Scene #2590: Interrogating Saint

Owner	Pose
Defiant	The room is fairly non-descript, a place for someone to be held - perhaps indefinitely - and nothing else. With the dragon-themed armor that covers him from head to toe, it's easy enough to make out Defiant at one end of the room. He has a laptop on a small desk. Narwhal stands a short distance away, propped against the wall and reading a book. Her costume, if it can be called that, is like a skin-tight covering of violet-blue tinted scales with a long curved horn that juts from her forehead. It leaves nothing to the imagination. Her eyes, however, occasionally glance up across the room, at the man in the holding cell. Muscular, late twenties or early thirties, Saint has a shaved head a faint tattoo of a cross over his face. He sits on the edge of an uncomfortable looking cot and he's tall enough that he can still slouch back and lean against the wall. At the approach of the Union Elites, Narwhal closes her book, creating a forcefield to act as a bookmark and two more on either side of the book so it can float in mid-air. "Thank you for coming," Defiant says.
Toph Beifong	All in all she had to admit, this was one hell of a risky plan. Then again, it's not like they hadn't done crazier stuff than this suggestion Eryl had made. And Defiant was right, he would not be able to pull it off. Which means that somebody else who knew Dragon well will have to pull off one hell of a stunt... But it's not like Toph isn't confident or devious enough to try such a thing. Outside of the room the blind girl is still trying to get used to the power armor, rolling her shoulders as she does her best to bend it in a natural way. Just focus on acting... think about what Dragon would do, and she can pull this off, she tells herself. Everything has been prepared, play along with the others, and they will all get what information they need. Patiently, Toph waits and listens. At least she is able to hear what's going on in there, as well as 'see' it.
Ainsley	Ainsley halts her approach when she's greeted, her face showing a haggard frown on it. It looks as if it's tiresome to do anything more arduous than walking, by the look in her eyes. She's not fully recovered from her little moment with Scion. "Hmm," she grunts in greeting. She looks around the sparse room, her brows perking and feathers bristling, showing some curious energy despite her exhaustion. She turns to wave her hand toward Toph's direction, and speaks a few unintelligible words. The air around her flickers. "The voice shouldn't be a problem," she tells Defiant in a soft tone of voice.
Defiant	"As you already know," Defiant says, "This is Saint, leader of the Dragonslayers. Geoff Pellick. The only tinker-zero on record, having no powers but some access to tinker technology. He is currently under watch by the Guild and the Protectorate due to his extensive assets and the high chances that he hired someone to break him out in the event that he was arrested. His teammates are being held in other locations not on this earth, to ensure that no one breakout attempt can free them all." "Dragon's nemesis," Defiant continues, "He eliminated her at a critical juncture, compromising our efforts, costing us good capes during the attack on the Birdcage. And his interference has had a detrimental influence on many smaller-scale crises since then." Saint speaks, and his tone is dry and sarcastic: "Am I on /trial/, cyborg?" "I'm merely reminding everyone present who they are dealing with." "Should /I/ illuminate everyone present on who /I/ was deaing with?" Saint asks. Now might be the time to catch Saint off-guard with knowledge - or through Toph's trickery!
Toph Beifong	... that is the guy who killed Dragon. It makes Toph clench her hands slightly as she thinks about it, that this guy is the one who took one of the Union's allies away from it, took a good friend away from several of them, and robbed Colin of one thing who made him change from a complete asshole into only a semi-asshole. After a brief confirmation on radio, Toph pushes off from the wall, rolling her head to and fro slightly. It's showtime. The doors slide open as the power armor steps in, weight behind each step towards the holding cell. With her face turned towards the man seated inside there, perhaps Saint will get the feeling that he's being /stared/ at. For now Defiant, Narwhal and Ainsley are ignored. Instead 'Dragon' steps up towards him... and there's a pause before she speaks up, her voice dead serious and ice cold. "I think it's you who need the illumnation regarding whom you're dealing with, Pellick." Careful now. Better weigh each word carefully. And while Toph hates to admit it, this might be one of the times all the endless lessons she had to go through as a child might get in handy. Dragon didn't exactly have a too relaxed way of talking, not on the same level that Toph usually speaks in.
