[IC] Banding Together in Halloween Town

[LePouvantail]

"A little slowness is the trade-off for your increased durability," Finklestein said.

The lab door opened for them. Dr. Finklestein gestured for Carver to take a seat.

"I can take a look and see about increasing articulation," he continued, "but as for your vines...well, my dear, this may better teach you to have patience and to think over your actions before getting into trouble, then, hmm?"

[SystemofEleven]

Carver glared at him. "I have plenty of time to think before I act. In case you haven't figured it out yet, that's why I get into so much trouble." He smirked. "Or did you think all those times you chained me up or strapped me to my bed, that I was just sitting there thinking about sunshine and roses for hours on end? Thanks to you, I'm an exquisite planner."

The pumpkin creature flumped down onto the examination table, but didn't lie back on it. "It's not just slower at walking, either. I can't climb or jump, and running is exhausting. My mobility has taken a skulldive."

[LePouvantail]

"Then it seems you'll just have to decide which of your exquisite plans are worth spending energy on, my dear."

Dr. Finklestein took a look at Carver's limbs to test the articulation.

"Ah, yes. Being unable to run or jump or climb...how could I possibly relate to that?"

He picked up a wrench to do some tweaks on Carver's arm.

"I can see if I can find some lighter materials with similar durability. It will take time to build and tweak the design, you understand. But if you can't climb, you can't get into as much trouble, can you?"

[SystemofEleven]

"You still don't have any idea why I like trouble so much, do you? You're too stuck in your own braincap to figure it out." Carver tried to cross his arms, but the Doctor had a firm grip and was not unused to holding his creation still when necessary. "And anyway, that's not my only complaint, it's just the biggest one because it affects my unlife the most. I also can't use my body for storage, eat anything, access my cage if necessary, get anything out of it that manages to find its way in, wave my tentacles aroundfor an extra scare effect-- Oh! And I can't trade out my heads, anymore."

[LePouvantail]

After a few tweaks, Carver would at least have a bit more articulation.

"You have no need to eat," Dr. Finklestein said, "save for your vines, and as for storage, those pants have pockets to hold whatever it is you need."

He wheeled over to get an oil can to better enhance his improvements.

"And as for the heads, I've saved you time having to carve a new one every few weeks. Really, my dear, this is an improvement over your old body. It will just take a bit more getting used to."

Dr. Finklestein patted his creation's arm.

"All that time you spend causing trouble, you can now focus on learning how to scare with your superior framework."

[SystemofEleven]

Carver rolled his eyes as the Doctor once again completely missed or ignored the part of what had been said which would have requiredhim to stop and think about someone else for five seconds. As the arguments poured forth, the pumpkin creature decided it wasn't worth trying to explain that Finkelstein had "saved him" from doing something he actually enjoyed doing.

Instead, he snatched the Doctor's tools, stood up on the table where he was tall enough to hold them out of Finkelstein's reach, and started dropping them down his own "throat". One. By. One.

[LePouvantail]

Dr. Finklestein tried to grab for the tools.

"Put that back, you little--hey!"

One by one, the tools went into Carver's body.

"Give those back, you ungrateful little--!"

[SystemofEleven]

Carver stepped to the far side of the table, where Finkelstein's short arms couldn't even reach his feet, as he dropped the wrench down his gullet. Then he waited for his creator to wheel around the table before stepping back and swallowing a screwdriver. Then went the pliers. Then some little measuring device he'd never bothered to learn the name of. Then a different kind of screwdriver. All went clattering down into the depths, echoes storming out of his mouth as they knocked into his cage and bounced off of the exoskeleton walls.

When it was done, he smiled down at the Doctor and blinked his mechanical eyes oh-so-sweetly. "Aren't you happy, Dad? I saved you time tinkering with all your mechanical toys and whatsits. Now you can focus on things like learning how to cook your own damn soup!"

[LePouvantail]

Dr. Finklestein tried to keep up with his creation, but Carver moved too quickly for him to catch. After a moment, Carver swallowed a few of his tools. He sneered when the pumpkin creature taunted him, but realized something.

"That new body hardly slowed you down. There's no need to improve the design, now go to your room!"

[SystemofEleven]

Carver dropped to the floor. "Oh, but I'm not done helping you..."

He skipped over to the pile of scrapped projects and machine parts and removed one of his old arms. Then he stalked back toward his creator, ominously clapping the thin metal structure against the palm of his hand.

