Dawn of the Cyber Empire IC

[EternalPhoenix]

September 1, 2016. Emerald City. Downtown. 9:00 AM.

 

It was just another day in Emerald City. Normal. Ordinary. Supercrime was a relatively new thing, and it still wasn’t expected in day to day life, like back in Freedom City. Traffic was…well, tolerable at least. Nobody was having any loud disagreements on the streets, on the phone or in person. The workday had just gotten started, and in offices all around downtown EC, people were safely earning their livings. Until…”Look, up in the sky!”

 

“It’s a bird!”

 

“It’s a plane!”

 

“No, it’s a superhero!”

 

“Oh my god it actually is a plane! Run!” A commercial jetliner was falling from the sky. The desperate pilots pulling at a control stick that didn’t respond, pressing buttons that now did nothing, and screaming warnings into a radio that no longer functioned. If someone didn’t do something, the plane was going to crash. Directly into City Hall. If only there was a superhero around…

[Avenger Assembled]

"Can you read me!?" Sharl was shouting out loud, but the message was being broadcast by radio too, his internal systems reaching out to whatever electronics still lay in what had become a falling brick before him. Citizen pulled up alongside the airplane - then moved directly in front of it, frantically calculating the structural integrity of a falling 747. It wasn't like in the movies - his electromagnetically reinforced frame could rip the falling plane and its fragile aluminum body apart like a micro-meteor striking a starship in the depths of space. He'd broken the sound barrier on his flight from across the river. But had he been fast enough?

 

Getting no immediate response, he matched the plane's velocity with his own, then took a position just ahead of the plane's center of gravity, spreading his arms and legs so the electromagnetic drive that powered his flight could begin the slow, careful process of pushing the plane out of its descent and guiding it towards a safe landing. He could feel the great fragile mass resisting his pull, and he knew with perfect clarity that he was alone out here, there was no one else in the Emerald Cities who could stop this plane before it struck the heart of the downtown...

[EternalPhoenix]

Citizen was both right and wrong about being the only one around who could help. On one hand, he was the only superhero currently in EC with the ability to help. However, he was not the only being in the area who could lend a hand. In fact, on the plane a rotund old man in a lab coat and thick glasses reached to his left, behind his lovely female companion’s neck, and pressed a button. Her eyes flickered open immediately. Her eyes adjusted to the level of light in the rapidly plummeting plane. “Doctor? Is there something wrong? We seem to be descending much too rapidly to be landing.”

 

The interior of the plane was a scene of people frozen in mortal terror, and the Doctor was no less frightened. “Yes, Elsa. Can you stop it before everyone here is permanently deactivated, please? We seem to have lost all power.”

 

Elsa tilted her head quizzically, alarm spreading across her features. “I can certainly make the attempt, Doctor. However, you did not design me to catch large falling planes.” She unbuckled her seat belt and immediately fell into the chair. “Error.” She floated into the air. “Corrected with anti grav systems. Doctor, what is a good access point to the outside? The passenger door would present a danger if opened at the present time.”

 

“Luggage entry. Find the trapdoor in the back.” The Doctor was losing the bit of nerve that had let him move to activate Elsa. In fact, he was now questioning his sanity in doing it.

 

“Yes, Doctor.” Elsa flew along the aisle to the back, scaring the passengers worse with her rapid passage. She pulled the trapdoor off and stowed it safely in the a rear bathroom. It wasn’t until she got down there that she detected a person shaped object (namely, Citizen) under the plane. It was possible this person had radio communication and as such, it was her duty to inform him of her intentions. “Hello? I do not know if you can hear me, but I will be exiting through the luggage door shortly to catch the plane. It will save the Doctor from permanent deactivation.” The luggage compartment was a bit cramped, but she was designed to be agile. The door was there, clearly marked. Provided the person did not object strenuously enough to trigger to her stop protocols, she would open the door and go outside.

[Avenger Assembled]

Citizen pushed back against the mass above him - and immediately felt the fragile aluminium of the plane began to crumple. Alien curses about the inferiority of Terran technology were interrupted by the radio signal from the entity inside the plane. Profound relief filled his mental 'voice' as he declared "Yes, absolutely. I'm seven meters down the main axis from the nose section, moving towards the eight meter mark." He readjusted the electromagnetic supercharge being emitted by his body, trying to successfully 'grab' enough of the plane behind him that he wouldn't go tearing through it if he exerted himself again. 

[EternalPhoenix]

The man outside did not object. In fact, he encouraged her. Elsa opened the luggage door the proper way. Her strength gyros could have simply ripped it off, however even an emergency situation was no reason to cause property damage. The wind roared into the plane’s interior, scatting loose pieces are luggage. Almost anyone else would have been slapped aside by the force. However, Elsa had now activated her strength gyros. She wouldn’t budge.  She would have to be careful, however. The plane was moving faster than her anti grav systems could propel her. One false move and she would be left behind. So she was cautious, and allowed the air pressure from the fall to glue her to the skin of the plane. Her anti grav systems inched her along into proper position, and then supplied the vector for her strength gyros to apply force. Radar showed that the man was within visual range, however she had higher priorities at the moment She applied her maximum force, and the anti grav systems spread it out appropriately to prevent damage to the aluminum, the most fragile of metals used for human transport. However, it was as she suspected. She was not designed with the strength required to catch a falling plane. Lifting one off of the ground was entirely possible, however the addition of a falling speed made the force more than she was designed to deal with.

 

Several stratagems flitted through Elsa’s mind. She wished she could ask the Doctor what the proper solution was. He was, however, always asking her to make her own decisions. Therefore, she would. The easiest way to allievate the problem of raw mass to stop was to remove some. If she could not stop the entire plane, she might be able to save the fuselage and passengers (including the Doctor). The wings could be removed, if not safely. “There is too much downward inertia. I cannot catch the plane at its current mass. Therefore, I will remove the wings. This will be the field test of my weapons systems. Please be cautious. I cannot guarantee perfect accuracy, and the mass will shift above you as each is removed.” Her right hand collapsed inside her wrist. Several interior changes occurred inside said wrist, and it became the barrel of an absurdly high caliber machine gun. She inched over carefully to a position where the left wing was in clear view and too aim. Barring the man triggering her stop protocols, she would execute her plan.

[Avenger Assembled]

Is that...another cyber-intelligence? There were precious few of those on Terra - enough that Sharl was briefly distracted from his task to study his new companion. 

 

No he messaged her urgently these planes aren't designed for that kind of damage - if you take off a wing, I'll lose control of it. Not that he had perfect control yet - he shifted downward a few feet, trying once again to find the plane's center of gravity to push against. And you'll drop debris down on a populated area. It was still hard to remind himself that people actually lived in the dwarfish, broad cities of Terra - the Emerald Cities being more so than Freedom City. Listen - here's what I need you to do. I can stop this plane - but if I do it alone, I may break it up in the air and kill the humans on board. I need you to provide a counterweight up by the starboard front fuselage. My name is Citizen and we can do this together. 

[EternalPhoenix]

Elsa considered. He did have a point. The Doctor would be unhappy if she indirectly subjected anyone to permanent deactivation just for him. And he said that he was… “Understood. I will provide the assistance you have requested. However, if you are lying and the Doctor is lost, I…I will be angry.” She moved slowly into the requested position, and in the process Citizen finally got a good look at her. She was fairly obviously an android, appearing to have no human skin aside from finely crafted facial features. Yet the metal skin was just as finely machined. She wore a simple floral sundress and no more. If she had shoes, they had blown away. She changed her gun barrel back into a hand and once again applied her strength gyros and anti grav systems to the underside of the plane. “My designation is Elsa. I am pleased to meet you, Citizen.”

[Avenger Assembled]

Electromagnetic repulsors and anti-grav units strained - and the airplane began veering up and away, slowly shifting out of its downward descent. Steer it towards Jacobs. The airport had been the initial destination of the plane, and would be the easiest place to put it down. As they navigated, the two machine intelligences communicated in binary radio transmissions about more mundane matters. I'm sorry, I'm not normally one for personal questions, but who built your body? I'm not familiar with your design. She did have a striking build, but despite his own cybernetic nature Citizen had grown up among people who believed themselves to be biological organisms. His admiration was professional...mostly. 

[EternalPhoenix]

The plane had slowed greatly from their efforts. They were going to accomplish this task. The Doctor was almost safe. Elsa was relieved. She did not have a reason not to share the pertinent details of her chassis. “My chassis is the work of the Doctor. His designation is Francis Neimond Stein. His specialty is in cybernetics. However, I am comprised of entirely inorganic material. My appearance was based on his daughter. She became permanently deactivated during my initial design phase.” The Doctor had not told her this, however he did not restrict access to his private files. Elsa did not sleep. And…she was curious about her origins. She did not share the designer of her weapons systems, or who had programmed her mind. Citizen had not asked about those two, after all.

Edited September 10, 2016 by EternalPhoenix

[Avenger Assembled]

That's interesting. My outer shell was built by Miss Americana's staff at Archetech. With the plane deflected, the robotic heroes were left with one serious problem - while they had managed to significantly alter its flight path through some carefully applied force, neither of them had the strength to actually lift a fully-loaded 747. After some fast consideration, and consultation of his GPS map of the Emerald Cities, Citizen said Put it down in the river. He was vaguely aware of the helicopters that were in the air, keeping a respectful distance but filming their rescue efforts, the buzz of electronic communications filling the air all around them at a density that approached that of Freedom City - but his focus was on both his load and his companion. We can keep the velocity slow enough to lessen the impact - and slow the sinking long enough to get the passengers off. He thought about the other entity's description of herself and her role and said I'll hold up the plane as long as I can. You get your maker off - and everyone else. 

