ic Birth Trauma

[The Sailor]

Sakurako crossed her arms. "I'm sure federal officials would appreciate all the information you could provide. There... is the witness protection program." She said, adjusting her suit. "But what needs to happen first is communication. My parents would be far more experienced in this sort of affair so I will defer to their judgement, but they have taught me a lot. About being a superheroine. About doing the right thing, and knowing when there is potential to save someone. And I want to save two people today. You from the Circus, and Hannah from her eventual fate."

"You do realize I am still a minor, sailor collared super suit or not. As such my words won't carry much weight, but it's my duty none the less to try what I can. Your life is in danger, as well as Hannah's. If you can help bring down Circus Maximus, I am sure in return you will have all the protection you need until things are safe."

"I... cannot begin to express though the thoughts I have in regard to your genius being tapped into for a Gladitorial fighting ring." She said, crossing her arms. "But... I want to give you a chance. A chance to bring your talents into the light. Where they should be. Imagine the lives you could save, Dr. Sparks. The people who would laud your name because you saved their child."

"I'm not here to judge you. I'm here to help someone and it seems you're in need of rescue too."

[Supercape]

GM

 

Doctor Sparks face turned sour and stern. 

 

"Well...I believe you when you say you will not judge me. But still....my exit plan did not involve dealing with the authorities. It would not be a negotiation, no...it would be begging ...begging for leniency. I would have no leverage..."

 

The microbots LED lights blinked, at it started hovering ominously closer to Endevour...

 

"No, my plan here is to escape. Forged documents. Cleared passage...and my ticket..."

 

Enter Hannah...

 

"Is your...friend...here. Hannah. One of the worlds best hackers. We have struck a deal, her and I. My skill in cybernetics, to counteract her neurological disease. And she clears me a way to India. I fancy a change of scene, and I doubt even the Circus Maximus would find me in the sprawling cities of that chaotic land!" he finished, cracking his knuckles. 

 

"You...coulda waited for me before getting all cozy..." said Hannah, slumping on a lab chair, bruised and exhausted from her walk. Her arms were trembling from the effort. She gave Doctor Sparks a long hard look. "What did you say?" she asked him, harshly.

 

"Just explaining out deal, my lovely" smiled Doctor Sparks, an uneasy, haggard smile, directed to Endevour. 

 

"What is it to be, Endevour? Would you allow me to operate? would you allow me to escape?"

[The Sailor]

Sakurako looked at the ground. "One request... You have information on the Circus Maximus? I will arrange a... blindside. It'll be painful but it will look like you were making your escape and had me temporarily... unconscious." She said, pointing to a scalpel. "It would be all a ruse, of course, and you'd be surprised how much one bleeds when taking a simple cut to the forehead. Ask a pro wrestler and they'll tell you. But with the bandage, I'll have some data to show for it. I can simply chalk it up to my inexperience in situations like this, but still got something important. As for Hannah... what is her exit strategy in all this?" It turned her stomach that she just got put in the center of all this... and what is gonna happen from here? She was... out of her depth.

"Will she... have to come with you?" She looked to Hannah. "Such a procedure would probably require your supervision for a while, wouldn't it?"

Edited December 28, 2014 by The Osprey

[Supercape]

GM

 

"An intelligent barter" said Doctor Sparks, smiling, and handing her a data stick. He closed her hands around the stick, in a kind of handshake clasp. 

 

"And I have prepared just such a bargaining chip. A fair trade, then? My knowledge of the Circus Maximus is far from complete. It is an onion, secret later after secret layer. And yet, it is far from invaluable. And if you help take down the Circus, I can only benefit!" he said, bright eyed again. 

 

"And as for Hannah. She is skilled enough to leave her hacking untracked, I am sure", a sentiment that Hannah nervously nodded in agreement to. 

 

"She need to leave. This facility may not be the cleanest but I have antibiotics that could wipe out any known bug. And the device is already prepared..."

 

He getsured Hannah to an operating table, and brought out his device. It looked rather ghastly, a tungsten needle and small web at the non sharp end. It was the size of his hand. A hand which, despite all his caffeine, looked steady. Doctor Sparks was not boasting about his ability in his field. 

[The Sailor]

Sakurako took more measure of the explosives in the room, but the thought of every device going off was... now a clear and present threat, beyond what sort of banter they had going. Hannah was about to go under a procedure, thing is what she didn't know. She couldn't play her other ace in the hole. And she would have to be quick, setting it up on the EM wand to do it. It'll most likely fry the focusing array on the wand, and shut her suit down, but she was wagering he could trigger the explosives by computer, and the stuff around her didn't look like it was EMP shielded. She unconciously twitched her right hand, waiting for the moment when she knew she might have to stop from becoming chunky salsa.

