LOL TRON SLASH
I wrote TRON slash. :D It's an AU where Flynn uses his User powers to save Ram, instead of just sitting there all useless-like. And yes, the title is a Rocky Horror Picture Show reference. DEAL WITH IT. :D I was listening to the Rocky Horror soundtrack when I started writing this. What can I say, it seemed like a good title for an 80’s sci-fi slashfic.
SCIENCE FICTION/DOUBLE FEATURE
CHAPTER 1-USER POWER
Kevin Flynn was having a helluva day. All he’d wanted was to hack into the Encom mainframe and find proof that that Dillinger slimebag had stolen his video game concepts. Now he was actually inside the damn computer, wearing some kind of ridiculous toga-thing, with a glowing Frisbee hanging on his back. He’d met a program with Alan Bradley’s face-- the very same security program Alan himself had created-and Flynn was pretty sure that the actuarial program called Ram had been flirting with him earlier. And the weirdest part of all: he hadn’t really minded the fact that a computer program was making eyes at him. Not that he’d admit to it or anything.
Now Flynn was standing on the bridge of a busted-up Recognizer that he’d repaired just by touching its circuits. Tron had been forced to leave the two of them behind after that tank attack, and Ram was barely conscious on the floor behind him. The circuits on his suit were a dull greenish color now, and Flynn didn’t like the way they kept flickering. Tron will probably know how to fix this, Flynn told himself. Maybe he’ll know where to find more of that liquid energy stuff. He fixed his attention on the Recognizer’s controls. They needed to get moving, and fast.
“All right, let’s get this show on the road,” he muttered. He pushed forward on the lever control at the top of the column, and the Recognizer sailed off down the corridor ahead. “Hah, now we’re smokin’!” Flynn exclaimed triumphantly. He glanced back at Ram, grinning. The smile faded at the near-panicked look on the program’s face.
“How can you steal a Recognizer?” Ram asked shakily.
“Hey, you okay? You don’t look so good. We’ll get you fixed up, hang on,” Flynn told him. He was dodging the question, but he didn’t care. He didn’t have time to explain this whole User-powers deal to the program.
Ram, apparently, disagreed with that plan. He beckoned Flynn over, his eyes wide and fearful. “Come here,” he said. Flynn stopped the Recognizer and crossed over to where he lay. Ram stretched out his hands to him, and there was nothing for it but to grasp the program’s hands and kneel down next to him. Ram was staring up at him with those big eyes, like he was searching for something in Flynn’s face. Some corner of Flynn’s mind wondered what color his eyes would be. Here on the Grid, everyone’s faces were just grey, like an old black and white movie.
Flynn found himself leaning forward, unable to look away from the injured program. He wasn’t sure what was happening here, but from Ram’s expression, it couldn’t be anything good. The flickering in his circuits was getting worse.
Ram squeezed his colorless eyes shut. “Oh, my User,” he groaned, his face scrunching up in pain. He mumbled something about Users, and then his eyes opened again and looked right at Flynn. “Are you a User?” he asked. His voice was quiet, almost reverent. Flynn nodded and smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way. Ram gave a strained, aching laugh that broke off and turned into a grimace. His circuits were flickering between that pale green and an unhealthy shade of red now.
And that’s when Flynn realized what was happening. Oh, no…
“Flynn?” Ram choked out. Just saying his name seemed to put a strain on Ram’s processors. “Help Tron.”
This wasn’t just an injury. Ram was dying.
“No way. No way, man, we’re gonna go and help him together. You and me, all right? Now just stay with me a little while-“ The edges of the program’s lean body were starting to fade away. “Ram, no!” Flynn lunged forward and seized him by the shoulders. Green light flared in the program’s circuits beneath his hands-weakly, but definitely there.
Wait a minute, he thought. He glanced around at the Recognizer’s bridge. Hadn’t he just put this place back together? And he’d done it through contact with the thing’s circuits. It has something to do with touch, almost like…
“Like an energy transfer!” Flynn shouted. “That’s it! I just have to transfer enough of my energy into you to patch you up.” He clamped his hands down on Ram’s shoulders and shut his eyes, focusing on the flow of his own energy. He forced it down his arms and through his hands, out into Ram. “Come on, come on,” he muttered. He ventured a look at the program beneath him and grinned again. It was working! Ram stirred a little as greenish-blue light flowed back into his circuits.
But it wasn’t working fast enough. The program’s body was still derezzing, fading in and out. Flynn swore loudly. There has to be a better way of transferring energy! He couldn’t just sit here helplessly and watch while his friend and fellow escapee derezzed. Think, Flynn, damn it! What can you do to speed the process up? Maybe… if I had a more direct point of contact…
And then, absurdly, he was thinking about fairy tales. Some misguided relative had given him a book full of the stupid things when he was a kid. He’d read it out of boredom one summer while he was grounded. Wasn’t it always a kiss that broke the spell? It would be the easiest way to make a direct connection between them. Flynn swallowed nervously as he looked down at Ram.
