Mutants & Masterminds: Heroes United - [Heroes United] Issue 1: Some Assembly Required

[darksol-aeternium]

Dumisani stood there blinking after the the Doctor, and Ms. Danielle changed, "Well...shit! How do you follow up something like that? I don't even HAVE a costume yet!" he blurted out, obviously flabbergasted. He was definitely feeling like a noob surrounded by pro and semi-pro heroes all of whom had costumes and accessories. Fulcrum might be sensitive about her homemade uniform, but at least she actually HAD one. Even the ex-soldier still managed to contribute to the composition with just military fatigues.

,,

"So now we got Paladin, Fulcrum, Scout, Dr. Northlight, Agent-I (he said with a questioning tone), and THE Magnum-Opus. Err, I've been toying with the idea of either Gatekeeper or Gatecrasher, all the other names I came up with sound like they should be either for a villain or a metal band."

,,

Then something Dr. Northlight said occurred to him, "You wanted to go to space? Is that suit space-proof?"

[Slither]

It took her a bit of time to regain her composure after opening up to these strangers (though surely that would no longer be the case shortly), but soon Izzy had her emotions under control again; Dr Rosewood would be happy to hear she was able to talk about it with new people. It helped that others had such amazing stories of their own to tell, some traumatic, others not, but all fascinating nonetheless.

Izzy couldn't help but smile when Danielle finally felt comfortable enough to reveal herself; true, she hadn't expected her to be MAGNUM bloody OPUS under there, but it was nice to see the facade drop at last. A giddy little giggle escaped her lips as she said, "Hello to you as well!"

Then Rachael put on her Dr. Northlight flight suit and it looked like it was time to get serious. Isabel took a breath and sat up straight.

"My transformation isn't nearly as dramatic or impressive as your's, Opus-" Then she frowned. "Er, what should we call you for short, then? Magnum? Opus? 'Mags'?"

She shook her head. "Nevermind that; this was a little 'going away present' from the lads at MI6; I suppose they really DO have a 'Q' tucked away in some corner." She closed her eyes, and her jacket, sweater, jeans and boots began to ripple and flow over her trim athletic form like a glistening dark liquid, covering every inch of her body in a close-fitting, matte black sheath somewhere between leather and latex. A portion slid up her neck to form a mask with inset red lenses of some sort.

"There we are! Considering the nature of my powers, I was thinking of going with 'Slither'." She grinned and waved. "How do you do?"

[Doctor Northlight]

Rachael smiled at Dumisani. "This suit is indeed space proof." She said, before looking mighty impressed with Izzy's own fashion statement. "I'd wager we are going to be making statements, no matter how we are dressed, even if it is surplus fatigues... those seem rather easy to clean anyways..."

,,

She stretched. "That does ask the realization: How many of us require external support in adverse environments and conditions? I can go practically anywhere with this suit, but I would wager that like me outside of this suit I would suffocate in space like anyone else... or be crushed at the Marianas Trench, or whatever have you."

,,

"I would wager we'll know each other's extents soon enough, but the "life and death" stuff I think is the most important."

,,

"In any case... yes... can't wait."

[Magnum Opus]

Magnum Opus finished tying her hair back. "Mags is fine. M.O. is also fine. I know it's a mouthful. Don't worry about having a costume, Dumisani. All I had were hoodies and leather jackets for the first year and a bit."

,,

She sat back down. "I've never met Focht before today. I got the same letter you all did. I decided to come as the same person who got the letter, because I was curious but not so curious I wanted to let everyone in on the secret identity right away. I'm sorry if anyone's upset about that, but I like having a private side of myself. I think I just doubled the number of people who are in on it, but you've done a good job convincing me that my trust isn't misplaced."

[SalmonMax]

"No, it's cool," Renata said quickly. "I mean, look at me. Still got my mask on. Who'm I to judge? This is pretty crazy though. In a good way. I mean...it's great you're joining up, but it seems like you of all people don't really need a team, right?"

,,

She grinned around at the others, feeling a little doofy. There were worse places to be than surrounded by pretty ladies in tight outfits.

,,

"Be nice to learn the ropes from someone who's been there though."

[darksol-aeternium]

"Good, you're spaceproof. Then you can help me with something I've been wondering about but couldn't try myself..."

,,

With that, 'Gatekeeper' turned to an empty wall and held out his hand. He seemed to concentrate intensely as a strange disc-shaped distorion about 3 meters wide rippled into being over the surface of the wall, the air began to hum slightly as if it were charged with some otherworldly energy. Using more effort and extending his other hand, he gestured as if he were pulling open heavy curtains, which caused the shimmering disc to iris open onto starry night sky.

,,

"If...I am right..." he said with strain in his voice, "This...should be...opening up into orbit. Could you...take a quick look and see?"

,,

"S'alright. Pressure doesn't change. Tried this...with the ocean floor. No water came gushing out"

[Doctor Northlight]

Rachael smiled as twin vanes popped out of the pack she was wearing with the suit. These wings had a small nacelle attached on the outer end of the wing. Soon after a glowing light on the upper lobe of the nacelle started. She started to hover in place near where Gatekeeper was opening his gate. "It would be an honor. No... a priveledge." Rachael said.

,,

Smiling she turned to Mr. Focht. "Trust me, it'll only be a moment. After all, he wants to know how far he can take his powers... and opening wormholes in time an space I think can work for us in a crisis."

[Slither]

The unveiling of Magnum Opus had been very impressive, but Izzy was more or less able to keep it together and maintain some professional detachment. However when Gatekeeper opened a portal into SPACE, she completely lost her shit. He jaw dropped and she lunged forward slightly out of her chair with a high pitched cry.

"Oh my GOD! Is that really a window into space?! That's...that's just BRILLIANT!" She turned to look at the others with an expression of child-like wonder. "We can go into SPACE!" Upon noting that not everyone shared the same level of enthusiasm, she did her best to dial it down a bit after the fact. "Which is great, that we...we have that option..."

She tried to find a seam on the leg of her catsuit to run her thumbnail down, but alas, there was none.

[Scout]

Scout seemed to take the news that his prospective teammates were willing to do whatever it took to get their jobs done well enough in stride. His only reaction was an almost imperceptible frown, the corners of his mouth turning down only the slightest bit. In response, he said nothing. Even when Slither explained her capture, and torture he offered no response, though if anyone looked in his direction while she spoke, they would have seen an immense pain behind his eyes. Scout remained silent until Danielle asked why he was here.

,,

Scout stood from the table once again, locked his hands together behind his back and stared off at the blank wall across the room. He took a deep breath, then began to chant:

,,

"From the Halls of Montezuma

To the shores of Tripoli;

We fight our country's battles

In the air, on land, and sea;

First to fight for right and freedom

And to keep our honor clean;

We are proud to claim the title

Of United States Marine"

,,

When he finished the first verse of the well-know Marine Corps hymn, he turned his gaze to Danielle, "If you ever have cause to ask me why I do what I do ever again, then suffice it to say, I'm not doing it correctly." He took another look around the room, at the members of their team assembled around the table, "I can respect that we all come from different places. That we have different motivations and different opinions. But maybe you should twice about why you were invited here in the first place if you're planning on sticking to your guns about doing whatever it takes." From his inflection, it was clear he was talking about the use of lethal force once more, "Your new job is to protect people from threats that go above and beyond the responsibilities of normal law enforcement. The purpose of creating this position is to show the world that we are a cut above the rest. That we're more reliable, more capable, and more responsible than the other options available to them. At the end of the day, we're here for one reason: To do what others can't. If I want someone that will resort to lethal force because they have no other way of handling a given situation I will call the police. But when I want to show the world that there should be a place for men and women like us in it, that we should pass special legislation creating a sanction for those with abilities like ours," His gaze flickered to Focht at the head of the table, "And when I want it all done by lunch time, I'll call you." He paused for dramatic effect, "You can argue semantics until the cows come home, but remember this: You're here to set an example. Make damn sure it's a good one, or it won't be me you're answering to. You're right, Danielle, Murder One isn't the same as Manslaughter. But both will land you in the slammer. A million dollars won't do you much good in there. Don't think of this as a demand. Just a recommendation. Slither might be able to back me up on this one thanks to her time serving her country, but if not, you'll just have to take my word for it. Taking a life is not a road you want to walk down. Most that do have trouble finding their way back home." He'd said his peace and that was that. The rest could take it or leave it. With that, Scout reclaimed his seat.

,, ,,

Magnum Opus smiled. "Hi."

,, ,,

Scout gave a low whistle, clearly impressed, "Ooh rah, Mo, Ooh rah." He said it like a nickname for someone named Moreen, rather than the two-letter abbreviation it was intended to be.

,, ,,

Rachael smiled at Dumisani. "This suit is indeed space proof." She said, before looking mighty impressed with Izzy's own fashion statement. "I'd wager we are going to be making statements, no matter how we are dressed, even if it is surplus fatigues... those seem rather easy to clean anyways..."

She stretched. "That does ask the realization: How many of us require external support in adverse environments and conditions? I can go practically anywhere with this suit, but I would wager that like me outside of this suit I would suffocate in space like anyone else... or be crushed at the Marianas Trench, or whatever have you."

,, ,,

Scout shook his head at the question, "Not me. I usually just hold my breath when I go swimming."

,,

In the moments that followed, Scout found he was pretty damn impressed by everything that was happened. Especially the door into space. "Well, I'll be..." He raised an eyebrow, "This is sure going to be a lot of fun."

[Doctor Northlight]

Rachael smiled. "Okay, back in a moment... Or two."

,,

For a brief time she trembled, hovering there seeing the black of space before her. She gulped, but then crossed the threshold...

,,

For a moment she felt like she had stiffened, but that was the sudden change of pressure, even the helmet she wore for a moment creaked as she transitioned from a place with air pressure (Earth) to a place with none. She was surprised that the place chosen was somewhere in inter-planetary space. That was good... she didn't want to fall back to earth and burn up or end up tumbling through Jupiter's atmosphere and be crushed.

,,

She smiled as the light from the sun glinted off of the white portions of her suit as she turned back to the portal to see everyone on the other side.

,,

Crap... that's right... I don't have access to the team's network! Not good. she thought. So, she waved a little nervously. Anything happened to her suit like a sudden decompression she might not be able to tell anyone until it was that she was in visible, damaging distress.

,,

The A-G system of her flight pack oriented her correctly for a return. She thought of Scout's reference to swimming and she crossed her arms. "I have to admit..." she mused to herself under her breath... and in a place where no one could hear her. "...this definately isn't like swimming." She said before pushing herself back through the portal with her flight system, and back into crushing air pressure. Now the world pushed on her, the thin kinetic gel, no more than half a centimeter thick just under the suit's protective layer, groaned slightly from the sudden change again.

,,

"Well... the suit works!" Rachael said, pressing a button where her helmet met her neck, causing it to open up again. This time with the trapped air pressure it had a pop sound like opening a Pringles can. The deflated, open, and clear hood-like attachment to her suit she let drape over her shoulders like a collar. "Thanks, Gatekeeper. Not too bad at all."

,,

She smiled, tweaking some pressure valve on her shoulder. "Thankfully the materials I used can handle such sudden pressure changes after all."

[SalmonMax]

Renata was struck speechless. Again. First by the interplanetary portal, then by Scout's song and speech. And damned if she could tell which was more shocking. Jesus, if he was this bad now, what would he be like to work with?

