Well, January has been a whirlwind of a month, with both good and bad news.
Good news, we resolved the nuke situation, the eggheads managed to make an improved version of Tacpur that not only taste good but also can be served to normal humans, the factory is up and running and the WBS is finally being distributed across the US Armed Forces; and it turns out that Joy as a Watchmen is a powerhouse that makes all the other WM look weak.
Bad news, somehow the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa; got lost in the mail and ended up in BW's hands by accident. And last but most certainly bad, your old caretaker, Ms. Jansen is in the BW's medical ward in a coma due to a cancer that will kill her by the end of the month.
And now, you held the power on what is going to happen in your hands.
Winning Plan- Plan Connections
Stewardship:
--[X] Hartford Investment Opportunities:
Cost- 500, Upkeep- 100; Time- 1 turn, CoS- 40/20/5%
Roll- 4 5(Hayden)= 9
CRIT FAIL
"See 'Give Cube Energy to Hartford.'"
--[X] Give Cube energy to Hartford:
--[X] Directly
--X] Free
Cost- 500, Upkeep- 200 (Only if Directly is chosen); Time- 1 turn, CoS- Varies (Will depend on the above choices)
Roll- 95 5(Hayden)= 100
CRIT Roll- 84
(CRIT Roll cancels the bad effect of Investment)
Okay, good news and bad news.
Bad news, when you sent Hayden to talk with the town's council regarding investments, the mayor was apparently in a bad mood and not only was he not in the mood for talking about investments, because apparently the town's finances were in the middle of a debt caused by some mismanagement and were trying to find a way to pay off the debt.
Good news, Hayden managed to salvage the situation by offering the mayor the debt from our own pocket and as an added gift that our HQ would provide the entire town with free energy directly from our HQ's experimental nuclear reactor as part of a testing phase for the reactor.
The whole nuclear reactor was a cover for the Cube's existence and it a good cover.
When the mayor heard the words 'pay debt' and 'free energy', his mood changed and was happy to take both things. A day later, the accidental debt was paid off and the town's finance was back to normal.
A week of construction and cable wiring, the connection between the base and the town was completed and now the town of Hartford was 100% off the original grid. To say the people of the town were happy was an understatement. The fact they were now having free electricity for their homes and businesses meant more money for their pockets.
The people were grateful to us for our contribution.
Reward-
Hartford's accidental debt paid off (money from the Investment cost is taken for this in this turn)
Hartford's is now off the grid and running on free power directly from HQ.
Crown Wall's reputation in Hartford increased.
-[x] Build Secret Production line for Cube Batteries, below ground-
Cost- 4000, Upkeep- 2000; Time- 4 Turns, CoS- 50%; Reward- Small factory completed, MP of Cube batteries possible (Cost already taken, upkeep already in the list)
Finish in Turn 18
Roll- 60 5(Hayden)= 65
Even with the issues coming from Hartford, Hayden made sure that construction of the production line continued without delays.
PASS
Diplomacy:
--[X] Attempt to make friends
Cost- 40, CoS- 50/40/20/10%, Reward- Connection established with a group
Roll- 33 5(Walter) 5(Carol)= 43
FAIL
-[X] Ties with the Great Powers of the "1st World."
--[X] Take a trip to
--[X] NATO: CoS- 70%
Cost- 900, Time- 2 Turns; CoS- Read each nation section
Roll- 12 5(Walter) 5(Carol)= 22
FAIL
--[X] Help me bury all these hatchets (and ICMBs non-nuclear or otherwise) with the "Second World"
--[X] USSR
Cost- 1100, Time- 2 Turns; CoS- 30%, Reward- Malus 'Hated by Red' removed
Roll= 41 5(Walter) 5(Carol)= 51
FAIL
You really are starting to wonder what the point of is trying to open up diplomatic channels with other nations or groups. Walter and Carol did not have time to any of that and thus once again left alone.
Then again, with their success with Tacpuro, you were not angry at all.
Reward- FAIL
-[X] Reveal Tacpuro
--[X] Share it (Cost- 1000, CoS- 70%, Reward- various)
Roll= 93 5(Walter) 5(Carol)= 103
CRIT Roll= 88 3(Overflow)= 91
PASS
While their efforts in diplomatic channels failed, their work on sharing Tacpuro with the US government throughout the entire month was met with a lot of success.
