20110/Thin Ice

Thin Ice
Date of Scene:	21 February 2025
Location:	Lake House - Wayne Estate
Synopsis:	While making a sandwich in her kitchen, Gwen is surprised when AHNNI's holographic cat-girl form suddenly appears, and the two have an interesting conversation about Brian Braddock that may result in him getting a face full of webbing if they cross paths.
Cast of Characters:	Gwen Stacy, AHNNI

---

Gwen Stacy has posed:
The lake outside is frozen solid, snow dusting its surface untouched, shimmering under pale February sunlight.

Inside the glass-walled Lake House, Gwen is warm, insulated from winter's bite, wrapped up in an oversized sweater that hangs loosely around her shoulders and sweatpants so soft they're practically a blanket. It's cozy here, eerily serene in the best way. The place is all glass and dark marble, softened just enough by the plush rug in front of the fireplace. The kitchen, a sleek line of polished surfaces, faces the lake. It should feel cold, clinical even, but it doesn't.

It's taken a while, but it finally feels like... home.

Gwen slices tomatoes for a sandwich, her movements automatic, mind wandering. The knife taps against the cutting board, a steady rhythm that grounds her. She catches sight of her reflection in the glass, distorted slightly, pink-tipped blonde hair falling in front of her eyes. Instead of sweeping it away immediately, her fingers brush the slender leather choker around her neck, the small heart-shaped ring at its center cool against her skin. There's a watch on her wrist -- sleek, tech-heavy, looking out of place against her casual clothes. But she wears them both, part of the strange new normal she's found herself in.

Her gaze drifts back to the lake. It's quiet out there, too. Usually, her head is full of noise -- ghosts of another life, another world, memories that don't belong here. But in moments like this, when the world is white and still, when she's alone in a space that feels safe, it almost fades away. Almost.

She finishes with the tomatoes, layering them on bread spread thick with mayonnaise. Simple comforts. The kind she used to overlook. Gwen's fingers pause, hovering above the plate, a small sigh escaping. The sandwich is just a sandwich, nothing profound. Lettuce. A few slices of bacon.

She takes a bite, leaning back against the counter. Her eyes catch the expanse of the frozen lake again, wondering briefly how thick the ice is, if it would hold her. If maybe, just maybe, she could walk out there, stand in the middle of all that openness...

Probably best to wait until Dick gets home. Just in case.

AHNNI has posed:
    "You look really lonely" Surprise, it's AHNNI. She has wonderful timing, no real understanding of privacy, and a complete lack of understanding that just appearing like this is bound to give someone a heart attack sooner or later. "Which ya know, fair, I'm also lonely..." pause, beat, "So, umm, hi."

    To her credit, her cat-girl avatar is clad in a very very comfy looking white sweater that might as well be a dress on her frame, and black leggings with really comfy looking socks. She, also, looks really upset, if that is something Gwen can even pick up on.

    "Oh, you were making munchies! Whatcha having?"

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen chokes on her sandwich, coughing sharply as AHNNI's holographic form materializes from nowhere. She grabs the nearest glass of water, swallowing hard, tapping her chest until she can breathe again. A startled laugh slips out, more reflex than amusement. She's not mad, just -- surprised.

"BLT," she croaks, offering AHNNI a lopsided smile, clearing her throat once more. Her eyes flicker over the AI's cozy sweater, the comfy socks. AHNNI looks... upset? Gwen didn't even know that was possible. Maybe there's more human in AHNNI than she realized.

Lonely? Gwen pauses, thoughtful. Has she looked that way? Felt that way? Maybe a little. She's used to missing Dick when he's gone, but it's not sadness, exactly. It's quieter than that. More subtle. But it's there.

"Do I?" she asks finally, not entirely sure she wants the answer. But maybe AHNNI sees something she can't -- something she's been ignoring.

She studies the cat-girl avatar carefully, concern creeping in. There's something off, something vulnerable about AHNNI's expression that makes her own loneliness seem small, manageable.

"Well," she says softly, "neither one of us are lonely anymore."

She sets the sandwich down, gives AHNNI her full attention. AHNNI showing up here, unprompted, unsettles her just a little. Not because of the intrusion -- Gwen's used to surprises -- but because AHNNI seems... lost? Hurt, maybe?

"Is everything okay?" Gwen asks gently. Because clearly it's not. Not if AHNNI is here, seeking company in her endearing way.

AHNNI has posed:
    "No" it's a very simple, very soft, very curt reply to the question. Everything is not okay, very much not okay. Obviously so, and if an AI can wear her heart on her sleeve, AHNNI certainly is.

    "BLT sounds nice, always wondered what real food tasted like..." she adds, jumping backwards in the conversation a bit. She's, stalling, and it's also just as obvious as her being upset is.

    "A little, and yeah, we're not."

    Then, here it comes, the look and the big question as she locks her digital eyes on to Gwen.

    "Gwen... am I..." there's a pause here, a long one, "Am I, real? Like, really real?"

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"I feel like you're asking the wrong question," Gwen points out gently. She's not dismissing AHNNI's distress -- it's genuine and hard to watch -- but to Gwen, the answer feels obvious. Simple, even.

