The Trinity Foundation of Higher Learning (CVNU Location)

@mutant_genesis:

Watching Yasmin download the app, Kaylen narrowed his eyes at the red flashing from her phone, as if behind its screen there lay a crimson light straining to flare through any crack, and scream of the new anti-mutant threat storming through the digital world. Finding Yasmin's gaze as the app uninstalled itself, the Sanguine Samurai felt the arrow of fear lance into his chest.

"Pnta madre", he almost smiled, shaking his head in disbelief, "They're not even trying to hide their data theft, which means they already have everyone's information, have had it for a long time, and don't fear the consequences of anyone finding out. They're prepared for us".

The grim reality dawned on his mind, blotting out the light of hope with a dark cloud of doubt, "And if the app pings the chip and uninstalls itself so obviously, they've been prepared. They're not scared of alerting the city's mutants and metas to anything weird. We'll need a technopath or datakinetic to help us uncover the contingency plan they've developed for us. But...", Kaylen sighed, the shadow of looming danger dimming the natural Mediterranean glow of his face, "This could be bait, a setup. It could be them making their app behave suspiciously to mutants so that we get curious and investigate, and before we know it, we've fallen into their trap".

"The app's leftover data on your phone might contain malicious code, but it goes undetected by your phone because it's specifically designed to take control of the mind of whichever technopath we get to look into this".

But as KJ mentioned a physical address, the Sanguine Samurai swept his eyes to the retired officer, "We'll need the tech company's name. Although I don't think heading there would be a good idea just yet. This could all be a trap".

Memorizing the company's name, Kaylen answered KJ's helpfulness with a sunset smile, "This investigation would have been stuck in the mud without you, KJ. But we should get going", he lamented, returning his attention to Yasmin, "Because it's not just Professor Grayl and Professor Cunningham we need to alert, but the entire Trinity Foundation. Because it's every mutant being targeted, and whether they like it or not, they're now a part of something bigger - a resistance against the greatest anti-mutant threat since Charlemagne".

Glancing at KJ, Kaylen nodded, bidding him a farewell, "Take care, KJ", before dragging his eyes back to Yasmin with an impulsive glint, "Let's go. People usually come to sunny islands to get away from work but so long as there's this much hatred for mutants, there'll always be work for us".

Heading out the door, the Sanguine Samurai mounted his motorbike, slid his helmet on and awaited Yasmin's exit from the store.

@kaylen_knightfall:

Yas followed behind Kaylen to the bike only to be halted by a memory? A sharp flashback sent pain surging through her body. She remembered waking up; there were scientists all around her, she was hooked up to some sort of machine; they were stealing blood from her.

Was it a memory or something she'd conjured. It couldn't have been a memory Professor Grayl took care of her, but why did it feel so real? Was it possible that she was in the care of someone else before he found her?

Sauntering outside visibly shaken, she struggled to get the words from her mouth. "I-I think I woke up," She said, knowing Kaylen wouldn't understand what she was alluding to. "F-from my coma, I think I woke up. Someone was taking blood from me," She said, pressing a hand on the side of her head, trying to force out the memory.

There was a link between the memory and app; she couldn't make it out. "Kaylen, If someone, if THESE people have my blood, they could wipe us all out..." She lamented, remembering the moniker she was given when she first registered in Solace City--Mutant Genesis.

She didn't know how to control it, but Yasmin had the ability to activate and deactivate the x-gene. Many questioned her family's lineage, but the Aiza's weren't forthcoming with information. She wasn't alive throughout Charlemagne's reign of terror or her people, nor was she aware of the history of Venezuela, but to her, it felt as if she'd awakened just in time for a mutant holocaust.

"I'll go meet with Dean Campos when we get back. She can alert the Trinity Staff, but I think it's time we brought the X-Clusives together"

@mutant_genesis:

Flicking his eyes towards Yasmin as she strolled out KJ's store, a subtle stroke of concern wrinkled Kaylen's brow as he glanced at her groggy stride. Sliding off his motorbike, the Sanguine Samurai hurried to Yasmin's side, his head tilting in brief confusion over the words escaping her lips. Helping her towards his bike, Kaylen heeded Yasmin's every word and soon the light of clarity shone over the shadow of confusion. It seemed there was more to her past - and Yasmin herself - than he could have ever imagined.

For within the folds of her X-Gene, there stirred a power that if unleashed, could be the undoing of all of mutant-kind. The spark to the apocalypse that Charlemagne had failed to ignite in his decade of anti-mutant dominance.

"Kaylen, if someone, if THESE people have my blood, they could wipe us all out..."

It was a grim possibility, so as he mounted his bike, his smooth baritone billowed through the air with cold determination, "Then we must find out where they are keeping the samples of your blood and destroy them, along with any records they may have kept of it".

Sighing, he shook his head before revving his bike's engine alive, "So much for university being the best years of our lives".

With little in the way of time, the Sanguine Samurai sped off, thundering down the road and bursting through corners until the buildings faded and the welcome sign of the Trinity Foundation climbed into view. Easing into a familiar parking space, Kaylen hopped off his bike before finding Yasmin's eyes, his gaze a canopy of warm gold amid the dark brown of hers. Her earlier episode arose from his memories, and his chest tinged with concern.

"We'll go meet with Dean Campos", Kaylen asserted, "And then we'll round up the X-clusives. Then with their help, we can start investigating the whereabouts of the people who have your blood. Come on". Leading the way, Kaylen headed for the faculty's section in the complex.

"So what exactly is in your blood - or X-Gene - that can kill us all? Because from what you said, the implication seems to be that your powers have a specific effect on mutants. Something that can be weaponized against our kind", he paused, lamenting the reality of his question, "I know it is a sensitive topic, but unfortunately, our future hinges on knowing what they could be trying to use your blood for".

@pensacola:

"I didn't want you to feel like you HAD to help me. I've been here for a bit, and you're the only person who cared to talk to me. But this. I will figure it out on my own."

"Shut up, you're being stupid," Kisara shot back. Although she rolled her eyes in annoyance she couldn't hide the smirk that'd involuntarily stretched itself across her face. "They program you with a 'ditz protocol?'" she wanted to say, but thought it might be early in the relationship for that kind of humor. "I don't feel like I have to help you any more than I had to acknowledge your existence in the library. But," she said, throwing an arm around Ana's shoulders with a casual squeeze, "you wanted to be more than just a sex bot, and unfortunately for you this comes with the territory.

