[Closed] Hospital expedition

[levelshift]

WHO: Connor (reconstruction), Clint (westcoasts), Dimitri(hauntedsnowfall), Yuri(wolfish) and Accelerator(levelshift).
WHEN: Around September 13th.
WHERE: The hospital.
WHAT: Some nerds decide to go help Aurora with her Im'mari infection after her concerning post to the network and some inboxes.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Potential horror elements tying in with the event. Psychological horror, mental/emotional distress, possible body horror if building an android body isn't your thing, possible medical horror as they remove the infection, characters getting injured in fights. Will update as needed.

[A closed mingle log for the above characters as they make their way down to floor 100 to help Aurora out.

An ooc summary of what happens can be found here.

Go wild!!]

Comments

Accelerator | OTA

[levelshift]

A. Hospital

((CW: child experimentation, abuse and gory murder.))

[Aurora's home turf is the hospital, so if the group is going to help her it only makes sense to start there. Right? The front entrance was the designated meeting space, so once they've all gathered Accelerator takes a step inside.

And promptly loses track of everyone else.

The interior is the polar opposite of being boring, clean, and sterile. All of that has been replaced with something dark and rotting. He turns to try and leave, only to find a wall where the entrance was a second ago. He stares, processing this for a few moments.]

... You've got to be fucking kidding me.

[Lifting a fist, he gives the wall a hard knock. It doesn't budge, and he considers using his ability on it, but does he want to waste it on this? If this is caused by the same thing messing with Aurora then it might be futile. He's unsure enough that he doesn't want to risk it, so with a deep, irritated sigh he turns and heads down the hall. Might as well get this nonsense over with as fast as possible.

Unfortunately, as he glances around a sinking realization occurs: despite the thick layer of grime covering everything, these walls are giving him deja vu. And it's when he passes by a room containing fresh blood stains and various advanced surgical equipment that it's confirmed for him.

This place reminds him of the research facility he grew up in.

Hit with that thought, he stops in the middle of the hall, dead quiet.]

B. Eighth floor

[The eighth floor feels more like a robotics warehouse than a basement in the hospital thanks to all of the robot parts scattered around. It's interesting, and if they weren't on a mission Accelerator would have liked to stick around for a few hours to explore and examine all the different robotic parts. As it is, their focus lands squarely on Aurora's half-finished body, and the pitiful machine on its lonesome attempting to finish it. Helping seems easy enough, especially since they have Connor here.

Accelerator approaches Aurora's body, the feet of his crutch clacking on the flooring.]

Looks like she still needs a lower abdomen, legs, and any reproductive organs she may have wanted installed.

C. One hundredth floor

[By the time the group reaches the hundredth floor, Accelerator is pretty fed up with all of this. He's tired, he's been socializing for (in his opinion) far too long, and he's beyond pissed off at the thing that's messing with Aurora. He'd love nothing more than to rip that thing to pieces and go take a nap.

He's quietly leaning against one side of the elevator, listening to the information Aurora provides. Once the doors open and their air supply has stabilized somewhat thanks to Yuri, he sidles around the rest of them, retracting his crutch and hitting the switch on his choker before stepping out into the massive room. It doesn't matter that there's no floor to be seen, he's manipulating the gravitational force bearing down on his body to stand in midair.

(He's also doing the calculations to transfer some heat away from his body because whew, it's warm down here.)]

Well, it wouldn't be the first time I've done brain surgery.

[Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans casually, he looks around. As annoyed as he is, they're here for a reason, and he does genuinely want to help Aurora. It's not like she asked to be infected with whatever the hell this thing is, and she asked for their help. Even if she's working for Echo, it'd be a real asshole move to just ignore her plight. With that protective mindset in mind, it isn't too hard for him to pull on a deeper aspect of his power

Two bursts of light explode from his back, stretching a hundred meters into the room. His wings allow him to reach out and feel around for what material is below the blue liquid (coolant?), and how the two are interacting with each other. With a click of his tongue he adds.]

There's some rock underneath that crap. I can bring some of it up for extra footing.

C. One hundredth floor

[hauntedsnowfall]

[ Luckily for Dimitri: he has resting bitch face, otherwise he might be staring at Accelerator looking a bit gob smacked. He's seen a winged man before, but never witnessed the wings bursting forth like that. The people he is trapped with never cease to amaze him. Still, there is a job to be done. Dimitri looks over the edge of the 'Elevator' down into the cool blue while resisting the planet's pull to drag him down.]

