Ari

I'm not opposed to that.

GM "Indeed, Mr. Penaden" assured the representative from Ajax. "We have contracts, bids and endorsement offers to spare. The only barrier to releasing it right now is, as I mentioned, a flaw that causes it to break down eventually and start sending unwanted impulses throughout the body. This takes about twelve years to come into effect, depending of course on the severity of the patient's case and how much time the spend around electrical sources, but it's something we want to be rid of completely. It is against our ethics to sell something intending it to break at some point" he smiled a little more genuinely and asked Bram "By the way: do you have a background in medical research? I'm sure we could use all the help we can get, and someone with an understanding of body modification would be invaluable in " "Their intelligence is very malleable, and can serve as anything short of a surgeon if you program it right, currently that's what most of the team is working on right now, as a matter of fact. Don't want anyone trying their hand at setting the thing's behavior without know how to do it" he combed his coarse brown hair with some of his fingers at Jessica's query on hazardous circumstances. After a moment's thought he admitted "They react almost too well with the basic A.I. installed. You can throw a pen at them from eighty centimeters away and they'll catch it, fired a pistol at one from a meter or so and it actually turned to absorb the impact(they're bulletproofed, as it happens), gave it something to detect powerful acids and tossed some at it in a cup, got out of the way long before the stuff hit the wall it had been against. But if you start messing with its programming to make it a better caretaker it really slows its reaction time, having to calculate what would be best for the patient than for themselves introduces a lot variables to the matter, which is why we're not going to have these little guys-" he looked at the 5-foot robot "-playing surgeon anytime soon with actual human organs and lives on the line" he shrugged, his face and small glasses reflecting the change of light as another of the speakers, a thick-set French woman with a friendly demeanor and curly gray hair, introduced herself and began her own brisk speech about how her company was going to change the future. Steve went uninterrupted for about three minutes before a tap on his shoulder alerted him to Frank's reappearance. He seemed almost..grateful? "Thanks man" he said with unusual warmness "had to do something else downstairs, somebody had dropped some cracker boxes under those stairs, took a bit to get 'em out! Anyway, you see that guy over there?" he pointed at the horned gray-skinned man wearing a Hawaiian shirt talking to the solemn, red-haired rep of Ajax Inc. with the lined face. "Do you..I dunno..think about death when you get close to him?" he looked a little worriedly at the other busboy "Er..or is that just me?" The room was gradually filling with other visitors filing down from the upper levels to reach the snack room below, chattering excitedly about the incredible things they had seen.

A shame. Perhaps he should speak in a slow, quiet voice and be otherwise unassuming? I hear that works wonders for intimidation purposes.

Notice check: 15. Drat.

"Really? That's weird" said Subito, never one to miss the obvious. "I doubt it would do him much harm or good though, unless he was some kind of time-traveler, and what are the odds of that? Anyway, thanks again for showing us too it miss, much obliged. You wouldn't happen to have anything by the Strugatsky brothers? Russian guys, cousin of mine likes 'em" he turned to Agnes and and said politely "See you later Ms. Stone, hope the book is helpful" he added warmly with a quick smile at the pop star. He was certain he'd see the book again soon, and saw no reason she couldn't have it for a moment. Although... "Er..is it alright if I skim through a bit of it? I just wanna make sure what I'm looking for is in there for certain"

Alright. Intimidate roll: 10 Huh.

"Mead, don't be a fool" growled Wave-Eye, glaring down at the mortal before him "your weapon cannot pierce my skin, and you may arrest me as you please LATER, once I have figured out what is going on. I have no reason or desire to kill humans, and indeed a vast incentive to try and protect your kind! What good would it do for me to expose myself so? If I were such scum as you accuse me of being, I would gladly stuff that thing's belly with the bodies of your race to perpetuate a deception. I'm tough, not a total idiot" he leaned closer to the furious human "Now let me pass, I don't fight children of your years" he glared into the man's eyes, as angry at himself for his sloppiness in this as at being so insulted(logical though it was for him to be the prime subject). and he itched for an open combat with whoever had done this, not to mention whoever had brought a squid into their service.

