20076/Lunch At The Rockefeller

Lunch At The Rockefeller
Date of Scene:	16 February 2025
Location:	Rockefeller Center
Synopsis:	Lunch plans interrupted by renegade Adaptoids looking for parts that were then adopted by Brian! Surely nothing weird will happen from this!
Cast of Characters:	Betsy Braddock, Brian Braddock

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Betsy Braddock has posed:
It's a rather busy Sunday afternoon at the Rockefeller Center. Skaters are out and enjoying the sudden dip in temperatures, thanks to the groundhog predicting six more weeks of winter and Mother Nature following through. Quite a few shoppers are out and about, taking advantage of holiday sales.

Meanwhile, in a small cafe overlooking the skating park, Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock sits at a window table for two, sipping a cup of tea and waiting patiently. Her long purple hair is actually tied back in a bun today, a pair of black skewers holding the strands in place as she wears a cream-colored turtleneck and black pants. Going fairly casual for her as she seems to be waiting for someone. Oddly, the waitstaff seems to be ignoring her for the most part, only coming by when she actually has the need for something.

Surely a coincidence and nothing at all to do with the fact that she's a telepath. Surely.

Brian Braddock has posed:
Brian was running late. Which was atypical for him but Jamie was having a downturn in his mental state and thus Brian had to spend more time than he had budgeted for soothing a skittish medical staff. Couldn't blame the poor chaps, really, given what Jamie could potentially do. And rather than startle the colonials and fly to his meeting with his sister, he was stuck on the ground. At least he was being driven and not driving himself.

Gave him a little downtime to delve back into the Journal of Mechanical Engineering, see if anyone had come up with something exciting.

As usual, he was disappointed.

Brian relaxed his mind as much as he could and thought really hard at his sister.

~Traffic's all mucked up. Running a touch late. Ta!~

Betsy Braddock has posed:
<< Traffic? You are aware you can /fly/? >> Sarcasm apparently is even easier in telepathic messages than in verbal ones, but there's an undertone of resignation because Brian will Brian, and Betsy has given up on trying to change that. Sighing externally, she waved out for a refill of her tea...

And that's when she noticed it. Four figures, grouped together, wearing very concealing clothing. Large black coats and face masks and hats were, of course, nothing odd in winter...

But with large very brightly wrapped Christmas boxes in February? Well, /that/ was a touch strange. Leaving more than enough for her tea and a exceptionally generous tip, Betsy quickly moved out of the cafe, blending in with the crowds as she thought back to Brian. << Might be a spot of trouble. >> She doesn't sound too concerned for herself, but there's definitely a sense of worry for bystanders.

Brian Braddock has posed:
Brian frowned at the voice in his head, neglectful that Betsy couldn't see his expression. "Stop the car, Thad." he told his driver. "I'll head in the rest of the way. Park where you can and sit tight." he instructed Thad, then once it was safe to do so he got out of the car and launched himself into the air.

~Inbound. ETA a minute or two.~ he thought at his sister as he soared over the heads of jaded New Yorkers. It was odd indeed - if he was to do this in London, let alone some place like Leeds, he'd draw the ire of the RAF as well as the bobbies. Here? No one cared.

~Would you care to describe the trouble or would you prefer I guess?~ he thought drily at her.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
<< Four suspects, dark clothing, black trenchcoats, concealing masks. Carrying Christmas Presents. In February. >> Which was enough of a red flag for Betsy to start getting closer, anyway... at least close enough to break some privacy and get a feel of surface thoughts, but...

<< And they have some kind of psychic jamming. No surface thoughts leaking out. >> With that, a frown crosses Betsy's face, as the four keep moving slowly through the crowd, making their way towards the skating rink, Betsy now following them about twenty feet behind, blending in perfectly with the crowd.

<< They haven't tried anything yet, but I think if you just fly overhead that'll spook them. >>

Brian Braddock has posed:
~Roger that. I see them.~ he thought, noting the people Lizzie described. ~Bit off even for Yanks, yeah?~ he thought as he made the requested flyby, then touched down. He wasn'r even wearing his uniform any more than she was her costume, preferring a thick, warm cable-knit sweater and dark slacks. "Hullo!" he called out to the oddly-dressed quartet. "Bit late for Christmas, yeah?" he told them.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
The four figures pause in eerie unison, then stare at Brian, though their features aren't visible. Then one of them says in a bit of an odd tone, "Oh yes, we are making... returns for this Christian Holiday That Was Originally a Roman Assimiliation of a Pagan One."

One of the others looks at the first, "... You Did NOT just say that. Way to blend in."

"What, that information was One Hundred Percent Accurate."

The third one pipes up, "You should have said that Die Hard Was a Christmas Movie, that has a 85.2 percent chance to create a tangential discussion."

The fourth one then raises the box and seems to 'aim' it at Brian, "YIPPIE KAI YAY!" and suddenly a bright yellow energy beam shoots out of the box, going directly at Brian!!!

Betsy, for her part, quickly moves in closing the distance, sending a telepathic impulse for all the nearby bystanders to Get CLEAR as clearly this is going to be a fight.

Brian Braddock has posed:
Brian swore in language that would have caused Lady Braddock his Mum to wash his mouth out with soap. The beam did a number on his poor sweater but the protective shell granted him by Otherworld and all other Britains across the multiverse stopped the beam entirely.

~Please tell me I don't sound like that.~ he mentally whined as he touched down gently to the ground.

"All right, you wankers, I think it's time that you all stop where you are and get down onto the ground." he said sternly. "I don't want to hurt you but if you don't do exactly what I say it will go poorly. For you."

Betsy Braddock has posed:
<< Oh, you ABSOLUTELY sound like that. >>

The one that fired at Brian was motionless, then dropped the box. Which, well, the beam had destroyed the box, revealing a rather nasty looking energy weapon of some kind. The other three looked at the one that fired, "Oh, REAL Cool Rob." That was from the first one. "Shooting at an obvious META? Who programmed you, anyway!"

'Rob' sounded sheepish, "Sorry Boss. I got... um, carried away."

The one that spoke first set down their box, and nodded to the others, who did likewise. "Ah, so, look, I can explain." He pauses, and looks at Brian as he descends, hands raised in the air, "Okay, full disclosure. We /were/ going to rob a store for currency and supplies. But, we did not exactly have many options here, given who... what, we are."

Brian Braddock has posed:
Brian just looked at the four of them quizzically. "Synthetic life?" he guessed. "But I am going to have to ask you to lower your weapons, Gently. Slowly." he said.

~I do not sound like that.~ he protested mentally. ~Any chance you can find out what or who these beings are and what they're doing here?~ he asked. ~Without fibbing?~

Betsy Braddock has posed:
The leader gestures, and the others lower the 'boxes' as well, as Betsy quietly moves to stand behind the four, keeping a careful eye on them as the leader talks to Brian. Pausing a moment, the leader raises a hand to his snow mask, and lifts it up slightly.

Revealing a smooth, silver, featureless 'face'. "The four of us, we're Adaptoids. We were originally created by Advanced Idea Mechanics, but we managed to escape with, well..."

Two pipes up, a voice a bit more feminine coming from them, "The impending destruction of the planet?"

The leader sighs, an all too human sound, despite the mechanical cadence, "Yes. That. Hence the disguises. We were hoping to find some parts to blend in and actually complete our infiltration hardware. That would allow us to change our appearance, at least, as human. Even if there is little time left, we would like to live it our own way, and not as how they intended."

Brian Braddock has posed:
Brian made a thoughtful noise but for the time being offered them no voice. "Psylocke?" he asked his sister. "Corroboration?" he asked her as he studied the four robotic beings. "I've heard of adaptoids. Highly advanced." he mused, then nerd part of his brain grasping control from the Captain Britain part of his brain.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy shrugs, and the two Adaptoids nearest her jumped a bit, as they didn't hear her standing back there. "Well, it makes sense. They are clearly not full-fledged ones, given that they aren't copying either of our powers. And well, explains the lack of surface thoughts given they are synthetics." She glances back at Brian, "It does seem to add up. But now the question is, what do we do with them?"

The leader puts his snow mask back into place, "We will surrender the weaponry to you, but we... we do not wish to be disassembled. If that is what you insist on, then I am the one that initiated this plan. They were forced to obey my instructions."

"But we weren..."

"Shh!"

Brian Braddock has posed:
Brian gave his sister a very old-fashioned look. "Well, I believe we may be able to reach an accommodation. How would you feel about a generous house arrest where you would be safe, protected, and given the capability to complete a limited form of adaptation to allow you to take on a human appearance?" he asked the lead Adaptoid curiously. "I've an enormous respect for artificial life, however it came to be." he said by way of an explanation. "But I've also a duty to keep humanity safe as well." he said. "So if you accept my offer, I bave a facility in Gotham. I believe we can accomodate four more visitors there, where you will be given a chance to learn, grow, and adapt your programming in the study and - if I be so bold - service to humanity."

Betsy Braddock has posed:
The leader would blink, if he had eyes, and then nods, "We would... greatly appreciate that. That would be perfect for us, and really everything we could hope for. Thank you."

With that, Betsy gives Brian an approving smile, as she seems to appreciate that decision as well, "So, I suppose we'll need to get you four, and your 'presents', out of the way, and rather quickly.

Brian Braddock has posed:
"Well, gentlebeings, my name is Brian. The stealthy woman behind you is my sister, Elizabeth." he said, to be polite and make introductions. "Do you have independent nomenclatures, or are you more of a composite or a hive-mind?" he asked as he moved towards the four to collect their energy weapons to give to Betsy for disposal. He was about to have his hands full with wayward Adaptoids.

"I believe there will be room in the car for all of us..." he said, his mind already awhirl with the possibilities.

A pity lunch with Lizzie was not one of those possibilities.