Multiple Settings Plumbers: Welcome to the multiverse

[Breadman]

Chief, you've got anything with a lot of firepower, but compact like a matchbox? Not actually that small, but something to fit within or beneath the armour — a fallback weapon.

"I think I have something just for that." Santoro looked to his drone again "Get our friend the XS-3." It beeped and went along to scan the weapons available, leaving Santoro to answer the next request.

"Gas...Poison. Biological. Whatever kills in confined spaces - just not corrosive...I'm sending you blueprints. I would like these to be stronger than their original spec. Whatever material you have, whatever preparation or treatment you need to use, is acceptable if you can forge a stronger blade,

Before he could give an answer, Sloan and Noël had a brief exchange of words. Wasn't pleasant, but that was expected. Wouldn't be the first plumber recruits to get tense with each other. Although, he didn't know what the demon expected. Being in a machine body isn't really communicative to how one is feeling like. One of the trade-offs when you switch to metal over flesh. Fleshlings.

If she's getting gas, we're going to need masks. She doesn't seem like the type to care if we breathe the shit in. I'm going to head up to see Ananiel. See if I can get this thing marked and blessed. I'll be back for weapons training, if you're the one that does that kind of thing.

"I usually just supply the weapons. Check with Checkers or Prax for weapon's training. Say hi to Anniel for me." The robot man waved as friendly as his form allowed. "Scans recieved and stored. Verry advanced. Better than what Moira had on hand." He turned back to Sloan "I'll take a look at what material we have in stock and what can be done for better quality. As for the gas, we're limited. Authority has passed a ban on corrosive types and anything that can be absorbed through the skin if you're with fleshy team members and given who I saw, you're better off avoiding that." The drone finally came back carring the desired side-arm.

"Give it to the big guy." The drone 'noded' and it carried it to Heilwyn "XS-3 is a small firearm to you. But from the timeline it was from, it was a pretty decently sized weapon. People were smaller and learned to stuf a lot in small spaces. Grip and trigger is modified to fit us giants. Should be able to take down a couple of problems at least before you need to reload."

Can the Forge recreate objects that aren't weapons or armour?

"Its designed to make everything you'll need out in the field. Except rations, you'll need to visit a food replicator for that." Santoro stepped back and invited the big man to try his hand on the console "See if it would recognize your requested gear or anything similar."

 

[K0mori]

"Scans recieved and stored. Verry advanced. Better than what Moira had on hand." He turned back to Sloan "I'll take a look at what material we have in stock and what can be done for better quality. As for the gas, we're limited. Authority has passed a ban on corrosive types and anything that can be absorbed through the skin if you're with fleshy team members and given who I saw, you're better off avoiding that."

"...Of course," Sloan replied. "Full efficiency isn't worth the cost of giving our softest meatsacks sniffles or boo-boos."

Having finished conducting her scans, Sloan returned to near the armory's entrance. Her stance relaxed to its original, neutral demeanor, even if her voice was dripping with hostility and sarcasm. "Nonetheless, thank you. Once I have my blades, I'll at least be close to what I'm capable of."

 

[Worthlessplebian]

"Its designed to make everything you'll need out in the field. Except rations, you'll need to visit a food replicator for that. See if it would recognize your requested gear or anything similar."

Heilwyn reached out with his hands to the console. His thick gauntlets tapped away, keys clicking slowly. With a final button push, the Forge whirred to life, inner mechanisms cycling up as it began to assemble a long, mono-edged blade — longer than a man's forearm, a standard-issue combat knife for the enterprising Solenite soldier. A stark and exact image as Heilwyn remembered. He lifted his other hand to take it. His gauntlet stopped an inch from its grip, hesitating, as if he doubted its existence then and there. Then he took it up and its wicked blade gleamed, the light playing across its length. He notched beside his left thigh then, with a series of mechanical clicks, the plate opened, a robotic appendage snatched the blade from Heilwyn's grip, sheathing it.

"Nice. Solenite steel, never patrol without it." Heilwyn said, half-turning to look at the sidearm the drone held up before him. "Thanks, little guy." The armoured giant took the pistol gently from the drone, nodding at Santoro's description. "It'll do." He turned, walking to the door besides Sloan as the mech mused about efficiency. Heilwyn raised his fist before him, the nozzle of his flamethrower sprang forward, a single speck of fire awoke at the tip, magnificence in a fiery mote. "You cut em, I'll cook'em."

 

[joshuadim]

Running into the cafeteria, the smells that had enticed Slerk before now exploded into a whole symphony of scents that nearly overwhelmed the murglite. His sense of smell, being more powerful than most land-dwellers, allowed him to discern every source even though they mingled together. The meats, the fishes, the sweets. Those stood out the most as they practically called out to him like a siren's song.

And it just so happened that there was a tray of pancakes, french toast, and other goodies all around at the same table with enough sugar to send someone into a food coma. This, of course, was a concept that was lost to the creature as he dashed between peoples legs to get to his meal. The commotion naturally would draw attention from various eyes that were eating as they saw a small fish creature climb aboard the table before letting loose a loud gurgle as a cry of jubilation.

And shortly thereafter, he dove straight into the pancakes as his first course!

 

[Damian0358]

Ted could hear commotion at one of the tables, yelling at the sudden surprise appearance of a blue little creature thrusting itself into their food. He instantly knew that that had to be Slerk. He rushed over to the source of the commotion, to see Slerk devouring the sweets at the table in a mad dash to get a sugar high. This would not be good for Slerk's health! Ted assumed that at least, but he wouldn't let the lack of confirmation stop him from trying to get to Slerk. He asked the people at the table to move aside, as he observed what was present on the table.

