Description: Both Cammy and Balrog are receiving a bit of a bit of medical attention in the secret Shadaloo lab after their past fights, though the Doll seems be to getting a more thorough checkup than the ninja. Vega shows up to commiserate with his hurt minions.
The laboratory is not only only a space utilized for horrendous experiments, but the in-house tending to other injuries, and that is why Balrog is here. Human-sized tubes and test gurneys are cordoned off by convenient curtains; the scientists must ensure that all sensitive information remains that way, unknown to observant Shadaloo lieutenants. It is a wasted effort - the man honestly does not care for what happens behind them, nor what he is not privy to, for it has nothing to do with asthetics. Besides, the Spaniard will likely never come back unless it's to seek medical attention anyway.
Seated on a chair, the Adonis is like a magificent, shirtless, stone-carved statue. The scientist-substituting-doctor currently stitching his side does not possess any local anesthetic numbing spray, but as he pulls the needle through the handsome Spaniard's flesh, Balrog does not flinch or whimper in pain. He merely breathes deeply, in and out, brilliant green eyes closed, patiently waiting. Perhaps even meditating.
The question now, and one he glowered at an assistant for asking, is... Why did Balrog not visit a hospital instead? Considering his mission was nearly compromised by the arrival and inevitable battle with Kartar, an Alkali warrior and bodyguard of the Prime Minister of India, such things would be foolish. They would ask questions. The assassin is an intelligent man, coming here upon his return, suffering with this ugly mark. That and with luck, these busy 'workers' know effective ways to, ah, preserve his beauty and perfection, though it is not their usual purpose.
"Just about finished..." The man mutters, poking the needle in again. He's heard rumours about the ninja, and seems under the impression that Balrog might just lose his head and start attacking at any moment. Who would spread such rumours?
"You don't need to spend so much attention on all the bruises, I would rather some of them heal naturally." comes a familiarly female English voice from behind one of those convenient curtains. Shortly afterwards that curtain is drawn back, a white coated lab technician emerging to hurriedly push a trolley loaded with equipment away from one of those human size tubes which up until now has been hidden behind it. And trapped inside that human sized tube is none other than the Killer Bee, suspended in some sort of murky, turgid fluid, her head sticking out of the open top. Judging from the dim blue sheen discernable through the murk she still has her uniform on, though her boots are neatly lined up at the bottom of the tube, with socks stuffed into them, all ready for when she gets out. Various wires coil from an unidentifiable mass of technology at the side of the tube to vanish into the liquid.
As for /why/ she's in the tube. Well, she's sporting a few bruises herself. Being repeatedly piledrivered by Zangief will do that. And perhaps now is the time for a checkup with Dr Senoh. She does have the occasional revisit to the vat, and the Doll has been a little erratic lately, so maybe the bad doctor is concerned about his creation. In any case, right now it's just Cammy in the tube, and she's something of a captive audience.
Her eyes widen fractionally when she realises who is sitting opposite her, and she sinks a few inches in the liquid, so it comes up to her chin. And stays quiet.
The Spaniard, though curious about the Dolls in past, has never much poked his nose into their history. Why bother? He accepted that they just ARE, and shouldn't it be good enough? As long as the girls remain beautiful, origins and strange servitude to Vega do not matter. Cammy, of course, is the prize of them all, truly a feast for the eyes, even when... His eyes blink open at the sound of her voice, pin-pointing the source long before the curtains are drawn back. Head swiftly turning, the man's braided locks rather comically hit his 'doctor' in the face. "Ow!" Says the man, then, "You have beautiful hair, sir."
"I know." The Adonis seems distracted in his response, but the reason is obvious. When he finally sees the Killer Bee, Balrog smirks faintly, attempting to catch her eye from far away. Cammy, the stars in the sky shine for you and you alone-- she's in a tube, he realises after a moment. Reason ebbing, he starts to rise from his chair, but hands clamp down on his shoulders, forcing the assassin back down, "What is going on?" He mutters.
The other man exhales a one of those heavy sighs that suggests how often this may happen, snapping, "Honestly, you can't expect us to tend to your wounds if you're not going to sit pretty." He obviously hadn't heard a word.
With this, his curiosity and imagination take flight. Suddenly Balrog wants to know... What are the Dolls? Experiments? Brain-washed girls? Cammy is not being harmed, he understands, slowly settling. If she were, God save everyone in this room - he'd likely go berserk. "I've already seen you, Cammy." The Spanish ninja says, somehow sounding calm and collected, because even though his mind is full of these questions about her, he is still pleased to see the Doll... And would never waste an opportunity to talk to her.
