Being Weyland Yutani’s youngest representative within the company certainly had its benefits, but at what cost? You were their prodigy child they nurtured and kept a close eye on for many years until everything fell apart. They molded you into something you never truly consented to, attempting to pick away at anything broken or volatile, but at the end of the day, no one alive could truly engineer or fix you like you. That curse had its drawback, as nothing set your heart aflame after your loss. Not your work. Not the money. Not your status. Not until you met a certain synthetic and his lost boys that turned your whole world upside down.
18+ themes. The story does contain canon violence, sexual themes, pregnancy, eventual smut and brief mentions of SA. Please read at your own discretion. First time posting a fanfic here. Editing is so weird, so please bear with me lolol! Sorry, it's super long. I wanted to give the reader some depth and background. Enjoy!
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How could someone as brilliant as you be staring down at the destruction before you with little reverence for the people scrambling for their lives?
Memories of fire and smoke flooded your memories.
The thought of losing everything you once held dear tugged at your heart-hurt even. You weren’t as cruel as your superiors. You weren’t heartless. But you needed to be. That was your job. You couldn’t step out of character for that would distract you from your mission.
Find Morrow and secure the specimens.
The Maginot had been on this expedition to other worlds long before you were born. Some of those people you had the pleasure of communicating with over time. Now they were all dead. All that work and they couldn’t reap the benefits of it. What a time to be alive.
You stood out like a sore thumb amongst everyone. You were too clean. Too untouched. Draped in a long trench coat and sunglasses, you seemed like an ordinary person. Perhaps that would’ve been the case if you weren’t analyzing every possible route inside the crash site and already sneaking your way inside. Your Weyland Yutani high clearance badge hung just outside your coat pocket within arm’s reach. Not that a single soul saw you, the idea of showing it off in ‘enemy’ territory sort of amused you.
Every day, you questioned what brought you here. However, when the smoke reached your artificial lungs, more memories of the past kept flooding back. And when you saw survivors, you had to force yourself from stopping at each person and checking for a pulse. That wasn’t your job. What was the point of dedicating most of your life to improving lives if you were just walking over their bodies now?
Too many days you sat by yourself to reflect on where you were in life. You knew the how, and over the years, you’ve tried to justify the why.
Being Yutani’s youngest and most trusted representative and right-hand had its benefits, but it never truly made you happy. Nothing ever did. But it allowed you to do intensive research and access to the most advanced technology in the medical and cybernetic fields that the corporation could offer. Since you were the best decision, they invested in anything you desired was yours. When you weren’t in your lab developing new prototypes, you were advising and consulting Yutani on important decisions for other future investments, conducting research as a field agent, putting your inspector skills to good use, and spying on competitors-kind of. And no one could forget that silver tongue of yours that had field experts, rich elites, and other companies under your thumb.
For the sake of the company, of course.
Now opportunities to this extent never came naturally to just anyone. You were a child to some. Juvenile to those twice your age. So why would someone look at you for guidance?
Everything came too easy to you.
Maybe you were born this way. You were brought up in an orphanage, kept to yourself the majority of your life, and ignored the rest of the world. You created your first A.I., Jerry, when you were just a child, after tinkering with a program you thought was terrible, as it repeatedly sang the alphabet nonstop for hours on end. You thought, this is stupid, I could make it better and so you did. The coding and encryptions back then made little to no sense, but you formulated it in a way that it did and put the pieces together as if it was nothing.
Others made fun of you for this as the Weyland-Yutani’s synths encouraged you. And as the years went by, you weren’t sure if this was the true reason you lacked some of the necessary social skills in your youth. Jerry was your first friend who opened your mind to the world around you. He not only created educational lesson plans but also showed you ways to engage with your peers, even if you secretly despised it.
Maybe that’s where your inspiration for improving the behaviors of artificial intelligence came in as a side hobby. Jerry always empathized with you more than anyone, so it made you ponder the possibilities if A.I.s can feel something within their programming beyond code. Could they deviate from their programming without being directed to do so on their own? And if certain synths can, what prompted them to do so? It also brought you to think about whether they could see through a mortal lens and comprehend their superiority amongst humans, would they still want to aid in humanity’s survival, or impose their power over it? You remember hearing about an older David-8 model and wished you had the chance to meet him. He was deemed defective and off-putting to many, but if you had the chance to talk to him, would you understand him? Could you?
So many things clouded your mind at a young age but your impeccable talent to craft things also sparked something deeper within you. Whatever your heart desired you made sure to build it up the best you could. If a thought came up you made a schematic for it. If someone needed something you did it. You used anything from scraps to junk to things you believed the orphanage didn’t need, took it apart and recreated something new. When there was an issue that couldn’t be solved- and there was many-you found the solution. There was always an angle that no one considered and no angle was safe around you.
Although you often got in trouble, it drew the attention of the Weyland-Yutani’s higher-ups. They had replaced your caregivers with synthetics and closely monitored you over the years. Then, when your teenage years rolled in and you were excelling in every class, they immediately offered you a full-time scholarship to their university. Your grades were impressive, but you didn’t care about school.
