Change you, like a remix. (Alpha)

Cold....

This place was so cold, since he last came here. He was focused, prioritized on so many things that he never had a moment to think of the environment around him. Black cloaked and studded leather with spiked spaulders and furs around the bracers His fingers curled and interlaced with the members of the opposiute hand. Knee arched up on a chair as sat on the table. His eyes remained closed, their scarred and atrophied from a wound long past, a friend he once bore on the opposite side of battle.

Empty....

The emptiness of this place was one that he had relished in, once upon a time. When Absolute Zero would come in, or even Ben charging in to try and deliver a threatening message. He felt a small chuckel leave him as he almost felt the gaze upon him. Two different ones to be exact. The silent gaze of an adoring friend, and the scrutiny of another, far less impressed man. One that he had come to call a friend as well. This place felt so empty with out them. Proarden sacrificed itself to save Gravitas, and all that remained was a small, snake-like creature that seemed to remain in the darkness, unharmed and untouched. The poor creature was hollow, without sentience still. It would take time before it grew into it's own mind. Gravitas opened his eyes, and though he knew that there was nothing there. Not a single soul...yet he could swear for a moment his eyes worked. He saw a man standing in the doorway with a long duster, strange armor and adornments of red lights.

Broken....

The robed figure's hands reached for the gemstone around his neck. It was once held by Proarden, but it's death could not be staved by the radiation or the powers of the gem. The ashes of The Phoenix had proved most valuable to him in the past, but yet here it was that they failed him. He looked up across the room, to where he could feel the pressence, knowing it wasn't there. He had done everything he could to keep a track on the children of Lucius. Lucas had disappeared, Ryan had been spotted earlier in the day meeting with one of the "defective" children of Alpha in New Hampshire. They were safe...

"I promised I would keep them safe. I am...humbled at the mind of your children. They're truly the sons of the two smartest men I've ever known..." Gravity man said as he seemed to sigh, turning and pushing off of the table, his feet gently and weightlessly hitting the floor as the snake creature seemed to drape around his shoulders. He chuckled and listed his hand, patting the serpentine creature and it's sleek, shining black body, the bone-like protrusions form the head poking at his fingers. "I won't stop looking, Lucius...No excuses."

He stepped quickly and with purpose as his robes and cloak brushed the floor at times as they seemed to sway with an almost imprerial purpose. Gravitas had set himself on a course, and soon found himself in one of the labs run by Rise itself. Though Lucius was gone, Gravitas suspected that Alpha was all too pleased to take over. One of his scientists informed him of the last known location of "Blue". Gravitas nodded and looked at the screen, pouring over data, as if his eyes actually worked. Rather he was trying to sense the gravitational effects of the lights, and how perhaps they could be interpreted. It was difficult, he hardly gathered any information, to his own chagrin.

"I need to speak with Alpha. Someone inform him, then bring him to me, or me to him. Whichever serves his convenience." Gravitas ordered, not looking to anyone in particular. The lab fell silent for a moment before a man cleared his throat and stepped away from his desk, taking off with soft footsteps. The silence in the lab died as professionals began to whisper amongst each other once more, many of them uncertain as to why Gravitas had called upon Alpha, when this had never been done before. Many had a heightened sense of anxiety, fearing that a take-over or conflict of interest was afoot. The rumors were quiet, but the fear was real. Gravitas' brutality and seemingly reckless approach to situations often handed him a very....estranged reputation within the masses. Until he was sent for, or until Alpha arrived. He would begin to float a rubrix cube off of a nearby desk, as the device began to twist, and Gravitas attempted to solve it.

Time had passed.

How long had it been since Lucius was killed or rather killed himself? Even thinking back on it filled him with strange, at times unpleasant feelings he didn’t want to ruminate on too long. He wasn’t there at the time to see it happening, though his mind filled in the blanks with what could have happened. It didn’t make him feel any less down about the whole fact, staring at a screen projecting various data about the attack on New York. Lucius would have cared about something like that right? Maybe he would have. Alpha always found it difficult to really get into his head. He licked his lips, taking in the steady tick of the mechanical clock attached to his desk.