Creepy.
Cammy sinks another inch into the fluid. Really, is it any surprise that Cammy doesn't feel very comfortable around the Spaniard when he says things like that? And when he got up briefly before the doctor settled him back down again, she'd be half tempted to climb out of the tube, wires and all, and make her getaway. Balrog's eyes in such moments are quite terrifying things.
But only half tempted. The Doll is known for her placid calm after all - all these thoughts go on within the prison of her skull, not even a flicker in her blank eyes to betray them. Though a few lights and sine waves oscillate on the unidentified grounded object that she's wired up to, nobody who could understand them is around to explain what they might mean. The inch by inch sinking my imply something, however.
Her bright blue eyes blink at Balrog. "Yes. Yes, you have." she replies, simply. Really, what more could she say?
Says what, that he knows his hair is beautiful? A lesser man, hardly confident or comfortable with his appearance, would just say thank you, but Balrog is not humble in the face of absolute truth. The Adonis keeps the Doll in his sight for a few moments longer, eventually turning away once the 'doctor' finishes his task with a knotting, then snip of the stitching string. "All right, sir, you may leave." The Spaniard rises elegantly, as if he had been seated on the most magnificent throne, but does not depart, as he was instructed.
Lifting his blood-stained shirt and rolling it around his arm, Balrog says to the Killer Bee, "Have you been injured?" She was talking about bruises earlier, the matador recalls. Hopefully her 'opponent' is in far worse shape, for if this man ever catches wind of who brought hurt his beautiful angel... The Spanish ninja takes note of her further sinking into the tube with a soft chuckle. Does he frighten her, he wonders, then draws nearer.
"You can't go over there!" But the scientist is cowed mid-protest by a silencing glare. He responds as if struck, shrinking away from the intimidating assassin. Those green eyes truly are a terrifying thing indeed.
Standing before Cammy's 'prison', Balrog cares not for the wonders beyond, though he eyes the wires and machinery, turning over his ideas and musings silently. He is still uncertain, and may need to ask some questions in order to learn more, but of whom? Would Sagat know anything? Or will he speak with Vega directly? "A shame that anyone would lift their hand to you, Cammy." His hand touches the glass and the man looks up at her, the tension in the room likely skyrocketing.
Cammy blinks back down at him from the top of her tube, looking even more blank and robotic than normal, face expressionless, as she does when she's deliberately keeping careful control of herself. "Injured? Yes, though not seriously, by Zangief. I shall remember not to fight him in four feet of snow in the future. But Dr Senoh made sure that I am a quick healer." she tells Vega, gauntleted hands reaching up to grip the lip of the giant tube so she can raise herself up briefly and peer down at Balrog, a little defiantly. She can't be a shrinking violet all the time, distaste must be mastered, especially when it is concerning an associate like Balrog. Some of those wires can be seen going to taped on contacts stuck onto her biceps as a result.
"A shame? My business often leads to combat, that is how I serve Lord Vega after all. Much like yourself. And usually the target does attempt to fight back. So it is no shame, it is normal, as I follow Lord Vega's will. I am proud of it.". She glances down at the outstretched hand, but that is all.
"Dr Senoh thought it would be convenient to check me thoroughly given I was going to be in the lab anyway getting my injuries seen to. So here I am.". One wonders why this entails being suspended in a vat of what looks like dirty water, but given we're talking about a mad scientist here, perhaps it isn't all that surprising. "I will be out of here soon.".
He can't help it - the reply is robotic and knee-jerk logical - Balrog outright laughs. It is... a little disturbing. Withdrawing the outstretched hand, the Adonis cups his chin afterwards, and talon-like fingernails caress the healing cut upon his cheek almost self-consciously. The wound is a dark mark disrupting his beautiful visage, but only temporarily. Kartar paid the ultimate price for his misdeed, in blood and in death.
"Normal though it may be," He says, still gazing up at the Doll who peers back down at him, attempting to master her distaste with the assassin, "It is still a shame. I don't think you quite understand what I mean." Could it be that with the information Cammy has revealed, her odd replies... Balrog has managed to garner at least a little clarity on this matter? He smiles at the Killer Bee, "I am pleased that these injuries will not last."
