#rewire my brain so if I DO think someone's 'smiling at me mean' I don't kms

[karmaphone]

I'm sorry but if you genuinely go through life believing that every smile is a sarcastic oh sweetie charade meant to make fun of you and that everyone is fundamentally unhappy and miserable 100% of the time I think you need help and not in a jokey way. That's a terrible way to experience life and I wish better for the both of us

[lu-sn]

Rank the VegasPete kisses 😈

suz i stg this ask is gonna get me super mega cancelled. when you find my mangled body in a decrepit alleyway tell my family i loved them

-

6. i love you, pete.

listen, no okay, LISTEN, put down your pitchforks, this is an s-tier kiss okay, i know!!!!! I KNOW BUT EVERY VEGASPETE KISS IS INSANE!!!! SOMETHING HAS TO BE AT THE BOTTOM

i did and still do think it's a lil cray cray of vegas to say he's in love with pete like ten days after dicking him down, but the blood-streaked mouths and vegas's devastated face as he pushes pete away afterwards sure do make up for it

5. you must suffer until i'm satisfied

the thing that gets me about this one is the total lack of artifice on vegas's part. despite every touch of his before this having been part of a long, cruel, twisted performance, this one is so gentle. so unassuming. a gift, more than anything else.

the conversation after is critical to their relationship, and i'm not sure pete would have wanted to open himself up like that without this kiss as proof of vegas's... sincerity? vegas isn't playing a game anymore — and pete can finally stop playing too.

4. psycho

head in hands!!! i can't believe this isn't in the top 3 someone send me to jail rn

i don't need to talk about this yall Know. third eye opened brain chemistry rewired brainrot permanently acquired "you like me like this" "i know exactly what i want" the way their hands paw at each other the way vegas smiles the way pete's KNEES GO WEAK I'M FOREVER SCREAMING

3. you're the most important person in my life

ugly sobbing in the gutter they trust each other they cherish each other they're going to work so hard to stay together they're coming together as EQUALS in the LIGHT AFTER THE STORM I'M—

it's the way they cradle each other's faces in their hands, okay. it's the unbearable tenderness, and it's the promises they're making to each other!!! that shit just gets me real bad 😭

2. (we only kiss people we like)

their entire sex scene is characterized by an unexpected, intense tenderness, and this last kiss is really the nail in the coffin for me. the way pete is leaning up into this, chasing vegas's mouth — the way vegas is so unbelievably soft as he presses himself into pete — the space they've carved out together in the darkness for this moment of startling intimacy — something has changed here, in both of them. and it's going to be their undoing.

1. i need you, pete.

I DON'T CARE IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ME I WILL DIE ON MY LITTLE HILL THIS IS THE BEST KISS IN THE ENTIRE SHOW. SCREENSHOTS DO NOT DO IT JUSTICE. vegas is TREMBLING into this kiss he is TERRIFIED he's made an awful awful mistake and he's about to lose the best thing he's ever had he is CLINGING TO PETE trying to press all of his monstrous love into pete's skin i'm so sorry i didn't mean it i need you i will worship you look at how gentle i can be with you? look at how desperately i want to cherish you please please pete don't leave me MY GOD I AM CHEWING ON THE WALLS IT HURTS SO GOOD

and pete is so vulnerable to this kind of touch. he's shaking too, he's gasping and sobbing and almost can't believe what he's about to do in return. pete intends for this to be their last kiss — and vegas has no idea.

[sunnyie-eve]

15 | Computer Virus

Series: Supernatural Squad | Benny Weir

Word count: 3.2k

A/N: ~ means POV changes

"How could I let you convince me to rewire the PA system?" Ethan says nervous. "Because I'm incredibly charming." Benny says looking at the girl next to them. "Seriously? Dude, the Hulk would turn pink before she talked to you. Also you like Sadie, remember." Ethan tells him. "Pink with envy. And I'm putting Sadie on hold right now because I'm too scared." Benny says still looking at the other girl. "I'm never rewiring anything for you again. And I hope Sadie gets a boyfriend since you are a coward." Ethan sighs. "OK, you are just as a coward with Sarah and what good is a ghost alarm in school if it isn't insanely loud? How was I supposed to know it was gonna blow out the principal's window?" Benny spits back .

