15634/Raphael's Lament

Raphael's Lament
Date of Scene:	26 September 2023
Location:	Lucifer's Penthouse, Melville
Synopsis:	Raphael comes to visit Lucifer and Nathaniel to discuss glowing Nicks and Apophis meteors.
Cast of Characters:	Lucifer, Sinister, Phantasm (Drago)

---

Lucifer has posed:
Ireland is now just a memory. Well, a memory and two castles which both need to - at some point - be maintained and brought up to certain codes. Another time and place for such as Lucifer has business to attend and Sinister is trying to wrap his head around... work? Studies? Science? Something of that nature, surely.

Course, for the moment of present time, Lucifer is done with any business he had to attend to, the club is running smoothly without his presence there for the moment, so he's back upstairs in the Penthouse. Sitting at the piano, plucking away at the keys in some wayward way. No real tune per se, just a futzing about going from wistful to dramatic and back again. Teasing the ivories as it were.

Sinister has posed:
There's nuttin' wrong with extemporizing on the ivory tickling.

It is definitely work, studies AND science that have claimed the Genius geneticist, along with a goodly conundrum that has been vexing his little grey cells on and off for a fortnight. This isn't long in the scheme of invention, but when you're accustomed to your machinations working quite well on the proprietory tech you've already invented, when something is not behaving itself as it should, we have -issues-.

So, he emerges from the mini lab here, looking weathered and too tight in his skin, holding what seems to be a bowling ball sized geomid in hand, being followed by an array of tools that float helpfully. "I'm going to go cross-eyed. I'm bloodywell going to go cross-eyed. I need tea."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Well I don't have tea, but I do have some of this left." A hand that most definitely is NOT Lucifer's holds out a familiar looking flask. The angel nods to Sinister before looking over to Lucifer. "...Michael Nicholas's manager sure has seen everything, hasn't he?"

Lucifer has posed:
"You know. I am quite sure you could just call him Nick. We call him Nick... you can call him Nick. That way there is a direct distinction between him and the other Michael we all know and love /oh so much/." The sarcasm that drips from Lucifer's voice at the end of all that is palatable.

"Also, perhaps? I think that all depends on what Wade has seen...recently." A pause, and the piano music stops. "Nathaniel, you know that if you need anything while you're hard at work in the lab I'd bring it to you right? Though if you wanted to step out of the lab, I understand that notion too. But please, don't go bloodywell cross-eyed. It's not good for you."

Finally, his attention turns back to Raphael as he stands from the piano bench, turns to face his brother and crosses arms over his chest. "What in all that is holy did you do, Raphael?"

Sinister has posed:
"That..." the flask gets taken and stared at. Moment to process. Moment to acknowledge. "...that's... oh dear lawks." Looking from flask to hand to Celestial, Sin blinks owlishly. "You know, we're seeing a heck of a lot of you..." casting his attention over to Lucifer, there's a chuckle and a nod, measured out with a sigh. "I lose track of time when I'm focused. I used to forget to eat, slept at the microscope. Once upon a time."

Walking to the kitchenette, the kettle is brought to bare and loose leaf in a tea caddy is fixed. There'll easily be enough for three cups of strong and flavourful Assam, with that caddy.

"Use colourful language and scientific terms, else I think at the moment I'll fail to grasp what's being said."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"I did make it distinctive." Raphael protests, "By using both the first and middle names. But supposing I switched to Nick. Calendar arguments aside, do you realize how big the Christmas season is?" He lets go of the flask as Sinister takes it, "Now imagine a conversation about him in December."

He turns his head to watch the doctor head over to a kettle "Well, when you gather together several people of great interest into a room, one tends to take notice. And considering I sent one of my more challenging charges your way. Seems appropriate to pop in. Doesn't it?"

He shakes his head, pulling out a SECOND flask to open that one up getting ready to sip it before he blinks, sighing to close the container up again to slide it back into his pocket.

Lucifer's question is ignored. It's just considered. "...Well. There might have been a miscommunication around the snack table. And Mi-" Raphael grumbles, "...NICK. was positively glowing by the end of the conversation. And that's when his manager came in."

