Revolving Door Policy

[Cptdragon9]

 

Doom hadn’t figured that the Vashtalians would return with a contract so quickly.  In fact he would have figured that the king would make it a point to drag out their meeting, making  Victor wonder if they would accept his offer.  That would have been a false assumption.  While the despot was indeed interested in the opposition, it would have been no skin off his masked nose if the offer had been turned down flat.  He had other means in which to get the information he desired.  So he was indeed happily surprised that they had returned in such a timely manner.  They even waited at the gate, after his sensors indicated that the group had teleported to a spot just beyond what he had staked as his.  Construction had already commenced to replace the corner of his abode that had been sheared off during the transference; while another crew was erection stone masonry to enclose the “front porch”, giving him a buffer from having strangers appearing right at the draw- gate.  Of course he wouldn’t have just a bare masonry; several of his servants were landscaping the walkway with native plants, a design that would eventually merge into the foliage that had been transported with the rest of the castle, giving the impressing that the old and new worlds were slowly drawing together.  He’d already had a few other interested folks hanging just beyond all the bustle, peasant folk that regarded his domicile with interest.  A few had even offered their services.  After a long vetting process he’d even hired a few, finding their talents a good fit with the supplicants that already worked under his iron rule.  He was firm, but fair, and the word was getting out.  In fact he might well have to expand if the trends continued.

 

At least his manservant was on the ball.  The well trusted peasant was already heading down to met the newly arrived with an entourage of his own, several lackeys and a handful of armed units as escorts, all decked out in Latverian livery, the slate grey uniforms accented with a quarter shoulder cape of green, sporting the iron fist.  They bowed in unison, their right fists clasped over their hearts.  “Welcome Lord Dracon.  Lady Arturia.  Brimstone.  My master has been awaiting your return and has prepared a room.  If you will follow me please.”  The manservant turned, his escort fanning out to include the ex-King and company, each man proud to have the honor of escorting such dignitaries into their master’s abode.

[Cptdragon9]

Brimstone still wasn’t keen about the whole thing.  If they weren’t getting desperate on how to handle Bean and his growth spurts, he would have ditched the whole idea about having an evil despot work on the project; but it seemed that every idea they had cobbled together fell through at one point or another and the empath guessed they only had about three months left before the boy got too big for his bubble.

It seemed that Doom was already digging himself in the trenches.  He had a throng of busy bodies out landscaping around the castle while putting up the customary brick wall to keep the riff raff out.  He expected that the brickwork was more a facade and that Doom probably had a few thousand joules pulsing through the structure to insure that nobody vaulted over the substantial walls.

At least the welcoming committee was warm enough.  Clearly the escort was more than willing to do anything their master wished as they were damn near beaming in Doom’s iron-fisted livery.  It was blind devotion that was radiating from them; one almost didn’t have to be an empath to see it.  These were poor folks that flourished in the tyrant’s presence, and not all had come with him through the port.  There a few natives working around the courtyard, perhaps not as devote, but liking what they saw so far, feeling safe and secure in the knowledge that he was looking out for them.

Brimstone had to refrain from shuddering as they were escorted inside the main hall.

[Solem'cleavu]

Both Dracon and Arturia were in turn flanking Brimstone directly as the group was led inside and to their designated room.  Drac merely looking the place over before turning and bowing slightly to their escort.  "Thanks for the escort."

[Cptdragon9]

 

The escorts replied with a deep bow, their fists clasped over their hearts; all done in sync, before they left the room, leaving the group to explore the room in they wished.  They wouldn’t be able to leave as the guards remained at the doorways at either end of the room, keeping the visitors contained.  Of course not much had changed.  The castle was still made of stone, with ornate tapestries covering the walls.  Brimstone didn’t need his missing mechanics to know that there had to be cameras peering from the corners and within the potted plants.

 

They wouldn’t be able to wander long.  Soon their host arrived with his own enclave in tow, the man smiling behind his dour mask.  “Ah, I see that you have returned.  May I assume that you have written out your tryst and have your watermarks in place?

