Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Post by facade on Jan 17, 2024 6:07:03 GMT
One of the co-owners of Unique Variant Solutions, and its CTO, Aiden had been placed in charge of the company's operations in Japan for the forseeable future. Mostly because he was the most senior executive that spoke Japanese to any degree of fluency. It had been less than 4 months since he touched down in Tokyo to oversee UVS' Akihabara HQ, less than 3 since he'd first met with Sonya Chernovna of the ASTA conglomerate (and shortly after developed the ENKI network). Aiden was frankly shocked at how quickly the tech startup (founded by himself, his dad, and a family friend) had burst onto the world scene. Meeting after meeting with local support & medical equipment companies, bringing them into the fold. Normally, he was the type to micro-manage operations from the top. There were native negotiators and salesmen on his payroll, so it was rare that Aiden himself was ever called on for corporate diplomacy on the scale they worked at.
No, when Aiden had business meetings, it was on their terms. He was swimming with sharks, now.
Hojo, of all companies, had requested a meeting with him (much to the alarm of his secretary). Annoying his stylist, too, he'd rejected the idea of attending the meeting in Japanese traditional dress. "You want me to be a wolf in sheep's clothing? There's already a 99% chance they don't trust me, cultural appropriation ain't a good look." So, instead, he was attending in his best black suit jacket and navy-blue tie. The finest quality, and tailored well to make him look good, but a boring business pick. In the meantime, he'd been researching with all channels available to him. Date Oshiro was not one to take lightly. Her presence here meant one of two things: he was about to receive a very serious threat, or a very serious offer. He hoped to god it was the latter, and prepared for the former. Hojo's cybersecurity was good, and it'd take him longer than he had to crack their highest-tier access, but he didn't need full access. Only enough to know who he was dealing with.
Ever the fan of public transport, Aiden had taken the metro from Akihabara to the meeting point in Shinjuku. His small entourage had arrived by company car, being dropped off outside the teahouse as Aiden walked up. He hated how much his height, barely above-average at home, stood out here. He bowed to the frontman as well, simply stating "I have a meeting with Date Oshiro-san, would you mind leading me to the room?" Whoever showed him to the private room, he'd walk up to the doorway and stand there for a couple seconds to let the two followers catch up. Then, he stepped in and bowed to Date. "Good morning, Date-san. Thank you for inviting me to meet with you, on behalf of Hojo." He stepped to the side, allowing a much shorter woman behind him (also dressed in a kimono) to bow, and then spoke up. "This is Arihara-san, my secretary and translator. I can speak Japanese well-enough, but reading kanji is still somewhat difficult, so I have her look over all my contracts. I hope it's alright if she sits in on the meeting? Of course, if we're not signing anything today, then I can have her leave." Both took their seats as well, Aiden gesturing back towards the open door. "My bodyguard, Sato-san, will wait outside. I am Quirkless, so I like to have some protection in case of any villain attacks or the like." Sato, a good 6'4" and with some kind of mammalian mutant Quirk, stood with the other two security personnel at the door and closed it. They were dressed more casually.
"So, what's the business of this meeting, Date-san?" Icy-blue eyes met the enhanced eyes of the other.
Note: Aiden is essentially saying that if anything beyond an actual legal contract (including broader business strategy) is being discussed, then that's the signal to have his companion leave the room. |
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Post by facade on Dec 19, 2023 2:58:32 GMT
As the pair passed the 'Lightning Brothers', Aiden had turned to address Retsu's question. "Uhhh... Nope. I review all of the ENKI applicants myself, never seen these dipshits in my life. Not our problems." He laughed, well aware that if the brothers came to they'd hear him perfectly. He turned and waved to Yoshimitsu & Callisto, as the two groups diverged. "Seeya later, alligators." He knew that phrase wouldn't work at all in Japanese, so he said it in English. He'd have to make sure to seek that pair out later, the electrokinetic glitter monster especially.
Once Retsu blew the floor clean open, Aiden hopped down the storey of distance to the basement floor below, knees bent. He looked up through the hole, towards the warehouse entrance where he could hear gunshots from outside. "Heh, looks like the cops are gonna be busy for a while." Once Retsu had jumped down after him, Aiden lead the way towards the parking garage. "Funny thing is, I've stolen from this place before. It's an awful lot easier when you don't trip the alarm on purpose. Left this way last time, too." He wasn't lying, technically. He'd pocketed a few expensive components while touring the place to test the owner's vigilance. There was a short space of silence before he spoke again. "So, why do you think I bothered showing up today? Didn't take anything, and it would've been risky if anyone more dangerous had shown up." He turned to look Retsu in the eyes, flicking something small up into his hand from his baggy sleeve. "I came to this little amateur burglary because a little birdy told me you'd be here, Bakuretsu. Because you don't know how to lay low, I believed them. Needed to tell you something, but you dropped off the face of the underworld." He kept walking, until shortly they were in the parking garage itself.
