blasto, meet official opinions on self-replicating minions

[peterxy]

The PRT catches wind of a strange increase in disappeared domestic animals in the downtown area. Given that the people who live there are the rich and powerful, this is clearly a problem that needs to be investigated and solved immediately. The PRT, of course, agrees that this is of utmost importance, and not just because of precedent about mass abductions of pets, of course not, why would you think that, they are so very worried about Fido, even Scion recognizes the merits of rescuing lost pets.

(Lorica's asked to maybe keep a few more eyes there than she has been.)

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[peterxy]

And a few days later, one of those eyes catches leafy movements out of its corner.

[thinkering]

It is so hidey. It gives very hidey chase.

[peterxy]

And sure enough, the weird leafy monkey seems to not notice the cloaked robot. It goes on its way, trying to be sneaky, looking around corners and such. It seems to be moving with purpose.

[thinkering]

Follow follow. (It reports in, of course, every move it makes.)

[peterxy]

So it'll report the sudden appearance of five other monkeys basically out of nowhere, jumping from the shadows between buildings higher than they ought to be able to, given their statures, somehow able to see the bot in spite of the cloaking.

[thinkering]

Yeep! The bot attempts evasive maneuvers. Glam's asleep or it'd ask for a copyswarm.

[peterxy]

Evasive maneuvers: fail. The leafy things seem to be able to sprout vines from their hands in order to hold onto the bot, and the five are now hanging onto it.

They're far heavier than they looked, too.

[thinkering]

The bot descends, struggling to fly; and then it zooms down in an attempt to shake their grip.

[peterxy]

He manages to get rid of two of them, but the other three are still holding on tight. And now they're battering it with, again, deceptively strong fists. The vines start squeezing it, finding better grips and starting to dent it.

[thinkering]

With only three it can ascend a little, until they damage the housing for its rotors and the rotors bend.

[peterxy]

Which does happen! Followed by damage to everything else. Those vines are really strong.

[thinkering]

And then it stops reporting.

[peterxy]

The monkeys squeeze and pound on the robot some more just for good measure before vanishing into the night.

[thinkering]

The robot doesn't do anything.

The base station compiles its report, though.

[peterxy]

The PRT receives and reviews this report.

The PRT is worried. The PRT is very worried. Piggot calls a meeting with her lieutenants and Armsmaster. Civilians needn't know about it, of course, for the same reason Lorica's bots aren't allowed to scour the city during the day: it'd cause needless panic. There's nothing they can do about it, and lots of ways they can get in the heroes' way.

But the heroes' patrol routes, coincidentally of course, start going downtown a bit more often.

[thinkering]

Zoom go more numerous bots! Zoom. They stay high, except the expendable ones that Glam provides when they can.

[peterxy]

And Lorica's also asked to provide everyone with bots during patrol, because that's just good sense.

[thinkering]

It is just good sense. Everyone gets a bot! You get a bot! You get a bot!

[peterxy]

And at one point the PRT and, therefore, the people manning the consoles (currently Armsmaster and Lorica) receive a report of a disturbance near where Silica's patrolling with one such bot.

[thinkering]

Is Glam available to provide reinforcements for the bot?

[mxglam]

Ayup.

[thinkering]

Bots proliferate and accompany Silica's sand golems to the disturbance.

[peterxy]

The disturbance turns out to be Hookwolf versus giant leafy gorilla! Or, not exactly a gorilla - more like an enlarged version of the leafy monkeys.

There are strange vines inside and around Hookwolf's blades, and while they don't seem to be damaging the villain, they're growing fast enough for the eye to see, and hampering his blades' - and his own - movements. The monkey hits Hookwolf with two heavy fists.

[thinkering]

...Technically speaking as long as the civilians nearby are okay and they're in position to chase the combatants after they're done, this is no skin off the Protectorate's nose. Bots and golems discreetly attempt to make sure nobody's stuck in a nearby building without exit access.

[peterxy]

None without exit access, no.

The two of them are in a somewhat more spacious than average side alley. Giant monkey throws Hookwolf at a wall, then starts pummelling him. The villain attempts to lose shape, but the vines are keeping him together enough that it's only half-successful. It's successful enough, however, that he manages to evade one of the monkey's attacks and quickly jump away from its range.

The monkey spits a seed at the villain, and he dodges it, but then it becomes clear that it's the source of the vines as a few start growing out from it but desiccate and die when they don't find anything to hold on to on the ground.