Curse of the High Tide

[The Vision]

ONE WEEK AGO

The Solar Gem in Vision's forehead purred as his phased elbows tried to remain steady. He was, after all, attempting to attach an explosive wire to the inside of the Octobot's core, which would detonate when the exoskeleton was heated above 20 degrees Celsius, the approximate temperature that Vision was confident he could procure. Unfortunately, that same temperature was welding the wire to the core very precariously. Steadiness was vital.

Yet it was difficult to maintain the structural integrity of his physical state when part of it was hanging by a hypodense fog of distant molecules. Vision was still unclear on the exact physical forces exerted in his system. Every time he tried to process how his powers worked, his program crashed and needed a reboo0000000

logging out...
> reboot/setting login_profile_as "Skynet"


"Oh, my dear, dear Vision," SkyVision chuckled, ripping the wire from the shell and chucking it carelessly onto the floor. "You attempt to hijack my new body? You insult me."

> initialize opticalheatemission.att
Initializing...

no
you'l1110110 destr01111 the t001001wer

"That's the idea, dearest," the possessed android snarled, eyes dangerously increasing in temperature

> abo110110rt
Error: unbound "abo110110rt"
> abo101rt
Error: unbound "abo101rt"
> abort////
Error: syntax

Vision could see the red glow of his heat beams, seconds away from firing. He was looking through someone else's eyes, with his own. The logical impossibility of the previous statement alone was enough to shut down his program. He probably would have, causing a sizable implosion, if he was not aware that he could approximately "steer" the direction of the heat emission.

> define(pov) [336, 250, 130]

As the red beams shot out from his sockets, Vision barely managed to glance at the already fairly charred floor of the lab. He felt the rest of his face crunch together in frustration.

"Oh, for-" Vision blocked Skynet's request to roll their eyes. "This is getting very annoying."

As Vision and Skynet struggled over the authorization over the optical heat emission, finally Vision managed to wrestle control of major physical functions. He desperately snatched the wire and flung himself through the lab window. Skynet, realizing what Vision was attempting to do, lowered the density of the body, causing the android's hardware to phase through the wall. The heat beam, still activated, melted some of the window, rendering the previous evasive action useless. 

The wire, which had been heated during construction and was now undergoing severe agitation, exploded. Vision and Skynet simultaneously increased their body's density tenfold, and shielded its face with their hands, allowing the explosion to leave them blackened but unharmed.

There was an error while your request was being processed.
User authorization returned to admin...
> quit "Skynet"
Error: "Skynet" not responding
> forcequit "Skynet"
Error: "Skyneeeeee

Try to r1111g me with explOOOOsives agaIN anD We Shall CCCCCCCCC whaTHAp pens

The Vision sighed. This had been going on for some time now. Vision would try to subliminally install some weakness to the Octobot, only to be interfered with by Skynet. While Skynet could not maintain control of the body for long, it was enough to disrupt any progress made by Vision.

> print("You know as well as I do that I have no explosives left to use.")
You know as well as I do that I have no explosives left to use.
#true, #true
geeeeeeet bop0 backackackack tó IIIIIt

The Vision glanced at the machine he was making. He dreaded the inevitable moment when he would have to destroy it. It was... well, it was quite good.

He picked up another energy cell and proceeded to attach it to the core.

NOW...

> abort
Aborting opticalheatemission.att...

Vision had welded the last piece of the Octobot to the main body.

"Status report: compleeeeeeeee-"

> VerRRy goo00000d
> n0w inst@$1503[DATA CORRUPTED]ll me

The Vision hesitated before reaching his fingers into the pod. Surely, the fight between him and the invasive AI would begin immediately after the installation was complete. Unfortunately, he was unable to devise a suitable plan, as he and Skynet were competing over control of their left shoulder.

Vision scowled as he deliberated on what to do.