If Cammy were here, standing beside him, things might get strange by this point (perhaps not, he has not acted on such urges before), but thankfully, there is glass and dirty water separating them - things she should be silently thankful for, as well as he own considerations. If the Doll had tried to escape earlier, drawn to the chase, Balrog would have instinctively caught her like a true predator.
The sighing hiss of hydraulics interrupts the 'touching' meeting between the Shadaloo beauties. On the far wall sits two enormous, sliding metal doors, marked on the edges with red and black striped paint. Neither Cammy nor Balrog have ever seen it open--or in Cammy's case, she doesn't /remember/ having seen it open, though it's likely she's been taken in there on a number of occasions. The bright light inside floods the room, backlighting the two figures that step forth, though it quickly faded and flickers off. The room behind them is incredibly, terrifyingly dark, devoid of even the soft glow of status lights that so much machinery in the laboratory seems to have. On the left, Dr. Senoh is running down a checklist on some sort of expensive-looking tablet, his wizened head lowered so as to better obsess over his data.
Vega, however, towers over him, moving in slow, shallow steps that are enough to keep from walking too ahead of the prodigious scientist. As the doors slink shut behind them and eyes can readjust to the previous level of light, one might notice that he, once again, looks drained. His eyes are sunken, his cheeks hollowed. He looks like a man that hasn't eaten for a week at least. Still, his posture is impeccable, perhaps only due to the fact that he's not wearing any of the metal ordinarily associated with his attire. He comes to a stop, his dour eyes falling upon Balrog. It's not him that says anything, though: it's the good doctor, whose attention is brought to the troublemaker by the poor man that had been attempting to stitch Balrog up. "What are you doing, you narcissistic fool?! You're bleeding all over my laboratory!" The man simply has no fear as he steps in front of Cammy's tube, making shooing motions with his hands.
Cammy frowns at the laugh. Really, the Killer Bee doesn't think she's the sort who deserves being laughed at. "Thank you." she replies to his good wishes, a bit grudgingly. As for running away, despite scurrilous rumours of her falling over herself like a ditzy teenager with a crush in Southtown, she really isn't that kind of girl.
But then, their tete a tete is disturbed by new arrivals. "Lord Vega!" Cammy exclaims, more animated than she has been in the whole conversation thus far. There can be few people in the world who would seem to be genuinely happy as the giant chin hoves into view, with all it's associated dark laboratories, psycho power, uneasy feelings and pupilless eyes, but Cammy seems to be one of those few. She salutes with one hand, making a small splash, gripping the tube tightly with the other so she doesn't move throughout.
And then her gaze wanders to Dr Senoh, who she has an odd relationship with, to say the least. She blinks at him, quiet, smiling a faint smile at his snap at Balrog. Poor Balrog. Is he bleeding an unfashionable colour? She does actually feel a brief stab of sympathy, the doctor is not known for his diplomacy.
The entrance of two newcomers does not go missed by the Adonis, who swiftly turns his head in that particular direction. It brings his conversation, if it could even be called such, with Cammy to a very abrupt end. "Lord Vega." Balrog speaks to the larger man, bowing as far as the stitches will allow. Dr. Senoh earns nothing more than an empty green-eyed gaze, which turns rather baleful as he's shooed from the restoration tube. Stupid man, he's not bleeding anywhere, that's been long since taken care of! Don't treat him like a cat.
But however he may feel, in the presence of Shadaloo's esteemed leader, the Spaniard obediently steps back from the machinery and glass, almost haughty in his motions. He stops a respectable distance away, lifting one brown eyebrow at the pair. Vega looks rather ragged, though the man still commands such immense power, Balrog is sure. What could have happened in the week gone by?
"I have done as you instructed." The assassin intones deeply, a slight inclining of his head to the side causing long bangs to drift briefly away from the narcissist's impossibly handsome face. He didn't really enjoy that being pointed out, either. Must be odd for the Killer Bee to be feeling anything akin to sympathy right now for someone she likes so very little, "And returned this morning." This last bit is an unnecessary inclusion, but it was his orders to leave India immediately afterwards.
Oh, is Balrog /not/ bleeding anywhere? That is quickly changed shortly after the scientist is obeyed. The elder man gestures toward one of the assistance, who hands over one of the long suturing hooks that was just used minutes before. When the ninja's attention is fixed on Vega, the good Doctor jabs it into the exposed flesh, right where he'd just been healed! It's deep enough to pull fresh streaks of crimson across the flesh, and if untreated, will most certainly drip onto the floor. "Now, sit and be still already, or we'll use you for experiments!"
