2013.04.25 - Bounty Bounce

It's been less than forty-eight hours when the call is made. A time and address out in Queens are given then the call is ended. Forces are deployed, places are taken, the ambush is prepared. Now all that's left is to bait a metamorph, which is even more difficult than it might seem. Mystique has her hands into almost everything. She's got moles, psychics, precogs, and an entire network of mutants feeding her intel.

In the end all it took was one mutant getting just the right scrap of information through at just the right moment to get the ball rolling. She never fully lost track of Nightcrawler, particularly not after things went south out in Santi. The bounty is still in place, after all. She's cruel, not heartless.

Then again, those that happen to take such a bounty could also lead her right back to the source. So..yeah, maybe she is kind of heartless. Her own son is bait, though in more ways than she realizes.

Amanda, herself, is under no illusions (unless you count the one that has made her resemble her mother, Margali, for this evening's charade). Tonight is going to test her abilities to the utmost. She knows Kurt Wagner, a.k.a. the Amazing Nightcrawler, better than just about anyone else alive. Better, she's reasonably certain, than his own mother. Hell, better than her mother does, too, for that matter.

At least, she's sure as hell hoping she knows him better than either of those women. Because, truthfully, her life -- and his -- is going to depend on it before the night is out.

Realistically, she knows damn well she'd be smarter to cast an independent illusion of Margali, as well as Kurt, but it would strain her abilities too greatly. There'd be a far greater chance of a slip. Better, instead, to play the role herself with a magical disguise fixed solidly in place, and leave her considerable concentration free to ensure their metamorph prey truly believes the Incredible Blue Bamfer really is at the end of his rope.

Thus, she's chosen to appear in her mother's most common human visage -- the swarthy, dark-haired, gypsy queen, instead of the pale, red-haired, Red Queen she's occasionally masqueraded as. Her clothing has her mother's sexy, gothic chic styling -- a little over the top compared to her own taste. And, she stands shrouded in shadows, making herself as invisible as she may, while the opening scene plays out.

It's a scene wherein Kurt, garbed in a concealing trench and stylishly retro hat -- an homage to Bogart -- walks slowly between the darkened buildings, amidst shadows entirely opposite to the illusionist's own.

Said son.. knows there's something afoot, certainly. There's a breath in the air, a feeling that is unshakeable. Particularly since last night. The feeling that, perhaps, there is some way that he can be tracked. Jubilee being where she was last night.. well, okay. Could very well be a fluke.

But the magic was unmistakable. In hindsight, anyway. It's a feeling that is as familiar to him as his own bamf. The tickling of the fur on the back of his neck at the conjuration.

All in all, however.. what does it mean? It hasn't yet been worked out. Thus, his chosen outfit for the evening. It's appropos, really..

Tucked away, a short distance away but not out of the dancehall, as it were, are .. higher levelled goons. Captains.. and a precog mutant. The mutant is wired for sound, mic'ed for the moment. His eyes are watching the scene, but.. not really taking anything in. No.. his gaze is in the future, softly recounting that which will occur in exactly two minutes hence.

Mystique, naturally, wears a disguise of her own tonight. Where the others are concerned about standing out, she's more worried about fitting in. So says Gary the office guy. Business casual, thick black framed glasses, dark hair, he looks like the sort of guy that programs by day and drinks with his pals watching sports games at night. That he just happens to be within this part of Queens at this hour of the night, that's careful planning. That he can also keep an eye on what is unknowingly an illusion of a blue-furred mutant nearby, she has her info network to thank for that lead.

The real question is what he's trying to do out here at this hour. There's less concern about Nightcrawler being hunted and more curiosity as to what he's got in mind tonight. Did he arrange some sort of deal regarding mutant research? Such an opportunity-seeker, he is. One that is, unfortunately, not willing to go the extra mile for -proper- results.

The thought that Gary might be in danger never crosses his mind. He's way too good for the rest of the world.