A secondary monitor showed locations where Ryan, Zeke and the other ones who left the facility were living their lives. He didn’t make any moves against them, letting them live the way they wanted to until they no longer could anymore. A week lately he had been living in Sanctuary, pouring over the files he could access from the mainframe, anything that would let him keep Rise going without it falling apart because one head had been cut off. The head that had most of the charismatic glue holding them together.  Epsilon sat in the corner, swiping through his phone on what he assumed was some manner of dating app. Ever the shameless one he was.

Now he missed Aaron. He wasn’t constantly letting his hormonal urges control him, which the blonde was the opposite of. He only turned from his work to hear the sound of the door sliding mechanically open, a scientist in white lab coat walking through with an uncomfortable expression. ”Can I help you?” He questioned, arcing a brow and closing the top of his laptop.

“Yes…um…Gravitas informed you he wanted to talk with you,” They stated, the sound of their voice giving all the answer he needed. Were they worried they would be killed should they not do what he wanted? From what he had seen of the metahuman, there was some precedent, but he didn’t know if that were true or not.

”He does? Fascinating,” Alpha seemed to muse on the concept, chewing on his lower lip.

”Didn’t know he could summon you like one of his underlings, Fascinating really, ” Epsilon mused from his corner, looking up and smiling the most self-assured smile. The only kind of smile he knew how to form.

”So it seems. I’ll humor him, not as if I could imagine myself performing any defenses against his gravity abilities. Well…maybe I could.” he rose from his seat and slid it back under the large white table. Smoothing out a few wrinkles in his stark white slacks, which matched his shirt save for chartreuse lines running over the ends of their short sleeves and  the bottom of the shirt itself. ”Dylan, come with me. I’m sure your tindr date or whatever can wait a few moments,” He could see the start of a gripe but it stopped, leading to the male rising to his feet and following.

He could trust Chris to make sure their plan for Rise was continuing the path it had before Lucius passed.

Soon enough the two of them walked into the room with the black cloaked man, Dylan picking out a corner seat and Alpha standing a good few feet from him. ”You called? I’ll admit I’m not used to you wanting me for whatever reason but I’m sure you have a good reason,” He sounded incredulous enough but they were known for having a charitably described as a rocky relationship. ”unless you intend to kill me, which would make you the only left standing wouldn’t it?”

"Hm? Ah. Thank you for coming. Normally I'd not bother you if I could avoid it. My sources still have yet to find, young Lucas. Ryan, however, we've found. I wanted you to be the first one aware." Gravitas said, attempting to inform Alpha. The small "defunct" offspring of Alpha had quite the impressive cover job, it was mostly through subtle discrepancies that only a fellow "street urchin" would recognize. Not that it was an insult to the vast brain trust and it's extensive capacity, however it was a different type of "Street smarts" that is atypical of a science guru. It was perhaps a nice thing to know, especially since Gravitas was never instructed to, nor asked to take this initiative.

He listened as Alpha seemed to express the interesting concept of betrayal. Gravitas hadn't even thought of it, in all honesty. Unlike the more intellectuals of Rise, he was still empathically charged with mourning. He tilted his head to the comment, exaggerating his features as he knew the could not see his face.

"After the loss of Lucius, Proarden and Absolute Zero with...Ink and Overdose on the brink...I have been...mourning. Truthfully." He said with a sigh, as if he was conflicted to even confess such weakness. He turned his head, his gravitational senses lingering over his surroundings. Clearing his throat but remaining somber. "I've also been trying to- keep my promise. Watch over the heirs of Belarus, trying to find them." He seemed to stop rotating the rubix cube, the entire device seeming to scatter into dust, before suddenly it began to reform, where there had been mismatched colors there was not a total and uniform cube of six sides, each color on it's designated side. He let the cube gently place back to the desk.

"If you've got the time, I need your help. I've been working on this device. An "Artifact" as some people have taken to calling it...if you've got time. I'm intelligent by human standards, but-compared to you- I'm at the shallow end of the genepool." He said as he reached his hand out, the snake creature, the last remnants of Proarden's progeny looked to Alpha with a distinct smile, before Gravity man removed the ornate looking talisman. The snake purred at Alpha before retreating a bit, curling around Gravitas' neck and hiding beneath the hood from the harsh laboratory lights.

