Francis
It was maybe not a genius move to combine their lab with their secret identity but their identity didn't mean much anyway. It wasn't a permanent home or place of business. It was too small and not secure enough. The price wasn't bad but it wasn't worth the effort to make this place home. It will do though. Max wouldn't be greedy now. She could live with it.

She prepared for a visitor and had done some light cleaning. The dull metal operating table, more of an autopsy table but it works, was wiped clean and tools were stored in their rightful places. The dull faux wood was wiped off of most blood and new plastic tarps hung like curtains around the operating room. They even boiled some tea.

They were ready for business. They've never really done this, trading with other tinkers, so she was not sure the proper etiquette. She had her documents on her procedures but does that help? Either way, the door was unlocked and chairs were set out.
Mary
Apex moved through the streets of New London ignoring the world around her. Her eyes were locked to the path in front of her, not paying attention to the stairs from people as she passed by them. Suddenly she turned down a side street and headed straight for the door of a nearby building. Pausing she looked up at the building, this was the place.

Raising her right hand to the door she stopped short of actually knocking. Instead her hand hovered there for a moment, the tightly wound bandage concealing the appendage. She dropped her hand and raised her left arm instead and gave three heavy knocks on the door before reaching down and opening it, stepping inside.

*"Are you there?"*
Francis
"Enter."

The voice from inside rang out, a tired sounding voice laced with a valley accent. The medical tinker pulled back a plastic tarp to show the surgical area where two cheap wooden stools sit on either side of the table. 

Her medical mask hid her face but there wasn't much effort in a costume. A lab coat covers a crop top and skiny jeans. 

"Welcome to my home."
Mary
Apex followed the sound of the voice and entered the room with the Tarp. As the large sheet of plastic was pulled away she scanned the enviroment taking in everything she could, threats, exit routes, weapons... It had become second nature to her in the few months she had been a cape. Having concluded her check of the room her eyes finally rested on the other individual in the room.

*"You have an actual operating table? Impressive. When I did my work I just sat at my desk in my old bedroom. Well that and the one time I did it one someones living room floor."*

Apex wore a plain hoodie and jeans but the right arm of the hoodie had been removed. The entire right hand and forearm was instead covered by tightly wound bandages that led up to just above her elbow. Her face was concealed under a black mask with tinted lenses. She stepped forwards towards the operating table.

*"I take it that this means you are also a purveyor of Human perfection? In a short time I have discovered so much I would be curious to see what you might be working on."*
Francis
Max would shrug their shoulders at the question. They say down on the edge of the table as Apex looked over it. There was a carefree attitude to the Biotinker as they watched their guest. No weapons on them and no signs of security systems. This person didn't seem to be a threat at this moment. 

"My work is messier and generally it's easier to operate on people while they are flat on their back."

She gestured at one of the stools as she listened to Apex. Blood stains pooled at the bottom of the table and on some of the stools. The lack of metal parts and scrap was strange for a tinker- the tools were mundane largely.

"I am interested in completely altering the human form. Perfecting? Maybe. But I want to reach past perfecting the human form. I want to make something better."
Mary
*"I wonder what its like to have a test subject.."*

Her hand reached down and ran across the surface of the operating table, perhaps she could make one with tinker tech to help operate on herself? Or hell she could even get The Han- Crane to help. He was strange but he seemed like a reliable guy. Didn't pretend to be something he's not and most of all didn't judge her for who she was. Her head hurt, she needed blood, she needed to test her tech. She smacked herself in the head.

*"God my head hurts.."*

Turning around she hopped up on the the operating table, using it as a chair. Her eyes stared into Max's. Something better they say? She was intrigued as to just what was meant by that.

*"Muscles, Organs, Blood, Cells, DNA... Chromosomes. All of it is weak, vulnerable to mistakes, corruptible and decaying. Soon I shall replace it all with steel, save for one thing of course."*

She pointed to her head.

*"We need what that golden asshole put in our heads. What about you. How do you plan on creating something better than perfection?"*
Francis
"I haven't had any so I've started to test on myself." 

