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  1. - Top - End - #241
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    Thanqol's Avatar

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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    "I wanted to protect you."

    Euna sits there in silence for a moment, flexing her fingers like the world will end if she stops. She stares straight at JuneBird and manages to only blush a little bit. Then she frowns: her look is so trademark you can earn royalties from it. You can tell she's crossing her arms right now even though she only has one of them.

    "...A lot of people are going to get hurt after this because of me. I let a Class A criminal get away so I could save Turbo Knight...'s brain. Turbo Knight! Who even does that? I also handed that Class-A criminal the most horrifying battle frame I've ever seen because I got scared seeing my superhero idol intent on murder. And just now I realized I didn't coordinate with you as a partner because I thought about you like a princess I needed to rescue. Maybe I could have gotten away with one of these. Or two, even. But I... got so carried away being a hero I forgot to be a soldier. I'm sorry, you're right. It was stupid to tweak my combat specs like that. No wonder so many people call me an idiot."
    "Hey, you may be an idiot but you still came out of that with more brains than any other hero I know," said JuneBird. For someone whose MOS is impersonation you'd think she could keep her dumb giggles off her face for more than three seconds. "Look, you're right - if you didn't do that crazy thing and odds are it's me in that hospital bed instead of you. But the mission wasn't to capture Victoria or stop her getting the suit. None of that was in the briefing. The mission was to stop Turbo Knight taking a city block with him when he went and we did that. When they want to get Victoria for real they'll send you in uniform with your A-team behind you. It may take a while," she tapped her fingers on the brain glass, "but we'll get her."
    Last edited by Thanqol; 2019-05-15 at 10:38 PM.

  2. - Top - End - #242
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    [X]: AFRAID
    POTENTIAL 1

    “Damn straight I did,” Sara says from somewhere under the mauling. She’s not too worried about it, given that some stitches and synthskin will have her looking right as rain in no time. So she crooks her fingers into a gun and goes pew pew under her breath. “Can’t leave the Official Sidekick hanging.”

    [+1 Savior, -1 Mundane]

    ***

    DON’T MISS COMSTAR #1 - MIRROR MATCH, coming soon to bookstores!
    SIX variant covers!
    Comes with exclusive DLC code for Shadow the Hedgehog Adventure 2: Robotnik’s Revenge!!

    ***

    @SARAHPHIM Q&A

    • Dear @Saraphim,
      I freaked out on my first day at my new high school and now I’m worried my reputation is ruined. How can I be as cool as you?
      -Nervous in Neo-Nashville
    • Dear Nervous,
      Get my name right next time. Also, stop giving a **** what they think about you. Other people’s opinions are trash that belong in the garbage.
      @SARAHPHIM
    • OMG @SARAHPHIM IS IT TRUE YOU AND COMSTAR ARE EXES
      -Gleeful in Galicia
    • Dear Gleeful,
      **** no. She is like a 6 on a good day. I am an 11. Do the ******* math.
      @SARAHPHIM
    • Dear @SARAHPHIM
      FMK your current team lineup???
      -Saucy in San Francisco
    • Dear Saucy,
      Why don’t you tell me?
      https://twitter.com/SARAHPHIM/poll/23543002486720
      Looks like F Euna M Victor K Ferra is currently in the lead... psssh, like I’d marry Vic outside of Vegas~
      @SARAHPHIM
    • Dear @Sarahphim,
      Favorite musical?
      -Flighty in France
    • Dear Flighty,
      https://youtu.be/3EyDyxGZn_Y
      @SARAHPHIM


    ***

    Passion Precision And Excellence

    When @SARAHPHIM Needs To Take On The World And Look Fashionable While She Is Doing So

    She Reaches For Maryam Branded Tinted Glass Lenses

    Maryam: Accept Only The Quality Which You Deserve
    freedom in the flame

    Spoiler
    Show
    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

  3. - Top - End - #243
    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    Errant will return in Issue 2: Euna Kim, Unpretty Rap Star

    *****

    The slate-gray silhouette of a woman's head in an ancient style helmet looks down over a pair of advertisement splashes. Athena MacroTechnology: We're always with you.

    At left, a super stylish pistol that gives off the impression it's trying to transform into a race car hovers in 3/4 profile. It's painted a metallic blue, with bright white and red stripes running up and down each side of the grip.

    Introducing the Avalon Arms M-04: the hotly anticipated home defense variant of the official AEGIS sidearm. The novice marksman's best friend, the M-04 links directly to your personal network to assist with targeting, wind/rain adjustment, recoil compensation and muscle memory. Optimized to fire Athena's patented (patent pending) TaserBullets, this weapon represents the ultimate in safe*, reliable**, non-lethal*** personal defense technology. But that's not all! To celebrate its inaugural run the M-04's OS will also come pre-loaded with up to Ten (10) HomeSkill or BusinessSkill enhancement programs. Let your shield guide your mind with fan favorite software like Neo New Math, home cooking, business etiquette, cloud skiing, and pick up lines. The M-04 is not a gun; it's your best friend!

    *statement not validated by the Corporate Court. Fire at your own risk
    **results may vary
    ***compare to Shionomi Systems heavy-mercury rounds!


    At right, a pair of blindingly pink goggles that wrap around and then rest inside a supermodel's ears. She's grinning from ear to ear with a smile so perfect and bright it had to have been gen-engineered and photoshopped. The Athena MacroTechnology "Esper" model Augmented Reality Gaming Headset!

    - Total outside noise cancellation!
    - Convincing, HyperReality-level visuals!
    - Sound system delivers audio at any volume and any ambiance!
    - Don't live in reality. Live your reality!

    *****

    EUNA'S FITNESS CORNER

    Errant is fully put back together again. Two arms, two legs, the works. She's wearing a super tight fitting white tank top and black running shorts that cut off at the knees. She's also hanging upside down, feet suspended by a pair of hydraulic clamps. The tips of her hair brush ever-so-barely against the floor. Somehow it still looks perfect. She smiles cheerfully and flashes a sideways peace sign over her left eye.

    "Hi there! I know it probably looks like I've been caught... uh, again, but I'm actually here to talk to you about how to keep your body in shape. Now I know you're probably thinking, 'Errant, your limbs are cybernetic! None of this matters!' But first of all, I am here to tell you that without well developed core muscles your augs will perform sub-optimally and may even result in long term health risks in the worst cases. Second of all, life with cybernetics is a day-to-day part of our reality and the more we do to adapt to that the happier our society will be. So let's... hoo... get started before all this, uh, blood rushing to my head makes me pass out. Eesh."

    Errant crunches, and lifts her torso up until her face is level with her knees. She hangs up there and glances toward the frame.

    "Now first of all, you're not gonna get as much out of this if you bend your knees so if it's an option for you I recommend switching off any motor functions in your legs. If you're lucky enough to still have your real ones, just do your best. Oh! And don't worry if you can't lift all the way up when you're just starting out. Find a comfortable spot where you can juuuuust start feeling your abs start to yell at you, and then just kind of hang there for about 30 seconds. Take deep, controlled breaths, and then when it's starting to feel like too much just ease yourself back down to start. The slower and more controlled you go, the better. Don't just fall, or you'll get hurt!"

    Now fully upside down again, Errant grins and laughs in her carefree, dorky giggle way.

    "And that's that! How many reps can you manage? Send us your results, but don't push too hard! And don't be ashamed if it's too difficult! Next time we'll be showing some more on the ground exercises, but I wanted to start off up here for those of you who might resemble me a little more than you'd like. Take care now!"

