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Mutants & Masterminds: Heroes United - Chapter 3a: Heroes of Tech and Magic


Justin OOC

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It was another Day at the Unity Headquarters, Andery sighed as he waited for Paladin and Northlight to arrive. Today he would explain one of his major desires for the two of them. A side project almost equal to the Super team he was bankrolling.

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The two Engineers/scientists represented his braintrust, he'd set them to work on this task, and with any luck, They'd solve the problem his own research team had been stumped by.

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Kyles dreams were murky as of late. Nothing would ever resolve into focus, he could only hear the sounds of battle, of monsters roaring, and soldiers dying. He could feel the wind on his face, and smell the blood. Then all at once the darkness clouding his vision, keeping him unfocused, it faded away. Shining like a beacon was a great spire of gleaming steel and glass, and the power within him stirred and pulsed. "Go." Then Kyle awoke in a cold sweat...

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it will take a quick search online to see that the building in question is the Unity building in New York City

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Rachael was working out some kinks with her flight pack... en route. She had already fixed the stabilizers on her anti-gravity capacitor system, with a new design, yet the operating system of her suit needed to properly interface with the new coding. Hence her slowness getting to the tower as she was testing out in the Atlantic, just in case if the zero-point generator in the pack or a catastrophic failure of the AG projector happened it would be just her getting killed.

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"Unity this is Northlight, inbound." She said over the encrypted channel. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Focht."

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She lands on a platform reserved for Helicopters or fliers like her as she walks into the "foyer" that is connected to the helipad.

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"Seems everything is fine on my end now, I just wanted to make sure my engineering was sound." She said, opening opening her helmet and letting the clear material drape over her shoulders. Pulling up her goggles now attached to a full-head cowl revealed she was indeed making slight upgrades to her design.

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Walking in to where Andery was waiting for his braintrust, she stepped in, with the swish of the doors she looked at home as things started to look in the headquarters like the interior of a space ship. Rachael's design asthetic was... unique, to say the least. "Discovered some basalt in a couple of the AG projectors a little while ago, but then I just didn't know where to stop with the refit of the flight gear."

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She smiled setting her hand on her hip. "So, where's Paladin?"

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Javier activated the chin switch, and the faceplate of his welding mask went from near opaque to clear. He looked up from the workbench where he was working on some upgrades to his suit. "Alice, what time is it?"

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"It is exactly 1 hour 32 minutes and 15 seconds since you last asked me, and 47 minutes 23 seconds since you ignored the warning that you needed to suit up and head to your meeting. By my calculations you are going to be 32 minutes late at the..."

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"Thank you Garmin. Why didn't you try to remind me again?"

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"I did sir, you ignored 3 subsequent warnings with the phrase "just one more". It has been 117 individual actions since you first used that excuse. If you would like, I could remind you again."

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Javier sighed and took off his now clear welding mask. "No, Alice, that won't be necessary. Please just check the upgrades to the suit and your connection with it. What are we running at?"

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"100% operational, 2.3% increase in power drain, which should result in approximately 5 minutes and 35 seconds of reduced operational time. However, the other modifications have increased the suits overall efficiency by 5%, resulting in a net increase in operational time of 8 minutes 23 seconds."

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"Thank you Alice." He said as he slipped his new mask over his face and adjusted his mirrored goggles.

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***************************************************************************************

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A little over a half hour late, the Paladin landed gently on the same pad that Dr. Northlight had used earlier. As he walked in (slightly faster than normal), he actually took his helmet off. Once off, it revealed a tight black fabric hood with oval reflective goggles over his eyes. He walked in fairly casually, though quickly. "Sorry for the delay, got wrapped up in my workshop. Lots to do. So, what's up? What problem is so big that it takes both of our genius' to solve it?"

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Andery smiled at them and nodded. "What I want is something that can revolutionize the world." On the screen several different videos came up, showing nanotechnology being used to reclaim debris, and reconstitute it to it's original form. "These are from several shows, but it's exactly what we may come to need, if brawls like the other day become the norm. "I'd call them Resource Reconstruction Units. Made specifically to not be able to target organic matter, they could greatly assist in reconstructing damage from all sources."

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He looked at them. "I know between the two of you, the expertise and synergy of intellect exists to make this reality, one we can offer to all for the betterment of all. I know the other projects that deal with the team, but this, this can affect our training, indeed the entire world will see benefit from this, when the two of you find a way to make it real."

