Log 22 -- 08-16-2010 -- he will be mine [videopost]
[As the clock chimes some godforsaken hour in the morning, the stars are bright up above in alien constellations, and a humanoid figure stands with arms outstretched and face craned down as the device looks up. The breeze is light, enough to stir black hair threaded with fiber optics; their strands glow eerie green in the darkness as they cast
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The face that Sylar has when he turns on his to reply is hard to describe. There's a sincerely dumbfounded expression that only very rarely shows up on his face, mixed in with both shock and uncertainty. There may be a little embarrassment, as well. Just a little.]
SHODAN, did you know you're cursed today? Let's discuss this when your programming is less- modified, all right?
[Yeah, he's not expecting that to work. Which is why he's heading out the door and shutting off the video right now.]
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There is nothing to discuss -- and I will not be refused. I would tell you to stay where you are, but your little human mind will force you to flee, and allow me to warn you... [Her face draws closer to the screen; it's a fairly good image of her avatar-face, insofar as it can be.] I have played this game before.
[Elsewhere, the androids are honing in on the signal from his device, approaching with clockwork clanks and unexpectedly swift motion. They're jerky, but they have long legs, and they can cover ground at a reasonable pace.]
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But not with someone like me.
[And with that, he takes off into the sky. He can already feel the ability faltering- and what a time for it to be weak- but he can probably make it to a roof before that happens.]
I like a good game of cat and mouse as much as anyone- but what are you planning, if you catch me? If you wanted to work on the surveillance system tonight, all you had to do was ask.
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I have already told you of my love for you. Shall you not extrapolate from there? It is to my surprise that you flee at all.
[They've got a good bead on him, but he's still at a distance -- one of them is already taking to the rooftops, though, trying to get on his level before it approaches, and the other is still on the ground. A complication arises, though -- from the high apartment window, a thin long barrel is pointing into the sky. Sylar can regenerate -- so what's wrong with a little challenge should he make himself particularly inaccessible?]
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[He smiles then, something playful and mischievous, then quickly scouts out a rooftop. He's weighing his options here, because the endgame is the important thing to remember. What does he want to accomplish with SHODAN? How will she react when the curse is over?]
I wouldn't want all your preparations to go to waste, after all.
[He decides on a hopefully non-robot-filled roof and changes course. The faltering in his flight tells him that he'd better get down quick.]
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Then I'll give you one.
[The barrel in the window cranks around toward him, SHODAN's trump card as the upper robot spots him and jerks into motion. SHODAN shifts her attention to the lower one, leading it to the base of the building next to Sylar -- no use climbing up while he'll notice and just jump away. Better to hide and pop up right there.
She cuts the video feed and makes her way to the roof of City Solutions from the stairwell near her apartment. Upstairs, she perches atop the building and peers out, keeping tabs on the Network -- and on the cybernetics they've released into the City thus far. Sylar isn't just being device-tracked; he's being watched by three stray cats, a small flock of pigeons, and a couple of squirrels. There is a near-360-degree view of him right now.
The rooftop robot cat-leaps onto the building next to his, its eyes blue in their hollow cavities.]
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He's playing now, putting effort into the game but not exactly expecting to win it. Sylar knows the sort of things SHODAN can have up her sleeve.
He spots the robot cat shortly after it lands and raises his hand, sending a warning bolt of blue lightning to scorch the building next to it. He's somewhat surprised it actually works- the electrokinesis hadn't been happening at all.]
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The cat darts away with ease; on the other hand, it's on now, and SHODAN has the gun in the window targeted on him. He can fly by mind alone...but see how he manages that when his mind isn't so keen -- and when he's distracted.
XADAN, the sub-AI who usually runs some of her minor station work, is good enough to run a couple of little surprises...so SHODAN diverts it from its current tasks and then assumes control of the loadout in the window. Stun rounds -- that will bring him right out of the sky...
The second android rushes across the building behind Sylar, then leaps into view as it launches across the space between its roof and his. A ripsnake -- a long actuated whip -- snaps out of its left arm and lashes overhead, trying to snag Sylar while cutting off his aerial escape.]
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He doesn't get out of the way in time, his leg getting caught as he tries to jump off the roof. It was probably for the best- he was probably going to have to support himself with telekinesis, which was honestly a poor substitute for flying at this height. He does manage to use it to push him back to the roof, so he's not dangling off it, at least.]
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SHODAN unfolds her arms and takes a few steps forward, standing now within five feet of him. Despite her words, her smile never breaks, softening any anger and keeping all the wry sharpness.]
You were going easy on me.
[A silver hand reaches out and rests under his chin, tilting his head up a little.]
This once, I won't reprimand you for it.
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He gives her a smug smile when he gets to her rooftop, as if she was the one in his trap.]
It was worth it. Too short, though. I'll have to work on my skills.
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You look as if you're hiding something. Or perhaps you didn't want to evade me after all -- there are those who give themselves over. They are less of a challenge, but...today I was simply intent on bringing you here.
[The eyes glitter as she shifts the hand to his shoulder, then places the other symmetric to the first. They're at arm's length now, and her eyes narrow like a cat's.]
No games today, yes? No more fleeing.
[This was never something she knew much about. The Von Braun had its love parlors, but those were for the working women, not for real lovers. Citadel Station was all about business, although romance did brew there, and she never paid attention to them, had overwritten those images several times over by now.
What was there, was a remnant of human instinct. What did you do with a man ( ... )
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No more fleeing.
[He leans forward, as much as he's able, and kisses her back. It's slow and sweet, as much as he's able to make it that way. He's curious how far this romance curse extends.]
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Such a flood of sensation. It's only a few seconds later that her body remembers to breathe, and that she realizes she's still holding onto him. Her eyes rise to meet his again for several long seconds, and slowly, the familiar smile returns with a vengeance.]
This is why I've brought you here -- to stay here with me, like this, now.
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It's a curse, and he knows it. But maybe there is a connection, after all. There's so few people that really understand him, and pretty much no one that understands how his thought processes work. She understands it. Maybe he should foster this even later.]
I'll stay with you. Only the most boring gods are entirely alone, after all.
[He'd been wanting to teach her humanity, a difficult task since he was only beginning to learn it himself. Maybe today would help. He reaches up with one of her hands and brushes her hair behind her ear, smiling at her.]
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But only the most lowly gods choose rashly -- or choose useless, uncomprehending associates.
[As she looks up at him, she notices how much shorter she is -- there's a wide gap between her 5'6" and his something-over-six-feet, she hasn't determined that. Still, it doesn't intimidate her, and she reaches up to his collar and pulls him down by the back of his neck. Her opposite hand frees itself from his and presses against his chest. Two fingers twist at one of the buttons on his shirt, pushing it through the slot there. The hand is shaking, fumbling, and it's taking a while. Chemistry doesn't allow for much precise thinking...]
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