The studio lot is busy at the moment as they take down the sets from the shoot. The photographer looks through his digital lens at the shots, while the Playboy rep nods his head, pointing at a few of the shots he likes.

The Playboy agent nods once more and strides off towards Rage's dressing room. He knocks three times. "Ms. Rage? It's Neil. Can I come in? I have some final paperwork for you." he says.

Gwen is standing in front of a large lighted mirror in "her" dressing room, bathrobe open, inspecting her physique in the light and shadow cast by the various lighting in the room. She'd never EVER thought of herself as attractive in the sexy sense of the word before, but all these men suddenly hitting on her...Playboy reps begging her to pose for them...she feels like a dormant part of herself has woken up!

She turns to the door. "Come in!" she calls, purposefully leaving her robe open in the front and feeling a sense of excitement at her new daring.

The agent walks in and smiles. "I just took a look at the preliminaries and they are scorching!" he says excitedly. "They are through the roof. This could be one of our most popular issues ever!" he says. "We may even do some more pictorials with you if you like."

Gwen smiles, feeling very pleased. "Wow-- really? Well...I think I'd like that! I'm sure you don't pose men and women together in Playboy, but I think a nude-Nova issue would be REALLY hot! Hell-- I'd buy it! I'd love to pose in something like that!" she grins.

The agent laughs. "Well we've only talked to you and the other fellow. That would be a good idea tho." The agent says. He snaps his fingers. "Oh yes the reason I came in here was that this fellow dropped this card off for you this morning." he says digging in his pocket and handing her a card.

'Meet me at Guiville on 33rd at noon, Raoul...'

"Nice-looking guy I might add," the agent says smiling.

Gwen grins and rolls her eyes as she reads the card, and then looks up at the agent. "Yep...that's his specialty! And a COUNT, no less!" she informs the agent.
She looks back at the card, thinking. Since shortly after arriving back in Switzerland she's been trying to decide which male Nova she should "make special friends with" so she can finally get this virginity-thing off her shoulders...or something! She'd been thinking of Supreme...or Divis Mal...someone large and very strong...well-muscled...someone like her. She's been watching the news for new eruptions...new Nova-men out there...but THIS guy...hell, she wouldn't have to do a thing! He's already interested in her! Supreme...he doesn't seem the one-night-stand kind of guy. Divis Mal...she's not quite sure HOW that would go over with him-- if she could even find him! She's still keeping her options open, but lunch might change her mind...
"Oh...by the way Neil! I have a question for you..." she says, hitting the card lightly against her other hand as she paces away slowly. She looks back over her shoulder. "My issue might be even hotter than you thought. You ever had a virgin pose for Playboy before?" she asks arching an eyebrow coyly at him.

"I don't think so!! Wow!" He says walking out the door shaking his head. He digs in his pocket for his cell. "Lynn you'll never believe this!" he says. "I'm going to add that to your profile!" he says excitedly through the door. "Unbelievable."

Gwen waits until he's gone, and then laughs quietly in amusement. She shakes her head and gets dressed, packing her Rage-costume in her bag. Having two Nova identities is definitely an advantage! She can try to be a good girl as Aura working for Aeon Industries...and then get her frustrations out as bad-girl Rage behind their backs! Although with all the VERY extensive physicals Aeon has given her, she's sure they'll recognize her right off in the upcoming Playboy issue...mask or NO mask! But they can't complain. Aura works for Aeon-- not Rage! So no bad publicity for them!
Gwen slings her bag over her shoulder and walks out of her room. She waves at the Playboy employees with a little smile, and then continues out to her car.

Meanwhile at Guiville...

Count Raoul Ortiz sits at his favorite table, overlooking the expensive Manhattan skyline. He takes a sip of his wine as he watches the baselines in the restaurant sit and eat. He smiles slightly to himself. If only they knew what he was...would they be here? Or would they kneel before him and...his thoughts are interrupted by the vibration of his cell phone.

