nextgenerationmarvel | Keeping Up Appearances

Alistaire Shaw was the Black King of New York. That much had been put in place by the highest authority of the Hellfire Club, his grandfather; and he had fulfilled the duties of his office appropriately. Alistaire knew the game well enough to know that wouldn't be nearly enough, however. A King needs to do more than simply maintain his kingdom. He conquers. He pillages. He assures his subjects that not only does he do right by them, but also reminds them that none of them have the power to dethrone him.

The problem was that Alistaire was still on his 'being good' project. His relationship with Reiko, for example, was moving along nicely. Alisa's recent freedom had given him back an enforcer he could trust the fealty of. The old him would have had no trouble making some suitably ruthless financial gain, or manipulating events to kill a rival, but now he had to choose his targets more carefully, so as not to destroy the 'progress' he'd made. Still, even with the conflict with his grandfather on the approaching horizon, he had to keep things moving in the here and now.

Normal channels of communication were too risky, so he'd arranged for a special intermediary. A minor functionary in one of his real estate companies, given a particular dose of MGH, to give them temporary telepathy. After a careful 'test' to make sure he wasn't interrupting any marital time with her husband, he opened a psychic channel to Stephanie.

Life had really been much simpler when he'd arranged things so he just had to sign papers, drink, and occupy Selene's bed.

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"Being involved with the Hellfire Club doesn't protect me in any meaningful way. You might as well be honest about your ambitions." Stephanie replied. "You want power, it's been bred into you since you were a child." It's not like I'm without ambitions myself, it's simply that I decided that the Hellfire Club was too dangerous and evil a road to follow.

"Alistaire. Don't be cavalier about Selene. Father made you leave her court and cut your ties. At best she will feel that she owes you nothing. Whatever you do, do not underestimate her. She's been around for thousands of years. Nobody does that unless they are as cunning as they are powerful."

Stephanie hoped that he actually understood that, how dangerous it was, to simply be around her but to assume that things would go back to where they were.

Alistaire was quiet for a long few moments, pouring himself a drink.

"...then what do I have left, without power? I don't... I can't understand people the way you can." He pauses. "The way normal people can. I'm not entirely certain I'm proceeding correctly with Reiko even."

There's a gentle clink of the glass tapping the handset as he downs a pour of scotch.

"Money and property's just a way of keeping score. Without power, real power... I don't know who I am."

"There are other avenues to influence and power. The Hellfire Club is very good at making itself seem like the easy way to success, but it will destroy you. Look what it did to my father. I'm not delusional enough to say that he was a good man, but I remember when he knew the importance of family and that true loyalty doesn't spring from terror.

We both know that whatever happens in the near future, what was vital, important, and worthy of real respect about Sebastian Shaw has been dead for a long time."

Stephanie paused for a moment. "I'm surprised that someone as morally ambiguous as you sees all this as such a black and white choice. There's always another way to go about things, even if it's longer and more difficult."

There's a faint grunt of acknowledgment from Alistaire, followed by another pause.

"I don't want to be like them, that is, the worst of them. At the same time, what happens if I show them my back? The near future isn't now, and..." There's a very faint clicking noise as his jaw locks for a moment.

"Shinobi just attacked my holdings."

Even as imbalanced as he is right now, Alistaire can't bring himself to verbalize fear for his life. His ego won't allow it.

"I'm stuck. Can't move up, can't move out."

"I don't think Selene is going to invest significant effort into hunting you down, unless you make yourself a bigger target." Stephanie legitimately believed that. She would have bigger fish to fry.

"Father." Stephanie said quietly. "Alistaire, it's one thing to put up a front for others. But let me be very clear- not being frightened would be stupid. But he will only be a threat for a short while. His fall is imminent."

She paused for a moment.

"I thought I was stuck too, Alistaire. There's always a way out, or a way around. You claim you want to become a better person- and I believe you. But do you think that is going to be possible pursuing power in the Hellfire Club?

It's not just an empty name. It's also a final destination." Not that Stephanie literally meant Hell- she didn't really believe in an afterlife, or a God in the Christian sense. But Hell as a metaphor for that moment when all of your sins came back to haunt you? And drag you down?

She was quite certain about that.

If not for how much he spent on his manicures, Alistaire imagined he'd be biting a nail as his thoughts intensified. His Aunt was one of perhaps three people on the planet who genuinely cared for his well-being. (Four if you counted her husband, who Alistaire still considered something of a question mark where he himself was concerned.) She wouldn't intentionally misguide him, would she?

"So... that's it then? Just walk away? Do I make an announcement, or do I just stop taking and making calls?"

Keeping Up Appearances

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