Doorways & Deductions: The Roleplay

As everyone started making their introductions, they eventually would start hearing the sounds of angry chewing through the room as Ema had grabbed a bag of snackoos and was quickly going through it. Once the bag was emptied, she merely sighed in annoyance.

"I can't believe I got kidnapped to this weird place, can't anything be normal in my life for once?!" She said, exasperated, then looking at everyone else for a few moments before turning away with an angry pout, "Ema Skye, forensics investigator."

edited 6th Jun '17 6:38:39 PM by FullMoon

Briefing Room

A short while after everyone had gathered together, part of the wall beside the giant screen slid open. A new individual walked in through it.

"Oh! You guys are here early."

The man was an average human, not too tall though a bit wider than some. He wore a simple pair of khakis and a white shirt tucked into them. His hair was short and straight, and he had on a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. He was also casting a broad smile to the group with a small box in his hands. "Didn't expect y'all to be pulled in so soon, but hey, the quicker the better."

He walked up to the table - setting the box down on the podium as he passed it - standing inside its curve. He took a cookie from the severely under-used plate. He pointed to Nightbeat with his half-cookie. "Good job, by the way. Pieced it together quick. That's good. Real good." He finished his cookie, nodding. "Really good."

Nick turned as someone who didn't sound surprised spoke up. He placed his hand back on his gun, scrutinizing the new arrival. The way he complimented Nightbeat just confirmed Nick's suspicions that they were picked for their detective abilities.

"Let's not beat around the bush," he called impatiently, "why are we here? Got some crime local law enforcement can't handle?"

Briefing Room

Since he got no response for now, Gesicht quietly watches the situation play in front of him for now and enjoys some cookies. Most of the people in this group are humans, and one of them is munching on junk food. For Gesicht, junk food is one of mankind's worst inventions, as causes all kinds of illnesses and ailments later in life.

Gesicht also notes the presence of the two robots in the room. One of them looked quite obsolete, as he looked more metallic than Gesicht. Despite his looks, this robot manages to talk and act as well as a human. The other robot is much bigger than Gesicht. Was he meant to be an instrument of war like Gesicht before his detective gig at Europol?

Judging by the names tossed out during the introduction, this group is multinational. In order to fit in, Gesicht had to introduce himself sooner, and so he did. “It's nice to meet you all. I'm, uh, Gesicht. I work for Europol.”

Gesicht watches another person make an unusual entry into this room. This person notes that the group showed up earlier than expected. Could this person be the one who healed Gesicht back to normal? Then again, this possibly be a hallucination or possibly the afterlife.

Gesicht raises a hand and states, “I don't want to be rude or anything, but... Could I ask you a question?”

"Oh, you're one of those,-" said Nighbeat as the shabby robot explained more about himself, "I have to confess I've always wondered what it's like, being a second-born-"

Whatever the Autobot was about to say was cut off when yet another human materialized into the room; unlike the others, this one seemed to carry himself with something of an air of authority - and then, as soon as he opened his mouth, Nightbeat's suspsicions were confirmed.

Then the other robot jumped in before Nightbeat could say anything, but apparently his logic centers weren't quite so far gone that he couldn't reach the same conclusions that the Autobot was about to reach.

"So we're all detectives, hm?" he asked, sounding slightly skeptical - which was probably odd, considering that he was far and away the odd man out of the group. "Even them?" He pointed at Naoto, who moments before had pulled a gun on his person. "They tried to shoot me!"

edited 7th Jun '17 11:20:02 AM by Locoman

Briefing Room

Shotaro blinked at the policewoman, who was looking at him with a degree of familiarity...which was odd, since this was the first time he'd seen her. But he couldn't dwell on this, as a short man entered the room, speaking like he knew why they were all here.

"Sounds like it." Shotaro answered the man who introduced himself as Nick. "Why else would they bring so many detectives? Both from earth and beyond?" He added, gesturing to Nightbeat. "Oh, forgot to introduce myself. I am Shotaro Hidari. Private Investigator."

edited 6th Jun '17 9:27:26 PM by svenorzokarkoff

One of the people there was particularly freaked out about the situation and surprisingly she also complained about not being able to enjoy a normal day in her life. That made two of us but she really needed to take it easy with her food.

