Phase 1 had been nice and simple. People will do anything for a decent app on their phones. Throwing something as easy as a directory that gives suggestions for content together was child's play, and having people download it was just basic word of mouth marketing. Even made a killing off sales. Of course no one knows about the access to their mics and cameras they've given away. But yes, Phase 1 was a success. Plug that data in an algorithm that detects talk about throw downs and UG, and boom. Phase 2 was just as simple. People love drones. A cheap, consumer grade drone that can store your info for easy Mr. Vendy access also sold well enough that the camera info from the drones is doing a good job covering the slightly more affluent areas. Now it was time for phase 3. The final part is a simple string of surveillance along the boarder. Volt just needed to find the best spots for the most coverage with the smallest overhead cost.
She wandered the boarder, eyes scanning the buildings for vantage points. Had to be a space where the little rotation the cameras had would work. Something that could plug into the systems. This area had very little in the way of good spots. And it had been about an extra 3 meateres more then Volt would have liked from the area covered by the last one. She'd been at this for about three hours now. It was getting tedious. She reached back and pressed her fingers into the back of her neck, rotating her head a little from side to side to massage away the neck pain from craning it for so long. Thats when she saw it: the perfect spot. It didn't just have a little space to rotate, it would have so much vision. She might have to even pick out a nice fisheye lens and come back for this one later. No, she needed to put soemthing down now. One issue: It was on FM's side of the boarder. Well fuck. Well, two issues. It was also two stories up.
Volt looked around a little, double checking she was alone before letting out a little sustained note that distorted inside her mask, just loud enough that it might have garnered attention. But it didn't. Didn't seem to anyway. She adjusted her posture, before the small blue spark that accompanied her vibe shot through her body, sending that familiar, energetic shiver down her spine. Her mechanical legs whirred excitedly with energy, the heat ports around the lower thighs and ankles hissing slightly as she jumped.
She shot up into the air, almost as hish as she needed to be. Almost. Easy to miscalculate at this distance, and she was just off. She put her feet out, cushining her blow against the side of the wall and scrambling with her arms. Her mechanical grip managed to catch the roof, and the inevitable fall her miscalculation would have caused was now evitable.
Fucking stupid. No pressure, its just MF turf.
She took a breath of relief, and reached into the pleather satchel she had, shaped like a sad cartoon cat, and pulled out the camera. She took a moment to make sure everything was order, before looking left and right. She had to shuffle over to the side a little to reach the mains port on the outside of the building. Within five minutes she had the camera installed. Next came the drop. She lowered one foot, her legs still whirring with the additional energy as she let go with her hand and pushed with her feet, flipping off the side of the wall and landing, a little heavy, just inside the purple boarder. Well, at least no one saw.
She wandered the boarder, eyes scanning the buildings for vantage points. Had to be a space where the little rotation the cameras had would work. Something that could plug into the systems. This area had very little in the way of good spots. And it had been about an extra 3 meateres more then Volt would have liked from the area covered by the last one. She'd been at this for about three hours now. It was getting tedious. She reached back and pressed her fingers into the back of her neck, rotating her head a little from side to side to massage away the neck pain from craning it for so long. Thats when she saw it: the perfect spot. It didn't just have a little space to rotate, it would have so much vision. She might have to even pick out a nice fisheye lens and come back for this one later. No, she needed to put soemthing down now. One issue: It was on FM's side of the boarder. Well fuck. Well, two issues. It was also two stories up.
Volt looked around a little, double checking she was alone before letting out a little sustained note that distorted inside her mask, just loud enough that it might have garnered attention. But it didn't. Didn't seem to anyway. She adjusted her posture, before the small blue spark that accompanied her vibe shot through her body, sending that familiar, energetic shiver down her spine. Her mechanical legs whirred excitedly with energy, the heat ports around the lower thighs and ankles hissing slightly as she jumped.
She shot up into the air, almost as hish as she needed to be. Almost. Easy to miscalculate at this distance, and she was just off. She put her feet out, cushining her blow against the side of the wall and scrambling with her arms. Her mechanical grip managed to catch the roof, and the inevitable fall her miscalculation would have caused was now evitable.
Fucking stupid. No pressure, its just MF turf.
She took a breath of relief, and reached into the pleather satchel she had, shaped like a sad cartoon cat, and pulled out the camera. She took a moment to make sure everything was order, before looking left and right. She had to shuffle over to the side a little to reach the mains port on the outside of the building. Within five minutes she had the camera installed. Next came the drop. She lowered one foot, her legs still whirring with the additional energy as she let go with her hand and pushed with her feet, flipping off the side of the wall and landing, a little heavy, just inside the purple boarder. Well, at least no one saw.
