[open] Brainstorm has competition

[smarterthandad]

Who: Valeria and visitors
Where: Her under-construction lab
When: Anytime from about a week after arrival on
What: Tiny supergenius for hire and/or underhanded plotting
Warnings: Val's Prowl-level ethics, idk

Based on what she acknowledged was her incomplete understanding of the Cybertronians' factions and the balance of power as it stood after their war, Val had decided that Optimus Prime asking for her scientific expertise counted as carte blanche to do what she wanted--not that she wouldn't have anyway, but the imprimatur of authority never hurt--which had at first mostly involved browbeating Drift into helping her scout locations, and then move heavy objects even an adult human wouldn't have been able to budge. Now, though, things were finally coming together to the point where she could get some useful work done.

She was rapidly filling up the floor space with remote-controlled equipment to let her manipulate enormous Cybertronian technology without needing to call for help every time, but much of it was still half-built. The spacious catwalk around the edge of the room at convenient Transformer eye height was quite finished, however. Val was used to having to look up at people, but 20 feet or more was a bit much, thanks. She should probably add some antigrav scooters when she got a chance; a room large enough to host even Optimus or Megatron comfortably made for a lot of walking when you were three feet tall. As with so many other things on her to-do list, that would have to wait until more pressing concerns were out of the way.

Like the fact that it didn't seem as though their war was quite as over as they said it was, so in true Cybertronian fashion, she'd focused on weapons. Her own Earth had something to say on that front, and after throwing together a few basic EMP grenades and an x-ray laser (you know, just in case) Val had switched to more interesting designs. Duplicating Iron Man's repulsors with Cybertronian tech had been a snap, though an adequate portable power source was taking time. Obviously it should run on energon, but she didn't fully understand that delightful concoction yet, and for the moment, her new toys were hooked up to a smallish fusion reactor that hummed in the corner behind a symbolic barricade of hazard tape.

The sharp zap of a repulsor blast and the metallic clatter of the makeshift target Val was practicing on were audible from the street, though hearing her giggling about the minor havoc she was causing would require being inside the lab. Not much of a feat--the door was unlocked and she had rigged an enormous "come in, we're open" sign of the sort that hung in the windows of stores on Earth. She found it funny, even if no one else was going to get the joke.

Comments

[smarterthandad]

Well. That certainly looked like a Decepticon insignia being worn as a mask. Val's eyes flicked over Tarn's imposing frame, cataloging his armor and the damage to it, the hints as to his altmode, the double fusion cannon... Not a scientist, she felt secure in concluding.

Fortunately, she'd gotten Uncle Doom's force field up and running first thing for just this sort of circumstance. Sure, she could stay hidden behind one of the pieces of lab equipment--none of these guys ever seemed to look down--but in her own intellectual way, she was as brash and overconfident as Rodimus.

"Down here," Val said, stepping out where he could see her and waving one black-gloved hand in an amiable enough greeting. Megatron might be wearing the other team's colors these days, but the things she liked about him suggested she could get along quite well with his former organization if she had to.

Or, if his initial reaction of restrained disgust upon meeting her turned out to be characteristic, that was what targeted EMP bursts were for--assuming this guy was dumb and incautious enough to start something when she had the home field advantage.

Either way, it should prove interesting.

[sparkwhisperer]

even as Tarn stares down at the floor he almost doesn't see her. But there she is. a tiny little thing among the lab equipment. Tarn squints, optics brightening in barely suppressed interest, before kneeling and leaning down to better inspect what appears to be the smallest organic that he has ever come across. Upon further examination he finds her to be repulsively fleshy. He makes a sort of sound of disgust.

"What is Primus' name..." He grumbles, hand beginning to reach forward to bring the small organic closer for a better look. How could such a small thing make such a big blast? Or create such an impressive workshop of this size? Surely this is some sort of strange pet and the owner is merely hiding or lurking in an adjacent room.

[smarterthandad]

Wow, rude. His reaction suggested Val was the first human he'd ever seen, so she'd cut him a little slack, but he was on thin ice.

"If you insist on picking me up, be careful. I only have an endoskeleton." And a force field that could absorb a hit from the Hulk, but Tarn didn't need to know about that as long as he behaved himself.

