Hear Me - (Red) [Double XP]

Charity. To Israel Knight, that word meant more than simply providing funding to one cause or another.

To have charity was to love your fellow man; to care for their well being. True enough, though it was, that this did, of necessity, mean providing for said person on occasion, Israel felt that the word had become too simplified in the modern era, at least to (what he supposed must be) many people...

Israel smiled to himself and to his thoughts. It made him happy to be reassured by little things like that that he was still himself. He still daydreamed, still saw wonder in the world and the vast infinite universe that contained it. Still... Human.

He mingled with the crowd, if you could call it that. He mostly just brushed past people, saying "excuse me" and getting looks for his unorthodox attire; he always wore his suit. He was far too paranoid to ever be without its protection, not when he knew that there were many people in the world like him, at least in the sense that they were gifted with certain abilities that other people didn't have. The crowd was thick, but he could see the man that he wanted to talk to by looking straight through them with his expanded perception of the electromagnetic spectrum. Infrared showed the slightest twinge of deception in his face, (likely only a feeling of self-deception, of putting on a mask and not an actual lie.) After he filtered out the other noises, he could hear his heartbeat and his blood flowing; he was quite healthy, perfectly fit, really, without being muscle-bound, Israel observed.

His brain activity though, that is what interested Israel the most. His mind was aglow with electrical activity. It was as if, even in the most mundane of tasks, his mind was processing everything at once. That would make sense, considering his reputation, but Israel didn't care much for hearsay... That was, after all, why he was here. To speak to the man, as any reasonable man would to another with whom he wished to learn more.

... And Israel's desire to learn never ceased, especially when it came to concepts and people such as the man known as Lucius Alba.

The crowd grew more hushed as the man stepped up to the podium to speak, but some whispered side-conversations remained, as was to be expected in just about any crowd.

Such a shame these people aren't actually here for charity. No, a donation these days merely grants the ability to rub shoulders with power. Maybe that's why so many showed up...... Lucius thought to himself as he made his way onto the stage, which overlooked the entire event. Each intricately placed step tapped against the tile flooring, echoing out into the crowd of mingling rich folk. There was all manner of chatter, but Lucius didn't need to say anything to silence it. His cool, confident aura penetrated the very air of this gathering. He seemed very comfortable in his own skin; even the slightest movement seemed to be well thought out. Lucius Alba was not quick to do anything without purpose, and it showed in his demeanor, posture, and all around sophistication. This was a man of wealth, a man of power, and most of all, a man of intent.

Once at the microphone, his calculating grey eyes scanned the crowd. He looked to each and every one of them, intricately. He was aware of minor details in additude, dress, attention, and personality just by glossing over the group. He knew the average networth of the people there was around three point five million dollars. He also knew the crowd generally liked him, but there were several in the back of the room who had an absolutely terrible opinion of him, judging by how they acted. Heck, he even noticed somebody that didn't quite get the memo on the formal dress code, but if he was allowed in here, he was a contributor. Besides, who was Red to tell someone they couldn't dress in such a way?

"I see around half of you are good and drunk, but i don't judge. Perhaps you'll give me more money that way." Lucius said with a joking smile into the mic. A few people in the crowd chuckled, but most kept the silence that had went over the area after Lucius walked in. Red cleared his throut, and took a drink of Bourbon from his glass.

"I want you all to know how pleased i am with this turnout. Your contributions will help thousands of young metahumans get the support they need to enter society safely, and show the world what they're made of.

It truly makes me believe that there are people out there that want what's best for everyone, including those that are different. We need to sow new bonds of friendship, leave the past behind us, and unite, so that we may all Rise as one.

There is no need to fear, there is no need to hate, and there is no need to resist change. Thank you all for seeing that." Lucius said, smiling briefly before walking off the stage to join the party. It wasn't really a prepared speech, but he thought it was enough to make this event out to be what he wanted the public to think it was. After all, Rise needed humans to accept inhumans, and willingly allow them in, if it was going to achieve it's goals.

Israel listened to the speech, trying to catch hints of just what kind of man Lucius Alba was through his intonation and body language, as well as his heat signatures and the like...

The man that ran a whole country, small though it was, as well as a charity that ECLIPSE was quite certain was a front, seemed genuine to him... Well, mostly. That initial hint of subtle deception clung to him like a faint aura, whispering of secrets. Of another life. But whether or not that other life was all that the hype said it was still remained to be seen.

