[ QUOTE ]
"She's coming around. Stand back, guys. I want to ask her something."
[/ QUOTE ]
Clover groaned and looked around; her eyes locked onto Soul Train's, and fear immediately spread across her face.
"What... what do you want with me?" Clover asked, understandbably terrified.
Supplemental Galactic Protectorate Fanfic
Martel was indeed furious. His fair skin had turned red, both from the anger and the exhaustion of running so far unnaturally fast. He placed his hand to his headset earpiece and spoke. "This is Martel. There is another girl needing protection, an innocent. She has been placed under our protection as well. She should still be at the deli down the street. Her name is Mallory. Have someone bring her to Physiks and keep her guarded."
"Roger that." a static-riddled voice replied on the headset. The attack helicopter began to rise back into the air and go back to it's usual rounds while soldiers were already climbing back into the now grounded transports.
"You know, Ms. Parker, she could've been a decoy by Crey to separate you from us. You can't just run off chasing random pickpockets on the streets." His voice was full of disdain. He was too annoyed and angered to think about what he was saying.
[ QUOTE ]
Clover groaned and looked around; her eyes locked onto Soul Train's, and fear immediately spread across her face.
"What... what do you want with me?" Clover asked, understandbably terrified.
[/ QUOTE ]
"Well, aside from the fact that you stole someone's purse and it's my job to arrest you for that... I didn't want anything. But... after I got shot in the face by one of my own force bolts...."
Concern crossed Kashaye's face as she realized, the girl was scared out of her mind. "Oh no. Not another one. I just discovered one girl who flared in front of me, and now here's another. Sugah, you have NO idea of what you just did, do you? And now you think I'm going to do something awful to you, right?"
The girl, still terrified, slowly nodded. "Oh no, I don't want to hurt you, never did. I just wanted to get that lady's purse back. You understand, that's my job?"
She paused and then looked at the shackled teenager closely. The look that she got in return was one of abject fear, desperation, confusion.... She motioned to Martel.
"You guys got any energy bars, water, Gatorade, anything like that? I think this little stray could use some."
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Martel signalled to one of the soldiers still standing around. "Canteen and MRE." The soldier walked over to one of the still grounded choppers and searched through a pack, producing the requested items and handing them to Martel. Martel proceeded to hand them to Kashaye.
"Looks like it's just raining heroes today," he scoffed, sheathing his sword. By now he was just listening to various standard reports coming in over the comm and waiting for a confirmation that Mallory had been secured.
Now that she was sure the girl was secured and unharmed, Kashaye turned to Martel. Crooking a finger, she stepped out of earshot of the young prisoner, expecting him to follow.
"Now. Let's get something straight. I am your charge, because I happen to be someone 'important' as far as our two companies are concerned. However, BEFORE I ever signed on with Clarisa Feynman, I was a heroine. I swore an oath to do my part to protect this city. And last I checked, it did NOT have a clause in it that said it was OK to ignore the petty crimes. I will not go back on that oath, just as I expect YOU not to go back on your obligations to Legion, and by extension, to me."
"Now. You could just as easily 'protect' me by slapping a set of those cuffs on me right now, and hauling me back to my lab and locking me up there. But, you won't do that, because you know that 'protective custody' is another term for forced imprisonment. By the same token, I can't expect you to appreciate having to follow me around, take down my quarry for me to keep me from harm, etc etc. So... what we need to do is work out a way for us to do BOTH our jobs. You reading me clear, AGENT Martel?"
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Mallory was stranded in a part of Steel Canyon that she had neven been in. The gangs, which seemed to be everywhere, looked much meaner and tougher than the ones that hung out around her appartment. She really wished that someone was still around. Even the patrons of the deli seemed to be looking at her. She started to sneak into the alley, just hoping she'd be able to outrun anything that came her way.
She remembered that Physiks was a block away, but she had been paying so much attention to the people that Martel was pointing out that she couldn't quite remember the way back. She wished she were as good at detection as he had been.
