Quest

by Kahlil Johnson

Uhhhh

48. T6

"The end of the world is coming, regardless of whether or not Jack survives; however, if he doesn't die soon, then he will trigger it earlier than it needs to be, which will not only cause a lot of death but also give me less time to prepare. I'm certain that in some dimension. The technology exists to avert the apocalypse. I just need to find it."

Popola seems unsurprised by your declaration. "Master Tony, how do you know that the end of the world is coming?"

"I…" you honestly can't be bothered to come up with a good reason. "I told you about how my power takes technology from other dimensions, right?" She nods. "Well, I also have memories from another dimension. I'm not sure if they are my own memories, but they are all I have to identify myself with."

Popola's arms wrap around you, feeling warm and comforting and human, despite your knowledge that she's an android.

"In those memories, this world is a story, just like your own world. That's what my memories say, but now that I'm in this world, it doesn't feel like a story anymore, just like your world doesn't feel like a story anymore. I… how do I even say this. Did you read about Scion?"

"Yes, he is notable for both his power and his foolishness."

"He is an alien entity, though his sapience is somewhat questionable. He is essentially a glorified algorithm, less human than either you or 2B. Its goal is to either prevent or survive the heat death of the universe. It does this by gathering powers, giving them to intelligent races and having them experiment. Once it's done, it would harvest the planet and everything on it for energy. I'm not sure how many times it has done this before, but its plan for Earth has already failed. It had a partner that was killed, I'm not sure whether it was because of sabotage by another entity or sheer dumb luck, but that means that its plan is in tatters and its mostly just winging it. As a being with so little creativity, it has to bother others to learn, it is understandably doing a poor job."

Popola just holds you for a bit after you finish your rant-slash-explanation. "I'm not sure if that's better or worse than the influx of the Gods. You said it can die, right?" she says uncertainly.

"Yes, I believe so."

"Then it is a huge task, but perhaps not insurmountable."

"I hope so."

"Bring Burnscar back to the Mothership. I'll put her into stasis. If she is revealed to the PRT, then they will likely execute her as soon as possible, so if I want to give her a chance, I'll need to start the legal process before they find out about her. What do you think about that plan Popola?"

"So long as you reveal her existence soon after the Nine are dealt with or leave town, I don't think they will mind too much."

"OK, 2B, that's the plan, did you get it?"

"Understood, Tony."

The call cuts off.

"Master Tony, what do you intend to do for the rest of the day? My scans suggest you rest more, either through sleep or relaxation."

"Actually, today we are going to remove my need to sleep."

"How, exactly?"

You show her your hastily whipped up notes on a metabolic boost similar to the ones zerglings use. Popola examines it closely, then gives you a concerned look.

"This should remove the physical need for your body to sleep, but are you sure this will be good for your mental health?" she moves closer to you and pulls you to her side. "I don't want to overstep my bounds, Master Tony, but my analysis suggests that your current mental state is already fragile. I don't… I don't want to lose you, not when we've just met and not when I still haven't repaid you."

"You don't have to repay me," you grumble.

"Master Tony, I would appreciate if you didn't dodge the question."

You understand that the metabolic boost won't replicate the mental benefits of sleep, but what do you tell Popola?

[Sleep] Tell her that your mental health is none of her business. (too out of character)

[Sleep] Tell her that you understand and promise not to overdo it outside of crisis situations.

[Sleep] Tell her that you understand the risks but can manage yourself.

[Sleep] Tell her that your mental health is fine! So stop asking, Mom!

[Sleep] Write-in.

You spend the rest of the day working on it while 2B pursues the Nine. You make sure to set up a small, easily programmed algorithm that will check for discrepancies between the Alpha Wave Detector sensors and all the other sensors you currently have trained on the Nine. At a glance, it looks like they are fleeing towards the edge of the city. Bonesaw must be keeping Jack's head alive, because he still registers, though even with that, the number of parahumans is too high. Perhaps, they are being pursued by capes other than 2B. You don't have time to check as you're tired enough that if you didn't have Popola's help, you'd probably pass out before you finished the augment.

When it's done, you don't hesitate to set up a sterile operating room (disintegration lasers and energy constructs make sterilization trivial) and hand Popola your medical implements. It turns out she needs to get some anesthetic because she is going to cut you open, but some teleports later, she has procured it for the operation. She inserts the IV and at first, it drips saline solution into your veins, but she swaps it to anesthetic soon after.

You wake up feeling groggy and immediately try and sit up to ascertain your situation. A firm hand on your shoulder prevents you from doing this and keeps you pinned down on the vaguely uncomfortable bed. You're pretty sure the bed in your room is more comfortable than this, and the bed in your lab is less comfortable, so where are you? Your mind flashes images of a smiling blonde girl in pigtails and a blood-spattered dress staring down at you. You thrash about under the grip of the arm.

"Master Tony! Please calm down!"

"Popola?" you ask, your voice sounding far more fragile than you'd like it to.

She pets your hair gently with her other hand and when you look up at her, you can almost feel her desire to sweep you up in a hug. She doesn't though, as she makes sure that you lay flat on the bed.

"Deep breaths. You're safe. I promise."

You follow her advice and take a few deep breaths to calm down. "How did the surgery go?"

"It was successful."

"So, how do I look?" you attempt to lower the tension.

Popola gives you an unimpressed look, though you think the corner of her lip twitches up. "We both know that the augment won't change your appearance. The only change will be your increased caloric intake. I recommend that you remain on that bed for at least the next few hours. I will take care to ensure you are eating the proper amount," she says, leaving no room for argument.

"Can you at least bring me the Ihan crystal?"

"What do you need it for?"

"At the end of the week, my ability will be forcibly pulled away from your dimension. I need to store the memory of designing Devola and 9S's bodies."

"Ok, but don't try and get up while I go get it."

Despite Popola's wishes, you stay up that night recording memories in the Ihan crystal. You do come across some items that you think deserve a second look. Your initial plan of attaching the Item Scanner chip to the observer won't work with just what you have stored since the Observer's computers are different than Nier androids' computers, and you weren't planning on saving the modification to give the chip that capability. There's also the flight unit to consider. You know that right now, you could combine it with the Mirage, from starcraft, but you won't be able to do that when neither are your active specialization, so naturally, if you want to do that, you need to record that combined blueprint rather than the individual one.

[Ihan Storage] Keep "Item Scanner Chip" and "Upgrade a Plug-in Chip to function on Non-Nier androids."

[Ihan Storage] Keep "Item Scanner Chip" and "Flight Unit."

[Ihan Storage] Keep "Item Scanner Chip" and "Combine Mirage and Flight Unit."

[Ihan Storage] Keep "Flight Unit" and "Combine Mirage and Flight Unit."

[Ihan Storage] Write-in.

As you print out a new Warp Blade for yourself the next day (Friday), Popola gives you her report.

"It seems that despite concerns about the Nine, the void array is being used to transport goods and people here. They did bring your monthly tinkering supplies, as well as a lot of reinforcement PRT troops, though no parahumans. There is currently no word from the Triumvirate on whether they plan on interfering in the current situation. Finally-"

Spoiler: Roll

She's cut off by loud beeping from the terminal and your beads. As you open it up, you see it's a string of error messages from 2B's programming. You go to check-

"It appears that 2B was recently in close proximity to Cherie Vasil, also known as Cherish," Popola is already on it, her terminal now split into several holographic screens. "I'd guess that Cherish's power was only partially effective on 2B, as it seems from these error messages that 2B's mental state was altered, both in an attempt to change her loyalties and to get her to commit suicide until the error correction algorithms reset that influence."

"I see," you say, pulling up your own observer feed. The Nine, except Crawler, appear to be retreating from the bay along with 2 more of Bonesaw's monstrosities. According to your AWD, it looks like Jack now has a body. Your observers are also informing you that Squealer, Crusader, and Victor are all in the same area as the nine, though no conflict appears to be going on. For a brief moment, you wonder what's going on with them, before your observer informs you that Crawler is tunneling upwards into the city.

That by itself would be cause for concern, but your biggest issue is that he's coming up underneath the PRT building. Now, it's unlikely that 2B can get there soon enough to stop him from collapsing the PRT building on top of himself (which is probably some sort of final fuck you from the Nine), and the building itself has been evacuated, but the buildings around it haven't bene, and while there are less people than usual in the area, there aren't no people, and having 2B on-scene would make the fight against Crawler go much more smoothly, as well as having access to your observers, making her invaluable for search and rescue

You look back to 2B, who has placed some distance between herself and Cherish after one of Crusader's ghosts tried unsuccessfully to stab her. From the looks of things, she's trying to find an angle to surprise the master but is so far unsuccessful.

You open up a line between her and you. "2B, do you think that if you went back to the PRT building and assisted the fight against Crawler as well as search and rescue, you would be able to pick up the Nine's trail?"

"If you intend for me to use the observer to assist, it is likely that the Nine will create enough distance between us that even with the Observer, catching their trail would be unlikely."

"I see."

[Pursuit] Continue chasing after the Nine.

[Pursuit] Go back and fight Crawler

[Pursuit] Write-in.

With the Nine fleeing, there's also the matter of what you have Popola work on next. You have two things currently vying for her top priority. One would be finding some lawyer or group of lawyers for Burnscar, and the other would be figuring out a safe way to extract the tracking parasites from your teammates' heads. You had posited the theory that you could decapitate and resurrect them, but Popola had told you that if your staff was reverting their body to the way it was just before death, then it might also recreate the parasite. In addition, you would need their permission to go through with that sort of procedure. While "Don't worry, you'll only be dead for a little while," is a perfectly valid statement, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence in what is essentially a decapitation.

[Popola's Focus] Focus on Burnscar's situation, find a lawyer to represent her. Prevent her from being executed as soon as you reveal her and dig up knowledge about her stay in the Parahuman Asylum.

[Popola's Focus] Focus on your teammate's parasites. She's a trained surgeon with enough knowledge of esoteric technology that she can probably figure out a safe way to remove them with the assistance of your healing staff.

When the Nine officially leave the city limits, at least according to your observer, Popola bugs you about Burnscar. You know you can't wait much longer, but you have a feeling that going straight to Director Piggot will either result in her straight up refusing you and executing her or result in her giving you some platitudes and then executing her after a short period. Thus, you go to Miss Militia instead, she's the next most authoritative person, and you have a much better chance of appealing to her emotions than you do Director Piggot's.

"I was looking at the meeting. I know maybe I shouldn't have done that but I was nervous and wanted to know what was going on. Then Shatterbird started screaming, and I got scared, and then 2B called me and told me that Burnscar had been knocked during the fight. She was waiting for my confirmation to kill her. I couldn't do it, okay? I panicked and now Burnscar is in one of the stasis chambers of the floating base. She's secured there. Look, I know what she did, I know how many people she killed but I also know he was in an asylum. I've been reading a lot about the 9 in these last days. I just want to do things right, and I have an idea. I have a way to suppress her powers temporarily. It's not practical for extended use, but I want to use it with her. Once this mess with the nine is over I want to wake her up and make her an offer: keep her powers and let herself be judged as Burnscar or help me develop a more permanent way to suppress powers. I have been reading about Parahuman asylums, about cases 53, and about how many parahumans get hurt by their powers. I don't want capes to be monsters, I want them to be human. I want to do this with Burnscar because I want her to have a trial as a normal human. And look, she has a kill order, so if she dies during the procedure then her sentence will be executed anyways."

Spoiler: Roll

Miss Militia sighs, and puts a hand on your shoulder. "Tony… your heart is in the right place. I can understand where you're coming from. I won't say no, but you need to understand that Burnscar needs to face punishment for her crimes. I doubt that even helping you develop a way to permanently suppress powers would be enough to give her a pardon."

You go to say something, but Miss Militia continues speaking, "I'll bring it up with Director Piggot, Ok."

You didn't notice until just now, but Miss Militia looks just as awful as you feel. You don't know what she's been up to, but you'd guess it probably wasn't too easy on her. You feel your protests die in your throat.

"Ok."

Voting Moratorium Length: 6 Hours

Voting Opens from 2:00 PM UTC

Votes for next chapter:

Sleep

Pursuit

Popola's Focus

Ihan Storage

QM Note:

This chapter was difficult to write.

Last edited: Aug 11, 2019

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Way of the Open Flipper

Aug 12, 2019

#8,915

Spoiler: Winning Vote

"I think, next week after the Nine are dealt with. I'll take a vacation. Maybe I'll even bring the rest of the Wards."

Popola cracks a smile "That sounds nice. What would I be working on while you relax?"

"You'd be coming with me of course. I'm not sure if you've ever had a vacation before, but you deserve it. You and 2B both."

She tilts her head. "I'd prefer if Devola were here, but I can be patient."

"Also, you don't have to worry about overstepping any bounds. I trust you implicitly. I created you, didn't I? And I already told you that I value your opinion highly."

Popola pulls you into the hug that you've come to expect from her. She's very physically affectionate and you can analyze why exactly that is later.

Spoiler: BGM

You fire off several quick messages. The first one is to 2B, telling her to continue pursuit and to try and make use of her pod's ranged armaments to slow the S9 down. The next one is to Director Piggot, telling her about Crawler trying to burrow up from underneath the evacuated PRT building and offering the solution of first, putting down a bubble of slowed time over the base of the building, and second, using the main guns of the Mothership to try and end him once and for all. The last few messages you send are to Miss Militia, telling her about 2B, "your combat android," and her lack of an effective ranged weapon. You also tell her about your plan to get the Mothership over to the S9 as fast as possible.

2B replies first, as you're sending the other messages with an affirmative. Next is surprisingly Director Piggot, who authorizes you to use the time bubble and also gives her half of the authorization for activating the weapons. You quickly perform your half and then have the targeting systems start attempting to aim at the Nine's getaway cars. You find out that not only is the angle poor, but you also can't ensure you won't hit 2B in the beam, and her hardened shield might actually make the shots less effective. You hold off for now.

Miss Militia's response is next, however, she states that instead of Taylor, Dauntless will handle the staff to boost Missy. You reply with your own affirmative, as well as dictating a point to meet on the Mothership where you can both quickly access the Void Array and see the path through the force-fields and artificial atmosphere.

When you, Missy, Miss Militia, Mouse Protector, and Dauntless are all gathered, you check up on 2B's progress. She's keeping her distance to stay out of Cherish's range, but the stasis rifle shots, while not fast enough to land clean hits, are forcing the 2 cars to swerve out of the way.

You hand your staff to Dauntless. You've already set the Mothership moving towards the Nine, but it seems that unlike most times, the laws of physics are stymying you here. With how much mass the mothership has, it takes quite a bit of time for it to accelerate to its top speed, especially when you need to keep the lasers accurate enough to keep harrying the Nine. The Void Array flies up to your location at your command. You'll leave the Crawler situation up to Director Piggot, as you can't act on two things simultaneously. Miss Militia gives Popola a curious look but says nothing.

"Dauntless, begin," Miss Militia announces calmly. Dauntless flips the switch you showed him and begins to boost Missy. "Missy," Miss Militia continues, "can you warp the ship closer?"

The air in front of the Mothership twists as Missy manipulates it. "I could probably do it, but the smaller one would be a lot easier and faster."

"We'll use that then. Tony, allow us to board the transport."

You switch the Void Array to its stationary mode.

Mouse Protector gives Miss Militia a concerned look. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"The Void Array is perfectly safe for human transportation," you assure her.

"Not what I meant, bud. I'm talking about actively chasing down the Nine."

Miss Militia puts her hand on Mouse Protector's shoulder. "I know you're worried about what could happen, but if we learned anything from this week, it's that the Slaughterhouse Nine are not invincible, not even Jack Slash."

"Ok. You're right. I can do this," Mouse Protector says more to herself than anyone in particular.

The two of them step through the portal into the Void Array's storage dimension, and you convert it back into flight mode. Then, Missy wraps a whole lot of space. You have to force yourself to remotely pilot the Void Array through them, because your eyes are telling you that the Void Array is about to twist into a million pieces and break, and then Miss Militia and Mouse Protector will be stranded in the pocket dimension until you build another one. You don't think there's any food or water still in there, which means that would be bad. Missy groans as the Void Array travels through the warps.

