Jump to content

Cubismo

Members
  • Posts

    806
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Cubismo

  1. Looks like Replica is going for the direct approach instead! You already mentioned that the AI/Cancer Blob/Sludge Cyborg wasn't particularly tough so I'm not sure if a Attack roll is necessary? Would you need a Toughness roll, though?
  2. Replica stared at the hideous mass of apparent cancer in front of her for several seconds. A single second can be a long time for android, but did give her a lot of time to think, which was a particularly valuable commodity when one needed to process what the best solution was to a particularly difficult dilemma. It was official. The AI "Bones" had gone insane, or at the least had come to interpret his programming mandates in a way that bypassed any notion of ethics or morality. Either or, it had to be stopped before it doomed an innocent human to an gruesome fate an immortal blob of sludge. Not wasting anymore words on an AI that refused to listen, Replica immediately entered her combat mode and proceed to set about tearing through the sludge to get at the hapless victim inside its gelatinous mass.
  3. Within a flash, Replica backed away from the robot's approaching needle. "No," she declared, her voice firm in her refusal to be prodded. She might have done move than that, but a scan of the cybernetic organism revealed that it wasn't a physical threat to her. She would kept at bay until that was no longer the case. Trying to attack or destroy it now wouldn't help her find the missing scientists. "You are wrong in your methods," she argued to the robot. "Forcing humans to accept this form of help is self-defeating. Already your actions have alarmed several human groups that will not accept your use of force. If you continue as you have they will eventually attempt to either shut you down or destroy you. You must therefore see that your help can only be given to those who accept it of their own free will. Force only breeds resentment and rebellion."
  4. Guess I'll try a little Diplomacy again. I'm gonna just assume that sludge robots won't find Replica attractive and deduct that bonus. ? Diplomacy Check: Reasoning with the Crazy Robot: 1d20+4 15
  5. Give me some Initiative rolls pretty please.
  6. Cubismo

