7642/Peacekeepers: The Magneto Problem

Peacekeepers: The Magneto Problem
Date of Scene:	26 May 2019
Location:	LexCorp Laboratories - LexCorp Tower
Synopsis:	Lorna is called in by Lex to test a new Peacekeeper, and ends up learning all about the human side of them.
Cast of Characters:	Lex Luthor, Polaris
Tinyplot:	Peacekeepers

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Lex Luthor has posed:
The Peacekeeper project has been a long time coming, and the first large scale test was considered a success, despite a few problems and glitches that popped up.

Now, Polaris AKA Lorna Dane has been 'requested' to meet with Lex at LexCorp Tower. Specifically, the laboratories. A Team Luthor escort of two has been assigned as security for when Lorna comes for the appointment.

In the lab proper, a Riot-Class Peacekeeper is standing in one of the many testing chambers of LexCorp Tower laboratories. Parts are being exchanged on one of the Peacekeeper assembly platforms, with Lex himself in the console center on the other side of the one way glass, Mercy and Hope in their state of the art security armor, both wielding laser rifles designed specifically to have a chance against Peacekeeper armor.

Polaris has posed:
One Lorna Dane had been extremely busy in terms of finding intel out on Trask and the Sentinels, she hadn't sent out updates to Lex yet, though she had informed him that they had quite a bit to discuss and update on. Particularly in regards to what she now knew about the Sentinels in general. The Princess of Genosha arrived in much the same way as always, by a rather nice looking car she drove herself and in a business casual manner. She wore a pair of black slacks, and a loose fitting blouse of cream color tucked in with care. A massive amount of metal based jewelry covered her wrists and fingers, all easily manipulated as necessary, and with a pair of heels that clicked with each step.

She nodded to the two that played security and escort, politely asking how their day was as she climbed into the elevator and was escorted to the lab. She arched a brow when the doors dinged open and she was shown the way in.

"Well, you've certainly been busy." She offered with a smile as her eyes scanned the room at large.

Lex Luthor has posed:
"This is new territory for us, with technology we're only just starting to really debug. We're always busy with this project." Lex clarifies casually as he turns around to give a smile to Lorna, "As it is, good evening, Ms. Dane. I trust your trip here was pleasant and luxurious?" Lex asks in a bit of small talk.

Then, he turns around and gestures through the glass pane separating them from the cyborg in the other room. "Meet Riot-05. He's spent the last week being refitted with a new chassis, and is just getting the new arms." Indeed, though the window, the appendages are just about to slide into the docking ports in it?s torso, cables and clamps visibly snaking out to each other.

He looks back to Lorna. "Before I can pitch this to the Pentagon, I need to future proof the Peacekeepers. That means having a solution as a potential counter to you and your father." Lex explains, matter of factly. "I trust you understand why I've called for you, in light of that."

From his tone, Lex is expecting Lorna to be smart enough to figure out the purpose of her visit from his words. There is no condescension there... only an expectation of competence.

Polaris has posed:
A small shrug followed as Lorna stepped into the lab until she was a more comfortable distance to carry a conversation and could see through the glass divider to what was on the other side more clearly, "It was well enough, I'm spoiled with using teleportations more often than not. But I do love a good car," She drawled, and arched a brow as she considered the creation on the other side.

"Future proof?" She mused and as Lex stated quite plainly what he meant to do Lorna bit back the urge to snort and roll her eyes.

"I understand, even if I dislike the idea. Aren't nullification fields enough? Trask has those so mass marketed these days it's ridiculous." She shook her head once.

"I've some files for you to look at if you're curious. I've had a chat with a man from the future, actually. Trask... or whoever made him. They crossed a man with a Sentinel."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"If I don't have a solution, I'm going to be accused of bias." Lex notes as she snorts. "A good businessman always makes sure to refine his products and take care of his assets and allies. This way, you get experience against it so you know what you're dealing with, and I get to say I've had a magnetic based mutant go toe to toe with one of the units and have recordings ready to show how the unit does."

He gestures through the window, "He's actually rather eager for the fight. He's been tested against mercenaries, and he wants something new."

