SkinnyTy — Roleplayer Guild

Knight
Rosaline Buckner
DorchesterIfrit (Bryson Green)
The Zenith - Protectorate HQ
21st January, 2011

Praetor already seemed to be focused on other things. "The Circus is supposed to start in 2 hours. You have access to the VTOL's if you think you need it."

Ifrit nodded at Knight's response, and took the helmet. He was grateful that she was open to the tinker modification, as it would open a lot of options to him when it came to combat. "An air pocket? In that case I could do one better. Include Co2 scrubbers, a compressed Nitrogen supply, etc. You could basically use it as a scuba mask for 5-10 minutes depending on the situation. Same tech I use in my suit, it would probably take me 5 minutes." He stopped and thought for a moment, "Although it would require regular maintenance to keep it functional, you know how tinker tech is. Maybe I will just make it a discreet attachment so that you aren't dependent on my attention." He said with a grin. "Too long without being cured properly, my materials can get... messy. They decompose quickly."

Knight winced a little. Oh, dear. If she was opening the door to tinker modifications... she swallowed a little.

‘I don't necessarily need to hold my breath for that long. I can just open a hole in my armor to let me breathe. That said, there could be times when... I can... describe it in more detail on the way.’ She ended that on, because of where they currently were.

Ifrit suddenly became aware of Praetor's passively urgent aura, and nodded toward the Protectorate leader, "We will prepare and be sure to arrive early, Sir, the next report from us will not disappoint you."So long as the next report isn't about my hovercraft test... Ifrit thought in an exasperated mental tone. 

With that, Knight also nodded to Praetor, and then headed to leave with Ifrit.

‘So, um.’ Knight said as soon as they were outside, turning her attention to Ifrit. ‘I'm open to the possibility of having tinker-made additions. It could make me all the more effective on the field. But, I do want to not be entirely dependent on them. So, either if it could be a separate suit entirely, or if the additions are fairly easy to remove, or so. Do you know my power?’ She asked, yet continued without waiting for an answer. 

‘I freeze air or other physical items in time. When an area is frozen in time, nothing escapes, be it light, sound or even radio-waves. Then I can move the fields telekinetically, and shape them. So, I can make myself invulnerable by making an armor around me and still move, but I lose all my senses and ability to communicate while in there. Meaning I have to open a bit around my head, my most vulnerable part, to get new air or at all see or hear what's outside...’ She described, throwing a glance to Ifrit to see if he was getting ideas.

Ifrit shrugged. "I read your file on the way over here, but there is a big difference between understanding the general idea behind somebody's powers, and the actual use of them. Another difference between that, and actually seeing how they can be, or are applied during combat." He thought on it for a moment as they walked. "For now, the gas mask modification is just a stopgap measure so that I can use my full toolset during any combat we get into, don't worry I will make it so it can be removed easily if I am not here. That will only take me a few minutes as I already have the tech, I just have to adjust it to fit your helmet, and set it to produce. If you want, I will be able to design something to really augment you later on, but that will take quite a bit of time. Mostly in design, the actual manufacture or maintenance doesn't take long at all. First, I will need to have a better idea of your strengths and weaknesses though, maybe it was a good for us to get involved in this after all, a bit of a team building exercise. If not more than a little unconventional...."

Ifrit looked about, which he immediately thought better of. Praetor could, and perhaps would, listen, watch, and probably interact with any conversation in the whole of the Zenith. That said, the man hardly had unlimited processing power and he seemed like a busy guy. Odds were he rarely if ever listened in on his heroes conversations. If not out of common decency, then out of limited time. Most conversations are pretty boring if you aren't involved. Still, better to be safe, he reasoned. He decided to pick his word carefully, but didn't change his tone or volume. "Speaking of" Ifrit said, "Are you totally comfortable with this? I understand Praetor's reasoning... I guess.... but this is a really weird task. Even if the rumors are true and people don't die in the circus, it just seems undignified and pointless for the Protectorate to involve itself.... what do you think?"

Knight listened on the way, her eyes open and curious as Ifrit spoke. She considered his words, wondering about the possibilities, before Ifrit went on to speak of her comfortability... which was when Knight's expression went back to the pained one she had when listening to Praetor earlier.

