Dorian threw open the doors to the War Room and marched with purpose around the large circular table in the middle of the room over to the enormous computer situated at the opposite end. Everything was finally in place. Looking at the images that appeared on screen made Dorian break out into an uncontrollable leer. He pressed and held down a button on the main console, which enabled the PA system, and spoke.

“Mutants, our time is at hand. I need every one of you to report to the War Room immediately. For those who are unaware of where the War Room actually is, you need to get in the elevator, and proceed down one level. That is all.”

Releasing the button, Dorian took out his cell phone, and called the receptionist in the foyer.

“Yes, I need you do get in contact with Eris and inform her that if she’s still interested in being partners, that she would find the meeting I am about to hold in the War Room most interesting.”

Hanging up, Dorian sat in the chair facing the door, impatiently waiting for the first mutants to show.

Eris heard her phone and flipped it open before it was halfway through the first ring. She had learned a few years ago how important it was to answer phone calls on time. She listened to the reciever. "Mr. King would like to inform you that if you're still interested in being partners, that you would find the meeting he is about to hold in the War Room most interesting." Eris pondered the call for a moment.

Then she spoke, "Yes, I'll be there shortly."

Walking outside her room and down the stairs, she made her way to her garage and found her Lexus sitting there among many other cars. Pulling her favorite navy blue Lexus out of the garage and past security, she headed for the Sanctuary. In a matter of minutes she arrived.

Thinking about about it for a minute, she determined that Dorian's War Room was probably below rather than an upper floor. He would never plan on the upper floor.

Finding her way into the building, she stepped into a dark corner where none could see her. She picked up the phone and dialed an associate. "Jen... don't wait for me. Busy tonight." She then stepped back towards the center of the room, and headed for the elevator. Taking it solo down to the lower level, she stepped out and walked into the War Room.

Dorian sat in a far corner near the large computer. He looked comfortable enough. Good. She was happy when he was happy, and the same would be true vice-versa if this partnership were to work. She walked briskly to his side after closing the door and locking it behind her. She didn't like her private conversations being spied upon.

"Dorian, good to see you again." She said impatiently, stopping only three feet from him. She then took a nearby seat and swung it around to face him. "Our deal Dorian, I do one thing for you, we have a partnership. You haven't yet informed me what you want from me, but that can wait." She flipped her hair back. "There are more pressing matters."

She folded her hands in her lap and stared at the man, "Did you hear about the mutant. The one who they say can kill. I have people with intelligence on this matter. She would be a valuable asset indeed. Then again, you probably already know this, so I'll move on."

She took a deep breathe and drew her chair closer to his. "Dorian, I work strictly with one. I'm sorry, I don't trust a large group of mutants. We're working together, and I need one mutant I can trust by my side. Do you have any such mutant under the influence of this facility right now? Is there anyone here at the Sanctuary that I might work with? I work covertly. Alone, except one. Whatever I do, I need but one helper, and it will be done."

She chuckled, "If you're thinking of getting that haywire mutant, I would suggest that you let me and my accomplice (whoever that may be) handle it, while you send the rest of your crew as a diversion." She chuckled evily... that would be a good plan.

Dorian was surprised when it was Eris who first walked through the door. Listening to eveything she had to say, Dorian replied to the last point she offered with a coy smile:

"My dear Eris, I'm sure you walking into the facility alone would be distraction enough for me to snatch up the young mutant."

Not wanting to encourage this flirtatious behaviour, he stood quickly and walked over to the computer, eyes closed with his hands held behind his back, seemingly meditating over something.

"As for your want to be alone," Dorian turned back to face the woman, "I can completely understand that, andI think I have the perfect candidate for your assistant. The young woman who I met on the same day as you. I believe Thorn was her name?"

Dorian knew perfectly well that there would be some conflict between the two, seeing Thorn interrupetd Eris' grand entrance, as well as embarassing her infront of the younger mutants. This was the price for Eris' forthrightness, Dorian's sadistic nature was shining through. Still smirking over the cleverness of his creative 'punishment', Dorian continued.

