Into the Fray (Nekro)

Samantha Rees, international engineering prodigy, sat in her lab, going over the interface for Wong Enterprises' new mobility assist unit.  It looked like little more than under armor, yet it offered a great deal of hope for people like her.

This one was special.  This one worked too well.  She had tried to test the unit with a primitive A.I.  It had been able to carry the young woman...and launched her across the room in seconds.  Samantha had not yet managed to isolate what caused this muscle suit to be so overpowered but it had to be isolated so that it could be taken out of future devices.

Another issue she had neglected to think of initially; she needed a better way to opperate the suit in the field.  Better than some bargain basement A.I.  Something to let the suit move with a thought...maybe something special to keep up with this "fast skin."

Reaching back, Sam felt the device at the base of her skull.  It had been implanted last week and she was just finishing her recovery.  A rather short recovery, considering...Even her normally long hair was still had not yet recovered.

Still, before her stood the ends of her dream; what she had once imagined would be her life's work.  Yet, with the resources provided by Wong Enterprises, she was almost there.  At only 21, Samantha Rees, the crippled girl from Western England, had invented a work-around Spinal Cord Injury.

Pulling the stick of her chair, Sam rolled away from her prototype.  She pulled up to a small desk that held notes and schematics on the suit.  She had also writen out some other notes relating to some of the suit's failings.

Sam had heard rumors that Ms. Wong had taken an interest in he Muscle Skin.  She knew, if the boss came, she would need to explain enough about the project to ensure its survival...

A memo was sent to the medical labs in the morning that a scheduled appointment was to take place that day for personal inspection.

These mini labs were normally assigned whole teams of researchers and engineers, but those with exception acumen were afforded solo privileges. Of course, if Sam requested it, she could have her pick of assistants to help her perform menial activities.

The doors to the lab slide open with a hiss and a ping sound, followed by the sound of the automated announcer introducing who it was.

"Clearance level 01 Accepted. Welcome, Elisheva Wong, CEO. Welcome, Bernadette St. Croix, Security. Lab 67, Medical Division."

Ellie Wong arrived in her corporate attire accompanied by an equally well dressed Bernadette St. Croix, though the smaller Asian woman seemed to be more imposing. Her every detail- single braid hair, glasses, make up, shoes, cut of dress was precise and measured. She walked with purpose and poise as her heels clicked on the sterile lab floor.

Bernadette was more relaxed, her hair a glorious blonde mess. She carried herself in a more laid back manner, though her movements were stiff, her body beneath wholly cybernetic. This explained her unnaturally thin physique, hidden by baggy clothes.

"Good morning miss Reese. I understand you have something to demonstrate to us today?" Ellie said, sounding friendly and smiling, doing the lovable boss routine. Despite being a big shot rich person, most of the staff thought well of their employer, who was always reputed for her ease of approach even from the lowest member of the staff.

Samantha tried to turn too suddenly, her knee connecting with the leg of the work table.  "Shite," she muttered under her breath.  It didn't hurt; she had no feeling after all, but she had been annoyed.  "Sorry," she added as she turned more carefully.

Rolling up to the pair, she forced a tense smile.  "Thank you for coming, Ms. Wong; Ms. St. Croix.  I have so much to show you, regarding our work here..."  Turning about, Samantha led the way deeper into the moderate lab, coming to rest before the displayed Muscle Skin.

"As you can see, we already have a prototype...and..."  The display shifted, stepping down from he case.  "...It is opperational, able to move in a realistic manner.  Currently, I am controlling the device remotely, via the interface you were so gracious to provide..."  Sam coughed, blushing, feeling like a brown-nose.

The unnerving display walked a measured lap about the three women.  Samantha was careful to ensure the suit's back was never exposed, though she hoped the banded mesh of kevlar around the torso was inconspicuous.  The kevlar was meant provide support for the battery that made up the back of the suit.

The model stopped in front of them and crouched in front of Samantha.  The young engineer began to unzip the suit, extracting the dummy's arms from the sleeves; they ended up hanging limp as the suit was allowed to fold back.  "As you can see, the mannequin has no machinery of its own and is proving no power to move.  The suit did everything."