Stopping, he turned fully around to face Retsu. "You asked about the workshop earlier, so I suppose the offer I made you when your shop went up in flames?" He held out a small paper card, the shape of a business card, for Retsu to take. If reluctant, he'd push it into her hand. It contained an address and a set of coordinates, both leading to the same building in Shinjuku, plus the passcodes to both doors. "Offer still stands. If you need somewhere to lay low, a workshop to use for whatever, you can use that one. It's pretty stacked, plus once you're there we can talk about getting you a new civilian identity." He turned then to leave, stepping towards the exit out onto the street. "Say what you want, but I take care of my own. See you later, Bakuretsu. Or not." Unless forcefully stopped, he'd walk out into the early summer night air.
Funnily enough, he did have a car in that parking garage, but that was registered as Aiden Markusson's car and he didn't wanna risk blowing his cover like that. Instead, he walked a few blocks down the street until he reached an 8-Twelve convenience store and waited outside it. A few minutes later, a car showed up to take him to a hotel. He was gonna spend the rest of this fine night... making a reference to the song in this post's header :)
tl;dr - These aren't our dumbasses - Later, gators! - Going down - Been here before (literally) - About that workshop... - A pedestrian exit (to catch a ride) Bakiri Retsu Matsu Callisto Tengoku King of Hearts Rei Ijuin |
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Dec 18, 2023 20:55:55 GMT
Post by facade on Dec 18, 2023 20:55:55 GMT
 | Loki | @enki.admin
Location: why do you care? | Current Status: responding to valkyrie. reward for further backup.
Now Playing: Hudson Mohawke - Cyber Driver
Things just keep getting worse. Why did his liability of an ally have to be such a stubborn prick? Why did the bike have to blow up? Why had two 'heroes' shown up early along with one of the most notorious vigilantes in the city?! As Aiden watched Retsu leap from her escape vehicle and stumble to her feet, he could only despair. Was this finally a lost cause? Was he about to lose an ally? Had this rescue effort been a waste of his fucking time?
No.
The sound of cracking bone caused Aiden's attention to jolt over to his drone's camera feed. It... hit? Expecting some kind of explosion (or at least his drone to be totaled), Loki was entirely surprised as Guardian Valkyrie fell to the ground, un-moving. "Some fucking hero, ha!" That fancy Quirk, hero training, shields, but none of that saved her! Valkyrie diff. That might just have been his first hero kill, a prospect that was both thrilling and terrifying to the incognito villain. Just in case the Lesser Valkyrie wasn't dead, though, Aiden quickly called a few ambulances to the scene. Any hero with a hardlight Quirk was of great interest to him.
Alright, one major threat down. The police would most likely cut their losses if their hero backup was down and the target was escaping, he thought. Wait, one? Where was... there's Deadlock. Of course that cocky cape had gotten back up, but what a poor choice of target. The one among the villains who could do the most potential damage in the shortest amount of time, if his timing or concentration were off. Speaking of concentration... surely it wouldn't work twice, right? Retsu's hand was pretty much forfeit, unfortunate, but what did that mean? If Deadlock was fully focused on the literal timebomb in front of him, then he was vulnerable. Loki had taken control of the drone back and, using the falling G. Valkyrie as cover, maneuvered it so it was a decent distance behind the forcefield hero.
As soon as that grenade went off, and thus as soon as Retsu was not at immediate threat of death, it'd head forward full speed aimed at the back of that smug bastard's head.
Next on the priority list, the 'hero' who was still shooting up his allies and shouting a rendition of a 96-year-old song. Pretty sure he was the only other one here who spoke English, Aiden had to wonder what the point was. Either way, he'd observed the bubblegum-haired gun bunny on her phone earlier, so an idea on how to deal with her had already been sparked. Hacking the device was a simple matter, as was rigging the phone's firmware to make its battery overheat. It began to get hotter and hotter wherever Jaida was keeping it, and could catch fire or even explode if she wasn't careful. Once this was done, he spoke up over ENKI's comms again. "Hey, Capricorn. That hero you wanted to take a bite out of should be right in front of ya. She'll be a little distracted, so now's your shot!" He had learned that their resident doctor was very easy to excite, like a puppy, and so he figured she was the best bet to keep 'Punk Bae' busy if not take her out.
