The White Queen and the White Knight

Alexandra Steele and Jean Quentin sat across from each other within the confines of their mental construction. They were nearly mirror images as they stated at each other through their icy blue eyes, golden hair framing their perfect, porcelain faces. The White Queen and the White Knight. It was time for another game. But this time, the stakes were high.

The surgeon's azure gaze fell upon the astral chess set before them, shifting his piece forward before returning his attention to his clone. "I'm not an idiot, Xandra. Our psychic link offers very little privacy between us. I know you want me as president for your own ends. I know you see me as another of your chess pieces, to move according to your will. America is not and should not be the world police. We are not an army you can requisition for your purposes. If you think I am so weak to just let you manipulate the armed forces of this nation?" He shook his head. "I know what you're planning, and it makes me very nervous."

Making her own move, the Vampiric Vixen looked across coolly at her male likeness. "If I thought you were an idiot, what use would you be to me?" Jean's eyes smoldered like blue fire. Of course he knew there was little point in getting about Xandra's pragmatic nature. Besides, her words were as much a compliment as any received from the Frost Queen.

A pawn was pushed forward along his chosen path. "You plan on attacking Satar. Just how do you plan victory? And at what cost will it be bought? I'm not so sure we should assault his forces. I don't see it going well for anyone."

"War is never pretty, Jean. But Satar is a cancer spreading across the globe. We can no longer afford to sit back and watch him burn society to the ground. A post-apocalyptic environment would not kind to a primarily white wardrobe."

Jean huffed at her attempt at levity regarding such a serious predicament. "Satar is a cancer, no doubt. But war is like chemotherapy or radiation. How much of ourselves have to be killed or reduced to pain and suffering while attempting to rip him from the world? I do not like the man. He's an anarchist, ripping civilized society apart at the seams and leaving his own, scourched domain in his wake. He thrives off the strong and dissatisfied, the weak trampled under his iron boot. But that does not mean I wish... I wish with all my heart that there was an option with less bloodshed."

"With cancer, there may be hope of relief in a dignified death. There is no such respite for the Earth. Satar's continued dealings will leave enduring scars. You and I as immortals will have to deal with the repercussions for centuries to come." She shook her head as the two exchanged their plays. "Oh, Jean. You're such a bleeding heart. Always thinking about the 'least of these.' Bleed too much for too long, and even you will exsanguinate. As a surgeon, you know the importance drawing a little blood can be. A surgical slice, and we can withdraw the cancer. There will be pain. There will be recovery. But it is better than the alternative."

The PsyKnight rested his chin in his hand thoughtfully. His brows were knit, his face pensive as they quietly continued their game. The lips of the Mutant Mistress showed the slightest hint of a smile as Jean's silence indicated his persuasion. "Jean, this is not some gesture of wanton violence. If it was, I would have never involved you. This is for the good of society, for the people you love."

Pieces shifted along the board once more, her attention seemly arrested by the game. Her eyes drifted back to meet the sky blue of Jean's melancholy gaze. "I have been assembling the best of the best to assault Satar. Abigail and Dulhat Aensland of the League of Shadows. William Greystoke, Lord of the Lycans. The richest entrepreneurs on the planet. The most powerful mutants, mages, and men this world has to offer. We have armies and resources at our disposal." A slender finger pushed forward her white knight. "With you in the White House, our strength will only improve. You will rally STRIKE and the heroes of America, call upon the leaders of the world to crush this menace. Now is the time, Jean."

The blonde man pursed his lips, his fingertips tapping upon the checkered board. His eyes ascended with a sudden opalescent brilliance, the trace of a smile upon his lips. A finger flicked over his king. "Checkmate."

The doors were opened, a flurry of white satin rippling in its wake as the frozen form of the Frost Queen emerged. The board had been set long before her arrival, and now was the time for the play of the White Queen, the foremost Ivory Imperial of the illusive Rimefrost Society. And so she surveyed her newest domain, her shapely crystalline body catching the light from the chandeliers and reflecting them back by the cold radiance of her frigid authority. A satisfied smirk spread across her silvery lips as her body shifted to her soft, warm form, her blue eyes retaining all of the iciness of her Rimefrost rule.

