Power Balance || 1x1 feauturing: Imbion and Etomania!

[Imbion]

This is a thingy with villains! Two villains, in fact. There are more, but there are two here.

[Imbion]

One should never underestimate the usefulness of libraries. They are a great resource for all sorts of books, without much cost. They make good spots to study, away from distractions at the home. They have a lot of tables, as well as very comfy beanbags. They make a good backdrop for the occasional villainous monologue. They also tend to have very good cafes, which even the most evil of villains could not pretend to hate.

The "Library of Doom", despite its name, did not involve that much doom. As far as anyone else could tell, it was just some creepy old Victorian building. Inside, though, it had such good presentation. The librarians wore some dark cloaks, both because they looked cool and were surprisingly comfortable. The lighting was a little dim, of course, but not so dim one was unable to read. There were plenty of purple lanterns to at least make the atmosphere a bit darker.

There were tons of comfy chairs and couches to sit on, including even some beanbags. In the middle of the facility were some tables and a few isolated desks, for privacy when reading forbidden tomes. Wooden chairs, because the slouching that came with comfort was not tolerated during forbidden tome readings. Even while unwatched, presentation was vital.

There were also numerous amounts of bookshelves around, towering up to places that were unreachable. Of course, a lot of the books at the top were just cardboard cutout fakes... But it seemed like the amount of books towered up nontheless.

At the bottom of a bookshelf stood a tall individual in a suit with a red tie, quietly musing to himself. His appearance was rather put together. Hair, short and neat. Face clean shaven. His skin was pale, pale enough to be mistaken for one of the undead - but he was no vampire nor zombie. It was just due to the lack of sunlight exposure his skin had. His costume was either the suit or the heavy robes that hid his face. The robes prevented the sunlight from ever reaching him... If he even went out during the daylight in the first place, which he did not. It made exposure of the face too easy. It was also overall a bad look.

[grey matter]

And creeping from nearby was someone definitely on the short side that seemed to be wearing a lab coat that was a bit too long for their physique, the sleeves consistently being unrolled a while after being rolled up. Their goggles shone in the dim lighting, reflecting the purple light around them. Their hair was quite messy and stuck out in a few places that they hadn't the time to gel down nor the time or impulse to want to. No, all they needed right now was a book that they wanted and-
They sighed. Ah, their favorite short person problem: being just too short to reach the book that you desire. How loathsome.
But... there was some kinda... kinda tall person near by. Tall people were always useful in one way or another.
Time to be... commanding while asking for help... or perhaps demanding it!
Oh. Wait. Actually. They could avoid a potentially awkward interaction with a nearby step stool. Easy peasy.
Wait. No. Still just out of reach. They attempted to grasp and grasp for it but all to no avail. And there was no way they were going to hop in the library on a step stool. That just screamed "disaster." However, there was no way they would ask for help just yet... no, it was observation time... kinda. They continued attempting to reach for it, hoping maybe it would fall or something.

[Imbion]

He was a little bit occupied by his own search... But the sound of the awkward tittering of the individual next to him got his attention. He glances over at them, watching as they continu to try and reach that book. I know that look. Someone is requiring of my assistance, but does not wish to directly ask for it.

Whatever train of thought he had was lost in the transition - but he was pretty sure he had the right required material. He lets out a quiet sigh to himself, tucks the book he was searching for under his arm, and walks over to the hopping scientist person.

"Excuse me, do you need help with something?," he asks them politely, with a small hint of annoyance lingering in his voice.

[grey matter]

"Ah. I wasn't expect... yes. Please and thank you. Book on shelf just above me. The one by M. Kessel. The lasers." Ah. A twist in the plan.
At least they're still getting what they needed. "...Sorry if I bothered you," they said, nervousness in their voice. "I was intending to- actually, no need to justify myself. I'm just gonna..." They got off the step stool. This turn in events may have ruined their composure, but they were still getting what they needed, it was fine, everything was A-OK.

But still. That did sidetrack the plan.

[Imbion]

He was kind of used to people acting a little bit awkward towards him; That is the treatment one sometimes gets from a new minion. They're heard about you from other sources in the past, they're nervous, they fear the worse... I do see where the nervousness is coming from in that case. Leaders tend to be less than pleasurable than their minions. What a waste of life, and what a way to sow seeds of betrayal.

He nods, grabbing The Lasers, author M. Kessel. "Here you are." He reaches down and gives the book to them.

Hmm. That is odd. He typically knows the name of most people around these parts, and they typically know who he is. Most would do well to know when they are speaking to a superior. And yet, I have never seen this individual in my life. He gives them a little bit of a look, before returning his face to its neutral state.

He could make one judgement, however. This was a science fan, likely of the mad variety.

"I am afraid I have not seen you around here before. Are you new to this space?"

[grey matter]

Oooh. Conversation! The least planned thing ever. Joyous.

"Well, to this library? Yes. I just saw they had the book I needed and- well, the rest just happened. If you mean to the area, no. And finally, if you mean to villainy... um... sort of but not exactly. I've been doing most of my work making things for people I only had names of, but now I'm out here for myself, actually doing villainy and... learning what the people I made stuff for actually do, eheh..."

This. Was not going well. Or, as well as expected, despite them only having said a few sentences. Honestly, they were a bit unsure of what they were doing now, which was a feeling they didn't enjoy but, then again, it was conversation.

[Imbion]

...Ah, one of these more awkward types. This was alright, he could roll with the punches. What typically worked with them was simply not paying any mind to how awkward they are. It builds confidence, so that they too could soon speak without risks of stutters and stammers.

He gives a nod. "I see. So you are a former contractor, now striking out on their own... Hmm. Perhaps I have merely failed to see you around." He stays still for a moment, before reaching one of his hands out for a handshake.

"My name is Crucible. Well." He chuckles. "It is, of course, not my real name, but you would be hard pressed to find someone around here who fails to use some sort of alias." He wonders internally to himself if it rings a bell to them. Perhaps his name has not been as notable as he hoped. It would appear that the squad of minibosses and commanders under me have gained more limelight. This is an unfortunate side effect of my role.

[grey matter]

"...I'm still working on my alias, unfortunately. I'm... focusing on lasers a lot... uh, hence the book, though I'm mostly checking it out because I found a copy of it once and lost it and I forgot something from it but I couldn't remember what it was... but that's unrelated. Right now I'm... either Radiolight or Radiobeam or Wavelength or just Laser or something. I like the former three, but... yeah, I dunno if they'll stick if I start doing other things... but I do really like lasers." Ugh. They were getting so sidetracked! This introduction! Ridiculous! They knew they should've decided on an alias sooner. And not to mention the book rambling, ugh. Now was not the time to fangeek.

[Imbion]

He gives them a slight smile. "Let's go with Laser, shall we? An alias does not have to be complex. It is kind of like branding in that way. The more complex, the less memorable... But no so simple and generic that nobody remembers. A rather tricky balance to get the hand of." He kind of was annoyed by the lack of ability to stay on topic, but it only slightly occupied the tone of his voice.