| Who wants to be: Cookie Cutters 2 | |||||
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| What: A Reality show for hopeful heroes | |||||
A few weeks ago, Barbara Gordon and Thomas Wayne were at the HAI clinic for treatment. Both emerged with specific powers they had selected, and cured of their physical infirmities. They discovered that their contracts, signed to let them take part in the testing without paying the $100,000 medical bill, required them to be willing to take part in a "Reality Show" showcasing their powers and allowing the winning contestant to keep their powers, rather than have them removed (which will leave the cure and physical perfection intact, but remove all other abilities granted). The contest is to take place starting at a specific mansion, and possibly lasting several days. Barbara, in her temporary identity, is there with ten others when a man dressed in a business suit walks in carrying a microphone, followed by a cameraman.
This suited man happens to be Inquisitor. He quickly looks around to see what contestants are about. The following cameraman quickly points out Poser and the two make their way over. "Hello Sir." He takes a look at the clipboard and hmms "Your Poser correct?" he ask to get things started, and seems to be 'prepping' for what might be an interview.
Barbara Gordon is not happy about having to play trick pony for the cameras, but she didn't have the liquid assets to cover the procedure. So, she's standing on stage in a very shiny blue and purple bodysuit that covers everything, with the moniker Gemstone.
Inquisitor nods. "Ahh, I see, would you mind showing us an example Mr. Poser? I am sure viewers out their would love to get a good example." he acts, definitely making sure to act like an interviewer. He glances to Gemstone, she already made it onto his radar with ease. As such he subtly gestures for the Cameraman to let Gemstone know she is up next without skipping a beat
Gemstone fidgets, seeming nervous about being on stage. In truth, Barbara is calm beneath the face obscuring mask she wears - which has a voice filter installed. She's also wearing a bright green wig under her cowl, just to sell the disguise. Why yes, she is paranoid. In any case she steps up, ready fir her turn at the mic.
Hank Pym keeps pace with the camera, happy enough with the role as it lets him see what's going on well. He'd heard about this new miracle treatment, and of course his curiosity was piqued. He's dressed in a decently nice suit, though there's evidence of faded ink stains on the shirt cuffs as he records the proceedings. Less obvious are the ants roaming about the room, allowing Hank to keep tabs on things from more than just the one viewpoint.
Inquisitor nods giving a clap "Not bad, their are days I wish I could do that!" he says with a warm laugh "Now tell us Poser, who where you before you became the Poser? I'm sure the people out their are curious to find out" he says smoothly. He glances to Hank Pym a moment and gestures for him to zoom in on Poser. Their interview was almost done, hopefully once he gets the needed info from Poser he can move on to Gemstone who he now knows is waiting.
Gemstone taps her foot nervously, tugging at her cowl to readjust it, green strands poking out, She really hoped she could get away with not taking her mask off - otherwise she might have to act hasty.
Hank Pym is watching curiously to see how the interview will resolve..he has some idea of what might be at play, but no hard evidence at the moment. That is, unless the zoom in of Poser's face reveals any telltale signs that he's being affected by something more than simple words. Hank can't help it-- he wants to figure out what's going on, and for lack of the power-granting formula in front of him, he'll try to figure out what he can about the mechanics of it's results instead.
Poser says, "I am an actor, my stage name is what matters, it is Anthony Markos. You can catch me in the off-broadway production of Cats next week." Hank Pym has partially disconnected.
A sly grin forms on the Inquisitors face. It may not have been Poser's real name, but even a stage name can be used to gather more information, including possibly an actual identify. As a lawyer searching up fact was one of his jobs after all. None the less "Thank you Poser. Remember to keep that production in mind folks, you might be able to see Poser ability put to the test their!" He chimes in. He gives Poser hand a shake before saying into the Camera "Up Next we have one of are more colorful Contestants. Gemstone!" Points Gemstones way, signaling her to come on over.
At her cue, Gemstone waves to the camera, a bounce i9n her step as she almost skips over to Inquisitor. "Hello, I'm Gemstone!" The voice filter in her mask makes her sound like a peppy cheerleader type. "I'm strong and beautiful like a diamond, and I'm agile and flexible like the best gymnast!" To prove her point, she bends over backwards, grabbing her ankles with her hands, before standing back up.
Hank Pym glances around at the other contestants as well while they move on to Gemstone. So many people that volunteered for this procedure..
Poser goes back to the other side of the stage, Gemstone steps forward and demonstrates one of her powers. Hank and Inquisitor note that Poser did not mention either his third basic ability or what random effect his powers granted him.
