13735/Of Cyborgs and Men

Of Cyborgs and Men
Date of Scene:	03 January 2023
Location:	Penthouse - Kord Co
Synopsis:	Ted starts repairs on Carin and is not prepared for the kind of repairs she needs.
Cast of Characters:	Ted Kord, Carin Taylor

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Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord sent his bots away. Sweet as they are, they are a distraction.

Behind his desk, Ted has opened up full holographic features -multiple screens and spheres holding images. His goggles are in place, giving him additional read outs. In particular, an image of a cube, a cross section built up with scans shows up many times. It alternates with pictures of an athletic redheaded girl with various highlights and notes festooned to them. He has a battered notebook with his precise block printing filling a page. Ted hits his do not disturb button, thinks about it and then presses the 'bother me and you are likely fired' button and e waits for Carin. A small bot heading towards his work station sees Ted's expression, analyzes it and retreats. "Bring me the girl," he mutters, giving a little laugh.

Carin Taylor has posed:
    Carin had been grateful for a place to sleep. For food to eat. Even a place where her talents could be put to some use without either straining herself or having to do violence. When not zipping around the mail room, or out jogging, she's in her room attempting to have the 'teen girl' life she never really got a chance to. For the moment, this involves nothing more than the simplicity of trying on the latest acquisitions from the thrift store while music plays in the background.

    When the bot comes to get her, she's not long to arrive at Ted's workspace. "...you... called?" she asks, peeking in. She's wrapped up in a hoodie two sizes too big for her in black with a faded, formerly-glittery purple heart on the front and some baggy cargo shorts, her feet clad in some basic hi-tops. It's winter outside but it's at least warm in here. The sight of the holographic displays of the cube make her eyes widen, though, a mix of curiosity and trepidation on her features.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord pulls his goggles off and rubs his eyes. "Well, I'm not quite sure what the brain box does on you. I know what it isn't doing. You aren't being tracked or traced by it via signal or wifi. It isn't going to take you over or wipe your mind. that scientist who helped you get away did you several solids. This thing is scary and also brilliant but it seems to mostly be helping you use your speed without getting killed, amping up perceptions and such. It may beeeee causing your suppressed memories. They could also be the result of trauma, like being cyborged. It seems similar to the onboard computers I heard of some government cyborgs using. But this thing had its teeth pulled."

He looks at the hoodie and says, "Are you eating regular? Did you lose weight? And length? I have some pizza warming up."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    Carin blinks a couple of times, approaching the desk and still looking at the readouts. "Um... I think... part of the conversion process was supposed to be a memory wipe... I guess... they made some progress with it but... the scientist who helped me pulled the plug on the rest? I mean I sometimes get little bits of stuff. But if I try to think about it too hard it just turns to fog and I get a little dizzy..." she admits, shaking her head and preferring to focus on the other matters at hand.

    "Oh, um, yeah. It ... the good things it does. I think there's a communicator inside, and it projects a display..." she taps her temple and points at her eyes. "But you're sure there's no bad stuff then? If it helps, that's good." She lowers her arm and grasps her own wrist, looking a little unsure. "Last thing I want is them coming after me here--and hurting you."

    At the talk of getting enough to eat, though, she looks down at the hoodie, the puffy sleeves, and looks confused. "Huh? O-oh, no, I just. Thought this one was cute. It was on sale, and... it was only available in this size but... I've been eating, though I haven't yet today."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord nods and taps his chin. "Yeah pretty sure I can issue you a cell phone and run its functions through the brain box easy enough if you want to try: graphics, texting, subvocalizing conversation. Twitter, Tik Tok. Come sit at the dining room table. The hoodie is very cute. I was being a tease. Do you want one in your size? pretty sure I can get one for you. I'm sorry I've been a little aloof lately but... I wanted to have something that'd help you and I'm not there yet. I'm not taking any chances with you." He goes into the kitchen and comes out with pizza on a tray, holding it awkwardly.

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "...oh! Really?" she asks. "...would be easier to find me if you needed me, too..." she says softly, nodding slowly. Carin looks away, blushing faintly at the compliment, then shaking her head. "No... I actually... like it like this. I can just..." She moves to sit down at the table, and then demonstrates what she means by tucking her legs closer to herself and pulling the hoodie over them. "...I can curl up and hide like this..." she tugs the hood down and peeks out of it.

