Raising the Stakes (Saber)

[Grufurion]

Alice shot Jake a glance as she was already taking the helmet when he said she could do so. "I know that. It isn't rocket science to know when it's okay to take of a helmet..." she said as she tossed him the helmet. She then got off the bike slowly so she didn't irritate the wound on her leg, and faced the house he had pulled up in front of. "So, do you want me to hand my empty gun over, or am I allowed to keep it for now?" "Do you really need to bring that up? We could have just gone in without raising a question." "Honesty is always the best policy to follow."

[Saber]

Saber wasn't too far behind, appearing from the transport kiosk as everyone was gathering in the R&D department "How are they doing? Any improvements?" Bit was the first to speak up, waving the others off to get back to work "We'll be bringing them to the recovery wing, where they will go through a quick system restore. Mani4c will be fine, as always. But it's Baretta that concerns me." Saber narrowed his eyes as Bit left her sentence at a cliffhanger, not liking to be kept in suspense "...I assume you're going to tell me, yes?" Bit pushed her glasses up into place as she continued "The virus that this monster, Zeus, I believe I've been hearing it called, has damaged much of her code. More specifically, her personality matrix, that is part of how he gained control of her. While I can restore most of Baretta's logic data, her personality matrix was custom made...I'm afraid that like you, it will be impossible to return her to how she originally was...She's going to be dealing with actual emotions now, no longer artificial." Saber closed his eyes and lowered his head, his fists clenched as he felt some hint of responsibility for what happened "...If only I was watching over them...I wanted her to enjoy herself for once, have some fun rather than stress about work...If I was there, I might have been able to prevent it!"

Kate watched as Sam pulled out a flask and started drinking at the precinct, giving her a stone face as she silently watched it happen "Yes, well we have been a focus of larger enemies as of late. And considering the WNSC is half oblivious to the Megacorporations' true methods, I doubt any blame will be placed on them. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they played some charitable act after this, to improve their status with the populace." She crossed her arms as she tried to figure out who would do such an insane attack "...The corps wouldn't be foolish enough to attack their own source of income, and this is far too elaborate for any type of amateur hacker attack...Doctor Henry, what are your thoughts?"

Jake sighed when Alice glared at him for telling her she could take off the helmet, when it was obvious they were there "Heh, guess I kinda walked into that one." Once everything was stored away, He dismounted as well, and Alice asked him about her gun "As long as it's empty, I think we'll be fine, just keep it in your holster." He gave Alice a kind smile before walking toward the entrance "Thank you for being honest at least, it's hard to come across people who are honest. Usually you just get the nice people who have secrets that they keep, for better or worse." He waited at the foot of the stairs for Alice, wondering if she would manage "Are you gonna be alright? I know it's a small flight of stairs, but I'll help you out if you want me to."

[Mani4c]

Noxus looked at Saber when he started blaming himself. "Cut that out right now, you know damn well that you couldn't have done anything without being a fortune teller." Noxus walked over to Saber and put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, you're a right pain in the ass sometimes, and I'm not particularly fond of you yet...but, this was not your fault, so stop blaming yourself and focus on helping Baretta."

The Doctor ignored the conversation between Saber and the others, he was focused on scanning Baretta and Mani4c, who were currently hooked up to monitoring equipment that finished doing a deep scan of their code. "Got to love the firmware updates they made...Alright, Baretta's logic data and emotional code have successfully bonded! That means her emotions won't drive her insane, as for Mani4c..." The Doctor's fingers tapped away at the terminal, bringing up Mani4c's scan data. "He's none the worse for wear...how is that bloody possible!?" The Doctor double checked the data and got the same result, Mani4c's personality data had shifted slightly, but not enough to cause a noticeable change in his behavior, he was essentially unharmed from a near terminal viral overload. "This is impossible...how...ah, to hell with it. I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth..." The Doctor looked back at Saber. "You want me to wake them up now?"

Sam noticed Kate's look and scowled. "I know my limits Kate, and seeing as I've got 3 cops in the ICU from this fucking disaster, I'm having a goddamn drink. To hell with the regs at the moment." Sam's terminal let out a chime and she answered. "What?" <Message from the head of the WNSC Sam.> "Tell them to kiss the whitest part of my ass and leave a message, I've got shit to do!" <They say it's urgent.> Sam grit her teeth and punched the wall, denting the drywall. "Forward it to my office..." Sam stormed off to her office, muttering under her breath. "I'm going to blow that wrinkled old bitch's brains out at the inquiry...fucking suits."