Inquisitor had a thing for patient and knew he would have to get back to Poser at some point. Scanning the room he made note of Cetus and his massive build, and cricket was also around possessing an exoskeleton. Both would indeed be next for the interview at hand. But first, it's time for Gemstones interview. He claps at her performance "Fantastic Gemstone. I can imagine how many people would love to have that power" he says warmly, seeming to try and put her in a calm mood. He glances to Hank as if checking to make sure the cameraman had the camera correctly focused. None the less he moves on "So Gemstone, you've shown us your flexibility. But you also mentioned your strong. How bout a demonstration eh?" he asks making a gestures to Hank to begin Zooming out more then usual.
Gemstone clasps her hands behind her back, doing a 'cute little girl' pose as Inquisitor talks. "Well, I'm usually not that much of a showoff. But, okay. Hope you don't mind!" She grabs the interviewer and lifts him up effortlessly, before setting him back down gently. She waves at the camera again - or maybe she's waving at the man carrying the camera.
Hank Pym tilts his head at Inquisitor. He's an amateur, but one who knows his way around a camera and has done his share of experiment recordings. Admittedly that's different than game show TV, but close enough, right? At any rate he does zoom out as the young lady lifts up the announcer.. and wonders when it seems she's looking at him rather than the camera when she waves. He certainly doesn't recognize her, but then she's all kinds of obscured, presumably purposefully.
It is obvious to Hank that Gemstone must be one of the people cured by the treatment...it is the only way she would have both her apparent level of strength as well as flexibility. That means she has at least one more power not yet revealed.
Inquisitor get a look of surprised on his face as he is easily lifted and then sat back down gently. He get into a fit of short lived laughter "Well gemstone, that was quite the demonstration!" he says excitedly. "Now why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?" he holds the mic towards Gemstone again. At this point he is sure Hank knows what to do with the camera. The Mic isn't held to close to avoid seeming pushy and the question asked casually, all to put Gemstone into a relaxed state if possible.
Gemstone giggles, sounding a lot like a teenager. "Awww, you know a girl's gotta keep her secrets, right?" She turns her head to look more at the camera. "I mean, I can't just give everything away at the start." She giggles again, all bubbly. "But I suppose I can say a bit. I'm a native of Metropolis, and Captain America was my number one hero growing up!"
Hank Pym waves back to Gemstone anyways-- he'd like to meet some of these people and talk about their experiences after the show, so there's no point in being standoffish! He muses to himself as she chats that if he got some ants with cameras into the pockets of some of these contestants he could probably discover quite a few identities that way himself.. or get their prints off the microphone for those not wearing gloves to cross reference.. but no, that's not his role here. He is impressed with the apparent stability of this formula in use.. he wonders if Gemstone did have some injury or sickness before her treatment, but if he's going to ask questions, it will have to wait until after the main show.
Cetus will admit that his powers are increased size and aquatic adaptation, and that he is a marine biologist. Cricket admits that she has jumping and insect-like senses. Neither one hesitates to admit their identity, but with their physical abnormalities they might plan on public identities anyway. Iron Will simply says that he is tough, and says nothing about himself. Jonin did not come forward for an interview, indeed he could not be found when looked for. Decathlon says his name is his powers and his background. Electroslash demonstrates her electrified arm blades, but says nothing f her background. Little Bear says she knows what you are doing and nothing else. Lasarhawk demonstrates eye blasts and a piece of special equipment, a glider cape. Salamander says his name is his nature, and since he has a visible tail he has no problem smashing something with the tail. finally it is time for Inquisitor to reveal himself as the last player and Hank as the judge.
Inquisitor sighs, not having seeming to have convinced anyone to come clean much to his annoyance. None the less making sure no one else is around, such as Gemstone he turns to Hank and says "I happen to be the last player, with the exception of the no show" he of course doesn't give his name.
Hank Pym smiles, nodding to Inquisitor. "Right, they told me before we started--" he shifts the camera to offer his hand. "My name is Hank Pym, I'm a judge." hopefully he's supposed to be able to tell people that..he's getting the impression this show is a lot of smoke and mirrors.
A man familiar to all of you walks in, Doctor Rikard Ivanov, the man who runs the HAI clinics. He walks in with a woman familiar to almost all of you as well, Starfire. He says, "Here is your second celebrity judge, Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran. Both, I am certain, are eminently qualified to judge heroic actions. I am told there are 5 things required of a hero, in terms of abilities, plus certain activities that are or are not heroic. The tests are designed to test both your abilities, and your judgment as a hero."