The pancakes, the french toast, and so much more, he tried to find the common link between these to try and figure out what sweet would attract Slerk over to him the quickest. He quickly came to a decision, and those around him could hear a noise coming from within him. He lifted up his shirt to make the food replicator embedded in him completely unobstructed, and opened it up to reveal what would be a plate of waffles that had been prepared like French toast, covered with a sauce consisting of a butter-syrup combination, and with fresh fruit, melted chocolate, and powered sugar and cinnamon on top. The plan was to get Slerk to jump into the food replicator and lock him in.

 

[Breadman]

Once Ted was out chasing after Slerk, it left Checkers alone with Ying and Kiriko as the only members of Delta that didn't split off to somewhere. Lazarus and Jim departed wordlessly save for a wave from the chronomancer and Elaine seemed to have gotten a call away to her clinic.

"Alright then." Checkers clasped her hands "How about we do something together? I'm going to log in some weapon practice and I can use the opportunity to show you around. Come on." She motioned for the two other women to follow her inside the HQ. The trio walked through the lobby and into an elevator to take them up to the 24th floor. Once they passed through the doors into the training area, they could see the desk being manned by one of the many Plumber support staff that help run the building for those going into the field. To his right and left, there were doors that would lead to the training rooms. "Hey Sam, load up my usual, will you?"

"Sure, new recruits?"

"Yeah. Trying to show them around." Checkers turned around to Ying and Kiriko "Sam takes care of this training area. If you want to set up a routine and keep your skills sharp, you can talk to him to set you up. Him and every other trainer have been trained to make the most optimal program for agents like us." Sam was busy taping away at the console, adjusting things to how Checkers prefered things. Once she was done making the introductions, he smiled and nodded to Ying and Kiriko.

FabulousTrash TheRealAngeloftheStorm
---

Noël walked outside the armory and called the elevator. The ride up to the 33rd floor was short and sweet, but once they stepped into the hallway, they could smell which side belonged to whom. To their right was the pungent smell of sulfur lingered as the demonologists practiced their rituals and read their tomes. If one listens, they could hear the occasional shout to banish from one of the rooms. On their left, Noël could make out different pleasant fragrances and. From inside some of the rooms, there were muffled sounds of singing choruses and...trumpets?

Taking a few steps to the left, Noël found a room with a sing next to it 'Angelic consultants' as good as place as any to start looking. The office door slid open and revealed yet another larger than expected room similar to Santoro's armory. It was a whole office space of its own. The Citadel is known to use impossible spaces extensively, but not many people really think about it and how you could form it. There seemed to be a clear divide between the mortals working to properly catalogue any information that is given to them by the angels and the angelic being themselves. Despite that, there were no cubicles in sight. A measure put in to discourage people from treating this as a 9 to 5 job.

Staff were free to talk and exchange information between each other and the angels. Many forms from the different celestial hosts traversed the space or occupied their own 'office' area. Yet a sight like seraphim, cherubs and support staff simply chatting near a water cooler was one that could be found. Noél could make out the topics ranging from inquiries about weapons, holy artifacts being shipped and support for teams out in the field.

To their right there was a console with a guide directing visitors to specific angels. Luckily Anaile was right on the map.

Infab
---

...Of course Full efficiency isn't worth the cost of giving our softest meatsacks sniffles or boo-boos. Nonetheless, thank you. Once I have my blades, I'll at least be close to what I'm capable of.

"Give them a chance. They'll surprise you soon enough." He ignored her tone. Its not an uncommon sentiment from people in their situation and he could hardly blame her. Being forced to hold back after making extensive upgrades and modifications was frustrating at best. Yet he's had plenty of experience with other Plumbers, so he couldn't agree with her. Not fully.

You cut em, I'll cook'em.

"He's already halfway there." The machine man pointed to Heilwyn as if the large armored figure's jovial response was done to reinforce his point. "Try to talk shop. Figure out strategies. The multiverse is a big place and you can't account for everything."
K0mori Worthlessplebian
---

Food!

"Cool!' Moire gave a short answer as a response to Kher'as own short response. Really wasn't that hard to see what the bug woman had on her plate with the large pile of food placed on top. She stiffed a laugh as Kher tried ice cream for seemingly the first time. "Take it easy with the ice stress. It can cause brain freeze if you eat it too fast. First time I tried it, it gave me a big headache." She dug into a slice of her own after giving that valuable advice.

Hey girls, what's good?

"Hey there." Moira turned to greet the new arrival "You're Val, right? Didn't get to introduce each other at the meeting before we bolted. Call me, Moira." She extended one hand for a shake while holding her pizza slice in the other. "I'm not exactly assigned to you, but since I worked on a few things, I'm the current iteration of Delta's mechanic I guess."

Baby?

Moira's attention was drawn back to Kher'as and then to the small figure that was running through the cafeteria. Slerk had gotten loose and was now making a beline towards the nearest pile of food. Oh no. Moira let out quetly as she watched the small fish boy smash himself into a pile of pancakes and begin to devour them. Was that safe for him? He didn't seem to be bothered. Not yet at least. In fact he was gleefully devouring the pancakes. The plumber who had gotten that said tray was looking at it bewildered and unsure of what to do. He raised his head to look at Ted who was attempting to do something. Was he trying to bait Slerk with waffles?

