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NecroKnight · May 23, 2017

Kary watched Aya leave their group - feeling slightly sorry to see the alien-girl leave but maybe it was for the best, for both of them. Kary wasn't much of a foreign ambassador and knowing her mood clashing with that of Aya, they were bound to soon develop clashes. Especially with Aya being part reason, why she was here in the first place.

She then turned her attention and listened to Agent Love speaking about the possible upgrades that they could be outplanted with. She nodded in reply, tapping her fingers upon being told that - such upgrades weren't available to them yet. Well, that kinda made sense - they were barely learning and it would likely take them time. Since as Agent Love liked to repeat to them - they had to learn, before using their provided gifts.

Kary had zoned out the previous rant from Dante - it had indeed sounded childish to begin with. Her speech about Dante did also ring with Karoline - when she spoke on how what they defined them. Or was it something else. Kary closed her eyes, letting the information sink in - her previous situation didn't define her, neither what she had or possessed now. Kary was Kary. Nobody would take away, what she had wished to do with her life.

Karoline' interest perked - when they wer egoing to be shown a clip of something. As she judged from Agent' Love voice it seemed to be something important. If they couldn't watch it without Aya being with them. The two names sounded strange at that - Vanguard and TitanGuard. She recalled that one of them, had been talked on the news - about a corportation developing a peacekeepers for the United Nations. However, the Vanguard sounded far different and unknown to her. Eager to hear the history behind them. But also upto watching the clip itself.

One Mean Ghost · Jun 2, 2017

Dante de la Cruz

And this, boys and girls, is why Dante de la Cruz never tried to be Mr. Nice Guy. It never failed to backfire. Though he would never admit it, Alpha Bitch did have at least a little point. His dad probably never cared about a name. Maybe he'd gotten a bit too fixated on that instead of fixating on some of the more important things. Maybe, just maybe he should have worried less about a name and more about learning what he could.

But he would never say as much out loud. Fuck that.

No, that would give Alpha Bitch way too much satisfaction if he were to do that. So he just swiped his Comms and Band off the table without another word. He slipped the band on his arm and the Comms over his right ear. For now, he just had to grit his teeth and deal with every insult this Alpha Bitch could think to hit him with. He knew what he was capable of. He just needed to show it when the time came to get her off his back.

Dante moved away from the desk, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest as Agent Love hurled yet another insult his way. If she thought she could run him off so easily, she was sorely mistaken. He'd been called worse things by better people. It just made him all the more determined to take every last insult she threw at him and shove it down her smug bitch throat.

"None of us are going anywhere. So roll the fucking tape and let's get this shit started" Dante said irritably as he waited to see just what sort of propaganda video she had to show them.

Randomfella · Jun 2, 2017

Just like that it seemed the strange alien girl was sent away as soon as Shift had met her. Zeta'ing to the watch tower, how he dreamed of doing that, who knows what you'd see there.

Shift almost felt bad for Dante as he half grovelled for a change of name. For a second he wondered if Agent Love would consider it, but as she instantly shut the guy down it seemed obvious what kind of stick she was trying to throw. To buckle even to the most reasonable of requests would make her seem weak, a prospect she probably wouldn't wish for considering she had to lead the small group.
To be honest, Shift half wanted to go see exactly what his room for the foreseeable future was going to be, though of course the idea of this tape was for more interesting to him.
Crossing his arms and resting his body, he nodded to Agent Love in agreement. Sure the boy's name was a bit of a joke, but who really cared if this wasn't a one man operation.

Sir Les Paul · Jun 3, 2017

File Upload...
▓ ▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌Complete▐▐▐▐▐▐▐▐▐ ▓

Agent Love darted an evil look at Dante for a moment. For just a brief second, her mentality shifted from professional to personal: the kid was getting annoying. All he did was whine. And, when he didn't whine, he found a way to brood and curse in the corner. The whole world apparently had to be against him. Self-centered thinking. The type of thinking that got people killed. That, above all, is what irked her. Nevertheless, the brief second passed and the group was in agreement as to moving on.

Agent Love let her fingers dance on her tablet once more and in just a few moments, the lights in the room dimmed and the table between them lit up. At first, it had several booting sequences of blue diagrams and what seemed to be oddly-shaped objects of various sizes randomly rotating in different directions. Just a series of graphic test sequences, really, but still within the realms of impressive to anyone whom may not have ever seen one. Of those in this particular room, that was likely an experience only Agent Love and Spark shared. Until now, that is.

It was only a half-moment before the screen booted up to a flashing panel that read 'File Upload... Complete' before beginning to populate the entire field with a geographic overlay of what appeared to be a large city. It took little time for five floating screens appeared alongside the overlay of the city below. A still shot of the letter T on each for now as the five screens aligned in a slight curve, granting the appearance of a curved screen--although with a few sharp angles. This technologyis what the League had to offer. This was the new standard of the Titans.

"There will be two back-to-back clips. The first will be five autonomous units from the TitanGuard initiative, two modular equipment units and a mobile launchpad. The second will be a team of five mercenaries, most of whom are now members of the Vanguard. The test is a virtual simulation of a large scale attack from Braniac. The type of scenario small units like this would be most important in dealing with while heroes like Superman and Thrall dealt with Braniac himself. If I recall correctly, the city is based off old Boston," she explained. All quick, matter-of-fact quips. Each a slight delay, but each also important to what they were about to see.

The delays, however, were over.

[On to Page 2.]
The field below them was massive. At least half of the city was included. The focus soon shifted as the overlay shrank down to the size of a dozen city blocks to focus on the equipment Agent Love referred to earlier. Three enormous trucks hauled themselves through the panicked streets. Each were entirely custom combat vehicles, all unlabeled. Completely unmanned and just large enough to make it down a single side of a street--if only by literal inches. The two outer screens started out pitch black with the three center ones illuminating the trucks; all below was the overlay of the field. Soon after, the left outer screen kicked on and began showing an advanced mapping system--some of which shut down or took over newer, auto-piloted cars to make way for the trucks to advance with the clearest path. Not unlike what emergency services were capable of. The entire system even before implementation was integrated deeply into the city. The right screen soon lit up with several videos of various, mechanical tendrils tearing through buildings as Braniac Bots broke into high-priority buildings and began downloading pertinent information.

Then came the first confrontation. There were many threats to the city. Braniac Bots acting as autonomous data miners before destroying what they determine unnecessary. Triangular platforms roughly the size of a city block and at least three stores tall, equipped with canons, mechanical arms and capable of deploying Braniac Bots. Not to mention the drop ships that stayed within a protective field created by the mother ship hovering above. It was one of those ships that planted a platform right in front of the convoy. Immediately, the trucks stopped and recharted course. When within a calculated distance, the center truck stopped, anchored itself in the ground and in just a moment, five metallic bodies flew out of several compartments on the truck. This was the beginning.

The Titans were large constructs, nearly eight foot tall, and made completely out of a dull, plated metal. All were identical, appearing similar to a European Knight in stature with several patches of extra, thickened plating and a short, slopped fin atop their head. Overall, there bodies were incredibly streamlined, including the thrusters on their back and various hubs for attachments. There was no immediate design flaw, no place to easily grasp, no fold to rip open, nothing left bare or exposed. These were the inventions of a Luthor, no doubt.

The platform took next to no time to discern the Titans were a threat. It began launching its mechanical tendrils at them, but the Titans were not only able to swiftly dodge and analyze the patterns of the tendrils, but two connected their arms with a green laser grid and began cutting through the tendrils, disabling the platform. Not only were their movements equally swift and coordinated, but their on-spot adaptation continuously made them more efficient at disabling the platform. It seemed the first wave of Braniac deployment platforms stood no chance.

This quick adaptation became the pattern for the next series of defenses the platform had. Particle beams were dodged and collateral damage was avoided significantly due to the several powered bulwarks that were deployed from the equipment containers in the second truck that were then guided by one of the Titans. Surrounded by eight floating barriers, the Titan placed itself perfectly time after time to deflect damage and save lives. All that was left were the Braniac Bots and their deployment was futile. Outmatched by plasma weapons attached to the arms of the Titans, they were quickly scraped before the drop ships even had a chance to deploy reinforcements.

The Titans weren't the only bionic beings capable of adaptation, however. Each new platform proved more and more difficult to bring down. By the fourth wave of platforms, the Braniac Bots were now fighting in tandem with the tendrils and entirely new drones were being launched to specifically target deployed equipment from the equipment trucks. Not only that, the Braniac Bots had determined that the Titans were intentionally preventing collateral damage. This actually coincided with one of their primary objectives: secure worldly data before destruction. However, such objectives had been quickly overrode in the face of opponents like the Titans.

Now, the Braniac Bots were intentionally splitting the attention of the Titans. Groups of three, an awkward number for the Titans to deal with, were launching themselves at the trucks in an attempt to eliminate enemy resources and the potential of a base of operations. While this would be untrue in the sense that the Titans were controlled via secured satellite, the strategy was still valid. At the same time, other groups of three were being sent out to assault the largest possible groups of human civilians fleeing and did so by assaulting the largest buildings.

The ultimate result was the trucks deploying all remaining equipment modules to be controlled by the Titans. This eliminated one potential target and allowed the Titans more useful tools. Kinetic stabilizers and barriers were being used by each set of Titans. Two of which were using their bodies, barriers and tools to literally hold up falling buildings. The screens began showing flickers of stabilizers creating tactile fields around parts of the building while the Titans themselves tried to evacuate civilians.

