Meet the Interceptors! (IC)

[Gizmo]

"Don't feel down, fleshy meat-chum o' mine! I have the unfair advantage of being made entirely of SCIENCE!" Vince exclaimed, the last word appearing in a rainbow arc between his spread hands, the boxing gloves melting away.

As the chipper AI made a spectacle of himself, Jack and Jill arrived at the entrance to the Wreck Room, the elder sibling hanging back near the door while his sister stepped closer to Erin and Mona. "I've been meaning to ask, Vince, why don't you ever use the holo projectors in here instead of appearing on flat screens?"

Vince smoothed his hair back and straightened his suit with a scoff. "Holograms, pfft. They're just tawdry. It's an AI thing, just trust me on this. It'd be like running around in brightly coloured... hmm." He trailed off, eying his audience.

Jack chuckled, leaning against the door frame. "Yeah, you're nothing if not a paragon of good taste."

The projection's outfit abruptly shifted to a black leather corset and bright green parachute pants, a lit sparkler in either upraised hand. "I'm sure I don't know what you're implying."

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum rubbed her temples and sighed, although an amused smirk still slipped through. "Thank you, Vince. Your glorious touch has once again graced us plebs, oh Virtual Leader," she teased. "As for the simulation, a combat sequence isn't required. We just want to show the set off to Wander here. Wander, meet Vince. Yes, he is normally this chipper."

"Maybe something with a lot of color, like a jungle or mountain scene? Or maybe a show and dance routine with the combat drones would be more appropriate?" She grinned.

Along the way, she didn't completely miss the blush. While equating it completely to Midnight II hadn't set in, the general idea had already occurred to her. Not wanting to embarrass Erin, she mental noted that tidbit and moved on the more obvious topics, "Keeping a team together is tough. From what I've heard of the Interceptors before I arrived, things were really hit and miss for a while. Have you considered a coordinated recruiting drive? Good grief, I make it sound like you're joining the Peace Corps or something.

At the end, she glanced over and added, "What happened to Breakdown?"

[Electra]

"Um, hello," Erin said to Vince. After her dealings with Persephone, she was a little bit shy of virtual reality people, but this one certainly seemed cheerful. And he didn't tell her she had dirty clothes or a messy face, so maybe that was a step in the right direction. "Yeah, whatever you want to show us is fine, I don't think I'm supposed to be doing any training today."

She stepped back closer to Fulcrum. "He had some emotional issues," she told the other hero, "and did some pretty bad stuff. Nobody got really hurt, but we had to kick him off the team. I think the headmaster is making him get some counseling, so if he follows through with that he'll probably be okay. But he wasn't going to be able to be on the team anymore, so he had to leave. Rift's really good though, he's sort of taken that spot on the team and worked out pretty well."

[Gizmo]

Jack shifted slightly as he leaned against the wall. "Huh, I heard the Jukebox Kid had a bad breakup with that speedster chica, but I didn't realize it was that heavy." Breakdown had stuck him as a bit of a flake the few times they'd interacted, but came off as a reasonably good kid. On the other hand, Wander wasn't exactly given to hyperbole, so the falling out must have been pretty serious.

"Worst part about switching schools," Jill opined. "Feels like picking up a book halfway in.

On the wall screen, Vince's outfit leapt back to his ostentatious suit as he adjusted his simulated tie. "I am pretty fabu, it's true. Now, let's see jungle!" With a wave of his hands, a number of panels opened in the walls, ceiling and floor, various metal columns and cables extending. As they did, holo projectors built into the Wreck Room disguised them as tree trucks and vines, as humid vapour and the sounds of wildlife quickly permeated the scene.

[Heritage]

Grim had been pretty quiet for most of the tour, hanging back while doing her best not to look like she was hanging on Erin's every word; for the most part she was trying to suck up any stray intel in case she ever had to go back undercover at Claremont, but a part of her still felt a connection with the school, even though her time there was very short. At the mention of Breakdown's ejection from the team, her eyes actually widened a bit; Eddie was the closest thing to a friend she had at Claremont, and despite herself she worried about the poor boy.

