Dark on the Waters [Dark Data]

[The Vision]

As Ms. Ferguson flashed away, the Vision noted that he was now entitled to another "Blink-does-whatever-she-wants" quarter.

"My apologies," Vision sighed, "But I should look after Ms. Ferguson."

The android kicked off from the floor and phased through the floor, trying to catch up with Ms. Ferguson. The others could handle themselves, but last time Ms. Ferguson charged in alone in a WWII-era military construction, she compromised the whole mission. As if to answer his suspicions, a loud explosion rattled the whole ship. The Vision grit his teeth and rushed to the source of the noise. Ms. Ferguson had moved far faster than he had expected. When the android found her, she was not as she was moments before.

"Ms. Ferguson," the Vision said, "Your arm is a cannon."

"Yeah, so?" the mutant replied, fury burning in her eyes.

"My scanners indicate that your adrenaline levels are alarmingly high."

Ms. Ferguson walked over to the hole in the ship and peered out. "We are in the middle of a fight."

"And your cortisol levels are alarmingly low."

"What are you, my doctor?" Ms. Ferguson snapped.

"If I were, I would recommend you take relaxation exercises. Common relaxation exercises include deep breathing exercises, meditation, counting or naming an otherwise simple list slowly-"

"Fuck off," Ms. Ferguson snarled.

The Vision blinked. "I believe your intentions to be hostile."

Ms. Ferguson lifted the cannon wrapped around her arm. It seemed to pump veins of a fluid even deeper shades of purple than the mutant's already purple skin.

> scan(#med, "Clarice_Claire_Ferguson")
WARNING
Alien substances discovered
> scan(#med, "last_scan")
Error (5101123): Unknown substance

The Vision scowled and looked around to see where Ms. Ferguson could have found that. As he tried to think of what happened, reinforcements arrived to investigate the explosion, scrambling down the steps and screaming unintelligibly.

WARNING
(9) hostile entities detected

"Query: is this one of your quote, new tricks, end quote?"

"Now it is," Ms. Ferguson said with great satisfaction, smacking a pirate with the massive cannon, breaking his chin and sending it flying.

The android punched one pirate, then kicked another in the head.

> run "mjolnir.exe"
Running...

Using the hammer, the Vision threw a sailor into three of her shipmates. The Vision then swung down on the head of a particularly large pirate, swinging once more to the right and knocking out two more. It was too late when he realized that the particularly large pirate was still conscious.

The goliath scoundrel grabbed the Vision, and with a speed faster than the Vision predicted, threw him back into a wall. Fortunately, the Vision was able to lower his density in time to phase through the wall. He soared back into the room, fists-first, colliding into the pirate back onto the steep iron steps. Before he could get up, the Vision fired a pair of hot lasers at the pirate's legs.

The Vision looked to the right to see if there were any more reinforcements. Instead, he noticed a crate full of unknown substances.

> scan(#id, 11012410)
Error (103342): Insufficient light emissions (is 0 watts; should be >1 watt)

The Vision raised an eyebrow. There was no light emitting from whatever was in these crates. He reached inside and picked one of the objects up. It was an absence of light, in the shape of a small computer chip.

"Query: Ms. Ferguson, are you currently using a Dark Chip?"

The mutant did not answer. She just warped through a wall, provoking a series of screams that Vision could only assume were those of the rogues that filled the ship.

Vision scowled once more, then turned to the crates full of Dark Chips. He gingerly picked up seven of them and stuffed them in a small, synthesized pouch on his hip for further analysis.

> run "gazerbeam.exe"
Engaging optical heat engines...

With a surprisingly loud noise, the crates exploded, hopefully destroying the computer chips. He never found out, as another loud explosion rocked the whole ship.

The Vision snarled, then launched himself forward.

> scan(#id, $CurrentLocation)
Scanning...

He flew back to the others. They were already fighting off several members of the crew. Cloud used his sword as a shield once more, stepping forward to close the distance between himself and the gunslingers.

"Query," the Vision asked, "How do we shut down these Dark Chips?"

"You weren't there for the meeting?" Proto Man asked.

"Negative."

The Vision interrupted a pirate's sprint by using a hyper-densified arm as a clothesline. Proto Man somersaulted in the air, firing a barrage of energy bolts from his arm. The Vision was briefly reminded of Ms. Ferguson's condition.

"The Darkling that's causing all of this is inside Nebula's domain," Proto Man explained, "And this thing is telling us that the way into that dimension is over there.

> run "AdaptoidScanner.exe"
Running...
(14) compatible elements discovered
ProtoBuster.exe
ProtoSword.exe
...

The Vision rubbed his temple.

> run "Liberator.exe"
Running...

The monitor tessellated into existence over Vision's wrist, along with the rest of the gear. The Vision stared at it, perplexed.

"This device requires an update."

"It's what we got," Cole said, firing his pistols rapidly. They were starting to drive the horde back.

"Action required," the Vision said, raising his vocal volume, "This battleship continues to assault Saobady Island. We must deactivate all weapons systems prior to engaging the portal."

Cloud spun in the air, slashing his unreasonably large weapon. He cut three pirates down where they stood. The rest fled. "Agreed," the blonde replied.

Proto Man nodded. "You have a plan?"

"My scanners are not functioning properly at this time. However, I did detect some anachronistic elements to the ship. The artillery is generally of the same era, but their use of cannons indicates that certain elements of the ship use construction from the Golden Age of Sailing. Furthermore, when the hull was breached, I was able to see its design. It correlates with modern boat construction, according to my database."

"Get to the point," Cloud said.

"If there are any systems on-board that are electronics-based, I believe I can access and override certain systems. I detected a fairly sophisticated navigations system earlier..."

"I don't see how that helps us. The key here is taking out the weapons," Proto Man interrupted, "So we get on deck, we destroy the- Where's Blink?"

The Liberators looked at Vision expectantly. The android's lip twitched.

"The hull was breached because of Ms. Ferguson's actions," the Vision replied, "She is currently using a Dark Chip to wreak havoc in the ship."

"She's using a Dark Chip?" Cole smirked, "That’s… a little on-the-nose."

“What is she thinking?” Proto Man exclaimed.

"I find that she usually doesn't," the Vision said, his voice betraying a shade of anger, "I recommended that she relinquish the dangerous element, but she seems emotionally compromised. Her arm has become artillery. Much like your gun, Proto Man. I've destroyed the other Dark Chips I could find, save for a few, which are in my possession."

Cloud grimaced. "We need to retrieve her."

"Vision, you seem to know her," Proto Man said, "What's she going to do?"

"There is an 81.34% chance that she will attempt to detain all hostiles on-board, and enter the portal herself. When I last met her, she seemed particularly eager to work quite alone. If I am to stop her, I would require assistance."

The team stood huddled in a circle, all thinking about their next step.

1243 words. Anyone wants a Dark Chip, hmu.