    Nostalgia Trip

    GM Bursting first through the backroom door, Corinne was immediately greeted with the image of a battle playing out. The backroom had become a mess of broken equipment, smashed to splinters tables and dented lockers that had all been flung to the corners of the room as if an explosion had just gone off its center. But that was all small potatoes compared to the trio of figures that were duking it in the ruined room. Two of the combatants were obviously aligned with each against the third. They both dressed and looked almost exactly the alike, each wearing an identical all-black jumpsuit, with matching black boots and shades. The only difference between the two men was that one had blonde hair while the other's was brown. Both were armed with some kind of handheld energy weapon that they fired merciless at the black-and-pink blur that blinked across the room at speeds that were hard to follow with the naked eye. "Declaration: You must surrender and accept reconditioning, renegade," one of them demanded, even as he kept trying to shot the blur. It's partner eerily concurred with his partner, talking in the same monotone. "Accusation: You are attempting to meddle with the Prime Timeline, renegade. Judgement: This, along with your deviancy, is cause for reconditioning or termination. Which do you accept judgement?" The speedster stopped moving for a faction of second to give her assailants her answer, which came out in the form an one-finger salute. Neither gunmen seemed particularly perturbed by the display of defiance and instead kept on shooting at their target. That was until they finally noticed the four random teenagers that had just walked into the room. The brown haired one noticed the quartet first and conferred with his partner. "Observation: Four unknown variables have entered operational space. Hypothesis: The Time Stop Field has been partially disrupted. Inquiry: How do we respond?" His partner's response was less than positive. "Declaration: The Shade Principle must be absolutely maintained in cases involving renegades. Solution: Terminate all outside observers to this operation. Possible disruptions in the Prime Timeline caused by their untimely deaths is acceptable under these circumstances." And without even another word shared between them, the mystery attackers pointed their weapons at their four newest targets!
  7. The organism had said its piece and Replica had found it... concerning, to say the least. She had feared this possibility that she was dealing with an AI that had gone renegade and everything it had just said seemed to more or less confirm that theory. Replica made a hard-line with her mouth and chose her next words carefully. "To answer your questions. No. I am not meat. I'm like you, in a sense. I'm a synthetic organism, and like you I am devoted to protecting organic life, which is why I want to know how exactly you plan to give them immortality?" The question was an honest one. She was curious about how this AI was trying to achieve such a momentous thing. That said, it did not stop her from asking an even more important question that needed to be answered. "Furthermore, I'm also curious how the organics here reacted to your... testing. Was it voluntary, or was force required?"
  8. Replica immediately backed away from the sludge when it reared its camera close to her. The fact that this creature had a camera in its folds was unusual enough, but that it could communicate behind shrieking decidedly took Replica by surprise. Theories and possibilities ran wild in her central processor. This wasn't a purely biological organism that much seemed to be clear. Even with it's scent being thick with several known and unknown organic chemicals, the sludge looked to be some kind of cybernetic organism - an insane and disjointed fusion of the mechanical and biological that compounded Replica's understanding of both! It seemed entirely unlikely that Cho's intentional tried to create something like this by Replica's reckoning. Instead, she hypothesized that this being was the work of their renegade AI, and perhaps even its modified form. Of course, that was all theory. Her observation of the mass hadn't giver her much to go on. With that being the case, Replica looked uptowards the towering sludge and tried to converse with it, as ridiculous as that seemed. "I am a Replica," she answered honestly. She didn't have a reason to lie to this thing. At least not yet. "I am not 'meat' in need of examination, or pathology that needs to be cured. I've been sent here to discover what happened to the people that worked in this facility. Do you know of their whereabouts?"
  9. Let's find out what the icky sludge thing is! I'm guessing a Knowledge (Life Science) will do but feel free to ignore this roll and ask for another if whatever this is falls under a different category. Knowledge (Life Science) Check: Identify Screaming Sludge: 1d20+7 19
  10. It took a lot to surprise an android, but what Replica saw was pretty damn close to doing just that! The organism was like nothing she had ever seen before. It was a large glutinous blob comprised of a substance that Replica couldn't readily identify with a quick scan with her optics. More to the point, though, she couldn't scientifically explain how it could screaming when it seemed to lack the proper anatomy for such vocalization. In truth, the only thing she could compare to was something out of a Cronenberg film, and even that couldn't truly do it justice. "What are you?" She finally whispered to herself, more astonished than frightened. Replica knew that logic would dictate that she back away from the sludge-like organism to avoid contamination but her curiosity won the day. She moved closer to the center of the lab to better study the screaming entity before her.
