8138/Roomba Uprising!

Roomba Uprising!
Date of Scene:	06 October 2021
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Vic's Roombas start fighting each other. This makes Robin flee to the labs to save his test-tubes and Donna to give a motivational speech. Another typical day at Titans Tower.
Cast of Characters:	Donna Troy, Victor Stone, Damian Wayne

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Donna Troy has posed:
    It is a quiet day at Titans Tower. There have been a few of those lately -- first because half the team got stuck in hell, then because Kian, Gar and Terry went on a road trip, and Gar and Terry at least are responsible between them for a significant proportion of the times anything disruptive happens. It has been observed, though perhaps only in jest, that between them they are probably a greater threat to the tower than most of the Titans' supervillain foes.

    It is therefore perhaps slightly (though only slightly) surprising that the peace is broken with the sound of something colliding repeatedly with something else, the sound shortly followed by several loud crashes. It is more surprising that the sound comes from the women's dorm corridor. Moments later, there's a bleep on Vic's T-Com.

    Moments after /that/, Donna appears at the top of the spiral staircase leading from the main room to the Women's corridor. In one hand is her sword, and on the sword is a Roomba which she has skewered. It looks rather dead. In the other hand is another of Vic's modified Roombas, this one with its wheels spinning futilely, and two added-on gripper arms reaching towards the dead Roomba impaled on her sword, making grabbing motions towards it. "Vic?" Donna calls out. "Viiiiiiiic!"

Victor Stone has posed:
    Vic did not want there to be a bleep on his T-Com. He was literally two minutes away from winning the Super Bowl with his custom Madden 2021 character, but no. No. There had to be /something./ So shortly after Donna appeared at the top of the spiral staircase, Vic actually stood up and put the controller down to look up at Donna.

    "Hey! What are you doing to my Roomba?!"

Damian Wayne has posed:
    Robin had his spare grapple out on a coffee table, sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor in front of it. The gun was in pieces, showing off the innards for any would-be snoops. But that didn't bother Robin. He was much more concerned with something else with these parts on the table. "The motor can only go so fast, even with Batman's technology. Even with minor tweaks, there isn't much more the motor can give before risking a burnout."

  Robin had been amusing his engineering prowess while idly watching Cyborg attempt to win the Super Bowl. That is until Donna appeared on the spiral staircase with an impaled Roomba on her sword. "Dear god. They've started to revolt." He says, standing up while looking at Donna's quarry. "I will get the EMP grenades, we have to act before they start taking over the Tower."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna gives Vic a stern look that lasts all of a second and a half before giving away to the kind of amused grin that is generally just far more /Donna/. "I don't think we have anything to be worried about, Robin. They seem to only be trying to kill each other, not take over the tower."

    She moves the still-living Roomba closer to the impaled one, and as it gets closer its wheels spin even faster and its arms make an another crab-like attempt to snatch at the corpse of its former brother in Vic's Roomba Army. She yanks it further away quickly, before it's able to sink its metal grabbers into its deceased foe.

    "I found them trying to kill each other outside my room. Caitlin mentioned something about you considering using an 'adversarial algorithm' to improve their cleaning efficiency. Is it possible you have made them a little /too/ efficient? And /too/ adversarial?"

Victor Stone has posed:
    The chrome-and-flesh man frowns up at the roombas for a long moment. "They shouldn't be..." The frown deepens, and then he starts up the stairs to investigate, the cycles of his brain almost visibly turning with every step.

    When he reaches the top of the stairs he holds out a hand for the living roomba. "Let me have a look. They really /shouldn't/ be fighting each /other./" But, well, there's always that bit of code that didn't do what you wanted it to do, isn't there?

Victor Stone has posed:
    Vic glances back down at Robin and adds, deadpan, "Unless they've gained sentience and decided to rise up against their cruel masters."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Robin's mask grows a little wider before taking in what Donna was saying. "Adversarial algorithm? They are fighting over territory?" He chortles, before adding in. "So, now they are doing a King of the Hill act to find the strongest? That is both genius and horrifying."

