Log: Ongoing

[madsciencekink.livejournal.com]

When: Tuesday, April 10
Rating: PG-13, I suppose, will edit if goes up
Characters: Doc madsciencekink, Major warconductor, Knives sharpest_knife, and Legato shoulder_spikes, guest loom by Captain wolfsmercy
Summary: Doc's going to give Knives a physical. In the not-dirtiest of fashions.
Log:

Doc puttered around in his lab. There were things to be doing with the Deus Ex Machina II, but they could wait with this fascinating opportunity on the table.

Instead, process data from the weekend's fight, surf the communication network, work on a new fertilizer for his babies, print out a new recipe for Sauerbraten, and write out his plans for a new cattle prod that would recharge in part from the electrical/nervous system of living beings it was used on.

All at once.

This should be interesting. He would have to show this "Knives" person his cabbages, if he seemed like the sort who would understand.

Comments

[sharpest-knife.livejournal.com]

Knives fought the urge to threaten the Doctor with a sizeable blade. He wasn't sure if the man was serious or not, but either way, it a ridiculous question to ask and he was not there to waste time.

"I'm afraid I'd have to be dead first," he replied calmly, though muscle in his left arm twitched eagerly.

[shoulder-spikes.livejournal.com]

Legato's rage peaked at the Doctor's request.
He felt himself unconsiously take two steps towards the Doctor.

He could tell Knives-sama didn't appreciate the question either, and backed down upon hearing his reply.

[madsciencekink.livejournal.com]

"Thought not," Doc said absently, while he pulled a helmet suspended from the ceiling on a mechanical arm over to his subject.

"This will have to do. Put it on."

He didn't wait to see if Knives would comply, moving instead to read over what data he'd already gotten back.

Oh, his cabbages might benefit from this.

[sharpest-knife.livejournal.com]

Knives briefly inspected the strange contraption, and as much as he hated trusting total strangers...

He gave Legato the briefest of glances that said "You know what to do" and placed the helmet over his head. It was slightly uncomfortable, only because he'd never had to use one before, but he supposed things could be worse.

[shoulder-spikes.livejournal.com]

Legato took a few steps closer to the monitor the Doctor was studying.
His curiousity now overshadowing his trepidation.

His gaze occaisionally went back to his master to make sure he wasn't in any discomfort.

He constantly monitored the Doctors movements, trying to detect any over-anticipation in the dance between his hands and his devices.

[madsciencekink.livejournal.com]

Doc was perfectly at home in his lab, and appeared as relaxed as the somewhat tightly-wound man ever got.

The helmet made no sound, no vibration, a blue light on its side the only indication that it was functioning in some manner.

After a few minutes and a few more scratches of stylus over tablet screen, Doc's eyes lit up when something an observer might assume was Knives' brain came up on the screen.

"Now, Mr. Knives," Doc said, not looking away from the display while he scratched out something that turned out to be a note for the snoopy Legato, "how would you feel if I told you that we were about to kill your friend?"

The note for Legato read: Must test emotional response. Not real threat.

[warconductor.livejournal.com]

The Major made no reaction at all as he continued to doodle battle plans.

At least, no visible reaction.

Outside the door, it was entirely possible that certain supernatural beings tensed up slightly and slowly reached for their weapons, just in case this went badly.

Entirely possible. True?

Only the Major knew for certain.

[sharpest-knife.livejournal.com]

Knives turned his head so he could look at Doc evenly. He'd never really given that question a thought. After all, he had no friends, and if the doctor was referring to Legato... Knives almost wanted to laugh. His servant? A friend?

With a slight smile, he replied, "I think you mistaken me for a human. 'Friend' is not a word that exists in my vocabulary."

[shoulder-spikes.livejournal.com]

Legato gave the slightest of smiles to the masters response.
While he didn't care for the question the Doctor asked, he was admitedly curious to what Knives-sama would say.

He wouldn't expect the master to greatly care for Legato's destruction.
After all, the only reason Bluesummers was in the masters service was because Knives thought he would be useful.

[madsciencekink.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. The word wasn't really in Doc's vocabulary, either.

"And when I tell you that the object on your head is going to deliver a controlled current into your brain?"

[wolfsmercy.livejournal.com]

Remember those theoretical supernatural soldiers that might have been waiting outside?

Well, if they happened to actually exist, they still had their hands on their weapons. Because their very real commander was cautious like that.

[sharpest-knife.livejournal.com]

Knives' eyes flashed, and the cells of his arm nearly warped. A few minor blades flickered to life before receding back to take the form of skin and muscle and bone.

