385/A Night At The Lab

A Night At The Lab
Date of Scene:	10 August 2014
Location:	Wily's Hidden Lab <WHL>
Synopsis:	A simple repair job turns into mad science and... subtle pranking?
Cast of Characters:	516, 529

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Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    In the depths of The Citadel's research and development offices, a robotics laboratory is nominally hidden by one of the visiting scientists.

    In that laboratory, that man is now feverishly working to rebuild after a villainous outing gone predictably sour. The shutter door to the lab is cracked just slightly open, allowing light to spill out, along with curses and angry muttering from within.

    "... vulnerable to ICE! Why did it have to be ICE!? ... still would have worked if that blasted Doc Robot weren't so... [inaudible] useless outdated piece of [redacted] should just rebuild the whole thing from SCRATCH!"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Ferham approaches the doors to the lab and gives a little knock before trying to let herself in. If she's allowed in, anyway. There were those shutter doors with the suspicious looking hand prints on them, as if someone was jumping up to reach the top, or the like.

     "Well hello there doctor," she'd cooly greet him, her voice a deep feminine purr. She does realize far in advance the doctor seems to be quite unamused after the pasting their forces took last night, however Fer herself feels someone vindicated at having rescued the target. Maybe it feels odd to be a hero, of a sort?

     She's silent for the most part, sort of waiting until the doctor finishes his tirade before trying to really speak to him.

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    Inside the lab, Dr. Wily seems to notice his visitor, but not recognize her right away. Noise of the lab muffling the voice, perhaps? Regardless, it seems that the doors of Wily's lab are always open, whether by choice or not. "Hmph. Hurry up and get in here so I can deal with you and get back to work. Just press on the shutter. (Have to figure out how to lock that blasted thing...)"

    While the mad scientist waits on the door, there is a sound of metal striking metal inside the lab. That is NOT how you use a wrench, doctor!

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Ferham pressed on the shutter so that it closed and walked back into the lab, cutting off the noise of the lab from the outside world, it would make it seem like. "So, what are you doing?" Fer calmly asks, moving to stand at a fair distance away from him while he works, but still approaching him in a sense, giving him a berth of about 5 or so feet at least. "Sounds like you're pounding something back into shape, maybe it'd be best to take a break from that? I have something you could help me with," her voice is still calm and cool, like velvet.

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    With the shutter opened and passed through, the nature of Wily's project suddenly becomes... slightly clearer? He stands between three workbenches with schematics strewn messily across their surfaces; next to him is a small pile of metal bars, cables, and wires. Some seem attached to others - this is definitely the beginning of something - but right now there is no fathomable shape or pattern.

    "What's it LOOK like I'm doing!? I'm rebuilding a-- oh. It's you again." It takes Wily a few minutes to recognize the visitor, distracted as he is with his work. "Well, I suppose you were there. You know what happened."

    The grumpy scientist turns from his... scrap pile... to take a step toward Ferham. It doesn't take him long to get a handle on the situation. "From the looks of you, you didn't do a whole lot better in there yourself. That what you're here about?"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Ferham looks like she might use the services of a repairman, though she was not exactly close to being totalled. "I would like to see if you can run any internal scans on me and perhaps see if there's any surface damage on my body, I was sprayed with some kind of corrosive protein the other day," Ferham might have come here straight away, without having the time to see anyone else. "I also remembered you wanted me to return for some reason, so here I am," she wasn't making it sound like she depended on him or only wanted his skillful hand at repairing her, more like killing two birds with one stone.

     Stepping aside, she would move in the direction of the chair of his and had a seat, moreso to wait rather than sort of report to it for any repairs, though she figured perhaps he might want to do it there.

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    "Of course, of course. Your chassis is pretty well sealed, if there's much leakage you SHOULD be able to see it, but just in case..." Wily walks over to the Chair of Analysis (+3) as well, quickly activating the control panels in a ring around it. "Scanner should be quicker this time, at least, now that it's got schematic data."

    "Ah, that reminds me! Yes, I did want you to come back, so I could take a closer look at your components. Might get the chance if there's any damage, anyway. You know, your design is... well, it's not what I'd expect from nearly a century of progress." Wily pokes at a few controls, and schematics pop up on screens around the chair. Oddly, the designs don't match up - there seem to be details from at least three different documents on display.

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Thank you," there is a tone of genuine gratitude in her voice, calmly sitting back as the scanners do their thing. She seems relaxed this time, unlike before. Maybe the first taste of combat has steeled her a little. "Do you want me to remove my helmet and other armor? It might make things easier," she asks, noting the rather awkward nature of some of his equipment given her somewhat unwieldy wings and helmet and all that.

     "My components? you think there are some failings in the advancement of the tech? It's not always wise to reinvent the wheel, you know," she might try to snoop by peering over at his display, if they're facing towards her.

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    Wily's stroll between control panels is suddenly halted in mid-step as something something catches him quite by surprise. The shock even briefly knocks the perpetual scowl off his face! "That armor... comes OFF!? But... that doesn't make any sense! That would mean... [inaudible mumble]... ridiculous!"

    The shock is, however, short-lived. "... *hrmrhm* Yes. Right. Well then... yes. Let's get that armor off, it will be easier to check for damage that way. ... and I... think I have something I want to look into now. Now!" Resuming his more... relatively composed demeanor, Wily turns to point to the displays. Seems that peeking wasn't necessary at all - they're all turned in to face the chair, and it seems like it's lesson time! "As I was saying, your design. Nothing wrong with it. It actually has a lot in common with two of my own more-" he points to one screen, "- advanced designs, which-" next, he points to a similar section of the next screen, "- are well ahead of their time as it is. But of course, that's the problem!"

    Now, Wily turns to the chair, and its occupant, and assumes a flat, lecturing tone. "If technology has been continuing apace, you should barely have ANYTHING in common with my designs by now! Quantum computing, miniaturization, simple design efficiencies - what HAPPENED?"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Ferham nodded and pressed a gloved hand to the gem at her throat and the entire personal armor suit flashed off, leaving what appeared to be a shapely woman in a fullbody spandex suit underneath. She did however make herself much more comfortable in the chair due to it, and fitted into it better. Besides some obvious burns to the side of her abdomen and one leg, she didn't seem to have caught too much of the corrosive stuff got on her, thankfully. Though his scans might also pick up the slight crushing damage from when he was coiled up and squeezed by Allyn's serpent form, as well.

     Studying the images of the readouts turned toward her, she nodded a bit. "Advanced design? Yes that does look a lot more like mine," she however stayed silent as he went on his explanation. "I'm not sure exactly, though I am almost top of the line compared to some of the other reploids, I'm a new model high performance unit," she shrugged.

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    The armor's speedy removal catches Wily's interest once again. "... that's... interesting. (So they can just... turn it on and off? ... LIGHT.) ... right. *hrm*. Back to the work at hand." Wily takes a quick dash around the chair, poking at a few buttons; the chair starts to emit a soft light and hum.

    "Well, yes. That first schematic, Bass. My crowning achievement. And then that third one, there's your design... in between is a little something I've been working on. I imagine it's going to take years to finish it, but when I do... hah! But if you look at the three... there's almost a linear progression in technological evolution. Ah! But that IS good news in the here and now, at least!"

    After getting caught up in this odd puzzle of unmoving science, Wily seems almost delighted to come back to something a bit closer to an answer than a question. He turns to look at Ferham - sparing a glance and an eyeroll for the bodysuit - and a smile nearly crosses his face as he speaks again. "Because of that... odd... similarity, I can adapt some of my technologies to work with your systems! There are SOME differences to overcome - it seems like most of your defensive systems are routed through that armor of yours for some reason - but with a little work... hah! You could be armed with the same sort of weaponry I normally save for my top minions!"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Years? It might not take that long, if we were to take advantage of advancements in robotics," Fer looked over to the Doctor with those green eyes of hers, pondering something. "It's very good news, I'm interested to see what you'll do in the meantime while you're here," she nodded. She looked back at Bass, noting the interesting 'fin' design of his helmet and had to feel a little surprised. Or maybe amused, was the right word. It reminded her just a bit of her own crested/finned helm.

     "Oh really? and just what sort of enhancements would you want to add to my base body?" she likely meant her unarmored form there, which while strong and with her built-in cryogenics probably lacked viable flight without the wings on her armor for stabilizers. That was most likely the entire reason for them, since they didn't flap or produce thrust. She sits back in the examination chair and crosses her legs again, as well as her arms, still seeming a bit closer to woman than robot, at times.

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    Unusually, Wily's laughter this time is less maniacal, and more simply dry. "Heheheh... no, even with shortcuts like that, I don't think I can get that little project finished anytime soon. It's the brain... too different from anything I've ever done, and it's by design. That alone will take me... ANYWAY."