When the heads of the military heard about a new substitute for MRE that worked not only better but tasted good, they were skeptical. But when they tasted the Tacpuro, they were stunned at tasting what is supposed to be an MRE substitute tasting good and not horrible.
Heck, even President Kennedy called BW, after tasting it; to say he was impressed at this invention.
"After tasting this, I am now wonder how my time during my service in the sea would have been if my food did not taste like crap." President Kennedy said on the phone.
During the entire month, discussions were made on how to manufacture Tacpuro to the armed forces. Knowing that the demand for it would be immense and BW alone could not handle the production of it, you decided to give the formula to the government for them to manufacture and distribute on their own.
In exchange for this, the President decided to up BW's budget, again, by 50% of, at that time's; amount.
Meanwhile Marcus, after careful hiding of classified details; was published with the creation of Tacpuro, earning him national and international recognition. Basically, the public story is that Marcus, working alongside a clandestine military laboratory; created Tacpuro. Marcus also named the rest of your nerds as helping in creating the food. One thing that was hidden was the existence of Tacpure.
By the end of the month, Tacpuro had been distributed across the major US military bases and good things had been said about it, especially the grunts.
There were even talks within the government to see if Tacpuro could be sold to the public. With last year's nuclear scare, a lot of people had been purchasing long term things in case of a post nuclear world, with a lot of those things had been illegally obtained MREs.
You could safely say that BW once again changed the field for the US forces.
Reward- Tacpuro shared with US Government, approval, and recognition of Blackwatch in the armed forces increased.
Marcus gets public recognition for his invention.
BW's Federal Funding increased by 50% (Increase from 53k to 79,500)
Increased status of US soldiers, in terms of being able to eat healthy and in a good mood.
Intrigue:
--[X] Get rid of the Mona Lisa, secretly
Cost- 3000, CoS- 35%, Reward- Mona Lisa returned without problems.
Roll- 2 5(Fury)= 7
CRIT FAIL
Re-Roll= 955(Fury)= 100
Crit Roll= 99 NAT CRIT
Crit Roll 2= 80
'Inside the Fury's office'
"Fury." You said to him in the most deadpan tone you could muster while you stood in front of his desk while Fury was sitting behind his desk.
"Yes?" He answered back in the same tone.
"Just to clarify, you do realize that when Indy finds out about this, he is going to murder you and I have half a mind to let him do that. Hell, that is not even counting what Joy will do to you." You said, knowing full well that Indy would really murder Fury, quite possibly with his energy whip; and the amount of trouble that was going to be unleashed when the Powers At Be find out what happened was more than enough to let Indy have his way with Fury because you were the one that was going to be yelled at.
Less said how Joy will react, the better.
"I know, I know. But how the hell was I supposed to know that the Met* was going to host a surprise American History exhibit next month, that primary piece of the exhibit was this OR that said piece was hidden inside a simple cylinder container in plain sight." Fury said as he pointed to the hot potato sitting in your desk. (*Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC)
The potato was a large, old piece of paper. A piece of paper with words written on it that defined the future of an entire nation. The paper was none other than the United States' Declaration of Independence.
As to how the Declaration ended up in the hands of Fury, it all started with the operation to quietly get rid of the Mona Lisa.
You basically ordered Fury to do whatever it took to get the Mona Lisa back to its rightful guardians without the French noticing it was missing to the Met, where the painting was supposed to be on display.
During the time Fury was researching ways to stealthy enter the Met and return the painting, you ordered your scientist to inspect the painting to see if there was anything wrong with it. Last thing you need was to find out that the painting was returned without problems only to discover that there was a hidden tear in it due to all the unexpected moving around. After a series of tests, they concluded that the painting was alright with nothing wrong with it.
It took days for Fury to come up with a plan that had a chance of success. The plan revolving around Fury sneaking into the Met like a delivery guy with a crate housing the painting, with fake papers and credentials. Luckily by the time Fury managed to covertly return the Mona Lisa back to the Met, nobody noticed that it had gone missing.
However, the problem arose when after leaving the crate, one of the employees in the warehouse told Fury, thinking he was a delivery man; to grab a nearby cylinder, the type used to carry paintings; and to throw it in the garbage since apparently it was empty.