The other three Titans began a massacre as a hunting party. By first imitating the actions of the Braniac Bots as a group of three, they began selectively targeting them using the trucks as bait. It wasn't until the remaining bots began to assault the Titans on the falling buildings that tactics changed. This was where the Titans truly shined. With all of their equipment deployed, including three impressive sets of long-range weaponry in the form of plasma rifles, the Titans began tearing through the Braniac Bots with even greater ease than the first way. New toys, new tricks.

But, it wasn't just an onslaught. The Titans and their movements were perfectly synchronized. Even the Titans evacuating citizens. Weaving in and out of their own patterns, they blasted through the remaining Bots while darting around them with no clear target and in fact seeming to miss blasts--until it all came together. Using the same laser-cutter technique they disarmed the first platform with, two bots began cutting through the platform again. This time, the platform reinforced. In the end, that adaptation didn't matter as all the 'missed shots' chipped away at the outside plating.

The next wave of Braniac Bots came in with the crashing reality that there were still several other ongoing platforms and hundreds of other Bots throughout Boston sacking the city. The Titans may have been eliminating the Braniac Bots easier, but they were far slower in taking down the entire platforms. This Titan Unit could only do so much. This fact became more evident when the next wave of Braniac Bots came in a large diversity of units. Because the last fight took longer, the Braniac System had more time to adapt. More time to figure out how to fight the Titans.

The two systems clashed: the TitanGuard of Alexis Luthor vs. the Braniac System of an Intergalactic Genius. It was never a fair fight. The Titans were quickly forced off the offense by aimed particle shots from long range weaponry the Braniac Bots built to combat the diverse tactics the Titans displayed. The tendrils, this time, did not assault the Titans whatsoever; instead, their plated bodies created shielding and valleys for both sides, forcing the Titans to either come in through heavily-guarded holes or the Bots to make it through.

As the Titans backed off, the Bots went on their assault. Adapting to the plasma cutters with the use of their own, purple-hued energy weapons. Not only did they prove capable of clashing with the Titans, but their movements were synchronized together just as eloquently as those the Titans previously displayed. It was no immediate massacre, however. The Titans, when grouped as five, constantly adapted to their Braniac counterparts. The fight was intense. Titans displaying advanced tactics like launching themselves at the opponent using slingshot techniques, blades hooked onto each other for quick shifts in movement and ultimately even close-range grapples on the other bots.

As the fight drew on, the Titans went down one-by-one. The first was impaled during a grapple. The Braniac Bots were disposable. The Titans were just four. Then, three, when one of the Braniacs damaged the plasma rifle the Titan was using, causing it to malfunction and meltdown the Titan. The remaining three simply were out numbered and quickly gunned down.

42 minutes. That was the duration of five Titans and their equipment. thirty-nine total platforms were eliminated, eight-hundred fifty-two Braniac Bots were destroyed and an estimated twenty-seven thousand total lives were saved. These statistics read across the center screens which faded to black.

[On to Page 3.]
The screens illuminated again. The simulation began considerably different. Each of the five screens were focused on a different individual. The center screen focused on a woman in red-clad bionic armor with a yellow visor. Below her screen read 'Scarlet Rose', which seemed to be a pattern for all of the screens. Below the picture of the Commander was his title, below the picture of Waller was 'The Wall', there was another female in a dark green armor that read 'The Enforcer'--that was Agent Love, by accounts. The final was a gentlemen in considerably different gear--that was Hyperion. The focus of this simulation seemed to be more on the specifics of each team member than the actions of a system.

"Wall, barricade the East at 89.23, 45.47. This will be the drop-off point for civilians. Enforcer, Hyperion, there are six platforms within a kilometer radius near the Children's Hospital. Clear them out. Commander, you target the bots. Take a Mark 57. I will be the front line for the wall and keep survey the field. Go," said the central figure, Scarlet Rose. Her word appeared to be law. Even for Waller.

Waller took no time in darting off to the destination given him. His armor closely resembled that of Scarlet Rose. A dark red with a few metal scrapes. His back was adorned with considerably smaller thrusters, but a set of three compacted guns. His forearms and elbows had small protrusions that prevented his armor from being entirely streamline, but it worked nonetheless. Waller began literally throwing cars into buildings or onto the sizes of the streets. Anything that was in his way, but he didn't do so haphazardly. He lined the up along the sizes of the streets against buildings in such a way that they provided slight reinforcement. Not long after, he planted began planting down discs on the ground. The focus quickly shifted.

Scarlet Rose fired a single shot from a massive sniper rifle she had nested atop a large building. The shot was tracked through the air and it hit its mark: one of the thrusters on a platform that was descending in front of Hyperion and Enforcer. The Titans may have took down their first platform with ease, but the Vanguard made it look like part of an obstacle course. Hyperion used his magnetic chips launch up to create perfectly placed platforms for Enforcer to leap up on. And, so she did, launching herself up at the off-tilted platform. Together, they were able to blast down several Braniac Bots headed their way, but that was far from the impressive part. The Enforcer only elevated herself so high to plant a device on one of the tendrils of the platform before being pulled back by the magnetic forces at play with Hyperion.

Soon after, the tendril was literally ripped off the platform, then straightened out and impaled through the metal monstrosity like an enormous spear. Explosions ensued and the platform toppled straight to the ground--all in under a minute. As it fell to the ground, Hyperion used the tendril spear to guide it down away from the more populated areas and in the mean time, the Commander was darting in and out of the fray with survivors. They may not have had the synchronicity of flying war machines, but they each definitely played a specific role.

As for the Commander, his feats were likely the most impressive thus far. In less than ten minutes, his Braniac Bot kill count had skyrocketed to nearly two-hundred and fifty--more than any of the Titans. His tactic was simple. Almost as if teleporting, the Commander launched himself at bots in fractions of a second and used his bionic arm to impale through their chest to a central core. When he banked sufficient time, he became intangible. The Mark 57, however, was not. The gun was a beast with a tendency to over heat, but it cut through Braniac Bots like a hot knife through butter. No, not all his shots hit their mark, but they didn't need to. By the time the gun neared over heating, he had used most of his banked time and returned to impaling the bots. Overall, he kept the field clear for Hyperion and Enforcer as they trekked through.

Then came the second wave. These bots adapted, too. Unique to this group, however, was that there existed some aspects of combat they could not immediately adapt to. The Commander, for instance, moved too quickly to observe, so the mechanisms of his technique were nigh impossible to adapt. The Enforcer was skilled; the best gunman on the team. Adapting to skill alone was a difficult task. Most likely the easiest one to adapt to was Hyperion. The next metallic platforms were non-magnetic, or at least, not to the same degree. Without the aid of a metallic structure, even the attachments Hyperion possessed were not sufficient to let him impale an entire platform again.

Waller kept out of the fray. In the time the others were tearing through the field in front of them, Waller had called in and designed an entire safe zone for civilians and even brought in hundreds of them that the others had saved. Unlike the others, his combat style was more conservative. What he brought in was the equipment. In fact, all of the equipment for his team was delegated to him. Two huge plasma canons were zoning drop ships out of the sky, preventing them from placing any platforms near the safe area. The area on the ground was covered in a purple projection of kinetic energy fed by the cities electrical lines and a converter. The entire point was to provide a low-to-the ground platform for citizens to run to that kept them protected from falling debris and other damage.

Most unique to Waller was not his constructs, however. It was his recruitment. Waller convinced hundreds of young souls to help. Firemen, EMS workers, police and even just able-bodied men capable of carrying another went back out into the fray to save others. Waller set up communications with people he delegated leadership to. The ultimate base of operations used was a subway tunnel beneath the surface which was now being stocked with resources 'appropriated' from a nearby hospital. Nurses, medics and even doctors were helping out--all because Waller convinced them to. While the others were fighting a battle above, Waller was leading a revolution below.

Meanwhile, the Enforcer and Hyperion were beginning to meet their match. By the third wave, the Enforcer had to activate the neural net enhancement in her suit. Her blasts were doing more than hitting her targets. Using her two trademark handguns, she was able to perceive and even blast projectiles out of the air from Braniac Bots. However, the Bots were hardly the issue. The Commander took care of them with ease. At thirteen minutes in, his killcount was at 756--alone, he neared the total that the TitanGuard took out. However, most of the kills were attributed to him as Scarlet Rose had only three, Waller had zero and Hyperion and Enforcer combined had less than fifty.

Their goal, however, was to disable the platforms, and they did. However, they took another step. The Enforcer, when boarding the first few, placed devices inside each one that allowed Scarlet Rose to analyze them. There was a method to their placement as she determined. While the primary objective was to secure data, it was more so to gain networking placement. This battle, despite being a simulation, was an entire farce by Braniac. The overall objective of their opponent was simply to plant enough remote networking controls to gain access to Earthly networks and gain control over them over time. With hundreds more Braniac Bots and Platforms being dropped all around the city, it was entirely impossible to actually win this simulation.

"The ground forces are a distraction. Get a drop ship. They have a communication relay with the mother ship. The platforms are only networked with each other," Scarlet Rose instructed them over their comms.

The Commander was the first to chime in, "What will it look like and what do we do with it?"