The only way that the old man could possibly get away with something like this is because of how important he is. In Shadaloo, there are very few people that are absolutely untouchable. Even the lieutenants are targets now and then, but Doctor Senoh can get away with damned near anything that he wants...which is almost always directly in line with what /Vega/ wants.
In the meantime, the dictator himself steps next to Cammy's tank, his pale eyes narrowed. Small shifts of his head show that he's inspecting the Doll for obvious damage. One is welcome to think that he cares. He's simply making sure that his tool isn't terribly damaged. "So I've been told," he says, his words a bit quiet. "And I'm quite pleased with your work." He says nothing about his scientist's assault on his Trusted Lieutenant(tm). In fact, he seems quite content to stand next to Cammy's tank. "Tell me, though, about this man you met." Truthfully, Vega had not known that there would be such opposition. He had expected it to be a simple task.
Cammy has even more sympathy for Lord Vega when it sinks in that he actually looks like death warmed over. With faint concern written all over her face, she peers at him from the tank as his gaze is focused elsewhere, noting the withering that he seems to have suffered. Has he died again perhaps, and is this the latest clone? That would explain why Dr Senoh is with him.
However, Cammy is far too smart to actually voice any of these concerns. For starters, the Master does not like attention being drawn to his weaknesses. And for seconds, he's busy talking to Balrog, and Dolls when not addressed should be seen but not heard when in the Lord of Shadaloo's presence. And as for Balrog, well. He's been doing something. Cammy need not know what.
Though stone-faced and quiet during the stitching process, as they're torn out and his wound reopened (or perhaps he's been given a new mark entirely), the Spaniard cringes terribly, gasping through gritted teeth in pain. If Dr. Senoh were some insignificant man met on the street... His life's essence would flow over the assassin's fingers, which itch now to wrap themselves around the lead scientist's neck and throttle him until his trachea is crushed. Proof of the good doctor's importance is how the Shadaloo lieutenant tolerates this trespass, and is guided to a seat again by the tattle-tale from before.
Now there really is blood on the floor.
Forcing his anger back, it takes a moment for Balrog to regain his compose, expression soon serene, ignoring Senoh. The attendant threads the needle with a sigh, kneeling down and starting over once again, cleaning the gash first before piercing his silky skin. "That man?" His green eyes flash in a blink, recalling the afternoon Gandhi had met his end. His gaze flickers to Cammy first, then back again to the worn Vega. If he did die again, these clones after far inferior to the one used before. "He was a Sikh warrior, and for his skill in battle, I allowed him to die honourably."
The ninja's smile is chilling.
"I impaled him on his own sacred knife and left Kartar Singh to bleed to death amongst his countrymen."
There really isn't all that much to say outright, unless Vega requests specifics. Is he unable to peer into Balrog's twisted mind as he thinks of the fight, or was the moments before utter darkness not captured on Shadaloo's surveillance camera? Odd.
Vindicated, the good doctor instructs his subordinate in a huff before he goes back to his tablet. No, scratch that. He goes to check on the tank that Cammy's in, reading figures and peering into various spots to make sure that everything's healing fine, that none of the other lab rats ruined his precious creation. One of the assistants does, at least, bring over a wheeled chair, rolling it in behind Vega so that he can sit. He looks like he needs it, but the dictator does not yet look weak. In fact, it just makes him look more unsteady, deranged, more likely to lose his temper...and everyone knows what happens when Vega gives in to his wrath.
Perhaps, normally, he'd be able to glean the feelings from Balrog, but that's even a challenge at the moment. Tapped so throughly, his power drained into all manner of devices, it's a different sensation than what the Psycho Master is usually experiencing. He's used to absorbing more, more, more, not giving it away. He doesn't like it.
"Well..." He eases himself back into his chair, the think tilting back only a little. His arms rest on the (what else?) armrests, fingers curled down over the edges. "So you were able to assassinate a prime minister-elect, overcome his trusted bodyguard..." He looks up and over at Cammy, though with how close he's sitting to the tank, she may not be able to see him unless she pulls out a bit. "...And at the same time, we suffered a loss to a hairy, wrestling neanderthal." He pauses for one second, just to let it sink in. "Is that about right?"
Cammy feels the arrows of criticism piercing her tender heart. O, the Humanity! And briefly sinks into the tube, head disappearing from sight for a moment. It feels safe down there. But she sighs, and pops back up again - Lord Vega is not really someone you can hide from.