Henry sighed. "All I know is that the attack was perpetrated by a gestalt viral entity known as 'Zeus', we know next to nothing about him, or his allies if he has any. But, we've been noticing an increase in rogue refugees as of late, avatars who didn't originate from anywhere near Cyber City. They've been packing the Red Light district, the Slums, anywhere with space to spare. I'm not a gambling man, but even I would put money on something big coming our way, and not something good."

[Prythian]

Mirror walked up to Saber, eyes blazing. "Stop talking right now! All that would've happened if you'd been there is that you wouldn't have had any possible surprise when the fight started. Given the trouble he caused without being prepared for everyone who showed up, how much worse would it have been if he'd known you were there from the start?" She jabbed her finger at him. "Or what if he'd controlled you instead of Baretta? We only managed to stop her because she's not designed for melee. You, on the other hand, are. Now instead of focusing on what might have happened, we need to focus on what did."

Domain leaned against a wall, arms crossed. "So from what I've gathered, we're looking at the possibility of more large-scale attacks, right? Once Baretta is awake and able to handle command again, there are some important things to discuss."

[Grufurion]

'That's too true for many,' Alice thought to herself as she followed him. She had to wonder why he was trying to be a gentlemen. Her injury wasn't bad enough to warrant any special treatment from anyone. "Yeah, I can get up the steps just fine." she said. She used her good leg to push herself up the stairs so she didn't agitate her wound, her hand gripping the railing with each step she took. "I'm a big girl, and can take care of myself... Thanks for the offer though, I guess..." She was looking away from as she said that, not wanting to be too rude towards since he was helping her get some medical treatment. "You don't act like it sometimes." "Not now, Niela. I already know I'm going to need a few stitches, and I'm not looking forward to it." "I'm sure you can handle it. You are big, tough girl after all." Alice said nothing as Niela finished, not looking forward to mutlpile stabbing by a single needle. All she could hope for now would be some strong pain killers.

[Saber]

Saber was still down that he couldn't do more, but he gave both Noxus and Mirror a nod in agreement. They were both right, in different ways, and he didn't have anything logical that could ever work as a valid argument "You're right, sorry. I got caught up in my own thoughts." Bit stepped forward and looked at the group, arms crossed with her glasses slid down near the tip of her nose "While I admire this friendly and reassuring banter, sadly, there isn't anything you can do to help us with their condition. Byte, the doctor and I have this covered. Saber, I'll need you to escort Noxus back to his cell. Cooperative as he is, he is still technically a prisoner until we have the secure community service sentence rooms set up. After that, you need to go have a rest in the barracks that we've constructed. They're compatible for multiple avatar use, so feel free to share with whomever you want, as we won't have enough for everyone right now until we have approval for an expansion." She smirked and turned to the doctor when he asked Saber if he wanted to wake them yet "As long as virus scans came up with no more traces of viral data, then yes, proceed."

Kate let Sam leave and deal with her business as Henry explained what very well could be a potential attack coming in the future "Three different dark-nets...If this is including the underground, we may have to push for a global alert status...What do you think the chances are of a full scale attack, and do you have any idea when it might happen?"

Jake nodded and made his way up to knock on the door. It took a few minutes for any response, but the sounds of several locks coming undone could be heard before a woman in her late 40s opened the door. She was slightly overweight, but only enough to keep some curve on her body, and still looked fit despite this. Her hair was graying slightly near the roots, and she was wearing reading glasses that were hanging around her neck. When she saw who had knocked on her door, the woman was practically in tears, walking up and hugging Jake tightly "Jacob! Oh thank god you're alright! When we saw the news, I feared the worst!" Jake hugged the woman gently with one arm, both grateful for her concerns, but also a bit embarrassed by her doting "Why would you worry, Lisa? I was trained how to shoot and survive by David." Lisa pulled away from Jake to look him in the eye "I'm your mother! Of course I'm going to worry about you!"

