RPGWW

by **Idran1701** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:24 am

"...I..." Sam frowns, staring at the floor and fidgeting. He's quieter now; he didn't really think about how mean what he said might have sounded to her.

"...I didn't mean...I wasn't tryin' to make her feel bad, I just...an'...an' Byrd's not a senseless animal. She's nice, an' she...Juliet hates all of us, I dunno why, but Byrd doesn't."

by **Shinigori V2** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:26 am

Anka kneels, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder. "She doesn't know that Byrd isn't an animal. It's part of why she can't control herself when she gets angry like that."

by **Idran1701** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:00 am

Still frowning, Sam nods quietly, not really having anything else to say to Anka that he hasn't already.

by **BrainWalker** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:31 am

Max scratches the back of his head. "Well... when you put it like that..." His hand moves to the back of his neck. He he rubs it once, sighs, and lets his hand fall to his side.

"So... who was that grumpy old guy that took Juliet?"

by **Shinigori V2** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:29 pm

"Oh, him?" Rivendare says with a little exasperation. "That would be Baron Ebenezer Providence Creedy Grey- The third. That's her handler, and her grandfather. I garuntee you, if you think we're being harsh with Sam, she's getting it four times as bad from him."

by **BrainWalker** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:52 pm

Ouch. No one can lay it on quite like your grandfather. Max would have winced, but he was too busy wrapping his brain around that name. He lingers on each separate word of it like they're pieces of a puzzle. "Baron... Ebenezer... Providence... Creedy... Grey. Four names and a title. And a number."

It's just too ridiculous.

"What is he, the villian in some kind of Imperial musical? Mean ol' Baron Grey, oppressing all the loveable little street urchins of Canton, in their tattered newsboy caps?" This last point is accentuated with a terrible faux accent and a couple theatrical swings of his arm, bent at the elbow.

The humor fades from Max's face. "Is her whole family that uptight? No wonder she's such a..."

Max is pretty sure that everyone, or at least Byron and Anka, were quite certain of the word he originally intended to use, but nevertheless he pauses to search for an alternative.

"...problem."

by **Kelne** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 3:07 am

Well, that explained that. Emily could've told Sam that saying they liked Byrd better than Juliet wouldn't have improved things with her. And maybe, she thought with a bit of guilt, she should've raised that issue with the others. Juliet actually seemed like she'd be harder to integrate into the group than Byrd. She had that foreign outlook on life, and severe issues. Just how they were going to sort this out was a very serious question, and she decided to give voice to it.

"So how can we help her? Sure, we can give her space, but that just leaves her isolated and stewing in her own juices. It won't help if Byrd's making friends and enjoying herself while she's in charge; That just gives Juliet another reason to dislike everyone. We can wait for her to make the first move, but I just don't know if that's going to happen."

by **Shinigori V2** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 3:23 am

Anka stands, walking back and standing with Rivendare. "Try to see it from her perspective. As far as she's concerned she's..." Anka stops, choosing her words carefully. "...Alone. She's the first with her condition in six generations, and as soon as they found out, they made plans to...Cure her. She thinks there's something wrong with her simply being herself, and now she's become Wunderkind, which is another big change, and she's still not in control of her other side. So...Maybe try to approach her from that angle."

Rivendare stands, pulling back his sleeve and checking his watch with a frown. "We gotta go. You kids have one job today- Stay on this floor, and be quiet, and be good. We've got a meeting that'll probably last till morning. Grab some lunch if your hungry or your reactors are low; if not we've got a couple dozen pizzas due for delivery about supper time, and there's a bunch of snacks for you guys in the kitchen down the hall. We're clearing the floor of personell, so you guys have the run of the place. If you end up needing something, call Alice on one of the phones; just dial Zero."

Rivendare gives a wave, and he and Anka, along with the security force, begin off, leaving the Wunderkind alone again.

by **ChristianC** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 3:58 am

Alexis looked not a little relieved that they were getting off the hook, and she remained quiet for the most part of the conversation, only speaking up when Rivendare and Anka had left.

What's the deal with treating Juliet special anyway? she asks out loud amongst the wunderkind as she plopped down in a specially designed couch (no common sofa could hold the weight of a single wunderkind after all). We're being nice to her, and all we get is her being mean back. I don't think she's going to start acting nice unless she understands that we don't like her.

