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Daycycle 1 [11/1 - 11/3]

Daycycle 1

[November 1-3]

[This game can be as plot heavy or laid back as you would like it to be. Each IC day will cover three RL days in order to give everyone time to tag and play out scenarios to their heart's content. Each IC day will start with a briefing, assignments for a group of 2 or more characters and additional information about the Complex that you may or may not use in play. Additional assignments may be made throughout the day, but never more than one per character per day.

You are welcome to play out missions from any point (beginning, middle, end) but are not required to. You will, however, need to provide information on the debriefing post below once you've determined with the other players involved how the mission played out. You are encouraged to approach other characters for assistance with missions whenever possible, as almost every sector has a playable character. You'll soon find out that the more avenues you have through the bureaucratic nightmare that Alpha Complex is, the better.

You may post your character in a comment below for the Daycycle for others to tag, or post threads directly to alphalogs . Top level threads and comments here do count towards activity. ]

There's another glorious day dawning on Alpha Complex, though it would be difficult to tell if not for the ringing alarms on your Personal Digital Companion (PDC) that signify it is morning. Citizens of the Complex haven't seen the sun in centuries. Technically, this is your second day within the Complex as twenty-four hours ago you sprang fully formed into existence from the genius scientists at the cloning center. Or at least that was what you were told. Your whole - or possibly fragmented - memories, might say otherwise.

Your sole possessions in this brave new world include one standard-issue red jumpsuit with boots (each citizen dresses in the color of their security clearance), a month’s worth of REDdiMeals (cement consistent blocks of nutrition), and all the approved happiness drugs you want. Equipment assigned to you as part of the Troubleshooters squad include one laser pistol body, minus the barrel (the barrel will be provided when you are sent on a mission), one suit of red reflec armor overalls in (more or less) your size, a series 1300 Personal Digital Companion (PDC) that you can use to make phone calls, send texts or document any still or video pictures of any treasonous behavior you might happen to point it at and a Mercantile Enterprise (ME) card that contains your wages and identity information.

Morning

At 0700 you are to report to the RED clearance cafeteria for a not-so-delicious meal of soylent red. Soylent comes in all colors of clearance and is a nutritious, though terrible tasting, wafer made of “high-energy plankton”. (Though, of course, the only body of water known to Alpha Complex is the plain water reservoir and the river used to cool the power plants in the Power Sector…)

At 0800 you will meet with the rest of the Complex’s Troubleshooters for briefing and assignments. As a special you might find yourself being singled out for resentful dirty looks and trash talking from the other Troubleshooters, who have all reached this position after spending years as the Complex’s lowest caste, the INFRAREDs. Discontent is normally high, but today it is positively murderous at the introduction of clones who managed to skip years of internal servitude and manual labor to get to RED clearance..

A briefing officer in GREEN will make assignments, share gathered intel and provide laser pistol barrels as needed.

Assignments:

Bucky Barnes and Parker
- You two have been selected to be the stars of the Complex’s hit new reality show, Trouble Survivor. The last contestants were blown up in an accidental explosion in the R&D Sector while filming. This is a temporary assignment, but if you survive the day and the ratings, there could be a permanent spot for you in the Mind Control (MC) Fall line-up. You’ll each be assigned a remote surveillance drone that will follow you throughout your exciting first day as a Troubleshooter. MC will provide excitement where there is none, with spontaneous explosions, vehicle chases and paid traitor actors who have been provided with real weapons. Good Luck!

All Other Troubleshooters
- You are to report to your Service Firm positions for the day, until called on for Troubleshooter duty.

Intel:

The Free Enterprise secret society is trying to push a stolen shipment of PDCs in the Wagon Wheel.
There have been reports of Nameless members who are erasing Mutant Registration entries for a price.
The fire alarms have been compromised and may go off without warning.

Afternoon

Troubleshooter Assignment: At approximately 1400 Abbie Mills and Ray Palmer will be dispatched to assist in a hostage situation in the Technical Services Section. A citizen with suspected ties to the Mystics, a secret society, is holding four staff members of the Pharmaceutical Distribution Center hostage with what appears to be a bomb strapped to his body. He is demanding a lifetime supply of Dynomorphen, a discontinued medication that has been associated with irresponsible feelings of euphoria, enhanced strength and excessive hair growth. He also wants a guaranteed safety exit to the surface of the Earth.