But, imagine never having to worry about Dad pulling the money strings again. That was worth it, right?

She got to her feet and edged away from the gate to instant death.

"All right, as much as I love the idea of getting sucked into space, are we done here? What comes next?"

[Magnum Opus]

"I'm glad it works," said Magnum Opus, as she relaxed her grip on the table, having taken it in hand - but not lifting it just yet - in anticipation of having to plug the breach. "The last time I had to plug a hole into hard vacuum it was a little more intense."

,,

She sat back down, turning her attention to Fulcrum. "Well, I'm strong and fast and tough and that's about it. I'm not subverting spatial relations daily like Gatekeeper and I don't have the training Slither and Scout have and I'm not as smart as Paladin and Northlight. I have to actually physically touch something to lift it, so you're one up on me there. There's probably going to come a time when working together as a team will be the difference between lives saved and lives lost. So that's why I'm here. We all need a little help sometimes. That's why there's society."

[Javier Duncan]

The Paladin had seen and witnessed so much today that he just stopped reacting. He'd go through everything that had happened later today in his lab, recounting it to Alice, and he'd react then.

,,

As it was, he paid attention to how everyone else got into costume (or suited up in Dr. Northlight's case). He was very impressed with all the displays of power, especially the gateways. He trusted Dr, Northlight's assessment of her suit's capabilities, but he still had his hand up, ready to quickly create a pressurized sphere around her if anything seemed to be going wrong.

,,

He let out a held breath once Dr. Northlight was back, but before the gateway closed, however, the Paladin did make a simple radio transmitter on the far side of the, in the black of space. All it did was transmit a specific code on a specific frequency. It would last but maybe a couple of days, but it should be enough time for him to get a precise location... unless, of course, it was on the other side of the sun or another planet. But he said he was opening it up into orbit, so that shouldn't be an issue.

,,

One the transmitter was in place and Dr. Northlight was safe again, he turned to the pair and added, "I should be able to give you a precise location within a couple of days. So, how'd it feel? I haven't been myself though my suit should be able to handle it. Should protect me from most environmental hazards. Guess we both had similar ideas on that front."

[darksol-aeternium]

After Dr. Northlight came back through Gatekeeper ceased concentrating and relaxed, allowing the gate to collapse. It was exhausting, but that was the most effort he'd used creating a gate thus far. He sat down since it took a great deal of effort to go THAT far out. He didn't see the moon when the gate opened so it must have opened on the far side.

,,

"Whew...ok. So where were we going now? Gimme a minute and I'll get us there."

[Justin OOC]

Andery had sat there, watching this collection of people come together, have their first argument, and then seem to bond again. "This was most certainly the right decision." he whispered just above a breath.

,,

He looked at them all his gaze intense. "Then we're all agreed? Excellent. I will have the funds prepared. I will start with one quarter of the sum now, with the rest paid out at four month intervals. That should alleviate some of concerns on where the money comes from, and its transport.. Beyond that, I have more to show you, now that we have all joined forces."

,,

He motioned for Lester. "If everyone is finished with the food and drink, have Marco reapportion it so that it doesn't look like leftovers, and bring it down to the Employee caffeteria, no sense letting it go to waste, and the rank and file have been doing a good job the last few weeks. Have him mind what is finished first, and make sure it's the main dish for tomorrow, for those who didn't get a chance at it." Lester nodded. It was strange to see a Metahuman do this sort of thing, like an errand boy, but then this was the richest man in the Northeast, so perhaps not that strange. "He was my personal assistant long before we had powers, and when I offered more, he wished only to continue to do as he had." He explained. "He's a loyal friend."

,,

Andery Rose from the table. "Now, I believe I promised a tour of our facility. If you would please, come to the Elevator. He went with the first group, It was much as the first trip, no sense of movement, but seemingly fast beyond normal means.. When it opened they were Entering into a brightly lit room. Once everyone was there, he began to explain. "On the walls were various monitors showing different feeds from around the city, some basic news feeds, some security camera feeds, All of them were changing every half minute or so. "This room is a secret I share with you. From here we can monitor nearly any signal In the city. I set none of the cameras up mind you, I can just tap into the networks that already exist. Were it not for the size of the city that we must defend, and the amazing density of the population, I'd not use such a system. Curiously enough, the government has its own system such as this, for the NSA's purposes, though it is much larger and tended by over eighty people. This is meant to need only two, though one can do it in a pinch."

,,

It wasn't all that comforting, but at least they would know when something went wrong. "This is the monitor room, a nerve center if you will for the entire operation." He gave them a moment to assimilate this, and express the concerns he knew would exist.

[Scout]

Despite the obvious implications and potential for invasion of privacy this facility offered, Scout actually nodded his approval when they walked through the monitor room. He knew a little something about reconnaissance and active intelligence thanks to his time in the Marines. He'd learned the hard way, on more than one occasion, that the importance of advanced intel could be dire in a tactical situation. Even if you had no choice but to walk into a trap, it would be better to know ahead of time that it was a trap.

,,

Scout also felt, thanks to what he'd seen, and the parameters of this organization laid out by Andrey earlier, that if anyone were capable of maintaining a system like this without the threat of misuse, it had to be their present company.

,,

For his part, Scout remained silently watchful, and cautiously optimistic as the tour progressed.

[Slither]

To someone else, the violation of privacy might be horrific, but as an SIS agent Izzy had gotten used to the idea that 'privacy' was an illusion the average citizen clung to like a fuzzy stuffed toy; if someone really wanted to observe you and they had enough money, they would do so, and there was little you could do about it. However as she gazed in appreciation at the monitor room, there was something troubling her, something Scout had said (they were all going to call him 'the Boy Scout' behind his back, weren't they?) which still bounced around the inside of her skull:

,,

"Slither might be able to back me up on this one thanks to her time serving her country, but if not, you'll just have to take my word for it. Taking a life is not a road you want to walk down. Most that do have trouble finding their way back home."