He’d never kissed another guy before. (Would this even count as kissing another guy? Ram wasn’t exactly human, after all.) It wasn’t necessarily that he was opposed to the idea, he’d just never had much interest in trying it. First time for everything, he told himself. And really, it was more like CPR than a romantic gesture, right? Sure, right. He took a deep breath, though of what he wasn’t sure. Was there air on the Grid? He’d been trying not to think too hard about it.
Flynn slipped his left hand beneath Ram’s head, his right hand still gripping the program’s shoulder. Could be worse, he thought absently as he leaned in. Ram was oddly good-looking for being a bunch of computer code in humanoid form. Flynn hesitated for just a second, his stomach doing a weird little flip-flop.
“Well, now or never,” he murmured. He lifted Ram’s head a little and closed the gap between them.
Right away, he felt a spark as the flow of energy started up, much stronger than before. It was… intense, to put it mildly. He felt opened up, like the boundary between himself and Ram had just blurred. He hadn’t expected that. He fought the urge to pull away and break the connection.
Flynn could see the surge of green light even through his closed eyelids as his energy poured into Ram’s circuits. The program twitched violently as the power came back to his systems. Flynn pressed down on his shoulder, holding him steady.
He couldn’t have said how long the transfer lasted. When the light subsided, Flynn reeled back from Ram and toppled to the deck, his head spinning.
“Ram?” he called. “Talk to me, buddy. You okay?” He sat up and glanced over at Ram. The program shifted and slowly propped himself up on his elbows.
“Whuh- what… I’m still here?” he mumbled. Flynn laughed breathlessly and thumped his fist against the floor.
“It worked!” he crowed. He clambered to his feet, giddy from his success.
“Yeah, whatever it was,” Ram said weakly. “I guess you really are a User-that much energy, transferred all at once?” He shook his head. “Any program trying that would’ve derezzed. What’d you do, anyway?” He pressed his fingertips to his mouth wonderingly.
“I dunno, it was just a simple energy transfer, man,” Flynn said as lightly as he could. He definitely didn’t have time to explain all that now. He bounded back to the Recognizer’s controls. “Tell you what, I’ll explain it all later. You just stay there and rest up, I’ll steer this baby out of here. We gotta go find Tron, remember? You and me, helping him together, just like I said!”
“Right, I almost forgot. The three of us are going to take down the MCP,” Ram said dryly.
“You’re damn right we are. We can do this. I’m on fire today!” Flynn said. He grabbed the controls again and set the Recognizer cruising along. Everything was going to turn out just fine-with the three of them together, there was no way they could lose.
SCIENCE FICTION/DOUBLE FEATURE
CHAPTER 1-USER POWER
Kevin Flynn was having a helluva day. All he’d wanted was to hack into the Encom mainframe and find proof that that Dillinger slimebag had stolen his video game concepts. Now he was actually inside the damn computer, wearing some kind of ridiculous toga-thing, with a glowing Frisbee hanging on his back. He’d met a program with Alan Bradley’s face-- the very same security program Alan himself had created-and Flynn was pretty sure that the actuarial program called Ram had been flirting with him earlier. And the weirdest part of all: he hadn’t really minded the fact that a computer program was making eyes at him. Not that he’d admit to it or anything.
Now Flynn was standing on the bridge of a busted-up Recognizer that he’d repaired just by touching its circuits. Tron had been forced to leave the two of them behind after that tank attack, and Ram was barely conscious on the floor behind him. The circuits on his suit were a dull greenish color now, and Flynn didn’t like the way they kept flickering. Tron will probably know how to fix this, Flynn told himself. Maybe he’ll know where to find more of that liquid energy stuff. He fixed his attention on the Recognizer’s controls. They needed to get moving, and fast.
“All right, let’s get this show on the road,” he muttered. He pushed forward on the lever control at the top of the column, and the Recognizer sailed off down the corridor ahead. “Hah, now we’re smokin’!” Flynn exclaimed triumphantly. He glanced back at Ram, grinning. The smile faded at the near-panicked look on the program’s face.
“How can you steal a Recognizer?” Ram asked shakily.
“Hey, you okay? You don’t look so good. We’ll get you fixed up, hang on,” Flynn told him. He was dodging the question, but he didn’t care. He didn’t have time to explain this whole User-powers deal to the program.
Ram, apparently, disagreed with that plan. He beckoned Flynn over, his eyes wide and fearful. “Come here,” he said. Flynn stopped the Recognizer and crossed over to where he lay. Ram stretched out his hands to him, and there was nothing for it but to grasp the program’s hands and kneel down next to him. Ram was staring up at him with those big eyes, like he was searching for something in Flynn’s face. Some corner of Flynn’s mind wondered what color his eyes would be. Here on the Grid, everyone’s faces were just grey, like an old black and white movie.
