11/24/2006

The Octopus at work, at the center of a frenetic, yet ordered, storm of
      diagrams, electronics, and machinery. Octavius himself sits perched on a 
      stool at one worktable, tinkering with the inner mechanisms of what will, 
      in time, be the 'foot' of one of his lower tentacles. The upper two, 
      emerging from the back of an untucked white shirt, are busy at another 
      table, putting together the thick, intricately segmented arm. The air is 
      vaguely stuffy and stale and smells strongly of coffee past and present. 
      Octavius himself is scruffy and unshaven, having been at work through the 
      night, as he has most nights in the past weeks, catching meals and 
      catnaps only when unable to ignore his body's needs any longer.

Similar in kind to Doctor Octavius, Magneto has also been quite busy with his
      own work for many days now, though it's varied from being shut away doing 
      research and dealing with other matters within the confines of his office 
      to being actually out within the city. This just so happens to be a rare 
      moment in between both of those times, as he adjusts the cuffs of his 
      long-sleeve, black silk shirt on his way down the hallway. His eyes lift 
      to land on Otto's door as he strides up, though a beat is taken where he 
      almost falters, stopping himself as if used to simply walking into the 
      quarters without too much of a prelude - if any. Now, however, he pauses 
      at the door and lingers outside, a few quick but firm raps given to the 
      door as he knocks politely.

Otto cocks his head slightly, not quite turning toward the door, and one of the
      completed arms leaves off soldering and focuses there instead, its three 
      jointed 'fingers' half-curled, the red light of its 'eye' glowing in its 
      center. The other arm continues its work as Octavius turns back to the 
      partially-completed 'foot' and calls out, curtly, "Enter."

Even as the word begins, as if the sound of his voice alone is enough to admit
      entrance, the door clicks open and Magneto starts to stride in with a 
      small curve at the corners of his lips. However, upon the sight of those 
      arms, his steps pause as those silvery eyebrows arch upwards, corners of 
      his lips tugging down in faint surprise at the sight. "Well now," he 
      begins in a smooth voice, the small smirk slowly returning to his lips as 
      he continues to walk slowly further into the room, "I see you have been 
      just as busy as I have. I apologize for the trace selections of 
      Adamantium that have been on-site, and for being so busy as of late, but 
      I came to inform you that I will be able to arrange the transfer of even 
      more of that metal if you so desire." There's a beat, his eyes flickering 
      to those arms as his lips begin to edge back down into a slight frown - a 
      gradual movement of realization. "But," he says in a slightly darker 
      tone, "it does not quite seem like you are in need of that substance any 
      more, are you?"

"Hmmm," says Octavius, his back to Magneto and without looking away from his
      task. His lips curve into a very slight, very knowing smile. The free arm 
      remains focused on the Master of Magnetism, swaying in a vaguely 
      serpentine way. Its fingers unfold and spread like a flower -- a 
      mechanical and rather deadly-looking flower, mind you -- and then it 
      closes and, with barely audible clicks and squeals, dips back down to 
      rejoin its sibling. And Octavius sets his tools down and swivels around 
      on the stool to gaze at the mutant leader from behind enigmatic goggles. 
      He smiles faintly, then dips his head and shrugs faintly, hands spreading 
      in a mildly apologetic sort of way. "I fear that impatience got the 
      better of me. I had, in storage, materials that I decided would also be 
      quite suitable... if not as, hm, indestructible. Still..." His grin is 
      crooked and amiably sly. "I would hate to think you'd gone to all that 
      trouble for nothing."

Magneto's slight frown remains quiet firmly on his lips even through Otto's
      words, his eyes flickering over those two arms in a deeply inspecting 
      manner. Then, quickly, those steely blue eyes return to Otto's with an 
      abrupt 'hm' as he trains his lips into a thin line rather than the frown. 
      "Quite a curious composition of materials. You would rather choose 
      something of a -lower quality- for something as important to you as 
      those?" he asks with a slight lift of his right eyebrow. "What exactly 
      /are/ those made of right now, anyway?" By the tone of his voice, he 
      isn't seeming too pleased at all with the fact that he can't tell 
      immediately what it is on his own, through his own senses and abilities.

