Adventures in Parodyverse: Precision Instrument, Part 3


    Previously:  Anna and Yuki discuss some of the android’s history, as it would apply in court.  Anna wins her decision, and is granted citizenship by Judge Nancy Connor, after motions filed by Arnie J. Armbruster.  The lawyer is then banned from her courtroom.  Afterward the Lair Legion had a briefing on Anna.


    Later


    Liu Xi Xian passed by Anna standing by a window in a hallway of the Lair Mansion, quietly watching the sun set.  The android stood there, motionless, as orange light streamed in around her.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Have you seen Vinnie?”  Liu Xi asked.

    Anna didn’t respond at first.  Finally, she realized Liu Xi was talking to her, and she turned around.  “No, I’m sorry, I haven’t,”  the android replied softly.

    The Chinese girl almost left, but she noticed sadness in Anna’s voice.  “Why are you so sad?”  she asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I never thought that in protecting myself I’d lose so much.”  the android replied.  “Important things, like friendship.”

    Liu Xi frowned, and moved alongside Anna.  “You didn’t lose any of those things.”  she said.  “People get angry when something they work hard for is harmed by someone else.”

    Anna glanced at Liu Xi for a moment with nearly tearful eyes, but quickly closed them.  “I didn’t mean to.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know that.”  the elementalist replied calmly.  “And Hallie does too.  She likes you, and she wants to protect you.  She’ll get over it, I promise.  Probably faster than you think.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I wanted to tell her, so she could be happy for me.”  Anna said.  “Yuki told me she was upset and I should give her time to cool off.  I feel terrible...I wish there was something I could do.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You don’t need to do anything.”  Liu Xi told her.  “When she is ready, she’ll--”

    The Chinese girl was interrupted by a flickering green wire mesh projection appearing in the middle of the hallway, lighting up the area brightly enough to drown out the orange light from outside.  The wire mesh outlined a tall, feminine form, and then filled in rapidly so that it dimmed and began incorporating the ambient light and shadows.

    Hallie raised an eyebrow and looked at the somewhat shorter Anna, who was wiping her eyes dry, and trying to be inconspicuous about it.  She went straight to the point.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You’ve done something amazing, but also scary.”  Hallie told her.

    Anna nodded, but didn’t say anything in reply.  Her head was lowered.  She was expecting a scolding.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t leave yet.”  Hallie told Liu Xi, who was turning to sneak away.  “I want you involved in this too.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Okay.”  Liu Xi sat down on a bench in the hallway, folding her feet beneath her and leaning back against the wall.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You know this citizenship thing is going to go horribly wrong, don’t you?  I mean, you’re at least mature enough to know that.”

    Anna swallowed hard, feeling a little better that the scolding didn’t seem to come.  “Yes.”  she replied with a nod.  “But...I was going to be killed--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know.”  Hallie interrupted her.  “Yuki...she’s...over the top sometimes.  I mean, she did a good job, but as usual, she really didn’t think through the consequences.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“She was trying to protect me.”  Anna said.  “As she would say, to hell with the consequences.”

    Hallie smirked at that.  Anna was starting to develop a stronger will of her own.  It made the A.I. feel a little proud of the new accidental poster girl for Robo-American rights.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You know you’re going to become a symbol of hope, and hatred, at the same time.”  Hallie noted.

    Anna nodded again.  “If it’s a choice of that or me being taken one day and disappearing without ever really being known...”  She shrugged sadly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And yet you chose to take an even more difficult road.  Why?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Because I’m so angry.”  Anna raised her head finally.  “Because I was taken, and held prisoner in a cell, and I cried, and nobody cared!  I was going to die like that, and no one would have done a thing about it, because I was nobody.”

    Hallie’s smirk disappeared.  “Is...that what you told Yuki?”
    The android nodded slowly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Heh...no wonder she did what she did.”  Hallie whispered with a sigh.  “Yuki really has a thing for sticking it to the government.  That’s why her CIA and FBI files are so huge.”

    Anna smiled at that thought.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Anyway, Anna, now that you’re the poster girl for Robo-American citizenship, you have to be careful what you say, okay?  You can’t go around telling people you’re different than the rest of us.  It makes other robots angry, and makes all our lives more difficult.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Okay.”  she nodded.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Liu Xi, keep an eye on this girl.”  Hallie told the elementalist.  “She’s going to need a lot more help and protection than even the Lair Legion can provide.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Of course.”  Liu Xi replied with a smile.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And Anna--”  Hallie approached the android.

    Anna’s eyes darting from Hallie to the floor and back, still a little unsure of what would come next.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“We’ve been treating you like an outsider.”  Hallie said in a soft voice.  “Me, Fleabot, Tandi, et cetera.  We’ve been doing that, and it was wrong.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“See, the three of us...and a few others...we sort of bonded at a time when all we had was each other.  And you, Anna...you’ve always had the support of Yuki, and Hatman, and of other humans.  Honestly we were a little jealous of that support, I, guess, and a little miffed that you were getting help but kept saying you were different from us, and that you identified more with them.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Anyway...on behalf of us all,”  Hallie said, “I wanted to say I’m sorry.  And I hope you won’t hold it against us.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I won’t.”  Anna replied quickly and confidently.  “I can’t afford to lose any allies.”

    Hallie smiled then.  “By the way, you can thank Magweed and Griffin for bringing me to my senses.”  she said.  “They’re smart kids, and they both think very highly of you.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’ll have to thank them, then.”  The android laughed.  She then turned more serious and asked, “Hallie, what do I do about all the press coverage about me?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Nothing, for now.”  the Legion A.I. advised.  “We have people for that.  Hide out for now, try to avoid public exposure, and when the time comes someone will let you know where and what to say, and when.  You’re not alone in this anymore, Anna.  This is bigger than you, me, and all of us.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You should create an alias.”  Liu Xi piped up to suggest.  “A different plain sounding name, so you aren’t followed everywhere.”

    Hallie nodded.  “That’s not a bad idea.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’ll think about it.”  Anna replied.  “And Hallie...I’ll be grateful for any help you, or Fleabot, or Tandi offer.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t be grateful just yet.”  Hallie warned.  “Not until we get out of this mess.”


TO BE CONTINUED?
    

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2010 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin