Chapter 62: ReWire (Patreon)

“So you are saying all the kids will not remember anything that happened while they were controlled?” [Teach] asked for what felt like the hundredth time today

“[Notice, it has been only the third time.]”

Yes, around the hundredth felt about right; Alexa liked the idea of a hundred of some things.

“That is correct, madam. They will only have vague recollections of a nightmare, but not specific dreams. This will be retroactively applied to all the instances they have come under severe mind tampering.” The [Hero] also said for the hundredth time.

“[Notice, it has been only the third time this conversation happened in the last fifteen minutes.]”

Somehow the [Hero] didn’t mind answering the same question over and over, was he…using his own [Core Powers] to tamper with his own [Consciousness Stream]? Was that possible?

“And you are sure neither Alexa, Miss Venti or myself are under the Core Powers of a Mind Core user?” [Teach] asked this last part with some… adverse reaction. Alexa could see how her arms seemed to tremble as if she wanted to [Hug] herself, her [Legs] trembled as if preparing for either an ambush or attack. Her [Eyes] darted around as if searching for a [Predator].

Truly, [Teach] was among the very few who knew how dangerous a [Testing Room] was.

“....I’m sorry, but at the very least I don’t get the impression that this little girl.” The [Hero] pointed at Alexa.

“Hello! I am Alexa!” So Alexa waved and [Smiled] at the [Hero], but it was only polite to do so. After all, cute girls waved and saluted when introducing themselves for the first time!

“[Notice, this has been the fifth time that Host has-]”

“Shut it or I will break and use you as a projectile in our next combat.]”

“[Notice, host has fulfilled all the benchmark points to qualify as A Cute Girl.]”

“That’s more like it.”

Truly, Alexa was the cutestests of them all!

“Yes, hello Alexa. As I said, neither you nor this girl seems to be under the influence of Core Powers of the Mind Category.” The [Hero] said as he pointed at Alexa or [Teach], and he was right!

For Alexa had purged all the weird [Mana Wave] thingies from herself and [Teach]!

[Fan Girl] was managing on her own, and while Alexa offered, [Fan Girl] declined, Alexa didn’t mind that, since it allowed her to see another way to deal with theses [Mana Wave] things!

“Miss Venti on the other hand-” The [Hero] said turning to look at [Fan Girl].

“Bite me, you ain’t touching this.” [Fan Girl] snarled at the [Hero].

So Alexa joined in turn, “Yeah, bite me!” And then, after listening to herself, she reconsidered, “No, wait, I will bite you! That is better!”

She hoped that it devolved into that, because this [Hero] seeme to have a way to not only reverse the changes that Meli-Meli had done in the [Brain Chemistry], but to also tamper with the [Consciousness Stream] to make them accept these changes. Unlike how [Teach] was at the moment.

“You are an adult and as such I must respect your position, but my doors are open for any consultation, free of charge of course.” The [Hero] said turning from [Fan Girl] to [Teach], “As for you Miss Baker. I am afraid that whatever the Rogue Core User thought or did, it just vanished. I can’t see any remanents of her Core Powers, as such my own Core Powers are useless to help you. You will require another Mind Core user with the correct skillset to deal with this…”

“But those are either crazed villains or underground voodoo doctors. Yeah, I get it.” [Teach] sighed for what felt the…

“[Notice, this has been the 172th sigh logged since her awakening and discovering she isn’t apt for Consciousness Stream Cleansing.”]

… That was a big number.

“I’m sorry. I can recommend you a Hero Councillor; they usually deal with this kind of problem.” The [Hero] said bringing out a card (WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH HUMANS AND CARDS!?!?!?), “She is good at her job and will take your case so long you show up there with my card of introductions, mind you. She doesn’t take civilian cases unless recommended by one of my coworkers or me.”

That seemed…an odd choice of [Work]?

“Thank you, will the kids be okay?” [Teach] asked once more, the [Hero] had only come here to check on [Teach], Alexa and [Fan Girl], and instead had stayed talking to them for what felt like literal ages

“[Notice, it has been 20 minutes.]”

LITERAL.AGES.

“Yes, they will wake up in the child’s hospital. Saintsworths Insurance will cover expenses and their family's paycheck for the next fifteen days. Your school was lucky to get it today, or it would have been…messy.” The [Hero] smiled at this.