[LePouvantail]

Dr. Finklestein started to follow, when he saw Carver deviate from the path.

"Put that down, young lady!" he said.

When Carver started to approach, he put his wheelchair in reverse.

"Carver, I'm warning you--!"

[SystemofEleven]

"Not a lady," Carver said as he continued forward. "Never was."

With the lab being as full as it was with various table and structures and experiments, Finkelstein didn't really have anywhere to go. The pumpkin creature leered, not increasing his speed whatsoever.

"You put boobs on this body. You put me in a body I didn't ask for and got no say in its design. And NOW, you have refused to even modify my body to fit my needs."

Even at his current height deficit, Carver was still two heads taller than the Doctor. As he got closer, he leaned forward jut a bit to give the impression he was looming over him.

"So now, I am going to do an experiment of my own. And this time, you are the one who won't have a choice in the matter."

[LePouvantail]

"I altered it to fit your perceptions," Finkkesteon sneered. "You wanted to be a girl, I made you a girl."

The wheelchair hit the back of the wall.

"I made it durable so those brats couldn't destroy you. I even put on a softer outer layer so they wouldn't get hurt too much when you hit back. It's functional, more convenient, and you can still fulfill your initial purpose!"

Carver got closer. Dr. Finklestein tried not to look even a little afraid.

"Un-ungrateful--!"

[SystemofEleven]

"No, I didn't. You never asked what I wanted, and you never listened when I tried to tell you. And you know what? I'm done trying to tell you. You can just use that big brain of yours to figure it out."

Carver stalked forward at a slight sideways angle so that there would be juuust enough room for Finkelstein to try and make an escape right as his creation got close.

[LePouvantail]

With the opportunity given, Dr. Finklestein shifted the gears to try to make an escape.

Of all the nights for Jewel to not be home!

[SystemofEleven]

Carver grinned as Finkelstein did exactly what he was hoping for. Just as the Doctor was passing by, he swung the arm down and jammed it between the spokes of the wheel closest to himself.

The motion of the wheel yanked the arm down, backward, upward--and smashed it into the electric motor attached to the back of the chair's underside. The force of the motor wasn't enough to do significant damage from the collision, but the arm blocked the wheel from continuing to turn, and thus prevented the chair from moving forward.

Before Finkelstein could react, Carver shoved the arm the rest of the way across the bottom of the chair, threading it through the spokes of both wheels. Then he stepped back to examine his work where he was out of range of retaliation.

[LePouvantail]

The wheelchair jolted and sputtered as Finklestein tried to move forward. He tried to reverse, but the damage was already done. He flared at his creation.

"CAAAAAARVEEEEEEEEEER!"

Dr. Finklestein reached down to try to remove it, but found the metal arm out of his reach.

"You're grounded, young lady!"

[SystemofEleven]

Carver just snickered at him. "Have to catch me to ground me, Dad. Maybe you can spend this time thinking about what I've said. I told you, I'm gonna do an experiment. Let's see what happens when you have your autonomy taken away."

He turned to walk toward the door, not bothering to look back as he waved. "You can count yourself lucky, though. I wanted to try putting your brain in a jar, hooking it up to some disembodied eyes, and making you watch your body get used as a puppet. Those 'brats' are the ones who talked me out of it. You should thank them the next time they grace you with their presence."

He paused for a second, then stepped over to the small table with the Finkelsteins' main phone. He bend down to unplug it, carefully wrapped up the cord to prevent tangles, and carried the whole thing away with him. There was another phone in the kitchen, if the Doctor really needed it. He'd just have to get out of his chair and drag himself on his belly all the way down the ramp. The pumpkin creature snickered again, knowing it would take something incredibly drastic for his creator's ego to allow him to 'lower himself' like that.

[LePouvantail]

Dr. Finklestein reached for his creation with a growl. He tried again to reach the arm. He could barely manage if he twisted his body enough, but he didn't have the strength or leverage to pull the arm out.

"I'll thank them for nothing, you ungrateful little--"

He saw Carver take the phone, and gradually realized just how stuck he was.

"Get back here! Carver!"

[SystemofEleven]

Carver didn't look back as he left. He carefully placed the phone next to its counterpart in the kitchen, tossed Igor a bone biscuit, then went to go spend the day in the pumpkin patch. He wasn't quite sure how comfortable it would be in his current body, but he definitely didn't want to lieinbed listening to Finkelstein holler for hours on end, either.