So I was reading an interview with US magazine that the Cyborg did, and she congratulated Madonna's "manufacturers" – which got me thinking about how much she actually understands about humans, hence this fic.
Freedom was not something 2D had seen a lot of since his kidnapping about a week ago, but today was different. This morning, Plastic Beach had been attacked by pirates, who had broken his bedroom window, and until the room was empty enough that he was unlikely to drown, he'd been allowed out under strict conditions set by Murdoc:
"Stay sober. Don't touch anything. Break something, and I'll kill ya." Simple enough, so long as he sat still on this table in what passed for the Cyborg's repair bay for the next few hours. There was a small noise as he heard the door open, and, looking up, he saw the Cyborg herself walk in, seemingly backwards and stooping slightly. Looking closer, it became clear she was dragging something, and when 2D saw what it was, he wished he'd gone and sat somewhere less likely to make him retch... like Murdoc's bedroom. The robot's small hands were hooked under the arms of a young man's body, which was riddled with bullets and covered in blood. Moving over to 2D's seat in the middle of the room, she stared wordlessly up at him. He stared back, shock and confusion in his eyes. The scene stayed frozen until the Cyborg slowly cocked her head in a motion clearly meant to say "Shift." The slight whirring sound she made bringing 2D back to his senses, he slid off the table and with what would have been superhuman (had she been human) strength for a girl her size, the cyborg hauled the corpse onto the table.
2D watched as she took off the man's shirt, and as she picked up the limp hands and strapped them into the harnesses, dragging the body into the upright position she herself normally sat in while under repair, but when she slit open the man's back he had to turn away. There was a horrible pause while he waited for the squelching to begin, and he stood paralysed in fear, unable to leave. When nothing happened he was a little perplexed, but allowed himself to relax a little. He was just getting ready to leave when he felt a tug on his sleeve so reminiscent of the way Noodle used to attract his attention when she was tiny that even if there had been anyone else in the room he would have known instantly who it was. He stiffened and turned to face her.
Almost instantly, in a rare moment of anything but fear and humiliation, all 2D wanted to do was hug "her". Even though her face was stuck in a permanent smirk and there was almost always a gun strapped to her back, she looked so helpless as she motioned him over to look at the body which had so confused her that all of that was pushed to the back of his mind. He stared, wondering just what she wanted, when realisation hit him in the face with such a slap he could almost see the purple handprint forming across his face. Of course – Cyborg knew nothing about life. She'd thought she could repair her kill just as Murdoc always repaired her after she'd been bashed around and broken. If he hadn't been so afraid of her, he'd have laid a hand upon her shoulder, but had instead to settle for shaking his head and saying
"'M sorry. 'e can't be fixed."
The Cyborg stared at him in what might have been mute horror. Slowly, she shook her head. Turning quietly, without the usual clicks and whirrs, she unstrapped what was left on the table and with what seemed to be rage, shoved it to the floor with such force that the neck broke. Sensing that this was probably the time to leave, 2D steeled himself, gathered the body in his arms, and left.
The Cyborg collapsed into a hunched sitting position, staring at the darkening crust forming on her palms.
Well, that close up in the Rhinestone eyes storyboard had to mean something, right?
