- Location
- Australia
The animated series needs a reaction from EVERYONE, Adam West, Barbara, Bruce, Robin, the villains, Lucifer, EVERYONE!
Broken Adventure
- Thread starter theaceoffire
- Start date
- Crossover
- Status
My take on the Jump Chain Rob benefactors is that they are rather bored and very, very OP. They are using their jumpers for creative ideas. Some of them might only watch their jumpers. Others might be like Adam and are far more into the details of the behind the scenes stuff.
I can see a few of them that are like youngling builders in ROB terms. Not quite there yet, but the entire thing is training wheels for them.
These folks can easily outdo genies, but only limit themselves to the jump docs for general guide lines.
Adam is sort of cheating and behaving more like a companion than a ROB benefactor though. Then again he seems to be trying to get far more out of CP than he remotely should.
Think about it, most of these jump chain docs just say that you get such and such with various NPC recruits that either follow with you or are locals for each jump. That could be ROBs playing the part using their version of shadow clones. Never really thought of it like that before.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but he's done this to entire worlds before. It's just, it'd take a long ass time to do it, planets are big. That's essentially what happened in Arc 2, but that took literal centuries, and he was very limited, cause concepts be wild. It was also sorta-somewhat an infinite plane too. Here? Here there's barely any conceptual bullshit to get in the way! So obviously, Adam got extremely carried away by trying to put the same amount of effort he'd do for something harder. Like his last task, the chrono defence units that prevent things like paradoxes and retcons.
FF8 really did screw with him, huh? Adam got used to being unsupervised and without a minder, again. Sarah got used to not having to check on Adam every 5 minutes too.
Edit: Adam's whole thing seems to be Exponential Expansionist Utopian Technocracies. Or something along those lines at least. Some hypertech stuff to make them exponential instead of just perpetual. I mean, that's what happened with RWBY and Worm, after all.
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Which Adam?
Oh dear, uh.
- Location
- Here
So, update later today like usual, although future ones may have scheduling delays as we enter into the holiday season... We'll see.
A few points, some obvious, some not so:
A few points, some obvious, some not so:
- A lot of my research for this Jump got made a bit pointless. I'm fascinated how it is turning out, but uh... How exactly is Joker supposed to activate his plans when the secret paths are gone, security is going to be checked through the roof due to recent chaos, Adam's been dumping evidence of unknown crimes onto secured systems available to Batman and Gotham PD en masse, and Sarah is personally pissed at Frank Boles?
- There are more issues with this Jump than just the obvious stuff or the things previously documented. I'm not deliberately looking to add flaws or other Jumps, but some may naturally crop up. It caught me off guard, but it is completely possible that other stories that are VERY Tightly focused, like the Rugrats (Where most events occur in a single location) or Star Wars (Where it is literally a long way away from Earth and a different time period), may be involved. I mean, what if there is a bread baking competition going on in Japan right now and Batman just doesn't care? A lot of these won't happen because it is unlikely that big deals like Batman or the Force would not intrude on each other, or go unmentioned in each other's background, but I AM keeping an eye open just in case something tries to sneak through.
- Not all the instability and strangeness is due to the Warehouse being forged from fractured hacking tools, Adam or Sarah's actions, or the attempt to combine two Jump Documents. Quite a few issues existed even before they arrived due to the ongoing instability of the Jump options on the way here... It is more stable at this point, not actually out of the danger zone. That is to say, we are reaching the point where all future Jumps will be able to exist and be viewed and yet remain stable enough to not instantly collapse in the process.
- Many things Adam is trying to design and stabilize is either handled or ignored by previous systems. Some Jumpchains would mark skills or alter Avatars as 'Restricted' for a Jump when the local rules were too incompatible with the user's existing skillset, making them waste too much energy to be cost effective. After all, the Benefactor doesn't want to lose profit. This is a background truth that no one has informed Adam of, and thus he is assuming that there are missing background conversion routines to better distribute raw resources, energies, materials, and so forth to adapt to each new Jump's background laws, concepts, and restrictions. So uh... He's making those.
you know, i wonder how Sarah and Adam would handle an "easy" jump, such as say subnautica, where there isn't really any people around, and purifying the disease wouldn't be -that- hard, but where the strangeness/science of it all would be immensly intersting from a scientific point of view..
on the other hand, i would also really like to see a jump where Sarah could just go all in on the baddies. such as say the diablo franchise..
*pokes head in game folder*
.. hmm, or where there weren't a "big baddie" to defeat, or some overarching plotline, but a more "relaxed nonsense jump such as surviving mars? establish a colony on mars to send resourses to earth so they can survive/thrive/whatever, while trying to terraform the planet? could be a fun shorter jump ^^
eh, considering Theaceoffire's trackrecord, im sure interresting jumps will continue to come up ^^
on the other hand, i would also really like to see a jump where Sarah could just go all in on the baddies. such as say the diablo franchise..
*pokes head in game folder*
.. hmm, or where there weren't a "big baddie" to defeat, or some overarching plotline, but a more "relaxed nonsense jump such as surviving mars? establish a colony on mars to send resourses to earth so they can survive/thrive/whatever, while trying to terraform the planet? could be a fun shorter jump ^^
eh, considering Theaceoffire's trackrecord, im sure interresting jumps will continue to come up ^^
Regarding Robin's likely reaction to the animated series - it probably depends a LOT on who is currently Robin.
Dick would probably think it was the greatest thing ever, and insist on watching the whole thing, and making Bruce watch it too. He's known to have a sense of humour.
Jason would probably be unimpressed and annoyed.
Tim, probably a bit embarassed, and not wanting to talk about it.
Damian would probably get all murdery and want to track down those respobsible.
Carey Kelley would be too busy wondering how the heck she wound up being Robin in a non-apocalyptic crap-hole world to notice.
Dick would probably think it was the greatest thing ever, and insist on watching the whole thing, and making Bruce watch it too. He's known to have a sense of humour.
Jason would probably be unimpressed and annoyed.
Tim, probably a bit embarassed, and not wanting to talk about it.
Damian would probably get all murdery and want to track down those respobsible.
Carey Kelley would be too busy wondering how the heck she wound up being Robin in a non-apocalyptic crap-hole world to notice.
- Location
- Earth, Sol System, Virgo Supercluster, Earth-1218
Barbara was Oracle, so we're probably looking at Tim Drake era Robin, on the other hand the Animated Robin was probably based on Dick.
- Pronouns
- Anything’s fine
Personally, I'd love to see at least one really weird jump: the salt joke jump, one finger death punch, Kung fu hustle, simants, Godzilla, robot unicorn, monopoly, etc. I'd love to see these lovable Wired's deal with a situation that's even weirder than they are.
dracklor
Beyond the Frontier
- Location
- Texas
Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we have a new Robin candidate here!
Adam's meddling and the instability of the local area due to the previous asshole's deathtrap for Sarah collapsing might even make it possible she got yoinked here.
I'd like to see Our Jumper handle MLP, Considering she's the embodiment of Space, Alicornifaction.
I'd wonder how she would shake things up depending on when she drops in.
Pre nightmare moon/rebellion/War, during the Chaos Era, Pre Exodus from the original pony lands due to Windigos.
