Under Highend // The Grand Panacea (The Trust)

Deep under the Kingpin's Mansion lies Black Dragon's darkest secret, The Grand Panacea, a pool of chemicals capable of restoring the youth of an individual, "perfecting" all who bathe in it. Once one of a series of pools, the rest of the Grand Panacea's springs were destroyed in a conflict many decades ago. This lies as the last source of The Mistress' youth. The room is dark, only lit by the Tesla coils which seem to power the technology in this ancient room, along with the pool itself, which glows in a strange emerald color. There seems to be little else, no blatant Grandfather clocks against walls that could lead one down another secret passage.

Smile
Lukas Reinhardt
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"Sometimes, I like to imagine zhat I have control over my life...hah. Vhat a childish illusion."
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Lukas walked into the room slowly, looking around--just in time for Charles to kill the lights from the coils. At this point, he figured that Charles must have had some kind of enhanced cybernetics in that arm of his...in order to do things like that, and stopping the Kingpin's punch...but even more curious was the pool in the middle of the room. Glowing bright green, it lit the center of the room in an eerie glow. Lukas moved forward far enough where he was just far enough into the room where Charles would be able to see him. He didn't want to seem like he was trying to be sneaky or anything...he wasn't sure if anything would set Charles off by accident at this point. This entire room had a very offputting feeling...he didn't want to be in here any longer than they had to be...

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Smile's Theme - Quid Sum Miser

Eagle Douglas
Primal Fury
"That's right! FUCK IT! Shove death RIGHT BACK in the reapers FACE!"
Eagle's Theme- Fury's Wrath


Rommel rolled for a little bit on the floor, not moving. Something had definately changed about the man. For one, he had his arm back. He slowly got on all fours, shaking himself off.
"That shit smells, I'm not gonna lie..." he said softly. He looked at his human arm. He had it again. He smirked, his fangs still in his mouth. He slowly got up, and then just laughed. "Sorry Charlie...I couldn't not take the chance..." he looked at the man. Rommel looked completely different now. He felt amazing! "Immortality can suck it! Living forever sucks! I just wanted to get myself cleaned out of the shit those DICK MUNCHERS did to me! MAN I feel good!" he admired himself a little more, grinning. "Punch me all you want Charlie. I'll happily take what you can dish out." he didn't really care at this point, and he was smart enough to not attack Paladin, he just was happy that FINALLY, he was clean. FINALLY, he was rid of that shit. FINALLY, he could live again!

Smile
Lukas Reinhardt
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"Sometimes, I like to imagine zhat I have control over my life...hah. Vhat a childish illusion."
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Lukas was somewhat surprised as Rommel shoved past him--and then swan dove into the pool. Oh. And wow--Charles hadn't been kidding when he said that he hadn't wanted anyone going into the pool. It was true that the pool did supposedly have some sort of powers--and Rommel certainly came out looking quite different.
Lukas didn't actually say anything on the situation--simply watched. He did hope that Rommel didn't get blown up, though...Rommel was one of the people that Lukas was actually alright with--it would be kind of disappointing if he blew up--

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Smile's Theme - Quid Sum Miser