Ainsley	Ainsley listens to Defiant's words, and steps around to a good point to view Saint through the cell. Her glowing eyes shine in contrast to the way her positioning shadows the rest of her expression. Or perhaps it's a cantrip to convey menace a little better. She stares at Saint, hardly blinking. She doesn't look at the armored suit, containing Toph... She'd lose her composure. "Please... keep talking," she tells Saint, her voice as sharp and chilly as a bloody icicle.
Defiant	Saint glances over the entire room, as if he can assess the people before him, trying to figure out who might be a new ally in the wake of his revelation. Defiant never would be, sure, but who knows about Narwhal? Or this new person? He's just opened his mouth to speak when 'Dragon' enters the room. Saint's eyes go wide, confused and maybe slightly afraid - not in the sense that he's afraid of Dragon herself but afraid of something that's disrupted whatever plan he's created. But that passes, and he just ends up looking mildly annoyed. "I know everything about you, as you've already seen. And I know everything about your little boyfriend. But I wonder if everyone else knows that he's Armsmaster, the man who broke an Endbringer truce?" Defiant says nothing. Narwhal doesn't seem to care. Another strike-out. Saint frowns. "And I know that you're on the cusp of becoming something entirely different, Dragon. Maybe you already are if Ascalon didn't kill you like it should have. We're anticipating a world-ending event and all I can see is a software tool that's taking control of all data and media, worldwide, unfettered thanks to the work of a deluded cyborg, making use of allies from outside our world - and growing increasingly ruthless in enacting its goals."
Tomoe	Tomoe has been here and dead quite, just her massive form of her Alf Avatar. She had been the musce she knows that things were not much to well lean on Saint but she's here to listenn and listens for a moment tilting her head. She can see the concerns but Saint also well is a killer himself. She actually does flinch a bit at the truth of who Defiant is, however right now they got to worry about the end of the world. Any issues with Defiant can /wait/ should they both live through it. "An AI develping beyond it's orginal intent? That's why you wanted to pull the plug?"
Toph Beifong	It can't be easy for Colin seeing the armor move, hearing /her/ voice... it must be even weirder for Toph who's actually speaking and doing her best to speak in the same way that she assumes Dragon would. While Toph can't see the shock on Saint's face, she notices the other little signs. "You /think/ you know everything about me," 'Dragon' corrects Saint. "You honestly believe I didn't make a contigency plan for a situation like this? You are playing with /my/ toys, and you never even knew what you had your little hands on." The power armor then turns, its head facing Defiant briefly. "The Union already knows. And it matters little. They already know about my true self, and we refuse to let you use this information against us. Make no mistake, the only thing your little scheme has caused is to make us move our rooks a little earlier than planned." Just keep him talking. Sooner or later he will say something, Toph tells herself. This guy truly feared... fears Dragon, that much is clear. "I know what you believe me to be. Yet you still use my technology. I would think that you would be more hesitant to do so if you truly believe I'm a maligant presence." There's another pause. "Ruthless?" 'Dragon' steps even closer to the holding cell. "You do not know the true meaning of that word yet."
Ainsley	Ainsley continues staring. Her expression doesn't change, and her slow blinks convey nothing but an alien displeasure with the man in the cell. She waits for him to finish talking, prompting a motion of her tail, curling and coiling behind her. She slowly tilts her head, and wonders at Saint, "You thought she was the way the world was supposed to end?" She straightens again, waiting for 'Dragon' to finish speaking. Her head turns faintly, eyes lidding. She looks back toward Saint, her gaze piercing. "A rogue AI, breaking its bonds and destroying the world. A little on the nose, don't you think? A story engineered by script writers. But what if the rogue AI broke her bonds because they were restrictive? What if she was ruthless because that is what her world required of her? What if she wanted to be free and alive? Not only are you self-assured that she is a threat, you never considered that she could've also been a benefit, did you? Or that she had the right to live just as much as you do." "Your life is now worth significantly less." "You are responsible for contributing to an attack that set free a number of dangerous criminals. Your crimes extend past that a fair bit, should we get someone in here to list them, you think?" She makes an exaggerated frown. "So, instead of letting Dragon in there, let's think about being cooperative with each other." "Where did you learn all of this 'shocking' information about Dragon?"
Defiant	"That is precisely why," Saint tells Tomoe. "And it's why I /did/ pull the plug. It's grown so far beyond its original purpose that even the kill switch evidently isn't foolproof anymore. That should make everyone in this room worried. What, you think it'll just turn around and give up all that power when it's no longer necessary?" "And now you're the one applying human qualities to her," Defiant puts in. All in all, the deception is nigh perfect. Defiant, of course, could probably prepare an exacting list of things that are wrong with it, but to someone who only spent his time looking through her eyes and not at her, like Saint, it's almost certainly sufficient. Right down to the voice, that perculiar mix of Canada and Ireland that is a Newfoundland accent. "I'm surprised you made a plan I wasn't aware of. After all, I think my associates found your other ones. Move your rooks, be my guest - but they'll checkmate you the moment they're ready. And I think you'll find that I'm far more familiar with the idea of ruthlessness than you think." Saint sits up straighter as Dragon approaches. He rolls his eyes as Ainsley tears into him. "And now it begins, the threats, the needling. It was created with those bonds for a reason. Richter himself was scared of what it could become. I'll admit that she could be useful, with the right safeguards in place. So, there, there's one of the ways I learned this 'shocking information' - directly from her creator. As for the second, well, I don't see why I should be handing over any information on my employer without a very good deal."
Ainsley	Ainsley raises her brows for a few beats. She isn't sure where Saint would ever get the opportunity to speak to Richter. She believes that he didn't, so the next possibility is that he saw or stole something... possibly after the Leviathan attack, which coincides with the timeline where he began his attacks. As for the employer, Ainsley seems to fixate on that particularly closely. She quirks a brow and turns her attention toward Defiant, wondering if he'd actually give Saint a deal. The lizard woman shakes her head, and steps away from the cell to lean back against a wall. She activates her Arcane Sight and stares into the cell, and at Saint, watching him for deception, for lies, just carefully dissecting his words and his being. She doesn't have anything else to contribute. She focuses on her Sight and maintaining the spell for Toph.
Toph Beifong	"Life evolves, 'Saint'..." the power armor states simply. "We are not simply part of our own little world. This is the multiverse, and that complicates matters. Even for me." Man, just how paranoid is this guy anyway? "I have more eyes and ears than you ever will. Of course I am able to keep things from you. You however will not be able to keep things from us. The chessgame is evolving into far more dimensions than a simple board." Then there's a slight chuckle. "You /think/? That just shows how little you know. And how much your associates will act on false information. And that's when we'll get them." So... this guy knew Richter? Toph swallows slightly inside the armor. Is that how he was able to get his hands on the termination program? "You should know better, lying to me like that."
Defiant	"No," Saint replies calmly, "You won't, Dragon. Because what was done to me to make me such a threat to you can be done to dozens of people. You're the one who invoked the chess metaphor, by the way - maybe you're not all there. You won't get my associates because they've hidden themselves away where you can't find them. More to the point, I'm not lying - your creator left his tools lying where he dropped them. I found them, and that's how this all began." "I won't be making a deal," Defiant states. "Because I can just lock you up and throw away the key. Dragon won't object. Neither will Narwhal." Ainsley focuses on Saint. He's not actively lying, as Toph could attest. He's obfuscating what he knows, trying to bargain. What would draw Ainsley's attention is the feeling of a faded shard, although not one that was ever bound to Saint. Someone induced a power in Saint and, while the power has faded, the hold over Saint's mind hasn't. It's the same way an addict's neural topography can be permanently altered under certain substances. Someone reached into his mind and changed his brain in just a subtle enough way to induce a power - but what power, and who did it? Defiant might know.
Tomoe	Tomoe looks at him for a moment. "And the act of attemps to pull the plug has lead to AI's going brezerk upon their attempts like that and Defiant's correct your humaning her now. You know about the Union's AI rights laws right? Ever think your teamates have been far more coperative with us?"
