Chariots of Fire Are On Their Way

[hellfire_empath]

The American Museum of Natural History was set ablaze with lights and the mingling scents of exotic flowers perfumed the cool evening air. Brooke Wyngarde had put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into arranging for this soirée, and she was going to be damned if anyone was going to ruin it for her. After all, this was to welcome Stephanie Shaw da Silva and Marcelo Alencar da Silva back to Manhattan and, most importantly, receive them as a newly wedded couple.

Thus, Brooke had pulled out all the stops. Everyone who was anyone who knew the Shaws or the da Silvas had been invited (though Brooke had also dutifully chopped some of the more unsavory names off of her list). The food was a delightful blend of American-Brazilian-Spanish fusion. The cocktails were some of the most popular ones from Brazil, and only the finest Spanish wines were served. The music was live, big band-style stuff, because this was not some hideous high school Kiss on the Lips party. 

Brooke herself, being the hostess of the event, may have gone just a tad bit overglam when it came to her look for the night, but then she was certain that she was going to be gracing many a society page the next morning.

She needed to look great, and she certainly did as she stood next to the entrance of the Arthur Ross Terrace, receiving guests for the cocktail hour which would precede that night's dinner, directing them towards the guest sign-in book, the gift table, and everything else. 

She hoped, she prayed, that everything that night went off without a hitch.

After all, the supervillains only crash the weddings of the A-List superheroes, right? 

Comments

[pyroprincess]

Stephanie didn't scream, she didn't soil herself and she didn't instinctively attack Selene- such a thing would almost certainly be futile. She held her ground, glaring only a little. Her hands balled up into fists, both as a sign of how she felt about the immortal witch but also, to hide any visible signs of shaking. Not from Selene, no doubt, but from others.

"What are you doing here, Selene?" Stephanie asked pointedly.

[vesper_verde]

Marcelo looked down into his glass, uncertain if the sudden change came from something in it. He glanced at his wife and then the woman standing in front of them. From Stephanie's reaction, he knew this was probably a bad thing.

"Uh..."

[ngm_hellfire]

"I came to offer my congratulations to the new couple. Also, to go somewhere where Sebastian can't does have its minor pull." She glanced directly at some of the Wild Pack providing security.

"Though the main reason is to see the man who makes Sebastian Shaw look the fool."

[pyroprincess]

Stephanie remained tense. She wondered where Rachel was- she'd certainly been invited to attend, as had several other of the teachers at the Institute. Certainly there was enough security and superpowered guests in the room to make things difficult, at the very least, for Selene, should she choose to attack. Stephanie interpreted that as a sign that she wasn't intending to.

"My father is welcome to call off his fool's grudge at any time." Stephanie replied evenly. They both knew, however, that was unlikely to happen. "We don't have any interest in the goings-on of the Hellfire Club.

I'd very much like it if you left. You've seen my husband, and now you can go."

[vesper_verde]

Marcelo wouldn't admit it, but it was a little bit of a boost to his ego that someone wanted to see him for thwarting an all-mighty Shaw. Though he could figure out the exact danger by how tense Stephanie was. She was more taut that strings on a violin.

He fought down his impulse to stand between the two women. He'd get in trouble that way.

[ngm_hellfire]

"I'm not here on Hellfire business. I have no plans to drag you into it or make you pay." Most people were ignoring Selene's presence there. Even though she did stick out in her normal Hellfire Club attire.

She stepped closer to the couple and Marcelo in particular. "I fed before arriving. That's my gift to you."

[hellfire_child]

"Not a gift to be taken lightly, I assure you."

Alistaire is abruptly standing behind Selene. His expression is as polite and smiling as ever, but to those precious few who know him as Stephanie does, it is a historic change in his posture. There is no adolescent enthusiasm, no hint that he's calculating how to turn the situation to his best amusement, nothing but a tightly reigned caution. One of his hands is casually positioned inside his jacket, which now rests loosely on his shoulders.

"The Lady Selene always does make an entrance." Alistaire places a hand across his chest and leans forward ever so slightly. The polished black stone ring on the hand bears a detailed crown, marking him as the Black King of New York.

[pyroprincess]

Stephanie knew the implication of that well enough, and it was something to be thankful for. She knew well enough that while Selene was extremely good at lying, she probably didn't have the reason to lie here. Stephanie had no illusions about her being able to stand up to Selene, but she knew people who could, and had.

Alistaire's arrival actually cut the tension a little bit, and then Stephanie finally got a look at the black ring on the hand. It was certainly true that if her nephew were to hold the position, it could very well make the city safer for her and Marcelo ... but if Fa- no, Sebastian had given him that position, did that mean he'd gone all in with him?

Her expression did not change one bit as she addressed Selene. "I thank you. It's a lovely party, it would be a shame to ruin it."

And now, she supposed, it was time to see how this played out between Selene and Alistaire. She looked over at Marcelo for a moment. Perhaps Alistaire could keep her busy enough that they could make a getaway ...

[vesper_verde]

Marcelo glanced between Stephanie's nephew and 'the Lady Selene.' He did clock this woman was bad news just from his wife's reactions. Though he wasn't sure about the deference coming from Alistaire.

Also, the woman in leather dominatrix wear was certainly standing closer to Marcelo than was comfortable.

"Sim." He paused to get his brain back on track into English. He tried to back away a little. "It was... interesting meeting you."

[ngm_hellfire]

Selene only afforded Alistaire a glance at butting in before she had finished her business with the married couple. Her focus was on them and Marcelo in specific.

