Waiting by the Oblivion gate under the watchful eyes of X-com's elite, you wait patiently for Hinata to retrieve your guests. Though patiently may not be the best way to describe it, considering the fact that it only takes a minute or two to bring them through, but that is mostly irrelevant.
The real show of generosity is when you allow them to marvel at the change in scenery. With the plastered together wall dried and several crude automated weapons donated by the minutemen, the defenses are a bit more impressive than when you'd brought the other children to the base. It's a shame that most of this is lost on the panicking Undersiders.
Having been accompanied by Victoria, who is carrying a frustrated blonde, they all pause a moment after appearing as the one you assume to be Taylor shrieks and begins to brush herself off. You heave a sigh as the group devolves into chaos, Victoria setting down her now confused burden to swap her out for Taylor and letting her lower head use it's needle-like teeth to groom the girl. You can only assume that the strange child had been carrying insects on her person when her power stopped working and now lost control of them.
Waiting for the insanity to die down, you stroll up to the group and raise a hand in greeting. "Salutations Undersiders, I am Cynric Tyne. If Taylor is done being problematic, we can begin."
"How do you know her name?" The one in black demands uneasily. "What did you do to our powers? Where's Bitch?"
"In order then. Her description matches the one given to me by my apprentice when explaining her adventures in your city. An unknown reaction with the portal causes parahuman abilities to cease functioning, it was not intentional and I can assure you our scientists are working to discover the cause. As for your comrade, she is currently unconscious in our medical lab." You explain neutrally.
The blonde speaks up then and you try not to smirk as you easily notice the dull eyes and scarred face Louise caused. "So you're healing her, right? I assume you're not doing this out of the goodness of your hearts."
"Tats..." The boy in green nervously warns, looking around at all the weapons pointed in their direction. While the first to grasp their situation, you can't help but disagree with your apprentice's theory of him being the leader. He just doesn't have that air of authority.
"What?" The blonde, Tattletale, argues, "You don't really think the group that made that crazy brat is just going to help us for no reason, do you? We're stranded here with Glory Hole the fucking volcanic spider, no powers, and-"
Clapping a hand over her mouth, the one in black growls, "And surrounded by hundreds of guns while you insult their friends!"
"I liked you better when you couldn't talk, Mumbles." Victoria comments with a frown.
Awkwardly chuckling, Taylor nods. "Yeah, sorry about her, she's uh... well, we're all a bit on edge."
"Yes, yes, a very diplomatic response." You congratulate the child. "Unfortunately, your friend is correct in assuming our motives are not entirely altruistic. No doubt she would be more careful with her words if she could see more than an indistinct blur, but that does not change the truth in her words."
"Excuse me?"
Ignoring Victoria's feigned affronted expression, you explain, "Your injured team member has wounds that would never heal on their own, leaving her crippled for life even if she had somehow survived without my intervention. From what I gather, Panacea would require weeks to months to regrow new limbs and even then they would be a poor match due to lacking a template and fresh nerves. While I could spend days using all of my energy to heal her or have Louise do so in minutes, we require compensation."
"Okay, so what do you want?"
Not wanting to keep thinking of them by their coloration, you ask, "My apologies, but can I get your names first?"
"I'm Grue, he's Alec."
"Well then, Grue... There are many resources we need for our people to prosper and we intend to gather them from your world in bulk purchases, but that will take a while. In the mean time, one of my associates has created a list of locations that would contain many of our needed materials." You say, pulling out the list Shen gave you upon returning. Apparently he'd had the sudden epiphany that you and Louise didn't exactly know where to obtain much of what was on the old list.
Reading over the list, Grue muttered a few things to himself before Taylor decided to peek over his shoulder and ask, "Is this just a bunch of random stores? What are we even supposed to take from them?"
"Everything." You answer simply, making her cross her arms in annoyance. "You would be surprised to learn how much effort is required to make a group self sufficient."
"Why do you need us to rob a morgue?" She asked, unimpressed with your answer.
Shrugging, you reply, "To ensure the health and safety of our people. Inter-world trade can bring about many unexpected dangers and we feel it is better to study how others have died than experience it firsthand."
Of course, the real reason is for Vahlen's study of parahuman powers and then conversion into undead if possible, but your response mollifies her a bit, lie that it is.
"That's great and all, but what do we get out of this?" Alec asks, having apparently regained his confidence now that he feels needed.
"Other than the return your friend's legs?"
"Yeah, are we getting paid or what?"
