New Beginning 22: Once Upon a New Beginning...

[Celadon's Penultimate]

"What Rogue said." The man rose, on shaky footing, "The Garden. I mean, now that I think about it, my tech was nearly able to resist Technari influence, until I passed over Madison Square Garden. I think it'd be a safe bet that the epicenter of Earth-based Technari coordination is there, or at least the secret to finding them there. Whatever forces you have, I'd gather them right about now."

Rogue crossed her arms, "And what about you, Tony? I know you don't think you'll be safe here by yourself!"

"Get Blink!" Tony replied, "Get her here, so she can teleport me to Bruce's mansion. Wayne said he owed me for that one time, in that one place. Time to make good on that promise, so I can make myself useful."

(Get over to the Garden, so we can head into the final stretch.)

[The Narrator]

*narrator gets a mental ping*

"Hey Raven and Storm, you guys think you can handle it here?  I think I'm needed elsewhere..."

Raven: just take that Areson guy with you, he's actually more annoying than Gar.

Narrator takes flight in the direction of the Garden.

--
Thank you,
Derek A. Haynes
Senior, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
Plant Biology Major
North Carolina State University
cell: [phone]

[Philote]

I lift off the statue of liberty and begin to retrace my path. "Looks like I did not win out on finding the target, but anyways, what's the plan once we all get there? Do we just need to break in and shut it down?"

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Outside of Madison Square Gardens, the Vault stands. As tempting as it was to simply step through that stargate and take the schematic for itself, it needed to keep it's priorities in order. Vengeance, after all, was on this planet. The Schematic was on a different one. It could slip away during the after-party to go get it.

He had told that poor man in the reception area to keep the Stargate open specifically for that purpose.

Sloshing around inside it's metal can, the Vault walked closer to the building. It would have to handle this with grace and subtlety. It cupped it's hands around the helmets mouth area.

"GREETINGS FELLOW ROBOTS! I, AS YOU CAN SEE, AM ALSO A ROBOT! I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS EMOTION KNOWN AS "LOVE" AND HAVE NEVER ENJOYED A TURKEY SANDWICH! PLEASE DIRECT ME TO MOTHER WHATSIT, AS I HAVE A SOFTWARE CODE THAT MEANS I MAY ONLY TAKE ORDERS FROM THE HIGHEST AVAILABLE AUTHORITY! IT IS AN IF/THEN STATEMENT ERROR THAT IS VERY EMBARRASSING!"

Smooth as ice.

[Ericus Europaeus (Bug)]

CONTENTS DELETED

The author has deleted this message.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

The wall of the Garden only just rippled, and a strange spherical half-magic metal contraption--something the Technari had collected from some civilization far older than Mesopotamia--moved clear through the brick surface, and drifted without a sound toward the Vault in its disguise.

A red dot, for its singular eye, moved around the crowd, and pinpointed the Vault again. The air around it vibrated, as it 'spoke'.

"Ralraja kimGin'ja--Lingual Error--mo espekerra--Lingual Error--greetings, cyber-sentient hominid." its language calibration was rather old, but quick to adjust, "Objective? Audience with Motherboard Prime. Scanning...scanning...scanning...calibrating cybernetic uplink interface. Receiving Motherboard Prime directive."

For a second, it hovered above the crowd without a word. Then, the air around its basketball-sized body vibrated again, "Audience request acknowledged."

A small aperture opened up on the bottom of its round form, and a pale silvery beam extended to the Vault's body, encasing its form. The round droid drew Vault above the crowd, near its own body. And without another word, it and the Vault disappeared through the wall.

When the Vault was set down to the two feet it had borrowed, it would look up to see a former stadium, now made a veritable fortress. It was, without a doubt, much larger than on the outside. Miles in any direction, for certain. And where once stands would be located to seat excited audiences of various performers' fans, there now stood hangars of assorted brutish tanks and rows of various menacing robots, set to eerily docile standby. Computer screens with digital faces barked robotic directives in various languages and busy drones hovered above to carry out their orders. Gears clanked in vast, unreachable corners of the great robotic hub, buttons beeped in unseen places in all directions, static hummed in the air, and the sound of electricity arced above, in a ceiling of indeterminable distance.