Ok, so I'm eating too but that's because these cookies are great. And yeah, maybe I'm trying to distract myself from the fact that I'm away from my kid but... agh, that's exactly what I was trying to not think about!

"I know right? Every time I'm having fun by myself there's some sort of universal-level extinction event that I need to take care of"

There were a few introductions thrown all over the place. It was obvious there was a pattern here, everyone was either a detective, a police officer or an investigator of some sort. And I wasn't any different.

"I'm Jessica Drew. Ex-Avenger and Private Investigator. At least trying to be the latter. These kind of situations force me to play superhero"

Finally, someone stepped in that could explain this whole situation. And it was a normal-looking guy. Yeah, that seems about right. He was surprised to see us "early" and congratulated the yellow robot on figuring out part of their plan. The robot in a trench coat wanted to know if there was something their police force couldn't handle because it was obvious everyone here had one thing in common: Their occupation.

"Well, again, technically a PI but yes"

This made the giant yellow robot wonder if the kid that had just threatened to shoot him was a detective too. Not this again.

"Come on, what did I say about fighting?" I told him, trying to make him lower his arm so we didn't have another unnecessary confrontation.

"But anyway, why are you taking people from all over the place?" I asked the guy that had just eaten a cookie—they weren't poisoned after all! "Because if you are actually trying to catch criminals I've got news for you. Kidnapping is illegal"

Rinko frowned as she noticed the teen who'd pulled a gun clutch said gun to their chest. She'd have to talk to the boy... or were they a girl? Either way she'd have to talk to them later. For now, she turned back to the pair of teenagers she'd already engaged though it seemed that the boy, Heiji, had already wandered off to investigate the rest of the room.

Shortly after Heiji's introduction she had to suppress a chuckle. It was one thing for Naoto to be a detective since they had claimed to be from a long line of one, albeit one she herself hadn't heard of, and there was no guarantee that whatever gender they were that they were a full on part of the force. It was another for Heiji who didn't seem much older and seemed to lack the pedigree that Nato had, though given the things Rinko had seen over the course of the fight with the Phantoms combined with the increasing knowlede that everyone here was related to the police or an independent detective it wasn't too farfetched.

Shortly thereafter the wall behind the screen split and Rinko tensed, shifting her occupied hand slightly as a man came through. Though he seemed friendly he was clearly in charge here as evidenced by his speech. He also made it clear that he had a way of watching them before coming to stand behind the podium. While others decided to take the time to speak to the man, she slid away from Kazuha sliding into a spot at the table. Even if the meeting was odd, she might as well conduct herself properly, right?

Shotaro's introduction clinched it. She would have to talk to him afterwards both to catch up and to see why his partner wasn't around. The question was whether to do that before or after talking to Naoto.

The inspector agreed with Jessica's assessment of the situation.

"I'll have to agree with Ms. Drew." Chung told the mysterious person. "If you really needed help, this isn't the way to do it."

"For all I know, you should be held accountable for taking us against our will."

Naoto didn't give much thought into Nick's claim of being PI for this "Diamond City" considering that she had never even heard of such a place. It helps that he looks the part.....wait....Naoto took a closer look at Nick and she picked up more on the fact that Nick wasn't as human as she thought. Interesting.

As for Heiji, his claim was put under greater scrutiny. "the Great Detective of the West" huh? In all of her years during detective work Naoto never heard of another detective of such a title. She wondered if he gave himself the title or if the media had chosen such a name for him. "Heiji-san, I can see that you are from Japan as well but I'm afraid to say that I never heard of you. Is it possible you are known in only one western region?" asked Naoto.

From what has been, everyone was taken from their life's and the connection between each one was that they had experience at being a detective or in law enforcement in general. Well, that made the motion of aggression against the yellow and blue robot unfounded and unneeded. "Jessica-san is right. If we are all really law enforcement then we must be professional in our interactions. While I did aim a weapon at you, please understand that I thought you were a threat that I have encountered before from both your design and how I was taken here. My apologies" said Naoto with a firm but sincere tone. She would add a warning that his comments against Nick were unneeded but she figured that he would handle that.