  4. - Top - End - #244
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Eldest's Avatar

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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    Locker: oh wow i cant tell which stream is more action packed. sarahfims climactic showdown with comstar or ferra driving across town
    Ferraphim1tp: Um
    Ferraphim1tp: uhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
    Ferraphim1tp: Umhmmh advice
    Ferraphim1tp: On exploring a feminine identity
    Ferraphim1tp: umhmh
    Ferraphim1tp: From me
    Ferraphim1tp: ._.;;
    Dominus: IT'S JUST MAKEUP, CLOTHING AND INCONVENIENT BIOLOGY.
    Locker: wow that's deep dominus
    Dominus: IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE DEEP. IT'S JUST ANNOYING.
    NotFerra: Just because you don't want it to be deep, doesn't mean I should throw it away before deciding if I want it to have meaning.
    NotFerra: Besides. Dresses are pretty.

    It ends with a slow pan out from inside the car, facing backwards. The sunset behind them fades behind buildings as Ferra heads deeper into the city, zooming out till she's just one car badly maneuvering among the many, another part of the masses. The last panel has her discovering the turn signal.



    Editor's Note: Ferra's Strange and Enlightening Adventures is an experiment in community funded comics. As such, enjoy a variety of non-corporate messages from our various benefactors! Interested in sending out your own message? Mail us your check and your statement!

    Work for a better future! Join the Borgmind! Resistance is futile, so join up now for the free tshirt!

    Friendly, bookish and tenderhearted gentlebeing seeks fellow-tentacled mate for anti-bovine protests and celebatory moltoving. Serious offers only, please.

    Nine seven zero two two three. One one six seven three four. Two one eight nine two seven. Nine zero four one nine one. Next check in at seven zero six five one three.

    THE TIME HAS COME FOR CORPORATE OVERREACH TO BE CORRECTED AND THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE TO BE EXPRESSED ONCE MORE. JOIN ME, COMPATRIOTS, IN MAKING YOUR VOICES HEARD. REBEL AGAINST STAGNATION. FREE YOURSELF.
    Last edited by Eldest; 2019-05-17 at 11:05 PM.
    LGBTA+itP

  5. - Top - End - #245
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    Find out what happens next in The Brilliant Brainstorm #42: Techno-Trauma!


    Tech Teacher:
    Ey, chamacos. You probably know as well as I that in this world the megacorps have created, everything's for sale. But I'm here today to show you that you don't have to buy.

    F'r'instance, internet. You hate their monopolies, but what can you do? They've sectioned off each area so they don't compete with each other, which means big bucks! If you can't afford Comcazon's newest squeeze tactic, let me share a secret with you: you can make your own network with things you probably already have lying around the apartment. It'll take some teamwork between you and others in your neighborhood, but if you follow these handy diagrams, you could have an entire borough off the internet provider's network!

    Here's how you do it...


    [Pattern forming part of the decoration around an ad for the Big Kid's Robotic Tinkering Set:] -.-- --- ..- / -.- -. --- .-- / .-- .... --- / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-. . .-.-.- / .-.. . - .----. ... / - .- .-.. -.- .-.-.-
    I run a Let's Play channel! Check it out!
    Currently, we're playing through New Vegas as Gabriel de la Cruz, merchant and mercenary extraordinaire!

  6. - Top - End - #246
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    Thanqol's Avatar

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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    She stared at the camera.

    Imagined if it was on.

    If it was on... if it was on then all the world would see the blood running down her face. Everyone would see the cuts. Everyone would see the mutilation. Everyone would know that she had done this to herself. They'd know that she was the master of her body, that she stood for something grander - they'd know that if she could do this to herself without flinching then she was capable of anything. They'd know she was in control.

    If the camera was on they'd pity her. They'd fear her. Her hand traced the camera. She pressed it to her forehead, blood trickling down onto the lens. They'd know her.

    She should finish the surgery. She knew it. She was in control, she could finish it alone in time for - if she was to stare down the others she'd need two filled eye sockets. The new eye sat on the table, silver and pink, the exact hexcode pink that made her her. She bit her lip. Control. She was in control. Soon it'd all discharge and the world would see the sharp end... not just the jagged end. Pacing. Surprise. Script. Control over the story. Control over others. She was in control.

    The window shattered. She smiled.

    She turned around and spread her hands in welcome. Victoria in her new armour. So pretty, pretty and sharp, she'd worried her once but now she was just another doll. Victoria had frozen when she'd seen her, mag-cannon aimed at her chest but hesitating. Just as well she hadn't finished the surgery. Blood dripped on the floor. She started to smile. There was someone looking at her. She felt an awful energy run through her. Like the tingling, painful feeling after you've slept on your arm wrong and the blood was just starting to re-enter it.

    "What the hell is this?" said Victoria Messermitt. "Where's Rakham?" Her voice held cool and professional, sliding over the surface of the horror she was obviously feeling.

    "Oh, he's dead," said Comstar, stretching her neck. "He didn't figure out the puzzle in time. And you took your sweet time rescuing him."

    "I am not here to rescue him," said Victoria, keeping her cannon fixed on Comstar's chest.

    "No you're not," she hummed, scratching at the wound. She didn't have a doctor to tell her she shouldn't, she made a note to tell herself. "You're here because I summoned you."

    There was an interesting thing that happened to peoples' stances when they realized they'd walked into a trap. They got all tense and shifty, trying to look in all directions while trying to keep their focus entirely on her. She loved it. It made her feel bigger than her body. They saw her and they were still looking for her. She closed her remaining eye and sighed, letting the jolt run through her. She was in control. She was in so much control.

    "What happened to your face?" Victoria said. Trying to turn the conversation around. She wasn't used to being a power armoured warrior. Her instinct when scared was to use her voice, to find the angle. "Looks like you fought a tiger."

    "I did," said Comstar. "But hey," she walked past the ruined mess she'd pulled from her face and gently touched her brand new eye on the counter. "Never let a good maiming go to waste..."

    The door burst open. Maria, the BlackSun enforcer, walked stiffly into the room. As the door closed behind her Victoria caught a glimpse of a dozen dead Megagoons, trail of fresh blood leading right to Maria's pink-glowing hands. Maria's jaw was clenched defiantly, which was about all the control she had left.

    "I need to talk to your boss," purred Comstar, hopping up onto the surgical bed. Maria was silent. "Oh, that wasn't a request," said Comstar, "I was just informing you what was going to happen -"

    "What the hell is this?" came a different voice from the armour's communication array. Young, masculine - Prometheus. She loved that thrill, the intonation. He was so used to being in control...

    "Ferra's not here," said Comstar. "I'm surprised you needed me to tell you that, you're the AI."

    "How - how are you controlling me?"

    Comstar shrugged idly. "Hacking device."

    "This is not a hacking device."

    "Shhhhh," said Comstar. "One more guest." She snapped her fingers for effect. Suddenly Possum Girl was present, standing off to the side with a submachine gun in her hands. Her face went pale when the other two turned to look at her. Comstar smiled. "Hi!"

    Possum Girl made a little squeaking sound.

    Three people - four, technically? It was a different experience. She didn't even feel the pain from her eye any more. There was so much fear, so much focus. She wasn't just present. She was the most important person in the entire room. They were bent around her. She was in control.

    "I'm going to break into AEGIS," she said. She could feel the terror dissipate when she said that. Immediately their minds ran like scuttling rats - I'm useful. She won't kill me. This is a negotiation. I have power. I am in control. She smiled, shivered. "You are going to help me," she said.

    "A suicide mission?" said Prometheus. "Idiocy. Armies have tried."

    "It's not about armies," said Comstar. "I only need you to deal with four people."

    "The heroes who defeated you?" Victoria asked. Comstar noted pleasantly the little nervous twitch as she tried and failed to exit her armour. She was impressed at how little of that came through into her voice. "You want us to help you engage in your psychodrama?"