[sparkwhisperer]

Tarn grasps her, lifting her like one would a piece of garbage that you don't particularly want to touch. Oh god she is so fleshy. He spins her around, observing from every angle.

"What ever would a creature like you be doing here?" he pokes her in the chest with one of his fingers. She is so small and so squishy.

It would be so easy to just...crush her.

[smarterthandad]

Val had unbelievable self-control for a three year old, but that only meant she didn't immediately start screaming when picked up like a dirty tissue. She wasn't going to put up with being treated like a petting zoo exhibit. "All right, that's about enough of that." She pushed at the offending finger with a minuscule hand, not with any hope of moving it, but just to make clear that, if he had any manners, poke-the-human time was over.

"I'm not sure why I'm here, but I'm working on an answer to that." She gestured around the lab like she owned it. Which she did, regardless of giant robot opinions on organics, thank you very much. "My leading theory is probability manipulation, but given the scarcity of data at this point, that's just a guess."

[sparkwhisperer]

Tarn narrows his eyes at her. It is unbelievable how loud such a small creature could be. He is almost tempted to just fling her aside and leave, but he has to know who owns this lab and the rather impressive equipment that it holds.

"Where is your owner, fleshling?"

[smarterthandad]

Shockwave had mentioned Cybertronian disdain for other species, but even forewarned, Val found Tarn impressively arrogant.

Not that it was going to stop her from being herself, speaking of impressive arrogance. She folded her arms, radiating disdain. "Riiiight. That's not actually how it works. This is my lab."

[sparkwhisperer]

Tarn gives Val a skeptical look from beneath his mask. The equipment in this lab is so large, it is impossible for such a tiny creature to have command over it.

"But you are so, very...miniscule."

[smarterthandad]

Fair call. Val's hackles went down somewhat. She was tiny even by human standards, though making Cybertronian furnishings accommodate her required more than just a firm cushion on the chairs.

"That's what remote control systems are for," she said with a shrug. "I'd have made more progress by now without the scale mismatch, I'll give you that, but it's hardly an insoluble problem."

[sparkwhisperer]

"Impressive."

Tarn doesn't know much about organics but from what he does know this creature appears to be human. Upon further consideration someone with this much knowledge and experience with weaponry and Cybertronian technology could come in handy...

"Very impressive, for a human." He sets her in the palm of his hand looking at her with less disgust and more veiled interest.

[smarterthandad]

Very impressive for anyone, jerk. Still, she let it slide in the interests of comity. Unlike the player's other character, Val caught even the subtlest clues, and realized the danger was past, as long as she played her cards right.

"Thank you." With strangers, Val was generally at least superficially polite. Her mother had drilled it into her, and she herself regarded the slight investment in 'pleases' and 'thank yous' to be worth the dividends it paid. "Am I the first human you've met?"

That was pretty obviously the case, but she would let him lie if he wanted. It would tell her something about his character.

[sparkwhisperer]

"Yes, I'm afraid my line of work does not lend well to interacting with organics. I know only what I have read about humans, and what I have heard from mechs who have visited Earth."

There is no point in lying about it. And to be honest Tarn's opinion on humans, from the information that he has gathered, is not the best. This one seems to be particularly intelligent at least.

"Although I will admit, I did expect Humans to be slightly larger."

[smarterthandad]

"Just as well. I imagine there'd be a lot of running and screaming," she said, dryly amused. A guy who wandered around with a high-powered energy weapon attached to his arm was not a member of the probably-nonexistent Decepticon diplomatic corps.

"I'm little because I'm a juvenile. My adult height will be about twice what it is now." Which, granted, would still put her in the mini-est of minibot territory, but right now she was just unreasonably tiny.

[sparkwhisperer]

"I see." Tarn nods in understanding, placing her atop the elevated walkway. an adolescent with the abilities to build and maintain a lab of this caliber? Very impressive. And if one thing is for certain, it is that Tarn could use someone like this as an ally.

"Apologies, how very rude of me! I never properly introduced myself." He bows his head slightly, "They call me Tarn."

[smarterthandad]

Val had no illusions as to the source of his sudden cordiality, but no big deal. He could consider her an asset all he wanted. She'd silently be returning the courtesy.

"Valeria Richards. By social convention, since you're the senior of us, you'd address me just as Valeria." No harm in playing to that overinflated Cybertronian sense of superiority. It was merely the local version of her cute facade from back home, after all. "Do you have a rank or title I should use?"