One of the points of this op is to make Mystique believe her son has actually been killed by the interloping Margali, with the hope of luring her out. So, as the illusion wanders down the alley, looking entirely preoccupied in that way only Kurt can, Amanda begins to move. Her hips take on her mother's sway -- a stride worthy of Mystique herself, truth be told -- and she paces slowly through the shadows toward the illusion, mindful of her audience. Her whole audience.

"Kurt. My boy," Margali says, stepping into a sliver of moonlight. "It's been so very long. How nice to finally see you again..."

The fur on the back of his neck rises once again, and it's something of a lucky exchange. One mutant enters and another.. departs. If a particular albino mutant was present, Kurt would be (almost) sure that the odds would be pretty high for such a thing.

The scene before him, however.. that brings him to a halt. Blinking hidden yellow eyes, Kurt backs into the shadows, disappearing quite effectively.

"Was..?" Illusion Kurt looks surprised, to say the least, and he turns around quickly, glowing yellow eyes widening, his tail swishing once. "Margali.." and he doesn't sound completely pleased- even if they parted civilly.

Well, okay.. she didn't kill him then.

"What are you doing here?" Illusion Kurt doesn't move, though from body language, the elf is wary- very much on the defensive. "I am sorry if I did not receive your call. Cell service has been bad lately.."

Now, the precog pauses in his commentary, eyes rooted to a spot in the very near future. One of the Captains nudges as another nervously plays with his gun, careful not to make any tell-tale *clinks*, even though they are (for the moment) far enough away. Even then, there is a base assumption that there will be warning if the target turns to them.

There it is. Mystique can hear the greeting, believing that this is all another matter of shady business dealing between the two. It's cute when her son tries to play all cloak and dagger like this, one would think that between his ability to hide and the fact that he came from her genes that he would be better at it. So much better. Second nature.

At least he tries, sometimes.

Gary takes that moment to lurk outside of the alley on the street beyond, frowning as he scrolls through the screen on his phone. Normal people would be far enough away to miss some key bits of the unfolding conversation, but ones like this individual have the ability to heighten their own senses by morphing a more evolved set of ears.

Seems like the intel had been right, anyway.

"Quoi?" Margali drawls, slipping momentarily into her native tongue and back to English again. "Am I not allowed to search out my only remaining son? See that he well, despite the most despicable rumours about him I have heard?" She opens her arms, palms up. "Kurt. You wound me."

(Rule number one: Never trust a magic user whose hands are free and grudges implacable.)

Real Kurt watches, his head bowed, watching this strange story come to life before his eyes. Shaking his head slowly, he wants to move from his spot, but there's magic afoot- he can feel it.

Illusionary Kurt pauses before that tail dips; it's something easily recognized no doubt. The want, the desire to have a family. To be accepted, if not loved, by one he calls 'mother'.. or acted as such in stead. "I am sorry, Margali.. it is just.." and he holds out a three-fingered hand. "It's not safe here, out in the open. Come with me..?"

'Gary' momentarily stops scrolling across the screen when those words are spoke. 'Only remaining son' and 'Kurt.' In the same sentence. Not coming from Mystique, or her persona of the hour. This is turning out to be -much- more interesting than mutant research. Oh, the things which she can grill her son over later after this conversation is through... What sort of mischief has he been getting himself into, let alone that which she isn't already well aware of?

'Margali.' Now who is -this?- Gary starts to hold his phone a little bit tighter, torn between amusement, curiosity, and a dark, seething rage. Kurt already has a mother, and it is -not- someone with that name.

'Margali' laughs -- a light, even musical sound. "Not safe here? Oh-oh-oh, Kurt. Of course, it's not safe here. In fact, I am shocked, dismayed, even, that you're not hiding, holed up somewhere in the deepest, darkest shadows this plane of existence can provide." Her dark eyes glitter. "Not, at least, given what I've heard. Really. Two-and-a-half-million dollars, Kurt? Two-and-a-half. My, my, my, but you 'did' ruffle the wrong feathers, didn't you?"

Her eyes narrow and her tone hardens. "Who else did you kill, Kurt? Who else, besides poor, beloved Stefan? To get such a price on your head?"