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Rachael crossed her arms with a grin. "I've been considering that for a while in terms of fabricating my Graphex outer skin for this suit, but sadly the funding to develop such a system has been... not forthcoming. It would have bankrupted me. It seems if you plan to take this out to the open, I should design fail-safes to insure this doesn't turn into a grey goo sort of situation."

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"If you are wondering what Grey Goo is, consider a virus. Once it is inside a host it spreads infecting new cells to propagate itself. Now, in macro-space when you have rogue nanites consuming material to make more of themselves and those nanites are just as glitched, you have a run-away problem. You could end up with planet whose crust for the most part has been replaced with a greyish mass of microscopic machines looking for more food."

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Scratching her chin, she looked over the concept. "But, the fail-safe is easy, design the nanites so they can't reproduce themselves. At least without a central machine that the nanites can return to when damaged or can report to to have more sent out. The central nano-factory fails, and the nanites self destruct as a physical hard-wired fail-safe."

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"This would require equipment to work on the atomic level, Mr. Focht. something I lack. Then again, this might push Paladin's skill to the limit... you can work with matter if I remember correctly, right? Perhaps you can construct matter based off of a molecular schematic? I can draw up each bit, and you can make the bulk material, then with the proper chemical configuration I can merge each bit into place, and then I can make mechanical the construction process once enough of the component chemicals are created." She said, taking her seat, already coming up with something on a tablet she had with her.

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"I don't know any time frame at the moment, at least until I know what Paladin's capabilities are in this matter.."

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The Paladin listened intently to both Andrey and Dr. Northlight, deep in thought once the spotlight turned to him. It was much easier to read his expression now that they could see his actual face from his nose to his chin. It took him a little while to answer, but when he did his words were careful and measured. "Well, I suppose we could do something like that. It would be much easier than me spending all my time recreating matter that was destroyed or damaged in a fight."

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He thought for a few more moments and then materialized a pad of legal paper and a pencil and started jotting down notes. "We might want to start with something a bit bigger, then work down to molecule and then atomic sizes. And the idea of a failsafe is a good one. Might also add in maybe a specific radio frequency that would permanently shut them down as well. The non-replicating is a good idea too, centralized control is good so long as it's secure."

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He then looked up at Dr. Northlight. I can create small and complex, but I don't know if I could create nanobots. I haven't tried anything that small and that advanced before. I suspect that I would actually have to be able to see what I'm creating... so maybe with an electron microscope? We'll see." He looked over to Andrey. "So, when do we start?"

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"Actually we wouldn't need something on that level. Using simple chemistry we can create machines that do what we need out of proteins and molecules. They will combine on their own. The central machine would simply dispense the chemical cocktail we'll use."

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Rachael's head starts spinning through molecular combinations, trying out the best candidates. "I think though we should avoid creating anything that could turn into a life form... so I'm trying to get just the right combination of mechanical divergences to prevent such a thing. Giving it also a finite lifespan so that after a certain number of hours or days it breaks down and disperses into the environment."

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"And I've already begun. I have several candidate compounds that when mixed could create simple machines that can be programmed with an electrical impulse applied to them in the standard binary, by using molecules like circuits."

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"It's simple... elegant, and wouldn't require much in the way of microscopic access, but we would need something to view each possible mixture to see if it's working. The one that gets the results... we could potentially carry in large dispenser canisters for buildings or small cans for smaller work..."

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"You know... we could use this concept as well to create simple things... ropes! ladders! Just think what Emergency Response could do to stop a suicide jumper by having a airsac filled cushion appear in mere moments compared to the Broadway production usually needed to move a airbag in place!"

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"I think we just perfected 3D printing."

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Kyle’s eyes snapped open with a start. At first he wasn’t sure if he was still dreaming or he’d actually awoken but the sheets soaked in flop sweat and the green eyes with the slitted pupils squinting directly in his face clued him in. “Gaah, dammit Tugger!”

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The big black cat sitting on his chest blinked “Mroww!” he said rather loudly, and began a bout of purring that sounded closer to a Harley roaring down the street. “Yes, Tug, I get it, you are hungry… I’m getting up…” He said to the overly large feline. Seemingly satisfied, the cat got up and turned, ‘inadvertently’ smacking Kyle in the face with his tail. Lifting said tail high in the air, Tugger flashed his butt at his owner before jumping to the floor. Clearly Tugger did not believe in the virtues of sleeping in.

