#mn9 cryosphere

[kessielrg]

[MNo9] Little Sister

aka, I Want Another Little Sister! A Short Complaint Story by Cryosphere

Summary: Something I promised three-some years ago, the backstory for Cryo's 'Little Sister' in Pier Pressure: Ever since Dynatron, Cryo's been craving to have another little sister. After Avi is announced, along with the bombshell that Dr. White may not make any more female Mighty Numbers, Cryo runs away and forms a bond with the oddest of things: an old Cabbage Patch doll.

Rating: K+

Word count: 2,057 words

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Cryosphere could never explain why, but she had always liked the idea of having little sisters. It must have started after Dynatron was finished -the two had hit it off rather well on first impressions- and that helped fuel Cryo's desire for more.

Then Seismic was created. Now, don't get her wrong, Cryo really does love Mighty Number Four and his hugs are bar none. But after his first handful of Battle Colosseum wins, Mic's head started to inflate and his attitude became unbearable. For several months, Mic was not someone Cryo (or anyone else for that matter) wanted to be around; it wasn't until Pryogen's old friend, Troilus, took Seismic down single handedly at what seemed to be a curb-stomp battle in Mic's favor. (And it was, just not for Mic.) After that, Mighty Number Four calmed down a bit and became the best brother to hug in times of hugging emergencies. Cryo liked that, it worked despite Mic not being a girl.

And then Battalion was created. When Doctor White told the Mighty Numbers about Bat's basic theme, Cryo already knew that Mighty Number Five was going to be assigned as a boy. She was annoyed then, the ratio between the two genders were now in favor of the guys; and when you want more sisters than brothers, it will make you incredibly irritable. Cryo wasn't even subtle about her dismay either. She'd tell Dyna, sometimes she'd even tell Pyrogen. But when she got a hold of Doctor White himself? He'd have to force her out of the room -or tell her a lie that seemed to soothe her for the moment- before she would even remotely leave him alone.

Now the Professor was starting to shut himself away from the world again. He always did this when he was about to reveal a new Mighty Number- which means that Cryo always filled up with hope for a new sister.

“The odds are literally 50/50 Cryo.” Pyrogen told her as she paced outside the professor's door, waiting for him to come out with the blueprint for the new Mighty Number. “You need to relax a little.”

“I'm so perfectly 'chill'-ed that I'm getting goosebumps!” Cryo replied with an ecstatic giggle. “Don't tell me to 'cool' off when you're the hot head!”

Mighty Number One let out a small chuckle. “Just don't get too excited this time, you nearly blew one of your cooling regulators last time.”

But Cryo chose to ignore him, deterring the subject by asking, “'Water' you want Pyro?”

“Doesn't matter to me, I'm just glad our family is growing.” Pyrogen decided. “Besides, with current trends, at least one of us at some point will be nonbinary, so it shouldn't matter what the gender OS is.”

“Why do you have to be such a 'wet' blanket?” Cryosphere whined, making the sound of sticking her tongue out at him, despite him not being able to see it from under her helmet.

“Just trying to keep you from 'burning' out.” Number One mused with a smirk. Despite being a pun appreciator, Cryosphere let out a groan of disgust just as Doctor White came out from his private lab.

“What's the news, Professor?” Pyrogen asked his creator, smiling a little. Cyrosphere turned around and gave Doctor White a rather unexpected hug.

“So Professor,” Cyro immediately -and very sweetly- inquired, “Boy or a girl?”

It took the human a moment to realize what Number Two was asking, and with a sigh, he told her.

. . .

There was no other way to describe it: Cryosphere was pissed. And boy, she really didn't want anyone to leave her vacancy without them knowing too. After learning about the situation, Bat and Mic did their best to stay out of her way but Dyna and Pyro remained to try to soothe her.

“It isn't fair!” Cryosphere complained for the umpteenth time. “Why does the Professor have to make only boy Mighty Numbers? What's wrong with girl Numbers, huh?!”

“What izzz that one zzzaying?” Dyna teased. “You get what you get, and you do not throw a fit?”

“Shut up!” she snapped.

“Cryosphere!” Pyrogen snapped back.

“Pyrogen!” replied the irritable second Mighty Number. The two then gave each other a heated glare before Pyro finally said,

“We need to talk. Alone.”

Cryo huffed, but said nothing against it so the two bid Dyna farewell and went to find a place where they could be alone. Number Two huffed the entire way there with her arms folded in annoyance. Pyrogen wasn't falling for it in the slightest.

“Cryosphere, you have no reason to be acting like this.” Pyrogen then proceeded to chastise. “It's fine to be upset, but when are you going to realize that the Professor will design whatever he wants for us Mighty Numbers? Our genders are, for the most part, cosmetic extensions to our main purpose. We're lucky that the Professor is even able to create more of us- isn't that the most important part for you?”

Cryo looked away from her brother before letting out a defiant mumble of, “No...”

“Cryosphere,” Pyro eventually sigh in defeat, “Just… Just grow up.”

Hearing this, the second oldest Mighty Number almost broke down in tears. Of course Pyrogen would never understand he wants and desires- he never asked for anything because he was just so boring in trying to be the perfect role model for all the Mighty Numbers. He didn't know, he wouldn't understand, and knowing that made Cryosphere even more angry. After some time of trying to hold back her frustration and bitterness, Cryosphere looked at Pyrogen to darkly say,

“Now I know why my nickname's Cryo, it's because I Cryo-lot!”

Mighty Number One's expression softened. “Cryosphere, you know that's not true.”

“It is! It is!” the robot insisted before fleeing.

“Cryo!” Pyrogen called after her, but the name fell on deaf ears and Cryosphere ran as far as she could away from her family.

She wasn't even sure how she did it, but Cryo had found herself in the middle of a festival in Darlington, Maryland. It was apparently an annual thing and they made a big deal about apples, or something? Cryo didn't care, she was away from the rest of her family to even worry about whatever autumn rituals humans had. At least she wasn't far from the Susquehanna here, she could go ice skating later. Creating ice flows in active water ways always made Crysosphere feel better.

She then figured, if she was going to be near humans, then she had to remove her helmet, water tank, and replace her nozzles for actual hands before going further in. So that was what she did; her helmet and tank were tossed on the ground and she retracted her nozzles to reform into thin, but still robotic looking, hands with five little fingers. Unfamiliar to the mere idea of fingers, Cryosphere had some humor with hers by wiggling them for awhile before moving onward.

It didn't take much for Cyrosphere to move with the wave of humans. Just like a tide, she moved with them as they pushed and pulled against each other as they moved across the cleared street to gather at various vendor tents. Here and there Cyro would see a fellow robot, but most of them weren't as sophisticated as she was, or the other bots she knew at the Battle Colosseum. They were simple machines, designed to make a disabled human's life easier than anything else- and those were the bots that she disliked the most. If you didn't give them a personality, then why bother making a robot?

Letting out an annoyed huff, Cyrosphere happened to look up as she walked by a vendor tent with vintage Barbies and American Girl dolls on display. She only gave it a quick glance at first, but then she looked again at a doll that didn't look like the others. The little doll was fair skinned, with rooted brown yarn for hair. The vinyl head was slightly squished near the left eye- the paint on the eyes themselves were slightly scratched and worn from many playtimes in the past. There was no denying that the eyes were colored a dark blue though, and that was what Cryosphere found that she was so drawn to. Carefully, Mighty Number 2 picked the doll up off the table and sat down on the ground to look at it further. The doll's body was made of some kind of fabric and stuffed with something super soft and squishy. After a few test pokes, Cryo found herself giving the doll a small hug.

It was nothing like Mic's hugs, but it seemed just as comforting.

That was were Cryosphere remained for a good hour after, up until her family was able to track her down again. The festival goers didn't pay much attention to her as she cooed at the doll, telling it her life story, as many thought that she was the vendor's daughter or something. The vender themselves thought that Cryo was just a lost child waiting for their parents to come back around, so they allowed her to stay there. It's not like she was doing any harm anyway. No one seemed to recognize her as a Mighty Number though. Weird; they must not have cable.

Cryo has been so enraptured by the doll that she didn't even flinch when Dr. White suddenly shouted “Cryosphere!” when he saw her, and instead scaring a few people that happened to be next to him at the time. When he was closer, Dr. White once more snapped, “Mighty Number Two!”

This succeeded in startling Cryo, making her quickly scramble to her feet and declare in shock, “Dr. White!” Her surprise was short lived when she saw that Pyrogen had joined Dr. White, and her sour attitude returned at the reminder of a broken promise that never was.

