[RL with Birkin]

[screwloose]

Stein stepped through the portal the young man had opened for him without hesitation, and looked around. He honestly had no idea what exactly to expect, other than a laboratory of some kind, and he wasn't disappointed.

There was a twinge of nervousness despite his boldness. Walking blindly into someone else's territory, especially someone Stein knew to be of like mind to himself, wasn't necessarily a smart idea. Then again, Stein was more than capable of taking care of himself. He didn't have a weapon with him, but he could easily kill with his bare hands, if necessary.

He reached up with one hand and rotated the bolt stuck through his head a couple of times, considering his options, then picked a direction and started walking.

Sooner or later, he'd either run across some interesting experiment, or find Birkin himself. Win win.

Comments

[touchofgenius.livejournal.com]

"The brain's a bit better protected. It's still exposed, but shooting them in the head only stuns them." Birkin poked at the frontal lobe for a second. "The heart, for whatever reason, is their biggest weak point. Just stabbing it kills them. They're hearty creatures." Smirk. "Pun not intended."

[screwloose]

Stein chuckled at the admittedly lame joke, though he did find it a bit funny. "I guess they're not too bright," he said, giving the brain a prod with his scalpel before slicing off a bit and dropping it onto a slide also. "You mentioned that the virus only causes this necrosis if it's not injected directly into the bloodstream. What did you call it - a Tyrant? What are those like?"

[touchofgenius.livejournal.com]

"They're more intelligent than most of the other things I make." Which was sort of an embarrassing set-back, he had to admit. "Right. Tyrants are... Well, they range from looking human - or almost human - to looking inexplicably tall, with green-blue skin, the exposed heart again, and giant claws. And everything you can think of between the two. They were experimental though. The mass-produced ones all look human." And one or two of them looked pretty unassuming most of the time. "They'll always have red eyes though so you can see them coming a mile away. Unless they find a way to hide it, at least." Birkin chuckled good-naturedly.

[screwloose]

Stein looked intrigued by this, and he paused in taking a sample of the necrotized scraps of skin - or possibly muscle tissue, he wasn't sure yet - that adhered to the exposed ribcage. He turned to look at Birkin curiously.

"So they do go through changes, usually, but they can look completely human? Any changes other than the red eyes?" He was definitely intrigued by this. Ugly monsters were interesting, but this sounded like it might be more practically useful than he first suspected.

[touchofgenius.livejournal.com]

"Speed, strength... Fast and agile enough to dodge bullets in some cases. And strong enough to punch through metal." Birkin inwardly shuddered. "But that's really not something you want to get involved with. It's a slightly different virus with a significantly lower success rate." Plus, he wouldn't even dare give it out anyway.

[screwloose]

Stein nodded thoughtfully, thinking of how so very useful such abilities would be. "It's the kind of thing people in my world kill innocents and eat their souls to get," he observed thoughtfully. "But the vial you gave me wouldn't make human-looking Tyrants, I guess?"

[touchofgenius.livejournal.com]

Birkin didn't bother hiding his disgust at the thought. "Sounds... Appetizing." And he was still grappling with the idea of souls even existing in the first place, so someone eating one was freaky as any thing in his eyes.

"No. That's the one virus I'm not willing to give out."

[screwloose]

Stein chuckled faintly. "I can't say I blame you. It always looked strange to me when my Weapon ate a soul. But he purified the corrupted ones. Spirit wasn't eating innocent souls."

He turned back to the licker and finished taking his sample of unknown tissue, then took all of the samples over to the microscope to examine them each in turn. "I guess I can't blame you."

[touchofgenius.livejournal.com]

"That virus is both my biggest accomplishment and biggest failure wrapped into one. Even if I wanted to, I don't exactly keep samples of it around." He'd destroyed the last vial of it years ago to keep it from infecting anyone else. God knows he didn't have the vaccine for it on-hand anymore.

Birkin winced a bit as he thought about it. "No amount of power is worth all that. Eating souls, I mean."

[screwloose]

"But it's worth it to infect yourself with a virus that could turn you into a monster if something goes wrong?" Stein returned, gesturing with a vague wave of his hand towards the Licker.

He shrugged. "I suppose people like Jack the Ripper disagreed with you. But that's what my school exists for. There'll always be someone willing to do something disagreeable for power."

[touchofgenius.livejournal.com]

"You've never seen Wesker fight," he mumbled bitterly. "For some, it's worth it." Not for Birkin though, not by a longshot. Not willingly at least. "People willing to do so much for power don't deserve it. And no one but them wants it." He sighed, playing with his tie nervously. He always hated talking around this sort of thing. Especially around people he liked.

