5370/Dead Man Plushing

Dead Man Plushing
Date of Scene:	12 July 2017
Location:	Void - Super Solar System
Synopsis:	Time to gauge Nicky.
Cast of Characters:	Reaper, 968, Sombra

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Reaper has posed:
Time to see what's in the box they bought, metaphorically speaking. While Reaper knew a lot of Nicky's prowess from her run through the Yorke repository, and could make a few deductions on her lack of bio-signs and inability to break bones in plush form, there was still the question of mental preparedness - something he also needed to pull their -other- potential in on. But for now, with the current mission complete, Reaper turns his attention towards the simple act of organization maintenance. If your organization isn't growing, after all, it's dying. There is no static place to be.

Thus, the training grounds. Ranging from 'basic physical capability' to 'warzone', and then more esoteric excercises as the agent's expectations went up. Esoteric - and clandestine. It was the same pace any Talon agent was put through; The same one Sombra went through originally, to get her physical capabilities in par with her technical expertise. Right now it's a large area along an ocean shore, the smell of salt and the crash of freezing water hitting jutting rocks below. It's here that Nicky has been called, a small transport offered. No windows, of course, so she'll never know precisely where she's at in the multiverse. But beyond the strict control of information to the untested, the whole 'request' has been on the up and up.

Nicky (968) has posed:
Nicky arrived pretty much on time to the transport, but then getting tossed out at the ocean shoreline, she squinted into the sun, glaring at the transport. "Next time tell to bring sunscreen and a hat." she quips, hands in her pockets, eying the seashore with the long road. "Now, what is this. 'Boot camp' with footprints on the floor? Or do I get a training montage up and down the stairs at night? Or do I have to run away from a car while someone shouts that I shall run?"

Reaper has posed:
The Talon agents who escorted Nicky in say nothing, clicking their heels together briefly before moving off. Leaving her just as the cloying black smoke slithers up along the ramps, curling around target drones simulating incoming fire for new recruits to dodge and push against. Around the various exposed machinations meant for the simple act of pushing one's body against gravity, from hard landings to harder climbs. Coiling up on itself, bubbling slowly as it thickens, and from it steps - The Reaper. Trails of that black smoke still clawing at his shoulders as he tilts his head - then tilts it a bit more until it pops. With a thick *crack*.

"This is where take the measure of your life.. " He begins, his voice a low, raspy growl. As always. "The start of making you more effective. For us - and for yourself." The mask dips again, his voice lowering an octave.

"Do not hold back. Everything from this moment forward will be based on your performance. Customized. You'll be doing yourself a disserve - and wasting -my- time. An unforgivable sin." Insert dark chuckles.

Nicky (968) has posed:
Nicky cracks her fingers as she eyes the parcours, perking her ears a moment. "Well, at least I don't hear a carpton of cicadae. So, what you want me to do, Mister Reaper. Or was it Gabe?"

Reaper has posed:
A hissed breath from the mask, and a warning growl. "My name.. is Reaper. Sombra's talent cannot be replaced if I shoot her in the back of the head; Do not make the same assumption." He then crosses those arms over his chest, cowl lowering as he considers. "We can take basic physical prowess after - so let's start with what makes you interesting. Your transformation. How often can you do it?"
Here, the masked head tilts. "And what happens if you do it -faster-?"

Sombra has posed:
    "Awwwww~"

    The sound is sudden as it can be heard next to Reaper, all before a familiar shimmer can be seen as Sombra herself appears, her elbow reaching up to rest on top of Reaper's shoulder. "I knew you cared about me, Gabe. You're so sweet." Of course she can't resist the chance to make fun of her superior, right?

    Her glance turns to Nicky next, and she grins. "Hola, amiga. Too bad you threw away the skull, it tasted rather sweet. Ready for some action and testing? It's not too bad, honestly."

Nicky (968) has posed:
Nicky cocks her head with a little grin "If you shoot me, what do you gain but expenses?" she replies, then returns to some rather nonexpressive face as she musters the Reaper.

"How ofen? Never tried to count, but probably as often as I like, need and want. But what exactly you mean by faster? It takes a bit of time, sure, but usually it is fast enough to save my butt unless it is a bunch of bullets." she replies to the Reaper, looking for something to lean on, but finding the lack of fences or something disturbing.

"What you want me to do?" The last line is more to Sombra.

Reaper has posed:
"Satisfaction."

