Stopwatch (IC)

[KnightDisciple]

Magnus shook his head.

 

"Not at this building, no. He's at one of my research facilities, north of here in the mountains. It gives him, and us, the privacy needed, while still offering extensive testing capabilities. I didn't stay because of this and other meetings and projects; while the artifact itself is fascinating, I don't have the time to just stand around and watch my lab techs run the tests."

 

He smirked, just a bit.

 

"Lord Harrow seemed disappointed, but while he may have the spare time, I do not."

[Supercape]

GM

 

An aide came in, calm and collected but politely concerned. His name was Anders Ekland, an efficient man of classic nordic looks in his early forties - as the efficient memory of Magnus recalled. He spoke to Magnus in Swedish, probably aware of the rudeness of such a linguistic choice in front of Megan, but choosing to do so for the purposes of confidentiality. Even given this precaution, he chose his words carefully. 

 

"<I am sorry to disturb you sir. I regret to inform you that we have an official inspector from the ministry of energy here. He claims...and I do apologise for this, that the lab site has shown some...anomalous readings. That...again, pardon my impertinence....have occurred when, as I understand it, Lord Harrow started testing his...started his tests....>"

 

He coughed politely and gave a delicate micro-bow at Megan's direction. 

[Thevshi]

Inwardly Megan felt a slight sense of relief in learning that Robert was at another facility, not quite sure that she would be up to seeing him again right now.  But before she could respond to Katastrof’s comments about his busy schedule and duties keeping him from remaining with Robert as they tested whatever it was that Robert had received, one of the Baron’s employees arrived and began speaking to him in Swedish.

 

Megan gave a friendly smile to the man as he gave the faintest of bows to her.  "Well, thank you for the information about Robert Baron Katastrof."  The young blonde said with a grateful smile.  "I certainly don't want to keep you from anything pressing." 

[KnightDisciple]

Magnus blinked as Anders politely interrupted the conversation.

 

"Give me a moment please, Miss Howell.'

 

As Anders spoke, Magnus's expression went from curiosity, to shock, to frustration.

 

"<Did the representative from the Ministry of Energy explain what kind of "anomalous readings" they had? I realize the timing is...odd, but remember that I run a few personal projects and experiments here, and the company has a few small labs scattered about the complex. They've called me about "strange readings" a half-dozen times in the last year.>"

 

He sighed and shook his head.

 

"<Tell the inspector I will need a couple of minutes before I meet with him. Stall him if you have to, the usual. Get Angelica up here to finish the briefing for these people. Have Lab 4C in Tower 5 crank the passive sensors to maximum. The fact that the Ministry of Energy picked up on something before we did is shameful, but if they give me a full report in 15 minutes we'll ignore the whole matter. I will be with you as soon as possible. Thank you for the notice, Anders.>"

 

With a smile and a nod to let his assistant know he wasn't in any trouble, Magnus turned back to Megan.

 

"Unfortunately a minor issue has come up that will require my attention for a short time. I have another assistant coming in to continue the presentation for all of you, though. She's a whiz with the numbers talk, so that should play to this crowd well."

 

He gave her a smile and a wink before stepping to the middle of the room, clearing his throat, and raising his voice a bit.

 

"Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize, but some business requires my attention elsewhere. I will attempt to return to the meeting soon, but in the meantime continue to enjoy the refreshments available, and one of our Senior Executives, one Ms. Angelica Martinez, will continue the presentation in my absence. She's almost as good as I am in basically everything, so feel free to ask questions."

 

With that, the Baron turned and quickly walked from the room, discretely using his palmtop computer to determine the current location of this so-called Inspector. 

Edited March 5, 2013 by KnightDisciple

[Supercape]

GM

 

"<Certainly Sir>" nodded Ekland, trotting off to meet the Inspector who was waiting in the foyet. Her name was Dr Ulrika Lind, a skilled physicist and government advisor. Magnus had met her on one or two occasions - a women in her fifties, with grey hair and piercing eyes, a voice mellow but firm. She was a little overweight but still had a distinctly handsome face. 

