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Post by BijuuGuy on Jan 11, 2024 21:04:02 GMT
Xehem egging Gyrich on, coupled with their following statement were perhaps the first things that actually made Abigail feel a modicum of unease. Aliens were a dangerous bunch. A lot of them were, anyway. And one as unknown as her new violet acquaintance was, could prove even more so. Still, Brand felt like they had built enough of a rapport to prevent the worst from happening. Thankfully, her unwilling partner in crime had the good sense (for once) to heed threats. Under normal circumstances, Abigail showcasing her mutant nature would've been seen as a setback to the cause of her people. As tangentially as she called that bunch. These circumstances were anything but normal, to her benefit.
In his usual manner, Gyrich left the room, finally leaving the two that mattered, alone for a time. She didn't have to look at him to know her words sprung him to action. Their relationship with Planetary folks wasn't exactly of a mutual benefit nature, their goals and methods differing enough to constantly keep them at some sort of odds. But there came the time where either party had the good sense to pick the best people for the job. Abigail wasn't as indifferent or contentious towards them as others may have been, seeing them as capable people, doing a hell of a lot more than she could say for some of her colleagues in ARGUS and SWORD.
Since it took a while for their representatives to arrive, Brand used the time to engage with Xehem a bit more. Their revelations shouldn't have been surprising and by that point, they hardly were. Still, their admittance to the data already having been dealt with, as well as a promise that held little importance now, made her rub her forehead.
Goddamn aliens
It was more of a thought akin to "I should've seen this coming" than anything else. In truth, that alone would've been enough to take Xehem out. But it was Brand's pettiness to prevent Gyrich to get what he wanted, and her own realization that he would soon stop being a pain in her ass that made her decide otherwise. Abigail Brand was certainly one to act out of both the best interests for Earth and her own, arguably juvenile, desires.
"Super awesome, thanks for the trust."
Her words dripped of sarcasm. Xehem's manner of speech was a weird blend of how young people spoke and one of an experienced agent. It was jarring, though not unfamiliar. Mimicking human speech patterns was a tried and true method of alien assimilation. No doubt a necessary skillset considering their other capabilities. But what struck her after that was the tease about a "second time." The mysteries kept piling. Abigail was just about to inquire further and to try and meet their seeming challenge, when the door opened. Before she registered who stepped through, she had one more request.
"I'll take you up on that courtesy."
Jakita Wagner followed Robo into the dull room, her standing imposingly over his stout (some would call it) build. Her gaze met Brand once, giving an inkling of a nod. The two women knew each others' reputations well. She was to Planetary what Brand was to ARGUS. That was to say, they were both harsh women, with the telling difference that Abigail was much more willing to speak her mind, aggressively so. Jakita instead chose to let her eyes and expression do the work. Her height was an added bonus. And well, everything else she could accomplish with her bare hands. She stood on the opposite side of the room, diagonally across from where Gyrich had been slouching. And from that point on, her eyes were locked onto the alien. She wasn't there to convince him, that's what the tin can was there for. Granted, she had great respect for Robo's work. The two being closer colleagues than almost everyone would think. Opposites attract and all.
Robo's own gratitude towards the tip they received was met with an acknowledging murmur and a swift sharing of the details known by Brand. Her mentioning of Gyrich summoned a slight twitch in Jakita's own expression, unable to be really read by anyone. Not that anyone was looking at her anyway. She was the enforcer. And the one to deal with the alien later. But Henry Peter Gyrich was a venomous snake. One that Jakita was surprised was still being kept around. In a better world, the man would be behind bars. And yet, he carried enough leeway and usefulness to keep being a weed nobody could get rid of.
Brand's brief explanation made Jakita curious enough to see what the alien would say themselves. Jakita could at least be sure that Robo knew what he was doing. Another matter was whether the alien would buy into it.
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Post by swapgo on Jan 11, 2024 21:54:37 GMT
"Could you not ennunciate it like that? It's nice to be off the clock for once".
