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Post by acathala on Nov 1, 2022 22:33:14 GMT -5
"I'll let you know. Need to check in with the team." Tom hangs up and sends a text to the other members of the team. everyone okay?
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Post by TG Barighm on Nov 2, 2022 1:20:52 GMT -5
Tom sends his text.
"Got the beer. OMW" was the response from Watch Dog.
The mercenary had insisted on using coded messages in case their phones were being tracked. Tom assured him that was impossible, but the man was insistent and it was just easier to let him have it. Supposedly Gainer is grabbing chicken wings while Strongarm is picking up a pizza.
Tom waited, but he didn't see an immediate response from the other two. Well, it was probably pretty difficult to find time to check messages while you're escaping drones and police.
"Holy shit! Boss, look at the monitor!" Geek cried out.
Tom looked up. They had stopped at the intersection and one of those big holographic displays was placed on a nearby building. It was reporting a terrorist attack on the monorail, although they couldn't hear anything through the window. But Tom could see the highlights, from fireballs going off on platforms, to security cameras showing an entirely one-sided gun battle at the New Millennium station. But the images that proved most disturbing was a helicopter shot showing a war drone firing swarms of missiles on the train. The missiles connected with a car...and it was obliterated. Just like that. The shredded, burning husk fell into the city below.
"My god...they probably killed more people than our guys did," Geek said.
Pan whimpered.
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Post by acathala on Nov 2, 2022 5:04:23 GMT -5
"Holy hell." Tom breathed in horror and astonishment at the carnage. Nothing his team was doing, merited that kind of response. Even if it was believed that Hansen was on that train. He pets pan trying to reassure his canine companion but really Tom was trying to reassure himself. He checks social media to see what the people are saying about it.
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Post by TG Barighm on Nov 2, 2022 11:45:31 GMT -5
Tom browses with his phone.
There's a lot of random comments, useless, as usual, but there are a few that catch Tom's eye. One is of a family commenting about some crazy guy in combat armour flying through their window and landing on their couch. They don't have any pics, but apparently he said something about using the bus. Some people have made memes about it.
The second thing is a police report stating closure of all the monorail stations, specifically noting certain ones being closed for weeks. At the last station on the list, police state the "terrorists" left the train and surrendered to police.
Looks like Strongarm and Gainer might be in police custody.
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Post by acathala on Nov 6, 2022 20:46:47 GMT -5
Tom texts Holhardy. who's been arrested?
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Post by TG Barighm on Nov 6, 2022 23:57:30 GMT -5
Tom texts Holhardty, but it takes a bit before he gets an answer.
"Gainer" was the eventual reply, followed by "But someone 'forgot' to cuff him properly. You know, if I knew this is what you were going to have him do, I would have thought twice about releasing him to you".
It's at this point Geek stopped the car.
"We're home," Geek said. "I think I'll grab some ice cream before heading up."
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Post by acathala on Nov 8, 2022 18:16:01 GMT -5
I'm sorry. Do you know who ordered the missile and drone strikes?
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Post by TG Barighm on Nov 8, 2022 19:17:06 GMT -5
"Automatic command...which means the drone controller. Looks like kitty's mysterious tower man is getting nervous. You better get this resolved quick before those two go at it again."
"WHAT'S UP BITCHES!" a familiar voice cried out. Someone banged loudly on the car window.
Tom opened the door to reveal none other than Strongarm carrying two pizza boxes and a bag of extras.
"Got the pizza!" Strongarm declared exuberantly.
"You didn't have to get the pizza. It was just a code," Geek explained.
Strongarm laughed. "Code? You fucking crazy? I'm always serious about getting pizza."
STRONGARM HAS THE "DUMB LUCK" SUPERPOWER. HE WAS THE BEST CHOICE FOR THE KITTY BEACON. STRONGARM EARNS A NEW DEFINING TRAIT.
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Post by acathala on Nov 8, 2022 21:09:49 GMT -5
Tom pets the possibly salivating Pan. "Fred! Can you make something to eat for pan? I don't think pizza is good for dogs." The ninja sees the pizza and sighed. He helps get it ready. He intends on having a couple of slices before he heads out.
OoC Strongarm picks up greater weapon expertise.
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Post by TG Barighm on Nov 8, 2022 21:35:23 GMT -5
Tom grabs a few slices and enjoys a meal in the cramped apartment with his team.