"Inside one of those? I have no idea. What we need is a way to confirm which networks have been compromised," Scarlet answered him.

"Once he gets to the internet, will it matter?" Hyperion asked. Weren't they all taught that once it got on the internet, it was out there?

"Stop asking questions. There are plenty of defense specialists for that. We're on the front lines," Scarlet answered.

Then came the surprise. "I'm in. It came from Waller.

"What do you mean you're in?" Scarlet replied.

I'm in a drop ship. I'll tell you whe--"

"What the fuck, Joseph? You were on defense."

"Yeah, about that. Put Hyperion on defense next time. He's better at it."

"Joseph, you cocksucker. If you fuck this up for u--"

"--Oh shit. Meri--" It cut off. Not from static. From Scarlet.

"Regroup. Enforcer, Hyperion, return to the coordinates. Hyperion. you're on defense. I'll patch you up to controls. Enforcer, you're the new face. They need a leader. Commander, keep doing... whatever it is you do." Scarlet said. There was irritation in her voice. Frustration. At the same, time, there was knowing they had to adapt. Waller was just ahead of the curve.

A quick replay on Waller showed precisely what he did. The mother ship was providing a barrier on the drop ships that let them place up to three platforms at a time safely. Waller aimed both of his large artillery canons at the barrier precisely as platforms were coming out of it. Not only did he destroy the platform, but he created an opening in the barrier they he could slip through. Not that he went in unprepared. His original dark red armor was augmented with several additions from one of the supply trucks. A large gun mounted in his shoulder, larger thrusters, more armor overall, two guns located beneath his arms attached to platforms from his back. The man was prepared for war.

Lo and behold, he made it in. By the time Scarlet was explaining why they even needed in one of the drop ships, Waller had used a concentrated beam from his shoulder mounted rifle to cut a hole in the outer layer of the drop ship. He boarded it, obviously, answered Scarlet, but was almost immediately swarmed. This was when we got to see the man that was Joseph fucking Waller. Waller ditched his heavier armor and larger thruster due to the weight. He darted in and out of the narrow halls, blasting down robotic guards with reflexes on par with the Enforcers. All the while, he tossed drones to scout the ship and even implant themselves into control panels.

Waller was fighting a one-man war. The drop ship was not taken back to the mother ship. Instead, it was put in stasis. Much like a body trying to fight an infection, he was sealed off so that larger reinforcements could deal with Waller. His drones did their job, however, in locating the central control point of the ship. Unfortunately, this was a Braniac ship. There was no user interface and Waller was no hacker. Instead, he did what he did best: improvise. Waller planted several sound semi-spheres around the central computer as he blasted down waves of Braniac Bots. He was vastly out numbered from every angle and new bots were being released. Not bots, actually. Replicas of Braniac himself.

While the others were defending the civilians below, Waller was up against a wave of Braniac Guards and a replica of the insane android built to withstand a brawl with Superman. Waller was down to defending three hallways and even then he was only doing so by mounting his shoulder mounted rifle at the top of a hallway as a turret. His armor was set to an autonomous mode, meaning he was in nothing but an elastic undergarment used for the suits as he defended the halls. His turret soon fell. The armies of Braniac soon encroached. Waller had nothing left, just one gun, no armor and potentially one of this most idiotic plans he had came up with yet.

Then he heard it. The shrill beep of his semispheres. He ran to the center control panel before the nearing guards or Braniac replica could reach him. His drones were destroyed. His turret blasted apart. His armor ripped to pieces. He could hear the marching of the guards before the end.

Not his end, though. No. Waller ran through several buttons on a wrist mounted computer, not unlike the ones used in the Watchtower. In just a second, each of the semispheres connected to each other, even slicing directly through guard androids, before creating an awkward ovular shape around the central computer. Then, it was gone. A huge hole missing from the ship, which was now plummeting. Just a second later, Waller and the computer core appeared near some of the black platforms he set up initially. Waller was half-nude in elastic garments holding a gun and singed, but he did far more than anyone expected. He came back with an intact computer from a drop ship.

Scarlet rushed over to him and grabbed him by the hair of his head. "What the fuck, Joseph? Is this that Zeta tech you jacked?"

"Yeah, and this is a stolen Braniac computer."

28 minutes. That was the duration of the Vanguard simulation. A total of fourteen platforms were eliminated, nine-hundred and seventeen Braniac Bots were destroyed and an estimated eighteen thousand lives were saved. These statics read across the screens.

[On to Page 4.]
The lights let up, illuminating the room slightly. What was left were the statistics displayed from the last battle. Then, a comparison of the two:

42 minutes | 39 platforms | 852 Braniac Bots | ET 27,000 civilian lives

vs

28 minutes | 14 platforms | 917 Braniac Bots | ET 19,000 civilian lives saved

Agent Love said nothing. She stood with her arms crossed, tablet in front of her and just watched. She wanted to see the reactions and upcoming interaction of the Junior Agents in front of her.

Fin.

Randomfella · Jun 4, 2017

Shane could notice the tension in the air, it was clear Lovehad a problem with the over-talkative Spook. Soon enough though she started the display.
The technology looked amazing, not like anything he had seen before, but this kind of thing was probably normal to them. The idea that he was actually going to be involved with the league began to really dawn on him. It was exciting, but terrifying.
The show only got better as the sequence began however, he was convinced these clips were going to be intense.

Robots stealing data, massive canon wielding triangles, and a truly infamous villain. Shift's mind began to drift to a situation where he fought braniac himself, melting his circuits in a flurry of acidic flames... Sure, he couldn't do that right now, but surely one day he would be able to... Or even be able to control his current abilities... He hoped.
As he snapped back into attention, the large Titans were in battle with braniac's forces, it was something to such a display of power and finesse. Shane clenched his fist as he watched the bots chase after civilians, after all, protecting them was all he really wanted. Sure, it was a simulation, but there was always a chance of something like that happening.

Despite the bots being massacred, they began to adapt to the Titans, their strategy clearly changing constantly. What Shift didn't expect however, was the Titan's constant adaption in response, causing an intense battle of both firepower and stratagem. Soon after however, the Titans were cut down, the seemingly unlimited supply of disposable braniac bots finally gaining an advantage. All taken down, but the amount of lives saved by their actions seemed phenomenal.
Shane's eyes began to shiver at the sight, is that what they expected from the three of them? That kind of co-ordination and ability? He wanted to believe they were capable... But he truly didn't. Hell, he couldn't even work with himself, let alone a group, not in a situation like that.

Soon enough, another simulation began, this time it seemed to be more of an account of each person in the unit. Wait, was that... Agent Love? Suddenly the command came out from Scarlet Rose, those listening following the command instantly. It was arguably even more impressive than the Titans, it seemed much more complicated for them to take down the platforms, but they still had success. Each carrying out their orders without second thought, fully focused on their mission.
With the actions of The Commander and The Enforcer, Shift almost didn't recognize how successful Waller was in the endeavor, creating safe zones, rallying those around him. Sure, it wasn't as flashy, but it definitely wasn't easy, and it was a vital role.

Yet still, even as the Vanguard continued to fight against the bots, a similar outcome seemed to be forming, the bots attempting to adapt, their numbers infinite. It didn't take long for the team to discover brainiac's intentions however. Arguing occurring over their coms as Waller had seemed to take initiative in the situation, going against Scarlet's command, showing an intense display of skill after ditching his heavy armor. Still, Shift couldn't help but question his methods, the braniac clones were extremely tough, and he didn't think Waller was a heavy hitter by any means. His plan becoming clear though as he activated the semi-spheres, just as Shane assumed he would fall.

As the lines read along the screen, it was clear just how well they did, despite not having the Titan's power, they destroyed a good amount of braniac's forces, and saved a significant amount of life, keeping theirs intact all the while. Maybe this was what Love wanted them to see? That skill could truly compare to pure power? It made Shift think for a while. All this time he wanted to join to become more powerful, to train his abilities... But maybe he needed to work on other things even more.
He didn't even realise he had been standing there, mouth agape, lips shivering for the last few minutes of the vanguards mission, eyes never leaving the display. As he did, however, he quickly attempted to compose himself. Wiping his forehead, a blotch of sweat falling from it, the acidic liquid burning a small hole into the ground. "Shit..." He whispered under his breath as it looked toward it, before facing Love once more, expecting her to have already started talking about the simulations.
But she simply stood, watching them. Shift looked to his side, glancing at the others, before facing her once again.
"You really think we could aspire to work together like that?" He simply asked, attempting to take a relaxed stance to what he had just seen, though a truly perceptive individual could see that his mind was rushing at extreme speeds, full of questions, doubts, and concern.

One Mean Ghost · Jun 6, 2017

Dante de la Cruz

If Agent Love was trying to give them all a wakeup call, she sure as shit did it...

The first simulation, right off the bat, hammered a very important fact home to the brooding Ghost-boy: This wasn't about a gang or some thugs anymore. No, he was expected to take on globally threatening shenanigans, or at least, that was he was selected to do sometime in the future. His eyes fixated on the simulation as the Titan Guard ran through its paces, and slowly, he stood up off the wall and came closer until he was as near the displays as he dared get without risking missing any crucial detail.

It was... overwhelming...

