A Promise Kept(Nina)

[Deleted]

Victor had found out that a member of Shawty's gang had been captured by someone and so due to his promise as Wulfen he went out to the spot she had gone missing. He had picked up on a scent he had smelt before. And it was none other then the Scarecrow's scent. And where as all the other times he had filled Shawty in he had talked to her over the phone. But he felt that this was to important to tell her over the phone. He had called her and let her know he had something to say. And she told him to meet her at Stenet labs.

He made it here after a while and simply stood next to his car looking at the place for a few seconds. He made sure that he was in the right place before he started moving over to the front entrance.

When he walked in he stopped and looked at the card he had wrote the directions on. When he was satisfied that he was in the right place he stuck the card in the inside jacket pocket in his trench coat and straightened the fedora on his head. He tried to straighten out his button up shirt and pants before he moved over to the front desk. He figured that since he was here and in a place he wouldn't normally go so he would try to look nice. When he made it to the front desk he looked at the lady behind the desk. "Ummm...... You're Shawty right?" He asked acting as if he had never seen her before. When in fact he had seen her as Wulfen. But as far as he knew she didn't know that Victor was in fact Wulfen.

[Nina Stenet]

The moment that Victor called, Shawty had a good guess about what he wanted to talk about. Her girls had called her the moment that they were sure that Kat was really missing and hadn't just left somewhere without telling anyone. Unfortunately, that had taken long enough that the trail had gone cold, at least for someone of Shawty's limited abilities, so all she'd been able to do was offer the rest of the girls some hopeful words.

So at first a call from her contact with Wulfen is exciting - perhaps the vigilante found something - but when Victor asked to meet her in person it's not a hard guess that whatever he has to say is bad news. It's easy enough to give someone good news over the phone, but bad news is different. At least the time it takes for him to reach the lab gives her a chance to prepare herself for whatever the news is. Sadly, it isn't very hard for her. She grew up in east Gotham so hearing that someone has gotten hurt or killed is not that rare to her and not as shocking. It still makes her sad, but it's a sadness that she's used to.

When he arrives at the lab and approaches her desk, she looks up as if just noticing that he's here. Which isn't the case - after Ms. Kyle upgraded the lab's security system, you have to be trying and also be pretty good at it to get to the front door without Shawty knowing that you're coming. The concealed perimeter detectors in particular are handy, as they detect anyone coming onto the property and immediately give Shawty an alert on the computer she sits at. So she'd been watching him since his car started pulling into the parking lot, which is empty except for Dr. Stenet's little black Mercedes - Shawty likes Dr. Stenet's car, she gets to drive it!

"Yep! And you must be Victor - I recognize the voice," she replies as she gives him a slight smile and a nod, "It's nice to finally meet you in person. Would you like to sit down?" She gives a vague gesture to invite him to her side of the desk. The lab doesn't get many visitors, and when they do the person doesn't normally have to wait. And when they do it's usually because Dr. Stenet doesn't really like them or want to see them so there aren't any chairs on that side of Shawty's desk for their comfort. But there's an extra on Shawty's side of the desk since occasionally Dr. Stenet needs to join her, and that'll do nicely for a chat.

The reception desk and the area behind it are kind of like Shawty's office. It strikes a balance between being organized and cluttered - papers are everywhere, but stacked in somewhat neat piles. There's also a small filing cabinet, binders... you'd think that being in the digital age would cut back on the number of things you have on actual paper, but not really. She also has a very new looking computer with two monitors, but she quickly closes everything on one of them - she'd been partway through a form to order some lab equipment. The other she leaves alone, as it shows the video feeds from the various security cameras around the place and she's not about to not keep half an eye on that at all times.

[Deleted]

When Shawty confirmed that she was in fact who she was Victor nodded in greeting. "Yes I am. And its nice to finally meet you face to face too. I just wish I had better news." he said moving over to take the seat. He noticed that she closed some things on one of the screen as he was moving over. But he didn't really wonder what it was. He had a feeling that if he had seen it he wouldn't have been able to understand it. He took of his fedora as he sat down and tried to think of what to say. "Nice weather eh?" He asked trying to stall for time. Eventually he decided that he might as well just come out and tell her.

"Well....... Wulfen told me that... Well you might know by now that one of your girls had been kidnapped." He said gesturing towards her as he spoke. "Well Wulfen has reason to believe that she was taken by a man called the Scarecrow." He continued acting as it he was getting all of this information from Wulfen and not actually being the one finding the information. So far he had managed to keep that fact hidden but he was now talking to her face to face and about a man that he had a bad encounter with. He was just as concerned for the girl's safety as he felt Shawty was.