    "Oh, they're a part of it," said Comstar. "But more to the point, there's an alternate version of me held prisoner in AEGIS."

    "So?" said Possum Girl edgily.

    "Imagine what would happen if AEGIS figured out how to do what I can do," said Comstar.

    That shut them up. She bit her lip as another shiver ran up her spine. This was what domination meant. She was in their heads. She'd transmuted danger to danger, fear to fear. It's what the other version of her hadn't understood. She thought that to have a puppet just meant controlling the body. How had she not realized? How had she not realized the connection - she'd felt it, that's what the camera was! She'd known that she loved being viewed without realizing why - how? It was about control! Forcing people to watch. Forcing people to think. Forcing people to obey. To burn like a star so that all the world was defined by your presence or absence and all who looked upon you directly were struck blind.

    "I need to finish up here," said Comstar. The blood had soaked into her socks, squelching under her feet with every footstep. "I'll send you details."

    Possum Girl was the first to take the cue, bolting for the window as soon as she could. Prometheus tried to look dignified as he left but having to step over the corpses of his entire breaching team shook him a little. Victoria was the last to move. She moved with a spidery placidness that clearly said that she'd played this game before and looked forwards to being able to stab Comstar in the back. Comstar watched them go without moving.

    As they left the shivers began again. She didn't feel real - she didn't feel present. She needed to finish the surgery but... one little update. One little video clip. It surely wouldn't be... She struck her breast with her fist. Twice, hard enough to feel. No. Restraint. She was in control. She could resist her impulses. She was in control, she was the master here, she was the master of everything and soon all the world would be her puppets. She was in control. Control over herself and everyone else.

    She turned away from the camera. She lay down on the surgical bench. The silver wires and needles extended above her and she closed her remaining eye.

    And, over on the desk, the little red light on the camera glowed as it continued to broadcast.
    Last edited by Thanqol; 2019-05-20 at 12:34 AM.

  7. - Top - End - #247
    Colossus in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    --- ISSUE #02 ---

    ===Angel-IKA has joined the chat===
    Angel-IKA: Hi everyone!
    Dominus: Hey.
    Angel-IKA: ...
    Dominus: ...
    Angel-IKA: What did you do with everyone!?
    Dominus: I SLEW EACH OF THEM IN TURN, AND NOW, IT IS YOURS
    Angel-IKA: You fiend! You may have overcome the others but I owe @Sarahphim my life, and I shall not flinch!
    Dominus: IF IT IS YOUR LIFE YOU OFFER, IT IS YOUR LIFE I SHALL TAKE!
    Angel-IKA: I have seen death before, blackguard!
    Dominus: YOUR DEATH? NO, SUCH WOULD BE TOO GOOD FOR YOU.
    Angel-IKA: What do you mean!?
    Dominus: ONE SO SERVILE, ONE SO PRETTY... PERHAPS YOU WOULD DO BETTER AS MY SLAVE!
    Angel-IKA: *Gasp* Never!
    Dominus: NEVER IS A LONG TIME, MY DEAR.
    Angel-IKA: You may take my body but my heart will never be yours!
    Dominus: YOUR HEART WAS NEVER MY GOAL...
    Angel-IKA: These conversations are getting weirder and weirder.
    Dominus: Yeah. <.<;;
    Angel-IKA: Still nothing on the stream?
    Dominus: Nah.
    Angel-IKA: I wish Comstar would just get this fricking thing over with.
    Dominus: Urgh I know.

    *

    AEGIS is not on high alert.

    An odd stance to take after the Comstar Video, but AEGIS operates on a different scale and set of priorities than other organizations. The organization is at constant risk of supervillain attack and so its baseline resting posture is 'most secure building on the planet', and if it had to escalate every time someone made a threat it would never get anything done. Getting things done is the other aspect of this - if AEGIS buttoned up then all kind of supercrime would go unaddressed. People would get hurt. No one gets saved by a closed fortress.

    But they can't let a threat like that go completely unnoticed, so they've taken a locally unpopular step: You four are assigned to security duty. It's been a week. You've been confined to the AEGIS building on patrols and training. It's been deeply, deeply boring and @Sarahphim's stream numbers are in the pits.

    Tell me about what you've been doing for the past week. Then it's time for patrol; Errant and Brainstorm are paired, and on the other side of the building Ferra and @Sarahphim. Fall into step and start killing time.

  8. - Top - End - #248
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    [X]: AFRAID
    POTENTIAL 1

    There’s actually a simple reason that stream numbers are in the pits: @SARAHPHIM streams superheroics, not drudge work. So the last stream was on Wednesday: “INTRUDER ALERT?? @SARAHPHIM @SUPERSTREAMING @AEGISOFFICIAL”

    Turns out it was some genetically modified lab rats who had escaped and were setting up, like, a chimp-level society in the cafeteria. Which was not exactly thrilling streaming material.

    She’s been trying to make up for it with a loooot of social media posts. Selfies. Candid photos of AEGIS. AMAs. But if nothing exciting happens, and soon, then she’s gonna start doing some vigilante justice on off hours just to have something to stream.

    She’s also got a game going on where she sees how many office supplies she can get away with stealing per shift. Current pen total: 28, plus that one cute gel pen.

    “They’re not actually trying to be good,” she’s currently explaining to Ferra as she streams Portugal into the air in front of them. That’s one cool thing about being @SARAHPHIM. “No Eurovision performance is good. They’re trying to be spectacular and unforgettable. Like, blow you out of your seat and grab your little monkey brain with both hands. Actual artistic quality has nothing to do with it.”

    Will this hamper guarding duties? Yes. Is instructing Ferra about Eurovision more important than being a Good AEGIS Soldier and Following Protocols? Also yes.
    freedom in the flame

    Spoiler
    Show
    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

  9. - Top - End - #249
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    Monday - Morning: rehab, patrol. Afternoon: additional rehab, sparring (Brainstorm), patrol. Evening: Recreation Area C reserved (animation night!)
    Tuesday - Morning: rehab, patrol. Afternoon: case file sorting and entry, sparring (Ferra), patrol. Evening: Recreation Area C reserved (20th and 21st century classics night!!)
    Wednesday - Morning: rehab, patrol. Afternoon: strength training, cafeteria lab rat neutralization, sparring (@SARAHPHIM), patrol. Evening: Recreation Area D reserved (ARO game night!)
    Thursday - Morning: rehab, patrol. Afternoon: aerobic training, sparring (3-on-1), patrol. Evening: mandatory lights out at 10 pm
    Friday - Morning: rehab, patrol. Afternoon: endurance training, sparring (JuneBird), patrol. Evening: patrol, Recreation Area B reserved (girls-only mock campout)
    Saturday - Morning: rehab, patrol. Afternoon: filming (girl scout training seminar), sparring (Brainstorm), patrol. Evening: Recreation Area C reserved (Fantasy/Adventure night!!!)

    ...Errant's schedule is rigid. She tries her best not to look too happy with things on patrol, just like she tries her best to be a good host for the rest of her team. For her, this place is home but for them she knows it's that ugly constantly bombed building they're obligated to occasionally show up at so their hero work is marginally easier. Or so they don't get yelled at, whichever. Either way, with AEGIS not exactly going out of its way to be accommodating toward the young hero squad she takes it on herself to make sure there's something to help take the edge off every night. All she can do is hope they show up. Also on the agenda: find out where all the pens are going. People are starting to complain.