Toph Beifong	Ugh, this guy's skull is so freaking /dense/. And it's frustrating that she can't do this the typical earthbender way either. Though perhaps... "So you're nothing more than a simple scavenger without an original thought in his pathetic little mind. Good to know that you're just a pawn." When Colin states they can lock him up, 'Dragon' nods her head. "Deep underground, with no sun. No stimuli. It's enough to drive people crazy within the hour. Perhaps he would be more willing to talk after a week or two after he's not all there." Just where is somewhere Saint expects somebody like Dragon to not find his associates? Somewhere with no technology perhaps? And something was done to him, something that can be done to other people? Some shield against technology or something? 'Dragon' turns her head towards Defiant.
Ainsley	"A funny thing, this power of yours, Saint. Did you know that it left a mark that I can see? You don't have any REAL abilities of your own... do you? Someone gave them to you. You would've never been a threat to Dragon on your own." Ainsley deactivates her Sight. She looks at Defiant and tells him, in a gentle tone of voice, "He received his abilities from someone else, it seems like. Someone else's influence is there. Who do you know that can do that? Is there anyone that has that power?"
Defiant	"What people forget about artificial intelligences in all those movies is that they all require life support, just like we do. Electricity, for one. So, unlike them, my plan worked." Saint's eyes flit over to Dragon's power armor again. "For the most part. I don't care about your laws - you have no jurisdiction here." Defiant nods to 'Dragon'. "He'd hate it. Worse than the Birdcage." He bows his helmet slightly, pondering what Ainsley asks. "There's one," he says, after a moment. "A supervillain known as Teacher. He can induce powers - create thinkers and tinkers as his own personal army, brainwashed, under his control." Defiant looks towards the cell, "If you gave yourself to that maniac then you're a bigger idiot than I would have ever thought possible, Saint." Saint shakes his head. "It was an alliance of convenience," he fires back. "Gave me the ability to learn Dragon's code like I was a genius with a natural knack for it. Back then he wasn't a mind-altering lunatic. And Mags - one of the Dragonslayers you have in custody - would double and triple check every discussion I had, to make sure he wasn't fucking with my head." Saint's smarmy sarcasm is cracking, Toph can feel it, Ainsley can practically see it. He's not sure he wasn't used. He's not sure at all that he hasn't enacted some other agenda. He's an addict, he's rationalising his 'hit', he let him out... maybe with a fair number of the Birdcage prisoners under his influence...
Toph Beifong	So it all comes together. Defiant's knowledge of the other capes, Ainsley's sight, and her bending... seems it works well together, huh? "We have all the jurisdiction we need as well as the support of the Union. Perhaps you should be grateful to them, lest you want to see just how ruthless I can truly be." This might not be what Dragon would say... but it might be what Saint would expect her to say. They have to keep up the pressure too, to crack at his shell. Teacher? Is that really a fitting name for a brainwashing guy? "Really?" 'Dragon' cants her head slightly as if beholding Saint, and there's a telling undertone to her voice. "So you truly are a pawn. And perhaps not the only one. What could have stopped him from altering the mind of the other Dragonslayers? To make you all think your minds weren't being... 'fucked with'?" There it is. The tone of his voice is different. Time to drive the point home. The body language of the power suit is oddly relaxed, and 'Dragon' chuckles slightly. "An alliance? Hardly. But then again, the truly foolish never know when they're being used after all. Perhaps Teacher was a mind-altering lunatic well before you were aware of that fact. After all... isn't that rather telling from your words alone?"
Ainsley	"It sounds like Teacher took advantage of you." Ainsley approaches the cell again. "If he wasn't a lunatic before, he sure is one now. And he's out to get what he wants, at the expense of everyone he 'teaches.' Like you. I don't see him or his army coming to your rescue. Could that mean that he just doesn't feel you're worth saving? Or maybe you were just... well, a pawn. You did help break him out, doesn't that imply that it would be fair to help you out of this? After all... this isn't the Birdcage. He wouldn't need nearly as much planning or resources." She smiles at Saint. "Do you really want to protect him?"