States Reaper simply to Nicky's question. Did.. did he just make a joke? Which is when Sombra comes over with her gushing, snarky desire to be friends with everyone still breathing. And a few not. He turns his head slowly as she rests her elbow upon his broad shoulder, but makes no motion to shift it just yet. That low snarl rippling out from his throat before his attention goes back to Nicky.

"That's precisely what I mean. Moving in and out of your .. alternative form .. as fast as possible." He considers for a moment, then jerks his head to the side. "Follow." Finally dropping his crossed arms as he moves across the training field, heavy metal boots clunking along the metal plates. And that's right - no safety rails. No fences. Nothing to stop the unwary from tumbling off to a non-lethal but painful fall to the rocks below the raised training platforms. Talon believes in personal responsibility, and an agent who doesn't know their footing deserves the 'break'. The machine he approaches? A simple metal bar on a column. Motorized to spin, starting slow and moving faster as the revolutions pick up speed... there's even a small target near the top. About the same place one would find the throat on an average grown man, coincidentally
Can you see where this is going?

Sombra has posed:
    "If he shoots you he does get some satisfaction at least," Sombra shrugs as she falls into step with Nicky, following Reaper as he leads the way. And as they walk, the hacker turns to the younger woman with an amiable smile crossing her lips. "A few tips for this course, chica... do it your own way. What matters is that you get through it. Relajate, breathe and just focus on the path ahead, don't look down."

    With that the hacker lets Reaper explain matters from here. If she takes over then he's likely to get grumpy. Besides, she's tried his patience a bit too much lately, so let's give him a little break. For now.

Nicky (968) has posed:
"I've no vertigo, if that makes you better." Nicky replies to Sombra as she follows along, her eyes wandering over the obstacles and trying to find solutions that wouldn't slow her down too much. Approaching the first machine, she shruggs a moment, then searches her pockets in a rather obvious manner, finally just bringing a pair of gloves to surface that seem to have been 'forgotten' by one of the guys that brought her here. Casually a metal bar follows, though the hammered surface indicates it is not of Talon origin. Instead, the quick flicked movement to reveal what hides between proves it is just an ordinary butterfly, with wich she turns the full gloves into half finger ones with a bit of cutting and ripping.

    "Anything goes, huh? just get to the other end of the track and don't drop?"

Reaper has posed:
"You're going to get away from that black and white thinking."

Snarls Reaper, as he gestures towards the course itself. That sterile bone white mask of his lowering as it focuses on Nicky. "Red and blue. What you can't do versus what you can. I don't care if you drop - the only goal is to make it to the end. Teleporting or crawling on broken legs from a fall, whatever you give will be.. incorporated.. on the next trial. We'll find your limits, and then? We'll show you how to exceed them." A low, slow hiss from the Lord of the Edge, even as the course begins to swing into action. Poles - hard metal, no padding - swing with low whuffing sounds, different speeds and from different tilts. Gaps at odd places, with non-standard landing angles. Even a few drones waiting with mechanial patience for something to trigger their sensors so they can fire forward. Hopefully with pellets - I mean, it is Nicky's first day, right?

"Finishing the mission is not failure - fear failure above all else."

Sombra has posed:
    "Good for you, vertigo is a perra," Sombra grins, then moves to sit down on the side while Reaper explains the task at hand for Nicky. In the meanwhile she brings up some more screens so she can work on something. What? Who knows... "So are we going for a cuter and fluffier look for Talon then, Gabe?" she asks, arching an eyebrow. "Or are we going to go into espionage?" A fluffy spy could be useful.

Nicky (968) has posed:
Chuckling a moment, Nicky slips into the quickly modified gloves, stretching the fingers a second time. "you're takign a timer or just want me to get to the other side?" she asks before moving to the start, the butterfly knife getting stuffed into the back jeans pocket. She's more than a spy, she is a thief. And a parcours? Slipping on some sunglasses 'borrowed' by some pilot, she turns around to eye the uneven couple of Sombra and Reaper.

    "I know Parcours." she immitates some movie, standing with her feet at the edge of the solid ground, the jacket doing a poor immitation of a black trenchcoat in the light wind. Vaulting herself forward from a low position, she seems to miss the intended pathway on the first two yards, but then her left hand grabs for the rail that was intended to be walked about, turning the free fall into a swing to under the structure. Hand by hand she moves forward under the first obstacle, swinging herself up just after it into a crouch. Jumping forward, she vaults herself over a bar moving along the path in short salti that keep her just out of reach of the hard metal.