 

                                                           

[Solem'cleavu]

((This is mostly all your show Dawn since Drac and Arturia are basically just there as escorts themselves and will for the most part be silent throughout this whole thing unless directly addressed.))

 

BS's dragoon escort merely bowed in respectful greeting to Doom as he walked in.  Both keeping in their respective places beside and slightly behind Brimstone letting him do all the talking as they were just there as escort.

[Cptdragon9]

 

Brimstone had been hanging back, stalling as it were, because he did have one more card up his sleeve.  While he and Mary Bromfield, aka Mary Marvel; might have gotten off on the wrong foot, she turned out that she was as forgiving and as benevolent, at least when it came to unforeseen slights.  The mutant often wished that his talent could extend past the realm of here and now, that he could foresee the results of his actions, but alas he often only knew he’d done something wrong only by the reactions and emotions he caused, and not before.  Still he’d hashed things out with the Maid of Might, and even had managed to nudge her curiosity a bit about the man in iron mask.  Versed as he was in comic-book-dom, he was sure that these two hadn’t crossed paths before so Doom wouldn’t know Mary’s handicaps.  Not that the despot couldn’t deduce them in good time, but BS was hedging a bet that Mary could learn a few things about Victor before that came into play.

 

Again, he was a betting man.  Granted his current escort might be irked that he hadn’t told them about Mary, or that he’d invited her along, but that was something he could apologize for later.  As it was he wasn’t sure that Drac and Saarith and Claw truly understood how diabolical the man could be.  If the lore held true, this man was a master not only of science, but of magic, and even held the multiverse in his grasp for a time (causing forthcoming headaches in the Marvel universe continuum that would take years to fix by the hands of those writers).  While he was being quite benevolent himself in his offer to help them, BS still didn’t trust him, and he wanted every angle covered, or at least as many as he could.

 

But Mary hadn’t met them at the ‘port spot, and that had him slightly concerned.  Either way he he;d his poker face firmly in place as he smiled at the tyrant, giving a low and gracious bow. “My Lord, indeed we’ve finally got our ducks in a row and managed to hash out a proper proposal.”  He handed over the scroll.  While the mutant was more comfortable with printouts and reams of paper in folders and binders, he did like the elegance of the scroll with its ornate redwood handles inscribed with gold.  It was something he was sure that the ruler of Latveria would appreciate.

 

 

                                                             

[Cptdragon9]

 

Victor took the scroll, smiling at the simplistic delivery, something that did hearken to a time when his lands were not much more than feudal lords and pallid slaves. Of course he had drawn his people out of the rubble, showing them a wondrous golden age where none starved.  His technological advances weren’t as gaudy as say Stark’s; Doom’s contributions both had function and beauty.  Take the surveillance in the concourse they were standing in.  While there were a few clearly marked cameras in the recesses, there were other scanning devices, some woven into the tapistries that lined the walls of the castle, the filament thread easily picking up basic bodies scans, recording heart and respiration while picking up any EEG and other wavelength fluctuations that might indicate an electronic bug or a concealment spell.  Walking past one of these adornments would be much like walking through a metal detector, as crude as such devices were.  If there were anything to be alarmed about, that information would be fed back through his helm so that he could take the appropriate action.

 

However he wasn’t expecting anything so crass from his new acquaintances.  They needed his help for one, and he was more than willing to give it.  He had the distinct impression that the dragon nationalists frown upon such underhandedness, as if any such slight would have indeed been at the least considered rude.  Still he wasn’t as silly duck and apt to leave himself wide open for any attack.  That would be just foolhardy.  So he monitored the flood of information that was streaming into his helm, even as he took the offered scroll and unrolled the vellum parchment, the visor scanning the text into file so he could peruse it more closely, even as the detectors checked for any poisons or spelled traps. 

