[Nexus] The Black Dragon's Den IX

[Hattish Thing]

Hehe, I see. Though if you're any kind 'o' criminal you probably 'Ave several alibis. Am I righ'? I've been around fer a while.

[Slii Arhem]

"Well get ready then!"

Devi holds up a hand dramatically to show off her shiny golden tech-covered bracelet. She presses a few buttons on it, and uses a bit of her temperature magic to power it. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flies through the roof (its just for show and doesn't harm anything, of course) and strike the tabletop. At that point, a squeaking little guinea pig is teleported in! Amazing!

"It's my personal teleporter! I based it off Magtok's telewarpers, but it doesn't have the same scale or power as his system."

The visual is totally cooler, though. Also... the guinea pig has begun to, erm, split apart into two identical guinea pigs. Quite slowly and sickeningly. Best not to imagine a guinea pig going through some strange complex and multi-celled mitosis, or question how it's doing it. Apparently this one has been mutated to clone itself.

Junior is hardly flabbergasted by the harmless lightning, using things like that as spanner wrenches back in his old lab. The teleportation is somewhat different than his efforts though...

"So yeh got a stable small portal generator thar lass? Or is tha more of an atom swappin rig? S'hard ta tell jes lookin at it."

When the guinea pig starts splitting, Junior coughs gently and points at it with a stubby finger.

"Is tha part of the telewarpin process, or is it sposed to do that?" Of course, Junior doesn't even think it might be a mistake. Devi is far too ingenious in his opinion to accidentally make cloning guinea pigs.

[VampireRot]

"Oh, it's a...

Yup, more technobabble. Substitute whatever appropriate description of the teleporter you want.

"I'm pretty sure that's not a side effect of the teleport. Yeah, that's the guinea pig I engineered to clone itself. That's, um, normal."

Devi peers at the rodent(s?).

"I'm working out a few kinks. It should be doing that faster."

[Lady Serpentine]

Hehe, I see. Though if you're any kind 'o' criminal you probably 'Ave several alibis. Am I righ'? I've been around fer a while.

"Of course. It could have been Likani Maern, Vemraeta Kiir, Elcris Sternhalter... Or just Shadow Stalker. Vanyel hated me for that one; it was his title, one of them, and I turned it into something feared and hated."

[Hattish Thing]

Two questions, What kind of criminal are you? And who's Vanyel?

[Slii Arhem]

"Oh, it's a...

Yup, more technobabble. Substitute whatever appropriate description of the teleporter you want.

"I'm pretty sure that's not a side effect of the teleport. Yeah, that's the guinea pig I engineered to clone itself. That's, um, normal."

Devi peers at the rodent(s?).

"I'm working out a few kinks. It should be doing that faster."

Junior nods, right. Biology then...

Well, someone has to do it. At least Devi has the good sense to mix in some crazy reality defying physics too.

"Have yeh tried sunlamps? Sometimes cell seperation needs heat, right?" That's basically the extent of Junior's limited understanding of biology. The drorf shrugs and takes another drink.

[Lady Serpentine]

Two questions, What kind of criminal are you? And who's Vanyel?

Another of the noise-blocking shadow domes should appear around them, as she really would rather not have her friends hear about this.


"I... Feed on souls. Well, not souls, exactly. The life released when someone dies before they would have naturally. I have to, to live. So I killed people, when I had to. I was as kind as I could be, and killed as few as possible, not near where I lived. But then, eventually, Vanyel came along. Not when I was around. But my lover was still in the town... She was another like me, and he, as a Herald-Mage, sensed it. So I became a hunter, with humans as prey. I went up to Haven, and killed a dozen or so people in a week, with a sketch of her left on them... After that, they stopped killing my kind. It's not something I;m proud of doing, and I did eventually find a way to avoid having to kill people, but... Those are the skills I have"

[Hattish Thing]

Impressive! Very impressive! So technically you're an ex-mass murderer? You impress me. Most of the slimes I usually talk to are not as intelligent as you apparently. 90% are in jail. Oh! Marciano chuckles. You worked with Vanyel. Didn't you?

[VampireRot]

"Uh..."