"You might want to go in. Trust me, you do not want to tick him off." Benny turns to the girl as the principal called her. Yeah, especially when we have to go in there after you." Ethan laughs telling her and Benny pulls out her earbud. "Don't do that." She tells him as he was shocked. "Ah! That is some nasty earwax!" He shouts as Ethan hells her to the office. "Pff! That girl was a total butter ears." Benny says. "What?" Ethan asks confused. "I liked everything but her ears." Benny smiles to himself. "Wow! How are you still dateless?" Ethan says sarcastic. "I don't know." Benny sighs.

"Oh I know why because you suck with all girls except the one you like right now who is your other best friend." Ethan hits his arm. "Dude, she doesn't like me. After what evil Benny did and said to her, she said it was okay because I wouldn't do that. She even said she's not my type." Benny sighs leaning his head against the wall. "Maybe she's just scared to admit she likes you too like it took you awhile to admit it to yourself."

~

"Are you still pushing away what me and Erica told you?" Sarah asks as we walk to see the guys. "Benny doesn't like me Sarah. He, well evil Benny, said he doesn't want to like me because it's wrong... and I'm not his type." I sigh turning to face her. "One: girl is his type. Two: you told me evil Benny said he was making the move because normal Benny wouldn't. That means he likes you." She tries to explain but I just didn't want to believe it. I just don't see him liking me and I don't even know if I like him that way.

"Maybe she just ignored you. Like all the other girls do?" I hear Ethan as we approach them. "If they're running from you, they're not ignoring you." Benny tells him. "Hey, guys! Getting punished for your ghost alarm thing, huh?" Sarah is first to speak up. "Girls, can I ask you a question? Do girls have like way more earwax than guys? Is it a puberty thing?" Benny asks us. "Do guys have fewer brain cells or is it just a Benny thing?" Sarah asks him walking off leaving me alone.

"Well, I mean... it takes a lot more than that... She didn't even wait for my answer." Benny looks up seeing she was gone. "Don't ask me again." I smile at him. "Is it just me or are there a lot more weeds here than usual?" Ethan asks making me look at the ground. "Maybe they only get pulled when someone gets punished." Benny says as the principal walks up. "Oh, gardening isn't a punishment, gentlemen. It is an opportunity." He tells the boys. "An opportunity to get hands dirty and jabbed with thorns?" Ethan asks him. "No, an opportunity to look within. To banish the weeds inside your soul. What you have to do is remove the root, so that the weeds never grow again." He explains to them.

"I really think a spray bottle of Weedageddon'd be easier." Benny says making me giggle. "Thanks for telling us this, Principal Hicks, but... why are you telling us this?" Ethan asks confused. "Normal troublemakers clog toilet bowls. You two rewire PAs, break my office windows, talk about space demons. I worry about you." He tells them making me laugh more. "So you want us to clog more toilets?" Ethan asks him. "No, forget it. Carry on weeding." He tells them walking away.

"Man, that inner weed stuff was pretty emo." Benny says getting back to the weeds. "I think he meant try just being normal." I tell them. "Hey Sadie, can I ask you a question?" Ethan stops to look up at me. "What? Just long as it isn't about earwax." I ask tilting my head. "Do you like anyone right now? I mean, I like Sarah, Benny likes every girl, who do you like?" I think about it. "There's a cute guy in one of my classes that talks to me a lot. Then there's this other guy, I'm not so sure about." I tell him the truth. "Who are they?" Benny looks up at me.

"None of your business, Mr can't get one girl without using magic." I bend down to his level. "Like you can get a guy before I can get a girl?" He laughs making me glare at him. "You trying to make a bet or what?" He chuckles, "Not really. I mean I don't think you are anyone's type here. Plus you hangout with us...you're a nerd in their eyes." He continues to laugh and Ethan eyes widen. "Have fun with your weeds." I walk away from them.

"You look down... Where's that smile I always see on your face." A classmate of mine walks up to me. "A friend pissed me off." I laugh messing with my locker. "Tall one right?" He says making me laugh, "Yeah, Benny." I get a book out of my locker. "I thought you two were more than friends actually." He says making me shake my head. "Nope, just friends. Plus I'm not his type." I close my locker. "Isn't his type girl?" He laughs. "Yes but we're just friends." I sigh with a smile. "Well you're my type." He smiles at me.

~

"And that is why I'm no longer welcome at the bowling alley. You know, I think you're really interesting. Do you want to talk about yourself for a bit?" Benny tries tonal king to the girl until he see Sadie laughing with another guy. It was the same guy that told she looked good few weeks back. "Excuse me." Benny tells the girl going to walk towards Sadie but she walks away with the guy.

