I'd like to take that intern position!
When: Tuesday, February 24, 10:00 AM
Where: Dr. Horrible's home
Who: Dr. Horrible and Jane Davenport, and later Tex (CLOSED)
What: A job interview
Rating: M for Mad Science
This is for science, Jane thought as she rang the doorbell to a nondescript mansion in a nondescript town in Canada in the middle of February bundled up to her eyebrows in winter clothes (and still freezing) with a much-read copy of the New Journal of Malology clutched in her gloved hands, shuffling her boot-clad feet. It's for Mom and Dad, but mainly it's for me so they'll stop yammering on about my decision. Oh, mental note, work on alternate fuel supply for weather bubble. Charging time unacceptable.
Tex and Dr. Horrible didn't entertain many visitors - or hadn’t, until recently. (Horrible didn’t really consider the influx of crazy gun-toting soldier-types ‘visitors’, based on the fact that they seemed to have entirely moved in without ever once knocking, which classified them as more of an ‘infestation’.) On those rare occasions that the doorbell did ring, he usually kept to his lab and trusted her to scare off whoever was at the door - he didn't want people knowing he lived here, after all. But today Tex was off playing with her new friends, or fleecing people of their money or something; it was one of those days that were getting rarer - a peaceful one - so he’d lingered around the house for a while instead of bailing first thing in the morning. So when the bell rang, it was for Horrible to answer it.
When he pulled it open, he found an unfamiliar young girl dressed as a lump of winter clothes. Being a California native, he sympathized. "Yes?" he asked brusquely, then noticed a familiar periodical in her hands. "Is that the New Journal of Malology?" Now she'd piqued his interest!
Though all she saw was a blur of white before the warm air of the house fogged her glasses, she knew she had her man at his question. "Why yes, yes it is! Specifically volume 29 featuring an up and coming young mad scientist!" She handed him the magazine, pointing to a very becoming picture of him on the front cover, dressed in his Evil League of Evil red labcoat and over-the-eyes goggles. "It's a very well written article,detailing your rise from daily madboy blogger to the newest member of the Evil League of Evil."
Dr. Horrible of course recognized the issue. He had a copy squirreled away, though he never reread it. It made much of his rise to power, which wasn't something he especially wanted to be reminded of if it could be avoided. He took the copy she held out, gazing at the cover for a moment, and handed it back with a thin smile. "I've read it. I take it you're in the field? You seem kind of young."
She noted that he didn't sound all too happy about his feature in the magazine, something which took her by surprise and made him that much more interesting to study. Her parents were thrilled every time someone mentioned them in an article, let alone to have a front page spread.
That might mean he really hasn't gone completely over the edge yet!
Her voice was cheerful despite the chattering of her teeth. "I'm surprised you can see anything of me under all these layers! Is Canada a-always this cold?"
He gave her a measuring look, but finally bowed to his curiosity and stepped out of the way to let her enter. "Yeah. It really is. I take it you're not from around here." Had she come specifically in search of him? That was enough to intrigue him. It wasn't as if his whereabouts were a secret.
Then again, she could simply be another one who'd found herself here unintentionally, and decided to look him up since he was here.
"You know me. Who are you?" he asked bluntly.
She bustled in through the door mostly through guess work and basked in the warmth. "No, I'm really not from around here and yes! I do know you, well, I know of you. I'm..." She started to hold out her gloved hand but stopped. "You know, I'm really completely blind at the moment. One sec!"
Gloves came off first and shoved into the large pockets of her down-filled coat. Next the multicolored scarf made from all natural, organic fibers, knit for her by a hyper-intelligent gerbil-turned-human, followed by her fleece and gerbil-fur hat made by her mother. (It said a lot about her upbringing that she never considered it weird.)
The round lenses finally cleared enough for her to beam at Dr. Horrible and hold out her hand. "Jane. Jane Davenport."
"Davenport, as in David Davenport?" he asked curiously, taking her hand in his gloved one. The dynamic duo of Davenport and Narbon was well known throughout evil society. Top of their fields in mad genetics and doomsday devices. And they did have a child, didn't they?
"Well. That explains why you'd have the Journal." There was a certain level of cautious respect in his eyes. "Welcome to Aternaville."
"You know," she said in a good natured way as grasped his hand, "I always expected by the time I was 16 I'd have people knowing my name because of who I was rather than who my parents are. I'm 16 now, but my parents always precede me. That's why I'm here! Well, mostly."
She thrust the journal under his nose, opened to a section of the article that's been underlined. Twice. "I'd like to take that intern position!"