You can hardly blame the guy, Gotham City is lousy with scientists who've had experiments go awry, or a malfunctioning machine of some sort. This is just what he's used to. But then Vic starts to lend credence to the Roombas starting a revolt. In a split-second, he holds up a miniature black canister, glowing slightly blue. There's a distinct whine of capacitors taking in voltage as he holds it up. "Just say the word Cyborg, and I will give them a clean death."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Still grinning wide, Donna hands Vic the struggling Roomba, but keeps the dead one impaled on her sword for now. "Always a risk, but you'd think before they decided to rise up against their cruel masters they'd go on strike and start demanding pay rather than going straight for violent revolution. I'm not sure how we'd go about paying Roombas for their service if that happened though. New drive belts? Fancy paint job? Higher grade of mechanical lubricant? What does a Roomba want out of life, anyway?"

    She descends the staircase, giving Vic a friendly shoulder-bump on the way, dead Roomba held aloft like a trophy of battle. "I mean when Caitlin mentioned it I assumed the idea was to use competitiveness as a way to encourage the learning systems to produce more efficient pathways around the tower," she says to Robin with a smirk. "But I suppose it's not that much of a surprise if one or two of them figure that the best way to achieve a higher competitive cleaning score is to destroy the other Roombas rather than actually work harder. Perhaps some villain snuck in and gave them a processor boost when we weren't looking in the hope that's exactly what would happen."

Victor Stone has posed:
    "Whoa, uhh... that was a joke," Cyborg says down to Robin as he takes the roomba and starts to look it over. "I haven't put in a neural net or anything. Not sure I like the, uhh... potential ramifications, you know?" He keeps checking the roomba over--presumably for loose wires or something--while he follows Donna back down the stairs.

    "That was the idea, yeah," he says absently. "Like, uhh, you remember that time Gar and I tried to see who could clean the kitchen fastest and he won because he can /fly?/ Which I still maintain was cheating."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Robin shrugs, placing the EMP grenade back in his utility belt. "That is a good question. But if they lack the capacity for thought like that, perhaps they...are taking the easy way out of getting a high score, instead of working for it." His face contorts into a grimace, there's something allegorical about that statement. "Technology mirrors biology. Of course it would."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna gives out a short laugh at Vic's reminder of the kitchen race. "Vic, you can fly too. You could have used the same technique. Mind you I still to this day hold that he didn't actually win. Technically he cleaned a lot less than you did, he only finished faster because so many of the things he was supposed to clean 'didn't need cleaning any more' due to being in several pieces in the trash."

    She takes a seat on the sofa, giving a disapproving look to the paused game on the screen. Madden. Why do people like Madden? She's never understood that. Silly game. "That should have been a warning to you, Vic. We're just lucky the Roombas hit on the idea of trashing each other so they'd have a better cleaning score than setting fire to the Tower and destroying it so there would be nothing left uncleaned."

Victor Stone has posed:
    "That's what I'm saying! He cheated!" Vic pauses, and then looks up from the roomba slowly. Looks between Robin and Donna. "Hunh. That, uhh... yeah, that actually makes sense. Program them to be competitive and some of them will just... cheat." He sighs and shakes his head. "Damn. I'm gonna have to round them all up and reprogram them before they start attacking /us./" He heaves a heavy sigh. He doesn't /want/ to be the mad scientist type, but sometimes he does skirt it. Just a little.

    He takes the roomba over to the couch next to the abandoned controller and sits down with a mournful expression. "So much for the big game. I was /routing/ the Pats, too. Hey, you think programming in, like, receiver routes might help them learn more efficient ways to clean the Tower?" Wow. Someone needs to get out, bad.

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "If they see us as the ones to cause the mess, then logic is that they see us like the source of their needs. If anything, it feels like they would try to trip us and make more of a mess." Even that is a shocking conclusion. But Robin shrugs, collecting the grapple on the table. "I am going to secure my lab before any of them try to knock over test tubes...or worse, spill highly caustic acid on the flooring." Robin nods to Vic, and Donna. "I am at your disposal if you need assistance, Cyborg." He offers, before heading down the hall to the labs.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna stares at the screen intently, as if pure will could convince it to change from Madden to some other game that she actually likes. She gives a nod to Robin but doesn't avert her gaze when he announces his plans. "Probably a good idea, Robin," she says. "I mean they're unlikely to knock over the test tubes on the basis that would just create more work, but they might try to poison us all with them on the assumption that dead Titans produce less mess to clean up."

    When Robin has departed, she turns her head from the screen, having been utterly defeated in her attempts to telekentically turn Madden into something else. "I dunno. I kind of like them this way, Vic. It'll keep the Titans on their toes if we're all prone to being attacked by Roombas at any moment. Consider it a useful training excercise."

