Prelude to something greater or worse [Zell]

Alpha impatiently tapped his index finger against his forehead, the rhythm itself going on and on as he glared as the screen. Several statistics were projected across it, most medical and some of them just finger measurements that would be required. In a sense, being unable to do something himself was a new feeling, one that he didn't quite like once Travis let it stew within him for what felt like hours. He had already gone through the troubles of setting up a meeting, one with a rival company by the name of Gene-Tech. Calling them a rival however may have been generous, considering that they were by far better funded than him, at least that was what the preliminary data he could gather suggested. While his company was known for their rather impressive strides in genetics, their departments within things of a mechanical nature were rather nominal.

There were those that could do things much better, with greater efficiency even. While his brainpower was impressive, it did not even begin to compare to others within expertise that others had. Normally, he would have gone out of his way to try and change that through rigorous study, but as Omega put it, he was being strangely selfless. To an extent it made sense, his analysis anyway but thinking too deeply into it would likely give him a headache. Rather than thinking into it, he went on typing into his laptop before closing it rather abruptly.  

His meeting with the rather illustrious Zell Atterrius was not too far off, thirty minutes from now if he remembered the time correctly. That was why he was in his personal vehicle, though Chris was the one in charge of the driving portion of things. He appeared to be humming along to some pop song that was blaring through the radio, caught up within his own little world, yet driving without a single hitch it seemed. Granted having minds like them, following multiple tasks at once was something that they could do easily. "So the meeting is at 2:30, right?"

"Mhm." He said accompanying that response with a nod, resting his chin on his palm and looking out the window as the world passed by. The occasional glimpse of people walking by, going about their daily routines without a care in the world. Odd how people could do that, maybe it was just the bliss of ignorance or something else entirely. There was an intrigue to that, but life had never really been something that he could just enjoy. There was always something needing to be done, something that he knew that only he could end up doing it. "Hoping things go a little better than I'm expecting them to. Not exactly something I could pay my way out of at any rate." Giving money to someone that's exponentially wealthier than you, well that was somewhat redundant. Slowly the building came into view, though the time that passed by seemed to drag on even longer.

"Just use that silver tongue of yours. It's gotten you things you've wanted before."  

Something told him however that a silver tongue wouldn't work on Canada's golden boy however. As popular as the both of them were, it was not likely he could make use of that anyway and mind control, well that was not always something that he could make use of either, people had their ways of protecting themselves. "I have a feeling it won't be so easy...but I won't know until I try." He muttered with a shrug, straightening his tie until it looked satisfactory. Dressing for success was only half the battle however, so he had to make sure he was in the right mind frame. Within a matter of minutes they parked in the Gene-Tech headquarters parking lot which seemed to stretch before the monolithic seeming building.

Stepping out into the afternoon air, Travis let out a soft sigh. Dressing his best, he chose what looked to be a rather well tailored black suit, something that he personally chose. Turning his gray orbs towards the building, he waved Chris off before walking on. "Go on, I should be fine." With that done he made his way into the front lobby, walking through till he came in contact with some manner of secretary. Letting a rather approachable smile flow upon his lips as he stepped towards the desk. "Excuse me, I'm here for a meeting with Mister Atterrius. He should have me for 2:30."

It was just another day, the same old same old. Zell was in Canada, at the Gene-Tech HQ. Apparently he had a meeting today with the gentleman running Master's pharmaceuticals. The man's name was Travis Masters. Zell knew all too well about this young man. After all it wasn't every day you had another teenager running a business like he was. Zell was able to do it even without the Archon Energy, even being able to proudly claim he was the most intelligent human being alive. The he was able to proudly influence this world in a way none other could...he held the key to eternity. Now he was just one of them. Another human in a world where he was only a multi-trillion dollar seventeen year old with the most successful genetic research and engineering company, as well as a pioneering bio-robotics laboratory that he just announced this past week. Which brought us to today...

Today he was asked to a meeting to assist his "peer" with a personal matter regarding the expansion of his business. It wasn't easy getting all the clearances and finally doing what his father envisioned. Zell only did it in a way that was better intended to serve humanity and the people... unlike his father whom simply wanted to pioneer into a new area and set up a monopoly immediately. The fact that Zell shared blood with that bastard was something he loathed. Something he detested about himself. One of many these days.