[Nina Stenet]

Swiveling in her chair as he sits down so that she can face him, Shawty's lips purse as he confirms that he's here with bad news. Yeah, she thought so. Though his comment on the weather causes her to stare at him impatiently as she doesn't dignify it with a response. She's hardly about to say anything about the weather when he's already told her that he's here with bad news. If he wanted to stall, then he should have done that first. "Come on, out with it," she mutters with a frown. She just wants to hear it so that she can start to deal with whatever it is.

When he starts to explain, she listens carefully, nodding and commenting, "I heard that one of them is missing..." That's all that they'd known when they called her. The word 'kidnap' doesn't sound very good, of course, but she'd been figuring that whatever it is would be bad. When she hears the rest, her heart sinks and her stomach twists into a hard knot and she's silent for several moments.

The Scarecrow! Her first thought is that Kat's disappearance might be linked to her and whatever his plans are for Dr. Stenet, but the more she thinks about it the less likely it seems. Her connection to her old gang, while rather strong, is not that obvious. Someone could probably figure it out with enough digging, but it's not Crane's M.O. to do that sort of thing - it would be more Mr. Nigma's style to hack into the records that might contain that information. More likely it was simple coincidence - Crane usually takes his 'test subjects' from east Gotham, and that's where the Sirens are.

Finally, Shawty begins to voice some of her thoughts, her mouth set in a firm line, "There's not much we can do then, unless by some miracle Batman gets involved and finds her in time. I'll call in an anonymous tip to the police... Scarecrow never hangs onto anyone for very long, so she'll turn up soon... hopefully..." A part of her would like to just track that man down and give him what he deserves, but she's not a detective and wouldn't be able to find him - especially not it time to save Kat. It may already be too late. And while her fighting skills are good, she's probably not at the Scarecrow's level and she knows it. She just hopes that the girl turns up in a hospital or perhaps the asylum - anything she can recover from - and not the morgue. Having her not reappear again soon is also a bad sign, as that would likely mean that not only was Kat killed but her body was not found.

But before she can dwell on those thoughts, she looks up in surprise when a small stack of papers are suddenly dropped on her desk by Dr. Stenet, who came in while Shawty was too distracted to notice - which doesn't really ever happen. "Here's my notes from my analysis of the latest samples from WayneTech. I need you to type them up into a proper report. They want it by Friday, but don't give it to them until next Tuesday and tell them it was more difficult than expected," says the woman distractedly, looking and sounding rather tired.

And it's only after she's given Shawty those instructions that Nina pays enough attention to notice that there's a young man talking to her assistant, and that the girl is looking quieter than usual. "Who is this?" she inquires curiously, not recognizing him as anyone that she's seen before. Which is odd, because she and Shawty tell each other almost everything anymore.

[Deleted]

After Victor told her what news he had he sat back quietly and let Shawty think. He didn't really like the idea of someone being taken hostage by Scarecrow. Especially since that had happened to him once. As Shawty thought Victor found his own thoughts turning back to when he was in Kat's shoes. He found himself wondering what had ever happened to that other girl that was there. What was her name? Right! VerMillion or something like that. Some kind of radio name.

When Shawty spoke he pulled himself out of his thoughts. "Don't worry. I know Wulfen and he's pretty willing to help. He was once caught by Scarecrow she he knows what to look out for." He said. Of course he still knew that if he was going to go after Scarecrow he needed to get better. Or at the very least he needed help. He didn't say that though. He didn't want to give Shawty anything more to worry about.

When the papers suddenly hit the desk he filched slightly. He looked over to see what had caused the noise and saw another woman there. He noticed that the other woman knew Shawty and seemed to be the boss. When she asked who he was Victor stood up and extended his hand to the woman. "Howdy ma'am. I'm Victor Grant." He said politely. He may have been here to relay information to Shawty but he wasn't going to be rude to anyone else who came in on the conversation. He didn't give any information about why he was here because he wasn't sure what all Shawty wanted known.

[Nina Stenet]

There's only an instant of hesitation before Nina is returning his handshake and says, "Doctor Nina Stenet." Of course, knowing his name tells her practically nothing, so she gives Shawty a somewhat curious glance.