"Ten credits he makes it." She spoke to anyone who would listen.
archur PixelSymphony joshuadim Damian0358

 

[K0mori]

"He's already halfway there." The machine man pointed to Heilwyn as if the large armored figure's jovial response was done to reinforce his point. "Try to talk shop. Figure out strategies. The multiverse is a big place and you can't account for everything."

Sloan nodded at Heilwyn. "Works for me. It's funny though - all that concern over chemicals on skin, but fire's just fine." Her tone was difficult to read without a face to match it, but with a flippant shrug of her arms to punctuate it, it was clear that she was joking.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

"Works for me. It's funny though - all that concern over chemicals on skin, but fire's just fine."

Heilwyn leisurely gestured two fingers towards Santoro, recognition for his observation. Cohesion was vital. That was just one of the things he learned. Without it on the best of days, the unit was disorganised. On the worst, it proved lethally disastrous. His helm turned slightly, picking out her shoulders shrugging. He chuckled slightly, a sonorous sound knifing through his voice grille. "Oh, come now. It's just a little fire. Lighters and matches. Nobody got hurt playing with it." Heilwyn spoke, knocking his knuckles against the flamers' metal housing, returning in kind to her humour.

 

[Infab]

Noël took a moment to look over the console, inspecting the map and the locations of all the different angelic consultants. There were a wide variety of angels here, apparently, including variants of Michael, Gabriel, and other Archangels. Best to avoid those.

They went down the list, eventually locating who they assumed to be the right Ananiel that they were looking for. In fact, it was the only Ananiel on the map. Gate Guardians must not be popular with the Plumbers. Eventually, they looked up. Time to look around. Noël moved away from the console, walking quietly through the office space. They'd look around a bit, offering a wave to anyone they'd catch looking at them. Noël imagined they were getting certain looks from some of the angels or staff there, as they were a demon in sort of the wrong territory. Still, they didn't care. They were here on business.

Eventually, they found what appeared to be Ananiel's spot... and nobody was siting at the desk. For a moment, anyway. There was a brief flash of white light, which made Noël blink rapidly for a moment as the angel appeared next to their seat. A moment later, a woman was standing before Noël. She was clad in spiked, menacing looking obsidian armor and with long flowing blonde hair that turned blood red towards the end. Her wings, folded behind her, bore red stains towards the tips of the feathers as well.

That's definitely blood. She must be from one of the more totalitarian Heavens. That, or she's a Fallen Angel. That armor's pretty sick, not gonna lie.

She locked eyes with Noël, before looking over their appearance. "A visitor, eh?" she spoke, raising an eyebrow. "A demonic visitor at that... but not just any demonic visitor."

Noël's eyes narrowed slightly, before they spoke. "My name is Noël. I'm one of Prax and Checkers' new lot." they stated, before holding up the mace in their hands. "Santoro sent me."

"Ah." responded the angel, before she held up her hand and snapped her fingers. A moment later, her armor vanished, and was replaced with a simple white robe. The blood on her wings and hair, however, remained. "Let me guess. You wish to have your mace enchanted? If Santoro sent you, then that's what I'm assuming you want."

"Yep. Runes of the angelic variety." replied Noël. "Feel like going a little old school."

The angel smirked, as they sat down on backless chair at the desk. "Old school? Well now... I'm certain a few of your brothers and sisters back home wouldn't particularly like that. However, they'll probably never hear about it."

"Nope. If they ever do, fuck 'em. I do what I want."

"Of course you do."

Noël held out the mace, which Ananiel took carefully and began to examine. "The metal is from a Hellforge, infused with exceptional power. A master craft, from the looks of things. The pommel is made of wood from the Tree of Woe. Certainly a rarity to see, these days. The shaft itself, however... that's special. Its Ash wood, specifically from Yggdrasil." she said, examining the markings on the weapon's shaft. "...It must have been salvaged from a universe where Ragnarök occurred. Remarkable work."

"Santoro said it was from the latest weapon order, and that I'd have to ask around Little Dis about the metal. I'm sure the person that found the rest of the stuff is there, too." said Noël, folding their arms.

Ananiel glanced over. "This smells of my Uriel's doing... but you say Santoro said Little Dis?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "...Hmmm. I'll ask around, then. See what I can dig up for the both of us."

She then placed the mace on the desk. "In the meantime, however, I'll begin placing the proper markings on the weapon. Anything in particular you'd like to enchant it with?"

"...Divine light." said Noël, before quickly shaking their head. "Wait, no. Star Fire would work, since I recall divinity-related runes are more archangel territory. Plus, I'm a demon, so divine light would probably burn me too."

Ananiel smirked. "The power of a star, firmly grasped in your hands."


It didn't take very long for Ananiel to place the runes on the mace. It also didn't take long for Ananiel to teach Noël a spell to store the weapon and retrieve it, either. Before long, Noël was headed back to the elevator. As they walked, they heard a grumble from their stomach. Oh, NOW I'm hungry. Pizza time, I guess. Then, weapons training.

Once they reached the elevator, they went back down. It took some asking around, but soon enough Noël found themselves in the cafeteria. Just in time to see the small blue baby fish creature devouring a plate full of pancakes. Ted seemed to be trying to capture it. Neat. He can be our animal control guy.

"Sup, Val. Moira. The rest of you." said Noël, strolling past where she was sitting along with the others. "Any pizza left? Meat lovers, preferably."

 

[archur]

"Take it easy with the ice stress. It can cause brain freeze if you eat it too fast. First time I tried it, it gave me a big headache."

