...still alive? ...still alive. (Slade)

[Mia]

Trudging down the streets of downtown New York after running like hell out of Gotham with barely her own body in tact she grit her teeth forcing herself to keep on going. Stopping wasn't an option, no not at this point...not if her creators knew she was still around. They were after her and something helped her to get away...but now she was all alone feeling like an amnesiac. Fragments of memories held by her data bank insinuating there were probably far more things than just damage, memories she could never ever get back. Errors were going through her head...something about loss of satellite connections and warnings that she needed to go into system recovery mode or else face the terror of a complete breakdown of her body shell becoming something worthy of sitting in a junkyard. Certainly junkyard owners could be nice...at least from what her memory allowed her to recall...but it was too early for her to go to a final resting place. There was research to be done and she had to cure more people some how some way...it couldn't end like this!

Looking as though someone smacked her with a pipe of some sort, the android with the appearance of a young woman got some looks as though she was more out of the norm than a zombie from the rare few people roaming the streets. Thick slash marks across her arms, stomach, and legs showed off that she was made of metal and wires, a robot, a human imitator. Icy blue optics shifted around, everything looked like a static TV to her and there were even lines obscuring her vision making it much more difficult to see. Maybe this really was the end of the line? Hugging a bloodied clip board close to her chest, she looked determined as can be, collapsing here in the snow wasn't how to end this. No way...this world needed a whole lot of fixing before giving up, more cures...or else those awful greedy people who want to make money on people's aliments were going to succeed. Why wasn't anyone helping her?

They were too busy gawking like a pack of short bus riding imbeciles and clicking away on their phones making calls, sending texts because it was so much better to gossip than help someone...er...something in need. Occasionally, she looked to her peers with a slight frown as though to silently say, `Something is terribly wrong with all of you...it's a pity...`. Honestly, she felt sorry for them all...but she had to get herself some help first. Maybe she should have retreated to that junkyard in Gotham, but no it was a horrible idea to stay there and didn't want to put the only person she was on good terms with in danger. What his name was she wasn't sure...there were lots of things she wasn't sure about and it only got worse during that scuffle with one of her creators that simply wanted her to stop existing so she wouldn't ruin the market for pharmaceuticals among other things. God forbid she actually figure out the cure to cancer and if she did it was gone as far as she could tell. With navigation a bit more than just wonky and a bit screwed up, she needed a break from trying to find a young genius who was rumored to be capable of helping her.

So she turned into one of the alley ways and walked a bit further, like about five feet before flopping onto the dirty, snow covered ground. Loosening her grip on the clip board, she lowered one of her hands down to the ground and watched from the shadows as people carried on with their lives occasionally working on rebuilding various things here and there. Strange...what could have happened that allowed a group effort of so many people pulling together? But before she could dwell on that anymore...apparently she wasn't alone..."Hey, looks like y'got lotsa stuff, let me give ya a hand..." those words were in a tone that she registered as insincere and dangerous so when the gruff looking man who looked like one of those scary thugs in prison that wasn't going to be anyone's bitch grabbed her by the shoulders as if trying to pull her up, she tried to speak but only static left her blue tinted lips when they parted in a poor attempt to form words. Closing her mouth realizing speech weren't going to work as she got herself up to her feet rather shakily, the guy blurted out, "Goddamn a BROKEN cyborg?! Eh...not much money in it for me, but your necklace will sell..." Just as he reached out for her heavily scuffed and scratched choker that looked like a sapphire oval in the center of something that almost looked like a pair of white wings or petals, her eyes widened for a moment a split second before grasping onto the man's wrist giving it a swift twist.

A blood curdling crack was sounded thanks to bones breaking...rubbing against each other in a way they shouldn't and before he could scream her eyes flickered a bit as electricity coursed through her arm causing the man to fall and convulse upon the floor soon as she released him from her tight grasp. Enough volts to take out a large bull...the subject was registered for termination, calculated as a large threat to healthy patients. Placing her high heel clad sole upon his head, she applied little pressure and simply squished his head like a small watermelon being smashed by a bat. In that moment she looked like some stone cold murderer that had no concern for human life, but seemed to go back to looking lost and trying to figure out where to go now. But...she didn't have too much energy...she wasn't too sure why either. Or...why when her gaze fell to the floor that there was a dead man at her foot...and why did she step in a corpse?! Maybe she didn't see it?

