6972/The new armor on the block

The new armor on the block
Date of Scene:	21 March 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	April O'Neil finally gets a response from Lex about the events of the StockGen announcement.
Cast of Characters:	Lex Luthor, April O'Neil

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Lex Luthor has posed:
It's been a while since the StockGen announcement and the attack there. It's also been a while since April has heard back from Lex Luthor on her request for an interview about what she saw in that alleyway. Whenever she pressed, the response was 'Mr. Luthor will schedule an interview when he feels the time is right'.

Evidently, that time is tonight.

April O'Neil had received the invitation a few days ago, along with a choice of transportation to LexCorp Tower. She had been invited up to the office in the Tower itself for this interview, and going through the first floor mall, it's easy to feel welcome on the ground floor.

The Office floor is an entirely different story. The checkpoint at the Office floor elevator is military-like with the Team Luthor guards in state of the art gear checking and waving April through. It stands in stark contrast to the actual apartment/office of Lex Luthor as April is escorted in by Mercy, one of Luthors bodyguards.

Lex himself sits behind his massive oak desk in the 'back' of the office area, looking for all the world like a King granting an audience to a guest. Hope stands to the left side of the desk, passive with arms crossed in her business dress. "Welcome! I apologize for taking so long to get back to you... but I wanted to be sure what you saw is what the final product would be like." Lex gestures with a hand to one of the chairs in front of his desk, "please, sit down if you like. Mercy can get you refreshments if you like."

April O'Neil has posed:
April had canceled her other appointment for the day when the call came in that Luthor was ready for an interview about what she'd seen on that night prior. She knew this was a big catch to get to talk to this rather influential individual so all else was cleared on her day and she came over as quickly as she was able to, with the help of Luthor supplied transportation.

April arrives wearing black slacks and a white tope, with her yellow leather jacket on over that, a jacket she's become notorious for wearing in the colder months of the year. Her live broadcasts on Channel Six News have been pretty well talked about since she joined the team two years ago, being that she's an attractive woman who stands out in crowds, and she's made waves with her hard hitting questions regarding all manner of topics. From Police brutality to corrupt politicians, April O'Neil is known as a real firecracker of a news reporter and investigative journalist and her popular internet podcast has only made her fanbase grow larger.

As of now, she strides into Luthor's office and she glances over her shoulder then looks back to him as she smiles warmly toward him. "Quite the security measures you have here." She comments. "I felt like I was on my way to meet the President."

When he gestures to a chair, she moves toward one and remains standing until he sits. "Thank you for getting back to me on all of this. I know it would've been entirely within your right to never contact me at all with regard to... any of this. So I appreciate it, Mister Luthor."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"The presidency might be in my future one day, Ms. O'Neil... but not today." He sits down behind his desk, and Mercy moves to one side of the desk, opposite Hope. The two bodyguards even in business dress cut an imposing presence on their own.

He leans back into his chair, "truth be told, I considered granting this interview to someone more experienced in the field... but after some research into your background and the current state of affairs, I decided to go ahead with giving you the first look, instead of doing it at LexCon."

He smiles. It's a warm smile that reaches his eyes. "you're a beautiful young woman with an impressive following for someone your age. I make it a point to encourage such talent when I can. LexCorp News Networks CEO is particularly interested in following your career, even."

April O'Neil has posed:
April is well aware of the two bodyguards, but she doesn't really look at them outside of the initial glances she gave to them. She's not a fighter, she's not about to cause any trouble so they're not really a concern of hers.

Nope, her blue eyed stare is entirely on that of Lex and his bravado blazing personality. She smiles openly at his compliment toward her and she glances down to the tablet computer in her lap that her hands on the outer edges of. "Well thank you." She says then as she raises her eyes up again to look across at him. "The power of the internet has changed the game quite a lot. With hard work and... the right spark, people can really take off at an early age these days. Gone are the days of solely surviving off of the television and its overly restrictive ways. The people want honesty, sincerity now, and can get that online more than anywhere else."

And with that said, April leans back in the chair with her posture straight and she crosses her legs at the knees before she asks further. "So again thank you. But to be honest, I would've kept pestering your people relentlessly for this chat even if you didn't ever reply to me... all because of that run-in in the city the other night. That, was it a prototype suit? It was impressive. To say the least."

Lex Luthor has posed:
There's a look over April from those green eyes; an appraisal of appearance that April has no doubt had from many others. Then, his hands fold on his desk, and he nod. "It was... a rough design. Not a suit, but a drone meant to look like a suit. The armor you saw was designed to give the impression of a person inside of it... and given the attack, I saw an opportunity to test it remotely." He shrugs, then. "A few minor glitches aside, it was a remarkably successful field test. It's since been refined to the point that a powered armor suit with the technology like Tony Starks Iron Man is now possible, though."

Sure, it was a lie... but he was the only one in that van that day, so there's no way to verify that. "I've been designing a suit with the technology involved though, and will likely show it at the next LexCon if it's viable."

April O'Neil has posed:
April shows the hints of a light grin toward the older man and she nods her head lightly as well to what he says. "Let me just say that I'm recording this, audio only for note taking later. I'll be putting a log up on the Daily Bugle website with all the details later but I won't be posting any of the audio. Its solely for my own record keeping." She gets that out of the way then and draws in a deep breath before her right hand goes up to sweep soem of her dark red hair back behind her right ear.

"So its a drone operated suit... not exactly like Tony Stark's but you're hoping to directly compete with the kind of technology that he's creating then?" She asks before adding. "Is this at all related to the Sentinel project thats being... widely controversial with regard to how those machines are designed to target specifically the mutant population?"

Lex Luthor has posed:
"A remotely operated drone. Using a support AI to direct it is possible now, but I'm not Tony Stark. I have no obsession with using power armor like he does." Lex gives in a mild correction, "this was more of a curiosity on my part. The ideas came to me one day and I put in the design time. Turns out the technology is viable enough for practical use. The direct competition with Stark is entirely a coincidence."

Then, he grins. "The Sentinel initiative is another matter altogether, and one I wish Trask Industries the best of luck with. I will say that LexCorp is working on a potential alternative to the Sentinels, but it's entirely too early to state for a fact we have an answer for competition."

April O'Neil has posed:
April softly nods to his response to her initial questions and she glances down to her tablet pc on her lap before she looks back up at him. "Many people are saying that these kinds of technologies are the wave of the future. What with the events of the Black Sleep putting most of the world to slumber, with even members of the Avengers and Justice League reportedly being effected..."

April leans her head to the right just a little as she stares at him. "Would you say that your intentions with these robotic drones would be for added defenses should the world's living defenders be... cast into a similar situation, or would you say that your drones are for a completely different purpose? Weapons of offense, rather than defense?" She shows a light grin. "Its arguable that the Sentinels are more of an offensive weapon, rather than a defensive one, after all."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"Robotic weapons are an inevitable consequence of the natural self-preservation instinct of humans. Why fight for yourself when you can have your technology do it for you, and without risking your life? These sort of weapon platforms are a supplement that have been a long time coming... but I would not call them a replacement." Lex leans forward then, eyes level with Aprils own, "I don't know what Trask has planned with his robots, but I will go on record as being very concerned about them. The protest in Gotham made it clear that their older models are least have directives of their own, given the way they attacked innocent mutants in the crowd without authorization." He sighs slightly. "I can only hope that the newer models have better programming to eliminate that risk.

He frowns slightly, "my other, related, concern is that the AI governing these robots have their own processes. Without an in-depth study of a current generation Sentinel, I have no way of knowing what sort of moral directive these have. I started work on my alternative because I think I can do better than AI for defense /and/ offense."

April O'Neil has posed:
April sits up a little straighter in her chair then and she adjusts the tablet on her lap to aim it back toward her face to glance down at it for a second, it presumably has her notes on it for this... notes that she may or may not have had partially ready and partially written up in the ride over here.

"Trask is a real mystery." She says then in response to start. "I would love to get a chance to speak with him, but something tells me that he's less likely to offer me this chance that you have." She shows another hint of a grin before she moves on.

"So you called your designs a drone, rather than a suit, or like the Sentinels--which operate on artificial intelligence that has proven to be less than reliable--does this mean that your 'drones' are using human controlled pilots at the helm, in a... computer lab somewhere? Or do they too have an autonomously operating computer intelligence at their cores?"

Lex Luthor has posed:
"I do believe I called them 'remotely operated' at first. The drones are quite capable of being operated by an AI, but AI in weapons is a risk in itself. I'm far more comfortable with AI as a personal assistant." Lex gestures over the office, "I have an AI that governs this floor, for example. I call it Harmony."

"As for being a suit... I have a prototype design for one in the works that I hope to have in a practical form by the time LexCon is scheduled."

April O'Neil has posed:
April gives the man a soft nod of her head to his first response. "Yes, just making sure." She then listens to the rest of what he says and it admittedly makes a smile form on her red hued lips. "So you are designing a suit variant?" She asks. "You know, I heard Elon Musk might be looking into it as well. If yours comes through also? You should join up with Stark, you can be the... Billionaire Protectors of the World." She's teasing of course, a bit of light hearted humor for the fun of it.

With a breath drawn in though, April continues on. "So these suits, A.I. and remote operated options... They're going to remain solely a part of your business or are you going to be selling them on the open market? I hear china is all about these kinds of things, they're taking a far more aggressive stance on the defense of their holdings. Its a tough place to be a mutant for instance, so they say."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"There are some problems to work out with the design, but I'm confident it will be done soon." Lex nods, "I... will not be joining the Avengers anytime soon. Stark's ego already filled out most of the slots in that team, and I have no desire to share with him." Was that an insult against Tony? Then again, Tony Starks lifestyle is fairly legendary amongst those in the know.

Glancing down at his watch, he frowns, "Harmony, alert my 11:00 PM I'll be rescheduling for tomorrow, we've run a bit over time on this interview."

There's no response but a slight light flicker. Does Lex not like audible AIs? His eyes look back to April, and he smirks, "I'm afraid I'll have to cut this interview short. I hope to meet you at LexCon again." He stands, offering a hand for a handshake across the desk, "I'd offer an invitation to come as my date, but I get the impression Mr. Wayne has an interest in you." He states with a teasing tone.

April O'Neil has posed:
April is grinning at the bit about Tony Stark. She knows him 'fairly' well. They talked several times, about a year ago, but she hasn't heard anything from him since then. "Well." She replies. "I'm all for more people able to protect our planet from the wild things that seem to forever be attempting to bust through what defenses we have..." As she says that her eyes go down to her tablet computer again.

At least until he says he has to cut this shirt, then April looks back up at him with an unexpected expression. "Oh. Oh, uh, yes of course." She uncrosses her legs and rises up to her feet. A smile is summoned to her lips. "I'm sure you're rare to even have the free time you've given me already."

She'll move to start to prepare to leave, and the last comments about Bruce make her blush with a bit of embarrassment. "Mister Wayne... is a very nice man. But like you, he's quite busy. I'm not sure where he stands on any of that. But... I know he's a very busy man." She shows a sly grin. Its clear that whatever that is, is either undefined or complicated.

"Thank you, Mister Luthor. I really do look forward to hearing more about this, and seeing where it goes." She says before they inevitably separate on their own ways.