Post nightmare and before Celestia's Purge of knowledge of her sister, the Changeling Wars Canon in the comics.
Or as a Treat Drop our Alicorn of Space into the biggest temporal Clusterfuck of the Series Starlight Glimmers rampage across time.
I'd wonder how she would shake things up depending on when she drops in.
Pre nightmare moon/rebellion/War, during the Chaos Era, Pre Exodus from the original pony lands due to Windigos.
Post nightmare and before Celestia's Purge of knowledge of her sister, the Changeling Wars Canon in the comics.
Or as a Treat Drop our Alicorn of Space into the biggest temporal Clusterfuck of the Series Starlight Glimmers rampage across time.
. . . . I'd almost wonder how frequently, and in what manner Bruce dealt with it, did/does Batman's rogue gallery infer Bruce's "preferences" if he went and got the teeny bopper female Robin at this point, in this one. (At least in the source material for her, he was too old for the "joke" to matter) But that'd mean that Ace would have to actually take something in this jump even remotely seriously... and I don't know if I want to find out at the cost of keeping the gag going. (the Adam is bumbling fool gag, that is)
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- Location
- United States
I'm thinking... that there would soon be a new society of uplifted Cuddlefish on 4546-B.
and now i wonder if i can get ace to do a jump on the subnautica fic where the electric eel thingys turn out to be sapient...
Hidden One
Not the Boss, possibly a Playa
- Location
- Sol;Terra;EU;D;NRW
Terraria actually full on counts as extreme mythos horror settingwise. There be old ones. They aren't even the worst one can and will encounter there.
Arc 3: Plot? Where we're going, we don't need no plot.
- Location
- Here
Bruce Wayne, as a public figure, was required to be in public and act as confused and bemused as the other wealthy people who mysteriously had everything they owned (Most considered to be of the highest quality) to have been further improved.
Batman, on the other hand, was gritting his teeth internally at having had to leave his frantic investigation to keep his public persona usable.
Having to meet with others, accept calls, hear the many parts of his company awkwardly share amazing breakthroughs and advancements literally handed to them by the same mysterious process that solved so many unrecorded issues and… Sigh.
It was infuriating.
One would think upgrading all the things would somehow be a boon. And for the more simple people, for the more innocent, it truly was. The net worth of Gotham as a whole had just shot up, with all the budget allocated towards repair work and maintenance now considered a slush fund as most projects were both done AND vastly under estimates for price and time required.
The new utility services were already providing low cost internet services for the entire area, the power companies had mostly been bought out and replaced with something close to a free socialist program, and all city transportation services now had beyond top of the line, state of the art electrical vehicles.
The new electric bus system charged at each stop it made AND could easily shrug off armor piercing tank rounds. Because why wouldn't it.
But for the cautious, and the naturally suspicious people (Such as himself), this was just… Beyond concerning.
Was power on this level disturbing? Yes.
The scale? The comprehensive planning required? People being shifted through space, medical cases getting healed through potentially miraculous methods?
Worrisome.
Was he worried about someone somehow upgrading ALL his batcaves?
Surprisingly, no.
The issue was too large, too encompassing… And somehow that made things better. No precautions could have given him warnings, no actions or inactions could have prevented these changes or altered the outcome.
And while pride and self flagellation were issues of his, Bruce didn't feel personally responsible when nature shifted the weather or other such issues happened. He wasn't a god, after all.
If anything, the ability to arbitrarily alter systems and paperwork to even attempt to pass this mess off as 'normal' seemed to give clear indications that this was an act of a being not quite native to this level of reality.
Batman had experience with other dimensional creatures, time travelers, reality manipulators, probability skewers, and so forth before.
And this felt like some strange all powerful child trying to draw a puppy and giving it twenty legs because they were good at drawing legs and they clearly wrote the word 'Popy' next to it so everyone should feel proud at all the hard work they did.
The intentions behind all these actions were easy to understand, even if nearly impossible to accept for a man as worn by life as himself.
They were trying to 'fix' things. But… They didn't understand the complexity of society. The range of issues that affect other issues, the give and take that was so frustrating when working with others.
For example, prior to this a lot of communication systems used in Gotham were designed, built, installed, and hacked by the Riddler. Years of work, which was all done to better enforce his various schemes, to give out his plots, and so on and so forth.
It was public knowledge in some circles, and of course Batman himself found out fairly rapidly.
But until now, those systems had been left alone.
Everything else aside, Edward Nigma was a genius. A mad one, insane and twisted, but brilliant beyond anything the public had seen for years.
And when the man replaced the city's hardware, it became clear that the new system was easier to use, more secure (Albeit with a built-in backdoor, one with an astounding complex logon procedure), and more efficient. Cheaper to operate as well.
The Riddler wanted to use these tools to better do his crimes after all… So he had made his equipment so valuable that the corporations owning the companies couldn't bear to pay the expenses required to destroy the new compromised gear, pay for a fresh setup, install it all… And then have the villain steal everything and put his own stuff back in place the next day.
It was, by every metric, the best hardware and software anyone had ever seen… All for the cost of letting a crazy man randomly log in once every few months to make a dramatic speech before being caught and sent back to prison for a while.
Even Bruce himself acknowledged that half the reason the city could still operate through the many trials and tribulations over the years was due to the 'unauthorized' and 'illegal' equipment that the Riddler had set up everywhere.
So it was allowed to remain.
And that was just one aspect, a small one, of how society had adapted to the strange world it now operated within.
A compromise, a valve that let out a bit of stress in a burdened system that kept the Riddler to doing far less damaging things like confusing scavenger hunts or odd performance pieces rather than devastating the city's infrastructure or going to suicidal extremes out of frustration.
Even more ordinary crime had somehow constructed an odd symbiotic relationship with the people here.
Over a third of the banks in the city were false, for example. Fronts for criminal organizations, and yet so competent that unknowing people ended up using them instead of legal organizations because of better service and HARSH consequences when someone tried robbing them.
But now?
Now, Batman had to examine ALL his equipment, all his hardware, all his code to the most basic level… Just to validate that it was actually secure and not a direct connection to somewhere else, or sending out signals (intentional or not), or doing unexpected actions that were not part of the original design, and so on and so forth.
Something he couldn't do while attending events like this as Bruce Wayne.
And it was IMPORTANT to get this done, as well. To have an identity, but also to index the many changes to his private equipment.
The helpful and frustrating instruction booklet (One for every bit of equipment he had placed conveniently nearby) had already given him just enough time to DISABLE the numerous alert forwarding systems that would have sent crime related issues and so forth from the Batcave to his phone and email services.
The public persona ones. Not even his secured hardware modules, just his factory standard phone filled with fluff and cover story data.
Again, clearly meant to be helpful… NOT good operational security. Sigh.
Thankfully there were SO MANY things different that no one was reacting yet.
The criminals tried to blame others… But the situation was too big. Even the most mentally unstable were mostly staring at their own hideouts with upgraded television and free computer systems and fully stocked refrigerators not sure what happened or what to do next.
Thankfully, the vast majority seemed to have decided to stay home, drink the free mysteriously appearing beer and/or wine in their room/hideaway/cave/sewer residence/hotel room/etc, and just wait for things to make sense.