And then either a representative of the group that kidnapped the group or even the man who did it was here. Naoto told the man with a strict and somewhat mad tone, "As said by a few people here, what you have done here is a criminal act. I have dealt with being taken away against my will and I did not want to go through with it again so it's time to tell us what's your motive for kidnapping us. The full details."

edited 7th Jun '17 10:00:01 AM by LightToAll

Briefing Room

As everyone reared onto the man, he stood there, hands behind his back and smiling. He wasn't put off by the accusations or questions - if anything he looked a bit excited when they were brought up. He tilted his head towards Nick. "You answered your own question there, Mr. Valentine, so I don't know why you decided to ask it."

As Gesicht go his attention, his eyes went wide. "Whoa, hey, how'd you get here? You should still be healing up. They said you weren't field-ready yet..." He scratched his temple, looking off into space for a short moment. "Ah, well, you seem fine enough. What is it?"

Before Gesicht could ask his question, however, someone else piped up: Nightbeat. The man smiled calmly. "You can forgive a human for being so jumpy after finding themselves in a place they don't know, can't you? And you shouldn't be one to comment on gun control seeing as how you were the first to draw their weapon in here."

Jessica, Chang and Naoto had all rounded on him with the same line of thought. He gave a shrug and an apologetic nod. "Yes, well, kidnapping is very much illegal, thank you for reminding us all. I'd like it to be seen more as conscription, though. I'm not here to explain it all out to you, unfortunately, I'm only out here because the person who is supposed to didn't want you all shooting her on sight." As if on cue, the space on the wall slid back again and another person walked out: a plain-looking woman with dark skin and curly hair in a blue suit.

The woman walked into the center of the room, stopping beside the podium. "Patch." She shot the man a look, then swept her gaze out through others. She cleared her throat, straightening herself. "I apologize for my co-worker's bluntness, in his stead."

The man shrugged. "Can't apologize for what you aren't sorry for. It's the truth!"

"...However, yes. He isn't the one responsible for your collection here, I am. I just couldn't be sure as to how you all would react, so I sent Diz out to test the waters." She side-stepped so she stood behind the podium, standing a bit higher off the floor now. "You can all call me Deputy Kay. I will answer any questions you all have. Please have a seat."

Naoto calmed down and apologized to... the big guy—I need to learn his name—for trying to shoot him. Naoto also used a Japanese honorific to address me while talking about how we should all work together. It's nice but I've never been one for formality. Another guy also called me 'Ms. Drew' which just... no.

"There we go. And, please guys, 'Jess' is fine. But I guess if you wanna get technical, 'Spider-Woman' works too"

The guy explaining the situation made some snide remarks about everyone. I was this close to wiping that smug look off his face but I knew there was something else going on here. Whoever had brought us here had resources and clearly wasn't stupid enough to goad us into fighting without wanting to test our strength or something of that nature. Right now I just want to see what he plans to do.

"Well, whoever that is she's certainly smarter than you"

Right on cue, the woman he had mentioned—the one behind all this if he was to be believed—showed up, apologizing for his behaviour. It couldn't be more obvious that they were trying to make us hate the first guy so the woman, Kay, wouldn't be so bad in comparison. Either this is a test of our skills or they really are as clueless as they look. No wonder they need a bunch of detectives.

Regardless, I'm kind of desperate right now so I'm going to play along.

"Okay, I'll bite" I said, sitting down and looking at her like I actually cared "So Kay, tell me. What is so important you feel the need to kidnap people that have lives of their own to take care of? Is there a sad backstory involved?"

edited 9th Jun '17 5:24:45 PM by DeisTheAlcano

"Ever heard of a lead in?" Nick asked rhetorically. He was starting to feel a little agitated by the conversation with Nightbeat, and Diz's responses weren't making him feel anymore cordial.

Then the real 'mastermind' entered. Jess seemed to take the most urgent question, so Nick decided to pull out a cigarette. If they wanted everyone calm, he could look calm. "Rather stand, thanks," he said. He simply grabbed the back of a chair, with his free hand once he'd lit his cigarette.

