2014.03.29 - Dangerous Games

The convention center is remarkably filled with people as the first day of the Defence Expo kicks off. There is security at the door, and the general public really isn't invited. But, players in the defence industry certainly are. And with all the extra employees hired as both convention staff, security, and contractors for the various vendors and their displays... well... the place isn't quite Fort Knox.

Organizations from all over the world are represented here. Some openly, some not so much. But there are displays showing the newest tech from all of the industry leaders, all of them cutting edge designs ranging from conventional firearms to the latest in personal armor, to brand new vehicle designs.

None of it may be quite as high-end as some of the things coming out of secret labs like Stark's R&D department, but not everyone has Stark as their resident genius, either. So, the buzz of the conference, this year, is a display of high-tech stealth vehicles displayed on the main stage of the sales floor: a pair of sleek Hummers with refractive plating, and a trio of customized VTOL craft capable of jumping single operatives like personal, silent gyrocopters - all of them armed differently (from anti-insurgent defences to search and rescue) to demonstrate their versatility.

"No, I am not buying you a tank." As the head of Tesladyne, Robo theoretically wouldn't have much trouble entering the expo -- except for the fact that, technically, Robo isn't a citizen of the United States. Heck, he technically doesn't even have any human rights. Instead, the machine man is considered property of Tesladyne -- the very company he himself owns. Which means, technically... he owns himself. The legal ramifications of Robo's status has kept lawyers busy for decades.

The squat machine man is currently clad in a dark black shirt that says 'STAND BACK, I'M ABOUT TO DO SCIENCE', with a picture of a stick figure and a beaker. Beneath that, khakis. His luminescent blue eyes are sweeping the room, inspecting the various pieces of technology with a gaze that can see in every known electromagnetic spectrum -- and a few unknown ones. He's accompanied by Jenkins, a tall, muscular, middle age man with dark hair -- clad in a dark black shirt with a loose brown coat. Talk is, Jenkins is Robo's bodyguard. If you wonder why a 500 pound robot needs a bodyguard... well, you probably don't know Jenkins.

"--would be nice," Jenkins hums, next to Robo. "Just in case."

"Keep your eyes peeled," Robo replies, continuing to sweep his eyes over the expo floor. "We're looking for anything that resembles Tesla tech."

Clint Barton arrives near the start of the Expo. He is dressed down wearing a outfit best described as business casual. He wears nothing that proclaims is status as a Stark Employee or his affiliation with SHIELD, he looks like any nuber of the Expo's customers. He is brwsing the various dispays of hand help armaments. However the robot in a t-shirt does get a look or two from him.

Joseph enters through a back entrance that didn't exist before he arrived, and stops existing after he's passed through. A steel windowframe, reaching to the ground, opening up to let him through. Once beyond the hurdle of getting in, he merely acts as though /of course/ he should be here. He wears an expensive tux and looks at anyone who dresses less expensively than him as though they're servants. In fact, when he talks to Clint Barton, he seems to assume he's an employee of the expo. "I asked for wine ten minutes ago, why don't I have it yet?" He follows the gaze towards the T-Shirted robot, but doesn't act on it.

Some people need special provisions to get into the Expo. Most have an affiliation that allows them, the rest needs specials. Robyn? She is wanted and the place where the most cops of the city are would likely be the one where they least look for her. In the waiting line she had swiped the access pass of an other blonde, one of the stage crew for one of the companies advertising here, and did her best to cover up the eye with makeup and her hair, so she wouldn't look like major obvious. Her bow? left in her current stay.

Tuxes probably make a fellow stand out, really. Most people are dressed in business casual. Security wears black. Undercover security... well, they're undercover in a room full of guys who know what undercover looks like. So... yeah.

For her part, Talia al Ghul drifts unobtrusively among the displays. She is dressed in businesslike fashion and has taken enough care that she raises no alarms to anyone. Just another business woman among many others.