"Intern po-what?" Snatching the article out of her hand again, he scanned the lines she'd underlined. "'Now that he's achieved'... blah blah blah... 'undoubtedly looking for'... They think I need an evil intern? They think I need an evil intern." He frowned at the paper, then glanced up at her, brow furrowed. He'd never really considered taking on an intern. Henchmen were one thing, but a protégé? He didn't know about having someone constantly around, watching everything he did.
On the other hand, there would be a fair amount of prestige attached to taking on David Davenport and Helen Narbon's daughter for training.
On the other hand, her experience could work against him. She was raised by an expert in doomsday machines. He didn't want someone in his lab that would be second-guessing everything he did.
On the other hand, with her knowledge, maybe she could be of genuine use to him in his schemes.
He drew himself up, staring down at her in what he hoped was a dangerous manner. "I hadn't planned on taking an intern... yet. Do you think you can change my mind about that?"
I know a modification to your freeze ray that will bend time to your will? No, that'd make it sound like she knew more than him.
Have you ever wondered what'd it be like to be a woman? No, that's threatening on a completely different plane. Plus, if she got the internship, there'd be time for genetic experiments later. ♥
She looked around at the house, the various signs of multiple people cohabiting the same place, and odd bullet holes littering the walls. "Did you know that you can write off any "stipend" you give an intern as tax deductible, thus making your taxes less, and, since you'd be "teaching" you'd be eligible for several considerable government grants which, if you word them correctly, they never have to know who you are or what exactly you're teaching me?"
Had she actually brought up the Freeze Ray, Dr. Horrible could have told her that he had already made several modifications to it, allowing him to shift things forward or backward in increments and also to keep the effect in place without the ray having to be trained on it, so he could freeze several things at once. He had also begun plans for a new device which could effect more dramatic time shifts, but it had been tabled for the time being in favor of other projects. Still, her input could be useful.
Money was not, at the moment, a huge concern for him. He'd done quite a few bank heists before leaving LA. But the idea of using government funds to upset the government was nice and ironic. He studied her speculatively."And what guarantee would I have that you wouldn't steal my ideas and double-cross me?" It was practically a trick question. Everyone knew that evil protégés always turned against their mentors sooner or later. That was why evil mentors traditionally put some sort of safeguards in place, such as implanting some sort of subconscious programming or explosive devices, or arranging to have loved ones held hostage (not so simple when the intern's family were also mad scientists of renown). And the student, in turn, would have to anticipate and counter these precautions before turning her coat. It was all standard procedure, really.
Where: Dr. Horrible's home
Who: Dr. Horrible and Jane Davenport, and later Tex (CLOSED)
What: A job interview
Rating: M for Mad Science
This is for science, Jane thought as she rang the doorbell to a nondescript mansion in a nondescript town in Canada in the middle of February bundled up to her eyebrows in winter clothes (and still freezing) with a much-read copy of the New Journal of Malology clutched in her gloved hands, shuffling her boot-clad feet. It's for Mom and Dad, but mainly it's for me so they'll stop yammering on about my decision. Oh, mental note, work on alternate fuel supply for weather bubble. Charging time unacceptable.
Tex and Dr. Horrible didn't entertain many visitors - or hadn’t, until recently. (Horrible didn’t really consider the influx of crazy gun-toting soldier-types ‘visitors’, based on the fact that they seemed to have entirely moved in without ever once knocking, which classified them as more of an ‘infestation’.) On those rare occasions that the doorbell did ring, he usually kept to his lab and trusted her to scare off whoever was at the door - he didn't want people knowing he lived here, after all. But today Tex was off playing with her new friends, or fleecing people of their money or something; it was one of those days that were getting rarer - a peaceful one - so he’d lingered around the house for a while instead of bailing first thing in the morning. So when the bell rang, it was for Horrible to answer it.
When he pulled it open, he found an unfamiliar young girl dressed as a lump of winter clothes. Being a California native, he sympathized. "Yes?" he asked brusquely, then noticed a familiar periodical in her hands. "Is that the New Journal of Malology?" Now she'd piqued his interest!
Though all she saw was a blur of white before the warm air of the house fogged her glasses, she knew she had her man at his question. "Why yes, yes it is! Specifically volume 29 featuring an up and coming young mad scientist!" She handed him the magazine, pointing to a very becoming picture of him on the front cover, dressed in his Evil League of Evil red labcoat and over-the-eyes goggles. "It's a very well written article,detailing your rise from daily madboy blogger to the newest member of the Evil League of Evil."
Dr. Horrible of course recognized the issue. He had a copy squirreled away, though he never reread it. It made much of his rise to power, which wasn't something he especially wanted to be reminded of if it could be avoided. He took the copy she held out, gazing at the cover for a moment, and handed it back with a thin smile. "I've read it. I take it you're in the field? You seem kind of young."