    "...thanks... Ted. For. All of this. You've... done a lot more for me... and. Without... compensation? Like, I don't... feel like you're going to try to use me to heist a bank or kill the president or something..." she mumbles.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord sets the pizza down. Clothing doubling as shelter? Interesting. He goes over by Carin's chair to plate a few slices of pizza for her. "You're very welcome. Between you and me... I have high hopes for President Luthor. As for robbing a bank? I'm filthy rich. I just figured out I help people with my money and my brain a lot more than I do looking for people to punch. Here... you just need to turn this on and you can begin using it with your brain box." He places a very slim smart phone before medley of Carin and hoodie. "Oh... drinks." He starts to head back to the kitchen.

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "I.. I mean... you know what I mean..." Carin slowly unwraps herself from the hoodie and tugs the covering down, freeing her red hair some. "...like... you're not just... taking care of me to use me, or hurt me..." she sighs, hugging her knees. Then carefully reaching out for the phone, looking it over and powering it on. "...thanks. I'm a good person, you know?" she gives a half-hearted smile. "I mean, I try to be. I don't... I don't want to fight unless I really have to. And..." she stares at the screen as the phone powers up, looking more at her own face with its ink and her bright eyes.

    "...don't... people with powers and stuff.. have an obligation to help? Or something like that? Or can I hide forever?"

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord returns with the sodas and waters for Carin. "Sweetie, everyone should help. My parents, may they rest in peace, drilled that into me. The rich have an obligation to take care of their workers and be charitable. I try to do that. I think right now you need help so feeling like you want to hide is understandable. It's a little embarrassing. Don't be embarrassed. I'm sure you'll wind up helping others... when we get the cybernetics sorted out. I hope you don't spend too long hiding. You're a good person and a lovely girl. In fact, I'll take a normal speed walk with you around the neighborhood if you want."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    Carin looks away, expression turning dark for a moment, "...the rich don't really do that, that much though, do they?" she asks, then slowly shrugs. Her shoulders, slender as they are, seem to lift more than they do with how big the hoodie is. She puts the phone down now that it's on, not up for tinkering with it, or even really sure how to connect to her Brain Box anyway. Bluetooth? Maybe she'll just let Ted handle it. She sighs and takes the soda, wanting a ilttle sugar for the moment.

    "...just. Thanks. It's scary, though..." she says quietly. "I don't like fighting. I *can* do it. I was... *built*... to do it. I guess. I just. It's not who I am?" she asks, gazing up at Ted before closing her eyes and drinking the soda. Then she sets it down and focuses on the food before her. She really is hungry. Talk of a walk perks her up, too, "...walk sounds good. I um. I haven't. Put the suit on in a while. So. I can't really do the 'Velocity' thing in..." she gestures to her clothes. "...these. They'll just. Come to pieces."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord wows to himself. He puts the bottles down and cautiously tries to give Carin a hug simply because he has no clue what to tell her to fix this. But she definitely could use a hug. "I may not be the person you want to hug you. Sorry if that's the case. What you have on is fine for a walk around the block. I asked Carin, not Velocity."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    Carin tenses at the touch but then sinks into the hug after a few moments. "...I. I know. I just. You said. Normal speed walk. And. Was.. trying to explain... that it's fine..." she trails off. There's a lot of internal conflict in this girl, and it's obvious. "I just think about this stuff. A lot. I /want/ to help. I want to.. be useful. But..." she balls her hands up for a moment before letting them fall to her lap. She eyes the pizza again and reaches out for it. She at least is aware she'll be of no use to anyone if she's starving.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord releases her. "There's plenty of ways to help without fighting. I don't like fighting either. I designed my gadgets to avoid hurting people. We do have a human resources department. You could get some counseling if you think it'd help. I'm glad you don't like fighting. There's no reason for you to like it. Eat your pizza... when you feel like it, maybe we can do a little shopping? I need a couple shirts and a new robe. I mean, I'll treat you to some new stuff too. Maybe some more sneakers or one of those hats looks like it's eating your head young women seem to like? I'm fishing here; I have no idea what your style is -but we'll find something."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    The talk of counseling earns a small shrug from the redhead, and she seems to be more focused on the pizza now. Food is good therapy. Especially when you're hungry. And Carin definitely hungry. "Walking.. and shopping?" she asks, between bites and swallows. She's polite enough to not talk with her mouth full either. She's eating at normal speed, too, not plowing through the food. She probably could, though, easily. But she hasn't been 'burning' hard lately, either, and doesn't need the rapid caloric intake.

