"You sure we should've left her there?" asked Saprus seated in the back of the Technical.
"She didn't want to leave" reminded Taika.
"I know, but isn't there somewhere else she could stay?"
"Oh yeah, let's take her to Mel's house, whose crazy obsessed with her" said Baldemar.
"She could go to Sanctuary" proposed the infected.
"Something tells me she wouldn't like that" muttered Dion.
"Oh really? Did you share a psychic connection when she kissed you?" asked the huntress grinning slyly.
"First of all, that was a bullshit kiss she gave me. The whole milk-siphoning thing totally ruined it. Second, we Titans can do something similar with the Sirens when we touch foreheads. For humans its possible."
"How do you know that?" inquired Baldemar. "Kissed a few Sirens?"
"Once. She was a hot bitch too."
"But why are you certain Tina won't move to Sanctuary?"
"Dude, there's no reason to deny a person what they have. If she wants to live in a cave and draw on a wall, that's her business."
"Aye" agreed Taika.
They reached Mel's house and quickly ascended up to his house.
"Did ya meet her?" asked the shield crafter anxiously.
"Yeah, and she gave us this" said Dion tossing a small box.
Mel grabbed it and kissed the object softly.
"I'd be ashamed of taking it from her, if you all didn't need it" he murmured opening the box.
"Your obsession is beginning to worry me" muttered Baldemar.
"I can see why he's obsessed" countered Dion. "Tina is definitely worthy any man's time."
Mel glared at him. "Never speak a word of her. I'll decapitate you."
"Easy man" said the Titan holding up his hands. "You can have that crazy chick all to yourself."
"Suits me fine" said the shield crafter grinning.
He walked over to a large door and opened it.
"Just wait here for a moment and I'll get your thing ready. Try not to touch anything or I'll have to sew your fingers back on."
Taika glanced at some of the objects in the room. Half of them were covered in sharp blades and the other looked explosive.
"I think that's some good advice" she muttered absently.
They heard some loud banging noises coming from the room, which sounded similar to a jackhammer going off.
"Fuck!" roared Mel from the other side of the door. "Shouldn't have dropped that."
They heard what sounded like an explosion and smoke rose from underneath the door.
"Uh…you okay?" asked Dion nervously.
"Don't come in. I have my pants off" stated the shield crafter.
Taika was stunned for a good ten seconds. "Why would he..?"
"Sometimes you work better when you're only wearing a shirt and boxers" explained Baldemar. "I know that feeling well."
Finally, Mel emerged. Thankfully, he was wearing pants. He had soot plastered all over his face and his sleeves were burned off, but he looked okay.
"That plasma core was a bit more reactive than I imagined" he muttered. "And it wasn't the right size, so I had to hammer it in."
"How big is this shield thing?" asked Baldemar. "I mean, the one in Tiberius Outpost was huge. We can carry it, right?"
"There are ways around it" said Mel grinning. He held up a small SDU. "It's all stored in here. Place this on the ground anywhere in Sanctuary and the shield will start working. It doesn't really matter where it is."
He held up a small manual. "This will help with the set-up. I wrote it a little while ago."
"Wow. You're a fast typer" noted Saprus.
"Actually, half of it is empty" admitted the shield crafter. "I just added it so that the manual didn't look too thin."
Baldemar chuckled. "How can we repay ya?"
"None needed" said Mel smiling. "Lilith just sent me a huge payment."
He held up a small book. "This little thing is the newest issue of my favorite series: Deadman Summerland. I wanted to catch up on it and she sent me the entire series. I didn't even need to ask."
Dion grinned. "I love that freaking series. Even better as a show in my opinion."
"Well, she didn't give me that" murmured Mel. "But a guy's gotta be content with what he can get on Pandora. Least I ain't on Promethea."
The shield crafter sat in his chair and began reading. "Oh, and in that room over there is a Fast Travel Station. I just wired the thing to go to Sanctuary, since it took me forever to figure out how the damn thing worked. You can use it to move to and fro from here, free of charge. Just…don't walk into my bedroom without knocking would ya?"
"Warning received" said Taika. "Let's head back to Lilith for our payment."
"Maybe she'll give me the same thing she gave Mel" wondered Dion. "I wouldn't mind."
"I thought you wanted answers" commented Saprus.
"I was joking. But I'll gladly take either if she offers."
Baldemar walked over to the Fast Travel Station and began typing in numbers.
"Come on ladies and gentlemen, time to get paid."
If you're wondering, Deadman Summerland=Deadman Wonderland. There's a lot of references in this work.