A nearly painful smile cursed his face as he turned to the next vapid person to try and kiss up to him today… Why, WHY had he decided to make Bruce Wayne a billionaire playboy philanthropist?
Most of the people in these circles were just infuriating to tolerate in the first place! And the vapid men and women, you had to watch OUT for those. Because anyone who seems smart is actually a moron, and the people pretending to be idiots were secretly savants or being sneaky and… Damn it.
Once the jerk was gone, he was able to focus on the far more friendly face by his side and continue their conversation.
Bruce gave a wry grin. "It does sound a bit fantastical, Ms. Kyle."
She rolled her eyes. "Just Selina, Bruce. You know better than that. And I admit, the idea of a natural habitat for what seems to be the entire feline population of the city is certainly welcome, if unusual… But more so that all my records claim I was the one who organized this and ordered the facility constructed!"
He held in a chuckle. "I doubt you are offended by the entire situation. After all, you've always had a fondness for cats in general."
Her gaze was knowing and he held back the smug a bit better. "I'm just not used to the new income stream and corporate responsibilities. Or the sudden alterations. Even my 'evening wear' was modified. I assume your 'man cave' got similar alterations?"
Minx. "I am in the process of examining everything. You know I tend to worry about things."
Their relationship was… Well, let's be sincere here, ALL his relationships were a bit unusual. But until 'Catwoman' crossed the line, stealing from criminals not even being NEAR the top of his list, he wouldn't invest the time required to attempt and back her into a corner.
After all, his plate was full with people attempting to burn crowds, consume tourists, explode his city, mentally rape innocents, invade his reality and more. Smaller concerns (If not small time in general) issues like Ms. Selina Kyle were more similar to hidden contacts than vile foes to be apprehended.
Oh, they still publicly 'fought'. And he wouldn't ignore her if she got sloppy with evidence or targeted actual innocents rather than the slime corroding his city, and he didn't hold BACK during conflict…
But he warned her when areas might get risky during combat, and she sent notes about plans that he might have missed, and they may have spent a few nights 'discussing cooperation' and so forth.
Truthfully, a few of the more incompetent and lower risk villains managed to 'escape' his grasp when possible. Some acting as unknowing comrades as they ineptly led Batman to secured locations or casually dropped hints when drunk, others actively keeping their eyes open and ears perked for crimes beyond the Gotham PD.
After all, no one wanted the Joker to poison half the city for a laugh, or risk a demonic incursion due to some idiot getting their hands on some mystical materials. Better to 'get caught' by Batman, share the data while safely in a cell (Many low level crimes had a fine at most), and save thousands of people in the process.
It was a balance, a tricky one, that drove him with guilt and doubt at times.
How 'bad' was too bad? Normal crimes could be handled by the less corrupt police members. And Batman never ignored a crime happening within his grasp, though sometimes he had to prioritize like medical personnel in a triage center.
Chase down and capture the mugger, or scare him away from the victim so that he could catch the arsonist two streets over? Ignore the jewelry store robbers (It was insured and half the time a money laundering scheme in the first place) in order to save a man or woman from rape and help them get somewhere safe?
In many ways, he wished life was as simple as it had seemed when he first began.
Punch bad people, put them in jail, justice done.
Selena nudged his arm, concerned. "You alright Bruce?"
Right, he was in public. "Just… It's been a long day." How many hours ago had he last slept? Before he had left, Alfred had that look in his eye… So clearly over 20 hours or more.
Her commiserating look made him feel warm inside, though he refused to give into it fully. "Well, we've probably been here long enough to convince everyone that no one knows anything about anything. Let's go check out the Purrfect Palace, I want to show you the amazing hidden cameras the place uses for the online streaming site! I admit watching the little babies fumble and play certainly cheers me up, and us spending time together would certainly not be that unusual either."
Something tugged his mind, but the idea did sound tempting. "I… I suppose it would be fascinating to see the fake landscapes you mentioned." And it would hopefully get Alfred off his back about using those stimulants to stay awake. They were medically safe in low doses.
She smirked. "There is an entire fake snow tundra playground for the kittens, with lots of stuff to claw and mess with and all made out of this stuff that seems to be yarn. And the site itself has some really advanced features on it, like 'cat tagging' that will automatically switch camera feeds to let you follow one of the little ones as they fumble about like a documentary! There's this little cutie that looks just like you too, you'll love him."
That other concept floating in his brain clicked. Was this a lead for the mysterious bathroom? "There must be a lot of cameras to properly pull that off."
She hummed. "Yeah, no idea how they are made but some are so tiny that I can barely see them even with my jewelry tools." Selena gave him a look. "For the record, using these against certain people is against the rules of good sport and might earn someone a spanking."
His mind was elsewhere, as he rapidly began trying to recall if other reports mentioned a similar number of visual recording devices. This… This could be a big confirmation to some of his more strange theories! "Is that a promise?"
A sudden tightening on his arm brought him back to the present… And the startlingly hungry look in his friend's eyes. What?
Whatever she was looking for she apparently found. "Yep, we are done here. Let's head to my place."
Alright? But they didn't need to move this quickly, right?
In the limo (updated and now even MORE artillery proof than the usual high society transportation normally available in Gotham), the satisfied grin on Selina didn't distract him from her giving the driver the wrong address.
Bruce felt like had missed something. "I thought the Purrfect Palace Cat Sanctuary was on the other side of town?"
She simply snuggledlovingly/warmly/comfortably into his side. "Don't worry, I'll show you all that tomorrow."
Then she nuzzled his neck.
...Well, Alfred did say he didn't approve of abusing chemicals and strong doses of coffee to stay awake. And the new systems would alert him on his secured encoded receiver if anything occured.
Her hair smelled like memories.
Maybe a short recovery break was in order. "I suppose there is nothing very urgent to handle at the moment…"
She grinned against his skin. "I texted Alfred that you will be back later and he knows not to bother preparing dinner, breakfast, or lunch as you will be occupied."
Sigh. Somehow this almost felt like a kidnapping rather than a 'planning session'...
His body relaxed slightly as the stress wore away during the ride.
Well, there were worse scenarios than a bit of romantic hostage negotiations. And it wasn't like he hadn't earned the playboy reputation honestly, in the end. "Tomorrow afternoon, at the latest."
Her grin was sinful and her eyes sparkled. "Such a tight timeline? An interesting challenge…"
Selena's husky voice purred. "I accept."
After that, negotiations might have broken down slightly.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Dr. Pamela Isley, Poison Ivy, felt… warm.
Quiet, peaceful, and mellow.
That endless hunger was gone.
The screaming was silenced.
The ongoing pain, only a memory.
She just felt loose, relaxed, and a bit like a limp noodle.
How long had she forced herself to stay focused?
To bend her body to heel, to force her limbs to stop shaking?
Memories of her torment floated like clouds as she felt the sea.
But it wasn't salty, or uncomfortable, or stifling.