She frowned a bit, that hadn't come out exactly right.

I mean... I want to be friends with her, but she's got to want to be friends with us... I guess?

by **NebulaQueen** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 9:26 am

"Wait a minute!" she said. "If she doesn't know Byrde's not an animal...well, did anyone, you know, tell her about Byrde?"

by **Idran1701** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 5:49 pm

"...I was actually thinking maybe...maybe have Byrd record a message or something? So Juliet would know Byrd's not a dumb animal, and...and so maybe be happier about things? Because then she'll know she doesn't have to be upset about it!"

by **ChristianC** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:02 am

Alexis frowned and kicked her legs back and forth, nodding a little.

Well, that doesn't sound bad. If she wants to, I guess. If Juliet's going to get nicer if we do this, I'm all for it.

by **Shinigori V2** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:18 am

"I dunno." Janet says, walking down the hall towards the balcony. "Knowing her, she'd just say it was Wunderkind devilry or something."

She joined the others near the balcony, stretching her arms over her head, before folding her hands behind. "So, we're basically just supposed to..Not cause trouble and chill all day. Anyone wanna do anything?"

by **ChristianC** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:40 am

Alexis sighed and nodded again, turning over and lying on her stomach in the sofa, looking out a window into the rain.

Meh... anybody want... I dunno... spar?

by **Shinigori V2** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:51 am

"Eh." Janet says. "I was gonna upload myself into a few video games or a movie or two."

by **ChristianC** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:56 am

Sure... I guess

Alexis shrugged. The rain was making her a bit moody, not to mention the whole deal with Juliet...just... energy-drain! Major!

What do you want to play? No puzzles... I really suck at those. Want to play "Piano Splash"?

by **Besyanteo** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 6:29 pm

Enzo chimed in as he walked over, trying to act like he hadn't had a big hand in how everything had blown up a couple of minutes ago.

"Rockstar Hero? Space Wars? Chimera Geas 8?"

by **Shinigori V2** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:05 pm

Janet grins wide at Enzo. "Have you TRIED Rockstar Hero since you became Wunderkind? It's even better being IN the game."

by **Besyanteo** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:55 pm

He shook his head, smiling. It sounded like a lot of fun, and that he actually knew how to play the drums and enjoyed doing it certainly played a part.

"I hadn't got around to it yet, but I'm looking forward to it."

by **ChristianC** » Fri Jul 02, 2010 5:13 am

I am up for Rockstar Hero!

Truth be told, Alexis didn't like it awfully much, most of the songs weren't exactly good, but that was another game with music, and she could handle that. She didn't much like the voice-recognition software, it was horribly outdated and depended more on if you could hold a tone rather than if you could actually sing, but after the first few embarrassing instances she'd gotten the system down.

Nobody wants to play Piano Splash I guess...?

Piano Splash. It wasn't even really a game, it was like a primitive music-making software using sounds and effects from popular games instead of actual notes.

by **Shinigori V2** » Fri Jul 02, 2010 5:46 am

Janet smiles, putting a hand on Alexis's shoulder. "I'll play Piano Splash with you later tonight. I had some ideas for some new tricks."

by **Kelne** » Fri Jul 02, 2010 6:10 am

In a way, it was kind of worrying that, having been turned loose in the outside world, the first group activity that was proposed was computer games. On the other hand, they were actually more restricted here than they were in the database, confined as they were to one floor.

"I might drop in later," Emily said, "But I'm not ready to spend the morning wired into a computer game just yet." She wasn't quite sure what se was going to do, but she could play computer games or watch movies any time.

by **BrainWalker** » Fri Jul 02, 2010 9:46 pm

Max had been lost in thought for a moment, considering the ramifications of telling Juliet about Byrd, but he snapped out of it and rejoined the current conversation.

"Wait a minute, what was that you said about uploading yourself into a movie?" Max addressed Janet with confusion. "That doesn't make any sense. I mean, a video game world is generated by computer, but a movie... that's all pre-filmed stuff. There's... no program to upload into. That'd be like... real-time photo-bombing, several times a second. Like, the most you could do would be maybe give it the 'Weird Science-Fiction Showcase 4000' treatment, right?"

