Crash

[blooddebt]

1 (OOC: Posts are numbered in order so that they can be read as such. Does anyone ever come out into the Wasteland? Can people sense that someone is out here/has any technology registered the crash?)

Blocker Experiment 34G peeled the last shard of metal out of his arm. Not that he knew. That he was an experiment, that is. After all, one can't be expected to remember anything after such a crash. No doubt the Blocker scientists were rather worried, not knowing the effects it would have on such an untested subject.

He winced, pulling out the shining aluminum from his arm. It started to heal, as he had somehow known it would, flashes of sparking circuitry running up and down the bleeding limb. There were nanobots inside him, healing him, he knew that, but they were dying. Dying, because they had not been properly configured to Earth's atmosphere.

"Who am I?" the boy whispered, watching the flesh on his arm knit itself together and merge into pale, unmarked skin.

You are us, voices ran through his read, four voices challenging him, comforting him, soothing him, confronting him.

Who are we?, he asked silently in return. He knew nothing.

We are who we are..., was the cryptic reply. The raven-haired twelve year-old looked up, hearing a crash of thunder. Immediately, rain started to fall. It stung, searing drops that drove through his skin, hissing into the sand around him, melting the fragments of metal that he had climbed out of only minutes ago. He let out a cry of pain, wanting the acidic hurts to stop, not knowing what to do. The voices clamored for control, screeching in terror, feeling his pain. He withdrew, letting another take over.

"Initiate liquid shielding, Strength Six," his voice said, but it was not he who had said it. A purple sphere shimmered into existence around him, diverting the raindrops away from his woefully inadequate body, and he sighed in relief. The other man slid back to where he belonged, letting the boy take over again.

"What's my name?" he questioned aloud, voice soft and unheard amongst the roar of the storm.

You don't have one, the voices chorused.

"Oh. Don't I need one then?" he asked, confused.

You can name us, one murmured, and the others agreed, muttering quietly to one another. The boy plonked himself down on the sand, still looking at the falling raindrops. It was acid.

Acid.

"My name is Acid," he whispered, almost a question to the others. No, they liked it. Acid was a good name.

The newly named Acid watched his shield twist and rotate. His arm had some digits on that said it would last for another six hours. The Smart One who had helped Acid make the shield said,

We'd better get out of here soon. Once the shield fails, we're on our own. Acid waited as the voices started to discuss the ways of getting out of this desert place. He wasn't worried. He could trust the others.

[Lee Stone]

Sandstorm was out in the middle of the wasteland when the rain started. Cursing the unpredictable weather, she rushed to her dirtbike and put up the rain shield around her. She would have to return to the shop and come back to the site later. She covered everything up using her telekinesis and started up her bike. The engine roared to life and she zipped off.
She was halfway back to her shop when she felt a tug in her mind that told her another psychic was nearby. She didn't recognize the unique mental signature, but she could tell there was something odd about it. It was jumbled and confused, alwyas shifting as if there was more than one person, although the additional people slipped in and out of her mind. Confused and very curious, she swerved her dirtbike around and headed towards the odd psychic beacon.
After a few minutes she saw an odd shape in the distance. After a moment, it moved: she had found her psychic.
"Hey!" She called,s tanding up on her dirtbike and waving to the person as she approached. "Hey, are you alright?!"

[blooddebt]

2

Acid looked confusedly at the girl on the mechanical contraption - it looked like a vehicle, but the Smart One (who called himself 34G - but everyone had shortened it to 'G') said it was a dirtbike; whatever that was.

She looked like a boy, because girls were supposed to have long hair, but everyone else said she was a girl - 'look at her chest, idiot!' Acid wasn't sure whether he was supposed to do that, but after that he was quite sure she was a girl.

Luckily for the twelve year-old, the burning rain had stopped, and he had simply stayed out in the middle of the sandy wasteland for hours on end. The girl was the first live person he had seen. Of course, he knew what people looked like, he just couldn't remember meeting them.

Let me take over, another voice said. Acid had discovered that she was the nicest voice, because she always defended him if there was an argument going on about letting him stay in charge. There were four voices altogether, and the gentle lady was called Caroline. He slid to the back of his mind, letting Carrie (Caroline's nickname) take over. Acid was rather possessive of his body though, but since he trusted Carrie, he didn't mind her taking over for a while.

"Hello there!" he called out, cupping hands over his mouth. "Can you help me? I'm lost, and I don't know where I am. Is there a place of habitation round here?"