"Dude, What kind of girl can resist both my bowling anecdote and talking about herself? Also Sadie was flirting with some guy! Strange!" Benny tells Ethan. "Speaking of strange...Hey, Rory, what's up?" Ethan asks as they met up. "Erica and I totally like the same band." Rory smiles showing his shirt. "Single Tear? Aren't all those songs about how hard it is to be them?" Ethan asks him. "Yeah, they totally speak to me. They're rich and famous. I'm a vampire. Nobody gets us." Rory explains "Nobody's ever got you. I don't think liking the same band is gonna make much of a difference." Benny laughs. "Ah, maybe not right away, but like Single Tear says: There's no time like the future." He sings bringing his earbuds up.

"Ah! Ugh!" Rory yells with the boys seeing weed like come from them. "You know what's going on here?" Ethan says as the girls passes. "Yeah, the music industry is finally fighting back at illegal downloads." Benny says with confidence. "No, but this is messed up." Ethan tells him. "Yeah, messed up with 4 gigs of clutch tunes. Can I have it back?" Rory reaches for his music. "Not a chance. But you can tell us the last place you plugged it in." Ethan tells him.

"My parents won't let me download at home. They think the internet is a bad influence." Rory tells them walking into the computer lab. "You're already a soulless undead creature of the night. How much worse can you get?" Benny asks confused. "Dude, if my mom knew I was a vampire I'd be grounded for like a month." He tells the which makes them taken back. "I've got 80% of my future love life downloaded, boys. By tomorrow, I predict Erica and I will interface." Rory gets happy.

"Hey! Did that cord just move?" Ethan asks moving his foot out of the wire. "What the heck is that?" Benny asks as they see green goo. "Our homework." Ethan says. "Oh man!" Benny whines. "I wouldn't use the computers. They aren't working well." Ethan says as he hear two people enter the room. "What's wrong?" Sadie asks with Jackson by her side. Ethan nods her over and she tells the guy to give her a second. "We have a problem." He shows her the cord. "What the heck is that?" She makes a face. "Our homework." She nods her head. "Hey Jackson, maybe tomorrow we can have the study date?" She gives him a smile. "Sure." Jackson leaves the room.

"A study date?" Benny asks me as we walk to Ethan's. "Yeah, he asked me for your information. Looks like I can get a guy before you got a girl. Also said I'm his type." I smile at him moving to the other side of Ethan so I'm not next to him. "How are you his type? I mean look at you: Short, geeky, rude, sarcastic, not super athletic, funny looking, did I mention rude?" Benny leans to look over at me. "And you're no ones type. I mean look at you: tall and lanky, more of a geek than me, rude, sarcastic, weird, not as funny as you think you are, you're not super athletic either, odd looking, and did I mention incredibly rude?"

"Can you two stop it?" Ethan asks us. "No!" Both Benny and I shout. "You two are acting like when you first met each other." Ethan says then starts to smile at us. "Well this is hilarious." He shakes his head confusing Benny and me. "I hate you right now." Benny glares at me. "Right back at you." I return the same look. "I can't wait till you too get over it." Ethan says making us glare at him.

"Whoa, this is weird. Chlorophyll polymer ectoplasm? It's like a combination of paranormal weed and Ethernet cable." Ethan says looking through his microscope. "There's plant matter in the cables?" I ask him. "No, they're combined. Half alive, half plastic. Like Heidi Montag." He says high fiving Benny. "Ooh! Nice burn. Nobody's reported anything like this online." Benny tells him. "I wonder." Ethan tells him. "Me too. Mostly about what it would be like to have eyes on my feet. Then I'd always see where I'm going." Benny smile as I walk up to the two of them. "And you'd get a black eye every time you kicked something." I say making Ethan agree with me. "Nah, just wear special see-through shoes." He says making me want to slap him upside the head.

"Oh, weird. Sarah's laptop is virus-free. Maybe it's a hardware problem." Ethan goes to get up but it crashes. "Smells moldy. Like my grandma's sock drawer." Benny tells him. "Let's open this thing up." Ethan says and they do to see the free goo. "Ugh. Circuit salad! Ugh! Here, probably the same as Rory's Zypod and the cables in the computer lab. Computers, cables, Zypods... I think I have a theory." Benny tells us. "Really?" Ethan asks him wanting to hear. "My theory is that you should be able to figure this out." I groan falling back in Ethan's bed. "I was thinking there's actually something strange growing in the school's computer network." Ethan tell him his theory.