 

It was only a few minutes before she stood up to shake Magnus' hand. 

 

"Pleased to meet you again, Mr. Katastrov" she said, meeting his eyes carefully and shaking his hand with the correct pressure. 

 

"I am sorry to bother you, but we our interior security department has detected some anomalous readings in your facility to the North. I must ask you to allow me to inspect the premises" she began, handing him an appropriate sheaf of legal papers that detailed exactly the extent of her inspection. They were, of course, not specific to the Katastrov facilities, but detailed her legal powers to inspect any high energy readings in the country. 

 

Meanwhile. back at the Conference room...

 

Anders Ekland returned to find Megan in the conference room. 

 

"I am very sorry for the interruption, Madam" he said in perfect English. "We appear to have an inspection by the ministry of energy. Not totally unusual, of course" he said, as diplomatically as he could. 

 

He stared at her rather intently for a moment. 

 

"May I confirm your name, madam?" he asked. 

[Thevshi]

Megan gave Baron Katastrof an understanding nod as he excused himself for a moment and focused on speaking with his employee who had come looking for him.  The young blonde stood off to the side for a few moments while, they had a brief conversation in Swedish.  When the Baron turned and apologized that he had to be leaving, Megan gave him a smile in return.  "I am sorry you have to leave Baron."  She replied as he moved over to address the rest of those gathered in the room.

 

She then made her way over to her seat, picking up her bag from where she had placed it before heading off to use the restroom before the meeting got started once again.

 

Megan had just returned back to the conference room when the employee who had come looking for Baron Katastrof arrived once more and came over to speak with her.  He mentioned some inspection by the Ministry of Energy, which the young woman did not think twice about, before asking her to confirm her name.

"Oh, yes, of course.  Megan Howell."  She replied.

[KnightDisciple]

Magnus frowned and inspected the papers.

 

"Can you be more specific about the nature of the readings you detected? Wavelength and so forth? What about the time frame? I know we occasionally show up for a split second with some of our nearby tests, and we've always warned you beforehand. If one of my people ran a test without a warning, I'll make sure to chastise them.

 

As for the inspection...You must understand that this is a private company with patents, pending patents, and so on. For the sake of my co-owners, employees, and so forth, I must ask for utmost discretion, as well as for a bit more specificity on what you're needing to look for. I am currently having one of the labs run some scans to see if they can isolate any unusual readings at this particular location. Is this acceptable, ma'am?"

 

Magnus didn't like the idea of some outsider stomping around his labs uninvited. They didn't trumpet their research project over the internet for a reason, after all. He'd seen overinflated hype destroy projects and companies before, and didn't wish for that to happen, never mind the risk of someone actually copying information over to a competitor.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"I understand completely, Mr Katastov" replied Doctor Lind, nodding in agreement. "The inspection is for, and is legally bound to, the purposes of public safety alone. My observation is limited to ensuring that there is no threat" she explained, with sincerity and a trace of irritation. 

 

"I can of course seek further powers with a court injunction should there be obstruction in the course of my duties, but seeing as you have have been understanding, that isn't going to be a problem is it?" she said, a smile and a question and a reaffirmation of her authority. 

 

"Rest assured I wont be prying into your data banks or your patent offices. All we have are some strange energy readings - gravitic, magnetic,  cosmic. Tiny in themselves, but put together, they are could potentially mean some disturbance in, well, I imagine you understand theoretical physics better than I do..." she conceded. 

 

"I have a helicopter waiting, if you would care for the journey? otherwise I just need you to make the arrangements for my visit. I have some equipment with me - which you may vet of course. Just straightforward, if somewhat expensive, sensors, that sort of thing..."

 

Meanwhile, in the conference room...

 

"Megan Howell?" echoed Anders Ekland, almost blowing the words around his mouth to ensure they were real. 

 

"Pardon my intrusion, ma'am, but do you know a Mister Robert Harrow?"

