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Daycycle 102 [ August 7 - August 13]

daycycle 102

[Aug 7 - Aug 13]

Early Morning [0800 - 0900] — All Troubleshooters Report for Duty
There is no Mission assigned to any Specials today.

Morning & Afternoon [0900 - 1600] — Service Firm Positions
All Troubleshooters not assigned a mission should report to their Service Firm for their daily duties, unless specifically assigned a different shift.

At 1200 today, a list of high-ranking non-registered mutants will be released to the public. These officials will scramble to account for their tardiness in registering to the Computer and will shortly after be assigned Troubleshooters as body guards against retaliating Anti-Mutant members. All assigned troubleshooters are to keep their charges alive until shift change at 0700 on Day 103, using whatever means necessary. Permission temporarily granted to travel to restricted areas within the clearance level of their charge. Both bodyguards should be present at all times with few exceptions.

Barry Allen & Jillian Holtzmann - Otto Vaska, Stasis - can suspend time briefly, INDIGO, Central Processing
Steve Rogers & Parker - Xeno Fane, Charm - can make people like them, BLUE, Production, Logistics & Commissary
Blue Sargent & Morgana - Priskilla Linos, Polymorphism - can shapeshift, BLUE, Housing, Planning & Development
Cisco Ramon & Stiles Stilinski - Gabi Aline, Adrenaline Control - can control adrenaline levels in others, BLUE, Technical Services
Root & Tony Stark - Sol Sisel, Desolidity - can walk through walls, INDIGO, Research & Development

[ Player note: Characters may notice that any mutant abilities they once possessed may have a very weak showing when in close proximity to Alpha mutants. Mission success or failure is up to the players.]

Evening [1600 - 2200] — Citizen Improvement
All Alpha citizens are encouraged to better themselves through Alpha’s wide variety of educational, entertainment and cultural opportunities offered each evening. Attending these sanctioned events are not mandatory, but is highly encouraged by The Computer. Citizens choosing not to take advantage of these opportunities, have a growing number of other options available to them in how to spend their hard earned credits and free time.

Tonight’s event will be at 1800 in the Commissary and will be hosted by the Alpha Chess Club. Come participate in the biggest (and only) Chess Tournament sanctioned by the Computer.

Alpha Curfew Restrictions
All Alpha citizens should be in their quarters within the Wagon Wheel by 2200, unless they’ve been given permission from a GREEN or higher clearance level citizen. Sleeping Aid gas is dispelled each night in the Wagon Wheel at 2200 to assist citizens in getting a productive sleeping period.

Confession Booths
There are hundreds of confession booths available around Alpha Complex if a citizen would like to communicate directly with the computer. Please use these confession booths to report mission statuses, report treason or terrorist acts, unregistered mutants, confess your trespasses against Alpha Complex, request propaganda or speak with Your Friend, The Computer, at any time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Not literally, right? Because I didn't think that's what the makeup was for." Dick commented from behind her. He knew it was mean to make use of his invisibility tech and his excellent sneaking abilities to sneak up on his fellow specials, but hey, he didn't have a lot to do hanging around the specials headquarters all day, he had to entertain himself somehow.

"What're you doing?" he asked, peering over her shoulder with interest. It didn't look like more makeup, which was probably why he was willing to come a little closer (he lived in fear of becoming a beauty test subject. Again.)

The unexpected sound of Dick's voice startled a gasp out of Lydia which was only compounded by Gucci's incessant metallic barking — Lydia suspects Dick is his favorite because Dick is around the most — and Lydia whirled to face the source.

"Jesus...Christ, Dick, I hate it when you do that!" Lydia complained. Although, she imagined that maybe her extreme reactions were part of the appeal. Lydia pressed a hand against her chest as if willing her racing heart to slow back down now that the initial jolt of surprise had passed.

She turned back toward her work, but scooted over a little to give Dick space to look on beside her, if he wanted. "I'm making memory foam," she replied casually, like it was the most normal thing in the world for an eighteen — or nineteen, but she doesn't know the date in relation to home time, so she's not sure, even though her birthday had been creeping up on her before she got here — year old girl to be spending her free time doing. She looked over at her former roommate. "For beauty blenders. I made a beauty blender once when I lost mine, following this YouTube DIY tutorial, and all I needed was like...a memory foam pillow I was cool with cutting up. So...I'm making memory foam to make the blenders, to give to my INFRARED testers to try. I think the makeup will apply a lot smoother and more naturally that way, rather than them using their fingers. Then it won't look so streaky for the puerile that aren't as good at applying it."

Because not everyone can be as practiced at putting makeup on with few to no tools for it as Lydia. She'd had to explain to one or two of those INFRAREDs what makeup even was.

"What are you up to, besides scaring the shit out of unsuspecting people talking to themselves?" she asked with a little grin that said she wasn't mad; mostly amused in the wake of the initial shock.

Dick burst into a cackle at her reaction, she always made it so worth it. It took him a few moments to compose himself, though he couldn't quite wipe the grin from his face, and he busied himself giving Gucci a pet (even if he wasn't sure if metal dogs could feel petting, it still felt right to pet it) to give her a chance to get over her shock. When he looked up again, she'd shifted to the side so he could get a better look at what she was doing. Oh good, she wasn't really mad at him, despite enjoying scaring her so much he didn't want her to actually be upset, he liked Lydia. She was a redhead, most of his favourite people were redheads. She was smart too, so there were a lot of ways she kind of reminded him of Babs.

"You're making memory foam?" he repeated, coming forward to take a look at the arrangement of chemicals on the table "That's pretty cool..." he said admiringly. She was so good at all this chemistry stuff, he was always very impressed at the things she came up with, and if she wanted to use it for makeup and beauty sponges? Well, that was her business wasn't it. "I hope it works out. Only, it's you, so I know it will."

"Me? Oh," he grinned, shrugging "Not a lot actually, it's been pretty quiet lately. Barry was telling me yesterday though, that there's a bunch of new specials? Have you met any of them? What're they like?"

"Mmhmm," she confirmed with a little smile, cutting a cubic inch-sized section of the polyurethane foam and pushing the rest aside. "If I can get the same chemical reaction consistently enough and I can find...well, smuggle...enough foam out of the forensics lab, I might even make us all pillows," she says, looking back at him with a smirk. "But you get yours last, for scaring me every time I come in here by myself," she joked.

Dick came closer like maybe he wanted to look on and see how she was doing it. Reaching for a beaker and then a dropper, Lydia used her free hand to turn on the little lab faucet on the counter. "It's pretty cool actually. It took me a while to get the formula right, but..." her voice trailed off and she shrugged as she started with the water base and shut off the faucet again. Then, Lydia started to carefully mix her polyol.

There were more important things Lydia could be doing with her chemistry genius, like making explosives — she actually happened to be very good at that — but, for the moment, she wanted to fly under the Computer's radar. If she was making makeup, then she was a loyal, enthusiastic citizen with entrepreneurial prowess. Once she had solidified that persona and it wasn't suspicious for her to be mixing new compounds in a lab all the time, well. Then that would be another story. Then she could make biochemical weapons and still fly under the radar, theoretically speaking. She just happened to really enjoy makeup and looking her best, so she kind of loved her current cover.

"You must get so bored down here...playing fetch with Gucci can only be amusing for so long," she says sympathetically. "Oh, uh...I wasn't a hundred percent sure she was a Special but I got that vibe off of her, anyway...I met this woman, Felicity. She seemed nice. I only got to talk to her for a couple of minutes, though. I couldn't get much of a read."

"Aw, but don't I get mine first because I'm your favourite?" he asked, giving her his best puppy eyes "It's all cold and dark and uncomfortable where I have to sleep..." that wasn't actually true, between his own resourcefulness and Steve's help he'd actually built himself a pretty cosy nest back in the secret hq, but he wasn't above a little bit of lying to get himself a nice comfy pillow.