Carrie was very good with words, as her speech showed. Tom, the most argumentative, grumbled silently about using too large a vocabulary, but G and Kar (Tom's twin, although they had distinctly different personalities) told him to shut up.

All five of them waited anxiously for a reply. The girl wasn't a mirage, the heat scan had proved that - but was she friend or foe?

[Lee Stone]

Sandstorm slid off her bike and pushed her goggles up on her forehead. "What the hell are you doing out here, kid? You could really be hurt if you don't have the right equipment with you, which it doesn't look like you do." She frowned at the boy and shook her head, "Well, however you got here, you definitely can't stay. My shop isn't far from here. Hop on and I'll give you a lift." She offered.

[blooddebt]

3 (OOC: Hmm. Would romance be pedophilic, or only if was between Acid/Sanstorm. *glances at Tom* That voice is sixteen.)

Acid climbed onto the back of the dirtbike, unsure of how to hold on. Was he supposed to put his arms around her waist or something, because he remembered vaguely that one wasn't supposed to touch women - did this girl count?

"Thank you," Carrie replied for him. She had no qualms about touching women - was it because she was already a lady? It made 'Ciddy's head hurt to think about it. The sixteen year-old girl in front of him was quite tall, at least three inches above Acid. She wore a blue shirt with rolled up sleeves and a vest made almost entirely of pockets. She had sweatbands on her wrists and gloves for riding. Acid looked down at his clothing. His garments consisted of a black shirt with 34G stamped on it, and black jeans. Perhaps he had something to do with with darkness...

Hey, G - why's your name on the shirt? he puzzled, almost to himself. G shrugged.

The Blockers are inherently stupid, that's why, he replied, which of course made all the sense in the wold to Acid. What did inherent mean? And Blockers?

"I'm Carr- I mean, I'm Acid," Caroline introduced, ignoring the four talking in the back of their shared mind. The girl looked a bit strangely at her for fumbling over a name, but hopefully, she would blame it on the desert's effects.

[Lee Stone]

(OOC: I don't really know. Have you ever seen FLCL? Naota was twelve and Haruko was 19 or possibly older. She was also an alien. That has nothing to do with anything tho... ;.

"My name's Sandstorm." She introduced. "But you can call me Storm if you want. But not Sand or Sandy or anything like that. I hate that." She chattered happily, barely even noticing his slip over his name. "How'd you end up in the middle of the wasteland anyway? Did the Blockers dump you there? They do that sometimes, drop people here that they want to disappear. You're lucky I found you. You wouldn't have lasted long out there. My shop is only another five minutes." She promised suddenly. She pressed her foot against the gas pedal, eager to get home. "There! I can see it!" She pointed at the black mark on the horizon and grinned. "You look pretty beat kid. There's food at my place. You could use a bite." Her bike sped up again as they approached and she skidded to a halt in front of the shop.
As she stepped off the bike she frowned worriedly at Acid. She hoped she didn't scare him to omuch with her reckless driving. She wasn't used to carrying passengers. "Well come on," She said more gently that usual, "I'll get you something to eat alright?"

[blooddebt]

4 (OOC: Okay... *thinks* Ooh, I got an idea! Hehehe...)

Actually, Acid hadn't been so much concerned about the driving (his body had naturally turned and twisted with the wildest skids Sandstorm had exhibited), but Tom's lewd comments about Storm and her body. They could not let Tom control Acid's body anytime soon, or at least until his raging hormones calmed.

34G was currently in charge of Acid's body, because he was the one who had been trained in riding bikes and stuff like that.

"That would be nice, thank you," he replied in a clipped tone. G preferred not to waste words. He was almost like a robot. Acid worried to the others whether Sandstorm would notice the accent change (from a melodious, soft, slightly British accent, to a Mars-based short one). "Do you have any oil? My joints need it - the sand must have got into my wires." G checked Acid's arm, flipping up a lid he hadn't known was there.

"My locator's busted, too. Do you have any tools that I can use?" Storm looked rather askance at the thought of a twelve year-old fixing his own arm, but it wasn't Acid in there, it was G. Apparently, they all had memories except Acid. It was a lonely thought.

[Lee Stone]

Sandstorm paused and gave the kid a queer look. Mood swings much? And what was he tlaking about when he asked for tools to fix his arm? She looked at the panel in his arm that had been opened up and gaped at the electrical wires within.