 

While he unrolled and read, he lead his guests into the banquet room.  As before there were several dishes set out for repast.  Fresh fruits from the local market accompanied the aged cheeses from his larder.  Dainty cupcakes and ornate cookies were stacked out on delicate hand-painted porcelain plates while several glass decanters sported water, tea, and honey-mead.  Four servants wearing forest green aprons over their livery, their master’s coat of arms of the iron glove, sewn over the left side, stood at the read to wait on their guests hand and foot.  Doom merely gestured for Brimstone and company to sit while he took the head of the table, still perusing through the document.  He had to admit it was rather well written, covering all the necessary tangents and accounting for almost every possible scenario that might occur, enough so that he hoped that his own legal team might take notice as to how the pact was crafted, if just for future reference in dealing with the people of this world.

 

 

 

 

                                                  

[marvel]

A short time later, not more than 5 minutes most likely even though she herself wasn't exactly sure of the time, Mary had finally arrived after being detained by a bit of unexpected business back at the RDI. That and the fact that she almost considered letting second thoughts stop her from coming after all. She knew she made a promise to Brimstone that she would be there and so once she left the inn, she used her powers to take off running at full speed until she reached her destination.

 

She still had a bad feeling about all of this. Not sure she trusted Doom but she would be fair minded enough to at least hear what he had to say. That was her choice as she waited to be granted entrance.

 

[Cptdragon9]

Doom paused from his perusal of the parchment even as the klaxon alarm alerted him to the newcomer at the gates.  Of course he held his composure as he turned to address the mutant leading the party.  “You will excuse me for a moment.  It seems that I have another entreatant at the gates that I must deal with.”

 

Of course Brimstone jumped at that declaration, pretty sure who it was that had shown up at the front door.  “If you will beg my pardon, Lord Doom, I had thought to bring another of my party, but she might have missed the rendezvous point and came away straight here.  Her name is Mary.  If you wish I can go with you to meet her at the gates... if it is not an imposition.”

 

The tyrant actually mused at the mutant’s reactions.  It was clear that Lord Brimstone was doing his level best not to irk the dictator in any manner, and the thought that he was being handled so gingerly was laudable, if not laughable.  He ended up nodding slightly.  “If you wish, you may accompany me if just to facilitate introductions, and to confirm the lady’s identity if indeed she is part of your party.”

 

Brimstone stood at that point, giving his Vashtalian escorts a wry face, knowing that he would have to do even more fast talking afterwards, the look giving a long ways to let his escorts know that he was fine with leaving them for the few moments it would take to fetch Mary.  Again it probably breached all sorts of protocols, and he probably was going to get an earful later for being foolish, but he didn’t wand Doom vaporizing Mary either.

 

He had to admit that he was clenching his teeth during the walk from the dining room to the doors to see Mary pacing just outside the gates.  He knew that the camera mounts on either side of the palisades would have lasers trained on her.  He wasn’t sure how vulnerable she would be in Mary form and he really didn’t want to test that theory.  Instead he perked up, waving at her, acting like the venerable fool to make himself seem harmless.  “Hey Mary!  Glad you could make it to the party!”

 

Doom normally would have taken an affront to having this late newcomer arrive unannounced on his front doorstep.  If he were still on his proper planet he would have been quite suspicious about this behavior, not putting it past Reed, or Stark, into trying to sneak in some sort of tech to scan what he had hidden in his dungeons.  Still he was trying his best to put on the airs of a properly enobled gentleman, if just to have the chance to examine one of these mutants.  He hadn’t fully vetted the strength of his new neighbors, so had to keep his temper in check.  Frankly it wasn’t That odd for a young frail to show up at the gates.  He’d already had several curious peasants come a calling, a few he’d added to his staff to fill some of the gaps that had come from his sudden shifting from one world to another.  With a wave of his hand the gates opened on their own, allowing the young lady inside.

 

Brimstone jumped right into the introductions, darting forward to take up Mary’s hand to lead her up to the man in the iron mask.  “Lord Doom, may I introduce you to my associate Miss Mary Bromfield.  Mary, this is Victor von Doom, lord of Latveria.”

 

Of course Mary wouldn’t be able to see Victor smile behind the course mask, but he did bow, taking up her hand from BS’s and letting the lips of the mask kiss the back of her hand before releasing it.  “It is a honor and pleasure to meet you, Miss Bromfield.  If you would accompany me, we shall return to the reception hall where we were just beginning to discuss the terms of our association in regards to young Mr Bean.”

 

It would be Lord Doom that escorted Mary, with Brimstone trailing behind. As they entered the banquet hall wine and mead were already offered and flowing as canapés and treats were presented on silver platters for the guests to partake of.  Doom pulled a chair out for Mary, settling their new guest next to Brimstone before taking his own chair, lifting his personal goblet to the slit where his lips would be, letting his guests settle in before discussion could proceed.

[Solem'cleavu]

((deleted post and reposting))

 

Both Drac and Arturia gave a small sign of acknowledgement to BS however they did indeed follow him back out to the front as was their duty as his escort detail. Besides should anything try to go south during the initial introductions they would be in a much better position to mitigate the situation if they were near BS rather than stuck back at the room they were in.  Although they did both give a slight bow in greeting to Mary when they saw her.

 

Fortunately it didn't seem like anything was going to happen so when everyone was back inside and seated both Dragoon and Dragoon trainee resumed their previous positions behind BS.

[marvel]

In spite of her inner distrust for the Doctor and against her better judgment, Mary was all smiles for Brimstone's benefit. She was in her powered form, but dressed in the style of clothing she wore while working in the Red Dragon Inn, which was what she had been doing before she arrived. Since coming out with her identity, She had been soending more time in her marvel form than she had as Mary Bromfield.

 

After the introductions were all made, Mary waved at everyone. Brimstone, Doom, Drac, and Arturia. "A thousand apologies for my tardiness, lord Doom but it couldn't be helped. Unexpected business at the R.D.I. prevented me from arriving sooner." Her smile remained as Doom kissed the back of her hand. She was doing her best not to make her waves...for now or until she was provoked.

 

Oncve inside, Mary graciously took the seat being pulled out and offered to her, her eyes falling on the goblet of mead and the delicacies set before her and the others. "Your hospitality is appreciated."

 

[Cptdragon9]

 

Not much got past the dictator.  He hadn’t held his lands in an iron grip for so long by ignoring subtle signs.  Just by the way Mr. Brimstone glanced about told Doom volumes.  While his own etiquette hadn’t been technically breached, it was clear that he’d overstepped his bounds somewhere along the line.  He watched the mutant, noticed the nervousness at the introductions, and for a time after as they settled around the table.  Of course Doom would just let it slide as the mutant hadn’t broke with him, at least not yet.

 

In fact, with Miss Mary mentioning her current employer, Victor saw a means in which to ‘break the ice’.  That’s right, I believe Lord Brimstone had mention his involvement with an Inn, am I correct?”  The mutant might not have actually mentioned his ventures, but Doom had heard quite a bit about the RDI through the rumor mill.  ‘In fact I believe the local buzz had something to do with some sort of competition?”

 

Brimstone did flush a bit, but was thankful for some light patter before getting to the contract at hand.  “Erm.. yes.  Something like the Olympics, though not nearly as grand.  It probably resembles more the first Grecian Olympiads than any of the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the ones the current Earth.”

 

Doom leaned back on his thronelike chair.  “Still that must be quite the venture.  I had looked to see if I could invest in some local programs.  Would you object to a small donation to your cause?”

 

Brimstone did his level best NOT to roll his eyes in suspicion.  “Any money invested would go a long way to make a great first impression.  Some of the local merchants have done so with the promise of advertising their businesses.”

 

Victor laced his gauntleted fingers.  “I do not have a lucrative business within the current realm as of yet, but if you mention the generosity of Doom, I would not object.”