"I'm sorry, Erin, I didn't mean to snoop but these darn things are like radio telescopes." She flicked one pointed ear with a finger. "So is Breakdown still at Claremont, or is he off on his own? I partnered with a him a few times in the field, and he seemed okay back then."

When Vince powered up the jungle sim, she barely seemed to notice, so focused she was on the teenager's response.

[Electra]

"I'm not sure," Erin admitted. "He hasn't been hanging around with us anymore, and I haven't been keeping up. Last I heard, he was going to be expelled if he didn't finish all the assignments the headmaster gave him to do." Erin shrugged. "He accelerated a car to high subsonic speeds and teleported it into junior prom, and nearly wiped out half the team. It didn't really reflect well on him to make good judgments in the field, you know?" Most of the synopsis was directed at Jill, who at least had a good reason to need to be caught up on the gossip. Erin looked around with interest as the jungle formed up. It wasn't quite as sophisticated as the Doom Room; she could still feel metal cable under the illusion when she grabbed a vine, but it was pretty effective nonetheless. "Nice," she complimented the group at large.

[quotemyname]

"I'm not sure," Erin admitted. "He hasn't been hanging around with us anymore, and I haven't been keeping up. Last I heard, he was going to be expelled if he didn't finish all the assignments the headmaster gave him to do." Erin shrugged. "He accelerated a car to high subsonic speeds and teleported it into junior prom, and nearly wiped out half the team. It didn't really reflect well on him to make good judgments in the field, you know?"

"Hoo-ey." Colt breathed. "That there's quite th'screw up. Though if'n what y'all says's true 'bout them kid's breakin' up. I cain't say that there's the worst'a seen. I reckon back home there's plenty'a men what gone heartsick'n crazy over womenfolk." Colt spared a sideways glance at Grim. "I know I did." He addressed the rest of the group once more, "But it ain't always in th'good way, like ya want. I seen normal men doin' bad things. Murders, Suicides, y'all name't. All on'a count'a bein' left by'a girl."

As the holographic projection came into view, Colt smiled, intent on changing the subject. "See, that there's ma favorite part'a 'bout this here room. Y'all c'n generate any scenario ya want. This'n makes ya feel like yer straight outta Jungle Adventure!"

[Gizmo]

Jill's incredulous look moved from Erin to Colt as the simulation shimmered to life. "Attempted vehicular homicide isn't the worst you've seen?!"

"Dios!" Jack all but growled as he rose from his leaning position, uncrossing his bare arms as the door hissed closed behind to to be replaced by the image of a rocky outcropping and a small waterfall. "I don't care if she broke his heart with a sledgehammer, you don't attack a girl 'cause she won't go out with you. How does that get you 'maybe' expelled? Pendejo..."

"Humans are weird," Vince observed, reappearing from behind a massive fern in a khaki short sleeved safari outfit, complete with pith helmet and monocle. "Well, you are," he added defensively off a flat look from the swordsman.

The coltish young woman hopped agilely up to a vine and sat down, using it as a swing. "Well, I don't feel so bad about my total lack of social life, now, anyway."

[quotemyname]

"Oh, I never said it were right, Jack. Ain't no reason fer'a kid'ta pull stunts like'at. Two wrongs don't make no right as they say. I don't care what she done, even if she did start't. Ain't no reason t'be finishin't."

Colt turned to Jill, his expression serious, "If'n ya think vehicular homicide's bad, may haps y'all shouldn't be askin' me 'bout what't is I seen. May haps it's worse'n y'all're wantin' ta know."

Not bothering to settle on darker subjects for long, Colt addressed Vince, "Hey now, I reckon I resemble that remark. Now go on, show Erin here the room's other settin's. I reckon this here jungle's makin' me sweat."

[Electra]

"Well, it wasn't quite like that," Erin allowed, clearly uncomfortable to be talking about this any more. "There were some, um, I don't remember what it's called. Diminished capacity, I guess. It was understandable for him to be upset, but he went nuts, and it was really bad. Basically we couldn't have worked with him as part of the team anymore."

