When You're A Stranger (IC)

[Avenger Assembled]

Late October, 2011

Dragonfly's New Building

Having walked from his Lincoln apartment, Murdock stared up at Dragonfly's headquarters, assessing the building that Wander had described to him. High technology. No surprise there. Little sign of activity beyond the menial workers outside. Hm. He walked through the construction castoffs without looking right or left, judging the scene carefully, before he found the front door. He stood in front of it for several minutes, staring flatly and blankly at the closed door, before he turned and hit the buzzer. No greeting. And no alarms. Hm. If someone who'd recognized him had been watching, they'd have come down; if they hadn't, surely they'd have done something about the grim-faced man at their door. When he'd held the buzzer down, he released it and resumed his stance at the door, waiting for Dragonfly or one of her lackeys, er, employees, to come down and let him in or open the door. I must make sure I get the terminology correct. In his Goodwill suit and tie, he bulked large, his scarred skin slightly misshapen where it hung on his massive body.

[Fox]

The building had been significantly improved since Erin had been by for her own interview; even in the space of just a few days much of the remaining construction work had been finished, and while the lobby visible behind the front doors was lacking in a number of final touches it at least also lacked the large spools of heavy electrical cables and window panes.

It also didn't lack for security, it seemed: right in the middle of the lobby stood a tall, heavy steel drone, legs each arching up as tall and broad as Murdock himself before hitting a joint and arching back down to connect to a heavy, oblong body. A single red eye on a jointed neck turned to focus on the new visitor as soon as the buzzer sounded, something behind its lens spinning and clicking as it unmistakably - if very machine-like - sized him up.

Whatever it thought (to the extent that it was capable of thinking; it moved and acted more like a giant robotic insect than a thinking, living thing), it eventually settled back a little and a light blinked on its body. The door unlocked with a distinct click.

[Avenger Assembled]

With the heavy footfalls of a man much denser than he looked, Murdock strode into the room and sized up the mechanical security. "Formidable," he finally said aloud, staring unblinkingly into the drone's robotic eye with a flat gaze of his own. "But insufficiently armed." He resisted the temptation to destroy the robot as a demonstration of power; he knew that wasn't how job interviews worked and he badly wanted to get the job on his own merits, not because of the Terminus enhancements in his body. But still: Destroy the eyepiece and fire an entropic charge through the opening. Likely to disable. May destroy higher functions It was easier to think that way about robots than it would have been about people. Much easier. Leaving the robot alone, he turned and headed into the elevator.

[Fox]

The elevator control panel was apparently unfinished, with a flat piece of plastic covering where the buttons would soon be...in fact, the actual metal panel, complete with buttons, was lying not a foot away on the floor of the elevator itself, uninstalled.

Not that it mattered. By the time Murdock could get inside the elevator to see the inoperative panel the doors closed behind him, elevator coming to life and heading upwards. No tinny music here, though: no, this elevator had a voice come in over its speakers, clear but distracted.

"Team of Omega Drones assault building without warning during business hours and begin stealing equipment - ours and clients'," came the female voice. "What do you do? Have until the elevator reaches the top floor to decide and explain."

[Avenger Assembled]

Tick. Tick. Tick. Murdock stared up at the source of the dialogue, placing Dragonfly's voice from their trip to the Moon some months earlier. "Whether raid or invasion, evacuate the staff and any other civilians in the area at any cost," he said, his voice flat and metallic even without the speaker. "The Terminus has access to the technology of a near-infinite number of parallel dimensions. There is nothing here they cannot find elsewhere save particular human victims." His hands tightened into fists, then relaxed. "If not an invasion, most likely human criminals using Omegadrone disguise to strike fear. Convince them of their mistake."

[Fox]

"Good."

Mara was sitting at...well, she didn't really have a desk yet; her office hadn't really taken priority in these things. Instead she'd wheeeled a stainless steel work bench up to her office, and was sitting in a folding chair tinkering with a much, much smaller version of the door guard downstairs. She didn't glance up when the elevator in the hallway dinged, opening its doors to allow Murdock out and into the hallway that contained only three doors, two of which were closed.

"How?" she asked, loud enough to be heard, reaching into the little robot's body with a pair of needle-nose pliers. She was wearing a button-up shirt and a pair of slacks, though her sleeves were rolled up and her jacket had been tossed on a chair in the corner. "'Convince them of their mistake', I mean."

