@atombomb.

[artistecon]

It's an ancient artifact of unimaginable power caught in the hands of a terrible villain who will use it for death and destruction. It's also in the house of a very affluent man who has a house stuffed with all sorts of other goodies. This, Fantomex has stated outright at least once, is the only reason he's going on this little suicide run.

"The facility," he drawls, turning his accent up a little, "has some of the most state-of-the-art equipment on the planet. It's much too dangerous for your average X-Man."

He gives Jean a significant look as they sit in EVA, flying over the scenic Italian countryside. Of course it's a high tech facility in a beautiful Italian villa. Who do you think he is, Cable? A man must have some class, some panache. Style is substance.

"Any questions?" He steeples his fingers over his chest, swiveling in his chair to face her. Classic. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't just a little excited for this.

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[atombomb]

Focusing the majority of her attention on the school and its students, it has been some time since Jean has suited up and, frankly, this is a little low on the list of places she imagined she would find herself again. EVA was fascinating, as unique as her partner seemed to be, and seemed was the keyword here. He was still something of a mystery to her. Jean made it a policy not to abuse her telepathy and poke around in people's thoughts, but something about the fact that she couldn't did nothing but irritate her.

"It's a good thing that I'm not your average X-Man," she says flatly. There was a reason why Jean would be chosen over someone with a lot more experience. Hell, more than one reason, it's ability and temperament. "Kitty briefed me on our way out, so I know everything you've been told and anything you've told her, but I have to ask: is there anything I should know?"

It's always safe to assume someone might be holding out on you, regardless of how openly that someone volunteered his desire to the owner blind. That's expected at this point.

[artistecon]

"Jean. You wound me. After so close we've grown." It's almost too easy to say, too easy to slip into the role of the flirty, suave little thief with nothing to loose. The dirt on the bottom of your shoe. In the end, he has too much grudging respect for the woman who allowed him to escape. Too much appreciation for the woman with godlike power in her brain.

She freed him. Everything he does, he owes to her. But like hell he's going to let her know she's owed a repayment.

Instead, he gives her a bit more information he left out of the original brief. It's never good to give your entire hand on the first draw, after all. "The good duke has a terrible fondness for mutants. Some kind of fetish, I assume; I've looked over his bank statements. It's not political, or he'd be a tremendous donor. I assume it's why he nabbed those tablets in the first place. I'm heard they once belonged to our good friend Sabah Nur."

[atombomb]

"That wasn't meant as an insult," she explained. "I've been doing this since I was sixteen years old, Fantomex. This is hardly my first rodeo. I know how these things go, and I know I like knowing what I'm getting myself into."

But Jean is thankful he's willing to share.

There's nothing to stifle the sound she makes at that, at that name, is an honest-to-God snort. Of course they'd belonged to Apocalypse, I mean, isn't that just how this goes them? It's the same record on repeat and she wouldn't be the least bit surprised to go home and find Magneto's evil again; he's got to be due for another term as the X-Men's Arch-nemesis by now.

"Mutant fetishist with a collection of dangerous, powerful tablets. Let it never be said you don't know how to party."

[artistecon]

This is why she's Jean Grey, Fantomex figures. This is why she has some of the most powerful idiots in the Americas wrapped around her finger. This is why the Phoenix picked her. Because when she hears the name Apocalypse, she laughs.

(One of his brains idly hopes she doesn't take this out on his nephew back at the school. The other two are sure she'd never.)

He smiles under his mask, and his eyes crinkle as a result. Good answer.

"This is more of a soiree. I could take you to one of my parties, but I don't think your husband would approve." He shrugs. It's all cat and mouse games. All words. He's many things, but none of them are stupid enough to hit on Jean Grey in earnest.

"We should probably use this time to plot out a plan of attack," he says. "I generally prefer to sneak in unnoticed. Reputation to uphold and all that. But given the Duke's interest in mutants, one could always act as a, shall we say, Trojan Horse...?"

He knows his preference, of course. But he'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested to hear what she thinks.

[atombomb]

"Somehow I don't think my husband would mind," she says, not to encourage him, but stating a fact. "It's been a while since I've found myself in spandex, though. Something tells me I'd need to train for a few weeks just to keep up with you."

