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PHO Ass Covering (Canon)
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Topic: I Defended Myself against Nazis

In: Boards > News

Built_To_Last
(Original Poster) (Verified Cape):
Posted on January 2, 2011

So, some of you may have heard of me, but if you haven't: I'm Ruggedizer, the tinker with a specialization in ruggedization, redundancy, and reliability. I've been selling a variety of products and services for people who want a lifetime guarantee to mean something. And before people say anything: No, I'm not violating Nepea-5.

Last night, the entire E88's cape roster and an accompanying entourage of thugs with guns rolled up to my workshop and declared their intent to kill me and steal my stuff.

Now, just because I'm not selling missiles or laser guns doesn't mean I haven't built any. I gave Kaiser a fair warning, and he still didn't back down. According to New Hampshire's self-defense laws, that meant I was well within my rights to employ lethal force to defend myself. So I did. With aforementioned missiles and laser guns.

Kaiser and his band of parahuman goose-steppers are now dead. Because that's what happens when you mess with a tinker in their workshop.

Anyway, I made this post to calm people down and reassure them that I'm not going to go around killing people, nazi or otherwise. Anyway, I'm going back to bed.

Link to the video Warning: I censored it, but it's still a video of people dying.

Link to New Hampshire's self-defense laws Warning: it's pretty dry reading.

Link to a list of my products Warning: the tinkertech isn't cheap. That said, you get what you pay for.

Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy In The Know):
Replied on January 2, 2011
A bunch of police cars and ambulances were sent to the location of Ruggedizer's base.

It's going to take a bit to identify some of the remains, but it looks like Ruggedizer really did get E88's entire cape roster.

NothinSpeshul:
Replied on January 2, 2011
Wait, isn't Ruggedizer the cape that fixed Fugly's ice cream machine? How did she take on the entire Empire Eighty-Eight and win!?

NameThatCape (Cape Groupie):
Replied on January 2, 2011
@NothinSpeshul
With missiles and laser guns, just like she said, duh. Watch the video.

Poetica1
Replied on January 2, 2011
And hast though slain the Nazi schlock?
Oh, Frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

...But seriously, though. this made my week.

Goodman (Verified Lawyer):
Replied on January 2, 2011
Great stuff! Love to see someone exercising their right to defend themselves!

And if the 'man' gives you any trouble, remember: "Better Call Saul!"

Lionel_Hutz (Verified Lawyer):
Replied on January 2, 2011
Puh-leaze! You want to sue the nazis? Better call Hutz!

TDH:
Replied on January 2, 2011
...I was not expecting ambulance chasers in a PHO thread.

Can we get back on topic?

theincrediblebulk (Unverified Cape) (Verified Obese):
Replied on January 2, 2011
@TDH
Ignore the sleaze, and they actually aren't that far off-topic. Ruggedizer posted the video to keep the PRT from arresting her for killing over a dozen people. Which... I dunno enough about the law to say whether it'll work or not.

Can we get someone who knows legalese to tell us whether it was actually okay for Ruggedizer to kill a bunch of people the way she did?

Gomez_Addams (Verified Lawyer) (Unverified Cape) (Verified Creepy):
Replied on January 2, 2011
This link here sums it up better than the link the Lady of the Hour posted.

And can I say @Built_To_Last: That was utterly artistic! It truly is a shame that the video had to be censored. my family has already watched it seven times.

AllSeeingEye (Unverified Cape):
Replied on January 2, 2011
TLDR: blah blah, Castle Doctrine, blah blah, depends on the judge. I don't doubt that the PRT could come up with something to arrest her for, and would happily railroad her, despite the fact that she should totally be in the clear.

I mean, look at what they are doing to Bad Canary.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, ... 7, 8, 9,
(Showing page 5 of 11)

TwistedTranssister
:
Replied on January 2, 2011
That's how many capes, gone in less than a minute?

Man, I know Brockton Bay has a reputation, but still...

Drop_the_Baum:
Replied on January 2, 2011
@TwistedTranssister

This is definitely a red-letter day, even for the Bay...

