Whoa, you guys are awesome! So many follows and favorites, I guess you might actually want this story to stick around.
Your responses have inspired me, and this chapter came out more quickly that I thought because of that. Thank you
Now, onto the chapter!
+++Origins 0.1.2+++
"Char, could you make him move his arm a little? About sixty degrees?" I requested while I adjusted a few joints under the test frame's 'armpit' with a cross point screw driver.
"Certainly." Sitting still on the work bench, Char's eyes flashed as he did as I requested, easing the arm up in just the right way.
"Thanks!" I made sure the bolt close to arm wiring was tightened in, to prevent collision within and impede movement. I nudged it a few times to make sure it didn't budge.
"Aaand we're done!" I crowed.
I stepped back to get a better view of the whole frame, feeling proud of how far it's come.
Where once before it was a thin skeletal frame that stood only an inch below the five feet mark, now it was standing proudly past five foot five inches, as tall as I was. I had given it more gray metal plating all around, covering the wirings up and making it look bulkier in comparison to its former look. The additional plating on the feet had given it a few inches, and the hands had changed from looking less like skeletal fingers to more like an armored glove. The torso down to the hips were now more enlarged, and was now as wide as my whole body.
My newest addition to the whole frame was the new head. It had been remodeled entirely, for it no longer just had the single lens camera that served as its only way to see. With a dome shaped cranium that was covered in gray metal plates and a thicker neck to support it, it now looked more like a human skull except for the eyes. I decided to make the lens more independent from the head movement, and now the single lens could move side to side without the assistance of the whole head.
"Alright Char, let's get to some testing!" I clapped my palms and rubbed them together, excited to get the results.
"Affirmative." Char responded, ear vents flapping slightly. He focused his gaze upon the test frame. "Preparing diagnostics."
"Now," I was bubbling with enthusiasm as I put my hands on my hips. " Let's get started, my round red lab assistant!" I pointed at the new and improved test frame with authority.
"Go!" I commanded my little red minion with a jaunty smile.
"Yes Ma'am, right away Ma'am." Char played along, the amusement at my antics clear in his smooth digital voice.
Char began the test run by moving the arms up and down. Continuing from there, he then tested the shoulders by rolling them at the joint, followed by swiveling the biceps, lifting the elbows, pivoting the hands and finally, opening and closing the fingers.
Having done the arms, Char moved on with the torso and hip movement. He bent test frame forward, then backward. After, titled the torso at the hips from side to side, then made the whole upper body twist from the hips.
"Upper body assessment complete." Char stated, eyes flashing to me. "Proceed with lower body testing?"
"Carry on." Crossing my arms now, I nodded.
"Affirmative. Continuing with the test." He rotated back to face the test frame.
Much like the arms, he started by individually moving the legs forwards, then sideways and backwards. Next, he tested the knee joints by bending it back and finally rolling the heels.
"Lower body assessment complete." Char's red vents flapped then, pausing. "I can test the head now, right?" Char looked at me again.
There was a vibration similar to excitement in his tone, and I knew why. Char had actually helped me design the new head and gave me suggestions for the eye movements, which we had both dubbed the 'mono eye'.
"Go ahead." I gave my assent, nodding again. I feel my lips turn upward when I noticed that the way he turned back was more eager than the last.
"Proceeding with test of newest installation on prototype." Char declared, and I really grinned now when I saw him bounce a bit.
My grin grew wider when I saw that the first thing he did was to move the new mono eye around.
Really proud of that aren't we?
I watched as Char made the lens look side to side without moving the head at all. After he was satisfied, he made the whole head lean forwards, then lean back. Done with that, he made it look upwards, then downwards then side to side. His final step was to make the sure that the whole head can tilt by the neck joint and had tested that through a series of head tilts from side to side, then finally rolling at the base of the neck.
With all that finally done, Char paused just a bit before talking once again.
"Over all articulation assessment: 90.9% control and 90.6% unimpeded movement all around." Char's tone had returned to sounding more formal and neutral now as he gave me the reports of the results that he found in the test. He sprung up a bit as he finally turned back to face me." That's 40.2 % better than it was last time, Taylor. A fine improvement."
"Yep." I smiled in agreement, nodding at him.
The test frame now had more dexterity and flexibility because of the upgrades in the joints and the ligaments. It was amazing, I had just modified a few things but the base from what I had built up from actually made things easier to work with even the materials that I had.