[Thevshi]

Megan regarded the man who had been speaking with Baron Katastrof earlier for a few moments, not exactly sure what why he was asking her these questions and what it could possibly have to do with the inspection, or anything else for that matter.  But, as unusual as the questions were, the young woman could not really think of a reason not to answer them.  After all, she had just been talking about Robert with Katastrof, who had told her that Robert was at one of his other facilities.

"Well, I know a Lord Robert Harrow."  She replied.

[Supercape]

"Positive contact" said Anders, in a bland voice. His features seemed to drain to a quiet professionalism. 

 

"I'm sorry ma'am...we need to take you in..." he said, nodding to something just behind her. He did appear generally apologetic beneath his calm, cool and impassive mask. Sympathetic was perhaps to strong a word for it, but apologetic, he was. 

 

The air behind Megan flickered slightly, a distortion caused by energy. On closer examination, two blurred distortions creating near perfect invisibility. 

 

Two beams of strobing light scythed through the air from behind Megan, a faint whiff of ozone hitting the atmosphere as they did so...

[Thevshi]

"Positive contact,' take me in?  What in the world are you talking about?  Who the hell are you?"  Megan asked the man in front of her as he expression changed somewhat, her tone now rather annoyed.  Her mind had begun racing about what might be going on, but standing in the middle of a conference room, she was somewhat limited in what she could do.

 

But before she could come to any sort of decision, or get an answer to her questions, Megan felt a pair of stun beams slam into her back, catching her off guard.  While the young blonde was actually rather resilient, and likely could have shaken off the beams normally, the impact from the two at the same time, together with being caught off guard, was enough to knock her forward as everything went black and she collapsed to the floor asleep. 

[KnightDisciple]

GM

 

"I understand completely, Mr Katastov" replied Doctor Lind, nodding in agreement. "The inspection is for, and is legally bound to, the purposes of public safety alone. My observation is limited to ensuring that there is no threat" she explained, with sincerity and a trace of irritation. 

 

"I can of course seek further powers with a court injunction should there be obstruction in the course of my duties, but seeing as you have have been understanding, that isn't going to be a problem is it?" she said, a smile and a question and a reaffirmation of her authority. 

 

"Rest assured I wont be prying into your data banks or your patent offices. All we have are some strange energy readings - gravitic, magnetic,  cosmic. Tiny in themselves, but put together, they are could potentially mean some disturbance in, well, I imagine you understand theoretical physics better than I do..." she conceded. 

 

"I have a helicopter waiting, if you would care for the journey? otherwise I just need you to make the arrangements for my visit. I have some equipment with me - which you may vet of course. Just straightforward, if somewhat expensive, sensors, that sort of thing..."

 

The Baron blinked...and then actually laughed a bit.

 

"My apologies, Doctor. I think there was a bit of confusion on my part, hence my somewhat...territorial...response. I had thought you meant to try and inspect our facility here, which would take a fair bit of time and cause some worry about corporate espionage as a matter of course. But you mean my mountain facility up north in the mountains. Again, I apologize.

 

I think the readings are due to the presence of an unusual artifact brought to me by another individual. We've been running scans, carbon dates, and so on. I'm curious as to how you noticed the energies..."

 

He shrugged.

 

"We could take my company helicopter. I'm fairly confident it's faster."

 

Boys and their toys, after all.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Doctor Lind paused and considered the offer for a moment, pondering what to do. She seemed to weigh up the advantages. 

 

"Thank you. I'll take up that offer if you don't mind. Our helicopter is good, but I am sure a man of your resources can get us there quicker!" she smiled. "My only hesitation is that our equipment is loaded up in our helicopter. I suggest I go north with you, but our equipment follows behind. It should not be so delayed, at most an hour. In the mean time you can let me in and perhaps help me whilst we wait for the equipment. To be honest, I would not be surprised if your equipment there is better than ours anyway, but I suppose I would have to sign off my inspection with government approved devices...." she sighed. The ways of the Beurocrat, for all her official presentation were not natural to her. 

 

Meanwhile...

 

The two figures behind Megan flashed into visibility. There were dressed all in grey, wearing close fitting helmets with close fitting visors and holding bland guns. 