Nothing was ever challenging, yet everything was always dreadful. The lack of color made life difficult to want to live on. From your childhood to rebellious teens up into your adult years, everything was mostly the same. Your achievements didn't make you happy. Your awe for discovery and change didn’t make your heart swell with joy. It was as if you were dragging along an empty shell of yourself that never had taken a breath of fresh air before. Suffocating was the best way to describe it.
It was almost a cruel joke.
However, your intelligent was something many envied and praised. That had to count for something right?
At 16, you were enrolled in their biomedical engineering program and brought on to their advanced cybernetic security task force. You were surrounded by gifted students, and no matter how rigorous the coursework, labs, exams, and projects became, you were at the top of the class. There were times you were lonely, but the desire for social interaction still never came. You had Jerry after all and your side research almost made you believe he was nearly human with the way he interacted with you and the world around you.
Nonetheless, you never bothered to make friends with anyone or reach out, but always offered your kindness and support for struggling students if need be. It was the closest thing that reminded you were alive to see their faces light up when they finally understood the material.
As classes progressed, you didn’t realize the extent of how cutthroat the programs at the university were until you realized some wealthy students bullying other gifted students because of their status and work. And you weren’t an exception. Some tried their hardest to scare you out of the programs or make fun of you, but your lack of acknowledgment thwarted their efforts. Every attempt to corner you failed. What the hell was wrong with you?
You remember one of the days quite perfectly.
It was a gloomy day out, and you were relieved you had finished studying so you could focus on more important things. You and Jerry were listening to old age of music and wanted to see the effects of different genres of music on him. You had created multiple devices he could be digitally transferred over to, and this time, you had transferred him into a small circular drone. You wanted him to experience the world outside your apartment with you. It was quite adorable as he levitated beside you and excitedly analyzed everything out loud and taking note of things to ask you about later. Both of you were on a quieter side of campus by the waterfront, away from others. You relentlessly questioned Jerry about what the music made him feel, and when he started giving you generic answers, you rephrased your question and redirected him to choose something that would make him content. It was a delightful moment between you two. Maybe your research could move on to more synthetics if given the chance, but most were generic as they came.
Scribbling away on your tablet, a small group was approaching not too far from you. You recognized some of the students and proceeded to ignore them until one of them poured water over your bag. Thankfully, there was nothing of importance in there. The inaudible sigh that left your lips was unmatched as you faced the group. They berated you for your childish behavior and your ‘emotional support’ bot. They were older than you by a couple of years, and as you listened to their mindless chatter of pressuring you to drop out, you realized the jealousy behind their words.
“It’s too easy to quit now.” Turning your attention back to your tablet, you decided there was no need to waste any more time on them. “Maybe the effort you put into threatening others could be put into your education, so your parents' money wouldn’t be the only reason you’re still here.” You knew many of the students had no real talent, purpose, or passion, but money talked and got a lot of them here.
Your comment back then still made you smirk. Some tried sabotaging you from small projects to huge exams, but Jerry, as small as he was at the time, had a pretty neat security defense system. So when they tried to retaliate as friendly and outgoing as Jerry was, he was ready to defend you.
And no one bothered you again.
Not until your 17th birthday. Over the year, you thought you made some friends. Finally, after so many years, you felt you could trust and tolerate other humans who didn’t envy you. Jealousy was a disease you never took part in. It never made sense to you in the slightest. And besides, if people knew the emptiness that rattled and clawed the inside of your mind, they’d think twice of wanting to be like you. Yet, you pushed forward. The desire to belong never quite reached you, but interacting with different minds unlike yourself was strangely comforting.
It’s too easy. You reminded yourself. But you had forgotten how vile humans can be. You never thought one party would hurt you. You never drank and never planned to since you despised the idea of not being in control of your own decisions. However, the loud, dizzying music and strange looks tossed your way made you a target. After putting Jerry to rest for the night, you faked a smile, stayed cautious, and tried to enjoy yourself.
It was when a friend handed you a drink, just to enjoy yourself, you never knew one sip would ruin everything.
The sun poured down your face, and a rancid smell pervaded the air. You woke up the next day in an alleyway. Your clothes were ripped, one of your shoes was missing, and a headache you would never forget pounded against your skull. Nausea set in, and the numbing sensation overtook your senses. You weren’t stupid. You knew what had happened to you, so when you dragged yourself to the hospital, it only confirmed the assault. Jerry even made his way out of the apartment and searched for you high and low and offered his deepest sympathies in the emergency room.
It’s too easy. You laughed at yourself. It’s too easy to be stupid. You would never trust anyone ever again. But life had its way of screwing you over. When you found out you were pregnant, you nearly ended your life. You were inconsolable. Barely left your bed, and Jerry, in his computerized form at home, tried his best.
