Good Black Don't Crack

January 18, 2016:

Lunair and Melody hang out with Peabody and discuss The Resolve. (Peabody emitted by DS)

The Resolve

Characters

NPCs: Peabody

Mentions: Deathstroke

Plot:

Mood Music: [*\# None.]


Fade In…

The doors of the RnD labs open and inside it is the scene of a massacre. Clearly a great battle of robotic hordes faught to the gruesome circuit board littered death in this room, the smell of solder and ozone so strong it's liable to make one's eyes water at first introduction. The lights are bright too, brighter then out in the hall at least. The orchestrator of this wire sprawling catastrophy sits at a long table litered with the remains of dismantled thingie ma bobs and doo dads, a pair of goggles over his eyes and a mirco welder in his hand. Athleticly built, dark skinned, short cropped military style hair, Peabody is currently attempting to build something… or maybe dismantle it? It's hard to tell. Whatever it is it's not happenign cleanly, clearly.

Wince. Lunair's eyes do water a bit. The scent of the freshly baked melty chocolate chip cookies is not strong enough to overpower what is happening here. She was exploring, perhaps. And her turns take her here and there. "Oh wow. Wrong left turn. Sorry." She does at least don goggles - or rather, she creates them. "… is this like, a robocalypse?

Rant knew the sound of that noise. In fact, that was the sound of childhood for her and it nearly hit her right in the feels. So it was a wonder that she was coming from behind Lunair, sans glasses, reaching for a cookie without even asked to pop right into her mouth.. in which she coughs. And then her eyes water. It takes a bit really, to get used to it all, not having been apart of something so glorious (to her anyways) in nearly a decade. "Man, if only." Melody says to Luna, taking a step inside the shop, one hand pressed against her mouth to finish up her cookie and to not inhale any smoke.

Peabody glances up at the noise and looks around, his goggles snapping up onto his forehead without any visible motion on his part, "Hrm?" he asks, eyeballing the lab, "Ah. Naw, been trying to see what I can do about getting this baby to work for us but…" he shakes his head and sets down the micro weldger on the table and stretches, "Not sure what all I can do. The damned thing isn't made of wires and circuit boards, it's like it's…." he searches for a word, then shrugs again, "I don't even have the words. Beyond us?" he offers with a little shrug, "Are those cookies?" he asks hopefully.

Lunair eeps and then beams at Melody. She doesn't seem bothered by Melody grabbing a cookie. She apparently intends to share. She does smile at the other girl. "Hee." Then a look over. "Hi! And really?" She considers. "I imagine wires and circuit boards- hmm. I don't know. I'd put my money on quantum and biotech if anything," She admits. "Or potentially something beyond that. There's things like dimensional theory and-" She cuts off as he asks about cookies.

"Oh, totally! Want some? I was playing around with baking. It's hard to keep the chunks melty, but I think I've got it." She smiles, and offers the plate over to Peabody so he can take some.

"I was also exploring, but I got a bit lost." This is a confession. "How are you two?"

"What exactly is it?" Melody asks. The rest of the cookie was devoured as she reaches over to grab a chair to annoyingly slide the noise straight to the table and right up to the device that was.. well, not working. "And what is it supposed to do?" Hearing Luna was lost wasn't surprising, Melody got lost a time or two and she still isn't really sure on how in the hell she managed to track the two down and found the lab. Call it a stroke of newbish and weakling luck.

"I'm okay." Melody murmurs nonchalantly, her hand reaching out to curl into a fist, one finger stuck out to poke a little at the object. She -nearly- was going to ask if she could try to fix it, make it work, but..

Peabody reaches over and just takes the plate, setting it down atop a pile of boards with black charring on their component parts, "Quantum computing maybe, but if it is I can't tell how it functions. Every peice of tech, even Luthors and Ironman's suits, they all follow the same basic fundamental rules of physical law. Electricity flows, least resistence, basic fields of circuits, but I don't know if this thing even /uses/ electricity to run itself. It's like it's using a type of energy I've never heard of and sending it through new fangled fourth dimentional constructs I can't start to understand. It's like…" he pauses, munching a cookie whole as he ponders, "It's like trying to explain an IPhone to a Roman. There isn't even a field of reference you can start with outside of just claiming it's all magic." his cheeks puff in an exhale, "And I'm no magician."

