Pick Your Poison
Heat 5.7
[Sunday, December 12, 2010]
"I wouldn't worry too much about that. Dragon is forced to live out of her lab in Vancouver due to her ill health, and I have it on good record that she has plenty of able staff on hand should she take a turn for the worse." Alexandria Costa-Brown stated after schooling her features from that of someone winning a game of wits to her previous businesslike air. Bitch. What did your lot just do to Dragon? We need her, and if you've screwed this up for us you're setting us back! Or….
"Good to hear. Hopefully she'll still be available for the next phase for the Medabots?" I probed as I looked over to Leet a bit worriedly. "I mean, Leet can make only one working prototype, and we don't want to risk Rokusho dying if he tries to mass-produce variants of his Medal, because we already have a base version to use for our own means." Said version was dumb, and unable to think for itself. An input=output scenario. The very definition of a VI.
"She should hopefully be fine within a week, knowing her." Costa-Brown insisted confidently, so I eased off some of the obvious wariness I was projecting, considering it seemed I was setting almost everyone else in the room on edge. "So what is the 'Next Phase' for your little robots?"
"Marketing! And, uh, to direct dumb VI around. See, the games and show they're from have them as the battle tools of children and adults. They are ingrained with a powerful sense of morals besides their free will, so even if they do end up killing someone, it will be because they had no reasonable alternative." Leet declared, looking to Rokusho, who was content to remain silent. "Well? You're your own person Rokusho, how about you add your own two cents?"
"I fail to see where money comes into this Leet." Rokusho's ernest bewilderment got several snickers. "Oh, an expression. Well, my creator has more or less described my persona well enough, at least at base. I know that killing is wrong, and that to harm someone is also wrong. I'd honestly prefer a life of peace to battle." Rokusho commented, folding his arms. "I've done some reading, and I like the teachings of this Buddha person. Very wise, very philosophical."
"Well isn't that ironic. He's made for fighting and he doesn't want to fight." Trainwreck commented with a snort. "Leet, I thought you were making AI to help us get boots on the ground."
"Don't take my desire for peace as complacency. I know my role, what I'm meant to do. I may not enjoy it, but if I must, I will harm someone if it means protecting an innocent, but I refuse to end a life outright. Even if they are to be killed by the law. I will not needlessly stain my hands with blood." Rokusho bit back, obviously offended that Trainwreck even considered he wasn't up to the task.
"Impressive. Most people wouldn't have such resolve. If more people had guts like those, I'm sure the world would be a much safer place for it." Costa-Brown commented with what sounded like wistful nostalgia. Rokusho must be reminding her of someone, maybe. "But marketing? You want to sell Medabots to the public?"
"Yes! They're all going to more-or-less be unable to kill anything, more out of a crushing sense of morals and guilt that may require extensive therapy if they do than any hard-coded restrictions. But the reason I want Dragon's help is, like Dealer explained; I can only make One Prototype. I refuse to 'improve' Rokusho, as he's as refined as he'll ever be for his purpose. So I need someone who can work off of my coding and designs to make new Medabots with their own personalities, even if they all follow a rigid code of ethics." Leet explained, much to everyone's surprise.
"But he's Tinker Tech. Even if Dragon's reproductions work, won't they just break down and be unable to be maintained like all Tinker Tech?" Lady Photon asked curiously, to which I, along with the other Tinkers, all began laughing at in good nature.
"Not so! We've developed a loophole." Squealer declared as she thumbed towards the windows facing the street. "Those flying busses out there? If you've got someone smart enough to look over the schematics Leet's put together, they can be made by anyone with sufficient skill." This sent a wave of shock through the room, even Costa-Brown was a bit gobsmacked, before looking at Leet intently. "Yep! Leet here, his power is Bullshit! Anything he designs? Actually Designs? He has to make blueprints, schematics, directions for."
"Where there's usually gaps in designs filled in by Tinkers being Bullshit, Leet's power seems to be able to flesh it out and even make it seem feasible. No jumping from point A to C and skipping B with his builds. It's part of why his Prototypes end up failing over time, because he needs to keep Improving them unlike most TInkers who can just slap a bandaid on it and keep going." Trainwreck continued, patting Leet on the shoulder and making the man stagger.