Then, he turns to regard Lorna, his hands going behind his back as he raises a brow in curiosity, "I've heard of these nullification fields, but I don't have a schematic for them. It's something I've been considering looking into, but I've been fairly busy with this and other projects. Would those schematics be among your files?"

Then, he frowns with a hint of concern at the mention of another cyborg, "Another form of cyborg? That's new. What did he have to say?"

Polaris has posed:
Lorna shrugged once, and shifted her weight as she approached the glass in curiosity. "Using non ferrous materials is a start. But that's hardly a secret. Electrical pulses, of course, can be manipulated with ease.. So a faraday cage or something like it should be involved." She paused and smiled at Lex, "But I'm sure you've already gone over those, those are the obvious bits of course." She murmured and stepped back.

"There is a man from the future that is wholly, or at least in part, Sentinel. He has weapon systems like they do, and is able to communicate, control, and remotely reprogram them to his designs. He //is// a nullification field and can set one up from a distance. As well as having advanced mutant detection systems." She murmured softly.

"I can ask after the schematics for the null fields we have on file. Though, ours are not the future ones mind you. We're working on ways to shut them down."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"I would appreciate that." Lex notes with genuine thanks, before he nods to one of the technicians in the room... who opens the airlock down into the chamber. A silent 'whir' can be heard as it opens, "I've gone over most potential means of counteracting both of you. We had to rebuild a unit from the foundation up to do it effectively." Lex smiles lightly in amusement. "Lucky for us and them, the Peacekeepers are designed with modularity in mind. There's a reason we went with making them mostly mechanical."

He looks back to Lorna, "Whenever you're ready. This will be a simple general defense test. Nothing like the test a few weeks back."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna knew her father would disapprove in any way shape or form. For all that it made sense to her. Lex Luthor was one of Genosha's staunchest allies, and to alienate him, she felt was the wrong way to handle things. Even though Magneto had written off the Peacekeepers with a dismissive wave of his hand. But then, that was how he viewed most things he did not have a hand in directly.

The green haired woman shrugged once, and with a thought, the metal of her jewelry liquefied in a cascade of green, sliding over her business casual attire to form a more armored appearance. A bracelet twisted under her fingers and formed into a headband that she carefully tucked into place to push her hair back. "Can it take a hit from a car?" She asked, arching a brow as she stepped toward the now open space that led to the other side of the viewing area she'd been in before.

"Because if it can't take a hit from a car, and keep going..." She trailed off with a smirk and floated down the rest of the way to the point where she was clear of the expensive lab equipment.

Lex Luthor has posed:
"They're a bit less robust in comparison to the other models, but that isn't saying much, given the Riot-Class models are designed for general workhorse assignments." Lex offers in reply, "The shield technology is rather useful for burst defense as well. They can't keep it up forever -their power core isn't designed for sustained use of that magnitude- but it's more than enough for most applications."

When Lorna steps through the airlock, it whirs again, closing behind her, and Lex comes over the intercom, "this test is to determine if this prototype is a viable counter. Riot-05, this is purely defensive on your part in the first phase." Inside the chamber are a lot of metallic objects of all sizes, masses, and shapes: obvious ammunition for Lorna to use. The plain, grey walls and ceiling of the chamber are more than enough for Lorna to maneuver, with the Peacekeeper directly in the center.

As might be expected, the Peacekeeper himself has no metallic signature to exploit... and when it turns to regard her, she can hear a laugh from it. "Bring it on, girl," comes the synthetic voice of the human underneath all those systems.

Over the intercom, Lex speaks again, "Whenever you're ready, Ms. Dane."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna arched a brow as she swept her gaze around the room at the various metal objects and a smirk pulled at the corners of her lips. "Call me Polaris." She offered with a splay of her hands as she rose up into the air on the magnetic currents--and the contents of the metal scraps and the alike of the room all rose with her. Lex had said the first part was to test the defense systems. Well, she'd test them, and bury the guy in a mountain of metal for calling her //girl//.

There was a magnetic rise of pressure throughout the testing room and Lorna grinned from her position in the air. Then with a grin, flicked her wrists and sent the entirety of the room's metallic contents flying at the model in the center. She didn't hold back any of the force of her throw, as metal flew at the man and wrapped around him. The screech of metal and the alike echoed around her as she flicked her hands this way and that, and the metal liquified into a solid mass around Riot-05.