His eyes never seemed to stop moving, darting rapidly over all five screens as he tried to process everything that was happening, but he couldn't. Sure, the obvious things were easy enough, such as the platforms, the tendrils, the braniac bots, etc. But factor in the civilians, the buildings, and the sheer number of enemies, and he knew that he was no where near ready for this kind of shit to go down... He rested a hand on one of his father's Colt .45's, using that as an anchor to steady himself as he watched even the mechanical TitanGuard get systematically slaughtered...

Then came the next simulation... Five mercenaries... What could they possibly do against Braniac when the TitanGuard got completely destroyed?

He soon had his answer...

It was phenomenal. Once more, Dante's eyes darted every which way on the screen as he watched these mercenaries absolutely tear through the enemy. The first to really catch his eye was the Commander, if for no other reason than because of the Commander's intangibility. It was something Dante made heavy use of, and prided himself on, but he knew damn good and well the Commander had him beat at his own game... His eyes, for quite some time, were glued on the Commander, trying to capture every movement he made, even if the Commander moved so fast Dante could barely even begin to grasp it. If Dante could find a way to fight half as good as that....

It wasn't until the third wave when Dante's attention finally shifted off of the Commander and onto the Enforcer. His eyes widened just a little bit as her marksmanship went on full display. Once again, Dante found himself lacking at something he used to think he was good at. He couldn't shoot half as fast or accurately on his best day, and don't even start about hitting targets moving that fast. It was undeniably frustrating, yet at the same time he felt his adrenaline rising as a smirk started to spread across his lips. So this was the level he was expected to reach as a Titan?

Then came the discussion that snapped him out of his other train of thought. 'Wait, how did they figure out it was a distraction?! Shit!' Dante realized all at once that he had been so fixated on watching the individual mercenaries that he had completely lost sight of the big picture. He mentally chastised himself for that, especially after a similar mistake had nearly killed him on his first outing as a vigilante.

'Wait, when the fuck did Waller get on the ship?!'

Yet again, he had missed a crucial detail. It was too much sensory information to process all at once, watching five mercenaries at the same time. Thankfully, a replay showed exactly what Waller did, and Dante couldn't help the shit eating grin that had his face now. It was exactly the kind of crazy stunt he'd come up with. Granted, he'd probably have significantly less success with it.... Especially as he was now...

At this point, his adrenaline had peaked, and he was acutely aware of every twitch in his muscles, and every breath that entered his lungs. Damnit, he was excited! It wasn't until Waller successfully extracted the computer that he finally started to come off his adrenaline high. He let out a sigh, shaking himself off though that grin never did leave his lips. So that was what they were expected to achieve; the level they were required to reach...

It was a tall mountain to climb, no doubt they had a really long way to go, but Dante was itching to take the first real step. Some, however, seemed to have more anxiety than enthusiasm at the moment.

"You really think we could aspire to work together like that?"

Dante's emerald eyes shifted over to the ugly son of a bitch next to him. "If the higher ups didn't think we could do that at some point, we wouldn't be here" Dante chimed in. "Agent Love said as much herself." Did he actually use her full title? Maybe it was a mistake, or maybe seeing that she was more than just their appointed handler first hand had instilled in the unruly youth a small glimmer of respect for her.

"That said.... We've got a long fucking way to go before we're that good." Dante chuckled shaking his head. "So the big question I've got is what's our first step?" He crossed his arms over his chest, feeling the disk under his shirt as his gaze met Agent Love's. All of this had suddenly got a whole lot bigger than anything he'd ever done before. Even now, his heart was pounding in his chest with excitement.

Damn it, he was fired up!

NecroKnight · Jun 6, 2017

Sir Les Paul

Kary had her mouth open and hanging in a way, that could easily catch a dozen flies within. Karoline had thought for a long time, that in her status she was a well - 'able-bodied fighter'. But once she saw what Vanguard and TitanGuard was able to do - her ideals of being somebody able-bodied was thrown out the window and drowned in a sea of sewage water. Far from being anybody good, she was a tiny fish in the ocean. The sight of seeing how good Enforcer or rather Agent Love was - it made Kary slightly in awe and slightly more afraid of her now.

In any case, she was now certain - that if Love wanted. She likely could mop the floor with all three of them, before any of them realized what had happened. The fighting and combat, the difference between Vanguard and the Initiative spoke volumes - both were good and both were deadly adversaries.

As she examined both of them, Kary saw what separated the two from the other. TitanGuard was in a word consistent, they acted as you might expect - quickly reacting and also bringing something new to the table. But Karoline saw it was a basic, 'bringing a bigger gun for a bigger gun' scenario at work. Eventually one or the other, would be at the end of their ropes and get blown away - as this was the case, the TitanGuard units were eventually overwhelmed by the situation. Although, they did rack up quite a good count by her calculation. Far more than anybody of them could do.

Then came Vanguard, which showed what ordinary humans could accomplish - or rather well-equipped, trained and armed humans with some powers added to the mix. Kary also heard how the other two were rather overwhelmed by the situation they had seen, Kary was too - but unlike the boys, she had some control over her emotions...well most of them. Since her eyes were slightly twitching after that show - she had to shake her head to get it to stop.

Kary looked at her other two teammates then back at Agent Love - as she was likely trying to get a reaction out of them, while it seemed eagerness to get going was the big dynamo taken by the boys, Kary decided to be the well 'brains' of the group. Since while Vanguard showed what could be accomplished with skill, bravado and will - from her own experiences, she knew how such things could backfire.

"Uhhh....mmm...Agent Love...wasn't....Agent Waller' plan kind of....risky?" she stated, slightly slinking down in her chair. She didn't want to say 'lucky' otherwise, she was sure Agent Love was going to hit her with something. Kary was rather awed and using such an idea - getting other people to help evacuate other people - well it was a genius idea, since it lessened the load on yourself. It was something Kary wouldn't have thought about using at all.

However - namely it was because, it ran counter to what Kary usually knew about fighting crime. Usually involving civilians in such a combat-heavy situation was B-A-D. Sure it was a ingenious idea - but it could have easily went side-ways. What if the Brainiac Bots decided to distract Vanguard the same way, they had did with TitanGuard - the civilian casualties would have easily doubled by that regard. Not to mention Waller' idea of assaulting the mothership by himself was text-book 'suicide mission' if Kary ever saw one.

It made her wonder, if Waller had failed - then what? She had seen how quickly the TitanGuard units fell - when one of them was taken out. If Waller hadn't succeeded, how long until the other four got overwhelmed and 'eliminated' - if one factored that, TitanGuard would have maybe lasted longer and had more platform kills to their name.

Yet the Vanguard' high-risk, high-reward strategy prevailed in the end - but Kary wasn't so sure, that Agent Love wanted them to be Agents in such a scenario and making up their own ideas - when the situation suited. OR maybe the League did want that - after they had been trained enough to make such situational' calls. Fucking, her mind was starting to burn up at trying to calculate the right answer for this - she simply decided to let Agent Love answer that question.

"Also...what happened with the TitanGuard Iniative?" she added. Wondering what happened to TitanGuard - they seemed rather strong and very effective in combat - while they weren't something she 'd 'trust' as a Justice League. The TitanGuard were very well-made and designed robotic soldiers - but they lacked, the thinking 'outside-the-box' characteristics. Vanguard seemed more of the alley of 'agents' and mission-personnel. It also made her think, how good would the situation be - if both Vanguard and TitanGuard worked together.

What made her more ask the question - was if the League had any of them at the ready. If they wanted to fight such beasts, Kary was seriously considering to update her 'faint' program - since fighting those TitanGuard soldiers, would likely end with her being smacked down in less than three seconds. Maybe two, if it had a loaded gun.

Sir Les Paul · Jun 10, 2017

Agent Love

There it was. The spark inside each one of them. Agent Love had seen hundreds of mercenaries come and go in her time. Some of them veterans damned to the life. Some of them absolutely green, looking for fame and fortune. Almost all of them came to this particular moment, but most of them did so in the field. Most of them did not realize the line that divided amateurs and professionals. Most of them had to see first hand what potential could be when cultivated. These three were given a gift that they likely wouldn't fully appreciate until well into their career--if they made it.

Each of them had their own set of questions. Agent Love felt it only appropriate to answer them in order. "Agent Shift, the goal is not just for you three to work together like that... it is for you to reach a point when you can work like that with any properly trained agent. Or, even a liaison from outside of the League. So, to answer your question aptly: teamwork is not just your aspiration, it is one of your primary objectives," she explained. She actually returned to a point she made earlier. The consistency in her performance was already showing.

"Agent Spook, your first step is reaching a set of standards I have chosen that place you as an Entry-Level Agent. One of the pivotal problems Agent Spark showed in Team Arrow was an absolute lack of coherence and basic understanding. I will make sure that none of you will fall prey to those same failures before I let you even consider fighting street-level crime. And, as I'm sure you've guessed, you won't be allowed to fight battles like the simulation you just saw if you aren't even allowed to clean up petty thugs off streets," Agent Love further explained. It made sense. Probably to no one more so than Karoline. Agent Love was almost generous in her explanation of what happened with Team Arrow, but it nonetheless brought up a point... Skylar never taught her or any of the others how to function together or what the real boundaries of the League are.