Meh. should have specified I was using the Bystander archetype from the Core for him. NVM. Steve doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

VideoGeek! Could I have a Sense-Motive check from you for Our Man Frank? DC is 10.

GM "Our product miss?" asked the representative eagerly, quickly beginning a detailed account of their very shiny, very comforting-looking creations that apparently were meant to serve as hospital attendants, to perform needed care in case a nurse wasn't there at the time. They weren't a replacement, he explained with a rueful glance at their gentle blue eyes "The complexities of human medical needs somewhat exceeds out budget, after all. But if someone is choking, suffering an attack or otherwise in trouble, they'll be there to save the patient's life without fuss or hesitation. Overworked and harried nurses the world over will be given one less weight on their minds!" he declared with great enthusiasm. One of the slightly dour prosthesis engineering company reps noted the Penitent's horns and..unusual pigmentation. Tapping him on the shoulder he asked politely "Sir, may I interest you in the replacement bones and nervous systems being made by Ajax Bodily Augmentations Inc.? Judging by your appearance I'm assuming you're already a supporter of human alteration, these are no cosmetic plastics, understand" he continued, steering the bearer of souls over to his own stand, a small tower of fine wires draped around a false skeleton, positioned precisely as that of another false one holding what was presumably an example of an organic network of nerves. "We have here everything a sufferer of ALS would need to move again, though it still requires frequent nano-inspection to make sure the cure doesn't become worse than the malady and start sending signals at random" he said in a quiet, grave voice. He glanced piercingly at Bram "It can even be used to circumvent most forms of paralysis. Your thoughts, sir?" he asked with sudden cheer, smiling brightly at the Penitent. Steven was met by one of the other busboys, a guy named Frank a little younger than him, with a quiet, placed manner that contrasted sharply with the more high-energy types at the expo. He walked up without warning and muttered in his ear "Hey, Steve? Could you take this disk to the central media player in that closet? One of the tech guys wants to make sure a bug we found in one of the speeches won't have a chance to repeat'" he handed Steven a slim DVD case, with an unmarked disk secured within. He smiled lightly at the other young man and walked rapidly away, collecting garbage and re-adjusting perilously-balanced displays as he went.

Not at all.

OOC for this thread. An expo gone bad!?

GM March 17th, 2012, 11.45 A.M. The day had dawned bright and clear, the morning was almost done, and already the Tomorrow Tech Expo was half-filled with visitors. Companies from all over the world were eagerly unveiling technology, theories and plans that they all swore would increase the global standard of living within the decade, placing them on pedestals and letting the daylight stream through the vast windows of the skyscraper for the admiration of the crowd. Their trumpeted gadgetry was based, it was rumored, off of old villain electronics and blueprints retrieved from a strange base hidden in the Canadian Rockies. Pride of place was given for the innovations of the Roesus Corporation, which was giving a demonstration of their new energy source that would, so their smiling representative said "Revolutionize the way we do business, power homes, vehicles and stations, and even aid us in achieving interstellar flight!" The reasons the heroes attended that day were fairly varied, but they all ended up on the de facto robotics floor, where a Hungarian company was proudly displaying mining and transport droids, which were as far removed from the human form as one could wish. The Indian android show was the site of much wonderment, due to the graceful and human-like motion they performed with ease. The day was to be roughly divided into three showings, at the beginning of each a chairperson would give a speech to the visitors, explain the ways in which their company was trying to improve the world, and then give directions to the snack trays in the eating rooms. With a flicker, the monitor displayed the head and besuited shoulders of a severe-looking young African man with close-cut hair and a Mephistophelean beard. With a grave smile he began "Beholders of tomorrow, I, Kefenste Solarin of Djoyar Technologies,..." the spiel began, with even some of the brighter smiles fading a little at what they had heard many times before, at least a dozen rehearsals being needed to make sure the least echo would go its rounds through the Modern-styled pillar of glass, concrete and steel.

