother Jean or Xavier about her address or phone number. "Good morning, got a few minutes to talk?" He asks the young woman.

"I can hear you complaining from miles away, Mr. Ramsey," Monet intones, not looking up from her papers. Knowing her vast and largely unstated suite of mutant abilities, chances are she is entirely serious.

As the two approach her, Monet allows herself time to finish the page before her in silence. When that is done, she sets it aside with the rest of the floating objects, folds her hands in her lap, and looks up. "I do indeed have a few minutes. Nate, correct?"

She narrows her eyes and tilts her head. "I can't remember your last name. Would you care to remind me?"

"Oh good, if you heard me from miles away, that means you know we were looking for you, Ms. St. Croix," Doug replies, as he motions towards Monet.

Stepping side so that Nate can approach Monet, Doug closes the door before following. The stack of floating paper raises an eyebrow, before Doug motions towards the inventory. "Were you looking for something specific, or are the library's search filters not good enough for you?" Leaving Nate to do the introduction, the young reaches for the first paper off the stack to see what it was exactly...

"Nathaniel Grey," replies Nate, "I don't think I ever told you. Using my family name in Genosha wasn't a great idea. Magneto knows my... hrm, family. Kind of. Maybe bloodline would be more accurate. I go as Scion when I bother with a registered 'hero' codename, which isn't too often." Because really, what did he had to hide? Now it seems he has plenty. Looks like Nightwing and Magik were right back then when they told him maybe he would want to keep his real name a secret. But did he listen? Nooooo.

Monet smiles brightly at Nate, pointedly ignoring Doug's observation. "A great many people know your 'bloodline', it seems. Which timeline are you from?"

She casts a glance at Doug but says nothing. It is a neatly formatted list of the contents of the library, organized by media type, title, date of acquisition, and number of times checked out.

Placing the paper down, Doug motions to Nate to grab a seat, while he does so himself. "Great. Another one. Why can't I have time traveling descendants?" he comments, as he looks towards Monet, vaguely disturbed. One does not simply watch Monet smile.

"So, um, you two have met before... in Genosha?" Doug interjects, trying to help Nate get past the awkward phase. Because hey, there was something to be said about getting to the point...

Nate remains standing, and grunts at Monet statement, folding his arms and giving her a frowning glance. She is probably right, but, "how do you know that?" His timeline? Oh, that would be 'Nate's Shitty Parallel Earth' in his never humble opinion, but that is unlikely to be in any database. Very briefly, he wonders if SHIELD has timelines classified and numbered, since they weren't too surprised to know he was from one. "We met in Hammer Bay. Monet looked like... just right out of a fight," he mentions Doug. "I guess I can't blame her for not trusting Channel and me back there, but now I suspect it would have saved us some precious time."

"Yes, a fight," Monet agrees.

As Doug puts the paper 'down,' the lot of them slide into a neat stack and come to rest on the couch. Monet affects a coy look. "Barrida is Channel, then. What is your codename, Mr. Ramsey? Mine is M."

"Yeah, I figured... Channel eh? Codenames. Mine's Cypher." Not in the sense of 'nonentity', although that was certainly the case nowdays with his 'deceased' status, but in the sense of enciphering and deciphering.

Doug certainly wasn't volunteering information about timelines, given Rachel and others, but he does look askance at Monet briefly before deciding not to pursue the matter, and instead changing it to the current subject. "Anyway, Nate, you wanted to find Monet for something?"

"Yes, we need to talk about that Pale Man of hers," states Nate. "Looks like he is interested in you," he says to the girl. "I met with his counterpart in my world. Being interested in me led to the death of many of my friends. And his death too. But by the time I killed him he was already responsible of the deaths of thousands, maybe millions of people, both mutants and humans. I rather get him here before he starts." Get means kill, of course, but one can't say that at Xavier's school.

Monet's expression becomes carefully neutral. She sits back into the couch, staring across the study area to a bookshelf as Nate speaks. Her reply is quick.

"A man who can shield his mind, who can disguise himself as anyone, who can teleport to any location with unerring accuracy--this is the same man from your world? How do you intend to 'get' him, Mr. Grey?"

"But what is it that draws his attention to her?" Doug asks Nate, casting a quick glance at M. "And what can you tell the Professor about him so that we can do something about it? Is..." He turns his attention back towards M, before shaking his head at Monet. "You could detect him before, couldn't you? Can't you two... sort out a way to hunt him?

"I have ways," replies Nate, vaguely. Teleporting? He didn't know that. But he can counter it, or at least he hopes his friends in Stormwatch can do it. "I need information about him. I really need to know what has been doing involving you." Looking at Doug he frowns, "he was a geneticist in my world. He did inhuman experiments and tortured people as 'research', and built genocide weapons and monsters for his master, the mutant Apocalypse. Apparently he was also out to take over the throne and..." he hesitates there, looking at Monet again. "He came to me under a disguise to encourage me to go fight Apocalypse in person. He also made several unlikely claims about my parents and my existence. That bastard was a manipulative liar, and he enjoyed hurting people."