Otto makes a little chiding 'tsk' noise, and though otherwise his manner
      remains quite courteous, one can't help but get the feeling that the man 
      is rather enjoying Magneto's displeasure and discomfort. "Quite an 
      interesting alloy I came upon some years ago, after I'd created my 
      adamantium arms. Stronger and lighter than the titanium alloy I had 
      originally, more resistant to heat... mm, yes, and entirely unaffected by 
      magnetic forces." He chuckles throatily. "And of course quite a few 
      different materials for the interior components, but I won't bore you 
      with the details." He lays a hand lightly on the base of the 
      partially-completed manipulator on his worktable, fingers idly caressing 
      the dark metal. "Lower quality? No. Simply... different." His smile is 
      arrogant, his tone mildly condescending. "There's no need to get upset, 
      Erik. I still consider the adamantium to be an... acceptable /gift/ in 
      exchange for the favor I'll be doing for you."

Hearing Otto's words do nothing to reassure Magneto, nor even keep his lips in
      that thin line he trained them towards, as they in fact begin to slowly 
      dip back down into that slowly increasing frown of displeasure and deep 
      contemplation, as if sifting through all of the internal components of 
      those arms himself now in hopes of finding at least something that 
      responds to his manipulation. But nothing is sensed, and once again, a 
      somewhat throaty 'hrm' escapes as he pulls his lips back up into a line. 
      "Different indeed, Doctor Ocavius. An...interesting deviation from what 
      would be expected, to say the least." His eyebrows quickly flicker down 
      and together for a second with the mention of gifting something, but with 
      a blink and another quiet 'hm' his lips tug to the side as his right 
      eyebrow slightly arches. "An acceptable gift - moreso than the gift of 
      your freedom? Well then, perhaps I shall be able to count on your 
      services again in the near future, after we make our little trip up to 
      Asteroid M." With this thought, now, a small grin begins to tilt the 
      edges of his lips. "Yes, in fact, that would be quite agreeable. I could 
      even let you peruse the fine and diverse selection of high-quality metals 
      up there for yourself for such an exchange."

Otto's voice lowers to a purring growl, it and his slanted and slightly toothy
      smile combining to sinister effect. "As I mentioned when I awakened, I 
      was perfectly capable of freeing myself from imprisonment. You seek to 
      pay me with my own coin." Broad, sloping shoulders roll into a shrug. 
      "But," he continues, in a more casual tone, "I am, again, not entirely 
      adverse to your proposal, in the interest of, heh, assisting in a worthy 
      cause." He makes it, somehow, sound like charity -- the great Otto 
      Octavius, generous humanitarian. Or would that be mutantarium?

"Perhaps by giving you an advance on that coin a considerable amount of time
      earlier than you would have acquired it yourself," Magneto offers back, 
      though in an amicable enough tone and with only a slight arch of his 
      eyebrow, the faintly upward tilt to his lips remaining. He blinks for a 
      moment to Otto's last words, and a small smirk begins to creep onto his 
      lips. "A cause which, no doubt, would be quite beneficial for you to 
      align yourself with. Most notably in regards to a man such as myself. You 
      are of great use to me as well, so I am pleased that you see things in 
      such a light." His eyes flicker quickly back to those two functional arms 
      for a moment before returning to Otto. "Quite the progress has been made 
      - was there any other assistance in regards to materials for the creation 
      of your arms that you were in need of?"

Yes, quite a bit of progress, and while Otto's impatience at being incomplete
      played a large part in this, it illustrates Octavius's resourcefulness as 
      well. And all the while that they've been talking, the arms have 
      continued their work without Octavius even sparing a flicker of a glance 
      their way. The crooked, vaguely leering smile remains, as confident as it 
      is unpleasant, while broad fingers continue to lightly stroke the metal 
      of the uncompleted manipulator. "I think," he says, "that I can shift 
      rather well for myself from this point onward." His head tilts 
      questioningly. "When did you expect the adamantium delivered?"

"Soon," Erik reassures in a loose manner, dipping his head in a nod. "Likely
      within the next day even." There's a brief pause as he regards Otto for a 
      moment, then cants his head to the side as his hands loosely cross behind 
      his back, one hand holding the other wrist, in a semi-casual manner. 
      "Things are currently in a somewhat inevitable...hiatus, as more intel is 
      being gathered. Would you be in a suitable condition to make a trip out 
      to the Asteroid tomorrow, to begin our examination and refinement of the 
      core reactor?"

