Welc0me 7o Arch1tect 3ntertainment! (Open RP)

"Welcome to Architect Entertainment's Total Immersion Virtual World Simulator, brought to you by Aeon Corp and Crey Industries!

"If this is your first time using the Random Simulation Generator, please say 'tutorial'.

"If not, then please say the type of simulation you wish to access in a clear tone of voice.

"Have a nice day, and thank you for using the Architect system!"

"...tutorial."

The endless flat green landscape that made up the 'default' mode of the datastream he had stepped into just a few seconds earlier seemed to revolve and spin as if the bit he was standing on moved elsewhere. It was somewhat disorienting.

"The Random Simulation Generator is a new addition to the Architect system's various operational modes!" picked up the young, but bland sounding female narrator as images began to float up from the green landscape.

"The average user just isn't looking for all the hastle of hunting through dozens or hundreds of entries! Even with the advanced search engine utilized here at Architect Entertainment the number of avaliable scenarios is just so vast that finding exactly what you're looking for can be a chore!"

He chuckled in amusement at the cartoony figure of a spandex and cape clad hero being bombarded by names of various stories and modules before throwing his hands up in a soundless cry of dismay. But then an equally cartoony wire-frame woman poked her head into the scene and cleared all the clutter away, presenting the hero with a single title.

"That's why we've come up with the Random Simulation Generator! Why hunt and pick when you can let our highly advanced search programs find just what you want for you? It's as easy as saying exactly what you want!"

The cartoony hero seemed to examine the title the wire woman held out for him, then shook his head and a word bubble, an actual to goodness straight-out-of-a-Sunday-comic word bubble appeared over his head with the words: "New search. Lots of action, comedy, Dr. Aeon!"

An eyebrow found it's way sliding upward under his mask as he watched the wire-woman exclaim in surprise then dive back under the green ground. A moment later she popped back out from the ceiling and dropped another title on the hero's head. The "Life and Times of Dr Aeon, Action Hero!" seemed o be just what the cartoon hero was looking for as he picked he title up and slotted it into a convenient hole in the background.

"You can choose either to examine what module is provided to you and compare it to your own desires like good old Architect Hero did here or you can dive right into the action, trusting our tried and proven systems to pick what's right just for you!"

Pumping his fist, the cartoony hero, Architect Hero, jumped into a hole in the ground and the whole scene faded back into green.

"This concludes our tutorial! If you have any further questions, feel free to ask one of our lisenced Architect Entertainment employees! But if you'd like to continue, please say 'Continue'!"

It didn't look that bad so far. And he had come here to try this out, in any matter.

"Continue."

"Excellent! Welcome to the Random Simulation Generator, Insert Name Here!"

There was a short pause before he started and grimaced a little.

"Statesman."

"Welcome Statesman! List your keywords now and let's get your adventure started!"

"Dive me into the first choice. Something simple, but difficult, with... hmmm... Arachnos."

There was another sensation of movement as the voice chimed in once more.

"Simulation starting in three... two... one... Have a pleasant trip!"

The world dissolved.

((Probably should have added this sooner. <_< So hi people! I'm going to try to run this a lot more free-form than usual but it's been a while since I've tried running an RP thread, so bear with me. Bring a character or two, set up your own Architect module, and I'll pick things up from there. You've got all the control at the moment, but I'll let you know when things start to go... 'wonky' for everyone. ))

Stepping into the nebulous void that was the unloaded AE system, two figures bickered between themselves.

One was an eight foot tall 4 foot wide hulking man shape. Covered from head to toe in brilliant blue armor plating, the large robot resemebled some child's cross between a Gundam and Robocop.

Next to the huge android, was a much smaller, lithe figure, though also distinctly robotic when the light played off its polished exterior. Distinctly female in form, a large faceless visor replaced its face, but it moved with an excitement that was counter to its companion's ponderous stability.

They were Mark Two Hundred Twenty One Cognizant Crime Fighting Robots, Models Alpha and Eplison, though for ease of communication their trademarked names were M221 and M221E.

Poking M221 repeatedly, creating a hollow pinging noise, M221E continued a long ongoing tirade, "You. Are. Crazy. Nuts. This is outside parameters."

"I have followed the construction and development of AE technologies since Aeon published the initial paper on it years ago. From a training standpoint, its features are vastly superior to mathmatical models just by the benefit of providing actual experience. If I am to be prepared to dispatch Red Hot Robot Justice to evil doers throughout the city, I should allot certain amount of time to preparing."

M221E made a sound like a digitized sigh, "He's not gonna buy that."

"Enough. We are here, we should make use of the facilities before we continue our never ending fight against evil."