Lucifer has posed:
"Now you don't need to eat and you pull yourself away. Progress. In some direction..." Lucifer comments towards Nathaniel before he turns his gaze back to Raphael while the angel speaks. That second flask is eyed, and then when it's put away his own brow lifts up a bit.

"Miscommunication? Also, what do you mean challenging charges? I'm a bit confused. Can you tell me in plain english what the bloody hell happened or do I need to call someone else here to regale us with the tale?" Course, he could be talking about anyone in that moment. "And who took notice? Dad? Michael the Asshole? Uriel? All the above plus some?" See, this is what you get when you skirt around the details.

Sinister has posed:
"I believe he means Cecilia," Sinister stares at the kettle until it boils, then pours three cups of hot water and starts the dunking process. It is methodical, scentific even, certainly thorough, until tea with lemon, tea with honey and tea black are ALL ready to be taken, whichever is desired of whichever palate. He takes what's left over.

"He isn't a saint. Differentiating between him and Saint Nicholas isn't exactly rocket science... You just call the other one Santa..." all of that muttered as if this is REALLy a conversation being entertained, he plods heavy footed to Lucifer's side, leans in for a kiss that's less precise and more a bit slap and a big bang, but plenty of noisy. "MWAH. There's -always- progress. This way you can fuss and inform me that I look like a zombie with less appeal."

He leans on air, waiting for the answers to be spilled from the broad overview of exactly what -could have- happened in a given scenario. "How did Wade handle an incandescent Drago?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
To the mention of Cecilia's name Raphael takes in a deep breath and sighs, "Yes. I had a feeling that's who he meant." When the other options for how to differentiate between Nick and St. Nick are listed he nods a bit but immediately shakes his head at the start of the mention of 'Santa' "Not since the typo incident." Raphael states in a tone that's...WAY too serious to be considered a joke.

"Not that. He still thinks letters from that year got misdirected. As for the glowing Nick. He handled it...oddly quite well. He asked for an approximate time in which it might wear off, and just started making phone calls about rescheduling his flight."

Lucifer has posed:
"I still swear I never received a letter. We don't have postal service in Hell, and I'm not about to send a gremlin, hellhound, or demon up here to start picking it up..." Lucifer says this much and then gives a chuckle. Whether he's just playing into it or it's something that really happened... it's not anything he's about to readily admit.

He picks the tea with the lemon. "Thanks love." A kiss that's a little loud and bangy is still a kiss well received. "Okay, so Nick made phone calls to re-arrange his flight. When did Wade happen in on all of this? Did he see anything in person? Cause you mentioned that the manager has likely seen it all..." Which makes him wonder if he's revealed anything to Wade, personally. Or did Nick give away their dirty little secret one night after drinking or something.

Damn Catholics.

"Also, do we need to help with any sort of damage control?"

Sinister has posed:
"It's like that religion that started on a biblical typo in printing. Seventh day hoppists. Of all the virtues, hop is the greatest. So every Sunday, they'd hop around instead of walking like normal people." Sinister deadpans. "ALthough I'm rather certain that one typo up there, doth not constitute a Black Christmas. That would have had to have been one hell of a celestial telegram."

Idly, he scratches his jaw, then indicates the teas he made. "I can't be the only one having tea. Please. Even if I'm the only actually english person in the room." -- a grin given when Lucifer takes a cuppa -- "You are quite welcome."

And consideration is given of Lucifer at this point, extensively. "Now, you know I can picture you in the traditional red and green, with bells on. And a floppy elf hat, giving /very/ suggestive adult toys out to all the Bad boys and girls."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Raphael looks to Lucifer. "When he came in. Nick. Was. Positively. Glowing." There's an emphasis on the word Glowing. "And unable to stand. Cecilia got the cups mixed up. I was wondering why mine was so weak until I looked at him."

He pauses, "Wade Shaw came in on that. Took a few seconds to look at him. The only real reaction I saw was the sigh and a resigned look afterwards."

The question about tea causes for the angel to look over to Sinister. "I'll try one."