"That's it! I knew I was onto something." Benny says making me throw a pillow at him. "We gotta get back to the school and stop this thing." Ethan picks up his pillow throwing it back onto his bed. "I got another theory. It's gonna be scary." Benny whines as we leave going back to the school.

"My theory was right. Do you remember this hallway being so... ominous and terrifying this afternoon?" Benny asks as we walk down the hall with green lighting. "It's not so bad. It's just a deserted hallway with... creepy flashing light and an overriding sense of doom. Yeah, it's terrifying!" Ethan tries to grab Benny's arm. "Let's just get in there and get this over with." I tell them.

"Oh, I think we're too late." Ethan says as we walk into the lab. "Man! This stuff spreads fast." Benny goes over to the girl. "This girl is garnished. What do we do?" Ethan asks out loud. "I think we need some kind of weed killer. I am not going to pull any weeds out of this girl's face." Benny looks at us. "You two go to the chemistry lab and I'll call Sarah." Ethan tells us and I just go with Benny.

"I'm sorry for everything I said earlier." Benny says as we make our way to the chemistry lab. "I was just..." He makes a face. "You were just what?" I ask with a smile. "You know I play around... a lot. Then when I hear you got a study date... I got... jealous." He groans making me giggle, "Looks like I'm the only one who can make you jelly. I'm not going to lie, I have a small crush on Jackson but I only said yes to prove that I could get someone before you." I smile making him hit me.

"Okay, Let's wax some weeds!" Benny walks back into the room pointing the bottles at her face. "Wait, we don't want to burn her face. Spray her legs." I stop him. "Can I use my line again?" He asks. "If you insist." I tell him. "Let's wax some weeds!" He repeats himself. Ethan stops him as things start to happen. "What did you see?" We ask him. "I saw a tree. It was... angry." He tells us. "How could you tell? Was it choking squirrels?" Benny asks making me back hand his arm. Rory then shows up hoping we didn't mess up his download, and Benny suggests we look up the tree.

The tree of us head back to Ethan's so we can look up the tree. Sarah gets there the same time we do and the four of us head up to Ethan's room. "Move over so I can sit." Benny pushes me over on the bed. "This is my spot." I make room for him to sit while I lay in my belly. "Hey, Benny, Sadie, check this out. The oldest tree in town just got cut down a few weeks ago." Ethan tells us. "It's right next to the school." Benny says. "Yeah, looks like the tree was a site of old druid rituals." Ethan looks at the screen. "So this tree soaks up magic over the years, gets knocked down, and what, now wants revenge?" Sarah asks us.

While Ethan and her talk for a second, Benny leans back on me. "Get off me." I go to bite his arm. "Well, like Principal Hicks said: To kill the weeds, we gotta cut out the root." Ethan says as Benny gets off me. "Time to do some gardening. Let's wax some weeds!" Benny stands up. "Really? Again?" Ethan snaps at him. "It's all I got."

"There, it is. Or was." Sarah says as we look at the tree. "That is one freaky stump. Do you think a tree could hold a grudge?" Benny asks us. "For what?" I ask him. "I carved my name into it. Benny loves Sad-... Sally... And Beth, Kailey, Della, Erica..." He lists names. "Benny!" Sarah snaps. "Catwoman." He finishes. "OK, what do we do?" Sarah asks. "Well, looks like the only way to stop it is to cut the root." Ethan says and we follow it to the school into the school's internet cable.

"Does this mean more yard work?" Benny asks. "Let's get this thing open." Ethan tries opening it. "Looks like someone is holding it shut." Sarah says. "Maybe there's some haunted Venus flytrap who's trying to get illegal pay-per-view? Right, right?" Benny starts to awkward laugh when none of us laugh.

"Cutting the roots should kill it. Then we can save vegetable girl." Ethan tells us. "Yeah! It's gardening time!" Benny shouts again. "Is that the best you can do?" Sarah asks him. "Pretty much." He sighs before we start trying to cut the roots before going back inside. "Wait, I gotta get something." Benny says making me stay back with him. "Huh, smart." I see what he was getting. "I'm not always dumb." He winks at me as we go to join the other two.

"Where did you get that?" Ethan asks. "Janitor's closet. Always upgrade before a boss level. Let's go." He explains to them. As we make our way down the hall fighting off the weeds we finally reach the lab. "I will not be destroyed by poison or blade! I will build a new force fertilized by human souls." We see Rory possessed.

