a city and a mint who sleep very little between them

[self_composed]

Bella bikes to the airport on Friday. She gets a little reading done on her flight, then sleeps-on-purpose through the remainder of the trip, waking up precisely when the plane touches down. One nice bonus that she didn't even explicitly build into the power is that she can sleep at will in virtually any position; she doesn't have to get comfy if that's not convenient.

She steps off the plane, backpack full of her things over her shoulders, and stalks into the halls of LaGuardia, eyes peeled for Libby.

Comments

[self_composed]

Bella laughs. "There you go. Now that we're being so very friendly - how do you make coins, or is that terribly personal for some reason?"

[prima_sequentem]

"Chris's protection is flexible on the definition of harm," she says. "Pain isn't harm when I am expecting and approve of it."

[self_composed]

"Oh. Convenient," approves Bella. "Okay. It is time to figure out what order it is best to take over the world in, and how, and I need to be quick about it unless there are more potential obstacles between me and it? Potentially irritating ingots, non-mints who have coin stashes, other forms of magic... I'll start with making an improved globe. This coffee shop is not where I would like to put it. I should probably add you to the brainphone network, any objections?"

[prima_sequentem]

"No. I assume it does what it says on the tin? I could take you to my globe," she offers.

[self_composed]

"Sure, sounds good," Bella says. "The brainphone's what it sounds like. It's very handy." Pentagon goes. [Voilá.]

[prima_sequentem]

[Why do I get the feeling Lazarus is also on this network?] she wonders. "Let's find somewhere a little less obvious to disappear from, then."

[self_composed]

[He is. He already was when you kidnapped him and he told me everything you said in real time 'cause he likes me more than you. I don't suppose your interdimensional nexus is available? That sounds like the sort of place where no one would notice some teleportation.]

[prima_sequentem]

[I thought he seemed a little distracted. My interdimensional nexus operates on its own schedule and may or may not decide to scoop us up the next time we pass through a door. I've also never tried teleporting out of it. All in all, I'd prefer something more reliable.]

[self_composed]

Bella shrugs. [Ladies' room?]

[prima_sequentem]

[Sure.]

Libby proceeds in that direction.

[self_composed]

[Is your lair-or-whatever warded against people like me teleporting into it?]

[prima_sequentem]

[Not as such,] says Libby, [but it's probably still safer if I put us there. You don't have any inconvenient phobias, do you? Heights, small spaces?]

[self_composed]

[Nope.]

[prima_sequentem]

[Great.]

The ladies' room is deserted when they step inside; a moment later, it is deserted again.



Libby's lair, or whatever, is bizarrely designed. They appear standing in a small, rocky alcove with a slightly damp floor, sealed off by a pristine glass wall, facing an enormous globe across a wide empty space. Far below them is something green-black and rippling that may or may not be water. The walls all around are more rock; the domed ceiling is the same colour as the watery floor.

It's really, really cold. Just-barely-above-freezing cold.

[self_composed]

Bella does not mind the cold, and does not care anymore about concealing this or her other powers. "What's with the terrarium setup?"

[prima_sequentem]

"I wanted it in vacuum," she says. "And somewhere inaccessible. And very inconvenient to teleport to if you don't know what you're doing. It's impossible to teleport out if you're not on the list, by the way. You are now on the list."

[self_composed]

"I don't have to breathe," Bella remarks idly. "I suppose I don't have depressurization handled except the regen could probably work faster than it. Where are we? Geographically?" She peers at the globe. [Lazarus, wanna see if I can get you an invite to come stare at Libby's pretty mint-detecting globe?]

[prima_sequentem]

The globe is very pretty. It shows the planet's surface in more or less full colour, with appropriate variation in height for things like mountains, and there are pins sticking out of it: a sea-green one in New York, a purple one in the Arctic Ocean.

Libby points at the latter.

"That's me. The vacuum is mostly for visibility; the extra hazard is just a bonus."

[nonbird]

[Um,] says Lazarus. [Maybe?]

[self_composed]

"How does it look for mints? I notice it hasn't got me, and I don't see Whistle either."

[Maybe?]

[prima_sequentem]

"It shows the current location of anyone who has ever minted a coin with a pin in the appropriate colour. Apparently it can't find you two past your wards. You did both show up at one point. One red and glowy, one black with highlights."

[self_composed]

"I'm red-and-glowy," Bella volunteers. "Hmm. If I were doing this, I'd look not just for mints, but for coins. And ingots. A not-a-mint could still stir up trouble, or be helpful, if they have a stash or a cool power. But I want to think about how to be thorough, really informative..."

[prima_sequentem]

"Take your time," says Libby.

[nonbird]

[Curiosity and nervousness are fighting it out. I'll let you know who wins.]

[self_composed]

[She let me lie-detect her and told me she wants to help me take over the world, and told me what's wrong with stars. I don't think she'd do you harm. Although you might not like it here if you're claustrophobic or scared of heights.]