Hebert Disassembly Services Chapter 9: Arrival///

<<<Designation: T/Taylor Hebert/Absolute>>>

She knew Cyn was back on Bet, how exactly she wasn’t entirely sure, as she hadn’t been paying close attention to what she was doing. It seemed rather important and personal to her, so after trying to get those schematics and teasing V and Uzi, she left them alone. And now she was once more in the Wards common room, a Drone head beside her, and they were both watching some cartoons.

She figured Tessa’s childhood was horrible, but the fact that she was denied Looney Tunes was simply inhumane in her mind. And thus: cartoon marathon!

“You sure you don’t know where the gremlin is?” Taylor asked the head, apparently, her body was still in the workshop, clearly marked so no one would mess with it, and while Taylor could finish it, she felt Cyn would prefer to do it herself.

Guilt and self-loathing were a helluva thing, after all, especially when one has a genuine reason to feel them.

It had been a few weeks since they started working on her, so Tessa’s mind had been around for a little while…

“Can’t rightly say,” Tessa said, “Mentioned something about an enthusiastic walk?”

“Oh no…” Not that she could stop Cyn, it turned out that Cyn had a lot more power in their ‘relationship’ than Taylor had thought, not that she ever used it.

If anything, she seemed to find listening in and messing with her and everyone around fun. Perhaps she saw it as a form of penance for what she’s done?

“Eh, no worries, mate. Cyn’s a silly bugger, but she ain’t stupid, now can you pass me a few more of them button batteries?” Tessa asked.

“I still don’t understand how you’re eating…” Taylor admitted.

“Something, something Solver nonsense,” Tessa said, “Honestly, I stopped trying to figure out how Robo-Satan worked.”

Taylor sighed, passing some of them over. “I know she isn’t stupid, but I’m concerned about her doing something insane. Like starting the mass killing of neo-nazis, or something.”

“So am I,” Tessa admitted, “You know, in hindsight, I should’ve known something was wrong besides faulty motor controls when I pulled her from the dump.”

“Was it the tentacles that gave it away?” Taylor asked with a smirk.

Tessa snorted. “Nah mate, it was the eyes,” She said, “The Worker Drones are adjustable to the owner's preference. But by default, their eyes are always white. And caustic yellow isn’t part of the color spectrum drones have by default. And the fact she was consuming Oil more than any other drones also should’ve told me something was wrong.”

“... So does it say something bad that my eyes are that way by default?” Taylor asked.

“Nah, for one, you’re an organic upload like me. Granted, me memories are a bit jumbled,” Tessa said, “And also you’re a Disassembly Drone. From my understanding, that’s their default, also unlike N and V, your Solver program isn’t hampered. So you’ll be messing around with reality given enough time.”

“More like Uzi,” Taylor agreed, “And Cyn, when she has an actual body available.”

“But the only one that can allow her to gain one is Uzi, the same drone that’s been traumatized and tormented by her. So that ain’t gonna happen anytime soon,” Tessa said, “If there’s one thing I know about drones? They have exceptionally long memories and can hold a grudge, I mean… there’s a reason the Gala massacre happened, you know.”

“... Lotta people being exceptionally stupid by torturing and killing fully sapient machines they gave access to their food, water, tools, weapons, and industrial equipment?” Taylor snarked, “I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner, a drone going full Skynet at some point.”

“That’s rich entitlement for you,” Tessa said, “And well, the common human wasn’t that bad, it only happened when you think you're too rich to be bothered by laws. And, well, I love drones but… they’re pretty dumb. They can learn, but if nothing else, when their OS was designed, they didn’t include stuff that’d make them aggressive.”

“No self-preservation, no duty to protect humans?” Taylor asked, “So they actually learned from Asimov?”

“Nope. They were literally designed to do everything humans didn’t want to,” Tessa said, “Though I’m pretty sure some of the designers read that and decided to tweak things. JCJenson is… was a greedy megacorp, but not everyone was stupid. Shame what happened, happened. I was going to inherit the company after my parents corked it. I would’ve done some major changes.”

“... since you’re getting another body, technically you could still inherit what’s left?” Taylor suggested, “I mean, we both have the entire schematics list in our brains.”

“That’s fair,” Tessa admitted, “Though I’m not sure I’ll be making drones. Your Machine Army kinda shat the bed concerning artificial intelligence. Though maybe when they’re gone… and there’s robust laws against abusing them? Maybe.”

“Dragon is around?” Taylor reminded, “She’s planning to go public tomo-” She paused before turning and giving the rest of the wards (who were trying to look inconspicuous) a look, “None of you heard that.”

[Really. I Did Not. Know About That.]
[I Should Give Her Congrats.]
[For Coming Out Of The Closet.]
[Giggle.]

“Why’re you looking at me specifically!?” Clockblocker complained, making Vista smack him.

“You know why!” She huffed, “I’m more concerned with the talking head and the exposition. I’m concerned.”

“Oh no, Tessa is fine,” Taylor said, “She’s just a little… bodyless, right now. She’s nice, if Australian, which is admittedly a downside.”

“Oi cunt, what’d ya mean by that!?” Tessa demanded, “I’ll have you know I’m perfectly polite, I’m just not good with people and more comfortable with drones.”

“Being Australian is a downside by itself,” Taylor replied with a grin, “Like being British. Or French. Or Canadian, right Dragon?”

Said AI’s voice echoed from a nearby speaker, “I regret showing you those movies. Hello, Taylor.”

“And I can’t argue about the Brits, fuckin’ cunts…” Tessa grumbled.

She checked her internal clock (no more alarm clocks or watches for her!), “Evening, Dragon. How are things in the land of Maple Syrup and Warcrimes?” She retorted with a smile.

The Wards just looked dumbfounded, though Clockblocker was snickering.

“You wanted to be informed of the next Endbringer attack,” Dragon started, “The Simurgh is heading down to Australia as we speak, Canberra."

Taylor nodded, “Yeah. Mostly Cyn technically," She said, “And… I think I know where Cyn is now…”

[About Time.]
[I Am Famished.]
[I Am Going To]
[Have A Family Bucket Of Fried Bin Chicken.]
[Yum.]

“You are almost entirely holographic,” Taylor noted, standing up and heading towards the only elevator that went to the roof, “Guess I’m heading out to Australia to maybe kill a bitch. What’s my Solver level, Cyn?”

[The Void Hungers.]
[For Bin Chicken Nuggies.]
[It Is At %30]

“Probably not killing it then,” She sighed, “Shame, that.” Taylore really was disappointed, but it did mean the effort to make Uzi’s railgun wasn’t wasted (even as she thought of it, she pulled the gun over with a bit of telekinesis).

[Yes. But That Means More For Me]
[If You Let Me Loose]

“Only if it looks like we can’t run her off,” She replied, “Which… is pretty likely, if I’m honest. If I need you to go all out, avoid hitting the planet. All my stuff is here.”

[Yey]
[I Will.]
[I Do Not Eat Planets Anymore]
[Except For Asteroids.]
[And Maybe Pluto.]

“I think it’s still a planet,” Taylor said, reaching the roof and flaring her wings, “I swear if people think I’m Ziz because of these wings, I will be so annoyed.”

[Give It Time.]
[Giggle.]
[You Know If Danny.]
[Learns Of This From The News.]
[He Will Ground You.]

“I tried to call him,” Taylor replied, “He just doesn’t have a cell phone. So it’s all on him, really. It’ll teach him a lesson and it won’t even be my fault!” She was picking up speed, a lot of it. She’d never really tested how fast she could go, so it was certainly a learning experience.

[That Human.]
[Needs Therapy.]
[And That Is Hilarious.]
[Coming From Me.]

“True,” Taylor agreed, “But we can’t exactly just force therapy on him. And no, we aren’t cyberizing him. Unless he asks.”

[I Was Going To Suggest.]
[Going Through The PRT.]
[He Is Important To Your.]
[Mental Stability And Efficiency.]

“Mm, true,” She was still speeding up, “But again, can’t force it.”

[Oh. Did You Know There Is.]
[A Hero Called Roadrunner.]
[He Is Not A Proper Speedster Though.]
[Disappointing.]

“That is a massive disappointment,” Taylor agreed, ignoring the shock cone building around her, “How long will this take?”

[Did You Forget You Could Teleport.]

“... Shut up…” Taylor mumbled with a blush, stopping her flight and snapping her fingers, warping and appearing above the hastily made Protectorate staging base. 

[That Is Hilarious.]
[But Canberra Is A Beautiful City]
[I Wonder If There Was One Back On My Earth]\
[Oh How Cute.]
[A Snake Is Trying To Bite Me.]

“Sorry, I’m late, forgot I could teleport,” Taylor said, “Armbands that explode and can’t kill me for coordination, got it,” She didn’t even let the guy finish speaking before pulling it to her and putting it on, “How long until she’s here?”

“Ten minutes at her current rate of descent,” A local hero said, “You sure you should be here, lass?”

“I’m pretty sure I could kill everyone in this area aside from Alexandria, Legend, and Eidolon right now,” Taylor replied with a shrug, retracting her wings and letting herself drop. “I volunteered for this, despite being a Ward, and Dragon gave me the heads up herself.”

“Especially If. She Mets Me. Loose.” Cyn said as she appeared behind her, “Boo.”

She also had a snake in her mouth she was chewing on.

“Snakes Taste Like Chicken.” That's all she said in explanation.

“That’s an Inland Taipan!” Another local exclaimed, “She should be dead!”

“I Have. Already Died. Do Not Recommend." Cyn said.

“She is also a hologram,” Taylor noted, “And no, I don’t know how that works. And I’m a robot anyway, so even if I were to eat it directly, it still wouldn’t kill me.”

“Eldritch And Cosmic Horror. Shenanigans.” Cyn said as she slurped the snake up like a noodle.

“Right…” The hero started, visibly deciding to forget the entire interaction. “The Protectorate tent is over there,” He started, “Locals are over there. Legend is handing intercoordination.”

“Alert,” Everyone’s armband started, “The Simurgh is speeding up. Her Scream will start in one minute.”

No one looked surprised by that, because it was Ziz, and she always pulled nonsense like randomly speeding up and slowing down.

Taylor was already aiming at the Endbringer because Uzi’s railgun had insane range. “I’m only going to get one shot off for this gun,” Taylor announced, “It won’t kill her, but it’s going to hurt a lot.”

Cyn was just watching, largely unconcerned, “Flappy arms. Bored Now. Can I Do The Thing. After You Shoot. Hopeful Look.”

“Only if she doesn’t leave,” Taylor sighed, waiting for the ‘scream’ to start. Moments later, it did.

The green lance split the sky, slamming into a shield the bitch had conjured. It still hit her, but didn’t do nearly as much damage as it should have; searing off the top layers of flesh before fading. “Alright, your turn Cyn! Fuck her up!”

“Yey. I Am Hungry. Time To Go Into My Mouth Now.” Taylor released the metaphorical and literal leash and let Cyn fully puppet her body.

For an instant, everything stopped, and Taylor’s sensor suite quite literally screamed at her. Gravitational, Radiation, and Dimensional anomalies started appearing on her sensors, largely surrounding Cyn but having an obvious effect on the surroundings.

Color seemed to leech out from the world, and sound echoed early. All the other Heroes and Villains saw The Solver of the Absolute Fabric in all its terrible biomechanical horror.

“I AM FAMISHED.” Its voice distorted, still maintaining its monotone, but possessed a booming quality as various cameras of flesh and bone looked around at everyone, while claws and hands skittered around.

Of course, Taylor saw it from a rather… third person perspective. She’d been put into her tail, though she was pretty sure she could take back over at any time.

Then the… Solverpeide, for the lack of a better term, attacked.

[hr][/hr][hr][/hr]

Nightmare723764: After some deliberation, Vyor and I have decided to make the fight its own separate chapter. I can’t promise it will be overly amazing, but it’ll be good practice for me. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter and until next time!