"As for Waller, Agent Spark, I will tell you this. Nine times out of ten, a man that pulls the stunts that Waller used to will find himself in an early grave. Waller... well, let me give you a bit of background. His grandmother is Amanda Waller. She worked for the United States government when meta-human catastrophes and alien threats began to become an every-other-week occurrence. When she was an Agent, she made herself known as an Elite. They dubbed her 'The Wall' because of her indomitable spirit. With no powers of her own, she squared off against Batman, Luthor, Braniac and even the forces of Apocalypse with nothing more than soldiers and military tech. In almost every major conflict for the first two decades of the original League, her forces played a role not unlike what you saw in the video. Waller, her grandson, earned her title again. In the field, they called him the man that could not be moved. The Wall. He has held positions that any one else, including myself, would probably lose. He has this way with people. You saw in that simulation. He's a man that everyone loves to hate until reality bares down and he's the one left standing, holding everything together," Agent Loved said. She tried to explain it. She did. But, it was hard. It was hard to explain to the group that Waller, their leader, was one of the rare few alive that got by as an exception to the rules.

"What I mean to say... is that for anyone else in the world, what Waller did was downright stupid. That's why Waller isn't the one teaching you," she explained. She let off a slight smirk before she said, "And, as you saw, I follow my instructions to-a-tee. I expect the same from you."

Agent Love let out a slight sight. She was internally applauding herself for that turn around. Nevertheless, there was one final question to answer. "Right now, the TitanGuard is considered a resource of the League and Waller has them placed into some contingency plans. To what degree... I'm uncertain. What I do know is that he managed to secure the endorsement of their creator when founding the League, which is yet again something only Waller could likely do. You see, the United Nations could only fund one program fully. The new League or the TitanGuard. They ultimately chose the new League, leaving the TitanGuard unfunded and a huge sink of resources for LexCorp. To be brutally honest with you all, the answer to that question is hidden underneath mountains of red tape that I quite frankly don't care about--and neither should you," she told them all. It was obvious to just about all of them that this was far less her forte.

With an abrupt shift, she said, "Without any more questions, let me enlighten you on your first stage of training: conditioning. I already know that even Agent Spark can improve her android body through proper, rigorous training--I asked our techs just to make sure I wasn't wasting my time. I want each one of you to be at your top performance within the next four weeks. Reason being is that your training regime will stick with you your whole life. Your body is the greatest tool you will ever have--not your powers. Hone it. Master it. I want the only people on this planet capable of competing with you to be Olympian athletes. That said, there is enough time left in the day to measure your current capabilities. Once you've done that, I'll dismiss you until 0900 tomorrow."

Physical Tests
- Bench Press, max weight.
- Weighted Squat, max weight.
- Sit-Ups, per minute.
- Push-Ups, per minute.
- Pull-Ups, per minute.
- Punches to bag, per minute.
- 100-meter dash, timed.
- 1-Mile run, timed.
- Jab, total force.
- Side kick, total force.

((Note: Make these realistic. Google is your friend. If needed, I can provide averages, but I assure you that those are a search engine away. The entire point of this is to ground your character in a sense of reality... with Karoline being an obvious exception. If you want to follow my guidelines, Karoline should top off every one of these. Followed by Shift, whom has went through military conditioning. This isn't at all about determining your order, this is just the first step in showing improvement. Lastly, there are machines in the training room to measure applied force and every piece of equipment is 'smart' in that it will record the findings for your character.))

NecroKnight · Jun 13, 2017

Sir Les Paul

Kary followed after Agent Love into the training room - where they'd be tested. Soon enough, Kary was called out first - getting weighed at around 135 lbs - it seemed, that she was the smallest of the group, despite her age and size.

Then came the tests - first off, was strength involving lifting. Despite her small frame and weight - Karoline had more than enough strength hidden under her frame. As she pressed - and kept on pushing until her breathing started to involve into heavy groaning and with a loud yell - she lifted her weight and soon dropped it. Luckily, not crushing her due to the system it was built on.

'Bench Press - 151 lbs' it read on the counter. A rather small number - yet it was around 1.2 times her own weight lifted up. 81% stronger than most modern females in her age and ability. "Okay...that was much-" spoke Kary, breathing heavily. "So.....onto the next one..."

'Weighted Squat - 227 lbs' read her second counter - namely weighted squat. 1.7 times her on weight - meaning she'd be more than able to carry the guys out, if the situation developed that they would need evacuation. "Ohhh....None of you guys better be over...225 lbs...or else..." she spoke, getting some water before resuming her test.

Next came her final strength counter - namely the level of her attacks. Several of her fastest strikes and kicks later. The counter on her attack read: 'Punches to bag - 37 times. Jab - 188 pounds of force. Side kick - 612 pounds of force'.

After the strength test - came her endurance and agility counter testing. First up being endurance - as she was allowed to do push-ups, sit-ups and chin-ups. Her progress was very good in endurance as well - as her counter soon read out: 'Sit-Ups - 42 times. Push-Ups - 48 times. Pull-Ups - 29 times'.

Then finally came her speed test - as they averaged on the more human limit. Namely coming in at, as her counter read: '1-Mile run - 7:48. 100-meter dash - 0:15'. "I....uhhh...know I ran 30 miles-per....hour once...." panted Kary, after everything, sitting down everything was over and she pushed herself to the maximum. She didn't know her body could hurt in such places overall.

As she checked out her score - at her current Physical Level - she'd very much be able to be conscripted into the US Army - as she maxed out almost in all categories. Maybe even the US Rangers - if she had the mentality and conditioning for it. "So....how did I do?" she asked.

One Mean Ghost · Jun 15, 2017

Dante de la Cruz

So now it was time for a workout...

Dante had, of course, followed the others to the training room, and had watched as Kary put on a rather impressive display. For her small size, she had a lot of power, that much was certain. Of course, Dante was a cocky son-of-a-bitch, and had spent more than a little time in a gym growing up. After all, it was a good excuse to stay away from his mother.... He slipped off his jacket, tossing it over a nearby bench. He didn't want to mess it up, after all.

First up, the bench press, a staple in any gym rat's weekly routine. Now, Given he weighed in this morning at about 210 lbs, it would be a bit strange if he couldn't out-bench the girl who was half his size. He was impressed that they had an adaptive machine that would actually add the weight for you to help figure out exactly what your max was. He would have loved something like that back at the YMCA, but obviously their budget wasn't nearly as robust as the Titans' budget. A few easy reps and the weight quickly started to adapt. His lips curled back in a smirk as his eyes seemed to grow wild. He let out a shout and heaved the weight off of his body and locked it out.

'Bench Press 275lbs' Just about 1.4 times his own weight. It was decent, but a far cry from Olympic caliber. It would settle him as an upper intermediate level for his weight. "Still better than my last PR, so I'll take it" Dante chuckled as he dusted off his hands to head over to the next station. No doubt a factor in him setting this personal record was the very nature of the machine itself. On a normal bench press, you had to work on balancing the weight during each repetition. With this fancy machine, balancing wasn't a serious issue, and he could just focus on pushing for all he was worth.

'Weighted Squat - 335lbs' About 1.6 times his weight, this time putting him more at a lower intermediate level for his weight. The only thing that really irked him about the numbers was realizing that the girl was pound for pound able to lift more weight than he was. And that didn't sit right with his competitive nature... "Tch....I knew I shouldn't have skipped leg day...." He grumbled under his breath, chastising himself for taking it 'easy'.

Then came the bag... Just like back at the Y practicing Muy Thai. He settled his left foot back into a southpaw stance before taking a deep breath. '1 minute, kill it!' How many times had he run this drill? Eh, he lost count quite a long time ago. He started out quick with a repetitive jab-cross combination, but noticeably in the last 15 seconds he wasn't nearly as quick as the first 15. Even still, he hammered out a blistering '175 punches to the bag' in that one minute, putting him just shy of three punches per second. "That's.... How you do it..." Dante said, panting to catch his breath after that flurry. That drill felt like it was just as much a testament to endurance as hand speed, especially if you were putting anything behind the punches... Granted, in favor of putting all that speed out there, Dante had dialed back a bit in terms of actual force behind the punches.

Then came the Jab, one of the fundamentals of boxing. It could keep your opponent back, set up combinations, and even create openings. Although it'd never have the same force as a cross, it was still important to have a strong jab, otherwise no one would take it seriously. Once again in a southpaw stance, Dante settled in before he let it fly, his hips turning as his right fist snapped forward. Of course, his form wasn't exactly perfect. His elbow did flare out a little as he tried to put more behind the punch, and he didn't punch as far through the target as he should.

'Jab - 257 pounds of force.' His form still needed some polish, but it still had some solid force behind it. The same could be said for his kick. 'Side kick - 932 pounds of force'. In this case, it was the opposite of his jab. Instead of striking too shallow, he struck too deep to really get the most out of it. No doubt if he could fix his technique, the force behind his hits would increase. Even still, it wasn't bad for someone who only had YMCA Muy Thai classes, and some street fighting to fall back on.

Next came the more 'normal' physical fitness tests. Given how his arms were feeling, it was becoming quickly apparent that this test was just as much a test of your overall endurance and ability to push through fatigue as it was your actual strength. Rather than getting discouraged, the longer the test grew on, the more excited Dante seemed to get. He was enjoying himself, and it showed.