"Plus, if you like, I can try get some more of the foam for you," he added. He was careful not to steal too much, but when things were needed by his fellow specials he was happy to go sneaking around on a little 'shopping trip', the invisibility tech certainly helped with that. He watched with interest as she started mixing up the chemicals, making sure to move whenever he looked like he was in her way, but staying close enough that he could follow along what she was doing - he didn't intend to try it himself, but he still liked to see how it was done.

"Felicity Smoak?" he asked, ignoring the question about him being bored in favour of the more interesting news. He didn't want any of the others to pity him, he'd made the choice to go off-grid after all, and he knew how to keep himself occupied, however much the assorted adults who looked in on him would disapprove of it "She's a friend of Barry's from home, he was telling me about her yesterday."

Laughing, Lydia lifted her eyebrows at him. "Oh, don't give me that look, Dick. I invented that look," she joked, nudging his shoulder with her own playfully before focusing back on her work again. She was still paying attention and listening to him, but she was mixing her polyol as well. Lydia liked Dick. They hadn't really gotten close when they'd been roommates, but she did genuinely like the guy. He reminded her a little of Stiles and she supposed that was what she liked the most; he was fun to be around and he didn't take himself so seriously, which was something Stiles hadn't used to do until after the Nogitsune. At least, as far as Lydia was concerned.

She looked up again, though, when Dick mentioned the foam. "Really?" she asked. Dick was off-grid and he had the invisibility stuff, of course, but it hadn't really occurred to her to reach out to him for this sort of thing because Dick seemed like, other than hiding from the Computer, he was one of those guys that was largely on the up and up and wouldn't have been interested in smuggling unless it was necessary. Then again, Lydia didn't really know Dick at all, which she supposed was just as much his fault for not sharing as it was hers for not trying to get to know him when they'd been living together. Maybe he wasn't always on the up and up if someone needed a favor he thought he could fill. "That would be awesome, I'd really appreciate that," she said sincerely.

After finishing her mixture, she turned around so that her back was to the table and she could lean against it, looking over at him after checking her PDA's clock to make sure she let the compound settle for a few minutes before soaking the foam in it. "Yeah, I think? I didn't realize she was a friend of Barry's!" she said, looking impressed. "She's super cute and she seemed really nice. For the whole, you know, five minutes I had a chance to talk to her before the debriefing started. What'd Barry say about her?"

"Okay," he laughed slightly, switching tactics "How about you give me mine first because it's my birthday?" he tried instead. He'd been ticking off the days ever since he got here, and although he couldn't be certain because he had no idea how much time had passed between what he remembered from home and waking up here, he was pretty certain that his birthday was tomorrow. He'd never imagined he'd have his seventeenth birthday far from home, hiding in an abandoned area of a complex run by a sinister, totalitarian computer, but then who did?

"Yea, of course, you're a friend, if I can help you out of course I'm going to do it," not to mention he had absolutely no qualms stealing from the computer, he wasn't normally the type to engage in that kind of behaviour but when the status-quo was almost certainly evil? Petty theft really didn't seem that bad.

"He said she was a really awesome hacker, and that we should meet because he thinks we'll get on really well."

Lydia looked a little surprised by that. "Is it your birthday?" she asked, "really?" Because already the cogs were turning in Lydia's head. Back home, before the bite that activated her banshee abilities and resulted in a turn of events that had taken her from the top of the popularity pyramid and thrown her unceremoniously to the bottom of the barrel at Beacon Hills High, Lydia's birthday parties were the events. Invitations to Lydia's parties were among the most coveted possessions and everyone who was anyone wanted to be seen at Lydia Martin's birthday bashes. Things had changed a lot since the two day, half-conscious and walking around the woods naked and out of her damn mind thing, but once upon a time...Lydia knew how to throw a party.

That skill had not been lost with her popularity at school. A sly grin started to tug up at the corners of her mouth. Parties were her thing. If Dick wanted to celebrate his birthday, she could do a hell of a lot better than a memory foam pillow.