And Shawty is quick to supply and nods to each of them as she says, "Victor, this is my boss. Dr. Stenet this is my contact with Wulfen."

"Oh, I see," Nina replies with a nod, looking back at Victor, "Shawty told me that he was helping her gang." As it happens, Shawty tells Nina almost everything.

"And unless Wulfen's prepared to track down Scarecrow right now, there's not much we can really do for Kat," Shawty says, both responding to Victor's words and updating Dr. Stenet on the topic at hand. And she doubts that the vigilante is up to that job, which is why she mentioned Batman. But that would be far more luck than Shawty's willing to hope for.

The name draws Nina's attention immediately. "Scarecrow? You don't think...?" she asks Shawty, but looks relieved when her assistant is quickly shaking her head.

"Not likely. Not a lot of people know that I still keep tabs on them. It's probably just a coincidence," Shawty says reassuringly.

But it causes Nina to frown and she doesn't quite shake all of the sudden tension she's feeling. "I almost wish it weren't..." she mutters, "I'm tired of waiting... and if he involved me..." Well, maybe she'd have a chance to help Shawty's gang member in the process, at least.

Shawty sighs at that, "I know what you mean."

[Deleted]

When Dr. Stenet returned the hand shake and introduced herself Victor gave a nod in greeting. He looked at Shawty as she explained who the two were. He simply kept quiet. He still didn't want to talk and say the wrong thing.

When the two ladies started to talk about the Scarecrow Victor stood where he was and looked from one to the other as they spoke. After a while he started to frown in slight confusion as he could tell they were able to follow along with they're conversation but he sure couldn't. He crossed his arms still holding his fedora by the brim in his hand.

Eventually when he saw the chance to speak he held up his right hand in and wiggled his fingers slightly. "Ummmm...... The Wulfen contact is still here." He said raising his eyebrows not trying to come across as rude but still unable to hide the plain confusion he felt. "I'm not to important in this conversation I know but the guy I report back to might like to be able to follow along with what's going on." He added wincing slightly.

[Nina Stenet]

As disturbed as she is by the fact that Crane is responsible for the missing girl, Nina had forgotten about the young man sitting there. Or at least but it far enough in the back of her mind that she wasn't really thinking about him. So when he speaks up, she frowns at his words and says, "We're not talking about anything that's Wulfen's concern." But, only a moment later, she realizes how that sounded and her expression softens a little as she adds, "What I mean is, if he got involved it's more likely to make the situation worse." No, wait, that's a little harsh of a thing to say too...

Shawty, seeing her boss struggling to find a better way of phrasing that, helps by simply saying, "Dr. Stenet has good reason to not trust a vigilante with the particular problem we were talking about." There, that ought to be an acceptable but vague way of putting it. And if Victor walks out of here confused about what exactly it might be, so much the better. They don't need Wulfen hearing of it and throwing his oar in too.

Nina flashes her assistant a grateful smile before nodding to Victor as she adds, "Yes, long story..." And, based on her tone, she's not inviting him to ask her to tell it. She wouldn't even if he did, at least not here and now. She's already told it to everyone she thinks might possibly be able to help, and from what Shawty has told her about this young vigilante looking after her gang Nina's certain he's not one to add to that list.

Though as she looks at him this time, Nina seems to pause for a moment. She's always had an extremely good eye for detail - to the point that she's frequently prone to missing the big picture. And in this case she's noticed that Victor has a rather interesting hair color. She missed it at first, possibly thinking in the back of her head that he was older, but no his other features indicate that he's probably only a little older than Shawty. And it's a rather unusual shade of gray too - does that banding normally occur in humans? Though one thing she's not especially talented in is knowledge of genetics, so it could simply be a rare trait. Then again, the longer she looks at him, the more features she notices that might be just a little bit off on him. Who is this guy?

Of course, by the time she's asking herself that question, she can't help but give a quick look at him with her gift. She goes right to looking at his blood, since that's usually the most telling part of a person. Though on the surface her eyes would suddenly look distant as if her mind started wandering after she stared at him for a moment - with any luck Victor will assume that she's pondering whatever the story is that she doesn't want to tell.

Shawty, on the other hand, is familiar with that look and knows what it means. Now, what has gotten Dr. Stenet that curious about Victor? If only to break the silence, she says, "But thank you for telling me what Wulfen said. Did he tell the girls? Or did you?"