The talisman was a circular gem that seemed to constantly glow with a viridian offshoot, the gem itself being akin to that of an ashy diamond, all of it set within a black glassy obsidian, laced with a pure silver chain and adorned with rare feathers of ornate and vibrant colors. There were three symbols engraved within each if the claws that kept the gem rooted. One had an Alpha symbol engraved in gold. The next had the emblem of Brimstone in a ruby red fixture, the final one possessing a cross-hair emblem, though halfway through each bar it arched out, curving in equal measure, set in Amethyst.

He listened, affording Gravitas at least the dignity of being heard out. Travis wasn’t given to ignoring people, especially when people were supposed to be hierarchically on the same level as him. If he had been following Zeke was unimportant, though he felt a need to protect even the mistakes of his brood. They were afterall his and a family he had promised to protect through implication. That didn’t meant he did anything lacking in logic but that also meant he didn’t let themselves be abandoned. Especially Robert, who was known for and viewed as all their mental inferior. Physically however he had managed to become something more quickly.

”Mourning? I suppose I’ve been doing that myself but I haven’t had the time to let myself slow. Our grand goal never does afterall,” he didn’t know if the man shared their views, just that he helped and had his own reasons for doing so.  Perhaps he would turn on them with a whim but he didn’t know that. He didn’t respond to watching over the heirs of Belarus, not wanting to let his true views on that out. Mostly because he didn’t know what that meant and if it were a promise to Lucius. No, the man wouldn’t leave his legacy to just anyone. Even he knew he wasn’t fully trusted by the man. His eyes burrowed into the man, not focusing where his face was but instead staring into the center of his chest as if that would do.

”You want me to help you with an artifact? Now that’s an interesting request but it also reeks of the…magical.” The man showed the item, a pendant that looked to be crafted from an ashy diamond grasped in an obsidian claw with a Veridian glow within it. ”put it on the table, I can pick it up from there,” Travis said and watched the man do just that with seemingly no impairment to his movement. As if not being able to see affected him in no real way. Once that was done and he stepped away Travis moved to pick it up and examine the trinket, furrowing his brows curiously.

Well it didn’t seem like anything scientifically made it glow from sheer examination though that meant nothing. They likely had something to scan it’s make up to figure out what was going on and he could work from there. Depending on what Gravitas wanted him to do.  ”So what exactly do you want me to do with this thing? It’s a pretty trinket but doesn’t mean too much to me.” He continued to examine it without really needing to look to Gravitas, letting him offer his explanation while he approached one of the many large apparatus in the room with a seeming purpose.

He would abide by the comments and the statements. Alpha wasn't exactly the most social and charismatic person. Gravitas wasn't either. So they had something in common through their lack of trust and their overall lack of charisma. If it wasn't for the fact he needed something here, he might not have even come. He hated to humble himself before another, especially one whom notoriously despised him. This wasn't even weakness, it was stupidity. He lost his support system when he stood to defend Ryan and Lucas against the existential threats. He was a wounded dog standing on the doorstep of someone with a shotgun, asking for help. It wasn't a surprise that he was told to place the talisman on the table.

"Of course. Please refrain from utilizing your Telekinesis on it. It still bears scars of what we've done." He said, placing it and stepping back. He kept his hands in front of him, holding his wrist and holding them in front of him, at a visible level. He understood the distrust, but he was in no way enjoying this. He waited momentarily before he looked to Alpha, whom seemed almost uninterested, but seeming to humor him with a look over. "Does that feel familiar to you? It should..." He said after a moment of letting Alpha hold it, the warmth of the gem growing a bit, if it was focused upon.

"The ashes of Phoenix, after he was killed. It took me some work, but I theorized that I would be able to imbue the ashes with stem cells and irradiate them with a rare astrophysical isotope. As the birth of the fires became prevalent I compressed the ashes together inside the void of space itself. I was very careful to make sure there was a focal point...a channel." Gravitas stated as he motioned to the gem. While Gravity man was an exceptional human mind, it was moments such as this revelation that proved his superhuman intellect despite never having a diagnosis. The warmth of the gemstone seemed to thump, pulsing with life, warmth and energy. The revelation would likely have hit Alpha. "Do you understand?"