No, she floated in a sea of Ģ̴̧͇̘̩̖͎̜̤́͜ͅŕ̺͚̩̪̳̣̯̜̲͞͠e̶͏̷͉̘͔̬̟͍͓̺̜͇͓̖͍̥̻̞͕̀e̡̛͈͖̦̹̥̤̳͙̜̹̼͚̩̮̪͡ǹ̸̛̥̟̞̦̰͚̝̖̕͜.
Yet, she was still here.
Herself, despite the endless sea.
An individual, yet connected to so many.
Most were simple, or basic, or lost. A few were more, in many ways.
A tiny group, including her, could connect with others.
But in the end, it was the G̜̟r̘̹̖̤̖̠͙ͅe͖̤̟̰̲̘̺e̳̳͙͔̘̞͕͚̜n̥̯̩̤̜ that held them all in these waters.
And the G̼̬̩r̲̤̘̬̬̠̜e̝e͉̺̤n̻̻…
The G͜reén was part of life. Of struggle, certainly, but more than that… Acceptance.
Most of the Green would 'compete' for resources, sure. They'd grow where able.
But… If they 'lost', if they had too little, if they were not enough… They adapted. They adjusted. They became able to grow anyway, or died without regret trying.
The animal side of her, a R̝e͇̖̳d͚ fog, abhorred the idea. Raged at it. Tore with nail and claw and tooth to live a little longer, to fight a bit more.
But not the Green.
The Green didn't know this, didn't understand exactly… But those lost to life became fuel for others of the Green. And so more tried to adapt to situations that killed predecessors. To grow.
Death, loss, sadness, were confusing to the Green. But just as it didn't understand, couldn't follow the thought process of the children, it also didn't criticise.
Dr. Isley wanted to live.
That was fine. Grow.
Poison Ivy wished to save plant life.
That was fine. Grow.
Poison Ivy wished to destroy Humanity, a curse that risked all plant life. That risked the Green.
Humanity was just more of the Red, and the Green would Grow.
Poison Ivy knew how dangerous Humanity truly was! How unstoppable, how unending!
That was fine. Grow.
Poison Ivy tried to explain how deadly Humanity was!
In space, with no air and no water, a fragment that could become the Green waited.
Before the Red was more than fragments, the Green was there.
As Red covered the globe, consumed and fought itself and others, the Green was there.
When frost killed the land, the Green was there.
When fire scoured the earth, the Green was there.
Before this planet existed, the potential for the Green was there.
When all planets are long gone, the memory of the Green will be there.
Poison Ivy saw the thin layer of Red that attempted to cover the tiny planet in an endless sea of Space, and how little it truly conquered.
How shallow the foundations were, how miniscule.
They may travel the skies, may explore the seas, may attempt to dig into the soil…
But while they struggled, the Green was there.
It may only be potential, or forgotten to memories, or in an unknown form... But the Green was there.
Poison Ivy felt lost. A goal no longer sought, a dream unstable.
That was fine. Grow.
Dr. Isley wrapped Poison Ivy in understanding and comfort.
That was fine.
Grow.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Sarah couldn't help but grin! "This looks stable. Look stable to you? I'm thinking full stability."
Adam kept [[Scanning]]. <<Give it another day or so, just to be sure. [[Enhance Self]] has odd effects sometimes, though theoretically always beneficial… But best be safe.>>
Don't have to tell HER twice. "Let's hold off on any upgrades or adjustments for a full hour, then apply them one at a time. Can't risk any individual issue causing other issues, even if we can quickly revert the issues."
Sure, technically Moss v22.014 could easily revert the good doctor to a prior healthy snapshot at any point… But the boss wasn't just some murdering asshole or cannibal croc, and potentially harming her was very much 'not of the good' as it were.
She accepted the hot chocolate and sipped with satisfaction. "Her new organs might be more plant than human, and the additional features a tad off the standard scope of the mortal body… But at least she should be more durable."
Non-flammable, durable, enhanced functionality, sexy as sin, and a few additional features like the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation fungus that basically allowed stored energy, sunlight, or the connection to this Green stuff to replace the requirement for breathing.
Oh, she still could. Breathing was fun and popular, after all. But no longer was drowning a concern. Nor was the emptiness of space, though that was more due to the durability enhancements Sarah had set up to prevent pressurization issues and… Well, honestly the effectiveness of that stuff would rely fairly heavily on the user's connection to Potential energy or very low level Magic.
Which the Green stuff should easily manage, if 'Research' was right.
Not that Sarah was planning on going to the bottom of the ocean or out into space, it was just nice to plan for extremes sometimes. It was why Dr. Isley's new body could handle subzero temperatures of the arctic and the harsh heat of the sunlit desert without concern: Be prepared!
Sure, go beyond a certain level and her body would automatically start shutting down, cannibalizing the non-essential parts, and attempt to transform into a very hardy seed/hibernating/stasis form with roots and leaves and stuff, but it would recover from that once she was exposed to enough energy, heat, water, etc and so forth.
It was why she had to modify and enhance Moss so much, and why this was taking so long. Working on someone she cared about meant skipping a lot of the efficient but harsh testing methodology.
With a grin, she double checked the women's health readings. "I really think we did it this time, Adam. Once we've got the basics updated and stable, we can move on to the girls while letting 'Research' examine the doctor for any hidden problems over a bit of time."
The Skull's agreement was broken off suddenly. <<Oops.>>
'Oops'!? WHAT oops!? "Adam!?"
Innocence, pure as the driven snow and freshly baked this morning by the singing choir of the cloister. <<Yes, my wonderful, talented, and forgiving Jumper?>>
She sat back in her chair, glaring. "Adam."
Yeah, he caved. <<I left some automated processes going even after I toned down the 'Ninja Construction Company' units.>>
Oh dear. "I thought you turned that thing off?"
Adam shrugged. <<It's been fixing smaller issues the further away from Gotham you travel, but I didn't want a pattern to show up for Batman to analyze. I wanted the 'rebuild all the boring stuff' effect to dissipate 'naturally' instead of giving him data about when I decided to stop.>>
That was… Fair. Sort of. "Which processes did you forget?"
A recent recording popped up. A VERY recent recording, showing her accepting the hot chocolate. <<Well, for one? The Bustling Butler Bureau. It was designed from the ground up to be inoffensively helpful and nearly preternaturally prepared… It's why the food and drinks have been conveniently the right temperature for people even when left alone or forgotten for a while, why the outfits they wanted to wear 'just happened' to be cleaned and refitted for optimal impressions, how areas that have almost no active custodian services haven't become filthy, and all that.>>
Another data slide began to list names. <<Random Repair Restorators, meant to provide area maintenance and simple repair and recovery work without full redesign or replacement… Crud, it's been set to actually replace the new cell phones when people 'lose them' by wandering too far away from them.>>
What felt to be accidental images of a growing number of 'lost' phones suddenly vanished through a [[Harvest]]. <<Don't worry, I'll modify the automated system to better detect the difference between 'lost' and 'left behind'. Maybe just connect some minor Space manipulation with a light mental connection so that it will 'just happen' to be there when needed, but be safe at the designated 'home' otherwise?>>
Sarah blinked… Oops, she was starting to lose Adam. "Focus, man. Don't mentally wander off, keep listing the automated stuff."
