Member
Cleveraptor
Eventua
Bugman
PrinceAlexus
Sep
Kirah
op2024
Snowdrops
Fetzen
Morose
Location: Dorm
Skills: N/A
10:10 AM - Wed. Sep. 15th, 2038
Finally, Victoria had done everything she felt she needed to do on this day out of silicone hell. Now perhaps she could get to the things she wanted to do. Namely, go test out her new piece of kit. Thinking of that brought forth the memory of how that started.
Was it really just a day or so ago? It seemed like a few weeks rather than a few days since the carnival with all that happened today. She was so behind on stuff, too - She didn't even finish her review of her audition, still stuck on the collapsed building. That was when she remembered her last thought of asking the first person she met for an idea. Well. Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone? She thought, and decision made, fished out her phone.
From: Vix
To: DD#1, DD#2
Hi, it's Victoria. Are you guys at your room?
I've got results for that handbag utility idea you put in my head, I could drop by if you want to see it?
Cheers.
Dorian had been given the rest of the day off from his classes. After the incident with Nemo and the very real threat of a C4 explosive, his dorm mother had decided they needed some time off. So, he did what any other teenage boy with a free pass to play Hookey and the ability to roam the halls out of sight would do. Tailing behind the classes he was meant to be in to get a good feel for the students he had been assigned with this year and how the teachers were going to be. After all, this was the first year his life had truly been threatened even if Nemo claimed he knew they'd survive. So it was best to see how many other crazies may think junior year was the best time to start cranking up the heat for the students' survivability.
Once all of his classes had ended, some with a few familiar faces in them, he'd decided to head back to his dorm. To say he was exhausted was an understatement. Between the attack by a teacher, the drama with Zelda, and even more so the drama with April followed up by Danni and tied off with a big ol Percy sized bow, he needed a break. He'd hoped that being a fly on the wall would take his mind off of things, but seeing Percy in one of his classrooms made him dread that class even more. He laid in his bed, unable to sleep as he stared up towards his ceiling before decidedly getting up and putting on his VR gear.
No sooner did his gear turn on that he saw a message notification in the top corner of his H.U.D.
From: Dorian
To: Vicky
Yeah, I'm plugged in right now but feel free to stop by and shoot me a text when you're at the door.
I want to see what you came up with for a portable pocket protector.
-š»
Well, it was time to check out some of the others' crib. Victoria curiously noted that this was actually the second time she visited some other dorm room in so many years, the other of course being Cassie's. Fixing her necktie, she set off.
Arriving at the door, she instinctively went to knock on the door before she remembered.
From: Vix
To: DD#1
Ring-a-ding.
She sent over, and then grinned. Slipping the Powerglove on, she charged the MFG with a tiny little electric charge and placed her hand on the knob, intending to give Dorian a little bit of a zap as he opened the door.
Dorian watched as a new notification came up, opening it before he shut off his headset and began to take it all off. He placed the pieces back onto their display before making his way towards the door. His hand reached for the knob, turning it as he felt the numbing shock course through his hand. Now, most people would've just screamed and let go, but Dorian wasn't most people. Pranking was in his blood, and he'd be damned if he was going to miss out on an opportunity for it. He let out a loud yelp, making sure to have turned the doorknob fully so that Vicky could see it was unlocked just before she'd hear the sound of a body thumping to the ground. He lay there motionless, still.
Seeing the knob open after hearing the yelp, Vicky wasn't exactly worried. Likewise, Agatha said she should not be admitting students with pacemakers, yet Dorian lived through visiting her just fine. The memory of her own visit made her shudder though. Still. Pushing the door open, she saw him sprawled on the ground. Walking over, she could see he was breathing, so she theatrically checked his pulse. "Oh no." She mock criedā¦ And charged the Powerglove up, safely away to prevent any charge jumping between them. The defibrilator sound it made was very real though. "Clear!" She called out, barely able to keep her tone of voice serious.
Danni came around the corner, whistling as he did. Fingers tapping away at his phone, he sent a thumbs up to Vicki and pocketed it shortly after. A new friend at the dorm! He wondered if he could sneak up on her, scare her as a prank. That'd be funny but he always messed it up and using fire in a prank never ended well; he supposed it was a good thing Dee was making friends. Despite how outgoing he'd been this year so far, he was usually a cute little shut in that Danni would drag away from that silly little computer kicking and screaming to socialize until he finally enjoyed himself. And now, here he was making friends and inviting people over.
