A Good Story Distilled [Nina]

[Deleted]

Lex Luthor looked calm, almost subdued as he sat at the table at the edge of the Swan Lounge atop 30 Dini Plaza, where he's found that he's been spending more and more time. It was cheaper to reserve the entire lounge than his dinner meeting with Selina Kyle earlier in the week. For one thing, this meeting was much much later, after the lounge had closed up but before the morning. The night time chill of Gotham was significant enough that snow didn't fall. Lex Luthor sat at the table looking over the holographic projection in front of him, waving his hands over it as it shone up from the table. What appeared to be Arkham Asylum floating in front of him. 

It was an odd juxtaposition of technology and art deco, the lounge itself was a relic of a darker and elegant period where style went towards clean lines and glass and industry. The latticework of the concrete holding up the ceiling and the high glass, cathedral like windows were cut in the shape of roses growing with the primary edge pillars resembling giants holding up the ceiling, more clear in their shape than in their details. Not a wasted line to represent the figure, faces merely implications, muscles elegant outlines. The carpet was old fashioned, installed long before the advent of international flight, cleaned and preserved until it became old, unstylish, then classic once again. Worn about the edges, but serviceable, no one thought to replace it. Much like many things in Gotham. 

The cityscape stretched before the window next to the table. The flowers and candles were removed, this was a working dinner, a few lights kept things comfortable as Lex Luthor continued his work, glancing out the window on occasion before thinking better of it and turning back to his work. He had an appointment soon, he knew. The restaurant was empty. . . but there was still minimal service. Lex Luthor considered the building before him, zooming in with near photorealistic precision. It was slightly opaque, but still visible. He waited, taking a sip of Cognac and then pursing his lips and moving back to work, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the design. He waited, he knew that the Doctor would be here soon. . . and then would come the challenge. 

[Nina Stenet]

It wasn't without some trepidation that Nina contacted Mr. Luthor again to inform him that she's ready to meet with him again. Honestly, a large part of her would rather not meet with him again. But if the man is going to go so far as to burst into her hospital room when she's in that condition and then go into that much trouble to gain a more favorable opinion from her, she can only assume that he's not going to wait for her indefinitely. And for the sake of harmonious relations its better for her to simply get this over with.

And getting it over with is a part of the reason why she's contacted him now, even though she's not quite fully recovered. She wouldn't quite trust herself just yet to do anything strenuous, which is why Edward will have to wait a bit longer - she has no idea how that will go, and it's wisest to wait until she can push herself in case it goes badly - in addition to the fact that Crane is still in the asylum. But she can seriously doubt that she'll need to worry about such things for this meeting with Lex. Yes, she attacked him on sight the first time she saw him, but that was because he was clearly attempting to bypass her security measures and it was also before he was able to show his desire to mend relations. Not that she doesn't expect him to do other things she may not like, but she can at least trust that they won't be physically violent. Instead he seems rather eager to make her want to do business with him even after all of that, and a part of her would almost prefer to be attacked instead - at least that would be very straightforward.

As nervous about this as she is, Nina pays much more attention to detail as she decides on the particulars of this meeting than she's normally accustomed to doing. It hadn't escaped her notice just how much Lex wanted this to be a private meeting, so it was with some reluctance that she decided to not insist on bringing Shawty. Honestly, most of that is simply because she's felt like she's been harassed on all sides lately, and she'd like the security of her bodyguard, though Shawty is helpful with other things - remembering exact figures and to bring a pen, for example. Though after much consideration, she decides that she can manage going alone. So long as Shawty double checks to make sure she's bringing everything that she might need, anyway.

Shawty also helps with outfit approval. Normally she doesn't think twice about what she's wearing, but for this meeting in particular she wants to make the right statement. Eventually she decides to wear her red skirt suit - a no-name brand knockoff of something undoubtedly more expensive but it fits her perfectly. Underneath it a black silk blouse makes an appearance around the collar, matching her black high-heeled open-toe pumps and the large black handbag she'll be taking with her. A string of pearls around her neck with matching drop earrings, and she believes that ought to do it. Her hair is pulled back into it's characteristic low, curly ponytail.

