"A skeleton-man who's old, is good at magic, and doesn't like you very much?" Solid asked rhetorically as he drummed his fingers on the table, TV show forgotten. "Sheesh, makes me think of a mix between a CoT mage and a Banished Pantheon zombie. And if he doesn't like you, why do you still like him?"
Briefly connecting wirelessly with his computer, Solid quiered the main Freedom Corps database about an Archlich and Rosalind.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
"Well..." she said thoughtfully, "Because he's nice. ...Although he's not, really. I don't know why I like him. I suppose I just do." Essex mused.
Solid's search of the databases would reveal some information about Archlich placing him firmly in the villain camp, but Rosalind's information was much more cryptic. Where heroes turned up as blue and villains turned up as red, her file was...violet?
The information was vague, but it confirmed her identity as a were-human, skilled with martial arts and the use of claws. Nigh impossible to hit, and durable when actually struck, she was listed as some sort of obscure law authority, but conned as strictly neutral. Actions were to be decided on a case-by-case basis...
"...He knows a lot about me." Essex continued about Archlich, oblivious as she watched a commercial for a video game.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
Solid sat up straight, looking at Essex with a worried air about him. From what he gathered, this Archlich guy was one badass villain and this Rosalind didn't seem much better. What was Essex doing hanging out with those kinds of people?
Then again, this is the girl who knew a Zenith Mekman and once brought home a Nightwolf. She seemed to be the luckiest person in the world.
"Nothing bad I hope," Solid said, remarkably nonchantlantly. "And you like a lot of people, huh?"
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
Essex nodded, turning her eyes back to Solid with a smile.
"Uh-huh!" she said cheerily. "I don't know why, but people seem to be nice to me. Well...Either really nice or really mean for no reason. I don't quite understand it. But it's nice to have so many friends."
Upon seeing his face, she blinked.
"Are you all right sir?" Essex asked. "You look troubled."
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Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
Solid waved his hand dismissively and leaned back in his chair.
"No, I'm fine. I'm just a little worried about you knowing such...questionable...people," he said. "But I suppose if you've gotten this far then its none of my business to mess around. Now then, what time is it? I think we might have to be rescued soon."
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
"Ah..." Essex said, rather worried, suddenly. "Ten minutes to eleven o'clock, sir. It -is- rather late."
She tapped her fingers together, looking down into her lap. "I've been out of the lab for a good 16 hours now. I do hope Dr. West is all right..."
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"Ok then," Solid said, getting up and pushing his chair back. "Let's get going."
Walking over to the door, Solid grabbed his rifle from an automatic reloader that looked like a simple gun rack and then pushed the door open. He stepped out and then held it for Essex, nodding at one of neighbor's as the man poked his head out of his door.
"Hey George."
"Eh," George grunted and then vanished back into his own apartment.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
Essex trotted out the door after Solid, being sure to turn the light out behind her. However, as she did, he could see a small mark on the skin of her cheek...
...something...
...green?
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Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
Solid paused and reviewed the last few seconds from internal memory. Yep, he had seen something green.
Closing the door behind them, Solid led Essex to a sliding door leading out onto a small balconey extending over the sidewalk a bit from the fourth floor that they were on. The purpose of this balconey was for ease of access to flying supers. But they did have to swipe their hero ID before entering, which they wouldn't have had to do if they went in through the ground floor.
And since Solid and Essex could both fly, Solid slid the door open and stepped outside. But as Essex stepped out with him, he held a hand in front of her to stop and then turned her head to one side to get a better look at the green spot.
He was betting it was in the shape of Hal's lips, the little bugger.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
"Hmm?" Essex blinked inquisitively as Solid tipped her chin to one side and examined her face.
"What's wrong, sir?" she asked as the larger android's suspicions were confirmed.
Luckily, it didn't seem to be anything but an odd discoloration in the synthetic skin...
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"You just have something on your face," Solid said as he rubbed it out with his thumb. "Probably a bit of splatter from one of those zombies I shot, nothing to worry about. Ready to go?"
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
Strangely, though...
...The green didn't brush off.
"Ow, hey..." Essex said, squinting a little and holding up a hand to her cheek. "Is it gone?"
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Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"No, it isn't," Solid replied with a bit of concern in his voice. "I wonder why... Did anything hit you on the head recently? Perhaps a member of the Circle of Thorns?"
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
"No..." Essex said, looking more and more worried by the minute. "You and Hallucinogen kept everything well away from me in Oranbega tonight."
She fidgeted in midair, worrying more.
"...But then again, I was so concentrated on healing you guys that one might have without me noticing? I-I don't know! ...Maybe we should hurry back to Dr. West. He'll know what's wrong..."
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"Hmm..." was all Solid said as he turned on his boot jets and sailed up into the air, spinning around so that he was flying upwards and backwards.
"Come on then," he said to Essex. "Might as well get back soon."
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
"Yes sir." Essex said, scooting up to Solid with a dutiful nod. "Ah...I hope we're not in too much trouble."
With that, she turned her trajectory towards the base of Repliforce Paragon...
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"Nah," Solid said as he checked his chronometer. "we'll be fine."
-05:05, it read, meaning that his buddies had busted a Council base about five minutes ago, which was more than enough time for a team of three supers to crack a jailcell.
"Dr. West will be expecting us about now, anyway," Solid said. "In fact, you can call him up right now. He should be getting the information that the base we were being held at has been broken into by now."
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
Essex spent some time on her communicator without saying a word.
She sighed, and hung it up after a little while.
"No response." the android said, a little worriedly. "Usually there's someone managing the communications systems, but I guess they stepped away."
Skimming back to the entrance to the lab, Essex gently alighted on the ground.
"Thanks, Solid." she said with a bow of her head. "Sometimes I just need to get away, I guess."
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"I understand, kiddo," Solid said, patting the girl on the shoulder. "You want me to come in, maybe talk with West? I could get some of the heat off you if you don't want to go through with the Council thing."
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
Essex nodded emphatically. "After all, Dr. West expressed some interest in meeting you."
She entered a code into the door as they approached it, hidden as it was. A tiny machine emerged from a port, and she held out the palm of her hand as it scanned over with a thin line of light.
"Dr. West engraves designs in the palms of our right hands." she explained to Solid. "They're only a few nanometers deep, and, though they resemble actual pictures if you're able to see them, they're actually composed of intricate fractals. The fractals are each unique, like a fingerprint."
With that, the door slid open obligingly, and she led him in.
The laboratory was mostly dark, blue edgelights providing most of the illumination in the base.
Dr. West sat, slumped in a large chair in front of several monitors, his head ducked against his chest...asleep.
He had his assault rifle in his lap, and his laser pistol resting on a remote table next to him.
"Oh dear." Essex whispered.
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Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"Uhhh...Should you wake him up or should I?" Solid asked Essex, whispering.
From the way the assault rifle looked, it seemed that Dr. West had at least some know-how on how to use it. And it also looked like he had been ready to spring into action the moment Essex had been found, despite the number of other reploids Solid knew the doctor had.
This did not bode well for Essex's continued independance.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
"Maybe it would be better if we let him sleep." Essex whispered back nervously. "He's awfully grumpy when he wakes up...and he has his business trip tomorrow anyway."
Taking a few tentative steps towards the doctor, she turned back to whisper to Solid, "...Do you want to look around? Or would you rather head out?"
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"I'll hang around a bit," Solid whispered back. "Put some fear of grey robots into the Hellions again. If you need me, call, alright?"
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
"Of course." Essex said with a bow of her head. "And here....take this."
She held out a little keyfob to Solid, looking up at the taller android.
"This will get you into the base whenever you need it. Please drop by, whenever you need anything. And...If you see Hallucinogen..."
She glanced down at the floor.
"....Let him know that I might not see him for a little while."
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"Oh, Mr. Archlich." Essex giggled. "He's kind of...um...a really old skeleton-man. He's really smart, though, and he's very good at magic. I never really understood magic...but his magic is amazing. He taught me a lot of spiritual stuff, and he's really wise and strong."
She had brightened up considerably, and seemed to be enjoying talking about him. Even if he didn't sound pleasant, Solid was accustomed enough to Essex to know that she really wasn't very good at insulting people.
"He's really grumpy though, and gets temperamental easily. Miss Rosalind says he throws 'diva-fits' when he gets upset, whatever that means. But I like him. He's a little mean...and ...I don't think he likes me at all... but I like him." she concluded, seemingly to herself, thoughtfully.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace