legionworld | Party Down

Entry tags:

Party Down

Who| Everyone!
What| A party
Where| In the Sim Rooms
When| After "Whistling in the Dark"
Warnings/Notes| N/A

Avoiding the destruction of Legion World was more than enough reason to throw a party, especially since its destruction could've meant the Lunar Debris Field might have fallen out of its orbit onto Earth. After Legion World's repairs were underway and the ship was mostly safe again, the old-timer Legionnaires decided to throw a little party in celebration of the newbies getting through their first trial by fire.

Even though duty might call them away, they all figured on being able to spend at least a little time hanging out with the rookies.

One of the Sim Rooms proved itself to be the best place to have a party, since the inside could be made as big as they needed it to be. In one section they had a massive setup for laser tag, and in another area there were games and food and couches in a massive square.

Times like these weren't going to be easy to come by, if the kind of crisis the Lux had caused was any indication, so it was time to enjoy their free time while they had it.

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Unsurprising, that it required force or that a lab was the biggest reason to stay. But politely, Saralegui gave no voice to those thoughts. And politeness aside, Brainy would have probably called them redundant anyway.

The mention of technology, however, only brought to mind the conversation about horses and cars he'd had with that irritating speedster man, and Saralegui frowned at his drink before glancing away towards the rest of the part with apparent disinterest.

"I already know my world is somewhat behind the rest of yours as far as all that goes." A disclaimer of sorts, and he sipped at his drink. "During my father's rule, a man in my country came up with a method of keeping the entire palace warm using the heat of the hot springs it was built over."

There was that woman in the demon kingdom who'd built herself a reputation as an inventor, but the stories Saralegui had heard seemed too ridiculous to be believed. And the only glimpse he'd gotten at her work while visiting Blood Pledge Castle had been an explosion out her window while he was getting a tour of the castle grounds, so he wasn't inclined to think much of her "inventions".

Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Don't laugh...

It wasn't as if it was Saralegui's fault he was from a hilariously technologically inferior world. And even Coluans had once struggled to develop the basic scientific principle of "fire bad," like all other species.

They'd done it eons before most other species did, naturally, despite not being much older than many other species but they'd done it, too. You know, before they went on to the stars while other species huddled in their caves on distant spheres.

He tried to be gracious and managed it. Just barely.

"Forward-thinking, at least. Until your world discovers self-sustaining fusion and zero point energy power sources, it would be wise to use as many renewable energy sources as possible. Fossil fuels cause so many insidious problems."

Gotta reduce that carbon footprint, Sara.

"Your turn."

Even at his most gracious, Brainiac still managed to sound just a little patronizing. Saralegui's frown didn't slip as he stared the green boy down, but he answered as dispassionately as possible.

"...I'll keep that in mind for when I return home."

Not that he knew what most of that meant. But he'd rather save those questions for a source that wasn't going to sigh at him for having at ask. A library, maybe.

"Anyway. Do you have any special powers beyond just being smart?" A beat, and he added, "Not that the latter isn't useful, of course, but I wouldn't send a soldier to war just for being clever."

"Forcefield manipulation."

A glow appeared around his body, shimmering back and forth between blue and gold, and he raised a hand and extended the field slightly, creating a simple extension of it.

"It can withstand most sources of concussive force, cutting implements, energy attacks, and even an antimatter explosion. I can extend it around others or around a small location, and can create simple constructs that I can use more offensively."

No one was in front of him, so he demonstrated. A column of the field suddenly jutted forward from his hand, faster than the speed of a striking fist, clearly something that could hit someone else quite hard.

He withdrew it and the field faded.

"It was initially controlled by an external apparatus that I had invented -- a shield belt -- but an encounter with a...somewhat unexplainable cosmic force altered my physiology and internalized my abilities."

Saralegui and the others being pulled in definitely wasn't the first time the Legion had come across the strange and unexplainable.

"Ah. That seems useful. Both the field itself and the new internalization." Saralegui's eyebrows arched up in something like approval as he sipped at his drink and examined the multicolored glow unashamedly. Not too unlike some of the ways humans could manipulate esoteric magic back home, though certainly more versatile. And... "Pretty."

The best things always were both destructive and lovely.

"It's your turn."

He wasn't expecting "pretty" but quickly recovered.

It took him a moment to think about his next one.

"How can you stand being a politician without despising every facet of your existence and most of the people you have to interact with?"

He'd always wanted to ask one that.

"I do hate most of the people I have to interact with," Saralegui correctly smoothly, gaze returning to his drink now that the pretty light show was over. "Most people in power are selfish and short-minded. They don't care about anything beyond their own desires and their own lifespans. Am I supposed to cede my own position and let people like that control everything just so I don't have to deal with them?"

And if there was any reason to hate himself, it had nothing to do with his involvement in politics. Or rather, it was more due to a problematic personality, regardless of whether that helped him in the political world. Besides, he was trying to do something good these days. He could at least give himself that much credit.

"Do you just resent whatever politicians were in charge that sent you here in the first place?"

At this question, Brainy's expression changed. It suddenly went very soft -- almost warm. (Yes, it was possible). His answer was possibly an unexpected one.

Because it wasn't dry. It wasn't irritable. It was quietly sincere.

"Sending me to join the Legion is quite possibly the only thing I don't resent them for."

Which was something that implied volumes -- maybe whole libraries.

"You just resent them for everything else," Saralegui said with a pointed stare. "Like what? I don't doubt this world's politicians are as bad as my own's, but I am curious how these things change in a place where you can travel through an airless void in a metal ship."

It wasn't his turn, but he was never the type to pass up more information.

"I believe it's my turn first."

He wasn't exactly the type to talk about his personal background to just anyone, even though it wasn't exactly something he treated like a deep secret, either. He'd scarcely talked about it with the Legion (other than Lyle. A little bit). But it wasn't because of shame. It was simply because he'd moved past it.

Still, it seemed a prudent question to ask before disclosing more information about himself:

"Why are you so curious about me?"

Edited 2016-03-02 19:09 (UTC)

"Don't think so highly of yourself. I'm curious about many things."

Information was useful, especially in a world where he knew nothing. Back home, he'd had his whole life to learn everything he could about his world and the major players in it, and he'd built a reliable network to fall back on when coming up against new unknowns. Here, he was starting fresh and it was more than a little irritating.

But all that aside, he just liked to know things.

"In your case, I just don't understand why someone who dislikes people so much is on a team that's apparently all about saving and helping others."

He pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"I'll go back to your previous question. You asked what else I resent my world's politicians for." There were quite a few things he could've resented them for. Like his exile, for instance. But that was a recent development and didn't matter that much when he never wanted to go back anyway. "Brainiac 5 is a title that was given to me by my people when I was born; my given name is actually Querl Dox. The first Brainiac was an infamous interplanetary criminal responsible for atrocities on my own world, Colu, and on many others. Every consecutive Brainiac in my family line was either morally bankrupt or openly villainous and most of them caused catastrophic harm to others."

He tapped his temple.

"My family line is also known for their intellect, which surpasses the highest range possible for normal Coluans -- a mutation caused by augmentations the original Brainiac performed on himself."

It wasn't a title he chose, was the point he was making. It was a legacy he was born into. A very dark one.

"My mother left the day I was born and my legal guardians were two politicians that sought to use my intellect to further their political careers -- largely because Colugov saw the Brainic intellect as an important commodity, something to be used in service of the planetary interest. I was considered something like royalty -- and state property."

That was reason enough to resent them.

"There is the answer to your first question." A pause. "The answer to the other, that you haven't quite phrased as a question: 'what the sprock happened to make you choose this life when you so clearly dislike being around most sentient beings?'"

That really was the other question in play.

"Colugov sent me to join the Legion against my will. Among peers my own age. Who were all exceptional sentient beings that over time showed me kindness and warmth I didn't think sentient beings were capable of. They also showed me the value of such sentiments as compassion and mercy -- important and highly logical externalities that allow for the continued existence of civilized society." He smiled slightly. "So, in answer to your second not-quite question: Because I made friends. Good ones. All of whom had excellent priorities."

Saralegui was a good listener. Never one to interrupt and get distracted. He listened well and only seemed to grow stiffer as the story went on, jaw a little tight and lips pressed into a thin line.

"...How touching."