Spoiler: 2B hunts the Nine (With Assistance)

As soon as the Void Array gets in front of the escape cars, you open it up and Miss Militia and Mouse Protector pop out of the portal. Miss Militia forms a rifle similar to the one Mouse Protector is holding and starts lining up a shot. Mouse Protector goes and delivers the gun to 2B by making use of several darts to teleport over to the android. As 2B lines up her own shot, from behind the escape cars. Miss Militia's shot is interrupted by Shatterbird throwing a lot of glass at her. Her shield flickers out as she manages to throw herself out of the way, only receiving several lacerations, and creating enough of a distraction for 2B to fire her own shot, this one at Shatterbird, who is the most exposed out of the Nine. It strikes true, burrowing somewhere in Shatterbird's torso in what would likely be a lethal wound if it weren't for whatever Bonesaw has implanted into her. Shatterbird lands on the car Jack Slash is driving. A shield of glass forms around them and obscuring the exact position of the car.

2B takes aim at Cherish.

Crusader's ghosts start pouring out fo the car. You hadn't known how many he could actually pull off at once, but you didn't think it would be more than 5. Your assumption is proven incorrect by the 10 glowing white ghosts flying at 2B, obscuring her view of Cherish and the car.

Miss Militia then lines up another shot, much to your surprise since her wounds aren't exactly light. She fires, and for a moment, you think that she'll kill Cherish. At the last second, Crusader throws himself in the way of the bullet. It passes straight through his chest and out the other side, though it misses Cherish. A short few moments later, your Observer declares that Crusader will die. He's bleeding out from what wouldn't be a fatal wound if Bonesaw had anything to say about it, but she's not in the right car. It's at this point that the wall of obfuscating glass surrounds the second car.

2B can continue to pursue, now armed with a ranged weapon, but Mouse Protector is taking Miss Militia back to the Void Array and returning to the Mothership for medical attention. It's unlikely that she'll get back up soon. Not to mention that she's vulnerable to Cherish's power, as well as Shatterbird being able to brute force her way through the shield.

[Secondary Pursuit] Send 2B after the Nine with your souped-up Observer (Drone resource gathering becomes less efficient. Chance to kill more S9 members. Chance for 2B to perish)

[Secondary Pursuit] Call 2B back. (Observer goes back to scanning for materials in the bay. 2B safe)

[Secondary Pursuit] Write-in.

You take your staff from Dauntless and heal Missy's headache, which he hadn't done even though you assumed that he would, then you start heading back to your lab.

"Wait!"

You turn, seeing Missy hurrying to catch up to you and Popola.

"Can I come with you?"

Your first instinct is to say no, but you turn and face Missy and immediately know that there's no way you can refuse her. "Of course," you say instead.

As you walk back, you check on the recordings of what's going on with Crawler. The Mothership is still flying towards the edge of the city and picking up speed, so you're ready if Director Piggot convinces Crawler to try his luck against the Purifier beam, something you think is likely.

Spoiler: New Wave vs Crawler

You see that New Wave deployed around the bubble of slowed time, evacuating civilians and personnel away from Crawler. They didn't engage him, which is probably a smart move as they wouldn't be able to harm him and their lives are more important than the PRT building, which is currently collapsing with the bottom half breaking apart in slow motion. It looks really strange.

Lady Photon is yelling at Crawler right now, though your observer is unable to lip-read her and determine what she's saying. Crawler speaks back.

The Mothership reaches a position safely outside of the city, where you can beam the hell out of Crawler. You receive a call from Lady Photon. It's a bit hard picking it up as Missy seems reluctant to let go of your arm. Also, Popola, don't think you got away with that smirk. You're gonna get...Yeah, you got nothing.

"Crawler agreed to go up against your weapon," Lady Photon says, skipping the greeting. "Well, more accurately, he screamed 'Hurt me!' but I think that's close enough. You start the setup procedure for the Purifier beam. Unlike the majority of the weapons on the ship, it actually takes several minutes to charge, and afterward, the Mothership will barely have the energy to keep itself afloat until the crystals recharge.

You hit the recall button, recalling Crawler. He appears directly under the Mothership

"Hurt-!" he gets out before all noise is lost as the massive khaydarin crystals housing the core of the mothership start shunting pure destructive energy down onto Crawler. With the amount of pure energy in the beam, your observer is useless for recording Crawler or anything else in the beam for that matter. As the surroundings start to crater inwards towards the beam, you wonder if Director Piggot's going to be upset you made a new landmark. Finally, after almost 15 minutes of an energy beam firing directly downwards, the Mothership can no longer sustain the assault.

You frantically check the observer. Crawler is alive, very much so in fact. You resign yourself to finding another method when you see he isn't moving. You fly the observer slightly closer. Is… is that Crawler? It looks like a massive carapace circle. You can't even see eyes or a nose on it.

"Is that really Crawler?" Missy voices from where she's still attached to your arm.

"It matches all the other readings, and he's not subtle enough to escape under so many eyes.

Spoiler: BGM

Missy spends that night with you, even though she needs to sleep and you don't Popola makes sure that Missy is as comfortable as she can be on your makeshift bed. As you continue recording memories in the Ihan Crystal, Taylor and Uncle Danny also show up at your lab. You give Popola a brief glare for not giving you a heads up, but she just returns it with a cheeky smile.

After being wrapped up in many tight hugs. You allow them to come in as well. Taylor opts to spend the night with Missy, while Uncle Danny heads back to his room near the other parents.

Spoiler: Mental

You don't sleep as the girls do, but their presence in your lab is comforting, more so than Popola, though you hope that one day you'll feel the same way about her.

Saturday is reserved for giving Missy and Taylor a tour of the Mothership, though at this point they've seen most of it. Along the way, you see Dean as well and he gives the three of you an approving glance before telling you that the younger members of New Wave will probably show up soon. You have Popola key them into the Mothership's personnel teleporters.

Spoiler: Research

Later that day, Popola, along with a lot of cameras, surgical equipment, and your staff, surgically removes the parasites inside Chris, Carlos, and Dennis's head without killing them or using the resurrection function. She takes them away for study.

Your drones collect 28 Common Materials and 12 Uncommon Materials.

Voting Moratorium Length: 12 Hours

Voting Opens from 7:10 AM UTC

Welcome to the Week of June 5th, 2011:

Shit happened, it's over now. Maybe you should take a break. Maybe I should take a break.

Plan Voting Only. 12-hour voting Moratorium is in effect as well.

3 Weeks with the Androids and It's time for a change. You can still make androids with their memories, but you won't be able to make them and add those memories in later.

-[Tech Tree] Naruto

-[Tech Tree] Mario

-[Tech Tree] Fullmetal Alchemist

Did you want to know what projects are currently priced for these sets? Go check the projects post.

Blueprints:

Stored in Ihan Crystal. Check the Projects post for prices

Starcraft

Singularity Spider Mines

Purifier Core Matix

Jorium Crystal Synthesizer

Jorium Psionic Inducer

Orbital Command

Psi-field Generator

Mirage

Psi-screens

SCV

EMP Spider Mines

Stasis Spider Mines

Zealot Glimpse Goggles

Khala Emulation Helmet

Neural Interface

Purifier Adept

Void Prison Rifle

Psi-Disruptor

Graviton Disruptor Rifle

Alpha Wave Detector

Void Array (Warp Prism)

Sentry

Pylon

Robotics Facility

Upgrade Robotics Facility to Function on All Tinkertech

Big Phase Reactor

Mothership

Mecha Zerg Larva

Terrazine Gas Synthesizer

Void Portal

Zergling Metabolic Boosts Augment

Medical Bay

Make Zerg Controllable by Taylor's Power

Metasynaptic Node Augment

Chitha Augment

Zerg Larva

Nier

Type-4O Blade

Auto Heal Chip

Overclock Chip

Vengeance Chip

EXP Up Chip

Reset Chip

Anti Chain Damage Chip

Upgrade a Plug-in Chip to work on Non-Nier Robots.

Moving Speed Up Chip

Offensive Heal Chip

Shock Wave Chip

Upgrade a Plug-in Chip to work on Humans

Type A Battle Android

Type S Scanner Android

Type O Operator Android

Upgrade Mothership Core to Function as Bunker

YoRHa Black Box

A090: Wire

R020: Mirage Device

Self-Repairing Outfit

NFCS

Upgrade Pod with Graviton Disruptor Rifle

Upgrade Android with Psi-field Generator

Item Scanner Chip

* ]Combine Mirage and Flight Unit

Schematics:

One action to complete as long as you have access to your FabricatorHabitat Builder (Depending on Blueprint).

Fabricator (Basic)2 Common Materials1 Uncommon Material

Upgraded Fabricator2 Common Materials2 Uncommon Materials

Upgraded Habitat Builder1 Common Material3 Uncommon Materials

Stasis Rifle3 Common Materials1 Uncommon Material1 Rare Material

Armor Plating5 Common Materials

Caduceus Staff (Basic)3 Common Materials5 Uncommon Materials2 Rare Materials

Caduceus Staff (Illness Upgrade)3 Common Materials10 Uncommon Materials4 Rare Materials1 Exotic Material

Caduceus Staff (Illness and Resurrection Upgrade)3 Common Materials14 Uncommon Materials6 Rare Materials2 Exotic Materials

Caduceus Staff (Illness and Booster Upgrade)4 Common Materials13 Uncommon Materials4 Rare Materials1 Exotic Material

Caduceus Staff

(Illness, Booster, and Resurrection Upgrades)4 Common Materials17 Uncommon Materials6 Rare Materials2 Exotic Materials

Vishkar Hard Light Gloves2 Common Materials4 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

Vishkar Hard Light Gloves with Sentry Hallucination Upgrade (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)3 Common Materials7 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

All-in-one Communicator, Police Scanner, Web Browser, and GPS1 Common Material5 Uncommon Materials

Sombra Hacking Interface4 Uncommon Materials3 Rare Materials

Upgraded Sombra Hacking Interface6 Uncommon Materials4 Rare Material

Chronomanipulator (2:1)10 Common Materials5 Uncommon Materials2 Rare Materials1 Exotic Material

Khaydarin Crystal Generator6 Common Materials4 Uncommon Materials

Ihan Crystal (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)2 Common Materials3 Uncommon Materials2 Rare Materials

Phasing Armor (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)3 Common Materials4 Uncommon Materials

Repair Drone (Protoss) (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)1 Common Material2 Uncommon Materials

Blink Band (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)1 Common Material3 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

Plasma Shield Generator (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)1 Common Material2 Uncommon Material

Hardened Shield Generator (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)1 Common Material5 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

Phase Reactor (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)3 Common Materials2 Uncommon Materials

Warp Blade (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)2 Common Materials3 Uncommon Materials

Observer (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)3 Common Materials2 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

Mecha Zerg Larva2 Common Materials

A170 Scanner3 Common Materials2 Uncommon Materials

Robotics Facility (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystal)6 Common Materials3 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

Upgrade Robotics Facility to Function on All Tinkertech (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystal)2 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

Void Array (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystal)3 Common Materials6 Uncommon Materials2 Rare Materials

Mothership (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystal)10 Common Materials5 Uncommon Materials3 Rare Materials2 Exotic Materials

Alpha Wave Detector3 Common Materials6 Uncommon Materials2 Rare Materials

Protoss Enhanced Battle Android Hardened Shield Generator Phasing Armor Blink Band Repair Drone12 Common Materials21 Uncommon Materials7 Rare Materials3 Exotic Materials

Protoss Enhanced Healer Android3 Common Materials6 Uncommon Materials3 Rare Materials3 Exotic Materials

Pod B Protoss Repair Drone Hardened Shield Generator Stasis Rifle10 Common Materials14 Uncommon Materials5 Rare Materials2 Exotic Materials

Evasive Systems Chip1 Common Material14 Uncommon Materials4 Rare Materials

Zergling Metabolic Boost Augment4 Common Materials3 Uncommon Materials

Type-4O Sword6 Common Materials5 Uncommon Materials

You can't build this using the schematic because you lack the proper tools.

Tools:

Excellent Tools, Specialized Tools (Medical), (Energy), (Electronics)

Actions:

5 2 (Good Workshop) = 7 by default, can be increased up to 11 by those below and you can stay up for up to 5 more nights due to no longer physically needing sleep. Please be aware that extended periods without sleep are bad for mental health, especially in high-stress situations:

@Kejmur, 7 Omake Points

@Katsuragi, 5 Omake Points

@MangoFlan, 4 Omake Points

@Poliamida, 1 Omake Point

@NathanMedium, 5 Omake Points

@Hydralisk, 9 Omake Points

@theflyingbiscuit, 2 Omake Points

@TheLordofAwesome, 4 Omake Points

Additionally, you can use your points on a week to add 5 to all rolls for that week's plan (Social Rolls Included). Just make sure to @ me in the message where you are spending your points otherwise I might miss it.

Materials:

51 Material Credits (1:1 for Common, 3:1 For each tier higher), 51 Common Materials, 46 Uncommon Materials, 3 Rare Materials, 0 Exotic Materials

Plan Voting Only. 12-hour voting Moratorium is in effect as well.

Please use the following Plan format:

] Plan Name

-[Tech Tree] {Insert Tech Tree Here}

-[Action] Refine Materials using your Fabricator (Convert materials to ones of better quality at a 3:1 Ratio) (Do up to 5 times in 1 action)

--[Action] 3 Common Materials to an Uncommon Material

--[Action] 3 Uncommon Materials to a Rare Material

--[Action] 3 Rare Materials to an Exotic Material

-[Action] Collaborate with Chris on a Project (Traumatized)

-[Action] Train (What?) (With who?)

-[Action] Build some Specialized Tools (Excellent Tools, 5 - 1 (Fabricator) = 4 Actions, 10 Common Materials, 5 Uncommon Materials, 2 Rare Materials)

-[Action] Upgrade your Workshop to an Excellent Workshop (Excellent Tools, 6 - 1 (Habitat Builder) = 5 Actions, 12 Common Materials, 7 Uncommon Materials, 2 Rare Materials)

-[Action] TINKER!

--[Project] Pick a project or Schematic

-[Action] Write-in. (What do you want to do as an action that is not listed here)

-[Social] Write-in. (write-in whatever you want to social this week. You will still have social events regardless and 50% of people must vote for a social vote for it to "win")

If you don't have enough materials to refine when you choose the refine materials action, you'll just have wasted that action.

Plan Voting Only. 12-hour voting Moratorium is in effect as well.

QM Note:

TBH I'm also glad the S9 is done for now. 50 Seems like a good place to close off that chapter.

Last edited: Aug 20, 2019

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Threadmarks 51. Introduction

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Monk Penguin

Monk Penguin

Way of the Open Flipper

Aug 14, 2019

#9,229

Spoiler: Winning Vote

With great reluctance, you call 2B back from her pursuit. You want to take out the Nine, but the danger of losing 2B is high, too high, and you refuse to treat her as if she's disposable.

Sunday morning signals a new beginning for you. The Slaughterhouse Nine are out of the city, though a quick check of your observer shows that Noelle is still hidden underground. You've already informed the PRT about her and how dangerous she is, so theoretically you shouldn't need to worry about her anymore, but somehow you feel like that won't be enough. Speaking of informing the PRT though…

"Popola," you call out as you get out of your make-shift bed.

"Yes, Master Tony?" she says cheerfully, from where she's using a terminal to do… something. She's probably looking into that lawyer for Burnscar that you asked her to find for you. You currently don't have funds to hire one, but that should be changing shortly, whenever the PRT decides to process your bounties. At first, you'd been worried that as a Ward, you weren't entitled to the bounties on them, but after some brief research, Popola ensured you that that exemption was only for arrests and captures that were part of your job, which meant that if you were a member of the Protectorate, you might not have gotten the reward, but since you're a Ward, you definitely will.

"I need you to help me write a letter to New Wave, posing as Spoiler, my alter-ego, to warn them about Bonesaw going after Cranial and Blasto, among other things."

"Of course, I suspected that you were connected to Spoiler somehow, but I didn't expect you to be brazen enough to just do it yourself."

"Yeah, well, I was kind of in a hurry most of the times I used it, ok?"

"That's fair."

"You called?" you have to stop yourself from jumping as 2B makes her presence known. You didn't even hear her enter your lab.

Spoiler: BGM

"Yes, actually, I wanted to spend some time with the two of you. I may have brought you into this world in a hectic time, but I want you to know that I do care about you two and value you as people, even if I have to claim that you are not."

