章 17: Chapter 16
"This is becoming irritating," Anakin said, pausing in place and staring at his computer.
Dinah kept herself from snickering, her face a mask of impassivity as she split her focus between the Matukai sequence and her… guardian's antics.
Anakin's hand reached for his lightsaber, his fingers curling around the handle and his eyes narrowing as he regarded the intruder in his workshop. Dinah thought she could actually feel the irritation spreading from his entire body, almost like that aura he had when he wanted to intimidate people.
With a sigh, he released the weapon and relaxed his shoulders, causing her to release a snort. From watching him, she knew Anakin had been used to obliterating any obstacle in his way, it was good that he was looking for different ways.
Dinah had been reading PHO and seen his actions firsthand. While undeniably cool, his natural tendencies didn't exactly help with their reputation. She didn't like thinking about the first time they met, but it would have been much better, and more efficient had they simply retreated.
From the top of his notebook, the absolute chonkers of a cat just continued to lick its fur, completely ignoring Anakin's glare as it enjoyed the heat from the device. On the screen, another program was executed to join a hundred others the cat had managed to open while sitting on the keyboard.
The screen was also inverted… and had changed colors. Dinah just refocused on her training; her shirt plastered against her skin from sweat. She had never been so dedicated but, fuck, she had muscles now! Not those bulging, ugly muscles, but lean, athletic ones.
If studying had paid off as fast as her new training, she'd have been much better at school.
"Why was it allowed inside?" Anakin asked towards the droid charging by the wall.
"I like it," Hal said, "One can only appreciate the cheerful level of impertinence exuding from the contrary little creature."
"I believe I ordered you to stop any intruders?"
"According to Miss Night Slayer," Hal said, causing Dinah to cringe at the name… yeah, she was not keeping that one. "Non-humanoids are not to be considered intruders if they are below a certain size and number. She did not appreciate me interrupting her meditation by vaporizing flies and other insects for amusement."
Of course she didn't, she wanted to get stronger. She needed to concentrate on the movements, the breathing, the right way of contracting her muscles, NOT on laser shots going off above her head.
Stupid robot, she had to re-word those orders a dozen times before it stopped misinterpreting them and using his laser to shoot mosquitos… and she was half convinced it just decided to humor her.
.
"Mistress Shadow Slayer, you told me to permit flies, there are no standing orders regarding mosquitoes."
.
"Blood is required to transmit oxygen and nutrients to a meatbag's cells, consuming the fluid is, factually, causing you harm."
.
"According to the internet, around 10% of such insects carry dangerous pathogens, they can be life threatening."
.
Anakin had programmed Hal to protect her, giving the robot several commands that Dinah couldn't change, but he had registered her as Hal's primary master on all other aspects. It meant the droid would prioritize her orders as long as they weren't life threatening to her… even if it didn't prevent him from being a smartass if given the chance.
When she had asked the man why he gave her so much control, he said he wanted her to be able to trust the droid and always take it with her, not spend time trying to find ways to escape its watch.
Fair enough. She wasn't going to ditch Hal with Coil still around, but she couldn't blame Anakin for thinking about the future.
"Had she not chosen Cassandra?" Anakin asked with some irritation.
He always said cape names were silly, but she liked it! Heck, he had let slip he had used his own cape name once. Vader or something like that. She had been too tired at the time to remember.
"She didn't think it was sufficiently 'badass', particularly once she received the lightsaber," Hal's optics flashed red, a programmed indication of amusement. "I was ordered to use her new cape name the whole day so she may test it before debuting. Miss Night Slayer tested Shadow Slayer first, but she found the association with Shadow Stalker to be annoying."
Yeah, definitely changing that name… Damn it, now she'd have to delay her verified tag in PHO again! She even had the perfect picture. Proving a Thinker power was hard, but nobody could deny a sweet robotic hand.
Turning back to the cat, Anakin used the Force to lift him from the computer, dropping the animal to the floor. The cat stretched, its back arching and claws extending before shaking itself and sitting down to stare up at her guardian, eyes narrowed.
Anakin had left the notebook running the entire night since, according to him, it and the internet connection were pitifully slow. He needed to download a lot of information to the device in order to program Hal and some of his other projects.
Dinah couldn't wait for her robot to get his own body, some proper arms and legs he could use to move or spare with her.