As ready as she'll ever be, Shawty helps her try to relax by making several cracks as she walks her down to catch the limo that Lex sent. Yes, a limo. Kind of ridiculous, but when he offered it she shrugged and accepted. She's sure that she'll never really understand rich people, never mind the fact that her bank account clearly labels her as one herself now and she seems to be increasingly associating with them. Whatever. The building that she's driven to gets a similar reaction, but she tries to not let that distract too much of her attention. It had taken her a long time to get her thoughts about this meeting properly organized after their little chat at the hospital, and she half worries that they may be too easily disrupted again. So she doesn't spare the decor too much of her attention as she arrives in the lounge - it's exquisite, now let's move on to more important things - simply locating Lex at the table by the window and heading in his direction.

[Deleted]

He looked up as she approached, closing down the holographic image with a wave of his hand through it as he stood up. "Doctor Stenet. So good of you to join me." He gestures to the open chair across the table. He didn't pull out the chair for her, that would be excessive. Instead he waited for her to sit down and then sat down himself across the table. The lighting was clear, but slightly dim, like a high stakes poker game. In the background no music, only the faint sound of cleanup. The distant sounds of the city were muted somewhat by the distance and glass. . . but the view was impressive. 

Luthor contemplated Nina for a moment, his eyes taking her in with a certain level of focus, and an unknowable sense of emotion. Lex Luthor was dressed well enough, he was taking this meeting seriously. "I hope the drive was acceptable. You're looking much recovered from the last time we spoke." He gestures to the menu before her and says "I'm not certain how your appetite is, but I assure you, the food here is exquisite. . . I've had far too much chance to eat it of late, and so far I've yet to be disappointed. Provided your appetite can stand it."  The courteous host, not a hair out of place. . . or at all. There's an awkwardness at the table, palpable, but he soldiers through. He pours from a glass bottle into a small glass, one for himself and one for Nina, it smells like a combination of lemon and old memories and looks like a strong lemonade. "A friend of mine introduced me to this lovely liqueur in Italy. It's not ostentatious, or even particularly expensive, often grandmothers make it and sell it for extra money. Still, it reminds me of simpler times, and I find the taste refreshing. This, however, is not from Italy, I feel that countermands the entire point of the exercise, it's made much more locally. You'd have to ask my friend where he found them, but after your associate suggested that you enjoy Lemonade, I felt it was a good apertif to start with and talk over." 

He nods slightly at the table and says "I suppose you'd not want to waste your time on small-talk. There's business to talk about, and there's issues we really must discuss related to our history. I understand. . . that there have been some misunderstandings between the two of us, but I for one hope that we can move forward and put them both behind us. . . for a greater good. . . still, I feel that once we're able to speak, in a way we haven't really been able to speak before, all will become clear"

[Nina Stenet]

When he speaks to her, Nina finds herself immediately taking a breath to help steady her nerves. "Mr. Luthor," is her simple greeting, not embellishing it with any silly lies about how happy she is to be here or to see him again, but the nod that follows it is respectful. Just because she's sure that she's not going to enjoy this doesn't mean that she's incapable of being polite about it, after all.

Seating herself and quickly settling into her chair, she places her handbag on the floor next to her and tries to not worry too much about what he thinks about who he's looking at. She's sure that she looks quite different than she did at their first meeting - laying in a hospital bed, with the standard unflattering gown, and her hair was surely a mess. At the time she'd been so weak that she'd only been sitting up with the aid of the bed itself, and quite pale due to a lack of her normal amount of blood. Now she's quite visibly more alive than she had been - she appears to be fully recovered, as she nearly is and what remains is little enough that it doesn't show on the surface. It's been a quick recovery, but not excessively so - she did use her power to help herself heal, but only a little and mostly to ensure that she healed without complications. She certainly didn't need to add to the remarkableness of her case - that she survived at all is dramatic enough!

"Thank you. I feel much better," she responds, a hint of a smile reaching her face as she picks up the menu and skims it. Even in this setting, she can't look back on her recovery without being very happy that she's nearing the end of it. "It's been a long time since I've been anywhere this nice," she comments. Let's see, the last time would have been... Ah, the dinner with Mr. Cobblepot! And in comparable circumstances, actually - though that dinner was probably easy compared to what she fears this one will be. He'd only been fishing for information he didn't have, and she'd merely had to repeat things that he already knew and refuse to say more. Lex may know less, but she already knows that his motivations run much deeper.