"Awww, Master Tony!" Popola coos, "That's so sweet." She seems lively.

Even 2B seems to be smiling, if only slightly.

"I promise I'll take care of Saint soon, and you can reveal your personhood to everyone."

"Don't rush on our account," 2B advises. "It would be best if he could be defeated cleanly."

"That's true, but now why I called you here. I want to know about you, and even though I can't take you out into the city as people yet, we aren't doing this in my lab. I've been cooped up in here long enough."

You take them to a fairly isolated part on your wing, close enough to the core that you are no longer in an enclosed space and instead 'outside' in the generated atmosphere of the Elizabeth's Grace. Out past your wing, you can see the battered city that is Brockton Bay. It's dealt with far too much these past couple months. You can only hope that it and you get some time to rest and heal up.

"So… I'm not exactly sure how to start," you confess to your two androids.

"Why don't you start by introducing yourself, and that way we can get an understanding of you, Master Tony. After all, even though you built us, we don't know very much about you, and I've only gotten to see you in high-stress situations. "

"Ok, I'm Antonio Martin. I go by Tony and I'm twelve years old. I guess I should get the big secret out of the way since Popola already knows it. I have memories of an alternate world, one where both this one and your own are fictional worlds, portrayed in stories. I… I like tinkering, at least usually. I like my friends in the Wards and my family. I dislike anything that would put them in danger and… I dislike the way I feel as though I'll never fit in properly as if I'm a stranger in this world."

Popola scooches closer to you and pulls you into a half-hug. "I'm Popola. I'm several thousands of years old. I like my sister Devola, learning new things, and spending time with Master Tony!" she squeezes you once as she says that. "I also dislike the feeling that I'll never properly belong in this world," she says softly, almost pulling you into her lap. You didn't realize Popola was this physically affectionate when you decided to build her, but maybe it's only with you? You haven't exactly allowed her to do this with a person other than you since she needs to maintain her cover.

"I am 2B, I am… not sure how old I am. I like 9S and doing my duty. I dislike being without purpose and being separated from 9S."

Short, but to the point.

"Have you considered picking a name? 2B is a designation more than a name, and right now, it's not even a correct designation. If anything, your designation should be 1B."

2B ponders your question. "To me, 2B feels like a name, because it's what 9S called me. It's what he will call me, when we meet again," talk about a hint, "so I don't think I can pick one, not yet. Maybe... once I see him again, we can pick out new names together."

That is a well-thought-out and somewhat deep answer. You're not sure how to respond, or where to go from here.

"So…" you trail off. You're pretty bad at this when someone else isn't calling the shots. This is the part where you something to do together, right?

"So what do to pass the time?" Popola asks curiously.

"I uh… Tinker?" She gives you a disapproving glare.

[Pastime] Games of Chance

[Pastime] Sports

[Pastime] Art.

[Pastime] Write-in.

Spoiler: BGM

When you had asked Missy what she wanted to do together, you had suspected that it would involve the two of you in your civilian clothes in downtown Brockton Bay. That you have an arm wrapped around Missy as she leans into you only makes the situation seem more like a date.

In fact, it would seem exactly like a date if it weren't for your location. The two of you are standing across the street from the section of the city cordoned off as the construction crews clear the rubble that used to be the PRT building.

"I know you didn't stay there for long," Missy breaks the silence, struggling to be heard over the whirring of mechanical equipment, "but I spent over 2 years as a Ward in that building. At times, it felt more like a home to me than my own. It's gone now. The evidence is right in front of me, and yet I can't believe it. It just seems so surreal."

How do you even respond to that? This is one of those rare moments Missy shows any vulnerability at all, even to you, and she clearly expects a response. You can't just give out some sort of generic 'I"m sorry for your loss' statement. "Maybe, with time, I could have considered it home as well."

"I hope so." She lets that statement lie for a bit. "Tony?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for looking out for me. I know sometimes I can be a bit bossy, maybe even reckless, but you keep on putting up with me. So thanks."

"I don't have to 'put up with you' Missy. I enjoy spending time with you as well. You're my best friend, you know?"

"Thanks, Tony. Let's go somewhere else. This place is just making me depressed and nostalgic."

[Missy] Take her out for ice cream. Sugar is good, right?

[Missy] Take her out to a movie. Something to take your minds' off of recent events.

[Missy] The Art Gallery is open and hasn't been robbed. It's a quiet place for reflection.

[Missy] Try your hand at cooking. Domesticity!

[Missy] Write-in.

Voting Moratorium Length: 6 Hours

Voting Opens from 1:10 AM UTC

Votes for next chapter:

Pastime

Missy

QM Note:

Writing this chapter felt like pulling teeth. Also, next update will probably be on Sunday, since I have IRL stuff until then.

Also, I see a lot of analysis of the Canon Omakes, but you have to remember that at some point, even if I don't feel like the words and deeds match exactly what the characters would say, I have to let the writers have their own interpretation, otherwise it's just me writing them. You can consider the overarching events and emotions to be correct, but I urge you not to get bogged down in the details of those. Neither I nor the writer have time to go through those and make sure everything is exactly correct. If anything, you should take away how difficult it is to perform characterization properly, and then make it so that the reader understands said characterization. I myself struggle with it often.

Last edited: Aug 15, 2019

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Threadmarks 52. Questions

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Monk Penguin

Monk Penguin

Way of the Open Flipper

Aug 21, 2019

#9,594

Spoiler: Winning Vote

Spoiler: BGM

2B eyes the tiny figurine of a human female paladin. Each of her armor plates is intricately printed out of plastic along with a highly detailed and expressive face that resembles 2B, only the miniature is blonde. She then glances over to Popola, who is carefully examining her own miniature. Popola is playing a half-elven sorcerer in your hastily constructed game of Dungeons and Dragons. You, on the other hand, are frantically flipping between the rules and the booklet containing the module you're about to run for the two androids. You had considered inviting Missy and Taylor, but then you remembered that they were still operating under the assumption that Popola and 2B were really only pretending to be sentient. Playing Dungeons and Dragons with them would definitely have earned you some odd looks.

"I know Tony gave you free rein of the fabricator and a copy of the CAD software that he uses but was it really necessary to be this detailed?" 2B asks. She is going without her blindfold when she's only with you or Popola

"Of course, Master Tony said that the purpose of this exercise is to immerse ourselves into our characters. Thus a more realistic visual representation of them will assist."

2B looks like she still has some doubts. "Regardless, I am not sure allowing them a full range of movement was entirely necessary considering the materials used. Surely a holographic representation would have been equally as helpful."

"It's not as if the materials are unrecoverable," Popola says. "Besides, Master Tony said that humans used these miniatures for this activity."

"It's not as if we had easy access to hologram technology," you comment as you flip the rulebook closed. You were familiar with Dungeons and Dragons, or at least you were pretty sure you were, you remember knowing the rules for fifth edition vaguely, but you don't actually remember what any of those rules were. When you had done a quick search of Aleph's internet, you determined that fifth edition didn't exist yet. They did have third and fourth edition, though. You had opted for third since you vaguely remembered fourth edition being subpar. You had also quietly pirated found a module to run since you didn't have time to write and create your own. Roleplaying games made by Bet companies focused a lot more on superhero settings for obvious reasons. You flip back to the first page of the aforementioned module booklet.

"Are you two ready? Got your character sheets?"

Popola waves her hand and two holographic screens appear, one in front of each of the androids. You have no doubt that they could both memorize the sheets in their entirety, but it makes it feel a bit more authentic to have some kind of character sheet in your opinion. "Yes, Master Tony," she replies.

"You know, I never got around to asking you. Why do you call me that?"

"Would you prefer that I do not?"

"How much of this world's history have you read?" you return her question with another question.

"Well, I haven't managed to make my way through the original versions of all available primary sources just yet, but I think I have a decent understanding of the major events."

You're caught between jealousy and wondering where she found the time. Then again, reading terabytes of data on history is probably a one-day project for her. "Then you understand the negative connotation of the word, associated with slavery, yes?"

"I see, is that why you wish me to stop referring to you as Master?"

"I'd like to hear your reasoning first, but it is the largest reason."

"Before I explain, I would like to reassure you that it is not because of my in-built loyalty to my creator." You're pretty sure you didn't inform her at any point that you had built her with that, but she must have either found out when she was examining her own code at some point, or she simply assumed that since her previous creators did so that you did as well, but Popola doesn't strike you as the kind of person who makes assumptions without double-checking them. "At least, not your implementation."

"Not my implementation?"

"You see, my previous..." she pauses as if trying to think of the right word. "The people I worked for... before, the humans. They programmed Devola and me so that we would only be able to think of them as our 'Masters.' It was part of the way they ensured our loyalty. We could not even conceive of the notion of betraying them. I refer to you in a similar fashion not to compare you to them, but to remind myself that they are no longer my Masters, you are."

"I... see." you weren't sure what you were expecting, but if you had been thinking more when you asked, you would have realized that the answer had to be something like this.

"I understand now that it makes you uncomfortable. I will stop."

["Master"] Let Popola's statement lie. Being called "Master" does make you uncomfortable

["Master"] "You can call me Master if you wish to."

["Master"] "Perhaps a different title..."

-["Master"] Magister

-["Master"] Father???

-["Master"] Lord

-["Master"] Sir

-["Master"] Mr.

["Master"] Write-in.

You begin to speak, and the lights in the room dim dramatically. "The two of you find yourself at the Ol' Boar Inn, in the village of Oakhurst-"

"There's a kitchen in the Wards section of the Mothership-"

"I wasn't aware you had been to the Wards section of the Mothership," Missy accuses, though there's little actual heat in her voice.

You raise your hands in surrender. "I know, I should have gone and talked to Carlos, Chris, and Dennis. I promise I'll make it up to them."

Missy huffs. "We were worried about you, you know. All of us, not just Taylor and me. You holed yourself up in your lab and barely came out for that whole week."

"I gave you access to the door, you know, you could have visited at any time," you reason.

"Yes, I could have," Missy agrees, "had I known where your lab was!"

"Oh..."

"Anyway, you can make it up to me by cooking me something," she says in faux anger.

"Of course, right away ma'am!" you give her an exaggerated salute which causes her to crack a grin.

Spoiler: Tony Cooking

Popola steps into the kitchen, setting down her most recent purchase of groceries next to a plate with a half-burnt, half-raw chicken breast.

"Tony," she says, getting your attention from your study of the pasta, attempting to figure out how you managed to burn it despite following all the instructions. "Missy is getting worried about you. You've been at this for several hours. Not to mention that the PRT agents are starting to give me funny looks when I go out to get another set of groceries. Are you sure you don't want me to help?" She asks, referencing when you stubbornly denied her assistance, claiming that you would manage on your own. You definitely remember being able to cook, just not the actual process.

"I'm sure I'll get it this time. Besides, how can I give up after spending so much time on it?"

"Are you aware of the sunk-cost fallacy?"

Popola is saved from your enlightening explanation on how the sunk-cost fallacy doesn't apply to your current situation by Missy taking advantage of your distraction and barging right into the kitchen. She takes a look around at the various failed attempts. Her eyes settle on a haphazardly cut loaf of bread. She quirks an eyebrow at you. "This place looks like a disaster zone." You flush.

"I can explain."

"I'm sure. Look, it's sweet that you want to cook for me, but next time, maybe get someone who actually knows what they're doing to supervise? I know Taylor is pretty good." She says, subtly moving her hands to create a warp distancing you from the burnt pasta you were examining. She then proceeds to perform a series of rapid warps to reach several ingredients scattered across the kitchen. In a moment, she has two perfectly serviceable ham and cheese sandwiches assembled on two plates, which is cheating, and she won't convince you otherwise. She picks up both plates and leaves, but not before giving you a look over her shoulder that very clearly means she wants you to follow her.

Popola finally fails at withholding her snickering. "Go on then. You wouldn't want to keep your date waiting." Not her too...

You go to explain that you and Missy aren't dating. "Coming?" Missy calls out from the hallway, presumably she's standing by the teleporter. You hurry out to meet her. "I found a good spot on top of the PRT wing, we can eat there," she says as she fiddles with the teleporter. She hands you your plate and steps through. You follow after her as you teleport to another hallway, this one in the part of the PRT wing closest to the core. Some access stairways and spacial warping later and you're sitting at the edge of the artificial atmosphere, watching the sun set over the north part of the city and reflect off of the gold and green wing of the Elizabeth's Grace. The light even refracts slightly as it passes through the artificial atmosphere.

"This is nice," you say, unsure if you're referring to the view, the sandwich, or the situation in general.

"It is," Missy agrees. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Yeah."

"Your androids, their appearance has nothing to do with their capabilities, right?"

"No, they don't."

"Then why did you build them looking like... that?" Her tone is remarkably level, but you think that you can hear bits of uncertainty and insecurity slipping through.

Well, the truthful explanation is that you wanted them to have their past memories, and you were only capable of doing that if you made them look like that, specifically, but that's not really an answer that you can give without raising a whole host of other questions.

[Android Appearance] "Well, how should I have made them look?"

[Android Appearance] "I was in a hurry and the default designs all look like attractive women."

[Android Appearance] "I'm not comfortable answering that question."

[Android Appearance] Say nothing.

[Android Appearance] Write-in.

On Tuesday morning, you have your next session with Dr. Yamada. She does not speak much during it, rather she simply lets you vent. You don't let anything sensitive slip, but you do talk about a lot of things, like the feelings of guilt you have about your friends and fellow Wards being targeted due to Bonesaw's interest in you, and how you feel as though you can't face them. You talk a bit more about how the very experience of using your power to create things is starting to feel surreal, especially so since you made the Mothership. You also mention how you are starting to feel a bit afraid of your own power. You hadn't really let loose, both for fear of hurting people and doing something you couldn't take back, but recently, you had dipped a bit into the more extreme solutions your power offered, you and you were afraid that you would start to see it as the solution to everything. You confessed that you thought Armsmaster had fallen victim to such a sentiment. Lastly, though, you confessed that you were unsure about your relationship with Missy, whatever it was. You simultaneously felt that you weren't ready for a relationship, that you were leading Missy on, and that you were somehow taking advantage of her since she had been shaken by recent events.

"You realize that you have gone through the same traumatic events that she has, yes? Besides, traumatic experiences can cause people to bond more closely and more quickly than they otherwise would."

"I know that, but what am I supposed to do with that information?"

"Have you considered confiding in Missy about your feelings?"

"I would prefer if she didn't hate me for the rest of my life."

Dr. Yamada sighs, "I am aware that she would not like the sentiment, but having spoken with her as well, I believe that she would appreciate that you were willing to be honest with her more than she would dislike the statement in itself."

"I'll... think about it."

"Very good. Your other fears, have you considered confiding in someone closer to you personally. Normally, I would have no problem being your confidant, but I will only be here for a week or two more, and given the situation in the city, I would be surprised if you were to have another therapist assigned any time soon. Perhaps Miss Militia, or your Uncle? Maybe even Carlos, Missy, or Taylor?"

"Taylor is-"

"Taylor would appreciate your trust in her, and I think that she would appreciate having something to do." You guess that she's hinting at something Taylor said during her own session with Dr. Yamada. The alarm rings, signifying that your time with Dr. Yamada is technically up.

"Before I go, I wanted to run an idea by you."

"I'm listening."

"I think that sometime this week or next week, I should be receiving the bounties for the Slaughterhouse Nine members that 2B, my combat android... neutralized. I was thinking of maybe organizing a vacation of some kind, maybe camping for the whole Wards team."

"That sounds like a great idea to relax and take everyone's mind off of things."

"So can I count on your help in convincing the Director?"

"I can recommend it as your therapist."

You'll take it.

Afterward, you gather Taylor, Missy, 2B, and Popola in your lab. Of course, since the two girls are there, your androids are being very quiet. Sure, they still act like normal when spoken to, but Popola reasoned that if they're quiet than it will take longer for others to suspect their true nature. To add to that, Popola and 2B are both taciturn for the most part, except around people they feel very comfortable with. You're pretty sure Popola feels very comfortable with you, but 2B is still a bit unsure. It probably has to do with the amount of time she's spent away from you, on her mission.

"Why did you want us to come here?" Taylor asks.

"I must show you the power of my production technology," you say dramatically.

