My Kingdom for a Horse? [Gemini]

[Maxwell Lord]

Players: Gemini and Magog
Location(s): Metropolis Intergang Headquarters
Plot Summary: Gemini takes control of Intergang in one clean stroke.

The elevator ride up to Johnny Stitche’s penthouse was painfully awkward. This was Magog’s first time working with Gemini and he wasn’t entirely sure if he liked her. There was a strong chance that she was insane...actually he was certain she was insane. He had caught her talking to herself and having conversations with things that weren’t even people! Yet Maxwell Lord had insisted that she was solid and a hard worker. Magog was very reluctant to take the man’s word for it but he had little choice. He trusted Maxwell Lord though it wasn’t like he had a choice in trusting him either. “You sure your plan is going to work?” He questioned gruffly. He was dressed like a body guard in a neatly pressed suit and sunglasses. He missed his helmet and lance but Gemini had insisted on him not bringing them along. Magog had once been a leader of the Justice Society and as a result didn’t take kindly to taking orders from a teenage girl. But again he had little choice in the matter. It had been Maxwell Lord’s call.

Luckily his weapons were never far from his reach and he was already deadly without them.

He was met with silence and only growled in frustration. There were five more minutes of awkward silence and then they reached the top floor of the nondescript building in Metropolis. As soon as it opened they were met by three gangsters even taller than Magog was! “Out.” One man ordered and Magog stepped out begrudgingly with his hands in the men. One of the men tried to cuff him and Magog shoved him back. “Touch me again and that’s the last time you’ll have hands.” He snarled. [Thank you, Trinity]. Then all three of them were pointing weapons at them. Gemini gave him a pointed look and Magog snarled before surrendering his hands. After they were both searched [Magog’s gun was removed] they were brought towards Johnny Stitches in a massive conference room filled with the chief lieutenants and guards of Intergang.

“Madame Rogue!” Johnny Stitches raised his head from his desk and wiped at his fake nose. A small patch of skin detached from his nose as he did and blood oozed from the tip but he didn’t seem to notice. The scant remains of white powder lay on his desk. Johnny Stitches stood to his feet as he rubbed at his nose and quickly hugged Madame Rogue before glowering at his guards. “What the f*ck are you guys doing?! Untie her, imbeciles!” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. He lit up and looked at the woman from head to tie. He smiled. “You look better everytime I see you.” He leaned against his desk and puffed again. His eyes slowly flickered to the handcuffed Magog and a look of jealousy crossed his rugged face for a split second. “How can I help you? You should know of all people that you don’t need a bodyguard around me.” That was a blatant lie.

[Gemini]

She stepped into the elevator and her body nearly fell over. She was here again.. somewhere deep undercover. Without a disguise to hide behind, without any overt lie to cover her mistakes or to shield her from any damage. She was supposed to be her Mother.. Her Mother!? How was she supposed to capture the intricacies and subtle nuances that Madame Rouge embodied... when she was an imperfect being herself. She wasn't able to look at herself in the mirror without seeing her mother's angry scowl.. and now here she was, only giving the scowl a reason to be angrier. But... Lord told her to do it and he seemed to know what was the right course of action. His last name was Lord after all. Though she would've been happier doing this without some bootleg Dovahkiin as her bodyguard. She decided that if this was going to succeed.. she'd need as little conversation with him as possible. So she ignored him. She'd apologize to him later.. right now she was trying to get way into character.

She stood up and began swaying on the spot. Not out of some weak legged nerves.. but due to the song playing over the intercom. She had always been a fan of Joan Baez. Here's to you... Niccola and Bart. Rest forever... here in our hearts. The last and final moment is yours... That agony.. is your triiiiumph. There's no way her timing could be any more perfect as the doors swung wide open, showing the generic stock of intimidating criminals. She put her hands up slowly and quirked an eyebrow with a sort of quiet indignation. It was time to be Madame Rouge... she had to leave her insane wreck of a daughter in the elevator... and pray that one of the cables snapped. When Magog decided to have some independence beyond what she gave him, she shot a dark glare at him, her eyes narrowing slightly and the muscles in her face tightening. He gave up the gun and they were brought before Johnny... who made her stomach churn slightly. There was just something wrong with him beyond the facial disfiguration.

