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alphalogs2016-08-28 08:40 am
- [daycycle 105],
- adam parrish [the raven cycle],
- barry allen [the flash],
- buffy summers [btvs],
- derek hale [teen wolf],
- felicity smoak [arrow],
- isabelle lightwood [shadowhunters],
- morgana lefey [merlin],
- natasha romanoff [mcu],
- oliver queen [arrow],
- ronan lynch [the raven cycle],
- steve rogers [mcu],
- stiles stilinski [teen wolf],
- ~inactive: caitlin snow [the flash]
Daycycle 105 [ August 28 - September 03]
daycycle 105
[Aug 28 - Sept 3]
Early Morning [0800 - 0900] — All Troubleshooters Report for Duty
Felicity Smoak and Natasha Romanoff, have been selected for today’s mission. Details are below:
‘In order to help us improve our combat simulators, you will need to run through any combat situation you encounter at least three times. On the second pass through, engage the combat at a greater range than originally. On the third pass through, attempt it at a much closer range. You will provide tactical notes to our staff afterwards. If the simulators catch fire, or fail to respond to override commands... note that too. The eggheads were supposed to have fixed that.’
Please debrief the computer on the status of your mission by the end of the Daycycle here.
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.
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 1700 in Hangar 15, Armed Forces Sector and will be hosted by the Alpha Complex Dogeball Association. Join us for a game of Alpha Dodgeball! All clearance levels above INFRARED welcome.
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.
no subject
"You're fine." Natasha replies simply, sounding neither concerned nor patronizing as Felicity says her name with a hint of fear. "You've still got more than enough distance, and the closer your target moves the better your shot. It's Felicity, right?" It's a simple tactic; distract her with dialogue just enough to keep her mind occupied from tipping into panic, but not enough to make her turn her head. "You didn't miss once, believe it or not that's pretty damn good. You just have to - here." Natasha settles herself behind her and reaches past to wrap her hand over Felicity's, guiding her hand more directly to hold the blaster higher than before. "If you're bending your head down that much then your sight isn't accurate, keep the gun eye level. If you need to move your aim you move with the top half of your body, not just your hands. Always eye level. Deep breath." Natasha waits for the droid to get a little closer as she guides Felicity in an audible inhale and exhale. "Relax your shoulders. Brace with your feet and arms, not your back. Both eyes open. Eye on sight..." She keeps still for another second. "Pull."
She waits for Felicity to pull the trigger and the shot doesn't hit directly between the eyes, but it lands where the droids mouth would be and it's good enough. The mechanical mess crumbles to the ground and Natasha releases Felicity with a proud smirk that's followed by a quick facial shrug. "Not bad, Blondie," she teases, clapping Felicity on the shoulder with an encouraging squeeze before letting go once more. "We'll make a sharp shooter out of you yet."
It's the next part that Natasha is concerned about though, although she doesn't let it on. The last phase is supposed to be close combat and there's nothing that can be taught in such a short amount of time to help with that. Well... usually, nothing. But usually, people aren't being taught by Natasha Romanoff. "No celebrating yet, look at me." She speaks briskly but without urgency, wanting to convey importance but not panic. "Third phase is close combat, you don't want to have your blaster out. The risk of hurting yourself is too high, put it away. I'm going to concentrate on offense, I want you to concentrate on evasion." Her eyebrow arches in a visual sign that she isn't finished just yet. "That doesn't mean run away. You've got a decent reaction time, I want you to concentrate on dodging and getting low. Go for the legs, if you fall, sweep, if you're on your feet, go for their center of gravity. Right here." The redhead places her hands low on her waist. "Use their weight against them, the harder that they fall the more damage it causes. And if you feel like you're in over your head, get away. Understand?" Natasha rolls her shoulders, one after the other in a test to feel whether there are any residual aches from the first round that have gone numb from stagnancy. "Get low, drop down, get away, start over. Just keep moving. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
Natasha finally offers a small smile, one of comfort and a hint of warmth to try and keep Felicity from getting too overwhelmed. "And here." She bends down swiftly, coming back up with the dismembered mechanical arm that she discarded and, with a firm nod, she holds it out to Felicity. The hand is facing her and flops at the end of the wrist. "Take this. You can't shoot your leg off with it. Take it by the hand, flexibility from the wrist is going to add more power behind you swing because of the rotation." She pauses, realizing that this might be one of those moments where she accidentally transitioned from helpful to a little too helpful. So, she shrugs. "I used to play softball?"