He felt like a proud parent.
And that's when he saw it. Vicki standing over Dee, something charging up and Dee motionless on the floor. Flames popped in and out around him as he felt his heart start to race, his breath coming quick and short. Was Deeā¦ dead? "OMG DID YOU KILL 'IM?! 'E COULDN'T 'AVE BEEN T'AT AWKWARD, O' GOD! DEE, DEE LISTEN TO ME!" Danni screamed, racing towards his best friend and sliding down next to him. The tears were already falling and he clutched the body as he wailed. "T'IS IS ALL MY FAULT! I SHOULDN'T 'AVE MADE YOU MAKE FRIENDS, I SHOULD 'AVE LET YOU PLAY YOUR STUPID GAMES T'AT YOU IGNORED ME FOR! WHAT KIND OF FRIEND AM I? PLEASE, PLEASE IF YOU JUST WAKE UP, I WON'T DRAG YOU TA ANOT'ER DANCE PARTY AGAIN, I PROMISE!
Dorian popped up immediately, a huge grin plastered across his face as he looked at Danni pleased. "Promise?!"
Well, that escalated quickly. Vicky thought, quickly powering down the MFG before accidents happened. "Mr. Kingston, I am offended that you believe I would kill a friend without a valid cause." she said in a fake hurt tone, but immediately fished a hanky out of her suit's pocket and offered it to Danni as soon as Dorian made it known he was in fact among the living. "Soā¦ how was your day? Because I am tired of the one I had." she groaned.
Danni let out an unholy holy screech as Dee popped up, scrambling away and clinging to Vicky. "Dee, you bastard! No, now you're goin' ta go ta every damn t'in' I want as my plus one, forever! Givin' me a 'eart attack." Danni patted Vicky's face. "Mr. Kingston is my pops or papa 'cause ya know, bot' are Kingston. I'm just Danni! Tell me 'bout your day darlin'. What's 'angin' on t'ese shoulders? Why was it so nasty?"
Dorian pouted as Danni took back his promise. "I already am." he replied with a sorrowful tone as he scooted closer towards Vicky, placing one hand on her gauntleted arm and lifting it to inspect what she'd already begun work on. It was clear that neither of the pair knew the term personal space. "Please tell me you made more t'an a glorified joy buzzer?"
Vicky was fighting the urge to shrink away as the DDs seemed to tackle her. At the same time though, she couldn't help but smile at their antics. Dorian could take a joke and dish it back, that was fun. Danni? Danni was a golden retriever made into a human shape, she was sure.
"Well, that lil gadget started on carnival evening, really. After you put the idea into my head, I first thought: Gun. But I can't shoot a gun. So I thought: What do I know? Well, my armor stuff. So this is literally taken from the gauntlet of my armor. But, I designed it with a pistol grip. Fortunately, mom has a connection to my computer, and saw me working on it. Ehehā¦ turns out there is a law in Cali that says I don't get to carry a gun. And as I said, I can't aim a gun. I know how to aim with the palm of my hand tho! What do you know, I wake up, and this is in the mail, along with a letter from mum. She's the best!" she ended qith a fistpump of her armed hand. "Probably not too many shots in this, but enough to make some bees or bozos buzz off."
Did she just say that in one breath? When did she ever say that much? No time came to mind. Why were these two so easy to talk to? ā¦ Questions for later. Turning to Danni, she sighed: "That'sā¦ about where the good stuff ended. First I'm on a team with roommate, who I am sure we have nothing in common with and so far, I don't like too much. We went to the team training session and, uh, our coach is an alcoholic ball of rage and cat fur, ye olde combat class teacher. What is the first thing she has us do? Go to the Framework and kill each other. Multiple times. Not a great bonding exercise, Diana got so mad at me!" she half vented and half whined.
"Kept messing with us, too! Summoned bosses out of games to hammer us even more. And when I had the advantage, she changed the rules and made it go away!" She paused to take a breath. "Sorry for raging. I hope you had a better day?" She had to admit, airing out her thoughts was helping, although she didn't like putting the blues on the mood in the room.
"Aw, I can't t'ink your roomie won't bond with you over training 'ell! Great way to make friends, ya know?" Danni cooed sympathetically, unrepentant shifting more of his weight onto Vicky as he patted her cheek. "Let's seeā¦ our teammate couldn't 'andle 'ow cool Dee and I are so she fled after she messed up once. We chased 'er down t'e 'all for t'e cure-all cuddle pile, but it didn't work, which I t'ink speaks for 'er character if ya know what I mean, and Starry got 'er and t'en gave us the day off once we got t'rough class. So Beanie and Spicy made it aaaaall t'e way ta t'e end, so Dee got inside Spicy, 'ad a good time poppin' them back ta t'e beginnin', and we made it ta the bomb room after crossing a bottomless chasm, climbin' a vine wall, and givin' doors teet'. Then, the C4 went BOOM! And we were in t'e middle of it, but I t'ought it felt like a 'ot stone massage and Dee popped and locked into the ghosty worlds so small good! But then my clot'es were ruined and I had a itsy, bitsy mental breakdown before my shower and pleacing out! Oh and Bear Bear came by and t'en left wit'out sayin' not'in'. Wierd but eh."
Dorian tugged at the edges of the mechanical gauntlet, testing how easy it was to remove off of her in the event a villain tried to disarm her. He cooked his head to the side when Vicky mentioned only getting a couple of shots off with it before inspecting it further. "T'ats odd. What powers t'e glove? Surely you can add some form of solar intake to 'elp charge it while out in t'e field. Or perhaps it would be better to make clips like a magazine in a gun so t'at once you run out of shots you can reload quickly and keep goin'. Personally I'd go for t'e second idea, allows for versatility. Sometimes you don't need shots but could use a grapplin' 'ook or fire retardant, or whatever. T'at way t'e magazine can be swapped around wit' other uses like a utility belt."
Dorian was mostly thinking out loud as he rambled on about possible ideas and attachments, already thinking of ways to improve upon an already impressive design. But that was just how his mind worked, once the first thing was done he was already on to the next, finding ways to keep tweaking it even past the point of perfection. "I say ignore Diana, she can get a bit competitive at times. Just be glad you guys 'ad t'e framework. Ours were real bombs wit' real t'reats. But it's good she kept changin' t'e rules. Keep you on your toes ya know? Villains won't always play by t'e rules, makin' up t'ier own as t'e fight goes on. So 'avin to experience t'at early? A blessin in disguise if you ask me."
Vicky stared at the two of them in bewilderment for a second, most of the things getting filed for later conversation once explosives were mentioned. "What? Are they having a bubble bath? I know of better ways to balance the school budget than offing a few students!" she groaned. Fun times were ahead, it seemed. "That's almost as bad as when I died visiting Agatha! What is wrong with the faculty here? Have you talked to anyone on Nimue's team? Did they also have it this bad?" She did not believe it. Could it be that Usagi was the least mad of the coaches? Preposterous! And yet, it seemed that the guys were right, going to the Framework carried no risk aside from finding out how badly most of your teammates sucked at something so basic as survival.
Her eyes ticking from Dorian to Danni and back, her arms suddenly flew towards them as she gave each of them a one armed hug. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Aw, Vicky! Arent' ya a wittle softie?" Danni laughed as he went easily into the hug, wrapping his arms around her fully. He had decided this was were he was now and Vicky was just gunna have to deal with it. He wiggled a little to make himself comfortable "Princess fought a Questin' Beast and Mot'man!. T'ough, I told 'er what Aggie told me: Nimue is a Sinister clone so I t'ought Beanie could wriggle waggle 'er way into t'e villains brain and give Princess a 'Eads up on what's ta come!"
Dorian yelped as Vicky went to hug him, speaking in wheezes as he tried to adjust himself within the impromptu hug. "Wait, why'd you almost die at Aggies? She's not t'at spooky, and she was super sweet." He asked as he wondered if everyone was going to react this way when they found out about the bomb incident. They were heroes, if they couldn't survive a simple c4 bomb then what good were they? Hell even Sabine and Percy had managed it.
"Errā¦ Who's Princess again? Wait, on Nimue's teamā¦ Elder Flynn?" Vicky deduced, none of the others quite fitting such description in her opinion. She fought off a biting remark about how well that checked, though probably for different reasons than Danni gave her that nickname, before the gramophone in her head skipped over a scratch, "Come again? Nimue's a what? You sure the old hag wasn't pulling your leg? Or are you pulling mine?" She eyed Danni with suspicion, before turning to Dorian.
"I don't think I almost died. I was rooming with a wizard until now, you know? I never felt, measured, or otherwise observed any of his spellwork, and you believe me I tried. Yet, the second I walked into Agatha's tent, some defensive spell must have reacted badly to me or something, because I started seeingā¦ runes, and thaumaturgical symbols, and stuffā¦ and not with my eyes! But, like, in my mind. And then justā¦ dark." She tried to explain, her hands leaving the embrace and making undecodable gestures in a vain attempt to aid her description as she spoke.
"I don't have the words for the feeling, but I just know I was gone." Well, the truth is I can't tell you how I know, but good enough. She thought, "I don't know what she had to do to bring me back, and when I asked she told me to ask again when I'm older. But it took some effort, because when I came back to, it was already night, and I swear I could feel magic coursing through me until the next day. I justā¦ I hope that what she pulled back from limbo is still me. All of me. And with nothing extra." She shuddered at the thought, wrapping her arms around herself anxiously. "Anyway, then we had a lovely chat and said our farewells. So yes, Agatha isn't spooky or something, and I would take her as a coach over Usagi in a heartbeat. But she also isn't exactly careful or concerned about one's well being, either."
"Oh! She also gave me a viking shield. Beautiful restored antique! Did you get fortunes told by the way?" She beamed, before her eyes grew serious again as she turned back to Danni. "Speaking of giftsā¦ Did I mention I adore dragons? Are you taking good care of that egg, Danni, or do I need to go CPS on your ass?" She gave him a toothy smile that somehow promised unspecified doom in an unknown future if something terrible happened to the creature.
"No, no, no scouts honor, Nimue's a Sinister clone! Like, listen. I'd 'eard about a Sinister clone slippin' inta t'e school and Aggie just used 'er tarot cards ta confirm it! Nimmie's a clone, we can count on t'at!" Danni insisted, happy to skip over his actual fortune because he really didn't want the negative vibes that the thought of killing everyone he loved and cared about would bring around. "Well, next time ya die, we'll just have Papa bring you back as a ghost and that way you can still 'ang out wit' Dee and me! Might take some gettin' used ta since Dee's t'e only one who can see ya but Uncle Benji did it for a 'ot minute so we'll figure it out!"
At the mention of his egg, Danni waved away her concerns and pointed where he had it all snuggled up in a small pile of clothes and blankets under a lamp. "Nice and toasty, like an egg should be! I've told it every day all.about what's going on in t'e world, or t'is school at least, and it'll be very against Sinister clones when it hatches." Speaking of hatching, he snapped his fingers. "I gotta get wit' Mads 'bout t'e library. 'onestly, t'e number system makes my 'ead all fuzzy and t'en before I know it, all I care 'bout is my bed."
Dorian ignored all the banter about the Sinister Clones, after all his grandpa was always doing some shit with DNA and cloning or something or other. So he wouldn't be surprised if Nimue was a Sinister clone, it just meant they needed to keep a closer eye on April. However Vicky's recount of the whole reading seemedā¦wrong. Just factually wrong. Bringing people back from the dead was a big no no as far as he'd been told growing up, and even more soā¦ "You went to Limbo? Why t'eir? I've 'eard stories about my fat'ers time in Limbo, 'e didn't die mind you justā¦ended up t'eir, anyways, How'd you manage to fight off t'e 'ord of demons? T'e Green Eyed One? T'e Red Smoke?" Limbo was a very real horror story. Something Dorian could sink his teeth into but never actually wanted to visit.
"Eit'er way, You may just 'ave a 'yper sensitivity to Magic. Your roommate was probably not as strong, Aggies shit is very potent, could knock you out for a good spell if you're too sensitive to it all." Dorian said nonchalantly. It wasn't as though he didn't believe her, but he felt no such warnings when he'd walked in, and if Aggie wanted to kill a student she wouldn't of brought them back.