Flynn found himself leaning forward, unable to look away from the injured program. He wasn’t sure what was happening here, but from Ram’s expression, it couldn’t be anything good. The flickering in his circuits was getting worse.
Ram squeezed his colorless eyes shut. “Oh, my User,” he groaned, his face scrunching up in pain. He mumbled something about Users, and then his eyes opened again and looked right at Flynn. “Are you a User?” he asked. His voice was quiet, almost reverent. Flynn nodded and smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way. Ram gave a strained, aching laugh that broke off and turned into a grimace. His circuits were flickering between that pale green and an unhealthy shade of red now.
And that’s when Flynn realized what was happening. Oh, no…
“Flynn?” Ram choked out. Just saying his name seemed to put a strain on Ram’s processors. “Help Tron.”
This wasn’t just an injury. Ram was dying.
“No way. No way, man, we’re gonna go and help him together. You and me, all right? Now just stay with me a little while-“ The edges of the program’s lean body were starting to fade away. “Ram, no!” Flynn lunged forward and seized him by the shoulders. Green light flared in the program’s circuits beneath his hands-weakly, but definitely there.
Wait a minute, he thought. He glanced around at the Recognizer’s bridge. Hadn’t he just put this place back together? And he’d done it through contact with the thing’s circuits. It has something to do with touch, almost like…
“Like an energy transfer!” Flynn shouted. “That’s it! I just have to transfer enough of my energy into you to patch you up.” He clamped his hands down on Ram’s shoulders and shut his eyes, focusing on the flow of his own energy. He forced it down his arms and through his hands, out into Ram. “Come on, come on,” he muttered. He ventured a look at the program beneath him and grinned again. It was working! Ram stirred a little as greenish-blue light flowed back into his circuits.
But it wasn’t working fast enough. The program’s body was still derezzing, fading in and out. Flynn swore loudly. There has to be a better way of transferring energy! He couldn’t just sit here helplessly and watch while his friend and fellow escapee derezzed. Think, Flynn, damn it! What can you do to speed the process up? Maybe… if I had a more direct point of contact…
And then, absurdly, he was thinking about fairy tales. Some misguided relative had given him a book full of the stupid things when he was a kid. He’d read it out of boredom one summer while he was grounded. Wasn’t it always a kiss that broke the spell? It would be the easiest way to make a direct connection between them. Flynn swallowed nervously as he looked down at Ram.
He’d never kissed another guy before. (Would this even count as kissing another guy? Ram wasn’t exactly human, after all.) It wasn’t necessarily that he was opposed to the idea, he’d just never had much interest in trying it. First time for everything, he told himself. And really, it was more like CPR than a romantic gesture, right? Sure, right. He took a deep breath, though of what he wasn’t sure. Was there air on the Grid? He’d been trying not to think too hard about it.
Flynn slipped his left hand beneath Ram’s head, his right hand still gripping the program’s shoulder. Could be worse, he thought absently as he leaned in. Ram was oddly good-looking for being a bunch of computer code in humanoid form. Flynn hesitated for just a second, his stomach doing a weird little flip-flop.
“Well, now or never,” he murmured. He lifted Ram’s head a little and closed the gap between them.
Right away, he felt a spark as the flow of energy started up, much stronger than before. It was… intense, to put it mildly. He felt opened up, like the boundary between himself and Ram had just blurred. He hadn’t expected that. He fought the urge to pull away and break the connection.
Flynn could see the surge of green light even through his closed eyelids as his energy poured into Ram’s circuits. The program twitched violently as the power came back to his systems. Flynn pressed down on his shoulder, holding him steady.
He couldn’t have said how long the transfer lasted. When the light subsided, Flynn reeled back from Ram and toppled to the deck, his head spinning.
“Ram?” he called. “Talk to me, buddy. You okay?” He sat up and glanced over at Ram. The program shifted and slowly propped himself up on his elbows.
“Whuh- what… I’m still here?” he mumbled. Flynn laughed breathlessly and thumped his fist against the floor.
“It worked!” he crowed. He clambered to his feet, giddy from his success.
“Yeah, whatever it was,” Ram said weakly. “I guess you really are a User-that much energy, transferred all at once?” He shook his head. “Any program trying that would’ve derezzed. What’d you do, anyway?” He pressed his fingertips to his mouth wonderingly.
“I dunno, it was just a simple energy transfer, man,” Flynn said as lightly as he could. He definitely didn’t have time to explain all that now. He bounded back to the Recognizer’s controls. “Tell you what, I’ll explain it all later. You just stay there and rest up, I’ll steer this baby out of here. We gotta go find Tron, remember? You and me, helping him together, just like I said!”
“Right, I almost forgot. The three of us are going to take down the MCP,” Ram said dryly.
“You’re damn right we are. We can do this. I’m on fire today!” Flynn said. He grabbed the controls again and set the Recognizer cruising along. Everything was going to turn out just fine-with the three of them together, there was no way they could lose.