Well, that was bold. It was a confidence and brazenness DC could appreciate. Sure, just launch yourself onto a purple building and install some hardware! And all on her lonesome, as well. That was the kind of energy DC thought UG was missing, to be honest. More people should break the border tension more often.
Oh, right. Mental note: tell Zip about the camera. Maybe he could do something fun with it. *What* he could do was outside of her wheelhouse, but probably more fun for him than her smashing it outright. Probably.
“Darling, I like the go-get-’em attitude,” DC called to the mechanically-enhanced stepper, walking forward on her own. It was a risk, to leave Dascha watching from the sidelines, the white shepherd settled on the sidewalk with a quiet command. Any UG could come up on her blind and deaf side for a quick shank. But what was fun without a little risk?
“That said, I don’t think you’re getting out of here without paying the appropriate pound of flesh.” DC smiled, showing her teeth in her signature lopsided smirk. Her movements were clearly telegraphed, a sideways strut that hummed the barest bit of Vibe through her but also moved her towards cutting Volt off from crossing Lightning Street back to safety. “Trespassing penalty. We have to keep things fair.”
She reached to unclasp one of the lengths of chain around her neck, to start winding around her knuckles. “Buuuut, if you want to run, we can play that game, too.”
Oh, right. Mental note: tell Zip about the camera. Maybe he could do something fun with it. *What* he could do was outside of her wheelhouse, but probably more fun for him than her smashing it outright. Probably.
“Darling, I like the go-get-’em attitude,” DC called to the mechanically-enhanced stepper, walking forward on her own. It was a risk, to leave Dascha watching from the sidelines, the white shepherd settled on the sidewalk with a quiet command. Any UG could come up on her blind and deaf side for a quick shank. But what was fun without a little risk?
“That said, I don’t think you’re getting out of here without paying the appropriate pound of flesh.” DC smiled, showing her teeth in her signature lopsided smirk. Her movements were clearly telegraphed, a sideways strut that hummed the barest bit of Vibe through her but also moved her towards cutting Volt off from crossing Lightning Street back to safety. “Trespassing penalty. We have to keep things fair.”
She reached to unclasp one of the lengths of chain around her neck, to start winding around her knuckles. “Buuuut, if you want to run, we can play that game, too.”
Volt's attention was focussed so much on the task at hand that this FM scared the shit out of her. She jumped a little, getting that fuzzy anxious burst when primal animal fear hits for half a second. She stood slowly, trying to remain composed and, also, kinda look cool. Like those old superhero movies. She took in the FM's appearance as she spoke, noting the wounds, how similar Volt might have looked if she didn't get out of *that* situation as quickly as she had. Volt saw the dog in the background, the FM in front of her almost seeming entirely pointless as the cuteness of the pooch absorbed her attention. A moment later she snapped out of it, avoiding the temptation to go pet the dog.
Focus. Bad guy right ahead. Ok.
"You know, I appreciate the complement. But you can drop the bad comedy routine, saying that you'll get any pounds of flesh off of me. You really don't want this fight." Volt snippily joked at DC, her voice still distorted by her mask. "I don't even have my 'kick your ass' mask with me right now. How're you supposed to see how bored I am the whole fight if I don't have the LED mask, eh?" Volt chuckled to herself, taking a few steps towards purple, just to emphasise her lack of fear.
"All jokes aside though, I don't think you want to mess with me. Firstly, your little chain is going to do fuck all against these..." Volt clenched her fist, a spark of blue flashing across her olive green eyes, and the neon oranges and yellows in her hair and on her clothes began to glow ever so slightly. "... and secondly, you don't want to see S.L.A.P."
Focus. Bad guy right ahead. Ok.
"You know, I appreciate the complement. But you can drop the bad comedy routine, saying that you'll get any pounds of flesh off of me. You really don't want this fight." Volt snippily joked at DC, her voice still distorted by her mask. "I don't even have my 'kick your ass' mask with me right now. How're you supposed to see how bored I am the whole fight if I don't have the LED mask, eh?" Volt chuckled to herself, taking a few steps towards purple, just to emphasise her lack of fear.
"All jokes aside though, I don't think you want to mess with me. Firstly, your little chain is going to do fuck all against these..." Volt clenched her fist, a spark of blue flashing across her olive green eyes, and the neon oranges and yellows in her hair and on her clothes began to glow ever so slightly. "... and secondly, you don't want to see S.L.A.P."
"We're already starting with advice! Thank you kindly, dove, but I'll blindly ignore it regardless." DC felt the magnet in the chain click, securing it around her knuckles. "You can't sweet talk your way out of this one.