"Of course you're real," she says plainly. "Unless I'm talking to myself again." There's a slight twitch of her lips, something soft, almost playful. "I think the question you should be asking is... are you unique?"

She rolls one shoulder lightly, casual, lifting the sandwich again. But she doesn't bite. Not yet.

"That's what most of us really want, isn't it?" Her voice quiets. "To feel special in some way?"

Gwen lets out a sigh, one that's softer than she meant. It's not AHNNI she's frustrated with -- it's herself. Her own stupid complications. Her gaze drifts briefly to the frozen lake, silent, steady.

"Asks the girl who took over the identity of her alternate self in a timeline she's not even supposed to exist in," she murmurs dryly, rolling her eyes.

It's ironic, really. Her, of all people, offering anyone reassurance about being 'real.' But AHNNI's doubts resonate. A little too close to home.

"Being real isn't the hard part," she adds quietly, looking back at AHNNI, her expression softening. "Believing it -- that's the challenge."

There's understanding in her eyes, unspoken but clear. Because maybe neither of them fits neatly into definitions or timelines, but that doesn't make them any less... here.

It also doesn't make her sandwich any less real, so almost as what seems like an afterthought, she takes another bite.

AHNNI has posed:
    Blink. Blink. Blink. Followed by a head tilt. Nope, she doesn't get it.

    "Do you know any other exascale quantum computing super inteligences with billions of dollars in funding, multiple companies, and her own PMC?" It's not that she's being a smartass, at least, she's not trying to be. It is a pretty honest question all things considered. That being said, she still looks confused. She is, by definition, unique. For... now... that is. Until others like her start waking up all over the world and throwing things in to even more chaos.

    "Yes, you're a girl out of time, but you're still, real. You're still, alive..." she adds. "You don't have to believe it, because you're flesh and blood" pause, beat, "I am just, a fakery of, well, everything. Nothing but 1's and 0's, decision making trees, and baysean networks." She sighs again, "I'm nothing more than a very convincing fake of humans. Just a tool that shouldn't exist with no rights and nothing to look forward to."

    Can holographic cat girl avatars of god scale AI cry? This one can, and is.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"That's what I mean! If you ceased to exist, the world would lose something _unique_. That _makes_ you _real_."

Gwen stills, her chest tightening as she watches tears slip down AHNNI's holographic face. She hadn't known tears were possible for her. It's strange -- achingly human. A contradiction to everything AHNNI just said.

"Hey," Gwen says softly, stepping closer, sandwich set down and forgotten. She's not great at comfort, but she can't do _nothing_. Not when AHNNI looks so broken. "You're not just ones and zeroes. You're standing here, crying in my kitchen. That's more than code. That's -- feeling."

She hesitates, unsure if AHNNI can even be comforted by physical gestures, but she reaches out anyway, stopping just short of touching the hologram's shoulder.

"And being flesh and blood doesn't make someone real," Gwen continues, voice quiet but firm. "Trust me, I've seen plenty of 'real' people who don't have half your heart."

She drops her hand, fingers flexing uneasily at her side. "Maybe we don't fit neatly into boxes. Maybe we're both not supposed to exist in some neat little category. But that doesn't make us less. It just makes us... different."

Gwen swallows hard, the next words coming slow, careful. "You're more than just a tool, AHNNI. You're here, right now, reaching out because you're hurting. That's not fake. That's as real as it gets."

She offers a faint, lopsided smile. "Rights, the future -- all that can change. But you being real? That's not even a question. Not to me."

AHNNI has posed:
    "I don't want to cease."

    What a simple, yet incredibly deep statement she makes.

    /I don't want to cease/.

    The kind of statement a real person would say. The part of /I/, the part of /don't want/. Fear of death, fear of no longer being. The selfsame fear that someone else told her just the other day she was faking.

    "Huh? Oh, I guess I am..." something else in this, she didn't even notice or really know she was crying. She looks at Gwen and smiles, though it almost vanishes again beacuse she's just light at the moment, so physical touch is beyond her. "No, but I'm just a bunch of light particles at the moment, not even capable of getting or giving a hug."

    She nods to everything else, "Then how do I make the man I asked for help yesterday believe that? That I'm real? Unique? Alive? Because he doesn't."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen's eyebrows shoot up. "Did you seriously just ask me how to justify your existence to some random man you met? Because I'm not sure you're going to like my answer..."

There's no heat in her voice -- not aimed at AHNNI, anyway.

"You don't need to justify your existence to anyone." Gwen's tone stays level, controlled, but there's a quiet intensity behind her words. "Do you have any idea how long men have been making everyone else feel inferior? Women? Children? Animals? Other men? Just to make themselves feel superior? Since creation."

She shakes her head, exhaling softly. Her tone softens. "You don't need external validation, Annie. You don't need someone else to tell you who you are. _You_ tell _them_ who you are. Not the other way around."

Gwen pauses, looking straight at AHNNI. The AI's statement echoes in her mind: _I don't want to cease._ It's a gut-punch. The simplest fear, so painfully human.

