Zero: Chapter Three
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Author's notes: I guess you've noticed that this chapter took a very long time to get done. I had a huge case of Writer's Block concerning this first scene, but once that was done, the rest came easy. Add in losing the Internet for two weeks and a full work schedule (which is over, whoo hoo!) I had very little time for fun stuff. Thank you for your patience.
Questions: 1. No, I haven't read Chobits, though I have heard of it in passing. I may pick it up after finishing this story. 2. The game Raph and Mike were playing in Chapter Two is called Egyptian Ratscrew. It's a fun, but complicated card game. I recommend looking up the rules. (Though I frown upon burning cards.)
Now, on to the story.
***
The room was completely silent. None of them really knew what to do next. Being introduced to an android was not an everyday occurrence. As usual, it was Mike who broke the silence. "Hi! I'm Michaelangelo, but you can call me Mike."
Zero nodded. "Hello, Mike. It is nice to meet you."
Leo and Raph exchanged glances, still a bit unsure, and a touch suspicious. However, Splinter stepped forward and bowed his head. "Welcome to our home, Zero. I am Splinter."
Zero turned her head and nodded towards Splinter. "Hello, Splinter. It is nice to meet you."
Raph let out a sharp laugh. "Is that the only thing it knows how to say?"
Zero turned her head towards Raph, who was sitting slightly behind her at the moment. Raph felt his skin crawl as her head turned almost all the way around to look at him. "No, it is not."
Leo chuckled at Raph's creeped-out expression, though he had to admit it was eerie. "I guess not. Zero." The android's head turned back and she looked at Leo. "I'm Leonardo, and that is Raphael." He pointed towards his brother.
"Hello, Leonardo. It is nice to meet you." Again, she turned her head. "Hello, Raphael. It is nice to meet you."
Don shrugged. "That's the preprogrammed greeting." He watched as Zero looked around the room. "Zero actually has very little preprogrammed into it. The Artificial Intelligence program takes in any data and constructs new programs whenever they're needed."
Leo stopped Don before he continued his technobabble. "Wait, you mean she can learn?"
"Yeah. At about the same rate as a human child, but much more accurately. It uses both AI hardware and software to mimic how the neurons in the brains create and use pathways. It has every sense we do, plus a few more. And-"
"Donatello," Splinter interrupted. "I recognize your interest in this technology, but there are more important matters at hand. Where did she come from?"
Zero supplied the answer. "I was built by Doctor Francis Sung at the Starmine Technologies main lab in New York City, New York."
Don chuckled. "There you go. As for how she got down in the sewers," Don continued, anticipating the next set of questions. "Doctor Sung ordered her to travel from Starmine Tech. to his home. Most of the trip was supposed to be underground, to avoid being captured."
"Captured?" Mike asked.
"Yes, captured. Her orders included "do not get captured" so I assume someone was after her. Most likely for the technology, possibly a competitor."
Zero looked at Don, a slight humming being emitted from her. "Have I been captured?"
"No, no, of course not!" Don answered hurriedly. "More like rescued. When you passed near our lair, the security system interfered with some of your systems, and drained your power. We found you and brought you back here to help repair you."
Zero processed the information. "Yes. An unknown source of interference damaged my balance and guidance systems. I went into repair mode, and my power cells and reserve power ran out, and I was unable to recharge."
"Yeah, not much light down here." Don looked at
Splinter. "In the morning, I'd like to take Zero to Doctor
Sung's home."
"Can't she go right now?" Raph asked.
"By herself?"
Don rolled his eyes. "It's too late to go right now. And if she goes by herself, she may lose power again. Or what if whoever's after her manages to capture her? Besides, I'd like to meet the man who invented this amazing technology."
Splinter smiled at his son's enthusiasm. "Donatello, you may escort Zero to her creator's home. However, Leonardo will also accompany you, and there will be no contact with humans."
"But-"
"Good night, my sons." He turned to leave, then looked over his shoulder. "And good night, Zero."
"Good night, Splinter."
Don sighed. "Okay. Zero, come with me, we'll charge you up in my lab for the trip in the morning."
Mike bounced on the balls of his feet. "Can I come, too?"
"Splinter told me to go with them, Mike," Leo said as he packed away the supply bags.
"He didn't say I couldn't go."
Leo sighed as Mike put on his "puppy dog face". "All right, fine. You wanna come, too, Raph?"
"Pfft! No way, I'm sleeping in."
***
"How about this one? It goes with your eyes."
Don stepped out of the kitchen, coffee cup in hand, and was glad he wasn't drinking it at that moment. "Mike, what are you doing?"