"Yes," he says a bit irritated. "No no...she has not arrived yet. I will...yes...of course." he says. He looks around the restaurant once more. "No there are not. Correct...good bye." he says snapping the cell closed.

Gwen enters the restaurant, wondering if he'd guessed she'd come all along, and walks up to the maitre'd. She wishes she'd known he was going to invite her to lunch here. Her normal attire is very...casual. Although expensive! Now that she can afford hundreds of dollars for a posh version of her standard warm-up outfit! In black and red, too! Actually, the material feels rather nice, compared to the normal sweats or polyester. And she's seen lots of snobby women walking their dogs wearing the same thing. So maybe the rich here will smell the expense of her outfit and let her pass, the way a guard-dog who's throw a piece of steak will go after the steak instead of the person throwing it!

The maitre'd looks up and sees Gwen. He looks over at the Count who nods and he turns back to her and smiles. "Greetings Ms. Nielsson. Please follow me, your table is this way." he says as he walks her over to the table. Count Ortiz stands up and smiles at her when she reaches the table. He reaches out his hand and Gwen can see a very expensive bracelet on his wrist.

"So glad you could make it," Raoul says as he holds out her chair for her.

Gwen smiles pleasantly, seeing if she can fool the maitre'd into believing she's one of "them," and sits down in the chair as Raoul pushes it in.
"Thank you, Raoul...delightful place you've chosen for lunch this afternoon..." she says casually, nose in the air, using her best 'I'm rich!'-voice! Secretly she's trying not to crack a smile.

"Some wine for the lady," Raoul says to the maitre'd and then sits back down in his chair. He leans back leisurely. "I had a difficult time trying to track you down, Gwen. Playboy studios was it?" he says in his rich voice.

She grins, sitting back and folding her arms. "It was! I was approached by them to do a spread...no pun intended...and decided 'what the hell!' Although I can't have my name or my Stormwatch name associated with it. Bad PR and all that. So instead of getting 'Aura,' they got 'Rage.'" She smiles with a fire in her eyes, watching Raoul.

"Bad PR?" Raoul says as he clucks his tongue at her. "Who cares what they should think of you." he says with a shrug. "You are so far removed from them. You are a god who walks among men. Let them think what they will." he says. "Stormwatch...listen to the name...it is a human name."

Gwen nods, unfolding her arms and sitting up. "It is. All of them are-- all the group-names. None of us could think of a better one...that would go over with the higher-ups, of course. As long as we're working for them, we have to play by their rules. That's what we agreed to. Although it was great to fight in a group-- no matter what name we used. I've never done that before. Speaking of that, what do you think of this boxer named Geryon who just erupted?" she asks curiously.

Raoul shrugs. "It is not for me to judge, is it? He sees things the way he does and that is his right to do so. If he wishes to rip up half of main street who am I to say no. Until we novas have our own government and rules then do what thou wilt is the whole of the law. Very astute human this Crowley fellow."

Gwen raises an eyebrow and sits back again. "Well I don't know about YOU, but I don't want to have to fix Las Vegas once his temper tantrum's done. That, and he'd probably move on to another city next. I don't have an opinion one way or the other about the regular people he knocks out of his way, I just don't want him tearing up buildings that are just as functional for novas as for regulars, you know?"

"Really? No regard for them you say," Raoul says. He leans forward. "Then how is it that you have found yourself in Stormwatch? A group dedicated to stopping those such as Geryon?" he asks with a bit of fire in his eyes.

Gwen folds her arms again. "Well, Caestus was the only one who came to me after I erupted. He offered me training...testing...a place to go...a group to belong to...a future...something to finally do with my life. He moves a little too slow for my tastes when it comes to action, and he cares way too much about what the rest of the world thinks about us, but he's doing the best he can. So I agreed to stay on for at least 6 months. Working for Aeon guarantees me I'll hear about all the new novas first...that I'll get a piece of the action out there. Right now that's what I'm most interested in: fighting-action, and meeting other novas." she explains.

