•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
1:39 PM ... is in bad shape, and the lab is in even worse shape. She only needs a glance to see that. He's sickly pale, ghostly white. He's wearing the blocky mostly green, and part white greaves and boots of his power armor, and the top half too, but the armor is missing in a chunk on his white shoulder. Where it's missing Millie can see what looks like a  soaked bloody white t-shirt wrapped around his shoulder.  Under it the skin at his shoulder and
1:39 PM upper arm is entirely coated in the material Artisan normally builds with. She can see the metal covered ripped flesh at its edges, and how his arm hangs limply. On the same arm his hand his a hole through it like the pictures of jesus, just clean through with the power armor's gauntlet still on his hand in everything. He's breathing heavily his phone on the floor discarded next to him, with his eye screwed closed. His teeth are grit but he
1:39 PM doesn't seem to have a lot of strength to grit them very tightly. He sways back and forth even with the base of a workstation behind his back to support him. He doesn't even seem to notice the elevator doors open with a "woosh"
1:39 PM The sleek whites, greens, browns, and chromes of the dashboards, monitors, workstations, and assembly lines are scattered. There are materials and blueprints scattered all over the floor, with blood stains on one workstation in specific and something interesting looking to her power sitting on it.  His mannequin like minions are scrambling around in the background between the stations working at /something/, thought it seems too small scale
1:39 PM for her to know what.
1:39 PM Next to Artisan she sees the other person he's with. An Offshoot with yellow skin,  and he's not wearing a shirt but at least he has on some camouflage pants with an inversion on the colors. He's pretty skinny besides the outline of a six pack. He has a little bit of curled dark yellow hair in the middle of his chest that reminds her of clawed fingers faintly. His hair is made of actual grasping claws the fall kind of like angry, agitated
1:39 PM scratching curls. He has a frown and a very worried look on his face as he crouches down next to Artisan looking like he has absolutely no idea what to do. His head jerks up when he sees her entering and his eyes widen.
1:40 PM "Millie?!" He asks, his voice sounding like he's on the verge of a panic attack, but there's a high note of hope in his voice. Artisan's eyes open weakly hearing the name and he glances over in her direction.
1:40 PM ||
1:40 PM moves his head weakly in her direction*
1:42 PM S<Saff|Millie> "Shit." Millie says as she runs over to Max. "What happened? Fuck."
1:42 PM Her heart is racing in her chest. "Yeah, I'm Millie. Who are you? Help me get him on the table. Max? Can you hear me? Hey. Hang in there. You're going to be alright."
1:42 PM She hopes, at least. Maybe if she says it enough she'll believe it. Still, her heart is going to fast. She's anxious. She has to try to regulate that in order to be objective. ||
1:43 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ((Ath, or Wits - Reflexes please))
1:43 PM ...
1:44 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6 wits because it's higher than Ath
1:44 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "wits because it's higher than Ath" [6]  = 6
1:45 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Millie rushes forward, and then weaves back as a one of Artisan's drones just bowls past her seemingly paying its surroundings no mind as it moves to the next workstation. They're all moving that way singled mindedly focused on some task. No others get in her way as she rushes over to get down and help the Offshoot get him up onto the table.
1:45 PM ((Brawn please))
1:45 PM $roll 1d6 Ted Brawn
1:45 PM A<[ATM]> ATM ColdGold|GM "Ted Brawn" [5]  = 5
1:46 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6-1 Brawn
1:46 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "Brawn" [5] -1 = 4
1:49 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold "He said they... 'fucking drilled him through his hand and, ran a buzz saw through his damn shoulder'" The Offshoot recites back to Millie nervously as if he had to think back kind of hard to recall what exactly Artisan had said had happened. Neither of them are the strongest people, the Offshoot looking pretty scrawny, and Millie having just recovered from cancer sucking the life out her body and all that but the urgency of the situation
1:49 PM brokers no room for error and the both take him on either side setting him down on top of some sprawled plans on his work station. He accidentally presses some button on the touchscreen and a slot pops out the side but they ignore it.
1:49 PM The Offshoot lifts his hands up, then down, the back up again, then he looks around hurriedly like he's trying to figure out what to do next. He looks back over at Millie like he just remembered she was there.
1:51 PM "Oh. I'm Ted. I know you because he was talking about you. Said you were really smart and were the only person that didn't hate his guts." He says at a mile a minute. He looks so nervous he's going to throw up. He's been through a lot today also clearly.
1:51 PM ((Know please))
1:51 PM ((Or actually))
1:51 PM ((Well yeah do it anyway))
1:51 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6+1 FUCK
1:51 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "FUCK" [5] +1 = 6
1:53 PM Faustus → FaustAndAbout
1:55 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold She recognizes him without even needing to pull anything up, a quick mental search on the internet to double check confirms it. This is Theodore Gibbs, the Offshoot that was currently wanted all over the city for 'Aiding and abetting Roach in her attack at the mall' according to several media sources, last sightings of him had reported him disappearing into the slums but people were up in arms about him apparently. He was the most hated man in
1:55 PM the city, and other sources said Ascended from nearby were even coming in to hunt for the large bounty that had been placed on him. Alive. People didn't want to see him just die, they wanted him to rot in jail, or worse. He doesn't look like an evil person in person like the pictures though, kind of weird and scary because she's never seen an Offshoot before, but besides that he just looks like a normal scared guy.
1:55 PM "Millie..." Artisan gets out weakly.
1:55 PM ||
2:01 PM → Divock joined (uid166648@tooting.irccloud.com)
2:01 PM S<Saff|Millie> She can't care that he's wanted at the moment. She needs the extra body in the lab. Millie takes a few deep breaths, trying to control her emotions as she surveys the situation.
2:01 PM "I need you to listen to me very carefully. Go over to the sink over there and scrub up to your elbows with the blue solution. Put on some gloves. After that's done, I need you to cut the clothing and armor off of his wound so I can take a look at it." Millie swallows. Is this going to work? "Any funny business and you will be sorry."
2:01 PM She then turns to one of the mannequin bots, still hurrying. "I need surgical packets A through D. Retrieve one square of shock material number 874-02, I also need a blood test kit, and my jacket."