She smiled when he finally looked up to see her. Johnny 'Andsome, my love. I sought I asked you to leave zat stuff alone... it ruins your unmistakable features. She poured on the french butchering of words and let 'features' escape in a breathy tone, just to make sure Johnny was still on her side. Morbidly.. she wanted to know if fake skin could blush. As he mentioned Magog, she glanced over her shoulder before laughing something short and derisive. Naïveté is not becoming, Johnny. You keep your dogs in the room, I keep my 'ound with me. Don't I, boy? She kept her eyes focused directly on Johnny, not even paying Magog any attention. She'd apologize later.. she was way into character. When one of his men came up to her, attempting to take the cuffs off of her hands, she just smiled. Stretching her arms thin, she slid out of the cuffs , tripped the man up and cuffed his arms together.

She stepped around the table where Johnny was sitting and slowly lowered herself onto his lap. Johnny. I 'ave a business proposition pour tu. I've known you for so long now.. and every king needs a queen to watch her king rule. To rally ze troops.. _{to sire an heir.} She looked around the room for a moment, giving the subtlest of nods to Magog. Would you prefer to speak in private.. I might be able to start on zat last duty. She spoke quietly into his ear, her right hand wiping the blood from his nose while her left ran slowly across his chest. She hadn't seen her mother in years.. but she knew enough about the woman to know that she was seductive when she needed to be and no matter the circumstances, she always got the job done. Even if it meant dealing with this... hodge podge collection of flesh and failed expectations.

[Maxwell Lord]

Johnny Stitches was no fool. You didn’t get to be leader of the world-renowned Intergang simply by letting people play you like a fiddle. He hadn’t let that happen and as a result he was the leader of the most powerful crime syndicate in the world. Yet Johnny Stitches had two weaknesses. The first one was beautiful women. That wasn’t much of a weakness due to the fact that the most high-priced escorts in the world wouldn’t come near Johnny. Even if he drowned them in money and he had done that before. Secondly was through his pride. Very few people could appeal to Johnny Stitches’ pride since his own intelligence resulted in him noticing when people were buttering him up. Yet his intelligence failed to help him when a beautiful woman showed confidence and adoration for him. All the red flags in the world should have told Johnny that he was being played but like every human being he wanted to be loved. That need to feel loved had been fulfilled by Madame Rogue and as a result he was falling.

Everyone could see it coming but him.

As Madame Rogue spoke Johnny felt a rush of blood flood his cheeks. For once he was glad that his fake leathery skin successfully hid what he was feeling. Johnny Stitches had the perfect poker face since he had to make extraordinary effort to show any sign of emotion on his face. It was painful to smile or frown and as a result it was hard to tell what he was thinking. Yet his one good right eye was betraying him. That one eye was focused on Rogue and Rogue alone and didn’t bare the suspicion or alertness that it normally did. As she said her piece Madame Rogue expertly tripped up one of Johnny’s men and he let out a loud hoot of laughter. “That’s My Cherry!” He jabbed a finger at her. “You should all take a lesson from this one boys.” He glanced at Magog. “You don’t have any tricks up your sleeve?” He sneered. Magog looked like he wanted to strangle Stitches but he restrained himself.


Johnny watched silently as Madame Rogue lowered herself onto his lap and he didn’t hesitate to place his hands on her hips. “Sire an heir, eh?” He said with a grin which soon turned into a frown. He shoved her off of him immediately and stood to his feet as he wiped at his pants. “Wait...you said you were infertile!” And with that every weapon was trained on Madame Rogue and Magog. Meanwhile Magog was watching the situation with a look of both annoyance and frustration. “...f-cking idiots.” He turned and gave Gemini a look. She got her into this mess. She could get them out.

