A Bio-Weapon’s Rhapsody

The silence that followed was heavy. Alexa wasn’t quite sure why her words had made Sam stop talking for so long, so she instead focused on eating her [Chips] and her [Fish], occasionally taking sips from her [Soda].

 

To be honest, the drink could use more [Sugar], at least her nanites had kept it at a pleasant cold temperature.

 

“Why would I want to be only Human, huh….” Sam mumbled as he turned to look at his own [Fish and Chips]. I get your point, and you probably think that way because you are not only a shapeshifter but a molecular one. Most shapeshifters or flesh shifters always return to a base form, be it for time constraints or reflex, but that isn’t the case with you, is it?”

 

She…was not returning to a base form, was she?

 

“[Negative, the barest form available to host si as a simple Ai Core, but even that is independent from shape shifting forms and more of a result of damage that goes beyond the limits.]”

 

“No, I am not automatically returned to a form. Any form I take remains like such unless I made an instruction to change back before.” Alexa answered. By this point, she was almost done with her [Fish and Chips].

 

And dearly regret the missing [Dessert]. What did a girl need to say to get a [Dessert] in these places?

 

“Well, some of us that can’t do that miss our more mundane and normal bodies.” Sam said, sighing, “I guess you wouldn’t get it since you can just take a new form, hell. I even doubt that any of the forms I saw from you are the original.”

 

Well, that was right…But she couldn’t return to her original form anyway, she didn’t had enough rare metals to make her [CRAB] form after all.

 

“Why would you want to return to the base [Blueprint]?” Alexa instead asked, “What does that form have that you can’t do right now?”

 

That seemed to make Sam stop and frown, “Are you messing with me?” He asked in a low growl. His lower body seemed to tense as if to prepare to attack too, and Alexa could hear the lower mouth as it started secreting more and more acid.

 

“What can a normal [Human Form] can do that this form you have right now can’t.” Alexa asked once more, “I am being honest; while I do see the advantage of having a small form, that is, under the premise that you are weaker. You aren’t weak.”

 

“Well, I can’t use pants for starters,” Sam said in a sarcastic tone. "I can’t see the sun, eat normal food, bathe, or sleep in a normal bed.”

 

“Doesn’t your lower form have a small hair-like composition to regulate the temperature?” Alexa said as she focused on one of Sam [GLORIOUS LEGS]. “And I don’t see why you can’t see the sun or eat normal food. You seem to enjoy the [Fish and Chips] I brought.”

 

Sam seemed confused at her answer.

 

“Are you saying that your new organism can’t process this food?” Alexa added, “Or is the [Species] of your lower body is sensitive to the [Sun] light?”

 

“I mean….I can eat about anything, if anything I can eat more things than before. I was lactose intolerant, but nowadays my stomach can process about anything. Hell, my lower mouth can even drink sewer water and be like nothing…” Sam grimaced at that, “I hadn’t noticed my lower body was doing that… Or I wish I hadn’t found out, but when I noticed why I wasn’t getting thirsty it was too late and I had settled away from the normal water system pipes.”

 

So his lower body did have some degree of autonomy, interesting. Alexa had theorized that already, no way a normal [Human] brain could manipulate such a complex system on its own. Perhaps the lower body had another series of sub [Brains]? She would need to find a way to get that [Blueprint] later.

 

“And do you require the [Sun] to survive then?” Alexa asked intrigued, she hadn’t seen any evidence of any requirement for [Sun] within her [Blueprint], if anything her body seemed to be degraded under the [UV Radiation] and she had found evidence of a pseudo regeneration done by her [Body].

 

“No, but…I guess you wouldn’t understand, the feeling of seeing the sun after months and years on end only seeing cement walls and darkness.” Sam said in a somewhat dark tone, “The feeling of the sun on your skin…The breeze of the wind on your hair…”

 

….Hadn’t she spent all her life under the same circumstances that Sam had described?

 

“No, I do not understand.” Alexa answered, “I have memories worth at least 738 days of activity secluded within a [Room] made of white walls.”

 

That seemed to change the mood on the table.

 

“[Notice, instinctual response seems to differ from normal response. Usual responses include pity, care, and sadness. Monster Designation: Sam does not hold any of these. Instead, he seems to have…]”

 

"[Caution.]"

 

Sam’s face wasn’t that of someone who worried about Alexa, but rather of someone who worried, not for Alexa but for what she would do. This was intriguing.

