𝓵𝓪𝓭𝔂 𝓵𝓾𝓬𝓴.

       ✦ —• Jean only decided to join the party because she wanted to get to know about the people that she and the others had decided to work with. She knew a few and a lot of them she knew from second hand information, but there was obviously tons of them she had no clue about. She stands in the back of the party, sipping on her glass of wine, eyes scanning all the bodies in the party. There are approximately over sixty people easily and she never knew just how many defenders of Earth there was. The thought brings a smile to her face.

                 She spots someone beside her and she turns to look at them. “It’s interesting isn’t it? That even in the midst of danger we’re still able to stop and enjoy life when we see fit. The mind and the human will is really an intricate thing.”

neena enjoyed a good party. it’d been so long since she’d attended one-- and it’d taken her a while to pull herself back out of her shell. the five years without half of the population hadn’t been easy on anyone. and during that time, neena felt as if there were people that deserved to have lived over her. there was a lot of guilt and anger she carried with her during those years, and she was now starting to get back to her old self. it was refreshing, in a lot of ways. 

turning to face the woman who’d spoke, she chuckled softly. “you know, i... i hadn’t thought if it like that,” she replied with a small smile. “i think this party -- a chance to relax a little bit -- is something we all needed, even in the face of danger. part of me feels like we should be doing something but...” she shrugged. “the hero gig. it’s not really... my gig, for a lack of a better term.”

while  jane  wasn’t  particularly  interested  in  attending  the  event  itself,  it  provided  an  opportunity  to  connect  with  like-minded  individuals  who  sought  information  about  what  was  happening  in  their  solar  system,  and  particularly  how  it  was  affecting  earth. 

she  did  her  best  to  stay  out  of  trouble  but  with  the  low  rumble  of  thunder  outside,  well… she  just  couldn’t  help  herself.  exiting  the  party  to  observe  the  weather  from  the  open  balcony,  jane  blindly  dug  about  her  purse  for  the  makeshift  device  she  had  crafted  in  preparation  for  this  moment;  a  handheld  with  an  anemometer  on  the  top-end  and  a  small  beam  of  light  that  shot  into  the  sky  to  measure  the  cloud  ceiling.  despite  the  wind  and  rain  that  was  falling,  jane  kicked  off  her  heels  to  stand  on  one  of  the  patio  chairs,  thrusting  the  handheld  over  head  to  collect  as  much  data  as  she  could.  to   the   person  who  interrupted,  she shouted,  ❝  WAIT … !  i  have  to  record  this …  ❞   

neena had been out on the balcony for some time now. though she wouldn’t admit it, the noise had gotten to her, and she’d decided instead to stand out on the balcony, despite the storm, to get a breath of fresh air. she’d heard the door open but had opted to stay where she was, at least until she noticed the person who’d entered the balcony climb onto some patio chairs. “what the,--” she began, her brows knitting together. her eyes fixed on the device in the woman’s hands, clearly confused. “first of all, what is that thing? and what are you doing?” she asked, moving to attempt to stabilize the chair she was standing on. “you could get hurt, lady!”

@luckiestmutant 

“Hey, weirdo” Ali called out to Neena and let out a chuckle seeing the other woman while stepping towards the girl. “You aren’t going to give me a hug?” she said making a fake pout. “Hey, girly. How are you? Things changed too much here, huh?”. 

“hey yourself, ali,” neena replied after turning on her heel at the sound of a familiar voice, a drink in her hand. “it’s good to see you.” she grinned, moving towards the other to give her a one armed hug. “i’d give you a full hug but i don’t want to spill whiskey on you,” she teased with a small laugh. “but i’m good. got back from a trip a little while ago, so i’ve just been... trying to unwind a little bit. ‘course that doesn’t last long with this whole ‘dude-eats-a-planet’ crap. what about you?” she raised a brow.

neena figured by now that she must be one of the few people who were able to tolerate wade. she’d more or less gotten used to him and his shenanigans. walking over to him with the refills on their drinks she’d gotten, she held his out to him. “how’s your cabbie friend? he’s sweet,” she asked, flashing him a smile. “and it’s nice to see you with all of your limbs attached for once.” she teased, elbowing him playfully.

"you’re one of the hosts, right?” neena asked, flashing the other woman a smile. “do you live here? if you don’t mind me asking,” she hummed, her eyes trailing around the room at the decor in the room. “it’s a beautiful place.” she added. “i’m neena, by the way. but some people know me as domino,” she shifted her drink into her left hand, moving to hold the other out to shake. “sue, right? it’s nice to meet you.”

A suit and tie wasn’t something had in his closet but nevertheless, he managed to get one. He knew it was an important night and not just for Genosha, but for everyone who decided to come together and face the next threat. Despite his feelings of helplessness with this new threat, Alex put on the suit and tie and braved the mingling. 