"He's a grown man Lisa, you don't have to treat him like a child. Especially one with the training of a marine. Now step aside and let him and his friend inside." A lean, muscular man, also looking to be in his late 40s approached the Lisa slowly let Jake go and stepped back, giving Jake and Alice a clear view of the gruff, gray haired man. He was average height, possibly 6 foot high at best, but his body was well toned and muscular. Lisa looked at the man with a coy, yet stern glare "Hens always dote on their chicks, Daniel, I would expect even an ex marine to know this fact." Daniel chuckled and started walking toward the entrance. However, walking seemed to come with a limp on his left side, as he approached Jake and offered his hand, which Jake happily took "Glad to see you two were inside when chaos struck." "Yeah, well a little limp isn't gonna keep me from taking down a rogue robot. And there was no way I was gonna let any of them get near me or my wife." Daniel looked at Alice, looking her over before offering him his hand, which, despite his firm, yet careful hold, was rather rough skinned on his palm from his war days "Daniel Derix, and this is my wife, Lisa. And from the looks of things, you're worse for wear. come on inside and have a seat, we'll get that fixed up for you." "I'll go and get the med kit."

[Mani4c]

The Doctor nodded and entered the reactivation command into the scanner's control panel, gentle pulses of energy began to flow from the scanner into Mani4c and Baretta to speed up the reactivation process. "There, now we just need to wait a bit."

The wait wasn't very long for Mani4c, who's injuries weren't as serious. after about two minutes, he let out a groan and sat up. His vision was filled with static and lines of binary listing off the various bits of software that were reactivating, thankfully the static faded after about ten seconds or so. "Ohhh, I feel like I just got fucking bodied by a maglev train." Mani4c pulled off his helmet and dropped it on the floor, sucking in a few breaths of fresh air. "Alright...I'm better now." He looked around and saw his friends, he gave a tired smile and stood, his legs shaking for a moment as he regained his balance. "Hey guys, glad to see you're all intact, even you Noxus." Murakumo shoved past Saber and Noxus and nearly tackled Mani4c, who had to grab onto the scanner to keep from toppling over. "MANI4C! Your're alright!" Murakumo sounded close to tears and buried her head in his chest, the viral avatar just rolled his eyes and smiled. "Hey, it'll take more than a literal mental breakdown to knock me out of the fight...but, they need to know."

Murakumo looked up and backed away, he relieved expression changed to one of nervousness. "Wh-what do you mean?" Mani4c's look became stern, and he looked at the assembled avatars around him. "You guys should be made aware of this now...Murakumo here is partly the reason Zeus got the drop on Baretta." He gave the group a moment to take the information in before continuing. "The three of us got into a scrap and Zeus took advantage of the situation...now, I am telling you this because I am keeping Murakumo close by for the foreseeable future, she's got her own issues to deal with and I want to help her." Mani4c's eyes had a fiery glint in them, one that showed he was dead-set on this no matter what anyone said. "So...if any of you lay a hand on her, I will make you regret it. She will be punished for attacking me and Baretta, but I'll handle it. She did what she did because she's got an obsession with me, similar to what Noxus has described the original Amp's behavior as, so I'm taking care of it. Understand?"

Henry sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I don't know...the Red-Light and Slums have always had the mindset of "You don't mess with us, we won't mess with you." And none of these Refugees seem to be showing hostile intent. But, for the sake of safety, I would have the North American Cyber City go to Code Orange at the very least. We should also alert other countries as to what's happened and tell them to be vigilant, but I'm not sure if a full scale alert is needed. Hopefully it isn't." Henry's terminal began to beep, alerting him to an incoming call from The Doctor, Henry decided to put the call on speaker so Kate could hear. "Go ahead." <Mani4c and Baretta are waking up, and Mani4c's already trying to defend another person who committed a crime, albeit a minor one compared to the shite we saw today...The avatar in question seems to be linked to that cyborg that Kate and Alexi encountered, but Mani4c is pretty much saying that anyone who harms her or tries to forcibly detain her is going to be eating through a straw...I think the Captain should get down here quickly.>

[Prythian]

Domain stepped forward away from the wall, uncrossing his arms. "Mani4c-" Whatever he was going to say was cut off when Mirror walked in front of him, holding up a hand behind her. "...Domain, you're not actually a member of the NPD, so this isn't your place to comment." She turned her gaze onto Murakumo, eyes intense... before turning into her with a flash.