Victor Stone has posed:
    Vic groans. "No, because inevitably they'll break something or hurt someone and then it'll be my fault and I just wanted them to clean better." He glances up at Donna for a moment and then goes ahead and hard-resets the console with the controller.

    "Actually, though," he says thoughtfully, "maybe I should just add in something like 'don't hurt humans or humanoid entities' and you know, make sure they include Kian in that and all. Asimov robotics laws." He frowns. "Should've thought of that in the first place. I mean... competing /might/ actually make them better at defending the Tower." With the screen clear, he hands the controller over.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Yeah yeah I know, just because I like the idea of hidden attack robots jumping out at me as part of a permanent training excercise doesn't mean anyone else wants to live like that," Donna replies with a grin.

    It's probably not entirely inaccurate. There was an element of glee in her expression when she appeared with that skewered Roomba. Any excuse for a good fight. Which strangely doesn't really apply to her taste in games -- not that she objects to a good bit of shooting digital badguys, but apparently today Rocket League is her game of choice. She picks up the other controller and tosses it in Vic's direction. "You need focus, Vic. Don't just jump straight into the reprogramming efforts, you know how it is. You'll tell them 'don't harm humans or humanoid entities' and they'll spend the next four weeks gathered together in the sub basement trying to determine whether this means they should kill all non humans or humanoid entities, and then they'll go to war with Metropolis' feline population. Rocket-powered cars playing ball games is the best way to focus your attention on the programming ethics into autonomous cleaning bots."

Victor Stone has posed:
    Vic grabs the controller by reflex and frowns at Donna. Clearly he's trying to find /something/ to argue with in that statement. Then, "Fine. But if there's a hole in Robin's floor in the morning because of acid from the test tubes it's your fault."

    He heaves a sigh and settles in to play Rocket League, the now-deactivated roomba sitting on the back of the couch like a particularly mechanical napping cat. "So how've you been? Bored enough to find stabbing roombas exciting, or was that just a nice quiet reprieve from a busy day?" He /has/ been ubsy with maintenance and other things himself lately.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "I mean... stabbing Roombas makes a change," Donna says with a grin as she starts the game. "But mostly it was amusement. It's not as exciting as fighting an army of zombie centaurs trying to break out of the underworld, but honestly that's not something I really want to face every day."

    "Bored... bored... hmm. Yes, I remember that word. Since the Titans got back together I haven't had a whole lot of time getting to experience the feeling. I mean apart from when we were stuck in that crazy pocket universe inside a black hole, oddly enough. That was fine for you science types, but why did we have to pick a pocket universe to visit where everyone was friendly and didn't want to attack us? I kinda felt a bit... useless."

    She takes a moment during a pause in the game to glance at Victor, tilting her head a little questioningly. "How about you? Sounds like not much was going on here when we were in Tartarus. I'm sorry you missed the chance to visit Themyscira, but now that whole 'no guys' thing seems to have been put to rest we'll get you there soon. Getting to show Dick around was... well. You can guess. In the old days I couldn't even tell you guys that Themyscira was a place. Had to make up stories of being raised in Greece and Turkey. It meant a lot to me, getting him there. It would mean a lot to me getting you there too."

Victor Stone has posed:
    Vic snorts at 'useless,' but otherwise looks contemplative. Finally, "I'd like that, actually. I... man, I dunno. I'm not /bored/ or anything. Who'd be bored, with aliens and robots and shit attacking every other week?" It's said in his normal joking cadence, but there's an odd undercurrent. "I'm just..." He lets it trail off for a minute as he plays the game. Finally, "I turned 27 this year, you know that? I could've been JLA nine years ago. Or NFL."

Victor Stone has posed:
    Vic adds, rapidly, "I mean, five years on NFL... it doesn't matter. You get the point."

Donna Troy has posed:
    The next goal is a really easy one for Vic to score, and when he glances around he sees the reason for it is that Donna is looking at him, not at the screen. She gives him a calculating look for a few moments before hitting pause on the game and leaning back.

    "Vic. You could have been a Titan, and you /are/. No... don't say anything. Just listen for a moment. Look around you, and listen. When we started out, yeah. All of us felt like we had to do this because the League wasn't going to accept us in because we were too young. And nobody said anything, but we all thought it. When we were a bit older, we'd have proven ourselves and the League would open thier doors wide."