If there's ever a way to fix this I promise I will, I choose for you to spare the Talons. Please forgive me! It made sense then, as the essence of the gem naturally reached into Alpha's mind. What Gravitas had said. The talisman remembered what their powers had done to it. When it was alive. The whole creation was a macabre and totally unethical beast, though the actual level of what was accomplished was almost breaking the barriers of science. He looked to Alpha and then looked away, looking to the floor. He cleared his throat.

"I don't need a technological terror. I've come to you because even in the ream of genetics, Lucius Alba deferred to your judgement. What you hold is not a creation of pieces and technology, but blood, bone...and fragments of the living psyche and embodiment of the power left behind." He said as he tried to give his associate a little bit of a deeper aspect, as to what he may be capable of doing, experimenting with it. The whole creation was quite odd, the circumstances of radiation, stem cells and the ashes of a living creature of trace genetics seemed to regenerate and respawn a source of power into this world. "The only other genetic engineer of your caliber was reduced to a bumbling idiot by an arrow to the head. I wouldn't be bothering you. I understand you're busy. But I need your help..."

The warmth rose against his palms, from the depth of the gem in a way that felt like he was holding some kind of near dead yet still alive coal. It felt a little familiar yet he didn’t immediately feel why that was the case, at least not until Gravitas explained what this meant. The ashes of an old enemy compressed into gem in the void of space itself. His expression of incredulous, a heartbeat of heat beating within the gem. What was this all about? ”Alright, you have me impressed,” Compressing someone’s ashes into a gem was something people did for what felt like pocket change to him but this was something else. It felt like life still existed within it, as if he had somehow managed to instill the very vital essence of Phoenix into it.

Perhaps he had managed to underestimate the man or perhaps he just didn’t have enough information about him. Both made sense, considering he didn’t speak with the man enough to even know how his personality worked. What had been done with this gem was something even he wouldn’t have thought of doing with the defeated Phoenix’s remains. ”So you want my genetic expertise to tinker with this but how exactly? Do you want me to replicate it somehow? Augment it or disassemble it?” He lifted the gem to examine it more thoroughly, seeming ignoring the voice inside his head despite the internal disquiet it brought him.

”I’m willing to help you but I need to know what I’m doing.”

"W-well I... I was sort of hoping that. You would know. Well how to perhaps improve it. Or if you may have a referral." He said quite shocked at the fact Alpha was willing to help. He found himself wondering as to what kind of augmentation would be noted by Alpha, or at least what would be suggested. He looked to the room and began to evaluate the situation he was in. He was really showing his belly on this one, and he hated it. Clearing his throat, Gravitas seemed to straighten up a little as he looked to Alpha, uncertain of how to proceed. He was simply hoping that this would all go according to honor and a sense of trust.

"How can I help? Even if you're focused on this. Do you need me to assist elsewhere?" He asked, clearing his throat awkwardly again, looking around to the others in the room. He obviously was unused to interactions of this degree. Normally there had been an unspoken bond between Lucius and Zak, Lucius would say do it, and it was just accepted that it was for mutual benefit, or somehow benefitted one and ultimately thereby strengthened the other. To have to offer to assist was...awkward. Though the social grace would likely convey the point of being willing to assist.

”Well, I can’t exactly guess what you want from me. I make it a habit of not reading the minds of my colleagues when I can help it,” Travis stated, wondering if that were the issue and why he didn’t instantly know why. He didn’t know how to proceed but he could make a few assumptions from what he had been told. Improving it was something that he could work with, if he started taking apart how the thing was created. He pursed his lips, considering how he could augment it and worked from there. Thinking over the various devices within the lab, anything that could allow him to do what he needed to do. A tall order but one not beyond his own ability.