"Normally we'd set stakes, mutually agree on things, etcetera, so on," DC kept walking and talking, continuing to position herself to keep her opponent from simply vacating the scene of the crime. "But this is a little more invasive than a scuffle in the middle of the street. Full on crossed the line! So, how about this for terms: I'll leave you breathing."
A purple-and-chrome DJ bot, never too far from DC on her patrols, hovered into view, speakers detaching from its side, the whole head the camera. A little green indicator showed it was on, and ready to go.
“Your call if you want to add any others, or just cue the beat. Because this is happening.” She gave a showy little bow. “Try to make it fun for me."
"Normally we'd set stakes, mutually agree on things, etcetera, so on," DC kept walking and talking, continuing to position herself to keep her opponent from simply vacating the scene of the crime. "But this is a little more invasive than a scuffle in the middle of the street. Full on crossed the line! So, how about this for terms: I'll leave you breathing."
A purple-and-chrome DJ bot, never too far from DC on her patrols, hovered into view, speakers detaching from its side, the whole head the camera. A little green indicator showed it was on, and ready to go.
“Your call if you want to add any others, or just cue the beat. Because this is happening.” She gave a showy little bow. “Try to make it fun for me."
“How very polite of you. I’ll try to do the same.” Volt retorted, circling the FM until DC was fully in Volt’s escape path, letting her know that Volt wasn’t scared of being cut off by one FM. At least one who wasn’t recognisable… as of yet. Volt reached into her bag and pulled out what looked like a metal choker with little coils on either side, and a glove with some kind of conical device on the back of it. She attached both, holding the gloved hand up.
“Say hello to S.L.A.P; the Sound and Light Amplification Project. I can’t wait for you to see what she does. It’ll blow you away.” She joked, pointing to the DJ bot and throwing her pleather kitty bag over DC’s head and over to orange territory. No point letting something as cute as that get scuffed in the fight. With a snap of her fingers, the music began.
The beat kicked in. Volt hasn’t known what to expect, but as soon as the swelling guitars began, she found her centre. At each beat of the drum, she kicked one of her robotic legs in to the ground. “The name’s Volt. Just so you know who kicked your purple ass.” Then the vocals started, and Volt screamed out in unison with them…
“THUNDER!”
Her eyes flashed blue again, the neon glowing more.
“THUNDER!”
She readied herself in anticipation.
“THUNDER!”
“Say hello to S.L.A.P; the Sound and Light Amplification Project. I can’t wait for you to see what she does. It’ll blow you away.” She joked, pointing to the DJ bot and throwing her pleather kitty bag over DC’s head and over to orange territory. No point letting something as cute as that get scuffed in the fight. With a snap of her fingers, the music began.
The beat kicked in. Volt hasn’t known what to expect, but as soon as the swelling guitars began, she found her centre. At each beat of the drum, she kicked one of her robotic legs in to the ground. “The name’s Volt. Just so you know who kicked your purple ass.” Then the vocals started, and Volt screamed out in unison with them…
“THUNDER!”
Her eyes flashed blue again, the neon glowing more.
“THUNDER!”
She readied herself in anticipation.
“THUNDER!”
Ooh, an excellent musical choice. DC didn’t know if it was to the UG’s taste or not, but it was certainly to her own. Perhaps they were kindred spirits, on opposite sides of this fight–
She snickered to herself. Nah. Even with the screaming, she was still Orange.
Time to warm up, then, and see what kind of a show she could drag out of this half-metal trespasser. DC’s style could perhaps be called ‘eclectic,’ owing to her varied training, but most everything she incorporated had a few things in common: she liked to keep moving, and she liked to keep moving in spins.
She wasn’t Pinned yet, hadn’t built the Vibe to Travel, but she wasn’t one who relied on her Vibe to make the first hit. No, she was all about taking the shot. The playful bow from before repeated into a tumble that took her forward, a full 360 that ended back on her hands. Momentum transferred to them to swing her legs around into a kick, trusting the metal plates in her boots to keep her from breaking toes on prosthetics should it land. Probably.
And if it didn't, it was the kind of sweep that could easily carry DC back to her feet, or around for a second pass.
Vibe bubbled up in her, but she wasn’t about to spend it yet. She'd just got here.
[Rolled 7]
She snickered to herself. Nah. Even with the screaming, she was still Orange.
Time to warm up, then, and see what kind of a show she could drag out of this half-metal trespasser. DC’s style could perhaps be called ‘eclectic,’ owing to her varied training, but most everything she incorporated had a few things in common: she liked to keep moving, and she liked to keep moving in spins.
