Fusionfall Fic: Technostress (Part 1)
Silya's eyes were closed as she sat reclined in a chair in one of Dexlabs' staff rooms. Her Eduardo nano, Beni, was crouched on the coffee table in front of her, drawing on pieces of scrap paper as they waited for two of their other teammates to finish their check-ups. It was a rare moment of quiet, disturbed only by the faint scribbling of a pencil.
The room wasn't always so comfortable. The young woman vaguely remembered it once being used for storage. Since the start of the Nano Project, however, the facility had seen a lot more traffic. Checking on the health and growing abilities of various nanos was part of the scientists' responsibilities, so extra space had to be set aside. Now, it was more like a waiting room, fitted with a vending machine, multiple cushy chairs, and a few toys that one would typically see at a doctor's office.
It was just the two of them in there until a familiar face entered. Amit, a fellow research participant, smiled at her as he stepped through the door. Although they saw each other far less often than before due to their separate roles in the Fusion Fighters, they still maintained a close friendship. "Here for an appointment too?"
Silya nodded, then asked, "Where's your team?"
“Already with the scientists. When did you get here?”
"Probably around an hour ago." She checked the time on her nanocomm. Beni's check-up likely wrapped up so quickly thanks to his more agreeable nature and limited powers. He acted as both a medic and cook for her team, so there was little need to test his combat ability. The others would take a while longer still, but she wasn't sure when they'd be finished since it all depended on how many tests the scientists wanted to conduct.
Amit quietly calculated the time in his own head. After a moment, he suggested, "Do you want to take a walk? I heard the bots outside have some new jetbike rentals. Or we could grab something from the convenience store down the block."
Silya cast a sidelong glance at Beni, reluctant. Although someone would let her know via comm when her other two nanos' tests were done, it was better if she didn't go too far. Somewhere within the facility's grounds would be fine, but she was also hesitant to drag Beni with them or leave him by himself. He could get nervous around strangers, so if somebody else walked into the room while she wasn't there, she wasn't sure how he'd handle it.
"Maybe just a quick circle around the labs," she compromised. Amit agreed, offering to hold the door open for her as they began to walk out.
Before they could leave, however, Silya heard the rustle of papers behind her. She looked back a second time to find Beni gathering his drawings into his arms in a messy pile.
She raised a brow, "Do you want to come with us?"
He nodded rapidly.
With a faint smile, she momentarily turned back to help him tuck the papers away. Beni's own grin widened and he muttered as he floated close to her head, "Gracias."
Despite this, he kept himself a few steps behind them as they moved. The young woman couldn't help but partly blame herself for the distance. Since he didn't play as heavy a role as some of the others did on the team, Beni was often sidelined—especially when they were stuck in the Future. While her Buttercup, Numbuh Two, and Eddy nanos regularly had fought alongside her on missions, Beni stayed at ration depos where his skills were best utilized. It had been the most logical strategy at the time, but it meant that he got used to being alone. Now that they were back in the past, growing their team and taking on a wider variety of assignments, maybe he could be more involved.
Trying not to exclude him, Amit voiced over his shoulder, "It's been a while since I've had your fries. I've been missing them. Do you still make them?"
His grin growing wider, Beni nodded a second time. Along with the imaginary food he could create for healing, back in the Future, he'd gotten pretty good at throwing together a meal despite the limited resources everyone had. He experimented with more recipes now, but fries were his specialty.
Eventually, they reached a long observation window revealing one of the more public labs. On a normal day, this area would've been open for tours. Today, this specific part of the facility was being used for some of the nanos' tests. A group of Dexbots and scientists guided them through multiple, simple fitness exercises without the use of their powers. Silya and Amit tried to find their own teammates among them, but they must've been with another group.
"Looks like they scheduled a lot of people for today."
"Can you blame them? The research team was practically drooling when we brought those blueprints." The young woman didn't envy the scientists' jobs one bit. Earth's survival hinged on the Nano Project's success and imaginary energy wasn't the easiest subject of study. They'd been working nonstop ever since the Dexlabs' labrats returned from their jump through time.
"Still, it kinda makes me feel bad that we're the only ones getting a break," Amit countered with a knowing twinge of a smirk.
"What break?"
Silya was about to quip at him a little more when an alarm cut her off, nearly making the trio jump out of their skin. Beni squeezed himself against his IE Donor's back to hide. It wasn't the first time they'd heard Dexlab's emergency system—it had actually gone off an egregious number of times since their employments—but it had been a while and it was the first time they'd heard it since joining the Fusion Fighters. The flashing alarm lights and the sound of mechanical locks clicking underneath the blaring sirens as the facility shut down weren't as easy for them to shrug off as the result of a bot gone haywire or DeeDee breaking in.
"Facility on lockdown. Repeat. Facility on lockdown," Computress' voice filtered through an intercom, "All visitors, please follow the instructions of nearby personnel. All personnel near Assembly, please secure doors and remain where you are."
Assembly. That was one of the newer sections of Dexlabs, brought about for the mass production of machines and weaponry following the initial days of Fuse's invasion. At first, Dexlabs' scientists and engineers made a lot more robots and tanks to combat the toxic army of fusion monsters. That had backfired spectacularly, but the automated lines were kept active; fashioning equipment and smaller vehicles for individual soldiers. It was still an integral resource.
Had a fusion snuck in to sabotage the lines? Were they being attacked?
Either way, Silya and Amit rushed toward Assembly. All Dexlabs staff was familiar with the various tunnels, tubes, and passages that connected each section of the facility. Thanks to their experiences crawling around shuttered and dilapidated buildings in the Future, anywhere they didn't get through with their clearance or thanks to the locked doors, they snuck around using the vents. Nothing, however, could've prepared either of the two fusion fighters for the sight that awaited them when they reached the area.
It was chaos, but not thanks to any monster that had managed to sneak inside the building. It was their boss, Dexter. Their ever articulate, ever stiff and straitlaced leader was swinging from the railings of one of the assembly line catwalks as if it was a series of monkey bars—howling like a wildman with his glasses miraculously hanging onto his face, if barely. His pristine labcoat and shirt were gone. He was missing a shoe. Several meters beneath him, a small crowd of Dexbots had stretched out a tarp to try to catch him if they fell. Meanwhile, a few scientists standing on the catwalk did everything in their power to try to beckon their employer onto the safety of the platform without success.
Silya and Amit absorbed the scene for a minute. Then, Amit raised up his wrist, pressed a few buttons on his nanocomm, and took a quick picture.
Part 2: TBA!