Apparently, reconfiguring his notebook would take too long because Anakin just checked something and turned the device off. Finishing her last movement, Dinah swiped the sweat from her forehead and started stretching. "Aren't you going to use it anymore?"
"No, I will be checking on our new house today," Anakin said.
The spike of sadness hit her then. She knew it was only temporary, another two or three weeks, but she missed her family. She missed them so much, she missed her friends and her bedroom, heck, she even missed Roy and his teasing.
Ha! Let's see him try to tease her now, she'd kick his ass!
Shaking her head, she did her best to dismiss the thought and reached for the neighbor's cat for comfort. "Come here, Kumo."
The cat gave her an annoyed look and promptly fled from her reach, squeezing under some of Bakuda's spare materials before Anakin motioned with his hand and dragged the beast out. It released a soft meow but gave up any resistance once the cape lifted his body in the air. Convenient.
"Are you ready to leave?" he asked, letting her grab the animal.
"Almost, just have to take a quick bath," she said, holding Kumo belly up against her armored chest and scratching its fur, to his obvious discomfort, but that was the toll for letting him into the workshop. "When are you gonna start leaving me alone anyway? There's only a 13% chance anything happens today."
"Once I finish Hal's body," Anakin said, putting on his mask. "I am basing it on a mixture of the MagnaGuard model and my own TRD. The complete droid should provide sufficient protection while also being capable of helping with your training."
She had no idea what those were, but they sounded good. Would it look like the terminator? Could she get him to make Hal more human, like Megaman? He already shot lasers and all.
In her arms, the cat finally had enough and started to squirm, trying to scratch at her. Her costume was able to completely block its claws, but he swiped at her face, forcing her to lean back which gave him the chance to jump away from her.
Anakin flicked a hand, catching him with his power again. "You will NOT be remaining here where you can prove more disruptive."
Finishing her stretches, she took a quick bath, doing her best not to think about her family or how much better her own bathroom was. The showerhead was bigger, the floor more comfortable, it was just better.
Quickly drying herself, she put on her armor since it was easily hidden under some baggy clothes. Anakin himself simply put on his mask, not bothering with any other equipment.
Then again, with his ridiculous reflexes, he didn't really need armor. Sparing against Anakin was already ridiculously unfair, Dinah pitied anyone who tried to really fight him.
Together, the group left the building, the cat trailing above on Hal, the robot having let the cat climb on top of its head instead of just floating helplessly under Anakin's power.
Mrs. Aikawa was drinking some tea at her window. The old woman with short hair dyed black and a pair of round glasses on her face was about her grandma's age and, despite being on her feet, did not look much taller than when sitting. She smiled when she saw them.
"Oh, there you are, you silly cat. I've been looking for you the entire morning," she said, a smile on her face as she waved at them.
Dinah noticed Anakin pausing, it wasn't exactly a stumble, but she had learned to see when he was uncomfortable. He didn't know how to deal with people not fearing him, or any signs of honest affection, really. Fortunately, she was helping him get over that particular hangup.
Without answering, he floated the cat inside her house through the window. The animal avoided the woman's hands and jumped to the floor with a loud yowl, running further inside the building.
"I do not appreciate your pet entering my workshop. See that it does not happen again," he said, his voice grave in that same way he spoke with everyone but her.
It was not exactly an order, but the tone just seemed to assume nobody would even dare question him. Dinah had watched Alexandria talking on the TV and she spoke the same way.
"What?" the woman almost shouted back. "Speak louder, I can't hear you, boy."
This time it was Dinah who stumbled, grabbing at Anakin's leg for support. At her side, he paused, his body rigid as he processed the words. For a moment, he just stared at the old woman as if he couldn't believe her.
Dinah looked from the woman to him, deciding to help, she squeezed his leg and swore he actually rebooted.
"Your pet, keep him away," he said. "I am building delicate equipment inside the workshop; I do not want the cat damaging them.
"Nonsense, Kumo's very well behaved," the old woman actually waved his concern away. "He just misses the workshop, it used to be mine you know —Damn snake— Wait, I'm going out."
Together, Anakin and Dinah stared as the woman closed the window before they could say anything else, starting to make her way to the door. Dinah saw her guardian looking towards the car, an almost longing look in his eyes through the lenses of the mask, but he didn't take any steps towards it.
Dinah found the entire interaction highly amusing… and good for him, he needed to relax a little, remember that other people were, well, people.
She doubted he had ever been as bad as Lung, but she knew he hadn't been a hero and, from what he told her, he hadn't exactly cared about anyone in a long time, longer than she'd been alive.
Lilian Aikawa limped out of her house, a black walking stick in her hand and a small box wrapped a black handkerchief. "Here, boy, I baked you some sweets in thanks."
Anakin started to lift a hand to accept the package, but Dinah was faster, grabbing the box from Mrs. Aikawa's hands before he could put it away or, worse, refuse.
Anakin was a good cook, but she hadn't eaten any junk food in a week. "What are they?"
"Brownies. Don't worry, I didn't put in any pot this time," she said. Holding the cane with both hands, she turned to Anakin. "Let me tell you something, it was about time someone got rid of the limp-winged lizard. Damn useless heroes wouldn't even go near him. Really, I think I watched your video a dozen times, never fails to brighten an old woman's day."
"I… see," Anakin managed to say.
"Yep, loved when you almost cut him in half by the junk. Don't know anyone that deserved it more... Ah, if only I was 30 years younger, I'd REALLY thank you," Mrs. Aikawa nodded, but winced when her leg started bothering her. "Could've killed the rest of the useless layabouts too, but we can't have everything can we? Tea to go with the brownies?"
"I will have to decline," Anakin said.
"I do believe I like this woman," Hal said.
Anakin just glared at the droid.
Dinah could have helped him out again there, her grandmother could be just as strange, even if Dinah didn't think she had ever touched any drugs, but he needed the practice with someone he didn't intimidate. So, instead, she just opened the box and pulled out one of the fudge squares. Tilting her mask slightly up, she bit into the treat.
When the silence started stretching between them, she sighed and spoke. "So… mmm… you said the workshop was yours?"
"What did you say? Ah, the workshop… yep. Damn kids kept trying to swindle it from me," taking a seat on her rocking chair, Mrs. Aikawa rested the cane against the porch. "Shouldn't have sold but it's not like I've anyone to leave it to, just the cats… and after the leg?... How's the brownie, sweetheart?"
"Great! Mrs. Aikawa," Dinah said.
"Call me Lilian, sweetheart, I'm not really much for formality," the woman shook her head. "My father liked complaining about it, so I always made sure to use first names to annoy him and the habit stuck."
"Alright, Mrs. Lilian," Dinah nodded towards the woman and then glanced at Anakin. The Look wouldn't be as effective with her mask on, but he was weak anyway. "Maybe you can come inside when we're here?"
Anakin looked down at Dinah. With a sigh, he nodded. "I would not oppose it."
"Ah, don't mind me, not like I haven't seen it every day for fifty years," Mrs. Lilian said, adjusting her glasses and glancing at the workshop's door. For a moment, she seemed to gain twenty years, but it passed quickly. "Go on, I'm sure you're busy. I think I'll just go re-watch the video again. Pity there's no audio, would love to hear the gecko's screams."
Dinah traded a glance with Anakin, snickering at how baffled he was by the whole situation. Still, they had a house to see, and the woman was clearly done with the conversation, having started to pull her phone from her back pocket.
"Regardless, the invitation stands," he eventually said, his eyes not leaving the woman.
Dinah almost wanted to shout, finally, progress! "Bye Mrs. Lilian," she adjusted her mask back in place and closed the gifted box, patting her clothes to get rid of the crumbs.
As the both of them started walking towards the new car the ABB had supplied them, the woman called out one last time. "Say, did he shout like a little girl when you cut him up?"
"He did not," Anakin said.
"Huh… Well, I'll continue to pretend he did, much more satisfying that way."
"Yes," her droid said as they entered the car. "Yes, I do believe I like that woman. She has good taste for a meatbag."
As Anakin drove away, Dinah took off her mask and cape, hiding her armor with a large sweater. It all looked kind of ridiculous, but nobody would think she was a cape.
Anakin too took off his mask, but he was already wearing normal clothes so there was no need to pause somewhere to change. Looking out the window, Dinah lost herself watching the city.
Despite having lived in the Bay her entire life, she hadn't exactly seen much of the docks, or even much of the southern area where they currently were. Her father barely let her walk in the commercial district or downtown and he'd never really have a reason to come to these parts, much less with her.
