( status : open ) ( at : hellfire club ) close your mouth and open up your heart and baby satisfy me

[psychogenics]

♪ All in all, using a gentleman's club for a front is probably the wisest choice they could have made. It sure made Emma's life a lot easier -- getting in, getting out, getting private audiences with the most powerful men in the nation. A broad smile curled over her lips as she walked through the front doors into the bustling club, giving her

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[dontdodomestic]

The Doctor didn't truly belong in a place like this. A 'gentleman's club' wasn't exactly what he would call this sort of establishment. He sat with a drink, looking positively bored as scantily clad women tried to attract the attention of anyone who looked remotely influential.

His attention was drawn to the front as a woman came through. The way she moved, her confidence, and her beeline for the back room told him that she was exactly who he wanted to talk to. He wanted to know if the rumors were true. Setting his drink down, the Doctor got up and started to follow after her.

[psychogenics]

There were a lot of downsides to being a telepath -- for instance, getting the answers you didn't want to hear, or knowing the truth when a happy lie would have been much better. The kinds of downsides that turned a woman very cynical at a very young age. And then there were the perks -- like knowing when someone was following you in time to duck into the hallway that led back away from the club to then bathrooms and turn around to catch them in the act.

Until she'd turned around fully, all she could feel was the presence of someone's mind behind her, but once she faced him, she began making snap judgments. Initially, he appeared goofy-looking enough that she'd just dismiss him as a patron of the club. But, his mind felt … stranger.

"Who are you?"

[dontdodomestic]

Cynicism isn't exclusive to the telepathic world. Coming into mutated abilities without any sort of warning or help can make the world seem unreal, especially when you abilities allow you to bend time and space to your whim. He was thrown by her actions at first, but only for a moment. The upside to the Doctor's story, you see, was that he had learned to accept change. The Doctor, to put it simply, was quick on his feet. A smile slid easily across his face.

"Me? I'm nobody." Or at least that was who he tried to be, most days. Not even a name to attach himself with. "But you can call me the Doctor. And you are..?"

[psychogenics]

Her expression remained stony and unyielding for a brief moment as she dipped her mind into his, skimming the surface of what felt like a chaotic pool without a sense of order. It was as though, suddenly, her mind was being bombarded with wars and events that he couldn't have been alive for. Scenery that was long since destroyed, and a sense of vertigo that reflected his own confusion and sense of loss on how to deal with those things

[writteninbone]

John didn't mind the attention of the pretty little waitress who was determined to earn her tip by night's end. She'd come back three times since he'd made his entrance, which was only a half hour ago, and each time, John was more convinced that she'd look so much prettier with her insides spilling out. He could feel the pressure of his knife hidden within arm's reach. He could imagine the scream that would tear from her throat

[psychogenics]

Emma made a habit of keeping track of those who came to the club regularly. Security purposes, for one, and for another it was second nature. Telepathy meant being constantly aware of the feeling of those whose minds you surrounded yourself with and she knew the feel of this man's mind. Something about it was distorted and sick.

But, what she didn't stand a chance at sensing was him teleporting in front of her with a suddenness that caused her to stop short and her eyes to go wide, not quite frightened, but caught off guard and defensive. Not defensive enough to react quite fully, however. He hadn't posed any real threat aside from greeting her in the usual unseemly, overbearing manner that every other man in the club did regularly.

"A mutant. How quaint. Now, if you're quite done showing off, it behooves me to tell you that clientele aren't permitted back here. I'd be happy to have Bambi show you back to the club, if you'd like." She raised a white-gloved hand, ready to call for one of the dancers to come and get him.

[writteninbone]

As quick as the hand was raised, John reached out to snatch her by the wrist. His grip was firm, but nothing too painful. He didn't want to harm her... yet. Besides, with this contact, he knew that he had control. With his hands on her, he could take her anywhere in the blink of an eye.

"That won't be necessary. It isn't Bambi that I came for, you see." He said while reaching into his coat pocket with his free hand. He produced a knife, the blade flipping out smoothly. "It's you. Just you." Again, he offered her a smile that seemed anything but warm and inviting.

"Now, the way I see it, we can do this any number of ways."

[psychogenics]

As soon as he touched her, Emma's head of bouncy blonde hair spun back to face him with a sharp glare that looked almost convincingly cornered. Alarm bells went off immediately and she promptly began trying to jerk her wrist out of his grasp as he dug through his pocket. When the knife was produced, all bets were off

[intuitivelyapt]

Sylar had a way of blending into the background. He stayed in the corner of the club, slowly nursing his drink. Waiting. Occasionally a girl would approach him, but he declined. He knew who he was waiting for, and it wasn't any of those particular girls.

