2809/To Be Frank...

To Be Frank...
Date of Scene:	12 October 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Frankstein visits St. Molly's to talk about belonging, the past and the upsides of mercenary work.
Cast of Characters:	Molly Millions, Frankenstein, Phage

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Molly Millions has posed:
St. Molly's. Lowtown's always a hive of scum and villainry, and while there's a thousand places to indulge a thousand vices... there's only one St. Molly's. A place where the inhuman doesn't stand out, the alien is as acceptable as the mutant. And the waitstaff doesn't care as long as you have the money and don't try to destroy the place. There's some arm wrestling at a table that's drawing the majority of attention for the moment, people crowded four deep for a confrontation between a four-armed mutant from Genosha and a Badoon.

Molly herself, however, is currently perched on a stool by the bar, pushing noodles around with her chopsticks and nursing a vodka with the look of one that is probably nursing a third day hangover. The ridge of skin around her eyesockets showing where normally her lenses should sit, the golden-green eyes underneath holding more in common with a housecat than a human. The noise level is somewhere below headache inducing, and in as many languages as there are people in the place presently.

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein needs a place where he isn't judged for being a monster and this is one of the few he can relax in. He knows a few back ways in and sighs with relief when he gets in. He moves to the barstool and grunts, "Goood..." he is not at his human or inhuman end of the spretrum but hardly erudite.

Molly Millions has posed:
There's not really a 'hi' from Molly at least, just an acknowledging upnod of her head, the flick of her eyes not showing alarm in the slightest at his appearance. The vodka is snagged for a swallow before she offers,"What's your poison tonight?" with the vaguest quirk of her lips. A shout from the table makes her look briefly that way, but there's no table flying, yet, so apparently she feels no need to interfere.

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein considers, "Jack..." he croaks. It sooths his throat when he gets like this, makes speech, even slow speech possible. He hate snot being able ot talk. Hates it more than the limp even.

Molly Millions has posed:
Molly gives an acknowledging dip of her head, not so much moving from her stool as leaning sideways to snag the Jack and pour him a double, starting to set it on the bar before she lofts a brow,"Unless that was supposed to be your name..?" the fact that the gesture's completed and she moves back to her noodles suggests that she doubts that though,"Looks like that hurt." she offers with a nod his way, attention drifting back to the punters again, checking, monitoring. Making sure it doesn't get too out of hand at least.

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein laughs and shakes his head. He sips, "It....does. But the booze....helps." It relaxes the pain in his vocal cords. He sips some more. "Name's....Frank....as good as any."

Molly Millions has posed:
"Amen to that." Molly grunt, raising her glass briefly,"Molly. Frank. Welcome." a swallow and she settles back, straightening a little in her seat,"Heard word in some circles that they're working on a kind of skin. Synthetic. Help people with scars and that sort of thing. Not that it helps right now, but... maybe." she elects to suggest absently, her attention flicking to the door where someone arrives and wordlessly opens a beer and pushes it down the bar with little more than nods and a few dollars exchanged.

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein shrugs, "Surgery....hard...for me. Frankenstein...used...chemicals...not...normal. Maybe." He likes to hope but he is even more screwed than a single frankenstin but gettingthat complicated hurts so he relaxes and drinks. He nods to the new comer.

Molly Millions has posed:
"None of us are normal." Molly offers with that vague kind of smile,"Pain sucks. Sometimes there's nothing that can be done for it. Sometimes there is. Not my business either way, but there's a few, 'specially around here... that might find it useful. So... chemical, you say? Meta... what they call it, then? Meta-human?"

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein nods and lets his shoulders slip a bit, breathing in. "I can ...imagine." He nods, "Meta humans...many. Met many. Not me. I am ....chopped up, stitched together." He nods to Molly suspecting she knows what he is talking about.

Molly Millions has posed:
"Sounds like my life." Molly offers drily, those eyes flitting over him briefly before she sets aside her noodles,"Y'remind me of an old joe I knew once. Great in his time, but he had some work done in Nighttown and they jacked his nerves... was never right after that. Let me know if there's something I can get you, yeh?" she suggests, the barest hint of compassion coloring her tone where she pushes a hand through her hair and then sharply whistles, calling out in Mandarin,"Put that /down/, you break that you pay." with a glare in the direction of the four-armed man, unblinking glare until she's sure that the chair has had all four legs returned to the floor mostly intact, at least.