Raoul raises his eyebrow at her. "That is all your interested in? Truly?" he says. "Mr. Pax has good intention assuredly. But he helps those who would tear us down in jealousy if they good. Imagine if we were just a bit less than what we are right now. There would be camps of us, death camps. We would be taken in the middle of the night never to be heard from again. They scamper about us now in fear and awe. One day that fear will wear off, I assure you."

Gwen listens and nods. "I can see that starting in some places...like Alabama..." she says with distaste. "But I think that's what Caestus is trying to prevent by making us all sound harmless and good-intentioned. I think he's worried that if novas like Geryon are allowed to run amok, the death-camps will be a sure thing-- and a soon-thing-- rather than a possibility on the horizon. Still, if a regular human insults us or threatens us, I think we look stupid just standing around and letting it continue. Or maybe that's just the Bush-era American in me talking..." she smirks. "Truthfully? I don't know WHAT the best solution is. I just know that I prefer taking action rather than sitting on my hands."

"And what do you think of this Caestus?" Raoul says. "Is he truly that naive to believe that the baselines have our best interests at heart?" he says taking a sip of his wine as the waiter sets another glass in front of Gwen.

Gwen waits until the waiter leaves before she speaks. "I'm not sure exactly what he believes...I think he just wants everyone to pretend we're all the same kind of humans. The thing that rubs me wrong is him thinking that we novas have an innate responsibility to help mankind. Why can't we just fly around and live on tropical islands, soaking in the sun if we want to? What god came down and said we're REQUIRED to use our powers to do ANYTHING?" she asks, some of her frustration showing. "It's almost like he's the leader of a religion in a way. And religion's something I can do without. I'm just sticking with him until I have a complete understanding of his Aeon-way of doing things, and then I'll decide where I belong."
She looks at Raoul for a second. "Did that Sephorous-guy send you to try to recruit me, out of curiosity?" she suddenly asks.

Raoul laughs and gives her a most charming smile. He raises his glass to her. "You are far more astute than you're given credit for. Sifiris, and yes I am here to talk to you about it." he says. "Since our cards are on the table let us take a look at them shall we?" he says with that smile once more. "The Teragen is a loosely based association of novas dedicated to furthering our own cause." he says handing her a pamphlet. "This is the null manifesto, written by Mal. As you said we are no longer human and should not be bound by human laws. The One Race should look to ourselves for guidance on how we should act until suitable leadership is given. By now the humans are making laws about us right now. What we can and cannot do...who are they to tell us? We wish you to join us. We feel that you could be a valuable asset to the great struggle ahead."

Gwen takes the pamphlet-- giving Raoul a knowing grin-- and reads the entire document from beginning to end. Then she looks back up at Raoul, thinking. "Is this a formal group with a leader and training and places to live and such?" she asks. "Is it comparable to what Caestus has going on?"

"Absolutely not. Each nova is given room to train themselves. If you need guidance there are many among us who would be happy to do so. But you are given much freedom." Raoul says smiling. "Of course there are things that we would like from you..."

"AAAAaah..." Gwen smirks, nodding her head. "Now we're finally getting to it!" Gwen is no stranger to contracts and such-- from well before she met Caestus!
"All right then, let's hear it! What would you like from me?" she asks, leaning towards Raoul with her elbows on the table and her chin resting on her hands.

Raoul smiles and leans forward as well. "You realize that Stormwatch is working against our goals and so is Project Utopia and the newly formed Triton Foundation. We would like you to just listen in on what they are doing, where they are going? What research plants are opening. Very minor things that you hear every day and just report to us. Let us know what is going on." he says in a low voice.

Gwen looks at Raoul with a raised eyebrow. "From what I've been told, those foundations are just charity-oriented things. How are they against Teragen goals?" she asks, a little confused.

