ic One Bad Day (IC)

[Poncho]

McGinnis Tech

 

January 2025

 

A brand new year meant a brand new expo for McGinnis Tech.

 

People in suits, rich people with badges. This was life for the rich and well made McGinnis family.

 

And of course Tyson and Cameron were out there schmoozing, leaving Oz to his own devices.

 

Poor little Oz, always left out.

 

Tyson and Cameron were meeting with share holders, shaking hands, and generally being the most visible part of the McGinnis clan.

 

But what was Oz doing? In this building, 20 stories high and gleaming, while everyone was off for today or gathered in the main lobby, with all the biggest, fanciest prototypes that the company was working for out in the main area.

[Dracostern]

Tinman and Oz

 

Ozwald was used to being looked over at this point. It did sting a bit though but he left the business side of things to his father and brother. As much as he disliked his brother, Oz would admit that Cameron knew what he was talking about when it came to Stock and Economics. As much as the younger sibling was frustrated, he also understood. That being said, while he would glance down at the gathering, he would not be there. No, he was at Floor 15, which was his private workshop. It took a lot of pleading to his father to have this built, but Oz was so happy that it was!

 

Right now he was doing some work on his creation, Tin Man, a superhero that would beat back against those who abused their power. After finishing some repairs he would turn the robot on. "Alright, g-good to g-go, how d-do you feel buddy?" 

 

Tin Man's eyes glowed yellow for a moment and he would get up and place his metal hands on his hips. "FEELING GREAT! READY TO DISTRIBUTE JUSTICE WITH THESE FISTS!" The machine would punch the air in front of him, causing Oz to chuckle softly. "There, good! You're working properly.." 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

As Oz continued to work on his project, a Superhero Robot, a wonderful creation, the things going on below continued unabated. It truly was like two different worlds; one for Ozwald's dad and brother, and one for him.

 

But he was supposed to be alone up here while the expo was going on.

 

So why did the elevator just beep?

 

The sound of heavy boots thumped through the hall. A broad shouldered man with his hair cut close to his hair had taken the elevator up to the 15th floor, and was peering in the different rooms. He eventually stopped, not at Ozwald's lab, but at a different one, and swiped a security card, which beeped and let him through before he disappeared inside of it.

[Dracostern]

Tinman and Oz

 

Oz would stop working as he heard the footsteps. The young man would get up and look out of his lab towards the man. That was...not someone he recognised from the guest list, nor was he a worker as far as Oz knew. So he must be an intruder! The young man quickly got his gadgets and looked over at Tin Man. "You're up buddy...let's try be quiet." He would say, his creation was a hero in every sense of the word. Tinman wanted to fight the stranger right away! But it was not stupid and would nod.

 

Together the dynamic duo would try to follow the man into the room. Thankfully Oz had a security card too, as he lived in this building, and would do his best to follow...with Tinman in front of him of course. 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

The room in question had been a design for a new mining suit; Camreon had had an idea recently for asteroid mining becoming a real, viable alternative to continuing to process the limited materials on Earth- partially because they wanted to pay less to suppliers-, and this room was where he kept the prototype suits. 

 

Most of them were bulky and heavy, similar to ancient diving suits; big, pressurized suits with porthole viewers and umbilical chord like cables coming out of the top, intended to be used coming off a stable base platform when the individual in question was out mining. Even the prototypes were stamped with the image of McGinnis Tech though; Cameron never let something off a production line without a branding.

 

The latest suit was a masterwork of design; it had ditched the umbilical chord for an inner suit oxygen container, but was otherwise still a heavy piece of armor ideal for dealing with the rigours of space, with temprature control and mining equipment built in. 

 

And now someone was wearing it as a suit. The singular mono-eye visor was lighting up with a golden light as it swiveled, the mechanical acuators flexing as the suit came to life and the man inside it started to move. 

 

A theft!

[Dracostern]

Tinman and Oz

 

Oz knew about this suit though not the specifics, it was kept mostly a secret from even him, he just knew what it was. Though as soon as he saw the theft he would narrow his eyes before hiding in the shadows of the room, or at least attempting to. At the same time he would speak to Tinman. "Tinman go!" At that signal, the robot would grin if it could move it's mouth. Now was it's time! It's time to be a hero!

 

The large machine stood in front of the criminal. "STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM! HANDS IN THE AIR!" It would yell at him.

