The Dead Savant

DeletedUser13682

Guess nobody wanted a cigarette. All the cool kids seemed to be smoking the American Spirit or whatever new brand was successfully being marketed to the young of America. Nobody respected the classics anymore it seemed like. Markus’s question was answered with an explanation that important research files were wiped out. It was possible that the researcher considered his discoveries to be so horrifying that they not only warranted complete deletion, but also his own death; it was the best way to keep it out of the public’s access. That seemed like the simplest and most likely explanation. Why everyone else insisted that he had been murdered was beyond Markus’s guess. If he had to be the skeptic of the group, then so be it. Shortly after, they were all led to the secret room, which turned out to not be a room at all, but an elevator. While Markus wasn’t claustrophobic, he didn’t exactly enjoy being jammed in with all these other people. He gave a baleful look at the last of his cigarette and put it out against the bottom of his shoe, leaving the extinguished butt in the garbage can. After everyone had entered the elevator, it descended into the depths of the building. They passed several levels of people doing various office things, and kept going down. They ended up in the subway system, of at least a privately owned portion of the subway. It appeared their host intended them to get on the train that was waiting for them at the station. “Look; I appreciate the offer, but I’d rather drive,” Markus said to their host. “It’s just that I’d rather not leave my car here any longer than necessary. It’s nothing against you; I just like to drive a lot. So how about you give me the address, and I’ll meet you guys there?”
 

DeletedUser31931

Quill watched as everyone got onto the train and turned his head as Markus stated that he'd rather drive to the HQ. He looked at the man for a second as if staring deep into his soul before he then spoke. "That won't be possible, I'm afraid. The HQ itself is also underground, not to mention that going through the front door would require being given clearance in our system which I can't actually do until you've physically been to the location of the HQ. If you give me the keys I'll see to it that your car is transferred to the HQ's parking lot and it will not be damaged in the slightest. Unfortunately, that isn't really a negotiable point if we're going to get you in the system. Apologies." Quill seemed sincere in his apology and would collect Markus' keys before putting them into a small hatch at the side near where everyone's personal effects that they'd picked up had been stored. Their bags had already been taken ahead to the HQ whilst Quill had been waiting for them to assemble and then briefing them. After Markus had boarded the train along with everyone else, Quill stepped on it and then pressed a button on the panel at the side and the doors slowly hissed shut and the train began moving off. Quill pulled out his phone and turned it off airplane mode and it beeped with several messages. Quill stared at it intently for several seconds before putting it back in sleep mode and then returning it to his pocket. He sent a message to Quickflash saying "You could try to be slightly more discreet about that you know... Also, I'd appreciate you not dipping into my personal correspondence". Kasumi grinned to herself under her hood and imagined a mock salute and her saying "Yes sir!". Quill then turned his attention to Masque. "Apologies for this but I couldn't help but overhear what happened earlier. You had the mental equivalent of shouting it out to everyone and I tend to hear that sort of thing. I don't like that you don't trust me and I want this mission to succeed. If you require it, I'll open up completely to you, to prove that you can, in fact trust me. If you want that reassurance, come seek me out after we reach base". Masque would also feel a certain sadness and regret in his voice, as if he didn't like the fact that she refused to trust him. With that dealt with, Quill turned his attention to the final person that he needed to talk to. Dante. "Something's come up Dante. I wanted to inform you of the situation but it may have just become a lot more complicated. When we reach the base, come seek me out. I'll explain fully then. For now, keep a close eye on this person". As Quill said the words this person, an image of the person he was talking about flashed up in Dante's mind, giving him no doubt as to who his target was. "I'm not sure if we can trust them yet and part of the reason that they're here will become clear later on. I know you're loathe to trust me right now but if I'm right in my suspicions of foul play... this may only be the beginning and you might be our best hope of getting to the bottom of it". They needed to talk... properly. Before that, however, Quill needed to get to the bottom of this. Before he could consider the matter further, they were pulling up to the station and it was time for them to exit. As the doors pulled open, Quill stepped out onto the platform. The platform itself was old. It was tiled and the tiles were slightly grimy as if they hadn't been washed in a while. The place still carried itself with an air of authority though. There was a set of scanners at the exit to the platform which had a privacy booth. You stepped in, the door shut behind you and then you were scanned before you could pass through. Quill walked up to them and flicked open a panel. He scanned the group and quickly did a recount just to make sure he was correct before inputting the number of people that were there and selecting a button that read registration. He pinged Masque another mental message saying "You'll have to do this in your original body unfortunately. The scanner will revert you back to your original body if you don't so it's in your best interest to. If you still know, that is." before he then announced to the rest of the group what was happening. "Up ahead are a set of scanners. Those will take a quick sample of your skin tissue and then register your genetic material from that. It'll then do a full body scan and after that you'll be recognised in our system and you can go in and out any time you want. Yes, this is mandatory and yes it will probably hurt slightly. I'm sure you can all take it." Quill said this last part with a slight chuckle. As they went through a small tray would slide out and an automated voice would request they put their thumbs in. There would be a slight and the tray would recede. Then a scanner would descend and scan the entirety of their body (with the exception of Masque) before it would then grant them authorization and let them pass out into a small corridor where there was a messaged waiting for them on a display board "This is Quill. Please wait here for a minute until I come through and then I'll take you into the actual facility."

Kasumi
The journey over had been fairly uneventful. Quill's phone was all encrypted and in the good old fashioned way. It's almost like they'd planned for having a cyberpath on the team. Spoilsports. Of course, once they exited the train, she immediately started trying to gain access to the systems in the base to find that they were quite well protected. Someone was actively matching every move she made and mirroring it. Every attack, every subversion was blocked with lightning speed and accuracy. That could only mean one of two things... Kasumi smiled to herself as both possibilities were quite amusing to her and either way this would be quite and interesting challenge. She set several programs running in the background of her mind and then decided to be the first through the scanners. She made note of the technology as it documented her.
As she passed out the other side, she briefly considered defacing the LED board. Getting it to write "green hair sux" would be fairly simple considering it's level of security but it was also slightly beneath her. Also, given that mystery man Quill had given her away as the cyberpath it would take no master sleuth to figure out that it was her. With those thoughts, she decided that the slightly more mature option would be simply to wait for Quill so she took a compromise and instead wrote "#Timely" on the board alongside Quill's message. Deciding to leave it at that, she leant up against a wall and started surfing the internet, seeing what interesting news was occurring in Japan today.
 