Insp. Chung heard Kay out when she arrived with the explanation on why they were taken from their homes.

"So how long do you plan to keep us here? Because most of us have important issues that we need to take care of and it's troublesome of our colleagues and family notice that we're missing."

Briefing Room

While waiting for an answer, Gesicht listens to the others talk about their current situation while properly introducing themselves. Apparently, everyone in this building is a detective of some kind. Even the giant robot, supposed superhero and the trigger-happy teenager are detectives, somehow. Are these guys for real, or is Geischt hallucinating?

Then Chung, Naoto, and Jessica accuse the man of abducting everyone in this room. Jessica even said it was illegal, and Chung wants the man to be held accountable for his supposed actions. On top of that, Naoto wants a full explanation. Then the man acknowledges that his actions were illegal and explains that the kidnapping is more like a conscription.

In the meantime, Gesicht put two and two together. Could be possible that he was taken away like they were? Why would they take in a dead man and bring back from the dead? And then the man confirms that his group healed Gesicht back to full health, but that just made Gesicht think more about his situation.

Surely, the other fallen robots on Gesicht's Earth would be a better choice. If they were rebuilt, they would surely help them in case they were invaded. However, they were programmed differently than Gesicht. Atom was programmed to act like a kid and Brando and Heracles were programmed to be fighters. North and Mont Blanc hated the battlefield and would rather stay away.

In any case, they weren't programmed to be a detective like Gesicht was. In fact, Gesicht was the one to discover the true identity of the killer of the Pluto case. It was a father-son duo named Abra and Sahad. Sahad was the AI operating the Pluto body and was the one who killed the robots. Abra was the one who killed the humans.

Then a woman appears and takes over the podium. In reality, she was the one behind the kidnappings. This woman is known as Deputy Kay, and she politely asks everyone to take a seat while taking their questions. Jessica repeats her question on why these particular detectives were kidnapped to Kay. Chung asks Kay how long they were going to be there, since they clearly had important things to be doing instead.

Gesicht, on the other hand, wants to know more about his situation. He doesn't care if the others realize that he was a robot. After all, he's in good company with Nightbeat and Nick. “Why did your group fix me up? What has happened to Earth since I mysteriously vanished?”

edited 9th Jun '17 5:18:02 PM by josh6243

The Dynamic Duo, Room

Heiji began to pace back and forth as the conversation begun, muttering under his breath. Kazuha just walked up and took a cookie, munching on it. When Naoto asked about his title, he rapidly grew livid. "Not only am ai known round tha country, I'm known round tha world! There's only one detective mai equal, and you ain't him, ahou." Heiji somewhat ranted, before Kazuha came along, grabbed his ear and twisted it, which promptly shut him up, leaving him quietly muttering about cross-dressing females who thought they were better than him. "Sorry about the detective freak. He can be rather ... short-tempered." Kazuha said, a vein on her forehead pulsing visibly.

Heiji stopped muttering when the woman walked in, and he sat upright, eyes bright and head tilted, clearly listening. "So if we're all detectives, what's Kazuha-chan doing here? She ain't a detective." Kazuha briefly looked offended, before seeming to deflate. "I-I'd rather like to know that too, actually," she admitted quietly.

Briefing Room

"I will admit," Kay addressed the room as a whole, "that you all had no say in being brought here and that we are fully responsible for that. For what it's worth, there is a good reason for your kidnappings." She paused to lick her lips. "All of your homes, your worlds, universe; everything is in danger. There is a collective that seeks to disrupt what everyone holds close to them. As you can plainly see, there exists more than what resides in your home. Dimensions upon dimensions, all co-existing beside each other. However, there has been a surge of activity between universes that threatens the entirety of everything. That's why you are all here.

"Detectives, investigators, inspectors. I'm sure you've already found that connection among yourselves. The reason is simple: we are in desperate need for individuals of your skills. To not excessively drone on, we need people like yourselves to travel the multiverse and keep it stable. We had tried to contain things ourselves, but...that has proved to be useless. We only worsened the problem we tried to stop. That is why we summoned— took you. We need you to succeed where we have failed."