After several minutes wandering carefully through the alleys, she found a ladder which lead up to the top of one of the shorter buildings in the area. She started to climb it when she heard the telltale sound of helicopter rotors. At first this didn't register, but then she remembered the helicopters that had been flying around outside of Physiks. "I must be getting close," she thought to herself, "Maybe I'll be able to see the building or the helicopters from up top." When she reached the top and climbed off of the ladder, she found that her pants and shirt, practically the only ones that were nice enough to look for a job in, were terribly dirty. They were covered in dirt and oil, and Mallory figured that they'd probably never be clean again. Plus, they were all clingy with static.
"With static?" She thought to herself, how could they get that way from climbing up a ladder? Anyway, the helicopters were getting closer now, coming from behind her. She turned so she'd be able to figure out which way Physiks was. As loud as the sound of helicopters was, she still couldn't see them, and assumed they must be behind some building. She started walking around the rooftop, trying to catch a glimpse of the aircraft.
As she walked around the edge of the roof, the sound got even louder. Excited now, she sped up. Directly ahead of her, there was an air conditioning duct ahead, almost as high as her head. She figured she'd climb up it for a better view. On the other side of the duct was a nasty surprise for Mallory. Just as she cleared the edge, she noticed that the helicopter sound was not, in fact, from a helicopter... at least not a traditional one. She was not standing just two feet away from a small, flying robot which appeared to be wrenching metal from the duct and other things on the roof. Then the worst part... it turned its mechanical head and looked right into her eyes.
Mallory jumped down from the duct and sprinted across the rooftop. She could clearly hear the robot following her, which prompted her to add just that much more speed. Unfortunately, the end of the rooftop was just in front of her. She took a quick glance around and decided that she had only two options... stop, and hope the robot didn't actually want to attack her, or... she could jump off the rooftop and down to the ground. She felt that both options led to her getting hurt, but if she jumped and then couldn't run, the robot would still get her. It could fly, after all.
She practically dove to the ground, trying to stop in time to avoid the edge. As she did, she turned to look at how close her persuer was. As afraid as she had been before, now she was terrified. It was a mere 10 feet away, hovering. She didn't know how a robot could have such a malevolent look in it's eyes, but just looking at it was enough to make her want to cry.
For the third time that day, Mallory's emotions were enough to "pull the trigger" of whatever was in her mind. Just as before, molecules and atoms all around her suddenly found themselves torn apart. Energy was converted into mass, and there was a thin, spherical, invisible film of gluons surrounding her body. The robot held out its hand and a bolt of electricy arced across the narrow distance between the robot and Mallory. Mallory cringed, trying to prepare for a severe electrocution and probably some burns, but the energy discharged a couple of feet from her face.
When she finally opened her eyes, the robot was gone, apparently understanding that it couldn't hurt her. With that, it had just gone back to its other objectives. Mallory was again alone and afraid. She did not understand what had happened with the robot, but she had an inkling that it had something to do with the car and the plate. She felt so confused!
After sitting on the rooftop for another few minutes, she heard more helicopter-robots and again felt fear. She looked around, trying to locate the source, but was unable. As it got louder and louder, she got more and more scared. She moved back to the ladder, went down, and started running down the alley away from the 'robots' (She didn't know that they were the helicopters that Martel had sent). Eventually, she broke out into the street. Miraculously, the Physiks building was just a hundred feet away. She sprinted over there and walked through the door, flashing her new ID to the guards stationed there.
When no reply was forthcoming from the now-taciturn agent, Kashaye returned to the girl. She opened the canteen and held it to the girl's lips, letting her drink... and then popped the MRE, and began to feed her.
"Now... I know this is a stretch... but... would you mind telling me a little about what's going on?"
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Clover hadn't had anything to eat in days, so when Soul Train started to feed her, she greedily grabbed the MRE from her hands and quickly wolfed down it's contents.
[ QUOTE ]
"Now... I know this is a stretch... but... would you mind telling me a little about what's going on?"
[/ QUOTE ]
Clover studied Soul Train, tossing the empty bag to ground and burying her face in her arms.
"What's to tell?" Clover asked, avoiding eye contact with Soul Train. "I tried to get some money and you stopped me. What more do you want to know?"
Supplemental Galactic Protectorate Fanfic
((OOC: your hands are still shackled with sapper cuffs ))
Soul regarded the girl.
"That part, I already guessed. And judging by how hungry you seem to be... I know why too. Can't say as I'd do any different were I in your shoes."
She looked straight into the girl's eyes. "What I was asking about was, how did you GET into needing ... money... so badly? And why the terror in your eyes, hmn? Most street hoods don't exactly like it when I show up, but this is the first time someone looked at me like I was about to kill her in cold blood."
She made a gesture motion with her head in Martel's direction. "HIM, I can understand giving you that reaction. Maybe. But I'd have hoped that my street cred would at least let you know I'm a Defender. I don't kill people. Shoot, I barely hurt them. Most of my 'arrests' deserve little more than a checkup when they get to the Zig. Nothing a little aspirin wouldn't cure anyway."
She sighed. The girl was still looking at her with that mix of fear, suspicion, confusion...
"Why don't we start with the simple things, hmn? My name is Kashaye Parker, otherwise known as Soul Train. The man standing behind you in the beret is Agent Martel. The troops are his men. Now... would you please tell me your name?"
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
((Oh! Sorry about that, I forgot 
))
"My name..." Clover sighed, looking away from Kashaye for only a moment. "I don't know what my real name is." She turned back and looked in Kashaye's eyes. "But back where I live... I'm called Clover."
"I'm sorry about how I acted..." Clover continued. "It's just that... well, I don't remember anything about my life or who I was before. And..." Clover thought back, back to the little she could remember. "The first thing I CAN remember, one of the first things I heard... were about Heroes like you... how terrible you are..."
"Waking up in a strange bed..." Clover explained. "That's the first thing I can remember clearly. It wasn't a NORMAL bed... it was like one of the beds you see in hospitals, you know? The room was dark, and there were all sorts of machines around it, beeping from time to time..." Clover shook her head. "I... I didn't know where I was, so I got up and left the room, and..." Clover closed her eyes at the next memory. "There was some type of hallway outside of the room, filled with ALL sorts of... of people, I guess. Some of them looked pretty normal, but others..." Clover opened her eyes again. "Others looked like animals. And all along the walls were posters..." Clover looked deep into Kashaye's eyes. "Posters showing pictures of Heroes like you... saying things like 'Know Your Enemy!' and 'Don't let THEM keep you Down!' and 'United, We WILL Prevail!' I... I didn't..." Clover shook her head again. "I was scared... so I ran. There was alot of screaming, and several of the people chased after me... but I..." Clover's voice began to shake. "I escaped through a window and ran into the woods..." Clover sighed deeply, her voice becoming calmer. "The next day I wound up here, in Paragon City... I wanted to go to the police, but... but there were some Heroes by the station, and when I got close to them..." Clover thought back to the memory of her body bursting into flames, her hands covered in stone. "I... I didn't know what to do at that point... so I started to wander the streets, begging on the street corners... I was cold, hungry, and filthy... it was around that time that I found a small homeless community, and they took me in. I've been living there ever since."
Clover sighed and stared in Kashaye's eyes. "That's everything I can remember. I wish... I wish I could remember what my life was like, before... how I wound up in that bed..." Clover sighed. "So... what happens to me now?"
Supplemental Galactic Protectorate Fanfic
Kashaye's face began to show shock and concern while 'Clover' retold her story. It sounded.... no, it couldn't be.
But it had to be.
Clover had been in some kind of laboratory. One that experimented on people, not abstract concepts like she did. Plus with the anti-hero propaganda... it sounded as if she'd been coerced.
[ QUOTE ]
Clover sighed. "So... what happens to me now?"
[/ QUOTE ]
She snapped out of the daydream/nightmare of what Clover was telling her when she head the last question.
"I... I don't know. Usually when I arrest someone for a crime, one of two things happen. Either they get teleported to the Ziggursky prison with an arrest warrant tag attached... or I hand them off to a cop. But... in your case... damn, I don't know."
She regarded the girl for a second. "It'd be a lot easier if I could figure out what place you were talking about. Do you remember if you saw any company logos, signs, paperwork, that had the word 'Crey' or a stylized 'C' on them?"
Kashaye started to pace.
"OK. You don't know who you are. You have no control over your power to 'mimic' super-powered people around you. You're homeless. And you've been... taught... to be scared of heroes. This is a tough one, kid. I don't know what happens now either. But I know someone who might."
Kashaye pulled out a cellphone. "Get me Clarisa, please."
"Yes. This is Kashaye. I have an interesting situation...."
(( OOC: She's going to tell Clarisa everything she's figured out about Clover so far, and ask if Clarisa has any ideas about getting Clover the help she needs to get back on her feet, maybe get her life out of the spiral it's in. There's also the issue of the lack of control over Clover's mimicry... she needs badly to be taught how to mimic at will rather than by proximity.))
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
(( the following character is being written in by me, after a fellow SG member read this thread and said, "I want in!" I said she'd have to write her own parts... but she asked me to write them... Ok Gwen, if you trust me that much...))
The front lobby doors to Physiks opened and a strikingly beautiful woman strode through. The guards in the lobby dropped into a 'flank and intercept' pattern to each side, but she paid them no heed. Instead she walked right to the receptionist.
"I'm here to see Kashaye Parker."
"I'm sorry, miss... "
"Lady."
"Hrm?"
"You called me 'Miss'. I am not a 'Miss', I am Lady Gwenivere. Please let Ms. Parker know I wish to see her."
"Well, um... Ms. Parker is not in at the moment... but I will have her paged."
Lady Gwen began pacing, still not paying attention to the guards that watched her every move.
-brrrrrt!!-
"Physiks Technologies, how may I direct your call?"
"Yes, Ms. Parker. You have a visitor in the main lobby. She says her name is... Lady Gwenivere."
"Oh... I'm not certain, but I'd say about 5 minutes."
"Yes, I will let her know you are on your way."
"Very good Ms. Parker."
The receptionist turned to the woman. "Mis... er, LADY Gwenivere... Ms. Parker says she is currently dealing with a field situation, and asks that you wait. She does not expect to be long."
Lady Gwen nodded, and then sat down in one of the chairs off to the side. The guards adjusted positions to keep an eye on her yet still cover the door.
http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?i...60226012gh.jpg
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
[ QUOTE ]
(( the following character is being written in by me, after a fellow SG member read this thread and said, "I want in!" I said she'd have to write her own parts... but she asked me to write them... Ok Gwen, if you trust me that much...))
http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?i...60226012gh.jpg
[/ QUOTE ]
((Welcome new heroes! I'm glad this story thread has caught your interest. We're having a good time in here. Sorry I have been away for a bit. Work is giving me some trouble, but honestly, I am excited about writing here and now I just have to keep up!))
After Clarisa dealt with the man who's car got crushed by Mallory's defensive mechanism, she was out $50,000. She had asked the young gentleman who alerted the authorities to come to a PR program on how citizens can make a difference. She wanted him to be one of the guest speakers explaining how he was able to think quickly and get help during an emergency. ((This is a lead in for Eddy Ramirez, written by Makavell, if he wants it...no need to Roleplay the PR event if you just want to jump in to the action, but this gives you a reason to hang around Physiks.))
Buzz Buzz Her cellphone was reminding her of an appointment. She reached into her suit jacket pocket and pulled it out to read. "Damn, it's time for that board meeting already! I'd rather follow what's going on here. Ah well, I'm sure Kashaye can handle it". She thought to herself.
<<Fade to black...next scene...the Physiks Boardroom>>
A hush fell over the boardroom. The long, polished table gleemed and reflected the faces of the Physiks executives and board members. At the far end, a man with a deep voice spoke up.
"Ms. Feynman, the offer you are proposing presents a great risk. A joint venture with Legion would give them more power over our dealings than is acceptable. What ROI (return on investment) could possibly warrent the risk?". The CEO leaned forward as if straining to hear her reply.
In typical Clarisa style, she was walking about the room and approached the CEO to answer. "Mr. Allendale, your concern is valid. I would suggest to you that the advantage we would gain over Crey would be substantial and the influx of cash would remedy our current defecit." She glanced over at the CFO who shrunk back in her seat a bit. "Good", she thought,"I won't be getting any resistance from her because she's avoiding answering for the losses."
From the opposite end of the room, a board member spoke up in a tinny voice, "But Ms. Feynman, we can't always take enormous risk to satisfy our internal problems. In fact, it's obvious that you may be underestimating the risk due to your involvement with the Hero PR program." The other members nodded and some turned to whisper to each other. She knew they were commenting on the cost of her physical enhancements that enable her to work with Paragon's heroes.
Yet another executive added his opinion. "I agree, the risk does not produce enough gain to agree to Legion's offer. Allowing Legion agents, who we all know are corporate spies, to enter our facilities and share our knowledge about Crey in exchange for mere funding to R&D projects that may produce no advantage over Crey, is ridiculus.
The din of the room increased. Clarisa realized she was losing control of the situation, but she had anticipated this outcome.
"Ladies, gentlemen, and others, please don't think me a fool. Why WOULD I present this offer to you if there wasn't a greater threat before us." She paused and scanned the room. They stopped their side conversations at the words "greater threat" and listened intently.
"What exactly IS that threat you speak of." Retorted the CEO.
Clarisa took her place at the opposite end of the long table. She sat in the tall leather chair and leaned back interlacing her fingers as if to keep her claws from bursting forth. "There is a spy among us. Someone in the company is working this company apart from within. We have not been able to determine who or how many, but certainly Legion will be able to."
Sternly, the shocked CEO asked, "Does Legion know about this?"
Clarisa felt the tide changing in her favor. "No of course not, but they will soon because they are not fools either. I'd rather let them discover the evidence and do their own investigation independent of any Physiks involvement. Think of Legion as an anitbody searching out a bacterial infection, normal cells cannot do they work of anitbodies. We need them to discover and erradicate what they find. If we don't do this, and deal with it on our own, we leave ourselves open for a corporate takeover, which is much worse than the risk of giving Legion access to our R&D." Reassuringly, she added, " Naturally, I will be monitoring them the entire time."
Outside the board room, dozens of jammers were setup...radio jammers, IR jammers, visual jammers, and most importantly, mental wave jammers. No one would be able to hear the conversation that took place in that room.
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
No sooner had everyone exited the boardroom, when helicopters could be heard above the building and men from Legion started flooding the lobby.
"Get me Victor or one of his lackey's on the phone now!" Clarisa bellowed. She wasn't yelling at her long time secretary, Jane, directly, but she was very agitated at the problem this "invasion" presented. After all, she just convinced the board to work with Legion and now it looked like they were implementing martial law.
"Here Ms. Feynman. " Jane handed the handset to her. "Victor is unavailable, but I have a colleague of his on the phone."
Clarisa took a moment to calm down and soften her voice, but her eyes still blazed with anger. In a silky voice she said, "Hello, thank you for taking this call during what must be a busy time for you." She paused, again to keep her voice steady. "Please tell Victor, I was able to arrange access for your agents under the agreement he and I have made. I do however have one request....even though it's necessary to maintain order, it is also important NOT to affect day-to-day operations here. I NEED your agents to blend in and do their work covertly. That means, no loud helicopters, no black Humvees with suited agents pouring out. And NO visible guns. " She accidently let her voice slip into a lower tone.
"Is that understood?" Clarisa hoped she hadn't sounded to accusing, but since she had done her best to keep her anger in check, it would have to do.
While she waited for an answer, Clarisa hit the mute button on the phone and said to Jane. "Please ring Kashaye and when you have her on the line, transfer it to my cellphone. She may be busy so it could take a few times of trying." Jane nodded and started dialing on the other phone.
((Note: I'm not really upset, I'm just RP'ing it for Clarisa because she doesn't want anything to jepordize her overall plan.))
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
((One more post 
If anyone wants to take in game pictures together or even just do a few missions. I have Clarisa on Virtue. I will create another one of her on Victory. Feel free to add me to your global friends list since I mostly play on Guardian, you'll have to call me over to the other servers when you want to get together...my global handle is @starstuck. This isn't mandatory, just a fun idea that ProfessorBlues proposed that I thought was good idea.))
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
( OOC: Been busy for a while but I have read all thats happened and like where its going. As a small note, I remade Makavell, or Eddy Ramirez, and now he is a young inventor who uses a suit of armor to fight crime..( Iron Man inspired me..heh.)
Ms.Feynman had Eddy speak about acting quickly in emergencies in a Pr program. When it had ended, Eddy decided to go back to Physiks and speak to Ms.Feynman again. He caught her in the lobby just finishing a conversation on her cell phone sounding rather frustrated. He walked over and hoped she wasn't in a bad mood.
" Ms.Feynman, Hello! Sorry to bother you any more, But I also forget to tell you earlier I am an inventor...of sorts, and have something I made you may find interesting.
(OOC: A hint that he could use a job since he is trying to make his way through college.)
(P.S. I tried to edit his intro on page 11 for his changes but I passed the maximum edit time, so ignore that intro.)
(OOC: Was also wondering how I could post some in-game screenshots?)
(( in-game screenshots - Imageshack.com is probably your best bet. It's free, and storage is unlimited. ))
(( also, want to tie the plot with Clover up if we can, or at least do something to end that episode... I have some ideas that might make Clarisa's issues with the board easier to deal with... as in PROGRESS in the lab...))
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
[ QUOTE ]
While she waited for an answer, Clarisa hit the mute button on the phone and said to Jane. "Please ring Kashaye and when you have her on the line, transfer it to my cellphone. She may be busy so it could take a few times of trying." Jane nodded and started dialing on the other phone.
[/ QUOTE ]
In the midst of her attempting to come to grips with what to 'do' with Clover, Kashaye's phone rang.
"Kashaye Parker speaking."
"Hello Clarisa. Yes, I've been busy out here."
"Oh dear. Yes, well, we've run across a 'stray' who needs some nurturing. She's also out of control... and sooner or later she's going to get hurt."
"Yes I am aware of that. And I understand fully."
"OK. I'll cut her loose for now... I'll give her some leads, perhaps she'll follow them."
"I have a visitor? Who is it?"
"Lady Gwen? Yes! I know her very well. She's my roommate, and a very close friend too."
"Another heroine, one of the Stilettos. An officer, like I am. Magical though, so I doubt we'd...."
"Oh? Now there's an idea. She might go for it. And I'm game as well. Anything to get this Agent Martel and his Spec Ops platoon off my back."
"OK. Mallory should be in my office, downloading her telemetry log. From what I've seen her do, I don't think she'll pose any problems with the lab equipment."
"Right. Oh yes... One more thing.... next time the board of directors meets, we may have something other than red numbers to show them."
"I'll do better than that. We're doing a confirmation test tomorrow. Why don't you come down and see it? I think... you'll be pleased."
"Right. Bye."
Kashaye hit the 'End' button and hung the phone back in its little pouch under her cape. She then knelt down by Clover.
"Clover, I've decided... to let you loose. But.. before I take these binders off, I'd like to ... offer you some things. This..." she held up a business card, "has my office, home, and cell numbers on it. You need anything, or just want to talk, call me. Collect if you have to. This..." She then held up 200 inf in small bills, "goes into your pocket, or your shoe, or wherever it won't get stolen. This isn't a handout, it's a gesture of friendship. By accepting it, I want you to promise to ask for help rather than just rip people off, OK? Now, lastly, THIS..." she held up another card, which said "Whitmoore Apartments" in bold letters, "is an apartment building run by the city. If you are registered as a hero, you can stay there for free. But, the catch is, you have to use your talents to fight crime, not perpetuate it. That also means training. There are professional trainers at Hero Corps and downtown at City Hall, as well as elsewhere around the city. So... IF you want to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and become someone people look up to, instead of run away from... I strongly suggest that you do this."
She regarded the girl, waifish, thin, dirty, and still looking scared.
"Sugah, I know you feel strange and things get scary when you're around heroes. But I think you got a heart in there too, and that's why I think you'll turn out OK."
She took Clover's shackled hand, tucked all the items into it, and then leaned close to whisper into her ear. "if you want to become me for just a little while longer, nod your head. I trust you not to hurt anyone... and I always thought the speed and the jumping over buildings was the most fun I ever had. And who knows, you might get hug out of it too."
(( if Clover nods, Kashaye will release the inhibitor cuffs while she's still holding her hand. Otherwise she'll let go and stand back so that one of Martel's men can do it. ))
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Mallory entered the building and, not remembering when Ms. Parker's workstation was, took a seat in one of the chairs in the waiting area in the lobby. While she was sitting there, a young man, about her age, came into the lobby and starting talking to a woman on a cell phone. She hung up and listened to him, nodding occasionally. Mallory didn't even notice the man who approached her while she was watching this.
"Excuse me, but what is your business here? You walked in but didn't speak to the receptionist." The man was one of Martel's men, dressed in a combat uniform. He had a European accent, but Mallory couldn't place it exactly.
"Oh, sorry. I work here and I'm waiting for Ms. Parker." She showed him her ID. "Do you know where she is?"
"No, but I can find out." He pulled out his radio and turned away from Mallory. She didn't hear exactly what he said, but she did hear her name spoken. A minute later, he turned back toward her.
"Ms. Parker had to handle some things out on the street and will be back in a few minutes. She wants you to go up to her lab and start working on a 'telemetry log.' If you need directions, I can take you there. Also, I am to stay with you, and make sure you are kept safe."
Mallory stood up and allowed herself to be led through the hallways back to the workstation. She had no idea how to download a telemetry log, nor what a telemetry log was. Waiting in the office was better than in the lobby though. She felt so self-conscious with all of the military people walking around.
When they arrived a few minutes later, the man opened the door for her but stayed outside in the hallway. Mallory walked around to the desk and sat in the chair. When she did, the screensaver turned off and revealed a login screen. She typed her name, but was at a loss for the password. After a rew minutes, she noticed the little card reader sitting next to the keyboard. When she scanned her ID, a row of asterisks appeared in the password field and the computer started logging in. Now she was at the desktop, but didn't know where to go from there, so she leaned back in the chair and waited for Ms. Parker to return.
Several minutes of searching both the computer desk and the rest of the office led to Mallory finding a small piece of hardware and a booklet entitled "Energy Signature Log Pack." There was a picture of the device, which looked like a walkman, on the front cover. Since Ms. Parker had still not returned, she opened up the instruction manual and started reading.
Operation of the hardware was pretty simple. She only had to put it into a little pouch which hung from her belt. It automatically read her energy signature and stored what happened into a small memory module. Every few hours, she'd need to connect the device to a computer using the USB cable that was attached and save the contents of the module into a file on the computer. She could look at a graph of the readings from there, and even type in notes that explained what she was doing at various times. The manual was pretty clear, surprisingly easy to read for such a technical document.
By the time Mallory had finished reading the manual, Ms. Parker was still not back. She went back to the computer, which came on as she sat down, and started exploring some files that she had access to (which wasn't very many). She was surprised to find that the computer had solitaire. She wasn't very good at solitaire, but it passed the time.
(( I'll assume that Clover has gone off on her own, and that Martel and his troops have returned with Kashaye to the lab building.))
Kashaye walked into the lobby, to find her SG mate waiting for her.
"Gwen, sorry, we ran into a situation... "
"It's alright. you know me... I'm 1500 years from my own time, a few minutes here and there aren't all that important."
"They are to me. What's up?"
"Well... remember when you called me a while ago? You said that you'd been assigned a bodyguard detail? Well, in all the time I've known you, that's been MY job. Every mission, a few ambushes, even if we just go out and have a good time. So... I was thinking... maybe we make it official."