"... actually that might be fun."

by **NebulaQueen** » Sat Jul 03, 2010 3:19 am

"Wait, what if it's one of those movies they make on the computers? Like...I dunno, Dreck? Ooh! Or Mobsters, Co!"

by **ChristianC** » Sat Jul 03, 2010 6:43 am

Alexis smiled, a little embarrassed, as Janet squeezed her shoulder and nodded.

It's not like I don't want to play Rockstar Hero... I'm not a kid you know.

Obviously she wasn't.

by **BrainWalker** » Sat Jul 03, 2010 12:27 pm

Max turns to Sylvie. "I was thinking about that, actually, but I still don't think that would work. That's all... what's the word... pre-something... pre-rendered! Anyway, yeah, 'Dreck' was generated by a computer, but then it was turned into to digital video, and that's what we've got. Just images and sound, like any other movie."

"... hey, what happens if you're in a game, and then there's a cutscene?"

by **Besyanteo** » Mon Jul 05, 2010 4:12 pm

Enzo shrugged.

"It's hard to say, til it comes up. Maybe it'll be a little like the theatre thing we did the other night?"

by **Idran1701** » Mon Jul 05, 2010 4:47 pm

While the others talk about plans for games and movies and whatnot, Sam stays a bit on the edge of the group, still feeling like kind of a jerk over the whole thing with Juliet. Being a kid, though, all the ideas for fun they're tossing around soon push that out of the way (for now). Of course, Emily does kind of have a point...

"...Computer games sound fun and stuff, but I was kinda wanting to just look around and see if there was anything on the floor that was neat. Like...exploring and stuff. Maybe there's a gym or something here even we could use!"

by **Shinigori V2** » Mon Jul 05, 2010 5:42 pm

Mission: 07- Fitting In.
Deck City: D-52 HQ.
July 30, 3756.
19:00

Video gaming doesn't last long, save for those who really, really want to play video games. Janet goes off to look around a bit more while the floor is more emptied out. Juliet finds her place on the balcony again, continuing to look out over the city.

Dusk comes early, despite the summer, with heavier rain than normal; thick clouds darken the day and cause the city's lights to come on early. Occasionally, lightning streaks through the sky and thunder booms outside, though within HQ, everything is safe and sound.

For now, the transfer room is locked up, as is the robotics lab where their bodies are repaired, and finally, the database room is locked down as well. There are currently no adults on the floor, and the elevator seems to be locked, as well.

Outside, there's the boom of thunder again, and suddenly the entire floor goes dark- Not a huge problem for their computerized brains and electronic eyes, but annoying none the less. If nothing else, the backup generator should be coming on shortly.

by **ChristianC** » Mon Jul 05, 2010 6:08 pm

Alexis had really let loose with Rockstar Hero. The few times she wasn't stuttering, she'd been singing for as long as she'd been allowed to. Of course, as is common with these games, she didn't score an awful lot of points due to poorly programmed voice-recognition software going after pitch and evenness more than soul and actual talent. Still, she'd spent a good time playing, and had occupied herself with Piano Splash for the rest of the time, inventing new ways of making fart-noises sound amazing. It involved several channels of sound and true grit.

When the light went out, Alexis was forced into her body in the middle of a complicated piece of improv-dancing to a rendition of Chakrinov's 5th that would've made Darren blush and, as a result, crashed neatly into a pile on the floor, looking thoroughly rattled.

"W-W-What's g-going on?"

by **Idran1701** » Mon Jul 05, 2010 10:23 pm

While some of the Wunderkind enjoy a round of Rockstar Hero, Sam's decided to try out his recent gift while he's still outside. In his wanderings, he's come across a nice-sized indoor gym, with plenty of opportunity to try out his new bat. It's even more cool than he expected; the advice is actually a lot more helpful than he thought it'd be!

But then the power goes out, sticking him in darkness with anyone else that might have come along with him to the gym. "...Hey, what happened?" Is everything okay, guys?

by **BrainWalker** » Mon Jul 05, 2010 10:36 pm

Max had tried his luck at one of those fighting games now that he didn't have to worry about complicated finger gymnastics. It was actually a lot of fun, but after a while it just made him wish that Kid was around to. He was trying to see if he could use his boosters to walk on the ceiling, at least for a little while, when the lights went out.

"Woah." Max lands with a half-somersault, and turns on his infra-red.

"Blackout, huh? You know, I kinda thought the Deck would have its own power source for some reason."

by **Besyanteo** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 11:00 am

Enzo had been playing Rockstar Hero, giving the guitar a try. He hadn't been very good at it in the flesh, but he wanted to try anyway. Being forcefully ejected from it when the power went out was disorienting, and he spent a moment trying to adjust to where he was now. Why wasn't he able to see- wait, it was dark. He turned on his night vision. Everything turned a cheery radioactive shade of green, in varying degrees of brightness. He heard Max's statement, and decided to answer.

"It does, actually. The Deck has it's own power plant, and D-52 has it's own generators too. Power still goes out if the system gets struck by lightning or something, though. It should come back soon."

by **Shinigori V2** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 11:02 am

"You guys might want to come get a look at this." Juliet called from the balcony.

by **Besyanteo** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 11:06 am

The urge to tell Juliet to stuff it was strong... But yielding to that had gotten them all in trouble before, especially Sam. He quelled the urge and went to investigate. She hadn't been a bitch about how she'd stated her request, anyway. It was a step forward, or something. Slapping her down for that probably wasn't the right move. Even if it would feel really good.

"What's up?"

by **Shinigori V2** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 11:08 am

Enzo gets out on the balcony, and notices the rest of the city is still lit up below. "Only we lost power." Juliet says.

by **Besyanteo** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 1:10 pm

That... that wasn't right. That didn't happen. Could not happen, naturally at least.

Guys, this is a more serious problem than we thought. I think we can forget about those generators. Someone has cut the building off from the main power grid, so leaving the backups in place would just be silly of them.

He fired off an e-mail with the relevant information to Rivendare's PDA. If he didn't know what was happening already, he would now. Shortly after, the other Aces would too. It wasn't much, but it was 5 minutes where people would be moving where before they might be waiting. Also, it meant that they might get orders back faster.

While he waited for Rivendare's response, he scanned for active wireless connections nearby. He wasn't expecting to find much, but if there was one battery powered laptop with a wireless or sattelite connection nearby, he had a potential source for any information he needed.

by **Animala** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 6:18 pm

Lauren had been reading in a room by herself.. Video games had been a nice novelty, but since she hadn't been allowed to play any of them for the past couple years...well, she was pretty terrible. She briefly tried reading her comic book in other spectra, but it just wasn't the same, so she closed it with sigh and stared off into the darkness. Enzo's message kicked her mind into high alert. If only they had been cut off, then...

Her father had taught her some very practical self-defense, like what to do if you find yourself alone in a dark alley. The practical advice was this: try not to be alone in a dark alley.

Guys, we should probably pick a spot and meet up. I mean, wasn't this in one of those movies we saw, and everyone got picked off one by one? Let's not do that.

Lauren scooped up Ambassador Leafshade, engaged the XLR8 system and slipped silently into the corridor.

by **Idran1701** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 11:20 pm

Yeah, that's a good idea, Lauren. Where should we go do you think? Sam steps outside the gym, glancing down the hallways for any sign of others in the hall. If the pyramid's the only place with no power, then there's probably going to be bad guys here soon enough, and he should get ready.

Maybe we should get weapons and stuff too, just in case people are attacking or something? What do you think, guys?

by **Kelne** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 11:31 pm

Emily spent the afternoon exploring a bit, then using the gym to push her limits a bit. She hadn't really set out to see what she could do if she really needed to. After that, she spent a bit of time reading, then looking out on the city. From a different balcony to Juliet, leaving her her space.

So she found herself looking out on the city when the lights went out, and forced to agree with the others' assessments. So, intruders either inbound or already here. Gathering together for safety was all very well, she reflected, but she'd much rather find out where the enemy was and go from there.

As long as we stay in touch, we should be okay, she sent, sweeping her night-vision gaze across the building's exterior, I think we should be thinking about going on the offensive, rather than waiting for whoever it is to come to us. The hypothetical intruders weren't necessarily after them, and she didn't feel like just letting them take what they wanted while the Wunderkind stayed put on their floor because of orders.

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