The Rimefrost Society had been passed down through her family, and now it rested upon the fox fur laden shoulders of the Prefect of Perennial Perfection, Alexandra Steele. Encircling her delicate index finger was the token of her station, the platinum and diamond Frost Ring which granted its mistress an aquatic mastery of her body, namely the ability to transform herself into ice. Not the most potent of the power rings, it served primarily as an indicator of being the personification of the Rimefrost Royal. With Alexandra's throne came the responsibility to fill the vacant ranks of the society with only the most powerful and prestigious members of society, those that would further the goals of this ultimate union.

Alighting upon a plush chair, velvet upholstered and saturated with royal blue, the Monarch of Water held aloft various files. White papers and coloured images floated with her telekinetic prowess as she gazed through them. Such varied candidates. So many possibilities. The selection would be arduous, the crowns not entrusted to lesser creatures. The fate of the society hung in these decisions. Her mind sent forth her associates to speak with each of the parties, measure their value, prowess, and loyalty.

And so begins the winter of the White Queen’s Rimefrost Society.

http://www.comicvine.com/forums/rpg-9/the-rimefrost-society-cvnu-societylocation-1747681/?page=2#js-message-62

And just for interest, these were the images I edited to make this post!

___

INFORMATION

Real Name: A.L.E.X. X Gamma

Known Aliases: Dr. Regina Blood, Queen Sanguine

Affiliation(s): YOUgenics, House of Q

Race: Human Synthetic vampire

Gender: Female

Hair Colour: Blonde

Eye Colour: Blue (glowing white)

Weight: 110 lbs

Height: 5’7’’

Age: Immortal/Ageless (60)

Marital Status: Single

Super Power Origin: Scientific experimentation/magic

Powers/Mutation: Haemokinesis (blood manipulation), blood/liquid form, memory absorption, blood corruption/hypnosis, healing, augmented strength, speed based on blood consumption, immortality

Occupation(s): Biologist, physician

Education: MD, PhD in Biology, MA in Genetics

Identity: Public (knowledge of vampirism restricted)

Mini Biography: Regina was created from the base genetics of ALEX X Alpha, but was imbued with a slightly more traditional vampirism, her abilities limited to that of blood. Her vampirism was uniquely synthesized by the lich Rezurrection whose many formulations of the vampiric strain had since negated some of the negative effects such as photophobia. She still needs blood to maintain her youth and regeneration and craves it, though not as much as Alexandra’s strain. Her blood consumption has the additional affect of memory absorption, though this can be a psychologically troubling feature more than a boon. If her blood is added to the physiology of another, she can sometimes induce a kind of hypnotic trance within them, to control them unless they have a healing factor that can fight it or are otherwise mentally resilient. She has the ability to manipulate her own blood and the blood of other creatures even to the point of being able to reduce herself to a pool of blood or create iron-hard constructs.

INFORMATION

Real Name: Heinrich Karl Keller

Known Aliases: Dr. Genetix

Affiliation(s): YOUgenics, House of Q

Race: Ghoul

Gender: Male

Hair Colour: None

Eye Colour: Blue

Weight: 189

Height: 5'10''

Age: 170

Marital Status: Single

Super Power Origin: Magic

Powers/Mutation: Immortality

Occupation(s): Geneticist, scientist

Identity: Private (formerly public)

Biography: Heinrich was born in Germany in 1845. He studied biology and chemistry at Oxford University in England and became fascinated with the works of Charles Darwin and began studying genetics and heredity himself trying to create the next stage in evolution, forcing the hand of Natural Selection. His research into breeding, surgical alteration, and the like were considered mad science by his fellows, and he was ostracized by the scientific community. It was in this dire time that he met the mutant Jacque Quentin (Mister Q) and his half-brother, a lich named Gregory Rėza (Rezurrection). Q found his research promising offered aid to his studies, Gregory offering his own contributions from the arcane.

But studies needed subjects. He joined the Nazi party and aided their efforts in defining the Aryan race and experimented on inmates of several concentration camps during the Holocaust. He was killed in a raid upon one of his labs in 1944. His work on the brink of breakthrough, he was resurrected by Gregory as a ghoul, an undead creature whose body is sustained by necromantic magic and clockwork.

A new lab was founded in Geneva, Switzerland called YOUgenics, funded primarily by Q. In 1950, the team of scientist under Heinrich had succeeded in creating the first of a series of experiments called the ALEX project. There have been hundreds of attempts since, only some surviving the genetic splicing, mystical tampering, and the like.