Lucifer has posed:
"So damage control with Wade then... in a sense." Lucifer says this as he sips his tea even though it is still piping hot. The heat never bothered him anyway. Though he does give a side-eye to Nathaniel and then shakes his head. "You can imagine that all you want. You will -never- see it come to pass, so help me."

The Devil pauses then, as if he's suddenly lost in a thought or two. "But Nick did make it on a flight out yes? To get to England? I almost wondered if you two kept him up too late or something, you might just fly him there yourselves if push came to shove." Admitting this much as he takes another sip from his tea.

Sinister has posed:
Floating the last cup (the one with honey) over to the Saint of Doctors, Sinister inclines his head. Tea will potentially be a thing, some day. There is a long stare at Raphael over this, then a eyeroll and a shake of the head.

"I swear..." trails off. "Living with superpowered people on the same earth as you, it's a wonder mankind haven't collectively given up on disbelief. Oh, well."

Pause. "Well, now that's just a challenge, Lucifer." Not Luci. The whole name!

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Raphael gives a bit of an aside glance to the mention of flying him there. If that had been a consideration, it's not admitted to. "He did make it to his new hotel." A hand reaches up to take the cup floated over, "It was more of a comment, regarding Wade. I do believe James Buchanan had to talk to him regarding what he knew of Nick at the beginning of the most recent bout of troubles. But...one would think he'd pause a BIT longer than that at least coming in on that."

Sinister's comment about people living with superpowered people gets Raphael to look over to him. "...Sarcasm?"

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer turns and walks back over to the piano, settling at the bench again. "Well. It seems like all went as well as it could. Nick had himself a taste of Heavenly Ambrosia, glowed... I suppose that might not have stunned Wade so much since he does have that one song that makes him glow..."

Cup is set onto a coaster which rests on the piano, likely indicating many a drink has rested there a time or few. Lucifer begins to play on the keys once more. Something casual, like he's still tinkering with the keys, not sure if he's got the melody just right yet. As far as the question about sarcasm, he'll let Nathaniel answer that one and just plays for the moment. Anything more he might wish to say or ask put to the side.

Sinister has posed:
"Naturally. The human capacity of ignoring what's right in front of them hath no bounds," Sinister states, with a glance to the bowling ball sized geomid. "Random question of the moment...." he begins, glances to both angels and then soldiers on.

"Is there a metal or alloy that's specifically associated with Celestials? I would assume perhaps highly refined Electrum, but then I'd be stabbing at things in the dark."

With a tap on the top of the bowling ball, he fiddles with something on the inside with a grimace, his tea floating beside himself.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Raphael lifts up his cup to sip the provided tea, a brow arching to the question. The cup lowers. "Gold." The eyes look over to Lucifer, noting his, somewhat silence.

"Who was the promise for?"

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer winces enough that his fingers actually slip on the keys, causing him to play a very off-key chord. He doesn't like direct questions like that, because he cannot tell a lie, so now he has to answer. And since this is his brother - whom he's actually on good terms with - he can't really white-lie or fudge the truth, either.

"A man by the name of Leonard Heenan." He offers. "I confronted him one afternoon because he had some past ties with Nathaniel..." He goes on to tell the abridged version of that story, then ties it to meeting Leonard at his home, and the rest is sort of history. "So I punched Michael for him. I mean I punched Michael for a lot of reasons, but a promise made is a promise kept when the promise is from the Devil."

Sinister has posed:
"Gold. Well, the upside is that's extremely conductive, but it's soft as garbage. Hrm. Maybe a polymerized electroplate over electrum wiring. That -ought- to work," Sinister has gone into muttering to himself as he turns the geomid so the inside catches the light. "Who would've thought. Superconductors. I suppose that -does- make a measure of sense..." What IS he muttering on about?

Absently: "Thank you Raphael."

He peers up beneath his brows at Lucifer's explanation, his expression dropping some affect at the recount of the story. That he's safe from attempts upon his life is one thing, but he doesn't -like- the other Phantasm much at all.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Seeing the off balance angel at the piano, Raphael doesn't look away as Sinister makes note of the drawbacks to gold. Perhaps he should be focusing upon the doctor's line of inquiry but, it appears that he may get more information from Lucifer than planned. "Silver comes second. And you're welcome." He states to Sinister, walking over towards the piano.