[Deleted]

Victor looked at Nina when she dismissed Wulfen as a possible way to help. "He's used to it. Its something he and I have in common." He said with a shrug. It really didn't bother him anymore. Now if she had done that a few years ago or if she seemed to be intentionally trying to put down on him he'd have gotten upset. But it didn't seem like she was trying to bash him so it was fine.

He looked towards Shawty as she gave the 'gentle' version of Nina's answer. "Well he'd probably make me tell you two that he would help if you want him to. So I'll just go ahead and say that now." He said gesturing with his hands for no real reason other then that's just how he talked. "I'll just tell him that you have someone else on the case." He said when it became clear that they didn't want him to know what was going on at the moment. He looked at the two and couldn't shake the feeling that they had met the Scarecrow before. But he figured it fell underneath that 'long story' he said not wanting to push anything to far and cause a conflict or anything like that.

He noticed the look on Nina's face and figured she was either worried for this missing girl or was doing something sciencey in her head. He turned back to Shawty when she spoke again. "I went and told them. I'm thinking about getting a weapon for if a gunfight breaks out while I'm there." He said trying to make a slight joke to ease the tension. His arms where still crossed in front of him as he spoke with Shawty. Looked back at Nina and then back at Shawty. "Is she ok? I didn't say anything wrong did I?" He asked gesturing towards Nina with his thumb. He gave her a second look and started to wonder if maybe she was just tired. He's been in that situation before so its entirely possible that he had just walked in on her 51st hour on the job. "Does she spend alot of time in the lab?" He asked when that thought crossed his mind. Giving her a concerned look with raised eyebrows.

[Nina Stenet]

"We do, actually," Shawty replies with a nod and a reassuring smile, trying to make it sound like the problem is basically taken care of already. But that's not really the reason why Dr. Stenet wouldn't want Wulfen involved - in fact they're still hoping for a lot of luck in whatever happens. But Shawty knows that her boss would never forgive herself if someone got hurt because of her, so the last thing that she'd want is a newer vigilante around. The fact that Dr. Stenet invited anyone else at all to get involved is a slight hint of just how worried she is about meeting the Scarecrow again.

Listening carefully as he says that he told her gang, she nods slowly. Good, that means that she won't have to. The Scarecrow's activity tends to be so sporadic that the odds are good that he won't turn up in the same area again. Or at least, not for awhile. Still she knows that her girls will keep an extra close eye on each other for awhile after this news. "A weapon might not be a bad idea. Just make sure you know how to use it. If you don't, all you're doing is eliminating the possibility anyone will take mercy on you for no good reason," she explains, "Not everyone would shoot a guy who doesn't look dangerous. But not everyone wouldn't."

Though when he starts to comment on the way Nina's staring off, the woman's eyes refocus immediately and she frowns at his words. Apparently her thoughts weren't as far off as he seems to have assumed. "I'm fine," she says, sounding a little irritated, "I was just noticing that you have several symptoms of a parasitic infection..." She trails off, now looking at him directly with an expression of curiosity and perhaps a little suspicion. That only scratches the surface of the anomalies that she saw in his blood, which she can't imagine that he wouldn't be aware of just because of the broadness of it - it would have had many side effects.

[Deleted]

Victor listened quietly to Shawty speak. It really did sound like they had it covered. But there was still that part of him that wanted to help somehow. He nodded when Shawty said that he would need to know how to use the weapon he picked if he did get one. "Don't worry I don't plan on being stupid and bringing trouble to them. That was something Wulfen told me to do." He said keeping himself from saying that she told him to. Because it was in fact Shawty that told him that.

He had to wonder how many of them thought he himself was Wulfen. He hadn't done anything that could possibly tip them off to thinking it was him. But he didn't know if maybe someone had started to put two and two together. He heard the tone of her voice and hoped he didn't offend her. Then his thoughts stopped when Nina said that he ha all the signs of a parasitic infection. He looked at her quickly squinting his eyes wondering if he heard what he thought he heard. "I have what?" He asked looking at her. "I don't have any parasites as far as I can tell." He said with a slight chuckle of disbelief. How can she tell? She couldn't have known about Lupin or Cana. But still how could she tell he wasn't the only being in his body?

[Nina Stenet]

There's a slight frown on Shawty's face as she nods to Victor's reassurances, accepting them without fully believing them. He's just too totally lacking in street smarts for her to believe that he won't do something stupid - she may not have talked to him much, but he seems to be even worse than Wulfen when it comes to that. But she also knows that her gang will help him out when that happens, and odds are he'll not do something on the deep end of stupid and survive whatever form it takes. And having Wulfen secretly helping out the Sirens is worth that bit of trouble.

