Heroes: Shadows over Millenium

[Charon]

The silver figure had been sitting up against a wall. It wasn't moving, and continued to be eerily still even as it answered.

"We do not understand why you insist on continuing to refering to us as seperate beings." The face of the old hero then slowly turned to look at Argent.

"Assuming we have some way of contacting it and it is capable of speech, we could." Legacies slowly got to his feet, leaning more on his right leg as he stood there. "You believe that we shall have some success in communication because we are a symbiote unit as Blackheart will be?"

[LadyTevar]

"Let us say I am hoping you can." Argent clarified. "I somehow don't think it's anything like you. Too much malice, hate... and while there is some cunning, they are not sure of the intelligence. Blackheart believes it needs to take over his brain for that." Her voice did not crack, but there was an edge to it. The little empath was starting to care for her teammates.

"The doctor there is an expert on symbiotes, however... she may be able to help you heal faster." Yes, she was telling him what there was to gain from it. Not quite a bribe, merely a statement of fact.

[Charon]

Legacies shook his head. "We doubt we will be able to do anything, but if they believe this may work we will go. As for the doctor, we can heal on our own." Legacies walked over to Argent. "Let's go."

[LadyTevar]

The dragon's head nodded, one wing enfolding Legacies, and then they were in the examination room with Blackheart and Doctor Cavenaugh.

"I see you managed to hold him a little longer, Doctor," Argent quipped, teasing Blackheart as she revealed Legacies.

[Cynical Cat]

Cavanaugh started at the appearance of Legacies and Argent.. She extended her hand. "You would be Legacies, correct? It is a pleasure to meet you. I've read a number of interesting papers on you, although in my professional opinion the conclusions were erroneous. If you would permit it, I would be honoured if you would grant me permission to examine you"

[Charon]

Legacies turned to look at the doctor, not taking the hand as he stared at the woman.

"We are here for business, doctor. Though we would be interested in hearing what these papers had to say. But we have been told that the idea of us speaking with Blackheart's other has been brought up."

[LadyTevar]

Argent allowed the shadowform to dissipate, revealing herself again, watching the proceedings with those black irisless eyes.

She did frown a little looking at Blackheart. The 'background hum' was a little louder.

[Cynical Cat]

Cavanaugh's eyes darted to Argent. "By well meaning amateurs, I'm sure. They are two very different orders of being. Both are currently involved in symbiotic relationships with a host and after that the similarity ends. We have almost no understanding of that thing in Blackheart's chest biology and from what we can tell its a completely different order of life than Legacies. It also reacts badly to empathic intrusion, not that its accessable. It traumatizes experienced empaths. This is not a safe procedure. It is not likely to net any positive results. I strongly recommend against this."

[Charon]

The silver head looked over towards Blackheart after a few moments of seeming to ponder the doctor's words.

"We understand your words doctor. Blackheart, do you wish to do this?"

[Cynical Cat]

"This thing is seriously nasty," said Blackheart. "This thing unnerves combat telepaths. There's no indication that there is any intelligence you can reason with. This is the mother of all longshots."

[LadyTevar]

Argent noted the doctor's glance, and let it go. Once again, she wondered about the abilities and experience those 'experienced empaths' she quoted had. How many of them lived on the street, by their wits for nearly a decade? How many of them had learned to channel the emotions away from themselves without being overwhelmed first.

How many of them had left dead pigeons in their wake from pushing their emotions away, outside... or had a box to throw them all in.

No... the only thing stopping Argent from trying herself at this moment was the link to Saibot. Once the device to block that was made, or if she could find a way to knock Saibot unconscious and keep him that way until she was finished ... she'd try it herself.

But Blackheart's comment made her speak up. "It has yet to 'unnerve' me."

[Charon]

Legacies leaned back against the wall. "We are not combat empaths, we were able to deal with the Astronomer attempting to enter our mind. If there is no intelligence, we will know. We are uncertain how we will be able to make contact with it's mind however. Either way, we are prepared for this."

Legacies pushed off the wall, he still looked slightly tired, but he was doing a good job of hiding it now.

