"I have twelve matchsticks" (Ch. 3a: Prologue pt. II)

NPC · Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 9:32 pm

A tower of gleaming glass, steel, and concrete, curvy, elegant and futuristic, stood proudly over the riverside cliff where it patiently awaited the company of whosoever received and acted on Dr. Henshin's message.

The big badge logo with the W on it proudly displayed outside confirmed it was the right place. It was by no means the biggest building in sight (nor even necessarily half the size of the biggest), but it was impressive, modern, and welcoming, with its automatic sliding glass doors, which led into a lush, modern lobby with a fountain, plants and hanging planters, glossy floors, neon and chrome decor, a robot-attended information desk, a gift shop (with a prominently-displayed life-size Wild Badge statue in the window and shelves chock-full of Wild Badge memorabilia, plus some of the hero's favorite comics and collectibles), an arcade, a cafeteria, and even kitschy little conveyor restaurant...

Okay, the place was actually a little bit of a spectacle, but it at least looked like a fun place to work.

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Rachel · Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:39 pm

Jack drove for once to her destination, Jack didn't own a car, and if she did it would have been blown up some time ago. No her father reluctantly lent her one. Old man Andy had a hard time bringing himself to lend her one of his trucks when she told him where she was going. Especially since he saw the message and the queer little messenger the sheriff received.

"He better not be pullin' my leg about this." she muttered as she parked the truck and hopped out of the cab, followed by her robot companion, she pulled her belt with her holster attached out of the cab and started to buckle it on as she headed towards the door.

"I have the robot!" Target said cheerfully as she skipped up beside Jack with a small potato sack that no doubt held the robot and probably a few potatos.

So up the walk they trudged into the lobby area. Target of course wondered around and wondered right over to the gift shop, Jack shook her head and put her hands in the back pocket of her jeans while she examined the spectacle that was the lobby area. After a moment the obvious option was the receptionist whom Jack approached.

"Howdy, the Doc uh... sent for me."

Jahkari · Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 11:02 pm

Forceful, angry stomping announced the koala's presence long before she came into view. In a pouch attached to her belt the parts of that infernal robot clanked with every step she took, making her scowl. That thing had called her Keelie, and it had put her in a sour mood since last night. That sour mood had only been amplified when, despite her best efforts, she hadn't been able to figure out how to reassemble the robot. It was probably because, well, the explosion had permanently damaged it, but that didn't make the fact that she couldn't solve that puzzle any better.

An annoying robot called her Keelie then exploded before she could figure out how it worked. That was basically a recipe for frustration for Key.

Reaching the lobby doors she roughly threw them open (or waited impatiently for them to open just enough for her to squeeze through, in the case of automatic doors) and stomp-stomp-stomped her way to the Sheriff and Target. Her glare briefly melted into recognition upon seeing them (she definitely recognized Jack from the tower, after all- hard to forget what she had witnessed up there, even if she had been tossed around like... well, like a sack of potatoes in the aftermath of it all), but it faded back to vague irritation fast enough. She had been just in time to catch what Jack had said.

"Me, too." She added, addressing the receptionist, her voice clearly irritated. "'N so we're clear? M'name is Key and if I get called anything else I am not responsible for m'actions." With a gesture at her belt pouch she finished, "Also, the robot blew up."

It was a testament to her curiosity that she was even there at all. Despite the bad start, Key had a feeling she would like this Dr. Henshin... so long as he could get her blasted name right.

MuffinUnsane · Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 9:08 am

Ember counted herself lucky to already be in Spring City. After the whole fiasco it seemed the best option was to chill for some time. Luckily one of her friends put up with her for a few days. Friends were great.

Not great enough to give her a ride to the building though.

Strutting through the doors as though she owned the place, the bird glanced over the sleek interior of the room. Letting out a low whistle she muttered, "Fancy fancy. Nerdy but fancy."

Her gaze then landed onto the two women already there and a bright sunshine smile lit up her face. Both she recognized from the ordeal on the tower. Jack with the robot thing. And...someone else. Her memory brought up a name from the recorded message that was unfamiliar to her. Keelie.

"Hey! Hey Jack!", she called out as she joined the sheriff at the desk. "So wow this is pretty awesome though I wonder how did that thing know how to find me? Also it was pretty cool when he said it wasn't going to explode but it did anyways so I tried to see if it could do it again but nah. Oh hi!" The long spiel of words were halted finally.

