17445/Aftermath of the Exhibit

Aftermath of the Exhibit
Date of Scene:	18 March 2024
Location:	In a care leaving the Gotham Museum
Synopsis:	Kenesha, Talia and Alfred discuss important data points and the likilihood of solving the problem.
Cast of Characters:	Alfred Pennyworth, Talia al Ghul, Kenesha
Tinyplot:	The Monocaine Conspiracy

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Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
Alfred Pennyworth sits between Talia and Kenesha in a car that is leaving the exhibit the night of. He is exhausted, demoralized and guilty as sin. He did a good thing by creating this exhibit, but he knows the damage his mistake will cause and is prepared to live up to it to...whoever. There isnt a department of Murderous Xenobiology that he knows of...himself if nothing else.

He is also very quiet.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would have taken the time to work at mixing some strong drinks to pass around. There's a story here. The likes of which she's not fully fluent in. Beyond it being one of her father's older (compared to the standards of time of most ordinary humans, for him but a short era ago).. That Alfred will either share or he will not. She's just making sure the man that seems just about as emotionally broken as she's ever seen him is tended to.

Kenesha has posed:
Kenesha politely declines the drink, offering a faint smile to Talia but keeping the bulk of her attention on Alfred. She holds one of his hands in both of hers, giving a gentle squeeze before murmuring, "This isn't your fault Alfred. You aren't responsible for the flower's existence, or it being here on Earth. It isn't something you have any control over." Letting out a breath, she adds, "Besides, you of all people should know that if something powerful and dangerous exists, people will find it and use it towards their own ends, regardless of what you do to prevent it."

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
Alfred Pennyworth does take her up on the drink; a Whiskey Sour with a dash of ginger root. He slams it and nods, "Abstractly Kenesha you are right, nevertheless I am afraid my consicence begs to differ but given that I am clearly in shock at the momeny I will defer to the wiser judgement of others until I can think out a more rational justification for self loathing and apply it in bulk later. This exhibitt would not exhist without me. I did it. And the good and the bad that come with are mine to blame and mine alone.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would lean back over, "And yet it is not you who brought those wretched things out. Someone's bothered to hide them for a century or so, give or take. If someone had them for so long and buried for a specific scheme they'd have kept them so, not bothered to waste the element of surprise by taking them out once more to taunt. So you're looking at someone who found them, somewhere, knows what they could do, and brought them out to attack you psychologically." If one had such a great weapon, one did not throw away the secret on a paltry parlor trick.

Kenesha has posed:
"She's right, Alfred. This isn't your mistake. That image was planted, knowing only a very few people would know what it is and what it means. Which means they had maybe three or four potential targets, and given that this was something YOU put together, the most logical target is you yourself. You were SUPPOSED to see it. This is why I said we need to investigate. Someone purposely planted that image in the exhibit, we have to try to figure out who." Kenesha agrees with Talia, adding to it, before dropping her own bomb. "Besides, if you're at fault for letting it 'slip past you', then I'm even more at fault. It's likely my people that are the reason that flower exists on Earth to begin with."

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
Alfred Pennyworth wants to believe them, but he simply believes that it was his mistake. The plant has a half life of a century...and until he associated the picture with the dry footbote, he didnt know the damage it had did. But he will allow the possibility that some mastermind is messing with him. It would be the beter scenario. He admits his own mistakes; he's always done that, but on the left and the right he is in shock and not in a position to argue with either, likely not well on the best of times and certainly not now. He shrugs. "Investigation is definitely good. We need to see who saw....quickly."

He blinks at Kenesha, "There are a dozen aliens that could have broguht it, your people are only one, but, I really DO appreciate the attempt to cheer me up.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would lean back, "Have access to, yes. Know what they were, even smaller. Have a history with you, or connected to someone that had a history.. Makes for a minimal list that can be readily backtracked." Someone with a very personal animosity wouldn't have bothered to flaunt the flowers. They'd have just dropped them throughout the entire exhibition to show what they were capable of, or something just as showy.
    "It's personal for them. I'd guess they don't have direct experience.. But knowledge." They know what the flowers are. But haven't used them.