‘I... I'm not.’ She admitted. ‘It's an arrangement made by villains. By participating, it feels like we're giving their operations legitimacy. Also, regardless of if we win or lose the fight, we lose overall. If we win, they start plotting how to take us on. If we lose, we're humiliated in front of all the villains in town.’ Knight sighed. ‘But, I don't have power or experience enough to question. So I'll go. I must assume Praetor knows how this works better than I do.’ She said, praying this was the case.

Ifrit frowned. "I agree. That is a really good point, about giving them legitimacy. I'm willing to trust Praetor on this, I am assuming there is a bigger picture and more to this then we know, but still. On principle? In terms of general perception? That seems like a high price to pay for some field experience." He got a sly look on his face, "We will just have to win, I suppose. That is all you can do in the end." He looked thoughtful a moment. "I mean, we might lose the fight, we may lose our very first engagement, but that isn't what really matters in the end. We need to figure out what winning means first, what our real goal here is, and do what it takes. What matters is the war, let's not get bogged down in the minutia."

Knight listened to his words with a concerned expression, but nodded when it came to that they simply had to fight. She breathed out and attempted to relax. It seemed like that was the best reply she had for that at this moment.

Ifrit smiled, "We had better get ready, I have some prep to do. Meet you at the hangar in an hour?"

She blinked a little as they had apparently already reached where they'd split up for now. Wait, she still hadn't-

‘Um. Wait.’ She first said, then averted her eyes a little as she tried to a bit more carefully consider what she wanted to say. ‘Can I... ask a personal question?’ She asked, sounding as well as looking a little unsure as she said it.

Ifrit turned his whole focus to Knight, a concerned expression forming on his face. "Of course, what's up?"

Or, well, "personal question" wasn't entirely accurate for what she wanted to ask, but-

‘I-I need a friend. Someone I can vent to sometimes when I’m troubled, or comfort me sometimes, and perhaps the other way around, too. Someone closer than a therapist.’ She really hoped she wasn’t coming off as desperate, but, um, she kind of was. ‘Replicant’s really nice, but he has yet to convince me that he’s entirely stable or that I won’t accidentally leave any conversation with a deadly virus. Vector’s… kind of hard to talk to for me, Praetor’s…’ She just sighed instead of giving a reason for him. ‘I want to look dependable to the Wards, and Pallas low-key creeps me out. That… leaves you.’ She tilted her head a bit and looked at him curiously.

‘You haven’t given me reason to believe I might be making a mistake yet. … C-could you consider being that person?’ She asked, looking considerably insecure as she was asking.

Ifrit would be lying if he said he wasn't caught off guard, they had just met after all. However.... Ifrit had been in the Wards for a while. He knew just how isolated one could get, more so than ordinary teenagers (or at least so he assumed) with all the power, the pressure, the ongoing frustration. On top of all that, capes could really only form friendships with each other. It got too difficult, there was too much of a gap between parahumans and non-parahumans. Unfortunately, parahumans were by requirement some of the most messed up people in the known universe. They were rarely reliable, and in this line of work things changed quickly. The peaks were higher, the valleys deeper. In his time, Ifrit had seen dozens of Wards in frankly far worse emotional straights then Knight, too many of which had lived to suffer for it. 

He gave a warm smile, dismissing the sarcastic response about being the bottom of the list that rose in the back of his throat, and said "Rosaline," He had no idea if that was what she usually went by outside of costume, but it was what had been in her file. "We are team-mates now, I am here for you. We need to have each other's backs, sometimes that means protecting each other from psychopath supervillains, in my experience more often than not it means helping each other fight our emotional supervillains. Capes, as a rule, are fucked up. It isn't something any of us asked for, but nobody asks for any of their circumstances. Some of us are born rich, some of us are born poor, some without parents, some in circumstances I can't imagine. It doesn't matter, all that matters is that when we move forward, we decide. We have control now, and at this moment, we are a team. I am here for you,  anything you need, let me help." He looked off for a moment, and abruptly added on "And whatever you do, don't feel bad for asking. The fact that you able to reach out for help so candidly is a sign of your strength, not weakness." He put a hand on her arm, just below the shoulder. "I understand how you feel. I think most people do, in their own way."