"You have mechanical limbs?" She cried, "But you're so young! What happened to your real ones?" She grabbed his arm and gazed at the circuitry. "This is pretty complex stuff." She said, "How do you know how to do that?" She sighed and shook her head, "Nevermind, I don't need to know your life's story. Come inside, I'm a mechanic so I'll have everything you need."

[blooddebt]

5

Acid looked up, puzzled, as G relinquished control to the original persona once again.

"Uh..." he started as Sandstorm turned away. "Doesn't everyone have mechanical arms?" He followed her inside a garage, watching as she punched numbers into a control panel (unconsciously registering them for later use if needed) and he had a flash of deja vu as the door slid open with a hiss of released air and strengthened metal.

This way, 34G, a mechanical voice urged, opening the door before him. Blocker Experiment 34G had never been here before, and voiced the thought aloud.

No, you haven't, the computerized articulation answered. You are to be briefed and sent of your first mission for the Blockers. It is indeed an honor.
So this was what his training amounted to. Ever since he had born, 34G had been trained to fight, constantly being upgraded, refined, trained, for the Blocker cause. He knew it was to do with some organization called DetaB, but he had not been allowed access to information on these threats. Today was to be his first time.

"Thank you, CAA," (computerized area assistance) 34G responded, letting the blue scanner run over his body and verify it truly was he. He stepped forward and -

Acid shook his head, trying to rid himself of the strange vision, and almost tripped over the step in doing so. He grabbed at Sandstorm's arm to stop himself, barely avoiding the grainy floor, and sighed in relief. Suddenly, Acid realized what he was doing, blushed, and apologized,

"Sorry!" He ignored Tom's twisted comment about working fast, and looked at Sandstorm's limb in dismay. Letting go quickly, he saw a bright red imprint stamped firmly into her flesh. It looked painful.

[Lee Stone]

"You've got some grip, Acid." Sandstormmuttered, rubbing her arm. "Sorry I forgot to warn you about the step. I don't have company very often." 'Damn whis kid's strange.' Sandstorm thought, Mechanical limbs and weird mood swings? Next thing I know he'll be telling me a Blocker or some crazy shit like that!'.

She shook her head slowly as she led the way inside and instructed the boy to sit down atthe cluttered table. He may be a bit off, but for all she knew that was just a result of being out in the wasteland unprotected. She shuffled about in the corner and found one of her many toolboxes and dropped it down in front of him. "You know I can help with that," She offered.

[blooddebt]

6

Acid looked doubtfully at the sixteen year-old, but extended his arm politely, wondering whether she would be able to understand the complicated mechanisms. Only G knew how to fix it, really. Popping the panel open, some liquid metal gushed out, a mercury of some sort. It solidified as soon as the flood ceased, pooling in the middle of the stone table.

"They're dead nanobots," the part-mech boy explained doubtfully. G hadn't told him that - he seemed to have known himself. Bit by bit, his memory seemed to be coming back, but he wasn't even sure he wanted to know.

"At least, I think they are..." he deterred. He poked at it with his real arm, seeing whether it would move. It melted where his flesh made contact, and enveloped his skin. Rainbow colors rippled in the light, and 'Ciddy stared, transfixed by the strange substance that had poured out of his body.

[Lee Stone]

'Nanobots? Why does he have nanobots in his body?' Sandstorm wondered. She was curious but she didn't say anything. Instead she sat down next to him and grabbed a probing tool and started poking around in his arm.

"This is incredible...so advanced," SHe murmered as she poked at the wires. "I've never seen anything like this! Where did you get this arm from?" The technology used for his arm was unlike anything she'd ever seen before, but she knew she could figure it out. There was some damage to the wires inside, but it shouldn't be too hard to fix.

The nanobots sparked her curiousity as well, but she ignored them for the time while she worked on his damaged arm. It was obvious this kid had quite a few secrets, and if someone took the time to equip him with nanobots and mechanical limbs then she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know. Those kinds of things...they were more for military use. One thing was for certian, he wasn't any ordinary kid.

[blooddebt]

7 (OOC: Do I have to post plot devices on the character creation board? Also, I won't be able to post very often as I am still at school, and my time is limited. Apologies if it causes any inconveniences)

G took over again, taking Acid's place easily, after all, these were the sort of things he had been trained to do. G was the part of Acid who had been created by the Blockers, and he wasn't entirely happy about the split. Before the crash, they had been one personality, but now they were cut into five different faucets. Of course, G wanted to be himself, but it was annoying, staying in the background all the time.