He waves a hand at the table, "I was trying to splice some feeds into the exsisting computer structure, you know, panels that would allow us to do basic things like… turn left. But it's all a lost cause, every attempt I make at trying to link them, fries the componants, resisters don't matter, circuits don't matter, laws of reality apparently don't matter. Super fucking frustrating." he munches another cookie whole, "But there are cookies, so things are looking up." grin. So it's not actually robots, it's just a /ton/ of parts of failed projects trying to make the Resolve something resembling a ship they can use, rather then just a floating interdimentional space house.

Lunair listens, she nods. "Well. It might not. Nothing is entirely impossible. I could turn into a pink hippo and start singing at you in Albanian. I suspect that there are technologies that can reach and use the physics from other dimensions but I think I am talking out my butt. You guys are the experts. I have plants." Beam.

Then again, Lunair's own weapons and tech steal rules from other universes. Who knows? She is sympathetic. Curious. "I am jealous of your guys' brains," She admits. "And I am glad to see you. And yes, cookies." She grins as he does and sems totally cool as he takes the plate. "I can cook lunches and bring them by if you want." She has a hatred of bland food - years of living in a hospital and lab have left her loathing. "It sounds really rough." She considers.

She looks to Rant and nods, sympathetically.

Blah.. blah.. blah. It was clear who was the smartest person in the room was. Melody knew what he said but to an extent, yet all it would take for her to truly understand was to apply focus and at least download a book or two off of the internet. In fact, that seemed like a fun activity. Giving Lunair books on Botany from MIT's opencourse webpage seemed like a mighty fine and cheap gift. Something to think about later. Since no one was protesting to her poking at the thing, she stands from her chair then actually crawls upon it, leaning over the table to allow her eyes to take in the thing with a slight little frown, looking back to them both and jumping once the plate of cookies hit the table.

Cookie taken, shoved in, munched..

"Myf blain if borin." She states plainly. Swallowing the cookies down to repeat herself. "My brain is boring. And food would be nice. But, I don't think Deathstroke would like me not eating the stuff that's served down in the mess hall." She frowns a little at that. She was actually attempting to adhere to the rules for once, and stick to training. Oh well. "So.. can I try to fix it?"

Peabody snorts, "Best of luck." he says to Rant and shooting Lunair a look, "I'm a techie, it's my thing. I can shoot a gun better then the next guy, I'm okay in a fight, better then most I'd wager, but tech sings to me. I dunno, it's always just made sense. But this isn't tech, it doesn't play within our rules or use our languages. I honestly don't even think it functions on a binary language. Trinary maybe? Hell, for all I know it might not function on any limited in/output sequence language at all. I couldn't tell you where to even start." he motions for Rant to do as she likes, "I can fix the terminal, I /built/ it after all, I just can't connect it to anything. Again, it's like having an IPhone in ancient Rome. Sure it's cool and all but whent he battery runs out it's not like I can plug it in anywhere."

"Yeah, I eat the stuff that gets served. But I eat a lot." She sticks to the rules! SHe's good. And Lunair would dig books. In her case, knowledge is truly power. The more she knows, the more weird and horrible her powers get.

"Nah, not boring." She remarks. At the look, she smiles. "I believe you." She nods. She considers his words. "Just let me know if you want more cookies or whatever down here." Handwave. "You guys are the experts. I'm not really sure what I do most," She admits. "I'm sorry if I sounded rude or assumptive," She really does. Lunair is duly humbled. "I wish I could help but it'd be like asking a duck to sing something from the Pirates of Penzance. Sorry." She rubs the back of her head and looks ready to just dive into the shame corner.