,,

Oh how true those words were! A full night's sleep was still not an everyday occurrence; some nights she just laid in bed staring up at the ceiling, remembering things she'd done, or had been done to her. Of course, even worse were things she didn't remember, the black spots were her memories used to be; Dr. Rosewood said there was no physical damage to her brain, which meant she was keeping the vaults locked all on her own. She wondered if she'd ever feel at home in her own skin again.

,,

On the subject of the handsome young man and his very heartfelt song, it was clear that Scout was a Yank with a capital Y; she'd worked with them before and was willing to do so again. The former spy learned a long time ago there's just no arguing with them, really; they're skulls are too think. She smiled; of course, one day you'll be happy that thick skull is between you and a bullet, Izzy old thing...

[darksol-aeternium]

Staring around at Mr. Andery's monitor room reminded Dumisani of various films he'd seen before (Among them; Sliver, Watchmen, The Matrix), and it called to mind every imagining in response to the concept of 'Big-Brother'. Like most of America's disillusioned youth, Dumisani was by no means deluded into thinking that there was such a thing as true privacy. Amongst all the inane internet conspiracy theory, alarmism, and general paranoia there HAD to be a grain of truth somewhere in order to justify the sheer pervasiveness of it. While certainly it was an unnerving idea to have verified, it was also a strangely muted feeling. Similar to the feeling of unwrapping a christmas present you KNEW you were going to get.

,,

At first he seemed to frown, but this rapidly mutated into a nonchalant shrug. "You didn't place any of these cameras, meaning these are what's been watching us all every single day. Which also means this is nothing new, and is par for the course as far as 'Big Brother' is concerned. At least it's actually going to serve a real and useful purpose as opposed to fueling the paranoid political agendas of some fear-mongering politico." He then stepped fully into the room where he could view as many of the screens as possible.

,,

"This...will make transport a lot easier" he said after a few moments. "It's always easier to go to someplace I've seen before. Our response time is gonna be freaking NIL!"

[Doctor Northlight]

Rachael didn't bite her tongue.

,,

"If I see this watching someone inside their own home I'm bringing this whole operation down." She said, glaring, her arms crossed. "It's one thing to watch public spaces, it is another to watch places with implied privacy. That and we're illegally tapped into security networks... that alone has me concerned."

,,

"Starting to feel like London around here."

,,

And she was right in her assessment. London has one of the most comprehensive CCTV surveillance systems in the world. Then again, Tokyo has it far worse, some buildings having as many as 15 cameras in one spot. Odd thing most of it was private surveillance compared to the Londonian network leading to the Metropolitan Police.

,,

"I'd better keep an eye on this, I wager someone with enough ethical concerns regarding the system can properly aim it. Preferably in places where the concept of privacy is legally defined as nil."

[SalmonMax]

The first thing Renata felt when seeing the monitors was a stab of unease. There were so many. She started trying to think of the places she'd picked to change in and out of her street clothes. She was pretty sure she'd been thorough in finding places without cameras, but...was it possible to be thorough enough?

,,

"What are the rules of engagement?" she asked, mimicking without thinking one of her dad's favorite phrases...usually used in reference to politics, of course. "Do we respond to any crime we see, or supercrime only? Do we get in touch with police from here? If police show up while we're in the middle of doing our thing, do we break off?"

,,

She looked around at Focht as something occurred to her.

,,

"When we catch a supercriminal, what do we do with them? I mean, if we keep them ourselves, it's basically kidnapping. If we hand them over to the authorities they'll probably have to just release them. Even if we somehow give them admissible evidence to hold them...how are they going to hold a super? And any lawyer would have a field day in court, playing up the victim of vigilantes angle."

[Doctor Northlight]

Rachael pulled up her goggles on to her forehead. "You know, I think when it isn't a crisis where the entire team is needed, we should probably stick to a certain sector of the city." She said looking at the monitors. "We should set up districts that we can watch solo, and using the com-network we have to relay information and to request assistance if we need it."

,,

She adjusted herself a little. "Hopefully the comlinks got good range outside of the network." She said. "I could look into some form of signal-boost that will keep us under the radar of the FCC, perhaps using some form of wireless network."

,,

She stroked her chin. "I could perhaps bankroll some start up companies who want to bring affordable internet to lower-income communities, and using a wireless setup with us piggy-backing over it could prove useful." She said, stretching out. "That and if we are away from town I think I could whip up some sort of mini-blimp that can head up to a certain altitude and help relay transmissions within it's line of sight."

,,

She looked at the city in front of her, looking at at what was observed. "Also do we have access to the security cameras at the city's stadiums? If there is anything that is a juicy target, it is where the public congregates at events." She sighed. "I may not like this... but there is ways to make this ethically palatable. Morally... I'm not sure what sort of platform I have about all this."

,,

Rachael analyzed the responses to this, it seems she was the only one to have problems with this whole deal. "I'm still completely against this in the first place. You want us to work with people, why act like we have to watch everyone's move?"

[Javier Duncan]

The Paladin let his chair dissolve into nothingness once he stood up. He switched off his external mic. "Alice, are you there?"

,,

"Yessir." came the static filled reply.

,,

"Checking in. We are going on a tour of the facility. There are a bunch of big names here, and it appears that we're being formed into a super-team. Reset the clock, give me three hours this time. Tours can take some time, and I don't know how shielded the areas that we're going to will be."

,,

"Understood sir. Be careful sir." Alice replied in her ever even tone.

