Well, The Afterdark had no rivals, unless you counted the world's forces of good in general as a rival, but he nevertheless hired Nell to construct a number of weapons for him.
"Why do you need a laser gun when you can read minds and change shadows?" She had asked him while she worked.
He had shrugged. A month later, three people had been dead from laser burns. Nell didn't feel guilty. If she wanted to stay alive, she needed to work for the villains.
Richard, to be fair, wasn't a villain. He was just a guy with powers that allowed him to see into the future of television. Villains did use him to see for them, and they payed him quite a lot of money. He, like Nell, was just a commodity to make life simpler. That was all.
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Nell found that it was much easier to make a holographic projector than she had anticipated (although when Richard asked her about it, she was unable to explain the process in layman's terms). She was able to take some of Richard's junk and re-purpose it. Wiring was tedious, as was finding a decent power supply. Richard offered his assistance from time to time, and Nell turned him down on each occasion. She asked him about the future, but he didn't know anything about her. It was good to know that they never caught her in the future. She was a minor, meaning that even if they did catch her she wouldn't be too terribly sentenced (unless they caught her more than a few years from now). Derek had told her offhandedly that if The Law ever caught up with her, he'd break her out of prison and leave them a note that he'd forced her to make his weapons and she wasn't guilty.
Nell had recognized that that had been The Afterdark's version of being nice.
Richard offered to tell her lottery numbers, but she declined. She'd be too "on the grid" if she won a lottery, and she was too young to buy a ticket anyway.
Nell was finished as quickly as she had expected to be. Richard payed her and she left as anonymously as she had come. Having nowhere to go, she went to visit with 831\1.
"Why do you need a laser gun when you can read minds and change shadows?" She had asked him while she worked.
He had shrugged. A month later, three people had been dead from laser burns. Nell didn't feel guilty. If she wanted to stay alive, she needed to work for the villains.
Richard, to be fair, wasn't a villain. He was just a guy with powers that allowed him to see into the future of television. Villains did use him to see for them, and they payed him quite a lot of money. He, like Nell, was just a commodity to make life simpler. That was all.
----------
Nell found that it was much easier to make a holographic projector than she had anticipated (although when Richard asked her about it, she was unable to explain the process in layman's terms). She was able to take some of Richard's junk and re-purpose it. Wiring was tedious, as was finding a decent power supply. Richard offered his assistance from time to time, and Nell turned him down on each occasion. She asked him about the future, but he didn't know anything about her. It was good to know that they never caught her in the future. She was a minor, meaning that even if they did catch her she wouldn't be too terribly sentenced (unless they caught her more than a few years from now). Derek had told her offhandedly that if The Law ever caught up with her, he'd break her out of prison and leave them a note that he'd forced her to make his weapons and she wasn't guilty.
Nell had recognized that that had been The Afterdark's version of being nice.
Richard offered to tell her lottery numbers, but she declined. She'd be too "on the grid" if she won a lottery, and she was too young to buy a ticket anyway.
Nell was finished as quickly as she had expected to be. Richard payed her and she left as anonymously as she had come. Having nowhere to go, she went to visit with 831\1.
