Scarifar

《 H. E. R. O. 》

Rumi played his part as the hostage, keeping his expression emotionless as he was led by Blake into enemy territory. While doing so, he kept his eyes and ears open, constantly examining his surroundings. Nothing much of importance was really worth noting, though, as most of the ship was filled with pure extravagance. The sight of it all made Rumi feel disappointed. There was more to being rich than having chandeliers and red carpets everywhere. This was just a waste of money. He thought such space would've been better suited for having useful technology occupying it like workbenches and 3d printers, but he knew that was merely his own preference.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, almost forgetting that he was still a hostage, and continued on until they reached the boiler room. After Blake left, Rumi removed the handcuffs from himself and Brooke before handing over the key and cell phone to her. He rubbed his wrists, relieving the discomfort, and then pressed a button on his glasses. Upon doing so, they transformed into a black visor that covered his eyes. For a moment his vision was dark, but then the visor booted up and the display in his eyes activated. A swarm of nanobots emerged from his sleeves, crawling along his arms before forming into a pair of chrome-grey gauntlets around them. Rumi then raised his left arm, which projected a laser keyboard on his forearm. He began to type a few commands into it to fully bootup his systems and make some last-minute adjustments in his suit's functions.

To Brooke, nothing would have changed in her eyes, with Rumi appearing to act strangely. In reality, Rumi was hard at work. "Hmm?" Rumi turned away from his work for a second to listen to Brooke. "Oh no, this is my first time as well, Ms. Everette. I just thought it'd be fun to play the role for once. Gotta say, I'm a bit disappointed in it all. We infiltrated this ship much too easily." A notification appeared in the corner of his eye, and the phone also sounded off a notification indicating a text message.

"You should probably get that," Rumi said to Brooke while opening up the text in his visor. So far, the news wasn't great. There was no sign of their target, the Black Baron, and a member of ZERO, Malady, was spotted in the party. The thought of ZERO being involved in this operation disheartened Rumi. At the same time, though, it was an opportunity to learn more about the organization.

Rumi typed out a response to the group. Our target is still the Black Baron. Malady and any ZERO associates will only be a secondary concern, but do maintain a level of caution around them.

Royal Rumble!

Michael Angie

@Hammerman

Finding an outfit for the ball was a simple matter. All it took was a quick internet search for a suitable tuxedo and his artistic power allowed him to draw it into reality, perfectly tailored to his size, and a black cavalier hat with a white ribbon, edging, and ostrich feather. His masquerade mask was simple, only covering the left side of his face while leaving his right and mouth open. The event itself was... eventful. However, he wasn't one for dancing, preferring to stay near and partake in the food and drink as well as observing the ball's participants. A rather large group was forming, some of whom he thought he recognized, though it was difficult to tell with all the masks on. Lise was in the group as well, and it seemed they were having a bit of a scuffle about dancing order. It was certainly a group that attracted attention, judging from Diana's interjection. And still others attracted attention, such as Bak's and Luigi's big frames, but they weren't worth much more than a passing glance.

Shenanigans came and went, and soon they lost Michael's attention. They weren't what he was watching for, anyway. He was really waiting for an opportunity to show up, just something to increase potential connections or update his storage of information. That opportunity came when someone came by when someone from said group came over to the food and drinks, where Michael had been waiting.

"Quite the night, no?" Michael asked Christine. "Don't mind me too much, if you don't want to. Just making some idle conversation. That being said, there's plenty of dancing to be done, and delectable food and drink here. Makes me wonder how much this all cost."

As he talked, he continued to observe the area, keeping an eye out for anything interesting. Soon, something did occur, namely the argument between Rurik and Katherine. While they was a little too far to hear what they were saying, it seemed that Rurik did not have the friendliest of attitudes towards Kath. "I'm guessing that's not a good thing, is it?" Michael asked Christine, pointing toward the two.

---

Michelle & Belinda

@Hammerman@KillamriX88

Michelle wore a black-and-red dress with thin straps, and it extending just past her knees. She accompanied it with long white evening gloves, a white marble bead bracelet on her left wrist, and a lacy masquerade mask that was white on the left side and black on the right. She was dressed up for the ball, and was ready to impress.