What next, what next? Loki, tapping back into the CCTV networks of the area, decided to check back in with Ghouligan's alleyway. What he saw wasn't especially encouraging. "Oh, and a couple more things. Looks like Minotaur's fucked off somewhere? Can't find them. The ghoul's still here, though! He's enroute towards you guys, I'll look for an escape route but be on your fucking guards." As he promised, Loki scanned the area for potential methods of getting out of this rapidly-escalating situation. They needed a vehicle and a route that'd take them away from the crowded and fast-responding inner city.
A police car! There were a number of them in the area, and they were reinforced enough to be relatively-undamaged from the multitude of grenade blasts and bullets. They were packed full of tech, meaning he could more easily take control away from the cops and override any speed limiters or remote controls. Smart vehicles were his favourite. Seeing some figures approaching in the distance down one road, he suggested his plan. "Got it. Better Valkyrie, Capricorn! You should take one of the cop cars, I can disable the tracking and get it running. Take the road in the opposite direction to those heroes on the horizon. I'll blackout the streets in front of you and Capricorn can get to fixing that hand. Trust me on this!"
After all the effort and resources he'd put into this rescue, was he gonna let some cops and D-tier wannabe symbols of peace ruin this? Was he gonna lose this battle?
Nah, he'd win.
tl;dr - It's so over... (bike) - WE ARE SO BACK! (drone, Valkyrie diff) - Retsu's hand, an unfortunate sacrifice - The drone thing, but again and at the head. They'll never expect it! - Gadget's phone getting too hot to handle. Get her ass, Rui! - Fun fact: Sho fucked off - Less fun fact: Ghouligan is still fucking here!- Plan: Retsu & Rui steal a police car? Trust me on this! Bakiri Retsu Rui Matsui Jaida Connor Shō Matsui Ghouligan |
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Dec 10, 2023 18:32:32 GMT
Post by facade on Dec 10, 2023 18:32:32 GMT
| Loki | @enki.admin
Location: why do you care? | Current Status: responding to valkyrie. reward for further backup.
Now Playing: The Chalkeaters - It Just Works
A lot of action happened in a very short space of time. Confined (for now) to observing from a distance, Aiden struggled to keep up with everything going on. First, his attention was drawn to Sho as he left the store and went off towards Ghouligan's alleyway. "Hey, Capricorn, where the fuck is Minotaur going?" The survival of Sho wasn't really Loki's priority right now, so he decided to leave that whole mess alone. Next, Retsu bursting out on her motorcycle. Wait, so she is leaving now? "Bacon? Sure, I'll let you cook. I'll make sure your escape route is secure."
For this, Aiden would have to tap into the CCTV camera networks along the roads, outside the range of his drone. Before this could happen, however, his eye in the sky was rocked by a sudden (diminished) blast. "Hey, watch your aim! Can't help if you take out my drone, d-" then, another interruption. He became aware of the forcefield that had protected his drone seconds before he located Guardian Valkyrie. Flight and hardlight shields? Aiden made a note to contact this hero after this whole ordeal was over. For now, though, she was an obstacle. One who'd been dumb enough to think his drone was on her side. Dumb enough to gloat. In a distorted voice, he tapped into whatever the hero had been using to communicate with fellow heroes and the police. "Clearly, you haven't learnt shit. You didn't get the head of the snake, you got its fangs. Now, you'll get the bite!" There was a burst of very loud, very high-pitched feedback as Loki flooded the audio device with it.
What would happen if two of her shields were to collide? Loki was about to find out, as he used this deafening smokescreen to cover the noise of his drone as it flew full-speed into Guardian Valkyrie's back. Aiden very quickly switched to infiltrating the nearby cameras, jumping between them as he approached the scene again. What else did he need to take care of? Right, the other 'hero'. If Popstep (or whatever her name was) was a sound-themed hero, then she'd likely have a sound-based Quirk. So, he figured he should reduce her ability to generate noise. The loudspeaker she was holding, along with those of the rest of the cops, would quickly be disabled. "Thank fuck, that was getting annoying." The final attention-grabber was Rui, as she blasted herself into a wall with a gun that was definitely too big for her to handle. Loki was clearly stifling laughter as he spoke up. "Hey, Capricorn? What's with the rifle? You taking up target shooting?" Sure enough, she dropped it and switched back to the knife. No further comment.