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

The man in the suit continued looking over it, trying to get a grip on the mining suit's design. Was he ignoring Tinman? Not exactly, it seemed. Once he could move appropriately, he flexed his fingers, his arms, his legs, his toes, twisting his torso and neck. It turned it's blazing mono eye on Tinman

 

"What the hell are you? Some robot that repeats Elder Scrolls quotes?" The voice was roboticized in the armor, but it still carried an aggressive insult in it's dismissive tone. "You don't know what you're messing with...whatever you are. Some guy in costume?" he mumbled. 

 

"Activate shut-down code Omega Red; Code 56-43-297." he said in a loud voice. That was a the audio code to shut down the security systems in most of the laboratories, in case of severe emergency. But obviously Tinman wasn't part of the security system. Not that the man knew this. "...I dunno why they left the security on, it just makes the job harder." he complained to himself as he started to walk towards Tinman.

[Dracostern]

Tinman and Oz

 

"OH I HAVE MANY QUOTES VILLAIN!" Tinman would put it's metal fists on it's hips in a classic superhero pose. This machine did not seem to get shut down with the other security systems. Though Oz would hear him and narrow his eyes. Could this be some spy or employee? Maybe this wasn't just a thief but corporate espionage! The young man was getting a little concerned and got his gadgets ready.

 

Meanwhile the robotic superhero let out a bold laugh. "HAHA! THAT DOES NOT WORK ON MY VILLAIN FOR I AM TINMAN! THE SUPERHERO!" With that he would move over to swing a punch at the man in the suit. 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"What the hell?" The man in armor seemed surprised. "This wasn't part of the deal!" he said, yelling like he'd been betrayed as Tinman came after him. The fist came down.

 

It let out a loud, overpowering ringing sound as the armored man caught the fist in his own hand. 

"...Oh." he mumbled. "This must be part of selling the stage." he said, like he had realized something. Still holding onto Tinman's hand, he pulled back his other metal covered hand. "Okay! I get it, I'll help make a scene!" he said before he swung his closed fist as hard as he could directly into Tinman's face.

[Dracostern]

Tinman and Oz

 

The robot was hit straight in the face, the form of the villain's suit sent the hero flying back into the wall. He seemed a bit damaged but was alright as it stood back up and shook itself. Though the fact that the man mentioned a deal made Oz think that there was indeed more to this then met the eye. Still, while he was concerned about his creation, he would not speak up. Instead he remained mostly hidden. 

 

What the young man did do was activate a drone with a pair of metal grabber claws on it, one was holding a stun grenade. It would fly up from where Oz was to the roof, so the criminal couldn't see where it came from, then Oz remote controled it to drop the bomb on the villain's suit. It would go off, sending small eletric waves through the suit, dazing the bad guy. 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

The Tinman hit the glass of the wall and it broke, but he wasn't ejected. There was a scream from below as the glass fell down into the lobby, into the exhibition. There was screaming down there, people yelling, but no one was quite sure what was going on yet. The Salvager was going to advance on the robot, flexing the arms of his suit as he did so.

 

"Alright, robot. I'll just tear you apart and be on my way." they said before chuckling. Then the drone showed up in their vision and looked confused. "Wait, what's...this?" He asked in confusion before the grenade went off. He let out a yell as the suit shut down around him. "Hey!? What's with all this security!? This isn't what I was hired for!?" he yelled, trapped in his own suit.

[Dracostern]

Tinman and Oz

 

"HIRED HUH?! WELL I'M HIRED TOO! BY JUSTICE!" The robot would recover from the hit and pull away from the glass wall he had broken. The machine's eyes began to glow red and matching lasers shot from them and struck Salvager's suit, the villain would feel the force of the blast, yet managed to hold on and take no real damage from it. As this was happening, the drone that had dropped the stun grenade had retreated back to Oz's hiding spot. The young man equipped it with a flashbang this time.

 

He was concerned. Someone had indeed hired this guy to steal this suit...or sabotage it. Must be a rival...

 

Oz would pilot the drone up above them, more importantly away from his hiding spot, then he had it drop the flashbang after pulling the pin. Salvager would notice it as it went off, but seemed to recover quicker then Oz expected. 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"Get off! Get off! Get offame!" The Salvager said as he was blasted by laser beams and even more flashbangs. "Stop!" he screamed. "I can't even get this stupid suit to work and you won't leave me alone? I'm telling you I was hired to do this! I have express permission, I have permission!" he screamed, but his own suit couldn't do anything and he was trapped inside of it, so the only thing going on was banging as his limbs collided with the inside of a suit that should have been moving around with him but wasn't cooperating.