She made a sharp intake of breath with her nose when he smiled and spoke her name, definitely nervous. Then he surprised her by going into a speech about team-mates looking after one-another no matter who they were. Not entirely what she had expected or imagined, but alright. She got an optimistic smile when he placed that hand on her arm and encouraged her. ‘Alright. Then. To start us off again.’ She held a hand forward to him.

‘Rosaline Buckner, Knight. I'll be counting on you.’ She nodded, daring to seem a bit happy. ... And this demand to shake hands with proper introductions was not entirely a ploy to lurk out his real name because she didn't know it yet. Definitely not. ... Not entirely, anyway.

Ifrit got a sly grin, the temptation from is immature side was definitely real to make up a fake name, but this wasn't the time. She had exposed herself and asked for help, and he had offered his trust and support in return. He took her hand, hesitated for just an instant, he didn't like to associate his given name with his cape name, partly because he didn't want to get his family involved, partly because of the psychology behind it, but he decided and answered " Bryson Green. Ifrit. And I won't let you down. "

She noticed his momentary hesitation, managing to imagine all kinds of worst-case scenarios for a brief moment, but then relaxed as he answered in turn. Rosaline nodded to him, happily.

‘Alright. Then I'll see you in an hour.’ She said, smiling as she turned and walked to her own room to relax, because there wasn't much else she could do. Perhaps just read up on the Circus, common capes seen on the scene, check for any new emails...

//PSA: ALL CAULDRON CAPES OPERATING IN BOSTON

A particularly capable Cauldron operative - codenamed Conflux - has gone rogue and absconded from one of our facilities with a resource of immense value - codenamed Oracle. Our agents had tracked Conflux to Brockton Bay and surrounded her, but she has slipped the net. Intel suggests she is headed to Boston.

We are calling in the favours you owe us.

You are to hereby make the recovery of the resource your top priority. Failure to do so will result in termination. The resource must be apprehended and returned to Cauldron control before it is allowed to leave Boston. Failure to do so will result in termination. Under no circumstances must our rogue agent - or any other third-party - be aided in an attempt to flee Boston with the resource. Doing so will result in termination.

The Boston Protectorate are aware and have sanctioned our attempt to reacquire our resource. No hero will be allowed to interfere in the reacquisition of our resource. 

This is a matter of utmost importance to not only our entire organisation, but the human race as a whole. Conflux may be dealt with in whatever way you see fit - but be advised, she is highly dangerous and is has a PRT Rating of Master 8. All direct interactions with her should be subject to suitable Master protocols. 

You owe us. We expect results.

Failure to deliver will result in termination.

Rosaline sat unmoving in front of the computer, staring at the screen in silence. She read it twice. Then thrice. Then another time. ... ... ...

Fuck.

What even did it mean that the Boston Protectorate "are aware and have sanctioned" this? Are they in direct contact with... Rosaline shook her head. That wasn't important right now. What was important right now... Was she a Master that controlled her own personal entity, or a Master that manipulated other humans? Those two seriously should be different categories, damn it. She was pretty sure she could handle a minion-controlling Master, but one that took control of HER? That was a different matter altogether.

... She went ahead and checked multiple unrelated capes in the database. She didn't want to leave a record of herself checking one, single, particular cape. Just went through a couple high-threats or others she slightly remembered the names on. Then, she'd check Conflux. If she had a PRT rating then she should be in here, right? Or was that just "the rating she'd have if the PRT got to rate her"? Ngh. Too many unknowns. She didn't even know where to look.

She responded. [I have no information to start looking with. Do we know any tendencies of the target or any resources/contacts I could make use of to track down the target? What should I be looking for?] ... If she didn't get a response, then she had absolutely no leads to start her off with. Which was... troubling. She sighed, and waited until time ran out if needed.

@Sickle-cell

Before she left, she'd delete the email(s), as well as she could. Not that she thought it'd help if someone searched her computer, but it was a matter of principle.