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DeletedUser37114

After having spent years working for the feds, it was nice to get one that actually cared for the people working for them. As nosy as that person might be. Harper winced at bit at the fact that Quill overheard her little paranoia-fest, though she rolled her eyes. This g-man had hired them to investigate a case, unless that in itself was a lie. No need to keep her informed of every little thing going on, she'd just do her job and get this over with. Besides, there was every possibility that he'd still lie and they'd just be wasting time for both of them. If it made the agent sad that she wouldn't open up to him and have a heart-to-heart chat, he could go cry himself to sleep. Harper adjusted her seat so that her back was to Giles and she could comfortably lean against him as the train started moving. She wanted to keep that contact with him as long as she could. It was odd to have forgotten how... nice... it was to touch someone else. She figured he wouldn't object, based on his reaction earlier, but if he did, she would resume sitting in the slightly less comfortable proper position.

The ride itself was uneventful and passed in a comfortable silence for her and Giles, though Harper got the feeling that, had she started talking, he would have been happy to join in. Maybe the same with Dante and the Eldar guy, who'd both been observing them with a level of intensity that Harper wasn't really comfortable with. They'd certainly seen the "argument" between her and Giles and her making up to him over it, but surely there were more interesting things going on... Harper shifted to look around the train... oh wow, there really wasn't anything else happening, though Quill and Quickflash seemed to be having an exchange of sorts. Still, it wasn't like she and Giles were actively getting it on right then and there, no reason for Dante's stare to be so close to leering. She shifted back to her earlier position and pointedly ignored them all.

It was over pretty quickly as the train pulled into an old station, with tiled surfaces and an antiquated look. Except for the futuristic looking security scanners, those looked fairly new. Harper was moving off the train, keeping fairly close to Giles when she got another little message from Quill, telling her to revert to her normal body for the scanners, though she chuckled a little at that. She'd never encountered anything like that, never even heard of it. If it were as easy to undo a mimic's transformation as that, surely some of the groups she'd infiltrated undercover would have figured it out. Flashing a quick smirk to Quill, she moved purposefully forward after Quickflash and walked into the security booth, where a small, stuck-out tray was waiting for her. She placed her thumb on it, there was a quick flash of pain, and then... the door stayed closed. The automated voice that had told her to put her thumb onto the tray said something about a forced switch... And then her clothes were falling off. Harper hurriedly jammed her thumb back onto the tray and struggled with the now-much-larger outfit. Hurriedly pulling her mirror out of her pants pocket, Harper stared at the reflection of a teenager, with long red hair, skinny in every sense and freckles EVERYWHERE. What... the... a quick flash of pain interrupted her thoughts as the automated voice told her she could shift back...

Harper stumbled out of the security booth as the far door opened, clothes disheveled, but otherwise intact. She was back to her earlier appearance as a short haired blonde. Quickflash was there, lounging, obviously relaxed, and Harper glared at her before sitting down. This was a level above anything she'd experienced before, nothing she'd seen could detect that she was shifted, nothing could have changed her back, so what was this? Who were these people? Obviously she should have believed Quill's claim, the guy was starting to appear insanely savvy. Build up some trust in your subordinates, make sure to observe them before meeting, something to deal with a mimic, probably had someone able to deal with whatever else they could throw together... His message there even had a freaking hashtag. What government agent even knew what a hashtag was? Let alone how to use it in the right context. Her smartest move right now was probably to run as far away from these people as possible, they were prepared, they had no clue what was going on in this case, and they apparently needed her help. But she'd be burning any bridges she might have with the government... maybe it was best to stay. At least until she could find a way to get out of here with no one the wiser. Except maybe Giles, she could probably leave him a note.
 

Deleted User - 819397

The train ride passed in almost complete silence, which was irritating to Giles…he was someone who enjoyed talking, but none of the others seemed all that open, and Harper and him had supposedly just had an argument and so it didn't make sense for him to start up something there. She was leaning up against him, though, which while not as pleasurable as before was comfortable. Partway through she shifted back to a neutral position, and the former aristocrat chalked it up to just needing to move. What an unusual group, that wouldn't even talk with each other…well, at least he could count on their professionalism then…

They pulled into the station, with Quill explaining that they needed to be scanned into the system. Of course, more red tape. Giles WAS glad to hear that their things had already been brought…he'd sort of forgotten his suitcase in their meeting room. Oops. Quickflash, as the dark person had been called, strolled into the scanner first, followed by Harper, a confident demeanor about her. Giles moseyed on in after her, deciding he had to get it over with at some point, why not now? He tugged off his right glove, stretching his fingers as they adjusted to the air. He placed his digit where it was supposed to go, a poke, and then lights around him. Before long he was allowed to exit, which he did as quickly as he could so as to not hold up the others.

As he pulled his glove back on, he saw Quickflash to one side, Harper to the other…the shapeshifter seemed a bit thrown, and her clothes had gotten disheveled somehow. He ambled over and sat down next to her, frowning in concern. "I take it the scanner didn't take kindly to your being a shapeshifter?" he asked softly, a little frustrated by the lack of accommodations they had for the various powers…hell, this government sect was designed for people like them…you'd think they'd be more on the ball. "Good news is you're through now, which means dinner and then the night off." He leaned back, apparently already working to relax at this point…he knew how to lounge…and while he may not agree with his family doing it all the time, a little every day was good for the soul…and complexion.
 

DeletedUser37114

Her darker thoughts interrupted by Giles, walking through the scanner as if he'd had absolutely no trouble, Harper sighed. He probably hadn't had any trouble, it was just her that had ticked off the tech in charge of figuring out who they were. Figures, he probably didn't have anything to hide. However... he figured out that she hadn't reacted well to the scanner... looking at herself, though not with the mirror, she hadn't liked the last thing that had shown her, she was disheveled, with clothes out of place, hair only normal by virtue of being short. Making an effort to get herself cleaned up, she replied, in the same soft voice he'd used, "A little too well, actually." That was all she'd say at the moment, and she latched onto his second, more optimistic statement and responded a little more loudly. "Yeah, true enough. I'm starving. And I wonder if they have any wine or whiskey around, I need a freaking drink. You think they'll have anything decent around?" An entire bottle wouldn't let her forget what she'd just been through, but it would at least dull the sharp edges a bit. And even if this was one of those places that didn't serve alcohol, she'd tucked a bottle of a decent red into her suitcase folded in with her clothes. Unless they were inordinately thorough, which Harper had to admit now was a possibility, they weren't going to find it.
 