"Finally, Eris my dear, seeing this little event was going to happen with you or without you, I think I shall call the shots. That said, I nominate myself to be the one who undertakes the kidnapping, if only for the reason that this is my plan, which has taken up months of my time. I'm actually a little surprised you know of the mutant in question."

Realizing that Eris could be taking this quite badly, Dorian began to reassure her off her importance to him.

"Despite all this, I pray you don't see this as me undermining your skills. A mutant as powerful as yourself is a very crucial ally to have in the war against non-mutants. But see, I have put too much of myself into this project for it too be altered at the last minute. I hope you understand."

Eris chuckled to herself quitely as she listened to what Dorian had to say. She expected him to suggest that he undertake the kidnapping himself, and thus wasn't really surprised, she just smiled. Standing and walking behind him, she listened intently.

When Thorn's name came up, her eyes flashed a little. She had a distaste for the girl, but she realized that she would probably be as good as any, probably better. "Hmm... all right. Thorn will do. We should notify her immediately. I can't say that I like her, but she will be valuable, and have a mind of her own likely as not. I like that in an assistant."

She smiled coyly, "Suprised are you? You know very little about me Mr. King. I have resources that even the top intelligence agencies in the country would find beyond them. Yes, I know of the haywire mutant, and I will help. But I get fair share... let me make that clear. Whatever we use her for, I get half the bounty..." Katran walked over and sat down again, then drew her phone from her pocket. "I understand you not wanting your project altered. Me and Thorn will distract, while you grab the girl. Then we will decide together how to use her."

She thought about what Dorian wanted, "Although you may use her in a war against humans, my war is against others. I need her for plans of my own. In this case, we'll have to atleast split the uses of the girl. Half and half."

Standing once more and walking to the computer without asking, she punched in Thorn's name. Insantly, a cell phone number came up. Without flinching she dialed the number and waited for Thorn to answer.

Meanwhile, she walked back over to her chair and sat, waiting to see how Dorian would respond.

Before the small group of young mutants could get outside they heard the intercom boom out with Mr. King's voice. He requested the mutants meet him in a place called the war room. Now where in the world is the war room? she wondered. "Well, guys I guess eating will have to wait for now. Let's go see what Mr. King wants." Syn walked back to the front desk and asked the receptionist where to find the war room. The nice lady gave them directions and they followed them to the tee.

Upon entering the so called war room Syn immediately saw Mr. King conversing with that nasty Eris woman. "Please tell me you didn't want us here to watch you two get it on." she commented to announce herself. "I'm only kidding, so what's really going on in here Mr. King?" Her green eyes scanned around the room looking at the table and the big computer.

Sighing Kaz turned on a dime, "Damn, was that loud enough? I was enjoying the thought of music, food, and fun." <War Room huh? Maybe I'll be able to have a bit still.> He followed Syn to the receptionist's desk and down the elevator. When the door opened, he saw the slut once again up close to Dorian. Muttering to himself, "Are we going to have to endure this every time she's around?" Speaking a bit louder, but not so loud so the woman could hear, "If she's really that desperate, she should just go buy a rubber and run to her room."

He chuckled at Syn's comment. <I guess she like her about as much as I do.> "If I had to take a guess. I think his plans are ready to start rolling. Which means the fun should start soon." Kaz walked past Syn to take a seat and kicked his feet up onto the table.

Satisfied with the number of mutants present, Dorian began.

“Alright, now that most of you are here, I can begin. Our target is one Jacquelyn Guy.”

As he said the girls name, a detailed biography appeared on the screen behind.

“Jacquelyn is a 13 year old mutant with a very special ability. What we’re interested in is that when Jacquelyn comes into close proximity with a non-mutant, their health takes a turn for the worst; they become deathly ill and require immediate hospitalisation. What we’re going to do, is abduct her from the facility in which she’s being detained, and move her into a secret location, which will be kept a secret from those who don’t need to know for security reasons.”

Dorian paused for a moment to let the information sink in, and continued.

“Now, this will not be an easy task. Not because of the security that is protecting her, but rather an additional facet to her power. In the same manner that non-mutants who come into close contact with her become severely ill, a mutant’s powers will become uncontrollable. Now many of you may think this isn’t so dangerous; but if your mutated cells duplicate themselves and a faster rate and evolve too quickly, there is the potential for fatal injury. The other concern is that if one of your powers become too our of control, you may cause harm to the target herself, which is beneficial to no one.”

