Modern Age Online

Kaleb sighed as he pulled into the parking lot next to the hangar. His patrol had been constantly interrupted by Farrah’s luncheon planning. Even when he found the occasional person in need of assistance, she’d be yapping away in his ear. Planning, instructing and carefully explaining to Kaleb how he would need to conduct himself with the City Council member. When Kaleb brought up that he was unlikely to do many of Farrah’s requests, she invited herself along. To make sure he didn’t insult the great Mr. Madden. Kaleb almost hated the guy by proxy when he finally finished his patrol and went home.

Even as he was walking into their base, Farrah was still talking away through his ear comm. Kaleb was about ready to fling it into the garbage. But he’d be the one that would have to replace it. So instead, he wrapped around his workshop and toward Farrah’s command center. He twisted around a few leaving teenagers and approached the rabbit woman even as she was still talking in his ear.

“And make sure the suit is black or gray. I swear, Professor, if you show up at a lunch meeting in a lab coat…”

She trailed off as Kaleb tapped her shoulder and scowled at her. The sudden smile she gave him was unnerving, and Kaleb almost took a step back. Centering himself, Kaleb said.

“Farrah. I will not be doing any of the things you have stated for the past few hours.”

Her face fell before quickly shifting to anger. “Why not?!”

“Well, for one, I have a problem with authority. We all know that. Second, any time you have to get dressed up to meet somebody is a time I don’t want to be associated with.”

“You need to look professional.” Farrah hissed.

“No, I don’t. I work for a living. I am a professional. People who get dressed in fancy suits and convince themselves they’re important need to look ‘professional.’”

Kaleb made little air quotes around the second professional. Doing so made his robotic hand whir dangerously, and he spun around. He needed to run a diagnostic on his hand and maybe get a cup of coffee.

With a puff of air and some scattered pieces of paper, Farrah was in front of him. Hands clasped together. A pleading look on her face.

“You have to meet with Maxwell Madden. He could relieve some of the pressure from the HLO.”

Kaleb sighed. “I am meeting the man. That’s without question. But I’m not dressing to the nines and trying to wine and dine him. I’ll go, tell him the situation, and then leave.”

Kaleb tried to circle around his slim friend. But she sped in front of him again, the annoyed look back on her face.

“Professor, that’s not how these people operate. He’s a city official. Which means a certain amount of protocol and decorum needs to be adhered to.”

“I disagree entirely.”

“Professor!”

“What?! Farrah, why are you being so weird about this? Yes, the guy could help us. But we are doing just fine in the neighborhood, anyway. Sure, the cops are being a pain in the ass. But we can switch districts, right? The group was going to have a conversation about that, remember?”

Farrah sputtered for a second before grabbing Kaleb’s wrist and dragging him to her bank of monitors. A few of the Brute Clan that were now monitoring and controlling the drones watched them. Kaleb ignored the eyes as Farrah looked around pensively before typing away at a holo-screen. Kaleb blinked as he realized Farrah wasn’t typing on the actual screen. She was in her menus and using the holo-screen as a cover. With a wave of her hand, Farrah shared her screen with several of her monitors and turned to Kaleb.

“Madden rose to prominence during the game’s beta. He was staunchly against the HLO and surprisingly adept at navigating the political quagmire of the time. Not only has he succeeded in keeping his job, but apparently he has also risen to the position of Alderman. Which means now he can affect genuine change. We need people like this on our side if you and the others are going to continue working here.”

“But we can still switch…” Kaleb started.

“Yes, switching districts may make it harder for the HLO to mess with you guys. But there is no guarantee of that. Besides, having a City Council Member onside will still be a huge win. Not to mention it will look good with the Districts?”

Kaleb gave her a confused look, but Farrah merely nodded at her bank of screens. Glancing at them, Kaleb noticed they were displaying an overhead view of the Super Group’s contracted area. Blue Bluff, Decker Lake, The Woodlands, Phoenix Farms, and Imperial Valley. Each area was sectioned off, and some were glowing different colors. Blue Bluff and Decker Lake were blue, with Decker lake being a slightly deeper color than Blue Bluff. Imperial Valley had a yellowish tinge to it, while Woodlands and The Farms didn’t have any color at all.

Kaleb tapped the screen and zoomed in closer to Blue Bluff. The map brought up a sectional view around Blue Bluff. Each area displayed a different neighborhood of the Bluff, each with their own color of blue. He zoomed out the image and turned to Farrah. Seeing his confusion, Farrah sighed.

“Those are current Affinity Levels with each district under our contract. Blue is good, no color is neutral, and the yellow is a slight animosity.”

“What the hell is up with Imperial Valley?” Kaleb wondered.