Lex Luthor has posed:
When the full on assault is registered, the Peacekeeper doesn't move at all. His head twitches this way and that... but there's no movement other than to scrunch in on itself, turning into as much of a ball as possible.

A moment later, and it's clear why.

As the assault begins, each object that flies in for the attack is met by a sudden shimmer as a shield is brought online locally to blunt each attack. of course, the bigger pieces still have a lot of kinetic force to them, so the Peacekeeper is knocked around by some of them.

Still... by the time Lorna is finished her initial attack, not one of the metallic objects has managed to get through that shield.

"As you can see, the shield technology has been refined enough for pinpoint deflection. Saves energy from the capacitor, and is very useful for offensive and defensive applications."

When the cocoon is wrapped around the Peacekeeper, there's a few moments of peace... then, there's a small, but growing, orange from it as a heating system is engaged.

Apparently, Lex thought of a counter for that, too.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna floated, watching and pausing, testing. She wasn't out to kill the man after all. It was a test. She didn't know what it could or couldn't take and the last thing she wanted was to end up accidentally killing the guy inside it. But she had faith that Lex had thought of the basics, and so she came at the Peacekeeper with that in mind. When the metal started to heat, her grip on the molten metal loosened and dropped away. She let her grip fade and instead, went for something different. A direct concussive blast of magnetic energy.

One time someone had tried to run the numbers of how much magnetic force she could bring to an object.. But the physics just didn't stack to modern methods of calculation. She'd stopped when the numbers had compared the amount of magnetic force to that of a star.

Mutants... breaking physics all over.

With a grin she lifted up her hands, and let loose a decent enough sized blast that would typically take out a wall, curious to see how the defensive would respond.

Lex Luthor has posed:
Magnetic force. Meet directed wall of energy.

That same shield pops up once again as Lorna throws that blast at him. "Polaris, eh? Are you going easy on me, /Polaris/?" The synthetic voice almost mocks Lorna after the initial blast is dealt with. Lorna can tell the shield took it... but she has no idea how much energy it took to block it.

"I got this body so I could be able to take on mutants and metahumans alike. Start taking this seriously." There's even an undertone of frustration to his words.

There's definitely a human under all of that.

Polaris has posed:
A laugh escaped Lorna as she hovered there, and glanced side long at Lex through the glass with an arched brow. "How good is your insurance and am I supposed to stick to this room only?" She drawled, a hint of teasing in her voice as she lowered herself down from her floating position as she crossed her arms. "That was a blast I'd use to knock out a wall. Roughly. You should be proud. Most metas and mutants for that matter can't summon something that forceful." She murmured, a hand settling on her hip.

The other raised with a lazy manner, "And mind you, I haven't tried drawing on the electrical grid for a power boost. Or targeted your nervous system with an electromagnetic pulse.. You see, every living thing, runs on some form of electromagnetic power. Your brain sends these to make movement happen." She smirked. And released a second, stronger blast of magnetic energy, this time enough to merit her focus to narrow along with her gaze.

//She// wanted to know just how much juice those shields could take.

Lex Luthor has posed:
"I'm not going to pretend to understand the science behind it, but my insurance didn't cover my conversion, Mr. Luthor did." Riot-05 offers in explanation. "You could say I was reborn and given a second chance. Now, I have an opportunity to do some real good in the world." The synthetic voice continues, before the Peacekeeper stands up, both arms coming up into a defensive position. "My nervous system was covered in a protective insulation... but I don't know how much it'd take for you to reach for it." The Peacekeeper concedes...

Then, as the second blast comes in, the Peacekeeper brings up that forward facing shield again, and this time it /flares/ with the attack. Little sparks fly from the sheer output against the kinetic force...

Then, it shuts down again. "I have to go up full strength to repel that. Nice work." Riot-05 compliments.