“What?” Cryosphere snapped. “No Bat?”

“I assure you that he is nearby.” Dr. White affirmed, “He can't be near this large of a concentration of humans. I'm sure you're aware of how easily he'll cause a public panic?”

“Sure, sure.” Number Two huffed before turning her attention back to the doll.

“Crysophere, stop sassing the professor!” Pyrogen snapped. To Dr. White he apologized, “I'm sorry professor, this is all my fault.”

Beyond exasperated at this point, Dr. White rubbed the bridge of his nose before saying, “This isn't your fault Number One. However, I do not see why she expects there to be more female Numbers when she's more trouble than she's worth! Even Number Three wouldn't act like this.”

Cryo flinched at this, absently tracing her fingers through the doll's hair. That was when she had remembered she was holding the old doll and making the quick decision to change the subject by presenting it to her brother and creator.

“This is my little sister.” Cryosphere told them in a matter-of-fact tone. “If you're not going to build any more female Numbers, then let me have this dollie as my sister instead. I won't go back until you say yes professor!”

For a rather long amount of time, Dr. White looked at his creation as if she had suddenly decided to speak a different language.

“How much for the doll?” Dr. White then asked the vendor as he started to get out his wallet.

“Dunno,” the vendor teased, “That Cabbage Patch Kid has been in my family for two generations- it might be worth quite a bit if you ask me.”

Dr. White raised a very unamused eyebrow.

“20 bucks.” the vendor told him.

“Thank you.” the professor agreed, getting out the cash needed. Knowing that she was going to keep the doll, Cryosphere let out an ecstatic squeal as she hugged the doll once more.

“You're all mine now!” she happily said to the doll. “Oh…! I love you so much, my new little sister! I do! I do! I do!”

“Are you happy now?” Pyrogen asked her with his arms crossed. He still wasn't amused with her, but there was little he could do about it now.

Cryosphere didn't answer because she was too preoccupied with the doll. “I'm going to call you Kaberi, Kabi for short! Cryosphere and Kaberi, Cryo and Kabi! Oh, we'd make the perfect team!!”

[eldritch-muppetshow]

beck and buddies

(beck’s siblings aren’t super important to the misfits au but they’re fun to draw so hey)

[parfaitstars]

[dr-kk]

Tall Bot Problems

Featuring normal sized doors and tiny bots with no regard for personal space.   

[the-sapphire-general]

My Thoughts and Feelings About Mighty No. 9

It’s been a long time since I wrote a review for a game I’ve played. Well, I played Mighty No. 9 for a while now, and I finally finished it. And boy, was it…meh? I know tons of people consider it a disappointment and that the game is hated, but after taking time to think, it’s just average. It’s not the worst video game to ever exist, but it’s also not the best game. It’s far from it. Intended to be a spiritual successor to Mega Man, Mighty No. 9 was supposed to be a great game. I’ve done plenty of research about its development and what Comcept’s intentions were at the time. But so much went wrong! I still somewhat like the game, it wasn’t that boring, but I wasn’t oblivious to its flaws. Boy, there’s a lot of them.

Before I go on, I never played a Mega Man game my whole life, so I’m not that familiar with the franchise. However, I checked out a Mega Man X playthrough made by a YouTuber known as Capitalist out of curiosity. People stated that Mighty No. 9 ruined what makes Mega Man so great, and despite not knowing much about the series, I can see why. Everything that Mighty No. 9 has pales in comparison to what Mega Man has in store.

The story had a lot of potential. It takes place in the year 20XX on a futuristic Earth where humans and robots exist together. There’s even a Battle Colosseum for robots. The robots go haywire, and it’s up to Beck to stop them from destroying everything. Along the way, he saves the other eight Mighty Numbers. It all sounds cool, but the way it’s written had me bored. Not much happened, and whenever there were plot points, they seemed like they were shoehorned in and without explanation. Even a few plot points were revealed during conversations as you played through a couple of the levels. The one about William White being the one who created Trinity should have been like a flashback cutscene. Show, don’t tell, to explain how Trinity was a failure. The story was lifeless because there were multiple ideas that weren’t explored. Why the heck does William have issues with Dr. Blackwell? How were the Mighty Numbers and Call created? And some of the plot was just told, and they just felt awkward. At first, we didn’t know Will was at fault for the robot rampage. Heck we never knew he was Trinity’s creator.

