Topic: Help Wanted

Issy

Date: 2013-10-15 00:48 EST
It had been a long morning...and an even longer night before." Isuelt had run along the stretch of beach, back and forth, until her legs could no longer hold her up." She had punched the heavy bag at the Sanctuary until it had fallen from the ceiling and her knuckles bled." She had tried everything she could think of to exhaust herself, to tire out the rage and the wrath that was pulsing through her body." Yet, she still felt as if she were spinning down the rabbit hole." She was ashamed and desperate." And that is what led her to bang her open palm on the heavy door of Asile-aux-Falaises, with five heavy thuds."

And where was Ed" What had he been doing" Well, that was a long story in and of itself. Suffice it to say, he had been checking out his latest acquisition. From home. Well, his temporary home, at any rate. Until he could get the Tower rebuilt, this was where he was going to be staying. However, it wasn't Ed that answered the knock at the door, but the cool, calm voice of DIANA, a nearly perfect match of the one that had been eliminated. "Miss DeRomiano, please come in. Mr. Batten will be with you shortly...you can wait in the foyer.?"

Surprised to say the least, Isuelt's jaw slackened at the voice of Diana." In fact, she tried to formulate a sentence, but simply came up with a few words here and there incoherently strung together." She settled for a stiff sniff and a nod as she wandered into the foyer." Her hand reached to push back a few locks of dark hair, and she was careful to look around and avoid any mirrors after her little incident this morning." "Thank....thank you, Diana.?" Still, the grateful reply had more of a question behind it than a statement."

It was if the AI had detected the unspoken question in her voice. "Indeed - Mr. Batten decided to take Miss Isabella Batten's offer to have me replace is lost ancillary, to her surprise." It was only a few more moments before Ed himself walked in, dressed in a pair of jeans and a "wifebeater" style tank top, wiping his hands off on a rag as he eyed Issy for a moment before he spoke. "Well, now, Issy, what brings ya t"my humble li"l escape here?""

Her lips were parted as she stood in awe of Diana and how she came to be speaking." That same expression in all of its exhausted, furious glory was turned toward Batten." Her mouth opened a slight fraction more, but no sound came." Isuelt was proud, that much was known." But stubborn, and just how stubborn was about to be seen." She couldn't bring herself to say it." To ask it." But she needed it, that much even she understood." "I...I need to talk to you." Pri-" Privately.?" "

He arched an eyebrow at that, regarding Issy curiously for a moment. Finally he nodded. "Di, excuse us fed a moment, will ya" An" cut de monitors in study, please." He tilted his head towards the hallway and started that way, heading for the study and motioning Issy inwards before he shut the door behind them, moving towards the couch to take a seat. "Hope dis is private "nuff for ya.?"

Into the study she went, a few quick paces and she paused, glancing down." It took a few heartbeats, during which her eyes were shut." After a deep breath that was sucked in and blown out, she turned around and trained those deep espresso eyes on him." "Let's cut the sh*t, Batten." We both know that you know why I'm here.?" Her jaw twitched and she fought the urge to scream at him, or worse." Her nostrils flared as she stared him down."

Both eyebrows went up as he sat back on the couch, one arm going up to rest along the back of it, the other resting on his knee as he brought an ankle up to rest on his knee, looking back at her with a mild expression. "Well, Ah can guess, Ah"m sure." The blue-grey eyes looked from her face to scan over the rest of her with a casual sort of expression before he looked back up again. "Yer here t"ask if Ah can get it outta ya.?"

She was visibly fighting her anger." She hated when he was right." Her teeth tightly clenched, had her cheek been between them, she would have drawn blood." Just looking at his face, for some reason was making her angrier." Isuelt turned her face from his, dark hair spilling over one shoulder." Knuckles were popping as her strong fingers clenched into fists."

He managed not to chuckle, though only just. That wouldn't be the wisest move right now, he was sure. "Ya should try t"keep dat in check, chere. Renna's viruses tend t"feed offa strong emotions." He gestured to the seat on the couch next to him, as well as a nearby chair. "Have a seat, an' try t'relax.?"

"F*ck you," she muttered under her breath and moved toward the couch." She sat down, then looked at him for a long moment." "You're really getting a damned kick out of this, aren't you?" You sick bastard.?"

He frowned, just a touch, at that, shaking his head. "Not outta de fact dat ya been infected. Sure's hell not happy "bout ya trying" t"kill my sister, even if we ain't on speaking" terms at de moment." Oh yes - he knew about that. "But watching" ya try t"contain yer temper...Ah don' "think Ah've ever witnessed ya on edge quite dis way b"fore. It's rat"er int'restin"." He regarded her, again rather casually, not seeming to feel threatened by her barely contained rage at the moment. "So far, Ah've only managed t"cure someone o"infection once...m'self. But dat wasn" "exactly de mos" pleasant experience, an' Ah don' even know if it'd work dis time.?""

Her brow wrinkled, she looked as if she were in pain." Though it was far from physical pain, at least at the moment." She was sharply ashamed of what she'd done to Katt, and for an instant, Isuelt worried that Ed had heard about the rest of what had happened that evening, namely that Isuelt had died." Her lashes shut as she turned her chin from him and struggled to keep her focus." It perhaps was interesting that her focus aided her in reigning back to that rage; her anger that he wouldn't be able to help her." Who else could?" She couldn't go through life like this...and what was worse, what if she again attempted suicide?" She was almost certain that she'd be brought back." A small growl erupted from her lips as she kicked off of the couch and took to pacing the room, her fingers tightening and loosening over and over." "

He sighed as he watched her pace, thinking as his eyes followed her progress around the room. Along with managing to salvage his own DIANA's knowledge banks, this new one had brought with her a vast store of knowledge of her own, much of it identical, but many things different in some very startling ways. "Look, Iss...Ah ain't saying" Ah can't do it. Ah"m saying" dat what Ah used on m'self probably won't work now, fed...whatever Renna stuck in ya." His voice fell, just a touch softer, almost gentle. "But Ah"m gonna do what Ah can t"fix dis...if ya want me to, dat is.?"

"Why the f*ck do you think I'm here, Batten"!?" There was a flash of crimson in her eyes, trying to edge out her usual chocolate brown." "Hera, but you can be so thick headed sometimes!?" She came at him, nearly punching with both fists, landing her corded hands on either side of the couch back." She was leaning forward, nearly nose to nose." It was obvious, especially at this close distance that she was pressing down the urge to ring his neck." Her voice sunk into something of a defeated whisper, "I've got nowhere else to go." I...I can't tell my Sisters." And I certainly can't put an add in the damned Post." I....I need help.?" She could probably count on one hand the number of times she's said those last three words in her life."

You had to give the man credit. Not only did he not budge, he didn't so much as flinch or lean away as she came at him and leaned in close, the calm expression never leaving his features, his eyes remaining focused on hers. He waited until she was done talking before he poke, his hand moving from their casual resting positions to come up and encircle her wrists, though his grip was as gentle as his voice as he spoke, not moving to push her back. "All right, den. All ya had t'do was say so." He held her gaze for perhaps a handful of seconds before he spoke again. "Ah"m gonna need t'start wit' a few samples o"yer blood t"analyze an' work wit".?"

She swallowed and at last nodded her head." Though his hands had her wrists encircled, she didn't move to pull away as much as ease up." She didn't try to pull herself way from him as she took her seat once more on the couch next to him." Those eyes of hers, which she was scared to death to see in a mirror, simply focused on the ground." "How did you know?"" It was a whisper that barely got past her tongue." He had been the first one to mention the word 'infection' and Isuelt was still reeling from the realization."

He let her move, releasing her wrists as she took her seat again, though his eyes didn't leave her. Her question got a rather humble little shrug, and that was when he took a moment to look elsewhere. "You an' Katt were...actin" a li"l weird de other night when Ah saw ya at de Inn...so Ah took a moment t'see if Ah could digger out why, seeing where ya were, what ya might been talking" bout...my network's still up, yanno, jus" didm' have Di watching" o"er it t"keep things orderly. Saw ya ran ints Renna, an' figggered Ah'd do a scan...dat's when Ah picked up on it." There was another shrug. "Dis ain't "exactly like da Renna we useta know, but her tech has certain...markers dat make it stand out like a piss hole in de snow, if ya get my meaning".?"

The Scathachian sat still as she listened to everything the Playboy said." Words like 'scan' and 'network' made her sigh lightly." Isuelt leaned back and let her head tip back to rest on the couch, her gaze looking up at the ceiling." "After all these years...she finally got me.?" Her tongue rolled in her mouth then stilled." "If you can't...can't help me, Ed, I really don't know what I'm going to do.?" Wait." Yes she did." It was the same thing she always did." And so far, it had been working fairly well." "Leave.?"

He had to fight to keep the dismayed expression from his features, and didn't succeed entirely. He didn't want Issy to leave - she was one of the few people he could really call a friend here, and that fact aside...well, he liked having her around. It was nice to have someone who could relate to your situation. "Well, we would" want dat t"happen. Guess Ah"m jus" gonna hafta find a way t"make it work, right??"

Standing up then, she walked to the well-stocked bookshelf on the opposite wall." It was warm with the scent of leather-bound novels and she inhaled deeply." "Yeah, we wouldn't want that to happen.?" A surge of anger shivered through her body, though it was aimed at herself." She hated certain aspects of her character, and her inability to cope with certain situations was front and center at the moment." It took a long few moments for her to suppress the rage building." Batten could see her shoulders rising and falling and hear her deep breaths." Finally, the Judge turned around and thrust her arms out, ready to give what blood he needed." "When do we start?"

Issy

Date: 2013-10-17 09:22 EST
He looked at Issy with her outstretched arms, a grin tugging at his features before he took a slow, studies gander around at the study. It didn't really look outfitted for medical work. "Ah don't t"ink Ah have any o'de required equipment in dis room. But if we're gonna digger dis t"ing out, bett"r t"get started right away." He pushed himself up out of his seat and headed for the study door, pulling it open. "Diana, it's safe "gain. Gonna need ya t"get de lab upstairs ready fer me." He gestured with a hand through the for as he looked back at Issy, motioning towards the spiral staircase that could be seen just beyond the door. "Ya comin???"

Her open-armed exuberance was more of a gesture, though it might have been deeper rooted in desperation. And while she didn't think he'd pull out a draw and whip out a collection of syringes, she was grateful for his natural candor and humor...even in this situation. Almost out of nowhere, she smiled. A soft chuckle even touched her lips. It was a small miracle in and of itself that he was able to find that in her. And for an instant, Isuelt could feel a glowing speck of hope within her. She didn't want to leave, she didn't want to die (perhaps for the first time in a very long time). She left the bookshelf behind and moved to cross the study. Pausing in the doorway, she stood in front of him, her voice dropped in the decibel of privacy. "Thank you, Ed." "

He grinned at that, shrugging, almost seeming a touch embarrassed by the word of thanks. "No t"anks necessary"yard do de same if Ah was in yer shoes, Ah've no doubt. "Sides"I kinda like haven" ya "round, Ah'd jus" prefer ya not be trying" to put me t"rough a wall if yer gonna be t"rowin" yerself at me." With a chuckle and a wink he made sure she was through the door before he headed for the stairs and started up them, turning towards the closer door to the top of the staircase and pushing it open. Beyond was what looked like a room that had been comfortably appointed as a game room - judging by the lighting still in place - that had rather hurriedly been converted into a medical lab."