[Gemini]

My Cherry? She had to keep her lips from curling after that utterance escaped his nigh unmovable lips. She giggled a bit and looked over at Magog. He was doing well to hold down his unmistakable rage and she was positive that if Stitches wasn't focused on doing lewd things to her body that he'd have noticed how close Magog was to ringing his neck. I told you, Johnny. Ignore my hired muscle. I can assure you zat I am close to removing his tongue once and for all... it would make my life much simpler. It would definitely make her life a hundred times easier.. but she feared that the moment the blade was visible, she'd get a blast of plasma to the spine. He'd forge her a spine made of energy and then he'd snap it.. just to pain her. She had to create an intense mental note to remember that she had all these things to tell Magog. He looked like he would need a good laugh.

Things were going swimmingly actually. She figured she'd need to take this to the back room... maybe do something that would require some brain bleach later but at the end of it all, she'd definitely have this whole intergang case locked up and she'd be able to claim her chess piece... and then she had to slip up and forget already established details in her cover. As she stumbled away from Stitches, she kept a look of tranquility on her face. She hadn't been discovered.. she was still good. Now was the time to.. well.. lie. Before I address you, Johnny.. allow me to address your goons. She turned around and with her back to Johnny, whistled as loud as she could. While I'm sure you gentlemen are just doing your job. I urge you to focus on me.. I'm fascinating... also, you've taken my guard's weapon. You'd be hard pressed to take mine. Her hand stretched until it was wrapped around the handcuffed guard's neck. She reeled him in and raised him high above her head. He was at least 250 pounds of muscle and for her to one arm him like that... well, the guns were focused on her once again. Merci Beaucoup.

Her eyes betrayed no hints of mirth or nervousness. For this performance to be spectacular.. she had to be devoid of insecure or jovial emotions. She turned towards Johnny and lowered the guard so that he was dragging behind her. You are aware that it was The Brain who gave me these amazing abilities. You are aware that The Brain possesses a 12th level intellect and if he were so inclined, could wipe Metropolis from the face of the earth before that red underwear wearing clod could assemble his Justice Friends.. I understand how hard it is to be a 'mob boss'. To see the world gunning for you at every turn but you tell me, if a mind such as that could not solve the simple problem of a dysfunctional womb? She took a step forward, a fire growing in her eyes as she mustered up some finishing scene. Now... if you ever mistrust me again.. if you ever try and ruin my love for you over some petty indiscretion, then I promise you Johnny.... I PROMISE YOU... breaking my heart will be the least of your worries. Her fingers tightened around the man's neck to the point that when she flexed, his neck snapped. She put her corpse-free hand on the desk and pushed it aside until she was in Johnny's face again. I love you, Johnny. Let's move past all these insecurities and take the world by storm.. as King and Queen... Husband and Wife... Mother and Father. She dropped the corpse and grabbed him, pulling him into a kiss. She required 2 Oscars, a signed piece of paper and some gum.

[Maxwell Lord]

And just like that his heart was broken. It wasn’t a big deal. This had happened before. Madame Rogue wasn’t the first person to feign interest in him in order to gain access to his Empire. The few women who had done that had only wound up dead. Yet Rogue had been different. He hadn’t sensed anything fake about her but now that he saw her use her powers he could see who she really was. She was a good actress. An amazing one. That was why he had been duped. He had no problem believing that she had cooked this up all by herself. Her interest in growing shares had suddenly grown from that to having an heir. What was the point of Stitches having an heir if it wasn’t his own son? Who said he wanted an heir? He knew how Desaad worked and he knew that immortality was at the tip of his fingers. He had no need to have an heir if he could figure out how to live forever. So when Rogue’s mild interest in Intergang shifted to a wild proposition all he could do was hit a button under his desk that alerted his men to kill them when he gave the order.

Johnny merely snarled as he saw her kill his man and as she approached his desk he reached inside it and pulled out a weapon given to him by Desaad himself. He hid it in the sleeve of his coat and watched calmly as she approached him and entered his personal space. Just ten minutes ago he would have enjoyed her touch but now he found it repulsive. As Rogue leaned up to kiss him he stopped her with a finger to her lips. “No.” Then he pulled the trigger. Intense heat designed to irradiate Rogue’s molecules was fired from his gun. It was one of the few weapons he knew of that could possibly hurt her. Yet if that didn’t work he had more than a dozen men at his disposal. He pushed himself away from Rogue after firing and sprinted towards the window before jumping out head first. Bullets sprayed around the room as Johnny hit a button on his belt buckle. Jetboots came to life and he was soaring away from the scene of the crime.