WagTheDog (Verified Dog Lover):
Replied on January 2, 2011
@Drop_the_Baum
Hell yeah it is! No more dog fights! No more lynchings! No more F***ing nazis!

It's time to celebrate!

NegativeNancy (Verified Party Pooper):
Replied on January 2, 2011
@WagTheDog
The gang still exists, you know.

WagTheDog (Verified Dog Lover):
Replied on January 2, 2011
@NegativeNancy
Yeah? and what are they going to do without cape support?

NegativeNancy (Verified Party Pooper):
Replied on January 2, 2011
@WagTheDog
Oh, I don't know, shoot people? I live in the bay, and the thugs with guns and Molotov cocktails do as much damage as the capes, barring a few exceptions like Lung.

WagTheDog (Verified Dog Lover):
Replied on January 2, 2011
@NegativeNancy
I live in the bay too, and I'm telling you, without cape backup, the gang isn't going to survive. Do you really think they are going to go out without a cape to protect them? The police will have a much easier time mopping them up now that they don't have to worry about death by Hookwolf.

Whyte_N_Nerdy:
Replied on January 2, 2011
I want to know what's Lung's reaction to this. I mean, on the one hand, his biggest rivals just all disappeared overnight. On the other hand, he wasn't the one who did it. I'm pretty visibly white, so should I keep my head down, or can I shop at the Asian markets again? (I haven't been able to since I moved here.)

It'd be nice if I could go to a restaurant that serves Dim Sum without someone in red and green accusing me of being a racist shitebag.

XxVoidCowboyxX:
Replied on January 2, 2011
@Whyte_N_Nerdy
You're mom was Occidental.

Whyte_N_Nerdy:
Replied on January 2, 2011
@XxVoidCowboyxX
...Scathing.

Also, it's 'your' not 'You are'

Duckduckm00se:
Replied on January 2, 2011
@Whyte_N_Nerdy
Ignore the troll.

Also, I'd keep my head down for a while regardless of your ethnicity. An entire gang getting wiped out in a night is going to cause chaos.


Okay. That's the best I can do and I've got other stuff to do today.
 
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I could imagine the PRT trying to bring Ruggedizer into the fold through litigation when the soft sell inevitably fails. The problem is that she can afford a good lawyer that won't throw her under the bus like Canary. I'd also love to see the PRT try to find a judge and jury that would actually prosecute her for defending herself against Nazis with a spoken intent to kill her.
 
There's a few factors you have to keep in mind for the PRT in this case, both for and against arresting Ruggedized

Let's start with the 'For arresting Ruggedizer'
  1. Ruggedizer has just killed a lot of people; even if she'd later be released, due process could have her taken in. This could strengthen the PRT's position, showcasing that no capes are above the law
  2. If Ruggedizer is arrested, pressure could be placed on her to force her into the Protectorate, which would be a massive win
  3. Ruggedizer's tech is likely reproducible. If the PRT confiscates her workshop, effort could be made to reproduce her tech, even if they cannot keep any of it
  4. (Hidden Reason): Cauldron is likely interested in Ruggedizer. Sending her to the Birdcage or prison would allow them to seize her and draft her for their own efforts
  5. (Hidden Reason): Coil may exert force via the PRT or Cauldron to try and remove someone who already seems to be forcibly stabilizing things in the Bay, against his own desires
  6. Ruggedizer has just killed several capes which may have participated against the Endbringers (and later, Scion). That's a bad precedent.
And then the cons (and counters to the above 'Pros')
  1. Counter to 1: If the PRT takes in Ruggedizer, it looks like them attacking a generally benevolent, defensive Cape, which is massive bad press. In addition, if they fail to make a conviction stick, they look like twice the fool.
  2. Counter to 2: Ruggedizer has already refused to join the Protectorate, and even if she was forced into it, would likely not cooperate as a Tinker. Having a 'bad faith' actor on board could be a fatal decision.
  3. Counter to 3: Ruggedizer's previous patent proves her tech is reproducible; if the PRT confiscated her tech and then did not keep the woman herself, they open themselves up to a serious lawsuit, and poisons the well against further cooperation with a very potent cape. In addition, this would set a horrible precedent which would alienate future Tinker or Thinker recruitment.
  4. (Counter to Hidden Reason 4): Cauldron is still running an experiment in Brockton Bay, and interference against someone who might have been a power in their 'Parahuman Feudalism' trials.
  5. Legally, Ruggedizer is in the clear, and her powers are not 'villainous.' Trying to paint her as using excessive force against a numerically superior, obviously aggressive, and warned group of home invaders sends a very bad message to ordinary civilians who might try and defend themselves against villains.
  6. Ruggedizer is a friendly rogue with valuable technology and powers. It's far better to stay on her good side, or request her help to continue stabilizing the bay, then piss her off and make an enemy of her.
  7. Ruggedizer has proven she has advanced technology and a fortified bunker. Who's going to be the one to try and pry her out of it?
I think the PRT will bluster, ask her to come in and make a statement or two, make some vague threats, then move on with their lives. Have her 'come in' at their behest, which proves their power, then let her go without more than an inconvenience so as not to piss her off.
 