Jasper Everhart
*Hemlock*
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"I know everything about you... I can see it- all laid out before my eyes... The picture of you they have on file really is quite cute!~"
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Jasper remained quiet as he and Smile made their way into the room with the pool of chemicals- though unlike Smile, who stopped a fair distance away, he advanced closer, eying the pool with trepidation- before blinking as Charles destroyed the Tesla coil keeping the chemicals clean. According to Charles' words, this pool would lose its near-magical seeming properties soon... For a moment, he held a slight feeling of sorrow for the loss of something so powerful, so miraculous-
And then Rommel shoved past him, making him take a few steps to the side to keep his balance as he watched the other male in shock- he simply stared as he saw the other disappear under the surface of the pool, the resulting splash landing a few drops of liquid on his coat and gloves, but he was shocked beyond even the flutter of a thought of action- luckily, however, Charles handled that for them all.
He watched, taking a few steps back, as Charles yanked Rommel out of the pool- though the ease with which the other did so was... somewhat shocking. Rommel was no small man... and though he looked vastly different after his little plung- he doubted he weighed any less... He was still a full grown male- and Charles picked him up one-handed like it was nothing. Of course, the first assumption would be cybernetics- but if Charles himself was so powerful, why did he rely on them...?
As Rommel spoke to Charles, Jasper found his attention shifting to the liquid in the pool- he stared at it quietly, marveling at it a moment. It was no great wonder that people were so desperate to keep its existence a secret- surely if everyone knew about it, arguments would break out... but all for what? He understood everyone's obsession with remaining young yet at the same time, it baffled him. No matter how long one prolonged it, and put it off- eventually, everyone would die... It was a sad fact of life. Anyone so desperate to remain young and perfect to kill for a chance to keep control of such a substance... he pitied their existence, almost. He was never a fan of putting off the inevitable- though, he likely did it without even realizing, or meaning to... He was by no means at peace with the thought of dying but he found no positive side to putting it off- live your life once, to the fullest, then pass on- don't drag it out... To him, immortality sounded, quite simply, dull.
It was when he tore his eyes away from the alluring liquid and forced such thoughts to a deeper part of his mind that Jasper noticed that Jo was... practically cowering away from Charles, likely due to the other's display of strength- or maybe his raised voice? He wasn't certain- but he frowned a little nonetheless, noticing her pale complexion and quickened breathing even from afar. He'd trained himself to notice signals like that- they signaled fear, something he was very alert to. He had to be- he didn't want people afraid of him after all, while he was trying to seduce them...
Quietly, he backed away from the others and over to Jo, slowly approaching her and trying to make eye contact, as if to show he wasn't trying to threaten her- she reminded him of a wild animal, trapped and scared... and he was wary of approaching her. Once he got closer though, he extended a hand towards her, lightly moving to touch her shoulder. "Jo...? Are you okay...?" he asked, voice low enough that it likely wouldn't be overheard- he didn't want to draw attention to her, he doubted she wanted everyone to know how scared she seemed... He really just wanted to hug her, and tell her that whatever had scared her, it would be alright- but he wasn't sure if he was allowed, wasn't sure if he'd cross the line anymore that he himself had drawn. He knew she was with Ryder- and he didn't want to do anything out of place... But after a moment, he pushed those worries aside and stepped forward anyways, moving to wrap her in a loose hug- though he was tense, in case she reacted violently. She kind of seemed like a wild card at the moment- he wasn't even sure what had been wrong with her lately, but... he was worried- and if not for the mask covering his face and keeping his expressions hidden, the concern in his eyes would have been quite obvious.

Eagle Douglas
Primal Fury
"That's right! FUCK IT! Shove death RIGHT BACK in the reapers FACE!"
Eagle's Theme- Fury's Wrath


And the punches continued, and Rommel paid no heed to them. He didn't care, he was feeling amazing at this point to get pretty much any shit. Then he was dropped again, but Rommel sprang back up. Sure, had a black eye, but feeling pretty good still.
"Oh yeah, the bomb. Guess I kind of forgot about it with the whole Zombie thing." he said, thinking about it more. And yes, it was true, crotch brain. He wouldn't deny that. It was probs bigger at this point. When Charles looked back at him at the word smart, he laughed. "You're just jealous of my swagger." he thought. Yeah, he knew he was pressing buttons at this point. Might as well keep some things to yourself. "Here, as an apology for my insolence and stuff, I'll go out and hit it up with Kraven, okay? I might need to stop by the armory first, but I'll get there." he said, sounding serious. "Unless you want me here to fuck things up with the Heavenly whatever or something." he put his hands in his packets.