Notes by Dr. Genetix: The House of Q

Gallery

Well, it's been another year, another Halloween, CV. :D

I moved to another country and won't be able to go out tonight. But that didn't stop me from dressing up like Leia today.

Princess Leia

Gallery

Bonus round...

I grew out my hair and dyed it lighter. I even ordered some prescription blue contacts, and they came just in time for Halloween. I still need to make a proper Emma Frost costume (two hopefully: Astonishing X-Men Emma and Hellfire Club Emma/White Queen). My last attempt a few years ago was a bit shoddy if recognizable.

Love to see your costumes for today!! :D

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

YOUgenics Corporation International

YOUgenics

YOUgenics (a play on the word "eugenics," the scientific efforts to improve a given population by controlling breeding to ensure an increase of the occurrence of desirable characteristics) as founded by Dr. Heinrich Keller has expanded from it's original establishment in Geneva to international prestige. YOUgenics is a corporation devoted to various reproductive pursuits for its clients. It works in close partnership with many hospitals to ensure the safety and well-being of clients and offer services not traditionally offered by other medical establishments (procedures deemed medically unnecessary by emergency services).

The services offered at various branches (ethical guidelines vary by location) include but are not limited to:

• • • • • • • • Birth-control options and sterilization
              • Abortion and pre-natal counseling
              • Fertility treatment and in vitro fertilization
              • In utero genetic testing and treatment
              • Embryonic tissue, ovum, and sperm donation

His own company mostly centered in Europe, Dr. Keller worked closely with Margret Sanger in her Planned Parenthood family planning initiative in the United States. YOUgenics was later established in U.S. during the 1960's and spurred to relevance by the Sexual Revolution, it is especially popular in the US due to federal financial cuts to Planned Parenthood in recent years. YOUgenics is purely for profit but does accept most insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid. It offers financing and discounts for lower income clients and families.

Notable staff:

Dr. Heinrich Keller, founder

Dr. Regina Blood, scientist

Sarah Drezner, technology specialist

Beneath YOUgenics

Apart from its evident image as a family planning corporation etc., it is also engaged in secret genetic experiments called the ALEX Project:

Allele

Library of

Engineered

EXperiments

Alleles Alternative forms of a genetic locus; a single allele for each locus is inherited separately from each parent

Library A collection of clones, whose relationship to each other can be established by physical mapping.

Genetic Engineering Procedures used to join together DNA segments in a cell-free system (an environment outside a cell or organism). Under appropriate conditions, a recombinant DNA molecule can enter a cell and replicate there, either autonomously or after it has become integrated into a cellular chromosome.

Experiment A scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery.

The ALEX projects (designated by alphabet according to birth and X for female or Y for male) are the genetic progeny of a time-manipulating mutant named Jacque Quentin (Q). YOUgenics was founded by a former Nazi scientist Heinrich Keller sometimes known by the code name Dr. Genetix as assisted by the necromancer and sorcerer, Gregory Rėza (Rezurrection). These clandestine synthetic genetic laboratories utilized genetic splicing, vampirism, synergistic alchemy, and synthetic wombs to perfect the creations. Some projects are kept continually in the bowels of YOUgenics' buildings or in satellite locations often because of their volatility, some escape and others are released into the general population. The original projects from whom all subsequent subjects spawned were ALEX X Alpha and ALEX Y Alpha. Dr. Genetics called these genetic experiments House of Q.

Many of the creations are fitted with a device imbedded within the frontal lobe of their cerebrum, the mechanism set in place as both a safeguard for recall or control of experiments and protection against psionic intrusion.+ If such a device precludes psionic ability manifested by the project, the implant is avoided as was the case with ALEX X Alpha and several others.

Noteable secret clients of the genetic programme:

Julius Jones, US Secretary of Defense

Jason Ford

Current ALEX Projects

KEY:

ALEX=project

X/Y=sex

Greek letter=Sequence of project beginning

+Implant

*Concepts but no formal alts created yet.

**All are my alts or concepts apart from Rose.

(Note about sequencing: a project may have been started earlier than successfully birthed. Therefore, letter sequencing is not an indicator of age necessarily.)

Thread rules:

• Standard RPG rules apply; no godmodding or auto hitting, etc.
• Sell security and defenses
• No mass destruction of the property unless cleared
• Any questions can be directed to The Psyentist
• Have fun!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

I tried two costumes. I prefer the first, of course, but I'm a bit anxious about running around town without pants. LOL Easy costumes for me to do with all that black leather I have in my wardrobe. xD

The leotard was actually from a Catwoman costume. Thought it suited Canary better. Painted the sequined mask I had from high school prom years ago, added a strap to it. The rest of the pieces... pretty standard Psy apparel.