"Now let's make it walk." I stepped back until my back hit the wall. "Make it get over to me, Char."
"Roger." Char made an affirmative sound. He moved the frame where it stood.
By the first step it took, I immediately saw the changes. When it was just more skeletal and made of wires and thin poles, the frame walked with feather light steps, and I always worried that it would fall over just from the slightest bit of wind that touches it. With just the control module and without Haro's movement system I had to actually make sure it balanced itself to prevent it from plunging down because it was too light and unbalanced.
The additional metal plating around the whole frame gave it just a bit more weight, and I worried that it would give it that too much heft and keel over because it was too heavy. Now that I hear its weighty footsteps and postured gait as it walked towards me, I could see that I managed to give it the just the amount of balance it needed to let it walk without fretting over how it would drop because of how much weight it carried with it now.
I could add the another layer of plating on it, to give it more protection. A layer of armor that weighed just light enough to let it move normally without balance issues, but hard enough that it wouldn't be pierced by bullets and damage the inner mechanics within.
"...well that's gonna take a lot of time that I don't have anymore." I murmured to myself, looking down with hand on my chin and contemplating my options now. Everything I had now was poured into the test frame, and any more is gonna take some junkyard diving and buying material with money I didn't have. Dad could help me with this again...but we had a deal and my time was up.
I had to fulfill my end of the bargain especially now after what happened last night.
I closed my eyes and thought back to what transpired when we finally got back to the house
+++V+++
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THNKING?!" Dad exploded as soon as we got home. I shrank back from the anger of his voice, the unmistakable fury that clouded his eyes.
"I-I just-" I stammered out feebly, feeling cold at the realization of what I had done earlier. I wanted to help so bad that I didn't really think of what would happen to me.
I had no excuse.
"Did you think at all!?" Dad shouted, and I bowed my head in shame as I recognize that he was very upset at the very real chance that I could have gotten hurt. "What would have happened if they actually got you? Taylor you are not supposed to just go out there and fight gangs like you're invincible!" I peeked at him and tried to respond.
"I-I couldn't jus-" I was firmly cut off once more by my father's fuming voice.
"Couldn't just what? Couldn't wait to go out there and play hero?! Do you have any idea how bad that could have turned out?! I saw one of them holding a knife Taylor! They could have stabbed you!" His heated tirade was emphasized by the furious motions of his hands and the way his nose flared in anger. He was mad, very mad at me for doing such a stupid thing.
"Dad I didn't do that just to play hero!" I finally looked up to protest. He had it all wrong! I didn't do it just to feel like a hero! "There was a woman there! She had a kid with her, and they were mugging her so I-"
"You instantly thought you should go beat those guys up yourself instead of calling the cops!" Dad angrily butted in again, throwing his hands up exasperatedly. "Taylor that is a one way ticket to getting yourself into something that's way over your head! Do you have any idea how much worse this could have been!?" The question was obviously rhetorical but I was starting to get sick of the way he's kept telling me of what could have been like I hadn't realized it yet.
"I know okay!" I snapped back, anger seeping into my voice as I finally looked back at him. "But I was just sick of it Dad! I was sick of not being able to help!" I glared at him defiantly and he glared right back. "I saw her getting in trouble and I just wanted to finally do something that isn't just waiting around!" My hands curled into fist as I stomped the ground in frustration.
"That was still stupid Taylor! You went in there unprepared!" My father argued back, not even slightly abated by what I said. "You could have been really hurt!"
"I could have! I would have! That's all you keep saying Dad!" I swiped at the air irritably, annoyed that he kept saying things that didn't happen. "But I didn't Dad! I caved their heads in and saved those people!"
Why can't he point that out too? Why can't he be proud that I finally actually helped somebody!
"That is not the POINT!" My father screamed out the last word more furiously than the others, looking at me with such livid eyes that I stepped back, feeling scared at what he might do. "YOU COULD HAVE DIED!" His enraged voice choked up at the end, and he put both his hands on to cover his face.
I realized belatedly that he was actually sobbing.
I just made my father cry.
That, more than anything, stopped me from saying anything else. I stared dumbly at him, watching as he dragged his hand back through his hair, breathing out to calm himself.
"You have no idea," he put a hand on his hip, looking away from as he said this. "How hard it was for me to convince myself, that being a hero was the best thing for you."
He was breathing in and breathing out while talking, noticeably more somber than he was furious as he had been before.