Though she senses the awkwardness at the table, she's actually inclined to do her best to alleviate that - there's no need for that feeling as far as she's concerned, only a need for them to resolve what needs to be resolved. As he pours a drink, she looks at it curiously. It can be difficult to tell when she's using her power, especially since she's in the habit of masking it when she knows that someone is watching with normal behaviors. And though she trusts that he won't try to kill her, she doesn't trust him not to do other underhanded things to her - drugging her, for example - so she checks the liquid in her glass. She'd be stupid to trust that it's safe just because he pours some for himself too. When it's poured, she picks it up and looks at the liquid, not any differently than anyone about to sample an unfamiliar beverage might. Though her eyes do suddenly shift to him when he mentions an 'associate' of hers mentioning her drink preference. Now who might that have been? She doesn't have many 'associates', and the first that comes to mind is Shawty. But no, Shawty would have told her if Lex had been asking questions, even benign ones. Yet the second is Selina, and Nina's instantly certain that would be the one - though she won't be attending the big Metropham Gala, she knows about it and knows that Selina has been working with Lex a lot.

It only takes her a moment to be certain that she doesn't sense anything amiss but, noting that the alcohol content of it is far higher than it might seem, she only takes a small sip. Even as she does so, she wonders if he'll take that as a false sign of trust, though that's absolutely not the case. "You're right - it's very delicious," she agrees as she sets the glass back down.

And he's perfectly correct that she'd like to get right to business - all these niceties seem so... fake given their past history. And it actually somewhat surprises her that he seems to want to discuss that before anything else - she has a hard time picturing how he could manage to put her into a better feeling about that than he already has. He tried to have her killed - how much misunderstanding could there be about that? Still, she's not going to refuse to discuss whatever issues he feels the need to bring up. She just doesn't think that it will do much good. Nodding, because she does agree that their last meeting hardly counted as a chance to speak properly, she simply encourages him to continue by saying, "Then speak." And, leaning back slightly in her chair, she watches him with an expectant expression, clearly prepared to listen. Because whatever he says, she's sure that it will no doubt be very interesting, whether she decides that she believes him or not.

[Deleted]

"Ever to the point." He drinks some of his own Limoncello, he leans forward and then says "What if I were to tell you. And I know how hard it is for you to understand why yet, and I know you'll have difficulty doing so. . . but I am honestly pleased to see you here, and alive." He puts the glass down carefully, looking at her. 

"We honestly, haven't had much opportunity to speak, have we? Most of our interactions have been through intermediaries, or, well. . . part of a larger and more complicated interaction. But until this time, I've never really had the opportunity to just sit with you. To speak. To . . . really get to know you, and to let you get to know me. I'd imagine you think me some sort of monster. Some sort of beast that can't keep his temper under control, that wishes to steal all of science and knowledge and use it for some sort of . . . corrupt evil plot." 

He smiles faintly at that and says "Oh yes, I read the conspiracy theories, and I know that I feature quite prominently in quite a bit of gossip and quite a lot of ideas. It's almost flattering, if it weren't so inaccurate. I wanted you here, personally, because . . . I want you to understand my motivations, to know what I hope for, and to explain to me what you hope for. Maybe to see if there's points of commonality, which I think there are. You don't really know me, though, and I only really know you through your work. . . and believe me, I would speak to you for hours about your work if I didn't think that at the moment you've other things on your mind, and the fact that you know your work and would find the topic redundant " 

He placed his fingertips together and looked at her again "I know . . . only the faintest shadows of your current work, you've kept it well under wraps and I respect that need for proprietary privacy . . . but I know your drive towards perfection, to understand the key elements of life itself. A drive towards not just wisdom, but applied wisdom. I'd say we are very much alike, but I find that statement cliche, and useless as it is insulting. But I think very strongly, based on what I've seen of you, and what I know of your work. . . that we share goals. That we share a dream for a better future. We share a drive." 

[Nina Stenet]

Though she keeps her full attention on him, Nina appears to be rather passive as she listens. Every statement he makes she ponders carefully, but most of it she sets aside as relatively unimportant - she's waiting for him to get to the part that really matters. Though she doesn't disbelieve that he's happy that she's alive, even if she's very skeptical about his reasons for that.

And she lets her lack of response as he speaks of how she feels about him serve as confirmation. She can't say that she necessarily believes all the conspiracy theories, but given the nature of her previous though indirect interactions with him she's certainly taken the stance that it wouldn't surprise her if every single one of them was completely true. After all, if he's one to kill a woman that he's never met and who has done him no harm, what else might he do? Perhaps that's giving a lot of weight to what was on action but, like she said in the hospital, she took it very personally.