It was so simple to her, a complete lack of horror or concern at the idea of being under the scalpel. They would reach up and pull their mask down with a limb that had a little too much flex in it. The fingers, though looking like flesh and blood, reached ever so slightly further and curled a little too far. 

"I only work in organs and blood. I deal in the sticky blood and squishy meat, so I am well aware of the decay."

She tapped her head.

"I want to carve out the humanity and fill the space with all the things that we feared. Redundant organs, gnashing teeth, plated skin, carving claws. I deal in utter alterations, the large scale. No one will break us again."
Mary
Apex listened to the her fellow tinker with curiosity. They only dealt in flesh, that was a shame she had hoped had met with someone else who appreciated the fine art of cybernetic enhancements. No worries, she could still make use of this.. Surgeon.

*"That is one method I grant you but limited as I'm sure you know."*

Her hand reached up to her face, removing the mask that concealed her face. Underneath she wore a fabric face mask concealing the bottom half of her face but revealing her deep blue eyes.

*"You may call me Apex, what should I call you? We should be introduced before we talk business."*
Francis
She raised an eyebrow at Apex but didn't seem to mind the statement. They reached up, pulling their glasses off and switching them to a less green pair. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the sudden wash of color. 

"Limited perhaps but I will make a monster of myself yet."

She smiled wide in a way that didn't reach her eyes, which remained fixedly empty and cold. She leaned back and turned her head to the ceiling for a moment before looking back. The dark rings around her eyes more prominent now that the glasses were changed.

"Cronenberg works."
Mary
*"Oh? A monster? I think thats a bit harsh to be honest. Monsters are the people who judge us for seeking perfection don't you think? No I like to think we are pioneers."*

She didn't like the word monster. She had been called that many times before by those who claimed to be her family. Monster was a term resevered for those who deserved it, like Nazi's.

*"So Cronenberg, I feel like our skills could be quite complimentary. You have the biological skills..."*

Apex reached up to the bandage covering her right arm, ripping them free and revealing the mechanical limb beneath. It joined the flesh at the shoulder and appeared to be constructed from a dark metal.

*"And I the mechanical. Thoughts?"*
Francis
"Monster might be harsh, yes."

Their voice was level but they seemed amused by the reluctant to use the word. They ran a hand through their hand as they looked around the room. So many ideas. 

"Well, Apex, that sounds like a great plan. You know what?"

She pushed herself to her feet and stretched her strangely stretched arms before slumping back into herself. They looked over Apex one more time. This should be really interesting.

"You've got a deal, this sounds like a profitable partnership."
Mary
*"Perfect. Just Perfect."*

She hopped down from the operating table and approached Cronenberg. Her metallic hand rested on her hip as her left hand hung freely at her side. At this closer distance Cronenberg would be able to see a series of metal plates and wiring running through her left hand and arm embedded within her flesh.

*"I have plans to find more supplies for tinkering but I tell what I really need and I think you need it as well. An actual Lab. I think our first course of action sahould be to gather funds to create an actual space specialised for us to do our work. What do you say?"*
Francis
Cronenberg's eyes would trace along the arm as if studying the wiring. She would tilt her head as she did, looking down at her own hand for a moment, before looking back at her. She would make a quiet chuckling sound and sigh.

"Well that's a smart plan. We need the lab and space to work, this place was only meant to be temporary anyway. Do you have plans on how we go about this operation of gaining resources?"

Her hands would go into her pockets as she fished around for her phone. She'd pull the cheap cellphone out and hold it up so she could begin typing. Fingers bending into strange angles as she touched the keys.
Mary
*"So far I plan to keep on doinhg what I have been doing. Finding stuff I like, removing the owners from the equation and then taking the stuff for myself. That has been working out well so far but if you have any ideas on how to make my acquisition of resources more efficient I would be interested to hear about them."*

She recalled her recent escapades since she had triggered and it certainly been an eventful time. She had fought with gangs of thugs, facist capes and other assholes. Considering everything she was most surprised at the fact she had yet to fight with a hero. Funny considering she had probably done more illegal activities than half the villains in this city.