GM It wasn't hard to find people willing to pay whatever was demanded to get their goods to safety. What was wholly unexpected was for one soft-spoken Greek with a bald head to offer double the price Jay had quoted. He was the city herbalist, and thus had some of the rarest and most expensive substances contained in the city, some rarer to the Greeks than even platinum. "If you would take this bale first" he said with simple gravity, showing the fastest cat alive a bound pile of pale green plants with pointed, step-pyramid-like leaves "I would be deeply grateful, it is an excellent number of pain" he then gave instructions for where it was to be put(a hill the lava wouldn't reach up to). With no real difficulty, the bale was secured to Jay's back, and the fastest cat alive sped down the south road per his directions. The deposit spot was where the trouble started, a small hillock in view of Aetna with the glowering(and erupting) mountain to the east. Due to the timeshift, the effect of the drug was slowed considerably during the travel, but as Jubatus came to a halt, the effects attacked in full force. In a matter of moments he had torn the bale from his back and was rolling, playing, and dashing around at incredible velocities, the drug nepeta cataria, or 'catnip' working its manic spell upon him. After an hour or so, he had completely worn himself out and collapsed in a heap of catnip, just conscious enough to curl himself into a sleeping position before departing for Slumberland... By the time he woke up in a surprisingly luxurious room filled with cushions and overlooking a sparkling blue ocean, he knew immediately that something had gone wrong. Besides the bizarre hangover, the roar of a city drummed in his ears, and the unmistakable sound of Martin's voice arguing with someone else "...And I tell you I'm fully qualified to take care of him!" a dry challenge to this statement provoked a furious outburst from an apparently unhinged Martin that sent the challenger dashing down a flight of stairs. With a rustle the curtain separating the room Jay was in from another, much more spartan abode, a slightly less bearded Brandtford walked quickly in, eyes glancing over the room several times before he realized Jay was awake "Good to see you're up, Mr. Xavier!" he said gleefully, sitting by his side and thumping him heartily on the back "I was really worried when that scouting group found you on that hill, this herbalist guy was talking with some assistant of his about vivisecting you while you slept! Thankfully he proved very amenable after I punched him a whole bunch of times and headbutted his assistant" he leaned against the wall and continued merrily "Mr. Archimedes showed up a of day after the eruption with some of his students to study the properties of the lava, and I managed to convince him to take us back to Syracuse with his entourage. I'm hoping to talk with him later this week after he gets back from the volcano" he grinned at Jay "So, sir, what would you like to do while we wait? I managed to save our cart of supplies and the ox too"

Alright, three should be enough, so that'll be Ironclad II, the Penitent and Corp. Cosmos. I'll start the thread in a bit. It will be up a little later today. Feel free to ask if anyone else wants in.

"If you need jeans Jan, best place is the fourth store on the left, second floor" Subito declared without hesitation. He grinned "and sure! So something from Best Buy, jeans, something else, then we stop at Spacers, then the movie? Take as long as you guys need" he assured Morgan and Victoria "the restaurant is just outside the mall to the west, it has a statue of the Earth with a rocket going around it, impossible to miss!" he added as he walked off rapidly in the direction of the consumer electronics store. "So, Jan" he said companionably to the lightning-thrower "Where are you from? Vick never mentioned that, and I gotta admit I'm curious. People from different states here sometimes seem to come from almost totally different countries, 'sides the language of course"

I beg your pardon, that had indeed slipped my mind. :wallbang: Okay now it won't slip. Commence Plan B at your leisure.

Wait a dang minute, doesn't Net Fly have a +20 to his Computers skill?