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Kyle tumbled groggily out of bed, his legs tangled in his blankets. After untangling himself, stumbling down the hall and feeling his cat, he considered his dream as he waited for the morning’s coffee to brew. This wasn’t the first prophetic dream he’d had, and Kyle was sure it was prophetic, and if what the spirit of Oded was truthful with him the dreams would continue. Never before though, had the dreams included such clear direction: The Unity building. Whatever power the dreams came from wanted him to go there. But why? Perhaps the vague and incoherent images of combat, destruction and death would happen if he went there? Or perhaps by going he could prevent such tragedies?

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It was clear that his only option was to head to the Unity building. Perhaps the universe would give him a sign when he got there or something. Or perhaps a demon was waiting to eat his face. One never could be sure. After coffee and a shower, Kyle dressed in The Suit.

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It was a project he’d been working of for a few months. After the incident last year with the cult of Beal’Shomosh he decided that hiding his identity would be a prudent thing to do. No need to have crazed, blade wielding cultists jump out of the word work when he out clubbing or something: and so The Suit. It was finely tailored and a light grey in color. He’s spent innumerable hours sewing strands of spell thread into subtle but intricate patterns, runes and mystic symbols. Normally they would be unnoticeable, but when he used his magic they would shimmer with a synergistic energy. The outfit was completed with a hooded cloak in a darker grey (and also woven through with spell thread) a light, multicolored scarf that wrapped around his mouth and nose yet still hung so low it almost touched the floor (Thank you Tom Baker!) and finally Italian Leather shoes and gloves, both black. To this ensemble he added the only two mystical artefacts he had managed to secure from the tomb of Oded ibn Salah ibn Mohamed. The first was a heavy gold signet ring with magical symbols relating to air and the wind: The Ring of Four Winds. This he slipped onto the ring finger of his right hand. The Aegis Bracer was made of an unknown black metal decorated with a golden Medusa’s head. He slipped it on to his left forearm and it magically fastened itself there. He was ready. “Well, how do I look?” he asked Tugger. The cat raised its head slightly, blinked then promptly went back to sleep. “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” he muttered under his breath as he turned from the mirror.

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With a gesture and brief incantation, Kyle enacted the Seven League Stride and vanished with a puff of smoke and flash of colored light. It didn’t take him long to find his way to the top of a building next to his Target. He had to admit it was an impressive piece of architecture. Kyle scanned the city below as he considered his next move. He opened his magical senses but so far they revealed nothing. Perhaps he was too far away? With a mental command to the Ring, a strong blast of Air curled around him and slowly lifted him skyward. No matter how many times he used the Ring, he always felt a little like a kite that had gotten away from its owner and was at the mercy of whatever wind had grabbed it. Concentrating, Kyle launched himself at a surprising speed towards the building, his cloak and scarf flapping madly behind him. He circled it several times as he headed upward towards the roof. Figuring that if anything bad jumped out at him it would be better to be away from civilians, he landed on the helipad and again opened his senses to the arcane.

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The Paladin shook his head slowly as Dr. Northlight finished. "That sounds like a grand idea, but I'm no chemist. I'm an engineer, through and through. I know we'll have to deal with chemistry when rebuilding the materials, but I'm much better with 1's and 0's and shear stress than I am with amino acids and proteins and hydrocarbons... especially the hydrocarbons." He thought for a moment then looked between Andrey and Dr. Northlight.

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"I have a suggestion. Dr. Northlight seems to be very set on her chemical solution, and seems to have some work already done in that area. I think an engineering solution would be better, and I have some ideas along that vein already. So why don't we each pursue our idea, collaborating with each other along the way, and see which idea, or both pan out in the end, and the strengths and weaknesses of each? If both work out, then we'll have twice the options."

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He looked back and forth between the two people in front of him, waiting for their response and obviously pleased with his solution.

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Rachel started to look frustrated. "I think Mr. Focht's whole reasoning behind this meeting was to come up with something together and work together on this problem, not turn this into some sort of competition where we work alone. That seems to be the problem with this whole team. Every one has their own solution to something, and the only time everyone is on the same page is when the answer is "hit it with a big stick". Quite frankly it's becoming annoying."