Her slow wander takes her past several displays, including the stealth vehicle focus, until she finds herself drifting toward where the robot stands, turning her head slightly as she catches the end of Joseph's imperious demand. A slender brow arches faintly, but she chooses to say nothing. Not her business.

"--the hummers are interesting," Jenkins notes, as he approaches the display -- never more than a few yards away from Robo. Though he appears focused, his eyes are sweeping the room too -- not with an array of electromagnetic sensors, but with hard, well-trained eyes. Silently assessing threats. "What would Tesla tech look like, anyway?"

"We don't have the funds to purchase hummers. You know how much money I lost on that whole anti-gravity array debacle?" Robo replies. His eyes briefly center on Clint, then Joseph -- he pauses a moment, metal lids descending. Giving him a narrow-eyed look. "--hnh. That's... weird."

"--that's Erik Lehnsherr," Jenkins responds without looking up from the display -- his voice almost whisper-quiet. Just loud enough for Robo to hear. Probably Talia, too. "Otherwise known as Magneto. Not sure what he's doing here."

"--oh. Huh." Robo turns back to Jenkins. "And here I am, made of metal."

"Try not to think about it."

Clint turns to Joseph and smiles, "Maybe cause I don't have once of those event staff jackets." He ponts out a couple of folks in the crowd who do. "And well I figured this was a bit too high class ot sneak in my own hootch." he looks at the man not overhearing the comment on him being Magneto, which is likely a good thing. He starts to wander on not realyl having a shopping agenda.

Joseph does overhear others informing people about him, and he heads over to Jenkins and Atomic Robo. "Hello. I would introduce myself, but it seems you already know who I am." He's certainly not hiding it, if people want to make a problem of him being here, he'll show them how unwise that is. Security staff probably doesn't need to be shown to know, either. "I'm not in the habit of using disadvantages like that against people without reason. As long as we keep this friendly, you have nothing to worry about."

Interesting. What would Magneto be doing here? Particularly given the fact his island has just disappeared over the Balkans. Curious, isn't it?

Talia keeps her thoughts to herself, turning instead to inspect the new line of sniper rifles at the kiosk beside mainstage display. Taking one of the guns from its cradle, under the supervision of the kiosk staff, she inspects it expertly and raises it to look through the scope at the back corner of the kiosk, finger quite away from the trigger. Not that it would matter. The gun is empty, anyway.

Robyn does her best to blend in with the gang of showgirls to get past the controls, but once she passed, she glares ad the information papers, scanning them for anything that might be interesting. Cars, interesting but not affordable. Guns? not her type. Gadgets? neither. At last her eyes fall upon two items - bar and explosives. Maybe the later might be there for demonstration, but for now she tried the bar, closing in to the same area C. Barton and J. Lehnsherr were.

Robo pauses as Joseph approaches; Jenkins tenses. Those familiar with military training -- those accustom to violence -- may see the subtle cues. The slight shift in Jenkins' posture; the movement of his feet -- how his hand inches a centimeter closer to his belt. The way he silently places himself between Robo and Joseph.

"--y'know, I never really thought of being made of metal as a disadvantage," Robo replies to Joseph. "Anyway, nice t'meet you. I'm Atomic Robo. You've probably never heard of me on account of the fact that I don't commit gross atrocities and mass murders."

"Robo," Jenkins complains, his voice treacherously soft.

"What? Look, the guy's a supervillain," Robo responds to Jenkins. "Have you ever seen the getup he wears?"

Considering that Robo is made of metal, Jenkins's movements probably do little to actually protect Robo from Joseph. Who replies to Robo with a smile, "I'd love to discuss politics some day, but this isn't the venue. It's nice to meet you, Mister Robo, and who is your bodyguard?" He finally addresses someone who is actually staff, "Excuse me, I asked for wine fifteen minutes ago." Then he finally replies to Robo, "It's a disadvantage if you have issue with me, at least."

