Jennifer8

After long minutes of being perfectly still, Girl Genius stirred. Her hands went dully to her head and she mumbled something indistinct. It sounded vaguely like... "wha... happened...?"

[ QUOTE ]
"Penny? I can still hear you. I don't know about folks above ground. I need a heading and a best guess where #2 went, and keep me updated on your location as well O.K.? Last thing we need to have happen is get totally cut off from one another."

[/ QUOTE ]

"Roger that," Penny replied. "I have Harris in sight, he is scared but he is not hurt. From the way the Vahz was talking... I think there is a new lab somewhere down here. They must have just opened it, I haven't heard of any disappearances from this area yet... "

A new lab would also be the likeliest location for his wife to be taken, if the worst actually did occur. She didn't mention that out loud, of course.

"Listen, this may help - the Vahz that took the notebook was a Luminous, that means they should have raised radiation levels, you may be able to track them. I... I should be coming with you as backup... But if the Vahz have opened a new lab and we lose them now..." There was no need to finish the sentence. "And Harris is hardly an innocent but... we can't just leave him to be vivisected..." She paused. "As for us... we're deep... we're very deep. Six levels and counting."

It was bad news. The more powerful Vahzilok infested the deeper tunnels, and the deeper the tunnel, the more of them there were. Heroes usually went in packs if they were going any deeper than the third level. It was another thing she did not mention over the radio... there was no point. They both knew.

"I am... so sorry I cannot be there... please forgive me."

[ QUOTE ]
Harris closed his eyes tight. He had no choice. He looked at Girl Genius and nodded.

[/ QUOTE ]

Girl Genius undid the gag with gentle fingers. "I want you to know, Mr. Harris, that your reckless and irresponsible actions have put people's lives in danger. Because of those actions, a hero who might otherwise be here trying to save you is now trying to save the people you have endangered." Her eyes met his. "However, because I am dedicated to what I do, I WILL get you out of here, and you will not be harmed," she said. "Be ready for my signal. When I say run, you run, but don't run out of my sight. If I lose you down here, it is not likely you will be able to make it out on your own. It may be a while before the signal comes... when it does, you have to be ready. You understand? Hold one finger for yes," she showed him, "And two for no."

She disappeared before his eyes: only if he strained could he make out the fringe effect, and then only for a moment, before she moved.

The Eiledon turned at just that moment and strode back to Harris. The shadowy tendrils died as the Eiledon picked Harris up again, and continued down the tunnel with him.

Sarah walked back to the guys huddled around their computer. "What's the problem?"

"We're trying to hack into this channel, but it is secure... like Fort Knox.... no one could break into this!"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "For the love of... here. Move." Her fingers floated over the keys, entering a password... and the channel unlocked. Suddenly they were receiving everything that Girl Genius was transmitting.

Half a dozen male eyes looked at her accusingly. "How did you know the password?"

Sarah thinned her lips. "Hello?" She pointed to the screen where there was the image of Girl Genius that she had been watching. "You did film her putting the password in, on max zoom we could see what letters she puts in... monkey see, monkey do." She shrugged.

"Holy <BLEEP!>" Robert was watching the monitor as the drama unfolded in the lab. "The boss's camera smashed - " he grabbed another camera, "I am going after them."

"Are you NUTS?"

"I will be all right... anything for a scoop. And with this," he grabbed one of the tiny, remote hand-held monitors, "I can track them anywhere they go.' He took the camera and the tracker and headed out the door at top speed.

He smiled as he ran. Harris treated him like dirt... it was time for the enterprising reporter to get the scoop. Even if it meant danger.

Anything for the scoop.

[ QUOTE ]
Though the tendrils could have cut through Harris in the blink of an eye, they simply made it impossible for him to move or leave.

[/ QUOTE ]

Girl Genius crept up slowly and carefully. She had followed the Eiledon and Harris down here. She was worried about Erik and hoped that he had had the sense to follow the other Eiledon; no stranger to the hero business, she was quite familiar with the balance of power underground.

Harris looked scared but unhurt. So far, so good. She crept to where he could hear her. "Mr. Harris, can you hear me?" She whispered. "This is Girl Genius. I am invisible. I can get us both out of here, but you will need to do what I say if we are going to get out of this alive. Can you be very brave?"

[ QUOTE ]
"Be a good boy then and hush up, or I'll peel you here like I wanted..."