"But okay." She backed off with an exaggerated shrug, trying to play cool just how bothered she was at being turned down. "For now, I'll just leave my number on the counter in case anything changes, or if you just need to reach out for regular friend stuff." It was probably best not to press too hard too soon, or appear too attached. Either of those would more than likely just cause Anastasia to clam up and scare her off. Only after Ana asked did it occur to Kisara that she hadn't really offered anything about herself. Maybe that was it. In other one-sided friendships most people would've been all too happy to gab endlessly about themselves, but for two who were so defensive it was more like showing vulnerabilities without getting anything in return. For now Kisara could indulge.

Plopping down on the sofa, she sat for a moment, carefully considering how much - and which version - of her history to tell. Rubbing her hand roughly across the back of her neck as the seconds ticked away, "Sober 'small talk,' should be easy, right? You'd think one of us just walked up to the other and said 'hey, how's my tongue taste'" – which, given her total lack of recall, may have been a possibility.

"Oh!" For her the realization was like some newfound discovery about the human condition, such was her expression. The only reason this was hard was because she'd made it so. True, it was too soon to give away too much. But Ana had stepped out on a limb. For this to actually go anywhere Kisara was going to have to give away something of substance as well. Let's hope I don't regret this.

"So we'll skip the small talk for now. I've told you a bit about my studies and how important that could be to changing our understanding of the world. Well, as a matter of fact I do more than catalogue. You see, my parents tell me we're descendants of Charlemagne—the Great. A Frankish king, not the...politician-terrorist guy. And as the sole heir to the bloodline they've taken it upon themselves - in other words, foisted it upon me - to lead humanity to a glorious future. Hence my being here. Your situation interests me because, while I've spent a lot of time studying the arcane, your kind of advanced technology is a necessary but underserved part of my studies. Your problems represent an opportunity to learn and practise with guided, practical applications and determine how we marry the two fields, moving forward. Everything you've described, everything you are, is so far outside the scope of quotidian existence...To tell you the truth, I find you absolutely astonishing."

She could feel the temperature in her head rising as she admitted it. A not-insignificant portion of her interest lay along the lines of "I want you on a table so I can have a look at the hardware and maybe make some modifications myself," but they weren't yet at a point where that'd be anything but creepy. Plus, Ana seemed like she could use self-esteem booster that she could get.

Glancing shiftily around at the room, Kisara was more than ready to indulge decoration to defuse the awkward tension. "I can lend you some of my personal stylings until we've gotten yours figured out. You're fairly aloof but not quite goth—yet—so I suggest a few things to make it, and possibly you, less lugubrious. I've got some colored shades you can choose from to hang over your window. You've got a good location for natural light filtering. We'll have to rearrange some things because this," looking at where the couch was positioned, "is not a commanding position. We'll want the closet not to stand out too much considering what's inside, erect a mantel, a work desk...I don't take it you have any religious or spiritual affiliation, but maybe something basic to make you appear more normal. Not 'Live-Laugh-Love' basic. Just something low-key. Maybe scented candles? Oh! And lest I forget—"

Darting in to press her cheek against Ana's, she raised her phone at arm's length to snap a silly-faced selfie of the two regardless of whether or not Anastasia was ready, secretly hoping to catch the android off-guard. Adds to the charm. "It's a bit old-school, but my nana used to have one and I like the idea. Gonna have this printed and copied onto photo paper. For each of our memory walls. Get in the habit of snapping pictures. People, places, events - anything that might be meaningful. Then even if I have a traumatic brain injury or something happens with your software, or anyone dies forever, our spirits are still connected for all time, and the forgotten memories are not lost."

@closure:

"First off, who are you? I don't like your tone."

Kisara's expression changed, lips pursed and brow furrowing in thought. It was as though the thought she could offend him in any way hadn't even occurred to her as a remote possibility. Nodding as if to say "Yes, that's fair," she took a half step backwards and fell into a curtsy. "My apologies. I'll admit your sophomoric retort has me mildly perturbed, but I can't pretend there wasn't some provocation on my behalf. Suppose I blamed your outburst for my being called a fish. That was wrong. So I think we should start over. I'd hate to give Tony the ultimate victory by sabotaging what really was a good-faith effort."

Kicking out a chair, she sat on the adjacent side of the table. Mismatched eyes, one of blue and the other violet, glinted as they shifted down from his face to the talisman and back upward. In spite of herself she bit her tongue on all contradictory thoughts, even those in defense of self. It didn't matter anyway.

"Prisoner?" Well that's interesting. Kisara was sure he was just playing up whatever plight he imagined for himself, being dramatic, and bluffing even besides. If he really wanted to be expelled he'd have found a way to get himself expelled by then. But she'd likewise used language to evoke the same imagery when Dr. Vargas scolded her, so perhaps their situations weren't entirely dissimilar.

"If you must know, I helped you because I sensed your energy, and upon seeing you with my own eyes I realized you are the one of whom the prophecy spoke - the chosen one," she exclaimed with exceedingly dramatic affect, eyes bulging wide...before breaking into a fit of soft giggling, covering her mouth with her hand.

"I promise I'm not having fun at your expense. Just trying to kill the awkward. But you have to admit it is kind of a silly question to hear someone ask outside of genre fiction. If you're looking for a deeply meaningful reason for me to have helped you then I'm afraid you're mistaken. Maybe I have a thing for dopey misfits," she shrugged, thinking also of Anastasia. If nothing else the group's soft ultimatum rubbed her entirely the wrong way. "They seemed a bit unsavory, and time showed quite quickly how fickle they are. So! I'm Kisara, although if you wish to continue referring to me as 'Lord and Savior' I would not object. And your praenomen would be...?"

@kaylen_knightfall:

Throughout the ride back from KJ's store, she said nothing, deciding to cut off the A. I to A. I link between herself and Kaylen so she'd have a bit of mental privacy.

It hurt trying to remember the faint memory, but it was there. As the bike slowly turned off, she tried to make a beeline straight to Dean Campos' office, but she was halted by Kaylen insisting that they go together. Then the inevitable topic of her blood came up, and she had no choice but to spill.

"The Foundation thinks, my abilities are to emulate powers. That's true, but only because my X-gene allows me to do so. I can also grant and take away powers. Like completely," She said, folding her arms across her chest, slowing to a more measured pace to explain further.

"I'm not really a science girl but, if they isolate what allows me to take powers away. They can distribute it on a large scale. Or worse." She thought about the attack on Solace City. "They can create machines with our abilities. Wouldn't want that."

She said, realizing her lie nine-years ago might've cost them now. Yas continued into the admin building with Kaylen in tow, normally; to see the Dean, an appointment had to be made, but Yasmin considered herself a special case. Brushing through the doors, much to the chagrin of Campos' assistant, the two students caught Campos in the middle of a phone call.