Evening
The evening is uneventful in Alpha Complex. Televid viewers will vote on the popularity of any remaining Trouble Survivor contestants by PDC. The Art Gallery will open it’s doors on an exhibit that displays ancient artwork of that long extinct animal, the cat. A flash hate rally against mutants will be held in the Commissary at 1900 hours before being dispersed by nearby Troubleshooters. And anyone within the sleeping quarters of the Wagon Wheel will be hit by the cloud of sleep aid gas expelled from the vents at 2100 hours. Sweet dreams, Alpha Complex.

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Afternoon

Dick had been looking forward to being a techie, access to all those computers would definitely get him somewhere right? He could hack his way into the system and get to the bottom of what was really going on here, figure out if he was just trapped here or if this whole clone thing was the real deal, raise a little hell along the way... at least, that was the plan.

Apparently totalitarian governing computers were smarter than that, who knew? Because what he was actually doing was tech support, and that didn't mean unsupervised access to the system with all his usual gear and tools to hand in his trusty utility belt, it meant sitting in a room with a bunch of other people telling citizens all over the complex to try turning it off and turning it on again. Without his utility belt.

He wasn't about to give up, it just meant he had to wait a little longer, worm his way into people's confidences, find out if he could pick up any gear and rig up a makeshift utility belt, find out just how much those cameras recorded and if there was a way around them... if Dick knew people, and he had at least a small grounding in psychology, there would be underground groups, black markets, rebels and traitors all over, and if he was careful and sneaky he'd find a way to make contact and hey presto, havoc would be wreaked.

For now, he was leaning back in an office chair staring at the ceiling while he waited for another idiot who couldn't figure out how to press the right buttons on their equipment to come and complain at him about it.

Finally, a real excuse to get out of the office. Hardison made his way down a floor to Tech Support and taking the place in with the intention of trying to find some unattended computer. He was supposed to turn off the fire alarms that had been going on and off all morning, but if they were off by the time he got down there, what was a couple of minutes at an empty terminal?

He sat down in an empty seat near a young looking kid who was staring up at the ceiling and slipped on a headset to look busy. He turned on the computer and was immediately greeted by a log in request. It was hard to work around it without his usual tools. He glanced over at his neighbor.

"Hey, man. I'm new. What's the log on again?"

He had ten minutes tops before Wanda said something.

Edited 2015-11-01 18:15 (UTC)

"Hmm?" Dick sat up a little so he could look round at the guy who'd just sat next to him, he was pretty sure he hadn't been there a moment ago, but what did he know about shifts in this place? Maybe there was a late shift, maybe the guy had been off for re-education, who even knew what went on around here.

"Uh... sorry man, I'm new too, I only know my own log on..." which had been depressingly lacking in admin abilities, despite his job "Didn't they give you one when you started?"

There is a sound like a swoosh and next to Hardison is a skinny, odd blond. As suddenly as she appeared, she leans her head briefly on Hardison's shoulder. It's as close to an affectionate greeting as he gets, when Parker stares at the kid.

She's in a great mood as the camera following her is covered with the hide of a dead office chair.

"Who's the kid?" She whispers it.

Hardison tenses slightly at the unexpected contact, but then visibly relaxes at the sound of Parker's voice. He turns his head to look at her and then the floating drone. As happy as he is to see her, he's not sure this is the best timing.

He speaks out of the corner of his mouth, his voice low enough that only they three could hear. "I don't know. Are you alright?"

He can see she is. It's more of a Have you got this?

Dick raised an eyebrow at the sudden appearance of the blonde. That was a pretty neat trick - a trick he'd definitely pulled off himself once or twice, and the fact that this blonde woman had similar skills was definitely something he intended to file away for future reference. That was something that might come in useful.

"Uh... hi," he said to her, holding out a hand with a friendly grin "Dick Grayson, nice to meet you."

Oh Dick, you have no idea the extent of her skills.

Parker looks at the hand, and back at the kid. She doesn't take it. "Parker." She wanted to say Alice, but the morning took that anonymity away from her.

Don't be too offended. She answered him as if he exists. In Parker-land, it's the equivalent of a handshake.

She reaches out for a makeshift rope hanging off the drone. "Brought you a present." Hardison has to want a drone, right? "Think it sees and hears everything. Sometimes we do that." She taps her ear. Not having an earbud is just wrong.