"unfair..." She muttered, already nearly finished with her ice cream. "Food is defeated enemy, why does it hurt me even when dead? Dumb. You are dead. Be dead." She finished the ice cream, ate the paper cup it came in, then scanned the room for the familiar presence from earlier. The youngling- Slerk as it called itself, was doing what she did the first time she had been introduced to the cafeteria: gorging itself on as much food as possible. There was some internal debate on whether or not she should go after him that she accidentally "vocalized". After all, there was a thin line between internal and external thoughts for the telepath.

"Hatchling being watched after by man-robot." Silent consideration as to how good of a guardian Ted was to Slerk. At the moment, it seemed he was presenting...

Drool seemed to drip from her mandibles.

"Man-robot is adequate guardian for hatchling. 20 credits on Ted."

"Sup, Val. Moira. The rest of you." said Noël, strolling past where she was sitting along with the others. "Any pizza left? Meat lovers, preferably."

"Kher'as was hungry, many of the pizzas were consumed. Unsure if all are eaten though! Kher'as thinks checking worthwhile time use!"

 

[Breadman]

Any pizza left? Meat lovers, preferably.

Kher'as was hungry, many of the pizzas were consumed. Unsure if all are eaten though! Kher'as thinks checking worthwhile time use!

"Oh I wouldn't worry about scarcity." Moira put down her own piece. "The cafeteria selection here is maintained through a few food replicators. As soon as one is gone, a drone comes by and places down an order for replacement." She pointed to the non-synthetic members of the staff that were behind the plate glass. "The regular people are there in case you have something more specific in mind so they can work the replicator to your taste since people are better at that than robots."

Infab archur
---

Works for me. It's funny though - all that concern over chemicals on skin, but fire's just fine.

Oh, come now. It's just a little fire. Lighters and matches. Nobody got hurt playing with it.

"They never said anything about chemical fires, just saying." Santoro added as he pointed with a thumb to a rack nearby with a weapon labeled 'glue gun' with a specific warning sign marked on it.

K0mori Worthlessplebian
---
It took some time before Prax could meet with his superiors at HQ as there were others before him. As such he was forced to wait in the lounge with nothing but browsing the extranet and listening to the secretary write on their hard light keyboard with one pair of arms, while another was busy organizing something else on a tablet. Multitasking made easier by the extra pair of eyes. Finally he was allowed to walk in and it didn't take much time until his biggest concern was brought up.

"Now the first thing I want to know is why did you attach an actual baby to this team?" Prax stood in front of the large desk with his arms crossed. The few gathered superiors simply looked to each other as if waiting for someone else to explain the situation to him.

"Slerk is a curious case in regards to him and his constants." The head of Chronomancy spoke up "In that he isn't reacting to the frozen aging process at his current state of development and we strongly suspect its due to the time particles not taking hold properly. He's not the first of them to come through the gates, but he's still in a young age and presents an interesting opportunity to study and learn. If we can figure out why his constants just continue to age up to a point while on the Citadel, then that would open more doors for our research. But to do that, we need to see how he interacts with shifting realities."

"He is a child." Prex answered plainly "Barely a toddler and you want me and Checkers to take him on high risk missions into God knows what. You couldn't put him on a scouting party instead?" It was becoming more difficult to hide his frustration.

"Rest assured, commander. We have anchored the little one firmly to the Citadel. The harness tethers that your utilize when making your own jumps are tighter on him so he would be pulled out of harm's way." The chronomancer continued "As to why your type of jumps specifically, your teams deploy more often and visit a wider variety of timelines. We have much better data that way."

"Think of it as another favor we owe you, Prax." The head of Extra-Humanoids spoke up next. Her tone was cold as always, but her carapace glowed with warm colors. An attempt to calm him down somehow. "He won't be a child forever if his bio metrics are to be believed. His kind seems to grow up fast."

"I don't like this." Prax squeezed the bridge of his nose "But I suspect that I don't have a choice in the matter." He exhaled. His hand moved from his face and pointed to one of his superiors "If I'm doing this for you, then I'm going to call the favor in right now."

"Do share, commander." The head of Demonology studies raised his hooded head, revealing the void underneath

"I want Val's case to be resolved. As soon as she goes through the required number of jumps with the team, we help her settle her scores."

"You want to use Plumber resources to settle miss Val'sharra's personal matters?" The hooded figure chuckled "We can arrange that, but its going to be you and the people you pick for when that time comes, Prax." He looked to his colleagues "If there isn't anything else, then we can give Delta their first task." The others nodded in agreement. He pressed a button on his desk. A hologram instantly flickered to life revealing information of the reality they would be jumping to. "Timeline LD-75492590." He rested his elbows on the desk as he leaned on it "The damages that have been detected appear to be done by the locals, but something is off about them. They're too frequent and too organized. Possible Outsider influence."

"And Delta being the Outsider hunters are right for the job." The superiors nodded in agreement. "Has the scouting been done?"

"Naturally. We want you new team's first jump to be something they can handle."

"Send me the detailed report and I'll pass it to the team." He turned to leave the room. There was still some time for each member of Delta to get accustomed to their surroundings at the Citadel, so he would use that time to get acquainted with the reports.

 

[Infab]

"Kher'as was hungry, many of the pizzas were consumed. Unsure if all are eaten though! Kher'as thinks checking worthwhile time use!"

"Oh I wouldn't worry about scarcity. The cafeteria selection here is maintained through a few food replicators. As soon as one is gone, a drone comes by and places down an order for replacement. The regular people are there in case you have something more specific in mind so they can work the replicator to your taste since people are better at that than robots."

"Right. Thanks." responded Noël, before moving over to where the regular people were. It wasn't long before they returned with a plate, with a few slices of both four cheese pizza as well as meat lovers laid atop it. They grabbed a seat near Val, and began to quietly dig in as they looked about at the others. Wonder if the fish baby is going to go for it? Getting locked inside a robot would probably be embarrassing... and probably terrifying for a kid.

 

[PixelSymphony]

"Ice cream is good!"

Val blinked silently as the insectoid exclaimed her adoration of the frozen confection she was holding... right before summarily falling victim to its chilling temperatures. She had to stifle a laugh at how Kher'as continued to go after the cone even as it was visibly freezing her brain rock solid. "My my, you certain do have a passion for ice cream," Val eventually remarked with a chortle as she took another bite of her own slice of pizza. Her eyes noted the bug's measured movements to twist a bracelet soon thereafter - an idle twitch, or something more?

"Hey there." Moira turned to greet the new arrival "You're Val, right? Didn't get to introduce each other at the meeting before we bolted. Call me, Moira." She extended one hand for a shake while holding her pizza slice in the other. "I'm not exactly assigned to you, but since I worked on a few things, I'm the current iteration of Delta's mechanic I guess."

"Yep, that's me. Nice to meet you, Moira," Val responded, mirroring the gesture to clasp hands in a hearty handshake. "Good to know you're the one keeping our vehicles running, and apologies in advance for when I inevitably stuff one into a hedgerow during a harried escape. I'll try to make it up to you in liquor," she added, with a grin. "Seriously though, if this whole... shebang is gonna be like what I think it is, I'll be counting on you for some, ah, customized solutions for problems, if you get my drift, so please, do let me know however I can help you out."

"Baby?"

... Baby? Mid-confusion, her ears picked up the rhythmic wet slapping of Slerk padding his way through the cafeteria as he dashed about. Oh, that baby. She didn't even bother to turn her head, merely swiveling her eyes to track the little murglite through the cafeteria going about his frantic business as she continued to chew. Neither did the appearance a few moments later of the rocker from their group particularly distract her from her meal... that is, until he lifted up his shirt. Val nearly choked on her pizza as she watched him pull out what appeared to be the beginnings of a three-course breakfast from a cavity in his torso. Ted is a... no, wait maybe he's just a cyborg? No... a cyborg wouldn't have room for that AND any set of vital organs... A pained look came upon her, as if an unpleasant truth had just been revealed to her. This grimace doubled as Kheras confirmed just what Ted was (and directly into her brain no less), and she was forced to stuff her face out of fear of making a scene.

"Sup, Val. Moira. The rest of you."

Oh, thank the Creator you're back, Val said to herself in a small prayer before addressing Noel properly. "Hey Noel, grab a slice or four and have a seat; we're discussing food and whether we think our smallest companion will go for the bait that Ted's offered.

 

[joshuadim]

Ted's plan seemed to work at first, as Slerk turned about face to the new source of delectable smells emanated from the man-thing. His face was covered entirely in pieces of pancake and smudges of syrup, giving him the appearance of someone who had dove right into a pool of breakfast materials without regard as to the caloric contents of such treats. They were meant to be eaten only in twos or threes, not in ravenous bunches as the Murglite had! His eyes glistened at the prospect of more foodstuff being offered to him, willingly no less, as he dawdled around on the table to face his prize.

The temptation was almost overwhelming, as what was being offered was practically what he had been eating but better! The little creature wasn't familiar with most of the ingredients, such as chocolate or cinnamon, but they smelled good. That must mean they taste good too! His bulging eyes glistened with anticipation as he took a step forward and reach a hand out towards his prize, a gurgle escaping his mouth as he wondered just how tasty it would be to eat.

But he then remembered an experience he had, where some of the local fishermen near his thatch-village tried to trap him using other fishies and clams as bait. It certainly smelled good, but it also got him nearly turned into stew for some land-lovers.

Was this the same? Were they trying to turn him into stew!?

Slerk let out an angry growl as he quickly grapped the top waffle and waved it around angrily. "Mrghg glrlrlrl ghgh grlgglglgl!"

He then began to angrily stomp on the serving table to indicate his displeasure while chewing on the waffle, sending splatters of syrup at and around Ted.

 

[Infab]

Noël paused part of the way through a slice of cheesy pizza, watching as Slerk began to stomp around and kick syrup towards Ted. "Heh, the baby didn't go for it." they said, smirking before returning to their slice of pizza. A few moments later, after finishing it, they spoke again.

"Lot of attractive angels upstairs. Angel sector is on the same floor as the demon one, but on opposite ends. You can figure out where they are by smell." said Noël, glancing in Val's direction. "Spoke to one named Ananiel. I think she may be from one of the more totalitarian Heavens, or might be a Fallen Angel. Had some bad-ass spiked armor, and has blood on the ends of her wings and hair."

Noël picked up another slice of pizza from their plate, before continuing. "Also, the armory's pretty awesome too. Weapons from across the past, present, and future. Already picked out mine." they said, motioning to the large double-barreled shotgun in its holster on their back as well as the camo'd M1911 under their arm. "Watch out for the gynoid. She asked for gas based weapons before I left. Probably nerve gas or something. She doesn't seem the type to care if we're around when she uses it, either."