tl;dr - Confusion on why Sho has decided to engage The Guy Who Kills Villains™️ in combat - Let her cook... who let her cook?- Head of the snake dunks on G. Valkyrie - Think fast, chucklenuts! - Switching off the loudspeaker, that shit's annoying - Why does Rui have a gun?? Bakiri Retsu Rui Matsui Shō Matsui Jaida Connor Ghouligan |
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Post by facade on Dec 9, 2023 2:49:37 GMT
 | facade | @freelance_facade
Location: Tokyo, Japan. | Current Status: :)
Now Playing: Artist - Song Title
facade didn't participate in this raid for the loot. But, that said, he didn't wanna leave empty-handed either. He made a beeline for the safe storage room that he knew had the best stuff in the warehouse, stopping just short of the door as Rei passed him and Azael's crew were getting ready to leave. Aiden couldn't quite see the object, but he had a pretty good guess as to what the leader had taken. Fucker. "Y'all oughta be careful with that, if you're giving it to who I think you are then even a scratch on that device will get you worse than any heroes could do." Did he know? Was the hacker just bluffing? Either way, he decided not to mess with the trio and ran back towards Retsu only to hear the police loud and clear. Fuck. facade took cover behind the wall, pulling out his handgun just in case he needed to use it.
Just in the nick of time, Yoshimitsu came in clutch. facade was right on the border of the glitter wall, so the glare was much brighter than he'd like, but he could still see well enough. Green glitter. That was the same colour that he'd used to mute the alarm, right? Had to have some kind of effect on electronics. This would be the perfect time to strike, then. About a second after the blinding wall went up, every audio device (phones, radios, headsets, etc.) on the cops' bodies/cars would suddenly blast a tinnitus-like feedback noise. One of the benefits of already being in their comms network. To seal the deal, a few of the more vulnerable devices (i.e. phones) would give the cops the same shock treatment that Kangaroo John had gotten. One hell of a flashbang.
facade turned back towards the warehouse's interior to see the King of Hearts and his companion escaping their own way. Those guys would be useful, in future. If either of them possessed a phone or similar internet/mobile-connected device, they'd soon find a new contact bearing his moniker and the number of one of his burner phones. With this set up, facade wasted no more time in turning to Retsu. Her tear gas and noisemaking should've hopefully been enough to feign a frontal assault, so Aiden merely began running a little further into the warehouse. "Yeah, I know a spot. On me!" He lead Retsu to what seemed like a random section of the building. "Right here. The floor should be thin enough to blow through. Basement floor is a little secret area, connects to the parking garage a little up the street." He stood back a little, behind a few crates for cover.
tl;dr - Sees Azael, presumes he has the thing, makes cryptic smartass line before leaving - Cops are here, fuck - Flash! Bang! Cops get combo'd - Parting gift for Circus Duo - Time to get goin', leads Retsu to vulnerable floor area Matsu Bakiri Retsu Rei Ijuin King of Hearts Callisto Tengoku |
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Post by facade on Dec 3, 2023 1:59:50 GMT
| Loki | @enki.admin
Location: why do you care? | Current Status: responding to valkyrie. reward for further backup.
Now Playing: Dagames - Ambush
Hearing Retsu's response to Sho's suggestion, facade was completely thrown off. She... didn't want to run? The plan wasn't to help her escape?? Well, honestly, what did he expect? This is Bakuretsu, for Christ's sake. The living safety hazard. The woman who would hear 'throw caution to the wind' and go find a hurricane to chase. A woman who plays with fire despite her burn scars. A logical error that his cautious mind could not comprehend nor resolve.
The plan was to kill the cops until their VIP here was satisfied? Sure! "You heard the lady! Let me know when you wanna get going, and if you need me to help with anything."
Snapping back to paying attention, Loki looked back at the camera feed from his drone just in time to be (indirectly) looked in the eyes by Ghouligan's mask. Then by Gadget, as she veered off to begin her 'pro hero' act. Loki's attention then was somewhat split between the sudden confrontation in the alleyway, the police officer's rush to said alleyway and Gadget rushing off to do her whole 'pro hero' thing. He figured the group who decided to mess with the vigilante directly were about to be victims of natural selection, so moved the drone out towards the street a little so he could better observe the shop itself. Rui's mishearing of 'hooligan' was more confusing than anything given (as far as he knew) she only spoke Japanese, but he simply ignored that for now. No, what was more interesting was the follow-up question. "No, I meant bubblegum-col... Y'know what, nevermind. I don't know their Quirk. Maybe you can eat it, why don't you go try? They should be coming up right outside." Not the most useful thing for Rui to be doing, but it would be funny.