Jasper Everhart
*Hemlock*
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"I know everything about you... I can see it- all laid out before my eyes... The picture of you they have on file really is quite cute!~"
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Jasper frowned a little as Jo looked away to seemingly try and act like she was fine, but as she jumped due to his touch, that frown deepened with concern- that wasn't like her at all... And though she seemingly tried, at first, to say she was fine- he still moved forward to hug her. Which, it seemed... was a mistake. He stumbled back in shock as she shoved him, scrambling to keep from falling on his ass- which he inevitably failed to do, if only because of the combination of shock and her strength- not to mention harshness- had caught him by surprise. He stared up at her quietly, taken aback and almost flinching as she hissed out what she did- before he silently watched her speak to Rommel and Charles. He had no response to her insistence that she was fine- clearly... something was wrong... But he didn't know what and he didn't know how to find out- he hadn't actually tried to show compassion to someone in a while, and he almost felt like he'd forgotten how- especially with Jo's response. His thoughts were in turmoil- the very person who had been telling him to open up to people more... was shoving him away...
Charles had a job for them, though. His head snapped up as the man stressed the point of someone who wouldn't start an unnecessary fight, a snort of bitter amusement emerging from his mask when that was followed by Emilia offering to go. She started fights like they were nothing- Rommel likely would too, for that matter... And Jo was offering to go take care of Kraven. Quietly, he picked himself up and brushed off his clothes, refusing to look at Jo as he straightened out his gloves and then looked to Charles. "I can go, if you wish," he called over to him, quietly moving away from Jo and somewhat closer to Smile- though he didn't get close enough to the brunette to speak to him, instead pausing at a fair distance between the two, so he could hopefully avoid speaking to anyone. He was confused, conflicted- he didn't want to think, or to speak with someone... He just wanted to know if Charles wanted him to go. If Charles wanted him, that gave him something to focus on- if he didn't, he would need to find something else because he needed something other than his emotions to worry about at the moment. He was still struggling with managing them...

Eagle Douglas
Primal Fury
"That's right! FUCK IT! Shove death RIGHT BACK in the reapers FACE!"
Eagle's Theme- Fury's Wrath


Rommel grinned as Jo talked.
"Heh...you said shitpickle." he said, chuckling. And then Charles explained that he was grounded. As soon as Charles left, he laughed. "Awww Dad! I'm sorry!" he said, and then looked at the other two. His face and tone grew really serious. "Alright look. Think of me how you want, idiot, dipshit, whatever. I don't give two shits about that. What I did, I did cause I had to." he said, rubbing his neck with his new arm. At this point, he was happy he was clean. Nothing else mattered.

Jasper Everhart
*Hemlock*
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"I know everything about you... I can see it- all laid out before my eyes... The picture of you they have on file really is quite cute!~"
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Jasper stood quietly as Charles addressed the others, a flicker of worry running through him upon hearing where Jo would be headed before he shoved the nagging emotion to the back of his mind, not wanting that to distract him- especially as the man soon turned from Jo, to him. He stood a little straighter, listening obediently to Charles' orders before nodding quickly. He wanted to appear like he was listening, in addition to actually listening- Charles was... rather frightening, to say the least. Especially after seeing what he'd done... He held back a soft snort of amusement as the man ordered Smile to watch the others, not because Smile was being saddled with the near-impossible mission of making them get along but because he felt the need to assign them a veritable babysitter in the first place. Once Charles moved to leave though, he moved to follow, nodding quietly upon hearing his words. "As you wish, sir..." he murmured, just to show proof he was paying attention as he allowed the other to lead the way out of the strange, dark cavern they had been in. He wasn't sure if moving into the light in this case was a good thing... or a bad thing. But either way, he had his orders- and as little as he wanted to leave the others to their missions alone, he would obey them.

*Exit*

Smile
Lukas Reinhardt
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"Sometimes, I like to imagine zhat I have control over my life...hah. Vhat a childish illusion."
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Lukas nodded to Charles as he heard his task, then, turned to Rommel and Emilia as each of them talked in turn. He looked to Rommel in particular, first, speaking to the man,
"I'm not upset at you. Honestly, you look healthier now zhan you did before--I can see it just in your eyes. It vas reckless, yes, but...it seemed zhat it did some good in zhe end." And then came up the topic about how they were going to search the Highend streets. Lukas paused to think about that for a moment, then replied, "Vell...I don't think zhat splitting up vould do us much good. I feel more zhat ve should stay togezher. Zhough, to be honest, I'm not sure if ve'll even be able to find anyzhing...zhe streets are all rubble now..." He sighed, then began heading towards the door, calling back to Rommel and Emilia, "Eizher vay, let's get going and hope zhat ve find somezhing vorthvhile." Lukas had several questions he wished could be answered--but he knew that now wasn't the time. He simply headed down the hallway, onwards into the mansion and out towards the streets, expecting Rommel and Emilia to follow.

*Exit*

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Smile's Theme - Quid Sum Miser

Eagle Douglas
Primal Fury
"That's right! FUCK IT! Shove death RIGHT BACK in the reapers FACE!"
Eagle's Theme- Fury's Wrath


Rommel smiled. He figured that at least Smile would understand.
"Right then...guess we got work to do." he said, walking and following Smile. "Come on bitchtits. We got shit to do." (exit)