002 ➳ Video

[dirtyredneck]

[Daryl isn't showing himself with this video, instead, he's showing one of the superpowered and costumed natives he'd just beat down and hog tied (yes, hog tied, though the girl was allowed to sit up to wait for the cops to pick her up). A bastard in bright orange and blue with green lightning poorly sewn across her chest. At this point she had a black eye and a split lip. Not something Daryl was proud of, but when she was throwing punches the way she was, he'd had to fight back.

A smart phone, Stark Tech model, was brought into view and on it, already running, that app. '4'. With it's 'be the best you possible' slogan lit up under the day's scheduled events. One of which was 'supervilliany' from 5-9, right after 'golf with dad' from 2-4.]

Don't know about the first couple I ran across, but one of them hero-wannabes dropped hers during a fight and the guy she was taking down had it runnin', too. Been checkin' since. This is the eighth and every one of 'em has had this thing goin'.

[A moment later and Daryl tossed the Stark Tech phone at the girl on the ground, letting it land hard with loud crack. Phone didn't quite break (good phone), but the screen was shot to hell. His next words were for the girl, not his audience.]

Ain't really being 'the best you possible', asshole.

Comments

Video

[knifecollecting]

[Jo, admittedly, hasn't been paying attention to much for the last few weeks. It's been a trip and she's still recovering.]

Wait, they all have Stark phones? With the new app?

Video

[dirtyredneck]

All the ones I been dealing with have.

Video

[knifecollecting]

[She knows lots of people own Stark phones so it could be a coincidence, but...]

That's really weird.

Video

[dirtyredneck]

Yeah. It is. Even the ones shouting they hate imPorts and throwin' fire at me been using it.

private video

[superposition]

[Statistically, that could easily be coincidence. Half the country's got a Starkphone at this point. But Qubit's been investigating the people affected for most of the week, and apart from living in Porter cities, there's been nothing they all have in common. He'd need to check, but if this is true...

"If you start down that road again, I'll know."]

You think Stark's responsible?

private video

[dirtyredneck]

Hell if I know. Could be him, could be someone else usin' the phones. It's just weird. Even the assholes shouting how much they hate imPorts've had 'em.

private video

[superposition]

Tch, go figure. That'd be tricky, using a phone as a transmission vector... Some kind of contact agent on the case? [Great, now he's thinking about how he'd do it. But... he needs more data.]

Have you been confiscating the phones? How many have you got? I need to take a look at them.

private video

[dirtyredneck]

No. I can keep this one.

Video

[liverletdie]

Why are they using my app?

Video

[dirtyredneck]

They like the colors? I don't fucking know.

Video

[liverletdie]

You don't think they're scheduling these things with them, do you?

I mean the PR would be a nightmare, but... maybe I should pull it, if they're using it for that kind of thing.

Video

[dirtyredneck]

This one is. Planned to go be an asshole right after golf with 'er daddy.

[Daryl's already going to check the one he'd tossed to the ground because someone else texted asking if the kid had been organizing shit. So Tony gets to see him picking the thing up and attempting to use it. Screen was cracked to all hell and back, but nothing splintered out and from the way Daryl's camera dropped to the side and showed pavement and the bottom of his dark jean-clad legs and boots for a minute, he'd definitely managed to get the other one to work.

He brought his own camera up again and the way he was focusing in probably meant he was returning that earlier text before he responded further to Tony.]

Don't think pulling 'em is gonna stop 'em from planning it. Assholes'll be assholes. And it ain't like you can force 'em all to return the damn thing anywhere. It's already on the phones.

[Unless he was talking about the phones. Which would be an entirely different recall nightmare.]

text;

[pillz]

hero wannabes = teh burning exploding supermodel motherfckers the heroes been slapfighting the past few wks?

text;

[dirtyredneck]

Yeah. Them.

[pillz]

u look at her texts or shit b4 u fuckin smashed it

[dirtyredneck]

No. Why the hell would I do that?

Not here

[excessivehubris]

[ Daryl's voice was familiar.

That phone and it's slogan were also familiar. Very familiar.

Charles reached for his own device, intending to open a line to Daryl but just as his thumb reached for the button, he paused and looked around. He was sitting in his office, right in the middle of StarkTech.

Lifting his thumb away from the send button he set the phone down on his desk and reached for the toggle on his chair. He had something to follow-up on. ]

( text )

[curled]

Impressive knot-work.

[ Because that's the most important part here, really. ]

( text )

[dirtyredneck]

[That hadn't been the point of this but uh...]

Thanks. [?]

[curled]

[ Shh... ]

Any particular reason for it?

[dirtyredneck]

To keep her from running before the cops come get her. And keep her from trying to punch me again.

video.

[glowsferatu]

[ Well hey, it's that guy. ]

You don't think it could be a coincidence? I mean, from what I can tell, it seems to be a pretty popular app. I'd imagine there are millions of phones out there with it installed.

video.

[dirtyredneck]

[Daryl recognizes that name and face. Huh.

He shrugs and the shifting of his shoulder is barely visible on the screen.]

Could be. Ain't sure why it's only happenin' in the porter cities, neither. It's weird.

[He wasn't really trying to condemn anyone.]

video.

[glowsferatu]

That is weird. [ Even the model at her show in New York turned out to live in De Chima. ] With how much money they put into advertising it, there's no way such a minor app was limited to so few markets.

So, what does any of this tell us? Maybe you've run into some very weirdly orderly ruffians?

[ She doesn't sound sure, but she doesn't have a Starkphone, so she doesn't know what kind of features 4 could have. Generally, she doesn't understand how anyone other than Julian Day could ever care about a calendar app. ]

video.

[dirtyredneck]

Hell if I know. Just weird, is all.

[He doesn't look any more sure than she does.]

But it's also the only thing any of them seem to be doin' the same.

[A connection. A trail. However loose it was.]