He could hear 'Punk Bae' from where he was sitting a good distance away, thanks to her megaphone, and it certainly seemed like she wanted all eyes on her as she entered. Unfortunate for the two goons she shot as punctuation, but Aiden couldn't help but wonder if she was playing distraction for something. If so, what? He'd seen the vigilante, but surely they knew that cover was blown if they saw his drone??
tl;dr - Oh, so the plan is 'kill them all'? Neat. - Ghouls saw drone, uh-oh. Guess those alley guys are fucked. - Gadget's on the move, uh-oh - Can you eat the bubblegum hair? Idk, go try! - More ham than a deli, maybe she's trying to distract us or something? Bakiri Retsu Ghouligan Jaida Connor Rui Matsui Shō Matsui |
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Post by facade on Dec 1, 2023 23:39:05 GMT
Aiden understood Retsu's confusion, nay, bewilderment at his nonchalance towards the idea of traps. He'd be a lot more cautious too, if he didn't know for a fact that this particular warehouse was safe. Of course, revealing why he knew that would be essentially a death sentence for the anonymous freelancer. The back-and-forth between Retsu & Cal was entertaining, prompting a quiet laugh from Aiden as he continued to monitor the police comms from the warehouse entrance. The sound of something cracking as Retsu threw things into her bag was especially funny. At the arrival of Kangaroo John, facade initially looked at least taken aback. He'd not expected this 'hero' to legitimately ignore their backup and rush in blindly. Hell, he hadn't even heard this guy talk with any of the others. What a fucking moron. Wait, was this guy that strong that he didn't need backup? Surely facade would've heard of such an A-List hero, right? The concept at least put him visibly on-edge.
Now it was Retsu's turn to poke fun at him. Aiden turned to her, shrugging. "Hey, I said the heroes would be 4 minutes, this guy's just a freak with a death wish." He smirked behind his mask, only half-listening to what the hero had to say. "Hands up? Who-" He was interrupted by Retsu, watching her seemingly comply with this guy's demands. Bakuretsu? Complying with demands? Impossible, there had to be some shenanigans here. Sure enough, there was, as Aiden watched her pull something out from her explosive-laden coat and toss it to the guy. A thought occurred. "Yeah, I didn't get shit either. Lookout and all. Careful with this, it's electronic goods." Without missing a beat, facade tossed another vaguely ball-shaped object at Kangaroo John. If caught (or allowed to hit), it would quickly activate and give the hero a pretty nasty shock. Not enough for any permanent harm, not by a long shot, but certainly good for making people stand still for a sec.
facade is just about to speak up again, when another attack hits Kangaroo John head-on. By the looks of it, the constricting material was glitter, making facade immediately turn his head to face Yoshimitsu with a thumbs-up. "Hey, nice shot, Glitterb-oh holy shit!" This guy was 10-fucking-feet tall? Quirkers could be terrifying, man. Seeing how he'd seemingly made short work of the three guys who'd tried to start shit, facade was suddenly incredibly glad that the giant glitter factory was on their side in this. After that initial shock, Aiden turned his attention inward, towards the area he'd been aiming to go for himself. The small room with the good shit in, which seemed to also have been the target for the leader of this impromptu heist. Wait, could they have been going for... shit.
