voice

[burnmetwice]

[He'd been putting this off for a lot of reasons, In part because of how completely nuts things had been lately this seemed like a really douchebag time to be drawing attention to himself—especially since he had stayed out of the damn way when everyone went crazy. So he'd waited for a few non-crises posts to go up before making his move. But then there was the other reason; there was always an anxious ball of dread in the pit of his stomach at the thought of addressing such a huge audience of people for what boiled down to his own problems.

But he had to do it. His roller rink job (besides driving him insane was not getting him cash fast enough. His voice comes over the network, tripping over itself and he's talking a little too fast in places, rambling, but at least he's not mumbling.]

Er, sssooo, uh, h-hopefully this is alright to ask?? Pretty sure I saw someone asking about job stuff the other day. People use this network for a lot of stuff so I assume it's fine... I'm kind of looking for a job. —I have a job already! I mean, another job. Additionally. I'm not trying to get rid of my other job even though it is literally hell.

A-anyway, I've done construction before... But I was hoping for something to counterbalance my other job, kinda, I do a lot of standing around watching people skate around in circles for hours and hours, so slowly, sssooo. Slowly. It's like watching an old person texting so slow it is physically painful to witness.

—So I was looking for, I dunno, delivery work or something... Pizza, mysterious packages, whatever. Going really fucking fast probably isn't a skill that's at a premium in a place like this but it will be the fastest pizza of your life, I promise. So fast it will be redundant because you'll have to wait for it to cool!

Maybe?? Other speed-types have suggestions?? Or maybe you don't want me cutting into your work. Er.

Uh, thanks.

Comments

[burnmetwice]

deal! What do you have for me to deliver

[microbrobotics]

sushi place in nonah. suuuuper sketchy but theyre the only thing that comes close to my favorite place back home. ill call in the order, you deliver it to starktech without it getting too warm on the way

[burnmetwice]

[there's a slightly longer lag in reply as he google maps that to get an idea of what kind of distance is involved.

It WAS the height of summer, but that should be doable... he'd just have to remember not to carry it against his body]

no problem. I'll be there in 15 unless they're really slow to making sushi. leave the window open!

[microbrobotics]

deal. see you in fifteen.

[ And he goes to get that order in. His usual stuff, plus some extra. ]

ACTION

[burnmetwice]

[Starktech is a really obvious landmark so Kazu has no problem getting there with time enough to spare that someone his age works at a place like this. It did seem like the kind of place a supergenius would work, though, so maybe it wasn't that surprising.

One look at that tower though and there's no fucking way he's going to try to wall-ride up that thing; that's not something he'd want to try even if his AT were in top shape. The bag of sushi gets him past the front desk and he takes the damn elevator and knocks on the door.]

[microbrobotics]

[ Being a Sunday, the place is relatively quiet. It's extremely unlikely that Hiro's the only one working here today ... but at the same it's pretty quiet for what can sometimes be a pretty hectic tech lab. The intercom buzzes when Kazu knocks and Hiro's voice comes out. It might be a surprisingly young voice, depending on what Tadashi's told Kazu so far. Definitely a teenager's for sure. ]

Dude, you totally booked it. Come on in - I'm in the second lab on the left.

[ His name is on the outside in both English and Japanese. ]

[burnmetwice]

[He's a little chuffed at the praise, but latent paranoia keeps him from relaxing completely, or from locking the back wheels on his AT. He figured Hiro was probably somewhere around his age, but... it was still a stranger he'd never seen going to touch his AT. After losing them once he didn't think he'd ever stop being overly-cautious, and that was fine with him.

He rolls quietly down the hallway, taking in the surroundings with a lot of really obviously head-swiveling. Knocking twice seems stupid so when he finds the right door he just opens it, poking his head in]

Ah—it's me?

[microbrobotics]

[ It's a good thing that he didn't knock this time - the room is lit and active but apparently empty. Some kind of mechanical backpack is draped over the back of the seat while tools and components litter every conceivable square centimeter of desk space. Rolled mats of some strange material, robot pieces (large and small), curved pieces of armor that don't seem to protect all that much ... He's got all kinds of stuff going on.