It wasn't anyone he was waiting for in particular. Just someone special. He used his superhearing to listen in on any conversations that could be of interest. Maybe he wasn't a member of the Hellfire Club, but he knew what it was. And he knew if he could sink his teeth (metaphorically) into one of them, his life would be a whole lot better for it. It was just a matter of picking and choosing the right one.

He set his eyes on the woman in white. He wasn't sure who she was, or what ability she had, but he knew there was something special about her. And if she wanted to know what he was thinking right now, it's too damn bad because he killed Bella Swan and his mind is a black void like hers.

[psychogenics]

Emma had paused, stopped by a rather rotund man in a three piece suit. The smile on her lips was like the perfect marble statue. Cold and unfeeling and not the slightest bit genuine. But, it placated the customer, and she discussed animatedly with him while she combed the minds of the people of the club, keeping watch over it. Her attention was, to a trained eye, everywhere but on the man she was actually conversing with

[intuitivelyapt]

When her attention narrowed in on him and she started walking over, he was more or less ready to call this night a success. The tension that had built up in his shoulders eased, like an addict on the brink of getting a fix. Maybe she'd be the one. That'd be pretty convenient, all things considered. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a kill that easy.

"What do I have to do for all three?" His tone was teasing, but not completely. With that, he looked up at her and gave a crooked smile.

[psychogenics]

As she spoke, she continued to try and dip into his mind to pull out how best to manipulate him, but her attention stayed rapt on him and she acted naturally. At this point, she was experienced enough in juggling her telepathy with her outward behavior that it was second nature -- no. Not second. It was just natural. Unfortunately, the deeper she tried to pry, the more it felt like she was being sucked into a black hole.

"Oh, that kind of treatment is reserved for our most valued clients, unfortunately." A beat, she studied him more attentively. "Do you have something that makes you special to convince me?"

[likedillinger]

[This poor sap is just here for the strip club, sticking dollar bills in some girl's g-string. Yep. That's all he's doin' here.

>_______> ]

[psychogenics]

[ Reading Dean's mind is like wading in the shallow end of the pool. Unfulfilling and more aggravating than anything. She spends most of her time only skimming the surface of the customers' minds, because they're usually all focused on one thing and one thing only.

But, she catches a glimpse of something else in Dean's -- a dead mutant. So, she probes deeper and learns some very interesting and not-so-positive things about him. Which leads her to want to screw with him.

So, she pushes her mind a little deeper into his and starts padding his perception of reality. In the illusion, several of the dancers descend around him in his chair, one of them sliding over his lap sideways and caressing his cheek. Basically it's wet dream central. ]

[likedillinger]

[Dean can't help but think about the last guy he popped as he downs his drink. He's trying to remember what the hell his handle or whatever was. Ice? Slice? Rice?

Freakazoids and their nicknames, man.

At least there's a damn good show in this place, to get his mind off that shit. And to make his pants start constricting noticeably as they apparently can't keep their hands off him. He knows he's hot shit, but this is still not-every-day territory. He grins stupidly, trying to look between them all and licking his lips]

Now hey, ladies, there's more than enough to go around. But if you're just edgin' for a bigger tip... [At the word 'bigger' his eyes land on some things that fit that descriptor, right in front of his face and he stops] Well... you're doing a damn good job, keep up the good work.

[wellpastsaving]

Darla converges paths with her halfway to the backroom, falling into step next to her. Her outfit's sort of a mirror image of Emma's, black and leather, her shoulders bare and her hair swept up in an elaborate 'do. She tilts her chin up slightly in greeting, glancing back over her shoulder slightly at the lowing herds of idiots.

"I thought the senator might like a double dose."

[psychogenics]

"I'm sure he'll appreciate the show of initiative." More like the show of a lot of other things. Emma gave a sidelong smile to Darla as she pushed open the doors that led into the private VIP room that they'd set up for some senator that was riding the fence on mutant rights.

"You know you could have taken the night off and he could have seen you dance, anyway. I'm surprised you still decide to come in." Then again, Darla is a ho and probably actually enjoys the stripping portion of their job, whereas Emma just likes to sit back and illusion up what the big wigs are looking to see.

[wellpastsaving]

"And let you have all the fun? I don't think so." Other rather, let Emma get all the information about what went down in there and have to rely on being told secondhand. As much as they might be in this together, it wasn't as if she ever fully trusted her fellow Queen.

The last thing she considered herself was naive after all.