tl;dr - She doesn't know :) - '4 minutes?' Well no, but actually yes - Get a load of this guy - About to dunk on Kanga, but Retsu beats him to it - Dunks on him anyway, shocking the poor guy - Nice glitter shot, looks over at Yoshi with thumbs up - Holy shit, that guy's massive- (Sweating) Good thing he's on our side - Saw where the heist VIPs were headed... shit. Matsu Bakiri Retsu King of Hearts Rei Ijuin Callisto Tengoku |
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Post by facade on Dec 1, 2023 14:20:06 GMT
[googlefont=Quicksand] [attr="class","likedo"] [attr="class","likedotitle"] [attr="class","likedotitle2"]MISSION APPLICATION - WORLDWIDE TECH PHARAOH LEAP. [newclass=.likedo]background-color:#f0f0f0;padding:25px;width:400px;color:#888888;line-height:10px;[/newclass] [newclass=.likedotitle]background-color:#ffffff;border:solid 9px #444444;padding:1px;[/newclass] [newclass=.likedotitle2]background-color:#444444;color:#ffffff;font:bold 10px Calibri;line-height:35px;text-align:center;letter-spacing:2px;[/newclass] [newclass=.likedoinfo]margin-top:-10px;border:solid 1px #e5e5e5;background-color:#f9f9f9;padding:24px;font:10px verdana;text-align:justify;line-height:12px;[/newclass] [newclass=.likedosub]background-color:#444444;font:bold 8px Calibri;text-align:left;padding:10px;color:#ffffff;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:1px;[/newclass] |
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Nov 24, 2023 10:19:16 GMT
Post by facade on Nov 24, 2023 10:19:16 GMT
Stupid questions? This guy was really starting to get on Aiden's nerves. It'd be satisfying to see him get knocked on his ass by a hero, but that'd have to be another day. facade had a job to do and he'd do it. Retsu's response didn't exactly surprise him, though Aiden was surprised he got let off the hook. "The workshop? It's just a couple re-fitted ground floor apartments in the middle of a big residential block in Shibuya. There's a blast-proof basement connected to your half. The place is nothing special, but the equipment is. Oh, and what was that look for? You brought up eyes, Bakaretsu~" He hoped that pretty harmless teasing wasn't equivalent to swinging at a hornet's nest. As the doors flew open, Aiden was already in motion. He was keeping up with the group, but not putting in any extra effort to be there first or anything. Perhaps if he had, he might've been able to keep this moron from triggering the alarm. Oh well, this was expected, even if the avoidable result was irritating. He was about to try and mute the alarm on their end, but the King of Hearts beat him to taking action. "Thanks! That alarm was gonna drive me nuts." Cheerier than the usual tone he took as facade, but now was a time to network as much as anything. The much flashier among them seemed to grasp that as well.
Yizoy Devices. Not the company he'd expected to be raiding today, but it wasn't like he was unfamiliar. He'd been in this exact warehouse before, in fact. UVS were currently in a bid to acquire Yizoy in the coming weeks, so how fortunate that this raid came at a time where the damages and insurance would be their problem and not his. Once again, there wasn't much he wanted here that he couldn't buy for cheap or acquire elsewhere, but there was a little stash of the good stuff. High-voltage electronics, X-ray & MRI tech, the stuff you scavenge for rare parts. It was a little further into the warehouse than any of these guys were right now, though. No rush. Instead, he hung back a little outside the warehouse as Retsu and the others entered. "Why the fuck would there be lethal traps in a storage warehouse? That's how get damages to your own stuff and lawsuits from employees." A little of Aiden Markusson's legit confusion and business mind snuck out there, making him take a second to re-center himself as the freelancer, facade. He pulled out a tablet, tapping into the police comms network via a backdoor left over from Operation Babel. "Heads up! ETA: 4 minutes, looks like the supers will get here before the cops do. Bunch of mutant D-listers backing up a couple heavy-hitters, from the sounds of it. I'll stay on lookout, for now." He projected his voice, making sure that information reached everyone in the vicinity. But, just cause those were the ones who answered the police call doesn't mean they'll be fully the ones showing up.
tl;dr - Informs Bakaretsu about the workshop. - Hanging back, thanks Yoshi for muting the alarms. - Has his eye on some good shit cause he's been here before, but not going in yet. - "Why the fuck would there be lethal traps in a storage warehouse?" - Taps into police comms network, starts providing accurate ETA and provisional details about the hero response. Matsu Bakiri Retsu King of Hearts Callisto Tengoku Rei Ijuin |
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Post by facade on Nov 23, 2023 6:02:54 GMT
| Loki | @enki.admin
Location: why do you care? | Current Status: responding to valkyrie. reward for further backup.
Now Playing: Shady Cicada - System Failure
Covering intel and recon like this was Aiden's absolute comfort zone, even if he somehow always ended up with the most chaotic group of maniacs possible. Such was the way with villains, right? Either way, he responded to Retsu's request quickly. "Looks like they're pincering from the front and back, least people covering side escapes through alleys or up above. Still no flying pigs, but that super is talking a big game. Sounds like his Quirk can make forcefields or something to contain explosions. I'd suggest close combat." He opened up his ENKI comms so that now all the goons waiting in the wings could hear him. Then, he addressed Rui. "Y'know what? Sure, Capricorn. I'm feelin' generous. ¥10000 per cop, ¥1000000 if you can take down the cape before the rest show up in about 2 minutes. You guys all hear that?" About as soon as facade had finished speaking, 20 or so street-level villains and thugs came out of the woodwork for a frontal assault against the police out front. About 5 skipped the queue and attacked from the building's rear, both groups trapping the police between 2 waves of resistance. "Course, you gotta live if you wanna get paid."
