Electra
-
Posts
11,284 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Freedom City Guidebook
Freedom City PBP: A How-To Guide
Gallery
Events
Everything posted by Electra
-
Miss Americana, her attention pulled in many directions at once, almost didn't see the ball of metal as Ferros lobbed it her way. She bobbled it and dove after it like a hawk going for a fish, scooping it up before it hit the ground as though she meant to do that all along. Holding it in one hand, she flew over to Sharl while keeping one eye on Jack and Willow. "I think we're starting to calm down here," she told him, even as civilians began to creep out from their hiding places. "It got a little hairy for a minute. Aren't you supposed to be over at Freedom Hall with the other students?" she asked.
-
Erin watched the byplay between Trevor and his father, and for a moment felt the near-overwhelming urge to just turn and yell at Ted. Would it really be so hard for him to spend a tiny percentage of his time being a parent to his own son, a living person with feelings who needed his attention and affection or maybe just the affirmation that the people who made him knew he existed? Surely there had to be a few spare moments between playing with imaginary money that would become totally worthless the second anything really bad happened in the world! Ted was lucky to even have a family, but he was just throwing it away, and it was so stupid... She throttled back with a quiet sigh, knowing that causing a scene wouldn't make things better, and would probably just make Trevor even more uncomfortable. Getting yelled at by some teenager wasn't going to change Ted or make him a better father. Maybe the best thing to do was just to finish this up and get gone, leave the elder Hunter to rot in his big glass mausoleum. Schooling her face to as much neutrality as she could, (though if Ted were anything like his son, she probably wasn't fooling anyone), she said "I appreciate you taking the time. I'm sure I can leave it all in your hands."
-
Moments after 11pm, the soft noise of footsteps heralded the arrival of the third conspirator. Koshiro was dressed in black jeans, a black turtleneck and navy hoodie, both as a means of concealment and in consideration of the sharp nighttime temperature drops of autumn. With only part of his face exposed, he was difficult to spot at all until he stepped into the pool of light cast by Sharl's laptop. He was a little weirded out by this view of his classmates, but affected indifference. "Hell of a meeting spot," he told Sharl dryly.
-
I'm still a little confused from last round. Was Koshiro able to make an opening big enough for anyone to escape through? Well, even if he didn't, with Medea down it will hopefully be a moot point. I don't know if Orion is still concealed now that Sharl is shooting at him, but in any case Koshiro can make a DC 20 Notice with skill mastery. Move action to fly up to where they are, then unleash the cranes for a standard action. First roll sucks, gonna blow an HP there. HP reroll is a 32. I'm going to just guess that it hits, so it's a DC 23+Autofire toughness save.
-
"The short answer to that," Miss A said briskly, "is no. You are a danger to my chair because you decided you were going to dissolve the cover, not because your body is brimming with dangerous Terminus radiation. The danger of "T-Babies" is largely imaginary, a construction of the media to scare the populace with when they don't have a new flu strain or celebrity wardrobe malfunction to worry about." Her tone was dismissive, nearly chiding him for buying into the hype. "In the most extreme cases, children whose powers are linked to the Terminus Invasion of 1992 release detectable amounts of Terminus radiation even when they are not actively using their powers. If the most contaminated of those children were to be duplicated a thousand times, then locked in a small room together, the ambient radiation might come close to matching the radiation signature of a single Omegadrone. You may be a danger to society, I have no way to determine that, but it won't be because you're a T-Baby."
-
Miss A goes on 16. 16 is a busy phase!
-
"Arleen," Miss A began by leaning in, her voice soothing and confidential, "I understand that you want the best for Melvin. You want safety, security, friends, all those good things for him, and that's very admirable. But you've seen what your son can do. He is never going to have an entirely normal life, no matter how much either of you tries. That doesn't mean he can't have all those things you want for him." She sat up once more, crossing her legs casually at the knee. "There's a school in Freedom City for children like Melvin, children with special potential. He'd receive guidance and training there from people who aren't afraid or in awe of him, and who can challenge him in age-appropriate ways. He'd still get the experience of having peers and going to school, but without all the problems he's having right now."
-
"I don't know any of them anyway," Koshiro said with a negligent shrug. "Kimber's way too loud for any covert missions, but Indira might do." He thought about it for a minute. "But I don't know her either. If she rats on us, we're busted before we even start. Dunno if it's worth the risk." He leaned against the bed for a minute, figuring the angles. If Sharl could sound Indira out without letting on exactly what they were doing, that was less risky than just hauling her right in, and if things went south, he'd be a buffer against any really bad consequences. Sharl's powerful friends would keep him from getting in too much trouble, and he himself could say he'd just been speaking hypothetically. And having someone around who could ooze through vents and maybe take a camera as well would be more than cool. "You want to talk to her?"