Hardison is staring up at the drone floating above Parker's head when Dick says his name. He lets out a low laugh, and glances at the kid. He's got to give him points for audacity.

"Yeah, you're Dick Grayson and I'm Batman," Hardison says, looking at Parker as if he expects her to get the joke. Then, zooming back in on the problem at hand he leaned in towards Parker, trying not to make his lips move as he spoke. "Has that been following you all day?"

Dick freezes, he knows he has to think quick to avoid being super suspicious, but he doesn't understand why a) the guy immediately thought of Batman on hearing his name, and b) why he seems suspicious that it is Dick's name in the first place.

He calms himself, maybe this guy just doesn't think a precious baby socialite of Gotham was going to end up in a place like this, that seemed much more believable, if these people were from anywhere near Gotham of course they would have heard of him, and Batman's the first, most ridiculous, of Gotham's citizens you would think of.

"I'm pretty sure Batman's taller," he jokes, trying to pretend he hadn't been panicking "Seriously though, I am Dick Grayson."

Having pushed aside what had seemed to be the more imminent issue, he can now focus on the two of them, they're acting pretty suspiciously and that is of definite interest.

Edited 2015-11-06 07:50 (UTC)

"Not this one. This's the third." The other two drones were not so carefully kept around. It's likely there's one in pieces somewhere.

Parker barks a laugh. "The Batman who has plastic nipples?" Of all the versions of Batman, that's the one she goes for, because it's the most ridiculous. That does not mean she's hasn't picked up some random details.

But Dick Grayson, or whoever he is, is in need of some correction. "Not much. 3/4 of an inch's difference. You should know Batman's 6'2, Dick Grayson." See? Some comics' facts have stuck. What has not stuck is the idea that the kid may really be Dick Grayson.

Also, she knows the exact height of Hardison. This information is vital when making him climbing gear.

"Your parents must of been big fans, huh? At least they chose the best rob-" Hardison starts, but is quickly distracted by Parker's comments.

"Parker, I told you that's just artistic license..." He's not even bothering to lower his voice now. Impassioned by the long debated importance of nipples on a batsuit. "Besides a man's got to have room for his chest to breathe..." He moves his hand over his chest in a circular motion as if to prove it.

Though he grins when she stands up to Dick Grayson about his height. She's right, of course. The drone begins floating towards a vent and Hardison is brought back to the real purpose of why he's here. Mainly that he shouldn't even be here. And the drone probably knows where they are by now if they know Dick Grayson's assignment.

"You want me to take care of that thing?" He asks, nodding up at the drone.

This conversation was giving him a headache, he had absolutely no idea what Parker was talking about when she mentioned 'plastic nipples', and for a second there it sounded like Hardison was going to say Robin, and how the hell does she know Bruce's exact height?

"Fans of what? How should I know his height?" except of course he did, and okay maybe he was only a tiny bit taller than this guy, but it was hard to judge somebody's height when they were sitting down and he wasn't nearly as imposing as Batman "I'd really appreciate if you guys would get a bit more concerting right about now."

He's intrigued to know what he intends to do to 'take care' of the drone, but the sooner he can find his feet in this conversation the better, he's not used to feeling so at a loss.

"You know," Even Parker knows, but she's about to mix up her Batman iterations. "NANANANANANANANA BATMAAAAAAAAN!" It's totally off tune, but it's done with such great enthusiasm. "POW! BANG! CRASH!" Appropriate gestures accompany the onomatopoeia.

"We're being disconcerting?" Parker tilts her head and looks at Hardison for confirmation. In her head, she's being herself, a rather happy version of herself.

She also hands the drone-leash over. "Yup, yours. Told you I'd do better than a laptop."

Hardison licks his lips and can't help but let out a little chuckle. Is he proud that Parker knows the Batman theme? Hell yes he is.

"Concerting isn't really something we do easy," Hardison admits, taking the drone leash and looking at it uncertainly. He has no idea how to take it apart, but that doesn't really matter when they already know who is taking it apart. He looks back at Parker, knowing that refusing it will crush her.

He grins. "Just what I wanted." He gets to his feet and leans over to give Parker a soft kiss on the cheek. "You'd better head out before the next one finds you."

