Owner	Pose
Sinister	Time flies when you're having fun. And it crawls when you're waiting on a juicy story, or when you're trying to be patient on the length of time it takes to create something. Those two things are sometimes synonymous and belong in the same generalized package. But an interview and discussion was promised and weather being what it is, in NYC at least it's been miserably cold, even if it's been bright. So at the appointed time, a limousine (a rolls, to be official) arrived to collect Lois for her appointment. At Lux. In the penthouse. Bring yourself and a random snack. This is probably why the cleaning staff came by to actually dust. Carefully. They were at it all day. Sinister is currently sniffing coffee beans, in an attempt to decide which particular blend to brew. "I think the African blend should suffice. Everyone does south american, but african has some very good plantations. Killimanjaro region, for one. Kenyan. I'm fond. What do you think?" to thin air, he might be talking to just about anyone. Or potentially the penthouse itself, you never know.
Lois Lane	Lois is always having fun. She has a very unique definition of fun at times, but honestly life has been good. She recently had the most fascinating follow-up interview with Satana. No doubt clips of that are all over social media now. If not for the content, for the 'content'. That succubus is eye candy.     A limo, though? Lois hasn't had that kind of transport in a while. The luxury is rather lost on her, except, to her amusement and delight, she finds sparkling grape juice. Someone is paying attention to her drinking habits.     When she arrives, she is sadly alone. Not for lack of trying, but when your fiance regularly has to save the world things can get tricky to line up. Nonetheless, her attention is usually adequate for parties. And here she is, wearing an elegant, blue dress. It goes well with her sapphire ring. A pair of sapphire earrings and sparkly blue shoes complete the ensemble. Yes, this is at least quasi professional, but she's coming to Lux. She wants to look the part.     She arrives just as Dr. Essex is halfway through that question to the world at large. And she answers, "Kenyan coffee has a certain power to it. I don't suppose you have decaf?" Doctor's orders. She smiles warmly, "Hello, Dr. Essex," she calls out. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting."
Lucifer	It's likely a very good thing that the cleaning crew came in to dust and put certain things away. There is a high chance that the whiskey bar on the other side of the Penthouse was an array of half opened doors and overturned bottles and glasses when the King of Hell was trying to look for something. And never did find it. This isn't the only thing that Lucifer has apparently lost. As he comes out of the bedroom from the hallway - unknowing that a guest would be arriving - and he's...well. Not fully dressed. Standing in silken black boxers, a pale orange dress shirt that hasn't been buttoned yet so he's almost on full frontal display and holding a pair of olive green trousers. "Nathaniel, have you seen my raven cufflinks? I swear I had them in the same drawe---" He stops mid-sentence when he finally looks up and sees Lois. "Ah. Miss Lane." A pause and a grin. "Hello there."
Sinister	"I do, but I don't truly see the point of not indulging at all. You only generally live once," Sinister replies this as he selects the appropriate blend and briefly makes an inordinate amount of noise grinding the beans up. Mesh filter, percolator, press the button and gurgles away! Turning about, he looks over the vision in blue and smiles. His own attire is far more smart casual -- no white suit and leather frock coat to be found, just a neat leather waistcoat over a white shirt with the collar unbuttoned and black jeans. The incongruity of the moment, is that he has fuzzy raven slippers on -- they are a thing to stare at, but also to try and pretend he isn't wearing them. "I do hope the journey from metropolis was pleasant?" You know, in luxury taxi service, with its own drinks cabinet. Sometimes, the extremely well to do are fundamentally disconnected to the person on the street, after all. "You do look quite a vision in cerulean, but you did not -have- to dress up for this. Unless you wanted to have an excuse to, in which case..." he gives her a press of lips, wink and a thumb's up. And without missing a beat: "Particularly when you can see that my partner is totally and utterly dressed for the occasion." There's a very large grin for Lois and finally he turns to glance over at Lucifer, down, up, down again grinning more and indicating the bathroom. "You left them on the sink last night."