But he finally gets to something of real interest - her eyebrow lifts somewhat skeptically as he speaks of motivations and commonality. Oh, she's sure that they're not at all alike - everything she's heard or experienced of him indicates someone very different from her, down to the deepest levels.

So it's with some amusement on her features that she finally responds by asking, "You want to know about my motivations and my work?" She strongly suspects that he probably wouldn't really understand - not someone like him. But that doesn't mean that she won't let him try. "We live on a planet full of people who are suffering, for all sorts of reasons," she says quietly, her eyes a little distant as she carefully considers how to articulate her thoughts, "And while I hardly have the ability to rid the world of all of its pain, I have the skills and talents required to ease or even eliminate so much of it. Everywhere there are people whose distress I can remove, whose death I can prevent. Whose loved ones don't need to stand helplessly by while one they care about suffers, or feel the pain of losing them. So I help them." And, at least without getting into specifics, she thinks that's the best way to explain her work - at least from her own perspective.

Of course, the deeper question is why. "And I don't do it so that I can pat myself on the back and call myself a good person - if anything, I look at my accomplishments and only see what I haven't done. And I don't care about the money, or getting famous, or the respect, or if anyone even remembers who I am a year after I die. I don't even do it to satisfy some desire of mine to discover something new," she explains, shaking her head once for each. It's truly surprising how many reasons people can have to do something that seems so noble. "I do it because I feel their pain - I'm a deeply empathetic person - and because I feel that by not doing what I can for them I would be responsible for what I could have prevented if I had," she finishes, her eyes almost closing in deep thought as she ponders what she's saying. It causes her to reflect, because she doesn't explain herself like this very often - in fact the last person would have been Shawty, years ago.

Her mind quickly reminds her of all the times recently when she might have been able to carry on with her work, if only she had done something differently. How many people might have gotten their treatment sooner if it weren't for the delay? The question tends to gnaw at her and spur her on, though she doesn't beat herself up too badly for the past - instead she encourages herself forward by promising herself that she'll do better in the future by learning from those mistakes. Her last chat with Edward, for example - huge mistakes.

[Deleted]

He listens with interest, drinking the limoncello and watching her passion with interest. He puts down the glass and strokes his chin with interest, just listening to the way the words work, gazing, trying to understand. 

"A noble goal, a noble enterprise. I think you and I are more similar than you might know. With some minor differences in opinion, of course. Part of you driven towards perfection. I understand that sense of incompleteness, that there is more to be done in this world. I see altruism in you, of course, but there's also curiosity, there's perfectionism. Humility is all well, but would you be willing to sacrifice humility for the sake of your work? For the sake of allowing your work to change the world?" He stares at her for a moment. 

"I trade on my name, I pursue the aggrandizement of it, obviously, but it is only because I've seen far too many people neglect the sordid and soiled worlds of the flesh and business and politics to focus on purer pursuits of science and their attempts to change the world. "

"When I was 15, orphaned, alone, but in the university, I found a mentor in the sciences who had similar goals as yours, seeking only to alleviate the suffering of the world. He had been crushed by such a world. Bitter and nasty individuals stole his work, crushed him into the back rooms of academia where he was left old and broken and angry. He took a young man under his wing out of kindness, and taught him the power of a dream. But he labored in silence, believing his work would be of quality enough to change everything. He was rejected, ultimately, by a community that did not understand his vision or work." 

"It was because of him that I made LexCorp. It was because of this world filled with pain, with brilliant minds crushed by a society that can't see the potential of visionaries. Call me a monster, call me a hero, the world may call me by many names, but what the world cannot do is ignore me or my work, or the work of those I partner with. I might be forgotten two years after I die, or perhaps the day I die will be met with celebration or mourning."

He shrugs as he says "You may disagree with my techniques, but my goals are the same as yours. To leave a better world. To create a world where human achievement pushes back the shadows. To form a world where every human being can contribute and where the brilliance of visionaries can bring comfort, success, longevity and a future to humankind." 