Dorian looked around, everyone seemed to understand so he pressed on.

“She is currently being held in a secret government research facility in Valhalla, about 20 miles north of the Bronx. We will need a number of teams for this mission. We will need the frontline team, who will clear the way for the following groups. We will need an abduction team, headed by myself; we will be the ones to actually make contact with the target and remove her from the facility. We will also need a group to make sure no one follows us in and out of the facility. Eris has requested to work on her own, which I have accepted and have assigned Thorn to be her partner. I believe Syn would be best suited to be with me on the abduction team, however it’s up to her what she wants to do.”

The group started talking amongst themselves; excitement was obviously in the air.

“I would like for all of you to put your name forward a group. It’s you choice what group you want to be placed in, however we’ll have to keep the groups fairly even. So it’s first come, first serve, and everyone else will have to be assigned to a group. So could you all come forward now and we can start forming the teams.”

Syn quietly watched the large sreen on the wall as pictures of the girl mutant appeared as well as information regarding her abilities and her whereabouts. A number of mutants were now in the room and many of them were doing just as Syn was. When Syn heard there would be teams she started to think of what team she wanted to be on. She could easily work with Isabel and Thorn. The three of them had personalities that could go together making an effective force. That is until Mr. King mentioned that poor Thorn would have to work with Eris. That would be interesting to see.

When Syn heard her name called out to go with Mr. King to conduct the actual abduction her eyes locked on Dorian and a smile snaked it's way across her perfect lips. She felt her adrenaline pump up a little making her feel somewhat jumpy. Maybe Mr. King knows exactly what her powers are other than her impressive strength which she used infront of the building awhile ago. He definatley has his resources that was for sure. Then a question formed in her mind and she wanted it answered. "Mr. King, I'm curious as to why you picked me out to personally assist you. Don't get me wrong I'm not turning it down. I'm just wondering what your reason is. I'm also curious as to what you plan to do with this new mutant. You didn't say that was a secret."

Thorn sighed in annoyance as the group began to enter. She answered her cell phone and replied with a simple "I'm coming." With that, she took one last drag at her cigarette and flicked it to the ground before turning on her heels and walking into the building. As she entered, the group sat down and she sat in the same row as she intentively listened to these plans.

However, when her name had been called to work with Eris, he mind began to think. Figures. Even though I don't like her seductive activities, I must say, I respect it. That's a woman that has her mind set on what she wants and gets it no matter by what means she must acquire it from. Then again, it seems as though no one else with get along with her, so whatever. With that, she stopped her thinking and stood up, seeing that mutants were signing up and she had the opportunity to speak with Eris.

She approached the woman, currently ignoring the fact that she had Thorn's cell number, and she raised an eyebrow in curiousity. "Seems that we'll be working together. What it is exactly that we are doing, I am unaware of, care to fill me in?" She asked, keeping her voice calm. Now how was she able to get the alcohol to settle down, you might ask? Well, one word perfectly describes her situation...practice.

Katran listened patiently as Thorn noted her intention to come to the meeting. She flipped her phoen shut and sat, listening to Oppressor talk about the whole operation. She smiled and sat in her seat, not saying a word, just waiting and seriously staring others down, when they stared at her. And they did stare. Who wouldn't stare at an attractive mutant in a long flowing dress, especially after Dorian had mentioned her. She didn't like the attention, but she accepted it.

As Thorn walked in, she spun her chair away from Dorian and towards the young girl in black. "Hello. Thank you for answering my call... I would say it's good to see you again, but I'd rather skip formatlities." She spoke with an irregular air of indifference to anything except for the mission at hand. "If I may ask, what is your real name? That's often easier to work with, unless you would rather me just call you Thorn all the time. As for me, I'd much rather Eris."

She chuckled and then closed her eyes. Shutting out the world around her for a brief second. Her mind focused on one thing, shutting out the incomplete. Shutting out the contenders. All hail the fullness... disagree and be cold noise. Ah yes, that was it. She smiled and opened her eyes, staring Thorn over.