 

The mutant nodded his head.  “Then we will discuss the detail… after we address the current one.”   He nodded towards the scroll.

 

“Ah, business.  I would ask for a day or two for my advisors to review the document.  Not that I’ve seen anything amiss, but it was only a cursory glance.  I shan’t want to overlook anything and therbye err and breach any summation you might have scribed.” 

 

The dictator gave a slight nod, which BS mimicked.  “I understand thoroughly.  We shouldn’t rush into any agreement.  We can wait a day or two while you look things over.” 

 

Doom nodded then turned his attention to Mary.  “So, m’lady, will you be participating in this realm’s Olympics?”. 

 

 

 

[marvel]

Mary sat quietly until Doom asked about her participation in the games. Hanging on every word, and more than a little curious about the document that had been mentioned and what it detailed. "Mr. Brimstone is a partner on the R.D.I. along with myself and Mr. Burby. Brimstone has been a godsend, very beneficial in boosting the business trade. I don't know what we'd do without him."

 

The question from the deoctor about the games and herself had caught her offguard and seemed a little suspiciously pointed, as if he were grasping at something.It would give her more to think about later but for now... "That is my goakl, yes. I love the spirit of competition and I do plan to be involved in a few events. It should all be quite a ceremony." She smiled.

 

[Cptdragon9]

“I should hope so,” Doom intoned before turning towards the escort that seemed to flank Brimstone’s every move.  Doom hadn’t decided in just what capacity the duo were serving, but he was sure that the king?( not sure if this is before or after the ceremony) and his second weren’t there just to be lackeys.  Either this meeting was too sensitive to leave to normal guards, or they didn’t trust the mutant to do the job.

 

Interesting, either way.

 

“Lord Dracon, will any of your people be participating in any of the competitions Lord Brimstone is setting up?  Or will you only be contributing to the monetary needs of the event?”

 

 

[Solem'cleavu]

((This would indeed be after Drac had stepped down from the throne and became just a regular dragoon soldier once again.  Also wouldn't Doom be rather disappointed when he finds out that there was no other reason for Drac and Arturia to be BS's guards other than it was just standard procedure for anyone acting as envoy on behalf of the Vashtalian government to be escorted by dragoon-class soldiers?))

 

Dracon just quirked a brow once he was directly addressed.  Shortly after though he just gave that patented Solem'Cleavu family shrug.  "I imagine some of our regular citizenry will most likely participate provided Brimstone and his affiliates in this matter thought of advertising the event within our borders.  I can say for certainty though that no full-blood dragon will be participating, or at least they should not be participating, except as spectators.  It just wouldn't be fair to the other contestants if us dragons participated.  A consensus has yet to be reached however on if we will allow any member of our military, especially members of the Dragoon Division trainee or otherwise, to participate for the same reason.

[Cptdragon9]

(I imagine that Doom would be more suspicious if there wasn’t more than just the plain escort reason, but then I always thought the dictator paranoid, at least slightly so.)

Doom noticed the odd quirk from the one-time king.  Of course the dictator was testing the waters to see the full intent of selecting such persons (or was it reptiles?) of note to pull escort duty.  Besides it was polite to include Drac in the conversation, despite his so-called diminished capacity.

 

Brimstone had replied just as informally to Dracon’s mention of advertizing.  “We are already working on fliers.  I’ve got a small team just starting up a press.  Rather interesting contraption they’ve created, not quite a Gutenberg, but close in design.  We should be distributing within the week, as soon as we get our dyes in.”

 

Again Doom was impressed, not that the locals had figured out such a contraption, but that it wasn’t mocked by the local hierarchy, but actually incorporated in this little venture.  He would have to see if he could front some money to back any other projects, or perhaps hired industrious locals. 

 

But back to the discussion at hand.  “I am sorry to hear that.  I would have been delighted to see dragons shone in the brightest light.  Perhaps Lord Brimstone can arrange some sort of exhibition to showcase what your people can do?”

