C13: Captured - Request, An Outsider, And An Upgrade
The time on the clock had only reached the second period, and the two awake individuals inside the desolated nurse office, with nothing else to do aside from waiting, decided to do their own thing. The boredom was much more than Ina had anticipated, she thought while finishing the menial tasks inside her workbooks. It should have been Izuku who did the thing but the situation ... It was awful. The monotonous droning of the AC reached every cubic meters of the room accompanying the clicking and typing sound of Recovery Girl's mechanical mouse and keyboard. The sounds were obnoxious, but no to the point of aa She was finishing up the morning report that day, diminishing the presence of Beast in front of her as "another patient". Completing a few final documents, Recovery Girl turned to the girl on a hospital bed, her face clearly showed her boredom with the waiting process.
"How should I address you? I cannot call you Beast in front of others. They may recognize you and I will have to deal with all the injuries."
"Just call me Ina, that's my name. Beast is something like a joke between us two and some villain heard the thing, leading to the vigilante name as time went on. '
Ina decided to share her real name as a sign of trust for the elderly lady asking her (Ina doubted that Nezu had not done any background check on all the possible connection when he had discovered Izuku and brought him back). Getting the name, Recovery Girl could connect the dots to find the true identity of Beast standing beside her, the girl had closed the distance in a blink of an eye.
"How about we go on a little stroll around the school. Walking is good for your health and I am dying to hear more about the place. "
Ina proposed, her heart despite having some worries for the sleeping Izuku but yearning more for a release from this situation. Beside, she could hear his breathing and heart beat, they were strong and full of life so she relented to boredom. Recovery Girl took her chance, agreeing with the proposal. Nezu had asked her to bring Beast, no, Ina Minaru to Gamma Gym in the morning beforehand. He said something like " we are receiving a guest in your place". His way of transmitting that information was quite ambiguous, leaving the identity of the arriving guest a mystery. Now she knew, and she cursed Nezu for that.
" Ina, you are really looking forward to entertain this old lady. We can go for a walk after the bells ends the break at the beginning of the third period. "
" Fine, but can I try your tea? It smells absolutely amazing. "
" Sure, sure ..."
The two spent time just like that, with the old lady not questioning much the young girl in front of her.
----------------------------------------------------------
" This collaboration has been going exceedingly well isn't it, Mr. Shield? Since the beginning of this year, our joint venture has produced many interesting results. "
Nezu said to the holographic David Shield inside his office. A rat and a man sat opposite of one another in the comfortable seats, enjoying the little conversation they were about to have in regards to their project. With heavy monetary investment from both sides and various companies and institutes giving a hand, the project had finally reached the finale, awaiting tests to end the damm thing.
What Nezu and the man had worked together in this year had been a new series of androids for the practical UA Admission Test in junction with the blueprint for Air Fortress and a prototype for Goliath series. With the interest of almost all high school graduates in Japan and limited admission seats for the 4 courses: Heroic, Support, Economics and General; a high floor was a requirement to sieve out suitable candidates for the programs. If not for the Education Department of the government insisting on the existence of the General course before they permitted the school's presence in high school application and other material, the course would not even see the light of day under Nezu's management due to the availability of the overall syllabus and other non-hero schools' wide open hands for any talents bread-crumbing their way after the UA Entrance Exam.
Nezu complimented on how well the many features of the androids and the variety of the robots. But there are still questions still requiring an answer.
" About that battery we installed, where did you source the blueprint? I haven't seen that registered inside the Data Bank. "
"The model comes from János Szentágothai Research Centre in Hungary. I fund their research in sustainable battery for better efficiency and flexibility of the electrical network, so they send me the report and I of course sign a deal with the Centre to make the thing publicly available at around 100$ for a 5-years patent. The first prototype was as big as a car, can handle a load of 50A, store up to around 3.4 GAh, suitable for essential places such as hospitals or communication towers. The size is later reduced to around a tool box, its maximum capacity is significantly reduced to 2000 MAh but the thing is incorporated with solar panels to automatically refill itself if put out in the sun."