Edited December 28, 2014 by The Osprey

[Supercape]

GM

 

The operation begins...

 

Hannah only had local anaesthetic. "It is vital to monitor her neurological functions...here, hold this..." said Doctor Sparks, engrossed in his work. The patient, Hannah, was lying on a makeshift bed, staring at some lights above her. 

 

The operation was not for the faint of heart. It required removing part of Hannah's skull, and delicately, via steady robot hands remote controlled, inserting the device in her. 

 

"A quantum lithium battery, should last for ever. And we have carbon-tungsten alloy nano tendrils radiating to the cerebellum and the substantia nigra, forming a stabilising super fast system!" said Doctor Sparks, looking up at Endeavour from his operation, his white coat splattered with blood and cerebrospinal fluid. At least he seemed to be enjoying himself. Hannah was deathly pale from fright...

[The Sailor]

Sakurako set down her bags, pulling out a pair of rubber gloves to wear over her suit's... sanitation would be a thing at this point with this procedure. In fact she sets her EM-Wand in the center of the room, calibrating the frequency of it's personal electromagnetic field to create a antiseptic field in the room, making it inhospitable for bacteria and viruses, not to mention making them unable to bind to cells.

 

"Really, you didn't think of ensuring that the surgical theater was sanitary before opening her up? You're lucky I started that before the scalpel hit her scalp. Also you need to make an adjustment. She'd have a wonderful singing voice though as that's near her speech centers." She said, looking at where he was about to start. "3 millimeters clockwise on the X axis, 1 millimeter on the Y. That should ensure you land squarely where you need to be."

She was amazed that Hannah was still conscious through the procedure, the anesthetics being used were highly, highly advanced, although she knew that with any brain surgery, the patient is generally conscious to know where to avoid damage. She never thought she'd actually be looking at a live human brain. Particularly one of someone who was just a clerk.

"If you really want to make this work, network this to her different sense centers, she would have better reaction to stimuli."

Edited December 28, 2014 by The Osprey

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Bah! Bugs!" sneered Doctor Sparks, injecting Hannah with a large injection of some viscous purple liquid. Antibiotics, presumably. He moved his scalpel slightly in response to Endeavours suggestion. 

 

With hook and with crook and with scalpel and diathermy, the operation was completed, and was a success. A harrowing experience for Hannah, who was white and covered in sweat. 

 

"Well, its in and good to go, my dear" said Doctor Sparks, wiping his hands. "Give it a go, give it a go..."

 

Nervously, Hannah closed her eyes, and concentrated...

 

And then seized up, in a spasm of pain, screaming in agony...

 

And her eyes flitted open.

 

"Oh dear God it hurts..it hurts..." she said, clenching her fists. But despite it all, her ataxia had gone. Her movements were fast, controlled, in fact...perfect...

 

She bounced of the bed, like a cat, landing in a crouch. 

 

"Everything fast...my mind...it's supercharged...." she said, looking directly at Endeavour. 

 

"This was how I was meant to be...just like you!" she continued, accusingly. "In fact, better than you!" 

 

Dr Sparks looked alarmed, backing off, ordering his floating Microbots infront of him. 

 

"Careful now, no rash decisions, my dear!" he told Hannah, wiping his brow. 

 

Hannah just straightened up, a fluid quick motion, and smiled. 

 

"Nothing rash. No, my mind is faster than you could ever comprehend doctor. This is a decision that has been tasted for years. Your little device is a marvel, but the shock it delivers...is both unpleasant and transitory, is it not?"

 

"Yuh--yuh--yes!" blubbered a worried Doctor Sparks. 

 

Hannah shook off the last of the pain with her clenched fists. "What I really need is the genetic material of my dear sister here...." she finished, pointing right at Endeavour. 

[The Sailor]

This was getting too much... everything was working but suddenly Hannah was having some sort of psychological breakdown. She wasn't going to ask questions. Doctor Sparks could be fully able to take Sakurako down when he needed, and something was horribly wrong with this whole situation. The issue here though, was she now was well in over her head. She was going to just set off a pulse and run, but Sakurako decided at this point this was too dangerous. She shouldn't have gone in this deep, she should have talked to her parents first.

Sakurako runs out, as soon as she turns the corner outside she supplements her speed with her flight. 'ground skating' as it were to the nearest manhole cover. This was too much for her. Perhaps if she can get outside and find someone that could help she could come back... but she doubted that they would remain there.

There's no answers for her, but to run.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Doctor Sparks was too shocked to anything but blurt out "Her? You need her?" as he stepped back, knocking over glassware and medical equipment. 