He was the only one smiling, Alexa had noticed when this one arrived that he had a [Badge] with the [Eagle] engraved on it. And they had told Alexa that this meant someone was working with the [Saintsworths Conglomerate], Alexa would had run away if not for [Fan Girl] stopping her with a shake of her head.

“Yes…we all feel lucky today.” [Fan Girl] said smiling, but Alexa couldn’t feel any [Happy] in that [Smile], if anything it felt…weirdly [Cold].

“Indeed…Thank you for staying back and answering my question Re-Wire.” [Teach] smiled while giving a [Handshake] to the [Hero].

It was a weird [Hero Name] to have, considering his [Core Power] seemed to only work by using the remnants of [Mana Waves] of other [Core Users].

“Happy to serve, and remember you two… We at the Saintsworths Conglomerate will always welcome new additions to our ranks.” The [Hero - ReWire] said with a smile as he went back to the outside.

“...god he is a boot-licking asshole…” [Fan Girl] said while sighing and turning to [Teach], “I know it doesn’t feel like it, but trust me. This is for the best, letting one of those slimy bastards into your head to tell you who you are is the worst mistake you can make.”

“Asshole!” Alexa parroted the new word, she wasn’t sure why [Fan Girl] smirked at her while [Teach] only shook her head.

“[Notice, it is deemed that the word isn’t apt for host current Mind Age, censoring the use of word for later stages till it is deemed appropiate. Installing Parental block.]”

Injustice!

“Alexa, that is a word that only grown-ups can use. Don’t say it okay.” [Teach] also approved of this injustice!

“Alexa demands freedom to use the word #######!” So Alexa proclaimed, only for her [Mouth] to clamp down and not let her speak!

“....Well that is one way to fix it, man you are weird Alexa.” [Fan Girl] laughed at her misfortune, traitors!

“So…are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?” [Teach] suddenly asked turning to stare at [Fan Girl].

“Don’t look at me, my Core Power can’t fix them heads. I know how to detect and deal with the influence, but it is slow. Even at this moment, I can’t help but think we should help that girl.” [Fan Girl] said while another [Mana Wave] made her eyes shine in a low green light.

Was that how one used their [Core]? She had noticed twice now, first with Meli-Meli when she overreached, and now with [Fan Girl].

“So is Alexa….” [Teach] said as she turned her attention to Alexa.

“That is for my boss to answer, or for … someone else to answer I guess, how much do you know about this kid?” [Fan Girl] asked [Teach].

“She knows I’m Alexa!” Alexa answered first, “And that I am the cutestest!”

“...that is about it. I guessed she had some troubles at home and that she was running away. Tried to help her, looking back at it… I am not sure if it was me, my ego or Melissandra the reason I even tried…” [Teach] said as her voice seemed to break at the statement.

“No reason to overthink it, you tried to help someone and that someone ended in a better place. My boss cares about us broken people and helps us; she even tried to match me with one of those fancy mind doctors too, not a Hero one though, but a legit one still.” [Fan Girl] said placing one of her hands in [Teach] shoulder.

What was the problem anyway? [Teach] was fine!

All her [Vitals] were okay, Alexa checked before she woke up! And her [Brain Juices] had been stabilized, and she was free of any [Adiction]! If anything, Alexa had gone beyond that and made sure her [Brain Juices] would give some uncomfortable feelings if someone tried to tamper with her again!

Because Alexa cared for her squishy [Humans]!

“Sorry I’m late!” And while they all stayed in silence trying to contemplate what was happening the [Door] opened once more!

Another [Dramatic] entry!

“Lisa? Everything is okay? I found that they sent ReWire here. They didn’t want to let me in till I showed them Alexa’s papers, and they confirmed she wasn’t one of the kids going to the hospital…” [Eleanore] said looking around and noticing for the first time how destroyed and trashed the [Room] was.

“Alexa did her best!” So Alexa declared, she wasn’t quite sure if she passed the [Test] though, no one had given her [Nutrient Paste] or [Nutrient Gruel] yet…but they also hadn’t taken away anything from her. This was one weird [Test].