[Dracostern]

Tinman and Oz

 

Tinman would rush at the Salvager and used it's strength to grapple him! Wrapping his arms around the suit in a bear hug and holding it in place, using his attack to deliver a punch to the back of the suit, hopefully hitting the man inside from behind. "SURRENDER THEN AND TELL ME WHO HIRED YOU!"  It would demand, on Oz's prompting of course. Speaking of the young man, he was waiting in baited breath. The young man had armed his drone again with another flashbang, but didn't launch it yet, he wanted answers first. 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"I was hired by Georgia! What's your problem, let me go!" he snarled, kicking at Tinman as he was hit. "I can't steal this suit for you if you pin me down, you idiot! I'm supposed to get this suit stolen before all the presentations get finished and you're going to blow my damn cover!" he yelled. 

 

Georgia? Georgia was the head of security of McGinnis Tech. Why would she be helping someone s teal something directly from the company? 

 

But the Salvager wasn't giving up in trying to break free; he was feeling like a trapped rat, like he'd been tricked and baited, so he was kicking and fighting like a cornered dog.

 

"I'm not going down for this! This is entrapment!" 

[Dracostern]

Tinman and Oz

 

Oz was taken by surprise once again. Georgia? What was this all about? Was this planned? Why? he was clearly stealing the suit. Wait...he thought Tinman was a security robot, and if he was working with the head of security then he might think Tinman was working with Georgia! He needed to be sure though so he would try and get a good look at the man from his hiding place to see if he was lying about this.

Tinman had the same idea as his eyes glowed green and he scanned the villain to see if there were any signs of lying. 

 

They both did not pick up any hint of lying, he was telling the truth. Tinman would speak after his eyes returned to their normal yellow colour. "WELL THIEF, I DO NOT WORK FOR GEORGIA, I WORK FOR JUSTICE!" The robot would lift the suited man up and throw him out the glass window. 

Edited January 6 by Dracostern

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

The Salvager went flying. Back through the window that Tinman had broken with his body. He went down half a dozen floors onto a crowd that was still trying to figure out where the glass had been coming from in the first place, landing with a loud, massive thud in the middle of the exhibition hall, surrounded by onlookers in fancy suits and ties. Cameron and Tyson went quickly to the man while Oz and Tinman were still upstairs, and confusion was rampant in the area below them as the festivities had been interrupted. What's a young hero to do?

[Dracostern]

Tinman and Oz

 

Oz would come out from his hiding spot and peak out through the broken mirror carefully before pointing down and directing Tinman to follow him. Oz would stay up there but he had his drone ready to help just in case. His creation seemed to understand, It knew how their dynamic usually worked and was willing to go along with it...not that he had a choice in the matter since that was his programing. 

Tinman would leap out after Salvager and land next to him with a loud THUD sound. The machine then looked around and struck a heroic pose. "DON'T WORRY CITIZENS, I HAVE UNCOVERED THIS CRIMINAL AND THWARTED HIS ATTEMPT TO STEAL THIS SUIT!" 

 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

More silence. Cameron and Tyson staring at the man, then at Tinman.

 

"...What the..."

The elevator opened up on Oz's floor and Georgia exited the elevator alongside two more guards, guns drawn, as they advanced around the area.

 

"If there's anyone else up here, we've already called for police, and a Hero, so you should turn yourself in." Georgia said.

 

Meanwhile, Tyson and Cameron were caught between Tinman and Salvager.

"You...whoever you are. You need to step back." Cameron said, holding a hand out in front of Tinman. "I don't know what you want from us. I admit we have a lot of money and rich people, but we're not trying to start any trouble." he said, being surprisingly brave to step in the middle of this situation. Salvager wasn't moving, likely unconscious, but Cameron was standing up to Tinman and trying to protect the other people here. "If you want some kind of issue, or if you want money or jewelry, we can give it to you, but let's not threaten or hurt anyone, okay big man?" He said.

 

"Yes, we can settle this safely and easily." Tyson agreed with his other son.

 

Meanwhile, Georgia and her two assistants were looking for Oz, searching the floor he was on. Oz was getting squeezed from both sides, here, between him and Tinman.

[Dracostern]

Tinman and Oz

 

Tinman looked around, it was confused. Were not heroes supposed to be celebrated? His creator's family seemed to be on edge. Oz had programed Tinman with a learning AI, so he could make some decisions on the fly, it seems as though he needed to try and calm people down and so switched to that protocol. The robot would hold up his hands for a moment. "DO NOT BE AFRAID! FOR I, TINMAN, AM A SUPERHERO! I CAUGHT THAT MAN TRYING TO STEAL THE SUIT." It gestured over to Salvager as he tried to explain himself. 