Giving the koala a small wave she said, "So are you Keeelie?"

Not wanting to offend and get the name wrong she spoke it as the voice in the robot did. After all he should have been right about it.

NPC · Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 2:35 pm

The receptionist robot just gazed emptily straight ahead and did not acknowledge the guests.

It slowly began to lean to one side.

"..."

It suddenly jerked upright with a loud beep. "Greetings! Wild La-a-a-a-a-a-a-ab-ab-ab-ab-ab-abs is curre— y experie—ing technic-nic-nic-nic-nic-al difficulties! Please stand b—Error: Connection status: 500"

It begin to emit a horrible screech.

"Error: Connection status: 500 — Error: Connection status: 500 — Error: Connection status: 500 ..."

It repeated this almost ten times in rapid succession before spinning in a circle. Then in a completely normal, human-sounding voice, it said, "We apologize for any inconvenience, esteemed guests. Dr. Henshin will be with you shortly."

... It then started screeching and spinning again. Things were not normal in the Wild Badge Home that day. In any case, there was a fairly cozy lobby for them to wait in, and there were still more people who had yet to show up, so, as long as they kept their distance from the receptionist, everything would probably be alright.

"Error: Connection status: 500 Error: Connection status: 500 Error: Connection status: 500 Error: Connection status: 500..."

Kazz · Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 1:38 am

"Duuuuude. That supposed to happen?"

A sharky face poked out of the gift-shop and looked at the robot with a sort of fascinated expression. Judging from the plastic sack full of useless knick-knacks, Mako had arrived a bit early and taken it upon himself to buy a mass of things he really didn't need. There was a Wild Badge shampoo dispenser! How could he say no? (The fact that neither he nor any of his family had hair totally failed to impede him.)

He paused as he noticed that people had arrived. The shark popped out of the store and toddled his way on over, taking a quick tally. He knew the Sheriff, and while he couldn't remember if he had ever spoken to the red bird, he knew her face; and wasn't that koala around a while back on Westside?
Satisfied with this count, he invited himself on over. He'd figure out names later.

"So, uhhh, anyone know what's going on? Like, what Captain Senility wants?" Mako ventured, looking between the gathered and knowing that they were probably just as in the dark as him. He had a bag of Wild Badge merch in one hand, and in the other, a similar bag full of what appeared to be the remains of the messenger robot in pieces of wildly varying sizes.

Greens · Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 5:51 pm

"Hyewr geiss eez as good as mine, my frliend," came a familiar, whispery-voiced answer from the direction of the cafeteria. Power Mask emerged from the doorway in his usual, superheroic attire with, perhaps surprisingly, no food in hand. (The cafeteria was simply the closest place with a bathroom.) "Mako," he greeted with a curt nod. "Shelif. Tarlget." His big amber eyes turned to the ladies remaining. Their names escaped him on his own, but he recognized them from the tower epidemic of lore, and the messenger-bot he'd received supplied their handles anyway.

"And hyew two mast be Ember, and... Keelie."

He paused just long enough to let that last word sink in, but quickly changed the topic before anything could be said of it.

"Aye haff rlecieved thees type off message several times before, myself..." he explained, crossing his arms with a half-irritated sort of visage. "Bot... I doubt the good dawctor would require so many off us to open a peekle jar."

NPC · Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 7:16 pm

*CLUNK.* The lights suddenly went out. Security gates rattled loudly as they dropped, and the sunlight coming in from the glass doors was blotted out.

"Power Mask is correct!" blared the old man's voice through the pitch black, coming through loudspeakers from some unknown source. It was very nearly a villainous introduction.

*CLUNK.* Harsh spotlights came on all around, basking the atrium in bright, but stark light, creating many shadows all around. The gift shop, cafeteria, and other side rooms remained relatively normally lit, but their fancy signs were turned off. No one was present in any of them, though... Hey, yeah, the place was actually kind of empty. Had Dr. Henshin been arranging this peculiar sequence?

"This is no pickle jar. This is a whole can of worms!" exclaimed the (possibly mad) scientist, his amplified voice reverberating off the walls and high ceilings. "What I've called you all for is something that may be... dangerous. Something that will require wits! And I can't come with you!"