Lois Lane	For once Lois is the best dressed! Which would normally bother her, but, honestly? "I just wanted to feel gorgeous today," she explains. She clearly is satisfied with the results. "I have many critics at work who tell me that I have no sense of fashion. Most of them work in fashion, which is usually baffling to me. But today they were simply speechless to see me leave the office like this." And yes, she did go in, get dressed, and leave just to make a point. Still. Got. It.     "And it was a wonderful trip, certainly. They even had a drink that I could enjoy. I am trying my very best to be good, as you have no doubt observed, doctor. But it is not for me." It is for the potential to expand her family.     She smiles at Lucifer. She looks at the eyes and only the eyes. She is not tacky. Lois turns her attention decently away. It is easier to focus on the good doctor. "I believe that Lucifer truly sets the appropriate level of dress and it falls on the world to follow. Though I will regret to say I am not bold enough to engage in that level of... undress?"
Lucifer	Lucifer is not shy in any sense, but he does have the decency to quickly hop into his trousers that he was holding and fasten them accordingly. As he works on getting his top buttoned he looks over to Nathaniel. "The one place I didn't think to check." He offers and then strides over to Lois now that he's more dressed than before. Reaching to take her hand, he kisses her knuckles and then each cheek. "Miss Lane. You look a picture. I take it you're here to interview Nathaniel for the piece he wants in the Daily Planet." A smile offered before he shifts to walk over to Nathaniel. A chaste kiss is offered to his lover fair. "Hello you. Let me go finish getting dressed and then I can properly join the two of you before I head down to the club." Because he's usually there for at least a portion of the night to make sure all things are going smoothly. It wouldn't be a loss if he never manages to go downstairs but that's not going to stop him from dressing the part. Though he does take a step back and looks down. "Do you think the light orange and olive go together or does it clash? I feel like I'm losing my mind lately." Which has nothing to do with the fact that he's been distracted by the hunt he's been under with thanks to his brother.
Sinister	"You look like a tangerine, but if nature can get it right, so can colour combinations." Sinister replies honestly, taking the moment to return the kiss and give an arm squeeze, before offering his own gesture toward the seating area. Ignore that there's a pair of gothika style thrones at the hearth -- one's got all the hallmarks of an artist's impression of the throne of Hell going on. The other looks like it could've been an extra out of any E.A. Poe story and appears to be overstuffed, mahogany carved and apolstered in purple. The couch is a chaise long, is entirely purple, but it looks divinely comfortable. "Won't you have a seat?" Coffee percolated, he hip-bumps Lucifer, sets the karafe out and plays mother with cream, creamer, sugar and coconut sugar all, just for the sake of options. It's all settled on a tray and brought over. "But yes, the interview and question time, because there were more of them, but the time wasn't devoted to the asking." And as he's getting out the cream jug, he pulls out a small flask, stares at it and looks specifically at Lucifer, holds it up and smiles fatuously with it wiggling in fingers.
Lois Lane	Lois loves the decorating. She needs a moment to simply enjoy it and take it all in. She is no artist. No great skill at decorating anything on her own. But appreciate it? She certainly can.     "This place is perfectly designed for you two," she observes. "It's remarkable."     She will find her seat and settle in. It's not shock that she pays close attention to everything that is happening around her. Just at the eye level and not below!     "You have me so curious about your intentions, Dr. Essex. I wonder to what wickedly clever purpose you shall set my pen." Rarely is she so excited by an assignment. But she has her hopes very high.