Meanwhile Oz had to stop looking out over everyone when he heard the elevator open and Georgia speak, crap! The young man quickly his his equipment and set his drone to fly someplace out of sight, then he would go out into the open and try to get a panicked look on his face, ruffling up his clothes a little bit, then once the security entered, he would rush towards Georgia. "Thank god you came! I was so scared...someone tried to steal big brother's new suit!" He was trying to act innocent. 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

The gathered party goers looked around, then started to clap.

 

"Y..yeah! Nice job, uh...Tinman!" someone said. Everyone was clapping, now. It had been Cameron and Tyson who had been uncertain about the new creature, and they were the last to clap. Something seemed off here. What was going on? Cameron was still kneeling near the Salvager suit, checking over it.

 

Meanwhile, Georgia sighed and pointed her pistol towards the ground.

 

"Oz, what are you...what is going on? What's that thing outside? And why are you up here? I didn't know you were in today." she asked. She gestured to her additional guards. "You two head back downstairs, check out whatever is going on down there." she said. They nodded and headed off, leaving Georgia and Oz alone as she watched him, waiting for him to answer her questions.

[Dracostern]

Tinman and Oz

 

Tinman looked around at all the humans clapping for him, this was good! He was programmed to respond well to enthusatic clapping and so struck a pose. His hands moved to his wait and he raised his head up slightly in a classic Superman-esque pose. "HAHA IT IS NO PROBLEM CITIZENS. I, THE TINMAN, PROMISE TO PROTECT YOU ALL FROM VILLAINS SUCH AS THIS!" 

Meanwhile, Oz was not having as good a time as his creation. The young man would watch the guards head out and shake his head, pretending to wipe his brow. He was going to tell most of the truth though nothing regarding his connection to Tinman. "W-Well I wanted to support father and big brother, but they seemed to have been missing something up here, I can't remember what it was, but I went to get it and found that superhero down there..." He gestured to Tinman. "...engaging with Cameron's suit, apparently someone broke in and tried to steal it! I thought this area was better guarded-." 

[Poncho]

(GM  Post)

 

Tinman was soaking up the applause, by Georgia was focusing on Oz, baring down on him with the focus only someone who spent her whole life in security training could do. She did not look pleased as she spoke into the communicator on her wrist.

 

"Cameron, get up here, please. Oz was on the floor." she said softly, but keeping her attention on Oz.

 

"So that Hero was just...here? How did he know to show up..." she mumbled. "So you got here while the fight was happening? But you're okay?" She asked, as Tinman could see Cameron going towards the building- and towards where Oz and Georgia were-, while Tyson was standing closer to Tinman.

 

"Thank you, Tinman. We will certainly call the police and get this sorted, thank you so much for helping us."

[Dracostern]

Tinman and Oz

 

Oz blinked and rubbed the back of his head for a moment. He had to figure out how to angle this line of questioning to figure out what her involvement in all this was. "Well you know how heroes are, they tend to just show up when a crime is happening haha...don't worry I'm fine, I hid someplace safe. I didn't want to run in case the villain saw me." He would say before realizing that she was calling his big brother, crap. He needed to figure stuff out quickly. So he would pause for a moment before speaking.

 

"This room had a lot of security though. I wonder how that man just managed to walk through all of that. It's almost as if someone on the inside was helping him..."

 

Meanwhile Tinman was soaking up the praise, that was before he noticed Cameron head up to the room he knew OZ was in. This was bad, it would be strange if he followed however. "I SEE. MAYBE I CAN SEE IF I CAN FIND MORE UPSTAIRS! I WOULD LIKE TO HELP THE POLICE WITH THE INVESTIGATION AFTER ALL!"

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"Be quiet for a second Oz, your brother is on his way." Georgia snapped. She was in serious mode now; the Head of Security was talking, not Georgia, the lady who'd always treated the McGinnis family kindly and spent time with them on vacation or similar. "This is above my pay grade."

 

What in the world was above the pay grade of the head of security?

 

Tyson was attempting to de-escalate the situation with Tinman at this point.

 

"Oh no, don't worry sir. That's the cop's job. And we have a bunch of propitiatory technology up there in those upper levels, you know how it is. The cops will do their investigation, added by our security forces. It's certainly no place for a strong, tough Hero like yourself; you clearly aren't one of the Detective Types, after all. Why don't you return to patrol, sir." he said with a smile.

 

And then the elevator dinged, and Cameron was about to enter the floor that Oz was on. He was exiting into the floor, but not to Oz and Georgia yet.

 

"Georgia? Where is Oz. What is going on." He called.