Suddenly miserable in a way that Balrog could not manage, she shrugs thin shoulders, before nodding, and tries to peer over the edge of the tube, chin resting on the glass, to try and see him. Or see the top of his hat, most likely. "I am very sorry, Lord Vega. But it was the snow." she says a bit plaintively. "It was four feet deep.". And she's only five feet and a bit, so that is an issue. "I did fight him a few months prior, and I beat him then." she points out, more than a little defensive.
But there isn't much more she can say, and she knows Lord Vega doesn't like excuses much, so she just goes quiet and waits, with a miserable sigh.
There is a distinct difference between the one who serves Vega as his lieutenant, and the strange, submissive tendancies of the Dolls. Balrog questions Cammy's loyalty in his silence, imagination taking him further in his attempts to decipher just what, and now why. Her miserableness is understood by the Spaniard insofar that a failure is disappointing, and should be avoided at all costs.
Watching the Killer Bee hide in her restoration tube, whatever she may be, he still finds her endearing, and this... is interesting. Hairy, wrestling neanderthal named Zangief is a description the assassin will definitely remember.
It is not his turn to speak even once the Doll is finished with her excuses (hopefully the Shadaloo dictator stays not mad), but Balrog at least nods in mute acknowledgement, sweeping his long braid back so it intentionally smacks the attendant in the face again. "Agh!" Amused, the ninja smirks at him, but the scared man has retaliated enough today. He resumes his task of stitching the fresh injury, dabbing at the dots of blood surrounding it with a wet cloth, wondering where he went wrong in life.
It is perhaps not just a good thing for Balrog that Vega is unable to peer into his mind currently.
And this, the answer that Cammy gets, it may be surprising: "I suppose that it couldn't be helped."
Even some of the scientists stop what they're doing to look at him in amazement. The sudden quiet draws Senoh's attention, however, and being the dutiful man that he is, raises hell! "What do you idiots think you're doing?! Are you trying to blow the labs up again? Mind your experiments!" He flails and fusses around the other people, doing his best to draw their attention back to their work. Know, though, that the Master will have to do something awful to them to keep them from getting any ideas.
See, without his massive reserves of malevolent power, Vega can't be as forcefully terrible as he usually is. Without being forcefully terrible, it's hard to amass his considerable stores of malevolent power. It's sort of a catch twenty-two, but a necessary one in his experiments. "I expect you to spend the next week in training, however, so you don't suffer such an embarassing outcome again, my precious Bee." Bee. Not Doll! Not 'toy' or 'you' or 'thing'. "And you." He looks toward Balrog as well, now. "I want you to prepare yourself for this...tournament nonsense. I'll not have any of my men embarassing themselves to the world. Your presence there will be a clear statement to certain powers across the world."
Cammy blinks, and gives Vega a searching look from on high. That really doesn't sound like Lord Vega much at all. Precious Bee!? Well, it does cheer her up a lot to be so liberally praised, but on the other hand, she's now somewhat worried about the Boss. Is he losing his edge? Has Rose done something horrible to him? The Doll will have to ask a few questions of Dr Senoh later on.
When she's out of this damnable tube.
"Thank you Master." she says slowly. "Training for a week. Very well." she echoes. "I will do that as soon as I am done being cared for in here.". Ugh, so tiring. She sinks back a bit into the murky waters.
Well.
At least 'you' is by far an improvement over 'bloodthirsty little fairy'.
Knotting the assassin's stitches for the second time, the diligent attendant cuts loose strings. He is so focused that many things around him go underheard, and there's really no opportunity to find out, either. Retreating without another word quickly back to Dr. Senoh's command, it is to get yelled at. Scientist/'Doctor' #1 frowns, shoulders slouching. Everyone here is a big JERK! He shuffles his feet along the floor, wandering back to whatever it was that he abandoned upon Balrog's entry. Sigh.
"Of course, it will be my pleasure." And he honestly means this, though he speaks slowly, as if his brain went suddenly numb with shock. Shifting, Balrog carefully stands, testing his stitches with a gentle twist. Seems like they'll hold, unless a certain someone comes over with a knife, hook or whatever that was... He waits until a formal dismissal is uttered, then returns to his quarters. Shame that killing people is likely against the rules in the tournament, but he will have his fun. It is not unlike the olden days, back in a caged ring, screaming crowd all around...
Log created on 14:40:32 01/11/2011 by Cammy, and last modified on 03:05:21 01/12/2011.