The sly and mischievous nature of her smile melted away in favor of a fondness when Dick said that she was a friend and of course he would help her out. She was incredibly endeared by that sentiment and Lydia ducked her head for a second before looking up at him again to nod. "That's pretty awesome. I appreciate that, Dick. I'm glad we're friends. ...not just for that, obviously, just... In general, I'm glad."

She chanced a glance over her shoulder to see the foam starting to sort of melt down into something a lot more gel-ish. It'd be a lot easier if she didn't have to use the foam at all, but trying to create the memory foam without breaking down the polyurethane foam block first would take a lot of tools that she didn't have access to. It'd be more efficient and the result would probably be more consistent if she was able to make the memory foam from scratch without breaking down one compound to turn it into another, but she just doesn't have the resources right now. Someday, maybe.

Her attention turned back to Dick as she nodded for him to follow her lead as she turned around to face the lab table again, wanting to keep a close eye on the foam's development. Eventually, it'll take on a softer, more flexible form and she'll use the beaker she's mixed the polyol into as the mold. If she had something bigger, that would be easier, but this would have to do for now. "Is he going to bring her down here, you think? I'd think so, if he knows her from home, right?" she asked, looking up at him again briefly before letting herself go back to watching as the block of black foam that had been put into the solution was slowly but surely becoming a much more gel-like foam. Eventually, when the process was finished in a good fifteen minutes or so, then it would be memory foam. It would still be loose, she knew that it would need maybe a day or two to completely congeal, which was fine, but the fact that it would taken on its new raw form right in front of their eyes was still kind of awesome. God, Lydia loved science...

"Yea , really. I mean, not today, but tomorrow is, at least I'm pretty sure? It's hard to tell in this place but I've counted it up and I'm pretty sure tomorrow's my birthday, I'll be 17." he confirmed with a little shrug, he hadn't meant to really make a big deal out of it, but he still felt strangely better that somebody else knew, even if she did nothing with the information, at least he wouldn't be the only person who knew.

"I'm glad we're friends too," he smiled sincerely. He might tease her occasionally and he might really enjoy making her jump a mile whenever she came to visit, but he did honestly value her friendship. There was something guarded about her, at times, but everybody had their secrets and he couldn't exactly judge anybody else's, but she was smart and kind and funny and if he was honest with himself Dick had the tiniest bit of a crush on her (what could he say, he liked redheads).

He leaned in to get a better look at the foam, watching with fascination as it began to change before their very eyes. Science was pretty cool (even though that thought brought with it a little homesickness, because Wally would love this so much). "I bet he will, once he's made sure she's cool and everything."

That was certainly something with which Lydia could identify and she nodded to acknowledge that, waiting a moment before responding. "Yeah, I get you. I should've been keeping track, but I didn't. I don't know what month it would be anymore, but I'm pretty sure I turned nineteen already..." she admitted. "Anyway. Happy birthday, just in case I don't get down here tomorrow," she added with a smile. Of course she would make it down here tomorrow. In fact, she had a lot of planning to do tonight before she went to bed and a lot of arrangements to make sure that the Specials would make it down to HQ to support him. Dick was a good kid. Just like her. Just like Stiles. He deserved to feel some semblance of celebration on his birthday if he did the work to tick off the days to keep track of it, which was more than Lydia had done.

Noticing that Dick was leaning in to get a better look, Lydia grinned, looking over at him. "Yeah, science," she said playfully. It was kind of neat to have someone closer to her age that appeared to be interested in it. Barry and Ray were science guys, and Tony had been, sort of, but they were adults. They'd finished school and were out in the real world. Lydia wasn't used to seeing her peers showing interest in the subject, which was why she'd spent so much time pretending to be dumb before her fall from popularity. She liked herself better this way, anyway.

"Do you think they can bring or create — or whatever they do to get us here — versions of us that aren't cool...?" she wondered, the smile slipping off her face with sudden concern. Tony sprang to mind from this morning and she was suddenly relieved that she hadn't given away too much, just in case.