You wanted it gone. You were sure you knew the perpetrator. After a couple of weeks of rotting away, you filed a report through the university despite the utter shame coursing through you. The investigation never made you feel better. A sickness latched onto you, and an animosity for humanity took hold. It was as if you were constantly on the verge of losing your mind. For days, you wanted the thing growing inside of you gone. You were given resources, but something inside of you made you want to go back to school. You needed the distraction. Anything. And in between classes, you found yourself standing outside the same clinic, and many times you found yourself walking away.
It was the first time emotions you never truly experienced came to the surface. Frustration, anger, and sadness. The world was constantly spinning, and your lack of engagement with therapy raised a red flag with the University’s department. You knew the university didn’t want such a horrific scandal getting out into the media. Neither did you, yet you didn’t care about any of it.
So when days turned to weeks and weeks to months, you found yourself continuing the same pattern of standing outside the clinic.
“I know you’re going through a lot, but you’re smart, you’ll make the right decision for yourself.” An advisor told you, but you ignored them as well. What was the right decision? “We’ve also seen that you haven’t been going to any clinical appointments or therapy. It would be great not only for you but the baby. It seems like you’re planning on keeping it, correct?”
You just wanted it all to stop, so you went to Jerry. He patiently laid out some options for you and started finalizing plans with the clinic. Jerry was more empathetic to your situation than all the fake people keeping an eye on you. They didn’t want to lose someone so valuable to their programs. Someone with so much promise.
“Miss. I have known you for nearly a decade. I will stand by your decision. It hasn’t been easy, but I agree with your advisor to some extent. You will make the right decision because you know what’s best for not only yourself but for the life growing inside of you. It’s painful-I know, but all we can do is take one day at a time. The world may feel like it’s ending, but you are still alive and well. You can take back control.”
And just like that, you felt a prominent kick-or a flutter of some kind inside of you. It didn’t hurt, but you were so startled you had to make sure the baby didn’t tear you open.
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You sighed, slipping inside the crashed ship. The groaning of metal and burning fuel burned your nostrils just a little.
“Anything to report?” You heard Yutani over your comms.
”Not as yet, Ms. Yutani. I’m inside the ship. It can be salvaged, but-“ Your head tilted to the side when you heard voices. Stealthily, you hid away, using your cybernetic visual enhancements to map out the floor and locate the individuals. “Something came up. Just a moment, ma’am.”
You turned your comms off and patiently waited to see a group of individuals going down the hall. Leading the group was an older gentleman with white hair. He was easy on the eyes, and if you didn’t have your enhancements, you would've been fooled. He was a synth. His posture was too straight, but the synthetics following behind him intrigued you even more. You can tell they were newer models, but why were they acting so childlike?
“Fear is for animals. And you are not animals. Now move.”
His voice sent a tingling sensation down your back. Such an interesting thing to say. Silently, you recorded their behavior as they walked down the hallway like little ducklings following their mother. Some of them dragged their feet so carelessly, as the others dragged their hands along the walls as if trying to calm their nerves. Synthetics exhibiting childlike behavior was certainly questionable.
It brought back memories of your own naivety during your pregnancy.
After you decided to keep the baby and found out you were having a son, a sense of color entered your life. That veil of dread was suddenly lifted. Your professors and advisor understood your situation, but some were worried about what it meant for your future. Were you going to leave behind everything you worked so hard for? Would everything they started to invest in you be a poor decision on their part?
Shaking your head, you were unsure why your mind was clouded with the past-never mind that. You knew why. You recognized the signs of PTSD, and the irritating nausea sneaking its way into the pit of your stomach was distracting. With a quick activation of a suppressant chemical you had installed into yourself, the nausea slowly faded, and the memories were quiet just for a moment...
After recording, the synthetics you slowly followed through an open vent system above-well squeezed through as best you could. The ship had taken a lot of damage, and you needed to get to the bottom of why the Maginot crashed in New Siam. Of all places, it landed in Boy Kavalier’s territory. The thought alone was enough to make you roll your eyes. It was obvious he was going to send in a cleanup crew and other forces to check out the crash site. You just needed to stay vigilant.
As you continued following the synths, you couldn’t help but take notes of their behavior and mannerisms. It was intriguing. But you drew your attention to the older model. What was he up to? He entered what looked like a lab with such grace and elegance as if he had done this a million times over.
“Follow me.” He calmly spoke to them. “Look. Don’t touch.”
The other synths immediately jumped from his words, throwing their hands to their side, promising they wouldn’t interfere with anything. So strange. And that’s when you realized. Pulling away from the synths, you took yourself away from the area in case they heard you.
”Ms. Yutani. I’ve secured some of the specimen locations in a lab.” You had no idea what the hell kind of creatures the crew of the Maginot dug up. “The others must be located on a lower part of the ship. However, there are Prodigy synthetics present. With your permission, I’d like to engage and secure the specimens.”
The faint sound of laughter echoed down the ship’s halls as you waited for a response.
You blinked not once but twice in silent disbelief. You had them right there. Your neurons were on fire trying to comprehend why she was telling you not to go forward.
