(Preshow) Staging Area

[Hiro Protagonist]

Hiro had ported into the lobby still posed with a thumb outstretched towards the front of the platform, so he was not overtly concerned when several flashes went off in front of him. His goggles almost immediately adjusted for the glare and refiltered the incoming light as he brought his arm down and stepped off the platform. 

A few yards away, and past the small group of photographers who'd taken his picture, was a man in a dark red suit with perfectly combed hair and a mustache you could bounce a penny off of. The hacker made his way off the entry pad to clear the way, seeing the incandescent markers on his HUD that indicated a transmission. The man in the suit was....broadcasting.

"And that was another one of these fine prospective rescuers, viewers. Here's hoping they're not all that scrawny, ha ha!" He lowered the microphone in his left hand, only to raise a glass filled with ice cubes and brown liquid to his mouth with his right. "Ah, I love my job. Oh! Here comes a new contestant- I mean, noble soul!" The man stifled a snicker as Hiro walked up to him.

"Hello, I'm Ron Burgundy, with the Omniverse News Network, care to tell us a little bit about yourself?"

Hiro grinned, his eyes concealed behind his reflective technogoggles, leather kimono jacket hanging loosely at his sides. "Sure, why not. I'm Hiro Protagonist. Greatest Swordsman in the world and the last of the freelance hackers."

Ron raised an eyebrow at the camera and gave a big, showy wink. "Oooh, a hacker he says! That might give him an edge over our bleepy bloopy friend from earlier....i'm being gestured at frantically by my producer. Excuse my ignorance of politically correct terms." He turned to Hiro again and lofted another easy question at him. "So, why did you sign up for this year's Danteverse event? Even though it's apparently just a simple search and rescue?"

The hacker adjusted the katana on his hip before he answered. "Figured it'd be a good way to get some exposure. I offer a wide variety of services, both digital and wetwork related. Also, I figure that assisting the lauded Mr. Jak might be a good idea. I hear Syntech makes some pretty good stuff."

Ron took another swing from his glass and nodded. "Well, sounds like a good idea. And you might want to talk to a fashion designer, your outfit looks like the toast of the Dataverse, if I say so myself!" He jingled his empty glass of ice cubes before waving Hiro off with a friendly shrug. "More scotch, please!"

The Beginning of an Unknown Challenge....Tastefully Furnished

Now he could get down to business. There were going to be Primes here, a lot of Primes he'd never met. They were all ostensibly going to "allies" in this rescue endeavor, but it was really little more than a sham. Hiro knew there was something else going on, especially when it came to the Danteverse. Still, he'd come here, and not entirely because he was assigned by the EPD.

The hacker samurai made a few subtle gestures in the air with his gloves, and his goggles kicked into high scan mode. Environmental information cascaded down the transparent lenses, visible only to him as he left the lobby. He headed west towards what looked like a patio.

Entering the glass double doors, Hiro found himself in a quaint little cafe, stocked with plenty of rickety chairs and dainty tables....and some patrons. A-ha.

He took up a position near the entrance, out of the way in a corner of the room and began to work. The first target he focused on was a medium height fox creature with blue hair. She was noticeably feminine, and Hiro spent a few moments trying to remember if he knew her, before his HUD gave him a readout.

PRIME: CARMELITA FOX-COOPER
THREAT LEVEL: NORMAL
WEAPONS: SHOCK BASED FIREARMS, RESTRAINT DEVICE
DISPOSITION: POSSIBLY CORDIAL

Ah ha. So he did know her. It was the prospective policewoman he'd done the dataverse job for. It was good he'd gotten it taken care of, especially pro bono she might return the favor...

WARNING. WARNING. EXTREME BIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANT DETECTED.

Hiro's eyes widened as he followed the proximity indicator and his gaze settled upon a rusted hulk of metal with a misshaped head sticking out of the top. Slightly fascinated at just how corroded the thing was, his stomach plummeted went his goggles spit the readout at him once more.

PRIME: OKOR PALEBLOOD (EPD ACTIVE BOUNTY)
THREAT LEVEL: HOLY SHIT
WEAPONS: EXPLOSIVE SLUG WEAPONS, BLADES, HANDS, EXPLOSIVE PROJECTILES, NUMEROUS VIRAL INFECTIONS (NO KNOWN COUNTERAGENTS)
DISPOSITION: DO NOT APPROACH

The hacker wiped his brow slightly and sauntered over to the barista leaning over and speaking in a low tone. "Give me an irish coffee. Heavy on the irish."

The woman nodded and began bustling around behind the counter. Well....that was probably one bounty that wouldn't get collected. Jesus. What kind of motive did a guy like that have for being here? To rescue someone? Hiro called bullshit.

Finally, there was one final contestant, a multicolored man with reddish purple skin and a shiny spandex outfit. Almost as a reflex, and maybe to take his mind off of Okor, Hiro logged another scan.

PRIME: THE VISION
THREAT LEVEL: THAT IS QUITE RUDE, SIR.
WEAPONS: QUERY: WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?
DISPOSITION: USUALLY GENIAL. WHY DO YOU NOT TALK TO ME IN PERSON?

Hiro blinked at the readout and tapped his glasses. Maaaaaybe he should just have that drink first. And what luck, it had just arrived. He picked up the mug and drank pensively, one fingertip stroking the length of his katana hilt.