A light shake of her head as she chuckled at his remark. Though there was a stilled silence as the Scathachian stood in the threshold of the door to the makeshift laboratory. Isuelt had faced many things in her life that frightened her without showing an ounce of fear, but the expression now on her features at this moment was very much akin to the one she wore when she stood in the hanger of the Osprey, another of Batten's toys. Her dark eyes swept the room quickly as she took a deep breath and held it behind puffed cheeks before blowing it out, in an attempt to alleviate her hesitation toward most technology. Still, she trusted Batten and as she pressed her lips together and entered into the room, she did so with her head held high and her wits about her. After all, this was the road before her. Might as well begin with the first step. "Where...should I sit?" Sit' Lay down" She had no idea and she looked to the Playboy for guidance.

"He didn't notice her hesitation, though he could sense it - he knew Issy had no love of technology, which to him was an everyday fact of life - and he reacted to the question accordingly, motioning towards a chair that looked like it was pretty comfortable, rather than anything you'd find in a med lab. "Right dere'll be fine. Diana, begin monitoring biometrics, please." The cool voice came back immediately. "Of course, sir. Shall I record as well?" He nodded at the voice, waving absently as he gathered up a needle to draw blood, a silicone-rubber strap, and a few vacuum test tubes before he started towards Issy again."

She straightened her posture once she sat herself in the chair." She was still dressed in what she had worn when she had knocked the heavy bag from the ceiling at the Sanctuary." No sleeves to be rolled up, as such; a black racer-back tank top and a pair of thin, black cotton pants tucked into her boots." And you'd better believe she was eyeing Batten and what he was doing like a hawk." "I'm just guessing here and all, but I'm thinking this isn't going to be a one and done sort of thing, is it?"" "

"He shook his head as he set the instruments on a nearby table, moving to take the strap around Issy's bicep, focusing on his work. With his expression, all he needed was a lab coat and a pair of glasses, and he'd look almost like a doctor. "No"Ah"m "fraid not." gestured at her arm. "Flex." Once she did so, he trailed his fingers along the vein that popped up near the crook of her elbow with one hand, reaching for the needle as he watched her arm. "Gotta do some testing" first'see how de virus reacts. Dese things o"Renna's'dey can be kinda tricky." With a swift, smooth movement he slid the needle through her skin and into the vein, steady hands getting it in with only a brief sting. Taking one of the tubes, he slid it over the end of the needle, and blood began to fill it swiftly."

She was fascinated by what he was doing." Had she flinched in the slightest, he would have had good cause to think that this wasn't Isuelt at all." "These things of Renna's..." she echoed him as she watched the vial fill." The receptacle behind the needle waited patiently while he changed out vials and filled another two." "Do me a favor?"" Her eyes flicked from her arm to his face, "Can we...try to keep this between us?" I mean, for now?"" She knew that a well-kept secret in Rhydin was more difficult to find than a bonafide virgin." "I know that people will be talking about my de—?" She took a breath and wrinkled her brow as she felt a pinch on her arm." Looking down to what he was doing, she chose to stall her line of thought for now."

The first vial was taken off the needle as it was filled, and the second put in its place, which began to fill just as rapidly as he set the first aside and nodded. "If an"one can keep a secret, chere, ya know it's me." God knew he had been keeping his fair share, until recently. Truth be told, it was nice that someone else knew some of them. "O"course, since Ah "magine yer gonna be seen comin" and goin" from here more"n once, we're gonna hafta t"ink o'some sorta explanation, al"tough?" And he he glanced up at her with a grin, "Ah"m okay wit' folks makin" up deir own. Could be kinda fun t'see what dey come up wit".?"

?"You mean like they do already??"" He wasn't alone in seeing the articles in the Post or the GangSTAR about them." "I guess we'll have to keep the presses in business and all." Doing our part for the economy, not to mention the sport of gossip around here." The Post is pulling for us to spawn some sort of super offspring.?" She shook her head for a moment, then a flash of anger pulsed through her, she could feel the red-hot prick at her skin, centering on her arm where Batten was drawing blood." Isuelt could handle it for now, she simply knitted her brow."

He chuckled and nodded as he looked back down, pulling the vial from the needle again, which was full, and inserting the third and final one onto the needle. "Yeah, Ah read somet"in" "bout dat. Got a kick outta dat article"even funnier dat dey weren't all dat far off de mark, on a coupla t"ings." He refocused his gaze on the third vial, and blinked. What was coming out of the needle wasn't a liquid spurt, but instead more like a rather goopy, viscuous substance that still had the same color as blood. "Well"ain't dat intrestin??" Reaching up, he undid the strap around her bicep, then slowly, carefully withdrew the needle from Issy's arm, holding the vial up to look it over."

"What in the hell?"" She was no medical genius, but even she knew that was way off for anything remotely resembling normal." As the strap was released, she flexed her arm and gritted her teeth." She was just as much trying to read Batten's expression as trying to figure out what had come from her own arm." "It's too easy, right?" That's not it?"" It couldn't be that easy." The fates were never that generous." A dull throbbing began in the back of her head."

He frowned as he looked at the vial, shaking it lightly. The red substance in the vial trembled a little"and then began to crawl upwards along the sides of the vial, as if seeking a way out. "Ah'd prefer t"have more, but it's "nuff t"work wit' fer de moment?" He looked at the needle, then, and his eyes widened at what he saw. The blood that was still in the hollow needle had begun to crawl out, looking like a rather nasty little worm, poking its head out and peering around. "Huh'dat's'diff'rent?" Quickly, he moved over towards a metal lab table a few steps away, reaching for a box that looked like it was made of thick, clear, crystal-blue glass, which he placed both the needle and the vial in before closing the lid. "Diana, seal it." There was a faint hissing sound, followed by a faint upcycling electronic whine."

Isuelt was narrowing her eyes at the mark in the crook of her elbow, "Get it out, Batten.?" Her voice was almost a droning monotone." The very thought of that thick substance crawling through her body was making her head spin." "Get it out, now.?" That pounding in her head intensified and she could taste copper at the back of her throat." She was feeling her grip on her temper begin to slip." How could she let Renna do this to her?" How could she have been so stupid?" Oh wait..." Those dark eyes, were rimmed in crimson as she lifted them to look at the Playboy." "You...?" She had been defending him when Renna caught her off guard." "This is your fault.?" Stop." She began to battle with herself for control, putting her head back and shutting her eyes and bitterly spat out, "Shut up, Illea.?"

"Diana, analysis. Get a move on it." He turned back to Issy, wincing at her words. He couldn't just?"get it out". It wasn't nearly so easy, he knew that from bitter experience. He knew well enough what that topic of conversation was, and wasn't going to bring it up. Instead, he just nodded, looking away at the box, frowning slightly. "Yeah"Ah know it is. In more ways dan one. Anot"er reason Ah"m gonna fix it." He went to a glass-front cabinet nearby, pulling out a syringe and a small glass bottle of a clear liquid, which he used the syringe to draw out a small amount from. "Dis's serotonin'should help"'lleviate de symptoms

She was dizzy, "Okay....okay....?" Isuelt breathed, trying to bring herself down." Batten's earlier comments about her trying to relax maybe had something to them." She lifted her head and opened her eyes." "Serotonin," she echoed and looked around the room." A tickle at her lip and she sniffed, her free hand lifted to wipe at her nose, only to produce a blood smudge." She swallowed and lightly rolled her eyes before she aimed her gaze at Batten." "Whatever you need to do...?"

He shook his head. "Don' "pologize?" He caught that wipe at her nose, arching an eyebrow as he jabbed the needle into her shoulder and injected the contents. "S"a natural chem"cal made by de body"kinda like a nat"ral mood elevator." Turning away, he went to the table and set the syringe down on it, picking up a tablet and tapping it to bring the glassy surface to life, looking it over. There was a long moment as he read the outputs flowing over the screen, stopping it at one point and staring, stiffening slightly for a moment as he frowned. "How long ya had dem nosebleeds, Iss??"

"I don't...I don't know." A month." Maybe two?"" She wasn't watching him, she was examining her hand each time she brought it away from her nose, trying to make sure she'd gotten all the blood." To her, it seemed small potatoes at a time like this."

He nodded, still looking at the readout. He almost turned to show it to her, but instead, he set it to the side, then turned to look at her, a slight frown on his features. "Guessin" ya had some headaches, too, right' Usually at "bout de same time as de nosebleeds??"

A sniff, then two." Satisfied for the moment with the slow of blood from her nose, she looked up and over at Batten." Now Isuelt was a crack poker player, not because she had such wonderful luck with the deal, but because she could read people." And she was reading Batten." Her voice quieted, something was hitting him and she thought that it was something more than what had just happened." "Yeah...why?"" Those dark eyes were trained on his."

He nodded with a soft sigh, not sure of exactly how to explain it. Either way, she probably wasn't going to be thrilled with the news. "Ah"well"Diana, dat is"found what?s causin" "em"looks like ya gotta tumor in yer brain"roughly de size of a ping-pong ball." He paused, not knowing how she'd take this part. "Accordin" to de state of de surroundin" brain tissue, t"ough"it looks like it's gotten smaller over de past coupla days"used t"be "bout de size of a golf ball or so"an' from what Ah"m seein" here"well"it looks like de virus Renna's put in ya is"fixin" it.?"

If he wanted to reproduce the expression on her face, he could have slapped her." Isuelt, priestess of the war goddess, Scathach, looked so stunned, so shocked that Batten could have knocked her over with one finger." She was processing so much, and all at once." She was dying, but then she wasn't...because of Renna's virus?" "I...then...m...wh...?" That was about all she could do except put her fingers to her nose and shiver.?"?"She simply sighed, "Oh Hera...what a sh*t day." No, make that a sh*t week I've had.?" She slid back in the chair, reclining almost fully, placing her head in her hand.

He nodded, moving to settle on the arm of the chair as he sighed. "Yeah, you an' me bot"." He was silent for a long moment, seeming to think something over for a long moment, before he spoke again. "Yanno"umm"if ya wanted"ya could stay here. Even if someone did t"ink to look here, dis place is?" He looked around the room, but his gaze seemed to be taking in the whole house. "'dis is my escape"Ah made it t"be pretty much impenetrable from any sorta surveillance. No one would know yer here, or what yer doin" here.?"

Her hand fell away from her head and she turned her face to look at him." He couldn't have gift-wrapped anything as nice." "Yeah?"" The curl of her lips answered his question as a resounding yes thank you." And after another long pause between the teammates, she sighed, "Ed, I don't think I really got the chance to tell you how sorry I am for what happened.?" She'd been so wrapped up in her own issues, she needed his words to bring her down to earth." "I...I don't presume to overstep my bounds, but...I'm sorry about DIANA.?" She chose her next words very carefully, not because she was unsure of them, but because she didn't want to offend him, "I know that she meant the world to you, and I know how you feel." I...when my husband died, I thought about giving up." I thought about giving up for a long time." If you ever want to talk...well, I guess I'll be right here.?"

