Neste kept unblinking eyes on Septimus as he remastered ambulation. Hers was a clinical approach, assessing his musculature and motion. Satisfied that his spinal motor neurons were responding properly, she turned her head aside to offer privacy as he dressed, and only returned her full visual attention to him once he'd wrapped his scarf about his neck and approached her.
"Special abilities? Well, you'll shed your skin each year, and you'll need to incorporate carpet beetles into your diet." A low chuckle accompanied these words. Her upper lip rose slightly, almost identically to Scel's own humorous gesture, to indicate she was teasing. "Toothpaste. Deodorant. Shower. You'll be fine."
She lifted her hands and gently pushed his shoulders to make certain his new body's sense of balance was up to snuff. "You won't wake up with glowing eyes. You're human, and I'm pleased to say that your body is completely your own right down to the atomic level. No traces of Nifid remain. Your fingerprints - the ones you were born with - are the same. Your DNA is the same. Anisogamic-wise, any children you sire are your own with no trace of anything else them unless, naturally, it's contribution from the mother."
The thought of Septimus changing a diaper brought a smile to her face. He'd undoubtedly regret the loss of his extra limbs and the ability to turn off his olfactory senses. Welcome back to humanity, old man! Now suffer like the rest of your species!
"Your processor is powered by a very small source just below your right adrenal gland. It's located here." Her fingertips pressed against his abdomen and then she walked away to wet a towel. "The source will last a solid year, growing smaller as it ages. However, it will shut down if it senses starvation. Not hunger, mind you. Starvation to the point where your body has consumed all fat and muscle reserves and begins to consume organs for want of fuel. I recommend you fashion your own power source through whatever means your people are accustomed to. The device will then go dormant - cease to age - and you can use it for emergency backup."
Neste breathed an almost weary sigh, lips pursed and brow furrowed as she wiped the dried blood from under Septimus' nose and his chin with all the vigor of a mother trying to clean an errant child's dirty face. "Regeneration, as I mentioned, will be an issue. You'll find yourself healing very quickly at first but this will wear off during the next week or two. Don't come to rely on it. Aging, however! You're going to age much more slowly on a genetic level. Environment and habits will still affect it, of course, but you might live another thousand years while maintaining a full head of hair."
Pleased with her efforts to make him more presentable, she draped the soiled cloth over her shoulder and smiled as she met his gaze. "There is no need to thank me, nor are you in any debt to me. This is the construct way, Septimus. We do not readily accept non-constructs into our midst. Once a being is considered self-same, they become a piece of our hearts. They make colors there, intentional or not. I considered you to be self-same long before today."
Marcus put a kettle on the stove. Unfortunately, his coffee was the instant kind, but it tasted alright just the same. He fetched a few cups from the cupboard and then leaned his elbows on the counter. For the briefest moment, he felt way too adult. This was the first time he'd ever entertained any guests on his own. The weird feeling passed and he got down to business.
"I don't know what the meeting's about. I got a flyer under my door this morning, but I honestly haven't been dwelling on it."
His attention drew inward as he contemplated the last invasion. His memories were much different than his friends'. "When the last invasion hit, my father took me with him to the future. I grew up there, all the while watching him toil in preparation for the Drones. He designed some seriously nasty shit, most of it being biological warfare. It took years of production to crank out."
The kettle whistled and Marcus fixed Torii a cup before preparing his own. "Right before the carnival, my father held a meeting. There was another 'borg there, although I'm not sure if he's a tech priest or just a cyborg. He's not part of the Observatory brotherhoods. Septimus was his name. Seemed pretty cool. The Klingon was there. I've heard some rumors about him, mainly that he was part of a group that got a bunch of vermin for a practical joke. I honestly know more about the joke's outcome than I do him. Mez-something was his name, and Hans says he's one hell of a good warrior. I was mainly there to babysit my baby brother. They were working on some mission, but that's not really unusual. My father pays for his research one assassination at a time - no secret - and I tune out his business. I wish I'd paid better attention now, though. I don't know if it's related to any invasion."
The boy put his spoon down and regarded each girl in turn. "This morning, on the news, they talked about three admechs picked up for drug trafficking with intent to sell to youth. These three tech priests belong to an order known for being not only straight-edge, but also for its benevolent nature towards children. I know them all personally. Couldn't ask for a better bunch of good guys." His brow furrowed. "They arrested them moments after we left the carnival. I- I think these three Brothers..."
A pained expression flickered across his face, pinching his eyes closed and twisting the corners of his mouth into a soft grimace. "Hans told us to leave, and told us to take the truck and go to the Observatory instead of having you all walk to the Building. I think the Brothers sacrificed themselves so the NMJM wouldn't pick us up."
Marcus drew a steadying breath before continuing. "Brother Adrastus - most of you met him last night - is the de facto head of the Observatory. He's sort of a second father to me. Last night, he told me to take the truck in the morning, and keep it with me because I'll need it. He told me to keep close to Klaus. He basically sent me to live here instead of at the Observatory, and I don't know why yet, but I think it all ties in to the stuff that happened after the carnival. I'm guessing the meeting is gonna be about this somehow."
His gaze turned towards Kale. "Did you see anything weird last night?"