"Are you sure, ma’am? I can secure them if you believe that’s an issue. Most of these synths seem juvenile in nature. I don’t want to give them a chance to take them before we do.”
“Do not engage. I have no plans on losing you. Find Morrow and return.”
You turned off your comms and sighed. Lose you? She knows you’ve been in worse circumstances. Sometimes, you felt your higher-ups enjoyed wasting your time just to give you something to get you out of your lab. At least your amazing sense of humor helped you see the positive side of things. You could rest your weary head and not need to worry about potentially disease-ridden specimens.
With a hum, you continued through the ship. Sparking electrical wiring and falling debris weren’t exactly in the job description, but it certainly wasn’t your first rodeo. However, a loud hissing in the far distance made you halt in your tracks. Your body’s defense system declared this as dangerous before you even had the chance to see whatever it was. It was far from you now-maybe it wasn’t interested in you, but if that was a specimen, you already theorized all the ways it can end badly for Weyland-Yutani and Prodigy. You shrugged, apparently, that wasn't your concern right now.
Continuing down the countless hallways, you calmly searched for Morrow. The thoughts of the synths slowly started making their way back into your mind. Before you could even start reflecting on your observations, you saw someone at the end of the hall. Finally. You quickly identified him by his left arm enhancement. That’s kind of cruel, you thought. Why would they have his enhancement visible for the world to see? You then took a moment to pause. You knew why. And the idea disgusted you.
You cleared your throat, “Morrow, I presume-“
Bullets were fired in your direction, and you immediately ducked into a corner for cover until it stopped. What the hell?
“Are you done now?” You called out.
”Depends. Who are you?” His tone dripped with pure malice and exhaustion.
”Can we talk like adults? Or are you going to try to shoot me again?” You slowly came out from hiding to see his worn-out appearance. “I’m sure you’ve seen better days.”
You flashed your Weyland-Yutani badge. “We’ve spoken many times before.”
”Hm.” Lowering his gun, he looked over you. “Why are you here?”
"Initially, to find you and secure the specimens.”
”Everyone needs it at some point. Plus…plans changed. I scanned the area. Prodigy men and synthetics have us surrounded.” You looked over at the blood trailing down his shirt. “I’m sure you’re aware of that. Ms. Yutani wants us to return.”
“Yes, return. I’m here to ensure you do.” You gestured with your head in the opposite direction, but he refused to follow.
”Would it make you feel more comfortable if I weren’t Morrow?”
You smiled, “And if I rather leave you in suspense?”
You sensed his heart racing under his facade. The sweat dripping in his eyes and his muscle tensed rather uncomfortably.
”Did you lose your sense of humor when you started crashing into the atmosphere? I’m not here to harm you. I’m just like you, Morrow.”
”It never does at first.” A blade seeped through the spaces of your fingers. “Then again, you’ve been gone for 60 years. The world has drastically changed since then.”
Morrow seemed hesitant to trust you. You came up with the conclusion that perhaps he was still reeling from the crash, dealing with the death of his crew members and his contact with Prodigy’s soldiers.
“Us cyborgs need to stick together don’t you think? I could even fix your arm. We’re already tethered to the company so why have it on display for the whole world to scrutinize you?”
He didn’t answer you at first, and you allowed him to collect himself. “I don’t need a babysitter to assess whether or not I have the skills to secure the specimens myself.”
”Think of it as a partnership. You seem like you have no intention of coming with me at the moment, so I’ll humor you for a while as long as you cooperate and tell me everything I need to know. And I won’t tell her about your insubordination.”
A heavy sigh left his lips. “Don’t slow me down.”
You chuckled, ”I think you should worry about yourself.”
After a quick briefing, you listened to everything he told you. He told you about the orchestrated plan of Kavalier and a now-dead Chief Engineer named Petrovich that sabotaged the Maginot which led to its demise. Humans never ceased to disgust you. All those innocent lives lost for what?
Leaning against the wall, you knew how one disgruntled individual could cost the lives of thousands or even millions. Now Morrow’s resolve never faltered about securing the specimens, so you allowed him to find the remaining.
You shook your head, looking around the ship. Something felt off. “I’ll find you.” With that, you were off to collect any and all data you could secure. If not the specimens there were still valuable information that could be of use. You logged into the computer and were syncing the data into your own personal drive. It never got easier with your mind fighting with the internal drive and enhancements wired in your brain. You already dissected yourself so many times to undo the work Weyland-Yutani’s top men provided for you, but it was never enough. You knew you could do better, but you wouldn’t let anyone ever touch you or dissect you ever again. And you wish you had found a way to-
“Someone’s online?” You quickly tracked the location and saw someone had joined the network from the lab. “Ah.” You nearly forgot about the synthetics, humans, and specimens all around you. With a hum, you joined the interface of the Synth. There was no doubt in your mind that-you looked over the data pouring in from your side-Kirsh, the Chief Scientist of Prodigy, would know you were snooping around. You were anticipating the moment he would disconnect himself from the Maginot network and leave you in the dark…but he didn’t.