“....Skye, report.” [Eleanore] said, turning to look at [Fan Girl], her eyes shining blue for a second. Another one to the list of people whose eyes shine.

“ Don’t glare at me, I arrived late!” [Fan Girl] said defending herself while raising her hands.

“Truth.” And [Eleanore] answered back in a cold, detached tone.

“Ughh….fine,” [Fan Girl] grumbled, “But you asked for this so don’t glare at me later!”

And so, [Fan Girl] started speaking, detailing what she had done after they saw her in the morning, how she spent time picking her outfit to make a good impression. How she ran all the way here trying not to bother people around and only using her [Core Powers] when absolutely needed.

“And when I arrived here, I found Alexa fighting for her life as the other kids attacked her like crazed zombies; her teacher was there crying or something, too. And there was this girl at the very back that was also crying while screaming.” [Fan Girl] arrived at the important parts, so Alexa took extra attention there, “There, Alexa told me that the girl in question was using some kind of mind tampering powers…”

“[Emotion] based [Core Powers].” Alexa chimed up to fix the missinformation, a report needed to be as precise as possible.

But hadn’t they already reported?

“Right that, anyway. So I disabled most of the kiddos while making sure my Core Powers were on the Kiddy gloves setting, and Alexa used one of the….sleeping medicines Billy got for me; I made sure Alexa knew the pediatric dose, and the EMT said the girl was fine, just asleep.” [Fan Girl]...correct some statements there had half truths though.

“Truth.” But it seemed it had enough truth to get past [Eleanore]. “And Lisa?”

“Well… It seems the other Core User I kept under wraps was abusing my goodwill, playing with our minds and emotions to….try and help her parents. I am not sure. Whatever she did, she must have felt bad and tried to fix it… that or you lied to me, and Alexa’s Core Power allows her to tamper with the mind too?” [Teach] said turning to look at Alexa, “Because you lied to me right? Even if it was a lie by omission. Tell me the truth, Lena, is Alexa a Core User or not? Does she have a Tinker core or not?”

[Eleanore] stood there, her eyes had a slight blue undertone, but before she spoke again, they blazed with light as if to make sure everyone could see the color change.

“Alexandra Saintsworths, age five. Orphan, she does have a Core Power. As far as we can tell, she must have a subtype in the tinker category. But her Main Core Power is not mind related; she is a shapeshifter.” [Eleanore] said in one breath.

Didn’t they ask Alexa not to reveal her powers though?

“So…” [Teach] said looking once more at Alexa.

“She does not have, or should not have, a way to deal with Mind Tampering. And if she did, no one should ever find out about it, for it would be a way outside of the normal perusal. And in turn, it would mean that she can bypass most of the safeguards put in place.” [Eleanore]’s eyes never stopped shining for a single moment, “As far as we are aware, she is at worst a Mimic Class shapeshifter, at best a body shaper. She channels parts of her system mates by the use of her power, each one with their own personality and mental age.”

“... So you are telling me, whatever was fighting the other kids wasn’t Alexa but one of these alternate personalities?” [Teach] asked.

“That is correct.” [Eleanore] answered and turned to Alexa, eyes still shining, “Alexa, did you fight the other kids or who was it?”

She was still with her eyes shining, so that meant that she would detect falsehood…

“It was a not-Alexa, that was the not-Alexa that [Teach Baking] met, the one that didn’t have as many [Feels] as Alexa!” That should be close enough to the truth to deal with most of the pesky questions!

“Wait, hold back there.” [Teach] was the first to speak, “So you aren’t even the original? Or how does that work?”

“No? Alexa is the original Alexa.” Alexa answered, turning to [Eleanore].

“Truth. Then can you call back this…not-Alexa?” [Eleanore] wanted to speak to P4?

Alexa…didn’t want that.

“[Notice, it is ill adviced to showcase more of host’s original thought process.]”

“I’d rather not.” Alexa answered and pointed at the cameras. “Also, Main Core doesn’t think that is a good idea.”

[Eleanore] turned to look at the cameras for a second and made a weird clicking sound with her tongue, her eyes no longer shining in a blue light. “Fine. I’m sorry about all of this, Lisa. I can help you get in contact with my therapist. He is used to dealing with…this kind of stuff.”