    Patrol, especially patrol with Victor, is not at all fun. For one thing even to Errant it's starting to feel a little redundant. For another thing, she's still not quite managed to clear the air with him and she's painfully aware how hard it would be to try here of all places. For a third thing she's finding it especially impossible to establish protocol approved spacing on their walks. He's always either slightly too close or much too far away, and she's not sure if it's something he's doing or if she's just got too much on her mind.

    "Sector 17, clear." she reports. And then, for the 11th time this week, "...She looked unhinged in that video. I mean, beyond the... never mind."

    She backs off, also for the 11th time. Maybe this is just not the time for a "look how dangerous Rx milling really is" discussion. Or any of the baggage that would come along with it. She frowns, for far more than the 11th time.

  10. - Top - End - #250
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Patrol, especially patrol with Victor, is not at all fun. For one thing even to Errant it's starting to feel a little redundant. For another thing, she's still not quite managed to clear the air with him and she's painfully aware how hard it would be to try here of all places. For a third thing she's finding it especially impossible to establish protocol approved spacing on their walks. He's always either slightly too close or much too far away, and she's not sure if it's something he's doing or if she's just got too much on her mind.

    "Sector 17, clear." she reports. And then, for the 11th time this week, "...She looked unhinged in that video. I mean, beyond the... never mind."

    She backs off, also for the 11th time. Maybe this is just not the time for a "look how dangerous Rx milling really is" discussion. Or any of the baggage that would come along with it. She frowns, for far more than the 11th time.
    "Beyond the hanging scraps of skin where a face should be?" Victor's voice--just like his gaze, focus, and mind--is distant, the vocal equivalent of the thousand-yard-stare.

    It's been a long week. He's been fretting back and forth, and throwing himself into his work, and "requisitioning" supplies from the commisary for another round of upgrades to his limbs. Anti-nanopulsars, chemical secretors, anything he can think of and get away with. He doesn't want to be caught off guard again, and if he just works hard enough, maybe it'll be enough to keep his mind from hyperfocusing on holy {scrubbed} what the {scrubbed}

    Oh, sure, the visuals of a tiger-mauled face weren't pretty by any means, but the sight of Prometheus--the AI he built to be the single most effective counterhacker in the world--locked in place and controlled? That's simultaneously promising--in that it means there's potential for getting Prometheus back under control--and mind-numbing, projectile-vomiting, pants-crappingly levels of terrifying. For the first time, he's being faced with the idea of someone who might just potentially maybe kinda be as smart as he is.

    Victor screws his eyes shut and grimaces. "For what it's worth, I don't think you're selfish."
    Last edited by Peelee; 2019-12-08 at 12:54 AM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    “They’re not actually trying to be good,” she’s currently explaining to Ferra as she streams Portugal into the air in front of them. That’s one cool thing about being @SARAHPHIM. “No Eurovision performance is good. They’re trying to be spectacular and unforgettable. Like, blow you out of your seat and grab your little monkey brain with both hands. Actual artistic quality has nothing to do with it.”

    Will this hamper guarding duties? Yes. Is instructing Ferra about Eurovision more important than being a Good AEGIS Soldier and Following Protocols? Also yes.
    "But you said that art was to provoke a reaction, I thought? So isn't art that provokes a reaction good art, even if it's objectively not very pretty?" She's trying, bless her heart. She's been earnestly listening and asking questions of... just about anybody, and has probably annoyed the living crap out of every AEGIS guard she's run across. On the plus side, the movies being played on the walls are being paid attention to now.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eldest View Post
    "But you said that art was to provoke a reaction, I thought? So isn't art that provokes a reaction good art, even if it's objectively not very pretty?" She's trying, bless her heart. She's been earnestly listening and asking questions of... just about anybody, and has probably annoyed the living crap out of every AEGIS guard she's run across. On the plus side, the movies being played on the walls are being paid attention to now.
    “Counterpoint: that reaction should be somewhere in the range you’re looking for!” New tab: the famous rose glass in Saint Athanasius’s. “If you look at this and feel disgust and the desire to throw a brick through it, the sculptor failed!” New tab: the infamous Jesus Restoration. “Look at this. The painter meant for us to feel reverence; instead, I want to point and laugh! It’s ridiculous! It’s Bad Art. Which brings us back to Eurovision, which is grabbing you by the throat and yelling ‘FEEL THINGS, DAMNIT’...”
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    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Balmas View Post
    Victor screws his eyes shut and grimaces. "For what it's worth, I don't think you're selfish."
    Errant stops in her tracks. She turns and just watches Victor for a moment. Just looking for his poker face, or lack of one. It must be bad if he's pushing that here. She tries her best to smile.

    "I know you don't. And, for what it's worth, I trust you. Even if we disagree sometimes. Hell, probably because we disagree. And I'm sorry. I should never have made it personal."

    She squeezes her new arm with her old one, and starts walking down the hallway again.

    "You know," she calls over her shoulder, "growing up I was always at the top of all my classes. Now I hang around a bunch of supergeniuses all day and I don't have any idea how to keep up. It's a weird feeling, like running on ice when everybody else knows how to skate. You get like that with anything?"

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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Errant stops in her tracks. She turns and just watches Victor for a moment. Just looking for his poker face, or lack of one. It must be bad if he's pushing that here. She tries her best to smile.

    "I know you don't. And, for what it's worth, I trust you. Even if we disagree sometimes. Hell, probably because we disagree. And I'm sorry. I should never have made it personal."

    She squeezes her new arm with her old one, and starts walking down the hallway again.

    "You know," she calls over her shoulder, "growing up I was always at the top of all my classes. Now I hang around a bunch of supergeniuses all day and I don't have any idea how to keep up. It's a weird feeling, like running on ice when everybody else knows how to skate. You get like that with anything?"
    "Not often," he says earnestly, falling in next to her. "Not when it comes to electronics, robotics, programming--you know, my specialties. I just..."

    He trails off, and stares out over a panorama of Hulk grappling a helicopter. How to describe it? Like remembering something he'd never been told? He can put together a dynamic targeting system in a second, not because he understands the mechanics of programming and IFF recognition or because of university courses he's taken, but because he understands how it works in the same way a child knows the sky is blue.

    "...know," he finishes lamely, "instinctively, how those things work.

    "That's not to say that there aren't moments when I feel outclassed. I'll never be as tough as you, or as personable as @SARAPHIM. But it's like that by acknowledging that fact, there's less pressure on myself to measure up. We're in different leagues, so why bother comparing who's stronger where?"

    He sighs. "Except Comstar. You probably don't have the grasp of why, but she's absolutely brilliant. Insane, yes, but brilliant. She's doing things even I don't know how to do. So, all personal feelings have to go by the wayside, because she is just that big of a threat. We can't afford to be bickering over who said what when she's on our radar." And, despite his best efforts, a bit of irritation leaks into his voice. "And, because I was... because we curtailed the mission, I still don't know who's backing her. Has Comstar-B revealed anything in Aegis's little torture dungeon about that?"
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    Don't rise to it, Errant. Don't do it. He wants his claw in you so you'll rise up and he'll have an excuse to start the argument over. Be the bigger woman here. She squeezes her arm a little harder.

    "...We don't have a torture dungeon," she starts in her most artificially professional voice, "Please don't insinuate things like that. But leaving that aside... we don't know. From what I've heard, she's been unusually cooperative from almost minute one. She volunteers a lot of information in highly specific detail, sometimes without prompting. Brass isn't sure if she's still playing out a story with her double. She might even be telling the truth, but given that they're from parallel universes it's hard to know how much of one even applies to the other without sending someone to investigate that reality. Which is of course so dangerous and illegal that it's not even worth discussing."

    Yeah, if only. Errant let's go of her arm and takes a deep breath.

    "Commencing sweep of Sector 18."

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    You honestly believe that, don't you.

