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Emcee, awake in the wee hours of the night, is feeling a bit bored and frivolous.

So, he sits at the bar with a glass of gin, a mirror, and a catalogue of fashion sunglasses. Each time he comes across a pair that he likes, he asks the Bar for it so he can try them on, even taking selfies with his smartphone to see how he looks in photos with them.

It's an utterly vain way to pass the time. But whatever.

Eventually he collects a small pile of favorites, but can't decide which one to keep.

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"Yes, please," Hawkeye says, intrigued by the prospect of seeing video again. "A young man named Cisco Ramon showed me videos of dogs and cats. They were fascinating."

"Cisco! Yes, I met him once, at this very party, in fact. I believe that there was singing involved, but I can't be too sure of it."

After asking for the device back, he thumbs through a few folders, searching for the videos.

"Ah! Here we go. This is one of the impromptu performances that happened. I was just utterly delighted by it."

Pressing play, he shows Hawkeye a video of a large robot dancing to electronic dance music with little drones zooming around, creating a light show.

Hawkeye takes in the performance with her sharp-eyed, unblinking gaze. Her lips part slightly as the machine begins dancing. She recalls what Ellen had told her about humanoid machines, and wonders if Ellen herself had ever seen one dancing. "Is that... a robot?"

Emcee nods. "A droid, to be exact, and a sentient one as well," he replies. "They're quite pleasant! They even have a little songbird as a companion."

Just ignore the giant gun for a hand.

"A sentient robot? Will wonders never cease," Hawkeye murmurs, her hair falling over her right eye as she inclines her head very slightly. "Do you have any more videos?"

"I do, actually, just a few short clips of random things," he says, perching the sunglasses on the top of his head before scrolling through the files. When he finds the ones he wants, he plays them for her.

"This was the countdown at the New Year's Eve party," he explains as a crowd of people cheer and embrace while silvery confetti rains down.

"And these are Dr. Sandhu's children, also at the party. I don't know if you've met them, but they are a lovely family." In the clip, a young boy plays a piano while his sister sings.

Then in another video, the view slowly pans across a city skyline, gleaming skyscrapers in the distance mixed with much older structures. The camera eventually lands on Emcee's face, his expression one of childlike glee, before the clip abruptly ends. "That is Berlin in the future. I took that on the balcony of my flat there."

Hawkeye watches each of these videos, rapt. She's fascinated by the moving pictures, and how they just look so lifelike. "It's almost like I can reach out and touch you through the smartphone," she murmurs. "And no, I've not met the Sandhu children, or even Dr. Sandhu, yet. The New Year's Party was here, correct? Not back in the Berlin of the Future?"

Emcee refrains from adding anything to her comment about touching him.

"Dr. Sandhu is the head medic here, his office is in the infirmary. He's a very good chap to get to know, whether you come in injured or otherwise. And that's right, the party was here. I borrowed an aircraft hangar in the garage and turned it into a one-night nightclub."

"I'll have to get to know him. Thank you for telling me about him," Hawkeye says, sipping her coffee. "So you were the host of the New Year's party? I imagine your ability to entertain came in handy, then. Do you often host parties here?"

"Not often, no, but people ask me to help with their parties to provide the music," he explains as he sorts through his pile of sunglasses, "so while I'm stuck here, my itch to entertain is thus scratched."

He slips on a pair of wide shades with white rims and looks at Hawkeye.

"What do you think of these, Lieutenant?"

Hawkeye's sharp-eyed gaze descends on the glasses, and she presses her lips together. "They're... flamboyant. They suit you better than the rhinestones did."

"Really?" he says with a grin. "I do like shiny things but these are a little more streamlined, I think."

He looks into the mirror propped up on the bar and turns his face this way and that. With a sigh, he removes the sunglasses and turns the pages of the catalogue.

"The problem is, is that I don't really know what I'm looking for...but I suppose in the grander scheme of things, that's not a bad problem to have right now. But anyway! What are you up to these days, Lieutenant?"

Hawkeye listens attentively, wondering what sort of advice she can offer. She can't think of any--or platitudes, either--so she simply remains silent.

The question catches her by surprise, and she reacts by blinking at him once. "Ah, we've been summoned to Central City to hunt down a rogue alchemist. We leave tomorrow," she says, her narrowed-eyed gaze flicking down to her half-full coffee cup. Her next words are almost shy. "I've always liked riding on the trains, so that should be fun, at least."

"Ooh, a rogue alchemist," he repeats, glancing up from the catalogue as he continues to browse through it. "Sounds exciting. You have to hunt them down? Are they very dangerous? And I enjoy train rides, too, as long as the seats are comfortable and the company is pleasant."

"They can be dangerous," Hawkeye admits, wrapping both her hands around her coffee cup. "This one has been threatening Central and attacking soldiers."

And the Fuhrer, though she doesn't want to bring that up to Emcee because the last time she mentioned the word, it upset him. "If we're lucky, we'll arrest him. But I doubt he'll come quietly."

"Ah, well, if he's a legitimate threat, then I suppose it's your duty," he says. "Do you know what kind of alchemist he is?"

"He's called the Freezing Alchemist, because he manipulates the properties of water," Hawkeye says, neglecting to mention that he's been killing soldiers by boiling the water in their bodies. "He's quite skilled."

"Oh," he says, his eyebrows rising, "I can see how someone with those skills could be potentially lethal if they really wanted to be. I'm sure you and the Colonel have a plan to thwart him...?"

"So far, the plan is to track him down and disable his gauntlets, which is where he keeps his transmutation circles," Hawkeye says, looking like she wants to chew on her lower lip. "After that, we'll arrest him. I doubt things will go according to plan."

Emcee frowns slightly, tilting his head. It's sounding more dangerous than he first thought.

"Have you known about him previously or is he a relatively new problem?"

"He joined a group of dissenters after the Ishvalan conflict, but this is the first time any of them have surfaced as a credible threat," Hawkeye says, a few strands of hair resting against her cheek. "We're keeping an eye on the group. Hopefully there's nothing more than ineffective grumbling. The Freezing Alchemist used to be a soldier."

"That sounds serious," he remarks. "Are they trying to start some sort of...revolution?"

"I'm not sure what they want, but revolution isn't out of the question," Hawkeye says, sighing through her nose. "It's a small group, but they're growing more powerful."

"Ah, politics, is it?" he says, a bit tight-lipped, as he casually flips a page. "What was the Ishlavan conflict about, if I may ask?"

Hawkeye gives the impression of pulling a face without actually doing so. She remains still, except for her lips, which tighten at the corners and pull down subtly. "The Ishvalan conflict was a civil war. Tensions had been brewing there for some time when an Amestrian soldier accidentally shot a child. A rebellion broke out, and... Fuhrer King Bradley ordered the extermination of the Ishvalans."

She stares into her coffee cup as she says the last bit, her fingers clenching around the mug.