2:01 PM Millie exhales, already out of breath, and starts thinking of what else. She has no anesthetics in the lab, and all the blood she has is A+. She doesn't know Max's blood type. She can't use that on him. Fuck. Instead of panicking, she pulls up the GRD's number on her HUD. She may have just given Gecko a bad time, but maybe he'll let her call in a favor. ||
2:03 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ((Command please))
2:03 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6 FUCKKKKKKKKKK
2:03 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "FUCKKKKKKKKKK" [5]  = 5
2:05 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
2:06 PM ((Oh and Willpower))
2:06 PM ((Gutsu))
2:06 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6 GUTS GUTS GUTS
2:06 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "GUTS GUTS GUTS" [1]  = 1
2:06 PM S<Saff|Millie> ((GREAT JOB MILLIE))
2:14 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Ted looks at her with his eyes wide, she can see he has no iris' just the outlines of them. His eyes are a yellow orange color. He's bobbing his head up and down at her instructions and running around to complete to the wash station just as she instructed. As nervous as he is he seems to get everything done quickly. He's not a guy who hesitates at least. As he washes, and gloves up Millie turns to the next bot who's working furiously. It
2:14 PM straight up ignores her when she talks to it, and even turns away from her to walk to another work station. There are others nearby she knows can hear her but they ignore her as well. She still manages to pull up the number on HUD but the mannaquins not responding is seriously slowing her down she knows she needs all of these things to start, and none of the mannaquins will get them for her! Her effoets to keep calm seriously start to fail
2:14 PM her. Max is bleeding out. He's hurt. They ran him through with a buzzsaw? She doesn't know the full extent of the situation but Ted's panic is starting to spread to her a little. She needs to get back in control. Ted is back over with gloves quickly and he's already moving to cut the makeshift bandages and armoring away though he seems unsure of how to approach it. He's likely never had to do anything like it before.
2:14 PM $roll 1d6+1 Ted Medical
2:14 PM A<[ATM]> ATM ColdGold|GM "Ted Medical" [5] +1 = 6
2:16 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Despite not knowing what to do Ted moves quickly and precisely. He leans over and the claws on his head listen to him cutting through armor and cloth easily but leaving Artisan mostly untouched. Still Artisan groans he turns and reaches out to grab Millie's wrist.
2:16 PM "...my dad's armor..." He says with urgency in his /quiet/ voice pulling on her slightly.
2:16 PM ||
2:20 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie comes in close, her heart racing. Fuck, fuck. "His armor? What about it? Max? I'm here." She bites her lip as she leans in, the scent of blood unbearable. At least with the armor and clothing out of the way she can see the wound a little bit better.
2:20 PM "Mannequins aren't listening. Ted, I need you to grab kits A through D, a square of the pink material, and a blood testing kit. They're all in the bins near the sink. They're labeled."
2:20 PM She then hits dial on the GRD number. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Shut it off, shut it off. She knows she needs to scrub in as well, but Max doesn't want her to move. "Please tell me quickly so I can help you." ||
2:21 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
2:21 PM ((Command again please))
2:22 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6 FUCK LISTEN TO ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT
2:22 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "FUCK LISTEN TO ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT" [1]  = 1
2:23 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold "Okay, okay. Kits A through, uh... the material. A kit?" She can hear him saying under his breath as he scrambles over to the sink, almost getting knocked over by a drone on his way there.
2:27 PM "..his chest core... I have it." Max pulls on her wrist again harder this time, and he seems to be looking pointedly over to the other side of the lab but there's nothing there. The phone starts ringing as he talks, it was the number Gecko had left her when he'd been leaving so hopefully it'd skip the receptionist and all the BS.
2:27 PM ((Willpower please))
2:31 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6 Guts pls
2:31 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "Guts pls" [5]  = 5
2:32 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold As Millie breathes deeper in and out, in and out, shut it out, she feels herself calm and become more focused on what's going on around her. She can do this. She has to do this. The drones aren't listening because Artisan had programmed them to a task, she needs to get him to change their directive to help, she's gathered in her time observing him that building and defending are their main functions.
2:33 PM "Shit, uh which kits do I get again? The pink material?" Ted calls back, fumbling through the drawers.
2:33 PM ||
2:36 PM S<Saff|Millie> "A through D, and blood test. I have a theory. And yeah, it's pink and kind of feels like rubber. Can't miss it." Millie nods. "Max, I need to get washed up. I'll be right back. Just hang on, okay?"
2:36 PM She drops his hand for a moment, then runs over to get cleaned up and gloved. While doing so, she grabs a bottle of disinfectant type Orange, and her jacket. She slides the jacket on, then heads back over to Max.
2:36 PM "This isn't going to feel good, but I need you to stay with me, okay?" Millie asks Max. "Tell me about the core. Where did you get it from? Is that why you're like this?"
2:36 PM Deep breaths, deep breaths as she uses the disinfectant to get the blood out of the way of the wound. She needs to see if the arm is salvageable. "Pick up, Gecko, come on...." ||
2:40 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold The wound without the armor, and tshirt covering it up looks like a sculpter tried to replicate what it would look like if a serrated circular blade tore through the muscles, tendons, meat, and flesh that made up your shoulder and held your arm to your body with the metal over it. The metal seems to be fading slowly to a point though, and blood (though an alarmingly small amount of it) is beginning to trickle in droplets again. The arm is
2:40 PM attached by literal threads and its a wonder its still on. Even if she can keep it on, its going to be seriously scarred. It might have to come off period. Ted seems to get the picture this time and grabs everything as instructed while Millie runs off to grab her jacket, pulling from Artisan's grip.
2:41 PM "Millie!" He calls after her, louder than he's spoken all night. He coughs raggedly.
2:41 PM ((Ath please))
2:41 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6-1
2:41 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie [1] -1 = 0
2:41 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ((Or Dex actually))
2:41 PM ((Dex too*))
2:41 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6+1 Dex she can do that
2:41 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "Dex she can do that" [2] +1 = 3
2:42 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Millie /runs/ over to the other counter, Mannequins scrambling around her paying her no mind. At one point three of them move to new stations at once and bounce her around trapping her between them for precious moments. The phone is ringing through all of this until it finally picks up.
2:44 PM "You've reached Gecko, can I ask who this is?" The voice comes back as she finally gets to the station to slot her jacket on. It clicks into place and slots into the spaces in her spine but she barely registers the pain as her and Ted come back up to Artisan with everything she needs to get started at almost the same time.
2:46 PM Max looks desperate and upset but he focuses on Millie again when he sees her approaching again, reaching out to her. "Ignatius had it. Millie... I have it!" He says, urgency in his voice again. "It still had fluids in it..." He trails off again, his eyes fluttering. He looks like he's struggling to keep them open.
2:46 PM "What do we do now?" Ted asks laying everything out.
2:46 PM ||
2:48 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie's eyes light up for a moment. It had fluids in it? They could... they could make a cure! Her head starts sputtering into thoughts and ideas, but she has to push them back.
2:48 PM "Gecko, this is Synapse. I need to call in a major favor. Decide the terms later, but I need several bags of O- blood, and some heavy duty painkillers. I don't have time to explain. I'm in the Stronghold building. I will give you the code to get in, but I need you to be fast. Someone's..." her voice cracks, "Someone's really hurt."
2:51 PM She turns back to Ted, muting her sound input so she can give him orders. "Give him the pink material to bite on. Actually, hold off a moment. Get the blood testing kit."
2:51 PM Millie turns back to Max and reaches to grab his hand. However, she hesitates. His hand isn't sterile. "Max, I don't think I can save it. I promise you. I promise this is going to be okay. I'll make sure you can still draw, you can still...." Deep breaths, regulate adrenaline. "When I first got here, you told me that you weren't Buckler, you weren't Siege. And I understand that. You're... you're Max. You're my best friend. I don't... I don't
2:51 PM care if you don't ever become a hero again, I just want you to stay alive. You have to promise me that. You have to!"