Fury, wanting to leave as fast as possible but wanting to draw attention; grabbed the cylinder and pretended to follow orders but left the Met quickly upon finding an exit with the cylinder in hand. Seeing as it was supposedly empty and was going to the garbage, Fury decided to keep it, maybe to later use it for a future mission where he could hide stuff in there.
Imagine his surprise a day after he returned to HQ, he opened the cylinder and found that it was not empty but rather full and inside of it was the Declaration. At first, he thought it was a fake, one of those that are sold in gift shops, but he examined it closely and saw that unlike what you would expect from a fake, the paper was old and showed signs of use.
That and he made some convert calls in secret and discovered that apparently the Met was going to host a surprise American History exhibit sometime in the future and that among those was the Declaration itself as the center piece.
After hearing Fury's report, you once again wondered who the hell oversaw logistics for this type of things that screwed up again. Whose bright idea was to put the Declaration inside a normal looking cylinder and the fact that it was almost thrown into the trash.
"Okay, I will go inform the rest of the staff that the Mona Lisa has been put back in its place. But also, the fact that we now have in our possession the Declaration." You told Fury.
"Yes sir. I will get started on writing my will just in case Indy or Joy try to kill me." Fury said in a morbid joking mood.
"I seriously doubt it would come to that." You told Fury.
Sometime later….
First instance-
"WE HAVE WHAT!!!" Indy yelled.
Second Instance-
Training field getting destroyed, again, by Joy's bolts after hearing what you told her.
'On second thought, maybe it would be best to send Fury on a vacation until they calm down.' You thought as you saw Joy destroy the field. But then you retracted that idea almost immediately.
'On the other hand, maybe no. With his luck, if he goes on a vacation, he might end up finding some long lost treasure or something.' You thought.
Reward-
Mona Lisa examined, nothing wrong with the painting. Later returned without anybody finding out that it had gone missing.
'Acquired' Declaration of Independence.
New actions available.
--[X] Other Organizations?
Cost- 50, CoS- 40/10%, Rewards- Learn more about the hidden threats and those seeking to counter them.
Roll- 20 5(Fury)= 25
FAIL
--[X] Nazi Hunting Season
Cost- 1000; CoS- 40%; Reward- Fugitive Nazis found
Roll- 49 5(Fury) 5(Oversee)= 59
FAIL, 5 to next attempt
Because of his job in taking care of the Mona Lisa, and the already feeling headache of the future political fallout due to having the Declaration; neither you nor Fury had the time to investigate any possibly Nazi fugitives across the world, nor did Fury had the time to investigate the existence of other groups that could either be allies or enemies to BW.
You told Fury to just ignore the failure and just concentrate on how to deal with having the Declaration of Independence in our hands.
Reward- FAIL
Martial:
--[X] Group Training
Cost- 5000, CoS- ???, cannot use their bonus, except for any AP, in the same turn; Reward- All Watchmen in BW get better.
Roll= 89 8 (Training Ground Lvl. 3) 5 (Jack)= 102
CRIT Roll- 952(Overflow)= 97
CRIT Roll- 88
PASS
You decided to have all of BW's Watchmen train together the entire month at specific days to better their performance, including Fear to teach him how to use his new body and powers.
After a long and grueling month-long training session, with Chris being the one to suffer the most due to being the only civilian in the group; you could honestly say that the results were great and spoke that there is much yet to discover of their new powers.
In Indy's case, he managed to not only increase the number of Bolts from 6 to 8 but he also can now dually wield two BL whips at the same time.
In Chris' case, besides once again teaching him how to fight; discovered that besides super strength, he also had the capability to run fast to the point that he could run from the second floor to the first floor in under 3 seconds. Sufficing to say that it is good thing that Chris does not play football, otherwise a tackle would be deadly for the opposing person Chris decided to tackle directly.
In Fear's case, beside easily relearning how to fight in his usual style in his new body and his control of Bolts, which in the end numbered at 4 at the same time; he also learned his own personal BL ability like Indy and Joy had. In his case, he could create BL Stingers* that were connected to his wrists, which really combined well with his CQC.
Picture the stingers that Marvel Spider Man's Kaine uses.