The Prime Minister of Belarus finished his short speech and made his way into the commingling congregation of guests below. Israel attempted to make his way to him around the throng of people, completely out of his element. For someone gifted with the ability to mitigate or entirely avoid many of the things that would cause one discomfort, there was no clear physiological, spiritual, or psychological cure for his introvertedness.

Crowds, as it happened, were his weakness.

He laughed internally at that thought.

By the time he had made it to a clearing, one seemingly caused by the air of confidence and import that hung heavy in the air around the man called Lucius, he waved to him somewhat awkwardly.

While his body followed the instructions of his mind perfectly and without hesitation of any kind, this did not suppress his lack of formal social skills. For some reason, they just didn't come easy to him like everything else. He assumed that it must be due to the complexity of humanity.

Great... He thought, In trying not to look like an assassin, I probably just look like a stupid one now.

Lucius had carved out a nice clear area in the crowd with his mere presence. He spoke to people as they came, but not to more then one party at a time. This wasn't a press conference; he wanted to be spoke to as if he were anyone else who was here.

Red took a sip of his Bourbon just as the last person he had been speaking to, an investment banker, departed for another drink. Only moments after, the guy in the costume managed to make his way to Lucius.

Now, let's be honest. The Rise Head's first inclination was to call security, but that would make no sense. Nobody would have been able to get in here without contributing, and even if this guy only paid to try to kill him, he hadn't done so yet. So, Red decided to hear him out.

"Hello. Did you need something?" Lucius said with a soft smile, and another drink of his whisky. This was a big contrast to how he usually acted, but if you didn't provoke him, Lucius was the nicest guy in the world.

Israel let out a mild sigh of relief before responding.

"Yes, sir. If I may be completely honest with you, and I mean you no insult, but I have heard..."

Israel paused for a second.

"Well, I just wanted to speak with you for myself to clear up some of the less... Kind... Things that have been said of you. And I apologize for my appearance at this formal gathering. I probably look like a terrorist."

He laughed apologetically.

"It's a carbon nano-weave. I just like to remain prepared wherever I go."

What an interesting man this was. A bit odd, but interesting none the less. He did look a bit like a terrorist, but that was beside the point. He wanted to know about Rise's back room dealings, whether the rumors were true. Lucius just smiled. Quite the direct approach, simply asking if someone is the bad guy.

"Things are never clear in politics, just slightly more transparent." Lucius said, taking yet another sip of his drink. He considered this man, and what he was here for. Was he ready for a fight? Yes, he was, but was he looking for one? If something was said that he didn't like, would he be foolish enough to attack?

Only one way to find out.

"If it makes you feel better about donating to have it all put in front of you, i can understand. Just know, i could always lie to you." Red said, putting his crystal glass down on one of the nearby refreshment tables. His pale eyes looked up and around as he thought of where they could talk privately.

"There's a smoking lounge just outside the door there. We can chase off whoever might be there." Lucius said, leading the way as the crowd parted for him and this man. Once thtough the door, Scion would see a small area just down the hall with two leather chairs, and a little table between them. There was indeed a couple of people in them though.

As Lucius approached, he snapped his fingers to get their attention.

"I'll have those seats if you don't mind." Red said. The two men stared for a moment, a little amazed they were being ran off by the guy who put this event together. They got up without a word, and Lucius sat in the left chair. Once Scion did the same, Lucius would speak.

"So, what do you wish to talk about? The theories that i am some murdering leader of an organization bent on world domination? I can tell you, that's hardly accurate." Lucius said. He wasn't breaking his no lying rule here, because Rise wasn't bent on world domination. At least, the Rise that he invisioned.

Israel followed the Belarusian Prime Minister into the smoking lounge. His senses, dialed forward as they were, would make the smells there hit him particularly powerfully if he let them remain at their current level, and so, to compensate for the growing odor from the lingering smoke that now assaulted his nostrils, he dialed back his sense of smell.

As they entered the room and the two men left obediently at Prime Minister Alba's veiled command, Israel bowed his head slightly to them.

"Thank you." He said to the retreating men before they closed the door.

"You certainly are a man with a presence about you." Israel said, his tone even, and without derogation.

The man sat in the left chair and gestured for Israel to sit across from him as well, and so he did.

"So, what do you wish to talk about? The theories that I am some murdering leader of an organization bent on world domination? I can tell you, that's hardly accurate." He said.