Lightly bowing her head in respect as though trying to silently apologize for disrespecting the deceased if that's what happened. This was horrible...she needed repairs right away...but speech wasn't an option...maybe her clip board. First though she needed to rest a bit...for some reason she felt her energy rapidly got lower. Leaning against the wall behind her as gently as she could, the android wished she was somewhere safe and sound....being on the run and damaged was a chore. Ripped up jeans from being smacked earlier and that nice white dress shirt of hers with frills and trimmed with lace didn't exactly look as nice as it should...though she managed to had a white rose clip in her hair with a rare few blood splatters. There wasn't much light so it'd be tough to see in the midst of gentle snow fall that gemstone upon the choker of hers looked as though it may have been some weird, extremely intricate chip that may not have even been normal technology. For some reason she couldn't help but feel as though for once she could possibly relate to an amnesiac...

[slade]

Slade wondered how he had managed without Eliza sometimes. The strange little girl had intergrated herself flawlessly into his plans and machinations so neatly, so finely it was like she had always been there. Always been watching the events of his chosen city unfold. Her minions better then a thousand cameras, then a thousand watching humans. They saw things and relayed the information to her who relayed it to Slade who decided what to do with it all... it was beautiful, a thing of craft. A perfect partnership. Slade hoped he would never have to sacrifice her for his ends but... needs must... needs must. As it was his body propelled his thinking mind from roof to roof towards the figure she had seen through her minions, towards a sparking damaged cyborg... he did not know her story but he might be able to use her.

Normally he would wait, observe her, feel her out, be patient but it seemed she was heavily damaged, she might have time, she might not. He had to see for himself. he knew more about this sort of thing then Eliza and would be a better judge in person... but her use was measurable as she told him exactly where she was, exactly where she was staggering to. It worked, it all worked like clockwork. Slade liked it when things worked like clockwork. He liked it alot. Improvisation was fine, but planning was more enjoyable. But right now there was not much of a plan to be truthful, he was just in an all out run to get to her, taking the shortest distance between two points... the sky.

Slade's hand extended catching a drain pipe and hoisted his body atop the square building, his feet crunched soundlessly on the gravel as he landed the flip foward. There was a sheer brute intensity to traveling in this manner. He did so enjoy it and an excuse for a 'walk' was never a waste but the time for moving from building to building was over. Slade walked to the edge of the building and looked down. There she was a true to life being of metal... maybe a robot, maybe a cyborg but it was obvious she was damaged, was hurt was... quite capable of taking care of herself. He just stood and watched curious as she first broke the man's bones, then fried him with a burst of electricity and then... the finishing blow. Even from atop his perch he heard the crunching of the man's fragile skull and then... she seemed confused, bewildered, unsure. As if she didn't know what was going up. Within his mind Slade upped the amount of damage she had sustained, so far the tally was less then encouraging. He toyed with the idea of just turning around but... to leave a resource like that unguarded, unused... it ran against his very nature. And he had to move fast... as the snow fall down upon her he watched her slump down against the wall... she was falling.

He had to make a move now. Leaning forward he leaned and leaned until his body was just beginning to fall, his body now paralel to the ground, withdrawing his legs he shoved them violently against the edge of the roof and spun his body forward. Continuing the spin he kicked out again forward this time, letting his knees bend and absorb the impact before kicking out a third time, using the force to propel him to the opposite wall, he continued this till he gracefully reached the ground and stood magnifiently in front of the damaged girl. He narrowed his eye in speculation briefly before deciding on a tact. His eye widened in concern as he darted to her, staying just out of reach as he looked at her. His voice oozed calm concern.

"Miss are you okay? Miss can you answer me? Nod if you can hear me?"

He watched her for a moment before deciding.

"Miss. I believe you are in bad shape. You seem to be blowing through power at a high rate but I think I can stabilize you. Is that okay with you?"

Reaching into a hidden pocket he showed her a variety of tools in his hands. He kept just out of reach, ready to dart back if needed.

[Mia]

Slippery ice walls were certainly a chore to deal with and quite frankly something she disliked dealing with but for some reason she couldn't stand on her own and she hadn't a clue why. Maybe all the rest in the world wouldn't help her....maybe this was it and she had to just accept living in a dumpster for the rest of her days just as her creators longing her destruction had hoped for. Happy endings weren't a myth, they just weren't always destined to happen for everyone in the world is all. Placing her palm upon the surface she had been leaning on occasionally sparking, more so when a little piece of snow decided to land upon her. Wincing a bit as she tried to get a grip on the wall and adjusted her legs so it looked like she was sitting upon some invisible seat, digging her heels a bit into the ground so she wouldn't completely land on her pretty little butt. Since her gaze was averted downward, her eyes widened in a bit of shock when a pair of feet and legs suddenly got into view which gave her a great deal of concern as much as what was left of her AI could muster up. Tilting her head upward a bit so she could see who in the world she was dealing with...some patient with only one eye...?

Not really being one to judge based sheerly upon appearance, she didn't think him dangerous merely for that, besides his composure read off sincere concern and thought it appeared he could be hostile, he wasn't. Well at the moment anyway....he even sounded the part when he asked if she could answer him but she muttered something so skewed by static like some messed up radio that it couldn't even be deciphered. So when it came to his request to nod if she could hear him, she nodded slowly with a smile across her lips that was nothing short of nervousness and trying to keep hold of optimism that maybe things were going to turn up a bit. Wait...he was willing to help her and at least get her a bit more stabilized? Thinking about the benefits of such a notion, maybe it could get her to where she needed to go...wherever that was, then be in tip top shape? Of course she realized that such an act of kindness would probably be followed by some sort of payment and all she had was the offer of acquiring information or even a satellite then be on her way to cure the world or something close enough to it like a city. Or even offering some of the cures she had already developed...well after unscrambling the data.

Looking to the tools in his hands with a look that pretty much said `Really?`while slowly moving her hand over to the clip board, gently tapping her index digit upon its surface. In the event he was able to decipher what in the world she was telling him, it pretty much went something like, proceed with caution but at that point she slid down the wall and would pretty much be sitting on the dirty floor of the alley. Dropping her hands to her sides, loosely holding her clip board with a slight frown wondering how things got to this point...normally she was good at avoiding such devastating attacks...but everything was getting a little fuzzy and difficult to remember in that department. How this fellow was going to help her, Mia really wasn't sure but all she could do for now hope is that he'd be successful in at least making it possible for her to walk.

[slade]

Slade spoke in a soothing monotone voice as he reached forward an gingerly probed her stomach, he looked at the wiring exposed and frowned in concentration. The design was quite advanced, more so then even his own creations. This long term fixes were quite beyond him. That would take a special type of genius... but he could patch her up good enough... for the moment. He slowly pulled some bits of 'flesh' from the area he was working in and holding out some of his tools he went to work. He kept a running commentary as he went.

"Now the first concern is this power drop you seem to be going through... hmm it seems the power regulator is stuck in full blast, I don't think I can restore the regulation right now but I can trick it returning to normal levels of flow, you just will not be able to raise your power to higher then normal levels till we get you some better help. Hmm... this seems like it is a little close to these nerve systems. Hold on. This might sting. I would appreciate it if you kept still while I do this."

Delving into her system he soldered small wires together and twisted others together. It wasn't a perfect fix nor an elegant one but it would keep her power from feeding back into her an causing more damage. He worked quickly and deftly as his hands pulled in and out of the gaping wound.

"Now this will just about do it... there. Now keep in mind we need you to keep from straining till I get someone who can fix you up to full... I know someone who will be able to help once we get you to him. He will be happy to help... besides it's been too long since we saw each other. I just know he has missed me."

Grinning within the helmet once more Slade turned his attention from within his own head to the robot in front of him. He knew what to do next to help cement their relationship.

"Now how about we get that voice up an running. I am going to need to know your name. I can't keep calling you 'miss' makes me sound old."

He reached upwards and traced wires to parts and parts to wires. He gazed at the damage absolutely motionless for a moment before continuing.

"Ahh. I see with the regulator busted your system was sending too much power to the vocal system, burnt out some parts. Now I don't have replacements but a few bypasses should get things up an running... twist that, solder that... connect that to that... and... there."

He patted her on the head kindly.

"Now... tell me. What is your name Miss."

[Mia]

Like a soldier getting a bullet pulled out of their bodies in the Vietnam War, she just felt her version of pain more so than before as the wires were getting fixed up by this helpful stranger of a patient. The news he had wasn't bad but it wasn't full of good stuff either. Apparently her power wasn't being distributed properly and that meant using her defense mechanism wasn't going to be an option at all. Great...she'd have to figure out other ways to defend herself if the need for it arose and possibly dent her clip board again! Frowning a bit at his words giving him a slight nod to let him know she understood, that's when she braced herself for the errors and energy flipping out to get worse. Gritting her teeth a bit during the fixing process, her head hung low and tightly shut her eyes wishing for it all to stop and suddenly get better. This sort of damage wouldn't have happened if she was safe and sound!

Going back to Gotham was something she NEVER wanted to do again, especially after this! Partially opening her eyes with a frown that would make anyone with a heart want to offer her a happy meal to turn that frown upside down, those bright blue optics fixated on the damage across her abdomen seeing at least it didn't look so bad. Still...she looked like a wreck and pondered how it may not be such a good idea to walk around the city like this. Then again, really what choice did she have in the matter if she wanted to get herself close enough to new? Listening to his words and feeling a bit relieved that he was done stabilizing her power distribution, a slight smile crossed her lips as though she was trying to quietly thank him. Regardless of his soothing tone, she looked a little confused, maybe even slightly baffled that he was using the words `we` as though he was going to stick around as her escort for some time now. Maybe this whole thing was going to turn into finders keepers...she wasn't completely certain and didn't plan on dwelling on that.

Even if she were kept under his care long term, it didn't necessarily seem like a bad thing since here he was patching her up even if it was just a crutch sort of treatment. Thankfully, it seemed like he could get her more help! Good news, that was definitely a nice, wonderful change! Plus, according to the kind stranger, this someone would be happy to help AND look forward to the visit! Whether or not he was telling the truth, she couldn't be one hundred percent certain since she wasn't exactly in the best shape, so for now she'd have to trust in this man. As though to let her light blue lips with a gentle smile now across them hinted off she was a bit relieved for a moment, her composure shifted back to that of a little surprise when he said he'd get her voice working again. Mostly for the purpose of retrieving her name?

Well...that made sense...it was a logical and understandable question. It was a little amusing that he thought calling her miss made him sound old, to her it just sounded much more formal than most people walking around the street. Strange...for some random stranger helping someone they had just met...he seemed so focused on this whole thing as though he sincerely didn't want to damage her further. Certainly someone going so far out of their way couldn't be bad...misunderstood maybe but not someone completely awful. Yeeeaaah...it didn't surprise her that she'd need some replacement parts and she wished she knew how or where to get them. Once the temporary fix was completed, she blinked per pat on the head...not...really used to that expression. Since she couldn't access her database for now, the android hoped it didn't mean something negative.

Listening to him request her name, promptly she responded in a mechanical tone that sounded almost lifeless, "P...Project...World R...Re...flec..tion.....you...m..m-may...c-call...m..me....M...Mia....." The smile across her lips as though trying to be polite in her response regardless of how dumb she probably sounded almost made it seem like she shouldn't sound like that. Sitting there wondering if it was alright to move, she spoke in the same tone....yet it almost seemed as though there may have been a bit of emotion trying to shine through, "Th....th..thank...you.....p-patient....wh-wh...why...a..are y-you....h-hel...p..ing....m-me...?" The composure upon her features seemed to hint off a bit of nervousness, like being unsure if she may have said something out of line and didn't mean to be rude. Making sense of this would be nice...it wasn't every day someone would be willing to go out of their way to help so much.

[slade]

Slade paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to respond to this simple question, so many ways he could answer... but he decided to go with the simplest of all explaination. The truth. The truth was such a wonderful tool when used at the right place at the right time. Used right it was better then a thousand lies.

"Well there are several reasons... one I don't believe anyone, no matter what deserves to die in a filthy alley unable to even defend themselves as their own body betrays them. There are many ways to die in this world but no one deserves that..."

A bit of heat went into his last words as memories popped into his head, memories of a past life... of someone he once knew... that was banished as he instantly went back to his soothing monotone as he continued his little adjustments to her cooling system.

"I will be most honest I do plan on asking you to help me on my chosen task but... not know. Not till we get you up to a hundred percent. Don't get me wrong this is not due to a great big heart pumping in my chest, it is simple pragmatism. I will be the first to admit I have done some things some might consider wrong but everything I have done is for a reason."

Slade looked up to her face and gestured at her.

"It's simple, let's say I reprogrammed you, made you over to do my bidding. I set you on my foes, I revel in their destruction... and then one day at the wrong moment a old bit of code reactivates old programming and you return to destroy me. Willing allies are much more desirable in my war. But more on that latter. Right now I think I got you stablized enough to move... what do you think Mia?"

[Mia]

He...thought of her dieing like a normal human being? But...wasn't it obvious that all she would be is an obsolete bundle of bolts? Frowning a bit as she listened to his words...she was a bit touched...as much as an android with advanced artificial intelligence could feel anyway. Slowly and rather shakily, she placed her hand upon his shoulder with a great deal of care despite the slight twitch of her digits thanks to the slight malfunctions continuing to plague her. All in an attempt to offer him a silent sense of comfort...though she wasn't at even eighty percent...it was clear that it was something somewhat profound from the way his tone was processed. Thankfully, she was functioning much better than before and there were obvious signs of improvement. Such as someone with basic knowledge on androids would probably see how if it weren't for the repairs to control her distribution of energy, it would have been at about this moment when he was repairing her cooling system that she'd shut down.

Leaving her hand in place since she just recalled he requested her to stay still...it was best to wait until he was done. Wait...he had a task in mind for her...? Not...good...but it would be a bad idea to try and escape. He have have known about her history in Gotham and quite frankly that was NOT somewhere she wanted to go again. No...no...never again...though she wished to help patients there were those who just didn't want her to exist due to the damper she'd put on their money making schemes. Those foolish creators...if only her lead creator didn't vanish. If he wasn't helping her out of kindness...then it couldn't be anything wrong.

This man said so himself...he's done things others wouldn't exactly approve of. Wait...why did that seem so familiar...? Pulling her hand away to rest it at her side, at this point she looked rather distraught...and his next set of words as he looked directly at her while gesturing in her direction were...unnerving to say the least. This man was planning a war and wanted her to take part in it?! Why was this happening...she wished to develop cures...not destroy lives...but if he restored her back to 100% then...well..maybe things would get more clear. There were so many patches missing...as if there was something missing but not quite...just scrambled and hard to decode. Regardless of his help...there was no way she'd instantly agree to aiding in a war...maybe he knew nothing of her after all and had it stuck in his mind she was meant for combat.

A part of her bitterly thought of how foolish that was regardless of how many positions one could take place in for war. Though the destruction part certainly insinuated the role of a soldier. Fool...and suddenly the negative moment flickered away making her wonder what was going on all over again. Whatever the case was it seems like he thought she should be able to move around and about normally. It was worth a try! With one arm she clutched the metallic clipboard to her chest and placed her palm against the wall while slowly using her legs to push herself up to full height. Holding out her hand toward him as though to assist in helping him to his feet, the look upon her face just...seemed almost sad...but that was silly a robot couldn't possibly comprehend sadness, right?

"Pa...tient...do...you...need assist..ance?" Saying those words in a robotic fashion, it was almost as though she pushed his words to the darkest depths of her remaining memory...well up until she lightly exhaled and continued speaking and looked a little...contemplative, "...oh...h-h...how...rude....of...me.....I-I....sh-sha...ll.....c-co...nsi...der....y-your...re..quest....when...th-the ti..me....comes..." In the event he took her hand, she'd brace herself and assist in pulling him to his feet with care. Buuut if he denied her help then she would simply bring her hand toward her side and hope he wasn't going to get upset for not being all `OH SURE I'LL HELP WITH YOUR WAR DERP!

[slade]

Slade reached out to grab her hand and with a surprising amount of strength pulled her to her feet, his other hand grabbed her shoulder to steady her. He gazed downwards at her hops and his mouth moved silently in calculations of power use and distance. A conclusion instantly reached he looked back in her eyes, his own single eye looking to her with a dark determination.

"Okay two things. One my name isn't patient, it's Slade. I should have introduced myself earlier Mia and I do apologize for my rudeness. Secondly even with those makeshift repairs of mine at your current status... you will not make it two city blocks on your own legs much less the short cuts we need to take so I am going to have to be a little more forward then I like to be on a first meeting..."

Pulling on her hand to take her just a bit off balance so she could not object his hand on her shoulder scooped down to the back of her knees and finding a grip started to lift, in a smooth motion his hand holding hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder and slid it down to her back as he lifted. Suddenly she was in his arms in a firm grip, gentle but absolutely firm. Without a moments hesitation he started to run to a nearby wall and he jumped, his forward most foot finding purchase somehow and propelling up the wall at a remarkable speed, he lashed out with the other foot and hooked the railing of a fire escape and pulled the two towards it landing gracefully on it's balcony and that done he started to walk up it's stairs ignoring any protests from the woman in his arms.

"It's simple, we are gonna have to take a shortcut if we are going to get you to my friend before any more malfunctions take your systems... and the quickest route between any to spots is a straight line, sadly I can not fly but I can do the next best thing..."

His feet reaching the roof stopped their slow steady accent and began to dart across the flat roof, carrying the two across at great speed... right for the roof's edge... and at the last moment he leapt, his legs taking him across the gap to the opposite roof. Without slowing down he kept running across heading for the next gap.

"Besides... travel is more fun this way."

Slade's last comment was said with a wry tone.

[Mia]

The android with blue locks and a pale skin tone managed to maintain her balance with the masked man's assistance and....well....it didn't seem like he was anything remotely close to the average human. So much different from the remaining knowledge she had on the moral, human race that it was worth researching this subject once he was done helping her out. Perhaps the results could be an interesting turn out...but right now she was thankful to be on her feet and getting herself mentally ready to start walking wherever they needed to go. However...that pause, a moment of calculating silence made her wonder if this patient was alright...but just as she felt inclined to ask he began to speak once more. That and the gaze...it...something didn't seem right and actually gave she, herself a moment of pause. It...felt familiar...well back the what he was saying....he didn't want to be called patient...he...wanted to be called by his name Slade? Alright...that seemed fair enough...but the second one was a terrible thing...she wasn't going to make it on her own without his help.

It seemed as though he also felt rude which she wasn't exactly holding against him but perhaps she was being viewed as a little rude for just calling this Slade individual patient...though it was a form of politeness from what was working of her programming understood. Unfortunately there was a bigger problem than worrying about proper manners. That just so happened to be relying on someone to such a degree was not only foreign but dangerous as well. In this condition, self defense was questionable since she wasn't built for such a thing and her reaction time was worse than ever even with those makeshift repairs. ...wait a second he said something else...something about being more forward than he'd normally like? What was that supposed to mean anyway? Calculations for such a solution were going far too slow to give her any good results considering her eyes widened a bit when she was quite literally swept off her feet.

Letting out a static infested gasp and even though the grip was gently firm, it was like what human traits she had remaining in her A.I left kicked in as a form of reflex allowing her arms to rest around his neck as though she needed that little additional security. More so because she REALLY didn't wanna break and cease to function. Now THAT would have been horrible since she still remembered her main purpose and goal: to help people. Honestly though she was quite baffled by how someone could lift her considering her weight being well over average and made scales want to cry by stepping on them. Regardless it was clear his strength and stamina was capable of such a task and allowing him maneuverability without being a major burden. How much time she had was uncertain due to her energy monitor being on the fritz and only registering in her equivalent of a mind as a bunch of binary gibberish. Looking a little shocked at all the ninja antics going on, she gave the suspicious yet kind man her attention once more and listened as intently as she could to his explanation of what was going to happen...short cut to a friend of his for her repairs?

Well that made sense...but was it a requirement to leap across buildings?! Certainly this couldn't be very safe at all...! Yet to him things were more fun this way..."C...caref-ful...S..lade." Trying her best to sound a bit worried for their safety, all she wanted to do was make it there without either of them being in harms way. Oddly enough though, the android did feel a bit safe...probably because of the grip and balance this strange man had....