In Joy's case, besides grueling beating training you and the rest of the Watchmen in combat; she trained herself to the ground to improve her Cloak. By the end of the month, she managed to increase her Cloak's duration from 1 hour to 2 hours. Though she still could not stop the Cloak from destroying her clothes, much to her displeasure.
Lastly, in your case, you managed to increase your Bolts' control to 8 and having taking inspiration from Indy, Joy and now Fear; you developed your own personal BL ability. In your case, you managed to cover your right hand in BL without harming you, effectively creating a Power Fist that cause the same reaction to something if they were hit with your Bolts.
In the end, you could easily say that if you and the rest of the Watchmen were to be deployed, you would really pity the enemies that were to fight against.
Reward- Fear ready for combat.
All Watchmen upgraded. Details below:
Jacob
Watchmen: 20 to Martial (OOC- German Battleship)
--Lvl 4 Bolts (create a floating ball shape projectile of BL, create and control at the same time- 8)
--Immune to tank shots
--Lvl 1 Power Fist (cover right fist in BL)
Indy
Watchmen (Tank Man V2)
--Lvl 4 Bolts (create a floating ball shape projectile of BL, create and control at the same time- 8);
--Lvl 2 Whip (create a whip made of Bolt energy on either hands at the same time.)
--Immune to tank shots
Joy
Watchmen (Specialized Battleship)
-Lvl 5 Bolts (create a floating ball shape projectile of BL, create and control at the same time- 10)
-Immune to tank shots
-Cloak- cover entire body in BL energy, cannot use Bolts, anything that she touches suffers the same effect as a Bolt, ability to fly and increase of speed and speed; usage of this destroys anything Joy is carrying. Time usage- 2 hour.
Fear
Watchmen (Tank Man V2)
--Lvl 2 Bolts (create a floating ball shape projectile of BL, create and control at the same time- 4);
--Lvl 1 Stingers (create stingers made of Bolt energy on either arms)
Chris
Watchmen (Heavy Tank Man)
- No Bolts, just physically strong
- Immune to tank shots
- Super Speed
--[X] Gain more troops
Cost- 200, Upkeep- 30, CoS- 70/50/30/10%, Reward- one squad of troops (rank depends on roll)
Roll= 30 5 (Jack)= 35
When you told Jack to find troops to increase BW's troop amount, you though it would be easy. But apparently it was easier said than done.
Jack tried to get squads from other bases to be relocated to BW but either the orders got lost or they were deliberately ignored, thinking they were fakes.
You really are starting to wonder if whoever oversaw the US Logistics were cursed or something.
Either way, Jack managed to get a squad of 4 new soldiers to BW, emphasis on new. The 4 new soldiers were brothers, interesting enough two sets of twins, their last name being Drake. One set was at the age of 18 while the other set was at 17. All four had dropped out of school to enlist in the army.
The reason for the four brothers to enlist was that their single mother was in an accident at work and died. This left them without any form of income and were going to lose their house and could not afford to continue their education. So, to get money and not be on the street, they decided to enlist.
Normally Jack would have said no to their enlistment but in the end, he decided to accept them and have them directly work in BW due to several reasons. One, the need for more manpower in BW. Two, while the brothers were green as grass, this meant that they could be tough to operate in the way BW needed them to instead of changing old tactics to new tactics.
But most important of all, Jack felt sorry for them.
When you got the report and heard Jack's explanation, you decided to take the gamble and accepted into BW's boot camp.
Though you wondered if the brothers would change their minds about joining the military after either Joy or Jack get through their training.
Reward- 1 squad, green rank; name to be determined if they pass training.
--[X] Early War on Drugs
Cost- 75, 1 combat squad (Turtle Squad); Time- 1 turn, CoS- 70/20/5%, Reward- ????
Roll= 18 5 (Jack)= 23
Below
--[X] US Military Cooperation (Localized):
Possible reward: Meet with a local base/garrison commander, establish ties within a local branch of the United States military, chance for possible assistance to be called upon when needed, and even the chance of getting additional resources or personnel.
Cost- 1000, CoS- 50/???
Roll- 30 5 (Jack)= 35
Because of his duties in managing the military portion of BW, helping the Watchmen train, and dealing with the newest green squad in BW, Jack alone did not have time to coordinate in looking for potential drug dealers nor in attempting to communicate with other US forces regarding making an alliance.