Examining his vitals as before, Israel could perceive a change in where his body allocated its blood, like before, but this time it was a little more intense. The difference was subtle, but of enough import to warrant attention. It seemed that this man only partially believed what he was saying, as if the statement was built upon a solid foundation of truth, but that the structure that stood thereon was not up to code. He was hiding something still, but who could really blame the man? Considering the nasty things that he had heard, be they fact or fiction or somewhere in-between, the man had his reasons for not being as forthcoming as Israel wished him to be.

"I see..." Israel said, leaning forward and interlacing his fingers to support his chin. "If I may speak openly and sincerely... I understand that you've put a lot of work into building your reputation against the tide of slander, and I know that I am a stranger, and a strangely dressed one at that, but I want you to be able to trust me. I would show you the items on my person to help that along, but I suspect that you think a little like me." He said, pointing to his hood. "For instance, if I showed you that I had no recording devices, that would prove nothing, as there are remote monitoring devices that exist even in the public sector. If I showed you this ECLIPSE badge..." He added, opening his EM-locked pouch slowly and taking out the badge and offering it to him to examine. "... To show you that I want to be open with you, you would likely think all the more that I am here to expose you as a criminal, and I can't blame you for that. It's exactly what I would think if I were sitting in that chair..."

Israel sighs, leaning back in the chair again.

"I apologize... I completely understand if you want to end this conversation right now, but as naive as it sounds, I want to understand what happened to you... And more importantly... I want to help."

Israel sat tensed in his chair, waiting for the man to leave or... As he'd hoped... Stay.

Lucius tapped his fingers against his chair, staring at the man with the same subtle smirk the entire time. He wasn't amused really, but he was certainly surprised by this outpouring of honesty. Unfortunately, it was difficult for Red to be so forthcoming with a complete stranger. We all have our talents, and the ability to trust was not one of his. Lucius leaned in, speaking softly and close to Scion's face.

"I don't even know your name....." Red said, sitting back in his chair slowly as he motioned for a server to bring him one of the drinks she was holding on a tray. She did so, and Red took a sip from his new glass of fire water.

"What is it that you believe i need help with? I actually think you already have. You donated, yes?" Lucius said. He didn't want to end the conversation really, if anything because he was interested in such an inquiry. It wasn't often people approached him to, well, 'help'. Besides, this was a social gathering. He was doing what he was supposed to do in such a place.

"As flattering as i find it to be a concern of yours, you need not worry about me. We've all got our demons, mine have just been exaggerated." Lucius said. He was being closed off, yes, but why shouldn't he be? Like he said before, he wasn't about to tell his life story to someone he didn't know what to call.

Israel eyed the Prime Minister, feeling both relieved and paradoxically wary at the same time due to his relatively unchanging expression, but answered him presently:

"Ofcourse, I'm getting way ahead of myself..." He says, extending his hand to introduce himself. "... Israel Knight. And... to be honest, I did not, in fact, donate anything to Rise as of yet. However, my father has, hence the reason I was permitted to attend."

Isreal shook his head to punctuate the comment.

"Anyhow... I realize that I am behaving in quite the unorthodox fashion what with my clothing and conversationalism... But there it is."

This was a interesting situation to say the least. Lucius found himself with the ball in his court once again, with very little to say. Well, for a normal person. Even though he seemed to be thinking about his response, he had already figured out the base of his rebuttal midway through Scion's sentence.

After shaking the man's hand, Lucius finished off his drink with a quick swig. He set the glass on the table between them, then his eyes shot to Israel.

"That's an interesting name. I believe the Nazies branded all Jewish males with it to further segregate them from the German populous. Funny how something so long a mark of distain is being used as if it were, say, the name John." Lucius said, his hand swirling around the base of the glass while he stared off past Scion. He had a point here, and it would become evident shortly.

"You see, time changes things. Sometimes it even reverses them. It's a roll of the dice whether you will be remembered as a genius, or a fool. Or, perhaps in this case, a hero or a tyrant would be more appropriate......" Lucius said. He paused, slowly bringing his glass to eye level. Once there, he peered through it at the man sitting across from him. It obviously did nothing but obstruct his his sight, but that was the idea.

"Many fail to realize that things that appear to be clear can be quite, well, distorted. Mr. Knight, did you observe who i am through a looking glass, or are you one of the few who has the vision to see without it?" The Dictator said, turning the glass to the side, before snapping it's fragile stand. He placed both shards on the desk, then sat back. He eagerly awaited the response. After all, the answer would dictate whether he took this man seriously or not.