"Such an interesting history, but the final product seems to diverge from your description. Did you upgrade it?"
"Of course, and keep this inside this room, the battery now is much better in terms of storage, rechargeability, cost and durability compared to the registered model. I don't want to discourage them. And besides, you really put them inside test robots, especially the Number-0 Goliath, for your academy test? Even the IIA (I-Island Academy) does not even do something similarly outrageous nor expensive. Of course I believe in your intent to realistically test the children but sending something that weighty onto the field and obtaining the parts through your port don't adhere legally any bit. "
Nezu raised his eyes at the last bit. The port under his control was something he had hidden quite deeply away from the HSPC and the government, faking it under a seafaring company responsible for transporting goods (He had a discount of 50% as a major shareholder). Ignoring one of the many secrets he held being disclosed, Nezu and David Shield continued their QnA session.
" About your material spending, how much did you cut by utilizing Cementoss to build buildings before leaving the job to your robots to carve out the buildings and install the power grid in your mock city? I feel pitiful for having such a boss like you. But something I have to admit is how amazing you are at this principal business. "
" Thank you for the compliment, now its my turn to ask. "
" Did you source the AIs from Balam or others, if so then it is a risky move. I have run some benchmark tests and comparison between the two models, and the results are quite telling. "
Nezu showed the charts and figures to David Shield. The parameters number, accuracy, data volume, responses and many more aspects. David Shield determined to stay silent, and Nezu respected his wish. A brief silence passed before Nezu went into the main reason for today's meeting. The matter regarding the man's daughter, Melissa Shield and her condition on I-Island was what initiated the conversation. David Shield told Nezu that he had something pent up and needed an advice from someone in the field of education, and the only one he knew of had been Nezu.
" My offer years ago still stands. She can come here and learn under Power Loader. He is clearly qualified first and foremost as an international engineer focused on supporting gears and second as a teacher. I believe that the two will be on good terms with one another seeing the shared passion. Furthermore, I believe that leaving her be is the better option "
"..."
" Nezu, can you tell me, with your experience in dealing with unstable teenager, what to do now? I don't know... I don't know..."
David Shield said, his hands covered his face. His decision of enrolling Melisa into the IIA was filled with the hope for her to connect, form new friendships and relationships, and learn new things. The latter remained objectively true with him seeing the level of Melissa increasing with ease. From the starting point of a normal student, she was now on the same par as some of the lesser known teachers in terms of technicality and knowledgeability with many projects on her schedule. The former part had strayed so far away from the intention that he had not even known what had gone wrong until the rumor portayed her as insane.
"Hey Nezu, is it normal for a young girl to be so obsessed with machinery and gadgets to the point of ... ignoring friendships and maybe even a normal social life?
"Pfff.... What did you say?"
Nezu, surprised by the weird question, spitted his drink out, leaving stains on the carpet. After wiping his corners cleN himself with a cloth, he urged David Shield to continue speaking. The man spoke up about the various oddities happening to his daughter all combined into a downcast for her wellbeing. According to David, the current Melisa was now much more reserved and absorbed into her own world, only becoming active and full of energy if the conversation was about gadgets and gears in general. Her friend list had been just two people from her school on I-Island.. Her memory of people's individuality had been reduced to merely what gears they had on at the time and the amount of biological matter being replaced by parts, evidently by how she identify one classmate by the model of the boy's artificial legs. David was worrying that his daughter's perspective of humanity was warped and she was slowly displacing anti-social behaviors.
" Besides all that, there have been occasions of ... oddities in her emotions and personality. One of the camera inside her room has caught her standing in the hall outside her mates' door. I have gone to the psychologist together with her to check but the results returned normal. I am not the best at these kind of emotions and growing-up stuffs so I can only ask for your help in this matter! You are a principal in charge of a bunch of hardheaded, stubborn and dreaming teenagers, so I can trust your opinion"
"Let me think about it..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Wow Melisa, you are really a godsend. Without you, we would have to examine the entire thing and hire a repair service Thank you so much!!!"