She continued to stare at Murakumo for a while, saying nothing, just studying her before reverting back to normal. "Mani4c, none of us have any right to make that decision. That's something you'll need to talk about with Baretta. She's the one most directly affected by this, and only her and Kate have the right to make decisions like that. However, I'll agree with you that you can probably handle it and even potentially help her. All of that being said..." She turned back to Murakumo, eyes hardening. "...Your sword. Hand it over to Mani4c. Someone willing to attack one of us is not allowed to keep their primary weapon on them within the precinct. No arguments. Mani4c, if you're not willing to go along with that, you can't expect any of us to go along with your decision."

[Grufurion]

Alice felt a hint of apprehension as she reached forward to shake Daniel's hand. "Alice...Lamperouge, and it's a pleasure to meet you and your wife." she said, trying to keep her british accent from sneaking into her voice. However, she couldn't hide it completely. 'Hopefully he doesn't keep up with what's going on in the world. Any military person can see through my improvised disguise.' she thought to herself while letting Daniel lead her inside. 'This cut doesn't feel too pleasant, though I guess being an ex marine means you probably have your fair share of worse injuries." she said, trying to be as polite as possible.

[Saber]

Saber rolled his eyes as Mani4c went overboard again with his overprotectiveness. He was over his guilt spell, and now was getting tired of him playing the white knight. Thankfully, Mirror was the one to speak up, and he was proud of her for that "Gotta agree with the lady there. If Baretta says okay, I'm voting on program locks and weapon confiscation, until she's proved she can be trusted."

Kate heard Henry's thoughts on the matter of possible crisis, and kept a mental note of this that she would have to address with Sam once she was free. But right now her mind was on Baretta's well being, and Mani4c's impulsive and violent language. "I'll be in my office in a few minutes. If he wants to harbor someone tied to a killer, he's going to have to talk to me first and have a damn good reason to convince me."

Daniel chuckled quietly as Alice made a comment on him having his fair share of injuries "Heh, well, you're a straightforward one, I'll give ya that, kid. Where'd you find this girl Jake?" "I came across her when I was trying to avoid the robots. We met not too long after they all shut down." Daniel patted a wooden chair in the living room, pulling up another as Lisa came walking in with a decent sized medical kit. She set it on the table between the chairs before smiling at Alice and walking into the kitchen "I'm going to get some food prepared, you're looking a little pale sweetie. Jake? David? Do you boys want anything?"

[Mani4c]

Mani4c looked at Murakumo when Mirror told her to hand over her sword. "Do it." Murakumo nodded and pulled out a pendant than hung around her neck, the detached the pendant from it's chain and handed it to Mani4c, who put it inside a secure compartment in his armor. Noxus then spoke up, "Mani4c, she's a security risk, surely you're not serious-" "I'm trusting you aren't I?" Noxus was immediately silent, Mani4c's voice had suddenly gotten cold and harsh. "I'm not clamoring to put Amp or Justicar in chains, despite the fact that A: I have NO idea how Amp will react if Justicar is put under lock down, and B: you have tried to kill us more than once, and unlike Murakumo, you can't blame it on a mental condition...well, you could, but it would be a crock of bullshit."

Mani4c looked at the group again. "If you're willing to trust VIRAL of all people, who had expressed an explicit interest in wiping out anything he saw for laughs." 'Dick...' "-than you can pony up and trust Murakumo, and if you can't then tough shit. I joined the NPD to do the right thing, not to do what the law said was the right thing, and yeah, maybe I do try to save everyone, but if it makes up for being a shitty person in the past than so be it. So if my "White Knight" shit bugs you, then keep it to yourself!" Mani4c's voice had begun to get louder and louder as he ranted, he was beginning to lose his composure.

Murakumo put a hand on his arm to snap him out of his rant before he said anything else that might upset his comrades. "Mani4c, stop. I get why they don't trust me, but that just means I'll have to earn their trust OK?"

Mani4c sucked in a breath and nodded, "Fine, oh, before I forget." Mani4c opened another compartment on his armor and retrieved the box containing jewelry that he had bought Baretta before everything went to hell. He placed the box next to Baretta's scanning pod. "I spent good money on that, don't want to forget to give it to her..."

