No.1929
>Date: May 12th, 2017
>Location: Sanctuary City - Downtown
>Time: 12:39 PM
>People lazily wait in the queue at a trendy coffee shop, all of them dealing with their own business as they wait to get their daily lunch, their time far too precious to be worried about the lives of others.
>One such person, a young man engrossed in his phone, makes his was into the shop, casually walking forward while not looking ahead, focussed entirely on the stream of messages going in front of him in a group chat.
>After a few steps in, the man stops abruptly as he hits the person in front of him in the queue.
"Oh. . . sorry about that. . ."
>The man takes a step back, looking up at the person who he bumped into, a woman who easily stands at 7 foot tall, her black hair interrupted by unnatural-looking streaks of white hair. Not saying anything, the woman turns slightly to look at the man, staring at him with two empty, glazed over eyes.
"You ok. . ?"
>Something seems to snap within the woman, and she grabs the man's arm, the horrible sound of bone cracking coming from it as she tightens her grip on him and lifts him up.
"Arrrgh. . . J-jesus. . . I-I'm sorry. . . d-do you want me to pay for your coff-"
>With the same amount of strength as before, the woman flings the man at the other end of the coffee shop, his body hitting one of the coffee machines with a resounding crash, stunning the rest of the shop into silence, and drawing what attention wasn't previously on the woman to her.
>The woman stands in place for few seconds, silently regarding the rest of the coffee shop, then lunges forward. . .
—————————————————-
>A few minutes later.
>An MRD van hurtles around the corner, meeting another one that has set up position outside of the coffee shop.
>The chaos from the shop has spread slightly out to the street, as various pieces of debris and people litter the area, evidently having been thrown out of the shop by the woman.
>The woman herself remains with the shop, with whatever parts and people from it she hasn't thrown out yet.
>Once the van comes to a stop, several MRD troopers come out, most of them taking up positions to cover the shop while they arrange a way of breaking up the incident. Paramedics also fill the area, working on what people are brought into a safe location.
>As the troopers get into positions, the officer in charge looks around, and notices a gap in the line.
"Where's the rookie? He better not be lagging behind. . ."
>The officer stops as he notices an overeager trooper charging the shop.
"Get back in line, before-!"
>Before he can finish his sentence, the man is thrown out, flying into one of the MRD vehicles with enough force to knock him out, even through his advanced armour.
>Stepping out of the shop, the woman stands in from of the MRD line, silently looking them over.
No.1930
>>1929>A thin strand of silk slowly comes into view of the coffee shop - as a figure in a sleek black and red outfit approaches. "…..Oh that's not good."
>Surveying the damage for a moment, Arachnid then lands on the hood of a MRD hovercraft. Looking around, he then says:"Hey! What happened here?!"
>Turning around, an MRD trooper scowls as he sees the costumed vigilante. Muttering to himself, he then says out loud:"Get outta here, kid. This is way above your paygrade."
>Annoyed, Arachnid then leans forward - moving to look at the MRD trooper as he responds:"I'm not really paid for any of this so…."
No.1932
>>1931>Blinking, Arachnid does a double take at the woman before thinking to himself:{"No, MRD troopers first. Gotta help them!"}
>Jumping up into the air, Arachnid then moves to orient himself towards one of the MRD troopers. Holding out his hand, he then fires a silk line at them - creating a net between two lamp posts to catch them.
>Changing focus, he then swings in the direction of the other MRD trooper - catching them in mid swing."GYAH!"
"Hey hey hey! You're gonna be OK! Deep breaths! Deep breaths!"
>As Arachnid quickly swings to the ground, carrying the MRD agent. He then lowers them down as he turns towards the woman once more. Taking note of her two tone hair and her unusual appearance, Arachnid then internally activates his comm link, stating:"Uh boss? We've got a problem. Coffee shop in Downtown. Probably saw the news already, right?"
>Arachnid says, still standing and assuming a combat stance - as he stares down the woman meters away from him. No.1934
>>1933>A blurred figure suddenly slams into the ground, kicking up dust. The post seems to slam into the figure, snapping in half and harmlessly rolling away.