[Solem'cleavu]

Once again Drac shrugged, this time to indicate that it was of no matter.  "We do have practice matches from time to time along with the matches held during our trainees' final practical exams so if you so desire I imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to arrange for you to sit in on one of them.  While uncommon it isn't necessarily unheard of for a guest of state to sit in during one of these matches after all."

[Cptdragon9]

 

The monarch waved a gloved hand. “it is not necessary to arrange a match just for my entertainment. I am quite flattered that you would offer to do so, but unless you were holding a specific engagement not contingent on my attendance, I would be content to wait until such time that you would hold one of these matches in public view. I shouldn't want to monopolize such an event.”

 

BS spoke up at this time. “We are trying to set up exhibitions to showcase some of the more enhanced beings in our world. Perhaps we can cajole a few of the Dragoons to show us their stuff, if just a little bit. But that can happen at a later date. Lord Doom, when do you thing your legal team will finish their appraisal of our proposal?”

 

Doom looked a bit to the left as if he were looking at some sort of monitor before bringing his gaze back to the table. “It shouldn't take long. A day at most. Then we can commence with the search for a cure, or at least a reasonable resolution to the boy's affliction.”

 

[marvel]

((I can't really think of anything to add right now, feel free to continue on. I'll reply when I have something in mind.))

[Cptdragon9]

Doom paused for a moment again, clearly getting some information back from his legal staff.  He then turned to Brimstone.  “There does seem to be one matter about monies offered.  Let me reiterate that I am doing this as a boon, not a service.  Doom does not require payment since it was solicited as such, nor do I believe I will need any sort of reimbursement of resources or supplies.  While I do expect some contracts in the future to be based on commerce, this one is not one of those agreements.”

 

Brimstone had expected as much, but he hadn’t wanted to slight the dictator, not when they needed those services.  “Not a problem, we can amend the contract.”  He looked to his “escorts” to see if that was agreeable as well.

[Solem'cleavu]

Arturia simply shook her head and gestured to Dracon by way of saying "Don't ask me ask him." while Dracon for his part did actually speak up.  "By Vashtalian law we do have to at least offer compensation however if the one being contracted to do or assist with the work refuses it then there's no issue.  However keep in mind, and this is mentioned in those contracts, that by refusing compensation the Vashtalian Government, and in this case the Mutant Clan is included as well, will be under no obligation to compensate the contracted individual for the work done in any way at any time.  In short by refusing compensation you will be considered as a volunteer. "

 

The ex-king had at that point just shrugged with a small sigh to punctuate his next point.  "You wouldn't believe how many others we had contracted to do one job or another who had refused compensation and then later try to call in a favor stating that they had done us a favor by doing such and such job for free."

 

 

[marvel]

Mary, as she listened and sifted through the voices of wisdom that came from the elders, couldn't help being skeptical that Doomj's refusal to accept compensation wasn

t going to come without strings attached that the Doctor would tug on later. Sge was suspicious, but kept her game face on. If shge had to, she would come back later and find a way to discretely poke around. Maybe some  snooping or eavesdropping would pay off, in the event Doom didn't say anything that would tip his hand. The doctor was no doubt 3/4ths intelligent and one part clever, but thanks to the gods, she was sure of her own chances to stay a step ahead of him if need be.

 

For now, she stayed in a relaxed mode and sat back, not wanting to stick her nose in where it didn't belong, being in the midst of Arturia and Brimstone, reminding herself she was here as a token guest with no authority, and not wanting to ruffle any feathers without need.

 

 

 

[Cptdragon9]

 Doom seemed to draw back, as if he were insulted by the idea.  Rather than pound his chest in vexation, he decided that it wouldn’t do to harp on the slight to his name, though the tenseness in his body posture, plus the emotion that Brimstone would pick up, would tell the tale.  “My good Lord,” he manages to speak, even if there is a hiss in the tone of his voice.  “I will let my deeds speak as to my intentions.  Any further collaborations would have to follow in kind with contract as we are doing here.”