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein says, "Situation....complicated....not just....animated corpse...implants...alien...wierd." He sips more and relaxes. He looks at the guy and wonders why the hell he is messing with someone who can slice him to ribbons but quite prepared to help."

Molly Millions has posed:
"Yeh, complicated's a word for it." Molly agree's, her eyes still on the man as she watches him decide that he's going to head out for now,"Start getting alien involved in it and it goes to a whole differen level of bizarre. Still. I know a few people here and there." she grunts quietly as finally she drags her eyes back,"All my augs are at least human in origin... still a few... compatibility errors between them sometimes but not... that sort of level at least." still from her pocket she takes a bottle and with consideration offers it out with the rattle of pills,"Not sure how they'll interact with your chemistry. But, might take the edge off?"

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein nods, "I've seen stuff no one should..." his voice is smoother now, though still strained, "Future...past...worlds that arent real. I have no idea who I am anymore and that was bad from the start. Happy to try...might not even work?" He relaxes, "Who knows?

Molly Millions has posed:
"I can get you in contact with people." Molly suggests,"Though with that much travelling you've probably seen more than I have. And I know, not my business, but call it a little sympathy for another joe, yeh?" she offers with an upnod, another sharp, warning whistle given to the people mulling about the table with the arm wrestling.

"We can all get into the probably not going to work, but end of the day the only way to know for sure is to ask. Try. You've got to decide what you're willing to risk and what you're hoping for out of it, yeh? You just sound like even talking's a problem... and that's no way for anyone to have to live."

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein says, "I've seen....things you wouldn't believe..." he shrugs, "but so many of me are so many people. I don't know who ends and where who begins. Might all be fake. Sympathy is good. Makes you human." He smirks at the whistle. He takes the pill and nods, "listening is appreciated."

Molly Millions has posed:
"Sweetheart... six months ago I'd have asked what you were smoking if you told me people could fly and set things on fire with their mind. What I'd believe has had to adjust a lot in a very short time." Molly points out drily, tossing back what's left of her vodka and reclaiming her noodles with a sigh,"But being made up of different people and alien tech is a little out of my wheelhouse. I'm happy to lend an ear and try to find you some help. Hell, even just lend an ear. This place... ends up collecting all types." she gestures with her chopsticks and a smirk.

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein feels the pain in his muscles relax already. He finds talking easier. He smiles, "Yeah. That makes sense." Mixing booze and pain meds might be bad for most, it just helps him relax. He listens and nods. "It's a nice place. I like it. I think even a few parts of me have beenhere before

Molly Millions has posed:
The pills packet is snagged and shoved back into her pocket,"Probably back when it used to be The Den or... can't remember what the previous version was. It's only been my place for a few months so far. But y'welcome here. I don't discriminate. Don't care what someone is or what they look like. I... like it like this, reminds me of home, almost. Even if the people are different."

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein says, "handy quality to have in general..." he gently profers his glass for a refill and pays for the last. "You were a bartender in...the future?" He's guessing here by what she has said but isn't sure."

Molly Millions has posed:
Molly snags the bottle and pours a fresh one,"No. Closest term is actually mercenary. Razorgirl. This is just... making ends meet between jobs. 's my place. But sometimes I man the bar when I can't get someone else to keep order." there's that smile again, a wry quirk of her lips,"Where I come from... the rich would carve themselves up to look ugly, because surgery to look beautiful was that plentiful. Half of what's in here... people would just... modify themselves for, so in the end, not that different for me. Only here it comes with a side-order of abilities people would sell their limbs for back home."

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein nods and listens, "I've been...many many things. Dictator. Soldier. Experiment. Hero. Monster. Villain. Father. Husband. But never mercinary. Maybe I shoudl take it up some time..." he relaxes. "I am happy to help with that when I am here.

Molly Millions has posed:
"Dictator, huh?" Molly repeats with a smirk,"That's quite a resume. They tried to call me a hero once, but..." there's a bare shrug of her shoulders,"Mercenary work pays good, you pick the right jobs, work for the right people. Got a few fixers that pass through with ideas here and there, can keep an ear out if you're interested. Might be getting some more work... off shore... so to speak, so... yeh. Then there's the pit." she noses in the direction of the fighting ring,"Good fight always brings in some money, too. It's all about what you want to do and what kind of money you need. Home I had a casino for a while... more money, but less... people, than here. In it's own way. And the laws between countries are a little strange here, too."