Clint drifts over towards the bar area as well. He gives the unknown blonde(Robyn) a nod as they end up in proximity, "One constant with these thigns they always have a well stocked bar.' he then heads towards it. "Granted the down side is I might be counted as on duty so probably should only have one."

Robyn gave back a little smile, nodding on Clint's suggestion "Just one for the go." she agreed, keeping the guy in the suit on her right side. As she arrived at the bar, she knocked to the top and gave the keep er a smile, lifting the hand with 2 fingers. "due espresso, por favore."

Talia puts down the gun, spending a moment or two conversing about it quietly with its vendor. Then, however, she turns toward the small trio facing off against each other. She has nothing to do with running this convention. So, really, she doesn't much care if the trio get themselves into a fight. But there *are* explosives on display here. And the vehicles are something she has her eye on. She'd like them to stay in one piece.

So, she moves to set herself to one side of the men and extends a hand to Robo. "I'm sorry," she says with an easy smile on her lips. "I couldn't help overhear you later. You're with Tesladyne, are you not? Miranda Tate. I'm the CEO of Trutina Enterprises."

"He's Jenkins. From the vampire dimension." Robo jerks a thumb back at Jenkins. Who has to struggle not to roll his eyes. "And mister, I've got more issues with you than a comic book store." At that one, Jenkins does roll his eyes.

"Robo," Jenkins interrupts, "we're looking for Tesla Tech, remember?"

"Ennhgh." Robo narrows one eye at Joseph. "Just don't commit any genocides in the parking lot, alright?" But then, quite suddenly, there is a Miranda Tate; Robo pauses, turning to face her -- glancing down at the hand. "--hnh? Oh, hey." He takes it within his own metal hand -- surprisingly warm to the touch! In fact, it's about the same temperature you'd expect a human hand to occupy. "Atomic Robo. Or, y'know, just... Robo's fine."

Jenkins is now watching both Joseph and Talia. Closely.

"As long as you keep those issues at home, Mister Robo, it need not impact this event. I have no desire to cause any disruption here." He too glances to Talia, and then asks, "Excuse me, miss Tate." He extends his hand, "Erik Lehnsherr, could you tell me what Trutina Enterprises deals in?"

Clint bartin looks back at Robyn and asks, "You here for work too?" he asks casually. He then says, "Granted I would likely wander through even if I was still retired." He orders a draft bee for himself.

"Robo. A pleasure," Ms Tate says, her grip firm, but not forceful. If she is bothered by the fact he's a robot, it doesn't show. She turns to Joseph, extending a hand in turn. "Imperator," she says, inclining her head in a gesture almost a bow. "I am honoured. Trutina trades in a variety of markets, including biotechnology and personal defence technologies."

Robyn nodded somewhat, showing the swied entry card for some gun manufactuer's showgirl. "Just have a bit time before I need to go to the booth." she told, pulling that fully from the hat. "Rob, and you?"

Jenkins has stopped focusing so tightly on Joseph; his attention is now locked largely on Tate. The scowl he wears looks like it might have been etched on his features -- if you strip the skin away, you might expect to see it carved on his skull.

"--biotechnology and personal defense? I take it you're presenting some of the tech we're seeing, here?" Robo asks. "My associate and I are -- oh, right -- Tesladyne. We specialize in... uh, well." He glances back at Jenkins, who offers a shrug. Then, back to Miranda. "...science... stuff."

"I would be interested in hearing more about both of that, miss Tate." Joseph replies, and he decides to glance towards Robo when he makes his next comment, smiling as though it's some kind of in-joke, "We always need more ways to commit terrible atrocities in Genosha, isn't that right, Mister Robo?" He finally gets his wine, and takes a sip.

Talia has seen worse gargoyle faces in her life than Jenkins. He's easy to ignore. Or rather, he's easy to leave in her periphery as a threat to be countered only if he makes an open move against her. And even then, she's just as likely to play helpless than to allow him to tip her hand.