[/ QUOTE ]

Girl Genius's voice was hushed, tense. She was crouched, invisibly, just inside the doorway. In this place, at this moment, it would be suicide to make a move. There were simply too many of the Vahzilok, and there was Harris in their midst. No, she would have to wait to play her hand. "Kids, Erik, did you get that?" One of the Eiledons, the one with the notebook, swept past her, not noticing her, as the group began to break up. The other picked Harris up, and began to carry him off. "If the Vahzilok have set up a new lab we have to find it - it is heading for the sewers, I am in pursuit; with damage I have sustained I don't know how well I will transmit underground... do you read me?"

***
(Edited out the second part, will add it later))

[ QUOTE ]
((OOC: If you heard Harris above the noise of the fight outside is up to you. But if you didn't maybe he could be found by the bad guys ))

[/ QUOTE ]


OOC: I was thinking about both, actually. Will also send you a PM after I am done posting.

+++

[ QUOTE ]
"Aggghhhh. My eyes. AAgghhhhhh!!!!!"


[/ QUOTE ]

Girl Genius just about jumped out of her skin at the shriek - and at the third, totally unexpected, blast of light which shone from a high window facing the fight - someone had been watching, they must have only looked at the last minute.

"Erik!" Girl Genius called. "There is someone inside the building, they didn't look away... I need to see to them, can you handle these?"

When she got an affirmitive reply, she gave the group another flash and - in the moment when they clutched their eyes - simply faded out of sight. The stealth capabilities of the suit were nearly perfect, showing only a faint fringe at the edges, nearly impossible to detect, and headed into the building to find the civilian, leaving the Mighty Bio-Man to deal with the original group.

***
Inside
***

The pain from the flash, while extreme, faded fast - very fast. After the initial, stunning blow, it dropped away almost immediately, to a sort of dull throbbing headache: annoying, but no longer incapacitating.

The light, however, did not fade. Whatever he had been hit with was still active, and his vision was filled with sparklers and fireworks. He couldn't see a thing.

However, he could hear perfectly. The lab was quiet - amazingly so - but he could hear... footsteps? Yes, footsteps. But no foul smell, so no vahzilok -

The thought had no sooner crossed his mind when a pair of hands picked him up, his feet dangling off the floor. "Mmmm," it purred - it was the voice of darkness and despair, and altogether inhuman. "Fresh parts."

++++
OOC: sent a PM to you and BioMan

Jen 8)

[ QUOTE ]
"Figures, that's near the location they keep the cadavers for the students to work on. " Erik turned and looked at Penny. "You up for this? I mean with your armor damaged and all, will you still be able to fight?"


[/ QUOTE ]

Penny grinned wryly. "I am at 75% capacity, it is within operating parameters... I would prefer more, but I don't think we have time to go and get a different suit."

She bent to the computer monitor. "OK, guys, c'mere and let me tell you about all of this stuff so you know what you are looking at." The students gathered around.

"This, obviously, is the live camera feed. This - is anyone in here pre-med?" A couple of hands raised. "This section deals with my vital signs, this all make sense to you? Pretty standard stuff for medical," and she saw nodding heads. "This is an area where I can send messages without speaking if I need to," she moved her fingers and on the screen letters appeared, because I have a virtual keyboard. "This is a chat window, and you can type back to me here if you need to get me a message. Though... anyone got a mike? You can talk back to me if you have one..." One of the students suddenly dashed from the room." This area is where you will see any messages from the computers within the armor, most of the time you don't have to worry too much about that, though there are some errors here," her fingers traced flashing red lines of type, "Because I have taken some damage... This is talking about the feeds, that is talking about some of the backup circuits, and so on... and then overall suit capacity here. The rest of these readouts deal with some scientific data, various measurements here, here, and here. Any questions?"

"Can we feature you as a guest star in the next issue of 'The Mighty Bio-Man' comic that Marty draws?" Someone piped up.

Penny was taken aback by this, but another student smacked the first one's head (he protested, "Hey! What'd I do? What'd I do?") and said, "No, no questions."

She nodded. "All right, let's go." She put the helmet on, turned around, and headed out the door as the other student returned, a mike in his hand.

In her wake, Darrel whistled as several of the male students put their heads together. "Nice view." "We don't get THAT shot on the website, do we?" "What do you suppose she wears under that suit?" "Nothing with padding, that's for damn sure..."

"All right, that's enough," several of the girls were rolling their eyes as they set up the mike, "Put your hormones back in your pants and lets watch this... where's Marty?"

"I think he is working on the pencils for next month's issue of 'The Mighty Bio-Man...'"

The rest of the students gathered around the monitors.