"You kind of sound like.." Rant stops herself there, but gives a shake of her head as she looks down towards the odd looking tech. Her hands reach out, dragging the mechanism towards her, her eyes soon glowing as she allows her gaze to roam over it, committing it to the memory banks of her nanotech. A general search would probably bring up nothing, but it was at least worth trying. "I should probably lick it or bleed on it. Or.. probably find some other damn way than licking and bleeding on things to assimulate technology.." Words gone to herself as she glances back towards Peabody and Lunair.

"Oh. I'm pretty sure we're going to find out what you do Lunair. You're equally as cool as everyone else here." Not her though. Her analogy does make her laugh as she focuses back upon the object, her lips settling into a thin line as she allows the search to do her work. "Man.. the wifi is actually surprisingly good for us to be.. no where."

Peabody nods his head, "YEah, first thing I did was set up a closed encrypted network. Turned some of the ship's hull into basically a router, means we get shipwide signal… You know, when we've a portal open for it to pass through. Closing it down leaves us entirely closed off from the outside world, its' why you can't use the net during most of the day." he shrugs, "Security." he says that word as if it explains everything, "I'd say the Old Man was paranoid but…" but he's been right to often for PEabody to assume it's not justified paranoia.

He shoots a look Lunair's way, "Oh yeah," he says, his voice thick with sarcasm and a grin on his lips, "there's just no use at all for someone who can summon up anything ever at will. And who makes cookies. Yup. Totally without purpose there." he sticks his tongue out her direction.

Lunair tilts her head at Rant. "… does it taste like Snozzberries?" Never let it be said Lunair didn't have some sense of humor about it. "And aw, thanks." Smile. "If I can help, let me know." Nod. Then she looks to Peabody. "Neat." She nods, listening. "And understandable." One could do a lot with wireless access. She seems to quietly agree. Wordlessly.

Then a giggle at his response. "Wait'll you try the steaks or sushi," She teases and sticks her tongue out in turn. "And I shall have you know, I won the Best PaperWeight and Occupier of Space While Consuming Useful Air award of 2015," Strike a vogue pose! "But if you like the cookies, I may bring treats by sometimes. Not too much or I'll get in trouble. but, y'know." She seems to adore the two.

Then a beat. "I don't think I summon things, actually."

"I can't use the net most of the day because I'm usually indesposed." Or sleeping. Or crying in the corner. Or actually in New York attempting chance at a normal life.. which.. isn't really so normal after all. That causes her to think just a little, soon crawling her way upon the table to sit cross legged, the cookies taking a secondary stance in her attention as she focues on the.. thing. Or.. whatever it really was.

"I'm game for steaks and sushi." Rant busts out, looking over her shoulders at the two as she leans to the side to pick up the micro-torch, twisting it left and right, clicking it on for the briefest of moments before setting it back down again. "Test run. Gonna bleed on it." Hey, why not? Right?

She does stop to look at Lunair, then wrinkles her nose. "Then.. what /do/ you do?"

Peabody eyes Rant, "Normal life." he says in a flat tone. "Um…" he looks around them, "You're in the wrong line of work. I feel like someone, somewhere, lied to you." he tilts his head to the side as he eyes her and he pulls a heavy looking knife from a sheath on his thigh, the sort that could work as both utility blade and hte sort you would murder a person with, multitasker. "People like the Old Man? They can do that shit, split their lives up, train, go down and wine and dine some pretty ladies, maybe throw a dinner party, then suit up and beat the shit out of people all night long, sleep for 2 hours adn do it all again tomorrow. But he's been like family to me since I was born, I have known him my entire life, trained with him, worked for him, and I gotta tell ya, normal life just isn't in the cards for me." he shrugs, "I don't have powers though, maybe the rest of you can pull that off but me? I need my damned beauty sleep." he turns his face to the side to show off the profile, "You don't get to keep this perfect jaw line or this flawless skin without least six hours of beauty sleep a night. And dammit, I'm pretty."

