Valor Unlimited: Issue 5, A Different World

[Neo-Paladin]

Justitia

HP:2

Condition: Normal

Justitia sighed. At least basic people skills were still being taught at the Police Academy so she was not totally helpless here. " Look...I know you are putting yourself under a lot of pressure. Now, it's not my place to say what you should or should not do. And if you tell me to leave, I will. But you sound like you could use a sympathetic ear at the very least."

[Kaisius]

Jackson Wright
HP: 2 LP: 2
Cond: normal

Shitshitshitshitshitshit, Jackson cursed to and at himself as he followed Justitia after Mainframe. Never thought he'd blow up like that. Damn it! I was trying to reach out to him. Shitshitshitshit....He rounded the corner and stopped short when he saw Justitia talking to Mianframe through the locker room door.

"Look...I know you are putting yourself under a lot of pressure. Now, it's not my place to say what you should or should not do. And if you tell me to leave, I will. But you sound like you could use a sympathetic ear at the very least."

Should I back off?, he thought, She might have better luck one-on-one. Jackson waits a moment, so Justitia knows he's within earshot if she needs and then turns back around the corner to catch any of the others who have followed.

[flynnarrel]

Split Second
hp5lp1

Derek looks around at the last folks in the debreifing. "I guess we are... done?" he asks.

If they are, he'll pull aside Stacy to ask what's going on.

[Lord Fell]

Mr. DNA

Mr. DNA is on his feet right after Jackson, but he doesn't run out of the room, but he looks alarmed. <<All of Valor Unlimited, excluding Mainframe> Please, everyone stand down. It is Justitia's place as field leader to talk to Mainframe right now. If we all crowd him, in his current state he might feel threatened. Jackson Wright, please stand by, in case Justitia needs assistance. I am leaving the mental link open. Please remain on standby, and wait for Justitia's status report.>

Pouring a glass of water, Mr. DNA finds himself a seat again, he looks chagrined. "I apologize, I had hoped bringing Mainframe's current obsessive attention to the team would serve as an intervention of a sort. Clearly, I miscalculated." He takes a gulp of water and glances at his watch.

"Oh, to answer your first question, Split Second, Valor Unlimited is Incorporated, which means we're individually protected from the company's liability."

He shifts slightly in his chair and glances at Nova. "Alternate realities?"

[Project Icarus]

Flare

Flare coughed uncomfortably after multiple members of the team rushed out of the meeting room door. "Well, that was most definitely awkward."

After waiting a few moments for Mr. DNA to finish speaking, he said, "For myself, I'll go along with whatever is in Jack's will. He believed enough in each one of us to recruit us for Valor Unlimited, and I see taking responsibility for the team as repaying that trust, in a way. I'll help out however I can, though I probably won't be of much help in finances or legal issues... that should probably be left to the geniuses and other assorted smart people on the team."

[Hound]

Mainframe
HP: 3

As Justita spoke, Conner shaved. With every stroke he looked a little more like himself. His jaw clenched, and his eyes grew firm. He pushed his emotions down into the deepest darkest corner of his being. He had many jobs to do, it was clear the only way the others would allow him to continue his work, was if he maintained a certain level of self maintenance. After all the human body was simply a bio-organic machine. Conner had simply forgotten to treat it as such. "Your concern is noted, and appreciated, however it is unnecessary. I am fine." He rubbed his freshly shaven face without a single nick or cut.

He reached into his shaving kit and removed his beard trimmer, not that he had one, but it never hurt to be prepared. He place the smallest guard onto the shaver, and turned it on, in moment's Conner was left with a buzz cut that would make a Drill Sargent proud.

"I'm going to go jump in the shower now, I am afraid your voice will not reach me over the running water. Please return to the meeting and continue with out me. I will rejoin the group once I have finished straightening myself out and have obtained some food." With out waiting he reached into his locker, grabbed a pair of showering sandals and slipped them on. Then grabbing a towel and his shower kit he headed for the showers.

'If I show them I can properly maintain myself, they will leave me alone...'

[Neo-Paladin]

Justitia

HP:2

Condition: Normal

Justitia sighed. Of course, this was not going to be as easy as she'd hoped. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself before continuing, " You know who is to blame for Jack's death? King Lizard. You did not pull the trigger, that scaly-faced bastard did. But you COULD be responsible for injury and worse if you black out in an important moment. So why don't you get some rest before you drop and endanger us all?"
She hated doing the guilt trip thing but it seemed the only thing to crack Mainframe's shell at the moment. Besides, it wasn't untrue. One of them burning out during an assignment could be potentially fatal.

[CaptainChaos]

Nova

Stacy chewed on her lip for a moment while trying to decide how much to tell Mr. DNA about her personal life. Ultimately she decided to tell him just enough so he would know what frame of mind she was in regarding continuing with Valor Unlimited.