With all the situations happening, you told him to keep trying without rushing things.
Reward- FAILS
Learning:
-[X] Investigate Kid's Armor:
Cost- 5000, Upkeep- 2500 (While action is taken), DC- 300/500/1000 (Understand/LP/MP), Reward- Armor understood.
Roll- 55 32 (Bonus)= 87
Bonus- 5(Marcus) 10(Robert) 2(Strangelove) 15(Laboratory)= 32
Examining the armor continued as schedule, with your scientist saying that at first glance, the armor seemed to be made of unknown elements that never seemed before.
PASS, NEW DC- 147/379/847 (Turn 16)
--[X] Investigate Cube's history-
Cost- 700, Upkeep- 250 (while the action is being done), DC- 400, Reward- Cube's origins discovered
Roll- 11 17= 28
Bonus- 5(Marcus) 10(Robert) 2(Strangelove)= 17
Investigation into the Cube's unknown history continued at a slow but stable pace. It seems like someone, someone's or something wanted to make sure the Cube's existence was not known.
PASS, NEW DC- 316 (Turn 16)
--[X] Check the Mona Lisa-
Cost- 1000, CoS- 70/???, Reward- Mona Lisa is safe, ???
Roll- 27 17 (bonus)= 44
Bonus- 5(Marcus) 10(Robert) 2(Strangelove)= 17
PASS
'Look at "Get rid of the Mona Lisa, secretly" for result.'
--[X] Research Cancer:
Cost - 5000, Upkeep- 2000; Time - 10 Turns, CoS 30/20/10%, Reward – Cure for Cancer
Roll- 33 27 (bonus)= 60
Bonus- 10(Marcus' biological special) 10(Robert) 2(Strangelove) 5 (Brandon's biological)= 27
Due to all the work around the Mona Lisa, the Cube, and the armor, none of the scientist had the time to begin the initial work toward coming up with a cure for cancer.
FAIL
Personal:
-[X] Oversee an action-
--[X] Nazi Hunting Season
'Look at above action.'
-[X] Improve thyself-
CoS- 10%, Reward- 1 Personal AP
Roll- 71
With all the issues around the base, Watchmen training and the Declaration fiasco; you did not have time to improve yourself regarding find ways to expand your time.
FAIL
-[X] Investigate weird occurrence-
CoS- 50/20/5%, Time- 1 Turn, Reward- ???
Roll- 39
Good news, the normal time of weird things that happened around the base passed and nothing happened, which made you forgo to investigate.
Bad news, a weird new thing reared his head and now you are starting to wonder if you should only be surprised if normal things happened instead of impossible things.
Why couldn't Chris finally pop his cherry like a normal person!?
FAIL
-[X] Confide the Legacy-
CoS- 50%; Reward- BW core group learns about Legacy
Roll- 33
You were in your office writing this week's report when you stopped and began to think.
'Why do I feel I forgot to do something? Eh, probably was not something important.' You though as you resumed your work.
'Oh look, another bill from Jack about repairing the training field, again.' You rolled your eyes as you sign off on it.
FAIL
Translation Roll:
DC- 270
Roll- 9
NEW DC- 261 (Turn 16)
Boy Coma-
Roll- 495=54 vs. 66
FAIL, 10 next turn
Girl Coma-
Roll- 355=40 vs. 57
FAIL, 10 next turn
-[X] [Kara]- Hail Mary time. Give her a catalyst (-1 Catalyst)
Transformation Roll- 100 (WHY!!):-:-/
Pain- 30 (you) vs. 41 (oppose)= Stays unconscious
Okay, so good news. The Hail Mary worked and Kara, who once old and was literally on death's bed; now looks young and healthy. Brandon and Marcus checked her out and confirmed that she was also 100% disease free.
Bad news, she has gone from an artificially induced coma into a natural coma, just like all the others. You are now starting to wonder if women who become Watchmen automatically end in a coma every time.
Either way, you are only glad that Kara is not going to die. Though this means now waiting for her to wake up, the hot potato that is going to be to explain to her what happened to her and hope Joy teaches her about her new body.
On a side note, according to Brandon and Marcus; Kara now has the same internal body as Joy.
Reward- Kara lives, is now a Watchman.
In a coma.