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Deleted User - 819397

Harper's response to his question was a quick, dull response. Even if Giles hadn't been a people person he would've picked up on the clear message there...DON'T ask more. Fortunately she was more responsive to his second statement, agreeing that dinner was a good idea before asking if he thought they'd have some sort of alcohol. "Ooh, I didn't think of that…I'd assume they have something or other…after all, they're going to make us comfortable so we're more inclined to come back…or at least, for those who volunteered…those who didn't they'll want to placate, and alcohol's certainly not a hard way to manage that at least in part, right?" He found himself hoping they had something or other…he enjoyed a good wine in particular…another leftover from his time with his family…they'd been a bit lax about the legal drinking age, and he'd learned to appreciate the fine stuff right before he'd been kicked out.

As Harper kept fiddling with her clothes, Giles found himself wishing his power could extend to others…if he was wearing the clothes he could get them completely wrinkle free in no time flat and then hand them back…through then again they wouldn't fit, so perhaps that wasn't a great idea. As it was, he fixed her collar for her as she fiddled with something else, knowing that it was hard to discern if something you couldn't see was on straight. That done, he returned to lounging and waiting to be told they could keep moving. Surely things wouldn't take much longer at this point before they'd be shown where they'd be eating and sleeping…he hoped, anyway.
 

DeletedUser28032


Never great at the art of multi-tasking, or least when not using his abilities to do so Dante stared blankly in Harpers direction as Quill once again started talking to him within his head. A method of communication he was becoming increasingly irritated with but paid attention all the same as he studied the face before him. Monitoring them shouldn't prove overly complex, he'd done it before and considering the giant elevator and subterranean bat cave they were currently pulling into he figured Quill's budget would cover what he needed.
Stepping out of the train he gives the station a single idle glance, quietly wondering why they hadn't updated the decor to match the shiny new body scanner they were expected to walk through "oh well now that’s just great! Another set of DNA records I need to erase, thanks pal!" Dante grumbled irritably upon receiving his instructions on what to do once inside.
As soon as the light above the door turned green; signalling that Captain Emerald had now vacated the wardrobe and was successfully within Narnia with Barbie and Tokyo Rose, Dante entered the scanner.
Following the instructions displayed on the monitor he places his thumb onto the appropriate plate and swears loudly in response to the sharp stinging sensation with the Southerner then proceeding to vent his anger by violently kicking one of the machines aluminium panels "That glorified Xerox bit me!" he growled, giving the scanner a baleful glare as he left to join the others in the lobby, giving the LED board the barest of glances "come on you two lets find something to eat, you can place dress up later, I am starving" he said, addressing the people he'd come to think of as Captain Emerald and Barbie, though if Tokyo Rose decided to tag along as well then where was the harm?
Holding out his right arm in a pointing gesture Dante slowly turns on the spot with his eyes closed before opening them again as faced a random doorway "Right this way will do, come on lets get this show on the road people, first round is on me!"
 

DeletedUser31931

Kasumi
She discreetly listened in as Harper and Giles spoke, having picked up their names from correspondence and personal notes on their phones, though Harper had been a lot harder to figure out which made sense considering that she was a mimic. As Dante came through she grimaced slightly. She didn't like people that left almost no trail and this was a prime example of that behaviour. Meanwhile there was her friend... every attempt she made to access anything other than the public functions for the base met with a firm and polite refuser. Whoever, this was he was having a joke at her expense. As Dante decided to pointedly ignore the LED board and her polite defacement she considered speaking up but decided against it as she noticed a sudden power spike in the systems and the air began shimmering in front of Dante. The being that had suddenly appeared in front of Dante was female, she had long brown hair and a prominent bust. He waist was slimmer and her legs were those of a model ending in high-heeled shoes. Her deep brown eyes stared into Dante's soul as she spoke. "That would not be advisable Mr. Lynch. That door leads to the washing facilities. If you wish for clean clothes then you should be able to do so shortly after dinner." There was an almost mocking tone to her voice as she spoke to the man, as if she were having a subtle go. "Now then, I believe that Agent Quill requested that you all remain here for his passing through the scanners, so I would politely ask that you do so. In case you think otherwise and wish to go barging off, I shall lock all of the doors until otherwise notified. Oh, and Ms. Goto would you please stop trying that. It's not going to work." With her piece said the figure faded into oblivion again and had Dante, or anyone else, attempted to actually touch her whilst she was present their hands would have passed straight through the mysterious woman as if she were a ghost of some sort. Having left she showed no sign of returning, content to let Quill do the talking upon his arrival after the other three had made it through the scanner and so they were left to guess upon the identity of their mysterious visitor.
Kasumi, meanwhile, was beginning to throw everything she had at the problem. Now that she had a face to her opponent things were beginning to get fun. This was like a game of chess, except that the moves were in real time and there were fifteen boards playing simultaneously. She could match her opponent measure for measure but that was not enough here, she had to circumvent her opponent somehow. It was almost as if her opponent was changing and adapting to Kasumi's strategy. Kasumi was, of course, doing the exact same but this was very sophisticated behaviour and programming especially if this was what she thought it was... She would, however, remain silent to the others for now unless directly queried, content to continue her battle until Quill came through with the others.
 
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DeletedUser37114

Harper still wasn't calm, far from it, her hands looked like she was at a jazz concert. But the chat with Giles was nice and the arrival of Dante, complaining about the little bit of pain from the sampling machine certainly gave her an outlet. The arrogant sucker had decided that going against their orders and going on to eat without the rest of the party or Quill was going to be easy. She was just about to voice her own opinion to stay and see what the g-man wanted before a woman showed herself and stopped the military man before she could. The woman herself was striking, hitting just about every classic beauty chime that Harper could name, from the long hair to the plentiful bust to the long legs ending in heels higher than she would ever consider wearing. Add to that the fact that she was obviously a Savant of some kind, possibly Mirage, Invisibility, or Teleportation and Harper started to become curious about why this woman hadn't been added to the team. She was obviously competent and having rebuffed both Dante, and apparently a Ms. Goto, which was likely Quickflash, proceeded to vanish again.