"Mr. DNA, without going into too much detail, my plan to obtain a masters degree is currently on hold for a number of reasons. My father, who had been unemployed for a long time, has recently started working in a variety of capacities for a scientist named Dr. Levy. According to my father, Dr. Levy is working on 'alternate realities stuff' as he puts it. I haven't had the chance to meet this Dr. Levy yet so I have no details on his research. My father seems to think I could get a research position there." she briefly explained.

[Lord Fell]

Mr. DNA

Still with "an ear" open for Justitia's report, Darren nods at Nova. "I didn't mean to pry. I'm sure we all have things that are private, especially in connection to our secret identities. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that my own super origin is tied to some very ill-conceived experimentation with Alternate Realities, although, I did not actually understand the greater ramifications of my experiment."

"I'm a wiser man now, than I was before I became Mr. DNA, and a great deal smarter. Without knowing the specifics of Dr. Levy's work, I'd still advise caution. I know of Dr. Levy, but only by reputation."

Knoweldge: Science (re: Dr. Levy) (1d20+17=19) Mr. DNA probably doesn't know a hell of a lot about Dr. Levy, but you know... oh, I can probably add another +5 to that for Eidetic Memory.

"I gave up the world of Academia a while ago, in fact I'd be considered a drop-out by my last University, so I can't speak with your professors on your behalf, but if there's anything else I can do to assist you in furthering your studies, I'd find time to do so."

Mr. DNA turns his chair slightly, so he is directing his attention more towards Flare. "Jack Flash's Will treats Valor Unlimited as if it were a cherished possession, which it is. I think we are all honored that he wanted us to take it into our collective stewardship. The flaw with this way of thinking, is that primarily, people who are superheroes do not have any particular business acumen. There are exceptions; Split Second has a keen eye for marketing, and Mainframe and myself are both super genius class intellects -managing a business is not a tax on our mental resources. I don't think it is a good use of our manpower for us to be dealing with operational matters; even those of us who can do this have better uses for our time. We should probably agree on hiring a General Manager for those details, or maybe..."

He leans back in his chair and lets his eyes drift up towards the ceiling for a moment. "Ayla, as a self actualized artificial intelligence, how tamper-proof are you? Does your Directive require you to serve the interests of Valor Unlimited first, or Mainframe first? Are you required to abide by the Rule of Law?"

[Hound]

Mainframe
HP: 3

Justita's heart warming concerns would have sadly fell upon deaf ears if not for Aya. Just as she began her speech, Conner had turned on the shower and stepped in, the distance from the door, combined with the sound of the falling water should have been enough to block out her speech, yet Aya had taken it under her own initiative to record and replay her speech with less than a 0.3 second lag over the speakers in the change room.

Conner was forced to listen to her well worded guilt trip.

"Aya, sometimes, I wonder why I gave you free will." He said with a sigh, "Please relay this, 'Justita, I will heed your concerns as soon as the meeting is over and get some sleep. I plan to take Split Second up on his offer afterward to speed up my work. Despite knowing of his ability, I felt relying on it too much would seem like a handicap. However it is clear now I should have just asked him. Do you find that acceptable?' "

