The power is in your hands

[maskormods]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping into MASK OR MENACE? Want to dip your toes into the setting and get a feel of whether your character will fit into it? Or maybe you're just cruising and want to play around? Then you've come to the right place!

Pick any of the following scenarios below or feel free to make up your own, but don't be afraid to throw yourself at someone else's thread, either!

And remember to have fun!

01. Your memory might be a haze still and you might even feel frustrated or anxious by the sudden news that you are no longer in your own world and that the Porter scientists and military cannot send you back. You don't get a chance to linger long in the underground Porter lab, but something is clearly amiss; light patches on the floor indicate something else used to sit in that spot in the room. Parts of the wall, floor and the tables look as if they have been refurbished in the past few months -- something happened in here some time ago. Something big.

You're ushered out quickly and then suddenly, you're enveloped in a faint blue blue light before you find yourself under the bright Floridian sun. Another soldier steps toward you with a smile, directing your attention to a car near a large gate. She mentions she'll be debriefing you soon, handing out a brown folder and a pamphlet. You don't see the digital tattoo on your wrist, but it's quickly explained on your way over to the car as you realize there are other confused faces nearby, all holding files of their own.

02. The city of Heropa is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place. The locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to help cool you down in this awfully nauseating heat. Some of the locals might thank you for always lending your service to the nation and others might not say anything. In fact, some people might back away from any imPort who quite obviously looks like they aren't from around the neighborhood. Once in a while there's a look of disdain on someone's face and hushed voices. Something about "the outbreak" and "the government's gotta crack down on their medical files". "Some of them can't be right in the head" says another.

03. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, and though it's quieter, there are just as many citizens awed at your presence. Heavy winds have people grasping at their newspapers and constantly brushing hair out of their faces, but that doesn't distract them from crowding you in excitement if you're obviously from a different time or world, or just let it slip that you're a newcomer. Children and young teenagers are especially likely to ask for an autograph and a photo.

Some locals seem less enthused to see you. They never make an approach, but they can be overheard scoffing and muttering something about cameras. "Who do they think they are?" or "I don't like it... it reminds me of the government corruption back in the eighties." What could they be talking about?

04. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania, is normally known for being a little more on the apathetic side, but there's been tension in the atmosphere lately. Nobody will outright state what it is that's rustled their jimmies, though you might find a newsstand with articles on recent and aggressive vigilante behavior within the city. "ImPorts: loyal to the cause of their own?" reads one newspaper article.

People are not as friendly in this city and go out of their way to avoid walking down the same sidewalk as the more obvious looking imPorts pass through. Local cops say nothing, but they scowl at those imPorts and utter something about "no badges" and "acting like authority figures".

05. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities. It's loud, busy and there's some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement. Anyone who they come to determine an imPort is bombarded with all sorts of offers; job offers, advertising gigs, spokesperson for advocating children stay in school, etc. Anything and everything! You name it. Shops offer discounts for food and clothing, whatever they need. People flock in droves with questions, but they all say the same thing. Thank you for your service to this country, Hero. You saved a lot of lives. Wow, feels great to be a hero, doesn't it?

Comments

[timeshares]

That's back home. Back home I could get someone to curse you into only being able to walk on the walls and talk in iambic pentameter.

What about here?

[microbrobotics]

[ He looks confused for a moment. Iambic what now? ]

Didn't I just tell you? It's totally doable. Same concept as a hologram, just with different processing. You're lucky I've got my equipment for that with me right now.

[timeshares]

[Messing with Apollo's kids is always fun and games until you get caught.]

I'll believe it when I see it. I've never seen it without magic.

[microbrobotics]

Luddite. Gimme a sec.

[ This time, he doesn't even move his hands. The robot in pieces on his side of the table starts to reassemble itself seamlessly, each piece sliding back into place like snapping into a groove. Within a few moments, there's a tiny robot skeleton with various module plugged into it ... which abruptly shift into a whole, rather squshy-looking white robot. Holograms with a physical weight to them. It's even squishy if you poke it. ]

Gimme a minute to adjust some things. And don't mess with anything or you'll regret it.

[timeshares]

[So he MIGHT have been reaching out to touch it.. the warning is heeded immediately and automatically. Both hands lifted into the classic "surrender" or more accurately "Who me? Couldn't be," pose.]

... Oddly cute.

[microbrobotics]

[ Smooth, Luke. Hiro shoots him a glance like "I'm watching you" before shrugging. ]

My brother's design, originally. I like 'em more streamlined.

[ He adjusts something invisibly - and the bot's form changes to something hard, armored, and red, with wings on the back. ]

[timeshares]

So there's two of you mad mechanical scientists. Good to know.

[.... Something that can look like anything. Frankly, this is WAY more useful than invisibility.]

Definitely cooler looking.

[microbrobotics]

[ Anything, as long as it's been pre-programmed and built in, anyway. These were two presets Hiro had set up already. For anything else... He studies the bot for a moment, thoughtfully. ]

'course. There's a whole company of us, really. StarkTech collects the best and the brightest.

[ Yep, definitely a question of programming. He sweeps everything that isn't the bot into his backpack for safekeeping, using that same technokinesis trick from earlier. ]

[timeshares]

[Luke sets and elbow on the table and props his chin up on his palm, watching the gears, chips and plates skitter across the surface. Old habit interprets it as a cautious gesture, but he's hardly perturbed by it either. The bot's the interesting thing, anyway.]