*"Although I am thinking where would we even want the lab? I would rather not be in the slums to be honest, too many cultists, too much risk."*
Francis
"Mmm, well with the collaboration of you and me things will be easier for jobs but resources are going to be tough split. We need bigger jobs, I've been offering my medical skills to anyone who wants it but it's not the most profitable." 

She paced slowly as she typed notes into her phone. She had to think, move, stretch. Her mind went over the things that were going on and the factions. She made a soft hum as her feet clicked against the ground in her pump shoes that did not exactly match the rest of the outfit.

"We can't go too populated. We don't want the bleeding heart types to interrupt us.. Suburbs? Could work for cover stories and it's likely less controlled by cultists?" 

She stopped pacing and went to grab her tools. Basic medical supplies for now, it seems. Placing them on the operating table as she checked her supply.

"..Hit the nazis? Unpowered types. I don't think we're equipped enough to fight anyone important. Maybe some of the cultists?"
Mary
*"Even if they aren't profitable having medical skills is only a good thing. Especially for me if I'm being honest, I might know how to replace body parts but I'm not particularly good at healing the body biologically. Not that I have an issue with replacing my body just others might."*

Seeing the other tinker typing away on their phone Apex took out her own and pressed a few times with her still organic hand. She then flipped the phone around and held it towards Cronenberg.

*"You best add my number just in case. You never know when you might need to contact me later. Anyway yes, a residential area that could be good. My only concern is people in those neighbourhoods can be quite nosey. Of course if we are careful we could deal with that. You can figure out that side I'll figure out who we can risk to kill. Although the nazi suggestion aint half bad, plus I've already made enemies of them so it's not an additional problem."*
Francis
She began to punch in the numbers to her contact list. Her head bobbed as she listened to her. She would ping her with a quick 'test' text before going back to note taking. She kept her eyes on the screen as she spoke.

"We aren't the noisey tinkers, really. Good soundproofing would hide anything especially in a basement. I can search for decent properties in one of the residential..." 

She trailed off as she looked up. Her eyes flitting to Apex. A tilt of her head as she looked at her.

"We could make something out of this. This little partnership.. We don't last on our own for long. This might just work."
Mary
*"Hmm indeed we might. I'm not going to lie to you though, I've been told I can be quite volatile. If you try to fuck me over at all.."*

She raised her arm up besides her as the mechanical mechanisms began to shift. The whole arm seemed to transform and in the blink of an eye four foot long metallic blade extended from the end of her arm.

*"I will not hesitate to end you. You don't seem like a fascist prick though so I will make sure your death is quick by comparison."*

 Her arm began to shift again as it returned to it's original, more normal looking state. Her mouth curled into a slightly disturbing smile.

*"But that won't be a problem will it. You seem like a fine sort to me so I think we'll get on nicely."*
Francis
She barely blinked as the blade whirled out from Apex's arm, staring down at it. She'd lean closer to the blade and stared at her. Eyes completely empty of both rage and fear as she flicked a scalpel from her sleeve into her fingers. She raised it up to tap against the metal with her own.

"I don't deal in backstabbing."

Her tone was amused, tilted with her SoCal accent. She brushed her hand against the blade and waited for it to retract before she spoke again. She leaned back against the table once more as she sighed and grinned a strange, empty, smile at the other Tinker.

"Besides. As much as I enjoy being threatened, it's not necessary. We both have the same need to improve ourselves and I want to see how far we can go with-" 

She used the scalpel to gesture at herself.

"-us. This whole thing. As long as you are not going to betray me, I won't betray you."
Mary
*"Well then, I look forwards to a long prosperous working relationship."*

She walked over to the entrance of the room. Pausing for a moment as she turned to look at Cronenberg.

*"It was nice meeting you Cronenberg. Keep in contact, we'll have to plan a little get together some time soon. Now if you'll excuse me my presence has been requested by the fascists. They have had the gall to exist in my city."*

She turned back and stepped out of the room. Happy with how the meeting had gone. Hopefully they could work together soon.