5736/Popups Are A Plague

Popups Are A Plague
Date of Scene:	26 March 2021
Location:	Alias Investigations
Synopsis:	Jessica gets a scared by a call from Oracle, she fears it might be something more purple on the other side.
Cast of Characters:	Jessica Jones, Barbara Gordon

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Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica isn't always drunk, okay, that's mostly a lie, but she isn't always drinking at a bar! Sometime she does work, and right now she's in her office, Alias Investigations, meaning she made it from her bed to the office / living room, as she tap taps away at the keys of her laptop, working one research or other for one of her cases. Next to her is half empty bottle of whiskey that she occasionally swigs from.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
With the way things are going in Bushwick and the rise in hate crimes against Mutants, it stands to reason that Barbara Gordon is going to need some eyes in New York City. There are a number of potential agents she could attempt to recruit to the Birds of Pray, but one of the foremost amongst them is someone she's been keeping an eye on for quite some time.

Sure, she stays mostly drunk...

But Babs wears pajama pants in the afternoon, so everyone has their thing..

Suffice that it's fairly simple to hack the area net around Alias Investigation since she more or less knows the static IP of any fixed location in the city. It also means she's able to descreetly screen share Jessica's screen for just long enough to put an icon linked to an .exe on her desktop with BoP description.

Jessica Jones has posed:
Just as Jessica pulls the address to a certain chop shop, and closes her browser, she spots the new file on her desktop. "The fuck...?" Jessica mutters, immediately thinking the worst, she jots down BoP on a notepad, and immediately proceeds to attempt to delete the file. "I hope Danny has fucking computer wizards in his company...fucking a, me, getting hacked? What is the world coming to..."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
It deletes easily enough, going through all the processes. No virus detected, the .exe is removed, screens close... and now there's two icons BoP & Click me. Babs sips at her coffee back at the clocktower, glasses resting up on her brow. She's in her wheelchair pulled right up to the bank of computers, wearing a pair of pajama pants (as she almost always is).

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica grabs her bottle for another swig, glaring at the screen, "you have got to be kidding me, think I'd fall for that? I'm not getting hacked, assholes!" She screams while deleting both files, now staring at the screen as if that would somehow intimidate whoever was doing this from daring to put yet another version of that damned file.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs has already hacked the computer, she could just execute the program herself, but... alright she's playing a little and she knows it. Leaning over the keyboard with a smirk, she adjusts her glasses and gets to work. Almost as soon as the windows close, there's now three ICONs, are you sure?

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Fuck yes I'm sure," Jessica snaps, deleting everything again, before eventually getting the genius idea of opening a notepad, because she's seen that in movies before. There she types: 'who are you? Why are you hacking my laptop?'

Barbara Gordon has posed:
"Alright... If you want something installed on someones computer who is presistently refusing to click the shady .exe file you've hacked onto their computer, you have to do it yourself." While Jessica is writing in the notepad, Babs sends a command to begin the install on a fairly simple communication tool. One that hijacks, temporarily, the GPU to bring up a three dimensional face in the center of her screen.

>>I. Am Oracle.<<

Amongst hackers that's a name that carries no small amount of weight. Amongst those who know hackers, it's name as much myth as Batman a few years ago.

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica is still expecting some kind of reply on the notepad she started, when suddenly that darned obviously bad news file starts executing on its own, "fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, no!" Jessica snaps, and as she reaches to try and force the power down on her laptop, that three dimensional face appears, and she legit gasps and backs off to the point of flipping backwards on her chair, with a loud crashing sound. "Goddamnit!" She cries out, slowly getting up while rubbing her back, "...the fuck is Oracle!?" She asks, wondering if she can simply talk back to that image.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The face is expressionless. Void and without gender definition. The voice itself is many tones, a collective of sounds that aren't all human in origin and when it speaks it appears to track Jessica. Turning towards her even though the screen itself is flat, it operates as if in a 3D field rather than a 2D environment.

>>I am.<<

It says matter of factly.

>>And you are Jessica Jones. I have been watching you for some time. Waiting for a moment where I could contact you with a unique opertunity to join a very exclusive organization with a express purpose and goals. We are known as the Birds of Prey. And you have been invited.<<

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Okay...okay..." Jessica mutters to herself, nervously, cautiously getting fully up on her feet and reaching for her whiskey to drink some more, before asking, "you're absolutely real, Oracle, and you're absolutely a computer thing talking to me, huh?"

"Invited...?" Jessica sounds almost terrified now, "...are you working for...'him'?"

Barbara Gordon has posed:
"Him?" Babs squints and adjusts her glasses with the end of her index finger, pushing them further up the bridge of her nose.

>>I am real, yes. If it makes you feel more comfortable, I am a human being using advanced technology and hacking to simulate the persona of a digital being. I find that there is very little comfort in knowing that, however. From my test subjects.<<

>>That was a joke.<<

The screen flashes for a second and the face is gone, if only temporarily.

>>I do not work for anyone. The Birds of Prey are an unaffiliated group of agents who work globally to keep tabs on criminal organizations whose reach goes beyond the boundries of any one city, state, or country. We are well funded, equipped, and organized.<<

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica looks absolutely terrified, staring at the laptop from a safe distance, and not daring come any closer. "Yes...I mean, sure the image is green, but that could be a simple trick."

"If I do a research on Birds of Prey, will I be able to find anything...?" Jessica asks, "I am very wary about random invitation from people I don't know, you could be anyone...or you could be working for someone...I'm very on edge when I'm missing information."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
>>You will not find anything on the Birds of Prey, but I can give you a contact to meet up with. Someone who works for me and does personal appearances where I cannot. I am very good at my job, Jessica. There will not be any tracks to follow.<<

The face comes back on the screen, seeming to stare at Jessica for several long, quiet, moments.

>>It is unfair to place all the need for trust upon you, but I assure you that the ends justify the means. Many individuals that you know, strong, able bodied women, are part of the organization. If you want to know more, simple push the button and everything will be provided that you need to move forward. If you do not, erase it. No further attempt to contact you will be made.<<

Jessica Jones has posed:
"I believe you...but you will excuse me if I have my own reservations, let's do this..." she offers, "you give me an address to meet, I'll have something show up to check it's all clear, and if I hear it is all safe as houses, we can have another meeting that I'll actually attend. Fair enough...?" Jessica is clearly curious enough, because if Oracle has any input to her reactions, she sounds quite scared at the moment.

That's apparently her one hold out before pushing the button, the assurance of safety by having a friend scout whoever Oracle would sent to meet her.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
>>Whatever makes you comfortable.<<

The face says through the speakers, which can be further offputting on almost anyone. Never minding someone who already has a bit of reservations about the whole affair.

>>Try not to be cheeky, please. It is amusing to an extent, but we are very busy people.<<

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica eventually presses the button, and her mind already reels on who to volunteer for this little task.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The face on the screen vanishes with one final message:

>>You have chosen.... wisely.<<

Seriously, if they quote Indiana Jones, can they be that bad?

As soon as the screen is returned to Jessica's usual background, there's words written in the notepad that she'd brought:

Barbara Gordon (telephone # here)

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica is spooked as fuck, and she finishes her bottle first, before starting to frantically look at the info left for her, and working scenarios in her mind. Birds of Prey, could be interesting, could be the end of her.