DT Serum, Primary Testing In Progress

Sam's eyes glowed and the knife moved just enough to "accidentally" deliver a shallow cut to Lex's hand. "Yeah. And?"

Gaster smiled as Geena left. The scientist was falling hard for her, and it showed a bit whenever Geena's back was turned.

"And you're an idiot who's going to get killed if that's the best you got," Lex said flatly, not even glancing at the cut.  "Couple days ago, one of my crew got shot nine times and stabbed seven.  And he's as good as me when it comes to the streets.  You ain't worth cr_p."

True considered saying something then bit his tongue.  Instead, he picked up a menu and studied it with far more intensity than it deserved.  When Geena returned with their drinks, True asked, "Can I please have a slice of that chocolate creme pie?"
Geena smiled, clearly pleased.  "For a please, you can have anything you like in this place."  She turned and hurried off once more, a slight spring in her step.

"Well then show me how to avoid that, or at least keep them occupied!" Sam begged. "I promise, I just need to practice! I have the tools, but dad won't show me how to use them!"

Gaster sighed softly as Geena left. "Why do I want to use a terrible pick up line because she said that..."

Lex leaned forward to look Sam in the eye.  "Because you aren't a killer.  He knows it, and so do I.  Respect that about yourself and use your brains to build better security.  Look at you!  It doesn't matter what I teach you, you don't have the physical capability to pull any of it off, and when the time comes you need to stab someone, you won't, and that'll get you and whoever you're 'protecting' killed."

"Try it and see what happens," True suggested, trying to figure out how to drink his chocolate without getting creme on his nose.  "At lease with th pie now you have more time."

There was a humming sound, and two blasters appeared behind Sam. His eyes were glowing blue now. "What if I don't even have to touch them? These things will give anyone except maybe you third degree burns as well as destroy anything I've tested on a small scale. I can teleport and move things at will. I can even summon raw energy, but that drains me quicker. If you don't think I can physically fight, fine. Teach me to dodge and build my endurance then."

Gaster's cheeks got a bit red. "You don't think that'd be too brash?"

"Dammit, kid!  Quit being a freakin idiot!" Lex shouted, not at all interested in the weird skull things.  Life with his father had rather dulled his ability to be surprised.  "You're not a killer, you never will be!  It's not a bad thing!"  Just as sudden as his scream, Lex softened.  "It's not a bad thing," he repeated in a much quieter tone, "and once you get blood on your hands, you will never be able to wash it off.  Not ever, and you'll be haunted by dreams in the daylight hours.  Go home, kid."  Lex handed Sam the pocket knife and started walking once more.

Sam looked at the knife. The blasters faded and disappeared. The kid hadn't even flinched when Lex yelled at him. Almost as an afterthought, even though it didn't really matter anymore, he called out to Lex. "Sam. My name's Sam..."

"You can have a name when you've earned it, kid," Lex said over his shoulder, "and no one earns their name the same as anyone else."

"Nope."  True tried a drink and ended up with half his face white.
"How's that hot chocolate?" Geena chuckled, putting his pie in front of him.
"Just the way I like it!" True praised.

Sam nods a little. "Could I still try and help you out some? You aren't nearly as bad as I first thought, and I like hanging out with you. It's more interesting than what I was doing..."

Gaster smiled a little at Geena. "Um, Geena? May I ask you something? may I please go on a date with you? You did say we could have anything in the diner with a please..." The poor doctor was very, very nervous.

Lex gave him an amused look.  "You wanna hang out?  Fine.  Pick a dead end alley.  Go."

Geena paused and just stared at Gaster a moment.  Then she gave a little laugh that didn't quite hide her nervousness.  "I guess I did say that, didn't I?  Well then, Doctor Scientest!  I suppose you may.  If you can name a time when I'm not working.  That'll be a challenge, won't it?"  She winked at him as she hurried to take care of another table trying to catch her attention.
"That wasn't a no," True pointed out, offering a bite of his pie.

Sam nodded and walked through the allies until he found a dead end one. He was curious what The Shadow was planning.

Gaster looked so excited now, it was actually kind of adorable and heart warming. He grabbed a napkin, completely ignoring True's offer as his mind thought and calculated. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and started to make two weekly charts. One had hours he knew for a fact Geena worked based on the tines he was here, and the other a guessed schedule based around what he knew of her hours and typical restaurant shifts. He even tried to recall minute ticks that may have betrayed Geena was working long before he walked in or not. Once done, he awaited her return to ask. Gaster sipped his coffee. "How's the pie, True?"

Just before Sam walked into the alley, Lex caught the back of his collar and yanked him back and out of the way, putting two fingers to his lips to keep him quiet.  "Do you know what you almost walked into, kid?" he asked casually.

"Real good and real gone," True said, chewing on the last of the crust.  "Is that your stalker schedule?"

Sam, the small kid he was, didn't take much to stop and pull back. Sam looked around to try and figure it out on his own.