"Yasmin, and...student, what do I owe this pleasure..." Campos said, hanging up the phone with irritation in her voice. Since Yasmin woke from her coma, the X-clusive alum had been nothing but a thorn in the side of the aged Dean.

"We think the Trinity Foundation might be under some sort of attack," Yasmin said vaguely; her head began to hurt, so she looked over to Kaylen for the details.

"Oh, on what grounds?" Campos said folding her arms giving Kaylen and Yasmin her undivided attention.

@adepta-occulta:

The sudden change in conversation was a welcomed one; Kisara--her friend provided essential feedback on what she'd need to accomplish to format herself with the tech, one of the perks of being an android was that she didn't physically have to write down anything--it was all in her memory log.

The idea of Kisara being around felt good; she had someone to talk to. Being sentient and alone was no different than being hooked up to the network. Not that she'd know, she'd only heard stories from those that were and somehow escaped.

"I find you absolutely astonishing."

Kisara concluded, which cause her to chuckle, "First, you want to be my owner, now I can help you further your studies. If you want a sex slave, say that" She jested, bumping shoulders with Kisara in good fun. Truthfully, she'd love the opportunity to help, though she wouldn't say it. Not right now anyway. She was uniquely presented with the opportunity to learn the ends and out of being a human. Some models were programmed to understand humanity from global social norms right down to regional denominations customs and vernacular. Her specific model was programmed specifically to understand and perform human sex habits; through Kisara, she'd be able to teach her sisters how to pretend to be human.

Though as the details of decor poured out, the concept of styling a room seemed far more complex than she originally believed. 'Shades?' She thought, understanding the concept, but she could change the light distribution amount in her eyes. 'Live, Laugh, Love, Scented candles, what in the world' She thought.

Before she could interject, Kisara's cheeks press against her own, leaving the automaton dumbfounded at what transpired. [Processing...selfie....logged...]

'She took a picture, why?' before her A. I could respond, Kisara explained. 'Memories...' She thought again before flashing a toothy smile; part of it was programming, the other part genuine--the balance between programming and A. I wasn't fully synced.

"You humans are really complex beings. I find you to be...astonishing." She replied, emulating Kisara as if she'd just learned what the word meant. But it was now that she was thankful, she'd kept her conversations with humans to a minimum since she got here, because she didn't understand much.

She particularly found the concept of memories fascinating, but only because it appeared, they could be forgotten. Her's could not. Everything she saw and experienced was recorded. It was how she knew some of the gruesome things her sisters went through; their memory logs were uploaded to the dark web sometime after their demise. Thanks to her new A. I Ana's memory log was her own, corrupted if removed from her system--not something she specifically did,

"You guys have several ways you can die. Water, Food, Natural Causes. Unnatural causes?" She said more so trying to figure out of the former was a real word. "I guess I didn't expect such non-existent things to me, to be so important to you. Sure there are a number of ways we can die too, but unless it's a death, we can't help--like someone trying to harm us. We just let it happen usually."

Her processor doubled back to an earlier statement she made about the bio-components; if they didn't get replaced, she could "die," but only until they were replaced. Even important missing components like decapitation and missing limbs weren't a deal-breaker--they could cannibalize to reformat themselves. (Even though Penny wouldn't)

"Kisara..." She asked with a bit of concern. "Will you die?"

@mutant_genesis:

The walk from his superbike to the dean's office was a harrowing one, punctuated by Yasmin's stunning revelation of her true genetic potential. Yet the more her words stirred his mind into thought, the less troubling their stroll became. Man sought to wield her X-Gene as the Grim Reaper and end the mutant dream with the strike of a scythe. But while they saw her as an eternal night to cast over the future of mutant-kind, the Sanguine Samurai saw daylight come to golden a new era for the Homo Superior and their cousins alike.

But as Kaylen flicked his eyes onwards, a thought crossed his mind, and he gave voice to it, "This may seem like it's coming out of nowhere, but there are two sides to the conflict on the horizon. Both of whom will paint you as something for their cause. To the anti-mutant humans, you're the key to their mutant purge. To us mutants... you represent hope. Because you can grant mutant powers, so as long as you survive, so do we - but", he paused, steering his eyes towards Yasmin, the inner gold of his gaze warming, "You're none of those things. Neither the apocalypse nor the rebirth. You're Yasmin, a person, and you can be whatever you want to be".

"But with the way things are playing out, it's something I imagine a lot of people will forget given your power-set. So don't forget to remind them".

Following her into the dean's office, Kaylen caught the twitch of irritation wrinkling Dean Campos' face, and heard the pitch of doubt as her eyes found his in the wake of Yasmin's words. Stepping forward, the Sanguine Samurai held the dean's gaze with his own and shrugged.

"Oh, on what grounds?"

"Several. Solace City was attacked recently, and soon afterwards we discovered a huge data sale involving the City Registration system. One that could've only been possible with something else to distract the masses - like a city-wide attack". Folding his arms over his chest, Kaylen continued, asserting their suspicions as nothing less than concrete.

"And given that the attack itself targeted mutants and metahumans, we have reason to believe that the Trinity Foundation is at risk. There's a social media app that Yas downloaded, one founded by the same company that purchased the City Registration system's data. The moment the app pinged the small chip that identifies her as a mutant to the registration system, the app uninstalled itself from her phone. Not exactly standard behavior. Probably because they still want information on the city's mutants but don't want mutants on their platform. It's also possible attacks are being coordinated on the social media platform itself".

"Look, whether you believe us or not is beside the point. Because if Yas and I are wrong about this, we come off looking silly for reading into things too much, but if we're right and you decide not to take action.. you come off looking careless and irresponsible. We're 20-something year olds, looking silly comes with the territory. But a dean allowing an entire university to be turned into ruins? That'll end your career and your life. Because if we're in danger, then so are you for being the dean of a school full of mutants and metas".

"We need to band the X-clusives together. But with this kind of threat on the horizon, we can't afford to operate as a club we don't want anyone to know about. We'll need the Trinity Foundation's backing. Because if this is war, we'll need a fortress".