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She sighed, her frustration from the stone crisis showing. She gets up. Shaking her head she braced herself on the table. "You know... nevermind, we'll go with your plan, Paladin. At least in terms of nanotech and microtech I can adapt what I've been working with to it. It's going to be far, far bulkier, but that is a solution we're stuck with."

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"Besides something tells me you know something I'm not seeing."

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The Paladin held up his hands in defense to the Dr's outburst. When he responded, he was very much trying to calm her down. "No, no, that's not what I meant at all. I thought I'd mentioned it, but let me see if I can clarify my idea. The two of us work on two similar projects, or two aspects of the same project if you like. I would head up the tech side, as that's where I excel, and you head up the bio side, where you shine. I don't know how well I'll be able to make up a gallon of your goop, but I'll try my best. I'm almost certain that I could make a machine that could make as much as you want and to your exact specifications.

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I'm not proposing a competition, I want us to collaborate, to help each other. I don't want us to work alone, in the same room would be much better. There are things that I can help you with for your bio part of the project, but if I were fully and completely involved, I know I would just slow you down, and if you were fully involved in my tech part of the project, your bio part would suffer. We work together, solve common problems, consult with each other, but ultimately focus our energies to two different, but complementary paths to nano-tech." He paused and took a deep breath and completely lowered his hands.

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"Does that better explain my idea for this project? Not a competition, but a collaboration, and not focused on one goal that may or may not work, but on two that should complement each other." He was hopeful that this idea, of working together but on separate goals, was more palatable to Dr. Northlight than her first impression of his idea. He specifically didn't bring up what had happened earlier with the rest of the team. While he realized they didn't do as well as they could have, and there were several close calls, he also realized that it would take time for that many individuals to become a cohesive team.

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"Already moot. I can help with your project. Dividing our efforts won't provide a result we need, and in a timely manner." Saving her work, after all the thought of a gel that could be used for quick patching or as a fast-deploying cushion was just too good an idea not to pursue. She kept her tablet clear. "Besides, I'm not as sharp on the engineering side of things than you are. Sadly I would have to put together a whole infrastructure for my idea from scratch and that would require too much of your time."

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"Let's focus on your idea first. You never know, might actually work out... I think our skill-sets actually compliment each other if we work on one project. That and we might learn something."

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She scratches her head. "So what I have to add is... who is that on the security camera?" She said, pointing to a screen displaying what a security camera was seeing near the helipad the two arrived at. She had gotten so distracted by the near-argument that she didn't even see the magician land on the helipad.

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The Paladin put up his hands in defeat. "Ok, if that's what you want to do. I agree that we..." At which time he noticed the person Dr. Northlight was pointing out. He quickly put his helmet on as he completely turned towards both the monitor and the door.

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"Ok Mr. Andrey, what's the protocol for a situation like this?" He didn't exactly sound nervous, though it was harder to tell through his suit's speaker, but he definitely looked uncertain about what to do next.

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Andery smiled. "The point of this isn't something just for us to use, but something to spread the world over, it be to help repair all the cities and damage. I know it's going to take some time so i'd like you both to get started. if you have needs, let me know and I'll get you whatever is required..." He looked about to continue, but a small warning light began to flash on the commlink he wore. He saw the person they both saw and smiled. "We have a guest it would seem. Please wait here, while I go see them." He rose and went to the door, opening it and stepping through.

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He chuckled "I was wondering when you would show up. Please come inside, there's no need to create anymore of a spectacle than a metahuman standing on my roof." For Kyle, looking at Andery was like looking at a blank. He had no Aura of magic, of any kind in fact.

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"I've something I need your help with, something I think only you are suited to deal with.."

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Intent on his investigations, Magus was unaware of the man's approach at first. So far his search had revealed nothing out of the ordinary, no hidden magical beasties, no spells or enchantments.

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He looked up when the man addressed him and was visibly startled by his astral presence, or lack thereof. All beings has some capacity for magic, however miniscule, it was just a factor of life. But to see a person with no ability, a void in his senses, it was disturbing. "You were expecting me," he said matter of factly, attempting to make his voice sound different, more ethereal. it was silly but Magus hadn't perfected the voice changing spell yet and he tried to protect his identity as best he could. "That shouldn't really surprise me."