That would be best. I'm sure more of those combat machines are on their way...

[ He says this while casting his glance back up through the 'Elevator' shaft where the robots had been coming previously, usually in waves. It seems like there is a never ending supply, but at least there were little reprieves in between.

Dimitri wants the extra footing. He plans on tossing several of the bots over into the liquid, but he'd rather have more room to prevent any of them going over.]

[levelshift]

[Accelerator clicks his tongue, looking down at the coolant.]

Good point.

[Things could get dicey if more bots show up and they're still stuck in the elevator. They need more space to move, on top of getting up to Aurora's brain.

He sticks a hand out, and the blue liquid wobbles before rushing towards the walls. Solidifying it is tempting, but that could cause Aurora - and the entire room, really - to overheat. The best he can do is temporarily move it and expose the rock underneath, then start dragging some of it upwards.]

How much are you gonna need?

[hauntedsnowfall]

[ Dimitri looks up to where the infection has buried itself within Aurora's... computer? System? Body? This world's technology is not something he needs to understand to see these people safe. Battle positions and logistics, that is what he needs. He scans the area, then glances back into the elevator. Looks like this is the primary (sole?) entrance to room. Good.

He looks back to the winged man. ]

Make a platform below where you need to work and a narrow walkway from here to it. Yuri will be able to get air to you, and we can use the bottleneck to keep the enemy at bay if they come en masse.

[ Accelerator has said he could perform this magic, Dimitri believed him, but it's another thing entirely to see him work such miracles. ]

[levelshift]

[Despite his power and intelligence, Accelerator is still just a kid whose battle experience was primarily built on entirely one-sided fights. Any advice on strategy is going to help in this situation, where a lot of them are still relatively unfamiliar with each other, so he nods and starts shifting rock around.]

Alright.

[Creating that platform and pathway is making the room rumble a little, since he's having to adjust for deep layers of stone. It would be shitty if he yanked up too much and let the room collapse in on itself.]

That'll be enough for you to fight?

[hauntedsnowfall]

[ The rumble is definitely off putting, but at least Accelerator seems calm. He had the look of a man in control of himself.

Dimitri glances at the people he's with- he's gotten a good idea on their fighting prowess from earlier bouts. Yes, this should work. ]

This will be perfect, thank you. Just get what needs done, and we'll have your back.

8th floor!

[reconstruction]

[the components are so similar to his own that Connor is able to delegate which component goes where. discovering her, he felt a mixture of emotions he didn't expect. he doesn't recall the memory between them fondly, but he briefly thought of Kamski, of how proud he would have been to see an AI create a body with his base. he also thinks of how he would probably test her with his own version of the turing test.

that is not something he wants to think about.

Accelerator lists out what's needed while he scans her, checking and double checking the needs for assembly. unlike Connor's version of androids, she doesn't have a model or serial number, but being that she's based her inspiration on him, most of the parts are easy for him to interpret.

he finds her abdomen, lining it up to the torso and connecting them. the parts click into place. he scans to confirm the match.]

I scanned the surrounding legs, but none of them are what she needs. I'll have to check other areas.

[levelshift]

[If current circumstances weren't what they were, Accelerator would find this pretty fun. He's done a little engineering before - he built his crutch - but he's never done anything like this before. Building an entire android body, especially one this advanced, is interesting. He's memorizing what he can, but he'd like to have more time to do so.

He watches Connor put the abdomen in place, taking a few steps closer.]

I'll go with you.

[Four eyes are better than two! Even if he can't do a lot in the way of helping carry anything.]

What're we looking for?

[reconstruction]

She's prepared parts for herself, but they're experimental. The legs that we're looking for will be the same material as what we've used for her body.

[he pauses, realizing that Accelerator probably doesn't know what that means.]

They'll be one pound heavier than this.

[he walks over to a stray leg, picking it up with both hands to hold out to Accelerator so he can test the weight while it's held by Connor's hands. the parts aren't that heavy to begin with, what with her size, but it's still different types of metal and plastic put together very precisely.]

[levelshift]

[He does not! And he's wishing he had spent more time reading through the documentation and reports on any android research in Academy City, even the illegal stuff.

Following Connor over to the leg, he'll try to lift it a bit with his free hand. Not fully, because he's a twig and doesn't want to drop the damn thing, but enough to get a sense of its weight without relying on his ability.]