Phage has posed:
From one of the doors that save a whole lot of travel time Carl enters and says generally, "For some of us there's temping bartender on the fly. That's more for the job satisfaction though than pay." Approaching the bar he's, again, not in a suit. A simple black tee and jeans. The tell tale touches of yellow as the stonewas for the jeans and the stitching of the tee give away who's done his wardrobe for him.

Mach notices the customer Molly's talking to and says, "Hi there. Carl Mach. Part time bit of furniture round the bar. Part time... long story." He takes a seat up by the pair and asks Molly, "Anything for me?" One of those suitably vague phrases. Could be a drink, motion on any work, or, maybe, a warning to avoid a clip round the head. You never know.

Molly Millions has posed:
Frank slips off, and Molly reaches to snag a scotch for Carl, no single or double, but just filled, as only her favorites get,"Heard Fei might be in later. And... well, found out Darkseid might have a seventy million unit bounty on him, intergalatically." she offers casually, pouring herself a scotch too while she's at it before snagging her noodles again,"Your partner's getting better at the threads, I see."

Phage has posed:
"Oh? So you moving up in the world, huh?" Mach mentions at the bounty. Money's money but it spends in different ways. Cash and account are so far apart they might as well be different things but space... Mach guesses it works similar. Intercontinental or intergalactic, there'll be ways to move it wherever she wants it to go.

"Yeah. It is. Turns out Phage picked up a little more of me from the bonding process than I thought. Remember the little present it made for you? A prototype for something bigger. It's been following my recent operations and worked out I'd need some tactical support along the line." Mach's grinning even as he sips his drink. What can he say... as a partner, an operative... he's proud of it.

Molly Millions has posed:
"Well, after it's split it's probably going to be enough to maybe buy a small ship and do some improvements... like to the ring, maybe." Molly shrugs her shoulders,"Not likely to make me rich, mid-term, too much work to do around here, but it might help at least." she wraps her noodles around her chopsticks and falls silent for a chew as she listens.

"It's not stupid, not by a long shot. More you both learn and better you learn to work together, the more dangerous the pair of you will be. I met one of the Guardians of the galaxy the other day, heard about the bounty through him. Might be a market out there for intergalatic visitors. At this rate... might need to start a capsule hotel or something."

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein walks out of the mens room and returns to the bar, nodding to Molly and the new comer. He sips his drink again, listening.

Phage has posed:
Mach looks at his drink, swirls his drink and says almost to it... "I found out what was wrong." He taps his head with his finger "The wall I was hitting. A lot has moved, fast, and, well... might need your help. It's playing with some heavy duty clients so... details for another time." He looks up, meeting his eyes to her optics, "Still. You able to play a part when the time comes?"

Lacking the usual half seriousness. But the smile on his face is a clue. He's been doing things and they've been working. But he's past the mistakes of old. So he's calling ahead for support when he'll really need it.

Molly Millions has posed:
"Of course." Molly says without hesitation for Carl, not even asking for particular details before agreeing. Frank's Jack is taken from her side of the bar and set before him again,"Carl, this is Frank, Frank, that's Carl. Sometimes he mans the bar." she offers by way of introduction between the pair of them,"Bits of Frank have been here before it was my place."

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein listens to all of this. He nods to Mach and says, slowly raspily. "Pleased to meet you." It's obvious he isnt a talker. "Molly trusting you is a good thing. I've been around. Parts of me anyway." He shrugs but it obviously bothers him. A lot. "She was talking about the potential virtues of mercinar...being a mercinary." Complex words are not good for his thoat.

Phage has posed:
Giving a slight Silent nod at Molly he turns to Frank with a glowing grin and says, "You ever see my... partner around? Don't tell it about that. It'll bore us both about genetic memory and no one needs that." He offers a friendly hand to shake. The 'Bits of Frank' comment doesn't seem to phase Mach but the warning about Phages love of talking, at length, about science is a real problem in the box marked 'don't let it happen to begin with' in Mach's head.

He then adds, "It's a line of work that isn't for everyone but... I can't complain." He flicks a quick glance to Molly, grin still glowing, before continuing, "Sometimes it's more than I deserve. I can be a colossal pain in the ass sometimes. She puts up with that and is one I trust without question. Two things I'm always appreciative of." He takes another drink, "One place though that anyone'll find clean work in this world... it's here."