“That’s where the police are headquartered. It’s also where I’ve had y’all working all day. Trying to change your image in those areas.”

“Well shit, Farrah. Why didn’t you tell us this? If I had known, I wouldn’t have complained so much.”

She slapped his fleshy arm. “I’m supposed to be an NPC, remember? I shouldn’t have this screen. Being able to check the area’s Affinity is for players. Or in this case, members of a Super Group.”

“Shit.”

Kaleb quickly looked around, but all he saw were a few Brute Clan members preparing for evening duty. He quickly brought up his Affinity Map and had Farrah close hers. Swiping his map to the screens, Kaleb waited for Farrah to explain more. When she didn’t, he prompted.

“So what happens when we have high Affinity with our District?”

“Loads of good things. Decreased sells prices, more requests for help, better pay, and, if you have high Affinity with your district, the chance to take control of it.”

“Take control of a district?”

“Not like a criminal or Villain would. But somewhat similar. You’d be able to request buildings to be built or ask for a certain super to drop by. The people would love you and try to help you do your jobs.”

Kaleb slowly nodded as the scope of what he was looking at hit him. Being the neighborhood Super Heroes seemed like a much better idea now. He wondered how this worked with the HLO. But figured, anything done under the HLO’s name was probably only good for the HLO’s reputation. Which is why Player’s had personal Affinity Levels with NPCs and groups. Waving a hand at Decker Lake and Blue Bluff, Kaleb asked another question.

“Why are they differently colored? I thought blue was good. So dark blue is better?”

Farrah nodded. “Yeah, helping the tree must have given you a tremendous boost. Meanwhile, the Hunter of Blue Bluff only contractually like you. So it’s not the same as being real allies. But it’s good enough for the system.”

Kaleb nodded and wondered how the Magical being that lived in the gigantic tree at Decker Lake had learned about their success. That’s when Jar-Lock’s voice spoke up from behind him. Farrah went still, putting on her placid NPC face.

“Good. I see my talk with the Tree Spirit updated the Affinity Map.”

“Yeah,” Kaleb said, ignoring his nervousness. No one was supposed to know that Farrah wasn’t an NPC. He didn’t think Jar-Lock had heard them talking, though. “I was just wondering if the two different blues meant the Tree loved us more than the Hunters.”

“Probably.” The big mage said, walking over and staring at Kaleb’s map. “We only have an alliance with the Hunters. They graciously put us on their Hunter Contract. Which differs completely from being thought of as a friend.”

“Which is apparently how the tree sees us?”

“Yep. I just finished tapping into a Leyline and telling our dear friend, the tree, how we handled their root infestation. They were a little miffed that we didn’t let them handle the problem. But understood that going to a demonic dimension and fighting a Demon Lord was probably out of their wheelhouse.”

“Yeah…” Kaleb stood awkwardly, the silence carried on for a few seconds before he switched the subject. “So, you moving your library?”

The big mage was confused for a few seconds before he smiled grimly. “Your layout rearranging?”

“Hey, it’s not just mine. Two Gun and Claire were talking about it, too. I figured one of them asked you.”

“They did, and while I hate the idea. The reasoning behind it is sound. We need the space up here and the library is underutilized by all you pedestrians.”

Kaleb shrugged. “Hey, I’d rather spend my time in my workshop than in a library, Jar.”

“Some mage you are.”

“Hey, I never claimed to be a mage. I’m just an inventor with some magical knowledge and a Gnome familiar.”

Jar-Lock raised an eyebrow at him. “You know you make no sense, right?”

Kaleb smiled. “Save your complaints for after my first college course, where I’ll teach a bunch of digital aliens and humans entry-level chemistry.”

Jar-lock let out a booming laugh and patted Kaleb on the shoulder. “HAHAHA! Seriously, what is your gaming experience?”

“Want to hear a really good one?” Kaleb asked.

Jar-Lock nodded as he continued to chuckle.

“I just met a city Alderman while I was out rescuing kittens and glad-handing.”

“What?”

“Yeah, Alderman Maxwell Madden was having car trouble somewhere off Colfax. So I helped him out, and he asked me to lunch.”

“You went out on patrol and met a city Alderman named Maxwell Madden?” Jar-lock asked, sounding skeptical.

“Yes!”

Kaleb turned to Farrah and ordered. “Could you bring up today’s drone footage for Jar-Lock to see?”

Farrah snapped out of her Fake-NPC placidity and dug through the saved drone footage. Once she found it, she transferred the footage to the monitors and displayed Kaleb’s interaction with Maxwell. Jar-Lock watched with a stony expression on his face until they got to the part where the alderman drove off. Farrah paused the footage and Kaleb spun around, grinning.