In search of a new topic, she turned to Vince. "Hey, do you know Persephone?" she asked.

[Gizmo]

"Queen of Grecian Underworld? Bride of Hades, daughter of Demeter?" Vince puffed out his chest, adjusting his monocle with one hand. "Certainly, we do brunch on Thursdays." Tossing the simulated eyepiece away like a discus, he readjusted his outfit to that of a mountaineer as the scenery around them shifted from lush forest to jagged stone, snow covered peaks and a stiff wind accompanying the change. "Or did you mean someone else?" he asked Erin with a wry smile.

[Electra]

Erin blinked at him, apparently not quite appreciating the joke. "Oh, I was just thinking of the AI in Hellion's spaceship. She seems to be set up a little like you, with the screens and holograms, and I thought you might have met her online or something." With a shrug, she turned her attention to the new scene, surveying the simulated environment. "So do you do a lot of fighting simulations in these environments, or mostly in the city?" she asked Mona.

[Geez3r]

"It's mostly urban environments." interjected Eli, having been silent for too long (read: not nearly long enough). "But because a nice chunk of us are really fast, we do a bunch of sims in other environments too. This area here is actually a patch of the Amazon, though modified a bit to suit our purposes. When I run about, I try and look for cool places for battle and stuff. Though in this case, I had a score to settle with this place. My first time here, I slid on that rock over there because I wasn't paying attention and I wound up smacking my head real good on that branch other there." Eli pointed out a small scar at his hairline for proof. "Not one of my finer moments."

[Heritage]

"Well, it wasn't quite like that," Erin allowed, clearly uncomfortable to be talking about this any more. "There were some, um, I don't remember what it's called. Diminished capacity, I guess. It was understandable for him to be upset, but he went nuts, and it was really bad. Basically we couldn't have worked with him as part of the team anymore."

Grim was uncharacteristally silent as she sat down on a holo-log and did her best to hide her inner turmoil; she obviously didn't have the full details, but the relevant facts included a bad breakup, a 'speedster chica' (Zephyr?) and an apparent psychotic meltdown involving a fast-moving car and the junior prom.

What the hell happened to that kid? I'm gonna email him, or I guess maybe 'Lenya' should...

Attempting to jump back into the conversation, Lynn shook her head and refocused.

"Uh, I came up with this game called 'Apples and Oranges', kinda like Dance Dance Revolution on super-steroids."

She indicated Jill with a wave of her hand.

"That's the one I showed you, remember? Maybe we can set up a multiplayer sometime."

[quotemyname]

Grim was uncharacteristally silent as she sat down on a holo-log and did her best to hide her inner turmoil; she obviously didn't have the full details, but the relevant facts included a bad breakup, a 'speedster chica' (Zephyr?) and an apparent psychotic meltdown involving a fast-moving car and the junior prom.

What the hell happened to that kid? I'm gonna email him, or I guess maybe 'Lenya' should...

Attempting to jump back into the conversation, Lynn shook her head and refocused.

Though it quickly passed, Colt did notice Grim's sudden quiet. She'd mentioned in passing her friendship with the kid. He'd have to make sure she was really okay later. For now she seemed able to deal with it.

Erin blinked at him, apparently not quite appreciating the joke. "Oh, I was just thinking of the AI in Hellion's spaceship. She seems to be set up a little like you, with the screens and holograms, and I thought you might have met her online or something." With a shrug, she turned her attention to the new scene, surveying the simulated environment. "So do you do a lot of fighting simulations in these environments, or mostly in the city?" she asked Mona.

At that comment, Colt smiled, then snerked. He began laughing, largely in spite of himself, "Hahaha!" Leaning over with a hand on his knee to steady himself after the laughing fit, he explained, "Sorry, sorry. I reckon I just had'a notion'a Vince surfin' e-Harmony. Met'er on'a Innernet! Ha!" Colt straightened up, but had to remove his hat to properly wipe the laughing tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. "Hoo boy. That'sa good'n."

[Dariusprime]

"I apologize for asking about Breakdown. I worked briefly with him, and he seemed like a very level-headed young man."