The witch's fingers flex and her hands roll as magic starts to rise like a wind in the alleyway.

Now, it's official. Kurt is rooted to the spot, eyes blinking as the tableau progresses. His heart thumps in his chest, feeling the undeserved torment. Why does he remain?

For the same reason the Illusion Kurt does.

They're really not dissimilar, really. The two Kurts. They're eerily very much the same. After all? Who knows the blue bamfer more than Amanda? His fears, his weaknesses, his hopes and dreams.. and needs. His most basic need.. to be wanted. Loved. Countless nights together, mornings.. laughs and tears shared.

Illusion Kurt shakes his head quickly, and his hand pauses in the reach. He was going to teleport away, go somewhere safer and talk. His face says it all, even shadowed as it is with the fedora.

Lowering his hand, Kurt offers defense, and he moves.. shifts, but he doesn't leave. That's not in his posture. "You would not, Margali.. you know I wouldn't.." Each time, he stops and starts again with different words, each moving to the same single thought. Please don't do this.

"I did not.. please.. Let us go.. und well will speak of it again.. with 'Manda." Jimaine. His sister, her daughter. "Bitte.. ich vill gehen." I want to go.

It's not only the blue mutant that watches the scene, oh no.. and the precog pauses in his monologue, causing the mobsters to stare at him. One nudges with a 'Hey.. mutie..' while the other stays quiet for a moment. It's in that next minute that said 'mutie' smiles slowly, wickedly.

True enough, it really isn't safe here. Not with Mystique in earshot of the conversation. Margali's question is a valid one, too. An alley in Queens, honestly? Not the way for one to feel safe, or inconspicuous. See what happens? He's gone and gotten himself in over his head, even this other woman knows about the bounty. But...

Kurt has already committed murder? Why was -she- not made aware of this! It would have been an -ideal- time to start turning him around in the proper direction, to bring him closer to her side where he belongs!

Perhaps she'll need to arrange for another opportunity.

The rise of magic in the air is lost to her, though the tone in Kurt's voice is not. Not even her own twisted love for her child would prevent this moment from progressing on its own. Sometimes we have to suffer. Tonight, Kurt must suffer for her. This is information which she needs to have, even if it pulls at his heartstrings in the meanwhile.

Amanda isn't stupid enough to give the name 'Jimaine' aloud to Mystique, of course -- despite the fact that the Real Kurt, watching from the shadows, no doubt has it echoing in his own shell-shocked head. And, it's a damned good thing she doesn't know he's in the audience. Because the torment she knows this scene would cause him would cause her to stumble. Fatally, no doubt. As it is, she's hoping Domino's watching through her scope, half a mile away, and that the mutant mercenary's luck flies good and true if she has to fire. Because Amanda's life might depend on it.

"You want to go..." Margali mocks. "You always want to go, Kurt. You have always fled, run away from your crimes." Her back stiffens. "Well. No longer. Tonight, tonight, mon fils, is the night you finally stop running."

Those words spoken, the woman's voice rises in a terrible cadence, the language she speaks obscure and gutteral -- demonic in origin.

Before Illusion Kurt can respond, the ground erupts beneath him and the fire escapes contort above him. The air darkens with oppression, apparently preventing his ability to teleport, when he tries. Asphalt, fire, and steel slam into him with lethal intent.

(Margali isn't a very nice witch.)

dies nicht geschieht.. this is not happening. It's the thing that runs through Real Kurt's mind, over.. and over. It can't be happening. But, it is... until..

Was? Yellow eyes widen as he catches the fleeting words from Margali's lips.. the demonic moral equivalent of 'I spy with my little eye...' that they played when they were children. But.. but..?!

To what end?

Illusion Kurt, however, doesn't react in any way like Real Kurt. The be-Bogarted elf looks stricken in the words, and it's that momentary hesitation that Mystique (and Domino) may easily recognize when confronted by someone he professes to care for. Love, even.. and there's a leap in the air, an attempt at escape without retaliation. It's his 'go to', as it were, the automatic reaction when faced with very real danger.