"I have no true understanding of why he is interested in me. I did not detect him at the rally. He contacted me telepathically. I first encountered him in Hammer Bay. The rally was the second time. I do not know where he is located."

Monet looks up, making eye contact with Nate first and then with Doug. "I am able to identify mutants by sight. This is not as useful as it seems, as you can imagine. Even using this ability in conjunction with with a telepathic test, it reveals nothing. Dr. Grey would score a positive, as would you," she inclines her head to Nate. She does not share that the Pale Man had no aura.

Monet purses her lips. She reaches out with her mind, but only to Scion. |"I will tell you that he specifically threatened the Summers family. As the Summers appear to be closely connected to the Greys, I feel you should know."|

"Meaning you might be able to identify a mutant, but not -who- the mutant is," sighs Doug. "And we don't exactly have the best measures of handling shapeshifters."

Eyes shift towards Nate. "Was the Professor of any help?" Doug inquires.

"He is both a shapeshifter and a telepath, also strong and very tough," mentions Nate. And Sinister is not a mutant, but sadly Nate does not know that bit. |"That is just great, I am a Summers too."| He sends back to Monet. "He is not invincible, tough, he can be hurt if hit hard enough, and there are stronger telepaths in this school. And I bet he leaves a trail wherever he lurks. Missing people, particularly mutants. High tech stuff he needs for his experiments. He might be even working for Apocalypse here too, although I have yet to find any hint of his presence. Any direct link, at least." At Doug's question he sighs and shakes his head, "I still have to talk with the Professor in length."

Monet scoops the papers into her hands and rises from the couch.

"I assume you will attempt to rally the Institute's task force to deal with this threat? The Professor--Xavier?--must approve this?"

"I'm not sure what good that does. It'd just inspire paranoia if he's what you say he is, and able to conceal himself. You're better off just rounding up the telepaths and making sure of this... oh, and just how many Summers and Greys are there running around now? They probably should be notified," Doug observes. "Nate, weren't you working with another group, as well?"

"Yes," admits Nate, "but this is also mutant business. Sinister is a danger for all of us. The Professor needs to know, and Cyclops too." Doubly so, he is a Summers! "Then there are four time travellers or dimension-hoppers genetically related to me that I know. Er, wait, it happens Hope is adopted, so she might be safe. Then there is Jean, Scott and Alex?" And Jean has a bajillion relatives, but that is not something Nate knows. "And grandpa Christopher, but he is living in another Galaxy, he should be safe." He smirks to Monet, "my grandfather is a space pirate," because that one it is too awesome not to mention it.

The Monegasque woman smiles, hiding it behind a hand, when Nate introduces the concept of space piracy.

"This does sound like a serious problem," Monet agrees, the weight of the situation evident in her voice. She steps forward and touches Nate's hand, her fingertips barely brushing his skin. "It would be best if we all had a meeting, don't you think? The Professor and 'Cyclops', and Dr. Grey, and anyone else you believe could help. You know these people, Nate. Would you organize this, for me? Please keep me updated on your progress."

"Rachel Summers, Hope Summers, and..." Doug muses. "We'll sort it all out, I guess. I could work on some sort of security program but that won't do much good..." His voice trails off, as he looks back towards Monet. "... is that -why- you were researching all that recently?"

The space pirate one is so unlikely that it never fails to draw some smiles. It is also true, and not the weirdest thing going in the Summers-Grey clan. Nate, however, does not mention Cable. Christopher wouldn't care about his space piratery becoming known, but Cable loves his secrets. "And someone else that doesn't advertise. But I will warn them all. Hell, maybe Rachel does know about him already. I'll try to get them all in the same room, or at least same telepathic chatroom," he adds for Monet.

"I think you will have some success," Monet replies. She looks back to Doug. "Good afternoon, Mr. Ramsey." As well: "Nate."

She leaves without further word. By her own admission, however, she will be able to hear the rest of their conversation even then.

"... I love how she manages to evade the questions about her by just leaving," Doug notes, before looking back towards Nate. "Good luck, then. Oh... by the way... your grandfather's a space pirate?" Eyebrows arched, Doug smirks.

Nate's eyes follow Monet all the way out of the room. That girl is trouble, but nice to look at. "Oh yes, he is," he replies to Doug once Monet is out of the library, "check the mission logs and cross-reference Starjammers. Is Ray still in Genosha?" He asks, "no, nevermind, I'll find her. Looks like I have to do make some psychic calls. I'll talk to you later."