Tools and Toys

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Busy, fast, and loud was that of the lady's shop.  It was a large space, a large warehouse behind her club.  The carpentry shop was a 60 foot by 60 foot space.  In one corner it had all the standard carpentry tools and lumber, but at the opposite corner was metal working, in the upper right.  In the upper left was storage of flats and drops and then down down left corner was storage of things like paint, flammable materials and any odd  things, like tools to carve foam and what not.  

This was a shop for artisans and there they were, working.  Her trusted right hand, Bobby, had the framing for a sign built out, and he was installing lighting fixtures.  There were a pair welding some pieces and another off pouring ultramarine blue paint onto a tray.

The sight to be seen in the middle of the shop was Rooster.  She wore a pair of headphones for hearing protection.  Her eye patch part of her hair pand pinning her hair up in a loose bun at the back of her head.  She had eye protection on over for her good eye.  It was rather warm in the shop.  She wore a white tank top, a red plaid short sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up nearly all the way and tied up in a way that it came just below her sternum.  A blue bandana was in place of a belt on her light denim daisy duke cut offs.  She wore work gloves as well as a pair of steel toe work boots, not her usual western boots, and white red ringed socks.  Around her hips rested a tool belt holding things like a multi tool, a knife, a dozen other hand tools.

She had a chainsaw and was cutting through large pieces of tree trunks.  She stepped back from one as the ends fell to the ground from the saw horses they rested upon.  

Bobby was the one closest to the door when it opened.  He looked over to see who had entered while Rooster started the chainsaw back up for the next tree down.  ZZ Top blared from speakers throughout the room, but Bobby reached to the radio to lower it to talk to whomever just walked in.  To the right was a tool lock up with a sign that read: "Ye who desecrates the sacred tool chamber shall be cast into the depths of eternal damnation."

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Lex Luthor was faintly amused by the interior of the shop, the smell of sawdust and sweat and oil in the air, the sound of hard labor and construction it filled him with a sense of nostalgia and curiosity, as if he'd stepped into some sort of anthropological past of a primitive work station, or perhaps something out of his childhood. He watched the lady work, sweat glistening her brow as she performed the work of heavy labor, handling the powerful chainsaw with that broad feminine mystique that implied so very much. He admired the delicacy with which she was able to hew mighty oaks, although at first glance he had difficulty figuring out exactly what she was making. 

Perhaps it was meditative, he remembered his time in the desert and his own meditation chambers while out there, he was a man who always thought better with his hands, although he'd learned to clarify his mind without the intersession of tools and craft. Lex Luthor had been taught to bring the workshop into his mind, to make the tools from his thoughts, but even so there was a purity to the work of craftsmanship and creation. 

In some ways, the shop reminded him of his first laboratory, in an old storage shed in the midst of the suicide slum:  The first place he'd ever made for himself away from the prying eyes of his father. Seven years old, a shock of red hair and nothing but anger and animal cunning, an intellect suppressed. It was his first business negotiation, so awkward and so sloppy. It was an old storage unit amongst the decay of urban sprawl. The Bertoli brothers sold cut drugs from it, using the old place to store their stash. They were 16 year old monsters who spoke with guns out and punctuated their sentences with fists. They'd thrashed him the first time he'd found the shed, beating and kicking him until he bled. They dreamed so large yet thought so small. 

It had taken only a few phone calls to get the shed, though, well, only one was important although getting the number wasn't easy for a 7 year old boy without resources. Still, he'd eventually found a way to contact Tommy "Hammerhead" Lewski . . . yeah, the man with the scar on his neck, half scalped after a fight with the triads, the fist of the Suicide Slums. . . Three days later Lex remembered the gas mask he'd made from old Coke bottles and charcoal, using the Sodium Peroxide powder and vinegar to wash the blood stains from the wall. The drugs were long gone, and the space was his! Oh, he was so young and innocent then, so awkward. The stinging nostalgia of youthful indiscretion, a little pang of embarrassment at how sloppy he was. It was a simpler time, though.  

Lex smiled and closed his eyes for a moment, remembering with that mix of stinging nostalgia that hits all adults from time to time. He opened his eyes and walked past Bobby, metal case in his left hand. He walked towards Rooster beside Bobby, smiling as he said "So this is your shop!" He smiled as he said "I'm afraid I can't figure out what you're trying to make, or is this just the catharsis of hard work?"