[sparkwhisperer]

"A pleasure to meet you Valeria." So polite. He respects how quickly she accepts her position.

"As it happens, I am Commander of the Decepticon Justice Division. But such formalities are unnecessary; you may address me as simply Tarn." He takes a sweeping look around the lab before continuing. "Would you mind showing me around? I am curious about some of these projects that I see laying about."

[smarterthandad]

"Nice to meet you, too, Comm--Tarn." Though she really did have trouble calling adults by their (in this case metaphorical) first names, that particular slip was tactical. Given the way Tarn acted, Val doubted he was ever going to be offended by too much courtesy.

"I can give you the 10-cent" whatever that was "tour, sure. Lemme grab my tablet." She trotted down the catwalk--a distance he could have reached without moving--to where there was an electronics workbench scattered with various human-scale components. From the mess she retrieved a similarly-sized datapad with a logo on the back that didn't match anything from Cybertronian history. That piece of tech, at least, she'd brought with her.

"I'm several iterations away from being able to build the equipment I'll need to start answering the question of how we got here and how we can not be here anymore, but on the engineering front I'm in pretty good shape," she said, gesturing around the room. "A lot of the machines are just to let me work on Cybertronian-scale tech without having to stand on someone's shoulder and tell them what components go where."

[sparkwhisperer]

"Very intriguing. Is this the sort of work you did back on Earth?"

Tarn leans forward slightly in feigned interest. Really what he's looking at is the repulsor strapped to her hand. Was that what caused the blast? It looks so small and unassuming.

[smarterthandad]

Val had a lot of experience with a different guy who was in love with the sound of his own voice and wore a mask that hid everything but his eyes, and her own gaze flicked up to Tarn's, just like anyone would do while having a polite conversation. It was tough to be sure with those featureless glowing optical sensors they had, but she could tell he wasn't meeting her eyes, at least. That left a few things he could be interested in, but she was going to bet on the weapon.

Tiny though it was by Tarn's standards, the repulsor was large enough to be unwieldy for Val, and interfered with using the datapad. In a casual gesture, she adjusted the strap so the device was cinched around her forearm like the universe's most high-tech statement bangle, leaving him an opening to ask about it if he wanted.

"I do whatever," she said with a shrug, revealing nothing of the continuous social calculations she was running while she spoke. "I prefer physics and engineering--and pure math, not that I ever have time for that--but it's not like I can't perform in other fields if I have to."

[sparkwhisperer]

Tarn nods to the repulsor on Val's wrist.

"Weaponry as well, it seems." He wants a closer look. "How do you feel about a quick demonstration? Surely, you have other little experiments as well."

[smarterthandad]

"Sure," she agreed readily. "Full disclosure, though, I'm not doing anything original right now. Just copying designs from back home. Electroshock gauntlets, repulsors--" she held up her arm for emphasis "--fusion-pumped x-ray lasers, that kind of thing."

'That kind of thing' was delivered in the dismissive tone of voice that made it sound like Val regarded the projects as dull but necessary grunt work--which she did. Messing around with energon would be much more interesting once she finally had the time.

[sparkwhisperer]

Tarn raises an opitcal ridge behind his mask, giving Val a sort of disbelieving stare.

"That sort of thing, eh? Well let's see it." He gestures to the wall, hoping to get a bit of a show. Weapons upgrades are always important in keeping adversaries on their toes.

[smarterthandad]

"I'm not punching a hole in my wall to satisfy your curiosity," she told him. Before he could get angry at her defiance, though, she smiled with a wicked edge and clarified. "Let's go outside and punch a hole in someone else's wall."

Not that any of the buildings around them were inhabited; Val didn't like the idea of nosy neighbors.

[sparkwhisperer]

Tarn smirks behind his mask, a sort of mischievous glint reaching his optics. A rare expression for the otherwise responsible commander of the DJD. He holds out a hand for val to crawl on to.

"Of course. Whatever was I thinking."

[smarterthandad]

"Just a sec." Val rummaged through a crate next to the electronics bench, producing a nondescript cylinder about the size of her forearm, trailing a cord.

"Fusion cell," she explained as she climbed onto Tarn's extended hand. "The emitter disc is too small to store enough power for anything worthwhile."