He stares at her now, the rambling nature of his comments bringing things to home. "And that's why I want to work with you. You have vision. You see a better future. I want to take that vision to the world, to have it pay attention to the worth of your work, to let it be spread out to all who need it, and not kept out of their reach because of lack of access. . . Believe me, when I say that your life means more to me than you will know. Even if you doubt my altruism or my goals, let me say that just the publicly available portions of your earliest research has served to inspire numerous individuals within my organization."

He gestures to the holographic emitter again, letting the image show up, showing a spread of a metal matrix shifting and growing and shrinking "Your early work on molecular evolution, has inspired the work of my own Dr. Magnus to develop metal matrices that grow, shape and evolve like they were living organisms. Metal flesh, he calls it." He gestures again and another image appears of a cellular mix in a petri dish "And your work on virulence and adaptive cellular regeneration? It's inspired the work of several of my scientists who even now are working on technology to cheaply, efficiently and noninvasively allow for the regrowth of organs, grafting and surgical techniques that may some day allow a person to regrow not just an arm or a leg, but a heart or lung or pancreas." He gestures again, moving his hand through the emitter and letting the image shut down. 

"This is just what we've been able to do with inspiration from the base gleaning of your work by just pouring whatever resources we have into it. You can understand why I appreciate and am drawn to your light. If this is possible with mere suggestions from you, what can't be done for the world? Imagine, a place where children never need to suffer, where victims of war can be restored to full life. A world where artists can build impossible structures, where technology can be so cheap and easy to maintain and reproduce that even the poorest child in India can have access to the libraries of human knowledge, and perhaps grow to allow their minds to create a world beyond even my imagination. This is the legacy I hope to leave to the world, with the resources I've accumulated."

He looks restrained at this part, quiet. Is that regret on his face? Perhaps it is. "My only regret is that I did not look more closely at your work when it began. I regret the . . . interactions I had with Edward Nigma. . . believe me when I say, it was never my intention to see you come to harm. And if I had known then what I know today. . . about both him and you. . .  things would have gone very differently, Doctor Stenet. I only hope to learn from my errors, and hopefully have the opportunity to rectify them."

[Nina Stenet]

The moment that he begins to speak, Nina's eyes lift to him, and though her expression is mild it's also tainted with skepticism. She certainly has a hard time believing that they're at all similar, no matter how many times he expresses that belief. Still, she listens, though once again with a certain passiveness, though this time at least there are a few points where something he says obviously makes her thoughtful: as he speaks of his mentor and of the future, though whether those thoughts are good or bad she doesn't speak them immediately.

Instead, she continues to listen and, as he activates his holographic emitter, watches. She's seen the technology before, but always someone's prototype, though if you ask her the light show is a bit excessive when a basic computer does just fine. Then again, she wouldn't be so quick to snub the latest biotech equipment with all their whistles and bells, at least the subset of those she can't do better with her power, so her prejudices are far more about what she's used to and not any objection to new technology.

And she can't help but show her interest in what he's showing her. The metal matrices draw her curiosity, but only on a shallow level - they're interesting, but not much more than that to her. When he speaks of the regrowth of organs, however, there's not much curiosity but a quiet smile comes to her face - she almost looks proud.

Though the look fades quickly into what is simply a calm expression as he speaks of his rather Utopian dreams for the future. Oh, she'd better not comment on those... Still, she's notably more relaxed than she was at the start of this conversation by the time he speaks of Edward. And when he does, her eyes stare rather hard at him for a moment before she finally says, "Oh, I don't believe you want me dead - now. Now you understand the effects of my work. I'm a valuable asset to the world at large. You don't just kill someone like me."

She pauses for a moment, picking up her drink for another small sip before she adds, "I don't know how humble of a person I am - I only know that I don't care for fame or recognition. But I also know that my work is good - exceptionally good. Perfect, whenever I can manage it. I don't think that's some compulsion on my part, aside from knowing that flaws in medicine hurt people - and I can't have that." Setting her glass down, she sighs as she says, "Of course, I'm wary of all the little petty egos in my field - that's a part of the reason why I keep my head down, and work quietly. Most of the bickering is about who gets the spotlight, so I avoid that as much as possible. I don't need it."

"In fact, I love to see my work in the hands of others - improved upon, even 'stolen'. I always hope that it inspires people," she says, her expression becoming somewhat amused as she stops there, and it seems as if there is more that she could say on that subject, but she doesn't do so.