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Rooster had heard the music drop in volume through the hearing protection and the noise of the chainsaw. She ignored it and continued her work in cutting through the massive oak trunk she had before her. She didn't have the weight to really get through it but she made up for it in strength. She bared her teeth a bit as she used every ounce of muscle she possessed in her body to work through that trunk.

Once she managed to get through it she sighed with a slightly randy grin upon her face. She heard someone speaking so she shut off the saw and turned to the voice pulling off her hearing protection.

"Oh! You weren't paying around when you said sooner rather than later. Heh, yeah, this is my little shop. We all got different projects goin' on. Bobby is working on a new sign for a new club, the rest of the boys are just making whatever they think of for decor. I been cuttin' up this oak for some projects of my own."

Rooster pulled Lex's hand over after offering hers to shake. She was looking at his watch. She let him loose and turned to the guys.

"Y'all, it's close enough to quitting time, just wrap up and take your time before doors.there's a cobbler in the break room I made for y'all."

She turned back to Lex and walked past him to an air house, replaced the hardware on it and began using it to blow saw dust off herself she did her legs and work boots first, then her hips and torso. She let her hair loose, closed her eyes and did each side of her head and neck, putting a finger to an ear on each side to keep them from getting bothered by the air pressure.

"Pardon me, Lex."

She pulled her shirt out from her and blew down into it. After that was done she went ahead and coiled the hose and tossed it where it went. As the guys began putting things away he pointed them each out to Luthor.

"George, Jake, Nate, Dooney, and this here is Bobby."

Bobby offered a hand to Lex with a nod and howdy. He was a good looking man with dark hair and a firm handshake. He got back to what he was doing. The others had given a nod and wave as their names were called out while they continued locking up tools.

"Well, how can I help you, Lex. You want a little tour or you just stoppin' off on your way somewhere else?"

She picked up a bottle of water next to her and took a long swig, not caring about some of it that was spilling down her chest and shirt. She set it back down and moved to put her hair back up.

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Lex smiled up at watching her finish her work, letting her look at his watch. The face changed color as she moved it, a readout coming up briefly as she looked directly at it. He looked around saying "It's nice, old fashioned but classy. I don't really work a lot in wood." He looked at the clean cut and then said "So what's the project? Building something larger, or cutting it down for something nice and crafted?"

He watched her work at cleaning herself, enjoying the look of it for himself. He glanced again at one of the air, her hair blowing in the wind. He remembered hair, it was a good feeling to have that. Although it kept getting caught in things. Which was annoying. He waited for her, smiling at the sheer mess of the place. He was used to working in clean rooms these days, although his workshop had a more catch if catch can feel to the place. 

"Go right ahead" he said, letting her blow down her shirt, he nodded to each person in turn as they were introduced.  "George, Jake, Nate, Dooney, Bobby. Good to meet you."
He gave a firm and polite handshake to them all. 

He smiled as he said "I said I'd drop by, and I'm a man of my word. I had an opening in my schedule, and I thought it would be fun to see what you did, maybe have a look at things, and if you're free, maybe invite you out for something to eat." He raises an eyebrow. 

"Kamar was dropped off at your stable this morning, along with my man. He'll take care of most of Kamar's needs mechanically, and teach your people what they need to know." He reached over as she swigged the water, brushing a bit of hair from her face, putting it right behind her ear. He smiled as she put her hair up. 

"I also brought some wood working tools, since you mentioned you like to work in the medium." He puts the case on a table and opens them, starting to take off his tie and jacket, hanging them up and rolling up his sleeves, revealing strong forearms. His shoulders were very broad, he unbuttoned the first button of his shirt, then the second, putting the tie on Rooster's shoulder and smiling at her. He grabs a pair of safety glasses from the wall, and then grabs the small metal handle looking thing implanted in the foam in the case. It was chromed up real pretty, and had a little light display on the side that read green. He checked the battery pack, and then slipped it in like a clip from a pistol. He smiled to Rooster walking towards the oak. 

He smiled as he flicked the switch on the side of the device. It stated to hum quietly to itself, and a small light came through. He set a few options on the side saying "We set it to a few feet as a safety." He walks towards the wood and smiles as he says "You've been cutting them about . . . this thick," He hits the trigger on one side of the cut wood, and then let it go on the other, the laser pointer traced it. A small readout came out, holographically and Lex waved his hand over it.