Just like the story, the characters weren’t great. Aside from a few noticeable traits, they were bland. They didn’t have enough personality. The Mighty Numbers had one-note types of personalities, and they were annoying. And Call…she had no personality! I really hated Call because she had no personality. She was too emotionless for my taste. Yes, she’s a robot, but did she have to be so robotic, that she had no personality?? In the end, I didn’t care about anyone, not even Brandish. Not much occurred with the characters. They all lacked depth, and it’s sad because they all looked pretty cool.

The gameplay, although I didn’t mind it much, it wasn’t that great compared to Mega Man X. Beck can only shoot in one direction. Not that it’s a problem(?), I mean Mega Man X did the same thing, but the difference between the two games is X looks way more fun than Mighty No. 9 (Mega Man in general looks more fun to play). That I can admit. Also, X can slide and jump on walls. That could have made things so much easier with Beck! There was also supposed to be a tutorial kind of thing in the beginning. It turns out I didn't know a few of the things I can do until I was too late into the game. If I had known I could configure buttons to the abilities I get instead of having to scroll through them, it would have been less of a hassle. Another thing about the gameplay is the ReXelections, powers that Beck can utilize like Mega Man. They were…okay, I guess. Some of them weren’t my favorites. Pyrogen’s ability seemed lame despite its limited use it had when I played the game. The same applies to Cryosphere’s ice ability. Dynatron’s and Countershade’s abilities were used only once, and I never bothered to use them again. Battalion and Aviator had good abilities, and Seismic wasn’t useful to me until the final boss (more on that later…). The only ability I really liked was Brandish’s ability, yet even that power could have been better.

Basically, the abilities were underwhelming. For example, Pyrogen. It’s a fire ability. What can it do? You blow stuff up. Sadly, you have to time it real well to blow stuff up, and it’s hardly of any use (along with the rest of them). I tried using it against Cryo since fire beats ice, but that backfired on me so badly, it cost me a life. This, along with the other abilities, should have been different. Maybe Pyrogen’s fire powers could have involved shooting explosives. Maybe Cryo’s ice could have included a blizzard bazooka or something like that. Avi’s power was okay, but maybe instead of floating down, it could have worked like a helicopter, to fly you over deadly pits (and then hurl the thing helping you fly at enemies). Dynatron’s ability is self-explanatory: intense electric attacks! Battalion’s is fine on its own in my opinion, though I would add a lock-on feature. Seismic’s shield is good, but executing it was clumsy, so that would be something I would fix. Countershade’s sniper ability is also good, but again, a lock-on feature could have helped. Finally, Brandish’s ability is one I like the way it is, but I admit it could have been more awesome. If you were to wield it, waves would fly right at the enemies. See?? I managed to come up with ways that could have made the abilities better. Heck, there are a plethora of idea that could have worked in general. If the abilities you get aren’t fun or lack opportunities to use them, then what’s the point?

As for the levels, they were meh. They generally lacked excitement. Whenever you take damage, it’s sometimes not your fault. Insta-death can occur in some of the levels, and some of them were complete bullshit. A game can be difficult, but it shouldn’t be too difficult or else it’ll just be frustrating. It was also tedious and annoying to go through a lot of the levels without finding any health items. Mega Man X’s enemies left health items, which made the game a bit easier. Mighty No. 9 doesn’t do that. You rarely get health on some of the checkpoints, but they are rarely helpful if you’re so low on health.

Call only got one level, and it’s one of my least favorite levels ever! Her abilities are weak and limited compared to Beck, and she couldn’t AcXelerate into enemies, making gameplay so tedious. And in addition to her lack of a personality due to how painfully robotic she is, during gameplay she kept on saying what she was doing! “Jump!” “Holding.” “Barrier.” That was annoying, I wished she had a mute button. She’s cute in appearance, but everything else about her is just bad. Seriously, ONE level?!!

