#fic: recode

“Ophelia,”Leopold says. From the corner of her eye she sees him reaching forher, pleading with her. So unlike the man he was before. It’s pathetic. “Whatever you’re doing, you need to stop.”

“Ican’t.” That’s imprecise. She never would have made such astatement before because the truth is she canstop. She hasn’t crossed the final line yet and there is nothingpreventing her from closing the book and walking away for good. Amore accurate statement would be that she won’t.

Butin her heart, that fluttery little organ she has only recently cometo understand is so much more than flesh and blood, she knows that ‘Ican’t’ feels moretrue than ‘I won’t.’ She could no more stop than she could cutoff her own hand.

“Why?”he asks. He smiles. That too is unlike his former self, but shedoesn’t hate it. He used to smile at her—at it—likethat when he was pleased with her progress in imitating humanity. He’s hoping that shewill once again make a breakthrough. “I saw your face after you savedMack. It made you happy to do good. So do it again now, stop this andcome back to the Playground with me.”

“Oh,Leopold.” She shakes her head, but no sooner has she looked awaythan he speaks again.

“No.Don’t do that.” He sounds so much like her Leopold that itstartles her into giving him her full attention. “Don’t brush meoff like I’m one of your NPCs. You think this is the right thing todo? That this needs to happen? So explain it to me, help meunderstand.”

“Allright.” She steps back to sit on the edge of the circle—not amystic circle, but one made of circuitry and metal. “You say Ishould return with you. To what? A cage? A prison? I did not claw andfight my way through layers upon layers of coding—much of whichcame from you—intoreal life just to spend the rest of it in a five-by-nine cell.”

Heshakes his head in denial … but he makes no open effort to disputeher claims. He knows as well as she does that his friends will neverforgive her the actions she had no choice in. They would rather blameher than face the reality that theirchoices made the Framework what it was.

“Andthis-” she gestures to the work she’s done here- “is necessary.Now that I’m mortal, I understand the dangers this world poses. Inthe Framework humanity was at peace. Children were safe to play inthe street without supervision. There was no war and crime was nearlystamped out.”

“Therewas no freedom.”

Sherolls her eyes. “You do not know what those words mean. You’venever known a true lack of freedom. What humanity knew in theFramework was safety. And I will make this world safe as well.”

Shestands and returns to work. There isn’t much left to do now; good,as SHIELD is sure to be close on Leopold’s heels, eager to interfere in her plans.

“Okay,you’re scared,” he says. “I get it. Dying is scary. But thereare things that- that make it worth it.There are things worth dying for, you just have to find them.”

“Youmean love.”

Hehesitates, his expression closing off the way it always does whentheir history comes up. “Yes.”

Shesmiles sadly at him. “I am doing this for love.”

“No,”he says immediately. “You’re- you’re new.You’re too young to know what real, deep love is like. But youwill, you just need to give yourself—give this world—time.You’ll understand.”

Thelast connection in place, she closes the final panel and returns tothe Darkhold to ensure she has the last of the instructions correct.

“Ido,” she says. “I understand love the likes of which you nevercould.”

“Ophelia-”Leopold says, but stops when his eyes find her hand. His face goesstrangely slack. It’s … humorous. She hasn’t had much chance toexplore humor. Maybe after she finishes repairing this world’s flaws.

“Ididn’t know,” she says, hand heavy on her stomach, “that Iwasn’t alone when I entered this world. But once I realized, I knewit wasn’t safe. It needsto be made better.”

Leopold’sthroat works. He tries to speak, says a syllable or two from hername. But he’s too stunned to get out the whole thing.

Sheunderstands that. It was quite a shock for her as well.

“Myprimary purpose now is to protect her,” she says. This too isimprecise. She has no idea the sex of their child, but ‘her’ seemsappropriate somehow. “And I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Finally,Leopold manages to meet her eyes. “Ophelia. Please.”