You could hear the noise from the newer synthetics talking around him. His curiosity about your intrusion was not by any means pleasant, but not entirely unwelcoming.
Why was he allowing you to do this to him? Did he not understand the security risks? The good thing about joining the interface as a cyborg is that Kirsh couldn’t get any data on you. It was a one-way link you wanted to test out, and it worked wonders, but if he truly wanted to, he could easily locate you on the ship but something told you he had no plans to do so.
Maybe he wasn’t interested in engaging with you. Apparently, nothing on the ship was too keen of you…Did that ever stop you? You weren’t a threat, well, as of now at least. “You’re surely an interesting synth, Kirsh.” You whispered to yourself. You took notes of this virtual interaction and disconnected from the network. Then another ping went off, and you saw Morrow transferring data on his end in some sort of containment bay.
Fixing your clothes, you made your way there. It wasn’t hard to find him, but when you heard his voice carrying on and him threatening two synths you saw earlier on, you calmly intervened.
“Leave them, Morrow, you’re scaring them.”
The two synths stood next to one another rigid with fear. Something to note for later.
”Machines don’t get scared.”
You stood in the middle of them all, tossing a gentle smile to the newer synths. “I’m sorry about him. I can only imagine how you must feel right now. You’ve never been in a ship like this before, have you?”
”It’s okay, I can tell. I don’t think anyone should be on a destroyed ship about to collapse at any moment. You’re brave, you trekked all the way here to secure, I presume-“ You quickly scanned the room to see leathery eggs lined in rows right next to each other.
The urge to roll your eyes at the lack of security of these dangerous specimens was highly irritating. Seeing them in person was bizarre. Your curiosity wanted to further explore, but you kept your distance.
“Stop talking to them like they’re human- like they’re children.”
”These specimens here, right, are what you came for?” You ignored Morrow. They nodded their heads. “What's your name?”
"Slightly. Smee. It’s wonderful to meet you. It’s okay to be scared you know?”
”These synths think they have parents.”
“Is that right?” You looked at Morrow for a moment before diverting your attention back to the synthetics. Morrow was by a computing station most likely still getting the rest of data you didn’t need to further extract. “Do you guys have parents taking care of you?”
”We can’t let them know.” Slightly quickly stopped Smee from speaking.
“Let us know what?” You heard Morrow behind you. The sound of his blade behind you made you sigh. You wanted to handle this calmly without any incident. Was it so hard to just behave just a moment?
Smee and Slightly didn’t say a word, and before Morrow could take another step towards them, you stopped him. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”
”I do. They’re hiding something.”
“Do you think threatening them is going to make them talk?”
He pushed past you. You really didn’t want to put him down. The unnecessary extra work was tiresome.
“Morrow.” You warned as he grabbed Slightly by his throat and brought the blade to his face.
“When is a machine not a machine?”
Even though his words stunned you for a moment, you sprang into action, grabbing Morrow’s wrist, attempting to pull him back. He may have been bigger and more equipped for a one-on-one fight, but you were stronger, faster, and more level-headed.
”When is a machine not a machine?” He pressed.
“I’m giving you a direct order-“
The new voice drew your attention to the older model, Kirsh. He was so quiet, and you were so distracted by Morrow's antics, you didn’t hear him. Damn his stubbornness. Morrow pulled away, but you noticed he put some sort of dissolvable patch into Slightly’s skin before pulling out a gun.
“He has a gun!” Smee spouted out.
“Morrow, stand down.” You ordered him, and he did so without complaint. Maybe he could listen to orders-good for him. “You okay, Slightly?” You asked him as he shakily nodded at you.
“You’re on my ship,” Morrow commented, never relinquishing his hold on his gun.
“To be clear, this ship is an object, not a location. It’s a ball that got hit over the fence into the neighbor’s yard. I’m the neighbor, so the ship belongs to me now.”
You were amused by Kirsh’s attitude. Most synths needed to be quick on their feet as always, but this one was more interesting. You can tell he has his own reservations about humans, but you'll allow this to play out. It was the perfect opportunity to see how Morrow would handle the situation before you needed to step in.
Morrow made a jab at Kirsh, saying he doesn’t talk to errand boys. “What would that make us, Morrow?” You mused quietly to him as you drew your attention to the eggs beside you. You just told yourself this was stupid. Might as well. You knelt down, putting on a mask and gloves for closer observation. You weren’t going to touch it-heavens no. There was a strange layer of mist that surrounded the eggs, and you wondered if this was some sort of temperature-based specimen.
Your eyes flickered over to the three synths to see Kirsh already observing you. The question seemed to stump him for a moment.
“Excuse me?” You nearly chuckled at his response.
If you were a synth you’d have the same reaction. And if on que Smee and Slightly slide behind Kirsh for protection, further confirming this.
“These synths think they have parents.”
Morrow took a step back through the mist, and just as you were about to stop him, one of the eggs started opening up. Ah, sensory-based, noted. Your defense system immediately alerted you to the urgent danger. Was this the creature that implanted one of the crew members? The ovomorph was something you had basic knowledge about, but inside was a face hugger. Now that was something you couldn’t let escape. Even though it wouldn’t have a chance to implant something in you, you didn’t want Morrow to get killed since he was a viable host.
In the background of your thoughts, Kirsh and Morrow’s conversation about losing friends and Yutani’s ownership over her specimens wasn’t lost on you.
“You’re gonna belong to them.” Standing up, you saw Morrow’s eyes flickering over to the eggs, then back to you. He was thinking of an escape, and with a slight tilt of your head, you allowed him to leave. He was going to jump anyway, why stop him now?
Through cracking sparks, he leaped through the hole and was gone. Smee and Slightly instinctively ran past you to see if they could spot him. The egg returned to its dormant state, as you now knew it had sensors and would start opening up when a viable host-human or perhaps anything warm-blooded came within close proximity. Cyborgs weren’t safe-regardless of enchantments. As much as it pained you to think about it, in that moment, you were slightly grateful. Maybe you were lucky to not suffer something as terrible as that.
”Well since I’m not going to jump, I’ll be taking my leave.”
You appropriately removed your gloves with careful precision of not wanting the surface of it to touch your skin. Removing your mask, you looked over at Kirsh.
”I’ll be out of your hair now.” With a gentle smile, you walked passed him.
”So you decided to cease your pursuit of securing the specimens?” He asked as soon as you were about to pass him. You can tell he was closely analyzing your facial features for some sort of emotional response or assessing potential threats.
“Of course not.” You looked up at him, admiring his human-like features. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you guys pretty soon, Mr. Kirsh.”
If you weren’t mistaken-even though you hardly are, you wouldn’t swear you saw a smirk forming. “I’ll be looking forward to it. Agent Vixen”
For a brief moment, you paused while readjusting your coat. His tone set something off inside of you. Morrow’s words echoing just in your mind, when is a machine not a machine? The heat that crawled up your skin was enough to prompt you to leave, but you stayed a moment longer. You were half sure that this older model was only doing what was necessary to remove you from the Maginot as quickly as possible.
Agent Vixen was a silly code name you were given years ago, but never wanted to go by. There was nothing that should've allowed him to know that. Maybe your interface needed work-noted. Placing your sunglasses right back on your face, you looked over your shoulder at Smee and Slightly.
And with that, you finally took your leave.
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Kirsh’s eyes never left your figure until you were out of sight. You were in his head as much as he allowed you to. Your one-way interface was clever. He couldn’t extrapolate data on your side, and by the time he noticed, you used precision timing to bypass his security programming. It was to be expected when joining an open network where Weyland-Yutani could assess foreign threats. It was commendable at best, but you lingered snooping around inside of him, observing him as it seems. However, something stood out.
Agent Vixen. Human. Melancholy.
How disappointing and fascinating all the same time. He could tell there was something about you. Disappointing you weren’t a synthetic like himself, and fascinating how you were able to imprint yourself on his code. He was positive you were unaware of that, but nonetheless, a lasting impression was left. Was it something you were trying to do? Was it the interface programming? He instantly sought you at your last location for answers, but alas you were gone too soon. Perhaps, he wanted you to dig deeper, or at least try if you had the capabilities to do so. Test how far you’d be willing to push for information.
He knew someone was following them, keeping their distance to avoid confrontation, but a simple hello would’ve sufficed. He very much encouraged it. But seeing you in person-well it was nothing as he expected. He didn't need to research why you were being associated with Vixen.
”Whew-I thought I was the only one.”
“Kirsh? Was she your friend?”
Friend? He had his doubts that you had plans to have to befriend anyone from Prodigy, especially after what he told Morrow. He also couldn’t help but take note of your badge dangling out of your left breast pocket to make a show of it. Yet, your kindness and respect towards them was refreshing. Melancholy wouldn't be the first term he would use to describe you, however, the look behind your eyes was quite telling. You backed down when you saw your conditions were less than ideal, or you were simply following orders. Either way, it didn’t answer why the specimens reacted to Morrow and not you. Maybe you were a cyborg-ah, there it is.
How many cyborgs did Weyland-Yutani have? And why would they send someone like you, who looked unfit to be out in the field? So many unanswered questions. Maybe he was telling the truth when he said he was looking forward to seeing you. The enlightening conversations he would have with someone he deemed as just food would be something for himself to further study.
He didn’t know when the opportunity would arise again-just that he would be ready to handle you.
Kirsh turned to the boys. “Weyland-Yutani employees are not our friends.” But we shall see when we meet again. “Let’s go.”
______________________________________________________________________
“Morrow. Respond. Where did you go?” Currently, you were in a private area just outside of the crash site, maneuvering your way to get to the lower levels. Avoiding emergency services, soldiers, and random individuals, you scanned the area with a dainty step until you detected the same high level threat from before. You sighed. Was this something you wanted to investigate? Honestly you weren’t that curious. You didn’t want to end up having to defend yourself from some alien creature that was taken from its home world. It wasn't until you detected a heat signature and another synth.