”We’ll need to make use of my lab for this. Not enough things here to do what I want with it. Epsilon come,” He motioned and the blonde rose from his seat and followed as he lead Gravitas back to his lab which was a different section of the facility. More reminiscent of his home lab, though smaller and more subdued within its stark white colors. ”trapping something in an embryonic state in a gem is impressive but unprecedented by many metrics. I’ll admit I don’t know too much about what to do with this but I’m sure I could think of something to do to augment this gem. It might be a little difficult however.”

Alpha chewed his lower lip, thinking over what he could do for Gravitas. Did he even know someone who could help? His knowledge of people with similar intelligence was difficult and knowledge of magic was harder. He worked through the few advanced machines he had in his office and set the gem under a scanning light. ”Do you want it producing fire? With what you’ve given me I’m sure I could possibly have it replicate the abilities of the person who’s DNA is inside. Maybe. This is more of a guess than anything else. ” he could feel the skepticism in Epsilons thoughts but didn’t response to them, instead turning to his fellow Rise Head.

”As for helping….stay there and if I have anything I need you to do I’ll tell you,” He looked back to the screen which seemed to be working through the genetic and physical structure of the item.

Gravitas entirely believed that Alpha was reading his mind, constantly. He had been operating under that assumption ever since he learned that Alpha had this ability. He was appreciative to hear that Alpha did not pry on a typical basis. Gravitas anticipated it to be a lie, but he appreciated it either way. He appreciated if Alpha respected his mind, and he appreciated the fact Alpha would lie to try and convince him that he didn't read his mind. It was a very strange predicament. However it didn't take overly long before Alpha motioned for a newer face, one he called Epsilon to follow him. Gravitas was unsure if he was supposed to follow, so he seemed to gingerly remain behind while walking in their general direction. When none of them stopped him, he advanced with them.

"The talisman, so far, has proven to be able to make Fire-like abilities. An eruption of fire from the body that can melt the densest of tungsten to a liquid upon contact. The ability to spew flame so hot that water cannot extinguish them....and... Gravitas' voice seemed to trail off for a moment as if he were feeling around his general area with his hand, playing to his blindness for a moment as he steadied his focus on the gravitational pull of so many things surrounding him, many of them foreign and unknown. He looked to Travis and concluded his commentary on the talisman with: "...the capability to resurrect someone, given that there is a corpse present. The amount of energy and radiation generated by the stem cells in the gem's composition...well let's simply say that there's a limit to the Talisman, much akin to our Phoenix friend, from which it came." He seemed to find a type of amusement from the comment about Phoenix having limitations upon him. Gravitas would willingly and happily take any help he could get in unlocking the powers of this talisman, from any methods possible.

"We all understand the necessity for risk vs reward. The Talisman has already served it's use for me, don't hesitate to do what you wish. Pressing forward with it, breaking it's limitations, redefining it's meaning and power- is the very nature of what RISE does. Lucius pushes-pushed." Gravitas caught himself a moment late and he paused, the somber setting not taking in, not willing to show weakness. He stood where Alpha told him to, though Gravitas corrected himself. "Lucius pushed the political and overall normalcy of the world towards a new era. You've push the homo-sapian genome to superiority, breaking conventions and redefining the meaning of mankind. This talisman is no different, just another work of RISE. Sometimes when we break barriers down, other things shatter and sunder. But in the end, the progress is all that matters. It's all that's remembered. That's why it's called a break-through." He seemed to be talking a little bit, encouraging that whatever Alpha intended to do would be good enough, but also encouraging the scientist to do whatever he could think of. To try and experiment, to do what was within his nature. If the talisman broke then it was of little consequence. This was an opportunity for Alpha to learn something, experiment and try something. Such an opportunity for Alpha was as good as handing the man power.

So it could somehow replicate the abilities of the currently dead Phoenix? How did it do so? Through latent telepathic link or something else entirely? The more he thought about the mechanics, the more he found himself wondering how the man even managed to perform something like this. Perhaps he was the only one reassessing what he assumed about the man from before. ”Pyrokinetic abilities and the ability to resurrect the dead itself. Well, it does sound like a phoenix we’re dealing with doesn’t it?” He mused, watching the genetic and structural analysis flash across the screen. What he saw was what he expected, though what to do with it was another thing entirely? Would he have to do genetic tampering? That was possible but this wasn’t simple flesh with pulsating organs and vessels with their blood flowing through. No this was almost magical in nature, as if Gravitas was holding back more than he could have guessed.

