Deals

"Well? what do you think?" Marcus asked as he walked over to the overly handsome man and his mutant-expert friend.

The two men were watching the mutant in question as she enjoyed her hard-earned meal, chewing through bone and flesh alike as her sharp teeth tore into the long-dead fish held by her claws.

"Well... I'd say that she is a truly unique being. One of a kind, even" Mr. Jiron said as he finally tore his eyes away from what he was now sure would become his next research topic. "Other than the other two lab-born mutants, there have never been true mutant-borns. To see the development of one of their kind is truly a blessing in disguise, especially since she's so much more different than a regular human than most mutants are."

Marcus nodded, feeling quite proud inwardly. "Indeed. Now, how about we discuss a reduction in your pay?"

His words shocked the two out of their own respective thoughts, forcing them to focus their eyes onto him. A wordless conversation passed through the eyes of the three men present, imaginary lightning clashing when their gazes met.

Oblivious to all of this, the mutant being fought over continued to happily eat her meal, even going as far as releasing a silent yet happy hum.

The noise seemed to crack the two hired hand's resolve, causing them to cast away their eyes. "... Of course, Mr. Castle. You are truly as devious as they say. As long as you keep out previous schedule and agreements, I'll work for 3/4s of my previous cost." The handsome man ended up saying first, breaking the silence.

Mr. Jiron nodded, silently agreeing to his coworker's conditions. Marcus mulled it over for a moment before deciding that risking it further wasn't worth it. He'd already saved up quite a bit of money by reducing the two men's costs.

"Alright. We'll sign our agreement in my office. Please follow me, gentlemen. Oh, and you, be a good girl, alright?" He said, waving towards the mermaid who had, by this point, finished going through her little treasure trove of fish.

She waved back happily as she slipped into the waters, heading towards the aquarium below, likely to go and play around for a while until she got hungry again, at which point Marcus knew she would either come bother him to feed her, or go hunting on her own.

Honestly, he didn't know which option he'd prefer.

Silently banishing those useless thoughts from his mind, he focused back on the situation at hand. He put his signature on the final contracts and handed both men in front of him their own copies, which they scanned a few times and then promptly wrote their own names on it.

"Alright. I'm looking forward to working with you, gentlemen." He said, shaking hands with each man. They smiled and said their own compliments, clearly eager to leave him behind and go check out the mutant.

"Now, how about we discuss a proper training schedule before we do anything drastic?" However, Marcus' words quickly broke them out of their delusions, causing both men, two grown adults with years of experience in one of the most mysterious fields of science out there, to pout childishly.

Still, they quickly got to work nonetheless. By the end of the hour, Marcus had them up to date on all the information about the mermaid that he personally found rather useless, but that the two researchers seemed greatly interested in, especially Mr. Jiron.

"So you're saying she's fine with any level of salinity, and that she's never shown any discomfort no matter which temperature she's in? Interesting, interesting. Have you tried to see what level of pH makes her uncomfortable? What about her innards? Has anyone cut her open yet?" Mr. Jiron asked eagerly, only to receive a blank stare from Marcus.

"Mr. Jiron, with all due respect, while I fully understand that some creatures need to be sacrificed for the advancement of science, I hope you're not implying that you would be okay with cutting open what is essentially a human-like being with a human level of intellect and self-awareness?" Marcus asked, his voice neutral.

Mr. Jiron quickly backtracked, realizing he may have stepped on the other man's toes a little. "Of course not, of course not. I never meant to suggest something so inhumane! Still, she's scheduled to start receiving doses of X-genes soon, right? I was only suggesting we analyze her before and after, to make sure no negative effects occur. Proper sedation during and painkillers afterward will be provided, of course." He explained, looking at the larger man in front of him somewhat nervously.

Marcus didn't want to offend Mr. Jiron, but that didn't mean he wouldn't if the man tried to eviscerate his mutant. He mulled over the offer for a bit, debating the pros and cons of it.

"... We will discuss this later. For now, please respect my charge's human rights. Anyways, since we're done with the boring stuff, help me draw up a proper schedule for her." He eventually said, pushing off the decision for a later time.

"Of course, of course. Well, I would suggest to first start off with..." Mr. Jiron immediately took the opportunity and changed the topic, launching into a full-blown critique of Marcus' training and giving his own suggestions on it while Marcus took note and the handsome man waited his turn.

It was the end of the day by the time they were done, and Marcus was honestly not at all unhappy at the frankly incredible amount of money he had to surrender to the two men for their time now and in the future. Their perspectives had helped him greatly, pointing out several critical flaws with his current plans.

First of all, communication was paramount. The two other mutants before his own had already shown the science community that lab-born mutants were just as capable of human speech as any other mutant or human, if not more so. If he could not communicate his intentions to her, and she to him, misunderstandings would happen and time would be wasted pointlessly trying to explain.

Marcus had felt it necessary to point out that the young mutant was, however, still only two weeks old, something he feared would hinder her ability to learn such a complex thing like a full language. However, his fears were quickly debunked when mr. Jiron explained that a mutant's brain worked differently from a human's and that the same concepts shouldn't always apply.

They had discussed a few other issues, that while less critical, were still overall rather important. A more varied diet, giving the mermaid more toys and things to entertain herself with so she could properly develop, as well as deciding on timetables and timelines for her to follow.

Overall, it was a rather productive day in Marcus' opinion, and he was seriously looking forward to the next, when training would truly begin.

After the two men left, each of them promising to show up on the scheduled time the next day with all their equipment ready, Marcus made his way over to the aquarium, feeling much lighter on his feet than he had ever since he took the job of a mutant manager.

At last, he had people to rely on, and they were clearly more experienced than him in many things. He didn't mind seeking help when needed, and this was one of those times when he definitely needed it.

He tapped the glass three times, only having to wait a few seconds before the mermaid appeared from her current hiding spot in between a large growth of seaweeds. There were a few strands of said seaweeds clinging to her body as she darted towards him, one of them even coming from her mouth as she slurped it up like a noodle.

Well. That alone proved that, yes, she could in fact eat plant-based food, he noted. He pointed upwards, not bothering to watch as she darted towards their training area as he ran for the stairs.

By the time they had finished their latest training session, Marcus was quite happy overall. She was a very good mutant to have, and despite her handicap of being unable to breathe air, she showed good promise in being able to eventually function as at least an amphibian... Even if she did quite a bit more training for it to be viable.

He patted her head, smiling slightly when he felt her push her head into his hand, her wet, black hair scraping against his palm as she let out a pleased hum from the gentle caress.

He quickly retracted his hand, though, not wishing to risk his luck too much despite her general harmlessness, as well as not wanting her to associate him with only pleasant things like food and head pats. After all, if she thought he would only do her good, when he inevitably did something that would cause her pain, the backlash would be much more severe than if she knew he could bring both good and bad things to her.

... Still, he gave her one last, gentle pat on her head before leaving. Just one wouldn't hurt, right?

Meanwhile, as he thought of this, the young mermaid tilted her head, staring at the retreating back of the food-bringer. He'd looked tired before, but after rubbing her head on his hand, he'd looked much happier. Maybe, if he was happier, he'd give her more food?

Food for thought, food for thought...