2:51 PM ||
2:51 PM → Turncoat joined (uid185268@highgate.irccloud.com)
2:52 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ((Social please))
2:52 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6 Social please dear god bless me tonight
2:52 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "Social please dear god bless me tonight" [2]  = 2
2:52 PM Teruzi → Teruzi|GM
2:55 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Gecko doesn't interject and just listens quietly to her whole explanation. Halfway through it she can already here rustling on the other line as he's already no doubt getting his things together and moving. He takes a second to reply after she's done talking.
2:56 PM "Synapse, I was just leaving work but I think they have blood there. Don't worry about any terms, you say somebody needs help I'll be there. Give me five minutes, okay?" He replies his voice sounding very calm.
3:00 PM Ted's already setting out the test kit for her as she crouches next to Artisan, he reaches up and touches her cheek with his left hand leaving a small stain on her face.
3:00 PM "...the reversal fluid." He finishes. His tears up hearing about the arm, and closes his eyes shut tight with a sob. He leans over and dry heaves but only a little comes up leaving flecks on Millie's shoes. He doesn't reply, and just goes still there unconscious as the last of the metal covering the wound dissipates.
3:00 PM "Oh fuck..." Ted moans.
3:00 PM ||
3:05 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie frowns. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He's got to be okay.
3:05 PM She stops for a moment, forcing herself to turn off emotions for just a little bit. She grabs the test kit, and immediately goes to work tying off her arm. She's not sure that this will work, but it has to be worth a shot. "Ted, I'm going to sample some of my own blood. Once I'm done, I need you to put the vials in the centrifuge over there. You have to balance them, so put them exact opposite each other. Close the lid, set it for oh. Fifteen
3:05 PM minutes should be fine."
3:05 PM Little needle prick. Nothing she hasn't done before. Damnit, why does it take so long for these vials to fill? "Until then, I need.... There's a drawer over by the entrance. It's labeled 'Millie's junk.' Just take the whole drawer out and bring it here." ||
3:07 PM FaustAndAbout → Faustus
3:08 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
3:10 PM Faustus → Faust|Ignatius
3:12 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Hearing Millie not reply the line hangs up on Gecko's end a few minutes later. Good, that means he's already on his way, and in the back of her head she remembers he has a speedster rating of some kind. Hopefully it would make a difference here. The blood is already slowing filling into the tube as she pricks herself, and Ted nods his head rapidly.
3:12 PM "Uh, not to sound stupid. But what is this for?" He asks, taking in the blood with curiosity in his eyes before he hears her instruction and immediately does a heel turn to run over and grab the drawer. He rushes back over with it holding it to make sure nothing falls out as a vial fills to the top.
3:12 PM ||
3:14 PM → Megafire joined (Peter@net-psjdbd.direct-adsl.nl)
3:17 PM S<Saff|Millie> "I possess accelerated healing," Millie explains as she unties the tourniquet from her arm, "I have a theory that I can extract the factor that causes it from my blood and use it to help Max recover."
3:17 PM Still, she feels sick to her stomach. She's going to have to take the arm off. She can build a new one, that wouldn't be hard, but.... Man, it doesn't make her feel good.  Still, she's losing time. Millie pushes back the anxiety, the fear, and walks over to Artisan. She starts ripping open the sterile packages, putting the contents onto the tray. She really didn't want to have to do this before Gecko got there, but he looks so pale already.
3:17 PM Millie grabs a scalpel, feeling the weight in her hand as she leans over the arm. She knows how to use it. It's like a part of her, a tool to better herself... but she knows that it'll hurt. She's felt the white-hot sear of it slicing through her skin. She knows this won't be pretty.
3:17 PM Deep breath, don't let your hands shake. "Ted, you should probably put on some sort of disguise before Gecko gets here." Millie says, before starting her work. ||
3:17 PM ↔ Antioch nipped out
3:21 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
3:21 PM ((Know please))
3:22 PM S<Saff|Millie> ((Does med apply?))
3:22 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ((Not for this roll, but roll me medical too please))
3:23 PM S<Saff|Millie> ((how many dick for med because she's downloaded some?))
3:23 PM ((DICE))
3:23 PM $roll 1d6+1 know oh my god
3:23 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "know oh my god" [5] +1 = 6
3:23 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ((3h6 I think, does she have any natural pips?))
3:23 PM S<Saff|Millie> ((two))
3:24 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ((4h6))
3:24 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 4h6+1 Med
3:24 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "Med" (2) (3) [6] (5) +1 = 7
3:27 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
3:31 PM "A disguise? Why? I'm not a super. I'm just Ted." He says, not really getting what she means as he goes to run the vials over to the machine as discussed, scalpel in hand she faces Artisan down going over her options in her head. The arm will definitely have to come off, she's right, she could kind of tell before but she'd been having the programs in her brain scrawl the internet for any and all medical knowledge it could find that could be
3:31 PM helpful, but with it it was confirmed. It was too far gone, and she simply didn't have the tools on hand to repair and out recreate the nerves.
3:34 PM If she built him a new arm without his help it would be entirely hers and she realizes it would tie him to her. Unless he went through surgery again he'd need her to make sure his arm stayed working. It would be a shackle to her of sorts. Maybe if she could reprogram one of the bots into helping it could help make it partially Artisan's work too, or maybe use some of his materials for the building.
3:37 PM As she thinks on using her blood for helping him heal, she realizes it would be possible in short bursts, as a temporary fix kind of thing. Would work as a sort of anesthetic and balancing agent, however it would be most effective post operation. She wouldn't be able to use it as a crutch for this part. The hard part.
3:39 PM ((Saff you can respond to Ted before I post the next part))
3:40 PM S<Saff|Millie> "You're wanted, Ted. Just put on something, and don't let the sleeves get in anything. Please." Millie says. ||
3:45 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Ted looks like he'd forgotten, and looks down. "There's nothing to wear..." He starts, looking around, but nods anyway and wanders off looking for something to throw on. She can't worry about him right now though. She goes to work.
3:45 PM It's like she's detached from it all, watching herself perform the task as she moves forward and takes the scalpel to saw through the strands of flesh. Her cuts are impeccably clean, and leave no room for additional nerve damage. She manages to cut through what's mostly dead already, leaving what's working and alive untouched, those nerves would be important if they decided to attach a prosthetic.  He doesn't move or respond at all as she
3:45 PM works, dead to the world.
3:45 PM ||
3:47 PM -||
3:48 PM It only takes a few minutes before she saws through the final strand the arm falls to the ground. Blood leaks slowly from the open wound, and she moves almost mechanically to stem what little blood flow there is.
3:48 PM ||
3:52 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie swallows, taking deep breaths as she tries to control the bleeding. He's lost so much blood. This can't be good. She'll have to make him a new arm. It'll... attach him to her, but she would feel horrible if she took his arm with nothing in return.
3:52 PM Once she staunches the blood, she goes to work looking for things in the box that she can use to build a socket to stick the arm into. The arm will take longer to make, so having something there to stop the bleeding and act as a scaffolding would be ideal. The fact that Max isn't responding worries her. Hopefully Gecko will get in soon.
