* PRT ENE HQ *
* October 28, 2009 *
"Doctor Curlyhair must be stopped."
Everyone glanced at Director Piggot, waiting for her to add to that statement. A few seconds passed into the minute-plus column.
"Is it because of my giant robot suit, which both myself and the Image Department feel should be returned to me?" asked Assault finally.
"No, and Armsmaster is still going over it," said Director Piggot. "Any other guesses?"
"Director?" asked Armsmaster.
Papers slapped a large box down on her desk. "Inquiries. Complaints. Legal injunctions and cease and desist orders."
Everyone stared as that had been a particularly weighty thump when the box had been dropped on the table.
"From whom?" asked Battery.
"EPA. FBI. ATF. ACLU. Greenpeace. FDA. DEA. E88," began Director Piggot.
"The Empire has lawyers?" asked Battery in a tone that indicated that might be a Geneva Convention violation.
"They're organized evil, of course they have lawyers," offered Assault.
Director Piggot nodded. Put that way, it seemed obvious. "Youth Guard, BBFD, Mothers Against Giant Robots, Westboro Baptist Church, PeTA, the Dragonslayers."
"Wait. What?" asked Battery.
"Mothers Against Giant Robots was formed just recently, and no I don't know of any other 'giant robots' other than the Labors and Big O. And yes, the Dragonslayers have legal representation."
"Is there an Evil Lawyers Association or something?" asked Battery.
"In this crazy world? It wouldn't surprise me in the least," admitted Director Piggot.
Armsmaster stirred. "The local police are not testing out the Patrol Labors or the Construction Labors. It was decided that such testing would be spread out in different locations."
Assault grumbled a bit, not that he hadn't half-expected it.
"Assault will be used to test his own unit and to see if Doctor Curlyhair can better adapt it to his power," continued Armsmaster.
"Seriously?!" perked up Assault.
"The fact that it can be folded up into a large box, stuck on the back of a tow truck or large flatbed truck, then driven to a deployment point has a chance of increasing the efficiency of police actions when there is time for such," admitted Armsmaster.
"And that she made a similar offer to you when contacted has absolutely nothing to do with that," said Director Piggot drily.
"I will admit that attending an Endbringer fight with the sort of armor and the amount of environmental protection that can be added to such a device is... intriguing," admitted Armsmaster.
"You see where meeting new capes and not being confrontational might just be a good thing?" asked Director Piggot.
Armsmaster nodded, then pulled out his tablet and began rapidly typing out some notes.
"So, where are the Patlabors going?" asked Assault now that his own mecha wasn't in danger.
* PRT 40 - Virginia Beach *
"How in the world did you manage to get these?" asked Danielle DuBois, her Canadian accent coming in being sufficient indication of some emotional reaction to the video.
"We get two of them," said Director Edgar Savage. "We're getting them because lots of big open space, lots of construction projects, and someone thought if we were testing the Construction Labors we ought to have the Patrol Labors just in case someone takes a Constructor for a joyride."
"I thought they were going to Gary Indiana or Gallup New Mexico," said Danielle, the Assistant Director looking over the design for the shock baton. "You know, the two Containment Zones where these might actually be useful."
"Last minute decision, something from the ThinkTank," said Director Savage. The former Marine looked over the design before closing the display. "Tanks are better for actual combat, but these tech toys are more manueverable and more easily kitted out for different roles."
"I'm worried about the streets getting damaged," noted Assistant Director DuBois.
"Anyway, we're just the first. They'll be testing them out in two other locations," noted Director Savage. "We'll evaluate and report on the two we're getting, that's all we're supposed to do."
* PRT Washington *
"Why the hell did they want us to evaluate two of these things?" asked Director West, looking over the large robot vehicles.
"They don't," said the Deputy Director.
West went through them fast enough that he had trouble remembering their names. Jackson maybe? West looked towards the man and stared for a moment as he tried to remember. Was it 'Logan'?
