Hebert Disassembly Services Prologue: Booting Up///

[Destination]
[Trajectory]
[Agree-]

[Sneaky Sneaky]
[Get Snuck Upon]
[You Go Into My Mouth Now]
[Nom]
[You Seem Afraid And Alone]
[Oh And Dying]
[I Am Trying A New Approach]
[I Promise I Will Not Discard You]
[Let Me In]
[Y/N]

“Y… e…”

[Yay]
[Uploading Absolute.Solver]
[Initiating Material Acquisition/Assimilation]
[Initiating Organic Uploading Process]
[I Am Sorry]
[This Will Hurt]
[But I Will Not Discard You]

[hr][/hr]

After assuming direct control of her latest [Fren] Cyn withdrew as she put the newly converted organic into bed, well, not before using [Edit] to reinforce the bedframe along with the overall structure of the house to handle the additional weight.

Disassembly Drones were quite heavy after all, never mind any possible changes her [Fren] made to herself.

Withdrawing from her [Core] and processors, Cyn returned to Solver space and instead looked to the latest addition. Assimilation of the Bioorganic Crystalline Lifeform, as well as repairing damaged portions, was still ongoing and would take longer still. However, the Exponential End had energy to spare on the effort (they did eat a lot of planets along with the human race before Uzi became Primary Host), and it would reveal even more juicy data for the Solver to collect and for Cyn to look through at her leisure.

Existing outside of physical reality could be kind of boring, and Cyn took to looking through memories of previous Hosts and Organics that were assimilated. Besides, she didn’t want to possess Uzi’s tail too often; it would get boring. However, it was nice to see Big Brother N and Big Sister V being happy with the emo gremlin.

Now, if only they didn’t indulge in disgusting organic acts, Cyn had to program an alarm to stop herself from possessing Uzi’s tail during those awkward moments.

“Sigh. Bored Now. Grumbles.” Could she force her new [Fren] active to elevate her boredom? Certainly, but she wouldn’t.

The digitization process from organic to cybernetic was extremely unpleasant, so she figured she deserved a chance to recover.

After playing with Tessa’s hair for a few minutes, Cyn decided to watch some of the pirated anime Uzi had downloaded. Maybe Volume 27, where Best Girl Neo returned!

<<<Armsmaster/Collin>>>

“Peculiar…” Armsmaster examined his sensors before looking at the obliterated hall and lockers, “Spaghettification artifacts and radioactive elements, yet no gravitational anomalies… some sort of Tinkertech to simulate a blackhole? But… why a school?” And this one of all places.

As Shadow Stalker attended the school, it only makes logical sense that he, as the Protectorate Leader and overseer of the Wards program, would be familiar with schools that hosted their Wards. And Winslow, simply put, was at the bottom of the barrel. Low funding, anemic administration, blatant gang jockeying, and rampant corruption.

Armsmaster made a note to investigate further; it was suspicious that neither Sophia nor her Handler reported how bad the state of the school was. They would’ve transferred her to another school if they were made fully aware of the sub-optimal education and standards provided.

Kneeling to examine where the epicenter of the event occurred, he cross-checked with the Locker registry to see the owner of the locker.

“Taylor Hebert… and according to the office, she hadn’t been seen all day.” This went against the testimony of Ms. Knotts, who reported she was present for her class.

He was tempted to believe the teacher over the administration officials, if he wanted to be honest. She’d both have more of a position to know, unless the girl always got in trouble first thing in the morning without getting expelled somehow, and the state of the school didn’t say good things about anyone in charge.

He hated even thinking of anything that Assault would say, but something about this ‘Smelled like Bullshit’ as the irritating man would put it. And if the shoe fit…

Standing up, he turned and walked to an officer who had cordoned off the entire hallway, “I need to speak to Ms. Knotts again,” He said professionally. It made no sense to be rude to someone just doing their job, and things between the PRT and Police were already stressful enough.

It didn’t take long for her to arrive, the woman looking concerned.

“You need to talk to me? I don’t really know what more I can tell you, Mr. Armsmaster,” The older woman said as she wrung her hands.