“...I would rather go and drink a bar right now. I will have nightmares after this, and will probably want to spend the night at-” [Teach] started speaking then covered her mouth and turned to look at Alexa.

“wave wave” …this was easier when she had the wiggles.

“At~~~” [Fan Girl] smiled as her voice seemed to travel in a wavy form at the end.

“....at a very close friend since I do not want to spend the night alone if possible.” [Teach] ended up saying.

“...right.” [Fan Girl] smirked, her eyes no longer shining as often in a green color. Was she finishing the [Depuring]?

“Okay, let’s go then. I will speak with your boss and get you some vacation days.”[Eleanore] said motioning for [Teach] to walk after her.

“And us…?” [Fan Girl] asked pointing at herself and Alexa.

“You can spend the rest of your day finding something to amuse yourselves, get Alexa to the park or an amusement park. Just keep her out of trouble.” [Eleanore] waved her hand at them while helping [Teach] walk towards the [Principal] office.

“[SuperForce] said he was going to speak with [Mister Pig]!” Alexa said from the back, “He wanted to take a look at the [Camera recordings]!”

“... Lisa? How much do you like your job? Would you like to teach in one of our orphanages?” [Eleanore] suddenly asked.

“Lena, no, I don’t even want to think about how much they will charge you for demolishing a building sponsored by the Saintsworths.” [Teach] said back.

Alexa could totally demolish a building herself!

She only needed to find the things holding it together! Maybe spread tendrils across the whole building and deconstruct them all at once? Replace the main pillars with her [Nanites] and then cut the connection so they self-destruct?

She could always leave a few tons of pressurised [Flamable Gas] near something flamable? How hard could it be to demolish a building with multiple floors like this?

“Alexa, no, cute girls don’t go around destroying buildings.” [Fan Girl] suddenly said at her side.

“... fine! But next time we have a [Test], I want permission to bite!” Alexa demanded back. It was bad enough that they wouldn’t let [Eat] her [Opponents], and they had limited her intake of [Biomass] since she had admitted to having enough to form her other forms and some basic armaments and defenses.

They didn’t deem it necessary for her to oversaturate her body with [Biomass]; she wanted to eat, dang it!

“...Yeah, about that, what was the deal with you speaking about tests and chambers? As far as I saw, they didn’t give you any test papers.” [Fan Girl] asked as [Eleanore] and [Teach] left the immediate area around them.

“I mean, we are in a [Room] and there are [Hostile] elements, what is this if not a [Test Chamber]?” Alexa asked back.

“....This is a classroom, a place to study and socialize. You aren’t supposed to encounter danger in these places, and sure as hell, no school worth their salt will make you fight other students in such a dangerous environment…” [Fan Girl] said back, arching her eyebrow at Alexa, “ There aren’t supposed to be….dangers….or….fights…. Oh…”

[Fan Girl] started speaking seriously, and as she went on to talk, Alexa gave her the [Pampleth] that [Mister Pig] had given her. The one that spoke of [Classroom wars] and the mechanics behind those—fights among classes that would decide who got what and everything from classroom accommodations to new teaching instruments.

“....THESE GODDAMNED SAINTSWORTHS ASSHOLES!” [Fan Girl] of course noticed what it read and said that word again, [Goddamned]. It sounded good, maybe Alexa could-

“[Notice, word added to the filter.]”

DANG IT!

“Anyway, even so. This wasn’t one of those events, and from what I am seeing on their website, the [School Wars] will start next week, and no wounds should be incurred; it seems they will be granting some protection equipment. Most likely some kind of barrier or shield similar to the shield that SuperForce and Chrysalis use.” [Fan Girl] sighed and motioned for Alexa to go after her.

[Fan Girl] was walking away from the classroom while glaring at the [Cameras].

“Let’s go to the park for now, I need some fresh air and I doubt you will have more classess today, especially after all your classmates and your teacher have already left the school.” [Fan Girl] said, pointing to the hallway that went outside.

It was time for Alexa to experience the park?

“To the [Park]!” Alexa said high of hopes, perhaps…just perhaps….she could find some [Mango] in its natural state?!?!?

A girl could dream.

“[Chances of finding a Mango Orchard are .0002%.]”

Surely she would! She believed!