'Sit-ups - 58, Push-ups 54'. Yeah, he was definitely feeling the burn at this point. The situps weren't bad. He had a strong core, thankfully, but pushups were another story. After bench press and that punch flurry, his arms were sore, and the pushups felt like murder. Still, he managed to put up a good number. Pull ups, on the other hand...

He was feeling that fatigue, but he was too damn stubborn to let it show. He grabbed a gulp of water and soon attacked the bar, but it was clear he was burning out. He started out strong, but he couldn't even hold himself up the full minute before his arms just hit the 'NOPE' button. 'Pull-ups - 21'. He laughed as he dropped off the bar. "Fucking hell..." He shook his head as he stared up at the bar. He knew he could do more than that in one go, but dammit, his arms were fried. Even if he tried kipping, he just had nothing left to pull with. He just shook his head and moved over to the running portion. His legs had time to recover since the squat, so he wasn't too worried. Cardio was something he wasn't too worried about. Running all over San Francisco's hills growing up had given him a good set of legs to work with.

'1-Mile Run - 6:27. 100 meter dash - 12.93 seconds.' For a big guy, he could sure move his ass when he was so inclined. "Not bad for a guy wearing jeans" he snickered as he caught his breath. He walked over to a more spacious area nearby. "Now... If you'll all excuse me..." He turned towards them and just fell flat on his back with a dull 'thud'.

He'd always been in decent shape growing up. After he decided to become a vigilante, he started taking his workouts far more seriously than before, and thankfully it seemed to have paid off. But of course, he wasn't thinking that about now.

"If this is your idea of a preliminary test.... I can't wait to see what the actual training is like... Fucking hell!" Dante laughed even as he lay sprawled out on the ground. Oh yes, he'd be feeling this tomorrow, and the next day, and probably the day after that... If this was going to help him get on the same level as his father though, it was more than worth a little bit of pain.

Randomfella · Jun 17, 2017

"Heh, now you can see something impressive." He boasted to the others, though the idea of using the equipment in front of them was daunting, he'd accidentally burnt through enough benches and weights to know better than to think this would go well. His mind half focused on controlling his body, he continued on.

At 220lb and constantly changing, he came to the bench press, knowing full well he relied far more on his legs.

Bench Press - 285lb. Not the best he's ever done, but it wasn't terrible, something like 1.3 times his weight. "Now this should be fun." He laughed as he approached the squat.

Weighted Squat - 440lb. "Much better." He thought to himself, flexing a bit as he did so, not wanting to give any impression of concern over this exercise.
He then came to the bag, this was an excersize he had done many times, but always focused on technique over raw flailing speed, quickly following each jab with a well timed cross.

Punches to Bag - 60 per arm (120). A reasonable result, his muscles weren't agreeing with him by now however.

Thankfully his core hadn't taken much of a beating, but a combination of tired arms and relatively weaker upper body strength, his push ups clearly took a hit.
Sit-ups - 61, Push-ups - 45. He was definitely used to these kinds of exercises, something he was drilled in for his military training, though it seemed he still had a lot to improve on.
Pull-ups 18. "Damn, so close." He thought to himself, not wanting to lose out, but pull-ups were definitely never his strong point.

As he rushed to squirt some water into his mouth, a puff of purple gas seemed to develop from it in turn. "Uhh, ignore that, just how I, uhh, relax my lungs... Yeah." He stated as he tried to save face.

Jab - 280 pounds of force, Side kick - 1158 pounts of force. He had a good amount of weight, and reasonable technique to put behind his jab and side kick, though he knew a good iron fist would have done a lot more. This equipment really impressed him, maybe he would come back to see what else it could do.

Finally he came to the mile-run and sprint, he was used to long runs and sprints, but he often cheated a little bit in the military by transforming into something a bit... Lighter...
Here however, it was clear he wouldn't get off so easy.

1 Mile Run - 7:05, 100m Dash - 15.2s Stumbling over to a nearby wall, Shane relaxed his body upon it, a small sizzling sound seeming to come from the contact, but he was too worn to care. "On to the next one then?" He chuckled to himself, thanking his luck that he hadn't accidentally caused some sort of fire or destroyed any of the equipment in the process of his testing.
He then moved his hand to his stomach, damn he was hungry, and his metabolism only made it worse.

Sir Les Paul · Jun 20, 2017

Agent Love

0825

Bench Press — 285 lbs
Weighted Squat — 440 lbs
Sit-Ups — 61
Push-Ups — 45
Pull-Ups — 18
Punches-to-Bag — 120
100 Meter Dash — 15.2s
1-Mile Run — 7:05
Jab — 280 lbs of force
Side Kick — 1158 lbs of force
Bench Press — 151 lbs
Weighted Squat — 227 lbs
Sit-Ups — 42
Push-Ups — 48
Pull-Ups — 29
Punches-to-Bag — 37
100 Meter Dash — 15s
1-Mile Run — 7:48
Jab — 188 lbs of force
Side Kick — 612 lbs of force
Bench Press — 275 lbs
Weighted Squat — 335 lbs
Sit-Ups — 58
Push-Ups — 54
Pull-Ups — 21
Punches-to-Bag — 175
100 Meter Dash — 12.93s
1-Mile Run — 6:27
Jab — 257 lbs of force
Side Kick — 932 lbs of force

"As you can see, Waller didn't make this easy. The only thing Spook does is run, his mouth included. Spark seems to have went brain dead when Waller shut off her switch. Shift is about as vanilla as you get," she explained to the fellow Vanguard. Waller had informed her to call in help if need be. Her patience was thin. Why he wanted her, of all people, to train a bunch of rookies was a mystery. Not like she hadn't shot plenty of her own comrades, nonetheless a bunch of green-ass punks.

...

"Alright, Nate. They start at O Nine Hundred. Conditioning was my plan, but if you have other plans, I'll consider it," she responded. Then silence. Her call was over. Of course, there were just thirty minutes to show up on time, so it was just a bit more valuable to him.

0850

Same training room, same floor, different time. Unlike yesterday, however, even Shift wasn't there early. It seems these kids didn't learn the lesson of 'fifteen minutes before is on time'--which was surprising given two of them already had experience here. Eh, maybe it was the morning. Love was hardly enthralled by spending her nine AM block of the day when she could be with some tall, tanned local in the Cayman Islands using all that money she accumulated as the Enforcer. Not that Waller ever let her have much downtime anyway...

...Cruel bastard.

One Mean Ghost · Jun 20, 2017

Dante de la Cruz

"Fuck mothering maze.... Should have found this damn room twenty minutes ago.." Dante muttered as he finally found his way back to the training room. He had planned to be there a half hour early to see if he could put 15 more pounds on his bench press score, but without his ghost powers to faze through everything, he had to relearn how to get everywhere in the tower, and he'd gotten a bit lost a few times. He was highly competitive by nature, and the fact Shift had bested him in bench, squats, sit ups, and strike force, his pride was damaged. So damaged he even overcame his usual issues with mornings to wake up earlier than needed.

Today, to account for the planned conditioning, he was wearing black basketball shorts and a grey muscle shirt. This particular muscle shirt had a picture of a cat holding a weight, with the words 'Kitten my swole on right meow' emblazoned around the image. He even tied his unruly mane of hair back into a full pony tail to keep it out of the way.

His emerald eyes scanned the training room, surprised to only find Agent Love there before he was. "Huh, I thought at least one of them would beat me here..." he murmured to himself as he took a gulp of water. He had spent much of the night before stretching to make sure he would stay loose after the workout the day prior. Dante had hoped to get here before Agent Love so he could see about upping his scores, but that plan was out the window now. There wasn't enough time to warm up and make the attempts.

"I'm going to take some laps to get warmed up... If you need me or got something else for me to start on, just give a shout" He nodded to Agent Love as he walked past her. Well, it seemed him using her name the day before wasn't entirely a fluke. He was still rough around the edges, but clearly he had a great deal more respect for her after seeing her in action.

So, he started around the track at a moderate pace. At least, moderate by his standards...

Randomfella · Jun 21, 2017

"Wait, what the?" Shane commented as he looked at the clock. He had planned to wake up by 8, not 10 minutes before the damn training started. Watching his alarm clock ring, no noise came from it, that's when he noticed the massive buildup of what he could only describe as 'goop'. Heading to the sink he quickly attempted to wash it out, before putting on a casual black singlet and shorts.

Running to the training room, Shift was in a puff as he reached Love. Standing stiff, he addressed her. "Agent Love." He greeted her somewhat formally, his breathing still heavily increased.
His focus was cut off by Dante already running around the track though. "This guy is full of surprises." He though to himself as he noted the seemingly rebellious spook turning up early, his hair all tied back, and... What was that on his shirt? Shane almost couldn't hold back laughing at him.

Considering his mediocre scores for running however, it was clear he should probably focus more on his own problems, and joined Dante in a few laps from the opposite side of the room.

NecroKnight · Jun 22, 2017

Kary arrived about five minutes before Nine O'Clock. Namely cause she was able to set her internal clock to awaken about fifteen minutes before Nine.

As she soon got quickly dressed and arrived as well - having thrown her hair into ponytail this time. "Morning, Agent Love, Ma'am," spoke Kary, addressing her superior. As while Shift and Shade seemed to be eager on getting warm by running - Kary decided instead to stretch her body out. She was really out of shape, if despite her enhanced body couldn't bet two normal humans at that. Plus since it was five minutes before Nine - she wanted to be close-by to Love so she wouldn't miss out on anything she wanted to say immediately.

As she started compiling a list in her head - namely, first thing she needed to improve was her physical strength. Despite being a good 80 lbs lighter than the others - it didn't mean she could jerk off and not improve. Her body should be a good twice as better than the average human - not a bare one and 20%. As the clock ticked to nine - Kary soon took her position near Agent Love - already trying to form a more professional attitude.

Retro-Grey · Jun 25, 2017

Nathaniel Hart

"What in the actual hell is that noise? Did I change my ringtone again?" A very groggy man said groggily as he reached out from under the comforter of his bed, he grabbed hold of the sleek black cell and answered. The figure of a woman clad in glasses and a suit soon flickered to life, the man poked his head from under the comforter and watched as the woman spoke.

"As you can see, Waller didn't make this easy. The only thing Spook does is run, his mouth included. Spark seems to have went brain dead when Waller shut off her switch. Shift is about as vanilla as you get," she explained to him, to which the man lazily yawned before replying.

"Even on vacation, an agent never gets a break. In other words, I'll be there soon," He lazily pieced together before attempting to blink the sleep out of his eyes.

"Alright, Nate. They start at O Nine Hundred. Conditioning was my plan, but if you have other plans, I'll consider it," she responded. Then silence. Her call was over and the man, now known as Nate, was left about thirty minutes to make his way to the Tower.

Without wasting anymore time, Nate got up from his bed and hopped into his shower. He spent as much time as he could in there, but it was still only about ten minutes tops. It was official, he was starting to hate schedules more and more. That didn't stop him from continuing on as he was told to do; besides how would he explain to Waller that he didn't do what he was asked of? After a few more minutes, Nate threw on simple sneakers, black sweatpants, and a white t-shirt, leisure clothes in other words, he didn't wanna get his nice clothes all dirty

Ω

"Sorry I'm late," Nate apologized even though he arrived at the designated time. He had a pair of shades on and his hair was a sort of mess that fell slightly in front of his face. He didn't remove the shades as he stood by Agent Love, slightly towering above her. His eyes scanned around the room, "These are the recruits? Alright, show me what they got."

From what he could see, he noticed the immediate differences in stature and well... appearance. As profiling as it sounds, two of these kids were oddly colored. Likely to do with abilities. One of the Titans was multicolored, another was almost completely green. They were an odd bunch, the only one that seemed normal was Antonio Banderas over there. But that was likely not the case at all. Nate crossed his arms and kept himself quiet as he stood off to the side.

Sir Les Paul · Jun 26, 2017

Agent Love

Alias: The Enforcer
Location: Fifth Floor
Tags:

Retro-Grey

0905

Agent had the notification setup for when Nate arrived via the Zeta Portal. He would be late. In the building on time, sure? But, he wasn't getting to their floor by nine. Lo and behold, she was right. He came in just after Spark at 9:03 and had himself introduced in the minute after. But, given the short notice, showing up even remotely on time was some type of feat.

"You have their stats," Agent Love replied, "As for watching them, I believe they need conditioned. What little training that have had up until now has barely hardened them at all." Her response was straight-forward and directed solely at Nate. Her words so precise that their intentions could hardly be misinterpreted.

She then turned back to the other three. "Alright. I've divided up your training based on a weekly schedule. Monday through Saturday, six days on. You will alternate: Monday, Wednesday and Friday will be dedicated to high-intense training. Not the type of exercise you get the marines, either. Weighted. Gravity chamber. Sound chamber. You will not just get stronger through repetition... you will adapt," Agent Love told them. There was a fair amount of foreboding in what she explained. Adaptation to training was a fairly foreign concept; and, by the way she sounded, it didn't seem synonymous with 'adjust', either.

"Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday will include rest. Just cardio. Run a few miles... and then learn the ins and outs of law, the protocols of the League, basic combat tactics. Once you can pass a written test over the minimal standard for safe practice as a Junior Agent. Sounds shitty, right? Well, it will be, and you can thank Agent Spark for that. But, before you go cursing her, I'm going to tell you what you do once you DO pass. I'm going to personally teach your pansy-asses Krav Maga and focus on team dynamics," Agent Love told them.

Honestly, that was the part she expecting the most complaints over. Woo-wee, these kids were here to be superheroes! ... And, now they were going to a classroom. A part of Love was fairly sure they didn't know what FBI Agents or CIA Agents went through, much less half the mercs she worked with. Regardless, half their time training was going to be educational.

"And, because I'm sure one of you are going to ask, Sundays are your personal days off. You get one day a week and I don't care how you spend it as long as what you do is legal. Also, because I'm sure one of you are going to ask, no I will not remove your inhibitor on Sundays. So, let's move on," Agent Love said, pretty much dashing whatever hopes they could have amounted.

"Today, we're going to test just how far we can push you. Go to the Fourth Floor and find Bay Two. If you manage to get lost, there are simple maps down there. It's probably the easiest floor to navigate because it can be moderated by controls here. In Bay Two, you'll find lockers with your names on them. Inside are blue, x-shaped vests. Slid them under your shirts so that they make contact with the skin--and, no, it doesn't matter if they cover the inhibitors. Each vest reacts to a magnetic field in that room and I can set a downward pull on a tactile field around your body. Ditch the explanation, I can control how much you weigh. Once you get them on, await further instructions," Agent Love told them. There was a tone in her voice. Almost degrading, but also somewhat enlightening on her own frustrations. She seemed to have very little faith in them, but not in a personal way. More so that she was just plain used to... better? More experience, maybe?

Agent Love then turned back to Nate before adding, "You'll get a good idea of how they perform based on how they react."

One Mean Ghost · Jun 29, 2017

Dante de la Cruz

Due to the warmup run, Dante had worked up a small bit of sweat. Nothing major, but he was ready for actual training to begin. He glanced over at the new guy. At first, he wondered if he was a new Titan. He didn't recognize the man from anywhere, after all. Frankly, though, he didn't really give a damn who he was right now. The way Agent love talked to the guy, he assumed he was someone higher up. The boy couldn't really be blamed for not recognizing Hyperion, given the only time he'd seen him was during the simulation in which Hyperion was fully decked out in his suit. While pictures were on the simulation as well, Dante hadn't paid as much attention to Hyperion in the simulation anyway, explaining why his presence now hardly registered.

His gaze snapped back to Agent Love when she finally started talking about the training. For fuck's sake, how long were they going to talk about training before they actually got around to doing something?! Despite his impatience, a subtle grin was spreading over his lips as she described the training. Either the foreboding tone and ominous implications went right over the boy's head, or he was some kind of masochist. Truth was, the more dangerous and imposing the training sounded, the more Dante believed it could make him more like his old man. That, to him, was reason enough to be excited. That, and he'd come to find out that dangerous situations gave one hell of an adrenaline rush. Oh yeah, this was going to be fun!

Then, she had to go and make it boring. All at once, Dante's posture shifted from excited to 'you gotta be fucking kidding me'. He crossed his arms over his chest and slumped just a little as she described the class situation. He thought he was done with that shit when he finished high school... Then came the carrot on the end of the stick. Krav Maga? Dante had heard about that before, and the prospect of learning it perked him up once again. All he had to do was pass a test? Shit, give him a night and a textbook and he'd cram all he'd need to pass any stupid test! After all, she didn't say they had to pass with a high score. They just had to pass! Already, he was making a mental note of the cram supplies he'd require for such a task: coffee, creamer, pretzels, chips, cola, candy... He'd be able to get that kind of stuff in short order..

He was so busy thinking about how quickly he was going to cram and pass Agent Love's 'Hero Test' that he barely even paid attention to the part about Sundays. He didn't have any illusions about the inhibitor coming off after the shitshow the day before...

Finally, she gave them instructions to start their training. Sure, she had a condescending tone to her voice, and yes, it pissed Dante off a little, but that just made him hellfire determined to prove himself and rub her face in it.

"Well, you heard her... Let's get this shitshow on the road!" Dante called over his shoulder, already darting out the door. Thankfully, he remembered where the stairs were to drop down a level, and perhaps more thankfully, he found one of the maps to tell him how to get to the designated room. He glared at the name on the locker. 'Spook'

"I still hate that fucking name...." Dante muttered, reaching for the locker and accidentally punching the door. "....... Oh.... right.... No Ghost powers....." Dante muttered to himself as he rubbed his hand. Maybe, just maybe, he'd gotten a bit too reliant on his powers when it wasn't necessary.... He shook it off, pulling open the door to find the vest as indicated. As he peeled off his shirt, a thought occurred to him that made his blood run cold.

Agent Love had full control of his weight once he put on that vest....

He shuddered, imagining her cackling like a fuck-mothering witch while he was crushed under some obscene weight she'd placed him under. After yesterday, he wouldn't put it past her...

Dante glared at the vest for several moments as he contemplated his options and the likelihood of such an event actually occurring. Then another thought hit him: He'd look like a damn chicken to the other two if he couldn't even deal with a measly vest! He muttered a string of expletives under his breath as he pulled on the vest and then put his shirt back on.

"So... On a scale of 1 to 10, how fucked do you think we're about to be?" Dante chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked over at the other two. He wondered how the weight would feel. Would it just be the vest getting heavier, or would it be like gravity itself actually increasing? Given her explanation, he assumed the latter. Oh yeah, this was going to suck righteously....