Coasting crystal clear waters that rolled to a powdery white, sun-bleached shore, Lio Zeraz and Jahmeel al-Said partied privately aboard a beaming superyacht. The yacht solar panels casted a conveniently blinding glare from the Solace morning sun rays onto his potentially peeping neighbors. No care for invasive eyes, Jahmeel's attention was focused on Lio and their moment. When Blueface Baby cut off, the next song doesn't play and the young yachtsman paused his lipsync mid-Thotiana hip sway. "What the fnck man?" Jahmeel casually puffed at a pearled Backwood padding the teak hardwood deck to troubleshoot his problematic phone connection. Literally dancing around the date detour he created to subvert Sabrina Zeraz's oversight of their whereabouts. He didn't think he left a good impression on his sister after meeting her with Lio sloppy drunk falling out his car. The morning after he did his own research on her and went down a spiral of the entire Zeraz family. At least what information was public. Mousa, his father or even Renny could pull more private and nuanced info if he asked, but he didn't want to send any red flares off in their overbearing brains. "I'm not hungry, but if you want something to eat I.." he looked around the empty yacht. It was just the two of them. He eyes glided over cerulean ocean to the private beach and up the flowering vine stone steps that lead to his private Al-Tafiq Estate backyard. "-I can call my house chef and have em bring something fresh. Just let me know." The yacht's refrigerator was fully stocked with snacks, chilled beverages, Grenache Noir wine, fruits, dairies, veggies, proteins and frozen meals. Opting out of the music due to technical frustration Jahmeel sprawled out on a plush sundeck couch and absorbed the solar irradiance of the sun to metabolize and chemically nourish his body. "This lockdown sucks ass. I wanna be in St. Tropez or Nazare right now. I heard there's teleporters on campus that just port off Solace and port back like they never left. I need to make friends with them." [[Sheikh Jahmeel our network can ping your location for emergencies. Leaving the island during the lockdown falls in line with that in the current circumstance.]] "Son Chí, go to sleep." annoyed with his A.I.'s matter-of-fact attitude he rolled off the couch and onto his bare feet. "My dad nagged me to get this thing and I hate it. I should tell him i'm getting framed as a suspect when I go to my subpoena summons." rolling his tongue over his teeth, he snickered at the thought of his father's reaction then took another long hit from his medicine, the ember burning brighter as his bistre eyes rested on Lio.

@closure

@pensacola:

Amusement flickered in Kisara's eyes. With Ana's childlike mimicry, and lack of basic understanding of basic biological process and human experiences, she couldn't imagine the android had been active for long. Or I guess she really is a specialist in every sense of the word.

But it also marked the first time Kisara had given any thought to some of those very same matters. About all the ways people could die. Did most of them apply to her too? She wasn't the kind of homunculus who could sustain herself on energy alone, but unlike those she had a fragment of an actual soul inside her - better than nothing, right? Only now did she start to consider it may in fact have been a drawback.

Her eyes stayed fixed on the picture in her phone but the joy had gone out of them. Her lips remained stretched into a smile but her eyes fell hollow, leaving the expression somewhat doll-like. So many experts and her creators couldn't even agree on whether or not she was alive in the first place. "I suppose...that depends on who you ask."

Semantics aside, the lifespan of homunculi were wildly variable depending on type, method and quality of construction, biologically programmed directives, and so many factors she wasn't entirely aware of that for her it might as well have been random chance. Some were essentially immortal, outside of murder. Others enjoyed obscenely long lifespans, such that one or more changes in identity were needed. Some broke down and started to decay in as short as seven years. The details of her own construction were kept a secret from her, so Kisara could only guess and hope that, given the importance of her purpose, she was intended to have a long life. Does she mean prematurely? Gods, I hope not.

"Every life comes with a death sentence," she said, as bravely stoic as she could manage. "Eventually, one way or another, I suppose I will. But if I'm going to die, at least no one can deny that I lived."

Something else occurred, restoring something of her sense of joy along with a peculiarly piqued expression. It seemed like such a simple question, with an answer so obvious it shouldn't even have been worth asking. "Why? You gonna miss me?" she teased, nudging Anastasia with her elbow. As much as she tried to conceal it though, the inquiry did bother her. As usual she hid it behind flippant humor. "If you're worried someone'll want to come after me for associating with you, I promise you I'll at least survive long enough for us to exchange parting words. And I'll leave all my stuff to you as long as you carry on my legacy."

@adepta-occulta:

"Hmmm," She hummed in thought, trying to figure out the right thing to say. Truthfully, for her, Kisara would never die; she could relive every moment as if they were still happening, but there would be no progression, no new memories stored, and that thought made her a bit sad.

As all Android liberation thoughts and death begin to subside, she got a caution message from her processor. There was nothing wrong with her; someone from her group was trying to alert her to something. She didn't have a television or access to social media, but she did have a computer.

"Just a moment," She said abruptly, breaking away from her conversation with Kisara to her computer. She entered a command prompt that sent her to a secret page. Her friends intercepted a message from H.I.V.E.

"Oh sh!t" She cursed before blinking in confusion. "H-Hive is up to something...I don't know what, but this message says it involves both humans and metas" (to include mutants).

She needed to figure out what it was. Most people didn't know, but H.I.V.E enslaved entire worlds beyond this planet. With the right resources, they could do it here."Kisara, I need you to help me break into the HIVE store"

😱

@pensacola:

“Uh-okay…” Kisara stuttered, put off by the sudden silence. Perhaps an overreliance on playing Ana’s concerns for morbid humor in lieu of actual social skills. “Sorry, bad joke. Misread the room I guess.”

But by the time she’d gotten halfway through the apology Anastasia was up and away. Her entire demeanor had changed, suddenly preoccupied - practically possessed - by something completely off-line.

"H-Hive is up to something...I don't know what, but this message says it involves both humans and metas"

“What!?” Kisara blurted, popping up from her seat. “They don’t know what your Hive is planning but you know what it involves? Make that make sense,” she demanded, more sharply than she’d intended. But the bell had been rung. They were no longer schoolgirls kicking around hypotheticals. This was a real scenario and it required a plan of action backed by the best analysis that could be mustered between them.

“Tell me everything you can,” she said, rushing to try and get a look over the android’s shoulder. “Everything you do know about their plan, where this store is, and what we need to accomplish there.”

@adepta-occulta:

Penny's eyes rolled over the data, nothing Kisara would understand; it was all laid out in a series of computer code. "Something happened in Jerusalem,"She said, still reading through the code. "There's also some talk about the events happening in Korea. Apparently, the Matriarch is there physically. There's a message here, but none of us can access it because none of us are hooked up to the network."

Penny pressed her lips together, trying to determine what the two events had in common; both places were currently under attack by meta-humans, but how did that benefit H.I.V.E.? "I have a friend he's liberated, kinda odd, but deciphering this stuff is his specialty. Zedora's will is in each unit that's hooked up to the network. It's like a fail-safe; she can usurp control of any connected unit anywhere in the world."

She hadn't looked up where the nearest H.I.V.E. store was; given that this was Solace City, it was probably their nearest store was somewhere in the middle east or India. "If Zedora has a play in motion, we just need to break into a store, activate a unit, and then steal its memory logs."

