> > But Liu Xi was never rude about it though. She just accidentally burned to death one person and killed the woman in stasis because she believed it was for survival. Not because it made her feel powerful or superior.
>
> She politely burned someone to death?
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No, accidentally. But she wasn't rude before that. The point is she's not behaving maliciously, laughing at someone and then burning them to death - it's more an act of desperation.
> And what about all the times she's hurled Chinese curses at people? That language was far from precise.
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That's after she's already angry. She may be polite most of the time, but she lacks the polished composure of the Psychic Samurai.
> Tom doesn't need to be rude to feel powerful or superior. He feels powerful and superior al the time anyway.
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That's exactly it - by that measure, Liu Xi should feel superior all the time too, because she does have the power to enforce it. Instead she tries to keep her friends and make new ones.
> > If you go that far you might also have to consider that the Psychic Samurai as an associate of a known criminal (as endlessly polite and patient she always is). And that Lara Night had a mysterious incident of having to kill someone but doesn't want to talk about it much - and she seems to understand the Hooded Hood a bit too much.
>
> Exactly. Tom isn't a Lair Legion crony so he gets the crap while "protected" hot women get an easy pass.
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Both of those women would take exception to being considered a Lair Legion crony. Especially Chiaki, who worked hard on her own to make a name for herself.
And that's exactly the point Chiaki would make. There are no free passes - she worked hard to get where she is, and to become trusted. She would expect no less from Tom Black. Chiaki has no sympathy for the corner he painted himself into.
Lara, on the other hand, might agree she had it easier than most, but she would also partly agree with Chiaki - that Tom might feel rejected by the LL but he isn't really helping his case either. Of course she's also the type who would have tried to give him a chance right up until he behaved like a jerk.
> > Speaking of which...Lara also happens to be an illegal with unregistered and powerful abilities. She might be difficult to deport though.
>
> I expect someone - probably the Librarian - has sorted Lara's paperwork out for her by now.
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That's somewhere Lara would point out the benefits of being nice to people.
> There's probably a set of contingency plans to take down pretty much every powerful metahuman on the planet, and Mumph may have contributed to them. Having the plan and ever expecting to use it are different things of course, but given the number of times heroes get possessed, replaced by evil doubles etc. it seems like a neccessary precaution.
>
> Lara's probably tagged as being vulnerable to poisons, gases, range sonics, biological agents, psionic assult - and bullets. Her psyche profile would indicate she'd likely be distracted by peril to apparent innocents; the old fake exploding baby trick would work on her.
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Lara also has experience none of the other would-be conquerors had a chance to: She has seen what it takes for Shema to remain in control of her universe. Lara knows it doesn't take raw power to do that, it takes amazing foresight and extreme planning, juggling millions of factors and predicting the outcomes. That she'll admit she's not capable of. It's the primary reason she keeps to small-time, because she knows she can handle that.
She's also probably peripherally aware that the Lair Legion and probably the government are researching ways to destroy her just in case. That's just part of the job, so she's not really offended by it.
What would really give her a crisis of loyalty is if the Lair Legion has a seemingly good reason to take over the universe by force, and asks for her help. That's a sensitive subject for her, because if she refuses to help she would expect the Lair Legion to respect that - but she would also worry that her help could save so many lives, because her use of power could be so focused and precise (teleporting in and obliterating different worlds' leaders would be quick and relatively painless, vs assaulting or threatening each planet directly). They would need a damn good reason to convince her, and she would probably ask them to promise they would give up the power when the need is over.
> > It's a tough one for him. Liu Xi is only his friend yet a loyal one...but he doesn't get a chance with a demon temptress too often. Though since he's into the dark arts he probably knows what she is and doesn't want to get himself in trouble. Or maybe he's just afraid Liu Xi will hurt him.
>
> Vinnie's not unfamiliar with hot demon women; see next time.
>
> Of course, Regret has already been enslaved to Vinnie's father.
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Now the only remaining problem is explaining it to Liu Xi. Even as a friend she expects better from him.