[Cynical Cat]

Blackheart shook his head. "You haven't dived in. I know you think you're a tough girl, and you are, but you aren't the only tough girl to meet this thing. You're talking about diving into the empathic acid tank. If you think you can get results, go ahead, but don't think this isn't without risk."

[LadyTevar]

"One day, we shall find out." Lei answered with a shrug. "You will have the pleasure of knocking Saibot unconscious first... in case there is leakage."

[Cynical Cat]

"I try to avoid hospitalizing my team mates."

[Charon]

Legacies looked over at the doctor. "Should things go wrong, get something ready to be able to break the contact." Then the silver figure looked over to Lei. "Argent, make contact with our mind, then with Blackheart's symbiote."

[LadyTevar]

For a moment, Argent was silent.... then she sent a clear message down the link to Saibot ***-Shield YourSelf Now-***

Taking a step forward to put herself within touching distance of both men, she pulled the shadows around her like a protective cloak. She reached out one shadow-winged hand to Legacies and opened her mind to him/them. Even before he took it, she could already sense the cool depths of the joined mind. Steady, reflective... a touch of pain in his leg that was whisked away, as was his tiredness for the moment.

Then, she reached out her other shadow-draped hand to Blackheart, her black irisless eyes locking on him, letting him be the one to turn it down ... or take up the challenge he laid out to her. With Legacies' emotions at the back of her mind, the humming malice from the tumor/spacewasp/whatever was lessened. She focused herself, this time knowing not to lock her emotions in the box, since that seemed to lead to Saibot, but preparing an alternative.

[Cynical Cat]

Blackheart was calm, although turbulent waves of apprehension circulated beneath the surface. Thre was something else there as well, not Blackheart but close to him. Hard to sense, restricted, withdrawn.

[Charon]

The silver figure jolted physically with the contact to Lei's mind. The dual mind jumped a piece of it's conscienceness into Lei's mind reflexively, carefully examining for a brief moment before slinking away again. Then contact was made with Blackheart. The mind of Blackheart was very different from what he could see, though entering foreign minds was something new to him. Legacies spotted the other mind though, doubt briefly flashing, disappearing almost as soon as it appeared. Legacies waited for the other two to clear themselves mentally from contact.

[LadyTevar]

Lei deftly avoided contacting the restricted NotBlackheart part for the moment, instead easing Blackheart's apprehension, building up the fact his team was with him, he wasn't alone, there was friendly backup.

Slowly, she 'introduced' Legacies into Blackheart's mind, not wishing a full merging, just a unified team against the Other that sat silently apart from Blackheart.

-When you are ready-

it was more than a feeling, less than a thought.

[Charon]

Legacies took the invitation and slipped past the barriers into the symbiote's mind. He was not sure what he should be wary of, but if any of them could do this, it was Legacies. This was a learning experience, and despite his weariness he was curious.

[Cynical Cat]

The symbiote was a tight, compressed ball of darkness. It resisted attempts to enter. It was cold, armoured in congealed malice. To merely approach it was to taste disquiet.

[Charon]

Legacies poked at the ball with a tendril of thought.

"We would wish to speak with you being. We are a symbiote as you are. Is there a mind there?"

Legacies stalked slowly around the ball, slowly feeling for weaknesses in the shield.

[LadyTevar]

Lei was the focal point, sharing these feelings/impressions between the team. The Other didn't seem willing to speak to them, it wanted left alone. Legacies' preliminary poke at it seemed to do nothing... but the doctor said it reacted to empaths. What will it do if I touch the shell around it?

All this was shared with Legacies and Blackheart, without a word being said.

Giving them just enough time to understand, Lei's mental image of herself, more of a humanoid dragon, reached out gently with a clawed hand. She stroked the surface of the shell around it; like petting a cat on the belly while careful of the sharp claws that could strike at any time.

[Cynical Cat]

Boiling hatred bubbled out of the symbiote, washing towards Legacies and Argent. It was pure desire for death and destruction, unstructured by intelligence and devoid of focus. It simply was. Its malice was bottomless.