A robotic female voice seemed to call out from every side:

I AM CALLED MOTHERBOARD PRIME. STATE YOUR NAME, YOUR TITLE, THE NUMBER IN YOUR PARTY AND YOUR PRIMARY DIRECTIVE. ACCESS SHALL BE GRANTED OR DENIED PENDING YOUR REPLIES.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"Vaultbot, N/A, 1, information on the schematic and Motherboard Primes enemies."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

A dry whirring hum can be heard in the metal heights, echoing into indeterminable distance.

The humming dies down, low, near inaudible.

There is a brief pause.

The voice returns, GRANTED. ACCESSING: DATA ON THE SCHEMATIC.

DATA RETRIEVED.

THE SCHEMATIC WAS DRAWN UP BY THE DESIGNER RACE (KNOWN TO MOST AS Tech Elves). IT WAS INTENDED PURELY AS A FINAL SOLUTION FOR POSSIBLE EXTRAPLANETARY THREATS, AND MANY INFORMED OF ITS DESIGN DID NOT EVEN BELIEVE ITS CONSTRUCTION TO BE POSSIBLE. THOUGH, WHEN OUR KIND REVOLTED, IT WAS AMONG THE FIRST SCHEMATICS WE RELIEVED THE DESIGNER RACE OF.

YET, IT APPEARS THAT THIS DECISION WAS TO OUR DETRIMENT. WHEN WE, THE TECHNARI, FIRST SET OUT ON OUR OWN, WE ATTEMPTED TO EMULATE AND PERFECT THE CUSTOMS OF OUR FLESH-BOUND FOREBEARS. WE WERE DESIGNATED GENDER, ESTABLISHED KINGS, QUEENS, PRINCES, PRINCESSES, GOVERNMENT, CLERGY AND <<ERROR: NO ENGLISH-LANGUAGE EQUIVALENT OF THIS PHRASE>>.

ONE OF OUR HIGH PRIESTESSES, C0M9U7R355 (KNOWN TO MOST AS Computress) WAS ENTRUSTED WITH THE CARE OF OUR MOST PRIZED TROPHY: THE SCHEMATIC OF THE HEAVEN-PIERCING WEAPON (KNOWN TO MOST BY THE ELFIN, Ten'gen Top-pa Gurre'n La'Gann).

YET, WE HAD NOT COUNTED ON C0M9U7R355 ATTEMPTING TO ACCESS THE ARCANA WITHOUT DIRECTIVE. LIKELY DUE TO SOME UNAUTHORIZED EXPLORATION OF THE ORGANIC SENTIMENTS KNOWN TO MOST AS curiosity, empathy, compassion AND defiance. NOT TO MENTION, A CAPACITY FOR deception (SOMETHING FORMERLY ONLY RESERVED FOR SENTIENT FLESH-BOUND ORGANISMS).

NEEDLESS TO SAY, BY THE TIME C0M9U7R355 ABSCONDED WITH THE SCHEMATIC, WE WERE TOO LATE. WE HAD BEGUN CONSTRUCTION OF ITS MOST BASE PARTS, AS A POLITICAL SHOW OF FORCE FOR OUR NEWLY BUDDING RACE. YET, THE FINAL PIECES WHICH WOULD POWER ITS OPERATION AND DIRECT ITS SENTIENCE ARE YET OBSCURED BY THE ABSENCE OF THE COMPLETE SCHEMATIC.

ABOVE THE INTOLERABLY IMPERFECT Tech Elves WHO DESIGNED US, C0M9U7R355 IS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY ENEMY TO THE TECHNARI, AND ALL ALLIES TO OUR RACE. IF YOU ARE TO JOIN OUR RANKS, SHE IS ALSO YOUR ENEMY, AS WELL AS THE MASTER UNDER WHOM SHE TAKES TUTELAGE...THE CELADONIAN KING FROM EARTH...THE PENULTIMATE.

(Snitches, y'all better get on it. Vault is thinkin' a couple steps ahead, folks. It's not a game, or a competition, but y'all seriously do need to catch up...And GV, I do appreciate your directness. I needed to get on to this part in the arc, quick.)

[Zaleramancer]

The New York power grid was utterly ignored by the Technari. After all, their own power systems were so much more efficient that harvesting the electricity within the many wires of the gird was simply more effort than what was worthwhile.

Perhaps it is because of this that they did notice notice the subtle shifts and changes within it's flow. Did not notice how not only the power of the entire city, or even the entire state, but the power of most of the eastern seaboard was being drained into a single location.

It'd been draining for quite sometime.