"I'll show you another." The laser pointer cross hair found the side of the tree, the edges of the crosshairs exactly the length of the previously cut piece of wood. Putting the crosshairs where he wanted it, the device made a pleasant BING noise. Lex pulled the trigger and a loud RAKAKAKAKA sound came from the device and the oak shook slightly. 

The wood at the edge sliced almost instantly with a perfect cut as the object shook, the wood falling to the ground on the pile without difficulty. The device was nearly silent until used. He smiled as he held up the device and walked back to Rooster, putting it back in the box. "New thing we're playing with. Felt you might get some use out of it. Not quite as visceral, but certainly effective. Uses sound to cut through material" He smiles at her and offers her the device "You want me to show you how it works?"

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Rooster smirked to him and then turned to the oak for a moment.

"I have a few plans for the oak. Thinking of making a few pieces of furniture, maybe something else. It'll come to me later, I'm sure."

After dusting off he responded to her earlier comment. She smiled to him, her eye following suit.

"That you are, Lex. Yes, my ferrier is already learning the ins and outs of her care. He is fascinated by her mechanics."

She resisted blushing at him brushing her hair back for her as she drank from her water bottle.

"Something to eat? Hmm, that sounds nice, I haven't had many chances to get to know the Gotham flavor yet, I generally cook for myself every e'nin, but I think maybe I should change into something a little less... sweaty than this."

He started moving to show her a cool little toy he brought over for her to play with. She watched him use the device with a discriminating eye. She tapped her chin just before pulling ear protection back on just before it began to get loud. She watched it work and a smile spread across her lips. She took it from him when he offered it and looked it over. "

Well I think I can put it to use and give you an educated opinion on it sometime."

He asked if she wanted him to show her how to use it.

"Hell yeah I do."

She looked back to the device and began to observe all of its buttons.

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He smiled as he moved behind her, putting the device in her hand and saying. "This here, on the side, shows the battery power. The battery works like a clip, rechargeable, and interchangeable."

He smiles as the holo display pops up, blue with images. He gestures "What you're going to do, is you're going to use this to make a measure of what you want to cut." 

He points to the top. "Here is the readout display. This shows the width of the cut, the length ahead you want to cut. It's changed by these two points here on the holographic display. If the display breaks, there's a manual control, on the side of the handle, underneath, this cover. But the holographic display is more precise."

He smiles as he reaches his arms around her standing behind Rooster as he helps her point it to the tree. "See how it automatically detects the width of the substance? If you just put your finger there, it'll automatically cut to that distance. If you want to go further, you can change the distance, but you might cut through the wall." He then gestures at the tree "The laser cross hair will play where the wave is. As you widen the cut or make it thinner, you see the crosshair widen or thin." 

"When you're ready to cut. . . you pull the trigger!" He smiles as he stands right behind her, knowing she'll be able to use it as a pistol. 

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Rooster didn't think twice about him moseying up behind her and getting all cozy. She watched and listened as he gave her a little tutorial. She paid attention, but the moment he said manual she was more on board with that. She was happy she could just do it up like a chainsaw if she wanted, which would likely be her preference in the future.

Once he ave her the go she pulled her hearing protection back on and pulled the trigger. She bared her teeth as it made a nice thin cut through the tree. She laughed delightedly at it when it finished.

"Oooooohhh I like this. Mmmmmm, that's nice. I just have the natural reaction to brace myself for the bounce and vibration of a chainsaw, this will take some time to get used to, but I like it. Thank you."

She set it again and did a few more cuts, doing a couple in manual. She was playful and a hint of giggly as she played with it. Finally she shut it off and handed it back to him.

"We better put this away before I get too carried away and cut all the lumber in the shop."

She watched him put it back in the box and pulled his tie hanging on her shoulder, pulling it taught between her hands as she leaned over onto a shop table, elbows on it. She then looked down to her shop to do list for a moment and then back to him as he finished.

"So, when do I get to see your shop? Also, if you're wanting to go get something to eat then I need to get something on so I don't look like a damn redneck. This tie means business, Mr. Luthor."

She looked at the tie and smirked. It was beautiful and it felt very nice, it was silk. She straightened up and stepped to him, buttoned his collar back up for him and began putting his tie back on, tying it for him. Finally she looked up to him, he was a few inches taller than she.

"I think I have a black dress somewhere in my closet."

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"Excellent, I look forward to dinner." He smiled as he let her keep the device saying "Once you get used to the corrective display it allows for hip firing, that's the key, but the manual controls, well. You seem like the sort of woman who prefers to keep things more analog." He smiles as he watches her play with the device, smiling as he stood nearby, watching her wreak destruction from her hands. 

He smiles as he takes the device, putting it back in the case. "I made it to fit a holster too. It was too small to work as a chainsaw. . .but, a pistol. Well, that's easy enough to use. We're thinking of selling them in a few years once we can get the power supplies more widespread and get the safety features inserted. Wouldn't want the kiddies to get their hands on it and slice each other to bits while playing Cowboys and Aliens." 

He smiles to her face to face, eye to eye "Mmm, I know a place by the bay, that I've heard has the freshest fish in Gotham." He smiles to her as she ties the tie around his neck, eyes narrowing as she feels his breath on his face. "I think you might enjoy it. I've a friend that supplies the wine."

He than adds "My shop here isn't as extensive as the one at LexCorp. But I've a few things you can look at, if you're interested after dinner. I think I've got something in particular that you might be. . . very interested in." 


He brushes a bit of sweaty hair from her face again, looking deeply into her eye. "I think a little black dress, is more than appropriate, and then if you come to my . . . shop, I've something more . . . comfortable for you to change into, if you prefer." He smiles. 

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She smiled coyly to him and raised a brow at his last comment.

"Well come along then, you can wait in my living room or my toy room if you wish while I change."

She looked to Bobby as he was getting his jacket.

"Bobby, I'll be busy this e'nin'. You got the club tonight?"

"Yes, ma'am. Have a nice time. Mr. Luthor, don't let her have too much fun, she's an ass when she's had a few glasses of Premier Cru."

Bobby winked to them while clicking his tongue and he exited along with the rest of the guys. The rest of them giggled a bit in their direction. She just shook her head at them.

"I am not an ass" she muttered under her breath.

Within a few short minutes they had taken the back door to the club and up the elevator to the fourth floor.  Her home took up the top two stories of her building.  The third story was the staging area where certain things were done and mounted, such as designs and what not.  She led him in, they came through into the living room first.  

"You can wait in here, but you might be more entertained in here..."

She led him down a hallway, as they walked they passed a large room with pool and gym equipment, a bathroom, a smoking room, a few other rooms and then finally a very large room with large wooden doors.  She opened it and inside each wall was lined with glass cases displaying antique guns and other similar items. In the middle of the room was a 25x15 landscape and various train tracks and at least five different trains running happily along.  There was a cannon at a window, the very table Wild Bill Hickock was shot at while playing poker, a rolling clothing rack of costume jackets modeled after various miliatristic traditions in history, including hats and a wet bar in the corner of the room.  There were many odds and ends in the room, it was ecclectic and even eccentric, but not out of taste.

"Feel free to wander around my home as you please.  I will be over in there."

She pointed out the door to where the hallway turned a corner and there was a set of art deco french doors with purple door frames.  

"Make yourself at home, have a drink, I will only be a few minutes."

She smiled to him and took her leave.  Once in her room she shut the door behind her and took her patch off.  Her room was set with low enough light and the temperature was controlled to allow her to do so without her eye being bothered.  It was only a short twenty minutes before she returned in a black Chanel pencil dress.  On her ears were simple pearl studs, and a simple black eye patch over her eye.  Her hair was pulled up into a loose, but fashionable bun at the back of her head.  She wore a pair of black Chanel heels with silver toe plates.  She held a black lambskin Chanel wallet, treating it as a clutch.  Her perfume was Chance by Chanel.

When she found him she smiled to him, holding her wallet at her side and her other hand on her hip.

"I don't wear these things very often, but I s'pose it is good to keep 'em around for the right occasions.  Momma Bear always said a girl should always keep a little Coco in the closet."

Rooster fit into everything she wore very well.  She'd chosen not to ear a necklace because she figured it might off set the neckline of the dress.  She walked better than one would expect in a pair of heels.  She had a nightclub walk that could make a grown man feel underage.

"I am ready when you are, Lex."

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"Either way, I'll find a way to pass the time while waiting." He nods to Bobby and states "I'll bear that in mind, Bobby. Is there another drink she prefers?" He smiles at Bobby, and watches her walk away for a moment before going to join her in her elevator. He locks away the prototype first, though.



The elevator ride was pleasant, the building was cute, charming in that certain way, he liked it, but it wasn't quite as sleek as he was used to using, although the last few days at 30 Dini Plaza had been an awakening in the joys of chic retro design qualities.



He seems impassive at the living room, then peeks into the toy room, a slow smile rising on his face "You DO worry about the comfort of your guests." He smiles as he walks into the toy room, considering the collection of guns, he raised an eyebrow at them, each a testament to an elegant, but ultimately outdated design. He'd studied the mechanisms and histories of many of them as a child, one exciting day at the library. He remembered the first time he'd dismantled a gun, none as nice as these. These were works of art, well suited for hanging on the wall.



The landscape he'd glanced at, ignored, and moved to look at the trains. It was an interesting eccentricity, but then again he was not one to begrudge eccentricities of engineering. He smiled as he lightly put his finger at one spot on the track. The trains rumbled slightly less as they moved over that spot.



The canon was of amusing interest to him, and all and all he looked a little like a man being shown a five year old's drawing for the first time. A room full of yesterday for the man of tomorrow. "Take your time, I'd hate for you to feel rushed on my account." He narrowed his eyes as he walked towards the alcohol collection, and then at the art deco doors. One thing about Gotham, everything was so stuck in the past. What was so funny about the decor of tomorrow? Or even something like a Bauhaus styling, focused on function?



He made them both a drink, while she was gone, offering one to her as she returned, offering a toast "You look lovely, and it's good to always be prepared for . . . anything." He raises an eyebrow and smiles saying "To excellence, and to success in all things."

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Rooster took the drink and smiled to his toast.

"To power and prowess."

She took a sip of the drink and moved to her little train system, beckoning him to follow. She handed him a little handle with a button.

"When this hooks the corner press that."

When he pressed it as it made the bend a small scale explosion blew the train up into the air a few feet and it came back down crumbling to pieces. Rooster giggled with delight.

"Man, I lu dat every time. "

She took another sip.

"Oh, you're a man of technology and innovation. Lemme show you my project."

She would lead him back through the rest of her home on the way to the elevator again. They went to the first sub basement and would walk into a nice and well made firing range. There were various weapons on the back wall, assault rifles, shot guns, pistols, a rocket launcher, and even a few bows and cross bows. There was a cannon as well as a 50cal machine gun sitting, just waiting to be touched and loved. There were a few stranger things further down the line. She went to the central table in the room, set her drink down, and handed him hearing protection and grabbed a set for herself.

She led him to the first device, displayed on a table with others. She picked it up and held it for the purpose of showing it off.

"I don't have a name for this yet, but I have a tendency to call it the pharaoh. It has a non lethal to lethal range. Essentially, it can just simply dehydrate someone. Set at maximum level for a longer period of time it can mummify any living thing."

She handed it to him for him to inspect. There was a dummy up ahead that was full of water.

She picked up the next device.

"The Subsonic Wolf. This concentrates a subwoofer so resolutely that it may allow you to stun an enemy with a very taught and direct sonic boom. It also can implement a subsonic beat, undetectable to the human war, that can change the heart rate of the enemy. Lethal and non lethal as well."

She set that down and then the next device.

"This is my favorite piece. Suspension. It has not been tested on humans yet, but in trials with mammals it has been successful. This creates an instant blast of cold that can lower the body temperature of the subject and put them in suspended animation. This can simply knock an enemy down in a very dramatic way, but... Well it can allow a doctor plenty of time to repair someone who is wounded. This one could change the world, but. It needs to be tested. I probably need to deal with the FDA on that."

She set it down to allow him to inspect it at his leisure and sighed with a smile.

"I have been working on each of those for at least a decade. I am not really an inventor, but I do tend to tinker where I can. I hope you don't find it terribly primitive."

She picked her drink back up and took another sip. She looked over the glass to him.

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Luthor was amused after the drink, and watched her presentation, pushing the button she suggests. Normally he doesn't just go up and press buttons people tell him to, after all. That's a good way to get killed, but for some reason he decided to take the chance that this wasn't about to kill him. 

He laughed at the explosion saying "You rigged the setup to explode. That's fantastic. If I ever need to rob a train, I'll make sure to call you first." He smiles at that, and then finishes his drink, looking into her eyes as she makes him an offer he can't refuse. "Well, if you insist, I'd love to see what you've been working on." He follows afterwards, taking his glass with him as he goes, looking at the various weapons on the wall, the cannon, the machine guns, the full nine yards. He'd never had much use for guns in his own life. Now and again they were convenient, but like many people in Gotham, he hated using guns to solve his problems.

Unlike most people in Gotham, however, he didn't rely on themed throwbacks to more primitive weaponry, he just preferred heavier ordinance. As Dr. Sivana had taught him in his youth, there was appropriate responses to challenges, and then there were successful responses to challenges. He put his drink next to hers, and then put the hearing protection on. He looks at the dehydration device and then narrows his eyes as he reaches out to take it, looking at it, he pursed his lips as he says "Interesting, I notice the chemical packet here, reloadable. Yes, I can see that. . .it would draw out fluids. . . a chemical composition here, draws out the fluid from the cells through the skin." He sniffs it for a moment "Something with a phosphoric acid base, maybe. . . " he hefts it up and fires it at the manikin, letting the foamy substance draw out the water, expand and dry out the manikin underneath it. He purses his lips and reaches again into his pocket pulling out a small device, he starts to open up the side for a moment, looking at the launcher. Narrowing his eye as he considers the force launcher, he tweaks a few small elements of it, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small device. Popping open the side, he pulls out what looks like a strange combination of springs and places it into the ammunition feed. 

He then takes the canister, pulls out his knife and what looks like a latex glove he keeps in his coat pocket, twisting some of the ammo directly, he narrows his eyes, and then recloses the device again, hefting it up, pointing it at the manikin and then firing. It launches with a significantly increased speed, piercing the edge of the manikin, drawing a much more significant amount of water from the inside, instead of working through the skin of the manikin.

He shrugs as he says "That should increase the range a bit  and reduce the chemical needs for it. But it's significantly more lethal" He pops open the device again, removing the spring, flipping open another small part of his multitool and rearranging another part, removing a section from the remote control, tearing off a piece of the handle and breaking the plastic part off and inserting it. He brings out that strange butane lighter again, the one he tried to light the cigar with, ignites it to white, then lights the edge of the probe on the multitool, then touches the edge of the probe inside the pharoah. Pocketing the lighter again, he screws shut the device and points it again at the manikin and fires. The ammo is projected like a foam, covering the legs very quickly, expending a quarter of the ammunition. The water of the manikin is sucked largely out shortly "I'd imagine if the ammunation were cut with a hardening foam, fire it at the legs with this spray system. . . and improve the clip by putting the reservoir here . . . one could. . . take down a fleeing individual while also dehydrating them slightly. Throw in an analgesic or a H2 derivative. . . it should knock out a fleeing subject, leave them dehydrated and tired, and immobilize them. Good for riot control, if a bit dangerous." 


He blinks up at her as he says "I can change that back, if you like. I just wanted to see what I could to do improve it's efficiency." He shrugs and looks at the next device. 

The Subsonic wolf makes him smile, he had something similar when he was younger, only it worked on the digestive system. He looked at the wolf and considered for a moment, looking it over, considering the way it was put together, lifting it to the light, and then handing it back. "Clever design. . . subtle too. I wouldn't have thought to utilize that. It's something . . . I'll have to keep in mind." In experiments, he wondered how it would work with . . . hmm. 


He smiles at that saying "You've read the work of our resident mad doctor, Fries. . . he'd been working on something similar to this. It's something I've been interested in trying to get LexCorp to work with. The technology is . . . if it's perfected there's thousands of uses for it. You . . . again you seem to have used an interesting chemical composition. How do you get around the expansion of water upon freezing to prevent the bursting of the cells? Oh. . . oh yes, of course. . . the dehydration. If you can draw the water out without bursting the cells, it would allow for freezing. Although the dehydration might do the trick as well, unless you found a way to manipulate the chemical formula for the dehydrator so that it could put fluid back in as the freezing stopped. . . hmm. We'd been working with Suspendium. . . but this is certainly an interesting and significantly less expensive solution to that problem."

He smiled up at her saying "It's quite impressive with the resources you have available to you. These days I have to work with a staff of mad scientists to get significant production done." He lifts up the freezing device again and takes out the multi-tool, tweaking a few small edges to it. He lifts it up and fires it quickly at the manikin, freezing it solid from across the room. He's improved the range and the aimability it seems. Not bad for a few minute's work while talking.