The alien complained from the floor, probably with the most concern Abigail has squeezed out of Vince or Xehem. In fact, anyone that worked with Vince realized he did not react well to sarcasm, one of the many traits that, in hindsight, he shared with the bare shapeshifter. The deceitful abomination from outer space could not handle condescending verbal ambiguity? Also, when did they pull their phone out again? They were still bound, and there wasn't much of a clue between which one of the roughly 6 membranous tendrils congealed it into existence. They also weren't actually using it, at least not in a way that was familiar to humans, they simply had both hands rather closed to their face and stared at it. The sound wasn't very high, but lights visibly flickered from it, something exciting was happening. Whatever emotions were going through their head weren't elicited in words but changes in hue off of these ooze-like protrusions. "Done!", was their only reply to Brand's acceptance of their terms without even looking away from their entertainment, with what appears to be an iconic disregard for the gravity of the situation: Please get rid of our super secret sensitive intergalactic intel, oh yeah that's done.
Xehem perked up their head as the door opened once more, his back tendrils pushing their upper body up slightly from their comfort in the floor. Ooh, non-carbon based sentiences! They were always warned about them, only made it more intriguing how enthused some people on the human network were about the topic. The alien dropped his phone and it disappeared into their chest once more, the nuances of how that worked being rather hard to parse as it quite expediently got itself back up by planting one foot on the floor and placing the other one on the table, reversing their fall as seamlessly as they executed it. Xehem put both of their feet(?) back on the ground to hear out the surprisingly charismatic machine, their snarl glowing with a soft teal tone as they did. "No! But that's neither here nor now! I'm Xehem!", Xehem replied, offering both of their hands for a shake as they had little choice on the matter. "Are you from some sort of non-public facing superagency that ARGUS wouldn't be caught alive endorsing?", Xehem asked a perfectly natural question to make to a new acquaintance. Despite having infiltrated and breached ARGUS for months now, this was actually a guess.
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Post by Bixir on Apr 2, 2024 22:02:10 GMT
”Doctor Atomic Robo Tesla! Esquire!” Robo didn’t know which arm-tendril-thing was the most polite, so he opted for the first one he could make contact with. For most people, it was a gross feeling, shaking hands with an extraterrestrial like Xehem. By Robo’s standards, this was pretty mild.
”You’re actually right on the money there.” He glanced over at Brand for a moment. Proverbial non-offense. ”We call ourselves Planetary. We do a little bit of everything, but most of all, we have a thing for the mysteries of the universe. And something tells me that’s your thing. And I don’t mean because you were able to hack into ARGUS. That’s a big club.”
Okay, maybe a little proverbial offense.
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Post by BijuuGuy on Apr 7, 2024 21:24:21 GMT
Brand had nothing but a sigh to offer at Xehem's acceptance of her request. And one that was more laden with annoyance than anything else. In her thoughts, she repeated "not my problem anymore" over and over again. Indeed, the droid and G.I. Jane were there to relieve Abigail of the biggest pain in her ass in months. She would've been grateful, though that wasn't exactly in her nature.
Robo's further comments proved that. She shot him a piercing glare, but managed to resist firing back her own rebuttal. Brand repeated her fresh mantra in her head again. However, that didn't mean she was going to remain entirely silent.
"You're more than welcome to his mysteries. The farther away from me, the better."
Jakita stared at the alien intently. Its human mannerisms and speech weren't exactly surprising, though it was still strange enough to see someone assimilate themselves into human society like that. She didn't know how long Xehem had been on Earth, but it was certainly adept enough to seem like it knew how humans behaved. Mostly.
Robo's introduction was as long-winded as expected. The man loved to explain. A trait she did not share. The sly jab at ARGUS was a good one though, she had to admit. He had teeth when he wanted to. That was likely one of the aspects that made them mesh as partners better than some expected. Nevertheless, they didn't have eons of time to spare. And Robo was a talker. If it were solely up to him, they'd be in the room as long or longer than Brand.
"Tesla."
That and a look towards her companion were all she needed to do in order to keep things moving. At least she hoped that would be the case.
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Post by swapgo on Apr 8, 2024 1:58:37 GMT
Xehem hadn't thought about offering a different kind of handshake, but was quick to offer one of his tendrils for once. They shuddered for a second, the metallic grip, as delicate as Robo could be with it, was still a bit shaky to a form the alien hadn't bared in [REDACTED]. "Oh-that's-...", Xehem was seemingly surprised when they Robo admitted that all this heist was somehow not even unusual in the context of ARGUS. They stood there seemingly dumbfounded for a moment, their snarls swaying gently and going through different colors, presumably if they had irises, they would be swiveling around. There was a part of them that was rather disappointed, sure, they completed their objective, but it didn't change the fact that, under most expected circumstances, they weren't sticking around to celebrate any of that. Perhaps the fact that they succeeded in spite of probably repeated intrusions was actually something commendable, another fine point of view. Either way, they could mull this over when they weren't wearing shackles.