Kenesha has posed:
"That's sweet Alfred, but given where they originated from, there's not many species that can claim that sort of link. And only two that have any real presence here on Earth. And only one of those two that have been here long enough to have been responsible for its taking seed that long ago that it was destroyed in the early 1900s." Kenesha gives a wry smile, "You know that I'll kick your butt when it comes to history, you can't win that fight."

She looks to Talia and nods, "They may still be trying to figure out HOW to use it. All records of the means were destroyed between 1918 and 1922. We saw to it. Not to say that someone somewhere couldn't have keep a copy secretly buried somewhere... but if they knew how to use it, they wouldn't be taunting with images of the flower... they would be taunting with images of the finished product. Or of it's production, at the least. We have at least a little time."

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
Alfred Pennyworth says, "I'm not going to get into a sparring match with two women smarter than me and who both have subject matter expertise on archeology and aliens..." he smiles thinly, "I just intend to thoroughly investate all of this I do wish someone else planted it...it would make me feel better..." he shrugs, "But of course you are right about the ultimate danger; that's from madmen toying with things that they dont understand..but we will see. And yes, I am aware of how through the destruction of records was; I'm one of only five people in the UK...well, from the UK who are living who know what it looks like or the history behidn it...still...something tells me someone saw the wrong thing that night...."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would fold her hands together over. "There aren't that many that could have known what they were and how to use it. Or even their descendents. I'm very, very confident that even some of those that agreed to dispose of them kept some for private research.. Or to have on hand in case it was used again so they could be able to work on a counter-agent as time went on and research and skill progressed."

Kenesha has posed:
Kenesha nods, "I know of three that kept samples to work on a way of neutralizing the Monocaine if it ever reappeared. We keep in regular contact to ensure it doesn't get stolen or the work compromised. But if this is a recent attack... I'll check in with them now. If nothing else, that could eliminate three possible breeches." She pulls out a small cyrstalline slab in roughly the size and shape of a phone, the circuitry running under the surface looking almost biological in nature. Tapping at the piece of crystal, she swipes three times, then looks back to Talia and Alfred, "And now to see who does or doesn't make contact."

Focusing on Talia, Kenesha asks, "How much do you know of the Monocaine, what it does, how it works?"

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
Alfred Pennyworth is in the mood to start immediately texting, but for now, he rests. He knows that he is not entirely at his full game right now, and so listens to Kenesha and Talia. He nurses his drink slowly, trying to put the evening behind him. He has recovered enough to put up a stiff upper lip, even if it is a palid one.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
They always have to start somewhere. Talia doesn't give Alfred any particular advise when it comes to taking some time off. He's not going to no matter what the circumstance is. Talia would turn over to Kenesha, "Rather little beyond it is purportedly Kryptonian in nature, primarily appeared over the First World War by the way humanity refers to it.." Because there were a great many wars defined by humans that other species did not refer to as the same thing..

"Was considered extremely dangerous even by the standards of all else of the era.." Spanish Flu, machine guns, mustard gas, starvation, the Somme.. "Most of it was disposed of somewhat shortly after the war, and there was an unofficial agreement of sorts for those that were aware of it to dispose of all known samples and erase all information of it. My father had at least something to do with it, though I'm not aware of the details." It was involved with killing and exotic poisons. Of course he had a finger in it.

Kenesha has posed:
"The threat of Monocaine isn't so.. overt.. as those other dangers. It's danger is insidious and covert. The flower can be used to make a formula that allows for the imbiber to become invisible. Later, an aerosol form was created that made the formula take hold faster. Instead of weeks of dosing and monitoring, it acts in seconds. The effects were irreversible at the time because it changed the genome itself. With today's technology, we could potentially reverse the effects." Kenesha glances to Alfred and squeezes his hand gently before looking back to Talia, "It also has a tendency to highly stimulate the id, to the point that the user becomes a sociopath. Think of... oh... think of current internet culture, and how popular it's become to be a keyboard bully because nobody can SEE you doing it. Nobody knows that its YOU behind the username. Now imagine how much worse it would get to take that phenomenon and apply it to the real world. Dozens, hundreds, even thousands of invisible men and women running around, sociopaths, unseen. Think of someone like the Joker getting it. Or Lex Luthor. Or any of the current governments. Or any of the cartels. Or just some random asshole that wants to see the world burn and can now access nuclear silos."