[Avenger Assembled]

"My armor is cast to absorb multiple light drone attacks. They will not be able to impede me. Most will likely flee at my approach. Assuming all are in the air, I will shoot them down with a focused entropic beam. Destroying the fuel reservoir of a light drone will detonate the entropic infusion in the fuel, without breaching the armor itself. They will crash to the ground, helpless to escape. I will then find whichever one spoke the most during the initial battle and rip the armor from his flesh with my armored hands. I will then put my hand on his naked face," he went on, extending his hand, "and ask them if this is truly the fate they want for themselves. If I do so where all can witness the act, they will surrender. And remember. The Terminus is not a frightening mask for them to wear. It is their death."

He cocked his head, studying the robot she was working on impassively, and waited for her reply.

[Fox]

flashy - intimidating - but dangerous "Tactical concern," she noted, pointing at him with a screwdriver. "Very likely effective, but dependent on you either looking like a drone, or terrorizing idiots in disguises. Former likely to cause you more problems than it solves...probably don't have to tell you that. Latter is only questionably effective. Overkill, too. Suppose intimidation is part of the job, but have to try to not scare clients and other employees away."

"Mara, by the way," she offered, gesturing vaguely with the screwdriver. "I am, I mean. Don't think we were formally introduced. When I wasn't in my armor, anyway."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Murdock." When she didn't offer to shake, Murdock didn't either: probably for the best, given how people seemed to react to the touch of his bare flesh as it hung on Terminus steel. "My born first-name is Stephen." He folded his hands in front of him, processing her words, and made a confession. "I have not been part of a group since my arrival on Earth-Prime. I am unused to considering the needs of others beyond their physical safety." He had the idea you were supposed to admit weaknesses during an interview, and even if not he was ultimately too honest to sugar-coat himself, eager for the the job though he was. He felt no shame over Mara not wanting it known to the world she had an Omegadrone in her employ; who would ever want that broadcast? "I will protect the reputation of your business as well as its personal and physical assets. Destroying the agents of Omega and ensuring no one wears the dark colors of the Terminus is, however, valuable for all in this dimension."

[Fox]

"Agreed - concern is not ends, but means. People are idiots. Idiots do stupid things. Stupid things don't need to be met with more than necessary force. Admit there's satisfaction in making cocky criminals urinate themselves, but has to be weighed against personal reputation and outside opinion. Criminals being scared of you is fine. Potential allies thinking you're uncontrolled and dangerous is not. Especially when that can reflect back on other people. Still. Imagine you'd adjust. Head of security could watch you, if you needed it. Couldn't hurt. Usually have to watch new employees anyway."

Mara sat back a bit, tilting her head and looking Murdock up and down. "Why do you want this job?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Murdock listened with patient impassiveness as Mara explained why frightening people was a bad idea. He was glad when she changed the subject, not sure if he could have responded readily to what she'd said. "To better serve my fellow human beings," he replied, "as well as to work alongside the inventor of..." He described, somewhat awkwardly, some of Mara's public inventions. He had evidently done his research, even if he wasn't smooth enough to keep it from sounding rehearsed. "I want...I want to matter. I want the things I do in my life to have meaning and to be worthwhile. I have a limited set of skills. Guarding those who cannot defend themselves is one of them."

[Fox]

That gave Mara some pause, blinking at Murdock for a second while her brain processed. good answer "Minor correction - won't be inventing, here, exactly. Business will be improving the inventions of others. I don't sell my work, with few exceptions. The rest...I understand that."

She frowned, putting the screwdriver down and tapping the table's surface a bit. "Would have to be able to follow orders. Probably more head of security's than mine, but mine too, sometimes. And note that you could probably serve humanity better with more hero work. Why here, why mostly mundane security?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"If I become more active than I am now as a hero, in my own face instead of the disguise I often wear, eventually I will probably overcome the terror on the faces of the innocent and they will come to accept me. I do not deserve the acceptance of others," replied Murdock. "Nor should I have it, lest they mistake my fate for what might befall other Omegadrones." He fell silent for a moment, then admitted, "My great fear has been that someone will take my example, or the example of those children we rescued on the Moon, and take that as an example that Omegadrones can be rehabilitated. That they should be not be destroyed. That they can be trusted." He fell silent again, then added, "I can never be like normal people. But I want to have some things that a normal man would have. A job. A home. A life."

[Fox]

It took Mara a moment to reply as her under-developed sense of optimism wrestled with her over-developed sense of pessimism. She didn't really have an argument that wouldn't make herself feel awfully hypocritical anyway, so she gave up. will have to think about that "Fair enough. Know you're capable, worth having somebody physically intimidating on security, and come at the recommendation of head of security. Works for me."