Mona was just as curious about Breakdown as the others. She felt regret at the tragic turn of events in his life. The thought nagged at her to checkup on him. Claremont, after all, was a super hero training school, but she wondered how many chances even a hero could receive there.

Walking over to Colt, she patted him on the back, "Easy there, Colt. It is hilarious isn't it? Want to make predictions if Vince tries to 'hook up' with Persephone sometime in the future?" She winked at the nearest vid screen and turned her attention to Erin.

"Eli's correct, most of the environments are urban, but we switch it up to other cities and layouts. Helps us to fight in a variety of urban landscapes. The narrow, winding streets of some of the older east coast and European cities are a bear," she said, tapping a tree with her boot, "Thanks to Eli, we also have thorough scans of environments all of the world, and I even took a couple of readings in space, just in case."

"I'm hoping the Freedom League hooks us up with some galactic city layouts."

[Gizmo]

Vince gave Colt and Fulcrum a haughty look, crossing his arms and tilting his chin upward. "Guy gets engaged and all of the sudden he thinks he's Jobs' gift to comedy." The projected AI waved a hand over the lapel of his jacket, a rainbow flag pin appearing there. "Besides, I think eHarmony's discrimination against same operating system couples if disgraceful." Though he remained composed, the gregarious host's simulated body language seemed a little bit hurt by the ridicule. "If you're able to provide an IP address," he told Erin smoothly, "I would very much like to meet another enlightened algorithm, as it were."

Nearby the door, Jack gave Colt a light shove in the shoulder. "Nice one, spurs-for-brains. Just 'cause the guy's not trying to get physical doesn't mean he doesn't get lonely," he chided quietly. "Not exactly hitting up the bar scene, is he?"

Jill nodded to Grim. "That was pretty wild, yeah. Might have to come up with an 'easy' mode for those of us you don't stick to walls, though."

[quotemyname]

Vince's indignant response and Jack's somewhat subtle reprimand certainly served to jolt Colt from his laughing fit. "Aw naw Vince, I reckon ya gotta know't weren't meant like that." Though Colt had to admit, he was surprised at the rainbow pin and the implications that were made. Unsure of whether or not Vince was retaliating by pulling his leg, he decided to leave it alone. "Ya mean'a mighty good amout'a us. Ya know'a wouldn't say nothin't offend." Colt gave the projected AI a reassuring smile. The experience was rather surreal. He'd never made something that made of circuits upset before.

[Dariusprime]

"Yes, Vince, neither of us meant any harm. I'm sorry if I offended you," said Fulcrum, "Though maybe making some connections would be nice. You're a real dear to us."

Turning back to Grim, she asked, "So what is this game and why do you need to stick to walls? Sounds like a great challenge. I'll warn you though, if it involves acrobatics of any kind, you're looking at the wrong giant. Dance Dance Revolution may be doable."

Yeah, she wasn't the most nimble, but she was darn proud of her tank status. If anything was to be said, she was the mean Austrian cow in the china shop. Okay, maybe that wasn't the best analogy. Still the game could be fun just watching Grim, Jill and Jack.

[Heritage]

"So what is this game and why do you need to stick to walls? Sounds like a great challenge. I'll warn you though, if it involves acrobatics of any kind, you're looking at the wrong giant. Dance Dance Revolution may be doable."

As the game was discussed, Grim began to get more animated, more like her usual self.

"Well, you don't have to stick to walls to play it; that's just one setting I sometimes use." She indicates the walls, ceiling and floor with a wave of her hand. "Basically you use the holo projector things to illuminate panels in the simlator; me, I like them to be about ten feet apart, to give me a little space. And then they change colors and stuff to music, and you have to throw yourself around like a crazy person to match the patterns."

She gestured at Fulcrum.

"I mean, I guess you could do like a flying version, which would be awesome to watch...though you might look light a moth trapped in a light fixture..." :?

Shaking off the silly though slighty disturbing image, she shrugged. "I dunno, should I fire it up? Or should I say-"

And suddenly Grim was a glamourous 1950s starlet, wrapped in a mink stole and red sequins, batting her big lashes at the nearest monitor.