[screwloose]

Stein chuckled, leaning over the microscope. "You're right about that," he said fervently.

He lifted his head and turned to look at Birkin thoughtfully, noting how he fidgeted. "I thought Wesker was one of your friends."

[touchofgenius.livejournal.com]

"He is, who said he wasn't?!" Birkin snapped. Okay, maybe a little too nutty-sounding. "He's one of those people who's willing to do nearly anything for the sake of power," he explained, "including get infected by that virus."

His fidgeting ceased for a moment before it started back up almost immediately. "You can't tell anyone I told you that. I don't know how public Wesker wants that sort of information to be."

[screwloose]

Stein raised an eyebrow. Birkin was a little touchy about this subject, wasn't he? He shrugged and reached for a cigarette. "Sorry, I was just confused for a moment, when you said that people who seek power don't deserve it."

He smiled and reached out, clapping Birkin lightly on the shoulder. "I won't tell anyone, don't worry. Like I said, the affairs of other worlds really don't matter to me, and I just enjoy your company. What you do here is none of my concern."

[touchofgenius.livejournal.com]

"Maybe he doesn't, really, but the virus would have killed him if it rejected him. If there's one person who deserves that power, it's Wesker, I think." Or rather, he had to think.

Birkin smiled slightly up at Stein. "Thank you. I appreciate that. I really do."

[screwloose]

Stein nodded, shrugging carelessly. "I'm not one to really throw stones, anyway. I'm pretty sure a lot of people feel I don't deserve the power I have."

He smiled down at the shorter man. "No problem." Was this what it was like to have a friend who really understood him? It was unexpectedly nice.

[touchofgenius.livejournal.com]

"Are you saying you're like Wesker? Careful, I might be disappointed if you turn out more like him than me." He snickers. "You're a good guy, putting up with someone like me."

[screwloose]

Stein leaned against the nearest counter, shaking his head with a smile. "I'm not like Wesker. I never did anything to myself to increase my power. But I was born with a lot of talent, and rare abilities." He gestured towards Birkin. "For example, I can see your soul, analyze its properties at a glance. Few people can do that."

[touchofgenius.livejournal.com]

Blink, blink. He could what his what? Okay, fine, Birkin could play along with it. "Oh really? And just what does my soul say about me?" he asked with a smirk, obviously not believing Stein.

[screwloose]

Stein didn't need to give him that penetrating look again, since he'd already performed a soul gaze when he first arrived. He just folded his arms and smoked his cigarette with a smirk on his lips.

"You have an obsessive and grasping soul, desperate for attention and validation," he said.

[touchofgenius.livejournal.com]

"No I don't! No I'm not!" Birkin practically shrieked, marching over to where Stein was standing to better glare at him. Even if it was fairly accurate, it was still an insult. "I'm not..." Okay, it'd stung.

[screwloose]

Stein tapped some ash out on the floor and stuck the cigarette back in his mouth. "I'm sorry," he said, though without much remorse. "You did ask. I can also say that you are very intelligent and devoted. You have the kind of soul that could accomplish a great deal in a short life, even if it's not always for the right reasons."

[touchofgenius.livejournal.com]

He wrapped his arms tightly around himself in a sort of hug. Stein's words rung true, but that didn't make Birkin any more eager to hear them. "You're right, I did... And thanks, I think." He had a burning desire to learn more about this ability. "What else can you do?"

[screwloose]

Stein shrugged. "It's just what I saw," he said. "I'm not trying to flatter, or insult you." He reached out and patted the other man on the shoulder again, hoping he wasn't going to start glaring again. He was enjoying getting along with Birkin.

He smiled faintly at the question. "I'm a very good fighter. And I can synchronize my soul with anyone else's, so I can wield any weapon."

[touchofgenius.livejournal.com]

He sort of liked getting patted on the shoulder, or maybe that was just his attention-seeking soul doing the talking. But either way he had to admit it was a nice feeling. Like Stein actually cared if he managed to hurt his feelings. "Well, thank you anyway. For telling me." An awkward little smile made its way to Birkin's face. There was something decidedly fascinating and almost Wesker-like. Wesker-but-nicer, maybe.

That line of thought gave Birkin the distinct impression he was playing with fire.

"Impressive." Not that he knew what any of that meant, but he hated feeling like he didn't know anything, sohe decided to just... Not ask.