    The bars moving like a speeding up grate, or the good old swinging blade over the path seem to slow her forward movement a moment, but it is just adjusted timing: Nicky runs up the first pole 'swinging', balancing on the tip before starting to jump and then run from one to the next, moving over the obstacle instead of through it. The last pole stops her as she turns around, seeming to meditate a moment before letting herself fall backwards. Using the arms, she turns the fall into a backwards roll over her shoulder. Two times she rotates backwards, then pushes herself up into a handstand, the legs flopping over and bringing her back to a standing position just in time for the shooting path...

Reaper has posed:
"We're doing what is necessary, first. Not what's pleasant."

Growls the Reaper, before adding as an aside. "And my name, is Reaper." Arms remain crossed in front of his chest as he watches their newest potential scramble under and beneath the trouble he'd made for her - quietly taking notes on how to make things -harder-. You move for impossible, and then you let them find a way to do it anyways. "An organization that does not grow is withering.. and will die. Talent is an enviable gain, and those -remnants- are not standing still." That didn't really answer the question, did it? Before Reaper begins walking into the course himself, smoke trailing from his cowl.
The first bar whuffs through him, semi-solid, as do the next as he strides. Nicky is a thief - he's an ethereal killer. His form diffusing as he follows after Nicky's efforts at a sedate pace, simply allowing things that want to do him harm to slide through his smoking frame with a whirl of black mist.

"You'll be timed, later. For now, finish the mission." Growls the Reaper from behind Nicky, his voice stranger than normal - semi solid as he is, while he's reforming again. Which is when the drones click and begin to move forward at the sound. A few shuddering as they launch fat, hard pellets along the path in a cacaphony of ringing metal where it strikes. Getting hit by those? That's going to hurt. After a few seconds of silence they slow their barrage, and begin swinging their turrets back and forth. Nicky's in a semi-safe spot at the moment, where their sensor range does not extend. For the moment.

Nicky (968) has posed:
Nicky chuckles as she eyes the drones shoot and clear the path with beanbags and rubber pellets. She may have come to a halt, but not a stop. With the left she pulls the butterfly again, opening it with a SNICK sound and the swift hand movement, arrestign the halves of the grip together. Those knives started out as fisherman's knives on the philippines, but to Nicky it was just another utility knive. And utility knives were to be used as tools. To Nicky, the tool of choice was something test if the drones would jump for movement - and so she threw it after one of the drones.

    Not overly well aimed, but it was on the way to the right drone as Nicky jumped after one on the right, hands stretched out to grab for the frame, hoping to either use it to haul her along the path, turn the automatons against each other or use them as stepstones to get forward.

Sombra has posed:
    "Right right," Sombra agrees with Reaper. "You didn't answer my question though~" There's a tease to her tone, and she smiles for herself as she clicks on her screen, clearly not intent on following Nicky through the training course. Reaper saw to it that she finished it when she first joined the organisation in what seems ages ago.

    Notes are written though, and this whole session is being recorded for training purposes.

    "So Gabe, when are we going to test new recruits with written exams?"

Reaper has posed:
"When I'm certain they're worth the time."

Growls 'Gabriel' lowly, not bothering to hide the communication. He remains where he is, though, watching Nicky work her way through the first challenge course..

Sure enough, as the knife flips through the air the drones twist to follow its motion. The pellets clanging through the air as they fire upon it - even as Nicky leaps for the next one. The sound and sudden motion draws the attention of the drones to the one being perched upon - which immediatly receives a bucket load of blasting. It, in turn, twists and begins firing upon its attackers. If Nicky's objective was to get the dumb automata to turn on itself, she's been more than successful. Using them as stepping stones towards the finale would be kid's play. Which is why The Reaper simply begins walking forward again, a mobile knot of smoke that slithers in and out of a recognizable form - like watching the clouds above slowly shift in and out of shapes. The solid clunk of his metal boot on the final step heralds his arrival, even as his voice growls again.

"What was the objective of this track?"

Nicky (968) has posed:
Jumping from drone to drone as they fought each other, Nicky danced and swung from one to another, flinching as some spray of a close hit burned over her cheek. Swinging her way into the next obstacle, the girl rolled over the ground of the track. A low sweeping beam of iron passed over her head and back as she slipped over the floor on the belly, then pushed herself up to get back in motion, taking a run to pass over a series of incomign beams by using each to rise over the next until she finally could drop onto the last part of the test, a vertical way down. Instead of using the rails and stepstones, she just let herself fall. With a plopp she turned white mist, quickly condensing into a bunny of natural size... and plush makeup.