He nodded as he looked back at Issy with a smile. "Yeah"Ah got five bedrooms here, after all, an' Ah"m only usin" one." Her words about Diana made him stiffen, just slightly. Privately, he wondered if he'd ever get past that - true, he had DIANA again, but"it wasn't the same, really. He'd grown to like that warmth that his own DIANA had projected in her voice when she spoke to him"he doubted this new DIANA would ever sound like that addressing him. "Ah?" He looked away again, his brow furrowing. He wasn't sure what to say to that. ?"thanks, Issy"that's"it means a lot t"me." His voice had fallen to barely above a murmur as he spoke. "Ah guess"might be a good idea t"get ya settled in, if yer gonna be stayin" here??

Issy

Date: 2013-10-23 02:08 EST
~Roughly a week later~

Isuelt's hands were taped tightly, the rhythmic thump-thump, THUMP! of the sandbag in the gym varied little. It was as if the Scathachian's motions were becoming rote, as if she wasn't thinking. She'd lost track of how long she'd been at this, how long she'd been down here. She'd woken up, had breakfast (which had been prepared for her...she might be able to get used to this!), and headed downstairs to work off a little of that edge of temper she'd woken up with. She'd started with a run, which led to some weights. And now she'd been on that bag for longer that she knew. What she did know is that her hands should be hurting by now. They usually were. Isuelt paused and looked at her taped hands. They felt as if she'd not even started yet. Her tongue licked at her lips as she began to unwrap her knuckles, with a bit of the scientist rubbing off on her. What if she were to do this with no tape whatsoever" How long would it take her knuckles to start bleeding" Would they bleed" She was almost frothing to find out.

And where was Ed" Easy - he was in his lab, where he spent a good deal of his time these days, going over blood work, analyzing data, working on possible solutions to the virus. A holographic display just to his right displayed a complete biometric readout of Issy in real time, no matter where she was in the house, and another to his left gave him a video feed of her activities. Directly in front of him was yet another holographic display, which gave him details on the virus, which he found fascinating, from a purely scientific standpoint - interestingly, it was keeping the blood cells in the samples he'd taken from Issy alive and functional. Even after days of being left in open air and unrefrigerated, the blood was still viable, which he thought was amazing in and of itself. The video feed to his left drew his attention for a moment, where he saw Issy stepping back from the punching bag, and he arched an eyebrow a touch as she started untaping her hands. Deciding now was as good a time as any for a break, he got up from his seat, stretched, and started heading her way."

It was freeing, the feeling of skin on leather." Her mouth curled against the sensation until it hung in a definite smirk." The harder she hit the bag, the better her knuckles felt." The air, the sting of the leather impact: it was all almost too much to bear." There was a flood of adrenaline through her system as she exhaled and began to hit the bag harder." Gone were the tentative motions of experiment." This was now at full-speed ahead." Her breaths were coming in gasps as she threw all of her weight behind the punches, her teeth gritted together, gnashing." If it were possible, she felt as if she were getting more energy back for every ounce she spent...and it was exhilarating."

He didn't take long to get from his lab to the gym - the vacation house was pretty grand, but not as huge as, say, the Manor had been, or even the penthouse level of the Tower. Slipping silently into the gym behind Issy, he took up a lean against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. A grin spread over his features and he spoke when she came to a pause for a moment. "Dat poor punchin" bag. Did it insult yer momma or somet"in???"

Her ragged breaths were soon the only sound heard in the room when she stopped punching." After a few beats, she grinned and looked over her shoulder." She reached up and pushed a few sweaty tendrils off of her face." "Worse." It insulted your momma." I was just doin' my civic duty.?" She blew a forceful exhale up to remove another stray tendril of dark hair from her face." She would have started unwrapping her hands and walking his way, but instead she looked down at her naked hands." "You seein' this?"" Perhaps the scientific bug had gotten her after all." "Nothin'...?" She turned her knuckles over and they only took on the slightest tinge of pink." Her bright expression, which had been missing as of late, smiled up at Ed."

He pushed away from his lean and started towards her, eyebrows arching upwards. With the force she'd been hitting the bag at, her knuckles should've been torn and bleeding. His eyes went from the hand she was holding up to the punching bag, which was showing the signs of its abuse, then back to her hand, which he took in his own to run a thumb over the skin at the back of her knuckles. That was pretty impressive, he had to admit, given that he'd not detected any sorts of genetic modifications like his own that would account for the increased durability. "Damn, chere. Ya sure ya want dis outta ya" Ah mean'despite de drawbacks, looks like yer havin" a good time wit' it??"

"I am.?" She answered before she thought." And the color coming to her cheeks was evidence of that." Isuelt shrugged lightly at Batten, her eyes leaving his face to look over her hands as well." "I mean...well, if it wasn't for the rage thing and wanting to put you through that wall over there...?" She smirked." Right now, he had her on a double dose of those mood elevators that he had been giving her." It seemed that lately he needed to dose her up more frequently and with larger amounts than previously." He'd said something about adaptation and resistance, but Isuelt was simply concentrating on the way she felt." Like she could take out a mountain...and then balance it on the tip of her finger." "Tell me I couldn't use the benefits, right?" I'd probably be better off on patrol with all of these new found resiliencies," she smirked, "I'd be more like you.?"

He grinned at the comment about putting him through a wall, waggling his eyebrows. "Ah"m not sure if Ah should take dat in a good or bad way, hones"ly. Sounds like it could be fun." With a chuckle he let go of her hand, shaking his head. "Yeah, well"gotta tell ya, me gettin" dis way wasn" all peaches"n"cream. Dat was kinda painful, an' damn near ended up"well"badly. Ah jus" got lucky, really." He shrugged off-handedly. "An?"well, ya know, Ah got de armor. Even Ah ain't completely invincible, after all.?"

He was perfectly correct, and Isuelt nodded slowly as she listened." Even kept nodding after he'd finished." There was a dull ache that was starting up again, just behind her eyes." She took a slow, deep breath." "Well, I guess it's go with the flow or...?" Those espresso-hued eyes ticked up to him, "...or die.?" After all, she hadn't forgotten about the little complication that Renna's virus was actually helping out with." "Batten?"" She had put off asking this question for more than a few days." Probably since she really didn't know if she wanted to hear the answer." "Do you....do you think that if you're able to help me and get this out of me, that...that thing..." she pointed to her forehead with a tap-tap, "...will eventually come back?"" There was no little girl stare about her, nor was it the hardened expression she wore most of the time for the tavern dwellers." Isuelt's countenance in this moment was genuine." And it was a mixture of hope, fear and determination." And it was all her.

He frowned, slightly. It was a question he'd been asking himself, actually, and it was hard to give an answer to it. The stormy blue-grey eyes met her espresso browns as he let out a soft sigh. He hated not having the answers. "Hones"ly, Ah couldn" say fer sure. Ah mean"chances are, once it's gone, it'll be gone fer good, but"Ah don't really know fer certain. Only way t"find out is t'see what happens after de virus is outta ya.????"

How could she not agree whole heartedly with that?" The Scathachian nodded once." After all, her fate was already chosen for her by the gods above, was it not?" Perhaps a philosophical argument for another day." But for now, she turned around and gave that heavy bag a strong, swift kick which sent it swinging for its life." Maybe she was showing off." "Do you wanna head back up to the lab already?"" As if the thought just occurred to her, "What time is it?"" She reached up and rubbed her temple as the pain pinched just behind her eyes for an instant." ???"

He watched as the sandbag swung on its chains, the leather and the eye it was hanging from creaking dangerously, and he reached out to stop it, catching it easily and seemingly with little effort to bring it to a standstill. "I've actually been monitoring your vitals from up there"other than being infected with that virus, you're in outstanding health." He checked his watch, arching an eyebrow. "About 4 PM, actually. Damn near dinner time.?"??"

"Outstanding health." Thank you.?" A smirk grabbed her lips and swept them to the right." However, his next words caught Isuelt by surprise." "Really?"" The obvious disbelief on her face told the story of how she'd lost track of time." A small shrug as she took Batten's word as gospel." She started for the door, she wasn't hungry at all, which was a wonder in itself." As she reached the doorjamb, however, she held out a hand toward the wall." She felt as if she'd just been plunged into an icy lake." Her breath caught, her sight gave out, and a sharp shiver clutched at her body." The Judge clung to the threshold for a moment...or five, before her eyes were able to see again. ?" He was actually just about to ask her if she'd lost track of time when she was turning for the door, until she suddenly caught herself. Quickly he was right there, hands going up to her shoulders to steady her should she need it, frowning as he spoke. She felt hot, like she was burning up, to his touch, which was saying something, seeing as how his normal temperature was a good eight degrees higher than the normal for a human. "Whoa, dere, Iss'deep breat's?" Suddenly, he was wishing for the monitor screen. "Maybe we should getcha up to de lab, ya feel like yer "bout t"burst inta flame. Yer hot"n"all, but dat's not really normal.?"

"Hot?" It's freezing...?" Long fingers rubbed at her eyes, trying to will them to see straight." Deep breaths, indeed." In through the nose, out through the mouth." She felt as if she were just barely able to keep her head above water." That icy water was rising and she could sense a tingle that started in her fingers and toes and started to work its way toward her core." Batten didn't need a monitor screen to know that her breathing rate and her pulse were quickening, as if all of the exercise she'd put herself through this morning was catching up to her." Words, thoughts, ideas and surroundings were getting mixed up in her head, she was seeing scenes flash by her eyes as they refused to keep their gaze in reality, in the here and now." Sharply, she turned to look behind her, feeling prickly claws on her shoulders." A ram's head was what she saw on the man at her back." "You...?" Her lips curled back from her teeth as her knuckles cracked."

Uh oh. He knew that look - the virus had caught up, burning away the mood elevating cocktail he had given her earlier in the day - most likely through all the hard exercising she had been doing - and he immediately backed up as she turned, hands up and held open as he spoke, his voice low, soothing, and calm. "Whoa dere, Issy. Y"need t"be calm an' breat". Try t"be rational, logical"ya need t'remember who ya are. Remember where ya are. Focus." He was really wishing he had his armor handy, but the coat was hung up upstairs in his lab, and the assembly unit for his other suit was in another room - no way to get there with Issy between him and the door."

Her chin dropped, as did her voice register." The Isuelt DeRomiano that he'd had the pleasure of getting to know, with her easy laugh and wicked sense of humor was evaporating before him." This was a different woman." This was Illea, Daughter of Scathach, Priestess of the Battlefield." The steel edge to her voice was one heard by many a soldier before she had cut them down, without hesitation, without mercy." This woman was one rarely seen these days." Until now." "You speak to me of destruction of my people?" Of eradication of my Sisters?" You foul-tongued, serpent-god!" I will willingly give my dying breath to tear you asunder!?" As the volume rose from a gravel-like rumble to hinge on a battle yell, she started for this acolyte of Bhaal." "Your god of murder will be welcoming you to his bosom!?" And with that, she launched her body at Batten; muscled arms taking a swing at him, for she too was without a weapon." "

Fortunately, just because he was without a weapon or one of his suits did not mean he was without a defense. The enhancements that had been done on him on a genetic level saw to that, and by instinct they kicked in, speeding up his thought processes to make it appear that time had slowed down, giving him precious seconds to act. His analytical mind took in her movements, the way she was hurtling at him, each and every detail mired in slow moving time. As smoothly as a bullfighter he stepped clear of her swing, moving to let her pass, and with only a slight nudge to alter her direction he sent her hurtling towards the sandbag that hung from the ceiling. "Ah don't know what yer seein", Issy, but dis is Edward! Snap outta it, will ya??"

The Scathachian was propelled into the sandbag, grabbing onto it with a jump." Using her momentum, she kicked her legs out and was able to steer the bag back around so that her motion was not a total loss." She started at the Bhaalite again, hearing him speaking his black speech." Batten's voice was all but drowned out by the slithering syllables of the horned one." The warrior wanted to tackle her enemy by taking him out with a well-aimed lunge at his torso."

Whatever she was seeing, it clearly wasn't him, that much was certain. He was beginning to think that it would take a shot to the head to get her to see that again, but he wasn't all that anxious to try, even with her new-found durability. Still, he was thinking he might not have much of a choice as she flew at him again, this time too fast for him to get out of the way. He secretly wouldn't mind being tackled by Issy, but not when she was trying to kill him, and as he got knocked backwards by her and was falling towards the floor, he brought his knees up to try to get a purchase on her stomach so he could kick out with his feet to send her flying off of him."

It would have looked like a well-practiced acrobatic finale in a traveling circus." Batten falling back onto his back in a near-tumble, kicking his legs out to propel Isuelt into the air in something remotely resembling a trapeze artist's alley-oop." Normally, the warrior would have been flung into the wall, or gone tumbling to the ground herself after being kicked off of her prey." However, with the virus coursing through her veins, feeding her nerves and muscles, she was able to flip in mid-air and land in a near three-point stance." As she looked over her shoulder, there was a dangerous tint to her expression and an unmistakable warming of crimson red in her eyes." She was staring right at her teammate, comrade and one she would proudly call friend." Though the thoughts she had for the virus-inspired illusion she saw before her presently ended with him disemboweled." Ever so slowly did she stand up and turn to face him once again." "

He was no slouch getting up - even as Issy was propelled off of him, he continued rolling backwards, flipping over and pushing up with his hands as he went upside down to force himself up. Landing neatly on his feet again, he turned to face Issy, watching her as she turned towards him, hands out, palms facing her, that low, soothing tone in his voice as he tried one more time to reach her, backing away towards a wall. "Come on, Issy"try t"t"ink, chere. Ah really don' want one of us t"get hurt here?""

There was a cascade of concern that shattered her battle character." "What have you done with him?" Where is Edward Batten?" I will swear to you and to Scathach above that if any harm has come to him, I will spend the rest of my days hunting you and all of your followers down!?" On the plus side of her feverish delusion, it stopped her motion as she stalled in her pursuit."

Yep. Definitely not seeing him. He was about ready to get pissed off himself, really - this virus was damnably frustrating, not only for its sheer stubbornness that he'd already discovered, but for the fact that it was torturing his friend with some cruel, twisted vision of who was standing right in front of her. "Issy, Ah"m Edward!" He brought a hand up to tap himself on the chest for emphasis. "Open yer damn eyes! If Ah were anyone else, dere's no way Ah coulda gotten in here wit"out ya noticin" it'de house is secure as a fortress!?"

There was a glimmer of recognition." And she was fighting to keep that recognition, fighting tooth and nail." Outwardly, her brow was wrinkled, her lips pursed, her fingers clenched into fists, she blinked again and again, wetting her lips with her tongue." Internally, her heart was slamming into her ribs and her head felt as if it were about to explode." "Ed?"" She took a step forward, then another, and another."

He breathed a sigh of relief, though he kept himself close to the wall for the moment, just in case she decided she wanted to charge him again, but he kept his voice that same low, soothing tone. "Dat's right, Iss, it's me. Focus on m"voice"try t'remember how t"calm yerself." He watched her, warily, but with growing confidence. She seemed to be getting it under control again."

Her voice wavered back and forth between a whisper and a breathless exhale." "Ed...how...how did you get in here?" This...this is for Scathachians only...?" Her next step seemed to be a doozy as she fell to one knee." Her head hung, dark hair cascading past her shoulders, as if she'd just climbed a mountain." The rush of blood and pounding of her heart were almost too much to bear."

Whatever the virus was doing, it was clear that she was hallucinating, that her thought process had been altered somehow. As she fell to her knee, he moved forward, crouching down to her level, his hands finding her shoulders again. She was still burning up to his touch, and he moved to help her up. "Ne"er mind dat right now, chere"we gotta get you to de lab.?"

"I'm fine, Batten.?" Trying to lift her head was more difficult than it should have been for some reason." Still, stubborn until the end, she pushed her chin up to look at him with a lean and a wobble that would have looked as if she were drunk." Nearly collapsing forward, she insisted on keeping the conversation going." "I don't need to get to the lab...?" As strong as her body was and as resilient as it had become, her frame was leaning heavily on him." "I'm fine...?" She blinked at Batten, as her lips parted." Only now, and suddenly at that, did she feel the fire that he had been talking about." Her head felt as if it were burning and her skin was sensitive to the touch, as if his hands and her own clothes were made of thorns." There was a moment that passed between them and all she did was hold on to his face; not with her hands, but with her gaze." She was falling, she could feel it." And if she kept eye contact with Batten, perhaps she wouldn't suddenly go 'splat.'" "I'm...?" Fine." It was what she wanted to say before her body had other plans." A frozen expression on the countenance of the Scathachian as she looked into his eyes, it was as if someone had stopped time." And then, all of a sudden, those deep espresso eyes rolled back into her head and Isuelt folded without another word, or another sound.

For a moment he thought she was going to try to stand, never letting his gaze waver from hers as he nodded, trying to help her up, feeling her body resist the effort to move, though he could see the want to in her eyes. Fine his arse. As her eyes rolled up and he felt her go limp, he moved to catch her in his arms, frowning. The virus had clearly exhausted her beyond her ability to fight the need to rest. At least, he hoped that was what was going on. Scooping her up, he moved to head out the door of the gym, carrying her towards one of the bedrooms, speaking as he went. "Diana, Ah need a biomonitor display in de bedroom next t"mine, now." As soon as he pushed through the door into the bedroom, he was pleased to see the holographic display was up and running already. Gently, he laid her on the bed, turning to look at the display carefully, a frown crossing over his features. Not only had she slipped into unconsciousness, the display seemed to indicate she had gone into some kind of hibernation"

Issy

Date: 2013-11-02 23:06 EST
As her body hibernated, Isuelt's mind was anything but slumbering...



"You know, despite knowing this is some twisted sh*t going on here, I can't help but enjoy it " I mean, normally, I'm the one on the end of the Master's wrath' But now" Well. I can take it out on you and not worry about a damn thing. He's pretty cruel, isn't he" Allowing even his lowliest of servants to do as they please to his little?" He plunged her little head into the sludge of a trough filled with meaty substance akin to slurry. The stench was gut wrenching, and the burn upon the lungs, a heave of acid.

Isuelt's thin limbs floundered and flailed as she coughed and sputtered, trying not to drown in the filth that was threatening to coat the insides of her lungs. Her hands tried to push against the trough, to push her body away and out of the sludge.

"Stop struggling, girl!" The hand on the back of her head pushed her deeper into the trough. To the point that he pressed her face to the bottom. Then, with a single ripping motion, he flung her to the ground of his kitchen, and moved to stand over her, pointing a knife to her chest. "I don't give a f*ck what you are. Just be happy I haven't raped you like the others. Now, you will listen to me " you will go over to that table," he flicked the knife in the general direction of the said table within the large, rather archaic cookery establishment, and grunted further, "Chop every single vegetable in the basket, exactly as I showed you. And don't you dare, day dream again like that, got it, Slave"!"

Her forearm was lifted to guard her choking and near retching as she looked up to her "elder" and endeavored to view him through the dripping tendrils of dark hair streaming down her face. She very quickly shook her head in the negative, unable to spit out a proper "yes sir." The scrawny backside of the girl began to crawl in the direction of the vegetable prep area while she fought her stomach's urge to properly cleanse itself of the slurry she'd swallowed.

"Now we must prepare for tonight's meal. The Lord is expecting guests " guests you shall entertain with' Well. You." He muttered at that, and then turned to hack into a rib of beef he had been previously preparing. The slurry, well. That was to be the components of pie. "Now make sure to cut the vegetables chunky. We do not want them breaking apart within the pie itself as it cooks" Renna" RENNA! Girl! Are you listening?" Not able to reach the table at the appropriate height, still she grabbed the large butcher knife and begin to lay out a few parsnips and carrots from the basket. Her small hand held the knife poised to strike as she listened to his gruff voice. Though, something he said seemed to scratch at her brain. Very slowly, Isuelt turned her head to look at the cook.

?" Are you mute, girl"! Answer me! No " no! You know what? Get back here." He stormed over to the trough that was to be the pie mix for the evening, and pointed at it. "Bend over. Again. I've seen you walk around this mansion like you own it " but, you're nothing but a dog! And a dog deserves to be drowned when it is rabid! Get here now girl!" He grinned slowly. Yellow teeth blackened to the tips, "Or do you want me to tell little ol" Master Von Gart that his little pet was disobeying orders?" He snickered darkly. "It's nice to see that the Monster can be humbled " come on, little Monst-" He paused. He glanced to the door. ?" In fact. When you bend over. Pull down your skirt."

She was trying to process just where she was...everything seemed so foggy. At first, she looked behind her, thinking that this grotesque monster was surely talking to another. Though, upon her glance back, there was no one else. Isuelt could feel her eyebrows wrinkle in a downward turn as she eyed the cook once more. Her small lips pursed into a tight frown. "No! You are an abomination! How dare you treat me like this! I hate you...I hate you with every part the gods gave me to think! I...I wish you were dead! Cooked in a pie and eaten by Master Von Gart at his little feast! And...and I hope he chokes on you!" The words were played in her head as her angry little face screwed up its expression; her fingers gripping the handle of the knife more tightly. Though as she heard the air hang with her last words, her expression shifted to one of surprise as she realized she'd said these words out loud.

?" Gods" Hah. Demon " you have no right to preach to them." He place down his knife, and turned to walk over to her, "Treat you this way' Please. You're lower than me. You're meat compared to my talents! You're nothing more than a little dog, biting at the Master's finger " bark!" He swiped a back hand across her cheek. "Bark you insolent bitch " rabid dog! You have not command over me " you're just meat! MEAT! NO apologize! Bark! Now or so help me Nemesis I shall tell the Lord and he will have you chained in the dungeons once again!!!" Her cheek stung as he backhanded her, and little Isuelt went sprawling along the floor. Dogged determination, however, began to set into her features. She had managed to hang onto the knife she was using to cut the vegetables; chalk it up to her stubbornness if nothing else. Small lips pressed into a defiant pout, she got up slowly and took slow steps back to the cook. "I am no dog! I am not meat. And I shall not go back into the dungeons again!" She swiped at the man with her butcher knife, though her reach was remarkably shorter than she ever remembered it being.

"RENNA! Do not talk back to-"he spotted the knife, he took a step back, and almost stumbled back over the trough, "W-wait, Renna, please, just think about this for a second" You're being a little silly " yes, silly! L-look, I won't tell the Master, and I won't shout, any more, okay?" He bent a little down, and held out his hand to her. "Just give me the knife, okay' You're a good girl, right?"

If there was one thing that Isuelt could smell over the grease and meat of the kitchen, it was fear. She had always been able to smell it. And this disgusting pig was ripe with it. She advanced on him, before her luck ran out. Her arm waved and struck out at him with the blade, wanting to split him from stem to sternum. As she watched him back away, nearly tripping over his own kitchen stock, she felt a rage flow through her body. A rage like she'd only felt a few times in her own past...let alone this past. And it was beginning to sink in that this wasn't her own past, but Renna's. And that alone was enough to stifle even the deepest slumberer out of a near-deathly sleep.

"WAAAAAUGH!" His face of agony, was short lived. He scream of death, was nothing compared to the sickening slice of bone, and splash of blood exploding from the initial pressure, but then dribbling down into the ooze of blood, as he was merely split open, like a wish bone. Two halves fell forward either side of her. Each side convulsing in a death throe of their own. Whatever extended out from her arm, it was covered in blood. And it looked like a curved blade, composed of a shadow.

A blood-spattering across her face gave her expression of awe a warmed and gruesome appearance. She traced both halves of the cook's body with her eyes, then she looked to her arm. This certainly was not the butcher knife she remembered having in her possession. She lifted her chin in the sudden silence of the kitchen to look around the room and really try to figure out where she was...when she was...and who she was.

The room itself was much like a basement. The walls were stone " and so were the ceiling. The chimney above the stove " the spit, was the only way out, if you exclude the open doorway to the winding stairs above. There was a mirror in the room " though it was designed to be upon the butcher's table. So that both sides of the meat could be observed at once " for better control, and accuracy. Isuelt's attention ticked away from the chimney just long enough to make the decision to walk to the mirror. She reached out and grabbed it, turning it toward her for a full reflection.

There in the reflection returned, was a young girl. About the age of eight or nine. But different to what she would remember. Blood scattered her face, much like the current situation. But long black hair parted before crimson eyes, and they fell with tears " uncontrollable tears. A quivering lower lip, and a fearful expression. Isuelt's eyes, somewhere, studied the reflection. Slowly, recognition began to seep through her thoughts. "Renna?" Barely a whisper as she spoke to the mirror.

"Yes." The reflection replied.

Isuelt gulped at the air around her, feeling suddenly like she were drowning. Yet...it was not the frantic step back from the mirror that she would have bet she'd have taken. Instead, she took the mirror gently in both small hands and leaned in closer. She saw a young girl, frightened and alone, looking back at her. Her whisper was said so quietly, as to not break the delicate spider's thread of a spell that held them here. "What...is this?"

"The past." Although the mirror was taken into hands, she made no appearance to make it so. "Uncontrolled. The Network sustains your mind. The linkage between the two pasts, are drawing up similarities. Placing the Subject, into similar circumstances."

Her lips parted, trying to remember what had happened to her. It was as if she were dreaming, yet trying to recall reality. One hand left the mirror as it pushed over her forehead and cheek, "Ah..." Bits and pieces were coming back to her now; mostly because of the reflection which spoke of the 'network' and the 'subject.' "Similar...similar circumstances?" She rubbed her temple, it was throbbing.

"Hatred."

Those eyes once more found their reflection. "This man...these men...stole your childhood. Stole your life. Forced you...forced you to become someone...something else." Oh yes, Isuelt was no stranger to hatred.

"Raped. Tortured. Fed on flesh of those they deemed fit." The reflection moved closer. "They resurrected me. Changed me."

What else could she do but regard the reflection and feel...well....sorrow"

"Killed friends. Ate innocents....If One does not change; adapt, does One cope" Can someone remain sane, knowing they do what they can to survive?" She moved closer to the mirror still until her eye consumed the entire reflection, "....Born, to survive. To evolve. To remain alive. To overcome....Despite the hatred overcome, I....Became, the hated."

Perhaps it was the connection they were sharing, but Isuelt felt her heart bleed for Renna, for Renna's past, for Renna's lost life of what could have been. Her fingers, small as they were, stroked the edge of the mirror's frame, in a lame attempt to comfort her long-time adversary. "It's...it's not you. It's the world you were born to and how its cruelty tried to get the better of you. You survived against all odds. It is not your fault that you became what they dared you to."

The reflection glanced away. "....But this One's methods are....Dark." She smiled. "The fault, is This One."

"Dark..." She echoed questioningly. "The One?"

"Every conception. Every ideal, is true. Every thought you ever had. Evil. Born this way. Bred this way. Raised this way - trained this way. But....But." She smiled. "I can cure you of your imperfections."

Isuelt's own thoughts and memories flooded through her mind as if someone were flipping through them like a deck of cards. Her parents, her brothers murdered. Seeking out their killers after training for fifteen years as a Scathachian...beheading them and nailing their hands to the walls....Her sorted past as an assassin...which she found fascinating and almost arousing. Killing for vengeance, the feel of raw power flowing through her body. Her affairs, her failures, her private most thoughts and feelings. Her breath caught and the thoughts and visions stopped. Isuelt stared with young Renna's eyes into the reflection of the mirror. "Cure my imperfections?"

The reflection lifted a finger, and tapped her temple. "Here."

"You're already in my head, aren't you?"

"What is in your head."

"You. You're seeing all of this. Everything that I think...say....Like I'm seeing this." It was a theory anyway. Was she dreaming" She tried to think what was the last thing she remembered from her waking world.

"Reflect. Your brain. Your nosebleeds." The reflection smiled.

"Batten...I'm dying aren't I?" Isuelt lifted her chin, remembering what he'd told her.

"No. You won't." The reflection stepped back. She turned away, and sighed. "Fixing you."

Isuelt's lips moved, though no sound emerged. Fixing me...

"Come closer."

She wouldn't normally. She didn't want to. But she did. Almost as if she was obediently following an order...or someone had a hand behind her head. Regardless of what moved her, she was close to the reflection, staring at the young Renna before her.

Renna's young reflection smiled softly, as a hand grasped her shoulder. She glanced back to the owner of the hand obscured by the upper part of the mirror, then smiled at Isuelt. "....Torture continues. Close your eyes. Block it out."

The surprise of the physical sensation of a hand on her shoulder spun her attention, and her gaze, around behind her. Close your eyes. Block it out....Isuelt's eyes looked up to Von Gart, towering over her.

Edward Batten

Date: 2013-11-03 14:48 EST
"Diana, keep monitorin". Vitals, cortical activity, ev"ryt"in", right down to de molecular level."

"Yes, sir." He turned to look at the holographic display hanging in empty space next to the bed, watching as the holographic display became flooded with a surge of new readouts flowing across the screen, along with a graphical display of Issy's body in a "cutaway' view. He really wished he could call Dr. Ibaraki in - he knew a good deal about human physiology, but she would know better what she was looking at here - but he'd promised Issy no one else would know about this.

"Analysis, Diana. What did dis to "er?"

There was a long pause before the cool, crisp female voice came back. Not the softer, sultry tones of his DIANA, he noted, but something more professional, sharp and elegant. "It would appear the virus she has been infected with has reached its peak and overwhelmed Miss DeRomiano's mental and biological processes, inducing a state of hibernation. I am detecting chemical anomalies that appear to be the virus performing alterations to Miss DeRomiano's genetic code. To what purpose, I cannot yet say, however."

He swore softly, turning his attention from the holographic readout to Issy herself, frowning. The last person Renna had "altered" that way had been Katt, and she had become an armored assassin in the end before they managed to get the virus Renna had implanted out of her - how, though, he was still not sure, save that it had damn near killed her in the process when he'd been forced to fight her.

"All right, Diana. Keep monitorin"." Turning to a nearby end table, he tapped the clear glass top of it. The multi-touch surface registered the tap, scanning the fingerprint and analyzing his distinctive DNA pattern, bringing the display to life. A quick gliding gesture over the surface of the table brought up the virtual keyboard and a terminal interface, which he began typing commands into, accessing his network protocols.

Thus far, the new DIANA had only been integrated into the Haven's systems, with no access to the outside interconnected network of his that stretched across the town of Rhy'din and interfaced with a number of other different systems. It was not because he mistrusted this new AI, but rather because he had been making sure she would work properly with his systems. He had noted that since he had integrated her into his network, her first priority had been to add several modifications to the command structure and programming for the operating system, altering it in such a way that increased her operating capacity and speed, as well as ensuring that anything Renna had picked up from the former AI would be useless, in effect locking things down so that they couldn't be accessed using the old DIANA's protocols.

Privately, he wondered if the way this DIANA worked was the result of his counterpart's programming in the Rhy'din she was from, Isabella's doing, or if the AI had learned and evolved on its own after it became apparent that he was leaning towards the immoral side of things. He was willing to bet that it had most likely been a result of a combination of the three factors.

The commands were typed in swiftly on the virtual keyboard, opening the Haven's systems to the rest of his network and allowing the new DIANA access. "Ah"m gonna take ya fully online, Diana. Yer gonna need access to de whole network to help me out wit' dis."

"Indeed, sir. Would you like me to add the modifications to the rest of the network that I have integrated into the Haven's systems as well?"

He didn't even need to think about that as he made another gliding gesture with his fingers to shut down the tabletop multitouch display. "Yeah, go for it."

Standing, he headed out of the room. "Ah gotta make a quick trip, Diana"need t'retrieve somet"in" from one o'de Tower's underground storage vaults."

"Yes, sir. I shall notify you immediately if anything about Miss DeRomiano's condition changes."

He nodded, a faint smile coming to his lips as he snagged his trenchcoat from the coat rack next to the front door, pulling it on easily. It was almost like having the old DIANA from before her emotional "evolution?. The door opened as he reached it automatically, and he stepped outside into the darkening evening, turning to head east towards where the Tower had formerly stood.

Edward Batten

Date: 2013-11-03 17:38 EST
The pile of rubble that had been left behind in the wake of the Tower's destruction had been cleared away, and construction of the new Tower was already underway. The central Tower portion of the building that had risen for over three hundred feet had been completely obliterated, but its collapse had been mostly contained and had caused only minor damage to the extended base levels that housed the lobby and Human Resources offices. The foundation, as well, had been left intact, and the sublevels preserved - he had specifically constructed them to be able to take a direct hit from a multi-megaton bomb and remain mostly unharmed.

He was proud to see that construction of the superstructure was already beginning. In a few months, perhaps a little longer, the building would be finished looking just as it was, though with some serious design modifications to make it stronger than it had been previously.

The construction crew, thankfully, was already gone for the day by the time he reached the site. Ignoring the signs that marked the area as a hazardous construction area, he strode onto the grounds and made his way inside.

The hole Renna had dug for herself to get down into the lowest sublevel of the Tower was taken care of, and the elevators were offline that could take him down. Fortunately, however, the stairs had been left clear, and that was where he headed to get down into the lowest sublevel.

Six levels later, he pushed through the door and into a cavernous hallway that led straight for nearly a hundred feet, lined on either side by thick bank-vault style doors. It was dark down here, naturally - the power was offline - but thanks to his artificially induced enhancements, he had no trouble seeing, even with no light.

He headed down the hallway, finally coming to a halt near the end at one of the vault doors. There was no power to allow him to punch in the code for this door, but as they were all electromagnetically sealed, that wasn't a problem - with no power, all he had to do was push the door. Heavy as it was, it still moved easily, soundlessly, admitting him inside.

This vault held only a single item in its expansive interior - a cylindrical storage capsule, perhaps three feet tall and a foot in circumference, its ceramic, uninteresting exterior hiding the dangerous contents within.

He still wasn't certain why he hadn't destroyed what was in there. It had been responsible for the deaths of eighteen people, and it had very nearly killed him as well. Even now, just looking at it, he felt a chill run through him.

But he also realized that it might be the only way to pull Issy out of her virally induced comatose state, as well.

Only as a last resort. The thought ran through his mind as he walked over to the container and picked it up. It was quite heavy, and for good reason - under the plain, white ceramic surface was a thick layer of the refined OmniPower material that doubled as the nigh-impenetrable armor which formed the primary component of his powered combat skins.

For now, he could draw from the basic design of what was within the capsule to assist in creating an effective treatment for Issy.

Tucking the container under his arm, he turned and exited the vault, pulling the door closed behind him.

Edward Batten

Date: 2013-11-04 01:15 EST
DIANA's voice came to him as soon as he stepped through the door into the Haven again, as if she'd already anticipated what he was going to ask. "There has been no change as yet in Miss DeRomiano's condition, sir, save for an increase in the chemical anomalies within her body. Additionally, the tumor in her brain is diminishing at a significantly advanced rate. I estimate it will be a matter of days before it is gone entirely."

He blinked at that. The tumor's rate of shrinkage was interesting - over the past few days it had slowed, though the virus she had been infected with had not seemed to be any less active than normal. Still, he nodded at the news. "All right, t"anks, Diana."

Setting the container on a table in the foyer, he stripped off the trenchcoat and threw it on the coat rack, scooping up the container again as he headed for the stairs to the second floor. "Diana, Ah need ya t"run a scan on dis container for me. De contents should be inactive by now, but Ah wanna be abs"lutely certain."

There was a momentary pause as he climbed the stairs before her voice came back to him. "The contents of the container do indeed appear to be inert, sir. According to my scans, the container holds approximately twelve million Guardian Project nanomolecular supercells, all without power."

He paused as he stepped into his lab, looking up in surprise at the voice before he started towards an empty table near the middle of the room. "Yeah, dat's right." Turning towards a nearby worktable, he picked up a ball-peen hammer and turned back to the container, examining it for a moment. "How'd ya know "bout dat' Ah mean, dere's mention of de Guardian Project in de files ya downloaded, but de design specs were left out"an' Renna herself was de insp"ration for it."

The cool voice came back right away. "Actually, sir, your counterpart from my world created a similar design to this of his own. There are, of course, some differences in the design structure, but despite that they are nearly identical."

He had been about to strike the ceramic shell when she said that, and he found himself pausing a moment, his train of thought derailed. Even with Issy comatose in the room below, he found himself curious about this development. "D"ya happen t"have de design specs fer dat, by chance?"

"I do indeed, sir."

He nodded, turning his attention back to the task at hand. "Ah'll need ya t"pull "em up fer me"may need "em fer options in designin" a treatment fer Issy."

"Yes, sir. The design specifications will be ready when you need them."

With a nod he put a steadying hand on the storage capsule, raising the hammer and striking the ceramic shell with a sharp blow, shattering it and revealing the crystalline-blue storage matrix beneath it. "In de meantime, let's get dis t"ing open an' charge up a few o'dese supercells so we can run some tests."

Edward Batten

Date: 2013-11-05 14:23 EST
A few days later

He'd lost track of time again.

Not that it mattered - all that mattered was that he find a solution.

He'd been in the lab the entire time, save for the occasional bathroom break. He hadn't even left to get himself something to eat, instead having DIANA order from the Gator's Tail for him, having the food brought directly up to the lab, only to have it cleared away, mostly untouched, save for a few bites taken here and there, drinking just enough to keep himself hydrated. No sleep, either, driving himself forward with the energy of determination at first, followed by desperation.

He had to fix this - it was his fault she'd gotten infected. Over the past few days and nights, he'd alternately - and inwardly - cursed Issy's foolishness and praised her dedication to him. There were not many he could say the latter about.

The lab was alight with numerous holographic displays - one a constant, complete monitoring of Issy's biological readouts, another displaying the status of the handful of Guardian Project supercells he'd had contained in a quantum-levitation stasis field, another next to it displaying a complete structural and programming schematic of the same, and several more displaying designs based upon those same supercells. Still others showed a complete analysis of the samples of the virus he'd managed to cultivate from Issy's blood. In the middle of it all, there was the Playboy.

He certainly didn't resemble the dapper, neat and clean-cut man most of the populace knew. He was clad in the same clothes he had been when Issy had collapsed, the formerly white lab coat he had donned when he had started working on these formulas now sweat-stained and rumpled, his features unshaven, an almost haggard, exhausted look on his features. As Kyle Pontius was fond of saying, he looked like hammered sh*t.

Not that he cared. There wasn't a mirror up here in the lab to look into, and if there was, it would have found itself suffering from complete neglect.

The first twenty hours had been spent pitting DIANA against his Guardian Project supercells" programming, which neither he nor the old DIANA had been able to crack, alter, erase, or subvert - by the time they had tried, the supercells had evolved to a point where control was no longer an option, and they couldn't even be destroyed.

This DIANA had had no luck with it either, unfortunately. Capable though she was, the programming of the supercells was no longer written in any language she could decipher. He'd suspected as much - if he couldn't crack it himself, the AI wasn't going to have any luck with it either.

Their only option at that point had been to start basing new designs off of the old, but before that, he had performed a little experiment, combining the supercells with this new virus of Renna's in a neutral medium to see how they would interact, and to get a good baseline to run simulations with.

And had watched, flabbergasted, as the virus tore the Guardian Project nanomachines apart like they were made of cardboard, rather than one of the toughest materials known to man.

Part of him was frightened by that. The Guardian Project supercells were invulnerable to every method he had tried at the microscopic level. Other than incinerating them in a nuclear fusion environment or destabilizing them at the molecular level using a quantum levitation stasis field combined with a particle resonance generator, they were pretty much indestructible"or so he had thought.

It was possible, though, that they were weakened by being allowed to sit for so long in a powered-down state. Hence, the creation of new designs based upon the old.

Finalizing yet another design, he stepped back, rubbing the blurriness from his eyes. He could feel the time spent on this weighing on him heavily, but he had to keep pressing ahead. The others all had a red "FAIL" mark interposed over their schematics, refinements of each design intended to bring it closer to a level of parity to this virus of Renna's. In this latest design, he had attempted to mimic the molecular construction of the virus using the OmniPower crystalline lattice matrix, and he was pleased to see it came close to being identical, though in scale each supercell was nearly twice the size of an individual virion of Renna's virus.

"Diana, run de simulation an' show de results. Factor into de supercell a copy o'de bioelectric field dat de virus puts out."

There was a long pause before she responded, during which he stood, watching the screen as the simulation ran, his eyes scrutinizing each and every readout. He had done this several times so far, and had thought of adding the bioelectric field mimicry on the last two attempts, which seemed to boost the treatment's effectiveness in the simulations somewhat.

Impatience flooded through him as her response seemed to take forever. He'd wanted to just manufacture the treatments and try them one at a time - simulations didn't always accurately reflect real-life results, he knew that better than most - and if it had been his own life he was playing with, he would have.

But it wasn't his life - it was Issy's. And he wasn't about to risk that.

Finally, the results came back, and DIANA spoke in her cool, professional voice. "Based upon the data gathered from the baseline experiment, I predict that there is an eighty-eight point seven chance of success with this design, sir."

He blinked at that. Almost a ninety percent chance of success" That was by far better than the previous ones - the closest chance of success was a little under fifty percent, and that was not even close to being acceptable in his book. "All right, Diana. How long will it take ya t"man"facture "nuff fer an effective treatment?"

There was another pause, this one much briefer. "The processing time to manufacture a treatment will take approximately ten hours, sir." There was another pause. "Might I suggest you get some sleep, sir" According to my records, you have not rested in the last eighty-seven hours and twenty-three minutes."

There was another blink at that - both for the suggestion, which was more like his old IDANA than this new one, and for the amount of time that had passed. Almost four days. No wonder he felt so damned tired. He didn't want to sleep, but he knew he had to, if only to recharge a bit. With a sigh he nodded, turning for the door to the lab and looking down at himself.

Hm. Maybe a shower would be a wise choice before sleep. "All right, Di." In his tired and distracted state, it didn't even occur to him that he'd used his "pet name" for the former AI to address this one for the first time. "Ah t"ink Ah'll go an' do dat, after Ah get cleaned up a bit. Let me know de second de treatment's ready."

"Indeed, sir. I am starting the manufacturing process now."

Her cool voice barely registered as he went through the door and down the stairs towards the master bedroom.

Issy

Date: 2013-11-10 10:27 EST
Everything went black. Then...suddenly...

In the grip of fire, she knew the death of love. Rising to her feet amongst the burning ruins of a village - an army of black cloaked figures rushed around, dragging the dead and dying out into the street from their homes. Those that had lived and hidden within their homes were dragged out kicking, and screaming. No sooner had they met the street, they were either murdered, raped, or a combination of the both. ?"?" The teenager walked calmly over the bodies that bloodied the main walkway through the village in a river of blood, gore and twisted, dead corpses. Crimson eyes burning within her hooded gaze, she approached the form of a woman laying prone over the corpse of a man. More than likely her husband. But in this world of memories and lucid dreams, nothing was what it seemed. ?"?" She offered a hand towards the woman, and smiled. "Isuelt. Open your eyes."

It was like a far away voice, an echo almost." Isuelt thought it was a male's voice at first, but then she could have sworn it was female." She felt a sharp catch of breath in her lungs, almost painfully sharp and cold." But it wasn't the temperature of the air that stung her chest; it was the acidic scent on the wind that burned and forced her thickly-lashed dark brown eyes open." She had to blink several times, for her wide eyes were almost instantly attacked by the remnants of smoke so near." And while her breaths now calmed into a more regular rhythm, she was nowhere near understanding where she was." Slowly, Isuelt felt the stiff soreness of her body give up its stagnant position as she pushed off of the ground to sit up." Though as her eyes remembered how to focus, she realized that she was not sitting on any ground, but a person." A body." Shocked perhaps more than repulsed, she startled and looked over the form...it was a man...that she was atop." Her lips curved to cradle a question that never came and she looked around once more, possibly more lost than she could ever recall feeling.

"....This must be confusing for you, being inside the memories of This One." The teen moved to regard the sound of a woman, as several figures of black fell upon her like wolves to the wounded the lamb. She observed the slaughter as if intrigued by it, then with a glance her eyes dropped down to Isuelt once more. ?"?" The night sky was as bright as the day. The burning buildings - the stench of wood, flesh, and clay all embered into ash, and collapsing all around them. "The woman you are now currently, died. She was protecting her wounded husband from the death blow by my hands. I killed them both." She then regarded the burning building to the left. "That, is" their house." Turning, Renna made for the soon to be ruined construction, and kicked down the front door. "I killed their families, and their friends. I bathed in their blood. I loved it. It was every thing I was made to be. Forced, to be." She indicated a hand into the building. "Inside in their son. He is about to die. The fire will claim him. He is trapped under a beam of wood - a rafter, in the kitchen.?"??"She stared at Isuelt. "You must save him.?"