He nodded, listening to the statement and looking down to the talisman. ”If I can, I would want to avoid destroying it but these are unexplored waters I’m working with,” Already he had memorized most of the information that flashed across the screen, taking in as much of the visual data and sorting through it as he could. Comparing treatments to improve the overall abilities of the item. If any of them would stick or even work without breaking the diamond container. ”the world follows cycles. The New York incident might set up back or it might set us forward, who knows,” He mused, recalling his various musings to himself of human history and how they repeated. Anything they didn’t witness tended to happen, due to their ignorance and their sheer stupidity. Would his kind just craft grander stupidities? Only time could tell.

”This will take a few hours, occupy yourself however you would want. Unfortunately I don’t have many forms of media to accommodate you but I’m sure if you ask around a work around could be done. Eta has been working on something that ‘beams the pictures directly into your head’ as he would describe it,” He offered a small amount of entertainment to the blind meta, allowing him to take or leave it as he saw fit. He needed to focus on performing a few tests with this and seeing what he could do. To avoid any infighting that denying such a request could have caused. They didn’t have Lucius to mediate things anymore.

This ended up being him working with a few samples of pyrokinetics he had managed to gather in his time, comparing them to the Phoenix samples and seeing if he could manage to improve the intensity of the flames or even how often it could be used. The hours would feel like they passed too slow in his work.

"Thank you." Gravitas said in response to Alpha, as he said to occupy himself. He could easily have been offended at being given an order, or being dismissed off. However he was fully aware of the situation at hand, and he knew he likely wouldn't be of any real help. Unless it was to offer some kind of insight or different perspective on gathered data. He let out a small sigh as he took in a moment of what was said. He was tempted to take up the offer of entertainment directly to his head. But then he realized something deep inside himself.

No...That's an option... He thought to himself as he reached up and placed his fingers to his eyes. Taking his seat inside the lab, the far corner he seemed to lower his hood and wait. Feeling the gravitational fields of everything around him offered him a sense of pseudo-sight. There was an almost feint purple hue in his mind, stretching out and scaping the background, like some for of purple static filling in some features. He could feel in his mind that not only had his eyes atrophied beyond repair, but his mind had no longer seen things. He didn't even dream in color anymore. Well he did, but only in the rarest of situations, even then the colors just felt so...wrong.

"You accept this wound across your eyes. You've had the chance to heal it before, but you've never done so...why?" The voice was kind, and entirely unlike the man he truly was when he put the mangled flesh-shredded mask upon his face. Gravitas knew he wasn't there, but he recalled the question being asked, swearing he could hear it. He seemed to swallow hard as he realized that if he were left alone to his thoughts, there would be unpleasant ones that surfaced. He found himself standing up and turning to walk, his focus wavering as he actually walked right into a lab table, folding over it slightly as he seemed to feel around for the table. After anchoring himself and sucking air back in with a wince he tried to focus, turning and heading for the exit, full of dread and embarrassment. He began to follow the flow, spanning the awareness of Gravity all around him, until he finally found the form that he recognized to be Eta, hiding behind a wall.

"Good afternoon, Luke." Gravitas said with a slight groan, hand patting the doorway a little as he leaned in, as if looking around the room slightly, the hooded head turning to look at Eta. "Alpha said that you've been wanting to try out something about beaming my head with images?" He asked, though it wasn't entirely what Alpha had said, it was a more humorous imagery to imagine Eta simply picking up artwork and frisbee tossing it at his head. That could actually be fun...

"My only request is, if I'm being mis-lead as to the meaning of "Beaming images into your head" you don't throw any Van Gogh at me. Death by Escher or Monet would be a little more fitting." He said with a slight chuckle, quite certain that no one in the world would understand it. His irrational hatred of everything Vincent Van Gogh was peaking through, though he simply cleared his throat and stood there, waiting for instruction from Eta as for what he was to do.