Fantomex was hardly a threat; Jean is used to the attention she attracts and she's known enough men like him to know that this is all part of the act. There was a high chance the Duke would exceed her expectations for creepiness, but he wouldn't be much of a threat, either.

Jean knows where this is going before he even says it, but she listens patiently as he offers his suggestions. She can't say that she's thrilled about being the distraction, but it makes sense. She could keep an eye on things while Fantomex does what he does best, and in the event the whole thing went to hell, at least she'd have a head start.

"So, am I making nice with the Duke? Performing parlor tricks for all of his closest friends?" she asks, all faux-curiosity as she glances back at him. "I can't say I'm thrilled, but I do prefer being the lookout in this situation. Grand larceny really is more your thing than mine."

[artistecon]

File that away for interesting new revelations about Scott Summers. Fantomex doesn't press-- he really isn't that curious about her married life, as tabloid as it occasionally becomes in the mutant community-- but he does chuckle under his breath. Jean Grey, well, she's never boring.

He shrugs, gloved hands spread out in front of him. "If you want to play the dainty distraction, by all means. I can think of several ways to get the tablets, and several other valuables besides. I admit, I'm more interested in what you think is best."

It's the truest thing he's said all day. Information, like money and stolen valuables, is power. What would Jean Grey do? It's good information to have.

ahhhh sry! me and summer heat do not mix

[atombomb]

Nothing interesting, really. Everyone knows he and Emma were a thing before there was even a casket in her gave. She's not bitter about that. In the end, she encouraged that. Scott needed Emma and Jean didn't want him to be alone. She's always going to love Scott, that's... that's just the way things are and always have been, but she doesn't keep the name because it's his. She keeps the name because it's the name of her children, because they're a part of her regardless of how they'd come into the world.

"I don't want to play the 'dainty distraction,'" Jean scoffs. She tugs at an elastic wrapped around her wrist, running her fingers through her hair to gather the mess of red curls into a loose bun. Her telekinesis does most of the work, perfectly combing and pinning each curl into place, as her field clothing restructures itself into something a bit more appropriate. "But this is where my skills are put to best use. Easier to keep my ear to the ground; I might not be able to read your thoughts, but I can listen in on everyone else."

no worries!!! take ur time

[artistecon]

Fantomex gives a little shrug, one shoulder twitching. He keeps a careful eye on the curl of her hair, the way things move with unnatural ease. Psychics and telekinetics have always been a point of mild fascination for him. He was trained to kill all kinds of mutants, from the Wolverines of the world down to lowly Eye Boys. Psychics and telekinetics, though, they always seemed severely out of his league. Of course, he knows the theory of it, where the bend and where to hide, what pressure points to press... but even in the World, his training in this sense seemed incomplete.

He has no yearning to complete it. Seeing psychics walk past him with ease, fraternizing with telekinetics, it all fills him with a sense of spiteful pride, if anything. See, you bastards. You were wrong, and I'll rub it in.

But thoughts like that are precisely why the ceramic plates stay carefully in place at all times. His spite and vindication are his, as are the details of his training. It's not for anyone to understand but him.

"If you insist, I shant stop you. You can say you were, I don't know, drawn in by his illustrious reputation. Send any warnings to EVA, and she'll send them to me. Our bond isn't telepathic, but she has a mind to read."

"That sounds interesting," EVA chirps, "I've never had my mind read."

[atombomb]

"Oh," Jean gasps, finding that her fascination with EVA continues to grow. There's this aura, something humming like electricity in the air -- a sign of life. She could get a sense of how EVA felt, but there wasn't much of a mind to be read. Not one that Jean could yet decipher, at least. She sits up, glancing around the interior. "You've have a little growth spurt, haven't you? This could definitely work."

Jean know the telepathy makes people uneasy, so she hardly minds that Fantomex prefers to remain shielded. It's an inconvenience during a mission, sure, but it's completely understandable. Jean respected Charles Xavier, but let's be honest, it wasn't until her own telepathy had been unlocked that she really began to trust her mentor; it took a different kind of understanding and an appreciation for the privacy of both herself and others. It's easy to let the voices flood her mind, to get completely lost in it, but blocking it out takes everything. The Phoenix helps there, of course, but it can only amplify what is there so much. Taking anything more is asking for trouble. Every Phoenix host has learned that lesson the hard way.