If only they weren't running late for it.

"I thought you were supposed to be the meticulous one, Michelle," Belinda said as they waited, stuck in traffic. "How could you let this happen?"

"I didn't know this was going to happen!" Michelle whined. "I- ugh, I-I just-"

"Whatever, We can get there faster on our own, anyway," Belinda said, opening the door and getting out of the car. Belinda activated her ability, donning her armor and spreading her wings. "Thanks, Jeeves," Belinda said to the chauffeur before launching herself into the air, flying towards the ball.

"...keep telling her my name's not Jeeves," the chauffeur muttered to herself.

---

"Phew, finally," Belinda said as she entered the ball, having deactivated her ability and returning her dress back to normal. The ball was well underway, but it was alright. She was here now, and that was what mattered. "Alright, I'll let you have some fun now," Belinda said, letting Michelle take control again. "Gee thanks," Michelle said sarcastically, making her way further in. She was at least able to enjoy the festivities for a minute, before stumbling into what seemed to be an argument between Katherine and Rurik. She wasn't really sure of the exact relationship between the two, but it didn't seem to be that good, judging from the contents of this interaction.

Belinda felt it was her time to interject, taking back control and walking in between them. "Hey now, let's be civil," Belinda said as she grinned, holding up her hands at either side. "This is a ball, or whatever. Let's just have fun while we're here."

Alright, your turn, Belinda thought to Michelle, swapping back. Michelle then took a step back as she drew her arms back in, shily adding, "Uh... please?" Michelle was not surprised that Belinda was pulling this move again, having experienced it so many times in the past, but it was never a pleasant feeling each time she did it.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

"I did have some experiments I wanted to perform during this 'time off', but I guess that'll have to wait," Rumi said, sighing. He had wanted to explore Grace's portal abilities and unlock some of the secrets of reducing distance and crossing space. It could have been revolutionary in cutting shipping, storage, and travel costs, but it would have to be put on hold. Right now, there was HERO work to do. Rumi studied the hologram of the Black Baron, hoping to discern what secrets his outfit held. Surely this fellow had a few tricks up his sleeves to be able to avoid capture for so long. Then again, 1993 was a while ago, and technology has advanced greatly since.

As for an alternate identity and the black Baron's ability, Rumi had a few things to say. "I could also be a hostage," Rumi volunteered. "Theoretically, I can gather information with my Nanobots as a hostage just as well as if I were a criminal. I could also help alleviate some of the Black Baron's inflicted injuries. My Nanobots are also programmed to perform medical treatment. If I could study exactly how his ability works, I might even be able to render it useless."

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@rabidporcupine@canaryrose@DarkRecon@canaryrose@Zoey Boey@DClassified@Hitman

Rumi had hoped to make some quick repairs, but it seemed the elevator had finally arrived. Rumi had the OMNI retract its tools and readied it for analysis so he could determine his course of action. Cora sprang into action and Rumi activated Overclock, examining the area. Jamie and Joseph were down, presumably by the villain here. Alien Angel was also around, though knocked aside. Believing Cora could handle Winterfell on her own for the time being, Rumi turned off Overclock as the OMNI began to make its way toward the trio, as they needed the most support. Once he was there, he began to hear a strange sound, namely that of an engine. Turning toward the general direction of the sound, Rumi was on guard, but even he did not expect a boat to come crashing through the wall. Rumi had the OMNI dropped down in surprise as the boat sailed over the group and toward Winterfell, who managed to deal with the incoming vehicle and made his escape.

Rumi's first instinct was to chase Winterfell down, but quickly decided against it. Many superpowered individuals had already been defeated by him, and Rumi wasn't willing to bet the OMNI would fare any better. Besides, said individuals were in need of medical treatment. While Rumi was well-versed in medical treatment, he barely even dabbled in actually administering it, and all he had to work with were the gadgets within his body and a pair of first-aid kits.

