17082/Pizza and movies, and stolen FBI files

Pizza and movies, and stolen FBI files
Date of Scene:	02 February 2024
Location:	Level 4 - Recreation - The Roost
Synopsis:	A few Outsiders gather to talk about rogue cyborgs and movies
Cast of Characters:	Conner Kent, Kiden Nixon, Phoebe Beacon, Laura Kinney

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Conner Kent has posed:
Finally Friday. Another busy week in which Conner managed to keep up with college, Kryptonian stuff and Kiden. Also, he might have done a couple illegal things, but it was for a good cause.

And now the Outsiders get to have pizza, watch movies and read stolen autopsy reports (not very fun). "Hey, guys. Pick two: Reservoir Dogs, or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, or the Dirty Dozen." There are also several pizzas to try, but they can pick a slice of each. That is Conner's plan.

If he doesn't lose his appetite, that is, because the stuff he is reading on the tablet is pretty nasty.

Kiden Nixon has posed:
"Reservoir Dogs and the Dirty Dozen."

Kiden offers up her opinion while getting some of the pizza, carrying it back to the sitting area, and flopping down next to Conner. Leaning in against his shoulder, she glances over at the tablet and makes a face. "They detailed all the 'modifications' made. Ew. Cool, but very ew."

She takes a bite of supreme pizza, still reading over Conner's shoulder (or under it, as the case may be). Giving him a light nudge to show she got him a slice of his favorite if he wants it.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, twice." Phoebe pipes up from one end of the couch where she is sitting with her back against the seat, her legs against the back, and her feet up in the air. She is going through the FBI autopsy reports, and whether it's because of the training, disassociating with what she's seeing, or because she's had to regularly get into the guts of things, she sees mostly unaffected -- though her eyebrows knit a couple of moments as she has to re-read a couple of lines to make sure she's understanding correctly.

Laura Kinney has posed:
If the Outsiders let something like their actions being a little illegal stop them they'd probably never get anything done. Especially Laura. Who usually considers it an achievement if she makes it a full forty eight hours....

She's not the sort to let a little intel put her off food. And idly studies some of the documents while eating a slice of... well whatever it was doesn't really matter. She added her hot sauce. Chances are after a few drops just about anything available will taste pretty similar. At least to anyone without super senses or a healing ability. Laura does offer the jar around in case anyone else is in the mood for an adrenaline rush though.

"I have no strong preferences," she offers helpfully. "Although I expect people will tire of me critiquing the techniques in the martial arts movie.."

Which is unfair because she will also be judging the marksmanship in the Dirty Dozen and the criminal scheme in general from Reservoir Dogs!

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner favorite pizza varies with the week, and tends to be 'all of them', so it is easy to find a good one. "Says the neural network of the three gang leader was expanded, but not why or how they did it. Says they intellect was probably greatly enhanced, but they would have died in a year or two anyway. Poor bastards."

But those who bet they had kill switches were right. Their cybernetics didn't just stopped working, but are so damaged most can't be repaired and it is difficult to determine how powerful they were and how far they could go.

On the other hand, the bionic prosthetics of the other gangers weren't anything special. Good, but nothing the US army doesn't have already. However, they have yet to determine where they came from. Not the usual suspects. Not AIM stuff, certainly not Starktech, STAR labs or Lexcorp. Interpol and SHIELD are yet to respond the FBI, though.

"I still have so many good movies to watch..." he mutters. "We are not going to watch one twice, Phoebe." He glares at Laura, she is so unhelpful.

Kiden Nixon has posed:
"Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is amazing cinematography, and pays homage to the older martial arts movies beautifully... but it's way off from either Reservoir Dogs or Dirty Dozen. If we're doing martial arts movies, gotta pair them together. Man with the Iron Fists is amazing. Wholly illogical, but amazing." Kiden tosses her two cents in between bites of pizza, wincing at a particularly nasty picture that scrolls across the tablet.

She flicks a glance to Laura and grins, "You know, you don't *have* to critique the techniques. At least, not out loud. They aren't meant to be realistic, just *fun*." This sounds suspiciously as if they've had that conversation before. Laura may have a history of 'critiquing' martial arts movies! Maybe!

"So.. it sounds like nobody's claiming the tech as theirs. And they're having trouble piecing it all together to come up with whose it is. Think we need to get a hold of a piece of it? I bet Tim could do some scans or something and tell us where it comes from."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "The tipping issue in Reservoir Dogs drives me nuts. I was a barback and a barista when I was living in New York City. The people who didn't tip kinda blew my mind, because they always had the cash, or they wanted to get things comped by the manager. Also Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon's a normie-friend group favorite and the score is..." Phoebe pauses, and then does a chef kiss, and she folds her cheese pizza in half and takes a bite.