Devi pokes the guinea pig...s? and pumps a bit of magic into them. They squeak in pain at the increase of heat, and don't seem to split any faster. Oh well. The techno-mage shrugs and takes another sip of her flaming wine.

"I do have some sunlamps for the Not Centipedes. I think I might have to put down this, er, these guinea pigs. That doesn't look fun or humane."

[Lady Serpentine]

Impressive! Very impressive! So technically you're an ex-mass murderer? You impress me. Most of the slimes I usually talk to are not as intelligent as you apparently. 90% are in jail. Oh! Marciano chuckles. You worked with Vanyel. Didn't you?

She glares at him, shadows rippling under, and over, her clothes.

"No. I never even met him in person. And he killed someone I loved the first time we were within a mile of each other. Working with him was something I wouldn't have done to save my own life, most likely. And why would you think I had?"

[Slii Arhem]

Well, it was worth a suggestion. Junior finishes off his drink and waves at a goblin, signalling another round.

"Yeah, mebbe s'for tha best. Bad experiments can have a chance ta come back an bite yeh if yeh don't dispose of em properly." When his new drink arrives, he takes a cautious sip, and finds it to his liking.

An idea comes to him, "Say lass, d'yeh think they'll keep on splittin like tha after yeh've put em down?" That would be something. Dead cells replicating over and over sounds like some form of... guinea pig zombie cancer.

In short, it sounds very sciencey.

[VampireRot]

"Umm... They might. Wow, that'd be scary."

Devi thinks on this.

"I guess I'd have to be really thorough and incinerate all of it. Though maybe I could keep a few cells in an ice box in case I ever needed a bioweapon."

She already has plenty of those, no doubt.

[Chezmarine]

Speaking of Bad Experiments that bite back when you don't dispose of them Properly, Chez enters the Bar.

He's smoking a Cigar and is covered in an unhealthy amount of Blood. Most of it isn't his.

[Slii Arhem]

"Umm... They might. Wow, that'd be scary."

Devi thinks on this.

"I guess I'd have to be really thorough and incinerate all of it. Though maybe I could keep a few cells in an ice box in case I ever needed a bioweapon."

She already has plenty of those, no doubt.

Junior scoffs, scoffs I tell you!

"Pfef bioweapons, it aint a proper doomsday scenario unless thar's flashin lights an explosiony things happenin. Ah doubt tha the Nexus'll be wiped out by any kinda gerbil cancer." His disdain for such things is bleeding through just a wee bit there.

[Hattish Thing]

She glares at him, shadows rippling under, and over, her clothes.

"No. I never even met him in person. And he killed someone I loved the first time we were within a mile of each other. Working with him was something I wouldn't have done to save my own life, most likely. And why would you think I had?"

Most of the people I work with, I end up hating. Figured you would be the same.

[VampireRot]

Devi's eyes flash. Is that a challenge?

"Hey! A bioweapon apocalypse is totally more exciting and interesting than just... like, a big bomb blowing everything up! You get zombies and paranoia and hidden carriers of disease and gas-masks and stuff! I bet that guinea pig's condition could cause more harm to the Nexus than any flashing lights or explosions, as they'd just be blocked by the Doom Shield or something."

The temperature of the room goes up a wee bit.

[Chezmarine]

Chez stands there, matted blood in his Fur...

He continues to smoke his cigar while reloading his Coach gun.

[Slii Arhem]

Devi's eyes flash. Is that a challenge?

"Hey! A bioweapon apocalypse is totally more exciting and interesting than just... like, a big bomb blowing everything up! You get zombies and paranoia and hidden carriers of disease and gas-masks and stuff! I bet that guinea pig's condition could cause more harm to the Nexus than any flashing lights or explosions, as they'd just be blocked by the Doom Shield or something."

The temperature of the room goes up a wee bit.

Junior pretends to ignore the temperature shenanigans.

"Well, s'just ah've been hearin about tha last apocalypse round these parts, an it had zombies an paranoia an such. Didna last all too long, by all accounts. Jes seems like if yeh wanna get things done, rampage wise, yeh'd need sumthin more flashy." It's all about the presentation.