Loki then took a few moments to observe the carnage, listening to the others (or at least the ones that spoke over comms). "That oughta keep 'em busy for a bit. More enroute. Your exit route should be clear of direct threats, but note the guys at the front do have eyes on the roof, so keep your heads down." He had to focus on keeping his retail-grade drone from getting shot down by stray (or targeted fire), and so sent it down the street a little to clear the fight's airspace. What he wasn't expecting to see was the two vigis crouched around a corner, making their own observations. Aiden figured they'd be sharp enough to pick out his drone in a few moments regardless of where he positioned it, so he kept it overhead with both a view of the roof and of the vigilante duo. "Heads up, two more potential hostiles in the area. One of 'em looks like Ghouligan, so be careful. No clue who the other girl is, but if those two are working together then I'd watch yourselves around both. Demon mask and bubblegum hair."
tl;dr - Tells Retsu they're coming mostly from the front, some from the back. - "¥10000 per cop, ¥1000000 if you can take down the cape before the rest show up." - Goon squad rolls up, frontal assault but still outnumbered for now. Keep heads down on roof. - Sends drone a little bit down the street, sees Gadget & Ghoul chilling. - Warns group about Gadget & Ghoul, doesn't think that they're just chilling. Bakiri Retsu Rui Matsui Shō Matsui Ghouligan Jaida Connor |
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Nov 14, 2023 13:50:24 GMT
Post by facade on Nov 14, 2023 13:50:24 GMT
| facade | @freelance_facade
Location: Tokyo, Japan. | Current Status: working.
Now Playing: Rag'n'Bone Man - Human
facade had been doing his best to remain unnoticed. He wasn't wearing one of his trademark masks today. Instead: a standard lower face mask (the kind that'd been popular in the 20s), some steel-grey contacts, minor artificial facial scars/blemishes and an oversized black hoodie covering everything else.
He'd heard about this opportunity last-minute, but it was the kind that came so rarely in recent days. This was disconnected from anything ENKI or Pantheon, a chance to test his skills as a free agent. So, of course, he'd done his research. Okubo were a firm he'd dealt with before, both over and under the table. They had a few things he wanted for personal projects, and while he could of course just purchase them, why bother when another avenue opens up? The minor detail that they were all diversions here was entirely expected by the freelancer, he'd employed very similar tactics for some of his own operations. Draw in some self-interested and hubristic suckers to keep the cops and capes busy while you get what you want. He wasn't exactly keen to rush into this, cautious as the quirkless villain was, and for good reason. facade was no stranger to honeypots, having stumbled into a few as a less experienced hacker. So, he was content to hang back in this case and play support for the frontliners until he could acquire what he wanted.
There was something that was bugging him, though. "Not to tell you how to do your job, but Glitterbomb over there has the right idea. No details? Your chances of success go way up if we know what you're going for so we can draw people away." Aiden heard Retsu's voice in some of his nightmares at this point, so hearing it by the entrance sent a chill down his spine. Well, better the evil you know, he surmised. As she then approached the hacker in his dark little corner, he realised just how many of his various disguises/alterations she'd seen. There was a barely audible sigh, coming through his voice changer as static. "Evening, Bakuretsu. Honestly, I'm just here for practice. There's a couple things of interest, but you might get them before I do. I get enough kicks out of fucking with sec systems and heroes to make this worth it. What have you got your eye on?" He figured that could've been a pun at Retsu's expense, had he meant it that way. Somehow, he knew she'd find a way to take it that way. |
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Nov 13, 2023 22:15:52 GMT
Post by facade on Nov 13, 2023 22:15:52 GMT
| Loki | @enki.admin
Location: why do you care? | Current Status: responding to valkyrie. reward for further backup.
Now Playing: The Lion King - Be Prepared
"Alright, here's the situation..."
A casual lie to get him out of some pointless admin meeting at UVS.