    Rather than answering any questions right away, Wily turns and... wanders off to a workbench across the room? Well, it's not as though he's got much work to do right here and right now, with the chair still performing its scan. He shuffles through the papers sitting there for a few minutes before picking one from the pile to return with.

    "Now, that was the interesting thing about your design. I don't know if I CAN change much of the base form. Robots in this day and age, everything's internal. Give them, say, a water condenser, field generator, munitions fabricator... easy. You build it into the chassis, connect it up, tweak the AI to integrate it. But YOU." Wily looks Ferham straight in the eye - possibly the very first time he's bothered to do so, and it's almost an accusatory stare!

    "You're... different. There's your basic chassis, and then that armor... and it almost seems like everything's built into THAT instead of you! I MIGHT be able to fit a drive unit or an energy converter in, but for the most part everything is just too... INTEGRATED!"

    At this point, Wily holds the paper aloft, but doesn't actually unroll it just yet. Suspense!

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Ferham is mostly calm and such until Wily suddenly looks her right in the eye all serious like that... Like woah. "Well, you could just repair the damage to me for now, you know, until you understand my systems a little better..." Uh oh, is she suddenly having a bit of a daydream nightmare of winding up exploding to bits like Sail Man did the other day? Maybe upgrades for her weren't such a great idea after all?? "Drive unit, energy converter? Hmm... possible, might not interfere with me too much," still, there is some noticeable hesitation in her voice now. Just a bit.

     "I can't say everything about my design is standard or normal, or simple, but I think I work fine enough as is, unless you've got a better idea," she might be challenging him a little there, leaning back in the chair again now, as if she's more relaxed.

     Boom. The roll of paper is presented, just what's on it? she has no idea at present, so it earns him a curve of her brows as she frowns at him. "And just what is that?" she asked, as if demanding to know.

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    The roll of paper! The mysterious roll of paper! Is it a golden ticket? A treasure map? A phone number in really large writing? Only Wily knows for sure, because he's not unrolling it just yet!

    "Well, yes, of course. Scan should be just about finished, another minute and I'll know just what needs fixing and replacing. You SHOULD be compatible with universal energy pellets, those should help mend circuit damage..."

    "Now, as for this!" NOW Wily unrolls the paper! And it appears to be... a schematic for robot body armor? In fact, it bears a striking resemblance to Ferham's own, though the wings are less pronounced, and it has a slightly bulkier overall structure. "There's not much I can do to your base chassis besides fix what's broken. But with a little work, I CAN build alternate armor systems which should be compatible with your design! ... not sure if I can make them storable like your base set is, I'll need to take a closer look at that subsystem..." Suddenly, Wily rolls the paper up once more, and sets it aside on top of the nearest console. Not one for tidiness, it seems.

    "But that can wait. If I'm not rebuilding or replacing anything, it's better to fix what's broken BEFORE installing anything. Let's have a look at the scan results. Here, hold this." As Wily turns to peer intently at one of the chair's monitors - one just out of sight, behind the headrest - he absently holds out a sphere of glass and metal, glowing inside with an odd, pulsating light. Curious device.

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Oh good, I was wondering what you were going to do for me there," Ferham does sound a little relieved when he mentioned what he can do about that mild damage she received from Allyn. She hadn't been sprayed with corrosive venom before, but it had an effectiveness even on her softer parts. Her green eyes were focused on that roll of paper--and then it was revealed," she blinked at the sudden multiple subsystems he was apparently tinkering with, looking a little dumbfounded at that for a moment.

     "Alternate armor systems, eh? That sounds a little bit better for experimentation purposes I think, than the... alternatives," she gestured up with a finger to the energy converter, unsure what the drive unit might be or actually have a purpose for, though she didn't ask at that exact moment. "Seems like you've been busy here since last I saw you, you put all this together just for me? Doctor, I'm touched," she smiled a little as if she might actually be teasing Dr. Wily here, and well, truth is she is, a bit. It's not too mocking however, she's not about to be scathing for no reason, just wasn't her.

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    "Don't be TOO flattered. Things were slow and I'm getting a paper or two out of adapting my work to your systems." Wily is still looking over the scan data from the chair... but apparently that's not stopping him from noticing things this time. "... I don't hear recharging. Go on, use that energy pellet, there should be a release on the top. I want to know if it works. Don't worry, if your circuits aren't compatible it'll just disperse - it's one of Light's designs that I never felt the need to tinker with."

    "Doesn't look like took that much damage. Dodgy risk-management routines, that's all. I can get a handful of replacement parts and fix what's beyond repair, but it's not going to be much."