no subject
When she breathes and shoots, just like Natasha said to do, the blast hits the droid right in the mouth and Felicity just screams with joy. “AHHHHHHH! I did it. Oh my god I did it.” It’s sudden and unexpected, and Felicity actually lifts her left hand up over her mouth, eyes wide in surprise.
She’s grateful, so grateful really, that Natasha was on this mission with her, and she’s about to tell her that — Felicity’s mouth was already half open — when ‘No celebrating yet, look at me,’ cuts her off.
Close combat. She wasn’t ready for this. Shooting a blaster was one thing, but the closest combat Felicity’s seen was stabbing someone with a needle. And then she promptly ran the hell away. But right now, Natasha gives her too much advice. She needs all of it, but she's already worried she can't remember it all, especially with a metal fist aiming her for her face.
And who knew whether the next droid was also going to spontaneously light on fire?
But Natasha's advice about using someone's weight against them resonates the most. Holstering her blaster, Felicity gives Natasha a firm nod before saying: “And I’m small, so I have to use my entire body, not just my arms.” Sara taught her that, but Felicity doesn’t actually know why she says it out loud right then — maybe it was because she wanted Natasha to know she was taking this seriously, or that she wanted to prove she wasn’t a total novice.
But then the redhead says the most important thing Felicity needs to hear in this upcoming fight. 'I'm not going to let anything happen to you.' Felicity believes her.
“Hey,” She isn’t calm or ready, but Felicity smiles a little as she grabs the robotic hand. “Everyone has hobbies.” It doesn’t even register as odd anymore when people around her suddenly have more expertise than they should have in certain areas of life. Starling City had made that her new normal. But there wasn't any more time to talk.
There’s a loud swooshing sound from across the room as the simulation opens a pair of large, sliding doors. Two new, unharmed droids come walking out, taking in their surroundings. Natasha and Felicity have gone through this twice now and each time it starts the same way.
The droids come out — their stiff joints pivoting and then straightening, their heads rotating clockwise then locking into place. They’re harmless at the moment, until- there it was - their eyes flicker to red. It was the on switch. Simulation a-go.
Felicity lets Natasha take the lead. She doesn’t run or charge into the droid because — well, one, that sounded like a terrible idea given her lack of skills, and two, Natasha said she’s supposed to dodge. Dodge and duck until she finds a good time to either swing the metallic arm or use her body to push the droid over.
no subject
And it begins. Their eyes light up and Natasha swears under her breath when she realizes that she was right, these are definitely faster, and that puts a kink in her plan to take them both down before either got to Felicity in the first place. They start moving forward and Natasha’s tactic changes with the situation, steps echoing in the chamber as she sprints in their direction instead of allowing them to meet her halfway across the room. When she’s gathered enough speed she drops, allowing herself to slide across the floor with her leg out and elbow down to steer herself in an effort to knock one off of it’s feet. Her heel collides with a metal femur and… nothing. She’s pretty sure that it wobbled a bit but that might have been in her head to make herself feel a little better.
The droid bends swiftly to grab her and she barely manages to roll to her side out of it’s way in time, moving until she’s flat on her back so she can wrap her legs around a steel joint that worked as the droids knee. She pulls with enough force to make it trip, but she aims it for the other droid, who’s already making it’s way in Felicity’s direction. They collide and it’s a momentary distraction as they untangle their limbs, but neither fall completely and Natasha informs her temporary partner of what she’s learned. “They’re heavier! Which means they hit harder.” It should also mean that they move slower, but it looks as if the first two rounds were just teasers with obsolete technology to the main event.
