Powerful People Acquire Powerful Enemies, Pt. 1
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
A Havok prime RP
"The only true loyalty is the loyalty to oneself." -Anonymous
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"I dunno, Scott. I just think that maybe we should stick to researching the Rikti technology and leave the development to, you know, the development team." Errett's eyes sunk to the floor when he saw Scott's reaction to his little quip. The two were sitting at a back table in a small restaurant in Steel Canyon.
"You know, you and I both know most of the people down in the development lab. And we both also know that we could get alot more done in a day than their whole team could do in a week. The development department is where they send the fresh amateurs to get their start. It's not really a whole lot more complicated than playing with LEGOs once we've done all the research," Scott watched Errett's face grow a little distant. "Besides, it's not like a coup or anything, we'll just dip down into the lab from time to time to work on my prototype. And it's all for the betterment of the streets of Paragon, right?" Scott knew that Errett's morals would get to him if nothing else.
"Well, I suppose so, Scott. You say you have a blueprint drawn up and everything already?"
"Yeah. I mean, it's only a rough outline, but its a start. I was really hoping to get you on board with this so you and I could put our seal of approval on the the biggest thing SynCor Tech has put on the streets to date."
SynCor Technologies was the facility in which the two men worked. Scott was the head of the Rikti Weapons Research Department, and Errett worked underneath him. The two had known each other since childhood. Errett was obviously the more gifted engineer and designer, but Scott knew how to make his people get to work. Together, the two managed to build the reputation of the RWRD at SynCor Tech. into one of the most renown names in Rikti weapons research.
"Alright Scott. I'll help you on this," Errett's face brightened up.
"Thanks, Errett. I knew I could count on you," Scott reassured.
When Scott returned to his studio apartment in eastern Steel Canyon, he pulled up the set of blueprints on his computer. The plans were for a prototype android and Scott had left several of the spaces on the limbs of the drawing empty for weapons ideas. He typed in his and Errett's name at the top of the page, followed by "SynCor Technologies". He paused for a moment, finally typing up "The ExSurge" below that. Finally, after watermarking the page, he printed of a couple of sets and stashed them in his briefcase, then went to bed.
It was around three in the morning when Arbiter Slevin's spy managed to quietly pick the lock on the front door to Scott's apartment. He checked the bedroom first to make sure Scott was asleep, then proceeded to Scott's computer, where he had left the blueprints for the android open. A grin crossed the spy's face as he removed the watermark and printed off the blueprints; he knew that Arbiter Slevin would pay him greatly for retrieving a file of such importance. Silently, the spy slipped back out the front door and returned to his Arbiter before his presence was discovered.
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When Scott awoke in the morning, he had no idea that the blueprints for the android that would be Paragon's salvations were not only in his briefcase, but also in the hands of Arbiter Slevin in Fort Cerberus on the Rogue Isles. Both men reviewed the plans for the machine before metting up with their colleagues.
"So, this machine. How long do you estimate before it is completed?" Slevin's contact's voice was menancing and intimidating even over the cellphone.
"I think we could have this thing up and running within the month, Scott. That'll take the competition and all the gangs by surprise!" The enthusiasm in Errett's voice began to rise.
"I am fairly confident that SynCor Tech could have this war machine ready within the next two months, if not before," Slevin knew this news would not please his contact.
"I'm glad to hear you're so much more on board with this than yesterday, Errett. I know I can get the guys down at SynCor to get on board with whatever I put in front of them as long as they're getting their check on Friday, but knowing that you're behind this project 100% will get them all working harder so we can get this bad boy out there," Scott knew that breaking this machine's face onto the streets of Paragon would put SynCor Tech over the top, but it would get his name up on the top of the lists as far as bright, young engineers go. And that meant a hefty pay increase to ensure that he stay where he was.
"See to it that it does not pan out that way," Slevin winced as the phone slammed down on the table and he lost contact with his associate.
"Let's get down to the lab and start setting up our agenda for getting this done," Errett was eager to get to work on this android.
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Slevin called an emergency meeting of his strike force. He explained to them the situation, and stressed the fact that if the two men at SynCor Technologies were allowed to finish building their little robot, the soldiers of Arachnos would have an entire army of superheroes to contend with all at once rather than the trickles of them that they had grown accustomed to facing. He assured them all that they had grown lazy in the past months due to the low caliber of opponents that they had been facing as of late, but also assured them that they would no longer have a numbers advantage if this android were to hit the streets of Paragon and diminish the amount of low-key threats that so many of the heroes we're distracted by.
Slevin assigned his men to different tasks. There were a number of Wolf Spiders who assumed the role of security guards at SynCor Tech so they could keep tabs on Scott and Errett. Night Widows were sent into the streets to watch Scott and Errett at their homes and other places when they weren't at work. Slevin mobilized his entire strike force in order to ensure that this new "breakthrough" would not be Arachnos' undoing. He also did it to cement his place as the top dog among the Arachnos arbiters.
Scott and Errett were also hard at work motivating their own people. They explained what their goal in creating this robot would be. It needed to withstand not only the punishment of an absurd amount of Skulls, Hellions, and other random enemies beating on it, but also the wear and tear of being a "working man's defender". They assured all of their workers that once the robot was on the streets, gang violence would reach all time lows, and the more capable superheroes of Paragon City would be able to strike at the forces of Arachnos and the invading Rikti much more precisely, quite possibly eliminating these two dangerous threats.
With the encouragement of Scott Ramsay and the knowledge that they would all be the core reason that the world would one day be free from the most horrendous of threats, the RWRD of SynCor Tech began developing the ExSurge.
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As the next few months went by, Scott and Errett had their team working almost around the clock in order to kick out the new "ExSurge", as Scott had penned it, before any newspapers or villain groups got wind of what would be hitting them in the near future. During that time, Arbiter Slevin and his strike force monitored their progress, and studied how both men went about their days.
It was the morning of the first test run of the prototype that Scott's car was plowed into by a semi that ran a red light. When the Arbiter got the news that his target had been pronounced dead, a grin crossed his lips. He had lost one of his own men, but someone had to drive that truck, and his brothers in Arachnos would honor him for the sacrifice he had made.