Lucifer	Lucifer actually gives a scowled frown at the idea of Nathaniel telling him he looks like a piece of fruit. "So maybe not the orange then..." He mutters and then goes to make it back to finish getting dress when Nathaniel gains his attention again. This is after the coffee is ready and Nathaniel is prepping the tray with all the goodies that go into coffee. And he sees the flask being wiggled at him. "Oh for fucks sake..." Is muttered as he goes to take the flask gently from Nathaniel's hand. "The fridge? Really?" But it ends in a chuckle with a shake of his head. He's walking towards the hallway when Lois' comment about the place being designed for the both of him. He's compelled to say, "It wasn't always like this. Before Nathaniel moved in, before we...started any sort of relationship...this was definitely more suited to the Lucifer's Single to Mingle phase. It was very recently that I decided to get rid of most of my single-acquired decor and offered to let the both of us nest this place as a couple." He smiles to Nathaniel. "I love what we've done with it and I appreciate your opinion on it. To know that it does match the two of us makes me happy." Once he says all that, and Lois turns her attention to Nathaniel, Lucifer excuses himself for the moment and disappears down the hall, collecting his cufflinks from the bathroom before going to the bedroom to change.
Sinister	"Thank you, miss Lois. As Lucifer said, this... is recent and it's heartening to hear that it matches." Settling, he gives a voiceless laugh at the exclamation from the devil, which is just the cherry on the cake, given that the scowl ended up with him ever so carefully schooling his expression NOT to burst out laughing. It's the little things. Now however, as the devil is off to get his wardrobe to function without the 'mal' attached, he settles onto the purple highback throne-chair and gestures to the coffee tray. "Do help yourself. I would be more formal, but that would involve having a manservant and we don't have one. So..." Legs get crossed, the raven slippers a'dangling with it and he gazes at Lois thoughtfully. "I want to write an expose piece, in actual fact. About two years ago, I came upon a curious clinical case that never made the mainstream media, because certain individuals..." himself included if he's honest there "...struck it from the records. It involved a woman who had undergone a radical weight loss proceedure that in fact worked so well it nearly killed her. She never recovered unfortunately and died of re-feed syndrome. Prior to this, she'd weighed about twenty two stone, that is to say... three hundred pounds, give or take. By the time I was called in, she weighed less than seventy five."
Lois Lane	Lois smiles at the exchange between Dr. Essex and Lucifer. That still takes some getting used to. Not the affection. The fact that she's casually sitting here-well, not casually exactly-with these two. It's an interesting pairing that she enjoys immensely.     Once it's down to business, though, the notepad comes out. From where? Thigh holster, of course. She isn't use her top secret backup yet. She also has a pen. It's like a magic trick that only works if one ignores how many things she can hide under a skirt. The slit is there for a purpose!     "So her weight loss proved terminal. But why was it hidden?" Certainly there are many reasons for that to be. But which will it be? She holds back on further questions for now. The reservoir is filling, however, and no doubt the dam will eventually burst.
Sinister	"Death as a consequence of catastrophic malnutrition and starvation. In a way, she got exactly what she asked for, but not what she bargained with. This happened in Morocco. I was able to reverse the proceedure that she'd undergone and extracted... well, frankly it counts as a device really, from her stomach. I've run it through a mass spectrometer and it counts as ninety nine percent meteoric iron and one percent of an unknown element." He pulls out his phone from his jeans pocket, scrolls a few images, then shows the screen to Lois, where a small stone, about the size of two quarters is perfectly oval and relatively ordinary looking. It could be any kind of 'splatter' from a volcano, except for that minor detail of unknown origin and apparently fatal. The phone is set on the coffee table for her to have a look at, if she wants. "I dug some myself, but not nearly as much as I think you're capable of. It was a proceedure advertised on the dark web. The stone itself is one of several, the rest of which are copies. This is one of the originals -- the others that are in circulation were manufactured with modern tools. This was hand made. I managed to acquire a second stone from the web for my own sake, to examine. It lead me to a conspiracy of ill-intent that seems to be ahhh... at least pan continental in africa and the asian sub continent. Which means getting the west to give a hoot, is harder."