His temper seems to wane, and it isn’t long before a man cloaked in a green robe and hood enters the room with the scroll.  He mumbles a few words in Lord Doom’s ear before kneeing down and offering the scroll to his master.  Doom took the scroll, nods benevolently to his manservant whom takes several steps back before retreating into one of the adjoining hallways.

 

Doom then unrolls the bottom half of the scroll and take a quill from the inkpot, etching his name on the document.  He uses a wooden blot then hands the parchment back to Brimstone.  “I believe we have an accord.” He announces.

 

BS took the roll of velum, giving the dictator a low bow.  “Thank you, Lord Doom.  Did you wish to discuss how to tackle the problem now?’

 

“I would.  I know you will not permit the child to come here, I believe you have set aside an area near the nursery where I can bring my instruments and lab equipment.  While I do have power cells, I would prefer a more constant source.  Do you have a mean to convert your energy source to power my machines?”

 

Now BS rolled a gaze to his escorts before return to the despot.  He knew how protective Drac was with the mana converters.  Doom would probably easily copy if exposed to the actual machines.  “I could, if I had basic schematics of what you intent to bring.  I’ve done some adaptation for off-world machinery, but I want to make sure I don’t blow out any sensitive components.”

 

Doom only hesitated for a moment before gesturing to his manservant hovering in the doorway.  He didn’t say anything to the man, but soon there is more paper, this time reams of paper and blueprints, which is handed over to the mutant.  “This should suffice,” Doom intoned.

[Solem'cleavu]

Dracon had quirked a brow when Doom responded to him, once again giving a small shrug this time as if to say, "let me clarify".  "Lord Doom you seem to be under the misunderstanding that my words were in some way a jab against you personally.  As a people that ourselves would prefer to let our actions and deeds speak for us over flimsy words I assure you I intended no offense.  I was merely explaining the reason why that clause is in this contract and to be fair that clause is in every contract we draw up and has been for thousands of years."  Punctuating his statement with a slight bow at that point before simply letting him and BS speak among themselves.

[Cptdragon9]

Doom seemed to give a soft sigh somewhere within his suit.  “I understand.  We will simply have to note when such recompense is applicable or not as pertaining to each situation.  Still, for This particular venture, Doom shall not need any monetary payment, only supplies as needed if I cannot obtain then myself.  I do not foresee any such expenditures.  What I would need, however, is a comprehensive history surrounding the boy.  I imagine you would have such things in writing, but may I inquire as to the general now; so that I might begin to formulate a plan of attack, as it were?”  Doom did have a vague idea about the child, but he did want some clarification before he began.

 

Brimstone had figured that the dictator would want to get into his subject right off the bat and had indeed prepped a stat sheet for Doom, handing it over for the despot to review.  “Bean is only half mutant, on his father’s side.  You’ll see some of the genetic coding, but I will warn you that the DXB genome is a tricky monster.  No amount of manipulation can guarantee what the progeny will become as the proteins don’t bond at the injection sight.  Just slides and zips up and down the nucleotide chains until it finds itself a happy parking space.  Then there was the influx of toxic material in-utero.  I think he literally became a living filter for his mother, and his body adapted to a point that he cannot live without the stuff.”  Bs gave a visible shudder at the thought.

 

If Doom heard any of Brimstone’s explanation, he didn’t reply, instead going over the information that had been given to him.  He was sure that it wasn’t ALL there, but there was enough to get started.  “I see,” he finally intoned, though it was hard to tell if it was due to the printed or the spoken word.  “I have an idea on how to approach the problem.  Weaning him off the substance might work, but it wouldn’t be guaranteed, and any sort of relapse might be deadly not only to the child, but to those around him; according to this chemical composition.  I think we might be able to internalize his condition.”  He now looked up at his guests.  “I of course will need a baseline.  Once you are able to accommodate my medical components, I would like to run a few tests… at your digression, of course.”