Infinite Project | (IC)

[Tewi_Inaba]

Project Esper | Hallway

Raina gave Jason a small smile before turning her chair around again and starting to head towards the computer lab. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hold oyu up any longer than I had too. It's just a bit further." she assured him, seeming oddly chipper for someone in her situation. The room ahead of them was a computer lab, not a very special one, it seemed more for gaming and general fun than a work place. However Jason would have been able to see another room past the entrance on the left side wall of the lab. As he got closer, he may have even seen his rifle tilted up against the wall. In the event he did see it, he would have seen it very much the way he saw it last. Whoever this girl was, she had done an excellent job of putting it back together. In fact it was cleaner now than when Jason had it last.

Meanwhile Stalker gave Jenny's hand a small tug, letting her know he was moving forward again. The heavy steel doors would have stayed open, at least for now since Raina didn't want Jason to think he was trapped in here.

[S121]

Project Esper | Hallway

Jason seemed to almost flinch from the invasion of his mind. In truth, there were some secrets Jason didn't want Network to know, especially since he needed to remain anonymous for not only his sake, but possibly everyone else's as well. He was to be a ghost until he made it home. Wanting to try and find something to say, Jason brought up whatever words he could think of to move the conversation.

"Alright then. I understand.", Jason said.

[Koishi]

Washington | Southern Forest

---

Oh, words. the little creature somewhat knew those. Hundreds of memories from hundreds of brothers and sisters bounced in their head like cue balls. Hello. That was a word. What did it mean? They scanned through the memories, finding a few. A greeting of some description. Oh, they were starting conversation. The creature realized this and tilted their head to the other side.

They then rose a little arm, pointing towards Trace's mouth, and then back to their mask, where a mouth would be if they had one. Finally, they gently shook their head. They hoped this human, or human-like fellow would understand their meaning.

[Cucoo5]

Washington | Southern Forest

---

Hollow's features still perplexed Trace. Nothing she had in her vast databases could identify what it was. The developing organic thoughts prompted another peculiar response from Trace: she slowly moved a finger to the center point of Hollow's mask, near where one would guess a nose would be.
*boop*
She gently poked Hollow's mask, noting the texture and hardness. It didn't match anything she knew of. Eventually, her mechanical mind exhausted all possibilities and she defaulted to interacting to the creature in a different way. Her logic carried her to the next possibility: communicate with it.

"Hello." Trace's voice, while it sounded gentle and organic like that of a human, also carried a mechanical undertone.

[Koishi]

Washington | Southern Forest

---

The little creature moved slightly back as Trace did as well, however, the kneeling position relaxed the creature a little, and the hand being raised increased their curiosity substantially. They approached silently, reaching out a little stubby arm for the Trace's arm. They first poked it experimentally, before rubbing it slightly. It was warm. Something they hadn't felt before on something. Everything was cold here, though it didn't quite realize it fully, their body unfeeling of the biting cold. It was normal for them.

Plus, it was soft. Not like the endless masks of hard, sometimes broken material, this was different. A soft, pliable material, squishy and completely foreign to the small vessel. It tilted it's head at this before looking to Trace once more, it's mask devoid of any features to show emotion. It's feelings could be a wildcard. If it even had such things, but it's curiosity was undeniable.

[Cucoo5]

Washington | Southern Forest

---

As the little creature approached Trace, she flinched back slightly, taking a half step back. She paused though, noticing that it, too, was behaving in such a manner that gave away its own curious nature. Upon this realization, Trace slowly lowered herself to a kneeling position, cautiously reaching out to little Hollow.

[Kristia]

Skies Of Cali | Lowering altitude towards the ocean


Lynchwood was already on her tanktop and crushed the drones she had, although the blonde needed the help of her companion to deal with the possible threats on her lower section "We are close to the drop point people, better take the luggage you think is useful, because what is left will become debris." she spoke while the AI controlled the Pigeon as she put her upper pieces of clothing.

Samantha was done with the drones on her armor, but she still had to deal with her head, so the experiment pressed some spots of her helmet, the hiss of air could be heard as the helmet was taken off, revealing a pale woman in her mid-twenties, her sky blue eyes were looking at the golden hair of hers as she combed it with her hands. "A suggestion for you." 034 spoke to the now revealed 013 "We can give you shelter for some days, but after all of you are on the safe zone, it is up to you what to do."

Below the water, a vessel was slowly moving upwards, its sonar radar was being effective as it had found no threats, its pilot controlled the handles with his mechanical limbs, already having the location of the Pigeon's drop zone "They better come in fast, we got a small window to not be traced." a distinct Latin accent of voice would be heard from the android.

[Tewi_Inaba]

Project Esper | Hallway

Raina was a bit confused at first by what Jason meant. What voice was he referring too? If it wasn't for the clues she gathered from accidentally reading his mind, she wouldnt' have had any idea what he meant at all. "I'm sorry but... I was just trying to say hello. I can't control what the voice in your head sounds like, only what it says." she tried to explain to him in the clearest way she possibly could.

"Here let me prove it too you." She said to Jason as she closed her eyes and focused for a moment. Suddenly Jason would have felt a memory creep up on him. The memory of the soldier sticking his finger i the air holes of his cell was suddenly brought to the front of his mind. "One of t he soldiers from the convoy stuck hi fingers in your cage before it was attacked." she explained. "I did a quick search for your most recent memories. You thought of it too just now when I looked at it right? That's how you can tell. Whenever a telepath looks through a person's memories, every memory they see is brought to the thoughts of the person who's mind they are invading." she explained, hoping Jason would see the truth.

[S121]

Project Esper | Hallway

Jason followed Network up until she suddenly stopped and spoke to him. It wasn't a defensive tone of voice, but it didn't seem like she was lying. Jason seemed to be almost pouring over hos she spoke to him, a little surprised she stopped so suddenly, but still a little on the defensive.

"Then what was that voice?", Jason asked. He didn't seem a stern as before, but he was expecting an answer.

Meanwhile, Jenny nearly bumped into Jason as they followed them past the doors, but caught herself just in time. She stood still and was careful not to make any sudden movements or noise.

[Koishi]

Washington | Southern Forest

---

The little creature then realized it had been spotted, and looked up to the quite tall human. What were they? They didn't quite know the specifics, to be honest. Not even really a name. That's what people had to identify themselves, right? They questioned such things in their head, however outwardly simply tilted their head at the human silently, looking at them from the now slightly altered angle of their head.

They said nothing, for they had no mouth to form words with. They simply watched with the gaping circular holes that made up their face. Nothing but a seemingly endless black outwardly lied within them, the abyss within staring back at the human with no malice, no joy, just dark. If the creature stood still, they could likely pass for a statue of some description.

They shuffled a little closer, reaching out a little stubby arm towards them in curiousity, though would be quick to recoil if they did the same.

[Cucoo5]

Washington | Southern Forest

---

The organic nature of Trace's scanning made her inefficient in assimilating her surroundings into her Encephalon. Within her mind, she looked in bushes, under rocks, around trees, sating the part of her mind that held such questions about the world. Eventually, she saw it, the small creature with the white mask. At first, it perplexed Trace, since none of her sensors could divulge any information about it. She stood, staring at it, trying to comprehend the two emotions she felt. On one hand, she was afraid of it, as she couldn't identify if it was hostile or not. This prompted her to change her Mag Unit from its backpack form and open it into the damaged Aether Wing, lest she need to use what functionality it had left to escape. On the other hand, the morbid curiosity bound her in place, overriding all other logic. She asked the question that haunted her then: "What are you?"

[Koishi]

Washington | Southern Forest

---

It had been a long time. That's what the short, cloaked creature with no name realized. They had been walking for a quite long time. Where to? That question was beyond them. Everything was new, from the light hanging above in the sky at sometimes, or the pale light at others. It was something that confused them and left them to wonder as to how something so big could shift positions in the sky.

Yet it did, and here they were, in this land of a myriad of colours. Before, all they knew was dark, moving merely by other senses. They felt the trees around them, and the bushes. New textures and feelings. Rough things weren't down in that pit. Only the smoothness of masks, endlessly strewn about. The noises were almost overwhelming at first.

However, they pushed onward, adjusting, adapting, hopping over tree limbs, rocks and various other obstacles. However, a sharp noise hit their form. It was loud. Far louder than anything else they had heard before. They ducked down a little in fear, before the black holes bored into their mask saw. A streak of something falling, along with the large forms of something moving very fast overhead. Most would know this as a jet, however the little creature knew nothing of such things, only that the streak could be something of note.

They moved in it's general direction, small stubs barely disrupting the leaves as they moved. Then they saw something. Or someone. Far taller than them. Two walking instruments, like them. Half-formed memories from their brothers and sisters pointed to them as a... human. Yes, that was the term. They didn't look angry. Not like some of the ones they remembered.

They approached carefully, spying the person's form from the bushes, unaware that the horns of their mask were clearly sticking out.

[Cucoo5]

Washington | Southern Forest

Prologue

Fate is a cruel mistress. She toys with us all, teasing and tormenting us every which way. Sometimes, she shows mercy and compassion, only to make her next ploy all the more devastating. The catastrophe that befell Mobius Labs was the first part to Fate’s grand scheme. Few survived it. Those that did were cursed to suffer, to be consumed by the abyss that was to come. I, Mike Warner, was one of those survivors. I only learned of my new status from the bioroid that was Mobius’s pride: Trace.

Trace, born from the project that is her namesake, was a test platform for several new technologies. Mobius was developing a means to control supernatural powers derived from mutations via a machine interface. This interface was nicknamed the Mobius System. The rumor was that this was to help the government salvage the Infinite Project, and with the events that occurred, I think the rumor was right. Soldiers stormed the lab, destroying everything in a mad attempt to erase the Trace project from existence. But why would the government seek to destroy the replacement to the Infinite Project? Simple: Mobius failed to deliver a weaponized machine.

An accident occurred, not too long ago. It was the first event that revealed that Trace was developing humanity within her virtual mind. This was the issue. While it was a great leap in developing an AI that could think like a human, it was a hinderance for their ultimate goal. In a bid to satisfy the conditions of the contract, Mobius developed a Trace clone that would be geared only for combat. They tried to limit the Encephalon so as to make it more a machine, but they found that it could not utilize the powers of the Mobius System. When they tampered with the Encephalon of this clone, codenamed Evi, they drove it to a breaking point. With Evi corrupted and Trace considered a failure, the government decided to shut down Mobius.

Chapter 1

To this day, I always think of Evi as being the twisted twin of Trace. Yet, there was still that small part of Trace still in her Encephalon. Though it was buried deep in the darkest corners of Evi’s Encephalon. Her primary mind was supposed to limit her, prevent her from performing various atrocities, though she found a loophole. Her name, when spoken by another, served as a bypass to grant the Encephalon full control of her body temporarily for 20 seconds. It was the only way she could subvert the remaining laws of robotics that governed her. “Say my name,” she used to say, right before she could kill. She tortured her prey until they would say it.

When she escaped Mobius Labs, she was free to do as she pleased. And she wanted power; It was what she was designed for, after all. She had the ability to gather samples of mutagenic tissue that contained a new supernatural power and utilize it in her Mobius System. She hunted down those with mutations, manipulated them however she needed to, and tore out what she wanted, violently. Her first two victims were naive young men, one with the power to secrete a deadly poison and the other the ability to manipulate local gravity. They didn’t know what she had in store for them until it was far too late.

She became a surprisingly efficient assassin, given her limitations. But she didn’t kill needlessly. She had a goal: Find Trace. Evi’s logic was that Trace was the ultimate form of her, and thus to improve further, she needed to integrate into herself that which makes Trace objectively superior: she wanted Trace’s Encephalon.
Evi’s hunt began near the northern border of Washington, but Trace had fled south. As Evi roamed and grew more powerful, Trace explored and evolved herself, but not quite as directly as Evi. Instead, Trace grew by meeting new allies, even those that would have been considered very unlikely.

***

Trace’s escape from Mobius labs was less fortunate than Evi’s. She encountered the main force that sought to destroy her. Her primary ability, Chronal Perception, allowed her to slip through. She reached the roof where she was able to utilize her Aether Wing to try to get as far away from Mobius Labs as she could, but she was intercepted, taken down by missile. With her Aether Wing damaged, she fell into the woods some distance south of Mobius Labs. That was when she sent for me, telling me everything that had occurred.

With the labs effectively destroyed, soldiers hunting down anyone from Mobius Labs, and none of the other scientists available, I was the last person that could help repair Trace. So, I did the first thing any sane man would do: I panicked. While I was thrown into this self conflicted state, Trace wandered the forest. She explored her surroundings, taking in everything. She scanned the local fauna, and in doing so, she let curiosity take over.

[Koishi]

Sacramento | Sewers

---

Koi quickened her pace considerably to keep up, and made a small smile inside. Escape was close at hand. But then thoughts of what might wait for them on the other side popped up, and they felt the need to intervene for a moment.

"Slow down a little!" Koi put a hand on the glowing man's shoulder to attempt to slow him.

"You's went ahead without me, so you's need to listen!" Koi started. "Back at the manhole thingy, somethin' was watching us from above. I's dunnos whether it's the fellas after me or wha', but we's need to be careful-like. There could be peoples waitin' ahead, for alls we knows. Ors worse. Dun' rush, please."

[SUSTIC]

Sacramento Sewers


The green guy was feeling a bit under pressure. If he got this wrong, or if the path led to a place that would be... really not good, then it would ruin things for his friend. As such he had to make sure he was right. In fact you could almost see his almost non-existent brow furrow a bit as he was now trying his damn hardest to remember. The figurative cogs in his brain were straining to turn as he forced himself to remember... before suddenly a spark of a memory came into his mind. Even though he didn't have a face, he looked visibly shocked and surprised as he spoke.

"I REMEMBER NOW!" He spoke as he remember, the path he was talking about was the left one. As he said that he quickly began running down the left path, which halfway down his memory for once served him correctly for he saw a small nest of rats as he ran by. Seeing this he turned around while running backwards."This is the path friend! It leads to one of them ol' impound lots! Lotsa cars and stuff there!" He spoke as he turned back around to run down the path.


Skies Of Cali

After doing quick, but thorough body checks, 013 turned to Sam "I'm clear."

As he said that, his men, one by one turned to Sam as well, giving quick nods in confirmation that they too are clean... well at least now, as they had picked off a few drones and proceeded to crush them.