"We're dealing with one angry tree now. And it's upgraded its hardware. With Rory. This thing's mostly cable and computer now. We can't just spray it with weed killer." Ethan tells us. "No, but smashing works on almost everything." Sarah says making Benny agree with her.

"Wait. If it's half tree, half computer, maybe a virus can infect its system and take this thing down." I suggest to them. "Where do you just get a computer virus?" Benny asks. "You've hacked into a computer system before, right?" Ethan tells him. "Just cover me!" He tells us. "Cover you with what!?" Benny shouts. "Come on, come on, come on. OK, this is what I call computer hacking! I'm gonna pwn you, newb!" The weeds get Benny. "I got you!" I take the axe from Sarah whacking a the the weed cables.

"Hey, tree boy! Ha! Ha! Get ready to be Nick rolled!" Ethan yells at the tree. "Rory! Are you ok?" I rush over to him with Ethan. "Guys, I had the weirdest dream. I was made out of carrot and I got Nick rolled." He whines as all four of us bend down in front of him. "I got you buddy." I move over next to him patting the top of his head.

[superredcorp]

SUPERCORP FANFIC

I completely forgot to upload it on tumblr the entire week.

A week had passed quickly which meant Kara needed to go back to work, back to CatCo, since the week off, which she had thankfully been given to care for Lena, was over.

Neither one of them really liked that fact. They had both gotten used to being around each other all day.

Kara didn't like at all that she couldn't constantly watch over Lena anymore and therefore couldn't make sure that she was okay.

And Lena missed the presence of the blonde, the feeling of safety and warmth accompanying her everywhere she went.

However, Kara still came by as often as she could, making the whole thing a lot of easier to bear.

And if she was being honest with herself, a part of Lena actually didn't mind being alone all that much because it gave her time to learn how to be as independent as possible. She didn't want to be limited in any way and she wanted to prove to the world that she wasn't.

At one point, she decided to take a walk because she needed some fresh air.

Over the last days, she had practiced it some more and she was getting better. She didn't get panic attacks anymore and she hadn't gotten hit by a car yet so that was at least something.

And that day, it went well too.

However then someone bumped into her. The angle and the force with which it happened told Lena that this wasn't an accident but entirely on purpose by the person in question.

This time, Lena didn't want to back down. She was still capable of dealing with stuff like this. She had been doing it for two decades.

So she slightly turned into the direction where she guessed the person who bumped into her to be, at least roughly, and loudly exclaimed "Hey!"

The footsteps stopped and after a few seconds, a male voice angrily said: "What? "

"Excuse me, do you have a problem?", Lena said through gritted teeth, unconsciously twirling her cane in her hand, slowly out of repressed anger.

"You Luthors are my problem."

Lena opened her mouth to respond but before she could, a gush of wind and a hard landing of boots on the stone beneath them announced the arrival of a specific superheroine.

"If you had paid any attention to what's happening in the world, you'd know that Lena is nothing like her family. She's good and kind. And she doesn't deserve to be treated like this.", Kara, or well right now Supergirl, said - there was a certain kind of coldness in her voice, entirely foreign for her except for cases like this in which people she loved were being insulted.

The man scoffed. "Must be a cold day in hell... a Super siding with a Luthor. That's pathetic."

Kara furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't judge people by their names. I do judge them by their actions. Right now, I can only see one person who needs to be judged and that's not Lena."

The man shook his head, mumbling incoherently as he stomped away.

Kara narrowed her eyes, thinking for a second about following the man to talk to him further, maybe even somehow convince him but then she shook the feeling off. Some people just couldn't, and didn't want, to see reason.

Kara turned to Lena. "Are you-"

"I could have handled that. On my own. I don't need a babysitter.", Lena said harshly. "I'm not crippled. I can still do things myself, especially dealing with ignorant people. I've done that all my life and it wasn't my eyesight which enabled me to do that."

Kara's eyes widened. "I- I would never suggest anything like that. I- I didn't mean for it to come across like that, Lena, I-", Kara swallowed and frowned. She cleared her throat, trying to stop herself from falling into a stuttering ramble again. "I will always stand up for you. I would have done the same thing before the fire too if I noticed someone harrassing you."

Lena twiddled with her cane. Kara's voice sounded sincere. And of course, Lena knew that she was indeed truthful about what she just said. That there weren't any malicious intentions behind her actions. She had only her best interests at heart. She always had.