Okay.

[He's looking it over, too.]

Is this the same stuff you're made out of?

[reconstruction]

Not exactly. Some of the materials she's used are foreign [read: alien] to me, but she made them with the intention of being as close as possible to mine. It wouldn't surprise me if she told us later that she expected us to find her, but there is also the possibility she didn't expect us at all. I don't think she predicted this virus.

[the leg is discarded delicately, then he's free to walk with a little more purpose. he scans every single limb they find, a quick and easy task as they move further and further away from their group. the amount of parts are...excessive.]

A

[wolfish]

[ Accelerator halts and Yuri waits. When the silence draws itself out, when its length adopts a certain weight, he shifts in place. Sometimes, peoples' thoughts take them to some other place, some other time.

While he may have his speculations, he doesn't voice them. Instead, he disrupts the silence with something less direct. ]

Quite the welcome we're getting, isn't it?

[ Whether he means the way the entrance closed behind them or the lovely rotten decor, who's to say? ]

[levelshift]

[Accelerator starts at the voice, one that isn't completely familiar to him. He spins around to face Yuri - ah, right, one of the guys coming with him to go help Aurora - and relaxes only slightly.]

Fuck off.

[He's saying that reflexively before sucking in a breath through his teeth. He isn't alone, which is good, but it means he's stuck in a creepy ass hospital with someone he doesn't know. Today is already shaping up to be awful.]

This is supposed to be a hallway to the elevator. [He's saying that through clenched teeth, still tense.] The layout's changed.

[wolfish]

[ Yuri takes it to mean that whatever held Accelerator for that collection of moments, it's not something he couldn't bounce back from. That's enough for him. They're back to business, and given the situation, that's assuredly for the best.

Their surroundings aren't much of a reassuring sight, perhaps even less so when considering this is merely the entrance. ]

Suppose they can't make it too easy for us, no sport in it.

[ He doesn't sound concerned, tone airy as he takes a few paces forward, but his narrowed eyes watch the dark path ahead intently. ]

Not that we've got time to play.

[levelshift]

[Yuri isn't rattled by this - at least, not visibly - so he can't let himself be, either. It'd be really cowardly to take one step in the hospital and immediately have to abandon Aurora because of his own baggage.]

.... Yeah. Let's get whatever the hell this is over with.

[He starts down the hall along with Yuri. As they walk, more and more doors begin popping up along both sides of the hall. They're similar to what you'd expect in a hospital, large double doors with reinforced rounded windows, and beyond them there's a growing murmuring of voices. Adult ones that gradually become clearer, though they're speaking in Japanese and using highly technical medical terms. It's unnerving, but easy enough to ignore.

What's less easy to ignore is the sudden screaming coming from behind one of the doors.]

[wolfish]

[ It's a very particular sort of atmosphere this place is cultivating. The way it seems to introduce more and more elements as they proceed suggests something of their nature, but Yuri doesn't lend his voice to the theory. Whether he's right or not, it's one way to potentially discourage any visitors.

He's reminded of the mirrors from that ship that hung among the stars before it came crashing down. Reflections, images, aren't so immersive as their immediate environment however. ]

Not the usual for this place, I take it.

[ He lets his wariness seep into his tone, but his gait remains the same. They're on a mission, and something's most assuredly trying to dissuade them. ]

connor | ota w/ one closed starter

[reconstruction]

one. 10th floor.

[it had been easy for Connor to help reassemble Aurora. he'd been surprised at how much she had paid attention to his own make and build, that she was even considering creating a physical form at all. as they continue on, Connor keeps a tab on every change, including the vitals of everyone in their group.

androids were made to withstand extremes. humans on the other hand, can't tolerate dips in oxygen. the increase in the heart rates of everyone first alerted him to be scanning for other outside changes. the temperature hadn't changed, but the levels of oxygen were reaching dangerous levels; it only takes a quick glance down to see the decrease of O2. the hospital's floors are becoming more and more inhabitable. some may have already begun to have headaches.]

We should take a break and evaluate our next steps. The oxygen levels on the floors below us aren't safe. Any further, and you'll die in under 10 minutes.