As soon as she’s on her feet again she’s running, this time using her momentum to toss herself in the air with her hands planting firmly on the droids shoulders. She hoists herself up until she can wrap her legs around it’s neck, but the attachment is too solid; she can’t snap it. She does the next best thing and grabs the optical lenses from it’s face, effectively tearing out it’s eyes in a mess of wires. It reaches up to try and tear her off, automated fingers digging into her thighs where she knows bruises will be left, and Natasha quickly realizes that Felicity is going to have to survive for a minute longer on her own than Natasha originally wanted. This was a lot easier in Sokovia when she had Steve’s shield to borrow.
It’s dangerous but she doesn’t have much of a choice, not with another person in the room. When she feels it finally loosening her grip Natasha grabs her blaster from the holster and pushes the barrel directly against the back of the droids head before pulling the trigger, it’s face exploding out in small pieces as it immediately falls. She jumps and lands with a roll, trying to take as little damage as possible from the loss of height without letting the thing fall on her. “Felicity,” she says the woman’s name loudly in the process of getting back onto her feet and running, refusing to allow herself to fall still for even a moment as she tries to see what’s going on. She can’t, not with the second droids back facing her and Felicity on the other side of it, so Natasha dives in quick thought and grabs onto one of it’s legs, pulling with all f her strength to make it go down. Or at least distract it. Either would be good, in her opinion.
no subject
When Natasha sprints, Felicity follows behind her, but purposefully not as quickly. Part of her is hoping that Natasha's got this and will just dismember both of them like she's done with some of the previous drones. The metal arm Felicity was holding right now was proof. But part of Felicity also knows that she shouldn't ever get herself trapped against a wall again, where there was nowhere to run. If she can't fight, she at least needs to be able to run.
When the second droid gets free from being entangled, it comes for her, and from that point on, she can no longer see Natasha. Felicity takes one step back, then another, waiting to see what the droid plans on doing as it approaches, before she breaks out into a full on run around the room. Natasha's hunch was right, this thing was heavier, but it was slower too. If Felicity could run forever, it would never catch up. Too bad Felicity did not do nearly enough cardio to be able to run for more than a minute at a time, much less forever.
But when she stops to catch a breath, for the first time ever, Felicity truly understands how her size could be an advantage. She glances to the metal arm in her hand, then back at the incoming droid. Taking a deep breath, she decides to run away, but this time, around the droid. Robots always had more trouble turning than real humans, and when Felicity sees her chance, she steps with her entire body and whacks the droid in the back of the head with her blunt weapon.
"Oh no." She'd made a dent, and that was it. A small, barely noticeable dent. And the droid was fully turned around now, and she was still so close. When it moves an arm to side-swipe her, Felicity doesn't remember to dodge. She can feel the metal push against her skin, which then pushes against her rib cage — and suddenly she's on the ground, her body skidding to a stop as she has the wind completely knocked out of her.
She's fighting to breathe when she hears Natasha say her name, and she can't even muster the ability to say Help. Wheezing, she reaches for the blaster in her holster again, her left arm supporting her right as she points it up towards the droid. Her eyes are focused, she looks through the sights, and she fires. Once. Twice. Three times.
no subject
”Roll to your right!” She calls out to Felicity loudly, and Natasha grips the things loose foot to pull it to her left, causing it to fall to her right and in the opposite direction of Felicity’s roll. The sound of it hitting the ground is deafening, a mechanical crush that would probably be morbid if it was flesh and bone, and when it collides with the floor I does so flat on it’s face. Powerful or not, it’s still a robot, and robot’s don’t have the common sense to throw their arms out before them to break their own fall. As soon as it’s down Natasha is on her feet and jumping over it, running to Felicity and grabbing her hand where she still lay on the ground to help her up if she needs it. As soon as she’s sure Felicity is alright she turns to look at the newly fallen droid, and her jaw sets with a firm tension that’s paired with an unwavering stare.