Before the Brazilian could move away, she stepped in even closer. Close enough she could lean in and deliver a very low whisper. Her offer complete, Selene stepped back with a hungry smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

With a small wave, she dismissed the spell keeping most people's attention away from her presence. It was a gamble due to a certain powerful redhead who wanted her dead being in attendance. She turned toward Alistaire.

"That was not an entrance, young Mr. Shaw. It was a means to get what I wanted in the easiest manner." She glanced at the ring. "You should stop fawning if you actually want the rank you keep claiming you have. Though being Sebastian's only heir in the game might be to your benefit."

[hellfire_empath]

"The only thing to his benefit is that no one's actually killed him yet," Brooke said darkly. "Though clearly what's beneficial to him is unfortunate for the rest of us," she added, unable to stop herself. "Selene," she said, then, offering the woman a curtsy. Brooke's eyes glittered with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity. Selene was one of the few who explicitly hadn't been invited to that night's soiree. That she'd gotten past all of the security irked Brooke. "What an unexpected surprise." Personally, Brooke was having flashbacks to Sleeping Beauty.

[hellfire_child]

"Well, there's what you want, and what you tell others you want. You taught me that difference, if you'll recall." Alistaire drawls casually, rolling the shoulder of the arm not concealed under his jacket. A crease in the fabric indicated he may or may not be palming something with some heft.

At the External's advance on Marcelo, Alistaire had pivoted his position. It looked like he was just shifting to get a better look at something across the way, but it put him more between Selene and his Aunt.

He scoffs lightly, raising his eyebrows. "'Fawning'? If I were fawning, I'd be offering myself up to your bedchamber again, Selene; but I'm afraid that period of my impulsive youth is gone. I'm not your Pawn anymore." His back doesn't straighten, but there's a certain readiness that creeps into his body language

He ignores Brooke in favor of still watching the adults in the room.

"I don't need to claim anything, Selene. It's simply how things are now." His eyes flash. "You have no business with Stephanie, and, as she stated, it's a lovely party. Go enjoy it. Elsewhere." He reigns his ego in, stopping from actually threatening her. He's a hedonist, and possibly a sociopath, but he's not a fool.

[call_me_phobos]

Alexander was surprised by yet another unknown invitee. He heard the name Selene, however, and it tickled something at the back of his mind. The name was familiar, though he'd never met the woman wearing it.

Again, he noted Brooke's displeasure, seemingly even more pronounced than her annoyance at Alistaire. The others also appeared on the defensive and Alexander re-evaluated Selene's threat level.

He really hoped there wasn't a fight tonight. He wanted to enjoy just one party without a fight breaking out.

[pyroprincess]

Stephanie regarded Alistaire out of the corner of his eyes. He was playing an exceedingly dangerous game. Selene was not an individual to be angered, even if he'd wisely disassociated from her. But was that simply on Sebastian's orders? It was hard to know.

"Marcelo ... we should go say hello to the Mayor and the Senator, and let the others enjoy the party?" If Selene truly meant no harm, she'd drift, either away or to lurk at the edges.

[vesper_verde]

He was not used to tall, dark-haired women whispering tempting things in his ear. He was a bit out of practice with that since Stephanie was a little shorter than him. Selene's offer roused a feeling he had tamped down earlier. He squashed it again.

Rather than deal with some of the grandstanding in front and beside him, he turned to his wife.

"That sounds like a good idea, querida. I think the Ambassador from Brazil is around as well." He turned back to the people gathered there. "If you'll excuse us..."

[ngm_hellfire]

"Miss Wyngarde, lovely reception you've thrown here. Very noticeable to the elite."

Selene gave no more attention to the married couple. She had done what she had come to do. The party was theirs to do what they wanted. Stephanie showed her wisdom by walking away. It was a pity she wasn't in the hunt for a rank, the inner circle could use some levelheadedness. Darkness knew Sebastian could no longer do that.

"If that is what you consider fawning, littlest Shaw, you would find me underwhelmed by it at present. I have experienced all you have to give. I'm sure the weak-minded ones you surround yourself with find it earth-shattering. I find it rather passé. Much like your ability to ignore if you get the rank you want, you get it at your grandfather's say so. Not that you earned it. Amazing how Shinobi was better than you at getting his rank."

She made no move to go anywhere.

[hellfire_empath]

Brooke couldn't help it. An enchanted little smile graced her features. Not only the compliment to the reception - though that certainly started the smile - but the way that Selene oh-so-effortlessly and deftly handled and cut Alistaire down.

"Please, Selene, make yourself comfortable. Our attendants will take care of almost any of your needs," she said as warmly and graciously as possible. There were, of course, certain things that the staff wouldn't be able to fetch Selene - someone's soul to drink of, for instance - but most everything else would be attended to.

Her eyes shot to Alistaire and then back to Selene. "I'll leave the two of you to continue your tete-a-tete. I need to see towards the dinner preparations." She offered Selene a slightly warmer smile than she did Alistaire and stepped away.

[hellfire_child]

Alistaire meets the ancient mutant's gaze, just as cool and impassive as his own. That timeless ambition and zeal. The primal passion, kept tethered.

He smiles.

"You are as you have ever been, Selene. I take comfort in that, to be honest. After the unfortunate business with Sebastian, I wasn't sure if you'd show yourself in Manhattan again. As for the appointment of rank--" He looks at his ring. "It expedited matters I already had on track, to be honest.

And while I admit it's not much to brag about, I dealt with my father. Grandfather wasn't able to get that one to stick."

He raises a glass to her. "Enjoy the evening." He takes a step backwards before turning ninety degrees and going to mingle.