"They have novas working for them, baselines telling novas what to do...how to think...how to act. It's intolerable." Raoul says with a sneer. "They think they can tell us...that our powers are for the betterment of mankind..." he says shaking his head.

Gwen's jaw clenches a tiny bit as she remembers back to Bob-- her new boss, and a "baseline"-- yelling at her for suggesting they turn their heads while the Teragen assassinate the Alabama politician. He'd totally humiliated her in front of the rest of Stormwatch. To her it had felt almost like a precocious child lecturing an adult! And then she'd realized that he was mad because he was a regular human-- just like the Alabama-guy. She had probably frightened him and he'd lashed out in anger.
"Listen..." she says, trying to think around this. "I agree with you. Humans should NOT be telling novas what to do. They should be very respectful around them if they work with them. I think the problem is that there aren't enough novas to do the humans' jobs right now. Let me speak with Caestus...when he's conscious again, that is...and suggest that if he's going to have 'baseline' employees, as you call them, that their supervisors should always be novas. Until we have enough novas to do their jobs."

Raoul shakes his head. "Caestus is the worst of the lot. He's a traitor to the One race. He subjugated you and your friends to baselines. He is trying to take away your divinity, Gwen. He will not rest until each and every nova is under his control."

Gwen feels like she knows Caestus a little better than to believe THAT, but there is a point to it underneath.
"I would say that Caestus is in denial about what we are and what we should be. He keeps trying to convince everyone that we're just regular humans like them...probably to keep the regular humans from freaking out and starting those concentration camps. He wants us all to work together, but he doesn't ask anything of the regular humans except to accept us. From US he asks that we do everything for the humans...solve their problems...fix their mistakes...I don't even know why we have to prove anything to the regular humans! If you ask me, the regular humans should right now be trying to kiss our asses and prove why they should still have any kind of say with this planet!" Gwen says heatedly, saying a little more out loud than she meant to say.

Raoul smiles and takes her hand. "Exactly, Gwen. See you do understand our position." he says. "You see if Caestus continues his campaign with humanity, there will be no peace for us once the work is done. What then? What happens when we fix everything? We'll be obsolete and dangerous and then they will come for us..."

"Yeah, but knowing humans, they will continue screwing everything up and running to us crying, wanting us to make it better. Then when we refuse just once, they'll turn on us. Just look at the Middle East! We help them...they get stronger...they want more money and favors...we say no...they fly planes into our buildings." Gwen looks down and sighs. She's between a rock and a hard place. She thinks Caestus is well-meaning, but she agrees with most of what Raoul has been saying.
She finally looks up at Raoul. "I agree with most of what you're saying. I think some of the Teragen principles are a little extreme, but for the most part I agree with them. However, I don't think Caestus is a bad man...just misguided in his methods. I agreed to help him for 6 months, but there's also a clause that I can turn down any mission I don't agree with. That's good enough for me for the next 6 months. I think the Teragen should get some kind of blueprint together for how they want the future to be. Right now they're a little disorganized if they think Garyon smashing through Las Vegas is OK!" she smiles.

Raoul leans back and smiles at her. "Of course of course." he says. "Well, I must be going. I have a meeting with a realtor. I'm thinking of buying some real estate here in New York." he says. He stands up and straightens his jacket.

Gwen raises her eyebrow when he stands up. Obviously she said something he didn't like...or he's trying to bait her.
"Really..." she says, taking a last sip of her wine and standing up, as well. "Well let me escort you to your car!" she grins. She walks over to stand next to him.
"Look...let's be honest. You're upset with me because I didn't give in to everything on your first try." she whispers.

Raoul smiles and takes her arm. "Not at all," he says and hands her the realtor's card. "There's a nice little penthouse I'm looking at. You have your views and we have ours." he says as they walk out of the restaurant. "Just don't be shocked when they turn on you and your friends Gwen."

