Scene #8565: Meet Once Again As Stars

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Angela	Justin Rook, despite his nature, has actually not minded that Petra had been granted authority during the Meltdown by Ishirou of all people because during a Meltdown is when he can investigate the facility with the least amount of eyes on him so long as he deals with Abnormalities in the process. It's dangerous work, but it's even more dangerous to do when his employers are actually paying attention. Abnormalities are not the greatest danger in the City, or here. Not yet anyway. Thanks to Yesod's work, he learned thatt here was one more 'Department' still under lockdown--but the security there is the tightest and he had to give up before learning more. And then he's given the call from Angela to go up to her office. He THOUGHT he had been found out, but instead Angela informed him that the Manager had asked her to deliver an EGO Suit to Petra. And she is delegating this responsibility to Rook as Captains usually give EGO Gear to their charges. Rook isn't too surprised by Petra earning an EGO Suit but is surprised at the one that is being given to her--but he keeps his mouth shut because Justin Rook CAN keep his trap shut when it doesn't suit him to open it. The suit is in his arms as he makes his way back down to Control, sending a request to Petra to meet him in front of Malkuth's office. He has something for her. The suit itself is a dull grey suit and might pass off as just...a suit if it wasn't for the big glowing blue outline of a heart in the center, and the black core of that heart seeming to go on forever. The legs adorning the sleeves are a little more subtle and might be missed until the second glance over, particularly with the suit bundled up in Rook's arms.
Petra Soroka	Ever since having her suit ruined by Ishirou during the brief gap between Hod and Yesod's Meltdowns, Petra has been doing her work at Lobotomy Corporation while wearing a poorly-fitting replacement. The replacement suit jacket she was given was oversized for her, and even though Cinder seemed excited by the way Petra had to lazily roll her sleeves up and leave her tie loosely hanging around her neck, Petra was very ready for a wardrobe update. Partly because the dangling sleeves kept getting stained with blood whenever she worked on Bloodbath. Not that Petra's expecting an EGO suit as a replacement. She's always felt a little cut off from the other agents for that reason-- being too strong even without EGO gear, being able to take hits unarmored that suited agents are knocked out by, makes her feel a little bit like something else besides one of them. She's, reasonably, the last in line and the least to benefit from any EGO upgrade, and that's part of why she treasures Pillar of Creation as much as she does. Stepping up to fight an Abnormality with waves of alien Silver in her default suit makes her resemble an Abnormality more than it does the agents she fights besides, and she knows it. So when Petra responds to Justin's summons, she doesn't particularly have any expectations. Turning the corner to Malkuth's office, Petra is crumpling up a red-soaked paper towel that she'd had pressed to her sleeve, to ineffectually soak up the remnants of her work on Bloodbath. "Yo, Justin. What's up?"
Angela	Cinder is, indeed, quite excited. But it is true that numerous elements factor into getting EGO Gear and ultimately it's the Manager who makes these calls. One such factor is wether an employee can even HANDLE equipping a particular set of EGO Gear and the simple truth is that most of the employees at L-Corp who can equip the Blue Star's gear are already outfitted in either gear that suits them (thus resulting in a high synch rate) or simply can't handle wearing the Sound of Star. Even OHNO barely could handle the weapon. Justin Rook is always a little surprised when someone gets back from working Bloodbath without being a corpse but Petra is a special case. "Hey Petra," Captain Rook says. "In light of your work against the Blue Star and taking charge in the Meltdown, the Manager's decided to bestow this set of EGO Gear to you. Does you up pretty resilient." He aims to casually toss the EGO Gear into Petra's arms. And he actually smiles. "Congrats. This is one of the nicer sets we've produced."'
Petra Soroka	"Eh? Me? Why?" Petra catches the EGO suit, holding her arms away from herself like it's a delicate-- or dangerous-- object. "I'm like... well, you know. I don't even really know if it'll... have that much of an effect, on me. Like, I don't think the weapon from Fragments does the whole... intuitive training thing, with me." It might be a little alarming, how Petra has a casual nickname for the Abnormality she works on most, given that usually when that happens it's foreshadowing something terrible about to happen to the agent. But Petra's different, right? "Anyways, um-- I sort of thought I should talk to you about that? The whole, Meltdown, thing." Petra readjusts to lean against the wall, rather than standing awkwardly in the hallway where she was when Justin tossed her the EGO suit. "I thought you'd be mad? Or, at least, that the Manager would be. What's up with that, Justin?" The rock-steady look that Petra gives him, coupled with those words, makes for a pointed question. Is Justin fine with Petra being given such special treatment? Does he really see her as a subordinate agent, or is he just acting as her handler, with Petra herself being distinctly outside the traditional authority structure? If Captain Rook isn't happy with the lenience that Petra's given for rulebreaking, then why would the Manager be?
Angela	It is Dangerous! But L-Corp--and many Wings, in fact--will exploit the dangerous to make a profit. Even if that profit isn't just a matter of funds. Maybe especially then. Justin Rook says, "Well, I can't read the Manager's mind or nothin'." Justin Rook says. "So I can't speak to his reasoning." There is a flicker of concern in his eyes when Petra 'nicknames' the Abnormality. He considers whether or not he should speak up--she IS different--but ultimately he decides that relying on how special someone is is a bad idea. He wouldn't be doing his job as a Captain otherwise. "Petra, I should warn you to not get too close to the Abnormalities. Fragment of the Universe may not mean ill but it can and has killed people. If you get too pulled in by their Stories your resilience might not matter. Some of them even explicitely target Agents who are particularly strong." ''I thought you'd be mad? Or, at least, that the Manager would be.'' "...Well, since it's out in the open now... Seems like the Manager is Ayin. But he isn't ''really'' Ayin. That's not how Ayin acts. Suspect Miss Angela can speak better as to how he acts, but I've never met him." He rubs at his neck, awkwardly. "Maybe he thought his own personality was in the way, or he gave up on the project and decided to inflict it on whomever is now occupying that body right now. The situation's pretty fucked even if we're not losing people as much as we used to. When our luck really runs out..." He lets his arm drop. "As for me, I was busy at the time anyway. There was something I wanted to check out." And then he rolls his eyes a bit. "And well--Ishirou's big mouth taught me to keep quiet about the details. Surprised I hadn't been terminated already." He crosses his arms and asks Petra, genuinely. "You gonna keep trying to ice him? I know about the big mouth."
Petra Soroka	Petra's lips twist into a slight pout as reluctance creeps across her face for a brief moment. "Fragments is fine, really. They're dangerous because their voice drives people insane, not because they actually mean to hurt people. And I'm, you know, immune to that." She perks up again and looks a little excited, gesticulating with her free hand while going on. "And since, like, I can actually listen to their voice just fine, I can kind of understand it? Not, really, like a language, but sort of intuition? Like how you can learn how to communicate with a cat if you-- wait, maybe you don't really have any experience with that." For any other agent, gushing about 'learning to understand' an Abnormality would mean catastrophically high mental corruption levels, as a rule, even if it wasn't one that explicitly drove people insane to that exact end. But the guidelines that Justin is familiar with don't have any procedures for someone like Petra. Even if she passes the benchmarks for cognitive stability, how certain can Justin really be that the scores even apply properly to her? The way she talks, the impression that some alien, Outside part of her will slip under the radar and cause the collapse of the facility is uncomfortably easy to call to mind. Petra nods. The Manager is Ayin, she's known that longer than any other agent. "His personality fucking sucks. He shouldn't get the chance to run away from the project, or from what he did to Angela." Her eyes narrow at the mention of Ishirou, radiating disgust through the silver streaks of eyeliner-like metal. "Yeah. Well. I could've told you that he's incapable of being trusted with anything. He seriously doesn't understand anything." Petra's eyes dart over to the security camera attached to the wall opposite them, lens trained on the pair. Cyber-synaptic pressure stirs around her automatically at the thought, but she doesn't reach out to disable the camera. "You should probably stay quiet about it then, yeah. Wouldn't want that to happen to you.' Petra shrugs, kicking her boot back against the wall to readjust her lean. "I have a million reasons to kill him. If he fucks with the Corporation or with Lilian again, I'll do it. Besides that... I mean, I already did it for me once."