    With just a light bounce, the white bunny in vest, hat and equipped with a fake clock sewn to the hand landed on the finish line, shaking the useless thing with the fixed number on it. A minute to 5. Always. Late? LATE!? NEVER!

Reaper has posed:
The Reaper watches the last mad dash to the finish line without commentary, his mask and cowl lifting as his hidden gaze watches the transformation for the fall - and the triumph of the White Rabbit making time for the Queen. Well, Lord of Edge. A curious, slow and morbid chuckle curdling from that mask as the arms unwind, heavy boots thumping as he walks towards the plushified mutant. His sterile white mask looking up and along the track again.

"Agile. Quick. Assets that can be honed. Strength as well. You didn't strike at any of the machines... a lack of killer instinct or a tendency to avoid fights. Useful in a survivor." His commentery continues, even as he turns away. Metal gauntlets clasped behind his back as he answers his own prior question.

"But the objective was to get to this side. Nothing else, no time limit. That was the mission." His cowled head turns, the edge of his sterile white mask shown. ".. So why didn't you just walk around the course and to the other side?"
Jackass.

Nicky (968) has posed:
The bunny flails with the clock, then plops to get back to human shape. It takes a moment to evaporate and recondense, but Nicky glares at Reaper as she is back. But she does push 'her' sunglasses back to the right position, properly hiding the eyes. "Getting off the course, walking over here, climbing up? would have taken me about the same time. And why stop to fight an obstacle in a fight that will just slow you down? You said get here, I got here. In one piece and one try."

Reaper has posed:
"Debrief."

Growls the Reaper, but his tone is milder as he continues. "The mission was a success; Now we go back over it to see what could've been done better. The option to walk around to your objective won't be there next time. Nor will drones that fire on each other, or a lack of a timer." His heavy boots clank against the panels as he paces to a good spot, crossing his arms again. Giving Nicky his full and complete attention.
"Debrief - we go over everything you did right. And everything that could be done better. If this situation comes up again, you'll have better plans. Tell me again - why not go around the course and climb up the other side, where there are no guns or spinning poles? Be as honest.. as the grave."
.. Talon Dad Joke.

Nicky (968) has posed:
"The ground is unprotected, but uneven. It doesn't allow to gain momentum and climbing up is slower than swinging and falling. It would have been a route, but you said you wanted to see what I can do in contrast to others, and circumnavigating everybody can." Nicky replies, following Reaper, letting the sunglasses drop just enough to peer over the edge of them.

Reaper has posed:
The Reaper doesn't argue the point, because it's true. But that wasn't the purpose behind a debrief. Instead, a low breath hisses out of his mask as he considers the next question. "Why not disable the swinging poles, then? Their mechanisms were exposed, and you had no time limit. If I had placed something at the end - or changed your objective to be back at the beginning mid-way through - you would've had to handle the exact same situation you'd just gone through. Why leave an enemy at your back?"

It doesn't sound like a complaint or nitpicking - it sounds like an honest question. Albeit, snarled through a voice that's a half step from screaming, raspy and broken.

Nicky (968) has posed:
"It wasn't a hindrance in either direction. Sure, exposed mechanics, but why bother with leaving extra evidence, when you can just run past and ignore it? Took me... three secponds to pass under the rotating pole thing, and maybe ten or fifteen to get over the swingers? Also already had the momentum to get up, so, why loose it?" Nicky shruggs, pointing to the obstacle in question. "Wasn't too much a hassle."

Reaper has posed:
"By your estimation.." begins the Reaper, his voice getting dangerously low. ".. there was no improvement you could have made to your run through the gauge course." He lets those words hang like meat-hooks in a horror show, before a slow and dark chuckle escapes the mask again. A clawed thumb flicks over his shoulder, towards a small station set to the side.

"Have your vitals taken, and the medical team will put you on a treadmill to gauge your endurance. When they're done... contact either Sombra or myself. There is one last thing to handle today - for a mission completed successfully. Even a small one."
A hiss of breath, and the Reaper's mask lifts again. "Dismissed."

Nicky (968) has posed:
"Oh, I could have been faster... had to stop and slow at some spots, plushied too fast and lost velocity on the fall, The drones were a mess... But all in all... I guess pretty good." Nicky injects, then sighs as she looks at the medic station. "Great... One turn in the grinder. Next time put on some challenge..."