Lena sighed deeply. "I- I know. I... I shouldn't have gotten so defensive. I'm sorry. I just... I just want to feel normal."

Kara furrowed her eyebrows and stepped closer. "You are normal, Lena, don't ever think any differently. You're still the brilliant, kind hearted badass you have always been. You don't need your eyesight for that. You're amazing. You've always been and you always will be."

Lena couldn't help the small smile spreading over her lips and the blushing of her cheeks. "Thank you.", she said quietly. "I... I needed to hear that."

"Hey, it's just the truth.", Kara smiled softly. She looked down. "I'll touch your hand, okay?"

Lena thought for a second, then shrugged and said with a smirk: "Why do that when you could just give me one of your incredibly comforting, big bear hugs."

Kara beamed. "Totally agreeing with that. I'm really good at hugs. Come here."

Lena chuckled and let Kara embrace her tightly. She wrapped her arms around her as well, resting her head near the crook of Kara's neck.

She couldn't prevent herself from inhaling Kara's scent. It made her feel even safer, even warmer.

She had found that since she lost one of her sense, sight, her other ones such as hearing and smelling had improved a little. Of course not to superhero level but still noticeable. She hadn't been too surprised by this, she had heard of studies before which proved that the brain rewired itself to compensate for the loss.

And for some reason, Kara's scent had grown to be her favorite, calming her and reassuring her that she wasn't alone in this endless literal darkness.

[fallout4holmes]

Journal 57

Valentine woke me before dawn. “Bad news, Holmes.”

I sat up and saw the Minuteman standing behind him. She saluted briefly, “Sorry to wake you, sir, but it’s urgent.”

I thought I recognized her, “Proceed… Nash, wasn’t it?”

“Yessir,” she smiled at my recollection before somberly stating, “there’s been trouble in Sanctuary.”

She had my undivided attention, “Explain.”

“A squad of Brotherhood camped out in Concord without us knowing. They sent a soldier into Sanctuary for recon, but he was discovered by one of those robots Sturges has been working on. Fight broke out, Minutemen joined the fray, no Brotherhood survivors. Colonel Garvey thinks they didn’t have a chance to send a distress signal. According to the orders present on one of them, they were to wait for Maxson’s signal to attack.”

“He has his people in position,” I sighed, irritated. “We’re out of time."

"The hell we are," Valentine huffed. "There's still a maniac out there setting psychotic robots loose on the Commonwealth, and the Minutemen aren't gonna just stand by and let the Brotherhood walk all over them. We finish the job we started, and take what comes."

"You're right," I jumped up and started getting ready to leave, an urgent energy I hadn't felt in too long surging through me. "Find Ada and wake Cait, we'll breakfast on the road. We haven't a moment to lose."

We hurried north, reaching Goodneighbor a few hours after sundown. Cait requested we stop for a moment so that she could speak with Hancock. I agreed; I also wanted to speak with Goodneighbor's mayor, especially considering the war's imminent arrival.

We found him in his office, as expected. Unexpectedly, he was in the middle of a heated discussion with a visitor.

"Bad enough Diamond City isn’t doing anything, why don't—“

“What am I supposed to do, Piper, huh? Brotherhood come for us, let ’em, we’re ready to defend our walls, but if I lead a crew against a skyscraper full of soldiers, how do you think that’s gonna end?”

“We could use Zhao’s missiles or—“

“I ain’t convinced that submarine’s really going to be able to strike all the way out here, assuming it’s even still there. Ain’t willing to risk my people’s blood on it, that’s for sure.”

Piper groaned, frustrated, “Fine, sit here if you want, but I have to do something, there has to be some way I can help. Blue’s in Jamaica Plain last I heard, maybe I can find him.” She turned and saw us coming up the stairs. To my surprise, her gaze went straight to one of my companions rather than me. “Cait!”

Hancock rushed to the doorway to see for himself. "Well," he grinned, "Welcome back."

Cait was suddenly withdrawn, another stunning development, "Hey."

“You ok?” Piper asked.

“Fine,” Cait shrugged, “Never better, actually. Uh. Thanks, for worryin’.” She huffed and regained her usual confidence, “We can talk an' all later, but Holmes has business with ya, Hancock.”

“Why do I get the feeling this business ain’t the fun kind,” Hancock said with a swagger, “despite what the outfit suggests?”