Lunair's words draw his attention and he blinks, "That's a good question, we all just assumed you pulled stuff from alternate realities or something, what is it you do?"

"I tried to live a normal life. Combat always found me. And I hate dart drones. But my tolerance is building. And one day… I will /kick their asses/." Lunair seems miffed by the dart drones. She really is. She looks to Peabody and Rant. It's reflexive to tense seeing a knife come out. Being a pokemon, she is weak to SHANK, STAB, and STRUCTURALLY SUPERFLUOUS HOLES. "Yeah, I'm kind of impressed. Sleep is good. And you are! What foundation do you use? Shampoo?" Lunair kind of actually believes Peabody and seems curious. "I do some normal things. I like college." She chintaps. "But not a lot of them. Sleep is good."

Lunair pauses. "I would feel like SUCH an asshole if I was just taking people's stuff," The thought makes her eyes widen. "Noooooo. I create it." She wiggles her fingers. "So like, when I learn more stuff, I make better stuff." Nodnod. "I just have to not sneeze and start dropping AKs. So. SO awkward." Wince. Or when she has a crush on someone. Then it just rains SMGs.

Melody shakes her head. "Actually, I don't think I am. I can't really do all of that." She waves her hand a bit, which was soon settled upon the knife that was offered blade first, a pinch of her fingers that allows her to swing it downward with light toss and a swift catch of the handle. "You know, sleep for like five minutes and be on the move again. You take six? I'd rather have ten, but I get the natural eight probably nine if no one bothers me." She wrinkles her nose. "Or probably twelve if your friend thinks I sucked majorly the day previously. Or I gave him lip. Or because he was bored and like seeing the tears of.."

She drags the blade along the palm of her hand, hushing up rather quietly. She does cup her hand, leaning forward to allow the red drip drops to fall, her eyes glowing to activate the nanites as soon as they hit the surface.

"I think you're quite pretty. And Lunair, I'm pretty sure he just washes his face and drinks a lot of water. My mom used to say good black don't crack." She nearly snerks at that, her hand lifting to scratch at her scalp with the butt of the blade. "Sort of like, if you think it. It happens. It, being the object you want and the happening is it being pulled from the depths of your imagination." She shrugs her shoulders idly. "Cool."

Melody shakes her head. "Actually, I don't think I am. I can't really do all of that." She waves her hand a bit, which was soon settled upon the knife that was offered blade first, a pinch of her fingers that allows her to swing it downward with light toss and a swift catch of the handle. "You know, sleep for like five minutes and be on the move again. You take six? I'd rather have ten, but I get the natural eight probably nine if no one bothers me." She wrinkles her nose. "Or probably twelve if your friend thinks I sucked majorly the day previously. Or I gave him lip. Or because he was bored and like seeing the tears of.."

She drags the blade along the palm of her hand, hushing up rather quietly. She does cup her hand, leaning forward to allow the red drip drops to fall, her eyes glowing to activate the nanites as soon as they hit the surface.

"I think you're quite pretty. And Lunair, I'm pretty sure he just washes his face and drinks a lot of water. My mom used to say good black don't crack." She nearly snerks at that, her hand lifting to scratch at her scalp with the butt of the blade. "Sort of like, if you think it. It happens. It, being the object you want and the happening is it being pulled from the depths of your imagination." She shrugs her shoulders idly. "Cool."

Peabody cleans the blade on his pants and slides it back home with a sort of automatic action, thoughtless really, "Goddamned right you do. I'm gorgeous." he strokes his own chin in appreciation of how pretty he clearly is. It's somewhat odd, there's the hints of a British accent to his voice, but it's faint, sort of a lingering thing around the edges but most people don't talk to him enough to pick up on it. "Your mom sounds like a smart woman." he nods his understanding and agreement with her, his expresion to serious to actually /be/ serious. "Imma eat all of these." he says, stuffing another cookie into his maw and grining with chocolate smeared teeth at Lunair. He thought it polite to inform her of the cookies demise as she was their creator.