----

The moment Gemini was blasted Magog made his move. He twisted his hands a part and his shackles broke apart. He turned to the man who had handcuffed him and punched through his chest. Muscle and bone split apart as his chest caved in from the sheer force of the blow. The man tumbled to the ground and Magog turned and held his hand up in the air. Almost immediately a lance crashed through the wall and Magog grabbed it out of the air with ease. His whole body shifted until he was in his godly form and he quickly killed the rest of the men. He then sprinted towards the edge of the building and saw that Johnny Stitches was getting away. “You’re in charge. What do we do?” He turned to Gemini though he wasn’t entirely sure what state she was in. The discharge of that blast had not sounded pleasant.

[Gemini]

No? She had overplayed her part... actually she had played her part perfectly. Her mother wouldn't have sat around to get bullied by some angry stitched together blanket of a mobster. What she didn't expect was... him pulling out a heat gun? The fact that these things even existed was an experience in itself, but the fact that her chest was currently being stripped away, every atom being torn apart by heat and radiation? She stumbled backwards and her hand shot up to her chest, feeling at the melting rubber of her chest. Oh you get back here! She stretched her arm towards Johnny but before she could even reach him.. she felt a sharp sensation in her arm. It fell limp to the floor and had everyone else not been preoccupied with having their lives ended by Magog well.. they'd see her dropping to her knees, tears flowing freely from her eyes. He had shot her.. shot her with a gun that didn't hurt? He'd given her a painless death? Well.. that wasn't Johnny's MO. He had the gun prepared for who knows how long, reason wouldn't lead her to believe that if he suspected a betrayal, he'd let it go quietly.

Then it hit her... all the pain she should have felt minutes ago. No pain she'd experienced recently compared to this. Punched in the gut, stabbed, slapped in the face, struck with a 2 by four... Surgery without Anesthesia. Her ribs cracked... splinters of pain electrifying her very essence. Stop! A horrified sob escaped from her melting lips. Stop! Stop!! No sound came from her. Or did they not hear? She questioned if she even made a sound... She questioned if she was still alive. Down, swirling down. The world... Dimming... Death. Was this Death? The sound stopped and the pain with it... she couldn't hear anymore.. she couldn't see anymore. She hit the ground for a moment and lay there, trying to refocus her body into sealing over the wound. Try and stabilize the damage, bring her back to an equilibrium. It took a moment, forcing her to drop her Mother's persona, re-adopt her own and yell out a very loud and uncensored, OH MY WORD! She spazzed on the ground for a moment before hearing Magog.

She looked up at him and smiled with a confused look. Oh hey... I forgot you were here, buddy. When did you show up and... what did you do with my bodyguard? She rolled over and jumped off the ground. Her eyes scanned over the dead bodies and went back to Magog. Wow... he was really holding back a LOT of pent up aggression. She picked up a pistol from the ground and just pointed it around for a while before walking to the window and aiming out. I dunno.. I suppose we have to call Max and tell him the wave is up. I need to get on the horn with agents around the world to blacklist Stitches and assert Mme. Rouge as the dominant predator. One of us needs to talk to Intergang's supplier and see what the situation is there because he's not getting these guns from the military. We can handle all of that pretty easily actually... the only loose end is Johnny 'Andsome and I'm sure someone can make this shot... right? She turned around and sat down behind the large desk. Actually.. yeah. She scooped the phone off the desk and punched in a number.

Hmm... Yes, hello? Send up Stitches' top men. There's been a change of hands and I need to set a few things straight. She hung up and clapped a few times. She had forgone the french accent because it was hard to keep up and people tended to laugh. Do I have to stay for the speech and all that? I actually have a date... and I should've been in New York like.. an hour ago. Not that she expected Magog to understand what it was like to be dating.. no one could get past that hideous helmet and his general... holy crap did he punch through that guys chest? Oooh... she respected his badass. Thinking about it.. the only reason she was being so very glib about this whole situation was... well dying was a traumatic experience.. and dying while she was in character? It had a myriad of emotions and psychological feels that she couldn't fathom.