"Ah apologies Planetary mysteries of the universe and all that", Xehem straightened up and retreived his apendage. "Well, its less of my thing and more of my job, or was, maybe, I'm not sure yet", Xehem tilted his head away, the appendages in his back extending horizontally and curling at the start, seemingly feeling the need to elicit a shrug through being handcuffed. "I'm not built for exploring the universe, really, there'd be so many things to unlearn", they argued. Brand still didn't have the full picture, but the calculated coldness behind Xehem's laissez faire facade clearly suggested they were a trained infiltrator as opposed to merely some carousing shapeshifter that landed on Earth, asking them to drop their life's work to explore the stars was a tall order.
"How does being so cold and indifferent to strangers come so naturally to humans? They're social animals! I looked it up!", he whined to Robo, as if he could have some answer. There was maybe one-and-a-half a human in this room, surely they wouldnt be mad about it.
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Post by Bixir on Jul 29, 2024 22:50:41 GMT
“You’re asking a robot that question.”
Robo couldn’t even laugh at that one. He heard it all the time, and more importantly, he knew he was on thin ice with his usual routine. Not with Brand, of course. Abby couldn’t throw him into the next state. He folded his arms across his chest. “The point is, I had a chat with Ms. Brand here, and in exchange for not turning you into calamari, they’re letting us take care of you, now that you’re here on Earth.”
Robo paused, thinking for a second. Was that… ? Aw, peanuts, he hoped not. He looked at his new acquaintance with some seriousness (for a robot). “So... are you still employed?”
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Post by swapgo on Aug 1, 2024 15:06:22 GMT
Xehem looked like they realized they made a dumb question, but offered no apology, not seeing the irony. Aren't machines warm? Human electronics aren't really good for the subdermals.
The alien seemed to take the news in grim stride, letting out some sort of vocal snort. "Woo-hooow, is ARGUS just outsourcing the wetwwait...oh actual care and all that", Xehem got themselves out of their verbal rut and realized that they maybe weren't headed to The Spectrum today. "Well you're gonna have to give me a second", Xehem reached into his chest with his left hand, baring the still nondescript process of whatever gooey thing they were maybe or maybe not wearing just producing a cellphone, somewhat distracting from the fact that the handcuffs they were wearing dangled from his wrist, their right hand being freed from this whole affair just comfortably planted on their waist. Magicians, man.
"Nope, fired, or I quit, whatever it is headhunters like the most"
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Post by Bixir on Aug 11, 2024 20:54:04 GMT
Robo watched - seemingly uncomfortably - as Xehem interfaced with... his own body? Robo hadn't been here for whatever had happened in the interview, and he was glad for it. Flesh and technology was not supposed to do that! Not together! One of his optical lenses, though he didn't say anything. He was just glad that there weren't any loose threads that they would have to worry about from his people... hopefully. Probably.
Robo looked to Brand, perhaps a little eagerly. The sooner they got out of each other's hair, the better. "If that's that, then, we'll get on our way. Could you get his restraints, Ms. Brand?"
He was being 100% sincere this time please don't hit him please don't hit him.
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Post by BijuuGuy on Aug 21, 2024 19:48:27 GMT
If Brand was capable of honestly conveying it, she would've been elated. Robo had taken an immediate interest in Xehem, especially his ramblings. Words upon words meaning nothing, masquerading as something meaningful. She had gone along with his spiel. No more. It was giving her a headache if anything. Even she had spoken in longer sentences than she was used to. But the fascination had worn off. There were many opportunities for her to chime in. Instead, she chose to let the two exchange ideas for the moment. Both seemed to need it.
Xehem's one open-ended statement did prompt Brand to speak once more, however.
"Fired. I need some satisfaction here."
A mere few moments later, Robo made audible the words she had longed for. Naturally, entwined with his own sense of "humor."
"He's not restr--- Ugh, whatever. You're officially released from ARGUS custody, Xehem. Go with them, please."
Her annoyance had reached its limit. That last sentence was a clear plea.
"Now get the fuck out of my sight, all of you."