[EternalPhoenix]

Elsa pondered a moment before realizing Citizen did not have her full specs. “You have insufficient information on my systems.” She probed experimentally, and the plane had slowed just enough. She pushed her strength gyros to their limit, no longer simply aiding Citizen’s efforts. The robotic paragon felt the weight of the plane come off of his hands. “I…can…carry…the…plane. Her “voice” strained with the effort, a neat programming trick. The Doctor would not approve of her straining her systems for this, however the lab was not so far away. And he always treated her as if her chassis was made of glass instead of reinforced titanium steel alloy, anyway. “Please…rescue…Doctor…superhero.” The last line was delivered with a up to this point unexpected level of warmth and wit. The superhero Citizen did indeed exist in Elsa’s memory banks, but not as an EC resident. If he had changed cities he would need the good publicity. Her feet touched runway tarmac, and her chassis groaned under the strain. However, nothing fractured or gave way. The anti grav kept her hands from simply penetrating the aluminum. “Whenever…you are…ready…”

[Avenger Assembled]

Citizen mentally revised his estimate of his companion's lifting strength upwards - substantially! Luckily he wasn't planning to scrap with the other robot; unlike what certain Terran popular fiction liked to believe, superheroes usually cooperated rather than fighting amongst each other.

 

Letting her bear the full weight of the plane, impressed by her anti-gravs' ability to keep the great Terran machine from collapsing in on itself, Citizen went to work. He flew up and along each side of the plane, reaching the exit doors before those inside could leave their seats. Quickly re-directing his internal electromagnetic energies, he sliced open the plane's various exit doors, catching and throwing the aluminum downward so it wouldn't stand in the way of those inside.

 

He was fast, covering and opening all the exits before the internal slides could deploy. He kept a close eye out for Elsa's guardian as he zipped from exit to exit, trusting that a cyberneticist would be the one most impressed by him. He certainly looked human - but most people knew Citizen was a robot. He'd never hidden his identity - just his origins. 

[EternalPhoenix]

Doctor Stein was indeed intrigued by Citizen. A famous superhero from Freedom City, and a robot to boot. After he’d slid down the yellow rubber slide to the ground, he tried to catch Citizen’s attention. He was a rotund old man, with white hair and crisp blue eyes. His mustache was thick and bushy and he seemed to radiate kindness. “Citizen! Citizen! I thank you for the rescue, but have you seen my Elsa? She is an android like you. Fool that I am, I asked her to rescue us.”

 

“Doctor…I am…under here.” Elsa drew Stein’s attention to where she was still holding up the plane. “Has everyone…gotten off? Can I…put it down?” Her actual voice was a thing of beauty. Meticulous craftsmanship showed in every note and tone.

 

Doctor Stein rapidly became alarmed. “Citizen, please! Take that from her immediately! Vocal strain is the programmed indicator of extreme system stress. Her current frame isn’t designed to bear that much weight. The joints alone could give at any moment.”

 

Elsa frowned, a faint glow backlighting her eyes. “I am…undamaged…Doctor.” Yet as she spoke her elbows appeared to be bending slightly, and her wrists were starting to deform.

 

Stein moved from alarm to panic. “Stubborn girl! That’s only your proto-body. It was never meant for that level of power output.  That’s why we’ve come here to get you into your universal chassis. Citizen, please, before her limbs collapse completely or her power conduits explode from the strain.”

 

 “Citizen…this…is within…my…specifications.” The determination in Elsa’s voice was ferocious, but the crumpling beginning to show in her shoulders offered a counter argument. As did the brightening glow behind her eyes. The choice was Citizen’s. Trust in his new android ally, or listen to her maker?

[Avenger Assembled]

Citizen hesitated briefly. Sharl had been in this position in the past - both of them. "I can handle it," he said to Elsa with a reassuring tone in his voice, standing beside her and raising his shoulders to take the burden of the plane, electromagnetic power matching gravitic to hold the plane up. It was a significant strain for his own cybernetic body, but nothing time in the lab wouldn't cure. His own voice gave no sign of the strain he was under, one advantage of a speech synthesizer under his total control. "Let's put it down together," he urged her. "Everyone is off," he added reassuringly. "and your maker is alive and well. On three..." As he spoke, he was already on the radio calling for emergency personnel - who naturally were already on their way. Maybe the Emerald Cities didn't have Freedom City's experience with superheroes, but they knew a near-disaster when they saw it. Come to think of it, from the amount of chatter on the radio, it seemed like everyone had seen it.