Instead, her eyes focus more fully on Lex as she adds, "But because I'm so fully aware of where I fit into this business and what I can do, I also know that I must be very careful with myself. Because there are those who look at me and my work and see money, power, fame, or any number of such things. And I can't let that be the purpose of it - my purpose for it is to help people, and that's... almost sacred to me. And given the way of the world we live in, it's far easier said than done to keep it that way - I have to make my every decision concerning it with great care."

"Far more care, if I may say so, than you displayed a few years ago. While I can't say that I don't sympathize with the reasons and goals for what you did, how you did it..." she stops herself there and simply shakes her head rather than finishing that statement. "The ends don't always justify the means, Mr. Luthor. And based on that act alone, I suspect that there's a whole range of less dramatic means we probably disagree upon," she finishes.

[Deleted]

He purses his lips, he sees the look of pride on her face, the interest, and then the statement. He exhales deeply and then says "You may find this hard to believe. . . but I didn't particularly want you dead then either. I assure you." He looks her dead in the eyes "I can honestly say. . . that the reasons behind my actions were never meant to lead to your death, though I can see how you would doubt that having limited experience or knowledge of me." 

[Nina Stenet]

The way that Nina's eyebrow raises at that statement says it all: no, she doesn't believe that. Not at all. "I fail to see how there's room for doubt - a known murderer was given a deal and told to kill me. The only way for it to have been more clear-cut is if you'd attempted to do it yourself," she states, a somewhat disgusted look coming to her face.

[Deleted]

He looked her squarely in the eye and raised an eyebrow "Do you honestly believe you were in any sort of actual danger? From Wesker? The man is a milquetoast led on by a puppet! He's a man so pathetic that he cowers in fear from his own left hand! It took you less than ten seconds to neutralize the most dangerous woman I know and myself from your own hospital bed. Are we that much less dangerous than Wesker?" 

He looks carefully at her as he says "You were never at any risk from Wesker, no matter what you feel about your own abilities." He shakes his head as he says "And you were hardly alone with him. I promise you, you weren't in danger for a single moment." He looks her squarely in the eye. "I don't leave things like that to chance, although I have to admit what happened was not exactly according to plan." He looks away at that last bit, as if slightly ashamed. Reaching beside him he pulls out a tablet. 

He looks again at her as he taps the tablet, bringing up something. "But I don't expect you to take my word for it. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Luckily you are a scientist first, and with new evidence, comes new hypotheses." He places the Tablet before her, on it a scene in reddish tinge. It's a scene that's immediately familiar from all the angles at this distance. Nina's old home, there's crosshairs on the screen, and heat signatures shining through walls, the figures inside the apartment clear. A lexcorp logo in the lower corner "This was taken the night of the incident. The device is one of our more complicated prototypes, sold recently to the United States military. Using a combination of 32 different sensors and corrective computing, it allows focus on a target at some significant distance away, even through obstacles. . . the ammunition associated with the weapon that the scope was attached to is significantly less complicated, but no less effective. Capable of again, moving through obstacles straight to the target, either stunning or killing depending on the hit." 

On the screen, Wesker comes to the door, just as Nina recalled. The cross hairs centered on him."The goal, was to incapacitate Wesker in front of you. Of course, what happened next was . . . unexpected . . . " 

[Nina Stenet]

It's not difficult for Nina to look Lex squarely back. Does she think that she was in danger? Perhaps slightly - there are ways it could have gone wrong. But more importantly, she doesn't believe that Lex didn't think that she was in danger at the time. After all, she's 'merely' a scientist - you don't expect people like her to defend themselves well, and up until that point she'd not really had to use that ability much. The fact that she didn't come to any harm is beside the point for her, really - it's that he tried.

But she figures that she's already made that perfectly clear, so she doesn't bother saying so and waits for him to come to the point. And as he tries to reassure her that there had been no danger to her regardless, her expression is clearly skeptical. But he's right, she is a scientist and she's willing to be open-minded in the face of evidence - as long as that evidence is trustworthy.

Of course, any evidence that Lex gives her is automatically suspect, but she does look at the tablet he puts in front of her. The view of her old apartment is hardly enough, even with the explanation of the technology involved. She frowns as he mentions the ammunition involved - she's certainly not a fan of guns, even though she's not crazy enough to say that it's a good idea to get rid of them all. But though she recognizes the figures moving around, at first she can hang onto her skepticism - she doesn't know what security camera footage there was of the Ventriloquist's movements outside of her apartment, so that part could be easily faked. What couldn't be is what happened inside of the apartment - that was her home, after all, and the only two people who know exactly how she and the Ventriloquist moved are the two of them - even Edward wasn't around to see exactly how the man had ended up laying where he was. Except, now that she sees it herself, someone else had been watching, as the figure of the Ventriloquist's movements are exact.