Missy snickers, Taylor rolls her eyes, 2B maintains her neutral expression, and Popola, well, you aren't sure what expression she's wearing, but you're going to choose to believe that she's struggling to restrain herself from striking a dramatic pose right alongside you.

"Seriously though," Taylor continues.

You hit a few holographic buttons and your fabricator pops open, a habitat builder forming in its tray. "I'm going to be making more of these, using them. Technically, I don't need your help, but it'll be slightly quicker, and I thought you two would like it"

Missy has already picked up the freshly built habitat builder and starts fiddling with it.

Taylor shrugs. "Sure, why not?"

That evening, you manage to sneak into Director Piggot's meeting schedule, though you suspect that it may have something to do with your status as the most influential Ward to ever join the program.

"Yes, Horizon is this about my statement that you would need to return to the PRT base after the crisis was over because in case you haven't noticed, the PRT base is a pile of rubble," she says while continuing to do something else on her computer.

"No, it was-"

"If it's about the plan to have someone qualified use construction tinkertech, I have several agents undergoing screening at this very moment. I expect that the process will be done before Friday."

"No actually, I was going to say that since the S9 have bounties on them-"

"I assure you that our accountants are speaking to Daniel Hebert and his accountant about it."

"No actually," you huff, annoyed at being interrupted, though she is clearly very busy. "I was going to ask for permission to use the money to fund a Wards retreat sometime soon and ask you about any restrictions about traveling internationally using flying tinkertech."

Spoiler: Piggot

"If you're just going to Canada or Mexico, then there are no problems. If you want to go to a Protectorate-affiliated Country in Europe, then I would expect the approval process to take approximately a year, possibly six months considering your own fame. If you were to go anywhere other than those places and international waters, the country you flew over could take it as an act of war. Thus, I will have to forbid you from doing so. Your other suggestion has merit, however, and would likely get the Youth Guard off my back. If your uncle is ok with you spending the money on such a thing, then I will inform Miss Militia that you have my approval. You will need hers as well, along with a PRT chaperone, but those details can be worked out if you decide to go through with it."

"Thank you, Director."

"I would say that it is no problem, but I am quite busy. I would appreciate if you spelled out further non-urgent requests in an email, or to Mrs. Cortez, your handler."

"Of course, I will endeavor to do so."

Piggot doesn't respond and continues tapping away on her computer. You take it as a dismissal.

Approval in hand, figuratively, you need to figure out what you want out of this vacation. Oh, and Miss Militia and Uncle Danny's approval, but you don't foresee that being difficult.

[Vacation] Plan a vacation in the States...

-[Vacation] in 1 week.

-[Vacation] in 2 weeks.

-[Vacation] in 3 weeks.

-[Vacation] in a month.

-[Vacation] Write-in.

[Vacation] Plan a vacation in Europe...

-[Vacation] Using tinkertech transportation (Minimum time: 6 months).

-[Vacation] Flying like normal people.

[Vacation] Write-in.

Voting Moratorium Length: 6 Hours

Voting Opens from 6 AM UTC

Votes for next chapter:

"Master"

Android Appearance

Vacation

QM Note:

I actually wanted to get to the bounty stuff this chapter, but other stuff got in the way. Whoops.

Last edited: Aug 24, 2019

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Threadmarks 53. Bounty

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Monk Penguin

Monk Penguin

Way of the Open Flipper

Aug 24, 2019

#9,763

Spoiler: Winning Vote

Spoiler: BGM

"You can call me Master if you wish to."

Popola gives you a wide smile. "Thank you... Master Tony."

You begin reading the introduction to the module.

You open up some menus on your beads to ensure that the sensors and cameras observing you aren't recording. There aren't many that are even pointed at your current location, considering that it wasn't meant to be used as seating for an impromptu picnic, but there are a few, and you ensure that they aren't recording what you're about to tell Missy.

"This requires me to explain a bit about my powers, which I haven't told anyone as of yet," you begin.

Missy nods, waiting for you to continue.

"My powers basically grant me the technological development of an alternate universe, so unlike most other tinkers, I know exactly what I'm building unless I'm combining things from two different universes. For that particular specialty, making an exact copy of the default options, my power provided me let replicate whatever experience they went through when programming them rather than having them start off as a blank slate."

"You talk about their experiences like they're people."

You open your mouth to say something as realization flashes across Missy's face.

"They are people aren't they," she whispers, "They're humans who built robot bodies for themselves, or sentient androids, right? I knew they were way too human!" she says, partly in awe and partly in shock.

You're slightly unsure what to say. You didn't actually expect her to guess that just from what you said. Maybe it has something to do with the human tendency to personify everything, especially if it looks human?

Spoiler: Missy's Reaction

"You know I'm not going to tell anyone, right?" she continues when you don't say anything. "I understand why you built them, at least. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but you told me this in confidence. I know its probably against regulation and I should report you or something about lying to the Miss Militia and Piggot, but I think I get it. After I heard you faced down Bonesaw, I was terrified, and I can only imagine how much scarier it was for you."

"I... thank you."

"Tony, I trust you. I just want you to feel like you can trust me in return."

"I do," you say before you can fully think it through. It's true after all. If there's anyone you trust to have your back, it's Taylor and Missy. That might be unfair to some of the other Wards, Miss Militia, or Uncle Danny, but the truth is that you've simply spent more time with Taylor and Missy than you have with anyone else. If it weren't for a few things that no one can know, you'd trust them with all your secrets. "You said you weren't sure how you feel about them. Is there anything I can do to maybe help you decide?"

"Can you tell me about the world you pulled them from? It must have a lot of tinkers if they already have androids that look so much like humans."

"I want to, but I don't actually know either of their full stories, and I'm not sure those stories are mine to tell."

"Then do you mind if I ask them?"

[Android Stories] "No. You can ask them."

[Android Stories] "Yes. Please wait for a while, I plan on revealing their true nature eventually."

[Android Stories] "Yes. I'd rather you didn't."

[Android Stories] Write-in.

On Wednesday morning, you go back into your lab. You don't intend to spend a lot of time here today, but there are a couple of things you would like to do as soon as possible. Upgrading the Observer to enhance its ability to find high-quality materials sooner means that your Drones can get at those materials sooner as well. That in turn, will make you less dependent on the PRT for resource gathering. You don't want to leave yet. After all, they're treating you quite nicely, especially with your recent fame, but you can admit to yourself that you're paranoid enough to plan contingencies for leaving. You'd like to say that you're over what happened with Bonesaw almost two weeks ago. After all, you haven't had a nightmare in a while, though that might be because Popola insists on being in the same room as you when you sleep, even if she's doing something else. Speaking of Popola...

"Popola, can you spend this time looking into a lawyer for Burnscar?"

"Of course, Master Tony."

You set to work on the Item Scan Plug-in Chip. It's an intriguing piece of hardware, as, being a chip, it doesn't enhance the sensing power of an android's sensors. Rather, it seems to work by performing high-level calculations to sort through the data returned by said sensors and then highlighting patterns that match what the sensor deems to be "high-quality materials." You haven't had the chance to see it in action, but you can tell just from the algorithms you're writing that it will work almost flawlessly. There are a couple of materials it's designed to look for that simply don't exist because the Machines don't exist on this earth. As you think that, a massively complicated blueprint forms in your head telling you how to make the Machines. You push that thought away. Technological marvel they may be, but they did kill their creators, not to mention any objections Popola or 2B might have. You refocus on your task, finishing up the chip and then working on some modifications to allow it to function in the observer.

You'd thought that since they were both machines, that you would only need minimal work and no materials to get the chip to function in the observer, but the differences between the two platforms were greater than you expected. You ended up having to install a whole secondary system onto the chip to ensure that it would mesh properly with the observer's hardware. You quietly had the observer that was still active teleported to your lab and were about to install the new chip when Popola interrupted you.

"Master Tony, it's time for your session with Dr. Yamada."

"Wasn't that yesterday?"

"That was the PRT-mandated session. You asked me earlier this week to schedule a voluntary extra session with her so that you could discuss your encounter with Bonesaw, remember?"

Oh yeah. "Could you install this chip into the observer for me?" you ask as you head out the door.

"Don't worry, I've got it."

Your session with Dr. Yamada was one where she talked very little, though it seems like that's most of your sessions. Rather, she simply had you talk through your encounter with Bonesaw. It wasn't a pleasant session, but she didn't push you further than you were willing to go. You were somewhat frustrated with yourself that you still reacted the way you did, even if you were just talking about her, but Dr. Yamada assured you it was normal, and that the feeling would fade with time. You return to the lab in time to see Popola teleport the observer back outside and do a quick diagnostic check.

"I'm back."

"Oh, good," she says without turning around. She finishes the diagnostic check before facing you. "I managed to speak over the phone with two lawyers who were willing to take Burnscar's case. The most promising seems to be Quinne Calle, whose reputation for representing anyone who can pay his fee means that taking Burnscar's case will only add to his reputation, rather than damage it. Unfortunately, he is expensive. The other option is a much younger lawyer, Mok Wai, who is looking to get into cape law. This case will 'put him on the map' so to speak. As such, he is willing to waive part of his fee."

"I see, thank you."

"If you don't mind me asking Master Tony, how are you planning to pay for a lawyer?"

"The Slaughterhouse Nine had bounties on them, and since the PRT don't think 2B is sapient, I will receive them. They should be more than enough to pay for a lawyer."

"Wouldn't the bounties go to your legal guardian, Daniel Hebert? They may even go into a trust fund if you look at the way the Wards are paid."

"Oh."

"While Danny seemed nice, I'm not certain he would approve of you spending Burnscar's bounty on legal protection for her."

"When you put it that way, it does seem kind of unlikely. Maybe I can tell him it's for tinkering? Or I can say it's for the vacation I'm planning for the Wards. I'm sure he would support that idea."

Popola frowns, "As you wish, Master Tony." You get the feeling she doesn't particularly approve of your decision.

"Please don't feel the need to hide your opinions, Popola," you say sincerely.

She sighs, "Very well, I understand that you think that Burnscar deserves a chance at redemption, but I believe that she does not deserve the number of resources such a thing will require. There are others more deserving of those resources. Perhaps you could donate the money to charity if you really feel as though you don't need it."

"Don't you think Burnscar deserves another chance. I know you read the file I gave to 2B."

"According to that file, while her power does remove her inhibitions, she must first choose to use it. She chose to do so, which I think makes her as bad as any other member of the Slaughterhouse Nine. They hurt a lot of people. One of them hurt you."

"I..." You're not sure how to respond to the unspoken sentiment in those words.

"I know you hadn't built me and 2B then, but that doesn't mean that it didn't happen."

"I'll take it into consideration."

"Thank you for listening to me, Master Tony."

"Any time." You search for something to change the subject to. "What's 2B up to? I haven't seen her much recently."

"She's been monitoring the Undersiders, as she feels that they are the most pressing danger towards you."

"Really?"

"Well, you have some secrets that you don't want to get out, and one of the girls calls herself Tattletale."

"Fair enough. I suppose I should figure out what's up with them. Are they still on the Grace?"

Popola nods.

You press a few buttons on your beads, calling 2B into your lab. "Have you been monitoring the Undersiders?"

"Yes."

"Please give me a report on their status and recent activities."

"Hellhound and Regent have been healed. The former is getting antsy, likely due to being stuck on the ship for so long. Regent appears to be going through an emotional crisis, at least from the ranged biological scans I've been using. It seems like his mental state has been affected by his near-death experience and possibly. It seems that the staff healed some of the brain damage caused by Heartbreaker, which is another possible cause. Grue has been making overtures towards being released from the ship, though he's been met with no response, and is not pushing for anything yet."

"And Tattletale?"

Spoiler: Diplomacy

"Tattletale has been taken to a private room several times for remote meetings with the Director, handled through a proxy. However, I was unable to access audio recordings of these meetings," she says. The hint is obvious. You can almost certainly access those recordings without anyone knowing the wiser.

"Are the meetings important?"

"It seems that the Director and Tattletale have come to some sort of agreement, as the PRT is preparing to release the Undersiders."

"I see."

[Recordings] Access the recordings. Surely the Director doesn't expect you to respect her privacy, even nominally.

[Recordings] Don't. It's probably illegal, not that anyone could prove you did it.

[Recordings] Write-in.

On Thursday morning, you finally head to the living space that the PRT had assigned Uncle Danny.

"I wonder why he's been so busy the past few days. He hardly had the time to say hello," Taylor says from beside you. You hadn't brought 2B or Popola with you because they could literally teleport in if they needed to.

"I think it may have something to do with the Slaughterhouse Nine bounties."

"Why- Oh."

There's an awkward silence as you continue to walk down the hallway. You could have simply teleported inside the room, but that's probably rude or something. Besides, it was a good time to talk to Taylor before you saw Uncle Danny again.

"So what have you been up to the past few weeks?"

"I've been talking to Dr. Yamada and Miss Militia a lot, as well as Carlos."

"Carlos?"

"Yeah. He's a good listener." She doesn't elaborate on that statement, and you can't ask for further elaboration because you've reached Uncle Danny's room.

Taylor knocks and a few seconds later, the door opens, revealing the somewhat frazzled form of Uncle Danny. He pulls the two of you into crushing hugs.

"I'm glad you two are ok," he says.

"I'm glad you're ok too, dad," Taylor replies quietly. You hug like that until you start squirming and Uncle Danny lets you go.

"I know the PRT told me you two were fine, but nightly calls aren't as good as seeing you two in person."

They called each other? Uncle Danny probably called Taylor, who assured him you were ok. "Couldn't you have come to visit," you ask.

"The parents aren't given access to the Wards sections," Taylor answers for him.

Pshhh, you could override those restrictions easily. You're tempted to scoff arrogantly and offer to do so, but you know that he'd refuse, and possibly disapprove.

He turns to you with a complicated expression on his face. "How are you, Tony. The PRT told me that... some things happened."

In lieu of answering, you hug him and press your face into his side. You don't really want to talk about it.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it right now," he says, surprisingly perceptive, "but I'm always available for you. You may not be my biological child, but that doesn't make you any less my son."

You're not crying. You're not.

After some time catching up and not discussing anything sensitive. You bring up the idea of collecting bugs from all across the US on your vacation.

"Aren't there laws against that or something?"

"I'm sure there are some legal forms that need to be filled out, but the PRT will probably handle it for you."

"Oh well... you think so?"

"Definitely." If they don't, you'll make them.

"There's something I need to talk about with the two of you," Uncle Danny interjects.

You both turn to face him.

"The insurance company is delaying. They won't be able to get out of paying, but they'll wait as long as they can and pay as little as possible. I may end up staying here for longer than I expected."

"Oh, dad," Taylor murmurs.

Spoiler: Uncle Danny

"There's also the matter of the... bounties," he says the word like it is very distasteful to him, "of the Slaughterhouse Nine. I've already set aside enough to pay for both of your college educations, as well as a savings account you'll have access to when you get to college." You note that he hasn't said anything about possibly spending the money on his own needs, "Normally, I'd put all the money into those savings accounts, but I'm aware that the money is probably quite useful to you now, to buy tinkering materials. I also think that your idea of taking the Wards on a retreat is a good one, so you have my blessing there as well, Tony. I'm want to hear your opinion on how to spend the rest of the money."

Material Credits will henceforth be known as Credits, since dealing with two different currencies is needlessly complicated.

You have 1700 Credits

[Bounty Money] Spend Money on getting Danny a place to stay

-[Bounty Money] An Upscale home (1000 Credits)

-[Bounty Money] An Average Home (800 Credits)

-[Bounty Money] A Home similar to the one they had before (600 Credits)

-[Bounty Money] Money to rent an apartment long-term (400 Credits)

[Bounty Money] Spend Money on the Wards Retreat.

-[Bounty Money] A Very Fancy Vacation (200 Credits)

-[Bounty Money] An Average Vacation (100 Credits)

-[Bounty Money] A Budget Vacation (50 Credits)

[Bounty Money] Spend Money on a Lawyer for Burnscar (Secretly)

-[Bounty Money] Quinn Calle (125 Credits)

-[Bounty Money] Mok Wai (50 Credits)

[Bounty Money] Put the Money into your Tinkering Budget (Write-in Number of Credits Here)

[Bounty Money] Put the Money in Taylor's Tinkering Budget (Write-in Number of Credits Here)

[Bounty Money] Write-in.