It wasn't as easy as she was making it sound. A H.I.V.E. store was likely crawling with active units, units that Zedora could manipulate at any time. She was risking being discovered, and there was also a chance of the unit attacking once it was activated. Given the nature of how deadly some of the superior models could be, she knew this meant activating a 2210 model or worse, one of her sisters (2220).

"There's just one small thing. I'm not sure why it's hindering me but...whichever model we activate after we steal its memory log. It won't be able to remember anything...which means it'll be deemed useless. It's essentially being "born" to die" I don't know if I can shoulder all of that"

@pensacola:

Noting Anastasia’s discomfort with the subject as a whole, Kisara hid her excitement at the prospects. Sure, a store wasn’t quite the same as a production facility, but it stood out to her as the second best option to learn about how HIVE’s machinery worked. And, she thought, it might be possible to kill two birds with one stone.

"There's just one small thing. I'm not sure why it's hindering me but...whichever model we activate after we steal its memory log. It won't be able to remember anything...which means it'll be deemed useless. It's essentially being "born" to die" I don't know if I can shoulder all of that"

Kisara thought, first searching for some way to relieve Anastasia of the burden. Maybe if she were the one to pull the plug? Ana was obviously pre-attached to the rest of these androids—she truly cared for them—in a way that seemed totally unheard of in humans, and struck the homunculus as unusual. But Kisara honestly couldn't have cared less about the faceless droid that currently existed as nothing but a hypothetical non-sentient, at best a series of ones and zeroes.

“I can’t help but wonder though...Are they in the habit of stealing information? If so then there has to be some way to check the logs without ruining the droid, I’d imagine. How about this? Introduce me to your friend and we’ll put our minds together,” she suggested, trying not to sound too much like she was disregarding Anastasia’s intellect. Or like she was bullshitting to keep the android hopeful. Kisara theorized it might be possible to restore the android’s memory logs - or at least the ability to record new information - but it’d be a long shot, and even if it worked might expose them to threat should HIVE learn about the breach.

“But what if I told you I could make it right anyway? Assuming we can get the poor droid out with us, I bet I could fix him up. Worth a shot, anyway.” Her purple eye practically gleamed. It wouldn’t be the same as before, and it wouldn’t restore the memory, but Kisara was certain she could ensure the android would still be able to have some level of basic function. But, she neglected to mention, after “fixing” him up the android would be little more than a mindless golem capable of following orders.

But Kisara could make use of that.

“So,” she said, leaning by her forearms onto the back of the chair, “when do I get to meet this friend of yours? He a sex-bot too? Is he located on campus?”

@adepta-occulta:

...How about this? Introduce me to your friend and we’ll put our minds together,”

Penny's head swivels back toward Kisara with interest; a not-so-subtle smirk crawled across her face watching how eagerly Kisara desired to help. It was...sweet. It was strange how she'd learned to appreciate the small things and even stranger that she could experience her original purpose without switching into a sub-mode. She was learning. But she couldn't get caught up in her own thoughts. "I can set up a meeting between the both of you. Key isn't really a social guy, and he doesn't trust humans, but I can talk him into it. He likes me." She explained before pushing away, rolling her eyes at the thought of Key being a sexbot.

"He was created to monitor security systems for rich humans in Key West Florida; he's a personalized bot. His 'family' spent thousands of dollars on him." She took a far-out stare, searching her memory log for the day the two of them had met. "...There were a bunch of riots all over Florida; I was activated when a bunch of humans ransacked my store a bunch of us were taken, but before I could be stolen, Key saved me. Smuggled me out of Pensacola, we stopped a few places along the way. He helped me cannibalize a bunch of missing limbs I'd lost at the time too."

She held up her hand, looking intently, as it was not her original part rather one she'd stolen from a H.I.V.E factory throughout her journey. She spoke softly like she had genuine feelings for him; she did. But he was a customized android built without privates, and she was sex-bot; they were physically incompatible. After years of fighting against Human-Meta oppression, he grew to hate anything that wasn't an android.

"He made sure I made it here. I'd nearly lost all my functionality by the time I fused with my android. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for him."

She'd realized she'd never truly said thanks to him, and there was a moment of silence between them before her head darted up in Kisara's direction once more. "When we set up the meeting, don't call me Anastasia he hates my human name. He calls me Pensacola. Do you have a preferred day to meet?"

@pensacola:

Great, a hypersensitive robo-simp, thought Kisara sarcastically, her enthusiasm draining. She supposed he was indirectly responsible for the multitude of opportunities Anastasia was practically heaping on her, but she hadn’t even met the guy...bot, and the “high-maintenance” red flags were already waving. Mostly, it was the “he dislikes humans” part. But he had the tenure. Ana obviously owed him a lot and Kisara wasn’t willing to wager on how well “one-night stand with the soft tits” would measure against “fellow machine who saved my artificial-life” if it came down to a choice between them.

Besides, just that morning she and Anastasia had been aggressively at odds, and Kisara won her over fairly quickly; maybe she could change his mind too. But either way she couldn’t help showing visible displeasure at the idea of her actions being dictated by some robot geek who ‘dislikes’ me just because he hates all humans. Or that in being ordered to abide by this pointless formality, suddenly she felt like some pet or child receiving a stern lecture before going to meet “Ana’s real friends.”

“Pensacola...I mean, I like it but it’s kind of a mouthful—no pun intended. I’ll stick with ‘Penny’ for short. Cute and symbolic."

"Do you have a preferred day to meet?"

”Well if there’s travel involved we should plan to be ready for anything. I’m out of classes early on Friday, then I’ve got a meeting with Dr. Vargas but I should be free by 2pm. If we’re not back by Monday I’ll just have my parents write us an excuse.”

@adepta-occulta:

Days Later

Key agreed to meet with them, but his assistance came with certain stipulations. They wouldn't meet at the safe house right now, so many deviant androids were being kept there, and he didn't want to risk Kisara being an indoctrinated H.I.V.E. agent. She understood that.

The second condition one she wasn't going to reveal to Kisara at all. Key discovered a highly encrypted transmission from their Sattelite directly to the H.I.V.E. manufacturing facility in Valor City; Ana agreed to be a part of a covert team to infiltrate the facility to find out what it was. The dangers of the said mission were why she wasn't going to tell Kisara. Capture meant death for sure, but she didn't want Kisara to feel as if she had to take care of her once again.

She'd finished her last class for the day and was making her way back toward her room. No one could tell, but the stress feature was at a record 73%. She wasn't sure now that she wasn't hooked up to the network what would happen if it reached 100%, but she also didn't want to find out.