Koriand'r just looks around. "Not sure how I got talked into this... I am Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran, another celebrity judge..." She then glances. "What are we supposed to be doing again?"
Inquisitors heart beat bumps up a notch. He knows losing this competition would mean the loss his his abilities. And that is something he doesn't want at all. None the less he stays professional and friendly giving Hank hand a shake "A pleasure to meet you you." he doesn't try to butter up to Hank though, he's a lawyer not a blood sucker parasite. He then looks to Koriand'r and offer her a hand shake as well "I am guessing your supposed to judge us in some away." he says glancing to the other contestants, including Gemstone.
Gemstone starts bouncing on her heels, apparently very excited. "Hi Princess!" She tugs at her cowl again, tucking some bright green hair strands back under the fabric. "I'm ready to strut my stuff!"
Hank Pym chuckles, and shrugs a bit to both Kori and Inquisitor. "Guess we'll all find out. So did they approach you for this show?" he wonders to Inquisitor, since he's there.
Professor Ivanov pulls out a remote, and a large TV turns on, "One thing a hero needs is the ability to get to the crime. The goal of the next contest to to reach the points marked on the map and return here as quickly as possible in a heroic manner. You will have a GPS to help you locate the places, but will need to reach them with whatever means you have available. You need to touch your GPS to the marker to clear the mark after you set it, so pick a point and get going." You will note that one of the points on the map is on Liberty Island, another seems to be on Coney Island, a third is somewhere in the Suicide slum, and the fourth one seems to be near the Empire State Building.
Koriand'r nods. "Good luck, heroes-to-be!" she chirps. "May I follow along, or should we just monitor here? I mean, I can keep up with them probably unless one of them is the Flash or the like..." She shrugs.
The inquisitor nods to Hank, but at the announcement seem he has very little time for chat. He says to Hank "Sorry Mr. Pym got to run!" He he jogs off and heads outside after checking the GPS. To get to those four places won't be easy. In particular he was looking at Suicide Slum. Hopefully he can chase down a cab. And Like an expert he gives a shrill whistle calling out for a taxi cab driver. May not be heroic, but it better then nothing.
Gemstone grabs her GPS and analyzes the map for a few moments, before darting off. She's heading towards the marker on Coney Island first. Her plan seems to just be 'pound the pavement' until she reaches her destinations - not very heroic, but simple. Of course, once she's out of spotting distance, she pulls out a very small laptop, the size of a netbook. She flips it open and starts typing commands, even as she continues running. "Okay, show me what you've got." She's tracking any wireless systems she can.
Hank Pym is somewhat fascinated by the proceedings just because he doesn't really watch shows like this, normally. He nods to the departing Inquisitor, stepping back.. and quietly communing with the industrious group of flying ants he's had hide away on the persons of all the contestants. They're all wired with cameras, and barring one of them going under water to get to the island, they can monitor the contestants on their way.
With the contestants all racing off, Hank steps over to doctor Ivanov, his expression interested. "So, you're doing this as a promotion for your innovation? You must be about ready for general release, then?"
Koriand'r shrugs, clicking her tongue. "I have _no_ idea what's going on here. So this is a test or something? What's the point again?" She does seem a bit clueless. "What do the contestants get if they win?" She blinks. "I was called in at the last moment is all. Hello, Mr. Pym. I don't think we've met?"
Inquisitor quickly manages to get a cab. "He hands the taxi driver the GPS "I need you to take me to these marked places, starting with Suicide slums, and FAST. I'll pay the meters fee, and pay you double whatever the meter says" he says without missing a beat. The taxi cab driver takes off like that!
Ivanov answers, "I am not the real inventor, merely the one who refined the process to give controlled results. The Process was invented first some seventy odd years ago, though it was lost and partly recovered several times."
He seems almost upset to be interrupted by Kory, "It is a test yes, a test to find a worthy representative for our product...and also a test to show how useful our product abilities can be."
The Taxi takes off, but about 2 miles from the Suicide Slum Inquisitor finds himself in stopped traffic. There appears to be an accident ahead.
Barbara soon locates several signal devices, mostly camera feeds. She does locate the frequency of the professor's remote, though it seems to have mostly pre programmed sequences to run by pushing number combinations.
Gemstone frowns at her computer. She stores the remote's frequency in memory for now, figuring the data might be useful later. What really gets her attention is the camera feed right over her shoulder. She turns her head, and spots the flying insect - and waves. "Hello Antman." she says cheerfully, completely unconcerned by the camera ant. "I'd hate to have your fellow here fly after me the whole time, so she can land on me." With that, she stashes her computer, and really starts booking it - traveling up to the rooftops if she can.