+++

"OK, so I count seven," Penny said to Erik. Her voice came through the radio in his ear perfectly, though no sound penetrated the helmet, as they watched figures shuffling out of the medical labs. "Two mortificators, one reaper, five cadavers." She looked at Erik. "It is an interesting problem from a legal standpoint: the cadavers, of course, are dead and could technically be classified as robots. The mortificators and reaper, however, are alive, and thus require a certain type of handling... I am not fond of it, but hey, I only work here... and it is worth it so that when I plant their butts in jail, they STAY there... you ready?"

Upon Erik's assertion that he was ready, Girl Genius stepped out from the shadows. "Freeze!" She told the mortificators. "I am a designated law-enforcement hero of Paragon City! You are under arrest!" Though the words were required by the city, her bored voice plainly indicated that she had no expectation of anyone actually listening. It was simply the recitation of a memorized phrase... a battle cry... a formality.

She wasn't at all surprised when they all whirled on her. One of the mortificators raised his crossbow and fired. Penny was expecting this and ducked out of the way.

"Lets Dance... best look away, Erik," grinned Penny, and a moment later a brilliant flash lit the sky. Both mortificators clutched their faces, blinded, light seeming to leak from their eyes, as the zombies turned, and she rolled out of the way.

(OOC I have been away too, responding also))

Girl Genius walked calmly through the battle.

Her new suit, the Mark III was performing beautifully. Its stealth capabilities had been largely untested before today, and she was thankful that they were working beyond her wildest expectactions. She thought she knew what she needed to defeat the clocks - she was glad that it had been close by and she had been able to run and get it.

Not that it was necessarily easy to walk through a battle, even invisibly. The Mark III didn't have much in the way of armament, and being totally invisible didn't stop her from being solid. There were all sorts of obstacles to avoid, flying bodies and flying sparks, electricity shot, if not at her, certainly near her. It was not beyond the realm of feasibility that a clockwork would miss its target and hit her, an occurance which would almost certainly be the end of the scouting mission. Though the suit was a technological wonder, she had no powers apart from the ability to invent it.

Still, it was worth the risk. There were too many clocks, that was worrisome, but they were also acting as one unit, which was even more troubling. The heroes gathered around city hall were battling as best they could, but the outcome of the war was in doubt, while the clocks were engaging in devastating military-style formations, multiple clocks ganging up on heroes and picking off any strays. The heroes were already forming protective groups but the tide of the battle was not turning.

And she suspected that there was only one way they could be coordinating so well.... time to test the theory.

Bit by bit, she waded into the ranks of the clockworks, leaving the battling heroes behind. She took a last glance at the very first hero on the front lines, a large man flailing away with his fists, and then skirted a clockwork prince and the sight of him fell behind.

Now she could see nothing but clockworks - no heroes in sight. Here the lines of running machines were neater, and it was harder to avoid being hit. She hovered gently above the heads of the clocks, below the wheels of the oscillators, skirting gently, if slowly, between the two layers of clocks. If her theory was correct, what she was looking for would be in the back somewhere. From here there was no sight of the ferocious battle at city hall that she knew was taking place.

The she spotted it, and swerved. A moment later, she was on it.

It was an enormous clockwork, not Babbage, but simply a large prince. It was somewhat larger than the other princes, but not obviously so. What had attracted her attention was something that would typically been difficult to observe in the heat of battle: this Prince sported numerous antennae which pointed, rather delicately, in a variety of directions.

She took a breath, scared, and looked back over her shoulder. She could see flashes of light towards city hall, nothing more. No one back here.

I don't want to die, she thought. But... what choice was there? She looked back at the flashes of light, at the heroes who were fighting so valiently, and knew that there was none.

The Mark III Stealth Suit allowed her to get close enough to the clock to actually place her device on his chest. Magnetically backed, it stuck like a limpet, the timer on its face reading...

05

An enormous hand shot out and grabbed her around the waist, picking her up. As usual, the stealth had been interrupted by touching something, one of the suits biggest disadvantages. She was now visible. A sea of clockwork eyes turned towards her.

04

It picked her up; she opened her 'comm. Who knows, perhaps someone would hear - radio silence didn't matter any more. The other princes, notably, did not fire.... which made perfect sense. It was unlikely that they were willing to risk damaging the prince with the antennae.

03

It raised its hand and squeezed, lifting her into the air, and her breath caught, feeling one of her ribs crack. "This is Girl Genius," she gasped, hoping that someone would hear. Well.... of course someone would hear, it was the standard hero distress frequency. Whether anyone would be able to respond would be doubtful, but she still felt obligated to make the broadcast. "I have broken through the lines of clockwork and located what I believe is their central communication clock. Get ready when it goes offline."