,,

He switched back on his external mic and thought, I'll try. You too, as he followed everybody downstairs. He was fairly impressed with the setup, though he did see and understand the fears that others expressed. "Since no new cameras have been added, people are no more surveyed than they were before. The difference is that now someone who is ready and waiting to help if trouble pops up is watching. If this ever becomes an official organization, maybe this will become legal, for the purpose of protection. Even so, even knowing that we're using this to know where there is trouble, we should make every effort to keep the illegal activities that we participate in to a minimum."

,,

He paused for a moment then motioned towards Renata. "And I second her questions. Are we stopping other supers only, or all crime? And when we do catch a super, what then? If I can get an in with the police department, I might be able to design and create for them a cell specifically for any super we might have to incarcerate." He turned to Dr. Northlight, "Though having some help in the design process would be very helpful."

[Doctor Northlight]

"No... not this system."

,,

Rachael shook her head. "We shouldn't have this. I can't justify this no matter how I look at it. I'm just shocked no one else is against this."

,,

"Look, we can listen for police calls, we can set up our own communication network, we can do patrols and legwork but this... this stands completely against who I am."

,,

She looked right at Mr. Focht. "How do we know you're not one of the people we have to stand against? If so, I am highly disappointed that the majority of metahumans thinks in this manner."

[SalmonMax]

Renata gives Rachael a quizzical look.

,,

"I dunno...I mean, it's just traffic lights and stuff, right? Someone's already looking through them, and you didn't mind. Why's it so much worse if we're looking too? This is a big city, you know. Trying to patrol it means we'd all have to be out all day long, going so fast we couldn't see anything anyway."

,,

"And police band is good, but it only tells us about crimes that get called in, and only about crimes the police are already on the way to. Which might be bad for us, since we're not technically supposed to be doing this."

[Doctor Northlight]

"Yeah... I guess that's some of the point..." Rachael said, still not completely soothed. "Look, I just want to know this is as far as we go. I mean, we have hacked into multiple telecommunications networks to get this. Perhaps even physically. Yeah this is the public domain we got on these monitors... but how far will we go?"

,,

She looked back on the monitors. "I never knew how hard this would be."

,,

And she raised her finger. "And yes, I know being vigilantes is illegal... then again, not acting when a felony is being committed is immoral, and there are some laws that allows a citizen to act in the public defense."

,,

"I'm sure MO might know more about law than I do... but all I really want is a promise this is as far as it goes."

[SalmonMax]

"Well, we get to decide how far WE go." Then something occurred to Renata, and she added, "Plus this way we can keep an eye on these surveillance networks right? So if they start expanding, we'll know. We can do something about it, right? We're watching the watchmen."

[Doctor Northlight]

Rachael quirked an eyebrow. "Simple logic. but you're not the one in command."

,,

She sighed. "Yeah, I seem like I'm being a bit violently against this, but I made a promise. One at my parent's grave after my accident that I would never use my talents in a way that was unethical or immoral... this system might not be my doing... but I would be derelict to not voice my concerns."

,,

She turned back around. "You know?"

[darksol-aeternium]

"Isn't there another law that sez you HAVE to do something if you see a crime in progress? Even if it's as simple as calling it in? I should have paid more attention to Law & Order..." he said as he turned away from the dizzying array of monitors. "It's not that I am ok with this kind of setup Doc, it's just that given the last 12 years of life in this country I'm used to such things being here. It's going to sound really cynical, but privacy got sacrificed on the altar of fear, to the false gods of security. If you want to be totally unobserved and private now you have to be away from any city, underground, and disconnected from network technology...or be extremely rich. One of the things I usually tell myself to keep from lapsing into panic is that even if there were someone watching all these feeds, they would be totally unable to isolate any single person unless they were already looking for them. There just isn't enough staff you can trust to watch everyone, everywhere, all the time." And after a moment he added, "Y'know it's actually a really good sign that we're even discussing this issue, it means we're upstanding people."

,,

"Since we're piggybacking existent signals, could we shut them down if they turn out to be looking somewhere they don't need to be? If we can do that, we could actually ensure that people have privacy. We could probably do that if you go ahead and setup a network fo 3-5G unlimited city-wide WiFi. Something I'm sure the city would appreciate anyway."

[Slither]

At first, Izzy found herself automatically looking for intel, her eyes shifting from screen to screen as she watched the frenetic dance that was life in New York. But then she became aware of the spirited discussion that was going on around her. She let the principals go at it for a while, noting the various issues raised before politely clearing her throat.

"As someone who's actually worked for military intelligence, I feel I'm perhaps uniquely qualified to offer some perspective on this issue." She nodded at Gatekeeper, Northlight and the others. "These are the very issues we discuss during our training, the inherent contradiction of monitoring a free society for hostile threats. It's also a discussion that continues on a daily basis, in every office in every intelligence gathering division throughout the free world; in fact, the day the discussion STOPS is when you should start to get nervous."

The slender brunette extended an arm several feet to indicate a busy intersection in Manhattan. "Here we see a typical New York scene; tourists, office workers, mums and dads taking their children out to the cinema, the whole mix of life. We are not singling out anyone, no one in particular is our focus." Her arm returned to its normal proportions. "And that everyday drama is now playing on every other screen in this room. Does it makes us a bit uncomfortable? Yes, which is as it should be."

Izzy stepped towards the others. "Now if something violent were to happen, that scene would start a ripple that would spread across more and more of those screens, and then-" She fumbled as she tried to find an analogy. "D'you know how when your driving in your car, your mind drifts a bit, and you start thinking about what you're going to make for dinner, or what the football scores are, or if you forgot your mum's birthday, and then suddenly the bloke in front of you hits the breaks, and the very SECOND you see those red tail lights, you're back in your car and you hit your own brakes?"

She turned back to the monitors. "That's sort of the way it works in here; if we start randomly following a specific individual out of the blue, because he look suspicious or 'foreign' or he looks rather fit in his tight jeans, we are abusing our powers, because the poor man hasn't done a bloody thing to warrant our interest. But if we are scanning for threats on a global, holistic level, then we are actually doing our jobs responsibly." She shrugged and brushed her bangs out of our eyes. "Yes, there are still issues involved in what we are doing in a room like this; we will all have to be our own moral guardians."