>The dust clears, with Omnius standing in front of the woman. He stares at her."What's your problem? Someone spit in your coffee?"
>Omnius turns to look at Arachnid. "You can relax now. I've got it."
>He turns around to look at the woman again, only to suddenly dash forward - slamming his fist into her face without warning. No.1936
>>1934>The woman stumbles back at Omnius's punch, shaking her head as her face disconnects with the fist, but otherwise appears uninjured from the strike.>>1935>Confused, the woman looks down at ther hand staring at it for a few moments, trying to work out where her post has gone, before looking up at Arachnid, then Omnius, her blank gaze rapidly switching between the two.
>After a few moments of this, the woman stops, settling her gaze on Arachnid and jumping forward at him, throwing a punch in Omnius's direction quickly in an attempt to get him out of the fight. No.1938
>>1937>Arachnid then leaps up from his perch on the MRD Hovercraft - landing on the ground and assuming a defensive stance beside Omnius."Early reports said that she started a commotion inside of that coffee shop."
>Arachnid points with his thumb at the coffee shop to his side. As he does this, he then says:"Not sure what caused it, but she just went crazy. At least that's what the eyewitness reports say."
>Now rising to his feet, he then says:"No idea what her powers are, or what her motive is. You're psionic right? Can you knock her out or something then?"
>Arachnid says, asking with interest. No.1942
>>1941>Looking amazed at the results of Omnius's power, Arachnid turns towards Omnius and says:"Woah. That's insanely useful."
>Tapping the bottom of his helmet as he assumes a thinking position, Arachnid then says:"I still don't understand what her issue was."
>Looking at Omnius, Arachnid states:"Want to investigate the crime scene? I think the MRD will take it from here now."
>Arachnid then waits patiently for a response from Omnius. No.1943
>>1942>Omnius shrugs. "Sure, I guess."
>He begins walking towards the coffee shop."I'm not really sure what we'd find in a coffee shop rampage. But we can look."
No.1944
>>1943>Arachnid walks alongside Omnius, stating:"I'm more interested in whatever could've set her off. The reports say she was just standing in line - and then she suddenly grabbed at someone."
>Tapping the side of his helmet, Arachnid continues speaking:"Not really certain what could cause that, honestly. So maybe there's a condition that we're missing?"
No.1946
>>1945>Arachnid begins looking around the interior of the shop, careful to note anything significant."Is there anything out of the ordinary? Anything that might give the impression that our assailant got set off?"
>The masked vigilante then casually leaps up onto the ceiling and begins sticking to it. As he looks around from the ceiling, he then begins crawling around. Taking note of the decor in the building, he then says:"This feels like one of those 'modern' and 'trendy' shops. A shame it got busted down like this, honestly."
>Arachnid then continues looking around - using his vantage point from above to get a better view of the area. No.1947
>>1946>Omnius just stands near the door-way. Staring at the destroyed shop. "It just looks like a destroyed coffee place to me."
>He stands there, thinking for a few moments. Suddenly a realization hits him, and he begins walking closer towards the center of the shop. Omnius kneels down, appearing to be staring at nothing.
>After a few moments of silence, he stands up again. "Someone bumped into her and she started destroying shit. That's it."
>He turns to look at Arachnid."Whatever's gotten her acting like that doesn't have much to do with this place."
No.1948
>>1947>Lowering down on a silk string, Arachnid maintains his yo-yo like position as he looks around the area once more."Hmmm….That's somewhat unexpected. If it was just a simple altercation then….."
>Flipping onto the ground, he then lands on his feet and stands up. Doing so, he then says:"Well in that case, I'm gonna go see Mosaic. He might know what to make of this."
No.1949
>>1948"You go ahead then."
>A couple of small cakes wrapped in plastic float towards Omnius. He grabs them and seems to pocket them. "I'll just go fly around, see if I spot anything unusual elsewhere for now."
>Before Damian can say anything else Omnius walks out the coffee shop, and then flies off. No.1950
>>1949>Arachnid then jumps up into the air, and begins swinging off into the distance. As he does so, Arachnid starts calling up Mosaic once more as he says:"Hey boss! Did you get all of that?"