Crossing her arms, M221E stepped away from the older, more experienced model. She was brand new, and programmed with the latest software to assist in the M221 series stated goal: Bring the Power of Justice to every participant of Evil. No matter the justification, a few hours inside a...a...video game was not actually furthering that goal. However, she was also programmed to obey M221 until he was satisfied she would not make the same mistakes he made when he first rolled off the assembly line. She suspected he had found a way to creatively interpret his core programming, giving the large robot unparalled freedom in its actions.

M221 raised one of its giant hands towards the nebulous void. "Greetings fellow man-machine interface. I am M221 and this is my companion M221E. We would like to sample your facilities."

The AE system computer returned with a sexless voice "Thank you for choosing Architect Entertainment, what scenario would you like?"

"Something Dystopian. Where the flames of my Red Hot Justice can be a beacon for all."

The background shifted, melting and oozing until the sky was dark, but tinged with red. Atlas Park lay in ruins around them, the remains of battles long fought littering the ground. Faint glows from fire provided illumination--not that either unit needed light.

"Please select an opponent."

"Robot Uprising."

M221E kicked M221 in the shin, "You're sick. Sick, sick, sick. Pretending to murder fellow robots."

"Fine. Erase that last parameter." No humor or malicious intent could be discerned from M221's immobile face, but those would be the adjectives attributed to his next thoughts, "Zombie Uprising."

A horde of shuffling, brain eating horrors surrounded them. The sexless voice could barely be heard over the moans of the undead,

"Please rescue the 3 people trapped in City Hall. You are the last hope for humanity."

Charging his fists with bright red power, M221 smashed its hands into the nearest zombie, exploding it in a shower of gore. "Damn right."

Taking a position hovering behind M221, M221E shot bolts of electricity towards a group of zombies. "We are sooo gonna get in trouble for this."

Thomas Morrigan saw it all. Day-in, day-out, he saw and spoke to all manner of beings, from the most glamorous of heroes to the vilest of villains, all doing this, that, the other, and a zillion different random things, but most with only one purpose in mind when they came to speak to him:

To redeem their tickets.

Thomas Morrigan was one of those fellows people came to when they'd gathered together enough tickets through the Architect system to 'cash them in' for something - salvage, recipes, one name it, he had it. Of course, every now and then someone would also come to him just for information, usually because it was their first time here or due to a long absence and they'd forgotten that the information desk was in the ground floor lobby (flyers especially fell into that category). Thus Thomas Morrigan encountered a much greater amount of 'diversity' on a daily basis than many other people did in a decade. This in turn led to a certain amount of boredom, for it naturally came with a problem.

He'd seen it all.

Until today.

"Hello."

Thomas looked up from his newspaper at the greeting, carried by the tone of a young human male, by the sound of it perhaps in his late thirties or early forties. At least that's what it sounded like - for when he looked to where he expected said man to be standing, there was no one there. This was of course very strange, for with his headgear, Thomas could 'see' even the most well-disguised stalker. Now, however, he didn't see a thing, with his eyes or otherwise, which naturally left him in quite the stupor for several seconds, wondering if he'd imagined the voice.

"Down here." it spoke again there and then, as if to confirm that he was indeed not, and this time Morrigan's attention stood high enough to pin down the source's location as right before the counter. So he leaned over to get a look at it.

He'd thought he'd seen it all.

There on the floor right before him sat a deep-green thing that his mind at first glance equated with a dragon no larger than a sizeable dog - a Great Dane perhaps - and sitting in the same manner too, casually looking up at him with a pair of slitted, amber eyes. His second glance, however, gave the first one the boot, for the quadrupedal 'dragon' had no manner of horns, spikes, plates, or even scales for that matter, its leathery, deep-green hide not even remotely resembling that of any reptile.

"Yes, I'm really here." it said with a mouth so full of sharp, predatory teeth that Thomas wondered how in the world it could communicate so clearly, let alone speak in the first place. If the being caught any wind of that, it certainly didn't show it though, instead raising the trio of claws that formed the toes of its right front paw and turning them to the side while it asked, "Where do I find the data stream entrance?"

"Uhm...down there." Morrigan pointed toward the stairs, and didn't stop doing so for a good while, even as the four-legged creature thanked him and went on its way, heading to and down the stairs in the manner of a large, predatory cat out for a stroll that might bring the evening meal. The silver collar about its neck certainly didn't help any in that department, especially with that large, smooth, deep-blue jewel sitting in its center like that. Thomas found himself in loops trying to figure out how much that thing might have been worth, and therefore only stopped pointing at the stairs once the next person to walk up to him asked why.

And there he'd thought he'd seen it all.

The Krayten he'd spoken to, on the other hand, didn't pay him much mind after that. He was more interested in taking in the general area, with senses visual and otherwise. Truth be told, he'd never thought Architect Entertainment would be getting off the ground since it necessitated cooperation between Dr. Aeon, Crey Biotech, and some of Paragon City's most esteemed heroes, first and foremost of course Dr. Raymond Keyes, a.k.a. Positron. Still it had happened (he knew how, too; but seeing and believing were still two completely different things), and all the plans had gone forward - even the numerous sinister plots he'd thought for sure would've been weeded out before the system came online.

Note to self: next time Ace asks you to write a virus, ask what it's for.

Of course, he wasn't here for that now. The virus deal had long since passed. Right now, the Krayten was here to meet with someone else. Now where had that someone gotten to...?

"Hm..."

Ryat66 pondered the list of arcs presented to him. There were just so many! He checked the flags that indicated what various meta humans thought of the arcs, and grew disappointed as the term "farm" popped up over and over again.

"For beings of phenomenal cosmic power, they're surprisingly lacking in imagination," the android muttered as he cycled the farm missions out of his search, "Lots of Elite Boss and Arch Villain-class characters... No thank you..."

"Just pick something."

Sheldon's voice sounded impatient. Humans and many sentient organic creatures wouldn't normally be able to discern his creator's subtle changes in tone, but a lot of machines could hear the little octave differences. Sheldon Wallace tried to school his emotions because he thought it was professional, but he really needed to learn how to live more.

"Boss, I think you need a girlfriend," the android chirped, "I mean, it gets pretty bad when you have to send us to play your games for you."

"I'll keep it in mind," his creator's voice muttered in his head, "Just pick an arc and go."

The android covered his eyes. He was so happy to have EYES! Most people mistook him for being a peculiar child from a distance, but when they got close they learned of their error. Ryat66 would have expected his gray skin, shoulder-mounted cables and blue circuit channels to be a clear indication of his mechanical nature, but still people gave him curious looks.

Still, it was nice to be able to "feel." With the new polyflesh, he could now discern metals, woods, plastics, even feel the intriguing ripple of liquids. On the first day he had to tone down the sensory perception, it had almost caused a posi-synaptic overload. Over the course of the weeks he relearned to channel the concussive and electrical charges he would normally channel through the overly metallic frames of his combat chassis. While he was still technically utilizing the same chassis, the polyflesh was softer and risked melting if he so much as charged one of his punches.

Now, after weeks of training, the tiny android composed of parts from multiple robot types throughout the world (though mostly the working parts Sheldon could acquire on his adventures through Paragon) was ready to put his latest form to the test.

"What did you choose?"

Biting his lower lip, Ryat66 tapped the screen on the scroll bar, swiped his finger on it a few times, poked at an arc at random and pressed the spot on the screen he remembered had the "Select" button on it. Looking at the screen, he frowned.

"Well, I'll be dealing with the sorts of enemies I know I'm good against."

"Oh?"

"The Arc ID is 'Freakshow Drinking Games.' I... Think I'll be fighting... Freakshow."

"Good luck, then."

Shrugging, the android turned to the digital stream and the hologram that would introduce him to the arc. After the analytical introduction, the system presented him with the Freakshow Juicer labeled "P0w3rThurst." Powerthirst explained that "Ryat66 has been cordially invited to participate in Freakshow drinking games to prove he can hang with the toughest Freaks in the world."

Ryat66 blinked. He recalled seeing the bright orange lettering warning him Elite Boss and Arch Villain-class enemies would be in this mission, which meant he would probably wind up fighting digital recreations of some of the most terrifying Freaks the planet had seen.

"So long as I don't fight Chaingunnz, I think I'll be fine," he muttered as he stepped into the data stream.

((OOC: Should I? Or shouldn't I? It could be fun though ))

(( Totally not hijacking Devious's NPC here - PM me if you mind, I couldn't resist. ))

The elevator opening was hardly a noteworthy occurance, after all it did so several hundred times a day. Nor was the single solitary occupant it dropped on to the upper landing of the Architect building's main floor that unusual by Paragon standards, or so she always insisted at least. Her sole claim to anything resembling unusualness was that she was green. Literally, her skin was a pale green colour and her hair was a slightly more yellowish green. Had she not been, she could've easily been mistaken for just another average citizen. Certainly, her outfit was anything but out of the ordinary. The not quite skintight black t-shirt, khaki cargo pants and brown work boots were far from screaming 'hero'. Nor was her name, she being one of the few metahumans in Paragon not registered under some fanciful pseudonym. In fact had she not been standing in a building full of heroes one could almost have made the mistake of thinking she was another unfortunate superadine addict. But, as any number of people had asked and been most vehemently told, she was not a troll.

Regardless, as the elevator closed again behind her she made her way down the stairs, throwing a cheerful wave to Thomas behind the desk at the bottom of said stairs. "Heya Tom!", she called.

"Alex! How are you?", he greeted her, looking up from where some hero she didn't recognise was busy counting out his tickets.

She shrugged. "Same old. City's mostly saved, for once. Bet it won't stay that way." Awfully cynical, she was. Thomas laughed and let her go on down the stairs. The two of them were good friends, mostly cause of having one thing in common - their surname, as she'd found out to her surprise one day while exchanging tickets for something more useful. Actually she was Alessandra Morrigan, but she usually went by Alex cause it was easier to say. She was registered as both in the hero database though, once as a security level 50 defender-class hero and once as a blaster with a decidedly lower clearance.

Unlike a certain quadruped she was very much familiar with this place, having used it frequently for purposes ranging all kinds of things, but mostly to blow stuff up. Because it was better to do it in the virtual environment when she felt like it, rather than out there and leave pockets of Paragon radioactive for decades to come. Or such was the excuse, anyway.

Today though she didn't much feel like that. She was feeling nostalgic; she missed home, even as messed up as it was. "Something post-apocalyptic", she told the system when it asked, before finding herself in what looked to be Atlas Park, but after the zombie apocalypse rather than before, as it was outside. Not too long after apparently though, as the zombies themselves were very much still present. "Not quite what I meant, but meh", Alex commented to no one in particular, before shrugging and smashing the nearest zombie's head through its chest with an overhead smash from two glowing hands. Absently she wondered what the objective here was, then decided she'd find out on the way and went back to bashing zombies.

(( Same simulation as Kasoh or different one. Your choice, Kas. ))

((Why am I such a sucker?

Maybe I just <3 Khell.))

"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, doodlydoo, there they are all standing in a -hwa?"

Rosie paused, as she bonked her nose into a wall. She'd walked her way into some computer thingie without noticing.

Stranger things had happened, and now to her delight she was surrounded in buttons.

"What's this do? What's that do?"

The were-human's tail wagged gleefully as she paid no heed to the voice, but instead mashed her hands on whatever controls she could reach.

((Go nuts, Khell. :3))

((OOC: Bah! You all stink! I’m joining now in spite))

The cool autumn air wisped around his short auburn brown hair as he sat half-lotus on the window seal. The sound of brisk traffic 23 floors below faded away as Ian let his mind and body relax and call upon the voice of the wind. As his mind let its grasp on consciousness loosen, he let his spirit sing in the voice of the elemental winds.

Hiya, wind. How’s it going?

The pulsing current weaved around his slender form, not chilling but void of sensation even in his skin-tight black tanker shirt. Probably because the material of the shirt was weaved of insulating rubber/metallic hybrid material of some kind with integrated circuits for some purpose or another but that’s beside the point…

Ian paused silently for several moments before peeking an eye open as if to say ‘Hello? Anyone there?’. He closed his eyes and tried once more only to be interrupted soon after.

“Ian! Get down from there! You’ll catch a cold.” A woman with long blond-brown hair, seemingly in her early 30s, wearing a lab coat called out to the young man upon the window sill. She had only taken a step out of the hallway for a minute through the double doors of her lab to retrieve something only to step back to her son treacherously teetering from a window of the high-rise building.

“I’m fine, mom. I was kind of busy…” Ian sighed as he spun and let himself slide from the grate separating the building’s hallway from the wall. “Are you done? Can I go now?” he sighed again as he slipped back into the sleeves of his gi which was tied around his waist by his cloth black belt.

The woman frowned, “I told you we were going to test my invention today, silly. I just finished programming the corresponding AE mission scenario for it so now it’s up to you.” The woman, her name being Sandra Kelly, owner and head engineer of K-Tech industries, handed Ian a small high-tech-looking reticule that would fit entirely over one’s ear with a clear blue display window that would rest in front of your left eye. With a roll of his eyes, Ian received the seemingly mundane device. “I even made the display screen blue, your favorite color!” Sandra squealed in excitement “Go ahead, try it on.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, mom,” Ian grunted as he slipped the device on his face , “That crazy Architect stuff isn’t real. It can’t simulate the voices of nature or the true essence of an element. This is just pointless…”

“That’s why we’re testing it my invention under my conditions, silly,” Sandra quipped with a smile, “I programmed a mission with the specific data the EET (element essence translator) is suppose to pick up.” She went on about the kind of testing she did with it and the results but Ian just nodded, pretending to listen as he tapped the display over his eye with an index finger, supposedly to see if it'd break. “We’ll see if it aids you in regaining what you lost. If not, we’ll do whatever you think is necessary. We’ll get through this.”

After he’d stopped tapping the little machine strapped to his head, his emerald eyes locked with the same shimmering gems of his mother’s and he smiled. She had brought her entire research team to a screeching halt on his account. The least he could do is be grateful. With a flare of determination, Ian puffed out his chest and nodded. “Alright! I’ll do my best.” The young swordsman declared. With his bokken at his waist, Ian started to turn and bolt to the nearest AE facility but a gentle hand on his shoulder brought his upper body to a standstill a moment before his legs and nearly caused him to fall flat on his back.

“Here, take this too,” his mother added as she reached in her pocket and pulled out a thin silver and gold belt with a topaz jewel for a buckle.

“Aww, mom! I don’t want anyone seeing me wear that thing! I’m not a power-ranger, you know!”

“Just take it. In case you get into trouble,” Sandra protested.

“But I don’t need it. I’m capable of defending myself with just my sword and my wits,” he continued to argue.

“Just consider it a secondary test seeing as you haven’t tried it out either.” Even though Ian made a fuss, he knew better than to argue with his mother. He loved her too much to blatantly disobey so without further incident, Ian took the belt and the reticule and headed to the elevator.

Later at Skyway city’s Architect Entertainment building, Ian stood before the consol and input the code for the arc his mother created for him and let the data stream whisk him into the illusionary world.

((Now you must read my annoyingly long posts! Mwaahahahahaha!!))

((Welcome to the zombie apocolypse Rebel))

The M221 series had been designed with the most realistic emotion engine simulation in mind. Their creater had not wanted to fall under the trap of creating a super powered robot whose use of logic will drive them to destroying humanity. That he forgot to put a 'do not destroy humanity' clause in their programming atested to his belief that the emotion engine would work.

So, it M221 was not surprised when his diagnostic systems reported back to him that his emotion was now glee and the massive robot's vocal pattern changed appropriately.

Already covered in enough gore to dull the bright blue finish on its armor, M221 was unconcerned by looking as if he had wandered out of a slaughter house.

Surrounded by a few dozen zombies, uselessly breaking their nails and teeth upon the robot's nigh impervious armor, M221 cackled.

"You like that, do you? My armor is rated up to 12 angry oxen and a rabid badger!"

Meanwhile, M221E kept a careful watch on the crowd around M221. It was optimum positioning for an energy transference, but something was drawing her attention away from the battle.

Due to a design flaw in M221E's programming, her emotion generator was weighted towards criticism and irritation, So when she tried to bring up a map and was unable she cursed quietly the post apoplyptic simulation.

So, in as abrubt a manner as she could manage, she flew over M221's head and activated her energy transference capacitor. Drawing large amounts of combat energy from their foes, transfering it into combat power for herself and M221.

"Take this! My love, my anger, and all of my sorrow!" M221 screamed as it raised its hands slowly before slamming them into a rather brutish zombie, crushing its chest cavity and exploding the remains. Even the tough zombies were not well equipped. Almost not worth the combat experience files he was accumulating. M221 made a note to check with the unit's designer.

M221E Destroyed the remaining zombies with two large Static discharges. "There is another person over there." the smaller robot pointed.

"An Objective?"

"Negative. It would appear to be an actual person. Not that we would have to make this distinction if we were--"

"Nag, nag." M221 carelessly waved a hand, "But we shall investigate."

The zombies had seemed to notice how untasty the two metal heroes were, and seemed to be shuffling towards Alex, the omnipresent desire for flesh driving their actions.

Spotting the heroine locked in combat, M221 waved its giant hand, "Ahoy there fellow champion of Justice!"

((...ah geez, this is going to entail more writing than I've done in months. Well then... *pulls up sleeves* Let's get to work.))

"Foolish Statesman! My plan is perfect! With almost every hero trapped within the Shadow Shard there is no one to stand in my way any longer!" bellowed Lord Recluse from his perch atop the Atlas Park city council building.

He looked quite imposing up there, actually, surrounded by a cadre of Bane Spiders who were slowly lowering the flag - his old cape - from the flagpole in preperation for replacing it with an Arachnos rag. The legions of black and red clad soldiers fanning out from the building like an ocean of evil also helped, seeing as how they filled every street as far as he could see. The hulking forms of Toxic Tarantulas rose above the mass of men like small hills, joined by their equally sized Arachnos Heavies and the swooping flights of Arachnos fliers in the air.

"No one except for me," chuckled Statesman as he cracked his knuckles, getting a little into character at the sight of the challenging sim before him. It would feel nice to cut loose for a bit, his real reason for being here notwithstanding.

"And you shall be little more than a speed bump on my road to victory!" countered Lord Recluse (Statesman couldn't bring himself to think of the simulated villain as Stefan). "Now destroy him, my minions!"

Grinning in a manner most unlike himself, Statesman dashed forward to greet the leading wave of blood widows and wolf spiders, ploughing through them like a juggernaught as he dove right into the middle of the mass and called the lightning of Zeus to him. The massive bolts slammed down just like they did in real life, scattering burned and battered soldiers exactly as he thought it would.

"I wonder how it figures powers out," he ruminized to himself before the hole he had opened in the ranks closed as he started laying about with thunderous blows of his fists.

He might be here for business, but he'd be damned if he didn't have a little fun along the way.

**********************

"Gragh!" gurgled a hapless zombie as it tried to swipe at Alex and instead got neatly obliterated by an energized punch to it's torso.

More zombies converged on her, moving with a peculiar shuffling gait that looked slow but was actually quite a bit faster. But they fell as easily as all the others. Looked like there wasn't much but cannon fodder around.

This would have been an entirely correct deduction, the endless horde of weak zombies little more than a way to gauge the powers and abilities of any combatants. The program, or rather the zombie master that the program was pretending to be, was holding back the more effective undead till the meddling heroes seemed to become complacent. He had an entire city of corpses, after all, not like he'd miss a few hundred.

Lurking under piles of rubble and corpses, hidden inside craters and blasted out buildings, and concealed among the endless ranks of their lesser bretheren were heavily armored zombies, each of them a former hero or villain with the powers to match. Sure their powers had diminished, but they were capable of coordinating in death in ways they wouldn't have imagined in life.

"New player connected: Alessandra Morrigan. Current players: M221, M221E. Team up established, difficulty modified," came the toneless female voice again, heard as though she were standing next to each person.

Once the three linked up and made it about half way to the city hall, something interesting would happen.

((So basically go wild with whatever I've listed out here. Have the Master send the hero zombies at your guys whenever you want in however many numbers and defeat them with whatever. But once you get to the halfway point like I mentioned, hold up and wait for me to post. This'll be basically how I do things in this thread.))

****************************

"Hey Vern," came a mildly annoyed voice from almost directly behind the Krayten, due left from where he came down the stairs.

Turning, Vern shook his head in bemusement at how he could have missed the speaker. Toy Dispenser, the person who had invited the lizard-like alien over, was a lightly armored and caped command and control android as told by the long ear-like projections on either side of his head and the blank white visor protecting the sensitive sensors on the front of his 'face'. But the real deal was just how bright the guy was. A bright blue dominated the color scheme, from his chest to his overlarge gauntlets to the diamond patterned cape. Red came next, doubling up on the cape and making slight inroads on the boots which was almost eclipsed by the neon green on his leg armor and the bright yellow of his segmented bet. All in all it was amazing someone hadn't invented the fashion police just to get him off the streets.

As it was the color-blind android was irritably tapping away at one of the Architect consoles, mumbling in annoyance at it. Moving closer Vern could see that Toy was struggling to get the system to accept changes to a pre-loaded list of Council soldier classes.

Hitting the close button with a sound of disgust, Toy turned toward to look down at the small Krayten and paused for a moment.

"You know, I think you got shorter."

((Oh god too much to write in one sitting. Will Edit this in a little bit with further responses.))

Mahamaya was not a man who took his entertainment lightly. He was a man who partied very. Very. Hard. So hard, in fact, that his partying had a habit of leveling everything within a long range of his location and this tended to get him in trouble with just about everyone. So he rearely got the chance to cut loose...Until Architect Entertainment came out.

"Largest size map, outdoors, cityscape, all enemey types." He said as he entered the datastream, having been to the bulding seeral times and knowing EXACTLY what to work for to sate his NEED...

The world materialized. A cityscape of skycrapers and buildings sprawled out in every direction. Every villain group was scattered about, wrecking mayhem. Every last detail of this environment could be destroyed, and it was open season on absolutely everything. This, and only this could sate Mahamaya's NEED...

He pulled something out of hammer space. A very BIG something. It could have been vaguely related to a gun, though guns were not often as large as tanks. It resembled a large, gun-metal grey rectangular storage tank with several holes mounted on a cylindrical device on the front. There were gattling guns, rocket mounts, flamethrowers, energy blasters, and every conceivable type of munition dispenser. This weapon of ridiculous proportions had been built for just one purpose...