"I'm not much of a chemist, though." 

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Rooster observes and nearly stops him when he begins to tinker with the Pharaoh. She looked a slight nervous, but cooled herself at the thought that he was a talented man of science. He obviously was doing something right with the ridiculous amount of money he's made, money talks. Visions color and render the world, Mr. Luthor intended to instill a renaissance in green.

Rooster just clutched her hands at her sides, eye unmoving from his hands. She finally stopped tensing her hands the moment he twisted the ammo. Her eye lit up just a touch.

"Efficiency. Dang. I twist cigarettes all the time and I don't think to twist my ammo. Though, I do still want to vary impact levels. I suppose I'd just make varied ammo mixes. Hell you could make one with pepper, boom, pepper gun, y'all!"

She clenched her fist with a pleased and slow nod.

"Cops love pepper spray, pepper gun... man get outta Dodge."

The lady whipped a long object from her clutch. She flicked her wrist and a fan, but between its links it was held together with fabric made of LED diodes creating a screen. She looked to him and then to it for a brief pause and then wrapped up her note.

Mizz Stone looked at him a long moment, considering, her eyes going back to the Pharaoh and then back to Lex.

"You may leave it as you have modified it."

She batted her fan and then just put it against her shoulder, holding it there while she leaned down to inspect the Pharaoh further when he took the wolf. She looked up and ahead at the mannequin.

"Oh, sug, the wolf could take down an elephant. I got a version of it that works to ward off unwanted critters at my land back home, and thank you, I try to be sharp where I can."

She smiled, raising her eye brow playfully.


She popped her index finger with her thumb at the mention of Victor Fries and had a hard look on her face. She turned her gaze back to Lex from the space ahead of her.

"I think Mr. Fries is someone that could do a lot of good had he not just... his story is a sad one. I think if given a proper opportunity, a real one, he might be compelled to do some good."

She thumbed her shin looking ahead again with focused thought.

"Keep a leash on 'im, he could be a useful asset. That's the worst part about these super criminals, keepin' the leash on 'em. Gotta fix that."

She stopped herself from going too silent again. She shook off her thoughts and smiled again.

"Forgive me, I am always plotting something." With a smile she looked to Suspension and nodded to Lex when he answered his own question.

"Mhmm, Livin' and workin' in the Lone Star State makes for knowin' about how much dehydration can really slow it all down, sug."

She finally stood up straight from leaning with one hand against the table. She moved her fan to bat again from her shoulder. She looked at it and snapped it shut, holding it flat under her chin, looking to Lex once more.

"I just tinker. I do my research. Tinker. Research. It takes time, but it gets done. I got a lot goin' on between the clubs, buyin' up new property. I invest in a lot of things, if I like it I buy shares, I was just blessed with good instinct. The people I employ are very loyal, that helps. Productivity and efficiency, that's all I ever ask of 'em, they do that, I take care of 'em."

She quirked her brow again.

"I like gunpowder, I love blasts, I love rumbling earth, I love gunpowder. Bobby's the chemist. That's why he's my bar master. "

She laughed a bit and sighed.

"I really want to see your shop now. I can't even-"

Rooster smiled, biting her lip, taking in a breath.

"-imagine what you have there."

Shut the front door.

"Mr. Luthor."  Her gaze was focused and her smile steely, but still a hint of play glinted with warmth in her eye.  touched her closed fan to his chest, looking up to him.

"I got somethin' to admit to you.  I only give competency the attention it needs.  I only allow excellence to bite into my bed time."

She  cracked another knuckle and turned away, putting her fan back in her clutch shesnapped it shut.  Rooster walked away back toward from whence they had come at the corner of the room.  She picked up her drink and looked to over her shoulder so he would hear her.

"You have my evening, Mr. Luthor."

[Deleted]

He nods as he says "This should be significantly more efficient now, though, and with a small adapter here, you can modify the ammunition output on the run, seeing as the chemical compound is only in semi-solid state. By allowing the weapon itself to vary the weapon output based on a simple switch here to the side. . . you can vary the ammunition output. Frankly, you could do it with a modular approach, and allow the clip itself to vary the mix of the ammunition. Computerizing it would be simplicity itself, but a more mechanical solution might be available with a bit of creative thinking. Already I can think of two switches that would allow it to expel in stream or compacted and hardened form for penetration. " He smiles as he says "Honestly I could probably build one using a combination of components from that fan of yours." 