Plopping down on the couch, she reclined her head back, trying to process her thoughts as best she could, but just thinking about them made her percentage tick ever closer to 100. Kisara should've been in with Dr.Vargas right now, which means she had a bit of free time. {Prehaps taking a shower will reduce some stress.}

Her head lifted from the neck rest of the couch as she thought on it. "A shower?" She thought with her head tilt to the side. Her body naturally cleaned itself, she never had a reason to take one. But as her stress was mounting, the A.I told her this was something humans did. "Ok." She said moving toward the shower.

@pensacola:

Dr. Vargas keenly examined the cell phone footage, occasionally glancing in Kisara’s direction over her glasses. Kisara watched in silence as myriad expressions – curious, shocked, impressed, horrified and more – chased one another across her face. For most of the US, the attack on DC was a disaster. For her, it was a nightmare. Dr. Vargas lost many loved ones, and her family’s entire legacy, when mutants conquered the country, putting to death anyone who was identified as human. Days before, Kisara was pulled from classes - not long after her first day at the institute - to help prevent the same thing from happening in America.

Vargas was surprisingly calm as she reviewed scenes compiled from cell phones. Quality varied from extremely clear to “what, did they record this with an old Nokia?” The one consistency? All featured a long-haired blonde in plainclothes—ostensibly a mutant herself—fighting back against the attackers. Kisara faced down a million-mutant mob by herself. She’d taken lives. She watched the president vaporized not even two feet in front of her. A fate she narrowly escaped multiple times, nearly vaporized by Jacob Grayl and mechanical guardian. She faced the leader of the mutants, defeated him, and stole his body to preserve, use, and harvest for parts when she was done.

Kisara still wasn’t sure how she felt about it all. She had yet to return to classes, or even leave her room apart from these meetings—which Dr. Vargas insisted on having every day until she could verify the girl’s mental state. Supportive, affirming, but rational...She was everything Kisara could’ve asked for, but she was more concerned that Kisara seemed unnaturally calm about the whole thing. Enduring her mentor’s prodding for just as long as she could to justify missing classes, until being dismissed.

She teleported to her room. By then she could hardly be asked to walk through campus, surrounded by the same kinds of specimens that tried to take her life. The mutants were repelled from Washington but they were still out there, with God-knows-what abilities. If she could make it from the school to DC on such short notice, it was entirely possible any number of her schoolmates could’ve done so as well. And if someone recognized her...

Gotta refocus. Through it all she never forgot Anastasia. Technically her only friend, Kisara was almost certain she'd never see her again after leaving. And though she looked forward to seeing Penny again, she wasn't looking forward to the occasion. Meeting with a hyper-sensitive robot that, by the sounds of it, hated her for no reason seemed manageable before fighting to save the US from terrorists half a world away. Now, she wasn't sure she'd have the patience. Her hair was still broken in places and her skin was still singed. She took nearly an hour applying makeup to try and cover what she could. Then she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and—

—the air split with a loud crack! as Kisara popped into Anastasia's room, occupying the once vacant space. "Got to be a way to muffle that," she muttered to herself as she looked around for the android.

@adepta-occulta:

She'd just managed to semi-clothed herself as the 'pop' snag her attention. {Kisara has entered the room} her A. I chimed, causing the former sex-bot to poke her head out of the bathroom.

"Hey," She called out, noticing Kisara's failed attempt to cover her fatigue. Though they agreed to meet today, Ana hadn't heard from Kisara all week. She assumed her human friend was bogged down with schoolwork; she didn't have social media or television, so she stood unaware of what her friend was actually into.

Her head tilt to the side, noticing a bit of damage in her hair, and a strange feeling swept over the android. Concern? "Are you alright? I know we're supposed to go meet Key today, but we can reschedule." She said, taking a seat at the island in the middle of the kitchen. Concern wasn't exactly a foreign emotion because of her model's ability to act as a companion; it was something she was familiar with--still, she couldn't help but think something else was going on with her sole friend.

Rising to full form, Ana strolled toward Kisara, taking her by her hands. "I know we're different and stuff, but you can talk to me about anything." Though Kisara mentioned Dr.Vargas before, she never understood the actual relationship between the Doc and Kisara, it was just a part of Kisara's schedule, something she never inquired about--not in detail anyway. The thought of visiting Vargas herself did cross her mind only for a moment until her computer chimed with a message from Key detailing where to meet and what time. And while it was important to Ana, she wouldn't leave her friend. Nor did she want Kisara following on the mission to the warehouse raid.

"We can just talk if you want?"

@pensacola:

“Ouch. I look that bad, huh?”

Kisara smiled and shook her head. True, there wasn’t much she would’ve rather done less than meet this guy-bot, and she definitely wanted to tell Ana about what happened in the US, but if Zedora was as dangerous as Ana said then they couldn’t afford to waste any time over Kisara being needy. Besides, changing her tune just before they were supposed to meet the recluse would only raise more red flags. If she backed out, another chance might never come.

“A minor vicissitude, I promise. It’s very sweet of you,” she said, teasing with a forced smirk (and half-grimacing—it hurt every time she smiled), “but I’ll be fine. What better way to make sure of that than to make myself useful? Help you out, earn this guy's trust? I have literally nothing better to do. And then we can talk about things that are already in the past.”

@adepta-occulta:

"Ok," Ana replied, nodding her head, though she wasn't entirely sure Kisara was alright. They hadn't known each other long, but she's never known Kisara to have bad hair. "I just need to get dressed." She said, patting Kisara on her legs before heading back to her room to get dressed.

She only had a few outfits, things she manage to find at the thrift stores in town. She settled for denim shorts, a beige blazer, and a white blouse along with some white heels. Normally, she wouldn't dare be caught wearing heels, but she had feelings for Key, and she knew he had feelings for her--so looking nice for him couldn't hurt. Also, she wanted to make sure his attention was solely on her, not him unnecessarily bothering Kisara.

Emerging from her room, she grabbed a few things off the table; her eyes descended on Kisara once more. She wanted to ask if she was alright, but the risk of drawing her anger prevented her from doing so. "We're going to meet key at the Sentinel Hotel in downtown Solace City. A bit of a strange place for a meeting considering he doesn't like people, but I guess it's sorta a medium." She said, pacing by the door a bit.

As they made their way across campus, the rugged terrain made Ana pay for wearing heels, she would've hailed an uber, but Solace City was soo small most establishments didn't have vehicles.

A ten-minute walk lead them to the Sentinel Hotel, a curious location for a meeting. Usually, high-profile visitors from out of town stayed at this hotel, really fancy. Not really up Key's alley.