-
Miss A listened carefully and made a few notes as he spoke, then watched Brian's little display. "We have any number of lab specimens and testing devices if you feel compelled to demonstrate your abilities," she told him, mild annoyance in her voice. "Those chairs are not cheap." She let it go, though, in favor of his question. "Looking at your age and background, while it's very unlikely you yourself were affected in utero, your mother's body may well have been contaminated during your early embryonic development. We can run tests to determine whether your powers produce any of the distinctive markers of Terminus radiation. Is that something you're interested in doing right away?"
-
Miss A nodded, picking up a tablet that looked like an iPod with four or five extra years of technology on it and jotting a few notes. "No need for traditional sustenance or respiration," she repeated, "no need for sleep. Nice perks," she commented with a small smile, "but nothing we haven't seen and cataloged before. Why don't you tell me a little bit more about your powers and what you're hoping to learn about them. I imagine you have specific concerns that bring you to my lab today?"
-
"That's what Alex suggested, yes," Erin agreed, holding herself still mainly by force of will while Trevor's dad looked over her paperwork. "It's all AEON because I got it from working for her while we were in school." She half-shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know much about stocks and portfolios and things," she admitted. "I don't really want to tap into this money, so I need to find somewhere to put it that makes sense and isn't too risky." She resisted the urge to reach out and touch Trevor's hand for a quick bit of reassurance, fairly sure that betraying weakness and showing affection were equally bad here.
-
With Willow's metallic coating peeling away and Jack of all Blades in little condition to hold himself upright, much less in the air, their situation vis-a-vis gravity was beginning to look rather grim. In an instant, Miss Americana was there, catching both of them at the waist and sweeping them towards the ground. "Get her out of here, Jack," she told the swordsman with quiet urgency. "If you can get to Freedom Hall you can join the evacuation to where the Gorgon can't follow. We'll..." She looked up at the sky, at the relatively small but still massive face above them. "We can buy you some time, at least." Setting the pair on an unbroken patch of street, she rocketed back up into the sky, a defiant arrow in the face of the ancient stone goddess.
-
"You can call me Miss Americana or Miss A, whichever you prefer," she assured him breezily. "Why don't you come into my office with me and we'll talk for a few minutes before the examination? I have the basics of your file here, but I'd like to go over with you exactly what your concerns are." She led the way to one end of the lab, past a rather startling-looking work area filled with lifelike human prostheses, some of which were moving while attached to various computers and machines. A small humanoid robot, all plastic and wires and synthetic musculature, was standing silent and still on a pedestal, waiting for skin to make it look like a person and programming to make it come alive. Another door took them into a small office, not much more than a desk with a computer, a minifridge and a few ergonomic chairs. "Welcome to my lair," Miss A told him with a chuckle, sitting down behind the desk and gesturing him to another chair. "I have something ten times this size on the twelfth floor, now that I'm nominally in charge of the whole shooting match, but this is so much more convenient. Would you like something to drink?"
-
Even as he spoke, the doors slid open to allow him to enter Miss Americana's lab. It was a huge room, seemingly half the size of a football field, with ceilings that vaulted up two or three stories. Clusters of equipment were dotted here and there for various purposes, with more suspended from an intricate flyrail system overhead. Technicians worked here and there, but in the center of it all, the boss herself was unmistakable. Miss Americana wore a white lab coat the way some women wore sable, shrugged casually and elegantly over a crimson and navy pantsuit. Her hair was up in a scholarly bun today, but it still glowed like a golden flame in the white lights of the lab. As Brian walked into the lab, Miss A looked his way and broke off the conversation she was having with two of her lab techs. Holding up a hand for them to wait on her, she walked over to the young man, offering him a warm smile and an extended hand. "Hello, Brian," she said genially. "I'm Miss Americana. It's a pleasure to meet you."
-
Although the corporate headquarters of ArcheTech had escaped the substantial damage and destruction wreaked on some of its satellite facilities (including the literal satellite facilities), substantial remodeling of the lobby area had been done to erase the traces and memories of the drone invasion. Under Miss Americana's leadership, the main lobby was now smaller and softer-edged, with soothing blues and silvers making up the bulk of the color scheme and a comfortable waiting area featuring power stations, televisions and beverage dispensers for anyone not yet called to go up in the sleek glass-tube elevators. Security in the lobby was subtle but tight, with a few uniformed guards strolling around and cameras keeping an eye on all the entrances. The young man behind the shiny new reception desk gave Brian a practiced shiny smile. "Yes of course, Mr. Harris. Just a moment, let me see if she's ready for you." He turned away for a moment, murmuring into a concealed headset before picking up a security card on a lanyard. The card said "Guest" and his name on it, and it also had a copy of the photo from his school I.D. "Just step into the elevator," the young man instructed, pointing to one that was now opening its doors, "and follow the arrows to Miss Americana's lab. Enjoy your visit to ArcheTech!"