His embarrassment was like an adorable little brother but not enough to prevent her from keeping him focused. <<Ah, right. There is also the Practical Pranking Professionals, which tracks karma to have minorly inconvenient things happen to abusive or cruel people… Which might actually need to be made MORE aggressive, I'll look into it later… And the Child Care Consortium.>>
That one came up. <<I was worried that while I was busy making stuff and building things, I would easily miss a little one in danger or worse forget to keep an eye on things. I… I kind of get distracted easily.>>
Understandable, not like Sarah was super focused either… And at least these were things she wasn't actually against, even if she WAS uninformed. "How extreme is the child thing?"
A small listing. <<It tracks everyone below 'legal adult', which is 18 in Gotham City. By default, if a child is at risk it will alert me directly, and if I do not or can not respond in time it will capture the people involved, put them into restful slumber, apply stasis, and leave behind a report about the actions that had occured, how to contact me, etc. If I STILL do not handle it, after a short time it transfers the group with another copy of the evidence to the nearest police station, with bright warning messages on each person marking them as 'Aggressive', 'Confused', and so on and so forth so they will know the involved mental states of the people.>>
Sarah just… Stared at the thought of Adam. "That's like the most oppressive big brother program ever. You might have gone overboard."
He protested! <<I turned THAT one off! And the police state ones and stuff! The Child Care Consortium exists just to keep the kids safe when I am not focusing on stuff! Plus like, the torment and torture retributive and karmic options weren't even enabled to begin with!>>
Damn it. "Just… For me, go over all the automated stuff really quickly and let me get a good understanding about each one. I want to know what we are doing to the Jump, especially if neither of us are actively keeping an eye on it all."
Adam suspiciously paused. <<Everything automated?>>
Her eyes narrowed. "Yep."
Oh yeah, that was suspicious. <<Like… All of it? Not just the big stuff like the near-npc organizational units?>>
Oh boy. "Yes please."
Windows began flashing open, filling the operating room and the peacefully resting green skinned red haired beauty. <<Sigh… This might take a while.>>
Her mouth felt dry as she saw the holographic screens piling up behind the rest and beyond the physical dimensions of the room. Good grief. "Can… Can you sort them? By the ones currently active in this Jump?"
Adam sighed. <<These ARE the only ones active right now. I turned off or adjusted most of the other stuff when I first found out I had gone a bit overboard. But at least I can change their window color after you read them, and this maintenance mode lets you easily add notes and suggested changes and stuff!>>
Sarah just stared. "Why do you have an automated grass grooming process?"
A shrug. <<I hate mowing grass. Just because I am an immobile extradimensional outside context Warehouse doesn't mean that mowing grass doesn't suck.>>
Fair enough. "Alright, let's get through this."
Maybe start with the group of processes targeting people directly first? Those were the ones she would likely have issues with the most, if she had to gamble.
With a sigh, she sat back in an astoundingly comfortable chair that she hadn't designed. Going to have to keep the Bustling Butler Bureau, if nothing else. "Start the observation period for Dr. Isley for now, I feel like this is going to take a while."
At least most of these were fairly basic and fast to process and understand. Although... Why did Adam have an automated process set up simply to organize people's currency in their wallets automatically in the first place?
Maybe she'd find a pattern after going through this mess.
But then again, knowing Adam… Probably not.
Batman, on the other hand, was gritting his teeth internally at having had to leave his frantic investigation to keep his public persona usable.
Having to meet with others, accept calls, hear the many parts of his company awkwardly share amazing breakthroughs and advancements literally handed to them by the same mysterious process that solved so many unrecorded issues and… Sigh.
It was infuriating.
One would think upgrading all the things would somehow be a boon. And for the more simple people, for the more innocent, it truly was. The net worth of Gotham as a whole had just shot up, with all the budget allocated towards repair work and maintenance now considered a slush fund as most projects were both done AND vastly under estimates for price and time required.
The new utility services were already providing low cost internet services for the entire area, the power companies had mostly been bought out and replaced with something close to a free socialist program, and all city transportation services now had beyond top of the line, state of the art electrical vehicles.
The new electric bus system charged at each stop it made AND could easily shrug off armor piercing tank rounds. Because why wouldn't it.
But for the cautious, and the naturally suspicious people (Such as himself), this was just… Beyond concerning.
Was power on this level disturbing? Yes.
The scale? The comprehensive planning required? People being shifted through space, medical cases getting healed through potentially miraculous methods?
Worrisome.
Was he worried about someone somehow upgrading ALL his batcaves?
Surprisingly, no.
The issue was too large, too encompassing… And somehow that made things better. No precautions could have given him warnings, no actions or inactions could have prevented these changes or altered the outcome.
And while pride and self flagellation were issues of his, Bruce didn't feel personally responsible when nature shifted the weather or other such issues happened. He wasn't a god, after all.
If anything, the ability to arbitrarily alter systems and paperwork to even attempt to pass this mess off as 'normal' seemed to give clear indications that this was an act of a being not quite native to this level of reality.
Batman had experience with other dimensional creatures, time travelers, reality manipulators, probability skewers, and so forth before.
And this felt like some strange all powerful child trying to draw a puppy and giving it twenty legs because they were good at drawing legs and they clearly wrote the word 'Popy' next to it so everyone should feel proud at all the hard work they did.
The intentions behind all these actions were easy to understand, even if nearly impossible to accept for a man as worn by life as himself.
They were trying to 'fix' things. But… They didn't understand the complexity of society. The range of issues that affect other issues, the give and take that was so frustrating when working with others.
For example, prior to this a lot of communication systems used in Gotham were designed, built, installed, and hacked by the Riddler. Years of work, which was all done to better enforce his various schemes, to give out his plots, and so on and so forth.
It was public knowledge in some circles, and of course Batman himself found out fairly rapidly.
But until now, those systems had been left alone.
Everything else aside, Edward Nigma was a genius. A mad one, insane and twisted, but brilliant beyond anything the public had seen for years.
And when the man replaced the city's hardware, it became clear that the new system was easier to use, more secure (Albeit with a built-in backdoor, one with an astounding complex logon procedure), and more efficient. Cheaper to operate as well.
The Riddler wanted to use these tools to better do his crimes after all… So he had made his equipment so valuable that the corporations owning the companies couldn't bear to pay the expenses required to destroy the new compromised gear, pay for a fresh setup, install it all… And then have the villain steal everything and put his own stuff back in place the next day.
It was, by every metric, the best hardware and software anyone had ever seen… All for the cost of letting a crazy man randomly log in once every few months to make a dramatic speech before being caught and sent back to prison for a while.
Even Bruce himself acknowledged that half the reason the city could still operate through the many trials and tribulations over the years was due to the 'unauthorized' and 'illegal' equipment that the Riddler had set up everywhere.
So it was allowed to remain.
And that was just one aspect, a small one, of how society had adapted to the strange world it now operated within.
A compromise, a valve that let out a bit of stress in a burdened system that kept the Riddler to doing far less damaging things like confusing scavenger hunts or odd performance pieces rather than devastating the city's infrastructure or going to suicidal extremes out of frustration.
Even more ordinary crime had somehow constructed an odd symbiotic relationship with the people here.
