Welcome to Beacon: Next 2.0

Night

"And what's your plan when we're done interrogating him in the alley, Halle?" Scarlet shot back, leaning forward herself. "Let him free so he can run back to his boss or just to do whatever he pleases? Kill him in cold blood? Yeah, I don't follow all the rules, but in the end I leave 'em for the cops so that they stay off the street and I don't have to go all hanging judge on them."

edited 18th Aug '16 12:55:06 AM by guyshane

Night

"Right now?" Cerise said. "Hahahaha! When ever can you trust the cops?"

Cerise held a stun baton in her hand, flicking the switch to turn it on and then balancing it on her palm. Where she'd gotten it from when she'd thrown them away just earlier seemed a mystery.

"I tried to stick this guy with six electric stun batons. Please don't try to sound crazier than me," she said.

She tossed the stun baton back onto the ground.

"We're getting donuts, yeah? We're not taking this guy with us to get donuts."

"I would arguably not kill him in cold blood, more kill him in cold copper, I suppose." Halle mused. "And thanks for the sidecar, Gage, but I'm gonna be honest, if we bring them to a cop we trust we need to go all-in to make sure it's safe. Sweep for bugs, jam any transmissions nearby, wear masks to prevent being lip-read, the works. Then, if necessary, we kill the guy in cold copper."

Night Argument

"We are NOT going to kill him!" Selene said finally chiming in. "Have we even stopped to think of the repercussions things like this might have? We've already pulled enough shit as is. If we kill a guy, then what will the public view think of the students of Beacon? Heck I'm already in enough trouble as is. If anyone finds out I was involved in all this, the media would explode. We need to make sure we don't make any more trouble than we have to. Which means we need to do what would be the best option at the time, and that is to hand this fucko over to the cops. Somebody we know we can trust."

Past Midnight

"Me and my fellow students beat the terrorist at the CCT until his jetpack exploded and he fell three stories." Halle coldly stated. "Then I jumped down and, to put it politely, made certain the man wouldn't come back. And nobody said shit. So don't you tell me this motherfucker piloting a killer spider tank thing loaded with lethal rounds doesn't deserve the same treatment. Nobody gets hardware like that without serious connections, so conventional justice may very well be out of the question."

Past Midnight

"Aaaaand... saved."

There was a sharp CLICK! coming from the nearby alley before the figure emerged. "Shit. I didn't know country hick mentality goes to their robots too. What, do you pull a double-barreled shotty on guys stepping onto your property, too?" The man was fairly short - five feet five at best - and decked in full-time spec-ops gear, twirling a tiny audio recorder in his hand. Any features were hidden behind a thick balaclava and a pair of shades.

This was undoubtedly one of Maria's Shades. "Jokes aside, you guys have an uncanny ability to get into the worst kind of trouble. Magharibas, hired thugs and Megalith?" The man whistled and shook his head before pocketing the recorder.

"Anyway, I'll be taking that guy prisoner for a proper interrogation. Thanks for knocking the fuck out of him, I guess." He offered a sheepish chuckle. "Also gonna point out that CCT is volumes more important than frontier justice, so that's probably why nobody cared."

And then to make matters worse, Scarlet's Scroll started ringing. If she were to check, she would find that the call was from - likely worried - Raggy.

Past Midnight

"Are you seriously wearing sunglasses at night?" Halle asked, eyes zooming in on the guy's face just to be absolutely sure she was seeing this right. "Oh by my creators and my devisers he is. You don't drive like that, do you? Because I that's awful irresponsible of you, and dangerous for your payload if you're taking my bounty for interrogation. Speaking of bounties, I figure it's at least worth it to ask if there is one. You know, to cover gas, labor..." Halle gestured to her missing arm. "Repairs. Or is this less a bounty and more a rescue? Because those have different going rates and I'll sue your ass if I'm underpaid." Halle leaned back and played a canned laugh. "Seriously though."

Night

"Oh will you shut up!" Scarlet snarled at Halle. "You've been so staggeringly unhelpful every time Ive had to work with you recently that I'm wonderin' why I didn't make sure you didn't come with!"

Scarlet turned back to the officer. "And, you, like hell I'm turning him over to your bosses. If they want him they can come see me themselves and we can go over the long list of illegal activities I have proof of them doing. This guy is going straight to Uncle Danny."

Then the redhead noticed the ringing. "Oh, excuse me." She picked up the line. "Hey, busy now, can this wait?"

Midnight And Beyond

"I don't have a driving licence." The Shade replied sheepishly, seemingly deciding to ignore Scarlet's accusations. "And yeah, that was my intention as well. Considering you guys were discussing first-degree murder here, you'll have to excuse me that I'm a little skeptical about your intentions." He looked over at Halle. "I'm pretty sure Beacon students can't receive bounties anyway, even if they were there. Anyway..."

The man gave them a small, overblown, but definitely enthusiastic salute. "Consider me an official escort. Corporal Varyag Geat, at your service."

"Like hell it can." Came Raggy's voice from Scarlet's Scroll, clearly exasperated. "Look, I know you do the thingamajigger now and then, but why is Selene missing too? Why is a fourth of our dorm missing, in fact?"

edited 19th Aug '16 12:37:44 AM by FergardStratoavis

Night

"My growling stomach is telling me that we're wasting time," Cerise said. She rolled her eyes. "I said it hours ago, Red. Shoulda put errand bot on the bus back home."

Cerise dismounted, paced around a bit and then strode towards the Shade, coming up face to face with him. She measured with her hand from the top of her head to his. She was taller than him.

"We can't trust this guy," she said. "He's a dwarf."

She turned around and paced some more before turning back and pointing at Varyag.

"Don't you need a driver's license to become a cop? Or is the VPD getting desperate?"

edited 19th Aug '16 1:43:13 AM by opnerf

Night time

Scarlet briefly covered the receiver end of the scroll with her hand. "Watch him, He's too shifty to trust. Also, screw you man, I was not discussing it, that's off the damn table."

She removed her hand. "Look Boss, I understand you have some concerns, but it's not my fault. I just wanted to go out for the night to clear my head and people followed despite me telling them not to. After that some stuff just happened."

She paused for a moment. "Wait, how did you know how many people had left the dorms, are you looking in other people's rooms? That's kinda weird, Rags."

"...I-I don't need to you to help me get b-back if it comes to that. I'm not that weak...I appreciate t-the gesture, but..." James shook his head and forced a smile. "I mean...everything t-that's happened today...is at least better t-than an empty I-Infirmary where I can't do a-anything. ...Besides, p-people would call over t-the PA if they noticed I w-wasn't there."

Placing the boxes back on the shelf, the blue-haired boy adjusted the goggles covering his eyes with the arm that still worked.

"A-Anyway, we m-might as well see w-what introductions we can make, right...?"

Beyond Midnight

"Uh, handpicked, Miss Chester." Varyag shrugged. "Must be the Semblance. And I guess I'm handy with tailing people and not being spotted."

"But yeah, guys, I know we didn't make the best first impression, but you - especially Miss Wulfen - don't look much better. I'm escorting you and the sus to the nearest police station whether you like it or not." It seemed like he was sounding a little apologetic about the ordeal, but orders be orders.

"When I'm worried I do a lot of weird things." Came the reply. "Also, I'm watching Night-time News right now, and this is not "some stuff" right there."

edited 19th Aug '16 2:42:42 AM by FergardStratoavis

Dia helped James pack the stuff on the shelf. "I understand, James. Let's go and interact more with the newcomers." Dia replied with a small smile on her face.

(Ah, at least James is alright. Don't want anything bad happening to him. I'm sure they'd find him really cute too...)

With that, Dia would walk to the kitchen along with James.

BREAKING NEWS Past Midnight - Depressed Neighborhood, Vale

"Lisa, I am live on scene in Downtown Vale with what appears to be a threeway melee between two groups of unknown assailants and the gang known as the Megalith," Cyril Ian's smooth tones were once more reverberating through TV speakers as his Bullhead hovered overhead. "There also seem to be the wrecks of two military grade walkers burning. Order Enforcement officers and police elements are enroute now and are after fleeing suspects!"

Gage was lightly batting Scarlet's shoulder lightly but insistently. His eyes were on the skies. Particularly at the outline of the Vale News Network Bullhead and its compliment of drones.

"I think we better amscray now! Cerise, get on! Bring the dwarf!"

Anyone not part of the night encounter can react to the news as it is broadcasted.

"O-Of course. I mean, i-if the kitchen's free...I could p-probably get some c-candy organized and that...might a-actually help, too. I-I can still..." He found stopped himself from finishing that train of thought. "...I mean, it would h-help smooth things out, too. A-Anyway...."

Awkwardly walking alongside Dia, he just tried to keep his eyes forward.

Past Midnight

Halle couldn't do shit about the news chopper or otherwise cheezin' it while still hooked up to Gage, which meant she had full ability to talk like she wanted.

"What about a specific cop, then?" Halle asked. "Again, can't trust police or feds as an institution, but Scarlet, you said something about a 'Donny' guy? If we got the perp straight to them we could have a more controlled situation."

Beyond Midnight

Well the situation was becoming uglier by the minute. Varyag looked up in the sky, grunted and tapped his com lightly two times, then tapped it again after a moment.