In the brief silence after the woman disappeared, Harper figured that was her chance to get in a warning. "Don't try these people, Dante. I don't know how, but they've figured out a way to get around my shifting. They might have something similar for your telekinesis. Apparently Quickflash is being just as well countered." At this, Harper gave their companion in black a quick nod to indicate who she was talking about. "Quill's more savvy than he looks, way more so than your average g-man. We should probably do what they want, at least for now." Still, Dante apparently tipped their hand at least a little bit, showing off that they were being watched, that they weren't being allowed to disobey orders, and that there was something countering Quickflash as well. Sooner or late they'd have their chance to get around all this, though. Regardless of how smart they were, they weren't omniscient. Not to mention that Greenie seemed to either have a power that couldn't be countered or something they didn't need to counter. If it was the former, they might just have a way out if they needed after all. If it was the latter... well, at least they'd be able to enjoy the supposedly good food.
 
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DeletedUser31931

Kasumi couldn't help it. As Masque spoke she started laughing. This distracted her from not actually chess and she lost a pawn but that wasn't to be helped. Diverting a part of her brain to deal with the match subconsciously by launching programs and counter programs, she began to speak, her Japanese accent only slightly showing through with years of English tutelage and practice showing itself in her politely clipped British accent. "That's ridiculous. You're taking the view that they're here to round us all up and then turn us into their little pawns. This place has some of the highest tech I've seen in a long time and it's pretty great. Your little pal that appeared in front of Dante, she's not some counter, some foil to my power. She's a program. I've managed to gain some basic access into those scanning machines but it's...." Kasumi paused for a second here and her eyes narrowed in concentration as she matched her opponent as took advantage of her distraction to launch a salvo of new attacks which she quickly had to counter. Setting up some problems that should keep her partner busy for a short while to let her talk, she carried on. "It's scanning our genetic material, my assumption would be that it forced you to shift to get your original material, not with any of your mimicry DNA. Quill isn't here to brainwash us or control us, or they'd have sent a mind manipulator and trust me if he was then I'd know about is from his phone history. Man he needs to use incognito... Either way, I'm Kasumi Goto, resident hacker and stealer of things." She gave her title with an almost mock sincerity and her entire speech was made in a short and sharp fashion as if she didn't quite believe that she had to explain this. "I highly doubt that little miss AI will be contacting us again, computers are usually pretty good at sticking to their word unlike humans but she certainly makes for an interesting volleying partner. Your comparing her to my foil though...." Kasumi snorted for a second before finishing with "Would be like saying that your singing is off key." Kasumi ended on her quite pointed jab at Harper and she intentionally played her hand to see how the mimic would act to Kasumi revealing she knew about the shape shifter's life outside of this job. In the back of her head she shifted some pieces on a strategy board. That was an accurate simulation of events as they were currently occurring which would also attempt to predict the possible variable outcomes. It was a much less effective but slightly less ambiguous version of clairvoyance. It wasn't often correct but that wasn't really why Kasumi kept it. She guessed she just liked having all of the pieces of the puzzle neatly arranged in her head at any one moment. Her piece said, she leant back against the wall and watched and waited for the reactions of the other members of the group as she returned to her struggle with her AI opponent. This ought to be good.
 
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Deleted User - 819397

Dante came through and tried to make off on his own, only to be stopped by…well, Giles had to admit a rather gorgeous woman. She informed them that they would indeed be waiting for the others to cross through, and that they couldn't pass because she'd be stopping them. Harper spoke up, her tone still showing she wasn't quite back to her usual self. She told Dante that these people were able to counter them, that Quickflash was being countered according to the woman, that she'd been countered as far as her power was concerned in the scanner, and that Dante was likely being opposed as well. This didn't ring true to the former aristocrat, as he'd know if his appearance was off…and it wasn't. He looked perfect as always. However, he figured that one wouldn't be the ability they'd be looking to counter, so he reached for his main power…

...Only to have Quickflash, who self-introduced as Kasumi (waitasecondwhat? That meant Quill had been using her Savant name…wasn't that rude? Harper was excused, as they didn't know the name Kasumi until just now…his respect for their employer dropped a bit further…surely common courtesy would suggest that he be polite at least and address them by their human names…), state the woman was a computer program. Dammit. She wasn't real. This apparently explained the temporary neutralization of Harper's powers while in the scanner, and Kasumi's neutralization meant she was trying to do something to the building as well. It would also explain the locks, assuming they were electronic. Giles' powers had nothing to do with the facility, so that's why he'd felt unaffected…he was. That was good…he figured since most of them were keeping their talents low-key he should as well.

Kasumi went on to state that Quill to her knowledge wasn't a threat, as she was a cyberpath who'd checked his emails. This raised an immediate objection in Giles' mind. "Who says that he didn't just leave what he wanted you to find, if I may play devil's advocate here?" he asked. "You'd think he'd know a cyberpath was going to be on the team since he drew us all here…I don't think it's a good way to tell his innocence or guilt. I AM a little annoyed that he's leaving out details as we go though…you'd think telling us the extent of the systems here would've been important…" here he glanced at Harper sympathetically…a lot of his frustration was coming from the fact that she clearly hadn't done well with seeing her original form again…he was curious what she looked like originally, but knew that asking or even coming close to the subject would be a bad choice, so he left it alone. Instead he just felt irritated at Quill for not adequately preparing her. "I don't want to sow distrust, but I'm hardly going to let something like that go unnoticed because a person apparently didn't block their information properly from a cyberpath they knew was going to be on the team. Makes no sense logically." He then looked up and smiled slightly. "It is nice to meet you though, Kasumi. I must admit I was starting to worry everyone outside of Harper, Dante, and myself weren't ever going to talk. I can carry a conversation well enough, but it takes two to converse…" Giles figured his slightly cranky mood was due to hunger…well that and seeing how distraught Harper still was over the events of being scanned. That just wasn't fair to her, and he was going to have to correct that wrong at some point, one way or another…
 
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DeletedUser13682

Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let Markus drive to their HQ, instead allowing him to turn over his keys so some other person could drive his car to the headquarters. “Sorry, buddy. Well, not actually sorry, but I’m the only one who drives my car. I’ll get back to it later then. You know, you’ve got me interested enough in this case to leave it in your garage. I’ll get a cab back; so don’t let it move an inch.” Markus patted the keys in his pocket, to ensure that they were still in there, and reluctantly entered the train. The actual subway ride was fairly uneventful; there was nothing much to report, well except for the budding romance between the Green Lantern and Mystique developing in the back of the train. They had known each other for all of 20 minutes and they were already getting very friendly with each other. How could people be so trusting with each other? It didn’t make any sense to Markus how people could be so trusting with each other, especially when those two barely knew each other. But each person was different and some people were actually trusting of each other. They arrived at an old underground station, little used, poorly maintained, but still contained a sort of atmosphere, the sort that centers of influence stowed away, all but forgotten in their dark past, abandoned for the bright and gleaming dark future.