She wasn’t Pinned yet, hadn’t built the Vibe to Travel, but she wasn’t one who relied on her Vibe to make the first hit. No, she was all about taking the shot. The playful bow from before repeated into a tumble that took her forward, a full 360 that ended back on her hands. Momentum transferred to them to swing her legs around into a kick, trusting the metal plates in her boots to keep her from breaking toes on prosthetics should it land. Probably.
And if it didn't, it was the kind of sweep that could easily carry DC back to her feet, or around for a second pass.
Vibe bubbled up in her, but she wasn’t about to spend it yet. She'd just got here.
[Rolled 7]
Volt tensed as DC came closer, eyes watching the feet as they swung in aesthetic arcs. It wasn't conventional, but it was attractive to look at. Volt continued to sing along, voice growing more distorted as the energy inside her began to gather. Foot keeping beat, letting Volt feel the rhythm of the swings DC was making with her arches.
Volt's brain began to light up, synapses firing faster as the energy stored within. Her perception of time distorted slightly, letting her calculate a nanosecond more as the foot swung towards her face. She shifted her weight, leaning back and just managing to het her face out of the trajectory in time. Her mechanical fist balled, and she shifted her weight forwards again. She second kick came quickly spinning out of the momentum of the first. But Volt was allready moving in. She closed the distance between the two, holding out her mechanical arm so DC's shin made contact with the metal , blocking the kick, and thrusting forward with her meat arm to try and catch DC across the blind side of her face. But the momentum of the two caused positions to shift off to the side, the punch not connecting as hard as Volt wanted, and at an odd angle, so that it caused her knuckle to ache and for what would have been a hard blow to DC to be more of a shove that stung her jaw.
The two were separated by the exchange, Volt taking a step back, and DC being knocked off balance. Volt continued to shriek the lyrics, as she pushed forward and launched an attack of her own, using the empowered legs she had jumped so high with to try and propel herself forward for a mechanical clothesline across DC's chest.
[Rolled 10- Winner Round 1 (1/0)]
Volt's brain began to light up, synapses firing faster as the energy stored within. Her perception of time distorted slightly, letting her calculate a nanosecond more as the foot swung towards her face. She shifted her weight, leaning back and just managing to het her face out of the trajectory in time. Her mechanical fist balled, and she shifted her weight forwards again. She second kick came quickly spinning out of the momentum of the first. But Volt was allready moving in. She closed the distance between the two, holding out her mechanical arm so DC's shin made contact with the metal , blocking the kick, and thrusting forward with her meat arm to try and catch DC across the blind side of her face. But the momentum of the two caused positions to shift off to the side, the punch not connecting as hard as Volt wanted, and at an odd angle, so that it caused her knuckle to ache and for what would have been a hard blow to DC to be more of a shove that stung her jaw.
The two were separated by the exchange, Volt taking a step back, and DC being knocked off balance. Volt continued to shriek the lyrics, as she pushed forward and launched an attack of her own, using the empowered legs she had jumped so high with to try and propel herself forward for a mechanical clothesline across DC's chest.
[Rolled 10- Winner Round 1 (1/0)]
Fast.
DC was good at getting her movements continuous, but perhaps she hadn’t revved up to be chaotic enough. Volt seemed almost a step ahead of her. A clean dodge, and then a solid block that made her shin ache. The block was jarring enough that she barely caught wind of the punch aimed for her blindside. She didn’t in time to prevent it fully.
Hitting that side was smart. Even if it just clipped her jaw, it was disorienting. Her smooth whirlwind of spiraled kicks was knocked off course, and she crashed backwards into an awkward roll that got her to her feet gracelessly.
And then her opponent was on her again, ready for the next assault. DC barked an excited laugh as the clothesline closed in, but this she not only avoided, but moved with, reaching to guide the lunge as if they were ballroom dancing together, Volt’s back to her chest. It worked well, considering their similar sizes.
“The banter is going to suck for the playback if you keep screaming,” DC cackled. Time for something flashy to make up for it.
Light blossomed around DC’s center as she summoned a Pin, locking her center of gravity onto a glowing point that let her levitate and spin freely, controlling speed and direction. Which meant, when she twirled Volt around in their impromptu partner dance, she could snap-change direction to aim an accelerated chain-wrapped fist towards that annoying gas mask hiding a much more aggravating mouth.
[Rolled 11]
DC was good at getting her movements continuous, but perhaps she hadn’t revved up to be chaotic enough. Volt seemed almost a step ahead of her. A clean dodge, and then a solid block that made her shin ache. The block was jarring enough that she barely caught wind of the punch aimed for her blindside. She didn’t in time to prevent it fully.