Aiden made a point of monitoring each and every ENKI request, even if many were inconsequential and minor. So, when Valkyrie of all people sent out a request for urgent backup, he was very quick to act. Seeing Capricorn as the first to respond made him pick up the pace. Blowing some money (and a 'favour') on the services of a teleportation quirker to arrive on scene faster than he'd normally be able to from his base in Akihabara, he surveyed the area from a shaded position nearby via cloaked drone. Aiden, now acting as 'Loki', pulled out his phone and sent out a message via ENKI. "Encrypted comms, everyone. I made this shit for a reason. Earpieces in, if you remembered to bring them." He looked out over the street at the scene unfolding. It was about what he'd expected, but the level of police response was surprising. Just how much had Bakuretsu let get linked to her? Well, not like he'd let one of his most valuable allies get got so easily.
He'd seemingly beaten Mummy to the scene, but was powerless to stop her from immediately running her mouth to the police. "Capricorn, I swear to fucking God." These guys knew subtlety like a slap in the face, huh? Pinching the bridge of his nose, Aiden took that moment of distraction as an opportunity. The drone got close enough overhead to establish a connection with the police's systems, and he was in pretty quickly. Just as fast as his ally had given the game away, though, she vanished into artificial shadow. Right, that would be Minotaur, then. A quick look over the area was enough to locate them again, making their entrance into the building already. At least he could count on one of these goons. Speaking of, "Got additional backup on standby, lotta jobbers keen to help for an incentive. Can't see any sign of hostiles up above, but a whole lot of guys on the ground and a super out front. Pig-speak says there's already more capes inbound, less than 3 minutes, so let's try to make this quick or it'll get messy instead. I'm on overwatch, for now." Loki adjusted his position to avoid a patrolling cop around the perimeter, then kept speaking. "Which means I'll keep an eye out for any snipers, supers, or indies. Tell me if I need to get in there on foot to brute force anything for an exit, or if you need bodies against the barricade."
Loki made sure his perch and escape route were secured before settling in to work some techno-magic. He wasn't planning to fight, only armed with a basic-ass handgun (one mag of ammo), his UnderControl kit and a makeshift taser, but made ready in case making an appearance (or a run for it) was necessary.
tl;dr - Arrives on-scene, hidden for now. - Assesses the situation via a drone, using this to gain access to the police's computer systems and/or phones while Rui briefly distracted them. - Informs the guys that further goon backup is available if needed, and that he'll be on lookout and support for now. - He's armed, but not (directly) dangerous to anyone above mook level. Bakiri Retsu Rui Matsui Shō Matsui Jaida Connor Ghouligan |
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Post by facade on Nov 8, 2023 11:41:12 GMT
Character Link: facadeDiscord Name: bluejay1403 Thread 1, 2, or either: Either
|
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Post by facade on Nov 7, 2023 2:34:12 GMT
|
|
Setting up smoke & mirrors.
ALIAS
FACADE
OCCUPATION
CTO of ProjectYou & Unique Variant Solutions
EVENT TOKENS
140
QUIRK
QUIRKLESS
Villain
|
Oct 26, 2023 19:41:05 GMT
Post by facade on Oct 26, 2023 19:41:05 GMT
One hell of a survival mechanism, huh? If only she knew. Aiden didn't respod to that comment, but he did make a note of Jackie's initial hesitation. Not because he didn't expect it, she'd be an idiot to trust him blindly, but because she didn't hide it. She stalled. That honesty, especially of expression, was something he'd noticed about the vigilante. It'd be useful going forward, he thought. As she moved to 'shake his hand' though, he once again buffered for a good second before looking Grinta in the 'eyes' of her mask (that he presumed hid a satisfied grin). "That's just how you roll, huh? I can work with improper." He broke contact and pulled out his phone, doing something on it for a few seconds before looking back up to face Jackie.
"I've just sent you the location and passcode of one of my workshops, feel free to use it if you want. I take pride in keeping them cutting-edge. I'm there a lot, but if you wanna meet with me just message me from the computer in there. I'm trusting you not to leak anything, hopefully a vigi will know how important safe spaces are. Couple other people have access, might make some friends." He turned to leave, stopping at the mouth of the alley where he was silhouetted by a streetlight. "Oh, one more thing. I removed the malware from your system, but left the backdoor as a learning tool. Have fun, Criollo! Adios, Grinta." With that, he slipped out of the alleyway and onto the sign-lit streets of Akihabara. He'd go home, but Grinta wasn't the only one slow to fully trust. He had some shopping to do, anyway.
|
|
| Aiden Markusson | @aidm_cto