Gaster gave True a mild look. "Don't call it that. If I was to be a stalker, I could have done it with a lot more accuracy. This is based on honest observations I have made, and deduced on my own and with what I recall."

Lex let him go and nodded to the alley.  "You were looking, but you weren't listening.  Try again, and be careful not to be seen."
At the end of the alley, a guy from Black Jack's crew sat snickering and crowing to himself over his spoils.  It wasn't loud, but it wasn't the normal background noise of the street that Lex had tuned his ears to hear, and the Shadow had caught it the instant they were within earshot.  If Sam had walked in on that, he'd have been badly hurt or killed.

True just smirked and finished his chocolate. 
"All done there, gents?" Geena asked as she approached.

Sam nodded and listened. He heard the voice, and once he tuned in on it, he got a better idea of what was happening. "What should we do?" He asked Lex in a tone as soft and quiet as Lex had been using.

Gaster smiled. "I think so." He adjusted his glasses. "Um, I came up with a possible schedule as far as your work schedule, based on what I have seen and observed in the now four times I was here. Can you look over it to see how accurate it is before I ask you for a definitive date and time?"

"You are going to lend me your cute letter opener then stand back and watch," Lex said, holding out his hand.

Geena frowned and leaned over to look at the napkin.  Her brows rose and she asked, "You got all this from four times??"
True cheerfully interjected, "Not a stalker!  Just observant.  Annoyingly so."
"Hmm, I can see how that would happen," Geena chuckled.  "Alright, good sir, this is close enough.  What are you thinking?"

Sam handed Lex the knife and hid surprisingly well where he would be out of sight but still see well.

Gaster smiled at her and pointed to a day where he had suspected she didn't work in the evening. "How about dinner on this day?" he suggested.

Lex smiled and took the knife, strolling down the alley.  He said nothing as he walked right up to the guy.  The guy didn't notice him until the last second.  His eyes went wide as the purses spilled from his hands as he groped for his gun.  The pocket knife flickered in the light as Lex sent it slashing across the guy's gun arm right at the elbow.  Before the thug could cry ou, Lex's elbow smashed into his face.  Lex stepped back, allowing the guy to stagger forward a bit, then the Shadow slipped to the side and stabbed him in the side, then the other, his movements fluid and deadly.  As the guy reeled, Lex kicked the back of his knee, causing it to buckle.  The guy fell, and his face slammed into the unyielding brick wall, knocking him out cold.  It all happened in less than 60 seconds.

Geena hesitated.  Then nodded slowly.  "Okay.  I guess I should give you my number so youcan tell me the when and where."

Sam's eyes were round in awe. Once he was sure the guy was knocked out, Sam came out of hiding. "Wow! You really are the master of the streets, aren't you?" He said. How impressed he was leeched into his voice as he spoke.

Gaster flashed Geena a sweet and cutely awkward smile. He was already looking forward to it. "I'll give you mine too." he offers. Gaster took another napkin and scrawled his number and simply "Gaster" on it before he offered it to Geena..

"Damn straight, but there's them that's as good as me.  Maybe better," Lex said, gathering up the guy's stuff.  "This one?  He was an idiot.  More than you even.  He belongs to a rival, and he should know better than to hunt alone."  He turned the guy over with his toe and started going through his pockets.

Geena smiled as she accepted it then wrote hers on the bottom of his recipe.  "I'll look forward to your text or call."

Sam walked over. "Can I help?" He asked Lex. Other than money and weapons, he had no clue what all might be a good pick or not.

Gaster gave her another adorable nerdy guy smile. Gaster looked excitedly at True. "True, I got her number!"

"Nope."  Lex stood with a box of cigarettes in his hand.  "Not even opened.  Sweet score.  Did you know these things have a medicinal purpose?"

"Dad!  She's still here!" True laughed.
Geena had blushed bright red but walked away smiling and shook her head.

"No, I didn't." Sam answered, looking at the box in Lex's hand curiously. If he was around cigarette smoke for too long, it usually gave him an asthma attack, but Sam wasn't about to tell Lex that. "What do they help?" He asked curiously.

Gaster's face got bright red as well, and he tried to hide it behind a hand. He was a bit embarrassed now.

"Antiinflammatory," Lex mumbled as he opened a box and put on of the white stems in his mouth.  It took him a couple tries to get it lit, but finally he did.  He took a drag and blew it skyward.  "When you look at it that way, no more or less harmful than a lot of prescription drugs, yeah?  Shame about the fiberglass."

"Come on, Dad, let's take her number and get on home or to the lab," True said sympathetically.

Sam nodded thoughtfully. "Is it the tabaco that makes it anti-inflammatory?" Sam asked. He was secretly grateful Shadow hadn't blown the smoke in his direction. Sam didn't have his rescue inhaler on him if he had an asthma attack.

Gaster nodded and followed True. He made sure he paid and tipped well as usual.