"I wasn't expecting it," Mello said with a nod, "but I'd like to make myself useful, and there's a lot I can do that most people here can't." Judging from the posts on the bulletin board, it didn't seem like chemistry was common knowledge. Distantly, he wondered why Artemis didn't do this stuff, and was extremely annoyed by the thought.

"Explosives are great, but there's a lot of use for things that eat away at something rather than explode," he continued. "Less deadly but more precise. And if there's some kind of lab here, I'm sure you could see the value of smoke bombs and toxic gases." There had to be something, if they'd found the ingredients for explosives. Mello looked thoughtful for a few seconds. If they had a well-stocked lab the possibilities were endless, and even if most of his knowledge was theoretical rather than practical, he was certain he had the skills to avoid accidents.

"I don't see how I have anything to lose by working with you," he added. "It's not like using what I know depletes my supply of brain power." Which reminded him. "I can't bring anything material," he said, "but I can tell people what we need."