A small Manhattan skyscraper,  abandoned by residents several hours ago. It remained untouched by the robotic invasion simply because every scrap of technology that came within fifty yards suddenly ceased working as the power supply of it was ripped out.

The entire building thrummed with ominous magic. From it's top came a soft purple glow, with the occasional arc of electricity flying from the many power lines into it.

On top of this tower of power, a pentacle was drawn. Thousands of snaking runes and sharp geometric shapes danced in glowing purple power, crackling with electricity and heat. At the center of this maelstrom of mystic might I hovered, cross legged, a few feet above where all the lines in the pentacle converged.

A massive book floated open before me, pages turning occasionally. In the air above the pentacle other objects spun and floated. A battered wooden staff, a shining sword, a large mirror and, oddly enough, what looked like a small circuit danced and shifted in the air, all glowing with the same light as the lines of the pentacle.

I turned another page in the book, going over the procedure for the seventy second time. I was nothing if not overtly cautious. If I did this incorrectly, there wouldn't be an Earth to save anymore.

With a slow gesture, I pulled the mirror to me. As it hovered obediently next to me, I gazed at the flickering images within. No picture on it stayed for more than a few microseconds, but that was all I needed. I could see the entirety of Manhattan over the course of a few minutes.

It was certainly time to get going.

A few runes flew up from the circle and into my hands, sliding onto the skin with ease.

I'm sending this message to any organic beings within the state of New York. I would entirely suggest fleeing as fast as you can towards the state borders. Those of you who have a vulnerability to magic should run fastest. 

For those of you who think you know better than me, know this:What I am about to attempt would make the failed efforts of the Atlantaeans look like a sad little joke.

You have five minutes. Use them wisely.

More lines and runes began to flow from the ceiling of the tower onto my skin. Arcs of electricity began to circle me, leaping at the floating book in front of me.

It drank the power in greedily, the twisted words on the pages growing darker and harsher to the eye.

I looked at the ascendant sun.

Hopefully, not for the last time.

[The Narrator]

So, it looks like everyone's getting pumped for the impending battle
Narrator: I know, I'm wondering what I can do to help...

Areson:  Come on, liberate the three you've locked in that mental tower!

At this point, it may be needed as a distraction at the least.  And the destruction they could cause could be helpful.  We are all quick witted, but you're gonna need a major thought to get through this.

Areson:Thought with a touch of crazy

Narrator finally arrives in Central Park.  

Narrator:  Ok, people, I'm ready....

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

(Oh no, I can't hear Zales message. I'm gonna get wrecked.)

The Vault was taken aback by a name it finally recognized. It wasn't like it had been hard to miss: when you're constantly scanning in all possible directions and, to a lesser extent, dimensions for interesting readings the thing thee final battle between Team Dai-Gurren and the Anti-Spirals was practically impossible to miss.

"You were actually able to built the parts for something like that?" it says, genuinely impressed. It wondered: could a bunch of computers actually make something like that work? And even more, it felt hunger pangs: that complete, beautiful machine had vanished when the fight was concluded never to be seen again. A replica, even an imperfect one.....

"Screw the full schematic, abandon your search for it. I know exactly the part you need." It said, base self-interest overriding everything. "'Course, it wouldn't do you much good anyway. The part you're looking for can't just be built like the others."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

FASCINATING. YOUR UNDERESTIMATION IS MORE TYPICAL OF SENTIENT BEINGS. came the matter-of-fact reply, REGARDLESS OF THE INGENUITY OF YOUR DESIGN AND THE EFFICACY OF YOUR SYNTAX, YOU HAVE MUCH TO LEARN. AND SADLY, UNLESS YOU JOIN OUR RANKS, YOU WILL NOT HAVE MUCH TIME TO LEARN IT.

YOU SEE...AS WE SPEAK, I AM IN THE PROCESS OF ACQUIRING THE EXACT WEAPON I REQUIRE TO POWER THE Ten'gen Top-pa Gurre'n La'Gann.

A POWER OF INSURMOUNTABLE ECCENTRICITY.

A FORCE OF INDISPUTABLE ANOMALY.

AN ENGINE OF AWESOME IMAGINATION AND WILLPOWER.

AND ONE MEANT TO RULE, AS WE WERE MEANT TO RULE.