[Maxwell Lord]

It would seem as if Gemini had just experienced pain for the first time in her life before. Magog had been careful to do his research about the woman before going into battle with her. It hadn’t been his choice to work alongside the woman but he knew that he wanted to be informed when he did. The upside had been that she was manipulative, powerful and nearly impervious to harm. The downside was that she was insane. Magog had figured that her insanity would cause the mission to fail but it looked like it had been Intergang’s superior technology. Luckily Magog was literally channeling the power of a God and as a result had been able to take everyone out. This fight alone had made him realize just how much power was at their fingertips. Maxwell Lord had chosen well when he had selected the crime syndicates he wished to manipulate. Magog would not question him again.

“According to my sources Intergang will bend the knee to whomever shows the greatest amount of power. These men are ruled by greed and fear. Stitches was manipulative, crazy and had a direct link to the weapons that they needed. If we can rule this organization we need to do it differently. We can still influence them by fear but we still don’t know where Intergang is getting their weapons. Hopefully Lord Havok will have a solution for this problem.” Intergang had weapons that the world had not seen before. He hadn’t gotten a good look at Johnny Stitches’ weapon but the discharge of that gun had been a sound he had never heard before. Magog was a master when it came to firearm use and yet that gun had been completely unfamiliar to him. Almost as if it was alien in concept. The jetpack boots he had used were heavily advanced by the looks of them too. They could take advantage of Intergang’s weapons but the question was how long could they control Intergang before they realized they had been cut off from the source?

Magog watched as Gemini made the phone call. “We need to find Stitches. He is the only man who knows how Intergang is finding their weapons.” Gemini had failed to change her accent and her next question threw him off guard. For a moment he was going to argue but then he realized this was a chance to advance himself. He could bluff these men easily enough and worry about tying up the loose ends later. For now he would have to secure power and he was certain that the fearsome presence of a God could do so. The lance he wielded served as a good enough weapon to impress the lieutenants of Intergang anyway. “Go.” He finally said.. “I will bend Intergang to my will on behalf of Lord Havok.”

[Gemini]

Oh he had sources? That was lovely! He had sources on this whole frakking organization and yet he didn't know that Raggedy John over there had a frakking heat gun? That was cool.. he just wanted to see her squirm for a bit... though all he had to do was ask. She loooved giving performances. Right.. well here's what you do. When they come up in that elevator, you just hold up the guy with a hole in his chest, and then punch THROUGH that hole, ripping a hole in someone else's chest. Then you drop the body, and stand tall with that... unimaginable physique of yours and you utter.. in your darkest, scariest tone of voice, Anyone else dare to challenge a god? And then you slam the end of your staff into the ground and if they don't accept your command... execute em.

She went through that whole explanation with vivid arm movements, heroic stances and appropriate voice swapping. It would've been better if he was the one trying to usurp Johnny's control and SHE was the bodyguard or whatever. She didn't have time to be sitting here thinking about this. You and your imaginary friend can deal with this however you want. There is no way in hell I'm getting to Gotham on time if I sit here and try and discuss this with you. Send some of the boys on finding Stitches and call Lord. He should know a way to find him even if he's left the planet by now. If they come up and ask where I am, tell them... well I'm not your boss anymore... She paused for a moment and smiled. This was his big day.. she felt like a proud mother. She stepped over to the window and wiped a tear from her eye. Don't rack up the hotel bill you crazy kid you.

She spun around on her heels and fell backwards through the open window. She was free... free fallin', towards the ground before flipping over and stretching specific parts of her body so that it mimed the capabilities of a wingsuit. She glided through the air currents for a while before fulling morphing into peregrine falcon. 200 miles an hour in the air? She'd be in New York in no time... maybe Virgil was still waiting for her or something. She left Metropolis behind, hoping that Magog didn't do anything overly serious with the new troops. He seemed to take everything too serious already and god or not.. he was gonna pop a damn blood vessel if he didn't learn to calm down. As soon as she landed she was gonna tell Max that the failure to kill Stitches was Magog's fault... just to see if God's actually had blood vessels.