His office was quiet, and the clock had been silenced to prevent that annoying ticking noise that came with silence. Zell quickly pushed himself out from behind his perfectly organized and polished rosewood desk, standing up in his business attire and walking over to the small set up he had at a trey. Pulling out the crystal top and pouring the chilled amber liquid from the container, Zell watched as he perfectly measured out his poison into a glass. With the glass he would turn and place a hand in one pocket while sipping from the spiced cinnamon drink, the burn down his throat being slightly refreshing.

"Zell, the gentleman for the 2:30 meeting just pulled in." A young woman's voice said through the speaker of his intercom. Zell stepped around back to his chair and pressed the button, thanking the woman and reminding her to buzz him again before she sent him in. The complimentary valet would likely take care of Alpha's car for him while he arrived to discuss business. Looking around his office, Zell sighed.

Everything was perfect. Garnet polished countertops, surrounded by an exotic leather couch and two matching chairs with rosewood supports. The rug below was a black one with red, white and pale yellow designs intricate and rather lovely designs. The walls were rose-wood beams with a creamy colored pain between them, until you came to the wall behind his desk, with two large horizontal planks of the fine wood and a golden area between them with the company logo and two of Silus' paintings next to them. Looking up around him he saw the semi-sphere light just around his desk and the little circles of light in the room as it was. Not a spec of dust and even the old Japanese "paper-wall" looking divider was in place to his far left, though the television was still on, the news talking about this "Humanity" character selectively taking down questionable metahumans and exposing their crimes. Zell would applaud him, if he weren't such a fucking dolt.

The receptionist was a young woman with auburn hair in a pencil suit, a bluetooth in her ear, seeming to hold four or five different conversations as she typed rapidly on her computer. She gave no indication that she had seen Travis' appearance, though she had. As he arrived she continued to talk to her clients and set up meetings, all up until Travis reached the desk, when she fell silent. She removed her hands from the keyboard, looked to Travis and smiled.

"Hello." She greeted him as she pressed the button on her Bluetooth and folded her hands in one and other, looking to Travis with undivided attention. After he introduced himself and told her why he was here she nodded. " Of course. We've been expecting you Mr.Masters. Just one moment please." She said as she reached over and pressed a button, her mind still running on more things than were probably humanly possible. If she were a metahuman, she didn't know it. But still, her mental capacity was rather impressive for someone like her. "Okay, you can head on in." She said with a smile, once Travis walked past she would immediately immerse herself back in her work.

Zell was sitting at his desk, more then a few drink into the day as Travis walked in, though he was seemingly working on something in a black leather book of sorts.

This secretary seemed deep within their own work, taking care of multiple conversations as he approached the desk already curious. It was obvious to his eyes that they were above humans when it came to their intellectual capacity, just a dip into their mind managed to tell him that much. Upon him saying something, their attention turned towards him all at once. Having such undivided attention was nice, kept things from becoming overly rude. They would tell him to wait a moment, as she reached over towards a button before saying that he could go in. "Thank you." He said in the same cordial tone before stepping past the receptionist, hands buried within his pockets. His mind was already running through various scenarios, how this meeting would go and how he should respond to certain things. Business was something that required a lot of thought such as this.

Meeting with another young businessman was a rarity, even in this day and age of metahumans. As human as Atterrius presented himself, something told Travis that they had something they were hiding. Just as he had his own secrets, likely they would have something too. Perhaps they were a metahuman, or something else entirely, maybe even a being created in a lab much like he was. This was a world of possibilities and just dismissing one because it appeared to be impossible, well that would have been the foolish thing to do. Reaching tentatively for the doorknob, he turned it and pushed the door open. Upon first glance the room beyond was perhaps what he was expecting. Exquisitely decorated, likely aiming to impress upon first entering and he was admittedly impressed. At the very least they had a good eye when it came to interior decoration, shown through his office.

His mind took in even the smallest of details, jotting them down into a metaphorical file and storing them along with so many other things that he had been sure to memorize. Seemingly unimportant information, but it was always smart to be wary of your surroundings. His eyes would fall upon Zell after the rather brief scan of their office, making sure that he kept an amiable vibe about him. From his facial expressions, down to posture, nothing had to seem negative within the least. This within itself was an art that he had managed to perfect within a lifetime of acting, deceiving and just...well business as usual. He would give them enough time to take notice of him, hopefully offer him a seat before actually going into any manner of negotiations. Regardless as to why he was here, Travis found himself a little on edge for whatever reason.

