001 | audio

[doubleoohbaby]

[The sounds of outside filter through the network, distant with little to be heard beyond the faint rustle of the wind, but there nonetheless. A distinctive clink-fwoosh of a lighter disrupts anything further, followed by the slow crackle of burning paper and tobacco and a satisfied inhale and steady exhale. When he finally speaks, it's with a tone that lacks interest.]

Well, isn't this quaint. Doubt I would have believed it were I not seeing it with my own eyes. At least the woman greeting me was persuasive enough. [You can practically hear the dirty little smirk.]

Even so, I'm not quite sure how I feel out of my home and sent on my merry way towards college kid dorm rooms. Or rather, I'm perfectly aware of how I feel about it, just the words I'm looking for aren't for public ears.

Still. Judging by the archives on this thing, there's plenty of you about who know this world, so come on, share your wisdom with an outsider, would you? One can never know too much.

[A pause as he inhales another lungful of smoke, eventually adding with a thoughtful exhale:] Oh, and don't patronise me with the basics. I'm curious, not stupid.

Comments

[ audio ]

[doubleoohbaby]

I can see absolutely no unsavoury outcomes from an offer like that.

[ audio ] --> [ video ]

[umadrobin]

Come find me then.

[ The video didn't show him, but showed where he was; the training room. ]

[ audio ]

[doubleoohbaby]

[He recognises it. And yet.]

You expect a newbie to know that?

[ audio ]

[umadrobin]

It's just down the hall from where you arrived.

Or do I have to come find you and hold your hand all the way here?

[ audio ]

[doubleoohbaby]

I could do with the support, but I suppose I'll manage if you're going to force me to brave it alone.

[ audio ] --> Action?

[umadrobin]

Uh huh. Right. See ya there.

[ ... was this really James Bond? ]

action!

[doubleoohbaby]

[It doesn't take him long to find his way, good directional skills and all that, rocking up in the suit he arrived in; dark blue pinstripe with a sky blue tie. He certainly looks the part, but whether or not the face is the same Bond as some knows remains to be said. Bond would really rather he wasn't recognised at all.]

action!

[umadrobin]

[ Bond would find the room empty... at first. Until a quiet 'phasing' sound was heard, and Red X disengaged the stealth field of his suit, no longer invisible. ]

Wow. It really is you.

action!

[doubleoohbaby]

[He'd thought it might become a game of hide and seek, thankfully it doesn't last long. The phasing in causes his head to jerk sharply towards Red X, but other than that, his reaction is limited. In fact, his hands never leave his pockets.]

In the flesh.

Nice trick.

action!

[umadrobin]

L-RAC. Stands for Light Refraction Active Camouflage. Layman's terms, 'invisibility.'

[ Can't help but brag, though there were ways to beat the Red X suit's stealth field; for example, it could still be detected through infrared or echolocation. Even in his world, there isn't a person alive who hasn't heard of James Bond, or seen one of the movies. Even if it's one of the older Bond movies. ]

action!

[doubleoohbaby]

I've heard of technology like that... Never seen it in action.

[Like invisible cars, oh wait wrong Bond universe.]

action!

[umadrobin]

Wouldn't surprise me, in your universe.

[ Red X leans against a nearby wall. ]

Xenothium's an extremely dangerous, if useful isotope. Not found in nature, can only be made in labs. Used right, it's a near-limitless supply of energy that can take almost any form. Used wrong... mushroom cloud.

[ He then raised one of his hands at a nearby training dummy, and the X-shaped mark on his palm fired an X-shaped shuriken at the dummy. But once it hit the dummy, it began blinking red, a low 'beeping' noise coming from it, before bursting into a fragmentation explosion. Red X and James were perfectly safe out of range of the explosion. ]

action!

[doubleoohbaby]

[James just watches the act with a vague sort of interest, absorbing every little detail and nuance. At the dummy shot, Bond arches an eyebrow, merely smirking at the explosion as it happens.]

I want it.

action!

[umadrobin]

Get in line.

[ He answers, turning back to James. Admittedly, James might have a bit more luck getting the suit off of him than Robin did - just not as much luck as Raven typically does. ]

Kinda went through a lot of trouble to get it. Had to steal it from a high-tech vault built by superheroes.

action!

[doubleoohbaby]

And they say crime never pays.

[It so, so does. He would commit so many crimes to have something that causes that much destructions.]

action!

[umadrobin]

Of course it does. As long as you're smart enough not to get caught.

action!

[doubleoohbaby]

I think I like your style.

action!

[umadrobin]

[ That's... pretty high praise coming from James Fucking Bond, but Red X needs to contain his enthusiasm. Style, and all that. ]

Robin would disagree with you.

action!

[doubleoohbaby]

[It pays to make the right allies around here, he figures. Throwing out a few compliments to a guy with an invisible explodey suit is no biggie. Use and abuse, man.]

Well, Robin appears to have named himself after an obese bird, so he's hardly one to talk.

action!

[umadrobin]

[ Alright, he laughed at that one. ]

Nice. I need to remember that one for later.

[ But then, speaking of gadgets. ]

Don't suppose you brought any toys here with you?

action!

[doubleoohbaby]

Toys? No.

What sort are we talking about? [Except his gun. And his knife. But he's not sure that's the sort of playtime that's meant here.]

action!

[umadrobin]

Ehh, you'll get the lingo down eventually.

Gadgets.

action!

[doubleoohbaby]

Other than this netbook they've given me, I don't exactly have any.

Should I? [Are there gadgets he's missing out on that he should have received?!]

action!

[umadrobin]

They didn't give you a weapon?

[ Red X withdrew the self-replicating daggers that act as mobile extensions of his own suit from his utility belt. ]

They didn't give you a weapon of your own? I thought everyone got one.

action!

[doubleoohbaby]

I've got a weapon.

[His hand shifts to the holster at his hip and rests there, more out of instinct than anything else.] Wouldn't call it much of a gadget.