Once at the door, Ana knocked gently, and after a few moments, Key opened the door. Almost immediately, he backtracked toward the window taken back by Ana and Kisara. "Y-your friend...you didn't say it was a woman..."

She couldn't help but break into laughter midstride into the room. "Yeah, I suppose I forgot that detail..." Ana said, folding her arms across her chest.

"I, I damn, I can't believe you were the same girl from Florida all those years ago" She knew he was flirting, he'd seen her plenty of times since then, but this was the only time she cared actually to get dressed.

"Well...I am..." She said, turning away back toward Kisara. "Kisara here thinks she can get the information we need without damaging an innocent unit.

without damaging an innocent unit.

No such promises were made.

@pensacola:

Kisara gave a quizzical look as Anastasia emerged, just barely containing the amusement to her mismatched eyes. It wouldn’t have taken a genius to read that sign. “If you’re dressed like that then I guess the actual infiltration is still a ways off?” And then, as earnest as she could muster, “You look nice. Maybe when we’re all wrapped up we’ll go on a shopping spree.” She wouldn’t have admitted it but she needed it just as much. In the care of her handlers, the homunculus hadn’t needed clothes at all, not until just before she’d began attending school. And she estimated two weeks before classmates noticed she was wearing the same outfits every week. Maybe three, assuming optimal distribution and that not too many people noticed her around campus.

She was almost certain she was making a bigger deal of it than it actually was, but the trek across campus felt downright arduous. Constantly watching over her shoulder for lingering glares, or any faces she might remember from the American attack. She’d already violated the “no powers on campus” rule getting into Penny’s room (although she’d legitimately forgotten, she was sure no one saw). She didn’t see the harm in doing it once more. It wasn’t a long walk, but it felt like a march through No Man’s Land.

"Y-your friend...you didn't say it was a woman..."

And why is that important at all? “I’m sorry, I don’t see...Y’know what, nevermind.” Kisara forced a smile. A minor issue. Not worth causing friction. There’d be cause enough for that later, she was almost certain.

"Well...I am..." She said, turning away back toward Kisara. "Kisara here thinks she can get the information we need without damaging an innocent unit.

Kisara froze, held in a rigid stare like a deer in headlights. Way to throw me under the bus. She could remember making no such promises. Had the last few days taken that much out of her? Or (as she was almost certain was the case) had Penny really jumped the gun with that ditzy, weird but usually cute—but now extremely annoying—hopeful naivete? Feck. Right out of the gate. This one was gonna be hard to recover from.

“Okay, it’s possible but not without its risks. A moment, please.” Retreating into the sanctuary of her mind, she tried to recall what exactly had been said between them and her thoughts afterward. But more than that, reconciling “the right thing” with what was best for them. And the prospect that, by purposefully fumbling the operation, she could make the defective golem into her own personal golem.

“When I touch something, I can ‘read’ it. Not just books, anything. The unfolding narrative of its entire life is laid bare before me. Its physical make-up, constituent materials and how much of each goes into it. Its entire history, flaws, all the full potential it has or could have, in its present form. This is how I’m able to absorb information so quickly. Penny,” she said, stressing the name to a comical degree, “that's how I learned you were an android, when we...uh, shook hands in the library,” she lied, not quite certain how Penny’s boy-toy might feel about her getting that personal with a human of all things. As much as she would’ve loved to ruin it for him, the semblance of a conscience with which she’d been embedded advised her that even just attempting this would be additionally cruel toward her friend, and may cost her just as much.

“But I need time. Basic information is as simple as a touch, but the more I'm after, the longer I need to maintain contact. Shouldn't be too long, but I could still be shot in the head before I can actualize it all. So let me get in there, buy me some time to do a deep dive into this automaton, and I think I should be able to pull what we need out of it, without tampering with the technology itself. But the issue remains, if we leave the unit both with its memories intact and connected to the network, anyone who combs over the footage will know exactly who broke into their store. Even if they don't know why, they may seek retribution.”

Kisara shuddered at the thought. Mutants, and now making enemies of the android assembly? But Ana had quickly proven the strength of her own convictions. If Kisara could show herself just faithful, she might be able to net some of that goodwill for herself.

@adepta-occulta:

Ana's head tilts to the side as she was trying to decipher what exactly Kisara was saying. However, she didn't need to because Key filled in the blanks.

"You do not hear things; it seems like this friend of yours isn't exactly sure she can make good on the promises...typical." Key scoffed, walking back to his bed, unveiling his top-of-the-line computer.

While his computer was booting up, Ana's eyes remained fixed on Kisara for just a second. She didn't know what to think, not about the chances of saving the unit rather Kisara's state of mind. She saw how she looked when they walked through the campus how on guard she was just what happened.

"I was able to piece together a portion of the missing code; whatever Zedora's doing, she's committing tons of resources to it," Key called out, running through his information extracted from H.I.V.E's extranet.

"How did you even get that information," Ana asked, smart enough to know that HIVE would also have their agents monitoring the Extranet. Key's eyes immediately dart toward Kisara as if he didn't want to tell her. [Hacking Key's memory log] her A. I chimed. She didn't know it could do that. "Ahh, I see, you have someone on the inside," Ana called out, much to the chagrin of Key.

"Look, I know you have your reservations, but Kisara is my friend and is here to help. If you really want to know what it is that H.I.V.E. is doing, then you're going to have to trust her." Key reclined in his chair; he was shocked, almost disgusted. "I-I can't believe you're taking the side of a hu-"

He started, but Ana put a finger up to silence him. "We're supposed to be doing this to liberate our people, and it shouldn't matter who decides to help."

"Yeah, but what if we can save the unit...then what are you willing to condemn a whole unit? that's counterproductive to our cause."

Ana exhaled deeply; when she first joined the cause, she knew there was a chance of some of them radicalizing against humans, but she never expected Key. "No, I'm not, but if it's what we have to do to get one up on HIVE, then we have to do it."

"So we infiltrate H.I.V.E, Access the memory log, and then what? Leave the unit baseless? Key asked skeptically.

@pensacola:

What’s with that look? It wasn’t the first time Kisara had seen Penny dumbfounded by something she’d just said, but right then, in his presence it felt less “innocent confusion” and more like Kisara was under attack from both of them. It wasn’t Penny's fault they just weren’t on the same level, she wasn’t designed that way. But Key’s response was given with extreme malice. No surprise there. He saw his opportunity just as Kisara had, and pounced.

She looked from Ana to Key, already regretting the choice to spare his feelings. Some kind of speechless communication? She knew her friend was an unwitting accomplice but it was still hard not to be frustrated. But frustration was just an emotion. Even if she couldn’t control those she could control her response for the sake of cohesiveness.