She then turned to answer the specific questions asked. "Mr. Gesicht, you need not worry. You Earth has since removed the Pluto threat thanks to your help, and is on the road to peace again. We revived you due to your skills and expertise - and, I'm sure, to give you the life you want back." To Kazuha and Heiji, she nodded. "Yes, you aren't a detective like your friend here. But, we figured that keeping you two together would help. Otherwise I'm sure Mr. Heiji would prove too uncooperative."

"No no no!"

Why? Why does this have to happen every time I'm enjoying myself?

Kay just tries to explain what the multiverse is and how we are all connected. There are some good-for-nothing punks ruining things for everyone and they need a group of people to fix things up while travelling from universe to universe. Like I haven't seen this already. Like I haven't dealt with the same exact scenario countless times before. Like I didn't quit the Avengers precisely over this bullshit.

"Why detectives? There are a bunch of other superheroes that could deal with this. I even have most of them on speed-dial" I say, showing my cellphone. I already know she made up her mind—people like her always do—but I need to find a way out of this and I'm starting to get desperate. I just started going through my contacts list because I wasn't going to back down without showing Kay there were a lot of options.

"Look, you can call Carol, Hank, Peter, Reed, T'Challa, Thor, Tony. Hell, I bet even Gwen could do a better job than me. She's stronger, she can shoot webs, she's used to this kind of situation, and, oh right, she doesn't have a kid waiting for her at home!"

Briefing room

Shotaro just sighed and shifted his hat, looking very unsurprised. "Of course. Just when I deal with one universal threat, I get pulled into another..." he muttered to himself as he listened to Jessica's freakout. A part of him did understand why the woman wanted to return to her family, as memories of Sokichi and Terui appeared in his mind.

"Jessica-san does raise an interesting point, Kay-san" Shotaro spoke up, shifting to a more alert posture "Why does a situation like this specifically require the expertise of investigators and detectives? If the issue was simply the multiverse being endangered, you could have sought out Tsukasa Kadoya, better known as Kamen Rider Decade. Saving the multiverse is his specialty, after all."

edited 13th Jun '17 12:08:30 AM by svenorzokarkoff

This is my first time RP on TV Tropes, so hopefully things pan out well. Not sure if I'm getting the text colors (and possibly, the formatting) right.

"General Sir is expecting you inside personally, Mr. Gadget," the muscular Frenchman known as Colonel Nozzaire stated as he turned from the major office door and towards the new arrival. In the Colonel's sights, the middle-aged, black trenchcoat wearing newbie continued to partake in photo shoots of the interior with an unusual arm contraption doing most of the camera work. The newbie's suit wasn't the only thing well dressed on him, seeing as the big-nosed man's face was decorated ear to ear with a grin and darting eyes following his camera's direction.

"Mr. Gadget, while I understand your possible excitement in join W.O.M.P, I must ask that you refrain taking more pictures," the well-built colonel stood his ground until the former inspector focused back on him. "I will also ask for those pictures to be deleted, thank you. It's only policy."

Rosy spots formed on Gadget's cheeks, mentally commanding his Gadget Hat Arm to shovel away the camera's goodies before chuckling, "Sorry about that, Colonel Nose Hairs, but this place is very appealing! It's like...a bigger police station!"

Colonel Nozzaire's bewilderment faze melted into Tranquil Fury, slowing rubbing his eyes with one hand before blindly pointing towards General Sir's office door with the other. After doing a respectful salute with his Gadget Hat Arm, Lieutenant Gadget proudly headed towards the door. A succulent locking of the door was all the Colonel needed to exhale the stream right out.

Once inside, the Lieutenant was greeted to a large DON'T PANIC display. "Ha, the General's a fan of Douglas Adams! Good choice; his Dirk Gently books are quite the treat."

Speaking of treats, Gadget spotted a large center table with plates full of delicious cookies. 'The General deserves his title,' Gadget thought as he made his way to his seat. 'He practically thinks of everything beforehand.'

Of course, once he sat down, his viewing scope suddenly took into account of the new arrivals on the scene. 'What a pleasant surprise for a supposedly private one to one meeting! Perhaps even that was considered confidential?'

