AN: I'll have you all know that I plot out story-line in the middle of my graduate seminars. My notes go something along the lines of : Jade gropes Tori in an alleyway. Hawthorne's Zenobia represents hypocritical human nature. Blithesdale is a curiously failed experiment in Utopian society. Tori has wifi in her brain.

I'm such an adult.

Your reviews make my day, just so you know. I spend most of my day worrying about classes I have to teach, but the little alerts I get to tell me you guys are reading and commenting and favoriting totes make my day better. Please continue to do so. I love answering questions too.

TAKSfacts, this is my first fic on fanficdotnet, not my first fic overall. I've been RPing online for the past … bleh. Almost 10 years. I was also an English major in my undergrad and wrote a few creative non-fiction pieces for classes and the literary magazine on campus. I'm an English MA now… so there's a lot of writing involved. So much writing I often question why I continue to write as a pastime anymore.

[abrupt ending, as 3 AM makes for awkward-word-stops]

Jade looked up from her book when she heard the door groan on its hinges, signaling Tori's return. The Latina stood, shivering, at the top of the stairs, looking like a drowned rat. Her shower had lasted an impressive 10 minutes, much longer than Jade had expected without warm water. Tucking the towel securely around her body she made her way down the stairs, ringing her hair out as she did so, exposing the area where technology met human. Jade's eyes locked onto the site, fascinated by the conjunction. Tori quickly became aware of the hawk-like gaze upon her and pulled the towel tighter, obviously uncomfortable.

"Could I- um, well. Would it be too much trouble to borrow some clothes?" She asked. It had occurred to her after she had stripped down and tossed her clothes on the damp floor that those were all she possessed.

"Hm?" Jade sounded, blinking rapidly as she refocused her attention on Tori's face. "Clothes. Cat may have some that fit you better than mine would." She stood and made her way to the trunk at the foot of the redhead's bed, digging through it until she found something suitable for Tori to wear to disguise her robotic parts. She tossed them in Tori's direction and reclaimed her seat at the kitchen table, noticing how the brunette glanced hesitantly at the door. "What now?" Jade asked impatiently.

"Nothing. I'm just going to go change." Tori replied quickly, avoiding eye-contact and making a few quick steps towards the stairs.

"Why are you going all the way back up there? Just change in here. We're both girls. It's nothing I haven't seen before… anatomy wise, at least." A dark brow climbed up her forehead when Tori looked at her anxiously. "Jesus. How old are you? I'll avert my eyes, don't worry." She snorted, picking her book back up and propping it in front of her face.

"It's not you!" Tori assured, her voice betraying how nervous she was. "I just don't like being… exposed. With my cyborg parts. People think it's weird." She explained.

Jade sighed and folded her arms down, resting the book on her propped up knee. "So it's a little weird. It's weird in a good way. That stuff saved your life. Nobody's opinion on it but your own matters. Everyone else can fuck off. And besides, it's just me. My opinion never matters." She reassured, raising her book once again.

She heard no movement on the other side of her novel and she imagined Tori's inward battle between bolting and standing her ground. She seemed like the modest type, the kind of teenager that would have waited for girls to leave the locker-room after gym so she could change in private, even when she had all her human parts. To her surprise she heard the soft rustle of a towel unwrapping and pooling on the floor. Unable to resist catching another peek at cyborg technology Jade lowered her book a fraction of an inch, barely stealing a glance over the top of it.

Tori had her back to Jade, Cat's purple panties complimenting the girl's bronzed skin. Eyes wandered down from the lacey undergarment to the point where inorganic met organic, a striking visual. It was a bit over halfway up the thigh – the titanium just melted seamlessly into olive skin. No rivets. No bands. A perfect transition. She felt an impatient urge rise within her, one that wanted to examine it closely, run her hands over what was before her. Blue eyes crept upwards, over Tori's rear-end and lithe torso to her left shoulder. Cybertronics had replaced the whole joint here; Jade marveled at the constructed ball-joint and wondered if Tori possessed full 360 degree rotation without human muscles impeding her.

Curiously, a medium size metal panel rested diagonally from the ball joint, centering itself on Tori's spine just below the shoulder-blades. It was about 8 inches long and 6 inches wide, if Jade guessed correctly. She furrowed her brows as her eyes locked onto it, desperately curious as to what its function was. Her gaze was interrupted when Tori pulled Cat's shirt over her torso, effectively disguising herself once again as a fully organic being. She bent down to retrieve the fallen towel, wrapping it around her wet hair before spinning to face Jade.

Her face was flushed. Jade smirked over her book. Tori's eyes widened. "Were you looking?" She balked.

"Well yeah. You're the most advanced piece of technology I've ever seen." She replied plainly, closing the book in her lap. Tori's flush deepened and she crossed her arms protectively over her chest. "Oh please. Unless you have cyborg boobs I'm not oogling those."

"I don't want you oogling anything!" Tori huffed; Jade watched in amusement as another realization crossed her face. "And I don't have cyborg boobs!"

"Pity." Jade smiled. Silence settled between the pair as they stared at one another, Tori obviously struggling to determine whether Jade's flirting was genuine or joking. Jade, on the other hand, loved watching the other girl squirm. She flashed a ghost of a wink before rising to her feet, twirling a screwdriver in her fingers. "So I was thinking, you've said something about wifi?"

"Yes." Tori replied cautiously, eyeing the screwdriver with suspicion. "But it's not working."

"Well, let's fix it." Tori made it obvious that she was less than enthused by that offer. "What?" Jade frowned.

"Patrick's the only one who works on my systems. He designed them." She explained, unconsciously taking a step backwards in response Jade's step forward.

"He's dead." The paler girl countered, quickly losing patience; she always got her way. A cruel laugh escaped her lips. "Not only is he dead, but so is his son, and anyone else who may offer to repair your technology without dismantling and deactivating you. I bet even other Techies would give their left arm to harvest your systems."

Tori seemed to shrink momentarily as Jade's tirade continued; it almost made the other girl pity her. Almost. But Jade West wouldn't succumb to those emotions easily. "Yeah? And what makes you different from the others? Why would I want to expose myself to someone when I don't know what kind of damage they could do?" She countered quietly, pushing up her sleeves to reveal her titanium arm.

Jade's eyes flickered to Tori's arm, recognizing the threat. This part she wasn't used to – she was typically the brains and the brawn of the situation. Tori definitely had her outmatched physically. For the first time since she could remember, Jade paused to weigh her options, fighting with her desire – no, lust – to tinker with Tori's systems, and the logic of the situation. She decided she would ultimately get what she wanted. She just had to be patient. Scheme. "I'm invested in you." She replied finally, earning a suspiciously raised brow. "Someone wanted us together. You are important to me… somehow. I'm not going to tear you apart before we figure out what that is."

"How comforting." The cyborg muttered sarcastically, crossing her arms and shifting her weight anxiously. "Why do you even want to fix my wifi?"

"Um, because it'd be pretty damn useful. In case you didn't notice, I'm pretty much in the stone-age down here as far as technology is concerned. I'm not allowed to have internet. If we could get yours fixed maybe we could use it to our advantage, maybe use it to solve this mystery." Okay, so that was only a half-lie. Caramel colored eyes bored into hers; Jade stared back as long as she could force herself, ultimately tearing her gaze away. The searching look wasn't one she was used to. Untrusting, accusatory, disdainful – those were the looks she was accustomed to.

Tori actually wanted to trust her, Jade realized. She wasn't staring because she thought Jade was lying. She was staring because she was searching for confirmation that she was being honest.

Well that certainly was a first. It made Jade feel uncomfortable in a way she couldn't pin down. No one trusted anyone in this world anymore, and here was this girl straight out of the history books who, so far, trusted Jade whole-heartedly. Who didn't hold any judgments towards her. Who seemed to actually like her. It was a strange, and not all together unwelcome, feeling.

"Just my wifi, right?" Jade nodded adamantly. "And you know what you're doing?"

Jade snorted. "How hard can it be? I'm kidding – I'M KIDDING! Lighten up! Yes. I know what I'm doing."

Tori sighed, again shifting weight from foot to foot as she considered her options. "It would be useful." She muttered wistfully.

"So useful." Jade purred.

The cyborg shot her a semi-amused look. "Fine. Just my wifi." She stressed, grabbing the hem of her shirt and pulling it over her head in one fluid motion. She shivered in the sudden chill, goosebumps appearing on her tanned skin. She glanced down at the navy-blue bra she had borrowed from Cat and crossed her arms self-consciously in front of her chest before spinning around. "It's in my back." She explained, glancing over her shoulder and indicating with her eyes.