    "Laura's good at critiquing. She caught on to my left elbow drop before I did." she hums softly, and flicks her hand across her tablet screen.

    "... that's not how you're supposed to connect nerve endings to things." the medical student makes a face. "These guys must have been in worlds of pain when they perished. Let me pull up some diagnostics from the WayneTech Medical division -- see if we have any design similarities. Might point us in a right direction?" she states, turning her head to look up to Conner.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"There's any number of reasons a corporation would do this sort of thing," Laura muses. "Military project needs to meet a deadline. Project isn't performing. They implant the tech in some street thugs to advance the work... Doesn't matter if they live or die. As long as the tech works." It's the sort of thing she's seen before in illegal labs. Find some thugs, let them do real world testing, and cut and burn the links when they eventually get caught.

Her own favourite pizza includes feta, pineapple, plenty of chili peppers, and some kind of protein. Usually spicy chicken. But she's flexible enough to try any wild combination the team might order.

"You don't find it more enjoyable to watch someone do things correctly?" she replies. Almost certainly this is an argument they've had before. She critiqued the John Wick movies when she watched them with Rose. "I will keep quiet during the movie though." This seems to be fair compromise given people who talk over the movie in an actual cinema are the worst.

"We left them mostly unconscious. If they were lucky the plug was pulled before they had time to wake up. Which seems likely because you can bet people at this level would have been offered deals by the FBI. Sooner you pull the plug the less chance of someone getting chatty. Phoebe do you think you can make a rough estimate of what medical supplies this sort of work might need? It can't be all that common for surgeries this major. Perhaps we could track the supplier that way?"

She takes another bite of her pizza.

"Tipping is, from a tactical perspective, extremely difficult. Always has to be just enough to satisfy the staff but not enough to stand out. People remember a good or bad tipper. Anyone doing a crime should know that much...."

Conner Kent has posed:
"I am adding action movies because I got complains about noir flicks and thrillers being too dark," protests Conner. After all, for some reason, he is the one that has to pick the movies most weekends!

He munches a slice of triple cheese pizza distractedly. "We have the disk with the locations of Gila's operations. The computer managed to finish the decoding yesterday. The FBI is still trying to figure it out. It is sad Robin has better software than the US gov., what are they doing with my tax money?" Clearly they couldn't pay Oracle enough. "Anyway, we should tip them off, or go check those labs ourselves now." Conner figures there will be plenty of samples of cybernetics to study afterwards.

"Fine, Reservoir Dogs is out to protect Phoebe's PTSD as a barista," he decides, smirking at the guilty part. "Someone get the popcorn going."

Kiden Nixon has posed:
"Tip 15-20% if you don't want to stand out. It's the most common and is considered baseline 'acceptable' tip size. Tell you what, when I was working the diner, I would daydream about Bruce Wayne coming in for a cup of coffee. That man is *legendary* for overtipping. Even over in Mutant Town," Kiden chuckles lightly before shifting slightly in the lean so she can look over the tablet a little easier.

Lifting a brow at Laura, Kiden grins, "I just enjoy shutting my brain off and watching the gratuitous violence for a few hours. It's about the only time I'm ever going to get *truly* guilt-free violence. Through movies. If it's outlandish and ridiculous, all the better, now I can laugh at the violence. I still say you would enjoy Shaw Brothers movies if you would just let the ridiculousness go. It was the 60s and 70s, over the top moves and tons of fake blood was the mode." Oh yeah, they've absolutely had this conversation before!

There's a low chuckle at Conner's complaint, "If noir is the *only* thing you're watching, then yes, it probably gets a little.. dark. Break it up now and then with something lighter, but by all means, enjoy your noir thrillers, babe."

"I'll get the popcorn started, but let Laura say when it's ready. Best popcorn in the world comes out by her nose." Kiden sets her pizza aside and hops up to go start the popcorn in the kitchen.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Definitely remember the bad tippers more than the good tippers," Phoebe states distractedly, her eyes narrowing a little as she looks over some other information.

    "I can work up a rough estimate. I still have some leftover estimations from when I turned Dr. Centerhall into Dr. All Over The Lab and to what extent work would be required -- but the technological bits aren't my strong suite. Necromancy or trying to patch up someone magically? That would be an easier one to do off the top of my head." she comments quietly. "I can run it crossed with my inquiry for the pharmaceuticals those metahuman gangs were trying to work up."

    Phoebe folds her pizza.