Fortunately, Rumi had expected injuries to occur, so the OMNI came prepared. "As a matter of fact, I do," Rumi responded to Cora as the nanobots composing the OMNI shifted for a few seconds, and it dispensed a Medpack, a large ice pack with red packaging and a white cross on it. Of course, it was no ordinary ice pack. Inside each piece of ice contained a crystal that held a small amount of healing energy that laid dormant as long as it remained undisturbed. He was ashamed to say that he did not invent this particular piece of medicine, but it was still patented and owned by Polamor Inc, and he could not deny its usefulness. The OMNI placed it on the ground and proceeded to punch it a few times, which activated the crystals. He then placed it on Joseph's chest and it began to heal him, any small wounds slowly closing and his complexion improving slightly. "This Medpack should stabilize his condition, but it won't do much more than that," Rumi said. "He'll need some proper rest if he's going to fully recover."

With that out of the way, Rumi turned to examine Jamie, who was being treated by Pandora. Eavesdropping on a bit of the conversation, Rumi could tell this Pandora was here to help. He sighed as he remarked, "I've been meaning to give these guys some actual armor, but I hardly get a chance to meet with them outside work."

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman

"Huh, haven't heard that name in a long time," Rumi remarked, having already guessed why a nonfunctional company's item would be here. Rumi tried to dig up more information about Zero, but it seemed they had covered their tracks well. Catching the piece of metal, Rumi examined it as he turned it around in his hand. The mine was a relatively simple piece of tech, useful for quick deployments but low in power. Rumi moved the piece of metal toward the OMNI's chest area, where the nanobots proceeded to grab onto it and pull it into its storage compartment. Perhaps it would give a clue about Zero.

After following Cora into the elevator, Rumi decided to use the time to take stock of the OMNI's inventory. Only a few Tar Bombs had been used, and the scarf had only received minor damage. Other than that, Rumi still had a plethora of gadgets at his disposal. He only hoped it would be enough for the coming encounters with the EAGLES. Looking back at Cora, Rumi replied, "I wouldn't have said that if it wasn't true." Rumi would have liked to add some more charm to the conversation, but the current situation took precedence. Being in the middle of enemy territory was no place for flirting. He cleared his throat, eager to change the flow of the conversation, and asked, "Shall I fix up your arm while we still have time? I can at least make it so it won't break down at a critical moment." To emphasize the point, the OMNI raised its right hand and transformed its fingers into various tooltips.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman

Rumi continued pointing the taser at the unfortunate goon for a moment, then sighed and disassembled the weapon back into the OMNI's arm. "Stay out of trouble," Rumi advised him as he walked over to Cora. When Rumi heard the beeping, he instinctively activated Overclock to give him some time to think. Cora had activated a booby trap, a trip mine by the sounds of it. Even with Overclock enhancing the OMNI's speed, it wasn't possible to move fast enough to shield her from the blast. All Rumi could do was hope that the mine wasn't strong enough to severely damage Cora's body. After she slammed into the wall, the OMNI darted to her side and performed a quick diagnostic scan. "I'm fine, the blast didn't even reach me. I'm more worried about you," Rumi replied. It seemed the right side of her body took most of the damage, and fortunately, the damage was minimal. Her right arm was still operational, but it wouldn't last long in any strenuous situations. Repairs would be simple, but would also take time they didn't have right now.

Rumi looked out at the hallway, wondering who the hell built this building to be so nonsensical. A hallway filled with traps on this high a floor seemed so incredibly nonsensical to him. He couldn't imagine what this tower would be guarding that it would need to have explosive traps installed into it. And what was that solitary Wings of Law member doing in here, anyway? The OMNI knelt down and placed its left hand on the ground, the arm detaching itself from the elbow. It then broke down into a pile of nanobots and reassembled themselves into a group of small, four-legged drones. The OMNI's visor also began to glow blue, having switched to an x-ray vision-like filter to more easily see any hidden traps. Once one of the drones found a trap, it would detach a piece of a leg and have the nanobots enter the trap and disable its trigger mechanisms, then move on to repeat the process.

"This will pave a way for us," Rumi said, the OMNI turning its head to look at Cora. "I'll go first this time. This machine is just a little more expendable than you, and the last thing I need to see is for you to ruin that pretty face of yours again."

