Doctor doctor, gimme the news

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

After the meeting, and after some bickering with the Emergency Medical Hologram, down at the bottom of the Hub, Brainy is arranging the MedBay to his liking and familiarizing himself with the medical equipment and its functions.

Right now, for instance, as anyone walks in the door, he's wearing some sort of scanning goggles and a rather sinister-looking surgical glove with micro-scalpels, little lasers and surgical saws on the fingertips.

This makes him look like a green-faced Freddy Krueger with mad scientist goggles. For anyone that walks in like he instructed him to at the meeting, this is the first thing they see.

"Hmmmm."

Comments

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"I require more information than that. I have materials, but I'd prefer they not be wasted."

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"No you don't. Not when Stacy can hear everything we say."

Admittedly, Zuko is not the right person to be preaching about trust. Which is why he doesn't immediately start harping on it.

"Someone very important is being held hostage on the ship. By the ship. I need to find him. And I need a guideline to make sure I don't get lost looking for him."I'd

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

If they're held hostage, they're in harm's way. Potentially injured.

He reaches into his belt and pulls out a little spool of yellow wire, and tosses it to Zuko.

"Fiber-wire. Don't be deceived by how little seems to be there--it's very thin, but the edges are buffered to prevent it from cutting you. There should be approximately forty miles of it left on the spool."

Wait a second, isn't he supposed to be obnoxious instead of helpful?

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

Wait. Wait. No, this is all wrong. Stop being confusing, Brainy.

No, keep doing it. It's helpful.

"Thank you." Zuko catches the spool and bows, stiffly. "If you want it back, you'll have to ask. I don't know how long I need it for."

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"You needn't worry. Your need is more pressing. If I have need for it, I'll improvise."

Yeah, he's going to keep being confusing.

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

. . . okay then.

"If you find a way into the restricted areas . . ." he adds, pushing Brainy's unexplained bout of helpfulness. "Let me know."

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"That's the entire point of restoring the laboratory," Brainy says. "To build equipment to do such a thing."

Yep, he's gonna keep up with the confusing Zuko.

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"Okay." Color Zuko baffled. "Good. Thanks."

That said, he turns to go.

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

He looks baffled. Now Brainy's confused.

"Why do you look so perplexed?"

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"Nothing."

Never a good idea to tell somebody you thought they'd continue to be a jerk.

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"So that's your typical expression? Slack-jawed bewilderment?"

There's the jerkiness again.

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

His eyes narrow and his mouth settles into its usual dissatisfied scowl. "It's more like this, actually."

NOW he's leaving.

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

As Zuko leaves, there's muttering of the like:

Of course, it's not so quiet Zuko can't hear it.

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"Hey." Zuko's learned more self-control than to pick a fight with just anyone, even over words that disrespectful. "Watch your language. I said thanks for the twine, but just because you're helping me doesn't mean you can be disrespectful."

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"How was I remotely disrespectful?"

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

Zuko just gets angrier. "What is your problem?"

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"I don't have any problems. You, however, seem to have a variety of aggression issues."

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"Someone with aggression issues would have already punched you in the face."

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"For what exactly? Assisting you, asking a question, and then making a comment on your ambiguous and likely untrue answer?"

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"I am not a barbarian." Moron. "Neither are my people."

He gives Brainy his most Serious Business glare. He's a fucking prince, dammit. "If you're so smart, then learn respect, or I'll teach it to you."

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"I was commenting on this barbaric place. And respect should only be given where it's due."

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

No more warnings. He gets a (thankfully flameless) punch to the solar plexus.

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

Stacy's scanners are kinda a funny thing. The anti-violence stuff doesn't work in the Medbay, since performing surgery on people is technically violence. This makes it the best place to fight if you're looking not to get tentacle-whipped, while being simultaneously the worst place to fight due to the fragile equipment there.

Brainy slams into one of the scanners--and breaks part of it.

"You--you--broke a priceless--piece of medical equipment--" he wheezes out breathlessly.

There are few things in the universe that can push Brainy into a seething rage. The punch alone certainly isn't enough, but the equipment, that is an entirely different story. There is nothing that gets Brainiac 5 more pissed off than destroying priceless technology.

"--you cro-magnon--evolutionary--throwback!"

The words are accompanied by a hand-shaped forcefield extending from Brainy's arm and slamming Zuko in the gut. Hard.

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

It's unexpected, but Zuko does his best to dodge - and when that fails, he holds his ground, wriggling around the hand like a contortionist.

And then he runs, no faster than humanly possible - but humans, with the right life-long training, are very fast.

Not to mention, he runs along the wall before retaking his stance and striking towards Brainy with a large - very large - vision-obscuring fireball. This he uses as cover for his second strike - a simultaneous sweep to the feet and jab to the chest.

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

This knocks him back into one of the work tables, hard, and he slumps to the floor, but takes advantage of this position to attempt to sweep-kick Zuko's feet out from under him.

"Why are you so--sprocking--aggressive?"