She gestures lightly across the display floor towards a far corner. "We have a small booth in section 8. Generally, we're displaying a new field triage unit."

Her brow arches slightly at the gauche joke, but she smiles pleasantly nonetheless.

Clint nods, "Nice to meet you Rob." he extends a hand nad says, "I'm Clint." he then adds, "I work in corporate security." he does not name an employer. He takes a sip of his drink, "I might have ot check out hte booth later hough I am not really here to buy."

"--hzn." Robo's only response to Joseph is a slight synthesized murmur, a slight glance. Jenkins, meanwhile, is watching Tate like a hawk; maybe it's something about the way she carries herself. If he suspects anything, it's relatively clear Robo doesn't -- his voice is actually a bit cheerful as he responds to Tate: "--field triage? That's pretty neat. You know, Tesladyne was consulting with DARPA's PETMAN project to produce EMT drones a while back -- machines that can perform emergency medical care in situations where medics would be under a great deal of risk."

Robyn shrugged and looked at the map where the booth was supposed to be that she was 'working' on, eventually pointing on one of the most tiny booths, which belonged to some chip producer. "Here, isn't that big. If you want to take a look..."

It's fairly likely security has already pegged Joseph as being Magneto, and is just deciding that as long as he doesn't cause any ruckus, they aren't going to try stopping him. Joseph is fine with that, "EMT Drones, you say? Is there anything else you could tell us about that, mister Robo?" He asks, smiling politely at the robot he's talking to.

Talia al Ghul doesn't have one of those faces that gets plastered across the news. Hardly even across the Interpol or other agencies, even. She's been in her father's shadow a long time. What's more, her businesses are all legitimate -- on paper, at least. But, with her history? Jenkins just isn't the one to unnerve her.

This is a woman who coldly turned her only son into the same killer her father raised her to be.

She smiles to Robo. "Perhaps we should talk, Robo. It is entirely possible our companies could collaborate on something more effective together than what either of us has produced apart."

Robo glances back at Joseph, and... "We pulled out. One of the generals overseeing the project wanted to retool them, equip the drones with armanents. I'm not in the weapon-making business." Is that an edge of contempt, there?

Jenkins, meanwhile, can't help but add: "We are, however, in the weapon buying business." Is that a hint of sardonicism? Directed at Robo, no less? The scowl briefly twitches into something that might be a smile -- but it flickers away as Miranda makes her offer. The scowl returns, harder than ever.

"Nngh." Robo lifts a metal hand up to rub at his brow at Jenkins' comment, but when his hand lowers, his 'eyes' seem to be smiling. "Hey, sure. I love talking shop, really -- though I should warn you, Tesladyne's pretty small potatoes. We're kind of a specialty shop -- high-risk, high-reward stuff."

Clint looks at he map and reads the description and shakes his head, "No offence but I will pass, not because of you of course but I don't really tech I leave that for the brains i protect."

Robyn Locksley shruggs, taking her coffee. To her own safety - that would be better anyway. "None taken. After all it is the most boring corner likely." Sipping of her cup, she tilted the head a bit.

"I wouldn't mind reinvesting in that, Mister Robo, if you're interested in continuing that project." Joseph replies, and adds, "I understand that you believe I'm a supervillain, but trust me, I'm merely looking into protecting a frequently abused, attacked and dehumanized segment of humanity. Unlike the imposter who has been in the news lately, I have no interest in killing or otherwise harming humanity, beyond those responsible for crimes against humanity involving mutants."

"Some of the greatest innovations here," Talia notes, "come from very small outfits. I'm not concerned about the size of your company, Robo. Only how we might work together."

She glances to Joseph. "So... then, if I may be so bold, Imperator, how is it you have not taken back your country or otherwise deposed the imposter?"