Not an unusual sensation but one that he never quite got used to. They appeared to be writing something into a black book, which interested him to an extent but not enough to ask about that. Even trying to delve into their mind felt like a bad idea, something that he would rather avoid for now. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice." The short notice being a day in advance. Normally he preferred to have his meetings scheduled months at the most in advance but this was a special case. Life was a spontaneous thing, so sometimes exceptions had to be made even to a rigidly planned life. He took notice of what looked like a glass settled before them, something in the cup that he could at best assume to be alcohol. Not that he had anything against the substance, just what Zeta tended to do when abusing it.

"Please take a seat, would you like something to drink? Water, pop, or anything? I'd offer alcohol but unfortunately all I have is Fireball over there, so unless you're a fan of whisky..." Zell offered, though he'd figure that he'd let Alpha just reply in the gap after he trailed off. Unfortunately he seemed rather engrossed in his own work, like he was just on the cusp of understanding something and yet was missing one final component for it. Cracking an uncrackable puzzle. Strangely enough he just sat there, peering with his emerald colored eyes fixated on the book and it's seemingly nonsensical scribbles.

Upon being prompted, he took himself a seat with dull gray eyes still trained upon the male that seemed rather engrossed within their work. Travis found himself wondering what they expected him to pick out of the drinks. Water seemed too plain, pop too safe and whiskey felt a little too unprofessional. However, well considering they were already drink there was no harm in picking it out. "Whiskey's fine with me." He said keeping that same smile on him as he let his mind's tendrils so to speak reach outwards. This was more an attempt to see what was going on within their mind, get a better idea of what they were reading. Alpha could not help his own curiosity, so he just did his thing.

Zell oved himself from his seat as he picked up the book and took it with him as he meandered over to the crystal trey and flask. With a simple enough motion he'd pour the whiskey into the glass, his mind racing over very heavy concepts and ideas, in fact breezing through concepts even the superhumanly intellectual would find to be mind-numbing. his mind was internally processing and comparing micro-management differences between seven separate types of energy weaponry he was devising, as well as the algorithm for a very specific genetic coding, one that actually utilized dark matter and a rather unique dual skeletal system. The science behind it was beyond anything even conceived in the modern world, and this young man's mind was full of it, things that even sci-fi wouldn't have in reach. But he could make it possible. Solving it and storing it within his own mind. The world would benefit so much from the past seven seconds of his thought processes, let alone seventeen years. Yet he simply memorized it and moved on...not acting upon such contraptions or creations. His mind moved at speeds that were probably even blinding, only allowing glimpses for a moment. A problem, a base outline, then a completed solution and then he simply tossed it aside...as if doing this was merely a mental exercise. The boy was quite drunk as well, so who knew what effect it was having!

Anti-matter could actually be treated as a positive quantity if one were to accelerate the molecules around it. Furthermore using the Atterrius Equilibrium variable we could actually create a perfectly environmentally safe machine with a 120% effectiveness output rating from a mere 100% input, all by utilizing the-....Please get out of my head, I can appreciate curiosity, but I don't think we really need to be digging around. I'm afraid that both of us are smart enough to know where intruding upon one and other's privacy will lead us. The mind rattled off the information before purging itself entirely silent, like a white noise as Zell turned and placed the drink on the table in front of Travis, a nice smile on his face as he released the glass. His smile was one of wary, a foreshadowing in and of itself, though he simply returned to his own seat.

"You're welcome. I apologize for not giving you my full attention at the moment, though as a fellow scientist and genetics expert I assume you, of course, know what it means to be on the verge of something...well...something truly beautiful. It tends to dominate our every waking thought. It was rude of me, and I am sorry." he said, not excusing himself from his own fault. He may not have liked Alpha's intrusion, but he did understand and did not hold grudge over such things. "Now, how may I help you Mr.Masters?"