Hitting that side was smart. Even if it just clipped her jaw, it was disorienting. Her smooth whirlwind of spiraled kicks was knocked off course, and she crashed backwards into an awkward roll that got her to her feet gracelessly.
And then her opponent was on her again, ready for the next assault. DC barked an excited laugh as the clothesline closed in, but this she not only avoided, but moved with, reaching to guide the lunge as if they were ballroom dancing together, Volt’s back to her chest. It worked well, considering their similar sizes.
“The banter is going to suck for the playback if you keep screaming,” DC cackled. Time for something flashy to make up for it.
Light blossomed around DC’s center as she summoned a Pin, locking her center of gravity onto a glowing point that let her levitate and spin freely, controlling speed and direction. Which meant, when she twirled Volt around in their impromptu partner dance, she could snap-change direction to aim an accelerated chain-wrapped fist towards that annoying gas mask hiding a much more aggravating mouth.
[Rolled 11]
Volt could see the dodge. Time had slowed in her mind enough that she knew the attack wasn’t going to connect, but she had overcommitted. Too much forward momentum and she shot straight past DC. But that wasn’t the end of the exchange. DC’s arms felt cold against Volt’s skin. She was storing energy, heat, and she was sweltering to the touch.
Her momentum was wrenched, her attack redirected into a two step. Glow from behind, and suddenly she had a steel-wrapped knuckle smashing right into her face. The impact was like getting hit in the face by a professional batter, all immediate and unrelenting force that made her vision flash white, and that irritating, ringing squeal of protest in the ears that accompanied trauma to the face. Volt was knocked off her feet, spinning in the air as the blow followed through. If the pain didn’t linger as long as it did, bolt might have been able to land on a knee. But the blow was so sharp it sent her spiralling to the floor.
She quickly recovered her senses, rolling out of the way of any follow up attack and managing to kick up off the ground to get back to her knees. She felt blood on the bridge of her nose where the mask had cut into the skin because of the fist, and she could feel the swelling on her forehead already. She let out an aggravated scream, standing but not having time to do much else before DC made her next move.
[Rolled 2 - Looser around 2 (1/1)]
Her momentum was wrenched, her attack redirected into a two step. Glow from behind, and suddenly she had a steel-wrapped knuckle smashing right into her face. The impact was like getting hit in the face by a professional batter, all immediate and unrelenting force that made her vision flash white, and that irritating, ringing squeal of protest in the ears that accompanied trauma to the face. Volt was knocked off her feet, spinning in the air as the blow followed through. If the pain didn’t linger as long as it did, bolt might have been able to land on a knee. But the blow was so sharp it sent her spiralling to the floor.
She quickly recovered her senses, rolling out of the way of any follow up attack and managing to kick up off the ground to get back to her knees. She felt blood on the bridge of her nose where the mask had cut into the skin because of the fist, and she could feel the swelling on her forehead already. She let out an aggravated scream, standing but not having time to do much else before DC made her next move.
[Rolled 2 - Looser around 2 (1/1)]
DC liked to keep up momentum, but there was a little bit of a problem. She'd Pinned herself, meaning she was stuck there until she dismissed it or Traveled off of it. Easy enough, really, it was just making the decision.
But, despite her great amount of practice, DC's mind wasn't working at the same speed as Volt's. A split-second decision still took her a moment too long, as did the orbital spins necessary to get the Vibe up. The crack of displaced atmosphere as she teleported off her Pin was a telegraph of its own, even if Volt hadn't experienced it before.
In a flash DC was right to Volt's side, her pin pulsing behind her, left behind. But Far Traveling took all of DC's momentum away, leaving her standing as still as if she'd simply been copy-pasted suddenly, standing in place.
This was yet another moment for Volt's quick mind to catch up, to see the wind up on a high kick aimed for the woman's head again.
[Rolled 4]
But, despite her great amount of practice, DC's mind wasn't working at the same speed as Volt's. A split-second decision still took her a moment too long, as did the orbital spins necessary to get the Vibe up. The crack of displaced atmosphere as she teleported off her Pin was a telegraph of its own, even if Volt hadn't experienced it before.
In a flash DC was right to Volt's side, her pin pulsing behind her, left behind. But Far Traveling took all of DC's momentum away, leaving her standing as still as if she'd simply been copy-pasted suddenly, standing in place.
This was yet another moment for Volt's quick mind to catch up, to see the wind up on a high kick aimed for the woman's head again.
[Rolled 4]
Moderators: AJ_89 Steven (played by Robo-Craig) QnQ Hide Miyagawa (played by Monoclejack) Chroma (played by lewsey)