Over a third of the banks in the city were false, for example. Fronts for criminal organizations, and yet so competent that unknowing people ended up using them instead of legal organizations because of better service and HARSH consequences when someone tried robbing them.
But now?
Now, Batman had to examine ALL his equipment, all his hardware, all his code to the most basic level… Just to validate that it was actually secure and not a direct connection to somewhere else, or sending out signals (intentional or not), or doing unexpected actions that were not part of the original design, and so on and so forth.
Something he couldn't do while attending events like this as Bruce Wayne.
And it was IMPORTANT to get this done, as well. To have an identity, but also to index the many changes to his private equipment.
The helpful and frustrating instruction booklet (One for every bit of equipment he had placed conveniently nearby) had already given him just enough time to DISABLE the numerous alert forwarding systems that would have sent crime related issues and so forth from the Batcave to his phone and email services.
The public persona ones. Not even his secured hardware modules, just his factory standard phone filled with fluff and cover story data.
Again, clearly meant to be helpful… NOT good operational security. Sigh.
Thankfully there were SO MANY things different that no one was reacting yet.
The criminals tried to blame others… But the situation was too big. Even the most mentally unstable were mostly staring at their own hideouts with upgraded television and free computer systems and fully stocked refrigerators not sure what happened or what to do next.
Thankfully, the vast majority seemed to have decided to stay home, drink the free mysteriously appearing beer and/or wine in their room/hideaway/cave/sewer residence/hotel room/etc, and just wait for things to make sense.
A nearly painful smile cursed his face as he turned to the next vapid person to try and kiss up to him today… Why, WHY had he decided to make Bruce Wayne a billionaire playboy philanthropist?
Most of the people in these circles were just infuriating to tolerate in the first place! And the vapid men and women, you had to watch OUT for those. Because anyone who seems smart is actually a moron, and the people pretending to be idiots were secretly savants or being sneaky and… Damn it.
Once the jerk was gone, he was able to focus on the far more friendly face by his side and continue their conversation.
Bruce gave a wry grin. "It does sound a bit fantastical, Ms. Kyle."
She rolled her eyes. "Just Selina, Bruce. You know better than that. And I admit, the idea of a natural habitat for what seems to be the entire feline population of the city is certainly welcome, if unusual… But more so that all my records claim I was the one who organized this and ordered the facility constructed!"
He held in a chuckle. "I doubt you are offended by the entire situation. After all, you've always had a fondness for cats in general."
Her gaze was knowing and he held back the smug a bit better. "I'm just not used to the new income stream and corporate responsibilities. Or the sudden alterations. Even my 'evening wear' was modified. I assume your 'man cave' got similar alterations?"
Minx. "I am in the process of examining everything. You know I tend to worry about things."
Their relationship was… Well, let's be sincere here, ALL his relationships were a bit unusual. But until 'Catwoman' crossed the line, stealing from criminals not even being NEAR the top of his list, he wouldn't invest the time required to attempt and back her into a corner.
After all, his plate was full with people attempting to burn crowds, consume tourists, explode his city, mentally rape innocents, invade his reality and more. Smaller concerns (If not small time in general) issues like Ms. Selina Kyle were more similar to hidden contacts than vile foes to be apprehended.
Oh, they still publicly 'fought'. And he wouldn't ignore her if she got sloppy with evidence or targeted actual innocents rather than the slime corroding his city, and he didn't hold BACK during conflict…
But he warned her when areas might get risky during combat, and she sent notes about plans that he might have missed, and they may have spent a few nights 'discussing cooperation' and so forth.
Truthfully, a few of the more incompetent and lower risk villains managed to 'escape' his grasp when possible. Some acting as unknowing comrades as they ineptly led Batman to secured locations or casually dropped hints when drunk, others actively keeping their eyes open and ears perked for crimes beyond the Gotham PD.
After all, no one wanted the Joker to poison half the city for a laugh, or risk a demonic incursion due to some idiot getting their hands on some mystical materials. Better to 'get caught' by Batman, share the data while safely in a cell (Many low level crimes had a fine at most), and save thousands of people in the process.
It was a balance, a tricky one, that drove him with guilt and doubt at times.
How 'bad' was too bad? Normal crimes could be handled by the less corrupt police members. And Batman never ignored a crime happening within his grasp, though sometimes he had to prioritize like medical personnel in a triage center.
Chase down and capture the mugger, or scare him away from the victim so that he could catch the arsonist two streets over? Ignore the jewelry store robbers (It was insured and half the time a money laundering scheme in the first place) in order to save a man or woman from rape and help them get somewhere safe?
In many ways, he wished life was as simple as it had seemed when he first began.
Punch bad people, put them in jail, justice done.
Selena nudged his arm, concerned. "You alright Bruce?"
Right, he was in public. "Just… It's been a long day." How many hours ago had he last slept? Before he had left, Alfred had that look in his eye… So clearly over 20 hours or more.
Her commiserating look made him feel warm inside, though he refused to give into it fully. "Well, we've probably been here long enough to convince everyone that no one knows anything about anything. Let's go check out the Purrfect Palace, I want to show you the amazing hidden cameras the place uses for the online streaming site! I admit watching the little babies fumble and play certainly cheers me up, and us spending time together would certainly not be that unusual either."
Something tugged his mind, but the idea did sound tempting. "I… I suppose it would be fascinating to see the fake landscapes you mentioned." And it would hopefully get Alfred off his back about using those stimulants to stay awake. They were medically safe in low doses.
She smirked. "There is an entire fake snow tundra playground for the kittens, with lots of stuff to claw and mess with and all made out of this stuff that seems to be yarn. And the site itself has some really advanced features on it, like 'cat tagging' that will automatically switch camera feeds to let you follow one of the little ones as they fumble about like a documentary! There's this little cutie that looks just like you too, you'll love him."
That other concept floating in his brain clicked. Was this a lead for the mysterious bathroom? "There must be a lot of cameras to properly pull that off."
She hummed. "Yeah, no idea how they are made but some are so tiny that I can barely see them even with my jewelry tools." Selena gave him a look. "For the record, using these against certain people is against the rules of good sport and might earn someone a spanking."
His mind was elsewhere, as he rapidly began trying to recall if other reports mentioned a similar number of visual recording devices. This… This could be a big confirmation to some of his more strange theories! "Is that a promise?"
A sudden tightening on his arm brought him back to the present… And the startlingly hungry look in his friend's eyes. What?
Whatever she was looking for she apparently found. "Yep, we are done here. Let's head to my place."
Alright? But they didn't need to move this quickly, right?
In the limo (updated and now even MORE artillery proof than the usual high society transportation normally available in Gotham), the satisfied grin on Selina didn't distract him from her giving the driver the wrong address.
Bruce felt like had missed something. "I thought the Purrfect Palace Cat Sanctuary was on the other side of town?"
She simply snuggled
Then she nuzzled his neck.
...Well, Alfred did say he didn't approve of abusing chemicals and strong doses of coffee to stay awake. And the new systems would alert him on his secured encoded receiver if anything occured.
Her hair smelled like memories.