"Okay." Jade muttered, again distracted. "Okay. Flat surface." Her workbench was too small, the kitchen table woefully too cluttered and unstable. "Um… Cat's bed?" She offered. Tori did not appear to approve of the suggestion. "Unless you want the floor. Or there may be a butcher's slab upstairs if you'd prefer that. There might be some blood on it still, but I'm sure it's – "

"Alright, alright! Stop. Ew." Tori held her hands up in defeat, crawling onto Cat's bed and grabbing the pillow, tucking it underneath her to make herself more comfortable. "Just don't short me out."

"I'll do my best, Vega." Jade dragged the kitchen chair over to the edge of the bed, tools in hand. She could hardly restrain her excitement as she ran her hand across the smooth metal, finding the proper-sized screwdriver to start the job. After a moment she pried the panel away gently, placing it on the bed by Tori's head.

"Okay, I think the internet is –"

"Shh. I'm having a moment." Jade interrupted, placing a hand on the far side of the cyborg's body so she could lean in close, Tori's body heat radiating onto Jade's face. It was like Christmas morning. She ran a single pale finger across a component she couldn't yet identify, marveling at its construction. She was literally looking into Tori's body. She observed pipes and hoses as they travelled up and out of the compartment in her body, undoubtedly running to her brain and other organs. Unknown lights blinked intermittently, apparently signaling that all was well. Though she would be considered a bit dated today, she was advanced – highly advanced, in fact, for her time.

"Um. The box for my wifi is small and black. Bottom left, I think." Tori propped herself up on her elbows slightly to get a better look at what the Techie was doing. "Don't drool. I'm not waterproof in there." Amusement glinted in her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." Jade scoffed, snapping out of her trace. "This thing?" She tapped her screwdriver on it to confirm. With a slight nod from Tori she began unscrewing the smaller panel, frowning once it was clear. "Well… it's an easily solvable solution. Someone unplugged the card. I want to install a few proxies and firewalls before I repair it though. There's no point in fixing it if someone's just going to track us with it. I've got the software for it here." Her voice was still troubled.

"Why does your face look like that then? What's wrong?"

"This was in here." Jade replied, reaching two fingers carefully through the wires to retrieve a flash drive. "What's on it?" She placed it in Tori's extended hand.

"I have no idea." The pair stared at it curiously for a few moments before Tori cleared her throat. "First things first. Fix me and put me back together. Quickly." They both realized the USB drive probably contained some kind of important information. Jade nodded and stood quickly, retrieving her own ancient laptop and cables from the kitchen table. She had managed to repair this one after someone had thrown it out. It hardly functioned half the time, but it was the best she could get her hands on.

She placed the laptop in her chair, plugging the USB cable into one port before staring expectantly at Tori. "I'm assuming you're compatible."

"Flip open that skinny silver thing." The tan girl ordered. Jade swung one leg over Tori's torso and eased herself gently onto her back. She felt the prone girl seize up and paid her discomfort no mind – boundaries were not an issue with Jade. Tori would just have to learn to deal with that. Having been given initial instruction the pair fell silent. Tori kept her sensors alert in case Jade disconnected or tampered with something; Jade worked silently and quickly, installing security protocols and programs around vulnerable systems.

Tori breathed a sigh of relief when Jade declared that she was finished, thankful that things seemed to be in working order. She propped herself up on her elbows and strained to watch as she replaced the panel on her back. Jade was focused, determined. Her blue eyes refused to blink as she set about the tedious task of putting Tori back together. Tori found it fascinating, and reminiscent of how Patrick worked. The similarities between the pair were racking up and she felt herself growing illogically attached to the younger girl, despite having only known her for a few hours.

"That's it. You should be online." Jade stated, nodding for her to give it a test run as she rolled over to the side of the bed. Tori closed her eyes and felt synapses firing to the hardware. Soon dozens of images were springing to her mind's eye – news reports, articles, obituaries. She was practically live-streaming Armageddon in her brain. She cut the feed and snapped her eyes open, knowing there would be time to study, time to mourn, later.

"I'm connected." Tori confirmed, taking Cat's shirt as Jade offered it and tugging it over her head. "Let's try the USB." She grabbed it from the edge of the bed and plugged it into an outlet on Jade's laptop, anxious to discover what it had kept hidden all these years. A second of silence passed before the machine began to whir and grind angrily. A black window appeared on the screen with toxic green text.