    "And yeah. Waynes Tip the Rent on the regular. It's why I love going out to 'family dinners'." Phoebe comments upside-down, giving a little grin.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"I tend to go for twenty five percent if the service was acceptable," Laura says with a shrug. "It's not like I need the money myself." Of course she also goes the extra mile and makes sure she tips with bills which aren't going to trace back to her. But that's just common sense when you're on a few international watchlists.

"I guess they'd need plenty of more standard surgical gear too? Blood, painkillers, and surgical tools. And a way to dispose of the waste. Lots of modifications suggest it's not a small operation. It also makes me wonder if any other gangs have a new sponsor?"

She takes another chomp of the pizza. No dainty little nibbles from Laura.

"I don't know if I have a favourite movie genre. The Japanese horror movies where it's all very otherworldly perhaps? Those often make me laugh." It's also much harder to critique the plot or events. "Popcorn is as much about the seasoning as the cooking. Preferably a mix of salt and sweet. It's getting the ratio of those right which is the hardest part."

Conner Kent has posed:
"I know I am weird," grumps Conner. "I find most action and sci-fi silly. My senses are too sharp for special effects. That is why I move to noir, the stories are better, and usually so is the acting. I like other kinds of movies too, but I was kind of hooked to noir and thrillers," beat, "comedies are good too. We should start a list of comedies to watch."

Japanese horror is probably too complicated for Conner's all-American tastes, though. Not that he won't try it once or twice.

He puts the tablet aside, too much for a Friday evening, when he needs to rest his brains. "Good point about the gangs, there might be a few others also cyborged-up but that have been more careful with their activities. Then again, I feel the main target should be the guy behind the labs, this Gila creep."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Just cross-sectioning my streams, with what all's been going on in Metropolis with the Injustice League and a brief encounter with a wrath spirit called Eclipso, I've been running on mystic fumes and probably leaning on the whole 'if I use my powers I don't have to sleep' thing." And then she turns to Conner, and she grins. Slowly. Brightly.

    "I've got a new batch of Bollywood with English Fan Subs if you want something extremely silly with good storylines."

    She gives a soft hum, and she turns off her tablet's screen as well, closing her eyes as she lets her head hang-down. "Scifi comedies, or old scifi movies like Ice Pirates or The Black Hole. And then you get into the weird stuff like Rubber: The Tire that Kills or The Bed That Eats People." Phoebe looks ahead, blankly.

    "Ugh. The fact that it's supernaturally possible to have people-eating furniture is weird."

Laura Kinney has posed:
"How many songs are we likely to have per movie?" Laura wonders, trying to balance the pros and cons of Phoebe's suggestion. "I don't mind /some/ musical numbers. But if every major narrative event will cause someone to break into song it might be a little much for me." She shrugs. "Assuming they're the kind with songs in. I assume there must be Bollywood movies in which no-one sings at all?"

It sounds like that's a hope as much as an assumption.

"I bet if you got Reed Richards drunk he could invent a type of rubber that eats people. Probably he already has." A shrug. "The trouble with comedy is that not everyone finds the same things funny. And the things everyone can laugh at don't generally make good movies."

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner shakes his head. "Actually, I was considering starting with Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers, and work my way to modern comedies," should only take a few decades at two movies per week! No? Well, they can do a different cast every weekend.

"We better get going to the theatre, it looks like it is going be just us tonight," the young man gets going, with a detour by the kitchen to get the popcorn.

Kiden Nixon has posed:
"If we're doing 'inanimate objects starts killing people' movies, then I submit Slaxx for consideration! People-eating pants. And it's Canadian." Kiden calls out from the kitchen, all but laughing just thinking about it.

She preps up the popcorn, making up two batches.. one that's more like kettle corn, one that's definitely more savory. Carrying both batches out, she flashes a grin, "Well, popcorn's ready! And if we do Bollywood, then I vote for the Krrish series. Bollywood superheroes movies." Because that won't be at all terrible, right? Right?!

Laura Kinney has posed:
"Have you ever noticed just how many movies and tv shows are secretly Canadian?" Laura says solemnly. "It's only a matter of time before Canada just relocates Hollywood there. Digs it up and ships it off. Probably there is a supervillain there, no doubt themed around a mountie costume, who is plotting world domination via the media."

She looks at Kiden when she suggests Bollywood superheroes. As if to say 'no seriously how much singing'. Her nose is more than capable of helping with popcorn making duties. Even if she does spend more time getting through extra pre-movie pizza than actually helping.

"Come to think of it," she muses as they head towards the theatre. "Come to think of it there is one type of action movie I /can't/ critique. Age of sail naval combat. I know nothing about fighting with cannons on board a boat."

And yes. There is a silent 'yet' at the end....