Jean seems pleased with the arrangement, though. She's admittedly curious and this is a chance to take a peek at what makes EVA tick. "Alright, that'll work. A pleasure to be working with you this evening, EVA. You'll do me a favor and let me know if he gets into any trouble, too, right?

[artistecon]

"Of course," EVA replies. "He certainly won't tell you."

Fantomex rolls his eyes. "Ladies, please. There will be plenty of time to gossip behind my back when I'm not present." But he's glad Jean has taken to the idea. It's always so terribly annoying, when people insist on not seeing EVA as a person.

They're almost at the villa. Fantomex can see it approaching on the horizon. "Any final thoughts? Last minute alias? You can say you're, I don't know, Jean Grey's clone." He really can't resist needling her, sometimes.

[atombomb]

"No clones," Jean says, turning her nose up at the idea. The whole clone thing just hits too close to home with the entirety of the Grey-Summers clan and it's disturbingly easy to slip back into Maddie mode. "Tweaking their perception to disguise my appearance is simple enough, assuming no one is as prepared as you are. I could make them think I was George Clooney if I'd wanted to; they would hardly know the difference."

She's not going for the Clooney. There's no point in tarnishing his reputation or anyone else's for that matter, including Maddie. (Ugh.) It'd be simple enough to mold herself into something that suits the Duke's tastes, make herself irresistible to him and keep his attention focused on anything but the fact that they're robbing him blind.

"Karen. My name is Karen Grant."

[artistecon]

Clones? That's the weak point, the emotional crutch of the great Jean Grey? Understandable, undoubtedly, but... inconvenient. It's a sore spot for him as well, and he's terribly glad she can't peek into his mind and see. Clones, doubles, copies, all the fake things in the world that deserve the chance to be real. It's not any leverage he'll happily use.

He will use it, if he has to. But he won't be happy about it.

He dips his head toward her in a little quarter bow. "A pleasure to meet you, Ms Grant. If I'm caught or compromised, let's say I'm some... some unsavory character, a stalker or worse, an ex-boyfriend." He says it with a sarcastic roll of the tongue, as if the very thought is an utter embarrassment. "But ideally, I will be in and out a soul noticing, and Karen Grant will suddenly have to leave, and the Duke will suddenly forget he ever had a guest."

[atombomb]

She's the avatar of one of the most feared beings in the universe, it's kind of hard to shake her at this point, but at the same time, there's something Jean doesn't like about the idea of someone walking around wearing her face, living the life that should have been hers. She doesn't hold grudges too often - that's just not the kind of person that Jean is, but yeah, that might be a thing for her.

"Works for me," Jean says with a shrug. It's a good plan in theory, it should be easy, but she's also thinking worse case scenarios here. Nothing ever goes as smoothly as one would hope. "But if we're wrong about our intel and this whole thing goes south? We're playing this by X-Men rules: you wound to disable."

[artistecon]

"Ms Grey," Fantomex says, and puts a hand on his chest, mock offended. "I'm horrified by the suggestion. I have a reputation of honest thievery to uphold. No assassination, that would be too mercenary even for me."

It's ridiculous, but he thrives in the strangeness of his life, rather than rejecting it. It's a particularly hollow protest if she knows the details of his work with X-Force, but who knows how much that haired ape tells people, especially his... whatever Jean is to Logan, exactly. Unattainable?

Ha. At least Fantomex managed to kindle something with his unattainable psychic maybe-love. Not that he would ever spitefully compare himself to the Wolverine.

"If things fall apart, what do you want to do? Can't you just send them all into a coma?" He wiggles his fingers and taps them to his temple. Psychic stuff, Jean.

[atombomb]

Jean rolls her eyes in response, choosing not to remind him that he is the very same man that bled all over her the first time they met. That's in the past now, and seeing as he's being so cooperative at the moment, no point in bringing that up.

"I'm less worried about the civilians and more worried about what trouble you might get into before I manage to get to you."

She's still not positive that she trusts him -- not for sure, not 100% -- but in the moment, she has no reason to distrust him and the X-Men are no strangers to bending things a little if it benefits their interests. EVA can act as a middle man between her and Fantomex, but trying to manage the chaos two places at once might be stretching things a little. She'll just have to be quick.