For Tori's eyes only.

There was no prompt for a password. No option to click on. Jade leaned over Tori and tapped frantically on the keyboard. The machine didn't respond. "What the fuck!" The pale girl was angry, worried that the flashdrive had just destroyed her computer. "How the hell is it supposed to know it's you if it doesn't give you a damn way to identify yourself?" She spat bitterly, ripping the memory stick from the outlet. The desktop flickered back into view, the mouse and keyboard appearing to function properly.

Tori snatched it from Jade before damage came to it, turning it over in her hands as she mulled over the message. She chewed on her lower lip before pushing up the sleeve of her sweatshirt, exposing her cyborg arm. "I think I know how." She pressed a latch on her forearm, releasing a plate that covered a series of ports, among them being a USB outlet. Ignoring Jade's sarcastic comments she slid the drive into her arm, holding her breath. She had no idea what she would find, but she was sure it was a message from Patrick. He would be the only one to know how to design a passcode that would recognize her systems.

He had hidden this inside her. He had gone to great lengths to protect it. Whatever was on here was obviously very important.

Tori just hoped it held all the answers she was looking for.

====.====

[2014]

"No deal, Chase." Patrick didn't bother to face his lab intruder; Madison Chase was the only one who didn't knock in this building. As part owner he didn't feel he had to. Since Tori's recovery he had been pressing the younger man for her schematics. And since Tori's recovery Patrick had been denying his requests. The press' growing interest in her had only encouraged him to redouble his efforts; he often resorted in making empty threats about terminating Patrick's contract, or rescinding funding on other projects.

Patrick held firm – Wests didn't give into bullying. Wests did the bullying. However, the past few weeks had revealed a new side to Chase that he had not expected to see. It was disconcerting, to say the least. Patrick was beginning to suspect that he had been behind the broken-window incident that had interrupted his dinner a few weeks ago. Since then the harassment had only become more creative and more frequent: phone calls at all hours of the day and night, sometimes the caller would hurl threats and insults, other times the line would simply disconnect; their cars had been keyed; hostile letters were left in their mailbox. He, Karen, and Tori were always on the edge of their seats, always listening for that sound that hadn't happened, looking for a glimpse of something that wasn't there.

It was wearing him down, making him irritable. It didn't help matters that whenever he crossed Compass threshold he was accosted to give up his schematics and designs for the cyborg project.

"You don't even know what I came in here for, Patrick." A chair scraped the floor behind him and the scientist heard the younger man ease into his seat. Patrick scowled inwardly, hoping (but doubting) this to be a brief conversation.

"It's after hours. Everyone has gone home. You came to talk to me with no distractions." He turned and leaned against his workbench, a heat-gun clenched in his hand. "I'm not allowing Compass to take the cyborg program global. It's my idea. My design. A project I worked on alone for 15 years; one, I recall, you called a waste of time."

"You're being foolish." Chase steepled his fingers in front of his face, dark eyes locked onto Patrick's.

"You're being greedy. Do you know how dangerous this technology really is? And how risky it is to enter into the program and expect to survive?"

"Your girl seems to be living life just fine."

"My girl," Patrick snarled, forcing himself to return the heat-gun to the counter before he hurled it at his employer. "Was a scientific miracle, as far as I'm concerned. She was more dead than alive by the time I was called in. She shouldn't have survived the operation – you know we had to replace parts of her heart, her brain, almost half her skeletal system. We pumped her full of immunosuppressants for months so she wouldn't reject the technology in her system – do you know how many infections she was hit with?" He felt his voice raising but at this point he no longer cared.

"She's been the only successful test subject to date. I didn't build her so she could be turned into a weaponized human for the government or organizations for hire. I didn't build her so she could be a hacker or tracker for the FBI. I rebuilt her so she could live the rest of her life. She's 21, and thanks to me she's got decades left in her. I spent a lot of time and energy keeping her alive and healthy. That was the whole point of this program anyway – to help people rebuild their lives after traumatic injury. There's no way I'm going to publish the schematics so someone can exploit whatever Achilles' heel may be in their systems."

A tense silence settled in the office. "I feel you've lost sight of your goal, doctor." Chase said, his voice edged with danger. "You were supposed to design a technology that - "

"Would improve the human condition within reasonable bounds." Patrick finished. "And I have. I have also deemed it too dangerous to release to the public. The cyborg program will continue, but I will be in control of it. I will determine what kind of systems are installed in our test subjects. I will monitor their progress. I will perform any required maintenance. That is my final word on the subject, Madison." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and tilted his head down, peering at the brunette over his glasses, daring him to challenge.

Chase rose to his feet, standing a few inches taller than his employee. "Doctor West, I can assure that while you may have led the project all these years, you are not as valuable as your designs. You can be replaced. Easily. By someone who would have no problem selling his designs and allowing them to be modified by whoever. For whatever purpose. Keep that in mind, won't you?" The challenge was met. "I'll give you some time to reconsider your options. Why don't you think about what's really important? Your designs? Or your family's wellbeing?" He paused, allowing the full scope of the threat to settle. "It'd be such a shame for them to lose their source of income."

With that he was gone, leaving Patrick with an unsettling feeling beginning to curdle his stomach. This wasn't just concerning his position in the company anymore. His safety was at stake. Karen and Daniel's safety was at stake.

Tori's safety was at stake.

He couldn't afford to wait any longer. He needed to take the necessary steps to protect his family. Patrick lingered at his work table for a few moments, making sure Madison had retreated home for the evening. Fairly certain the building was empty, he made his way over to the cabinet on the far end of the lab and stepped inside, locking the door behind him before releasing the secret panel and descending into darkness.

Dim lights flickered overhead in his secret lab, one he had had built almost a year ago when his cyborg program had really gained notoriety. He wanted to protect his work, and the lengths his employers were willing to go to were not far enough for his taste. With the grand remodeling of his Cybertronics lab, he managed to pay off a few laborers to dig into the foundation and construct this room. It wasn't much – a few prototypes he hadn't shared with Madison, hardcopies of all his notes in a fireproof safe, and his newest project: a cryogenics chamber. He had been working on this device for years alongside his cyborg program – it had initially been designed to keep critically wounded soldiers in stasis in case of the absence of a doctor. It, quite literally, froze time for whoever was placed inside.

The body would cease to live, and yet not die.

Patrick rested his hand on the thick glass door, peering past the device as his thoughts consumed him. He had been debating with himself for weeks now, ever since the threats had become severe. Tori needed protection, more than he was able to provide. She needed to disappear, needed to "let the heat die down." Practically, this was impossible. If he sent her away she would be found – she was a celebrity of sorts worldwide. Her face had been printed in dozens of articles. Madison would see through that ruse in a second, and when he found her he would take her away, like he had wanted to from the very beginning.

No one was going to take Tori away from their family. She belonged with them, not in some lab. He would keep her safe if it was the last thing he did in this world. His hand curled into a fist as his gaze focused again. The conversation with Madison had cemented his decision – he'd hide Tori here. For weeks. Months. Maybe even a few years, if he had to. The scientific community would eventually turn their focus onto other projects. Tori would be forgotten. He would be able to reanimate her and they could all disappear together.

He sighed and turned to face the computer on the counter, powering it up and opening up a Word document. He wouldn't be able to tell her about of any of this beforehand – she'd never agree to hiding. She would stand proudly next to him and try to withstand any challenge that came their way. When he reanimated her she would surely be furious. He would have to leave her a message to explain his choices – one she could listen to when she was ready.

Patrick stood silently, bathed in a pale glow of the blank page. The blinking cursor prompted him to begin typing; he tapped his fingers restlessly along the keys as he demanded the words come to him. He began pecking away only to scowl and delete the message time and time again, pounding the backspace key harder each time. This had to be nearly perfect for Tori to forgive him for what he was about to do. After almost an hour he pulled his hands from the keyboard, cracking his each knuckle as he read over his handiwork, hoping it would suffice.

He saved the letter to a flashdrive and tucked it under the edge of the keyboard in preparation for tomorrow. He sighed heavily as he made his way back up the stairs, his phone buzzing with activity as soon as he exited the lead-lined walls. It was a text message from Tori.

"Where the heck are you? It's family night. Karen and I are going to wipe the floor with you in Monopoly." The older man felt a smile tugging at the edge of lips despite his heavy heart. He hoped their next family night wouldn't be too long in the future.

"We'll see, Sparky. Danny and I kicked your ass last week in Pictionary. I'm on my way home – I'll see you all soon."