[Javier Duncan]

The Paladin turned to Dr. Northlight. "I can guarantee that it won't go any further than this. This may be illegal, just like our fighting crime on our own, but it's not immoral. We're not invading anyone's privacy, we're not watching people any more than they're already being watched, and we're doing it for the purpose of helping people and saving lives. If it goes any further, however, it does cross the line from moral into immoral, and then I'll have a problem. A big problem. And if I have a problem, you'll have a problem, " He said as he turned to Mr. Focht. "I can disintegrate all of this equipment with a touch, and then create an EMP bomb the size of this room to make sure that I got it all. I don't mean to threaten, I just want to make sure that you know where I stand. Illegal I'm ok with so long as we're working for the greater good and keep it to a minimum. Immoral I have strong issues with, as the reason I'm here is to stop people who act immorally."

The Paladin paused a moment to let what he'd just said sink in, and then turned to look back and forth between Dr. Northlight and Mr. Focht. "Now, in my secret lab, I have an AI. Her name is Alice. I would be willing to allow you and the team the use of her for the purpose of monitoring the feeds until we can create a dedicated AI for that purpose. I suggest this because then none of us will have access to any of this information, except that which shows a crime in progress. Also, an AI would be able to monitor all the feeds simultaniously, and so would be able to catch and alert us to more crime than even a small team of people watching the cycling screens would be able to. Hopefully this will put us all at ease in regards to access to this questionable information. We'll use it to find crimes, and that's all we'll have access to." He now looked around the room. "Any objections or other proposals?"

[Scout]

Rachael quirked an eyebrow. "Simple logic. but you're not the one in command."

,,

She sighed. "Yeah, I seem like I'm being a bit violently against this, but I made a promise. One at my parent's grave after my accident that I would never use my talents in a way that was unethical or immoral... this system might not be my doing... but I would be derelict to not voice my concerns."

,,

She turned back around. "You know?"

,,

Scout frowned and folded his arms. He thought to himself, yet only moments ago you were ready and willing to use lethal force if you had to. Like using a ray gun you've made to kill someone is any different than monitoring a network of cameras focused on the public. Where the hell did that high horse of yours come from?! I should have a talk with her later. I've never seen a scientist whose reasoning skills were so absolutely fucked. Scout knew, however, that a direct confrontation now would lead only to more arguing and bad blood. If ever there was something a trained sniper had to be good at, it was picking your battles. For now, he simply swallowed his disgust and moved on. Besides, the others were actually making some rather good points...

,,

She turned back to the monitors. "That's sort of the way it works in here; if we start randomly following a specific individual out of the blue, because he look suspicious or 'foreign' or he looks rather fit in his tight jeans, we are abusing our powers, because the poor man hasn't done a bloody thing to warrant our interest. But if we are scanning for threats on a global, holistic level, then we are actually doing our jobs responsibly." She shrugged and brushed her bangs out of our eyes. "Yes, there are still issues involved in what we are doing in a room like this; we will all have to be our own moral guardians."

,,

"That won't be a problem for me," Scout smiled at Izzy before turning to hear Paladin's take.

,,

,,

The Paladin turned to Dr. Northlight. "I can guarantee that it won't go any further than this. This may be illegal, just like our fighting crime on our own, but it's not immoral. We're not invading anyone's privacy, we're not watching people any more than they're already being watched, and we're doing it for the purpose of helping people and saving lives. If it goes any further, however, it does cross the line from moral into immoral, and then I'll have a problem. A big problem. And if I have a problem, you'll have a problem, " He said as he turned to Mr. Focht. "I can disintegrate all of this equipment with a touch, and then create an EMP bomb the size of this room to make sure that I got it all. I don't mean to threaten, I just want to make sure that you know where I stand. Illegal I'm ok with so long as we're working for the greater good and keep it to a minimum. Immoral I have strong issues with, as the reason I'm here is to stop people who act immorally."

The Paladin paused a moment to let what he'd just said sink in, and then turned to look back and forth between Dr. Northlight and Mr. Focht. "Now, in my secret lab, I have an AI. Her name is Alice. I would be willing to allow you and the team the use of her for the purpose of monitoring the feeds until we can create a dedicated AI for that purpose. I suggest this because then none of us will have access to any of this information, except that which shows a crime in progress. Also, an AI would be able to monitor all the feeds simultaniously, and so would be able to catch and alert us to more crime than even a small team of people watching the cycling screens would be able to. Hopefully this will put us all at ease in regards to access to this questionable information. We'll use it to find crimes, and that's all we'll have access to." He now looked around the room. "Any objections or other proposals?"

,,

,,

Now, Scout liked Paladin, he had all the right makings of a good man on the surface. But it was becoming rapidly clear that the man loved a good dick waving competition. That was something that could get real dangerous real fast, "Paladin, if you don't mean to be threatening to others when you speak, please try to choose your words a little more carefully. I doubt that the concept of having valuable infrastructure disintegrated, followed by letting someone run a giant magnet over his building is going to be received as anything other than a threat."

,,

First day on the job and things were already dissolving into a mess of heated discussions and opinionated bullshit, and he'd been the first one to open his mouth about it back in the conference room. He was going to end up earning that million in more ways than one. Scout recognized that this discussion wasn't really getting them anywhere. He was more than sure that their new employer was fully capable of protecting his investments, with force if need be, or he wouldn't have brought them here in the first place.