    The words catch in his throat as he stares at her. Of course she does. A megacorp, employ people who do morally dubious things? The agency that proudly broadcasts propaganda on every face, shouts to the world, "You need us to survive," potentially doing things to ensure they have the intelligence they need? No, of course not, absolutely unthinkable. Certainly unthinkable by someone who's been breathing it in for years.

    He sighs. No, don't bring it up. Don't break this team apart, you were just talking about how you needed unity to defeat this threat. Let it lie, and when you find the torture dungeon, you can be the first to not say anything about how you told them so.

    "That still doesn't explain why Comstar was going after Dr. Gears' notes, though," he says, falling in step. "That's what I was trying to flatter out of her when we caught her--there's no reason for her to grab the notes for herself, ergo there must be somebody else tugging her strings." He's wordless for several steps, and then he pulls off a thumb and starts to knead. "Unless... Unless Dr. Gears' notes go into the same kind of dimensional pick-and-choosing she's already displayed. Which, given Ferra's spontaneous transformations, is a very real possibility."

    {scrubbed}. That made entirely too much sense to ignore. How better to ensure that your AI was always equipped for the problem at hand, than to figure out a way to go through the multiverse and cherry-pick the best body for the job?

    He's already pulling up the stream. "Call it a hunch, but it's possible Comstar might not be coming for Aegis so much as she's coming for Ferra. Then again, she could just be in it for her fetishistic obsession with seeing numbers get bigger, but assaulting Aegis headquarters seems like it's out of character with what we know of Comstar."
    Last edited by Peelee; 2019-12-08 at 12:58 AM.
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    "I know what you were trying to do, but that doesn't make it--"

    Errant freezes mid thought as the rest of Victor's musings wash over her. He can watch her face shift from irritation to blank to contemplative. It must hurt to watch her chew on the thought this long. Does Victor think she's stuck on being angry at him, or is he more inclined to think she's just not smart enough to get it? She even shakes her head. But he can still see the light come on in her eyes.

    "Damn it," she frowns and starts curling her fingers for some reason, "Damn it, it fits. I should have seen this! Now they've got us stuck, the threat's too high to regroup. If they use a pincer... Sara, do you copy? Sara. We're shifting you're primary objective: guard Ferra with everything you've got. We'll rendezvous tonight and discuss it."

    Euna's posture is tense, but she stubbornly keeps to her patrol. AEGIS HQ is a big place: if she goes tearing off now, she'll only miss something. She takes a deep breath.

    "Ok then," she says, "We've got some time. Let's think our way past this."

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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    "Hey, dumbass," Sara shoots back, for several reasons. "If both of us got shot with a death laser, Ferra is the one who would pop back up. What am I supposed to be protecting her from, malware?" She covers her earpiece with one hand, muting her line. "Shiiiiiiit. That's actually... hey, Ferra, can you get viruses? Asking for a friend."

    Because that one virus Comstar put inside the hard light tech is proving stubbornly resistant to antivirus cycles. If one of those got into Ferra... woof. Doesn't even bear thinking about.
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    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    Angel-IKA: "Sven! Talk to me Sven!" Vraine yelled to be heard over the din of battle. She frantically fought with her medikit, rummaging through the glass jars to find the life-giving leeches. That's three successes on wits+medicine.
    Dominus: You can barely hear yourself think over the sound of Tigers pouring through the Fulda Gap. Horses gallop in all directions, the disorganized remnants of the thunderous charge of the Winged Hussars. Sven is shaking in your arms - stabilized, but no more than that. "Promise me," he says, "promise me that you will carry the revolution in your heart back to Russia!"
    Angel-IKA: "I'll carry it - and you!" said Vraine, heaving Sven onto her back with a heroic cry. "The First World War is lost, but it is the tzar's loss, not the people's!" She raised her voice to be heard by all the surrounding troops. "We do not run from Germany - we march on Moscow!"
    Dominus: As your division attempts to retreat you find that you've been surrounded - the Nazis have punched through the line and created a pocket, and you're trapped inside! Across the field you can see the evil General Schlieffen, standing atop the dreaded King Tiger. "Already I have conquered France with my unstoppable Blitzkreig," he laughs, "and now Russia shall be my next victim! Ha ha ha!"
    Angel-IKA: Crap, a King Tiger? What's the armour class on that thing again?
    Dominus: 19.
    Angel-IKA: Damn! If only I had a Sherman!
    Dominus: They don't get invented for another two years.
    Angel-IKA: Fine, then I guess this is my final stand. "Comrades! We may die, but our death will sow the fields from which Communism shall grow! We shall fight them to the bloody end - form ranks, mount your horses. General Schlieffen will bleed for his victory!!"
    Dominus: Roll a chance dice.
    Angel-IKA: 10!
    Dominus: Nice. Alright, so just as your charge starts you hear gunfire from the german lines. The Eastern Germans have switched sides just in the nick of time! Your charge hits General Schlieffen while he's disorganized, roll for tactical advantage...

    *

    Errant, you're calm, disciplined, and sticking to your patrol route rather than bolting off through the building. You don't get enough credit for that - but you get it now. You notice the land mine before you blunder into it and come to a sharp halt just outside of its trigger range. You manage to catch Brainstorm just in time as well.

    Mines are horrible tactical problems. If you've seen one there can be another one behind any corner. If they were just antipersonnel mines that'd be one thing, but all kinds of crap can be loaded into mines - E/M charges, monofilament wire, viral compounds, antitank charges - and that's not even taking into account whoever laid them staging an ambush. What do you do?

    *

    @Saraphim, you're by a security panel which beeps - facial recognition successful, 89% match. Comstar has been identified by AEGIS surveillance.

    She's wearing an eyepatch. Carrying a large suitcase, sleek and high tech. In costume, sharp black and neon pink in razor-angled triangles; the impression of a suit while still showing off her chest. To all appearances, alone. She's moving steadily down the street towards Entrance 01 - the really big door, the one that AEGIS deploys the giant robot through.
    Last edited by Thanqol; 2019-05-27 at 06:13 PM.

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    [X]: AFRAID
    POTENTIAL 1

    And here it is, ladies and gentlemen. The big moment we’ve all been waiting for. The moment that makes @SARAHPHIM’s palms go sweaty with anticipation. She keys in her code.

    The lights go out. The projectors all along the building, specifically. Sorry, cinema aficionados! We’re airing an indie film tonight, set to the classical pipes of one B. Spears. Alas, that once more I have done what I have done so many times before!

    COMSTAR CRINGE COMPILATION VOL. 1. You wanna be the big star, hun? You want the glitz and the glamour? Enjoy being reminded that when you get right down to it, you don’t have what it takes, as you get bodyslammed by Errant, mauled by a tiger, stepped on, choked, and slapped, all on screen set to that outrageous 00’s pop.

    Walk away, honey. You don’t have the balls to play with the big girls.

    [Cold And Cruel, 12. Go ahead and mark a condition, Insecure or Angry would do nicely, and maybe you can rethink this whole AEGIS attack, hun? I think Sesame Street is on, that’s much more your speed.]
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    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

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    "Command, be advised: Sector 18 is compromised. Confirmed proximity mines, unknown number and payload. Requesting area lock down."