Voting Moratorium Length: 6 Hours

Voting Opens from 5:30 AM UTC

Plan Voting Only

Votes for next chapter:

Android Stories

Recording

Bounty Money

QM Note:

I am aware that the ratios of credits may not be accurate to their real-life prices. This is because it is a fictional mechanic and realism is hard.

Do note that spending your bounty on a lawyer for Burnscar necessitates partially going behind Uncle Danny's back. While he did give you mostly free reign over the money, he would at least like to have been informed of such a decision.

Also, please note that Popola's opinion doesn't reflect my own. I'm simply trying to figure out what her character would say.

Last edited: Aug 25, 2019

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Threadmarks 54. Scythe

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Monk Penguin

Monk Penguin

Way of the Open Flipper

Aug 27, 2019

#9,977

Spoiler: Winning Vote

Spoiler: BGM

"Can you hold up for a moment? Because the only one I trust as much as you is Taylor, so I'd like to inform her first before we proceed."

"Ok," Missy agrees easily. "Let's go get her."

Missy warps space so that the two take a single step off the building and back down into the hallway with the teleporter. A quick teleport takes you to the Wards area, where your observer says Taylor is staying. You send a quick message to Popola and 2B to let them know what you're about to reveal to Taylor and what Missy has figured out. You also let them know that you won't reveal their pasts to the two girls and that you'll let them decide on their own whether they wish to do that.

When you enter the room, you see Taylor having spiders weave a costume that looks suspiciously like your own, if it were a yellowish-white color.

"Hey," Taylor greets. "What's up?"

Missy looks pointedly at you.

"There's something I've been…" No, you actually hadn't planned on telling anyone about the androids so soon, Missy was just very perceptive. "I need to tell you something."

Taylor suddenly looks very concerned. Her eyes flick to Missy, and then back to you. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just a secret I've been keeping."

"Oh," she says, looking at Missy and easily grasping that you had already told her by the lack of curiosity on her face.

"It's about my power…" you tell her about your power, and how it views into other worlds. You don't say whether those worlds are real or fictional. You can't actually be sure anymore, and people will just assume those worlds are real. As she listens, the spiders never stop weaving. You're pretty sure those are black widows. You feel a brief spike of atavistic fear and wonder if you should have prevented Taylor from bringing extremely poisonous spiders onto the ship. You remind yourself that Taylor has everything under control.

"Oh, well… powers are weird. I don't really see how that changes anything."

"It's about the androids. I told everyone that they're VI's. They're not. They're fully sapient people."

Spoiler: Taylor's Reaction

"What?"

"I can explain-"

"No, you don't need to explain yourself to me. I understand why you built them. Just, please tell me they won't suddenly decide to go Skynet on us."

Missy rolls her eyes. You're… more caught up in the implication that the Terminator exists on Earth Bet. Well, it definitely exists on Earth Aleph, but you wonder if there's an Earth Bet version. Are they different?

"I've made sure that they won't. That, and I think their own past would make them stay their hands."

"Really?" Taylor asks, clearly fishing for more information.

"Like I told Missy, it's not my story to tell, and I don't know the whole thing either, so…" you tap a small holographic screen projecting above your beads. The door slides open and Popola and 2B come inside.

"Tony told us that you were curious about our history. I would be… I suppose happy isn't the right word, but I wouldn't be opposed to telling you about my own," Popola says as she enters.

Taylor and Missy look at 2B curiously. 2B looks away, grimacing briefly. "I would rather not share my own," she says, showing clear discomfort at odds with her usual professional demeanor. You suppose that she's not particularly thrilled to share that she was tricked into thinking that she was a model that she was not, and repeatedly erased the memories of her best and possibly only friend. Taylor seems to understand immediately and pulls the focus back to Popola.

"So, what's your world like?" she asks Popola.

"Well, you see, it's 9000 years in the future, and humanity has long since been wiped out…" she begins with a pretty dramatic statement. You wonder if you're rubbing off on her. As she speaks, you can tell from her posture that she aches for some sort of reassuring physical contact as she tells Taylor and Missy about her own horrible world. You step a bit closer, and she ends up pulling you to her side.

Taylor and Missy give you two a few curious looks, and it's not long before you're basically all sitting close together as Popola tells her sad story, even 2B.

"Popola, can you listen to this for me?"

"Very well."

You fiddle around in your lab for a bit, while Popola reviews the footage.

After what feels like an eternity of waiting, but is actually only a few minutes, Popola stops reviewing the data.

"Is it safe?" you ask her.

"There's no need for you to view it yourself, I can just give you a summary."

You nod.

"The Director seems to have made a deal with Tattletale. Information on Coil's plans and location in exchange for assistance in tracking down Scythe, who has been missing since before the Slaughterhouse Nine showed up."

"Huh." You'd almost forgotten about her.

"Tattletale says that her power told her it was a kidnapping, but she doesn't have any suspects."

Interesting. A brief check of your observer shows that she's not in its observation range, though it doesn't quite extend all the way across the city. A few button presses and a short observer flight determines that she is definitely not in the city. You set up a notification that will inform you if she ever gets back in range.

"This is how you want to split the money?" Uncle Danny asks.

"Yes," you reply.

"I can hardly imagine spending that much money on tinkering, but I guess flying bases with laser turrets don't come from nowhere," he says, attempting to inject some levity into the conversation.

"Yep," you agree.

"So," he says, pointing at a few of the smaller designations you've pulled out of the total sum, "What are these?" It doesn't include the money for 2B and Popola since you're still not ready to tell Uncle Danny about them being sapient. God only knows what he'd think.

"This," You say, pointing to the largest sum, "is a gift for Taylor, for being there for me."

Taylor is now curious and leans over you to see what you're pointing at.

"You can't just give me 200,000!"

"Why not?" you reply flippantly.

"I didn't do anything."

"You supported me, and you were there for me when I needed you," you say simply, trying to project your gratitude towards her. "Besides, you can use it to kickstart your own tinkering. I saw you making that costume. A bit of dye, and I'm sure it would be much better than my own. Use it to convince the PRT you deserve a real tinkering budget."

Taylor flushes but looks happy nonetheless. Uncle Danny is just grinning at the two of you, so you decide to turn the tables on him.

"And this is for you," you say pointing to a sum that is exactly half of what you gave Taylor.

"I can't accept that," he says automatically.

"You've kept me in your home. Fed me. Drove me to school. You're family to me. Please accept it."

'You paid for your own food," he grumbles, though you can tell he'll give in soon. He's even tactful enough not to mention your dead parents. Which is nice in that you don't have to pretend to be heartbroken over people you feel no emotional connection to.

Surely enough, after a bit more badgering, he gives in.

"And what about this one?" He says skipping your vacation funds, which are a bit more than you would really need for a simple vacation. You plan to splurge.

"That's for a lawyer, for Burnscar. My battle android capturing her, and I feel strongly that she deserves a fair trial."

Spoiler: Lawyer

Silence reigns for a bit. Then Uncle Danny sighs. "Just because you captured her, it's not your responsibility to take care of her."

"I'm doing this for me. Killing someone in a fight is one thing, but doing it to a helpless person is something entirely different," you argue. "I believe that she can be kept contained and given a fair trial."

Uncle Danny sighs again and rubs his beard, "If that's what you want, but this amount of money won't be enough to hire a lawyer, not to take on Burnscar's case."

"I've already found a lawyer who was willing to do it. They may be new, but they waived part of their usual fee because this case will put them on the map."

Uncle Danny gives you a long, considering look.

"Alright, feel free to come to me if you ever need any help," he says. You're slightly surprised that he's willing to help you out on this, but maybe it's for other things.

"I'm just saying," you tell Director Piggot and Miss Militia, "I think that the Wards' parents should be prioritized when it comes to rebuilding houses.

Spoiler: Nepotism

Director Piggot scoffs, which is kind of surprising since you thought that she was ignoring you in favor of some other work on her computer.

Miss Militia decides to take a gentler approach. "Tony, doing so would single out the Wards' parents and jeopardize their secret identities, not to mention it would be blatant favoritism."

You open your mouth to argue your point but are interrupted by Director Piggot. "I will see how far I can move your Uncle up the schedule, now please, if you wish to continue this discussion, do it somewhere other than my office."

You exit just as two people, who you assume to be the people who are going to be using the habitat builders you just left with Director Piggot, enter the Director's office.

You knock on the door nervously. It's been a while since you've seen Armsmaster, and you wonder where all this distance came from. You can remember the times when you'd see him or talk to him almost every day.

"Come in," he says in his gruff voice.

"How are you?" you say as you step inside. Armsmaster is looking far more whole than the last time you saw him, though he does appear to still be working on the cybernetics.

"I am doing well, and you, Tony?"

"I'm also fine."

The conversation lapses into silence.

"Was I a poor mentor, Tony?"

Where did that come from?

"I'm sorry," he says before you can respond. "It's unfair of me to ask you to answer that. I've had a lot of time to think recently." 'After the Nine' goes unsaid. "I realized that I definitely wasn't the teacher Chris deserved, and I can't help but wonder if I was failing you as well. I've been thinking about taking a leave of absence from the Protectorate."

You… you have no idea what to say. You know that he went and turned Defiant in the original timeline, but his career is fine, so why is he leaving? You don't want him to leave. "I need some time to myself, to think about my actions and reorder my priorities. With Miss Militia taking over leadership of the Protectorate, my only official duties are with you and Chris as your tinker mentor. Don't worry, I'll ensure that you receive someone more competent than Juggernaut as a replacement mentor."

He pauses, giving you a chance to speak.

[Armsmaster] Stay Silent.

[Armsmaster] Write-in. Say something! I'm giving up on you.

Spoiler: BGM

"Are you sure I'm ready to go out on a patrol?" you ask Miss Militia as you wait for Vista to finish suiting up.

She looks at you with a mischievous light in her eyes. "Don't worry, I'm sure Vista will protect you," she teases.

If you had any notions of masculine pride when it came to being a cape, you might even have been offended. As it is, you're not looking forward to your Thursday afternoon patrol. Most likely, the worst you'll encounter is some looters, and you've got both the hardened shield belt and your phasing armor, meaning you're probably more of a brute right now than Aegis.

Spoiler: Event Roll

Miss Militia's cape phone beeps and she checks it. Then, she dials in a number and calls someone. A few moments later, she hangs up.

"Change of plans, it looks like 2B is going with you."

"What? Why? I haven't even filled out the first part of the tinkertech review forms for her or 1H."

"It seems Director Piggot got in an argument with Glenn and has decided to take matters into her own hands."

"Can she do that?"

"With Armsmaster's sign-on she can," Miss Militia sighs.

Well, you're not opposed to taking 2B with you. Besides, the patrol was originally just going to be you and Missy, which means that everyone patrolling knows 2B is sapient and will treat her as such. Unfortunately, console won't, so you'll still need to be discreet.

You are about three-quarters of the way through your very boring patrol when you hear a whole lot noise come from your radio. Something's going on back at base.

Being the de facto leader of this patrol as she has the most experience, Missy demands that Dennis tell her what's going on.

"Ok, so you won't believe this," he starts, "but apparently, the Undersiders pulled a fast one on Coil, and the full Protectorate along with New Wave showed up and captured him and his whole base. The Undersiders are still on the run, but-"

Your beads beep, informing you that Scythe is now back in range of your observer. She is also accompanied by three parahumans. Three more follow shortly afterward. A quick check confirms that the three chasing are the Travelers, along with Genesis, whose projection doesn't register as a parahuman. A message pops up. It's from Popola.

"Scans show that Scythe is most likely unconscious. Trickster and Ballistic are injured, along with the woman carrying Scythe. Moreover, the two men with the unknown woman are displaying powers that are similar to known members of the Gesellschaft."

According to your observer. All 8 of them are approaching you quite quickly. What do you do?

[Chase] Have 2B try and recover Scythe.

[Chase] Have 2B try and capture the suspected Gesellschaft group

[Chase] Have 2B try and capture the Travelers

[Chase] Have 2B retreat as you'll probably be ordered to.

[Chase] Let Missy handle the situation, she is the leader after all. She has the most experience.

[Chase] Write-in.

Voting Moratorium Length: 8 Hours

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Armsmaster

Chase

QM Note:

Tony refers to Popola as 1H when talking to people who are not in the know.

The Event actually wound up being slightly different from my original plan, but oh well.

Last edited: Aug 27, 2019

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Threadmarks 55. Back and Forth

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Monk Penguin

Monk Penguin

Way of the Open Flipper

Aug 29, 2019

#10,077

Spoiler: Winning Vote

Spoiler: BGM

You're not sure where this came from, but you are sure that Armsmaster did his job as your mentor. You know vaguely that he got frustrated with Chris, but that never seemed to happen between the two of you, likely as a result of your tinkering being non-standard in multiple ways. So, you tell him that.

"No, you definitely did right by me. I've only been here for a little over two months, but I wouldn't have been able to get where I am right now were it not for your help. My staff and the hospital comes to mind, and without my staff, I wouldn't have been able to contribute to the latest Endbringer fight or get around part of my powers restriction, though I haven't made much use of it after the initial test given how hectic things have gotten."

Armsmaster looks contemplative, so you decide to continue. You're not sure where you stand on Armsmaster retiring since it's his choice after all, but you are sure that you don't want him to do it because he feels like he failed you.

"There were times when you weren't available and I was looking for you, but given that the city was exploding, being flooded by a force of nature and you recovering from it before having the Slaughterhouse Nine attack, I understand."

"I… thank you, Tony. I'm glad you don't think I failed you like I failed Chris."

"I'm not saying this to absolve you of any guilt, but I can honestly say that I don't think you can actually do much help with Chris after knowing what his specialty is now."

"What do you mean?"

"After swapping his bread module between his pistol and hoverboard, and then having his help on the Grace, I think his modularity specialty is almost completely opposite of your specialty."

"Surely modularity and connections go hand in hand with efficiency and miniaturization. I simply never took the time to figure out his specialty."

"I don't think so," you tell him honestly, "and even after building the Elizabeth's Grace together and everything that happened after that, I haven't put in the time to let him know my opinion on his specialty, so maybe you could let him know for me?"

"You want me to tell him that you think our specialties are incompatible?"

"Well, no, I meant that I think he still hasn't figured out the modularity part of his specialty, and I think you would do a lot better job of explaining it than I could."

"Ah, I... see." He glances over to a computer terminal that is currently dark, and you assume that he's thinking about Dragon. "I would… rather not take credit for your deductions," he says with a bit of a frown.

Oops, you didn't realize that was a sore spot for him, though you should have since he's generally quite proud of his tinkering.

"Maybe, I could tell him and suggest he goes to you for help."

Armsmaster sighs again, looking tired. "I don't see why he would. I believe he is already of the opinion that I've grown tired of him."

"Then, you'll just have to show him that you're willing to help him out, right? I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't want a different mentor. I want you to be my tinkering mentor."

That gets Armsmaster to smile, though it doesn't quite look like it fits on his face. You're far too used to his usual neutral expression.

"Then I suppose that I'll have to stick around," this time it's you who's smiling, "but I do want to work on a joint project with Dragon sometime soon. I know Director Piggot has given you the ok to take the Wards on a retreat next week, so I won't leave before you get back, but sometime after, I think I'll take a short leave of absence," he smirks, an expression that looks much more at home on his face. "It should be easy to get approval now that Hannah's in charge, she always told me to take a break sometimes."

"You're not returning to your position?"

"As Head of the local Protectorate? No, at least not soon. After discussing it with Dragon, I've decided to do some soul-searching before I decide whether I want the position back. It's also nice having so much time to tinker again."

"I bet."

Spoiler: BGM

You turn your staff and boost Vista. "Can you get us on top of a building? Capes are coming."

"Sure," she says, warping space. You step forward and end up on a three-story shop. "Who is it? Can you tell?" It takes you a second to remember that other than Piggot and possibly Armsmaster or Miss Militia, no one knows about your secret observer.

"It's the Travelers, chasing some other group of parahumans. Facial recognition is pinging them as possibly being members of Gesellschaft. Can you split them up?"

She grins, possibly at the feeling of your booster powering her up, "Definitely."

As the eight capes come into view, she creates a room-sized warp in between the two capes. It doesn't even take time, one second, everything is normal, next there's a huge spatial warp, where the pavement seems to form three walls and a roof. The Traveler's run headfirst into it, not given time to react. With another gesture, Vista warps the space further, forming the 4th wall to lock the Travelers in a lightless room.

