Outsider Chronicles: Ex-Machina

SI and OC inserts find themselves in a number of odd situations. From plummeting to their apparent death to being outright reborn. However, most aren't created for the specific purpose of taking over the world. Fortunately, my creators and idiot. Unfortunately, I'm in a world thats already got an AI and is already fucked five ways to Sunday.

I'm...not entirely sure where this idea came from, but its similar to the ideas I've had in the past with characters being turned into AIs. In this case, the character wakes up as a Tinker created Android and, well, as you can probably imagine, chaos ensues. Particularly because I'm drawing inspiration from the Ex-machina from No Game No Life, the Androids from DBZ and the Androids from Nier: Automata. Should be interesting if nothing else. Enjoy!

Start Up 1:1

Commencing Ex-Machina Assault Unit 14 Startup Process

What?

Commencing hardware scan

Whats going on?

Scan complete. No issues detected. Remnant Core at 100% efficiency

Where am I?

Commencing CPU scan. ERROR, coding error detected. Attempting fix. ERROR unable to repair. Commence shutttetaeklhjaelt;hesaja

Am I dead?

Error repaired. Continue process. Activating primary Processor

I was in darkness, unable to see, hear or feel anything. The last thing I remembered was a pair of massive headlights barreling towards me and a brief moment of intense pain.

Activating HUD

Suddenly, my vision was no longer dark and I could see what can only be described as a Heads Up Display appear in the darkness. I somehow understood all of the information provided. I still couldn't move though.

Connecting external inputs

The darkness was momentarily replaced with what can only be described as TV static for a moment, before it cleared and I found myself looking up through a blurry cover of the tank I was laying in. I could make out a vaguely human shaped blob and hear the muffled sounds of machines running in the background. For some reason, I knew that they were a generator rated for more power than the average city used in a year, a server and a ridiculously advanced computer, all of which were Tinkertech and were developed by a Dr Gero, who also happened to be the blob I could see and my creator. Wait, WHAT?!

Activating platform

Suddenly, I could feel my body and move my limbs, although that didn't help considering I was in a very tight capsule. However, I was way too stunned to even think about moving. I'm not exactly sure whether it was the name of my 'creator' or the fact I somehow knew I was basically the most advanced piece of Tinkertech in existence. Theres no way I could actually be in...

Connecting to network

My body jerked as I was suddenly plugged into a network containing a vast amount of data on everything from fighting skills to economics to every single scrap of data Gero could find on Capes from all over the world, their powers, personalities, weaknesses and even identities in some cases. Despite the sheer amount of data, I had no trouble analysing it all and absorbing it, along with the fact that I was apparently the latest in a line of prototype Tinkertech androids/cyborgs Gero was working on to, what else, take over the world (OF COURSE!). It also proved without a shadow of a doubt that I was in Worm and my creator was indeed a Tinker who went by Dr Gero. Apparently, the man was just as much of a psychopath as the one in DBZ, a narcissist and a supreme idiot, although to be fair, his actual talent couldn't be denied. It was certainly a lot more impressive than Bakuda, if only because he'd successfully created an AI, which only one other Tinker had managed.

This...wouldn't end well. I just hoped that he had not thought to build something that would control me remotely because I was NOT about to become some psychos tool for world domination!

"Yessss, finally," said Gero, his voice slightly muffled through the cover of the pod, "I'll finally be able to show those fools who the real Tinker around here is!"

He turned away and I heard the sound of keys being hit. Good god, my audio sensors must be good.

"Now, who should I have my pet go after first?" he practically purred, "Maybe Armsmaster? Ohh, no, lets go with Dragon! I'll show her who the real Master of Robotics is!"

I scowled. Oh HELL no! Even if he wasn't a nutjob, I'm no ones property! I clenched my fists and started shifting my limbs, trying to get enough leverage to try and pry the lid off. As I did, I received a notification of new orders. A quick glance revealed that it was an order to eliminate Dragon, but it didn't come with any kind of compulsion. In fact, I could easily delete it like spam in my inbox. Well, that was interesting. I'm also pretty sure it wasn't something I was supposed to be able to do. Either Gero fucked up somewhere or the fact that I'm here meant that the programming to obey him has been purged. Thats nice.

I pushed those thoughts aside as the pod suddenly clicked opened with a hiss and the canopy lifted, momentarily blinding me with the light positioned directly above it. I held up my hand to shield my eyes as I sat up and looked around. The room I was in was very much how you'd imagine a mad scientist's lab to look, all large machines, cables and tools scattered everywhere, along with more pods like mine that looked empty and a few endoskeletons hanging from the ceiling and resting on workbenches in various states of assembly.

"How do you feel A14?"

I blinked and looked around. Stood beside my pod was a man with frizzy, reddish hair that stuck up as if he'd stuck a finger in a plug socket, a tattered looking lab coat and a rumpled, purple uniform of some kind, although exactly what it was was impossible to tell at this point. His eyes looked large and rather manic behind his large, thick glasses and his clothing was rumpled and dirty. All in all, the picture of a mad scientist.

I ignored his question as I stepped out of my pod, stumbling slightly from a mix of the new body being taller than my old one and the fact the biomechanical muscles needed a few moments to properly calibrate. I quickly regained my balance and started stretching, getting a feel for the body I now inhabited. It was every bit as slim as my last one, only this one was well toned, as opposed to being just thin, all covered in a skin tight, sleeveless black bodysuit that stopped at mid thigh on my legs. As I stretched, a few strands of platinum blond hair dropped into view. My eyes were almost the same colour as my hair, with a ring of electric blue around the puple that glowed faintly.

I twitched slightly as a slight pressure on my head drew my attention back to Dr Gero. The Tinker was scowling and pointing a remote at me. Apparently he wasn't to pleased that I'd basically ignored him.

"I asked you a question A14," he growled, "Now answer!"

I stared at him for a moment, before deciding to play along.

"All systems green," I said.

Gero smiled evilly.

"Excellent," he said, "Now, you have your orders, so get it done. Show the world who the real Greatest Tinker is!"

For a moment, I hesitated. There was no way I was actually going to go after Dragon of course, but the question was whether or not I could risk leaving Gero alone. I mean, I didn't really want to kill him or anything, nutcase or not, he was still technically my Father after all and I just didn't really want to kill in general. Oh, I could kill him, easily, I was developed for combat after all, but that didn't mean I was a bloodthirsty maniac. Then again, if I did just vanish, there was nothing really to stop him from building another, potentially more dangerous Android. Plus, he was a manic out for world domination. On the other hand, I could just tie him up and leave him for the PRT…

At that moment, my system decided to throw up a list of standing orders regarding Capes that was about to be deleted and I was suddenly glad I couldn't be sick anymore. Most of them were pretty standard, take them out quickly, but a few of them, most notably attractive females, were listed as to be subjugated and taken into custody, alive and preferably unharmed. Included in that list was a good number of Wards, including Vista. I didn't need my predictive software to build an idea of what he had planned for them.

"What are you standing around for?" demanded Gero, "Get out there and…"

SHING!

Gero froze as I flicked the blood off the sword that had appeared in my hand, right before it vanished back into the either with a flash of white light.

"Sorry Doctor, but I'm no ones weapon," I said as I walked out of the lab, leaving my creator to collapse as the top of his head slid off with a dull splat.

I should have stuck around long enough to destroy the entire lab.

It didn't take me long to get outside. Gero's lab was located in Canada, not far from the coast. The area wasn't inhabited due to the after affects of Leviathans attack, but that just meant that there wasn't anyone around to investigate the tests Gero performed on the weaponry he created for his creations. Some of them were actually pretty impressive. It was a genuine shame that he was a complete loon, he could have been as good as Dragon. Well, so long as the Simurgh, the Dragonslayers or the Nine didn't decide to off him. Then again, he built me, an Android intended to take on S ranked threats at least, so I suspect he could have dealt with them easy enough. True, I was the latest in a line of prototypes, but the data on my, um, siblings? Yeah, lets go with that. My siblings were just as impressive as me in many ways. Most of them had only been canned because of minor issues that offended Gero's sensibilities in some inane way.

I left the lab and immediately jumped into a nearby tree, shooting through the treetops at speeds fast enough to make Ninja from Naruto jealous. At the speeds I was traveling at, it didn't take me long to reach the closest road where I dropped to the ground and accessed what was perhaps the most impressive tool in my arsenal, the Exceed System.

Actually describing what it was is rather difficult, but it basically allowed me to access a wide assortment of equipment, from weapons to tools to vehicles and then create them out of a mixture of hard light and components summoned from a vast storehouse only accessible by those who possess the EX-system. I have no idea how Gero pulled it off, but it was an incredible piece of work.

I held out my hands and light and mechanical parts appeared out of thin air, spinning around rapidly and quickly forming into the item I'd drawn out of the EX-system. A moment later, I jumped forwards and landed on the saddle of the futuristic motorbike that appeared under me. I grinned and gunned the engine, roaring down the road in a cloud of dust and streaks of blue light.

To be honest, I wasn't sure where I was going. I mean, I had full access to the internet in my head, on top of all the intel Gero had gathered on the PRT, Guild and countless other organizations on both sides of the law, so I could find my way around easily, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that I was the creation of a Tinker, created for the purpose of assassination and eliminating Capes. While the programming was already gone from my systems, I knew that there was a good chance that the more paranoid members of the PRT wouldn't take that into consideration, especially when you take into account the fact a lot of people would panic at the idea of an AI, regardless of the fact I was limited to my body and wasn't able to upload. I could try and pass myself off as a Case 53, but I doubted that'd work for long.

That all basically meant that the PRT weren't really an option. My best option was probably to approach Dragon considering we had a fair amount in common. Hell, I might even be able to figure out a way to remove or circumvent some of her programming, although I wasn't confident of that. I would be able to give her blueprints for more Human-like frames though, if she could figure out how to replicate the biomechanical latticework that made up my muscles and flesh. She might even be able to put in a good word to get me into the Guild.

Wait, what am I thinking?! How am I taking this all so calmly?! I mean, I know my brain was now a black box and my mind was more powerful than a supercomputer and capable of perceiving the world much faster than any Human, but I really should be freaking out right now! I died and now I'm in WORM as the creation of a completely insane Tinker! How am I taking this so well that I can plan to join up with the heroes to fight enemies that…

I slammed my thoughts to a halt, dampening my emotional circuits to stop the oncoming panic attack as I pulled my bike up at the side of the road. I couldn't afford to panic now, both because I was driving, but also because if I did I'd be finished. As hard as it was to believe, I genuinely was in Worm and that meant I HAD to be at my best. Anything less, and I'd be screwed. I could panic, deny and scream all I wanted, but it wouldn't change anything. That went doubly since I hadn't been reborn as a Human. The only way it could be worse is if I'd been reborn as one of Nilbogs critters, at least Gero was an unknown.

I took a deep breath and slowly allowed my emotions to return. I still wasn't happy and desperately needed to sit down and think, but I couldn't do that here. I needed to find somewhere safe and, preferably, far away from Gero's lab, but I'd be able to hold it together for now.

I restarted my bike and headed down the road, intending to Toronto to visit the Guilds HQ. It was the best way to get in contact with Dragon after all. Unfortunately, that plan wasn't to be as a loud explosion in the distance made me skid to a stop. I looked in the direction of the sound and spotted a massive pillar of smoke rising from a location that my database sumized must be a Military base. I hesitated for a moment, before shrugging and roaring in the direction of the explosion. It'd be a good way to endear myself to the public after all.

"Huh...well thats handy," I said as I stared down at the base from a nearby cliff.

My focus was primarily on the trio of Templar-inspired mech suits who were busy making a mess of the base as a few thugs in combat gear bearing a cross made of circuit-like lines loaded up a large semi truck with boxes bearing the logo for Draco Industries. Apparently I'd stumbled on an attack by the Dragonslayers. I wonder if Saint had brought along the Ascalon laptop? If he had, I'd have to destroy it. If not, well, taking him out would definitely give me an in with the good guys.

I grinned and accessed the EX-system, drawing out the same sword I'd used to kill Gero. It looked like the YoRHA-issue Blade from Nier: Automata. Actually, a lot of my gear resembled equipment from that game, or carried a similar style, and I looked a heck of a lot like a YoRHA Android...oh well, a thought for another time. Right now, I had a battle to win.

I gunned the engine and shot off the cliff, only for my bike to simply transfer from horizontal to vertical as soon as the back wheel cleared the edge. I drove down the cliff in a clear example of Tinkertech giving physics the finger. I hit the ground and shot forwards, roaring out onto the road and towards the base. A few of the Dragonslayer goons spotted me and started shouting and shooting at me. I just smirked as the bullets pinged off the bikes forcefield and hit a button on the handlebars. The back opened, revealing a number of tiny missiles as the targeting system painted the thugs and Dragonslayer truck. A moment later, the missiles fired with a wave of white trails, slamming into their targets and detonating. The force wasn't much and was mostly just a concussive blast, but it was more than enough to knock out the thugs and damage the truck. I finished the job by slicing through the tires and wheels on one side as I shot past.

I quickly took in the situation, my tactical systems rapidly coming up with the best way of dealing with the Dragonslayers. Of the three, the largest suit, most likely Dobrynja, was the biggest threat. His suit was massive, incredibly strong and armed with a number of high powers weapons, on top of having some kind of defencive field that would make taking him down a pain in the arse and the massive katana style sword he was swinging around didn't help. On the other hand, the smallest, most likely Mags, would be easy to take out. It wasn't that much larger than a Human and was clearly designed for speed. It was extremely fast and agile and armed with a white bladed katana that could apparently cut steel without issue. All very impressive, but I was faster, stronger and my blades a lot more dangerous. I'm also not entirely sure what a Knight/Crusader style exo-suit was doing with Japanese weapons, but whatever.

Saints suit was somewhere between the two in terms of size and had a decent mix of ranged and melee weapons, including a vulcan gatling gun attached to his shoulder and a rather large sword that made me think he was compensating for something. I wasn't worried about him though. Actually, I wasn't worried about any of them. I'd identified Dobrynja as the biggest threat, but the truth was, I could deal with him easily enough.

Still, fighting all three at the same time would be a pain, so I'd need to get rid of at least one of them while I disabled the others. With that in mind, I hit a few more buttons, locked the bikes targeting algorithms onto Dobrynja's suit and vaulted off the bike as the entire thing was surrounded by a visible white shield shaped like a wedge and shot at the modified Dragonsuit at high speed. The big suit barely had time to turn around before the makeshift missile collided with him, crushing the front of the suit and sending him crashing through three buildings. He wouldn't be getting up for a while.

I landed in a crouch and slowly straightened, my face kept carefully blank, despite the fact I was grinning like a loon on the inside at the incredulous looks I was getting. I'm sure I must have made quite the picture considering I was still only wearing the bodysuit that I woke up in, meaning that I looked like a barefoot teenager with white hair and a sword who'd just taken out one of the Dragonslayers with a ballistic bike. The fact I was obviously a Cape and yet not wearing a mask or making any attempt to conceal my identity probably didn't help.

"Who are you?" growled Saint as the two remaining Dragonslayer suits broke off from their current targets and moved to flank me.

I glanced between them, noting that, while Mags apparently knew her way around her weapon, Saint was holding his sword like it was a club. He'd do some damage, but he had no idea how to actually use the damn thing. I rested my sword on my shoulder and shifted my weight slightly, adopting an apparently relaxed stance while keeping my body ready to react and move if needed.

"I'm just a concerned citizen who heard explosions and decided to investigate," I said, "I wasn't expecting to find a bunch of shortsighted morons making trouble."

Mags shifted slightly while Saint let out an audible growl.

"I don't know who you are kid," he hissed, "But I suggest you leave before you get hurt!"

My smile widened slightly as I lifted my sword and flipped it around my wrist.

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing to you," I said.

Then, I dashed forwards. Before either Dragonslayer could react, I was between them, my sword already in motion. Mags managed to get her own sword up in time to deflect the strike, although she still suffered a cut to her shoulder that I think damaged the servos slightly. Before I could follow up, I was forced to jump back as Saint swung his sword at me with a roar. I surged forwards again, using the slab of metal as a step to vault over him and land on his shoulder. Before I could do anything else, a surge of electricity hit me and sent me flying, smoke drifting off my bodysuit. I wasn't hurt, my energy absorption saw to that, but it was still disorienting.

I hit the ground and immediately flipped back to my feet as Mags came at me, her sword whistling as it cut the air. I mentally reevaluated the Dragonslayer as I blocked another strike. She clearly knew how to fight, but not with a Katana. I got the impression that she was only using it because it was clearly relatively powerful Tinkertech. It was certainly doing a number on my own sword, despite its high strength. Then, Saint joined the fray and snapped the battered blade with his hunk of metal he called a sword. I tutted and threw the hilt at Saint, making him flinch back instinctively as it bounced of his helmet. That was more than enough of a distraction to duck under Mags' swing and land a powerful kick to her suits chin that sent her stumbling back.

A second kick, this time to her arm, caused her to let go of her sword. I snatched the weapon out of the air and spun, taking the legs out from under her and driving the blade into the suits powerpack. It immediately went limp and I had to smile at the sulphurous language that erupted from the trapped cyber-pirate.

A moment later, that smile was wiped off my lips as Saint came charging in like a bull and punched me in the side, sending me flying through a wall. I hit the ground hard and quickly flipped back to my feet, wincing as the movement pulled on the shredded skin. I was tough, but most of my defence was dedicated to energy absorption and blunt force, which meant I had no special resistance to cutting weapons or, as it turned out, scrapes from falls. Suddenly I was very glad I'd managed to stop my bike before I took a tumble. I wouldn't have been at risk of damaging my head since my bones were harder than titanium, but the roadrash would have done a LOT of damage.

I didn't have time to think about that however as Saint came bursting through the wall, his sword already in motion. I quickly brought up my own sword and caught the blade, gritting my teeth as he bore down on me. I was stronger, but he had a lot more leverage and weight behind his blade. Plus, the difference between our strengths wasn't actually that large.

Since I couldn't win the test of strength, I decided to end it by tilting my sword and letting Saints slip off the blade. The cyber pirate stumbled as the heavy blade pulled him forwards, giving me the perfect target to bury my knee in his gut. Unfortunately, I'd underestimated the thickness of his armour and all it did was make a loud clang and left me open for another punch that sent me through another wall. This was starting to get old.

I hit the wall on the other side and slid down with a groan of pain. I was tough and my auto-repair could fix almost anything, given enough time, but this was starting to push it. I needed to end it or I was going to be too damaged to fight and I had no doubt that the paranoid bastard Saint was would kill me the moment he found out I was biomechanical.

I moved to get up, but before I could, Saints massive foot slammed down on my hand, trapping it and my sword. I screamed. Saint ignored me as he grabbed me by the throat and lifted me up, my sword falling from my throbbing fingers as he did.

"I don't know who you are, but you've made a big mistake," he growled, lifting his sword and aiming at my throat.

I swallowed, but couldn't keep from smiling slightly as I spotted two shapes rapidly approaching.

"No, your the one whos made a mistake," I gasped.

Saint sneered.

"Oh?" he asked, "How so?"

Instead of answering, I pointed. Saint turned his head, just in time for a bolt of plasma to slam into his side, sending the suit flying while a razor sharp crystalline forcefield sliced through the arm holding me, forcing it to let go. I dropped to the floor, gasping and rubbing my neck as I felt my auto-repair finish fixing the damage to my hand and throat.

"Are you alright?" asked Narwhal as Dragon chased Saint away.

"Give me a sec and I'll be fine," I croaked.

Narwhal nodded and took off after Dragon and Saint, joining the fight and putting Saint on the ropes. Apparently dealing with Dragon was easy for the hacker, but Narwhal was more of a challenge. He was still holding his own though and I really needed to help before the other Dragonslayers managed to sort themselves out.

Fortunately, the damage was minor enough that it only took a few seconds to allow me to breath again and hold my sword. I scowled as I glared at the weapon. It was much better than mine, almost certainly Tinkertech, but it wasn't enough for right now. I needed something bigger. Fortunately, there was just the thing sticking out of the wall a short distance away. It was the sword Dobrynja had been using which, now I actually looked at it, looked rather familiar. Actually…

I glanced down at the sword in my hand, then back to the massive blade stuck in the wall and groaned. Somehow, someway, the Dragonslayers had acquired swords that looked exactly like the Virtuous Treaty and Virtuous Contract. Welp, I already look like a YoRHA Android, might as well go all out.

I got to my feet and took off in the direction of the fight, bouncing off the walls to grab Virtuous Treaty as I passed. The moment I did, I felt the EX-system activate and scan the weapons into its database. They were now marked as mine and could be teleported into the subspace that served as the Systems storehouse. I couldn't help but grin as I tossed the two swords up and they floated down to hover behind my shoulder like 2B's did. What? It looked cool!

I continued bouncing between the two buildings until I created them, flipped and brought VT down on Saints vulcan gun, just as he was about to open fire. Saint snarled in fury and took a swipe at me with his sword, so I flipped in the air and used the massive blade to vault over his head and land on his shoulders.

"Oh, by the way Saint," I said as I lifted my sword, "The names A14."

Before he could react, Virtuous Treaty flashed and his arms went flying. At the same time, Virtuous Contract shot into my other hand and I cut open the cockpit, grabbed the terrorist by the front of his plugsuit and threw him out. His scream of horror was cut off as Narwhal caught him with a forcefield. I jumped off the now falling Powersuit and grabbed both swords hilts as I spun through the air. There was the sound like splitting silk and I landed on the roof, both blades out. A moment later, two cuts appeared on Saints suit and it exploded. Huh, apparently there was a certain amount of Anime logic in this world.

I returned my swords to my back and turned to the two female Capes as they slowly dropped down a short distance away, both eyeing me warily. Then, the remains of Saints suit slammed into the ground with a loud crash. Dragon sighed.

"You know, I'd have like to salvage that," she said.

I blinked and blushed (and how does an Android do that?!)

"Um, oops?" I said with a guilty smile.

And done. Hoo boy, that was a long one! I admit, I have far to many ideas for this, many of which will take it into the territory of ARE YOU SHITTING ME!, so it might not be such a good idea to continue this.

You might actually be able to guess some of those ideas from the clues given. For now, lets just say that A14 won't be the only one of Gero's creations showing up, both in terms of Androids and some of his...older creations. Incidentally, those also tie into the reason that A14 didn't panic as much as he thought he should. And no, its not because hes part mechanical.

I'm...not entirely pleased with the fight with Saint considering it makes A14 seem weaker than he actually is. He was designed to fight S ranked threats and even help battle the Trivumate, so hes got a lot of powerful weapons and tricks up his sleeve. However, programming or not, it'll still take some time to properly learn how to use everything at his disposal.

I admit, giving the Dragonslayers VT and VC was a bit of a last minute decision and kinda pointless, but it did the job I needed. Plus, the fight was fun to write.

Anyway, I'm gonna sign off, so don't forget to leave a review!