They were encouraged, strongly encouraged to disembark at this place, and face the gates of the full body scan. This was a device that had never been seen outside of TSA controlled airports and Total Recall. Along with this invasiveness that shouldn’t have been seen outside of a Philip K. novel, was a simple blood sample, the same sort of thing you’d see at a blood drive, a very noble cause were it not for the easy capability to pollute that vital fluid with whatever poisons and toxins that those who would do evil could come up with. He was certain the feds had all of Markus’s genetic information already, so it shouldn’t really matter whether this part of the federales had that genetic information as well. “Hate to say it, but I’m a faith birth,” Markus quipped, as he entered the booth. After removing his glove, Markus placed his finger on the blood sucker and let it take its sample. Sure it stung, but no more than anything he had encountered at the blood drives of old. “How’s my iron content?” he asked the machine, as it did its full body scan thing. Of course, it didn’t answer the question, instead silently copying his form into the federales’s computer system.

As he exited the Gattaca booth, Markus was greeted with an interesting scene. Harper appeared as if the booth had rustled her somewhat, Giles sitting next to her, messing about with her outfit. Dante was conversing with a hitherto unseen woman; appearing to have come straight from an issue of Vogue. It was an interesting conversation; something about laundry and remaining in one place, and what was Ms. Goto doing? That question was answered after a prompting from Harper about how they should obey Quill the G-man based on his superior skills at whatever challenges they threw at the man. Kasumi Goto, as she revealed her full name to be, explained that she didn’t believe that Quill was here to brainwash them, based on his phone’s information. Great; they had a hacker on their hands. Probably had lifted everything off his phone the moment she stepped in the room. Well, he hadn’t put much into that device; it was a simple flip phone, the kind that one got for free with a new contract. Most of the information he needed was contained in Mr. Glover’s fabulous little book. “Guess you’ve got my text and call history now, Ms. Kasumi? That’s just uni stuff, so I’m not too worried about it. You probably know my name as well, so I’ll skip that little bit. Here have one.” Markus offered out his pack of Lucky Strikes after taking one for himself, and lighting it. “Tell me, what’s Mr. Quill got on the docket for us today? Actually, all I really care about right now is what his real name is. I don’t mean that Savant name, I mean his honest to goodness real name, the one that makes him just like the rest of the world. If you knew even just that, I’d be much appreciative.”
 

DeletedUser

The train ride passed quickly. Everyone was mostly silent except for green guy and blondie, whom he was watching from the opposite seat, and who most certainly didn't feel too comfortable about his prying eyes. Her apparent hesitation made him shift his gaze to the the window behind them, as the darkened walls of the subway tunnels passed by them with a blur. As they reached the end of their journey and exited the train, they walked along a stretch of tiled floor and reached an exit of some kind. Here Quill, the guy in charge told them about the scanners that they would have to go through before they entered the HQ. Renekan waited for the others to go first, until only he and the gentlemany looking guy was left.

As he walked in and the scanners started their work on him, he was reminded of the high level of security again and this made him question Quill's sense of trust. Does he really trust us? So many security clearances and this constantly keeping themselves in the dark. Does this mean he suspects the members of the group here as well? His thoughts were interrupted as the last scanner made the flesh under his skin crawl a bit, making him flinch. As he exited on the other side, he heard the green guy talking with the japanese woman over how they were not informed about the fact that they had a cyberpath in their group, thus not letting them take the necessary precautions. Renekan being the most anti-social person in the group so far proceeded towards them and spoke, "Indeed, and we don't know who else we should be guarding ourselves from in this group. Fortunately none of you here is a mental manipulator or a pain inducer, or even if you are you haven't tried prying into my mind yet. However I still find this lack of information very disturbing and it betrays the fact that Quill doesn't trust us completely yet. Or you wouldn't have had to spy on his phone to get more facts out in the open, isn't it right Quickflash?" With this, he extended an arm out to greet them. "Im Renekan, sorry about my behaviour, but if you read up on my bio you wll find that Im not exactly a people's person. I prefer the quiet and like to stay a bit laidback, which doesn't often register well with people. But I figured this time I would try and get acquainted with the group more, moving out of my comfort zone. Afterall, none of us are really in their comfort zones anymore, are we?"

Behind them in the corridor, Quill's message flashed up in a neon signboard. "This is Quill. Please wait here for a minute until I come through and then I'll take you into the actual facility. #Timely" Renekan smiled a bit. The guy does have a sense of humour behind all that professionalism thogh.
 
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DeletedUser37114

As Quicksilver began to break out into laughter, Harper narrowed her eyes. Most of the Cyberpaths she'd worked with were more than aware of their limitations and exactly what they couldn't use their powers to find out. This one apparently was so embroiled with the new generation of technology that she'd forgotten about paper or old fashioned ways to hide information. Even the mention that she apparently knew about Harper's singing didn't change her opinion of the girl, who introduced herself as Kasumi. From the look of things, this one was quite good at what she did, as the returned to apparently staring blankly, but was also greener than the guy who'd just finished straightening her collar. You didn't need brainwashing or mental manipulation to use a group of people, let alone use and then dispose. It was still too early to see what Quill's take on this was and she wasn't prepared to let Kasumi's assumptions drive her own decisions.

As if he'd read her mind, Giles spoke up, saying that they could easily have anticipated Kasumi and that they'd known there was going to be a Cyberpath on the team. He did seem to have the wrong impression about what had happened with the scanner, but as she drew breath to explain the situation to him, Markus waltzed in, another non-victim of the scanning process. It wasn't like she was expecting everyone to come out in the same kind of shape as she did, but it still irked her how she'd been the only one really affected at all. He made a brief statement about what Kasumi had gotten and offered the room a cigarette, a habit she'd never gotten into, and asked about Quill's real name. Harper inhaled again to acknowledge that she'd love to know as well and correct Giles... and then the Eldar guy walked in, once again fine and immediately started talking for the first time. In speech form. Harper just put her face in her hands at this point, exasperated by what seemed to be an endless stream of people who hadn't said two words thus far suddenly figuring out how to talk.