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman

"Sure," Rumi said, following Cora into the Mini-jet. He was a little concerned with how well the Mini-jets would get them to Elmore Island, considering they were not originally designed to be used in battle, and the island would very likely have some heavy opposition waiting for them. With the current downtime, he decided that he would take a small break. "I'm going on standby, be back in a few," Rumi said to Cora before disconnecting himself from his mask, letting out a deep sigh as exited the capsule he had sealed himself in and began to stretch his muscles. Controlling a humanoid machine through a remote neural link like that was taxing on his body, mostly his brain. The use of his Overclock had not helped things either. Fortunately, there were a few energy bars and a bottle of water nearby, and Rumi tore into them as his body felt the need to recover.

While Rumi was resting, his mind was racing, thinking of potential strategies to take the paths of the least risk and hopefully keep everyone alive. It was a prison island, after all, and if that dumbass Snake Pitt was anything to go by, then there would be many would-be EAGLES members there. He sighed again, figuring he would have to wing some of it while he was there, and decided to quit dawdling and get back to controlling the OMNI. He got back into the capsule and placed the mask back on, connecting his mind to the machine. The lights on the OMNI flickered before flashing back on, and it lifted its head.

"I'm back, anything interesting happen while I was-" Rumi began to ask Cora before an explosion cut him off. Rumi couldn't feel anything through the OMNI, but the visual shaking was enough to confirm that something was very wrong. Rumi held onto his seat, fearing the worst, but soon found themselves unharmed, albeit crashed into a strange location and a large amount of green safety gel around the OMNI and Cora. "Well, glad to know that we're still alive," Rumi remarked as he began to wonder where to go next. It seemed Cora was a step ahead of him on that front, as Cora used her magnetic powers to throw the OMNI out of the cockpit and into the room where the jet had evidently crashed into. The OMNI had landed roughly, and Rumi took a second to reorient himself as he found himself in what appeared to be an interrogation room, as well as a punk with a gun pointed at them.

"Cora, there's a-" Rumi was about to warn Cora before she sprung into action, disarming the goon and dropping him. "Ok, never mind," Rumi shrugged as the OMNI walked up to the fallen goon and held up a hand, which transformed into a large taser. Electricity visibly coursed through the two prongs as Rumi began to interrogate, "You heard her. Tell us everything you know, and I may go easy on you."

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@Duoya@Jumbus@KaijuBaragon@canaryrose@Rabidporcupine@DarkRecon

The OMNI shrugged at Grace's "criminal" remark, not confirming nor denying. Rumi would've said something, but that would only fuel the chaos that people do when trying to speak all at once. Instead, he stayed silent as Grace moved on with her speech about Seraph's location and "real science".

"Wow, how dare you," Rumi exclaimed in mock offense. He was about to go to Powers' office and look for the necessary files as Grace suggested when something came tumbling towards the group. Rumi looked down to see a small canister at their feet, which the OMNI identified as a smoke grenade. Smoke began to pour out of it, enveloping them in a thick cloud. Rumi had the OMNI switch to its advanced thermal vision and scan the area. He quickly located a group of people from the other end of the hallway, all in various positions, and all of them aiming weapons at them. Leaping in front, the OMNI raised its left arm as if holding a shield. The nanobots at the left forearm began to shift and surge outward as a palm-sized device emerged from within. It was rectangular in shape, adorned with the face of Medusa. The Medusa's eyes lit up, projecting a blue-colored barrier of semitransparent solid light.

As time passed and the smoke cleared, there was no activity from the now easily identifiable Division X soldiers, though they continued to train their rifles at the group. Rumi continued to keep up his shield, cautious of another potential threat from them. The sound of metal footsteps that came from behind the soldiers only confirmed his suspicions. He briefly wondered who it could be, as Mr. Impressive was still trapped in Tar and had power-dampening handcuffs on. The answer revealed herself as a tall, blonde woman who was clearly well-acquainted with a soldier's line of work. What really stood out, though, was the rest of her body. It was clearly mechanical, though her head area appeared human, and her mannerisms made it unlikely for her to be an AI. That meant she was a cyborg.

She had the soldiers stand down and approached them in a friendly manner, even calling out some names. Rumi had the OMNI stand down as well, retracting his barrier back into its arm, and gave Cora an up-and-down examination. He nodded approvingly at the Custom-System TVS Endoskeleton 4000, though he did think there could be some improvements made here and there. It would have to come later, though, as Cora revealed some interesting information, particularly that about Powers being alive and Minijets having missiles.

"Cora, was it?" Rumi asked Cora. Extending a hand, Rumi introduced himself, "I'm Rumi Bers Polamor, Owner and Chief Engineer of Polamor Inc. If you ever have the time, feel free to come by the HQ. I'd be willing to give your cybernetic parts any repairs or custom upgrades you might like. A Custom-System TVS Endoskeleton 4000 only does so much."

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@Rabidporcupine@DarkRecon@Jumbus@KaijuBaragon

Rumi sighed and had the OMNI hop through the portal Grace made. At once he was met with the shockwaves from the battle between Jamie and the Admiral. The OMNI backed away from the fight and slid over a countertop to duck behind it, then proceeded to peer over it to spectate. There was also a rioting crowd outside HERO One for some reason, screaming about Starbright's death or something. Concerned, Rumi opened the security feed on his screen. Fortunately, Starbright was still standing, at least, which meant he was still alive. He was confused, but shook his head, deciding to deal with one problem at a time and returned his attention to the battle. Fortunately, the battle did not take much longer, as Jamie soon finished off the Admiral with a well-placed blow.

Hopping back over the counter, Rumi walked over to greet them with a wave. "Come on, you three. Bypass needs us upstairs. Through the portal now," Rumi said to Jamie, Joseph, and Alien Angel, gesturing towards the portal with a thumb. Rumi was a bit puzzled at Angel's appearance, not recognizing her at first. She didn't appear in his memory of HERO One's heroes, active or retired. Then he recalled her information from H.E.R.O.'s wanted list database. If the descriptions were correct, then this was most likely one of the vigilantes H.E.R.O. was after. What she was doing here, Rumi had no idea, but if she was offering to help, then Rumi had no reason to turn her down.

Going through the portal first, the OMNI jogged back to where he had first heard the lightning originate. Once there, Rumi spotted Grace and Tom, as well as Starbright. "Hey guys, I got Quake and Rune with me, and someone called, uh... well, she should probably be the one to introduce herself," Rumi announced to the group.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@KaijuBaragon

"Here in the flesh... is what I would say if I were actually here," Rumi said. "Yup, one of my best and personal favorites. Really proud of it aaaand you're leaving. Ok." After Grace left his loving embrace to have a loving reunion with Tom, Rumi had the OMNI get up and turn to examine Mr. Impressive. Rumi assumed the man was knocked out, and began looking for something to keep him down. He then spotted the power-suppressing handcuffs on the ground, the ones he had used on Grace. Rumi snatched them up and made his way over to Mr. Impressive, cuffing him. The man's skin then went back to a normal human pigment, his powers sealed. Rumi nodded, satisfied, and proceeded to gather the unconscious bodies of the EAGLES group together. He then tossed a Tar Bomb onto the trio, which covered them in the hardened Tar substance and trapped them together.

His work done, the OMNI made his way back to Grace and Tom, who were busy having a makeout session. Rumi had it lean against the wall, elbow propping him up and hand on its hip. Fortunately, Rumi didn't have to wait long, as they soon separated and began to make plans for a date. Rumi cleared his throat loudly and deliberately, and proceeded to say, "I sure love being a third wheel as much as the next guy, but maybe we should be dealing with the EAGLES crisis right now." As if on cue, a small tremor reached the group from below, shaking the floor slightly before just as quickly disappearing. At the same time, there were sounds of electricity being flung around and distant yelling. "You guys can deal with that, and I can take..." Rumi said as he accessed HERO One's security feeds, looking for signs of conflict. He quickly found that the lobby was under attack, with Jamie facing the Admiral. "The lobby, apparently," Rumi concluded. "Grace, think you can portal me down there?"