She paused, and frowned; apparently the pun had been accidental. "Pay will be fair, hours reasonable. Exact hours depending on you and Erin - Erin's head of security. I trust her to make sure building's covered enough during whole day. Work starts on the first of November, depending on your shift. Can offer you an advance if you need it to get a place to live. My ground rules are no killing, no permanent physical harm that can be avoided, try not to scare employees, no releasing Terminus energy near labs or workstations unless you have no other choice. Doesn't always interact well with delicate experiments."

[Avenger Assembled]

"I have..." Murdock hesitated, then changed the subject, evidently thinking better of it. "Thank you, Mara," he said. "I will endeavor to protect your facility and all within it from all threats, and obey all the rules you establish." He looked gratified and profoundly relieved all at once. "I will give my notice at Champions, and allow them to hire another busboy." He studied Mara and asked, "I have questions, if I may ask them." When she gave assent, he went on, "Will you be providing uniforms? Are there particular threats to your facility about which you are particularly concerned?"

[Fox]

"Yes, uniforms, though designs aren't final. Admit that your...armor deployment method may cause problems there, but will just have to replace the uniform if it tears. Do not intend to charge you for tools necessary to do your job. Threats....no. Yes. Mmh."

She rubbed her temples, frowning. was important to Erin - annoying - probably necessary? - hate talking about this "General threats cause concern, because we will have a lot of private technology and design from many companies under one roof. Criminals - normal and not - will want to exploit that. Have to... dissuade them, but with minimum violence. Only specific threat right now would not act directly - would hire others. Makes any one danger hard to predict or protect against. Unlikely to act soon, but should be on guard for suspicious activity anyway."

[Avenger Assembled]

Murdock nodded, listening attentively to all that Dragonfly said. Cautiously, now that he was hired, he asked carefully, "What would you describe as minimum violence?" From all he'd seen of Wander, he doubted she'd countenance working as a pacifist, but on the other hand one could never be sure of what someone else might be willing to do for money. "What if a certain amount of violence was done publicly, so as better to impress criminals on the danger of robbing your facility? Could also function as an advertisement for the power of your wares."

[Fox]

"I. Do not. Sell weapons," Mara said, very carefully, and surprisingly fiercely. "This business will not sell weapons, build weapons, improve on weapons, and any client suspected of trying to trick us into building or improving weaponry will have provided materials reclaimed and their contract voided without compensation. Period."

She frowned, tapping a finger on the desk. "Minimum violence...should specify 'to people'. Machines, drones, can be as violent as you want, but try to minimize collateral damage. People should be stopped efficiently. Hurt them if you have to, don't put yourself or other people at risk trying to use...phrase...'kid gloves', but don't cause extra harm to make a statement."

[Avenger Assembled]

Murdock mused that this made one gadgeteer (besides Miss Americana) who was almost certainly not interested in analyzing his staff and armor. "Showing the power of what you have built is not a promise of sold weapons; neither is a demonstration of the consequences of attempting to inflict violence on those under your care," he suggested. "Showing your power is showing your power, nothing more and nothing less. If you can strike a nerve with your enemies, you can chase them away, or induce them to expose themselves to your retaliation."

[Fox]

"Wouldn't be showing power of my wares, then," Mara pointed out, frowning. "Would, at best, be showing power of building defenses, which are not for sale. Am sure that eventually somebody will try something that will cause fight in the streets. But not going to engineer that happening. Too risky - more civilians there, greater chance for uncontrolled property damage, and outside the range of main building defenses."

She shrugged, shaking her head. "Not going to forbid you from fighting in public, obviously. Have to stop threats. And shows of power discouraging possible threats is beneficial, but only if done right - too many other variables, especially outside hero work. Would prefer shows of power that occur naturally, against threats that require them. Don't mind overkill against robots, zombies....but don't want to cause extra harm to people, even stupid, criminal people, to make a point. Tempting, not without merit, but distasteful."

[Avenger Assembled]

It was, Murdock decided, for the best that Dragonfly would not be his immediate superior. Evidently he still had much to learn about this place and its ways. "In any event, Mara, thank you again for this opportunity," he promised her, his face sober and still. "This is much more than a job for me. This is a chance for me to have a life, and a future that is more than just...existing." He gave her a firm, solid handshake, steeling himself for rejection since he'd already seen she didn't like to be touched: if she did, she found his skin loose on his too-hard bones, as if it had been taken off and reapplied inartfully. "I will not fail you."