7628/Where Did I Put That Giant Robot

Where Did I Put That Giant Robot
Date of Scene:	26 May 2019
Location:	A sawmill in Mansford, Washington
Synopsis:	Doug, Sam and Kitty track down Megatron and walk away feeling slightly better about his intentions. Also? Doug rocks.
Cast of Characters:	Megatron, Cypher, Cannonball, Shadowcat

---

Megatron has posed:
    Ever since that night, Katherine Pryde had her feelers out spread across the breadth of the internet, seeking to find anything she could, trying to chase down any possible lead. There had been holdings connected to Norton Agamemnon, connections, individuals whose lives he touched. But after that fateful night all contact with the web had ceased and it had been as if the being had never existed. Messages were gone, several systems had suffered catastrophic failure, and recursive virii had been unleashed on several more secure systems, damaging the attmempts.
    But one thing Kitty Pryde had in her corner, was knowledge of that night and the people on the operations team. Walker. Lara Croft. Silver Sablinova. And herself. Data links that could be collated in a broad sweep of patterns, trying to find possible connections that join them together. And still there was nothing.
    Until one transmission was intercepted to one of the members of that operations team. A message to Lara Croft that seemed to offer several digits and coordinates, but little in the way of a proper message. And even that for most would have been indecipherable save for with the aid of Douglas Ramsey. It was with that brilliance that Kitty was able to track down if not the meaning or significance of that message. She was able to discern its point of origin. A small town called Mansford in Washington state, just off Sauk River. And a quick sweep of the place there's no building larger than a diner, or a farmhouse in the area. Except for the old sawmill that went out of business some three years back.

Cypher has posed:
    "Of course he's going to delete digital traces related to him," Doug says, from where he's perched on a railing, in jeans, sunglasses, and a leather jacket, "You're dealing with an incredibly sophitsticated and intelligent lifeform. The answer's simple. Look for the signs of the information that's been removed. It's like a spiderweb. Plucking out a strand of information damages other pieces of information--"
    He hops down from the railing, "And then you follow that trail instead." He looks around, and then says, "...And suddenly I'm in Washington, again."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie is traveling with the two hands in his jacket pockets. He looks over the area, and while he may not have Doug's gift for reading places, and people, or the experience with this creature that kitty has. Sam's a farm boy, and while he is more used to the south, this is the type of town he is from. He will keep his ballcap pulled low for now, as he watches the people they may come across.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde stands looking at the sawmill with binoculars. "Well if he's in there... I really don't know what kind of reception I'm going to get," she says. "He has a main weapon that makes the Sentinel beam's look primitive. Took down two dozen of mixed sizes," Kitty says, glancing over to them. "Really don't want this to go sideways but don't know what his intentions are. So if it does, we probably had best get out." Still, Sam was there more for the firepower than the conversation. Because how often do things go how they hope?

"I'm thinking we just walk on down. Let him see my face and hope that is enough to keep him from shooting us," she says. She looks over to them. "Appreciate the work you did, Doug. You're so amazing with this stuff. And thanks for coming, Sam. Means a lot having you here."

She puts away the binoculars, leaving them in a bag she leaves hidden here, and then hops over the railing to begin walking towards the sawmill.

Megatron has posed:
    The old sawmill definitely has a dilapidated look to it. Windows broken, some rust having settled in on the joints of the metal walls of the main workhouse and the storage areas. There's enough little bits of graffiti marked on some of the walls with various curse words, enough to signify that the local kids got up to some fun in the place and rebelled in their own little ways.
    But from afar she'll see no signs of life. No watchman. No surveillance cameras. There's a tell-tale antenna that might seem to imply it once had something, but the radio/wifi signature from the place is nil. No signals coming in nor going out.
    Yet what might catch their eye from a distance away would be that the loading bay doors where the trucks would pull up for pick ups and deliveries... the large metal latches that had locked it down were torn asunder as if by some great force wrenching the doors up and out of the way...
    And then closing them back up.