 

"Ill take her to base-time" said the first, as he placed a small flashing disc on Megan, and, after a pregnant pause and shimmering, disappeared from view...

[KnightDisciple]

GM

 

Doctor Lind paused and considered the offer for a moment, pondering what to do. She seemed to weigh up the advantages. 

 

"Thank you. I'll take up that offer if you don't mind. Our helicopter is good, but I am sure a man of your resources can get us there quicker!" she smiled. "My only hesitation is that our equipment is loaded up in our helicopter. I suggest I go north with you, but our equipment follows behind. It should not be so delayed, at most an hour. In the mean time you can let me in and perhaps help me whilst we wait for the equipment. To be honest, I would not be surprised if your equipment there is better than ours anyway, but I suppose I would have to sign off my inspection with government approved devices...." she sighed. The ways of the Beurocrat, for all her official presentation were not natural to her. 

Baron Katastrof gave her a winning smile.

 

"Excellent! You can brief me more thoroughly on what you detected during our travel, and I'll make sure the site's ready to help unload the equipment when it arrives after us. I'm sure time will fly when we're doing science and inspecting everything."

 

He snapped his fingers, and an aide was quickly at his side.

 

"Let Angelica know I won't be back in the meeting today. Have Helicopter 5 on Pad 3 warming up. I need to get a coat; please make sure the good Doctor has her coat with her before she joins me on the roof. Also have a pair of goggles prepared for her, just in case."

 

He gave Lind an exaggerated wink.

 

"Blowing snow, cold wind, that sort of thing, don't want to mess up those lovely eyes."

[Supercape]

GM

 

It was indeed cold outside, the sun dim and snow flying around. There was even a brief talk of suitability for flying, but whilst the weather was far from ideal, it was deemed acceptable. The Katastatov helicopter was able to make good speed under the difficult conditions, equipped with every improvement and optimisation of engineering that could be thrown at it. 

 

It was not, therefore, long, before the helicopter had arrived at the laboratory. 

 

"Welcome Sir, we got the brief!" said the one of the senior researched, Doctor Ridderwall, a portly man in his forties with a handsome face and never ending enthusiasm that seemed to extend to his wild unruly blonde hair. 

 

"I have to say, I have no idea how anybody could have detected anything. We only just managed to pick up the faintest of effects from the device. Although I have to say it is quite fascinating. The technology...it is beyond this world, Sir!" he said, enthusiastically rubbing his hands. 

[KnightDisciple]

Baron Katastrof hunched inside his thick fur-lined coat, goggles keeping his eyes from drying out (as well as helping with the blowing snow from the helicopter and the glare from the snow) as he walked inside, holding the door for the Inspector.

 

He greeted any employees they encountered with a smile and handshakes, before Doctor Ridderwall came upon him. He shook the scientist's hand with a smile.

 

"Good work so far, Doctor. What results did the carbon dating give? How old is this thing? What sorts of alloys is it made of? Did the ultrasounds get a better idea of its internal structure?"

 

He paused at the "beyond this world" comment, raising an eyebrow.

 

"Would you say that's a literal or figurative statement, Doctor? Do you believe the technology is Terran in origin, but simply from the future or someone stuck in the past with superior tools and knowledge? Or do you think it from some other individual or group beyond the bounds of our mother-planet?"

 

He paused, then smirked at the Doctor and Inspector.

 

"Or is it both?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Your guess is as good as mine" answered Dr Ridderwell, still full of enthusiasm. "Probably better, in fact. It could be either, or both. If you were to twist my arm - and that's not an invitation by the way, my wrestling days are  behind me - I would say its Terran. But really, it is beyond esoteric. One could spend a lifetime unravelling it"

 

He paused, concerned for a moment. 

 

"One word of caution. Somehow, it seems to be resisting our attempts to analyse it - it changes as we observe it, and never seems to like our probes our analysis, as if it was...shielded in some way..." he shrugged. 

 

"Shall we take a look? I think Lord Harrow is still investigating..." he explained

 

Meanwhile...

 

Just behind the Baron and his group, Megan appeared, fading into view. Initially she felt a little sluggish, but within seconds her mind was once again crystal clear...