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Well I take no offense at being admired, either way," Ferham smiled a little and kept that cross-legged pose, even going as far as crossing her arms behind her head as if she was here to relax and have the doctor tend to her, leaning back luxuriously. Noticing he was offering her the pellet finally, she takes it and released the energy catch with one hand.

     There is a sound as if something was rapidly beeping as the energy flowed up her arm and into the rest of her systems.

     Blinking, Ferham released the pellet into her lap and held out a hand as if to ask for more, as apparently that didn't do the job entirely for her. More advanced robots and systems took more energy than his robots did, it would appear!

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    Bedside manner is not Dr. Wily's strong suit. It's okay, he's not a real doctor anyway - and his usual 'patients' can just be switched off if it bothers them. Right now, however, it MIGHT seem a bit rude that, as soon as the energy pellet makes its faint sound of energy escaping, he rushes off across the lab floor, seemingly entirely unaware that it wasn't quite enough.

    Of course, if that might be a bit rude, well, it's probably more than just a bit disconcerting that his first destination is a bin marked 'JUNK PARTS'. Maybe someone should have checked in to a reputable robot hospital instead...?

    Well, at least not ALL the parts are coming from the bin? Wily DOES make another stop at a filing cabinet, and picks out a handful of small bits of electronics from there, but still!

    Finally, he returns to the chair, and, "There. That should be everything I need. Now, I CAN put in these replacement parts while you're still running, but it's going to involve pulling out damaged parts. If you've got self-preservation subroutines, they'll be firing the whole time. You MIGHT want to just shut down for a while while I work."

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Her hand would make a sort of opening and closing grasping motion, before Fer realizes the doctor had already scampered off across the lab to the junk parts bin. Whoops. "You forgot a couple half-dozen E-pellets there, Doctor, but if you feel like giving them to me later I'd be alright with that," her systems were already repairing some of the damage with that energy she'd been supplied, but she wasn't topped out yet exactly, not really. Her jade eyes watched him as he went through the junk parts, rolling just a little.

     "I do have self-preservation routines, ones that tend to go crazy if I imagine myself ending up like your robot the other night, buuut since you are repairing me I think I could bother with your experiment," she smiled cooly and closed her eyes, leaning back in the otherwise seemingly uncomfortable scanning/examination chair. "Just be sure to wake me up when you're done, I don't want to miss too much of this evening," the way she muttered it made it seem like she had other plans, even. Oh the nerve.

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    With his robot patient safely shut down, Wily sets to work, donning a pair of magnifying goggles and workgloves and setting the pile of components down right on top of the unconscious robot.

    Some time later...

    At last, the work is finished. "... now... how do you wake one of these up... ah! Heh... as good a test as any, too." It shouldn't be a surprise that Wily found time to fetch - or have delivered - a glass of water while he was working... but it SHOULD be a surprise that he casually splashes it at Ferham's face! Must have a lot of faith in the waterproofing of the future! "Alright, lazybot. Wake up!"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Ferham would have stayed silent and seemingly unmoving or asleep for however long until the doctor was finished with whatever he wanted to experiment with. However when that splash of water hits her in the face...

     "Bluh--what is it, what's going on?!" she's understandably confused as she wakes up sputtering and is now covered in water, the liquid seeping down into the shoulders and front of her suit and thankfully not showing up thanks to the black foam or spandex or whatever her undersuit was made out of. "Damnit Wily, you should have just said something, or gave me a prod with your diagnostics systems," hahaha, Ferham assuming Wily was using the proper equipment. She is a bit naive yet, to be sure. Getting up from the chair to assess the alterations, or at least /trying/ to, she'd try to rise up out of the chair.

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    "I also could have plugged in an input device and jiggled it. The water helped to test your water seals - nothing fizzled, so they're good." Wily's... not tipping his entire hand here. It's subtle, and he's certainly trying to not let it slip into his voice, but... it seems like he might have found that just a bit funny, too.

    "While you were out, I took the liberty of analyzing that armor storage subsystem of yours, as well. I THINK I found a way to load a schematic directly into it... or possibly to fry the whole thing. Let me know how it turns out; I should have a backup unit built in a few days anyway." WAY TO INSPIRE CONFIDENCE WILY. Well, only one way to find out how that turns out. But that's okay, because at least...

    "As for the repairs... should be good as new." Wily sets aside his goggles, and rubs at a... frankly surprising smudge of grease on his lab coat sleeve as speaks. "Even found some synthetic covering that should match your 'skin'. Won't integrate fully until you've gotten a little more charging done though. Some things can only really be done with auto-repair routines."

