Security Precautions (IC)

[Electra]

"A valuable memory then, Miss A said simply, bringing over the scanning devices. "It's been remarked upon that from culture to culture, world to world, certain themes are repeated over and over again, including the armored champion of justice, the knight in shining armor. In that sense, there are many children who know stories that are like yours, and who perhaps draw the same lessons from them. But your stories are yours alone. You should consider recording them," she suggested. "Activate your armor now, please."

[Avenger Assembled]

At her command, Murdock disappeared beneath Harrier's armor, the familiar chunkchunkchunk of metal plates erupting from his skin the only sound in the room apart from the noise of Miss Americana's instruments as they recorded the sound of Harrier's Terminus-fueled eruption. "And those same places," he agreed with her, his voice now muffled by the armor that both covered his mouth and WAS his mouth "have stories of shining angels in the sky, beautiful women and men who come to rescue and protect the innocent. You understand the power of myth well."

[Electra]

"Of course," Miss Americana told him. "The power of myth is part of what puts the shine on superheroes. Since ancient days, men have looked to the skies for their salvation, and feared to look up, lest destruction come instead. Superheroes are the personification of salvation from the skies, and they don't even require faith or sacrifice. A flying knight in shining armor will give you a good base to build a new persona from, but what you do with it will be up to you. All I can give you is a foundation, you have to build on it."

She went to another computer, turned the screen so he could see it as she began to design holographic costume pieces. "You'll probably want a more knightly heroic name. I assume you haven't had Harrier long, so hopefully you're not too attached to it. Most appropriate would be something historical, something from King Arthur's Round Table. You'll want to read up on the mythology there, so you can use it as part of the persona. How about something like Caradoc? Nice heroic name, and not so famous as to probably be in use today. Also a saint's name, so double cachet there."

[Avenger Assembled]

Harrier had no idea who that was, and had the curiosity to ask for more information. He nodded at the description of the man's life, listening with his usual imperturbable expression, then fell silent when Miss Americana was finished. "People will be angry if this deception fails." he said quietly. "I have walked among them as a monster, and this way I will walk among them as a monster who hides his face. Is this a mistake?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious. "Is it moral to hide your true nature from even your closest allies?"

[Electra]

"Human beings are shallow creatures, much as they'll try to deny it," Miss A told him dryly. "They take things for what they seem to be on the surface, and only dig deeper later. If you walk among them as a monster, they'll treat you like a monster, no matter what you are on the inside. I don't think it's really a deception to do the best you can to match your outside form to the inner you, in the hopes that people will come to a greater understanding of who you are as a person. Yes, people may get mad at you if they realize you wear a mask you didn't take off for them, but that may be a risk that it's worthwhile to take. If they're your real friends, they will know you well enough by then to understand why you did it."

[Avenger Assembled]

When the work was finally done, Harrier studied Gina's preliminary design from the examination table before rising. "I thank you. This will be a very fine thing." She actually got a faint smile out of the usually impassive former drone at the thought of what they were doing. "To walk among people as one of them, without fearing their reaction to my face, to use that power for the betterment of all..." He studied Miss Americana and said, "It is a gift I have never believed I am worthy of."

[Electra]

"Hey, being a hero means doing what's right, even if means going up against impossible odds. You knew what you'd been forced to do was wrong, and you risked life and sanity to make more of yourself. You are at least as worthy of humanity as anyone else who has that gift. I'm sure you'll continue to perform admirably with the new identity I'm setting up for you. You'll do Caradoc proud."

She went to a cabinet and took out a small device, plugging it into the computer she'd been working on, then sticking it firmly to the haft of Harrier's power pike. In a moment, the pike had disappeared, to be replaced by a massive and gleaming six-foot long energy sword! The design borrowed from a combination of Arthurian mythos and Star Wars Universe, its elongated diamond shape glowing with cool blue light. She looked it over, held it by the "handle," and gave it a testing swing. "You'll need some practice learning to handle it this way. But what do you think?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"It is acceptable," said the Omegadrone, amending that quickly to, "It is very good." It wasn't said with the artifice that Miss A associated with that sort of conversational gambit from other men. Harrier was not a socially tactful person at the best of times, and how you gave compliments wasn't a skill he'd yet mastered. Taking the weapon in hand, his hands armoring up as he did so, he tested the now-concealed pike carefully. "Yes, the balance has not changed. Remarkable. I have seen technology like this before but never for...this purpose." He pumped his hand up and down on the handle, and the concealment on the 'blade' followed the retracting pike until it snapped down into an easily portable version he could install on his belt. "Yes, thank you, Miss Americana," he intoned. "This is...this is a very special day."

[Electra]

"Good," she told him, nodding in satisfaction. "It's going to take a little more time to work out the body hologram, probably a couple of hours. There are a couple of empty rooms in the hallway beyond the lab where you can practice with that, if you want and can stick around. Let me know if you see the image bobble, or if the emitter fails. There's food in the kitchenette and drinks in the fridge if you're hungry or thirsty." Miss A's mind was clearly already turning to the entertaining technical question at hand, and losing focus on the person who engendered it.

[Avenger Assembled]

In some ways, Harrier was the perfect choice for an experimental subject like this: he walked off without another word, leaving Miss Americana to her work. He walked into the kitchenette and opened a can of Diet Dr. Pepper, standing there with the refrigerator door closed without bothering to find a seat. He studied the kitchenette, his mind working though face impassive. These are snack foods. She must have many people here for short visits. The room lacked a mirror, so he strode off behind Miss Americana to the bathroom to study his reflection there. "Is this the face of a man?" he asked aloud as he stared at his scarred, lined face in the glass. Perhaps soon, that answer would change.

[Electra]

The bathroom was pristine, though oddly dusty for a room that surely saw regular use with as much time as the superscientist spent in her lab. It was in good working order, which was the most important consideration. Indeed, most of the building was like that, aside from the expansive space that was the actual lab. The lobby, a relic of this place's original function as a generic business shell, had obviously never been used and was stacked with boxes of lab supplies. The rooms whose walls hadn't been knocked down were in roughly the same condition, offices with boxes instead of desks and chairs. Behind a half wall of boxes, Harrier found a neatly rolled high-end twin-size air mattress and a little overnight bag. Someone obviously occasionally spent the night here.

[Avenger Assembled]

Harrier studied the bed, the corners of his eyes crinkling, and thought of his own small apartment and the narrow bed where he slept. And then the narrow tubes where Omegadrones were stored between functions, and then the alleys and pits where he'd slept as a boy. With a slow, measured stride, he walked out to the laboratory. He'd seen signs all over for Christmas, the local religious-cum-winter festival, and had even put a few dollars in the 'pot' at Champions, where all the waiters and busboys had donated to pay for the food and entertainment at a Christmas party. For the first time, he thought of Miss Americana that way. "Miss Americana?" he asked her, watching her work. "What do you like?"

[Electra]

Miss Americana was sitting still and obviously very absorbed in her work, because it took her a moment to even acknowledge the question. She seemed to shake herself a little, blinking and twitching her fingers before glancing over at him. "Hmm? What do I like?" she repeated, sounding a little bit lost. "What do you mean? For the uniform? I think the idea we're working with now is first rate. There's still time to change it if you're not feeling it, but it's a solid concept."

[Avenger Assembled]

"No, I..." His voice dropped. "What do you like...in general? What kinds of things do you like to be given to you?" He shifted awkwardly, and looked almost embarrassed. "There is an important secular and religious holiday coming soon in your calendar. I understand that gift-giving is important and you...you are my friend," the former Omegadrone said with almost painful sincerity. "I apologize if the question is too personal."

[Electra]

"No, no, that's a fine question," Miss A assured him. "I sometimes lose track and forget that Christmas is coming up. I like all sorts of things. I love books and classical music, and candy is always nice. Really, getting warm holiday wishes from a friend is sometimes the best gift of all. I think Christmas is the best time of year to be grateful for one's friends and to tell them that." She suspected that Murdock did not have a lot of money to be buying Christmas presents with, and all those things, especially the talk, were nice and cheap.

[Avenger Assembled]

He thanked her for the information and began a slow, measured exploration of the facility, methodically pacing the corridors and rooms as he measured length, width, and height by his own body. Once he'd have stood there at rigid attention for hours when not needed, but he'd lost both the talent and interest for that with soul freedom. He wasn't much for creativity, though, so with his question answered instead he occupied himself with quantifying the space where he found himself. Idle time was never something he'd dealt with the way normal people did.

[Electra]

Miss A didn't seem to mind his measured pursuits, and there didn't seem to be much of interest to find. All the interior measurements matched up, no hidden rooms or secret floors made themselves apparent here, not that he'd actually been searching with those in mind. After a couple of hours of near-total stillness from the heroine, she suddenly straightened in her seat, stretched, and looked over at him. "All right, I think I've got something," she told him. "Come over here, and bring the sword." She'd noticed he hadn't done much practicing with it, but hoped that once he had the whole costume in place, his confidence would grow.