Too little.

Too late.

Kurt leaps into the air, but doesn't get far. It's that next bit, after the choking air, that becomes truly inescapable. Being pelted with asphalt.. burning tar that sets fire to the clothes on his back, the fur on his body, along with the steel supports that are in the ground for the manholes.. it brings an anguished cry from the elf. He drops to the ground, trying desperately to put out the fire, to do anything that might alleviate his misery in the smallest of ways.

But it's not to be.. and those glowing yellow eyes look to Margali with .. peace. Acceptance, even as she does insult to the tormented mutant body.. and his fingers claw at the ground.. and in the next breath.. cease all movement.

Now.. once again, Real Kurt watches.. and his expression goes from.. 'oh hey'.. to '.. Mein Gott' in the span of a few minutes. His hands clench, and he can't help the tears. His death? How.. cruel.. how.. and he simply can't remain. He can't.. and he won't.

And there.. there is the coup de grace. Remind the precog that he needs to speak to the magic user later...

The words could have been coming from Mystique's own mouth. 'Always on the run. Never making a stand.' Perhaps it's due to the teleporter nature, or that he happens to be good at hiding. But, she's good at hiding, too. In plain sight, even! Does anyone see her running -away- from her problems? She uses that gift to get close, then stab her problems in the back.

Kurt could be an amazing assassin if he only applied himself. She would keep him plenty busy with work.

At least, she would if this Margali bitch didn't happen to be burning her child alive in that alley.

In the flash of seconds which follow several events all take place in tandem. Gary's skin turns blue. Hair turns red, eyes turn yellow and luminescent. Mystique spins about and makes a mad sprint for the mouth of the alley, just starting to come around the corner when there's a -SPAK!- as something flashes against the street several feet away. It's almost immediately followed by a meaty sound as the ricochet cuts a path upward through both of Mystique's calves, tearing through the limbs with a thin red mist, crumpling the metamorph mid-sprint with a stunned grunt. Half a second later there's a -Crack!- from the lone rifle shot, echoing across Queens like distant thunder.

No visible flash. No visible shooter. One hell of a perfect shot. A bullet from the gods.

Mystique doesn't quite see it that way, fingernails raking against the ground as the damage to her legs already begins to heal. The shooter is outright ignored, the fury within focused solely upon the creature that would -dare- harm her son. "Face me, monster!"

Oh, shit. It worked.

Mystique's voice roars behind her. The crack of the gun echoes. Amanda... Well, Margali, really, turns around, purple energy encasing her and solidifying into that most useful of D&D first level wizard spells: Mage Armor. Because, seriously. Dom's gunshot?

IT DIDN'T FREAKIN' WORK!

It's a) a good thing Amanda's a consummate performer, able to hold a role through the worst of conditions (and this certainly qualifies) and b) is far, far too even tempered in and of herself to give way to the 'ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap' mantra that's singing through her brain just at this moment.

Margali would not flinch. Margali would sneer in contempt. And, so, that's just what Amanda, wearing her mother's face, does. "Monster?" she croons. "You think I am a monster? I know who you are. Yellow eyes. Blue skin. I know exactly who you are. If anyone here is a monster, it is you, not I. But, here. Let me show you how much of a monster I can be!" Her body begins to grow, curled, demonic horns sprouting from her forehead as her skin turns green, her eyes grow black, and her fingers sprout razor sharp talons. It's an illusion, but a damned convincing one, given how well it scared the shit out of Amanda the first time she saw it. The X-Man witch is praying Mystique goes for one of the legs to either side of her now invisible presence, or to a soft part of the body that towers above her. Because God knows she doesn't want the blue assassin going for her.

Mother.. MOTHER?!

Zum Teufel?!

Watching Mystique come out in a rage, something he's not EVER truly seen before, it actually makes him afraid. Words, however.. words make him stand his ground.

The blood that spatters soon after her rush, causes Kurt to avert his eyes, to cover them as she goes down.. his need to go to her great. But.. it's beginning to dawn on him exactly what is going on. Particularly after the *crack* of the rifle some seconds later. She is too far away.