Lois Lane	Lois nods thoughtfully. "So do you suspect this thing ate the food instead of her? Or did it inhibit her ability to absord or break down what she ate?" She peers intently at the photo, memorizing what she can. "And you have this kind of device still?" she asks, now more than just a little curious. Already plans are forming in her head. She needs someone over weight to help her, though. Or someone who can pass as such.     "This is going to require quite a bit of field work." Her suspicions are high. So very high. "My process will be straight forward. Find those who offer the service, determine where they obtained this thing and eventually find its provenance. Meteoric iron, though? With an unknown element. Is there any radiation that you have been able to identify? Or any signs of other power?"
Lucifer	Suddenly and without warning a voice can be heard from the bedroom. "THE SOCK DRAWER?!" That is followed by a bit of frustrated laughter. After another moment or two, Lucifer emerges. He's apparently gone from testing colors to something a little more his usual fare. Storm grey pants and jacket with a dark blue dress shirt, and matching handkerchief folded perfectly and tucked into his left breast pocket. His tie is a raindrops of blue against a grey background. He's also heard the last bit of Lois' questions and raises a brow as he looks to Nathaniel. "Ah. So that's your subject. The little stone that could." He then looks to Lois as he walks to his throne seat which is - of course - the red one next to Nathaniel's own purple chair. "It feeds off a person's life essence. Not necessarily, specifically, what the person eats... but.. essentially the person as a whole. We found that out when I decided the best thing to do with the stone to give it a good testing was swallow it myself. I was sick for a day as it tried to drain me...but it couldn't because I cannot die. So it's parasitic nature could survive off me for eternity if I had allowed it. But it was quite the uncomfortable experience..." There's a chuckle after as he watches Lois for a lingering moment. Without touching the coffee, one cup is poured, doctored with some coconut sugar and creme before it floats to Lucifer's awaiting hands. "Did you wish a cup, Nathaniel? The usual way perhaps?"
Sinister	Well, if Lois was under the impression that this power couple were just highly successful, billionaires and nothing else, that's just been substantially debunked. Levitating coffee is a definite trick and those wires, if they're there are ultra fine so as to be invisible. One foot in and one foot out of the heroic sphere of influence, suggests very strongly that there might be a plain truth in Lucifer's claim as to his nature. And what of the doctor? "I think your brother knows you too well, Luci. He hasn't hidden them where you'd -think- to find them, that's for sure..." Sinister laughs, but inclines his head to the inquiry regarding his coffee. "Please. It's decaffinated, because miss Lane requested it, but it tastes good fyi..." Looking back as if floating crockery didn't just happen, he nods to Lois. "It has an energy signature. Long and short of it, we -know- what these devices are being used for. There's quantum entanglement in the energy, each rock is also each other rock, connected to the original meteor. However, the purpose of them is to act as a battery, they =store= life energy until it's extracted somehow. That... I've not had a lot of success with, the only way I've managed to get energy /out/ is by accidentally exploding it. And I really don't recommend that. Melting your face off is a very unfortunate way to spend an afternoon." Is he serious? He might be. He very well might be. "But whoever is doing this, can't exactly be exposed in the traditional way, because they're /very/ good at hiding themselves. Probably because they'd be hunted down by several parties if what they were doing was obvious. So... what we need to do, is shine a light on the illegal but not preturnatural activities and... as observed... highly unethical practices that they're encouraging. The conspiracy runs deep."