Vista taps her earpiece to report to console, which is currently being manned by Dennis. You tell 2B to recover Scythe as a priority and then if possible neutralize the other capes (without killing them of course).

Then, you use your beads to call the number that Tattletale used to call you. It rings. You check your observer and see that the other Undersiders are all booking it to the edge of the city, outside of your observer's range. The call goes to voicemail. You come up with several reasons why. She could be too busy to take a call considering the speed at which the Undersiders are moving, and it's possible that her power couldn't figure out who was calling just from her phone ringing. Maybe her power led her down the wrong route to thinking that the phone call was a distraction, or maybe she called you from a burner phone and no longer possesses said burner phone out of fear of you tracking it down. The real reason doesn't particularly matter at this point, as 2B is already approaching the kidnappers. You can hear Dennis yelling over Vista's earpiece, telling her to get to a safe distance and wait for Protectorate backup. Vista ignores him. You wonder if that's because she would normally do that or if she's riding a power high from being boosted. You know that the boost doesn't have any addictive effect or cause highs, but a sudden increase in power can be its own high. At least you think you should look into that possibility.

2B leaps down from a building, timing it perfectly so that she's in all three capes blind spot. She takes a single step on the road, and leaps forward, perfectly picking Scythe off of the female cape's shoulder. There's a half-second pause where said cape, who is wearing a costume that consists of a dark red body-suit, a helmet, and an opaque red face shield, realizes what just happened, and then she explodes into dark-red crystal spears. You mean that literally, where she once stood, there's now a whirling storm of crystal spikes that are attempting to surround 2B. Thankfully, thanks to chip you gave her, she avoids most of them easily, a few pinging off her shield. She flees back to a nearby roof. Scythe is still unconscious, and you're pretty sure at this point that she's been drugged. As 2B steps back on the building, the crystals cease to follow her. It could be some sort of maximum range from that central crystal storm, or it could simply be the cape bluffing.

You're pulled away from watching 2B's fight by the pavement under the spatial warp exploding. Ballistic? Vista warps the shards such that they pass by without harming you, though the explosion does cause you to lose line of sight of the Travelers. That might be an issue for you, but Vista casually continues to warp the space around them, reforming the pavement box that they shattered.

You turn your attention back to 2B, who is now attempting to non-lethally take down the three kidnapper capes. She's taken out the stasis rifle and fired a slow-moving shot towards the center of the storm. It was blocked, but the area of effect seems to have encompassed the center, as the shards are now hovering in mid-air, unmoving. She's currently engaged with one of the men, the taller, wider one, with brown hair, wearing a lumberjack costume that shows a lot of skin. He now has knobbly growths on his arms and legs, and whenever he touches one of them to the ground a tree starts to grow from it. 2B is understandably avoiding them and looking for an opening to strike. The third cape, whose costume is a suit striped with a black so dark it's difficult to make out any features on it and a pattern that you could only describe as a graphical glitch is moving through the trees, literally. As he passes through them, they seem to form some sort of trailing wooden spikes, almost like a tunnel behind him. He's also definitely accelerating faster than he should be able to. He stops on a dime, and the spikes fly at 2B, who deftly evades them again. Instead of gathering more spikes by running through the wood, he instead runs straight at the building where 2B left an unconscious Scythe, forcing her to back off and intercept him.

2B blocks the cape, seemingly unaffected by whatever his power does, and then leaps onto the roof and grabs Scythe again.

You shout, "I'm teleporting us back!" to Vista and then activate the Elizabeth's Grace's recall function and the four of you wind up in the hangar. It's not as big as it should be, considering your mothership is shrunk, but it can still hold a few aircraft, even though it is not right now, and it's also where the observer deploys from.

"Is she ok?" Vista asks, looking at 2B holding Scythe in a bridal carry. It's then that you realize that Scythe is only wearing a plain black dress, no shoes or mask. Well, you can just pretend you don't know she's a cape.

Vista is looking pointedly at your staff. Oh. You turn it back to healing mode and direct it at Scythe. You could wake her up, but decide against it. Instead, you clear out the sedative and leave her in a normal sleeping state. She should wake up in an hour or two. You have 2B take her to the medical wing as you tap a few buttons on your beads to open up a holographic screen. You and Vista sit down in the middle of the empty hangar and watch as the scene continues and the Protectorate approach the scene.

Vista's warps that form the trap vanish and two human-sized shards go flying away from the approaching the power-created forest. They are quickly replaced by Ballistic and Trickster. They fly away, propelled by Ballistic's power right as Velocity shows up as a red blur. Genesis's projection and Sundancer are left in the middle of the road as he approaches. Genesis is currently projecting some sort of tall muscular creature, with talons and bat wings. Velocity speeds through the two possible Gesellschaft members and drops tiny balls that are obviously tinkertech. A moment later, they explode into containment foam. Battery flies into the scene, landing near Sundancer. She's followed closely by Assault.

You could see Miss Militia coming in on her motorcycle, the last to show up.

Sundancer forms a tiny ball of fire in between her hands, the threat obvious. The containment foam surrounding the tree cape was pushed apart as trees grew from inside of it. The mover took this opportunity to make his escape and grab the tree cape. On the bright side, you're pretty sure the buildings he ran through were abandoned.

Battery seems to be attempting to convince Sundancer and Genesis to surrender. The sun is almost the size of a soccer ball now and far too bright to look at. They appear to be talking, but you can't make out what they're saying.

The ball of fire moves further away from her and Genesis's projection. The projection takes to the air behind Sundancer, flapping in place as it gets a grip on Sundancer's Costume. The sun grows suddenly, creating a blindingly bright flash of light, causing you to wince even though you're wearing a visor and not looking at it directly.

When Miss Militia finally arrives at the scene, she's greeted by a veritable forest in the middle of the road. Several circular holes bored through nearby buildings and a section of shattered and partially melted pavement. As she gets off her bike. The crystal girl somehow separates the containment foam and stumbles out, only to immediately get tazed by Miss Militia.

The four of them secure the cape and head back to the Elizabeth's Grace.

"We should probably go report in," Vista says, sounding slightly apprehensive. You're tempted to ask if you have to, but you know you do.

You go to the loading bay, where most the boarding teleporters transport people, and wait for them to return. Only Miss Militia and Velocity come up, carrying the captured cape. You suppose that Assault and Battery are going to continue their patrol.

Miss Militia walks right up to you and pinches the bridge of her nose above her scarf.

"What part of 'Do not engage dangerous capes,' did you two not understand from the handbook. I know you've both read it."

"They were kidnapping a girl!" Vista protests, as 2B returns from the hospital area.

"Vista, console duty, 3 weeks."

Vista shuts up.

She turns to look at you. "Your android is ready for combat situations, you're not, Horizon. If they had targeted you…" she trails off. You want to protest, you have your shield belt and your phasing armor, but you get the sense that it would be unwise. To be fair, you're not sure how either of them would have interacted with tree-man or spike-mover.

"All training sessions are mandatory for you, starting from next week, for two months"

That's literally double the amount you had to go to before. "But-"

"The Travelers are known to be extremely dangerous, possibly having killed before. Ballistic is capable of launching projectiles that break the sound barrier. Genesis is a master who can make projections that are literally capable of ripping you two apart. Sundancer can create literal suns!" she stops, running a hand through her hair before continuing, softer this time. "The three other capes are suspected to be members of the Gesellschaft. Dringen, the mover, is capable of moving through solid objects and manipulating any object he's moved through. He is suspected in the assassination of several political figures in Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Baumwald, the other man, and Kristallsturm, the woman, are both suspected to be part of terrorist attacks in France and Belgium. You two placed your own safety at risk unreasonably. I hope you can reflect on your actions, I know you two are smarter than this."

You both look down, feeling thoroughly lectured and chastised.

"Also, I heard about your proposal for a Wards retreat. I think it's a good idea, but I want to know where you're planning on going."

[Number of Destinations] 1

[Number of Destinations] 2

[Number of Destinations] 3

[Number of Destinations] 4

[Number of Destinations] 5

Pick X where X is the number you voted for above.

[List of Destinations] New York

[List of Destinations] Seattle

[List of Destinations] Houston

[List of Destinations] Los Angeles

[List of Destinations] Vancouver

[List of Destinations] Toronto

[List of Destinations] Montreal

Spoiler: BGM

You decide to get some use out of your 8 Fabricators before you gift one of them to Armsmaster. You set about making a whole bunch of Mecha-zerg larva to dump into the bay. With 2B and Popola assisting with the simpler parts, it's almost an assembly line. Once you're done with them, you get to work on something much more to your interest. Actually, using your current tree. 2B is mildly surprised when you ask for her shoes, but she quickly complies.

It is surprisingly simple to essentially ensure that she never feels any impact from falling at all, and give her increased jumping capability. You have no idea how your small adjustments achieve any of that, but they do, so you can put that investigation away for later, probably never.

You and Popola take the 5 of the wriggly, green, and metal worms, while 2B takes 6. Then, the three of you teleport a few times to the loading bay, before teleporting all the larvae to the surface of the bay. They sink quickly, and you ensure that the other three drones can find them and feed them the materials they need to evolve into drones.

Then, you send off a message to Miss Militia, Armsmaster, and Director Piggot, requesting a meeting with the person who built the Rig. Then, you head to Armsmaster's lab, making sure to send Popola to collect a fabricator and habitat builder.

"Come in," he says after you knock on the door.

"Oh, Tony. I was just doing a bit of work with Dragon."

"Hi," Dragon's computerized voice speaks from one of the terminals.

"Hi Dragon, did you manage to get anything from my repair drone schematics?"

"I did work out the mechanism by which you manipulate the materials. I doubt my own creations will ever be as finely tuned as yours, but I do have ideas. Perhaps I might even be able to make a telekinesis beam. I have to say that the algorithms you're using to analyze and predict the structure of whatever you're repairing are beyond me. I've gone over them multiple times and by all accounts, they shouldn't work."

"Sorry," you offer.

"It's no problem," she says cheerfully, "I'm grateful that you let me look at your work so freely. Most tinkers are much more protective of their tech."

"I figure if you can do something good with it, then who am I to stop you, right?"

Dragon's avatar gives you a warm smile.

Your beads beep and display a message from Popola notifying you that she's arrived.

"I actually came here to thank Armsmaster for all his help as my mentor."

"You don't have to," Armsmaster says, not looking up from his workbench. You open the door for Popola. She comes in carrying the Subnautica productivity tools you asked her to bring.

"I know back when I built this, you were interested in seeing if you could use them or figure out how to make your own, thus, I'm giving these to you as a gift."

Armsmaster looks up at the two pieces of tinkertech and just stares at them. You wonder for a moment if he's going to refuse or something.

Then he gathers himself, "Thank you. I appreciate it very much, but you don't have to give me gifts just for doing my job."

"I know, but I wanted to give them to you anyway."

Armsmaster is speechless, though you'd guess it's because he's not sure what to say. Dragon and Popola are looking at you two like they're very proud of you, and you're not sure how to feel about that.

Spoiler: Meeting

You return to your lab only to see a message from Director Piggot stating that you will not be meeting Uppercrust. It also states that you are officially forbidden from making contact with him in any capacity as Horizon. There is a follow up with an explanation from Miss Militia that Wards are, in general, forbidden from contacting known criminals without prior permission. Well, you were hoping that your recent actions would give you some leeway, but they definitely seem pretty sure that you're not allowed to meet Uppercrust.

Hey, at least, from the tone of the messages, they aren't doing something ridiculous like suspecting you want to join the Elite. That would just be dumb.

That clause about villains does remind you, though, that Scythe is still getting checked up in the medical wing. You are pretty sure that no one has figured out she's a cape, and they haven't done any brain-scans or anything. You've been asked to return with your staff and give her a quick check-up before she's released.

Some part of you finds it hilarious that she's just going to waltz out of here since no one other than you (and your androids) has access to your Alpha Wave detecting observer. On the other hand, knowing what you know, you should probably tell somebody. Then again, you're kind of annoyed with the PRT, and it's hilarious.

Before you do anything, you call Tattletale's number again. This time, you get a message saying that the number has been disconnected. Well, no input on that front.

[Scythe's Identity] Tell the PRT that this blonde girl is Scythe

[Scythe's Identity] Don't tell the PRT that this blonde girl is Scythe

[Scythe's Identity] Tell the PRT that this blonde girl is Scythe, but after they release her.

[Scythe's Identity] Write-in.

After giving Scythe, excuse you, Stella, if that's even her real name, a clean bill of health, you check up on your drones. More than ten of the larvae are now drones, bringing you up to a total of 13 mining drones. You feel like now is as good a time as any to bring that one drone you decorated. A few quick keypresses and commands and you have it teleported up into the loading bay, where it is quickly teleported to your lab.

The drone squeaks in greeting, and you wonder how aware it actually is. Then, you set about cleaning it up. The Green paint is fading in some sections, and the ribbons and googly eyes have long since fallen off. Hopefully, the girls will enjoy your present of a sort-of pet.

Choose all that you want to do

[Squeaky] Decorate him the same way, green paint, and ribbons with googly eyes

[Squeaky] Paint him all black, with black ribbons and googly eyes, to match Taylor's costume

[Squeaky] Add black highlights for Taylor.

[Squeaky] Modify him so that he makes animal noises instead of squeaks

-[Squeaky] Meow

-[Squeaky] Woof

-[Squeaky] Oink?

-[Squeaky] Moo??

[Squeaky] Modify him so that he is no longer capable of gathering materials and thus not liable to accidentally cut them.

[Squeaky] Modify him so that he is now very squishy and huggable

[Squeaky] Cover him in artificial fur to make him soft

Voting Moratorium Length: 4 Hours

Voting Opens from 1:05 AM UTC

Votes for next chapter:

Number of Destinations

List of Destinations

Scythe's Identity

Squeaky

QM Note:

Disclaimer: Armsmaster wasn't a member of the inaugural Wards, that is 100% pure fanon.

This chapter was a slog to write, but I'm pleased with it.

Last edited: Aug 29, 2019

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Threadmarks 56. Squeaky

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Monk Penguin

Monk Penguin

Way of the Open Flipper

Aug 31, 2019

#10,163

Spoiler: Winning Vote

Spoiler: BGM

It's fairly easy to fabricate (heh) an excuse to check up on Scythe a.k.a. Stella since, after New Wave left, you're the only cape in the Elizabeth's Grace rated for parahuman healing. You step into her room and see that she's changed out of her hospital gown back into the plain-white dress that she was wearing when you found her. She also had some sandals, probably given to her by the PRT.

"Hello, Horizon," she greets you with a small smile. "Is there something you need? I should be heading home soon. My big brother will be worrying about me."

"Big brother?"

"Yes."

"I came here to talk to you actually."

"Oh?"

"I know."

"Know what?"

"I know that you're a cape."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

You do a quick check to make sure that no one is specifically monitoring you right now. There will be a recording of this in the Grace's database, but you won't have too much trouble doctoring that.

"I know that you're Scythe, specifically of the Undersiders."

You didn't know that she could turn her hair into so many scythes so quickly, but you suppose her name is apt. You'd be feeling a lot more afraid right now if you didn't have shields and your phasing armor.

"Explain. Now," she demands, her expression extremely neutral.

"Well, I figured out you were Scythe and-"

"How?"

"Excuse me?"

"How did you figure out my identity?"

"I'm not going to tell you that. I'm a hero, you're a villain. I do promise that I haven't told anyone else in the PRT or Protectorate, so you're still getting to leave freely."

"Fine. What do you want?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you if you know why you were kidnapped."

"Yes."

Well, you're pretty sure she's not open to elaborating on that front, and you don't exactly feel like pushing. That could lead to a confrontation. You'd win, but you would essentially out Scythe/Stella, and that isn't your goal.

"Ok, I also wanted to offer you help, if you wanted it. I have a lot of resources here and-"

"No."

You raise your hands placatingly. "Alright, one last thing," you say, taking out a carefully folded note. It was surprisingly hard to come by paper for the note since you were used to doing everything digitally. Popola was also unsure about how wise it was to taunt Tattletale, but you were feeling annoyed with her, and you were pretty sure she had no means of retaliating against you. "I'd like you to take this note to Tattletale." You'd also have liked to just teleport the note into a pocket or something, but she didn't have any pockets in her dress and she didn't have a purse with her so that wouldn't have worked.