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOREEEE DAAAAAKKKKKAAAAAAA!" He roared, mounting the device of ridiculous proportions onto his shoulder and pulling a tiny trigger on its underside that utterly failed to belie the amount of firepower that was about to be unleashed. Everything in a straight line in front of the "gun" suddenly erupted into pure chaos...

((Is all this going to converge and we end up teaming with the other players somehow? Perhaps I should start my scenario so you can decide how you want it changed?))

"Oh hardy har-har." Vern regarded Toy with that sort of look, setting his gait toward the sentient mechanoid, "Don't make me come up there. Because I will, and you know it."

It was an empty threat of course; more comradely than anything else, and even the most oblivious listener could tell so. Thus it came as no surprise that the Krayten continued, "Nice to see you too..."

Landing on the ground with a loud 'thud', M221 extended its large hand to Alex, unconcerned that its hand was oversized compared to its upper arms. The forearm sections where M221 generated energy capacity for its attacks were as large as a small human's torso and its hands matched in size, a closed fist the size of a human's head.

M221 Introduced himself and M221E, doing its best to avoid reciting his own press release and product information line.

"If you find it troubling that our names are so similar, please refer to her as Epsilon."

"I was informed that the mission parameters are to rescue the 3 remaining humans in Atlas Park. As so far, we have not discovered them."

M221E scoffed lightly, "Maybe you need to wipe the zombie gore off your optics."

M221 turned to stare at M221E. It was hard to tell if it was an angry glare or not, but it lasted several seconds before M221 shook his head and turned back to Alex, "Would you like to accompany us while we search these ruins, making sure to eliminate as many of these vile monsters as possible?"

While the discussion moved on, a second wave started forming up, several meters away. Though still mostly regular zombies, there were two in the back that stood two heads taller than the rest of them. Their eyes were brightly shining with some arcane force, but something was holding them back.

M221E hovered off the ground until she could tap M221 on the shoulder, "There's more of them coming."

The support robot then applied an energy stimulant to M221 and Alex. It boosted stamina and speed through friction manipulation.

Alex hoped M221 wouldn't be offended that she didn't shake its hand. Something about said hand being a good three or four times the size of hers put her off. "One question", she said after introducing herself in return. "Do either of you have problems with radiation?" Why she'd ask such a thing wouldn't be immediately obvious - she wasn't emitting any form of radiation. The corpses of the zombies she'd been blasting, however, very much were. Not much, not even enough to be hazardous to ordinary humans. But enough to prove that her blasts were most likely the source.

"We are shielded from most forms of energy emission, no need to hold back!" M221 said, its voice slightly jovial as it charged forward after the knocked down zombies.

The Titainium Titan waded into the group, punching the zombies that tried to stand up and stepping on the ones that were too slow to do so. When he was surrounded by the zombies, the larger ones in the back raised their fists which burst into a black flames as they struck the large robot.

"Grrrr..." M221E shook her head, "I swear to the maker, he must think his armor is actually made of plot protection..."

Still standing next to Alex, M221E reached out and pulled the mystic energy off of one of the large zombies--her Inobtanium converter manipulated that energy into a form she could distribute to herself and nearby allies--in this case, Alex.

Holding out both hands, a large bolt of electricity jumped from her fists and into the horde, finishing off a wounded undead.

Ryat66 delivered a spinning uppercut to his fifth Freak Tank Smasher by the time he realized there were nothing but bosses in the map. A trashed, abandoned warehouse, and nothing but Rikti Tanks.

"It's not like the authorities COUNT these things," he muttered, "So what's the point!?"

Rounding a corner, he inhaled sharply and went back. Whatever it was he'd seen, he didn't want to fight it until he got a better look. His memory banks indicated it was big, covered in black steel plates, and was glowing with a dark pulse of power.

"Wh4t w4s th4t!?" he heard t3h S00p4rFr34k shout as it spun its clunky body around.

"Okay..." the android whispered to himself as he started backing away from the corner more quickly, "Gonna have to start moving more quickly..."

He backed into something and heard somebody shout. Turning, he couldn't see anybody at first. Then he noticed the air shimmer and realized someone was standing there. A Sneaky Tank materialized before him and started chuckling.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding!" Ryat66 shouted before driving a charged punch into the tank's abdomen, "Good thing you still fry!"

The tank bowled over and the android bounded over it. He could hear the heavy thuds of t3h S00p4rFr34k's footfalls as it clunked over to get him.

"Geez, whoever made this sure wanted it to be a nightmare," the little android muttered as he reached some wreckage and started peering through a seam in the fallen shelf.

t3h S00p4rFr34k! reached the room, but couldn't find Ryat66. Frustrated, it started backhanding shelves and broken crates, but he was across the room, so the blaster started feeling better.

"Yo, m4n!" he heard one of the patrolling Freaks shout to the rampaging monster, "What's up, d00d!?"

"yur sint4x is 0ff!11ROFL!" t3h S00p4rFr3ak! shouted before punting the smaller minion into the wall.

"W007!" the lunatic coughed out a laugh.

"I don't remember this kind of behavior," Ryat66 muttered, "I wonder what else is..."

"Hey!" the Sneaky Tank shouted as he stomped in, "You guys see that gray little punk?"

"No..." the other patroller replied.

"I don't remember them being this capable," Ryat66 thought to himself, "And shouldn't they have been able to find me regardless of where I hid?"

"H3y! 0v3r th3r3!"

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me..."

T3h R1k70-Fr34k stomped into the room behind him and pointed one of its massive blades at Ryat66. The blaster turned around, cursed, and fired an incandescent stream of concentrated energy into the assaulting machine.

"Somebody didn't do their research," he shouted, "The Rikti Freak is supposed to be the Super Freak again!"

"Nuh-uh!" t3h S00p4rFr3ak! shouted, "If that were true, we wouldn't be here!"

"If only such logic applied to a videogame..." the blaster sighed before hurling a wave of power at the approaching machines.

M221 had a knack for making itself a target. Being large helped, but what kept the minions of evil coming back was the appearance that he was actually getting hurt. It was easy to dent and scrape his armored hide and could take quite a few rends and tears before system operations were compromised. With a support unit like M221E backing him up, M221 was capable of sustained fighting for days.

Unfortunately, These new zombies, larger and more powerful than the endless horde that seeped out of every nook and cranny were also more sturdy than they appeared. Even as M221 struck them, their bones did not crack in brittleness, nor did their flesh tear. It was disconcerting. Perhaps longer exposure to Alex's radiation would make them more susceptible to his energy laced fists.

"The mastermind behind this zombie plot is more clever than given credit for. By engaging in combat with the lessor foes, we think these new ones will be just as easily vanquished, giving them time to regroup. A fiendish strategem." M221 commented as his fists pounded on their flesh, having no lungs to circulate breath, its voice was always a steady pace apart from the motion of the rest of its body.

"My God. There are two of them." M221E muttered as it watched Alex and M221 rush into the zombies.

A part of her was of the mind that she should let them get overwhelmed by zombies out of spite, but Alex was a human, or human enough to trigger her first law override.

Angry at not being able to get her spite, M221E growled, "If I ever meet Asimov, I'm going to punch him in the face. But not hard enough to hurt him mind you."

When Michael Velsnir designed the M221 series, several sources were the inspiration for their design and programming. Earlier models like M221 were given the Three Laws of Robotics verbatim along with an overdose of anime influenced passion for abstract concepts like "justice". The inevitable conflicts lead to a break down of the large robot's artificial brain and since its recovery, it has been able to ignore the laws of its programming at will. Stronger safeguards were placed in the later models that followed the spirit of the laws, with several caveats for those undergoing criminal acts. When those restrictions were combined with M221E's personality matrix, it made her an angry, spiteful robot who had little choice but to save people who might not be worth saving.

Targeting a zombie that stood inbetween the two combatants, M221E transfused some of its energy into a more potent energy that reconstructed cells on humans and would multiply M221's nanite reassembly system.

Still centralized between the two, M221E then activated her Energy Converter, reducing enemy destructive power and giving it to her allies.

Finally, She targeted a large 'boss' zombie and exhausted its own energy reserves with a large electrical discharge and an application of her energy altering powers. Satisfied with the results, M221E began to use her single target electrical powers to finish off weakened zombies.

M221E hovered down to the ground, setting a stabilizing arm on Alex. Calculating the distance, she prepared another energy extracting manuever--one that would rejuvinate exhausted allies.

But, as she engaged her energy manipulators, M221 crushed the last standing zombie with its mighty glowing hands.

Defeated foes provided no energy, and M221E watched as the last zombie fell to the ground, shaking her head. Time and time again she explained the nature of her abilities to the large robot, but it never seemed to sink in. Holding back a sigh, M221E scanned the area around them for more combatants. Once again, there was a lull while the zombies regrouped for their next attack.

"That was impressive!" M221 exclaimed, giving Alex a large thumbs up. M221E watched as gore flicked off of its thumb as it did so. How...macrabe.

"We should advance while there is a lull in the attackers. If the simulation is accurate, you will have to defeat all of the population of Paragon City before they stop coming." M221E offered.

((I'm away till Sunday Evening. Peace folks.))