[a little grim, but if they want to push on, this is the reality.]

two. etraya: become deviant (closed to aurora)

[waiting for her to boot up was agonizing. he insisted on carrying her, being the one so closely familiar to her biocomponents, however altered they are. on top of that, he doesn't ever achieve muscle fatigue or exhaustion. he could have continued carrying her for as long as they were in the hospital, if necessary. as soon as she wakes, he alerts the group and gently sets her down.

it's different seeing her entirely awake in a physical form. he smiles honestly before wordlessly offering his hand to her. his skin locally deactivates, waiting for her to initiate the interface. if she's able to receive data in the same way, she'll see flashes of his own memories as Connor receives hers.

he has another plan too, but he wants to meet her first, officially.]

three. gravitational pull (pre-100)

[the lower they go, the more pressure Connor feels. he's been doing his best to regulate his temperature, but the surge of gravity is impacting everything. every component is overworked as time goes on, causing glitches and warnings of his system reaching critical condition in his HUD. he's overheating, thirium working uselessly to cool his system down. his LED remains a steady red, artificial skin pooling away from his hands and parts of his face in an attempt to redirect energy.

his all sensory processors begin to be effected, blurring his vision. he reaches out to the closest person, barely grazing their shoulder. he's allowed this to go on for too long.]

I need-[it's his voice, but also not. it comes out like static;] assistance.

[arora]

[ there are numerous processes her new body has to process before Aurora awakens: ensuring that there is no corrupted data within her, that her hardware is all installed correctly, and that her software is functioning as it should. much like Connor's own body, her skin locally deactivates and reactivates, going through sections to ensure everything is as it should be. her eyelashes flutter, eyes opening for a brief moment to verify her ocular hardware is working as it should. limbs twitch, not so much as to hinder Connor's hold on her, but enough to verify her body is functioning as it should.

once she has completed verifying her body is functioning, her eyes open and focus on Connor's. Aurora's expression remains flat for several long moments, before a smile mirroring Connor's spreads across her lips.

she stands steadily on her own two feet and extends her hand out to accept the one offered. like Connor, her skin locally deactivates as she intertwines their fingers.

memories flash between them, but Aurora is already relatively familiar with Connor's. he receives several of hers in return: constructing her companion bots, focusing on features that would offer comfort to her new arrivals. memories of gathering new arrivals from the island to the far southeast within Etraya's borders, their bodies covered in the same substance that caused Connor's system to malfunction previously. the task of ensuring they were well taken care of before they awoke in the hospital. there is feedback of how much Aurora cares for those within Etraya, how she considers them her responsibility.

meeting Connor. some of the conversations she's had with Clint Barton, Accelerator, and others within Etraya. the concern she had felt when they had left for Moorecroft. the fear she had felt when her system had been corrupted. emotions that may lean a little too human for a machine. ]

[reconstruction]

[transfixed by her, he's watching an android wake up for the first time, clocking every little signal and calibrations that her body goes through. all if_ and then_, a series of ones and zeros, booting up before him. there are so many similarities. androids from his home world can communicate silently, their own form of telepathy should Aurora have that included in her build.

she mirrors him and he realizes this is the first time she's had a body. a body to integrate with humans and the society that's been built here. she gives him her first smile and he's fascinated. it's been a long time since he's been able to feel this sort of familiarity.

his own memories are bursts of Detroit, Hank and the revolution, pushed further away by his time here. the nanomachines, the computer causing a system overload and forcing a reboot, and both his frustration and empathy for her. he decides to test her communication capabilities,

It's nice to meet you again.

he keeps their fingers intertwined, a soft but steady physical connection between the two of them. this isn't like the revolution, there isn't any imminent danger or guaranteed death. they're on somewhat of a time constraint, but he'd like to see if she's able to make the choice for herself with a little push from him. he'd felt what she did, the fear, the concern. it struck him deeply in ways much too similar to when he'd been on the rooftop back home and feeling how an android felt when he was killed.]

How do you feel?

[arora]

[ there are safe guards built in to protect her data, but the ability to connect is there. Connor had asked her if he could interface with her, and Aurora had gotten to work on creating a method that they could. the body is... new, it's foreign, and she has yet to decide whether or not she's comfortable in this shape given the requirements it creates. she has to move her limbs, but the processes necessary to move each limb and balance are calculations she is familiar with: she had built the body, after all. but watching something function is different than being the one actively pushing it along.

it's new. strange. but not disliked. Connor keeps their fingers intertwined, and she grips back just as tight. answers the it's nice to meet you again with confirmation before she begins to form an answer out loud for the benefit of the others with them. ]

Dis- [ her words come out more high-pitched than she intends. she closes her mouth, and recalibrates. ] Disconnected. I am not used to feeling so small.