"You will do... thank you for accepting the position to work with me. You are a very lucky young woman to have been praised highly by Dorian. In fact, you were specifically requested for this task. Again, formality, but I wanted to let you know so you wouldn't just hate me. Let me be forward, I don't like you very much, and I'm sure you don't like me... but maybe that's a good thing. I think we can work together well." She said it all so only Thorn could hear. Everyone else was worried about getting in lines anyway.

After clearing her throat, she continued by getting down to business, "The mission is simple. There is a young mutant with peculiar powers. It's my job and yours to create a diversion, a distraction of sorts, that will draw a greater majority of the defense force away from the girl. If there is any interference by mutants other than ourselves, we have to draw them away too."

Katran stood. "I think it would be better if we were to go to another place. I have some confidential information to tell you, that will aide us in this mission, and it would be better if we got to know each other's skills before rushing into a battle don't you think?" Walking to the door, she waited for Thorn to follow. Katran planned to go out of the Santuary War Room and into one of the various other rooms of the Sanctuary... perhaps an abandoned classroom...

Kaz watched Syn take a seat as others from the building began to file in and find seats of their own. Some of them he knew of, others he'd only seen in passing, and some, he had never seen at all. As soon as the screens flickered on he put his feet on the floor and leaned forward, elbows on the table one hand cupping the other. Slowly his expression changed from one of interest to serious concentration.

He stood up after Dorian finished speaking and walked over to him. "Mr.King, I have a few questions if I may." Pausing for a moment "The girl, Jacquelyn, do we know if she can control her powers, or if they are active when sedated and asleep? Also, do you know if we'll be the only group going after her? Lastly, though this 'may' be the hardest to know, it would depend on the level of your info, but do you have plans of the facility and surrounding area?"

Thorn nodded as the woman spoke of not needing formalities before she introduced herself in her human name. "I was once called Prudence Kahts, or Pru, at one time and at another time I was known as Roxanna Ular. Whichever you choose to call me, I am indifferent." It was odd saying her real name since she rarely spoke with anyone before and solely had to watch the TV in a coffee shop or read the newspaper, thus she was quite familiar with the title Thorn. Then again, stories of her had diminished and she was not as well known since she took to alcohol.

"Well, now that we are speaking on truth, I don't much care for you either, but such will create competition and competition generally provides better results. As to being a distraction, I am quite willing. I enjoy facing the fire head on instead of sneaking around and kidnapping some little girl." Kidnapping a girl did not hold any place in Thorn's intentions, however, killing all that chose to fight her and flee from protecting the girl sounded like the best idea she young drunkard had heard in years.

"I agree, we should get to know the extent of the other's mutation so that we may further work better in our fighting. If there is somewhere else to converse, I will follow and listen. I am only glad that I have been given such a mission and seeing as though it seems there are to be merely two of us causing the distraction, Dorian must hold high regards for our mutations." The woman was tempted to add what else Dorian might hold high regards for, however, she decided to keep her mouth shut and end her sentence there.

Eris smiled. The girl was actually listening. Good. This might turn out even better than she had expected. "Nice name, Pru, but I guess Thorn serves you better for these purposes." She cast a glance towards Dorian, and then back to Thorn, "Let's go to somewhere more quiet."

With that, she spun and headed for the elevator. Taking it to the third floor, she stepped out and found an open, yet empty classroom.

OOC: Onward to the classrooms forum...

Question after question made Dorian's patience start to become out of focus.

"Syn, what we want to do with Jack is find out what mutation in her genes causes non-mutants to become sick, harness that and use it against them. Then, when the world is in a weakined state, we just step in and take over. Kaz, Jack's mutation is active regardless of her conscious state. And yes, to the best of my knowledge, we are the only mutant group going after her. I'm still waithing back for any word of a non-mutant abduction. I'm afraid I'm going to have to end the questions there, time of of the essence and we need to group up as soon as possible."

Even though she could see that Mr. King was getting annoyed at all the nit picking questions, Syn still had a slight smile on her face when he told her the plan to make humans sick. "Now that sounds like some fun to me. I'm ready whenever you are Mr. King." Looking at Kaz she smiled even more. "Have fun causing a scene."