Random Event Roll- 72
To be continued in "Date Night, gone right or wrong" :-:headdesk: :whistle:
Preview (Subject to change)-
When you though of the worst case scenarios that could happen from Chris taking Strangelove on a date, this was not even in the consideration. Even with all the crap that seems to revolve around here.
Now, she looks like if Playboy magazine decided to do a Conan the Barbarian female warrior fantasy image come true.
'What is with Russians sending us weird things?'
"Hey Hayden can we that sign that says 'Number of days without incident' changed to one that says 'without transformations'?"
'Inside Jacob's Office with Chris and Strangelove'
"Remind me to tell Brandon to come up with a pill that gets rid of headaches in an instant and not the commercial crap." You said as you massaged your forehead, a headache already starting to form due to the situation already starting to affect you after hearing the entire story.
The situation revolving around Chris and Strangelove with specific interest on Strangelove. Last time you saw her, yesterday; she was an albino woman with short silver hair and blue eyes. Now, she looks like if Playboy magazine decided to do a Conan the Barbarian female warrior fantasy cover issue.
She had grown in both height and mass; her hair was now colored in a combination of purple with silver and was longer; her eyes were now purple but also glowing; and her skin was now even more pale.
But the biggest change was the white and glowing neon pink armor with wing-like appendages on her back that seemed to come out of her hair. Said armor did not leave anything to any form of imagination.
Meanwhile in Chris' case, he seemed to look okay except for some cuts on his arms and face, with said face's right-side cheek looking like it has been cut with nails, almost reaching his right eye. Which was alarming since last time you checked, Watchmen bodies were almost impossible to cut.
To think this whole situation started two days ago when Chris came to you as a personal favor and asked you for advice in dating since he managed to get the courage to ask Strangelove of all the women in HQ, on a date. And the kicker was that she said yes.
Normally you would not get involved in this type of situation but looking at Chris, you felt sorry for the kid. So, you gave him the best dating advice you could think of, based on your personal experience.
The advice basically boiled down to do take the girl to see a movie, a nice dinner and if he could afford it, a nice gift either at the beginning of the date or during the dinner.
With an added emphasis to Chris that any 'Horizontal Tango' should only be done if the girl wants it, and he has protection.
Though looking at his face after the end of the lecture, you felt it was going to be a miracle that Chris managed to follow his advice. When you thought of the worst-case scenarios that could happen from Chris taking Strangelove on a date, you honestly though it was going to be between Chris making a fool of himself or if Heaven allowed it, he and Strangelove were going to be parents in 9 months.
What you now had in front was not even in the consideration. Even with all the crap that seems to revolve around here.
So apparently, based on what the couple told you; Chris took your advice to heart and managed to impress Strangelove the next day on the date. From taking her to see that new British movie 'Lawrence of Arabia', which both enjoyed; to a nice dinner at the only 'fancy' restaurant in Hartford. And to top it off, Chris got Strangelove a jewel bracelet that she said she liked how it looked.
Finally at the end of the date, upon returning to HQ, Strangelove decided to help Chris become a real man by introducing him to the 'Horizontal Tango'.
At first, Chris was going slow since he did not want to hurt Strangelove with his strength. But then, while in the middle of the 'Tango' the jewel on her wrist began to shine and proceeded to transform her into her current form, with the bracelet expanding into her armor. At first, Strangelove said she did not have control and began to attack Chris, who tried to stop her. But after she injured Chris' face, she managed to snap back into control.
And yet somehow even with this happening and after Strangelove regaining control of herself, they did not stop 'dancing' for the entire night, going at it like animals.
This explained the noises you and others kept hearing during that night. You honestly though it was one of the scientists doing a late-night experiment or Joy forcing the soldiers on a night torture exercise.
Interesting detail that the couple told you in the middle of the story was that after transforming, Chris due to the mood and his lust, stopped holding back his strength and nothing happened to Strangelove, who was able to keep up with him.
This showed the possibility that whatever happened to Strangelove, besides transforming her; also gave her super strength and durability at the same level as the Watchmen. That and apparently the armor allowed her to create blades out of it and said blades were able to cut into Chris.
The next morning, after both calmed down with Strangelove being oddly accepting and enjoying her new looks; both quickly reported to you, thus to the present moment.
"We are going to handle this in a calm and rational way. After we finish talking here, you both are going to report to Brandon and he will subject both of you to any battery of tests to see how you both are, specially you Strangelove." You spoke with a tone that left no room for argument.
"Yes sir." Both answered back.
"Okay, now. Strangelove, how do you feel?" You asked her.
"Honestly, while my body has changed and now, I look like this." She said as she pointed to herself. "I never felt this good, and I feel so powerful and free. At first, all I could feel was rage and a desire to kill." She said as her face became somewhat lost in her memory for a few moments before changing back.
"But then, after I injured Chris' face and saw him bleeding, my mind became clear, and the rage was gone. Wonder if this is how Joy felt when she became a Watchmen." She said as she flexed her new muscles, with Chris looking at her while trying to hide his blushing.
"Very well, we will take your word for it. Now Chris, this is important. Where did you get that jewel?" You asked him, with Strangelove looking at him, also expecting an answer.
"I got the jewel in the mail two weeks ago. It came from a friend I made during an international scientific conference I attended three years ago. We been corresponding since that day. I treat him like a mentor since he was listening to my ideas and actually liking them." Chris said.
"Wait, a friend sent you a jewel in the mail? Why?" You asked as this was starting to sound familiar for some reason.
"Well, he told me in his letter that he found his daughter's grave, who died in WW2; and after recovering the jewel that he gave her for her 18th birthday, he decided to send it to me since he is old and due to not having any more family, he wanted me to give the jewel to any girl I deemed worthy it, like a girlfriend. I swear I did not know the jewel could do this." Chris said, the last part in desperation. Strangelove just took his hand and told him to calm down, that she did not blame him.
"So, this man, who sent you this family jewel, what is his name?" You asked.
"Oh, his name is Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin." Chris said as you tried to process what he just said.
"Wait, Aleksandr Granin, as in the Soviet scientist that made the SS-1C missile system and other weapons since WW2, that Granin?" Strangelove responded, surprised at Chris' declaration.
"Yes." Chris said.
"Chris, are you telling me that you been corresponding with a Soviet scientist for three years and he sent you a jewel in the mail?" You asked while feeling something in your forehead throbbing.
"Yes sir. He is a good person and a brilliant scientist." Chris said.
At that moment, you banged your head on your desk.
'What is it with Russians sending us weird things?' You though as you banged your head on your desk, making a crack on it. Once again, a Russian sent a weird object to an American. This was either a coincidence or something strange was going on. First a hidden money account and now a jewel that transforms a person. What is next, an alien virus?
"Are you okay sir?" Chris asked.
You lifted your head back to its normal position and answered back, ignoring the cracked desk.
"I am fine, just thought of something at that moment. Now Chris, we are going to have a long talk about you being friends with a Soviet scientist but that is a different priority. The main priority is can you get in touch with Granin and ask him for more information on the jewel." You spoke.
"Yeah, I can write to him as quick as possible." Chris said.
"He better have a good explanation about this jewel. Either he did not know about the jewel's power, or he did and was hoping something happened to the girl Chris would have chosen, I am just the unlucky girl. Though if knew about the power, wonder what his endgame was. While I am good with my new body, the possibility that I was used as a living bomb is not a good thing." She spoke as she lifted her right arm and suddenly out of her armguard, a large broadsword came out.
"See this? Besides doing this, turns out that my new hair extensions can also be used to cut as well; which as you can see from Chris' injuries, they are able harm our Watchmen. Even my nails can be used as weapons." She said as she retracted the blade back.
"The rage I felt before calming down, I also felt the desire to kill without stopping during those moments. Imagine if I did not recover and was completely mindless. I could have killed Chris and a large part of the people here before being stopped by a Watchmen." She spoke, a hidden tone of desperation in her voice could be heard and if noticing well enough, she seemed to be shaking.
"It's okay Strangelove. You are still you and you are not alone in the different body department." Chris told her and put his arm around her shoulder to calm her.
You waited until she stopped shaking and you could swear you heard her say thanks to Chris in a low tone.
"By the way, on a personal note. Are you two still going to date?" You bluntly asked.
Chris looked shocked at the question while Strangelove looked at you like you asked her a dumb question.
"Yes." Strangelove said, surprising Chris.
"Um why?" Chris asked, his self-esteem issues making him ask why a such a gorgeous woman wants to date him.