Isuelt could have sworn she felt a shard pierce her heart just as wretchedly as the day her own husband died beside her in battle." Isuelt looked down at the man whose life had ended." She could not save her own husband, nor this man." And as she looked back to the woman who was speaking, those crimson eyes, she snarled in spite of herself." "

Her hood turned to the doorway, and then with a sigh, she turned from the open doorway, and moved to step beside Isuelt. She crouched down, and removed her hood from her youthful, innocent face. Not a single scar. Not a single mar upon her features. "Historically, I let that child burn. Do you know why?"

It was nearly hypnotic." Looking into that young, unmarred face that she knew so well. Renna's face. Isuelt's lips parted, but no sound came." Instead, she simply shook her head slowly." She was still trying to absorb all that her mind was experiencing; and to her, it was coming at an incredibly rapid speed."

"If I had saved him, what do you think would have happened to him?" She glanced around them. The death. The torture. The depravity of the death and pleasure surrounding them. "He would have become a slave to my Master. A mere plaything, much like those around us. My Master had a slave army to control - such was its power, he needed someone to lead it." She placed a finger to her own chest, "Me. The monster." Renna regarded the open door way, and frowned, "Instead of saving the child, I broke his neck. I saved him. Exactly why I ordered my army to execute every single person in this village.??"?"She leaned forward, so that her face was close to Isuelt's, "So I could save them. Save them from becoming like me. But little did I know around this age, that in a few short years, I would lead a rebellion against my Master, and save them all from his reign." She felt sorrow express across her features. "I realized all the deaths I caused, could had been averted. I could had....Saved their lives, and saved their freedom.?"

It was backwards justice to her, just it was a form of justice all the same." Isuelt couldn't tell which part of this confused her more." The fact that Renna possessed an incredible sense of empathetic mercy, or the fact that she found herself admiring Renna for it." Isuelt looked around once more at the carnage splayed out around them." A few moments passed during which the crackling, popping sounds of fire and the sobbing and wailing of pain were all that was heard." Finally, Isuelt's eyes looked back to Renna." The Scathachian's voice did not sound like her own, but it was hers nonetheless, "Why?" Why are you showing me all this?"

"I am not showing you anything. You are in my Network. The Sister Network links to the Manticore Virus; and that means it links directly to me. Every single being in my power experiences my life. My memories. I cannot control where they go. I can only guide them. You....You brought yourself here." She glanced around, "The carnage. The death. You, brought me, here. Stand up, there is one more thing I have to show you.?"

Grimacing lightly, Isuelt pushed off of the ground and stood beside the smaller teenage Renna." Curiosity was always something she had, but in this new light, she was absolutely frothing to see what awaited her

Grasping Isuelt by the hand, she led the way through the main street through the village. The scene, was horrific at best. All around them, people died. Bodies were piled, and children and women were thrown to the cages upon carts, ready for transport by the dual equines at the ready. Then suddenly she left go of Isuelt, and approached the figure of red armour upon a horse, flanked by a legion of other horse riders in similar armour, coming back down the way they traveled. She dropped to a knee, and motioned Isuelt to do the same. She placed a hand fist to her chest. "My dearest husband, what brings you here" You need not come from the frontlines to inspect my work. You know full well that I am fully-??"?"

Von Gart slowed his horse before Renna, and his dragonesque helm regarded her, coldly. "Chain her." He announced to his Honour Guard. "Beat her." He grunted. "The disobedient bitch needs to know her place."

Edward Batten

Date: 2013-11-12 21:15 EST
Eleven hours later

He'd taken his shower, then passed out in the bed without bothering to dress or even take a lot of time to dry himself off. It seemed like he had barely closed his eyes when Diana woke him up again to announce the treatment was finished being manufactured, and it was time to prepare it for being administered.

It had taken another hour to program the treatment's supercells and calibrate the bioelectric field they put out to match that of Renna's virus, then infuse it into a liquid suspension.

Now he was sitting at Issy's bedside, ready to inject the treatment into her IV drip. He flicked the syringe a couple times to get all the gas bubbles out, carefully pushing the plunger so the air was pushed out without losing any of the infusion.

"Diana, begin recordin"."

"Yes, sir."

Inserting the needle into the injection port, he pushed the plunger, slowly infusing the treatment with her IV stream. Once it was all in, he set the syringe aside and sat back, looking towards the holographic monitor, watching as it showed the progress of the treatment beginning to flow through her bloodstream, listening as DIANA began speaking.

"The treatment has reached full dispersion. First stage complete. Transmitting command sequence to begin second stage."

He nodded, reaching out to tap the holographic display to bring up one particular section that provided a real-time graphic representation of his nanites in Issy's body. He had Diana controlling the treatment remotely to ensure that the treatment was not only precisely controlled, but also to give it enhanced combative capabilities to ensure it would succeed.

"The supercells have received and acknowledged the command. Beginning with initial test phase of viral engagement." As he watched, the graphic - which was following a specific group of the modified supercells he had created - altered to represent the engagement of the virus by the treatment. His eyes followed the display almost unblinkingly as he watched the treatment latch onto the viral cells.

"The treatment has bonded to the viral cells. Transmitting final stage protocols to the test group."

Mentally, he crossed his fingers, his blue-grey eyes unwavering from the screen, his whole frame tense. Here goes nothing, he thought.

He watched as the treatment did its work, "injecting" the viral cells the nanites had bonded to with a sudden burst of energy that caused them to resonate at a very precise frequency, literally working at the molecular level to cause the individual molecules of the viral cells to vibrate as the energy built"until"

The results were somewhat undramatic, but everything he could have hoped for - one by one, the viral cells broke apart as their molecular cohesion was undone by the resonant energy, vibrating them to pieces.

"Congratulations, sir. It seems the testing phase of the treatment was a success."

He wanted to jump up and do a dance. In fact, he was right on the point of getting to his feet when DIANA's voice spoke again.

"Sir"the virus appears to have gone into an aggressive replication pattern. It would appear the remaining viral cells have recognized the threat."

His eyes turned back to the holographic display in time to see a multitude of Renna's implanted viral cells surrounding the test group of his supercells. As he watched, the virus closed in, numerous viral cells first surrounding, then latching onto the supercells. A few of the virions were destroyed by the supercells, but it was only moments before they were overwhelmed and torn to pieces.

"Sir, the viral cells are converging on the treatment throughout the body. I calculate it will be perhaps a few minutes before it has been wiped out entirely."

He had to fight to keep from screaming at that cool, calm voice. He knew she was trying, but whatever this virus was, Renna had clearly constructed it very well"perhaps too well.

With a sigh, he pushed up from the bedside where he was sitting, shaking his head as he started towards the door that led out to the rest of the house.

Back to the drawing board"

Edward Batten

Date: 2013-11-13 02:17 EST
Two days later

Back in the lab again, that's where he was, working on another treatment. He'd been up there for two days now, working on designs, running simulations, working on ways to bring the treatment on a more even footing with Renna's virus. He hadn't anticipated that rather interesting, aggressive replication ability the virus had; unfortunately, he also had no way to duplicate it himself. Much like before, he looked rather worn and tired - unshaven, rumpled, and a little haggard, he'd lost track of time, forgoing sleep, only taking in the minimum of food and drink he needed to survive as he worked determinedly towards finding a solution to his problem.

Each hip rocked, flicked a shard of silk. A silk of red. Each movement, sent a spray of raven over her crimson eyes as she walked down the short, straight, carved path to the front door. Nothing was what it seemed. Even if her perfect body seemed unmarked, unscarred, and complete. As she approached the door, she sought out the Network, and merely attempted to access the floating cloud of information in the air, that seemed fogged around the Haven. Suddenly, she cut off any attempt to access what she knew, was pointless. Adaptation was Edward's goal. What he could learn from her, could be her future enemy. There was no point offering him a silver platter. Instead, she trodded to the front door, and knocked. Her crimson eyes flecked azure lifted up to where she could detect a monitoring device, and stared.

He heard the knock, well enough - absorbed as he was in the latest design, there was nothing wrong with his hearing - and waved absently into the air over his shoulder. "Diana, tell whoever "t"is dat Ah"m not home." There was a brief pause, followed by the intrusion of the AI's cool voice into the ensuing silence.

"Actually, sir, I believe you might want to be home for this visitor."

That got his attention, surely enough, and he looked up to the side. DIANA was well ahead of him, a holographic screen displaying the feed from the monitor at the front door, and he frowned slightly, hesitating. "Now, what in de hell does she want..." T'gloat...?"

The words were spoken mostly to himself, and he held up a hand as he thought he heard the AI start to speak.

"Dat was a rhetor'cal question."

With a grunt he pushed himself up from his seat. The stool would have a permanent imprint of his butt at this rate. Out the door to the lab and down the stairs he went, heading for the door and pulling it open once he reached it to look out at Renna with a tired, rather sour expression. "Whaddaya doin' here?"

No fear, not a hint of anger, just plain old exhaustion in his voice as he spoke, the grey eyes settled on Renna's red ones.

"The Subject: Edward Batten has two options." She remained where she was. She merely locked her eyes onto him, the moment the door opened.

He let out a cynical snort as he eyed Renna, shaking his head. "Well, sure, Ah guess, if ya wanna boil it down dat way - succeed or fail." Still,he hesitated before going to shut the door in her face. This wasn't precisely the Renna he knew, but still, he'd never known her to be without a purpose in everything she did. "Go on, petit...Ah'm kinda pressed fer time, if ya didn' know dat already."

"Option one. Allow This One to enter, and to remove the Virus from the Experiment: Rage - Isuelt." She inclined her head just so, to the left, "Option two. Allow This One to level this construction, and take back what is This One's research."

She a lifted a hand to indicate Edward, "Correcting statement. Win-win, when it regards the Subject."

He felt his jaw clench as he looked at her, his eyes narrowing. He was in no mood to be threatened right now, and part of him was tempted to reach for the on-demand Hammer armor in the form of the trenchcoat hanging on the rack just a couple feet away. With the new DIANA's modifications to his network, he'd like to see her try that trick of ejecting him from the suit this time, and he was really wanting to vent some frustration at the moment. If Issy's life weren't hanging in the balance, he'd have gone for it. But he'd also had no luck in getting the virus out of her, and none of his designs had been effective - in simulation or in practice - in getting the virus out. After a lengthy pause, he stepped back, letting out a sigh. "Y'know, dere're times yer a real pain in my @ss, Renna. C'mon in. But ya t'reaten me'r m'house again, Ah'm gonna take a chunk outta yer hide fer it."

"Your biology indicates hostily." Her eyes smiled along with her lips. A simulation at best. It was fake, and it was evident. It made it all the more awkward. "But your current capability to..." Disturbingly, she responded in his voice: "As stated: "take a chunk outta yer hide fer it,' appears unlikely."

She moved to step inside - to take in the surroundings, and then glanced at Edward as if in passing. "Identification incorrect. This One is, One. Show This One to the Experiment."

"Ah'm tired an' cranky. An' yer not gonna pull de same trick o'kickin' me outta my own armor dat ya did de las' time, chere." He rolled his eyes at her as he started towards the bedroom that Issy was currently laid out in on the bed. "Ah ain't gonna call ya dat. One sounds lame...like a robot or somet'in'. Yer still Renna t'me, if ya like it or not."