He'd meant it to come across dryly, intentionally inconsiderate to distance himself from the whole subject. But it doesn't quite work. Too much of that sounded too familiar, even with all the wild differences born of this crazy space world. His lips pursed into something like a frown and he looked away back to the rest of the party.

"I'm not sure if that counted for my turn or not."

Dry or inconsiderate or not, he didn't seem particularly fussed. He was confident about many things and his role with the Legion -- and the love of his friends was one of them.

"You may have another if you like. Or it can be mine. Your choice."

The polite thing to do would have been to cede the turn. Or perhaps it was showing more interest in the other person and taking the question. He really wasn't sure right then.

Still frowning, Saralegui glanced down at his drink and sniffed.

"Is this alcoholic?"

"Extremely alcoholic. Relatively speaking. It's synthehol," he said. "It lacks the aftertaste of normal alcohol, addictive qualities, and deleterious effects on the liver and kidneys, but is still capable of making one highly intoxicated."

One of the many perks of the 31st century -- people could get drunk as shit and not get addicted or be hungover in the morning.

Edited 2016-03-02 20:40 (UTC)

"Ah."

That explained it. Pulling a face, Saralegui set the drink down and pushed it away for good measure.

"That makes it your turn."

"You've asked many questions about my background. I'm usually not inclined to ask personally revealing questions in turn."

So he wasn't going to ask about the past.

"Perhaps one about your future then, instead of the past: when you leave this place and go home, what will you bring with you?" A pause. "You can interpret that as some kind of existential or philosophical question, but there's also knowledge. Technology -- we would allow you to have some."

It was something they all needed to think about. Even now. There was so much they could take with them and the Legion didn't particularly plan on barring them from much of it.

"Something we could actually make use of. There's no point in trying to take anything we can't power, and much of this might still be beyond my people's ability to reverse-engineer. Besides, I'll have too much on my plate when I return home to be devoting much attention to that sort of thing."

It wasn't really much of an answer beyond I still need to think about it. He turned a curious gaze on Brainy, arching an eyebrow.

"What do you think a world like mine would find most useful?"

"Print books. Most of the information we have is digital but it's possible to print it in physical form. There are a variety of resources on everything from mechanical engineering to agricultural practices to medicine."

He took a sip from his drink.

"You would have to be careful about how quickly you introduced such advancements -- there are always societal problems that arise -- but you could vastly improve the quality of life of the residents of your world."

Edited 2016-03-02 21:26 (UTC)

"That's a clever idea. And I'd like to think I have enough foresight to avoid potential disasters."

A pause, and he frowned, playing now with the ends of his hair for lack of a cup in his hands.

"I don't suppose any of this world's technology runs on magic energy, though."

Brainy visibly shuddered.

"No. Thank sprock." A pause. "For the most part."

He rolled his eyes. The only reason he was telling Saralegui this was because he didn't believe in withholding such information.

But he hated magic. Hated it.

"Sorcerers' World may perhaps have...data -- I refuse to call it science -- regarding magical energy sources. Unlike the rest of the UP, it's a world that sees fit to regularly defy the laws of physics. It's where most magic-users that exist in the UP come from -- or where they receive training."

Finally, something brought a hint of a smile back to his face. Or a smirk. Whatever.

"All the people here have impossible powers, and you're getting stuck on magic?" Saralegui said, leaning in a little. Brainy certainly didn't try to hide his distaste with the whole thing. "I think you could stand to be a bit more open-minded."

Time for Brainy to scoff.

"Meta abilities, though they seem magical or fantastic, have very organic roots in biology, physiology, physics, and biochemistry. If you understand these fields with enough proficiency you can see how these abilities -- while seemingly unnatural -- are in keeping with the normal physical laws of the universe."

He sank down in his seat, all broody-like.

"Magic, on the other hand, has no rules. It doesn't obey the physical laws of the universe that all other matter and energy in existence obeys. It may have internally coherent rules but how it intersects and alters reality betrays all possible natural laws."

"My abilities are a form of magic. There's nothing scientific about it."

His expression remained cool, but there was just the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth like he almost relished being able to say it. It was an odd thing for anyone to take such an issue with, though -- magic was as natural a thing as any of his sciences. Honestly, it sounded like Brainy was just trying to justify his not liking the one thing he didn't understand.

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