Being made at ease about the egg's wellbeing, Vicky listened to Dorian and it took a while until she realized her error. "Oh! No, sorry - lowercase 'el' limbo, not uppercase Limbo. Iā¦ don't recall anything from when I was out. Sorry, no afterlife spoilers. Either there is none, or whoever is in charge does not let you keep the memories if someone plucks you out." She smiled sheepishly, looking back at Danni, "I do not want to ghost around though, no thank you. If that happens, tell Cassie I died some heroic death so that I get to one up her one last time and burn all evidence to the contrary." She smirked.
"Anyway! Enough of the gloomy stuff! So yeah, this thing." She tapped the glove, "I like that I can literally have this in my pocket, so hard pass on the grappling hook. As far as carrying spare batteries or, stars forbid, an utility belt goesā¦ Danni back me up here, tactical rigging on a suit would be hideous!" She groaned, "I could put a powerpack into the handbag tho. Say, what did you two do for your auditions? Mine wentā¦ okayā¦ but I'd like to show you, if you have some ideas, because I am stuck coming up with better solutions to one of the problems I faced." She admitted.
Danni nodded sagely at her evaluation of tactical rigging on a suit. Sure it may be functional but let's be real - you either needed a high level tech designer to make it really work or suffer the humiliation of bad design. At the mention of audtions, he let out an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Auditions, oh oof. Well, it was fun, but yeah, callin' it a flamin' 'ot mess wouldn't be too far off. I got a little too big for my britches, tried ta set too much on fire, and 'it the judge's table instead. Makes sense that Poisson-Pas's stuff is timey wimey stuff - t'e nut managed ta pack up 'is bag and get out of t'e blast radius wit'out breakin' a sweat! I got a decent amount of 'eight on lift off but t'e finale fell t'rough at t'e end. Was supposed ta be a big 'splosion, Danni added in a sound effect as his arms spread out before sighing in defeat. "But I over extorted myself and all I got was a puff of fire."
"Show us whatcha did! We'll 'elp 'owever we can! T'ough Dee is t'e ones wit' t'e brains; I'm just t'e arm candy." Danni laughed.
"I did a performative number as an 'omage to classic movies two of which involved ghosts t'e t'ird was just for fun. Took a lot of possessin' and flyin' about. 'onestly it went greatā¦save for t'e end when i couldn't make it back from t'e Astral Realm. But let's see what problem you've got." Dorian replied wondering exactly how she planned to show them what it was she needed help with.
Smirking, Victoria tossed her phone up, catching it after it performed a couple of backflips. āYouāve got a VR setup, right? I went in with my armor and I recorded the whole thing. How would you like to be there? Otherwise, widescreen over yonder would do.ā she pointed over her shoulder at the guysā setup.
After the phone was plugged in, Vicky linked it to her computer in the workshop, using it as a relay. As the record of her audition started playing, the DDs would also see that unlike almost everyone else, Victoria did not do a static or fighting demo, but rather a rescue scenario. She commented on her thought processes as the replay progressed.
āWith the car crash, it was too late for the drivers and passengers, but I figured out if another fire broke out, things would get a whole lot worse. No offense to the present company. Once I dragged the tanker out, the fuel would have leaked into the sewers, which I suppose is a relatively major enviro burden, but I did not want to waste too much time when other people were in danger. Iām relatively happy with that one.ā
āI had to decide whether to go for the people that had the least chance to live first in a hope of rescuing them, or last and give the others a far greater chance to live. I did a search and in the end, the math came out to go rescue people from the flooded area. Any victims in the burning building would have either found a safe spot and would last relatively unscathed for a while longer, or the CO poisoning would have already been setting in. But if I went there on the miniscule chance to help them, people in the flooded area that would have otherwise had a good chance of making it out would have drowned. So, I chose the flooded place. It was aā¦ Coldā¦ decision, but I stand by it. Of course, I almost killed a guy because I stupidly blasted the roof of the ceiling he was trapped in, but it worked out in the end and you can make sure I will not be making that mistake again.ā
āNothing of interest happened at the fire. The classic, people trapped in air pockets and balconies. It is the collapse that I just donāt know how to tackle though. I tried finding the people by noise. I tried running a simulation of putting the rubble into zero-G and digging them out. But no cigar. To top it all off, when I searched afterwards, there is also the hazard of exposed power lines, broken gas pipes and the like. Honestly, I am stumped at what else could I do other than wait for the rescue team with the heavy machinery. Any ideas?ā
"Well, ta even consider 'ow ta approach it, do ya 'ave any imagin' equipment, cameras, sonar, etc? Problem wit' t'is is t'at we can't see 'ow the areas under evryt'in' is supported so anyt'in' you did could 'ave potentially made it worse since, ya know, you're runnin' around blind and trigger ot'er t'in's furt'er in, ya know? 'onestly, seems like t'at was the right call ta me." Danni shrugged after watching. Disaster Management was a class he took early on, not so mistakenly considering himself a disaster he'd have to watch out for.