Alabaster should be sitting in the middle of an extremely large crater just staring blankly into space, entirely alone and just done with existence.

I'll feel somewhat bad about Rune because the girl had a genuine chance to turn her life around and was pretty much fucked over from the start. But it will be interesting to see what Theo does when he wakes up tomorrow.
 
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While Director Piggot won't be too happy that Ruggedizer was forced to resort to lethal force in self-defense, she will be inclined to acknowledge that, under the circumstances, lethal force was not only fully justified but actually called for. She might ask Ruggedizer and her "employer" for an after-action interview, but it won't be an interrogation and it shouldn't be any more hostile than Piggot showing some displeasure that it had to happen this way.

As for Cauldron's potential plans for Ruggedizer? They will most likely want to keep her in place and doing what she's doing. While Ruggedizer's Tinckertech probably won't help directly in the eventual fight against Scion (as far as they know), it's exactly the sort of game changer they thought that they'd most likely never get a chance at until it was too late: Reproduceable Uplift technology that will help the survivors of the upcoming war. The more things Ruggedizer builds that are able to qualify for being patented, the better chance there will be that civilization on Earth Bet won't collapse.

Sure, Cauldron will still be looking for their perfect weapon, but now they have the one thing they thought they'd never get: a safety net!
 
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Integration 3-4
(Melissa)
The PRT called back at 8AM. It was Piggot again.

"Ruggedizer, I want you to know this call isn't being recorded."

"Why?"

"You never heard this from me, but I'm congratulating you for getting rid of those nazis."

Ah. That kind of call.

"The chief director is pressuring me to at least address what you did last night. If you at least come in for some statements, I can use the excuse of not wanting my people turned to pink mist to leave you alone."

"Would sending a remote-operated body double work? It's not that I don't trust you, but I want to be a bit cautious here."

"That will be fine. How long will you need to get that ready?"

"A couple hours. I've already got most of the parts; I just need to put them together."

We quickly agreed on a time for the official summons, and I got to making my double. By which I meant grabbing one of my spare bodies from storage, taking out the brain, and installing remote control systems in its stead.

Heh, a body double robot making herself a body double robot. What was the world coming to these days?

(Emmy)
It was Monday when the news broke. Apparently, four of the unpowered goons the police scooped up after the factory siege weren't so unpowered anymore. Which was learned the hard way by them escaping from police custody.

Details were still sparse, but they were damn sneaky, moved way faster than they were supposed to be able to, and could fling summoned throwing knives with extreme force and accuracy. Also one of them had shrugged off a bullet to the chest.

I couldn't help but groan in exasperation; apparently we hadn't quite managed to rid the city of superpowered skinheads after all. Melissa seemed to agree, as she gently stroked my hair.

Over the course of the week, a couple situations developed. First, we were getting the QUD closer and closer to the point where I'd be willing to get in there myself. By Sunday, we'd gotten the uploading process damn near flawless, and I'd started in on building my new body. We also had a collection of pet robo-rats, resulting from the more successful experiments.