Gallery

Gallery

Last Halloween when I took a year long hiatus from the Vine, I dressed as Padmé Amidala from Star Wars Episode 2 Attack of the Clones. (I painted the belt and the blaster. Even XS is a bit big on me. SMH)

This year, I assembled a Black Canary costume, but let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. Those will be posted in a blog tomorrow!

"Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth..." Genesis 1:26 KJV

Alexandra had spent the last three days flying over the world, listening to the cries of mutantkind and the destitute of the world. Sure she wanted power... the power to build a better, more efficient world. She would have found a way to influence the UN, but she found them to be impotent. No. This called for action by a world-wide, diverse coalition of beings with the money and power to invoke real change. Too often had she watched as those who gained power sat back and enjoyed their exclusive existence. But it was built on the backs of others. The economy is not what it was. Disease. Terrorism. These were decaying the foundations of the poor and working class. Discrimination against women, foreigners, mutants all lead to discontent, abuse of power, and revolution. If those in power had any sense, the would join her in her attempt to bolster the world. They are ultimately only as strong as the weakest.

Xandra envisioned a world as strong as Venezuela, but one of acceptance for all metahumans. Even the dwindling humans. She was quite certain conquest was out of the question. It would draw too much direct ire. It was the very reason she broke off from the Hellfire Club instead of embroiling it in another internal conflict. She didn't want a war between the factions. A bunch of spoiled rich children throwing money and killing each other. No, she wanted the Hellfire name to gain the strongest to her side, seduce them with power beyond that which they could acquire on their own. There are many methods of conquest. War is only one. The world was already torn by war. It was waiting to be healed and led.

She worried about the original Hellfire Club. Would they attack? She saw Valerie suddenly scrambling to fill her ranks as if she was threatened. Her little fetish club was safe so long as it stayed out of the way of the Athen's branch. Then there was Gen. Having a hellion was risk enough. There was question of his loyalty. Would his demonic nature get the better of him? Would he incite a battle? She couldn't help but feel Xenon was right about him being an unfit leader. But his power and connection to Hell gave them a unique advantage even as it teased treachery.

Her long dark lashes descended, lids falling over her pensive eyes as she hovered like an angel in the atmosphere. But there was one in particular should couldn't stand being in the fallout of another Hellfire conflict. She had lost her students, Andy, her very life over the last one. She couldn't lose Xenon too. But at the same time, her new telepathy forced her out of complacency as she heard the cries of anguish from destitute mutants, begging for someone to ease their plight in the greater world. If she had to chose between her relationship between Xenon and her underhanded attempts to fix and control the world... which would she choose? They both had her heart. She almost prayed Xenon's friends, Andres and Mercy would not force him away to preserve their own homeostatic existence within the hallow, hedonistic club. It wasn't too long ago that she approached her former lover. He had desired to leave the planet to its fate, take Mercy and raise their family away from the turmoil of Earth. She had told him that there was hope, that the world could be shaped into something better... now he was back with his bride-to-be. What would be the fate for their child? Doubtless she would have a cushioned existence in the lap of luxury among the Hellfire elite. But other mutant children would not be so lucky.

So, what was her evil plan to save the world? Her scarlet lips curled into a devious yet strangely beautiful smile, the facets of her complex existence written upon her pristine porcelain face. She would need to meet with her courts to integrate them into her plots. A desperate world needed leaders, and that is what she would provide in exchange for power. The world would beg Hellfire for a little taste of heaven.

The lovely doctor pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh as she perused the documents regarding superhuman activity. How much sleep had she been getting? When was her last meal? Alexandra could hardly say for certain. Her cold eyes were glazed over with an insatiable melancholy. The dark nature of her demeanor painted such a tragic image when combined with her flawless ivory skin and sapphire eyes. But there was an undying fire within those eyes for those who could stand to stare within those depthless orbs, a deathless soul kindled by domineering passions that drove her onward. Indeed, the Mistress of the Mind had been hypomanic these past few days. Even her vacation was interrupted by the incessant scheming of her potent psyche and the introduction of the mysterious Gen Esis*. When she finally had the world, would she find rest? Rubbish. Rest was for mortals. She slammed her gloved fist upon her elegantly carved mahogany desk.