As soon as Knight had left, Bryson got straight to work. The whole encounter had been... well if he was honest, a Tuesday in the life of a cape. Still, it stuck out as one of those moments reminded him know just how insane things could be for capes, the stress, the pressure, the isolation. Parahumans were still, at their core, human, but powers made everything bigger, more intense. Knight was relatively new to the whole business, and it was not an easy life to adjust to. He wondered if Replicant had his own issues of the same sort.

As soon as he was in his lab, he set the helmet in what looked almost like a large, cube shaped, microwave. It began taking extremely high resolution scans of the helmet, so he could work with  the model in adjusting his tech to work with it. It was also to check for any other tinker tech or anything anomalous that might warrant his caution. It was precisely what it appeared to be, a high strength helmet, durable but stylish.

As he worked, adjusting a concept he had made for his mask years ago to fit the helmet, he considered what he should do to prepare for the fight. The Lethal weaponry he had developed wasn't ready to bring yet, he could finish the work but there wasn't any reason to. From what he had heard about the Circus, it would involve confined, close quarters combat. He debated bringing his heavy-duty power suit, it would make him far more durable and powerful, but.... flexibility was usually the key when fighting powered individuals. A castle seems like a good idea but it usually just lets your enemy know where you are, allowing them to take their time to find a lever on you. No, brute strength would not be the way to go here, besides even if it was Knight's power was well suited to function as the heavy hitter. The trick was to be unpredictable, give himself options, useful ones. So he could handle all manner of threats.

The device to fit in Knight's helmet was already being built by a 3D printer, the job wouldn't take long as it didn't have too many sophisticated components, and he already had filters for it that would be replicable. He looked at his own suit, deciding what to equip, what to get at the expense of others. He decided it would be crucial to have access to the containment foam, a module was attached to the undersides of his arms that would allow him to pack a bit more. It still wasn't very much, volume limited after all but it would be enough to subdue most enemies in extremely close quarters. His baton was always equipped, as well as built in reservoirs of chemicals ready to be aerated through vents throughout his suit, or sprayed in a given direction. Primarily the equivalent of knock out gas, his own formula designed to be effective but give targets a high enough tolerance so they wouldn't accidentally be killed. Under his wrists he had dart launchers, each could hold 8 darts, some of which would carry a tranquilizer. It wouldn't necessarily be useful, since it would take around 40 seconds to be effective, but hopefully he and Knight were tough enough to outlast opponents for that long. 

Needles could be ejected from his fingertips, like claws. Not only were they sharp and could be used to scratch someone horrendously, they could also be used to deliver yet more chemicals. There wasn't much he could pack besides tranquilizers, but he decided to equip a chemical with another approach. A protein which would target the nerves, not to destroy them as that could kill someone, but cause excruciating pain. It would start almost instantly from injection, but would steadily spread throughout the body. It was cruel, and he knew it, but that was why he also brought an anecdotal enzyme that could counter the effect as quickly as it started. In case he sent someone into shock. 

He also equipped a chemical with essentially the exact opposite effect.... it was basically super dopamine. He had terrible visions of possible pasts, ones where gangs sought access to his abilities just because he could have created, frankly, the ultimate drug. Maximally addictive, maximally effective.... he didn't think he would be getting anybody an addiction by knocking them out with pleasure, but it was an option. He brought a counter agent to this chemical as well, as he did with all of his chemicals. All of them could be loaded into a dart, they were filled within the suit, or loaded into the smoke emanating from his body, sprayed via aerosol, or injected via his finger needles. His large drone, Griffin, would carry additional supplies.

Finally most everything prepared, he finished by equipping into slots on his back a dozen small canister filled with extremely compressed chemicals, some of which would be mixed on activation, with various useful effects. There were a couple that would spray "Greek fire," handful of tranquilizer gas, a handful of obscuring smoke that would linger in the air, a couple that would spray what could spray a "super glue", (a counter agent was equipped in the suit) and finally a couple that would kill any microorganisms, one never knew what he might face in the world of parahumans. Also on his back were two clips with additional darts for his wrist launchers. All of this was equipped into his standard battle suit, it favored mobility over strength or durability, but it still significantly augmented his strength, and was unbelievably tough. All in a relatively lightweight package that allowed him to move like a superhuman. He replaced the gecko pads on his hands and feet that could provide grip (although he didn't like how it associated him with certain spider-oriented capes) and finally he was-probably- ready. Or as ready as one could ever be. 