From what he said, he was probably the Shield of the group, as he'd apparently be able to tell if someone was trying to poke around in his head. Apparently he also had a bio, which was odd, considering that she didn't think she had one herself, but it might have been something he'd written up to get around his own social issues. If he'd told them how to find it, that might have been a smart move, but meh. That just left him in the same situation as everyone else in the group. Harper cast a quick look at the scanner, in case anyone was coming through, then spoke up before anyone else could interrupt her. "Giles, I think you have the wrong idea about my experience with the scanner. Quill warned me, I just didn't listen. Not a mistake I'll be making twice. Nice to meet you, by the way, Renekan, love that you've figured out that you have a voice. You'll probably want to take back that hand though, before it gets bitten off by our soldier boy. And like Markus, I'd love to know Quill's real name, little miss lightfingers." This was something of a test to Kasumi and Renekan, first to see if she'd still be able to trust Quill even if she couldn't get his real name, second to see how he'd react to the fairly acerbic greeting she'd shot him. Probably still more polite than what Rambo would've given him, but enough to figure out if he was one of those shut-ins that folded at harsh words, shut down in the face of criticism, or handled it well. She'd been able to get a good impression of everyone but him and the spaced out aristo, so she wanted an opportunity to pressure him a little and figure things out. Definitely wasn't an excuse to go after someone and bleed off her building bad mood, her control was too good for that. Definitely not.
 

DeletedUser28032

As the goddess of a woman appeared before him in heat haze like shimmer Dante momentarily wondered whether they'd drugged him however when he attempted to place a hand upon the woman's shoulder in an overly confident and flirtatious manner he found his hand instead passing straight through her "Well I'll be...the Bat cave has a holo-bunny" he said with smirk as the hologram then informed him that he had been told to wait for the others "yeah I was told, but it don't mean I have to listen...oh and the names Dante!, none of that Mr Lynch crap!" he retorted. It wasn't his name, not his real name, he'd known his real name ever since he was five not that he'd realised that was what it was at the time, Mr Lynch was just what he wrote on his drivers license.
The hologram disappeared almost as quickly as it had arrived though not before informing him that she would lock the doors to stop him from wandering off "Yeah well what if I ripped the doors from their hinges? What are you gonna do about that then Holly?" he shouted up into empty space as his eyes sort out the camera's hidden within the room.
By this time Markus had entered the room offering up a pack of smokes as he asked after Quills real name "Cheers pal" Dante said with a friendly smile as he plucked a cigarette from out of the packet and tucked into the corner of his mouth before then producing a Zippo lighter with a yellow smiley face and Have a Nice Day! Written on it so that he could light both his and anyone else’s cigarette. Catching sight of the no smoking sign a huge grin appears on the soldiers face as he flips the bird to one of the near invisible camera's within the room before responding to the Professors question "What do ya mean his real name? Quill is his real name, what else do you call a name you knew when you were five?" he asked just as Renekan emerged from the scanner finding his tongue just in time for Barbie to bite it off as she snarled at him to put his hand down before Soldier Boy bit it off. A little harsh in his opinion but it didn't stop him from snapping his teeth at the newcomer and quietly laughing at the reaction no matter what it was "oh and just so you know the army taught me a little trick for dealing with blockers" he said with an evil grin as he patted the bulge in his jacket where his .44 Revolver was "...but that’s not going to be an issue is it? Because me and you are going to be the best of friends, unlike a certain member of your family" alright perhaps he was being a little unfair to the guy, after all it wasn’t him who’d betrayed them though then again he had ignored them during the meet and greet.
With the doors locked and no sign of their illustrious leader Dante decided it was time to steer the conversation to something a little more practical than their bosses name "Ok boys and girls, show and tell time we have a Kinetic, a Shifter, a blocker and a Net Runner what's your special skills?...Y'all may as well tell us now as we'll find out eventually, assuming of course that Tokyo Rose here doesn't rat you out first that is?" he said directing the question at Markus and Giles, quietly hoping that one of them would be a Magneto so that they could bust down that damn door and finally get something to eat.
 

Deleted User - 819397

Wonders never ceased…Giles couldn't help but think that as Markus and one of the completely silent men, now introduced as Renekan, said hello. Giles was about to greet them in kind (though he would've politely refused the cigarette) when Harper informed him that Quill HAD warned her about the scanner, she just hadn't listened. "Oh…well…alright then…even so though, they shouldn't have made you go through it…especially if your original body isn't one you use anymore…the DNA won't be of any use to them." He was making a couple presumptions here, but seeing how shook up she was about it it was the most likely explanation. He still wasn't happy with Quill, but he was a bit more understanding about the circumstances now.

Dante proceeded to scoff at some of the group's desire to know Quill's real name, claiming that their Savant names were real and their human names were just a cover. Personally Giles felt they were of equal status, but figured it wasn't worth arguing the point. He DID bristle though as Dante inquired after the powers they didn't know yet, namely Markus' and his own. Harper had informed him not to trust anyone else that came in, and his power wasn't on a level with most of the others'…revealing it now could easily make him a target...but even so, Dante's request wasn't one he felt he could reasonably ignore, especially when he was supposedly the social, friendly one of the group. That meant compromising. "Judging from the powers that've been showcased so far I'd guess I'm intended to be the muscle in addition to the people person." He chuckled a little, realizing that with his appearance something physically strong probably didn't make a lot of sense. "I'm not supernaturally strong or anything, and I'd demonstrate what I can do, but I'd guess that when Quill shows up with our missing friend he wouldn't appreciate me being active. Suffice it to say I'm apparently the most offensively-based Savant here." He leaned back, grinning slightly. He completely omitted his second power because it had no bearing on anything concerning the case, and he'd been intentionally vague…that way he could be helpful without completely trusting the group with his strengths…diplomacy, who said it was useless with government?
 

DeletedUser31931

(OOC: Taking control of Naut's character short term due to inactivity by Naut. Should he continue to be inactive I will take control of him long term as is stipulated by the CS rules. This has happened before and I won't let it drag this RP down. Even if I'm not here to helm the ship at all times I try to communicate about that as much as possible and do as much as possible when I am free.)

Megas
He was the last to go through the scanners, letting the others go first out of politeness. He strolled casually into the booth and placed his finger into the receptacle. It wasn't like he had much to fear... they had summoned him with good purpose as an investigator. Killing him would achieve nothing, he had never posed any threat to the FBI anyway. He stepped through the scanner and caught the beginning of Giles speaking, hearing his speech and then coming to his own conclusions about the conversation that they'd been having. Deciding that now was probably as good a time as any to reveal his power, he opened his mouth to speak when Quill stepped out of the scanner.