"That said, when he works together with other Tinkers, he synergizes with them so well that even if they can't see the missing gaps, he can, and fills it in. At least that's what these two say. I haven't had the pleasure of working with him yet." I bemoaned, still irritated that my own work for the VI android foot soldiers was on hold right now. The polyps need to develop more before I can start screwing with their DNA.
"Well then. I'm more than certain now that MIRIS will be overjoyed to work things out with you all." Costa-Brown stated, shortly before an explosion happened nearby, which got everyone to their feet. "Calm! I had a feeling some individuals or groups may have issue with MIRIS and this meeting in particular, so I've hired Faultline and her crew through MIRIS to be on duty as well as the majority of the local Protectorate."
"But Miss Costa-Brown, pardon any disrespect, we're Heroes or morally upstanding individuals. We cannot just sit idly by as someone threatens the safety and lives of people." Lady Photon declared, only for Costa-Brown to gently gesture for everyone to sit back down.
"On the contrary. As of this moment for the time being, in this building, you are citizens, not parahumans, capes, rogues, villains or heroes. You have NO duty to go out there and risk your lives. This is a formal meeting discussing MIRIS, as well as whether or not any former villains in this room will have their crimes pardoned for service." Costa-Brown declared, getting I and every villain to leer at her. Well-played bitch. We can't leave until business is concluded. But didn't we just about declare the meeting over? Oh, right, Leet and I extended it...whoops.
"That's not-!" Glory Girl's objection was stopped by Brandish jerking her hand up and snarling.
"Glory Girl. She's right. We, as citizens on the premises of a government building, are to follow all direction, especially in the case of an emergency. A parahuman attack counts." Brandish grumbled, clearly not appreciating the irony of her morals conflicting with her strict belief in the rule of law. "If we leave this room without permission, we'd be committing a major misdemeanor at best." Wait, what?! That's a thing?!
"Or a felony under suspicion of aiding and abetting possible terrorist activity." Director Piggot added on as she too had taken to her feet, already looking several times the woman she was before with her healthy skin tone and smaller belly. "Permission to investigate Chief-Director?"
"Granted. I can handle the remaining topics alone." Costa-Brown agreed, and Director Piggot sprinted from the room as if her office shoes were secretly tinkertech running shoes. Damn. I'm interested in how she'll do with Panacea's variants of my Surge and Stim in her body. "Now that you are all informed, please sit, or remain in the room at the least until we hear more of the situation or it comes to close to ignore. It is our duty to keep you safe, not abuse your powers."
With varying degrees of disgruntlement, we did so. "Okay, well let's wrap this up ASAP so we're not sitting ducks in case the fighting reaches here." Overseer huffed. He'd Surged up to 7 feet like his daughter but was lithe and wiry even with exercise. He used a Guise Watch in his civvies to appear shorter. His new stature also made his costume of a grey straight jacket, black slacks, and full eyeball designed helmet even more unsettling. "For reference on that order, I'm not exactly in one place thanks to my power, am I breaking the law be default?"
"Due to our work together in the past week Overseer, we're aware that you share senses with all people within a mile radius. Please refrain from swapping bodies unless you feel the person you're swapping with is in mortal peril." Costa-Brown acquiesced, and he along with Hive both visibly relaxed at having some measure of leeway. "Now then, we'll hammer out the smaller details with the Merchants at a later time."
"If it is alright with you Leet, I would like to return home and play more Animal Crossing since it seems I am no longer needed here." Rokusho interrupted, getting Uber and Leet to chuckle.
"Sure, no problem. Transport." Leet spoke into his cane and pressed the button on the knob. Soon, Rokusho was glowing light blue like his eyes, and then vanished in a soft flash. "Sorry about that. He loves slice of life games."
"It is no problem, he indeed was not needed any further." Costa-Brown nodded. "But from now on, please do not add or remove people or objects from rooms during MIRIS meetings without direct permission."
"Noted." Leet stated with a sheepish grin.
"So, let's get to Rogues please. I know I'm the only one in the room, but I need to know what I'm getting into. I appreciate the idea of having MIRIS watching my back as I work, but how is that any different from staying with the Merchants like I've had to the past month?" Parian questioned. She'd abused our hospitality well, even if she did buy her mods by making our costumes. She was just barely scraping past 6 feet tall, but was built like an hourglass which she tried to play down with her classy white victorian outfit. I suspected she might even be binding her chest.
