Replicant began breathing more heavily as Alice went on and on. His finger slipped on the needle, dribbling out small droplets of her blood. He had to literally shake his head to get himself back in the moment, to find the words he needed to address this woman properly. Wait, no, not a woman. Him. She was [i]him[/i] now. She could manipulate microbes by will [i]and[/i] was a shifter to boot? That's just plain [i]unfair.[/i] He felt a hint of jealousy mixing into his infatuation. He had to actively work at manipulating the world's smallest living organisms, and here she was able to do some by instinct with more on top of that. Well, she couldn't possibly have the same depth of understanding that he did. At least that remasculated him, in his mind.

"I'm surprised you haven't heard of me. As I said in my introduction, I'm Replicant, tinker hero of the Protectorate. Every tinker has a focus, and mine is microbiology. I can see micro organisms with my naked eyes, which is how I could immediately spot how [i]beautiful[/i] you are. The possibilities if we put our minds together, designing together, with my tinkering perfection and you duplicating and growing them exponentially... The breakthroughs we could accomplish. The milestones we could achieve, unimagined by science before this day!" Replicant stood up so fast his chair fell over, and thrust his fist into the air. "... It's a shame you've committed some serious crimes. I saw what you planted on the employees here. You supplanted the director and took control of this government establishment using your powers. You and I? We've got the kind of abilities that could easily get a kill order in situations like this."

Replicant appeared somber, saddened, and disheartened. Yes, all three, for just as with everything else this was acted out with intense drama. He had such a flair for putting on airs. "I'd be happy to discuss everything I've made. I would love nothing more than to collude together. But... You'll have to come with me. Either as a prisoner... Or seeking redemption as a [i]HERO![/i]" The tinker kicked up his fallen chair, flipping the piece of furniture through the air as it spun around no less than three times. With his left hand he clutched the top of the back support and swung it up as though it were some sort of bizarre four pronged polearm. Truly if this pose and that speech did not inspire the wom-er, man?-in front of him, than nothing would!

[@Old Amsterdam]