Lab Above Pick Your Poison, Monday Afternoon

[intraspective]

Ino beamed.

Sure, the fish was a screaming, flying, raining confetti, hot mess of a prize, but she and Miguel had it now, and they were going to make it better.

Or, well, you know. Worse.

(Which was totally better.)

It had meant she'd had to put Miguel off for a few days while she finished up some of her own work, since she didn't really think either of them wanted to get accidentally poisoned while they worked on the fish.

But now, the lab was ready. She was ready.

They just needed Miguel and they'd be ready to start.

[For him that she's waiting for, yo!]

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[what_the_shock]

Miguel got Ino's message and showed up in the store. Which was...remarkably full of not-poisonous (or alcoholic, which had been his guess) things.

"Ino?"

[intraspective]

Ino tapped the fish on the nose.

"There he is," she said cheerfully, shamelessly using her telepathy to let her know when he'd shown up downstairs. "We'll be right back."

She darted down the steps--though she still took the time to close the top door properly, took the stairs in the dark, and hey, there was a door behind the counter than hadn't been there a moment ago.

"Hey," she said, "come on up."

[what_the_shock]

Miguel turned from the aisle he'd wandered down, and...had there been a door there before? Whatever, it was there now.

He grinned. "So we got the fish, huh?" He picked up the bag he'd set on the counter. "I brought a few things."

[intraspective]

"We got the fish!"

It was still exciting, even days later.

"What'd you bring? I've got a few things too, but I'm more on the wiggle-fingers side of things than the crash-boom-bang side of things."

Those were totally exact and precise turns.

[what_the_shock]

"I wasn't sure what we needed, so I brought some circuit boards and holography equipment, plus I managed to get some telepathic circuits. I didn't bring much actual crash-boom-bang, but..."

He eyed her speculatively. "I was able to find some experimental pyrotechnic plasmoids. Apparently they were based off some heroic age stuff. Super-miniature fireworks? Would those fit in one of your seals?"

[intraspective]

"I'd have to look at them," she mused, "but I could probably make it work. I can fit anything into a seal with enough time."

And blood and ink and paper.

"How does a telepathic circuit work?" she asked, stepping back. "Come on, I'll show you my lab."

[what_the_shock]

Miguel followed her. "Basically like the radio nowadays, only it broadcasts on a frequency in tune with human thoughts instead of human ears. How it does that, I have no idea precisely; I can tweak them, but I can't build them."

[intraspective]

"Huh."

Ino considered that as the door behind them shut automatically.

It was dark in the stairwell.

"Stairs go straight, just keep moving," she advised. "Those circuits make me feel a little superfluous."

Since, you know, actual telepath.

[what_the_shock]

"No problem." Miguel took off his sunglasses and walked up; he could see just fine.

"Well, I can't program the things, either," Miguel said. "They can broadcast to anyone, but unless there's something pre-written, they've got to record someone actually telepathic."

[intraspective]

Ino couldn't see, but she didn't need to.

She knew every nook and cranny of her shop better than she knew the back of her hand.

"Okay," she admitted, "that makes me feel less superfluous."

At least a little.

Her hands flew through a jutsu, hidden by her body, and then Ino opened the door to her lab.

Stainless steel and glass dominated, with pure white lights flipping on as the door opened. A clear wall divided the space and through that wall, a small greenhouse flourished with plants of all kind in it. The tables were sterile metal and bolted to the floor, which was tiled with several drains in it. Along the walls were metal cabinets. Some with obvious locks and others that appeared to have no way to open them at all.

[what_the_shock]

Aaaand the glasses were going back on, as Miguel winced at the change.

He stood there for a couple seconds just trying to see. "Biochemistry?" he guessed.

[intraspective]

Sorry, Miguel.

"With an emphasis on the botany side of things," Ino said easily. "Kind of a... family tradition."

[what_the_shock]

It went with the red eyes and great sight. He was used to it by now.

"Better than a few I can think of," Miguel said. "You want to work any of that into this thing? I bet we could make it smell great. Or awful, your choice."

[intraspective]

Ino considered that thoughtfully as she eyed the fish.

It was laid out in solitary splendor on one of her tables.

"Picking a floral scent might trigger someone's allergies," she mused. "But I bet I could make it exude the scent of, like, pumpkin spice."

That was, at the very least less likely to trigger allergy attacks than roses or something like that.

[what_the_shock]

"I say go for it," Miguel said, grinning. "So, pumpkin spice, glitter, some sort of telepathic broadcast, maybe something holographic, maybe mini-fireworks...anything else?"

This fish would be horrendous amazing utterly ridiculous.

[intraspective]

"It's already spewing confetti," she noted. "And even though glitter is superior, do we want to double up that way?"

It was going to be perfect.

[what_the_shock]

"Hm. Point. So, leave out the glitter, I guess. Gives us more room for other things."

He started unpacking a few things. "This is the telepathic circuit here. If we decide on what sort of holographs we want, I can get started on that while you record what you want to on there? Those two'll probably take the longest."

[intraspective]

She leaned over to look at the circuit. "Do I just think at it?" Ino asked.

Technology like this was definitely not something she was used to.

"...It'd be really cruel of me to stick a loop of The Song That Never Ends on here, right?"

[what_the_shock]

"Here." He untangled the headset and held it up to her. "Put this one first, then press this button and think at it. And for what it's worth, I think that's a perfect idea, as long as we don't win it next."

[intraspective]

She reached to take the headset.

"If we win it next," she said, "we foist this off on some other poor person. Or modify it further."

Given enough time she was pretty sure they could think of more to do to it.

[what_the_shock]

"I like that plan." Miguel grinned. "So while you're doing that, what kind of holograms should I program? Water and other fish? A face to go along with the song? A trail of flowers? A cloud of bugs?"

[intraspective]

"I'm partial to flowers," she admitted. "But what about smiley faces? Or those weird M&M characters?"

[what_the_shock]

"Flowers with smiley faces in the middle?" Miguel suggested.

[intraspective]

She laughed.

"Perfect!"

It was terrible. She was going to miss their fish.

"You're going to do that while I think at this thing?"

[what_the_shock]

"While you think at it, then set up the scent," Miguel said. "Then I can get the plasmoids ready so you can seal them away." Belatedly realizing he was being a bit bossy in her lab, he added, "How does that sound?"