3:52 PM Speaking of which, she texts him the door code, so that he doesn't forget.
3:52 PM Her nerve material will work well for regaining sensation. She can use mechanics like in her jacket to do the muscles and joints. She can start to see it piece together in her head as she works. "Stay with me, Max. Please. I care about you too much to watch you go. Please..." Millie knows she's mumbling nonsense as she works, looking up every few seconds to see if the centrifuge started beeping.
3:52 PM "Max, I know you can't hear me right now, but I... If things go wrong I don't want to have regrets.... I have... Feelings for you. And I think you're awesome and I love absolutely everything about you. So please just stay with me." ||
3:55 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
3:55 PM ((Dex, and Know please Craft applies))
3:55 PM ((Oh and Med for the blood flow))
3:55 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6+1 Dex
3:55 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "Dex" [5] +1 = 6
3:55 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6+1 Know
3:55 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "Know" [3] +1 = 4
3:56 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 4h6+1 Med
3:56 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "Med" [5] (2) (5) (5) +1 = 6
4:03 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold He's as still as a corpse as she speaks to him, she distracts herself by working more. All the ideas come into her head, but she realizes the actual whole arm itself isn't doable on an immediate time frame like the one she's working on now. Cyborg prosthetic aren't her specialty, and other people are like foreign objects to her in comparison to her complete knowledge of herself but she has ideas, plans, ways to bridge the gaps. She looks down
4:03 PM and realizes she's already turning and grabbing some pieces from her drawer to work with, metallic pieces to solder to him, wires and machinery are integrated, and the beginnings of a joint are formed, she ignores a feeling of pulling on her shoulder. She's too deep in the building trance to pay attention, the project is all consuming. She blinks and when her eyes are open again she sees something that had combined both her priorities of
4:03 PM staunching the blood flow, and the prosthetic being built on a immediate time frame. There's something of a socket built over the nub of his shoulder, the starts of his arm cutting off right above where the bicep would be. Its not fully there yet with wires and pieces still hanging loosely from it, but its a start and she can already see how she'll proceed from here.
4:03 PM "...Synapse. How long has she been like this?" Gecko's voice becomes clear behind her.
4:05 PM "About 10 or 15 minutes. She had me put this blood in the machine from her but she wouldn't respond when I let her know it started beeping." Ted's voice comes back sounds lost. He has some cloth wrapped around his mouth and over his hair like a bandanna but the bandanna is moving with the claws in motion underneath it, and the disguise does little to /really/ hide who he is.
4:05 PM ||
4:10 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie looks up from her work, sweat beading on her nose as she turns to Gecko. She looks nearly out of breath, pleading with some unknown force.
4:10 PM "I don't have time to explain, Gecko. But thanks for coming." She stops herself for a moment, content with the fact that he's not bleeding anymore, and turns to the hero. "Ted, there should be a big plug coming from the monitor over there. Please.... plug that into my spine real quick. Gecko, hand me.... blood, and some of the meds."
4:10 PM It's hard to pull her focus from the arm. She's going to have to do a lot to calibrate it, She'll probably have to work all night. Millie knows she has to do this, though. Saving him is her duty... though her mind starts to wander. The liquid in Buckler's armor... she could make a cure. ||
4:13 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ((Medical 3h6 instead of a 4h6 please because you're distracting yourself :P))
4:14 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 3h6+1
4:14 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie (1) [4] (4) +1 = 5
4:17 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold "Of course." Gecko says, coming up to her side with the materials she'd requested. He's wearing that same helmet he'd been wearing before, but he's in a pair of short, and a t-shirt that says 'Randolph Family Reunion 2007, on it.' He's well built, but he's breathing kind of heavily also, he must have rushed over.
4:18 PM "Long time no see Max, you've been better." He says quietly under his breath to Artisan, though Artisan still isn't replying. His eyes linger on the start of the android arm, and the nasty scarring on the flesh next to the nub Synapse had built. Hearing the name Ted, Gecko glances back at the Offshoot and cocks his head. His exposed mouth under the large black gecko like eyes on his mask turns to a frown, but he says nothing.
4:19 PM "Is this from the Riot that happened in the slums earlier?" Gecko asks, and Ted nods his head, a clawed hand slips out and he nervously slips it back into the make shift bandanna before turning to go off and pretend to look busy somewhere else.
4:21 PM Getting the blood into Artisan's body isn't the hard part, its whether it'll work or not. If his body will even accept it. It's hard to tell how long its been, but he's almost empty also. Still she's easily able to set up a drip. As the blood drips into him his color starts to return the slightest bit but not by much.
4:21 PM ((Know please))
4:22 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6+1
4:22 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie [4] +1 = 5
4:25 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold With all her efforts though it /has/ been a long time. It's hard to tell if it'll be enough, but something tells her that even with her finished blood cocktail... it might not be enough. There's something she's missing, a gap she can't bridge on her own and that Gecko can't help her with. It's solvable but with just her skills... they'd have to wait until morning with no guarantees.
4:25 PM ||
4:29 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie sucks in a breath, turning back to work on the socket. "If you're going to ask, no, I'm not okay." she says as she works. "Also, don't mind Ted. I don't know how he got here, or why, but he was here and I needed his help. Beggars can't be choosers."
4:29 PM Her legs are starting to hurt. It's been a long time since she's had to stand for this long, and she's still slightly recovering. "Really, I appreciate it and I owe you one." Millie looks down at Max and frowns. "Please wake up. I need you." ||
4:33 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
4:38 PM "I wasn't. I feel like that's the worst thing to ask someone who clearly isn't okay." Gecko says walking up and resting a large hand on her shoulder for a moment before coming up next to her to observe her handiwork. He spares Ted another glance. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt there, but we'll have to talk about him before I go..." Gecko trails off, he looks back down at Artisan with a frown.
4:38 PM "So you've been working here, huh? I can see why you're not so keen on leaving a workshop this nice." Gecko says, probably to help her keep her mind off the difficult task in front of her, he pulls a dart out of a pocket and holds it out to her.
4:38 PM "Its full of nectar I harvest from these flowers in my swamps. I normally use it tranq baddies but..." He purses his lips in though. "Its been pretty useful as a tranquilizer before. It could help." Its a transparent dart shaped tube with a tip, filled with a brownish green liquid.
4:39 PM The nub looks a lot like Millie's arm in aesthetic. Solid black with one green LED at the top. Blocky, not slim. It was going to be a strong arm. Maybe not dextrous at first but she had hopes it could be trained. If he lived...
4:40 PM Ted is still off in the background watching the mannequins work. He glances back over at Milllie and Gecko a lot checking to see if they're talking about him maybe. He looks absolutely mortified.
4:40 PM ||
4:43 PM S<Saff|Millie> "Yeah. I feel kind of bad, though," Millie says as she takes the tranq from Gecko. She turns it over in her hand, then jabs it into the muscle of Max's thigh, "I broke in here, begging him to team up with me. I played dirty. I used both the cancer card, and the 'I was friends with your dead sister' card. And now.... I really wish I hadn't pushed him. He's... He doesn't want to he a hero. He wants to be Max. And I was too stubborn to see
4:43 PM that."
4:43 PM Millie goes back to work, now trying to stabilize the nerve system. She knows she can at least get that right. The nerves will work, but the dexterity? She could effectively be crippling him. "So, I don't know what I should do from here. I... I have feelings for him that I'm not going to deny. But am I hurting him more by being here?" ||
4:43 PM -||
4:44 PM Millie sighs and tries to focus. Having Gecko here is probably harming her more than helping her, but maybe it's better than being stuck in her own head.
4:45 PM "I'm thinking about calling Quintana and Kintsugi. Cutting a deal and teaming with them. I know that you want me to join the GIT, and so do my parents, but..." ||
4:48 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ((Dex please))
4:49 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6+1 this is IMPORTANT
4:49 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "this is IMPORTANT" [5] +1 = 6
4:52 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Max is already still when she sticks him so he doesn't react to the fluid at all. It takes a special focus she's not used to pay attention to Gecko's responses as she works, but she's able to do so and also maintain the quality of her work. She tweaks the connections on the arm to allow it to work properly. So it would be a useless metal brick attached to his side.
4:53 PM Gecko listens intently as she speaks, and Millie gets the sense he's just as good a listener as he is a talker. Someone who pays attention when people speak.
4:56 PM "I get why you'd feel bad about that, but honestly I know Artisan too. Not as well as you but we've worked together. I'd even call him a friend. But as little as I really knew him I knew him enough to know that if he didn't /want/ you here. I had to help clean up when he dumped some of the early intruders after the explosion outside of the HQ." He gives a small sad little smile at the memory
5:03 PM He looks over Artisan again. "Anyway, i don't think you're hurting anyone here. He'd be a lot worse off right now if you weren't here. I'm sure a friend has been exactly what he's been needing." He shrugs the smallest bit.
5:03 PM "Its definitely something to think about going forward though. Guard or not its good to have friends of some kind with you to have your back don't you think?"
5:03 PM As she finishes tweaking a bit with a wrench she sees her efforts have helped a bit. The arm won't work perfectly at first but it will function if he makes it, and one day work as good as before. Before she can respond to Gecko something weird starts to happen.
5:03 PM ||
5:05 PM Her vision starts to shift at the edges like TV fuzz. Her vision is starting to close out at the edges... Nobody else seems to notice anything weird with her and keep going on as normal.
5:05 PM ||
5:07 PM S<Saff|Millie> "Hold up a moment." Millie says as she puts down her instruments. What's going on? She puts her hands down on the table, trying to stabilize herself. Is she being hacked? This cannot be happening right now. She has to work. She can't let Max stay like this! She has to fix him!
5:07 PM "No... No..." ||
5:07 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ((Computers/Know please))
5:08 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6+1 fuck
5:08 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "fuck" [2] +1 = 3
5:10 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Digitizing her brain this possibility had occurred to her before. That she could be hacked, maybe controlled. She'd prepared accordingly. She reacts quickly throwing firewall after block up, and she watches in her head as each defense each stronger than the last is dismantled and rendered insignificant and destroyed and she's attacked from all angles. She understands part of what's happening, the code of it but there's another element to this
5:10 PM attack she can't understand.
5:11 PM "Millie are you okay?" Gecko asks, rushing forward to support her by her shoulders, and she remembers what he'd said as he came in ironically enough. Ted is also running over.
5:12 PM She isn't able to respond before the fuzz overtakes everything and she's alone in a world of fuzz and buzzing.
5:12 PM ||
5:13 PM → BananaCucumber joined (BananaCucum@net-953.v8c.91.77.IP)
5:14 PM S<Saff|Millie> This... this can't be happening. Stuck in darkness, unable to move.... She has to finish her work! Who could be hacking her? Why would they be? Is it DeepSeaDaddy? Did they decide to turn on her? Or was it Thorn, as punishment for what her dad did?
5:14 PM Can she even communicate like this? Or would anything she say come out as gibberish. "Hacked...." She tries to get out, her heart racing. She's panicking. Why is this happening? ||
5:15 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
5:16 PM → Fulvus joined (Fulvus@net-gnp.jmd.44.67.IP)
5:17 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold She talks and hears it from her mouth and everywhere around her. Mouth. She has a mouth! She looks down and she has a hand. She's still herself, still has her body in a world of static.
5:18 PM The enviroment becomes to come into context a little better, a completely white room with a white desk in the center of it the static playing at the rooms edges. There's a woman she recognizes sitting at the desk.
5:22 PM A very pretty brunette woman with long curly hair, and sharp severe features. She has a small beauty mark next to the corner of her mouth which is turned to frown. Ms. Petite from Thorn. The woman who'd spoken to her. Who she'd made the promise to.
5:23 PM "Milliicent." She says simply with no emotion in her voice.
5:23 PM Her arms are crossed.
5:23 PM ||
5:25 PM S<Saff|Millie> "No, please." Millie pleads. "My dad made a mistake. My mom won't tell. It's... Please, don't hurt them, don't take away my powers, please... I can still help. I promised."
5:25 PM She feels like she's going to be sick to her stomach. "Please, I'll do whatever you ask. But I need to get back. I need.... I need to help him. I'm begging you, please." ||
5:35 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
5:38 PM Mrs. Petite holds up a finger silencing her with no room for her to continue talking.
5:38 PM "No Millicent. Your time for talking is over. It ended when your father broke our agreement. It's time to listen now." She demands with authority, leveraging the fact that she has all the leverage in this conversation. Her accent is still there, but the pleasant and gentle tone is gone now. Harsh instead.
5:39 PM "I am well aware of your situation. And frankly it doesn't rank in my highest concerns right now. What does is how you're going to make this up to our organization. ((Ed note -thorn*))
5:39 PM "
5:40 PM She looks Millie in the eyes her expression cold. "Do you understand what I'm saying here?"
5:40 PM ||
5:42 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie swallows and nods. "I understand, ma'am."
5:42 PM She hates this. She has to be back with Max. She needs to monitor him, watch him. She needs to extract her healing factor, inject him with it so that he'll survive the night. Millie feels absolutely sick to her stomach. "When you gave me my powers, I said that I'd do whatever you asked. I'm not backing down on that, even after my father's transgression." ||
5:43 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold And she's award that every moment she wastes talking here the less likely the healing factor is to make a difference of any kind.
5:44 PM "Good." She says simply, she places both palms down on the table, less aggresive now that she sees Millie is going to cooperate.
5:45 PM "Tonight something big is going to occur in the city. You won't have a part in it. You'll have another task while the city moves to respond. Are you aware of the Crucible? Ground Zero?" Mrs. Petite asks.
5:45 PM ||
5:47 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie nods. "I am. That's where the explosion occurred. The source of the radiation." She swallows. "I... tonight? But... I have to keep an eye on Max. He... he could die."
5:47 PM She has no room to be bargaining. "I'll do it, if you can get someone to take care of him. Not shitty care, good care. Keep him alive." ||
5:48 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ((Social, please))
5:48 PM → Lid joined (uid200825@highgate.irccloud.com)
5:48 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6 Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck
5:48 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck" [2]  = 2
5:48 PM B<BananaCucumber> heh
5:48 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Mrs. Petite's expression hardens.
5:49 PM "Frankly. It doesn't rank in my highest concerns right now." She repeats hard.
5:49 PM hard as her face*
5:50 PM She has no interest in catering to Millie here. She will only demand and demand more.
5:50 PM Her expression lets up a little however, and her voice is neutral as she resumes speaking.
5:52 PM "However. We want you to perform well tonight. We'll have a medic sent over to watch for him. You will find an explanation for him and the Gecko for where they're from." She instructs.
5:52 PM She returns to the topic of hand, clasping her hands over the white desk. Is unnaturally quiet in static world save for how their words echo from everywhere around them.
5:56 PM "You will meet members of the local branch of the Supreme to pick up a person of extreme importance. The Supreme is not to be involved in this so it will be up to you to deal with escorting this individual. Get help, powered help, but don't explain what you're doing. Just sell them that its important. When you're all ready you'll move while the city is distracted. Get our person of interest into Ground Zero. Then you can consider your debt
5:56 PM paid for now." She goes quiet as she finishes laying it all out. Her eyes seem to bore into Millie taking her in in extreme scrutiny.
5:56 PM ||
5:58 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie nods, taking in all of the information. "Can I ask a question?" Millie asks as she averts her eyes to the ground. "Were you responsible for what happened to... what happened to Buckler? Did he break his contract?" ||
5:59 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold "Buckler thought he could cut ties with us. He was incorrect. The mutants..." She trails off distastefully.
5:59 PM "They were an unforseen inconvenience. But that was all his doing." She lays out.
5:59 PM ||
6:00 PM She says flatly*
6:02 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie nods her head, trying to hold back tears. "I understand. I'll do what you say."
6:02 PM This. This is what caused everything. Thorn. And now she was getting wrapped up in it as well. The organization that killed her friend, killed Max's family.... now she was their slave as well. It made her sick to her stomach to think that she was tangled in all of this.
6:02 PM "I won't repeat Buckler's mistakes. I'm smarter than him. I... I promise I'll work hard." ||
6:03 PM ↔ Stoic popped in
6:06 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold "Good. I wasn't lying back then when I said I expected great things from you. You're smart and you'll do well tonight. This is for good fret not young Millicent." Mrs. Petite leans forward and wipes a tear from Millie's eye gently while Millie herself is completely still. She gives Millie a smile and its hard to tell whether its genuine or nasty, at her expense.
6:06 PM "If you get this right you could be what they were to this city, what Stronghold was. We made them that way and we can do it again. You wouldn't be Buckler, that's reserved for your guest of honor tonight. But wouldn't it be nice to be the city's Siege?" She asks, her voice sounding deceivingly hopeful that Millie will agree.
6:06 PM ||
6:07 PM ↔ Stoic popped in
6:10 PM S<Saff|Millie> "I'd rather be Synapse, to be quite honest." Millie said, flinching as Mrs. Petite touched her. "I don't need to ride on anyone's coattails. Siege was amazing, and I'll never forget her. But I'm my own person."
6:10 PM She straightens her back, trying to keep herself stable. "So that's a promise? Artisan survives the night, I help you with this, and I reap the benefits? What about my father? My mother?" ||
6:10 PM ⇐ BananaCucumber quit (BananaCucum@net-953.v8c.91.77.IP) Quit: http://www.kiwiirc.com/ - A hand crafted IRC client
6:10 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
6:10 PM "Synapse then." Her smile doesn't wane.
6:12 PM "You're correct on all of that. Your father will be pardoned. And your mother will be visited by an associate of mine to... Forget a few things. Do well enough and We could make her forget some other things too. Her aversion to your heroing for example?" She offers enticingly. "Everything will go back to before."
6:12 PM like it was before your dad messed up. Better than.*
6:12 PM ||
6:14 PM S<Saff|Millie> "Yes ma'am." Millie says, giving another nod. "I will not fail."
6:14 PM She feels the hairs on the back of her neck prick up. Has she sold her soul to the devil? Even if she has, she has to comply. There's no other choice. Comply, or die. Comply, or Max dies.
6:14 PM "Approximately how long will this mission take? And how long do I have before it starts?" ||
6:16 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Mrs. Petite nods back again. Her smile fully genuine this time.
6:17 PM "You'll know when the bell tolls Millicent. Good luck." She says cryptically, and then the static at the edges of the room begins to shrink down until it takes up Mrs. Petite completely and Millie is left alone in the static again to think to herself before she comes back to.
6:17 PM ||
6:19 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie takes a deep breath as she fades back into reality. Where is she? Are the others still around her? Is Max okay? She pushes herself up, trying to get back to her station to work. She has to get as much of the arm done as she can before she gets to leave. She has to check Max's vitals, make sure he won't throw a clot or have an embolism, make sure his blood pressure is okay.
6:19 PM She's not a doctor, but she's spent a lot of time in hospitals. There has to be a way for her to handle this. ||
6:20 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
6:20 PM As she comes back into focus she blinks and realizes her cheek is cold. She's lying on the metal floor and her head /hurts/.
6:22 PM "I think she moved!" She hears Ted's voice, and with another blink things come into focus more. Her jacket does the bulk of the work but she's already on her feet again by the time she notices Gecko supporting her and speaking to her worriedly.
6:22 PM "Synapse. What happened?" He asks, his voice wringing with concern. A message pops up in the corner of her HUD. "Medic eta ~10 minutes" Unknown number.
6:23 PM Her healing factor is fully developed and she's already moving to it to inject Artisan with it before she answers Gecko. She lets out a breath as Artisan gasps out his first deep full breath since going unconscious.
6:24 PM The rest of the checks show he's mostly okay for now. Still a little shaky in some areas, but stable.
6:24 PM "Synapse?" Gecko asks again.
6:24 PM ||
6:30 PM S<Saff|Millie> "I'm fine," Millie says as she looks over to Gecko. "Circuit short out. I didn't charge fast enough. I'm fine, though. I've called a doctor my dad knows, just to keep him stable. I'm hoping my healing factor will keep him okay for right now, help integrate the nerves and my matrix"
6:30 PM She turns her back towards Gecko and starts digging for another kit so that she can drain some more of her own blood, a backup supply just in case more factor is needed. While she walks she starts sending messages to Quintana and Kintsugi. A simple 'What are you doing 2nite?'
6:30 PM Millie knows that she's pushing her luck. Gecko is bound to ask questions sooner rather than later. "I might have to run out later. Can I trust you two to stay with him? Update me?" Once she finds another kit, she ties her arm and sticks herself again.