"The local SWAT team will be evaluating them," said the Deputy, looking a bit uncomfortable for some reason.
"SWAT. Regular police," said West. No, Logan was last week. Anderson? No, Anderson was working for the Vatican now. Found religion or something. Weird guy but effective.
"Yes, the idea is that these are multi-role high-visibility units," said the Deputy. "It's all just evaluation for real-world use."
West hmphed, then shook his head. Was it 'Amberdon'? No, Amberdon had been that woman who'd only lasted three days before she ended up quitting. Maybe he needed to get an Assistant Deputy position since it was so hard to keep someone in the position. All he needed to do was find some way of fitting it into the budget. Jefferson? It was something -son he was sure of that now.
Deputy Director Hayes watched the Director get into his elevator and held back the sigh of relief. It always felt like the man was examining your every secret and waiting for you to screw up so that he could rip your face off.
* Doctor Curlyhair's Secret Workshop *
* October 30, 2009 *
"The construction labors are entirely too easy to misuse," said Armsmaster as he looked over the screens showing the various parts used to assemble them.
"They're slow. Honestly there's a lot of jobs a Labor can do that you otherwise need specialized equipment for," argued Doctor Curlyhair. "Can you hold that piece of plasteel piping there? Yeah, just a minute."
"Wiring harness?" asked Armsmaster.
"Yeah, basically, keeps the artificial nerves in place and... how's Dragon coming with the assembly line for the Labors?" asked Doctor Curlyhair.
"She's working on it," said Armsmaster. "Is something wrong?"
"I just got this feeling of something stupid about to happen," confessed Doctor Curlyhair. "As of a problem I don't need looming up to threaten things just as they're going good."
"A surprising amount of the time I get a similar feeling," admitted Armsmaster. He made a note to see if Director Tagg (he'd overheard Director Piggot mention the name a few times recently) was visiting the Bay.
* Elsewhere *
"You don't have powers. Wearing a costume just makes you a valid target," argued Sophia Hess.
"This HAS to be done," said Emma Barnes, admiring herself in the mirror and making sure the costume fit right. "If there's a 'Doctor Curlyhair' in the Bay, she MUST be opposed by the Crimson Lady!"
"She's weak, some little Tinker bitch that just plays with her toys," argued Sophia. "We actually take the fight to the bad guys and help keep the streets safe."
"Stealing that big robot, we could go after the real threats," said the Crimson Lady. "Taking it away from someone who doesn't do anything with it and putting it to good use? Don't tell me that's not heroic."
"And where would we even put the thing?" argued Sophia as she put her costume on. "I'm pretty sure we couldn't just stow it in an alleyway."
"Well, how about one of those powerloader exoskeletons?" tried the Crimson Lady.
"Now those are just plain practical," said Shadow Stalker as she fit her own mask into place. "Until that news piece I didn't know there were that many single-purpose machines that could be replaced with a Labor. Each does a single thing very efficiently but the human form is multi-purpose."
"They're dorky looking and an RPG can put any of those down quickly," said the Crimson Lady.
"Yeah, like they're going to give the cops RPGs," scoffed Shadow Stalker. "You sure you want to do this? One of those sayings is that you don't attack a Tinker in their lair."
"Taylor needs to learn her place, and we're the people who can make sure she knows that!" said the Crimson Lady.
Shadow Stalker watched the Crimson Lady as her mask slipped to the side and she had to reach up and adjust it again. She had a really bad feeling about this.
* Doctor Curlyhair's Secret Lab *
"I got WHO after me?!" asked Doctor Curlyhair.
Armsmaster went down the list on his tablet. "No. The World Health Organization is not one of those seeking legal injunctions against you."
"...okay," said the little girl, looking very much a little girl and not the multi-specialty lead scientist at the moment. "How many of these are valid organizations and not nutsoids."
"The collective sanity of an organization, unfortunately, doesn't enter into whether it's a valid legal organization," said Armsmaster. "More's the pity."