He shrugs as he says "But perhaps another time. The important thing with designing a weapon, though, is simplicity. It's easy to create a complicated advanced weapon, but building something that can be repaired simply, that's innovative, that can use basic ammunition, and can still work under intense field conditions? That's really where creative thinking comes in. I don't do as much weapon design as I used to, although I made my fortune on a small servo, you know. For airplane parts, my first leased invention, when I was . . . 14. That's how I founded LexCorp." 

He smiled at the statement about the Wolf and said "I'd imagine it could. I know that sonic weaponry can be remarkably effective, and the work of Dr. Fries is . . . interesting if specific. One of the things I've noticed about Gotham's scientists is that for the most part they're remarkably specific in their expertises, obsessed in a lot of ways. It's different in Metropolis. Our scientists are much more diversified in their interests. Dr. Hamilton, despite his unique and interesting projects, has a wide array of skills. . . Dr. Magnus is working on a combination of biological and chemical discoveries. And of course there's Dr. Sivana, my old mentor, who despite his statements about the predominance of physics in all science is about as omnidisciplinary as I meet." He shrugs as he says "But Dr. Fries's story is tragic, and a sign of misapplied potential. Still, his early research is still published, and some of his later research does still exist with GothCorp, and I think that with some time and pressure we might be able to access some more of it." 



He smiled as he moved closer to her saying "And the advantage when working with obsessed individuals, however. . . is that they are obsessed. They leash themselves in ways they don't even understand. They're uniquely predictable, even in their unpredictability. I've worked with eccentrics in my day, and despite the fact a significant number of people take rudeness as a sign of strength and insanity as a source of power and self destruction as a sign of independence. . . well, it's difficult to fight to much against someone who shoots themselves in the foot in their own negotiations. If I could tell you the number of times I've had people actually negotiate themselves OUT of being paid the full worth of their services and away from access to what I had to offer. . . well, let's just say that I honestly think that one fourth of my fortune is based on people I negotiate with giving away the generous opportunities I try to provide."
He smiles a bit at that "Indeed, they honestly often think they've won once they do." He shrugs as he says "But that's business, and if I minded plotting, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." 

He watched her play with the fan, the way she stood, her one good eye and the way it caught the light. He was amused by her, and seemed to be remarkably relaxed. He really had nothing to prove here. It was nice just to spend some time inside, not worry too much about his empire. 

He smiles as he says "I suppose what you do and what I do aren't dissimilar, although I think you'll be fascinated by what I have to work with." He grins at her for a while, a bit of a calm elegant power, she plays about him, drawing his eye, tempting his flesh, stimulating his intellect, but he stays calm, certain. In the world there is a certainty, Luthor is Luthor, the full force of his attention turned onto her. 


"I trust you won't be disappointed with the time we share." 

[Deleted]

"Ah, you see why I have springs and simple physics instilled within it. Simplicity, easy repair, easy modification. I do like to be kind to myself where I can be. I believe I would find interest in the switches."

Lord, lawd. He just don't quit, do he?

She nodded to him, taking a sip of her drink and sighing at the mention of Gotham scientists and the fall of Victor Fries.

"Obsession makes or breaks men. It can be a positive or negative trait, sometimes the line is thin and stepping over had grave consequences. I've only found myself obsessed with prosperity, and maybe a little bit of a good time here and there."

She smirked at that last part and shrugged, but as soon as she did he had moved in a little closer. Her palm went flat against him just under his sternum. A natural instinct, her blue nails raked lightly when she realized where her hand was, her eye up to him.

"Do you obsess, Mr. Luthor?"

Her fingers lingered, nails grazing his shirt as they moved upward as he spoke. She toyed with his tie knot and had turned away to get her drink and lead them out. After his last line about time to be spent together she turned her head over her shoulder again.

"I will hold you to that statement and hope you hold me to it as well, Lex."

She held the elevator for him, sipping her drink, finishing it off, and tucking her clutch under her other arm. Once he stepped in she looked over to him.

"How do you play? What do you do for fun?"

I could think of a few games to play against you

She very much wanted to reach at him in some way but she would contain herself. Patience made for a tortured wait, but a more anticipated event. She stepped over to press the ground level button on the elevator. She looked to him with a coy smile.

"If you're good I might have dessert for you later."