"--we don't have the patents on the majority of the tech," Robo admits to Joseph with just a hint of wistfulness. "The improvements we were making, yeah, but the rest of it..." At the mention of a frequently abused, attacked, and dehumanized segment of humanity, Robo bristles -- just a /smidge/. Metal creaking against metal. Before: "--wait, imposter?" A glance goes from Joseph to Miranda, then back to Joseph, then back to Miranda -- directing the last comment to her: "--you mean -- the guy I keep seeing on the news isn't...?"

Joseph turns his full attention to Talia, "I am still shaky on how he managed to do all this, but part of it is that I was forced out of action for a long period of time, giving him the opportunity to take over my life. That he was able to do that suggests he has access to at least a capable mimicry of my powers, which means that I cannot simply rush in and retake command. I'm comfortable I could beat him one on one, but Genosha's security measures are ... capable, to say the least, as is a significant share of its population. I cannot discount the possibility that those will be used against me." He pauses, and then adds, "I am working on countermeasures, though the fact he's hidden Genosha after I called him out on what he's doing is an excellent move on his part. It'll slow me down further."

Clint looks at hte map nad nods, "Looks like oyu might be right." he grins, "Stil lI was hoping ot find somethng good here but it seems it is mostly firearms." He comments, "Though I might looks at some models ot relpace what the guards at work use.

"Perhaps you should speak with the JLA," Talia suggests to Joseph. "I'm sure I saw Wonder Woman on the news, the other day, speaking about the threat. Perhaps you can work together." Not that she really expects the band of do-gooders to trust anyone that looks like Magneto. But Bruce... well, who's to say, right? Batman has been known to take the side of demons, on occasion. Or, rather, he's been known to allow demons to take his side. Close enough.

Robyn nods slowly, then empties her cup of coffee "I gotta go, or I miss my contact." she answers, offering him a hand before she stood up to walz off to the indicated direction and then change it out of sight to those explosives she had spotted on the map... did they had examples of their fuses there? might be worth a look...

"...yeah, y'know, I don't see how replacing one guy pretending to be a genocidal loony with a guy who might actually be a genocidal loony is going to--" CLUNK. That's the sound of Jenkins elbowing Robo. Which is something he immediately regrets, because -- Robo's made out of metal. Robo glances to his bodyguard, then back to Talia, before producing a pointless synthetic sigh. "...right, I'm supposed to behave. Anyway, Ms. Tate, I'd love to discuss tech with you -- we've got some interesting work going on right now in the field of self-cooling body-armor..."

Joseph responds to that casually, "I'm not a 'genocidal loony', unlike that imposter. That is the problem." Then he tells Talia, "I've put out some feelers with them, haven't heard anything back yet." He places his empty wine glass on the table, "If you'll excuse me, I did come here looking for inspiration on how to deal with my imposter, talking won't do that."

Talia reaches into a pocket and withdraws a white business card with her contact information on it. "Call me, Robo," she suggests to the robot. "I'd be happy to set up a meeting. I'm quite certain we could collaborate to great effect." She gives Joseph a simple nod. "As you say, I'm sure." She, after all, has nothing to do with either the JLA or Genosha. And she likes it that way.

Right now, she's happy to fly under Batman's radar, as well.

Straightening, however, she regards all the men about her. "If you gentlemen will excuse me, however, I, too, have another appointment I must attend. Enjoy the rest of convention."

Clint finishes his drink as he wonders away from the bar area. He does some more browsing at hte booths before starting ot veer back towards hte entrance. he spot the robto nd Joseph nad smiles, "Well looks like the two of you hav hit it off." Of course he has no idea what their conversation has been about.

"Oh, sure," Robo replies, taking the card in his fingertips; he inspects it briefly before pocketing it. Once Talia leaves ear-shot, Robo's turning to continue his perusal of the convention... while Jenkins stands, watching Talia leave. A few seconds later, he's catching up to Robo -- making sure to be out of immediate earshot of her or Joseph before speaking.

"The way she moves..." Jenkin whispers.

"Hm?"

"She's very dangerous."

Robo peers at Jenkins, still walking. "Has anyone ever told you that you're paranoid?"