"I'm not sure what the date would actually be in the real world," he admitted "Because I don't think everybody was taken at the same time in their worlds, so I have no idea how it all matches up, but I figure a day is still a day so at home, if time at home is progressing as it was, it should be my birthday. I think." he shrugged, plowing on before he actually stopped to think about the possibility that time was continuing on at home without him "But Happy Birthday if you have already turned 19, and, well, I guess Happy Birthday for when you do. Maybe you could just pick a day and tell everybody it's your birthday. Do people here even have birthdays?" he wasn't sure if he'd seen anybody celebrating one, but he'd spent a lot of time since arriving not actually interacting with 'normal' people, so maybe that was why.

"I don't know," he said slowly "but if Barry's anything like me, and, I mean, he comes from a very similar world, there's a healthy dose of suspicion reserved for any friend who shows up out of the blue just when you need them most. If he did need this Felicity person. The computer does kind of have a bit of a mind controlly vibe going on sometimes, I know Barry's probably pretty happy to see his friends but he's not going to rush into telling them everything right away, I imagine he'll introduce them to the.. less rule-following ways of some things once they've had a chance to get used to it. You never know who's going to buy into what the computer's selling after all." he paused to consider it for a moment "Although if he knows them really well, he might be able to tell that they wouldn't be the kind of people who would... if that makes sense. I guess I'm probably just really paranoid, huh?"

Lydia nodded because that made sense. "No, I know, I just meant that I'd lost track of what month or day it would've been back home," she clarified. A little smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Thanks, sweetie. Maybe I'll just start counting now and when we get to day 365 from here, I'll just say I'm twenty," she joked. Honestly, she didn't really want to think about how worried her mom and friends would be if time was still passing back in Beacon Hills and she wasn't there… "Or, the day after tomorrow, so I'm not stealing your thunder."

Chewing thoughtfully on her bottom lip, Lydia looked back at Dick as he spoke. She wondered if she could do that if one of her friends or her mom showed up; ease in, rather than leaping on the chance to finally spill everything she was thinking and feeling onto a person she thought she could trust more than anyone else. She hadn't been cautious with Allison and she'd known Allison to be dead. She couldn't imagine if Scott or Stiles showed up, how quickly she worried she would fall apart if she tried to build up a wall to make them prove themselves worthy of breaking through again. Especially Stiles, she thought, after the bond they shared in the wake of the ritual to save his and Allison's fathers and Scott's mom.

She shook her head. "No. I mean, yeah, it makes you sound paranoid, but that's not a bad thing, in this place. ...what would you do, Dick? If someone who meant a lot to you, who you trusted, from home showed up? Do you think you could draw that line? Because when Allison was here, I couldn't…"

"Sounds good!" Dick agreed with a grin "And if you don't, I will, I'll remind you it's your new birthday next year." he really meant it to, even if his tone was glib, he fully intended to mark his own personal little calendar with the date and remind himself to give her a good birthday next year. He only hoped he'd manage to stay out of the clutches of the computer for another year... or that they would all be home where they belonged and he wouldn't have to remember her birthday (though maybe he would, because she was a good friend to him and deserved to be remembered, even if they were split up by then).

"I..." he fell silent, contemplating. If Wally or his father showed up tomorrow, what would he do? His father, that was easy, he probably would act with more caution because he knew that was exactly what his father would expect, he wouldn't take offence or be confused, he'd know exactly what Dick was doing and why he was doing it, he'd probably be suspicious in turn - even if time had passed normally back at home and it tired up to how long Dick had been here, being this long in this place? Dick wouldn't blame his father for being cautious as to how it might have affected Dick. Wally, on the other hand... he didn't know.

"My dad I would probably be wary," he admitted, knowing how terrible it sounded but wanting to give her an honest answer "I mean, there's no way they'd get to him with mind control I bet, but he's trained me to be cautious, he'd understand. My best friend, Kid Flash, I'm not so sure about. I know I should be careful, but he's always been my closest friend, you know? He's... he's the only one of my friends who knows who I am and everything."