The Chinese girl, Huaxin, showed her appreciation for Melisa's help, who was giving a hand in figuring out the errors and patched them up for the biology science club. She was sitting on the floor, her hands gliding across a cryogenic pod for preservation, checking the sensors on the side for any miscalibrations and inputting the data into her laptop to simulate any failures.
The pod was the standardized 1-liter version with the lowest temperature around -20 degree Celsius while running on ebbing liquid nitrogen inside the coils wrapping around the. The thing was being used for preserving a sample of a weakened Ebola strains on the 10th floor where the club resided when the thing broke down, leaving the team little time to take care of the issue before the situation escalated.
Luckily, Huaxin suddenly remembered her dormmate, "The Iron Witch" Melisa Shield and called for her help. She knew what to say to push the girl's buttons, intriguing the girl to help her out. The call took a minute where Huaxin explained the situation to Melisa, who stayed silent in the duration of the call. Huaxin did not forget to disclose the location of the storage room, what girl met was only silence from the other side. Minutes later after her call for help in fixing the cryo-pod, the Iron Witch had arrived, her hairs glistening with water and her face flushing. Concerning about Melisa's complexion, Huanxin had asked her in her surprise at the referred person being here. The Melisa she knew would ne
"You really come...How is your face so red and your hair so sweaty?! Did you run up here? Did the elevator break? Did you snitch to the..."
"Yes, no, just feeling it, and no."
Melisa answered, her voice unchanging and leaving no conversation to continue from. Huaxin quickly got the memo and kept silent, leaving Melisa to dive into her own world. In her eyes, everything else cease to exist except for her own tools, her thoughts and the device in front of her.
...
15 minutes later
...
Melisa woke up from the trance, the pod was already checked, fixed and plugged back into the power outlet to continue running. Now she was standing in front of a vending machine with a barley tea can inside her hand. In her other hand was a gray tiny purse her mother left behind. It seemed she got a blackout again, sething that had developed recently
"Is the barley not to your liking? I buy you a can without knowing your taste so I just go with my favorite, sorry. And Melisa, Irlena seems to be calling you, your phone rang. "
" Thank you, for the tea and for reminding me. "
" Uh... N...No problem!"
While Huaxin was flustered with Melisa's thanks, the latter brought out her old phone from one pocket of her jacket. Many call notifications on the main screen, the time showed by the clock marked her 37th minutes here and 22th minutes late. The two had arranged for a coffee in District 9 at the Gerpo Cafe. Taking away with her the can of barley tea on the table, Melisa nodded at her, bidding a goodbye before running downstairs and get on a bus. She hated unpunctuality and yet here she was, late for the meet-up.
" I have heard from Huaxin, we can go to the shop at another time. She said that you weren't fine and were blindly following her, so take a rest! A rest! Not a nap or anything, a good night sleep!"
The message was sent to Melisa when she reached the fourth crossroads. She slumped down, contemplating the advice before deciding to heed the advice and went back. She was not feeling that well after the blackout previously.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
" You are doing just right ... Here!"
Melisa said to herself, checking the gauntlet in front of her. The metal casing reflected the yellow lamp, casting the room in the mix of broken shadow and sickly gold. What she was talking to, the energy coils inside tubes on the back of the coils, smiled weakly in blue. This gauntlet had been her latest invention, mimicking Emitter quirks to produces a heat boom at the control of the user by compressing ionic air and heating it up then releasing it quickly to the front. The built-in magnetic field prevent the charged ball of hot gas from touching and harming the user. The thing was weighty, around 7 kg load to the shoulder blade, heavy for untrained personnel but fit for soldiers, they would have a great time trying the gaunlet out.
" You know you should sleep now. "
A voice rang out in the room where only the girl was in. Melisa took a look at her reflection on the wardrobe mirro, a more tired and depressed Melisa with bags under her eyes and crazed eyes tainted by bloodshot veins.
" I almost finish with this thing, just need to adjust the sealings and it's ... "
" You should rest. You are tired to the point of talking to yourself. Stop being delusional and sleep! "
A mechanical voice spoke, its tone and stress pattern remained steady and sleep inducing yet somehow conveyed the intention. The voice came from the speakers of her laptop, she knew the origin of the voice, not the owner. The world top companies would burn countries to capture this guy and here he was inside one of most technologically protected place, uncaring for the uniqueness of his presence
" Kevin, you should keep yourself hidden better. The security measures here will discover you if you keep sending yourself through the Internet. "
" Relax, I have already split parts of my presence down to too small of a size for the filter to take care of. The board won't know a thing of this being. "
A program opened on the laptop, its was a game scene. The mouse automatically moved to the " Play " button and clicked, generating a black void. The screen then began to be changed to that of a lab. Countless blocks formed out of the empty space and built up the architecture of the place, creating pathways, decorations and objects to fill in the gaps. Melisa took a few minutes off her project humming a gentle chorus of revolving discs, her eyes glued at what unfolding in front of her. After a few minutes and everything had smoothing out, a young kid in the lab coat with the helm dragging on the floor, his eyes two yellow crosses staring straight through the monitor. He did some warm up, rotating his digital joints and moving his data flesh while trying different expressions, with every attempts allowing for finer, more human control of the body. The computer cooling fans ran at maximum rotational speed, their blades cutting the cold air. Finally, the 3D model of a young kid stopped and began speaking.
"What did you get from the data bank on I-Island ?"
" A thruster model used for rockets and IBCM, namely the Nikke system of the Rhodes Island Hero Institute for research and training purposes. A board member made a dealing with the place around 3 weeks ago so security was not so tight. "
Melisa started to describe what she had gotten out from this collaboration.
" An acceleration system using fictious particles to force the tester to move at light speed immediately, countercorrect any external force affecting the tester from the outside. The thing is akin to the removal of inertia to suddenly change the velocity. So no shocks can be felt by the inside tester. This thing jugs up a lot of power to maintain its efficiency, but for momentary burst for changing direction, the energy efficiency is not that awful. "
" Interesting, what else did you get? "
" A blueprint for Chinese automaton the 3-stories tall version. This thing is old but trustworthy as seen from its performance in large construction, saving various costs, human resources and time. Aside from that, a plan to utilize the large robots to carry weapons in the China-India 2136 War has almost been implemented but has been prevented due to international pressures. "
" Anything else? Surely that isn't everything we risked our lives to steal. I remember 4, come out then, what's the last one that you finished decrypting"
" Ah yes, my memory has been fuzzier recently. Ahem, the fourth one being the test data and prototype of a heavy weapon. It seems the thing is a gigant javelin with an energy blade along its edges, boasting excellent cutting power and defense removal as seen from the test video. The project has been "The Guardian", a new border control measure of the Indian Science Institute after the war previously mentioned. Based on one of their gods' weapon, the weapon is considered a way to boost nationality and unity since the Old Era assimilation of various border cultures has happened and anti. "
" I, no, we know what we are going to do then"
" Your body, is it? With capability for combat to fight for one's survival against the military, data storage to contain your essencenand an efficient enough energy system to sustain you for millions of years?!"
"Let's take time understanding the technology first before applying it to our joint venture."
" Sounds good, send me the data then you can return to your rightful place now, a bed. "
Hearing the remark, it seemed the one in front of her was still insistent on her getting some rest. Melisa took a glance at the time at the bottom of her screen: 1:54 in the morning. She shut her laptop down and went to the mirror in a corner. Its surface was marred with cracks from her punching it countless times. Her reflection looked at her, the same smirk filled with pride at how much control it had over her life. She did not know since when had her reflection distorted to the point of self-awareness. The phenomenon was supernatural and unscientific, leaving Melisa with no proper path to tackling the issue. The therapy sessions her father forced her to go to had not helped the situation one bit.