"Should Vince, the world's sexiest and most available AI bachelor, do the honors?" :twisted:

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum smiled at the idea and nodded, "Lets give it a try! Sounds fun."

After a good laugh at Grim's antics, Fulcrum struck a sultry pose, waved a hand dismissively and did a passable Marlene Dietrich voice, gravel and all, "Dah-ling, of course! I must just insist the well-dressed gentlemen do the honors!"

"In fact we could go one better and make 3D shapes. Either by flying or jumping or climbing, you have to hit a specific side of the shape. That could be fun too." She tapped her chin in thought, considering the possibilities. "I may have to give both versions a try."

"How did you come up with this game?"

[Gizmo]

Vince's suit shifted down to a more subdued blue and black combination, as his avatar stuck out his bottom lip dryly. "Well now you're just overcompensating."

"That's what you get for having emotions like an irrational sack of meat and water," Jack told him with a shrug. "You could've been one of those cold AIs that ultimately decides the best way to serve man is to put us out of our misery."

"I'd be putting you out of someone's misery, anyway," Vince grumbled under his great with a smirk. Tugging at his simulated collar, he caused the fabric to expand until the flaring neckline revealed a portion of bare chest adorned with medallions, the entire suit brightening to a eye searing baby blue. "Still!" With a wave of his hand, the scenery evaporated and was replaced by a bevy of sifting lights in a variety of colours and shapes, sliding along the walls, floor and ceiling and floating at various speeds through the air as a disco music blared over the Wreck Room's speakers.

[Electra]

Unsure of what she was expected to do now, Erin backed up out of the way of the shifting lights and colors, and watched the participants instead of attempting to play the game. They seemed to use their simulator a little more cavalierly, but that made sense, since there were a lot fewer people competing for time on it. And it wasn't as though she hadn't managed to get into the Doom Room for fun once, when she and Mike had played baseball. It looked like the Interceptors spent a lot of time joking around and teasing each other, which seemed to work for them. She didn't think it was necessarily a dynamic she'd ever get used to herself, but then, she wasn't really a very fun sort of person. She was interested, though, to see how they were going to play the game.

[Heritage]

"How did you come up with this game?"

Grim scratched the back of her head as her starlet threads melted away, leaving a sleeveless workout version of her normal costume. "Uh, I'm immature and easily bored? Just a matter of time, really; I have lots of other ideas, but they're actually much more silly."

"Well now you're just overcompensating."

The tiny brunette beamed; in truth, this sort of flirtatious shapeshifter play might seem rather of odd to some, but her brief (and highly unrepeatable!) afternoon session with Atlas many months ago showed her that as much as she adored Colt's stability and dependability, she needed a safe outlet for what she now considered to be her 'fae impulses'. Vince was not only a great tutor on pretty much any subject, but also a tireless playmate who could always set up a subroutine for her amusement while attending to far more important matters elsewhere.

"Whoa, way to raise the stakes, 8-Bit Boy; this set-up is outta control! Guess we make up the rules as we go, huh?"

She reached over to playful slap Mona on the arm before backflipping her way across the colorful landscape.

"Tag, you're it!"

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum chuckled and watched as the simulator was transformed into a disco club. Glancing over to Erin, she said, "We're not usually this wild. Comradery is one of our big assets though, I'd say. Feel free to join the antics, or not, you're our guest after all."

"Now Grim, a few basic rules would...," she began, only to be cut off by the start of another, simpler one, "...be helpful." Shrugging to Wander, she charged off after Grim.

Now keep in mind that Fulcrum had obvious differences in how she operated. Being that large meant that, sans powers, she took a little more time to get up to speed, super human strength not withstanding. Secondly, once that inertia was overcome, she was a very, very fast person for her size. Which meant that in practical terms she was like a semi-truck heading for a brick wall.

Not that she saw it that way. The agility exercise was always good, and Grim, at least to Fulcrum's reasoning, could benefit from avoiding people large enough to put the fae into orbit. Smiling, she went for the tag, "You're mine!"

Not really. She doubted she could even touch Grim. Ah, the fun of it.