More Meteor Showers Bring Even Stranger Powers. (O/A)

[The Count of Monte Carlo]

Ako didn't know what to say as those robotic eyes looked into his. Eye were supposed to be the window to the soul, but he couldn't see past the circuitry. Where was the little girl he once knew? He felt as thought was going to be sick, especially when she tapped her chest plate. "I-I don't hate you, Gidget, I never could, but what have you let yourself become? What have you made yourself?"

~~~~~~~~~

Deora watched the scene silently, not understanding what was going on. Had Gidget not told these people what she was? How long had they been in the dark? It was obvious that they both cared for Gidget, but she could swear she felt something shatter in the man when he saw her like this. He might have put on a tough guy front, but it was obvious to her know that he wasn't as strong as he looked.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Gidget shakes her head solemnly as she answers Ako's question. "I didn't choose this Ako. You guys may want to sit down."

With that verbal command several chairs slide out from various places around the lab and situate themselves behind her friends. Gidget returns to her seat and looks to the people in front of her. New friends, old friends, and now the whole story is going to come out.

"Thirteen years ago Leviathan Cortez located Valhalla and attacked it." As she speaks the monitors behind her unconsciously display images from her memories and stock security footage of the incident. Each monitor shows something different. "He had discovered a way to isolate, purify, and extract the meteor radiation that gives us our powers. He was juicing, and he wanted more. At the time Valhalla was the largest concentration of meta-humans. I still don't know how he found out about it, but it doesn't really matter now."

"Annie, Trinity, and I met him head on as he decimated the facility. That protection that you tested for me back then Ako, it worked like a charm. What I didn't anticipate was that the radiation would increase his physical strength as well."

The largest monitor displays Gidget's POV. Leviathan appears injured, but animalistic as he throws an unseen ball of force at Gidget. Her vision blurs as dust and rubble kick up around her. Her HUD lights up displaying structural integrity readouts, the animations chest blinking red. She lays still for a moment to catch her breath. She starts to raise an arm to sweep away the heavy dust, but screams out when a foot comes down on her arm and break it at the radius and ulna. She looks up at Leviathans wild eyes as she straddles her and digs his fingers into her chest plate. Her HUD goes manic is everything becomes red on the displays. He tears the plate off and throws it behind him. Her cries become strained hiccups when he punches her in the chest once, then lays his hand against it. With a terrible grin there is a bright light, and then nothing.

"My heart was simultaneously crushed and burned. At that moment, my physical body died. Ako, Tansy, do you remember that port I grafted into the back of my head to improve interface delay? My power threw my consciousness in the suit before my brain could die. A few days later I woke up laying on a table."

Several of the monitors display the hollow suit sluggishly getting up and moving of it's own accord through the eyes of security cameras. Gidget's POV displays the confusion she was trying to filter through. Her HUD display shows critical system damages, and an ECG showing asystole. A lab tech looks up at her and shouts. Gidget, without any hint of emotion, asks him why she can't feel anything.

"It took a long time, but I was able to sync my conscious memory in with vocal and facial emotional nuances. Then I built a body to inhabit that resembled what I used to be. Every passing year I build a new one so that the outside world thinks I age."

"I know you are going to ask, so I'm going to get the answers out of the way. I don't "feel" real emotion in the sense of chemical reactions that cause sensations in the body. My senses of taste, smell, and touch are non existent. I am a ghost in a machine, but I think...so therefore I exist. I'm Gidget...with a mechanical body that I never asked for."  

[JewJewBeans]

Tansy took a seat in the chair give to her and listened. It made sense to her, strangely. But she felt more like she was listening to someone reading a Sci-fi novel. Her eyes darted from screen to screen as she listened to Gigdet explaining what had happened to her. When she had finished, Tansy felt shot of... well... it was like shock and awe. "I.. Wow." She paused for a moment. "You've been through so much... I feel so selfish..." She frowned as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm sorry Gigdet."  

[PixelMuse]

Trinity heard Apollo's decision and felt a little relieved. She smiled a little at Kerana and then entered Gidget's lab.

Rikki Tikki Travi

"I'm Gidget...with a mechanical body that I never asked for."

Behind the group of friends came a voice. "You did what you could to survive. Because of what you did you were able to help others and save lives.

Over the past 13 years we've worked together and I found the best friend that I could ever ask for. I'd lay my life down for you if I have to and that's something I would not do for a machine.

Even today she continues to help others, she still recruits metas like Deora that needed a place to stay and a place to learn her abilities safely. She also has installed eyes in Justine in hopes that she will be able to see again.

You may be in a body you never asked for but, rest assured you still have proven without a doubt that you are still the Gidget we know and love."

With that she stepped into the light with her glowing eyes and purple myst. She hoped she said what needed to be heard.

She looked older than she was 13 years ago, a seasoned fighter with plenty of experience in battles. As she strode she wore a green trench cloak, purple mid riff bullet proof shirt, a pair of bullet proof pants and a pair of black boots. She did not take any more steps further then looked to Gidget for her next command.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Gidget beams at Trinity's compliments and accolades. "Thanks Trin. I'm good to go. Synchronization is at 100%." She looks to Ako and Tansy then asks, You guys remember Trinity Smith right?""  

[PixelMuse]

Trinity nodded at Gidget's confirmation, then proceeded to help unhook things that needed to be unhooked. "How's it going?" Trinity asked Gidget softly.

When that was done she looked to Tansy, the girl that been a subject of her research, in attempt to find other people like herself. Then she saw Ako, he seemed to change over the years, he seemed to have a tougher exterior than he used to. She thought it was an improvement, but dare not think too much of it, she could tell that Gidget has her eyes on him from the last time they were together, and dare not make a move on him. She wondered where'd they go when their friend needed them the most. Trinity tried not to dwell much on it, she did not want to make things even more complicated for Gidget. Instead she maintained a level headed composition.  

[The Count of Monte Carlo]

Deora brought her hands up to cover her gaping mouth as she watched the replay footage. She was used to watching horror movies, but it was different when the main character was sitting in front of you and narrating what you were seeing through her eyes. Tears came to her wide blue eyes at the sound of Gidget's cries, and her own breath hitched at the sight of the empty suit. The thought that a little girl had once been in there, had died in there, it horrified her. She looked over to Ako, only to see his face lacking emotion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

You let her die. You could have saved her. You weren't there. You're never there. Never there when things go wrong. Where do you go? Never there. She would still be alive. Still be your Gidget. The girl you loved. She's not the monster. Not the abomination. YOU ARE.

Ako held his head and collapsed into the chair behind him, the voice racing through his mind. It was all his fault. He could have beaten Leviathan before he killed Gidget. He could have saved her. Why did he leave? He couldn't even remember.

"I'm sorry." He said. his voice was low, but the normal strength behind it was gone. He didn't raise his eyes from the floor, but tears dropped to darken the floor below them. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't there, I could have stopped him." His words trailed off to mumbling, and Deora looked to the others, not knowing what to do.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Gidget smiles sadly and shakes her head. "No Ako, he would have killed you first. He would have drained your power right out of you with his own. I knew exactly what I was getting into and what could happen. I don't blame you in the slightest."

She stands and looks over at Tansy next. "You have no reason to feel selfish Tansy. You have your own personal demons to face, and that has to be taken care of before you can help anyone."

She steadily makes her way over to her hidden wall and opens it up. There for everyone to see are the many tactical suits she has, and standing at the end is her current "body."

She places her hand on her body's chest and closes her eyes. A second later the eyes of the body open. She looks over and smiles at her friends before walking over to them.

"Is this a bit better?"  

[JewJewBeans]

She turned and looked to Ako. He was taking this so hard. She listened to Gigdet and nodded, not really wanted to agree with her, but it was easier to just do so. She stood and moved over to behind Ako's chair and wrapped her arms around her neck as she hugged him, trying to help him. "Don't blame yourself. It's natural to do so, but we can't change things like this. We just have to accept it..."  

[PixelMuse]

Trinity watched as Gidget got into a body everyone was more comfortable with. It didn't matter to her, as long as Gidget is alive. Perhaps she was used to it. Though it seemed shameful that she had to do it. Shouldn't friends care about who you are more than what you look like? Her mind drifted back to when she first found out what happened.

Flashback

A young Trinity is hobbling down the hall,she recently recovered enough from the Leviathan battle to be on her feet. Her long purple pony tail waving like a tail. Her eyes were glowing but welling with tears.

Despite her excellent hearing she could not believe her pointed ears. She knew what she saw, Leviathan had ripped the plate out of Gidget's mech suit then thrusts his fist in. She remembered the tears that rolled out of her eyes as she saw it happen. Too beaten up, with a broken leg under a large piece of rubble to do anything about it. Her Ki was depleted from the battle between her and Leviathan. This being her first fight, she was lucky to survive.

This morning she heard a rumor going around that there's a haunted mech that sounded like Gidget. She heard this and had to see, see for herself. They tried to warn her and keep her out of the R&D department. But she didn't listen and didn't let anoyone stop her and used her shadow power to get to the said 'Haunted Mech'. She almost fell apart at the sound of her voice coming out of the mech she saw from behind. It was the same suite she died in. "GIDGET!" she ran toward the mech and wrapped her arms around the mech as best as she could, "Oh Gidget I thought I lost you... I thought you were..." the mech turned around... there was nothing in it. She was terrified at first... and it did take some getting used to... but everything pointed out that the mech was Gidget.

Perhaps I'm a bit too hard on them... it is a lot to take in...  

[The Count of Monte Carlo]

Ako would have argues that he could have beaten Leviathan, but he knew that now wasn't the time. He simply stayed silent, lost in his own thoughts until he felt arms wrap around his neck. He tensed, almost fighting back, but he managed to hold still when he realized it was just a hug. He brought his hands up to Tansy's arms, his turbulent mental state accidentally letting a bit of electricity loose as they touched. It was only about as much as a static shock, but it was more than he'd let loose accidentally since he got his powers under control years ago. "I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it. When I found out about my power, all I wanted was to help people, but I never can."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deora was glad to see Gidget back in the form she was familiar with, but she was still a bit uncomfortable in her chair. It wasn't the chair itself, but the atmosphere of the room. Gidget revealing what she was to her friends, the lovey-dovey vibe she was getting from Ako and Tansy, and the awkward silence she felt from not having anything to say. She finally came up with something to say, if only to break her own silence. "Hey, uh, Ms. Gidget, just how often do these attacks happen? I haven't even slept in my new room yet, and already there's bee one attack, I see the story of another one, and hear hints of one before that. I don't think I want to stay here if we're going to be under constant attack, even if I'll get training for my power.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Gidget looks over at Deora and her smile fades. She glances over at the others before taking a deep breath and saying, "Leviathan's was the first and last attack on this facility. What happened today wasn't an attack Deora. What you saw was an escape."

Gidget walks over to the monitors and lays a hand on a panel close to them. Like she did earlier, she uploads all the information she has on her brother. "Valhalla is meant to be a center for assisting meta-humans. However, I took it upon myself to construct a specialized prison made for one man. That man is my brother."

"Shane was subjected to a black ops experiment by the prior CEO of Valhalla. This experiment was to see what would happen if a human was forcefully administered purified meteor radiation. What they got is the most dangerous meta-human known so far."

"Shane didn't handle my death well. When I came back...something inside of him broke. The radiation only made things worse, driving him into madness. He became obsessed with making a body of flesh for me, and killed of lot of people in the process of trying. It took eight years, but I finally tracked him down. I knew the government would execute him, and that Daedalus would tear him apart trying to find out what makes him work...so I did what I thought was the best thing at the time."

"It's been five years, and now he's escaped. Even in solitary confinement kept under near constant sedation, his mind was at work to find away out of the cell I had built for him. He's free...and..."

Gidget looks over at Trinity and asks hesitantly, "Trinity...what exactly happened topside? Why didn't Annie stop him?"