["Yeah, I did Arachnid. Good work. I'll see what I can do on my end."]
>Continuing to swing and vault between the buildings in the Downtown area, Arachnid then asks:"You need anything from me? Or you got this instead?"
["I've got this. I'll examine the area myself. Might want to check in with your girlfriend. She might get cranky if you're not taking marching orders frequently."]
>Arachnid feels himself suddenly lose control of his swing - barely reacting in time to spin up another silk line. Irritated, he then shouts:"She's not my girlfriend! I'm serious!"
>Arachnid then swings off into the distance. No.1951
>>1950>As the MRD trooper begin to surround the unconscious woman, the crime scene is constructed - with the same fencing and tape used to split off the area from the general public."Make sure she's contained. If she's a Meta-Human, get her into the APC. If not? Well, get the reinforcement harness."
>Nodding, a MRD trooper then begins directing their fellow troopers. As they begin bringing in the APC vehicle and the investigative unit, none of them seem to notice the figure beside them.
>Wearing armored robes, Mosaic kneels down beside the unconscious woman - seemingly undetected by the MRD agents or their devices. As he looks over her, he then thinks:{"Not a Meta-Human. No Meta-Gene expression. Interesting."}
>As he places a hand on her arm and pulls back her sleeve - he then immediately gets conformation, noticing a specific skin abrasion next to a cut in her arm.{"Intravenous injection? Humour then. I figured all of it was destroyed in this city."}
>Silent for a moment, he then thinks:{"……Foul play? Deal gone wrong? Stolen shipment?"}
>Mosaic then thinks for another moment, before he then stands up and thinks:{"I'll have to do some investigating then. I think I know who can help with this."}
>Mosaic then disappears from the scene without a trace - still unnoticed by anyone there. No.1952
>>1951>Instantly returning with Omnius beside him, Mosaic then watches as neither of them are noticed by the figures walking around.
>Silent, Mosaic then makes a gesture with his hand - feeling a brief ripple of force emanate out from his hand. The entirety of the area then begins to slow to a crawl - with people, objects and seemingly time itself all more or less "stopping".
>Turning back to Omnius, Mosaic then says:"It's localized to the city. I can keep it up for a few minutes before issues start cropping up."
>Looking down at the unconscious form of the woman once more, he then states:"Can you get into her head?"
>Looking down at the woman once more, Mosaic then says:"I'll take a few samples of her blood to confirm Humour injection. I'll need to know what variant of the substance we're working with here."
>Mosaic then makes another brief gesture with his hands - causing a small amount of blood to leave the woman's body, phasing through her arm. "There you are."
>As this occurs, Mosaic then seemingly manifests a small vial to contain the blood itself - before looking at the vial as he makes it disappear seemingly into nothingness. No.1953
>>1952"Can you?"
>Omnius just stares at their surroundings. "Can you not do this and telepathy at the same time or something? Otherwise I don't see why you brought me."
>He turns to look at Mosaic."I'm fine helping, just I thought it was weird you needed me to look into someone's head for you."
No.1954
>>1953>Mosaic crosses his arms as he then says:"…..Maybe I just like spending time with my friend. Or is that too hard to believe?"
>Mosaic says, with a hint of emotion in his voice."…..Never mind. You have more experience with psionic scanning than I do - and this is too important to mess up. I trust you with this far more than I trust myself. At least for now."
>Nodding at the woman, Mosaic then states:"If for whatever reason you need psionic backup? I can help. But I'm going with your example here."
No.1955
>>1954>Omnius shrugs."Don't think I'll need backup for some random person. But thanks, I guess."
>A few moments of awkward silence pass. Until Omnius suddenly begins to speak again."Anyway, yeah I can just read her."
>Omnius begins to use his telepathy to peer into the woman's mind… No.1956
>>1955>Unsurprisingly, the woman's mind doesn't have any defences against telepathic attacks, and Omnius is able to break into it without much effort.
>Despite this, however, the woman's mind is heavily broken up inside, with most of her memories and thoughts missing and broken up.
>As he looks through, Omnius sees vague, hazy memories of the woman's childhood, flashes of games played with friends in the school playground. . .