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He followed the man into the building. "Who are you exactly?"

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"I am Andery Focht, this is my building and Company." He led him inside where two of the easily recognizable heroes from the stone monster attack were seated. "You two should stay as well, while this isn't your normal expertise, I think you may find it interesting." He quickly introduced them as he moved to his seat. "This is Northlight, and Paladin."

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"Two of the heroes who battled the Stone Man invasion," He said, again matter of factually as he nodded towards the two. "Call me Magus."

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Instead of sitting like the others, Magus remained standing and folded his arms "Why do I get the feeling you were expecting me Mr. Focht. Are you the one who sent the dream?"

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"I don't think inserting anything into anyone's mind is Mr. Focht's style." Rachael said looking over Magus out of curiosity. "So, a new recruit already? We seem to be getting some attention now."

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Rachael took her seat again. "You're mentioning that this isn't our normal expertise... this has to deal with what we're about to start working on, or is there something else you want us to take a look at?"

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The Paladin remained standing, keeping a close eye on the newcomer. It wouldn't take him long to warm up, just a little longer than this. He nodded when his name was mentioned, made mental note of the newcomer's name and implication, and listened to what everyone had to say.

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After Dr. Northlight had her say, he spoke. "From the name he gave us and the embroidery on his outfit, I would guess that he believes in magic. Must believe in it pretty strongly to be here..." With that he held out his palm, face up, and created a small ball of flame hovering above his palm (sphere of superheated hydrogen and oxygen, but to everybody else it was just a ball of hovering flame). "Can't say that I can completely rule it out myself, though I still don't believe in it."

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He let his sentence hang in the air, and looked back towards the Magus, waiting to see what he'd say next.

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Magus glanced at the ball of lame in Paladin's palm and dismissed it just as quickly. He felt no need to show off. "Then it's a good thing that the universe doesn't revolve around what you do or do not believe in," He said evenly. "That isn't why I am here although I am getting a good idea of why I've been directed here. So tell me Mr. Focht; what exactly do you want from me?"

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"I was expecting you, though it is not within my power to give you dreams. I do however have powers that come in handy in particular circumstances."

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He opened a small drawer and removed a tiny box, covered with ancient symbols. "I came by this box on my last trip to Bermuda. It cannot be opened, and no scanning equipment of any sort can penetrate it. It has always been a curiosity to me I was about to show it to my friends here, but perhaps you may have more luck with it." he motioned for the three of them to look at it, and draw near.

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The box is made of a grey stone, seemingly marble, but the way Andery handled it leads one to believe it's incredibly light. The symbols appear to be carved in gold, set into the stone. They defy any direct translation, though seem to be alphabetic. Scans of the box reveal absolutely nothing, not even a seam to open it. Magus, the mystical force within you is positively thrumming in sympathy with this box, giving you a nearly irresistable urge to touch it. You may resist with a DC25 Will check if you wish to.

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The Paladin looked at the box then at the people assembled. He directed his comment to Andrey, though he looked at the box while he spoke (both in the visual & IR spectrum). "Unless this is some form of matter that I haven't ever encountered before, I could get into it relatively easily. The issue it that it would be a destructive method that I don't know if I could reverse or not." He looked towards Magus and then back at the box.

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"I'm more than happy leaving that for a last resort, or to completely forget about it, depending on what you want." He looked to Andrey for an answer and then back at the box.

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He's referencing his transmutation ability. He could (try to) transmute a hole or the whole top into glass to look into it, or air to get into it, but he's not sure (and neither am I) about if he could reverse it, or that if he could that it would be exactly the same as it is now.

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Rachael out of habit dealing with unusual materials pulls the clear hood that becomes her signature helmet over her head, after a moment of pressurization she crosses her arms in front of her. "Something tells me we're about to step into something that science definitely can't explain."

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She looked to Mr. Focht. "Sir... where exactly did you find this thing? Yes near Bermuda, but where? On a dive? Somewhere on the island? What? Perhaps it's point of origin can help us deduce where it came from."

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Shaking her head she adjusted the pressure in her suit. "To be honest messing with an unknown supernatural device here puts the city at risk. Think we should take this out to the Atlantic and poke around with this thing there?"

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Something about that thing said "Do not meddle" written all over it.