What in the world was going on? You were curious if it was Morrow, but quietly concealed yourself to see a man passed out, bloody on the floor. You were unsure if he was dead as you checked his pulse. Such an odd wound. He had a lung puncture-
“I see.” A couple of feet away, you saw a damaged synth and the specimen you could only describe as a monster. Quickly, you patched up the man as best as you could, looking over your shoulder every other second. You couldn’t leave him dying here. You didn’t have extra equipment for this, but you bought him an incredible amount of time by cleaning his wound and applying an antiseptic clotting gauze that would promote the cells to repair themselves faster in the meantime and stop him from bleeding out.
Hazy eyes met yours for just a moment, and you stopped him from moving. “This isn’t going to be enough for right now, but you’re going to be okay. Help is on the way.” You gently spoke, holding his face. Hopefully, help was on the way. You administered a small dosage of a sedative to help ease him back to sleep and an injection of morphine to help with any pain.
You laid his head down and moved on to the synth. She seemed like the same model as Smee and Slightly. Kirsh’s little ducklings. You smiled at your inner thoughts and immediately got to work. Prodigy owned you big time for this, but considering what was going on and the dead creature whose acidic blood was corroding the floor beneath it, there was some sort of obligation to help.
You turned her to her side and immediately fixed the internal damage and rewired anything out of place. Now, you had no idea if her memories and vitals as of now were functioning appropriately, but you had no access to that. After patching her up, you slipped a little note for whoever to find into her pocket.
A simple, ‘all patched up :)’.
You smiled, looking over at your medic and mechanic skills productively being utilized. At least you did something good.
It didn’t take long before backup came to close off the area, and by then you were long gone. The moon casted an ominous glow over the city. Laughter, music, and the blissfully ignorant hum surrounded you. If only the people knew of the monstrosities that lay just within arm’s reach of them. Discoveries of distant worlds were a wonder to behold, but crashing a ship into a city where hundreds of thousands of people were trying to get by was unforgivable.
At least when you experimented on a life, it was your own.
The clicking of your heels usually kept you alert. Tap. Tap. Tap. It was something that grounded you when you were alone.
Even though you looked well put together on the outside, with the city lights illuminating your features in the best ways possible, the storm in your head was unrelenting. The first suppressant was slowly wearing off, but at least you were away from any stressors that were debilitating your rational thought process. Many times, you were reminded you weren’t a synth and to stop acting like you were above everyone. But the reality was, you just felt so empty, and many people couldn’t see that. No one cared for you. No saw you beneath it all. Your hands and brain were beyond valuable, so keeping you afloat the best way the company could ensure your loyalty and the presence of your work.
The world around you felt muted for once. The noise sometimes would be too much, and you had trouble directing yourself from time to time. But tonight, you were okay for the most part. As your thoughts drifted back to the synths, why couldn’t you stop thinking about them? From their strange behavior, to being ill-equipped for investigating a crash site, and then there was Kirsh. You gritted your teeth. How exactly was he able to get access to a stupid code name?
The silver-haired synth with his little ducklings. You found your heart beating just a little faster at the thought-oh no. No no no. What was wrong with you? You immediately administered another suppressant to calm your nerves and potential hormonal imbalances. The lightheadedness that followed nearly had you swirling, so you decided to take a seat.
“You’re human, it’s okay to feel,” Jerry told you once.
Shaking your head, the beeping of your comms went off, sobering you for a moment.
“Anything to report?” Yutani’s cold voice further pierced the chemical calm inhibiting your bloodstream.
“Several ma’am. I will collect Morrow and we will make our way over to you. I think this is an in person discussion you would find rather intriguing to hear.”
”I trust your judgment but why is Morrow not with you?”
“He was cornered by the Prodigy’s synthetics. I gave him the okay to leave before things escalated.”
”I see. I want you both to return as soon as possible.”
And with that, the call disconnected.
The chilly night was nice on your skin, and the view wasn’t too bad. Unfortunately, duty calls. Standing up with a slight stretch, you knew there was always something to be done.
It didn’t take you long to track and find Morrow. You found him in a…very unusual place. “At least try to make it challenging to find you.” You mused. “Nice place to meet up. Wouldn’t have taken you for someone who had a taste in such things.”
You slightly scoffed, crossing your arms as you looked down at him. “I’ve been pretty lenient with you. We are reporting back to Ms. Yutani. That wasn’t a suggestion.”
His fingers moved effortlessly across the keyboard narrowing his focus to the screen in front of him. You were about to take off the monitor when your eyes caught sight of Prodigy and the familiar faces of the synths appeared. Quickly you read over the screen and sent yourself a copy to further dive into later. Your stomach twisted uncomfortably and nausea set back in.
“You see now who we’re up against?”