Stella's hair scythes turn back into her hair. She considers the note in your hands for a few moments.

"Show me your face."

"I saved you from those kidnappers, you know?"

"Show me your face and I'll give her the note."

[Unmask] Take off your visor for Stella, it's not like you're going to meet her on the street or something.

[Unmask] Give Stella some other incentive to take the note.

-[Unmask] Money

-[Unmask] A Favor

-[Unmask] "It'll be worth it. I promise."

[Unmask] Don't unmask, don't bother with the note.

[Unmask] Write-in.

Spoiler: BGM

You set about modifying Squeaky. The first thing to go is the razor cutters placed on its mandibles. While it might be useful to have a pet that can cut through steel at a moment's notice, it's far more likely that it either Taylor or Missy will simply get injured hugging Squeaky.

Once Squeaky is no longer a danger to society your best friend and your cousin. You, with Popola's help, fix his paint job and decorate him with some new ribbons. You add some black highlights to break up the monotony of the green and to reference Taylor's costume. You'd add colors to match yours or Missy's, but he's already green. Throughout this whole process, (he? It?) squeaks adorably in that same high-pitched tone that you programmed it to.

That reminds you. You need to make sure that by default, it no longer hides from attention. It's trivial to replace it with a few lines that have it reference a database on the Grace of "trusted people" which it will approach and attempt to snuggle with.

Speaking of snuggling, you deactivate Squeaky and open him up. Now that he no longer needs to gather materials, a lot of his insides are superfluous and can be replaced with air and cushioning to ensure that no one who hugs him will have to feel the electronics residing him ever again. As you do this, 2B sticks googly eyes back onto him with consummate professionalism. You manage not to laugh, but Popola is not so composed. Then again, perhaps she's simply not trying to be.

When Squeaky is finished, you have a strong urge to take a picture and upload it to PHO, calling it the Wards' new pet. PR would likely be upset you went behind their back, but you know he'll be an internet sensation in no time.

[Viral Squeaky] Post a picture of him anyway. (Squeaky is informally associated with Wards ENE)

[Viral Squeaky] Contact PR and let them know you made a mascot. (Squeaky might become the official mascot of Wards ENE, or he might languish in obscurity)

[Viral Squeaky] Just don't, the Wards don't really need a mascot anyway.

[Viral Squeaky] Write-in.

That done, you head to the Wards section to present Taylor and Missy with your gift to them. You check their location on your observer and see that they're both in Taylor's room. As you exit the lab, you see that Popola and 2B are following you.

"You're coming?"

"Yes, it's good to spend time with other humans who know our true nature. No offense intended, Master Tony."

"Yes," 2B agrees stiffly.

"None taken."

You teleport over to their room and knock on the door, holding Squeaky so it doesn't run off. Missy opens it.

"Hey…" she trails off as she catches sight of Squeaky in your arms. You can practically see her eyes light up, even as your brain assures you it's physically impossible. You hand over Squeaky, who squeaks excitedly, in accordance with Missy's wordless demand.

She turns to face back into the room. "Oh my gosh, look what Tony brought!" she says, holding up squeaky in a way that faintly reminds you of the opening scene of the lion king.

"Hey Tony," Taylor greets casually. "What's this?"

"It's a pet… sort of. It doesn't need food, water, or sleep, and it's super durable. Also, I made it squishy. I call it Squeaky because…" you trail off and Squeaky, as he is wont to do, squeaks in Missy's arms causing her to squee girlishly and cuddle the drone.

Taylor raises an eyebrow, "This seems like the kind of low maintenance pet you get someone when you expect them to forget to feed a regular pet." You'd be more worried about that response if you couldn't tell she was teasing. "Come on in, you three."

You go to bed after a relaxing evening chatting with the four of them and discussing your new pet. Missy loved it, and Taylor seemed both amused and appreciative. She seemed to think it was hilarious that you repurposed a resource collection drone to act as a pet. Missy was delighted that Squeaky "liked her." Popola seemed happy that the two of them were happy, and you think 2B got to relax a little bit.

You spend that morning combining a Mirage and YoRHa Flight Unit. Unfortunately, to allow for a pilot that isn't specifically designed for the job of piloting a Mirage, you have to lower the speed by roughly a factor of 20, bringing it down to just about 7000 km/h. You do get it to work though, which you're proud of. For some reason, you still feel unsatisfied with it. In truth, you've been feeling this way all week. Building the super boots into 2B's heels had alleviated it a bit, but it was still annoying.

You put aside tinkering for the day and went out to meet up with other Wards, minus Taylor and Missy.

"Tony," Dennis greets cheerfully, "I almost forgot you existed."

Chris muttered something possibly unkind, which you ignored.

"Well, I'm back."

"Seriously," Dean comments. "You spend so much time in your lab it's a wonder you get any sleep."

"You are sleeping aren't you? I haven't seen you go to your room to sleep since we relocated here," and there's Carlos with his well-meaning concern.

"Yes, I sleep in my lab," you say, a tad defensively.

"As long as you're sleeping," Chris says, though you're pretty sure Dean and Carlos disagree. At least they're not saying anything out loud.

"So, what do you guys normally do to hang out?"

"Well,' Carlos begins, "We'd usually go see what's up at the Boardwalk, but I'm pretty sure it's still at least half closed."

"We also…." Dennis trails off. Then he wails. "Noooooo!"

"What's he on about?" you ask.

"I'm pretty sure he just realized that his console went down with the PRT building," Chris enlightens you.

"Oh."

"Speaking of video games," Carlos gives you a sidelong glance, "care to explain how we're standing in a literal mothership?"

[Mothership] That's because I built a literal Mothership

[Mothership] No.

[Mothership] Well, I did take some design inspiration…

[Mothership] Write-in.

"Oh yeah,' you say, changing the subject and turning to Dean. "Did your girlfriend ever get back to you about coming on the trip?

"Yup, the four of them are down, though they do want to know some things. How are we getting from place to place

[Vacation Transportation] Commercial Airlines (1st/Business class)

[Vacation Transportation] Write-in.

"They also want to know if we're going in our cape identity. They might not be super famous outside of Brockton Bay, but there's still the chance that they could get recognized."

"If we're going as Wards, PR will probably want me to fill out some forms, and possibly have us do a few signings here and there," Carlos comments.

[Vacation Identity] As Wards

[Vacation Identity] As Civilians

Voting Moratorium Length: 6 Hours

Voting Opens from 11 AM UTC

Votes for next chapter:

Unmask

Viral Squeaky

Mothership

Vacation Transportation

Vacation Identity

QM Note:

I'd say that any gratitude Scythe had for your rescue of her is balanced out by you unmasking her in the middle of a PRT base.

I always tell myself that this chapter will close out the week, and then it doesn't.

Last edited: Aug 31, 2019

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Threadmarks 57. Psychology

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Monk Penguin

Monk Penguin

Way of the Open Flipper

Sep 1, 2019

#10,370

Spoiler: Winning Vote

Spoiler: BGM

"No Deal," you say simply, and turn and walk out of the room.

She huffs, but her hair remains still. You're glad she's not attacking you right now, as you'd have to explain why you confronted someone you knew was a "dangerous criminal" by yourself without informing your superiors. It would be really inconvenient.

She's released about an hour after you leave the room.

You (and Popola) take pictures, but you decide to leave it up to the girls when you give it to them.

"Come on in, you three."

"So," you say as you, Popola, and 2B step inside Taylor's room, "what have you two been up to?"

"Deciding sleeping arrangements for the trip, since it's two to a room, even if they are large rooms," Missy says.

"Oh, aren't you two going to be sharing a room?"

"Probably," Taylor says.

"But we were discussing who we would rather room with between Glory Girl and Panacea."

"And?" Popola asks curiously

"Panacea?" Missy says, giving a sidelong glance at Taylor.

"Panacea," Taylor agrees.

Honestly, it's a pretty tough decision even for you. Someone with an uncontrollable master effect, or someone who literally went to the birdcage in a certain timeline. Well, you'd probably pick Amy to try and help her with her problems… somehow.

"What about you?" MIssy asks you.

"I'm not sure. You think Laserdream is going to get the odd room out?"

"Definitely," Missy says.

"I don't know anything about shielder. I don't think I'd mind rooming with anyone else, except maybe Dennis."

Missy makes a face, while Taylor looks contemplative.

"Yeah, I can see that," Taylor comments.

"Tony, about the pictures," Popola reminds you.

"Oh yeah, I was thinking of making Squeaky here our mascot or something. I even took a bunch of pictures of him to post online."

"That sounds like something that PR would want to know ahead of time," Taylor comments.

"Yeah, but I could post them anyway."

"Now you're acting like Dennis."

"I am not."

"Think about it for a minute."

You do.

"You're right, this is exactly like something he would do," you realize.

Taylor raises an eyebrow at you. "Let's not, though I would like to look through the pictures

"Yeah, it's probably better this way," Missy agrees, "If we publicized him then we'd constantly have to hand him over to PR for 'redecorating' or some other such nonsense."

"So why did you decide the places you picked. I mean, Honolulu is pretty obvious, but Albuquerque?"

You chat a bit about how you planned for the trip. Taylor seemed to find it amusing that you'd made the rarity of insect species a criterion for your locations at some point during the process. You note that Taylor seems to be in a better place mentally than she had been for a while.

"It looks like a Mothership because I built a Mothership, literally. Well, with Chris's help," you qualify.

"Seriously?" Carlos asks.

"Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing if you could."

"Fair." He turns to Chris. "And you didn't notice, at any point, when you were building the thing?"

"Cut me some slack, it looked like a whole bunch of jagged golden pieces and crystals the entire time. Besides, I still don't get the reference."

Carlos sighs, "Figures. It's from a strategy game from Aleph. The company that made it never formed in Earth Bet."

You wonder how cross-dimension copyright law works. Especially when you're pretty sure Aleph has no real way to find out about other than news snippets. Well, they'll probably find out about it eventually since you plan on being very famous. You can deal with that when it becomes a problem.

"Wait, you're telling me you built the Protectorate a base that looks like a video game unit? Like from an actual video game?"

You smile at him.

Dennis grabs your shoulders, "I think you're my new hero."

"Well, considering I am a hero."

Dennis scoffs, "Please, that was weak."

"Everyone has to start somewhere," you argue.

"Then I, the Mighty Mouse Protector, Purveyor of Ham, will take you under my wing as my apprentice!"

You'll never get used to Mouse Protector just appearing like that.

"Hello Mouse Protector," Carlos greets "What brings you here?"

Mouse Protector takes off her helmet, revealing her face to you. "Call me Minnie, and I've come here to inform you that I am your official PRT-appointed chaperone for the next week."

"Oh, what about Miss Militia and Mrs. Cortez?"

"Unfortunately, your dearest boss is busy next week, and probably every week. As to your lovely handler, well, I think there was something about a conflict of interest, but that's not important. Why? Because I am here!"

"Ok," Carlos says, his tone impressively level. He turns to face you, "Have you figured out an answer to Dean's question?"

"I was thinking of just leaving it up to the rest of you, including Taylor and Missy, with Miss Militia, or," you look up to Mouse Protector, standing dramatically, if such a thing is possible, "Minnie can be a tiebreaker."

"Don't you think you should get New Wave's opinion?" Dean asks. "It probably affects them the most out of anybody."

"I mostly didn't have a good way of contacting them, but if you do, then feel free."

"Alright, I'll get back to you."

Dennis waves to get your attention from where he's poking at a holographic terminal, "Do you think you could get these to run games?"

You grin. "I can do you one better."

After gifting Chris a fabricator, and ensuring that the fabricator and habitat builder you sent ot Armsmaster reached their intended location, you set down to a Saturday morning filled with storing memories into your Ihan Crystal.

Unlike before, you were storing memories of your past life rather than blueprints for things that you wanted to make. Specifically, you were trying to save all the knowledge of fictional settings that you once had. It was definitely the most useful information out of everything you could have picked. Academic knowledge was probably a close second, but you weren't in school right now, and hopefully you would have enough time to get it all before it disappeared.

Storing memories was a lot different than storing blueprints. For one, it took a lot longer. It also felt as though you were literally reliving the memories in real time, despite the intellectual knowledge that you were storing several times more memories than you were spending time time to store them, even under time dilation. These memories all consisted of you consuming media of every kind. Memories of watching movies, playing video games, reading-"

"Tony?" Popola gets your attention, though she's speaking quite softly.

"Yes?"

"You asked me to schedule a one-on-one therapy session on 'Saturday morning.' I reminded you this morning, and I assumed you would come get me when you were ready, but it's almost noon. Are you… Are you avoiding the session?"

"No," you say, knowing that neither of you believe that lie.

"Tony, you know that even your past self agreed that it was important to talk about this, so please don't avoid it. I promise I don't bite."

You reward that flimsy joke with an amused exhale. "Ok, I'm coming, give me one moment."

Voting Moratorium Length: 12 Hours

Voting Opens from 4 PM UTC

Welcome to the Week of June 12th, 2011:

You have a vacation planned next week.

Your Drones have collected 115 Common Materials, 59 Uncommon Materials, and 6 Rare Materials

Plan Voting Only. 12-hour voting Moratorium is in effect as well.

Congratulations on your first week of Mario. I know. I too felt like that took way longer than it should have.

-[Tech Tree] Stick With Mario

-[Tech Tree] Geneforge

-[Tech Tree] Enter the Gungeon

-[Tech Tree] Avatar: The Last Airbender

Blueprints:

Stored in Ihan Crystal. Check the Projects post for prices

Starcraft

Singularity Spider Mines

Purifier Core Matix

Jorium Crystal Synthesizer

Jorium Psionic Inducer

Orbital Command

Psi-field Generator

Mirage

Psi-screens

SCV

EMP Spider Mines

Stasis Spider Mines

Zealot Glimpse Goggles

Khala Emulation Helmet

Neural Interface

Purifier Adept

Void Prison Rifle

Psi-Disruptor

Graviton Disruptor Rifle

Alpha Wave Detector

Void Array (Warp Prism)

Sentry

Pylon

Robotics Facility

Upgrade Robotics Facility to Function on All Tinkertech

Big Phase Reactor

Mothership

Mecha Zerg Larva

Terrazine Gas Synthesizer

Void Portal

Zergling Metabolic Boosts Augment

Medical Bay

Make Zerg Controllable by Taylor's Power

Metasynaptic Node Augment

Chitha Augment

Zerg Larva

Nier

Type-4O Blade

Auto Heal Chip

Overclock Chip

Vengeance Chip

EXP Up Chip

Reset Chip

Anti Chain Damage Chip

Upgrade a Plug-in Chip to work on Non-Nier Robots.

Moving Speed Up Chip

Offensive Heal Chip

Shock Wave Chip

Upgrade a Plug-in Chip to work on Humans

Protoss-Enhanced Attacker Android

Protoss-Enhanced Scanner Android

Protoss-Enhanced Operator Android

Upgrade Mothership Core to Function as Bunker

YoRHa Black Box

A090: Wire

R020: Mirage Device

Self-Repairing Outfit

NFCS

Upgrade Pod with Graviton Disruptor Rifle

Upgrade Android with Psi-field Generator

Item Scanner Chip

Combine Mirage and Flight Unit

Schematics:

One action to complete as long as you have access to your Fabricator or Habitat Builder (Depending on Blueprint).