02

It raised its other hand. She could see electricity dancing in its palm. She swallowed hard to try and clear her heart, which was thumping somewhere in the region of her adam's apple. "It's you, isn't it?" She said to the clock. "The sprockets and oscillators communicate to the knights, knights communicate to dukes, dukes to princes... and princes to you."

01

"THREAT DETECTED," droned the metal voice of the Prince.

In some part of her mind, Girl Genius had a moment to reflect on the beauty of the ball of lightning, how perfectly constructed it was, and how gracefully it arced through the air. Even off her skin it seemed to move almost like water. There was a voice in the distance, screaming... perhaps it was hers. The last thing she saw in the gathering darkness was the gleaming, glittering lightning, dancing like diamonds against the blackness of the night.

"THREAT ELIMINATED," droned the Clockwork Prince, dropping the motionless form of the hero who had touched it.

00

The bomb magnetically planted upon the clock's chest went up like a box of fourth-of-july fireworks. Fire and electricty spat in every direction, forming an inky column of black smoke rising over the tops of the buildings. It left scorch marks on the metal chest of the clock as it was engulfed in a cloud of smoke.

The smoke - at least on the ground - cleared quickly, though smoke still rose from joints. It didn't seem, upon casual examination, that the bomb had done anything. Yet every antenna was bent and melted; some were completely gone.

The effect on the surrounding clocks was immediate and obvious, as if a shockwave had passed through them, from that spot going forwards, through the princes, the knights, the dukes, the oscillators, the sprockets. Neatly-formed groups of clocks broke apart, no longer moving as one. Attack formations unformed. Shots of lightning missed. Very rarely the sprockets suddenly stopped fighting, staggering randomly in blind circles, a single unit dizzying itself while a hundred of its companions scattered in every direction. In the sky, the same thing could be observed, as some of the oscillators bumped into each other, hopelessly tangling their helicopter blades and crashing into the earth as lumps of chopped up metal.

It was not a total victory - though moving seperately now, the clocks still were quite determined to make mincemeat of any hero in their way - but it would, with luck, give the heroes the opening they needed to turn the tide of battle and seize the victory of the day.

At least, that had been the plan....

[ QUOTE ]
"Girl Genius... Jeeze I'm a doofus, I should have recognized the armor." Erik offered his hand again and smiled gently. "I just want to say I love your web-site as well, and the footage you got of battling the Vhaz was superb."

"I always like it when I see them get beaten. It's a scientist thing I think. People like the Vhaz screw up the public's views of science and makes us all look like Doctor Frankenstein. I hate that..."


[/ QUOTE ]

Penny smiled. "I am glad you like it. I thought it was important to collect data on what was out there, and I didn't like any of the websites I found, because they would always try to slant things one way or another. Not scientific at all!" She thinned her lips. "And I am not fond of the Vahz either, if it comes to that."

[ QUOTE ]

"I thought I'd seen this marking before. It was consistantly found on Ritki that were alone, or moving in advance of a strike force. I surmise this indicates a scout or intelligence operative." Erik paused and then looked at the picture again. "What the hell WAS he doing in King's Row?"

Erik looked back at Penny and then dug into a drawer nearby the computer station. He handed her a small walkie-talkie.

"I think we should go back to that place and see what's what, but I HAVE to address the Vhaz problem here first." Erik smiled and grabbed a few other items out of the desk.

"If you'd like to come with I'd be glad to have you. Then you can show me where you spotted this lone bugger."

[/ QUOTE ]

Penny smiled. 'I can do you one better,' she said, taking a couple of different gadgets from various pouches. "Overhaul made these... he is my partner, you won't see him on the site much, he is too much in love with tinkering with the gear, he doesn't get out like I do. At any rate... he made these. These 'comm units fit in your ear, see mine? And this," she pushed a box at him, "Is a remote feed to the armor. Plugs into any standard computer port and I imagine," she eyed his PC with a touch of amusement on her lips, "That you have the hardware to run it. It runs on the secondary 'cam, not the one that feeds the website but... if you plug it in, the students could watch." Her face was thoughtful. "I think we should have someone watching... just in case there is bigger trouble than we anticipate." She offered him both a 'comm unit and the data feed.

[ QUOTE ]
"It'll take a bit to digitize, but from there I can examine it at a closer level. It looks like a good resolution shot so I may even be able to make out clan markings on the sucker."