It had suddenly dawned on Subito's mind that this Mr. Hayden, so specific about the positioning and hanging of the replica, might be a little on the possessive side. Musing over this as he and the other two made their way back to the bus, he nodded at both Luke and Kristin's words on the subject. They couldn't do what Morgan could do, but they could fill in some of the blanks for him. Chiming in after Kristin he offered "This Hayden guy was real serious about what was done with the shark replica, someone that concerned with its handling would probably know the names of everyone who so much as breathed on it. If we ask him, he could probably give us leads on anyone who touched the thing, then we could look them up and find out if they noticed anything weird about the teeth, or if someone not on the usual crew helped out one day and spent a lot of time around the jaw, or something"

Actually, if you want to respond first Vahn, go ahead.

"No, mon ami" Marceau said firmly "I have not done what needs to be done. I must do what I can before I go to inform Mr. Klinefelter's family of his..departure" he winced even at that term, the violent memory still fresh "Give me a little more time, a week at most, I shall contact any immediate relatives of Frederick I can find, and alert the House to keep a closer watch on potential mystical artifacts. Also I'd like to form a partnership with the Halbediers and the House, if you don't mind. A collaboration with our respective groups could do a lot of good and prevent a significant evil" Rising from his seat he made some fussing adjustments to the cover of the body. "It shouldn't take more than a few days, at most" he looked back to Rene "Deal?"

Nochehuatl stared at Det. Mead for several seconds, his face immobile as several emotions warred for dominance over his next course of action. At last anger won out. "SO" he snarled "Because there are no human corpses within this squid, that means it didn't kill anyone? Ridiculous! I have seen many animals kill, and not eat! Search at the deepest point under the bridge for the bodies" he called over his shoulder as he marched back toward the water's edge, ignoring the human weapons pointed at him. Picking up Skull Face he said flatly "I appears I have made a mistake. I am sorry. I will go back into the water and not return until I have found out who sent the animal after those dead. It could take a while" he added carelessly, beginning to walk into the water.

"Triton" corrected Wave-Eye quietly as he took the heavy human knife and began his laborious work. Prying and carving open the beat's stomach wasn't too hard for him compared to the human, but it was still frustratingly slow going, and he had to remind himself several times not to just use his claws to tear it open. The smell didn't bother him too much either, an odor he was well-acquainted with from years of washing up beaten senseless on seashores. After much struggle, he finally tore open the beast's gut, revealing its contents for all to see. He made sure none of it splashed on him, long experience telling him that ended with burns. He peered at the insides for a few seconds before asking "So..how do we discover what it ate? Is your science delicate enough for such a task?" curiosity gripped him, what would the humans do with this?

The brief history lesson sailed over the stocky teen's head. The American Civil War hadn't been an area of study he'd gotten into much. He knew the basics about it, but nothing much more. "'A dude'?" echoed Subito "Like an older guy, or someone closer to my age? Dunno much about Prof. Bottle" he admitted "but I'm pretty sure he's a pretty niche author. They some university student at FCU?" he watched with casual interest as Annice pored over the book "Thanks for takin' us to it by the way, probably would have taken a while to find it ourselves" he added, glancing around at the dizzying rows of reading material flanking the trio.

GM The building under the bank was in passably good repair, as far as mouldering reinforced Victorian-style basements could ever be in 'good' condition at least. The place appeared to be composed of strict right-angled corridors that bore its way past eleven locked doors in a squared circle. The electric lighting was inoperable(for obvious reasons), so the King of Suit's goggles proved invaluable in determining the layout of their surroundings, and the simple geometry made it fairly easy to navigate, something assisted by how free of debris the halls were, and uncollapsed the walls remained. Still, the air was thick with dust, the faint odor of mold and rot, the concrete floor damp, and the ceiling didn't look in the best of shape, sagging under the weight of the earth above. Everything was silent, the distant rumble of the city the only indicator the outside world existed. Obviously, either the ninjas had used this as a temporary base, or else merely as a platform from which to launch their attack scheme.