Cypher has posed:
Doug casually strolls along. "Don't worry." Doug says, "Maybe let me greet him. I have something up my sleeve that Warlock taught me about, years ago, it might start things off on the right foot."

He looks up at the doors, as they approach, and then says, "...Wow. Okay. That's... terrifying. But, uh. Hm." He strokes his chin, and then says, "He might not care for it if we sneak in. ...I've got an idea." He approaches, and then... knocks with one fist, three times. BAM BAM BAM.

"Worse comes to worse I'm atomized by a blast from an energy cannon. Dying holds no mystery for me."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over to Doug, and says "Hey I thought we made a deal, you try not to die if I try not to die." He jokes a bit at the other. He will look over the doors, and hmms softly. Super strength not unsualy to him, but these look to have been handled by something not only strong but big.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde is doing her best to try to keep her worry off of her face. Though only partially succeeding. She glances from Doug to Sam. "I think you both already had your turn at that," she says, letting out a sigh and realizing she'd probably be the next in line.

What is it with her friends dying and coming back? Better than the alternative of not coming back though.

Kitty stands out from the other a bit, near the center of the doors should anyone inside be peaking out, wanting to make sure she can be seen. "He's only about a dozen feet shorter than Sentinel so... yeah, very tall," she comments as they note what was done to the door. After Doug pounds on the doors, Kitty waits a few seconds and calls out, "It's DeerInHeadlights! Wondered if we could talk a bit more!"

Megatron has posed:
    The door rattles with the clatter of aluminum and steel in the metal door-frame, part of the hinges shaking a bit. The lock's engaged but the seating is off as if some youths had forced it a year or so ago. So when Doug knocks it partially opens. Enough for them to get a hint of a glance inside. To see the long shadows across the cutting floor, to see the worn down assembly line mechanisms that have been partially disassembled. There's trash on the floors, fast food wrappers, debris, signs of a raccoon infestation that may have gotten out of hand at one point.
    But no sign of what they're looking for. No answer at first.
    It's only when Kitty advances enough to peer through, that she'll see across the way in an area that had been where a myriad of heavy machinery had been stored. See the criss-cross latticework of broken and torn iron and steel formed into a chaotic pile of jagged sharp edges and points as if thrown together and then melted into deformity. It's in the shadows there that they'll not receive an answer at first. But the realization of a presence, a mass of darkness in the shadow that only becomes more easily discerned when the eyes open and glow red.
    It is there on this ragged torn 'throne' of broken machine parts, that Megatron functions. Its awareness returning to the here and now as it slowly espies the trio of young mutants.

Cypher has posed:
"Hsshshhhhh." Doug says to Kitty, holding up one hand. "There's a *protocol* to this." He turns to Megatron, and looks up at the Cybertronian.

He raises his left hand up, palm outward, facing Megatron. He folds his index and middle fingers down into his palm, then he curls in his middle finger and thumb so they touch at a right angle in his palm, then he extends his pinky and thumb out in a gesture similar to a shaka, and then finally, he extends his open palm out, fingers splayed, toward Megatron, as he speaks. "Bah-weep-graaaaagnah neep ni ni bong!"

Then he says, out of the corner of his mouth, "...He'll either respond to the greeting, or probably try to kill us. There's no middle-ground with the Universal Greeting."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks at Doug as if the other young man is nuts, but he was the one who was closest to the last alien machine. He hmms quietly to himself, andmoves to stad a few steps behind the others, but his body language shows he is on guard.

Shadowcat has posed:
But not this one. At least not at present. Kitty moves over and pats Doug's back. "English works," she tells him. "Goof." She smiles to him and then pushes the two doors just a bit further apart, enough she can walk through without having to turn sideways. Though she only steps up to that gap, pausing there.

"You were a hard one to track down. Are you ok with us coming in to talk to you? Got a pair of friends with me. Good guys," she tells the giant robot who watches from the depths of the shadowy area. "We never really got a chance to talk after... well, after things escalated so quickly," she says towards Megatron.

