InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "wax on wax off"

Nikola Tesla : The Electric Jesus (oncemighty) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2010-12-05 01:27:00

Entry tags:

kate tesla, nikola tesla

WHO: Nikola Tesla, Kate Freelander, with a special guest appearance by The Source Blood
WHAT: Tesla is experimenting. This never ends well. (Reckless tomfoolery... FOR SCIENCE!)
WHEN: December 4th; Evening
WHERE: Tesla's Lab (aka another abandoned warehouse)
RATING: PG
STATUS: In Progress

Equipment hadn't been easy to acquire. Without a job, purchasing things had been out of the question, and while he was above begging, borrowing and stealing were not options crossed off his list because of some flaw of good character. A centrifuge from the clinic, a mass spectrometer from the university, other odds, ends, various and sundry bits and bobbles that he needed to do his work knicked from here and there, and Nikola Tesla had built himself a decent, yet rudimentary, lab. He supposed he could always have gone to the university and asked for time in their facilities. Maybe offered to teach a class or two in exchange, but the very idea of thirty slackjawed faces staring hopelessly up at him as he attempted to explain the fundamental principles of science to a group of people who would never get to e=mc² with any true understanding of what it meant. No thanks. He'd much rather work in a rat infested building in the middle of the warehouse district.

Leaning over the ten year old microscope that he'd procured from the local vet's office, Nikola smirked at the sample slide and leaned back, rubbing his hands together, "Well, then. Today seems like a good day to mess with Mother Nature. As good a day as any."

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soundsmadeup
2010-12-05 10:33 pm UTC (link)

"Try to be a little less gleeful about it," Kate teased. "The warehouse lab is mad scientist enough without the maniacal laughter to go along with it." But she was entertained, rather than annoyed, so that was something at least. Unlike most people, she wasn't automatically suspicious of everything Tesla did...at least not more so than she was of anyone else. After all, she had been a mercenary and a criminal for years. You didn't survive in that kind of world by trusting people.

She was sitting on one of the tables, swinging her legs idly as she watched him work. "So," she said after a while, "what's the diagnosis? Do you think it's the genuine article? Or are they scamming you?" Both were distinct possibilities. After all, this place had given her Ralphie, and other people had received gifts as well. But she wouldn't put it above whatever was keeping them here to screw around with a few people just to mix things up and keep it interesting.

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oncemighty
2010-12-05 10:53 pm UTC (link)

"One hundred percent Sanguine Vampiris," Tesla said, his tone a mixture of quiet awe and arrogance, however those two went together was anyone's guess. "I've got some in the centrifuge right now, working up to the last few steps of purification. Then. Then, we'll see exactly what we have to work with," He said, grinning. Because even as it was the source blood through all confirmed tests, until he made sure that it wasn't Cabal tampered with in some way and still survived the process to serum derivative, he couldn't be sure that it would be any use to him. Recoded proteins needed strength in order to maintain their cohesiveness, and if anything about this sample was off by even a nanometer, something could go horribly wrong.

Of course, if it did, it wasn't going to be him that suffered the effects.

"You sure you're up for this?" Always nice to reconfirm someone's willingness. Especially since double checking usually pushed them into affirming the decision for fear that you might think they'd chicken out.

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soundsmadeup
2010-12-06 06:43 pm UTC (link)

Kate let out a low whistle. "Wow," she said. "Looks like this place really does like you." She had figured that it would most likely be a fake, just some regular boring blood to get Tesla all worked up before dashing his hopes. Of course, there was still the possibility the Cabal had ruined it, and that was something she definitely wasn't putting past them. "So now we just wait and see what happens?" Boring, but at least that meant she had time to poke at Tesla. It was fast becoming one of her favorite hobbies.

"I'm sure," she told him without any hesitation. "It's like you said. Who would turn down an opportunity like this? Well...aside from William." She smiled. "Don't worry, Nicky. I'm not gonna run screaming when it comes time to follow through."

She was quiet for a moment, then she tilted her head to the side. "So, I was reading your wikipedia entry, and we all know you can't trust those things because people like me and Ash end up editing them, so I've gotta ask," she paused for a second then continued, "were you really celibate for science?"

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oncemighty
2010-12-08 03:35 am UTC (link)

Really? They were going to do this, were they? Tesla shook his head, managing to keep his features carefully neutral as he waltzed around the lab, setting up each next step to finalize the serum. "Is that so difficult to believe?" He asked, lifting his gaze ever so slightly to arch a curious eyebrow in her direction before turning his attention back towards a very complicated looking piece of machinery. "I was working to eliminate distraction, hone my focus, and perfect my craft. I had far too many ideas, and, at the start, far too little time to accomplish them. I didn't see any reason that I should allow myself to be pulled to the wayside by such meaning less trivialities."

And Helen was completely enamoured with Druitt so...

"It wasn't as though I didn't have the opportunity," Tesla said, suddenly feeling the need to defend the issue. Perhaps it was because for a lot of years he'd been the weird foreigner on British soil and then the weird foreigner on American soil, and constantly put out by the public and his contemporaries. "There was plenty of interest. I just didn't reciprocate it."

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soundsmadeup
2010-12-08 05:08 am UTC (link)

"I read it on Wikipedia," Kate pointed out with a roll of her eyes. "The same place where Ash waxed poetic about your pigeon wife. Of course it's difficult to believe." She smiled slightly, an actual, mostly genuine smile. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just asking if it was true. So you're...what? The one hundred forty year old virgin?" And that would be a far more awesome movie than the Steve Carrell one. "But seriously. I figured you guys were all about the forward thinking experimentation. Not to mention the way you act. I'm sort of surprised is all."

She shrugged. "I read about that too," she said. She felt a little bad, which was kind of weird, and she wanted to make him feel better. She liked Tesla, and she didn't like many people. "The ladies were all about you, huh? I bet Edison and Marconi didn't have hordes fangirls and groupies."

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oncemighty
2010-12-08 09:54 am UTC (link)

"One hundred and fifty-four. If we're going to discuss this, you might as well get the facts straight," Tesla said as the centrifuge started to slow down. As it stopped, he opened it, taking out one of the tubes that he'd filled with source blood and holding it up to get a good look at. "And Marconi had his share of admirers. He had far better public relations than acerbic and oh-so-smarter-than-you gentleman standing before you now," Tesla said, gesturing to himself. "And Edison was a grumpy old man when I was still at school. The idea of him having...admirers," Tesla said the word with almost a visible shudder before withdrawing the tray of samples and taking them to the next oh-so-handy machine.

"And I was polite yet firm. The excuses varied. Married to my work is a good standard, never goes out of style. We don't even know each other? Bad idea. Then she insists on getting to know you which is lot more work than just getting to know you," Tesla said, rolling his eyes. "And all else fails? 'No' works wonders."

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