While Alpha worked through the improvement of the gem, Eta was adding the final touches to a small device that would have appeared like it would set on the head.   He jumped a bit when Gravitas spoke, looking away from his device to consider the man in his all black garb. It took a few moments before his mind worked up what response he should make and it had something to do with his devices so that meant he would get something quick. ”Oh you mean that? Yeah I was working on something like that in my free time…which I have a lot of actually, ’ He set in one of the screws with a twist and pick it up, looking it over and fully turning to the man who walked up on him. His small workshop was cluttered, mostly half formed prototypes of his current project.

”No, I’m not hitting you in the head with any paintings. I…uh…saw that blind people couldn’t enjoy movies or media like those with functioning sight and I didn’t think that was right. So I wanted to make something to fix that. It took a bit of work getting the image system just right. Learning to stimulate the exact image in a person’s mind is difficult but I had help with it. Luckily it causes no brain damage,“ he licked his lips and lifted the device in a vague direction towards gravitas as if that would help.

”What kind of shows or movies do you like to watch? I…uh can’t read minds or anything like that so I can’t guess,” He approached the man and allowed him to take it. ”oh do you need help with putting it on?” he asked, sounding a little awkward and offering to help him attach it. Putting things place where it should be, attaching small little diodes to his forehead. ”I got a few things you could watch but most of them are…well cartoons. Probably nothing you’re into,” He stated, scratching the back of his head awkwardly as if that would somehow be seen as ridiculous by the man.

Regardless he would find something to occupy him until Alpha had Eta tell him he was needed back in the lab.

"So your reasons for this device..." Gravitas said as he seemed to settle in. He took the device into his hands, processing the fact that he couldn't actually make out any discernable traces to the device. It was bulky to an extent, it was certainly a first-draft of an invention. Perhaps a second one, where the function mattered more than the form. He almost wondered if his neck would support such a weight without any of his own powers acting as reinforcements to his physical form. He shrugged the idea off as he began to lift it, realizing that his hood was in the way. He grumbled a moment as Eta offered to help him. He held the helmet out for Eta before pulling at his hood, it fell back and revealed his face. It then occurred to him,  this was something he had never needed to do before. He paused for a moment then lowered his head and reached out for the device.

"I know. I don't look anything like you expected...but seriously you. Made this device just because you wanted blind people to see television? What's the motivation for that?" He asked, and while the substance of what he asked seemed to convey disbelief, the tone almost conveyed an sense of ignorance in it's purest form. Gravitas seemed to not gather the concept of a charitable action, or a dedication of one's life to a decent and good cause, simply because one could. He cleared his throat and seemed to settle in. Eta then said about knowing shows that were cartoons.

"Well that's not too far off to what I watched the last time Television was on. Let's see I last remember seeing "The Amazing World of Gumball" in my cage. It was the last thing they let me watch...I was 15 at the time and that was two years ago? Maybe three? I uh...don't remember. I haven't seen anything since...." He said as he turned his head and cocked it to the sided, as if looking for a clerical answer, or some form of initiative for Eta to throw something on.

Eta cocked his head to the side, seemingly confused by the reaction to his reasoning. Was that not a reason for creating a device? He had lived in a place where he had all he needed to create whatever he wanted, and his mind was capable of forging almost any device that he could think of. Alpha supported his ventures and had members of his families offering their help as well. He quite enjoyed the time when Oliver offered him what help he was willing to give. ”I guess…I felt bad they couldn’t enjoy the same things that people with their sight could. It felt wrong I guess,” He shrugged, adjusting the device so it sat comfortably on his head. ”I’m working on a smaller, more comfortable version. I based the concept on VR headsets and those seen in the anime I’ve watched. Hoping to eventually make them video game compatible, so they could also enjoy the latest titles,” Could Gravitas be able to see his face, he would have seen him smile with pride about his accomplishments.

Pressing a finger onto a button on the side he made sure the light was a pleasant green. ”There’s Steven Universe, Adventure time and Samurai Jack since I got into that lately. If you want anything else it’ll take a few minutes to encode episodes into the device. Sactuary’s internet is actually pretty impressive. Faster than it is at home,” He explained, looking up to the mans face and nodding. ”I mean, I’ll admit you don’t look exactly as I expected. Didn’t think you’d be…Korean? More handsome than I thought,” he caught himself, making a few choking sound and adjusting his white collar.  Looking to the floor and then back up.