She noted that he didn't sound all too happy about his feature in the magazine, something which took her by surprise and made him that much more interesting to study. Her parents were thrilled every time someone mentioned them in an article, let alone to have a front page spread.
That might mean he really hasn't gone completely over the edge yet!
Her voice was cheerful despite the chattering of her teeth. "I'm surprised you can see anything of me under all these layers! Is Canada a-always this cold?"
He gave her a measuring look, but finally bowed to his curiosity and stepped out of the way to let her enter. "Yeah. It really is. I take it you're not from around here." Had she come specifically in search of him? That was enough to intrigue him. It wasn't as if his whereabouts were a secret.
Then again, she could simply be another one who'd found herself here unintentionally, and decided to look him up since he was here.
"You know me. Who are you?" he asked bluntly.
She bustled in through the door mostly through guess work and basked in the warmth. "No, I'm really not from around here and yes! I do know you, well, I know of you. I'm..." She started to hold out her gloved hand but stopped. "You know, I'm really completely blind at the moment. One sec!"
Gloves came off first and shoved into the large pockets of her down-filled coat. Next the multicolored scarf made from all natural, organic fibers, knit for her by a hyper-intelligent gerbil-turned-human, followed by her fleece and gerbil-fur hat made by her mother. (It said a lot about her upbringing that she never considered it weird.)
The round lenses finally cleared enough for her to beam at Dr. Horrible and hold out her hand. "Jane. Jane Davenport."
"Davenport, as in David Davenport?" he asked curiously, taking her hand in his gloved one. The dynamic duo of Davenport and Narbon was well known throughout evil society. Top of their fields in mad genetics and doomsday devices. And they did have a child, didn't they?
"Well. That explains why you'd have the Journal." There was a certain level of cautious respect in his eyes. "Welcome to Aternaville."
"You know," she said in a good natured way as grasped his hand, "I always expected by the time I was 16 I'd have people knowing my name because of who I was rather than who my parents are. I'm 16 now, but my parents always precede me. That's why I'm here! Well, mostly."
She thrust the journal under his nose, opened to a section of the article that's been underlined. Twice. "I'd like to take that intern position!"
"Intern po-what?" Snatching the article out of her hand again, he scanned the lines she'd underlined. "'Now that he's achieved'... blah blah blah... 'undoubtedly looking for'... They think I need an evil intern? They think I need an evil intern." He frowned at the paper, then glanced up at her, brow furrowed. He'd never really considered taking on an intern. Henchmen were one thing, but a protégé? He didn't know about having someone constantly around, watching everything he did.
On the other hand, there would be a fair amount of prestige attached to taking on David Davenport and Helen Narbon's daughter for training.
On the other hand, her experience could work against him. She was raised by an expert in doomsday machines. He didn't want someone in his lab that would be second-guessing everything he did.
On the other hand, with her knowledge, maybe she could be of genuine use to him in his schemes.
He drew himself up, staring down at her in what he hoped was a dangerous manner. "I hadn't planned on taking an intern... yet. Do you think you can change my mind about that?"
I know a modification to your freeze ray that will bend time to your will? No, that'd make it sound like she knew more than him.
Have you ever wondered what'd it be like to be a woman? No, that's threatening on a completely different plane. Plus, if she got the internship, there'd be time for genetic experiments later. ♥
She looked around at the house, the various signs of multiple people cohabiting the same place, and odd bullet holes littering the walls. "Did you know that you can write off any "stipend" you give an intern as tax deductible, thus making your taxes less, and, since you'd be "teaching" you'd be eligible for several considerable government grants which, if you word them correctly, they never have to know who you are or what exactly you're teaching me?"
Had she actually brought up the Freeze Ray, Dr. Horrible could have told her that he had already made several modifications to it, allowing him to shift things forward or backward in increments and also to keep the effect in place without the ray having to be trained on it, so he could freeze several things at once. He had also begun plans for a new device which could effect more dramatic time shifts, but it had been tabled for the time being in favor of other projects. Still, her input could be useful.
Money was not, at the moment, a huge concern for him. He'd done quite a few bank heists before leaving LA. But the idea of using government funds to upset the government was nice and ironic. He studied her speculatively."And what guarantee would I have that you wouldn't steal my ideas and double-cross me?" It was practically a trick question. Everyone knew that evil protégés always turned against their mentors sooner or later. That was why evil mentors traditionally put some sort of safeguards in place, such as implanting some sort of subconscious programming or explosive devices, or arranging to have loved ones held hostage (not so simple when the intern's family were also mad scientists of renown). And the student, in turn, would have to anticipate and counter these precautions before turning her coat. It was all standard procedure, really.