His friends.. and as realization strikes, he's also becoming aware that tears are beginning to streak the blue fur on his face.

Now, Kurt is a firm believer in protecting the weak.. and while he may sound a chauvenist at times, he believes in the abilities of those whom he calls friend. No coddling, no needless fussing.. though he does worry.

He's worried.. and there's the conundrum. Does he allow them do what it is they planned all along, or intervene? Neither said anything, yet both had the opportunity.

A decision is made, and he comes out of hiding to help defend. What was it Amanda had said? Expect the unexpected with the blue elf?

Surprise!

The precog, now, has a wicked grin on his face, and waves off the Captains.. his instructions, "Start out. They did their job.. they brought her into the open. Fools.. Go-- gas grenades.."

The first canister comes out.. flying, even.. followed by a second, and a third.. with a *bang* and *thump*..

A -demon?- Seriously? Does this magic user even realize how Mystique brought her son into this world? The excuse 'I've slept with scarier things than that' might come to mind if she was in a wisecracking mood. Instead, she responds a little more violently. Indigo lips peel back from teeth that have elongated into needle-like points, screaming in defiance in a voice that's both high enough to be ear-splitting and low enough to vibrate the ribs. Posture shifts, changing into something worthy of the more inventive nightmares of the world as her hands morph into giant, wicked scythes, looking completely ready to lop off Margali's head regardless of what it happens to look like at the time.

Just as she begins to lunge there's another -Thok!- as something small and incredibly fast strikes the back of her shoulders, delivering a heart-stopping jolt of electricity directly into her chest. Mystique collapses to the alley floor as the second -Crack!- shatters the evening air, her body convulsing as the overloaded taser shot wreaks a little Hell of its own upon her system. Yet, as she's falling those glowing eyes -swear- that they just caught something distinctly Kurt-like coming out into the open...

Once the charge runs its course it leaves her weakened, her altered state reverting back to normal. Now's the time to go in for the catch, opportunities like this are few and far between.

Did Amanda expect Mystique to be shock-and-awed by her mother's demonic visage? No. A couple of the Catholic Italians, however, might need a change of underwear. However, as gas grenades fall and begin to hiss out their dangerous product, the large illusion of the demonic Margali takes a step back and begins to cough -- despite the fact the gas is no where near her head.

It is, however, very near the blonde beneath the illusion. As Margali's image flickers and fades, Amanda spits out her levitation spell, shooting up ward toward clearer air and a fire escape that's now revealed to be completely unharmed. Crouching behind its scant protection, she coughs harder, trying to clear her lungs.

Kurt.. he stands for a long moment, and steps out farther, the wet tracks of his tears now a darker blue against the shadowed indigo of his face. The stun bullet that hits Mystique squarely between the shoulder blades makes him jump, and coupled with the double *thump* of cannisters?

Kurt is on the move.. digging into the center of the smoke, searching for his foster sister, only to find that she's levitating up onto a fire escape.

It's there that he goes next, glowing yellow eyes.. thoroughly confused and concerned. "Amanda.." he begins.. "... how.."

Now, for the Captains, they start coming in close.. closer than they have. Having gotten the nod from their personal mutant, and the assurances that all would be well once she's down and out.. and even told them where to put her that could hold her!

"C'mon, bitch.."

That info network of Mystique's? Yeah, it runs an awful lot deeper than anything the Mob's got. She's been at this for a -very- long time. Between these guys thinking that they're going to be safe in how they contain her and her own mastery at so many things, these guys don't stand a chance.

All she needs is a little time to recover.

In a striking twist of fate, this is one of those moments where -everyone- wins. Except the mob, but they don't count. Kurt's cleared of the bounty. He, Amanda, and the one that's behind the sniper fire get to walk away half a million dollars more rich than before. Mystique gets a one-way ticket right into the heart of the very organization that put a hit out on her son to begin with.

The mob? Well..they all get to die. Even New York scores a victory out of this shady deal.