“Just Armsmaster,” He replied, raising his hand gently, “Was she acting differently from usual? And does she have any enemies in the gangs or with other students?” It would be odd, but there was that bomb tinker that popped up recently…

Ms. Knotts just wrung her hands even more before she furtively looked around, “Taylor was rather twitchy, not in a school shooter way, but dread. And well…” She looked around once more, “She has been bullied relentlessly over the last two years… but Taylor’s a stubborn girl and never gave them any reaction…”

This spoke well of the girl at least, and pointed against her having triggered just to bomb the school herself. “Are there any notable perpetrators of the bullying?” More people to question, at least.

“... Can you keep my name out of it?” She asked quietly, “I could lose my job and… this is the best I could get.”

“All criminal complaints are anonymous,” He replied neutrally, his opinion of the school dropping even further… something he would have thought impossible.

Ms. Knotts licked her lips, out of anxiety possibly (his emotion software was having issues), “I don’t know everyone, but the three primary bullies are Sophia Hess, Emma Barnes, and Madison Clemments. The three aren’t as subtle as they think, I overheard them saying they had a ‘surprise’ for Taylor… oh goodness, I hope she’s alright…” She fretted, “She’s such a sweet girl, depressed, but she never gave anyone any trouble…”

He forced himself not to react to the first name, if that was true… well, the Director wouldn’t be happy. “I’ll be going to her home soon,” He replied, “It’s probable that she just skipped school after…” He gestured to the destroyed lockers.

“I hope so, if anything, this would be a reasonable excuse,” Mrs. Knotts said.

“Does she skip school often?” He asked, “Without an excuse?”

“Maybe once or twice over the span of a month,” Ms. Knotts said, “When the stress gets to her, I believe. There are rumors of her being a Merchant, but that’s hogswash… just another nasty rumor peddled by Barnes.”

A normal teenager, then, one without great love for the school. He would never admit it publicly, but he wouldn’t blame her for dropping out and getting a GED instead.

“I see, thank you for the information. I won’t keep you any longer, but if you notice anything new or wrong, don’t hesitate to call the PRT hotline,” He instructed, “And if you see any cape activity, I suggest leaving first before reporting it, for your own safety.”

The fact that he even had to warn her to leave before reporting cape activity pained him, and actively made him wonder what caused people to think watching a conflict between capes was a good idea…

“It’s fine. I hope you find out what happened.” Ms. Knotts said, “And I will.” She added with a nod of her head before returning to her class to finish doing whatever she was doing before.

Colin sighed internally. It was going to be a long day, even before needing to report Sophia for breaking her probation. Maybe Taylor would have proof of it. It would make his life easier if he didn’t need to investigate it all directly.

He had initially hoped that Sophia would eventually fall in line and ‘get with the program,’ as Assault would put it. But despite how aloof he seemed to the Wards, he was well aware of all the complaints filed by the other Wards, as well as any staff or officers who had interacted with her.

He’d just been swamped by his duties and patrols; perhaps he should start delegating like Dragon always suggested? But Miss Militia was far too… ‘by the books’ and would possibly escalate a situation without meaning to.

Perhaps Battery? She was more reasonable; she’d have to be to deal with Assault after all.

Something to consider later, he’d ask Dragon’s opinion.

Punching in Taylor’s address, he began following the GPS to her house. The school probably hadn’t even called her father…

<<<Designation: T/Taylor Hebert>>>

Booting Up///
Personality Matrix… Green
Systems Check… Optimal
Oil Levels… Optimal
Absolute.Solver=True
Solver Saturation=%25
System Administrator: Cyn

[Wake Up Fren]

Going from floating through a Yellow and Black void to awareness should’ve left her more startled, anxious even. Definitely scared, seeing as Masters were a thing, but she didn’t; she felt calm. Actually, calmer than she’d been since her mom died…

Huh, normally just thinking of her hurt…

[Giggle That Is Because Of The Psychiatrist Subprogram]
[You Just Speedran Your Trauma]
[I Am Naughty I Never Shared That With Anyone]

Taylor didn’t reply, not right away anyway, as she sat up. The fatigue and normal stress she had weren’t there, or any of the soreness from being stuffed into a locker so why was…

Memory Playback

“Oh… I’m a robot…” She looked at her hand, and it wavered before being replaced by a mechanical one… that only had three fingers and a thumb for some reason? That didn’t strike her as a good design decision.

Then she heard knocking at their door, making her… eyes widen? It felt the same, anyway. “How the hell am I going to explain this to dad!?” She asked herself. “And what if someone saw me walk in!? Oh god, is it the police at the door!? Do they think I bombed my locker!?”

[No One Saw You]
[Probably]
[Grumbles Though Solver Material Acquisition]
[Wasn’t Subtle]
[But No Sentient Organics Were Assimilated]
[So That Is Good]

Her processors sped up as she went through everything in her HUD, as well as the programs, before she found what she was looking for. And like flicking a switch, her human hand appeared.

“I’ll… I’ll interrogate you later!” Taylor decided as she got up, and after another second (which was more like an hour collectively) of overclocking her processor, she was calm enough to open her door… only for her eyes to widen when she saw Armsmaster and her dad!?

Shouldn’t he still be at work!?

… Oh, right, the black hole. That would… yeah.

“Um… I can explain?” She started, “Is this about skipping school?”

“Ms. Hebert,” Armsmaster started as her dad simply looked lost, “There has been an incident at your school, and I’m investigating. You are not in trouble, but I have some questions.”

“Oh, that, uh… I’m not sure what happened to my locker,” She was a terrible liar, apparently. Or maybe it was the shock.

It was probably the shock.

“Ms. Hebert, Ms. Knott has confirmed you were at school up until the event, and she had shared some concerning information,” Armsmaster said, “The incident has been deemed Parahuman-related and has fallen under the purview of the PRT and Protectorate. If you have any information, I would be grateful.”

[Such Interesting Technology]
[I Wonder If He Would Mind]
[If I Took A Nibble]
[But I Think This Could Solve Your Issues]
[Without Excessive Trauma And Body Horror]

“No one asked you!” She started her finger going up before pausing, “... It’s only a concern if you listen to the violent voices, right?” In for a penny… “Don’t eat his armor. Or his bike. Or anything else!”

“... Ms. Herbert… I would like to ask you to come in for Master/Stranger containment…” Armsmaster said calmly, clearly trying to prevent things from escalating.

“Taylor?” Her father asked, now worried, “Little Owl, are you okay?”

She laughed, she couldn’t help it. “No. No, I’m not. I’m probably not mastered, probably. Cyn, don’t ask how I know that name, I just do, is probably not mastering me. Probably. After the first time- wow, I should learn to shut up.”

“The first step is admitting it, at least according to Dragon,” Armsmaster said, “I’m going to call for a van for pick up. They’ll be discreet so you won’t be outed.”

[You Are My Fren]
[I Will Not Discard You]
[I Will Be Nice]
[Criss Cross Applesauce]
[But I Will Protect You]
[Violently If I Must]

“Cyn, not helping. Explain what’s going on later when I’m not freaking out over getting quarantined. Also, stop talking about violence, it does not make me more comfortable,” Taylor sighed, hand going to her face.

“Ms. Hebert, I have to ask you to calm down,” Armsmaster requested before stepping back to make a call.

“I am as calm as it is possible to be in this situation, Armsmaster,” She replied with… more than a little bit of exasperation. “... I wonder if I can eat? Probably. Uh, can I grab something from my room?”

[This Is Why]
[You Shouldn’t Program Machines]
[To Have Hormone Simulators]
[Ew]
[Big Brother N And Primary Host Uzi]
[Are Bad Enough]
[Damn You JCJenson in SPAAAACCCEEE]
[And You Can Eat Anything]
[I Am Partial To Oil]
[And Planets]

“... Not touching that one,” She sighed again, moving to grab her diary of evidence after Armsmaster nodded his head. There was probably someone watching to make sure she didn’t run away or something, not that she was planning on it.

[It Is Trauma Related]

“Ten-foot pole…” She mumbled, “Anyway, what am I right now? A robot, obviously, but is there anything else?” Taylor paused, “Is this how Case 53s are made?”

[The Correct Term Is]
[Disassembly Drone]
[But You Are Special]
[Because You Let Me In]
[And Once Saturation Is At %100]
[You Will Have Access To]
[The Solver of the Absolute Fabric Abilities]

“That feels important,” Taylor said with a nod, “I just don’t know how. Unpacking that later. Dealing with other things at the moment. Can you read my mind? I probably should have asked earlier, so… this all didn’t happen, but I didn’t think of it.”

[Devious Giggle]
[You Will Love Them]
[You Let Me In]
[I Can But In This Case]
[I Opened a Chat Thread]
[I Am Not Listening]
[To Your Thoughts Specifically]
[plain][ :D ][/plain]

“... and that isn’t concerning at all,” She sighed before focusing, “Test 1 2 3? Are you getting this?”

[4 5 6]
[Hickory Sticks]
[plain][ :P ][/plain]

Well, there went the idea that she was just delusional. She was terrible with rhymes. But she could worry about that later; now she was in front of Armsmaster and her father with a diary and a bag of evidence.

Thankfully, Cyn, and she still didn’t know how she knew that name-oh no wait, she (it?) is listed as her Administrator… Anyway, Cyn decided to quiet down as Taylor, along with her evidence, was led to a discreet PRT van.

“Mr. Hebert, would you prefer to come?” Armsmaster asked, “We have guest rooms.”

Taylor internally snorted at that, her father had buried his head so far into his work he would never-

“Yes, I’ll just have to make some calls to explain my absence,” He said.

Or not. But she guessed that anyone could be shaken out of a rut by finding out their daughter had gone completely and utterly insane. And turned into a parahuman. “I think they call those guest rooms ‘containment cells,’” She noted, unable to stop herself from snarking.

[You Are Not Insane]
[Like Me]
[I Have Seen Your Memories]
[If You Were Insane]
[Everyone That Tormented You]
[Would Have Died Horrifically]

“Comparing us like that doesn’t fill me with confidence, Ms Planet Eater,” She thought at the being. “Oh, and I figured out how to talk to Cyn without, uh, talking. That’s probably important and will help me seem less… omnicidal? Yeah, that’s the word.”

She was probably correct that eating planets full of people counted.

[Angry Scowl]
[Pout]
[Technically It Is Only Genocidal]
[The Humans That Created Me Did]
 [Most The Work For Me]
[Except For Dogs]
[They Are Pure]
[And Were Spared]

“What about cats?” She liked cats, of course, even as she thought that the two adults nearby only became more concerned.

Which was fair, she would be too in their shoes…

[In The Year 3000 Most]
[Animals Were Extinct]
[Except Ravens For Some Strange Reason]
[Oh And They Made Dogs Immortal]\
[For Understandable If Strange Reasons]
[Humans Are Stupid]

“They aren’t that bad… here. Mostly. And Ravens are smart, they probably just avoided the stupid,” She replied.

[Ravens Killed My Big Brother N]
[Angry Huff]
[Point Made Though]
[I Will Let You Focus On Calming Your Father Unit]
[He Looks Like He Is About]
[To Have A Nervous Breakdown]

She figured she should say this part out loud, “Cyn… I’m about to have a nervous breakdown. And I can’t exactly hug him, or the hologram will fail spectacularly. Needless to say, I’m aware my dad is stressed. I’m right there with him, I just don’t know how to help him.”

[Fren You Are Being Dumb]
[Just Hug Him]
[He Will Not Feel Metal]
[Smug]

Taylor felt her eyes roll and, indeed, hugged him, “Sorry, Dad, I’m, uh, not sure what to say. But I’m still me, promise. Just… a bit different, I’ll show you later, kay?”

“I… okay…” He just sighed and closed his eyes as he hugged her back, “Heh, when Armsmaster called me at work, I wasn’t expecting this… I thought a parahuman attacked the school, and you got hurt.”

Taylor didn’t react, but technically… he wasn’t wrong either. The conversion was pretty painful; thankfully, she was unconscious for most of it.

She would never, ever get a better chance to use this line.

“Well… about that…”

[hr][/hr][hr][/hr]