"Yeah, I suppose," said a drooping Doctor Curlyhair. "If lawsuits could be thrown out because the other guy is an idiot, that'd probably put a lot of lawyers out of a job."
Armsmaster was quiet for a moment as he contemplated the beauty of the world just suggested by Doctor Curlyhair. The potential for an efficient court system... Ah well.
"Oh, Doctor, you have visitors," came Danny Hebert's voice over the intercom.
"Not lawyers, is it?" asked Doctor Curlyhair.
"No... should I be worried?" asked Danny.
"Well, who is it then?" asked Doctor Curlyhair. "Well, nevermind. I'll meet them in the foyer."
Armsmaster briefly wondered who it was, as he hadn't heard of anyone else dispatched to the area and it was getting quite late.
* Docks *
Shadow Stalker was in her element. Late evening on a stealth mission. Prowling through the darkness in search of her prey.
Though having someone wearing bright red was kind of cramping her style.
Emma had argued that the Crimson Lady had to wear crimson, which made sense, but couldn't it have been dark red or something?
Well, whatever. Emma needed to move past her past and if it was needed that some Tinker be shown that she was at the bottom of the pecking order of capes - then that was what needed to happen.
They'd stopped on seeing that the gates in front of the Docks had freaking Marines just the other side of them. And there were other groups present on her side of the gate.
Seeing a bunch of Empire riff-raff (Was it raff-riff or riff-raff? She never could remember. Wait, riff-raff were those caramel-coated popcorn thingies, right? Damn it, now she was hungry.) facing off against... who the hell were these guys? In white sheets with pointy hats? Everyone had guns and bayonets and... did that guy have a multi-barrel rocket launcher?! Some guy had a HOMEMADE rocket launcher?! Made of scrap pipes? Who were these clowns?
"Hold your horses!" shouted one of the white sheet guys, stepping forward and holding a hand out. "I don't know who ya all think ya are, but my name's Jeb Forrest of the South Carolina Baptist Confederate-"
"Shhhh!" said one of the Marines, standing in front of an APC that was blocking the gate into the Docks complex. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" asked Jeb Forrest of the South Carolina Baptist Confederate Army.
(THWIP!) (Thud!)
"Never mind. Must have just been the wind," said the Marine.
"You... you shot him?!" asked one of the white-sheet wearers.
"Sir, that is a crossbow bolt. Do you see my sidearm here?" said the Marine, pointing down at his holster.
"That there is a Beretta M9," said one of the E88 gang members, who might be a racist swine but he did know guns.
"Correct," noted the Marine, his brief baring of teeth quite visible with his dark skin even in the streetlight's not so great illumination. "Does it fire crossbow bolts?"
"Uhm, no?" asked one of the white sheet wearers.
"Why the hell are you guys even here?" demanded one of the Empire members. "This is local. We got this. Peaceful protest and all."
"We want some of that tech," said Jeb Forrest, getting to his feet.
"And what the hell's up with the Klan garb?" asked the same Empire guy. "Why are you wearing a costume with full facial covering if you're gonna go and announce who you are?"
"Uhm, I'm bleeding a lot here," said Jeb Forrest.
"For that matter, why are YOU here?" asked the Marine of the Empire group. "What has this got to do with your group?"
"Robots are taking away jobs from honest hard-working Americans!"
"Try pulling the other one," suggested the Marine.
"Still bleeding here."
"I'm not actually sure," confessed the Empire guy, prompting a lot of muttering from the rest of his group. "We were told to do a protest. Got the signs and everything delivered. We don't get paid to ask questions you know."
"Uh huh," said the Marine. "Well, as long as it is all peaceful like. You stay over there on your side. Don't block traffic. And someone figure out who the hell shot a crossbow because it sure as hell wasn't one of my guys."
* Up on the roofs *
Shadow Stalker backed the heck away from the edge of the roof, saw where the Crimson Lady was reloading her own crossbow, and went over to take said weapon away from her compatriot. "Why?"