He forced another smile. "I suppose it would be in my best interest to trust you."

[shoulder-spikes.livejournal.com]

Legato couldn't believe what the master was saying.
Why was he so trusting of these people? Did he really want their alligience?

Legato had come close to ripping the Doctors arms from their sockets and whipping off the device on his master's head.
Not being able to do anything was countering every instinct inside of him.

He couldn't remain silent any longer.

"I hardly see what these threats have to do with my master's situation," he said as calmly as he could muster.

[madsciencekink.livejournal.com]

Doc's face had become a picture of nigh orgasmic delight at Knives' reaction.

He'd gotten all of that fully recorded!

He waved a hand dismissively at Legato. Minions were minions and thus not to be bothered with. Doc would know all about minioning, after all.

However, for Knives' sake, he scratched a command on his tablet and turned it around for the two of them to see. The scan of Knives' brain lit up with activity during the moments that were presumably his reaction to Doc's question.

"Data collection. Now, think about something that makes you happy." With the people Doc was accustomed to working with, bloody imaginings would not be surprising.

[warconductor.livejournal.com]

Outside, the theoretical supernatural creatures might haved relaxed.

As much as they ever did, anyway.

Inside, the Major flipped over his paper, shrugging. "Sadly, I misdrew a line," he explained as he started to sketch out the plans again." His eyes glanced up at the brain as he continued to doodle and write in German.

About... battle plans. Yes.

[sharpest-knife.livejournal.com]

Knives understood Legato's suspicion. If he was absolutely sure of himself, if he was back on his planet and with full power, he would have had no qualms about turning the doctor and Major and the rest of Millennium into one great shiskebob. But no, that wasn't possible.

He observed the brain scan with mild curiosity for a moment, and then at Doc's request, he considered what made him happy. His thoughts wandered first to the Big Fall, his first of many triumphs—at least in his mind—and the feeling of having such incredible power welled in his chest.

All those murders. Wiping out entire towns. His holocaust.

Before long, he was grinning.

[shoulder-spikes.livejournal.com]

Legato desperatly wanted to test out his abilities at that moment. He didn't understand how much closer this doctor could get to fixing Knives-sama with emotional study.

He felt so helpless. Watching his master be subjected to this abuse was horrible.

[madsciencekink.livejournal.com]

Perfect. Wonderful. Beautiful. Doc made a few notations and nodded to Knives. "You can take that off.

"Now just a few questions. What are the differences between what you can do now, and what you would be able to do with the City's restrictions raised?"

[warconductor.livejournal.com]

Ahhh.

Here was the interesting part. This was the information that, among a great many other things, would show how willing to trust them Knives was. How great a threat he might pose, how great an instrument of war he might become.

The greatest conductors, after all, teach the instruments to conduct themselves. The greatest puppet masters arrange for the puppets to pull their own strings.

[sharpest-knife.livejournal.com]

Knives removed the odd helmet, glad to have it away from his person, and considered his words before replying. He knew that he was walking on very thin ice in such a controlled situation, and from the various expressions on their faces, his next answer would mean a lot of things.

"It depends," he finally replied. "I'm aware there are certain things about this City that you can't help, things that will keep my powers limited regardless. You already saw what I am capable of doing." He tilted his head to the left to indicate his arm.

[shoulder-spikes.livejournal.com]

Legato wondered if the Doctor did see what the master was capable of.

He secretly hoped Knives-sama would have to go into details.

[madsciencekink.livejournal.com]

"If that is all you were capable of doing, Herr Knives, why would we be bothering with lifting the limits?" Doc asked, seemingly speaking to his tablet.

"How am I supposed to properly apply my data if you withhold this?" He sounded somewhat exasperated. Stupid people and their stupid qualms getting in the way of progress.

[warconductor.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps we could start by saying that Herr Knives is capable of doing what you just viewed, only normally moreso," the Major said. "Although I suspect there might be more as well?"

[sharpest-knife.livejournal.com]

Knives considered his next answer as well. "The Major is correct," he replied. "I am certainly capable of more than those small blades. There is more than that, yes, but as I said, I don't believe you have to bother with it because unless certain circumstances arose, I wouldn't be able to do it anyway."

He did not need anyone to know of his ability to absorb his siblings and thus gain in power. If he was going to fight Vash, if he was going to attempt to absorb Vash again... No one needed to know.

[shoulder-spikes.livejournal.com]

Legato regained his complete trust for his master's descisions. That's not to say that he stopped trusting his judgement, Knives-sama just seemed to pull out all the stops when it came to telling these people about his powers.
It was refreshing to know that he maintained the secrecy that would be recommended.