Just a dip into their mind yielded more than he could have possibly hoped for. While a glimpse into what they were working so fanatically on was what he wanted, the barrage of thoughts itself felt as if a wave had washed over his mind. The speed by which their thoughts were flowing was blinding almost, nearly impossible for him to get anything from them. It felt as if he were grasping at grains of sand really, trying to keep them from slipping between his fingers and yet that was what they did. Eventually something became decipherable, as difficult some of the information was to know. There was the mention of anti-matter, followed by a machine before a rather unexpected thing happened. It appeared they had detected his presence within their mind, mentally telling him to get out even though they didn't outwardly change. All within a matter of moments they proved they were more than human indeed.

Like rubber bands his mental grasp snapped back as Alpha withdrew back into his own mind. If they could sense his presence within their mind, then likely they could do more than that even. For a moment his mind was running over the variables, if they could have even drawn something from within his own mind during their brief connection. Just thinking about it put him on the defensive, making keeping a civil demeanor almost impossible. Even as they seemed to note his intrusion within their mind, they settled the glass before him with a smile on their face. Their smile was a smile, wary as it was and gave him a dark foreboding feeling within his chest. Strangely enough they even seemed apologetic, further confusing him it would seem. If for a moment that calm demeanor broken into confusion as he took the glass.

The apology was unexpected, but it took him a second to remember they weren't talking to him with the expectation of meeting with some manner of supervillain. So he had to keep his cool. Taking the drink and taking a small sip, the burning sensation itself was an annoyance. Alpha never had a taste for whiskey, much preferred something clearer. Still, it was offered to him and so he would drink it regardless of how little he liked it. The fact that his mind was behind on something was worrying. Either he was suffering the symptoms more frequently or he was suffering something from the residual head trauma Lucius so loved to inflict on him.

"It's alright, think nothing of it." Positivity seemed much easier to express when it was false, or perhaps he just didn't have a reason to be genuine with it. "As for why I'm here. I was hoping to discuss a business proposal with you. It has something to do with your bio-robotics division you've recently started." He could have gone to anyone else, but something told them they would be below his standards. "More specifically I was hoping that something could be constructed for me, an arm to be exact."

"You already have arms...why would you? For someone else. Right. Well then I suppose we could build your associate or whomever an arm." Zell assured Travis after quickly realizing that the project was for someone else. Of course Zell was more "open" to the concept of building the dangerous and estranged villain a potential weapon than he was before, however he would need a very strict run down of information. Turning the page in his black book he took the golden pen and began writing.

"I'll need to meet this individual too. I understand if anonymity is a concern for you and your friend, however I cannot simply make an arm without some samples and without proper measurements." Zell was naturally assuming that Travis would understand, as something like this would be a most delicate procedure. "I have a few questions I can ask you, as I assume you will be the benefactor. Would you be okay to answer them now?"

Starting off, they began to question why he would need an arm when he had his own two intact but they rapidly appeared to realize the exact reason behind this. It wasn't for him, but for another person entirely. As soon as that was done, they jumped back into whatever it was they were doing. They would need to meet Colin at some point, that much he expected but that meant having to tell the male eventually. "As for measurements, I already took those ahead of time. However, I have a feeling you would want to take those personally. Which I'm fine with." He could get that done if it was required, and likely Colin would be pleased with the prospect of having a new arm. First thing was letting them heal from the injuries, as having ones arm ripped off was not exactly a common occurrence.

Then came something along the lines of questions, something that they would be asking him. What they could possibly ascertain through questioning him, well he normally would try to get that answer through their mind but that wouldn't work now. So it seemed that he would have to try going along with these questions if he wanted something out of this. "I would be fine answering these questions."

"Yes, not that I doubt your measurements, however I would need to do them myself. You see our method of measurement differs from any other way traditionally done. It's part of the neomodernistic innovations of bio-robotics." Zell confirmed, honestly not mistrusting Travis' calculations at all. Genuinely it just came down to the fact Travis likely used the wrong style of measurement. Especially since the equation and the specifics were so deeply kept under-wraps. "Even if you yourself found the method I would personally check it over anyway...again not because I don't believe you'd have done it incorrectly, but It is actually a legal liability for me. Not only as the overseer of this creation and operation, but as a the owner of the company. I'm sure working with pharmesuticals through the legal system you understand."

