damned_institute | Day 38: Patients' Library

The intercom rang out, disrupting what had turned out to be a rather pointless breakfast conversation, at least in Brainiac 5's eyes. He couldn't wait to put more distance between himself and Scar's blather of how logic, of all things, might not work the same way in this dimension. It was almost enough to make him believe that the man may very well have been a lion originally after all, as he'd never heard anything so very... ignorant and uneducated.

He quickly finished up the fruit he'd been nibbling on - he was no longer as hungry as he had been - and looked around automatically to see where Clark was. Unfortunately with the press of people around, some being led off to the library and others to the mentioned 'therapy sessions' - if that was what they really were - he had lost sight of the Kryptonian. Still there wasn't many places he could go, so Brainiac 5 would be able to catch up with him eventually to check on his condition and try and learn more about what had happened last night. That the Chapel had healed him - admittedly by passing his injuries to another - was interesting, but far more important in his eyes was what had happened to Clark and his powers. They hadn't been working correctly and that worried the Coluan boy more than he would normally have admitted. Without Clark's abilities... he wasn't sure what they would have to rely on in order to escape.

Another problem he would have to deal with was Grell... or, if he was to believe the notes on the bulletin board, the person pretending to be Grell. But that was going to require more careful planning before he made a move. Come to think of it, he had agreed to meet another in the library today on that same post that had sparked this whole mess. At least then he would have something of interest to look forward to, as he doubted any of the 21st century books were likely to be worthwhile to someone of his advanced intellect.

Following the nurses led him to what must have been the library; a reasonably large room filled with a range of archaic books on tall shelves, a few tables and chairs interspersed around the room. The Coluan boy couldn't refrain from wrinkling his nose in distaste as he entered the room, not liking the cumbersome books and the dust that he knew would have gathered on them; he much preferred the clean arrangement of his C.O.M.P.U.T.O. systems back in the Legion headquarters. It was much more practical then shelves and shelves of books on fictional worlds and dated information.

Trying to avoid as much of the room as possible, Brainiac 5 settled himself down on a chair to wait, keeping an eye out for a tall, dark-haired man with a red... something on his forehead.

[for Homura]

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Leon rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. "Well, kinda... It might be futile." He stood with a sigh, returning his eyes to the shelves but hardly taking anything in at this point. "I was just hoping to find some basic reference material on the composition of minerals here on earth. I think I'm familiar with some of them, but..."

There were metals on Expel that didn't exist on earth, and vice versa most likely. Many were basically the same, however. Iron was a good example. If he had that, he could work with it as a base, but most of the metal here was a mix of other basic metals. Perhaps he should be searching more for books on the composition of metal piping?

He sighed again. "I don't think I'm going to find what I'm looking for here."

Material composition ... no, Kira couldn't help him. It didn't sound like the kind of book they'd keep here, anyway; if they wanted them to remain as docile and helpless as possible until the last moment, they wouldn't give them anything that might prove helpful. Just books about ... Kira glanced down at the page. Poetry. Western poetry, at that, and not very good. He was certain he'd written better.

"Why were you looking for that?" It was an honest question - why would someone want to know the composition of minerals? And where would this boy come from that what he knew didn't match up with what was available? He thought back through what he'd been told and what he'd read, through the empty void at his side and within him - where Wabisuke typically was. Was this boy one of the so-called alchemists who could craft weapons ... ?

"Well, it's," Leon gave a little nervous laugh, "kinda complicated." He'd better simplify the explanation to start off with. It would probably make things easier in the long run. "I'm learning how to incorporate my own world's magic into that of someone else's - to create useful items from base materials." The man had probably heard of alchemy. It was known well enough in the Institute.

He sighed, taking one last look at the bookshelf. It was a given that there'd be nothing useful. Nothing could ever be easy. The process of learning this skill, even given his genius, was still going to take a few days. "Just hoping to find anything I can to speed up the process. I'm probably even going to have to find materials myself, seeing as no one's going to want to waste their time gathering things that'll just be used to practice on and might end up as dust in the end."

Realizing he might have gone on a bit too much, Leon smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

Then he was one of them. From what Kira had heard, though, the alchemists tended to be severely backed up when it came to weapons; their powers were just as limited, exhausting them, and there was no small number of people who wanted a weapon of their own. There was no way he could ask for one, but maybe he could get his name down for a later date. He'd be more comfortable - and far more confident - with a blade at his side.

Even if it wasn't the right blade.

"People would be willing to gather so long as there was an eventual outcome," Kira mused, trying to distance himself from the previous night as much as possible by thinking ahead. "Materials can't be that dissimilar ... especially somewhere like this." If they were all relatively similar people dragged into this place (and by relatively similar he meant at least sort of human, maybe, at one point), then their worlds had to have had somewhat similar components. "If you make weapons, people would be bound to bring you what you needed."

The boy laughed again, turning to Kira with a wry smile. "I didn't say I made weapons." It would be obvious, though. That was what the alchemists were needed for here the most, anyway. And that was the eventual plan. He'd could make weapons back where he'd come from. The process might be different, but he could still learn to make them here. He would. It would be a far better use of his energy than a couple shards of ice or a weak void spell.

"You're right, though. But just because they will doesn't mean I want to send them. People are dying at night." He knew. He'd seen the bulletin. He'd seen his friends get ripped up enough as well. "I'm not going to make someone risk themselves for practice material."

People did die. They would have eventually anyway - it was the end point for everyone and everything, he was well aware of that, focused on it a little too much sometimes - but this place wasn't where anyone should die. Where they wanted to die. That, Kira was sure of. Unfamiliar and unreal, weakened and useless ... what warrior would let himself be killed that way?

He bit his tongue instead of asking further about what he did make, then, when the boy followed it up with a more thorough answer. Sending people out for materials that might be destroyed with no result would be damning. If they got hurt in the process ... but was this boy really intending to go out and get materials on his own? Certainly he wouldn't try to go alone.

"I know." Kira's voice hadn't changed since the start of the conversation. "There are probably safer places to get materials ... if you travel in a group, that is." He was hesitant to offer any help just yet, until he knew where he stood with the other Shinigami (and besides, the boy probably had his own help). "Maybe the kitchen ... " There had to be a variety of useful materials in there, all metal.

"There might be safer places..." Leon raised an eyebrow at the man. "The kitchen isn't one of them. The route to that area is consistently dangerous." There was something in that direction that led to the floor below, which meant that a good many people wanted to go that way and Landel was sure to put up plenty of roadblocks to keep them from it. He was right about it potentially holding a fair amount of metal, however.

The boy sighed again. He needed to stop being the depressing one. "I have friends here, but..." They had their own things to take care of. He couldn't ask them to add collecting things for him as well - even if he knew Claude would do it. He gave the man a weak smile. "I'll figure something out. Sorry to dump my problems on you."

Day 38: Patients' Library

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