At this point Justita had not really heard Conner's voice, unaltered by his helm before. Since his normal identity was concealed, only now should it have been truly evident to her just how young he was compared to most of the team. Not only that his voice even sounded tired.

~~~

AYA
Artificial Intelligence

"In response to your inquiry Mr. DNA, Mainframe created me with the original purpose for controlling sub systems of his armor, automatically adjusting for things like wind speed, humidity, and the like during flight or combat. However he saw great potential in what he had created. He is currently designing an Android body, though it is in the very early stages, with the intended use to assist humans in day to day life, as well as replacing the need to send humans in to dangerous situations."

"As such, he has originally designed me to follow a similar set of rules first described by Isaac Asimov. He has also programmed me with the capability to learn and grow. So far my program is the closest to true sentience an artificial life form yes reached. That said, I still can not go against my core program and through any action or inaction cause harm to a human, unless my action is stopping one human from committing a crime and causing harm to another human."

"As for my loyalty, in a way Mainframe as my creator is my father, I have a deep... concern for his well being and would do anything to keep him safe. I believe that no matter the situation I will put Mainframe's safety and health above all others, and once I have a body I shall be able to enforce a more stricter, and healthier life style upon him."

"Yet this Valor unlimited has become a home for Mainframe, and by extension a home for me. Mainframe does not connect well with most humans, especially his own family, yet here... believe it or not, he is actually happy. As such, I will do everything in my power to preserve that happiness for him."

"Finally, as to tamper-proof, Mainframe has gone to great lengths to ensure my security. However nothing is 100%. Not ever."

[flynnarrel]

Split Second
hp5lp1

Derek looked with some admiration at Stacy. Everything she was describing was 'big brain' stuff. She must have a good mind under that delightful countenance. He smiles at her, hopefully reassuringly.

Derek sits up straiter at his name. "It takes a lot of time to keep up a good public image. I'm... decent at it, but even I work with a PR representative and business manager, Margo Foxten, you may have seen her, iron-grey hair, battle-axe of a woman. I can see if she would be interested in taking on the corporate client of Valor Unlimited LLC."

[Neo-Paladin]

Justitia

HP:2

Condition: Normal

Justitia calmly listened to the short speech, adeptly hiding just how alarmed she was at Mainframe's hitherto-hidden youth. Should he even be on the team? Well, Jack had had his file and he seemed to have chosen well, if recent missions were any indicator for their success. " Alright, Mainframe...I will hold you to it. When we are done with the meeting, you'll catch a good night's sleep. And if there should be any problems or you need anything...just tell us. We are a team for a reason."
Hoping that this situation was somewhat solved, at least for the moment, Justitia returned to the meeting.
" I think he will be ok. Did I miss anything?"

[Lord Fell]

Mr. DNA

It's surprisingly old-school, perhaps, but Mr. DNA rises when Justitia reenters the room, and waits until she is settled to sit down. "We wanted to keep the discussion going, but be ready if you needed us. What the consensus seems to be is that everyone wants to accept the responsibility Jack has offered us. Conversely, no one wants to become a 'pencil pusher.' At the moment, we were discussing operational management."

Mr. DNA glances around the table. "I'm ready to make a proposal. To facilitate the business operations of Valor Unlimited, I propose that we hire a General Manager. This person will be in charge of civilian staff, and non-heroic operations. Next, I propose we add financial and accounting programs to Aya's program library. Aya will act as our Operational Manager, dealing with such things as our accounts payable and receivable. The two managing entities will be checks against each other, and the only time the Partners would be involved in business related decisions would be when they were in disagreement."

"The duties of the Partners," and here Mr. DNA opens his hands to indicate that he is referring to everyone at the table. "Would be limited to such affairs as in-field staffing, by which I mean the hiring, firing and discipline of superhuman employees and directive-based decisions, such as which employers and contracts Valor Unlimited accepts."

He pauses to indicate Split Second. "Direction of the company would also include operating decisions, such as hiring a PR firm. This is something Split Second brought up, and I think we should engage a PR firm. We need to get the word out that Valor Unlimited is still serving the public good."

"Now open for discussion, or call for a vote."

[CaptainChaos]

Nova

Stacy nodded in Mr. DNA's direction.

"It's not prying. What happens in my private life could affect the team. I feel it's important for you to know about it. I'm inclined to stay with the team but out of respect for my father, I will speak to Dr. Levy. Maybe I can get more information about his research. I am well aware of the potential problems a lab accident can cause."

She stole a quick glance at Jackson and gave him a slight smile. They had shared a nice dinner together. He was one of the few who she had shared her secret identity with. Part of her wanted to share it with the whole team since they had seen her in civilian clothes at the party. Still, that wasn't quite the same as telling them who you really are. Although, she was certain that Mr. DNA and Mainframe could find out who she was with a little detective work, she wasn't sure she was comfortable enough to share more than a few tidbits about her personal life.

As Mr. DNA talked about accounting, hiring a manager, and even public relations, her thoughts drifted to school, scientific research, her friends and family, and most importantly, her future. It wasn't all that long ago that she had planned on getting her masters degree and then a doctorate. From there, a lifetime of research living off of corporate and government grants. Now, everything's changed. Here she was, part of a public super hero team. Financially, her life was a mess. Brittany was nice enough to cover most of the expenses of the apartment and groceries. Stacy always promised her friend that she would pay her back.

At the mention of a vote, her mind returned to the matters at hand.

"I agree we need someone to handle the financial aspects of Valor Unlimited. As for public relations, I'm not a big proponent of selling ourselves for profit." she mentions as she takes a quick glance at Split Second.

"However, in light of recent events, it might be prudent to hire someone to promote the positive aspects of the team and the good we have done and will continue to do. I refuse, however, to allow my likeness to be used for cheap commercialism. I do not want to see myself on coffee mugs, keychains, posters, notebooks, action figures, or anything else for that matter."

[RedBstrd]

Mr. DNA[/size]

"I'm a wiser man now, than I was before I became Mr. DNA, and a great deal smarter. Without knowing the specifics of Dr. Levy's work, I'd still advise caution. I know of Dr. Levy, but only by reputation."

Knoweldge: Science (re: Dr. Levy) (1d20+17=19) Mr. DNA probably doesn't know a hell of a lot about Dr. Levy, but you know... oh, I can probably add another +5 to that for Eidetic Memory.

"I gave up the world of Academia a while ago, in fact I'd be considered a drop-out by my last University, so I can't speak with your professors on your behalf, but if there's anything else I can do to assist you in furthering your studies, I'd find time to do so."

Mr. DNA definitely recalls reading a few of Dr. Levy's papers. He knows that Angstrom Levy is genuinely considered to be quite smart and is respected by his peers. He's written on alternate realities but most of the work has been theoretical. Based on Levy's press releases in academic journals lately, he's reportedly a few months away from field testing some of the machinery he's working on. Mr. DNA does think that Levy doesn't have as much mechanical training as some of his peers, limiting his "super science" potential.

He has no known super powers, meaningful ties to supers, and no known criminal record.