    "Thing is, that didn't happen. Doomsday got in the way. And now we're back... well we didn't all turn up knocking on the League's door. When we started getting this team back together, the League was barely any more functional than the Titans were, and the Titans consisted of Raven being alone in the tower, not leaving the building for two and a half years because she was semi-dead. So we got the team back together, and now look at us."

    "When the Alien Alliance invasion happened, we helped out. But we were kids helping the adults. The adults got together without us, so we formed the Titans. But when Brainiac invaded last year, it was the Titans who lead the charge. When the Warzoon invaded, it was the Titans who lead the charge. Right here, right now, if you walked out that door and went to the Hall of Justice to sign up, I have no doubt that they'd love to have you, but it wouldn't be an upgrade."

    "It's not the JLA and everyone else any more. It's the big three. The League, the Avengers, and the Titans. And nobody is quite admitting it yet, but right now we're probably the biggest of the three." She grins a little. "We've certainly got the biggest roster. I mean yeah so they've got Batman and we only have Robins. My sister is a bigger name than I'll ever be, and Supergirl isn't the legend Superman is yet. But we did this, Vic. We built this ourselves. And finally we reached the point where it's no longer a stepping stone, because we dragged this stepping stone so high we're on a level. So yeah, you could have been big in the NFL, but instead you've helped save the world several times, and you helped to found..." she gestures with her controller, sweeping it in a wide arc to indicate the room around her. "This. All of it. So if you're feeling like there could be more... well there can be. Right here. Take a more active role. We've got the new Titans to mentor, and I'm sure there will be no shortage of future opportunities to save the world. We've tripled in size since the old days, and that's an opportunity. Be a leader, Vic. Right here."

Victor Stone has posed:
    There's silence for a minute or two after Donna's done talking, and the big man hunches his shoulders a bit. Ashamed, maybe? He fiddles with the controller for a little while, frowning at the screen but not really paying attention to the game.

    Finally, "You're right. I mean, what I meant didn't come out right, but you're right, too. That's what I've been thinking about, you know? I've had that /whole/ conversation with myself over and over for /months/ now. Like... yeah, okay, I'm well old enough to be JLA now but I'm a /Titan./ I came back for a /reason./ I don't want to leave! I just..." He groans and leans back on the couch, ignoring the game entirely. "I also keep running into 'the kids don't trust me.' Or, y'know. The kid." Damian. This is about Damian.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna nods her head slowly at Vic, and glances back towards the door that Robin had left through only a few minutes before. "Hmm. You know who Robin trusts? Himself. Batman. Sometimes me. Sometimes Dick. That's about it."

    She leans back into the seat some more, her fingers tapping on the controller lightly, too lightly to actually be pressing any buttons. "Okay. So... Robin actually looks up to you. He's just not exactly good at expressing it. He's not good at a lot of those social things. And people tend to think of him as being Nightwing mark 2 because... well, Batman. And that's the impression he gives. Me fight good."

    "But remember how Dick was good with gadgets? Until you and Cait really stepped up your science games, we'd look to him for the tech. Robin's better. But we don't give him the chance to show that, because we tend to think of him as one of the fighters."

    "In the new generation we've got Robin and Nadia both being really good at the science stuff. And mostly people notice Nadia, because she's obsessed with science, and because she's a whole lot louder than Robin is.

    "Truth is those two have pretty similar skill sets. Nadia was trained as an assassin, but we forget that and think of the science thing. But they have radically different personalities. Robin's not exactly sociable, and Nadia can't stop being sociable. But when it comes to Titans Science Division, it's you at the top, and they both have a lot of respect for you. Thing is that where Nadia just wants hugs and encouragement, Robin wants respect. Give him the opportununity to prove himself to you on his own terms, and you won't have to worry about him not trusting you, and you'll see how much he already respects you."

Victor Stone has posed:
    If Vic's skin weren't so dark the flush on his cheek would be more obvious; as it is the hunch of his shoulders again gives him away. He smirks, though, and says in a self-deprecating tone, "You know... you'd think I of all people would've recognized that. What's the thing people say, you get annoyed with what you see of yourself in other people?"

    He takes a breath, straightens a bit, and says thoughtfully, "And it must've been strange for the kid, coming in and working with all these people who know each other, have history, have in-jokes and old stories, work so different than the family you're used to."