And Trinity…..*sigh* Her level is fine, but once you get to the boss, it all changes. Yes, the final boss should be difficult, I know! But battling Trinity was a major pain in the ass! Even though I chose the right ReXelections and selected the three buttons for them in order to choose them real-time (something I discovered real late), Trinity kept beating me. The battle was more frustrating than any other boss I’ve fought. It took me nearly two hours (from two different days) to beat that final stage and battle Trinity! You don’t even get taken to the second phase, which is bullshit. With all the other flaws the game had, the final boss was frustrating! Once I finally beat her, I wasn’t satisfied. I was just relieved I was done with the game, so I can finally move on to a more fun game that won’t make me feel like I might lose my mind. It wasn’t my fault! That boss was just annoying. Out of all the bosses, Trinity is the only one I despise! Avi’s battle wasn’t even that hard.

A game can be difficult, but if it’s too hard to the point that it will only make the game not fun, then that’s the problem. A few games that are known for being difficult are the “Devil May Cry” games. Those are difficult, but I would rather play those games than deal with Mighty No. 9’s final boss. Games are allowed to be challenging, and that’s why Devil May Cry is fun, but the difference between DMC and MN9 is that one is poorly executed and unfair. Yes, DMC can be unfair to some, but the thing is the games’ difficulty is connected to your skills. If you lose miserably in, say, “Dante Must Die” mode, that’s on you because your performance probably wasn’t great. All you have to do is improve. Higher difficulty levels are available once unlocked, and you can get the hang of things in the normal difficulty level. MN9’s difficulty, however, is hard. No matter what you do, you’ll struggle. Heck, it has three other difficulties! Hard, Hyper, and Maniac! But since the game is already difficult (and a pain) to play, it’s not worth it. You have to be a pro to tackle those difficulty levels. I’m not a pro, and I admit that without reluctance, so I won’t be doing those difficulty levels for myself. Playing it normally was already a pain (especially with Trinity!! Arrrgh!!). Therefore, Mighty No. 9’s difficulty was the result of poor design, meaning some of the hits (and deaths) you take are bullshit. So Mighty No. 9's difficulty was unfair and sometimes uneven. Countershade's level wasn't that difficult in my opinion. And has anyone realized that some (not all) of the advice it gives you before you enter a level hinted at the weakness?? Such as Dyna's ability being effective during Countershade's battle? But even the advice is useless because with the abilities being the way they are, they just weren't worth using at times. I did more damage using Beck's regular shooting abilities.

In conclusion, Mighty No. 9 gets a 5/10 from me. I can forgive some of the stuff. The music was good, the bosses were okay, and the designs for the characters were tasteful. So I'm showing just a hint of mercy despite the whole Trinity crap. But the gameplay wasn't super exciting, the final boss was frustrating as hell and no satisfaction can be received even after beating Trinity. The story was bland and it glossed over what could have been great storytelling if it wasn't poorly written, and the characters were boring and annoying (looking at you, Call!). Also, there's a boss rush!...I'm NEVER going for it because of Trinity. I can try to master the other bosses, but Trinity is one that I wish to never battle again (unless I want to torture myself out of boredom). I might try the challenges??? I'm not too sure. Despite the game's flaws, I oddly don't mind playing it. I like other games that are disliked by everyone. Last Rebellion and Shadow the Hedgehog are a few examples. Even Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy 7. People have different tastes, you know.

Still...what happened with this game?? Where did they money go??? Where????? Because $4 million dollars should have been enough to develop a fun and cool video game for Mega Man fans and newcomers. I also know that there were plans for a TV show and movie. If they had made better decisions throughout this whole process, Mighty No. 9 could have been great. I would have watched the TV show (or was it an anime?) and movie. Oh, and they had plans for a sequel...the post-credits scene was a sequel hook. But due to how the game turned out, I'm not sure if there will be a sequel, or a TV show/anime, or a movie, or anything. Then again, never say never. Bubsy came back with a new game after Bubsy 3D, and it took 21 years! Though the game wasn't that well-received. The point is if they do want to continue Mighty No. 9, please make better decisions. Reboot the game if you must (not that it's likely at this point), but don't do the same thing you did here. Mighty No. 9 has wasted potential, just like many other video games. Those certain games failed as a result of rushed development, bad decisions, and/or just plain laziness. Mighty No. 9 could have been great, and it's a shame that it didn't reach its full potential.

[kessielrg]

cryosphere i love you

“Cryosphere.”

“Whaa-at?”

“Promise me you aren’t going to scare Beck. He needs to rest after training, not go into lockdown from stress.”