I take it when you say you're gonna head out, you mean Alice. Don't take this encounter lightly. It's going to get pretty insane.
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Post by acathala on Nov 10, 2022 21:23:41 GMT -5
(I'm not taking it lightly at all. Really don't trust Hanson but he might be very useful against mech enemies the doctor constructed.)
Tom pets pan one last time and heads out with his team. He's taking Geek and kitty.
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Post by TG Barighm on Nov 21, 2022 20:46:58 GMT -5
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Post by TG Barighm on Nov 21, 2022 20:55:01 GMT -5
NEW MILLENNIA CITY: Night, Chilly
NEW MISSION: Find and Defeat Alice
"Me?" Geek said nervously when Tom asked him to come. "You want...me?"
"Do not fret, young geek. My master Tom is very capable," Fred replied.
Geek frowned. "Easy for you to say. If you were cut to ribbons, they could just put you back together."
Tom headed down to the street to fetch his car, but he's surprised to see a completely different car waiting for him. The door opened to reveal none other than the robot cat.
"We'll take my car. This is going to get messy and this baby is souped up to take a beating and avoid detection from drones," Hanson explained. "I'm not doing this one in person, naturally. In case my electric shielding doesn't work, but I've still got full control."
"Wish I could be piloted remotely," Geek grumbled.
"I'm surprised you're not bringing that pyromaniac. Not much use against water, but at least he's another target for Alice to go after," Hanson said.
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Post by acathala on Nov 21, 2022 22:19:03 GMT -5
"Well the doctor and whatever mechanical monstrosity she's bringing, will be target enough. Did you know they would send missiles at the train?" Tom asked. His team could have died
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Post by TG Barighm on Nov 21, 2022 23:07:17 GMT -5
"The tower would send everything to stop me," Hanson answered. "Or at least, the one holding the coin. But they all survived, didn't they? So all is well, and now we can focus on the real threat. Get in...and I'll tell you about it."
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Post by acathala on Nov 22, 2022 20:38:00 GMT -5
"Just so long as you remember we're getting Alice first. Geek you take my car and follow." Tom gets in.
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Post by TG Barighm on Nov 22, 2022 23:19:47 GMT -5
Geek grabbed Tom's car.
Tom climbed into Hanson's car and watched as the robot kitty drove the car. It was kind of unnerving watching the robot drive without its head swiveling one inch.
"You helped me get this far, and now we're just one step away from recapturing the tower. Now I can trust you," Hanson said through the robot. "You see, I may have fibbed a little about this whole situation. I've always known who is control of the tower, but the situation...was a little more complicated than I first let on.
You remember Mr. Tashiro? Hayate and I worked together for a long time to advance my dream of advancing nanotech into the new millennium. And we were very successful. The drones, the robots, the city's infrastructure...all wonderful creations, but simple robots were not quite what I was aiming for. I wanted something...much more. A truly autonomous machination capable of directing its own movement, and capable of regenerating itself. And it was on that we worked in earnest. And we succeeded."
The robot turned onto the main street that followed the storm canal.
"We developed our first truly stable and functional nano colony about 10 years ago. This generation of the colony would wow the world for generations to come, but it wasn't ready. Not quite yet. It needed to be...more. More autonomous. More powerful. And so, Tashiro and I put our noses to the grind stone. You saw this generation of nano colony in the sewer, the one stolen by the lab tech for his own selfish purposes and retrofitted it with incompatible code. But when you put in the right code...oh my, the things it can do, and after a decade of upgrades and refinement to the code...you can run the world. All with one program. And that is why we called it Project Omnipotence, or just 'OMNIS' for short. Because with this creation, you truly can be.
And Tashiro knew it. That's why he unleashed my creation on the tower and stole it from me, but I am not worried about him. It's the nano colony. So long as it obeys him, the world's greatest technology is in the hands of a cowardly, short sighted little man seeking to topple the world's greatest minds. Today he starts with New Millennia, but where will it stop? By this time next year, the entire country could be in his hands."
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Post by acathala on Nov 24, 2022 21:38:36 GMT -5
Tom is silent as he processed what he's been told. He still doesn't believe Hanson has told him the truth, or at least the entire truth. And that's not even getting into ethics of what Tashiro and Hansen were creating. Frankly Tom is horrified at the prospect of Hansen, or anyone controlling such technology.