[/ QUOTE ]

Penny nodded. "I have invested a lot of time and work into the webcam, I think you will be surprised at the resolution on that shot." She looked rather chagrined. "Normally I could send it to you digitally, but all my feeds are busted up at the moment," she poked at one of the shoulders of the suit, which gave a mournful BZZT in response, sparking blue in the small hole that had been put through the plate shielding. "It is going to take days to fix it, and I don't feel like I have that kind of time right now."

[ QUOTE ]
"Just an idea of mine... Seems some Ritki are marked certain ways. I don't have any hard evidence yet, but I think it's symbolic of a caste system." Erik shrugged as Derrell dropped a tape on the desk.


[/ QUOTE ]

"The clan idea is interesting... I will file it away for future reference. But I hope you will forgive me when I say I am not planning on doing any additional live research on the theory... too rough on the hardware." The spark in the shoulder of the suit gave a second, brief BZZT, then died into silence.

[ QUOTE ]

Meanwhile, a small group of other students came up and suddenly thrust pens and paper to Penny.

"We love your website!" "You ROCK! I loved the footage at the hospital!" "Did you REALLY fight that ghost thing?" "Can we get an autograph?"

Erik looked up at Penny and smirked. "Seems like you have a fan club." Several students looked at him incredously and one pointed to Penny's armor. "THIS is the woman you praised for knocking the stuffing out of that group of Vhaz! You know, the footage from that website we sent you?"

Erik's eyes went wide and he stood again offering his hand. "Holy crap! You're Genius Girl?"

[/ QUOTE ]

Penny was caught completely off-guard by the students and blushed to her hair roots. She had been confident enough surrounded by a college professor and scientific machines, but requests for autographs made her tongue-tied.

She did the best she could, shaking his hand and the other hands that had been offered to her, and found her voice belatedly after stammering for a minute or two. "Yes, I am Girl Genius - It was a Tsoo Ancestor Spirit - Yes, I was at the hospital - I am glad you like the site - Autograph? But I haven't DONE anything, I am only out collecting data to post for people to use - Yes, I did fight those Vahzilok - "

She looked completely overwhelmed.

[ QUOTE ]
"Sorry, but my students love that show for some reason. They say between me and Harris we make heroes look real and bring them down to earth. I say Harris has a talent for character assasination and would try to bring down Jesus if there were a second comming."

[/ QUOTE ]

"I talked to that man earlier," Girl Genius said in some surprise. "He just walked up to me in the middle of the street and asked for an interview... I thought it would be a great plug for my website, so I said yes... maybe I shouldn't have." She frowned ferociously.

[ QUOTE ]
"Well you didn't come here for my views on the media. Lets hit the lab so I can feed this into the computer and see if I can get you any more info. Um... when you TOOK the photo did you see the Ritki doing anything? Looks like he's turning to fire in this shot."



[/ QUOTE ]

Penny gave him a wry smile. "That's pretty perceptive of you... yes, he is turning to fire. If he had gotten a direct hit, I would probably be dead... I got pretty lucky on that. He knocked me through a few walls, brought the ceiling down... probably thought he had killed me. By the time I woke up and dug myself out, of course he was long gone."

She sat back. "But that is not what worries me. He wasn't holding a gun when I spotted him, he was holding a tool. The second it took him to swap from the tool to his gun let me duck back behind the intervening wall... which is why I lived."

She rubbed her forehead thoughtfully. Earlier there had been a cut there; now, the radiation had healed the cut, but left behind the blood which had dried on the skin, which itched, and she brushed at it. "To be honest, normally I don't do analysis of my data," she said. "It is all I can do to collect and post it, I just don't have time to do much analyzing. But I want to know what the Rikti was doing down in the sewers by himself, what he was doing with the tool, and why he was in King's-flipping-Row ... it is not exactly Rikti Central down there." She shook her head. "I thought of calling the Corps, but what would they do? Call a security-level-38 hero to check it out? Security-level-38 heroes have better things to do with their time than search miles of sewers for a lone Rikti with a space screwdriver." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "But I want to know what I am dealing with before I go back down there... I sure would appreciate whatever you could find out."

[ QUOTE ]
"Come in miss... well Penny. If there is anything I can help with just let me know."


[/ QUOTE ]

"Oh, thank you," Penny clunked in, "That feels... wonderful." She smiled, taking a sheaf of papers from a belt pouch. "Actually, I understand you are a xenobiologist... I was wondering if you would mind looking at some of these photos? I took them this morning and... well, I need some help identifying them, to tell the truth."