Lunair grins. She looks quietly amused by Peabody's response and kind of relieved no one is weirded out by her odd power. Then a soft laugh and she grins. "Go for it. I'm glad you like them," She seems to appreciate the good manners. "I won't bother you guys too much. I was going to find a restroom and read a bit on some materials." In her case, knowledge IS power. "And chemistry stuff." Ominous finger wiggle.

"I'll bring treats by next time. Be well, okay?" Wavewave.

"My moms awesome. She could probably teach you fractions while she's kicking your ass. That's how awesome she is." Math teacher. Melody hates math. But it works. She watches as her blood works it's way around the item, her lips poking out as she frowns towards Peabody then lets out a sigh. "At /least/ leave me one. Okay? I haven't had a cookie in a while.. well, two minutes but before that it's been three and before that it's been a while."

She glances back towards Lunair, then waves her slightly bloodied hand towards the woman. "Quick zap before you go? Nani's are busy." Beat. "And maybe a reuben sandwich. With chips. Or curly fries that are loaded with bacon, sour cream, and melted cheese." Yay, treat orders!

Peabody perks up, "Ooo! Treats." but it sounds more like 'ooof! Teets!' cause you know, cookie mouth. "I make no promises." he informs her on the fate of the cookies and her ration of them, though that too is somewhat mangled. He waves at Lunair as she goes and then shoots Rant a look, "That can't be sanitary." he nods at the blood.

Lunair smiles a bit at the momtalk. She doesn't really know much about that. "Sure," She will do as Melody asks, and she tilts her head. "I can probably do that in a smidge." She beams at Peabody, amused. But otherwise, Lunair is off to do LUNAIRTHINGS(TM). Probably practice, train and KNOWLEDGE.

More treats, thank you! She wasn't going to put the rush on Lunair but some curly fries did sound awesome right about now. As Lunair heals her hand, she uses that same hand to wave her on to her journey, then focuses back upon the machine. "Actually, it is." She states, "The nanites were originally designed to target and attack cancerous cells and any other diseases that may crop up in my blood stream. Over time, learned that I can actually donate at least a thousand to heal grievous wounds on other people. Dr. Banner actually programmed a 'purge' of sorts that actually targets and attacks foreign antibodies too. Like.. you know. Drugs." Infodump!

"Though, this is a bust. I really can't hear anything from it. In fact, I can't hear anything from the Resolve at all. Never really could, but it was worth a shot. Though I'm starting to think I need to listen better."

Peabody leans forward and eyes it all again, but the effect of his serious gaze is somewhat nulified by the squirrel like buldge of his cookie laden cheeks and the chotolate smeared across a lip. Chew. Chew. Poke with fingertip. Chew. "I don't think you speak the same language." he says after a long moment, swallow. "Not about listening, I don't think it's talking to you because it doesn't notice you're there. I mean, could you talk to an bacteria? If you could, where would you begin?" he asks curiously as he flops back in his chair, "I don't knwo who built our baby here, but think of the science behind it. This isn't just FRL science, which is already so stupidly impossible as to be brain melting, it's interdimentional science. So whoever these people are they're /millenia/ ahead of us, science wise that is. Look how far we've come in a century, from horse and buggies to jetpacks, from no understanding of germs to nanite machines that live in cells. Now imagine, if the curve of technology where to continue, where we'd be in a thousand years… I don't think it's a matter of you listening, it's more a matter of even being noticed." he rubs his face, "I love this ship but it's the only thing I've found more frustrating then women."

"Well, that makes sense." She states. In fact, a lot of it does. "Though, if you've built something that was intended to be use as it is, wouldn't it make a lot more sense to have an instruction manual some where around here instead of having people use it and essentually fuck it up? Even my nanites came with a manual and a general design, not sure it's accessable without a lot of money in your fists but you get my idea."