6:30 PM This time, she drains six vials as opposed to two, still running around the room to get things for Max's arm. She's pushing herself hard, and she knows she'll feel it later. ||
6:31 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ((Guts please, Endure applies))
6:31 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 2h6 come on mills
6:31 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "come on mills" (5) [6]  = 6
6:32 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
6:37 PM Its a lot of blood, too much blood for any regular person. But her body, her power is built for this. It acts on overdrive replenishing the blood almost as quickly as it comes out of her though she still feels a vague building fatigue behind everything, a repressed lightheadedness. This will all catch up to her later for sure.
6:40 PM "Circuit short out? Doctor your dad knows?" He asks trailing her, the questions already coming. Ted rushes over to Artisan's side checkint him.
6:40 PM "His pulse is stronger now." He interjects.
6:40 PM "If your Tinkering makes you pass out like that well no offense but I think your parents have a little reason to be concerned there." Gecko continues despite Ted his voice a little stern.
6:42 PM He sighs.
6:42 PM "I'm sorry I'm just..." He pulls at his mask slightly to rub at his temple before setting it back into place. "Where are you going we still need to talk. And I still haven't told the Guard I'm here. I need to know what's going on. With him too." He says flat out, jerking a thumb back at Ted, who goes still and pales a little.
6:42 PM ||
6:45 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie shrugs. "It's the first time it's happened, and I've already diagnosed and corrected the problem. It's fine, Gecko. I'm fine. Pinkie promise."
6:45 PM She forces a smile, then turns to Max on the table. Millie hands the vials over to Ted, hoping he'll put two and two together to get them into the centrifuge, and shrugs. "I don't know why he's here, to be honest. I didn't have time to ask. Trust me, I'm just as concerned as you are. I... I didn't even know Max was in the slums."
6:45 PM Millie sighs and pulls a chair up next to Max so that she can continue working while talking. "I really don't care what you do with Ted, so use your best judgement. I'm more... I'm upset that Max didn't take me with him. I could have protected him, could have prevented this." ||
6:51 PM ⇐ Druza quit (uid209687@charlton.irccloud.com) Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
6:57 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ...
6:57 PM ((Deception please Saff))
6:58 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6 Soc come on millie please.
6:58 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "Soc come on millie please." [4]  = 4
6:58 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold $roll 1d6+1 Geckon Wits
6:58 PM A<[ATM]> ATM ColdGold|GM "Geckon Wits" [3] +1 = 4
7:08 PM ⇐ Megafire quit (Peter@net-psjdbd.direct-adsl.nl) Connection closed
7:13 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Gecko seems to take her smile with a grain of salt but he thankfully doesn't pursue the danger part of the conversation any further. Ted takes the vials and walks them over to the machines already knowing what to do and he gives her a knowing nod. His eyes widen and he frowns looking very hurt at Millie's words. He takes off the pieces of cloth since they aren't helping him anyway. And his tone is slightly bitter as he talks.
7:13 PM "You said he didn't want to he a hero. Max." He points at Artisan and he looks angry now, he walks up to get closer to Millie his tone conveying his hurt.
7:13 PM "Woah." Gecko says. Raising his hands slightly to his pockets but Ted just groans in frustration and kicks a workstation.
7:13 PM "That's exactly what I'm saying! You said he doesn't want to be a hero but from what I've seen he's more heroic than the two of you will ever be!" He says with emotional force that sounds like its been building up for weeks and Gecko takes a step back his hands upraised in appeasal this time. Ted points at Millie and all his claws point at her too. "You acting like you're so nice when you're just like the rest of the city. Judging me without
7:13 PM even knowing me. Just because I look different. Because you /heard something about me/. You, lying about your system making you pass out. My hair hates it when people lie" He says and he's tearing up. His eyes are a slightly transparent green color. He turns and points at Gecko this time.
7:13 PM "And you, acting like you're here to help. Like you're some perfect guy when all you want to do is make connections. Because you're a stupid young kid like me and you think she's cute! You wanna know something? I'm a member of the Watch now. That's a position of honor with my people. They know that I was at the mall to meet Undertow my favorite team of all time. That I talked to Roach, the person I didn't know would kill two of them later. And
7:13 PM the way people had hurt her drove her to what she did. I was only there next to her by chance but the city blamed me because I'm ugly. Because I'm different! Because I'm an /Offshoot/!!!" His voice is raised on the verge of a yell but not quite there. He's all out ranting now, his hair claws are going wild grasping and clawing violently at everything around him like a barrier against the world.
7:13 PM "Well guess what. All I've done is help. I brought him here because I wanted him to get away from my people who were going to /kill him./ You would have held him back there. Would have just run. He was a damn hero out there. Like Shark and his dad in the videos. And you know what I did that because I'm not an Offshoot. I'm so tired of that fucking word..." He's crying now.
7:13 PM He drops to his knees. "I'm human can't you see? I'm human... Just like you." He sobs.
7:15 PM He points at Artisan his claws all pointing at him as well. "He knew that. I asked him why he didn't look at us like we were monsters. I couldn't understand it but I could see he didn't judge us in his eyes. He told me "My dad was always my dad, even when he looked different. You all remind me of him a little..." Ted trails off quiet and the room is silent.
7:16 PM ||
7:20 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie goes silent.
7:20 PM "I... Fuck. I'm sorry, Ted. You've done nothing but help me, and I just tried to sell you out so that maybe Gecko would forgive me for what I did in front of my parents." She puts her tool down and looks over at the Offshoot. "I didn't think. I... I know that doesn't make up for it. I didn't listen to you. You're right. You're so right."
7:20 PM Her hands shake as she tries to pick it up again, still pushing herself to work even though her stomach feels like it's in knots. "You are human. You don't know me, and you still helped me. I..." She looks over at Gecko, and then back to Ted. "And no, I wasn't being one hundred percent truthful. But I... I can't tell you why my system went down. You just have to trust me. I'm okay, and I'm going to get Max in working order, and then I'm going
7:20 PM to work on the cure."
7:20 PM She grabs the tool and starts working on Max's arm some more. "If it's okay with Gecko, you can stay here. I'll employ you. But I just. There are things that I have to sort out. Gecko, ask me any questions. My time is running short." ||
7:24 PM ← Snowcrash left (Snowcrash@net-64h.ua7.110.181.IP)
7:30 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold "Its a part of the reason I  built the wall, besides the ferals..." A strained weak voice comes from behind Millie and everyone turns at it.  its Artisan's eyes are slightly opened.
7:30 PM "...It's so hard to look at you when I see my dad in each and every one of you." He finishes. He looks up at Millie and Gecko gives her a pointed look like he still wants to talk to her, but he doesn't immediately. "It's good to see you up Max." Gecko says quietly, sounding humbled as he walks over to Ted.
7:31 PM "I'm so sorry Ted..." He starts, though he sounds like he doesn't know where to go from there. Instead he doesn't say anything else and extends an arm foe Ted to grab onto to help himself out.
7:31 PM $lesser rend
7:31 PM A<[ATM]> ATM [Torso] [Any 1] Tear: One quality granted by armor removed as costume damaged, easily repairable.
7:32 PM → Stoic joined (Stoic@net-q27eo5.nj.comcast.net)
7:32 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold The claws on Ted's hair rip and tear at Gecko's arm angrilly as he helps him up but Gecko bears it with braced teeth, helping him up anyway.
