[After the last session. Sometime after the Togo/Rose mini.] [Luana finds herself in a room after the group had gone to a strangely tense dinner with Mario, the guy in charge of this lab. The room is lightly decorated, but fairly comfortable.] [Nobody particularly wanted to talk about what had happened in the lab while Luana was taking a nap, but from the bits and pieces she gathered from various parts of conversation she knew that the mind control device was going to be a huge problem that they were going to have to deal with soon.] [In the meantime, there's a knock on her door!] [Mini Start] * Luana has been sitting on a bed and trying not to brood over the fact that no one was telling her exactly what happened. When she hears the knock on the door, though, she quickly ties her hair back up into a ponytail and puts on her 'professional' face. "Come in." * Togo opens the door and pokes his head in. "Hey." Her professional face drops into a small smile. "Hey. Are -you- going to tell me what happened?" (oops.) (Oh well) Because even Keiko didn't want to talk about it. It's not... too bad, is it? * Togo enters, and closes the door behind him, pulling up one of the chairs in the room. "Yeah. Lotta stuff happened, actually." He takes a deep breath. "Kinda. I'll get to that inna sec." * Ardsemidle has joined #mc4 * Luana sits in a chair next to him and waits. Okay, you remember Claude Sherman, right? He contacted us, gave us some information about what's going down in Germany. Mind control device is active, they're gonna try to boost it worldwide soon, so we gotta stop it. * Luana nods slowly. How long do we have to rest up? Tonight, pretty much, unless it takes longer for Heinrick to do the work he needs to do. He also gave us some information we didn't know about the Society, who its members are... but I can fill you in on that later. He also gave us some info on the formula that Blitzkreig used on you guys to bond you to the guardians, which is where the 'kinda' starts. * Luana straightens in her chair. "So we can keep getting dosed?" she asks happily. ... no. Which is a good thing on two fronts. What? But... * Togo leands forward in his chair. "First, you don't need it. You've gotten good. You don't need me ordering you around, and you're smart enough to listen to my advice without some chemical making you do so when my advice is good." * Luana smiles at the compliment, but still looks upset. Besides, it makes me more comfortable if I know you're doing things because you absolutely want to, not because some chemical is making you. I -always- want to do things when you tell me. The chemical just gives me an added security. I don't want to, to doubt you or react slower to your commands than I have to. * Togo shakes his head. "Remember that first conversation we had, when I told you my main goal with you was to get you to the point where you didn't need me? Where I didn't have to give you order for you to be able to operate in the field?" * Luana looks down. "Yes." There's a reason for that. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, but I'm an old man in a young man's game. This is part of that progression we started. The chemical is a crutch you don't need anymore. ...Yes. * Togo nods. "One day, you're gonna be out on your own without me. I'm not gonna feel good about that unless I know that, even if you want to have me around, you don't *need* to have me around. Understand?" * Luana smiles up at him again. "Yes, Togo. Thank you." ... also, the chemical's highly toxic, and if we didn't stop giving it to you, it would significantly shorten your lifespan. *coughs* That's a big factor, too. * Rowyn has joined #mc4 Oh. Well, you could have said that one first. Has it had any side effects already? We've been on it for a while. * Togo nods. "Some, but not nearly as bad as if you continued on it." Well, I guess... that's not too bad then. So yeah. There's that. * Togo rubs his neck. "Other thing... I need you to do me a favor." I'll do anything for you, you know that. Chemical or no chemical. * Togo winces slightly, but not enough that Luana probably notices it. "Okay. I did something. It was the right thing to do, but you're probably gonna be fairly pissed about it, and with good reason. So I'm just gonna ask you hear me out before you pass judgment, okay?" Um... okay? Okay. I've told you a bit about my past. I spent the last 25 years or so in the supernatural hunting world. But I got started fighting Asahara, which was a big into illegal techno-magical genetic manipulation and take-over-the-world bullshit. * Luana gives him a look that roughly translates to, 'You're so -cool.-' There'd been rumors and suspicions about Zunkuft doing something like that for a while now, but stuff was scattered enough that we couldn't prove it was anything more than isolated mad scientists within Zunkuft running amok. But the rumors kept growing, and started becoming facts. We were pretty sure that, officially or unofficially, Zunkuft was up to some bad things. Didn't have enough evidence or manpower to take them down, but it warrented some closer looks. * Togo sits back up straight. "So when word came around that Zunkuft was going to be providing superhuman operatives to the German government, there were some... concerns." Used right, that kinda tech could be a powerful weapon. Used wrong... well, same thing, right? Concerns from whom? You said 'we'. Most of the major players in the field. Interpol. HESO. I was working with MI-6. A lot of the people in those organizations, myself included, cut our teeth against Asahara, and weren't eager to see a new version spring up in Germany. There were major worries that Blitzkreig was essentially a testing ground, whether they knew it or not, for tech Zunkuft would use for nastier purposes. The kinda shit that'd not only endanger Germany, but the rest of the world too. Y'with me so far? Um, yes. But you came to work for Blitzkrieg, so- * Luana 's face pales. * Luana whispers, "You came to keep an eye on things, didn't you? That's what nobody wanted to tell me." ... yeah. Plan was formed. Someone with credability in the field needed to get themselves recruited. Someone who could observe what was going on, figure out if Blitzkreig was as corrupted as Zunkuft. * Togo shrugs. "I was perfect. Years of service. Reputation