“How are you this lucky?”

Kaleb shrugged. “It’s a gift. What can I say?”

“No. I mean, really? How could you be this lucky? It just doesn’t make sense. Maxwell Madden shouldn't even be on this side of the city. So what is he doing driving around Imperial Valley?”

“How do you know where he’s supposed to be?”

“All those fancy council members live out in Westlake. Everyone knows that.”

Kaleb raised an eyebrow and turned to confirm with Farrah. The rabbit woman had a contemplative look on her face and seemed in agreement with Jar-Lock. She nodded a few times and then started barking orders at the Brute Clan lizards. She was demanding all the footage from the drones be sent to her monitors. Kaleb looked at Jar-Lock, but the big mage was pushing his way forward to get a better look.

The three of them crowded around Farrah’s monitors as images scrolled by. Farrah’s hands flew across the keyboard at lightning speeds and Kaleb worried she might break her equipment. But Farrah seemed to have complete control of her super-speed as she checked over the drone footage. Soon she had all of it filed and placed into folders separated by location. She scrolled over to the Imperial Valley file and started scanning through there. Once she found what she was looking for, she opened the video files. Multiple angles of streets, houses and cars appeared on her many monitors as they watched.

“Work backwards from the Professor’s footage to find his car.” Jar-Lock suggested.

Farrah nodded and began playing Kaleb’s footage again. This time in reverse. They all watched as Maxwell Madden’s car came into view from Kaleb’s attached drone. Unfortunately, the drone hadn’t been following the road, so the first shot of Maxwell’s car was it stuck on the side of the road. But by combing through the footage of the Imperial Valley drones, they tracked the alderman all the way out of their district. But all that showed them was that Maxwell had entered their district from the northwest side, from Las Cimas.

“Well, that tells us a whole lot of nothing.” Kaleb complained.

“No. It tells us a lot,” Jar-Lock countered.

To Kaleb’s confused look, Jar-Lock waved at the monitors. “He entered from the north, then wandered around a bit in our territory. He goes through The Woodlands, crosses Phoenix Farms and then stops for a bit at a recharging station. Next thing he does is drive straight for Imperial Valley, where he runs into you.”

“So he was scoping our district?” Kaleb asked.

“No.” Farrah answered. “If he’d been doing that, he would’ve continued to Blue Bluff or the lake. Instead, after meeting you, he leaves our district entirely. Almost as if he wanted to meet one of our people.”

Jar-Lock eyed the bunny-woman for a few seconds before he nodded. “I think he was looking for the Professor specifically. Then someone told him where you were. Then he arranges a mechanical failure in his car and waits. Once he meets you, he has a little chat and then gives you his card. Inviting you to lunch.”

“Why the hell would he go through all that nonsense for me?”

“Ostensibly, you are the face of this Super-Group, doc. You are the one people are talking about. The one the police blame for sending us ‘Mercenaries’ out here. The one that pissed off the saintly HLO overlords. So, of course, he would assume you’re the leader.”

Kaleb blanched at even the idea of being in a leadership role. “Yeah, no. So what’s the plan? We ignore this joker and go on with our gaming lives? Maybe we could find another demon or Super Villain to beat up?”

“Nope!” Jar-lock and Farrah said together. They shared a look until Jar-Lock shook his head and continued.

“He wanted to meet you for a reason, Prof. So we would better served learning what he wants.”

“But that doesn’t mean we should confront him outright. You’ll need to be subtle with this one.” Farrah added.

“Yeah. Meet with him and play along with what he wants. Once we know his motives, we can plan accordingly.”

Kaleb sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. “So you’re saying I’m going to need to dress to the nine, wine and dine him, and basically blow smoke up his ass until we find out enough to see if he’s a threat?”

“Essentially.” Jar-Lock nodded as Farrah looked pleased with herself.

“Fine!” Kaleb whined. “I’ll call him up a schedule a lunch with him. But afterward, I’m going to my damn workshop and building something. All this nonsense is giving me a headache.”

Farrah did a silent cheer and Kaleb remembered that the bunny-woman had invited herself along. That brought a small smile to his face. At least if she was there, he wasn’t liable to blow things out of proportion completely. And if things went to shit, Farrah and her super-speed would make getting out of there a snap.

Kaleb turned to walk off toward his workshop when a noise from Jar-Lock had him turning around. The big mage had his head to the side and his chin was in his hand. He seemed to be studying Kaleb’s clothes. Kaleb glanced down at his body before looking back at Jar-Lock.

“What?”

“That’s not what you’re going to wear to the lunch meeting, is it?”