Justicar was currently being led through the NPD server by Rotor, he wasn't exactly sure where he was being led to however, he didn't really look around the server before leaving with Amp after the PariahTech raid. So, in the meantime, he was trying to make small talk. "So...you're the avatar who's operator passed recently. I heard about it through Noxus' network of spies before Halberd torched the Library." Justicar was silent for a moment, thinking of what to say next. "He was a good man, the number of commendations from before his passing said as much. You have my condolences, I know what it's like to lose people you care about."

[Prythian]

Mirror sighed. "Mani4c, I'm the last one to tell you to stop trying to do the right thing. But if you're going to tell me that because of that I shouldn't worry about how it might backfire on you and everyone else involved..." She took a deep breath, calming herself down before she got angry. "Quite frankly, for a while, I didn't trust Viral. I trusted you to keep him in control, and was prepared to handle it if you couldn't. I'm doing the same here until Murakumo proves worthy of trust. But..." She pointed directly at Mani4c. "Next time you get upset at your friends about this? Maybe you should take a moment to consider their feelings instead of just your own."

She spun around on one foot, storming out of the door.

[Grufurion]

Alice sat down in the chair Daniel had motioned her to, putting more strength into her good leg as she sat. "I just know this is going to hurt a lot," she muttered to herself. "Forgive me for not introducing myself as well, my processors were currently busy with something. I am Niela, Alice's avatar." Niela spoke. Rolling her eyes, alice held up her her arm with her terminal attached towards Daniel so he could meet Niela face to screen. "So, how bad do you think this cut is? Obviously it's going to scar, but I'm kinda hoping I don't need stitches."

[Saber]

Saber sighed and shook his head when Mani4c started getting irritable around the group when they questioned Mani4c's judgement about trusting Murakumo, and couldn't be prouder of Mirror for speaking her mind. He was going to say something, before he got an encrypted message pinging him. He tapped a finger to his temple and read the message "Just got a response back from Dagger. He's going to keep a watch over cyber Asia and update me if anything happens."

The main consol in the room started flashing, and Bit stepped over to see what the fuss was about "Well, it seems the captain wishes to open a communication channel." Kate's projection formed in front of the console, a not too pleased look in her eye "Mani4c, explain. Now."

"It's nice to meet you, Niela. Don't worry, Miss Lamperouge is in good hands. Jacob, go get my black robe from upstairs, would you?" Not questioning Daniel's request, Jake turned and walked away from the two, leaving Daniel and Alice alone, while Lisa was in the room next door preparing some food. Daniel took the time Jake was gone to explain why he was going to get the robe "Alice, I'm going to have to do my work with you having one layer of clothing off. It will be awkward, but I can't give a proper diagnosis on how your leg is doing unless I do. You only need to lower your pants down near your ankles, the robe will help keep you decent while I fix up your leg...And yes, it is going to hurt, but a small scar is much better than improperly healed flesh, trust me."

Jake returned to the dining room with Daniel's black bath robe, handing it to his surrogate father "Here you go, Daniel." Daniel took the robe and handed it to Alice. The robe was very baggy, and had more than enough cloth to cover anywhere she didn't want to be seen "I advise tying it tight before you lower your pants, so it doesn't fall off while you're getting situated. Just make sure to remove that belt from your leg first, or it's going to hurt like a bitch pulling those pants down." Jake's face flushed a little when Daniel mentioned Alice removing her pants, stepping out of the room and heading for the kitchen "I...think I'll help lisa prepare the food." Daniel chuckled and opened the med kit, setting aside the alcohol, surgical gloves, a container of numbing gel, sterile wipes, and the suture tools. "While you're in there, get me some warm water in a bowl and a cloth rag, I might need to wipe away the excess blood, so i can get a look at what I'm dealing with."

As Alice got herself ready for Daniel to inspect her wound, he couldn't help but be curious about this girl "So, where are you from, Alice? I noticed a faint accent in your voice, are you local or are you from out of state?"

Rotor glanced over at Justicar when he commented on Frank's death, and how he offered his condolences. He smiled weakly and shook his head "He was a good man, but incredibly foolish. He believed wearing the shield meant everything else had to be cast aside to uphold justice, even his life if it came to that...I just wish it hadn't."

[Mani4c]

Mani4c was about to respond to Saber's remark about Dagger being their eyes and ears in the Asian networks when Kathryn messaged the group. He saw the look in Kate's eyes and, in typical Mani4c fashion, immediately rolled his eyes dismissively. "Wow, 20 minutes in and already the brass comes in, you'd be great with IA, if Sam hadn't fucking gutted it that is." Mani4c's tone was becoming more and more agitated, whether it was because of the continuous debate or because of his nerves wasn't quite clear. "So, I guess I'll just give you the cliff notes version, seeing as I'm sure you're busy, and as for me...well, I'm getting sick and fucking tired of discussing this!"

Mani4c's sudden outburst cause Murakumo to flinch, he sucked in a breath and tried to steady his temper before telling what happened between Baretta and Murakumo, he continued with Zeus' appearance, the battle that happened immediately afterward, and finished with a detailed account of the argument that she had walked into. His temper had begun to rise again by the end of the retelling, and it was clear by the barely restrained venom seeping into his voice "So...in conclusion, I'm trying to help someone who's mentally ill from hurting herself and others, and somehow that's wrong! Well, unfortunately for you, Saber and even Mirror at this point. I. DON'T. CARE! I am sick and fucking tired of coming onto the chopping block because me doing the right thing is against protocol, or because, and let's be honest about why you're getting involved, because she caused more harm to ME than to Baretta, you don't like the idea of her being here because she's involved with that fucking cyborg that you and Alexi have such a hard-on for wanting dead!"

Mani4c jabbed his finger at Saber next. "And YOU, I want you to remember everything that's happened today, every goddamn word about how she's a hazard to people, that she harmed an officer of the law. So when you inevitably start screeching  at us about having Dagger join up with us if he gets that colossal stick out of his ass, I can remind you of that fact that he was more than willing to bulls eye a goddamn throwing star through your head because you DARED to get in the way of his "Mission"!"

Mani4c looked back at Kate with a furious look. "Oh, but that doesn't matter to you does it? Because Saber's backed up right? Of course, We avatars don't DESERVE to have a choice, because we're tools...that's how people see us, if we break, no big deal, we'll get a new one! Well, as an avatar who's been broken, and I mean BROKEN. As in, my insanity used to get so bad that I COULD NOT FUNCTION, I would like to say this...If you or any of your fucking peons, oh and that includes Alexi too...hell, I KNOW he'll take your side, because you've got him by the balls, figuratively or literally, I don't care! Regardless, if you have a problem with me wanting to help someone who's suffering, and this goes for every one assembled here today, FUCK OFF!"

Mani4c sucked in a breath, finished with his tirade, Murakumo began to back away from the approaching argument when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw the Doctor, he led her away from the group so she wouldn't see things get out of hand any more than they already were. "Lass, let's get you out of here now, my workstation is soundproofed and I'm the only one with a code to get in, you don't need to see this..." The Doctor flipped a switch on his sonic screwdriver to unlock the door, retreating inside with Murakumo and locking it behind them.

Justicar nodded, "He had much in common with Mani4c then...he always needs to save everyone. I was the same way once, and I still am for a select few."

[Prythian]

BLAM.

A target in the training room fell to the ground with a hole blasted right in the center of it, next to four others, each one shot identically. Mirror aimed her pistol once more, squeezing the trigger. BLAM. "He said it himself. She's obsessed with him. That means she's not predictable where he's involved. He himself compared it to Amplify's behavior!" BLAM BLAM BLAM. "I heard all about her original behavior. She literally stabbed Justicar in the back out of some misguided attempt to make him hers! And he expects me not to worry?!" She grit her teeth, letting her pistol vanish. Mirror slid to the floor on her knees, slamming her fist against it. "That damn idiot! He spends all of his effort trying to help us and keep us safe. Why won't he let us try and keep him safe for a change?!"

[Grufurion]

While Alice was glad Jake had decided not to stick around when mention of pulling her pants down was made, she also felt a little frustration at having no one to bicker at so she could exorcise some of her embarrassment. "Well, I'll give him points for being a gentleman at least," she muttered under her breath. After she fastened the belt of the robe tightly around her waist, and removed the belt Jake had used to keep her life blood from draining out, she finally sat down in the chair again after lowering her pants to her ankles. She was thankful the robe blocked any view of her unmentionables. This also meant that Daniel saw the gun she'd hidden behind her back in the waistband of her pants, and having to place nearby that was out in the open as she held it by the chamber. "It's out of ammo, so no worries. It's merely for protection anyways. Back on topic though, I'm from out of country, actually. Good ol'Britain."