He made his finishing touches to the mask attachment for Knight's helmet, and got suited up. Griffin was equipped with its standard kit, including refills, clips, sniper attachments, additional power, first aid equipment and more. He dismissed the drone to head through his lab access into the hangar. Everything packed, he put on his helmet, and walked out into the corridor.

So, Rosaline couldn't exactly head to the hangar without her helmet. Normal PRT officers were not to know her appearance. Instead, she made sure she was a bit early and stood outside Ifrit's lab, leaning against the wall. She tried to look casual, tense. Tense was fine, they were heading to the Circus, after all. It was fine to look a bit emotionally disturbed, she told herself inside her mind. He wouldn't necessarily notice something was amiss...

Knight was waiting for him outside, looking slightly self-conscious, her body all at angles, but also ready for a fight. He didn't blame her; the adrenaline was already pumping through his veins in anticipation for a fight. He both loved and hated the feeling. It filled him with clarity, energy, life. But it also made him anxious, he wanted to get going. When he spoke through the mask, his voice emanated not only clearly, but as though it were being enhanced. Like the flaws and minor modulations, in his speech were being smoothed over, made to sound louder. It might have been tinker tech, or it might have just been Ifrit speaking more confidently and "heroically" now that he was in costume. "You ready for this? I have already arranged a VTOL to be ready." he said, as he handed her the helmet with one hand, holding the new attachment in the other.

Knight blinked and straightened herself as Ifrit came out. The change in his voice did not go unnoticed. Maybe if it was something tinker-made, perhaps she could convince him to make her something similar? ... It was a good distracting line of thinking, she managed to smirk a little as she accepted the helmet and the attachment.

‘Yeah, I'm ready.’ She convinced herself to say, looking at the attachment as Ifrit started explaining.

"This is the chemical filter, I equipped it with its own passive air storage system, it could automatically be storing air when exposed, and releasing it back to you if the CO2 content in the air gets too high. A super-air pocket, if you will, although it uses chemicals to store it rather than anything mechanical. Keep in mind it won't automatically activate for other chemicals, you will have to do that manually, there is a switch here which when attached to your helmet should be right under your chin. Just pressing it will activate it, it takes a long press to deactivate it so it doesn't happen by accident for any reason. I also made it possible to take off the helmet without taking off the mask, keeping it attached to your face. The mask is of course totally separate from the helmet, so you can wear the helmet without the filter just as easily."

Knight was turning the helmet in her hands to inspect as Ifrit explained, checking the location of the switch and nodded.

"I also equipped it with standard PRT comms tech, and my own variation which should allow it to connect even with minimal opportunity, say if you were deep underground or in a mostly sealed off space. The connectivity will also make it so I can automatically activate it to seal to your face, in case you weren't able to reach or if you were unconscious, or if I needed to try something sneaky against an enemy and wanted you to equip it without giving any sign. I will of course give you the standard tinker documentation later, so that if you are away from me for any reason another tinker should be able to service it for you. I know that seems like a lot, but it isn't actually too complicated." he finished with a smile, not that Knight would be able to tell with Ifrit wearing his mask.

... Hm. Knight nodded to him again. That was useful. She could hear the smile, it was clear enough that he was proud of the quality-of-life improvements he had done, and in such a short time. Tinkers are really something, huh. Of course, she knew that, this was Boston, she had been surrounded by tinker things the moment she came here. Alright.

‘Alright. Thank you. I'm going to be open to more extensive modifications in the future. Okay, let's go.’ She nodded to him, putting on the things and helmet, attaching them to the suit she had to protect her throat, before turning to head for the hangar.

"We will see what can be done, tinker tech can sometimes be as much of a problem as it is a benefit." said Ifrit. He followed her to the hangar, where one of the Zenith's "standard" VTOL craft was waiting. 

Knight nodded, also something to keep in mind, before jumping into one of the crafts available to them, made the command that the two of them were to be heading down, and then took her seat waiting for them to fly off and land somewhere in the proximity of the Circus. They would most likely arrive just as the circus was ready to get underway. Fashionably, right on time.
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