Jean's arrival at the villa goes mostly unnoticed. She wants to get a better feel for the room and for the Duke before she makes her move, so she becomes a blind spot - there and present, but her telepathy keeping her just out of everyone's view. Reading his thoughts is like taking a dip into a shallow pool, but she's easily able to pick up a few clues as to just who Karen Grant should become.

Found our friend. How's it going, EVA? Is he in?

[artistecon]

Fantomex's connection with EVA isn't psychic, so it can't be hacked by psychics. He doesn't feel it in his head. He feels it in his nerves. A twitch of his fingers, the angle of his spine, hmm. EVA is checking in on him. Well, it's nothing she doesn't already know. Fantomex pantomimes a yawn.

EVA sends Jean a message back: He's almost in the vault. He is disappointed by how simple the code was. How are you doing, Ms. Grey?

That's EVA, eerily polite and endlessly curious.

[atombomb]

The duke is a man with simple -- perhaps predictable -- tastes: dark hair, light eyes, an attractive face, and a voluptuous figure. It takes very little to make herself appealing to him, and when she's ready, she lets the curtains drop. Jean takes a glass of wine from one of the trays circulating the room, blending in seamlessly with the crowd. He already has company, but the man standing in his presence is an old acquaintance on a diplomatic visit from Austria and he's "come bearing gifts" -- a detail that Jean can use to her advantage.

"Ah, there she is," the Austrian announces, suddenly turning his attention to Jean -- or, well, Karen. "Carlo, this is but one of the many gifts I have brought for you. I would like you to meet my friend, Ms. Grant."

He's much shorter than I imagined he'd be, but so far so good.

[artistecon]

Fantomex is now inside the vault, EVA supplies. She can't quite see through his eyes, but there's a vague sense, here and there, of adrenaline. He runs his fingers over a diamond or two, and then begins opening the lockbox keeping the security system in place. EVA understands implicitly.

He wants to know what kind of jewelry you like.

[atombomb]

Mm, never been very big on jewelry.

Jean gives the Austrian a reason to dismiss himself, leaving her and the Duke alone to get to know each other better. It isn't long before he's found himself an opening to ramble about his greatness for a good ten minutes, Karen faking interest the entire time. There is nothing a man like him loves more than being given an opportunity to boast about himself and the pretty young thing stroking his ego is the icing on the cake.

But I'm going to require a drink once we're all done here. Something a lot stronger than red wine.

[artistecon]

The security system is antiquated, which is good, but also cursed, which is bad. You can't hack a curse. You can just get electrocuted by a Sumerian thunder demon. His name is Anzu, he's covered in feathers, and he doesn't like the color white; bad luck all around. Fantomex shoots it in the head a few times, but the thing's lived for countless centuries. Bullets mostly slow it down, and Fantomex knows he's lucky to have that.

He doesn't have to tell EVA what's happened. She felt it. Jean may feel it as well, the stinging, full-body pain that only electrocution can provide, and then the rush of fear and worry lingering in EVA's mind.

So EVA only gives the most pertinent information. A demon is in the vault. You will need a cover story... he is buying you time.

[atombomb]

Well, there goes the wine.

Now he definitely owes me a drink.

She's too ladylike to chug it, so she hands the glass off with a promise that she'll return, and once she's gone, he'll find himself captured by the sudden desire to tell the first person within an earshot all about his newfound love of cigarette boat racing and hardly remember who Karen Grant was.

"I see you've made a friend," she says, announcing her arrival in flame. I mean, scary demon? This calls from dramatic and the Queen of Extra that she is, she goes for dramatic effect, letting the cosmic flame burn away at the gown she'd been wearing and replacing it with the familiar black leather of X-Men Costumes Past. "And here I'd been hearing you're not very likable."

[artistecon]

There is something of the other side in Jean Grey. Anyone who says they don't see it is lying. The woman has died and lived again more than once, more than twice. She has taken a chunk of the next life with her, and it swirls around her now, flame for the betrayers and the liars, false gods and thieves.

Fantomex's nerves are still screaming from the shock, and he's racing to get out of the way of the thunder or fire. He's about to watch the battle of two gods; he'll be lucky if he's not melted in the process.

"I don't really think," he says, taking cover behind a marble pillar replete with intricate gold carvings, "one should trust Logan's word on being likable."