"I'll be terribly honest right now and tell you that I absolutely don't want you to do this, Taylor. I just want you to be my daughter." He closed his eyes, one hand massaging the back of his neck. "But I realized how terrible things could be, about what would happen to you if you weren't ready. If people ever find out about you, if people ever just come and take you away, how am I supposed to protect you from that?" He set his jaw, opening his eyes slowly. "That was something that convinced me, that it would be better if I let you be a hero, to be part of the Protectorate, where you would have people who could look out for you, protect you in a way that I couldn't." He limped his arms down and finally turned to look at me. "It didn't make things easier for me, Taylor."
His eyes were red from tearing up, and it highlighted the sadness that I felt from his voice. "In the end? I'm still letting you go out there, I'm still telling you that you can risk your life and throwing you to the wolves. That doesn't feel right to me Taylor. But I've accepted that it was the safest option, that this is what's best for this situation."
"But you still don't like it, yeah?" I bowed my head at that and set my lips together.
"No, but there's nothing else I can do but let you." He sighed. "Knowing you'd be in danger is hard for me Taylor, and the fact that you actually did that right without warning scared the living hell out of me. I ran after you to that alley expecting the worst, and you don't know how relieved I was that it wasn't. But now? Now I know that I'll eventually have to live with that feeling everyday once you actually become a hero, and I don't think it's ever going to be easy."
"I'm sorry..." I apologized with all the sincerity that I could muster, truly feeling the shame and the guilt that leaked out of my voice. "I'm really sorry..." I started to tear up again, but I immediately wiped at my face and put my head down. I wasn't going to cry again, even though I wanted to so bad.
"Taylor, I know you want to do the right thing." There was a hand on my shoulder, and I turned my head up to see my father right in front of me, leaning down to look me in the eyes. His eyes were still watery, but he didn't cry. "But you are still my daughter, and I am still your father. What you did just made me realize all the more that you're going to do that again every day, and I'm absolutely terrified by just thinking about it. It hurts me Taylor, so much that I want to tell not to, but I know I can't because that's about the same thing. Right now it's fine, but one day all I'll be able to do is pray that you'll be safe, and just wait for you to come home every day." After saying that, my leaned away just but a tear slid down his cheek, and that made my tears come unbound too.
"I'm so sorry Dad..."I sniffed as I put my arms around him and cried into his shirt. He reciprocated and I felt the weight of his head leaning on mine. "I'm so sorry..."
"I know, kiddo. I know." He kissed the top of my head comfortingly, and pushed me back slightly so he could look at me in the eyes. "Just...don't do it again? Not while you're not ready?" His brown eyes begged me.
"I won't do it again." I promised him, sniffling. I hugged him again and buried my head in his chest. He hugged me back and whispered words of comfort.
We stayed like that for a few minutes. It made me think of what I've been doing, and how we got here.
Right now we were in a volatile situation. To make sure I was safe we decided that joining the Protectorate was the best option, and there would be no arguing that I was going there. But my stubbornness had delayed that because I felt the need to prove myself, to prove that I could do Tinker things without the need of protection, of other people. I already realized how bad of a decision that was, and how made it things harder for both us.
I wanted to help him to make up for that, that was why I wanted to fix the ferry. I wanted to show him that the abilities I've gained weren't just a burden on both of us, I wanted to impress my dad by using the new powers that I've been granted to fix a problem that he's had for so long. I wanted him to be more accepting of me being a hero, I wanted to do so many things for my dad because I wanted to make him happy.
Because I wanted to make the pain of my mother's death go away by making his dreams come true...
I realize, as my father comforted and embraced me, that I've been running away. The new powers I've gained has given me something to focus on, my desire to tinker with machinery and creating new A.I. have been an escape.
An escape from the sadness I've felt since my mother's death.
Every time I wanted to help people, was just me trying to get away from the creeping misery that I would feel whenever I think of Mom. My tears have been from the depression of her no longer being with us, held back by the ideas in my head that I wanted to come to life. They've built up so bad that every time I feel guilty or sad it would break the dam just a bit and let them out by a whole load, like it was right now.
I've distanced myself from her death, I've been thinking of my abilities and my robots and my life as a hero as a distraction.
Because I feel like I'd be crying for a lifetime if I ever think about Mom being dead.
I realize that while I have my cape powers to keep me busy, all Dad had was me being an damn idiot, fretting over the fact that his only daughter might follow after his wife so soon.
And all I did was frighten him by charging in blind to a fight I might not have been ready for.
I can't keep doing this to him.
The very least I could do was to give him some assurance. That I'll be safe while I'm being a hero.
I closed my eyes and felt my tears dry.
I leaned away from the embrace so I could look at him in the eyes.
"Dad," I started, steeling myself for what I was about to say.
No more hesitation, do this for him.
"Let's go to the Protectorate."
+++V+++
"Taylor?" Char's inquisitive voice brought me back from the thoughts in my head.
I looked up and realize that I might just have been standing there staring at nothing for the longest time.
The test frame was already in front of me, as Char looked to me from the work bench. I did a once over the machine again. We plugged out the extension cord and let it use the new power supply system. This one was more like Haro and Char's, a ultra compact battery module stored at the section where the stomach would be. I plated it just enough that it wouldn't be destroyed if it ever got hit with anything strong enough.
"What do you want me to do with him next?" My round robotic assistant inquired for my next set of orders, flapping his ear vents and beeping.
"Oh," I straightened up. "Um, can you make him jog back to his station?"
"Affirmative." Char acquiesced.
The test frame swiveled around, and drawing his hands up, and imitated the act of jogging. His posture was perfect, he never lost his balance and the speed of which he completed the order was just right. The test frame then turned back around once it reached its destination, right on its previous station.
"Jogging is no problem as well, " Char reported, yellow eyes flashing. "The legs can lift itself the right way and there are no weight issues."
"That's great! " I cheered, a feeling satisfied in knowing I could do this much without an amazing budget. "So, let's make him do something a bit more complicated." I rubbed my hands together.
"Dance for me, my death machine of doom!" I put my hands on my hips authoritatively, looking at it with a serious face.
Char digital voice actually laughed, "Yes my Queen, right away!"
And so Char made it dance the Thriller, by Michael Jackson.
"...'Cause this is thriller, thriller night~! And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike~!" The song came out from Char's body, and the test frame danced along the beat, managing to imitate the steps perfectly, even doing the split and the clap, and the thing Michael Jackson does with his neck
"Awesome!" I clapped and bounced in place, excited that the unit was still agile and nimble enough to dance amazingly like it wasn't even heavy.
"Okay, let's stop." I giggled when I saw how the test unit stopped just at the part where he was supposed to split. Char chuckled and made it stand right up. "Report?" I asked Char.
"Nothing wrong, the unit followed the input commands to the letter. The only problem I can observe is the delay of command and movement." He told me while tilting his body sideways, like he was thinking.
"Delay?" I questioned him, frowning a bit.
"The remote set up for the control system. There is a 0.24 delay between the relay of command and the movement output. I think the wireless setting is the cause of this."
"Ah, I see." Of course, because it was by remote there was a route broadcasting of command frequency that needed to be received then processed before following the input to create the movement within the code parameters obtained.
I frowned at that. The delay time was a almost negligible but I really wanted to find a way to fix it.
"Taylor? Would there be anything else?" Char asked me, preparing for my commands.
"Ah, actually," I started and analyzed the test frame again. "For the next commands, do as I say the moment I say it."
"Roger. A simultaneous command and relay prompt to test the delay then?" Being ever so smart, my little red lab assistant instantly figure out what I wanted.
"Yeah," I nodded at him. "We'll begin...now! Punch!"
The test frame punched with its right hand as I said that.
"Kick!" It kicked out with its right foot.
"Punch left! Punch right!" It obeyed once more, all perfectly relayed.
"Left kick! Right kick!" A sequence of kicks in order of my command.
"Duck down!" And it ducked, just as I told it to.
"Jump!" It hopped it place.
"Right uppercut! Left uppercut!"
"Right roundhouse kick! Left hook punch."
The series of commands I made were obeyed to the letter as I observed the test frame with a critical eye.
"All right, let's stop." I commanded. The test frame relaxed back in its place. I quirked my lips sideways as I thought about what I saw. Char was right, the delay was there, and it got worse with me commanding it.
The command that came from Char was indeed 0.24 seconds of delay but with my own commands relaying to Char before input went to the frame the interruption of movement became shoddier at 0.27 seconds.
That's not good. But it should be good enough for now.
I wanted to fix it, but I didn't have time for it anymore.
"Is there anything else?" Char asked me again. He was looking at me with his yellow transparent eyes.