It's probably no surprise to say I've never heard of it. What are they having you work on, anyway?

[microbrobotics]

Anything I want, with a couple exceptions. No weapons. And eventually I have to come up with commercial applications for stuff or we don't make any money.

[ And he likes his paycheck. It buys him and his family all kinds of things. ]

Hang on, I have to adjust the programming.

[ That's the only warning Luke gets before the kid in front of him disappears. ]

[timeshares]

No weapons. Not even for a zombie dra- [... and whatever Luke just said, it wasn't in English. Though it sounded like some very delighted cursing.]

I take it back, I'm impressed, kid. Can you move around?

[microbrobotics]

[ That wasn't quite what Hiro wanted to show him; in reality, Hiro hasn't disappeared so much as he's converted himself into data and ducked into the robot to fiddle with its settings directly. But Luke doesn't have to know that right away. He grins a bit to himself from inside the cramped digital quarters of the little bot ... and then makes it dance a little in response to Luke's question. ]

[timeshares]

....

[No clue at all that it wasn't the hologram working... and really can't interpret robot boogies.]

I'm going to take that as a yes.

[microbrobotics]

[ It'll all come out in a moment anyway. He fiddles with some experimental settings, adjusts the camera ... and a few moments later, the bot itself goes mostly invisible. There's still a faint outline - something he'll have to work the bugs out of. But easy to miss if you weren't looking for it. Of course the trick will be to make it work on a person and not a bot literally made out of holograms, but in theory ...

Hiro reappears himself once his little bot has disappeared. ]

Told you.

[timeshares]

[The idea that whatever he just did would work perfectly on a human but not a robot doesn't... make sense unless it WAS magic. He fixes Hiro with a narrow look, considering him carefully.]

Is it safe to touch?

[microbrobotics]

[ Clearly something doesn't add up. Hiro doesn't feel much of a need to hide, but it's too much fun watching Luke try to work it out. ]

Yeah, sure. Go for it.

[timeshares]

[Okay but there's a COOL THING first. Eagerly, he reaches out to the vague outline in the center of the table, hesitating for a moment, before curling his fingers around it. It shouldn't feel like that... like there's anything but a robotic skeleton... but it certainly does. Curious, he squeezes it gently, looking to see if he can see his hands through it.]

It's kind of amazing.

[microbrobotics]

[ Touching it messes with the illusion a little. Ripples travel across the surface of it as the hologram realigns itself to try and compensate. But after a few seconds, Luke's fingers are easily visible on the other side. The bot feels slightly squishy to the touch, since Hiro set it back to the marshmallowy default for the purposes of this trial. ]

I told you, I can make anything. Gimme time to work out the kinks and it'll work on a person too.

[timeshares]

[On a person.. that confirms that. It's still a long few moments before he even begins to chase that thought. Carefully, he sees if he can lift the bot, or even move it, testing how the holograms react.]

I'd almost say you hardly need it if you can disappear like that on your own... Or more like relocating?

[The mental image of an ant sized Hiro Hamada driving a tiny bot isn't exactly ACCURATE. But it IS pretty funny.]

[microbrobotics]

[ The same ripple effect happens; the camera (and the holograms) have trouble catching up fast enough to make the effect seamless. ]

Ding ding ding. Yeah, I jumped into this little guy here to reprogram him. Way faster than the analog way.

[ Well. It's not that far off from the truth, all things considered. ]

[timeshares]

I'd love to see what you could do with automatons.

[He sets the robot down carefully, watching the lines smooth out and the invisibility almost entirely take its outline again.]

But hey, if you need a volunteer to test out the finished product...

[He gestures towards an empty scabbard at his belt.]

... I wont turn it down even temporarily. I'm practically defenseless here should loud, scaly and shambling get reborn for a rematch.

[microbrobotics]

[ Well. That's a fairly honest reason, isn't it? Hiro isn't really in the market to build people weapons - or stuff that could be used to, say, rob a bank - but boy he understands being small and defenseless in a pretty huge and crazy world. Even with all his tech, he'd been hurt in that zombie dragon thing too ... ]

No weapons at all? Didn't they give you any powers?

[timeshares]

[He.. laughs at that. But it doesn't seem to have a whole lot of humor in it.]

Nothing I can do has ever been all that useful in the whole 'keeping me alive' thing. I mean, you probably can't make a trap I can't disarm, but without a sword, best thing I can do is just get out of the way of whatever's happening.

Lost my last weapon before getting pulled here. Eh.. but I can't say I mind. Balance was all off.

[microbrobotics]

[ He bites back the offer to make him that too - defense is one thing, but a weapon? Bad idea to share with strangers. ]

What'd you have before? ... And what's with the armor?

[timeshares]

[There's a hesitation before he answers. The scythe never really was HIS. But then again, was Backbiter? After a moment's consideration, he answers:]

It was a sword... one handed blade. Good range for shield work. I had one ages back that was made of a special metal. [He taps the bronze on his breastplate.] Couldn't hurt normal people, even if you attacked.

The armor's designed with monsters in mind. It held up well enough.