Suddenly, the receptionist robot started up with its "Error: Connection status: 500" thing in the background again, screeching and whirling.

"CRAPSTACKS. I apologize. We've had a little virus problem here ever since Mako so kindly gave me an infected flash drive."

So that's what was up with that.

"Anyway, if you kids want the privilege of going on a glamorous mission all the way across the globe for exorbitant rewards and treasures, you will first have to prove to me that you have the capacity to think outside the box!"

Another loud clunk heralded the beam of another spotlight, which shone directly on a pair of double doors.

"If you want to get to the meeting, you'll have to solve this puzzle." Yes, he was being dead serious. "The door before you requires two key cards, and you have to find them! Here's your hint: One of them has Wild Badge on it. The other, I used to make a wish! GET LOOKING."

MuffinUnsane · Posted: Sun May 01, 2011 2:19 pm

Blocking most of the glare from the lights with her hand, Ember peered around the room.

"Er" she began with more than a hint of nervousness, "Ya know I don't think he's all there. Just what I picked up from this. So is anyone good at these puzzle thingies?"

Not bothering to wait for an answer, Ember rudely started drifting away from the group as her mind worked to think of the clues. Wishes and Wild Badge. Jeez, this stuff is why she left school. Who would want to waste time on puzzles anyways?

Rachel · Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 11:14 am

When the lights went out Target tumbled out of the gift shop and hurried back over to the Sheriffs side. Jack looked around and listened to the echoing words of the doctor. With a heavy sigh she slapped herself in the forehead. She was a police officer, investigation was what she did, and he's giving them puzzles? She sighed a bit. Jack was kicking herself for not expecting this from the crazy old moth.

"I'll check the fountain." She said as she turned away from the spot lights and made her way over to the fountain located in the lobby and started to check it for key cards. The second card would be harder to find if only because wild badge is on so much.

"Oh, Good thinking!" Target cheered happily. "I guess the one with Wild Badge on it would be... with the other stuff with Badge on it? The robot asked looking at the others with a shrug. Despite also being an officer Target was a bit more action minded and less so in the investigation bits.

NPC · Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 12:03 pm

Sure enough, there was a shiny, metallic keycard just waiting under the surface of the fountain's clear waters. Of course, it was just deep enough that poor Jack would probably have to get wet all the way up to the shoulder to reach it, but this should have been an expected level of discourtesy when dealing with Dr. Henshin.

"Excellent work!" congratulated Doc over the PA. "The other one looks just like that."

Curiously, the key card Jack found was plain silver-colored on both sides, save for a magnetic strip, and did not actually have Wild Badge imagery or text printed on it anywhere at all. So, unless Henshin was outright lying, the other card would manage to have Wild Badge on it, without having Wild Badge actually printed on it in any way...

Meanwhile, anyone investigating the gift shop and looking for cards there would easily find some gift cards in obvious places (some at the counter, some on the video game racks [yes, he had a multi-console-released video game], and some on a rack next to the life-sized plastic Wild Badge statue), but none that looked noteworthy or anything like the other. Still, nowhere else in the area looked like it really had much in the way of Badge paraphernalia, so it had to have been the right track.

Greens · Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 6:04 pm

While others seemed happy enough playing along with the old coot's game, at least one of the folks in the premises refused to play along, and at least one of them went by the name Power Mask.

"Hwell!" he huffed indignantly, furrowing his brows at the PA with his fists at either hipbone. "Hai su-pose aye whould not bee one off theez con-testants, seeing as thee messenger-bot aye rlecieved made no mention off a Tank, Alfonso, or a Powar Mmmask! Hhao might hyew esplain thees?"

NPC · Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 6:07 pm

"It didn't?" replied the PA system perplexedly. "Are you suuure?"

Greens · Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 6:11 pm

"Hyeys, aye em vely sure," he responded promptly. "End aye wchould have brlought you the contrlaption myself, bot eet had fallen aparlt by the time eet rrrlelayed your message!"

NPC · Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 6:18 pm

"How odd," mused the doctor.

...

"You say you weren't invited... but here you are!"

It sounded almost like some sort of cheesy mystery movie accusation of guilt.

"I have twelve matchsticks" (Ch. 3a: Prologue pt. II)

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