And he'd better head out before whoever was in charge here found him. "See you later, Robin."

...and now there was a song, and Dick honestly didn't know what to make of that. Sure, it was nice that both of them seemed to pick up on what he meant without him having to explain the dis/concerting thing, and he always appreciated when that happened, but it wasn't quite nice enough to help him get over the complete mystery that this conversation had become.

Hardison appeared intent on leaving however, and the mystery of what he had even come here for, or what he intended to do with the drone, were going to leave with him, and Dick was honestly half tempted to call them back and try and find out more about the arguably more important information here, but at the same time he suspected it might be easier to find out more once he'd had the chance to gather his thoughts.

He was so flustered by the whole experience (not a familiar feeling for him) that it took him a moment to realise what was wrong with what Hardison said.

"Yea, okay, I'll see you - wait, what?" Smooth Dickiebird, real smooth.

"Busy day in tech support, I see."

The tone is amused as Natasha slides into the room behind him, still working her way through exploring the complex, acquainting herself with locations and any people of interest. Which seems to be a guessing game in any of the places she stops in at, since just about everyone she's encountered so far is either clueless and new, or outright hostile and resentful.

She sinks into the chair at the empty terminal beside him and swivels in his direction, although her gaze is taking in her surroundings with an intent scan of her eyes.

"I get the feeling it's always like this, I am thoroughly whelmed." Dick shrugged, pushing himself in to more of a sitting position so he can swivel his chair round to look at her. He's definitely glad to see another friendly face, he's a social animal at heart and he was going crazy without any decent company. Batman's trained him to be observant, so he spots the way she's scanning her surroundings - exactly the way he would, in fact, and that's definitely interesting to him. Either she was as cautious (and well trained) as he was, or very paranoid... or both.

"Dick Grayson. Nice to meet you."

Both is often the safest choice when it comes to Natasha.

She lets her gaze refocus on him with an easy grin, bright and relaxed despite the situation they've all found themselves in. While she might not exactly be the sort to crave constant company, she's in recon mode and getting information is much easier when being open and friendly rather than appearing paranoid and suspicious, so she's devoted herself to the role for the day.

"'Whelmed', huh? That's a new one. Natasha Romanoff, and same. I take it you're as new to this place as I am?"

"Yea, I'm not exactly underwhelmed, definitely not overwhelmed, just kinda whelmed." He shrugged with the casual ease of somebody who explained his linguistic quirks a lot "what gave it away?" He laughed in response to the question of newness "yea, first day on the job."

"What do you do, Natasha?"

His explanation gets a laugh from her - be impressed, kid. She leans back in her chair, genuine mirth warming her gaze for a moment. "Whelmed it is, then. Seems pretty fitting for this place in general. Maybe a combination of all of the above at the same time."

She steeples her fingers in front of her, swiveling her chair slightly as she lets her gaze pass over the room once more. "They've assigned me to Threat Assessment, apparently. They seem to take their security measures a bit obsessively here. Pretty strict on anyone acting out."

Threat assessment. That was definitely something to be filed away for future reference. She didn't seem particularly militant about the whole thing, but it wouldn't do him any good to be uncautious.

"So it's your job to weed out traitors then?" he asked neutrally.

"So they've told me."

Her answer is mild, but there's a subtly in the carefully chosen words. It's a job she's still taking with a grain of salt, because she doesn't like not knowing who she works for.

Or knowing which side is actually the one worth protecting. That was her first priority.

"I'm rather whelmed about it myself, but apparently that's what they brought me here for. What about you? I take it you must be good with tech?" she asks, because it's obvious he's already bored with the support position they've assigned him. Not too much of a challenge then, apparently. She's collecting her own knowledge about the other specials as she can, wondering if they're in the same position as she is. And why.

He was pretty sure she was probably safe given her response, but he didn't think it was a good idea to be too obviously traitorous around her until he knew for certain.

"Yea, I'm pretty good," he nodded "I've had a lot of practice with some pretty advanced stuff, it's not my only skillset but it's apparently the one they think is the most valuable..." or maybe they just didn't want a kid running around demonstrating some of his other skills.

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Daycycle 1 [11/1 - 11/3]

Daycycle 1

[November 1-3]

Dick Grayson | Open

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Sorry I held this up!

No worries!

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Stupid thing wasn't posting

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