Of course, Traffic, why would this be easy at all! Inquisitor quickly pays both the meter feed and what he promised the cab driver (all things considered it wasn't that much). Okay, he wasn't fast, he couldn't fly. But he could think and talk. Within a moments notice he talking to a passing man riding a bike he outfitted with a motor. Was it motorcyle fast? No. Was it faster then running, hell yes. After a few moments of talking in the man's language he convinces him to hand over the bike, and off he goes! Almost crashing into a few folks along the way.
Hank Pym pulled out a tablet of his own that he was tap-tapping at-- but at Ivanov's words he looks up, startled. "Seventy years ago? Are..you implying this is a variant of the original super soldier research?"
Though Hank raises a hand to his earbud, and glances down to the tablet with a furrowed brow.. what the? What is Gemstone doing? Though he can't help but smile as her greeting comes over the earbud, or her correct identification of the ant in question being female-- or perhaps just knowing most ants out of the hive are.
Ivanov chuckles, "Why the surprise? Reverse engineering the original super soldier formula has been the goal of governments and other groups since it was first lost. The Russians had a fair copy long before the breakup of the republics, one I was working on for them and have since improved."
Inquisitor realizes the accident seems to be a car having broadsided a bus, and a second car is so close behind the bus the emergency door can not open. There appear to be a number of people, possibly some hurt, trapped on the bus.
Barbara is familiar with the area, to an extent, she has no real trouble making her way across town, though others are probably faster...
Jonin has hitched a ride on the outside of an elevated train, getting off near the Empire State Building. He takes the express elevator to the upper floors and walks out onto a ledge, being the first to reach his goal. Decathlon and Cetus seem to be racing to Liberty Island, swimming at a record-breaking pace. Cetus is faster to reach the shore, but seems unsure how to reach the top of the torch, where the target seems to be.
Inquistor sees how so many people are hurt. He had to reach the slums, but this accident. Bah, screw the competition. He hops off the bike and heads over to the accident. He tells a passerby to specifiably call 911 and get the emergency in. Okay the emergency door is blocked, but kick-out glass is a thing... if your inside. Looking inside he takes a survey of the damage and doesn't look the look. A Spanish lady inside the bus is speaking rapidly to him in Spanish. He does his best to tell her to kick the glass out.
Gemstone keeps sprinting, noting that her muscles don't ache they way they should with all this running. Must be a side effect of the regeneration. "So, Antman, I need to talk with you, when we get time." She says casually, leaping from a rooftop to another. "...Wow, I've missed this." she murmurs. She double checks her GPS. "Coney Island, coming up - fastest way is a straight line, so lets parkour.”
Hank Pym 's ants fly above when the two swim across to Liberty Island.. and the one following Gemstone takes up her offer and lands on her shoulder, wings fluttering as the young woman sprints and leaps towards her goal. Hank's eyebrows raise at her comment, but he has no easy way to reply for now. He files the comment away to be resolved later, as he would very much like to speak to some of the contestants anyways.
Pym nods to Ivanov, though. "Well, yes.. people have been trying for ages, but powers like this? That's decidedly new. And it looks like you've got a decent handle on even instilling the powers you want to in the volunteers?" clearly impressed with the idea.
Ivanov says, "A very good handle, we can choose an average of 83% of the abilities the person gets. There is always an uncontrolled element thus far, generally this is some unpredicted ability. We can not quite duplicate the original though, as a consequence of the greater control and wider range of abilities certain combinations do not work."
While Inquisitor's Pheremones will not work through the closed window, his grasp of linguistics does. He convinces the person inside to push the glass out far enough for him to assist in opening it the rest of the way and then helping the people escape the bus. The injuries do not seem too bad, and he has most of the people out before the ambulance arrives. When he proceeds he finds the beacon is under ground, possibly in a closed off section of the subway.
Barbara realizes there is smoke rising from a building a bit out of her path, probably a building fire.
Lasarhawk reached the subway early, using his light emission eyes to see his way through the dark tunnels. it is clear he overflew the accident and ignored it...
Inquisitor sighs, and figures this was going to put him behind some. But it was worth it. he quickly makes his way down into the subway and carefully watches the GPS, this beacon had to be somewhere. After making sure he wasn't going to get hit by a passing train, he tries to go further into the subway to see what may be there
It's not even a real debate for Gemstone, when she spots the smoke. She starts heading that way instantly, stowing her GPS. "What point is there to being a hero if you ignore those in need..." she mutters. "Antie, hang on." she tells her bug tagalong. "Smoke might be bad for you, so stay in the clear." Taking a deep breath, she lands on the building that has smoke. She'll do her best to get inside - and save anyone who needs extraction.