"Who? Caestus? Oh-- you mean regular people. Oh I wouldn't be surprised. They've already turned on us. Some ungrateful Iraqis tried to stone Caestus, and he actually got after me for reversing their own stones on them." Gwen thinks for a moment. "All right, let's play 'what if.' What if I agree to join the Teragen after my 6 months is over...or before. What next?" she asks. "Remember, I'm used to being handed contracts...deals...I've learned never to sign onto anything blindly." she explains.

"There are no contracts, Gwen." Raoul says. "You come to me and state your intention. There is, of course, an initiation...a way to prove yourself to us and then you're in. You'll receive our protection if you need it, and we may possibly ask you to help one of our members if they need it. Other than that...nothing more need be asked of you." he says with a charming smile.

Gwen nods slowly, getting images in her head of them asking her to fight one of her teammates, or Caestus Pax or something. Honestly-- what ELSE could they ask her to do to prove her loyalty? "Well you've given me something to think about, Raoul. And I'll also consider your request for information. If I think Aeon is going a direction they shouldn't, you'll be the first to know. Hell...that may be sooner than later with all these corporate deals they're trying to get us to accept!" she grins. She studies him for a second. "So is that the only interest you had in me? Trying to recruit me?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.

Raoul chuckles. "I'm sorry but yes, Gwen. That is the only reason I came to speak to you." He watches the valet pull up with his car. He hands the valet a tip and turns to Gwen. "Well I hope it is sooner or later," he says raising an eyebrow. "I'm glad we had this talk...it was enlightening." he says.

Gwen feels a little surprised and also somewhat disappointed that he didn't REALLY want her to join him at his palace-thing in Europe...or whatever it was. Didn't even make a move on her. Maybe it's because he could tell she was firm on the 6 months-thing with Aeon. Maybe he would have only hit on her if he could sense a crack in her resolve. Well if there's one thing Gwen is, it's hard to crack! She makes all her own decisions and on her own terms. Sacrificed her relationships with her entire family except Pete in order to stand by her decision to go to a different high school.
"I'm glad we had this talk, as well. Finally someone who honestly answered my questions about what else is out there besides Aeon." she smiles. "Perhaps some time in the future you'll change you're mind about what else you're interested in." she grins, folding her arms.

"Perhaps when I see your Playboy spread." Raoul says with a smirk. "Perhaps I will take you up on that offer when you come over to our side of thinking. The war is already here, Gwen. Sooner or later we're all going to have to get off the fence and decide who's side we're really on."

Gwen nods, inwardly grinning. When he sees her Playboy spread he'll also get to read that she was a virgin the day of the shoot. Which he will then realize was today. The day they had lunch. Oh she could tell him now, but she thinks she'll let him read about it!
"I'll send you an autographed copy!" she winks. "If we have to pick sides, I will. I've always been more of a team-player than a loner. We'll just see what happens, and how each side reacts to it. Honestly, Aeon may end up getting sick of me before the 6 months. I've already gotten in trouble twice in the last month for being myself!" she grins. "Thank you for lunch."

"My pleasure," Raoul says with a wink. "Goodbye, Gwen. Hope to see you on our side of the fence, very soon." he says getting into the car. "As an aside, thank your brother for me, the one who plays for the Chargers. He made a lot of money for me last weekend. Peter is his name, correct?" he asks raising his eyebrows.

Gwen laughs and nods. "He prefers Pete, but yes. And I'll let him know! Sounds like you enjoy taking risks on our family, eh?" she grins. "We'll see if both of your horses come in then. Good luck with your penthouse. I'm a little partial to a nice view from my room, myself!"

Raoul waves to her and then peels out into the traffic and speeds off around the corner. He watches her disappear from his rearview and then digs out his cell phone.
"I spoke with her. Yes she seems very sympathetic to our cause. I will, thank you." he says and hangs up. This has been a good day...a very good day indeed.