Cryosphere remained where she was for a moment, as if contemplating his words. Then she suddenly turned on her heel and started to book it for the opposite direction.

“Cryo!” Pyrogen hollered after her. “Cryosphere! Mighty No 2, get back here NOW!”

[kessielrg]

[Mighty Number 9] Kaberi’s Patch

Summary: In which Troilus convinces Leilani to enter Dr. White's laboratory in order to fix Cryosphere's Cabbage Patch doll Kabi.

Rating: K

Word count: 2,401 words

If you like the story, please consider donating through Ko-fi! 

. . .

A cold chill ran up Leilani's spine, and it wasn't just because of the winter air. Beside her, a xel-bot that looked more like a single eye attached to a stick man body made from slim, metal piping didn't seem to notice. This bot, named Troilus, was one of Leilani's oldest friends, and he had just suggested to her one of her worst nightmares.

“Please come with me Doc, it'll be a riot with you there!” he tried to goad her, despite being distracted by a bird not far off from them.

“I think you mean a riot will break out.” Leilani retorted with a grimace. “We've talked about this Troilus- there's nothing you can do to get me into Doctor Blackwell's lab to bump elbows with the Mighty Numbers.”

Troilus turned to look at her, his eye sparkling with amusement. “Ah, but Doc, Beckie loves you. You'd make his day just by breathing in his direction!”

The young woman had to look away from her friend as she pursed her lips together. “Hard pass.” she decided in a stiff tone.

“Not my favorite photo filter.” Troilus then playfully mused. “More of a transparency kinda guy.”

Leilani let out an exasperated sigh in response.

The two continued their walk in silence for a good amount of time. It wasn't until the path led to a crossroads that they turned to look at each other again.

“Whelp, last chance Doc.” Troilus told Leilani. “I'm telling you, Beck would love to see you. Pyrogen would love you too if you gave him the chance!”

“Troilus,” Leilani then begged, taking the robot by his thin hands, “I can't enter the Mighty Numbers' lair. Just thinking about the place makes me sick- if I had to enter it, I'd probably pop a blood vessel. Don't make me enter that place unless there's something that only I can solve. Okay?”

The tall Colosseum bot gave the young woman a thoughtful blink. “Your loss.” the bot finally decided with an indifferent shrug. His eye then glittered with amusement as he gave her a little boop on the nose. “See you later Doc!”

Trying to hide her blushing face, all Leilani could do was shake her head. Troilus pretended not to notice as he gave his favorite robotist a wave before leaving for the White compound.

The main headquarters for the Mighty Numbers was a tall steel building that tended to grow with each new Number. Each Mighty had their own floor, with Doctor White's room on the floor of the current Mighty Number. It was a far fancier sight than what Troilus lived in, what with his creator and owner a mechanic than an actual robotist, but he still enjoyed coming over now and again to see the improvements done over the years.

The only thing he hated about the Mighty Numbers' compound was that he had to be buzzed in. Every. Single. Time. You would imagine that being a family friend would mean something- but nope, Troilus had to wait to be allowed into the compound as if he were the delivery man.

“Sorry for the wait.” Mighty Number One, Pyrogen, apologized to his friend as he let Troilus in.

“It's no problem.” the other bot handwaved. “One of these days I'll crack that lock and just let myself in!”

Pyrogen gave a small chuckle as he led the two into the Mighties home. On their way to Pyrogen's room, there was some activity from the other Mighty Numbers. Troilus was only able to give a small nod to each Mighty he passed- it was Cryosphere that actually came within earshot. In fact, she almost bumped into Troilus as she tried to quickly scuttle past him and Pyrogen.

“Heya Cryo.” Troilus greeted in passing.

“Hi~!” Cryosphere replied with a side wave- she had her own business to do today, and having a guest was not going to change that much. Pyrogen noted something that sat on top of Number 2's water tank, but by the time he decided to question what she was doing, Cryosphere was out of eyesight. Instead, Mighty Number One turned his attention to his friend.

“Did you notice that she had her doll with her?” he asked in a stern tone.

“I did.” Troilus cheerfully agreed. “Sure picked a good day to come over, right? If Cryo's got her little dollie with her, then trouble is sure to follow!”