 

“And the first time I saw the [Sun] and feel the [Wind] on my hair wasn’t particulary enjoyable, if anything it only made me worry about a larger vector of attack against myself.” Alexa answered, “So yes. I do not understand, why would you care about the [Form] you have. Shouldn’t you have no problem walking under the [Sun] if you have eight [Legs] holding you up?”

 

“Hahahahahahah.” Sam laughed at that, “Right…Having eight legs means that it is very hard for me to fall. And since my bones aren’t even normal ones anymore….”

 

Sam as if to make that statement obvious twisted his arm way beyond what it should be able to bend, then as if to make it a point he stretched it across his torso as if it was a scarf.

 

“No matter how hard I fall, I can’t break my bones anymore, so long at least one of my brains remains the body will make sure to regenerate everithing else anyway.” Sam smirked at that statement. “But you are missing the important point, if I try to walk under the sun with this appareance the people will scream in the worst case scenario a vigilante will try to put me down and if I defend myself then I will be labeled as a Villain. The only reason I am not stuck in one of Polyphemus’s Cell Nodes is because I haven’t actually attacked anyone back before.”

 

[Polyphemus]?

 

“[Term recorded for future investigation as soon as connection to the outside world is restored.]”

 

“So? You are bound to the [Humans] Laws? Why? “ Alexa asked once again, “Shouldn’t you be on the right here?”

 

“You are naive.” Sam answered back, “It may be because you haven’t only seen the good side, but what do you think happens to those whose form isn’t that of a Human.”

 

That…She hadn’t seen that many of those besides [Golem], [Snout Face], [Frank The Bettle], and [Vulcanus]. Most had a [Human]- like appearance.

 

“What happens to those that don’t have a [Human]-like appearance?” Alexa asked back.

 

“They live in the sewers, haven’t you seen them?” Sam asked at her. “I am sure you must have passed by at least one of them on your way here.”

 

…had she?

 

No, she had only seen [Mutant Rats] and [Giant Mutant Rat] on her way here. Granted she had been mostly mowing down those that came to her area of influence, so perhaps she had scared off some of the weaker [Prey].

 

“...the [Rats]?” Alexa asked.

 

“Bingo, I think that at least one of those was a Human at some point, perhaps that one is no longer alive or is deep within the sewer system but…” Sam said with a grimace, “Yeah, I don’t like to think too much about that.”

 

“They have a [Core], but I don’t think these were [Humans] to begin with. Perhaps some awoke a [Human] Core and gained either sapience or sentience, but they weren’t [Human],” Alexa said back.

 

“So you are part of the school of thought that thinks that Core Awakening isn’t limited to Humans? That anyone and anything can Trigger?” Sam seemed interested in her opinion. “Why? I would think a molecular shifter like yourself would focus more on hard-earned evidence instead of rumors. Most Core Users are humans, so it begets to think that to trigger a Core, you must be Human.”

 

“Evidence,” Alexa answered, raising her hand and focused on a [Blueprint].

 

“Execute Blueprint Rat Core, Giant Rat Core, Mutant Core

, and Mind Core.”

 

 

“These are the [Cores] I have analyzed; which one is limited to [Humans]?” Alexa asked as she moved the Mutant and Mind Core to her right hand and left the Rat and Giant Rat Core on her left.

 

All four looked somewhat similar. The only difference was that the Mind Core had pink hues within its crystal appearance, and the Mutant Core had red streaks. The Rat Cores, however, had a blue hue to them.

 

“Without studying and only seeing them like this…I think….The Pink One is the one that isn’t exclusive to humans. It gives me a fantasy-like vibe to it. The other seem like what you would find on a normal SuperHero or Villain. The one with red streaks is what I would expect Scorcher’s Core to be like.” Sam answered, eyeing the Cores. He extended a thread from one of his fingers to try and raise one of the [Cores].

 

But as soon as they separated from Alexa, the [Core] crumbled into dust.

 

“...I know I told you to create these effects, but isn’t that rude? You offered them to me to see and study with your question.” Sam said with an annoyed voice.

 

“...I didn’t make that.” Alexa answered, “ I haven’t set up those fake weaknesses.”

 

“Main Core? What the hell was that?” Alexa said raising one of the remaining Rat Cores.

 

She threw it into the air, and within a few seconds, the Core Burst into blue translucid dust, increasing the [Mana Waves] levels, but besides that, nothing else changed.

 

“[Unknown, foreign object that host is holding seems to work under different laws of physics; the object gives no weight or temperature. Nanites unable to interact with the object.]”

 

…Well, she had made it using her [Core], though. How could they not interact with it if she was making them using her [Nanite Swarm]?

 

….

 

“...did the Mk1 Swarm make this?” Alexa asked.

 

 

….

 

“So? You found what is wrong with this? And how can I keep one so I can study it?” Sam asked, at some point he had taken the container leftovers and was silently packaging it in the plastic bag.

 

His own plate seemed to be almost empty too.

 

“...I think…” Alexa said as she saw him pass the plastic bag to his claw and then how he went ahead and his lower mouth started eating said plastic container. “That these are too complex to survive without my [Core Power] sustaining them. I can make an arm that can behave like a normal arm away from my influence, but I don’t know how to make these survive without input from me…Or their former owner.”

 

Perhaps she could make a copy of someone’s [Core] and give it to them and see if they stayed around?

 

“And these are from…” Sam asked leadingly.

 

“The two [Blue] and [Red] ones are from [Rats], and the [Pink] one was from a [Classmate],” Alexa answered.

 

“....the rats?” Sam asked confused as he looked at the [Cores] as Alexa allowed their materials to fuse back into oher body.

 

“Yes, the [Rats] had a few [Cores] in them, so I tried to analyze them; I have been attempting to use my [Core Powers] to look at my [Core] with little to no success,” Alexa answered. Well, she could see the [Main Core] but not the [Core]. “So, as you see, a [Rat] can trigger a [Core], so they aren’t unique to [Humans].”

 

And wasn’t that the thing? She herself had [Awakened] a [Core], and she wasn’t even a [Living Entity]! Or at least not by most of the metrics she had seen, she knew that she had a good amount of [Organic] components when she was in her [CRAB] form after all.

 

Perhaps that had been the [Reason] she was able to [Trigger] the [Core]. The [Brain] that she had.

 

“First of all, that is like trying to use your eyes to look at your head. As for the Core thing... I don’t think I ever found one in the rats before…But then again…” Sam said turning to look at his lower half, it had finished eating most of the [Plastic Bag] by this point, and his lower body looked up to his upper body.

 

…That was somewhat….[Cute].

 

“Main Core, record all the sensorial data of this moment.” Alexa ordered as she forced that act. Usually, she left it to [Main Core], but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t do it manually.

 

“[Information doesn’t seem to hold any intrinsique value…]”

 

“JUST DO IT!” Alexa almost snarled in the real world, she saw and made sure the data was recorded and stored before returning to focus on the real world.

 

“I don’t think your lower half leaves much remains of what you eat.” Alexa pointed as the lower half turned to look at her with a ravenous stare.

 

Alexa felt herself almost want to flush the capilars in her face. She stopped them of course(Again).

 

“Yeah…I…may start butchering my catches. It will be more tedious, but if I can find a Core…it could help my studies…Not that I have much equipment to begin with.” Sam sighed as he returned to focus on Alexa (KYA). I guess you don’t have the blueprints for a Saintsworths-grade laboratory?”

 

….WHY DIDN’T SHE TAKE THE BLUEPRINTS OF HER PREVIOUS DEN?!?!?!?

 

THE HOT MAN WANTED A LABORATORY! SHE COULD HAVE EARNED SO MANY POINTS FROM THIS INTERACTION!!!!!

 

SLKAHLSDHFASLJHASF

 

“No, I do not.” AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH “If you ever find any place that holds the [Blueprints], I may be able to help you, so long as it doesn’t have a security detail in place.”

 

“Yeah, I don’t think they leave those lying around unprotected, I will check with some coworkers to see if they lend me some.” Sam said while grumbling, he took a [Phone] from within his [Lab Coat] and started sending some messages. “Oh right, might as well, give me your number. This way when I get the equipment we can study it, if I can’t find a Core we may need to use the ones you make.”

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

“Sure, let me just…” CODE RED! I REPEAT CODE RED! MAIN CORE! WE NEED A PHONE! WHERE IS THE PHONE?!?!?!?

 

“[....second pocket of Host’s jacket. Phone is currently turned off since last advice on this place was to turn off phone.]”

 

WHY IS IT TURNED OFF??!?!?!? NOW WE NEED TO WAIT!?!?!? WHAT IF HE DOESN’T WANT TO GIVE US HIS NUMBER?!??!?!?!?!?!? I WILL GROUND YOU INTO PASTE AND STICK YOU IN A PLACE WITHOUT MANGO ACCESS IF THAT HAPPENS!

 

“Let me just turn it on….” ALEXA CALMLY SAID AS SHE GENTLY PUSHED THE ON BUTTON ON THE STUPID THING THAT COULDN’T TURN ON WHEN SAM WANTED TO SAVE HIS NUMBER ON HER PHONE.

 

“....If you don’t want it’s okay…” SAM WAS REGRETING IT! FASTER YOU STUPID THING!

 

“No it’s okay, my coworker said that we needed to turn it off in the sewers for policy or something!” TURN ON GODDAMNED THING! I WILL ALSO STICK YOU IN A MANGO-DEPRIVED PLACE! DON’T THINK I WON'T! “There, let me prepare the NFC…there.”

 

“If you are sure…” SAM SAID AS HIS SMOOTH WHITE FINGERS TOUCHER HER. “...and done. Thank you.”

 

*Ring*

 

“....aren’t you going to answer that?”

 

*Ring*

 

“It may be important…”

 

*Ring*

 

“[.....]”

 

“....Alexa?”

 

“[Initiating reboot….normalizing hormonal lelves….normalizing brain chemistry….Reducing heartbeat…Redusing blood pressure….]”

 

“Ah…it’s ringing. I'm sorry, I need to take this,” Alexa said as she saw the number on the phone. It was [Eleanore]. Perhaps something had happened?

 

“Sure, do you want me to go…” Sam asked her as he pointed to the other side of the room.

 

Alexa motioned for him to stay, why would he need to leave? If he left Alexa couldn’t appreciate his figure and form!

 

“Hell-” Alexa was about to answer when the other side of the line erupted in noise.

 

“ALEXA?!?!?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN THE SEWERS?!?!? WHY DID SKYE RETURN ALONE?!?!?!?” The voice of [Eleanore] screamed into her ear as soon as Alexa had tried to speak.

 

“I am visiting a [Friend].” Alexa started with as Sam seemed to smile at her problems. “And [Skye] was [Drunk], I had [Food] for two and decided that sharing with a [Friend] was better than [Gorging] myself with the [Food].”

 

That seemed like a reasonable answer, at least for Alexa.

 

“Okay, fine…Is….is it a friend from….you know…your former…home?” [Eleanore] seemed to calm down suddenly at the mention of her [Former Home].

 

Was Sam from there?

 

He said that he used to work there, but…since he didn’t seem to react to her [Powers] then perhaps he wasn’t part of the [Experiments]? He at least seemed to know a knockoff version of her [Project], but did that imply he was part of it?

 

Alexa would like to answer to that with a: No.

 

“No, I met him after work the other day. After the [Problem] we encountered, he [Helped] me so I wanted to repay the [Favour].” Alexa decided to say, it was close enough to the truth, and she wasn’t quite sure if [Eleanore] power would even work throught a [Phone].

 

“Truth.” [Eleanore] answered, so it did work even if they used the [Phones]... “I see. Okay, well, don’t go into the sewers without backup, and if you do use the goddamned mask, we provide them for a reason!”

 

“...but it said that it since it wasn’t work-related…” Alexa complained.

 

“That is for joyrides and to scare the stupid Minions that want to use it to earn fame in the streets. If you are going into a dangerous place, you put it on. We would rather deal with Billy than with a wounded Minion.” [Eleanore] said back. “Anyway, don’t stay too long there. I have read reports of plenty of dangerous things there. Trust me, the rats aren’t the worst you can find there.”

 

…Alexa was intrigued, perhaps she could get a fancy [Blueprint]?

 

“There are rumors of a spider colony in the sewers. We think someone got a Core related to spiders or perhaps with webs. But Vulcanus won’t green-light the investigation.” Or not. That was probably Sam.

 

Alexa turned to look at him and found him smiling, yeah. He was cute…I mean, he was the reason for those reports, yes. That.

 

“Okay, I will let you continue speaking with your friend. If she had a bad enough trigger to want to live in the sewers, invite her. We always have room for…bad triggers.” [Eleanore] said, and the call was cut.

 

…Why did [Eleanore] think that Sam was [Female]? Was he? But he didn’t have [Boobs].

 

“Are you [Female]?” Alexa asked.

 

“Of course not. Do you want me to prove it?” Sam answered back, confused.

 

“....yes,” Alexa answered that automatically, she wouldn’t mind actual evidence to prove it to [Eleanore].

 

She didn’t have any ulterior motives, no sir.

 

“[False]”.

 

Shut it [Main Core].