    He sighed and looks over at Donna. "Damn. Am I the asshole here?" It sounds like a reference, whether Donna would understand or not.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna cracks a wide grin and reaches out a hand to rest it on the fleshy part of Victor's arm. "No Vic. That's just about being human, and if I've said it once I've said it a hundred times: whatever people might see at first glance, you're about the most /human/ person I've ever had the honor to know."

    "When we got together we were all pretty disfunctional in our own ways. But we made a family for ourselves here. And yeah you're right, for the new guys it can be a bit overwhelming coming into what we'd already built and trying to fit in. There are all those little assumptions a family has when we deal with each other that they've gotta learn."

    "But you know what? They've all got their own disfunctions they've brought in with them, and they're all becoming part of the family too. A lot of them don't have exactly the most solid of family lives they've come from either. But they are learning, and they are growing into it here. Having us walk this path before makes it easier for them, not harder, in the long run. Because we made all the mistakes they don't have to make. So long as we are there to play the big brothers and big sisters and help them along the way."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Did she get the reference? If so she didn't show it. She gets a lot more references than she used to back in the old days. The best part of a decade with the Titans has ensured that, but there are still gaps. Still, it's a lot better than the days when the Titans used to tease her by calling her 'Xena, Warrior Princess' and she had no idea what they were talking about.

Victor Stone has posed:
    Vic grins. "Guess I gotta grow up, huh? Be a mentor. Be a /leader./ I think I can handle that. Probably." After a hesitation, he adds, in a softer tone, "I was never really thinking of leaving, Donna. This is /home./ Hell, my dad paid for half the place." He smirks, but it's brief. "I like the new blood, they've been amazing. I love that we want to expand the family, bring in more people who need a place to belong. The Titans are everything to me. Maybe... I just needed a reminder of that."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna smirks a little to herself and quickly looks away. "Yeah. We all need a reminder from time to time." Her shoulders rise and fall quickly in a subconscious shrug, then she looks back again, smiling a little sheepishly. "I mean I'm the Titan who walked away. Before the team broke up. Thought I needed a time away, but really I was just missing my new Titans family the whole time. And by the time I figured that out, Doomsday had happened and it seemed like I'd missed the chance."

    "Maybe that's why I threw myself into this so much since Gar decided it was past time the family got back together. Why it has been so important to me that we make it work this time. But we have, we really have."

    "When Dick set up the Leadership Council for this new, bigger family, it seemed important that we keep a balance between the old and the new. That's why we got two of the younger members in Gar and Kate, and two of the older members in me and Dick. But when we did that, I insisted we keep two places on the council open. Robin's rough around the edges but he has a lot of leadership potential. And for the OGs? That spot's waiting on you, Vic."

Victor Stone has posed:
    "What, just say the word?" Vic considers, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I mean, if you're asking, I wouldn't say no. But if you're saying 'prove yourself,' well, I can do that too. Like, I've gotta step up regardless of a title, you know?" He grins. "And if you're saying 'damn it Vic help me lead the Titans instead of playing Madden' I can definitely do that."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna arches an eyebrow at Victor, looking at him with unsuppressed amusement. "Prove yourself? You did that back in 2012. Well, maybe 2013. First year, you were kind of sulky."

    Her face cracks into a wide smile, and Donna's good at wide smiles. "Vic, nobody would ask you to give up playing Madden. Not me anyway, Caitlin would never forgive me, though I cannot understand what the pair of you see in that game. But we can always do with extra leadership, and especially when the Titans' science department isn't just you with Cait assisting when you need a bit of help on biological stuff. But this is up to you."

    She gestures with her controller in Vic's direction. "Look, I'm not telling you what to do with your life, I'm not even asking. I'm just saying that the ball is waiting right here in Titans Tower for you to pick up any time you like, and as far as I'm concerned if you chose to pick up that ball the touchdown is already in the bag. Is that a mixed metaphor? I guess it is, but whatever. Either way though, Vic? Get ready, 'cos I'm about to kick your ass at Rocket League."

Victor Stone has posed:
    "Hey, I could be slipping in my old age, you never know," Vic says with a grin. "And no, actually, that metaphor pretty much made sense. The field's clear, no defenders in the way... just have to pick up the ball." He picks up his own controller. "And... kick /my/ ass at Rocket League? Says the woman who doesn't get the appeal of /Madden?/" He snorts. "As if. Bring it."