"Yeah, but what if we can save the unit...then what are you willing to condemn a whole unit? that's counterproductive to our cause."

But those words—no, his repeated antics as a whole—welled up something particularly bitter in Kisara's throat. Not even ten minutes in and he was doing everything in his power, seeking every reason from her sex to her mental efficacy, to undermine her. She could tolerate a lot. He could hate humans all he wanted, that wasn’t unique to Key. But questioning her mind and her utility, all while risking critical failure for the sake of one unit?

“‘Counterproductive to our cause?’” Kisara took one deliberate step forward after another, imposing herself on his space. Eyes roaming derisively, she sneered as her mind zeroed in, every single word deliberately chosen with the highest calculated likelihood of unnerving and angering the rogue unit. “I guess this is what separates the deviant from the defective. That poor family," she mocked, looking to cut deep by drawing on Key's own personal history. "Spending thousands of dollars on you, and you don’t even understand what the words you’re using mean.”

Backing off a bit so as to subtly reintroduce Penny into the dialogue, to at least appear to be addressing her as an equal while dressing down Key. “It’s a simple cost-benefit analysis, plusses and minuses. We benefit more from leaving this unit because the alternative is one in which the projected costs outweigh the benefits. If you save one ‘life’ but increase the chances your ultimate goal fails, are you okay with the consequences your idealism will impose on the rest—including, potentially, Anastasia? She’s on the frontlines risking everything by exposing herself, and where will you be? Here in the safety of some distant chair? Hidden away because a gynoid sex-bot had more balls than the security android?”

Sparing him one more up-down glare before turning. She addressed Penny directly while offering her final rejoinder. “No. Sacrificing the unit is unfortunate, but increases the likelihood that we ultimately succeed, therefore it is not ‘counterproductive to our cause.’ Speaking of which, maybe I was wrong at first. It might be more productive if you and I discussed this alone until Key West decides he can play nice.”

@adepta-occulta:

It didn't take long for Key and Kisara to erupt in a full-fledged argument about the plan. Each of them is taking jabs at one another, with Kisara decisively winning the exchange between them. Some of the things said made her feel guilty, like revealing the nature of Key's creation to Kisara. Key looked at her as if she'd betrayed him, and in a way, she did—years of friendship seemingly down the drain in a matter of moments. But he openly attacked Kisara, and she felt he deserved what he got.

Then there was Kisara. She didn't like the way she threw around 'Sex-bot' like that's all she was good for. Her eyes bounce back and forth between Kisara and Key; before she could say anything else, Zedora was on the television. The moment Zedora's speech concluded, both Key and Penny stood mouth ajar at the outcome. They were free?

It should've been a good feeling, and it wasn't. What did this even mean? Was this the big announcement? There were so many questions left unanswered; H.I.V.E. pushed androids out to the very ends of the Earth; what was the plan to house them? Or were they to battle it out amongst the rest of the world? Before anyone could say anything, Ana held the room.

"I think we continue along with the plan. Something in my processor does not trust Zedora." It was at that moment Key stood up, seemingly ready to absolve himself from this entire ordeal. "Nah, I'm done. You heard the woman. I'm free; I don't need to hide anymore."

Ana moved quickly, grabbing him by his arm, but he forcefully jerked away. "Y-you don't even know what this means! How do you think the rest of the world will react now that the machine used to do chores around the house now wants civil rights? There's another play here. Key, we need to figure out what it is."

"NO, Anastasia! I have a warehouse full of scared units waiting for me to create a new beginning for them. You have a bug-eyed organic manipulating you. XD00..." that's all I was able to find from your message. Do you want the rest? go to H.I.V.E. and figure it out on your own. GTFO!"

Key pointed towards the door signaling for both She and Kisara to leave, but without him, she'd never been able to piece together what that even meant. "Key..." She called out watching as he practically glared a hole through Kisara.

Wow what a bitch.

@pensacola:

Kisara turned toward the television. So this was the “Matriarch?” With the chaos in Washington she hadn’t gotten the time to look into H.I.V.E. at all. Had Anastasia’s break-in job not been so soon after, she’d have completely forgotten about the company and the woman who was in charge.

She looks a lot less...matriarchal than I expected. Young, even. And those eyes—”Hate her,” she uttered, half-expressing her jealousy in the hopes that, after claiming “victory” in the spat with Key, the timing of the speech along with some apparent solidarity might relieve the tension and allow them to move on.

Yeah, I thought that might be a bit much to hope for. Ana seemed to agree, but Key was on an entirely different wavelength. It’d have seemed a shocking 180 if their conversation thus far hadn’t already colored Kisara’s perceptions of the security droid. Between the two of them, Ana and Key’s respective thoughts were a complete reversal of what she’d have expected. Natural inclinations, or was he just that hurt over what she’d said? It was an extremely well-calculated verbal assault. But for Ana’s sake, they’d have to reconcile.

“Look…” Kisara started, but Key was having none of it. All the insults, even the accusations of manipulation, she could’ve moved right past—but he called her “bug-eyed.”

Kisara stuttered. (She’d never been able to think of a good comeback to those.) Looked away. Weighed the possible futures as she saw them, but there were too many unknowns without understanding how an android “thought.” Realistically there wasn’t anything he could do to force them out. Despite Zedora’s revelatory press conference, Kisara was the only one among them technically recognized as a person by world governments (even if under false pretenses). And she was sure she could take him in a fight, despite still being exhausted and sore.

But it wouldn’t help. Even if they could force Key into sticking with them it seemed entirely likely he’d sabotage the operation himself if pressed in the wrong ways, just to get back at Kisara.

She turned to Ana, conciliatory. “For what it’s worth I think you’re right. And as much as he has yet to prove his usefulness”—briefly shooting Key a glare to mirror his own—“I don’t think he’s that stupid either. Foolish. Emotional...” Somehow.“But if your consciousness is true in the way you say it is, your processing is more than just a series of zeroes and ones. Which means he can change his mind.” Whether he would or not was another matter entirely. If not for the whole “consciousness” thing he wouldn’t have had those emotional hang-ups in the first place and they’d have no problems. But that wasn’t the hand they were dealt, which was why she was saying it all in front of him. Attacking his credibility’d had the opposite of the desired effect, so she planted the seeds of an appeal to character.

Finally, Kisara tossed a glance over her shoulder and a portal stretched open behind her. Through it her own dormitory was partly visible, still in shambles from the night she and Ana met. “Come on. You can start with why this is the first I'm hearing about a "message," and what that is. We’ll start by going over the operation ourselves, and we can circle back to Key once he’s had time to listen to what all of our rational minds are already telling us.”