>The memories then fade away and Omnius sees an image of two lights piercing through darkness and heading towards the woman, who is much smaller in the memory than she is in front of Omnius, before they hit her and everything goes dark.
>The memories then shift to a vaguely remembered clinic. A woman in a medical mask stands on the other side of the room, and injects something in a child who is lying in a medical bed before moving over to the woman. Gently putting a hand on the woman's side, the doctor says something:"In. . .t. . . pa. . . need you. . ."
>The words are broken, jumbled up, and the woman's vision shudders slightly as something jabs into her arm, in the same place as Mosaic checked earlier.
>The doctor nods and walks away from the woman, and the woman's vision fades as she follows the doctor briefly, catching a glimpse of some factories outside before fading entirely. No.1958
>>1957>Looking at Omnius as he flies off into the distance, Mosaic then remains silent for a moment."……….."
>Time then resumes in the area - as Mosaic places a magical enchantment on the woman - letting him keep track of her location.
>Mosaic then appears moving beside Omnius - sitting cross legged as he then speaks. His magical abilities allowing him to converse with Omnius at superhuman speeds."Orion, we need to focus on repairing the woman's mind. Once she's back to a stable sense of cognition, then we can go find the woman who did this to her."
No.1960
>>1959>Sighing, Mosaic then says out loud:"I'm not exactly the authority on the subject - but killing her is going too far. I know what happens when you cross that line - in case that was forgotten."
>Silent for a moment, Mosaic then states:"Besides, it's as I said. I'm trying to reach out to you, as someone who's trying to be a friend."
>As he thinks for a moment, he then says:"But if I'm not going to be enough? I don't think Phoebe would be thrilled if she saw you kill someone now."
No.1962
>>1961"I never said I was fucking killing anyone. Now piss off."
>Realizing he just caught wind of the woman's location, Omnius suddenly makes a hard turn towards her. In just a few seconds he covers the distance and goes crashing through the ceiling, landing in front of the woman with enough force to knock everything and everyone near him over.
>He then hurries over and grabs the woman by the throat - slamming her against the wall. "SO YOU'RE EXPERIMENTING ON KIDS, HUH!?"
No.1963
>>1962>Omnius's destination is a run down medical building, with various pieces of salvaged equipment making up operating tools as well patched up parts medical beds within the room.
>Besides the woman, the majority of the people in the room are asleep in the beds, sedated, although one person now sits on the floor, having been knocked over by Omnius's entry, nursing their arm.
>The doctor herself lets out a quiet cry of pain as Omnius slams against the wall, evidently not being particularly durable.
>As Omnius holds onto her throat, she chokes slightly, trying to force through words."I. . .
ack. . . children. . ?"
>The womans voice sounds kind, if tired, beneath the sounds of her struggling to fight for air."I don't
ack. . . know what you're talking about. Just. . ."
>The woman's eyes dart around the room.". . .don't harm the patients. . ."
>The woman looks at Omnius with pleading eyes.". . .please."
No.1964
>>1963"Don't lie to me!"
>Omnius tightens his grip slightly. "I saw what you did! You experiment on people, and leave them as these dull brained killing machines!"
No.1965
>>1963>>1964>Mosaic then makes his presence known from behind Omnius, stating very sternly:"Let her go, and allow her to speak. Once she's spoken, then you can judge for yourself if her words are genuine or not."
>Crossing his arms, Mosaic then reiterates:"I
won't ask a second time. Do the right thing and let her
go."
No.1966
>>1965"Or what? You'll kick my ass or something? Fuck you."
>Omnius continues to stare at the woman, getting ready to again go off the handle. Suddenly, he stops. Letting go of the woman."Fine."
>Omnius steps back, keeping his eyes locked on the woman. No.1967
>>1966>The woman slumps slightly as Omnius lets her go. Rebalancing herself, she pulls her mask down and takes in a deep breath."Th-thank you. . ."
>The woman looks around the room, quickly scanning her eyes over the medical equipment."I don't know what you mean by me
experimenting on people though. . . I may use
some more experimental treatments, but everything I use is safe, I swear. . ."