Megatron has posed:
    As their eyes adjust they can likely make out more and more of the armored form of Megatron amongst the carcasses of old machinery there in the shadows. Can make out the lines of his features, the strong chin, the narrowed eyes. But as Doug speaks there's a moment where the eyes narrow, and then the corner of his mouth curves up slowly as if amused.
    Then the rumbling growling voice of the robot is heard with the rasp of electronic modulation as it responds. "Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah /wheep/ ni ni bong." As if correcting Doug's pronunciation to account for accent.
    Then the black metal gauntlet of a hand lifts from the 'arm' of the chair which is really composed of broken and twisted saw blades and the manipulator arm of a field-cutter. The hand opens toward them as if asking them to stay, and then he speaks in English to them.
    "Katherine Pryde. And friends." There's a pause, then he adds, "No. We did not." Those lamplight eyes slide over each in turn, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Cypher has posed:
"Sorry." Doug says. "It's been a few years."

He steps back, and looks to Kitty. "See? The Universal Greeting."

Then he crosses his arms, and says, "...My name is Cypher, sir. Our quiet friend is Cannonball." He studies Megatron. "You are incredibly sophisticated. I can see looking at you that you're able to rapidly adjust your physical structure to accomodate a variety of alternate forms. You're *almost* as sophisticated as a Technarch, physically--" Then he pauses. "Though... ah, that may not be a flattering comparison, so I apologize." Given that most Technarchs are sociopathic beings that strip worlds of life and energy to sustain themselves.

He glances to Kitty. "...Okay, your turn. Why *are* we here?"

Shadowcat has posed:
Doug gets a soft grin from Kitty, his contribution helping keep her a little more at ease than she would otherwise feel. It's not really fear that she's feeling, so much as that feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. She looks to Doug and says, "To get some answers."

Kitty wanders just a little bit further forward at the gesture for them to remain. She glances about the interior, not really expecting to see other robots there. But it doesn't hurt to look. "That didn't really go at the facility quite how I expected. Thought maybe we'd be helping you make something to allow the part of you to leave that couldn't. The result... quite a bit taller than expected," Kitty says.

"I figure either you didn't really know who you were until you got the parts you needed. If not, now you do, and I wonder if the whole you feels how Norton Agamemnon did, and what you intend? Or you knew all along in which case... well, you have to admit it all felt a bit deceptive. Which also makes me wonder, what you intend. In particular, about the people and happy little critters that call this planet home."

Megatron has posed:
    While Douglas speaks the glowing eyes fall upon him and remain level, expression still with the quirked curve of his lip. He listens to the words offered but grants comment to none instead having his attention drawn back towards Kitty Pryde and the action of inquiry.
    "Norton Agamemnon was a ghost. An intelligence granted life with a task at hand. It took years to create him, to fit the parameters, to be able to send him forth in the limited window. He was independent. And then returned to me. We are not the same, but we are similar. And I have taken him into myself. So now we are one."
    That mystery resolved, perhaps, he then tilts his head to the side slightly, the metal helmet seeming to cock askew subtly. "As for my future plans I am considering them."
    There's a silence there after he says that. A beat. Another. Then he adds as if to perhaps grant further insight, "For now I choose to sit. And listen."

Cypher has posed:
    "...If I could ask," Doug says, "...What is your name? Where are you from? You were... military? No." He puts his fingers on his chin. "A general? A commander. Something about the way your insignia is displayed--"

He thinks, to himself, and then says, "There must be a whole world of technological life-forms like you. Incredible! I was closely acquainted with a Technarch, a Techno-Organic, silica-based life-form. He was... something of an anomaly amongst his people."