"As Poisson-Pas might say, or at least I imagine he would, "Sometimes, choosing to do nothing is the most heroic choice of all." Causes 'e tried ta be t'at wise old man in hero movies, ya know?" Danni explained, mimicking Poisson-Pas's accent as best as possible.
Dorian put on the VR headset. Deciding it would best help him to help Vicky if he could see all of it from her eyes. She'd mentioned the Collapse was what she was struggling with, but he saw a few areas that he believed could be improved over all. "Danni's right about t'e tech. 'ard to say what could've been done better if we don't know t'e full array. 'owever, Sonar as well as small drones would be t'e best ways to 'andle t'at situation like 'e said. My concern is for t'e ot'er exercises. You let t'e tanker continue to leak, Best solution would-be to have a cryogenic capsule or spray to cover t'e 'ole and stop t'e leak entirely. 'ell you could've also carpet bombed t'e area wit' some sand or ot'er sort of t'ing to bot' abosrb t'e chemical as well as put out the fire while you transported t'e tanker. Aside from t'at bot' in t'e fire rescue and under water rescue you could've benefitted from 'aving an oxygen supply for t'ose you rescued. Maybe somet'ing t'at functions like gills, takin' in the oxygen from t'e water and using it to supply it to t'e rescue. T'at gives t'em less chances of drownin' as well as 'elps wit' t'e smoke inhalation."
Vicky sat down cross legged on the floor, pondering their suggestions. She did not expect to get ideas for the rest of the session, but hey, feedback was always welcome. āI can basically do any electromagnetic field, or use repulsors. Both either as a directed energy or as a deformed spheroid field.ā she said, tapping on her chin. āI donāt have any drone units currently installed though that could be arranged. End to beginningā¦ Sonar I donāt think would be overly helpful. There is way too much complexity in such a collapse. To be useful, youāre talking seismology levels, which might cause it to collapse even further in the first place. Radar thoughā¦ Hmā¦ Concrete does not have good electrical permittivity, and the frequent cavities in the collapse would still cause quite a lot of scattering, but maybe if I took a look from more angles and constructed like a tomograph, I could filter the noise out and create a 3D map of the internal structure, yeah. With some training, interpreting ground penetrating radar signals is still quite a bit skill based.ā
She looked at Danni in surprise when he guessed at what Nemo might have said. āThatās pretty much verbatim what was on my evaluation sheet. As far as oxygen supply goes, well, I canāt quite carry a truck trailer of gear with me on every mission just to be ready for whatever. While I knew what I ordered to be in the sim, I wanted to show that I can adapt to the various situations even if I didn't. The tankerā¦ I guess I could have done more, but the question is: Did I have the time? There were people drowning and maybe cooking to death. I think even if I could spread out some sorbent, I'd still choose not to. Same issue with some cryo solution: I'm good, but I am still subject to laws of thermodynamics, and heat only goes from hot to cold places. I can heat stuff up using IR laser well, but there's no such thing as a chill beam, and I can't exactly lug a bottle of LN2 with me.ā she reviewed.