Quill
As the others stepped through, he called out to the empty room. "So then Ash, are they all who they claim to be?" The voice that replied was courteous but had a business like tone to it.
"Yes Agent Quill. DNA records match those lifted from their addresses. There are no infiltrators and the visual scans match the imagery that you provided to Agent Smith from their heads. I will, of course, continue to monitor them for you but you can definitely trust them." Quill nodded.
"Thank you very much Ash. I've told you that you can drop the Agent by the way. Just call me Quill. I don't like having to call in an external team but for once we need heads outside of our own, especially considering if my theory is correct..." Quill sighed and stepped into the scanner. It scanned him quickly as he thought to himself. He stepped out and caught the tail end of Giles talking. He cut in before Megas could speak, deciding that all conversation could wait. "Sorry about the delay folks. Now before we go any further, I'd like to fully introduce you to someone it appears that you have already partially met." The figure that had appeared earlier shimmered into existence again as Quill worked his way through the group quickly until he stood with her at the front of the group with the hallway leading down one of the tunnels. "This is AIWCA. The cyberpath who created her was a fan of cartoon shows, some of you might even get the reference. It stands for Artificial Intelligence Without a Cool Acronym. It's a bit clunky so we usually just call her Ash, which is the nickname for the person that her body was modelled off of. Ash is an AI and she runs this facility. She's shackled which means that she's bound within certain constraints and there are multiple physical kill switches that she has no ability to override. Those exist in case of a worst case scenario and their locations will remain an obvious secret. Ash actually agreed to the installment of those herself. I'll let her take over from here." As Quill had spoken, a panel in the wall next to him had recessed and a tray containing several mobile phones had emerged. He picked up the mobile phones and began handing them out to the members of the group as Ash talked.
"Greetings. I am Ash. The devices Quill are currently handing out are a set of mobiles phones that you are being lent purely for this job. They can hack any wifi connection, work on any mobile network and even function as a satellite phone. In short, you should be able to connect from almost anywhere in the world. A part of my consciousness is installed in each of these phones so long as they remain connected. For that reason there is no airplane mode, they have to be turned off. I work as their OS system. These will be your phones for contacting one another during the case. I am currently making a note of which of you receives which phone and they'll open on based on DNA recognition. Harper, we will not require you to shift again, that was an unfortunate necessity of having to obtain what is referred to as primary genetic material. You can all contact one another or any member of this base at any time. I am also on hand for any general queries that you might have. Needless to say that these phones are monitored, because I exist on them. If you have any personal information then I suggest you stick to using the devices you brought with you. Also, would you kindly stop trying to hack your phone Ms. Goto?" At this statement Kasumi looked slightly sheepish and lowered her eyes before locking the phone and slipping it into her pocket. "It is now nearly time for dinner. There are maps on your phone but the main hall is up ahead. Quill will give you a quick tour now but should you require any further assistance I am always at hand." With this, Ash faded back into the ether, though there was indeed a button on the bottom of the interface of their phone which simply had the letter A. If you wanted to contact Ash, this was probably the way to do so. Quill coughed politely for their attention and then spoke. "If you'd all follow me, that would be nice. I promise I won't take up too much of your time and there is Lasagne for dinner shortly." With that, Quill led them down a hallway and opened the door at the end, Ash having apparently unlocked the doors. As they walked off, the electronic board wiped itself of it's message before inserting itself back into the wall. As Quill led them out, the space must have seemed pretty big. It was the size of a small cavern and looked like the lair of a Bond villain. It was carved out stone and large artificial UV lighting lit up from the top of the cavern as a man hovered in mid air, apparently performing maintenance on one of the lights. There were all manner of rooms and corridors that led off from this main hall, it was clear that this was the place to go if you wanted to get anywhere in this Headquarters. "This is HQ, home for the next couple of weeks. You've all got individual dorms and Ash will lead you to those. There's a gym, a dojo and several other places to work out all down that corridor, we have a social centre where you can unwind and socialise with other Savants, though the details of this case have to stay between us, as well as catch up on the outside world. There's a library that should have any book you want, and if you don't they'll usually order it in within a day or two. There's a command centre and briefing and planing rooms which we'll probably carry out most of the investigation from whilst we're here. Again, Ash will tell you what room we're assigned to. Other than that, you have the evening off. All of your stuff should be in your rooms, if it's not then I'm sure Ash will be more than willing in helping you locate it. Markus, now that you're scanned into our security system you can go and pick up your car. I'll have a taxi to take you back to the FBI building and you can drive it here from there. Sorry about that inconvenience. Finally, dinner should be in..." Quill glanced at his watch to check the time, thought for a second and then said "about an hour and half though I'm sure the kitchen will have a snack or two if you're feeling too hungry before then. That can all be found in a large canteen. You can sit where you like for dinner, most of the people should be friendly. Other than that, the evening is yours to enjoy. If you desperately need me then, again, you can contact me through Ash. She's pretty central to life here. Try to have fun and relax. Work starts at 9:00 tomorrow so try not to get too drunk." With that, Quill promptly strolled off, whistling to himself. His work here was done, he could go and catch up with his partner for a couple of hours and get some of the tension out of his system. They were good for that. He figured he probably had the rest of the night off. He'd keep his phone close at hand but he doubted any of the group would need him. They didn't seem like morons and they had Ash to help them out. No doubt they'd be intimidated at first, who wouldn't? They'd shortly grow accustomed to living in HQ though and, if Quill was honest, HQ was a pretty great place to live.

The Man
There were no lights on in his office. He studied his screen with great care and consideration, wondering what he was going to do. The screen illuminated his face in the dark, almost as if he were uplighting himself with a torch at a campfire. On the screen where a set of photos. A woman, exiting the internationals section of New York airport having arrived on a flight from Tokyo. Green ghoul leaving the same airport from a national flight. In total there where seven photographs. He didn't know who they were, or why they were here. His secretary was currently composing a report on all of them. They had something to do with that black man though... The one at the scene of the crime. He ran his hands through what little remaining hair he had left. A detective squad? An infiltration party? The hired muscle? The thoughts of what they could possibly be ran through his head. In the end he came to a decision. It was no matter, the plan was already in motion and their actions could do nothing to stop the chain of events that was to come. In fact, if he played his cards rightly, this could turn out quite well for him... He pulled up his mail program and created a new email. Pulling his keyboard out from under the monitor, he began to type.