She spread them out on the desk. "While I realize I am here for accurate information... please tell me that is not a Rikti."

The picture, unfortunately, was too clear for it to be anything else.

*The following afternoon*

It had been a simple matter to get a camera set up across the street from the university, pointing into Bio-man's usually-uncurtained window, while the team from the station fanned across the campus, interviewing students. Though the camera group had been reluctant to let go of their prizes, she had managed to wrest a beautiful lens out of their hands, and now the picture from the office was coming in as clearly as if they had been standing there.

Sound had been a little bit trickier: but by bouncing a very unobtrusive laser off the corner of the window, they had been able to get an acceptable soundrack. Sarah was good at what she did, and the setup was all but invisible. Now, it was just a matter of watching the good Bioman in his office, to see if anything interesting happened....


+++++

Girl Genius limped slowly across the manicured lawns of the university. Her armored suit, which had been spotless and beautifully maintained just the previous morning, was now sooty, and sporting several dents. Once in a while, a spark would flash at some joint with a quiet "Zzzzt" noise. However, in Paragon City, this was not an unusual sight: none of the students spared a glance at her.

She made her way into the main campus building, read the sign inside, then went to the elevator. Exiting on the third floor, she went down the hallway, and knocked politely on one of the doors. "Doctor Sanstad?" She said, then realized how odd she must look, fully suited like this. She reached up and took her helmet in her hands, twisting it to the side, then lifting it straight up, to reveal the face of a girl about the age of the college students on the lawn, with sandy blonde hair and a pair of glasses. One of the lenses of the glasses was cracked.

"Doctor Sanstad?" She said again. "You don't know me... my name is Penny... I am sorry to bother you unannounced like this.... I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?"

I am at work, but I will add my picture in a day or two. Any particular format you prefer?

Jen 8)

[ QUOTE ]
Harris walked off slamming the door behind him. This was one of his better days.


[/ QUOTE ]

Sarah came back into his office later with a cup of coffee, some printouts, and news. "Bad news," she sighed. "The site is not only legit, but apparantly she has three copyrights, seven patents, and is registered as an educational/nonprofit organization. Legal is still doing the analysis, but John says it looks pretty bulletproof." She put the file down on his desk. "She doesn't even accept advertising.... sorry."

((OOC edit: Girl Genius's "super power" is her intellect, not her suit.))

(OOC: I though it might be fun to interview some peoples characters and then edit the interview like I did in this topic: Interview with a norm . Imagine your hero is being interviewed by the reporter Steven Harris under the false pretense that he is doing a positive documentary on heroes. Just fill in the blanks between the questions and I'll re-edit them as Steven Harris for Behind the Mask later on to give them a different spin. ))

((OOC This sounded like fun, but I wanted to throw a twist in. I hope you do not mind! If my post is out of line, or does not fit in with the theme of the thread, please let me know and I will remove it right away.

As an additional OOC: I am envisioning that some interviews took place on a television set, while others took place in a "street" setting (I have noticed that many documentaries will switch settings in this fashion) and am presuming that my character's interview would be in a "street" setting.

Girl Genius wears an armored suit. Anyone ever see Bubblegum Crisis? Sort of like that.))

Harris: First of all I would like to thank you for taking the time to appear on the program.

Girl Genius: Thank you for appearing on mine.

Harris: I beg your pardon?

Girl Genius (tapping helmet) Live Web-Cam. Smile, you are on the Internet!

Harris: So.... you are broadcasting the interview also? Er... live?

Girl Genius: Yes, to my website. The webcam is always running when I am on duty, and you can view the live feed at any time, as long as I am wearing the suit. There are lots of internet viewers on for this!

Harris: I.... see. Could you tell the viewers at home a little bit about how and why you became a hero.

Girl Genius: You know, I wish we had a different title for what I do than "Hero." I'm not especially heroic compared to some of the other people that I have seen in the city. I am just a girl with a suit. But I am proud of the suit! This is the Mark III, and it has worked very well for me. Still a few things to work out of the system, but overall I am extremely pleased with its performance.

Harris: What would you say is the greatest reward for being a hero?

Girl Genius: I would have to say that my website has been very rewarding. I wanted to find a way for real people - people without powers, I mean - to see what it was the heroes actually do.... that is where the webcam idea came from in the first place. Have you ever seen reality TV? It is the same sort of idea, but no commercials. It was kind of a slow start, but it has really picked up lately - I am getting close to a million hits a day now.

Girl Genius: The coolest thing is that people participate! Not because they have to, but because they want to. I was very surprised at that. People write in and tell me where they have seen things - clockworks, vahzilok, gang members - and if they saw a hero fighting them. I have been able to track criminal movement all over the city, and every month I publish charts and things for people to look at. Other people analyze the live data feeds on the site, sometimes frame by frame, and then write in and tell me things that they saw that I didn't. It is a lot of work, but I really enjoy it. I was very surprised to find out that a lot of other people enjoy it too. It is a sort of modern-day "neighborhood watch."

Harris: Have you ever found there is any drawback to being a hero?

Girl Genius: Um. I have ended up in the hospital a fair few times, that is always embarrasing... I don't know if that is really a drawback though, that is more part of the job... I don't know that there are very many drawbacks to this job, really.

Harris: What is going through your mind when you are in a dangerous situation that could lead to civilian casualties? That must be a scary situation.

Girl Genius: That is always a scary situation.... what always goes through my mind is that no matter what, we have to get the people out safely. Everything else is second to that.

Harris: How do you feel about people that use their powers for crime like the outcast or the super villains we starting to see around the city?

Girl Genius: The villians don't get it. That, and most of them have done no long term planning whatsoever.

Harris: What do you think is going through these criminals minds when they commit these acts?

Girl Genius: Depends who it is. Some are more analytical, others are pretty straightforwards, wanting to blast or smash.

Harris: How do you feel about the various anti hero and anti mutant groups that believe heroes cause more problems then they solve? Given the amount of work heroes do for the city this must be quite upsetting.

Girl Genius: On the one hand, I don't always agree with their arguments and philosophies. On the other hand, some of their concerns are valid ones and need to be addressed. That was part of the entire reason for setting up the website and webcam, to gather data and to give people a way to send feedback, good or bad. In the end, we are all in this together, and we have a responsibility to try and solve these problems together. At first I didn't think I would be able to get it set up: but server farms are surprisingly inexpensive these days. I get feedback from anti-mutant and anti-hero groups also; that is not always as pleasant, but it is important.


Harris: and finally, have you ever worked along side the Statesman? What is he like?

Girl Genius: (Laughing) Heavens, I am hardly the caliber of crime-fighter to be working with a great hero like Statesman. I have never met him or seen him. Heard some wonderful stories, though!

Harris: I would like to thank you for coming on the show and on behalf of the citizens of Paragon city thank you for keeping the streets safe

Girl Genius: Again, thank you for appearing on mine. We had a lot of viewers for this interview! I am sure that all of my web visitors enjoyed watching it. What is your contact information and the contact information for your television station? (Takes info) Great, I will update the site tonight when I get back. Thanks for the boost!

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((That night, website is updated with the interview, in both video and text-only formats, and all provided contact information (after being checked to be sure it is correct) is listed on the website also.))

Edit:
DARN those typos! I have vanquished them now! MUA ha ha ha ha!

Dear Doc:

Well, we're here.

Ain't impressed that much with the city, to tell th' truth, but it's got its charm. You ought'a see th' tram, an' buildings taller'n th' top o' th' Red River Gorge, if you stood at th' bottom. Me an' Jessica, we spent a whole day just a-walkin' around and lookin'. Jessica says she wants to buy a camera if we can get paid work in addition to th' rooms, an' send you some pictures.

We had some bother about th' rooms, see. Remember how we reckoned as Jeb's brother ran th' boardin'-house, in th' city, an' we thought we might could stay a couple o' nights, until we found our feet? Well, turns out he don't run it no more, he done sold it to some city feller, an' left th' city, an no one knows where he's gone.

Now, th' city feller, he's tall an' thin, an' has black hair, an' goes by th' name o' MacLellan, an' he's a stubborn ol' cuss. He wanted more for th' room than we had. We might'a left, but we'd been to five places already, lookin', an' they all wanted just as much. So Jessica says, we can work for our room an' board, we'll patch th' roof if you will buy th' shingles, an' re-caulk th' tile, an' all th' things you need done.

He didn't believe us, o' course, tol' us he never met anyone under th' age o' thirty as knew the value of an honest day's work. Jessica didn't like that much, an' I didn't either, us as been ranch hands since fourteen, mendin' fences an' breakin' horses an' th' like. Though, since I've seen some more o' the city teens, I can see where he's a-comin' from.

So, he's arguin' wi' Jessica, an' in comes these rustlers lookin' fer trouble. They was all men, wearin' shirts o' red an' orange, with stars on 'em - decorated wi' goats heads, an' wierd writin' all over 'em. Pentagrams, them stars is called. Supposed to be full o' black magic. These rustlers weren't no magicians, though, they belonged to a gang o' no-goods called Hellions. We've seen 'em all over town. I expect they reckon th' stars make 'em look scary. Make 'em look silly, if you ask me.

Anyway, they come a-struttin' in, an' tell Jessica as how th' boardin'-house is closed, an' we'd best git gone. See, these fellas have all th' shopkeepers scared, they make 'em pay money ta stay away, an' ol' MacLellan, he ain't paid, an' wouldn't pay, an' told 'em ta git, afore we arrived. So's they've come back ta beat up MacLellan, an' tear up his boardin'-house.

We didn't know any o' that then, o' course, MacLellan told us afterwards what was goin' on. All we knows at th' time was these fellers come in an' told us ta git.

Well, you can imagine how Jessica took that. She comes right back at th' feller as said it, an' tells him that it ain't for him ta say where we can or can't stay, an' it's between us an' MacLellan, an' if MacLellan says ta go we'll go, but we ain't a-leavin' because some puffed up popinjay thinks he's suddenly th' boss.

Th' boss-feller, he didn't like that none, an' when he told Jessica ta move again, an' she didn't, he made like he was goin' ta throw her out himself. Reckon he thought we didn't look like much. His hired hands sure were surprised when Jessica up an' decked him. She ain't lost nothin' o' that right hook, an' he fell down an' didn't get up again.

The fight as followed was a treat. There was six o' them an' two o' us, an' I was worried at first, but these city fellers, they don't know how to fight proper-like. In the end we kicked 'em all out an' told em not ta come back.

MacLellan told us thanks, but they'd only be back, an' more of 'em next time. Jessica comes back an' says, iffen he'll give us room an' board, we'll make sure them no-goods doesn't come 'round no more. MacLellan says iffen we stay through the next round o' no-goods, an' beat 'em, he'll give us room an' board, if one of us will go to his brother, an t'other'll stay with him. See, he an' his brother run boarding houses, in seperate parts o'town, an' these fellers has been hittin' on 'em both. MacLellan says the Hellions are mighty tough an' he reckons we'd best get while th' gettin's good. Jessica says a bunch o' no-goods like that ain't runnin' us out.

So we stayed for a couple o' days, an' fixed up some o' th' things the Hellions had broken; replaced a few windows, an' mended th' furniture. We was patchin' th' roof when the Hellions come back, bold as brass, an' in broad daylight! An' this time they have another feller with 'em, taller, an' dressed in black leather, from head to toe. Forget what they said his name was; he were their enforcer, see. An' he were a magician, or somethin'. Maybe he was like Jessica an' me, an' didn't know where his talents comes from. At any rate, he raises his hands, and out comes black smoke, shaped like skulls, a-chompin' at th' air. Knocked me clean off th' roof! Scared me out o' a year's growth.

Seems you were right, when you said there's be folks in the city like us.

We hadn't planned on showin' anyone what we could do when we got here; all we want is a place to stay an' an honest day's work. But once that feller showed up an' started shootin' skulls all over th' place, it was gonna take more than Jessica's right hook ta settle things up.

He sure was surprised when she fired back from th' roof, an' he found himself coated in ice, from th' waist down. His rustlers were too; I iced most o' them while Jessica spent time wailin' away on th' black skull feller. When the rustlers was all down I joined her. It took some doin' but we sent the enforcer packin', an' told him ta tell his bosses as not to come back.

We was worried about MacLellan after that. We've lost plenty o' jobs when the bosses found out about th' ice: weren't we let go from th' lazy-eight, an' th' bar-W, an' a dozen other ranches, 'cause the bosses didn't like it, when they found out?

But ol' MacLellan, he was all right. Said he saw that we could handle ourselves, an' if one of us'll stay with him, and t'other with his brother, we could stay as long as we wanted. Jessica an' I weren't keen on splittin' up, but we reckon it'll be for th' best in th' long run, so Jessica stayed with MacLellan, an' I came here. I reckoned I might see trouble, but I ain't seen none yet, though plenty o' those Hellions are around.

Anyways, I'd best get a-goin'. I promised the elder MacLellan (Jessica is with the younger) that I'd get that roof patched today, an' it ain't patchin' itself, while I set here writin' to you. I'll write more, if anythin' happens worth writin' about. Hope you're well: give Martha a hug from us.

Icicle Jesse


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OOC: Comments welcome as always

Jen 8)