>The woman looks back at Omnius.". . .I swore an oath to do no harm, as many physicians do, and I have not knowingly broken that oath, are you sure you have the right person?"
No.1968
>>1966>Sighing, Mosaic then states:"I was going to notify a person who I
respect and who
can reprimand you
far better than I ever could."
>>1967>Mosaic then looks back at Omnius and says:"If you want proof? You know what to do."
>He then walks off to the side - still crossing his arms. No.1970
>>1968>>1969>The woman stumbles slightly as the memories are sent to her, clearly not used to such techniques, and her face turns dark."O-oh, Alicia. . ."
>The woman looks up."Is she. . ?"
>The concern in her voice does, at least, sound genuine. No.1971
>>1970>Mosaic then looks at Omnius and says:"Now see for yourself whether it's truly genuine or not."
>Turning back to the woman before Omnius can use his psionic powers, Mosaic then asks:"What's the purpose of this facility? You mentioned something about experimental treatments - and judging by the mention of an oath, I assume Hippocratic - like any physician."
No.1972
>>1971"Can't you tell?"
>The woman sighs, looking around at the rest of the room, as ramshackle as it is."I suppose my equipment
is very beaten down, not like the equipment someone with a suit as. . ."
>The woman looks Mosaic up and down.". . .
expensive as what you're wearing is used to, I imagine."
>The woman carefully walks across the room and over to the person who got knocked down, helping them up and guiding them to a bed."It's a clinic and hospital. . . for the dregs like these. . ."
>The woman helps the person into the bed and smiles at them before turning away.". . .everyone who comes here has slipped through the cracks of the system. . . orphans, addicts, the homeless. . . anyone who society would rather forget - and I treat them, to the best of my ability. With what resources I have."
>The woman moves away from the bed, sighing."Alicia, for example, was hit by a car, and couldn't afford the bills to be treated in a regular hospital, so she was brought here, and I. . ."
>The woman looks away for a moment, thinking.". . .treated her."
No.1973
>>1972>Mosaic is silent for a moment before he then says:"Where'd you obtain the substance that Alicia was injected with? There were surface skin abrasions near the site of intravenous injection, rough abrasions too."
>Assuming a thinking position, he then states:"I assume that she had a reaction to the substance, at least at first she did."
>Posing another question, Mosaic asks:"Second, why not just turn them over to city services? There's a publicly funded hospital for the destitute and homeless for this exact reason. The city is far more than wealthy enough to maintain it as well."
No.1975
>>1973"Ah. . . so you know?"
>The woman sighs."The humor is everywhere in the district, it's simple enough to get some. . ."
>>1974>The woman follows Omnius with her eyes as he leaves wordlessly."But no, she didn't have a reaction, she
shouldn't have a reaction to it, the formula is
safe - I stabilized it. All it should do is provide a helping hand in the healing process. The only way it could have caused a reaction is if she had a predisposition to that, or. . ."
>The woman sighs again."Oh Alicia. . ."
>The woman looks Mosaic, looking as close to his eyes as she can."Did she have other drugs in her system, such as Booster?"
"As for the hospital, I take it that you've never visited it? Because I have, I worked there for five years. . ."
>The woman looks away, out of one of the windows."Too many fall through the cracks there, the city
may have enough money to provide for everyone, but that doesn't mean it actually does, so I decided it was better to be more proactive and make sure no one fell through."
>The woman let's out an exhausted chuckle."As tiring as that is."
No.1976
>>1975>Silent for a moment, Mosaic then says:"I'll deal with the hospital then. Something tells me there's a rat in the city's government."
>Mosaic then reaches into his coat jacket and pulls out the vial of blood from before - seemingly having tested it the entire time."The humour in her bloodstream was modified. Likely mutated with a custom enzyme and substrate combination. There are trace amounts of other drugs inside of her bloodstream. The deoxyhemoglobin in her blood wasn't demonstrating cooperitivity either - which confirms my suspicions."
>Handing the vial to her, he then says:"Her body was slowly getting starved of oxygen due to the drug's effects on her blood's ability to bind oxygen. Combine that with the other neurodegenerative effects of the drugs spiked inside of her - and she's experienced significant brain matter erasure. Her grey matter in particular is dangerously low."