Pyrogen did not seem as thrilled at the idea as Troilus was, but decided to keep silent about his opinions for now. Trouble would follow whenever Cryosphere decided to 'play' with her Cabbage Patch doll. It wasn't necessarily how she played with the doll, it was who she played with that was the most worrisome…

. . .

You would think that by now, Beck would have developed a sixth sense for when Crysosphere got out her Cabbage Patch doll. It was well known among the Mighties that he hated that thing the most- what with its half squashed face and blank brown eyes staring straight into your soul. Oh no, when Beck realized that the doll was out, it had already been too late.

What a way to find out that your worst nightmare was free when you turn around and its just sitting right there like a dead body. Suffice to say, Beck screamed.

Pyrogen was quick to react to his youngest siblings' distress; it was so quick that Troilus only blinked and Pryo was out the door. It soon became apparent that they were a bit too late to the party. Beck stared at Cryosphere with wide, fearful eyes as Mighty Number Two cradled her doll. On closer inspection, you could see that one of the doll's arms had been ripped off.

“You broke her Beck!” Cryosphere whined. “Oh my poor Kabi- she never did anything wrong! Look at what you did!”

“I… I...” Beck stammered, but couldn't think of anything else to say. All the poor bot could do was stare at Cryo's doll in shock.

“What's going on?” Pyrogen demanded once he had formed a suspicion on what had just occurred. Both Cryo and Beck flinched at his voice and immediately turned their attention to him. Beck notably became paler at seeing the older Mighty Number.

“Beck broke my doll!” Cryosphere told her brother, holding up her doll for her and Troilus to better see.

Without wasting a second, Pyrogen then asked, “And did you use it to terrorize him?”

Cryosphere shifted a bit. “Well… yes. Yes I did, but that's only because it's so much fun!”

“Not for me.” Beck grumbled under his breath. Pyrogen looked at him for a moment before turning his attention back to Cryo.

“Cryosphere,” Pyrogen then told his sister, “You know you can't go around scaring Beck with that thing. Whatever happened in the fallout is your problem.”

“But Pyro...!” Number Two started to argue, but was instantly shut down by the glare her brother gave her.

“Come on Troilus,” Pyrogen then told his friend, “There's nothing else we can do here.”

Giving his friend a skeptical glance, Troilus shrugged and started to follow the Mighty Number out. Cryo watched them in contempt- there was no way she would let this end here.

“Someone needs to fix her!” Cryosphere blurted out in a full out whine.

At the doorway, Mighty Number One hesitated. “We could ask Doctor White...” he suggested in a still, calm voice.

“But he'd never agree to it.” Beck whispered darkly under his breath. “Everyone hates that thing...”

A small silence then fell over the group in agreement. It didn't take long for that silence to be broken, however.

“I have an idea!” Troilus suddenly declared- startling Beck in particular. “I know someone who can fix Kabi!”

“You do?!” Cryosphere happily questioned as Beck gave a pitiful whimper of fear.

“I'll be right back!” the wire frame bot promised as he headed out the door.

“Hurry!!” shouted Cryo just before Troilus was out of earshot.

. . .

Something about the cafe was far too relaxing for Leilani. For once, everything just seemed at peace as she held the steaming cup of hot chocolate under her nose. But, like all things in her life, that peace was short lived as Troilus sat opposite of her.

“Heya Doc.” the bot greeted. The human gave her greeting with a small glance before turning her attention back to soaking up the hot chocolate's warmth. Troilus wasn't blind to this, so he took it as a sign to continue.

“Okay, so, Cryo was using her doll to scare Beck, see? But in the process Beck broke the doll and it's in need of a good fixer-upper. Could you do the honors Doc? Pretty please?”

Leilani made Troilus watch in slow agony as she set her cup down on the table. For a moment, she considered her words before saying, “Sounds like Number Two deserved it.”

“I'm not the judge of that,” Troilus admitted, “But one favor could lead to a better one later, and boy would Cryo be indebted to you if you help her out this once!”

To this, the human placed a hand against her chin. “I dunno...” she mused.

“You're good with your fingers Doc.” the bot then begged. “Please help Kabi!”

Leilani gave an unflattering snort. “I'm a pianist and violinist, how is any way does that translate to 'seamstress'?” she noted with a raise of her eyebrow. After a few seconds, she then questioned, “The doll has a name?”

“Well, it's full name is Kaberi Patch, but yeah. Isn't it cute?”

That was when she looked back at him in faint horror. “What does he program his bots for?” she questioned in wonder.

“Fun, obviously.” Troilus humorously suggested, completely missing the point. Leilani then took in a deep breath. There was no way he was going to stop goading her- that much was obvious.

“Fine.” she agreed. “Take me to the doll. Kaberi. Take me to Kaberi.”

Troilus's eye glittered with excitement as he dragged the human out of the cafe. Back at the Mighty Numbers' compound, Beck impatiently paced outside of Cryosphere's room. He only looked up when he heard the sound of Troilus returning- and moments after that he realized who the bot had brought back with him.

“Leilani?!” the young bot squeaked. “What are you doing here?”

“I'm about to ruin everything.” she replied with a mischievous smirk.

“She's going to help sew up Cryo's dollie.” Troilus corrected, setting his hands down on Leilani's shoulders.

“D-do you have to?” Beck nervously questioned. Noticing that Leilani had cocked an eyebrow at his fear, Beck then tried to stammer, “I-it's just that the thing's so old. You know? It… it might be able to be fixed, yeah?”

Troilus let out a loud, and incredibly amused, laugh. “It's a fabric doll Beck, not a Gateway!”

“Leilani!” Cryosphere happily squealed when she saw the human. Pyrogen was with her, and he did not look as pleased to see the young woman there. Before anyone could properly react or even greet each other, Mighty Number Two was already leading Leilani into her room. “Oh, you're perfect for fixing up Kabi!” Cyrosphere giggled. “And at the same time, there's something I've always wanted Kabi to have- you're just perfect for it!”

The girls left the boys behind; Cyrosphere not even trying to be decent by slamming the door behind her.

“Now what?” Beck asked to no one in particular.

“Now we let Doctor Lei do her stuff.” Troilus replied; his eye twinkling with amusement. Beck let out a small whimper- why did that not inspire confidence in him? What upgrades could Cryo want with a fabric doll anyway?

. . .

They didn't have to, but the boys waited diligently for Cryosphere and Leilani to come back out. It was well over an hour before the door to Cryo's room opened up.

“Introducing…!” Cryosphere announced in a loud, boastful voice, “The new and improved Kaberi Patch!”

The boys turned to see what Cryosphere was talking about and saw the doll. Beck's artificial heart stopped in noticing that the old thing looked good as new; it's face no longer squashed, the painted eyes replaced with inset ones instead, the fabric of the doll's body looked cleaner and unstained. It wasn't until the doll blinked at him that Beck knew his greatest fears had been realized. Beck wasn't the only one to have seen the doll blink either- Pyrogen immediately looked at Cryo with wide, horrified eyes.

“What did you make Leilani do, Cryosphere?” he accused.

Cryo opened her mouth to happily reply, but Leilani beat her to it. “It's got an A.I. now.”

“What?!” the boys responded at the same time- Troilus notably sounding more amused than the horrified Pyrogen and Beck. Leilani gave a careful shrug of her shoulder.

“It's not a very smart A.I.” she then claimed. “A little less than the Patch units- like one of those robot toys you get for kids where you usually end up controlling it with a remote somewhere. Along with that, Kabi can walk on her own and is generally invulnerable to most blunt-force trauma.”

“Is that allowed, considering your parole?” Pyrogen questioned. Again, Leilani shrugged.

“I just followed Cryosphere's instructions.” she replied. “Your creator (or even Sanda, really) could have done it himself if he wanted to. Whatever no-good-deed related incident comes of this, it'll be reflected toward Sanda Tech more than myself.”

Pyrogen looked at her for a moment, then gave a small sound of agreement. The two brought their attention back to Cryo- the Mighty Number happily letting her rejuvenated doll dance in place. Leilani found herself giving a small smile at the display before turning to Beck. Mighty Number Nine did not look pleased in the slightest. Without a second thought, the human walked over to him and held out a small button.

“I suggest hiding this behind your ear.” she said to Beck, “Only press it when Cryo's trying to get at you with Kabi.”

Beck worryingly looked at the button and then to Leilani. As he took the button from her and did as he was told, he had to ask, “Why?”

A smile formed on the human's lips -not quite malicious but not entirely generous either- before she said, “It's Kaberi's only weakness; the off switch.”