Maybe a short recovery break was in order. "I suppose there is nothing very urgent to handle at the moment…"
She grinned against his skin. "I texted Alfred that you will be back later and he knows not to bother preparing dinner, breakfast, or lunch as you will be occupied."
Sigh. Somehow this almost felt like a kidnapping rather than a 'planning session'...
His body relaxed slightly as the stress wore away during the ride.
Well, there were worse scenarios than a bit of romantic hostage negotiations. And it wasn't like he hadn't earned the playboy reputation honestly, in the end. "Tomorrow afternoon, at the latest."
Her grin was sinful and her eyes sparkled. "Such a tight timeline? An interesting challenge…"
Selena's husky voice purred. "I accept."
After that, negotiations might have broken down slightly.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Dr. Pamela Isley, Poison Ivy, felt… warm.
Quiet, peaceful, and mellow.
That endless hunger was gone.
The screaming was silenced.
The ongoing pain, only a memory.
She just felt loose, relaxed, and a bit like a limp noodle.
How long had she forced herself to stay focused?
To bend her body to heel, to force her limbs to stop shaking?
Memories of her torment floated like clouds as she felt the sea.
But it wasn't salty, or uncomfortable, or stifling.
No, she floated in a sea of Ģ̴̧͇̘̩̖͎̜̤́͜ͅŕ̺͚̩̪̳̣̯̜̲͞͠e̶͏̷͉̘͔̬̟͍͓̺̜͇͓̖͍̥̻̞͕̀e̡̛͈͖̦̹̥̤̳͙̜̹̼͚̩̮̪͡ǹ̸̛̥̟̞̦̰͚̝̖̕͜.
Yet, she was still here.
Herself, despite the endless sea.
An individual, yet connected to so many.
Most were simple, or basic, or lost. A few were more, in many ways.
A tiny group, including her, could connect with others.
But in the end, it was the G̜̟r̘̹̖̤̖̠͙ͅe͖̤̟̰̲̘̺e̳̳͙͔̘̞͕͚̜n̥̯̩̤̜ that held them all in these waters.
And the G̼̬̩r̲̤̘̬̬̠̜e̝e͉̺̤n̻̻…
The G͜reén was part of life. Of struggle, certainly, but more than that… Acceptance.
Most of the Green would 'compete' for resources, sure. They'd grow where able.
But… If they 'lost', if they had too little, if they were not enough… They adapted. They adjusted. They became able to grow anyway, or died without regret trying.
The animal side of her, a R̝e͇̖̳d͚ fog, abhorred the idea. Raged at it. Tore with nail and claw and tooth to live a little longer, to fight a bit more.
But not the Green.
The Green didn't know this, didn't understand exactly… But those lost to life became fuel for others of the Green. And so more tried to adapt to situations that killed predecessors. To grow.
Death, loss, sadness, were confusing to the Green. But just as it didn't understand, couldn't follow the thought process of the children, it also didn't criticise.
Dr. Isley wanted to live.
That was fine. Grow.
Poison Ivy wished to save plant life.
That was fine. Grow.
Poison Ivy wished to destroy Humanity, a curse that risked all plant life. That risked the Green.
Humanity was just more of the Red, and the Green would Grow.
Poison Ivy knew how dangerous Humanity truly was! How unstoppable, how unending!
That was fine. Grow.
Poison Ivy tried to explain how deadly Humanity was!
In space, with no air and no water, a fragment that could become the Green waited.
Before the Red was more than fragments, the Green was there.
As Red covered the globe, consumed and fought itself and others, the Green was there.
When frost killed the land, the Green was there.
When fire scoured the earth, the Green was there.
Before this planet existed, the potential for the Green was there.
When all planets are long gone, the memory of the Green will be there.
Poison Ivy saw the thin layer of Red that attempted to cover the tiny planet in an endless sea of Space, and how little it truly conquered.
How shallow the foundations were, how miniscule.
They may travel the skies, may explore the seas, may attempt to dig into the soil…
But while they struggled, the Green was there.
It may only be potential, or forgotten to memories, or in an unknown form... But the Green was there.
Poison Ivy felt lost. A goal no longer sought, a dream unstable.
That was fine. Grow.
Dr. Isley wrapped Poison Ivy in understanding and comfort.
That was fine.
Grow.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Sarah couldn't help but grin! "This looks stable. Look stable to you? I'm thinking full stability."
Adam kept [[Scanning]]. <<Give it another day or so, just to be sure. [[Enhance Self]] has odd effects sometimes, though theoretically always beneficial… But best be safe.>>
Don't have to tell HER twice. "Let's hold off on any upgrades or adjustments for a full hour, then apply them one at a time. Can't risk any individual issue causing other issues, even if we can quickly revert the issues."
Sure, technically Moss v22.014 could easily revert the good doctor to a prior healthy snapshot at any point… But the boss wasn't just some murdering asshole or cannibal croc, and potentially harming her was very much 'not of the good' as it were.
She accepted the hot chocolate and sipped with satisfaction. "Her new organs might be more plant than human, and the additional features a tad off the standard scope of the mortal body… But at least she should be more durable."
Non-flammable, durable, enhanced functionality, sexy as sin, and a few additional features like the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation fungus that basically allowed stored energy, sunlight, or the connection to this Green stuff to replace the requirement for breathing.
Oh, she still could. Breathing was fun and popular, after all. But no longer was drowning a concern. Nor was the emptiness of space, though that was more due to the durability enhancements Sarah had set up to prevent pressurization issues and… Well, honestly the effectiveness of that stuff would rely fairly heavily on the user's connection to Potential energy or very low level Magic.
Which the Green stuff should easily manage, if 'Research' was right.
Not that Sarah was planning on going to the bottom of the ocean or out into space, it was just nice to plan for extremes sometimes. It was why Dr. Isley's new body could handle subzero temperatures of the arctic and the harsh heat of the sunlit desert without concern: Be prepared!
Sure, go beyond a certain level and her body would automatically start shutting down, cannibalizing the non-essential parts, and attempt to transform into a very hardy seed/hibernating/stasis form with roots and leaves and stuff, but it would recover from that once she was exposed to enough energy, heat, water, etc and so forth.
It was why she had to modify and enhance Moss so much, and why this was taking so long. Working on someone she cared about meant skipping a lot of the efficient but harsh testing methodology.
With a grin, she double checked the women's health readings. "I really think we did it this time, Adam. Once we've got the basics updated and stable, we can move on to the girls while letting 'Research' examine the doctor for any hidden problems over a bit of time."
The Skull's agreement was broken off suddenly. <<Oops.>>
'Oops'!? WHAT oops!? "Adam!?"
Innocence, pure as the driven snow and freshly baked this morning by the singing choir of the cloister. <<Yes, my wonderful, talented, and forgiving Jumper?>>
She sat back in her chair, glaring. "Adam."
Yeah, he caved. <<I left some automated processes going even after I toned down the 'Ninja Construction Company' units.>>
Oh dear. "I thought you turned that thing off?"
Adam shrugged. <<It's been fixing smaller issues the further away from Gotham you travel, but I didn't want a pattern to show up for Batman to analyze. I wanted the 'rebuild all the boring stuff' effect to dissipate 'naturally' instead of giving him data about when I decided to stop.>>
That was… Fair. Sort of. "Which processes did you forget?"