It may have been years ago now that the whole incident happened, but she still remembers it all quite clearly. Extreme events like that always seem to get permanently embedded in the mind. And as the heat signature that is her goes through all the movements that she remembers making, they prove the truth of it. She doesn't imagine that even the Ventriloquist remembers what she did in that amount of detail - he'd been scared to death. And as she's forced to accept that, her lips purse as she continues to watch and to decide what it means for Lex to have this. She does note that this doesn't mean that he wasn't trying to kill her - she still only has his word on that - but it does mean that it's possible that he wasn't.

"Why tell the man to kill me if you were only going to stop him?" she asks, not looking up from the tablet as it continues to play, even though it's not very interesting - she was just standing there. But then she realizes... "How long does this recording go?" she asks suddenly. Because it hadn't taken Edward very long to arrive...

[Deleted]

Lex Luthor leans back into the chair, watching and waiting "It continues long enough, I'd wager. Feel free to keep watching as long as you like to verify the accuracy of the evidence." And he stares at the distance as he says "At the time there were reasons, I wish I could say it was because we wished to swoop in and help you, perhaps open up new conversations with you with increased leverage. I wish I could say that it was because I believed you had special research to protect you and I wanted to see it. I wish I could even say any of that, because it is far more preferable to me than the truth of the matter."


He looks her square in the eyes at that moment, his body subdued, his voice soft "There were some questions, certainly, but what I can say, with nothing but regret, is that the mistakes made that day stemmed from a series of conversations with Edward Nigma. I . . . underestimated him. . . I thought we could take his ideas and try to . . . turn them against him. But in the end, unexpected things happened. Instead of my people taking down Wesker. . . you were able to subdue him some other way. I'd wager with a trap by Nigma or some hidden weapon on your part. . . either way, we weren't certain at the time. Rather than sending in the security team to assist, we held back because we didn't know what had happened. Whether there was an unknown biological agent in the apartment, whether it was a trap. By the time we'd decided to go ahead, Nigma was there, and . . . a chain of events took place. You were gone, underground."

He sighed as he said "I tried to extricate you when you were held by the FBI, but you were taken before I had the chance. And until the latest when you were on your hospital bed, I never had the opportunity to contact you directly, and to try to . . . make things right. And frankly, before this I doubt I could have. Nigma's a skilled manipulator, and every attempt I would have made to set things right would have been twisted by him to make things worse." 

He shakes his head "I wish I knew now, what I knew then about the man. I would not have underestimated him or you, and perhaps thing would have turned out differently." 

[Nina Stenet]

His answer causes Nina's lips to purse in slight displeasure - 'long enough' likely means until they left. Though as she quickly reflects on what happened after that and what the sensors would have seen she quickly realizes that most of it would be uninteresting. Watching people moving around as they talk does little to tell you what they were talking about - it's a relief that there isn't any audio.

Looking up from the tablet, but not quite releasing it, she looks up as Lex confesses to underestimating Edward and a thoughtful frown appears on her face. Naturally, all the things that he's saying are a bit difficult to wrap her mind around - she's lived for so long believing something different about what happened there. And all the implications of it... But she can't be too quick to jump to conclusions just because what he's saying sounds plausible, even if the fact that he has this footage of the event in the first place makes it seem even more plausible than what she believed before.

Out of the corner of her eye, she catches a new movement on the tablet - the part of the footage she'd been waiting for. There's one possible exception to the rest of it being uninteresting: what Edward did immediately upon arrival. Her eyes shift to watch as a figure - clearly Edward, based on the limp, hurries to her door and knocks. And when she opens the door, at least to Nina it's perfectly plain to see that he grabbed her and kissed her. Then again, she also wonders if it's only so clear because she knows that it happened - would someone else see the kiss in the movements of the figures on the screen, or be unable to tell?

