Heretics
| Heretics | |
|---|---|
| |
| Dates run: | March 25-27, 2009 |
| Run By: | Alicia |
| Read the logs: | Heretics |
They nearly killed you in Puerto Rico, and they know, they know now that they didn't finish the job. They'll come after you, as soon as they can find a way.
An Elpis trip to Morocco leaves Nathan, Monet and Catseye caught between old enemies who want to protect him and unknown allies who want to annihilate the aforementioned old enemies. Part six of the Taygetos Arc.
Contents
Cast
Nathan Dayspring, Monet St. Croix, Catseye
Tara Trask, William Moses, Irene Merryweather, Malachi Hark
Timing
Plot Summary
When Elpis opened a skills-training program for young mutants in Morocco, Nathan, trying to get back into a normal routine after the events of Walking Ghosts, decided to travel there to help with the initial push for fundraising and support from local businesses. He invited Monet, who had been expressing frustration at some of her current projects, and Catseye, a recent addition to the Elpis office.
The three arrived in Casablanca for a few days of meetings. Day one was going quite well when Monet was approached during a lunch break by a reporter who introduced herself as Irene Merryweather. Merryweather began with innocuous questions about Elpis's work in the country, but moved on to more probing questions about the organization itself; Monet began to feel uncomfortable and offered to introduce her to Nathan, at which point Merryweather politely ended the interview.
On day two, Nathan heard from the project coordinator that a shipping company based in Casablanca's port had called, expressing interest in the program but preferred to speak with someone from Elpis's upper echelons. Collecting Catseye, Nathan told Monet to meet them there. Arriving at the address they were given, Nathan and Catseye discovered that the man they're there to meet was caught in traffic. His administrative assistant offered them coffee, then some background information on the company to look over while they were waiting. While bringing the files to Nathan, she 'accidentally' dropped them on the floor. When he bent down to help her pick them up, she used the physical proximity and some clever sleight of hand to snap an inhibitor bracelet on his wrist.
She immediately explained that she worked for Trask, who had become aware that Nathan was in danger because Taygetos had discovered he had survived the explosion in Puerto Rico. Consequently, Trask had sent some of her people to bring him to 'someplace safe'. Nathan knocked out the woman and attempted to flee with Catseye, only to have to run deeper into the port when they spotted William Moses and several companions on the street.
Monet, just arriving at the port, got a warning phone call from Nathan, and set out to find him and Catseye. Drawn to the sound of an exposion, she found Moses on the losing side of a fight with Irene Merryweather, who was displaying an energy-based power that appeared to be some sort of molecular agitation. Before she could step in, Moses was fatally burned. Merryweather rushed to his side, making physical contact, which produced a blinding flash of light. When it faded, Moses was dead, and Merryweather, at Monet's approach, blasted her with what appeared to be Moses's concussive force blasts. She fled, and Monet pursued her.
Elsewhere, Nathan and Catseye were finally cornered, only to be rescued by Malachi Hark, the courier from the Hellfire Club. He told Nathan that Moses was dead, and that his people could cover their retreat. When Nathan pressed him for more information, Hark told him that they were breaking a promise made to Nathan's mother and begged them to go before the police arrived. Meanwhile, Monet, pursuing Merryweather, noticed that the woman was unsteady on her feet and clearly not in control of her powers. When she got too close, Merryweather let off another concussive force blast, which hit a minibus. Monet prevented it from skidding off the road and into a cafe, but her moment of distraction allowed Merryweather to vanish into the crowd.
Back at the hotel, the three regrouped and checked the news. Over the next few hours, two stories were reported: the death of a fugitive arms dealer in some sort of criminal activity gone wrong at the port, and a much briefer story about an unidentified mutant losing control over her powers and nearly causing a traffic accident (which another unidentified mutant averted). There was no connection made between the two stories, no mention of Elpis, and no phone calls or visits from the police that night. The next morning, Monet did however get a phone call from Merryweather, who told her to ask Nathan to go back to the States and be careful - and apologized for leaving her with a bus to catch.
Related Links
External Links
Trivia and Meta
Trivia
After returning home, Nathan went to Wanda for help in tracking down Merryweather, wanting to understand whatever connection she had to his mother.
Meta
Plotrunner: Alicia
In comics canon, Merryweather was not a mutant, but was a journalist who became Cable's chronicler.