 

"I thought the implant would be enough! But now I see you wanted more...your sister! That is why you brought her here!"

 

Hannah did not answer, instead, quick as a flash, and lithe as a cat, she ran out of Doctor Sparks hideout, keeping her balance even through the scum and slime of the sewer. She was unused to such fluidity of movement, but still, she was an agile one now. 

 

The dim lights of the Sewer met her, as Endeavour flew away, banking around a corner. Lithe as she now was, Hannah could not match the speed of her "sister". Not by a long shot. 

 

But...

 

She pressed her hands to her temple and concentrated. 

 

"That was not the first piece of work Doctor Sparks did for me!" she shouted at Endeavour. "And I need you. I was just the throwaway, the unneeded and unwanted genetic experiments. You owe me a life!"

 

With that, Endeavour felt a spark fly off in her brain, something electrical short circuiting her muscles....

[The Sailor]

Sakurako felt the surge hit. It was painful. Psychic? Was this a psychic attack? No, it wasn't IN her head, it was something like being hit from a tazer. This wasn't good. She was outclassed, not knowing what Hannah could do. She decided to remember something her folks taught her. Move at right angles around corners and break the line of sight. Many psychic and magical powers that need line of sight are useless in an environment like this.

Endeavor pushed herself past the pain, and flew down random sewer tunnels, listening for a loud running sound. To find one of the outlets to the river. Or the ocean. Whatever worked. Then she needed to have a talk - a very, very long one with her parents. But this pain, it felt like every nerve and muscle were revolting against her! She toughed it out.

She eventually got to where the Wading River and South River met, spitting out near the Sentry statue. She splashes down, and floats for a few minutes as she re-collected her mind and her ability to move. Floating by her inflated life preserver until about 5 minutes later she felt better enough to rocket out to her Parent's yacht at the North Bay Yacht Club.

She landed on the deck, looking soaked, confused, scared, and a bit angry.

"OkÄsan!!!" Sakurako shouted. She always spoke in Japanese when greeting, or in this case in calling out her mother. She'd be the first one she'd look for.

Edited December 28, 2014 by The Osprey

[Supercape]

GM

 

Mikoto and Kikaru Hino were on the Yacht, inside. At this time of year, the weather was unattractive for the deck. Inside, over a game of Go, they drunk tea and talked. 

 

And, when Endeavour landed, bolted up to see what had happened. 

 

"What in the infinite Hells is going on? You smell like you have been swimming in raw sewage!" blurted her mother, actually pinching her nose which upturned inbetween concerned eyes. 

 

Despite a wash in the ocean, sewers smells had a habit of lingering. 

 

"I'm going to give you a shot of antibiotics. Looks like you could need them" said her father, with a slight smile despite the situation. He went back down, inside the yacht, to make himself useful and bring out the first aid kit. 

 

Mikoto sat down and handed her daughter a towel.  

 

"You have got a story to tell, I think" she said, opening up a suggestion...

[The Sailor]

Sakurako sat down, opening her helmet and starting to let the air out of her life preserver.

 

"Starting off, I have an admission... I decided to go solo to do a humanitarian mission for a clerk at that game shop I frequent... thing is one it was in fact in the sewers, two it was with a scientist who had ties with the Circus Maximus who was looking to get away from them and three... bad things happened."

 

She looked to her mother as the air hissed out. "Doctor Sparks is the name of the individual on the run from the CM... and... he had offered this girl, named Hannah, who had a unique form of Ataxia some assistance she desperately needed... it was a form that was terminal. Genetic."

 

She looked to Mikoto. "Question... what happened to the synth-womb I was in when I was born? Also... was there a sister? Because after Dr. Sparks did his cybernetic operation, which by the way was a unabashed success, Hannah started claiming she was my sister screaming for my genetic data like some mad genius. Well that and she could psychically hack my brain..."

 

She massaged her head. "It was... bad. Very, very bad what I stumbled into." She said, starting to shiver from fear. Her clinical analysis was quickly eroding.

Edited December 31, 2014 by The Osprey

[Supercape]

GM

 

"That's quite an admission..." said Mikoto, drawing her breath and wringing her hands. 

 

"The synth - womb... you must understand, we wanted you very much. Our love for you, it knows few bounds. The technology we used was revolutionary, extraordinary, and also...it would offend the sensibilities of some. Playing God, they said. We had to shroud it in a veil of secrecy. And the experiments...the experiments..." she sighed. 

 

"I would spare you the sweat and tears, the horror of all our experiments. The failures were...distressing...to say the least. I did not know that any of your sisters survived. But it would be possible...." she looked distraught. 