Angela	Justin Rook says, "Immune, or just so resistant it comes across as immunity?" He frowns thoughtfully. "How did you even...get that kind of ability?" It isn't really his business so he doesn't press any harder than that but sometimes you're curious about something and the question comes out before you can really stop yourself. "Had a pet mouse as a kid..." Rook murmurs, letting his arms drop again. Should he tell the Manager to take her off Fragments work for a while, just to make sure? As a general rule, the Corporation likes to move the Agents around from having to work on just one Abnormality for long periods of time specifically because of this issue, but the company's been inclined to send Petra specifically to the ones that do 'White' (psionic) damage since she's so well suited for it. He isn't certain at all. Frankly, he isn't certain that Petra didn't enter this facility without a degree of mental corruption judging from the fights she's picking--but she's just too useful to antagonize carelessly. And besides, he does kind of like her. The Control Team--well he misses Parker and Ya-Boy but Random is still in the team and that's who he was really worried about losing. Parker and Ya-Boy are nuts, after all. Rook's eyes slant towards the comms. He has kept his voice low but even he can't be sure that he won't be overheard. ''He shouldn't get the chance to run away from the project, or from what he did to Angela'' Rook scowls. "Yeah." He says. "Any Wing Head's gonna suck." He believes in the Goal, not the Wing Head. ''Wouldn't want that to happen to you.'' Rook finally lets out a full on grin. "You gettin' soft on me, Petra?" He teases before shaking his head. "I appreciate it. But--" He slips a scrap of paper into Petra's hand. In it is the phrase 'There's an extra locked department in Aziluth. Couldn't get in,' is written there. "If something does happen to me, you can take care of the team right? Thinking about it like that."
Petra Soroka	How did Petra get that kind of immunity? Petra's gaze slides away from Justin, looking sideways at the ground, and she brings her arms up to wrap them around her chest, along with Sound of a Star. While she's silent in thought, a subtle sensation of raw, bloody itch crawls beneath Justin's skin, dialing up from psychosomatic pinpricks to maddening pain within seconds, and he can tell it's dulled heavily by his EGO suit. Petra doesn't seem to notice. Instead, she's thinking about the vast, incalculable inability to actually explain to Justin why she's immune like this, the challenge of conveying the shape of hearts and wishes using words that, by her nature, Petra was never quite able to grasp. And it's not like Petra's ever inclined to talk about it anyways, so she could easily shrug it off, the same way she does when anyone else asks. But there's a little comfort, in talking to someone who doesn't and can't ever properly understand it all. "I don't know if 'getting it' is right. I mean, it's not like you got your ability to be affected by it. It's just..." Petra doesn't look at Justin, instead directing her attention towards one of the many strange, tan pipes lining the wall, placing her hand on it while it rattles. "Psychic receptivity is like an organ, that humans have. Plants don't get affected by psychic powers, and animals don't either, not like we do. The theory of mind is something only we're capable of imagining; the idea that minds can affect each other without being translated through bodies." "So like any other organ can be, mine's just... you know. Diseased. Nonfunctional, dead." Petra sighs, her chest tight, and runs a hand through her hair, intentionally skipping the orange-green hearts. "I know you didn't really ask for all that, but since you're like, my Captain, I figured... might as well put it in a way you can understand. Whatever." Justin's teasing puts her slightly more at ease, and the nearly inaudible whir of her reactor quiets down to a steady hum as she halfheartedly smiles back. "Am I that intense that saying I'd prefer if you weren't executed by our boss counts as getting soft?" Petra isn't a spy by any means, so her surprised glance down at the paper isn't as subtle as someone more experienced might hope. She has the sense to not open and read it in front of Justin, at least. And that that, Petra actually frowns. "... Replacing you...? I mean, even-- even putting aside that I hope it doesn't happen, I'm definitely not the best choice, right? Random, Cinder, and Yuri are all more experienced than me, and I... you know, I'm not a local here."