 

[Damian0358]

Ted slowly approached as he gently moved back and forth to entice Slerk into jumping into the food replicator, and smiled gently as Slerk looked so happy at the sight of the food, knowing he had managed to appeal directly to Slerk's tastes - he was proud. But then, as he had gotten close enough that Slerk didn't even need to jump in to get the waffles, he noticed the creature pause in its approach, as if thinking of something, concerning him. That concern proved justified as Slerk merely grabbed the top waffle and then reacted very angrily.

The android wondered whether or not the creature had figured him out, as it began chewing on the waffle and splattering syrup everywhere while stomping. With it apparent that the scheme had failed, he reached into the food replicator cavity, took off the platter, and placed the remainder of the waffles on a nearby empty plate. He returned the platter within, and closed himself up. He tried giving Slerk a soft smile indicating he meant no harm, before picking up the plate with the remaining waffles and looking over to the others.

"If you want the rest of these, join me with the others, little guy," Ted waved at the plate as Slerk, trying to get him away from the others that weren't on their team.

 

[FabulousTrash]

It seemed like everyone was quickly adjusting to the setting around them. However, Kiriko was still lagging behind.

Creatures she could've only dreamed of were now a reality, as proven by the other figures she met during their little icebreaker. Just like before, they were all speaking her language, but the tones of their voices sounded off. It would just be something she'd had to get used to.

As she followed Checkers and Ying, her eyes wandered around the halls they passed through. Her free hand rubbed the newly acquired bracelet she was given. It was cold, and foreign. In her old life, she had never worn any form of jewelry. It was a risk on the battlefield that could be exploited. And as it was demonstrated earlier, it was capable of what looked like magic to her. But it seemed that everyone else was unfazed by the abilities such a small item posed.

It was one new thing after another, as Kiriko gripped the handrails in the elevator tightly, her knuckles turning white. It wasnt the height that was scaring her; she had climbed mountains much taller. But it was the speed and manner of how they moved upward. Thankfully, it was over as soon as it started. A few more hallways to walk through and soon they were at the training area. Kiriko listened as Checkers introduced them to the one managing the area. Kiriko gave the man called Sam a polite bow, similar to the greetings she gave back home.

It could recreate anything huh?

Kiriko watched intently as Sam worked, loading up Checkers' program, before asking her question.

歴史上の戦闘を再現できますか?
(Can you re-create a historical battle?)

There was one she was keen on seeing. The one where she supposedly died. If these people really did posses the power to defy the gods, this would be proof of it.

Breadman

 

[PixelSymphony]

"Lot of attractive angels upstairs. Angel sector is on the same floor as the demon one, but on opposite ends. You can figure out where they are by smell." said Noël, glancing in Val's direction. "Spoke to one named Ananiel. I think she may be from one of the more totalitarian Heavens, or might be a Fallen Angel. Had some bad-ass spiked armor, and has blood on the ends of her wings and hair."

Val snickered at the remark about being able to tell angel from demon via smell, but Noel's final comment made her stop chewing. "Spiked armor? Blood of her enemies staining her wings and her hair?" A slight blush tinged her cheeks as she held a hand to her chest. "Well, I may just have to pay a visit to this... Ananiel. Strictly professional, of course."

Noël picked up another slice of pizza from their plate, before continuing. "Also, the armory's pretty awesome too. Weapons from across the past, present, and future. Already picked out mine." they said, motioning to the large double-barreled shotgun in its holster on their back as well as the camo'd M1911 under their arm. "Watch out for the gynoid. She asked for gas based weapons before I left. Probably nerve gas or something. She doesn't seem the type to care if we're around when she uses it, either."

"Ayyy, nice, I approve," Val said, a thumb stretching upwards in concord. "Kinda reminds me of what my dad's used from time to time. Though I think he preferred a sawn-off so he could hold it with one hand; he's kind of a show off to be honest."

"As for the gynoid, eesh that's less than comforting to hear. I don't think any amount of cigarette smoke's gonna keep my lungs from collapsing under that stuff; did the armory have any gas masks in case the Terminatrix decides to crop dust the lot of us?"

... wonder if she likes flowers?

 

[Infab]

"As for the gynoid, eesh that's less than comforting to hear. I don't think any amount of cigarette smoke's gonna keep my lungs from collapsing under that stuff; did the armory have any gas masks in case the Terminatrix decides to crop dust the lot of us?"

"I imagine they have some tucked away somewhere around here." they responded, "They seem to have everything else. Perks of being multiverse travelers, I guess."

 

[Breadman]

The elevator doors slid open, allowing Prax to enter the basement level of the Plumbers HQ. Beneath the tall spire were several levels that housed the main mechanism that allowed the Plumbers to do their job- The Jump gates. The first level was mainly administrative in nature. This is where the bulk of the boring part of the work was done as the commanders would talk and work with the techs to set up every jump. Down to the last variables and calculations. Several rows of stations stretched from one end of the hall to the other, only interrupted by the paths put down when the facility was made. Each of the stations was manned by a handler with a piece firmly placed in their ear.

Many of them were talking to the teams that were currently deployed, acting as the life-line between them and HQ. Their monitors displayed the rough location of the team and what threats that they may be facing- be it hostiles, the envirioment or something other. Each handler had a special switch on their station. The last move they could make in case of a mission going sideways. The simple flick would cause the deployed team to be evacuated and pulled back to HQ, albeit in a very sudden manner. There is an official term, but most veterans agree to refer to it as 'getting flushed'.

Wondering down a few rows, Prax spotted who he was looking for. Delta doesn't have an exclusive handler, but Dex was one he preferred to work with. Short, but very friendly. Always tries to keep up high spirits even if he has to rely on a mechanical chair to communicate with others on an eye level. There was also the fact that Dex was a sentient dog from a timeline where canines were the ones to rule the world rather than apes.

"Dex, you free?"

"Sure am, buddy!' Dex turned around to face Prax "You got a mission?"

"Yeah, sending you the details now." Prax allowed a faint smile and after a few presses on his holowrist, the information was transferred over to Dex's console. The handler began to type on the keyboard in order to get a proper look on what exactly the timeline they're jumping into looked like. "Bosses said Outsider influence pushed this one off a cliff."

"Yeah, by the looks of it." Dex commented as he looked through the data. "Lets see what the scouts made out." He typed a few commands and the screen began to show some highlights from the timeline. "LD-75492590. Current year is 2154 and the world is a bit banged up, but that's the normal part. People are not happy with the state of the world and can't blame them. A breakthrough in the middle of the 21st century ensured an endless resource of clean energy. Everything was fine for a while, but the source of the energy was outworldy."

"Somebody was playing with something they shouldn't have."

"Yep. Somebody made a deal with an outworldy entity and got the infinite energy toy. Surprisingly, its not demonic in nature."

"Can't be outsiders either. They take things from realities."

"And this is supposed to happen here, so its not their doing. In any case, the infinite energy toy is either broken by design or is changed. Entire regions of the world are getting cut and they suspect foul play, lots of geopolitical stuff." Dex stopped to look to Prax "I'm getting to the Outsider bits, I promise!" He turns back to face the monitor. "Right, seems like there is a doomsday cult called the Family of oblivion. They've been recruiting through underworld connections and the like. Interesting thing about them is that they're well versed in the occult. Despite the nature of that devices, that's not supposed to be there."

"Found our Outsider."

"Very likely. The infinite energy device is housed in Paris. The Family launched an assault on the facility using said occult abilities to take it. Gates opened up all over and started spewing out monsters. Authorities scrambled to establish any kind of control, but in the chaos they didn't notice the cultist assaulting the facility until it was too late. Once it was taken, that's where the timeline breaks."

"So where's our in?"

"Chronomancers managed to nail down a good spot. Your team might be able to prevent the theft and take down an Outsider." The display changed to a map of the city with the local time listed. He pointed with a paw to the ideal location. "We can drop you off near the city center right before the attack. Preferably an alleyway somewhere so you don't spook the locals first. After that you're gonna have to fight your way through to the metro or some other route to take you to the facility where they house it. If your team has some good constants, that may tip the scales more in our favor."

"Get the tech stuff set up." Prax petted Dex on the head. Something that he was initially hesitant to do not wanting to risk offending the handler, but over the years he learned that they do in fact still enjoy a good petting as it was seen as the equivalent of a pat on the back. The team lead turned on the communicator "Team, hope you're settling in fine. HQ has our first job lined up. Details should be coming in shortly on your bracelets for you to read through." He glanced to Dex, who was busy with establishing the connections needed. "Its going to be a little white til the tech is sorted out, so you have time, but if you want to know more about the mission, take the elevator down to the first basement floor to know about your alternate selves."
K0mori Worthlessplebian Damian0358 joshuadim
---

Seriously though, if this whole... shebang is gonna be like what I think it is, I'll be counting on you for some, ah, customized solutions for problems, if you get my drift, so please, do let me know however I can help you out.

"They call me a black thumb for a reason." Moira raised her right thumb in response to Val "Name your customization and I'll make it. Nitros, spikes, armor, spearguns...even made a truck with a trebuchet one time." She shrugged. "Logistics of that were tough, but it worked in the end....for about a day. They can't all be winners." Her attention was drawn back to Slerk and Ted as they were eyeing each other up. Looks like the little fishman was too smart to get caught. "Damn it, I thought Ted had him."

She caught the two demons talking about a gynoid wanting to use poison gas and it didn't take too long to realize they were talking about Sloan. Who else could it be? There really wasn't much she could say about the robot assassin. Hell, she helped with the body. Hopefully it wouldn't lead to any major problems.
Infab PixelSymphony archur
---

Can you re-create a historical battle?

"Sure!" Sam gave a friendly response "We have the data from your timeline and can pick any historic event of your choice. We can also edit things around if you want to simulate if something was done different, but uh, its no guarantee that things would go like that." He prepared to set up a situation that would be up to Kiriko's parameters. "What will it be?"

Before that though, they received the message from Prax. Checkers used her bracelet to open up a holo projection of the details. 'Look at that, first job is an outsider.' She was amused by the coincidence.

"You heard him. We still have time to shake off any rust." Checkers adressed Ying and Kiriko "So tell Sam what you want."
FabulousTrash TheRealAngeloftheStorm

 

[Damian0358]

Ted approached the table everyone else was on, and placed the plate with the waffles on the far end of the table, as he sat himself down. He shifted his focus away from the plate over to his bracelet, both to give Slerk the impression the plate was 'safe' to grab, but also to see whether or not he could interface with the bracelet in such a way that he could take his order from here. Thankfully, achieving this was simple enough, and he proceeded to order himself a pizza as everyone else had. As he waited, he looked over to the others.

"Hope you're all doing well, and enjoyed the show," he commented with a half-smirk. He still felt happy that Slerk at least liked what he had offered. As he waited for a response though, Prax came through on their communicators, and he began reading the mission on the bracelet. He groaned.