But while the computer screen is bright and humming, also clearly active, there's nobody here. Until the screen flickers to show a kid with fluffy black hair and a bright red robot t-shirt on the other side of it. He waves for a moment before turning back to whatever he's working on in there. Inside the computer. Because that's exactly where he is. ]

Set it down - I'll be right out.

[burnmetwice]

[Kazu's brain absolutely cannot parse what is going on in front of his eyes right now, so he just kinds of nods numbly and does what he's told.

If this kid is a computer program, how is he going to eat sushi. Does that mean kazu is going to get his sushi??]

[microbrobotics]

[ Kazu doesn't have to wait long, at least. A few moments later, Hiro finishes up his work and turns back to the side of the screen facing Kazu. In the next moment, there's a scrawny fifteen-year-old tumbling face-first out of the monitor, missing his desk and sprawling on the floor. ]

Ugh, I hate that part ...

[burnmetwice]

[vaguely he registers that this means he is not getting free sushi, but what's about all he's got right now.]

What.

[microbrobotics]

[ He hops back up easily enough. Grins a bit as he holds his hands out for the sushi. ]

What, you never seen a guy come out of a computer before?

[burnmetwice]

[hands him the sushi]

No, not really. Well, there was that one time—no, that was different. Your BODY was in the computer.

[microbrobotics]

[ Yum. He opens the box and lifts out three trays, each with a nice little spread. One for himself, one for Tadashi ... and the third he holds back out to Kazu. ]

Yeah? Pretty cool, right? One of my superpowers.

[burnmetwice]

—Oh, thanks... [who's the third one for?] Yes it's cool. Can you teleport to someone else's computer? Infect it with adware? Fight viruses?

[microbrobotics]

[ He breaks open his chopsticks to start in on his tray. ]

Yes, but I hafta know where I'm going, so I send email with tracker beacons in them. And ... I guess I could? But I haven't really tried either just yet.

[burnmetwice]

[Well, alright then. Kazu breaks his and starts to eat, too, though slowly, still keeping an eye on Hiro and his surroundings]

Man, and everyone's on phones that presents endless opportunity to fuck with people.

[microbrobotics]

[ He grins between mouthfuls of sushi. ]

Oh yeah. Good thing I only use this power for good though.

[burnmetwice]

[Kazu snorts, because he completely believes that.]

Uh-huh. It would be pretty awful to murder someone's hard drive with a million cat pictures or something like that.

[microbrobotics]

Totally evil, right? Not my style at all.

[burnmetwice]

You better be a paragon of virtue; I'm letting you touch my AT.

[microbrobotics]

-- Is that the tech you were talking about?

[ He jams one last bite of sushi into his mouth before setting the tray aside. And then he mentally gives Kazu a once-over, using his technokinesis to feel out any tech he's got him. ]

[burnmetwice]

[Nothing besides his phone and his AT, still on his feet. He pushes a foot forward to give him a better view—they look like fairly standard in-line states.]

Yeah, AT's short for "Air Trek".

[microbrobotics]

Whoa.

[ He immediately drops to his knees to get a better look. They may appear to be normal skates, but he can hear all the extra moving bits underneath the surface. He's never seen anything like this. If only he could take this thing apart... ]

Did you make these?

[burnmetwice]

Uh,

[where to start... In a sense he did. He tried to sort out what would be relevant for Hiro.]

I didn't invent AT, they, ah, they're mass-produced. Some come pre-made but those suck so mostly you get a kit and put it together yourself, and then mod it or whatever. I didn't... [Make this pair. It was still the same pair Sano had given him before he'd died, the pair he'd made for him, for the Flame Regalia. Kazu's tongue feels thick trying to say what he means without saying that]

Some, s-someone else made these for me, but I do all the maintenance, obviously... So, if you need me to, I can knock out the rough schematics or take them apart.