 

"A sister in some ways, sharing some, but not all of your DNA. Yes, it is possible. I..would rather not think of it..." she said, before bursting into tears and holding her head in her hands. 

 

"What happened? What did you do? What did you say?" said Hikaru, first aid kit in hand, stern and angry. The sight of his beloved wife so upset had hardened his gaze on his daughter. 

[The Sailor]

"N... nothing that was pointing towards us. It seemed they knew about us more than anything,anyways. Anything I could have said would have just been something they already knew, Father." She said. "To be honest they sprung this on me. If anything we're already compromised. To think I was going to give Doctor Sparks aid in getting away from the Circus Maximus. At least give him somewhere to start from. Thing is... he's done some really bad things it sounds like and even if he was on the up and up, he's a just criminal."

She sighed as Hikaru injected her. The bee-sting like injection was, probably just the start of her problems tonight. "I've... I got in deep tonight. Literally in this case."

"But, it makes sense that there is the possibility someone might have taken one of my... sisters. But tossed them aside seeing how fatally flawed they were, perhaps? It would make sense for a superhuman criminal to take some child with the potential to be a supergenius. They just didn't have the capability to fix their flaws... maybe that's why she wanted my genetic matter so badly. I could patch the holes in her genome possibly."

 

"Thing is she's been driven mad. She's on the hunt and still remembers you two. She's taken it personal and it seems her whole act as "Hannah" was a ruse to get me where she needed me while taking care of her nervous system issues."

 

She started to visibly shake with emotion. "She... didn't need me in the first place. She just set me up. She PLAYED ME!" She shouted, her father steadying her to keep her from moving much. "I'm... nothing more than some organ donor to her!" She said, clenching her fist. "The only other person on this planet like me and she's hunting me like some animal!"

 

Her parents could tell that Sakurako was emotionally compromised.

Edited January 2, 2015 by The Osprey

[Supercape]

GM

 

Sakurakos parents where in a similar emotional state. There was a pause, a deep silence, as the shock gave way to a clash of emotions. Her father turned away, angry, towards the ocean, angry at himself and angry, it seemed, at the universe. His fist slammed down onto the yacht. 

 

"Damn it all! The scars never stop hurting!" he swore at the horizon. 

 

Her mother slammed her tears shut, wiping them away with a steel hand. 

 

"You must protect yourself then. This is not the end. Just something to endure and overcome" she said, not quite looking at Sakurako when she said it. 

 

As she spoke, one of Doctor Sparks Mircobots zipped out of the sewer gutter and sped its way towards the yacht, flying a few feet of the sea, silent and sleek...

[The Sailor]

"Then what is the first step, Mother... Father?"

 

She adjusted her vest. Reloading a CO2 cartridge after making sure her vest was nice and flat, rolling it back up into it's stowed configuration. "I'm drawing a blank here. I've just started at Claremont and I well... I'm out of my element here. Heck, I thought I was in those sewers back... wait... it is possible to get a signal out from the sewers given proper time to set up, right?" Sakurako asked, her paranoia creeping on her. "Doc Sparks had drones, hovering little things that could fire off knock-out darts that are dosed with a pretty decent neuro-inhibitor that practically paralyzes any non-autonomic functions of the body rather quickly."

 

Itching her nose... "I don't know if they were bound to the sewer or not." She said, pulling out her wand and calibrating it.

Edited January 5, 2015 by The Osprey

[Supercape]

GM

 

Meanwhile, one of those very drones was whizzing over the ocean, silent and smooth, at a steady pace. It was not fast, but it was fast enough, around 30 miles per hour. Its little LED lights blinked, and the gun on its base swivelled, to point towards the Yacht. 

 

"Always beware, my daughter. The past has, it seems, caught up with us all" she said, drying her tears and her daughters. 

 

"I'm too old to fight, damn it! But I will fight nevertheless, even if it kills me!" said her father, slamming the yacht with his fist once again. 

 

"...Your heart..." whispered his wife. 

 

"Damn my heart! Doctors tell me this, tell me that...no salt in my food, pills for this, pills for that!" he retorted grinding his teeth. His blood pressure was surely not helped by the situation. 

 

And the microbot sped over the ocean, in plain sight, approaching the Yacht...

[The Sailor]

"I think even if I wouldn't have gone down there tonight this would have happened anyways. it's better to have had it happen now, and not when the enemy has had time to prepare. That's not my sister. No sister of mine would behave like this! I wouldn't allow it."

 

She turned to her father. "You know we really should go further with that stem cell treatment of your heart muscles while I start designing that nanite injection to help clean and repair your arteries." She said, worried about her dad as the drone closed in closer... that was her weakness, putting other's concerns first when a major concern was closing in behind her. With malice in it's cold, emotionless camera lenses.

Edited January 6, 2015 by The Osprey

[Supercape]

GM

 

A tinny squark came out of the Microbot as it stopped, a hundred feet from the Yacht. 

 

"You led me a good chase, sister! But I am everywhere!" came the voice of Hannah through the Microbots speakers. Clearly she was, at some level, guiding the little robot. 

 

"And...what do we have here? Our parents? I could do with a little talk with them.." she hissed through the speakers, before regaining composure again. "But first things first! You have something I want..."

 

A blast of purple ionic energy pulsed from the microbot and streaked through the air, landing squarely on Endeavour...

[The Sailor]

Sakurako slid back from the hit, but she thanked her foresight to create the outer membrane of her suit out of a Graphene derivative polymer. "Mom, Dad, prepare to defend yourselves!" She shouted, her wand still in hand from her calibrations as she dashed into the air to close within her comfortable range of attack with her wand. "Hannah... this isn't a chase." Sakurako said, pointing her EM Wand at the drone. "This is a foolish endeavor!"

 

She unloaded a blast of lightning, streaming from the tip of her want at the attack drone! "TAKE THIS!"

Edited January 7, 2015 by The Osprey

[Supercape]

GM

 

The lance of lightning exploded over the ocean with a burst of light, smacking the microbot with full force. For a moment, in hung in the air, encased in electric sparks and a mesh of white light. 

 

"Run Run Run! You cannot Hide!" it (or rather, Hannah) squarked. 

 

And then, it promptly exploded, debris raining down into the ocean, and black acrid smoke sailing up into the skies. A few of the larger pieces of the little robot set alight on the ocean waves for a moment, before promtly sinking. 

 

"I don't think we need to Defend ourselves!" said Sakurako's father, a little chuckle on his lips. 

[The Sailor]

Endeavor lands back on the deck of the yacht, brushing off where the shot the drone managed to get off struck, above her kidney. It was a little tender, but nothing a Advil couldn't help. "Looks like I both overestimated the enemy, and underestimated my own capabilities. But we should get moving. Mom... can you send the yacht out? I know of a old small dock that when Claremont was a normal private academy used for it's sailing team. We can park there for a short time until the heat dies down. Meanwhile..." She detaches the life preserver from her vest, setting it on the deck. "...I'm going to head into the water and see if I can retrieve something of that drone. I wanna see if there is any left-over bits with functioning memory or CPUs... any intel is better than nothing."

She walked over to the rail. "I'll be five minutes, then we should get under-way."

She jumped into the water, the slight buoyancy her suit provided changed as air vented from her suit, letting her dive down into the water near where she saw the drone get splashed. She wasn't the best of swimmers, but she didn't have to worry about drowning. "Looks like I'm gonna have to take some swimming classes after all..."

Edited January 9, 2015 by The Osprey

[Supercape]

GM

 

Down down down Endeavour sank, like a stone. But this was not unhelpful. They were not far into the ocean, in relatively shallow waters. The light was dimn, but the sun shone strong on a cloudless sky. It was actually a rather beautiful and serene sink. 

 

A school of fish swarmed past her as she hit the ocean floor, some twenty or thirty feet from the surface. 

 

It took some time, but the debris of the microbot could be found, and collected. In the silt and dark, it was hard to be sure that every nut and bolt was found, but a couple of minutes sifting through the floor, where she found an old boot, a tin of beans, and, somewhat curiously, a kitchen sink, various pieces of the machine were located. Sizzled, blackened, and broken, but intact...

[The Sailor]

Sakurako loads what she finds of use into one of the many draw-string trash bags she had stuffed into her mission vest, then takes a second bag out, opening it, pinching one end off with it's draw-string, then tying it's drawstrings to the bag holding all of the bits. Holding her breath she puts it to a vent on her helmet, then opened the vent letting air flow into the second bag, turning it into a lift bag. With her holding it, it wouldn't shoot up with the added weight of the junked drone, but once Sakurako closed the bag and let it go, it went for the surface. Sakurako herself closed the vent on her helmet, then programming up a new program app on her interface, she has her suit loosen up without it open up for disrobing, then lets air into it from her helmet to start heading for the surface. It's not long till Sakurako and her salvage are sitting on the surface, and she waves to the yacht after stopping the internal venting into her suit.

"HEY! I GOT SOMETHING!" She shouted, turning on the flashlight on her vest. "SOMEONE THROW ME A LINE!"

Edited January 9, 2015 by The Osprey