The Present
Sam yawned and stretched. He wandered along towards Annie’s room still half asleep. He’d stayed up until about two am with Annie doing their best to get completely drunk and trying to follow a long and very convoluted movie. In the end he’d had to admit he desperately needed some sleep and had gone to bed.
It had been a good evening though, even if they’d only held hands. It was progress, for both of them. He reached the Comms Room that housed the Frankie computer system and was Annie’s domain and knocked gently. The door swung open on contact, obviously unlocked. The movement set off the light sensor and he was momentarily blinded as the interior lighting instantly changed from monitor afterglow to brilliant, bright white. The room was empty, no sign of Annie. She must be… Before he could finish the thought a holographic projector flared into life revealing an image of Annie in all of her 3D glory.
“Sam, I’m sorry. I am really sorry. I’ve had to leave. I hope to come back, if you’d have me. If you will still trust me after this, but… I, I really enjoyed spending time with you but I can’t remain ‘Tin-Can Annie’ much longer, especially now I realise what I’m missing. I’ll miss you…”
The hologram had tears in its eyes. “Anyway, I’ve set up systems to continue to provide support for you. Tell Akira that I’ve programmed my online doppelgänger, Pseudo-Annie to handle all inquiries at the Investigations Office and it will continue to track down missing persons online but he’ll need to take on the face-to-face visits himself. She’ll also keep the basics of the base’s systems running on autopilot. I’ve cloned Pseudo and created Psycho-Annie who will keep all the ARC systems running. Sorry I should have mentioned I was still doing double shifts dealing with their inquiries as well.
The basic programming for Mikey’s stealth shields are also on-file for when they are needed. I’ve sorted out all the other ongoing work and created programs to continue whilst I’m… or until you find someone else to take over. I’m sorry Sam, I’m really sorry. I.. I’ll miss you.”
The hologram suddenly went dead. Whaa..? Annie was gone? Why? Looking around he saw that the holobelt sat on top of the console with a small pile of data sticks each individually labelled. He read the labels in the hope of finding a clue where she’d went. They obviously were intended for various scenarios – one was labelled “freeze ray/Abyss” another read “robotic Armageddon” and a third “Recipes for Jeeves”… There must have been 30 data sticks in total.
What had happened?
Five Hours Earlier
Annie removed the holobelt, deactivating it in the process. It was time. Tonight had proved that. She couldn’t go on like this anymore. The belt helped but underneath it all she was still Tin-Can Annie, the nightmare monster under the bed or in the closet, the inhuman shape of warped science. She had finished doing all her preparations and there was no sense in putting it off any longer. Especially after discovering who, or more precisely what, Ophelia was earlier that evening. She still wanted to rescue her but this was much more complex that she’d imagined when she’d thought her just a disabled little girl trapped, forced to work against her will for the Library. No, that had to wait. For once she had to put herself first.
Sam’d been a major distraction though. He actually liked her. Oh, I suppose the hologram helped – it definitely did for that awful flirt Akira, and she had really liked him but… It wasn’t enough.
She reached over and switched on her encrypted system and pulled up a secure video channel. On the screen sat a woman dressed as a 1920’s flapper, pretty in a svelte sort of way; short bobbed dark hair, piercing eyes, beauty spot on the check and smoking a cigarette in a long cigarette holder. She looked as though she’d just stepped through time. Behind her chair stood two mechanical soldiers, resembling 1950’s wind up tin toys. Motherboard had made the initial introductions and set up the contact. That was a lifetime ago.
Annie had spoken with the woman only twice before. The first to agree what was actually possible and what the risks were. The second time to discuss the price and whether she was willing to pay it.
When the woman in the chair spoke it was in a husky voice. “You ready?”
Annie hesitated only for a moment, “Yes. It’s time. Operation Barbie is a go…!
“Just you then? You’ve given up on rescuing the other one, at least for the moment?”
“Yes, can I come now..?” Annie was almost begging. The betrayal, the leaving without even a goodbye was heart-breaking.
“You do know you may not survive..?” “Yeah you explained that and I fully understand and fully accept the risks, but if I don’t do it now I never will.”
The woman smiled – it was not a nice smile – and continued. “And you’re willing to agree to the price?” Eyes downcast, Annie nodded, “I’m not happy but… Yes I agree.”
The woman gave her a set of instructions, directions to a pick up point and agreed that she would be picked up there in half an hour.
Annie took a few seconds to look round her room where she had been so happy. She set up the camera to record as she put the various data sticks in a pile in front of Frankie’s main console.
Now to say goodbye… she picked up the belt, possibly for the very last time and pressed the record button.
The Present
Sam was distraught. There were no clues as to where she’d gone or why. This had obviously been something she’d been planning for some time though, going by the level of preparation. Why though, Sam had been so sure that she’d been happy with them.
He found himself looking at all the data sticks for a clue but his eyes were blurry and he found he couldn’t read the labels. The sticks slipped from his hands and clattered on the ground.
He looked around the room. It was still hers. She’d left everything behind; all that was gone was her.
But why and to where?
Superhero Adventures, UK Style 