Watching his reactions very closely, Nina thinks she may see a hint more of fear than surprise in his reaction. If that's the case, then she's perhaps onto something that he doesn't want her to be aware of. And actually, in a way she can relate to that. But on the other hand, she's a doctor and a scientist so there's a bit more to her curiosity than simply prying into someone else's business. "Whether that's true or not, it would be a lie if you told me that you feel totally normal, wouldn't it?" she asks, her eyebrows raising and her tone hinting at the doubt she feels about his words.

Shawty, now watching this exchange with a rather large amount of interest, smirks lightly at Victor as she comments, "You know you're talking to one of the world's best medical researchers, right?" She almost looks amused, now curious herself about what her boss 'sees' that would cause her to ask such questions.

And Nina's expression softens somewhat at that, only realizing now how she might be sounding. "Let me say now that I'm mostly asking out of concern for your well-being. Worrying about the health of others is kind of my calling," she says, letting a slightly apologetic smile reach her face. Not that she's sorry she asked the question, but because she's sorry if it's causing him discomfort.

[Deleted]

Victor was still somewhat caught off guard about the fact that Dr. Stenet was somehow able to tell that he wasn't exactly what others would call 'normal'. He had gotten used to it buy now but he still had trouble with keeping it secret for long. And now here he was getting found out by a scientist. When she commented that he would be lying if he said he felt totally normal he tilted his his head while squinting hie right eye. "Well I don't feel pain if that's what you're asking." He said not quite sure how to handle it.

When Shawty commented about Dr. Stenet being one of the best medical researchers in the world he rubbed his neck. "I didn't know that." He commented in a tone that suggested that he didn't mean for it to sound like he didn't pay attention to things he just wasn't well versed in the medical field.

When she said that she was mostly asking about his for his well being he waved a hand to show that she didn't need to be worried. "Don't worry about it." He said still somewhat caught off guard by her sudden comment. "I was just caught off guard. But uhh...... Just so I know what are the symptoms? And what could it be?" He asked. Part of it was an act. But it was mostly him being genuinely interested in what she might have seen that tipped her off.

[Nina Stenet]

"No, that's not what I was asking, but it's good to know," Nina replies, her lips pursed in thought. He's basically confirming what she already knows by so transparently dodging her question. "Pain is a very important symptom of something wrong or unusual with the body, but it's hardly the only one," she adds, giving him a questioning look as if expecting him to try answering her question again.

She can't really help her curiosity, though it does put her into a bit of a spot when he asks her what symptoms she's talking about. What of what she's seen has an effect on the surface? "The symptoms of a parasites are rather similar to malnutrition, but while nutritional deficits are actually quite common in developed countries, general malnutrition is not. Specifically, your skin appears to be a bit dry, slightly pale given your complexion, and it may even explain the unusual color of your hair," she replies, but then smiles as she comments, "Though I doubt anyone else would notice any of that... except the hair..."

Meanwhile, Shawty has gone quiet, still looking a bit amused as she watches the two of them talk, though when the subject of Victor's hair comes up she comments, "I like it - it makes you look more mature. Women like that."

[Deleted]

Victor listened to Nina as she pretty much killed his 'not feeling pain' answer and seemed to be expecting another answer. Everyone he talked to knew about Lupin because they found somehow. And then Cana because they already knew about Lupin. When she spoke of his skin being dry and pale he reached up and rubbed the back of his left hand. 'I have dry skin?' He thought to himself. 'It is rather dry.' Cana answered leaning against the desk only making the situation strange for Victor. 'I never noticed.' Lupin commented. When she brought up the color of his hair he ran his right hand through his hair. He liked his hair color, it made him stand out, made him unique. "Are there any tests we could run? I've never really noticed it before." He said with his right hand still in his hair and a look of confusion on his face.

When Shawty spoke up his gaze quickly shot over to her as he found himself wondering if she was trying to mention something. He squinted his right eye trying to figure out what happened. "Ok? Uhh......... Thanks?" He asked trying to figure out what she was saying. He hoped that she was jut trying to ease the situation of learning that he was showing signs of having a parasite. Things were only made that much more uncomfortable when Cana started laughing so hard that she fell clear off the desk and stood back up. 'You should see the look on your face!' she said as she got back up and propped herself on the desk.