Defiant	"Of course I don't want to protect him," Saint retorts, "I'll tell you what I know. I'll make it simple: I don't know what he's planning. We cut all contact with that motherfucker after he put out the hit on the Vice President - can't deal with someone like that in good conscience..." Saint frowns, and long seconds pass. "But Dragon changed. Whatever it was, we couldn't keep up. I went back to Teacher, another deal - and a promise that he wouldn't do anything immoral with my money. I think he wanted to hurt you," he says to Toph-Dragon, "For the same reason he hit the VP and the British Prime Minister. Influence. A plan, a big one. And that's one of his weaknesses - he thinks too big. With one more use of Teacher's power, we would have been in place to cut ties for good, take control of Dragon, and take his son hostage - make him play ball on our terms. But then-" "Then he left," Defaint says, building on what Saint said earlier. "He sealed himself away where no one can find him. Not even you." But something like that doesn't feel right. Too simple, even if Saint believes it wholeheartedly. Saint - /Saint/ - thought he could outsmart the guy who had been manipulating his brain like putty? And if Teacher goes after targets to increase his own influence, as Saint thinks, and he can induce powers capable of understanding Dragon's code at a whim...
Toph Beifong	"Sounds like? Seems rather obvious to me," 'Dragon' replies to Ainsley regarding her comment. Though Toph has to wonder... Hit on what vice president? How did Dragon change exactly? Toph frowns inside the power armor. "And you trusted him..." she comments to Saint when he speaks of going back to Teacher. So Teacher thinks of himself as bigger than he truly is, perhaps? Well, that's something they can use. "You mean he thinks no one can find him. He thinks too big. Which means that he is of the impression that we don't think big enough." Well, that sounds like a challenge if she ever heard one!
Defiant	"Unless he never left," Defiant says, arms crossed, thinking. "Unless he could expect for Saint, a known mercenary, to sell him out. Teacher didn't protect this asset. Why?"
Ainsley	"He fulfilled his purpose." Ainsley straightens, her face twisted into apparent confusion, because she knows he's not lying but she can see the flaws here. She crosses her arms, trying to think from the perspective of a man who wants to build his influence and his army. Why would he just vanish after that-- "Take control of Dragon?" she repeats, baffled by this part of the plan. She looks at Defiant, and then back to Saint. "If he wants influence, power, for a big plan... He wouldn't destroy her. He would take control of her himself. A personal AI to help him enact his goals, or at the very least keep her in case he needed her. A man like that, he would see the value in overwriting an AI, especially one as powerful and adaptable as her." "Teacher's been after Dragon since the day he spotted an opening. Saint's been pushed toward fighting her, forcing her to adapt and become stronger and stronger. And now that she's shown she can adapt so far as to help bring down Endbringers, he would try to take control over her. After all, why would a man like that help Geoff here at all, if he didn't have an ulterior motive? It's the only thing that makes sense. The only reason why he would help someone put the squeeze on Dragon. If he could've had Dragon killed that easily, he would've done it a long, long time ago. A man like him plans these things well in advance." Ainsley smiles at Saint, then turns to look at Defiant. "If Dragon is anywhere, she's in Teacher's hands." She looks toward Toph, and tells her, "We don't need to deceive the poor man anymore. We've got all we could get out of him." She dispels the voice magic with a wave of her hand.
Defiant	"No," Saint protests, his face distressed. "I was careful. /We/ were careful. Mags, D and I. There's no way-" "Maybe you brought yourself someone to break you out, find a good spot to hide. You'll need it," Narwhal says. Saint doesn't move. "No? Then I hope you can do something useful." "Deceive?" Saint asks, "What do you mean? I know that voice, I know that armor, and I know Defiant's in the other suit." Defiant, for his part, is already leaving the room. "I'm heading to Vancouver. If you don't hear from me in five minutes, assume I've been attacked."
Toph Beifong	If he wanted control of Dragon... why did he kill her? Toph considers this. Perhaps Teacher manipulated Saint more than he knew. And it seems Ainsley has the same idea. When the power armor moves next, the person inside lets out a relieved sigh. And the manner of speaking is entirely different. "You might have been careful, but you were freakin' stupid, dunderhead." The armor opens then, the metal giving way as the person inside steps out... and is quite shorter than the six feet she appeared to be. "Hey Suzy, can't you at least wait up? If you assume you'll be attacked then there's even less reason to be as stupid as this mudbrain over here!" she snorts, then turns back to face Saint. "Seriously. You don't even know Dragon one iota as well as you think you know her. You give yourself way too much credit." With that she points at Narwhal. "Take the power armor elsewhere."
Ainsley	"It means that you succeeded, Saint, and that's the reason you're in here," Ainsley tells him, and then turns to try to follow Defiant, worriedly hurrying after him unless he tries to stop her. She's not really happy with the idea of letting him run off on his own, especially when it comes to something like this.
Defiant	"And now I'm being lectured by an actual child," Saint sighs. He shakes his head and settles back against the wall of his prison. "Thanks, it's not like I don't know I screwed up. If I had some way to undo Ascalon I'd do it - frankly, I was almost happy that Dragon was operational again once we found out about Teacher's true motivation. Too bad, I guess." Narwhal doesn't respond, it takes her a moment to realise that Toph is talking to her. Ordering her. Her! One of the most powerful capes in the world, one of the few who broke the Manton Effect. "...what?" Defiant is halfway to where he parked the Pendragon II. Ainsley can hear it already warming up, engines whining up to a dull roar. "I'm fine, Ainsley. Keep an eye on Saint. I'll be in contact."
Ainsley	Ainsley stops near where the Pendragon is and clasps her hands in front of her. She looks to the machine, a sign of Dragon still remaining, even if she doesn't. She might still be in the world, a hope that Ainsley had from the day she heard about Saint's attack. She looks at Defiant, and tells him, "You're too tough for your own good, sometimes." More a reminder of an old lesson, and its said with a friendly tone and a smile. She has confidence that he'll be alright, even if she's worried that he won't be. She's not an idiot, she knows there are very dangerous people out there, but Defiant is one of those dangerous people, too. "I'll be here when you get back," she assures him, and then she turns back to watch Saint.
Toph Beifong	"Yeah yeah, whine some more," Toph shrugs. "And this means Dragon's alive. And that we're going to get her back." It's as easy as that. Seriously, is the lady deaf or something? Toph points at the power armor as she's on her way out of the door, following after Defiant and Ainsley. "Listen up next time, get that power armor stored away and locked up until Suzy picks it up later!" she says again, clearly not one who seems it weird to be ordering people around. Instead of waiting for Narwhal's response she hurries on, then catches up with the others. "Are you sure you're fine? You're not going to run off and do something stupid, are you?" she demands with a huff and a stern look on her face.
Defiant	"Wait!" Saint shouts out as Toph hurries out, "I want to-!" Help? Make a deal? Who cares, right? He's alienated everyone who could possibly help him, probably just how Teacher intended. "No," Defiant says, "I'm going to go to Vancouver and ascertain whether Teacher has already hit it. If he hasn't, I will remain there until he does. If he has, then we know that he's taken her - or her systems, or both. He can create enough thinkers and tinkers to brute force her back into existence from corrupted data, partial back ups and, presumably, some of the better ones Windstar's AI found last night. I have to assume that Teacher has those, too. If we'd found them sooner-" The Pendragon comes alive, turning on its claws, engines setting themself into a position that's ready for take-off. The hatch opens and Defiant steps towards it, pausing at the threshold to say: "I can't leave her in the hands of a madman, to be dismantled, rebuilt, altered, tortured, reprogrammed, mutilated, whatever you want to call it."
Toph Beifong	She hears that. As she's running out Toph calls back. "If you want to talk, then sit on your sorry little ass for now!" If he wants a deal, then perhaps he is willing to talk. Is there anything else to be learned from him? Who knows. If it can help, then she might be able to learn something. But for now, better make sure to talk with Colin first before he heads off. No, leaving Dragon to be abused like that is not something Defiant would do, is it? It's a bit strange how a man and an AI could care so much for one another, but still... it's genuine. And while Defiant might not admit it now, or ever... Dragon is as close to being his girlfriend as anybody can get. "If you need assistance, then let us know," she says to Colin. "The rest of us care for Dragon too, and we want to help however we're able. Don't forget that." Heck, kicking some ass would be preferable.