Snorting at the kids audacity, you shake your head. "I think you fail to grasp your situation. The whole reason for your presence is because we are seeking an alternative to purchasing everything we need. Nevertheless, I am prepared to offer services to in exchange for your efforts. Tattletale would be pleased to have her wounds healed, no doubt."
"We'll do it!" The blonde declares immediately.
"Speak for yourself." Alec protests, ignoring Taylor and Grue's disapproving looks. "Why should I care if you fix her eyes? If I'm gonna risk my neck for you, I want something with substance."
"Would you be satisfied with shoes that grant the ability to fly?" You offer mildly, not too concerned with giving out such a simple enchantment.
"That would be pretty cool, but BB's got Dauntless, Glory Girl, and Purity to shoot me down. How about a forcefield or invisibility belt or something, can you make that?"
"I suppose I could, but I would request another favor in return for those." You shrug, holding up a hand when he tries to argue. "Nothing too serious, simply the use of your power on my apprentice in a controlled environment."
Giving you a skeptical look, the boy nods. "Sure... but only if I get them both."
"Well then, we are in agreement. I expect those materials within two days time." You tell them, walking toward the portal as you call out over your shoulder, "Victoria, please lead our guests to the medical labs while I fetch Louise."
"Don't look at me like that, you dweebs should have asked for loot too."
Passing through the Oblivion Gate, you let out a laugh at the naive boy's poor negotiating. Even with a Shield enchantment and invisibility, it would be no real difficulty to simply find the boy with Detect Life and then burn him alive. If he wanted more than protection from force, he should have worded his request differently. As it is, he managed to anger his entire team for a negligible advantage while you lose nothing and can expect the two females in the group to ensure the mission is completed.
After all, Tattletale will be desperate to succeed and Louise assures you that Taylor is in denial of her villainous nature, meaning she will try to help others out of some misguided sense of righteousness.
"Yo, glad you decided to show up, we've been waiting forever!" You hear a young man say as you enter one of the newly completed warehouses in the outpost. The speaker is a strange creature with skin is orange, hair a dark red, and a tail as long as the rest of his body. The eunuch, if Louise is to be believed. "I don't mind being like this, but saying you'll help and then leaving us for hours is what I'd call a dick move, pal."
"My apologies, I was delayed by urgent business."
Faultline and the orange one are seated on folding metal chairs while Gregor is leaning his bulky form against the wall. Faultline herself nods in understanding and stands to offer her hand. "Don't mind him, we needed time to unload the jeep anyway."
"I take it you managed to bring the documents I asked for?" You reply after gingerly touching your lips to her gloved hand. Both of you disregard the odd grin on the orange one's face as she gestures to a stack of boxes that are being pored over by several scientists.
"Everything we could print or check out from Brockton University on short notice. Sorted from front to back by date of publication."
The eunuch leans over to hiss, "I hate busy work."
"It is good for one to stay occupied." Gregor chides quietly.
With enough boxes to equal days of dedicated reading by many in the research division, it would seem Faultline has exceeded your expectations. "Splendid, those will be useful in our efforts to cure your subordinates."
"Yes... Look, I know you're probably confident, but I'm not so sure. We've been studying powers for years now and nobody has come close to a permanent solution." Faultline tells you earnestly. "I don't like getting their hopes up like this."
"I understand, but we already have a method that will work." You reply with a smug smile. Stunned silence meets your statement and your smile widens. "For whatever reason, the portal we used to get to this world will negate their powers. If they simply immigrate to the other side and allow Louise or myself to heal their changes, they would be cured. The problem is that we would need to heal them quickly to prevent their altered bodies from killing them and returning to this world would likely undo it all."
"So it might kill us and we'd be stuck there?" The orange one say in disbelief.
"So you see the dilemma. Do not worry, with more understanding of how your abilities work, I am certain we can create a more viable solution. To that end, would the two of you be willing to stay at this outpost and allow our scientist to study your conditions?"
With the both of them agreeing, the armored woman leaves her associates in your care and you leave them to the science team.
Status: Healthy
Magicka: (435/650)
The next day:
[] Teach Louise more magic:
-[] Ward and Transmute
-[] Clairvoyance and Recall
-[] Write in.
[] Seek out Cattleya.
-[] Bring Louise along.
-[] Go alone.
[] Find Trobror and hunt more Empire parahumans.
[] Assist X-com and the Minutemen in anti-Brotherhood operations.
[] Write in.
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A/N: I just want you guys to know how dangerous of a game you're playing by inviting Lisa, the host of a shard responsible for figuring out foreign concepts and general R&D, to interact with the Oblivion Gate.