She lifts a small shrug, "There's a reason that the world governments, as a whole, decided to destroy it."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would glance over at Kenesha, "I'm aware of a number of.. Equivalent compounds, however none that are so simple to process as you've said." She's thoughtful. "Is it possible that along with an antitode a way to synthesize it is possible?" She would think over and tap at her chin. "An alternative supposition.. Whomever has it has limited supplies of it. Dug up from wherever they found someone's old, personal stash. So they have those and whatever notes they dug up from the possessors a century ago. Their experimentation is limited as they don't want to risk destroying those few samples they have." She would go on.
    "To borrow a phrase.. Stirring the pot. They plant out knowledge to taunt, and those that have knowledge shall immediately pursue."

Kenesha has posed:
"Nothing quite like this. When I say invisible, I mean *completely*. No heat signature, no hair or skin cells or fibers left behind... they become next to impossible to track. Your best bet would be an open space and a floor covered in flour or soot or the like. And if the individual can already fly, or has super speed or any number of other movement-based powers? Well..." Kenesha lifts a shrug, then clears her throat. "Sorry, my people can be... ruthless. And they have the technology to reverse the effects." Pausing, she considers it, then shakes her head, "No, Monocaine is too unique and alien to be synthesized. It has properties that haven't been discovered on Earth yet." But the second option has definite merit, "That could be true, though. And... I'm kicking myself for not thinking of this sooner... there's one place where it might still grow wild. The Savage Lands."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would sigh, "Which are lovely this time of year. And I feel that for me to have a better idea as to what we're up against, I'm going to need to know a bit more about your people. The vast majority of hwich is innuendo I'm sure was inspired by whatever your culture's equivalent of late night acid trips are to spread around."

Kenesha has posed:
Laughing softly, Kenesha shakes her head, "You don't need to know about my people to know about the flower. You *want* to know about my people. I'm willing to share information, but I have some caveats. NOTHING gets back to your father OR the League. The last thing we need are raids on my people or our technology. Humanity isn't ready for what we have, not yet." She pauses, then adds, "Also.. we're immune to all diseases, toxins, and poisons. So no drugs. The flower isn't a toxin, it's a biological compound. It gets spliced onto the genes of those exposed to it, changing them at a molecular level."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod over at Kenesha, "I can agree to those terms." She was not on speaking terms with her father - that could change in time. However, the way it would change would rather drive both of them mad, so the specifics wouldn't survive the transfer. "Just give me the basics, nothing of the specifics." She was pragmatic. Just in case her father did grab her off the streets and throw her in the Pit when she had no say int he matter.

Kenesha has posed:
"Very well. My people are ancient. Biologically immortal. Very hard to kill. And ruthless colonizers. They would use any and every means at their disposal to achieve their goals. Not just through military means either. Though those are... highly, HIGHLY advanced. There is very little we cannot accomplish through technology." Kenesha clears her throat, "Anyways. Of the Kherans, or Kherubim, there are two classes... the normal Kherans, and the Lords and Ladies. They are considered True Kherans. The elite class have the ability to manifest powers, or even to enhance those powers through genetic manipulation. And before you ask, yes, I am technically one of them, though I refuse to live by their doctrines." Kenesha frowns, "Scientifically, technologically, not many races can fuck with us. The Martians could have.. the Kryptonians could have.. the Shi'ar might be able to.. especially now. The Kree are not as good as they think they are. Then of course there are races like the Celestials and Eternals, but they tend to just sort of sit back and laugh at all of us. So.. that's a thing." She lifts a shrug, "On the overall.. we're faster and stronger than humans, though we don't share the typical Kryptonian traits. We're *exceptionally* durable and heal extremely fast. We can display a range of powers that spans the spectrum. Some can flight, some have extreme strength or speed, heat vision, extra vision ranges... our senses ARE better, but more just.. exceptionally well-tuned. Oh, and our vocal range is beyond human ability to mimic. We have intergalactic travel, energy-based weapons, plasma-based weapons, though oddly, our deadliest weapons are the bladed ones." She lifts a shrug and offers a half-smile, "Is there something in particular you want to know about?