She reaches into her pocket for a handkerchief and begins to wipe the thing down. "We're at a curve right now, I mean we got super powered folks walking on air and monsters eating people and technology that stops it, I think. And you got a big brain." She snerks quietly, finishing up with the cleaning then turns just enough to hop down from her perch upon the table to return to the stool.

"So it's simple. You say it doesn't notice us, make it notice us. Women notice grand gestures, yeah? But they notice the small ones even more, and they're the more memorable. Just.. you know.. don't try to piss it off. Or like.. use it's holes or open spots for other than what it's intended. Cause that creepy. And a little bit gross. And kinda desperate."

Peabody shoots her a look, "The last time it noticed anything it tore a hole in the universe, inserted itself into said hole, sped through our solar system like it was taking a jaunt to the 7-11, all the while turning it's insides into the worlds deadliest rubic cube. To get it to take another nap we had to poke another hole in a containment vessel for it's engines which run on a type of energy that our understanding of science /knows/ is impossible to create because doing so would destroy Einstien's math about realativity… And you want me to make something happen so it knows I'm here?" he leans back in his seat, "You know, some of us don't have healy wee robots in us or suped up genetical serums keeping out bits moving. Some of us are just well trained guys with decent heads on our shoulders. I think I'll settle for gentle prods at it's workings until I can figure someway to talk to it that's less suicidal." he pauses, "Plus Slade would fucking murder me if I poked his baby with a stick that big." he doesn't make it sound so much like a teasing joke as a statement of fact. "That dude can /not/ take a joke."

"But!" Melody rebutts, "..It probably noticed something that wasn't /good/. And it wouldn't destroy the theory of relativity, all these aliens that crop up probably have found a way to make it better." She shrugs her shoulders. "You gotta have a little faith in yourself Peabody. I mean, you got Deathstroke to like you and it seems like he doesn't like anyone.. regardless if he'll kill you for damaging the ship or not."

"And besides. If he stabs you one good time just call me. Make sure you try to get him to avoid the heart or not to shoot you right in the head. Heal-y robots only go so far, y'know. Same goes for me. Can't regrow an eye or wh.." She pauses a little. "Ew.. so if my eye falls out I wonder what'll be stuck in it's place?" She stares off for a minute, then hops down from the stool. "But yeah. Got faith in you Pea. Just think of the Resolve as a very complicated being who has feelings too. Throw down some respect. Talk to her a little. Teach it to drop to your level and learn her songs like you do anything else you tinker with." She wrinkles her nose. "I should be the pep talker of the team or whatever. But.. I'm going to see about those sandwiches. I'll bring you back something to eat and drink. Cool?"

The mention of Deathstroke liking him causes something to flicker over Peabody's face, he turns away to stuff another cookie in his mouth, "My father." he says around the cookie, "He loved my father," pause, "in his own Wilsony sort of way. I'm my father's son, there will always be a place for me with them, so long as I want it, the fact that I'm also useful…" he shrugs, "Added bonus." he leans his elbows on his knees a bit, "You know what Slade would say about your plan?" he asks, tilting his head to eye her, then he puts on his best Slade Look, which is shockingly good for an impersonation, his voice dropping deeper, his words clipped and precise, a sort of control and dicipline to them that isn't natural in the black man's usually easy going spirit, "You don't make an opponent drop down to your level unless you're already conseding defeat to a greater foe. Instead learn the truth, there is nothing greater then you, no foe that outmatches you unless you want it to. If it is smarter, stronger, faster, then be better. Raise yourself to it's level. Dragging your better down is the act of the lazy, the cowardly, and the weak." the last word is almost spit out, the 'k' sound cut off harshly. Peabody shoots her a grin, "Been working on that for years, pretty good right?" he asks, leaning back in his seat and kicking his feet up on the desk, "Say what you want to about him, but the man gets results. It's what makes him the only thing more frustrating then this damned ship." he nods his head once which causes his goggles to snap down over his eyes and he reaches for the micro welder, "Bring some of those fries, those sound awesome right about now."

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