Mike was trying to pull a large black sweatshirt over Zero's head. "I'm helping her get ready for the trip. She can't walk around naked, in case we have to go up top. Even in this town, people would notice!"
Don eyed the piled of obviously unsatisfactory clothing lying on the floor. Zero was dressed in a black sweatshirt and baggy jeans, presumably belted. Mike topped it all off with one of his old fedoras, which promptly fell down over Zero's eyes.
"And you did all this while I was making coffee?"
"Yep."
Don shook his head. "Good thing I didn't get something to eat, or you would have moved on to hair and makeup."
"Ooh, good idea!"
"No, Mike." Don walked over and lifted up the brim of Zero's hat. "You okay under there?"
Zero looked up at him with large black eyes. "Yes, Donatello."
"Good." Don tried to make the hat more stable, but no matter what, it fell down over her face. "Mike, can you get her something else? A scarf maybe? Leo, are you ready?"
"I've been ready for an hour."
Don jumped and turned around. "Don't sneak up on me like that! I coulda spilled my coffee!"
"Practice a little more, and I wouldn't be able to sneak up on you like that," Leo smirked, handing Don his trenchcoat.
"Yeah, yeah." Don gulped down the rest of his coffee and pulled on his coat. "Come on, Mike, we're going!"
"One sec!" Mike hurriedly tied a blue floral scarf over Zero's head. "There." He grabbed his own coat and he and Zero followed his brothers out of the lair.
***
"Are you sure you know where you're going?"
Don was beginning to get frustrated with Mike's questions. "Yes, Mike. I cross-referenced Zero's GPS guidance system with a map. And before you ask again, we aren't there yet."
"So how much farther?"
Don glanced at Leo. "How come every time we go on a trip, we forget Mikey's like this until it's too late?"
Leo shrugged and kept scanning the tunnels. He was in the lead, with Don behind him, and Mike and Zero taking up the rear. Even though this was their turf, Leo was still cautious. They had reason to believe that someone would be looking for Zero, so they had to keep their eyes open.
Mike leaned over towards Zero. "Actually, I ask all these questions just to annoy them. Keep them on their toes, test their mettle, and all that," he added with a wink.
"Donatello?"
"What?" Don snapped before he realized that it was Zero who asked the question, and not Mike. "Sorry. What is it, Zero?"
"I have switched to reserve power."
Leo stopped. "What's that mean?"
"I have approximately fifteen minutes of power before I shut down."
Mike looked at Don. "I thought you fully charged her!"
Don frowned. "I thought I did. I guess a sun lamp just isn't as potent as true sunlight in this case." He did some figuring in his head. "It'll take longer than fifteen minutes to get to Doctor Sung's."
"So what do we do?" Mike asked. "Carry her when she runs out of juice?"
"No, it's best to recharge," Don explained. "There should be a safe place to surface just a block up. I'll take her up and get her charged, then we'll continue. It should only take a few minutes."
Leo nodded as they approached the ladder to the streets. "Okay, Mike and I will wait down here for you. Make sure nobody sees you."
"Will do, Leo." Don climbed the ladder and lifted the manhole cover. He helped Zero up and took her to the edge of the alley.
Zero looked up at the dawn sky. She held her hands out to absorb more light. Usually a sunrise overlooking an empty street was a lovely sight that Don enjoyed, but the dim light wasn't lovely to an android trying to suck up solar energy.
Don scanned the street. No people, and only a few parked cars. But no street in this city stayed quiet and empty for long. "Zero, how much time before your power cells are recharged?"
"At this rate, approximately forty minutes."
"Forty minutes?!" That was far too long to be out in the open like this. Don had to think fast. "Here." Don reached out and pulled Zero's scarf back off her head. "How about now?"
"Calculating. Fifteen minutes to full recharge."
Damn. Still too long. "Come with me." Don grabbed Zero's arm and pulled her back in the alley. He stopped under one of the fire escapes and pulled the ladder down. "Climb up to the roof. Don't let anyone see you. When you get there, take off your clothes and charge." Okay, something about that just sounded so wrong...
Zero grabbed the ladder rung and pulled herself up easily. When she was safe on the first platform, Don went back to the manhole. "Guys, we ran into a problem. I'm taking Zero to the rooftops to get some direct sunlight."
"Don't let anyone see you!" Leo called up.
"Yeah, like after eighteen years I need anyone to remind me."
***
Down the road, two men sat in a black car. One was scanning the street with what looked like binoculars. The other was smoking a cigarette, blowing the smoke out his open window.
The first man slowly lowered his binoculars. "We've got it."
His partner dropped his cigarette out the window and grabbed the radio while the first man started the engine.
"This is Delta team. We've spotted the target."
***