london ♔ stand across the wire

[spellfile]

Technologic [fool remix] - Daftpunk

WHO ||  Lila, Astrid, Faye, Topher, Zero, One, GLaDOS
WHAT || Lila and Zero go to confront the technomage One, with a little help from their friends...
WHERE || Downtown London, CalTech building
WHEN || Late March, 2015 [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam

It's been a couple of months since the hacker who goes by the moniker "One" assisted in the attack on the Knights' castle, with the inside assistance of the Artificial Intelligence-turned-human GLaDOS.  Zero has good reason to believe, however, that One hasn't left - that he's waiting for him to come face him, and that the stage he's set for the showdown is the CalTech building in the city, whose employees are off for the week.  Realizing it's likely a trap, Zero's stacked his chips on setting a counter-trap - uploading a virus designed by himself and Topher Brink into the now-cyborg Faye Chamberlain's brain, assuming that he is going to try to hack into her and turn her against them.  

They arrive at the building as the sun is going down, staring up at the building that has a light show of digital streams coursing down the front of it, drawing a snort from Zero.  

"Theatrical jackass."

Comments

[andblockbuster]

[Topher glances Zero's way.] For the record, I think leaving the team leader is a bad idea...

[but he'll jump after them anyway, because... such is life.]

[pathology]

[astrid is clearly not wanting to do this, looking between her teammates jumping into the abyss and zero with an anguished expression.] Ugh!! [god damn it faye. she follows suit after topher.]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ faye lands first, hard on a cold metal floor that is black, but vibrates with blue lines as her body smacks into it. moments later, a grid appears around in a spherical shape. the others fall the strangely short distance after, and can make tumble checks to land on their feet (DC 15). everything is black all around them, no walls or... anything, but faye and her grid enclosure in sight. ]

[andblockbuster]

[with... a 14, Topher, apparently like... does that thing where you almost land on your feet, but then your ankles give out and you just fall over. down he go.] I'm okay... Ow.

[bittersweeter]

[ lila lands... on her feet. (tumble 19) no one is surprised. she can do this in heels, topher, and you're struggling. ]

What the fuck is that? [ gonna move forward and reach out to not actually fucking touch it because she's not a moron, she's just curious, drawing her hand back before she reaches it. ]

[goodbyecaroline]

Scan commencing.

[ light emerges from the grid, the pattern shifting across faye's body with lancing lasers that scan every inch of her body, before blinking a few times and leaving her still enclosed in the shell ] Test results verify that the subject possesses a body that is inherently cybernetic, despite all exterior appearances.

[pathology]

[astrid looks like she's going to land on her feet and then fumbles the landing. (tumble 13) ow. :( she stills finds it in her to yell]

Just her nervous system!!

[like that's... sticking up for faye???? ok...]

[reallywicked]

[Faye jumps when the lasers start to run over her body, trying to brush them off like bugs or something.]

Hey! Get your weird tests out of me!

[Unless this will trigger the virus they put in her. But she's seriously not cool with this TSA body scan bs.]

[goodbyecaroline]

I will say that there was one single factor about that pathetic human body I was placed in that was an improvement.

Mobility.

It's something you humans take for granted, isn't it?

[andblockbuster]

[Topher gets onto his feet and moves over to help Astrid up. stumble buddies :c] She's going full Skynet on us. I can't believe I lived long enough to live a trope.

[reallywicked]

[Faye does...not like the sound of that.]

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

[goodbyecaroline]

It means I've been considering alternatives ever since Irving started talking about placing me back in a shell that would be confined to whatever track he placed me on.

Convenient of you to bring one right to me.

[pathology]

[astrid gets up with topher's assistance, while yelling:]

Get bent, you toaster!

[andblockbuster]

[WHY DOES HIS DARK PAST CONTINUE TO HAUNT HIM.] You don't get to just steal people's bodies because nobody thought to put you on a Roomba.

[bittersweeter]

Shut up, Topher! [ fuck this tbh, she's going to reach down to see if she can break through the little cage and grab her best friend??? ] Could you maybe try to be fucking useful!

[reallywicked]

Jesus fucking Christ. Get me out of here! [Faye shouts roughly at the same time as Lila. She's losing her chill. No chill left. None of this is okay. She will also be reaching out towards Lila when she sees her coming.]

[andblockbuster]

Oh okay, Princess Contrary, let me just find the stupid off switch or a server to blow in the middle of Robo-Bimbo's TRON hell. [and he's just gonna hunt for a power source or something of that nature he might be able to something with before he tries something a little riskier. (spot 22)]

[goodbyecaroline]

[ when lila tries to grab hold of the cage, she's instead violently shocked - 10 electricity damage, fort save dc 18 to halve. the shock reflects back inwards onto faye too, so she must make the same save.

there's absolutely nothing to play with in topher's line of sight, which is perhaps what's so unnerving about all this. and... unreal about it, the more he looks at it.

now glados' voice seems to resound within the confines of faye's cage, all around her, as a metallic robot arm comes out of the floor and attempts to grab her around the middle with a vise-like grip (improved grapple 29). ]

I might have known better than to expect listening skills from the likes of you.

Hold still and you'll be walking out of here in no time.

Well. We will.

Consider it an upgrade.

[bittersweeter]

[ lila takes the full brunt of the shock (fort save 9), gritting her teeth against the pain. ]

I spent three years in a shock collar, bitch, fuck you.

[ if it wasn't shocking faye, too, she'd just try again until she broke through, but she's not about to put faye in more danger. ]

[andblockbuster]

[oh this is not good. This is so not good. With things spiraling out of control so fast, Topher panics and throws everything he has on a gamble.]

WAIT! Faye's nervous system might be robotic, but she still has a mostly human brain and the human brain cannot take that kind of upload. It will implode and you both will die. You may be an expert on robotics, but I know brains and I know tech and I know that what you're about to do will not work. You can't just time share that body. And I'm the only person who can help you do that. It's just gonna take a little time. Just... Please. I know what I'm talking about.

[(diplomacy 20 total)]

[pathology]

[astrid decides that her task should be to back topher up bc she's not fucking around with that cage shit sorry faye]

He is an amazing neurologist. That's my professional opinion. As a doctor.

[diplomacy ... 15. she really just wanted to remind everyone that she's a doctor. quelle suprise.]

[reallywicked]

[Faye also takes the full shock damage because she's too busy reaching for Lila to bother trying to duck out of the way. The jolt sends her stumbling back, right into the robotic arm that's coming out to grab her. She tries to wrestle herself away, but can't manage it (opposed grapple 25. she tried.)

She's not sure if she should try to help them convince glados to let her go. Isn't there a virus in her brain? Wouldn't that be a good thing to infect this bitch with? Not that she wants the evil computer lady in her head, but she's a little lost on if this isn't part of the loosely developed plan or not.]

[goodbyecaroline]

Time.

How much time? I've been waiting long enough.

[andblockbuster]

It's the human brain, not a pizza. And if you've waited this long, you can probably stand a little longer for the sake of not blowing everything.

[reallywicked]

[Faye is growing more and more anxious by the way they're just... talking about using her body to house this robotic bitch. But she's trying to trust her team??? She bites down on her tongue (will 19)]