thearena | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who| Danny, Open
What| Sneaking around the fossil exhibit
Where| Floor 4
When| Week 2
Warnings/Notes| Possible swearing

Danny had been moving from floor to floor for the past two weeks, getting to know the people who weren't currently trying to kill him, and staying the hell away from those who looked like they'd try to beat his head in with his own crowbar.

It seemed like a fairly decent strategy so far, if only because he was still alive, and hopefully it would carry him through another few weeks if he was lucky.

Currently, he was sneaking around the fossil exhibit, putting another thing on his mental list of reasons Panem was horrible. Namely, the disturbing genetically engineered monsters.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The sinister sounding name clicked with the comment about superheroes.

"...normally I don't judge other people's names, but that sort of sounds, supervillain-ish."

Please tell him he hadn't been joking around and having fun with a supervillain.

This was it. If all of this was televised, he needed the right moment and this was it. Cornering a powerless, confessed superhero in a dark stairwell after having lulled him into a false sense of security.

"You know the doors do lock again from the inside. You have to pick them to get back out onto the floors."

The door had been left open just a crack and now he nudged it shut with his foot. Meaning Danny was stuck with him, crow bar or not.

He flashed a cold smile that wasn't at all meant to be reassuring but was also a peace offering of sorts.

"But you needn't worry. I'd say we're all equals here, regardless of what we were before, wouldn't you? I'm willing to put past predilections aside for the moment if you are."

"In my experience, when someone like you says that? It means they either want something, or they haven't decided which part of my back they want to shove the knife into yet."

Really, if Danny had to pick what Vlad would've said in this specific situation? It would be Brainy's speech, word for word.

"And you had some pretty good chances to put that knife, or, y'know, laser beam, in me earlier. So, question is, what do you want from me?"

"There are certain resources I won't be able to avail myself of. When it comes to sponsors, the plucky teenager, a depowered selfless hero, trying to beat the odds has more of a chance of getting extra food or resources than someone like myself. I don't socialize well with others."

He went on, "Conversely, you lack the capacity to turn household items into death lasers. I'm proposing the occasional fair trade. Information, food, other resources."

His more sinister expression faded somewhat from his face.

"I'm not the kind of of villain that causes wanton cruelty. Wanton destruction, perhaps, but our organization specializes in wetwork, burglary, toppling already-corrupt governments to put equally corrupt ones into place. We are bad people, often dealing with bad people, who primarily hurt bad people. If we hadn't taken on the jobs someone else would have been hired in our stead. We find criminal activities that specifically target innocents to be...crude and senseless in their nature."

He found a good way to word it.

"We aren't overly sentimental but we do have class."

In normal circumstances, Danny would have already tried to take the person he believes Brainiac 5 to be down. But these were not normal circumstance, and Danny was perceptive enough to realize that a villain like the Coluan wouldn't be any happier about the situation they'd found themselves in than he was.

Danny didn't like him, but he'd allied himself with people he didn't like before.

"Fine," he sighed, "Point made. I can't exactly afford to be picky about allies, you're not the worst I could do, and for now, we've got the same goal. You've got a deal. But I'm keeping an eye on you."

"Naturally. But consider the fact that any betrayal would be televised. It's in my best interest to demonstrate that I can hold to my word. I know you won't believe me, but you won't have to watch too closely. You know what I am and that's half the battle, after all."

He went on slowly, "Besides, I...I suppose admire the conviction some heroes have. Respect is something that goes beyond morality. I doubt I'll ever earn yours, but you may wind up earning mine."

Creating the illusion of complexity was the best thing to do in this situation. Cackling sadists were neither interesting for someone else to watch for a prolonged period, nor would anyone trust one.

Edited 2014-02-09 04:43 (UTC)

"Stroking my ego is actually a pretty good way to make me more suspicious."

Especially since everyone he calls friend tended to spend their spare time deflating his.

"So, let's try something. Call it a trust exercise. I don't need anything from you right this minute, so I'll give you part of my food stash in trade for something later."

Brainy actually smiled slightly at Danny's comment of being made more suspicious but it wasn't creepy or sneering, more like he found how sharp he was genuinely endearing.

"Specify the nature of this something. If it's an even trade or some equivalent favor would be perfectly acceptable, but let it be known now that I'm not going to do something dangerous like kill someone for you in exchange for a meager share of rations."

"Even trade. And for someone who calls themselves Brainiac 5, you're terrible at paying attention," He snarked.

"Not going to kill anyone generally includes not making someone else do it for me."

"There are always those who have a great gift for hypocrisy, Daniel. Superheroes certainly aren't immune to it. But noted."

Definitely noted. It would have been an easy course of action to take for a scared teenager with an unwillingness to kill. That he didn't even want others to do it on his behalf...

It was a breath of fresh air after spending so much time entrenched in Capitol media. Principles were a beautiful thing.

Edited 2014-02-19 04:51 (UTC)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only