>Mosaic then states:"I can bring her back here later on to see if you can help. If not, I'll do it myself."
No.1977
>>1976"Yes, I know it was modified -
I was the one who modified it."
>The woman brings the vial up, looking at it."It should remain inert in most cases, outside of, like I said, genetic predisposition, or. . ."
>The woman hands the vial back to Mosaic.". . .other drugs that can affect Meta-Genes, or I suppose in this case, pseudo Meta-Genes, reacting with the Humor, such as Booster. . ."
>The woman sighs."Alicia. . . I told you not to do this
precisely for this reason. . ."
>The woman looks at Mosaic."And do you seriously think I possess the equipment for that?"
>The woman indicates at the equipment around the room."Everything here is built from spare parts and what I could salvage from various junkers. This isn't a fully equipped hospital, sir. . ."
>The woman sighs."Sorry, you sound like a nice kid, but idealism only works so far. . ."
>The woman turns around, heading to a side door, and waves her hand."You're free to try and fix the hospital system as well, but I can assure you, it isn't just a case of there being rats."
>The woman opens the door slightly, looking back at Mosaic."If you can help Alicia though, I ask that you do, she deserves better than a sad end like that."
No.1978
>>1977>Looking at the vial in his fingers, Mosaic then flips it around until he's holding it by only his thumb and his index finger. Then he presses down on them both - as the vial seemingly disappears while he presses his fingers closer together.
>Then turning his gaze back towards the woman, he states:"If idealism was enough, I wouldn't be here. Thanks for the information though."
>Mosaic then says once more:"If you want us to keep this a secret for now? We can. But we'd suggest that you keep a handle on your 'patients'. The more that situations like this sprout up, the more the MRD are going to ask ask questions."
>Crossing his arms once more, Mosaic then states:"What happens if more people like Alicia become victimized by a lack of real, systemic support for their situation? You can't protect them here forever - and something needs to change above ground too."
>Silent for a moment, Mosaic concludes by saying:"We can also get you better equipment - if you want. But only if you promise to get a better handle on your patients here as well."
No.1979
>>1978"You can report me if you want - just know that you'll be making things worse down here for those I help."
>The woman keeps by the door, not going through it yet."And I'm aware of all of those things you mentioned - but those things are beyond my control."
>The woman heads through the door, returning after a few moments with a vial in her hand."I am only one woman, and I am not in control of these people, I only help them when they're sick and injured. So while I would very much appreciate your offer of equipment, I cannot make that promise."
No.1980
>>1979>Thinking to himself for a moment, Mosaic then sighs internally as he says:"First time for everything then."
>Thinking and visualizing the effect that he wants to produce for a moment, Mosaic's ring then flickers with a pulsating black energy for a moment - before he snaps his fingers.
>Instantly, a large surge of red energy immediately expands from Mosaic's ring - rippling across the entirety of the facility, as it begins to rapidly shift. Older, worn out equipment is then displaced by state-of-the-art, advanced technology.
>The pristine, shiny and metallic walls of the newly renovated facility glean brightly. In the same moment, complex, mechanical and technological devices begin to appear - in large cylindrical chambers.
>Complex capsules also manifest from the red light - along with the large pods and structures that are newly created. Bright, well-knitted sheets and bed cloths also replace the older and worn out blankets previously found in the area,
>Mosaic crosses his arms as he watches the transformation take place. Before it's even finished, he then says:"It'll restock itself with supplies as necessary. Just place your hand on the panel over there - and it'll read your thoughts."
>Turning around, Moasic speaks to the woman behind him once more as he says:"I told you that idealism doesn't change anything - action does. I'll resolve the situation above ground that's causing issues with the local hospital. Then I'll make sure that I'll find the source of the humour substance - the main distributor. Once that's done, this entire situation should be solved then."
>Still crossing his arms, Mosaic then nudges in the direction of the large device in the middle of the room - stating:"Try it out if you're curious."
