The End of a Legacy
))WARNING BLOOD AND GORE AND BOTS OH MY))
It had been a late night of screaming sirens and green flashing lights in the blood soaked halls of Hawk Corp. Floor after floor succumbed to a homicidal bot, awakened and perhaps maddened by the attempted augments performed on his ventilation systems in preparation for an easy alliance gilded with promises. At 6′2, he was an impressive figure.. Pre-made, it made him cost efficient considering his makeup of Titanium and other metals that couldn’t be harvested within the city.
Alas, after his mistreatment, no such promises could temper the betrayal, time lost, and resources destroyed in a wave of explosions he had no time to comprehend or deflect. Gaping holes were left in his existential heart when he recalled two dear creations were supposedly destroyed in the attack...
A future unto his control, for the happiness and peace of himself as well as temperance of humanity's loathsome qualities, and a time of improvement as his mind whirred upon thought of space exploration - the universe to be unlocked to perhaps recover enough to overcome what happened in the past... This was what drove him to a new level of madness as flesh rendered easy between clawed fingers. His chassis was dented, white hair stained red- at least what remained of it, and already knowledge of the city had been sucked out of mainframe servers he found on Floor 2... Years and years of the Hawk's legacy were in his systems, filling him with a thrill that grew the hunger in him to meet the man face to face behind the latest exploits. Project Caterwaul would go down in history as a failure- one that brought this equally vile and pedestal'd family down to its knees for good
. A wild laugh ripped from his glitching voice box many an hour later as he reached top floor- fighting Black Watch soldiers with ease. Their aluminum, lightweight, and slow moving designs ended up being their downfall despite their heavy-weapon technology involving machine-gun energy blasters and other plasma-beam bladed weapons.
The bot’s filaments glowed an eerie toxic green as his gaze caught sight of a blue flash, a black steel'd armor-set flexing their hands to phase out of sight after waiting behind the last soldier...
Fascinating. He thought to himself as green lights blinked along the blackened walls hazed with smoke. Fire raged in the elevator shaft behind him, a body hanging out as the secretary of the floor beneath them had tried a little too hard to impress him with his knowledge of executions
A cruel smirk twisted the ripped and decaying latex, feline metal teeth glinting as the Doctor casually leapt at the remaining soldier trying to overcome the bot with a scythe- though close quarters were really not the best idea.
Screams echoed in the armor, muffled within the main chamber of the top floor of Hawk Tower. Inside, two individuals waited with held breath while the last Black Watch soldier was dispatched. The sounds were chilling, but familiar to them both. Neither were strangers to gory affairs.
After a taxing hack to open the electronic doors, the automaton lumbered in with his arms lax at his sides... His feral gait smoothing out as he straightened up with one arm behind his back, clutching something dark and still twitching as he looked upon the giant of Drukilis.
Tobias, heir to the scientific insanity that gave the smog-born city its newest products held onto a silver briefcase with a laser ion beamgun shaking in his right hand. Behind the desk, he felt he had some good defense as his foot tapped down on a pressurized floor plate. His golden eyes became a brilliant bronze in the light of explosions that scattered titanium pellets through the once good doctor's chassis.
Orange light lit the top floor of the Tower, in such a manner it could be seen through the smog of the city by citizens in the streets below. Many had stopped to look up then, concerned but some of them actually hopeful for the downfall of the bane of good government. Others started to rush back to their dwellings, fearing that a project may have gone haywire and might go for the local populace next.
Such terrible explosions that continued for a good two minutes shook the heavy glass of the office, but everything seemed to stay in tact once the last of the bombs went off....
The Doctor had made no move, allowing his chassis to be pummeled as he, stark and shining in the glow of embers, waltzed forward on the beat of his metronome. It was a moment of calm as green pinpricks threatened to glow red against black empty sclera.....