A part of her is only concerned with that because she regards that as a bit of a private moment and doesn't necessarily want Lex Luthor of all people to know about it, even though that's ancient history now. Though she does note to herself that even if he is aware of that kiss, at the very least it only proves a little. After all, it was a stolen kiss - it had been too quick and she'd been too surprised to respond. In fact, given the point they'd been in their relationship at the time, she would have slapped him if he'd continued that kiss long enough for her to decide to do so. Frowning at the screen, she pushes the tablet back over to Lex - she's seen all of it that she cares to.

Trying to push that little detail to the side for the moment, she carefully chooses her words as she sums up, "You thought I was in with him until he proved otherwise by trying to kill me." She pauses, having a hard time deciding what to do now that she has this side of the story.

Deciding that it's best to say at least some of her thoughts about it all out loud, she comments, "So either you're lying to me now and did try to kill me, or you're not and you didn't, but either way you attempted to use me as a pawn in a dispute with Edward. But you wish that you'd merely been manipulating me." She pauses before simply adding, "Either way, that's terrible." Though based on the way she says that, that's a purely logical summary of the situation - very little emotional involvement. Which, though she doesn't realize it, is a bit telling about which scenario she now believes is more likely. After all, she had still be quite clearly more upset when she believed that he'd tried to kill her - so much so that she couldn't speak of it without her anger and disgust coloring her tone. She's not at all pleased to be used as a pawn even if her life was never on the line, or even simply manipulated for that matter, but that's still naturally a less repulsive and barbaric thing than murder.

And a lot more clever, actually - she knows from her own recent experience that coming up with a plan where you don't kill someone can be a much bigger challenge than one where you do. Because it would be so much simpler if her plans for Edward were to simply kill him - but unfortunately, she'd find that highly unethical, even for someone like him. Well, that and she thinks that she's better than resorting to murder.

[Deleted]

Lex Luthor put his fingertips together and looks at her calmly "What would you assume, Doctor Stenet?" He purses his lips and gestures at the screen again, then shakes his head "Nevertheless, we've all had associations that we've come to regret later. And challenges with old . . . partners. That is not important." The waiter arrives at the table with an amuse bouche, it appears to be a sweet dish today, a selection of mini tarts with non seasonal fruits and a fine mix of cremes. It mixes well with the citrusy limoncello served at the table. Lex Luthor offers the first bite to his guest, gesturing. 

He shook his head "And I admit, at the time I felt I had little option in the situation. My information was incomplete, and I was uncertain as to many variables. It was not the best option, but one is often driven to extremes when working around Edward Nigma. . . And I admit, I was mistaken."

He shrugs and says "But I could spend all night addressing the regrets of the past. I am a man who ultimately is interested in the future, and I hope that time will further heal the wounds between us." He puts the box on the table again and says "I gave you three million dollars to catch your attention, Doctor. And I'm explaining the situation and . . . apologizing to you" it's hard for him to say that, the word almost catches in this throat "to hopefully attract your focus." He then wiggles his fingers as his watch changes colors. An image appears again. 

"Those were to get you here and put you at this table with me. With luck, this will catch your interest." The globe hovers over the table as tables of data appear quickly and some interesting electron microscope images of cellular regeneration appears on the screen. "A minor project we're working on. . . one that I would hope would . . . attract your interest. I have positions at numerous divisions of LexCorp's biotech industries that would be well served with you as director. . . but I'd imagine after our previous interaction, you'd prefer your independence. . . perhaps a contract to work as consultant on certain individual projects. Standard nondisclosure agreements and security clearances, of course. . . you'd be offered grants, equitable leases on LexCorp equipment and support in exchange for these services, with options to later change the terms of the contract, should you be interested in working in a closer capacity as part of the LexCorp family." 

He smiles as he says "Indeed, I've found myself in possession of a new subsidiary that would be well suited to have your guidance at the helm, with some rather unexpected breakthroughs in the fields of transhuman genetics . . . if that should get your interest as well. Failing that, this project I'm showing you. . .well, I doubt I need to explain the potential of it, or the nature of the controlled creation of cellular regenerative capacities. . . organ regrowth, grafting, improved immune functioning. The only problem, of course is . . . controlling the result without creating excessive cellular growth. . . early test results have been . . . promising, but in need of a subtler touch. Your touch." 

He smiles as he says "Of course, if that doesn't interest you, I'm certain that we might be able to find. . . some other projects with a more dynamic and transformative goal." he narrows his eyes and looks at her reaction.