Randomfella · Jul 1, 2017

Shift ended his jog as the stranger arrived, running toward Agent Love as she began to address them. She definitely didn't address him the same way she did the rest of them, some sort of equal Shane guessed, a slight smirk forming at the notion that she could talk in such a way. Shifting his run, to a light jog, to a walk as he got closer to the pair, he stood ready for what they planned for the day.

Listening to the training schedule, it was rather daunting, but Shane knew it was never going to be easy, and he sure as hell wasn't about to show any discomfort to the others. Weighted Gravity chamber? Sound chamber? This was the real deal, finally he would be working toward being able to help others, though it seemed Love didn't care about that, she seemed far more interested in molding them into agents for whatever agency. He was slightly put off that the idea of training their powers never came up, but it made sense, basics first and all that, even though it sounded anything but basic.

As Love continued, Shift couldn't help but to glance at Kary. Every time Love talked about her it was never good, what exactly had she done? What had driven them to take such extreme measures when it came to the girl? The introductory process had been so intense that he never had the chance to ask, though he questioned if it was even wise to do so, at least it sounded like they would have some time off in between training. "Krav Maga?" He thought to himself as Love mentioned it. He had heard of it before, a type of martial art or something of the like he thought. In that case, maybe he wouldn't have too hard of a time learning it... Right? The written test portion also made him question how he would perform, what exactly would they be tested on? He guessed he'd find out soon enough, with enough study it shouldn't be too hard to ace, then again, in this kind of elite institution, perhaps he was underestimating it.

She didn't stop there though, it sounded like today would be a load of fun... In a sarcastic sense anyway, seeing just how far someone like Love could push them could be something to fear indeed.
"Sounds good." He lied, though his statement was hard to hear over Dante's excitement. Watching him run off, Shane looked back at Kary with a confused expression, it was like the guy did a 180 on this whole thing, then again, why else would he be here? "You think they drugged him?" He silently joked to the green girl, before following suite downstairs.

As he arrived at the lockers, Dante was already suited up. Opening his locker, Shift slightly sighed in anticipation as he took the vest out, and put it over his body, by now realising everything they had for him was probably more durable than titanium. Putting his mind back into the game, he glanced at Dante. "We'll be fine." He smirked, pretending the entire thing meant nothing to him, just standard procedure. "For about 3 minutes..." He added in his thoughts.
"But from the sounds of this, I imagine walking is going to feel pretty messed up afterward." He noted, thinking over the idea of changing gravity settings so greatly, maybe it would be like a cartoon where they're suddenly able to hover after it? Probably not, but it would sure make dunking some baskets easier.
As he readied himself, a small drop of purple sweat formed on his sky-blue forehead.

NecroKnight · Jul 1, 2017

Randomfella

Kary rolled her eyes in reply - getting a few looks from the boys. If only they knew what she had stepped into - but from what she'd understand, it was none of their business for the moment. If they didn't bother asking - she wouldn't bothering replying to them either.

"If I had to wager my words. I'd say an 8. Likely to get our asses kicked - but enough limit, that we can still crawl our way back to our dorms," she spoke, grabbing a jacket onto her. Namely her black-red jacket, followed by some black leather gloves - that she wore for good gripping and also punching somebody in the face with.

She then looked at Shift and Shade. "Okay...one thing. If we're going to try and not look like a pair of retarded monkeys - we need to communicate. It's one of the reasons, why I am here. My old team, we didn't communicate," she spoke, showing more emotion then when they had been, together in the meeting hall. "If we get something, you have an idea, or spot something - share that information with the rest. If you got a plan, say it out as well," she spoke, looking at the two guys.

"If I had to offer my two cents to our likely ass-kicking. I'd suggest that Shift should be our final word. Namely if we have to run or jump, or attack - he should be the guy to make the call or namely our mode of attack or retreat. From what I understood from Agent Love' talks - you might be the only guy here amongst us with actual military training. So...your our team 'Captain' or leader I guess..." finished Hope, giving a smile at Shift' way.

One Mean Ghost · Jul 4, 2017

Dante de la Cruz

Dante chuckled a little at their varying responses. Seems they were all pretty much in agreement that whatever this training was gonna be, it was going to suck in most righteous fashion. He took the time to look around the hangar, and at the oversized cabinets they called "lockers". This all felt so damn high tech it was like he'd stepped into an entirely new world from the one he knew before arriving. Kary's continued talking snapped him out of what he was thinking.

Communicating? Yeah... That made sense. They were supposed to be a team, so callouts and that sort of thing was probably all part of what they were expected to do. Sure, it was something a bit new for Dante to deal with, given he'd been a solo act until now, but meh, it was a stepping stone. As she continued, though, his gaze started to shift back and forth between her and their multi-chromatic teammate.

He shook his head. "Look... It's Kary, right? I'm all for communicating. Devil knows I ain't got eyes in the back of my head...." He trailed off at a memory before his gaze focused on her once again. "But I think it's a bit too early to start talking about having one of us be a leader and expecting the other two to just up and follow whatever they say without question." He said rather bluntly as his gaze focused on Shift.

"So we know you've got a bit of military experience. Don't take this the wrong way, but that doesn't mean shit. All I know for sure about you is you know how to follow orders from that little bit of information. I don't know if you've ever led a squad. I don't know if you've seen combat. Shit, I don't even know what your bloody MOS(Military Occupational Specialty) was. For all I know, you could have been a driver or a cook." Dante shrugged his shoulders. "Like I said, it's nothing personal. But I don't know enough about either of you to just up and follow anything you say at the drop of a hat."

He stretched his arms over his head. "Point is, all we really know about each other is a few snippets of information and what our fitness scores are. Until I see how you handle yourselves when the shit hits the fan, I'm reserving judgement." Of course, given what he knew and was seeing, it was getting more and more difficult to reserve such judgement. From the sound of it, Kary had already fucked up in a big way once before, and he could see the.... That was sweat, right?..... on Shift's brow before anything had even gotten started. That didn't exactly inspire confidence, even if it was the only outward sign of discomfort Dante could notice for now.

A chuckle rumbled in Dante's throat as he felt the vest under his shirt. "On the plus side... I don't think we'll have to wait much longer to see how each of us handles pressure..."

Randomfella · Jul 5, 2017

Shift paused for a moment, nodding as Kary explained the importance of communication, but stopped when she decided he should lead them. "Wasn't she the one who had been in a team like this before? I can barely control myself, let alone these two." He contemplated as he glanced at the both of them, about to respond, but cut off by another one of Dante's rants. To be honest, he was right, at least partially. He really had no idea what the others could do, and he assumed leading them was why Love was here, or perhaps that's why the other guy showed up.

Regardless, he knew he couldn't let the comments slide without defending himself, especially to someone like him. "More experience than rummaging around attacking bag snatchers and no-brain thugs." He replied defensively, his tone far more stern and enhanced than earlier, extending his green finger to point toward Dante with some animosity, the flexing motion causing his muscles to bulge slightly. "The sooner we figure out how to trust one another, the sooner we can do something worthwhile." He stated relaxing his finger back into position, in truth this whole ordeal was daunting to him, and them knowing that would only be detrimental to their performance, but bickering would get them nowhere.

As he continued, he placed his fingers of that same hand on his forehead, as if massaging his temple whilst looking down, eyes shut for a short moment. "Look..." He rested his voice slightly before facing the both of them. "If we go out there with three different opinions blaring at once, we'll only look like fools." He stated, reminiscing slightly over himself. "Wow that almost sounded half reasonable" He thought, surprised that he hadn't already broken down from the stress of it all, after all, there was far worse to come. "It's just a final word, but if it matters to you so much, then you make the deciding call." Shift shrugged once more, pretending to have given up on the topic, while in reality passing the responsibility was a massive weight off of his shoulders.

Finally, he rested his body against a locker, folding his green arms over his grey chest and vest. In an attempt to ease the tension the two of them had created, a small smile formed on his face, glancing at his two 'teammates'. "And trust me, if I was a cook, half of those recruits would probably be six feet under by now." Shane let out a small chuckle, before turning his attention to the entrance of the chamber in anticipation.

NecroKnight · Jul 5, 2017

"Ugh. Come on guys!" she growled, swapping out her jacket for the designated vest. Before she took ahold of Spook' hand and then ahold of Shift's sleeve and pulled them all together in a group huddle.

"Listen. We can't be playing dick-waving here. This isn't some game or play-date. This is the real thing, so no opportunity to screw around. Or we'll see later. Think of this as joining Special Forces. No bullshit allowed."

"Also, as I know - we'll likely be shuffled in the future. With people we likely never know about. So even then you had to reply and trust on them."

"As for your cook comment. Every soldier learns how to use a gun, march, drill and orders. It's called Basic Training. So I would trust him, over a civvi or even myself," she spoke. "Can we get our head in the game?"

"If we suck. We then suck. But at least let's show we aren't completely retarded and can work as a team? Okay!? The alternative is we all get failed and kicked out of here. While you may leave, I don't have that luxury," she spoke. Letting go of their hands and revealing the secret she carried - both of the boys needed a shocker to get their head in the game.

"Cause unlike you - I don't have any legal rights..." she sighed, shaking her head. "Nothing we said leaves this room, understand?"