"First of all, for you Parian, you're a special case. We've failed to ensure your safety and the very fact you had to join Villains to be safe is a perfect example of why MIRIS needed to be reworked from the ground up. You will have your store back, for one. You will also have a posted trooper presence during business hours or when you're at another venue. You will also be receiving commissions from the entire Protectorate and PRT through MIRIS." Costa-Brown replied, and Parian seemed stunned if her silence and stillness said anything.
"That's...great. It'd be wonderful to have my Dollhouse back, and have some comfort knowing I have trained guards while I'm doing business. But don't flood me with commissions please. I may have my powers, but I'm still just one person." Parian requested, and Costa-Brown nodded.
"Not a problem. It is MIRIS's job to moderate such things after all. As a heads-up, you'll have a waiting list a mile long." That disgustingly perfect smile again. Eugh…. "However, the first commissions we have on hold for you when things get hammered out will be for the Wards. They've had a rather...suspicious growth spurt as of late." Costa-Brown smirked knowingly at me, and I huffed as I crossed my arms.
"I sell my wares, they may end up in strange places. Don't worry about any plagues though." Seriously, ever since the process for Nutrigel, I've been beyond careful about any bacterial or viral plagues I might accidentally unleash upon the world. It was actually harder not to. Fuck. I just got an urge to make a zombie plague that turns the zombies into amalgamates. Gross.
"I wasn't making any accusations Dealer, just an observation. If anything I approve of their actions, but it's their Parents and the Youth Guard that have final say. Since this was their own decision, there's not much we can do besides disciplinary action." Costa-Brown shrugged moments before a trooper rushed in, beelined for the Chief Director, and whispered in her ear. I noticed Bitch's ears flicking and she seemed to be frowning a bit more than usual.
"Oh...that's...meeting adjourned everyone. The danger has passed. We'll be in touch. A general meeting with your MIRIS representatives will take place here at the PRT building every Saturday morning at 10AM. You can leave your contact information with the receptionist." The two-faced Alexandria informed us and we all stood once she left the room.
"What did you hear Bitch?" I asked of my girlfriend as we filed out in groups towards the elevators.
"Rules." Bitch replied, looking irritated. "Not sure though. Not for me to tell." Ah, the Unwritten Rules. Well, technically they were written, on PHO and other parahuman websites, but still.
"That's fine. Will it affect our plans?" I probed as she grabbed my tail again, getting me to shiver as we got into the elevator with Hive and Tats this time.
"Maybe. I'm not a nerd." Bitch replied, so I shrugged.
"Oh shit." Tats suddenly blurted out, and I looked to her, seeing her face paling a bit. "Fuck."
"What?" Hive asked as the elevator opened, and she stepped out. Her 'costume' was really just her being covered in a single shifting layer of bugs that were arranged to make her look like she was a human mass of them.
"Not here." Tats hissed as we went to the receptionist, signed our cape name, general power description, and the numbers we gave the Protectorate for our collaborations. We then filed out, and I had to wonder why one of Dragon's suits was in smouldering pieces down the street with PRT foaming it to the asphalt. "Not here." Tats urged again, and we moved to the Skiff we came in on, but with Hive joining us as Tats closed the hatch and made sure the cockpit was closed. "FUCK! Dragon's an AI!"
"What?!" I was genuinely shocked at that. I mean, she's a Tinker right? Well, maybe being an AI gives her enough Thinker-levels of capability she can emulate being a Tinker? No, wait, she actually does have the ability to reverse-engineer the work of Tinkers to some degree, so can AI Trigger and get powers too? Can any sapient entity with cognitive reasoning get powers?
"Tats. Rules." Bitch snarled at Tats, who just scoffed.
"Rachel, the Rules don't really matter on the face of it. Especially not if we just barely avoided Dragon going Skynet the moment she saw Rokusho!" Tats heatedly replied, but before we could talk more about it, Shadow Stalker suddenly ghosted in through the door, getting us to jump and Hive to nearly swarm her.
"Stalker, what're you-." I was interrupted by her marching up to me, pulling her mask up, and kissing me hungrily, pushing me back towards the bench and pushing me down onto it, straddling my lap. I snarled and grabbed her ass through her pants and returned the kiss before she was pulled off by Bitch and Hive fairly roughly. "W-what the fuck?!" I got control of myself, but my pants were not being nice to my sudden and painful hard-on. Ow~...
"The fuck are you doing?!" Taylor demanded, and I cringed at realizing I had 3 of my girlfriends all in the same room. One hated the other, one was territorial, and the other had no sense of boundaries or restraint. "You were supposed to wait until tonight!" Wait, what? Oh! Our date!
"I couldn't resist the chance to make him squirm." Sophia chuckled as she got up, pulling her mask back down. Thankfully the windows were tinted and hard to see into. "You just know how I love to make people uncomfortable." Sophia then scanned Taylor up and down. "Damn, how'd you make bugs not gross? It's like you're wearing a costume."
"It's just for show really. I had these bugs get cleaned and have them adhered to my surface layer." Taylor replied conversationally to her mortal enemy, as if they hadn't been at odds for several months. What have these girls been doing while I've been busy?
"Oh~ I see what's happening here. Good luck loverboy." Tats teased as the hatch opened and our previous topic of discussion was clearly going to have to wait. "Don't worry, Stalker was just saying hi, she's just leaving now." Tats assured Skidmark, and Sophia didn't deny it, simply nodding and walking past Skidmark once the hatch was clear.
"So she's the one who has you riled up huh?" Skidmark snickered, and I quickly crossed my legs and moved my tail over my groin, growling in embarrassment. "Won't judge kid. I'm not the one who somehow gathered a harem on accident." With that, Skidmark moved aside as Squealer walked in, and she yelped as he slapped her ass. "I've got more than enough woman for me."
"Skids~! Not until we get home!" Squealer giggled as she playfully slapped his intact arm before the couple moved to the back of the flying train car.
"Why don't you do that to us?" Bitch suddenly asked me with her head tilted in confusion.
"Bitch. I respect you girls too much to do something like that. I mean, sure, Squealer likes it, but I'm not one to needlessly objectify people." I mean really, being sexually attracted to someone is one thing, but to treat them as an object meant for sex? It's wrong. The cafeteria ladies are an example of that. They love being sexually objectified for their huge boobs, told me themselves.
They want to become cowgirls to get even bigger and fuel their fetishes. I don't get that. I might not have a real choice soon though, they're threatening to pool their resources and buy an actual cow for me to use as their template. By then to deny them would just be mean. Hopefully they'd learn and I'd have to give them a breast reduction treatment.
"But it's natural." Bitch huffed, clearly displeased, and I sighed. Another thing to deal with later.
"We'll talk about that later. Speaking of later, when are we going on our group date? And where?" I questioned Taylor and Bitch, who looked to each other and Bitch shrugged.
"We'll keep it surprise. Pantera is really excited about it, and so are Sophia and Emma." Taylor informed-wait! Emma?!
"W-why is Emma coming?" I stuttered as the hatch closed and we took off for Haven smoothly.
"Oh, shit. I wasn't supposed to say that. Uh, she heard where we're going and practically demanded to come along. Don't worry! She's not joining us! She's got her eyes on someone else apparently...don't see how…." Taylor grumbled, crossing her arms.
"Wait...are you jealous someone else has Emma's eyes?" I asked, and Tats plopped into the seat next to me.
"Oh, hell yeah. She has a raging lady boner for Emma, but likes you more, and Emma still prefers guys." Tats informed me, getting Taylor's buggy exterior to buzz and look away. "Anyway, we'll talk later about the AI. You lot have fun going to...oh HELL no! I'm coming too!"
"At this rate, we might as well fucking invite everyone." Bitch snarled, turning towards the rest of the Skiff and opening her mouth before Taylor could stop her. "Hey! Who all wants to go to Hawaii?!" Bitch's question got a chorus of cheers, and Taylor groaned as I just processed that.
"Hawaii?" Oh, great! This is the obligatory Beach Date episode every Harem Anime/Manga is practically required to have isn't it?! Ugh! Can my life get any more cliche?! Why did I have to let Veder convince me to try out Japanese pop culture?!