"Bah, why are we talkin' about school work? T'at's borin'." Danni declared, jumping up onto his bed. "What we need ta talk about is t'e Contest of Campions. We should tots put your and Dee's scouting power together and spy on t'e other teams for their strats so we can prep ta beat them! It'd be a good way for ya ta develop some mini-drones and test 'em and Dee can practiceā¦ idk, ghostie stuff. Ya know, team up wit' each other ta defeat everyone else and t'en we'll go head ta head in the finals!"
Dorian thought Vicky was giving up too quickly on the idea of new gear. Just because something didn't exist didn't mean that it wasn't waiting to be invented. Hell if Stark could make it to space with one of his suits, who's to say the next line of geniuses couldn't perfect it? Solar power already existed, so why couldn't they find a way to extract the oxygen from the air or water to channel it into a funnel used to give an oxygen mask for a victim? "Wellā¦it would be a good idea to keep an eye on t'e ot'er teams strats."
Victoria giggled at the last exchange. "What, you guys are telling me you don't have an intel board? Am I the only one here who made notes on what makes others tick? I'm fairly certain you-" she pointed the Finger of Accusation at Dorian, "-are for whatever reason doing your best to avoid getting physical with me in Combat 301. Even if I fight unarmored at the time, and despite you having a sword against my hand to hand." She noted with a confident smirk. "The carnival was also a treasure trove. That reminds me I need to confirm whether Diana is scared of bees or fire." Vicky grinned savagely.
As the conversation turned to the contest, Vickyās face drooped: āFat load of BS the contest is. Itās giving people incorrect motivation. Whoever is here to āget on the Avengersā or āWin the contestā should get their priorities straight. You should be here to learn to help people, period. Feels to me like some on my team get that, that makes me a happy girl.ā she smiled, āIf only our coach could see that. I swear, I need to make some sort of a deal with the devil to try and sway our training off of that focus for at least on occasion. If all we do is fight each other, weāll be highly specialized at fighting ourselves. Thatās not just bad for the contest, thatās bad for anything. We need to be training how to fight as a team, and preferably not just fight. Who knows what the damn qualifiers are going to be, if they are a rescue scenario, weāll be hosed!ā she complained. āTherefore, if you want to make a cartel deal and play the system, Iām game. And Iām sure Arcade would be too. I suppose the question is: How many privacy laws are you willing to break in the process?ā she asked, her eyes squinting in thought. And of course, Iāll be making damn sure I get the intel even if Bassard removes it from my head. Donāt think I wouldnāt be watching you too.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. 'Ere in t'is dorm, we stan the Contest of Champions! I wanna fight and win against all t'ese people 'ere! I don't mind if I get on t'e Avengers or nat; I'll be a 'ero eit'er way, but I def want t'e spotlight. It'd be a shame ta look t'is good and not 'ave a chance ta show myself off." Danni rolled over to send Vicky a smirk and propped his head on his hand. "And no, I don't 'ave an intell board - Dee might but I run on vibes, caffeine, fire power, and pure instinct. Not'in' goin' on behind my pretty eyes but t'at's why I got Princess and Dee!" Danni laughed, beaming at his best friend.
"And 'onestly, privacy is more of a suggestion t'an a rule, right?"
Dorian snickered at Vicky's question about privacy. It felt as if she hadn't even met them yet. "A whole intel board and you 'ave to ask about privacy? My powers invade it on t'e most personal level to begin wit'. If you 'ave to ask t'at you need to expand your Intel to encompass a whole lot more." rarely would Dorian consider himself cocky, but when it came to the Contest of Champions he was fully delulu that the terrific trio could conquer anything put before them. "Besides, it's only day 1, give Usagi a chance to expand your training."
Victoria did her best Mr. Burns impression. āOh, I am learning more about your limits every second. Well, lack thereof. Well, then as long as we donāt get caught, and I think I might have a plan on how to do thatā¦ How about we bug every training area we can think of and just listen in? I would bug the dorms too butā¦ I donāt want to hear too much.ā she said, mimicking a gag, āMaybe the teachersā places though? Get some ideas on what they are planning for us. I already hate the contest, I donāt care if I get disqualified if they find out. I think my team can handle manufacturing and operations, and the ghost over here can probably handle deployment without getting busted. I think Ed would be all aboard with this little idea.ā she nodded, pointing to Dorian. āRegarding Usagiā¦ If I didnāt already have two years of combat class with her under the belt, I might be optimistic, but I just donāt see getting it unless I take it. But I am not at the point of challenging her to a Trial of Grievance yet.ā
"Ooooh, def bug t'e trainin' rooms! I don't t'ink t'is will disqualify us t'ough; if t'e Avengers knew where t'e base of t'eir enemies were but 'ad ta wait ta kick t'eir asses, buggin' t'eir lair would be t'e least scoutin' t'ey'd do." Danni reasoned. "It's just good recon practice! But t'e teachers' places we probs shouldn't. T'ey probably like, discuss test answers and ot'er borin' teacher stuff and if t'ey t'ink we're cheatin' on tests, t'en t'ey will expel us and if I got expelled, I'd never be able ta show my beautiful face ever again. T'ough, t'e tea in t'e teacher dorms would probs be fuckin' awesome. Ugh, why are bad t'in's so 'ard ta resist?"
"Well we know t'rough our intel board t'at Vicky doesn't 'ave any drones or spy equipment. Which means t'e first 'urdle is makin' or acquirin' some for us to use. T'en after we should totally bug t'e trainin' rooms and if possible t'e framework. 'Ack it to record and show what 'appens inside the virtual field." Couldn't have Vicky's group escape their eye after all. Dorian looked at Vicky pointedly, seeing if she'd know of a way to make undetectable spy gear for this use or if it'd all be a wash.
āI know right!ā Victoria exclaimed at Danni. āForbidden fruit tastes the best. But, yeah, good point with the test results. Maybe the teacherās table at the cafeteria though? If youāre looking for Tea, Iād wager that would be the place to listen to.ā He had a good point about the scouting being part of preparation for the contest. It made so much sense! The game was already on, and she didnāt even notice. He was right, no one said they only had to prepare for it in the official training sessions.
Turning to dorian, she snickered. āMore like a hastily scribbled on intel napkin. But, drones would be too conspicuous. Iām thinking something far smaller, and I think we can get such a hardware off the shelf, and even if not, building a few button sized bugs to listen to is child's play. Arcade is also up to his elbows in the Framework already, and Usagi spilled the beans that the Young Avengers are there every damn night. You donāt have to go past āwiping the floor with Cassieā to get me on board.ā she rubbed her hands, āIāll need to open up a build queue though, but this is definitely up there.ā Right along telling Ed to delete any records of ours.
"Okay, okay, okay. So Vicky's rockin' t'e bugs, Dee's plantin' t'e bugs, and I'm here just ta look cute and distract people if t'ey catch on. And we're gettin' t'e Frameowrk stuff too. Oh, t'is gunna be so much fun! I can't wait ta tell Princess! Actually ya know what, picture time! Danni decided, hopping off the bed and hauling Dee with him to Vicky. He held his phone up to take a selfie of all of them. "Everyone say Champions!" Danni said as he snapped the picture.
"Champions" Dorian said with a wide smile as he nuzzled up next to Danni for the photo. If Vicky said it was child's play, far be it from him to counter her. So long as she could provide the bugs he could plant them. Of Course he was planning on installing a few extra of his own just to be safe in the event one of hers failed. One could never be too cautious when gathering intel after all and he trusted his handiwork.
āYou know it would be better not to tell every other team weāre spying on them, right? I canāt help but think youāre being in denial just which Flynn you are on a team with. Vicky groaned, before being photo opād. āUh! champions?ā she managed to squeeze out, only winding up looking confused in the picture. āWell, I guess itās a wrap for today? Thanks for all the ideas, this oughta keep me occupied on my insomniac nights. Fill in the rest of your team on the plan and Iāll do the same, and Iāll let you know when I have the stuff. Well. Good night?ā she wished them well, waving as she got up to leave.
Danni waved away Vicky's concerns. "Princess won't snitch on us, don't worry! We can tell 'er and it'll be perfectly safe!" Danni insisted. "And no leaving t'e dorm wit'out t'e most important t'in'! 'ugs!" Danni wrapped Vicky up in a big hug, holding on until Dee joined as well.
Dorian joined in on the hug, squeezing them both as their hugs compounded onto Vicky tightly. "Anytime V, if you ever need more ideas you know where we are. We'll usually."
