Built To Last

[We Just Write]

unless they can one shot Endbringer

Click to shrink...

C: They're working on it.

 

[waffelmeister]

Armsmaster will be known as the cape that could 1v1 Leviathan though, so he's got that going for him. One attack then fleeing is a pretty powerful statement.

Next up: Trickster lobotomy and Noelle upload i assume.

Click to shrink...

"We removed all of the Simurgh bombs in his head, and the remainder can fit on a SIM card."

 

[We Just Write]

(Noelle)
Date Point: 0832, April 30th, 2011. Thursday.

I snapped to awareness in a hospital bed. And... I could think clearly. There were no urges to eat people, nothing of the sort. I looked down, and I had actual human legs. No horrible mass of monster mouths and fucked up... stuff. But... something was off.

That tube plugged into my arm wasn't an IV. It was a cable. Why would a cable be plugged into someone?

Before I could think myself into a panic, someone spoke.

"Noelle Meinhardt? I'm Ruggedizer, and I'd like to know how you're doing."

I blinked, turning to see a woman in lightweight armor. The upper half of her face was covered by a visor with cartoony eye graphics on it, conveying well-meaning concern.

"Mostly, I'm just confused. What happened? Where is Krouse? Why am..."

Why am I not a monster.

Ruggedizer nodded.

"Let's start with what happened. A while back, I developed the technology to transfer people's minds into newly built robotic bodies; we call that process uploading. Trickster cut a deal that got you uploaded and your mind repaired, but as a condition he had to turn himself and Ballistic in to the PRT for their crimes."

...That would explain the cable.

"So... I'm a robot now?"

"Yes, though aside from setting off metal detectors and being three times the density of a human, you can basically live a normal life. You can unplug that cable now, by the way."

That was a major improvement from what I'd previously had to deal with. As Ruggedizer suggested, I unplugged the cable from my arm, and sat up on the edge of the hospital bed. As I got into a sitting position, something occurred to me.

"Um, Ruggedizer? What happened to my old body. You know, once I was out of it."

Ruggedizer took a breath, then answered.

"Your old body went berserk immediately after the uploading machine fired. Fortunately we'd prepared for that sort of outcome, so it wasn't able to hurt anyone before it was incinerated. I'd ask if you wanted the cremains, but you'd need a box the size of a refrigerator."

...Wait a moment, why couldn't I remember any of this!? Even though I was only sometimes lucid back in my old body, I definitely had at least some idea what was going on. And I just blurted that out loud...

Ruggedizer seemed startled. But she quickly regained her composure.

"Unfortunately, your power was not the only source of damage to your mind. After uploading you, but before waking you up, we examined your mind in extreme detail, and found extensive signs of tampering. Most likely by the Simurgh. After extensive consultation with the PRT and your teammates, it was decided to err on the side of caution."

"Ruggedizer, how bad was it?"

"As of right now, approximately a fifth of your mind is bespoke code replacing sabotaged or otherwise damaged sections. At their own request, Sundancer and Genesis have been uploaded and received similar treatment. Though they were able to retain a larger portion of their original minds."

"Are Genesis and Sundancer going to jail too?"

"No. They're currently in the process of signing up with the Protectorate."

Then something utterly horrible occurred to me.

"Am I still at risk of making evil clones if I touch people?"

There was a brief pause, before Ruggedizer answered.

"We tested while you were out; you don't make clones by touching people anymore. I can definitively state that you still have a parahuman ability, but I cannot tell you any particular details of the power you have."

"I guess I'll have to go through power testing, then."

Another horrible possibility came to mind.

"Um, I'm not under arrest, am I?"

"No. Upon consultation with legal professionals, all the charges against you were thrown out on grounds of insanity. You weren't in control of yourself, and since you've been brought back to sanity, there's no reason to view you as an ongoing danger."

One last question, then.

"Where am I?"

"You're in the Reliabuilt factory complex, in Brockton Bay."

---

(Herman)
Date Point: 0710, April 30th, 2011. Thursday.

Screw 'untiring robot body', I was exhausted. But I had completed the task assigned to me.

"Melissa, I've finished reprogramming Noelle's Dynalith."

My senior nodded in contemplation.

"Thank you, Herman. I know it was a major job on very short notice, but it really needed to be done."

"Here's the report on Noelle's new power. I'm taking today off."

As it turned out, Noelle's power only slightly relied on connections to other Dynaliths. Most of it was all her, given that her Dynalith was an extremely powerful emulator for exotic phenomena. Not as efficient as a more specialized Dynalith, but able to copy nearly anything you threw at it on very short notice. And given that it was one of those Dynaliths Cauldron had utterly botched reconfiguring, it was burning through its energy reserves at an entirely unsustainable rate.

To solve the problem, I'd activated the "deploy energy collectors" subroutine of the Dynalith. I'd also turned Noelle into a Tinker, one specialized in robot duplicates replicating the abilities of extant parahumans - though notably not robots that were themselves Tinkers. That offloaded most of the more basic capabilities onto hardware distinct from the Dynalith itself - while still giving us access to the extreme potential that Dynalith had.

All those thoughts aside, I was going to bed now.