...

Not that Junior puts much thought into doomweapons, but everyone has to have a few lying around that they tinker with right? Or is that just MAD! scientists?

[Chezmarine]

He walks up to the bar.

"Do you have a bathroom i could use?" He grunts.

[VampireRot]

Devi ponders.

"I guess. Hey... What if you put explosives in the zombies? Like, engineered the virus to make them walking chemical bombs. That'd be flashy and dangerously spreadable."

Devi is a Mad Scientist in training, so she is working on her doomweapon collection. <.<

[Artemis97]

Daggernose looks Chez up and down. "Nope." the goblin decides after a moment's thought. "But if ya lookin to wash up and be all civilized like, the ocean ain't too far up the street." He suggests.

[LadyOfWar]

Alysha's face falls a little at the revelation that Winguardia's rulers count her as an enemy.

I mean, it's not her fault she's like this. And she does what she can to avoid hurting people.

Do you think...do you think he has some darkness? In his heart? Her grip on her Keyblade tightens a little.

"I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure what you mean by, "Darkness in his heart," Alysha. He is angry, and self-serving, and he acts out against others because of those two traits."

In response to Mayhala's concern she replies, "They would have no way of knowing who and or what you are unless you tell them."

Then she listens as Mayhala has her exchange with the halfling. The bit about murder and eating life-force has Wing looking a little concerned.

((A more substantive post will be coming in the next day or two, but today I am exhausted.))

[Chezmarine]

Daggernose looks Chez up and down. "Nope." the goblin decides after a moment's thought. "But if ya lookin to wash up and be all civilized like, the ocean ain't too far up the street." He suggests.

"I guess that's what i'll do." The wolf grunts, exiting to go wash up.

[Slii Arhem]

Junior ponders. On the one hand, it was chemical.

On the other hand, it was explosive.

"That'd work, ah think. It's not tame enough ta fizzle out, but not flashy enough ta be stopped by any shields preventin tha kinda stuff. Yeh got a good head on yer shoulders thar Devi."

[agate86]

Grantaire puts his knife away and instead attempts to stuff the dirty cloths into the mans mouth. Tha' ought t' shu' ya' up.

He snickers.

[VampireRot]

"Aw, thanks."

Devi sits there a moment. She pokes at the guinea pigs, who have almost finished separating.

"I'm not actually going to do that, of course. Not unless I get really fed up with life. Or bored."

[Chezmarine]

Chez comes back, reeking of... Well... Wet Dog...

At least he's not covered in Blood anymore.

The wolf lights a new cigar and snorts a little. He looks around the room.

[Slii Arhem]

"Aw, thanks."

Devi sits there a moment. She pokes at the guinea pigs, who have almost finished separating.

"I'm not actually going to do that, of course. Not unless I get really fed up with life. Or bored."

That elicits a short nod, "Aye, o course. Ah mean, who would really do summat like tha jus ta fill in a weekend?" Complete and utter nonsense, no one would be so foolish as to unleash horrible monsters on a city on a regular basis.

Except maybe all those career supervillains he's heard about.

"So yeh're combinin all tha sciences in yer work? Ah can respect tha. Ne'er did like biology meself, seemed like too soft a science ta me."

[Hattish Thing]

He snickers.

What?.....

[VampireRot]

That elicits a short nod, "Aye, o course. Ah mean, who would really do summat like tha jus ta fill in a weekend?" Complete and utter nonsense, no one would be so foolish as to unleash horrible monsters on a city on a regular basis.

Except maybe all those career supervillains he's heard about.

"So yeh're combinin all tha sciences in yer work? Ah can respect tha. Ne'er did like biology meself, seemed like too soft a science ta me."

"Oh, yes. It's always good to branch out. And biology definitely isn't soft once you start bioengineering things."

Devi grins. A bit creepily.

"But mutated animals aren't all I make! Wanna see my gun?"

The techno-mage doesn't wait for a reply, getting right to pushing buttons. Another bolt of lightning, and a rather large laser rifle is now in her hands. Um, this might give the wrong impression to some people around her. Especially since she's waving it around rather carelessly as she shows Junior.