"What combination would you consider the original?" Hank asks, more to get some insight into how Ivanov views his process than from not being able to guess some combinations from the list he was provided. He blinks though, looking to his tablet at the fire. His ant knows not to risk danger, and is already backing off, but the fire seems to be more surprising to him than the accident was for some reason. Hank Pym has partially disconnected.
Ivanov says, "The original clearly had Enhanced Endurance, a Boosted Immune System, Superior Balance, Uncanny Targetting, and Heightened Agility and Coordination, five abilities in total. In addition to the Perfected Form of course. We can only manage three, a substantial reduction in performance."
Inquisitor realizes that, aside of a bit of light from air vents, it is unlighted down here. The GPS does shed some light, but it will be slow in the darkness.
Gemstone enters the building. The smoke is thick, but the fire has not reached the floor with the living area yet, it seems so far confined to the lower part of the building. Barbara pulls out an older man, a middle aged couple, and a child before the fire trucks arrive.
Cricket may have missed the smoke, but whether or not she did she is entering the house of mirrors now, following the GPS. Decathlon ran the stairs inside the statue and reached the torch first. The massive Cetus climbed the outside of the statue to get there eventually. The two paused to work together to handle a capsized boat. Inquisitor is forced to use the GPS as a light source. This was slowing going as anything, and even tripped up a few times. He could hear someone else moving around, but couldn't tell that LaserHawk was done there. He does his best to search and hopes he might be able to find something of use along the way
Gemstone makes sure the people she rescued are fine, before stepping away and letting the fire department do their thing. She reaches under her mask to wipe away some sweat. "Well, that was thrilling. What was I doing again...?" She looks around for the flying ant, and if she spots it, she'll let it land on her again. "Right stupid capture the flag." She grumbles as she starts running again. "...Wait." She flips her computer open again, and on a hunch, checks to see if Ivanov's remote frequency was active in the area...
Hank Pym leans closer to Ivanov, and whispers, "You said there'd be challenges along the way, but that looks like a real fire?" people can feign injuries, but smoke inhalation not to mention the actual flames are a very real danger for those inside, and the contestants that go to help as well.
Ivanov explains, "The obstacles are the best fakes we could manage, they LOOK real, even smell real in the case of smoke, but are non damaging. You could breathe that smoke without harm all day. It is a matter of chemistry, and that is my specialty.
Inquisitor finds the target and his GPS is now ready to set to the next site. Of course, he has to find his way OUT of the tunnel first.
Barbara finds what she expects, transmissions from cameras and from other remote devices inside the building. It is a very convincing fake...
Electroblade has just reached the reset "traffic accident" and uses her blades to cut a window free. Little Bear is only now boarding a ferry to Liberty Island. Salamander is at the Empire State Building...where Jonin is trying to talk a jumper down. Poser and Iron Will have yet to near any of the four sites.
Inqusitor is thankful to find his target and begins trying to make his way out. The GPS continues to serve as a makeshift flashlight, even with dim light, he can make out some of his footprints. or at least hope there his, it hard to tell with so little light. None the less he carefully makes his way out, having plans on hitting the empire state building next
Even with enhanced physique, Barbara - aka Gemstone - isn't a superstar runner. She'll clear at least the Coney Island beacon and the Empire State beacon, before making a show of collapsing on a bench exhausted looking, and flipping on her computer again - checking to see when the cameras are turned off on her.
Each of the "rescues" is able to be reset, but they only use one on each of the contestants. Salamander also dealt with the fire, with great ease. Jonin handled the Jumper. Electroblade handled the Bus accident. Decathlon and Cetus handled the overturned boat. The others failed to put aside the task to do the rescues.
Hank Pym keeps chatting with Ivanov while the test goes on, and occasionally wonders at the comments Gemstone makes via ant friend. When all is said and done though, he eliminates Lasarhawk first.. he willfully ignored the accident, and to Hank that's worse than letting a secret identity slip..especially since the two who gave theirs up so readily really would have a tough time keeping a separate civilian identity. Little Bear didn't help, but also warned the others that Inquisitor was trying to get at their identities. He also applauds Cetus and Decathalon for putting their differences aside to help the overturned boat. In the end it's between poser and iron will, who both couldn't find any of the beacons and who gave up information. He goes with Iron Will simply because Hank feels the task was something he should have been able to handle better with his apparent power set.