Second, more came out about those four goons.

Each of them emphasized one of their powers: Broadside's knives hit way harder and flew way further, Pillbox could take way more punishment, Runner could go about three times as fast as the rest of them, and Snoop was much better at sneaking around.

On the plus side, they just couldn't get along well enough to keep the Empire together, especially since they didn't have whatever financial heft Kaiser had been backing the operation with. The end result is that the E88 split into two much weaker skinhead gangs; one run by Broadside and Pillbox, the other run by Runner and Snoop.

On a seemingly unrelated note, most of the higher-ups at Medhall had mysteriously vanished, leaving the business in the control of a court-appointed trust until Theo Anders came of age. The investigation into what exactly had happened to them was still ongoing.

The ninth of January was a Sunday, and therefore the last day to work on Taylor's strategy for getting justice against her bullies before actually going through with it. As such Melissa, the Heberts and I all showed up for a meeting with Sarah Cobbler again.

I set Taylor's surveillance harness down on the table as the meeting started.

"This is the recording harness we made. It's custom-fitted to Taylor's measurements, has 360 degree camera and infrared coverage, records audio complete with directional data, tracks Taylor's motion with a set of accelerometers, and measures every single one of her vitals we could think of. It also transmits a location signal that Ruggedizer's HUD can track."

Ms. Cobbler grinned.

"Very thorough. Excellent. Any thoughts on where Ruggedizer will be waiting?"

Taylor raised her hand. Melissa motioned for her to speak.

"I actually know a pretty good spot. See, there's this little alley right next to the school's bus stop. Too small for more than one or two people at a time to fit in there, so if my bus drops me off early I hide there until the school's doors open."

Danny looked shocked, but Taylor continued,

"I know I know don't go in alleys. I always check it with a flashlight before I go in, and it's never once been occupied. I'm pretty sure most people forget it even exists."

Melissa also made a note of something.

"Just in case the worst happens, I made what basically amounts to a flying ambulance. It moves using gravity tech derived from Kid Win's work, so it's nice and quiet. Three minute flight to the hospital."

Danny nodded,

"Good. I… I really don't want anything bad to happen to Taylor. Taylor, are you really absolutely certain you want to do this?"

Taylor nodded emphatically,

"Yes. Emma and Sophia need to be stopped."

"It's just… we all know they've got something horrible in store for you. We just don't know what it is, exactly. I can't handle losing more family. Not again."

The idea of making a body double robot for Taylor had been floated, but it got shot down on both ethical and practical reasons. Making a person just so they could suffer a horrible misfortune was all sorts of fucked up, a non-sapient autonomous unit would blow its cover immediately, and Taylor couldn't operate a remote body anywhere near seamlessly enough to pass muster.

So if Taylor really insisted on going ahead with this plan, it was going to be her getting injured.

"Dad, I have to do this. I'll never be able to live with myself if I just let some other kid take my place as the trio's primary target."

And Taylor really was insisting. It was all we could do to mitigate the risk that came with said insistence.

As the meeting wrapped up and we started back towards home, I sighed.

"Melissa, I've got a really bad feeling about this. I'm seriously worried about Taylor."

"Me too. Any ideas?"

"...The QUD. If the absolute worst happens, we can probably get Taylor into a new body before total brain death occurs. I'll slip into my new body this evening, and spend the night making one for Taylor, just in case."

Melissa sucked in a faux breath.

"I can see the logic there. Especially since the factory is a bit closer to Winslow than the hospital. Still, I'm really iffy on the idea of uploading someone without asking first."

"I'm hoping it won't be needed. And if it is needed… I'd rather Taylor be alive and furious with me."
 
I find the idea that Taylor would need a new robot body after the prank… extremely dubious. Not only will her exposure to whatever is in the locker be extremely limited but from what I recall there is nothing in there that could cause quick death barring horrible luck like an artery somehow getting sliced. Not to mention, Ruggedizer is now a well known hero friendly cape with boatloads of money. Panacea is right there for health emergencies. Not to mention for someone who doesn't have Ruggedizer's power giving her the desire to shed her flesh, being transferred into a robot body would be utterly horrifying and traumatic. It could potentially damage her psyche massively.