Otto considers this for a moment, and as he does so, the two working arms pause
      and pull back, seeming to study their progress, clicking softly. "...No," 
      he says at last, with the calm arrogance of a man who refuses to be 
      rushed. "Though I expect to be complete by sometime tomorrow, I have a 
      number of tests to perform before I am fully satisfied."

A curt nod of his head shows Erik's acceptance of this fact without question
      apparently as he continues smoothly, "Very well then. I want you 
      performing to the utmost of your abilities, and I can understand 
      how...hindered you would likely feel, without the full aid of all of your 
      limbs." A small smirk flickers back to the edges of his lips now, 
      although no trace of malice or ill intent can be found - rather the 
      opposite, in fact. "Perhaps that is why I found it quite fitting that we 
      broke you free when we did - with the release of this...'cure', many homo 
      superiors were also left with their own gifts stolen from them by the 
      government. I now have the means to help them reacquire the rest of what 
      was stolen from themselves as well...though," his eyes flicker towards 
      those two functional arms, "my assistance with the return of what you 
      were missing was not as...substantial as I was expecting."

Otto utters a low, grating chuckle. "Don't be so disappointed, Erik. Rest
      assured that I am well aware of your... charitable regard. Indeed, I find 
      myself rather /touched/ that you would consider my predicament in the 
      same light as the suffering of your own people." His smile is wide, and 
      seems almost genuine; only the man's generally nefarious manner spoils 
      the effect; Octavius simply cannot make himself look entirely innocent. 
      Or he doesn't care to.

"Nearly," Magneto abruptly ammends to Otto's words of it being in the same
      light, though the amicable grin remains as he dips his head in a nod of 
      acceptance of the pseudo-compliment. "I also recognize the potential you 
      have, which sets you apart from those mundane homo inferiors, along with 
      your own disposition towards the majority of them. I am pleased you have 
      found your time here beneficial, and that you may actually be prepared to 
      begin working the day after tomorrow. Knowing your talents in that area, 
      along with my own abilities and knowledge, the work on the reactor 
      shouldn't take /too/ terribly long once we begin."

"Not terribly, no," Octavius agrees amiably as the two arms return to their
      work. He swivels his stool back around so that he's once more facing away 
      from the mutant leader, as a deft, practiced hand once more takes up his 
      tools. "Day after tomorrow, or soon afterwards."

There is a brief moment of silence that passes as Otto turns back around, as
      Magneto takes this moment to once again inspect the arms as much as he 
      can from where he stands, both visually, and with the probing of his 
      powers, searching for any manner of wires, circuits, or metal in any form 
      within those arms and where they connect to his back, before his voice 
      once again lifts into the air. "I was also curious about a couple of 
      others whom were involved in the Rykers incident. One woman - of 
      apparently extraordinary beauty," he adds, as if in subtle question for 
      confirmation, "and another one who, for all intents and purposes, seemed 
      to be described as...a robot, or highly mechanized cyborg?"

Otto answers without looking around or pausing in his work. "Red Lotus and the
      Anachronism. Your follower, Mystique, asked after the former. The 
      latter... hm. Interesting individual. Believes itself some kind of 
      prophet." Octavius snorts derisively.

"Anachronism," Magneto repeats quietly, a small tug of his lips in amusement
      accompanying the word, which quickly grows into a widely amused smirk 
      with the mention of Mystique. "Oh?" He adds with his eyebrow raising, "A 
      prophet? Very interesting. Though perhaps that is a whole new matter for 
      another time," he notes to Otto's back, then, with a quiet chuckle as he 
      starts to turn towards the door he adds, "As a personal bit of 
      advice...be careful when referring to Mystique in such a manner in her 
      presence. She would likely take quite a bit of offense - which would 
      likely draw unnecessary ire towards you. No, Mystique is something...far 
      more, than merely a follower, Doctor Octavius." With this, the door 
      clicks open on its own ahead of Magneto, and the leader of the 
      Brotherhood begins to head out with the parting words, "We shall speak 
      again soon, Doctor."

Otto utters an acknowledging 'hmm' noise and gives a distracted nod. One of the
      working arms pauses again to stare its glowing red 'eye' Magneto's way 
      before returning to its tasks. "Indeed."