Abigail rubbed her forehead as she waited for her guests to gather themselves and finally leave her be. This had been a day of too many inconveniences. Her phrase was also accompanied by a loose gesture of her free hand, waving towards the door.
Jakita was on a similar wavelength as Brand, yet much less talkative. But at least a clear finality to this situation had been proposed. She knew that she was going to be stuck with the alien for much longer, almost dreading it. With any luck, Robo or other colleagues would take the brunt of his eccentricity. Jakita wasn't sure if she had to say her own peace, but it would likely force Tesla to more faster. He would have endless time to discuss with the alien and/or examine him back at base.
"Good. We're on the clock anyway."
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Post by swapgo on Aug 22, 2024 21:48:31 GMT
Xehem wanted to point out Brand is firing a man that no longer needs to exist, but on second thought, maybe they should let her have it, or she's gonna let them have it.
"Sure!", Xehem said, before more or less disappearing as he bent downwards onto the floor in a flash, crawling under the table and towards the doorframe, making a bunch of clacking noises as his metal restraint bounced off the floor a couple of times. He got himself up almost as quickly upon arrival, without even leaning to towards the wall, staring at the useless shackle, they would figure the rest out on the way out. They winced slightly as Brand more colorfully demanded them to scram, they almost reflexively whistled, but fortunately, his human throat wasn't there, that also probably saved him an ass whooping. Either way, Robo would have to lead the way out of Triskelion, and he would follow, "normally" this time around
"Should I put on something with wider appeal before we head out?", he would ask his escorts, casually swinging the loose bolt on his wrist around as they went. They imagined their identity would require some clearance to know of, ironic, at this point.
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Post by Bixir on Aug 23, 2024 5:44:53 GMT
Robo gave a cheery wave to Agent Brand. "Thanks for this! I owe you one, Abby. Toodles!" He was far too expressive for his own good.
With Jakita's "encouragement", the three of them quickly shuffled out of the interrogation room and into the halls. Personnel milled about, and while some stopped to gawk at the three of them, most of them kept on with their business. For the Triskelion, this was notable... but not surprising. Robo gestured at Xehem's loose bolts, and with a couple quick, firm gestures, separated them from his body with an uncanny amount of force, before crushing them in his hands.
"That won't be necessary. We're not using the front door."
Doctor Tesla led them through more corridors, winding through the Triskelion facility to little fanfare. The people they came across allowed them to go on their way. If anything, the agents appeared relieved that they were getting out of their hair. Some ten minutes later, they walked out of an elevator that opened up to a hangar bay, where many aircraft were resting. Robo led them over to a particularly sleek jet that sported a silver and blue color scheme. Robo pulled out a remote that looked like it belonged to a jalopy, and click. The rear of the jet opened up, allowing a landing to unfold for them to get inside.
"Shotgun!" Already ahead, Robo started sprinting with cartoonish clamor inside the aircraft. They would find him in the copilot seat, looking far too excited to be there.
It was the same seat he had rode in on. Jakita did the actual flying.
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Post by BijuuGuy on Sept 1, 2024 20:12:44 GMT
Just before the trio exited, Brand got one more gesture in, aimed towards Robo. A middle finger. He wouldn't make notice of it and even if he had, it would've been received as a "friendly" one. Their rapport was... unique. With the door shut, Abigail let out an exasperated sigh. This day had been too fucking long. She took a few moments to herself before rising from her seat, checking herself over and promptly exiting the room in her usual, professional manner. No doubt heading towards the next excruciatingly annoying task that plagued ARGUS.
Jakita was characteristically quiet as they made their way through the Triskelion to their craft. Her gaze was directed right in front of her, yet she was intimately aware with her surroundings and those with her regardless. It was one of her many skills. One of which she would demonstrate as they reached the craft proper. Tesla's glee summoned a quiet noise from Jakita that could've been a "hmph" of amusement or annoyance. Few could ever tell for certain.
The pilot seat was obviously hers. In a staggeringly short amount of time, she was strapped in, had everything checked out and began ascent. Her companions were seated, yet she felt it necessary to remind them that her craft wasn't a place to express their... unique flavors of being.
"You both better be strapped in. No funny business or I'll eject you."
If it was a joke, her tone and cadence certainly didn't convey that.
The Triskelion was left behind with the inkling of an acceleration sound. Planetary beckoned and there would be more than a few people welcoming their newest possible recruit.
[END]
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