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Post by TG Barighm on Nov 25, 2022 4:45:16 GMT -5
(Dossiers updated) LAIR MISSION: ALICE*Remember, the story doesn't proceed if Tom dies in a lair mission. A death in a lair means dead, so a restart is required. "Glad you agree. We can't leave OMNIS in the hands of some 'mad scientist' like Tashiro," Hanson continued, clearly taking Tom's silence as agreement. "This is why I have an interest in Alice. She might be able to reason with her father...or we can use her in some other way. Assuming she doesn't kill us. Well, you, anyway. When this is all over, and we've had a proper's night sleep-surprised you decided to jump into this right after your last mission-we're going to attack the tower. I now have all the security codes and my computers are currently decrypting them to create new password permutations. Kicking in the door is not enough. We need to disable all of the local systems simultaneously to stand a chance. The entire tower will be gunning for us when we get in-literally-so we need to shut the whole thing down." It was a good drive to the abandoned pump house, not quite unlike the drive to the chemical factory. Hanson followed the storm canal the whole way, stopping only when they reached a stretch of ruined buildings from the last millennium. He pulled into a grown over driveway a stone's throw away from the pump house. Geek pulled in behind them a moment later. "No drones here. They don't really care about any place without power," Hanson said. "Police still keep an eye on this place with intrusion scanners, so tell your friend to park behind some foliage. I'll disable the scanners." It took a few more minutes to complete the initial preparations, parking the cars farther from the road and disabling the scanners-there was only the one-before the team was ready to enter. "You sure you want this kid in there with us?" Hanson-bot gestured to Geek. "You know Alice will cut him into bloody ribbons in seconds, right?"
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Post by acathala on Nov 25, 2022 8:00:44 GMT -5
"Geek I want to to hide when we get in here. Only come out to heal if I'm down. You can't heal the robot."
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Post by TG Barighm on Nov 25, 2022 15:07:51 GMT -5
"I wasn't going to." Geek shot a look at the cat bot.
Inside the abandoned pump house looked pretty much how you would expect a ruined building that was over 100 years old to look: broken masonry, rusted pipes, huge holes in the walls and the floor, collapsed stairs, broken windows, etc. Much of the original machinery had also been removed, or maybe it just rusted away, because in the center of the building there was a large, open room filled with spaces that hinted at the machinery that one existed within. Of particular note to the team was a large, dark, round hole in the middle of the floor. The sounds of water could be heard deep within.
"She's down there. My sensors are pinging her. And the nano colony infecting her," Steel Cat said.
Geek froze. "Wait a minute, are you saying the nanites are responsible for her powers?"
"Yes," Hanson replied. "Didn't I already explain this? You all have them. Anyone who contacted that water in the storm canal when that idiot was working with the corrupted nano colony was infected. The ninja here fell into the canal. That pyro was sprayed with water from the fire department. The dog was literally built from scratch from them. How can nanites create superpowers? I haven't a clue. They were never designed to work with biological tissue. You'll have to ask that psycho in the sewers. He was the biotech.
Well, everyone except you. You're not from New Millennia." He paused for a moment. "How did you get powers?"
Geek shook his head in response and kept quiet.
The team decided to forego the ruined stairs and just jumped down to the room with the hole. It wasn't a high jump and there were ways to climb out. They approached the hole and looked down. Hanson triggered his lights and shone them into the hole. They didn't reach the bottom.
"It's deep, but she's down there. Right at the bottom of this hole. There's a cistern down there." Hanson explained.
"So...do we...jump?" Geek asked.
"No, that's stupid. Contrary to what video games and movies have taught you, falling into water is deadly." He looked around. "I already downloaded the plans for this place. There should be a maintenance tunnel to get us down there. Scanning..." He turned around and pointed with his steely fingers. "There."
The maintenance tunnel was, in fact, a sewer tunnel. The sewer lid had been welded shut. This didn't present any kind of challenge to the team, though. Steel Cat cut away the lid like a slice of cake. He threw it away.
"If this is what a 100 years old building looks like, shouldn't we be concerned about traveling deep beneath the ground in a 100 years old tunnel?" Geek remarked.
"Shouldn't have been a superhero if you have a problem with risk," Hanson replied. "I scanned a path to the cistern. There are no blockages."
"Yeah, but...mold...and gas," Geek said.
Hanson laughed through his robot's speakers. "Should have brought a suit." He jumped into the sewer.