Lydia smiled and shook her head, dimples cutting into her cheeks with her amusement. "Perfect, I'll leave it to you to keep me posted, then," she said. "And that birthday I'll definitely be twenty, so...that's kind of a big one, right? Not a milestone like twenty-one, but still," she pointed out.

She supposed it wasn't really fair to compare Dick's friends and family to Allison, if only because she assumed that his loved ones were still alive. Allison had not been. She could still hear herself screaming Allison's name; feeling Allison die, like a part of herself had been torn out never to be returned. She'd taken Allison's disappearance here with a numb distance because she'd mourned her best friend's death once. She wasn't going to allow herself to do it again in a place where it would make her that much more vulnerable.

At Dick's response, Lydia gave him a small smile and a nod. "I know what you mean. Allison was my best friend. ...she died. Back home. She died trying to save me. I still feel like that was my fault, sometimes," she said, clearing her throat to keep from letting her voice break. "...all the time, actually..." She paused and gave a little shrug, as if to convince herself that it didn't hurt anymore, even though it still did and it probably always would. "Anyway, I don't think it's a bad thing. I think you'd be able to tell, you know? If your friend was cool or not, I mean."

"Big enough to make a big deal out of," Dick agreed "I'll be sure to let you know when." maybe he'd throw her a surprise party, she wouldn't be expecting it after all. He'd make a note for himself to do something special, if he reminded himself in advance he'd have plenty of time to plan.

"Oh..." he reached out to rest a hand on her arm, it was obvious it was still difficult for her to speak about, and he was touched she chose to share that detail with him when she didn't have to.

"Yea, I guess you're right," he nodded "When you know someone really well, they're easy to read, I guess I would know an imposter, or if something was wrong, if it was Wally, we know each other better than... well, he knows all my secrets and I know his."

"I like that plan," Lydia tells him with a hum of amusement. She doubts if anyone will ever really remember her birthday, even a made up one as a placeholder, in this place. There's always too much going on and little things like that just don't matter that much, to most people. They matter to Lydia because her birthday was always sort of an event back home. High school royalty swarmed the Martin house or lake house once a year for a huge party; the one time her parents would agree to let her throw one when they weren't around. But that was then. This is now. The thought is nice, though.

While Lydia appreciates his comforting gesture, she doesn't really acknowledge it beyond a sad smile and a little nod. Thinking about Allison still hurts. Talking about her hurts more. This is about as far as Lydia can go with it if she wants to keep herself together and she and Dick aren't that close yet; she wants to keep herself together in front of him.

"Exactly," she says reassuringly. "So, it'll be fine. If he shows up, you'll be able to tell if he's a crappy copy of himself or if he's really him. You'll just know."

Lydia looks back at her foam and taps her fingernails against the table top. "I'm gonna need to let this set. Wanna play fetch with Gucci and I for a little while?" she offers, keen to be off the subject of missing friends.

When she doesn't say anything more about Allison, Dick doesn't push the issue, if she wants to talk about it another time he'll always be there to listen, but he isn't going to try and make her dwell on such unhappy thoughts. Instead, he lets his hand drop and allows the change of subject as if they'd never even dipped into anything else.

"I guess I will," he nodded "Yea, fetch sounds great, I'll go get the ball." he glances down at the dog with a grin "You wanna play fetch?"

Flashing that same cheerful grin up at Lydia, he flips himself onto his hands and walks, upside down, to get the ball, wiggling his feet to try and make her smile. Fetch sounded like an excellent way to spend the afternoon, though it was always much more fun with two people rather than just him and Gucci.

_{((it's not the best wrap up ever sorry, but okay to leave it there?))}

((sounds good to me!))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Daycycle 102 [ August 7 - August 13]

daycycle 102

[Aug 7 - Aug 13]

Re: Open | Early evening

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