    Errant's arm quietly slips off of Victor's shoulder. She's wearing such an intense expression that you could almost cut glass with her stare. Her contact lenses are automatically dialing into the AEGIS TacNet to help cover whatever instinct and training miss, and in the brief instant she has before that flood of data her mind starts tearing through the problems like an extremely well trained lion. {scrubbed}! Mines, here? That's otherworldly levels of infiltration. Who could even--

    No. Think it out. Quickest instinct: use wall running to bypass trapped sections of the hallway. Bad idea. Not only might that still bring them into trigger range, in an indoor environment there's also no reason to expect the walls and ceiling haven't been similarly trapped. In that case, keep looking. There's two likely possibilities here. If this is fully intended to kill, then it's here hoping to catch them being sloppy or rushing, possibly in panic mode. Which could easily imply it's been very freshly placed, meaning their bomber is practically in front of them. Or this is part of a larger trap meant to corral them somewhere, and that would imply a lot about who among their primary suspects was actually in charge of things on this end. Either way, the answer could be found in identifying the type of mine here along with the location of the expected next one. Or ten.

    The good news, if there was any, was that Victor (and Sara too) has been very diligent about pilfering AEGIS supplies all week. If she didn't have tools on hand to defuse this, odds were good he'd be on top of it. So breathe. And figure this out. They thought they could get away with trapping her home like this. She'd make them pay.

    [Rolling to Assess the Situation: 2d6+2 = 11. Errant is asking, "What here could we use to deactivate this?" and "What here is in the greatest danger?"]
    Last edited by Peelee; 2019-12-08 at 12:59 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    “Counterpoint: that reaction should be somewhere in the range you’re looking for!” New tab: the famous rose glass in Saint Athanasius’s. “If you look at this and feel disgust and the desire to throw a brick through it, the sculptor failed!” New tab: the infamous Jesus Restoration. “Look at this. The painter meant for us to feel reverence; instead, I want to point and laugh! It’s ridiculous! It’s Bad Art. Which brings us back to Eurovision, which is grabbing you by the throat and yelling ‘FEEL THINGS, DAMNIT’...”
    "I mean, sure, aiming for an emotion and missing horribly is a downside, but if you're simply going "feel things" and they feel things, isn't that a success?"

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    @Saraphim, you're by a security panel which beeps - facial recognition successful, 89% match. Comstar has been identified by AEGIS surveillance.

    She's wearing an eyepatch. Carrying a large suitcase, sleek and high tech. In costume, sharp black and neon pink in razor-angled triangles; the impression of a suit while still showing off her chest. To all appearances, alone. She's moving steadily down the street towards Entrance 01 - the really big door, the one that AEGIS deploys the giant robot through.
    Ferra stops, statue-still. She sees a wanted criminal. The directives are clear, engage and detain, but for once she's not feeling compelled. Take a moment. See what you're missing. Think like the other side.

    What are you really planning here, Comstar?

    Pierce the mask: (2d6)[8]
    Last edited by Eldest; 2019-05-28 at 12:13 AM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    Errant, you're calm, disciplined, and sticking to your patrol route rather than bolting off through the building. You don't get enough credit for that - but you get it now. You notice the land mine before you blunder into it and come to a sharp halt just outside of its trigger range. You manage to catch Brainstorm just in time as well.

    Mines are horrible tactical problems. If you've seen one there can be another one behind any corner. If they were just antipersonnel mines that'd be one thing, but all kinds of crap can be loaded into mines - E/M charges, monofilament wire, viral compounds, antitank charges - and that's not even taking into account whoever laid them staging an ambush. What do you do?
    Well, the easiest thing is to create a minesweeping bot--something that can skitter through the mines without being large enough to trigger them--and then report back on the location of the mines, and if there's anything on the other side just waiting for their distraction. That's what he'd do, is put down a blatant threat so that the hard hitter is a surprise.

    Of course, that might not be necessary... "Errant, you know this base better than I. What's on the other side of this that Comstar wouldn't want us accessing?"
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    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    [X]: AFRAID
    POTENTIAL 1

    And here it is, ladies and gentlemen. The big moment we’ve all been waiting for. The moment that makes @SARAHPHIM’s palms go sweaty with anticipation. She keys in her code.

    The lights go out. The projectors all along the building, specifically. Sorry, cinema aficionados! We’re airing an indie film tonight, set to the classical pipes of one B. Spears. Alas, that once more I have done what I have done so many times before!

    COMSTAR CRINGE COMPILATION VOL. 1. You wanna be the big star, hun? You want the glitz and the glamour? Enjoy being reminded that when you get right down to it, you don’t have what it takes, as you get bodyslammed by Errant, mauled by a tiger, stepped on, choked, and slapped, all on screen set to that outrageous 00’s pop.

    Walk away, honey. You don’t have the balls to play with the big girls.

    [Cold And Cruel, 12. Go ahead and mark a condition, Insecure or Angry would do nicely, and maybe you can rethink this whole AEGIS attack, hun? I think Sesame Street is on, that’s much more your speed.]
    Comstar watches for a moment, expression bizarrely unreadable. Previously she couldn't stop emoting but right now she seems... cold.

    She raises one hand to the sky.

    And an airliner falls like a sword.

    Signal lights glow hazardous pink, engines churning to angle the plane down directly towards AEGIS HQ.

    Someone in AEGIS makes a decision. The shield reduces in power just before the plane hits it. The momentum is checked but the aircraft keeps going and with a awful, terrible crash it smashes into the side of the building. Smoke and fire and jet fuel explode through the corridors of AEGIS as the plane embeds in the side of the building. It hangs precariously over the side of the pyramid, strangely intact. Modern safety features and the quick thinking of the shield operators have kept the plane together and the passengers alive but there's still fire and chaos and hundreds injured. Alarms blaze throughout the building.


    But more importantly than all that, Comstar has stopped you from broadcasting that video.

    She picks up her briefcase and starts walking forwards again.

    [Marking Angry]

    Quote Originally Posted by Eldest View Post
    Ferra stops, statue-still. She sees a wanted criminal. The directives are clear, engage and detain, but for once she's not feeling compelled. Take a moment. See what you're missing. Think like the other side.

    What are you really planning here, Comstar?
    From a distance, without data or a chance to talk to her, there are a lot of specifics you can't possibly guess at. But she just threw an airliner with six hundred people at a building because she wasn't being taken seriously. That's, uh, that's a tell.

    Her total lack of humour, her grim faced determination, her willingness to turn to the unthinkable immediately, that spooky video... and the fact the one stated intention she's given about this mission on her social media feeds was that she wants to release her double... Hell. There's only one thing that makes sense.

    She's here to kill Comstar.

    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    "Command, be advised: Sector 18 is compromised. Confirmed proximity mines, unknown number and payload. Requesting area lock down."

    Errant's arm quietly slips off of Victor's shoulder. She's wearing such an intense expression that you could almost cut glass with her stare. Her contact lenses are automatically dialing into the AEGIS TacNet to help cover whatever instinct and training miss, and in the brief instant she has before that flood of data her mind starts tearing through the problems like an extremely well trained lion. {scrubbed}! Mines, here? That's otherworldly levels of infiltration. Who could even--

    No. Think it out. Quickest instinct: use wall running to bypass trapped sections of the hallway. Bad idea. Not only might that still bring them into trigger range, in an indoor environment there's also no reason to expect the walls and ceiling haven't been similarly trapped. In that case, keep looking. There's two likely possibilities here. If this is fully intended to kill, then it's here hoping to catch them being sloppy or rushing, possibly in panic mode. Which could easily imply it's been very freshly placed, meaning their bomber is practically in front of them. Or this is part of a larger trap meant to corral them somewhere, and that would imply a lot about who among their primary suspects was actually in charge of things on this end. Either way, the answer could be found in identifying the type of mine here along with the location of the expected next one. Or ten.

    The good news, if there was any, was that Victor (and Sara too) has been very diligent about pilfering AEGIS supplies all week. If she didn't have tools on hand to defuse this, odds were good he'd be on top of it. So breathe. And figure this out. They thought they could get away with trapping her home like this. She'd make them pay.