The Magician
The flame swirled around him, spiralling around his body in the most magnificent fashion. It wound its way around him, refusing to set his cape on fire until he held out a finger and it streamed from across his body along his arm and through his finger, firing out at a beautiful ice sculpture. The sculpture itself was a true work of art. Created purely from solid ice, it showing a pitiful human carrying what appeared to be a large stone. He was being crushed by the weight and his back was hunched like the servant he ought to be. Meanwhile, atop the sculpture stood a man, the ice forming what could only be blue flames around his body, representing the true nature of the world. Savants were the true rulers of this planet, their time was coming and no-one would stop them. Their gifts that had set them apart would one day result in their eternal rule. "Fear me. I will burn away your soul, mortals!" The words were spat out in a posh upper class accent that gave away an expensive if not necessarily intelligent upbringing that went with the landed gentry. As the ice sculpture was engulfed in flame, it quickly vanished first into water and then as soon as it did that the water almost instantly evaporated under the extreme heat it was subjected to. As it vanished into thin air, the flames continued in an impressive display until nothing remained. The camera stopped recording and the magician quickly uploaded the video onto his computer and then sent it to his friend. It had been a surprise to discover a like-minded Savant but he knew that the intelligent few existed out there who hadn't been affected by an idea that they were there for something greater than themselves. Savants should take their natural place as rulers and he would wait. When the world was done tearing itself apart then the Savants could step in and then he could take his true place as ruler. With a smile, he attached the video to an email, typed in the email address and hit send. He decided that, actually, he was in the mood for some dancing. He thought for a second, trying to find the right name in his head and then put his head out of his office and bellowed his daughter's name. She scurried downstairs and he gave her instructions before he curled up on the sofa. "Go on then. Let's see what you've been up to."
 

Deleted User - 819397

Finally they were all through. Quill introduced them formally to Ash, the AI that ran things. He silently accepted his phone, examined it briefly, then dropped it in his pocket. Finally, they'd get to head out on their own, after Quill explained the layout of the facilities. It seemed that the place was rather well stocked with all manner of areas helpful for them, and they'd even get their own rooms, which was excellent. It wasn't that he was averse to sharing a room, he just didn't know most of the group well enough yet to want them around while he was sleeping. With his part said, Quill departed, saying they were to meet up at 9 the next morning and that they shouldn't get 'too drunk' which left a grin on the former aristocrat's face. He turned to Harper, grin still on his face, and inquired, "We've apparently got some time to kill before food, anything in particular interest you?" He personally wanted to get down to the dojo at some point and practice on dummies, but he did that frequently enough if his newfound friend had a better idea he wouldn't be averse to jumping on that concept.
 

DeletedUser37114

Dante, of course, proceeded to assist with her little jab at Markus, though she hoped they hadn't gone too far. His comments about Savant names versus human... she couldn't change her Savant name, there was too much honesty there. She preferred the name that she chose for herself over some silly monicker she'd been stuck with by God or Satan or whichever entity was watching over her. Giles was also quite sweet about the whole scanner thing, trying to protect her from an unfortunate necessity. Almost made her feel better about the whole thing, knowing it got pretty boy firmly on her side. Meanwhile, soldier boy was trying to figure out everyones' powers, identifying as a "shifter." Crude, but not wrong. Greenie promptly took the lead, saying it looked like he was supposed to be the muscle, having a vaguely offensive power that remained active. Harper applauded the wonderfully vague descriptions, though her not being in on the joke was a bit of a bummer. She'd find out soon enough, though.

It was with that thought that fancy-boy and Quill walked into the room, Quill a little ways behind. He introduced the woman from before, who showed up again, as Ash, the AI who ran the facility. What facility required a full, advanced AI like this to run, she was starting to get scared to hear about, but it was nice to know that she was there. Harper her new phone, an obvious leash, though also likely a very helpful tool in the field if she was starting to read Quill correctly. Thankfully, she wouldn't have to shift again in order to use the phone, which would have led to her handing the it back as an operational risk. As useful as it seemed, getting to keep it would be quite nice and Harper slipped it into a pocket alongside her own cell. The main hall itself that quill led them into when the AI finished her spiel was a very nice, well lit, natural waste of space, though it was nice to be out of the usual cramped corridors found in an underground facility like this. Quill explained that there were all manner of facilities for them to use, from a library to a gym, to the most important place, a mess hall.

Unfortunately, dinner would be in an hour and a half, though the sound of some snacks before dinner was pretty tempting. Lasagne was something she generally enjoyed though, so snacks might not be the best idea at the moment. Report time the next morning would be 9:00, which left them plenty of time to enjoy their luxurious new surroundings. Harper was a little suspicious still that they'd have all these wonderful places to spend time, but she was getting the impression that Quill was the kind of man who tried as hard as he could to keep his subordinates happy. Why, she'd find out later. For now... Giles was asking her if she wanted to do anything. She hadn't had a particularly good idea for what to do to kill time until dinner, but if the newbie was asking her, she had to come up with something. "I think I'd still like that bottle of wine," she said slowly, giving herself more time to think. "So the kitchens first... then... you can pick something to do!" Harper finished this by mirroring Giles' grin back at him. No harm in learning something about your allies' own preferences. And besides, he might have a fun idea.
 

Deleted User - 819397

As the pair headed to the kitchens to obtain Harper's wine, Giles couldn't help but be impressed with the facility as they passed by the various areas. The place was truly up to date with top of the line…well, everything. He could get used to sticking around a place like this…oh yes indeed. The shapeshifter inquired as to what he was thinking of doing in the meantime, and he shrugged. "I was kind of thinking I'd work out in the dojo a bit, work against dummies just for practice. Of course, if you were hoping to get into the bottle right away, I'd rather not be working with dangerous material while not fully with it, assuming of course you wanted a drinking partner. If so that's perfectly fine, I practice most days, one day off won't kill me." He spoke with his usual easy attitude, tone conveying he truly wouldn't mind either way. "Regardless, this facility is really cool…my f-" he cut himself off, though within a heartbeat he continued, "-amily doesn't even have a place this nice. Not that I'm complaining of course, if we did this wouldn't be nearly as impressive." He grinned with a little too much enthusiasm as they entered the mess hall. "Looks like we got here just fine, let's grab you your wine, ok?" He was a bit frustrated with himself for bringing up his family…he didn't talk about them, and for good reason. No, best to hope Harper missed his minor slip and leave it at that. Enjoy the facility, enjoy the wine, enjoy the company, and look damn good doing it all. That was the way to go.
 
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