Stepping into the bedroom and to the side with a faint grin at her, he gestured towards Issy's inert form with a sweeping motion of one arm. "Do yer t'ing." And then he held up that same hand in Renna's path to stop her for a moment. "Wait...she's...still gonna be alive an'...functional after ya take dat stuff outta her, right?"

As she moved to follow, she said nothing. There was no need to make comments in regards to his disapproval of her name. And the fact he was wrongly labeling a dead woman's name, to herself, was highly inaccurate....She restrained herself in that regards. When she was met with a hand stopping her, however, she regarded Edward, coldly after glancing over Isuelt. "Functional." She then lifted a hand, to gently move Edward aside. "Alive."

He resisted her moving him aside for only a fraction of a second before he relented, nodding. "All right den. She's all yers." Despite his words, though, as soon as she moved past, he was right on her heels, following her over to the bed.

Once into the room, she moved to Isuelt's side, and stared. "It is ironic." She announced as she moved to cover the immobile woman's forehead, with her left palm. She stood stiff. As immobile as Isuelt laying upon her slab. The moment contact was touched, the Virus present in Isuelt moved to leave her biology. It seeped through her skull, and into her palm, like a magnet. Like a symbiote to a new host. There was nothing extravagant about it, as she kept her hand firmly on Isuelt's forehead. "Indeed." Not a second later, did she pass something else back into Isuelt. Another Virus. "When the Experiment wakes, the Subject: Batten may wish to enforce a string of anti-psychotics." Her head tilted just so, to Edward. "And a saline of high salt."

He watched for a moment, not knowing what exactly to expect, then turned to look at the holographic display nearby, which confirmed for him that the virus was indeed being extracted, viewing the process, which he knew automatically DIANA was recording. "Yeah' What is it dat's ironic?" He also noted the inclusion of something else, frowning. "What'd ya put into her?"

"The intracranial solid neoplasm has been fully digested. Irony. The memory of the woman, in This One's palm, brings forth hatred. The ire unchecked, would have caused This One to crush the Subject's skull. To end the hatred. The feeling. But This One....Cares not, for that hatred." She regarded Edward, "No loss of life. Achieved." She removed her hand, and licked her lips. "Rage Virus, attained. Commencing maturation." She spoke to the air, and then, regarded Edward again. "If This One is not mistaken," she turned, and moved to leave the room, "The Playboy, has all the answers. Discover the answer, yourself. This One recommends studying Isuelt's white blood cells, closely."

He almost went to stop her, to demand an answer. Almost. If the display hadn't changed on its own, he would have gone for it, with or without his armor, but as it was, the scrolling display got his attention first, and he looked at it closely, his eyes widening. That couldn't be right...could it..."

Turning, he took several long strides across the room, putting a hand on Renna's shoulder to turn her around. "Umm...listen...ah..." For a moment, he was at a loss for words, and finally he shook his head, managing a smile. "T'anks...ya...didn' hafta do dat..."

She stared back blankly at him. "No. This One did not." She looked to his hand on her shoulder. With a lift of her hand, she swiped his own from her shoulder. "This One has replaced the Rage Virus with a secondary Virus. A Virus that has begun its work."

She turned to regard Edward. "Within the next five point six seconds, the Subject: Batten shall notice a change in her white blood cell count. A third mockery of a white blood cell. Extraction of Isuelt's blood shall now produce a vaccine against This One's common Viral strains; specifically, the Rage Virus." She stared. "The cells are specific against the Rage Virus - attempting to reverse engineer, will induce a toxic effect. This One thought it best, to warn you."

He sighed, shaking his head as he tried not to smirk. And failed. "Yep. Still a pain in m'ass. Ah gotta say, t'ough...Ah liked de semi-psycho version of ya better. She was nuts, but she had a certain...charm."

"....If One felt sadness, This One would, at such a comment." She glanced at the the immobile Isuelt. "There is no other reason for This One to remain. This One shall let This One, out." She moved to depart, and with a movement of her hand, she dropped a small circular, crystalline device on the ground.

"The Target: Banshee, is a rogue mutation of This One's viral strains. That data crystal contains the frequency needed to separate the host, from the Virus." As she approached the front door, she opened it, and glanced back. She smirked a perfect simulation. "Goodbye, Subject: Batten. And do This One a favour. Hold Isuelt as she awakes from our shared nightmare." With that, she left.

He blinked, looking rather confused at that entire exchange. Renna, he had understood"at least, somewhat. This new, almost mechanical incarnation'that was a mystery to him. Like before, she had saved a life she had no obligation to; in fact, he had been certain that Issy was going to die because he couldn't find a way of removing the virus inside her.

And yet, Renna - This One, as she called herself - had just extracted the virus from her victim. Not only that, she had given him a key to destroying the virus she had created and - apparently - had tested on Issy, contained in her blood.

All this, just at the moment when Issy had been cured of a tumor in her brain that surely, in time - a short amount of time, at that - would have killed her.

And as an added bonus, he had been given information on the Banshee, the mysterious armored individual that he had come across back when he had first started his crusade against the slave trade in this town, whom he knew little about, giving him information about the armored individual and a possible means of shutting him down, should such a thing become necessary.

No"he didn't understand this new One at all, he decided. The Renna he had known hadn't been interested in redeeming acts, or saving a life, or helping him out - their 'relationship" had been a contest of wills, equal intelligences and innovative minds pitted against each other, like two weightlifters constantly caught up in an arm-wrestling contest, each seeking an advantage over another.

But still, he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Leaning over, he picked up the crystalline disk she had left behind, hefting it in his palm as he turned back to the bed, before slipping it into his pocket. There would be time for that later.

For now, though, he went to settle upon the bed, taking a seat next to Issy's still sleeping form, reaching out to brush a few stray strands back from her forehead as he leaned over her, his eyes trained on hers, still closed, speaking in soft, yet firm tones.

"C"mon, Issy's"time fer ya t"wake up now. Open yer eyes, Issy??

The above was written out in live RP, with many thanks to Renna's player!

Issy

Date: 2013-11-15 13:46 EST
Isuelt was still for a long time." There was a silence to the room that only flickered with the sounds of her steady, slow breathing and the occasional noise from the monitors." It seemed like hours passed, though it was no longer than fifteen minutes." A breath caught in her throat and her chin jerked upwards, though her thick lashes remained joined." Her long fingers curled in almost an involuntary fist, only to be released in an instant." At long last, there was some life coming from the comatose Scathachian."

At the first sign of movement, he turned to look at the holographic monitor hanging over the med table, eyes scanning over the biomonitor readouts. Noting the increased electrical activity in the brain, the rising heart rate and breathing, the first genuine smile that had touched his features in days came to his lips, and he turned back towards Issy. Reaching out, he snagged the hand that had clenched into a fist, then relaxed again, picking it up in both of his and holding it as he spoke, low, soothing tones. "Dat's it, Issy. c"mon back to de land o'de livin", chere.?"

It was almost as if she were dreaming: a sudden and uneven breathing rate, a wrinkle to her brow." There was even a sound from her parted lips as if she tried to speak." And then...nothing." Quiet." Peace." Until a few moments later when her eyes flew open and she gasped for air and sat bolt upright in bed."

He almost seemed to be anticipating that - as she sat up his arm came up to intercept her across her chest, both stopping and steadying Issy as he spoke. "Whoa, dere, Iss"y'should take it slow"n"easy fer de moment. Ya been layin" dere fer a while now??"

The blood rushing from her head caused an immediate spell of dizziness and in her lightheaded state, she saw splotches of white and black, not to mention flashes of Renna's memories." Her hands reached up to the arm that was steadying her and she grabbed on to it." Her lips parted as she fought for breath." As Isuelt looked into Batten's eyes, it was almost as if she were looking through him." Her dark eyes were wide and erratic, tainted with the unspoken horrors she had seen."

He didn't let go, just brought the other hand up to press against the middle of Issy's back firmly, his eyes fixed on hers, his voice a low, soothing tone that nonetheless was firm, almost commanding, hoping to cut through the wild emotions he saw in her features. He recalled what Renna had said about her and Issy having a shared nightmare, though he didn't fully understand what she meant. "Focus, Issy"yer awake now, Ah got ya, just breat"e'deep breat's, slow an' easy.?"

It was as if Batten walked right through the middle of her nightmarish vision, dispelling it for what it was...nothing more than someone else's memory." He'd broken the spell that Renna had possessed her with, and she was safe." The Judge let out a strangled whimper as her strong arms grabbed onto Edward in a tight hug; with one hand around his back and the other around his neck, her fingers curling to claim fistfuls of his shirt and the hair just at the nape of his neck." Her own eyes were clenched tightly shut as she buried her face against his shoulder." "

He hadn't expected that - for a moment, he thought she was going on the attack again, as she had just before she'd fallen unconscious. Once he realized that wasn't the case, though, he returned the embrace, silent for a long moment as his arms went around her with a smile. When he finally did speak, it was with a soft chuckle to his voice, though his words were still serious. "Glad t'see yer back, chere"t"ought Ah was gonna hafta kiss ya t"get ya t"wake up fer a minute dere.?"

Her body shook, there was no way he wouldn't be able to feel how affected she was by what had happened to her while she was unconscious." As Isuelt lifted her face from his shoulder, she opened her eyes to look around the room." A bedroom, still in his home." She saw the monitors, the readouts, the trays of crimson vials..." She could only deduce that she'd been here for some time and Ed, goddess bless him, had been by her side for most of the while." Willing her body to stop shaking, she took a deep breath and slowly eased up on her grasp of him, and she let go of the Playboy as her dizziness began to subside.?" "What...what happened?"

As she let go, so did he, though he kept one hand on her shoulder, just to make sure she was steady, as he turned towards the holographic display, keeping his voice and features neutral as he spoke. "Looks like de virus hit a maturation stage"overloaded yer system and put ya into a coma." He reached out to tap at the holographic screen, bringing up a number of recorded readouts before he looked back at Issy. "Ya've been out fer almost a week."

There was absolutely no disguising the expression on her face: sheer shock. "What?" A week" How was that even possible" It simply felt like a long night's sleep, a long night's nightmare. As satisfied as she had been to remain on the bed in a somnolent embrace, his words seemed to light a proverbial fire beneath her. She began to shove the sheets from her body and her long, bare legs kicked out from their coverings only to swing around the edge of the bed. She pushed off to stand and perhaps she would have gotten a better look at the screen's readouts if she'd kept her balance. It was not that her legs felt weak, just numb. And the lightheadedness returned.

He moved to stand as he saw that's what she was going to do, giving her room to move, even though he knew that it was a bad idea - he'd been in her shoes, though not for quite as long - only three days, in his case - but it had been a grueling three days, that took nearly two weeks of recovery time. "Trus" me, Ah know'scared de hell outta me, t"be hones". On de upside, durin" dat time, de tumor in yer head's been completely fixed, no trace of it?" As he saw her wavering on her feet, he moved to place his hands on her shoulders to help keep her steady. "Slow"n"easy, chere"trus" me, Ah speak from experience. May take a coupla days b"fore yer ready t"go out an' run a race."

One hand on Batten, one on the bed, she stood there for a moment." Then slowly, she defeatedly lowered herself down on the edge of the bed." Her dark eyes stared down at her legs as she listened to him." Then as he finished, she smirked up at him." "You took off my pants??" At least her sense of humor was back.