**Pausing for replies
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Post by acathala on Nov 25, 2022 20:01:13 GMT -5
"You've been doing very well. Ignore him." Tom said kindly to Geek. He followed the robot. So that was the secret of his apparent immortality. Nanites. He isn't sure how he feels about that. There were many questions. Would he age? Would he eventually die of old age, or would the nanites take care of that? Is immortality something to want?
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Post by TG Barighm on Nov 25, 2022 21:18:48 GMT -5
Geek sighed. "No, he's right. I forgot to bring that hazard suit we found during our last jaunt through the sewers. It's still in the trunk of Strongarm's car. Maybe it would be better if I just sit this one out. I saw what Alice did at the fair. That girl is no joke! She can summon building sized constructs of water and crush people like grapes in seconds."
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Post by acathala on Nov 25, 2022 22:01:03 GMT -5
"You wouldn't be able to use it. Alice drains power." Tom looks him in the eye. "I'm not going to force you to come. I know Alice is scary. She's already effectively killed me twice, and I'm worried the third will be the charm. However Alice isn't responsible for her actions, and she needs help. Whatever you decide, I'm going in." Tom follows the robot.
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Post by TG Barighm on Nov 26, 2022 13:55:02 GMT -5
Geek grumbled loudly for a minute, but eventually he followed Tom into the sewer. "I guess I'll have to be extra, extra careful." The sewer tunnel descended deep and far into the earth. There was little more than a rusty ladder available to descend, and numerous points on the ladder had rusted or broken away. Here Geek needed help to continue descending while Hanson kindly created new handholds in the old concrete. At the bottom there were entrances to other tunnels, but Hanson ignored them and immediately pointed out another sewer lid. He cut that one away, and another descent down a long ladder followed. This one was no better than the first, but this time Hanson cut hand holds as he descended. As for the street geek, he wrapped a handkerchief around his face and wetted it. He still grimaced as unique aromas found their way to the team's noses. "I'm going to need a shot after this," Geek grumbled. At the bottom of the second ladder they found themselves standing at another junction of tunnels, but Hanson turned to an old sealed iron door. It was completely rusted shut, but another few slices took care of that. The door swung open and a rush of water poured out around their feet. It emptied into a nearby channel. The sound of water was constant. "That was fortunate. If the cistern was full, we would have been swept away," Hanson said with a chuckle. The cistern was an enormous circular room with rusty iron walls and broken pipes, many of which had collapsed to the floor of the chamber. A walk way with a railing ringed the perimeter of the room and, but much of the floor was filled with so much debris and dirt that the team was able to walk across it. With an eye on debris, of course. "Watch your feet. Don't want to get tetanus," Geek said. He pointed at a sharp metal object sticking out of the dirt. "Quiet," Hanson replied. He turned on his suit's high beams. In the center of the cistern was a pool of water surrounded by another rusted railing, and floating in the center of the pool was some wooden planks. Upon those planks lay one woman, soaking wet, her worn dress clinging to her like a wet rag. "Oh crap!" Geek immediate dropped to the ground. "Quiet! It's night and she has already awoken, so she could attack us any second," Hanson said. He went still for a moment. "I can get her from here. One leap, and it's all over. Don't give her a chance to act." "You can't just kill her," Geek whispered. "I won't. She's too useful. Just a little jolt from my taser, maybe a love tap or two. Maybe it will snap her out of it." Geek looked at Tom. "But you remember what Mays said. That might not work, and if it doesn't, she'll kill us."
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Post by acathala on Dec 3, 2022 22:56:30 GMT -5
How big a pool of water are we talking?)
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Post by TG Barighm on Dec 4, 2022 0:43:09 GMT -5
Fairly large, about 30 ft.
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Post by acathala on Dec 9, 2022 0:20:41 GMT -5
"Do you have another idea?" Tom whispered to Geek.
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Post by TG Barighm on Dec 9, 2022 15:06:22 GMT -5
Geek stared for a moment. "Maybe we can try...talking to her?"
"You don't sound very confident with that idea, champ," Hanson replied.
*I'm not going to start two long, complicated sequences at this post rate.
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Post by acathala on Dec 14, 2022 21:38:19 GMT -5
(It kinda feels like you were setting up a big cut scene regardless of what I do. Alice has whomped Tom twice now, with him going down like a goon both times.)
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