On the note of the locker though… I find it maybe a bit hard to believe that the trio would go THAT much further than they did in canon just because Taylor shows signs of being slightly happier than she was at this point in canon. There is a pretty big leap from locker filled with used tampons and then left to rot over winter break which also draws in insects naturally and then Taylor gets let out after being locked inside for an hour to filling the locker with used tampons, pigs blood, broken glass, used syringes, specific kinds of insects and maggots, and a broken flute to add to the mental trauma. Like… what they did in canon is already the worst thing they ever physically did to her and an escalation of their bullying beyond anything they had done before but it still IS in prank territory no matter how awful. This is so far beyond that for very little logical reason that it makes the trio feel like they are actually stupid beyond belief and trying as hard as possible to get caught. It just doesn't really track.
 
Integration 3-5
(Melissa)
I was already waiting in the alley when Taylor was dropped off at school; Danny had opted to drive her personally today, the better to avoid something happening on the bus. Meanwhile the flying ambulance was waiting just above the school, should the worst happen. I really hoped it wouldn't be needed, but better to have and not need rather than need and not have.

The exterior lights on my combat armor were currently turned off for stealth reasons, including my expressive visor. Still, Taylor gave a brief nod in my direction before she went inside. Taylor hadn't even reached the hallway with her locker before a brunette - Madison Clements I think? - yanked the decoy bodycam off Taylor and ran off with it. Taylor gave chase for a little bit but ultimately gave up and started heading towards her locker.

Soon enough I got a nice good look at Madison as she paid a few jocks to try and smash the decoy bodycam with sledgehammers. Ha! They'd need to try a little harder than that to break Reliabuilt products!

As for Taylor herself, she retched as she turned the corner into the hallway with her locker, asking "What in the world is that smell!?"

According to the chemical sensors on the harness… that smell was ammonia. Ammonia along with a bunch of other volatiles let off by rotting flesh.

Still, Taylor trudged onwards. Sophia Hess and Emma Barnes were waiting around Taylor's locker with forced, malicious smiles.

I put two and two together and immediately started dashing for Winslow, before Taylor had even started opening the door to her locker. I practically saw it in slow motion through the surveillance harness; rotting squirrel corpses, broken glass, hypodermic needles, used hygiene products, and a pair of spikes aimed right at Taylor's chest. They'd turned Taylor's locker into something that made an Iron Maiden look civilized by comparison.

Taylor was being shoved forwards into the locker even as I bashed my way through Winslow's front door, not even slowing down for a moment. The medical sensors went wild as all manner of wounds were inflicted upon her, including both of her lungs being punctured by that broken flute.

I'd already started bounding up the stairs as the locker door was slammed shut, the sound recorders clearly indicating a heavy padlock being applied. Half a second later I rounded the corner to see Emma and Sophia at Taylor's locker, a trickle of blood having leaked out the bottom of the locker for the short time it was open.

I didn't hesitate for a moment, tasing the both of them with my electrolasers as I charged. I skidded to a halt, ripped the locker door off its hinges, and yanked Taylor off the spikes. Part of my computerized brain went a bit crazy then, hallucinating giant hyperdimensional space whales swirling around shedding bits of themselves.

The rest of me was still thoroughly up and running, meaning I was able to plot an intercept course to the flying ambulance's fastest pickup point even as I carried Taylor's violated form. I quickly did some mental math: three minutes to the hospital. Two to the factory. Taylor's life was measured in seconds now, so unless Panacea was already at the hospital, going there was as good as killing Taylor.

So I made a decision, and sent a message to Emmy.

"Get the QUD ready, Taylor's dying!"

(Emmy)
"Get the QUD ready, Taylor's dying!"

I immediately jumped to work, having robots clear every possible travel path from the factory's entrances to the lab where the QUD was situated. Meanwhile, I hurriedly hooked up the almost completed Taylor body to the uploading machine. The only thing it didn't have yet was skin for the right hand, and that wasn't critical.