“Maxson will give the order to attack soon," I said, "possibly in a few days, possibly in a few minutes.”

“C’mon, you ain’t gonna be in character this time? I’m disappointed, Shroud.”

I ignored him. “Did I overhear mention of a submarine?”

“There’s a Chinese sub in the bay,” Piper explained. “It’s been stuck there since the War. The Captain turned ghoul, been living there ever since.”

“We helped get him seaworthy, and for payment we get a single shot of his missiles,” Hancock said.

“You sure you two ain’t been sharin’ a bad batch of somethin’?” Cait asked.

“You know Piper won’t touch chems,” Hancock scoffed.

"I have an idea for how those missiles would be extremely useful," I said.

"Ask me like the Shroud," Hancock broadly smiled, "and we'll see what we can do."

We continued our trip north, this time in the company of Piper. Hancock didn't want to leave his town on the eve of war, and I didn't attempt to convince him otherwise. Cait and Piper continued on toward the airport while Valentine, Ada, and I went to the RobCo Sales & Service Center, where Ada reported the Mechanist’s lair was hidden.

"A robot-building villain hiding out in a run down robot shop?" Valentine commented as we stepped inside and saw a showroom for RobCo-brand terminals, most of which were long destroyed.

"I doubt this was ever simply a shop," I said.

"You mean because the Mechanist had to get the robobrains from somewhere, and they sure weren't selling those to the public?" Valentine asked as he went behind the service desk.

"We should look in the garage and see if there's any indication of a hidden entrance."

"Laser tripwire behind the 'employees only' door seems a good place to start."

I hurried over, Ada following. After disabling the tripwire, we passed through the corridor to a basement area with a blastproof door, a strange device to the side of it.

“Allow me, sirs,” Ada approached the door and activated the M-SAT device Sturges had installed from Jezebel’s plans.

The door opened, and we entered the underground facility.

What we found was the remains of a nightmare. Criminals housed in cells were later operated upon to remove their brains, which were then wiped of memories and run through a series of tests before being mounted to any number of devices. Many brains were still preserved, thus providing the Mechanist with necessary material without needing new subjects. According to the terminals, not all of the memory wipes were successful. Minds that woke, panicked in the dark, were destroyed. One transcript showed a psychopath unconcerned with his new lack of body and firm conviction that every scientist in the facility would be killed was seen as a prime candidate for a tactical team. Even before the War, there were indications of the robobrains misinterpreting orders, the flexibility of the human mind rewiring itself to fit what it thinks is the more efficient option. This place was the perfect example of the military and their scientists being so focused on whether or not they could accomplish their goal, they never stopped to wonder if they should. Then at some point this Mechanist found the facility, and picked up where they left off.

I don’t want to dwell on what we saw down there. I noticed a decontamination corridor as we entered, leading to an elevator with an access terminal requiring voice authorization. Imagining we had no choice, we fought our way past a variety of robots guarding the facility until I was fortunate enough to find holotapes recorded by the supervisor of each department. I hoped that these would be enough to trigger the vocal recognition and unlock the elevator. I was correct.

The elevator took us to a control room with computer banks all along the walls, each terminal manned by a small robobrain that rapidly typed orders to run the facility. The room was filled with the noise of terminal keys clacking, and there in the middle stood a figure in the costume of a comic book character - The Mechanist.

“Well, hell, Shroud, you were right,” Valentine muttered.

“Impossible!” The Mechanist declared as we were spotted, “I control all points of access to this room!”

“You underestimated me,” I said. “The Silver Shroud is no common criminal.”

The Mechanist was confused, “The Silver Shroud?” Confusion turned to disdain, and furthered my suspicion of the Mechanist’s mental instability, “I cannot believe someone so respected, so honorable, would come here and destroy my robots. Your reign of terror ends here, Shroud!”

I had to think quickly, “The Shroud, as always, walks the path of justice. It is you who has fallen, Mechanist.”

“Lies, Shroud! Lies! The Commonwealth has suffered more than its fair share of injustices because of you.”

“The Silver Shroud is no villain. The only guilty here are you and your relentless automatons.”

“My bots would never violate their protocol!”

Valentine had had enough. “Those bots are killing innocent people!”

“My friends were simple traders,” Ada said. “All dead at the hands of your robots.”

The Mechanist was shaken, “No. The robots are programmed to protect. Their subroutines are clean: observe, evaluate, and react accordingly.”

“They're misinterpreting orders,” I tried to explain. “Your own robobrain said as much. They're saving people by killing them.”

“Saving by... killing? I don't believe you. They can't alter their programming. They're programmed to save people, not kill them. And the data! They were always reporting hostiles killed and lives... saved.” The Mechanist paused in a moment of horrible realization. “No, it's... the logic... it's there... I can see it now. I was hoping it was the robobrains, an issue with their memory wipes... but you're right. Their primary directive was flawed.”

“Memory wipes?” Valentine asked.

The Mechanist nodded, “Yes. The human brain has a way of… rewiring itself. If not properly maintained, it can… corrupt.”

"Corrupt?! That's the understatement of the year.”

I tried to keep the Mechanist focused on the truth, “A serious flaw, and a dangerous one at that.”

“It is,” the Mechanist agreed, “but the process is thorough. They're wiped after each mission. They're... I found it's best to not let them recall what they've been through.”

Ada spoke, “The introduction of a human brain creates too many unknown variables. You can’t claim to know them all.”

“There's probably a reason these robots weren't in mass production,” Valentine muttered.

We had gotten through, but the Mechanist was still in denial. “I… I need to think. I took every precaution…”

“You know we are telling you the truth,” I said. “Your robots are dangerous. They had to be stopped.”

The Mechanist shook his head in disgrace, “... the hero unknowingly became the villain. I wanted to help the Commonwealth… and robots are all I know. I found this place and figured I could do my part. I accept full responsibility. I can’t take back what I’ve done or even atone for it… but this doesn’t have to end in violence.”

I was relieved to hear it. I gave the Shroud one final moment; “Though your action initially appeared felonious, your intent was not. Seek redemption, Mechanist. You have much to atone for.”

With a sigh of relief, the Mechanist declared, “Done. Consider it done. And you won't regret this, I promise. None of the Commonwealth will.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” I said, and removed the hat. “Permit me to introduce myself properly. I am Sherlock Holmes, of Valentine’s Detective Agency, and General of the Minutemen. This is my partner Nick Valentine, and our friend Ada.”

The Mechanist, with great trepidation, carefully removed the mask to reveal a young woman. “I’m Isabel. Isabel Cruz.”

“Can I ask why the Mechanist get-up?” Valentine gently asked.

She shifted uncomfortably. “I’m… not good with people. The Mechanist gave me a way to put myself out there without really being out there at all. I grew up on a settlement, I’ve seen how good people struggle against raiders and super mutants. I never wanted to be counted among them. But all my technical knowledge, all of these resources, and I still failed. I only ever wanted to make the Commonwealth a safer place.” She held out a holotape, “Here. Take this. It's the password to the mainframe. Use the password to shut down the security. After that, the base is yours.”

“On the contrary, Ms. Cruz, I think you should stay,” I said.

“What?”

“You want to help the Commonwealth? Work for me as a resource for the Minutemen, and you will have a chance to do just that.”

She was stunned. “The Minutemen? You… you want me to build robots for your army?”

“Units to support troops will be extremely helpful, but primarily I thought you could put your efforts to good use creating defenders for settlements.”

“There are still many rogue robots roaming the Commonwealth,” Ada pointed out. “The Minutemen will need all the help they can get, especially once this war is over.”

Ms. Cruz nervously nodded. “I’ll… I’ll try my best. Maybe I can fix some of the damage I’ve done.”

The facility's security was disabled, and Ms. Cruz gave us a proper tour of her assembly line and her capabilities. She is a nervous young woman, now guilt-ridden, but with determination and drive. I promised she would hear from my Chief Engineer soon.

Ada asked to speak with me. "While not wholly unexpected, that outcome was not the one I believed to have the highest probability."

No, it certainly wasn't. "Are you disappointed I let her live?"

She sounded concerned, "I do have conflicting outlooks, but I trust your judgment. The guilt of her actions is a punishment in itself."

"You don't quite believe that," I observed.

"I do trust your judgement, but yes, I also have doubts concerning Isabel's… potential. She could use a companion she didn't build herself."

"Are you volunteering?"

"Yes, sir. The mission was a success; the Commonwealth doesn't have to fear the Mechanist any longer. I would like to stay and make sure it never does again. She will also need help working for the Minutemen, and I will assist however I can."

"I think that's an excellent idea, Ada. For now, I wonder if we might be able to convince the newly reformed Mechanist to provide a few scrapbots for our use?"