[Avenger Assembled]

Not one for personal initiative, Harrier headed over to her side. It wasn't that he'd ignored her instructions about the sword, it was just that it made more sense to wait until everything was in place before he tried everything. Miss Americana was very, very clever, but she didn't have the same kind of combat experience he did. He kept the pike-turned-sword in hand, still unconsciously carrying it straight up and down like a power pike. "I am ready," he offered when he was in position, studying her placidly to see what she would do.

[Electra]

"Just strip to your underwear and hold still," she told him, her manner very professional and exceedingly calming as she walked around him. "I'm going to apply these holoemitters to your skin with some biostatic adhesive. It's very sticky, but I have a solvent that will take it right off if and when that's necessary. I'm going to put them in places that will be covered by your clothes, so you can wear them at all times."

When Harrier had taken off most of his clothes, she went to work, affixing little gray discs just under his left collarbone, then next to his right shoulderblade. Each disc was the size of a quarter, and felt almost weightless once applied. She applied one just above his buttocks, and just below his navel. Harrier could see that she was deliberately choosing places where the armor covered, but did not come out of, his skin at that point. The eruption of his armor would not shake them loose. She attached one to each thigh, then one to each bicep, nodding slightly. "That should do for now. I'd like to build in a little more redundancy later, but we're still testing right now. How do they feel?" she asked him. "Any itching, burning, prickling sensations?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Harrier's skin was a little cold, and when Miss Americana brushed against the lines where his armor erupted she could feel the steel-hard metal within, like a cage under his skin. "No. There is no discomfort." He stared at her for a moment, looking through her at the past. "And these will remain in place even in combat, and in bathing?"" Talking helped, talking helped make this anything more than another lab and another scientist changing him. This was what he wanted. This was something he'd asked for.

[Electra]

"In combat, definitely," she assured him. "The glue is very strong, someone would have to peel each one off you to get them off. For bathing, you can use the solvent to remove them if you feel comfortable, but you can bathe with them on, no problem. Each application of the glue should last about thirty days before you have much chance of failure." She stepped back, turning her monitors on him. "All right, I want you to activate your armor now. If all goes well, that energy will trigger the holographic generators automatically."

[Avenger Assembled]

chunkchunkchunk The armor erupted from Harrier's body as usual, but this time something was different: a flash of light burst from his body like the shine of pure mystic radiance, temporarily obscuring any onlookers from noticing the true nature of his transformation. When the light had faded, he stood revealed clad in gleaming silver armor like something from the pages of song and story, a shining beacon of truth and justice for the ages. His sword shone with mystic purity, a blade that looked like it could cut through most anything. Harrier was, as usual, silent, but she could see him taking in his transformed state by studying his hands and himself in the mirror. "Is it safe for me to fly in here?" he asked.

[Electra]

Miss A nodded, looking quite pleased with her artistry. The image was perfect, and there was no hint of the Omegadrone under the shining silver armor. "Just stay low," she advised him, "there's only about sixteen feet of clearance." Stepping back to give him room to maneuver, she continued taking readings and watching him closely, looking for any tiny errors that could give the game away. Making one kind of armor look like another kind of armor wasn't rocket science, well, not difficult rocket science, but it did require careful attention and thought. If she was going to give Harrier, no, Caradoc a new lease on life, she would have to be on top of her game. Luckily, she had experience.

[Avenger Assembled]

It was ultimately Harrier in flight that threw off the project, or rather, made things more difficult than Miss Americana had anticipated: his flightpack's eruption out his back was covered easily enough as a column of dragon's fire, but the sheer heat of the Omegadrone's internal systems were enough to throw off the disguise unit's circuitry: in rather ungallant terms, the knight had an Omegadrone's buttocks. Harrier bent over as Miss A worked on him; the robotic heroine sure that another few layers of sprayed-on insulation would prevent any further problems. "Do you have guests here?" he asked her as she worked, thinking of ways to make casual conversation.

[Electra]

"Guests?" she asked absently. "Not typically, there are people I bring into the lab to work with, but that's not exactly a matter of having guests. I don't like to make this place more public than I have to. The Lab is my public location, or ArcheTech if it comes to that. This is a place for me to work on personal projects, and things that I'm not ready to release to the public just yet. Nobody's going to be walking in on us while we're adjusting your holograms, if that's what you're worried about."