"Careful," he warned sharply, grabbing at Sandstorm's screwdriver, which was probing through his circuitry. "If you cut the aluminum wire, I'll self-destruct. It's an inbuilt defense mechanism. If I'm ever caught by the enemy, and they try and use my technology, I explode." A collective gasp came from the back of his head, but they didn't gasp out loud. No, only G had the power to move their body now, but only Acid had the strength to stay there.

Letting go of Sandstorm ( he left no mark, as he had trained this body inside out), he relaxed and leaned back, smiling a smile that did not belong on a pre-teen face. G was no child. He had never been a child. Slowly, his memories were leaking back into Acid, but even G did not know what would happen after that. He did not want to. In reply to her question, G looked at her, wondering whether this adolescent could handle the truth.

"They chopped my arm off when I was five. They replaced it with a more durable, better one." At least, that was what his trainers had said, although they had never had mechanical body parts. He looked up, silently judging Storm on how she would react

[Lee Stone]

(OOC: It's not neccessary to post any plot devices really, although it may be a good idea to put them up somewhere, mainly for new members to get a feel for the board. Maybe I should put up a plots board? What do you think?)

"My God..." Storm sat back, horrified. "Who the hell would do something like that to a little kid?" It disgusted her. Replacing an arm lost in an accident was one thing, but purposefully cutting a perfectly good arm off a five-year-old?! It was just disgusting! There was no other word for it.

She stood up from her chair and shook her head slowly, dropping the screwdriver on the table. "That's completely sick." She told Acid. "Who exactly did that to you? And why?" Her face was dark with hatred for whomever would put a child through that, but she was pretty confident that she had an idea who would do it.

[blooddebt]

8 (OOC: I'll post a possible plot later - here I'll just say that Acid's persona -will- merge eventually, just to keep things simpler.)

34G blinked, stunned. He had never thought of it that way before. It was for the greater good, wasn't it? Subliminal messages, sleep tapes, and continual tutoring had taught him that. If he completed what the Blockers told him to do, it was fine.

"It didn't hurt," he reassured her, motioning towards his arm with his real one. "It's better this way. Really." Sandstorm seemed infuriated like no one he had ever seen, and it almost frightened him. She was a psychic, his sensors told him that, and he had learnt that they were dangerous, irrational creatures. However, she had helped them - though whether from the goodness of her heart, or some other reason G didn't know - and if he voiced his thoughts, Acid would immediately wrench back control from him, and remove any freedoms that he could have experienced.

"It's not like I need anything. I was created for this purpose," G continued hurriedly, noticing again how much taller Storm was than him, towering over his petite frame.

"So once I fix my circuits, I can tell the Blocker headquarters that I'm here," Acid blurted, sliding in and taking control, obviously thinking he could handle the situation better than his counterpart. "And then they can tell us what to do, since G won't tell us." The original trained persona groaned and slapped himself silently; the exact reason he hadn't told Acid (or any of the others for that matter) exactly what their mission was (to destroy all psychics, actually) was because the twelve year-old wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut - no one else had managed to figure out what the letter and digits flashing across their vision meant - except G. He was also the only one who realized they were not separate identities, but the split threads of one man. The others had some ridiculously wild theory about mind transplants. On the other hand, G did not want to merge with Tom - the aggressive, rebellious part of 34G's original personality, and the part least suited to his bleak nature. Tom was the weakest of them though, years of being suppressed and squashed did nothing for him, and the violent mood swings he experienced helped his predicament not at all. Stupid boy. He was already the smallest part of the original, and the least helpful.

Carrie was compassion, kindness, and politeness, and Kar was the calculating, most intelligent and rational of them, except when it came to her own existence. Acid was the childhood G had never had, but now existed the most strongly merely because the body accepted it; matched it the most.

G snarled and tried to snatch back control, nearly managing to get a hold on the body, but it was like falling from the edge of a cliff, he couldn't get a grip, his hands weren't strong enough, and he slipped back, angrier now, pacing back and forth, imitating a caged tiger.

"Leave me alone, G. Sandy - I mean, Storm won't hurt us!" Acid yelled aloud. Storm would, if she knew that the main purpose of their existence was to destroy psychics. You stupid child, G growled, she's a psychic. Which means we have to kill them. The idea grated on his honor - Sandstorm had found them and taken them in, even if her motives were unclear, and without her aid they surely would have perished in the desert. the mid-gifted were not the monsters he had been created to seek.

"Kill her?" Acid's voice was high and squeaky, and more than loud enough for the blonde/brunette to hear. G cursed inwardly, punching at whatever invisible bonds held him back.