This is ridiculous. Natasha wouldn’t be angry if it was just her, but Felicity doesn’t have the training to go through something like this with someone who isn’t like Natasha, and even then, it was a little too close for comfort. What type of person would throw someone without extensive training into a test session like this? The blatant disregard for an innocent life is enough to leave a spoiled taste on Natasha’s tongue, coppery with anger, and she reaches for her blaster at her hip once more. “You want close contact?” She says it aloud with heat in her voice, fury like venom dripping from her every word, and with three long strides she’s at the droid’s side when it’s arms move to push itself up off the ground. A heavy foot lands in the center of its back, slamming it back down onto tile as Natasha keeps it still, and within a second her blaster is out of its holster and pointed close range to the back of the machine’s head in one fluid motion. There’s no hesitation when she pulls the trigger to blast a hole through it’s circuitry, and she has the urge to shoot it once more but restrains, instead letting the weapon lower to her side. Killers make sure their target is dead; murderers take vengeance beyond that. It’s a distinct line that Natasha is sure to never cross, even if the target isn’t human.
Only then does she turn back to Felicity, returning to her with her blaster back in its holster, and she eyes her up and down before making direct eye contact. “Well, you’re alive.” She can’t help but grin. “All in all, it could have been worse.” Her smile fades, though, into something more sympathetic. “You alright?”
no subject
It isn’t until she hears Natasha’s voice that she looks down and notices the woman has her hand on the droid’s leg. If survival hadn’t taken over already, it certainly takes over now and Felicity rolls, hoping to God that she was actually rolling right and not left. Her eyes are squeezed shut and her arms are protecting her face when she hears the metal crushing against the floor. She winces, multiple times, when the droid’s arms hit the ground after its torso.
Feeling Natasha’s hand on her hers isn’t enough to get her to get back up, or even open her eyes. Her heart was pounding. What happened against the wall earlier was close, but this was closer. She actually could have died right then, she thinks, and that would have been it. So even if Natasha tugs, she just lays there for a minute, almost like dead weight.
Like dead weight trying to catch its breath.
She doesn’t see Natasha walk over to the droid and push it down with her foot, but she can hear it. She can also hear the shot, and the crackling of the ripped and newly exposed wires. Only then does she breathe again.
You can do this, she thinks to herself. You’ve been through worse. Get up.
One of her palms push up against the ground and Felicity manages to sit upright, glancing over at the droid with a hole in its head before she looks back at Natasha.
“Thank you,” she says, as she starts pushing herself to stand. The whole process is a little wobbly, but she gets there. “For saving me.”
no subject
Natasha stands when Felicity starts to move up, her back straightening as she does. “You know who to go to now when you need a teammate. We’re walking out of here with more of an advantage than what we walked in with, that’s what matters in situations like this.” Particularly because now, Natasha knows that there are most likely a lot of people like Felicity around these parts that will need her help just as much as Felicity did. If she can provide some sort of comfort for her, perhaps word will get around that Natasha is willing to help those who need it. They’re more powerful if they work together in this place, Natasha doesn’t need to be there for a full month to already recognize that.
”You ever want help practicing with that gun, you just come to me. A girl has got to be able to watch her own back. For now… let’s get you out of this hell box, huh?”
The end! (if you're cool with it)
She nods twice when Natasha offers to help her practice her aim. Being able to shoot at all and hit — that had been one of the best things to come out of this. It isn’t until Natasha is telling her that they can leave that Felicity realizes that that was it. They’d made it for all three rounds. The simulation and the mission was over.
“Yes. Yes please.”
She’d certainly have another story to tell Stiles the next day. Somehow it no longer seems fair that his mission hadn’t involved robots bursting into flame or trying to hunt him down and kill him.
*****
Later that night at dinner, when Felicity gets to spend some time alone, she pulls out her PDC and finds Natasha in her contacts list. She was the only Special named that, so it made it easy to figure out which Natasha she should be texting. When it arrives, it’s encrypted to her, and it reads:
Natasha, it’s Felicity. If you ever need a friend who’s more than a little familiar with computers, you’ve now got one. I may not be that good (yet) out there, but in here, I am pure magic.
A few seconds later:
Okay maybe not pure magic because that’s just not possible and hacking computers is a total science. But you know what I mean.
Natasha Romanoff, you’ve just made yourself a friend.