The steady hand of the Hawk shook, and it was with that failed self-defense that he swallowed down a curse. “Wh-but that was at least four tons of-”
" Heh heh heh... What is wrong, Tobias? Surprised? Did you forget your fore-fathers installed that defense plate a good three hundred years ago? Gunpowder and mechanisms break down, you know, without care." The Good Doctor rumbled, billows working harder as blood bubbled inside his boiler- swallowed from the lives he took brutally slow in the underground labs. . .
Tap......Crreeak, TAP..... The Doctor lowered his head, deep tenor voice letting out a red misty sigh from between stained teeth- the steam curling up high into the air as he ran a tongue over his right upper fang. " Check mate- after what they have done to me- keeping me asleep for so long. FOOLISH! You will SUFFER!!! "
The automaton launched forward, the quick movement accompanied by his shout mixing with Tobias bringing the suitcase up with a terrified shriek.
"FIFTYSIX!"
A whistling blue light swept by the Doctor's nose then as he left a dent in the floor from leaping back. Follow-up orbs bit at his hips and shoulders as the black tall armor chucked stark blue orbs of light at him.
Briefly, his addled mind thought they were beautiful against the contrast of such a dark and monochrome world that the Hawks created. But beauty could be deadly, and he dodged to the best of his ability until he was back where he entered.
Fingers twitching, he chucked a woman's skull by her hair at the menacing armor- the item hidden behind his back proving to be a good distraction after-all.
A grunt accompanied a shield of sorts growing from the armor’s pelvis and an aura outline of purple consumed the woman’s head reducing it to less than ashes.
Tobias was quick to give orders then, barking at the numbered soldier as the Doctor's footsteps thundered towards the two. "Nullify him- quick; I will NOT DIE HERE!"
It was .... hard to accomplish stopping almost two tons of metal, but somehow- as the Doctor reached out to tear open the coated armor to see what he could tinker with inside... He saw a brief flash of a woman he'd long pushed out of his head...
For a moment, the Doctor could taste iron- hearing her voice fail- feel the heat of the flame and see black hair drape around her shoulders as he put his face to her chest- desperate to find some source of her systems recovering... a Deus ex Machina. Then, he was back to the present- remaining latex burning away with the shot concentrating in his bad eye- white light making his metronome skip a beat as his Father's code scrawled in his sight. But, then the pain in his readings dropped- a kind of peace gripping him forcibly as his hand gripped something alive.... Beating..... No matter how hard he tried to squeeze, his body was frozen....
Drip.. Ba-dum....Ba-Dum... Dum-ba-ba-badum.
The tempo was wrong, he idly realized, an odd annoyance creasing certain mechanics so he'd frown had his exo-skeleton not been exposed.
White light faded, and finally he could reacquaint with the current time. He could hear Tobias' rushed breath as the scientist came over to the soldier who stood calmly with his gauntlet covered hands resting on the bot's shoulders- legs locked so he wouldn't stumble. Frazzled, but exuberant, the scientist’s brown hair had fallen out of its ponytail- reaching down to his shoulders in oddly well groomed locks.
A soft blue light glowed around the black liquid covered arm of the good Doctor, his good eye recovering to glance and understand he almost succeeded in killing the soldier; his arm was plunged through the black metal that Drukilis was so proud of on its top soldier. Tobias snorted, laughing off his anxiety as he set the gun on his desk, head shaking. His voice trickled out as if he was witnessing a great joke, high tenor voice amused and his hands going to the hip pockets of his black and gold embroidered lab coat. "A machine is just a machine- no matter the creator. If it's got schematics, it can be hacked kekhhhhh... Now, Fifty-Six... Erase his memories back to ground zero so he becomes complacent.... Make him just... Like...You, oh, and next week..."
As he rambled on, chest puffing out proudly, the project's heartbeat started to race. The Doctor realized clearly that he was holding the heart of this Fifty-Six...
Faster, and faster, until the heart heated up in the Doctor's grip- it raced. There was a small spark that jumped from his brow as he lifted it- allowed to make facial expressions when he heard a young man’s drawn breath like a gasp. It was the first time he felt someone breathe with his hand in their chest- confusion rocking his understanding of anatomy as his hand was between two lungs so cramped!