,,

"Look, what we've got here's a genuine slippery slope." Scout pinched the bridge of his nose with the thumb and forfinger of his right hand. Having to say this without pointing fingers was going to give him a headache, "But 'Keeper's right," He gestured toward Gatekeeper, abbreviating his name so it wasn't such a mouthful, "The fact that we're even talking about this is a good thing. I don't think we need to pull the plug on this just yet. But like everything else that comes with the job, we're going to have to watch it. Carefully. It will be up to each of us to make sure this doesn't get used for the wrong reason, by us OR someone else." He turned to Focht, "You know, I really wish you hadn't show us this at all. If you'd have kept this quiet, and just sent us on missions here or there we wouldn't even be talking about this, but unfortunately, now, this can't be ignored. It's clear you're going to do this no matter what anyone says, including the government, so what's a group like us, whom you're paying, I might add, going to do about it?"

,,

"Turns out I do have another proposal, Paladin," He turned back to the rest of the group, arms outspread gesturing to the whole room, "I say we support this endeavor, and by doing so, show everyone that this type of system deserves a place in the world. A rightful, lawful, well-overseen place, but a place nonetheless. In the meantime, let's just try and keep our noses clean, huh?"

[darksol-aeternium]

It occurred to Gatekeeper that a change of subject was in order if the group was to stay focused on the practical, "Umm...perhaps before we get into revising or security-locking this system we should view whatever else we're about to have access to? If we're gonna be brainstorming about what needs to be changed or removed, we may as well view the whole package."

,,

It also occurred to him that as far as security and privacy went, his own power to manipulate space already violated both concepts utterly. The thought that there was nowhere he couldn't go and no place he could not feasibly spy upon never occurred to him before, but the context of the discussion brought it to his attention. Rather than air such concerns however, he decided to keep this to himself.

[SalmonMax]

(OOC -.Paladin, you still need to edit the part where you call Renata by her real name.)

,,

Renata strolled over to the wall by the door into the monitoring room and leaned against it. Ten minutes in and everyone was already freaking out. Maybe that was okay if they could get it over with so it wouldn't happen again. That'd be good. She wasn't really in the market for drama at the moment. Anyway, it was looking pretty much like her questions weren't going to be answered, and she'd already found her happy place as far as the screens went so...now it was just time to wait for everyone else to get to theirs.

,,

She glanced at her wrist, then realized she didn't wear her watch with her costume. Damnit. Didn't have her phone either. No place to put it.

,,

Definitely needed pockets. Fanny pack? No, too easy to come off in a fight. Then someone could run off with her phone and she'd be cooked. Maybe she needed to rethink the bodysuit thing. It was hard to get ahold of in a fight, which was good, but there were some real problems with it too...

,,

Even to non-telepaths, anyone looking at Fulcrum by this point could tell she had lost interest in the discussion entirely and was off in her own little world.

[Doctor Northlight]

Rachael adjusts herself, looking at the screens, watching humanity mill about.

,,

"I... apologize for my outburst earlier, then. I'm just not sure about this. We are tapped in unannounced. I know we're not harming anyone or obstructing these security cameras' original function."

,,

She sighed. "Also, I don't think we should redirect these cameras, it would place us in the position of making decisions the law should. Then again... what has been placed on our collective tables is vigilantism, but again, Mr. Focht's scenario is something there should be a response to. Something that right now there is no real options to put up. Leaving it to us."

,,

She shook her head. "Let's move on, shall we?"

[Javier Duncan]

Paladin looked around the group then to Scout, Rebecca and finally Mr. Focht. "I apologize for my previous statement as well. The statement of what I can and will do if this equipment is used for immoral purposes necessitates some future where the equipment will be. That shows a lack of faith and trust on my part, which is so far completely unwarranted and unjustified." He nodded towards Dr. Northlight. "I also agree with her. There are immoral supers that need a moral super response. We need to be that response."

,,

Again he paused, thinking over everything that had been said up to this point. "I'll also keep my questions and ideas until the end, once I have a larger picture of what's going on and being proposed. Shall we continue?"

[Magnum Opus]

Magnum Opus had remained quiet, carefully weighing the issues in front of her. When she spoke, it was with some care, and an understanding smile towards Focht.

,,

"I understand why you built this. You want to keep an eye on things. You want to make sure that when something happens, we can be there. That's a laudable impulse. I get that.

,,

"But, two things. First, there is such a legal concept as a reasonable expectation of privacy. Without a reasonable expectation of privacy, people start to change. They become afraid to express opinions that go against the grain of society, that could bring harm upon them if outed. Opinions such as 'it's okay for women to like other women,' which not too long ago was considered psychologically deviant until we stopped being insane and started being humane." She ran a gloved hand through her hair, looking a little flushed and emotional, before recomposing herself. "And without expressions of these thoughts, without discussions of them, they can't become part of the mainstream and shape society. If people get the idea that they're being watched every time they express an unconventional thought, they'll stop expressing themselves. And that leads to social stagnation. If people learn we can do this - and it's only a matter of time before someone finds out - it could do more damage towards our cause in a day than the good it would do in years. Who'd trust us again, after finding out we'd been listening to them?

,,

"Secondly - the ease with which men and women can become, if not corrupt with power, at the least complacent with it, happens more often and with swifter speed than many of us dare think. I've seen it firsthand, raging protest-attending hippie that I am. We'd all like to think that we'd never forget what it's like to be on the other side of that camera - and personally, a big part of why I hold onto a normal life is so I don't forget what it's like to be looking up instead of down - but it can happen without us even realizing it. I'm glad that this is up for discussion and I agree that the second we stop talking about it is the day we should worry. What I'm saying is that that day can come and go without any of us realizing it. I'm not at all sold on the concept of it being the purview of just the people in this room."