"Look, guys, we're running out of time. Here are the options: you can scram without a sus and leave him to me so we have the status quo going, you can go to the nearest police station right now with him and me as an escort - and not look like you're a bunch of punks looking to start a fight, on top of brownie points for your rep - or you can start a fight and give Lady Maria more reasons to be really angry, on top of tarnishing Beacon's rep and your rep." He spoke, arms folded. "Police is here to help you, not to be a bunch of Saturday Cartoon villains."

edited 19th Aug '16 5:26:38 AM by FergardStratoavis

Past Midnight - Depressed Neighborhood, Vale

Gage snorted at the last word from Varyag's mouth. He hopped off his motorcycle and unceremoniously, the special operative was standing very close to the conjoined Hornet and the Beacon students' prize. He grabbed Cerise by the wrist and pulled her back until she was once more seated on the bike.

"If you didn't want to be Lord Wyrdo and the Wyrd Court, you wouldn't be sending goons to kick guys' teeth in and herd us like rats running from terriers," Gage couldn't fault the police for trying to do what they did. Guys had to eat and had to keep people safe.

But then again, he did come from a place where there were far too few cops and far too often taking from the people they swore to protect. He remembered a while ago, a wall of riot shields and faceless goons marching towards him as he and his friends did what they could to protect their home from the police and the nameless officials who paid them.

Officer Jade and some guys were fine. The Royal Family were, too. The rest...

He gunned his motor. "Slow and easy," Gage looked at Scarlet. "Not like we're running from no one. Just going for a nightly ride. If anyone looks twice, then we jet." The bandanna-wearing delinquent looked back at Varyag, sitting behind Halle. "Our terms. We talk when things are quieter."

And with that, Gage took off, his motor grumbling as he hit cruising speed.

Night time

Scarlet set her bike to follow Gage as she continued her phone call. "No, some stuff definitely happened. But I don't know what you're worried about. No buildings got lit on fire, None of us were hurt, Selene and I made up so that'll be great for team cohesion. You should really be calling tonight a win like I am."

Scarlet briefly shifted the call to speaker phone so she could send at text message to her uncle, letting him know that she had a delivery for him.

Zarathustra unclamped from their bounty and swiveled around to lock eye-to-eyes with Varyag. "So, you never answered, is this actually just a rescue operation? I mean, we're just Beacon students, nobody will believe us if we say you guys were killing criminals with spider tanks." She drummed her fingers on the bike handle. "And Remnant is a place of intrigue, I'll have you know."

Beyond Midnight

"You're playing with fire, Merrick Gage." Varyag let out a resigned sigh, but made no objections to being essentially kidnapped, surprisingly enough.

The officer looked at Halle. Even behind his shades and balaclava it was easy to catch his incredulous expression. "Nobody would believe you because nothing like that happened. I saw a bunch of thugs with military-grade equipment somehow in their possession." There was a small pause. "Whether they're related to either the underworld or the terrorists responsible for the CCT attack remains to be seen."

"...look, I'm just worried because I have a startling suspicion you might have been one of those unidentified groups." Raggy replied to Scarlet. "Just come back safe."

Past Midnight

"Or to you. We can't forget that possibility." Halle pressed. "Seeing as it'd be extremely easy for a bunch of cops to get access to that hardware, you know." Her eye zoomed in on him—mostly for the affectation of a whirring iris noticeably focusing harder, if she was being honest with herself. "If you were any more of a spook, buddy, you'd be a skeleton."

Way Past Midnight - Cityline View, Downtown Residential District, Vale

"Story of my fuckin' life." Was Gage's only response, focusing on the road.

It was a nerve-wracking couple of hours. Every cop car driving past sent alarm bells ringing through the heads of the young Hunters-in-training playing casual and navigating the by-ways and sideroads as best they could.

But something must have been smiling down upon them. With bags of doughnuts and coffee in hand, they found themselves in a bluff overlooking the cityline of Vale, a popular spot for tourists. It was only a new moon, so the night sky was dark and cloudy. Thin streaks of day could be seen in the distance.

And this was where Gage advised Scarlet to have Danny meet. The delinquent sat cross-legged on a picnic table, doughnut clutched in his mouth as he set up his Scroll for 3D viewing. The firebase they'd fought in was now surrounded by cops, firemen, reporters, and all attendant hangers-on when something exploded.

Their new friend was propped up on the bench, hands securely bound. Removing his useless gas mask revealed a soldier's rough and be-stubbled face, bruised and cut where Gage kicked him. His features were obviously Atlesian and his platinum blonde hair was worn cropped close to his skull. There was no doubt that when he opened his eyes, they would be a wintry blue.

edited 19th Aug '16 9:27:28 PM by KR_Vandal

Sparring

Marvin gave the robot a nod before he began to inch forward, his stance loose and his breathing steady as he stepped forward. The Snake Faunus suddenly dashed forward, his arms lashing out with an intent to strike at her mid section.