Then he glances up to Megatron, and says, somewhat baldly, "...Are you planning to conquer this planet?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie is guarding the other two. He wants to geek out on the giant space robot as much as anyone, but he drew the short straw this time. He does look all around the room, watching for others who might be here, ways to escape or ue as cover if need be. He might have relaxed a bit, but at Doug's word Sam looks at him as is he had just said he was not a god. "Inax on the Orldwa onqueringca." He will say and slowly turns his head to look at Megatron expecting trouble now.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty stands quietly, listening to Megatron's answer. "I'm glad he's part of you. I liked him," she tells him simply. "I had a lot of respect for the views he espoused. We face a lot of prejudice and persecution. It's hit home pretty close for people like us," Kitty says to the giant robot. "I liked hearing what he had to say to the Professor. It takes a special kind of being to see that there should be space in the world for everyone to grow into what they are capable of being. That everyone have a chance to lead a full and productive life. I don't know about where you're from, but there's a lot who look to blame others when things don't go their way. Also some who when they get hurt by another, they cast the blame on entire groups instead of the individuals."

Kitty walks a few more steps forward. "I thought Norton wasn't in favor of that kind of behavior. Did that part of him make it into you as well?" she asks Megatron.

Megatron has posed:
    Turning his attention between Doug and Kitty, Megatron does spare a brief moment for what appears to be a curious dialect coming from the third, but he answers Doug first after the others are done speaking.
    "I am Megatron. Leader of the Decepticons. The home planet I am from is known as Cybertron. We are unlike the Technarch." That much is obvious considering his lack of repeated attempts to absorb and convert them. He looks around the room slowly, one eyebrow lifting upon that metallic face as his lips twist slightly, then returns his attention back to the earth-people. "I have no intentions of conquest for this planet. The presence of beings..." He looks toward Doug and Sam and Kitty, then adds with a small smirk. "Exceptional beings, it complicates matters. Apparently you have entered upon the galactic stage only recently, and many consider this place in a position of importance. For me. My kind? It is not so."
    He turns his head slightly toward Kitty, the red glow shifting to a slightly lighter shade, "Norton was composed of who I am. Or rather who I was in my youth. Elements of that time."

Cypher has posed:
Doug glances to Sam, and says, "lugh. jIH bopummeH SeH!" - Klingon.

"And yet you find yourself here, and I can tell that you're not telling us the entire truth. There's something exceptionally important about Earth to you, if only situationally." Doug looks up at him and says, "You're not simply a commander. You're a Warlord, aren't you. A conqueror. A King. You look like a Frank Frazetta painting done in steel and chrome. You built yourself a *throne*, and now you're *waiting*... waiting for others like you. For your followers."

"Life changes us." He says, "But who we were never completely leaves us. If Norton was an idealist, then a part of you is too." He studies Megatron. "...A frustrated, resigned idealist. Like every Revolutionary... who won their war."

It's what he does. He sees things in people. "What happens when your army arrives. Kitty helped you, and I don't think you believe we could divert what's to come if we tried. So... please. If only because she was honorable to you, Megatron."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks from Doug to Kitty and back to the lady. He will sigh a bit he seems to expect things to get messy. He will remove his hat sticking it in his back pocket, and makes sure he is in a spot he can easily be between Megaton and the other two. He rolls his shoulders and neck a moment, and continues to be quiet except for those odd words he spoke.

Megatron has posed:
    The tall robot, at least from this position, is a little more on their level, but he looks upon Doug with that curious tilt of his head. The glowing baleful eyes open and unblinking. "It is a pity you are not Cybertronian, Douglas Ramsey. You would be of much use."
    He leans forwards slowly, the broken metal and saw blades crackling and clinking faintly as the massive form shifts. "You see much when you look at the world, but parts of it are closed to you. But what you are most in error?" He looks between the youths of humanity, the future of the race. Then he says, "My war is not over. And I call this a chair."
    Towards Kitty he says, "What I told you before is true. Self-determination. Equality. It is important. But the Sentinels." His mouth closes and one can almost imagine the tendons that would bunch as there is a tension there.
    "They come from me in part. The research that was done. The torment." His voice shifts edged, the electronic modulation shifting into a snarl. "I will see them destroyed." Then back towards Doug, and ever so briefly on Sam, "Beyond that. I wish to return to Cybertron. Much time has passed."