He turns to Molly and says, "Accomodation? Capsule hotel? Who's got the construction contract?" Random question, yeah, but, money's one of those things that always needs moving around. Every member of the intel community'd tell you. Building buildings... is a dream come true.

Molly Millions has posed:
"I haven't told him about your partner. That's your business." Molly points out absently. Bits of Frank is different because well, there's no real hiding that. She's poured herself a scotch this time and nurses it,"Way I look at it is this. I'd get terminally bored without a little exercise in my life, and most jobs don't pay well enough to keep up on the maintenance. But like Carl said, it's one of those... you can either do it, or it's going to be a short ride."

There's a grunt regarding whether or not Carl deserves trust, but the slight smile offered suggests that she's not going to argue,"It's a thought. Not that there's not plenty of holes for people to crawl in to. I wouldn't want to run it. But if someone had the money and urge... this place and time, you're too obsessed about space... all you really need is enough room to stretch out and somewhere to store your stuff. Anyone that needs more than that ought to invest in their own property. But something that simple... not hard to build or maintain. Stayed in a few over the years. Someone who knows what security minded people are looking for in terms of something not likely to wind up with them catching a bullet through a wall and... yeh. Why not? Somewhere for the drunks to go other than /my booths/." which 'd be why she collects one of the older looking of the bar's limes to lob at a guy with his head down at a table.

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein relaxes but isn't sure what they are talking about with the space stuff. He sips the drinkand listens, open minded. "I get all the exercize I ever want all on my own but money....I left money in accounts, but governments took it. When I 'died'....I do that a lot. It gets old. And I don't know about your partner? Molly?"

Phage has posed:
Mach looks carefully at Frank and says, taking extra care to not rush his speaking and have a wrong turn at implication... "My silent partner. It's a long story, but, I'm rarely alone in the field. Regardless if I seem that way or not." Okay... moving swiftly on... "Molly is my... friend. She's also an excellent sparring partner and easily a match for me. Not a bout goes by that I don't learn something. Or get clipped round the head. Or both."

Taking another drink and moving onward he says to Molly, "You've bought property out here before, how hard is it to do?" Yeah he noticed the security minded comment and who was implied in that. "As, well, you know... things change and the places I've been keeping money might need to change with it so... ways and ways."

He then says, "Thing is though, Frank, I've quote unquote died a few times for operational reasons, or to piss off the taxman. Dunno how far back I could try for but there are some ways to try and reclaim that. If you ever want me to try... let me know. Likely it'd be a some but not all thing but there's always a way to try."

Molly Millions has posed:
"Yeh, I don't... keep paper identity's. Not that in Madripoor they care. But see... there's always job opportunities for those who need things discreet. I don't exist as far as the government is concerned, SINless. Safer that way in a lot of ways, though annoying if you need to get rid of a cop."

There's a snort from Molly,"No." she offers, though Carl places more detail on it,"Even if Carl is occasionally full of shit. I'm pretty sure he's hoping if my ego gets big enough I'll be trapped in here." there's a hooded look his way at least briefly.

"Cash flow, everything that I get winds up in this place. It took a lot of bribes to get this place. I know the people to bribe, and what they prefer, but that doesn't mean I feel like bankrupting myself by expanding." finally the drunk stirs and she points two fingers at him and herself,"Drink or get out, Tom. I'm not renting bench space for sleepers."

Frankenstein has posed:
Frankenstein considers this carefully himself and nods, "I might do that." He considers his options and shrugs, "I am looking up old leads for employment but not all of me will find them....acceptable. Having other options...is good. SINless? Is any of us sinless?" He thinks and suspects she means something else.

Phage has posed:
At the look there's a momentary un-award winning clutch of his hand to his chest and feigning being wounded. Emphasis on hamming it up. He then says to Molly, "Never. You'd have to have an ego about yourself to start with. That and you always got support. So, whatever it was, just gotta ask... no fussing." He even raises his hands in a pre-emptive gesture of surrender.

He then adds, "Well, it's tapdancing on quicksand... the bribes make it easier... but I could use something to pour money into to move my rainy day funds out of the states. Also, a place with space to store some hardware couldn't hurt either." He has some more of his drink, finishing it and checks, "I gotta do a quick thing but, later maybe, fill me in on a few details?" Time'll tick on, things'll come and go. It changes. Today's nothing like the world you had yesterday. Aint always a bad thing though. Everyone forgets that... sometimes.