Israel smiled politely, waiting for the man to finish his whole point before responding. "Actually, it's always been a name, though I am aware that the Nazi party used it to brand my people, which is ironic when you consider it's meaning. Yisrael. Prince of God. In dehumanizing us, they inadvertantly branded us as royalty. I suppose they didn't care to research a language that they considered inferior."

Israel paused, looking thoughtful, then continued: "As for seeing you as you are and not through a lens, as the apostle Paul put it, we all see through a glass, darkly. I'm convinced that most of us do not even know ourselves perfectly, in fact. That said, I am a scientist at heart, and scientists dare not accept as fact what they have not tested. Were it not so, I would have remained content to glut myself on this world's abundance of gossip, aloof from all pretext of factual information."

Lucius was quite aware of the origin of the name Israel. It of course came from Jacob, the man who wrestled with an angel in Genesis. Of course, anyone who had any study hours put into Hebrew knew that wasn't the name's definition. Mentioning these types of things was one of the many ways Lucius gathered information. What he had discerned from the simple delving into the man's name was that he was devout, and that he was Jewish, at least ethnically. Would that be of any use? Probably not, but information was information. He would take any he could get his hands on.

Lucius found himself noticing the fact this man didn't give a straight answer. Yes, he said he was not quick to believe gossip, but he had to be suspicious. If he wasn't at least wary of what they said about Lucius, he wouldn't be here. So already, it was apparent this man had a preconceived notion about who Red was, even if it was a minor one.

"So, that's why you're here. You intend to put those rumours to the test..... I can't say i'm usually keen to allow such a thing, but you have me interested. You will ask a series of short questions, and i will answer with a nod for each. After that, you can decide if 'helping' me is something you want to do." Lucius said, passively grabbing the broken glass from their shared table and placing it on the waitresses' tray as she past. After that, Red looked to Israel with an expecting look. The light in his pale grey eyes was curious, confident, and a bit relentless.

"I will not lie, you have my word on that. If it is your wish to know what happened to me, ask away."

Israel bowed slightly in gratitude, a more eastern gesture than middle-eastern.

"I very much appreciate that, Prime Minister. But before I ask you my own questions, or even while I do, please do not hesitate to ask me your own questions. I will freely volunteer to you that I am what you would refer to as a Metahuman, though elsewhere my classification would be called something different... Regardless, what made me 'special...'" Israel said with air quotes.

"... Is that I had a latent metagene that gave me increased self-awareness. Via experimentation, I invented a serum that inadvertently combined with that ability to give me near-perfect control over my mind, spirit, and body. Israel said, leaning forward in his chair and interlacing his fingers under his chin.

"This brings me to my first question whilst also explaining why I am here in part. ECLIPSE has received intelligence that your own metahuman abilities cause you to lose control at times... Is this true?"

A smirk crept up on Lucius' face. That was a fun one. And the best part was that he didn't have to just nod to it. The main purpose for this technique was so he didn't have to speak about illegal things he had done, which would incriminate him. With this rule in place, he could say as much or as little as he wanted. Luckily for Scion, he was comfortable talking about this question. He noded up and down softly.

"An unfortunate drawback to an otherwise superb ability. It was much more difficult to keep in check early on, but it hasn't been an issue in some time. A little willpower and discipline keeps me composed." Lucius said. He was tempted to take Scion up on his own offer to ask questions, but Red didn't want to so quickly let it be known that his information wasn't free. He had intended from the start to ask his own questions. People are much more inclined to tell you something if you have already done so yourself.

"Now that you know that, i think i can guess the logical follow up. But, i have been wrong before....." Red said. He was fully expecting a question related to violent or unethical behavior he may have had during one of his outbursts, but perhaps Scion would go in another direction. It all depended on whether Israel would continue to be direct, or would switch to subtly gathering his info.

"I see." Israel said, still leaning on his hands in a rather relaxed fashion. "I ask because I have brought something that might help with that..." He said, motioning his head towards his right side pouch. He then paused in thought.

"I have other, more direct questions that I wish to ask that pertain more to why I am here, but they are quite personal and I do not want to overstep my bounds as your guest." Israel said quietly. "You see... I have seen..." Israel trailed off.

"Well, to put it as the biggest understatement possible. I'm not from here." He said, sitting up straighter. "But I will ask this... If you could contact someone in the afterlife... Would you?"