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would shrug over, "THat's sufficient for now. It's actually a welcome respite to hear not about how we're so special in the greater scheme of things." She meant humans. "I'll admit to a lack of fluency on the pan-galactic political game.." Even her father's pull did not go that far. "At least, those questions I have are ones that I do not /need/ to know. Satisfying curiousity does nothing if it does not lead somewhere. My questions are therefore tangents and indulgences, and do not require elaboration on to be of use. Merely that you are akin to Kryptonians but far, far older and have a militant culture in turn."

Kenesha has posed:
Nodding, Kenesha smiles faintly, "Oh, don't get me wrong. Humanity will get there, despite the attempts of multiple species to interfere with its evolution.. but for now, as a species, yeah.. humanity still has a long road to walk." Chuckling softly, she shifts slightly in her seat, "That's entirely fair. To give a frame of reference, I am over 18 millenia old. A handful of my people have been here since... well.. the start of human civilization."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod at Kenesha, "Ah, then you've seen us at the worst of times. I suppose then how wretched we must be when it comes to our ability to hate one another compared to much other of the galactic stage. Whether we're particularly special when it comes to our ability to dismember our own kind. Or is that depressingly common?"

Kenesha has posed:
"I've seen humanity at all stages of life, all eras and times. Few species ever want to admit to coming from similar beginnings.. but nearly all of them have to struggle through the brutality of a race in its.. toddler years. I try not to judge based on growing pains, but rather if a race can learn from it's past and mistakes." Kenesha smiles faintly, "You are growing at a relatively faster pace than I would have expected, however. So that's something."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod, "Ah, then our own phase is rather common throughout the galaxy. We're nothing special. I'm not sure that's reassuring as it means that we're like all otehr races or rather depressing in the implicationst hat nearly all sentient races are forged from such things and what it says about life at large."

Kenesha has posed:
"Life, at it's core, is chaotic. Violence is part of that chaos, part of growth. When you're young, the first time you walk... you fall. It's painful. But if you don't get back up and try again, you never learn to walk. Same when you first try to run. Much of life includes pain with failure, whatever people want to say, it does motivate." Kenesha smiles faintly, "I don't think humanity is any better or worse than any other species out there. You have unique traits, to be certain. But the basic process of growth across the entire species tends to be similar regardless of the details."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod, "Well, I suppose that's something about the universal nature of sapience, then. Reassuring. And I don't want to know the statistics for how many species manage to last and grovel their way out of base savagery and not cull themselves raw in the process. Well,t aht's why I suppose there are star spanning empires of those that last the longest. I can't expect you to summarize several millenia of life and experience in a single conversation now, can I?"

Kenesha has posed:
"That... would be difficult. I could attempt it, but I make no guarantees. I am ancient, not infallible." Kenesha laughs softly and offers a smile to Talia. "For now, however.. I'd like to stay with Alfred if possible. He and I have.. a lot of catching up to do. Almost 40 years worth.."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod, "Of course. If there's any way I can help, let me know. My access might be.. Limited.." The limits of her own current dynamic iwth her father and the League, the limitations that her still active involvement inthe greater world of masked supervillainy.. "Enjoy your time together."

Kenesha has posed:
"Thank you, I will. I think we'll have to pool information and resources for this one. We had to organize the world leaders last time. Hopefully it will require... less drastic measures, this time." Kenesha smiles, "And conversely, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I can't always intervene, but I will do everything I can."