No.1981
>>1980>The woman sighs."The Federal Safe Securities Act of 2008 requires all licensed physicians to report people who they have treated and know to have commited a crime to the police. The Meta-Human Act of 2000 requires licensed physicians to report any Meta-Humans they have treated and
suspect of committing a crime to the Meta-Human Response Division for processing. New Hampshire State Law, which still applies in Sanctuary City, defines possession of, as well as usage of, any drug that affects the Meta-Gene as a Class 5 felony. As well as these, the Sanctuary City Muncipality requires doctors to refuse treatment to those under the influence of Meta-Gene affecting drugs unless the treatment is lifesaving."
"Any individual under the age of 18 who is brought into a public hospital requires a guardian to approve their treatment, or else it cannot be performed. Special exception is given to those who are emancipated, which costs a minimum of $175, provided the individual has the correct documents, which many orphans do not have. And public insurance and treatment is refused for any indivudal who has a serious enough criminal record, or a lack of official documents - both of which are prevalent among people in poverty."
>The woman narrows her eyes."So before you talk about me being idealistic and not going by actions, I would recommend you look at your naïveté here first."
>The woman looks around at the new equipment."Look, you appear well-meaning, and I doubt your comments are intentional, but it's very obvious that you come from a background of privilege - I was the same myself. There is no 'situation' that can just be resolved by one person, it isn't caused by lone actors, as much as I honestly
wish it were. . ."
>The woman loads the vial up in an old injector, locking it into place."Still, thank you for the new equipment, I won't be able to maintain it properly, but it should at least help people for a time."
>The woman thinks for a moment."Oh, and your. . . partner? He mentioned something about children? Could you call him? I'd like to show him something."
No.1982
>>1981>Giving a knowing sigh, Mosaic then states:"The remark about idealism was referring to myself - and my own conceptions of fairness and justice. If I thought that the system was able to stop misfortune from occurring on its own then…."
>Mosaic gestures to himself, saying:"I wouldn't be standing before you as a vigilante now would I?"
>Placing his hands inside of his jacket pockets, he then states:"Either way, sure. I can send for him."
>Mentally, Mosaic pings Omnius with a surface level psionic notification, thinking:{"Hey. The doctor wants you to see something. I'd hear her out, just for this."}
>Gesturing to the equipment, he then states:"The equipment is self repairing and doesn't need external tampering, and I don't have enough time to explain why. No maintenance is needed, because that's the entire point."
>Putting his hand back in his jacket pocket, he exclaims:"I'm attempting to
ease the burden on you - just a bit. Especially since I can't do much else as I am now - not without making a few visits to the city council."
No.1984
>>1983>The woman smiles at Omnius."From those memories you. . . shared with me, I can understand where your belief of me experimenting on children. . ."
>The woman's smile disappears."So I can understand your reaction, you care a lot about making sure children don't suffer, don't you?"
"If so, would you like to meet them? To reassure yourself? I'm sure they would be excited to meet someone new."
No.1986
>>1985>Mosaic makes a gesture towards Omnius with his hand, stating:"It's your choice. I'll be right here and waiting for you when you're done - if you want to go with her."
>Looking at the woman, he then says:"I only have one more question. Are there any specific individuals that seem to be moving the humour substance around the city that you're aware of? Anyone who could potentially point us towards the key distributor?"
>Thinking for a moment, he then states:"….Also we never got your name. I'm Mosaic obviously, and that's Omnius. If you don't mind me asking - a name, or an alias to contact you with could be helpful. In case we ever find anyone who might need medical attention."
No.1987
>>1985>The woman smiles at Omnius."Perfect, then, I'll take you right over, assuming your friend is willing to hold the fort here?"
>>1986>The woman then turns her attention to Mosaic."I don't know who the main distributor is, and I'm not going to sell out my source as they sell it exclusively to me. And while I would prefer it not going into the hands of people in an unsafe form, I'm also not eager to completely cut myself off from it when I can use it safely."
>The woman takes a few steps to the door."Oh, and my name is Dr Natalia Moore, I'm not sure why you're talking about 'Mosaic' being obvious, I have no idea who you are outside of what you've shown and told me today. . ."
>Natalia gives Mosaic a smile and opens the door to go outside."If that's all, it's just this way. . . Omnius?"