”Hope you enjoy, feel free to give any critiques you can think of. The off switch is on the side, though you should give it a minute before removing the helmet.” Once he let the Rise head get to his watching he worked on something else until Alpha sent him a message that he was ready to have Gravitas return to him. It was around five hours, which meant likely a good portion of the episodes had been looked through. Once he pulled the helmet off, he would see the young looking blonde male look up from his work and smile at him.

”Was it good? Oh…um Alpha called for you. I think he has that thing you wanted done,”

The concept of human generosity, charity and altruism escaped him. He listened as he solemnly reflected upon the concept of one of Alpha's brood seemingly wishing to do an act of kindness. Obviously he's doing this for money. Why wouldn't he do it for money? Sure he's got Alpha's money but who wants Alpha's money? Not that his money isn't good, but all children grow up and want independence right? What better way than to get financial independence. After all, money makes the world go round, right? In the back of his mind he heard another little voice, his subconscious speaking up for a moment just to correct him. The little voice piped up for only half a second, almost on delay. He had the thought, instantly tried to suppress it and then heard. But he would have to go through Alpha's re-I KNOW SHATUUP!!!

He jumped in his seat a little as he was pulled from his shrill, high-pitched scream in his mind. Eta's voice seemed to cut through for a moment as Gravitas cleared his throat. Apparently the internet was faster here? He looked for a moment as he saw Eta and nodded for a moment, not entirely having paid attention. "Uh St-stephen Universe or Samurai Jack. Universe is bigger than Samurai so uh...Yeah. No we'll go with this one." He said as he tried to maintain his concentration a little. The answer to him not looking as he had believed was suddenly answered, but Gravity Man was so distracted by everything else all he heard was that he was more handsome than was expected. His eyebrows furrowed for a second, not entirely sure that he heard that correctly.

"Wai-uh...What did you-?" He began, immediately Eta spoke up and seemed to drown his voice out with a nervous level of excitement. ”Hope you enjoy, feel free to give any critiques you can think of. The off switch is on the side, though you should give it a minute before removing the helmet.” The words weren't rushed, but they had a semblance of hate to them , before the device activated and Gravity Man was mentally thrown into a mindscape of a living cartoon. It took time for his brain to adjust, as the outline of cartoons were seen, though to his revelation had come as the characters were all different shades of purple. He let out a sigh, almost as if he were taken aback by it. He felt his eyes well up as he realized that-despite the best intentions of Alpha's Eta- his mind was incapable of perceiving colors other than purple, and greys. His mind has long shut down the use of synapses that allowed his mind to register coloring, beyond what he always saw through his gravity sense. But he could see...solid, not staticy, not a "feeling" just an entirely, new disorienting experience.

The helmet was to come off before no time at all. Gravitas had watched a few episodes of a rather...fitting show. The concept was sentient space gems that came to earth in order to save it from an evil empire of sorts. The rebel leader died and her son inherited her abilities in some capacity. But that's when he saw it. The gem compressed and in a cloud of dust he suddenly went wide eyes. He stood up, and the ability to see or capture images as if he could see disoriented his sense of self. He lost his balance and fell down. He looked up and smirked, before putting the helmet down on the table. He stood up and began smiling, wiping the water that came from his eyes as he cleared his throat and tried to compose himself.

"It-uh. My-my. My brain couldn't see color as well, I-I don't think but. I could see...and it just gave me the craziest idea!" He said as he was laughing a little, he reached out and put his hands on Eta's shoulders smiling, not looking at him but nodding in his direction. "Thank you. I owe you a debt. If you ever need anything jus-just come over to my side and tell them Zak called for you. Tell them I called for you." He said with a laugh as he reached back and pulled his hood up, giddy as a school girl as he made his way to Alpha, almost rushing.

"Reporting for duty. What's the word?" Gravitas asked, sounding rather happier than he had been moments prior. His dull and dreary demeanor seemed to have melted a way for a moment, looking to Alpha with all of his attention.