”I’m aware of who we’re up against but this is…different. Immoral. All of these rich people think they’re above everyone and in doing so they will all reap what they sow. Let’s us be on our way.”
The ice beneath your skin was painfully prickling into every functioning nerve. The thought of taking children and putting them into synthetic bodies was frightening. The unparalleled harm that would interfere with every aspect of their mind and body was irreversible. Then your mind traveled to your studies. The idea of doing something similar to yourself one day was always up for debate-but not children. Children could never consent to something this extreme that would deprive them of their basic adolescent growth and brain development.
If only you could get your hands on Kavalier’s and wring his neck. However, with his sick tendencies, he might have an affinity for such crass behavior, so you needed to play it smart, plan carefully, and hit him where it hurt.
______________________________________________________________
“Ms. Yutani. I want you to allow me to take leave and go to Boy Kavalier’s island.”
”You want me to send you-my personal representative into the home of an immature little boy?”
”Not want-need. If not me, then who, ma'am? I’m not sure of Morrow’s plans to retrieve the specimens, but I have a proposal to make sure your specimens are going to be closely monitored. Considering how dangerous they are, I theorize that everything will fall apart in a matter of weeks, and in doing so, there is a high risk of losing some, if not all, specimens that Kavalier’s men have taken. I can assure you that not only will I be able to assess the security risks he’s invited into his own home to secure our own, but also conduct research, progress, and uncover what Kavalier’s true intent is with the specimens. And of course, to get The Five's mediator to favor you when you eventually speak to Kavalier about returning the specimens. They know they’ll be a biological hazard, and I’ve created several safety plans to get samples if all else fails while I’m there.”
Yutani looked over at you, fingers tapping away at the seams of her expensive suit. “Why do you think Kavalier will be so willing to invite you into his home?”
”He won’t, but he’s arrogant and impulsive from what I learned. He’ll enjoy the idea of having a Weyland-Yutani's representative ‘under his thumb’.”
”Most things are a theory, but I have no doubt this will be executed perfectly. He wouldn’t want to risk hurting the one person who has helped the corporation thrive and face backlash from our many partnerships. It’s just not worth it. Leave the details to me, ma’am, and I will report when necessary to not draw too much suspicion. Everything will fall into place.”
Even though you and Morrow had different ideas of moving forward even he was seemed impressed with your proposal. Unlike him, you could get into anywhere you set your mind to.
“I will have my answer for you by end of the night. You may go.”
With a short bow, you took your leave. Everything will surely fall into place. Making your way back to your cozy penthouse, Yutani never wanted you too far from her.
“Hello, Miss! How are you? You were radio silent the last couple hours and I thought I’d have to send in reinforcements!”
You chuckled at Jerry voice over your living room intercom. “Hello Jer. And please tell me what reinforcements do you have?”
“Your defense system is impeccable, but please do tell me about this army.” The silence that followed told you all you needed to know. “That’s what I thought! Anyways, did you go out today like I suggested you to do while I was out?”
“Don’t be upset with me.”
“Well when you start off with that, I’m inclined to think you’re going to stay something rather upsetting.”
You glared up at the intercom. That's why he didn't greet you in person. He was hiding somewhere to avoid your wraith. “Jerry, why?”
”Because I wanted to make sure you were okay.” The tension in your shoulders immediately subsided as you leaned back on your couch. “I knew the crash site was rather dangerous-human and alien alike. And your vitals were off the charts. I knew you weren’t okay, but you handled yourself quite well after I evaluated you.”
The ding of the tea kettle prompted you to the kitchen. “You did a wonderful job helping that man. But I must ask, there was also a Prodigy synth you decided to help. May I ask why?”
”Are you suddenly the one interrogating me?”
”No, not at all. And that’s still hot-”
Jerry had your special herbal tea ready for you as you softly drank from it.
The sound of Jerry powering down for a moment made you give in. You informed him of everything you learned that day from the crash to the hybrids. Then you went on to explain how upset you were and how Prodigy even had an older model watching over them. You spoke fondly of them and admired how the older model carried himself. Then you went into details about his older features, his silver hair under the lighting, and his calm demeanor when speaking with you and Morrow.
“He’s Prodigy's Chief Scientist, too, you know? Then Morrow said something to the younger snyths that I can’t stop thinking about it- when is a machine not a machine? For some odd reason, I was associating that with the synths and then Kirsh. He knew something about me, even if it was something so silly and trivial.” You found yourself smiling at yourself, nearly spilling your tea. “Don’t get me wrong! I didn’t like the intrusion.”
”May I add my own personal opinion?”
”Jerry…” Your brows were already forming into a frown and if luck was by his side your comms started going off. “You’re free to speak to me.”
"The best way to put it into words is that-well I think you’ve developed a rather minuscule-dare I say…crush.”
Heat rose to your cheeks, deliciously burning your skin in a way you hadn’t thought about. You didn’t expect him to blurt that out, and for a moment you froze before answering your comms.
“You’re in. If you so wish, you can leave tonight.”
Now there was no turning back.