[Thevshi]

Megan was slightly disoriented, for a fraction of a second, as memories of her conversation with the older Robert (what she could remember) came flooding back to her.  That last bit about the whole conversation taking place in a virtual reality simulation threw her slightly.  But as she reoriented, she realized she was still in her Velocity costume, though how she was not sure, and was not going to think about right now.

 

Starting to kick into full speed, the speedster glanced ahead of herself, spotting Baron Katastrof and a group of people with him making their way towards a building from a helicopter pad.  Not quite what I had in mind when I said "near" the facility.  She thought to herself.  She still was not quite sure what she was going to do, but figured she might as well try talking with the man who owned this facility, and was a scientific genius.

 

*WOOSH*

 

Velocity sped by the Baron and his group with a gush of wind and a blur of yellow before coming to a halt out in front facing them.

 

"Baron Katastrof, I am Velocity from the Freedom League.  I have reason to believe the stopwatch Lord Harrow is currently in possession of represents a significant threat to…well, everything."

[KnightDisciple]

Magnus chuckled again at Ridderwall's enthusiasm.

 

"I trust your guesses, Doctor. They haven't steered us wrong yet."

 

He frowned as "shielding" was mentioned. 

 

"Have you noticed any EM interference on the lower-"

 

And then suddenly Velocity was standing in front of them demanding they stop immediately. He blinked, tilting his head to the side for a moment. He recognized her costume, and she was indeed one of the people listed as being in the League. So really, there was only one response. He pulled out his palm computer, pressed a few buttons, and then walked over to a nearby (convenient) intercom/phone. He picked up the handset from the cradle and spoke calmly and clearly. His voice could be heard over the speakers scattered throughout the building.

 

"This is the Baron. We are initiating a Code Orange lockdown of the stopwatch artifact. Repeat, Code Orange Lockdown. All personnel move to the designated locations in the building. Open a line with the primary labs. Security please make sure Lord Harrow is in the appropriate location. The artifact is to be secured with Level 3 barriers."

 

He put the handset back in the cradle as he turned to face the others in the hall.

 

"Everyone will be escorted out of the building to secured shelters nearby, just in case. Lord Harrow will be routed to his temporary residence a bit further into town. The stopwatch artifact is currently being isolated by a shell of alternating carbon-kevlar mix plates and high-grade titanium steel, with an outer shell of tungsten steel. If necessary, we can flood the entire room with fast-setting Bakelite. Now, there's a secure situation room back this way if that's alright. Once there you can explain a bit more what the danger is and how we can best approach the situation."

[Supercape]

GM

 

As the alarms started up, they died down almost instantly. 

 

Over the radio, the Baron heard an almost perfect simulacrum of his voice. Perhaps those who knew the Baron very well might have picked up slight differences in his intonation or pitch, but it would fool anybody else. 

 

"Please be advised, the situation has been resolved. I say again, please be advised, the situation has resolved. Return to your stations. In the mean time, please note that internal communications will be taken off line as a precautionary measure. There is no cause for alarm. The stopwatch is now deactivated...."

 

And with a spiteful crackle of static, the radio communication went silent. 

 

"Hold on!" said Dr. Ridderwall, stating the obvious. "That's not you! what's happening? what's happening?"

[Thevshi]

Velocity had not been completely sure what was going to happen when Baron Katastrof regarded her for a moment that seemed to stretch to eternity for her.  But when he walked over the intercom and sounded the lockdown quarantine on the stopwatch, she inwardly sighed with relief.  Well, this might be easier than I thought.  She thought.  I only need to figure out what I’m going to tell him is all, and I have got plenty of time to do that in the few minutes it will likely take him to get to this situation room.

 

But then the intercom system sounded again with the Baron's voice, though he was not the one saying anything, calling off the lockdown and disabling the comm. system.

 

Yeah, should have guessed.  It couldn't be that ease.  The speedster thought to herself as she turned to face the direction the Baron and his group had been heading when she had stopped him.  "Where is the lab the stopwatch is in?"  She asked.