for a complete lack of subtlety. No eyes. Who suspects a blind guy of snooping?" * Luana covers her face with both hands. I was planning to tell you all, but my contact that arrainged the lab spilled it over the holophone. * Togo rubs his temples, gets out of his chair, and kneels next to Luana's chair. "You have questions. Ask 'em." * Luana says quietly, with a hint of hysterics trying to break through, "You're going to get rid of me." ... hell no. * Togo stands back up in front of Luana, puts his hands on her shoulders, and looks down at her. "Luana. Look at me." But, you're taking me off the chemicals, and you don't even have any loyalty to Blitzkrieg, or even Germany, and! * Luana looks up at him and starts crying. "Don't leave me, please don't leave me!" Luana, what were the three things I told you that matter? Your safety. Your team. Your mission. That's all. You're my team. Nobody fucks with my team. And this doesn't change that. * Luana shakes her head wildly, "You and Keiko and the twins! You're the only things that really matter!" * Togo winces hard at that one. "Luana, why do you think I've spent so much time preparing you to work without the chemical when you were always gonna be on the chemical while you were with Blitzkreig?" * Luana stands up so suddenly that her chair falls over behind her and she hugs Togo, clutching his jacket. "I thought- I don't know, I thought you might leave me, you wanted me to be able to take care of myself, but you -can't- leave, even if you get tired of me and throw me away, I'll -follow- you!" * Togo puts an arm around Luana. "Silly kid. From the first day I got there, and saw what the fuck they were doing, I said that I was going to get you guys outta there. I've been preparing you so when that happens, and we got that shit outta your system, you'd have the skills, the knowledge, and the confidence to keep workin' with me, if that's what you wanted." * Luana keeps crying into Togo's shirt/jacket. And once this all's done... hell, like I said, I'm an old man. Sooner or later, I'm gonna need someone to take over the trenchcoat. You gotta understand, Luana... why I came to Blitzkreig doesn't change anything. Everything I did, I did to make sure that the team stayed safe and the missions got done. * Luana back up slightly and tries to wipe away her tears, which are still leaking out. "I... I love you, more than I loved my parents. Which is kind of... but, you're my family now. That's okay, isn't it?" * Togo pulls Luana a bit tighter into the hug. "s'a hell of a responsability, kid. I've been doin' my best to earn it, and I'm gonna keep doin' so." * Luana hugs him back, just as tightly. "Okay. Okay. Thank you." ... actually, there's one thing that does need to change, though. What? * Togo steps back out of the hug. "No more guardian and ward. You're past that. We're allies. Comrades in arms. Partners, dammit." *grins slightly* * Luana smiles back weakly, then wobbles a bit before catching herself. "Can we... what about apprentice? I can be an apparentice. I'm still not good enough to be a partner." Luana. No joke. No bullshit. You are. * Luana falls heavily into the chair behind her. "I... okay. If you say so, then..." She beams up at him brilliantly and says happily, "Okay." ...Does this mean I can talk back to Heinrick when I want to? Fuck, short of kicking him in the balls or setting him on fire, you can do whatever you want with him. -Awesome.- * Togo rubs his neck. "But try to keep it professional. Team harmony and such." I will -professionally- tell him what I think of him if he upsets Keiko. In a little while, Keiko'll be able to tell him herself. * Togo pulls his chair over, and flumps back down into it. "Anything else you wanna know? Any concerns? I wanna clear the air as much as I can." Well... doesn't your girlfriend miss you? You've been here for a pretty long time. Our relationship... we're both in this line of work. She's with Interpol, I'm part MI-6, part freelance. We're kinda used to being apart for periods of time. *shrugs* Doesn't make it suck less. I'll get to meet her, won't I? Will she like me? * Ardsemidle is now known as Ardweden * Togo falls silent for a sec. "... yeah. I can say with absolute certainty that she'll like you." * Luana grins widely. "Oh! Where are we going to be living? How am I going to get a -job-? I'm sixteen, my references are going to look -awful-... we can take Keiko with us, can't we? I can't leave her." I've worked with younger. With your skills, shouldn't be a problem setting something up, 'specially with me vouching for you. * Togo rubs his neck. "You'll live where you wanna live. And Keiko... if she wants to come along, she's welcome." * Luana mutters, "Previous occupations: Worked for mind-controlling villians. Did a decent job of it." * Togo shakes his head. "All in the wording." Thank you, I'm sure she'll come! I know I still want to keep... well, fighting, I guess, but I think Keiko really needs stability. She wants to be an artist or run a flower shop or something." (minus ") Wait, you don't have a house? Apartment. Poorly furnished. No decor. No TV. That's... is there a nice way to say 'pretty sad'? Doesn't crime-fighting get you a better salary? * Togo taps his shades. "Decent, but what do I need any of that stuff for? My money goes into my bank account and to my sister and her kids." * Luana blinks. "I didn't know you have a sister! What's she like?" * Togo grins. "Perfectly normal. Teacher, two kids, lives back in the States." Neat! Do you think I should send some of my money to my siblings when I start earning it? Only, my aunt's been taking pretty good care of them, so I don't know what they'd use the money for. Probably extra clothes and books. * Togo nods slowly. ... I'm gonna head out. Go talk to Keiko; she was really worried about you, and I think she'll be relieved to see that you're okay. ...She hasn't threatened you, has she? Not recently. That's good. I'll wash my face and then go find her. But she was pretty angry, mostly 'cause she knew you'd be upset. She cares 'bout you. I know. * Luana heads towards the door, then looks back. "Thank you." Then she runs out to find a bathroom. * Togo waves, heading out of the room and closing the door behind him. He slumps against the wall, looking exhausted. "... god dammit." [Mini End]