-
Koshiro scoffed. "We don't go places that have electric locks," he told Sharl. "That would mean somebody gave a damn about the place, makes it less interesting. But you can do your floating trick thing and open a door from the inside, right?" He considered the possibilities of this for a few moments. "Two's still a small team, though. Normally you need at least three. If I were going to go out anywhere, and that's not what I'm saying," he added with a scowl, just in case.
-
Koshiro stood up along with the others on his float when the parade came to a halt. His face went grim for a minute, before he turned to the girl next to him with a sardonic half-smile. "Man, these jokers never just take a rest, do they?" He handed her the bag of Smarties, then reached into the outer pocket of his backpack and withdrew a paper airplane. "Hold my seat, would you?" With a touch, the airplane grew to twice the size of a skateboard and began floating, just before Koshiro leapt onto it and soared into the sky. Once in the air, he steered away from the conflict his teammates were handling at the front. If the escape routes were blocked, that meant they might have bad guys flanking them, always bad news. Or it could be a stupid bluff, but he had to be sure. Koshiro headed for the nearest cross street to see what was happening.
-
Okay, Koshiro is using his move action to fly up and get a look at what might be blocking the roads around the parade. Depending on what he finds there, he may use his standard action to attempt to clear one.
-
Erin flushed, embarrassed with herself for not realizing she'd need to use her new first name for a business meeting. "Um, yeah, my first name is Keeley, but I don't use it very often," she confirmed, looking to Trevor to his father as she tried to regroup. "My, ah, distant family lives in Seattle." She clasped hand to wrist behind her back and bounced twice on the balls of her feet before forcing herself back to stillness. "If there's anything you need to know, I can tell you myself."
-
Koshiro sized his roommate up silently for a minute, considering his options. Sharl was nosy as hell and didn't seem to sleep much. Working around him was probably going to be pretty much impossible. On the other had, he could float through things like locked doors, and Koshiro had just been thinking about how it sucked not to have a group to do missions with. If Sharl really wasn't going to tell on him, it might be worth a shot. "You ever done any urbex where you come from?" he asked. "Urban exploration, getting into abandoned buildings and seeing what's in there?"
-
Stesha took the baby, passing Willow her tea at the same time Amaryllis immediately grabbed onto one of her mother's braids with a smile that could only be described as smug. "Yes, I'll make sure the word goes out," she agreed. "If you could give them a distinctive look, say red or bright orange in the trunk, that would make it easier, otherwise we'll simply go around with a can of spray paint to be on the safe side." She gracefully unfolded herself from the floor and rose to her feet. "Telling Jack might be difficult, but I think you'll feel much better once you have. It's so important to have support from the people you care about. And if you ever need someone to talk to, you know where to find me," she promised with a smile.
-
"Mmm, that makes things more complicated," Stesha admitted thoughtfully. "But you really do need to tell him. It's the right thing to do, no matter how you feel about each other. Jack is a good man, even if he's a little wild sometimes," she said with a half-smile, "it would hurt him if you don't tell him he's going to be a father. And if you don't tell him how you feel about him," she added, "how can you know whether he feels the same about you?" Amaryllis began to squirm in Willow's arms, her little face scrunching up as she tried to get another handful of the hair she'd been denied. Stesha kept an eye on her, but kept speaking. "As for the mechanics of it, you can probably get some help with that at ArcheTech or The Lab. Miss Americana helped us when I was pregnant, and the whole city is full of superscientists and super-physicians. They'll be able to find some answers, I'm sure."
-
13. We rookies aren't terribly quick off the mark, are we.
-
Koshiro scowled at him. "I wasn't anywhere," he said sharply. "Curfew's ten pm, remember?" he asked the electronic boy pointedly. "If I left campus, I could end up getting kicked back to juvie and joining the Champions after all. I went to the library to do homework, all that happy crappy." He wasn't putting much effort into the fabrication, still irked about his roommate staying up to spy on him. "What are you doing anyway, porn surfing from the inside?"
-
"Gah!" Koshiro jumped at the sudden cheerful voice in his ear, looking around but seeing nothing. Of course, Kimber tended to disappear in strong light like the text on a laptop screen. She was apparently really nearby though, crowded in somewhere amongst all the tree-huggers. "Did you say something?" asked the college girl, looking concerned at his sudden start. "Uh..." Koshiro fumbled for a moment. "Got a call on my bluetooth," he fibbed, "had it turned up too high. Just a sec." He cupped a hand over his ear to hide the fact that there was no receiver there. "That's really interesting, we'll talk about it after the parade, all right? You have a good time." He mimed taking the nonexistent earpiece out and shoving it in his pocket.