[KnightDisciple]

The Baron's eyes narrowed, and his posture shifted slightly. Someone who didn't know him well might label his current countenance "annoyed". 

 

Doctor Ridderwall would correctly identify it as "a fury cold enough to freeze an ocean".

 

"Someone using my voice to keep my employees in danger? Unacceptable."

 

He closed his eyes, tapping his chin in thought.

 

"The physical shields will be in place, but those can be hacked or simply destroyed. The Bakelite won't deploy with living beings in the room without a 52-digit access code input by my fingerprints within 25 seconds. We have perhaps minutes before the Stopwatch is completely unsecure, and some unknown party totally willing to impersonate me has access to it."

 

He whirled to face Ridderwall.

 

"Ridderwall, take the Inspector to Rom 20. Anyone you meet along the way, tell them it's a Code Epsilon-Orange, and that you had direct contact with me. You know the passcode. I will escort Miss Velocity to the lab."

 

He turned to the heroine, knowing that the good Doctor would follow the orders, sensible that they were to get himself and the Inspector to a safe room. He gestured for Velocity to follow his fast jog through the halls.

 

"You'll need my access codes, just in case. Even if they've "gained control", I designed half the OS here along with two-thirds of the security protocols."

[Thevshi]

As the Baron started off at a fast job to "escort" her to the lab, Velocity could only hesitate for a moment.  Really?  Is he serious?  She thought to herself.  This is just going to slow me down.

 

But, he has been very receptive to what I have had to say, not questioning me at all before trying to lock everything down and protect his employees.  And, I just may need his technical expertise.  So, not reason to insult him or anything.  And with that, she started forward as well, her "hesitation" likely unnoticeable to anyone else, given it lasted a fraction of a second.

 

The yellow clad speedster appeared just ahead of the Baron.  "Well, okay. But…"

 

She was then back ahead of him a short ways further down the hallway.  "this is just going to slow me down."

 

"I can run through walls by the way."  She added as she appeared once again a bit further down the hallway.

 

But even as she made short bursts of speed down the hall to follow along with the Baron, the speedster was already starting to keep a close eye on the area around them as they went.  She was not sure who could have been impersonating the Baron, or why they were after the stopwatch, but she certainly was not going to take any chances.

[KnightDisciple]

The Baron was no speedster, but he was in remarkably good shape, and keeping a good jogging pace for all of that. When Velocity mentioned running through walls, he visibly winced.

 

"Please don't. There are a variety of sensitive experiments going on in this facility that could be disrupted in one way or another by that. And the lab with the watch like has more than just metal in your way."

 

He pulled out his palmtop and typed a few things as he jogged.

 

"Hrm. Looks like the impostor has the less-than-lethal defenses at least partially online. I'll have to disable them when they're close."

 

He glanced toward Velocity with a wry grin.

 

"One plus of my work is meeting a lot of you hero types. One of them has had me give him some technical assistance, and in return when supervillains or the like inevitably target my company, he tries to be available to help. I just sent him a signal, and he should be here rather soon; he's not quite as fast as you, but he's pretty quick on his feet nonetheless. His name's Fenris, and if you haven't heard of him he looks a bit like a big metal werewolf. But don't tell him I described him that way to you."

 

He gave the heroine a knowing wink with a more natural grin as he started to slow his pace.

 

"Almost there now."

[Supercape]

GM

 

Even at the Baron's more sedate pace, it was not long before he and Velocity reached the Stopwatch laboratory. Whoever had impersonated the Baron's voice had, presumably, also done their best to black out the laboratory. The internal cameras just showed a black screen, and radio transmission was down. Having said that, there was no sign of any other disturbance. 

 

A lone security guard, gripping a taser, was waiting outside the laboratory. 

 

"What's going on?" he spluttered. "First an alarm, then no alarm. Then the camera's out...but I can't see anything wrong? as far as I know, they are all inside working on a dull science project...errr...I mean...no offence Baron, Science is all very interesting and everything..." he gulped, tugging at his shirt collar. The man didn't look to dull, but neither too bright - more muscle than head.