not the alphabet meme
Following on where this left off.
She talked to him.
Not only did she talk to him, but she didn't spook at the sight of the lab coat. Billy can't believe his luck; it had always been in the back of his mind, that she might not want to see him as a true villain, but Billy's pretty good at ignoring inconvenient truths like that.
Of course, just because Penny didn't spook at the lab coat doesn't mean she'll be super enthusiastic about the rest of his explanation, but she's willing to hear him out, from the looks of things. And she dug up enough quarters that he can wash his poor coat again. He'd really rather not get called up by the League for inadvertently stealing a current member's shtick, just because he got his laundry mixed up.
But anyway, he gets everything else loaded into a dryer, starts it, and heads back to the washers to start the lab coat through again. He's not sure if just soap will be enough to get all the blue out, but it's easier to try that than immediately shop for a new one. Besides, he meant it about not wanting to bleach it; there's no telling how badly that would trash the fibers, and this coat's got a lot of life in it yet.
After that, he remembers he actually needs to introduce himself to her.
"So," she says, after that part's squared away, "you seem awfully... pacifist, for someone who wants to rule the world. In a way, anyway."
He shrugs. "I don't see much point in dragging civilians into things if I don't have to. I get accused of doing it half the time anyway, but - really, civilians in general aren't the problem. It's the system and the people who benefit from perpetuating it that aren't doing anyone any good."
"I can agree with that, in theory - I volunteer with a homeless shelter uptown, we see a lot of people who've lost everything through no fault of their own. In practice, though... why go through the League?"
"They have one of the best labs in the country, and I'm going to need better facilities sooner or later. That and they're not Captain Hammer."
Penny frowns a little, and for a second, he's afraid she's going to tell him that he should just trust in the corporate tool like everyone else does. Instead, she eventually says, "Well, I've never met him, so I can't really comment on that aspect. But he's said some really stupid stuff sometimes. It's kind of amazing people have let him get away with it for this long."
"He's the one who doesn't believe in innocent bystanders. He just gets better press for his efforts. Anyway, I think even if I tried to be a good guy, he'd still call me a villain. He's got a... thing about science. Absolutely no idea why."
"I definitely couldn't say - though that does explain a lot about some of his comments. I have to wonder, though, who says you have to be on one side or the other? Why not make up your own, since the ones you've got now don't really fit you either way?"
Billy hesitates for a moment. "I... hadn't really considered that. It'd take a lot more work to pull off properly, but it might get Captain Hammer to lay off, and I wouldn't have Bad Horse breathing down my neck. It'd be shorter on funding, but maybe eventually I'd get somewhere. Make things a little better for people."
Penny smiles. "You won't find out without trying. And, well, if you branch out on your own, I'd think it would be a lot less likely that someone would go after you because they didn't like what you were up to."
"...You have a point there. I've heard there's not as much League infighting as you might expect, but that doesn't mean it's true." Or that one of them wouldn't decide he was far enough off the beaten track to constitute a liability. He's done some reading; mad scientists have always had a hard time gaining purchase in larger groups.
He still kind of wants to prove the stereotype wrong, but he's starting to re-evaluate how badly.
They talk for a while, other than a break for Penny to put her own clothes in a dryer; he almost misses the washer buzzing again, and when he realises what happened, he's almost afraid to look.
When he does, he can't hold back a sigh of relief. There are a couple of faint blue patches, still, but the worst of the stains came out. As it is, he can pretend that what's there was the result of an experiment gone wrong, if he has to; technically, it's entirely true.
"How'd it turn out?" Penny asks.
"All right. I can explain away what's still there, anyway. Thanks for helping."
"No problem."
He's almost upset when his dryer finally buzzes, but... well. If this went so well, maybe they'll talk again sometime.
She talked to him.
Not only did she talk to him, but she didn't spook at the sight of the lab coat. Billy can't believe his luck; it had always been in the back of his mind, that she might not want to see him as a true villain, but Billy's pretty good at ignoring inconvenient truths like that.
Of course, just because Penny didn't spook at the lab coat doesn't mean she'll be super enthusiastic about the rest of his explanation, but she's willing to hear him out, from the looks of things. And she dug up enough quarters that he can wash his poor coat again. He'd really rather not get called up by the League for inadvertently stealing a current member's shtick, just because he got his laundry mixed up.
But anyway, he gets everything else loaded into a dryer, starts it, and heads back to the washers to start the lab coat through again. He's not sure if just soap will be enough to get all the blue out, but it's easier to try that than immediately shop for a new one. Besides, he meant it about not wanting to bleach it; there's no telling how badly that would trash the fibers, and this coat's got a lot of life in it yet.
After that, he remembers he actually needs to introduce himself to her.
"So," she says, after that part's squared away, "you seem awfully... pacifist, for someone who wants to rule the world. In a way, anyway."
He shrugs. "I don't see much point in dragging civilians into things if I don't have to. I get accused of doing it half the time anyway, but - really, civilians in general aren't the problem. It's the system and the people who benefit from perpetuating it that aren't doing anyone any good."
"I can agree with that, in theory - I volunteer with a homeless shelter uptown, we see a lot of people who've lost everything through no fault of their own. In practice, though... why go through the League?"
"They have one of the best labs in the country, and I'm going to need better facilities sooner or later. That and they're not Captain Hammer."
Penny frowns a little, and for a second, he's afraid she's going to tell him that he should just trust in the corporate tool like everyone else does. Instead, she eventually says, "Well, I've never met him, so I can't really comment on that aspect. But he's said some really stupid stuff sometimes. It's kind of amazing people have let him get away with it for this long."
"He's the one who doesn't believe in innocent bystanders. He just gets better press for his efforts. Anyway, I think even if I tried to be a good guy, he'd still call me a villain. He's got a... thing about science. Absolutely no idea why."
"I definitely couldn't say - though that does explain a lot about some of his comments. I have to wonder, though, who says you have to be on one side or the other? Why not make up your own, since the ones you've got now don't really fit you either way?"
Billy hesitates for a moment. "I... hadn't really considered that. It'd take a lot more work to pull off properly, but it might get Captain Hammer to lay off, and I wouldn't have Bad Horse breathing down my neck. It'd be shorter on funding, but maybe eventually I'd get somewhere. Make things a little better for people."
Penny smiles. "You won't find out without trying. And, well, if you branch out on your own, I'd think it would be a lot less likely that someone would go after you because they didn't like what you were up to."
"...You have a point there. I've heard there's not as much League infighting as you might expect, but that doesn't mean it's true." Or that one of them wouldn't decide he was far enough off the beaten track to constitute a liability. He's done some reading; mad scientists have always had a hard time gaining purchase in larger groups.
He still kind of wants to prove the stereotype wrong, but he's starting to re-evaluate how badly.
They talk for a while, other than a break for Penny to put her own clothes in a dryer; he almost misses the washer buzzing again, and when he realises what happened, he's almost afraid to look.
When he does, he can't hold back a sigh of relief. There are a couple of faint blue patches, still, but the worst of the stains came out. As it is, he can pretend that what's there was the result of an experiment gone wrong, if he has to; technically, it's entirely true.
"How'd it turn out?" Penny asks.
"All right. I can explain away what's still there, anyway. Thanks for helping."
"No problem."
He's almost upset when his dryer finally buzzes, but... well. If this went so well, maybe they'll talk again sometime.