" Don't even know who is the illusionary reflection here... pitiful... Maybe you could just kill you, not-so-genius girl."
Melisa could hear the line in her ears, the room was silent and vacant with any sign of life completely removed. The threat was not lost on her mind as she stepped away from the reflective surface, her reflection doing the same actions. The two held a staring contest at one another, one smiling and the other did not. Melisa decided to take her sleeping pills on the table after leaving the mirror alone. She had been suffering from insomnia and any methods she could find had been of no use except for these pills that her father bought for her. She had always lost the whole bottle every night but her was willing to buy more for her. He had said that he had bought the single variation so the price was not the problem, she still felt guilty from that.
" Melatonin, benzodiazepines and banana-scented aroma, what a weird combination. "
She thought while swallowing the pill with the aid of water. She bid goodnight to herself before falling asleep. The night was just enough in many ways for her.
-------------------------------------------------
" How loathsome this drug is, I really hate my father for this, that man is only detrimental for every of my plans.
The sounds of rustling papers and aluminum cans could be heard. Someone was checking the thrown-away plastic pill container, their expression scowling and hurting. The individual walked to the cupboard inside the bathroom, taking out some concoctions inside a water bottle before downing a gulp themself. A few seconds, vomiting sound could be heard from inside in combination with heaving and gagging. The noise stopped and the person walked out and got onto the bed after hydrating the dried throat. Silence returned again to the room. Nothing had changed from before, except for a smile blooming in the night.
-------------------------------------------------------
Melisa woke up inside her dorm room, her body sweating profusely to the point of soaking her entire attire in sticky evaporated sweat residue. The temperature was too hot, but she was used to the heat on her skin due to the various times she worked closely to boilers and heat radiator for cooling systems of others' projects. She got up, prepared herself before opening the door, ignoring the searing burn in her clutched hand. The heat from outside immediately assaulted her, almost burning her skin off. Closing the door and counting to 100, she got out from the door, her gauntlet equipped on her left hand. She followed the heat trail of something left behind, her only meaningful goal in this place. She walked and walked and walked, her feet turning harder and harder and harder to lift, yet she still moved on. She did not know how much time had passed, but her conviction ( or madness) told her to continue on. She was already having difficulties breathing in the scorching air, her lungs burned and groaned in this unlivable air. After who know how many breaks, she finally arrived in front of a large two door, on its were ancient scriptures resounding to Melisa's brain. She could somehow make out the way to open them up, a bloody sacrifice. With nothing else to give, she wrapped her torn-off cloth pieces around her left hand, restricting her veins. 14 minutes later, her left hand had turned a deep shade of purple. She recognized that it was time. She turned away, not daring to look at the scene to reinforce her bravery. She ignited the gauntlet, setting the plasma ball radius to very small, around the diameter of her index finger. She hesitantly bring the finger down, carving a piece of her. The smell of scorched flesh and snobs filled the space, only waffling away, leaving a panting Melisa behind. Her injury had been disinfected due to the intense heat, her pumping in fear of missing something. She out the dropped hand into a hole on the side wall, which was followed by noises of gears turning and bumping, the friction caused them to scream in terror. The door opened up, letting Melisa into a grand palace with a single throne in the middle. The seat stood upon a mountain of ashes with many weapons protruding out of the gray hill, akin to spikes on a hedgehoge.
She tried to approach the throne atop of the ash hill, a dusty witch hat sat impossingly on it. She never knew why but she had this feeling of obligation to obtain the hat. The closer she got, the more she sank into the pile of ash. Bitter basic potassium-based compounds overwhelmed her taste buds. The space turned silent, marking an end.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The pair Ina and Recovery Lady reached the Gamma Gym. They had taken their time leisurely strolling around the school with the older explaining the activities there. From the kitchen where the famous Lunch Rush was praticing his cooking skills to the ever-running Support lab under Power Loader's management and the giant statue of Nezu in a corner with the engraving: " Conqueror", they walked around the school, careful to avoid highly populated area. Now they were standing in front of the Gammy Gym, a wide area with various training equipment and weights for students to use without any cost. But now, the gym was void of anything for training at the moment, leaving only a balck box in the middle with Nezu the rat standing in front of it. He was waiting for the two to arrive and Ina could feel his observant gazes landing on her .
" Beast... Ina Minaru, the daughter of Kenji Minaru and Asa Minaru. Your family is quite extensively welcomed in the underground. Did you know that? "
Ina scratched her chin in amazement. She had no idea the life her parents had before getting married and giving birth to her, but she thought that the two could share it if they wanted. They still did not want to share the details with her, and Ina was too unbothered with the information to ask.
" I have asked my parents for their past, but they avoided it so I just dropped the matter. Mu dad is just a business man yet he can play with the CEO of Yaoyoruzu Corp. Something is kept away from me and thing is not the way it seems, I know that much."
" Oh I see, they are indeed good parents if they want to hide their dealings. I will not divulge their secrets after all, that is up to them. Just a little spoiler, their past are quite a story to hear, so brace yourself. "
" But will you tell that I am Beast? You already have the bullet in the chamber. What is your intention here? Have you no question about my quirk? The registry for my parents tells quite a contradictory statement to my power. "
" Oh, I am of course very curious where you get that strength, that speed, that reaction of you. I AM HOLDING MYSELF BACK!"
Nezu exclaimed, and Ina had to agree with his statement. His entire body was twitching, his bead-like eyes observing her every muscles groups, skeletal structure and organs. It seemed the rat was encaptivated by the existence of her power, an irregularity according to the basics of genetics. She was also very curious about his claim of being a chimera, a collection of parts from different animals to form one singular organism.
Recovery Girl looked at the scene, an extremely powerful quirk user and an absurdly intelligent chimera arguing. She could only look and sip Nezu's tea ( his taste was quite exquisite). They were about to throw backhanded insults at one another when Nezu decided to bring up the main topic.
" I can guarantee that I let you two run free after some compromises from the two. "
Then Nezu listed out his demands and his reasons for them, but to sum it up:
1/ Reduce the severity of injuries inflicted on villains
2/ Stop murdering
3/ Sign up to the Vigilante & Underground Hero Network
The reasoning for the first and second ones were clear; her fights had led to many villains being hospitalized and suffered from permanent damages before being killed. One case of this had been a mugger who had two pairs of ram horns for a quirk which she had dismantled by breaking them off. She had taken a few bodies in secret away from Izuku's eyes to amp herself. In Addition, she had noticed the lack of the jars so they must had been confiscated and allowing Nezu to get hold of this piece of info.
But for the third demand, Ina was puzzled why the rat had not force a more ... restrictive measure. Sure being registered was not good for them as being spotted by other vigilantes would spell troubles for the pair, but the rat did not forbid them from continuing this hobby Nevertheless, she was not someone who looked a gift horse in its mouth so she did not question the rat. But one final issue arose that needed further explanation.
" Why are we here then? I suppose you didn't call me out in this barren gym to capture me? "
" Not entirely, I do wish to capture you two, but the present condition presents a different approach. May you do me a favor? "
Sensing something amiss, Ina tried to escape but the cloth was pulled away before she could turn around, revealing a heavy android the size of a tall man standing at 2.3 meters, its artificial muscles contorted and deformed under the stress of the installed pneumatics, as seen from the small movements of its green armor plating covering every weak point proned to failures like joints. Ina could hear the sloshing of fluids inside the mix of pressurized air flows and metal clanking. Could be fuel, she deduced seeing the hoses on its forearms and forelegs.
" Now, you are my test subject. Don't worry, Recovery Girl will patch you up afterward. Have a great time!"
As soon as the "time" dropped, the robot bursted forward, closing the gap between her and the mechanical guards in an instant. Ina ducked below the kick aimed at her head. A sound of impacts and disturbed floor rang out behind her. She took a look back immediately , seeing two trails of broken tiles converging at a cloud of dust. She readied herself, preparing for a drawn-out test.