Cypher has posed:
    "You flatter me. I don't think you could have paid me a higher compliment, Megatron." Doug steps to the side, and then says, "...So the Sentinels were developed in part from Cybertronian technology that was scavenged from your body. All this time, they've been using alien technology."

He glances to Kitty. "That explains why the Mark 1s were initially developed so fast, back in the day--"

Then he glances back to Megatron, and says, "...Thank you. For your honesty." He walks back over to Sam, and gives the man a gentle nudge. These two Sci-Fi nerds are standing in the presence of a giant space robot intergalactic warlord, after all. This is as cool as it is scary.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods a bit to this and keeps his eyes on Megatron." He relaxes just a bit at the nudge from Doug. Sam is pretty sure he knows who is the most dangerous to Megatron and while it might not be him, he might be able to keep him busy if it goes south. He hmms and says "Well at least friendlier than ah expected." He will admit. He hmms "You know, we know alot of different types of Aliens."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty stays quiet as Doug seems to be making headway. "I'm glad to hear we feel the same about them," she says towards Megatron. "I am not sure how much we can do to help you return to your home, but if it is something feasible I will try to help where I'm able," she tells him.

She takes another step forward. "I know that you made contact with another entity. Sebastion, or Bastion perhaps. He also comes from the Sentinels. Even as he may stand against the one who used what they learned from you to make the Sentinels, he would wipe out what makes people like Doug and Sam and I unique if he can. We will be made to fit into his world or not have a place in it. I do not think it is something he can overcome. It is ingrained in him at his core, as it is in the Sentinels, for he shares some of their origins," she tells the Cybertronian leader.

Megatron has posed:
    "It is possible, but his course is his own." Megatron says slowly after listening to the words offered by Kitty Pryde. Then there is a crunch and crackle of metal shifting as the Decepticon leader slowly eases forward and then pushes his considerable weight to his feet. Rising up toward the high ceiling of the saw mill, the great heavy black cannon upon his forearm held to the side and unraised.
    "There are those that are prisoners unable to see the bars that hold them. I have known his kind in the past. Either he will surpass the intentions of those who would tell him his role. Or he will die within his prison."
    A large hand lifts and then gestures to the side, "You trade upon the gratitude that I owe you, Katherine Pryde. Do not overstep your bounds. Ask one final question that shall satisfy your curiosity and then we shall part."

Cypher has posed:
Doug Ramsey goes quiet. He glances back to Sam, and then says, "...Thanks for coming, buddy. I don't know if I would've been half so brave without you here." He turns back, watching Kitty and Megatron.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smiles and says "Ah do." He speaks of his confidence in the other man. At Megatron's change of positionsing and him seemingly ready for them to leave, Sam looks over to Kitty to take hsi que from her, this is her circuis after all.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde is content enough with the exchange, hoping the revelation of the other being's motives lessens the possibility of cooperation between Sebastion and Megatron. "If you are as much of what I saw in Norton as it sounds, then I am content," she tells Megatron. "I hope that you find your home planet again, and happiness," she tells him.

Kitty glances over to Doug and Sam. "Come on, let's give him some peace and quiet, shall we?" She turns back and waves goodbye to Megatron. "Be well," she tells him, pausing only if he has more to say before she'll turn to begin heading out of the sawmill.

Cypher has posed:
Doug nods, and follows the others out. Once they're safely out of earshot, which might be miles away, he says, to the other two, "He told us as much as he felt like we needed to hear. He's not without his own sense of integrity, I think, but it's warped. In other words, he's *trouble*, and I don't think he's done with Earth, not by a long shot. This world's important to him, like I said... if only as a battlefield. He expects someone's going to come for him -- and I think, that someone's going to come to kill him."