"Hrmmm. That's a very good idea. Come on, let's head to my office. I want you to meet someone."
The two women, escorted by four guards (two were for Kashaye, the other two were to keep Lady Gwen in sight), walked down the twisted hallways to Shay's office.. where they found Mallory engrossed in a game of Solitaire.
"Hi Mallory. I see you were able to find one of the more importan applications on the system...." She smiled, a little indulgently... and then saw the opened box and the manual out on the desk. "OH! The telemetry pack! I forgot about it completely when those guards all showed up. You read the manual?" Mallory nodded. "And you have it on now?" Another nod. "Good. Again, I apologize if you got left on your own... we'll try to keep that from happening again, OK?"
She turned to Lady Gwen. "Lady Gwenivere... my assistant, Mallory Swanson. Mallory, this is Lady Gwenivere, my housemate and also a member of the Stilettos."
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Martel was suspiscious of this newcomer. He turned and asked one of the guards "What was her name again?"
"Lady Gwenivere, I believe she said, sir."
Martel laughed a bit, but saw that the guard was telling the truth. "Well the, call up the information we have on her then, keep her closely watched, and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. I want sniper units and heavy weapons and spec ops units around her at all times."
"Yes, sir." The soldier saluted and radioed the message out to everyone concerned.
One of Martel's operatives returned a short while later bearing a report:
[ QUOTE ]
INQUIRY: "Lady Gwenivere"
BIRTH CERTIFICATE: NONE ON FILE
VOTER REGISTRATION: NONE ON FILE
DRIVING RECORD: NONE ON FILE
FBI/NCIC CRIMINAL RECORD: NONE ON FILE
INTERPOL: NO RECORD EXISTS
IMMIGRATION RECORD: NONE ON FILE
PHONE RECORDS: NONE ON FILE
HERO RECORD: "Lady Gwenivere"
Empathy/Archery Defender, SL 30
(numerous recognition badges listed)
LEGION ARCHIVE SEARCH: -RESULTS AS FOLLOWS-
REFERENCE: LEGENDS, EUROPE, MIDDLE AGES
LADY GWENIVERE - CONSORT TO KING ARTHUR, 1600-1687 (approximate)
Details: Lady Gwenivere is most well known for her long-term relationship to King Arthur, of the Knights of the Round Table.
She was an accomplished archer and cleric, acting as an in-the-field medic for the Knights as well as offering archery support. She had a fair amount of magical prowess, which she fine-tuned under the tutelage of Merlin, Arthurs companion Magician.
Fictional accounts also attribute her to having an extramarital affair with one of the Knights, named "Launcelot", but the historical record preserved from that time makes no mention of this Knight ever having truly existed.
Unlike the other members of the Knights of the Round Table, no record exists of her death, although there is an inexplicable decline in the morale of the Knights after 1662, at which point she is no longer mentioned.
DESCRIPTION: female, brunette, fit, approx 140 lbs, 5'9". Well mannered. Carries a bow and quiver of arrows.
[/ QUOTE ]
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Kashaye leapt to the street as the girl collapsed. She checked her pulse... good. Just asleep.
She saw Martel approaching, and saw that he was furious.
Well guess what. SHE was furious too. If this had escalated, the firepower he'd sent in pursuit could have leveled a city block. All because she decided to do her job as a heroine.
"Martel, don't you people have any idea what SUBTLETY means? I'll bet everybody in this zone knows what's going on now! If you're gonna be my guard detail, we gotta work on our communication skills a little. And where's Mallory? you better not have left HER unguarded. I can handle myself, but she's the one that needs someone to watch her back."
She knelt again, and stroked the unconscious girl's dirty hair, as a soldier stepped up and fastened a set of inhibitor cuffs on and activated them. With them locked, her powers wouldn't function. (( Game terms -- you've been sapped of endurance, and endurance recovery is locked down. ))
The girl's eyelids fluttered. "She's coming around. Stand back, guys. I want to ask her something."
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."