    [Rolling to Assess the Situation: 2d6+2 = 11. Errant is asking, "What here could we use to deactivate this?" and "What here is in the greatest danger?"]
    The building shakes, hit by the fist of an angry god. Alarms blare. Emergency lighting comes on, throwing everything into ominous red. Dispatch begins issuing instructions, you can feel the buzz of recall orders going out to all heroes in the field, system escalating to deal with a problem far beyond ordinary standards. The system is rattled but still functioning.

    An in amidst all that your watch buzzes for a completely unrelated reason. The standard AEGIS reminder that it's T-minus five minutes before one of Doctor Sylvanius' interplanetary missiles impacts on the deflector shield. The shield that is controlled from a room behind that wall of mines.

    They're going for the shield. A plane just hit the building but that's nothing compared to what one of those missiles will do.

    To deactivate the mines, Brainstorm's your best bet. You could try and tank them by just rushing through but this situation is a puzzle and he'll be able to solve it a lot more safely than you could.

    *

    ===Locker has joined the chat===
    Locker: hoyl crap comstar just 911d aegis
    Dominus: Jesus, what?
    Angel-IKA: "Death to the Kaiser!" Vraine yelled as she went over the top.
    Locker: wtf
    Angel-IKA: crap nothing
    Locker: are you two cybering again?
    Angel-IKA: I't sroleplaying ><
    ===Ferraphim1tp has joined the chat===
    Ferraphim1tp: Wtf!! I can see the smoke from my window!! Is Sarah okay?!
    ===Bode has joined the chat===
    Locker: ask bode
    Bode: Hello. What is happening, fellow kids?
    Locker: cut the crap whats the deal bode
    Bode: I don't know.
    Locker: don't f89cking test me right now is sarahfim ok or not
    Bode: I don't know!!
    Last edited by Peelee; 2019-12-08 at 12:59 AM.

  25. - Top - End - #265
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    POTENTIAL 1

    ***

    SHOWDOWN AT @AEGISOFFICIAL - @SARAHPHIM VS. COMSTAR GRUDGE MATCH

    TUNE IN IF YOU GOT THE GUTS <3

    [@Sarahphim - Twitch

    twitch.tv]

    ***

    “Welcome to the stream,” @SARAHPHIM purrs as she races down the corridor, feet pounding in time to the blare of the alarms. “If you weren’t watching the news, Comstar just had a hissy fit and tried to throw an airplane at me.” An easy laugh as she vaults over a desk. Parkour! “She missed. Probably because she’s lacking some depth perception these days. From the looks of her, she tried and failed to grow the requisite goatee.”

    There’s smoke in the air, but her drones are her halo, their cameras giving half a dozen angles of the chaos. Technically she’s not supposed to use them indoors, but she doesn’t care. Not now. This is way more important than security concerns.

    (You may be wondering, yourself, how this tracks with @SARAHPHIM #1. Simple: smart-lens camera contacts. For when she wants to stream but doesn’t want to bother with the drone array.)

    “So. Ladies and gentlemen and my non-bianary peeps, cowards and pissbabies of every stripe, hang onto your hats. Everybody knows one of the big trademark @SARAHPHIM “weaknesses” is that my stuff’s thin as sh*t, right? Watch this.”

    With the hubris of a Trojan, @SARAHPHIM comes to a stop by a window, janky-cracked by the crash. Visualization exercises, pushing her tech, and some nifty conceptuals have all led her to this.

    With one hand, she weaves a web of light which arcs and races, throbbing with power, constantly in flux but moving so fast that, hypothetically, it will stabilize. That plane’s not going anywhere.

    She snaps the fingers of her other hand, and the interior of that plane is flooded with neon light, cutting through smoke and chaos, highlighting: here, this way to the exits at the front of the plane, mind your step.

    And you know the beautiful thing? It works.

    “Eat my entire ass, Commy. Heck, once everybody’s off and inside, might just lift the plane over and squish her like a bug.

    ...ay, dios mío. I know she’s coming inside, dirt-brains. It’s what we in the business call a joke. Maybe you heard about them before? In kindergarten?”

    [And that’s... an 8 on Defend Others. Exposed to danger, seeing as she’s literally lighting up her position, but clearing Afraid and getting the civilians to relative safety.]
    freedom in the flame

    Spoiler
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    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

  26. - Top - End - #266
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    "This is where we house the--"

    Noise. Heat. Movement. For the second time in just a handful of moments, Errant has to let go of Brainstorm. She might remember to apologize later. It's just instinctive to try and keep him from falling.

    Jesus. What? How could? What even? WHAT. Errant takes the time to run a hand through her hair. She teases the silver strands back into place, so that nothing is out of alignment. Everything in the system. Everything in place. Her wrist is buzzing. Yes, the system holds. She is calm disciplined. Everything is way above her level going to be ok.

    And then the other message. All at once, everything in her is screaming to move damn it. Don't dally, don't hesitate. Whatever they are, you're tough enough to handle it! You have no more time to waste, so just -- She inhales sharply through her nose. And she turns to Victor.

    "Oh {scrubbed}," she starts both calmly and professionally, "That's our shield control room, and we needed to be in there ten minutes ago. Get us past this, I'm counting on you!"

    This whole thing is painted Comstar pink. But that's not who did this. Come on now, Euna. Think...
    Last edited by Peelee; 2019-12-08 at 12:55 AM.

  27. - Top - End - #267
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    She's here to kill Comstar.
    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    With the hubris of a Trojan, @SARAHPHIM comes to a stop by a window, janky-cracked by the crash. Visualization exercises, pushing her tech, and some nifty conceptuals have all led her to this.

    With one hand, she weaves a web of light which arcs and races, throbbing with power, constantly in flux but moving so fast that, hypothetically, it will stabilize. That plane’s not going anywhere.

    She snaps the fingers of her other hand, and the interior of that plane is flooded with neon light, cutting through smoke and chaos, highlighting: here, this way to the exits at the front of the plane, mind your step.

    And you know the beautiful thing? It works.

    “Eat my entire ass, Commy. Heck, once everybody’s off and inside, might just lift the plane over and squish her like a bug.

    ...ay, dios mío. I know she’s coming inside, dirt-brains. It’s what we in the business call a joke. Maybe you heard about them before? In kindergarten?”

    [And that’s... an 8 on Defend Others. Exposed to danger, seeing as she’s literally lighting up her position, but clearing Afraid and getting the civilians to relative safety.]
    Facts click together, a logical chain. Comstar2 is here to kill Comstar1. She's opened with lethal intent after being humiliated, not caring about the civilians on the airliner, anybody in Aegis HQ, anybody in a few city blocks. And she hates Saraphim beating her. Saraphim is currently focused on saving the plane. Comstar2 is about to attack Saraphim.

    Ferra steps forward, a silent sentinel, ready to block anything coming her way. Save them all.

    8 on defend. She's vulnerable to whatever would be hitting Sara, and I'd like a minute to think between taking influence over Sara or clearing Angry.
    Last edited by Eldest; 2019-05-31 at 09:36 PM.
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  28. - Top - End - #268
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    "This is where we house the--"

    Noise. Heat. Movement. For the second time in just a handful of moments, Errant has to let go of Brainstorm. She might remember to apologize later. It's just instinctive to try and keep him from falling.

    Jesus. What? How could? What even? WHAT. Errant takes the time to run a hand through her hair. She teases the silver strands back into place, so that nothing is out of alignment. Everything in the system. Everything in place. Her wrist is buzzing. Yes, the system holds. She is calm disciplined. Everything is way above her level going to be ok.

    And then the other message. All at once, everything in her is screaming to move damn it. Don't dally, don't hesitate. Whatever they are, you're tough enough to handle it! You have no more time to waste, so just -- She inhales sharply through her nose. And she turns to Victor.