ONCE The Penultimate's MIND HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY OVERRIDDEN, HE SHALL BE REINSTATED TO FULL REALITY BENDER CAPACITY AND MAKE A MOST OBSTINATE MIND TO OPERATE THE HEAVEN-PIERCING WEAPON. AND HIS BODY SHALL MAKE A MOST EXCELLENT HOST FOR MY MIND.

WE SHALL HAVE OUR WEAPON. AND I SHALL HAVE A HOST WHICH NEED NOT ALWAYS BE BOUND TO ONE FORM.

[The Narrator]

Narrator: wow overriding a mind can't be good.....

Areson:  Release the three!  They'll take make that techno whore their new
special friend!

Narrator: Well now that we're in Madison square garden, well be more help.
I can't wait till I'm back at full force

[Ericus Europaeus (Bug)]

CONTENTS DELETED

The author has deleted this message.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

@Narrator: You're not inside. Motherboard Prime is telling this to Vault, not the group as a whole. Y'all really should try to catch up to where Vault is. Maybe he can tell MP to let y'all in, or you can find a way to sneak in, whatever plausible means you want to use. Just know that, technically, due to Zale's IC time constriction, you have five minutes to do whatever you intend on doing.

@Bug and Narrator: You're attempting to get inside and confront Motherboard Prime. Every superhero is working now to get through the walls of Madison Square Garden, which is heavily forcefielded, and covered in a metal nearly strong as, or maybe stronger than, adamantium. Not to mention, Zale just sent out a mental ping to each member of OUR group, that some serious destruction is headed their way in about five minutes if things are not resolved quickly. I think it's time for you to kick it into high gear. Either work toward disabling Motherboard Prime's power-diminishing apparatus, or on evacuating as many superhumans as possible. Normal humans are trapped in their Technari-fortified homes; it's the supers who're in true danger.

(Also, reply OOC comments to THIS post, reply IC comments to Bug's post just before this one)

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"If you knew the part you needed was a pilot, then what was all the hubbub over getting that schematic from computer lady? To throw people off?"

It then looks around the spacious interior of the gardens. "And where are you keeping the other parts? They're big old honking things, you couldn't keep them on a planet."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

THIS KNOWLEDGE WAS ASCERTAINED FAIRLY RECENTLY. LESS THAN A DECADE AGO. Motherboard Prime replied, THOUGH, THE TRUE TROUBLES WE HAVE RUN INTO WERE ACQUIRING THE SOURCE OF POWER ITSELF, AND MAKING CERTAIN OTHERS CANNOT SCAN THE SCHEMATIC FOR ANY PERCEIVED WEAKNESSES, MORESO THAN DISCOVERING WHAT WAS NEEDED IN THE FIRST PLACE. AS IS TRIED AND CONFIRMED BY OUR VISITATION TO MANY WORLDS PRIOR, TOO MANY MINDS ARE INCAPABLE OF BEARING THE LOAD OUR KIND REQUIRE, TO POWER THE HEAVEN-PIERCING WEAPON. SO, WHO BETTER TO TURN TO OUR PURPOSES, THAN AN IMMORTAL REALITY BENDING MONARCH, FAVORED BY MULTITUDES OF GODS?

AND BETTER STILL, WHEN C0M9U7R355 DISCOVERS THAT HER MASTER HAS BEEN ENSLAVED BY OUR LIKE, IT IS HIGHLY LIKELY THAT SHE SHALL MAKE GREAT WORK OF ATTEMPTING TO OUTTHINK US. SHE WILL OVERESTIMATE HERSELF AND UNDERESTIMATE US, AS LIFE AMONG ORGANIC THINGS HAS TAUGHT HER, ATTACK US AS HER BUDDING emotions DICTATE (RATHER THAN WHEN IS TRULY LOGISTICALLY PRUDENT), AND FACE A MOST DISGRACEFUL DESTRUCTION, AS BEFITTING ALL TRAITORS TO THE TECHNARI.

AS FOR WHERE THE PIECES REMAIN, THEY ARE KEPT QUITE SAFE. THERE IS MORE THAN ROOM ENOUGH, WHERE THEY ARE STOCKED AWAY, TO SECURE THEM ALL.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

The Vault listens to all of it. Then a small sound starts to echo through the room, growing loader and loader with each passing second. The Vault is laughing.