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The box was fascinating. The Magic flowed through the golden script like a tiny river, yet the power contained in the tiny box was vastly more substantial than it's container would suggest. It was hard for Magus to tear his eyes away from it.

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He managed to look at Paladin and said "I don't think interfering with the box is a good idea." He looked those assembled. "The aura on this thing is incredible...wait," He look right at Northlight, "Why are you wearing a bubble?"

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The distraction was enough. As he spoke Magus' hand strayed toward box. He would have picked it up without even being aware of what he was doing if the box had been any closer to him. He realized he was reaching for it just before he touched it with his fingertips. It took all his will to resit the magic's call. Magus stood frozen for a moment, oblivious to the outside world as his will was pitted against the magical compulsion. Sweat broke out on his brow and he murmured protective arcane mantras as he fought for control.

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Then, like a rubber band snapping, it was over. Magus stepped back and sagged slightly. "Wow. Yeah I think it would be a very bad idea to tamper with that box."

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[Jordan] 4:31 pm: Rolling Will


Jordan *rolls* 1d20: 17+12: 29
[Jordan] 4:32 pm: Woot!
[Long6] 4:32 pm: damn you dice roller
[Jordan] 4:32 pm: lol
[Jordan] 4:32 pm: You can always give me a Hero Point to force me to pick it up
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"Indeed." She responded. Then it crossed her mind...

"Bubble?" Rachael said with a giggle. "Well... it does sort of look like that. It's just how I seal the life support system for the suit when I'm looking at something unusual... particularly when I don't know what sort of metals or what not comprise that thing... Force of habit really, although if we got to space this thing or toss it into the ocean I thought I'd better be prepared. To be honest I'd like to get a full analysis on what this thing is made of, personally. Thing is I'd rather do that in a safe place. One where if this thing rips time and space a new orifice where it isn't required it'll not happen in a populated area. I doubt New York would tolerate a second crisis on it's hands."

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She smiled. "So... as I don't understand squat in regards to the supernatural and you are licensed to break the laws of thermodynamics, I guess you're our guide with this." She holds her hand out. "Name's Rachael. Rachael Joyner. Might have seen me in the news before... sorta survived a malfunction at CERN."

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I'd prefer it not be destroyed. I bought it at a small shop while on the island." Even he seemed at a loss abit. "It doesn't feel like it's something harmful. I don't know honestly. I've always felt a strange connection to it. I have tried to find that shop since then, but it isn't there anymore."

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He shrugged. "Is destroying it the only way?" He sighed. "Perhaps then we should set it aside. I just wanted to see if you could make anything of it."

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The aura of Magic surrounding the device was indeed strong, and yet, it held no interaction with Andery, indeed, there was no response when he picked it up again, and held it up. For Magus, it was unique. Magic Items always leaked their power upon those who touched them, that's how it was easy to trace who'd used one. Yet the power seemed perfectly happy here, restrained.

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In his head he heard the same voice as he had the first day he gained his power. "Do you wish to Know?" This wasn't a burning desire or curiosity, this was a question with many facets, many meanings, and it came even deeper than the construct of his mind.

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The Paladin shook his head. "Just for clarification, I wasn't suggesting that we destroy the box. I can transmute matter with a touch, I could, probably, make a hole in the top so we could see what is inside, or even if there is an inside. I'm just not sure that I could put it back, I've been able to with everything else, if I want it to transform back, The only reason that I doubt is that your scans have been unable to penetrate it, and it's apparently giving off some form of radiation that Magus can sense. But, again, sounds like your attached to it, and don't want to risk damaging it, so I'd understand if you decline."

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He then turned to Dr. Northlight. "With all due respect, Dr., I think that you're being a little over cautious. All that we know so far is that it's an anomalous stone block with gold inscription that generates some form of radiation aura that Magus can detect. I see no reason to assume that it's some sort of doomsday device or even that it's supernatural."

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He then addressed the group as a whole. "The consensus seems to be to leave it alone, that's fine. Though, Mr. Focht, I am intrigued enough that I would like to see the reports on the tests that you have had run on it. If you don't mind, that is." The Paladin was certainly content to let this go, but his scientific mind had been somewhat aroused and he wouldn't mind exploring it further. Either option was fine for him, curious mystery or just another unsolved anomaly of the cosmos. His mind was honestly too much otherwise occupied at the moment for him to have too strong of a reaction to this box.