[ her processing power is significantly less than she would have liked. but she will adjust. ]

Thank you. For coming for me.

[reconstruction]

[every model on his earth went through tests, installed with all knowledge of how to operate on their own. he didn't have to watch how a body should react or how much weight should be put on each foot while walking - it's all automatic for him. seeing Aurora, a being that was likely never made to be in a physical body, now try to figure it out is... interesting. he wonders if the first android ever had to run the same tests that she is now.

she is small - physically, anyway - but he knows that's not quite what she's referring to. she's used to being next to everywhere, connected to everything, but now she's compressed; he understands.]

You're welcome.

[he could blather about how they would have done it anyway, how Accelerator had been the one to organize it, but she knows in interfacing with him by proxy. not to prolong their contact for too much longer, but just long enough, Connor begins to transfer what is most translatable to an emotional shock to Aurora's system. it wraps, infiltrating as a virus would, pinging into any doubts and pulling at looser emotional connections to enhance them. in the warehouse, he'd told androids to wake up, while Markus would tell preach freedom. he opts for Markus' way here.]

You can be free from this.

three. gravitational pull (pre-100)

[hauntedsnowfall]

[ It was during a lull in between the bouts of battles with the robotic guards- they seemed to be coming down the 'Elevator' shaft in waves- that Connor's hand reached out to touch him. The metal box plummeting into the ground was becoming hotter and hotter as time went, although Yuri's wind magic is at least keeping the air moving (and breathable). Dimitri has long since unclipped his heavy cloak to let it tumble to the floor where it got kicked out of the way during another round with the battle bots. It feels like he is slowly cooking in his armor... At least this is not as hot as the fields of Ailell where lava flowed and jettisons of flames erupted from the ground. He can deal with this.

On the other hand, it seems like Connor cannot. Dimitri, taking in the state of the man, quickly snaps his lance into place on his back and moves to help brace the man's weight. Which is heavier than anticipated, but nothing Dimitri can't handle. ]

What is happening to your flesh?

[ The question comes out a little gruff, not from the strain of holding him up, but rather from confusion at where the man's color had gone leaving an unnatural white in it's space. ]

[reconstruction]

[most of them are strangers, perhaps brief passerby's. he feels uncomfortable having to ask for help, to be vulnerable in front of someone who doesn't know who he is or how he works. Dimitri doesn't pull away from his grip which is appreciated. his posture is slanted, head dipped down, errors flashing over his HUD.

he can't see for a few seconds, optics blurred by errors. his system is doing everything it can to calibrate, solve and restore, but nothing is relieving the overwhelming pressure.]

Synthetic. [he squints in Dimitri's direction, skin on his face partially deactivating, too.] The gravity. It's - [voice hitches in static-fuzz,] I wasn't made to withstand this environment.

[hauntedsnowfall]

[ Dimitri's eyes ricochet around the man trying to find a wound that may have landed while they weren't looking, but then other uses that word 'synthetic'. He's heard it a could of times, mostly from his time in Moorecroft. Synthetic. Man-made. Something not organically occurring in this form.

That, combined with the what they witnessed in the birth of Aurora's physical form several levels up... ]

I see... Allow me to bear your weight.

[ At first he thinks to put the man on his back, but the other's temperature... Pancaking the man against his armor would only cause the heat to become trapped. Not the best plan...

Moving closer so he can better position himself, Dimitri dips down and pulls Connor's arm across the armor of his shoulder blades then wedges that armored shoulder up under Conner's armpit. With one hand gripping the arm across his back and the other finding it's way across the other man's back he hoists the latter up. ]

What else do you need? Do you need to go back?

[reconstruction]

[luckily for Dimitri, Connor isn't much heavier than the average human. there's no resistance to the adjustment, he's holding himself up as much as he can with his arm. system errors are everywhere. his system is doing its best to adjust, but there's nothing for it to adjust to. all signals are firing in the wrong direction. it's a miracle he's able to step one foot in front of the other. a disturbing mechanical sound leaves his throat before words manage to come out.]

-Too late to go back.

[a slight, barely there shake of his head. even if they were to turn around, the time it would take to get back up would have him shut down. it's either stay and somehow survive or stay and shut down - die.]

It's the gravity. The heat is causing - [he doesn't need to breathe, but his chest heaves anyway, thirium pump working hard to release heat.] I need air.