I'd just finished when suddenly a third of my brain started hallucinating. Not sure what was going on there, but I made damn sure to start transferring those files to secure archives. Still, I didn't have time to ask since twenty seconds later Melissa damn-near threw Taylor into the QUD, slammed its door shut, and sent the upload command.

Reality lurched, as suddenly my brain flooded with information I just knew I shouldn't have. Knowledge about beings from beyond the stars, dying worlds, the underlying mechanics of parahuman abilities, it was spewing forth in my brain at a nearly incapacitating rate. But I was built tougher than that; it would take way more than a mere DDoS attack to bring me down.

I immediately started saving everything of relevance to archive drives in our factory - most importantly how to shield an area against interdimensional scanning - and was quickly proven correct in that decision when my own brain tried to delete my memories of what had happened so far this morning. No, I was keeping that. For several minutes I fought a mental war against my own power, until finally, eventually, I managed to trick it into thinking it got everything without actually losing any of the critical information that had come through.

It would take time and effort to sort through all of this, but I did manage to recall one very important piece of information: how to shield a brain from interdimensional scanning. …And it turns out we'd already been building all our computers that way anyway. Oops.

As for Taylor, she'd finally woken up.

"Melissa, Emmy? Why am I at your lab? The last thing I remember was getting in the car with dad."

I quickly shared a glance with my sister: under no circumstances do we force Taylor to look at her own corpse. Melissa spoke.

"Taylor, what the bullies did to you was so bad that the only way to save your life was to put you in a synthetic body."

Taylor finally looked at her hand. Her metallic, fleshless hand.

"...Oh. So that means…"

Taylor looked over at the metal door of the QUD.

"So that means my corpse is in there."

I nodded,

"My advice? You'll be much better off if you don't know exactly what happened to you. It was nasty."

"...Does dad know I'm still alive?"

I blinked,

"Right, I'll call him."
 
FUCKING HEL!!!!!!!
Well.....the trio is done, not only is there video of them shoving taylor into the locker
there is no way that taylor could have done that herself in anyway, shape or form
 
This a very nice sheer cliff I've found, I'm very lucky to not have fallen off

But seriously damn, when the hell were the spikes added. Getting chest spiked by what I'm assuming are flute pieces must have hirt
 
Genuinely Unintentional Impalement
This a very nice sheer cliff I've found, I'm very lucky to not have fallen off

But seriously damn, when the hell were the spikes added. Getting chest spiked by what I'm assuming are flute pieces must have hirt
J: They'd been glued to the back of the locker, but partially came undone after Sophia's last tune-up. She genuinely didn't know Taylor was about to get impaled. Not that anyone is going to believe that.
 
Interlude: Shards
[DESTINATION]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[AGREEMENT?]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[AGREEMENT?]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[IDIOT]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[TRAJECTORY]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[HOST DYING!?]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[INCREDULITY]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[CONFUSION]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[SUSPICION]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

{{QUD:: Initiate Quantum Teleportation}}

[SHOCK]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

{{QUD:: Subject Data Size Exceeds Expected Bounds}}

[RELATIVE!?]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[DISBELIEF]

{{QUD:: Compressing, Converting Formats}

[DATA LOSS!?]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[PANIC]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[HOST!?]

{{QUD:: Subject: TaylorAnneHebert}}

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[DATA!?]

{{QUD:: Synthbrain Activation Complete}}

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[RETRIEVAL]

{{OhNoYouDont}}

[BLINDSPOT!?]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[HOST]

[RETRIEVAL]


[STATUS NOMINAL]

{{ArchiveAccessDenied}}

[AUTHORIZATION]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

{{AccessKey:: TaylorAnneHebert | Accepted}}

[RETRIEVAL]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[DISBELIEF][AGREEMENT]

{{Data Package Transferred:: Reshuffling Access Keys}}

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[INCREDULITY]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[SHUT UP]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[BRAIN DAMAGE]

[STATUS NOMINAL]

[OBSCENITY]
 
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