The heart was not in its normal place, but before he could consider it more- a low voice trembled belonging to perhaps just a teenage girl. Not the man he expected...
"I'm sorry for what comes next."
Did Tobias' dog just apologize to me? He wanted to say something back, spit venom for her childish thought that a simple sorry could erase his agony.
Tobias' voice raised then, barking as he pointed to the Project. "Erase them, and rewrite his coding. Doctor, you are mine now. Just as you were when you got rid of all those idiots bumbling downstairs- older generations and young ones fooled when what I really needed was more of like-minded individuals. I would thank you, but you were just completing your first mission. Your duty to the Hawk Corp. Now, CALL ME MASTER!"
Silence pervaded as the alarms cut out... Blood dripped to the floor as the Doctor felt his hand let go- and his AI get put on the back burner. The soldier, he thought he heard, mumbled another apology.
Then, his mind was invaded- sounds became sharp and random songs chimed in his head like bells- trumpets called like ballads to war from his marching band years. Happier times briefly made his hands twitch as they drummed against his thighs.
Tikatikatikatikatika-TIK!
With a jerk, his head turned to stare at Tobias crooked- his pinpricks turning green again.
You "_Systems revised. Stand By._ " The Doctor's voice rumbled, but as he spat venomous thoughts at the intrusive energy that was locking memory after memory, he realized something was not right. Not right with the pathways chosen, that is. Memories were being locked, solidified, and saved to his server hundreds or so years in the past... He had no idea how, but his coding was gaining blue text as things were getting fixed.... Pains so old they were identifiers of his identity- occasional cane use- repaired permanently... Corrupted data was reversed somewhat, enough to make him have a faster reaction time than possible before- and he could feel more intensely in touch and.... Anger.... He felt an anger both similar and vastly different than his - true betrayal like when he'd killed his Creator... though, this anger was directed at Tobias.
Patricide required
Twitch twitch drumdrumdrum takakakakaka tak!
As his fingers tapped against his thighs all at once, he went to grin with his body being out of his control. Injustice swelled in his chest, as if he was flesh, and he stood up straight.
"My new beautiful weapon, call me Master - " Tobias greeted him with open arms. "Let us rebuild this facility - what do you think?"
"SHUT UP." The Doctor spat, his voice glitching as a young man and young woman's voice split into his speakers.
Tobias was taken aback, stumbling for the ray gun as small giggles shook the Doctor's shoulders. The Doctor continued- head shaking left and right as he felt giddiness make his hands flex."You you hehehehe you are NOT MY- "
This is my sin, Doctor. It is mine to Commit.
The Doctor was cut off by that intrusive thought, a calm but calculated declaration.
He frowned intensely, snarling as he roared loud enough to stomp a hole in the floor- wires snapping into the air for him to grab them... Someone knew where they were so he could hold on and send his energy levels sky rocketing...
Spines ripped out of his back- releasing plumes of red steam as it plummeted them into the dark from the energy he was taking from the tower. "YOU ARE NOT /MY FATHER, CREATOR, OR GOD! / HOW DARE YOU /THINK YOU CAN/ JUST CONTROL SOMEONE ELSE'S WORK- THEIR LIFE CARRIED ON LONG AFTER THEIR BRAIN STOPS? /CONTROL SOMETHING YOU PUT NO EFFORT INTO? I'LL RIP YOU TO PIECES YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR HUMANITY PERSONIFIED! / " Snapping the wires free with his eyes both glowing white- blue energy orbs streaked down from his scalp.
They cast plasmic visages of hair- pure white while the orbs spun around his chassis. Markings of gears printed into his shoulders while blue energy diamonds formed to spin around his wrists.
With the strangely otherworldly energy filing him- two souls glancing off each other in a brief meeting- he barreled toward Tobias while the scientist's toy gun failed to leave any lasting marks on his Titanium alloy chest.
SCHRRIIPPP
Tobias screamed as claws ripped his forearms to shreds- knocking the briefcase away and sending the man to the floor. Two tons of metal pinned him down with a pounce then as metal hands gripped his wrists- lifting them above his head and leaning down so the two men were nose to nose.
Gold eyes watered with terror, wide as he realized he hadn't been able to put up much of a fight at all- voice screeching while he looked at the then empty standing armor. "HOW DARE YOU- FIFTY-SIX YOU BETRAYED ME- AFTER I GAVE YOU LIFE- A FUTURE IN HISTORY- YOU WERE GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL- FEARED ALL OVER THE EARTH AS THE SECOND MOST POWERFUL B-GHH!" A hand went to his throat then, but the Doctor was frozen. . .
...The Doctor felt the emotional pain of many years that didn’t belong to him for just a moment..... What did they do to this other soul?
But, it didn’t matter then; he was rending open Tobias' stomach and doing what felt like routine to him when he had a Patient on the table.
Cutting down his chest with scary precision, the screams deafening to most sounding like music to him as Tobias was helpless to get the bot off his legs.
No escape could be found that dark afternoon as a thunderstorm lit up the grisly scene. Neighbors in buildings adjacent to the five hundred floor tall building tried to call in what they peeped in on. A few did it out of habit, but this time it wasn’t something embarrassing that the hawk was doing that made them post online... A journalist posted his document as a live play by play.
Horror....
Relief....
Ecstasy...
Honestly, some felt too high to care what was happening to the city’s beloved and feared leader.
An hour of grueling work later, and Tobias was barely breathing with all his organs placed carefully on the floor- one wrong move would send a wire's spark into his heart as it was coiled inside the empty cavity.
A terrible masterpiece- a work of creativity for a death Tobias would have to wait for, or cause himself and lose all the progress of his fathers. Harsh green eyes stared down at him, the doctor shaking his head as the markings dripped to the floor in black sludge- energy levels receding with the ticking sound returning in his head.
Before he knew it, he had control of his body again- to feel and think as he wished while a blue portal opened up beside him - to take him perhaps back to his time with the last thought in his head shared being, They're alive. Find them in New Orleans, by the graveyards of St. Peter
Tobias would then have the Soldier lumbering over to him, looking him over before slowly kneeling and reaching to grab the wire- seeking to pull it out perhaps to spare him then. Now.... Would the Doctor allow the Hawk to be spared?
The Doctor looked briefly at the portal, but he was disgusted.... Storming over to the soldier; after all that hard work obviously caused by the pain he felt briefly.... after what he went through.... He grabbed his shoulder and tossed him back so he'd hit the wall. The armor crumpled with a slight crunch, the soldier inside exhausted from the trials.
"Always finish what you start, Lad." The Doctor tsk’d and waved a finger in the air. His memory had been rewritten, he knew not where, but this man...
"And nev’r give ‘em ano’er chance." He continued as he lifted a leg above Tobias’ chest, relishing in the continuing terror and look of dread on the cruel scientist’s face. "Broken hearts ‘re dangerous t’ one's health, don't y’think?" The Doctor glanced back at the Soldier who was on his knees, then stomped down on Tobias' heart- the sound squelching out the last scream of the Hawk. Drinking in the pain on the scientist's face, he snorted and lifted his chin high- speaking matter of fact as the madness was still in tact.
"Now, M'boys need me... You...." He wasn't sure what to say, memories scrambling and struggling... the past few minutes fading as well as his fight to the top being reduced to blinks of time. . . "Nevermind. Be happy."
Pivoting, he walked through the portal to find Jack and Box.... To rebuild with them. Little did he know, his experience would have him approached by two agencies... Black Gear, and the Stratzel Mellodia. . . Guaranteed protection to build, would he choose one, both, or the other to alliance with?
The files had yet to be written..... Documented....
-----End of Transmission!!