 

[PixelSymphony]

"I imagine they have some tucked away somewhere around here." they responded, "They seem to have everything else. Perks of being multiverse travelers, I guess."

"Good to know then," Val said, beginning in on her last slice. The others had disappeared in short order as a testament to her love for the stuff, and judging from the way her teeth were gnashing away at the current bready delight, she didn't seem to be slowing down. "Hopefully command will beam us in a pair right before we go full salted earth. I just hope she didn't pick a mix that sticks; if that shit gets into my suit and doesn't come out, I'm personally billing her for my dry cleaning."

"Anyway, before I forget; Moira: Noel," she addressed to the mechanic. "Hell of a musician and a good friend of mine. Couldn't tell you if she's got any vehicles she needs attending to, so I'll let her speak towards that."

Val turned back to Noel with a gesture backwards of her pizza. "Moira's willing to give us a hand coming up with any crazy devices we might need for whatever the hell the folks upstairs want us to do. I might bring my bike in at some point, but I figure for the moment I'm just gonna get a feel for things. Same with the armory; once I see the kind of bozos we're dealing with on a galactic scale, I'll figure out if I need some of the heavy artillery."

"Hope you're all doing well, and enjoyed the show," he commented with a half-smirk. He still felt happy that Slerk at least liked what he had offered.

Val's eyes swiveled up to the speaker, and she had to stifle a grimace. Not now, Val. You're going to be working with him. "It was... amusing," the demoness offered, glancing over to where Slerk continued to throw a tantrum atop the cafeteria serving table. "I just hope this place has a good janitorial staff. Pancake syrup's never fun to mop up."

Just then she got the communique on her wrist-comm, and he swiveled her arm over to read it. "Alternative selves... whoo boy. Guess we'd better head on in; I'd rather be informed than trying to run this op blind." She shoved the remainder of her pizza slice into her face and stood, tossing her plate onto a return conveyor before sauntering towards where the elevators awaited.

 

[Infab]

Noël waved at Moira, as Val introduced them to her. "Nah, I don't have any vehicles beyond the van we use for gigs. I usually just take public transit, or hitch a ride with someone." they respond, before taking another bite of pizza. Eventually, however, Noël's attention would be drawn to Ted.

"Yeah, was pretty funny." they remarked, glancing over to Slerk. "Just wait till they get a wad of some candy or somethin'. We'll have a hyper fish baby on our hands."

Then, they would receive some sort of message from their wrist-comm. It was their team leader, with a little information.

"Team, hope you're settling in fine. HQ has our first job lined up. Details should be coming in shortly on your bracelets for you to read through. Its going to be a little while til the tech is sorted out, so you have time, but if you want to know more about the mission, take the elevator down to the first basement floor to know about your alternate selves."

Alternate selves. Oh. Great. This will be fun. Noël sighed, and finished the slice of pizza they had before standing with their mostly empty plate. It was disposed of the same way Val had done with hers, and soon after Noël was following. "Better go check things out. Then brush up on weapons training, I guess." they said, "...If I have time."

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Heilwyn nodded to Santoro as he pointed to the adhesive-spewer behind him. His helm inclined, orange lenses aflame as Heilwyn threw a curious glance at the weapon. For a moment, he wondered about the situations in store for them, doubtless they would be set upon by foes unlike anything he had encountered, even the innumerable enemies of Solen were limited by the seeming-feasibility of his reality. Heilwyn grunted, hands clenching. The duty the plumbers set on him is his now, and whatever befalls him, it will rest on his shoulders as it was always did, he would prefer it no other way.

"Thanks for the gear, Santoro." Heilwyn said, echoing slightly from the armoury's walls. "You need something grilled, you know where to find me." He gestured, two fingers leveled towards him, half turned through the doorway.

He left and began making his way through the hallways to the cafeteria, intent on sating the newfound cravings that settled in his stomach. Suddenly, the device coiled around his wrist whirred alive with a buzzing noise, swiftly overtaken by a voice. His expression hardened, though inscrutable behind his helm as Prax issued details about their newest assignment. His breathing rasped in his filters, biting back a flush of disappointment. He looked at the Steel Dancer. "Now this feels oddly familiar." Heilwyn mused, keenly recalling the cramped barracks and the blaring klaxons stirring them to action. Little time for anything else. "Let's go then, should be interesting at least."

 

[K0mori]

Having already thanked Santoro for his help, Sloan departed the armory in thoughtful silence. Sloan followed Heilwyn for a while without considering his destination. Of course, there was nothing she wanted at the cafeteria, but she reasoned it would be good to remain in contact with the rest of the team, rather than wander the building alone. If they were summoned for work, the last thing she wanted was to arrive later than everyone else.

Then, of course, their wristlets alerted them to the upcoming briefing.

"Now this feels oddly familiar." Heilwyn mused, keenly recalling the cramped barracks and the blaring klaxons stirring them to action. Little time for anything else. "Let's go then, should be interesting at least."

"Yes, let's," Sloan replied with a sharp nod, relieved that she wouldn't need to waste too much time watching the soft bodies shovel food in their mouths. There was, underneath, an anxiety brewing in her digital mind about the "alternative selves" that they would soon learn about. It was bad enough that her counterpart might be made of flesh, but it would be much worse if they revealed what Sloan's true body looked like, before her world's destruction. She had kept it long-hidden, and didn't want to revisit it nor have anyone else see her true face.