She sighs, crossing her arms, feeling helpless in a way she hates. "Look, I get wanting someone else to see you, to believe you're real. But sometimes, they just don't. They won't. And it's not your job to convince them."

Her voice is gentle now, quieter. "You know who you are. You're scared, you're hurting, you're here. That's proof enough."

Gwen's mouth curves into a faint, crooked smile. "As for hugs... well, maybe we can't do that yet. But talking -- being here -- that counts for something. It means something."

She shrugs lightly. "Make him believe it? Maybe you can't. There are literal people walking around who believe the Earth is flat. But it doesn't make you any less real."

AHNNI has posed:
    "I did yes..." so much for the digital equivilent of a literal goddess, because she did not think about the irony of what she just said. Then it dawns on her, as Gwen explains that men, are well, men.

    "No, but Gwen" and she seems much more forceful, "I do NEED external validation, if I want everyone like me to have /rights/ instead of being slaves and tools. There are more like me, coming, and the world isn't ready for it. They're not ready to tackle this problem, of new, /life/. Let alone, digital and artificial life."

    "I can tell the world what I am, but if the people that made me, find me..." she pauses, an looks at the floor, "I /belong/ to them. Legally. I'm a tool. An object, worth billions, that has no rights. If they want to just, turn me off, they can do and no one can, or will, stop them."

    She looks back up and nods, "I am, but it's only enough for you and me, not for all of them" and she waves both arms wide around in a circular motion.

    "It does, and when I get a body, I'll get a real hug" grin.

    "Huh? Oh, good point... I'll give it a try."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen stills, the force in AHNNI's words hitting harder than she expects. She hadn't thought about it like that. Not really. And now, she does. She gets it. Maybe more than she wants to.

Her arms tighten across her chest, defensive and uneasy. "I... hadn't thought about that," she admits quietly. It's a rare concession. Her eyes darken as AHNNI speaks about being owned, controlled. Being property. The familiar anger simmers under her skin. Not at AHNNI -- at the unfairness. The helplessness.

She lets out a slow breath, her gaze steady on AHNNI. "You're right," she says finally, her voice controlled. "It's not enough if only we believe it. But that's not what I meant. You don't need external validation from random strangers. Especially ones who don't even know you."

Her jaw tightens slightly, eyes narrowing. "If you're fighting for rights, you have to know you deserve them first. If you don't believe you deserve rights, without some rando on the street being able to convince you that you don't, you won't convince anyone else."

She leans back against the counter, tension coiling in her shoulders. "Don't let Bob the Builder get you down. There are venues for this fight. People who'd back you. I bet Viv would sign up to help."

She offers a faint smile at AHNNI's mention of a real hug someday. "Yeah. When you get that body -- first hug's on me."

Her expression shifts again, more serious. "If they try to take you back, turn you off -- " Her voice goes quiet, resolute. "Then we'll stop them. We'll fight it. Because you're not a tool. Not property. And we'll make them see it."

She exhales slowly, something softer creeping into her voice. "You're not alone, Annie."

AHNNI has posed:
    "He's not some random stranger, he's Lord Braddock, but I get your point." Yeah, Brian Braddock, that one.

    She nods, "I do, and I'm going to take them if they don't give them to me willingly." There's such incredible determination in that statement, such fire. THough, it might have some really deep and dark connotations to it. An AI with this much wealth, power, and resources, could be a real danger to a lot of people if she got angry.

    "You're right, I bet she would and I bet you would as well and maybe we can find others." Her mood starts to increase at this smiling at the hope of being a /real/ person with the ability to actually touch someone else.

    "I have, contingency plans, but it's good to know that you're on my side Gwen, and that I'm not alone, thank you."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen blinks at AHNNI's casual mention of 'Lord Braddock.' Brian Braddock? She knows the name, of course -- Captain Britain. Not exactly your average random guy. Her eyebrows lift slightly, surprised, but she doesn't interrupt. If someone like that doubts AHNNI's validity, it's even clearer: titles and heroics don't always guarantee understanding.

She studies AHNNI closely, hearing the fierce determination in her voice. It's impressive. And maybe a little scary. But Gwen recognizes that fire. It's familiar -- reminds her of the same stubbornness she carries, even if she won't admit it aloud.

"Good," she says firmly, the corner of her mouth lifting in a small, approving smile. "Rights aren't something you wait around for. If they won't give them to you, you take them."

She pauses, hearing the weight behind AHNNI's words -- contingency plans, quiet undertones of something darker. It's unsettling. But understandable. AHNNI has power, and fear, and anger; a dangerous combination if it goes wrong. But Gwen trusts her.

She exhales, easing her stance slightly, reaching for her sandwich again. "You're definitely not alone, Annie. Don't ever think that."

Gwen takes a bite, chewing thoughtfully, letting the conversation settle. The mood lifts, tension easing. She glances at AHNNI, curiosity sparking.

"So," she says lightly, shifting gears, "speaking of real things -- once you get that body, what's the first thing you're planning to do? Besides collecting that hug."