A recent recording popped up. A VERY recent recording, showing her accepting the hot chocolate. <<Well, for one? The Bustling Butler Bureau. It was designed from the ground up to be inoffensively helpful and nearly preternaturally prepared… It's why the food and drinks have been conveniently the right temperature for people even when left alone or forgotten for a while, why the outfits they wanted to wear 'just happened' to be cleaned and refitted for optimal impressions, how areas that have almost no active custodian services haven't become filthy, and all that.>>
Another data slide began to list names. <<Random Repair Restorators, meant to provide area maintenance and simple repair and recovery work without full redesign or replacement… Crud, it's been set to actually replace the new cell phones when people 'lose them' by wandering too far away from them.>>
What felt to be accidental images of a growing number of 'lost' phones suddenly vanished through a [[Harvest]]. <<Don't worry, I'll modify the automated system to better detect the difference between 'lost' and 'left behind'. Maybe just connect some minor Space manipulation with a light mental connection so that it will 'just happen' to be there when needed, but be safe at the designated 'home' otherwise?>>
Sarah blinked… Oops, she was starting to lose Adam. "Focus, man. Don't mentally wander off, keep listing the automated stuff."
His embarrassment was like an adorable little brother but not enough to prevent her from keeping him focused. <<Ah, right. There is also the Practical Pranking Professionals, which tracks karma to have minorly inconvenient things happen to abusive or cruel people… Which might actually need to be made MORE aggressive, I'll look into it later… And the Child Care Consortium.>>
That one came up. <<I was worried that while I was busy making stuff and building things, I would easily miss a little one in danger or worse forget to keep an eye on things. I… I kind of get distracted easily.>>
Understandable, not like Sarah was super focused either… And at least these were things she wasn't actually against, even if she WAS uninformed. "How extreme is the child thing?"
A small listing. <<It tracks everyone below 'legal adult', which is 18 in Gotham City. By default, if a child is at risk it will alert me directly, and if I do not or can not respond in time it will capture the people involved, put them into restful slumber, apply stasis, and leave behind a report about the actions that had occured, how to contact me, etc. If I STILL do not handle it, after a short time it transfers the group with another copy of the evidence to the nearest police station, with bright warning messages on each person marking them as 'Aggressive', 'Confused', and so on and so forth so they will know the involved mental states of the people.>>
Sarah just… Stared at the thought of Adam. "That's like the most oppressive big brother program ever. You might have gone overboard."
He protested! <<I turned THAT one off! And the police state ones and stuff! The Child Care Consortium exists just to keep the kids safe when I am not focusing on stuff! Plus like, the torment and torture retributive and karmic options weren't even enabled to begin with!>>
Damn it. "Just… For me, go over all the automated stuff really quickly and let me get a good understanding about each one. I want to know what we are doing to the Jump, especially if neither of us are actively keeping an eye on it all."
Adam suspiciously paused. <<Everything automated?>>
Her eyes narrowed. "Yep."
Oh yeah, that was suspicious. <<Like… All of it? Not just the big stuff like the near-npc organizational units?>>
Oh boy. "Yes please."
Windows began flashing open, filling the operating room and the peacefully resting green skinned red haired beauty. <<Sigh… This might take a while.>>
Her mouth felt dry as she saw the holographic screens piling up behind the rest and beyond the physical dimensions of the room. Good grief. "Can… Can you sort them? By the ones currently active in this Jump?"
Adam sighed. <<These ARE the only ones active right now. I turned off or adjusted most of the other stuff when I first found out I had gone a bit overboard. But at least I can change their window color after you read them, and this maintenance mode lets you easily add notes and suggested changes and stuff!>>
Sarah just stared. "Why do you have an automated grass grooming process?"
A shrug. <<I hate mowing grass. Just because I am an immobile extradimensional outside context Warehouse doesn't mean that mowing grass doesn't suck.>>
Fair enough. "Alright, let's get through this."
Maybe start with the group of processes targeting people directly first? Those were the ones she would likely have issues with the most, if she had to gamble.
With a sigh, she sat back in an astoundingly comfortable chair that she hadn't designed. Going to have to keep the Bustling Butler Bureau, if nothing else. "Start the observation period for Dr. Isley for now, I feel like this is going to take a while."
At least most of these were fairly basic and fast to process and understand. Although... Why did Adam have an automated process set up simply to organize people's currency in their wallets automatically in the first place?
Maybe she'd find a pattern after going through this mess.
But then again, knowing Adam… Probably not.
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ohh Adam.. he must have been so lonely last jump. poor thing is completely out of sorts!
- Location
- Earth U.S.
- Location
- Finland
All the vile foes trapped in vials vie for freedom.
You forgot an N from your lemon.
Knowing that the Gotham high society travels around in giant heavily armoured lemon vehicles, really brings out the eccentricity of rich people in comic book worlds.
Or the lemon was an indication of a scene we will not see written on this forum.
Also, with a diver at the wheel and lemons being yellow, their mode of transportation is not an armoured lemon, but a yellow submarine.
Hidden One
Not the Boss, possibly a Playa
- Location
- Sol;Terra;EU;D;NRW
Everything is not blue or on fire.
Adam accidently didnt automate that.
Well, he did but it was disabled as default to prevent cruel and unusual punishment.
Instead there is a steady rise of buckets full of blue paint balanced over doors.
Adam accidently didnt automate that.
Well, he did but it was disabled as default to prevent cruel and unusual punishment.
Instead there is a steady rise of buckets full of blue paint balanced over doors.
Andrew5073
Thinks too much
Well; this Robin's too old to get caught in that (alas) but maybe a younger version of Spoiler just happened to get put in a timeout while messing with her deadbeat dad's schemes?
Um, why does he need to turn any of this off? Just leave all those things turned on.
At this point, I'm surprised that Bruce hasn't drafted the Riddler to help him solve this one.
Love Poison Ivy really getting in touch with the Green. The Green is just meh. It's all good. Just exist and live.
You know, Satan's POV might actually be interesting here. I could just see him putting up a betting board for how long it'll last and what'll pop up to disrupt the newly cleaned up and improved city.
I could see those that routinely visit Gotham avoiding the place for a while. So what if things are better. It's obviously a trap. They just don't know how it's a trap, but still better to avoid it until the new villain makes his move. Whatever this is will have to be horrible. It's Gotham.
At this point, I'm surprised that Bruce hasn't drafted the Riddler to help him solve this one.
Love Poison Ivy really getting in touch with the Green. The Green is just meh. It's all good. Just exist and live.
You know, Satan's POV might actually be interesting here. I could just see him putting up a betting board for how long it'll last and what'll pop up to disrupt the newly cleaned up and improved city.
I could see those that routinely visit Gotham avoiding the place for a while. So what if things are better. It's obviously a trap. They just don't know how it's a trap, but still better to avoid it until the new villain makes his move. Whatever this is will have to be horrible. It's Gotham.
- Location
- Here
He mostly just needs to make sure that Sarah knows what they do, and the settings on some of them might seem completely understandable to him but not necessarily so for her.
- Status