[Lee Stone]

Storm stiffened when she heard Acid's voice squeak "Kill her?"

She could feel something odd coming from him. His signature was still jumbled and it changed irrationally. She'd never encountered anything like it before. She heard pieces of the conversation he'd said aloud, but nothing made sense.

"You're not...not a psychic, are you?" She asked. After spending the last hour since picking him up trying to figure out his odd mental signature, she'd determined as much. "You're not are you?" She pressed. "But you're not like a normal human either."

His current signature was different than the one she'd read when she picked him up. That one had been friendly and warm, now it was cold and emotionless. At times it would shift to as many as four or five different signatures, ranging from the naive, childlike feel that fit with his young body, to compassionate to angry to mature. Nothing about this kid made any kind of sense.

"What exactly are you?" She demanded. "How much trouble did I get myself into just by picking you up?"

[blooddebt]

(OOC: Sorry I haven't been updating lately, but I've been rather sick, and am still recovering from the brain-fuzziness)

-

Tom slipped away from the argument that had suddenly cropped up between the five of them, about telling the truth, and demanding information from G (the stupid, uptight git) and eased slowly - oh so slowly - or that little idiot Acid would notice and took over their shared body.

"Who cares about that, baby?" he purred, slipping just inside her comfort zone. A twelve year old body wasn't great for seducing women, but he could make do. No one could resist Tom. And - hey, with the strength he had, no one was stupid enough to. If a woman didn't give, Tom would take.

The aggressive side of the five of them peered up at Sandstorm from under long lashes in a pose he thought was seductive. It just looked scary on the pre-adolescent.

"Whilst the rest of them decide what the hell they're on about, Tom baby's in charge," he smirked obscenely, licking his lips suggestively. He could already hear her screaming his name in pleasure.

Tom was one twisted guy

[Lee Stone]

(OOC: Ha, you've been sick and I'm grounded. This thread will surely suffer for it ;.; )

"The rest of them...?" Storm questioned, getting more confused by the second. This new personality Acid had pulled up was certianly creepy. "This is just perfect." She muttered. "I've managed to pick up a kid who's completely looney!"

Sandstorm glanced down at the one called Tom who was making weird faces at her and took a step back. "So uh...how many personalities do you have in there?" She wondered. "I've caught at least four so far."

[blooddebt]

(OOC: *eBil laugh. Indeed. Between us we can wreck havoc upon the poor unsuspecting readers)

With a jerk, Acid realized that Tom (of all people) had taken over his body, and was muttering phrases unfit for any twelve year-old to hear, especially unjaded, innocent Acid. Realizing Tom's intent, Acid quickly reclaimed his body, shoving Tom aside. It was a bit like being a puppet master - and 'Ciddy was the master puppeteer.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry!" he apologized, jerking back out of Storm's comfort zone.

"If I ever do that again, slap me. Tom... he... well..." Acid blushed furiously, not wanting to admit his counterpart's lustful thoughts and cruel intent.

"Well, um - there's me, and there's Tom and you shouldn't talk to Tom because he's really mean and he wants to... do stuff. Carrie's really nice - she's like our mom, and there's Kar as well; she's really smart and I think that she knows everything. Then there's G. He's the only one who remembers anything. Kar thinks we got stuck in this body by a psychic transfer thing that I don't really understand but G says it's different." Acid was babbling to try and cover Tom's tracks, then realized what he was doing and snapped his mouth shut.

"Um... yeah..."

[Lee Stone]

Do...stuff? Sandstorm didn't want to know. How had she managed to pick up a kid with multiple personalities? One of which was some kind of weird pervert. "Suddenly I have a headache." It was then that she remembered she hadn't gotten the food yet. 'Finally, a worthy distraction from the insanity.' "Well, uh...I'm going to get lunch, okay! You...keep a good reign on those other ones."

As she searched her scarce cupboards for food she wondered what was going on with Acid. So far she'd discerned that he had multiple personalities, was not a psychic and had been experimented on when he was a kid, which he didn't seem to care about. But who would do that? The only people she could think of were the Blockers. She wondered if he would tell her about it if she asked. Or if he would 'kill her' as he'd mentioned earlier. She still wasn't sure which one of hispersonalities had suggested that.

"You said this 'G' guy is the only one that knows anything, right?" She asked the kid as she returned with some thick canned soup she'd found and heated up. "You think he'd explain what the hell is going on?"