    "...new stuff? Really? I um..." she looks down at herself. She's been thrift store chic and Goodwill's closet for a long time now. "...I don't know what my style is? Maybe I had one, in the good old days. But. I don't remember them, they were so long ago and.. everything else. If they even were real."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord nods, going to sit down and eat his own pizza. "We can start with corporate casual for around here. See what you like. It's research. Seeing how you react to things. I have an expense account for that sort of thing." Maybe it will jog some memories, he thinks. He dips his pizza in some ranch dressing. "Nothing wrong with what you have on. You have a definite style there. I feel like I'm saying everything the wrong way to you. Sorry. We can just walk. Whatever you want."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "Corporate casual?" Carin asks, tilting her head as she resumes nomming some more. "Not sure what that is?" she asks, but doesn't at all seem averse to the concept of research. She's still sort of stuck on the whole new clothes thing in the first place. She eats quietly for a few moments, nodding as Ted mentions she looks fine in what she's in. Then he's suddenly apologizing.

    "Huh?" she asks, quickly bringing both hands up, the one on her lap catching the underside of the table. She'd reacted so quickly to him that she hits it pretty hard, very loudly. "D-don't apologize! You're helping! I just. I don't remember a lot! It's. Like I don't know myself for a lot of things...!" she panics some and looks down at her hand. The impact seems to have torn a gash across the back of it she'd whipped it up so hard and hit the table.

    It's easy to see what's beneath the skin, though. The faint sheen of blood, of course, but the flexible plate of Kevlar that bore most of the brunt of the impact. More curious still, the wound is already starting to close up. Quickly. She stares at it, then quickly stuffs her arm in her oversized sleeve, grabbing at the pizza with her other hand. "S-sorry," she looks away, "..is.. is the table okay?"

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord gets up and says, "Screw the table. Let me see your hand. Are you all right? Those scientists made a big deal of giving you gloves to protect your hands. Anyway, rich people should apologize more, and take responsibility for what they do. Please let me see what you did to yourself. There is a reason I have EMTs here round the clock. Carin, please." He holds his hand out and smiles. "Actually I knows first aid myself, from experience," he says. He turns and traces the long faint scar on his scalp under his hair. "Shot, stabbed, burned, blown up, hit by lightning once due to bad luck powers. Let me see."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "But.. the.." she looks down at the table. It might have a dent, or a crack, depending on what it was made of. Something about her body language is pure reflex, like she's recoiling in fear of being struck. But Ted's voice and movements are calm and disarming enough to make the 'scared animal' reflex bleed away, albeit not quite as quickly as it had come. Then slowly, she reaches out, letting her arm slip from her sleeve.

    She holds it out, letting him look her over. Even in such a short span of time, it's mostly healed over already. The Kevlar is still visible, and there's rivulets of dried blood running from the back of her hand to stain her palms where her fingers are clenched, but... What might've needed stitches in an average person is on a path to not even leaving a scar right before Ted's eyes.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord very gently takes Carin's hand. He douses a napkin with a water bottle and begins cleaning the blood away. "I wish I could do that. Carin... no one is going to hurt you here, or if I have ANYTHING to say about it. You're going to have little episodes like this. Growing pains. I'm pretty sure some jerk gave you a clout on the head for a little mistake like that. I'm not. People make mistakes. Here... he reaches in his pocket for his phone and flicks up a picture, Ted, asleep, wearing lipstick, eyeshadow and blush.

"One of the bots did this to test her make up skills. She's still alive so to speak and in one piece. I don't smack bots or people around. Well... crooks. When I have to. Especially the Mad Men. But they tried to kill me. No one is hitting you. I mean you're already like a kid sister."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "I..." she closes her eyes, clenching her fingers. There's little flashes of memory here and there. "...m-more than... just... a clout on the head..." she says in a small voice. "...he's dead now..." she then adds, staring off into the distance. A thousand yard stare as it were. She sighs, closing her eyes, and then opens them to... a very fancy looking Ted.

    She just stares at the photo on the phone, incredulous. Green eyes flicker between Ted, the phone, and back. "I.. it.. she.. you.." she says quietly. Then she laughs. Her cheeks tint pink and she laughs. "S-sorry, I shouldn't.. b-but... um... it looks really good on you.." she says sheepishly. "...the bot is... very talented!" She bites her lips and then looks at the phone again. "...could.. she.. me?"

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord mock punches Carin on the shoulder. "You should certainly laugh at it. It's funny and you ned a laugh. Don't try t0 remember more. It doesn't work. I had memory issues after my skull got broken. Annnnd she will absolutely do it all for you, makeup, nails... don't let her do hair. She's still learning. Bailey? Number te..." Very abruptly, though not to Carin, there is a small bot hovering nearby with a large make up case.

"Bailey, this is Carin. She would like a makeover like you gave me. You did do a good job there." Bailey reaches out to grab Ted's hand and and tap on his fingers, then point to his toes. She waits.

"Bailey will do it on one condition... she gets to polish your nails."