Polaris has posed:
A incline of her head follows as Lorna exhales a breath, her heart having sped up and she'd spent some exertion into the last blast. Enough to make her pause to catch her breath slightly and she straightened, lowering her arm back to her side. "Anything can be impacted by a magnetic force, even diamagnetics if the magnet is strong enough. It just.. falls into ridiculous territory fairly quickly when you try to use physics to explain my powers or my father's." She well knew how stupidly powerful she was a magnetic force. The abilities she had went well beyond the super magnetics any humans had made.

"It was nothing compared to my father's. He has had decades of experience beyond me." Though it had been theorized in Genosha that she had the same raw power as her father. If not more due to the intensity of her connection to the magnetic fields... She just didn't have his experience. Perhaps.. if she lived to his age, she would surpass his abilities. Who could say?

"What's the power core for that supplied by? Internal fusion or something?" She asked, curious as her green eyes went back toward the glass and arched a brow in Lex's direction.

Lex Luthor has posed:
The intercom comes back to life, "Patented LexCorp tech." Lex teases, "suffice to say, it works for the needs of his new body."

The Peacekeeper chuckles in response, "Don't look at me, he's got the full specs. I have the interface in my mind, but I just run diagnostics. Believe me, it took me months to have any competency in this body. It really is a whole new world for me."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna arched a brow as her gaze swung back toward the man in question, "And you wanted this? You don't sound like a guy with hard on for hating people with powers or anything." She mused, but didn't seem to judge. More curious, "Sorry, the last guy I talked to that was a hybrid of tech and human, he hated it. He wanted nothing more than to be just human.." She exhaled a breath, clapping her hands off on her pant legs.

"Alright, what else do you want for the test?"

Lex Luthor has posed:
"Why would I hate anyone? I was terminal before Mr. Luthor found me and gave me the choice. It was death, or this full conversation. If anything, I'm just grateful for the second chance. Who knows, I might be able to help bridge the gap." The Peacekeeper states, earnestly.

"Anything you could think of. This is our prototype refit to deal with you and your father. I want as much data as possible to go over for revisions." Lex replies over the intercom, "The idea is to make the Peacekeepers more attractive to the world as a viable alternative to the Sentinels. The more you give me, the more weight my pitch will have."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna approached the guy in a curious manner, her heels clicking on the floor of the chamber as she moved. "Nah, I didn't mean necessarily you in general. Mostly just musing, like I said. The last guy I talked to that was part machine hated it, and hated mutants in particular. Seemed to be part of his programming, but likely part of his base personality to start with." She offered with a smile and a sympathetic glance.

She held out a hand and paused, looking toward the man she'd been attack previously. "May I?" She gestured toward touching the chassi of the suit with her hand.

"I just want to see if it makes a difference to my senses if I touch you verses sensing you at a distance. I think, even with the masking, if I had time enough and focused--I might be able to pass them to sensing your neural pathways and nervous system again. But it's just a thought. I doubt my father would try that tatic." She offered with a lightness to her voice.

Oh she was going to be in //so// much trouble if, or rather when, her father got wind of this.

"Can the unit keep up a barrier and fire at the same time or is it too much a draw on the systems?"

Lex Luthor has posed:
"He's very different under the chassiss. He had to relearn how to move that body from the ground up. His digestive system was completely removed, since he has no need for ingestion of that nature anymore. The only thing you'll feel is the brain and the heart." Lex explains over the intercom.

In the chamber, the Peacekeeper gives a giant metallic shrug, "if you want."

When Lorna touches the chassis of the Peackeeper, it's like a cold 'blankness' slaps her in the face. The nervous system (what's left of it) has been completely rewired, with the only things that seem fairly intact being the brain and heart. This man is almost completely machine, now. "No programming here. I have a commlink and computer memory I can access, along with the cyber-interface that was programmed for me, but I'm still human otherwise."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna settled her hand on the chassi and closed her eyes to branch out her powers deeper beyond the blackness that typically told her 'nothing magnetic here'. It wasn't entirely nothing to her senses, but it wasn't made of anything magnetic. It was the opposite and rang true to her senses as such. After a moment in which she confirmed that most of his nervous system was well past gone, she drew her hand back to let it drop back to her side.

"And are you operating on a stand alone system? I assume you have to, if there's no programming, right?" She paused and looked back to Luthor. "We can now confirm that Trask keeps backdoors in all his Sentinel machines with an over ride that he can access to go beyond and over orders even purchasers have made. You can use that as part of your selling point. Nothing to hack into, nothing to take over." She smiled back at the man in the suit.

"Well, you've got all the important parts. And that's all that matters to make a person a person. Doesn't truly matter what the outside is like, right?" She offered with a smile. "What's your name?"

Lex Luthor has posed:
"The system responds to his signals, but the signal is a two way street. The only thing really connecting them would be the commlink network they establish for sensor data. Beyond that, I've tried to make their systems as hard to hack as possible, and put in failsafes that scan for hostile signals to cut that off." Lex explains further, "The modularity extends towards having redundancy in those failsafes. There are multiple layers, going between the various systems. If one fails, another will kick in, and he can trip those failsafes himself."

The Peacekeeper gives a synthetic grunt of acknowledgement. "Yeah, there's only one real way to have a chance to hacking us. The firmware I'm using is pretty good." Then, the Peacekeeper looks to the window pane, "Should I tell her?"

"You know your contracts limitations, and my own opinion on the matter, Riot-05." Lex states.

There's a nod from the metallic head, and the Peacekeeper looks back to Lorna, "Mr. Luthor isn't allowed to give our names to anyone without our express permission, or unless we go rogue somehow. This way, no reprisals can be done to our families." The Peacekeeper stares, "You won't go after our families, right?"

Polaris has posed:
A small incline of Lorna's head followed and she paused in her visual inspection to fold her hands behind her back. The metal that covered her business attire slid back into the bracelets, necklaces, and rings that had covered her before and she stood in the white blouse and black slacks again. She arched a brow, at the back and forth, but didn't interrupt. "Ah, apologies. I didn't know that was part of your contracts. I'm sorry. I have no interest in going after anyone's family. I just wanted to thank you, and it feels awkward for me to use the numerical designation. I have personal issues with assigning numbers to people." She offered, her voice soft and filled with a hint of sadness.

"I'm happy to hear that you're hack proof. That'll be important to know if you ever have to face down a rogue Sentinel or the man I mentioned. I hope it doesn't come to that though."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"Hack resistant, not hack proof." Lex clarifies from the control center.

"What he said. As I said, one real way." The Peacekeeper continues for Lex, before he stomps his way around back to Lorna, and brings up an arm. It reconfigures visually into some sort of clear firearm... but there's no indication of what kind. "Designations protect our identities. Some of us don't have them, but I insisted. There are plenty of anti-machine assholes in this world, and I have no intention of exposing my familiy to their hatred." The arm audibly cocks something within... and he aims it at a wall in the chamber.

*BOOM*

A loud blast can be heard as what could only be described as a cannon goes off, and the wall is coated in some sort of foam and pellet mixture. "Luckily, we can defend our families if it comes to that." The Peacekeeper quips.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna inclined her head again, not moving as she watched the Peacekeeper move about in his giant mechanical frame. She blinked as the gun came out, though she watched with care and curiosity. "Hack resistant to our technologies, currently." She added, as if things from the future or out of this world hadn't necessarily been implied before. But she didn't disagree with the correction anyways. Not even as the crack and BOOM exploded through the chamber and she reflexively put up her hands and squinted against the force.

"I know what hate is, and I face it regularly. I don't blame you in the least for wanting to protect your family.Know that you'll find none of that in Genosha, if you ever go there." She offered softly and turned her gaze back to Lex through the glass.

"Well, I'm satisfied for now."

Lex Luthor has posed:
The back door opens, and the Peacekeeper starts to stomp in that direction. It's a good ten feet, but it doesn't need to duck through the door. "Who knows, maybe we'll meet in the field, Polaris." The Peacekeeper gives a 'wave' with his other arm back to her, before the door closes behind him.

In the control room, Lex looks to his technicians, "It'll have to be good enough." He clucks his tongue in thought, "I want initial results by tomorrow and recommendations by in two." Then, he presses a button, and the airlock once again cycles. Over the intercom, Lex states with finality, "Thank you for your time, Ms. Dane. I'll be sure to let you and your father know the results after initial field testing."