The party was filled with mutants, aliens and even the rare sighting of a normal human civilian. “Why do we have to wear suits to these things?” He asked, figeting with his sleeve. “I look like a penguin. An awkward and misplaced penguin.”

“i’ve always thought penguins were cute,” neena replied with a shrug of her shoulders. “but personally -- i enjoy dressing up from time to time. i considered wearing a suit before i settled on this dress.” she said, glancing down at her outfit before she looked back at alex, sipping at the glass of whiskey in her hand. 

“do you need help?” she raised a brow, gesturing to the sleeve. “how long’s it been since you last dressed up for something? a while, right?” she chuckled. “and, by the way, you look fine. trust me, there’s people here dressed worse than you. if that makes you feel any better.”

he wasn’t exactly sure why his father sent him here. well he could probably guess it’s because his father had shit social skills, but he was more surprised he’d actually sent his own son to represent oscorp after apparently getting an invite. apparently. but his father entrusted him to carry the osborn name and he was going to do a damn fine job of carrying it.

he was not, however, fond of the smell of blue cheese in the baxter building. he’d been nursing his second cocktail for the night when he smelled the nasty odour and he wondered if the people even bothered to clean the building up. the rain wasn’t letting up either and he couldn’t go back to his flat either. he went back inside instead, leaning against a chair and said, “looks like the rain isn’t letting up anytime soon.”

a glass of whiskey in her hand, neena stood by one of the windows of the building and looked out, watching the streets below as cars sped by. occasionally glancing up at the sky to keep an eye on the storm. she sipped at her drink, lost in her own thoughts that for a moment she didn’t realize someone was next to her.

hearing him speak, her attention quickly turns to him, eyes widening slightly. “maybe we’ll get lucky,” she replied with a soft chuckle. she always enjoyed making puns or jokes about her ability, even if the other probably wouldn’t get it. “i’m neena. despite the storm, it’s still nice here. i mean, apart from the annoying cheese smell, but...” she trailed off, shrugging her shoulders. 

stephen was never the type of man to attend parties - he quite frankly hated social gatherings with a tempered passion. the only time he ever attended such things were usually dinners set for awards that he’d won - essentially he could go, attain free food, accept his award, pose for a few photographs, and then promptly leave. but the signing of some of the world’s most acclaimed people to take on galactus was… monumental.

so when he entered the baxter building, he smiled to himself as he glanced around at the many attendees who had already started filing in. searching for a familiar face, he found his feet gravitating him towards the food table, stopping only to watch peter parker on the far side of the room and then promptly shoving a piece of cheese into his mouth, making the next encounter for him quite awkward.

hearing someone come up to him, he turned quickly and placed a hand over his mouth as he spoke, “terribly sorry, i’ve just put a whole chunk of cheese in my mouth,” he tried to chew and swallow as fast as he could, failing a bit too miserably, “how are you liking the party?”

neena didn’t mind parties. she prided herself on being charismatic and social, at least most of the time, which usually meant that she had fun when she showed up to parties. she’d dressed up for this occasion, mostly because she felt like it. that and she wanted an excuse to carry a matching clutch.

one that definitely didn’t  have a small gun and a knife hidden inside.

one could never be too careful. she was a mercenary after all -- she was pretty sure that she didn’t leave the house without some sort of weapon on her person. even if anyone who wanted to try anything would end up with terribly bad luck. 

approaching one of the food tables, she chuckled as she listened to stephen speak. “no worries, man. i get it. cheese is worth it.” she smiled. “as for the party, it’s nice. should be fun. i haven’t been to one of these things in a while. always nice to get out of my apartment for a few hours.” she shrugged. “what about you?”

something had been off with wanda lately. neena couldn’t quite put her finger on it. in the past year, wanda had become one of neena’s closest friends. more than that, she would argue. there was something there between them -- she could feel it. though with the news of uranus being eaten, things had gone quiet. neena had heard of the avengers gathering at their compound. allowing civilians in. she hadn’t gone. she’d considered it, but ultimately stayed home.

the party, however, was another story. neena didn’t mind parties. she tended to be good with people. a beer in her hand, she wandered around the party, mingling with other attendees before a familiar face caught her eye. excusing herself, she made her way over to the other woman. “wanda,” she said, reaching out gently for her arm. “hey. you’ve been quiet recently. what’s going on?”

the dust has settled, thanos is gone. but look, in the distance, isn’t that DOMINO? otherwise known as NEENA THURMAN. they are THIRTY TWO years old, and go by SHE/HER. you will know them by HER LUCK + THE VITILIGO AROUND HER EYE. could they have been saved?