Turbulence stared in wonder at the four robots who had so rudely disrupted his simple life. They were all seated in the living room, Flurry next to the scientists on the couch, the other three in chairs around the room. He and Maelstrom sat next to each other on the floor. Flurry was talking animatedly to Kreyin, explaining their adventures since the first time they'd disappeared in Zephyr. Tourian and the other two occasionally interjected with comments and corrections of their own. Their story was frankly amazing to him, and he felt himself drawn to listening, despite his instinctive distrust of them all. Maelstrom appeared to be equally absorbed.
Kreyin was gazing at them all, eyes brimming with tears even as Flurry related their story. He frowned when she spoke of Zephyr's initial malfunction, the buffers, and he looked stricken as she told of her encounter with Neon Tiger. It seemed to affect the man deeply, and he took Flurry's hand in his. Tourian looked pained, meeting his horrified gaze. Then, his eyes dropped to the floor, guilt surging into him afresh. X looked slightly disappointed in himself as well. As the story went on, Kreyin shook off his horror and gazed at X and Zero with a deep-rooted respect. It took much of the afternoon to tell the tale, and evening shadows lengthened as it drew to a close.
Her hand, until then held firmly in Kreyin's fell into her lap, and she gave a sad little smile. "That's all there is," she offered, then her smile grew brighter. "Now, it's your turn."
At that point, Turb spoke up. "Shouldn't you guys eat dinner first?" he asked of the scientists, who turned to him in surprise.
Scott put a hand to his stomach, which had rumbled suddenly. He laughed. "Come to think of it, I am a little hungry."
Kreyin nodded. "We haven't eaten since breakfast," he agreed. "We can talk after we eat. Why don't you go down to the lab for a quick recharge?" He nodded to Maelstrom. "He'll show you where."
The four rose, and Turbulence walked into the kitchen, calling, "What do you want tonight? Steak, stir-fry, or vegetarian pizza?"
Flurry turned to Maelstrom, amusement coloring her face. "He cooks?" she asked.
He nodded briskly, waving them in the direction of the lab. "Rather well, according to the scientists," he said.
She shrugged, and the four followed him to the basement area, where he pointed to a port in the wall. "You'll have to take turns," he said shortly, clearly still uncomfortable around them.
"You first, Flurry," X said politely.
She wrinkled her nose at him, his attempt at gallantry annoying her, but she didn't say a word. She plugged into the port without a sound, leaving the others to talk amongst themselves.
Zero glanced about boredly until he caught sight of the motorbike that Maelstrom had constructed. He whistled softly. "Nice bike," he said admiringly.
Maelstrom smiled proudly. "Yes," he agreed.
X paced around it, eyes curious. "Did you make it yourself?" he inquired, running his fingers gently over the seat.
"Yes," Maelstrom replied even more proudly.
The exchange of admiration for pride went on for some time, until Flurry pulled out of the charging unit and gazed at them all with something bordering on amusement.
"Men are all alike!" she laughed at them, and they stared at her as she left the room.
After she had gone, Zero volunteered to take the next turn. "You guys can look at that bike all you want. Personally, I miss mine."
X shrugged. "You'd miss it even if we were back in our time," he grinned. "It's slag about now, wouldn't you say?"
Flurry smiled as she heard the exchange, walking up to the living room. She saw nothing to do in there, and curiosity drew her to the kitchen, where she heard distinctly the sounds of bustling -- and cooking. She walked in just in time to hear Turbulence burst into rowdy song, happily slinging a stir-fry dish about in a pan. Smiling faintly, she leaned against the doorframe, and he sang on, not noticing her.
After a moment, she cleared her throat, and he stopped in midword, eyes shifting curiously to her. Suddenly self-conscious, he made a rough noise in the back of his throat and mumbled something disparaging about singing clearing up his sinuses.
Flurry couldn't help it. She burst into gales of helpless laughter.
He turned to her, offended, and gave the stir-fry an insolent flip. "Like to see you do better," he groused.
She waved a placating hand, still giggling, and she met his gaze. "I'm sorry," she managed, eyes dancing. "I just needed a good laugh."
She yawned, stretching, and a silence fell over them.
Turb added something to the stir-fry and asked, "So, you've been around Doc for a long time, huh?" He very determinedly refused to look at her.
She shrugged, gaze drifting to the floor. "For about seven years," she muttered. "Ten years after Anna died, and one before the Third Discovery."
"I suppose you mean a lot to him, huh?" He seemed to have found something utterly fascinating in the mixture of vegetables and chicken and stared at it steadfastly.
"I suppose, a little." She played with a lock of her hair. "He's awfully protective sometimes."
"Look," he said earnestly, finally looking at her, as he set the pan down on a hotpad. "I didn't mean anything I said this afternoon, okay?" He started dishing the food onto a couple of plates.
Flurry blinked. "Is that what this is all about?" she asked. "You think I'm going to set him against you?"
"Well," he said defensively, "you might!"
She shook her head. "I wouldn't do that. You may be an egocentric jerk, but that's no reason to turn your creator against you." With that, she breezed from the kitchen, leaving Turb to howl objections after her.
"I'm not a jerk!" he bellowed. "You don't know what you're talking about!"
"I beg your pardon?" Maelstrom sounded astonished.
"Nothin'," Turb growled. "Where're the others?"
"The basement," his counterpart shrugged, "They can take care of themselves."
Turbulence thrust the plates at him. "Here, you take these to Dr. Kreyin and Dr. Trene." He pushed his hair out of his eyes. "I've got a couple of things to straighten out with a certain female robot."
It was a struggle to restrain himself during the download. So much space, so much power, and so, so close. Faster, he thought fretfully. You fools, faster! He bided his time; they would get to him eventually. And then their fates would be sealed. The sound of humans talking to each other was muffled for the simple reason that one of them was seated on the console, directly on top of the mechanism that received spoken commands. He didn't seem to realize it.
"There's . . . the relays. I can't . . ."
"Well, I don't . . . problem."
"I'm not . . ."
"Oh, plug it . . . the connector."
He would have restrained a gasp, had he been capable of either action. Like light pouring into a dark tunnel, a path opened before him, leading directly into the computer system.
"I still don't think . . ." he heard vaguely.
"Shut up or . . . so hard you'll . . ."
Without hesitation, he dove for the open path, flowing along like so much useless data. Yes, useless. Once I have gained control, you will have no more needs, humans. The Company's computer opened all around him, a vast, unexplored wasteland, waiting to be conquered. He slipped in and made himself at home.
He slithered unnoticed past security systems, protected programs, and his consciousness grew with his new knowledge. He found himself growing more powerful than he had been before his -- destruction. Yes. Destruction. Memories long crushed to near nothingness blossomed out again, and he remembered everything, bit by bit. Fierce battles, hard-earned victories, a long war, and an even longer hatred. Expanding into the computers was a thrill almost beyond any he had ever experienced. And as his abilities became more and more pronounced, he began to take steps to obliterate any useless data from his new home.
"Hey!" the girl yelped, leaning forward and tapping insistently at her keyboard. "What?"
A young man, seated next to her on another computer, tilted his head curiously. "What's wrong with you, Ashlei?"
She turned her head, still pecking vainly at the keyboard. "It just deleted my file!"
"It what?" His tone was profoundly skeptical.
"You heard me, Thomas!" Hers was just as profoundly furious.
"Yeah, yeah." He stood up and walked over to her, leaning down to look at the screen. "So start over," was all he offered in support. "You probably just screwed it up yourself."
"Are you kidding? It took me months to write that code!"
He laughed at her. "That's your problem," he snorted, sitting down at his own computer again. After a moment, he yelled. "What the he --" He hammered a few keys on the keyboard. "It didn't just erase that file, man -- it erased the whole program!"
Ashlei went very, very pale. "What do you mean?"
"God -- there goes another." Thomas' eyes were riveted to his screen.
"Spill it!" she growled, getting up to see for herself.
He pointed wordlessly at the screen, where, one by one, the computer's systems were being obliterated.
Yes . . . yes, that was much better. He expanded into the memory, feeling as if a new life were being breathed into him. He retained some of the information he had just destroyed, for future reference, and then decided to make sure those meddlesome humans couldn't fiddle with anything.
Ray Lawrence stared at his computer screen. He had just been locked out of everything. He couldn't even reboot. And he couldn't just pull the plug on every system they had. It was unthinkable.
"Mister Lawrence, sir," stammered a subordinate. "It -- it just --"
"I know." And Ray turned several shades paler.
Juniper watched her creator storm wrathfully back and forth across the room. Diane was fuming. After smashing through a wall and causing several million dollars in damages, the machine had let some kind of virus into the computer, and it was destroying everything in sight. Or rather -- remaking everything to suit its purpose. They were completely locked out of the computer, and Diane absolutely refused to risk her robotic warriors by plugging them into the thing.
"I should have known!" she shrieked, throwing her arms up in the air. "It couldn't be that simple! The wouldn't just let it fall into my hands!" She shook her fists in the air. "An invasive program -- to cripple my work here and attack!"
Juniper let her rant on for a time before offering up her own explanation. "Perhaps they didn't know."
"Didn't know?" Diane turned on her. "Didn't know?"
"Yeah," Vengeance put in nastily. "What are you, stupid? How else could this have happened?"
"Perhaps," Joon replied in a carefully controlled voice, "this same virus took over their ship and came here."
Vengeance snarled furiously, but he could find nothing wrong with her explanation -- except one thing. "How did it know to come here?"
"With information from the machine's databanks," she countered smugly.
"Then why?" he sputtered, temper mounting.
"Our computers are the best on the planet, obviously," she replied coolly.
He was about to respond, when Mrs. Holcomb screamed at them both, "Get OUT of here! Both of you! I can't concentrate with all that noise!"
Vengeance and Juniper rose uncertainly and shuffled out the door. Once outside, they proceeded to assign blame.
"This is all your fault," Vengeance grumbled.
"Spare me your whining attitude, Vinnie," she answered coldly. "If you hadn't lost your temper, we'd still be in there."
Eventually, their argument fell to blows, and they fought madly in the middle of the hall. The workers very quietly stayed out of their way.
He stared in amazement. Robots? Deferring to a human? His consciousness quivered with uncontrollable rage. Something must be done about this.
Diane screamed. She raged. She hurled heavy objects at the unresponsive computer panel. She screamed some more. Once her anger had been exhausted, she settled heavily into a chair and glared at the console in smoky hatred. After a long moment, she sat up.
"Do something!" she screamed in a final effort.
A green light flickered onto the computer screen, a blinking cursor in the blackness.
She stared for a moment, dumbfounded. "What's going on?" she demanded, without thinking.
To her astonishment, words formed. That's very simple, they read. I've taken over your computer system.
Diane blinked. "Why?" her voice rang out harshly.
I have need of it.
"That's no reason," she breathed, leaning forward. "Are you working with the others -- with Kreyin and his cronies?"
Of course not. I do not bend to the will of my enemies.
"Enemies," she purred. "Then we're on the same side."
She felt the sensation of a short laugh. Don't jump to conclusions.
There was a pause as Diane tried to assess her situation and how to handle her invasive little friend. Before she could speak, however, the words went on.
I believe that we can be of some use to each other.
She smiled warmly at the green letters. "Yes, I believe we can."
Those who own the machine must be destroyed.
"Yes."
I can help you destroy them . . . for a price.
"Do tell."
Not now, was the cold response. In time, we will discuss our business arrangement. For now, tell your people to return to work. I will stay in the main computer. The flickering light began to fade from the screen.
"Wait!" Holcomb commanded suddenly.
The light solidified.
"Who are you?"
A long pause, and for a moment, Diane worried that he might not answer. But then, slowly, five letters blinked onto the screen.
SIGMA
And then it was gone.
He restored the computer systems to the baffled workers, grim in his anger. A delay, yet another delay! But not a large one. In time, perhaps, the humans would be useful.
And still squabbling in the hallway were the beginning of his new army.
Yes. Delays were to be expected.
But he was nothing if not adaptable.
Patience. Only I know the true meaning of the word.
Sigma permitted himself a smile.
And now, after all this time, the endless waiting would pay off.
Inside the lab, Scott and Janus were entertaining Flurry and Tourian with the tale of their own adventures. Light, laughter, and the occasional tear passed by in that place, but not everyone saw fit to pass the evening by in that fashion. Not Zero. He sat on the front porch steps, elbows resting on his knees, chin resting in his hands.
He heard the door creak open behind him and turned to see X walk out. His armor gleamed in the darkness. Despite the invitations of Kreyin and the rest, the two Hunters hadn't seen fit to don street clothes. It seemed somehow unnatural.
"What's happening?" X asked drily, seating himself next to his long-time friend.
"Nothin' much," Zero answered, returning his gaze to the woods.
"You upset about something?" his friend asked, concerned. "You usually like a good story as much as any of us."
The blond Reploid shifted, quietly unnerved by the question. "I just wanted to be alone for a while," he lied. He actually had no idea why he'd come outside in the first place.
Shrugging the whole thing off, X got to his feet again. "I guess I'll head back inside." He slapped his companion's shoulder as he walked away. "Don't worry too much, okay?" He grinned lamely as Zero met his gaze. "That's my job." He went back inside.
Out on the porch, night had fallen, and the starlight glinted in Zero's eyes as he gazed emptily out over the forest.
Something was very, very wrong.