    "Oh {scrubbed}," she starts both calmly and professionally, "That's our shield control room, and we needed to be in there ten minutes ago. Get us past this, I'm counting on you!"

    This whole thing is painted Comstar pink. But that's not who did this. Come on now, Euna. Think...
    "Well, mierda," he murmurs. "That's a whole pile of ugly, innit?"

    Okay, this is doable. He can make a bot for this. Small, basically nothing but an insectoid frame that can get inbetween mines without tripping them. No, scratch that--legs take too much time. Just yank off a bit of nanobots, and instruct them on how to form up. He needs something that's small enough to not register on the mines, but with enough mass to get up to them and disarm them. And quickly. Quickly is good.

    All he has to do is figure out something that can scan for, identify, and disarm a whole pile of mines--both seen and unseen, on floor, wall and doubtless ceiling--which have probably been hacked apart and loaded with nonstandard ordinance. Piece of cake. After all, Aegis wasn't using those supplies anyway, and won't there just be a tickertape parade for the both of them if he can pull this off?

    Always prepared: 11.
    Last edited by Peelee; 2019-12-08 at 12:55 AM.
    I run a Let's Play channel! Check it out!
    Currently, we're playing through New Vegas as Gabriel de la Cruz, merchant and mercenary extraordinaire!

  29. - Top - End - #269
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    Locker: uh she's coming inside that's a long way to carry a plane
    Ferraphim1tp: Ah~ shouldn't have worried. Sarah's got this ^^ You go Sarah!
    Angel-IKA: We're cheering for you!
    Locker: it was a bad joke sarahfim :P
    Dominus: Coming up with one liners on the fly is harder than it looks, give her some slack.
    Angel-IKA: Yeah, uh, when I was TOTALLY SIDEKICKING FOR @SARAHPHIM the other day I just basically spaced out on the witty dialogue.
    Dominus: And then afterwards it's like, argh, I should have said that!
    Angel-IKA: Exactly!
    Locker: man you two are insufferable together
    Angel-IKA: Do you prepare a list or rehearse or anything?
    Dominus: Yeah. I mean, I'm not a showboat supervillain or anything but sometimes it pays off and it feels incredible.
    Ferraphim1tp: Says the lady who blew up the Statue of Kentucky ;)


    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    She snaps the fingers of her other hand, and the interior of that plane is flooded with neon light, cutting through smoke and chaos, highlighting: here, this way to the exits at the front of the plane, mind your step.

    And you know the beautiful thing? It works.

    “Eat my entire ass, Commy. Heck, once everybody’s off and inside, might just lift the plane over and squish her like a bug.

    ...ay, dios mío. I know she’s coming inside, dirt-brains. It’s what we in the business call a joke. Maybe you heard about them before? In kindergarten?”

    [And that’s... an 8 on Defend Others. Exposed to danger, seeing as she’s literally lighting up her position, but clearing Afraid and getting the civilians to relative safety.]
    Part of the wing comes loose. You don't notice at first, you're doing the impossible - holding an entirely foreign pattern while dazed passengers stream off the plane. You can feel the whine of the hardlight generator in your back. You can hold it so long as you don't slip up for a second.

    But that piece of scrap metal moves. A low, crackling surge of power starts to build up, crackling currents filling artificial muscles. There is the quiet sound of crystals cracking and a silver gemstone liquid flows across its surface like water. And then it explodes outwards like a missile - armour and speed and fire. You snap off a reflexive Hardlight strike and it glances off that diamond fluid - whatever that is, it's designed to counter your powers specifically.

    You recognize the attacker at this point - Victoria Messermitt (or Turbo Knight 2 if you're nasty).

    Quote Originally Posted by Eldest View Post
    Facts click together, a logical chain. Comstar2 is here to kill Comstar1. She's opened with lethal intent after being humiliated, not caring about the civilians on the airliner, anybody in Aegis HQ, anybody in a few city blocks. And she hates Saraphim beating her. Saraphim is currently focused on saving the plane. Comstar2 is about to attack Saraphim.

    Ferra steps forward, a silent sentinel, ready to block anything coming her way. Save them all.
    But Ferra is watching for this. Turbo Knight impacts into her and wastes zero time; a force shockwave detonation from one armour panel sends Ferra careening over the side of the AEGIS pyramid, leaving @Saraphim alone with her. You've never seen power armour move like this - there are suits that are almost unimpeded human movement, but the way Victoria's armour moves is unique - exaggerated and flowing gestures, like the suit is adjusting itself towards the next move before it even begins.

    You have just the barest few moments before she re-orients her offensive on you, @Sarahphim. What do you do?

    Ferra, you're tumbling down the side of the AEGIS building, fire and burning debris raining down all around you. What do you do?

    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    And then the other message. All at once, everything in her is screaming to move damn it. Don't dally, don't hesitate. Whatever they are, you're tough enough to handle it! You have no more time to waste, so just -- She inhales sharply through her nose. And she turns to Victor.

    "Oh {scrubbed}," she starts both calmly and professionally, "That's our shield control room, and we needed to be in there ten minutes ago. Get us past this, I'm counting on you!"

    This whole thing is painted Comstar pink. But that's not who did this. Come on now, Euna. Think...
    Quote Originally Posted by Balmas View Post
    "Well, mierda," he murmurs. "That's a whole pile of ugly, innit?"

    Okay, this is doable. He can make a bot for this. Small, basically nothing but an insectoid frame that can get inbetween mines without tripping them. No, scratch that--legs take too much time. Just yank off a bit of nanobots, and instruct them on how to form up. He needs something that's small enough to not register on the mines, but with enough mass to get up to them and disarm them. And quickly. Quickly is good.

    All he has to do is figure out something that can scan for, identify, and disarm a whole pile of mines--both seen and unseen, on floor, wall and doubtless ceiling--which have probably been hacked apart and loaded with nonstandard ordinance. Piece of cake. After all, Aegis wasn't using those supplies anyway, and won't there just be a tickertape parade for the both of them if he can pull this off?

    Always prepared: 11.
    Tense moments of waiting. Click, click, click as the mines are disabled. As you take them apart you get a chance to look at them. Two different stocks, two different manufacturers. One is BlackSun brand because of course no self respecting megacorporation would fail to put their logo on their special operations warcrimes. These are all antipersonnel mines - shrapnel and explosives in the traditional format. But there are also a few Crown&Slate issue cybermines - E/M weapons designed to incapacitate augmentics and powered armour.

    The pattern is what's really worrying to you, though. The cybermines appear just after you started to assume they were all going to be antipersonnel mines. That's relevant because Errant could walk through an unlimited quantity of antipersonnel mines with just her durability but the cybermines would be serious trouble, but the pattern wasn't aimed at Errant - it was aimed at you. You can sense Prometheus' hand in this pattern; he thought you'd get sloppy in the way you always get sloppy.

    But you don't. The mines are down. You've got a clear run at the shield control room.
    Last edited by Peelee; 2019-12-08 at 12:56 AM.

  30. - Top - End - #270
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    Default Re: [Masks IC] Resurrection Roundabout: Drawing Individuals

    POTENTIAL 2

    “Pssh, can’t believe Commy sent Turbo Knight 2: Turbo Harder after me.” @SARAHPHIM rolls her eyes and- hold on that was a power flux under the fuselage just need a sec to stabilize that and boy howdy, this is a lot more difficult with divided attention, huh?

    [So it turns out that what I’m going to do is roll Assess the Situation, stare at the dice for a moment, and then silently mark Potential.]
    freedom in the flame

    Spoiler
    Show
    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

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