  Zell quickly began to sketch out random little tid bits of information for him to use later. Scrawling out the pathographic image for the fascicle, and subsequently the worm-like muscle fiber. From there he broke it down even more and began to scrawl out equations while he then proceeded to ask questions to Travis. "Okay, so first and foremost I'll need to warn you that these will be recorded. I'm also going to tell you that the information we take here is part of the private sector, as part of the private domain we share exclusive rights with the patient. We will NOT under any means give any of this information to anyone, government included. All files are on paper, no internet trail to follow so all anonymity is preserved. So rest easy...all the information I take from these questions are between you, me and the patient." He said, though the way he was saying all of this was quite clear that he would in no way to trace any of this...unless you had the files that were in his possession, that belonged mutually between him and Colin. That was always a plus.

 "What is the patients name, age, sex, height, weight and Blood Type?" He asked before looking up to Alpha, seeming to have the fullest attention.

Neomodernistic innovations in biorobotics, quite an interesting sounding field but one that he had no idea about. It sounded more like something that Atterrius would know about, perhaps the reason that he was going to him rather than doing it himself. Nodding along, he seemingly understood what they were talking about as annoying as the whole thing was. People were wrong from time to time, so that was to be expected in the end. As intelligent as he was, there was no way that he could be expected to get everything right. It was a good thing that this man knew what they were talking about. Looking down to his drink, which was still half full he took another sip of the spicy drink. "I see." He said with a nod, licking his lips which tasted like the whiskey. Accidentally causing permanent damage or death to someone he was trying to go out of his way to help would have been bad.

These things were apparently going to be recorded, but that sounded like something that wouldn't be too much of an issue. Not having an internet trail made it easy, avoided some random technopath digging up information that he did not want to deal with. So many things one had to go through legal hurdles that needed to be leapt and he was very used to it. As annoying as things were, there were always things one had to do to avoid having the law leap down their throat. Then came the seemingly important questions, though mostly they were about things such as his name and whatnot. Their attention seemed to be fully on him, which was fine or awkward depending upon who you asked.

"The patients name," He muttered to himself before supplying the answer. "Colin B Wright spelled W-R-I-G-H-T. Age is 18, their sex is male, height is 167 centimeters, weight  58.967 kilograms and their blood type would be AB -." All within the matter of a moment he rattled off the information, tapping a foot softly against the floor while swirling the whiskey around in it's glass and keeping his gaze upon Zell as he silently wondered what they were going to use this information for. It may have been something rather important, but he would wait to find that out later when important things were to be done. "Is there anything else you need to know?"

"Yes. What kind of purpose is this arm being designed for?" He asked, though the way he asked it was almost as if he already knew the answer to his question. "What kind of general activities does the patient partake in?" He simply left it at that while allowing Alpha to go about his own business and tell Zell whatever he wanted at his own pace.

Zell had asked what the arm was for but something in their tone suggested that they already knew what it was for. Giving the specifics may have sounded like he was being sarcastic, but then again they had asked, so he would give that answer. "Primarily I want something that can function as an arm. Four fingers, one opposable thumb and at the very least capable of basic operation." He said, making sure he didn't sound condescending. Likely this was all part of some manner of protocol that he didn't know about, so Alpha went along with it. Another question was to be answered as well, so he would do that.

"Normally nothing out of the ordinary...save for going out and flying around saving the day in a high tech exosuit." Letting his eyes fall down to the whiskey in his hands, a chuckle escaping him as he took another sip of the whiskey. "I would probably leave that part out normally, but that sounds like important information for making arms."

"Well that is fairly important. Though I have several questions that spawn off of that. First we'll cover a few functionary things." Zell said as he immediately began to scrawl out a few little details as to what had been said and what the answers to come were going to be related to. "What kind of functions would you like to have the arm be able to do? Please go into as much detail as possible." He asked his question and said his piece without even a slight recoil as to commenting on Collin's exosuit escapades. He just seemed so focused on work as his mind worked a million light-years an hour.

Several questions would branch off from the one that he had answered for Zell. There were a few things that needed to be thought out and ideas that ran through his head rather quickly while being considered. How the arm functioned and the things of that nature, though Alpha didn't really have anything in mind as far as that was concerned. "Well this arm is being built for a....close friend of mine so I want it to be the best work you can do." That answer was mostly because, well he wasn't sure what was needed beyond what allowed an arm to function.