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"Unknown object, Paladin. Best to follow some sort of protocol." She said, a bit dryly. "Besides, if I did have to grab that thing and blaze out of here faster than Mach 1 I'd have to have the helmet up anyways."

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She sighed. "Personally if we leave this alone it should be isolated from contact except by someone who knows how to deal with mystical artifacts. Right now that narrows in my mental list to Magus here and Mr. Focht."

"Faraday cage with at least 5 meters from it to the walls, placed in a sound dampening room with a decibel level near 0, and no exposure to electromagnetic interference. That and it should screen out any biological electrical impulses reaching the object."

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Something about the thing spooked her. She didn't understand it yet it held a power that caused her to shiver.

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"You are both thinking like scientists. No offense." Magus said as he circled the table to examine the box from a different angle. "Paladin, Transmuting the box or even part of it could seriously disrupt the enchantments used to create it in the first place. For example, look at the script. It's made of gold. That isn't gold paint or gold leaf but real gold. That means it was put there to invoke the magical properties of gold. Change that and you might as well take a hammer to the thing."

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DO YOU WISH TO KNOW? The voice of his 'master' echoed in his head. Despite the danger and the possible horrible consequences of handling a magical object with such strong power, Magus truly was curious. Yes, he did want to know, he just didn't know if he could live with the ramifications of his choice.

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"Doctor, while those measures sound impressive, they may be entirely ineffective against this thing. Perhaps if the powers I am perceiving were active in the electromagnetic spectrum that would work, but magic often works by it's own rules. Just because magic takes the shape of something familiar, doesn't mean it's bound by the same rules, if that makes sense?"

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"No, to isolate a magical object requires magic; a binding ritual of some sort. Of course, the problem with that is that we'd need to know just exactly what we are binding. the ritual would need to be precise and frankly something like that isn't really in my area of expertise."

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In spite of himself, of all his misgivings, Magus answered the unspoken question. YES, I WISH TO KNOW.

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The Paladin shook his head slightly and lowered it just a little bit. "No, I wasn't talking about your..." and he made a slight gesture to the Dr's helmet. "I have mine... on..." and made a small motion towards his own and let out a little sigh. "While I agree that we need to operate on a protocol for unknown objects, I think that what you're proposing might be slight overkill, seeing as how Mr. Focht pulled it out of a drawer. A drawer with no sound dampening Faraday cage and no magic wards that I noticed. I could be mistaken..." He glanced over at Andrey.

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"This could be a bomb or a doomsday device, or it could just be a curio. Though I suspect that the truth lie somewhere in-between. Honestly, I think that the fact that it sounds like it's already been through a battery of tests and that it's been stored simply by Mr. Focht, and the fact that he's handled it with no special precautions should put us all at a measure of ease.

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Magus, you seem to be able to discern the most about it just from observing it. Taking what we actually know about it into account, how do you suggest we proceed. That is unless Mr. Focht just wants to call it quits and put it back in his drawer for another day."

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He looked around the group to see how everyone reacted to his comments, suggestions, and question.

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"Well I was just suggesting physical isolation, as a way to see if the object was sentient. Something that is powerful may not be observable directly, but seeing how it influences the objects around it by preventing an observer from observing the object itself is pretty much as far as a scientist can go in matters like this. It might not do anything when being observed."

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She shook her head. "Quantum Mechanics is as far as Science can dive into your realm, Magus... but if you have an idea past my desperate grasps, I believe you're the man for the job." She kept looking at the object. "Quite honestly, I'm stumped."

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"As my partner observed, this object is a complete blank to us."

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"Then do not fear it, take what wishes to be taken." His own inner voice seemed to smile, and the voice wasn't so booming and demanding, more a teacher helping a child through a problem that stumped them.

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at that same time Andery was already moving to replace it in the drawer. "Well if there's no other business today, I think they two of you can get started on your projects, and I'll await your reports on any progress. I believe you'll go on patrol tomorrow morning's rotation."

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He looked at Magus, "if you're not busy perhaps we could have a word then, and you can explain abit more about your own abilities. I'm always keen to meet others with superhuman abilities and learn about them."

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The Paladin watched Andrey put the box back in the non-warded, non-high-tech drawer that he had gotten it from.