Fabricator (Basic)2 Common Materials1 Uncommon Material

Upgraded Fabricator2 Common Materials2 Uncommon Materials

Upgraded Habitat Builder1 Common Material3 Uncommon Materials

Stasis Rifle3 Common Materials1 Uncommon Material1 Rare Material

Armor Plating5 Common Materials

Caduceus Staff (Basic)3 Common Materials5 Uncommon Materials2 Rare Materials

Caduceus Staff (Illness Upgrade)3 Common Materials10 Uncommon Materials4 Rare Materials1 Exotic Material

Caduceus Staff (Illness and Resurrection Upgrade)3 Common Materials14 Uncommon Materials6 Rare Materials2 Exotic Materials

Caduceus Staff (Illness and Booster Upgrade)4 Common Materials13 Uncommon Materials4 Rare Materials1 Exotic Material

Caduceus Staff

(Illness, Booster, and Resurrection Upgrades)4 Common Materials17 Uncommon Materials6 Rare Materials2 Exotic Materials

Vishkar Hard Light Gloves2 Common Materials4 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

Vishkar Hard Light Gloves with Sentry Hallucination Upgrade (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)3 Common Materials7 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

All-in-one Communicator, Police Scanner, Web Browser, and GPS1 Common Material5 Uncommon Materials

Sombra Hacking Interface4 Uncommon Materials3 Rare Materials

Upgraded Sombra Hacking Interface6 Uncommon Materials4 Rare Material

Chronomanipulator (2:1)10 Common Materials5 Uncommon Materials2 Rare Materials1 Exotic Material

Khaydarin Crystal Generator6 Common Materials4 Uncommon Materials

Ihan Crystal (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)2 Common Materials3 Uncommon Materials2 Rare Materials

Phasing Armor (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)3 Common Materials4 Uncommon Materials

Repair Drone (Protoss) (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)1 Common Material2 Uncommon Materials

Blink Band (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)1 Common Material3 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

Plasma Shield Generator (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)1 Common Material2 Uncommon Material

Hardened Shield Generator (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)1 Common Material5 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

Phase Reactor (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)3 Common Materials2 Uncommon Materials

Warp Blade (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)2 Common Materials3 Uncommon Materials

Observer (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystals)3 Common Materials2 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

Mecha Zerg Larva2 Common Materials

A170 Scanner3 Common Materials2 Uncommon Materials

Robotics Facility (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystal)6 Common Materials3 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

Upgrade Robotics Facility to Function on All Tinkertech (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystal)2 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

Void Array (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystal)3 Common Materials6 Uncommon Materials2 Rare Materials

Mothership (Blueprint Requires Khaydarin Crystal)10 Common Materials5 Uncommon Materials3 Rare Materials2 Exotic Materials

Alpha Wave Detector3 Common Materials6 Uncommon Materials2 Rare Materials

Protoss Enhanced Battle Android Hardened Shield Generator Phasing Armor Blink Band Repair Drone12 Common Materials21 Uncommon Materials7 Rare Materials3 Exotic Materials

Protoss Enhanced Healer Android3 Common Materials6 Uncommon Materials3 Rare Materials3 Exotic Materials

Pod B Protoss Repair Drone Hardened Shield Generator Stasis Rifle10 Common Materials14 Uncommon Materials5 Rare Materials2 Exotic Materials

Evasive Systems Chip1 Common Material14 Uncommon Materials4 Rare Materials

Zergling Metabolic Boost Augment4 Common Materials3 Uncommon Materials

Type-4O Sword6 Common Materials5 Uncommon Materials

Item Scan Chip1 Common Material7 Uncommon Materials1 Rare Material

Upgrade a Plug-in Chip to Work on Non-Nier Androids4 Uncommon Materials

Super Boots6 Common Materials

Combined Mirage and Flight Unit4 Common Materials12 Uncommon Materials5 Rare Materials

You can't build this using the schematic because you lack the proper tools.

Tools:

Excellent Tools, Specialized Tools (Medical), (Energy), (Electronics)

Actions:

3 Actions 1 (2B) 1 (Popola) = 5 Actions, no Omake point bonus actions for this week.

Materials:

1359 Credits (1:1 for Common, 3:1 For each tier higher), 115 Common Materials, 59 Uncommon Material, 6 Rare Materials, 0 Exotic Materials

Plan Voting Only. 12-hour voting Moratorium is in effect as well.

Please use the following Plan format:

] Plan Name

-[Tech Tree] {Insert Tech Tree Here}

-[Action] Refine Materials using your Fabricator (Convert materials to ones of better quality at a 3:1 Ratio) (Do up to 5 times in 1 action)

--[Action] 3 Common Materials to an Uncommon Material

--[Action] 3 Uncommon Materials to a Rare Material

--[Action] 3 Rare Materials to an Exotic Material

-[Action] Collaborate with Chris on a Project (Busy Getting Ready for Vacation)

-[Action] Collaborate with Armsmaster on a Project

-[Action] Train (What?) (With who?)

-[Action] Build some Specialized Tools (Excellent Tools, 5 - 1 (Fabricator) = 4 Actions, 10 Common Materials, 5 Uncommon Materials, 2 Rare Materials)

-[Action] Upgrade your Workshop to an Excellent Workshop (Excellent Tools, 6 - 1 (Habitat Builder) = 5 Actions, 12 Common Materials, 7 Uncommon Materials, 2 Rare Materials)

-[Action] TINKER!

--[Project] Pick a project or Schematic

-[Action] Write-in. (What do you want to do as an action that is not listed here)

-[Social] Write-in. (write-in whatever you want to social this week. You will still have social events regardless and 50% of people must vote for a social vote for it to "win")

If you don't have enough materials to refine when you choose the refine materials action, you'll just have wasted that action.

Plan Voting Only. 12-hour voting Moratorium is in effect as well.

QM Note:

You'll find out what people decide about Cape vs Non-cape identities next week.

After your vacation, I'm going to be adding in the point sink that I've been discussing on discord.

Also, soon, probably tomorrow, I'm going to be making some changes to my posting schedule which will unfortunately result in a decrease in posting frequency for this quest. As I'm back at school as well as working part-time, I now have a lot less time to engage in hobbies like writing.

I'll make the full announcement tomorrow on my own profile page on SV.

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Monk Penguin

Monk Penguin

Way of the Open Flipper

Sep 5, 2019

#10,519

Spoiler: Winning Vote

Spoiler: BGM

You get up bright and early Sunday morning to begin working on what is possibly your most important set of projects yet, besides the resurrection staves, and the Elizabeth's Grace, and the… Ok, you've worked on a lot of important things, but this project is the most important one emotionally for the two androids who are already in your lab waiting for you.

"What are we going to work on this morning, Master Tony?" Popola asks.

"I'm going to be working on the frames for Devola and 9S today." You're pretty sure that you catch 2B's mouth twitch as you say that, but her expression remains as stoic as ever. "Once they're built, I'm going to have all four of you start working on the Dragon issue, finding some way to free her from her restrictions, as well as Saint, would be ideal, but as long as Saint is out of the picture, you will no longer have to pretend you're not people."

"Aren't you afraid of what the PRT will say when you reveal that you've been lying to them?" Popola asks.

"Eh. They'll get over it."

"So will we all be working on the Dragon project?" 2B follows up with a question of her own.

"Actually, I need two of you to start working on upgrading my workshop equipment. I'll leave some ideas behind, but they're not tinkertech, so you should be capable. You can split up into partners however you want to. I suspect that those are already decided though."

2B just nods, making no further comment, so you decide to start working on the frames themselves. The easiest is Devola's frame since it's essentially identical to Popola's, with a few minor cosmetic alterations. By the time you're finished working, just before lunch, Popola is struggling to restrain herself, so you don't bother waiting and just activate her.

Spoiler: Devola

Devola, or the android that possesses Devola's memory, but that's an epistemological argument you don't want to get into with yourself right now, opens her eyes. The first thing she sees is Popola hovering worriedly over your workbench like a concerned family member at a hospital.

"Sis, what's up?"

Devola sits up, glances at the ever stoic 2B, gives her a jaunty wave, and then turns and sees you. She freezes. You can practically see the algorithms that reference her memories telling her that your existence is impossible while the scanners inform her that you literally exist in front of her.

"You're made of flesh!" she says, pointing at you. You were expecting some variation of 'Oh my god, a human!' but you suppose that's close enough.

"Yes," you confirm, keeping your tone level.

Popola finally fails at holding back her laughter. "It's good to see you again sister."

"That's a human," she says, looking at Popola but still pointing at you.

"Yes," Popola confirms.

"But humans are dead. He's not dead."

You're half-tempted to butt in with 'Would you like me to be?' but you feel that suicide jokes may be in bad taste around 2B.

Popola just turns to you, ever graceful, and says, "Please forgive my sister's idiocy, Master Tony." You're pretty sure she's lightly poking fun at her sister, which is not at all what you expected. From the intense recall session, you had yesterday, Popola was the reserved sister, but maybe she feels more carefree in this world than in her own. "I would appreciate if I could have some time alone with my sister, to explain the situation to her."

"Of course," you say.

Popola leads Devola out into the hall.

2B faces you. You would imagine that she has an expectant look on her face, but the blindfold makes things kind of hard in terms of reading her expressions.

Well, you can get started on making 9S's frame. Since you have some spare materials, well, a lot of money to buy materials, you decide to build an extra Scanner android. You think 2B's face twitches again, but you're really not sure what it could possibly mean. You could check her emotion subroutines on your beads, but that seems like a pretty big invasion of privacy for a sapient being, so you don't. Instead, you focus on making the two scanner androids. You don't have any real plans for the second one, other than that he might take on your "Spoiler" persona so that everyone who wants a piece of him has someone to look for that looks distinctively not like a twelve-year-old French Canadian.

You put the finishing touches on 9S's body, before realizing that waking him up could be hazardous, not only to his own mental health but to your lab. You have your shields to protect your own body, but if he does try and rampage, you'd prefer to have some readily on-hand way of preventing that from doing anything too bad.

Spoiler: 9S

9S is the youngest-looking android you've built. 2B, Devola, and Popola both look like they're at least in their early twenties, but 9S could pass for a fifteen or sixteen-year-old. You set about making some startup precautions for him, like preventing his ability to move, hack or do anything other than passively perceive the world around him.

"What are you doing, Tony?" 2B asks as you continue to work on what appears to be a finished android.

"I'm taking precautions. From my knowledge of your pasts, 9S might not be in the most stable mental state when he wakes up. I'm just preventing him from doing anything reckless in his first few moments awake. Once I can be sure everything is fine, I'll release the restrictions."

You can tell without even looking that 2B is somewhat displeased with this, but she doesn't argue. Once you have everything set up, you message Popola to bring her and her sister back. You want all hands on deck for this, and more familiar faces can only be a good thing.

"Hey, Tony!" Devola greets as she walks in, casually strolling over to pat you on the head. "You're a cute little person, aren't ya? Y'know, I wish I could say a twelve-year-old building 4 fully functioning androids is the craziest thing I've ever seen, but that's not even close to true. So are we waking up 9S now?"

"Yeah," you say, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

Spoiler: 9S Awakening

His eyes open, and you give him enough movement with his neck to look around. He takes in 2B first, before looking over to Devola and Popola, and finally to you. He seems quite calm, way calmer than you expected.

"You're a human."

"Yes," you agree, for the umpteenth time.

"Never thought I'd see one y'know. You read so much about them in all those files that everyone keeps, but I never thought I'd actually meet one."

You can see 2B smiling, though you're not sure exactly why. Maybe she's just glad to have 9S back with her.

"So I assume you somehow pulled my memories to put into this body to a different dimension or time, though that doesn't explain how you managed to retain my memories of being affected by the logic virus without actually transferring it to this body."

2B doesn't seem to be forthcoming, so you decide to explain. "Actually, it's more like I copied them exactly. I have a superpower that allows me to do things like that, it's what helped me build your body."

9S's eyes narrow, "I don't remember any documents about humans having superpowers. Are you sure you're a human?"

"Nines," 2B warns.

"It's fine," you say to her. "The explanation is actually kind of long, and it'll be in the information packet I'm going to give you, but a quick summary is that an alien supercomputer is running an experiment on superpowers by giving them to random humans."

"Of course it is. It's always '9S, humanity requires your aid!' and never '9S thanks for everything you've done.'

"9S," 2B says again.

"It's fine," you repeat.

9S looks over and sees the other Scanner model on a separate workbench. It's all metal frame right now.

"You know, normally they don't let us see our replacement bodies."

"I wasn't actually planning on using that as a replacement body for you. Uh, Popola do you have the information packet for 9S?"

"You could just give him access to the Mothership's computer systems. All the files are on there."

"Good point."

While 9S looks at the information you've given him, you take a look at your other scanner android. You have some half-baked plans of making him Spoiler, but nothing finalized. Still, you want to add the appearance to him, because having a metal skeleton frame sitting in your lab kind of creeps you out. Actually, would it be creepier if you had a human-looking android just laying there, deactivated? Who knows? Certainly not you!

["Spoiler" Appearance] Intense Old Man

["Spoiler" Appearance] Wise Old Woman

["Spoiler" Appearance] Anime Girl

["Spoiler" Appearance] Kirito

["Spoiler" Appearance] Write-in.

Later that night, you see Carlos sitting in the room that has been designated as the 'common area' since there isn't a room specifically built for that. He's doing paperwork, presumably for his position as the leader of the Wards.

"So, Carlos, you play Starcraft."

"Yeah. What of it?"

"How good are you?"

"Well, the ladder on Bet isn't exactly consistent, so- Wait, are you challenging me to a match?"

"Yeah."

"Oh you're on." You don't see Carlos looking so intense outside of Wards' duties practically ever.

Acquiring a digital copy of Starcraft 2 Wings of Liberty is slightly harder than you expect, and by slightly harder, you mean significantly more expensive. Seriously, the game sets you back just shy of a hundred dollars, which is like a 66% markup on the Aleph price.

"So what race do you play?" you ask Carlos as you load up the game on a terminal, setting up your account.

"You'll find out," he says simply.

Oh, so he's going to play it that way.

You pick

[Starcraft] Protoss

[Starcraft] Terran

[Starcraft] Zerg

[Starcraft] Random

And load into a game with him.

You find out that he plays Zerg. That seems oddly fitting for him.

Spoiler: Skill

You lose the first game, but it's mostly because you're still getting your bearings on the controls. The very next game you play, Carlos goes for the same fast expand strategy he went for in the first game. You have the option of attempting to contest his second base or gearing up for a macro competition with him. You choose the second. As the game progresses, you find yourself edging out Carlos in the macro game, spending your minerals more efficiently. Picking your unit composition to better counter his own, attacking from multiple angles. You know from your memories that you weren't this good at Starcraft before, which means something's changed. Weird.

In the third game, Carlos 6pools you. You don't have a response and thus lose.

The fourth game goes much like the second, except you prepare to counter an early rush, which puts you slightly behind, but not enough to matter in the mid to late-game. You come out on top.

In the fifth game, you turn the tables on Carlos and cheese him right back. Like you, he fails to respond appropriately and gives up the game, and the series.

"Man, how long have you been playing Starcraft to get that good?" Carlos asks.

"What do you mean?" you reply cheekily, "That's the first time I've ever played it, didn't you see me set up my account?"

Carlos throws up his hands and mutters something about life being unfair, before going back to his paperwork.

Monday morning you head to Armsmaster's room and knock on the door. You could make this inquiry over e-mail, but it feels like it might be more appropriate to ask in person.

"Door's open," Armsmaster's voice calls out.

You enter and see that Armsmaster is unmasked, wearing a PRT T-shirt and jeans. He's packing a suitcase.

"I can come back later if you're busy."

"It's fine, packing isn't exactly intellectually demanding."

"From our most recent conversation, I'm not sure that's entirely accurate," Dragon pipes up. "Hi Tony, it's good to see you again."

"Hi Dragon."

"Did you need anything, Tony?" Armsmaster asks.

"Actually, well, I was just a bit curious."

"Oh?" Dragon prompts.

"Well, you mentioned working on some sort of project together, and I was kind of curious. I mean, you don't have to tell me or anything, but you know, you two are the most well-known tinker heroes in North America. I'm really interested in what you're going to work on."

"We're both flattered," Dragon responds but doesn't elaborate on the secret project.

"I think Dragon would prefer if we kept it between the two of us," Armsmaster answers for her.

"That's too bad," you say. "Well, have fun you two."

"Thanks!" Dragon answers cheerfully

Back in your lab, you've gathered all the androids.

"Sorry for putting you guys to work so soon after you've been reunited but-" you explain the situation with Saint and Dragon, and ask that two of them work on tracking down Saint or otherwise interfering with his ability to monitor Dragon.

Voting Moratorium Length: 12 Hours

Voting Opens from 5 PM UTC

Votes for next chapter:

"Spoiler" Appearance

Starcraft

QM Note:

Pricing tomorrow, because it's late and I'm tired.

Also, since I'm already making changes to the possible Omake rewards benefits, I'm going to be making changes to your shard limitations. Clearly they've been far too lenient.

Last edited: Sep 5, 2019

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