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you, fellow new W.O.M.P members! They call me Lieutenant Gadget around here now, but Gadget is perfectly fine," the Lieutenant began before calling out "Go Go Gadget Arms" to [literally] extend his kindness to every possible member in the room. "I can't wait to send my regards to General Sir for getting with 'the diverse times' on recruitment!"

Nightbeat accepted one of Gadget's many proferred hands with a finger and thumb, shaking it awkwardly. "So you're some kind of cyborg?-" he asked, looking slightly offput by the mechanical display.

"If this is true, then I'm willing to help," Nick said, "but you've got an uphill battle to prove that you're not trying to pull the wool over our eyes somehow." He listened as Jess made her objections known.

For someone without any eyebrows, Nick managed to stare at Kay with very clear skepticism. "Well, you know just how to build trust," he deadpanned. He quietly smoked his cigarette, mulling the situation over.

It was quite the story they were telling. Was it too fantastic to believe? He knew that they were powerful enough to somehow move his front door from Diamond City to wherever the briefing room was. He only stopped his ruminations when an arm was extended in his direction.

He stared at it very briefly before shrugging and shaking it with his free hand. "And here I thought my 'synth detective' gig was unique," he commented.

Briefing Room

And so Gesicht finally got some answers to his inquiries. As Kay mentioned that the Pluto menace has been stopped, Gesicht begins crying in joy. Gesicht now knows that his fellow robots have been avenged. Still, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Sahad. He wanted to be a peaceful robot, but his creator forced him to commit these atrocities out of anger.

Kay also revealed that Gesicht was rebuilt because they needed his skills and because they wanted to give him the life he lost when he attempted to peacefully retire.

“Thank you,” Gesicht said to Kay after wiping his tears off his face. “Is it possible for me to call Helena? She, uh, must worried real sick about me.”

And then Shotaro and Jessica ask why these particular detectives are picked over those more capable from their world. They both make good points, but Kay might have a rebuttal for that. Jessica mentions raising a kid on top of her worries, making Gesicht wince for a second or two. Hopefully, no one caught that.

Another detective showed up. This one seemed to be a cyborg called Lieutenant Gadget. He offers handshakes to anyone interested. What made these handshakes interesting was that Gadget had the ability to extend his arms all over the place. Not one to be rude and all, Gesicht simply smiles at Gadget and shakes his hand.

“It's nice to meet you, Gadget,” replies Gesicht. “I'm Gesicht.”

edited 15th Jun '17 11:00:14 PM by josh6243

Insp. Chung wondered on the situation that Kay mentioned. For one thing, it was the duty of a police officer to resolve a situation when it's called for. But he heard objections from Jessica and Shotaro, owning to the idea that other "experienced" persons are more suitable for the job instead of private detective.

He placed his gloved hands on the carbine's buttstock since it was hanging vertically from his shoulder.

"Don't you have any law enforcement counterparts from where you and your colleague are from?" The Hong Kong Police Force officer asked her.

Ema just listened as the woman responsible for this whole mess spoke and told them her reasons for forcing them all to come to this weird place. It was some weird stuff about there having some sort of dimensional threat going on that they couldn't stop themselves so of course instead of stepping up their game they just decided to get other people to do their job for them. People obviously began voicing their objections, well, mostly that one lady, but she did have a good point although she also mentioned something about superheroes which was... odd, but not the weirdest thing so far.

"Ok, look, you people have your reasons for bringing us here, but if you can bring us here, then you should be able to send us back, right?" Ema began saying, still sounding annoyed. "Then how about you just let us decide whether we want to help or not and send the ones who don't back to their homes?" she suggested, putting a hand on her hip with an inquisite look on her eyes.

It was obviously not going to be that easy, it never was, but how they answered that question could bring more things into light, so it didn't hurt to ask. At the same time there was a new person who showed up and began greeting everyone. He called himself Lieutenant Gadget and he seemed like an oddball, but she had seen weirder.

"Ema Skye, nice to meet you," she introduced himself to him, in a thin-veiled attempted at being polite.

edited 15th Jun '17 1:40:03 PM by FullMoon