The angel grows quiet as he listens to the explanation, giving a slow nod once the name is given. "So, you met the other Hannigan. Well. Good to know he hasn't FULLY abandoned his successor. Although. I believe you may be partially wrong about the spells and just how much is supported by what side."

Lucifer has posed:
"At this point, that wouldn't surprise me. I've been embarassingly wrong about a few things concerning Mister Drago. What's one more item on the list?" Lucifer says this much as he smiles to Raphael. "And I bet dollars to wingfeathers, you either can't or won't tell me the specifics...for whatever reason." He might even be scowling a little, mostly because he loves a good puzzle and he's quite often very good at it.

Except this one.

Finally his attention turns back to Nathaniel, and he tilts his head. "Nathaniel, love, you're babbling. And you're still working... what ARE you working on and what does it have to do with angelic metal representations?"

Sinister has posed:
"Alright, so silver as a second..." muttering a bit more, he continues to fine tune the inside of the bowling ball for a while, before resting his hands on top of the geomid. Stop. Working. Right now.

"I'm attempting to create sympathetic nodes in this particular power grid, that will tune into celestial DNA. Much like cracking that open, harnessing it is proving tricky. It's almost like a noble gas, in that it does not want to react with anything I try and work with. Hence... asking the tricky question."

There's a snort from Sinister though, staring off through the piano for a long moment. "Sponteneity tends to make me wonder how much imagination and the ability to channel it go hand in hand. The two power lines don't need to argue, but I have a feeling that certain interested parties are questionable about that fact." He chews a little on his cheek then.

"And back to the original tangent, I am not even sure if gold, an amalgum or electrum is going to work either, it might have to have a certain energy component to it, which ... nobody is going to like, if I have to do what I might have to do."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"I am unable to answer the questions you do not ask. And if you bury the ones you ask with even more, Some will be missed. So perhaps try asking again." Raphael tilts his head in consideration. "I was not all that involved with his situation until confirmation when he made his decision. And even then, there are limits to to how much I get involved. Whatever actions that may or may not have led to his being. I was not a part of. But I can't argue with Leonard's reasoning regarding the convenience. Especially when considering bloodlines. Nor the general interest of certain siblings. That is too much coincidence."

Raphael takes a moment to sip his tea, using the newfound break from the sounds of his own voice to listen to the tones of the Doctor's. "Why?"

A simple sounding question. But an important one.

Lucifer has posed:
"Look, this all started because we all figured it was the Phantasm helping to power the songs. Then we're told it's not at all powered by the Phantasm, but by something more... Holy... and I have my brethren to thank for that. Which led me down a road of thinking that one of Nick's parents was an Angel. Then that was wrong, well... sort of wrong... because supposedly it's not a direct relation, but someone's great great great somebody got busy with an Angelic host. Now it's a little of this, a little of that and a whole lot of something else. But no one seems to know how much of what goes into which segment." Lucifer says all that to go, "I can't ask the questions I don't know to ask. I can only give you hints to the information I'm lacking and go, fill in the blanks where you can please..."

Then his attention is drawn, again, to Nathaniel. "Is this so you can try to make the most of whatever of my DNA you put in yourself, or are you thinking of extracting MORE to then make better use of it? Or is it a column C where I'm going to have to make sure Uriel isn't watching when you pull some DNA from his wingtips?" He says all this, hands on hips, and a shake of his head with a chuckle. "You can't even make the joke of asking Nathaniel if he wants an Angel in him... cause he's already got some. Literally."

Sinister has posed:
"Why is a patently open question. Specificity is probably more exacting, for obvious reasons..." Sinister draws his focus back to the here, not the middle-distance of Piano-land, to focus attention on Lucifer. "I have enough trouble with the celestial DNA I already possess, it's given me a whole range of strangeness to my hybrid life. But... mostly column C." He looks over to Raphael, tilts his head and shrugs slightly. The man's a healer. Maybe this will count for something.