Angela	Justin hisses through his teeth, his body tensing instinctively like he might have to fight--but it's gone in moments. Ultimately any precise statistics are largely managerial information but even the weakest Aleph EGO suit is still an Aleph Suit. He's about to shout out 'What Gives??' but he notices something in Petra that gets him to clam up. Does a dead psychic organ make one want to rip their arms to shreds to try and relieve the pain? He doubts it. It's a brief reaction, like someone had just placed their hand on a stove and instinctively snapped back, having not meant or expected the mishap. ''It's not like you got your ability to be affected by it'' "Fair enough," Justin manages, trying to pull back into composure. It's not even for Petra's sake, necessarily, he just doesn't like coming across as fragile. And he does listen. The sensation seems to have pulled back but it must be a sensitive topic if it can slam him that hard even through Pink. "It's not really my business, admittedly--don't feel like you have to answer personal questions you don't want to." If this is the diseased organ, he wonders what the healthy one on Petra would be like. He thinks of Persephone's visits and while he doesn't know exactly what happened--that orange tree is still growing, that little river is still running... How would he describe Petra? In some ways, she seems fragile but when disturbed she can really carve into people. Like glass, he supposes, but he's not sure how to describe that in a way that isn't coming across as harsher than he means so he sets aside the thought. "You can get there," He says instead. Justin knows Petra isn't a spy but she also has proved, more or less, that she can keep quiet at least. More to the point, the Team gets along with her. He knows his responsibility is supposed to be for the company but in the end he's more concerned with his team. ''Replacing you...?'' Justin raises his hand up into the air. "I'm not saying as a Captain--least not neccessarily. If I'm gone I don't exactly get a say in who replaces me. But--you're their friend," He is unaware of the Date. He does, however, reach into his jacket pocket and draw out a Bear Brand Cigarette and a silver lighter with a monogrammed stylized castle--as in Chess--on it. "And you can get 'em out if the facility crashes down upon itself." He lights the cigarette but doesn't start smoking yet, though his hand holding it does shake a little, as if faintly tremored. "Hell, Cinder'd probably only listen if it ''was'' you. I know you're here for Angela and I don't know her full story, I can only imagine what'd be like to be built by the Head of a Wing and given a job like this. But those kids," Rook says, despite not being that much older than the rest of his team. "Random in particular, came here chasing me. They deserve a better place than this. Now that I've ''seen'' better places to know that." He rubs at his neck, suddenly a bit bashful. "...Does that make any sense?"
Petra Soroka	"It's not really personal," Petra shrugs, transparently lying. "It's work information. It's why I'm a good agent. That's all." "And you can get 'em out if the facility crashes down upon itself." Petra silently mouths an 'oh', then squeezes her fist and stares intently at Justin. "If that's what you mean, then-- yes. Absolutely. I won't stop at anything to get them out of here safe, when the Project's done. None of them are going to die here if I can help it, not Cinder, or Yuri, or Random, or Angela." Petra rubs her knuckles against her mouth, the determined speech coming out of her like muscular exertion holding tightly to something she believes in. "You can trust me with that. Even if I'm not an agent anymore by then, even if Ayin does everything he can to stop me himself." "There's better places in the multiverse than all this. Yeah." Petra's gaze falls to the folded EGO suit resting in her hands. "When Blue Star breached, with Cinder in the Department next door, I..." Petra swallows audibly. "Well. I took care of it. Me and Lilian. With her help, there's nothing in the entire City that can stop us." Petra ducks her head, blushing grey slightly. "Yeah. Thanks, Captain. You can count on me."
Angela	Justin Rook lets the lie stand. Everybody's got shit they don't want to talk about here, or lies they tell themselves to make working here easier. He is a little sore at himself for even asking to begin with. He reassures himself that--she could have just answered him, sure, but he also is an immediate superior...ugh, forget it. He can apologize if he survives till the end. Seems silly worrying about microaggressions when he'll probably be dead this time next year. Maybe not even from Abnormalities. Petra says what she's going to do with enough confidence that it's convincing. Normally if anybody said something like that, it'd reek of arrogance but the Head is unconcerned with the Multiverse. If anybody is going to slip under his radar and save his team, it'll be someone from the outside. And Petra's in the best position for that. "I believe you." Rook says. "Though we shouldn't rely on the Dame Commander. She's a busy woman. If she's not here we'll have to manage, and if she is here--I don't want her thinking we're slackers who don't deserve it." Maybe they don't anyway, actually, but at the very least they should make an attempt. Rook lets the thought run through and takes a drag. He offers Petra one too but won't be too insistent about it. Is there nothing in the city that can stop them? He thinks of the Arbiters, faintly. Gebura is a Color but that's just because there isn't a designation above Color. "Great, thanks, glad I can count on you." Rook manages, his shoulders dropping as tension flees his body. Dangerous in a place like this to relax so much, but he lets it happen for now. "Anything I can do for you before I head back to work?" He asks.
Petra Soroka	Petra will hang out and smoke with Justin for some time before heading back to work-- she rarely ever takes the opportunity to, with him-- but before that... "Deserving is something invented in hell." Petra sounds like she's borrowing someone else's words, while flicking one of her own cigarettes out of the pack. "Lilian's a hero. Saving people is what she does, and she cares about the people here. We should and will help her, but she won't abandon people to die if they try to save themselves and can't do it on their own." Besides that, there's nothing that Petra needs from him. She drapes Sound of a Star over her shoulder, lights her cigarette, and quietly watches the hallway with Justin.