The mannequin was soon out of the prototype, tossed aside for effect.  Samantha rolled to clear table, laying out the suit.  "Normally, a parlysed person might put the suit on like a full-body diving suit.  There are features that allow this suit to more easily...allow itself to be worn; ideal for people who cannot move their legs..."  She could not help but glance at her own useless limbs, obscured by her long dress.  "Again, this feature would be effectively controlled 'remotely'."

Ellie watched the demonstration quietly, her glasses shielding her eye expression. She studied the suit intently, but made no comment, not even asking about the kevlar.

"This is a good concept. An aesthetic and functional improvement over the usually bulky exoskeletons the other lab is developing, helping PWD's to properly re-integrate and assert their independence." Ellie said once the demonstration reached the end of its introduction.

"Ain't it, boss? would've been nice back when you were in a chair yourself." Bernadette commented.

"It was only a temporary injury." She corrected.

Bernadette noticed Sam's slightly less than enthused face when she put the suit on the table.

"Cheer up, luv. All of us here have seen some injury or another. S'why we're here." Bernadette said, reassuring Sam things would be alright, showing her her entirely cybernetic hand. It was no secret for people in the lab that Ellie's security chief was hardly human, and an example of 'being grateful for what you have, than being sorry for what you loss'.

"Now let's take a gander how you put it on then."

"Right," Samantha said.  The engineer began to undo her dress, exposing a simple, dark-blue backless leotard she had set aside for this.  It exposed much of ther spine as well as her intigrated interface, and it would make fitting into the Muscle Skin easier.

Sam hauled the suit off the table, willing the legs straight as she tried to set the unit down.  The 30 pound battery clicked as it met the hard floor.

Sam lifted herself, easing out of her wheelchair.  Once on the floor, she be manipulating her legs, trying to slide as far into the suit as she could.  Once into the suit, however, the interior walls of the Muscle Skin began to contract rhythmically; she imagined that it was like being swallowed.  "I mentioned that the suit had a system that allowed it to apply itself..."  By now, the swallowing actions had ceased; the lower portion was in place.

Sam leaned back, lying into the suit as she found the sleeves.  Now it was only a matter of zipping up, connecting the interface, and standing up.  Standing before the pair of women, the suit appeared tight as the dimensions of he suit had been taylored specifically for her.  She was reluctant to let anyone else test it...The engineer could feel the suit humming.

Sam began to move about.  "The suit has near infinite range of motion, however, several fail safes are in place to prevent the suit from pulling a body in unnatural direction."  Sam had trouble masking her glee.  This was only the second time in recent memory she had managed to stand upright.  Even at only 150 odd centimeters...or as Americans said: "five-foot-two"...she felt tall.

"Expectedly, there are some issues to work out before the Muscle Skin can go into production. Hopefully, these could be isolated by the end of next year..."

Ellie watched intently as the suit made Sam be able to walk. For a moment Ellie gave a slight smirk, and listened as Sam explained further, showing some humility enough to admit the device's flaws. "This is very good, miss Rees. Your technology will be very useful both to the company and to the people who will need it. You had best be certain that the suit will pose no hazard to its users. Ask the requisitions office for whatever you need to finish your project. Well, have a nice day then." Ellie said, checking her device as a notification got her attention. Ellie had alot of projects to oversee.

"See you around, luv. We're off to see some new investors. Have a nice lunch then." Bernadette said, she and Ellie departing Sam's lab, leaving her to her own devices.

Ah... Lab Requisitions. Access the company intranet, call up a requisitions officer, and fill out an electronic form and W.Industries would bring anything to one's authorized doorstep in a flash. Everything from spare parts, power, lab renovation, even food from the cafeteria or take out.

"Right," Samantha began to say, as the pair left.  "I will see what I can do..."  Her nervous words trailed into a whisper.

Sudden, Sam was at her work table, looking over the original plans for the Skin.  Anyone looking would have only seen a dark blur as she moved.  She needed to find where the speed she had just used came from, yet so far, remained at a loss.

Something told her it was something to do with the energy transfer...Too much energy was drawn into the suit.  That would explain why the suit could only last 36 hours with a damned car battery on her back.

So, she needed to slow or limit the amount of energy the next suit drew.  However, she worried that what she did would make the suits useless.  There were only so many materials that could conduct enough electricity to make the suit go...

Or maybe there was something to do with the "muscles" themselves...

After spending an hour studying her work, Sam's head began to ache.  She needed to run; to clear her head.  In the back of the room was a simple, nondescript box.  It contained a pair of odd gloves she had built and a helmet.  She put them all on.

In a shot, she was out of the building; again, she was pushing the limits of the suit's speed.  This had become a sort of hobby, testing the suit.  She told herself that it was look for a way to reign in the speed.

W.INDUSTRIES HQ

Incidentally, Ellie's next visit was to the requisitions offices, escorted by a security detail. Not ordinary security though- but Danger Divas, power armored women carrying powerful close combat sub-machine guns. This was not a schedule appointment, and other staff carrying boxes of supplies were visibly spooked by the presence of the boss escorted by the Divas. Bernadette gets to the office first and tries to open, but the door was locked and did not accept her access card.

"Locked. OI! OPEN UP!" She banged on the reinforced glass but no reply came from within the office. She steps aside to let Ellie deal with it.

"Executive override, Ellie Wong." She more or less demanded of the door's electronic lock.

"Denied." A chirpy mechanical voice responded. Displeasure was showing on Ellie's face. Rather than letting her Divas open it, Ellie put on her power glove, and the Divas stood back. The Power Glove causes the reinforced glass to crack, powderize and blow inward into the office.

The skinny, pale and bespectacled office worker looked at his employer nervously, having the door just disintegrated in Ellie's displeasure. "Mr. Evans. We've been tracking anomalous shipments from your office, projects being disrupted, and now you've overridden the lock on your door. You are going to explain yourself."

"Well missssss Wong, I can explain..." Evans said with a strange hiss, before pulling a weapon out from his drawers and trying to shoot Ellie.

"GUN!" The security team turn their weapons on Evans, filling his face and chest with lead. His green blood and brains redecorating the office walls and ceiling was a sign all was not well within Ellie's company.

"Someone get in contact with Miss Rees. Dispatch Farah in her Flight Armor. And get me hazard team to clean this mess!" Ellie said, and Bernadette complied. She headed to the roof to get to her helicopter.

VELOCITY

The suit, having been built with some malignant software and hardware from Evans, sprung its trap when Sam had distanced herself enough from Ellie Wong's company HQ. It began to override Sam's software, causing it to shut down when she was in a remote area- namely, just outside one of the town cemeteries, near a fairly sparse public park.

Once they were certain she posed no threat, Tall, ominous looking G-men in black suits and shades, straight of of Men In Black, began to approach Sam, emerging from cover.

Sam had intended to take a break near the so the reduced activity in the suit went unnoticed at first.

Then the left leg stopped moving.  "Wha-?" she said, looking down.  She tried to will her leg forward.  "Come on, you piece of shite."  That was when her right side failed.

Without the suit holding her up, Sam's worthless legs gave way, spilling her body onto the ground.  Pushing herself up, she cursed at her luck.  Glancing about, she saw an number of odd-looking men in well tailored business suits.

"Excuse me.  Could one of you call a cab?"  When the men did not respond, Sam began to grow nervous.  Desperately, she tried to claw he way forward.

As they drew uncomfortably near, Sam raised a hand.  "Stop or I will shoot," she warned.  They kept coming.  She discarged a bolt of lightning to scare them off.  "I said fuck off!"

The Men In Black slowly approached, and wordlessly drew out some funky looking ray guns. However, a snap of lightning and the accompanying crack of thunder spooks them, and they reflexively hiss at Sam, revealing fangs and forked tongues.

They were getting ready to shoot when a flashbang landed in the middle of the snake men, causing everyone nearby major disorientation. Sam found herself being carried off the ground and lifted off a moment later, being brought to a nearby rooftop of a 5 storey apartment.

Farah, the Diva's leader and so called "Rocket Angel", gently lowered Sam to rest against a big old central air conditioning compressor on the roof. She wore her gleaming, hawk-inspired blue Flight Power Armor, her mechanical wings automatically folding in when not in use.

"Ms. Rees! Are you alright? We found out your suit might be carrying corrupted parts." Farah then brought out a toolbox from behind the compressor. "...We have new and improved parts for you. Can you fix your suit here? I'm afraid we're in a bit of a bind. Help is still some minutes away."

Farah looked over the edge of the roofdeck. Indeed, the G-Men were already pursuing, climbing up the wall with no problem. Farah armed her wrist laser to fight them.

Again, Samantha collapsed as they reached the roof.  As Farah brought out the toolkit, accepted it, saying "Alright."

As Farah engaged the bizarre monsters that now ascended towards them, Sam returned to her suit.  It was awkward trying to expose the backplate but eventually, she positioned her legs on either side of the battery so that all she needed to do was lean forward to examine the unit...

As expected, she found an issue with the power feed...Sam found she was able to fashion a bypass around the alien tech.  She would have removed it outright but with the creatures baring down on them, Sam knew the suit's speed was necessary.

As she finished the splice, she felt herself regain control of the legs.  She stood, pulling the suit closed once more.  She turned in time to see a creature mantle the roof.  She smirked under her helmet.

A dark blur collided with the monster.  Sam watched the shrieking thing plummet, satisfied.  Turning, she looked for a new target...

Laser beams hissed through the air as they made contact with fabric, then scaled flesh. The MIB's, clearly inhuman in how they scaled the walls and bent their long bodies at odd angles, roared in pain as Farah used her beam rifle on them with vengeance.

The aliens though, brought out their own devices- some kind of boxy weapons- that, as they aimed at Farah, caused objects to begin crushing in on themselves by some advanced alien technology. Farah uses her rocket booster to evade the attack, having no visual indication save distortion in the air. She takes cover behind the large condenser, as their sonic resonator pistols slowly crush the metal like crumpled paper.

With Sam using her suit's super speed, the surviving Alien G-men focus fire, and turn their sonic weaponry the ground around her to disable her movements. Not far in the distance, Ellie's personal helicopter was in view. Help was coming very soon...

As the roof of the building seemed to heave below her, Sam was driven to her knees to keep her balance. Spiderweb cracks riddled the concrete, frighteningly close to her face. They were trying to drop her into the building...

"Bullocks," she cursed to herself. Bracing herself, Sam raised a hand. Sceaming out all her rage and hatred, she unleashed the last of her accumulated static. She was blinded for an instant by the flash.

As the bolt struck its mark, the roof opened into a small family room. Sam landed, clad in a grey bodysuit, one a wooden coffee table. It collapsed under her. A frightened couple looked on, then glanced up at the hole in the ceiling...It would have been comical if not for the MIB coming to check on her...

"Fire escape?" she asked, glancing at the couple. They poined to a nearby window. Steel scaffolding was just visible from where she lay. She was already moving as the table was turned to splinters. The couple lept away as well, seeking safety.

Samantha, nothing more than a grey streak was up the steel stairway in moments. Pausing to orient herself, she found a target. Again, she was a blur of fury, years of impedance feeding white hot rage. Rage that for now seemed to compensate for her lack of skill as she hurled an elbow into the nearest alien...

The aliens were now in a bad spot. Their agents, physically no stronger than humans, were sent flying with Sam's furious blows. A power armored soldier and a speedster were too much to handle for these mere infiltrators, and they did not have the time to call for reinforcements. Still, one hidden infiltrator took aim at Samantha from the cover of some ruined debris, intent on killing her...

But just then, the Company's unmarked Helicopter Gunship hovered over the carnage, An honest to goodness minigun spraying the hidden alien's position and turning it to past. At this point the police and emergency services converging frantically to the scene. Ellie herself personally landed via rappelling line, watching her scanners as the aliens were in retreat.

"Samantha... Let's pull out of here. The aliens are routed, but we have other problems to deal with." Ellie asked of Sam, well, more of a command given Ellie's rather straightforward and commanding personality.

Farah though, was a bit more observant. She jetted down beside the Engineer. She gestured Ellie to let her handle it more delicately. "Sam, it's over... we can go home." She offered her hand to Samantha, her tone kinder than their employer's.

OoC:

Samantha's gaze moved from her employer to the Diva and back. She was breathing heavily, unused to the strain. Finally, she found enough breath to speak. "Yes, mam," she said simply.

Nervously, she climbed into the helicopters transport compartment and strapped into a seat. She saw...something coated her hands. She tried to wipe them off on her legs, then just took them off. Next came her helmet.

Seeing a headset hanging overhead she reached up and noticed her hands were shaking. She clutched her hands together, bowing her head as if in prayer. Adrenaline was a drug: it could be addictive, it could give you a high. And when it ran out, it made you crash.

And crash poor Sam did. She shivered as she wept, tears flowing over her fists. Why couldn't she stop shaking!?

Try as she might, Sam shook the entire way back.