Laying in bed, arms wrapped around his small family, Oliver held his breath in anticipation. He had no idea if his items would be well received- he never really did, as any auction could easily surprise him- but he was optimistic... especially with how enthusiastic some of the participants could get.

Namely a certain unhinged researcher...

Mad Scientist Imogen: Oh! I'll bid first!

Mad Scientist Imogen: Umm... Shit. What do I have to bid with? You said you want fun stuff, right?

A small chuckled slipped from Oliver's lips at the scatter-brained response from the scientist- for whatever reason, she always gave him the mental image of a female Doc Brown: frizzy, untamed hair poofed up from her head in all directions, maybe a pair of goggles hanging forgotten around her neck.

He almost thought of her as harmless... until he remembered that she was experimenting on zombies using drugs from other worlds. Even if she had mentioned attempting to reverse zombification, that didn't sound especially safe...

Silk(Host): New and unusual things are always interesting; and, of course, I have special requests out for illusion and protective items, as well as means to cure diseases, poisons, and afflictions...

Mad Scientist Imogen: Umm... Ok. Shit. Shit shit shit.

Mad Scientist Imogen: I don't know if I have any of those...

Oliver felt his hopes dip as the scientist rambled on and no one else jumped in to bid, seemingly happy to sit back and simply watch the show. While he would certainly take credits, getting an item checked off his list would simplify things for him...

Mad Scientist Imogen: I do have some fun stuff though! How about a Kinetic Amplification Glove?

Mad Scientist Imogen wishes to bid (Kinetic Amplification Glove).

Kinetic Amplification Glove: When worn, stores a minuscule amount of kinetic energy with every movement of the glove. When striking a target, the glove can be triggered to release all stored kinetic energy into the attack. (Caution: If stored kinetic energy exceeds a certain threshold, the structural integrity of the glove may be compromised. In the event of total structural failure, all remaining kinetic energy is released in an uncontrolled explosion. Kinetic Amplification Glove does not possess any form of display or readout to effectively gauge stored energy levels or its effective tolerance.)

Estimated value: 39,750 credits.

Accept Bid? (Yes/No)

As he read the description of the item, Oliver was interested... at first. Storing kinetic energy in order to amp up a punch? It sounded fantastic!

The idea of wearing a glove that could explode and take most of his arm with it? Not so great...

Mentally clicking to reject the bid, he was quick to type a response to the excitable lunatic- he didn't want to discourage her... or possibly offend someone that makes items like that.

Silk(Host): While that is certainly an interesting item, I, unfortunately, must reject it. I already possess quite an assortment of weapons, and do not currently have a use for this one.

Mad Scientist Imogen: Oh, ok. Yeah, that makes sense. No weapons then... Umm....

Mad Scientist Imogen: Death Ray? Wait, you said no weapons... So no Freeze Ray either.

Mad Scientist Imogen: Or Implosion grenades...Does a Blame Thrower count as a weapon? I think it counts...

Seeing the number of rather insane sounding weapons being listed off, Oliver shook his head. Experimenting on zombies with drugs and making so many weapons certainly fit the 'Mad Scientist' stereotype in his head... Even if none of that was particularly useful to him.

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And wasn't a 'Blame Thrower' something he saw in a movie once?

The Liasion: Perhaps it would help if someone else stepped in- if for no other reason than to prod this scientist into motion and move things along?

Despite the Auction appearing more as a chat room than anything else, Oliver could almost hear this new person chuckling good naturedly... Unfortunately, it was impossible to tell if they were actually interested in the Dream Root plants or just teasing the scientist.

The Liasion: I'm certain I can find some use for these plants. Will 20,000 credits suffice to start?

The Liasion bids 20,000 credits.

Mad Scientist Imogen: Hey, I was going to bid! I just... Umm, give me a second!

Mad Scientist Imogen wishes to bid (Arcane Awakening Potion).

Arcane Awakening Potion(Consumable, single use): When consumed, an Arcane Awakening Potion will forcibly unlock the drinker's magical potential, granting access to the 'Mana' sub-attribute.

Estimated Value: 500, 000 credits

Accept Bid? (Yes/No)

Oliver's breath caught in his throat, and, for a moment, it felt like his heart stopped beating. A potion that would unlock mana? With that- assuming there were no serious drawbacks or danger- it would be possible for Poli to learn magic! Even the insanely high price tag on it made sense from that perspective... Though he also wondered if that wasn't too low.

It was a game changer of an item.

But maybe such things were more common in other dimensions? Or maybe in some they were rare, and everyone was just born with access to mana and magic? He knew the possibilities were endless, but this wasn't an item he had ever considered- even Marty hadn't thought of it yet!

Though, to be fair, Marty had already thought of hundreds of other possibilities; He couldn't really expect his friend to think of everything.

And he couldn't help but wonder why this crazy person threw out such a massive bid...

Silk(Host): Just for clarification, Miss Imogen... But are there any side effects to this potion? And are you certain you wish to place such a high bid?

Almost instantly, he regretted questioning the bid. While he wasn't sure he wanted to take advantage of someone with a questionable mental state... the potential use of the potions was too much to ignore. What if she retracted her bid now that he had questioned it?

Mad Scientist Imogen: I already used the first one I created when I was seven; why would I need another?

Mad Scientist Imogen: And the side effects aren't bad! Just a little indigestion and diarrhea.

Mad Scientist Imogen: Oh, and it hurts like hell!

Mad Scientist Imogen: But that's to be expected of something that alters the body to such a degree as to create mana channels, right?

For a second, Oliver was baffled by the response. Did she not even consider the value of the item to others? Even if she had used one before, surely she wouldn't just toss it aside so easily?

But... Who was he to question the bidder, especially when they offered something he definitely wanted.

Silk(Host): Well, that is quite the exciting offer! Do we have any higher bids?

Seeing the chat had fallen silent, likely stunned by the unexpected bid, Oliver was quick to close the lot- he didn't imagine anyone was willing to compete with the madwoman after a bid like that!

Mad Scientist Imogen: Wonderful! I can't wait to experiment with these delightful plants!

Mad Scientist Imogen: And now I don't have that potion cluttering up my desk!

Mad Scientist Imogen: I should do this more often... Oh! Maybe I can trade you some more of my useless junk!

He could only shake his head at the ramblings of a mad scientist- calling such a precious potion useless!?

"I guess the 'mad' in mad scientist is for a reason..." He muttered softly, even as a grin stretched across his face- he hadn't expected to get something this good, but he definitely wasn't going to regret it.

If the crazy woman wanted to clear up some more 'clutter' or 'junk', he was more than happy to take it... As long as it wouldn't blow up in his face.

Hopefully she had some more actually useful items to trade, because he had more lots to go through- this was definitely the weirdest, and craziest, experience he had had with the Auction so far...

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