"First, you are smart and while a bit naïve, a good person. Second, you been able to tolerate my attitude, which can be cold and uncaring most of the time. Third, during our date you were a gentleman and treated me correctly. Fourth, when I transformed into this, you could have either run away or even attacked me during those moments I was not in control; but you did not and tried to help me even when I injured you." She said before pausing as she looked at Chris from top to bottom.
"Lastly, don't know if being a Watchman helped, but you really managed to satisfy me." She said with a smile that was not normal and Chris suddenly became so red you honestly though he was going to use red colored Bolts.
"I uhm, ah…." Chris tried to say, apparently, he was tongue tied at hearing the confession. You decide to save the poor kid by speaking.
"Okay you two, you can continue this discussion in another place later. I am not in the mood to be a third wheel here. But still congrats and hope your relationship prospers." You said to the new couple.
"Thanks sir. We promise that this will not affect our work." Chris said with Strangelove nodding as well.
"Now then, before you leave anything else I need to know…" You were saying when your office door opened and entered Joy, carrying a stack of papers.
"Sir, I taken a look at our newest four cadets, and I come up with a new training method for them, with the four serving as excellent…" Joy stopped talking when she looked at your office and saw you with your desk cracked and sitting in front both Chris and Strangelove.
Honestly, Chris' face looked like his mother just came into the principal's office after being caught doing something with a girl in school while Strangelove looked between horror and blushing.
There was silence in your office for a few moments as Joy looked at Strangelove and then at Chris, her face completely emotionless.
"So, what? Did you caught the kid bringing this working girl and apparently he likes them dressed up as slave girls from that book series Barsoom while he plays John Carter?" Joy asked.
This comment made Chris faint, falling on the floor due to the embarrassment. Meanwhile Strangelove was torn between embarrassment and anger at being called both a working girl and a costumed slave girl by her idol, which she was so focused that she did not notice that her new boyfriend just fainted next to her.
You were torn between bashing your head again into your desk or laugh out loud at this scenario. After deciding to stay still as you went to defuse this situation.
"Joy, the working girl in front of you is Strangelove." You spoke.
Joy just stood as she blinked for a few moments as she looked at Strangelove very closely.
"Sir no offense but that is bullshit." Joy said with her face showing a bit of anger.
"April 21, 1961. Mercury, Window." Strangelove said this these words, which you did not understand what they meant.
Upon hearing those words, Joy's face went from anger to complete surprise, something you rarely seen her make.
"Va, Vanessa?" Joy said as her voice sounded in shock.
'Vanessa, so that's Strangelove's first name, huh.' You though as you finally learned her first name, something that for some reason was not in her file and you honestly never thought to ask. Mostly since you already got used to calling her Strangelove.
"Yeah, it's me." Strangelove said.
"But how?" Joy asked and then you proceed to speak.
"Well, Joy meet the newest member of TATC. The Accidental Transformation Club." You said the joke, hoping to ease the mood.
Joy just stood there for a few moments when suddenly something you or Strangelove would never see occur in real life occur before your very eyes.
Joy, the Mother of Special Forces, and powerful supersoldier; just fainted, falling face down on the floor.
"Joy!!" Strangelove said as she got up from her seat and went to her mentor to wake her up.
You continued sitting in your chair as you looked at the scene in front of you as you sighted. Then proceeded to grab a glass of water you had on your desk and threw the water at the sleeping Chris, which upon being hit with water woke him up in surprised.
After that you grabbed a pen and a paper and wrote down an important note.
'NOTE TO SELF- Get Hayden to change the sign outside the labs from 'Number of days without accidents' to 'Number of days without transformations.'
'And once again, a day in BW turns out not to be normal.' You though as you finished writing the note and looking at the scene in front of you.
Reward-
Chris and Strangelove are dating.
Strangelove has a weird artifact, that was sent by a Russian; bonded to her. Transformed physically but still has mental faculties.
New options opened.
Final Cost Result:
New Upkeep= 9,260 230= 9,490
New Federal Income= 53k (50% of 53k= 26,500) = 79,500
New Income= 614,568 – 9,490 (Upkeep) – 20,365 (Turn Cost) = 584,713
Legacy Fund= 168,539,325,843 (not touched this turn)