"Perambulating this point around for some fresh air -- Faith is a kicker for the Host and him above and you already heard my sarcastic take on that. Frankly, a lot of the faith in humans got lost along the way, because it's /easier/ to have faith in things that are proven. The wishy washy gets all lost in the slipstream of that -- but we've had a thousand apocalyptic catastrophes on earth, most of which did not require divine intervention, because we saved ourselves. And there's an extra-planar monster of quite horrific power levels slowly zeroing in on us. But sometimes, to get help all you actually have to do is ask. So I asked Uriel for a single feather. He gave me four. And it was on my suggestion, relating to this impending issue of doom and destruction, that Nick actually composed Uriel's song. So I think he was a bit inclined to be jovial. But he's also Uriel -- which means a probability cascade I'd be sciencing from here until next week if I got into all the details."

Pause, deep inhale.

"So Nick has awakened the Primary of Uriel, creating an improbability driven super generator of infinite possibilities. And now, I'm attempting to do what I do best... reinvent the wheel and harness Celestial DNA, to make it an improbability hyperdrive."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Raphael tilts his head to Lucifer's statments. "...What were the words Leonard said specifically? That the songs couldn't possibly be fueled by the the Phantasm energy or that the songs are not commonplace to a phantasm to use?"

Raphael takes a moment to hear the explanation before looking back to Lucifer, tilting his head in indication of Sinister. "You're in a relationship with one right now trying to repurpose energy in a different way. What's not to say that's what's happening here?"

Raphael looks back over to Sinister, contemplating the things shared. A hand lifts up, rubbing his chin. "Hmm...Another convenience that Nick existed to get Uriel into such an accommodating way. Or for that spell to be accessible to you when you needed it. I may not know the particular motivation that would lead one to steer the creation. But I'm seeing a lot of probable reasons. If one was forward thinking enough to come up with those reasons to begin with."

Lucifer has posed:
"He insinuated the songs could not possibly be fueled by the Phantasm energy." Lucifer offers this much to Raphael before lifting his shoulders into a shrug. "That's when we got into the whole Nick has someone from up above to thank for that. Which is also what led to Leonard asking me to punch whoever was responsible in the face. And that's why I punched Michael. Well. Part of the reasons why..." Offering that much more before he moves over to the whiskey bar.

At this point he needs something a little stronger than tea, but not the ambrosia from up above. Simple whiskey does the trick, and likely with a nicotine chaser. "Nathaniel wants to use that thing to help us predict what the Apophis meteor is going to do once it crosses the threshold back into our reality. Right now it's outside our plane of existence. It's coming tho. Soon. And we're trying to avoid yet another apocalyptic diaster..." He feels like he's having two very different conversations at the same time and is surprised he's able to keep up with both.

Sinister has posed:
"Mmmm," this noncommittal noise, brought to you by Leo Hannigan. Although there is a small, but very satisfied smile at the mention of the punch. That was very satisfying.

"Actually, minor correction there. Predicting outcome is far too broad a topic to be helpful in chaos theorum. Predicating outcome, is slightly easier, based on a choice of the moment and likely scenarios. The improbability supergenerator is liable to be a very dangerous device, in the wrong hands. It's quite possible to get very lost in all the choices along a single timeline." Sin opines that, but does not indulge in anything else, neither alcohol nor nicotine for the nonce. Just his tea, which is again taken from the air and sipped satisfyingly. "But the whole point of this, is actually because we have a limited span of time, a slightly less limited range of options and we actually can't afford to screw things up too badly. So, it will help if we can review... situations."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Raphael hurms to the confirmation. "I still question this. But I will leave it be. I would presume he was more angered by his first choice being interfered with. But that does lead to another interesting conundrum. Michael as a matchmaker. And knowing that the parents would hit it off. His bedside manner, while sometimes on point, is not very long lasting."

The angel looks over to Sinister. "What situations are you thinking of?"

Lucifer has posed:
Well now the topic has turned back to the Apophis meteor. Which means he can stop thinking about past conversations that involve Nick Drago and the powers he has. Whiskey for himself, he pours a cognac for Nathaniel and floats it over. "Something from the bar, Raphael?"

Sinister has posed:
"Eeenhh, specifically?" Sinister presses his lips together. "Various options of diverting the path of the meteor, so it's slung into a different parabola. Possibility of sending it into the sun. Possibility of doing nothing. Possibility of Lucifer and another aquaintence of ours being magnets for the thing, as they're both touched by the energy of it and that energy is quantum entangled. All sorts of what if's, Raphael." Sinister looks from the tea to the cognac, smiling a little on the thin lipped side as they're still a bit taut in thought. "Thank you, love."

It's shot back, tea is resumed.

"Once I've managed to harness the improbability energy, I'll have to create an interface. I mean, that's not the hardest thing in the universe to do -- but this does remind me of working out how to create a personal tesseract."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"After the drink mishap, I think I will first work on this tea your companion has taken the time to prepare for me." Raphael answers regarding the offer for alcohol, "But if you offer later on my response may change."

He takes a sip of the tea previously indicated. "It may be better if your interpretation is correct, Lucifer. Could you imagine the implication otherwise once he actually becomes fully powered?"

Another sip is taken. "...How long do you expect for it to take before you complete this project of yours?"

Lucifer has posed:
"I do believe you should say 'if' not 'when'. It's still a toss up if Leonard will even choose Nick to take on the full power of the Phantasm. And a bit of me wonders if the meddling of Angelics has got the man questioning if it should be done." Lucifer offers this much before taking a sip of his whiskey while walking over back to the piano to use the whiskey to irish his tea.

"At the end of it all, Raphael, we want to know which option will be the best option. We could supposedly do -anything- to this asteroid... but whatever we choose has to keep the most people safe. Even if it's going to piss off an entire cult..."

Sinister has posed:
"That depends on my success at integrating the capacitors, Raphael. And whether I have anything in my collection that can help guide quantum, but that might be a stretch. Exceedingly rare, that is..." Sinister shakes his head a little, apparently caught in a memory for a moment, his brows creasing into the steeple of a frown.

"Anyhoo..." yes, he's the kind that will say that word and own it "...precisely. I estimate now we've got six months to a year for it to get here. So, essentially this project will be completed in the /shortest/ time I can possibly master, without cutting corners. It's kept me working and hence the cross-eyed complaint earlier."

Finishing his tea, it is now that he heads the cup in one direction and his feet in another, to refresh drinks and snaffle a smoke.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Hmm." Raphael gives a nod, "A good point. But, there's plenty of blame to go around for the meddling portion. Comparatively speaking, a genetic boost was not the worst thing done. And he did not have to approach him after the accident if he was that concerned."

To the answer that was a lengthy way to say 'I dunno.' Raphael takes a long sip of his tea. "Hmm. I wish you luck of course." He glances over to Lucifer, cracking a small smile, "I would much rather things last long enough for us to find out which of us is right."

Lucifer has posed:
"As would I, all truth told. We'll figure it out. Or, I'll go tear down the Sorcerer Supreme's door if I have to and pull an answer out of his wacky head..." Lucifer offers this and then shrugs. "But the fact that he's been all but silent for a while... makes me not want to crack that nut open just yet."

Is he still talking about the Sorcerer? Likely.

"Well. All of that to come back to a roundabout settling point I think. We'll have to go check on Wade and Nick sometime soon, Nathaniel. Which means you get to take a vacation back to some stomping grounds. Which I know you're excited for, even if you won't admit it." He looks back to Raphael then. "Give everyone who wants it my love, will you?"

Sinister has posed:
"I'm thoroughly looking forward to a cornish pasty or two. And proper sausage rolls." Sinister replies, plainly enough, RADIATING innocence. A very generous refill of cognac, that is.

"I doubt any will want them, but for Azrael, but do give my regards..."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
There is an uptilt to the cup as Raphael finishes up his drink. "That I will." Raphael assures, walking over to the bar. The cup sets down upon the the bar top with a light tapping sound as the angel vanishes.