7:33 PM "Hey Millie. Thanks for coming." Artisan says quietly up to her with a faint smile. "You really saved my ass. Haha." He coughs.
7:33 PM ||
7:34 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie drops her tool and wraps her arms around Max, trying to be careful of his wounds. “Saved your ass, but not your arm. I’m sorry. I’m... I’m going to fix it.”
7:35 PM Shit, she can feel her eyes watering. Is she crying? In front of people? This isn’t like her. “And Ted helped. It wasn’t just me. I...”
7:36 PM Millie’s voice gets low. “I’m so glad you’re okay. You’re so important to me.” ||
7:36 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ((Social please))
7:37 PM S<Saff|Millie> $roll 1d6 fuck
7:37 PM A<[ATM]> ATM Saff|Millie "fuck" [4]  = 4
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7:53 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Over in the distance Gecko and Ted are facing each other amongst still hastily working bots. Its hard to make out what they're saying but they're talking. That leaves Max and Millie to talk to each other privately. He returns her hug weakly with a groan, and then a chuckle.
7:53 PM "Yeah I know Ted's a good guy. I wouldn't have made it if he didn't find me..." he trails off and looks at Millie in her eyes.
7:53 PM There's a pause and Max looks over at where his arm is missing, his eyes widen and he looks back up at Millie.
7:54 PM "I tried to wipe your tear away but I didn't realize it was gone..." His voice sounds weak, but he clears his throat.
7:55 PM He settles on doing it with his left hand instead after a moment, using a clean part of it. Its comforting.
7:55 PM "You're special to me too Millie." He says quietly not breaking eye contact with her. He has a solemn expression on his face.
7:55 PM ||
7:56 PM S<Saff|Millie> She looks at his arm and sighs. “I’m working on it. I’m going to make it... you’ll be okay. I’m so sorry.”
7:58 PM Millie can feel her heart racing. She wants to kiss him. She doesn’t want to leave. “I... realized I haven’t been fair to you. But I hope you forgive me. I hope...” she closes her mouth, then opens it again. “I... Max. I like you.” ||
7:59 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Max opens his mouth to speak. "Millie I..." He trails off.
7:59 PM He instead tries to lean up towards her, weakly. Is he trying to kiss her? She swears he is. He's looking at her lips and...
8:00 PM The sirens go off and everybody goes still.
8:02 PM Sirens Millie had been trained as since a baby to instinctively shrink agaist. To pursue secure cover with your family. Everyone else in the room knows what they mean too. Normal people hide.  Ascended of all stripes assemble at Stronghold HQ. The city's cape capitol.  There was a Feral Husk awake in the city...
8:02 PM Is that what Mrs. Petite had been talking about?
8:03 PM Her phone and Gecko's start going crazy at about the same time and he immediately unfreezes checking his.
8:04 PM Millie and Max share a long look before Millie looks down to see several missed messages from Quintana and Kintsugi, and her Dad is calling. A message pops up in the top right corner of her HUD. The handle is FisherOfMen.
8:04 PM ||
8:04 PM Faust|Ignatius → Faustus
8:09 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie's eyes go wide. A feral husk? Shit. She leans down and kisses Max, her heart pounding as she pulls back. "Ted, keep Max and the medic safe. There's food in the fridge, tinkertech pretty much everywhere. Keep him and yourself alive. I've trusted you this far."
8:09 PM She turns away, running towards her suit. She starts stripping as she goes over to it, not caring who sees at this point. She needs to get in her gear and get going. While she dresses, she checks her phone and her HUD. Jacket on again.... This time she grabs extra batteries for her pulses.
8:09 PM Deep breaths. It's going to be okay. She denies the call from her dad and starts texting him. 'Can't talk now, got to prepare. I'll be okay. I love you, tell mom and Sammy I love them too.'
8:09 PM As she gets ready, she stops herself. It sounds like she's preparing to die. Millie shakes the thought from her head. She can't die. She won't. Still... Millie packs a few bottles of disinfectant solution, a field med kit, and the batteries inside the container on her jacket. She might need them. She hopes she won't have to. ||
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8:21 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Max kisses her back and there's a flutter of emotion she knows they both feel as they kiss. Even as the sirens ring in the background it feels right. They let go of each other and she's already moving. Ted is back to panic mode like she'd seen him earlier scrambling around but he has the presence of mind to nod at the very least as he goes to get supplies together.
8:23 PM Both Artisan and Gecko both spare her a glance and then look at each other as Gecko moves to head towards the exit. "We'll talk later Synpase." He gives her a look that says he's going to make sure he gets his answers. "Be safe." He says before turning the world into swamp as he clambers out of the lab at extreme speeds on newly forming terrain like a Gecko down an the elevator shaft.
8:26 PM Looking over her texts Millie can see all the messages she missed.
8:26 PM Quintana:
8:26 PM "Nuthin. Was just gonna play ball nd patrol. Y?"
8:26 PM "I'm going out lmk if you still wanna do something."
8:26 PM "Are you okay? Im heading Stronghold now!!"
8:26 PM Kintsugi:
8:26 PM "I'm free if you are. Wanna talk over Sushi though? I know a good place in Japan town. I'm starving."
8:26 PM "Fuck."
8:26 PM "Synapse."
8:26 PM "Shit. Call me."
8:26 PM "Asap."
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8:29 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold Her Dad starts calling again at the texts and she sees her moms call stack on top of his.
8:29 PM The message from FisherOfMen reads "Meet with Quintana and Kintsugi before going to Stronghold at the specified location." There's a GPS ping her brain can follow.
8:29 PM "I will be there to meet you also. I have things to tell you all but its very important that you're altogether and that you stay safe. The city is counting on you."
8:29 PM "Millie." Max calls at her back as she gathers her things. The sirens continue to blare.
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8:30 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold "Be safe. Please." He says trying to move out of his spot on the bed to stand as well.
8:30 PM ((Final post Saff))
8:30 PM Ted rushes over to steady him.
8:30 PM ||
8:35 PM S<Saff|Millie> Millie's heart is racing, but she's not sure if it's from the sirens or the kiss. She waves goodbye to Gecko, then turns back to Max.
8:35 PM "I'll be okay. I've got work to finish here, after all. Ted will take good care of you." She then turns to the offshoot and gives him a smile. "I'm really sorry, I truly am. You're brilliant, and I can't thank you enough." Everything is just happening so fast. Thorn. Feral Husk. Looks like her mysterious benefactor was planning to reveal themselves, and Kintsugi and Quintana are coming to pick her up. All of that, and she has to do what she
8:35 PM was told or she'd end up like Buckler.
8:35 PM That still.... made her sick to her stomach. So, they had done all of this. It was their fault that Max lost his entire family... but they also saved her life. She's here to save the city because of them.
8:35 PM Millie looks at the two, and nods. "I'll be back before you know it. Synapse here to save the day." ||
8:35 PM C<•ColdGold|GM> ColdGold ||||