    As for Ferham and the chair? Well, certainly nothing the doctor has done is going to stop her from getting up now. The chair sits entirely inert, with even the monitors around it dim and deactivated. Seems the data was no longer terribly useful.

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Of course, it also meant her hair was not plastered back against her head and just a bit over one eye, which she has to reach up and slick back with both hands. She listens for a moment carefully to his speech about the armor storage subspace system she possessed, until he spoke about it frying. "I'm sure if it'd short out I'd know about it by now," though there's just a hint of uncertainty there, urgh.
          Slipping a hand into the inside of her undersuit, she checks out the patching job he did, and seems to be alright with it, zipping her self up. Of course she'd have turned her back to him before doing so. "Alright, seems like it's only a cosmetic issue, it'll be resolved on it's own," she agreed with his assessement.

     Getting up, she briefly gives herself a few stretches to make sure everything's working right, she doesn't want to leave without knowing if some actuator or circuit is improperly connected. That'd be.. inconvenient to say the least.

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    Still standing by the chair, Wily watches the stretches intently, for largely the same reason they're being performed. If his work's not quite up to par here, it's his reputation on the line!

    "Now, then. If you're feeling better..." Wily marches over to Ferham, and makes a slight... subtle... gesture. Not quite pointing. Indeed, his hands are in his coat pockets at the moment. But the message is the same. 'That rectangular thing in the wall over there, you know what it is? You know what to do?'

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "I am feeling better, yes," Ferham nodded, and since she noticed she was fine seemed to be a lot more comfortable than she might have before, at least less snarkier than she was before he'd repaired her. "I see, well since you're so fond of having me around," Ferham rolled her eyes at Wily at his motioning for the door, as if she was being kicked out or the like. She hadn't actually realized what he meant at first, but quickly got the message. With a shrug, she flashed her armor back on and turned to leave.

     "I'll just be leaving the--eehhhnn aahhh!" Ferham promptly took a digger as she lost her balance and promptly wound up falling face first to the lab floor, having lost her balance. One thing Wily had forgot to mention to her was the addition of a pair of heels that had been added to what was apparently her default armor, pulling herself up from the floor with a growl.

     "Damnit Wily! Is this your idea of a joke?" of course, she might already be pulling herself to her feet, tottering about as she's /very/ unused to standing on these.

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    Wily, of course, feigns innocence. "Tsk. I don't know what could have happened. I must have tapped a gyro or two while I was working. Your balance issues should sort out on their own in a day or two. Until then, try not to take too many stairs."

    That's right. He's just going to try to play it off like 'no, nothing is different at all, it's just you'. If Wily is smirking right now - and he could well be! - it is a small, well-hidden one. Rest assured, he'll have a good laugh to make up for it later.

    Wily does, however, make one concession to the situation... "Here, this should help. Take two of these, and if the problem persists, call in the morning and I'll see what I can do." And, with that, he draws two more energy capsules from his labcoat pocket, and holds them outward in Ferham's direction. Peace offering? Twisting the knife? Just getting into the 'robot medical doctor' idea? No... he's probably just getting rid of them.

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Ferham nearly trips again and winds up with her knees thudding against the floor as she tried to turn and face him, walking over on said knee-guards as she quickly swipes the energy pellets out of his hands. They might at the very least keep her out of his lab for a few days, if she used them just when she needed the light repairs. .

     "If you hadn't repaired me..." she lets that idle sort of threat dangle in the air just now, her eyelids trembling a bit as she pocketed the E-pellets into subspace and tries to rise again--wobbling all the while--she really wasn't used to those alterations to her boots.

     Seeming as if she might be blushing in anger, she slowly and awkwardly begins to teeter totter her way out of the lab, likely making her look quite silly and amusing as she heads out of his lab finally.

Dr. Wily (529) has posed:
    "... and if you hadn't come in here with minor wear..."

    Well, of course, any excuse for a little mad robotic science. However, it seems that it's time for Wily to get back to work. As Ferham scoots toward the shutter to leave the lab, Dr. Wily strolls back to his pile of wires and metal. There's still so much work to be done, and so much frustration to be had, but at least now he's starting from a better place.

    Hold on... is the pile a little bigger than it was a few hours ago? When did he have time to do anything with that? ... naaaah, it can't be. Just a trick.

    Either way, just before the shutter closes and seals off the lab once again, one might just barely hear, "... heheheheh hahahaha nuahaHAHAHAHA!"