No.1990
>>1988>>1989
>Natalia steps out of the building, heading out into a ramshackle street, waiting for a moment to let Orion step out too, before locking the door behind him.
>Walking with a brisk pace, Natalia heads over to another building, not far from the clinic, and opens the door to the inside, revealing it to be an abandoned factory, with salvaged supports holding up various walls and part of the roof. On the other side of the main room, a makeshift shelter has been constructed, with enough protection from the elements to be safer than the rest of the building.
>Inside of the shelter, several children mull about playing between themselves and with homemade toys.
>Walking across the building, Natalia calls out to the children."Kids, I've brought someone here to meet you!"
>Looking up, one of the children, a girl, runs over to Natalia, stopping just in front of her and looking up."Miss Moore, Johnny stole my. . ."
>Natalia kneels down to the girl's level and smiles at her."I'll make sure Johnny gives it back, but first, do you want to meet this nice man, May?"
No.1991
>>1990>Omnius stares around at the building, surprised by the children's living conditions. After a moment he looks at the girl, staring at her in silence."……"
>After a few moments of awkward silence, he tries to introduce himself."H-Hi. My name's…"
>He hesitates for a moment, thinking about which name to use. "…Orion."
No.1992
>>1991>Natalia looks over her shoulder briefly, giving Orion a quizical look, before turning her attention back to the girl."Well, May, do you want to say hello to Orion? Do you remember the way to do that politely."
>The girl looks up at Orion, scared for a moment, but soon finds confidence when Natalia gives her a smile to reassure her, and steps up to him, offering her hand out."Hello Or. . . Orin, my name is May."
No.1993
>>1992>Orion stares at the little girl for a moment, before slowly reaching his hand out and taking her's. Unsure of what to do, he gives her hand a gentle shake."Hi May."
>He continues to stare at the girl for a few moments, before letting go of her hand. "Do you… like living here?"
No.1994
>>1993>The girl thinks for a moment then nods."Sometimes I get cold but Miss Moore makes sure we all get better when we get sick, even naughty kids like Johnny!"
>Natalia watches Orion's reaction."We had. . . an incident the other week, there was a bout of sickness that went through the orphanage. . ."
>Natalia stops for a second, kneeling down to the girl's level again."May, why don't you get the other kids so they can say hello to Mr Orion too?"
>The girl nods and runs off, leaving Natalia and Orion alone for a moment.
>Standing back up, Natalia continues her point."We likely would have lost most of them, if not for the modified humor - that's what you saw me injecting in that memory. From how Alicia apparently viewed it, I can see why you would think that I was experimenting on them, but I can assure you that I wouldn't harm a hair on these kids' heads."
No.1995
>>1994"Yeah…"
>Omnius holds silent for a few moments. He avoids looking at Natalia."S-Sorry. About earlier. I over reacted. I wouldn't of… hurt you, if I hadn't."
>He continues to look away in silence. No.1996
>>1995>Natalia smiles gently."You sound young, Orion, both of you - you're allowed to make mistakes."
>Natalia rubs her neck slightly.". . .although most mistakes are usually a bit less painful. . ."
"But you don't need to worry, I'm used to people threatening me, you live in the industrial district long enough and you see it all - Crimson Tide thugs, Meta-Human Alliance Agitators, Brigadier muscle. . ."
"I even saw a gang member dressed up like they were going to a ball, once."
>Natalia chuckles as she remembers the comical sight."Still, what they all have in common is the threats, so don't worry about it, I'm very much used to it - besides, it's usually not for as noble motivations as you had."
>Natalia coughs."Sorry, I was rambling a little, the point is that you're allowed to make mistakes, you don't
have to be perfect. . ."
>Natalia smiles at Orion."Sorry, it just seemed like you needed to hear that from someone, even though you
should have been told that by your parents. . ."
>Natalia stands there ins ilence for a few seconds, then adds:"Although I would recommend you try not to burst through people's roofs in the future, doors exist for a reason. . ."
>Natalia looks across the room, noticing the children starting to make their way over."Anyway, let's focus on you meeting the kids, I'm sure you'll be impressed by some of the. . . personalities we have here. . ."
[The End]