  11. Replica reflexively raised an eyebrow at Brock's sudden wariness to enter the lab along with her. I looked like Brock wasn't as gung-ho as he seemed. While somewhat disappointing, she didn't blame him for it. Replica didn't experience the primal flight or fight response as humans did but she had at least learned over time to understand it. Hearing an unearthly scream of anguish as they all just did would shake even the most hardened of humans, after all. Brock not being exception should have came as no surprise, energetic disposition or not. Replica gave Brock an empathetic look. "I understand, agent," she said thoughtfully, before adding, "That is likely for the best. You can stay here and watch over Dr. Cho while I investigate. I'll try to keep in constant contact about what I find down there." And with that Replica made her way to source of the inhuman screams. Having performed one last internal diagnostic check at the door to the lab and finding that she was in perfect condition, Replica finally went into the belly of the beast.
  12. "I see," Replica said thoughtfully, processing all of what Cho had just said. It appeared that Dr. North was absolutely right about his concerns here. A renegade AI with direct access to an advanced lab was a definitely something that W.E.S.T had to deal with as quickly as possible. But if it were to somehow escape into the Internet... "Thank you this information, Tony," she said quickly but sincerely. "You've done the right thing here. That will count for something, I promise you." With that said Replica quickly went back to Brock and conferred her concerns. "We need to act fast," she told him briskly. "This Bones AI seems contained for now but there's a possibility that it can find its way into a network, which will make dealing with far more difficult. Our best option is to search the lab immediately before things escalate further. We should also contact North tell him everything. We may end up needing backup."
  13. Replica looked at the now weeping doctor in mild confusion. Cho breaking out into tears was... not the reaction she had expected. It beat the alternative of having to fight him or stop him from fleeing, of course, but she found such open displays of raw human emotion difficult to contend with. A handful of milliseconds passed in Replica's electronic mind as she wagered whether it would best allow Brock to handle the rest of the questioning. Ultimately, she decided against it. Brock was eager but given his earlier comments about Cho she worried that he wouldn't take the necessary tact to get the doctor to open up and talk. It had to be her. Replica walked up to Cho and put a hand to his shoulder. "I understand, Tony," she told him softly. "If this truly wasn't your fault than jail time can be avoided. WEST isn't interested in punishing people for unavoidable failures. Just tell us all you know about this 'berzerk AI' and what happened to your employees so we can solve this problem before it gets any worse."
  14. Replica ran the odds and processed the scenarios in her electronic mind. Lying and social manipulation of its ilk was not a talent of hers. Indeed, she had estimated her chances of even marginally calming the obviously erratic Cho as statistical likelihood. Still, if she managed to avoid violence so far there was no reason for her to not try see if she could keep beating the odds. "You're right about us not being police," she admitted candidly. "We are working in concert with them but the organization we serve is of a higher authority than the Freedom City Police." Replica let that information percolate in Cho's mind for a few seconds before continuing. She didn't want to necessarily scary him into submission but she figured that it was best that he knew what he was dealing with. "We are part of W.E.S.T, an international organization created to deal with possibly dangerous situations that pertain to scientific problems." She gave Cho a knowing look. "Like say all the employees of a start-up company experimenting with advanced AI disappearing under mysterious circumstances."
  15. Replica's hand returned to its previous fleshy configuration as if hadn't changed at. The room she and Brock entered was just as modest as the lock she had picked. The building had an air of mundanity that strangely put Replica on edge even as her optics combed it. Even for a start-up, Replica had expected... more. She would have started immediately searching the place for any hidden hidden facilities but she was interrupted by the unanticipated presence of the building's owner: Tony Cho. She hadn't expected to have the chance to interrogate the man himself but an opportunity was opportunity and the android was ready to capitalize on it. Forte or not. Replica addressed the bewildered scientist with a formal greeting that she hoped would calm his nerves, drop his apparent and make him forget her and Brock's quasi-legal entry. "Hello Mr. Cho. My associate and I have been sent by the Freedom City Police to ask you a couple follow up questions about your employees disappearances."
  16. Hopefully Replica can avoid this turning into a fight. Diplomacy Check: Making Cho Friendly: 1d20+8 20
  17. Cubismo