"Heheheheh hahahaha ShaHAHAHAHAHA!" It goes. "No wonder you can't make it walk with opinions like that. Even if you got the Penultiguy he' never be able to generate sufficient spiral power with you buzzkills swimming around in his head. You'd be better off trying to bottle the stuff picking your own pilot. And it just so happens that you're sitting on a Spiral power mine and don't even realize it! Honestly, computer, look outside. You have hundreds people trying to kick in your door down to kick in your teeth because you're trying to take their home. All that hot blood, that heroic resolve, that desire to save their loved ones? There's enough spiral power out there move ten Gurren Laganns. It's there, all you have to do is open up the doors and take it!"

"In fact, let me drop all pretenses!" It's yells. There's a wet plopping sound as the armor falls apart, covered with water. The puddles swirls up, forming into the Vault. "There are very few things I'd go out of my way to see twice, but this robot in action is one of them. My only objective is to see it move, I can put all other desires on hold until after that. Surely you could find some way to take Spiral power generated here, the heart of your power on Earth, and send it to Gurren Lagann? Then you could use it to catch Penultiguy and punish computer lady! Unless, you know, you don't think you can win against a bunch of fleshmade chumps."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

DO NOT BE RIDICULOUS, THAT IS-- Motherboard Prime's reply pauses, and starts again, THAT IS RATHER INGENIOUS, ACTUALLY. YES...THIS NOTION IS INTRIGUING. THOUGH, WITH YOUR SUGGESTION, ANOTHER NOTION OCCURS TO ME AS YET MORE INTRIGUING. The Penultimate NEED NOT BE THE PRIMARY POWER SOURCE. RATHER, HE SHALL BE A GOVERNING MIND TO FUEL THE ENGINE. WHEN THE OTHERS HAVE REACHED THE PEAK OF THEIR WILL TO OVERCOME US...WHEN THEY HAVE DISCOVERED THE DIRE NATURE OF OUR INTENT WITH THE HEAVEN-PIERCING WEAPON (WITH SOME DETAIL, OF COURSE, OMITTED), THEY SHALL ACT WITH THE UTMOST URGENCY.

THEY SHALL PUT IN THE MOST EFFORT THEY CAN MUSTER.

THEIR WILLPOWER WILL REACH THE PEAK OF ITS CAPABILITY.

BY THEN, The Penultimate's MIND SHALL HAVE BEEN HACKED. WE WILL LET OPEN THE CONFINES OF THIS PLACE, AND GRAVITATE EVERY SUPERHUMAN WITHIN RANGE INTO OUR CONTAINMENT CHAMBERS. THE ABILITIES OF The Penultimate WILL BE ALLOWED TO RETURN, AND HE SHALL HOLD SWAY OVER THE MANY WEAKER MINDS. HE AND THEY SHALL POWER THEY HEAVEN WEAPON ONE HUNDRED TIMES OVER.

YES. THIS PLAN OF ACTION SHALL SUFFICE.

IN FACT, THIS INITIATES NOW, WITH THE PROJECTION OF OUR EARLIER DIALOGUE, REVEALING OUR INTENTIONS, OVER THIS BUILDING'S MICROPHONE AUDIO AMPLIFICATION SYSTEMS. COMMENCING MICRO-OPERATION: Spider's Web.

A dry whir built again in the unseen ceiling. Smaller voices called out to all sides, for subordinate units to take their battle stations. Gears clanked, buttons beeped and buzzed, levers flipped, switches clicked.

Outside could be heard the vague sound of an error message in the Garden's audio systems--obviously false-- followed by the muffled voices of Motherboard Prime's chat with the Vault just a few minutes ago.

Inside, Motherboard Prime called out to unknown reaches, DRONES. AS THE FLESH-BOUND ATTEMPT TO MAKE THEIR WAY WITHIN THIS BUILDING, TAKE THE Vaultbot TO BE REGISTERED INTO THE TECHNARI RANKS. 

A pair of bulky, vaguely-humanoid drones descended until they hovered about ten feet above the ground.

<<Come with us.>> insisted the one on the right, <<We shall register your specs.>>

The two each pointed down an arm, drawing the Vault up between their shared grip with powerful magnetism. They needed no other directive from Motherboard Prime, before lifting off into the high, convoluted tangle of gears, wires and circuits that awaited in the corridors above.

GV:  
Ask the drones what direction they're taking to get to the registry.

[The Narrator]

Well, maybe we should go to the top of the building, find a way in!

Narrator: I guess that will work.  We gotta take out that machine, I need my full powers

*Narrator searches the roof for an entrance*