"Nah, I think that's enough now." I sighed. Char did a mechanical equivalent of nodding and powered down the test unit, which noticeable slumped down.
Dad already called the PRT to set up an interview and we were expected to be there after lunch. We were given instructions of how to get there and some standard procedure questions. A brief description of me and what I wanted to do. Thing like that, so they could prepare for me when I get there.
"I guess this is it..."I muttered to myself. I'm finally gonna get an interview with the PRT, and join them if they let me.
Wait, do they ever reject capes? What if they think I'm too lame to be a hero and tell me that they can't accept me? What if they turn me away?
"Is there something wrong, Taylor?" Char's smooth voice took a more inquisitive and concerned tone. "I am detecting a rise in blood pressure from you, and your heat signature shows an increase in temperature." He listed off the signs of my agitation at the thought of the incoming interview.
"Oh it's nothing Char, I'm just kinda nervous." I waved off his concern, trying to play it cool. "I'm getting an interview the PRT, I'm just thinking of what could happen."
"Ah, the impeding event has evoked an emotion of anxiousness." He stated, doing his equivalent of an interested head tilt. "Curious, why does this bother you so?"
"Well, I dunno. I guess I'm scared that they might reject me." I replied with a shrug.
"I see, the thought of rejection leads to fear."
"Well, fear of the unknown I guess. Sometime when you get rejected you feel scared because you don't know what you're gonna do next." In the event that I get rejected, my father and I would be in serious trouble. I'll have to find a way to hide myself better, move the lab. I'd be an independent hero, and those kind of heroes have a high mortality rate.
"And that is what you feel? A fear of the unknown from the possibility of rejection." Char inquired with a flap of his vents.
"Yeah." I nodded.
If I did get rejected, I'd probably still try to be a hero. The desire to help people was still burning in me, and I don't think getting rejected would abate that. But that would mean I'd be making my father worry all the more, and the danger would be higher.
I feared for my dad too, that someone might find out who I am and use my father as leverage against me.
"Why?" Char asked again. He was looking at me intently awaiting my response.
I thought of the answer for a second and then replied. "Well, Char, it's like this. I have powers and I want to use them for good. That means I want to help people, Char. I want to use my powers to make people's lives better. That means I want to be a hero."
"And joining this organization will help you with that?" He made a curious beep.
"It would make things easier." I told him.
"In what way?"
"It would make things less dangerous for me, Char. Less dangerous for my dad. For us."
"Us?" He tilted himself again, a gesture of curiosity.
"Yeah, our family." I smiled at him. "You, me, Dad and Haro. Even that guy." I gestured at the test frame. "If I ever give him and A.I. or something." I joked.
Well, not really. That was one solution I thought of for the delay problem, just upload an A.I right into unit.
Hmm, might need to put a check on that. I'm being to trigger happy with making A.I.'s.
I already had Char and Haro made in a span of a few days, and that felt too much already. I imagined myself in a room full of Haro like robots, all bouncing and beeping and being curious about everything. I groaned, I don't think I could handle that.
"Family..." Char's digital voice became far off for a second, as if he was assessing the word and what it meant.
"Yeah, I'm trying to join the Protectorate so I can protect our family." I said to him. "Family is important Char, and protecting your family is that most important thing in the world."
Char paused at that, ears flapping and eyes flashing.
"I see." He lost his far away tone while saying this."Does being a hero with the Protectorate truly mean less danger?"It seems that Char was in an inquisitive mood, because he's been pouring in these questions.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Is that what being a hero means, to be in less danger?"
"No, Char, no." I shake my head at that, dispelling his definition. "To be a hero means to put yourself in danger for the sake of others, you risk your life in order to save people." I raised a finger and lectured him. "Being a hero means you help people, Char."
"That is very contradictory to your previous statements." He beeped at that, tone confused. "You desire to be a hero, which inherently means to put yourself into danger, and yet you say that going to the Protectorate will let you become a hero, and put us in less danger?"
"Uh you're really confused now huh?" I smiled a bit at that, leaning back on the wall and crossing my arms.
"Yes, could you please elaborate further?" I blinked at his tone, which could pass of for something like agitation.
"Okay, " I looked up in thought, thinking of how best to explain this. "I told you I have powers right? I'm what people call a Parahuman, someone with extraordinary abilities. What I want to do with them is to help people, that means I want to be a hero, just like I told you before."
"Yes, and you stated that being a hero means to be in danger. Why is that?"
"A lot of times, to be a hero is to walk with disaster." I thought of the people who were capes that became heroes. Alexandria, Legend, Eidolon...Hero. The Triumvate, the greatest group of heroes in the world. "To help people it's often that we have to fight things that cause them harm." I thought of the things that would do just that. Villains, like Siberian. Disasters, like the Endbringers. "It means we run the risk of dying, but even if we do, it's because we tried to the right thing. We tried to help the good people, and that's never wrong."
"The right thing to do..." Char's eye dimmed, as if he was critically thinking of the things I said. "Why is the Protectorate a chance to be in less danger?" He fired off another question as his eyes flashed back to life, and I smiled as I obliged him another answer.
"Well, just because you're a hero, it doesn't mean you have to be alone. Strength in numbers, that kind of stuff." I shrug. "The Protectorate is a group of heroes backed by the government. If I get in, it means I'll be safer because I'm going to be fighting with them, instead of being alone."
"So the dangers are lessened because of the number of heroes you will work with, correct?"
"Yeah." I nodded.
"And it will put us, your family, in less danger because...?" He tilted his body, a gesture for me to elaborate.
"To be honest, right now we are already in danger." Char's ears flapped alarmingly at that. I waved a hand around the basement. To the things I made and the things I worked with. "The powers I have are desired, Char. Sometimes by very bad people. Some of them will stop at nothing to get to me. I'm afraid that they might use Dad to make me do that things they want."
"Why would they do that?" Char's tone was more quiet now, like he murmured the question because he realized something bad.
"To gain power, people are willing to do bad things. Power is something that everyone wants, Char. It makes things easier, it makes getting what you want easier. There are people out there that would kill just to get something like what I have." I close my eyes in contemplation. Capes around the world have shaped the modern era. People looked up to them, people feared them, people envied them.
To be a Parahuman is to be unique from the ordinary people, because you can do things that they can't.
That invokes jealousy, hate, prejudice.
I've heard of radical groups that hate parahumans and make them out to be agents of the devil. I also know that there are people that would use capes for their own gains. Just like Dad said, tinkers were kidnapped and made to be slaves.
"If this is true, then why try to help people? Why do you desire to be a hero, something that sounds so difficult, so dangerous to become?"
Char's question made me open my eyes. I turned to him, a little round robot sitting there at the work bench that he was built on, unendingly curious about life and it's complications. He looked at me with yellow eyes that I made for him, turning the body that I built for him upward in extreme curiosity. There was intensity there that I couldn't place.
I felt like my next answer was going to be the most important one of all.
"Helping people is the right thing to do Char, " I started, I feeling out what felt like the right answer. "It's never easy, but you do it because it's what separates you from being the a good person, or being a bad one. Just doing what you want is easy, with powers you could do so many things you want to do, without thinking about the consequences of what happens. Even if it hurts other people. Doing the right thing? Making the hard choice? It makes you better than that, it means no matter how hard it is, so long as you are doing to right thing, for the right people, then it means you've overcome yourself, you've become what they haven't."
"And what is that?" Char's digital voice was quiet as he asked this.
I smiled at him.
"A hero."
Char went silent after I said that. There were no more question for a few more seconds, and I felt myself relax into the wall more after I realized that Char wasn't going to ask any more.
"Taylor?"Dad's voice came from the top of the basement stairs. I looked up and saw him standing there at the door. "It's almost time to go, are you ready?"
Was I really? I thought back to the things I said to Char. Was I ready to actually to do this?
"Yeah," I answered my father, and myself.
I looked to Char, he was looking at me again. He tilted his body in curiosity.
I looked at him, and then at the test unit.
I need to make sure they'll accept me.
"Dad can you get the back of the truck ready?" I asked him, still looking at the test frame.
"For what?"
"To carry something." I stated simply. I turned to Char, my lab assistant.
"Char, I need you to come with me." I told him.
"Okay?" He beeped an affirmative noise. I riveted my gaze back to the test frame.
"And I also need you, to make this guy climb the stairs."
I turned my head back to Dad up the stairs, whose eyes were now wide with what I said.
"We're taking the test unit to the PRT."
+++V+++
This is meant to be a more emotional chapter, I've wanted to lay the foundations of Char's character and his development from here.
As always, read an review. You guys are great, your reviews actually make me write faster. Thanks for the follows and the faves!
Edit: As of May 3, 2017 chapter shall now be known as 0.1.2 instead of 0.1.4