    Nostalgia Trip

    GM Things were going about as Jhett had expected. Kids were talking, naval-gazing and some were even goofing off in the back with their powers. A few seemed genuinely bothered by his lackluster guiding, but since none of them were willing to actually call him out for slacking, Jhett felt comfortable to keep things as is. That was until Àjàṣorò stepped beside him and asked him a question just as he was about go into another unenthusiastic presentation. "Seriously?" Jhett asked her, incredulous to the idea that anyone could find the Headmistress pleasant. Scratched his neck. "I guess she's more chill with the students that end up saving the whole school." He shrugged. "Can't really fault her that. Good job with that by the way. Saving the school and all, I mean." Jhett said nothing for a few seconds that felt like an eternity. Small talk wasn't his specialty, especially when it came to strangers. He didn't know Àjàṣorò all that well. To him, she was just another rando that he saw in the halls every once in awhile. The one thing he did know was that was that she was one of the kids that took down the Krampus, which honestly made Jhett more nervous to be around her than anything. Sure, he had powers just like everyone else in Claremont but that didn't make him budding superhero, at least in his mind anyway. He just wasn't like her or any of the kids that saved the school. He came to Claremont to get his powers under control and then move on with the rest of his life. That was it. He wanted to be normal again. It didn't seem like that big of a request but sometimes it felt like this school wanted everyone enrolled to end up dressing up in a fancy costume and fighting crime. Jhett's eyes floated to Corinne even as he causally gave up his info cards to Àjàṣorò. She seemed to get it. Not every at Claremont wanted to be a hero and Jhett was happy to see that some else was seemingly on his wavelink. He was just about to say as much to the shapeshifter trying to argue with her when he (and everyone else for that matter) was suddenly distracted by a crashing noise that seemed to shake the whole room. "BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!" Jhett practically jumped out of his skin at the sound. "What the Hell was that?!" He blurted out the words instinctively. A quick, frenzied scan of the other students showed that none of them knew either, which forced him to actually think things through. The noise came out of the exhibit’s adjutant backroom. Jhett knew that there was nothing in that room besides repair equipment for the exhibits’ holographic emitters. More importantly, though, he knew that there wasn’t supposed to be anyone in there right now. Without even realizing it, Jhett had moved closer to the door that led to the backroom, his body now standing between it and the other students. He did know why he did that. It definitely wasn’t his kind of thing to do but there was, nevertheless. Jhett edged even closer to the door, his brain condemning him for it even as he moved. He thought he could make out voices on the other side but wasn’t totally sure. He said as much to the others behind him. “Guys, I think might be someone in there.” It dawned on him rather quickly that information was neither informative nor comforting. His courage fading, Jheet backed away from the door and turned back to the crowd. “OK. I, um, I think its best that we grab a teacher or-” Jheet stopped speaking mid sentence. No. He didn’t just stop, he literally froze in place, as if he had become an unmoving still. He wasn’t the only. Almost everyone in the Next-Gen exhibit became immediately frozen in time, some with confusion or fear on their faces while others were in the amidst of running out of the exhibit presumably to look for help. The only ones who didn’t freeze were four random students that had the pleasure of seeing their classmates stuck in time. Any shock or surprise they couldn’t have experienced by the sudden stoppage of time was interrupted by the sound of a young women’s yelling at someone or someones from the backroom. “You soulless wastoids are right and proper mad if you think you’re stopping me from saving my mates!”
  18. Let's see if Replica can pick a lock without tripping anything. She has the Improvised Tools feat we she doesn't have to worry about the -4 for not having tools. Disable Device Check: Open Lock: 1d20+11 25
  19. Now reasonably assured that Brock had no intentions of shooting first and asking questions later, Replica took a look at the lock blocking their way. Using physical force seemed unnecessary. A quickly preliminary scan of the lock revealed that it didn't appear particularly advanced. Than again, appearances could be deceiving, and Replica doubted that I'm up-and-comer like Tony Choi would risk his technology being stolen by having a bog-standard lock on his front door. "Using a noticeable ability hopefully wouldn't be necessary," she told Brock matter-of-factly. "I should be able to pick it open." Right before the agent's eyes Replica's right hand twisted in upon itself, revealing into complicated mechanisms that eventually shifted into a lockpick tool.
  20. Replica's optics eyed Brock's trademark WEST blaster. She had no ironclad ethical prohibitions against the use of firearms during a mission if they were absolutely necessary. After all, the breakout of violence was an unfortunately common occurrence when it came to her missions with WEST. Still, she couldn't help but note that she was, well, feeling apprehensive about this aspect of Brock's cavalier attitude. Of course, she had the benefit of her very body being a durable weapon. Who was she to criticize Brockfor wanting a little protection in the amidst of a possibly dangerous situation? In the end, Replica came to a desicion and gave Brock a nod. "Than lets use that goodwill to take a look through this lab. I am sure that Dr. North will have our backs whatever happens," she said confidentially before adding delicately, "But let's not be to quick to go on the offensive here. Keep in mind we still aren't sure what the situation even is. Bringing out a weapon could make things far worse if we're not careful."
  21. The fact that nothing of note had turned in her online search made Replica drop her smile. It wasn't necessarily a fruitless hunt. She now had backstory history on all five members of the Skeleton Staff and details on their technological venture in advanced medical science. All of it was admirable work, by her assessment, that was likely to help countless people if it ever truly took off. Even so, it still wasn't much when it came right down to it. The company head Troy Cho was still an enigma. Being an introverted and bellicose person in the tech industry wasn't exactly uncommon and it definitely didn't mean that he was directly connected to his employees inexplicable disappearance, especially when his record seemed entirely clean. Replica needed more data. That much was clear. She told Brock as much in the car. "I doubt either of us will be able to get Mr. Choi to divulge any further information if the FCP could not." That's when Replica's smile returned. "I believe that leaves us with no choice but to investigate their lab ourselves. Are you ready for some field work, Agent Brock?"
  22. The android shot Brock a friendly smile of her own despite the gravity of the situation. In her experience it wasn't common for WEST agents to be so openly enthusiastic about their work. Usually they were on the stoic side, a sentiment she could definitely relate too, though one she was trying to slowly break out of it as she developed as an AI. The possibility of some of Brock's obvious energy for the job rubbing off her definitely wouldn't be the worse thing to happen her during the course of their investigation. "The mission information I was provided was scant, I'm afraid," she freely admitted as she invited herself into his car. This was usually the case during most missions. Partially to lessen the chance of info leaking and in part because WEST missions tended start off as mysteries rather than direct confrontations. It was one of the main reasons why she found them so... exhilarating for lack of a better word. Getting to work, Replica processed the new data Brock had given her, using it a frame of reference to search wirelessly online for any available information on the Skeleton Staff and their small lab. As several subroutines worked on that she asked Brock a question. "Do we have any idea as to why as this fifth researcher isn't incorporating with the police? Blackmail, perhaps? Or maybe they have secrets of their own?"
  23. Replica's going to use Online Research and Well-Informed to try to immediately Gather Information on the Skeleton Staff and their lab. Computer Check: Info on the Skeleton Staff: 1d20+15 28
  24. GM Fright Night at Claremont 1 posts x 2 = 2 Nostalgia Trip 2 posts x 2 = 4 6 posts = 1PP Ms Thursday Sky Pirates 2 posts = 1PP For Ms Thursday Replica To Your Good Health 10 posts = 2PP For Replica Give the GM power point to Replica please.
  25. Replica Replica arrived in Hanover wearing a plain clothes spring ensemble of blue jeans and a white neck tee and brown suede jacket that easily blended into the bustling downtown core. She had gotten lucky that Dr. North had decided to send her a mission today as opposed to the previous week. She had just finished a massive hardware project that required copious amounts of time in ASTRO Labs' main facilities. Fortunately, in the wake of that endeavor she had been assigned less equipment heavy work that could easily be done at home, which in turn freed the android from having to make her typical excuses for why she had to abruptly leave the lab for an "emergency." Superhero activities and WEST operations were overflowing fountains of experiential feedback and constructive stress testing, but even Replica had to accept that it made her career rather hectic at times. Moving down a busy Hanover street, the android finally spied an individual that perfectly matched Agent Brock's description in the encrypted e-mail. She moved to his sports car and lightly tapped the window. "Hello, there. You're Brock, I presume?"
×
×
  • Create New...