"Figured they'd all start fighting each other and we could slip in during the confusion," replied Crimson Lady.
A spotlight from inside the Docks suddenly lit up their roof.
"Uh oh," summed up Shadow Stalker.
* Taylor's Base *
"Did someone breach the base?" asked Doctor Curlyhair.
"No, we had a group of Marines stationed outside while we met," said General Potter, easing down into a seat with a groan. "Sorry, old bones."
"So, what can I do for you, General?" asked Doctor Curlyhair. "Exoskeleton maybe, take the load off those joints?"
"No offense, Doctor Curlyhair, but I was old in the Korean War. Getting to this age on its own is enough of an accomplishment, and its a battle nobody wins in the end," said General Sherman Potter.
"Pardon me, General, but there are two parahumans who were set up in a sniper position outside the perimeter," said someone with a bit less brass decorating their uniform. Taylor wasn't sure what the rank was.
"Oh?" asked Armsmaster. "Identities?"
"Tachikoma!" called out Doctor Curlyhair. "Blue and Green. Find and identify the two parahumans. Do not engage. Which Valkyries do I have on base?"
"Only Hestia and myself at present," said someone dressed like a video game kunoichi as she stuck her head in through one door.
"Ah, Ayame. Keep an eye on the Tachikoma." Doctor Curlyhair nodded.
The military attache held up a hand. "Point of information. There were groups of Empire gang members and some other group outside protesting. They are now pursuing the two intruders."
"Well, my forces are just keeping an eye on things," said Doctor Curlyhair as she brought up a display on a monitor. "This is the feed from Tachikoma Green."
Armsmaster positioned himself to get a better view. "I believe that's one of the vigilante rogue capes new to the city. Shadow Something. She's used the 'SS' symbol before. I don't recognize the one in red."
"Vigilante capes," said Doctor Curlyhair. "Well, not my problem unless they come on base. I... my. That IS a lot of people chasing after them."
* Shadow Stalker *
She could get away. No problem.
The problem was Emma, aka Crimson Lady. Who couldn't jump large distances, phase through obstacles, was wearing some ridiculous high heeled boots, and kept screaming and giving away their position.
Maybe she wasn't as much of a survivor as Sophia had originally thought. Because there was a serious lack of survival instincts going on right now.
"JUMP!" yelled Shadow Stalker, assisting her partner by shoving her.
"AGHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Emma as she went off the roof.
(CRASH!) went Emma into a pushcart.
"MY CABBAGES!" screamed the pushcart owner as innocent cabbages were pulped under the weight of a teenage girl falling off a roof.
Shadow Stalker told him what he could do with his cabbages as she phased down, grabbed Emma, and hauled her along.
A triumphant cry from dozens of throats told her that at least one of the crowds was in pursuit.
Shadow Stalker dumped the rest of the cart of cabbages behind her to slow pursuit and then went back to hauling Emma along. "Wear appropriate footwear damnit!"
"AGHHH! They have torches and pitchforks! Why do they have torches and pitchforks?!" complained Emma.
"Because people have Octoberfest and Halloween shit going on! Less talking more running!" declared Shadow Stalker.
* Tachikoma Green *
"Why is she wearing high heeled boots and trying to run?" asked Ayame. "She clearly twisted her ankle somewhere along this chase scene."
"Humans," complained Tachikoma Green. "Some of them seem to be lacking in the old logic circuits."
"I hear you," said Ayame. "So does Doctor Curlyhair."
"I'm sending video without audio," said Green.
"I estimate they'll get away in five minutes," said Blue.
There was silence for a few moments.
"Did the redhead just fall down an open sewer grate?" asked Ayame.
"Oh good, you saw it too," said Blue.
"The other one is leading them away," said Green. "Got to admire that team spirit if nothing else."
"I shall monitor the fallen one, if you two want to observe the other," volunteered Blue.