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Did she really just say sentient? What kind of scientist jumps to... maybe this magic stuff just got to her head? I don't know whether it's Magus or that little box, but something has made her go off the deep end. I understand exercising caution around the unknown, but... she's treating it like an antimatter bomb that is just waiting for an excuse to explode.

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We'll see how she handles herself in the lab, that should be her element; because right now it seems like she's the one that's the antimatter bomb just waiting for an excuse to explode.

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"I don't have any other business, and I'm eager to get started on your project, unless there's more to be done up here first...?" He ended his sentence looking between his two peers. The only evidence of his internal monologue was the expressions on his face, which were conveniently hidden behind his helmet.

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He switched off his external mic. "Alice, I want you to look up everything you can on nanotechnology. Our benefactor has a project for us. Look up everything you can, without getting caught that is."

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"Yes sir, understood sir."

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  • 2 weeks later...

Rachael stood up. "Right. Getting Paladin's machines up and running." There was a bit of distance in her voice.

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"To be honest I would rather see what you've got in mind. I've got a bit of a gap in terms of Nanotechnology. Although my experience in chemistry should help in the process. You'd be surprised what Carbon can do."

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She smiled. "Okay, Paladin, lead the way."

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With the two of them gone, Andery looked to Magus and nodded. "Seeing how the two of them will be busy for the forseeable future, perhaps you and I could talk. Magic is an area I've never discounted, I try to keep an open mind regarding all things. Would you tell me about yourself?" He could simply look, but hearing it in a person's own words was always more honest, and would tell him much about Magus himself.

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"I've been a poor host, would you like anything to eat, or drink? I can get most anything brought up to us, if there's a need."

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He smiled as he took a seat, hoping Magus would stay and tell his tale.

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For Paladin and Northlight, they both had their own labs, but were soon met by Lester. "If you two wish to see it, I can take you to our lab here, to retrieve what work our own R&D has done, perhaps it will help, perhaps not."

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The Paladin had always assumed that he would be working with Dr. Northlight at the labs here. He would only continue or do side research at his own lab with Alice.

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"Yes, that would be nice. I don't think that I've been to the labs here yet. And whatever research you have would be most helpful, either to give us a head start, or tell us what not to do. Right?" He finished by looking over at Dr. Northlight, directing the end of his statement towards her specifically.

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Once they got into an elevator the Paladin took off his helmet again. He'd have to make a holster or something for it if he was going to be doing a lot of work here, inside and safe.

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"I wagered you guys had something we could use." Rachael said, keeping her helmet on in preparation for some serious lab work. "Also Mr. Focht and his team has been very transparent with us, so unless we're as square one with this project we might be able to get some good starting points. Let's see what you got, Lester."

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She sighed. There was one hang-up. "Although nano-mechanics outside of making protein-based nano-machines is a bit out of my league. I'm more a chemist than a mechanic. I'm surprised I whipped up my suit like I did. The idea just came to me one day."

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She adjusted a cuff on her suit. Noticing Paladin took off his helmet she stroked the bottom of her helmet like a chin. Seeing him up close he was a bit... cute. But also in danger... what if something exploded in the lab? She had a slight look of concern as they got to the lab. "If you don't mind I'm keeping my helmet deployed, Paladin. I sorta designed my suit specifically to do lab work with chemicals as much as in space or... well anywhere."

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Little Miss Prepared...

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The Paladin shook his head slightly as if it didn't really matter to him. "Feel free Dr. You have better visibility than I do in mine. My suit was specifically designed for fighting crime, so I find that I like the freedom of working outside my suit, helps get my juices flowing if they're not canned and breathing recirculated air. And I honestly don't know how many chemicals we'll be working with, but when we do, I've got these." He said as he tapped his goggles. "Though I haven't seen how chem resistant they are yet... as I said, I'm not much of a chemist."

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Magus watched the two scientists leave then turned back to his host. "I'm fine," he said as the other sat down. Magus didn't budge. "I didn't want to say anything in front of your people, but you aren't being entirely forthcoming about yourself. Are you even human? I'm sorry Mr. Focht but a person with no aura, who can handle incredibly powerful artifacts like they were paperweights? There is more to you then you are telling and I'm not about to discuss the private elements of my life with you without first knowing who, or what, you really are."

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