The clock chimed suddenly, snapping the psionic goddess from her thoughts. Even as she looked up toward the clock at the side of the room, she was aware of a figure leaning in its shadow. The darkness over shadowing his face was contrasted with a bright, white smile. "Ma petite..." The Frenchman stepped from his slouch against the wall, tugging on his tailored black suit.

Her blue eyes froze over as he fully revealed himself. "Q. What are you doing here?" She leaned back into her polished leather chair, her gloved fingers tapping upon the wooden surface with impatience.

"My daughter, do not be so quick to alienate yourself from your family. You will have need of us in the future if you are to recreate your precious Hellfire Club."

"You bastard. Since when do you care about what I want? You've seen the future." She pointed accusingly. "You knew the Third Society would take me. I very nearly blame you. If you had told me Aphasic would have captured and severed my consciousness, I never would have lost my throne in the first place." The room shook in her anger, her eyes fading into solid white.

"Now, now, mon cherie. You perceive time only in a linear fashion with no understanding of the future beyond your subjective assumptions. You were dismembered by the quantum machines, that much is true. But look at you now! You have finally reached your psionic potential." He pressed his hands upon her desk, his body leaning toward her. "One of the future's greatest telepaths. And you are not even bound by the waning of years. My little Xandra..." Jacque Quentin stood straight to pace leisurely about the room. "Much like how you were broken down to become something far greater, so has your cabal that very potential. Recall the myth of the Phoenix. One must die to be reborn into something all the more powerful. You see the ashes of your former reign..." a couple of fingers slid into his pocket to withdraw his golden watch, clicking it open to observe the shifting of time as if he could read the future as each second spoke to him, "I see a stoked fire that will consume the world." The watch was snapped shut with a glimmer of eerie red eyes.

Xandra shook her head. Q was a difficult man to take at face value. Nearly everything he said was a manipulation. He was a master of weaving lies because of his complex understanding of time. What he said could be true in one timeline while false in another. Everything was a riddle posed for his own amusement. She knew his prophecy could be real or it could just be his way to get something of her action. He was after all her father. She sighed, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. "Even if I was to reignite the Hellfire Club, how would it have any legitimacy?"

His face looked toward her even as his body was turned away, his fingers adjusting his vermillion silk tie. "Xandra, don't be naive. You are far too clever to resign so easily. The Hellfire Club has always been about power. Who holds the power now?"

Alexandra exhaled thoughtfully as she examined the situation. She brushed back her soft, platinum blonde tresses to reveal a pensive expression. In her deep, azure eyes was written the complexity of her past that defined her. The Psyentist was not just a woman of unparalleled beauty, she was at her core an intellectual. Her words very seldom told the full tale of all the machinations which transpired within the deepest recesses of that keen mind. "Well, the Huntington family is in bed with a number of successful businessmen, and Valerie** is herself the current monarch of the current Hellfire Club. At the suggestion of Andres***, I have tried to keep my distance from the Inner Circle." She scoffed remembering how he once told Alexandra that he wanted to avoid her presence. That Hellfire brought out the worst in her. Her blue eyes blazed. Or was it the best?

The anachronistic anomaly tut. "And how many do you think are satisfied with their stagnated existence?" He placed a hand to his chest. "As a successful business man and a time traveler, I welcome the change. The past gets stale even while it has undeniable flair. Eventually the old order rots and must be replaced. The House of Q is one of immortal ambition. A wordsmith of your caliber, a mistress of manipulation could easily sway the masses. I see you've already persuaded the mind of a king. Xenon**** is a powerful ally." Jacque's fingers stroked down his two-tone beard with a sly smile. "But don't just take my word for it. I have it on good authority your uncle knows of a woman who would be a prime candidate for the new Black Queen. A queen needs her army."

Gregory Rėza. Another well-established businessman with a penchant for the eccentric. As if she could ever forget Mr. Q and the Rezurrection were half-brothers. Still, the centuries old lich could offer valuable insight into more mystically minded members. Those were valuable allies as it was one of Alexandra's own vulnerabilities despite the magic in her familial lineage augmented by her vampirism. But something just didn't quite sit well with her about all this business. "And just what do you get out of all this, Q?" She looked up to find him vanished from the room. "Damn."

(*@darkchild)

(**@valerie_huntington)

(***@andres_knightfall)

(****@xenon_)