The buildings looked old; gang tags painted on top of gang tags where the owners had clearly given up on fixing anything, paint peeling away from the walls to reveal the materials below. It was worse than the center of ABB territory.
Still, there were a lot of people out, mostly adults going to work, but she saw some old people walking their dogs and even a tall young woman jogging. Their clothes weren't the best, but they weren't rags either.
Yeah, it looked much worse than the area around her home, but the streets didn't seem as dangerous as the number of graffiti indicated. Maybe it was because it was closer to Empire and Coil's territories, so the gangs kept painting one on top of the other as the area changed hands?
Ugh, just thinking of Coil caused her to squeeze her hand into a fist, she immediately imagined cutting the bastard with her lightsaber or punching him with her new hand, let's see him call her pet now!
Dinah didn't exactly remember everything about the future Anakin had helped avoid, but some things stayed with her. Even now, she was tempted to just beg Anakin to destroy Coil completely so she wouldn't have to think about him again.
Regardless, she didn't want to need protection, to just be an answer machine, to have to rely on other people helping with her visions. Never again did she want to feel so helpless. Even after sacrificing an arm, all she could think was that it had been worth it.
She'd sacrifice the other without a thought if it meant gaining some independence.
Anakin was right, she already knew Coil's power had limits, he didn't get infinite questions, only two, maybe three at a time, and it couldn't be just anything. Also, while his power was impressive, contrary to hers, he could only see a future he COULD realistically achieve, not any and every hypothetical.
Like, there was a sensible chance he could test Anakin by hiring Faultline to attack them because he was rich enough to hire her, but there was a less than laughable chance he'd test their defenses using Eidolon or Legend because, even using his power, he couldn't hire or manipulate them to attack.
It always made her smile, knowing she was probably more powerful than him. She could see all the futures, even the most unlikely.
Dinah had also been able to narrow down his location or, well, the places he frequented often. There was always a chance he was downtown, in his territory, but it was almost as likely he'd be in the commercial district or outside the city.
The most surprising was that there was often a chance he'd be at the Protectorate's headquarters out there in the bay. At first, she thought it was because there was always a chance he'd been arrested but, several times, the chances were above 70% he was there and he still wasn't captured.
No, he somehow had access to the Protectorate… Was he a hero or pretending to have no powers? Guess that was why her future had always gotten worse if she asked for help from the PRT.
Heroes… big fucking help they were.
20 minutes later, Anakin parked the car inside the garage of a small house. There was a wooden fence and two floors, but it looked old and in need of paint.
Jun Watanabe was waiting for them beside the door. The young man was alone, his feet tapping against the ground in anxiousness. "Great, you're here," grabbing several papers at the shelf on his side, he opened the door for Anakin and stepped aside. "Here, your new documents, Susanoo-sama."
"Your gang is surprisingly competent," Anakin complimented, clearly having gotten over his discomfort at the earlier interaction.
Lifting her hand, Dinah grabbed her ID from the air, looking at her own picture above her new, temporary name: Ana Lars, daughter of Anakin Lars.
"Now, don't be using those for anything important," Jun said fearfully. "They can fool anyone looking and even pass a quick computer check, the old man does good work, but they won't stand up to any real scrutiny, particularly with all the Tinkertech equipment the government has nowadays."
Since Dinah was pretty sure the situation would be resolved in a week or two, she didn't see that as a problem and Anakin seemed to agree because he didn't say anything.
Dinah could see Jun was almost shaking in his place, one nail nervously scratching at the skin of the opposite hand and his body constantly changing his weight from one leg to the other, but she stayed quiet.
No, he was ABB, he deserved to squirm a little.
Instead, she copied Anakin, standing straight and just… looking at the man with her arms behind her back, letting him fidget. Taking his clue from her, Hal floated closer, his optics flashing red.
"So… how do you like the house?!" Jun finally broke, stepping back and almost falling on his ass.
Anakin didn't answer, instead, he turned towards her in question.
After nearly three weeks with him, Dinah knew he couldn't care less about the house, being content on just staying in the workshop, and it had been fun living in such an open location… Strange, but fun.
Still, she couldn't wait to see the insides. It wasn't HER house, but she couldn't wait to have a bedroom again, she was really thankful to that. Barely able to stop herself from running inside, she turned to look at the door and spoke. "It is… acceptable."
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