[Saber]

Kate listened to Mani4c tell her about what happened during his time out with Baretta, as well as the battle with Zeus. To think there was actually a sentient virus that could control other avatars with a zombie virus code. But her train of thought started to turn to when Mani4c started picking fights with her and the other avatars. Rather than simply get even angrier and tell him off. Her expression softened, almost defeated one would say. Her projection rotated clockwise as she spun in her chair at her desk, eyes closed and brooding. <...Very well, Mani4c, she's your responsibility. Do what you must to help rehabilitate her.>

"Wow...Never thought I'd see the day where you would give up without a fuss, Kathryn." Baretta was laying on her stretcher, facing Kate's projection with a weary, but happy smile. Kate's eyes opened wide when she heard Baretta's voice, spinning to face her screen again. When she saw Baretta smiling at her, she was practically in tears <Baretta! Oh thank god, I thought the worst had happened! Are you alright? Have you run a system diagnostic?> Baretta nodded, her head turning to face the ceiling "I've been running one while listening to Mani4c pick fights with everyone in the room...All of my systems are green, but...I feel...Different..."

Saber glared at Mani4c when he started throwing Dagger's hostile his hostile encounter with Dagger in his face, yet again. To be honest, he was starting to get fed up with it, but this was neither the time, nor the place to address Mani4c's opinionated outbursts about his brother. Fists clenched, he turned and left the room, after confirming that Baretta was alright. If he had to hear one more outburst from Mani4c, he might not be able to hold himself back right now. He was long overdue to report back to Jake anyway, and see how things were on his end.

Rotor sighed when Justicar commented on how Mani4c and Frank were the same. "Well, that's where you're half-right. Frank did try to save as many people as he could, but even he knew there were some people that just weren't able to be saved. That is something Mani4c still has yet to learn. And if he has, he hasn't really shown it much." They reached a hallway, connecting the part of the server they were in to a branching gateway, leading down multiple paths. "I've heard about this new individual he's trying to help, apparently she's linked to the one who Frank sacrificed his life to protect his comrades from...Something that Captain Bale and Sergeant Petrovik frequently misinterpret as a murder, and the hands to be stained with his blood are that avatar's 'human' partner." Rotor sighed and led Justicar and Amplify down the hall, leading toward the isolation cells "I often wonder what it would be like to have human emotions, but when I think about how they affect one's ability to make logical decisions, ones that could mean putting the right person in jail or letting an innocent man go free...I'd rather stick with simulated emotions."

Daniel nodded when Alice said she was from Britain, after she had explained that her gun was harmless right now, and more for protection than anything "That's all a gun should ever be for, young lady, I'm glad you understand that...I spent some time in Britain when I took a three day pass during my tour overseas, it was a pleasant experience." He chuckled as he thought back to his time in England, some pretty memorable moments happened back then "I even met the king once, but back then he was still heir to the throne."

Jake walked back into the room after Alice had gotten comfortable, carrying a bowl with steaming water and a washcloth. He didn't stay long when Daniel started pulling the robe back far enough to show Alice's bloody leg, respecting her privacy. "Heh, that boy never was very good around girls his own age." Daniel chuckled and put some surgical gloves on before dunking the cloth in the warm water a few times, draining the extra water out before gently wiping the dried blood away from Alice's wound.

Once her leg was cleaned up, he got a good look at her leg and saw that she had a nasty gash running along her calf, and he couldn't help but whistle quietly "Damn, whatever attacked you must have gotten you good, kiddo...You definitely need stitches for this, lucky thing I have some numbing gel to suppress the pain...But I can't use that until I've sterilized the wound." He stood pup and walked over to the kitchen doorway, exchanged a few words with Lisa and Jake requesting a towel, then returned to his seat once he had one in hand. His tone was calm, but instructing "Alice, I'm going to sterilize your wound. This is going to sting a lot, but I'm going to have to ask that you try not to move your leg while I do this. I advise using that leather belt Jake gave you to bite down on, so you can vent from the pain, don't worry, I'll buy him a new one if you leave any marks." Once she was ready, Daniel took the alcohol bottle and the towel, wrapping the towel beneath where Alice's cut stopped, and proceeded to pour the sterilizing liquid over Alice's open wound.

He passed over the wound twice with the alcohol, before capping the bottle and using the sterile wipes to wipe away the excess alcohol around Alice's wound. He waited for Alice to calm down from the pain the alcohol no doubt caused, before applying some numbing gel all around her cut. "There we go, now we just have to wait for the gel to take effect, and I can get that leg of yours stitched up. In the meantime, why don't you tell me why you're so far from home? Do your parents know where you are?"

[Mani4c]

Mani4c sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Goddamn it..." 'You feel like a dick now don't you?' Mani4c scowled, "You're a mind reader Viral...sorry about what I said about you." Viral simply chuckled, 'I'm not pissed, seeing as you had a point, but I appreciate the apology regardless.' Mani4c nodded, "I don't get it, the Doc said that my emotional programming was clean...I've never gotten that pissed before." 'Look, it's probably the stress, it's getting to you and you needed to vent, I just wish you didn't direct it at everyone else. Just let me take over and get some rest, you'll be fine after that.' Mani4c nodded and looked at Baretta. "You'll tell her right?"

Viral didn't answer, simply taking control of Mani4c and closing off his connection with his other half. The viral avatar smirked, but it wasn't his usual impish smirk, he actually seemed genuinely happy. "You really need to ask? Hey Baretta, glad to see you among the living, if that cure didn't work I don't even want to think of what Mani4c'd do." Viral walked over and sat on the cot next to Baretta, his expression turning concerned. "As for what's happened to you...You're emotional programming was completely fried, Mani4c had to replace it, and you know what happens when Mani4c replaces personality code..." Viral became silent for a minute to allow Baretta to process what he was saying. "You've got completely natural emotions now, luckily you're pretty damn logical 95% of the time, so you should be able to control it for the most part." Viral picked up the box that Mani4c had placed next to Baretta's bed and handed it to her. "Mani4c got this for you, he also wanted me to tell you something, something important. But open the box first."

A voice came from behind Mirror as she tried to understand why Mani4c was uncaring of his friends concern. "Because he's an idiot with more hearts than brains...but that's why we love him isn't it Mirror?" The voice belonged to a woman clad in matte black combat armor, she had a multitude of weapons magnetically strapped to her back and her left hip, she held an armored helmet with a polarized visor and face guard under her right arm. The woman's name was Shepard, and she was Sam's avatar.

Shepard knelt down and put her hand on Mirror's shoulder, her tone was almost motherly. "I heard that you and Mani4c got into an argument over our latest member of the madhouse. You wanna talk about it? I'm a far better listener than Mani4c is."

Justicar chuckled when Rotor told him that natural emotions weren't for him. "I don't blame you, as the owner of true emotions, I can say that 4/5 times their a pain in the ass...but it's the other 1/5 that makes up for it I think, being able to feel things like love, or happiness...it's a beautiful thing." Justicar's tone was wistful, he seemed to be lost in thoughts of better times, or at the very least, simpler times.

[Prythian]

Mirror pulled back, standing up."No, this sounds like an attempt to get me to stop being mad at him. I'm not doing this, Shepard. I already told him I could see why he was doing it, so I don't need anyone to try listening to my point of view and countering it. The latest 'member', as you put it, is so obsessed with him that she attacked him. I felt her obsession. She's a danger to more people than just Mani4c, and she's a huge danger to him." She turned around, walking away, then turned back, finger in the air to emphasize her point. "And WHAT, precisely, do you think is going to happen when she sees Viral and Lilith together? I don't care how many times we try and explain it to her, obsession is not rational! She'll see Mani4c's body visibly loving someone else!"

"And how do you know logical decisions are the only way to make the choice between right and wrong?" Amplify wanted to know. "The logical decision, no real emotion involved, is that Noxus and Justicar need to be in prison, not being recruited. 'Proven criminals', people will say. 'Untrustworthy.' And yet I can assure you..." Her voice dropped a bit in tone. "...that imprisoning Justicar would be the wrong decision on multiple levels."