Lois Lane	"Find the source, expose the little people, prevent it from feeding." Lois turns her attention to the coffee. Since it is decaf just for her request, it is safe to have some. Probably several cups. The Daily Planet's idea of decaf is not impressive to her.     She watches the coffee pour itself and looks from Dr. Essex to Lucifer. "You know I believe you are who you say you are," she says casually. "And I believe Satana, for her part, too. The troublesome little minx." Lois' tone makes it clear. She has a soft spot for that girl now. Worse yet, there's genuine sympathy in her eyes when she says Satana's name.     Looking at Lucifer more closely, she asks, "Do you always throw extremely dangerous things in your mouth to see what they do, or was this a special occasion?" She knows this could go so, so wrong when phrased like this, but she genuinely has to see if the invitation is taken.     "According to Dr. Read, one of my regular contributors to all this quantum science, we probably cannot track it. By its nature, that is. Unless your abilities defy that law of physics, as well?" A girl can hope. "This all sounds like a term she used. Superposition. Where something is kind of in more than one placea at a time. Is that what you are suggesting?"     Someone has done her homework!
Lucifer	Lucifer mentally pours another coffee just the way Nathaniel likes it and floats the cup over to him to hover until taken. In the meanwhile, he sips his own coffee - still piping hot - and then glances to Lois. "I never doubted your belief in who I say I am. Which is why I'm not going to hide some of the things I can do. There are things I will not show you, simply because your mortal mind would not be able to handle it. That's not meant in an offence to you, but a pointed truth." Offering this as he sips again. "To answer your question...I have a very bad habit of asking what is the worse that can happen when thinking of doing something...and then do it anyway. Mostly because I know I can survive most anything where others cannot. This has led to a few dangerous things, one humorous thing, and at least one time that made Nathaniel both wholly worried and curious at the same time." He grins. "I've laxed on it a bit at the request of a few people." Offering this much more as he motions. "Can I fix you a coffee, Miss Lane?" The rest of what she says is impressive. But he'll leave the back and forthing of those things to Nathaniel. This is, after all, his interview.
Sinister	Sinister's brows lift just a little bit, as Lois holds her own on the exactitude of scientific observation. "I can observe entanglement, but really, it's a matter more of observing the negative space and the effect, not the cause. I've not quite managed to work -that- one out, either. But yes. Superposition -- they are each of them share, how to put it..." he clucks his tongue "...the resonant frequency of the source? Yes, that's a good comparable. Not only that, but those that have had intense contact with the energy itself -- " here he nods to Lucifer " -- also show hallmarks of the entanglement. It has a kind of... malignant intellect to it." Hands clasp around the coffee that's floated over to him and he gazes at her a few long moments. "For what it's worth for the sake of humour... the Eureka moments that have been occurring tonight are brought to you by the Archangel Raphael, who has been hiding small flasks of ambrosia around the apartment for Lent. He and Lucifer have reconnected in recent months, after millenia of problematic friction. He and a few of the others -- six, to be exact of all the choirs."
Lois Lane	Lois nods in thought as Lucifer explains, without too much detail, that there are things her mind cannot handle. "I am not offended. Lately I have learned that my mental limits are sometimes surprisingly closer than they first appear." It is a hint at the Elena article, which she has publically called the most painful story she's ever written.     "Oh, and yes, to the coffee. Cream and sugar." She sighs. "Just not as much sugar as I would like." But it is for the most worthy cause of her life. So she will accept it.     Her attention is drawn back tot he story. To the problem, specifically. "Oh yes, spooky actions at a distant. Dr. Read enjoyed talking about that, as well. She's working on some kind of secure communication device which is based on that. It's supposed to be impossible to intercept messages, ensuring freedom of communication." She laughs softly and adds, "Though I'm not sure the oppressed will be able to afford a machine that costs millions of dollars. Should it even work."     But, back to the real point at hand. "If I am understanding this correctly, these things feed some greater whole. And that thing is obviously not putting our best interests in its equation. It makes me wonder, though. If it can feed through these, could these be modified to feed on it?" Entanglement, from what her mind could gather, was something of a symmetrical arrangement. What happens to one, happens to both.     "But that I have to leave to greater minds. I will chase down this story and find the people involved. Oh, is there any way to consume these safely? Some kind of blocking tool? It would be good to have that in advance. And if someone should be saddled down with one of these, can they be saved with surgery or is it fatal for mortals?"