,,

Magnum Opus left unsaid the notion that the advent of extrasensory abilities might make privacy moot no matter what constituted a reasonable expectation, since that was far from a resolved legal question. "We're human beings. We're amazing at coming up with justifications for questionable acts. I'm a lawyer and I see it all the time. No guilty men in prison, they say. So I'll say this: I can live with the traffic cameras, since that's tied into a larger issue with how many CCTV cameras are acceptable in the first place - I personally think we have too many but they are technically public spaces so I'll listen to arguments that state that it's not reasonable to expect much privacy in a public space. But can we tap phones and Internet? Can we intercept encrypted communications? Can we do more than intercept - can we alter? Can we plant evidence? None of that, I'm comfortable with. In the immortal words of Kayne West, no one man should have all that power."

,,

She caught everyone's slightly stunned gaze. "... okay, so he wasn't the first to say it."

[Scout]

"I agree." Scout opined, "We have a chance to do some real good here. I think that's exactly what we should do."

Scout waved a hand at the room at large, "I don't like this. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but I'm willing to take it with a spoon full of sugar if it means getting results and serving the greater good. I can look past these privacy issues for the benefit of those that can't protect themselves. This is a brand new venture on everyone's part," He eyed Focht as he said this, "It would be silly to expect everything to run smoothly right out of the starting gates. There's bound to be some kinks, but we should strive to work through them together rather than stand apart, spinning our wheels, talking in circles and getting nothing done."

,,

"Let's see the rest of what you have to offer, Mr. Focht." Scout folded his arms, "Then, let's get to helping people,"

[Justin OOC]

Andery smiled at them. "That you all would have the discussion regarding the system tells me that I am right regarding your selection for this enterprise." He looked to Rachael and Paladin and nodded. "If you can design me something better, something that allows us better response time without having to resort to what we have here, do so, and I'll have it fabricated. It's one of several things I would have the two of you develop, though it is one of the more private ones." He didn't show reaction to any of the other comments on the system, his faith had been rewarded, and he chose to avoid the not so veiled threat. Regarding Renata's questions he nodded. "We will fight to defend the innocent and subdue the criminals. I will not remove lethal force as an option, but it is to be the absolute last option." His tone was hard, he didn't like it either, but knew he couldn't remove it. "As far as the police, Escape, call into the Command center, and we'll get you away safely if you cannot do so yourself. Gatekeeper will be instrumental in that aspect of things. As to the question of what to do with a metahuman criminal, We have some options but most are not that good, yet."

,,

He looked at Magnum Opus. "If I had not shown you all of this, and you found out later, would you have ever trusted me? No it's better in this instance to show you the lengths we will have to go to at first, the depth of my commitment, and my trust, at least in my mind."

,,

He Gestured to the hallway, and led them onwards into a large yet sadly mundane gymnasium. "I was sadly unable to make what I really wanted for a training and workout area. This will have to suffice for now. Though, if any of you are familiar with Marvel's Xmen Comics, what I hope to see one day is the Danger Room, or something similar." Looking to the braintrust, he nodded. "That's something else I'd like you two to work on." The gym had running tracks, weight sets, and above a sort of obstacle course of bars, protrusions and the like for those who flew to work on their reaction time. Also there was a large square mat, obviously meant as a sparring ring. "It's low tech right now, but I had another problem that had to be solved first."

[Doctor Northlight]

Rebecca quirked an eyebrow. "What problem was that?" She said, curious as to what the problem was. If it was mentioned when he was talking about low-tech, it might be something up her alley. Of course, coming up with a proper solution for a in-house city surveillance system was also on her mind.

,,

"Also, I think once we've got more resources and space I'm sure I and Paladin should be able to conceive a proper simulator. I've been working on some ways to generate a hard-light projection, so that might be a start..."

[SalmonMax]

"And on that note," Fulcrum said from over by the door. "Is there a bathroom around here? I'm going to be drowning in this suit in a few more seconds. Go ahead without me, I'll catch up."

,,

(Anyone can read this, but I'm spoilering it to help keep things clear about what the characters see, and what they don't.)

No sooner than Focht had given her directions, Fulcrum was out the door, hurrying along towards the lavatory. She barely registered anything else on the way there. Once inside she yanked her mask off, sending her short, dark hair flying into chaos and braced herself on the sink as she stared into the mirror.

,,

"You are not going to do this," Renata snarled at her reflection. "Fuck you. All right? Fuck you. You are going to stay focused. You are going to keep your eyes on the prize."

,,

She ran water over a paper towel and wiped it over her forehead and face. God that mask got uncomfortable sometimes.

,,

"It doesn't matter who she likes," she went on. "Girls. Boys. Banana squash. Whatever. It doesn't fucking matter. I am not available, I am not looking, I am not going there." Renata took a deep breath and nodded at herself in the mirror. She pointed her first two fingers at her eyes, then out at the mirror. "Eyes on the prize, Ren. Not her. Good? Good. Eyes. Prize."

,,

With some wiggling of her head, and shifting of cloth around, she managed to wedge the bandana-mask back over her head with the eye-holes lined up right. It was a little looser now, so she took a second to retie it too.

,,

Sweet. Awesome. Underground base. Million bucks. Actual fucking superhero. No drama. That was the prize. She had her eyes on it. Not those spectacular boobs, or that ass that wouldn't quit, all wrapped in skintight...

,,

FUCK YOU!

,,

The mirror cracked suddenly, cleaving her reflection into two slightly mismatched halves.

,,

"Great," Renata sighed as she reached gingerly out to touch it. "That's probably coming out of my paycheck."

,,

After being away from the group for maybe five to eight minutes, Fulcrum came trotting up behind everyone and saw the gym, which brightened her up considerably. She breezed past everyone into the area and immediately started checking the weights and the machines.

,,

"Low tech, are you kidding? This is all top notch! These ellipticals cost like twelve grand each, retail!" If the previous room had been a geekout for the political scientists in the group, it was clear Andrew had found Fulcrum's geekout zone.